PHANTOM FLOWMBS. 85 



bleaching. When ready for that process, let the opera- 

 tor select such as she desires, and place them carefully 

 in a jar, causing them to curl around the sides rather 

 than with stems downward, in order to avoid breaking 

 the dry and brittle leaves. The smaller separate leaf- 

 lets may occupy the space in the centre of the jar. 

 ■ Then fill up the jar with warm water, leaving room 

 for the bleaching solution, in the proportion of half a 

 teacupful of TUton's preparation to a pint of water. 

 Cover the jar tightly, and set in a very warm place. 

 After twenty-four hours, gently pour off the liquid, and 

 replace with fresh, mixed as before. They should re- 

 main in the second water about forty-eight hours, when 

 this, in like manner, wiU require to be changed. In 

 about three or four days the Ferns will begin to whiten 

 at the edges, and this whiteness will gradually extend 

 itself over the entire surface of the spray, changing it 

 from a dark, brownish green to the spotless purity of a 

 snowflake. Each one must be carefully taken out as 

 soon as it is seen to be entirely white, without waiting 

 for the whole contents of the jar to be finished. 



In the bleaching of a large spray, it sometimes hap- 

 pens that its extremity, perhaps half of the entire 

 length, win become perfectly white, while dark spots 

 remain on the upper or stem end. In such cases it 



