554 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULIURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 18, 1884. 
“ This is a day on which friends and relations hope to meet; therefore 
a few hints on floral decorations suitable for the dinner-table at this 
season will nbt be out of place here. I will, therefore, give descriptions 
of two tables, one for those who have plenty of choice flowers from which 
to cut, and another for those who may not have such an abundant supply 
at their command, or who do not care to go to much expense it they have 
to ))urcha8e them. Table No. 1 we will suppose to be about 12 feet, and 
table No. 2 about 8 feet long, the width of both being in proportion to 
their length. As regards the decorations which I shall describe, it does 
not matter if the ends of the table be rounded, or if the table itself be oval, 
a form, indeed, which is more effective than a table with square ends. 
People are not, however, likely to change their tables for the sake of floral 
decorations ; therefore I shall at once turn to table No. 1. Down the 
centre I should put three March stands, with trumpets rising out of the 
top tazzas, the centre stand being the highest by some inches ; round the 
edge of the bottom dish of the centre stand I should place mixed varieties 
of Ferns, and four fronds of a golden one, reversed so as to show the gold 
side ; in the dish I should put four large Arum blooms and four bracts of 
Poinsettia, and then fill in with white Heaths, Primulas, and similar 
flowers. Close to the glass stem which supports the upper dish I should 
place three large bunches of Holly berries, and up the stem twine a spray 
of a small-leaved Ivy. Round the edge of the upper tazza I should put 
fronds of Maidenhair Fern to droop gracefully over, and through them 
mix some blooms of scarlet and white Lapageria, say two of each. I 
should next place in the dish four blooms of Eucharis amazonica, four 
sprigs of scarlet Bouv.ardias, and two of Holly berries, the latter to rise 
above the other flowers, close to the base of the trumpet; and the trumpet 
itself I should finish off with Roman Hyacinths, scarlet Begonias, one 
small sprig of Holly, and Maidenhair Fern. Through the flowers in the 
two tazzas, large fronds of Adiantum cuneatum should be arranged so as 
to wave lightly over them, and from the trumpet I should bring down four 
long sprays of Lygodium scandens to trail out on the tablecloth. 
“ The two end stands I would arrange in much the same style, using, 
say, in place of the Poinsettias, scarlet Pelargoniums, and Camellias in 
place of the Arums ; in the second tier I would substitute Azaleas for the 
Bucharises, and let the trumpets be filled with scarlet Begonias and Lily 
of the Valley. Round the edge of the lower tazza some leaves of the 
variegated Ivy can be laid out on the Ferns, here and there, with good 
effect, and plenty of Maidenhair Fern should be mixed through the 
flowers. Between the centre-piece and the ends stand two well-grown 
plants of Adiantum cuneatum, which should be dropped into ornamental 
china pots, and the surface of the soil should be covered with Lycopodium. 
Opposite each guest I should place, in a specimen glass, a buttonhole 
bouquet made of flowers that will look well at night. Floating on the 
water, in the finger-glasses, I would put three leaves of the Oak-leaved 
Geranium called Lady Plymouth, the centre of each being pierced by 
the stem of a pip of a double scarlet Pelargonium, so as to allow one 
flower to rest on each leaf. 
“ So much for the floral part ; let us now turn to the fruit. Such a 
table as has just been described will require a good many stands of fruit— 
probably ten. At the top I would put a handsome Melon, at the bottom 
a Pine, with a few sprigs of Holly berries arranged round the base of both 
the Melon and the Pine to indicate the season. Grouped round the centre¬ 
piece four glass baskets of Grapes, two light and two dark, would look 
well. There are now four more stands to be employed, and these I should 
have also of glass, of a flat oval shape, and filled with Apples, Pears, Wal¬ 
nuts, and Filberts, the Nuts and the Pears and Apples being placed 
opposite each other. Any vacant places on the table may then be filled in 
with smaller dishes containing crystallised fruits, ice, sugar, or anything 
else that may be desired. 
“ As respects table No. 2, a stand similar in shape to that described for 
table No. 1 would look well in the centre. A different one might be used, 
but a March stand is one that is to be found in almost every house where 
floral arrangement of any description receives attention. Round the edge 
of the bottom dish should be placed some fresh Fern fronds (hardy kinds), 
and on these might be rested some leaves of golden and silver varieties of 
'Ivy ; the dish should then be filled in with white Chrysanthemums, 
scarlet Pelargoniums, Laurustinus, Holly berries, Arbutus berries, white 
Lilac, and a few fronds of Maidenhair Fern, whilst up the glass stem 
might be twisted a spray of variegated Ivy. Then from the edge of the 
second tier might be drooped some long sprays of Selaginella denticulata, 
and in the tazza itself be arranged some scarlet Pelargoniums, Jonquils, 
or any other scarlet or white flowers that may be at hand, and a few 
fronds of Maidenhair. Round the mouth of the trumpet should be put 
some Selaginella, finishing off with a few light-looking scarlet and white 
flowers. Ferns, and Grasses, and two or three leaves of Pampas Grass, 
placed outwards in a graceful wavy manner. Round this centre stand 
should be arranged eight specimen glasses, four of the usual height, and 
four rather shorter ; these should be filled with flowers similar to those 
used in the centre-piece. At the top and bottom, where, in the larger 
table, the two other stands would be, two well-berried plants of Solanum 
Capsicastrum should be placed, the rough pots being dropped into more 
ornamental ones, fresh moss placed over the soil, and three pods of Iris 
foetidissima pricked into each. Sjme white and black Grapes should be 
put at the top of the tables, and Apples at the bottom. Pears, Nuts. 
