Vol. V. No. 101. 



THE AGKICULTUEAL NEWS. 



VEGETABLE BUTTERS. 

 (Concluded from p. 59.) 



To turn, now, to the other clas.s of vegetable butters — 

 those made from nuts. The deodorised cocoa-nut oil or 

 vegetable butter, as it is so often called, being unemulsified 

 fat, or solidified oil, and tasteless, cannot be used on bread 

 in place of dairy butter, and although the claim is made 

 that it is nutritious, it is scarcely to be regarded either 

 as a true butter, or possessing much nutritive power. But 

 the butters made from nuts are in reality true butters 

 and very nutritious. They possess also — unlike the deodo- 

 rised cocoa-nut oil — distinctive flavours, and are valuable 

 additions to bread and other foods. These nut butters 

 can be spread upon bread and eaten. They are now 

 becoming largely used, especially by the stricter class of 

 vegetarians, who object to animal matter in any form. 

 These nut butters can be formed into a kind of milk and 

 cream by mixing up with water, and used in tea, coffee, 

 puddings, etc. I think these nut butters well worthy the 

 attention of the profession, and should be more frequently 

 recommended by chemists to be used in place of ordinary dairy 

 butter. They are superior to the latter in many ways. Thus, 

 nut butters, being vegetable compounds, keep fresh and pure 

 very much longer than animal butters; but as they contain 

 the moisture natural to all nuts, the_v will not keep indefinitely, 

 and should be made with strict care from good sound nuts 

 only, and stored in lever-lid tins nearly full. The usual 

 .sizes sold contain -1- It), or 1 K)., prices varying from 9(/. to 

 Is. 6(?. per ft). I would here advise those who live in large 

 towns, and have a difficulty in getting really pure and fresh 

 dairy butter, to give these valuable nut butters a trial. They 

 are guaranteed free from chemical preservatives, and well 

 worthy of a trial. 



Butter made from sweet almonds is the daintiest and is 

 usually most liked ; that from walnuts is also excellent. 

 Pea-nut butter has a coarse flavour, and is used more in 

 baking bread, and in sauces to pour over cooked vegetables. 

 It is not eaten on bread like the almond or walnut butter. 

 Cocoa-nut butter is also a dainty article, but more used 

 in cakes and biscuit. These butters may be prepared on 

 a small scale by blanching the nuts, and grinding to 

 a smooth consistency through some of the small mincing 

 machines now so much used, such as ' The General Cutter,' 

 made by Messrs. Spoiig &■ Co., Holborn, London ; or ' The 

 Magic Food Chopper,' made by Messrs. Follows and Bates, 

 Gorton, ^Manchester, and sold at 5s. Qd. each. These 

 are very useful little machines for many purposes, apart 

 from kitchen requirements, and as there are four different- 

 sized cutting plates with each machine, they grind or cut 

 up a variety of things, such as senna leaves which are 

 easily ground after being previously dried. To make 

 the nut butters, pass the nuts through one of the 

 larger cutting plates in the machine, and then through the 

 small-sized cutting holes. There is also a small mill made by 

 Messrs. Mather ifc Co., engineers, Wellingborough, and sold 

 at about £i, which would give good results. It can be 

 worked by hand or power, and is an excellent small mill for 

 levigating ointments and paints, and for many other uses. The 

 various nut butters, however, may be purchased ready put up 

 for sale. ilr. Hugh Mapleton, Ardwich, Manchester, makes 

 some very fine kinds. They can also be obtained from the 

 London Nut Food Company, Battersea Park, S.W., or the 

 International Health Association, Legge Street, Birmingham. 

 The Pitman Stores, health food specialists, Birmingham, 

 also supply these and many other specialties. 



I would advise chemists to stock and recommend 



various health foods more than they do at present, and to 

 write to the firms named above for a copy of their illustrated 

 price lists. 



THE PURIFICATION OP WATER. 



The following note on the purification of wator, 

 taken from the Demerara Argosy, of January 20, 190G, 

 might prove of interest and value in those places 

 where there is a difficulty in securing and maintaining 

 a snppl}' of pure water: — 



The purification of water is a prcjblem to which a good 

 deal of attention lias been given here, but still we are face to 

 face with the fact that our main supplies — apart from lain 

 water — are more or less polluted. It is interesting to learn 

 that copper sulphate, which, when used for preserving 

 vegetables, is generally condemned, has remarkable properties 

 in purifying water. This discovery was made some time ago 

 by Dr. Moore, of the Agricultural Department of the United 

 States Government, who found that, when employed in 

 minute quantities, it will destroj' algae and other impurities 

 which give to water a stale and fishy odijur, and also kill 

 a large percentage of harmful bacteria. A description is given 

 in U'rt^ec by Dr. .J. Howard-.Jones, Medical Officer of 

 Health for Newport (Mon.), <jf the first application of copper 

 sul[)hate in England for piuifyiiig water. The experiment 

 was made in three reservoirs supplying that town. The 

 ti'eatment followed closely on the lines found successful 

 in Amei'ica. First the Ynis-y-fro reservoir, containing 

 81,000,000 gallons of water, was dealt with. The plan 

 adopted was to tie bags, each containing 28 ftj. of copper 

 sidphate, five at a time, from tlie edge of a raft, which was 

 towed over the whole surface of the reservoir. As the cop})er 

 sulphate di.sai>peared in solution new bags were tied on. In 

 all, twenty-eight bags of this weight were used. The results 

 were entirely satisfactory. Within twentj'-four hours there 

 was a marked improvement in the water, both on the 

 surface and at a depth of 10 feet, when examined in a 2-foot 

 tube. In a few days the water was brilliantly clear, and 

 the staff reported they had never seen the reservoir look so 

 well. Samples of water were taken at various depths during 

 the days following the treatment, with the result that in le.ss 

 than a week, the water was again deli\-ered tfi the public, fi-ee 

 from any appreciable traces <if cupric sulphate. 



THE VALUE OF THE SHARK. 



In the -lanuary issue of the Journal of the. Society 

 of Arts the following interesting facts are embodied in 

 the report of tlie acting Commissioner of Somalila)id. 

 Writing on the subject of the shark fishery off the coast of 

 Berbera, he says that ten t<:) fifteen dhows from the Arabian 

 coast visit the fishery during the season; that about 1,000 

 sharks are caught, averaging -t feet to 5 feet in length. Of 

 the five Squalidae known to the natives, the two-horned or 

 hammer-headed shark is the commonest catch. The quantity of 

 liver oil obtained from six fish is 5 gallons. This is extracted 

 by l>oiling, and the thick liquid is purified by straining 

 thi'(Uigh matting. The price per tin of -1 gallons, purchased 

 direct fi'om the fishermen, is 1 rupee 4 annas ; purchased, 

 however, in the town only a mile distant from the spit where 

 the crude manufacture is carried out, the cost is 3 rupees to 

 31 rupees (about -ts. &d.), although there is no expense at all 

 on its transit. The oil is used for caulking country craft. 



The body of the shark after being salted and dried in 

 the sun, is sold in the bazaars, the fins and the tail being 

 considered the most succulent parts. The spine and the jaw, 

 if the latter is large, are vended as curios at Aden. 



