Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. 353 



them daily to a dry place in the book. When perfectly diy var- 

 nish both sides of the leaves; white varnish is the best. In arrang- 

 ing them into wreaths and bouquets, use cedar for back ground, 

 which must also be pressed and varnished. 



TO CRYSTALIZE GRASSES. 



Put a pound of alum into a tin basin and pour on a quart of soft 

 boiling water, set it on the stove until the alum is dissolved, then 

 let it cool to about 100 degrees; put in your grasses and let them 

 remain an hour or two; the bearded grasses and coarser grasses 

 require less time than the finer grasses. If they remain too long 

 the crystals will form too large. When the solution becomes cold 

 the alum will settle to the bottom of the basin and will need to be 

 heated over to the boiling point. If a variety is desired: for blue 

 dissolve a small lump of the extract of indigo and add to the solu- 

 tion; for red, use carmeri. A bouquet of crystalized grasses, with 

 a few everlasting flowers arranged on gilt paper and framed in a 

 dark frame, is beautiful. They can be fastened on the paper with 

 thin glue. 



TRANSPLANTING FOREST TREES. 



Mr. J. Latshaw, Cedarville, Stephenson county, 111. — Shortly 

 before cold, freezing weather sets in, I take my tools and wagon, 

 with as much coarse horse manure with me as I think I may need, 

 select and dig round vay tree, letting from one to two and a half 

 feet of ground stand all round the tree — small trees need but 

 little, large ones more. Dig a trench straight down some ten or 

 twelve inches, then undermine the tree to the extent of one half of 

 the block of ground, and in digging under keep digging down so as 

 to have the ground at the tree near the shape of the half of an egg. 

 Now fill this trench about three parts full of the horse manure. 

 Next take the measure of the diameter of the tree's base, then dig 

 holes sufficiently large for all the trees so prepared; fill these also 

 with manure, but be sure to leave some good mellow ground in 

 the hole to use when planting. Next, when frozen and there is a 

 solid ball, we then throw out the manure, then with strong lever 

 pry out the tree, roll it upon a sled or truck, convey to the already 

 dug hole, clean out the manure and some unfrozen ground, slide in 

 the tree, fill up tight. I have never had one tree to miss growing 

 when thus planted. It is no easy matter to dig a large hole in the 

 ground when the same is frozen to the depth of three feet. 



