413 



recovered by distillation. The resultiug fat \vill be completely free from 

 smell, taste, and color, and is absolutely neutral, containing no trace of 

 water or nitrogenous substances, on which account it can be kept with- 

 out change for years. Although this method is somewhat tedious, it is 

 yet effective ; and taking into consideration the much greater quantity 

 of fat extracted and its greater purity, its economy will be amply vin- 

 dicated. 



Utilization of surplus potatoes. — In cases where the potato crop 

 is so large as not to be readily marketable, and more or less in danger 

 of decaying through the winter, the surplus can be so treated as to 

 furnish a valuable article of food, capable of i^reservation for a long 

 time. For this purpose the ])Otatoes are to be washed clean, steamed, 

 peeled while still hot, and tinally pressed through a fine sieve. The 

 jjotatoes thus comi)ressed are then to be laid, while still hot, upon gTat- 

 ings and dried as quickly as possible, say in ten or twelve hours, in order 

 to avoid any souring or putrefaction ; this being generally the result of 

 drying too slowly, or with an insufficient heat. The potatoes dried in 

 this way are of an excellent flavor, and can be packed and kej)t for years 

 in a drj- place, and are serviceable for provisioning ships, armies in the 

 field, '«S:c. About 1,000 pounds of fresh potatoes will make 100 pounds 

 of the dry article, which, when properly prepared, will have precisely 

 the flavor and appearance of freshly boiled potatoes. 



Prize op eeet sugar association. — The German Association for 

 beet-root industry, at Berlin, has lately offered a prize of a thousand 

 thalers for the solution of the following problem : The yield of crystal- 

 lized white sugar from the different crude beet sugars is not in a direct 

 ratio to their polarization. What investigations and calculations can 

 be suggested in order to determine, theoretically, beforehand, the yield, 

 in refined white sugar, which any beet-root sugar will furnish ? 



FACTS FEOM YAEIOUS SOUEOES. 



• 

 Agriculture in Egypt. — A paper was recently read before the 

 Ayrshire (Scotland) Farmers' Club, on the condition of agriculture in 

 Egyi^t, from which we- glean some interesting facts. Although the 

 methods of agriculture are yet primitive, the tenure of lands uncertain, 

 and a system of forced labor obtaining to a considerable extent, Egypt 

 produces considerable crops of grain, cotton, sugar, corn, and clover. 

 Thousands of tons of sugar are yearly exported from Alexandria ; while 

 it is stated that the cereals and clover return crops as heavy as those 

 of "Scotland, even under what is called in that country lii^h farming. As 

 is well known, this great fertility is promoted by the rich deposits of the 

 ISTile in its annual overflows. The water of this stream is brownish in 

 color, and leaves a sediment on the land in the shape of a crust, which 

 prevents evaporation and consequent drought. When it is necessary to 

 overflow lands on a higher than ordinary level, or still furthe!- to enrich 

 them, three modes of raising the water are practiced. The first is by 

 manual labor, the second by animal labor, and the third by steam-power. 

 A very common mode of manual labor is to use a leathern basin slung 

 from a pole, which is mounted on pivots and balanced by a large stone 

 as a counterpoise at the other end. The basin end is depressed by the 

 laborer until it dips into the water below ; on being freed it is raised by^ 



