180 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
finds unexpected possibilities arising out 
of the ordinary events hitherto unno- 
ticed, and until one begins collecting any 
object, it seems that there must have been 
less of it in the world, by the sudden ap- 
peamnce in hitherto unsuspected quar- 
ters, of desirable and very often easily 
procurable specimens. 
But without further preamble it will be 
best to explain the proposed method. 
Take an ordinary drawing, or print, or 
photograph. Mount the picture with 
ordinary paste on a piece of smooth card- 
board. Any color, x)lain or printed, will 
do if it has only a fair surface, and 
enough thickness to withstand the warp- 
ing ; let this cardboard be the size of the 
print (that is, the actual black and white 
picture, regardless of the margin it pos- 
sessed in its first state) with an outer mar- 
gin of equal width all round. In 
"Touched," tlie i)rint itself is 51 by 7* 
inclies, allow a clear 3 inches each side, 
making the size of the mount 111 by 131 
inches, paste the picture (without cutting 
off the old margin, as it may be useful for 
references and will be hidden) in the exact 
centre. Then take a piece of the grey 
mottled cardboard, now so much used and 
«o easily obtained, cut from the centre a 
piece eitber 51 by 71, or Qi by 81 inches 
at will. Some prefer the grey mount to 
louch the picture everywhere, others like 
{1. narrow white border with tlie name of 
the artist, etc., showing. This is, I think, 
only to be decided by the character of the 
drawing, as some are much improved by 
allowing no other white than t hat left in 
the drawing to destroy the vahie of the 
tones of the picture itself. Having cut the 
grey mount, ta.ke a piece of rough card- 
board, the top of a paper box or other 
TiVailable material, cut it 111 by 131, and 
Ht the distance of I inch below the top, 
and say 3^ inches from either side, cut 
two short upright slits with a sharp pen- 
knife, and pass a piece of narrow tape 
through them; this will lie flat on the 
surface, and should be tied behind in a 
knot close to one of the slits, so that a 
firm and unobtrusive support is left to 
suspend the picture when complete. Then 
having procured a ])iece of glass 111 by 
131 inches, the size of these three pieces of 
board, lay the cardboard flat on a table, 
above that place the mounted etching, 
then over tha,t the cut-out mount, and the 
^^iass above all. Next cut some thick 
brown paper into strips of about an inch 
or inch-and-lialf wide; thoroughly paste 
these and bind the four thicknesses to- 
gether, the brown paper showing about 
half an inch all round in the front, and 
well over the back, being cut in mitre 
fashion at the angles. • When dry it will 
be ready to hang; and, after cleaning off 
any paste-marks from tlie glass, will be 
found a very pleasing little picture, un- 
pretentious in appearance, the framing 
being not unlike a plain oak frame at a 
distance, and an ornament, or at least no 
disfigurement in itself, apart from the ac- 
tual etching, in any room it may find 
itself. 
Pictures so treated would be useful not 
only for the owner's house, but (as I have 
found) find a very ready and profitable 
sale at bazaars, and make inexpensive 
and much-liked gifts for friends; more- 
over, they also find a warm welcome in 
the homes of the poor, as any visitor to 
them knows that a love for pictures, 
amounting almost to a passion, exists 
among the most squalid and unlovely 
surroundings. 
The cost of the etching, "Touched," 
is twenty-five cents, the glass at most 
twelve cents, the cardboard perhaps five 
or six cents ; so that for little more than 
thirty-five cents a really beautiful picture 
may be bought, framed, and hung on any 
wall. Contrast this with the inlce for the 
commonest " Dutch " nietal frame, or the 
once all-popular " Oxford " one, and it 
will be seen that it is barely half the cost 
of the frame itself, not counting the print, 
while the art-beauty of the one is beyond 
comi)arison, as a little print in gilt frame 
is more or less an eyesore anywhere, 
while this simple substitute is sure to find 
favor with all or nearly all ; and for those 
who dislike it, I was going to say, so 
much the worse for their taste, but re- 
membering in time that abuse is no argu- 
ment, and as a disciple of the "higher 
culture" (for who, writing under such a 
heading, could forget the necessity of 
living up to it ?) it is only in keeping to 
ignore and refuse to allow even the possi- 
bility of the other side of the matter — cer- 
tainly, if monotonously insisting that the 
" ])ictchaw is beautiful " be wha.t will be 
said against it. • 
But this does not exhaust the possi- 
bilities of brown paper. Another way is 
worth noting. If the old gilded mould- 
ing, fly-specked and tarnishing, is well re- 
clothed with brown paper, soaked with 
paste and well stuck on, so that it shows 
every feature of the moulding, it gives a 
very presentable appearance. The paper 
should be pasted some few minutes be- 
fore use, and thoroughly moulded on to 
the wood. Each hollow and fillet will be 
seen sharply defined, and the whole will 
dry hard, and, while unlike paper, look 
somewhat like oak, and present a certain 
fresh character of its own, not attainable 
in any other way. In this case the brow^n 
paper itself is a pleasant variety to the 
grey mottled card for the cut-out mount 
and an ideal setting to many wood en- 
Igravings, as it gives such value to the 
[blacks and whites of the print, in the 
same way that a good photograph gains 
by a dark, dull moiuit. 
