4S6 ETCHING. 



termine the degree of hardness or softness that 

 may be suitable to the season when it is used. 



To lay the ground for etching, proceed in the 

 following manner : Having cleaned the copper- 

 plate with some fine whiting and a linen rag, to 

 free it from all grease, fix a hand-vice to some part 

 of it where no work is intended to be, to serve as a 

 handle for managing it by when warm. Roll up 

 some coarse brown paper, and light one end ; then 

 hold the back of the plate over the burning paper, 

 moving it about until every part of it. is equally 

 heated, so as to melt the etching-ground, which 

 should be wrapped up in a bit of taflfety, to prevent 

 any dirt that may happen to be among it, from 

 mixing with what is melted upon the plate. If 

 the plate be large, it will be best to heat it over a 

 chafing-dish with some clear coals. It must be 

 heated just sufficient to melt the ground, but not 

 so much as to burn it. When a sufficient quantity 

 of the etching-ground has been rubbed upon the 

 plate, it must be dabbed, or beat gently, while the 

 plate is hot, with a small dabber, made of cotton, 

 wrapped up in a piece of tafFety, by which oper- 

 ation the ground is distributed more equally over 

 the plate than it could be by any other means. 



When the plate is thus uniformly and thinly 

 covered with the varnish, it must be blackened by 

 smoking it with a wax taper. For this purpose 

 twist together three or four pieces of wax taper, to 

 make a larger flame, and while the plate is still 

 warm, hold it with the varnished side downwards, 

 and move the smoky part of the lighted taper over 

 its surface, till it is made almost quite black ; taking 

 care not to let the wick touch the varnish, and that 

 the latter get no smear or stain. In laying the etch- 

 ing-ground, great care must be taken that no par- 



