Japanning, as it is generally understood in Great Britain, is the art ofcovering paper, wood, or metal with a more or less thick coating ofbrilliant varnish, and hardening the same by baking it in an oven at asuitable heat. It originated in Japan—hence its name—where the nativesuse a natural varnish or lacquer which flows from a certain kind of tree,and which on its issuing from the plant is of a creamy tint, but becomesblack on exposure to the air. It is mainly with the application of "japan"to metallic surfaces that we are concerned in these pages.