put on the mould, very thick, with a brush. This simple process will prevent the mould from absorbing the oil, when you attempt to cast. Although this last way is very convenient, and saves much time, for the mould need not dry before it is thus prepared, and may be used immediately afterwards, nevertheless, the mould is apt to be soft, and is easily broken, and many fine parts are lost; therefore, except in the case mentioned, or when only two or three casts are required, the process first described had better be employed. Some artists, instead of seasoning their moulds at all, and oiling them each time they are used, prefer to throw into the mould a thick suds, made from soft soap and hot water; and, after having turned the mould round once or twice, they throw it out again, and cast in the plaster. This is a very bungling way, as the casts are not so clean, and no time or expense is saved in so doing.

When the moulds are made and well seasoned, there is nothing easier than to take casts from them. This is done in the following manner :-First, the mould is gently brushed over with a little of the mixture of oil and tallow; the different pieces of the mould are then put together, and secured in their places by a cord; next, the plaster must be mixed as described above, care being taken not to have it of too great consistency. All things having been done as described, the liquid plaster is poured into the mould, which is then turned around several times, till you are sure that every part of the mould is lined with plaster. When you are satisfied of this, the plaster which does not adhere to the sides of the mould must be poured out into the bowl, and be well stirred, to prevent its hardening. After the lapse of a few moments, it is again cast into the mould, and again poured out. This is done several times, until the figure within the mould has attained a sufficient thickness. The plaster which is left after casting the figure, is put with a spatula around the base of the cast, to make it stronger, and more heavy at the bottom. The mould must be left about an hour to stand unmolested; after which, the string which binds its parts together may be removed, and the mould, piece by piece, be taken from

the figure. The figure thus cast will be hollow, which makes it light, and easy to be transported from one place to another. The seams must be removed, and the accidental holes filled up as will hereafter be described.

Casts are taken from flat moulds by merely pouring the liquid plaster upon them, after having been oiled, and leaving it to harden.

For taking casts from sulphur moulds, a rim of tin, half an inch thick, is necessary. This rim is put around the mould and secured. The olive oil is then put upon the mould with a brush, and the liquid plaster put upon it likewise with a brush. This prevents little holes occurring in the cast, which is a great desideratum in medalcasting, as medals cannot be trimmed and repaired so well that the repairs cannot be detected.

When wax is used for casting, care must be taken that it is not too hot. The mould must be oiled, tied together, and warmed, and the warm wax be thrown in and out eight or ten times, until the cast is sufficiently strong. When perfectly cold, remove the mould carefully.

The plaster or wax can be colored by any of the common coloring matters, care being taken, that no water be put into those which are to unite with the wax, or glue or gummy matter into those which are used for the plaster. Water and wax will not unite together without a third substance; and gum, mixed with plaster, greatly retards its setting. Of coloring casts more will be said hereafter,

It is often a gratification to have the masks of our friends; and as the mode of taking them is very simple, and causes very little inconvenience to the subject, a description of the manner in which they are taken will be briefly given. The individual is made to lie horizontally on his back, with his eyes shut, his hair and eyebrows brushed properly, and well smoothed with pomatum. A napkin is placed around his head, to prevent the plaster from extending over the other part of the hair and the ears. A goose-quill is fixed into each nostril by a piece of paper or cotton. Thus made ready, the eyebrows, hair and eyelashes must be gently rubbed over with olive, or with almond oil, which is much pleasanter. The rest of the face

