"the best is not good enough," being entirely lost sight of.

As to the character of the pigments that should be used with linseed oil for making paint for use as top coats over a red-lead primer, it is important that the pigments used be both chemically and physically inert, that they be in a finely divided state, and that they have an affinity for linseed oil. Given these features, whether the pigment is lampblack, graphite, oxide of iron, charcoal, silica, mica, aluminum, or what not, is a matter of little importance so far as durability is concerned. Where three or more coats are to be applied, and it is not practicable to use more than two kinds of paint, we recommend for middle coat mixtures of topping and bottoming coats.

Paint-users have no just reason for condemning this, that, or the other pigment or