This was thoroughly Japanese, thoroughly practical for winter 
decoration and very pretty. 
Mrs. Robert Mallory, Jr., of the Eye Garden Club won the 
third prize with Iris Tingitana in a square white dish set on a 
tan cloth. Five tall flowers rose out of one bronze holder and 
three short-stemmed ones out of another. The exhibit was very 
pretty and correctly Japanese. 
A number of entries were correct as to arrangement, but, 
alas, were contained in Italian bowls or other pseudo- Japanese 
receptacles. One extremely pretty one was a turquoise blue 
pottery bowl holding two or three sprays of Pussy - Willows ; 
another a brass bowl with sprays of Forsythia and a few Snow- 
drops set in shining pebbles. This last was highly commended. 
One very commendable thing was the installation of all of the 
many exhibits in this class. Backgrounds, bits of brocade and 
matting were used with much effect. 
One questions the value of absolute technical correctness in 
a contest of this sort. Why is it not permissable to arrange 
flowers in a Japanese manner in a Persian bowl ? It is true that 
an elaborate symbolism dictates length of stem, number of flow- 
ers, shape of branch, design of receptacle. Even a report was 
circulated in Garden Club circles that the water in the con- 
tainers must be dirty or every tradition of Japanese beauty 
would be violated. This proved to be false if not malicious but 
as an Occidental I claim the right to put flowering branches in a 
bowl if I want to. 
It is interesting to study all the intricacies of Japanese arange- 
ment and the beautiful precision which they teach is a valuable 
restraint but if next year we decide to retain this class in the 
International Flower Show may it not be judged for beauty of 
form, color and composition rather than for exact correctness of 
technique 1 ? Ancient forms and traditions are beautiful when 
adapted to modern and practical uses. Will the Japanese blame 
us if we take the lovely things they have to offer and use them 
as our more modern minds and materials dictate? 
Critical Review of Table Decorations 
There were a surprising number of entries in the Table Deco- 
ration classes. Certainly during the past few years this form of 
decoration has taken its place among the arts. 
There were some twenty dinner tables shown from Monday to 
Thursday and for the rest of the week even a larger number of 
summer luncheon tables took their places. The lunch tables 
were, on the whole much prettier and better done than the dinner 
tables. The tables are described elsewhere and the purpose of this 
disagreeable article is a discussion of mistakes. 
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