029r - - - - - Stucco for molding
Take tragacanth gum and put it to soak until, having drunk its water, it is swollen & rendered like jelly. Then crush it quite hard on the marble & next take rye flour, which is better than wheat because it is more humid and does not make the paste as brittle, and sprinkle your tragacanth gum with it, & continue to grind and mix in thus, little by little, le et mesler legi the very finely sieved flour. And knead it as if you wanted to make bread, until you you perceive that it has enough body & is as firm as bread dough that one is ready to put in the oven. This is perceivable when it can stretch enough without breaking. And if it was not strong enough, it would not sti release well. Thus once prepared, rub the cavity au u with oil, with a brush, so that the oil penetrates everywhere to make it release better, and press the paste inside quite hard. And if it does not release well, mix in more flour until it has enough body. With this you will mold whatever work you like, masks or garlands, which will be dry within one day. Next, you will apply them with strong glue or paste glue, as you like, and you will be able to paint and decorate them with gold & all colors. In Rome they make ceiling and wall ornaments with it. One can make bed ornaments with it. If you want that the work stays white, it is better to mold with plaster instead of flour. It is true that it is more brittle and firm as well, but one needs to prepare it like this: temper it, when it is powdered strong, in a good amount of water so that it is clear, & grind it several times a day for fifteen days. Then pour water at an angle, and gather the plaster & grind it finely on the marble, & place it in some kind of clean lead vessel, so that no dust & dirt falls into it, & leave it in the open air & au serain for fifteen days with its water, and it will become matte, strong, white and light, very suitable for making a groundlayer of burnished gold. And this, when powder, you can mix, instead of flour, with tragacanth gum, and your work will be very beautiful. Lacking plaster, you can mix in well ground chalk or ceruse, & try bole & similar things. This stucco with the tragacanth gum has the quality, being malleable before being dry, of fitting on either round or flat things, as you like. It is to make an ornament at little expense.
at left top margin
The flour is not good in this, but chalk or ceruse is.