A dictionary of the art of printing

5 & 6 W. 4. c. 65. “An act for preventing the Publication of Lectures without Consent.

s. 1. “Whereas Printers, Publishers, and other Persons have frequently taken the Liberty of printing and publishing Lectures delivered upon divers Subjects, without the Consent of the Authors of such Lectures, or the Persons delivering the same in public, to the great Detriment of such Authors and Lecturers: Be it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the First Day of September One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five the Author of any Lecture or Lectures, or the Person to whom he hath sold or otherwise conveyed the Copy thereof, in order to deliver the same in any School, Seminary, Institution, or other Place, or for any other purpose, shall have the sole Right and Liberty of printing and publishing such Lecture or Lectures; and that if any Person shall, by taking down the same in Short Hand or otherwise in Writing, or in any other Way obtain or make a Copy of such Lecture or Lectures, and shall print or lithograph or otherwise copy and publish the same, or cause the same to be printed, lithographed, or otherwise copied and published, without Leave of the Author thereof, or of the Persons to whom the Author thereof hath sold or otherwise conveyed the same, and every Person who, knowing the same to have been printed or copied and published without such Consent, shall sell, publish, or expose to sale, or cause to be sold, published, or exposed to sale, any such Lecture or Lectures, shall forfeit such printed or otherwise copied Lecture or Lectures, or Parts thereof, together with One Penny for every Sheet thereof which shall be found in his Custody, either printed, lithographed, or copied, or printing, lithographing, or copying, published or exposed to sale, contrary to the true Intent and Meaning of this Act, the one Moiety thereof to His Majesty, His Heirs or Successors, and the other Moiety thereof to any Person who shall sue for the same, to be recovered in any of His Majesty’s Courts of Record in Westminster, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, in which no Wager of Law, Essoign, Privilege, or Protection, or more than One Imparlance, shall be allowed.

s. 2. “And be it further enacted, That any Printer or Publisher of any Newspaper who shall, without such Leave as aforesaid, print and publish in such Newspaper any Lecture or Lectures, shall be deemed and taken to be a Person printing and publishing without Leave within the Provisions of this Act, and liable to the aforesaid Forfeitures and Penalties in respect of such printing and publishing.

s. 3. “And be it further enacted, That no Person allowed for certain Fee or Reward, or otherwise, to attend and be present at any Lecture delivered in any Place, shall be deemed and taken to be licensed or to have Leave to print, copy, and publish such Lectures, only because of having Leave to attend such Lecture or Lectures.

s. 4. “Provided always, That nothing in this Act shall extend to prohibit any Person from printing, copying, and publishing any Lecture or Lectures which have or shall have been printed and published with Leave of the Authors thereof or their Assignees, and whereof the Time hath or shall have expired within which the sole Right to print and publish the same is given by an Act passed in the Eighth Year of the Reign of Queen Anne [c. 19.], intituled An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by vesting the Copies of printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers of such Copies during the Times therein mentioned, and by another Act passed in the Fifty-fourth Year of the Reign of King George the Third [c. 156.], intituled An Act to amend the several Acts for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies and Copyright of printed Books to the Authors of such Books, or their Assigns, or to any Lectures which have been printed or published before the passing of this Act.

s. 5. “Provided further, That nothing in this Act shall extend to any Lecture or Lectures, or the printing, copying, or publishing any Lecture or Lectures, or Parts thereof, of the delivering of which Notice in Writing shall not have been given to Two Justices living within Five Miles from the Place where such Lecture or Lectures shall be delivered Two Days at the least before delivering the same, or to any Lecture or Lectures delivered in any University or public School or College, or on any public Foundation, or by any Individual in virtue of or according to any Gift, Endowment, or Foundation; and that the Law relating thereto shall remain the same as if this Act had not been passed.”

