Other Materials for Writing.—­Quills and other Pens.—­Any feather that is large enough, can be at once made into a good writing-quill.  It has only to be dipped in hot sand, which causes the membrane inside the quill to shrivel up, and the outside membrane to split and peel off:  a few instants are sufficient to do this.  The proper temperature of the sand is about 340 degrees.  The operation may be repeated with advantage two or three times.  Reeds are in universal use throughout the East for writing with ink.  Flat fish-bones make decent pens.

Pencil.—­Lead pencils were literally made of the metal lead in former days; and there are some parts of the world, as in Arabia, where they are still to be met with.  A piece of lead may be cast into a serviceable shape in the method described under “Lead,” and will make a legible mark upon ordinary paper.  Lead is the best material for writing in note-books of “Prepared Paper) (which see).  A better sort of pencil for general use is made by sawing charcoal into narrow strips, and laying them in melted wax to drench for a couple of days, they are then ready for use.

Paint brushes.—­Wash the bit of tail or skin, whence the hair is to be taken, in ox-gall, till it is quite free from grease.  Then snip off the hairs close to the skin, put them points downwards resting in a box, and pick out the long hairs.  After a sufficient quantity have been obtained of about the same length, a piece of string is knotted tightly round them, and pulled firm with the aid of two sticks.  Then a quill, that has been soaked in water for a day in order to soften it, is taken, and the pinch of hair is put into the large end of the quill, points forward, and pushed right through to the other end with a bit of stick, and so the brush is made.  The chinese paint-brush is a feather—­a woodcock’s feather is often used.  Feather, like hairs, must be washed in ox-gall.

Ink.—­Excellent writing-ink may be made in the bush.  The readiest way of making it is to blacken sticks in the fire and to rub them well in a spoonful of milk till the milk becomes quite black.  Gunpowder or lamp-soot will do as well as the burnt stick; and water, with the addition of a very little gum, glue, or fish-glue (isinglass) is better than the milk, as it will not so soon turn sour.  Indian ink is simply lamp-soot and some kind of glue:  it is one of the best of inks.  If pure water be used, instead of gum or glue and water, the writing will rub out very easily when dry, the use of the milk, gum, or glue being to fix it:  anything else that is glutinous will serve as well as these.  Strong coffee, and many other vegetable products, such as the bark of trees boiled in water, make a mark which is very legible and will not rub.  Blood is an indifferent substitute for ink.  To make 12 gallons of good common writing-ink, use 12 lbs. of nut-galls, 5 lbs. of green sulphate of iron, 5 lbs. of gum, and 12 gallons of water. (Ure.)