WILD FLOWERS AND THEIR PRESERVATION.
LONG before the first green leaves make their appearance, while the
snows of winter still linger in the shaded nooks, and the branches are
still bare, though blushing with the full, flowing sap that tinges
their tips pink, yellow, and red—when the air is filled with a sweet
freshness and delicate fragrance—it is charming in our rambles to find
scattered here and there upon the hill-side, down among the roots of
the great trees, or under the hedges delicate little wild flowers
waving on their fragile stalks with the faintest passing breeze. They
are so exquisitely beautiful with their tender hues and graceful
shapes, that a longing comes to possess them.
And why not keep them fresh at home? Plants live in the earth and
require light, air, and moisture. All of these requirements can be
and are fulfilled in thousands of homes where plants are kept, all
over the world. But these are _wild flowers_. True, and they may need
something to be found only in the wild woods. What, then, is it? Let us
see. Earth, light, and air abound everywhere. Still, upon inspection
we discover that the soil around our timid wild flowers is somewhat
different from that to be found in our door-yards. But what is simpler
than to take the earth up with the plant?
Be careful in
=Transplanting Wild Flowers=
to dig well all around and under the roots, so that the earth
surrounding and clinging to the plant may be taken up at the same time
(Fig. 2). After covering the root and soil adhering to it with a layer
of clay, mud, or damp earth (Fig. 3) set the root in a large leaf, and
tie it up with string or a wisp of grass (Fig 4), in order to make sure
the soil does not fall off the plant. Thus secured the specimens will
keep nicely until you reach home; then plant them in a shady place and
keep the ground moist. Beautiful little woodland gardens are made in
this way, where within a few steps of the door a glimpse may be had of
the fair forest flowers.
[Illustration]
Sweet-scented white violets, delicate little anemones, odd yellow
violets, and quaint jack-in-the-pulpits, with many others, not
forgetting the graceful ferns, are now growing in the shaded corner of
the writer’s lawn, transplanted there from their home in the woods,
where she found them one lovely spring morning, when out with a party
of friends on a hunt for wild flowers.
The day was perfect, filled with sunshine and the song of birds. All
nature appeared glad and joyous, and the trees seemed veiled in the
softest greens and pinks of budding leaves.
It was a happy party that went wandering into the forest, straying here
and there, and finding new treasures at nearly every step, stopping to
gather a few of the violets that gave a purple tinge to the ground for
yards around, then rambling on to the spot that was covered with the
fragile anemone, each girl laden with the flowers she loved best. Some
had taken them up roots and all, while others preferred the
=Cut Wild Flowers.=
For these it is best to use a tin box of convenient size and form
shutting closely. The flowers must be fresh and not at all damp; in
such a box they can be kept for days bright and unfading. They may also
safely be sent to friends at a distance, though it is better, when
=Sending Flowers by Mail,=
if you wish to send a quantity, to pack them in a strong pad or wooden
box. First lay down a piece of oiled paper of the proper size; spread
a thin layer of damp paper on this; next a layer of flowers, then one
of thin wet paper; and so on until the box is full. Over the last layer
place a dry paper, and cover this with oiled paper or tin-foil; put the
lid on the box and tie it down securely.
By this method a larger number of flowers can be sent in a given space
than when simply inclosed in a tin box.
The writer has often sent daisies from New York to Cincinnati where
they arrived as fresh as when first gathered.
For the benefit of those who wish directions for sending flowers
by mail, we give the following on authority of the _American
Agriculturist_.
“The law passed some years since by Congress, allowing
packages of plants to be sent by mail, if not over
four pounds in weight, was a capital arrangement
for those who lived at a distance from railroad and
express offices, but it is so hampered with the various
constructions given by the Post Office Department,
that it is difficult to know what is required by the
officials. The law now is, we believe, as follows: A
package, weighing four pounds or less, can be sent at
the rate of two cents per four ounces, but the writing
of the words “roots” or “plants” makes a letter of
it, and is charged letter postage. Nothing should be
written except the address, and the package must not
be sealed, or contain any writing, and it must be so
fastened that the postmaster can examine the contents
if he wishes. The plants may, however, be numbered, and
their names sent by letter.”
Now let us think of some way in which these lovely blossoms can be
preserved.