In Moxon’s time both the letter board and the paper board were made alike, similar to the present paper board; and he strongly recommended to have the board made of one piece, without a joint: they are now different from each other. The letter board is made of two deals, about an inch thick, and the smallest size allows a demy chase to lie upon it without hanging over the edges; the deals are joined together on the under side by two dovetailed tapering tongues inserted into dovetailed tapering grooves, the contrary way to each other; and these tongues project below the bottom, so as to serve as feet for the board, to a depth rather more than equal to the height of letter, and allow the board to be placed upon a bulk, or upon another letter board, upon which pages or small jobs are placed, without the bottom of the board touching the face of the type. If the boards shrink, or the joint opens, the aperture can be immediately closed up again, by striking the edges with a mallet, and driving the tongues up tight.

The usual sizes of letter boards in a printing office are Demy and Royal; but when works on larger paper are printed, it is necessary to have boards of a corresponding size. The Demy boards are 26 inches by 22; the Royal 30 inches by 26.

A brush used in composing rooms, something like a polishing brush for shoes, but not quite so large; with which to brush dust off forms before they are taken to the proof press to have a proof pulled, and before they are taken into the press room to be worked. Every press ought also to have one, that if any dust, or particles of dirt, get upon the face of the letter, they may be brushed off.

By the Act of the 39th of George 3. cap. 79. s. 25. it is enacted, “That from and after the Expiration of Forty Days after the passing of this Act, every Person carrying on the Business of a Letter Founder, or Maker or Seller of Types for Printing, or of Printing Presses, shall cause Notice of his or her Intention to carry on such Business to be delivered to the Clerk of the Peace of the County, Stewartry, Riding, Division, City, Borough, Town, or Place, where such Person shall propose to carry on such Business, or his Deputy, in the Form prescribed in the Schedule to this Act annexed; and such Clerk of the Peace, or his Deputy, shall, and he is hereby authorized and required thereupon to grant a Certificate in the Form also prescribed in the said Schedule, for which such Clerk of the Peace, or his Deputy, shall receive a Fee of One Shilling, and no more, and shall file such Notice, and transmit an attested Copy thereof to one of his Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State; and every Person who shall, after the Expiration of the said Forty Days, carry on such Business, or make or sell any Type for Printing, or Printing Press, without having given such Notice, and obtained such Certificate, shall forfeit and lose the Sum of Twenty Pounds.”

s. 26. “And be it further enacted, That every Person who shall sell Types for Printing, or Printing Presses, as aforesaid, shall keep a fair Account in Writing of all Persons to whom any such Types or Presses shall be sold, and shall produce such Accounts to any Justice of the Peace who shall require the same; and if such Person shall neglect to keep such Account, or shall refuse to produce the same to any such Justice, on Demand in Writing to inspect the same, such Person shall forfeit and lose, for such Offence, the Sum of Twenty Pounds.” See Certificate.

Forms.

“VI. FORM of Notice to the Clerk of the Peace, that any Person carries on the Business of a Letter Founder, or Maker or Seller of Types for Printing, or of Printing Presses.

To the Clerk of the Peace for [as the Case may be], or his Deputy.

I A. B. of ______ do hereby declare, That I intend to carry on the Business of a Letter Founder or Maker or Seller of Types for Printing, or of Printing Presses [as the Case may be], at ______ and I hereby require this Notice to be entered in pursuance of an Act, passed in the Thirty-ninth Year of the Reign of his Majesty King George the Third, [set forth the Title of the Act].

Signed in the Presence }
of _________________ }

“VII. FORM of Certificate that the above Notice has been given.

I G. H. Clerk [or Deputy Clerk] of the Peace for [as the Case may be], do hereby certify, That A. B. of ______ hath delivered to me a Notice in Writing, appearing to be signed by him, and attested by E. F. as a Witness to his signing the same, that he intends to carry on the Business of a Letter Founder, or Maker or Seller of Types for Printing, or of Printing Presses, at ______ and which Notice he has required to be entered in pursuance of an Act of the Thirty-ninth Year of his Majesty King George the Third, [set forth the Title of the Act].

Witness my Hand, this ______ Day of ______.”

