Jane 28, 1S88 J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
525 
A re not many flowers cut too late, not in the morning alone^ 
though that is a point not to be lost sight of, but at too late a 
period of their own short career ? Since flowers are now so much 
in demand for the adornment of homes, not only of the aflluent, 
but also, and happily, of the more or less humble, in whose gardens 
they may not be over-plentiful, it is of importance that they he 
Isept fresh and bright as long as possible after they are arranged in 
•dwellings. There are no rooms so richly furnished that are not 
made more attractive and home-like with flowers tastefully dis¬ 
posed, and none so lowly as to suggest that flowers in them are out 
■of place ; elaborate paintings might be, and certain works of art 
3ind vestments, but not flowers. Like rays of sunshine they clash 
with nothing ; and neither the rich begrudge the poor, nor the poor 
begrudge the rich their possession. They cheer and gladden 
wherever they are, and the wish is natural with the great majority 
•of persons to preserve the charms of flowers in dwellings as long 
■as they can. 
When that is the predominant object it is well to remember 
■that each flower under the most favourable conditions has only a 
oertain time to live, and that time i§ short. When allowel to 
develope fully, or nearly so, in the garden, half of its period of 
beauty is spent, and its term of freshness when cut is in that 
•degree limited ; or, in other words, the longer its garden life is, of 
necessity the shorter its room life must he. ■ To have flowers fresh 
then, over the longest possible period after they are gathered, it is 
•essential that they be cut when young—in the period of childhood, 
•so to say, with nearly their whole life before them, for if left to 
attain maturity on the plants, their most sparkling, sprightly, 
yuvenile career is over, and nothing remains but steady decline, a 
term of fading to the end. If pleasure is dosii-able, and undoubt- 
■edly it is, in watching flowers fade, because in instances innumerable 
they are only received when at their best, or past it, how much 
greater should the enjoyment be in observing them grow into 
beauty—seeing their petals unfold and their colours come without 
wisible movement, yet not the less certainly, like light at the dawn 
of day ? All flowers are, however, not so slow in develoi)ing ; the 
Evening Primrose, for instance, which may be seen to open rapidly 
when the right moment comes. It passes from the bud stage to 
the full blossom, 2 or 3 inches in diameter, in about as many 
minutes. The interesting process of expansion can be heard, as 
well as seen, when the divided calyx flies back with a click. It is 
interesting to watch the birth of flowers, and if we would have 
them spend their whole life with us in our homes we must cut them 
on the eve of expansion. 
Some kinds of flowers when cut in the advanced bud stage open 
as well in water as they do on plants, and last as long if not longer. 
They may not become quite so large as when supported with 
nutriment from the roots, but that is not a matter of the first 
importance. If form, colour, and freshness are combined, flowers 
answer all the purpose for which they are required in vases, and 
the prolonged term of beauty is ample compensation for a trifling 
deficiency in size. Everybody knows, or ought to know, that if spikes 
of the Gladiolus are cut and placed in water when the lower buds 
show colour all those above them will expand nearly or quite as 
certainly as if on the plants, only, as intimated, the flowers may be 
smaller. That circumstance is of great importance in packing, for 
not only can far more spikes be arranged in the bud than in the 
No. 418.— VoL. XVI., Thibd Seeies. 
flowering state in a box, but in the former case there is no crushing 
of the petals in transit. It is the same with many other flowers, 
notably those ■with soft fleshy stems, but those with hard thin 
stalks are not amenable to the same treatment, while some again 
are naturally fugacious. The flowers of most kinds of bulbs cut 
young, when the first buds are expanding, last long in water, but 
Hyacinths and Narcissi are more durable, so to say, than Ixias and 
Freesias with their wire-like stems. Late Tulips are splendid 
flowers for large vases, whether in self colours or broken into 
flames and flakes ; but if we wait until the blooms fully expand it 
is not easy to pack them without injury, while if they arrive at 
their destination uncrushed their beauty is of short duration, for 
the first and best half of their life has been spent in the garden ; 
but cut them immediately the buds split and the first streak of 
colour is seen, packing is obviously easy, and if they are kept 
close in transit, so that moisture cannot escape from them, they 
expand in water with certainty and freedom, and continue attractive 
for a fortnight or three weeks. This year some buds were cut and 
placed in water in a lo mi and the blooms expanded, keeping fresh 
even longer than those did that were left on the plants in the 
garden. 
. German Irises are magnificent flowers for vases, and are repre¬ 
sented in a richness and diversity of colour scarcely excelled by any 
other flowers, while the gold and silver pencillings on lustrous 
purple and bronze red grounds are chastely conspicuous. But the 
flowers are large, and if we wait till all, or nearly all, expand on a 
stem before cutting, not only two or three dozen require a large 
box to hold them, and when removed from it after a day or night’s 
journey, or both, they are not quite the same as when cut from the 
plants, and can never be made so ; they may be freshened and have 
a gay appearance for a few hours, but their beauty at the longest is 
of short duration. Very different is the result when the spikes are 
cut when the first flowers are showing colour. In this form pack¬ 
ing is of the easiest, the greatest number can be arranged in a given 
space, and placed in water without delay when unpacked, the buds 
then quite close d, open in succession, and no one will then say that 
“ Irises pack badly and are soon over.” Some vases filled with 
them a fortnight ago are attractive, yet simply because the spikes 
were cut young and the stalks not dried in transit from the garden 
to the receptacles they now adorn. Single blooms of Liliums, such 
as L. auratum or others, are very handsome in shallow dishes, which 
in various forms are so largely used as to have become “ quite 
fashionable, you know.” But how are the expanded blooms to be 
packed so as to arrive in the best condition after a long journey ? 
It is a thankless task sending fully developed Lily blooms a long 
distance by road or rail, for the risk of injury is great, and at the 
best their beauty transient ; but cut the buds when they open 
slightly at the tips, and they may be packed like cigars, each in a 
Lettuce or Spinach leaf, or embedded in fresh, but not wet, lawn 
mowings, and if the box is made practically air-tight it may be 
sent by post in the certainty that the flowers will expand when 
placed in water after twenty-four or even forty-eight hours’ in¬ 
carceration. 
Roses sent from country gardens to city drawing rooms should 
always be cut young—just as the petals are unfolding; and when 
they travel in the daytime, as is most likely the case, they should 
be cut early while the dew is still on them, but not dripping wet, 
and if arranged so that they cannot be displaced in a close box 
in which the moisture is retained they will bo as fresh when taken 
out several hours afterwards as when severed from the plants, and 
far fresher than thousands are before being sent off through having 
been cut too late in the day and too much expanded. Sent in the 
advanced bud stage and damp with dew they require no packing 
to keep them fresh, but something may be needed to keep them 
firm, and soft green leaves cannot be surpassed for this purpose. 
Paper, if not damp, should be kept from them, and dry cotton 
wool is an abomination. When buds- open in the daytime, and 
No. 2074.—VoL. LXXVIII., Old Seeies. 
