brass you are using is larger than is really required, it may be fastened down at once as recommended above. But if it is only the exact size, the edges, which are to go under the strips of wood, must be first punched.

Holding the punch perfectly perpendicular, strike firmly with the mallet, or hammer, so as to dent the brass.

Begin at one corner, and work all around the edge, allowing the marks to overlap each other somewhat irregularly, so as to do away with any suggestion of pattern in the ground-work. When you have got all round, do a second row inside the first in the same irregular manner. Enough of the ground will now be done to enable you to fasten it down with the strips of wood, and you can then proceed, working inwards towards the pattern. As you get on you will see the inworked portion in the center (containing all the pattern) rising up in relief. You must now be guided by the pattern itself. If it is a figure with no grounding in the middle, proceed with the punching right up to the edges of the pattern. If it has an isolated piece of ground-work in it, for instance, if it has the letter O, it will be well at this stage to begin punching the middle, and working alternately thence to the pattern, and from the outside also, for if you go quite up to the pattern from the outside before you touch the middle, the brass will have risen to such a height that it will be diff.cult to punch it down neatly.

On the same principle if the pattern has some groundwork running into it, as in the letter V, you should commence working up into this place before you have reached the pattern from the outside.

As a general rule, it is a good thing to keep the advancing line of dents at the same distance from the outline all round, that is to say, the punch-marks should give a rough representation of this outline But no rule can be laid down on this point, and a few attempts will show you with tolerable certainty how to proceed in any particular case.

As you get near to the pattern a new difficulty encounters you. This is caused by the fact that, as the center has risen, you are working each punch-mark on a sloping surface of brass. Under these circumstances the punch will slip when struck, and will not make a clean dent.

This is very annoying, especially as it occurs chiefly when you are approaching the outline of the pattern and wish every blow to tell in exactly its right place.

It may he avoided by holding the punch very firmly against the brass and by giving the head of it a slight inclination outwards from the pattern, so that the blow may be directed really at right angles to the surface, as was the case before the rising of the pattern took place. It is hardly necessary to mention that the punch is usually held in the left hand and the mallet or

hammer in the right, though it is sometimes convenient to work the reverse way.

When you have worked up to the pattern in this manner, and have carefully gone round the outline, wash off the paper tracing, if you have retained it till now. You will then be able to see many little places which require punching, and this can be easily done by the aid of the eye alone.

If the punch-marks appear too marked or regular in any part of the ground go over this again, until the whole ground-work presents a uniformly dented appearance.

If any lines have to be marked out on the pattern itself, this is the time to do it. Intricate work on the pattern is difficult and not effective, but in many cases, some simple lines must be made.

For instance, if a butterfly has been represented, it would be hopeless to attempt any reproduction of the pattern on its wings, but it would be easy (and sufficient) to mark out the division between its front and hind wings and the segments of its body. This should be done with the small screw-driver or bradawl mentioned before. They should be used as a punch, and the lines marked out by light blows of the hammer, as it is not desired to sink these lines down to the level of the ground-work. In fact, if they are well marked, the less indented they are the better. Be careful to hold these chisel-shaped implements upright when struck, as you do not want to dig the corners into the work.

It is difficult to give any idea on paper of the exact force which should be given to the blows of the mallet or hammer, but a few trials will put you in the way of The brass should be considerably indented, but, on the other hand, you must be careful to avoid making a hole.

it.

Perhaps you will be able to get on better with thinner brass than we have recommended; this is a matter of individual preference.

Your work is now finished as far as the punching goes, and you can remove the slips of wood which have been holding it down and examine it at your leisure.

You will probably find that it has a slight curl in it and will not lie flat. This may be removed by beating the ground-work lightly with a small hammer, and it will be found useful to beat it from behind, by turning it upside down and beating it on the projecting corner of a board. Of course this corner must not project on the pattern, or the raised work will be beaten down.

If any fragments of paper remain, or any gum, they can be removed by warm water and rubbing with a rag.

