Vol. IX. JTo. 209. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



137 



without any greater expenditure of energy than that 

 required to scour the vessel that is being treated. 



The process permits of the deposition of several 

 metals one on the top of the other, as for example, tin 

 on nickel, copper on tin, and so on, without removing 

 the metal deposited previously. The powders are being 

 produced on a commercial scale by the Galvanit Manu- 

 facturing Company. 



The Preservation of Timber. 



Particulars of a process for preserving timber have 

 been given recently in the A<jriculti( ral News (Vol. 

 VIII, pp. 249, 408). An account of another means for 

 the same purpose is contained in the Montldy Magai- 

 i ae of ilic Incorporat^'d Chainher of Comm<'r<i' of 

 Liverpool, for March 1910. This originated in the 

 discovery that carbolic acid, dissolved in alcohol or oil, 

 possesses only slight antiseptic properties, while its 

 great preservative qualities appear when it has been 

 mixed with water. Another fact that has been demon- 

 strated is that creosote which has been freed from tar 

 acids has antiseptic properties equal to those of the 

 original oil, containing about 10 per cent, of it. These 

 considerations have given a clue as to the correct treat- 

 ment of the creosote oil obtained from coal tar. They 

 indicate that the aim of the manufacturer should be 

 to extract all the tar acids from the creosote, in order 

 that the oil and the tar acids should be available separ- 

 rately for the purpose of preservation. 



The main point in the new process is that the tar 

 acids are combined with lime into a salt which is 

 soluble in water, so that their efficacy is maintained, 

 while they are obtained in such a condition that the 

 impregnation of timber by them can be easily effected. 

 The liquid that is obtained by the process has been 

 given the name of Cresol-Calcium, on account of the 

 fact that cresol is the chief ingredient among the tar 

 acids. 



It is claimed for the new preservative, that: (1) 

 it is, at least, as efficacious as any other preservative, 

 and in several instances considerably more so: (2) the 

 cost of treating ti:nber is much smaller than in any 

 other known method, being about 155 per cent, of that 

 of the old way; (3) it can be easily distributed in the 

 limber in large or small quantities; (4) the preserva- 

 tion of timber with cresol-calcium can be carried out 

 in accordance with all known impregnating methods: 

 (.5) all plants already in existence for impregnating 

 timber can be employed: (6) wood treated by this 

 method is less inflammable than that impregnated with 

 creosote, and the timber is very much cleaner to handle: 

 (7) cresol-calcium can be prepared from tar acids 

 produced either from kiln-burnt tar or tar oils. 



Trials of the method are to be made by the 

 Swedish State Railway, the Swedish Impregnating 

 Co., the Forest Service of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, several railway companies in 

 England and France, and in several British Colonies. 

 Further particulars of the process may be obtained 

 from ilessrs. Blagden, Waugh & Co., 50 iSi 51, Lime 

 Street, London, EC. 



Scheme for the Improvement ot Pastures. 



A scheme for the improvement of pastures in 

 Antigua has been originated by Colonel the Hon. R. 

 Stapleton Cotton, which consists, broadly speaking, in 

 the awarding of prizes for the best kept pastures in the 

 island. It has met with the approval of the Antigua 

 Agricultural and Commercial Society, and arrange- 

 ments have been made by which it will be carried into 

 effect by the Department of Agriculture, acting in co- 

 operation with that society. 



Three prizes are offered for competition: the first, 

 of the value of £21, by Colonel the Hon. R. Stapleton 

 Cotton: the second, worth £10, by Messrs. Henckell, 

 du Buisson & Co ; while the value of the third has not 

 yet been decided. The chief conditions in the compet- 

 ition are: (1) competing pastures must have been 

 properly entered for it: (2) they must not be less than 

 20 acres in area; (3) they must be free from all • bush '; 

 (4) one suitable sh.ade plant, preferably the Saman tree 

 {Pitlwciihihiaiii S(iinan), at least, must be planted per 

 acre, and this must be properly fenced and growing at 

 the time of judging: (5) pastures must have been used 

 regularly as such up to that time; (ti) in the event of 

 no pasture of sufficient merit being entered for compet- 

 ition, the prizes will not be awarded: (7) thi; appoint- 

 ment of judges for the competition shall rest with the 

 Department of Agriculture, acting with the Agricultural 

 Socictj', and the final decision, in any matter of dispute, 

 shall rest with the Imperial Comm.issioner of Agri- 

 culture. 



Use of Charcoal in Fatteninpf Ducks. 



The Journal of the Board nf Aijrieidture for last 

 month gives an account of some experiments that were 

 carried out in England for the purpose of deciding the 

 value possessed by charcoal as a means of keeping 

 ducks in good health that are being fattened in close 

 confinement. In the experiment, food was employed 

 which had been shown to be profitable and economic- 

 al, namely boiled potatos, barley meal, ground oats, 

 skim milk and tallow greaves. Plenty of grit and 

 drinking water were supplied. The food was the 

 same for all the different lots of ducklings under experi- 

 ment, except that in one case an unlimited amount 

 of rough charcoal was given, while in another 

 powdered charcoal was mixed with the food, before it 

 was moistened, at the rate of one-fifth of charcoal to 

 four-fifths of the other ingredients. 



It was shown by the trials that some form of 

 charcoal is essential in the process of fattening ducks. 

 The ducklings were apparently kept healthy by it, and 

 fiittening could be continued with profit for a much 

 longer period than when the food did not include 

 charcoal. 



As far as the increase in the weight of the ducks 

 is concerned, the best method of giving the charcoal 

 appears to be to mix it with the food, but the slight 

 increase in weight hardly pays for the extra cost en- 

 tailed in grinding it and incorporating it with the food. 



The charcoal employed in the experiments was 

 obtained by ' burning' wood. 



