are able, by a system which they have reduced to a
science, to detect the spurious from the genuine handwriting with
almost unvarying success. But their conclusions are not reached by
second sight or sleight-of-hand methods, but rather by painstaking,
scientific investigation.

Some of the principal tests applied to determine the genuineness of
handwriting are these: The actual and relative slant of the letters or
the angles between their stems and the base; the constancy and
accuracy with which a straight line is followed as a base; the amount
of pressure used on the pen and the part of the stroke where it is
applied, and the positions of the line as a whole relative to the
edges of the paper. The simplest punctuation mark under the microscope
has its own individuality. It would be difficult to find two writers
whose semicolons and quotation marks cannot be distinguished at a
glance. The dotting of the _i_ and crossing of the _t_ afford an
infinite number of relations between points and lines, and in both of
these the time element and the freedom of muscular movement play
important parts. Even the health and self-control of the penman, as
well as the physical circumstances, show their influence on these
little strokes.

The identification of the individual by means of his handwriting is of
great value in legal trials and outside of courts. Its use cannot be
dispensed with any more than can the knowledge obtained in any other
line of science.

One often hears a man boast of his ability to successfully duplicate
another person's signature or handwriting, and to the casual observer
the counterfeit really will bear a striking resemblance to the
original. However, let the two be placed in the hands of an expert on
disputed handwriting and he will pretty quickly determine which is the
original and which the forgery. Furthermore, he will tell you what
process was used to make the duplicate, for there are several methods
in use among forgers, and can even tell the composition of the ink.

In the determination of any handwriting there is no actual rule to
guide an expert, as each case must be a law unto itself. The time of
day that the signature was made and the condition for the moment of
the individual have considerable bearing on the case, as has also the
writer's general physical condition. Whether he was standing or
sitting when the signature was made is a matter of importance. The
quality of the paper and the make o