124 THE FLORIST. 
through a sieve, so that all dusty particles disappear from it, as there 
will be such, which washing and drying will not have removed. Then 
pass through a coarse sieve, so as to get rid of too large grains. When 
that is done your sand should be a mass of fine particles of nearly 
equal size, as is for instance the so-called silver sand. Keep the sand 
in a very dry, if possible also in a warm place, that no vitalising quality 
may remain in it. 
Cut the flowers in a fully developed state, taking care that they are 
neither wet nor moist by dew, rain, &c. If you cannot obtain them in 
any other condition, then the following troublesome proceeding will 
render them dry. Take one or two flowers at a time, and put them 
into a glass, into which pour just enough water that the ends can stand 
in it; the flower will then dry, and still suck up water enough to 
prevent its fading. 
Next get a box or pot, or anything large enough to hold your flower 
or flowers; pour sand enough into it that they will stand by themselves, 
their stems imbedded in the sand. You have to fill up the box above 
the level of the flowers with sand, so that the flowers are completely 
imbedded 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 imside 
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 colours of the flower 
will fade ; whilst at too low a temperature the moisture in the flower 
will not dry quickly enough, and so rot it. The warmth should, as a 
general thing, never exceed 100°. 
When you are sure that your flowers have fully dried—a thing a 
very little practice in touching the box will teach you—the thing is 
done. Open the box, and by holding it in a slanting direction, let so 
much sand run out that you can lay hold of the flower by the stem ; 
by turning it upside down, shaking it gently, and, if necessary, blowing 
on it, all the sand will be removed, and you have the flower in its most 
perfect form. A little brittle, to be sure, in such a dry state as this, 
and therefore requiring careful handling. But a few days’ exposure to 
the atmosphere will have imparted moisture enough to the flower to 
make it considerably less brittle —American Gardener's Monthly. 
CALENDAR FOR THE MONTH. 
Azaleas and Camellias—Plants of the former wanted for blooming 
late must now be carefully shaded from the sun, and exposed to a free 
circulation of air day and night, unless when there may be danger of 
the temperature sinking below 36°. Plants that have bloomed, if 
wanted to flower early next season, should be placed in a moist warm — 
