198 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



of rooms, but they are not much in use nowadays. The rise of 

 vase and bowl cultivation has doubtless had a great deal to do 

 with their relegation. Small, separate receptacles, which can be 

 moved from place to place, and put on a dinner-table during 

 meals, are preferred to a large fixture. 



CUT FLOWERS 



The use of cut flowers for room decoration spreads from 

 year to year, and it is earnestly to be hoped that it will con- 

 tinue to do so. Ultra-sensitive people raise objections to the 

 cutting of flowers. They "like to see the poor things on the 

 plants." Certainly, we all like to see flowers on the plants ; 

 that is what we grow most plants for. But we have got to 

 remember that the constant cutting of flowers helps plants to 

 grow and bloom, and therefore, that the latter are benefited by 

 the practice. If flowers are left on plants they run to seed, and 

 blooming ceases. 



The subject of cut flowers is too large a one to be dealt with 

 fully. Adequate treatment would mean a volume. We must be 

 satisfied with a few brief hints : 



(1) Cut all flowers while young and fresh. 



(2) Cut them with long stalks, because then they can be 

 arranged lightly. 



(3) Do not, as a rule, use many different kinds of flowers in 

 one vase. 



(4) Make a practice of arranging flowers with their own foliage. 



(5) Cut a short piece off the bottom of the stem every two 

 or three days. 



(6) To revive drooping flowers, put them in hot water con- 

 taining a little salt. 



Cut flowers adorn rooms in a delightful way, and exercise a 

 sweetening and refining influence. 



