eeze should be heated on a stove and
brushed over with melted paraffin, or better wax, sufficient to cover
the face without choking the finer detail. Before each cast the face
should be lightly oiled with a tuft of wool.

Small objects.
These can be copied by a thin paper squeeze, and the squeeze may be
mounted by pasting a card and lightly pressing the squeeze back down
on it. This will take out all cockling and make it lie flat for
photographing.

Tin-foil is very handy for squeezes, and may be saved from chocolate
for this. Press it firmly on a coin or seal with a tuft of wool, or
beat it with a soft tooth-brush, being careful to avoid creases. The
foil should then be floated on water, hollow back up, and blazing
sealing-wax dropped into it to back it. The resulting positive can be
then stuck on card.

For plaster casts of coins the face should be dusted with French
chalk, as also a smooth bed of plasticine; the coin can then be
pressed in safely without any possible risk, and afterward plaster
cast in the mould. Sealing-wax is said to be sharper, but there is a
risk of its sticking to the coin. If it is used, breathe hard on the
coin, or wet it, before impressing; and when first set lift it
slightly to detach it, and then replace till cold. Or tin-foil may be
used, as in making positives; but, instead of floating on water,
press plasticine on the foil while it is still on the object.

For curved surfaces, as cylinders, any of these methods can be used;
the plasticine is the more successful.

In all casting of plaster on a small scale, use a soft camel-hair
brush. Mix the plaster in the palm of the hand with a knife, take up
some of the wettest to brush over the face of the moulds (a dozen
scarabs or small coins done at once); then put he brush in water, and
take up thicker plaster with a pocket-knife to drop on as a backing.
This avoids air bubbles without using too weak a plaster.

Copying hieroglyphic inscriptions.
Where possible a wet or a dry squeeze should be taken of any
inscription. When hand copying is necessary, the main matter is to
get the cartouches of king's names accurately, and the date at the
beginning, examining specially whether single strokes, I I I I, have
been connected above, n n, forming the ten sign. The main difficulty
for any one not knowing the 800 signs is to distinguish between those
that are alike, especially when damaged. For this purpose the
commonest signs that may be co