ing paint; in such cases use the best japan you can get, so that you will not shorten the life of your paint. The quality of a japan depends as much upon its cooking as upon the quality of the materials used in making it; too much heat or too long a heat frequently spoils it. It is not easy to enumerate all the possible ways in which a given number of things, like the ingredients of a painters' japan, may be mixed and combined together, nor the changes that may result from an excess of this or that component part, nor the degree or period of heat to which it is subjected. The only simple way that we can suggest to test the quality of a japan is to have a standard sample, whose efficiency has been proven, for comparison. A good  japan  is  a  painter's best friend, but  it  takes  some  little  time  and  skill to  determine   its  durability,  drying,   and