=82. Plaster Statuary.= The few women in this country who work in plaster of Paris, are, as far as we know, natives of other countries. There is an old Italian woman in Baltimore who makes and sells works in plaster. Casts are sometimes taken by women, but rarely. Casts of living persons are taken by having the individual breathe through iron tubes placed in the nostrils. Casts are also taken from reliefs, statues, and models. They require less care than the first mentioned. Fruit is imitated in this material, and colored exactly like the original. I saw a case that had been prepared by a lady for the rooms of the American Institute, New York. The librarian thought several collections might be disposed of to agricultural societies and farmers. It would pay well, and take but little time to learn. It would require a nice discernment of colors and shades, and neat, careful workmanship. In Brooklyn, I was told by a boy, that did not look to be more than 14 or 15 years of age, that he had been working in plaster of Paris for three years. His was the architectural branch. The first year he received $1.50 per week; next year, $2; and the next, $3. He thinks a woman could do any of the work. The moulds for some parts are made of wax and rosin; some of sulphur, and some of plaster of Paris. The moulds are tied together, and the liquid plaster poured in. It hardens in half an hour. Mr. W., a plaster of Paris worker, says the whole of the work could be done by women. Modelling requires practice in drawing, and a knowledge of geometrical figures. Inventive talent finds a ready field for exercise. A good moulder is paid $2.50 a day. The study of architectural ornaments and books much facilitates the advancement of the art. Modelling and casting are distinct branches. Most employers pay boys thirty-seven cents a day for casting; but to learn modelling, it is customary for the learner to pay a premium. Another maker of house ornaments said modelling could be learned in six months, and when a person has learned, he can earn from $3 to $5 a day of ten hours. One must know how to draw in order to model. Another proprietor told me he had thought of employing girls to break off the edges of architectural ornaments. They now have boys, and pay from $3 to $9 per week. Modellers can earn $2, $2.50, and $3 per day. He paid $2.50 a day, for a year, to one man. At a large store for the sale of plaster of Paris articles in New York, the proprietor, a gentlemanly Italian, said he would be willing to give instruction to a class of ladies in modelling, moulding, casting, and polishing. He would charge $2 for two hours' instruction, and thinks, after a lesson every day for three months, and some practice in the intervals, his pupils would have no difficulty in prosecuting the work alone. It soils the clothes very much. His daughter learned it, but prefers embroidery. One of the Pisani brothers told me that in Italy and Paris women work at the business. Much ornamental work is executed in alabaster, spar, composition, and plaster of Paris. None of them are unfit for women. A more desirable occupation, with the exception of its want of cleanliness, a woman could not engage in, than plaster of Paris modelling. An Italian plaster image maker in Boston writes me: "We employ about 60 women. Women are employed at this business in Florence, Rome, and Milan. I get about $10 per day, and pay women $3 per day, working ten hours. I pay both by the piece and by the day. As a general thing, we pay men better than women. It requires some genius and a lifetime to learn the business. The prospects for employment are good in Boston, and there is a pretty lively demand for hands. All the women I employ are Italians. Women are decidedly superior workers. The business can be carried on in any part of the United States. Women might be employed in taking casts from the dead, if they have sufficient nerve. I have a peculiar fancy for this branch of the work, and do not consider it unhealthy."