SUPPLEMENT. 1259 



ment aid ; this, to be of any real efficiency, would, I fear, 

 prove too big a thorn in the side of the Exchequer. We 

 poor commoners shall have to bear the brunt of the experi- 

 ments, and probably, if successful, there will be plenty of 

 capitalists ready to come forward and give us a cordial pat 

 on the back, but preliminary expenses to pay the piper is 

 quite another thing. 



One of your correspondents spoke of the almost insu- 

 perable difficulty of keeping the spat in a tank. Now this 

 seems to show a somewhat practical acquaintance with the 

 subject. Our old friend, the late Frank Buckland, always 

 advocated " heat and tranquillity." I quite agree with the 

 suggestion of " Senex," to use an engine for forcing hot air 

 into the tanks, thus obviating the need for constant circu- 

 lation. I, too, have long been thinking over this, and on 

 the small scale to which any efforts of mine must neces- 

 sarily be restricted, I think there would be no insurmount- 

 able obstacle ; but how about a " Big Business ?" 



I know a good deal about air in pipes and its extreme 

 obstinacy. Regulating either air or water in pipes requires 

 a lot of practical knowledge, which cannot be picked up 

 without practice. There are many other matters to be 

 seen to, such as the best form of culch to use, depth of 

 water, and the regular supply of it, besides many other 

 minor matters. All these may seem but trivial affairs, 

 certainly, but they all tell on the result. C. C. 



THE OPENING OF OYSTERS. 



I have inserted the following Letters, for the simple 

 reason that the instructions they contain may be of service 

 to the uninitiated : 



