STUD YING NA TURE. 145 



its veins. After a few minutes it will be ready to be 

 tinted in water colours, so as to exactly resemble 

 the various hues in the real leaf. The colours 

 should be very moist, and rather floated into each 

 other, as in this way one can most readily attain 

 the delicate gradations of tone. When finished 

 the leaf should be neatly cut out with fine scissors, 

 carefully following the outline of the notches, which 

 vary so much in different trees, and give character 

 to each species. When such painted leaves are 

 gummed into a blank book the effect will be found 

 to be wonderfully real. The album should be large 

 enough to allow of four or five leaves, each repre- 

 senting a different stage in the coloration yellow, 

 pink, crimson, and all other tints which belong to 

 each special tree. A page should of course be 

 reserved for each set of specimens, and the English 

 and Latin name, the date, and any other particulars 

 written at the bottom of the page will add to the 

 scientific value of the collection. 



The various galls which are found on each 

 species of tree will alone furnish a wide field 

 for study. The ink with which I am now writing 

 is the product of an oak-gall which is imported 



10 



