less apt to adhere well to damp surfaces. Given ideal painting conditions, varnish paints undoubtedly can be made that will out-wear on steel the best oil paints, but these conditions are not readily attained.

From "sense impressions," gained by study of the phenomena pertaining to paint, both wet and dry, our present conception is that pigment is the objective element and liquid the subjective element in it. The pigment is the male principle; liquid, the female. In order to give expression to our thoughts upon this question, it appears necessary to consider the nature of linseed oil. Many books have been written upon this subject and there is yet much to learn. Nature did not design linseed oil for painters' use, but for sustaining the life of the flax plant. Linseed oil, even if of good quality,  is  not  sacred, but,  after centuries