Flowers with woody stems, such as lilac, do rot always obs sth enough water to keep the flowers mive. They last much longer if you bruise the ends of the stems with a hammer.
This breaks up the woody fibres and allows the moisture 1o get to the stems.
Then there are those flowers which begin to droop almost as soon as you put them in water. Lupins and delphiniums are specially bad in this respect. But try putting a teaspoonful of salt in the water; it does wonders in preventing the lower petals fom falling. A tip for keeping those fragile Iceland poppies alive is io singe the ends of the stems as on as they are picked.
Some people change the water in ihe vases every day, but I have found it better to leave flowers in the same water for a few days and to cut just a fraction off the ends of ihe stems each day. A few drops of Milton or an aspirin tablet in the water help to revive drooping flowers.
I keep a special shelf in à cup-leard for a collection of bowls and vases for summer flowers. There are all sizes and shapes, and some are not actually bought for the purpose. Ginger jars and odd soup or sauce furans make good containers for large mixed bunches.
Flowers usually like glass, because it lets the light through to the stems, but pottery and china also make excellent and decorative con-
How the Term Began in Russia As the expression "Fifth Column" is so often wrongly associated, it may be of interest to consider the origin n became "news" during the Spanish War, Gen, Franco was said to have mentioned that he was marching towards Madrid in four columns, and that a fifth column. was working for him inside Madrid. He was fighting among others, the Russians, and the real genesis of "Fifth Column" is to be found in Russia, During the regime of the Tsars a Russian general was asked about the formations of the army, He replied: "The Russian army consists of four columns—infantry, cavalry, artillery and sappers and then there exists a fifth column, made up by the secret police,"
The "Fifth column" is made up, thus, only of natives of that country in Which it exists, In Russia, Russians, and in Spain, Spaniards, were members of it, tainers.
Make sure that the bases of the jars are glazed either inside or out, otherwise you may find water gradually soaking through and spoiling polished table tops.
This brings me to the subject of where to put sumner flowers to show them off to the best advantage. If u have a garden you can make up e really large arrangements of ed flowers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.