Jan. 31st, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
341 
lose ourselves in imagination were we to attempt to 
picture to ourselves what the height of floral art would 
be like in twenty years hence. 
A man need not be very old to remember the time 
when a dinner-table of even goodly dimensions was 
considered to be amply decorated if it had half-a-dozen 
or a dozen plants in ice-coolers dotted about here and 
there, the orthodox fashion being one in the centre, 
four at the corners, and one or two down the sides. 
There are still a few old country establishments even 
now where this system is carried out, but if the facts 
way of variation, be thought advisable to have a 
mixed affair, or, in other words, a piece of decorating 
in which nothing special shall take a leading part, 
but in which fruit, in addition to plants and flowers, 
would be employed, the first-named being used in 
company with fern fronds and flowers to embellish 
the base of epergnes and also amongst plants arranged 
in groups. I am not aware, however, that this mixed 
system finds much favour, and although as a subor¬ 
dinate acting under orders, the writer in days gone 
by has occasionally been obliged to adopt the plan 
never be lost sight of. These we will briefly notice, 
as follows:—Avoid overcrowding and everything 
pertaining to stiffness and severe formality. Un¬ 
practised hands frequently commit this mistake, the 
natural accompaniment being an unnecessary waste 
of material and loss of time and labour. It is also 
important to guard against the other extreme; it is 
equally censurable, as nothing looks much worse than 
to see work which has a mean and niggerdly appear¬ 
ance. From the foregoing it is obvious that very 
great care and sound judgment are required, necessi¬ 
tating, as it were, a rigid adherence to the “happy 
medium ” principle. Every piece of table decorating, 
if it is to be on anything like an elaborate scale, 
should be well studied and thought out beforehand, so 
that the operator may be enabled to arrive at fixed 
and definite conclusions regarding that which he 
contemplates doing, and be able to see in his mind’s- 
eye the full effects and completion of his work before 
it has been begun. This last point is a highly 
important one, and, speaking from past experience, I 
can unhesitatingly say that those who may chose to 
adopt some such rule in then- practice will find it very 
advantageous in the way of avoiding much pulling to 
pieces and putting together again, which results in 
such extravagance and waste of material—a circum¬ 
stance by no means rare with work done in a 
haphazard or chance fashion. 
Passing now to the decorating of rooms, front halls, 
and staircases, the most important point here, next to 
having a command of the wherewithal to do the work, 
is the necessity of frequent change, for the double 
purpose of keeping plants in good health and the 
avoidance of a monotonus appearance. It seems 
hardly necessary to say that all plants of a choice 
and tender nature should be placed in heated rooms 
only, and should be changed at least once a week, 
reserving those of a more hardy character for front 
halls and other such places, where, owing to the 
opening of outer doors and windows, cold currents of 
air are frequently and unavoidably admitted. Many 
of the choicer kinds of conifers and evergreen shrubs 
are eminently fitted for this kind of work, and it 
seems somewhat strange that they have not hitherto 
met with a more extended use. They can afford to 
wait perhaps, but they have undoubtedly a future before 
them for indoor decorating during the winter months. 
Wherever they are employed it should be rather 
judiciously at first, always giving a preference to 
those possessing graceful habit of growth and 
variegated or coloured foliage. 
All groups of plants arranged for effect should as 
far as possible have their pots hidden from view, and 
this is easily done when they occupy corner positions 
by mossing over the front row and a little “ filling 
in’’ between; with larger ones, occupying central or 
open spaces, the case is somewhat different, parti¬ 
cularly if there are many tall plants from G ft. to 
8 ft. high, and in large pots, the latter preclude the 
possibility of being hidden from view with moss, 
but in such cases the work must be done in a great 
measure by tieing down here and there a leaf or two 
into different positions, using no more stakes than are 
really necessary. With regard to cut flowers, leaves, 
and other material put up in glass or china ornaments 
for the decorating of libraries, drawing-rooms, Ac., no 
rules of a specific character can be laid down, except 
the one, that a complete change of water and of 
flowers should be made at least once a week, and a 
little renovating be done once or twice between.— 
Ex-Decorator. 
ALOCASIA SANDERIANA. TH E FIRST FUCHSIA. 
The admirable portrait and biographical notice of 
merely to gratify a crotchet of the powers that be, Mr. John Lee, which appeared in your issue for 
he would not commend the practice to others, unless January 17th, has recalled to my min an account o 
under very exceptional circumstances. the introduction of the fiist Fuchsia, F. eoecinea. 
It is not my intention to enter here into lengthy written some forty years ago by Mi. Sheppar , oi 
details concerning table decorating, or to state in Dublin, and which I have copied and sene erewit , 
what way a table might be embellished, for the simple in the hope that it may interest those of your readers 
reason that there are no two places exactly alike ; who have not rea l the statement befoie . 
and such being the case, it follows that that which one “Some sixty years ago, the late Mr. Lee, of 
may have seen carried out in one instance would Hammersmith, was showing some of his fine plants to 
almost of necessity be debarred from having its exact a gentleman, when the latter remar'e , e , i. 
counterpart reproduced in another. It may at all Lee, you have not a prettier flower m a joureo ec- 
events be said that there are two or three fundamental tion than one that I saw in a window m the east end of 
rules connected with this portion of our subject, London a few days ago.’ Mr. Lee inquire , Piav, 
and which, if the best results are desired, should what is it like ? ’ The gentleman said the plant was 
were known it would doubtless be found to be due 
more to force of circumstances than to choice. The 
more general rule is to see very elaborate decorations 
wherein there is some predominant feature for the 
time being, for instance, one night, it may be that a 
design of geometrical pattern in cut flowers and leaves 
is carried out, and in which one or two special colours 
play a leading part; a second night it may be groups 
of choice plants, consisting of Orchids, Palms, Ferns, 
or other foliaged plants, arranged and put up in a 
pyramidal form; a thud night it may be we should 
have cut flowers, leaves, and grasses tastefully 
arranged in epergnes and other glass or china 
ornaments; whilst yet in another case it may, by 
