Vol. XIV. So. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



3 1 : 



produced in the Western II \ 



was made, however, by the ll .IS. Holling 

 Ne\ is, as to ill.' possib fruits hiw ing be* n 



produci d, in p in St. K no confirmal ion 



.it i \w< was ai the tin ble. 



1 1 is 1. 1 in:. ! ird the facl that, 



to St. Kitl 

 as I s 7:i by Mi N\ Darnell D Mauritius. 



it one was 



i. gb. it was injured 



•and I ibou Dhn ) - ears 



old. Thus althot S Kut- holds the record as 



matter of introducing the 



definit ce to show t hal no 



-I fruit in thai island 

 A few yeai p rminal ing nuts ol i he coco 



de-mer were intro uto S Lucia, Dominica, 



St. Vincent and Grenada. The greatest success has 

 obtained in Dominica win two ofthe plants 

 have become well established. So far these have nol 

 vet produced fruil 



We arc indebted to Mr. Joseph Jones, Curator, 



Botanic Gardens, Dominica, for the facts c serning 



St. Kitts, which were contained in a personal letter 

 recently written by the Hon. I!. S. Davis, of that 

 island. 



Excess of Lime Method of Water Purification. 



Embodied in a review of a report on water- 

 supply researches appearing in Nature (August 19), 

 is an interesting account of how water maybe both 

 softened and rendered sterile on a largi and in expen- 

 sive scale. 



The hardness of water is chiefly due to bicarbonate 

 of lime (temporary) and sulphate of lime (permanent), 

 the former being kept in solution by the carbonic acid 

 t. In the softening of water lime is added and 

 combines with the tree and semi-combined carbonic 

 acid, causing a precipitation of the lime added and of 

 the bicarbonate of lime in the water in the form of 

 the relatively insoluble carbonate of lime. A water 

 treated with the right amount, of lime has no caustic 

 alkalinity and has practically no a.tion on the bacteria 

 present. When more than enough lime is added the 

 water is rendered caustically alkaline and becomes 

 actively bactericidal. Such a water would, however, 

 be unfit for domestic and trade use, but if the excess 

 of lime present be removed by the addition of a suffi- 

 ciency of water from which the bacteria have been 

 removed, the whole ofthe mixed water will be softened 

 and purified, and will be satisfactory for all purposes. 

 Li has been previously shown that if raw river 

 water be stored from tour to five weeks the gxeal 

 majority ofthe bacteria are n n • d. and the Water is 

 riendi red safe for drinking purposi -. 



The excess lime method of purification consists. 

 then, in the addition ol' an excess of lime, storage of 

 the alkaline water for a day or ! hereabouts, so that 

 the bactericidal action may be exerted, addition of 

 a sufficiency of water, purified by storage, to neutralize 

 the excessive alkalinity and filtration to remove the 



pitated carbonate of ! 



Ajowan Seeds for Thymol. 



\ ention I in this joun months 



, i hi pi. 



tie u hole of I lie v. 01 s thy I ~' : : 



from ( lei 1 1 1 •■ i . d for I his pur] 



quantitii from 



In view of i i tor thy t 



iic- been 

 suggi -i'.l i h ■■ of the Bi itish colonies should 



grow ajowan seed a view to exporting il to 



nd and elsew produci ion of thy mc-1, 



and recently seeds i en obtained fr Kew and 



distributed to the Windward and Leeward Islands. 

 The chief matter, however, to which we desire to 

 in connexion with thymol is that its production is 

 being considered in thi United States. In the 



imri/ d,i,l Essential Oil Record tor A 

 1915, a report presented to the Department of 

 Commerce on tie possibility of production in the 

 United States is reviewed from which we are able to 

 clean certain facts of interest. For instance it is stated 

 that the only plant, indigenous to the United States 

 susceptible of use as a source of thymol is horse mint, 

 but this does not appear suitable for commercial 

 purposes. The report goes on to say: 'if any effort is 

 made to establish the industry in tile United States, 

 the first step should he to secure a regular supply of 

 ajowan seed from India or Egypt. . . . There appears 

 io be no doubt that a large stock of seed is now- 

 available in India.' 



Electricity for the Estate. 



The book to which this note refers is entitled 

 Electricity for the Farm, published in New York, which 

 means that it is intended primarily for the American 

 farmer. This does not make its contents any the less 

 interesting and suggestive in regard to the West 

 Indies. A good review of the work will be found in 

 Nature for August 19, and in this the following points 

 are referred to as receiving careful attention in the book: 

 in. asurement of the power of a stream of water: the 

 construction of dams: tic working of a dynamo and 

 motor; how to compute the power required for lighting 

 houses of certain sizes and for motors for doing small 

 or large domestic or farm work. On practical methods 

 types of lamps, sizes of wire, wire joints, Ohm's wiring 

 the house and premises, etc, — the author gives good 

 simple instruction. The last quarter of the book is 

 less important; it is intended tor farmers who have no 

 water power. It describes gas engine plants and 

 accumulators. 



The review referred to ends with the following 

 remarks: 'The American farmers have a respect for 

 natural science and they are glad to cultivate new 

 ideas. We think that the publication of this book will 

 induce such men and their families to begin 

 a fascinating study at small cost, which results in 

 comfort and the widening ofa mental horizon which 

 ought to fill the tow n dweller with envy.' 



