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Pollution in water. — A bill in reference to public health has been 

 brought before the British Parliament, with a strong probability of its 

 becoming- a law, embracing, as it does, the recommendation of the Royal 

 Sanitary Commission, which has been engaged for some time past in 

 suggesting points for legislation. The principal part of the enactments 

 have reference to the pollution of water by the discharge of refuse ani- 

 mal, solid or liquid, matters into it; and as it may be of interest to our 

 readers to know what the highest sanitary authorities in England con- 

 sider as "pollutions" of water, we append their definitions of the same 

 as given by the act. 



1. Any liquid containiug ia suspension more than three parts, by weight, of dry 

 mineral matter, or one part by weight of dry organic matter Jki 100,000 parts, by 

 weight, of the liquid; or, 



2. Any liquid containing in solution more than two parts, by weight, of organic car- 

 bon, or ".0:i by weight of organic nitrogen, in 100,000 parts, by weiglit, of the liquid ; or, 



3. Any liquid which exhibits by dayUglit a distinct color, when a stratum of it one 

 inch deep is placed in a white porcelain or earthenware vessel ; or, 



4. Any ]i(iuid which contains in solution, in 100,000 parts by weight, more than two 

 parts by weight of any metal, except calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium ; or, 



5. Any li(iuid which, in 100,000 parts by weight, contains, whether in solution or 

 suspension, in chemical combination or otherwise, more than .05 part by weight of 

 metallic arsenic ; or, 



6. Any liquid which, after acidification, with sulphuric acid, contains, in 100,000 

 parts by weight, more than one part by weight of free cldorine ; or, 



7. Any liquid Avhich contains, in 100,000 parts by weight, more than one part by 

 weight of sulphur, in the condition either of sulphuretted hydrogen, or of a soluble 

 sulphuret ; or, 



8. Any liquid possessing an acidity gi-eater than that which is produced by adding 

 two parts by weight of real muriatic acid to 1,000 parts by weight of distilled water ; 

 or, 



9. Any liquid possessing an alkalinity greater than that produced by adding one 

 pai4',^by weight, of dry caustic soda to 1,000 parts, by weight, of distilled water. 



Function op potassium in soils. — According to Robbe, the presence 

 of potassinm in soils is necessary in order to enable the chlorophyll 

 grains of the leaves to form starch; sodium and lithium being unable 

 to replace potassium in this function, the latter indeed being actually 

 injurious. He has also ascertained that the different combinations of 

 potassium vary very much in their value, the chloride being by far the 

 most efficacious. 



Preventing- sows from devouring their young. — It is well 

 known that sows not uufrequently attack and devour their own young ; 

 or if prevented from this, will not let down their milk, so that the young 

 pigs necessarily die for want of nourishment. When this state of things 

 is not caused by a diseased condition of the uterus, it is said that the 

 sow can be brought to terms by pouring a mixture of ten to twenty 

 grains of spirits of camphor, with one to three of tincture of opium, into 

 the ear. The sow will immediately lie down on the side of the ear to 

 which the application was made, and remain quiet for several hours in 

 this position without interfering with her pigs ; and on recovery from 

 the stupor will have lost her irritability in regard to them. The experi- 

 ment has been tried in Germany hundreds of times, according to one 

 of the agricultural journals, without any injurious effects. It is also 

 said that the eating of pigs by the parent sow can be readily prevented 

 by rubbing them all over witli brandy, and making the same application 

 about the nose of the sow herself. 



