When, therefore, an old piece of furniture has a surface which requires attention, it is advisable to eschew all very dark stains or thick varnishes. The latter may be necessary to protect very wide expanses of oak, as in pulpits, pews, and screens of churches, where funds will not permit of close and patient attention; but beeswax and turpentine, with vigorous friction, is the proper prescription for chests and chairs.

For table tops upon which a higher polish is desired, an excellent plan is to wrap a brick in several thicknesses of flannel, and with it rub the surface after applying a few drops of linseed oil. Very little of the oil is required, and that little should be dried off with a rag before the polishing process is commenced. In the latter, not in copious doses of oil, lies the secret of success. This is a good method for the walnut veneered furniture of the Queen Anne period. When it looks impoverished or bleached a very slight rubbing down with fine sandpaper takes off all surface roughness, and the linseed oil and rubbing will bring it to a condition more durable than that of the best French polishing. That treatment, indeed, is not calculated to withstand the damp from wine or water overset. The flannel, of course, without the brick may be used to polish small surfaces.

When a great amount of beeswax and turpentine has been rubbed in with the assiduity of perhaps generations of housewives, oak furniture takes too brown and treacly a hue, and a too brilliant polish. This is not the ideal; it is possible to be too energetic in polishing furniture, so as to produce a horny surface - a 'patina' too thick, so that what is seen is wood behind a veil of treacly brown. Potash will take it off and allow the process to be recommenced with greater caution, but some time will have elapsed before the oak has again reached a satisfactory condition, i.e. when it is neither impoverished nor over-daubed.

A great deal of oak, especially panelling, has been painted white in the eighteenth century. When this is cleaned off by potash and scraping, there will generally remain traces of paint in the cracks of the diagonal or 'silver grain.' They are, if not too apparent, not very objectionable, and at any rate give a certain amount of evidence of authenticity. Only the time and trouble, however, are reasons why a forger should not first paint his sham oak and then take the pigment off again. But if, as is usual, the fraud will pass muster with the incautious without such treatment, it is not likely that it will be often found to have been so handled.

Potash has a strong bleaching effect which beeswax and turpentine would take some time to reduce. Some kind of a stain, such as liquid ammonia, Vandyke brown, and powder black in water might be required. In this case it would be better to put the matter into the hands of a cabinetmaker accustomed to old furniture, as a considerable amount of further treatment would be necessary. The following recipe will show the tedious-ness of the process: 'Carefully dress the surface with the stain (it all depends upon the care), using a sponge, and softening with a soft brush. Let it dry; then oil with linseed oil. Then I find useful, to fix the stain and get a "body," a coat of good brush polish. When dry, go to work with a good pad of felt and a piece of Russian or other good tallow or fat. When the polish is well worked down to a gloss, rub again with a piece of flannel till no trace of grease is left Then it is ready for the beeswax and turpentine, as long as you like.' It will be seen, as the author of the recipe remarks, that this is not exactly a quick process, and moreover it requires considerable judgment of colour in mixing the stain, besides unlimited patience. 'Brush polish' is shellac dissolved in wood naphtha (the basis of all French polishes) and thickened with powdered resin.

The brush used should be a good camel's hair 'mop' or large-sized brush, and the polish should be lightly stroked as it is drying till it begins to 'pull,' to ensure a satisfactory surface.