Ptis. I, 18S6.J THE TROPICAL AGRlCULTVklST. 



585 



otto is completely free from this kind of sophistic- 

 ation. Tlie oils employed for the purpose are certain 

 of the grass oils (Androi>ogon and Cijmbopngon spp.), 

 notably that afforded liv Anih'(ipo:jon, Schrenanthiis 

 called "ir^(S-y«;//n by the Turks, ami commonly Ituown 

 to Europeans as •' geraiiiurn oil," tlioiijrh quite distinct 

 from true gerauium oil. The acldition is generally 

 made by 9i>rinkliug it upon the ro.se-leaves before 

 distilliug. It is largely proiluced in the neighbourhood 

 of Delhi, and exported to Turkey by way of Arabia; 

 it is soUl by Arabs in Constantinople in largo bladder- 

 shaped tinned-copper vessels, holding about 12ii II1. 

 As it is usually itself adulterated with some fatty oil, 

 it ueeils to undergo purification before nse. This is 

 effected in the following manner :— The crude oil is 

 rcpeateilly shaken op with water acidulated wi'^ 

 lemon-iuice, from which it is poured off after staiuUn^ 

 for a day. The washed oil is placed in shallow saucers, 

 well exposed to sun and air. by which it gradually 

 loses its objectionable oilour. 8prnig and early summer 

 are the best seasons for the operation, which occupies 

 two to four weeks, according to the state of the 

 weather and the quality of the oil. The geueral 

 characters of this oil are similar to those of otto of 

 roses — even the odour bearing a distant resemblance — 

 that their discrimination when mixed is a matter of 

 practical impossibility The ratio of the adulteration 

 varies from a small figure up to SO or 90 per cent. 

 The only safeguard against deception is to pay a f-air 

 price, and to deal with firms of good repute, such 8,s 

 Niessrs. Papasoglu, JIanoglu and Sou, Ihmsen & Oo., 

 and Holstein & Co., in Constantinople. 



The otto is put up in squat-shaped flasks of tinned 

 copper, callel kunktimas, holding from 1 to 10 lb., and 

 sewn up in white woollen cloths. Usually their con- 

 tents are transferred at Constantinople iuto small 

 gilded bottles of German manufacture for export. The 

 Bulgarian otto liar\'cst3 during the five years 18GT-71, 

 was reckoned to average somewhat below 400.000 

 titt'tircth, misk-ah, or m'dkaU (of about 3 dwt. troy), 

 or 4:22(> lb. av. ; that of 1873, which was good, was 

 estimati:d at 500,00ti, value about 700,000/. The harvest 

 of ICHO realised more than l,00ll,tiO0/. though the 

 roses themselves were not so valuable as in 1876. 

 About 300,000 mctirnls of ottii, valued at !)32,07"/., 

 were exported iu 1876 from Philipopolis, chiefly to 

 France, Australia, America, and Germany. — Journol of 

 tlie Society of Arts. 



Thk expbeiments tried with the creeper known 

 botauically as Crt/ptostet/iti yrandiilora^ which yields a 

 juice ^capable of being worked into Indiarubber, 

 proved that although it thrives well and is abundant 

 in I'ooua and other places, yet it woidd not be 

 profitable to make rubber from it. — Indian A;/riculturist. 



Thk Cheai'Est Antiseptic. — M. Pasteur anticipates 

 that bisulphide of carbon will become the most eftic- 

 ^ious of all antiseptics, as it is also the cheapest, 

 costing but a fraction of a penny per pound in large 

 quantity. It is also the best insecticide known, 

 and for this purpose may, perhaps, be useful to 

 preserve woodwork in tropical countries. Some 

 idea of the use it is already put to may be gathered 

 from the fact that over eight million pounils on the 

 substance are used annually to check the ravages of 

 phylloxera. Carbou bisulphide, as first produced, i.'f 

 about as foul smelling a couipound fts it is possible to 

 find ; but it is capable of puvifi'ation till all offen.sive 

 odor is removed, and it is «utHcie''t pure in smell 

 almost to mix with a perfume. — Scientific American. 



