VI. THE PARABLE OF JO ASH. 115 



This method is used because the thistle leaves are full of 

 complex and sharp sinuosities, and set with intensely sharp 

 spines passing into hairs, which require many kinds of 

 execution with the fine point to imitate at all. In the 

 drawing there was more look of the bloom or woolliness 

 on the stems, but it was useless to try for this in the mez- 

 zotint, and I desired Mr. Allen to leave his work at the 

 stage where it expressed as much form as I wanted. The 

 leaves are of the common marsh thistle, of which more 

 anon ; and the two long lateral ones are only two differ- 

 ent views of the same leaf, while the central figure is a 

 young leaf just opening. It beat me, in its delicate boss- 

 ing, and I had to leave it, discontentedly enough. 



Plate IV. is much better work, being of an easier sub- 

 ject, adequately enough rendered by perfectly simple 

 means. Here I had only a succulent and membranous 

 surface to represent, with definite outlines, and merely un- 

 dulating folds; and this is sufficiently done by a careful 

 and firm pen outline on grey paper, with a slight wash of 

 colour afterwards, reinforced in the darks ; then marking 

 the lights with white. This method is classic and au- 

 thoritative, being used by many of the greatest masters, 

 (by Holbein continually ;) and it is much the best which 

 the general student can adopt for expression of the action 

 and muscular power of plants. 



The goodness or badness of such work depends abso- 

 lutely on the truth of the single line. You will find a 

 thousand botanical drawings which will give you a deli- 



