BLE ACHING THE LEAVES AND SEED 

 VE S SEES. 



HE next process, and one of great im- 

 portance, is that of bleaching the leaves, 

 flowers, and seed-vessels. It is an 

 operation which requires the greatest 

 care, as upon the perfect whiteness of all the com- 

 ponent parts of a bouquet its beauty will depend. No 

 matter how perfectly the leaves and seed-vessels may 

 have been skeletonized, if they are permitted to retain 

 any shade of their original yellow, they are deficient 

 in beauty, at least to the eye of the connoisseur. 



The first step in this part of the process is to pro- 

 cure proper bleaching materials. Many persons are 

 entirely successful in the use of chloride of lime, 

 3 * (29) 



