124 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



stony slope with little on it but heather, until we 

 reached a little rill by the side of which were 

 growing Saxifraga stellaris, Carex dioica and Alchemilla 

 alpina. As we ascended, a careful search was re- 

 warded by the discovery of Saxifraga nivalis, Poa 

 alpina, and Polygonum viviparum. From the top of 

 the mountain there was a magnificent view of the 

 Grampian Range, and along the valley of the 

 Tummel, over Lochs Tummel and Rannoch to the 

 hills of Glencoe. Intending to descend to the 

 Kirkmichael Road, we crossed a spur of the hill, and 

 followed another, rill some little distance. Here 

 we found Thalictrum alpinum, Selaginella selagiiwides, 

 Saxifraga oppositifolia, Jimcus triglumis, Carex rupestris, 

 and a few leaves of Ritbus chamcemorus, but no fruit' 

 which, however, we found and enjoyed a few days 

 later on Schiehallion and Ben-y-gloe ; the acid berries 

 being of more than botanical interest in the middle 

 of a hot day's walk. Our time did not allow us 

 to carry out our intention of descending by this 

 route, and we had to make the best of our way 

 back by the path on which we came up. 



On a second occasion, intending to explore the 

 summit more thoroughly, we pushed on until within 

 a few hundred feet of it. Then, turning off the 

 track, we clambered over the loose stones and 

 grassy slopes, where we were fortunate enough to 

 find Cerastium alpinum, Gnaphalium supinum and 

 Astragalus alpinus ; a little further on we gathered 

 Potentilla sibbaldii, and then a mist made it advisable 

 for us to descend. Amongst the loose rocks on our 

 way down, was growing Polystichum lonchitis, of 

 which every frond that we found had been nibbled 

 by some animal. The last plant that we lit upon 

 was a Hieracium, which proved on examination to 

 be H. nigresscens, var. lingulalum. Both these walks 

 were in the afternoon, each only taking between 

 four and five hours. Had we had more time at 

 our disposal, our list would probably have been 

 considerably extended. 



Exwick, -near Exeter ; March 12th, 1895. 



EXPERIMENTAL AGRICULTURE. 



HPHE subject of Technical Education is one in 

 -*- which all Englishmen who wish their country 

 to hold its own against foreign nations, should be 

 interested. Our County Councils are doing some 

 work in framing schemes of agricultural and hor- 

 ticultural education, and in training instructors to 

 give practical men the kind of information they 

 lack. But there is great fear that the work done 

 by the County Councils may fail to reach those 

 practical cultivators for whom it is intended. In 

 addition to the experimental farms established, 

 foreign countries are continually publishing the 

 latest results in the form of leaflets, which are 

 distributed to farmers, market gardeners and hor- 

 ticulturists. One cannot expect farmers and fruit 

 or flower growers to attend evening lectures, but it 

 has been found that they will come to an experiment 

 station and see practical results. The County 

 Councils might easily establish small experiment 

 stations and issue journals. 



BACTERIA AND FILTRATION. 



T T was pointed out in a recent lecture by an 

 eminent scientific man that so far as ordinary 

 filters were concerned, many kinds were little 

 better than culture beds for various species of 

 disease-producing bacteria. Examination showed 

 that filters which permitted any particles to pass 

 would admit the microbes to the water which was 

 supposed to be pure. This has been a source of 

 grave difficulty with sanitary officials, who found 

 the bacteria were in the water after passing through 

 the filter. Mons. Pasteur, the eminent bacterio- 

 logist has, however, so perfected the invention of his 

 colleague, Dr. Chamberland, that it now seems to 

 be impossible to conceive the smallest bacilli 

 passing with the water. The " Pasteur Germ 

 Filter " is made in the form of a long narrow, 

 hollow tube, constructed of porous earths blended 

 and baked into a strong hard substance, like 

 porcelain in appearance. Although highly porous, 

 the interstices are so fine that no solid substance, 

 be it ever so small, can pass the outside. To clean 

 this tube it is only necessary to sponge or brush 

 the outside to remove whatever has become 

 attached, when the filter is again ready for work, 

 so lasting practically " for always." It seems, in 

 face of the modern knowledge of bacteria, almost 

 hopeless to expect to get rid from the water of all 

 these dangers to human life and happiness ; but we 

 have in the Pasteur Filter, certain safeguard, if the 

 water be soon used and not allowed to stand until 

 an outside supply of bacteria can again infest it. 



Some interesting particulars as to the action of 

 filters in stopping those bacteria which infest water 

 were published in the " British Medical Journal " 

 of December 29th last. The article deals with the 

 report of investigations, then recently concluded, 

 into the action of every known filter. This examina- 

 tion was conducted at the Research Laboratory 

 of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, 

 in London ; and other investigations on filters 

 are referred to which took place in the Public 

 Health Laboratory of the University of Edinburgh. 

 Those of our readers who have not had oppor- 

 tunity of reading that article will find much that is 

 highly suggestive of danger in taking water which 

 has been imperfectly treated, or even made unsafe 

 through being nominally filtered by an imperfect 

 medium. In some filtering media, which have not 

 been frequently changed, masses of bacterial jelly 

 have been found with sufficient disease germs to 

 have killed half the inhabitants of a large city. 



The sizes vary with the necessities of the users 

 of the Pasteur Filter, as they are made to treat 

 different quantities of water, of from two gallons 

 per day to hundreds of thousands of gallons in a 

 like period. These filters are supplied in England 

 by Defries and Sons, Limited, of London, and 

 cannot be too widely known. 



