W/yDOW GARDRxrxn 
200 
Small bouqiiets for the hand soon fade if no effort is riL.t.e to give them mois- 
ture ; but a wrapping of a bit of wet cotton batting or a few wet threads of can- 
dle wicking, fastened lightly about the ends of the stems, will suffice to keep 
them in good condition several hours hi a close, hot atmosphere. Those who do 
not hke the formalit}- of a bouquet holder, which this plan necessitates, can take 
a small vial — such as are used to hold medicine of homoeopachists — partly till it 
with water, and place the tlowcr stems therein ; and then cover the vial by tyiu" 
a ribbon around it, just as they would the bare stems of a nosoguy. FIowois 
used in decorating the hair and the 
fresh 
dress can be kept bright and 
in the Siime way. 
If flowers are to be transported 
any distance after they are cut, they 
should be placed carefully in a tiglit 
box or case. If the box is not per- 
fectly air tight, furnish it with a layer 
of damp moss or cotton batting. 
When going for wild flowers, carry 
a tightly closing tin box, in which 
is a piece of wet, coarse sponge, and 
a basket. The smaller flowers arc 
to be shut in the box The sponge 
is laid in the bottom of the basket, 
and the stems of the larger flowers 
inserted in its pores. By so doing, 
even the most delicate can be brought 
home without withering. 
Handsome wall decorations may 
be made by cutting long branches of 
ivy, clematis, woodbine, honeysuckle, 
or climbing roses, inscrtmg a few 
inches of their stem in a bottle of 
rain water, and hanging the bottle 
behind a picture or a mirror, over 
and about which the flowers will Fig. ft". n,Toraiiv,. H.ni ca-,- i... tii.- house. 
bloom and the foliage flourish for many weeks, to the admiration of all be- 
holders. 
The beauty of so many flowers — hot house flowers especially — is tarnished by 
sprinkling. \Vhen they are drooping, it is best to try first a change to a cooler 
or a more airy department, and a double portion of ammonia added to their 
water ; this frequently revives them very quickly 
