Perhaps the easiest way of lengthening by many months the life of cut flowers is to dip them immediately after gathering into weak gum water, and after allowing them to drain for a few minutes to arrange them in a vase. The gum forms a protective coat on the flowers, and preserves their shape and colour for mouths after they have become dry. To preserve flowers for merely two weeks or so, keep their stalks in a weak solution of saltpetre or carbonate of soda in water. By standing a vase of cut flowers in the centre of a flat dish in which is a little water, and inverting a bell glass over the vase, the flowers will be surrounded with a moist atmosphere, and their life will be prolonged. Or, instead, when treating small and short-stemmed flowers, insert them in damp silver sand and invert a tumbler or a bell glass over them. The forms and colours of flowers can be preserved for a long time by treating them as follows: Provide a cylinder having a removable cover and bottom: stretch a piece of metallic gauze over the top, replace the cover, and invert the vessel.

Sift a quantity of sand, sufficient to fill the vessel, and gently heat over the fire in an iron pot, well stirring in Joz. of stearin for every 100oz. of sand; a greater proportion of stearin sinks to the bottom and injures the flowers. Place the latter on the gauze in the inverted vessel and pour in the mixture of sand and stearin so gently that the leaves and flower petals are not caused to touch one another. Replace the bottom of the vessel and keep in a hot place for eighteen hours; then remove the cover and the sand will run away through the gauze, Leaving uninjured the flowers, which will be found to have retained their natural colours. Another method is to embed the flowers in a mixture of equal parts of plaster-of-Paris and lime, and gradually to heat them to a temperature of 100° F. (38° O). On removal from the mixture the flowers look dusty, but if left for an hour, so as to absorb atmospheric moisture, the dust can be removed without injuring the flowers. Often a hoary appearance is left, even after dusting, and this is removed by coating once or twice with a varnish made by dissolving ooz. of dammar in 16oz. of oil of turpentine, adding 16 oz. of benzoline and straining through muslin.

Another suitable varnish is made by dissolving 1 part of transparent copal in 25 parts of ether,mixing in 1 part of sand and straining through muslin. When using this latter varnish, immerse the flowers for two minutes, dry for ten minutes, and repeat these operations five or six times. Also, the hoary appearance may be removed by immersion in a solution of 30 gr. of salicylic acid in 1 qt. of water. A method resembling one previously described is the following: Thoroughly dry and sift 1,000 parts of fine white sand and well mix with a solution of 3 parts of stearin, 3 parts of paralfiu, and 3 parts of salicylic acid in 100 parts of alcohol. Spread out the sand, allow it to dry, and with it cover the bottom of a box and lay the cut flowers on this bed of sand. Dust on the sand very gently until the flowers are covered, close the box, and maintain it at a temperature of from 86° to 104° F. (30' to 40' C.) for two or three days. Withered flowers should be freshened before being treated as above by being dipped into alcoholic solutions of suitable aniline colours.