634 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



cated where great promptness of action is required, or where 

 there is much irritability of the stomach or bowels. This is 

 said to have proved efficacious, not only in cases of fever, but 

 also in acute rheumatism. 2() A^ March 8, 1873, 256. 



STANFORD PROCESS OF TREATING EXCRETA. 



Some years ago, Mr. Edward C. Stanford presented to the 

 British Association a new method of dealing with excre- 

 tal matters fish olfal, and other offensive nitrogenous sub- 

 stances so as to secure the whole of their value as manures 

 in an inoffensive form. The process simply consists in com- 

 bining the material with charcoal, which at once removes 

 all odor. The mixture may be stored, and gradually becomes 

 quite dry. It is then passed through re -burning retorts, 

 when the whole of the nitrojxen comes off as ammonia. This 

 is neutralized w'ith an acid, and can then be evaporated with 

 the residual charcoal from the retorts, thus forming a gen- 

 eral process free from offense. 



Dr. Williamson, however, dissented from the reasoning, 

 and insisted that the process must fail, because, according to 

 Stenhouse, such nitrogenous matters in contact with charcoal 

 become oxidized to nitric or nitrous acids, which, of course, 

 Avould entirely vitiate the results, \yith a view, therefore, 

 of testing this point, Mr. Stanford has prosecuted a series of 

 experiments, the results of wliicli he sums up by stating first, 

 that charcoal mixed in equal weights with nitrogenous mat- 

 ter acts simply as a drier; second, it does not act as an ox- 

 idizing agent Avhen thus applied, and does not conduce to 

 the formation of nitrates ; third, it is probable that after the 

 lapse of some time, and if the mixture be artificially dried, a 

 small proportion of nitrogen may be eliminated in the form 

 of ammonia ; fourth, that, for all practical manufacturing 

 or manurial purposes, there is but little loss of nitrogen in 

 such mixtures. 21 A^ Jmiuary^ 1873, 14. 



ANTIPUTRESCENT PROPERTIES OF SILICATE OF SODA. 



Much attention has been directed of late to the antiputres- 

 cent properties of silicate of soda, and the elaborate memoirs 

 of Rabuteau and Papillon have been succeeded by papers 

 of Picot and otlier writers. In whatever joroportion this sub- 

 stance was added to glucose, grape-sugar, etc., there was the 



