and invert them one over another, we may represent the bell-mould in its built-up form; but if the middle basin be removed, there will be a vacancy between the other two. The vacancy thus produced in the bell-mould is that into which the metal is poured, a hole being left at the top for that purpose, and two others for the escape of air as the metal enters.

All this is done in the casting-pit, which is then filled up with loam or earth to the top of the mould, the height of which is nearly equal to that of the orifice in the furnace. A shallow channel is cut in the loam from the furnace to the orifice of the mould; the earth which stops the hole in the furnace is cut away; and the melted metal, flowing from the furnace along the channel, fills the mould.

In some parts of Germany the casting of a bell is made a matter of much ceremony; the bell-founder inviting a large circle of friends to witness the scene, which commences with a prayer, and terminates with rejoicing. Schiller made this the subject of one of his finest ballads, the 'Song of the Bell,' many stanzas of which vividly portray the process of founding. We may select two, as relating, the first to the appearance of the pit when the mould or moulds are earthed in, and the second to the melting of the metal :

"Fast immured within the earth,

Fix'd by fire the clay-mould stands :
This day the bell expects its birth,

Courage, comrades! ply your hands.
Comrades! ceaseless from your brow,
Ceaseless must the sweat-drop flow.
If by his work the master 's known,
Yet Heaven must send the blessing down.
Billet of the fir-wood take,

Every billet dry and sound,

That flame, a gather'd flame awake,

And vault with fire the furnace round.

Quickly cast the copper in,

Quickly cast due weight of tin,

That the bell's tenacious food

Rightly flow in order'd mood."

In Fig. 4 the casting-pit is represented with seven bell-moulds, for the casting of the same number of bells. We saw these bells cast a few days after the drawing was made, the pit having been filled with loam in the interim. It is a sight worth a visit to see the furnace full of liquid fiery white metal, the narrow jet pouring out at

the orifice, the stream of liquid fire running along the channel, and the bubbling of the metal as it flows into the mould. If the bells be large, only one is cast at one time in the pit; but several smaller ones, varying from three or four to twelve hundredweights each, as was the case in this instance, can be cast at once, a gutter being carried from the hole in the furnace to the mouth of each mould.

Casting-pit of a Bell-Foundry.-Fig. 4.

The bell is cast in a complete state, but it requires a little adjustment to regulate its tone. If a set of bells are to be made, having intervals of tones and semitones, the requisite adjustment is made by reducing the diameter at the edge when the tone is too low, and reducing the thickness at the part where the hammer strikes when the tone is too acute. This reduction is made by chipping away the metal with a sharp-pointed hammer-a process as intensely noisy, perhaps, as any which our manufactures present, excepting (and we really must make the exception) the operations in the steam-boiler factory in Woolwich Dock-Yard.

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XV. A DAY AT A PRINTING-OFFICE.

AMONG all the manufactures which-for the mental and mechanical skill required in their prosecution, the remarkable steps by which they have attained their present rank, and the influence which they exert on society generally-claim our attention and admiration, none perhaps is more striking than the manufacture of a book. The written thoughts of those whose thoughts were worthy of being known used to be transcribed, copy after copy, by the hands of monks and laborious students; and these copies were prized according to the labour bestowed upon them, irrespective, in many cases, of the literary merits of the production. But the introduction of printing changed the nature of this valuation. The larger the number of written copies required, the higher would be the price of each, because the demand for transcribers' labour would be increased; but the larger the number of printed copies demanded, the cheaper could each one be furnished, because machinery and the classification of labour could be brought more effectually into operation. The process of printing, when compared with that of writing, is unquestionably a cheap one, provided a sufficient number of copies of any particular book be printed, so as to distribute the original outlay over a large circle. If, for example, it were required, even at the present time, to print three or four copies only of any production, the cost of printing would be greater than that of transcribing. It is only when hundreds or thousands of copies are required that the paramount importance of the printing press becomes fully developed; and when the sale amounts to tens of thousands, the effect upon the price of each copy becomes very remarkable.

These matters belong properly to the history of printing; but it may be worth while to allude to them here, as a means of accounting for the growth of the vast printing establishments in operation at the present day. Whether we say that cheap literature has given a spur to printing, or that printing has given a spur to cheap literature, or, which is perhaps the most correct of the three, that each has received

advancement from the other, it is clear that the printing establishments of the present day excel, both in extent and completeness, those of any former period. To one of these establishments, then, viz., that of Messrs. Clowes, we will pay a visit, and endeavour to understand the rationale of the daily operations.

This printing-office occupies a large area of ground westward of Duke Street, Stamford Street. A chimney rears its head from the buildings below, and indicates the locality; but the vicinity of other chimneys-belonging to a soap factory in one place, a saw-mill in another, and so forth-might render this a treacherous beacon, so we will discard it, and find our way to the entrance of the factory. Within side the gates, masses of buildings present themselves on all sides. Unlike many factories where an open area or court occupies the central portion between the buildings, this establishment has distinct masses of buildings lying in various directions, and separated by narrow passages, instead of an open court. The truth seems to be that, in proportion as the business has increased, every inch of room has been appropriated. We may, however, pick out the topography of the place in something like the following manner. In the centre of the whole factory is a low building, containing the greater number of the large printing machines belonging to the establishment, together with an engine-room and other factory appurtenances. Looking from this centre towards the north, south, east, and west, loftier buildings meet the eye, presenting, as it would appear, no particular symmetry of arrangement, but adapted to the wants and conveniences of the time. Composing-rooms, readers'-rooms, type-making shops, stereotyping shops, paper-warehouses, hand-printing shops, machine-printing shops, wood-block store-rooms, stereotype-plate store-rooms,-these comprise the dense assemblage which the eye glances on around. These we will visit in the order of processes, premising that this is one of the very few printing establishments (the only one, indeed, as far as we are aware) in which type-making or casting is carried on.

In one tiny room, small indeed compared with the importance of the process carried on therein, the first germ of a type is produced. Every one knows that the printed letters of a book are produced by small inked types, each of which has a letter in relievo on one end. But how this type is produced may have been with many a question. Is it cut with sharp tools, or is it cast in a mould? When we even go one step further back, and state that it is cast in a mould, it may