or clove oil, or alcohol. A few drops of either is sufficient.
Right here, perhaps, it is as well as anywhere to state that " a few drops" has frequently proved a stumbling-block to beginners. They are often advised to add " a few drops " of this or that oil, or, to be very definite, " two drops" of one kind, or "five drops" of another. This may sound Very definite, but, as a matter of fact, is misleading.
A drop is very variable quantity. A drop poured from a bottle is rather more than it dropped from the point of a fine needle ; and this, in turn, is considerably less than if dropped from the blunt end of a brush handle, or even from the brush itself, if of large size.
Besides, the specific gravity of these different oils and the state of the weather must be considered. A drop of thick oil is larger in bulk and weight that a drop of lavender-oil is or spirits of turpentine, and both are larger when cold than warm. It is therefore a somewhat relative term among china-painters, to indicate a very small quantity, rather than to be taken literally, as in medicine, where it is so necessary to be accurate that it is regulated, and the dropper for correct measurement accompanies the bottle.
If one intend to do constant work, a brush washer will be very desirable,
