Chapter III: Part 3

Nearly all kinds of flower seeds require transplanting, therefore it is best to plant in boxes, pots, or hot-beds. Old cigar boxes are convenient and are easily handled, but first bore holes in the bottom of the boxes, and in your pots or boxes place either broken clam or oyster shells or pieces of old flower pots as a drainage; then take light, rich earth and sift it or rub it carefully in your hands to be sure there are no lumps; some bake the earth to destroy any insects which may be in it, but it answers the same purpose to pour boiling water on it. After you have filled your boxes or pots with this prepared earth, sprinkle your seed carefully over it, and sift over them light soil sufficient to cover them, moisten them with warm water, and place the box where there is but little light and throw a piece of paper over the top. A warm place will start them best. Let them remain thus several days, till the seeds have a chance to swell, before you give them much light, and keep the earth moist; (a sponge is excellent to water them, as it does not disturb the position of the seeds; also use warm water,) as soon as you see they are sprouting give them light, and air, if not too cold, or else the plant will not have strength to grow well. Hot-beds are the best, and can be made with but little expense, by taking some old box, and if you do not possess an old window sash you can purchase one of some builder for a trifling sum of money, and fit it to your box by nailing strips at the sides; dig a place the size of the box and two or three feet deep, fill it with horse manure mixed with straw, which is the most heating, then sprinkle soil over the top about six inches deep, place your box on the top, carefully heaping the earth around the outside, and your hot-bed is made, in which you can start your seeds and slips by either placing your boxes or pots in the earth on top of the manure and plant your seeds and slips in them, or as many prefer, planting in the soil of your hot-bed. After your seedling plants are of sufficient size to transplant, if you first transplant them into small pots, you can easily plant them in your flower beds without disturbing the roots, and the plants will not require covering; you must first dig a hole and pour water into it, then carefully slip the plant, dirt and all, from the pots and place into the hole made for it and press the earth tight around it. Of course they must remain in the pot till they are well rooted. In raising slips you need to mix in full half common scouring sand with the soil, and they must be shaded from the light several days.

All who care for flowers will desire to raise Verbenas, as they blossom all Summer. If you wish to raise them from seed they should be sown in February or first of March. One secret in raising fine Verbenas is change of soil. It would be better to plant them every year in a different location, but if you renew the soil it will do to plant them twice in the same bed, but never three years in succession. Indeed, flowers as well as vegetables need constant change of soil; they soon exhaust the earth. Seeds are better that are raised in locations distant from the place where they are to be sown. Flowers soon deteriorate if you continue to plant over and over from seed raised in the same spot; that is one of the reasons why seeds from Europe are generally preferred by florists. Japan Pink seed should be planted in March, in order to have them flower the first year; they are hardy and blossom also the second year. Pansy seed should be planted as early as Verbenas. Ten Weeks’ Stock, Phlox Drummondi, Double Zinnias, Lobelia, Petunias, Portulaca, Salpiglossis, Candytuft, Larkspur, &c., should be planted in April. If you desire to raise Picotee or Carnation Pinks for the next year, and Canterbury Bells and Fox Gloves, sow in April. Sow Asters of all kinds the last of April or first of May. Some of the climbers, such as Maurandya, Barclayanna, Tropæolum, commonly called Nasturtium, Cypress Vine, Thunbergia, &c., need transplanting, and better be sown early. Sweet Peas should be sown in the open soil about three inches deep, early in April. It is better to soak the seed in warm water before sowing. When they have germinated and as they begin to climb, fill in earth around them, and water now and then thoroughly with soap suds. Mignonette should not be transplanted; sow the seed in the open soil the first of May. Candytuft and Sweet Alyssum, are hardy, and the seed can be sown out of doors; but if you have once had them, they will come up self sown; look over your beds in Spring and take up such plants, when you have the soil prepared and beds made, then you can plant them back again where you desire. Joseph’s Coat is a very brilliant plant, its leaves are all shades of green, red and yellow; the seed can be sown either in or out of doors by the first of May, also Golden Calliopsis. Balsams will grow better if the seeds are not planted till the second week in May out of doors.

All the flowers I have mentioned are desirable even in a small garden; of course there are hundreds of varieties of even annuals, but unless you have a gardener it is impossible to raise them all, for it is desirable even in a small garden to have some flowers raised by slips, or bought from some greenhouse, such as Fuchsias, Double Feverfews, Scarlet Geraniums, Heliotropes, Rose Geraniums, Lemon Verbenas, Monthly Roses and Hardy Perpetuals, &c. Hardy Perpetual Roses are desirable in every garden, they grow so thrifty and blossom all summer, and with a little covering will live out all Winter; and if they are showered often early in the Spring while the dew is on the roses, with whale oil soap suds, using a syringe to shower them, it will prevent the usual damage done by the slug. If you have a shady, moist place in your garden there you can plant your Lily of the Valley, double blue English Violet, Forget-me-not, and Pansy.