If the compositor has been careless in emptying his composing stick, so as to set the letter loosely down in the galley, and they stand not perfectly square and upright, the Letter Hangs: or if after overrunning on the correcting stone he has not set his letter in a square position again, before he locks up (for we may suppose when the pages are opened the letter stands loose, and more or less out of square), so then, the matter standing thus out of square, is said to Hang.—M.

blasphemous and seditious. Act 60 Geo. 3. cap. 8.—For the more effectual Prevention and Punishment of Blasphemous and Seditious Libels.

Commences by declaring that it is expedient to make more effectual provision for the punishment of blasphemous and seditious libels; and then proceeds to enact, “That from and after the passing of the Act, in every Case in which any Verdict or Judgment by default shall be had against any Person for composing, printing, or publishing any blasphemous Libel, or any seditious Libel, tending to bring into hatred or contempt the Person of His Majesty, his Heirs or Successors, or the Regent, or the Government and Constitution of the United Kingdom as by Law established, or either House of Parliament, or to excite His Majesty’s Subjects to attempt the Alteration of any Matter in Church or State as by Law established, otherwise than by lawful Means, it shall be lawful for the Judge, or the Court before whom or in which such Verdict shall have been given, or the Court in which such Judgment by default shall be had, to make an Order for the Seizure and carrying away and detaining in safe Custody, in such Manner as shall be directed in such Order, all Copies of the Libel which shall be in the Possession of the Person against whom such Verdict or Judgment shall have been had, or in the Possession of any other Person named in the Order for his Use; Evidence upon Oath having been previously given to the Satisfaction of such Court or Judge, that a Copy or Copies of the said Libel is or are in the Possession of such other Person for the Use of the Person against whom such Verdict or Judgment shall have been had as aforesaid; and in every such Case it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace, or for any Constable or other Peace-officer acting under any such Order, or for any Person or Persons acting with or in aid of any such Justice of the Peace, Constable, or other Peace-officer, to search for any Copies of such Libel in any House, Building, or other Place whatsoever belonging to the Person against whom any such Verdict or Judgment shall have been had, or to any other Person so named, in whose Possession any Copies of any such Libel, belonging to the Person against whom any such Verdict or Judgment shall have been had, shall be; and in case Admission shall be refused or not obtained within a reasonable Time after it shall have been first demanded, to enter by force by Day into any such House, Building, or Place whatsoever, and to carry away all Copies of the Libel there found, and to detain the same in safe Custody until the same shall be restored under the Provisions of this Act, or disposed of according to any further Order made in relation thereto.

s. 2. “That if in any such Case as aforesaid Judgment shall be arrested, or if, after Judgment shall have been entered, the same shall be reversed upon any Writ of Error, all Copies so seized shall be forthwith returned to the Person or Persons from whom the same shall have been so taken as aforesaid, free of all Charge and Expence, and without the Payment of any Fees whatever; and in every Case in which final Judgment shall be entered upon the Verdict so found against the Person or Persons charged with having composed, printed, or published such Libel, then all Copies so seized shall be disposed of as the Court in which such Judgment shall be given shall order and direct.

s. 3. “Provided that in Scotland, in every Case in which any Person or Persons shall be found Guilty before the Court of Justiciary, of composing, printing, or publishing any blasphemous or seditious Libel, or where Sentence of Fugitation shall have been pronounced against any Person or Persons, in consequence of their failing to appear to answer to any Indictment charging them with having composed, printed, or published any such Libel, then and in either of such Cases, it shall and may be lawful for the said Court to make an Order for the Seizure, carrying away, and detaining in safe Custody, all Copies of the Libel in the Possession of any such Person or Persons, or in the Possession of any other Person or Persons named in such Order, for his or their Use, Evidence upon Oath having been previously given to the Satisfaction of such Court or Judge, that a Copy or Copies of the said Libel is or are in the Possession of such other Person for the Use of the Person against whom such Verdict or Judgment shall have been had as aforesaid; and every such Order so made shall and may be carried into effect, in such and the same Manner as any Order made by the Court of Justiciary, or any Circuit Court of Justiciary, may be carried into effect according to the Law and Practice of Scotland: Provided always, that in the Event of any Person or Persons being reponed against any such Sentence of Fugitation, and being thereafter acquitted, all Copies so seized shall be forthwith returned to the Person or Persons from whom the same shall have been so taken as aforesaid; and in all other Cases, the Copies so seized shall be disposed of in such Manner as the said Court may direct.

