A ladleful of lead and tin, melted in a small gas-furnace, will, in a few minutes, give you a pattern which you can bend and adjust to any required shape.

Awkward patterns commence with us with plaster, wax, sheets of wet blotting paper pasted together on a shape or wood; but they almost invariably make their appearance in the foundry after being converted into soft metal by the aid of a gas-furnace.