Fuchsias also require some shade. Heliotropes and Geraniums will bear enriching more than most plants; often watering with guano water is excellent. A table-spoonful of guano to a common water-pail full of water is sufficiently strong. It also improves Pansies, Fuchsias and nearly all plants except Roses. Soap suds is better for Roses and Verbenas, at least according to my experience. Nearly all plants make a finer show in a garden arranged either in beds, each variety by itself, or in clusters. Before planting your garden in Spring it is well to carefully consider the nature of each flower, and arrange your garden so that each flower can be displayed to advantage; never plant promiscuously; it is astonishing what a difference landscape gardening will make in the general aspect of even a small place. It is quite as desirable as to arrange the colors in a picture to harmonize. Even an old stump of a tree can be made beautiful by planting vines around it, or by scooping out the top and filling in soil, and planting Nierembergia, Lobelia, Double Nasturtium, Variegated Myrtle, &c., in it. Those I have mentioned blossom all Summer, except the Myrtle, the leaves of which are as beautiful as many flowers.

If we ladies would spend less time on our dress and in arrangements for the table, and take that time for working in our gardens with our children, we should not only make our homes more attractive but we should gain in health and strength. Early every Spring call a family council to decide the arrangement of your flower garden. Let your boys have a place to raise vegetables as a pastime. Encourage them to diligence by promising to purchase all they will raise; in that way they can earn money to give to the poor, or for their Christmas presents; even children will take far more pleasure in giving what they have really earned with their own hands.

FERNERIES.

IS it not, my friends, very pleasant to have a bit of the Summer woods in our parlors in midwinter? Such a pleasure is within the reach of us all, with but little trouble and expense. Those who live in cities and cannot go into the country, surely must have some friend who can supply them, or the materials can be obtained at any public greenhouse. First you require a glass dome, or what is still better, take five panes of glass any size you please, four to form the sides, one for the top, fasten the glass together with a light wooden frame, then take any tin dish, like a baking pan, or if round a tin plate or jelly cake pan, or a tin dish can be made to fit it for a trifling sum of money; paint the tin green on the outside. Then collect some pieces of broken flower pots, or still better, bits of marble, granite or any stone and scatter them around the tin dish, placing in the center some moss-grown stump or stick, and pile the stones around it; then collect from the woods, ferns, mosses, partridge-vines with its bright red berries, (indeed, any plant will grow in these ferneries which can be found in moist places in the woods;) take up a little of the leaf mould in which they grow, they need but little soil, arrange your plants spreading the roots carefully over the stones, scattering a little leaf mould on them, and placing your mosses around the whole. The tallest plants should form the center, but in arranging even ferneries, it is more agreeable to exercise your own taste. Before placing your globe or glass frame over your fernery, sprinkle the plants thoroughly, then cover with the glass, and let it remain a few days in the shade. You can keep them where you please, but I think they grow better near a window; be very careful not to water them too often, once a month is generally sufficient; if too wet they will mould and die; when there is but little moisture on the glass, it is well to raise the glass to ascertain if it is dry. My fernery has been made four years, it has required but little care; now and then I add a new fern, some moss, or any suitable plant gathered from the woods, and remove any dried ferns or leaves. It often renews itself. Trailing arbutus and partridge-vines will blossom in ferneries. It is always pleasant to the eye and no care after the first expense and trouble. Ivy and Lycopodium grow well in ferneries, but the rare ferns, &c., from green-houses do not flourish as well as those plants taken from our native woods.

IVIES.

ENGLISH IVIES are a great ornament to our rooms, and are hardy and require very little care. After the first two years they grow quite rapidly, therefore it is well to procure two year old plants, train them on your curtains, over your windows and pictures. Many make a mistake by changing the pots very often, thinking they require a very large pot, which is not so, for they do not require as much earth as many plants, only keep them moist, and have rich loam for the soil; it is well to water them every month with guano water, prepared according to the same rule given for flowers. The poet’s ivy is very pretty, the leaf being quite small. The most beautiful ivy I ever saw was one that never was removed from its place Summer or Winter; it filled a large bay window, encircled the whole room and wound around many pictures; now and then a gardener came and changed the soil, and the leaves were occasionally washed. Hanging baskets of moss with flowers growing in it, are exceedingly pretty in Winter.

PRESSED FLOWERS.

TO press flowers, to be arranged on paper like a painting, you must take some plain white wrapping paper, (in Paris you can obtain paper prepared by a chemical process to preserve the colors) and place your flowers or leaves carefully between two sheets of the paper. Then press them by placing a heavy weight over them, (letter presses are excellent) and leave them a day or two, then change the paper; thus the juices of the flowers are absorbed. It takes a week or two to press perfectly, and in Summer often longer. When dry, place them in a book or some air-tight box ready for use. A year is required to make a varied and handsome collection, as each flower has its own season for blossoming. Wild flowers retain their colors better than cultivated; but experience alone will teach you what flowers will retain their color best. Many pretend to be able to preserve all kinds of flowers, but it is impossible. I will give a list of flowers which are known to retain their color by this mode of pressing.

All Geraniums (except the horse-shoe and sweet-scented), preserve their color. They are very essential, as their colors are brilliant and keep for years. All yellow flowers both wild and cultivated retain their color. The Violet and Pansy, Dwarf Blue Convolvulus, Blue Larkspur, Blue Myrtle, Blue Lobelia, Heaths, the small original Red Fuchsia, Wild Housatonia, and many tiny blue, and even white flowers press perfectly.

