January  22,  1903. 
JOLRNAL  CF  IIORTICULTFRE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
fiO 
took  place  over  our  northern  districts  during  the  fourth 
M  eek  of  January  ;  in  various  places  throughout  the  first 
half  of  February  ;  over  the  northern  half  of  Ireland  and 
the  north  of  England  on  March  24  ;  over  the  eastern 
districts  from  December  3  to  5 ;  and  at  many  northern 
stations  on  December  28  and  29.  Aurora  M’as  observed  on 
I  ebruary  7  at  Stornovay.  Other  interesting  occurrences 
M’ere  a  fall  of  coloured  rain  over  the  south-M^est  of  England 
on  January  22  and  23,  and  the  observance  of  a  brilliant 
sun-pillar  over  the  south  and  south-M'est  of  England  at 
sunset  on  March  6. 
Gales  M'ere  chiefly  prevalent  during  January,  November, 
and  December  ;  and  to  a  lesser  extent  in  March,  July,  and 
September. — H.  H.  Harding,  F.R.Met.Soc.,  Bristol, 
January  12,  1903. 
Ceanothus  x  Marie  Simon. 
The  majority  of  the  .species  of  Ceanotlii  grown  in  garcleii.s  are 
Californiau,  and  California  is  a  hot,  dry  country,  on  the  whole. 
The  sliort,  hard,  shiny  or  downy  leaves  of  these  plants  are 
characteristic  of  dry-land  floras,  and  it  may  be  useful  in  our 
cultural  practice  to  bear  this  in  mind.  The  hybrid  variety  which 
w'e  figure  beneath  (through  the  kindness  of  the  author  of  “  Trees 
and  Shrubs  for  English  Gardens,”  which  book  we  reviewed  last 
week)  bears  pink  inflorescences,  and  is  one  of  the  prettiest  shrubs 
obtainable.  Unfortunately  the  Ceanotlii  demand  protection 
during  winter  in  most  places  north  of  the  Tweed,  or  even  north 
of  the  Trent,  but  a,  little  care  is  all  they  ask.  C.  americanicus 
(white)  and  C.  aaureus  have  been  the  parents  of  a  number  of 
good  varieties  such  as  Gloire  de  Versailles,  Arnoldi,  Virginal, 
Ceres.  Carmen,  and  others,  and  we  believe  also  of  Marie  Simon. 
These  varieties  flower  on  the  young  wood,  and  should  be  pruned 
in  spring. 
Dinner  Table  Decorating. 
Ceanothus  x  Marie  Simon. 
The  essential  point  in  dinner  table  decorating  is  to  obtain 
as  light  an  appearance  as  possible.  The  error  to  avoid  is 
that  of  overm-owding,  for  our  aim  must  be  simplicity  ami 
lightness.  These  important  points,  I  fear,  are  too  often 
■  1  ?  secret  lies  in  knowing  when  to  leave 
desirable  gift,  often  I  have  seen  what 
nught  have  been  a  really  good  effective  arrangement  com- 
pleteJy  spoilt  by  overcrowding. 
