PRESERVING FLOWERS 547 



with dilute nitric acid (one part to ten or twelve parts of water), and 

 then submitting them to moderate pressure for a few seconds ; but the 

 solution must not touch the green leaves, as they are decolorized by it. 

 5. With sulfur (Quin). — Procure a chest about three or four feet 

 square with a small opening in the under part of one side, to be 

 closed by a bar, through which the basin containing brimstone must 

 be put into the chest ; this opening must be covered inside with per- 

 forated tin, in order to prevent those flowers which hang immediately 

 over the basin from being spoiled. Paper the inside to render it air- 

 tight. When the chest is ready for use, nail small laths on two opposite 

 sides of the interior, at a distance of about six inches apart, and on 

 these lay thin round sticks upon which to arrange the flowers ; these 

 should not be close together, or the vapor will not circulate freely 

 through the vacant spaces around the flowers. When the chest is suffi- 

 ciently full of flowers, close it carefully, place a damp cloth on the sides 

 of the lid, and some heavy stones upon the top of it ; then take small 

 pieces of brimstone, put them in a small, flat basin, kindle, and put 

 through the opening in the bottom of the chest and shut the bar. 

 Leave the chest undisturbed for twenty-four hours, after which time 

 it must be opened, and if the flowers be sufficiently smoked, they will 

 appear white, if not, they must be smoked again. When sufficiently 

 smoked, take the flowers out carefully and hang them up in a dry, airy 

 place in the shade, and in a few days or even hours they will recover 

 their natural color, except being only a shade paler. 



To give them a very bright and shining color, plunge them into a 

 mixture of ten parts of cold water and one of good nitric acid ; drain off 

 the liquid, and hang them up again the same as before. The best 

 flowers for this process are asters, roses, fuchsias (single ones), spireas 

 (red-flowered kinds, such as Japonica, Douglasi, etc.), ranunculus, del- 

 phiniums, cytisus, etc. The roses should be quite open, but not too 

 fully blown. 



6. In sand (Quin). — Dry the plants in clean silver sand, free from 

 organic matter (made so by repeated washing, until the sand ceases 

 to discolor the water). Heat the sand rather hot, and mix with it by 

 constant stirring a small piece of wax candle, which prevents the 

 sand from adhering to the flowers. Have a box not higher than three 

 inches, but as broad as possible ; this box should have instead of a 

 bottom a narrow-meshed iron-wire net at a distance of three-fourths 



