a 
136 HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. 
Heat the oil before applying it, and it will then soak in well, and use 
rather a soft brush, and be careful in oiling the surface of the mould not 
to rub too hard. 
As the paper easily absorbs moisture, the moulds need to be carefully 
packed. When at work in the forests of Central America, I usually 
packed several sections of a mould together with tow, crumpled 
moulding-paper, or other soft packing material between them, and sewed 
them up in a sort of loosely-woven canvas (known to the sack-makers as 
" scrims ”); these packages were again sewn up in American cloth or 
other water-proof material, and packed in light crates, for convenience 
in carriage, and these were exchanged for strong boxes at the port of 
shipment. 
Moulds can be made with an ordinary black bristle clothes-brush; but 
such brushes wear out very quickly, and it is advisable to be provided 
with several brushes of different shapes, with convenient curved handles 
and flexible leather backs. 
No explanation is given of the process of casting in plaster from a 
paper mould, as this would naturally be entrusted to experts in England; 
but it may be added that a dozen or more casts can be easily taken from 
a good paper mould without destroying it. 
