THE OUTDOOR WORLD 



185 



the wind. The branches lack in flexi- 

 bility and therefore were easily broken 

 off by the periodic gusts. It was 

 shown to be absolutely dangerous to 

 set such trees as these near dwelling 

 houses. The trees that withstood the 

 force of the storm best of all were the 

 maples, elms, and the nuts of all kinds. 

 Large spruces showed a fair amount 

 of resistance, but many were broken off 

 towards the top, and a few were up- 

 rooted. 



There are some cities at least that 

 will profit by these lessons taught by 

 the storm. Their citizens have been 

 forced to realize the value of the trees 

 which line their streets and adorn their 

 homes and will undoubtedly take steps 

 at once to remedy in a measure the 

 great amount of damage indicted. 

 While a tornado is rare and almost ir- 

 ristible, the violent gale is of frequent 

 occurrence, and thousands of the finest 

 specimens of ornamental trees require 

 immediate attention if they are to with- 

 stand the storms of a lifetime. 



Impressions of Leaves. 



EY JOHN COLLINS, PHILADELPHIA, PENN- 

 SYLVANIA. 



(In looking over my botanical files I came 

 across some excellent leaf prints sent to me 

 by Mr. John Collins, of Philadelphia, Penn- 

 sylvania, together with an article published 

 in "Popular Science," for January, 1900, dur- 

 ing my editorship of that magazine. As sev- 

 eral of the leaf prints have been unpublished 

 I copied the article and sent it to Mr. Collins 

 with the request that he would permit me to 

 republish it in The Guide to Nature. The 

 following letter from Mrs. Carrie B. Aaron, 

 726 Stokes Avenue, Collingswood, New Jer- 

 sey, was received in reply. 



"Your letter of August 8th addressed to 

 my father, Mr. John Collins, has been for- 

 warded to me from his former address. My 

 father has been dead several years, and up 

 to the time of his death at eighty-nine years 

 of age, he kept that love of nature and desire 

 to help others. He would be very glad to 

 have you reprint his article and I see noth- 

 ing to correct in it." — E. F. B.) 



This simple and inexpensive process 

 is within the reach of every one. No 

 previous knowledge of drawing is re- 

 quired, and with a small amount of 

 practice, very good results may be at- 

 tained. 



The materials used are printer's ink, 

 a dabber to press it on the leaf, good 

 printing paper, not fully sized but 



rather soft, common ink, or possibly 

 a piece of India ink, a lithographic wax 

 crayon and a crayon holder. These 

 crayons can be had of any lithograph- 

 er, costing about twenty cents per 

 dozen. The French kind, marked Leur- 

 ercier, are very good. 



Leaves that show the veins promi- 

 nently on the underside, will give the 

 best impressions. Among these we 

 may mention the oaks, chestnut, pop- 

 lars and maples. Ferns, geraniums and 

 many flowering plants are equally suit- 

 able. Those of a spongy, fleshy texture 

 should not be used. Much depends 

 upon the care and neatness of those 

 who desire to make a collection of the 

 various forms of leaves found in the 

 garden, the forest or the field. They 

 should *be fully matured and free from 

 imperfections. 



It is best to cut off the stems close 

 to the base of the leaf, and, if the mid 

 rib is large, to pare it down a little with 

 a sharp knife. Put some of the printer's 

 ink upon a piece of window glass or on 

 any hard and smooth surface that will 

 not absorb the oil of the ink, and cover 

 the end of the dabber very evenlv with 

 a small quantity. This dabber may 

 be made by stuffing some curled hair 

 into a piece of soft leather and fasten- 

 ing it to a short handle. 



Having inked the veined side of the 

 leaf, lay it carefully upon the printing 

 paper, put another paper upon it, and 

 press firmly noon all the parts. Lift 

 the paper and leaf, and you have a fac- 

 simile. Then, with a pen and writing- 

 ink, complete the veining as nearly ac- 

 cording to nature as possible. The 

 shading and finishing are to be done 

 with the wax crayon placed in a crayon 

 holder and sharpened from the point 

 towards the holder. Be careful to shade 

 evenly, without showing any lines. 



By using washes of India ink upon 

 the white parts of the print, less time 

 will be required in the shading. In 

 case it is desirable to color the leaves, 

 much less shading is necessarv. Avoid 

 blotches. If they should happen, scrape 

 them away when thoroughly dry, with 

 a sharp knife. 



There may be some failures at first, 

 but the beginner need not become dis- 

 couraged. Practice for a few weeks 

 will enable one to produce prints that 

 look like fine engravings. 



