April 3, 1903. 1 



SCIENCE. 



f)85 



venience to the worker is subserved. The 

 floor space covered by the table in many in- 

 stances is not utilized at all, except for the 

 work done upon the top of the table. 

 Lockers, when necessary, have been built 

 along the walls of the laboratory or in 

 the hallway or in an a,djoining room, thus 

 taking up space which might be profitably 

 utilized by wall cases containing specimens, 

 models or general apparatus bearing upon 

 the laboratory course. Students often pass 

 to and fro from table to locker, causing 

 more or less jar and vibration, especially 

 annoying if microscopical work is going on. 

 Such an arrangement is doubly inconven- 

 ient. It is annoying to the student to be 

 obliged to go from table to locker. It is 

 also annoying to his fellow workers to have 

 him do so. 



The combined lockers and table obviates 

 these disadvantages. Bach table contains 

 four lockers, and two students can work at 

 one table and have their apparatus right 

 at liand. Twelve tables will provide lock- 

 ers for forty-eight students, and twenty- 

 four students can work at the tables at 

 one time. 



The table would appear to be useful for 

 biological work in general, although in cer- 

 tain cases a proportionate change in dimen- 

 sions may be desirable. 



The cost of the combined locker-table is 

 less than the total cost of a table and four 

 lockers built separately. In lots of one 

 dozen, the combined locker-table, including 

 a combination lock for each locker, can be 

 built in red oak for fourteen dollars each, 

 or in chestnut for twelve dollars each. The 

 writer has used these tables for nearly two 

 years and has found them satisfactory in 

 every way. 



An Acid-proof Table Top: Pierre A. Fish, 

 Laboratory of Comparative Physiology 

 and Pharmacology, N. Y. State Veterin- 

 ary College, Ithaca, N. T. 



Three or four years ago the writer saw 

 in a pharmaceutical journal {Merck's Re- 

 port) a formula for a black finish for table 

 tops. The article did not give the author's 

 name nor the original source of the formula, 

 but stated that the method was 'used 

 abroad.' Further acknowledgment can 

 not, therefore, be made. The formula was 

 as follows : 



1. 



Copper sulphate 1 part. 



Potaasium chlorate 1 " 



Water 8 parts. 



Boiled until salts are dissolved. 



2. 



Aniline hydrochlorate 3 parts. 



Water 20 " 



Or if more readily procurable: 



Aniline 6 " 



Hydrochloric acid 9 " 



Water 50 " 



By the use of a brush two coats of solu- 

 tion No. 1 are applied while hot, the second 

 coat as soon as the first is dry; then two 

 coats of solution No. 2, and the wood 

 allowed to dry thoroughly. Later a coat 

 of raw linseed oil is to be applied, using 

 a cloth instead of a brush in order to get 

 a thinner coat of the oil. 



The writer used this method upon some 

 old laboratory tables which had been fin- 

 ished in the usual way, the wood having 

 been filled, oiled and varnished. After 

 scraping off the finish down to the wood 

 the solutions were applied, and the result 

 was very satisfactory. 



After some experimentation the formula 

 was modified without materially affecting 

 the cost and apparently increasing the re- 

 sistance of the wood to the action of strong 

 acids and alkalies. The modified formula 

 follows : 



1. 



Iron sulphate 4 parts. 



Copper sulphate 4 " 



Potassium j^ermanganate 8 " 



Water q. s. 100 " 



