THE YOUTH’S CABINET. |

«eset aia

These different sizes and styles of
type are called founts. The smallest
type used in the Casrvet is called Von-
pareil. The largest—that in which the
principal part of the entire work is set-—
‘s called Long Primer. I beg you will
not undertake to trace any similarity be-
tween the style of this type and the
primers from which you learn your cate-
chism, as any such undertaking would be
likely to prove quite a useless waste of
time. The poetry in the Casrnet usual-
ly appears in a dress made of Bourgeois,
a size of type next below Long Primer.
Sometimes, however, when the lines are
very long, it is set in Brevier, a size still
cmaller. Minion is the next below that ;
then Nonpareil, then Agate, then Pearl,
‘then Diumond, which last is small
enough for almost any purpose, though,
once in a great while, you find some
printing smaller even than that. The
names of the sizes of type larger than
Long Primer are Small Pica, Pica,
English, Great Primer, and so on.

You will very naturally inquire how
the compositor manages to place the
caption in the middle of the line, with
an equal blank space on each end. I
will tell you. All the letters which com-
pose a fount of type are of exactly the
same height—about four-fifths of an inch.
Of course, then, when the types are
placed in the stick with their faces up-
ward, they are all on the same plane.
But as it is frequently necessary that
blanks, of greater or less extent, should
occur, where the reading matter is inter-
rupted, as in the case of this caption or
heading, and at the end of every para-
graph, there are flat pieces of metal
cast, of the same thickness with the
letters composing the fount, but of dif-

letter he wants.

   

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oo  —

ferent widths, which are lower than the
letters.
They are placed in the lower case, at the
extreme right of the compositor, on the
front or lower side.

These are called quadrats.

The compositor having set the caption

or title of his article—not forgetting to
tell his readers the name of the person

who wrote it—he proceeds to set the ar-

ticle itself. He takes up each letter sep-

arately. He does not stop to look at

the face of it, as he takes it up; for he.
has good reason to believe, if he gets it

from the right box, that it will be the
«But how, then,
does he know which end of the type be-
longs upward ?” On every type, near
the lower end, there are two or three
notches, which show the compositor
that that is the end to be placed down-
ward in the stick, and also that the side
on which the notches occur is the lower
side of the letter as it stands in the line.
These notches are called nicks. The
compositor looks at his copy, and
charges his memory with asmall portion
of it—perhaps a line. He sets up a
word. There must be a division between
the words, of course. I need scarcely
tell you how the division is to be made,
as it will occur to most of you, that the
way to make it is similar to the one
adopted at the end of paragraphs, by
having pieces of metal provided that are
lower than the types. These are called
spaces. The box containing the spaces
most in use, is in the lower case, at the
left of the central perpendicular division,
on the front side. The compositor uses
spaces so often, that they are very con-
veniently arranged in his case, as you
see.

When the line is completed, it often.