We hope some of you have collected a good supply of ferns of the
different colors,--deep brown, yellow, green and white,--for by means
of a new process you can make something really beautiful with them. It
requires deft fingers and good eyes, but with practice and patience
any of you could manage it. Supposing it to be a table-top which you
wish to ornament, you proceed as follows: Paint the wood all over with
black or very dark brown; let it dry, and rub it smooth with pumice.
Next varnish. And here comes the point of the process. _While the
varnish is wet_, lay your ferns down upon it, following a design which
you have arranged clearly in your head, or marked beforehand on a
sheet of paper. A pin's point will aid you to move and place the
fragile stems, which must not be much handled, and must lie perfectly
flat, with no little projecting points to mar the effect, which when
done should be like mosaic-work. As soon as the pattern is in place,
varnish again immediately. The ferns, thus inclosed in a double wall
of varnish, will keep their places perfectly. Next day, when all is
dry, varnish once more. Small articles of white holly-wood decorated
in this way are very pretty, and a thin china plate with an overlaying
of these varnished ferns becomes a beautiful and ornamental
card-receiver.
[Illustration: CARD-RECEIVER (AUTUMN-LEAF WORK).]