=53. Etchers and Stamp Cutters.= In England, in the seventeenth century, Anna and Susannah Lister were regarded as having much skill in the noble art of etching. They illustrated a work on natural history written by their father. A century later, the Countess Lavinia Spencer and a Miss Hartley became noted for their skill in etching. Rosa Elizabeth Schwindel, of Leipsic, worked at the business of a stamp cutter in the beginning of the eighteenth century; and two Frenchwomen during the same century--M. A. de St. Urbin and E. Lesueur.

=54. Herbarium Makers.= Herbariums are collections of dried plants. They are formed by gluing to sheets of paper the flowers and leaves of plants, after they have been pressed and dried. To botanists, they are useful; and a choice collection is a frail, but pretty ornament, for a centre table. The largest public herbaria are at Berlin, Paris, and London. It is supposed that some of them may contain as many as 60,000 species. There is not much of beauty or interest in such a collection, but for scientific purposes they may be valuable. It is not unusual to see them made of the plants and weeds of the sea; and a very pretty collection do they make, if got up with taste. A book has been lately printed containing plates, with explanations for making them into pictures and other fanciful arrangements. The making of herbariums of both earth and marine plants, would furnish a pleasant pastime to ladies of leisure, and a source of revenue, perhaps, to those who might wish to make it a matter of profit.

The Employments of Women — Part 48