The pattern is placed on by means of wooden blocks, on the first of which the rudiments, or ground work, of the design is cut, and on the rest other portions of the pattern, so that, as they are covered with paint and applied to the cloth by the workman, the pattern is gradually printed, and appears in the different colours which are successively applied to each block. [Illustration: Printing Floor Cloth.] The blocks are made of pear-tree wood on one side and of deal on the other, the pear-tree wood being more easily engraved with the pattern. The blocks (which we will suppose to be four for one pattern—red, yellow, blue, and green) being ready, and the prepared canvas spread out on a flat table, the printing commences. The paint (say red) is applied with a brush to the surface of a pad or cushion formed of flannel covered with floor cloth; the block held by a handle at the back is placed face downwards on this cushion, and the layer of paint thus obtained on the surface of the block is printed on the canvas by pressing the block smartly down upon the surface of the latter. A second impression is made in the same way, by the side of and close to the first, until the whole surface of the canvas is printed over with the pattern of this first block, which is generally about 15 inches square. Then the second block is applied, and adds a little more to the pattern in another colour; the third follows, adding still more; and then the fourth, which completes the printing. [Illustration: Trowel. Claw. Scrubbing Brush. Palette Knife. Paint Brushes. Roughing Comb. Hammer.] The _trowel_ and _palette knife_ spreading and mixing the paint, the _roughing comb_ for patterns where the grain of wood is imitated, and the pots, cans, and jars, for the colours, are the principal tools besides those already described. THE PAPER STAINER. [Illustration: PRINTING PRESS.] The trade of the Paper Stainer has grown to be one of considerable importance, and this is not to be wondered at when we consider how much the art of paper staining has increased the means of decorating our houses, by hanging the walls with elegant patterns printed in beautiful colours, instead of leaving them of one dull uniform hue, or a bare surface of wood and plaster. In old times the walls of rooms were either of panelled wood, sometimes carved and polished, or were hung with tapestry made with the needle, or with woven silk, cotton, or linen, but the former was extremely costly, and the latter neither cleanly nor healthy. The trade of the Paper Stainer has to a great extent superseded both, and the interior walls of houses are now seldom formed entirely of wood, since they are intended to be covered with various qualities of paper hangings. [Illustration: Front of Printing Block. Back of Wooden Block for Printing.]