94 



PHANTOM FLOWERS. 



iuto it that they will stand by themselves, their 

 stems embedded in the sand. And now for that job, 

 which calls upon yom^ whole skill and your most 

 delicate fingering ; don't be afraid ; though practice 

 renders that, too, a comparatively easy matter. You 

 have to fill up the box above the level of the flowers 

 with sand, so that the flowers are completely embedded 

 in it. By means of a tube, or a funnel, or a sieve, 

 just accordingly, you can do it in such a way that 

 every particle of the flower rests in sand, and that 

 your filling up shall not have crumpled or displaced 

 the smallest petal. Of course, such a thing can be 

 done only in a very slow way by a beginner. 



And now take care not to shake your box, else 

 the flower inside might get hurt. Carry it to a 

 place both dry and warm, that all the moisture in 

 the flower may pass into the sand, which, being 

 porous, is in turn acted upon, and will let the 

 moisture pass entirely out and get evaporated. Avoid, 

 however, positive heat, or the colors of the flower 

 will fade ; whilst at too low a temperature, the 

 moisture in the flower Avill not dry quickly enough, 

 and so rot it. The warmth should, as a general 

 thing, never exceed one hundred degrees. 



