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SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVII. No. 424 



change, only producing by its presence the liberation of the oxygen. 

 It is a beautiful illustration of its catalytic action. It is needless 

 to say that the precipitated oxides can be used over again, ad in- 

 finitum,, with the same effect. The calcium-chloride solution is 

 decanted from the settled cobalt hydroxide in the generator, 

 charged with a fresh solution of bleaching-powder, shaken, and 

 the evolution of oxygen commences again. Nickel salts will act 

 on bleaching-powder in the same manner, but the evolution of 

 oxygen is much slower. 



— The twelfth annual exhibition of instruments by the Royal 

 Meteorological Society, London, was opened on Tuesday evening, 

 March 3. The exhibition this year was devoted to rain and 

 evaporation gauges, and such new instruments as have been con- 

 structed since the last exhibition. Almost every known pattern 

 of rain-gauge that has been used in this country was shown, and 

 it was interesting to compare the old patterns with the new pat- 

 terns. Most of the gauges had funnels five or eight inches in 

 diameter. The Meteorological OfBce 8-inch gauge is generally 

 regarded as the best gauge for ordinary observers, to whom cost 

 is not a primary object, as it has all the good features of the 

 Glaisher and of the Snowdon patterns, and, being of copper, is 

 very durable. In mountainous districts, where the rainfall is 

 heavy, and the gauges can only be periodically examined, gauges 

 capable of holding forty or fifty inches of I'ain must be used. 

 Specimens of these gauges, as well as of the rain and snow gauges 

 used in France, Germany, Eussia, Switzerland, and the United 

 States, were shown in the exhibition. Some interesting storm- 

 gauges and self-recording gauges were also exhibited. The evap- 

 oration-gauges included several instruments employed for measur- 

 ing the evaporation from a free surface of water, and others for 

 use with growing plants. A number of new instruments were 

 also exhibited, among which were various anemometers, recording 

 barometers, and cameras for meteorological photography. An 

 interesting collection of maps of rainfall over the British Isles and 

 various parts of the world, as well as numerous photographs of 

 floods, meteorological phenomena, etc., were also on view. The 

 exhibition remained open till Thursday, March 19. 



— Bulletin No. 26 (January, 1891) of the Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is on 

 "Sugar-Beet Culture in Wisconsin." This bulletin presents the 

 results of investigations made during the season of 1890 with 

 sugar-beets for the production of sugar. The work has been 

 under the general direction of the Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D.C., which also rendered financial aid. In addi- 

 tion to the experiments carried on at the station, experiments were 

 conducted at five sub-stations, — one in each of tbe following 

 counties; viz., Walworth, Rock, Waukesha, Marquette, St. Croix, 

 — and by seventy farmers in different parts of the State. A sum- 

 mary of the results is as follows: 1. The six varieties of sugar- 

 beets grown contained from 14.81 to 16.76 per cent of sugar in the 

 juice. The co-efficient of purity ranged from 83.3 to 86.3 per 

 cent. About half an acre of each variety was grown, and the 

 yield of washed beets varied with the different varieties from 16 

 to 26 tons per acre. The estimated yield of sugar varied from 3 

 to 3* tons per acre. In a well-managed factory about 80 per cent 

 of this quantity would be recovered as pure granulated sugar. 2. 

 A careful account of the work done in planting and cultivating 

 the plats of sugar-beets grown, showed that it cost from 84 cents 

 to $1.38 to grow a ton of beets. This does not include the cost of 

 harvesting and delivery, which may be considered as about equal 

 to that of growing the crop. 3. The beet-culture at five sub sta- 

 tions gave beets whose sugar contents ranged from 12.81 to 17.14 

 per cent of sugar in the juice, while the beets would have yielded 

 from 4 tons (at the St. Croix County station, where wet cold 

 weather in June caused the beets to rot, and greatly reduced the 

 yield) to nearly 39 tons per acre. The latter heavy yield was esti- 

 mated from the plats grown at the Waukesha County station. 4. 

