FOU 
ladled into an iron pot, wherein is melted 
lead, that is fixed on a furnace close to the 
former, 3lb. of melted iron to 2515. of lead ; 
' this they incorporate according to art. 
The caster taking the pan off the stone, 
and having kindled a good fire, he sets the 
pan in again, and metal in it to melt. If it 
be a small-bodied letter, or a thin letter 
with great bodies, that he intends to cast, 
his metal must be very hot, and sometimes 
red-hot, to make the letter come. Then 
taking a ladle, of which he has several sorts, 
that wiil hold as much as will make the let- 
ter and break, he lays it at the hole where 
the flame bursts out ; then he ties a thin 
leather, cut with its narrow end against the 
face, to the leather groove of the matrice, 
by whipping a brown thread twice about 
the leather groove, and fastening the thread 
with a knot. Then he puts both pieces of 
the mould together, and the matrice into 
the matrice-cheek ; and places the foot of 
the matrice on the stool of the mould, and 
the broad end of the leather on the wood 
of the upper haft of the mould, but not 
tight up, lest it hinder the foot of the ma- 
trice from sinking close down upon the 
stool, in a train of work. Afterwards lay- 
ing a little resin on the upper part of the 
mould, and having his casting-ladle hot, he, 
with the boiling side, melts the resin and 
presses the broad end of the leather hard 
down on the wood, and so fastens it there- 
to. Now he comes to casting, when placing 
the under half of the mould in his left hand, 
with the hook or jag forward, he holds the 
ends of its wood between the lower part of 
the ball of his thumb and his three hinder 
fingers ; then he lays the upper half of the 
mould upon the under half, so as the male 
gages may fall into the female ; and, at the 
same time, the foot of the matrice places it- 
self upon the stool, and clasping his left 
hand thumb strongly over the upper half, 
he nimbly catches hold of the bow or spring, 
with his right hand fingers at the top of it, 
and his thumb under it, and places the 
point of it against the middle of the notch 
in the backside of the matrice, pressing it 
forwards, as well towards the mould as 
downwards, by the shoulder of the notch, 
close upon the siool, while at the same 
time, with his hinder fingers, as aforesaid, 
he draws the under half of the mould to- 
wards the ball of his thumb, and thrusts, 
by the ball of his thumb, the upper part to- 
wards his fingers, that both the registers of 
the mould may press against both sides of 
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the matrice, and his thumb and fingers press 
both sides of the mould close together. 
Then he takes the handle of his ladle in 
his right hand, and with the ball of it gives 
two or three strokes outwards upon the 
surface of the melted metal, to clear it of 
the scum ; then he takes up the ladle full, 
and having the mould in the left hand, turns 
his left side a little from the furnace, and 
brings the geat of his ladle to the mouth of 
the mould ; and turns the upper part of his 
right hand towards him, to pour the metal 
into it, while, at the same instant, he puts 
the mould in his left hand forwards, to re- 
ceive the metal with a strong shake, not 
only into the bodies of the mould, but, 
while the metal is yet hot, into the very 
face of the matrice, to receive its perfect 
form there as well as in the shank. Then 
he takes the upper half of the mould off, by- 
placing his right thumb on the end of the 
wood next his left thumb, and his two mid- 
dle fingers at the other end of the wood : 
he tosses the letter, break and all, out upon 
a sheet of waste paper, laid on a bench a 
little beyond his left hand; and then is 
ready to cast another letter as before, and 
likewise the whole number in that matrice. 
Then boys, commonly employed for this 
purpose, separate the breaks from the 
shanks, and rub them on a stone, and after- 
wards a man cuts them all of an even 
height, which finishes the fount for the use 
of the printer. See the next article. A 
workman will ordinarily cast 3000 of these 
letters in a day. The perfection of letters 
thus cast, consists in their being all severally 
square and straight on every side ; and all 
generally of the same height, and evenly 
lined, without stooping one w'ay or other- 
neither too big in the foot nor the head - 
well grooved, so as the two extremes of 
the foot contain half the body of the letter ; 
and well ground, barbed, and scraped, with 
a sensible notch, &c. See Printing. 
FOUNT, or Font, among printers, a set 
or quantity of letters, and all the appen- 
dages belonging thereto, as numeral charac- 
ters, quadrates, points, &c. cast by a letter- 
founder, and sorted. Founts are large or 
small, according to the demand of the plan- 
ter, who orders them by the hundred 
weight, or by sheets. When a printer or- 
ders a fount of five hundred, he means that 
the fount, consisting of letters, points, 
spaces, quadrates, &e. shall weigh 500 lb. 
When he demands a fount of ten sheets, it 
is understood, that with tiiat fount he shall 
