VARIOUS CENTRE PIECES. 367 



fishes of various kinds swim freely about over the 

 entire vessel free from all annoyance. 



The question will doubtless be asked, ' How can I 

 procure the centre piece here spoken of ? ' I answer, 

 Make it yourself; a little skill combined with 

 patience and gutta percha being all that is required. 

 The following directions will serve to aid the young 

 reader who may wish to test his manipulative 

 powers. 



Procure a thin piece of gutta percha, and lay it in 

 hot water for a few minutes until it is thoroughly 

 soft and pliable. Then get a globe an orange will 

 do if nothing better offers and cover it with the 

 above material. Having done this, throw it into 

 cold water, and when hard, cut the fruit in two, so 

 as to leave the gutta percha cast to the shape of each 

 half. 



Next make a circular tray about eight or nine 

 inches in diameter, and turn up its edge about half 

 an inch all round. Then heat the brim of each cup, 

 and fasten them to the centre of the upper and 

 under part of the ' tray/ The structure will then 

 float in water. This, however, is not all that you 

 want, as your centre piece must always be entirely 

 immersed. First bore a few holes in the tray, then 

 fix a pretty shell, with a hole in it, to the base of the 

 lower ' cup/ and also form a loop of gutta percha, 

 from which to suspend, by means of a piece of silk, 

 a fragment of stone or marble of sufficient bulk to 