For green, Ivy, Maiden Hair, Ferns or Brake, Mosses, &c., retain their color best. Rarely a cultivated green leaf presses well. Autumn leaves, if small, and the youngest oak leaves mix in well. Certain kinds of stems such as Pansy, and others of similar character, are best adapted for pressing.

After your collection is made, take some card-board, without a polish if possible, and arrange your flowers as you design to have them. Gum them to the paper with tragacanth, using a camel’s hair brush, then press on the paper and flower with a cloth, carefully absorbing all moisture, as well as firmly pressing the flower on the paper. Geraniums and some large flowers look better if each leaf is glued on separately.

In forming your bouquet, it is better to arrange the stems first and work upwards. Baskets and vases of moss with flowers are pretty. To form these, you must trace out with a pencil your vase or basket, and glue on the moss. Then arrange your flowers.

I have heard amusing criticisms on the coloring of such bouquets, from persons who mistook them for paintings. Framed and covered with a glass, they make ornamental pictures.

It is a pleasant way of preserving mementos of friends, places or events. Flower albums or journals are very beautiful. Wreaths arranged of different varieties of Pelargoniums mixed in with any pretty green, and other little flowers, such as Lobelias, are very handsome and the colors are durable. Pansies of different shades look well, and brilliant wreaths may be made of all the varieties of flowers that hold their color. The oval shape looks the best for wreaths.

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, and look like a cross standing on a mossy bank, with flowers, &c., growing around and over it. First draw and shade your cross as a guide, then take the small leaflets of the darkest colored ferns you can procure, and glue them on carefully where the cross should be in shadow darkest, then take the brighter green ferns (such as are gathered in Spring,) and end with the white ferns (which can only 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 with paint; in a cross six inches high and suitably proportioned, full two hundred of the tiny leaflets of the fern may be used to good advantage before it is completed. Then take wild Lycopodium if you can obtain it, if not, the finest of the cultivated, and arrange it on your cross to look like a vine growing over and hanging from it; also paste on 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.

STRAWBERRIES.

A FEW hints as regards the cultivation of Strawberries may be useful to both boys and girls; for fine berries can be raised even on a small plot of ground, if the soil be rich. Plants for a new bed should be set out early in the Spring; the roots will then grow strong and the plants will be better able to bear the cold of Winter. Some gardeners prefer to plant their strawberry roots in August, or even late in the Autumn, and if the Winter is mild, or deep snows cover the ground, the vines will live and bear fruit the next Summer. Some prefer to raise strawberries in hills, but the most prolific vines are those planted in beds about three feet wide with a path between, filled with straw, to keep the fruit from the ground; it is well to cut off most of the runners. Of course the beds should be kept free from weeds. There are many new varieties, but the old Hovey’s Seedling is as reliable as any and very prolific. The Russell is easily propagated; vines planted in April will often yield fine strawberries in June. The Wilson is a profitable strawberry for the market because of its large yield, but it is hardly equal in flavor to the Hovey. The Hovey will soon run out if planted by itself; it requires some other kind to be planted with it. The Pine is usually the variety selected for that purpose. It is useless to enumerate the several varieties, for nearly every locality has its favorite strawberry. Some kinds will scarcely bear a perfect berry in some locations, while in a different locality the same berry will be loaded with perfect fruit. Sometimes a healthy and vigorous looking bed of strawberry-plants will produce but few berries—then you must examine the blossoms, those which bear fruit will have the berry formed in the flower—while others will blossom freely but do not bear fruit; these are the male plants and it is better to leave but few of them in your strawberry beds. When you plant the new roots dig a hole with a trowel and fill it with water, then spread out the roots and pack the earth close around them, but when they are fully rooted and commence to grow, the earth should be kept loose around them.

Strawberry plants should be replanted every third year; it is best to change the location of the bed if possible, or at least to renew the soil. Boys or girls who raise and gather from their own little garden a dish of strawberries will find great pleasure in presenting it to their friends as fruits of their own labor.

GRAPES.

THE care of the grape-vine is a pleasant occupation. To gather the rich, ripe bunches of its delicious fruit is a grand enjoyment. Almost every one can command a spot of ground sufficient for the liberal support of a grape-vine. It may be planted in any unappropriated corner about the house—a sunny spot is to be preferred, but a vine may do well with but little direct sunshine, if it is well sheltered and properly cared for. It may be planted at the foot of a tree, the branches of which are not near the ground, and it will find its way high up the tree and will yield large crops of fine fruit hidden among its own thick foliage and that of the tree, provided the ground immediately about its roots can be reached and kept warm by the sun’s rays.

As it grows it will endeavor to adapt itself to the circumstances that surround it, and will take the direction your taste or convenience require it to follow. Its flexible branches are obedient to the gentle hand of the careful cultivator. You may train it upon stakes six or eight feet high, or upon a low trellis where the fruit will be within easy reach of your hand. You may have the fruit within a few inches of the ground, or by removing all the lower branches of the vine, you can cause the ripe bunches to hang in graceful festoons around and over the window of your chamber, high above the reach of accident and pilferers. The grape-vine will do as it is bid, which is much more than can be said of some young people, whose eyes sparkle at the sight of its fruit.