The whole work can now be polished, using sifted whiting, tripoli powder, or anything of that kind which will not scratch the brass. It will be a matter of taste or convenience whether you prefer the brass to look old or to keep it polished. In the former case it only re

quires to be let alone, and in a very short time it will lose its bright polish and the pale yellow color which it will have immediately after it is cleaned. But if you wish it always to shine, you must either be always polishing it or else it must be "lacquered."

"Lacquering " brass is nothing more than varnishing it with a transparent varnish, which protects it from the action of the air and enables the lustre to be seen

through it. The varnish used for this purpose is "shellac " varnish, and is made by dissolving shellac in spirits of wine. As you will only require a small quantity, it will be better to buy it than to try to make it yourself.

Before applying it see that the brass is perfectly clean, then warm it, and lay on the varnish with a small brush. It will dry rapidly, and be hard and transparent if the work has been properly carried out. If the varnish becomes too thick, as it will do if the cork is ever left out, it may be thinned by adding some methylated spirits, and the brush can be cleaned in the same liquid, which may also be used for cleaning old lacquer off, or for removing an unsatisfactory coat before applying a fresh one.

The work is now ready for fixing wherever you intend, and this leads us to consider to what purposes such work is applicable. It may be generally stated that wherever a decorative panel of moderate size is required, this metal work will be found suitable. Perhaps the simplest thing to begin on, after your first attempt, will be a door-plate. We do not mean the brass plate on the outside of the front door, which conveys to passers-by the name and profession of the occupier, but the plates used on room doors to prevent the door from being soiled by the fingers. Such a plate should be attached to the door by very small brass-headed screws, and holes to receive them should be drilled in the corners. If it is not lacquered and requires to be cleaned, it is as well to cut out of a piece of pasteboard a hole the exact shape of the plate. This pasteboard should be held over the plate while it is being cleaned, and will protect the door from being injured by whatever composition is used.

Brass work may be advantageously substituted for mirrors in the ebonized furniture so fashionable at present, and it may also be used for the panels in the lid and sides of a wooden coal-box. A small shield, with a crest or coat of arms worked on it, is an effective ornament in wall decoration. Panels should have a slight margin left outside the worked part, this will be found useful in fixing.

You may also try to make circular, card-tray, or an oblong pen-tray. A margin must be left to form the sides of these articles, and the punching should begin from the inside of this margin.

This will cause the sides to rise somewhat, and will

be sufficient, unless a very deep tray is desired. In this case more slope may be given by denting lines with your chisel-shaped tool on the margin at right angles to the edge. This will give a crimped look to the margin and make it rise. The blows should be harder at the outside.

It may be well to say a few words about the time and labor required for this work. The time taken in drawing the pattern will of course be less if the worker is gifted with sufficient artistic power to enable her to rapidly sketch the outline from the subject, whatever it may be, but a very short time will suffice even for those who have to trace their outlines. Leaves, &c., may be put on the paper, and the outline traced directly from

them.

Anybody can draw geometrical patterns with rule and compasses, though we think they are as a rule unsuited to brass work.

The actual labor of working the punch is very slight, though it may be found that the hand which holds it is apt to get rather cramped at first. The time required will, of course, depend greatly on the intricacy of the pattern, more care being required where there is much outline, but at the same time there will be less ground to do if the pattern covers much space. About twenty minutes should be ample for a square panel of five inches in the side, that is to say, with an average pattern, but this is not meant to include tracing or fixing the paper design.

With regard to the sort of designs which can appropriately be represented, it is really so much a matter of taste that no absolute rule can be laid down. Speaking generally, any subject which can be expressed chiefly by means of outline is suitable. Leaves, either singly or in the form of sprays, will do very well. Girls should go to the right source for their model-nature herself. Of course, any kind of motto or saying may be worked on a band of brass, if you have a suitable place to put it in when finished.

