THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
279 
HINTS ON TABLE DECORATION. 
TN decorating a dinner-table it is not necessary to em- 
ploy a quantity of flowers, as the effect is more 
pleasing when they are lightly arranged, and any 
overcrowding tends to prevent this. As a general 
rule, anything is to be avoided that obstructs the view 
across the table, as for obvious reasons the diners pre- 
fer to see one another. Therefore, whatever recepta- 
cles are used for the centre, they should he either low 
enough to be easily seen over, or tall enough to allow 
a clear view beneath them. In the majority of cases 
tall receptacles are only essential when the table is a 
very long one, when perhaps three may be necessary, 
and for the intervening spaces some smaller ones will 
be needful. The arranging of these center-pieces is 
considerably simplified when the branching type of 
flower-holder is favored. They are also made in 
smaller sizes, and are very convenient for the positions 
suitable to them. When these are employed, much 
labor is saved in wiring the flowers ; in fact, the entire 
process presents none of the difliculties that the ordi- 
nary vases and bowls do, as the tubes are arranged at 
different heights to set each flower to its best advan- 
tage. 
These, however, are not favored by all. Many prefer 
the older type in silver and glass, in which case a little 
more care is necessary to place the flowers to give the 
best eft'ect. Many varieties in winter, among them 
the Perpetual-flowering Carnations, require wiring 
neatly to hold them erect, even in narrow vases ; while 
for bowls, in addition to this precaution, it is advisable 
to use the small flower tubes, packing as many as pos- 
sible tightly in their places with some fresh green moss. 
This arrangement is better than the wire generally 
made use of, as there is no danger of the effect being 
upset if they are accidentally moved. With some 
flowers it is possible to use their own foliage, but where 
this is not convenient, Asparagus and Maidenhair Fern 
should be used. Sometimes it may be advisable to lay 
a few flowers and a small quantity of foliage on the 
cloth, but in so doing the temptation to be too extrava- 
gant must be avoided. A few trails of .Smilax and a 
flower dotted here and there without having any set 
design is all that is necessary. Anything approaching 
stift'ness should be avoided. The lighter the style, the 
more charming will be the result. Generally speaking, 
a mixture of colors is not admired, as a more pleasing 
eft'ect is gained by the use of two or three, unless an 
exception be made during the autumn, when the foli- 
age is at its best. At this period of the year red is 
alwavs admired, and if white be the only other color 
used, a charming contrast results. 
Pink in its various shades is always pleasing under 
artificial light, and very often it requires no other color 
beyond the green of its foliage ; but if another shade is 
desired, mauve is the best. In the choice of flowers, 
one is not lacking during the winter season with plenty 
of Perpetual-flowering Carnations and ^\'inter-flower- 
ing Begonias, which for all indoor work are cjuite in- 
dispensable. Wherever possible, a little of their own 
foliage adds much to the effect of these two. Poin- 
settias for the brilliant scarlet are most valuable, while 
Salvias and the scarlet Plumbagos are equally so, the 
latter especiallv to associate with Roman Hyacinths, 
being particularly pleasing. Azaleas and Camellias are 
useful for laving on the cloth, and when the table is a 
large one the arching spikes of Odontoglossums and 
Calanthes are seen to good effect. Forced bulbs, espe- 
cially the earliest Tulips and Narcissi, one finds useful, 
while the charming Lily of the \'alley is quite indis- 
pensable. Well-berried sprays of Holly are appre- 
ciated, but they must be very small. A good plan to 
secure the same effect is to take the single leaves and 
stick the berries on the spines. These, when placed at 
intervals on the cloth, are generally admired. — £.r- 
chaiiac. 
I 
STRAIGHTENING CROOKED TREES 
r dues not seem well known that while trees are \oung, 
if they have crooked trunks, these can be made quite 
straight with little trouble, writes Joseph Meehan, in 
Florists' Exchange. This is done by bending the crooked 
shoot into the position desired, doing the bending while 
the shoot is young, in the Spring, just as the buds are 
about to burst. A description of the way the writer 
straightened a tree operated on last Spring will show how 
it should be done. 
The tree was a young seedling Ash, once transplanted. 
It was straight to a height of 4 ft. ; then, on account of its 
having been set close to a fence, it had endeavored to get 
away from the latter ; in consequence 5 ft. of the trunk 
had grown at an angle far from vertical. 
Being a tree brought from Gettysburg when a 4 in. 
seedling and being destined to occupy a public position 
later on, it was dug up and set in an open place in Au- 
tumn. As soon as Spring opened and the buds began to 
swell, the straightening of it was commenced. This was 
done, not by a simple pulling over of the top, but by us- 
ing both hands in the work, just as is done in straighten- 
ing a piece of wire. This operation was performed not 
once only, but several times, during the period between 
the swelling of the buds and the leafing out of the tree, 
and, ending then, the tree was quite straight, and re- 
mained so. 
There must be steady pulling at the center of the bend 
or bends, not a hard pull to snap the shoot, but a steady 
one to take out the crook without breaking the bark. No 
doubt there w'as some disturbance of the cells of the bark 
but no injury was perceived. It appeared that toward the 
close of the experiment, when the sap was flowing freely, 
which the leaves evidenced, the straightened sapling 
showed less desire to revert to crookedness than it did at 
first, though this no doubt was due in part to the several 
previous operations performed. 
Many years ago, in the Gardeners Monthly, a nursery- 
man wrote on this subject, but it was to the effect that one 
bending only was done to each tree requiring it, in a row 
in his nursery. But in the experiment referred to, as 
aforesaid, although it required more than one bending tO' 
accomplish the result, toward the last, when the tree was 
showing its leaves, the sap presvunably in full swing, there 
seemed less and less disposition to revert to the crooked 
condition, ending with the trunk remaining perfectly 
straight. 
Everyone who has grown rows of nursery trees know, 
of course, how often the outside row becomes out of 
line by drawing toward the light. There seems no reason 
why these trees should remain in this condition. Let a 
man go along the row every day, for a week perhaps, 
just as the buds are breaking and bring each tree into a 
straight line and it would seem that it would remain 
"cured." 
This method applies only to growths of a year or two, 
or at any rate to such as have not made heart-wood to pre- 
vent the bending. 
Often choice trees lose their leaders, and much difficulty 
occurs in getting a new one. It should be a great help ta 
try this hand bending into line of some curving shoots at 
the top, that it may become the central leader. 
