CORAL, ALUM AND ALLSPICE

To make coral baskets — take flowers and sprays of all shapes and kinds of bonnet or hoop-skirt wire, wound with fine thin cloth ; take one

CORAL, AL UM AND ALLSPICE. 7

ounce of resin and dissolve it in a brass pan with two drachms of the finest Vermillion and thoroughly mix them ; then take your basket twigs and dip them into the solution till they are well dyed. Pretty brackets can be made in the same way. Some persons dissolve red sealing-wax in alcohol to form coral ; powder the wax, and fill in as much as the alcohol will dissolve.

Success in alum baskets depends upon chance, for the crystals will form iregularly, even when the utmost care is taken. Dissolve alum in a little more than twice as much water as will be necessary to cover the basket, handle and all. Put in as much alum as the water will dissolve. The water should be hot. When the water is entirely saturated, pour it into a saucepan or earthen jar (by no means put it into an iron ves- sel)_ and slowly boil it, until it is nearly evaporated. The basket should then be suspended from a little stick, laid across the top of the jar, in such a manner that both basket and handle will be covered by the solu- tion. It must be set away in a cool place, where not the slightest motion will disturb the formation of the crystals. The frame may be made in any fancied shape. It is usually made of small wire, woven in and out like basket work ; but a common willow basket may be used as a frame for either the coral or alum baskets. Whether it is of wire or willow, a rough surface must be produced by winding every part with thread or worsted. If wire already covered is used it will save the trouble of winding. Irregular knots of the worsted left all over it with a few ends is quite an improvement. Bright yellow crystals may be produced by boiling gamboge, saffron or turmeric in the alum solution. Litmus boiled in will give bright red crystals ; logwood will form purple. The colors will be more or less deep, according to the quantity used. Splendid blue crystals may be obtained by preparing the sulphate of copper, commonly called blue vitriol, in the same manner as alum is prepared. Care must be taken not to drop it on the clothes.

Allspice baskets are made of the berries. They should be soaked in spirits to soften them and then holes made through them. They are strung on slender wires, which are twisted or woven into diamonds or squares and then formed into baskets. These can also be strung on thread and made over a circle of wire, forming long loops like a tassel. A gold band twisted between the berries gives a lively effect. Around the top are sometimes twisted semi-circles of berries, from which are suspended festoons of berries strung on silk, drooping over the outside. The baskets may be lined with bright colored silk and ornamented with ribbons. Baskets can be made of cloves in the same way, by taking off the berry and soaking the long part in spirits. Bead baskets are also made in the same way ; the wire should be the color of the beads. Cut-glass beads are most desirable, as they glitter prettily and are of g^eat beauty in a Christmas tree.

• PAIRING BIRDS.

For pairing canaries the best time is the last of February. Birds which are to be paired for the first time should be previously placed in the same cage for seven or eight days, in order to become acquainted and accustomed to live together. Either one male and one or two females are placed in a large cage, or many of both sexes are united in a room or aviary, having the advantage of a south aspect.

Nests made of turned wood, or osiers, are given them, as straw ones are too easily torn. It is a good plan to place in the room or aviary slips of pine, which being cut in February do not lose their leaves. It is rare for the male to sit in his turn during some hours of the day, the female seldom allowing it, for as soon as she has eaten she flies back to her nest. If the male gives up his place readily, so much the better ; if not, she drives him away by force and by pecking him. She appears to know his want of skill in this employment.

Many cross-breed goldfinches with canaries. A male goldfinch and a hen canary will breed birds far superior to either of their parents, both in plumage and song. The handsomest singers are produced from a canary of a pure golden-yellow and a full-grown garden goldfinch.

Whatever be the size and shape of your cage, avoid brass wire or ornaments, and painted wires of all colors, but especially green. A movable floor is indispensable to cleanliness. Of wooden cages, those made of mahogany are best, being almost impervious to vermin, and the inside should have two or three coats of white oil paint.

To tell the sexes of young birds : The male canary has a slimmer body than the hen ; the head is larger and squarer, and round the eyes the color is brighter than elsewhere. Whitish-yellow birds are the weakest, and those of a greenish yellow most robust.

Protect them from all sudden noises, for the near discharge of a gun, a door slammed with violence, and other similar noises will often kill the young in the shell, but their death happens generally through the fault of a bad sitter.