Printing ink is not usually made satisfactorily in the absence of big plant, but below are given some simple instructions easily followed. Into a 5-gal. iron pot pour 6 qt. of old lmseed oil, and heat gradually over a fire to boiling point. As soon as the vapours that arise from the surface will catch fire when a light is applied, remove the pot from the fire and allow the oil to burn for a time; smother the flame by placing the lid over the pot. If the oil has thickened sufficiently, it will draw out into threads 1/2 in. long when dropped on a cold surface. If the oil is not thick enough, relight it, and allow it to burn down. If the oil is all right, stir till the frothing ceases, and put in gradually 6 lb. of crumbled amber resin, and keep stirring till all is melted. Then stir in 1 3/4 lb. of sliced curd-soap, and when the frothing has ceased, place it on the fire, and bring to boiling point, stirring well all the time. This is printers' varnish. Varnish is best made out of doors; it smells unpleasant in boiling, and there is less risk of fire out of doors. To make brown ink, add varnish to a powdered mixture of 2oz. of burnt umber and loz. of rose pink, and grind till smooth with a muller. Indian red and Venetian red, toned with a very little lampblack, also give browns.

A fine black ink may be made with 9 oz. of balsam of copaiba, 3oz. of lampblack, 1 1/2oz. of indigo or Prussian blue, or 3/4 oz. of each, 3/4 oz. of Indian red, and 3 oz. of dry turpentine soap. These are to be ground with the varnish till quite smooth with pestle and mortar or a muller and slab. For black varnish ink, 5 oz. of Prussian blue or indigo, or 2 1/2 oz. of each, 4 lb. of mineral lampblack, and 31/2 lb. of good lampblack, are mixed with warm varnish, and the whole is well ground on a slab with a muller.