9.B On painting Linen Cloth in Oil Colour 
No. 18. 
Method of painting Linen Cloth in Oil Colours , to be 
more pliant , durable , and longer impervious to Water y 
than in the usual Mode. JBy Mr . "William Ander- 
son, of His Majesty 9 s Dock-Yard , Portsmouth.* 
Sir— I beg leave to lay before the Society of Arts, &c. 
the following improvements and observations, which 1 
hope will be of service to the public. 
Having never heard or read of any method being dis- 
covered to prevent paint w hen laid on canvass from har- 
dening to such a degree as to crack and eventually to 
break the canvass, and render it unserviceable in a short 
time; and having been an eye witness for many years of 
much canvass perishing for want of such discovery, in 
the immense quantities painted for covering seamen's 
hammocks, and for other uses on board his majesty’s 
ships ; 1 long had it under consideration to find out such 
an ingredient as, when mixed with paint, would preserve 
the canvass and paint laid thereon from the damages 
above mentioned : and after experiments for a considera- 
ble time, I have discovered such an article, and made 
trial of it with effect above three years. 
The canvass I have painted has been submitted to fclie 
inspection of the Navy Board, who arc so perfectly satis- 
fied with my new method, that general directions are now 
given to paint all canvass in his majesty’s dock-yards in 
this manner ; which, in addition to the advantages I have 
before mentioned, actually saves an expense of one guinea 
in every hundred square yards of canvass so painted, as- 
I have fully stated to them. The ingredient I use is not 
only serviceable for ships’ canvass, but also for canvass 
* Tilloch, voL 33, p. 151. From Transactions of the Society for the Encou- 
ragement of Arts , Manufactures , and Commerce , for 1807.— The silver medal of 
the Society was voted to Mr. Anderson for this communication, 
