These, too, have fallen under the ban of the many who prefer a sunflower in crewel to the most perfect imitation of nature. But a rosebud exquisitely modelled, or a spray of jasmine looking as if that moment picked, and put in the little vase before you, can never be any thing but really and truly beautiful, no matter what the critics say. It must be a perfect copy, however; and wax flowers have a use far beyond any ornamental one, in that whoever does good work in them must be intimate with every position of the plant on which it grows, and learn the characteristics of each petal and stamen. The outfit required for wax flowers is a rather expensive one, but the tools last a lifetime if properly taken care of.

• The imported wax known as Madame Scheiffles is the best, as it crumbles less than any other when worked. The thin wax, called "single,"is only ten cents a dozen sheets :"extra double,"for thick leaves, is about twenty cents a dozen sheets; and the variegated or"mottled,"the same. In addition to the wax, there will be needed powdered colors, which cost from fifteen to thirty cents a bottle (carmine, which is the most expensive of all, being forty cents), and a set of camel's-hair brushes. Poonah brushes are twenty cents more a dozen than others, which run from twenty cents to a dollar a dozen ; veining-brushes being five cents apiece. Moulding-tools come in sets, about a dollar a dozen; and steel pins set in glass, and tweezers and folders, cost from five to fifteen cents each. Very small sharp-pointed scissors, a good penknife, spatula, and color-saucers or a palette, wire of different sizes by the spool, frosting, arrow-root, sprig-moss, etc., will all be needed, and can all be had at the stores where wax-flower materials are sold; the whole outfit costing from ten to fifteen dollars.

The first process is to take the patterns of the flower you intend to copy, in its various parts, beginning with the petals of the corolla. Perhaps the white camellia is as easy as any flower to model, and more tractable, under fingers unaccustomed to the delicate handling required by fragile blossoms, than many more simple flowers. One hint may be given about the camellia, the rose, and other double flowers with a quantity of petals, - that the object must be to give its effect as a whole ; and that, while any peculiarities about the flower should be imitated exactly, any natural blemish, such as a stain, or crumpled or withered leaf, should be repeated. Allowance must be made for the difference of material. No wax can be so thin as the petals of some flowers are, and, moreover, in the natural flower every part fits into its place without cement; while in the waxen model a little piece must be allowed for affixing each petal to its position. Every petal of a flower composed of a great number of petals, therefore, could hardly be modelled, and many are hidden from sight by the outer ones ; but the position of the petals, whether placed exactly behind or between the inner ones, the number in each circle or row, etc., must be carefully noted and copied. Lay the petals you wish to copy on paper, and, with a small poonah brush slightly dipped in paint, touch the edges all round, so as to leave the size of the petal depicted on the paper, as in Figs. 113, 114. It is the most accurate mode of copying it, giving all its irregularities of form exactly. In cutting the wax out from this paper pattern, a little piece must be allowed at the point for fixing the petal on the stalk. Care must be taken to have the lines of the waxen sheet running upwards, and not across the petal: therefore the upper part of each paper petal must be placed on the narrow part of the sheet, and the wax cut round it with a pair of sharp scissors. If the sheet is brittle, it should be warmed a little with the hand before it is cut; and the scissors may be slightly wetted, so that they may not drag any of the wax away, and make an uneven edge. I give patterns for one white camellia, to give some idea of the number of petals required, and their shape; but I must repeat, that there are scarcely two flowers to be found exactly alike, and that, when practicable, they should be modelled from life.

Fig. 113.

Fig 114.

Fig. 115. - White Camellia.

For making a white camellia, cut out five petals of Fig. 9, five of Fig. 8, twenty of Fig. 7, three each of Figs. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, and three of Fig. 10, the outer petals (all in the medium white wax), three of Fig. II in lemon wax, and three of Fig. 12 in light-green wax, for the calyx.

Soften the wax by holding it in the palm of the hand for a few minutes, and then rub the white bloom thoroughly on both sides of the petals, leaving only the point untouched where it is to be affixed to the stalk (the bloom destroys its adhesiveness). The first six sets of three petals are to be slightly tinged with the palest yellow powder about a third of their height from the points. This may be either rubbed on over the bloom with the finger, or put on with a sable brush, dry. It must be shaded off at the upper part; the deepest color being laid on at the lowest part of the petal, in the centre, and graduated so as to fade into the white part. This is to be the rule in coloring most flower-petals, -to shade the deepest color gradually into paler tints towards the edges; because in the real flower this effect is given by the shade cast by each petal on the one lying outside it. The three outer petals (Fig. 10) will require a dash of green powder up the centre of the petal, and a tinge of pink on the upper edges; and the petals of the calyx will need a little brown marking to give the discoloration generally to be found on them.

Mould the twelve smallest petals with the smallest curling-pin, first passing the knob round the edges of the petal, so as to fine them off, and then rolling it round the centre, in the palm of the hand, to hollow it into the shape of a spoon. Lay the pin all along the centre of the petal so as to crease it. This should be its shape when moulded. Figs. 5 and 6 are not to be quite so much curved; and 7, 8, and 9 are to be turned back, with only a slight depression in the centre, which may be given by the pressure of the thumb. All are to have a crease in the centre. The three outer petals and the calyx-sepals are to be hollowed a little, in the same way as the smaller petals of the flower.