San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-01-29
Taking Outlines of Fruits.

The young nurseryman who wishes
to retain Impressions of many kinds
of fruits, and to employ the best way
for securing accurate outlines, is In
formed of an easy and rapid way
which we have employed successful
ly for many years; First, procure
thin. bladed and sharp knife, to cut
fruit accurately through the center.
Divide it straight and smoothly, be-
ginning at the calyx or blossom end, ,
and down through the core, splitting
the stem through the middle. Select
the best-shaped half tor making the
impression. With q pen or cancels
hair pencil touch the edge with ink
all around, including the stem and
calyx With the point of the finger
rub the ink Zig htly over the cut face
so as to give it a smooth and delicate
shade toward the outside, and thin
ner and fainter toward the interior.
A little of the juice of the apple will
become diffIused through the ink and
will do no harm. Having procured
thick unsized paper, place the linked
face down upon it, and press the
whole enough to make q good i'm.
pression-a light rocking motion will
be required to bring every part of the
cut face in contact with 1t, and firm
pressure must be given to the stem
TO secure a good picture of 1t. Then
lift the half.fr from the paper, and
If the work has been carefully done
you will be surprised at the accur
and perfection of the image. The
operator will not succeed perfectly
the first time, but he will improve
rapidly under careful practice. If he
has two or three colOrs for his ink, as
red for red apples, brown for russell
ones, and q rich yellow for those of
an orange hue, he may learn to make
excellent pictures If he has little
artistic skill.
Let the novice procure peck OF
common or cheap apples, and try his
art upon them, and he will probably
be soon surprised at his proficiency.
II may be hardly necessary to state
that q pencil line drawn across the
stem cavity or the calyx basin may
represent an even fruit with nearly
straight line or a furrowed fiuit with
a wavy or crooked line.
This mode may be applied to pears,
but those which are quite juicy or
ucllluH pC usVo oOiVio my
are fully ripe or the juice will run TO
freely. Or, if allowed to dry two or
three hours, they will print better
than when freshly cut in melting
state.
It will be observed that these i'm
pressions are perfectly accurate. both
as to size and form, and the size can
not be varied, as with photographs.
The perfect truth with which some
pecularities are given, even more ac-
curately than skillful artist can
copy them, will excite the surprise
of the operator.
The writer has adopted and used
this mode of making impressions of
fruits for more than forty years with
entire sxccess, and has secured over
500 impressions of different varieties
of apples, and about 300 varieties of
pears; and the time required to make
a single impression is scarcely sim
gle minute. He had the pleasure of
explaining the process many years
ago to the most eminent pomologists
of this country, who happened to be
together at Boston. who were copy
ing fruits by the imperfect process of
placing the cut fruit with its face on
the paper and then drawing the out
line by hand with q pen and ink or
with a pencil-a slow and uncertain
method.