COMPANION TO THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 
5 
THE DINNER TABLE AND THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
We remember, of old time, what deadly feuds there used to be between 
the gardeners and cooks in great establishments, the one never being able 
to meet the exigeant demands of the other, while the chef took his 
revenge by spoiling a dish, the fault of which was, of course, laid to the 
limited supply to be had from the garden. We hope, amongst other 
changes for the better, that a more amicable relationship has been esta¬ 
blished ; for the goodwill of the gardener is now, by the usages of modern 
society, not only required for the supply of fruit and vegetables, but— 
and that somewhat largely—for flowers also. We have, in our present 
number, alluded to the subject of plants suitable for table decoration; 
and we now take the opportunity of noticing it more at length, as treated 
in the recent publication of Mr. T. C. March.^ 
We have been greatly interested in reading this little volume; it is 
full of thorough good taste from beginning to end, and completely ex¬ 
hausts the subject on which it treats. Mr. March does not aim at being 
“ suggestive •” he takes his reader by the hand, gives him his own opinion 
on matters of taste, shows why he prefers his own style of table decoration 
to any other, and then begins at the beginning, and enters into every 
detail, from the construction of the stands to the places where the various 
flowers required for filling them are to be obtained. 
On the subject of taste he has the following amusing remarks :—■ 
“ When people marry, they always mean to have the most charming house 
in the world; the carpet manufacturer rolls out before them in full mag¬ 
nificence a superb carpet, with the most brilliant of flowers, which is so 
handsome in itself that it defies resistance ; the paper-hanger, in the 
meantime, having hurried them through several volumes of patterns, till 
they are nearly blind, and can only see the brightest, fixes them at last 
with a beautiful paper all colours and gold: the effect of these irresistible 
patterns is that the frames and pictures, the Dresden china, cabinets, and 
encoigneurs are completely absorbed, and for the year the carpet keeps 
staring up at them, and the walls keep staring down at them, till they are 
glad to welcome the sober influence of London dirt, which, like time, 
equalizes all things. I have seen paper and carpet which would neutralize 
the whole contents of Wardour Street or the South Kensington Mu¬ 
seum and so, he argues, glass, so simple and yet so bright, is the least 
valuable for setting off flowers. 
Fie protests strongly, too, against the idea of throwing in a quantity of 
flowers, without any design, or of mixing flowers which have no affinity. 
“ Let us take an example, in which Water Lilies form the principal feature. 
It would be a barbarism here to intermix Fuchsias, Geraniums, or Roses, 
which have no kind of similitude to Water Lilies in habit or place of 
growth; but where this exquisite flower rises to the surface in some slow 
* ‘Flower and Fruit Decoration.’ By T. C. March. Harrison, Pall Mall. 
