67 



NOTE ON EBONISING LABORATORY TABLES. 



By W. J. Wood, F.R.M.S. 



{Read October lWt, 1003.) 



In the latter part of 1902 and the early part of this year, I fitted 

 out two vessels for the International Sea Fisheries Investigation. 

 The two steamships Huxley and Goldseeker are trawlers specially 

 fitted up for biological and hydrographical research, the Huxley 

 under the management of the Marine Biological Association, 

 with Mr. Garstang as naturalist-in-charge, and the Goldseeker 

 under the Scottish Fishery Board, Professor D'Arcy W. Thompson 

 conducting the scientific work. While fitting out the Goldseeker, 

 Professor Thompson sent me directions for ebonising the labora- 

 tory tables on this ship. The method was so successful that 1 

 have since ebonised my own microscope work-table at home, and 

 I understand that Mr. Garstang has had the laboratory tables at 

 the Huxley's headquarters, Lowestoft, treated in the same 

 manner. I thought that perhaps this method of treating tables 

 for micro and chemical work would be useful to some of our 

 members, and have pleasure therefore in sending the recipe for 

 publication. My own table-top is of plain teak, and the labora- 

 tory tables of the Goldseeker are yellow pine. Any kind of wood 

 seems to take the stain. 



(a) 250 grams of aniline chloride in one litre of water. This 

 solution is applied to the wood every day for two or three days. 

 It must be thoroughly dry before each application. 



(b) 125 grams of copper sulphate dissolved in 80 grams of 

 boiling water, and 125 grams of potassic chlorate dissolved by 

 boiling with about 250 grams of water. These solutions are 



