RED.In a quart of boiling water dissolve a teaspoonful of cream of tartar; put in one tablespoonful of prepared cochineal, and then a few drops of muriate of tin. This dye is expensive, and scarlet flowers are best made with the plumage of the red ibis, which can generally be had of a birdfancier or bird-stuffer, who will give directions how it should be applied.

LILAC. About two teaspoonfuls of cudbear into about a quart of boiling water; let it simmer a few minutes before you put in the feathers. A small quantity of cream of tartar turns the color from lilac to amethyst.

BLACK; CRIMSON. Read the general instructions upon Dyeing.

BEFORE THE FEATHERS ARE DYED they must be put into hot water, and allowed to drain before they are put into the dyes. After they are taken out of the dye, rinse them two or three times in clear cold water (except the red, which must only be done once), then lay them on a tray, over which a cloth has been spread, before a good fire; when they begin to dry and unfold, draw each feather gently between your thumb and finger, until it regains its proper shape.

THE LEAVES OF THE FLOWERS are made of green feathers, cut like those of the natural flower, and serrated at the edge with a very small pair of scissors. For the calyx of a moss-rose the down is left on the feather, and is a very good representation of the moss on the natural flower.

Waxen Flowers and Fruit. There is no art more easily acquired, nor more encouraging in its immediate results, than that of modelling flowers and fruit in wax. The art, however, is attended by this drawback-that the materials required are somewhat expensive.

THE MATERIALS REQUIRED for commencing the making of waxen flowers may be obtained at most fancy repositories in large towns. Persons wishing to commence the art would do well to inquire the particulars, and see specimens of materials; because in

this, as in every other pursuit, there are novelties and improvements being introduced, which no book can give an idea of.

THE PETALS, LEAVES, etc., of flowers, are made of sheets of colored wax, which may be purchased in packets of assorted colors.

THE STEMS are made of wire of suitable thickness, covered with silk, and overlaid with wax; and the leaves are frequently made by thin sheets of wax pressed upon leaves of embossed calico. Leaves of various descriptions are to be obtained of the persons who sell the materials for wax flower making.

LADIES WILL OFTEN FIND, among their discarded artificial flowers, leaves and buds that will serve as the base of their wax models.

THE BEST GUIDE to the construction of a flower- far better than printed diagrams or patterns-is to take a flower, say a tulip, a rose, or a camellia. If possible, procure two flowers, nearly alike, and carefully picking one of them to pieces, lay the petals down in the order in which they are taken from the flower, and then cut paper patterns from them, and number them from the centre of the flower, that you may know their relative position.

THE PERFECT FLOWER will guide you in getting the wax petals together, and will enable you to give, not only to each petal, but to the contour of the flower, the characteristics which are natural to it. In most cases, they are merely pressed together and held in their places by the adhesiveness of the

wax.

From the paper patterns the wax petals or other portions of the flowers may be cut. They should be cut singly, and the scissors should be frequently dipped into water, to prevent the wax adhering to the blades.

THE SCRAPS OF WAX that fall from the cutting will be found useful for making seed-vessels, and other parts of the flowers.

LEAVES OF FLOWERS. Where the manufactured foundations cannot be obtained, patterns of them should be

half of the mould. The egg should now be replaced in the casting, and the edge of the cast, with the holes, thor oughly lubricated with sweet oil laid on with a feather, or what is better, a large camel-hair brush.

INTO THE SMALL PUDDING BASIN, from which the sand has been emptied, place, with the egg uppermost, the half mould, which, if the operation has been managed properly, should it close at the edges to the side of the vessel; then prepare some more liquid plaster as before, and pour it upon the egg and mould, and while it is hardening,round it with the spoon as with the first half. IN DUE TIME REMOVE THE WHOLE from the basin; the halves will be found readily separable, and the egg being removed, the mould is ready to cast in, after it has been set aside for an hour or two, so as to completely harden. This is the simplest form of mould, and all are made upon the same principle.

'THE CASTING OF AN EGG is not merely interesting as the first step in a series of lessons, but as supplying a means of imitating peculiarly charming objects, which the natural historian tries almost in vain to preserve, We shall proceed, then, with the directions for the casting of an egg in the mould.

FOR THE FIRST EXPERIMENTS, common yellow wax may be used as the material, or the ends of halfburnt wax candles. The materials of the hard (not tallow) composition mould candles will also answer.

