THE gray color of most of the inks found on documents written in the sixteenth century is a noteworthy fact. Whence its cause is a matter for considerable speculation. The majority of these inks unquestionably belong to the "gall" class and if prepared after the formulas utilized in preceding centuries should indicate like color phenomena. As these same peculiarities exist on both paper, vellum and parchment, it cannot be attributed to their use. Investigations in many instances of the writings indicate the exercise of a more rapid pen movement and a consequent employment of inks of greater fluidity than those of an earlier history. Such fluidity could only be obtained by a reduction of the quantity of gummy vehicles together with an increase of ink acidity. The acids which had theretofore been more or less introduced into inks, except oxalic acid, could not effect such results. Consequently, as the monuments of this gray ink phenomena are to be found belonging to all the portions of the Christian world, with a uniformity that is certainly remarkable, it becomes a fair deduction to assume that the making of inks bad passed into the hands of regular manufacturers who adulterated them with "added" color. We can well believe that the influences which the fathers of the Church exerted during the thousand years known as the "Dark Ages," in respect to ink and kindred subjects, must have been very great. That they endeavored to perpetuate for the benefit of succeeding generations in book and other forms, this kind of information, which they distributed throughout the world we know to be true. Most of these sources of ink information, however, gradually disappeared as constituting a series of sad events in the unhappy war which followed their preparation. The Reformation began in Germany in the first quarter of the sixteenth century, and with it the eighty years of continual religious warfare which followed. During this period the priceless MSS. books of information, historical, literary and otherwise, contained in the monastic libraries outside of Italy were burnt. We are told: