152 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
ing gradually uutil it reaches a point just 
below tlie waist. Here it meets with a 
wide design in the braiding, which ex- 
tends from hip to hip. The effect is very 
becoming to slender figures. The bodice 
buttons down the back ; the close sleeves 
are braided nearly to the elbow; the 
skirt is edged with a wide ruche, above 
which are broad, upright box-plaits, long- 
enough to reach to the scarf of twill, 
which is draped just beneath the braid- 
ing above described. 
A lovely tea-gown, representing the 
genius of Hentenaar, was displayed by a 
Broadway house a short time ago. Never 
did a princess out of a fairy story own a 
more exquisite and dainty ro])e. It is 
made of mauve-tinted surah embroidered 
in silk, with white and blush roses en- 
twined in leaves of palest gold. The 
back is cut a la Watteau, Avith a trailing 
vine of the embroidery reaching from the 
top of the pleat in the back to the foot of 
the trained skirt. Around the bottom is 
a wide ruche formed of four separate 
strii:»s of pale silk — mauve, white, pale 
pink and pale gold— fringed on each side 
to the depth of two inches, and then 
plaited up together, the whole forming a 
feathery mass of coloring, matching per- 
fectly every tint seen in the tea-gown it- 
self. 
— To apply water colors to steel engrav- 
ings proceed as follows: First prepare 
the engravings with a coating of " New- 
man's preparation for sizing," which may 
be obtained at any large art dealer's 
store, at a cost of about sixty cents a bot- j 
tie. This will harden the surface, so that 
it will not absorb the color. By all means, 
however, water colors should be used in- 
stead of oil, both for engravings and pho- 
tographs, though the latter can be col- 
ored with oil paints if it is very finely 
done. In using water colors, use those 
mixed with Chinese white, which makes 
them opaque. These can be bought al- 
ready prepared, under the name of gou- 
ache colors, and are much better for 
painting photographs than the trans- 
parent colors. The Egyptian water colors 
are used a great deal also for such pur- 
poses, and are floated on in tints instead 
of touched in with a brush. A finer fin- 
ish, however, can be obtained with the 
gouache colors. 
— To make a nice cushion take two 
pieces of Turkish toweling, cretonne, or 
patchwork of crazy design a yard long 
and a half yard wide. Make a cushion of 
ticking half a yard square ; sew the sides 
of the covering together, except one of 
the narrow ones; put in the cushion and 
tie a wide bow of silk or cretonne at the 
point where the cushion ends. The end 
left open should be faced or finished with 
fringe. The whole when completed re- 
sembles a bag of meal. This form of a 
cushion is among the latest novelties. At 
the exposition held in this city very beau- 
tiful ones of this style were exhibited and 
very much admired. Handsome ones for 
the parlor are made of silk or satin, with 
a large monogram Avorked in the centre. 
If the slip is of blue satin, the tie is of 
pink; if of cardinal, it is fastened with 
olive or old gold. 
— The Art Interchange says, in giving 
directions for painting on plush : " If you 
have a drawing-board of proper size, 
fasten your plush to it smoothly and 
evenly by means of thumb tacks, being 
careful that the silken nap runs down- 
ward. Use only a good quality of plush, 
<'is it takes the color better, and with a 
skilful worker needs no other preparation 
than stroking it smooth with a soft brush. 
Squeeze the color from your tubes on a 
piece of blotting-paper, which takes up 
j superfluous oil. It is premised that the 
outline of your design is already on the 
idush, so lay on the coat generously to 
form a Arm body for the design. Allow 
this coat to dry completely, or the after 
painting may crack, A plush painting 
will need more than one sitting, as each 
coat must be thoroughly dry before an- 
other is applied. The design should be 
bold ; no two parts should overlap or 
touch each other. This is the best method, 
it is claimed, for the best qualities of 
plush. For inferior plushes without much 
nap-body, outline your design on the 
plush, and coat the plush within outlines 
