MAKING MOULDS FROM LEAVES 309 



ceive the second coat, the under surface of the leaf being 

 supported in its natural curl by a piece of wool or crumpled- 

 up tissue-paper ; give the remaining two or three their second 

 coat in like manner, and then, over all, a third coat, which 

 completes a fairly thick convex covering. Directly this has 

 set, which happens sufficiently by the time the third or fourth 

 leaf is covered, remove the mould from the table or board, turn 

 the leaf uppermost, and trim away quickly as much super- 

 fluous plaster around it as may be without cutting into the 

 edges of the leaf, trimming into the deeper notches or clefts 

 of the leaf so as to present a rather more concave surface at 

 those places. Do this rapidly, if roughly, leaving the finer 

 trimming until the leaf itself is removed, which must be done 

 at once, before the plaster sets hard. Take hold, therefore, 

 of the stem, and, lifting gently, remove the leaf. At some 

 places it may be accidentally covered with a little plaster 

 and will tear ; if this happen, take the knife and carefully trim 

 down upon the leaf, when, no doubt, the covering scale of 

 plaster will chip off, care being taken, nevertheless, not to 

 scratch the mould in removing the small pieces of leaf. 

 Finally, scratch on the backs of the moulds i, 2, 3, etc. 



Then take the next highest set of three or four leaves and 

 treat them in precisely the same manner, and so on until the 

 branch is stripped ; this should then be placed in water in a 

 bottle or vase for future study. The foregoing, although very 

 well for small or simple leaves, is by no means satisfactory for 

 large, twisted, or thin and " floppy " leaves such as " dock," etc., 

 which must be hardened and cleaned in water for some time, 

 and then laid face uppermost upon the casting-board and 

 packed underneath with casting-sand, ordinary fine sand, clay, 

 or putty, following the natural curvatures of the leaves, and thus 

 rigidly supporting them. The plaster is then put on in thin 

 layers carefully, and the result is a truthful copy, and not a 