Insects produce an effective and quaint appearance. Butterflies and moths, with their wings extended, or butterflies, with the wings closed about the back, are easy and striking, while beetles have quite a “cunning" look. Some large beetle should be chosen, either the Egyptian, scarabæus, or the large water-beetles of the ponds.

You can attempt to imitate, if you will, the old repoussé work, of which Cellini was such a master, though you will perhaps be unable to try it on the same precious metals which were placed at his command by his wealthy and influential patrons. Learn, however, to command your temper better than he did; you may be sure that your work will be none the worse for that.

In these days, a greater respect for life prevails than

in his age, and when we want to defeat a rival, we do so by trying to make our work better than his, and not by an appeal to arms.

A little care and pains will enable you to turn out very fair work, and you will be surprised and pleased to find what a wonderful effect may be produced by such simple means. You will have to exercise your forethought in the selection of a subject within the range of the process and the reach of your own powers, and your manual dexterity will be called out in the execution of the work. It is an old saying, but a very true

one, that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. Work done badly bears on it the stamp of its own worthlessness, the confession that the workman had not thought it worth doing. A beginner's work cannot be as good as that of an old hand, but let it be the beginner's best, and nobody should complain. And whatever you do, fit yourself up a workshop of your own, where you can carry out your brass work or wood carving and other such employment conveniently, without fear of interruption, or of being told you make a “horrible mess."

N the exercise of the power vested in the President by the Constitution, and by virtue of the 1753d section of the Revised Statutes, and of the civil service act approved January 16, 1883, the following rules for the regulation and improvement of the executive civil service

are hereby amended and promulgated:

RULE I.

No person in said service shall use his official authority or influence either to coerce the political action of any person or body or to interfere with any election.

RULE II.

No person in the public service shall for that reason be under any obligation to contribute to any political fund, or to render any political service, and he will not be removed or otherwise prejudiced for refusing to do so.

RULE III.

It shall be the duty of collectors, postmasters, assistant treasurers, naval officers, surveyors, appraisers, and custodians of public buildings, at places where examinations are to be held, to allow and arrange for the reasonable use of suitable rooms. the public buildings in their charge, and for heating, lighting, and furnishing the same, for the purposes of such examinations; and all other executive officers shall in all legal and proper ways facilitate such examinations and the execution of these rules

RULE IV.

1. All officials connected with any office where, or for which, any examination is to take place, will give the Civil Service Commission, and the chief examiner, such information as may be reasonably required to enable the Commission to select competent and trustworthy examiners; and the examinations by those selected as examiners, and the work incident thereto, will be regarded as a part of the public business to be performed at such office.

2 It shall be the duty of every executive officer promptly to inform the Commission, in writing, of the removal or discharge from the public service of any examiner in his office, or of the inability or refusal of any such examiner to act in that capacity.

RULE V.

There shall be three branches of the service, classified under the civil service act (not including laborers or workmen, or officers required to be confirmed by the Senate), as follows:

1. Those classified in the departments at Washington shall be designated "The Classified Departmental Service."

2. Those classified under any collector, naval officer, surveyor, or appraiser in any customs district, shall be designated "The Classified Customs Service "

3. Those classified under any postmaster at any post office, including that at Washington, shall be designated "The Classified Postal Bervice."

4. The Classified Customs Service shall embrace the several customs districts where the officials are as many as fifty, now the following. New York City, N. Y.; Boston, Mass.; Philadelphia, Pa.: San Francisco, Cal., Baltimore, Md.; New Or eans, La.; Chicago, Ill.; Burling ton, Vt., Portland, Me.; Detroit, Mich., Port Huron, Mich.

5. The Classified Postal Service shall embrace the several post offices where the officials are as many as fifty, now the following: Albany, N. Y.; Baltimore, Md.; Bostor, Mass., Brooklyn, N. Y.; Buffalo, N. Y.; Chicago, Ill.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Indianapolis, Ind., Kansas City, Mo.; Louisville, Ky.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Newark; N. J.: New Orleans, La.; New York City, N. Y.; Philadel phia, Pa.; Pittsburg, Pa; Providence, R. I.; Rochester, N. Y.; St. Louis, Mo.; San Francisco, Cal.; Washington, D. C.

