THE HOME. 637 



Crystallizing Grass. One pound of alum, dissolved in one 

 quart of rain-water. Tie bunches of feathery grasses, wild rye, 

 oats, bearded wheat, etc., loosely, and suspend them over a tub. 

 Heat the alum-water, and pour it over them very slowly, until 

 every cluster is thoroughly saturated. Do not let them get too 

 heavy, or the stems will not support them. Leave the bunches 

 to dry over night, and every point will sparkle with crystals. 

 Should the process fail, add more alum and the next application 

 will succeed. By adding a little coloring-matter, it will give 

 pleasing variety. These grasses make ornamental winter bou- 

 quets. 



Skeletonized Leaves. To one pound of soda-ash add two 

 quarts of soft water. After it is all dissolved by boiling, add as 

 many leaves as your dish will hold. Lay them in flat, and boil 

 until the epidermis will come off easily. Try a leaf in cold 

 water, and if only the veins remain, they are done sufficiently. 

 Clean them with an old tooth-brush, and supply the missing 

 stems with fine wire. After they are well cleaned, put them 

 into a solution of chloride of lime to bleach. Ten cents' worth 

 of lime is enough for leaves and ferns too. Maple leaves, of a 

 pretty shape, are best for skeletonizing. Place young ferns, 

 when first gathered, in the solution of lime, not in the soda- 

 ash, only in the bleaching solution. Float them on stiff paper, 

 and put them in books to dry. After washing thoroughly in 

 clean water, to prevent them from turning yellow, add more 

 water to the leaves, as it boils away. Use with grasses, in 

 making ornamental winter bouquets. 



THE PARLOR. 



" Into her dainty parlor my lady gayly skips, 

 And all things grow illumined with beauty, as she flits 

 From chair to vase and flower ; she gently pats and tips 

 Each cushion in her bower, and then away she trips 

 To readjust a curtain, that the bright sun may peep 

 Into this bit of Eden, where love is strong and deep." 



A parlor or living-room should bear a decided resemblance 

 to its mistress. Endow it with a marked personality ; let her 

 choicest flowers, her favorite poem and song, be found upon the 