need not be oiled. The plaster is then put on the face, care being taken not to stop the cavity of the quills. At first, the face should be but thinly, though entirely cov ered with the plaster. When this first coat has become pretty hard, a little more plaster should be heaped on, to the thickness of three fourths of an inch. The plaster having become tolerably firm, the quills are to be removed by extraction. When hard, the mask is to be removed from the face, by first taking away the napkin, and then, by carefully lifting it from the forehead first, and then from the rest of the face. The subject should then wash the plaster from his eyes, before opening them. The plaster would feel more pleasant, and would harden quicker, if mixed with warm water. This precaution will take away the shock which is generally experienced when the plaster is first put on, and which is apt to leave a frown on the expression. The whole process of taking a mask requires only ten minutes, and gives, when carefully done, a correct model of the face. This mould from the face can be seasoned with soap, and a cast made in it. To remove the mould, recourse must be had to the mallet and chisel, unless it (prior to the plaster being cast into it) is divided vertically (i. e. from the forehead, between the eyes, and through the nose, mouth and chin,) by a very fine saw. The mould should not be entirely cut through, although all the outline should be well sawed, and the remainder should be broken. The roughness of this fracture will serve as a key to retain the pieces of the mould in their places. A smooth cut with a saw would not allow this.

Moulds in the whole head are taken in a similar way. The person must sit upright, his hair must be smoothed down by a brush and pomatum, his ears be stuffed with cotton, and a quill be put into each nostril, as represented by D, in Fig. IV. A small cord is to be placed from B to A, and then over the head to the other side corresponding to

B.

Another small cord (AC) is to be placed from the line crossing the vertex, and continued down in a median direction to the nape of the neck. The use of these strings is to cut the plaster just before it is hard, and by this

Fig. IV.
A

means, to facilitate the removal of the plaster shell from the head. Having thus made your subject ready, his head is to be entirely covered with the liquid plaster. All the plaster to be used must be put on at one mixing, and when it shall have attained the proper degree of hardness, the strings must be removed in a manner so as to divide the whole shell into three pieces; one to contain all of the face except the ears, the other two, respectively, to contain each an ear and all of the shell between the line AC at the back, and the line AB from the top of the head to the point B, indicated in the figure. When the plaster is sufficiently hard to retain its shape, it should be immediately removed from the head.

To get a model of the head from this cast, it must first be prepared with soap as heretofore mentioned; the pieces must be put together so as to form a mould; into this mould the plaster must be cast, until the cast within has attained a great thickness; after which, the shell must be removed with a mallet and chisel. In using the chisel, great care must be taken not to destroy the ears of the cast. When the cast is made, it can be put upon a pedestal, the eyes be opened and the hair trimmed.

It often becomes necessary to fill up accidental depres

sions in casts. To do this, the surface of the depression is first made rough by any pointed instrument; it is then moistened with water, and plaster is put into it and smoothed over with a knife. If the cast has just been made, and has not become dry, a little of the substance of the cast can be scraped off and used for the filling of such defects.

Casts are mended by making the edges to be joined together rough and moist, and by putting a little newly mixed plaster between the two pieces, as a cement. The pieces having been pressed together, the superabundant plaster will be squeezed out, and can be removed by the knife. When figures are cast in parts, the different pieces are united in the same manner.

After casts have been made, the seams caused by the mould are to be removed by the knife. The cast is then put away until it becomes dry, after which it is smoothed by very fine sand-paper or dog-fish skin, and polished by the Dutch rush. The rush is moistened in water, and after the surplus water has been pressed out by the hand, it is capable of giving the cast an exquisite smoothness.

The following is the method adopted by artists to give their casts a polish which shall resemble marble. They are first made smooth, and brushed over with a mixture of soap and white wax. A quarter of an ounce of white soap is dissolved in a pint of warm water, and an equal quantity of white wax is afterwards incorporated with it.

The cast may be dipped into this solution, or be washed with it plentifully. After an hour's drying, it is polished by rubbing it with soft linen or flannel. A polish produced in this manner rivals the nicest work executed in marble. Other methods are adopted to produce this resemblance to marble, but as the one described is the best, the others will not be mentioned.

If casts are to be exposed to the inclemencies of the weather, they can be made more durable by filling their pores with boiled linseed oil, with which wax or resin has been blended. After this preparation they can be painted with white-lead, or varnished.

There are many modes of bronzing laid down in books,