Sweepings

When the boys sweep the composing room in a morning, all the letters and spaces that are on the floor in each frame are carefully gathered up and placed on the bulk belonging to it, and it is the customary rule for the compositor to distribute them the first thing; what are swept together from the middle of the room are collected from the dust before it is taken away, and put in some appointed place for the person who has the care of the materials to distribute.