f 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.

We give one more method of finishing black walnut, that is, with boiled
linseed-oil only, and there is no other way of obtaining a genuine
oil-finish. Sand-paper the wood down smoothly; apply a coat of boiled
linseed-oil over the whole surface; sand-paper well, and clean up dry
with rags; let it stand one day to dry, then apply one more coat of oil;
rub well in with rags, but do not use sand-paper on this coat. Apply
three, four, or more coats in the same way. When the work h