ON TAIUiK JiKCOUATION KOK, NX II I IUTION AND Til N IK>MN. <l ( .)f) 



OOlouring of the (lowers mid foliage, mid lightH up ho brilliantly ill night, 

 that it is preferable to every other material, though real Hi Ivor mid old 

 porcelain havo formidable clainiH. Again, it in tho solf-sullioionf "ontour 

 ago " or "Hotting" which ho often dontroyn tho effect of tho Unworn. In 

 inherent beauty nothing 0(|iialH thoin for tho nhort tinio they last, and their 

 reign should he Huproino and absolute. 



You will not, I trunt, iniHimdorHtand nie as to the different modoH of 

 treatment suggested, hut do hoar in mind when decorating that trann 

 parent glaHH in hont, alniont alwayn hont, for out lloworn; that silver, metal, 

 and opaque ware are more nuitahlo for [limiting lloworn with their roots ; 

 and that the character and hahits of the Mower should ho studied in the 

 selection of its receptacle, hranohos and long stalked Mowers in high 

 vases, while little creeping plants and short stalked hlooms should be 

 arranged in shallow vessels. 



Now Let me give you an illustration of luncheon and di ir tables. 



Let us take the lunoheon table first. STou will remember what I said 

 about not overcrowding the Mowers : the number of tho receptacles you 

 need must vary with the size of the table you are decorating ; six or eight 

 will be sufficient for ten or twelve guests, and the luncheon table will, I 

 thinks admit of somewhat larger and heavier Mowers than the dinner 

 table; the lighter, Hinaller lloworn noom in the litnonn of things bent to 

 accord with artificial light. LHh, blue, mauve, or violet, in fact any colour 

 or shade of colour in nuitahlo for tho luncheon-table, (lowslips are very 

 charming, and look bent with their own foliage, or the young tender 



copper brown shoo! i of the Oak (out Long on the old wood) associate well 



wilb them. I was staying with friondn in tho heart of Suffolk a year or 



two ago, and found a wealth of Cowslips bo conjure with, and used the 



copper-brown foliage of the Oak in tho decoration. My hostess wan 



charmed, and she did not forget the arrangement, though she del forget 



the guoHt who denignod it, for tho next time I ntayod there nhe told me 

 how beautiful the arrangement wan, and recommended mo to try it. I was 

 of course very ploanod and not a little amused too. The dinner fable you 

 niUHt treat for the soft evening light (artificial), and I cannot lay down any 

 hard-and fast rule, but advise you to use lloworn which are Hinaller and 

 light up well. And here I would add a hint an to your surroundings, the 

 colouring of tho room, wall decoration, &c. If you nhould find yournolf in 

 a dining-room with oak panelling, you munt not uno dark lloworn, an the 

 walls will naturally abnorb too much of tho light ; again, where tho paint 

 or paper in white or very pale, you can uno lloworn of a deeper nhade and 

 colour; clear trannparont pale green glann acconnorien with yellow or orange 

 Mowern lend thouiHelvoH excellently to and are in perfect harmony with nueh 

 wall decoration. The " wild Marnh Marigoldn," which nbino like lire in 

 Bwampn and hollown grey, I would commend to you : let them open their 

 hoarded troanuron and enrich you. If you employ water plants, Much an 

 Water- lilies, or blue Korgot-mo-nots, with a mirror for centre piece, arrange 

 them so that they may be reflected, and keep them (dose to tho mirror ; 

 never place them high. (Jot them as low as possible, so an to be as near 

 to Nature an you can. My advice to you, however, in to avoid all mirror 8 

 whenever it in ponnible. No nkill in tho arrangement, can make I hem 

 anything but hard and unnatural upon a dinner fable. 



