338 



in the ease with wliich the work can be prosecuted ,• the first results 

 being- obtained in ten days, and the whole completed in twelve or four- 

 teen. In the old methods, it was necessary to add a very large propor- 

 tion of vinegar to the wine in order to transform a small quantity of 

 the latter, so that from one tub of one hundred quarts only nine quarts 

 of vinegar were furnished weekly ; while by the new method nine and 

 a half quarts can be furnished daily, or sixty-six in a week, being seven 

 times as much as by the old method. In consequence of the more rapid 

 preparation by the new process, the \iuegar is less aromatic when com- 

 pleted, but very soon acquires this important quality. 



Adulteration of wool.— An additional illustration of the modern 

 tendency to adulterate articles of commerce, (in this instance, fortu- 

 nately, the result not being injurious to health,) we find in an adver- 

 tisement in a recent German journal ofl'ering to sell the secret of a 

 process by which wool, in the yarn or the fabric, can be made to weigh 

 from 10 to 25 per cent, more than originally, according to the color 

 desired, and without injury to the fiber or affecting the most delicate 

 colors, or the physical character of the article in the slightest degree. 



Protecting GRAIN fields from crows. — An effective method of pre- 

 venting the devastation, by crows, of fields that have been recently 

 planted with grain, is said to consist in stretching cords, longitudinally 

 and transversely, upon stakes, about a foot above the earth, and about 

 ten paces apart. 



Adulteration of clover-seed. — A confidential circular from an 

 enterprising German in Hamburg has lately come to light containing an 

 oifer to sell several tons of sand suitable for mixture with clover seed, 

 the grains of which resemble the seed so closely that it is almost 

 impossible to distinguish them by the eye. The writer of this circular 

 announces that this sand is in great demand, especially in England, for 

 purposes of adulteration. Two colors are supplied, one for red clover 

 and one for white. 



Nitrogen IN mulberry leaves. — Some important investigations 

 were prosecuted, not long since, by Dr. Eeichenbach upon the chemical 

 composition of the leaves of the mulberry in connection with the silk-worm 

 disease, in the course of which he ascertained that such leaves, as grown 

 in Europe generally, had a much less percentage of njtrogeuous matter 

 than those of China and Japan. He has lately cpntinued his inquiries 

 by an analysis of leaves from Turkistan, and has found in these an unusual 

 percentage of nitrogen, varying from 3.35 to 4.05 per cent, in the dry 

 leaf. 



In some accompanying remarks upon this jiaper by Liebig, stress is 

 laid upon the importance of such investigations in determining a priori « 

 the value of diflerent qualities of leaves for raising silk-worms, and it 

 is stated that where nitrogen is deficient, the silk-worm suffers in its 

 general health, and consequently in its ability to produce a healthy and 

 abundant silk cocoon. The cause of the paucity of nitrogen in the 

 European leaves is believed to be the result of long continued cultiva- 

 tion of the tree in the same soil, and especially the use of leaves from 

 trees that have attained their full size. In a growing plant, as the 

 roots are perpetually pushing out into new and unexhausted soil, the 

 proper supply of nourishment is obtained ; but the moment a complete 

 development of the tree is accomplished a diminution of nitrogen in 

 the leaves commences, with the results indicated ; so much so that a 