In preparing the ground in which to plant the vine, reference must be had to the character of the soil. If the soil is clayey and cold, or if the neighboring surface is such as to turn an undue proportion of the rains upon the place where you propose to plant your vine, care must be taken to secure for the roots of the vine a sufficient drainage. If the roots of the vine are surrounded by wet and cold earth, the fruit will mature slowly and will be endangered by the early frosts. You will secure a sufficient drainage by digging a hole three feet deep and five or six feet in diameter and throwing into it small stones, fragments of bricks or other like rubbish, to the depth of about eighteen inches, and filling to the surface with the soil. If the soil in which you propose to plant your vine is light, no artificial drainage will be necessary.

Dig over the ground and mix with it some well rotted manure or bone dust to the depth of your spade. The plan of trenching and deep manuring is of questionable advantage. The roots of the vine prefer to run near the surface, but they will seek the rich soil wherever it may be; and if they are drawn away from the surface of the ground and out of their natural direction to the colder soil below, the effect upon the fruit may be unfavorable, both as to quality and quantity.

In the ground thus prepared set your young vine from the nursery. First, drive down a stake to which you can tie the young vine, then place the roots of the vine three inches below the surface of the ground, carefully spreading the roots so that they will be as nearly as possible in the position in which they grew in the nursery.

The beautiful operations of nature will then commence. The roots of the vine will at once begin to adapt themselves to their new home, and their delicate fibres will firmly clasp the particles of the well-prepared soil; the warm days of the early Spring will draw the sap up through the whole length of the vine, the buds will open and exhibit their delicate tints, new shoots and broad green leaves will follow, and you can soon eat the fruit of your own labor, sitting beneath the shadow of your own vine.

DESIGNS FOR FLOWERS.

THERE are many beautiful ways of arranging flowers, besides in our costly vases. For example, take a basket and knit like a garter pieces of different shades of moss colored worsted; then dip in hot water and press them; when dry ravel nearly out, only leaving an end which can be fastened on to the basket with sewing silk or green glace thread and a large needle. A basket tastefully covered in this way looks as if it were made of moss, and it retains its beauty longer; a tin dish should be made to fit it, and painted green; keep it filled with natural flowers. I should prefer such an ornament to costly porcelain. Many fill such baskets with exquisite French flowers, which imitate nature perfectly.

To form a pyramid of flowers, take three, four or five wooden bowls according to the size you wish for your pyramid, let them be a regular gradation in size, procure some round pieces of wood, like ribbon blocks, graded in size, glue the tallest into the centre of the largest bowl so that it will stand upright, and upon top of that glue the bowl next in size, and so on to the smallest bowl. Varnish the inside several coats; paint the outsides green and cover with moss; some have a stand made and glued to the bottom of the largest bowl. When filled with flowers, it is a lovely sight. Baskets made of tin and painted green, then covered with moss, make the prettiest hanging baskets possible. Tin rings large enough to surround vases placed inside, and made to hold water, with little wires across the top and painted green, when filled with flowers, form the prettiest mats in the world; the wires keep the flowers in place. I saw one filled with only small Rose-buds, blue Forget-me-nots and Geranium leaves. It is an improvement to cover the outside with moss. Crosses made in the same way are very beautiful and are appropriate to place on the grave of any beloved friend. In that way flowers can be preserved a long time, if there is a sufficient supply of water to preserve them.

There are innumerable ways of arranging flowers. The poorest person can afford to purchase a tin basin, and with a little common paste and moss, which can be found in all country places, a pretty dish for flowers is soon made. Shells make lovely vases. The large shells sailors polish so exquisitely to resemble mother-of-pearl, make elegant hanging vases; bore holes on each side and hang them with strong cords.

Decorate your rooms with flowers if possible. If you have sick friends at home or abroad, carry them flowers; it will cheer them more than you can realize unless you too have been sick.

TO PRODUCE VARIOUS FLOWERS FROM ONE STEM.

SCOOP the pith from a small twig of elder; split it length-ways, and fill each of the parts with seeds that produce different colored flowers. Surround the seed with earth; tie the two bits of wood together, and plant the whole in a pot filled with earth. The stems of the different plants will thus be so incorporated as to exhibit to the eye only one stem, throwing out branches with the different flowers you have planted. By choosing the seeds of plants which germinate at the same time, and which are nearly similar in the texture of their stems, an ingenious person may obtain artificial plants extremely curious.

TO PRESERVE ROSES TILL WINTER.

IT is pleasant to see the Summer flowers in midwinter, and they who cannot have Roses blooming at that period within doors can preserve them in Summer to decorate their table in Winter. First select from your Rose-trees the most beautiful specimens as they are just ready to blossom; tie a piece of fine thread around the stalk of each; do not handle the bud, or the stalk; cut it from the tree with the stalk two or three inches in length; melt sealing-wax and quickly apply it to the end of the stalk; the wax should only be just warm enough to be ductile; form a piece of paper into a cone-like shape, and place the Rose within it; twist it at the ends to exclude the air; put it in a box, and put the box into a drawer; this is to be sure that it is air-tight. In Winter take it out, cut off the end of the stalk, place it in luke-warm water, and in two or three hours it will become fresh and fragrant. If the room is very warm it will answer to put it in cold water.

Illumination.

