ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS, flowers made of a large variety of materials in close imita tion of natural flowers for purposes of orna ment and instruction. The famous collection of Harvard University, made wholly of glass and illustrating the flora of the United States is the best example of the latter. The art was known to the ancients, for the ancient Egyp tians made flowers of painted linen and stained horn shavings; gold was also used. Rice paper is used by the Chinese and Japanese and to some extent also in the United States. The South American Indians have fashioned beauti ful flowers from varicolored feathers. Crape paper, ribbon and velvet are extensively used. The chief centres for the manufacture of flowers are France and the United States. Wax-flower making is a special branch of the art. The industry first developed in the United States during the decade 1830-40; there are now about 250 establishments in the United States engaged in the manufacture of artificial flowers, and employing 5,000 wage earners, and having an annual output of a value aggregating $9,041,447. In addition to the materials already named silks, cambric, calico, muslin and satin are used in this industry. The leaves and petals
are generally made of silk or cambric punched out to proper shapes and sizes. These are tinted with a brush and color, and if necessary glazed with gum or sprinkled with fine flock to imitate the glossy or velvety surface of natural flowers. The ribs, where present, are indented with a warm iron. The stamens and pistils are formed of wire covered with silk and dipped in gum water to form the anthers. The stalk is then made of wire, coated with green paper and fixed to the stamens and pistil, around which are attached the petals, and lastly the calyx. Buds are made of cotton or glass balls covered with cambric of a proper color. The coloring matter, however, used for these articles is often nothing less than the deadly poison arsenic. Hoffman and other chemists have shown that the most terrible effects may spring from the use of these arsenical compounds. Consult Van Kleeck, M., 'Artificial Flower Makers' (New York 1913).