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large numbers by tlie Indians, the young birds especially. This species 

 differs from the ordinary goat-sucker in being almost exclusively a veg- 

 etable-feeder, the result of which is the deposit of a large quantity of 

 fat under the skin. The oil is half liquid, transparent, and so pure that 

 it Avill keep more than a year without becoming rancid. In many pans 

 of North America the fat of the wild pigeon is said to be collected by 

 the Indians, both as an oil for light and as a substitute for butter. Very 

 recently a trade has sprung up iu the Gulf States in oil obtained from 

 the American pelican, which, we learn, is actually quotetl in the market 

 of New Orleans at about a dollar and a half per gallon. A fleet of 

 small vessels is occupied in following up these birds in their different 

 haunts, and killing tliem, although the process by which the oil is ex- 

 tracted is not indicated ; nor is tlie reason given why the value of the 

 product should be so great, compared with that of nearly all the other 

 animal oils in market. It is much to be regretted that this new mode 

 of extermination of our coast birds should have been initiated : and it 

 may well be asked whether it is not the duty of the proper authorities 

 to pass stringent laws prohibiting- this practice. 



New disease of the coffee-plant. — According to M. J. Berkley, 

 a disease has lately appeared in the coffee plantations of Ceylon which 

 threatens to become of serious import. The albumen of the berry is 

 developed sufficiently to present the usual convoluted appearance, but 

 the growth appears to be suddenly arrested. As a result, the substance 

 is not sufticiently solidified, and consequently it contracts and acquires 

 a dusky tinge, in some cases becoming black. No indications of fungi 

 were observed by Mr. Berklej'. The disease has been attributed to sud- 

 den changes of weather, and it is thought to be possibly of no mora 

 than local development. 



New milk- producing tree. — A new milk-producing tree iu the 

 Valley of the Amazon has lately been brought to the notice of Europe- 

 ans. It is known as the '^lassaranduha, and appears to be a species of 

 Mimusops, of the natural order iSapotadecc. The wood is valuable, and 

 used for various purposes, and the milk flows freely from the trunk 

 upon incision, but hardeus on exposure to the air, and then has an 

 elastic property similar to that of gutta-percha. This juice is used as 

 food when fresh, but never in its pure state, being either mixed with a 

 small quantity of water, or with coffee or tea like ordinary milk. 



Treiviellat process- for preserving grapes. — A recent process 

 for preserving grapes through the winter, introduced by M. Tremellat, 

 of Marseilles, is commended in agricultural journals as answering its 

 purpose better than many of the improved methods of the day. This 

 depends upon the fact that, in the ordinary storage of grapes, a portion 

 of the water, both of the stem and of the berry, is lost by evaporation, 

 so that they dry up unless moisture is restored to them. To obviate 

 this difficulty the bunches are cut iu such a manner as to leave a con- 

 siderable portion of the adjacent woody part of the vine, and are then 

 suspended over a vessel filled with water, so that while -only hanging 

 near the surface of the water the ends of the stems are immersed. 

 As the moisture evaporates from the grapes it is restored by capillary 

 absorption through the stem, and no change takes place. By means of 

 the arrangement thus indicated M. Tremellat has succeeded iu keeping 

 gra})es from one year over into another, fresh and fair as in the moment 

 of gathering, and his method is now used on a large scale iu Paris and 

 elsewhere. 



