XI 



EXHIBITING 



195 



They should all be made exactly alike, so that lids 

 and trays are interchangeable. Spare trays pierced for 

 trebles should be provided, and a large deep box for 

 spare blooms is very useful but unwieldy. The boxes 

 all ought to be of the same size, that is, there ought to 

 be a regulation size for 12s and another for 24s and 

 so on, but as long as there is not, and others take 

 advantage of the fact, smaller boxes with the tubes set 

 closer together should be provided for Teas and occasions 

 when the blooms are small. Setting the Roses closer 

 together somewhat conceals their want of size. 



The providing a sufficient quantity of good moss for 

 placing on the trays between the tubes is sometimes a 

 difficulty when there are many boxes to be prepared. 

 The ordinary moss of hedge-row banks is generally 

 used, but it is sometimes difficult to find in a gravelly 

 district. The north side of a clayey railway embank- 

 ment is generally a good place. It should be taken up 

 cautiously so that it may be placed root downwards 

 and not half of it upside down, in the boxes, and will 

 require the weeds and grass to be picked from it. 



A much more effective moss is that which grows on 

 old thatch or even roof-tiles, but it is apt to lose colour. 

 If a water-mill or lock gates be in the neighbourhood, 

 there is often delightfully fresh moss to be found on 

 the old walls near the water. These sorts have a far 

 more velvety appearance than the first kind mentioned, 

 which sometimes looks little better than badly made 

 hay. 



The trays when trimmed with moss should be 

 watered occasionally and kept in the shade. But a 

 good overhauling is desirable before a night journey. 

 In one very dry season my mossed boxes had been kept 

 in the shade and duly watered, with the result that 



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