nd flexible. The knife should balance nicely in the hand, and turn
freely in the fingers, so that you can paint with either face of the
blade with equal balance. It takes some care to pick out a good
trowel-knife, as a poor one is worse than none.

=The Scraper.=--You frequently need to scrape rough paint from a
canvas or a picture, and you need to scrape strongly to get a dirty
palette clean. You can use an old razor for the first purpose, or a
piece of broken glass, if you use it carefully, and any old knife can
be used to clean your palette. But a regular tool is better than
either. The scraper here shown is the best.

[Illustration: =The Scraper.=]

=The Oil-Cup.=--Do not use oils and vehicles very much. But when you
need them you must have something to keep them in, convenient to the
brush when working. It should have a spring to hold it on to the
palette, and of such form that the contents are not easily spilled by
the movement of the hand or the body when painting. The form here
illustrated is the best that has been brought out so far.

[Illustration: =The Oil-Cup.=]

=The Mahl-Stick.=--Sometimes you want to rest the hand when painting,
for steadiness. The "mahl-" or rest-stick has a ball on the end, which
one usually covers with a wad of rag, so that it can be placed against
the canvas without injury, and the hand rested on it. It is so light
that it can be held with the brushes in the palette hand, and stiff
enough to support the brush-hand.

[Illustration: =Mahl-Sticks.=]

=Sketching Adjuncts.=--Out-of-doors you must have a seat, and you
should have an umbrella. The best seat for a man, because it can be
folded into so small a space, is the three-legged stool. This is not
usually satisfactory for a woman, whose skirts tip it over. The better
seat for her is shown below. The back is not very firm, but it does
give support, and the whole is light and strong.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

The umbrella should be large and light, and one such as the
illustration, with a valve in the top to let the wind and hot air
through, will be found cooler and less easily blown over. You should
have some strong rings sewed on to it, so that you can fasten it from
four sides by strings, to keep it steady if the wind blows hard. The
umbrella should be of light-colored material, preferably white; but if
it is lined with black, the shade will be better, and give no false
glow to the color.

[Illustration]