32 PHANTOM FLOWERS. 



teacupM to a pint of water. This will generally whiten 

 two sets of leaves ; that is, as soon as those first put 

 in are perfectly white, they may be taken out, and a 

 second lot placed in the same mixture. Sometimes, 

 however, it wiU be necessary to add a small quantity 

 more, say a tablespoonful, in order to complete them. 

 For amateurs, and even for accomplished artists, a 

 superior solution, thus ready prepared to their hands, 

 wiU be found safer, and more likely to insure perfect 

 success, than any preparation they will be able to com- 

 pound for themselves. The saving of trouble in using 

 it will be quite a consideration. Had the writer been 

 able to purchase it, when commencing her labors, it 

 would have saved her many losses and disappoint- 

 ments. But that so great a help can now be obtained, 

 affords strong evidence of the advancement of the art 

 in this country. 



In putting the delicate leaves into the jar, care 

 should be taken to arrange them beforehand with the 

 stems all pointing the same way, that is, downward 

 in the jar. The reason for this exists in the fact 

 that the bleaching commences first at the bottom of 

 the vessel ; and as the thick stems and mid-ribs require 

 more time to whiten them than the lace-like portion 

 of the leaves, it insures their being satisfactorily fin- 



