FLORAL DECORATIONS. 
73 
prettiest examples was formed by working a narrow back¬ 
ground with flat pieces of Arbor-vitse, on which were 
arranged the woolly capsules or seed-vessels of the com¬ 
mon Clematis, intermixed and blending tastefully with 
Acorns, Hips, Haws, Sloes, Portugal Laurel, and Ivy ber¬ 
ries, with just sufficient bright-colored flowers to lighten it 
up. I have rarely seen common plants so effectively used. 
There was also considerable ingenuity displayed in select¬ 
ing the materials for forming the letters of the various 
biblical extracts adorning the walls of the church. The 
letters of one of the most effective were formed with the 
scarlet berries of the Crataegus Pyracantha, on a white 
ground wreathed round with Ivy leaves, relieved at inter¬ 
vals with clusters of the almost black Cherry-like fruit of 
the common Laurel. In another instance the letters were 
cut out of cotton wool on a red ground ; others, again, 
were formed with rice and various kinds of grain. In 
decorating large buildings the interior arrangements of 
which are sometimes of a gloomy character, a large allow¬ 
ance should be made for the effect of light and shade, and 
the distance at which it is necessary, in many instances, to 
place the decorations above the eye. In wreathing arches, 
heavier materials may be used than would be desirable at 
a lower level. A large Dahlia flower shows but a small 
