soft and thick, several sheets, to dry the plate, as
will be seen hereafter.

19. SPIRITS OF HARTSHORN OR VOLATILE ALKALI.--This is not needed for
etching, but it is well to have it at hand, in case you should spatter
your clothes with acid. Spots produced by the acid can generally be
removed by rubbing with the alkali, which neutralizes the acid.

3. =Grounding the Plate.=--Having procured all these requisites, the
first thing to do will be to clean the plate so as to remove any oil or
other impurities that may have been left on it by the plate-maker. Wash
and rub it well on both sides with a soft cotton rag and benzine, and
then rub with whiting, as you would do if you were to clean a
door-plate. Take care to remove all the whiting with a clean rag. Now
take hold of your plate by one of its corners with the hand-vice,
wrench, or pincers, between the jaws of which you have put a bit of
card-board or stout paper, so as not to mark the plate. Hold it over the
stove, spirit lamp, or ignited alcohol, and see to it that it is heated
evenly throughout. Hold the plate in your left hand while heating it,
and with the other press against it the ball of ground wrapped up in
silk. As soon as you see the ground melting through the silk, distribute
it over the plate by rubbing the ball all over its surface (the
_polished_ surface, as a matter of course), taking care the while that
the plate remains just hot enough to melt the ground. If it is too hot,
the ground will commence to boil and will finally burn. The bubbles
caused by boiling are liable to leave air-holes in the ground through
which the acid may bite little holes in the plate; burning ruins the
ground altogether, so that it loses its power of withstanding the acid.
After you have distributed the ground tolerably evenly, and in a thin
layer, lay the plate down on the table (keeping hold of it, however, by
the corner), and finish the distribution of the ground by dabbing with
the dabber. Strike the plate quickly and with some force at first, and
treat it more gently as the ground begins to cool. If it should have
cooled too much, before the distribution is accomplished to your
satisfaction, in which case the dabber will draw threads, heat the plate
gently. The dabber not only equalizes the distribution of the varnish,
but also removes what is superfluous. An extremely thin layer of ground
is sufficient.

4. =Smoking the Plate.=--While the plate is yet hot, and the ground