470 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



series of observations made on the Atlantic Ocean. Three thousand francs 

 will be divided between authors of the best observations made at sea or at 

 points but little known to meteorologists. Two prizes, of 500 and 300 

 francs each, are offered for the best memoirs upon the application of me- 

 teorology to agricultural questions. All meteorologists are admitted to 

 competition without distinction of nationality. Memoirs must be delivered 

 to the Secretary of the Society before the 31st of December, 1865. 



A New Mordant. 



M. Shultz has discovered a new mordant for silks and other dyes, con- 

 sisting of acetate of alumina and arseniate of soda, which he believes will 

 take the place of albumen, gluten, tannin and other matters now employed 

 for that purpose. He mixes at the ordinary temperature four grammes of 

 ordinary aniline violet in powder with a quarter of a litre of acetate of 

 alumina and twenty grammes of arseniate of soda, thickening it with starch 

 boiled in -water, the quantity of starch to be diminished in proportion to 

 the darkness of the color to be fixed. In the case of prints it is recom- 

 mended to mix the arseniate of soda and the acetate of alumina with the 

 coloring matter, and to steam the fabric or yarns over the mixture. For 

 dyeing it is said to be better to treat the tissue or yarns in the first place 

 with the mixture of the two salts and afterwards to dip them in the color 

 vat in the ordinary way. Salts or compounds of tin, combined with alu- 

 mina, may be substituted for arseniacal acid. 



California Silk. 



California is better adapted than any part of Europe to the growth of 

 the mulberry and the breeding of silkworms. The fertility of its soil and 

 the dryness of the climate give a peculiarly rich and nutritive character 

 to the leaves, which imparts a higher, finer, and more delicate quality to 

 the silk produced from them. Certificates from the highest authorities in 

 Europe show that California silk, after being tested, carefully analyzed, 

 and compared with European silk, proves to be of a very superior quality. 



Imperial Tokay. 



The village of Tokay, which gives to this wine its name, is situated in 

 Hungary, on the top of a hill, at the confluence of the rivers Rodvog and 

 Theiss. The vineyards from which this peculiar wine is made are in ex- 

 tent but little over three miles square, about ten square miles. The earth 

 is a yellow chalk mixed with large pebbles. The wine is white. There 

 are four different kinds. That which is generally exported is made by 

 placing sound grapes in a wooden vat with a double bottom, the upper one 

 being pierced with small holes. The vat, when carefully filled with grapes, 

 is covered with boards. After a few hours the grapes become heated to 

 80'' Fah., when fermentation begins. This destroys the tartaric acid, and 

 the weight of the grapes forces the juice below the false bottom. After- 

 wards, the grapes are trodden by foot. The wine is poured into casks, and 

 after fermenting for two days, is exposed to the air for a month. The best 

 wine has a silvery, oily color, a sweet and mellow taste, with a peculiar 



