ecomes a ball which can be kneaded
by the hand.

Procure smooth iron bars, two fifteen inches long and two eighteen
inches long, all three-eighths of an inch thick and two inches wide. Any
blacksmith shop can furnish them at slight expense, or they may be
purchased more cheaply from the confectioner's supply stores. The bars
are to be placed--set on edge--in the form of a rectangle on a marble
slab. Be sure that the bars are carefully smoothed, for otherwise they
will be untidy and soon rust. By lapping the edges and moving the bars
back and forth, a receptacle of any size desired can be made. After
buttering slab and bars, pour the candy into the enclosure. When it has
cooled, remove the bars, and with one sharp incision cut the candy clear
across. Use a sharp knife of uniform thickness and width, preferably
with a thin blade.

It is also convenient to have two bars six inches long. They are useful
in dividing a batch when different flavors or colors are used. The
partitions will be useful for dividing the filling from the outside
layers when a three-storied candy is to be made.

The need for these bars comes from the fact that one should never cut
candy in a pan. The attempt to do so will always result in pieces with
crumbling edges, as the knife has to be dragged through the candy
instead of cutting down sharply, and as the sides of the pan allow no
room for the expansion which the width of the knife will cause.
Moreover, there is always waste in the corners and at the sides.

The candy-maker should appreciate the palette knife. The flexibility of
the blade is such that it can be put to many uses for which the ordinary
knife is unfitted. For instance, with a palette knife it is possible to
coax refractory substances from the corners and edges of pans. Because
of this flexibility, it is particularly useful in lifting modeled forms
from a flat surface, as is explained in Chapter VIII.

To the confectioner, one of the most useful tools is a modeling stick.
This small tool is of great value to the candy-maker. It can be grasped
easily and its shape allows of its use at many angles that would be
inconvenient or impossible for a less adaptable tool. The roundness of
the blunt end serves many purposes; the straighter side is particularly
useful for smoothing off work, and the inside curves lend themselves to
a great number of processes.

Wire screens, often known as "wire baking forms," are very useful for
drying can