II. Saturation.
The experiments made with bi-chloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate) and methylated spirits of wine were not so successful as by vaporization, on account of the woodwork when dry (after having been saturated with the solution) having a varnished appearance.
No experiment as to the effect of saturation in a solution of corrosive sublimate in water was made: 1st, because of the great risk to delicate carvings or pieces of furniture by their immersion in water, or the bringing up of the grain of the wood by treatment with a brush; and 2nd, because the vaporization by benzine appeared to be quite sufficient to destroy the larvæ.
Before terminating this chapter, we trust a few words about carvers and carvings will not be out of place.
There are two kinds of carvers, the house carvers and the ship carvers; the former are used to flat and square surfaces, the latter to the rake or fay, as was the old term.
About the period of Louis XIV. Malines was remarkable for its wood carvers, and the inhabitants might be seen sitting at their doors in the streets, plying their art in the same manner as now in many of the German and Swiss towns. Many works of art and decoration of Flemish origin are still preserved in England;[39] the works of Flemish carvers in wood were in great esteem, and there are numerous fine examples in the churches of Norfolk, and other parts of England which may be regarded as their productions. Evelyn remarked that Gibbons came from the Low Countries.
Grinling Gibbons created a school of carvers in England, and adopted a style and manner in building up his fruit and flowers to produce a grand effect. He chose but very few varieties of these out of his own garden, and it is wonderful how he varied and played with those few. He originated a peculiar description of light interlacing scroll-work, which is to be met with in his best works; no one has successfully attempted to carry it on since his time. There are several examples at Belton, and in the chapel and state rooms at Chatsworth, in the fine trophies at Kirthington Park; but the upper part of the reredos of St. James’s, Piccadilly, is a marvellous specimen.[40] The horizontal bands on the great organ in St. Paul’s Cathedral are the perfection of this character of foliated scroll-work.[41]
Gibbons’ carvings have a loose freedom about them. At Chatsworth he educated his workmen, who partook of his inspiration. There is a great deal of his work scattered over the rooms, great hall, and staircase of Lyme Hall, near Disley, which was erected under the direction of Sir C. Wren. It was executed by the persons who were employed at Chatsworth, and took nine years to complete.
At Blenheim there are some fine specimens of Chippendale’s work, but what it all means is a mystery. Such a mixture of scraggy birds, and flowers cut into shreds, pagodas, and rustic waterfalls—all this fine workmanship employed to produce nothing but an incongruous whole of absurd objects. There is a leading line in all these works, indicating what the old carvers used to call the C and G style; because if you attempt to draw it, it will resolve itself into these two letters. There is also the S and G style.
Abolish painting and we shall again have some fine house carvers.
We have already given the conclusions at which the Commission appointed by the Department of Science and Art arrived, as to the prevention of decay or attack by these insects, and will now conclude this chapter by quoting Dean Swift’s recipe for getting rid of the Anobium or Death watch:—
“But a kettle of scalding hot water injected,
Infallibly cures the timber affected;
The omen is broken, the danger is over,
The maggot will die, the sick will recover.”
CHAPTER X.
SUMMARY OF CURATIVE PROCESSES.
The following summary of the most approved formula for preventing and curing the evils of rot is prepared from the works of Tredgold and Wylson; some other more modern receipts have been added from ‘The Builder,’ ‘Architect,’ ‘Building News,’ and other professional periodical publications. Discretion in their use is recommended, and in serious cases we decidedly recommend consulting a professional man who is well acquainted with the subject.