193 AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
AFTER DINNER. — Feom a Painting BY MEYEErrEIM, BERLIN .—Engraved for the American Agrlatliurist. 
Here is an easy lesson [for girls and boys to study, 
tliougli it may be a hard one for some to learn. The pic¬ 
ture sliows a liateful little monkey, and a noble looking 
Newfoundland dog. As they are only animals, vre can 
talk very freely about them, and probably hurt nobody’s 
feelings. If it were tlie picture of boys or girls, one of 
them showing selfishness, distrust, and spite, the other 
good nature, kindness, and confidence, then George or 
Susan, or Henry, migiit tliink we were showing .tlieir 
faults or tlieir virtues to the rest of our great family. 
‘•What does distrust mean?” asks little Fanny. To be 
afraid of another without any good reason for it. Selfish 
people are almost always distrustful. The picture of the 
monkey shows how unlovely such a feeling is. His feel¬ 
ings come out into his face, and make it hideous. De¬ 
pend upon it, that monkey has not been well etlucatcd ; 
probably he is a jiet, accu.'.tunicd to have his own way, 
and that you know is enough to spoil any little monkey ! 
But there is .sornelhiiig on the table that may partly ac¬ 
count for his ill-nature. Berhaps he has been tasting some 
of the drinks from the boltlcs as well as stealing a plate 
of fruit — one of the bottles is upset and empty—that 
might be enough to spoil even a pleasant animal. You 
can see that the dog is too trusty to take anything from 
the fable, however tempting to his palate. He is honest, 
as weli as kind, and you may be sure he wouid trust his 
companions if they were worlliy. He suspects no evil 
because he is innocent. That is a good lesson to learn by 
heart, and we think no pleasanter w ay of studying it can 
be found than by examining the above beautiful picture. 
About Ool«l ILicaf aud Oold Beaters. 
Our youthful readers, who have all seen the gilding on 
the backs of books, may like to know how it gets there. 
A little piece of gold is made into a very thin sheet, by 
passing it many times between steel rollers—so thin that 
800 of the sheets would only make one inch in thickness. 
These are cut into about inch square pieces, which are 
then placed between layers of thin vellum, or “gold 
beaters’ skin,” as it is called, made from the intestines of 
oxen. These are 4 or .5 inches square, with the inch 
squares of gold sheet between them. A pile of 100 to 150 
layers is made. The beater with a convex face, heavy 
hammer, beats aw ay at this pile for hours, part of the lime 
wilh the right and part with the left hand to rest each. 
The gold spreads out into sheets as large as the vellum. 
The thin leaves of gold are then taken out and each piece 
is cut into four squares, and anew pile made with these, 
and the beating repeated. They are then cut again, and 
the process repeated until the original thin sheet is spread 
out over hundreds of square inches, and the gold leaf is 
so thin that a million sheets piled up would not be more 
than five or six inches in thickness. These gold sheets 
are placed between the leaves of little paper books, 25 to 
the book, the edges trimmed to about 3 inches square, and 
they are then ready for sale. For filling teeth, and for 
plating metals, the gold leaf is left thicker.-To gild 
book covers, the binder puts a little sizing or glue, on the 
jilace where he wants the gilt letters or pictures, and 
spreads a piece of thin gold leaf over it. The type, or 
stamp, made of brass, or some metal that will not melt 
readil y is then heated and pressed upon the gold leaf, which 
fastens it to the sized leather, or muslin book cover, wher¬ 
ever it is touched by the hot type or stamp. A sponge or 
cloth then rubbed over it takes off all-fhe gold leaf not 
fixed by the hot metal, and leaves the distinct gilt letters, 
or other device. The edges of books are pared even and 
smoothed, then gold leaf is laid on and burnished or rub¬ 
bed fast, with a smooth tool made for the purpose. 
