14 Rtistic Adornments. 
but those sharply and cleanly cut can. Flowers gathered by means of the 
thumb nail will not live so long as those cut with a sharp knife or scissors; 
and so to begin with, there is a science of obtaining as well as of grouping 
them. As it is not well to make a toil of pleasure, cold water, hard or soft, 
may be used for flowers of all kinds during the summer. If changed every 
three days, and the ends of all the stems are cut clean off at the same time, 
the flowers will last a reasonable length of time and do their duty perfectly. 
So far we consent to the rough and ready method that the world allows. But 
those who love flowers will not be content with rough and ready methods 
always. A few nodules of charcoal in the water will in great part prevent 
putrescence when flowers have to be left some time in water without a change. 
A pinch of common salt is a cheap and handy preservative, and actually 
benefits the flowers as a stimulant. A small quantity of permanganate of 
potash added to the water will keep it quite sweet for days, and camphor is 
a similarly valuable preservative. In winter it is best never to employ cold, 
but tepid water, for filling vases, and to place them in a room warmed by a 
fire, but always avoiding the exposure of the flowers to a high temperature if 
possible. A hot dry air will kill them sooner than cold and moisture, but 
both extremes are bad. Flowers that have been long gathered and neglected, 
or that have been conveyed a long distance by carrier, or post, may be 
quickly revived by plunging them in hot water , say ioo° to 140°, the last 
figure to be the maximum by Fahrenheit’s scale. Almost any plant will bear 
immersion in water heated to 150°, but it is safer to regard 140° as the 
maximum, because forced flowers are delicate, and a few very soft-textured 
hardy kinds are not to be parboiled with impunity. Another essential point 
must not be overlooked, and that is adopting some means of preventing the 
petals of single-flowered azaleas and zonal pelargoniums falling off prema¬ 
turely. The usual, and perhaps the best, plan is to drop some specially 
prepared floral gum into the centre of each bloom directly the flowers are 
gathered. A very small quantity of the gum (which is sold in a liquid state 
in bottles by florists) will suffice to firmly cement the petals, and hence the 
blooms will retain their freshness for a much longer period than if not 
gummed. Scarcely less important than the foregoing considerations is the 
one to be named last in the list. We have shown that flowers should not be 
exposed to cold unduly; it now remains to be said they must not be strangled. 
When tightly-tied bouquets are purchased, the ties should be loosened, if 
possible, but that may necessitate making them up again, and the task may 
V 
