power and watching for the exact degree of change in the colour with continued heat. There is very little to be said against it for small repairs, the degree of heat required for the desired tint is insufficient to damage the wood but enough to harden it, and if not too hastily done the colouring will go quite through.

Among other methods is tinting the wood by any of the various stains sold for the purpose. Few of them are of any good to the violin repairer, some choking the softer parts and leaving the harder ones or threads standing out lighter when they should be darker. Their colour, if it were not for this drawback, is sometimes good. Some of the manufacturers of new musical instruments on the continent lower the colour of the wood before varnishing by staining it with a solution of bichromate of potash. Sometimes when dexterously applied the colour is very good, but the stain is liable to make itself too evident in parts where the wood may be a little more spongy than at others. Most of the instruments treated in this way may be recognised at a glance, the curl of the maple is brought out strongly, in fact overdone. With small portions of wood for repairing this stain may, with much caution, be used to advantage. It has the property of throwing up the threads of the pine and the nutmeggy parts of the maple without impairing seriously the clearness of the grain under the varnish. The preparation of the solution is as follows—some pieces of bichromate of potash can be put into any ordinary bottle of a convenient size and water poured on to them. The water will take up a certain quantity in solution which will be too strong for the repairer's use; some of it, say a gill, can be put into an equal quantity of clear water, and then painted over the wood to be coloured down. There will not be any perceptible colouring for half-an-hour or so, but further exposure to good or strong sunlight will gradually bring about a change from the slight orange tint to the dull light brown approaching that produced by the slow secret process adopted by "Old Father Time." It must be kept in mind that bichromate of potash is a poison. There are other stains that will bring a good colour to the surface of the wood, but are likely to change colour when the varnish is applied. The whole work of careful restoration may thus be upset in a moment. All stains should be carefully and repeatedly tested before being applied to any work of importance. Some repairers use a hastily made solution of powdered colour such as burnt umber, and paint or rub it into the wood. This process is to be condemned as resulting in opaqueness and giving a tinkered aspect to the wood and work.

There are doubtless many substances or liquids capable of imparting a tint resembling that alone caused by age, but experience only will enable the repairer to decide which is best. It may be as well to point out that some tinting substances are more suitable for colouring wood of a dense quality than for a more open grained or spongy one. Much will depend on the judgment exercised and skill in matching tints. When it becomes absolutely necessary to use fresh white wood, this will require more colouring than an older piece, but a rather strange thing in connection with this is that if some of the varnish has been removed from the parts adjacent to the freshly inserted wood, the old material will require colouring down as well as the new, but not so much. This seems like some indication that varnish does get lowered in tint as age progresses; it may be, however, that the top surface of the wood gets darker than the under parts from the action of light.

The final touching up or finish of the newly inserted wood and its varnishing will have to remain over for the present, and will be taken up after the mechanical work is concluded.

Having thus far got to work upon a fractured or lost piece that may have been knocked off a projecting part of the scroll, there are other injuries likely to occur to this part of the instrument and caused in a variety of ways, some occasionally seeming mysterious in their origin. Thus from a weakness or flaw in the grain of the wood, or it may be from a blow having first started a crack and successive ones gradually increasing the fracture, the scroll itself will come away bodily, separating at the weakest part just behind the second turn. This is a delicate matter for manipulation. If the fracture is quite new, the raw surfaces uninjured and some properly prepared rather strong glue is handy, then an almost instant application of it to both surfaces and pressing them together, exactly fitting, will result in an effectual and lasting junction of the parts. But supposing the breakage to have occurred some time back and the parts to be separate and soiled, the difficulties are much increased, as in the majority of cases no purchase can be obtained whereby a good pressure can be directly applied. Cramps cannot be applied, therefore, with any degree of safety, even if a good grip can be obtained and with the safeguard of some padding, as the first is bound to injure the wood around, leaving an ugly imprint of the grip, and thus making things worse in appearance instead of better. The other is likely to be productive of slipping out of position, the hold not being retained, and vexatious results ensuing with the accompaniment occasionally of unprintable language coming from the repairer. The best way on all occasions will be found to be that in which patience is not taken as a virtue but as necessity, and the presence of Old Father Time altogether ignored, which may often mean time saved. Constant practice may give facility in keeping pace with that steady old party with the hourglass, but a good result is seldom obtained when the clock is much consulted during the progress of the work in hand. It is this which has caused the complete ruin of many a damaged gem from Cremona's workshops of the olden time. We will therefore suppose the repairer to be unfettered by time and that he will be properly paid for work that will tend to restore the commercial value, as well as the usefulness and beauty.

The main consideration will be the manner of getting a proper attachment of parts that cannot be wedged or forced together at once, in fact, to get a good purchase or leverage. This must be either obtained indirectly or dispensed with altogether. For the former, building up or "making," as it is termed, must be resorted to, and which may include temporarily glueing fresh wood on to the old parts to be separated or cut away afterwards. Many inexperienced repairers are too apt to look upon all glueing as for permanency, but practice should soon make it plain that all joinings are effected only for such length of time as may be desirable. In making or building up a part from which we can obtain a stand or commanding point from which to get a more direct purchase, it may be necessary to glue one or more pieces of wood, cut to a proper shape and stuck with a dab of thick glue and left until dry. For this purpose the soft white wood or poplar referred to at the beginning will be found useful, it is so easily cut with a chisel or knife keen edged—this condition is an essential at all times. By the bye, some readers may be thinking of the best means of getting a nice clean edge to their knife or chisel. There are several kinds of oilstone or hone in repute for giving a finishing or sharp cutting edge, England, America and the European continent supplying them, the "Chalney Forest" being the commonest known in England; the American "Arkansas" or "Washita" are expensive when very good, but there is nothing that can beat a well selected piece of "Turkey stone" with a nice even surface to begin with. For obtaining a clean cutting edge, a few drops of oil before rubbing will be sufficient. Olive or good mineral oil will do, the latter preferably as it gradually evaporates; whereas vegetable oils acquire a siccative property from contact with the minute particles of steel; the stone then gets clogged and unworkable till thoroughly cleansed. Mineral oil