Plate 5. - 2
Plate 5. - 3
We may now pass on to the individual figures; these should shew the essential features, together with some surrounding and comparatively extraneous matter; often there is included too much of unimportance and its retention means a waste of valuable space. The first thing to do, therefore, is to trim, if needs be, the figures; their shape is more or less immaterial, provided that in cases where there are a large number of illustrations on one plate, they are not all alike. The American fashion of circular figures is particularly displeasing, at any rate to the author.
Having trimmed the figures, the next point to decide is whether any require reduction; if they do, cut out pieces of paper (referred to as patterns below) of the size which the figures will ultimately appear: on the whole, it is better to avoid reduction of the originals, for without a good deal of experience it is very difficult to judge exactly what the result will be; a good idea, however, may be gained by the use of a diminishing glass.
The size of the available surface of the plate should now be ruled on a white sheet of fairly thick cardboard, and the figures, or their patterns, arranged so as to be easy of reference, to compose as well as may be, and spaced in such a way that, in the case of a quarto plate to be folded vertically, no figure is placed so that the fold will pass through its centre. Nothing is more irritating than having an illustration spoilt in this way.
All this may be done by arranging in different ways until a satisfactory result is obtained, a process which may take an hour or two. The figures should then be pasted down, covered with several sheets of blotting paper and placed in a press. A press is seldom available; when such is the case, a number of heavy books serve equally well.
The lettering must next be attended to. The individual figures are usually designated by numbers; this is a bad method, since it involves referring to the description of the plate. The best way is to use a number, and after it to add the name of the plant or animal, and, if needs be, a description as short as may be. If the author can "print" or write reasonably well, well and good; if not, it is better to attach a slip to the plate with full directions relating to lettering, and to write in pencil on the plate the titles, etc., required in the proper places for the guidance of the craftsman. The typewriter is sometimes employed for this purpose by authors; it is purely a matter of taste, but some readers feel a slight shock when this method is resorted to.
In some cases a key to the plate printed on tough translucent tissue paper and having the necessary information, guide lines, etc., is inserted with the plate.*
*See Kerner and Oliver: Natural History of Plants (First Edition) London, 1894.