Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-25
ART OF GROWING BLOTS.
An Interesting Experiment and the
Implements for Trying 1t.
From Pearson's Weekly.

This pape" c0nCern5 blots-blots Of ink,
made on blotting paper. grown and cult
waited with care, until, perhaps after many
hours close attention, they have assumed
shapes of delicate pattern and extreme
beauty.
If the Teader has never before BEARD of
beautiful ink blcts-and. certainly the
words would appear paradoxical-let him
read on and maybe he will become so fas-
cinated with the idea that he will take up
the hobby Of cultivating blots with en-
thusiasm.
1t must be explained that the blots under
discussion are not made by merely filling
pen with ink and allowing the drops to
fall on paper: they are grown and watched
with anxious care until they attain their
fun measure of beauty and form. They
may be made with ordinary black or blue
black writing ink, or with COlored inks or
vith mixtures of several kinds of inks:
as a blot grows, the colOrs of the ink some
times form into differently colored concen-
trio rings, each color-ring being sharply d.
vided from the next.
In order to grow beautiful blots you only
require a small basin, an ink bottle piece
of glass tubing or firm straw, piece of
soft lampwick. and. of course some Ink
and blotting paper The ink bottle is
placed in the basin and is filled with ink
The wick is inserted in the tube. which is
placed in the ink bottle and is kept in an
upright position by a lid of paper or tin
with hole in the center. The blotting pa
per is then placed over the basin so that
It's center touches the slightly-protruding
wick. The blotting paper. thus fed by the
wick. absorbs the ink, while the blot grows
In the form of a circle and gradually wild
ems owing to the force of capillary attrac-
ton. In less than an hour it will probably
be four inches across: It may finally attain
a diameter Of about twelve inches
1t must not be supposed that there is any,
thing at all difficult in the way OF blot
growing. If you have not basin. a wick
tube at hand 1isDenSA with ha I'm
put any eXtemporary wfck-say piece from
towels fringe-in any extemporary tube
a piece of quill pen, for instance-and
place the wick and tube In the ink bottle:
arrange matters that one end of the
wick touches the ink and the other end
touches the plotting paper. and wait for
the blot to develop.
Your interest will grow with the biots.
1t will be observed that the edges of the
circles into which the blots form are some
times serrated or daintily scalloped: al
though some inks preserve a perfectly
smooth outline for each of the two three
Or more concentrc circles into which they
may break. 1t becomes Accordingly inter-
esting TO ohserve the different develop
ments caused by various inks: every new
experiment yields new result.
When the blot has been grown with a
certain kind of ink. 1t is interesting to d.
lutte the ink with water and then to grow
another blot and note the difference which
Will often be surprising. Or this expert
nent may be varied by feeding a blot with
plain water after it has been grown with
undiluted ink: the water will often cause
the original blot to spread in a most re-
markable and unexpected manner.