s. 4. “That if any Person shall be legally convicted of having, after the passing of this Act, composed, printed, or published any blasphemous Libel, or any such seditious Libel as aforesaid, and shall, after being so convicted, offend a second Time, and be thereof legally convicted before any Commission of Oyer and Terminer or Gaol Delivery, or in His Majesty’s Court of King’s-bench, such Person may, on such second Conviction, be adjudged, at the Discretion of the Court, either to suffer such Punishment as may now by Law be inflicted in Cases of high Misdemeanors, or to be banished from the United Kingdom, and all other Parts of His Majesty’s Dominions, for such Term of Years as the Court in which such Conviction shall take place shall order.

s. 5. “That in case any Person so sentenced and ordered to be banished as aforesaid, shall not depart from this United Kingdom within Thirty Days after the pronouncing of such Sentence and Order as aforesaid, for the Purpose of going into such Banishment as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful to and for His Majesty to convey such Person to such Parts out of the Dominions of His said Majesty, as His Majesty by and with the Advice of his Privy Council shall direct.

s. 6. “That if any Offender, who shall be so ordered by any such Court as aforesaid to be banished in manner aforesaid shall, after the End of Forty Days from the Time such Sentence and Order hath been pronounced, be at large within any Part of the United Kingdom, or any other Part of His Majesty’s Dominions, without some lawful Cause, before the Expiration of the Term for which such Offender shall have been so ordered to be banished as aforesaid, every such Offender being so at large as aforesaid, being thereof lawfully convicted, shall be transported to such Place as shall be appointed by His Majesty for any Term not exceeding Fourteen Years; and such Offender may be tried, either before any Justices of Assize, Oyer and Terminer, Great Sessions, or Gaol Delivery, for the County, City, Liberty, Borough, or Place where such Offender shall be apprehended and taken, or where he or she was sentenced to Banishment; and the Clerk of Assize, Clerk of the Peace, or other Clerk or Officer of the Court having the Custody of the Records where such Order of Banishment shall have been made, shall, when thereunto required on His Majesty’s Behalf, make out and give a Certificate in Writing, signed by him, containing the Effect and Substance only (omitting the formal Part) of every Indictment and Conviction of such Offender, and of the Order for his or her Banishment, to the Justices of Assize, Oyer and Terminer, Great Sessions, or Gaol Delivery, where such Offender shall be indicted, for which Certificate Six Shillings and Eight Pence, and no more, shall be paid, and which Certificate shall be sufficient Proof of the Conviction and Order for Banishment of any such Offender.”

The remaining clauses relate to the mode of proceeding in case of former conviction, limitation of actions, &c.

11 G. 4. & 1 W. 4. c. 73. “An act to repeal so much of an Act of the Sixtieth Year of His late Majesty King George the Third, for the more effectual Prevention and Punishment of blasphemous and seditious Libels, as relates to the Sentence of Banishment for the Second Offence; and to provide some further Remedy against the Abuse of publishing Libels.

“Whereas by an Act passed in the Sixtieth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Third, intituled An Act for the more effectual Prevention and Punishment of blasphemous and seditious Libels, it was amongst other things enacted, that if any Person should, after the passing of that Act, be legally convicted of having composed, printed, or published any blasphemous Libel or any such seditious Libel as in the said Act is before mentioned, and should after being so convicted offend a second Time, and be thereof legally convicted before any Commission of Oyer and Terminer, or Gaol Delivery, or in His Majesty’s Court of King’s Bench, such Person might on such second Conviction be adjudged, at the Discretion of the Court, either to suffer such Punishment as might by Law be inflicted in Cases of high Misdemeanour, or to be banished from the United Kingdom and all other Parts of His Majesty’s Dominions for such Term of Years as the Court in which such Conviction should take place should order: And whereas it is expedient to repeal so much of the said Act as relates to the Sentence of Banishment for the Second Offence; Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That so much and such Parts of the said Act as relate to the Sentence of Banishment for the Second Offence be and the same is hereby wholly repealed.”

