lose their elasticity and are soon spoiled; but if this preservative principle is ever neglected, the hardened brush should be soaked in methylated spirit, and if wanted for immediate use the spirit will soften the varnish quicker if made luke-warm.  The spirit should be gently pressed out by the finger and thumb.  All varnish brushes when not in use should be hung up, or kept in such a position that they do not rest upon their hairy ends, either in a box or tin free from dust.

=Mode of Operation.=—­It is usual in varnishing to give the work three coats, and always allow each coat to dry thoroughly before applying the next.  It should be noted that spirit varnishes begin to dry immediately they are laid on; therefore, on no account should they be touched with the brush again whilst wet, or when dry they will present a rough surface.  Always ply the brush quickly, and never go over a second time.  When giving the first or second coats it is unimportant how they are applied, whether across the grain or with the grain, but the finishing coat should always be with the grain.  If the varnish should appear frothy when laid on, it is of no consequence, as it will dry smooth if equally and evenly applied before a good fire or in a warm atmosphere.

Coloured varnishes can be made in exactly the same manner as coloured polishes (see page 6).  The beautiful glossy black varnishes so admired on Indian cabinet-work, specimens of which can be seen at the Indian Museum, are very difficult to obtain in England, but a description of them may be interesting.

=East Indian Varnishes.=—­The Sylhet varnish is composed of two parts of the juice of the bhela (the tree which bears the marking nuts of India), and one part of the juice of the jowar.  The articles varnished with it at Sylhet are of the most beautiful glossy black; and it seems equally fitted for varnishing iron, leather, paper, wood, or stone.  It has a sort of whitish-grey colour when first taken out of the bottle, but in a few minutes it becomes perfectly black by exposure to the air.  In the temperature of this country it is too thick to be laid on alone; but it may be rendered more fluid by heat.  In this case, however, it is clammy, and seems to dry very slowly.  When diluted with spirits of turpentine, it dries more quickly; but still with less rapidity than is desirable.

The tsitsi, or Rangoon varnish, is less known than the Sylhet varnish.  It is probably made from the juice of the bhela alone.  It appears to have the same general properties as the Sylhet varnish, but dries more rapidly.  The varnish from the kheeso, or varnish-tree, may be the same as the Rangoon varnish, but is at present considered to be very different.  The kheeso grows particularly in Kubboo, a valley on the banks of the Ningtee, between Munnipore and the Burman empire.  It attains to such a large size, that it affords planks upwards of three feet in breadth, and in appearance and grain is very like mahogany.  A similar tree is found in great abundance and perfection at Martaban.