 Seventy farmers in 39 counties of the State sent samples of sugar- 

 beets grown by them for analysis. The results of the analyses 

 showed a very wide range, according to the kind of seed used, the 

 manner of growing, skill of the grower, etc. The lowest of all 

 analyses showed 6.-18 per cent, and the highest 18.79 per cent, of 



sugar in the juice. The latter result was obtained from beets 

 grown near New Holstein, Calumet County, from which locality 

 also other samples were obtained containing a very high percent- 

 age of sugar, indicating that this section may prove particularly 

 well adapted to sugar-beet culture. Of other sections that seem 

 well suited to this crop may be mentioned the counties of Kewau- 

 nee, Washington, Rock, Jefferson, Waukesha, Milwaukee; in 

 short, the whole eastern and south-eastern portion of Wisconsin. 

 Upon further trial, it is hoped that the western portion of the 

 State may also be found adapted to this plant. There seems no 

 cause in soil or climate to prevent good beets being produced there. 

 5. Beet associations should be formed, and each member should 

 pledge himself to grow from two to three acres of beets, in order 

 to test the capacity and adaptability of the soil in different locali- 

 ties. Common sugar-beet seed may be used for most of the plant- 

 ing, parts of a few rows being from genuine imported sugar-beet 

 seed. 6. The results of the sugar-beet investigations for the year 

 past are very satisfactory, and encourage the belief that Wisconsin 

 is well adapted to sugar beet culture. The people are urged to 

 continue their interest in the matter, to move forward with cau- 

 tion, and in no case to enter upon the construction of beet-sugar 

 factories until there is positive assurance that the farmers will- 

 grow sufficient beets to keep the factory running for the whole 

 working season, and that the soil of the particular locality is 

 adapted to the crop. 



— United States Consul Bradley of Nice reports that much of 

 the olive-oil exported from France is adulterated with different 

 seed and nut oils. At least seven or eight of the seed products 

 are so employed. When our fellow-citizens imagine that they are 

 eating their salads with olive-oil, it is possible that at least a por- 

 tion of the oil eaten is either cotton-seed, ground-nut {Arachis 

 hypogcea) sesamum, poppy, camelina, rape, or flaxseed oil. The 

 French farmer and the agricultural stations are doing what they . 

 can to remedy this, as growers of the olive are being seriously 

 injured by these cheap mixtures, just as our dairy farmers were 

 hurt by manufactured imitations of butter; but they can do little 

 without the assistance of the buyers. It is quite possible to obtain 

 the pure article now by co operating with agricultural stations at 

 shipping points, say, Nice, Marseilles, and Bordeaux. At Nice, M. 

 R. BruUe, director of the agricultural station, says, that, if buyers 

 will make it a condition of their orders that samples of the oil to 

 be shipped be placed at the disposal of the consul or director of 

 the station by the oil-merchant for analysis, he wiU analyze it, 

 and pronounce upon its purity, giving a certificate of the same to 

 the merchant shipper. On receipt of the consignment, the buyer, if 

 he wishes, can repeat the examination by a compai-atively simple 

 process recently discovered by M. Brulle. If oil has not been sent 

 according to sample furnished, the shipper will be liable to a 

 criminal action. The fear of this would be a strong reason for 

 honesty. 



— At a recent meeting of the Ohio State Horticultural Society, 

 and also of the Columbus (Ohio) Horticultural Society, resolutions 

 were passed asking the State Legislature to pass a law compelling 

 owners of plum and cherry trees affected by black knot to destroy 

 the infested branches. In a bulletin just issued by the New Jer- 

 sey Experiment Station, Professor B. D. Halsted, one of our most 

 eminent economic botanists, urges the passage of such a law in 

 that State, giving the following reasons therefor: "There are 

 some good reasons for legislating against the black knot {Plow- 

 rightia morbosci) of the plum and cherry trees. In the first place, 

 the fungus is beyond question extremely destructive: whole 

 orchards of large size in many parts of the country have been 

 abandoned because of this parasitic plague. Second, it is a 

 conspicuous disease, and during a half of the year when the trees 

 are defoliated the knots can be found without the I ast difficulty. 

 Any attempts to shield the trouble, on the part of the owner, 

 would be fruitless, even if he should care to preserve the curse. 

 In the third place, the remedy is the very heroic one of the knife, 

 and easily, safely, and with certainty applied. There may be 

 some compounds put upon the diseased parts that will kill the 

 fungus ; but it is so deeply seated, that, when a twig is thoroughly 

 infested, there is little left for the fruit-grower to do but to cut 



