the sheet to adhere to them: should it happen to have been laid uneven, it is much better to relay it, because this sheet (which is denominated the tympan sheet) is the guide by which the whole impression of the form of white paper is worked. He next selects his points, for large paper shortshanked, and for small, long-shanked points, and others in proportion to the intermediate sizes of paper; for his points ought to be so placed, that they may prick the point holes within the grasp of the hollow between his right hand thumb and fore-finger; because, when he works the reiteration, he may the better manage and point the sheet when he is lay ing it on the tympan. The points should not be placed too near the edge of the paper; because, in working the reiteration, he would be forced to carry the off point hole the further from him, which in a long number is a loss of time; as the laying of the sheets quickly on the point holes adds much to dispatch. Also the less distance between the points the better, as it saves time: because he must draw his body so much the farther back, to place that hole on its point; therefore for Folios, Quartos, or Octavos, &c. the near point should be placed farther in than the off one; but for Twelves they should be placed at exact distances from the edge of the paper. By placing the points unequally in Foltos, &c. as before-mentioned, he also secures himself the more from a turned heap when he works the reiteration. When a press has a run upon the same work, they seldom or ever remove the quoins on the further or right hand end of the carriage or table, but let them remain as guages for the following forms: for by thrusting the chase close against those quoins, the register is almost, if not quite made; provided the chases run equal as to size. Having fixed on his points, he then lays down the tympans, within about an inch and a half of the form, in which position he holds it at the upper part with his left hand, while he sinks his body till he can see between the form and the tympan, and with the ball of the middle finger of his right hand presses gently upon the tympans over the ends of each point successively, to ascertain if they fall in or near the middle of the grooves of the short cross, if not he moves them; should the sheet have been taken up properly, and the points carefully fixed according to it, there can be little doubt but the points will fall in their places. Under the head of making ready the form, are comprehended several operations, viz. I The frisket should be covered with stout paper, and when the paste is sufficiently dried, it is pulled on the form, the frisket is then taken off the tympan and laid on a board, and the pages cut round with a sharp knife, about a Nonpareil from the edge of the margin of each page, it is then replaced on the tympan; after which it would be adviseable to put a few cords across, not only to strengthen the bars of paper, but also to keep the sheets much closer to the tympan than

would otherwise have been the case if the paper bars had been left to perform this office alone: at times it is necessary to work with cords only, where the margin is too small to admit bars of paper.

2. He next examines his form, to see that it is properly locked up and plained down.

3. That no letters or spaces lie in the white lines of the form, nor between the lines in leaded matter; which sometimes happen after the compositor has finished correcting.

4. Should any wood cuts be in the form, they must be brought to an equal height with the type; that is, by filing or scraping away, if too high, or by underlaying with card or paper, if too low: they may be humoured a little by means of an overlay, or by cutting them out of a sheet in the tympans if too high: should there be much card or paper underneath, they will be found to sink a little from the repeated impressions, consequently the cuts will require an additional underlay when that takes place.

5. If any white page or pages happen in a form, and he uses a newly covered frisket, he does not cut out that page; but if he works with an old frisket, and that page is already cut out, he pastes on a piece of paper to prevent it from blacking; he then puts on a bearer, to keep the adjoining pages from having too hard an impression: some pressmen use reglets, others have furniture cut to a proper height, and a third class adopt cork, which from its elasticity, in many cases is very useful: spring bearers, made of hard paper rolled up, are also very serviceable to guard the sides and bottoms of light and open pages, when there is an inclination to slur, which with some presses cannot be prevented.

6. He examines whether the frisket bites; that is, whether it keep off the impression from any part of the pages; if it does, he cuts away so much, and about a Nonpareil more, off the frisket where this happens.

7. He examines if the beards of the letter print at the feet of the pages; if they do, he considers whether the too short or too far running in of the carriage causes it; or whether it be only the beard of a short page that comes off: if the last be the cause of it, he remedies it by a bearer.

8. If the carriage be run in too short, and the feet of the pages stand towards the plattin, the hind-side of the plattin will press strong upon the feet of those pages; and if the carriage be run in too far, the feet of the pages that stand towards the hinder rail of the tympan, will most feel the force of the plattin; and according to a greater or less proportion of that force, and to the softness or yielding of the paper, tympan, and blankets, and all other springs in the press, the feet of the pages and beard of the letter will more or less print hard. In this case he runs the carriage uuder the plattin, till the further edge of it just covers the feet of

the upper pages, he then makes a mark on the off side of his tympan on a line with the front of the plattin, as a guide for his first pull; he next runs in so as to clear the lower pages, when he makes a second mark to which he is to gu for the second impressiou.

9. He examines if the catch of the bar will hold it when the spindle makes a small spring, viz. when the bar flies but a little way back from the pressure of the form; if it will not, he knocks up the catch higher, and then screws the screw on the shank, and consequently the catch close and firm against the cheek of the press. But if the catch stand too high, so that it will not without a great spring (viz. when the bar is pulled hard from the further cheek) fly up, he then knocks upon the top of it, to sink it lower; and, when it is well fitted, screws it up again as before. If the catch stands too low, it will not hold the bar, but will come down when he is at work; for if, as it often happens, he lets the bar fly back harder than ordinary, or if it slip out of his hand, it will knock hard against the cheek, and spring back again. If the catch of the bar stands but a little too high, the violence of the bar's flying back to make it stick on the catch, will soon loosen the square of the bar in the eye of the spindle, and indeed subject the whole press to an unstable condition.

