The greatest care should be taken neither to touch the plate with the fingers, nor that part of the cotton flannel which is to come in contact with its surface; take a clean piece of flannel by one corner, snap it smartly to free it from dust and loose fibres, lay it face-side upward, dust on a little fine rotten stone; with this, polish around, or across, or in circles, lightly and briskly, passing gradually over the whole surface of the plate, as was done before with the wet.

The plate should now exhibit a bright, clear, uniform surface, with a strong metallic lustre, perfectly free from any appearance of film; if not, the last polished should be continued until the effect is obtained, and when once obtained, the plate is ready for buffing.
Buffing the Plate .-- There are a variety of ways and means employed in this part of the operation.

Some choose wheels, and others prefer the ordinary hand-buff.

I have been unable to detect any peculiar advantage in the use of the wheel except in the facility of the operation; no doubt, however, but there is a saving of time, particularly in the preparation of the larger plates.

For general use, we have not seen a wheel better adapted for this purpose than the one patented by Messrs.
Lewis.
It is generally well to use a hand-buff before placing the plate on the wheel; this is in order to prevent, as far as possible, the dust or other substance that may be on the surface of the plate from coming in contact with the cover of the wheel.