It hath been ruled that the finding a libel on a bookseller’s shelf is a publication of it by the bookseller; and that it is no excuse to say that the servant took it into the shop without the master’s knowledge; for the law presumes the master to be acquainted with what the servant does. Rex v. Dodd, 1 Sess. Cas. 33.—Burn’s Justice of the Peace, vol. 3, p. 292, Art. Libel. See Publications, Periodical.

When a work is nearly completed, and perfect copies are required before the whole number can be worked off at press, it is customary when all the matter has been composed, and there is not convenience to lay every form on at a different press, to print short numbers of each, in order to make perfect books as soon as possible; thus, if there be 3000 copies of a work printing, 250 of each of the few last sheets may be worked, and when the pressmen have printed this number of one form and taken it off the press for the purpose of laying on another form, it is said they lift, or, they have lifted. This frequently takes place in periodical works, such as magazines, reviews, &c.; and also occasionally when a superior proof is wanted, or two or three copies of any thing particular are required, that will not admit of waiting till a press is off with its regular number: in these latter instances, the pressmen endeavour to pull them without the tympans, with a few sheets of proof paper over the form, that they may not disturb their overlays and making ready; and they mark the quoins which secured their form on the press, that they may replace it exactly in its situation with as little waste of time and paper as possible.

In the warehouse, each separate portion of printed paper, whether it consists of five or six sheets or more, that is placed upon the poles to dry, is termed a lift.

Two or more letters joined together, and cast on the same shank, are in a printing office called Ligatures.

The ligatures now used are few in number, having been reduced to æ, ﬀ, ﬃ, ﬄ, ﬁ, ﬂ, and œ; within the last thirty years we had, in addition, ct, as also ſb, ſh, ſi, ſk, ſl, ſſ, and ſt, which are now discarded, in consequence of our confining ourselves entirely to the s. In the leaf of an old book, De vita & gestis Scanderbegi, now lying before me, there are the following additional ones,—as, at, cta, et, es, ius, is, ij, iu, ll, ns, st, ſs, ſp, ta, and us.

I do not think it was an improvement to change the shape of the &, which, till the alteration, was really a ligature, being e and t joined together; the modern character has no meaning in it, neither the Roman & nor the Italic &.

Earl Stanhope proposed to abolish the present ligatures, by making the f more upright without being kerned, so as to admit an i, an l, or another f after it, and to introduce other ligatures, or, as he termed them, ‘logotypes,’ that more frequently occur, viz. th, in, an, re, se, to, of, and on.

Smith, in his Printer’s Grammar, says that Mr. Caslon introduced the ſb and the ſk.—See Bill, Logotype.

By literal errors in printing, are understood the mistakes of the compositors in single letters only, viz. the taking up a wrong letter, or inverting a right letter; the term is never applied to either outs or doubles.

The Libraries which are entitled to claim copies of new publications under the act of 6 & 7 W. 4. c. 110. are—

1. The copyright in all works bequeathed to, or acquired by them, is vested in them in perpetuity, so long as the works are printed at their own presses.

2. They have (in common with the King’s Printers in England, Scotland, and Ireland,) the exclusive privilege of printing Bibles and Prayer Books; and an exemption from the duty on paper used for them.

[The Bibles and Prayer Books printed in Scotland and Ireland, are not allowed to be sold in England.]

3. They have the same privilege (in common with the King’s Printer in England) of printing the Statutes of the Realm.

4. They have an exemption from the duty on paper used in books for the purposes of classical instruction, and in all works in the learned languages, printed at their presses.

5. They have 500l. per annum paid to each of them by the nation, for the purpose of enabling them to assist poor scholars and fellows in printing their works.

