1 136 Home Nature-Study Course. 



its own picture, with exact truth to every line, and requiring but a 

 few moments of time. A class of young nature students of Richmond, 

 Virginia, had used this process in making a series of plant studies during 

 the season of 1909, and through the kindness of their teacher, Mr. ,W. 

 W. Gillette, under whose inspiring direction the work was done, we 

 received some very beautiful specimens of their prints and the story 

 of how they were made. The portfolio, which itself was the handiwork 

 of the pupils, contained prints of all sorts of leaves, from the fuzzy 

 velvet of the mullein to those of oak and poplar with smooth and glossy 

 surfaces. The work of every pupil was represented, as no special skill 

 other than neatness and care is required to make these prints. 



The tools needed are a large, smooth slate, or better still, a thick 

 plate of glass, measuring about twelve to fifteen inches and costing 

 fifteen or twenty cents ; a tube of printer's ink, either green or black 

 in color and costing fifty cents, the one tube containing a sufficient 

 supply of ink for the making of several hundred prints ; and two six- 

 inch rubber rollers such as photographers use in mounting prints, these 

 costing fifteen cents each. A small bottle of kerosene should also be 

 included in the outfit, as a few drops may be needed to dilute the ink 

 in case it should be a little too thick to spread freely over the slate and 

 roller. The paper used in making the prints should be of good quality, 

 with a smooth surface in order that it may take and hold a fine, clear 

 outline. 



To make a print, squeeze a few drops of ink from the tube upon the 

 glass or slate and spread it about with the roller until there is an even 

 coat of ink upon the roller and a smooth patch in the center of the 

 glass or slate. It should never be so liquid as to " run," for then the 

 outlines will be blurred. Ink the leaf by placing it on the inky surface 

 of the glass and passing the inky roller over it once or twice or until 

 the veins show that they are smoothly filled with ink. Now place the 

 inked leaf between two sheets of paper and roll it once only, with the 

 clean roller, bearing on with all the strength possible. We found that 

 a second passage of the roller always ruined the print by slightly blurring 

 or doubling every line in the leaf, particularly if the mid-rib and veins 

 were at all prominent. Two prints of each are made at each rolling, 

 and sometimes one side will give an excellent print while the other may 

 not be very clear, but usually the impressions of the two sides seem almost 

 identical. Dry and wrinkled leaves may be made pliant by soaking in 

 water, dried between blotting paper ; then proceed the same as for fresh 

 ones. 



