THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
29 
the top of the peak, making a golden island in 
a sea of darkness. This central peak is 7,000 
feet high. The next one northward is 207, 83 
miles in diameter, with a central peak 4,000 feet 
high ; and the last, 208, just south of the Moon's 
centre, is the largest of the chain, having a di- 
ameter of 115 miles. The interior plateau has a 
roughened surface, and at sunrise (Lunar) the 
surface appears hke a vast lake roughened with 
waves, but these "waves" are about 100 feet 
high ! Portions of its ramparts are 12,800 feet 
high, and some authorities claim there are 46 
interior craters. 
EPHEMERIDES OF THE PKINCIPAL STARS AND 
CLUSTERS, MARCH 21, 1882. 
£1. 
M. 
Alpha Andromeda ( Alpheratz) sets 
7 
56 
even 
Omicron Ceti (Mira) variable " 
8 
4 
Beta Persei (Algol) variable " 
0 
15 
morn 
Eta Tauri (Alcyone or Light of 
Pleiades) sets 
11 
11 
even 
Alpha Tsiuri (Aldebaran)sets 
11 
29 
Alpha Aurigae (Capella) in merid. 
5 
11 
Beta Orionis (Rigel) " " 
5 
12 
AZp/ia Orionis (Betelguese) " " 
5 
52 
(( 
Alpha Canis Majoris (Sirius or 
Dog Star) in merid. 
6 
43 
Alpha Canis Minoris (Procyon) in 
. meridian 
7 
36 
Alpha Leonis (Kegulus) in merid. 
10 
4 
Alpha Virginis (Spica) rises 
7 
58 
(( 
Alpha Bootis (Arcturus) " 
7 
1 
Alpha Scorpionis (Antares) rises 
0 
8 morn 
Alpha Lyrae (Vega) " 
9 
41 
even 
Alpha Aquillae (Altair) " 
1 
21 
morn 
Alpha Cygni (Deneb) " 
10 
44 
even 
Alpha Pisces Australis (Formal- 
haut) invisible. 
Penn Yan, N. Y. 
Starch as a Wood-riller. 
Ed. Young Scientist— In the December num- 
ber of the Young Scientist corn starch is re- 
commended as a filler for porous hard woods. 
In polishing black walnut and other dark woods 
I have used corn starch, and I have colored it 
with different materials; but I have always 
found that it became grey after a time and de- 
stroyed the beauty of the wood. What has been 
the experience of other readers of the Young 
Scientist ? 
A great many trials lead me to believe that 
any light, porous, and unalterable powder is 
good for this purpose. I have used fine chalk, 
ground up with coloring matter to suit, but the 
best that I have found is the powder used for 
making dynamite and soluble glass. I believe 
it is called diatom earth. It is of various colors, 
from almost pure white to dirty brown, and of 
course may be tinted to any shade we want it. 
It is unalterable, fills the pores well, sets 
quickly, and receives the final polish splendidly. 
V. Arnish. 
An Addition to the ** Blue Process." 
Ed. Young Scientist— 1 have just read the ar- 
ticle on " Blue Process of Copying Drawings " 
in the January number of Young Scientist,, 
and think I can make a valuable addition, at 
least it has proved to be so to me, both in sav- 
ing time and doing better work. In place of 
tracing cloth or tracing paper, I use ordinary 
paper of a quality hardly as good as that on 
which the Young Scientist is printed. Make 
a pen-and-ink drawing, allow it to dry, and then 
thoroughly saturate it with ordinary (so-called) 
olive oil (but which is really pea-nut oil) ; it 
dries quickly, and leaves the paper very clear. 
A. W. Baily. 
Atlantic City, N. J., Jan. 12, 1882. 
How to Soften Dry Bird Skins. 
As usual with all processes in taxidermy, 
there are various ways in which a dried bird 
skin may be relaxed and made ready to mount, 
but I will describe the one I consider the sim- 
plest, easiest, and most effective. 
1. For Small Birds.— Open the skin and re- 
move the filling from the body, neck, and head. 
Tear some old cotton cloth into strips from an 
inch to two inches in width, wet them thor- 
oughly in warm water, and wrap them round 
the leg and foot until it is covered with several 
thicknesses of the wet cloth, quite to the ends of 
the toes. Lift up the wing and put two or three 
thicknesses of wet cloth round the joint, and al- 
so between the wing and the body. Put some 
wet cotton or small rags inside the skin, wrap 
the whole skin completely in several thicknesses 
of cloth and lay it aside. If the bird is not 
larger than a robin, the skin will be soft enough 
to mount in about twelve to fourteen hours. 
2. For Large Birds.— Under this heading it i& 
necessary to place nearly all birds above the 
size of the robin, for the reason that the legs, 
being large and thick in comparison with the 
skin of the body, require extra treatment. The 
legs of some birds require several days' soak- 
ing, and were the skin of the body relaxed for 
the same length of time it would macerate and 
the feathers fall off. The legs of large birds 
must therefore be started first in the relaxing 
process. 
Take, for example, the skin of a pheasant: 
cover the nails and beak with wax, if the skin 
