The contours of card-board or other material are, let me repeat, only a means of control. The perfect modeler--a variety, by the way, yet to be evolved--would be able to make an accurate relief map without them, in the same way that other subjects are made; as, for example, a flower panel, an architectural ornament, or any other subject in low relief, where the object sought is artistic effect and great accuracy is not a desideratum. It is the converse of this idea that has produced the numerous models that one sees; accurate enough, perhaps, but wholly expressionless and absolutely without feeling. This is the great fault of nearly all models made by building up the contours in wood and then carving down the shoulders. It is then necessary to sand-paper them, and what little character they might otherwise have had is completely obliterated by the sand-paper. Such models almost invariably _look_ wooden. Let the modeler, then, have a clear conception of his subject and not depend wholly on the contours, and let him work out that conception in his model, "controlled" and helped by the contours, but not bound by them; the resulting model will thus be far more satisfactory and a far better representation of his subject, in other words, it will be more life-like--more nearly true to nature. The model, provided it be not of clay, is sometimes used in the state in which it is left when finished. It is much more common, however, to make a plaster mould, and from this a plaster cast. For this purpose a moulder is usually called in; but moulders as a rule are ignorant men, accustomed to one line of work only, and the result is not always satisfactory. It is much better for the modeler himself to do this work, though to obtain good results from plaster it is necessary to know the material thoroughly, and this knowledge comes only from experience. The mould is generally made quite heavy, in order to stand the subsequent hard treatment that it may receive, and should be retouched and thoroughly dried before being prepared for the cast. The method used by some modelers of placing a frame about the model and pouring in the plaster, filling the frame to the top, is a crude and very wasteful one and not at all to be recommended. In a model of large size--say seven or eight feet square--it would require a derrick to move the mould. It is wholly unnecessary, as, with a small amount of care, a good mould can be made not more than an inch thick, or, at most, an inch and a half. The drying of the mould before use can sometimes be dispensed with, but is always desirable.