The simplest and earliest method of imprinting figures upon calico is by means of a wooden block, upon the face of which the design is cut in relief, as in an ordinary wood-cut. The block is of sycamore, holly, or pear-tree wood, or more commonly of deal, faced with one of these woods. The block varies in size from nine to twelve inches long, and from four to seven inches broad, and it is furnished on the back with a strong handle. When the design is complicated, and a very distinct impression is required, the figure is sometimes formed by the insertion of narrow slips of flattened copper wire, the space between being filled with felt. [Illustration: Face of Block for Calico Printing. Back of Calico Block.] The printing block, which is worked by hand, is charged with colour by pressing it gently upon a piece of superfine woollen cloth called the _sieve_, stretched tightly over a wooden drum, which floats in a tub full of size or thick varnish to give it elasticity, so that every part of the raised device may acquire a sufficient coating of colour. The sieve is kept uniformly covered with the colouring matter by a boy or girl called the tearer, who takes up with a brush a small quantity of the colour contained in a small pot, and distributes it uniformly over the surface; for if this were not done, the block would take up the colour unequally. The printing shop is a long well-lighted apartment, the air of which is kept warm for the purpose of drying the cloth as it is printed; to insure which it is passed over hanging rollers, so as to expose a large surface to the air. The printing table, which is about six feet long, is made of some well seasoned hard wood, such as mahogany, or of marble, or flag-stone, the object being to present a perfectly flat hard surface. This table is covered with a blanket, upon which the calico is extended, and the block, being charged with colour, is applied to its surface, a blow being given with a wooden mallet to transfer the impression fully to the cloth. It is necessary, of course, to join the different parts of the design with precision, and in doing so the printer is guided by small pins at the corners of the block. Thus, by repeated applications of the block to the woollen cloth and to the calico alternately, the whole length of calico is printed. [Illustration: Drying Room.] By this method, a single block prints only one colour, so that, if the design contain three or more colours, three or more blocks will be required, all of equal size, the raised parts in each corresponding with the depressed parts in all the others; in order, therefore, to print a piece of cloth twenty-eight yards long, and thirty inches broad, with three blocks, each measuring nine inches by five, no less than 672 applications of each, or 2,016 applications of the three blocks, are necessary. Thus it will be seen that printing by hand is a tedious operation, requiring more diligence than skill. [Illustration: Brush.]