368 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



is one third greater than that of hemp, while it is thirteen 

 per cent, lighter. It can be furnished, delivered at the fac- 

 tories, for about 2 per ton. The fibre may be obtained by 

 soaking the stems for a few days in warm water, or else by 

 means of a chemical solution of little cost. 17 A^ March 1, 

 1875,41. 



AUTUMN PLANTING OF POTATOES. 



Experiments have been conducted in Paris with reference 

 to a method of autumn planting of i3otatoes, by which new 

 potatoes may be dug in January. The sets are planted in 

 August on a thin layer of salt, which appears to be the spe- 

 cial secret in the process, and the potatoes are earthed in 

 September, the ground being cleared of weeds in October. 

 The result is a crop of seven or eight fair-sized tubers to each 

 root in January. 18 A^ February 19, 1875, 575. 



IMPORTANCE OF PEAT BEDS. 



In some remarks on the climatology of New Hampshire, 

 Professor Huntington states that the preservation of the 

 vegetation on our mountains is of great importance, not only 

 in modifying the distribution of rain, but also in modifying 

 the extreme of cold in winter. Our mountains, especially 

 the higher summits, are covered to a considerable depth, ex- 

 cept where it has been destroyed by fires, by peat, formed 

 chiefly from moss and lichens. Now it has been found by 

 experiment that peat moss can absorb more than twice its 

 own weight of water ; dry clay, nearly its own weight ; dry 

 earth or garden mould, more than half its own weight, and 

 dry sand a little more than a third of its own w^eight. With 

 equal times of drying, under the same circumstances, there- 

 fore, peat moss loses two thirds of all the water it contained ; 

 clay and earth more than three fourths, and sand more than 

 nine tenths. Thus, in a dry season, beds of peat must form 

 an invaluable reservoir of water for the supply of springs 

 and streams. Wherever it or veo-etable mould abounds, the 

 soil retains its moisture, being only gradually evaporated ; a 

 high relative humidity is maintained, and springs gush forth 

 from the slopes of the mountains, and a slight change in the 

 temperature causes rain to fail in gentle showers. It is 

 noted that on the mountains of New Hampshire fires in gen- 



