Old glass is, of course, so easily imitated that it is hardly surprising there should be many such pitfalls in the path of the unwary, and I can only hope that the foregoing remarks may prove of some assistance in preventing my reader from falling a victim to the many specious attempts made for his deception. But it is well, wherever possible, to examine at leisure any piece that may strike the eye, and in the surroundings which it will occupy. Artificial light, too, is a very treacherous medium in which to examine glass of any kind. Any find should be examined by daylight and side by side with other pieces of whose authenticity there is no doubt. Then with a little training he should be able to determine with a fair degree of accuracy the genuine specimens from the false, and this in spite of the resources of modern science, which have enabled the “faker” to copy texture and colour with all but exactitude, and of the skill of the workman who reproduces faithfully the form and decorations of the original. CHAPTER IX SOME HINTS TO COLLECTORS Glass-collecting is so full of interest that it need not be followed on any large scale. It is equally fascinating when pursued in the humblest fashion, by ransacking old second-hand shops in lowly districts as well as country cottages. A nucleus is soon formed, and, that accomplished, the collector is in the toils of his hobby, and unless he is an utter failure, one of those hopeless and helpless folk who can never learn to discriminate between the true and the false, he speedily acquires a collection which has not only provided him with a delightful recreation but is a source of considerable pride. Of course, it must not be imagined that anyone can go into a second-hand shop, a marine-store dealer’s, or a pawnshop, and come out with a bargain every time. Nor do I assert that every piece bought will justify the enthusiasm of the first moments of possession. But I do say that, given reasonable judgment, anyone may form the nucleus of a small collection, and that with decent care in adding to it pieces that are considered rare, genuine, and unusual, the result will be entirely gratifying--yielding a full measure of artistic satisfaction, to say nothing of pecuniary advantage.