The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-02-05
USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.

EBON1 MANUFACTUhES.-l ne ulduu-
facture of articles, both ornamental and
useful, from ebonized wood, has become
quite extensive, and in no respect per-
haps more marked than in the case of
furniture, for which purpose various
kinds of wood are employed, cherry be-
ing considered the most desirable; white
wood, maple and beech are also capable
of being used with good effect in this
way. In the process of ebonizing, the
wood is simply first stained with de-
coction of lockwood; it is dissolved in
warm water, until all has been taken up
that the water will hold. Application
to the wood is made freely with soft
bristle brush, and the surface is rubbed
with a cloth to prevent the formation of
a gummy coat thereon. After the arti-
Gle has been left to dry for a few hours,
the second application, which consists
of vinegar in which quantity of nails
or clean iron-filings have been soaked
for several days, is also freely laid on
with brush. The moment the vinegar
touches the wood it combines with the
lockwood solution in the pores, making
an ink which is permanent jet black
stain. The influence of the iron in the
vinegar is all-important, and it is really
this that does the work. If there be any
tendency to grayness, a second treat
ment with the logwood and vinegar is
necessary. When wholly dry, varnish-
ing and rubbing down, or finishing with
furniture oil, follow.-Erchange.
THE CONSTITUENTS OF CEREALS
Messrs. Hayes of Roxbury, and jackson
of Boston, Mass, have discovered way
of measuring approximately the valua-
BILE constituents of grains. If kernel
of corn be split longitudinally, and i'm.
mersed in an aqueous solution of sui
plate of copper, the germ, or "chit,"
only becomes colored green, thereby
beautifully defining the limits of the
phosphates by the formation of phos-
phate of copper. If a kernel of corn be
split open and thrown into solution of
sulph-hydrate of ammonia, the "chit''
will soon be changed to a dark olive
color, which is due to change of the
salts of iron in the seed to sulphuret
of that metal; a dark-colored matter
forming with the ammonia turns the
vegetable coloring matter yellow, and
the two colors combined produce an
olive. Again, by taking split specimens
of corn, or other grains, and soaking
them in tincture Of iodine, the limits
of the starch and dextrine will be dis
tinctly defined-the iodine striking an
intense blue with the starch, and deep
port-wine red with the dextrine; so that,
from this test, a rich violet (being the
combination of the blue and red colors)
will indicate the presence of both the
starch and the dextrine in the grain.
If the oil be extracted from the trans
parent horny part of the corn by means
of alcohol or ether, the tincture of iodine
will show the presence Of starch in that
part of the grain associated with the
gluten. By these means we may easily
cause any of our cereal grains to repre-
sent to us the extent and precise limits
of its phosphates, iron, dextrine, starch
and oil; and thus, by the eye alone, we
may form an approximate estimate of
the relative proportions of these in
gradients. -, ....
OATMEAL MILLING IN THE UNITED
STATEs.-The increasing use of oat-
meal as an article of diet in the United
States, coupled with the fact that we
are now exporting large quantities of
that product'to England and Scotland
the latter being the very cradle of
oatmeal milling the import
ance of this growing industry, and the
possibilities which lie at our doors.
Even with this foreign demand for
American oatmeal and the increase in
its home consumption, this important
and profitable branch of milling is, as
national industry, in its comparative
infancy in this country. Very few ex-
tensive and well equipped oatmeal mills
exist among us. Those at work have
all they can do, and are making money.
The. secresy which the principal oat-
meal millers have heretofore maintained
concerning their improved methods,
and avidity with which one or two have
bought up every real improvement in
machinery as fast as they have been in
vented, have resulted in practical
monopoly in some localities, and speak
plainly of the profitable character of
the business. There has been consider
able published concerning several oat-
meal mills recently started and now in
successful operation in Iowa. One at
Cedar Rapids is grinding 10000 bushels
of oats week, and another at Iowa
City is grinding $4,000 bushels. Some
one commenting on this refers us to the
census of 1875, for Iowa. which shows
that the six counties nearest these two
oatmeal mills produced, in 1874,
1O1, 206 acres of oats, averaging about
30 bushels per acres, 036, $50 bushels,
which would furnish about one years
supply for these two mills. It takes
about II bushels of oats to make bar
rel of 200 pounds of oatmeal, the market
price of which is, at present writing,
about $3.50 per barrel, and sold by the
retailer at five cents per pound. Those
interested can readily figure from this
data. twill be interesting to farmers
to know that owing to the consumption
of oats by the two Iowa mills referred
to, the price at Muscatine has advanced
from % cents to 80 and 33 cents within
a few weeks. Thus we see an oncom-
ing feature of American milling. which