In Germany they excel in making decorations for rooms, dinner-tables,
etc., of
=Preserved Flowers.=
Bright-colored flowers are best adapted to this method. White flowers
are apt to turn yellow. Jack-in-the-pulpits, clover, roses, and daisies
came out beautifully when the writer dried them, and why should not
many other kinds do just as well? Try and see.
Procure three or four quarts of fine sand; white scouring-sand is
the best; wash it perfectly clean. This can be tested by pouring the
water off until it looks quite clear; then dry the sand, by placing
it in a clean tin in the oven. When it is dry—fully dry and cool—pour
enough in a box to enable the flowers to stand by themselves, their
stems embedded in the sand, which should be a mass of fine particles of
uniform size.
[Illustration: Preserved Flowers.]
If the flowers are cut so that they all measure nearly the same length
from the tip of the blossom to the end of the stem, they can more
readily be covered with sand. The flowers must be fresh and entirely
free from moisture. Place them stem downward in the sandy layer, and
very gently and slowly pour in the sand a little at a time, until each
leaf and petal is firmly held in place (Fig. 5); then fill the box with
sand nearly two inches above the level of the flowers.
It is very essential that every particle of the flower rest in the
sand, and that in filling up, the smallest petal has not been bent or
crumpled.
Take care not to shake the box lest the flowers inside be injured. Set
it in a warm, dry place, and let it stand at least two weeks.
This manner of preserving flowers retains the color, while the shape
of the leaves and petals remains unaltered. The flowers will keep for
years.
There are other ways also of preserving flowers.
=Pressed Flowers and Leaves.=
Although these are perfectly flat, they seldom fade and are very pretty
and useful. Have ready a large book or a quantity of old newspapers and
several weights. Use the newspapers for leaves and ferns—blotting-paper
is best for the flowers. Both the flowers and leaves should be fresh
and without moisture. Place them as nearly in their natural positions
as possible in the book or papers, and press, allowing several
thicknesses of paper between each layer. Remove the specimens to dry
papers each day until perfectly dry.
Some flowers must be immersed—all but the flower head—in boiling water
for a few minutes, before pressing, to prevent them from turning black.
Orchids are of this nature.
If possible, it is well to obtain all parts of a plant, the roots as
well as the seeds, for a more interesting collection can thus be made
than from the flower and leaf alone.
It is advisable to be provided with a blank book or, what is still
better, pieces of stiff white paper of uniform size on which to mount
the flowers or leaves when dried; also with a small bottle of mucilage
and a brush for fastening them, and some narrow strips of court-plaster
or gummed paper for the stems and thicker parts of the plants. The
sooner they can be mounted the better. Place them carefully on the
paper, writing beneath the locality and date of finding. Flowers and
leaves thus prepared make beautiful herbariums. Should you desire
=Leaves and Ferns for Decoration,=
first press them nicely; then give them a coat of wax, by ironing them
on both sides with a hot iron over which a piece of beeswax has first
been rubbed. Cover the specimens completely with wax, as this renders
them quite pliable, and they are no longer brittle nor easily broken.
Sprays of small leaves can be pressed entire.
To heighten the effect, use dry colors, rubbing them in, and selecting
those corresponding with the color of the leaves when first gathered.
The colors must be put on before the coating of wax. Ferns should be
gathered when nearly full grown, and, after they are pressed, painted
light green with oil-colors; in that case the beeswax is not used. The
oil in the paint, like the wax, makes the specimens more substantial,
and they look quite fresh and fair.
Sometimes the late autumn frosts will bleach the ferns perfectly white;
then are they even more delicate than before Nature changed their
color. We have seen the
=Color of Flowers Changed,=
and it is a very pretty experiment, very simple, too. Immerse the
flowers in ammonia, and you will be surprised to see white lilies
change to a delicate yellow, pink roses turn a lovely light green,
while dark-red sweet-peas assume blue and rich purple tints; and
the change is so rapid it is almost like magic. Another interesting
experiment is making
=Natural Wax Flowers=
by dipping the fresh buds and blossoms in paraffine just sufficiently
hot to liquefy it; first the stems of the flowers; when these have
cooled and hardened, then the flowers or sprays, holding them by the
stalks and moving them gently. When they are completely covered the
flowers are removed and lightly shaken, in order to throw off the
superfluous wax. The flowers are then suspended until perfectly dry,
when they are found hermetically sealed in a film of paraffine, while
they still keep their beautiful coloring and natural forms, and for a
while even their perfume. Now let us find what can be done
=To Freshen Cut Flowers.=
When the heat has made them wilt, clip the stems and set the flowers in
cold water; in a few hours they will regain their freshness and beauty.
