Sentence:  Oil was also used for making varnish, by dissolving <WSD>sandarac</WSD> in it, and as the 'vernysshe' which appears so frequently in accounts was always bought by the pound, the term was evidently applied to the <WSD>sandarac</WSD>, or other similar resinous substance. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A white or yellow resin obtained from a north African tree "Tetraclinis articulata"), and pulverized for pounce; probably so called from a resemblance to the mineral.