Pour a little oak varnish stain into a small vessel, and brush the
leaves all over, using a hog’s-hair tool for the purpose of laying on
the stain, taking care to cover the edges, and brush it well out of the
veined parts; should the leaves, when dry, not be so dark as desired,
another coat can be given, but in no instance apply thick coats of
stain, it will, if put on thick, most likely dry darker in one place
than another, and will never have so smooth an appearance as when two
thin coats have been applied; take care always that one coat must be dry
before another is applied.