6o 



NATURE 



[September i6, 1915 



Fig. I. — Illustration of girafie. From Hoskins's 

 "Travels in Ethiopia. ' 



front of the neck. In both cases the giraffe faces 

 towards the right, and there can be little doubt that 

 they are efforts of our recent ancestors to try to copy 

 an ancient picture. 



G. A. Hoskins published his "Travels in Ethiopia" 

 in 1835 ; consequently his animal figures are entitled 

 to rank as early representations, though they were not 

 done with zoological intent. A feature of the work 



is a series of colour- 

 printed plates show- 

 ing an expedition 

 returning from the 

 land of Punt, and 

 among the figures 

 appears to be the 

 original of Prof. 

 Eastman's giraffes. 

 The accompanying 

 illustration (Fig. i), 

 due to the skilled 

 hand of Mr. W. 

 Ashton, serves to 

 show the delicate 

 accuracy of Hos- 

 kins's copy, which 

 must in its turn be 

 very closely similar 

 i|7 (W \ \ to " the Egyptian 



iffi Tl I ^ painting. Attention 



may be directed to 

 the prehensile lips, 

 the form of the 

 shoulders, and the 

 tuft of hair at the 

 end of the tail. The 

 colouring of Hos- 

 kins's plate en- 

 hances the accuracy 

 of the details. The giraffe is only an item, 

 and, like the elephant in the same procession, 

 is evidently a young animal, as it is only a 

 little taller than the men in charge of it. The paint- 

 ing includes the leopard, hunting cat, ibex, dogs, 

 cattle, and a curious bear-like animal, the portrait 

 of which is probably as true to life as the others. 

 Four distinct races are shown among the human 

 figures who are carrying elephants' tusks, ostrich 

 feathers and eggs, and skins of different kinds, as 

 well as many other treasures from the southern lands. 

 Hoskins states that the original painting was in a 

 tomb of the time of Thothmes HI., but excavation 

 had not then proceeded far, and possibly the structure 

 is what we now know to be the west terrace of Queen 

 Hatshepset's temple of Der el Barhari. Here, accord- 

 ing to Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge's description, there are 

 bas-reliefs that must be very similar to, if not identical 

 with, the painting copied by Hoskins. The expedition 

 to Punt was a feature of Queen Hatshepset's reign, 

 and occurred about 1600 B.C., while the association of 

 Thothmes's name is accounted for by this gentleman's 

 habit of substituting it for that of his predecessor. 



G. W. Grabham. 

 Khartoum, August 21. 



THE WORLD'S SUPPLY OF POTASH. 

 TN view of the scarcity of potash occasioned by 

 ^ the war, the Imperial Institute has issued a 

 pamphlet (pp. 47, price 15.) under the above 

 title, in which a review is given of the existingf 

 sources of supply and sug-gestions made as to 

 the possibility of obtaining potash from materials 

 not hitherto worked for this purpose. The potash 

 NO. 2394, VOL. 96] 



used in this country has been almost exclusively 

 derived from the Stassfurt deposits, south of 

 Magdeburg, which have been so systematically 

 and economically worked since about 1862, that 

 German potash, on account of its cheapness, has 

 driven all other competitors from the market. 

 Potash salts are essential constituents of plant 

 food, and the greater part of the potash salts 

 extracted at Stassfurt is used as a fertiliser; but 

 relatively large quantities are employed in various 

 chemical industries and in the manufacture of 

 glass and soap. 



Besides the Stassfurt deposits, there is only one 

 extensive deposit of carnallite at present known, 

 and that is the Spanish deposit of Catalonia, the 

 working of which, it is stated, has recently been 

 commenced. This deposit has great commercial 

 promise, and, next to those of Stassfurt, may 

 prove to be the most important source of potash 

 at present known. There are also deposits in 

 India, which may prove to be of importance if 

 they can be worked sufficiently cheaply. 



AH plants contain more or less potash, and the 

 utilisation of the ash of wood, the ash of sea- 

 weeds, of beetroot residues, and similar by-pro- 

 ducts of industries in which vegetable raw mate- 

 rials are employed, is of importance as a source 

 of potash, especially at a time of scarcity like the 

 present. The burning of seaweed and the ex- 

 tracting of potash from the ash, at one time an 

 Important Industry on the coasts of Scotland and 

 Ireland, has recently shown signs of revival. 

 From Ireland during 191 3, 3939 tons of kelp, 

 valued at 16,631^., were exported. As a rule the 

 Irish kelp contains more potash than that pro- 

 duced in Scotland. At the present time the 

 utilisation of the giant kelps of the Pacific coast 

 Is regarded by many as the most promising source 

 of soluble potash salts In the United States. The 

 best account of the new industry which has sprung 

 up on the Pacific shores was given by F. K. 

 Cameron In a paper read before the Franklin 

 Institute In 1913 (Journ. Franklin Institute, vol. 

 clxxvi. , p. 347). According to an official estimate 

 6,000,000 tons of potassium chloride could be 

 obtained annually from this source. It was shown 

 by Balch In 1909 that the giant algae of the 

 Pacific, the principal species being Nereocystis 

 and Macrocystis, contain about five times as much 

 potash as the majority of seaweeds, the average 

 percentage on the dried weed being from 15 to 

 20 per cent, of K.20- Since the publication of 

 these results various labour-saving devices have 

 been tried for cutting and collecting the weed, and 

 the cost per ton of weed now landed Is stated to 

 be about 20 cents. 



The preparation of potash salts and iodine has 

 also become an important industry on certain parts 

 of the coast of Japan, and It is stated that Japan 

 now supplies about 80 per cent, of the iodine con- 

 sumed in the United States. The weeds used on 

 the coast of Japan are species of Lamlnaria, Eck- 

 lonia cava, E. hicyclis, and Sargassum, spp. 



In Canada the burning of wood to ash was for 

 several years a considerable source of potash, but 