The four Universities of Scotland, and Trinity College, Dublin, have the same advantage with respect to the perpetuity of their copyrights as the English Universities have.—(The printing of Bibles and Prayer Books, in both these countries, appears to be exclusively the right of the King’s Printer.) They have also an exemption from the duty on paper used in all works of classical instruction, and in the learned languages, printed at their presses.—The Scotch Universities do not appear to have ever made use of this privilege in the manner that Oxford and Cambridge have done; but by naming some individual as Printer to the University, have communicated to him the advantage derived from it.

The tightening of the quoins round a form with the mallet and shooting stick, to enable the compositor to lift it from the imposing stone, and that it may be moved about without the types or the furniture being displaced by such moving; as also that the form may be secure when working at press, so that the types do not draw out with beating. See Imposing.

Two, or more, letters cast in one piece. There have been several attempts to introduce such short words, terminations, and prefixes, as are of frequent occurrence, cast in one piece, but they have never succeeded. See Ligatures.

The name of a type, one size larger than Bourgeois, and one smaller than Small Pica. See Types.

To space a line or lines in a composing stick so that they shall not be tight; also to place wood cuts, or any other matter, in a page, so that they shall not be fast when locked up.

6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 66. “An Act to prevent the advertising of Foreign and other illegal Lotteries.

“Whereas the Laws in force are insufficient to prevent the advertising of Foreign and other illegal Lotteries in this Kingdom, and it is expedient to make further Provision for that Purpose: Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this Act, if any Person shall print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, any Advertisement or other Notice of or relating to the drawing or intended drawing of any Foreign Lottery, or of any Lottery or Lotteries not authorized by some Act or Acts of Parliament, or if any Person shall print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, any Advertisement or other Notice of or for the Sale of any Ticket or Tickets, Chance or Chances, or of any Share or Shares of any Ticket or Tickets, Chance or Chances of or in any such Lottery or Lotteries as aforesaid, or any Advertisement or Notice concerning or in any Manner relating to any such Lottery or Lotteries, or any Ticket, Chance, or Share, Tickets, Chances, or Shares thereof or therein, every Person so offending shall for every such Offence forfeit the Sum of Fifty Pounds, to be recovered, with full Costs of Suit, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information in any of His Majesty’s Courts of Record in Westminster or Dublin respectively, or in the Court of Session in Scotland; one Moiety thereof to the use of His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, and the other Moiety thereof to the Use of the Person who shall inform or sue for the same.”

When the compositor has composed almost all his letters out of his case, he says his Case is Low.—M.

The case in which the small letters of an alphabet, the spaces, and quadrats are laid; it is placed upon the frame immediately below the fore edge of the upper case. See Case.

When balls stick together in distributing they are said to lug; they then diffuse the ink more equally and thinly on the surface, and make better work: they also retain on their surface particles of dust, or other small substances, and do not part with them to the letter in the form, which is a great advantage. Composition Balls, when too soft, will lug so much in distributing as to tear the composition and spoil the ball; when this is the case, they require to be placed in a dry situation for a short time, and exposed to a draught of air, which evaporates the superfluous moisture, and brings them into good condition; when time cannot be allowed for this mode of cure, sponging the surface with spirits of turpentine will promote the evaporation, and be of great service. See Flaring Balls.

The lye used for the purpose of cleaning a form is a solution of alkali in water; it ought to be made of the best pearl ash. The usual proportion is one pound of pearl ash to a gallon of soft water; it should be stirred up with a stick till the alkali dissolves, which soon takes place. It is generally kept in a large jar, with a cover to it, which some master printers lock; but more frequently the cover is loose for the pressmen to have free access to it; the cover should however be kept on, to prevent dust and dirt getting into the jar.

If hard water be used, it will require a greater quantity of pearl ash; as the acid in the water will combine with some of the alkali to neutralise it, which of course will have the effect of making the lye weaker than if soft water, with which there is no such combination, had been used.

