This section is from the "Handicraft For Boys" book, by A. Frederick Collins. Amazon: Handicraft for boys.
Stains and dyes of all colors can be bought of the Devoe and Reynolds Company, 101 Fulton Street, New York.
Brush the wood with a saturated solution of ferrous-sulphate and it will make it inky black. When used on white holly, or any other close grained wood, it gives it a real ebony look. Put the solution on with a soft brush. After the ebony stain has been used the wood should be polished with wax to give it a dull finish.
Oak can be colored a beautiful brown by putting it in a box with a tight fitting lid in which is a saucer of ammonia; paste up the cracks around the lid tight and leave it for a couple of days when it will take on a brown color which is known by the trade name of fumed oak.
 
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