The torch is held in and across the palm of the right hand, by the little and ring finger, leaving the thumb, the fore and middle fingers free to hold the scarificator, which may be done by the thumb and fore finger only; the glass is then grasped by the thumb, fore and middle fingers of the left hand, leaving the little and ring fingers free; the edge of the glass is then detached from the skin by the middle finger of the right hand; the scarificator being set, care must be taken not to press upon the button with the thumb too quickly; directly the glass comes off, we apply the scarificator, spring it through the integuments, and then placing it between the free little and ring fingers of the left hand, we apply the torch to the glass, and glass to the skin over the incisions, as before recommended.[123] Hills recommended practicing on a table, "taking care, of course, that the lancets are not allowed to strike the table." According to Bayfield, the blades of the scarificator were generally set at 1/4". If cupping behind the ears, they should be set at 1/7", if on the temple at 1/8", and if on the scalp at 1/6". When the cups were two-thirds full, they were removed and reapplied if necessary. This, too, was no easy task. One had to manipulate cup and sponge deftly in order to avoid spillage. Cupping was to be not merely a neat operation, but an elegant one. After cupping, the wound was dabbed with alcohol or dressed, if necessary. Scarificator blades could be used some twenty times. After each use, the scarificator was to be cleaned and greased by springing it through a piece of mutton fat.[124] A great variety of bodily parts were cupped, just about any part that had sufficient surface area to hold a small cup in place. Knox, for example, gave directions for cupping on the temple, back of the head, behind the ears, throat, back of the neck, extremities, shin, chest, side, abdomen, back and loins, back of the thighs, perineum, sacrum, and on buboes.[125] In reply to those who wondered if cupping hurt, Knox asserted that "those who calculate the pain incurred in cupping by comparison with a cut finger are very much deceived." The scarificator itself produced little pain, he claimed, but he admitted that the pressure of the rims of the glasses could cause a degree of discomfort.[126] _Nineteenth Century Attempts to Improve Cupping Technology_ The story of nineteenth-century attempts to improve cupping technology is an interesting one, in that a great deal of effort was expended on comparatively short-lived results. For those who were adept at cupping, the cups, torch, and standard scarificator were quite adequate. Innovations were thus aimed at making the operation more available to the less practiced. The new gadgets could not rival the traditional instruments in the hands of an experienced cupper, and, moreover, they were usually much more expensive.