THE YOUNG SCIENTIST 
77 
i "Washington. (The data for this occultation are 
taken from the "American Nautical Ephe- 
meris," and Washington mean time is given.) 
i The star contacts the Moon's eastern Umb at 
i lOh. 56m. evening, remains beliind tlie Moon 
I Ih. 6m., and emerges at her western Imib at 
Oh. 3m. morning of the 4th. 
Date. 
May 1. 
" 6. 
" 9. 
" 11. 
" 17. 
" 20. 
" 24. 
" 25. 
" 27. 
" 27. 
" 28. 
" 29. 
VARIABLE STARS. 
S Cancei— Minima : 
May 8— lOh. 15m. evening. 
" 27— 9h. 33m. 
Delta LiBE^E— Minima : 
May 15— 3h. 6m. morning. 
" 22— 2h.41m. 
" 29— 2h. 15m. 
U CoEONA— Minima : 
May 2— 5h. 33m. morning. 
" 9— 3h. 16m. " 
" 16— Oh. 59m. " 
" 22— lOh. ilm. evening. 
" 29— 8h. 24:m. evening. 
The above phenomena are all visible, occur- 
ring while the star is above the horizon. 
Fenn Yan, N. Y. 
Ebonized Wood Furniture. 
There are two kinds of black stains for wood. 
Pirst, the ordinary black stain for different 
kinds of wood. Second, the black ebony stain 
for certain woods which approach nearer to 
ebony in hardness and weight. The ordinary 
black wood stain is obtained by boiling together 
blue Brazil wood, powdered gall apples, and 
alum, in soft water until it becomes black. This 
liquid is then filtered, and the objects painted 
with a new brush before the decoction has 
cooled, and this repeated until the wood ap- 
pears of a fine black color ; it is then coated with 
the following liquid :— A mixture of iron filings, 
vitriol, and vinegar is heated (without boiling), 
and left a few days to settle. If the wood is 
black enough, yet for the sake of durability it 
must be further coated with a solution of alum 
and nitric acid, mixed with a little verdigris, 
then a decoction of gall apples and logwood 
dyes are used to give it a deep black Soft pear- 
wood is preferable to all others for black stain- 
ing. For the fine black ebony stain, apple, pear, 
Change of 
Magnitude. 
7.5 to 12 
7 to 13 
4.5 to 5.5 
7 to(?) 
6 to 13 
8 to 10 
2 to 12 
8.9 to 11.12 
8 to 12 
7.5 to 12.5 
11 to 13.5 
9 to 14.5 ' 
and hazel wood are the best woods to use ; when 
stained black, they are most complete imita- 
tions of the natural ebony. For the stain take- 
gall apple, 14 oz. ; rasped logwood, 3| oz. ; vitriol, 
1| oz.; verdigris, 1| oz. For the second coating 
a mixture of iron filings (pure) 3Joz., dissolved in 
strong wine vinegar, 3 of a litre (IJ pint nearly), 
is warmed, and when cool the wood already 
blackened is coated two or three times with it,^ 
allowing it to dry between each coat. For arti- 
cles which are to be thoroughly saturated, a 
mixture of 1| oz. of sal ammoniac, with a suffi- 
cient quantity of steel filings, is to be placed in 
a suitable vessel, strong vinegar poured upon 
it, and left for fourteen days in a gently heated 
oven. A strong lye is now put into a suitable 
pot, to which is added coarsely-bruised gall 
apples and blue Brazil shavings, and exposed 
for the same time as the former to the gentle 
heat of an oven, which will then yield a good 
liquid. The woods are now laid in the first- 
named stain, boiled for a few hours, and left in 
it for three days longer ; they are then placed 
in the second stain and treated as in the first. 
If the articles are not then thoroughly saturated, 
they may be once more placed in the first bath, 
and then in the second. The polish used for wood 
that is stained black should be " white " (color- 
less) polish, to which a very little finely-ground 
Prussian blue should be added.— i2. Pearson. 
— Ice is now being manufactured in Ten- 
nessee, Georgia and other Southern States, at 
one cent per pound. 
LONG PEEIOD VAEIABLES. 
Period in 
Star's Name. 
Fltase. 
/i 
A. 
Declination. 
Days. 
S Ursae Ma j oris. 
minimum. 
12h 
38m. 
61^ 48' north. 
226.6 
R Camclopardi. 
maximum. 
141i 
28m. 
84^ 25' north. 
265 
Chi Cygni. 
maximum. 
19h 
51m. 
34° 44' north. 
sev. yrs 
V Virginis. 
maximum. 
13h. 21m. 
2° 31 south. 
252 
S Piscium. 
maximum. 
Ih. 
11m. 
8° 14' north. 
13 m. 
R Canis Minoris-. 
maximum. 
7h. 
2m. 
10° 13' north. 
367 
Omicron Ceti (Mira) 
minimum. 
2h 
12m. 
3° 34' south. 
331.336 
S Cephei. 
minimum. 
21h. 
37m. 
78° 3' north. 
470 
R Arietes. 
maximum. 
2h. 
9m. 
24° 27' north. 
186 
S Herculis. 
maximum. 
16h 
46m. 
15° 10' north. 
305 
ZJ Capricorn!. 
maximum. 
2Gh. 
41m. 
15° 16' south. 
420 
T Capricorni. 
maxinmm. 
21h. 15m. 
15° 43' south. 
274 
