Place stucco over the prominence of the..... which may be composed of Venus and Mercury, and lay it well over that prominence of the thickness of the side of a knife, made with the ruler and cover this with the bell of a still, and you will have again the moisture with which you applied the paste. The rest you may dry [Margin note: On stucco (729. 730).] [Footnote: In this passage a few words have been written in a sort of cipher--that is to say backwards; as in l. 3 _erenev_ for _Venere_, l. 4 _oirucrem_ for Mercurio, l. 12 _il orreve co ecarob_ for _il everro (?) co borace_. The meaning of the word before _"di giesso"_ in l. 1 is unknown; and the sense, in which _sagoma_ is used here and in other passages is obscure.-- _Venere_ and _Mercurio_ may mean 'marble' and 'lime', of which stucco is composed. 12. The meaning of _orreve_ is unknown.] well; afterwards fire it, and beat it or burnish it with a good burnisher, and make it thick towards the side. STUCCO. Powder ... with borax and water to a paste, and make stucco of it, and then heat it so that it may dry, and then varnish it, with fire, so that it shines well. 730. STUCCO FOR MOULDING. Take of butter 6 parts, of wax 2 parts, and as much fine flour as when put with these 2 things melted, will make them as firm as wax or modelling clay. GLUE. Take mastic, distilled turpentine and white lead. On bronze casting generally (731-740). 731. TO CAST. Tartar burnt and powdered with plaster and cast cause the plaster to hold together when it is mixed up again; and then it will dissolve in water. 732. TO CAST BRONZE IN PLASTER. Take to every 2 cups of plaster 1 of ox-horns burnt, mix them together and make your cast with it. 733. When you want to take a cast in wax, burn the scum with a candle, and the cast will come out without bubbles. 734. 2 ounces of plaster to a pound of metal;-- walnut, which makes it like the curve. [Footnote: The second part of this is quite obscure.] 735. [Dried earth 16 pounds, 100 pounds of metal wet clay 20,--of wet 100,-half,- which increases 4 Ibs. of water,--1 of wax, 1 Ib. of metal, a little less,-the scrapings of linen with earth, measure for measure.] [Footnote: The translation is given literally, but the meaning is quite obscure.] 736. Such as the mould is, so will the cast be. 737. HOW CASTS OUGHT TO BE POLISHED. Make a bunch of iron wire as thick as thread, and scrub them with [this and] water; hold a bowl underneath that it may not make a mud below. HOW TO REMOVE THE ROUGH EDGES FROM BRONZE. Make an iron rod, after the manner of a large chisel, and with this rub over those seams on the bronze which remain on the casts of the guns, and which are caused by the joins in the mould; but make the tool heavy enough, and let the strokes be long and broad. TO FACILITATE MELTING. First alloy part of the metal in the crucible, then put it in the furnace, and this being in a molten state will assist in beginning to melt the copper.