SWEET PEA IN TABLE DECORATION 115 



the Sweet Pea in a perfectly natural manner ; when the 

 flower-stems are shortened this is not possible. 



The flowers should always be perfectly fresh. Stale 

 flowers, and those that have lost their colour, should be 

 tabooed. In the Summer season the Sweet Peas are not 

 by any means scarce, so that there should be no excuse for 

 using indifferent material for decorative purposes. The 

 flowers should always be in water, and those who fail to 

 recognise this essential fact in competitions, should suffer 

 in consequence. We have no sympathy with the practice 

 of placing individual sprays of blossoms, here and there, 

 on the table cloth, as they serve no useful purpose, and 

 seldom add to the attractiveness of a pretty table decora- 

 tion. Neither have we any liking for the use of millinery 

 or table-centre cloths, the colour of which is all too 

 frequently unsuitable. The Sweet Peas themselves are 

 quite capable of making a beautiful dinner-table decoration 

 without the aid of chiffon, etc. ; and a real artistic creation 

 is better brought into effect without such means. 



