First of the first, the diversitie of colours and their preparation. Colours are either simple or compounded, meerely tinctures of vegetables, or substances of minerals, or both: the simple colours are such as of themselves, being tempered with the water or oyle, doe give a colour. The compounded are such, whose ingredients do exceed the number of one. Vegetables are rootes, juces, berries, and such like things as grow out of the earth. Minerals are such as are dig'd out of the earth, as earth, and stones, &c. All which follow in order, as well their preparations, as description. First note that every colour to be ground, ought first to be ground with the gall of a neat: then let them dry of themselves in a cold place, afterwards grinde them with gumme water for your use. Now I am come to the second thing observable (to wit) the mixture and laying the colours on the grounds, which is thus: your colours prepared for use, ought to be tempered according unto direction, still observing a meane: and to that end, mixe them by little and little, till the colour please you; first you must lay on the ground colour, and let it dry throughly: then with a small pensill, pricke on the second colour, else it will be apt to run abroad, nor can you worke it so well, to make it seeme liuely, as you may by pricking it one, specially in small peeces. If you are to paint ouer maps, or printed pictures that haue writing in them, they use to lay on the thinnest colours, and alwaies before you lay any colours upon paper, wet the backe side of it with faire water, wherein store of Allum hath been dissolued, and let it dry of it selfe: after wet it againe, and let it dry: doe it the third time, for this will strengthen the paper, that the colour shall not sinke through it, and moreouer it will make the colour shew the brighter, and last, the better. _To make Gum water to temper your Colours with._ Take cleane water, and put into it of gum Arabicke a little, and let it stand untill the gumme be dissolued. Now you must haue a care that it be neither too thicke, by reason of the Gumme, nor yet too thin: for with the one you cannot worke well, and the other will not binde the colour fast. _A Purple colour._ Take two pound of Heidleber, two ounces of Allum, halfe an ounce of ashes of Copper, halfe a pound of water; put them into a Skillet, and let them boyle till a third be consumed: when it is cold, straine it into a cleane vessell, and let it stand a while, then straine it into another, and then let it stand till it be thicke enough. _A Crane Colour._ You must onely grinde blacke Lead with Gum water. _Browne Colour._ Take good browne, and grinde it with Gumme water: his false colour is made with two parts browne, and a third part white lead, sad it with the same browne. _Hayre Colour._