I  alw'ays  in  mind  that  it  is  not  cpiantity  or  quality, 
and  lightest  arrangements  that  are  most 
effective  and  score  success.  There  can  be  no  hard-and-fast 
lule  follnwed  in  decorating,  though  there  are  a  few'  points 
o  be  borne  in  mind  ;  neyer  allow  any  arrangement  to 
entirely  obstruct  the  view  either  w'ay  across  the  table,  or  to 
intertere  with  a  free  conversation  between  those  sitting 
opposite.  “ 
Isom,  to  avoid  this,  let  us  supjiose  for  instance  we  have 
tor  a  centre  a  low,  silver  bowd  to  fill  with  Roses  or  some  such 
oweis.  It  care  is  not  taken,  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to 
utterly  obscure  the  viewy  and  debar  cross  table  conversation, 
i  advise  never  to  let  arrangements  such  as  these  stand 
higher  than  15in  from  the  cloth,  and  then  there  will  be  no 
obstruction  in  any  case.  This  we  may  term  the  “  low  table  ” 
eltect  which  has  been  greatly  in  vogue  of  late  ;  but  on  the 
other  hand,  should  it  be  desired  to  use  something  taller 
such  as  an  epergne,  aim  to  have  fhe  centre  »f  it  from 
between  15  and  20in  from  the  cloth,  oijca  an  possible.  It  is 
plants  for  the  adornment  of  the  table, 
select  those  either  that  do  not  stand  above  15in  high  or 
'  Phants,  whose  heads  rise  above  the  table,  and  with 
loliage  that  does  not  hang  lower  than  20in  from  the 
cloth.  I  have  taken  the  central  pieces  as  an  illus¬ 
tration  ;  but  the  same  care  must  be  taken  wdth 
arrangements  for  other  points  about  the  table. 
In  these  strictly  floral  arrangements,  a  point  to 
bear  in  mind  is  that  the  flowers  are  the  adornments 
and  not  the  receptacles.  Elegantly  designed  and 
brilliantly  coloured  ornamental  glasses  should  not 
be  used  for  the  dinner  table  ;  they  are  better  suited 
for  the  drawdng  room.  My  preference  is  to  use 
alwaj's  those  of  plain  workmanship,  with  as  little 
“leg”  attached  as  possible,  and  with  a  solid 
bottom,  as  they  are  not  easily  toppled  over. 
good  selection  of  vases  is  also  essential,  as  it  gives 
one  a  means  of  exhibiting  flowers  to  their  very  best 
elfect.  Care  must  be  taken  in  selecting  suitable 
vases  for  difterent  varieties  of  flow'ers.  or  in  other 
words,  fit  your  vases  to  your  flow'ers.  If  the  vases 
are  too  small  in  iiroportion  to  your  material,  the 
disposition  will  appear  poor,  and  if  too  large,  a 
heavy  effect  will  be  the  result. 
With  a  good  floral  arrangement  for  the  centre  of 
the  table,  as  before  described,  I  prefer  dispensing 
with  vases  altogether,  as  they  elevate  your  flowei’s 
too  far  above  the  cloth,  and  the  effect  is  often  lost. 
Still,  I  do  not  like  the  old  style  of  cutting  flow'ers 
to  lie  close  upon  the  cloth.  I  think  the  better  way 
is  to  use  them  with  a  stem  of  2  or  3in,  and  attach  a 
small  coil  of  lead  to  them  to  hold  them  in  an  upright 
position  ;  for  instance,  single  specimen  blooms  of 
Roses,  w'ith  a  little  of  their  own  foliage  or  a  few 
Tulips,  three  or  four  together,  forming  little  clumps, 
placed  about  at  suitable  distances  amongst  the 
tracing,  are  very  pleasing,  and  help  far  more  to  the 
lightness  of  the  arrangement  than  when  cut  and 
laid  close  upon  the  cloth,  or  used  in  glass  vases  ; 
they  have  also  a  more  natural  appearance. 
Festooning  can  be  done  with  good  effect  on  tall 
candlesticks,  or  when  similar  articles  are  used,  the 
material  being  either  fastened  from  the  centre¬ 
piece  or  around  the  table.  I  think  there  is  nothing 
better  than  Lygodium  or  Sniilax,  for  this  work,  but 
be  sure  and  use  single  growths,  and  as  light  as 
possible.  Those  from  a  weakly  plant  are  jirefer- 
able  to  those  from  the  more  vigorous  ones,  as  the 
latter  tend  to  give  it  a  heavy  appearance.  Coil 
them  down  the  candlesticks  to  the  cloth  and  there 
form  a  scroll  or  design  of  some  sort  to  finish  off 
wdth.  No  other  greenery  must  be  used  with  this, 
or  it  will  spoil  the  effect. 
