December 19, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
461 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
Da; Day Average »,| Clock Day 
0! of DECEMBER 19—25, 1878. Temperature near aia Sun Moon | Moon | Moon’s! potore | of 
Month’ Week ; London. Rises. | Sets Rises. | Sets. | Age. | Sun, | Year 
Day. Night. Mean] h. m.| h. m.| h. m.| h. m.| Days. | m. s. 
19 TH Royal Society at 8.30 P.M. 45.4 | 32.5 39, 8 -5 3 50 2 43 ON22 25 2 40) 353 
20 F 44.1 | 33.6 38.9 8 6 3 50 4 11 0 4e 26 2 10.) 354 
21#$\s Sr. THOMAS. Shortest day. 44.1 | 34.0 | 39.0 8 6 3 50] 5 39 1 18 27 1 40 | 355 
22 Sun | 4 SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 45.0 | 32.5 | 38.7 8 7 3 51 Zax) 2 #4 28 1 10 | 356 
23 M London Institution at 5 P.M. 44.1 | 31.7 | 37.9 Siiest 3 52 Saimeeh 3. 66 @ 0 40 | 357 
24 TU 40.0 | 31.3 | 387.6 sh t7/) 3 52 8 57 4 20 | 1 0 10 | 358 
25 |W CHRISTMAS DAY. 43.4 | 29.4 | 36.4 Baia || eSe 63H |i Me 88)! rs'5) 1404) 2 before | 359 
From observations taken near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 43.7°: 
30,79. 
PREPARATIONS FOR CHRISTMAS. 
old Christmas than at any other festival to 
which anything like national observance is 
accorded. Sad indeed must be the condition 
of an individual to whom its joy-bells bring 
no good tidings—no kindly emotions either 
in the guise of pleasant memories of the past 
the warm grasp of friendship; the cheery 
'p salutations of “A Merry Christmas” from 
gathering friends and relatives, or even the more 
matter-of-fact delight of the humble tiller of the soil 
in his abundant Christmas supply of warmth and 
good cheer. ; : 
Christmas is coming, and special preparations must be 
made in the garden, the house, the church, the market. A 
busy time it is, therefore, especially for the gardener ; for 
does not he wish to make the surroundings of the house as 
trim and ornamental as possible, so as to be in keeping with 
its interior decorations? To this end miniature shrubs, 
many of them gay with berries, are planted in the flower 
beds ; shrubbery borders are forked over, the shrubs pruned, 
and the prunings turned to account for church and house- 
hold decoration. The latter is frequently an elaborate 
affair involving much time and painstaking, the greatest 
difficulty often being to hit upon some new design, some- 
thing different to the efforts of former years. Good taste 
will, of course, lead to satisfactory results. Without it 
there should be no ambitious flights, no aiming at novel 
effect, but rather a quiet tone should prevail with plenty of 
warmth about it. Spiral wreaths to pillars, festoons along 
walls between pictures, Ivy along cornices and architraves, 
neat wreaths of Box, berried and variegated Holly, Laurus- 
tinus, and Cotoneaster around pictures, mirrors, and door- 
ways. 
Por a Christmas tree there is nothing better than a Spruce 
Fir planted in a tub or barrel with the head knocked out 
and filled with moist sand. Let the tub be large, so as to 
avoid all risk of an upset; let the lower branches of the 
tree be well fastened to it with cords to keep all steady, 
and cover both tub and cords with green baize. If there is 
a large party, say about fifty children, and a lofty room can 
be had, the tree should be quite 15 feet high, to afford 
space on the branches for presents and the usual accom- 
paniments of flags, Chinese lanterns, and other candle 
holders and ornaments. Haye plenty of flags near the top 
of the tree and on the ends of the branches, and take care 
there is nothing inflammable immediately over the candles. 
Three or four tapers on long sticks will be wanted for 
lighting, and there should be a few pieces of damp sponge 
also on long sticks at hand for extinguishers in case of 
anything taking fire. 
Dinner-table decoration at Christmas to be seasonable 
should consist of wreaths, or rather scrolls, of foliage spring- 
ing from an encircling wreath around the centrepiece and 
winding lightly and gracefully upon the tablecloth among the 
dessert dishes along the sides of the table to the ends. It 
is not easy to convey aclear idea in writing as to the formation 
No. 925.—VOL. XXXV., NEW SERIES, 
Fac REATER unanimity is shown to welcome in 
; and its night temperature 
of scrolls, the eye and hand of an artist being requisite to do 
them really well. They consist of long sprays of Lyco- 
pods, the blue-tinged Lycopodium cesium being a special 
favourite ; small fronds of Maidenhair Fern, and leaves 
of Cissus discolor, Phyllanthus roseo-pictus, pink-marked 
Crotons, Oak-leayed and tricolor Geraniums, sprays of 
Panicum variegatum and Tradescantia zebrina, with any 
other foliage of a light and ornamental character. A bowl 
of flowers may form the centrepiece, but tall stands are not 
much used now, strong objection being taken to obstructions 
and floral screens along the centre of the table. If there 
is a chandelier it may be turned to account for the suspen- 
sion of small clear glass globes dressed with Lycopods and 
Ferns, with just one spray of bright toned flowers in each. 
Above these among the lamps there may be a wreath of 
Arbutus sprays bearing crimson berries and waxen blossom 
mingled together, or the entire centre of the chandelier 
may be filled with the dark green foliage of Iris foetidissima 
relieved by a few clusters of its gay scarlet berries. over- 
hanging a wreath of Mistletoe—not a heavy overpowering 
affair, but with the sprays clustering lightly together in 
just proportion to the size and form of the chandelier itself. 
Of church decorations I am not disposed to enter parti- 
cularly into any one method, for to take a narrow view of 
such a subject would be contrary to the genial fraternal 
spirit shown by both readers and writers of the Journal. 
Rather let me counsel those enthusiastic young people who 
enter so heartily into the adorning not to indulge in a display 
of gaudy banners and startling inscriptions, but to see 
whether they cannot impart to the interior of the sacred 
edifice a warm, bright, yet chaste appearance by a liberal 
use of Holly, mingled with Laurustinus, Ivy, Arbutus, and 
such other evergreens as may be had. Everybody loves to 
see the church under its familiar old Christmas guise, but 
few can really care to see there the tinsel and glare of a 
theatre. To gardeners who may be called upon to assist in 
church decoration and who then probably find themselves 
in the enjoyment of the, to them, not uncommon privilege 
of hints from refined ladies for the guidance of their work, 
I would say, Seize the opportunity to obtain a lesson in 
taste. Many a prosperous man owes much of his success in 
life to having turned such apparent trifles to account. 
Depend upon it your enjoyment of Christmas will be all the 
more hearty from the sense of knowledge gained and from 
the involuntary respect that is quite certain to be accorded 
for your demeanour under the circumstances. 
But while preparations for Christmas must be conducted 
in various ways in a private manner, yet nowhere can the 
magnitude of the provision requisite for the coming festival 
be so fully appreciated as in the markets. To meet the 
demands of the Christmas week in the cities and towns of 
the kingdom other nations than our own contribute of their 
wealth. Oranges and Pine Apples from St. Michael’s and 
other places, Lemons from Italy and Alexandria, Grapes 
from France and Spain, Melons from Portugal, Apples’ 
from America, Pears from the Channel Islands, and even 
Bananas from the West Indies, share in the Christmas 
cheer of British homes. Great, howéver, as are the con- 
signments of these fruits, also of choice vegetables and 
No. 1577.—VOL. LX., OLD SERIES. 
