The cheap varnishes which are the most abundant upon the market, and which are used for cheap furniture and houses, are made of rosin and not resin, or are resin varnishes adulterated with rosin. Most houses erected by speculative builders are finished with cheap rosin varnishes, but no architect should be guilty of specifying them, for he should know better than to attempt to save money by purchasing the poorer grades of varnishes, since the real cost of varnished work is in the labor rather than in the cost of the materials used. These cheap rosin varnishes cannot stand up under the sponge test, which is merely the application of a wet sponge to the surface overnight. The next morning the rosin varnish will be found to be white and dissolved down to the wood, and will never recover its appearance. Better grades of varnish may turn white under this sponge test, but upon drying return to their original color, but the finest grades of varnish will not be affected at all. The difference between these varnishes can also be observed by rubbing the thumb over the surface of such a fine varnish as is on a piano and noticing that no effect other than a higher polish is produced, while if the same rubbing is done on a cheap varnish, it will be crumbled off from the wood. Every one has seen the ugly surface cracks which develop with age in old doors or upon old church pews in musty churches of the dark ages of American architecture. In nearly all cases these cracks are due to cheap rosin varnishes. Before varnishing or painting any interior woodwork, it is important to observe all the preliminary precautions, or else failure may result, even though the work is conscientiously performed in the latter stages. One of these early precautions is to paint the back of all trim for doors and windows with some good linseed-oil paint, and apply a first coat of filler to the outside surface, and all this as soon as it arrives on the job. This is to prevent the wood from absorbing the dampness which is prevalent in all new buildings, and as most trim has been kiln-dried beyond ordinary requirements for construction work, it is very thirsty for water, and will soak it up quickly from the atmosphere. This trim should not be permitted to stand in the building overnight without the priming coat. As the first coat of filler is linseed-oil, there is not much excuse for not doing this, for it can be applied very rapidly. Of course where the wood is to be stained with an oil stain, the application of the linseed-oil before the stain is applied will prevent the proper penetration of the stain into the wood, and, as the architect generally insists upon seeing samples of the staining work before it is applied, the above precautions of protecting the wood as soon as it comes are often thrown to the winds.