twerp in 1601 by the great
house of Plantin. The draughtsman in this case had to draw a plant to
fit a standard-sized engraver's block, and he had a certain number of
facts to tell about it; he drew the plant as simply and
straightforwardly as possible, making good use of all the available
space, the result being a well-planned and balanced piece of work, with
no affectation or unnecessary lines about it.

[Illustration: Fig. 23.]

Fine colour is a quality appreciated at first sight, though often
unconsciously. It is a difficult subject to speak of very definitely; an
eye for colour is natural to some, but in any case the faculty can be
cultivated and developed. By way of studying the subject, we can go to
nature and learn as much as we are capable of appreciating; even such
things as butterflies, shells, and birds' eggs are suggestive. Again,
embroideries, illuminated manuscripts, pictures, painted decoration, may
be studied, and so on; in fact, colour is so universal that it is not
possible to get away from it. Unfortunately we are sometimes forced to
learn what to avoid as well as what to emulate.

Colour is entirely relative, that is to say it depends upon its
immediate surroundings for what it appears to be. Also it has effects
varying with the material which it dyes; wool is of an absorbent nature,
whereas silk has powers of reflection. It is a safe plan to use true
colours, real blue, red or green, not slate, terra cotta, and olive.
Gold, silver, white and black, are valuable additions to the colour
palette; it should be remembered about the former that precious things
must be used with economy or they become cheap and perhaps vulgar.

[Illustration: Fig. 24.]

For getting satisfactory colour there is a useful method which can at
times be made use of; this is to stitch it down in alternate lines of
two different tints, which, seen together at a little distance, give the
desired effect. Backgrounds can be covered over with some small
geometrical pattern carried out in this way, such as is shown in fig.
24, perhaps using in alternation bright blue and black instead of a
single medium tint of blue all over. At a slight distance the tone may
be the same in either case, but this method gives a pleasantly varied
and refined effect, which avoids muddiness, and shows up the pattern
better. This same method is used for expressing form more clearly as
well as for colour; waves of hair, for instance, are much more clea