There are innumerable varieties of ferns, lycopodiums and maiden
hair, both native and foreign, suitable for pressing. By pasting each
specimen on a separate sheet and interspersing specimens of our beau-
tiful autumn leaves, also on separate sheets, and fastening them together,
either bound as a book or in a portfolio, you will possess a beautiful
and attractive book with but little expense.
Crosses can be arranged with ferns and shaded to appear as if
painted in perspective — like a cross standing in a mossy band,
with flowers, etc., growing round and over it. First draw and shade
the cross, then take the small leaflets of the darkest colored ferns
you can procure and glue them on carefully where the cross should be,
in the darkest shadow ; then take the brightest green ferns (such as are
gathered in spring) and end with white ferns (which can be obtained
in the fall), using them for the lightest shade ; be careful to cover every
part and shade it with nature's colors as you would paint. In a cross
six inches high and suitably proportioned, full two hundred of the tiny
leaflets of fern can be used to good advantage before it is completed.
Then take wild lycopodium if it can be obtained, if not, the finest of the
cultivated, and arrange it on the cross to look like a vine growing over
and hanging from it ; also paste to it tiny little pressed lobelias, and
arrange small ferns, mosses and any little flowers (wild ones are prefer-
able) around the base of the cross to look like a mossy bank. Different
designs can be arranged in the same way.
Be very careful in pasting on flowers and leaves, that every part, how-
ever small, is firmly fixed to the paper ; press them on after pasting
with a dry cloth.
TO PRESERVE FLOWERS AND FRUIT.
Take the whitest river or bay sand, and wash clean. Heat very
hot, so as to dry it thoroughly, then let it cool. Take any kind of
medium sized box and place enough sand in it to hold the flowers in
position. Put a little of the sand in a coarse sieve and gently rub through
until the flowers are well covered. Set by a stove or in some warm place
until dry. If the flowers have thick petals, the sand will have to be
changed once in two days, each time covering the flowers with dry
sand. The only trouble is to know when the process is completed, as
plants differ in time required. Marigolds, zinnias and larkspur retain
their colors and look very pretty.
Autumn leaves and grasses can be dried in this way and will repay
anyone who will try this simple method. All flowers intended to be
318 TO PRESER VE FLO WERS AND FRUIT.
dried by the sand bath should be picked after the dew has dried on
them.
Flowers may also be preserved with sulphur, by the following pro-
cess : Procure a moderate-sized box (a tea-box will answer), and across
the tcp, on the inside, tack two narrow strips of wood on opposite sides,
upon which rests thin rods for the flowers to hang from. Have a small
door cut in on one side at the lower part, which must open and close
by means of two hinges. It is absolutely essential that the box should
be perfectly air-tight. ✪ To Preserve Flowers and Fruit
Page 281 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
There are innumerable varieties of ferns, lycopodiums and maiden hair, both native and foreign, suitable for pressing. By pasting each specimen on a separate sheet and interspersing specimens of our beautiful autumn leaves, also on separate sheets, and fastening them together, either bound as a book or in a portfolio, you will possess a beautiful and attractive book with but little expense.
Crosses can be arranged with ferns and shaded to appear as if painted in perspective — like a cross standing in a mossy band, with flowers, etc., growing round and over it. First draw and shade the cross, then take the small leaflets of the darkest colored ferns you can procure and glue them on carefully where the cross should be, in the darkest shadow ; then take the brightest green ferns (such as are gathered in spring) and end with white ferns (which can be obtained in the fall), using them for the lightest shade ; be careful to cover every part and shade it with nature's colors as you would paint. In a cross six inches high and suitably proportioned, full two hundred of the tiny leaflets of fern can be used to good advantage before it is completed. Then take wild lycopodium if it can be obtained, if not, the finest of the cultivated, and arrange it on the cross to look like a vine growing over and hanging from it ; also paste to it tiny little pressed lobelias, and arrange small ferns, mosses and any little flowers (wild ones are preferable) around the base of the cross to look like a mossy bank. Different designs can be arranged in the same way.
Be very careful in pasting on flowers and leaves, that every part, however small, is firmly fixed to the paper ; press them on after pasting with a dry cloth.
TO PRESERVE FLOWERS AND FRUIT.
Take the whitest river or bay sand, and wash clean. Heat very hot, so as to dry it thoroughly, then let it cool. Take any kind of medium sized box and place enough sand in it to hold the flowers in position. Put a little of the sand in a coarse sieve and gently rub through until the flowers are well covered. Set by a stove or in some warm place until dry. If the flowers have thick petals, the sand will have to be changed once in two days, each time covering the flowers with dry sand. The only trouble is to know when the process is completed, as plants differ in time required. Marigolds, zinnias and larkspur retain their colors and look very pretty.
Autumn leaves and grasses can be dried in this way and will repay anyone who will try this simple method. All flowers intended to be
318 TO PRESER VE FLO WERS AND FRUIT.
dried by the sand bath should be picked after the dew has dried on them.
Flowers may also be preserved with sulphur, by the following process : Procure a moderate-sized box (a tea-box will answer), and across the tcp, on the inside, tack two narrow strips of wood on opposite sides, upon which rests thin rods for the flowers to hang from. Have a small door cut in on one side at the lower part, which must open and close by means of two hinges. It is absolutely essential that the box should be perfectly air-tight.
Records on this page
To Preserve Flowers and Fruit