ROSIN (Fr. Colophane), a preparation applied to the hair of the violin bow to give it the necessary ‘bite
’ upon the strings. Without some such agent, the horsehair would slip noiselessly over the catgut. Rosin is the residuarv gum of turpentine after distillation. The ordinary rosin of commerce is a coarse, hard substance, quite useless to the fiddler, for whom the rough material undergoes a process of refinement. The ancient English recipe was to boil rough rosin down in vinegar,...
