=American Practice.=—Our way differs somewhat. The design is usually drawn on a separate piece of white paper, and filled in—in black—with India ink. This is then placed underneath the stencil paper which, especially if it has been oiled or paraffined, is translucent enough to show the pattern through, so that the outline can be drawn with a sharp pencil. The outline can also be made by tracing the design down on the stencil paper with the help of a piece of carbon copying paper. This is laid between the design and the stencil paper and then the outline of the design is carefully traced with a sharp-pointed pencil. From these outlines it is easy, with a sharp stencil knife, to cut out the design, although it is customary with us to cut toward the body with the point of the knife down, upon a piece of blotting paper or soft wood so as not to dull it too rapidly. _Ties and Stops._—When stencilling is taught in America great pains are taken to show how the pattern must be planned and cut out, so as to have plenty of “ties” or “stops” in the right places, so as to hold the stencil together. For instance, in making a stencil of a large capital O, the student should be warned that, if the paper was cut all the way around, it would leave a big hole; for the central piece, which would form the centre of the finished letter, would drop out, and could not be kept in place. Accordingly, the stencil would have to be cut carefully, leaving at least two “bridges” or little “tie pieces” of paper, one probably at the top, and the other at the bottom of the O, these being the narrowest points, which would hold the centre in place, and thus complete the figure. Indeed, if these little “steps” or “bridges” of paper should be left out, or become torn or broken, the stencil would be useless. But a situation like this has little or no terror for the Japanese, at any rate when working for their home trade. Their stencils cut for the American market while always interesting, and often charming, are cut, as ours are, from one piece of paper, with stops in the exposed places. But the stencils that have been used, or cut for use, over there, show a very different state of affairs. All of the large, handsome ones, and a large proportion of the smaller, less artistic, and less valuable ones are made, with almost inconceivable skill and patience, in duplicate. And the two parts are afterwards pasted together with absolute accuracy, but with a layer of fine hair, supposedly human hair, between them. These hairs, laid irregularly but evenly, make a sort of network which ties together all portions of the stencil, no matter how disconnected with the rest, or, as we would say, “in the air,” it might be. So, too, they are in the habit of sewing in, with the finest of hair or of single threads of fine silk, loose pieces or broken pieces, and thus holding them in shape.