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Scan 294
Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883
4 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 280. See the scan on archive.org.
1have been adulterated with turps is to put a drop in the hollow of the hand, and rub in such a way as to heat it rapidly, when, if the latter oil is present, it will easily be detected by the smell. If the essence has been mixed with a fixed oil, a drop put on a piece of paper and exposed to a gentle heat, instead of evaporating entirely will leave a transparent spot on the paper the size of the drop deposited. If it has been mixed with alcohol, shake it up with water in a graduated vase; the liquid becomes milky, the water unites with the alcohol, and the oil occupies a smaller place in the tube. If it has been mixed with water, half fill a white glass phial and shake it vigorously, when the water will separate in the oil and fill it with little globules, which, without ceasing to be transparent, leave the oil opalescent instead of perfectly clear. If the essence has been mixed with resin, distil it, and the residue will be the added resin. This last process will also detect any fixed oil with which it may have been adulterated.
3Although it seemed pretty certain that the old violin makers often used these three essences in making their varnishes, they have such a persistent and strong odour that it was deemed preferable to try the essential oil of turpentine, and ascertain if the same results could be procured from it, as, being a more resinous and siccative vehicle, it would give more solidity to the varnish, and render it less soft and pulpy after drying. The experiment was, however, arrested at the outset by the circumstance that the essential oil of turpentine, recently rectified, does not mix with alcohol, even at 64deg., but renders the liquid turbid and opalescent, and very
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