t to note how, as soon as violinists were ready
for a perfect bow, Francois Tourte appeared on the scene and provided
the much desired article. How he experimentalized on common
sugar-barrel wood I have already set down in its proper place. This
was, of course, to gain proficiency in the use of his new tools. In
his search after a wood that should contain the essential qualities
of strength, lightness and spring, he made bows of many kinds of
wood, but was not satisfied until he tried the red wood imported for
dyeing purposes from Pernambuco. I am afraid there are few who
reflect on the significance of the fact that the exact wood required
_did_ actually exist. Formerly the bow-maker had to buy the wood in
the rough state just as shipped over, and then would begin the weary
work of selecting those pieces suitable for his purpose. As a matter
of fact they are few and far between, for this wood is particularly
full of twists, knots and splits. Now this is done for him by firms
who buy the raw material, select that with the desired straight grain
and cut it into square rods ready for the craftsmen to work up into
bows. A few years ago bow makers demanded very dense wood under the
impression that it would be advantageous to have them as slender as
possible, for the denser the wood the thinner must be the stick to
preserve a normal weight. The fallacy of this method, however, soon
made itself apparent, for, though you may thin down a stick _ad
libitum_, the head _must_ be a certain height and breadth,
consequently these bows were all more or less top heavy. A much
lighter variety of wood therefore is now being used, and I must say
the appearance of some recent bows by our best English makers is
extremely fine; there is a greater sense of proportion apparent to
the eye as well as to the hand.

Some of the cheap German and French trade bows are made of what the
dealers call Brazilette wood, a wood somewhat allied to the true
Brazil wood, but totally lacking in spring or firmness. I wonder
whether violinists often realise when they take up a bow how many
remote parts of the earth have contributed to this little magic wand!
Wood from the West, ivory from the East, mother-of-pearl from the
sea, gold or silver from Eastern, Western, or, it may be, Antipodean
mines; and, when we add thereto the hair from the horse's tail, we
levy a tax upon the three kingdoms, vegetable, animal and mineral, to
minister to our enjoyment.

As much