Mr. Belin.

When you got down there, what did you do and see? First of all, who was in the room?

Mr. Barnes.

Detective Dhority and Detective Leavelle

Mr. Belin.

Is that L-e-a-v-e-l-l-e?

Mr. Barnes.

Right. And Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. Belin.

Did you have any discussion, or did you hear Lee Harvey Oswald say anything or anyone say anything to Lee Harvey Oswald while you were there?

Mr. Barnes.

No conversation.

Mr. Belin.

What did you do?

Mr. Barnes.

We got our equipment and got the paraffin melted, and while it was being prepared, we told him that we would have to make a paraffin cast of his hand.

Mr. Belin.

What did he say to that?

Mr. Barnes.

It was okay with him.

Mr. Belin.

Did he say anything as to any other comments he had about the paraffin test?

Mr. Barnes.

None other than he stated to me, "What are you trying to do, prove that I fired a gun?"
And I said, "I am not trying to prove that you fired a gun. We have the test to make, and the chemical people at the laboratory, at the city-county laboratory will determine the rest of it."

Mr. Belin.

What is the purpose of a paraffin test?

Mr. Barnes.

The purpose is to find out if there is any nitrates on your hands.

Mr. Belin.

Officer, how many years have you personally made paraffin tests?

Mr. Barnes.

Since 1956.

Mr. Belin.

What is the procedure by which you determine whether or not there are any nitrates on one's hand?

Mr. Barnes.

The analyses are made at Parkland Hospital by their personnel.

Mr. Belin.

Do they analyze the wax?

Mr. Barnes.

They analyze the wax that I remove from his hands after the casts are made.

Mr. Belin.

Well, if you were to take a paraffin or make a paraffin test on one of my hands, you would take melted hot wax and put it over my hands?

Mr. Barnes.

It wouldn't be hot wax. It would have to be at a degree where it would be melted. Take a paint brush, small paint brush, dip it into the paraffin, and paint your hand as you would be painting a wall, and you build this paraffin up around and around your hand, front and back, until you get a layer approximately a quarter of an inch thick.
Then you wrap the hands in gauze, just a layer of gauze around it for reenforcement purposes such as you would put steel and concrete to reenforce it, and then on top of this gauze we put another layer of paraffin. In fact, several layers of paraffin on top of the gauze to round it out to make it more firm so that when we remove this paraffin from around his hands, we take a pair of surgical scissors and cut down each side, and it slips off just like you were removing a glove.

Mr. Belin.

You would make two cuts then, one along the side of the little finger and one along the side of the thumb?

Mr. Barnes.

Well, really it is a V-cut on the thumb and forefinger, and a straight parallel line down the left- or right-little finger.

Mr. Belin.

On the side of the palm of the hand?

Mr. Barnes.

Right.

Mr. Belin.

Have you done any reading as to what this test shows and what its limitations are at all?

Mr. Barnes.

Well, yes; the purpose of it is when you put the heated paraffin on the hand, for the nitrates which might be on the hand, to be stuck to the paraffin that you put on there.
This paraffin that you place on the hand--I will rephrase this a little bit.
When you put the paraffin on your hand, the nitrates that might be on your hands will stick to the paraffin as it cools, and when you remove the paraffin, then this nitrate or powder residue which might be on the hands will be hardened into the paraffin and will slip off with the paraffin.