d hints I shall give,
any boy can readily and rapidly make a large series of excellent
pictures for his lantern, which will answer his purpose quite as well as
the most expensive bought slides.

This system has four great advantages: 1. Pictures can easily be traced
on the ground glass, and to those who, like myself, would find it
difficult to invent their own pictures, or to copy them, this counts for
a great deal. 2. The outline can be made very fine, but still very
distinct. 3. The paint will not take on the lead-marks; this renders it
much easier to prevent the color going over the edge of an outline.
4. It is also very much easier to paint on the slightly rough surface of
the ground glass.

There should be no difficulty in procuring this glass at any glazier's.
It need not be plate glass; ordinary ground glass will do, care being
taken to select that with a sufficiently fine and smooth surface, and
not too thick.

I have found _water_ colors for lantern slides the best for painting
with. They are very much easier to use than the _oil_ colors, and are
quite as transparent. Ordinary paints will not do, as some of them come
out perfectly opaque, but a box of the special paints can be procured
for a dollar. A camel's-hair brush, however, is of no use; you must have
a stiff sable brush. One No. 3 or No. 4 will be a handy size, and will
answer for all purposes, even for the finest lines.

In selecting subjects, use those where the outlines are clear and of a
size adapted to the usual sort of slides, which are invariably made now
three and a quarter inches square.

First rub a dozen ground glasses perfectly clean with a wash-leather
that has been washed in water in which a little soda has been dissolved,
to make it quite free from grease. During this cleaning process, the
surface of the glass can be sufficiently moistened by breathing on it.

Trace the entire series of outlines on the ground glasses with an H.H.H.
pencil, making the lines even lighter than the original, for it will be
found most convenient to have a number of slides, say a dozen, in
process at one time. Brush off any loose fragments of black lead, taking
care that they do not mark the glass.

You are now ready to proceed with the coloring, but, as you will wish to
be sure as you go on that you are keeping them sufficiently transparent,
it will be found to be a great help if you can always see through them,
even while painting them.

[Illustrat