H ouse and Garden 
is a riot of bright flowers in little beds divided by 
brick paving, and from under the welcome shade of 
the vines festooning the pergola the best views of the 
house show in succession, while in other directions a 
pastoral vista up and down a beautiful mowed green 
valley, leave a reposeful feeling upon the tired mind. 
In short, the charm of the unexpected pervades the 
place. Its delights are not for those on the street as 
it does not entice by any bold appeal but has rather 
the true seclusion of an out-of-door home. A. K. 
TESTING CHINESE INK 
T HE best method of testing the tinctorial values 
of the different inks is to grind up equal 
amounts with equal quantities of water, applying 
the liquids with a full brush to Whatman paper 
pinned on a sloping drawing board. When the first 
color strip is dry, a new one is painted over it, so 
that a small portion at the end of the first 
coating still remains untouched. 1 his is followed 
by a third, fourth, and fifth coat, each falling 
short of the preceding one, until finally there is a 
color scale, one end of which has the faintest tint 
while the other end is strong black 
Comparative results thus obtained show that inks 
with the best reputation are actually the best in 
practice. The cheaper qualities have not nearly so 
great a covering power, and often contain irregular 
particles of carbon, giving rise to streaks under the 
brush. They also lack the brilliancy arid purity of 
tone possessed by the better qualities. 
There is but little difference in the composition of 
the various grades of Chinese inks. 1 hose examined 
by the writer all contained about 55 per cent, of 
carbon and about 9 per cent, of moisture, the re¬ 
mainder consisting chiefly of the glue. 1 he dif¬ 
ferences in the results obtained in practice must 
be attributed to the degree of care taken in the 
collection of the lamp-black, and to the thoroughness 
of the incorporation of the pigment with the glue.— 
The Art Workers' Quarterly. 
280 
