274- 



THE FLOWER GROWERS GUIDE. 



A cool, subdued light is proper for a dining-table, and nothing glaring should be 

 tolerated. The electric light can be introduced effectively in various ways, and a great 

 assortment of large or small lamps, with shades, are also available ; but, all things 

 considered, silver or gold branched candlesticks, with wax candles and shades, afford the 

 best means of lighting. A soft light is cast on the table, leaving the rest of the room 

 darker, to mask the movements of the attendants. Nothing in the way of decoration 

 will show above a certain height, and those tall "March " glasses, or epergnes, so dear 

 to the exhibitor, would be utterly wasted on a candle-lit table. Nothing tall ought to be 

 placed on the average table, or anything heavy or obstructive ; no confusion and no 

 glaring contrasts should be the rules that guide decorators. 



VASES AND EPERGNES. 



Vases and epergnes for flowers are provided in extraordinary variety. Some are 

 well adapted to the purpose for which they are designed, but the majority are more or 

 less ornamental in appearance and difficult to fill satisfactorily. Some are simple dishes, 

 which have either to be packed solidly with flowers, or moist sand has to be used, 

 which means an early collapse of flowers and greenery. Others are mere tiers of tiny 

 bowls in which none but the lightest flowers can be seen to advantage, while the more 

 recent introductions, rustic patterns made principally of tinted glass, are only fit for the 

 dining-table, as they hold such a small quantity of water and few flowers. The 

 "March" stands or epergnes of flowers, ferns, and grasses (Fig. 159), are suitable for 

 drawing-room and other tables, when there are abundance of flowers and they are 

 properly arranged; the top of the one figured is a little too " dumpy." Too few flowers 

 are often seen falling about in the flat base, while pendants and central glasses are 

 packed too lightly with flowers and greenery. 



For producing an imposing effect nothing equals well-filled trumpet-shaped vases, and 

 in their absence celery- glasses form a good substitute. These forms hold abundance of 

 water, and, as they stand firmly, can be filled with long-stemmed heavy flowers, such as 

 arums, amaryllises, small gladioli, sunflowers, dahlias, and chrysanthemums. In order to 

 arrange these heavy, long-stemmed flowers lightly and pleasingly, it is necessary, in 

 many instances, to fill the bowls with short lengths of stems and leaves of the kind of 

 flowers used, or with branches of tree-box, and the stems of the flowers being inserted 

 among them, remain fixed in the position required. For roses, carnations, sweet peas, 

 narcissi, tulips, and moderately heavy flowers generally, smaller vases are more suitable. 



