506 FLORICULTURAL MILLINERY. 



of finger in tke arrangement and dressing, much the same 

 sort of skill as is required in tricking out a cap or a bonnet, 

 and hence the term we have chosen to express it " Flori- 

 cultural Millinery." Now, these two points, which are 

 essentially distinct, are not in our judgment of nearly equal 

 weight, the "skill" in production being of far more 

 importance than the " taste and lightness of finger " in the 

 arrangement or dressing. Yet our experience, derived 

 from observation, compels us to say that we think the 

 " finish and symmetry," which are due in great measure to 

 "taste and lightness of finger/' often exert an undue 

 influence. The eye is pleased by it, and the judgment does 

 not travel back so far as to inquire concerning the whence 

 and whither. 



In making the above comparison we are well aware 

 that a cap or a bonnet has to be made by hand ; it cannot 

 be grown ; it is the work of an hour. On the contrary, a 

 plant or flower must be grown by a long and thoughtful 

 process. Produce, we say, by the means of growth in your 

 power, the finest plants and flowers you can ; but having 

 done this, rest satisfied ; do not supplement the efforts of 

 a year's thought and labour by the transient arts of 

 millinery. 



We are free to admit that a plant must be tied up, and 

 this is better done neatly and with taste than in a careless 

 or bungling manner. Flowers, too, should be so placed in 

 their stands that they may be well seen, and the colours 

 should be so assorted and arranged that each may enhance 

 rather than detract from the beauty and effect of its 

 neighbour. Thus far we concede nay, consider necessary 

 and commendable. But the little tricks resorted to to 

 make a plant or flower look other or better than it really 

 is find no sympathy in our nature. The flattening of 

 Pansies by pressure to meet the florist's canon that 

 Pansies should be flat ; the gumming and brushing of the 

 petals of Pelargoniums ; the artificial packing of the petals 

 of Carnations ; the building-up of Dahlias; the pinning of 



