CONSTRUCTING BOUQUETS. 49 
son’s ambition; and the result is once more, much grace 
and little heaviness. 
“For actual use on dinner tables, the prettiest fashion I 
have ever seen by far, is that of the large open vase sup- 
ported on gilt branches, always so arranged as to look 
wide and low in proportion to its height. 
“The dish or vase, I should mention, was of plain frost- 
ed glass, shallow and wide, and rested ou twisted supports 
of bright and frosted gilding. 
“The dish was itself filled up with bright dark green 
moss—one of the beautiful green-house lycopods might well 
be used here. Lycopodium denticulatum is, perhaps, best 
of all for the purpose, and is easily grown anywhere, in a 
shady corner of the green-house, or in a window that will 
not suit many flowering plants because of want of sun. 
The moss was raised in the centre—not a heap, but curved 
upwards. The flowers were as follows: one deep red 
Rose, one of the palest Blush white, a spray of white Con- 
volvulus, just touched with pink, a cluster of red droop- 
ing flowers (I thought of the Rose acacia), one spray of 
pale wild Rose, one bright pink Rose, a cluster of white 
Acacia, and a drooping branch of the pink Convolvulus. 
“Tt is to be remarked, the colors were all shades of rose 
-and white. The whole thing was most perfectly bright, and 
fresh, and beautiful. Each flower was simply laid down 
on the green, fairly round the vase, no attempt being made 
to fill up the centre at all. The flowers just touched, and 
had each its own green leaves; the stems, of course, were 
just hidden slightly in the moss. I give this to show the 
style of thing, but, of cougse, other flowers can be used 
for any of those named. The great thing is, it seems to 
me, to have some idea to work to; and there certainly are 
such ideas to be picked up, sown broadcast abroad ; where 
nobody is ashamed of trying to make themselves and 
everything else look their prettiest ! 
3 
