A. F. (Cromer). - An inexpensive screen for decorating in oil colours may he made with the coarse bagging material called burlap, which is cheaper than canvas. Stretch it tightly on the wooden frame of your screen, for which an ordinary three-fold wooden clothes-horse will do. Tack the material around, the edges neatly with brass-headed nails, and then proceed to decorate the panels. Cheap oil colours are good enough for this purpose. Dilute them with spirits of turpentine until they are quite thin. Then, with large flat and round bristle brushes, rub in the general tones, keeping well within the outlines. Details and finishing touches may be added with smaller pointed sable brushes, and with thicker colours. Unbleached cotton cloth of coarse quality may be used if a less broad effect is preferred.

R. M. J. - (1) A good background lor your yellow (lowers would be a green, tor which you may mix Vandyck brown and burnt Sienna for the darkest parts, and white and yellow for the lightest. A good intermediate tone may be obtained with terre verte, black and white, shaded into green, and raw umber. Do not work your background in too boldly. It requires great skill to know just when to let a background alone. Generally a lew touches in the second painting are all that are necessary to complete it. A few strokes of burnt Sienna and permanent blue mixed, over the dark parts of the background, will give a depth that will greatly enhance the general effect. Here and there put in a few strokes of green and ochre. Backgrounds should be finished, so far as possible, in the first painting. The colours look much richer than when a second coat is applied. (2) White in oil painting always needs modification with some other colour. If it is cold, a little-ivory black may be added; if warm, a little burnt Sienna; if brilliant, a little indian yellow or yellow ochre. Most whites, in warm evening light, may be best represented by brilliant yellow modified as above, silver white being kept for the very purest only.