498 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



of olive-oil. 2. It will distinguish olive-oil from seed-oil. 3. 

 It will indicate whether olive-oil, although of the best ap- 

 pearance, has been mixed with seed-oil. 4. It will show the 

 quality of seed-oils. 5. Finally, it will indicate the presence 

 of cotton in silken or woolen textures. 12 A, Se2:)t. 9, 427. 



UTILIZATION OF THE SUDS FKOM THE WASHING OP 'SVOOL. 



In nothing has the advance of practical science been more 

 clearly evidenced than in the extent to which substances 

 formerly wasted and lost are now reclaimed and made to 

 constitute an important element in the profits of the manu- 

 facturer. One of these applications consists in the recovery 

 of the soap-suds from the washings of wool in woolen facto- 

 ries. These were formerly allowed to run down the sewers 

 and into the streams, to the great pollution of the latter; 

 but in Bradford, England, they are now run from the wash- 

 ing-bowls into vats, and there treated with sulphuric acid. 

 The fats rise to the surface in a mass of i^rease a foot or more 

 in thickness, which is carefully collected and treated in vari- 

 ous ways, mostly by distillation. The products are grease, 

 used for lubricating the cogs of driving-wheels in the mills ; 

 oleic acid, which is worth about $160 per ton, and used as a 

 substitute for olive-oil ; stearin, worth $400 per ton, etc. It 

 is said that some large mill-owners are now paid from $2500 

 to $5000 a year for these suds, which a few years ago were 

 allowed to run to waste. 18^, XXL, 8. 



STEEL BRUSHES FOR CLEANING IRON CASTINGS. 



The removal of sand, etc., adhering from the moulds to iron 

 castings, generally accomplished by filing, is said to be efiect- 

 ed far better by means of steel brushes, placed in the market 

 by Berthold, of Dresden. They are made of thin strips of 

 steel, in the form of ordinary scrubbers, and also in that of 

 w^hitewash brushes, and are reported to remain sharp for a 

 long time, and to be far more convenient in use than the file. 

 9 C, XIII., 106. 



APPARATINE, A SUBSTITUTE FOR GUM, STARCH, ETC. 



Gerard has introduced a substitute for gum, starch, gela- 

 tin, etc., for finishing all kinds of fabrics of cotton, wool, or 

 silk, and also for thickening in calico-printing, which he names 