Some flowers, however, must be differently treated, such as heliotrope
and mignonette; these keep if placed _upon_ damp moss or cotton and set
in a cold place at night.
Rosebuds will retain their freshness for hours when not placed in
water, if the ends of the stems are snipped off, and immediately tipped
with melted sealing-wax; this excludes the air, and so keeps the
flowers from drooping.
If roses are wilted before they can be placed in water, cut off the
ends of the stalks and immerse in very hot water for a minute or two,
and they will regain their pristine freshness.
Another way to keep flowers fresh is to put a pinch of nitrate of
soda into the glass each time you change the water Nitrate of potash
or saltpetre in a powder has nearly the same effect, or a drop of
hartshorn.
If plants are chilled by frost, shower them with cold water, and leave
in a cool room; or set the pot in cold water and keep in a moderately
cool place. Now one word about
=Crystallized Flowers,=
that sparkle and look so beautiful. They must first be dried in sand,
then crystallized in the same way as dried grasses—the rougher the
surface the better will it crystallize. Dissolve as much alum in
boiling water as it will hold; when this is determined, pour it off and
boil the solution down to one-half.
Suspend the flowers by a net-work of string tied across the top of a
pail into which they must hang; then pour into the pail the boiling
alum water, which must completely cover the flowers, and leave it
undisturbed twelve hours, or all night.
The flowers should not touch each other or the sides of the bucket. Be
careful in removing them the next morning, as the crystals are easily
broken off.
Flowers or sprays of grass may be beautifully frosted by dipping them
in a solution of gum-arabic and sprinkling them with powdered isinglass.
Flowers are not only very beautiful, but many of them possess a
fragrance so sweet that we would fain learn how to keep the
=Perfume of Flowers.=
Rose-leaves are the most simply prepared. Take a covered jar, fill it
with sweet-scented rose-leaves, and scatter through them some salt.
Keep the jar closed tight, and when the petals have dried the “scent
of the roses will cling to them still,” so that every time the jar is
opened a delicious fragrance will fill the air. Or you can cover the
rose-leaves with melted lard, and leave them for a day or two in some
place at a temperature of about 140° F.; then cool it and knead the
lard in alcohol. Pour off the alcohol in fancy glass bottles and use as
handkerchief perfume.
For varieties we find this method:
“The delicate odor of pinks and other flowers may be
obtained as follows: Get a glass funnel, with the
narrow end drawn to a point; in this place lumps of
ice with salt, by which a very low temperature is
produced. The funnel should be supported on an ordinary
retort-stand and placed near the flowering plants,
when water and the ethereal odor of the blossom will
be deposited on the exterior of the glass funnel, and
will trickle down to the point, from which it drops at
intervals into a glass vessel below. The scent thus
obtained is very perfect, but is apt to become sour in
a few days unless some pure alcohol is added. By this
process many odors may be procured for comparison and
study. To obtain the odor in perfection the blossom
must be in its prime.”
Dry some sweet clover, and the fragrance will be sweet and pleasant.
Fill a fancy bag of some thin sheer material with the clover, and you
will find that you have imprisoned the fresh breath of summer.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Old-time lavender can be prepared in the same way.
Our thoughts so far have been for the flowers in their season. But did
it ever occur to you that it is possible to have
=Spring Flowers in Winter?=
If you search in the woods during December you may find, tucked away
in sheltered spots, little woodland plants which, when taken up and
carefully transplanted in a flower-pot and set in a sunny window, will
soon begin to grow, sending up tender stems, and in about three weeks
will blossom. The little fairy-like flowers seem even more beautiful
coming in the cold wintry weather.
Fruit-tree twigs and sprays from flowering shrubs will blossom when
the ground is white with snow, if cut from trees about the first of
February, placed in well-heated water in a warm room, and the water
changed every day for some that is almost but not quite hot.
The twigs being kept warm will blossom in a few weeks.
It is quite a pretty idea to take up and plant in a little flower-pot
=The Four-leaved Clover.=
Very frequently you may find a tuft bearing only the mystic number,
and should it happen to have a five- or six-leaved clover in with the
others, they will add to the luck.
