Miscellaneous, 71 



of plant growth, shows that it has a high manurial value. In 



Greenland specimens, the ash has been found to contain ten per 

 cent of phosphates. The proportion of water in the recent weed 



is so large, however, that sea-weed cannot be profitably carried to 



great distances, but along the shores of the lower St. Lawrence and 



in other maritime provinces, where it can be readily obtained at 



certain seasons, its value can scarcely be overrated. The processes 



that have been suggested for converting the sea-weed into a paste 



for transport, mixing with peat ashes, <fec., do not seem likely to 



lead to any useful result, so far as the British American provinces 



are concerned. 



PAPER MATERIALS. 



The cry for "more rags" which paper-makers raised some 

 years ago, necessary failed to increase the supply of rags, but it 

 served to bring materials to the paper-mill that had not been 

 previously thought of. Hollyhock stems and straw and heather, 

 and a hundred other substances, were tried and found suitable in 

 various degrees. Many of these, while capable of being converted 

 into paper, could not be profitably used in the manufacture ; but 

 several have taken their place as really important sources of paper 

 fibre. Plants that require to be cultivated exclusively for this 

 purpose are not likely to yield satisfactory results, and of late 

 years, therefore, attention has been especially directed to the wasta 

 products of agriculture. In all agricultural plants woody fibre is 

 produced to a greater or less extent, and that of the straw of 

 cereal grains has been used for a number of years to a considera- 

 ble extent. The leaves and husks of Indian Corn (^Zea Maize) 

 are also coming into extensive use, as appears from interesting 

 details published by Professor Lindley in the Gardeners' Chroni- 

 cle. Dr. Lindley's account of the manufacture appears to be 

 founded upon statements that have appeared in the Breslauer 

 Gewerheblatt and the Daily Telegraph, a London paper. The fol- 

 lowing extracts will be of interest on this side of the Atlantic, 

 where Indian Corn is produced in such enormous quantities : — 



" Recent experiments have proved Indian Corn to possess not 

 only all the qualities necessary to make a good article, but to be 

 in many respects superior to rags. The discovery to which we 

 allude is a complete success, and may be expected to exercise the 

 greatest influence upon the price of paper. Indian Corn, in coun- 

 tries of a certain degree of temperature, can be easily cultivated 

 to a degree more than sufficient to satisfy the utmost demands of 



