After the final pass the plates go upon the “hot bed” where they are laid out side by side in the order in which they have been rolled. They must now have marked out upon them the boundaries of the smaller plates or pieces into which they are to be cut. From a duplicate of the roller’s sheet the hot bed foreman marks upon the end of each plate what is to be laid out and boys or men wearing shoes with thick soles of old belting or other cheap non-conducting material go upon them with chalk and “squares” which are somewhat similar to the carpenter’s square but having “legs” six and twelve or fifteen feet long. Though the soles of their shoes smoke from contact with the still hot plate, they very quickly and accurately mark out upon its surface the design which the hot bed foreman has signified. Usually the plates laid out are rectangular and of standard size but often the boys have to lay out pieces of odd sizes and shapes, and sometimes, what are known as “sketches” have to be drawn using arcs, chords, radii, etc., as the student in geometry draws his geometrical figures. Round plates for boiler heads, tank ends, etc., in plate mill parlance are termed “heads.” These are marked out with string and a piece of chalk. A boy with a pot of white paint follows and paints on the surface of each piece laid out its size, thickness, the customer’s name, the order number and heat number. That the plate can always be identified, even after exposure to severe service or weather conditions, another boy with steel stamps follows and stamps into the steel the heat number. Cranes with magnets or hooks convey the long plates to the “goose necks” over the small rollers of which they are pulled to the shears where the powerful steam or hydraulically-operated square-edged knife with ease trims the ends and irregular edges along the chalk lines into the sizes marked. Accuracy is everywhere necessary as ¼″ over or under ordered dimensions or a variation of two hundredths of an inch in thickness may and probably will cause rejection of a plate. After weighing and recording, the plates are conveyed to the shipping yard, where they are loaded by electro-magnets into cars for shipping. In the plate mill process above described plates anywhere between 30 and 120 inches in width, say, can be rolled. And as mentioned, the more or less irregular edges on the sides are “sheared” off. This extra allowance, which must be given, of course becomes “scrap.” For plates which can best be rolled in long narrow lengths a “universal” plate mill is often used. This has vertical rolls just back of the two horizontal rolls, which are adjustable so that the plate can be regulated, not only as to thickness, but also as to width as well. Such mills give plates which have to be trimmed on the ends only, the sides being quite smooth. [Illustration: LOADING PLATE FROM THE SHIPPING YARD ]