August, 1 9 10 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



323 



paper plumes is twisted around the knitting needle. The 

 curling process should be done carefully since the paper can- 

 not be roughly handled any more than the real plume. 



The backbone of the paper willow plume is next con- 

 structed. Pieces of wire are covered several times with 

 strips of paper, until they present a taut appearance with no 

 part exposed. The wire should be doubled in the middle 

 so as to give aeiditional strength to the part most likely to 

 be bent by the greatest weight. The wire in the center thus 



the same as the sides of the plume, and is cut into ten-inch 

 strips, curled with the knitting needle anl then carefully 

 sewed on to the edges of the plume to complete the feathery 

 appearance. Placing the tip requires some care, as the half 

 sheet used in the process of its construction is very full and 

 must go through a process of careful pleating while it is be- 

 ing put on. The importance of the tip is seen when, as a 

 completed plume, it hangs gracefully over the side or the 

 back of the hat. 



Binding the stem 



Rolling the feathery ends 



Attaching the stem 



Finished plume made of paper 



secured from breakage can now be twisted in any way in 

 which it is desired to bend the plume. The long droop 

 over the face, on some of the large hats to be seen this sea- 

 son, can be perfectly arranged, or the more flat effect for 

 the plume which is to go all about the hat, and which does 

 not need so deep a curve on the center wire. 



The tip of the paper willow plume is made last from the 

 half of the sheet remaining for this purpose. This is treated 



At all events, nothing could be more worth the experi- 

 ment for those who deal in paper favors and who like to 

 give a surprise to their friends at the dance or the luncheon. 

 The possibilities of paper certainly do seem unlimited, but 

 the manufacture of this paper plume, which has for months 

 excited admiration in its real form, seems to have sur- 

 passed all other efforts in the manufacture of paper-made 

 articles. 



Imitation Marble 



By A. J. Jarman 



F PLASTER of paris be cast on glass, a 

 smooth surface can be obtained. This 

 may be made to represent marble if the 

 veinings are skilfully introduced. The 

 colors for veining must all be of mineral 

 character, as follows: Plumbago (black 

 lead), chrome green (dark), common 

 crocus, yellow ochre, red oxide of iron, and ultra-marine 

 blue. 



In order to introduce the color on the polished side 

 of the cast, it must be painted in through the plaster of 

 Paris before it hardens. The plaster of Paris should be 

 mixed to the consistency of a thick cream and poured into 

 a suitable mold set on a glass plate. A brush dipped in the 

 color is then plunged through the creamy substance and the 

 veining is painted on the glass plate. In order to enable the 

 operator to watch and guide the brush, the mold should be 



supported a few inches above a mirror. After the plaster 

 of Paris has partly hardened, it may be reinforced by means 

 of galvanized iron netting over which a thick layer of Port- 

 land cement is'^poured. After both the plaster and cement 

 have become, set, the cast is removed from the mold, and 

 the glossy surface may be treated to a coating of amylacetate 

 collodion, which not only fills the pores of the plaster but 

 renders it waterproof and capable of resisting weak acids 

 and alkalis. 



A much harder material with a slight grain can be pro- 

 duced by mixing a small quantity of ground pumice or 

 ground glass with the plaster. This mixture is sometimes 

 termed Parian cement. It will be found that when the 

 imitation marble is dry, the colors will not be more than 

 one-third as brilliant as when wet. The excellence of the 

 imitation depends almost entirely upon the artistic skill used 

 in applying the color to the plaster. 