An intelligent pressman once informed me, that in the country he had frequently made lye, by boiling together a peck of wood ashes and nearly a quarter of a peck of quicklime, in a pailful and a half of soft water, and afterwards straining the decoction for use.

This is, in fact, soap lye, which is made caustic by the quicklime: lye from the soap boilers has indeed of late years been used by many master printers in the metropolis; but it requires to be kept constantly covered in order to exclude the air, which, when the lye is exposed, combines with it and renders it mild, thus destroying its power. I have always found that this lye affects the hands and makes them sore, as if chapped, when washed in it to take off ink.

In the choice of pearl ash the following table, from Vauquelin, may be found useful, which shows all the substances contained in six kinds of potash.

There is evidently an error in this statement as to the component parts of the last article, the Vosges potash, which appears to be with respect to the quantity of the muriate of potash; but the table shows that the American potash is by far the best, and the Dantzic potash the worst of the six analysed.

The following observations from Kirwan on Manures, may also be serviceable, particularly to printers who are so situated as to find it necessary to make their lye from the ashes of vegetables.

“Alkaline salts are of great importance in several arts, the proportion of ashes afforded by different vegetables, and that of alkali by the ashes of each sort of vegetable, has been accurately attended to: the following are the best authenticated results of the experiments made with this view.

“One thousand pounds of the following vegetables, perfectly dry, and burned in a clean chimney and open fire, afforded the quantity of ashes, and saline matter, exhibited in the annexed tables.

Table of the Saline Products from one thousand Pounds of the Ashes of the following Vegetables.

Thus though fumitory gives the greatest weight of saline product from a given weight of the dry vegetable, yet from a given weight of ashes wormwood produces above double the weight of saline matter.

In Yorkshire the women use the ashes of the ash tree to make a lye to scour their pewter dishes and plates, in preference to the ashes of any other wood; as this is the result of experience, I should be led to suppose that they contain a great proportional quantity of pearl ash.

The brush used with lye to remove the ink that adheres to the types, the furniture, and the chase, after a form has been worked off, as also after proofs have been pulled. It is about nine or ten inches long by three inches broad, and the hairs are nearly two inches long.

The lye trough is square and shallow, lined with lead, and its upper edge is bound with iron to preserve it from injury, which would otherwise arise from concussion when a form is lifted into it; there is also a loose board laid in it for the protection of the bottom. It is suspended on a frame by two centres, as here represented.

There is always some lye kept in this trough; and when a form has been worked off, it is laid in it, and the ink is brushed from the face of the letter, the furniture, and chase with the lye, previous to rinsing it with water. It is usually made capable of containing a royal chase.


	Real Potash	Sulphate of Potash	Muriate of Potash	Insoluble Residuum	Carbonic Acid and Water

1152 of Russian Potash	772	65	5	56	254=1152
1152 of American Potash	857	154	20	2	119=1152
1152 of Pearl Ash	754	80	4	6	308=1152
1152 of Treves Potash	720	165	44	24	199=1152
1152 of Dantzic Potash	603	152	14	79	304=1152
1152 of Vosges Potash	444	148	510	34	304=1152

One thousand Pounds.	Pounds of Ashes.	Pounds of Salt.
Stalks of Turkey Wheat or Maize	86·6	17·5
Ditto of Sunflower	57·2	20·
Vine branches.	34·	5·5
Box	29·	2·26
Sallow	28·	2·85
Elm	23·5	3·9
Oak	13·5	1·5
Aspin.	12·2	0·74
Beech.	5·8	1·27
Fir	3·4	0·45
Fern cut in August	36·46	4·25	Home.
Wormwood	97·44	73·	Wiegleb.
Fumitory	219·	79·	Id.

Saline Products.
Stalks of Turkey Wheat or Maize	198 lbs.
Ditto of Sunflower	349
Vine branches	162·6
Elm	166
Box	78
Sallow	102
Oak	111
Aspin.	61
Beech.	219
Fir	132
Fern cut in August	116, or 125 according to Wildenheim.
Wormwood	748
Fumitory	360
Heath.	115 Wildenheim.