[Illustration: FOR A FERN LUNCHEON.]
The house should be filled with ferns, in the fireplaces, in the window
seats, in the parlours, and in the halls. In the dining-room the table
may be laid either or without a cloth, and a large shallow pan or tray
put in the centre; if a tray is used, it should have a layer of
absorbent cotton on it. The edge of this dish must be concealed by tiny
growing ferns; in the dish should be large pieces of ice, piled in an
irregular mound, and very small ferns put in the crevices. The ice will
give out enough coolness to perceptibly affect the atmosphere of the
room, and the combination of the ice and ferns is a pretty one. A few
days before the luncheon some ferns may be pressed, and these may be
laid on the table if it is so large as to admit of more decoration; the
cards may also have a little fern pasted on each.