Before the science of chemistry had been called upon to furnish its potent aid in the process of paper-making, the rags used were moistened and piled together in some warm, damp place, often in a cellar, where they were left to decay for a period--twenty days or more. During this time, the perishable portion, sometimes spoken of as vegetable gluten, fermented or decayed to such an extent that it could be washed from the fibrine, or long, white elastic filaments. Before being submitted to the process of decomposition, the rags were of course dusted, and, as far as possible, cleansed from all mineral, foreign, or indissoluble substances, after which they were cut into small pieces. When the fermentation engendered by heat and moisture had done its important work, the rags were boiled and washed, and finally beaten to a smooth pulp by the use of mallets. In the early days of paper-making, before the discovery of the use of chemical agents to remove the coloring matter, the color of the paper was determined by that of the rags or other material, modified somewhat by the boiling and washing. When it was discovered that certain chemicals would dissolve or separate the coloring matter from the tissue, one great factor in the cost of making white paper was eliminated. Lye, lime, solutions of chlorine and of chloride of lime were employed for the purpose. ♦Hand-made process♦ The fibers having been separated, by this slow and tedious method, from all foreign matter, they were placed in a vat, with a proper admixture of water to form a soft, slightly cohering mass of “pulp.” The next step in the process was the forming of the paper sheets. For this purpose the paper-maker employed a fine wire screen, or cloth, called the “mold,” which was oblong in shape, and supported by a light frame underneath. Above this was placed a very shallow frame known as the “deckel,” which in size and shape corresponded exactly with the mold. Dipping the mold into the mass of pulp, the operator filled it even with the top of the deckel, the thickness of the paper being determined by the depth of the deckel-frame. Then as the water from the pulp drained through the wire cloth, the operator moved the mold back and forth, giving a constant, even, and gentle motion to the mass within. ♦The watermark♦ The manner in which the wires of the mold were arranged gave to certain papers their distinguishing characteristics. In some molds the wire was woven like cloth, and the product was therefore known as “wove” paper; in others, the small wires ran only one way, straight and very close together, and were crossed by stronger wires an inch or so apart, the paper in this case being called “laid” paper. At some point in the wire of the mold a small figure was worked out, also in wire, and as the pulp was shaken it became a little thinner over the design, leaving the impress known as the “watermark.”