VI 



CUTTING AND ARRANGING FLOWERS 



FOR 



EXHIBITION AND TABLE DECORATION 



IN the days of long ago, my old friend and 

 employer, Mr. James Dobbie, used to tell me that 

 success on the exhibition table was as much depen- 

 dent on the treatment the flowers received after 

 they were cut as on what had gone before. And 

 he was right. I have often seen indifferent 

 flowers, well staged, beat much better ones, 

 badly staged. 



There is an art in setting up flowers, but it is an 

 art which can be acquired. The time spent by 

 the old florists on " dressing " their Pansies, 

 Carnations, Roses or Chrysanthemums would, 

 if known, surprise modern cultivators. Many 

 an all-night sitting was put in at such work. 

 The individual flowers of Sweet Peas do not 

 require to be dressed, but there is great room 

 for the display of taste in setting up and 

 arranging. 



56 