RULE VI.

1. There shall be open, competitive examinations for testing the fitness of applicants for admission to the service. Such examinations shall be practical in their character, and, so far as may be, shall relate to those matters which will fairly test the relative capacity and fitness of the persons examined to discharge the duties of the branch of the service which they seek to enter.

2. There sball, so far as they may be deemed nseful, be competitive examinations of a suitable character to test the fitness of persons for promotion in the service.

RULE VII.

1. The general examinations under the first clause of Rule VI for at mission to the service shall be limited to the following subjects: 1st. Orthography, penmanship, and copying. 2d. Arithmetic-fundamental rules, fractions, and percentage. 3d. Interest, discounts, and elements of book-keeping and of accounts. 4th Elements of the English language, letter-writing, and the proper construction of sentences. 5th. Elements of the geography, history, and government of the United States.

2. Proficiency in each of these subjects shall be credited in grading the standing of the persons examined in proportion to the value of s knowledge of such subjects in the branch or part of the service which the applicant seeks to enter.

8. No one shall be entitled to be certified for appointment, whose standing upon a just grading in the general examination shall be less than sixty-five per centum of complete proficiency in the first three subjects mentioned in this rule, and the measure of proficiency shall be deemed adequate.

4. For places in which a lower degree of education will suffice, the Commission may limit the examinations to less than the five subjects above mentioned; but no person shall be certified for appointment, under this clause, whose grading shall be less than an average of sixtyfive per centum on such of the first three subjects or parts thereof as the examination may embrace.

5. The Commission may also order examinations upon other subjects of a technical or special character, to test the capacity which may be needed in any part of the Classified Service which requires peculiar information or skill. Examinations hereunder may be competitive or non-competitive, and the maximum limitations of age contained in the twelfth Rule shall not apply to applicants for the same. The applica

tion for, and notice of, these special examinations, the records thereof and the certification of those found competent shall be such as the Commission may provide for. After consulting the head of any Department or office, the Commission may from time to time designate, subject to the approval of the President, the positions therein for which applicants may be required to pass this special examination.

RULE VIII.

The

No question in any examination, or proceeding by, or under, the Commission or examiners, shall call for the expression or disclosure of any political or religious opinion or affiliation, and if such opinion or affiliation be known, no discrimination shall be made by reason thereof by the examiners, the Commission or the appointing power. Commission and its examiners shall discountenance all disclosure, before either of them, of such opinion by or concerning any applicant for examination or by or concerning any one whose name is on any register awaiting appointment.

RULE IX.

All regular applications for the competitive examinations for admission to the classified service must be made on blanks in a form approved by the Commission. All requests for such blanks, and all applications for examination, must be addressed as follows: 1. If for the Classified Departmental Service, to the U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washington, D. C. 2. If for the Classified Postal Service, to the postmaster under whom service is sought. 3. If for the Classified Customs Service, to the head of either customs office in which service is sought. All officers receiving such applications will endorse thereon the date of the reception thereof and transmit the same to the proper examining board of the district or office where service is sought, or, if in Washington, to the Civil Service Commission.

RULE X.

Every examining board shall keep such records, and such papers on file, and make such reports as the Commission shall require; and any such paper or record in the charge of any examination board or any officer shall at all times be open to examination as the Commission shall direct, and upon its request shall be forwarded to the Commission for inspection and revision.

RULE XI.