IN a practical treatise like the present, a dissertation on the antiquities and history of Illumination will not be looked for; nor is there space for the amount of detail that would be necessary to make the subject thoroughly understood. The more knowledge, however, the student has to work upon, the purer and more complete must be his practice; knowledge gives decision, decision leads to facility, and facility in any art whatever, is the main object of pursuit.

For such knowledge, full, clear and accurate as it should be, we must refer to long and learned treatises; and to the inspection of many actual examples; since to understand clearly what is meant by illumination, one should not only read much, but study the work itself at every stage of its career. To look into this matter thoroughly, reference should be made to books upon illumination. Among the best of these books are “The Art of Illumination,” by Wyatt, and “Noel Humphrey’s Work.” However, a few directions may be given here. To begin with the materials.

MATERIALS.

A CAREFUL inspection of the list of water colors manufactured at the present day, leads to the conclusion that the following colors may be used, though some of them are similar to others in tint, &c., or can for other reasons be superseded. These latter are marked in italics:

YELLOWS.

Cadmium Yellow.
Gamboge.
Lemon Yellow.
Mars Yellow.
Naples Yellow.
_Raw Sienna._
_Yellow Ochre._

REDS.

Brown Madder.
Carmine.
Crimson Lake.
Indian Red.
Orange Vermilion.
_Light Red._
_Scarlet Vermilion._
Rose Madder.
Rubens’ Madder.
Vermilion.

BLUES.

Cobalt.
French Blue.
_Intense Blue._
_Indigo._
Smalt.
_Ultramarine Ash._

ORANGES.

_Burnt Roman Ochre._
Burnt Sienna.
Mars Orange.
Neutral Orange.

PURPLES.

Burnt Carmine.
Indian Purple.
_Purple Lake._
Purple Madder.
_Violet Carmine._

GREENS.

Emerald Green.
Oxide of Chromium.
_Olive Green._

BROWNS.

_Burnt Umber._
_Sepia._
_Vandyke Brown._

BLACKS.

_Ivory Black._
Lamp-black.

WHITE.

Chinese White.

The selected colors should be apportioned into five lists, as follows, viz:

FIRST LIST.—Gamboge, cadmium yellow, crimson lake, vermilion, cobalt, French blue, emerald green, lamp-black, Chinese white.

SECOND LIST.—Lemon yellow, gamboge, cadmium yellow, rose madder, crimson lake, vermilion, cobalt, French blue, burnt sienna, emerald green, vandyke brown, lamp-black, Chinese white.

THIRD LIST.—Lemon yellow, gamboge, cadmium yellow, rose madder, crimson lake, carmine, orange vermilion, vermilion, cobalt, French blue, burnt sienna, brown madder, emerald green, green oxide of chromium, vandyke brown, lamp-black, Chinese white.

FOURTH LIST.—Lemon yellow, gamboge, cadmium yellow, mars yellow, rose madder, crimson lake, carmine, orange vermilion, vermilion, Indian red, brown madder, cobalt, French blue, neutral orange, burnt sienna, burnt carmine, Indian purple, emerald green, green oxide of chromium, vandyke brown, lamp-black, Chinese white.

FIFTH LIST.—Lemon yellow, gamboge, Naples yellow, cadmium yellow, mars yellow, rose madder, Rubens’ madder, crimson lake, carmine, orange vermilion, vermilion, Indian red, cobalt, French blue, smalt, mars orange, burnt sienna, purple madder, burnt carmine, Indian purple, emerald green, green oxide of chromium, vandyke brown, lamp-black, Chinese white.

These five lists will be found to be carefully selected, and to contain the colors best adapted for illumination.

There is not space in this book to enter into the peculiarities and properties of these colors, which are fully discussed in several works and treatises. The colors here recommended are permanent in character, but chrome yellows, red lead and pure scarlet it is best to avoid, as they are not lasting. Pure scarlet is fugitive and the others in time turn black. “Winsor and Newton’s moist water colors” are the best for all illuminating purposes.

Good Bristol board with a fine firm grain, and having an ivory-like surface, but without gloss, is the best material for illuminating upon.

BRUSHES.

FEW brushes are required for illumination, but from the peculiar character of the work, and the nature of the colors, &c., employed, it is requisite that the right kinds should be carefully selected. For general use, the red sable brushes in goose, duck and crow quills should be employed; say one goose, (for large grounds,) two duck (for ordinary work,) and three crow (for fine linings on initials, &c.) The red sable is preferable to the brown sable, or other hair, as being stronger and firmer at the point. An ordinary flat camel’s hair brush will suffice for damping the back of gold paper, washing over weak solutions of gum water or ox-gall, &c., &c.

When gold leaf is used, a soft camel’s hair brush (of swan quill size,) may be found useful for touching, smoothing, &c. For laying down the gold leaf, a very thin, flat brush is required, called a gilder’s tip.

Burnishers are made of agate, and the following metallic preparations are found useful in illuminating, viz: gold paper, shell gold, saucer gold, shell silver, saucer silver, shell aluminum, shell platina. Silver inevitably blackens. Aluminum is preferable to silver.

Besides colors, materials to work upon, pens, brushes, burnisher, tracer, and metallic preparations, there will be required an eraser, compass, rule, pencil, India rubber, sponge, cotton wood, some tracing paper and other small sundries. A bottle of gum water will be necessary, and also one of liquid ox-gall. A little of the former, mingled with water, is used to impart brilliancy to colors.

