THE TECHNOLOGIST. (.July 1, 1865. 



560 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 



the carbonaceous matter itself, arid was not owing to the presence of an 

 inorganic sulphide or sulphate, was proved in several ways, and was 

 further confirmed by the observation that the more completely the 

 mineral matter had been removed the more sulphur was found in the 

 specimen of Tasmanite operated upon. 



Fibre of the Arrowroot Plant. — A colonial paper states that 

 another and important discovery has been made, arising out of the 

 manufacture of arrowroot. A Mr. Cole, whilst pursuing his ordinary 

 method of detaching the farinaceous bulb from the stem, had been in the 

 habit of throwing the latter to his pigs, who appear to have fed 

 voraciously upon the succulent matter which the stems and leaves con- 

 tained, but leaving a residue in the form of a " quid " in many instances, 

 which the discriminating animal appeared to reject as unfit for porcine 

 delection. The attention of Mr. Cole being attracted by this circum- 

 stance, his curiosity led him to examine minutely the components of 

 these rejected pellets of matter, and finding that they chiefly consisted 

 of a stringy fibrous substance, the stamina of the plant, he proceeded 

 upon this hint to institute a series of experiments upon the hypothesis 

 that the stem of the plant might be made to yield a material of value 

 as an article of commerce, as well as the farina derived from the bulb 

 at the root. By a process of maceration in water the soft parts become 

 detached from the fibre, which, thus denuded of their former adherents, 

 presented a sheath of distinct filaments running the entire length of the 

 plant, which on the Tomago soil averages from five or six feet. Thus, 

 by a process of simple observation and deductive experiment, Mr. Cole 

 arrived at a given result without the aid of scientific knowledge or 

 appliances other than those acquired and extemporised for the occasion. 

 What may be the value of this discovery when submitted to a scientific 

 and commercial test we do not pretend to say ; but prima facie, it 

 appears to us that if the fibre yielded by this plant can be applied to 

 textile purposes, or to the manufacture of paper, this, taken together 

 with the produce of its bulb, must render it a valuable addition to the 

 catalogue of useful husbandry and of manufacture. The filaments of 

 this fibre are exceedingly fine, with a soft, silky appearance, and such 

 a% we should infer, are admirably suited for the manufacture of paper, 

 even if they should prove of insufficient tenacity for the production of 

 woven fabrics. Arrowroot manufacture is carried on in many of the 

 West India Island?, in India, Australia, and Natal. 



Skilled Female Labour in the rural districts of France forms an 

 important feature in the industry of the country. There are in the 

 neighbourhood of Arras 6,000 lace-makers, who earn about a franc a 

 day, without neglecting their household duties. Glove-making also is 

 gradually leaving the towns to settle definitely in the country. Thus, 

 in the Haute- Marne, a single firm gives employment to upwards of 2,000 

 hands ; in the Isere there are 15,000 needlewomen engaged in the trade, 

 and around Greenoble there are about 1,200 cutters who turn out 



