ON  THE  PRESERVATION  OF  VIOLINS,


There  is  no  doubt  that  a  certain  class  of
violin  players  pay  very  little  attention  to  the
care  of  their  instruments,  as  they  use  them
daily,  and  few  have  time  to  bestow  the  neces-
sary attention  upon  them.  If  a  violin  is  out
of  order,  a  musician  or  amateur  who  knows
nothing  about  it  continues  to  play  upon  it.
At  length  he  perceives  that  the  tone  is  not
the  same  as  it  was  before.  Many,  therefore,
often  lay  the  blame  on  the  repairer,  or  on  the
violin  maker,  if  it  is  a  new  instrument.  It  is
therefore  desirable  that  players  should  always
pay  attention  to  their  instruments  and  exam-
ine them  whenever  they  intend  to  use  them,
to  see  whether  everything  is  in  order  ;  that
the  neck  has  not  sunk  a  little  to  the  front,
causing  the  finger  board  to  lie  deeper  on  the
top  and  the  strings  to  lie  somewhat  too  high.
Such  deviations  will  occur,  particularly  when
the  top  is  very  much  vaulted,  as  well  as  by
change  of  weather  or  climate.
As  soon  as  the  weather  becomes  moist  it  is


PROGRESS  IN   VIOLIN    MAKING.  53

advisable  to  keep  a  violin  in  a  box  ;  when
the  weather  is  fine  it  should  be  taken  out  of
the  box  for  a  time  every  day  ;  and  even  if  it  is
a  very  old  violin  it  is  not  good  to  keep  it
always  locked  up.  A  violin  should  never  lie
on  a  floor,  whether  in  a  box  or  not,  but  should
always  be  kept  on  an  elevated  place  and  in  a
moderately  warm  temperature.