COLORING.

UNDER the head of materials, are given colors recommended for illumination. Besides the colors in that list, several others are requisite, that are only to be obtained by mixing on the palette. These broken hues are employed in backgrounds, and as shading for the more brilliant colors and tints on the ornamentation.

There is only space in this book for a few practical directions for laying on such colors as are named.

First, then, everything connected with the painting should be scrupulously clean and free from dust. Distilled water should be used, or at least soft water that is perfectly clear. A very little gum water, in some cases, should be added to the color as it is mixed. The sable pencils should be in readiness, two or three, or more, according to the work and habits of the operator.

Perhaps this is the best place to mention the manner of using the Chinese white. On being taken from the bottle, it is found to be exceedingly viscid, and troublesome to work, clogging the point of the pencil. Of course it should be diluted with pure water, but as this renders it too thin for the firm and fine lines and dots so often wanted, it must be left a few moments to evaporate and thicken; if still viscid, it should be thinned again and left. White thus put out of the tube and thinned, will be found to be even better for working a day or two afterwards than at first. All that is required, as it will be dry, is to dip the pencil in water before working it upon the white, and make a good point before transferring it to the illumination. Unless these precautions be observed, the use of white will be attended with continual vexation.

When a compound color is required, sufficient for the work in hand should be mixed up at one time, lest, more being required, the second tint differ from the first, when a disagreeable patchy appearance will ensue.

Compound tints should be kept extremely clean in tone, muddy or dirty tints being fatal to that exquisite purity of colors for which illumination is so famed. It is a great mistake to suppose that dark tints are necessarily somewhat dirty; · on the contrary, they can be kept as clean and clear in tone as the most vivid combinations.

The following is a list of colors and mixed tints, stated without technical phraseology, as far as possible:

Table of Colors and Mixed Tints.

YELLOWS.

_Vivid high-toned yellow or primrose._—Lemon yellow, yellow and white, gamboge and white.

_Bright transparent yellow._—Gamboge.

_Rich glowing yellow._—Cadmium yellow.

_Clear transparent yellow._—Mars yellow, lemon yellow and cadmium yellow, lemon yellow and gamboge and mars yellow.

_Rich brown yellow._—Cadmium yellow and little purple madder, cadmium yellow and little Indian red.

_Buff yellow._—Cadmium and touch of burnt carmine, orange and little white.

REDS.

_Vivid high-toned red._—Orange vermilion.

_Deep opaque red._—Vermilion.

_Bright transparent pink._—Rose madder, rose madder and touch of carmine.

_Opaque pink._—White and little orange vermilion, white and little vermilion, white and little Indian red, white and touch of carmine, white and little rose madder.

_Rich glowing crimson._—Crimson, lake, carmine.

_Chocolate red._—Vandyke brown and carmine, vandyke brown and crimson lake, burnt carmine and orange vermilion.

_Russet red._—Carmine and Indian red.

BLUES.

_Bright azure blue._—Cobalt, cobalt and white.

_Rich strong blue._—French blue.

_Deep dense blue._—French blue and little black.

_Brilliant purple blue._—Smalt.

ORANGES.

_Clear pure yellow orange._—Mars orange, neutral orange.

_Deeper yellow orange._—Burnt sienna.

_Intensely brilliant transparent red orange._—Carmine over a ground of gamboge.

_Rich glowing warm orange._—Cadmium yellow and carmine, cadmium yellow and orange vermilion, orange vermilion and little lemon yellow.

PURPLES.

_Rich cold purple_, (_violet, lavender, &c._)—Indian purple, Indian purple and French blue, cobalt and little rose madder, cobalt and little crimson lake, cobalt and little purple madder, French blue, white and little rose madder, French blue and little crimson lake, French blue and little burnt carmine.

_Rich warm purple_, (_pure maroon, &c._)—Purple madder, burnt carmine, crimson lake and little French blue, French blue and carmine, rose madder and little French blue, rose madder and little cobalt, crimson lake and cobalt, burnt carmine and little French blue. White may be added with any of these.

_Greyish lilac._—Cobalt and brown madder.

GREENS.

_Vivid high-toned green._—Emerald green, emerald green and lemon yellow.

_Bright apple green._—Emerald green and little oxide of chromium, emerald green little oxide of chromium and little lemon yellow, lemon yellow and little cobalt.

_High-toned transparent green._—Gamboge and little cobalt, cadmium and little cobalt, gamboge and little French blue, cadmium and little French blue.

_Low-toned transparent green._—Cadmium yellow, French blue and very little crimson lake, lemon yellow, cobalt and very little rose madder, cobalt and little gamboge and little cadmium yellow, French blue and little gamboge, French blue and little cadmium.

_Light opaque green._—Oxide of chromium and white.

_Deep opaque green._—Oxide of chromium.

BROWNS.

_Pure brown._—Vandyke brown.

_Rich warm brown._—Vandyke brown and little burnt carmine or crimson lake, purple madder and touch of cadmium yellow, vandyke brown and brown madder.

_Cold brown._—Vandyke brown and Indian purple.

_Yellow brown._—Indian red and little cadmium.

_Stone drab._—Vandyke brown and white, yellow ochre and white.

