the tray-covers replaced, the chamber covers restored to their situation, and the temperature allowed to rise for fifteen or twenty minutes, when the operation may he renewed.
77. All the precautions against loose particles, dust, and soot, that were before spoken of (66), should be adopted in this operation. In the act of stirring, the instrument should not be struck carelessly against the bottom or sides of the tray; for the platinum in this highly heated state is very soft, and a hole would readily be forced through it; nor should it he brought forcibly against the corners, for the metal is in such a favourable condition for welding, that the least blow upon a double part causes adhesion. By merely allowing the stirrer, when ignited, to sink upon the bottom of the tray rather more hastily than usual, it has adhered to the place; and when, for safety, an underlying plate of platinum was used (50), it was always found welded to the tray at the places which the stirrer had touched a little more forcibly than the adjacent parts, and could not afterwards be separated without leaving holes in the metal. This circumstance was the principal occasion of the advantages afforded by the use of the underlying plate being given up.
78. The heat which has to be borne during the operation of stirring is very considerable, especially upon the hands; but at such a moment no retreat from the work, because of mere personal inconvenience, can be allowed. But the circumstance renders the use of a cover for the stirring hand very advantageous. I have found a loose linen bag, into which the hand could go freely, more convenient for this purpose than a glove; for being in contact with the skin at distant parts only, the hand is preserved at a much lower temperature. Two small holes in it, one at the front and the other at the top, allow the handle of the stirrer to pass obliquely through, by which arrangement it is easily held with firmness, and the bag itself prevented from slipping towards the glass. It should not be larger than to cover the wrist, or it will embarrass the movements; and it should be very stiffly starched and ironed, that no fibrous particles may fly from it to the glass during the stirring.
79. The glass which, adhering to, is brought away with the stirrer, indicates, by its appearance, the general character
