82 PHANTOM FLOWERS. 



The operator should procure a spoonful of printer's 

 ink, and with a case knife spread a small quantity 

 over half the surface of a marble slab about a foot 

 square. "When spreading the ink on the slab, let it be 

 confined to one end of it, not letting it cover more 

 than half the stone. Care must be taken not to allow 

 thick streaks or ridges of ink, but to spread a thin 

 film or covering, as uniform as possible. As printing 

 ink is a thick and paste-like compound, which stiffens 

 in cold weather, if the operation is to be performed 

 when the temperature is low, the stone should be 

 slightly warmed before the ink is laid on. The warmth 

 wiU render the ink sufficiently fluid to operate in a 

 satisfactory manner. If no marble slab can be con- 

 veniently obtained, then a smooth board, about an inch 

 thick, may be substituted. The board will not require 

 to be warmed. 



When the stone has been supplied with ink as above 

 directed, a roUer is passed several times over it, until 

 the whole surface of the roller becomes coated. It 

 will take up the ink in unequal quantities, that is, 

 more in one place than in another, with just as much 

 irregularity as it had been laid upon the stone with 

 the knife. This irregularity must now be remedied, 

 and the ink distributed over the entire surface of the 



