Before re-varnishing, the chairs should be washed with soda water - a teacup-ful of soda dissolved in 1 gal. of warm water. I se a good quality spirit varnish. The more shellac the harder the varnish; soft gums, as elemi, thus, or Venice tur-p 'iitine, should be discarded. For mahogany or stained chairs use garnet or button lac in preference to shellac; for light or birch chairs, use lemon shellac. A good useful varnish consists of button lac 4oz., resin 2oz., benzoin 2 oz., and methylated spirit 1 pt. Carefully strain before use; keep corked when stored away; apply with camel-hair brush. One pennyworth of Bisma ivk brown to 1 pt. of varnish will impart a rich red tone, though the better plan would be to colour all light places with equal parts of varnish and spirit strongly tinged with red, then finish with clear varnish.

Such chairs are generally made of birch; the commonest kinds are brushed over with glue size stained with Venetian red, then varnished with common varnish heavily stained. The better kinds are stained with burnt sienna and size or stale beer, then bodied up with red polish and varnished. One pennyworth of Bismarck brown, added to 1 pt. of varnish, imparts a powerful red tone. Shellac 4oz., resin 2oz., benzoin2oz., and methylated spirit lpt., make a useful varnish. Carefully strain. If the varnish is not thick enough, add more shellac; if it is too thick, add more spirit. Apply with a camel-hair brush.