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SKELETONIZING- LEAVES. 
Exceedingly beautiful ornaments are made from 
skeletonizing leaves. To those of our lady readers 
who are not already proficient in the art, the following 
directions, from the Gardener's Magazine, may prove 
of value: 
Select the finest and most perfect specimens, and 
soak them in a large deep vessel of rain water; plaee 
it in a sunny spot or other warm situation, and shake 
it occasionally, but not sufficiently to stir up the con¬ 
tents, as that might injure the fibres of the leaves 
As the water evaporates, fill up with fresh water again, 
without changing that which remains. Be careful 
of using any chemical in order to assist decompo¬ 
sition, as you will thereby run great risk of injuring 
the delicate skeleton, which, of course, you are 
anxious to keep quite perfect. But if you are im¬ 
patient of waiting, a few drops of muriatic acid 
would hasten the destruction of the soft parts. The 
most usual plan, however, is to soak the leaves in 
rain water only, until the skin which envelops the ' 
fibre is quite soft and loose, so that it can be easily 
removed. The best plan for accomplishing this is 
to lay each one separately in a plate of water, and 
carefully remove the soft parts with a needle, or 
gently rubbing with the finger and thumb. Of course, 
great care must be taken not to break the skeleton: I 
but with a little practice you will be able to do it 
easily. As soon as the water thickens, so that you 
cannot well see what you are about, change it, or you 
will spoil your work. In some cases a piece of soft 
flannel may be used with advantage; but the final 
clearing of pulp from the fibres must be performed 
with a camel hair brush. The time required for steep¬ 
ing them depends upon a variety of circumstances, 
such as the kind of leaf, its age, the time of year, the 
temperature of the weather etc. The leaves of the 
to use your own judgment, and discover the time each 
kind of leaf requires for yourself by examining them 
occasionally. Of course it will require some patience 
and perseverence before “first-rate” skeletons can be 
entirely its own; so that the difference in the fibrous 
network, and the variety and elegance of outline ob¬ 
servable in the different subjects give to the pursuit a 
great charm. The appearance of the skeleton is 
greatly improved by bleaching, which is accomplished 
by plunging in spring water in which there has been 
dissolved some chloride of lime. Two tablespoonfuls 
of liquid chloride to a pint of water will suffice. In 
some cases the skeletons will become white in a few 
minutes, but leaves of stronger fibre will take a much 
longer time. When well bleached, dry them carefully 
on blotting paper, and then arrange them tastefully in 
a vase, and cover the whole with a glass shade, when 
you will possess a very elegant ornament for your 
drawing-room or boudoir. A shorter method has 
been devised for preparing skeleton leaves, which 
occupies but a few minutes, but is perhaps appli¬ 
cable only to those of the toughest fibre, as the 
process is somewhat rough. It consists in drying 
the leaves between sheets of blotting paper, in a 
botanical press or under a weight; when quite dry, 
place the leaf to be operated upon a soft pad and 
beat it with a brush until the pulp is entirely sep¬ 
arated from the fibre. Some very good skeletons 
have been obtained in this mannor. A cushion and 
a clothes brush will be sufficient for the first exper¬ 
iment, when, if the plan is approved, you can easily 
devise means for carrying it out properly. 
ivy and holly require soaking for three or four months, 
while those of the pear, apple and poplar wfill be ready 
in as many weeks, so that it will be necessary for you 
Bouquet op Dried Flowers. 
obtained but the task is not so difficult but that any 
one gifted with ordinary patience and medium talent 
may De able to produce very creditable specimens. 
The vessel containing the water may be pretty well 
filled with specimens, as they will not injure each 
other unless shaken too rudely, but perhaps 
rather assist in the process of decomposition. 
It is not advisable to use any but full grown 
leaves, as the delicate fibres of young ones are 
likely to decompose with the pulp. The best 
time for selecting them is, therefore, about July 
or August, when they are quite mature, but 
still vigorous. Great care must be taken to 
choose only the most perfect, for it is obvious 
that if any portion of the fibres are injured be¬ 
fore you macerate them, it will be impossible 
to obtain a perfect specimen. Hold your leaf, 
then, up to the light, and if you can see a crack, 
or any small spots of decay, throw it away, or 
your time and labor -will be wasted; for when 
once the skeleton is broken or otherwise in¬ 
jured, all attempts to repair it will prove una¬ 
vailing. Those leaves which have the toughest 
fibres are, of course, the best adapted for the 
purpose, and consequently the soft leaves of 
rapid-growing plants are useless. Those best 
adapted for the purpose, and which can be ob¬ 
tained by everybody are the leaves of ivy, holly, mag¬ 
nolia, rose, pear, sycamore, willow, oak, hawthorn, 
poplar, orange and lemon, the petals of hydrangea, 
and fruit, of the apple, thorn and winter cherry. Each 
kind of leaf has a peculiarity of structure and a beauty 
Plan for a Rustic Flower Stand.—Take an old- 
fashioned light-stand, and paint it green. Bore half 
a dozen holes in the top, and set a pan in the drawer 
j to catch the drainage. Get the largest cheese box 
' you can find, and bore holes through the bottom to 
correspond with those in the stand. Then saw a 
barrel in two, and place the upper half within the 
box. Put in a layer of coarse gravel; and fill up with 
loam prepared in the usual manner for plants. Take 
a small cask and knock the bottom from it, and press 
down in the barrel until it is of the right depth to look 
Bouquet of Dried Grasses. 
well, then fill it up. Now take the old skeleton wire 
and roll together the same as for wall-baskets. Make 
the frames a few inches larger round than each box, 
and one inch higher—-the lower one must have a bot¬ 
tom. Paint them and fill in with gray field moss. 
