68 Improved Mode of forming Tallies. 



largest weighed 9 denari (6 gr.), and was of the length of 

 'J punt i^ and the diameter If in. of the Milan yard. — Monza, 

 Nov. 1. 1836. 



Art. IV. An improved Mode of fainting, letterings and varnishing 

 Tallies. By W. A. Nesfield. 



You requested me to forward my observations on the tallies 

 in the arboretum at Chatsworth, which, in September last, I 

 perceived had already suffered from the weather; that is, some 

 of the white letters had begun to run together, or wash away ; 

 which I attribute to the use of common house-painters* vehicle 

 and colour. Whether lettering be on an extensive scale or not, 

 it is a matter of much importance to obviate this defect. I there- 

 fore feel persuaded that the following method is worth notice, 

 as it will resist the effect of damp for many years, although it 

 incurs a trifling additional expense. 



Mr. Paxton's preparation of the wood cannot be better ; viz. 

 *' steaming the heart of oak, in order to draw out the sap, and 

 then boiling it in linseed oil ; " but, instead of painting a black 

 ground, I would substitute a very dark lead-colour, composed of 

 ivory black (not lampblack) and flake white, mixed with boiled 

 linseed oil. My reason for disapproving of a pure black ground 

 is founded on the fact, that certain colours, having a greater 

 affinity for water than for oil (such as blacks, umbers, and 

 ochres), are liable to be affected by damp, unless they are held 

 together by a powerfully oleaginous vehicle, with a small portion 

 of white lead; the latter not only resisting wet admirably, but 

 causing whatever is incorporated with it to dry harder and 

 sooner, and likewise giving a degree of consistency to the ivory 

 black, which is in itself very transparent. The tint of the dark 

 lead-coloured ground, which I would prefer to the black, would 

 have the same relief for the letters ; because I should use pure 

 white, which is so much more brilliant than that which is com- 

 monly used, and which is so much adulterated iioith Paris 'white. 

 In fact, what the proposed ground loses in intensity, the white 

 letters would gain in brilliancy ; which, therefore, would about 

 equal real black and bad yellow-looking white. Again, I 

 would, after three coats of the lead-coloured ground, use, as a 

 vehicle for the white lead, copal varnish and nut oil, mixed in 

 nearly equal quantities, allowing the latter rather to predominate, 

 that the painter's pencil may not clog. It is also desirable that 

 the white should be used as thick (or, more technically, asfot) 

 as it will flow, because the letters would be so much the more 

 opaque ; and the varnish should be mixed with only a small 

 quantity at a time, such as enough for half a day's work, since it 

 sets very rapidly. Turpentine must be avoided in toto (except 



