In taking casts of almost any object not too complicated, this same method must be employed. The only difficulty lies in deciding just where to place the dividing-line, which must be exactly at the broadest part of your model, otherwise you will break your mould in taking the object out. In casting a hand the clay must be built up around each finger to precisely its widest part; therefore it is a good plan, before commencing, to mark on the hand, with a fine paint-brush and ink, the line that is to be observed. When making casts of long objects, or those that are larger at one end than the other, such as vases, always lay them on one side, as a much better mould can be obtained in that way. I have read that if milk-and-water is used for mixing the plaster, or, after the cast has hardened, if a little oil, in which wax has been dissolved, be applied to the surface, it will take a high polish; and if left for a while in a smoky room it will acquire the look of old ivory. The same writer also states, without giving the proportions, that liquid gum-arabic and sufficient alum in solution, mixed and put into the slip or soft plaster, will make the cast so hard that it can be set as a panel in a cabinet. The dead white of plaster-casts is frequently objected to when they are wanted for ornaments; but that difficulty is easily overcome by mixing dry colors with the plaster before wetting it. [Illustration] A small quantity of yellow ochre will make the plaster creamy or ivory-like; brown will give a wood color, and red a terra-cotta. Plaster-casts can also be bronzed with gold, red, or green bronze, which makes quite handsome ornaments of them. A plaster panel in bass-relief, bronzed with gold bronze and mounted on black or dark-colored velvet, is an exceedingly rich wall decoration. To mount a panel of this kind you must first secure a smooth, flat piece of board, not more than half an inch thick, and just large enough to allow about four inches of the background to show all around the panel when it is mounted. Cover the board with velvet or velveteen, bringing it smoothly over the edges, and tacking it down at the back. Fasten on it a small brass hook. Fig. 171 is the best kind to use, which is tacked to the board with small, brass tacks. Make a ring or loop for hanging the panel in this way: Take a piece of wire about three inches long, form a small loop in the middle, and give the wire several twists; then bend the ends out on each side. Scrape a narrow place in the top edge of the panel, just long enough to admit the wire, and about half an inch deep; then place the wire in this little ditch and fill up the hole to the top with soft plaster. When this hardens the ring will be quite secure. Fig. 172. [Illustration] CHAPTER XXVI. CHINA PAINTING.