"And if we wish to find out why he did not, we have only to look at the back of the label.

You see that the name of the firm, instead of being printed on the label itself in the usual manner, is printed on a separate slip of paper which is pasted on the label--a most foolish and clumsy arrangement, involving an immense waste of time.

But if we look closely at the printed slip itself we perceive something still more remarkable; for that slip has been cut down to fit the label, and has been cut with a pair of scissors.

The edges are not quite straight, and in one place the 'overlap,' which is so characteristic of the cut made with scissors, can be seen quite plainly." He handed the packet to me with a reading-lens, through which I could distinctly make out the points he had mentioned.
"Now I need not point out to you," he continued, "that these slips would, ordinarily, have been trimmed by the printer to the correct size in his machine, which would leave an absolutely true edge; nor need I say that no sane business man would adopt such a device as this.

The slip of paper has been cut with scissors to fit the label, and it has then been pasted on to the surface that it has been made to fit, when all this waste of time and trouble--which, in practice, means money--could have been saved by printing the name on the label itself." "Yes, that is so; but I still do not see why the fellow should not have thrown away this label and typed another." "Look at the slip again," said Thorndyke.