Tor,. XIII. No. :^-20. 



THE AGllICULTURAL NEWS. 



'Sulphide' Suljilmi- ('..iilfiit. 



Packed in bottles and tins. Packeil in jjaper. 



Per cent. Pei- cent. 



(1) •■^"•94 (1) .•?l-4+* (l:?) 4-4.-, 



(-') -^T-tW (!>) i'(i-+8* (14) 4-1. S 



(3) 34-51 (;?) 24-S.5 (1.5) .S-.ST 



(4) 30-ir, (4) :>4.62 (16) l'-24 



(5) i'9-Si> (.5) 2;?-47 (17) 2-05 



(6) 



(IS) 1-94 



(7) 12-89 (19) 1-85 



(8) 10-64 (20) 1-42 



(9) 7-87 (21) 1-41 



(10) 7-12 (22) 1-35 



(11) 7-00 (23) 0-S8 



(12) 5-74 



With a view of ohtaininj,' t'lirthei- iiil'orniation as to the i-ate 

 at whicli liver of sulijluii- undergoes decomposition, ten samples 

 were selected from those examined in the first investigation, 

 these samples heing representative of different varieties of 

 liver of sulphur and of different <-onditions of storage. Some 

 of these .samples were in the original receptacles in which they 

 were forwaidrd tip the Laboratory; others were in .screw-(!ap]H'il 

 liottles in which they were jilaced after removal from theoriginal 

 jtajjer packet or receipt. It wa.s necessai-y in the tir.st place 

 to make a re-e.\amination of the selected .samples to ascertain 

 what change had occurred since the first examination; after 

 which, the samples were e.\|josed in open bottles for vai-jous 

 periods of time. 



A table is appended--"''- showing the amounts of sulphur as 

 .sulphide in the samples ( I ) as oiiginally examined in the tii.st 

 investigation, (2) at the time of the reexamination in January 

 Jifter storage of froiri four to seven months, and (3) after 

 t'xposni-c to air in open bottles. 



The cf)nclusions to be drawn from this last inve.stigation 

 iire that storage for a prohniged periofl of from four to seven 

 months produces no i-hange in liver of sulphur provided the 

 rece|)tacle is air-tight and completely full. The.se conditions 

 obtained in the cas.> of samples (a), (b), (c), .(e), and (f), while 

 sample (d) lust all its sulphide because stored in a corked 

 iMpttle cidy about one-tliinl full. 



.\s frcsli air is adndtted each time a bottle or tin is 

 o]iened, it W(iuld obviously be an advantage to horti<-ulturists 

 to pack and store the liver of sulphur in bottles or lever-topped 

 tins of small capai-ity, of say .',-lli. to 1 Iti. 



It will be seen that the residt of direct exposure to the 

 air wa.s a lapid loss of 'sulphide' sidphnr. At the end of 

 fourteen to twenty-three days no 'sulphide' sulphur remained 

 except ill the case of .sam|)le (f), and a trace in sample (b). 



The |ioint to be emphasized from the foregoing results is 

 that :/mif can- sliutdd hr exercised in xturin;/ liver of sulphur, 

 <)theririie its famjicidal value via;/ fall to a ver;/ low potnt. 



A good .sample of liver of sulphur .should dis.solve in 

 water without separation of sulphur. If it doe.s not .smell f>f 

 sulplnirettcd liyilrogen, decompositinii has ])roceeded .so far 

 that n<p ->ul|)liide' sulphur remains. 



sol.lrioNs IIV LIVKK OK SULl'HUl!. 



Further expciimciits were made at the (lovernment 

 l^aboratory to ascertain whether sulutions (jf li\er of sulphnr 

 could be kept without undergoing change. Solutions of tlie 



* It might be thought tliat in these cases pai)er had atforded 

 sutticient protection again.st air, but this , was not so. The 

 samples consist<Ml i.f large lumps of liver of .sulphur, and only 

 the (jutside of tlie lumps had become 'weathered'. Usually, 

 samples were in the form of small pieces or of coarse jMiwder. 



-f (11) and (12) should probably he ignored. 



** 'l''li(^ tal)le has lieen omitfeil in tliis article.— Ed. A.y. 



sanijjles weie prepared and the 'sulphide' sulphur estimated 

 The solutions were then place<l in vessels and covered over 

 but not corked. The ve.s.sels were allowed to stand on 

 a shelf tor eight to eighteen days, the liipiid not being 

 .stirred during the time. Sulphur was deposited from all the 

 lic|uids and ultimately no 'sulphide' sulphur remained in 

 .solution. 



It is eviilent. therefore, that solutions of liver oj sulj,hii,r 

 should l,e pr, pared just Ufore use, or the solutions if made. 

 Iieforehand should he kept in full, tiiihtli/ corked hottles. 



MAKERS OF MODERN AGRICULTURE. I!y 



William Mad )onald, D.Sc. Mocmillnn ,(• Co.. Ltd.. Londoii, 

 I '.11 3. Price 2s. 6rf. 



I'nder the above title Dr. .'\lacdonald has brought 

 togi-ther a series of short sketches of the lives of tive men who 

 have been jirominent in the advancement of agriculture. 

 These sketches have already appeared in various journals. Init 

 as.sembled here they form convenient and instructive reading, 

 th(aigh it may be urged that each record is disappointingly 

 short. 



The advancement of Hritish agriculture owes far more to 

 individuals than it does to the State, and it would Vie well, as 

 indeed it is the <luty of modern agriculturists, to make them- 

 selves familiar with the lives of tho.se pioneers such as Jethi-o 

 Tull, .\itliur \ oiuig, John Sinclair, and Cyrus McCormick, 

 whose work has had a lasting influence from the fact that 

 they w-ere the introducers of certain fundamental ideas which 

 underlie the cultivation of the .soil at the present day. 



COCONUT CULTIVATION. By Messrs. (',,ghlan 

 and Hinchley. ALL ABOUT COCO-NUTS. Hy Mes.srs. 

 Koland BeH'ort and .\. J. Hoyer. 



.Mr. T. I'etch, in the Tropical Aijrii-ulturist for >[ay 1!I14, 

 reviews the.se two of many recent volumes on coco-nuts. Both 

 of the publications would appear to be written for the benefit 

 of the investor, and every i-are has been taken to put forward 

 the information in an attractive guise. It would appear tiiat 

 many of the illustrations as regards accuracy are open to 

 criticism, particularly in the second volume. In this con- 

 nexion Mr. Petcli .says: 'with regard to the illustrations — the 

 majority are fi-om (technically) very g(jod jjliotographs; hut 

 the .seed nut after germination is a "fake" and the copra 

 photograph is not copra, and the cirawings of the rhinix'eros 

 lieetle have not a remote resemblance to the actual in.sec^fc 

 and larva. The J)alms in the illustration "coco-nut palms 

 vigorous at 00" ai-e really about twenty years old, the authors 

 adhering to the falla<-y that two leaf seal's are prodiiceil 

 )ier annum.' 



In a book wlio.se function it is to stimulate the invest- 

 ment of capital, estimates con.stitnte the important feature, 

 lint even in this conne.xion, according to the notice under 

 review, the authors have endeavoured to present for the 

 benefit of those who are unac((uainted with tropical cimdi- 

 tions, figures that are in many instances to a large extent 

 wide of the mark. 



