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Rh one to carry out this idea. When leather work is backed with a mixture of glue and naptha, it becomes as hard as horn, and almost unbreakable. If the design is worked in very high relief the back should be filled up with sawdust and glue, cement, or with plaster of Paris mixed with gum arabic.

Very good effects are produced by heating the brass stamps already alluded to, and pressing them into the leather. Gilding may also be applied to leather with very good effect. To stain it black, use good ink or ebony stain.

PAPIER MACHÉ. Some idea of the capabilities of papier maché can be formed from the following extract from a late paper. The speaker is a "property man" at one of the New York theatres.

"Urns, vases, bronzes, carved mantlepieces, helmets, shields, and similar "props" are all made from old paper. Yea, even a Grecian urn, on which Keats might write an ode, can be built out of paper, which may once have enclosed the unpoetic but soul-searching ham; I can give you a description of the method of making an urn, and that will serve as an earnest of all the rest." The process of making a plaster mould for an urn having been described, the property man goes on to say:—

"Now we are ready for the paper. It must be heavy and free from glazing. Ruthlessly tear this paper into small pieces, and soak it well in clean water. While the paper is in the water, you proceed to grease the mould well with sweet oil or lard. If this is not properly done it results in dire disaster at a later stage of the work. Now lay on a coat of wet paper. Be careful to fill up all the works and crannies of the mould. Put on four more coats of paper. Then put on a layer of muslin and