DECORATIVE USES. 
45 
will be seen to separate from the central tissues. Well 
wash in warm water, soak in glycerine, and mount in 
glycerine jelly. The various parts of the fruit ( sori ), 
figs. 9, io, may also be mounted dry in a cell in Canada 
balsam or in jelly. 
For fancywork and decoration the uses of ferns are 
endless. One of the most attractive is the ornamenta¬ 
tion of glass. Choose a good frond of the Male Fern 
(Lastrea filix-mas ), or any other fern having a graceful 
outline ; slightly coat the surface of the glass with a film 
of varnish consisting of gum-water nineteen parts, 
glycerine one part; allow it to dry. Now take a piece 
of sized-paper fourteen by ten inches, cover this with 
printer’s ink, using a rubber ; lay the frond of the fern 
upon it and subject to great pressure for about thirty 
or forty minutes ; remove from the paper and place 
upon the prepared glass, having previously breathed 
slightly upon the surface of the glass; it will now 
adhere. Take a “dapper” made of cotton wool covered 
with wash-leather, and dap the frond sharply for ten 
minutes or more, then gently remove the frond, when, 
if well done, a sharp and well-printed outline will 
