GLASS STRUCTURES AND APPLIANCES. 



135 



liquid around the base of the blossom where it is 

 united to the stem, and also thrust a little between 

 the back petals where it will not be visible. This 

 will be the means of holding the flowers together 

 much longer, aud is by far a better method than 

 wiring the blooms in order to attain the desired 

 end when they are intended for glass vases. For 

 bouquets and other similar purposes the wiring pro- 

 cess is much the best. The kind of gum known as 

 " Florists' Gum " is better than a solution of pure 

 gum-arabic, by reason of its drying the more readily 

 after application. When flowers that have been 

 wired are placed in glass vases with water, a deposit 

 of rust will soon be observed around the sides. This, 

 and any other deposit that adheres to the vases and 

 thereby detracts from their transparency, can be 

 easily removed with a weak solution of hydro- 

 chloric acid. This preparation, however, being a 

 corrosive poison, requires great care in application, 

 and caution should be exercised accordingly. It is 

 much to be preferred to the use of any material 

 that would scratch and disfigure the glass. 



Preservation. — Many flowers can be pre- 

 served for several days if a cool and damp 

 cellar or other similar place is at command, where 

 they can be kept nearly or quite in the dark. 

 The Passion Flowers, for instance, that we very 

 rarely see open for more than one day — in fact, this 

 is about the limit of their existence — may be pre- 

 served in good condition for three or four, and 

 even five days, if cut early in the morning, after 

 fully expanding, and then placed in the dark till re- 

 quired. Some of the Passifloras flower, as it were, 

 by fits and starts, and perhaps just when a few 

 flowers are wanted, they are a few days past. By 

 adopting the means just detailed, an extension can 

 be made, very possibly, to meet the requirements. 

 Blossoms of the Passifloras will also remain open 

 during the evening if cut early in the day, whereas 

 on the plant the majority will close in the afternoon. 

 Other " flowers of a day " can be kept in a similar 

 manner, such as the Ipomseas, for example. Water 

 Lilies, when required in a cut state, can be made to 

 remain open all night with ease by passing the 

 thumb and finger up each petal and reflexing it. 

 It is disappointing, when using these and kindred 

 flowers, to have them close just when they are most 

 needed to display their beauties ; any means, there- 

 fore, that can be adopted to secure the desired end 

 may fairly be practised, as long as the natural beauty 

 of the flower is not destroyed. 



During the summer months all flowers will be 

 found to keep the better if cut early in the day or 

 late in the evening,- when their vitality is not being 

 weakened by rapid evaporation. In warm weather 



we prefer to complete all arrangements early in the 

 morning, and place them away (if not immediately 

 required) in a cool and shaded place that is free 

 from draught. The retention of the dew on the 

 flowers will have a beautiful effect in the evening ; 

 this cannot, however, be managed unless a cold, 

 moist cellar is available till the needed time for 

 bringing them forth. 



GLASS STEUCTURES AND 

 APPLIANCES. 



GARDEN FRAMES, 



THE one-light frame (Fig. 11) marks a new de- 

 parture in horticulture. In this simple and 

 useful contrivance glass appliances may be said to 

 end and glass houses to begin. The frame is a half- 

 way house, as it were, between the two. Frames 

 are as elastic as portable. They may be had to 

 cover a yard, or overspread an acre, at wiU. While 

 mostly placed on the level ground, thej^ may also be 

 raised up to do excellent fostering and conservative 

 ser\d€e against walls, and are ever at hand, or ought 

 to be, to meet the wants or wishes of the cultivator. 

 For convenience frames are concentrated into one 

 place technically known as the frame-ground or 

 Melon-ground (from the old but still good practice of 

 growing Melons in frames). Still, the fact of being 

 so portable, and, on the whole, so sightly, as to be 

 placed over seeds or plants anywhere, is one of their 

 greatest merits, and causes them to be used to great 

 convenience and advantage in the most out-of-the- 

 way places. Every garden should have one or many 

 garden frames. They may be made of any size, so 

 long as they are neither too large nor too heavy to 

 be easily portable. They are mostly made of one 

 and a quarter, one and a half, or two-inch deal, 

 dovetailed or morticed together at the corners. 

 This, however, adds greatly to the cost of making, 

 and is now often superseded with strong ties at 

 each corner, by which the sides and ends are firmly 

 nailed together. Frames thus made are equally 

 strong and durable as those morticed in the usual 

 way. Bolts or clasps are also used for this purpose, 

 for the same reason. 



The best deal is generally chosen for frames, for 

 the less sap-wood in them the longer they will last. 

 Some have tried hard wood, such as oak or ash, 

 but it is too heavy and not so durable as deal. 

 Poplar is sufiiciently light, and that or sycamore and 

 lime last fairly well if kept wet, as is mostly the 

 case with what are called dung-frames, that is, those 

 warmed or protected with manure either under or 

 around them, or both. Garden frames are generally 

 painted or smeared over with tar or some of the 



