EXPERIMENTAL AND ANAT,YTICAL WORK I583 



1 162 - Recent Investigations at the Imperial Institute, London: Whales' Bones from 

 the Falkland Island ; Naked Barley from Cyprus ; Edible Beans from Burmah ; Paper- 

 Making Materials from South Africa ; African Silk. — Bulletin of the imperial 



Institute, Vol. XIV^, No. 2, pp. i4()-i8i and 261-267. London, April- June 1916. 



Whales' bones from the Falkland Islands. — The whaling industn^ of the 

 Falkland Islands and its Dependencies (South Shetlands, Graham's Land, 

 South Orkneys and South Georgia) is now the most important in the 

 world. In the 1913-1914 season 9429 whales were caught, the total value 

 of the products being £1 301 548. The bones, which accumulate in 

 enormous quantities, were formerly thrown away, but are now boiled 

 down with the flesh to extract the oil, and the residue is converted into 

 manure. In the 1913-1914 season, 1327 bags of bone meal valued at 

 £570 were produced in South Georgia, while the entire Colony and its 

 Dependencies in the same year produced 94 835 bags of whale guano 

 valued at £47 887. An average sample of the bones reduced to a meal 

 was analysed at the Imperial Institute with the following results which 

 are shown in comparison with those recorded for commercial raw bone 

 meal : 



Moisture 



Organic matter 



containing nitrogen 



oil 



Phosphoric acid 



lyime 



Magnesia etc 



Siliceous matter 



Naked Barley from Cyprus. — In a sample of skinless barley received 

 from Cyprus, the grains varied in size, were of a light brown coloitr and 

 had a dull translucent appearance. Their germinating power was 96 per 

 cent within 5 days. The barley was analysed and compared with En- 

 glish and Azof varieties with the results given in Table I. 



This naked barley could not be employed for malting purposes 

 but possibly might be used by distillers. Also it ranked as a good class 

 of feeding barley and might be employed for blending with other feeding 

 stuffs. In March 1916 it was valued at from £2 los to £2 12s 6d per 480 

 lbs. c. i. f. London. 



Edible beans from- Burmah (i). ■ — Experiments have been carried out 

 at Mandalay, Burmah on the cultivation of Lima beans {Phaseolus lunatiis) 

 which were introduced from Madagascar and California in 1912-1913 and 

 of tepary beans (P. acutifolins) which were introduced from the United 

 States in 1914-1915. The first crop of Madagascar Lima beans contained 

 more prussic acid than the original seeds (0.0025 "to 0.008 as against 0.002 



(i) See R. 1916, No. 5. ' (Ed. 



