24 
/ 
SEED-TIME km HARVEST. 
Sprays for Bouquets. 
BY J. M. STAHL. 
Flowers should be cut in the early morn¬ 
ing when the dew is on. No other moist¬ 
ure so thoroughly impregnates a plant as 
dew. We know that oats or wheat bound 
when wet with rain will dry out much 
more rapidly than if wet with dew. If flow¬ 
ers are moist with dew when cut they will 
continue fresh much longer than if wet 
with rain; a priori, if not damp at all, 
as in the middle of the day. 
Hot water will generally revive flowers 
that have wilted from having been cut some 
time. Place the lower part of the stems in 
nearly boiling hot water until the petals 
become smoothed out, then cut off the parts 
that have been in the hot w'ater, put the 
flow^ers in lukewarm water and keep in a 
cool room. 
Flowers, either cut or remaining on the 
stem, may be kept fresh much longer by 
keeping the air of the room moist and fresh. 
In summer the air is apt to be dry and hot, 
and in winter, when the doors and windows 
are all closed, the air of the room is kept 
hot and dry. Keeping the air moist is bet¬ 
ter not only for the flowers but for the 
human dwellers in the room. Keeping a 
pan of water in the room will suffice in hot 
weather; in winter it must be kept on the 
stove. 
In nothing else does good taste make a 
better showing than in the arrangement of 
bouquets. An eye naturally acute or else 
artificially trained to critically notice col¬ 
ors is essential. For the arrangement of 
flowers in bouquets no all-sufficient rules 
can be given. There must be either a nat¬ 
ural talent for blending colors artistically, 
or else an ability to do so gained by intelli¬ 
gent practice. Yet some hints are valuable 
to those who must learn. 
Never put blue and purple together; 
never put crimson and scarlet, or bright 
pink and scarlet, in juxtaposition. The 
result is always bad and destructive of 
pleasing effect. Arrange the flowers in 
shadings of the same color, or in contrasts. 
Nature does everything well and no taste 
is better than hers. She is a good guide to 
follow. She is always artistic and her bou¬ 
quets are always beautiful. With every 
flower she puts green leaves for a back¬ 
ground. Hence: Green leaves are always 
desirable in a bouquet. They brighten the 
colors of the flowers and at the same time 
relieve the eye. Also: The foliage belong¬ 
ing to each plant is, usually, the best adapt¬ 
ed to its peculiar beauty. A bouquet of 
Camellias alone would be chilly, cold, de¬ 
void of beauty or effect; but combine the 
blossoms with the rich, glossy foliage and 
the effect is charming. Every one ex¬ 
claims: “How beautiful.” 
In every bouquet or dish of flowers it is 
safe to have a plentiful mixture of white 
and neutral tints. After green, the safest 
color is white. But white is for the fore¬ 
ground, green for the back-ground. Neu¬ 
tral tints brighten bright, showy colors and 
save the bouquet, also, from “loudness.” 
Do not crowd the flowers. This is a com¬ 
mon fault — the effort apparently being to 
see how many flowers can be consumed. 
Crowding makes the bouquet or basket 
stiff and formal — it gives no impression of 
profuseness and prodigality. This is better 
accomplished by a loose arrangement; and 
such an arrangement secures lightness and 
gracefulness. 
AND NOT 
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