138 HOME AND GARDEN 



1 1 inch mde, and of different lengths according to the 

 sizes of the jars they are to be used in. They are 

 folded together S-wise and rather closely so as to leave 

 continuous pairs of loops. Another handy device is 

 to have pieces of galvanised wire netting of about a 

 j-inch mesh, loosely crumpled into a vague ball-shape, 

 such as will fill the lower half of the receptacle. The 

 same kind of support may be given by twigs of Holly 

 or Box, or of any close and stiffly- twigged shrub 

 such as White-thorn or Black-thorn. Where nothing 

 else was at hand I have used the dissected remnants 

 of a worn-out birch broom. 



It is obvious that these ways of compelling the 

 flowers to stand up can only be uced in non-transparent 

 vessels ; none of them, except perhaps the green twigs, 

 can be used in glass. But though glass things are in 

 many ways the pleasantest and prettiest and cleanest to 

 put our home flowers in, and though there is a certain 

 satisfaction in seeing the stalks, and knowing that we 

 can all the more readily come to the rescue by seeing 

 the water becoming foul or low, yet in almost every 

 house there are cherished flower - holders of other 

 material than glass. Among those I have in constant 

 use are bowls and jars of the ever-beautiful porcelains 

 of China and Japan, English makes of Worcester and 

 of the delicate cream-white earthenware of Wedgwood, 

 old Italian majolica, glazed pottery from all Europe 

 and some of Asia and Africa, Indian brass lotahs and 

 large Dutch and Venetian pails and jugs and wine- 



