A stamp is a tender, delicate thing--especially if "chalky"--and should be handled as little as possible, whether common, scarce, or rare; in fact, the old Latin proverb, _Maxima debetur pueris reverentia_, might well be parodied, if one knew the Latin for stamps. Care, coolness (physical), and cleanliness are necessary attributes of the ideal collector, and even he would do well to use tweezers instead of fingers; but if he must use a finger, let him interpose a piece of tissue or blotting paper between it and the stamp. The best peelable mounts are good; but the ideal mount which, once affixed to the back of the stamp, need never be removed therefrom has yet to be manufactured. I will hand on a suggestion for the ideal mount, a little troublesome to adopt in the first instance, but which well repays a little extra initial trouble in the preservation of the stamps, and which even saves trouble in the event of "removals." Imagine a mount, of standard size, and of very thin tough paper, manufactured from linen rags to give it a long fibre, to be sold ready folded, but gummed only on the upper part above the fold; this is fixed in the usual way to the stamp. Accompanying each mount are several narrow (say, ¹/₈ in.) slips of similar paper, gummed at the extreme ends, and as long as the mount is wide. Cut into the mount are two vertical slits--thin pieces punched out, not mere cuts--immediately below the fold, one about ³/₁₆ in. from each edge of the mount. Insert one of the narrow slips, so that the two gummed ends are at the back of, but away from, the mount; slightly moisten each of these gummed tips--instead of, as usual, the back of the mount--and fasten the stamp on the page of the album as if the hinge were of the ordinary make; the stamp will be fixed just as firmly as if the mount were fastened to the page by a square inch of gummed back. When it is desired to move the stamp, a snip with a pair of small scissors will sever the narrow slip where it crossed the upper side of the mount, which will then pull off from the two pieces. To remount use a fresh narrow slip. It sounds tedious, and the original mounting may take longer than usual, but a removal takes considerably less time than the ordinary remounting if the hinge has stuck firmly, and there is in any case absolutely no wear and tear of the stamp, risk of "skinning," "cockling" from moisture, or possible loss of gum. In fact, a permanent mount, secured by a movable slip, which can be renewed. This ideal mount answers wonderfully well, and should be tried by all who care for their stamps, and the slight extra cost and trouble should be more than repaid by the preservation of the stamp, even if the commonest "continental" ever printed: _it_ may, though it is no reason for treating it properly, some day be rare.