Form a small basket about the size of the hand, of iron wire or split willow; then take some cotton, such as ladies use for running into flounces; untwist it and wind it round every limb of the basket. Boil eighteen ounces of alum in a quart of water, or quantities in that proportion; stir the mixture while boiling until the alum is completely dissolved. Pour the solution into a deep pan, or other convenient vessel, and suspend the basket in the liquor, so that no part of the basket shall touch the vessel, or be exposed to the air. Let the whole remain perfectly at rest for twenty-four hours. When you then remove the basket the alum will be found very prettily crystallized over all the limbs of the cottoned frame.