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18 ANXUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



woody fibre, and is accomplished very easily and cheaply by macer- 

 ating them in water. For convenience of illustration, let us select 

 the seed-vessels or burs of stramonium or Jamestown weed, which are 

 in the right condition when partially open, but not at all, or very 

 slightly, when dried or faded in color. Place these in a basin or 

 bucket, and pour on them sufficient hot water to cover them com- 

 pletely, and set them aside. (Cold water will answer the purpose, 

 but not so quickly.) After about three weeks, during which time a 

 little fresh water may be occasionally added, these will be softened, 

 and ready for the removal of the cellular portions. This is accom- 

 plished by scrubbing with an old tooth-brush or shaving brush, allow- 

 ing a stream of water to run over them during the process ; the seeds 

 are to be taken out, and the water allowed to run through the bur, 

 but without removing the internal structure in which the seeds are 

 deposited. In this way a perfect skeleton may be produced, showing 

 all the woody portions, including the external prickles, and when 

 bleached having the appearance of delicately carved ivory. 



A variety of seed-vessels may be prepared in this way, of which the 

 dried poppy-head is one of the prettiest. The internal membraneous 

 portion containing the seeds requires to be removed, after the requi- 

 site maceration in water, by a small opening in the side. An offen- 

 sive odor, arising from the decomposition of the cellular structure and 

 its contents, is one of the discomforts of this process, but it is amply 

 repaid by the beautiful resulting skeletons. In English " bouquets " 

 of these preparations, there are some seed-vessels not often met with 

 in this country, of which the henbane (hyosciamus) is beautiful. 



The preparation of leaves affords a greater variety of forms than 

 of any other portion of the plant. Only the leaves of trees and 

 shrubs, as far as I know, will furnish a skeleton ; those of annual and 

 herbaceous plants seem to lose their structure entirely by maceration. 

 Some of the more transparent and delicate leaves and ferns may be 

 bleached by being put into the bleaching solution without previous 

 maceration, but must always be previously faded. Among the best 

 leaves for skeletonizing are those of the ivy, the linden, the elm, the 

 poplar, the holly, the pear tree, the chestnut, the sassafras, the mag- 

 nolia, the althea, and no doubt hundreds that have never been tried ; 

 the oak would furnish a beautiful skeleton, but requires from eight 

 to twelve months' maceration, while most of the others named are suf- 

 ficiently decayed in from one to three months. The leaves should be 

 free from insect bites or other imperfections ; in cleaning them, it is 

 best to lay them upon a smooth board, turning them over, from time 

 to time, and very carefully removing the decayed parts with a soft 

 brush. It has been observed that ivy leaves are best prepared, after 

 maceration, by tearing off the two outer layers of skin, leaving little 

 else but the skeleton, which is then easily cleaned by careful hand- 

 ling under water. After obtaining the skeletons, the next step is to 

 bleach them ; this is done by placing them, for a term varying from an 

 hour to a whole day, in a solution of chloride of lime, made by dissolv- 

 ing about two ounces in a pint of water. Poppy-heads or Jamestown 

 burs will bear double that strength ; some delicate leaves, hydrangea 

 flowers, etc., will bleach advantageously with a still weaker solution. 

 The preparation is to be removed from the bleaching liquid as soon 



