It is all very well to say a file must rest on lead to be cut.

Who has ever employed brains on that question?
Who has tried iron, wood, and gutta-percha in layers?
Who has ever tried any thing, least of all the thing called Thought?
"2d.

If lead is the only bed--which I doubt, and the lead must be bare--which I dispute, then the master ought to supply every gang of file-cutters with hooks--taps, and basins and soap, in some place adjoining their work-rooms.

Lead is a subtle, but not a swift, poison; and soap and water every two hours is an antidote.
"3d.

They ought to forbid the introduction of food into file-cutting rooms.