18 
the uncovered portion of the object. The steatite prevents the 
one piece of the mould sticking to the other. The original 
ought to be taken out of the mould before the latter 
becomes perfectly cold and rigid, as in that case it is very 
difficult to extract. 3. Then pour in plaster of Paris after 
after having wetted the moulds to prevent bubbles of air 
lurking in the small interstices, and if the mould be in two 
pieces, it is generally convenient to fill them with plaster 
separately before putting them together, 4. Then dry the 
plaster casts either wholly or partially. 5. Paint the casts 
in water colours, which must be fainter than those of the 
original, because the next process adds to their intensity. 
The delicate shades of colour in the original will be mai'ked 
in the cast by the different quantity of the same colour 
which is taken up by the different textures of the cast. 
6. After drying the cast steep it in hard paraffin. The 
ordinary paraffin candles, which can be obtained from any 
grocer, will serve the purpose. 7. Cool, and polish the cast 
by hand with steatite. The result of this process is far 
better than that obtained by any other. The whole opera- 
tion is very simple, and promises to afford a means of com- 
parison of natural history specimens in different countries, 
which has long been felt to be a scientific need. Casts of type 
specimens may be multiplied to any extent at a small cost 
of time and money, and are as good as the original for 
purposes of comparison, and almost as hard as any fossil. 
Mr. Boyd Dawkins has employed it for copying flint imple- 
ments, fossils, and bones and teeth, which can scarcely be 
distinguished from the originals. 
Mr. Boyd Dawkins then explained the extraordinary 
hoax which had been practised on the Times by a sweep of 
St. Asaph. The paragraph to which he referred gave a 
most vivid picture of the capture of a huge reptile by a “Mr. 
Hughes,” in the Cefn Caves, which were recently visited by 
