reason why any of these pigments
should not be removed successfully, and at some future period of leisure
our book-hunter hopes to record his own experiences in this matter.

Here a word of warning. Do not handle permanganate of potash in the room
where your bleached leaves are drying. If you do probably you will be
annoyed to find small purple specks on the leaves where the fine
permanganate dust has settled. It is unpleasant stuff to use, and stains
everything with which it comes into contact. Undoubtedly it is at its
best in a closely stoppered bottle. Rubber gloves would be useful, if
they did not make one 'all thumbs.' Remember that oxalic acid will remove
the stains from your hands just as well as from paper--also that it
bleaches carpets. (Item, don't conduct your operations in the
dining-room.) The best thing with which to handle the leaves when wet is
a broad flat bone paper-knife with smooth edges. On various occasions
when our bookman has not had time to complete the bleaching process, he
has dried the leaves in their brown state and put them aside for a week
before bleaching. So far he has not found this to have any ill effect on
the paper, though possibly if kept for a longer period--especially if
they got damp--the permanganate might rot them.

A very hot and strong solution of alum I have used with success for
leaves that are more dirty than stained, and do not really require
bleaching. Ether is excellent for stains of a greasy nature, though some
may prefer the stains to the vapour which it gives off. With hydrochloric
acid, so strongly recommended by some, I have never had any success. If
used strong it destroys the paper, and if used weak the leaf has to be
left in it for so long as to reduce the paper almost to a pulp. Remember
that as a general rule, the shorter the process of washing the better.
Long immersion tends to rot the fibres of the paper. With regard to
staining the leaf so as to match the rest of the book, our book-hunter
generally uses a solution of cigarettes (Virginians are quite the best).
Possibly this is a very bad practice, but at least it is effective, the
stain diffuses easily, and it can be regulated to any shade. Coffee is
recommended by some.

Thumb-marks and the stains of dirty fingers are best removed by rubbing
them lightly (and very carefully) with one of those disc-shaped erasers
used by typists. These erasers remove the surface of the paper, so they
must be used with ex