nice judgment. In the desire to ensure absolute neatness in
the covering, modern binders often reduce the slips to almost nothing.
On the other hand, some go to the other extreme, and leave the cord
entire, making great ridges on the sides of the book where it is laced
in. It should be possible with the aid of the depressions, cut as
described, to use slips with sufficient margin of strength, and yet to
have no undue projection on the cover. A slight projection is not
unsightly, as it gives an assurance of sound construction and
strength, and, moreover, makes an excellent starting-point for any
pattern that may be used. When the slips have been scraped and
reduced, the portion left should consist of long straight silky
fibres. These must be well pasted, and the ends very slightly twisted.
The pointed ends are then threaded through the first series of holes
in the front of the board, and back again through the second (fig.
50). In lacing-in the slips must not be pulled so tight as to prevent
the board from shutting freely, nor left so loose as to make a
perceptible interval in the joint of the book. The pasted slips having
been laced in, their ends are cut off with a sharp knife, flush with
the surface of the board. The laced-in slips are then well hammered on
a knocking-down iron (see fig. 51), first from the front and then from
the back, care being taken that the hammer face should fall squarely,
or the slips may be cut. This should rivet them into the board,
leaving little or no projection. If in lacing in the fibres should
get twisted, no amount of hammering will make them flat, so that it is
important in pointing the ends for lacing in, that only the points are
twisted just sufficiently to facilitate the threading through the
holes, and not enough to twist the whole slip.

[Illustration: FIG. 50.]

[Illustration: FIG. 51.]

To lace slips into wooden boards, holes are made with a brace and fine
twist bit, and the ends of the frayed out slips may be secured with a
wooden plug (see fig. 52).

Old books were sometimes sewn on bands of leather, but as those sewn
on cord seem to have lasted on the whole much better, and as,
moreover, modern cord is a far more trustworthy material than modern
leather, it is better to use cord for any books bound now.

[Illustration: FIG. 52.]

CLEANING OFF THE BACK AND PRESSING

[Illustration: FIG. 53.]

When the boards have been laced on and t