10. He considers whether the catch of the frisket stands either too forward or too backward. It may stand too forward, though when it is leisurely turned up it stays the frisket; because, when the pressman is proceeding in his work, though he generally throws the frisket quick up with an accustomed, and, as he intends, equal strength, yet if his guess at strength in throwing it up varies, and it comes though but a little harder up, the catch will make the frisket return; and though, as it sometimes happens, a solid wall serves to do the office of a stay for the frisket, yet with a little too hard throwing it up, the frisket itself will so shake and tremble from end to end, that before it recovers rest, its own motion will, by the quick running of a spring, throw it back again. If the catch stands too backward, then, after he has given the frisket a touch to bring it down, it will be too long before it comes down, and retard the progress of the work, and not unfrequently cause the sheet to slip out of its proper place; he therefore places the catch so, that the frisket may stand a little beyond a perpendicular backwards, that with a near-guessed strength in the tossing it up it, may just stand, and not come back; for then, with a small touch behind, it will again quickly come down upon the tympan.

11. He fits the gallows so that the tympan may stand as much towards an upright as he can, because it is the sooner let down upon the form and lifted up again. But yet he will not place it so upright as to prevent the white sheets

of paper from laying secure on the tympan; and for reiteration sheets, their laying upon the points secures them.

12. He considers the situation of the foot-step, and he places it so as may best suit his own stature; for a tall man may allow the foot-step to stand farther off and lower than a short one, because his legs reach further under the carriage, and he can tread hard to add strength to his pull; when a short man must strain his legs to feel the foot-step, and consequently diminish the force of his pull.

13. Few pressmen will set the range of the paper bank to stand at right angles with the plank of the carriage; but they draw the further end of the paper bank so as that the near side may take an angle of about seventy-five degrees, more or less, with the near side of the carriage. The reason is, if the near side of the paper bank stand at right angles with the near side of the carriage, he must carry his hand farther when he lays or casts sheets, which would occasion delay: besides, his companion has a nearer access to it to look over the heap, which he frequently does, to see the colour of the work.

14. The pressman brings his heap, and sets it on the horse, on the near end of the paper bank, as near the tympan as he can, yet not to touch it, and places an end of the heap towards him. He then takes the uppermost or outside sheet, and lays it on the bauk: and taking three or four, or five quires off his heap, he shakes them at each end, to loosen the sheets, that with pressing, stick close together, and not finding them loose enough, he shakes them long-ways and side-ways, to and fro, till he finds he has sufficiently loosened or hollowed the heap. Then with the nail of his right hand thumb, he draws or slides forward the upper sheet, and two or three more commonly follow gradually with it, over the hither edge of the heap, to prepare those sheets ready for laying on the tympan.

Rubbing out Ink.

Before the pressman goes to work, he rubs out his ink. If it has lain long on the ink-block since it was last rubbed out, the surface of it is generally dried and hardened into a film or skin, for which reason he carefully takes this film quite off, before he disturbs the body of the ink; for should any, though ever so little of it, mingle with the ink, when the ball happens to take up the little particles of film, and delivers them again upon the face of the letter, they produce picks, priut black, and deface the work; and if they get between the face of two or more letters, or the hollows of them, they will obliterate all they cover; and if they be pulled upon, and the pressman not careful to overlook his work, they may run through the whole heap. Having carefully skinned off the film, he brings forward a small quantity of ink near the edge of the block, which he rubs well

with the brayer. Care should be observed not to brayer out much at a time: for if this be done, it will be impossible to preserve any degree of uniformity in taking ink.

Of Beating.

Beating is an important part of a pressman's business, which, if not properly done, renders every other operation almost useless. A careful beater will never be found to take much ink at one time, but keep brayered out in the front of the ink-block a small quantity, that he may be certain of never receiving more than is necessary. The great art in beating is to preserve a uniformity of colour, which is easily performed by paying a proper attention to the taking of ink: this done regularly, and the form beat well over, the beater may be said to have done his duty.

All pressmen do not beat alike; but the method generally followed by good workmen is, the moment the tympans are lifted up, to lay the balls on the left hand near corner of the form, that he may the more readily carry them to the near right hand corner, while his companion is casting the sheet on the bank; if this opportunity be lost, it occasions delay, and in all probability leaves that corner untouched by the ball, and makes what is technically termed a friar.

In beating over the form, the elbows should be kept rather inward, and the ball stock handle inclining outward, in order that the balls may be perfectly upright; it will also enable him to go over the corner before mentioned with greater ease and certainty. This plan, if strictly followed, is unquestionably the most expeditious, as well as the least liable to defects, if common attention be observed by the beater. He begins, as already observed, at the right hand near corner, and goes up that side of the form and returns, and leaves off at the left hand near corner, taking care to make the form feel the force of the balls by beating hard and close. In the operation of beating, the balls should be constantly turning round in the hands, as it keeps them in their proper shape, and thereby renders them more safe and pleasant to work with.

The bails should not go too far over the form, for they are liable to gather dust, and consequently throw picks on the form, which are not easily got rid of. These picks, and every other defect, it is the business of the beater to look carefully after, and to endeavour to mend and prevent. His companion can also, when taking off the sheets, give a slight glance over them; but the uniformity of the work will depend principally upon the beater. He will point out to the puller any defects in laying on the sheets on the tympan, or if he neglects to pull dowu the work with the force it requires.

Having thus gone twice upwards and downwards with the balls, beating close and strong, the form may then be