If you possess one of these charmed plants, it is said “good luck” will
always be near at hand.
Besides the foregoing directions for the preservation of flowers,
plants, etc., there are numerous other methods, which, although not
experimentally verified by the writer, are no doubt as worthy of a
place here as any of the former.
The following recipes have been culled from various old papers, books,
etc.
=Some Old-fashioned Methods of Preserving Flowers.=
The first of these ways is more properly intended for botanical
collections, and is often resorted to by collectors of rare blossoms.
It consists in placing
=Flowers in Alcohol,=
and possesses the great advantage of preserving the flowers for years,
and keeping their most delicate fibres uninjured. They make invaluable
specimens to sketch from, and though their beauty may be somewhat
impaired by loss of color, their outlines remain perfect.
Place the flowers in a wide-mouthed bottle, fill it to the top with
alcohol, cork it tightly, and cover the cork with plaster-of-Paris or
melted beeswax, thus hermetically sealing it. Do not use sealing-wax,
as experience has taught us that the fumes of the alcohol soften the
wax, and not only spoil the neat appearance of the bottle, but allow
the spirits to evaporate.
Another way is to
=Bottle Flowers.=
Carefully seal the ends of the stems with sealing-wax, place them in
an empty bottle—both flowers and bottle must be perfectly dry—cork the
bottle, and hermetically seal it with either sealing-wax or beeswax.
The next method has greater possibilities of beauty, and consequently
the reader will be more interested in learning
=How to Preserve a Vaseful of Flowers for a Year.=
Take home your basket of wild flowers, “nodding violets,” cowslips,
bright-eyed anemones, and all the lovely offerings of the woods, and
before arranging them in the vase, carefully seal the stem of each
flower. Place a glass shade over the vase; be careful that flowers,
vase, and shade are perfectly dry; then fill up the groove in the
wood, in which the shade stands, with melted wax. By covering the wax
with chenille it can be perfectly hidden.
Flowers kept in this way will last for a twelvemonth.
The flowers preserved in an empty bottle may be taken out, the wax cut
from the stems, and, if arranged in a bouquet, will last as long as
perfectly fresh flowers.
Those in the alcohol lose their color after being immersed for a time,
and will not last when removed from the alcohol.
In following any of these directions be careful not to tie the flowers.
No string must be used. The flower stems must be loose and separate
from each other.
A florist of much experience in preserving bouquets for an indefinite
period gives this recipe for
=Keeping Bouquets Fresh a Long Time.=
When you receive a bouquet sprinkle it lightly with fresh water, then
put it into a vessel containing some soapsuds; this will take the place
of the roots and keep the flowers bright as new. Take the bouquet out
of the suds every morning, and lay it sideways, the stems entering
first, in clean water; keep it there a minute or two, then take it out,
and sprinkle the flowers lightly by the hand with water; replace it in
the soapsuds, and it will bloom as fresh as when first gathered.
The soapsuds need changing every three or four days. By observing these
rules a bouquet can be kept bright and beautiful for at least a month,
and will last longer in a very passable state. From another source we
learn how
=To Keep Flowers or Fruit a whole Year perfectly Fresh.=
Mix one pound of nitre with two pounds of sal ammoniac and three pounds
of clean common sand; then in dry weather take fruit of any sort which
is not fully ripe, allowing the stalks to remain, and put them one by
one into an open glass until it is quite full; cover the glass with
oiled cloth, closely tied down. Put the glass three or four inches down
in the earth in a dry cellar, and surround it on all sides to the depth
of three or four inches with the above mixture. The fruit will thus be
preserved quite fresh all the year round.
In giving the following recipe for the manufacture of rose-water, it
may be as well to state that the original verse is given, not for its
merit as such, but simply because it is the form in which the recipe
reached the writer.
=Rose-water.=
“When the bushes of roses are full,
As most of them are about June,
’Tis high time to gather, or pull
The leaves of the flowers. As soon
As you’ve picked all you need for the time,
To each _quart of water_ unite
A _peck of the leaves_, which, if prime—
And they will be, if pulled off aright—
May be _placed in a still_ near at hand,
On a _very slow fire_. When done,
Bottle off, and permit it to _stand
For three days_ ere you cork down each one.”
[Illustration]