BLACK.

_Dense black._—Lamp-black.

WHITE.

_Pure white_.—Chinese white.

GREYS AND NEUTRALS.

_Grey._—Black and white.

_Purple grey._—Black and white and little cobalt.

_Slate grey._—Black and white and little crimson lake, black and white and Indian red and cobalt.

_Silvery grey._—Black and white and rose madder.

_Clear warm neutrals for shading._—Orange vermilion and cobalt in various proportions. Various proportions of colors may be tried, particularly for the greys, neutrals, and quiet compounds, and the most pleasing and suitable should be carefully noted for use.

Scientific formulas are not to be condemned, but in the present state of the science of color, it is rash to say what is, and what is not right, by law. In delicate harmonies, considerable license must be allowed to what is called taste.

Whatever the numerical formulas may do in preventing us from utterly disgusting ourselves, excellence in coloring can only be attained by careful study of beautiful examples.

Reynolds’ maxim, of constant copying was practiced ages before by the Italian masters; and it is so still, as the hundreds and thousands of studies left by deceased artists testify.

Twenty good color studies, patiently copied, are worth all the numerical formulas in the world. Nevertheless, to those who are timid or inexperienced in judgment of color, a careful study of Chevreul or Hay will not be without advantage, and though it will not create the power to color harmoniously, it will aid in its development.

If any one should attempt to copy a manuscript of the fourteenth century or thereabouts, first cut the proper kind of Bristol board the size the page is to be, and prepare it by rubbing with pomice. Then, having sketched it out upon a board, rule very lightly the lines for the margin, type and initial letter. If the border be open, that is, upon a white ground, as most of this period were, the outer marginal line will have to be erased, so that it had better only be ruled in pencil. Next the type must be printed according to the date, sketching the capitals, which you will finish afterwards. The next thing to be done is to copy the large initial letter, which must be done with great care, testing its accuracy by tracing. If there is to be any picture, then that must be next sketched. Your outline cannot be too delicate. Last of all you will copy the border, and that in the following way: fix your eye upon some prominent portion of the border in the copy, and having ascertained its exact position and dimensions, proceed to mark it out upon the surface of your Bristol board. Measure again the distance from this to the next most prominent feature, and so on in like manner until you have all the most important parts fixed in their proper places.

Now advance to the subordinate ornamental detail and gradually fill that in, dividing your work into small portions and taking the greatest care to have all correct. Do not rest till you have a literal fac-simile of the original.

Now proceed to color; but first mix a little liquid ox-gall with your colors, which will enable you to paint with ease and certainty. The initial letter can be first finished, using the appropriate colors. Next begin to color the border, applying one tint wherever it is wanted all through it, then finishing the next, and so on until you have all the colors laid on their proper places. These you will proceed to shade and ornament in solid Chinese white or gold; any little figures also or grotesques should now be completed, including of course the terminal line, generally of gold and color, which encloses the type. When all these are finished and really accurate, both in shape and color, if there be a picture, that comes next in order; if not, you will put in any dots of color or flat gold which may happen to adorn the background. This will conclude the operation of copying, and any marks or spots which have occurred in the course of your drawing can now be erased with bread.

DESIGN.

IF you have any enthusiasm for this art, and have studied manuscript of the best period of illumination, as has been advised, you will not be content simply to copy the designs of others, but will desire yourself to try and compose them. Is it not our duty to try and develop to the extent of our power, any art we cherish? Therefore let us consider the subject of design and try to form some rules for our future guidance.

The first thing necessary to do, is to fix upon some existing style of illumination to serve as a basis for any intended developments. Of course this style must naturally be the best and purest, and that is, as I have often said before, and as I firmly believe, that which prevailed from the middle of the thirteenth to the end of the fourteenth century. But you will ask of what nature ornament is to be, and this leads to a rule, that _ornamentation must consist of conventionalized representation of natural objects_. All true beauty consists in the representation of, or is derived from, natural objects. To this rule there is no exception. But nature may be represented in two ways, either by realizing her, as far as our means will possibly allow, or by conventionalism. In realism, we endeavor to obtain a literal copy of the object to be represented and set no bounds to our pursuit of this.

In conventionalism, we beforehand arrange certain limits at which to stop, and then get as much of nature as we can within those limits.

Now in conventionalism it is to a great extent optional how far you will realize your flowers or leaves. You may do it more or less as you feel the occasion requires.

The principle appears to be to seize upon the leading characteristics of the flower or form you wish to represent, and then to add as much of the rest as you can consistently with your subject. Thus, you may either represent a rose as an arrangement of five leaves of a certain shape and color round a yellow or gold central spot—as was the general mediæval type—or you may go somewhat nearer the reality and add a few more petals, &c., so as to bring it to a closer resemblance. You must arrange this with yourself, but as a rule observe that the more you realize any flower the more you must proportionably increase the quantity of conventional ornament around it, so as to make it evident that you had voluntarily set yourself limits which you did not choose to pass. While I am on this subject, I will take the opportunity to advise you to make great use of leaves in your designs. Wonderful and perfect as all nature’s work is, yet it seems as if the stamp of perfection and divine beauty were more strongly impressed on leaves than on any other of her productions. The thousand changing forms of beauty with which she clothes the woods, the banks, and the very ground we tread on, ought to be to all, but especially to lovers of beauty and truth, objects of the purest joy and delight. Make very frequent use of them in designing, for they ever have been and ever will be sources of the best and most heavenly beauty. Remember always that in painting them it is far more important to have the form and outline quite right and true, than to imitate or approach their color, which may be left arbitrary. Remember also that their power will be better felt by a somewhat sparing use of them, I mean as regards not over-crowding your page, so that though you may employ many leaves, you will have but few of each.

