230 



Sydney, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South 

 Wales. Mr. Maiden is still pursuing his energetic labours in 

 this direction, and further results will, I understand, soon be 

 published. 



OIL-YIELDIXG PLANTS. 



The cultivation of certain oil-yielding plants may yet yield 

 good results. Olive oil has for some years been successfully pro- 

 duced in South Australia. It is a splendid article, and is 

 deservedly commanding an increased sale. There is, I am told, 

 some prospect of a trial being made with castor oil. For this oil 

 there is a considerable demand, and, judging from the facility 

 with which the tree grows, there seems no reason why it should 

 not be successfully cultivated. There were some good specimens 

 of sesame and peanut oil from the Northern Territory show-n at 

 the Exhibition last year. From this I gather that the plants 

 yielding those oils grow well in that district. Then again there 

 are doubtless many indigenous trees capable of yielding valuable 

 products, medical or otherwise, but the inA'estigation of such 

 matters requires long and patient labour, and there are few 

 workers in the field. 



METALLURGY. 



So long as metallurgical processes are conducted on a small 

 scale, as they are at present, little can be done that has not 

 already been done in the matter of economy. In older countries 

 large metallurgical works, such as those at Freiberg, include a 

 large number of different processes, yielding different products, 

 and all help to contribute to their success. Here the great diffi- 

 culty seems to be to obtain a market for many of the products. 

 For example, in connection with the extraction of gold from 

 pyrites, the latter can be burned in suitably constructed kilns, 

 and the sulphur dioxide so produced utilised in the manufacture 

 of sulphuric acid, the residue being in a condition suitable for 

 extraction of gold by amalgamation. But most samples of 

 pyrites contain arsenic, which can only be partially condensed, 

 though it often is condensed in Europe and preserved for various 

 purposes. The sulphuric acid from the pyrites therefore becomes 

 contaminated with arsenic, and would not command such a ready 

 sale for some purposes as the purer article, though it might be 

 applied in many cases just as well as the purer acid. The great 

 difficulty is that more acid would be produced than there is a 

 market for. But may it not be possible in some instances to 

 combine with the manufacture of sulphuric acid from this source 

 other processes in which the sulphuric acid could be utilised ? At 

 Mount Morgan I am credibly informed that it is intended to 

 make the sulphuric acid and chloride of lime used in the New- 

 berry -Vautin chlorination process. If this be the case I am not 



