Kay wrote:
In article , Mike Lyle
mike_lyle_uk@REMO VETHISyahoo.co.uk writes

I wasn't going to go on about this, but actually I did try to make
one of the orange-peel boxes (I was an inquisitive boy). I
smoothed
the two halves over some kind of former and put them to dry.
Shape-wise, it was a failure; but they did dry very nicely, and it
was clear that they would have lasted quite as long as pressed
flowers do in ordinary household conditions. I don't think they
need
a preservative. I'd love to think of a rather cleverer urgler
taking
on the project and succeeding.

I would suggest doing it the other way around - let the whole
orange
dry out - certainly a satsuma will do this if pierced with cloves,
so
I wonder if a hole is necessary to get the innards to dry or
whether
you could just put it in a very dry atmosphere? - then cut in half
and
scrape out the dried remains of the innards.

But, shirley, it'll be difficult to get the guts out once they're
dry? And how do you get the pill-box shape once the skin is no longer
pliable? The one "Aunt 'Nes" had wasn't orange-shaped any more, but
very much pill-boxoid, with a flat bottom, straight sides, and a
slightly domed top.

Mike.