_A Varnish Polish._--Take 10 oz. gum shellac, 1 oz. gum sandarach, 1 drachm Venice turpentine, 1 gall. alcohol. Put the mixture into a jug for a day or two, shaking occasionally. When dissolved it is ready for use. Apply a few coats. Polish by rubbing smooth.
For the commonest kind of work in black walnut a very cheap polish can be made in the following manner: Take 1 gall. of turpentine, 2 lb. pulverised asphaltum, 1 qt. boiled linseed-oil, 2 oz. Venetian red. Put the mixture in a warm place and shake occasionally. When it is dissolved, strain and apply to the wood with a stiff brush. Rub well with cloth when dry. Then take 1 pt. of thin shellac, 1/2 pt. boiled linseed-oil. Shake it well before using. Apply with cloth, rubbing briskly, and you will have a fine polish.
_With Copal or Zanzibar Varnish._--As a substitute for filling, the wood may receive one coat of native coal-oil, thinned with benzine-spirits; then apply one coat of shellac, and follow with varnish, as desired. The time is not far distant when manufacturers must and will use varnish for the finishing of all kinds of furniture on account of the high price of shellac. Furniture finished in the last-named method may be rubbed with either water or oil. Water has a tendency to harden varnish, while oil softens it. If water is used there will be a saving of oil and rags. In the other case shellac, when rubbed with oil, should be cleaned with japan. This removes the greasy and cloudy appearance which is left after the rubbing with oil, and the work will have a clean, dry, and brighter appearance than otherwise.
We suggest another idea for finishing black walnut for a cheap or a medium class of work. In the first place, fill the pores of the wood, and apply one thin coat of shellac to hold the filling in the pores of the wood. Let this stand one day; sand-paper down with fine paper, then with a brush apply a coat of coach japan. Rub well, and clean off with rags. Let this stand one day to dry, then, with some sand-paper that has been used before, take off the moats from the japan. Go over the whole surface with a soft rag saturated with japan; wipe and clean off carefully, and the job is finished. This, though a cheap finish, is a good one for this class of work.