even tone. You will find that the greatest difficulty consists in
getting evenness: one bit will always look darker than another bit of
your square; or there will be a granulated and sandy look over the
whole. When you find your paper quite rough and in a mess, give it up
and begin another square, but do not rest satisfied till you have done
your best with every square. The tint at last ought _at least_ to be as
close and even as that in _b_, Fig. 1. You will find, however, that it
is very difficult to get a _pale_ tint; because, naturally, the ink
lines necessary to produce a close tint at all, blacken the paper more
than you want. You must get over this difficulty not so much by leaving
the lines wide apart as by trying to draw them excessively fine, lightly
and swiftly; being very cautious in filling in; and, at last, passing
the penknife over the whole. By keeping several squares in progress at
one time, and reserving your pen for the light one just when the ink is
nearly exhausted, you may get on better. The paper ought, at last, to
look lightly and evenly toned all over, with no lines distinctly
visible.

EXERCISE II.

As this exercise in shading is very tiresome, it will be well to vary it
by proceeding with another at the same time. The power of shading
rightly depends mainly on _lightness_ of hand and _keenness_ of sight;
but there are other qualities required in drawing, dependent not merely
on lightness, but steadiness of hand; and the eye, to be perfect in its
power, must be made _accurate_ as well as keen, and not only see
shrewdly, but measure justly.

Possess yourself, therefore, of any cheap work on botany containing
_outline_ plates of leaves and flowers, it does not matter whether bad
or good: "Baxter's British Flowering Plants" is quite good enough. Copy
any of the simplest outlines, first with a soft pencil, following it, by
the eye, as nearly as you can; if it does not look right in proportions,
rub out and correct it, always by the eye, till you think it is right:
when you have got it to your mind, lay tracing-paper on the book, on
this paper trace the outline you have been copying, and apply it to your
own; and having thus ascertained the faults, correct them all patiently,
till you have got it as nearly accurate as may be. Work with a very soft
pencil, and do not rub out so hard[200] as to spoil the surface of your
paper; never mind how _dirty_ the paper gets, but do not roughen it;
and let