NATURE-PRINTING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4788, 27 July 1876, Page 7

NATURE-PRINTING.

The art of nature-printing is attracting some attention just now, .in consequence of Sir George Grey having obtained the sanction of ' •the; House .of Representatives for an address to the Governor, praying him to be pleased to place upon the Estimates a aura of .money to defray the cost of a work on native grasses.; ,The proposition which the House has adoptedis that .a work shall be issued containing .nature-printed plates of all native grasses in the, colony, - and: also a letterpress description.' pf ; each grass, , Enyassantii may be remarked that the value of such a work cannot be overestimated, particularly, if the subject be treated in the fullest manner.possible. Not only should , the grasses be described, but their peculiar properties should be enquired into, as also the conditions of soilaud climate under which particular varieties best flourish. As was pointed but during the course of the debate, the native grasses are beyond a doubt fully equal to the i best imported kinds, and it would be a pity if ■ graziers, from ignorance of the value of the ’ indigenous production, passed it over for the sake of inferior glasses, from the old country. But to return. We have received from Mr. Earle, of the Government Printing Office, of this city, two excellent specimens of natureprinting, .consisting of various kinds of leaves, fern and native grass. They are produced by placing the original on a lithographic stone, and from these any number of impressions can be struck off after the usual method of lithography. He informs us that plates of subjects suitable for the process can be produced at nominal cost; and from enquiries made, he is of opinion that the production of natureprinted plates by the aid of lithography suitable for practical .purposes has probably never before been attended with such success. The plan to be adopted - in nature-printing is to obtain a copy of any material object, such as ferns, leaves, plants, seaweed, tares, &c. —1. Take a leaf and place it on a smooth surface charged with a colored pigment, rub it carefully till sufficiently covered with the coloring matter (or the color may be applied by dabbing it on with a. piece of cotton wool), then take the leaf, press it carefully on a piece of clean paper ; or fabric, the'result will give a perfect facsimile of original. ‘ 2. Take a fern, place it flat on a; piece of satin or other fabric, then with a tooth-brush charged with color, sprinkle the whole surface by drawing the tip of the finger through the hair of' the brush, the result will be a white leaf on a stippled background. Very pretty mats,, suitable for the toilet table, &c., can be produced by this . method. ; 'B. Very mice results can be obtained with leaves, if not too opaque,- by placing them on a piece of photographic .silver paper, and exposing to the action of light after the usual method of photographic printing. The foregoing methods are only adapted for. the amateur, or when a few copies is-all. that is required; but for illustrating scientific works it is necessary to have, recourse to other methods. The honor of the first invention of nature-printing, suitable’- for: commercial purposes, is due to Herr Alois von Auer,:director of the Imperial Printing Institute at Vienna. The process consists in taking my suitable object, comparatively flat, such as a leaf or fern, and impressing it into . a', sheet of lead‘ or guttapercha, which forms a matrix for producing printing plates by electrifying. - ■ Mr. Earle will probably do all the printing for the new work, and Mr. John Buchanan will likely supply the letterpress descriptive part. At anyrate- these gentlemen were referred to by Sir George as well capable to. do the work satisfactorily.