fi.871. J 
CUT FLOWERS FOR TABLE DECORATION. 
271 
miserina , the Goose Tansy of the older botanists and the Mossies of the north 
of Scotland. The leaves being silky on the un*der-side, elegantly cut, and inter¬ 
ruptedly pinnate, seem, by nature meant to adorn, and as the plant belongs to 
the Rosacece , the leaves fall in admirably with Roses and all the Rose tribe in 
table decoration. It is no matter which side of the leaf is seen, as the back is a 
silvery grey, and the face a light green. The foliage of this plant should be 
treated as an aquatic when in-doors, and it will then feel quite at home, and form 
a nest, or bed, or back for naked flowers, especially Roses, whose stems must of 
course be immersed in water. 
So much for the wet medium in which to keep flowers, but there is also a dry 
one for a very elegant tribe of plants which are also extremely useful for table 
decoration, viz., the Grasses. These should be raised high enough to let their 
■graceful curves and bends be seen to advantage, and should consist of mixed 
species, not, as we frequently see them, a bundle or sheaf all of one sort, and 
not only so, but caricatured and dyed red, blue, mauve, magenta, or some other 
unnatural colour—for it is just the unnatural arrangement of natural materials 
that is to be reprobated in ordinary house and table decorations. 
Some may think the arrangement of flowers an easy matter, and of little 
importance ; but if so, why are premiums offered at exhibitions for the best ? and 
what becomes of the millions of nosegays that the Hebrew maidens manufacture in 
London, in what one might call the u button-hole ” business, where a single Pelar¬ 
gonium leaf is the background, and any showy flower, however plain, in red or 
yellow, is very unnaturally mated to form the face ? I have watched the craft at 
work, and have seen twigs of Asparagus tied firmly and fast to a shabby truss of 
Tom Thumb Pelargonium flowers, to form a “ posey knot ” wild and disorderly. 
Now, the flow* of the Potentilla cmserinci has five golden petals, and is of nearly 
the same size as that of the wild Rose; indeed, it is as like a single Rose as it 
well can be ; it is, therefore, in every way a meet companion for any of the 
members of the Rose tribe. 
Those who admire Ferns have to sober down their ideas from gaudy flowers r 
for the flowerless Fern tribes expend all their energies on the fronds, and there¬ 
fore they can afford to rise high in the leafy line. The Grasses, on the other 
hand, with a few notable exceptions, have inconspicuous flowers, but their habit 
and manner of flowering are exceedingly graceful, and they have no need of water 
to preserve their beauty when kept in-doors. This is no small recommendation to 
many parties, who are so peculiarly placed that they could not keep flowers in 
water; for I must not hide the fact that the water in which decaying flowers are 
kept becomes exceedingly offensive : hence the importance of dry flowers where 
there is any risk of flowers kept in water being neglected. The three Brizcis — 
maxima, media , and minor —are, when in flower, very attractive, and may serve 
as examples of beauty in our native Grasses. When we see their hearts of chaff 
dangling in the meadow, we would gladly carry them home and admire their 
