^' 



ffedl^JtCAt AG^ietlLtUKllSt. 



[May i^ 1887 



SAMPLE BAEKS FBOM THE NILGlRlS. 

 (Conuiiunicaled hij Mr. Hamlin.) 



The sample of quill bark 3 feet in len^tli taken 

 from the whole circumference of the stem and which 

 weighs 3^ lb. is a specimen of a lart;e (inantity 

 I am sending home this year from the Balmadies 

 estate situated on the Kilgiris at an elevation of 

 5,600 feet. About 15 acres of 23 year old trees 

 were paitly coppiced and the total crop of quill 

 bark now going home will reach about 75,000 lb. 

 If you examine the sample closely you will ob- 

 serve a renewed strip, but as the stem was 

 operated on some 12 years since, the bark has 

 become covered with lichen and moss, closely 

 resembling the original. 



The smaller pieces of quill bark were taken 

 from C. Ledgcriiuia Irees. in the Tropical Agri- 

 culturist of April 1885, I gave the history of 

 these trees which, at five years and eight months 

 old, gave from twenty-one trees, an average of 

 ll'Sl sulphate of quinine. I have only now to 

 add that the trees are of vigorous growth and are 

 bearing a fery small crop of seed — a few of the 

 trees, now nearly eight years old, have never 

 produced any seed. 



[The box of samples may well be shewn now at 

 the Kandy Agri-Horticultural Exhibition.— Ed. CO.] 



SAMPLES OF GREEN TEAS FROM AMEEICA. 

 Mr. James Irvine sends us a packet of samples 

 of green teas from Chicago with the following re- 

 mark : — 



" Here are the samples of tea I promised yon with 

 Messrs. J. W. Doane & Co.'s sample memorandum. 

 The prices are splendid." 



The Memorandum is as follows : — 

 J. W, DoANE & Co., (il and 63 Wabash Avenue, 

 Chicago, October 14th, 188G. 

 (Dollars and cents of a dollar.) 

 Value Retailer's 



Anyone interested can see these samples at the 



Obsene.r Office. 



^ — -. — 



cocoNtJT 'nm\j^ and here, 



{Straits Timea, March i'lat,) 

 A praduct of French origla i^ now beginning to 

 attract attention in Europe, Sevtial jcaris ago, a 

 French liaYai officer, Pa'Ja de la Bai'riere by nftme, 

 took note of the very remarkable compresaiblp, 

 properties of the ccllalar tissue underlying the 

 ba.rk of the coconOt tree, I'toni this substance, 

 he has prepared a material pajising by the name 

 of cofferdam. The cellular tissue in question has the 

 peculiar property of closely compreL^sing itself, and 

 then again expanding to the fullest extent after a 

 projectile had gone through it, by closing up the 

 hole and thereby preventing the water from forcing 

 its way within through the opening. It acts as an 

 automatic stopper. The discovery is of importance. 

 The subjoined particulars show that it has been 



auUa SQe^ipecteaij iouud to te serviceable io m^ 



other direction than that of war. We may here 

 state that Miss Wood has discovered a stopping 

 material still more approaching perfection than 

 coconut tissue, as regards its compressible quality. 

 Woodite as this material is called, strongly re- 

 sembles vulcanised caoutchouc. Experiments have 

 been made in Britain with discs lined with woodite 

 and exposed to fire from Nordenfeldt machine guns 

 at right angles and under an angle of 45 degrees. 

 The woodite facing and the iron discs were liter- 

 ally strewn with projectiles. After the experiments, 

 when the discs were examined not a hole was to 

 be seen. A few discoloured spots only showed the 

 places where the projectiles had impacted. No 

 dents were noticeable. The closing up was per- 

 fect. Miss Wood had sought for this material with 

 the object of protecting torpedo boats, the hulls 

 of which are so light and so easily damaged by 

 the smallest projectile. M. Germain, a young 

 Frcinch chemist has hit upon the idea of turning 

 the fibres of the coconut to account in solving 

 quite another question. It is well known that very 

 generally 'electric batteries are at present coming into 

 use, for house bells and telephones for military 

 requirements, and for naval purposes. These 

 batteries contain fluid substances which might spill 

 or leak. Now an empty battery is utterly worth- 

 less for the end in view. Moreover, these fluids, 

 however carefully compounded are liable to give 

 rise to stains and burns etc. It is true that, 

 formerly, there was some thought of filling the 

 batteries with acidulated moist sand, sawdust, 

 sponge &c, but these substances increased too much 

 the electric resistance. M. Germain has fixed his 

 attention on the fibre of the coconut, and has 

 thereby achieved important results. He utilises 

 not the inner tissue of the nut, but the outer fibres. 

 The raw material is separated, stamped to powder, 

 and cleaned. The product turned out looks then 

 like powdered cocoa Its density amounts to no 

 more than 0.08. Its compressibleness is such that, 

 by pressure with the hand only, its volume can be 

 diminished one third. When thus compressed the 

 material possesses a density of 0.22, which is 3 er 4 

 times that of sponge. Its absorbent properties 

 greatly exceed those of all other known substances. 

 It takes up its own volume of water, and strangely 

 enough, its whole volume amounts then to hardly 

 a little more than that of the fluid alone. It is a 

 bad conductor of heat, but prevents from evaporat- 

 ing or freezing, the subdtances witii which it has 

 been mingled. It is periectly insoluble in most 

 acids, salts and lyes. Under these circumstances, 

 batteries without fluid adjuncts have been invented. 

 Some have even been put together of great power 

 and remarkable hghtness. The electric resistance 

 on application of the coconut fibres, is almost the 

 same as when .fluids, without fibres, are used. M. 

 Germain's method of applying electrically the bo 

 called cofferdam and woodite, makes it possible to 

 put batteries together, which cannot become ex« 

 hausted with the additional advantages of handi- 

 ne38 and lightness. In course of time, this will 

 lead to light batte.vies and accumulators, intended 

 as electric motors for cars, torpedo boats, and 

 b allOons. The above described discoveries shoW 

 th at •waste products often only need research con- 

 ducted in the right spirit, to become useful and 

 rscvioeable in the arts and sciencesi 



THE PREVENTION AND DEBTEI'CTION OF 



BLACK WEEVIL IN GRAIN BINS AND 



GODOVVNS. 



The black weevil is an insect well-known _ to 



grain-dealers the world over, especially in " tropical 



climates." In India it eats the grains of wheat 



and maize, and also paddy. It is found in every 



rice, pa<ddy, wheat aud uiai^e t^iu iu ^uraia. 



