Of course it is impossible to print long lines with only one revolution of the roll. The roll is run along the line from starting point until near the end, lifted off, and again placed on the spot just quitted, a little behind the starting point of the roll, so that this part does not show.

This is repeated as often as the length of the line necessitates. In order to secure good corners, the roll is lifted just before reaching the corner and a corner tool is used for the corner itself. At no point should one be able to see where the roll was set on or taken off, and the result should be a straight, even line, showing no trace of inequality.

For single lines, the gold is generally taken up on the previously heated roll; but in using wider rolls it is better to lay the gold on with the tip and press it well down with surgical cotton wool.

Places where the gold did not stick or which look gritty must be sized afresh and once more tooled. The beginner generally finds that the gold does not stick at the point where he begins, a sure sign that he hesitated too long on commencing.

It has already been said that white of egg is used for making the gold adhere, and there are, indeed, very few materials requiring any other treatment, yet we know of a number of cases where white of egg alone is insufficient to fulfill this purpose-not, indeed, because it is unsuitable, but because the quality of the leather is such that the white of egg would be absorbed too quickly (calf, tanned sheep) or that it would take badly and unequally.

Just as certain kinds of leather are difficult to treat, so also are old, long-stocked skins. If the finisher knows that such a piece of leather lies before him, he ought to rub it down on the raw side with best olive oil; it will thus receive a substitute for the lost natural fatty matter and become more supple. This oiling, of course, is only practicable with dark leathers, as light leathers nearly always become darker. A skin so treated should be rolled up and laid aside for a few days.

At any rate, such defective leather is improved by a previous washing wit1i size, no matter whether it is made from vellum, gelatine, or glue. It must not, however, be made from the commonest kinds of glue, as these make the leather dull.

Vellum cuttings, or gelatine, are soaked overnight in water sufficient to cover, and next day dissolved in a sort of glue pot. This sizing must be used very thin and should not be quite cold. In using ordinary glue, two drops of medium strength to about three table-spoonfuls of warm water will suffice.

Many finishers prefer thin paste water as a size, with which they coat the whole surface; personally, however, I would only recommend it for unpolished calf but here there is a real necessity for it. In this case it is liberally laid on in large sweeps with a sponge not new and free from grit and then well rubbed into the pores of the leather with the ball of the hand. The surplus is quickly washed off with clean water.

Large surfaces left plain are also washed with gum tragacanth, because this sizing leaves no lines behind. About 10 grammes of tragacanth to 1/4-litre water are soaked in a vessel, and after swelling it is well stirred. This solution is also laid on with a sponge, but is not rubbed in, neither is it subsequently washed off.

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