The suburban citizen., 1900-09-08
ARr oE oRoMINo eLors.
An Interesting Experiment and the Inn.
plements For Trying It.


an Iptsresting Experiment and the Inn.
plements For Trying It.
This paper concerns blots-blots Of
ink, made on plotting paper, grown
and cultivated with care, until, per-
hans after many hours close atten-
tion, they have assumed shapes Of deli
cate pattern and extreme beauty.
If the reader has never before heard
of beautiful ink blots-and, certainly,
the words should appear paradoxical
let him read on and may be he will
become so fascinated with the idea
that he will take up the hobby Of
cultivating blots with enthusiasm.
1t must be explained that the blots
under discussion are not made by
merely finding a pen with ink and al
lowing the drops to fall on paper;
they are grown and watched with anX-
iuos care until they attain their full
measure of beauty and form. They
may be made with ordinary black,
or blue-black writing ink, or with col
Ored inks, or with mixtures Of several
kinds of inks, and as a blot grows,
the colors of the ink sometimes form
into different colored concentric rings,
each color-ring being sharply divided
from the next
In order to grow beautiful blOts you
only require a small basin, an ink
bottle, a piece of glass tubing or a
firm straw, a piece of soft lampwlck,
and, Of course some ink and blotting
paper. The ink bottle is placed in
the basin and is filled with ink. Tho
wick is inserted in the tube which is
placed In the ink BOTTLE, and is kept
in an upright position by lid of paper
or tin, with a hole in the centre. The
blotting paper is then placed over the
basin so that its centre touches the
slightly protruding wick. The blot
ting paper, thus fed by the wick alb
serbs the ink, while the blot grows
in the form of circle and gradually
widens owing to the force Of capil-
larry attraction. 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 anything at all difficult in the way
of blot-grOwing. If you have not a
basin, a wick or a tube at hand, dis
peuse with the basin, put any extem-
porary wck-say a piece from a tow
els fringe-in any eXtemporary tube
a piece Of a quill pen, for Instance
and place the wick and tube in the
ink bottle; arrange matters so that one
end of the wick touches the ink and
the other end touches the blotting pa
per, and wait for the blot to develop.
Your interest win grow with the
blots. 1t will be observed that the
edges of the circles into which the
blots form are sometimes serrated or
daintlly scalloped; although some inks
preserve a perfectly smooth outline
for each of the two, three or more
cOncentric circles into which they
may break 1t becomes absorbingly
interesting to observe the different de.
velopments caused by various inks;
every new experiment yields a new
! result
! w hSh thS plO1 nus DNSH SiONh VIZ"
a certain kind Of ink, it is interesting
to dilute the ink with water and then
to grow another blot and note the diff
ference, which will often be surprising.
Or this experiment 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 remarkable
and unexpected manner.-Pearson's
Weekly.