EVERY LARGE OBJECT TO BE IMITATED in wax should be cast hollow; and therefore, though the transparent lightness required in the imitation of fruits is not requisite in an artificial egg, we shall cast the egg upon the same principle as a piece of fruit. Firstly. The two pieces of the plaster of Paris mould must be soaked in hot water for ten minutes. Secondly. The wax should in the meantime be very slowly melted in a small tin saucepan, with a spout to it, care being taken not to allow it to boil, or it will

be discolored. As to the quantity of wax to be melted, the following is a general rule: If a lump, the size of the object to be imitated, be placed in the saucepan, it should be sufficient for casting twice, at least. Thirdly, As soon as the wax is melted thor oughly, place the saucepan on the hob of the grate, and, taking the parts of the mould from the hot water, remove the moisture from their surfaces by pressing them gently with a handker chief or soft cloth. It is necessary to use what is called in some of the arts a very light hand" in this operation, especially in drying moulds of fruits whose aspect possesses characteristic irregularities such as those on the orange, the lemon, or the cucumber, The mould must not be wiped, but only pressed. If the water has not been hot enough, or if the drying is not performed quickly, the mould will be too cold, and the wax will congeal too rapidly, and settle in ridges and streaks; on the other hand, if the wax has been too hot, it will adhere to the mould, and refuse to come out entire, Fourthly, Having laid the two halves of the mould so that there can be no mistake in fitting the one in its exact place quickly on the other, pour from the saucepan into one of the half moulds nearly as much wax as will fill the hollow made by the model (ogg), quickly fit the other half on the top of it, squeeze the two pieces tightly together in the hand, and still holding them thus, turn them over in every possible position, so that the wax, which is slowly congealing in the internal hollow of the mould, may be of equal thickness in all parts, Having continued this process at least two minutes, the hands (still holding and turning the mould) may be im mersed in cold water to accelerate the cooling process, The perfect congealment of the wax may be known after a little experience by the absence of the sound of fluid on shaking the mould. Fifthly. As soon as the mould is completely cooled, the halves may be separated carefully, the upper being

lifted straight up from the under, and if the operation has been properly managed, a waxen egg will be turned out of the mould. Lastly, The egg will only require trimming, that is, removing the ridge which marks the line at which the halves of the mould joined, and polishing out the scratches or inequalities left by the knife with a piece of soft rag, wet with spirits of turpentine or spirits of wine. It is always desirable to make several castings of the same object, as the moulds are apt to get chipped when laid by in a cupboard; and for this reason, as well as for the sake of practice, we recommend.our pupils to make at least a dozen waxen eggs before they proceed to any other object. If they succeed in this completely, they may rest assured that every difficulty which is likely to meet them in any future operations will be easily overcome,

TO COLOR THE WAX, While the wax is yet on the hob, and in a fluid state, stir into it a little flake white, in powder, and continue to stir the mixture while it is being poured into the half mould. It will be found that unless the fixing and shaking of the moulds is managed quickly, the coloring matter will settle on the side of the half into which the mixture is poured; a little care in manipulation is therefore again requisite. The coloring of the wax is a matter which comes easily enough by experiment, Oranges, lemons, large gooseberries, small cu cumbers, etc., etc., are excellent objects for practice,

TO PRODUCE A GOOD IMITATION OF THE SURFACE. It will be noted by the close observer that the shell of the common hen's egg has a number of minute holes, which destroy the perfect smoothness of its appearance, This peculiarity is imitated in the following simple manner: In the first place, very slightly prick with a fine needle the surface of your waxen egg, and then, having smeared it with spirits of turpentine, rub the surface all over, so as nearly to obliterate the marks of the needle point, -

DIAPHANIE. This is a beautiful, useful, and inexpensive art, easily acquired, and producing imitations of the richest and rarest stained glass; and also of making blinds, screens, skylights, Chinese lanterns, etc., in every variety of color and design.