Every application, in order to entitle the applicant to appear for examination or to be examined, must state, under oath, the facts on the following subjects: 1. Full name, residence, and post office address, 2. Citizenship. 3. Age. 4. Place of birth. 5. Ilealth and physical capacity for the public service. 6. Right of preference by reason of military or naval service. 7. Previous employment in the public service. 8. Business or employment and residence for the previous five years. 9. Education. Such other information shall be furnished as the ommission may reasonably require touching the applicant's fitness for the public service. The applicant must also state the number of members of his family in the public service, and where employed, and must also assert that he is not disqualified under section 8 of the civil service act, which is as follows: "That no person habitually using intoxicating beverages to excess shall be appointed to or retained in any office, appointment, or employment to which the provisions of this act are applicable." No person under enlistment in the Army or Navy of the United States shall be examined under these Rules.

RULE XII.

1. Every regular application must be supported by proper certificates of good moral character, health, and physical and mental capacity for doing the public work, the certificates to be in such form and number as the regulations of the Commission shall provide; but no certificate will be received which is inconsistent with the tenth section of the civil service act.

2. No one shall be entitled to be examined for admission to the Classified Postal Service if under sixteen or over thirty-five years of age; or to the Classified Customs Service, or to the Classified Departmental Service, if under eighteen or over forty-five years of age; but no one shall be examined for appointment to any place in the Classified Customme Service except that of clerk or messenger who is under twenty-one

years of age; but these limitations of age shall not apply to persons honorably discharged from the military or naval service of the country, who are otherwise duly qualified.

RULE XIII.

.1. The date of the reception of all regular applications for the Classi fled Departmental Service shall be entered of record by the Commission, and of all other regular applications by the proper examining boards of the district or office for which they are made; a d applicantɛ when in excess of the number that can be examined at a single exami nation shall, subject to the needs of apportionment, be notified to ap pear, in their order on the respective records. But any applicants in the several States and Territories for appointment in the Classified Departmental Service may be notified to appear for examination at any place at which an examination is to be held, whether in any State or Territory, or in Washington, which shall be deemed most convenient for them,

2. The Commission is authorized, in aid of the apportionment among the States and Territories, to hold examinations at places convenient for applicants from different States and Territories, or for those examination districts which it may desiguate and which the President shall approve.

RULE XIV.

Those examined shall be graded, and shall have their grade marked upon a register after those previously thereon, in the order of their excellence as shown by their examination papers, except that those from the same State or Territory may be entered upon the register together, in the order of relative excellence, to facilitate apportionment. Separate registers may be kept of those seeking to enter any part of the service in which special qualifications are required.

RULE XV.

The Commission may give a certificate to any person examined, stating the grade which such a person attained and the proficiency in the several subjects, shown by the markings.

RULE XVI.

1. Whenever any officer having the power of appointment or em ployment shall so request, there shall be certified to him, by the Commission or the proper examining board. four names for the vacancy specified, to be taken from those graded highest on the proper register of those in his branch of the service and remaining eligible, regard being had to the apportionment of appointments to States and Territories; and from the said four a selection shall be made for the vacancy.

2. These certifications for the service at Washington shall be made in such order as to apportion, as nearly as may be practicable, the original appointments thereto among the States and Territories and the District of Columbia, upon the basis of population as ascertained at the last preceding census.

3. In case the request for any such certification or any law or regu lation shall call for those of either sex, the four bighest of that sex shall be certified, otherwise sex shall be disregarded in such certifi cation.

4. No person upon any register shall be certified more than four times to the same officer in the customs or postal service or more than twice to any department at Washington, unless upon request of the appointing officer; nor shall anyone remain eligible more than one year upon any register. No person while remaining eligible on any register shall be admitted to a new examination, and no person having failed upon any examination shall within six months thereafter be admitted to another examination without the consent of the Commission. But these restrictions shall not extend to examinations under clause 5 of Rule 7.

5. Any person appointed to or employed in any part of the classified service, after due certification for the same under these rules, who shall be dismissed or separated therefrom without fault or delinquency on his part, may be re-appointed or re-employed in the same part or grade of such service at the same office, within eight months next following such dismissal or separation, without further examination.

RULE XVII.

1. Every original appointment or employment in said classified