entirely free from brittleness may, it is said, be formed by
dissolving gum anime in old nut or poppy oil, which must be made to
boil gently when the gum is put into it. After being diluted with
turps the white ground may be applied in this varnish, and then a coat
or two of the varnish itself may be applied over it. These coats,
however, take a long time to dry, and, owing to its softer nature,
this japanned surface is more readily injured than that yielded by the
shellac varnish.

According to Mr. Dickson, "the old way of making a cream enamel for
stoving (a white was supposed to be impossible) was to mix ordinary
tub white lead with the polishing copal varnish and to add a modicum
of blue to neutralize the yellow tinge, stove same in about 170°F. and
then polish as before described". "This," continues Mr. Dickson,
"would at the best produce but a very pale blue enamel or a cream. It
was afterwards made with flake white or dry white lead ground in turps
only and mixed with the polishing copal varnish with the addition of
tints as required, by which means a white of any required character
could be produced."


BLUE JAPAN GROUNDS.

Authorities state that these may be formed from bright Prussian blue
or verditer glazed over with Prussian blue or of smalt. By bright
Prussian blue possibly a genuine Prussian blue toned down to a sky
blue with white lead is meant, and by verditer the variety known as
refiners' blue verditer, and as to smalt it must not be forgotten that
it changes its colour in artificial light. Be that as it may, the
pigment may be mixed with the shellac varnish according to the