Medlars, &c., or any other fruit it may seem desirable to add, can be then 
placed at the side, but its selection is left entirely to the discretion of 
•others.” 
Danish Forests. —M. Hansen-Blangsted contributes to L'Exploration 
an interesting article on the struggle between trees in the Danish forests. 
The chief ombatants are the Beech and the Birch, the former being 
ever 3 "where successful in its invasions. The paper refers especially to the 
district of Silkeborg in the heart of Jutland. Foresrs composed wholly of 
Birch are now only found in st'erile sandy tracts ; everywhere else the 
trees are mixed, and wherever the soil is favourable the Beech rapidly 
drives out the Birch. The alter loses its branches at the touch of the 
Beech, and devot.js all its strength to its upper part, where it towers 
above the Beech. It may live long in this way, but it succumbs ulti¬ 
mately in the fight—of old age if of nothing else, for the Birch in 
Denmark is shorter than that of the Beech. The writer believes that 
light is the cause of the superiority of the latter, for it has a greater 
development of its branches than the Birch, which is more open, and thus 
alio ws the rays of the sun to pass through to the soil below, while the 
tufted bushy top of the Beech retains them, and thus preserves a deep 
shade at its base. Hardly any young plants can grow under the Beech 
except its own shoots ; and while the Beech can flourish under the shade 
of the Birch, the latter dies immediately under the Beech. The Birch 
has only been saved from total extermination by the facts that it had 
possession of the Danish forests long before the Beech ever reached that 
country, and that certain districts are unfavourable to the growth of the 
latter. But wherever the soil has been enriched by the decomposition of 
the leaves of the Birch the battle begins. The Birch still flourishes on 
the borders of lakes and other marshy places, where its enemy cannot 
exist. In the same way in the forests of Zeeland the Fir forests are dis¬ 
appearing before the Beech. Left to themselves the Firs are soon 
replaced by the Beech. The struggle between the latter and the Oak is 
longer and more stubborn, for the branches and foliage of the Oak are 
thicker, and offer much resistance to the passage of light. The Oak also 
has great longevity, but sooner or later it, too, succumbs, becau=e it 
cannot develope in the shadow of the Beech. The earliest forests of 
Denmark were mainly composed of Aspens, with which the Birch was 
apparently associated; gradually the soil was raised and the climate grew 
milder ; then the Fir grew and formed large forests. This tree ruled for 
centuries, and then ceded the first place to the Holm Oak, which is now 
giving way to the Beech. Aspen, Birch, Fir, Oak, and Beech appear to 
be the steps in the struggle for the survival of the fittest amoag the 
fore-t trees of Denmark.—(NflfMre.) 
MILDEW ON ROSES. 
Mr. Bardney’s letter on mildew (page 527) opens what is to me an 
entirely new experience as to the comparative freedom of Roses from this 
complaint in heavy and light soils, and I should be glad if some who 
have had more varied experience than I in Roses under different circum¬ 
stances would favour us with their opinion. 
I have had some thirty years’ experience in Rose-growing on a very 
heavy clay, and with, possibly, the lowest rainfall in England; and I 
have constantly observed that, whether the season be wet or dry, I seem 
to have far less of this fungus than my neighbours ; nay, in purchasing 
Roses from the best growers in England to fill up gaps, I have seen in the 
few score purchased more mildew than I could find in the whole of my 
rosery. 
This year the Journal has had many complaints and letters on the 
subject, and I have seen other Rose grounds grey with fungus, while I 
could count on the fingers of one hand the varieties which have been 
attacked, except perhaps a spot here and there, and the worst have had 
half a dozen leaves affected, or, say, a dozen in the case of large bushes 
of Madame G. Luizet, nor have I thought it worth while to apply a remedy. 
Doubtless some of your readers have seen many gardens both in light 
and heavy soils this year, and we shall all, I think, be glad to know the 
result of their inspection. In wet seasons I have more mildew than in the 
last, but even then it was not so bad as with my neighbours. I am almost 
inclined to attribute the exemption of some soils and the liability of others 
to some at present unknown chemical constituent in the soil, especially 
as I have heard of one case where, without any visible reason, one half of 
a garden was covered with mildew and another free. 
Partly, no doubt, my treatment of my Roses may account in some 
measure for my good fortune in seasons like the past. I have fortunately 
a practically unlimited supply of pond water, and my garden has been 
not watered but soaked at short intervals throughout the drought; no 
light business with some 1500 Roses, but well worth the trouble. I do not 
think ordinary watering does much good, but, after all, this will not account 
for the result in wet seasons. The clay is well drained of course.— 
Duckwing. 
THE DESTRUCTION OF FORESTS. 
Attention has been previously called to the havoc which has been 
going on for so many years in the forests of every quarter of the globe ; 
but no apology can be necessary for returning to a subject which must 
speedily compel the hearing now too generally denied. The chief seat of 
the destruction is at present in the United States, w'here it has been long 
progressing at a rate which has often excited the fears even of the persons 
engaged in it. But some facts and figures just published in an American 
journal are of a kind which, combined with the manner of their state¬ 
ment, should surely have power to do more than raise an incredulous 
eyebrow. It is said that “ the lumber industry will, in all probability, in 
the course of ten years or so, be transferred from the northern lake region 
to the south.” Few persons will realise all that this matter-of-facc 
announcement implies ; but it is, in reality, a comprehensive admission 
of the truth of the charges made against the lumbermen’s practices. It 
