The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-05
THE FLOWER LOVERS
 THE MlKADo LAND.


 IN THE MIkADo LAND.
 Flower lovers are legion; that is. the | so-eailed flower lovers, not the really truly kind. With most of these the love of flowers is merely the sensuous en- joyment of fragrance. the barbaric love of bright color. With others, it is a gem eral admiration for beauty or a fondness for growing things. The majority of flower lovers are like doting parents who find their children perfection, but never take the trouble to study them, to dis cover their Individuality, to surround them with the environment best suited to them, says a writer in the Brooklyn Eagle.
 Not so the dwellers in the land of the Mikado. From the poorest to the richest all take deep interest in the study of | flowers; not as we understand 1t the pull ing of them to bits to name their separ- ate parts, but the weaving of them into | exquisite works of art. Evanescent as are these art works. they are none the less beautiful A branch of cherry blossoms, q vase which seems made for the sole purpose of holding 1t worthily. perhaps lockwood stand. background of plain wall, scroll of harmonious coloring hung near, and there is the Japanese ar- lists picture, a joy to the eye, a refresh ment to the soul We of the Occident, are just coming to a full realization of our own crudeness and the genius of Japan as regards the decorative poss- bilities of flowers.
 All the more welcome and timely. there- fore, Is the appearance of a volume a pioneer in It's way, bearing on the subject and entitled, "The Flower Beautiful" In 1t the author, Clarence Moores Weed, has embodies the results of many years of study of American flowers for decorative purposes, conscientiously applying to his subject the principles of art. Harmony of form and color are dilated upon the rela- tion of flowers to each other, to their receptacle and the relation of the whole composition to Its environment
 From the Japanese, we are told, we may learn the lessons of respect for flowers, of the beauty of line the laws of color, harmony asymmetry and simplicity; but. on the other hand, their systems of
 
 with customs and traditions as to make them. in their entirety, impracticable else where The author says pertinently, with a very little intelligent effort, the use of flowers might mean much more than 1t has In the past in many homes and school rooms" The first advice is to simplify to limit the arrangement to flowers of one sort then to carefully consider the beauty of leaf and stem as well as of flower; a lesson we may well learn of the Japa- nese.
 Vases are an all-important factor in the arrangement of flowers, and here again we hark back to Japan which has for ages produced the most artistic flower receptaeles In the world Owners of costly cut glass vases may be somewhat cha grined to hear that these, with their sur face cut into innumerable projections, are not desirable from an artistic stand point as flower receptacles. The same is true of cloisonne and other elaborately decorated vases A plain glass vase or bowl Is pronounced excellent for some flowers and the homely ginger jar Is pre- ferred to a much decorated porcelain. Here are some points to be observed in selecting the flower vase: Have 1t simple, tasteful, graceful, without set ornamenta- ton, unless 1t be the simplest of conven- tional designs; let 1t be appropriate to the flower displayed In 1t.
 A light and graceful plant should be placed in an airy delicate vase and stur- dy one in more substantial jar. Some idea of this may be gained from the cuts The jar holding gladiolus is heavy in proportion to the stems and masses of flowers with whose lines 1t conforms. It is Japanese jar of gray brown color. The little vase below green in hue. is of bizarre outline, in keeping with the odd shaped yellow lady's slipper 1t holds. The asters show a broader composition, the heavy brown jardnier harmonizing with the plant An artistic effect is produced by arranging the red and white Mikado poppies in a gray Japanese jar. The mar igolds show the admirable results obtain able by the use of the Japanese bamboo wall holder