To transfer the gold-leaf, which has been cut on the gold cushion to the size required, on to the edge, a rectangular light wooden frame of wood or paste board is used, across which two horse hairs or silk threads are stretched parallel to the long sides of the rectangle in such a way that they can be moved at will nearer to or farther from one another. LAYING-ON APPARATUS. THE LAYING-ON APPARATUS. [Illustration] Much more practical than this frame is the laying-on apparatus. It can be more easily and securely handled, and the laying on strings can be more easily set. By means of this simple instrument the sheets of gold-leaf which are laying ready on the cushion and which must be so wide that they not only cover the edge entirely but also protrude about 1/8 inch beyond the gilding boards are transferred on to the sized edge. The sizing must be done with a soft camels hair brush, not too thin and it is essential that the gilding boards also become moistened. The strings of this laying on apparatus or of the frame must be so far distant from each other that they reach from gilding board to gilding board. The sheets of gold leaf that have been cut before must then be carefully transferred, one by one, on the sized edge. To make the gold-leaf adhere to the strings of the frame, the strings are rubbed slightly upon the hair of the head by which means they absorb sufficient fatty substance to hold the light sheets of gold. If after the gold is laid on it should contain any imperfections or breaks, other portions must be applied to these abrasions. The press is then placed aside until the edge is entirely dry. In treating the upper and lower edges i. e. after the book has been rounded, care must always be taken that in sizing, not too much moisture impregnates the back part of the edges as there is no pressure to prevent the size from running in. If the gilt-edge is to have lustre and glow by burnishing, great care must be taken to dry the edge well. An edge, which is not sufficiently dried, will exhibit breaks in the gold on burnishing, and an edge which is too dry will never have the desired lustre. It is impossible to name the time within which gilt-edges become dry. This depends upon the temperature of the room, the quality of the paper in the book and on the quantity of albumen solution which has been put on the edge. The safest way to find out whether the edge is dry or not is to blow upon it. If the lustre of the gold is dimmed for several seconds, the edge is still too moist, but if the cloud vanishes immediately the edge is sufficiently dry. We can also determine by a careful easy burnishing whether the edge is dry enough to be worked further. The burnishing should always be executed with a flat agate burnisher, and afterwards followed by a flat blood stone. The burnishing should be commenced by covering the edge with a piece of thin smooth paper that has been rubbed with wax.