IN DECORATING HIS HOUSE, an American spends as much money as he can conveniently spare; the elegances and refinements of modern taste demand something more than mere comfort; yet though his walls are hung with pictures, his drawingrooms filled with bijouterie, how is it that the windows of his hall, his library, his staircase, are neglected? The reason is obvious. The magnificent historical old stained glass might be envied, but could not be brought within the compass of ordinary means, Recent improvements in printing in colors led the way to this beautiful invention, by which economy is combined with the most perfect results. A peculiar kind of paper is rendered perfectly transparent, upon which designs are printed in glass colors (vitre" de couleurs), which will not change with the light. The paper is applied to the glass with a clear white varnish, and when dry, a preparation is finally ap plied, which increases the transpa rency, and adds tenfold brilliancy to the effect.

THERE IS ANOTHER DESIGN, printed in imitation of the half-light" (abatjour); this is used principally for a ground, covering the whole surface of the glass, within which (the necessary spaces having been previously cut out before it is stuck on the glass) are placed medallion centres of Watteau figures, perfectly transparent, which derive increased brilliancy from the semi-transparency of the surrounding ground. This is by far the cheapest method, though involving extra trouble.

TO ASCERTAIN THE QUANTITY of designs required, measure your glass care fully, and then calculate how many sheets it will take. The sheets are arranged so that they can be joined

together continuously, or cut to any size or shape.

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS.-Choose a fine day for the operation, as the glass should be perfectly dry, and unaffected by the humidity of the atmosphere. Of course, if you have a choice, it is more convenient to work on your glass before it is fixed in the frame. If you are working on a piece of unattached glass, lay it on a flat table (a marble slab is preferable), over which you must previously lay a piece of baize or cloth to keep the glass steady. The glass being thus fixed, clean and polish the side on which you intend to operate (in windows this is the inner side), then with your brush lay on it very equably a good coat of the prepared varnish; let this dry for an hour, more or less, according to the dryness of the atmosphere and the thickness of the coat of varnish; meantime cut and trim your designs carefully to fit the glass (if it is one entire transparent sheet you will find little trouble); then lay them on a piece of paper, face downwards, and damp the back of them with a sponge, applied several times, to equalize the moisture. In this operation arrange your time so that your designs may now be finally left to dry for fifteen minutes before application to the glass, the varnish on which has now become tacky or sticky, and in a proper state to receive them. Apply the printed side next to the glass without pressure; endeavor to let your sheet fall perfectly level and smooth on your glass, so that you may avoid leaving creases, which would be fatal. Take now your palette, lay it flat on the design, and press out all the air-bubbles, commencing in the centre, and working them out at the sides; an ivory stick will be found useful in removing creases; you now leave this to dry, and after twenty-four hours apply a slight coat of the liqueur diaphanie, leaving it another day, when, if dry, apply a second coat of the same kind, which must be left several days: finally, apply a coat of varnish over all.

IF THESE DIRECTIONS ARE CARE

| FULLY FOLLOWED, your glass will never be affected by time or any variations in the weather; it will defy hail, rain, frost, and dust, and can be washed the same as ordinary stained glass, to which, in some respects, it is even superior.

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ENUMERATE the variety of articles to the manufacture of which diaphanie may be successfully applied, as it is not confined to glass, but can be done on silk, parchment, paper, linen, etc., after they have been made transparent, which may be accomplished in the following manner:

STRETCH YOUR PAPER, or whatever it may be, on a frame or drawing board, then apply two successive coats (a day between each) of diaphanous liquor, and after leaving it to dry for several days, cover it with a thin layer of very clear size, and when dry it will be in a fit state to receive the coat of varnish and the designs.

SILK, LINEN, OR OTHER STUFFS should be more carefully stretched, and receive a thicker coat of size than paper or parchment; the latter may be strained on a drawing or any other smooth board, by damping the sheet, and after pasting the edges, stretching it down while damp (silk, linen, and other stuffs require to be carefully stretched on a knitting or other suitable frame). Take great care to allow, whatever you use, time to dry before applying the liqueur diaphanie.

ALL KINDS OF SCREENS, lamp shades, and glasses, lanterns, etc., etc., may be made in this way, as heat will produce no effect upon them. The transparent pictures are successful, because they may be hung on a window frame or removed at will, and the window blinds are far superior to anything of that kind that have yet been seen.

INSTEAD OF STEEPING THE DESIGNS in the transparent liquor at the time of printing them, which was previously done in order to show their transparency to the purchaser, but which was practically objectionable, as the paper in that state was brittle, and devoid of pliancy, necessitating also the use of a peculiarly