THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 81 



Lilies, and Wistaria, as they wished in this way 

 to mark the friendliness of the nations. At the 

 time that the reception took place it was utterly 

 impossible to procure Wistaria, so artificial flowers 

 had to be resorted to. 



In the several illustrations in this book of the 

 reception you will see the Wistaria, but as the 

 flowers and foliage were so faithfully imitated, 

 I venture to think that few would have noticed that 

 they were not real if it had not been pointed out, 

 indeed many of those present thought it was real 

 and marvelled at its beauty. Naturally the decep- 

 tion was carried out as far as possible by employing 

 very little of it and by breaking it up with masses 

 of climbing roses, and of course always using it well 

 above the line of sight. 



These wonderfully artistic reproductions were 

 made for me in Yokohama, the flowers being of 

 silk and each pip painted by hand. The length 

 of the flower sprays varied from 1 to 4j feet, which, 

 to those who only know Wistaria in England, 

 appears somewhat exaggerated, but in Japan 4|- feet 

 is considered a very poor specimen, as when grown 

 over water the flowers often attain the almost in- 

 credible length of 12 feet, I have heard even longer, 

 but 12 feet is as long as I should like to vouch for. 



