The late Rembrandt Peale gave me an excellent receipt to prepare canvas. Prepare, in a sauce-pan, paste in the usual way; first subdue all the lumps of flour that may be in the mixture. Place the pan on the fire, and the instant it begins to boil take it off, and pour into it a small portion of Venice turpentine that has been warming by the fire, and stir up the mixture. The proportions are about a teacupful of turpentine of Venice to a full measure of a quart of paste. This mixture should at once be applied to the canvas while it is hot. When cold, the pumice stone should be employed to level the surface; after which, the paint intended for the ground should be put on with a brush and leveled with a spatula.,