(From the British and Colonial Printer and Stationer.)

A Crystalline Coating for Paper may, it is said, be obtained by mixing a very concentrated cold solution of salt with dextrine, and laying the thinnest coating of the fluid on the surface to be covered by means of a broad soft brush. After drying, the surface has a beautiful bright mother-of-pearl coating, which, in consequence of the dextrine, adheres closely to paper or wood. The coating may be made adhesive to glass by doing it over with an alcoholic shellac solution. Sulphate of magnesia, acetate of soda, and sulphate of tin, are among the salts which produce the most attractive crystalline coatings. Paper must first be sized, otherwise it will absorb the liquid and prevent the formation of crystals.