The last rule of design is, that there _should be a general purpose and meaning running throughout the ornamental detail_. You should endeavor to carry out some idea in each border, and to this end should reflect well, first what idea you wish to give, next how, and by what means you may best convey it. I will not say that your meaning will at once be plain to every one, nor indeed is it likely to be so to more than a few, but still the working with a deliberate idea in your mind will give a unity and completeness to your design, which will be entirely wanting to one worked out at random, or with a view only to prettiness—the most noxious idea it is possible to conceive, and the rock upon which nearly all modern illuminators make shipwreck. Accustom yourself to ask not, “is this pretty?” but, “is it _right_?” and this habit will, I think, be a safeguard to you.

The principles of design as applied to this art, have now been considered. There are, it is true, many other points on which I could speak, but as my space will not allow it, I have chosen those which are the most important, and against which there is to beginners the greatest temptation to err. Careful study of the best manuscript you have an opportunity of seeing, must be your guide on other points. But as an encouragement let me tell you, that if you have any talent for design, and will take the trouble diligently to _think_ over the directions here given and try them by such fourteenth century examples as may fall in your way, I do not think that you can go wrong in any material point. Difference of opinion and taste there must always be, but as long as we grasp the truth and resolutely cling to our landmarks, our steps cannot go far astray.

These foregoing directions were prepared for this work by a lady who excels in the art of illumination.

House and Home Arts.

DECALCOMANIE will be appreciated and enjoyed by any one who takes pleasure in making tasteful articles for gifts, or for contributions to fairs, or in adding new graces to the parlor. It consists in ornamenting vases and boxes with oil paintings. The process saves a great deal of labor, and when the work is well done, very close examination is necessary to detect the difference between hand paintings and the Decalcomanie, particularly if the pictures are retouched, or tiny sprays of moss, small leaves, or flowers are added in water colors. The designs can be transferred to wood, porcelain, leather, silk, glass, metal, paper, etc.

The designs are printed in oil colors, on the surface of paper, which has been previously prepared with a composition easily soluble in water,—or in fact the printing is entirely on this composition, the paper merely serving as a back to give support to the thin film on which the design is printed. By a process hereafter described, these beautiful designs in oil colors may be perfectly transferred to the surface of any article which it is desirable to ornament, such as vases, card-cases, porte-monnaies, work-boxes, needle-books, toilet-cushions, lamp-shades, and hundreds of other things too numerous to mention; and when nicely executed, the work equals the finest painting. Beautiful bouquets may in this way, be transferred to silk for toilet-cushions and perfume sachets.

When applied to china, porcelain or other similar substances, it may be freely washed with warm water without injury, and is in every respect as durable as oil painting.

Materials.

The necessary materials are as follows: _cementing varnish_, _protecting varnish_, two or three _camel’s hair brushes_ of various sizes, (these should be of fine quality, as the cheaper ones never have good points), a glass of _clear water_, a small vial of benzine or burning fluid for cleaning the varnish brushes; and be careful and procure suitably prepared pictures.

Directions.

First, with a fine brush, apply the cementing varnish to every part of the picture, following the outline neatly without running over on the white paper. After applying the varnish let it dry a minute, then, holding the picture to the light, take a larger brush and dampen the back with water, being careful to wet the size of the design only. Before the picture has time to expand much, apply the picture to the article to be ornamented, firmly pressing every part; dampen again with water, after which remove the paper. To remove the paper, commence at one corner and carefully raise it, keeping close watch that none of the design adheres to the paper. If a piece, however small, is seen attached to the paper, immediately replace the paper and again press that part to the article and perhaps dampen a little more. Having entirely removed the paper, draw a damp cloth smoothly over the finger and firmly press every part, using great care that no air bubbles remain under the large surfaces. The day after the transfer, carefully wash the design with cold water, and when perfectly dry, lightly apply the protecting varnish to the design. The above directions are strictly applicable to ornamenting only such articles as can be washed.

In ornamenting any delicate substance, such as silk, great care must be observed in dampening the back, in order to dampen only the exact size of the design; as, if the preparation on the paper is dampened around the picture, it will soil the silk. Of course the washing above mentioned must be omitted; and oftentimes the varnishing may also be omitted to advantage, as its object is simply to render the painting more durable, where it is to be subjected to use or exposed to the weather.

In order to avoid soiling delicate substances, some persons have adopted the following expedients:—After applying the cementing varnish to the picture, and before dampening the back, take the water brush, and thoroughly wet the face of the paper all around the design. This will soften the preparation, which may be removed by carefully touching the surface with a wet cloth. The cloth, being wet, will not stick to the varnish if it comes in contact with it. After this operation, the process is the same as before described, except that some of the fine parts near the edge may require retouching with the cementing varnish.