MisOR Indcstiiiks. — The .samples of locally pre- 

 I'lred preserves Mr. Jayewiidene has sent us include 

 Pine Apple .Tarn, Orange Marmalade, Candied Orange 

 Marmalade. -Sour Orange {Kinliiil dodan) Marmabide, 

 Soar Orange Candied Marmalade, country Olive 

 (/■(;■»/«) .lellyj Oitroa M iruialade and Candied 

 Orange preserved entire. He writes: — "Having 

 iearitt from .i Frenchtnan the art of preparing 

 jams, jellies, marmalade, pickle and various 

 other such things, and spent much money in 

 txpeiiiueutiiij; uu Native fruits, ix., fur ueady , 



years past, I was encouraged by your article on 

 " Minor Industries" in your paper of the 20th Nov- 

 ember to take up the' enterprise you opportunely 

 suggested. I herewith send yon a few .samijles of 

 what I h.ive prepareil ; but owing t^, the want of 

 suitable vessels, 1 am prevented from si'uding you 

 from all the kinds I have now in stock. I call 

 yimr special attention to the jelly prepared of country 

 olives (only a very little is sent, as it was made 

 only for experiment) which we in Sinhalese call /'«■«//(. 

 It is oiie of the corntnonest fruits, as you well know, 

 but not much used in any way. After preparing 

 in variou,s methods, I succeeded in making this 

 delicious jelly of a beautiful colour. I am unable 

 to semi ^on some nice pickles till I get suitable 

 vessels to send them in, and I am put to very 

 gre.at inconvencieuce and expense owing to want of 

 suitable vessels. The preserves, jams, &c., prepared 

 of some Native fruits, you will know, are very whole- 

 some, even in cases of serious indisposition, for instance 

 the beli-fruit, and sour orange, kc, are considered 

 by Native Vedaralas as not only wholesome, but 

 very eflicacious in some diseases." "We have great 

 pleasure in testifying to the excellence of Mr. 

 Jayew.'u-deiie's preparations. They are clear, of tine 

 flavour, and seem to justify his claim that they 

 are pure and wholesome. He says that owing to 

 the difUculty of securing suitable pots and jars. 

 a supply of which he expects from Euglauil, he 

 is unable to open a regular establishment for 

 thi'ir sale, but he is prepared to execute orders 



i .and to send his preparations from house to hou.se, 

 at <10 to 50 cents per lb. according to the price of 

 the fruit. There can be no doubt of the whole.some- 

 ness of preparations of the fliH-frmt, Sour Orange, 

 •Ve^i and other fruits in certain disorders ; and we 

 hope it will not be long before Mr. Jayewardeue 

 reaps the reward of his enterprise. \\'hy sliould nut 

 earthen pots, well burnt and glazed, like those in 

 which Guava jelly is .sent out from India, answer!' — 

 "Examiner." 



GuTTAS. —Messrs. Heckel and Schlagdenhauft'en have 



I already shown that the tree from which Shea butter 

 is obtained {Bi'ti/i-osprrjiutui Pm-kii^ Kotschy) furnishes 

 a guttapercha which they compare to that of 



i Isotmndra Gutia, Hook. (Comptes Rerulns, c, 123'J). 

 They have now made a chemical examination of 



j this product, and iu a note communicated to the 



, Paris Academy of Sciences {Comptes Reitdus, ci., 

 1069) state that it compares well, in its fibrous structure 

 and resistance, with the red gutta of Borneo. Its 

 specific gravity is 0'976 as compared with 01)75 to 

 O'USO, the standard given by Payen as that of com- 

 mercial guttapercha. In its solubility in carbon 

 bisulphide, cblorofotm, benzine, cold or boiling alcohol, 

 the two almost exactly agree. But petroleum ether, 

 ethylic ether, oil of turpentine, and boiling acetic 

 acid dissolve less of it than of ordinary guttapercha, 

 and these liquids when evaporated do not yield the 

 same products ; the residues from the butyrospermum 

 gutta having a pitcliy consistence, while those of 

 commercial gutta from a dry adhesive varnish. For 

 industrial purpo.ses it seems to be equal to the best 

 gutta percha of commerce, as it can be worked up 

 iu water quite as easily, and the moulds made with 

 it are in no way inferior. This new guttapercha 

 has therefore a promising future before it, if it can 

 be obtained iu sufficient ciuantity for commercial pur- 

 po.ses. In a recent paper by Dr. Treub on the gutta- 

 percha yielding plants of the Dutch East Indies, 

 that author states that the original guttapercha 

 plant, I^onand ra Guttiiy Hook., is almost extmct as a 

 wild jilant, and he recommends the cultivation of 

 some of the most valuable species of Palnquium, 

 especially /'. ohlonipfolium, which are at present the 

 source of the guttapercha of commerce. The natives 

 mix the ]). oduets of \arious species, which differ greatly 

 in (juaUty and properties, and hence if the product 

 of the species which yield the best gutta were obt.ained 

 separately from cultivated trees, a far better quality 

 than any yet seen in commerce might be obtained.— 

 Phuniiaceutiad Journal. 



