Common mastic varnish

—Put as much gum mastic, unpicked, into the gum-pot as may be required, and to every 2 3 ⁄ 4 pounds of gum pour in 1 gallon of cold turpentine; set the pot over a very moderate fire, and stir it with the stirrer; be careful, when the steam of the turpentine rises near the mouth of the pot, to cover it with the carpet, and carry it out of doors, as the vapour is very apt to catch fire. A few minutes’ low heat will perfectly di olve 8 pounds of gum, which will, with 4 gallons of turpentine, produce, when strained, 4 1 ⁄ 2 gallons of varnish; to which add, while yet hot, 5 pints of pale turpentine varnish, which improves the body and hardne of the mastic varnish. Crystal varnish , may be made either in the varnish-house, drawing-room, or parlour. Procure a bottle of Canada balsam, which can be had at any druggist’s; draw out the cork, and set the bottle of balsam at a little distance from the fire, turning it round several times, until the heat has thinned it; then have something that will hold as much as double the quantity of balsam; carry the balsam from the fire, and, while fluid, mix it with the same quantity of good turpentine, and shake them together until they are well incorporated: in a few days the varnish is fit for use, particularly if it is poured into a half-gallon gla or stone bottle, and kept in a gentle warmth. This varnish is used for maps, prints, charts, drawings, paper ornaments, .; and when made upon a larger scale, requires only warming the balsam to mix with the turpentine.