428 
The  staining  of  woods  may  be  considered  for  several  purposes: 
First,  to  preserve  the  wood ; second,  to  stain  common  woods  to 
imitate  superior  classes,  as  the  staining  of  common  oak  to  give  it 
the  appearance  of  antique  oak  or  as  golden  oak ; third,  staining 
to  add  uniformity  of  color  throughout  a piece  of  work.  Wood 
of  the  finest  quality,  no  matter  how  carefully  selected,  will  be  given 
some  staining  medium  when  it  passes  through  the  French  polish- 
er’s hands,  which  he  claims  is  done  to  bring  out  the  beauty  of  the 
grain. 
Staining  has  become  very  popular  for  house  furnishings  of  late 
years  on  account  of  its  cheapness  and  the  fact  that  it  does  not  de- 
stroy the  natural  beauty  of  the  wood.  It  is  less  expensive  to 
keep  woodwork  fresh  and  clean,  when  stained,  than  it  would  be 
to  apply  successive  coats  of  paint  and  varnish. 
Stain  may  be  applied  as  an  opaque  coating  on  roofs  and  the 
exterior  walls  of  houses,  and  again  it  may  be  applied  as  a thin 
wash,  giving  color  to  some  depth,  but  leaving  visible  the  char- 
acter of  the  wood. 
Some  years  ago,  wood  finishers  used  a great  many  vegetable 
dyes  for  coloring  wood  and  when  a dry  pigment  was  applied  water 
was  usually  the  vehicle  used  to  carry  it  into  the  wood,  but  tur- 
pentine, alcohol  or  an  oil  has  been  found  to  be  better,  as  it  does 
not  raise  the  grain  of  the  wood.  If  the  liquid  used  as  a vehicle 
to  carry  the  color  pigment  into  the  work  is  a good  wood  preserva- 
tive, the  stain  will  have  double  value,  i.  e.,  to  give  color  and  to 
preserve.  Boiled  oil  is  highly  recommended  as  such  a liquid.  A 
very  good  stain  is  composed  of  two  parts  of  turpentine,  one 
part  of  boiled  linseed  oil  and  a little  Japan  drier,  these  added  to 
the  color  pigment  that  is  selected,  Venetian  red,  burnt  sienna, 
vandyke  brown  or  crome  green  or  some  other  color.  In  such  a 
stain  the  oil  gums  the  pigment,  the  turpentine  keeps  it  thin  until 
deposited  in  the  proper  place  and  then  evaporates,  and  the  drier 
helps  to  set  the  mixture. 
I am  told  that  many  stains  sold  ready  for  use  contain  car- 
bolinium,  kerosene  and  various  other  oils  that  act  as  wood  preserva- 
tives ; denatured  alcohol  is  also  much  used  of  late.  Most  of  these 
^re  cheap  and  reliable.  One  gallon  of  liquid  stain  will  cover 
about  a hundred  square  feet,  and  after  buying  a few  small  sample 
bottles  and  finding  a suitable  one,  you  can  usually  rely  upon 
getting  a further  supply  to  match.  It  is  a good  plan,  and  often 
saves  much  disappointment,  if,  before  staining,  a few  small  pieces 
of  wood  are  experimented  with  till  the  required  result  is  obtained. 
‘'Aniline'’  dyes  may  be  usefully  employed  on  wood  for  self 
colors  only — as  distinct  from  various  imitations  of  woods.  Their 
introduction  a few  years  ago,  I am  told,  produced  a disastrous 
effect  on  the  old  vegetable  dye  market,  nevertheless  many  of  the 
vegetable  stains  are  exceedingly  useful. 
Logwood  stain,  made  from  boiling  the  chips  of  the  logwood 
tree  (Haematoxylon)  is  still  a much  used  vegetable  stain.  This 
