These two methods of sizing will be found sufficient to meet all cases.

There are certain materials that do not allow the use of a liquid sizing, particularly silk and velvet. The latter is no longer finished by hand, and even blocking velvet is now considered bad style.

For gold tooling on such materials gilding powder is used; it is to be had either white or yellow, but for hand tooling the white only is required.

Although no exact rules can be given for determining the temperature of the tools used upon the various materials, yet we must try to give a general rule for each kind.

We will use the following terms to distinguish the different degrees of heat: Lukewarm, i.e., not the slightest hissing when tested; medium, i.e., just on the border of hissing; hot, slightly hissing. In the following group the method of sizing is repeated, and a scheme for the approximately exact temperature of the tools is given.

Cloth, goat-skin, and marbled leather (without previous sizing, white of egg): medium heat.

Sheep-skin and lamb-skin (glue size, white of egg): medium heat.

Calf (white of egg): hot. .

Morocco goat (without sizing, white of egg): medium heat.

Morocco, Levant morocco, cru3hed morocco (glue size painted in, white of egg): lukewarm.

Pig-skin, Russia, seal (without sizing, white of egg): lukewarm.

Mention has already been made of a wash of paste water for matt calf. As a rule, the whole surface is washed with this preparation, as it is thereby rendered less liable to finger marks. In the very best shops there is still another method. The leather is washed down with tragacanth and the previously impressed design picked out with white of egg and quickly tooled with tools medium to hot.

Vellum requires a special treatment. On the day before it is to be finished in gold it is washed with alum solution and, for gold tooling, sized with undiluted white of egg and tooled lukewarm.

When tooling is done with powder it is dusted on by means of a powder box, over which is stretched some thin material, and tooled lukewarm.

The great convenience in the use of powder induces many binders to adopt it for leather and cloth also. This practice is objectionable, and the conscientious finisher will always avoid it. It m'1ty be excused when a name has to be printed on a Prayer book or similar article in a hurry, or when an article is already varnished, as powder in such a case is very convenient and satisfactory, but under any other conditions it is a sign of incompetence.

Tooling upon powder on leather looks very gritty and unsightly after having undergone many changes of temperature, as the latter greatly affects this material. Its brightness vanishes entirely a thing that never happens when white of egg has been used.

It must still be observed that tooling with lukewarm tools must be done slowly, and with hot tools quickly. Nearly all inexperienced finishers use too hot tools.

So far, we have dealt with the preparation for finishing and tooling with a roll. Besides this tool there are fillets, gouges, and dies, all nearly the same, being dies, and only differing in shape. Nearly all beginners are unreasonably afraid to use the gouge. Anyone able to use the roll properly will have little difficulty with the gouges. A genuine technical difficulty does arise when only a small portion of a curve may be worked (which frequently happens) on account of its having to be joined to another. Moreover, the joining of one curve to another must not be seen.

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