47 



Jkietiitt jinfes. 



Disease in Silk Worms. — A premium of 40,000 francs (1,600/.) is 

 offered by the Department of l'lsere, France, for an efficacious remedy 

 against the silk worm disease. To entitle a competitor to the pr ize, he 

 must prove that by a consecutive experience of three years he has dis- 

 covered an efficacious means of curing or preventing the " gatine " and 

 " pebrine '' maladies by which the silk worm is attacked. These experi- 

 ments must have been conducted in Grenoble or within a radius of 8 

 kilometres or more of that town. It must be the result of the educa- 

 tion of 25 or 30 grammes of eggs per month. All who desire to com- 

 pete are to notify to the administration the locality where their experi- 

 ments have been carried on. 



Tobacco-Seed Oil. — Mr. Tredinnick stated a few years ago that he 

 had found the seed of the tobacco plant to contain about 15 per cent, 

 of oil possessing peculiar drying properties, calculated to render it a 

 superior medium, especially for paints and varnishes. The process 

 employed for extracting the oil was to reduce the seed to powder, knead 

 it into a stiff paste with hot water, and then submit it to the action of 

 a strong press. The oil thus obtained was submitted to a moderate 

 heat, which by coagulating the vegetable albumen of the seed, caused 

 all impurities contained in the oil to form a cake at the bottom of 

 the vessel employed, leaving the oil perfectly limpid and clear. It 

 possesses the drying quality to a much higher degree than any other 

 oil, a circumstance which would render it of great value to painters 

 and varnish makers, if it could be obtained in quantity. 



A New Use of Glycerine. — It is not many years ago that glycerine 

 was a waste product, which the manufacturer of oils and fats was glad 

 to get rid of in any way. Now it has attained a high commercial value, 

 and every day new and enlarged economic uses are found for it. From 

 its emollient and beneficial action on the skin, it is an excellent com- 

 ponent for toilet soaps, but it has hitherto been generally excluded from 

 soap in saponifi cation, and can only be introduced mechanically. The 

 difficulty has hitherto been to incorporate more than ten per cent, of 

 glycerine, as it was found to make the soap too soft. Mr. E. Rimmel 

 has, however, discovered and patented a method of combining glycerine 

 with soap by fusion, so as to introduce 30 per cent, into the mass, while 

 the soap is perfectly hard. Persons whose skin suffers from the use 

 of ordinary soaps, may now employ this pellucid glycerine soap with 

 confidence, as it does not irritate, but rather corrects acridity and softens 

 the skin, an evident advantage for ladies and children. The transparent 

 aspect conveyed by the glycerine contained in it, and the delicious 



