THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



25 



available as a mannre. He tavonrod an 

 expensive German method of dealing with 

 it by means of chemici'l agencies, and 

 advocated the i)utting tlown of a plant for 

 this purpose. But Sir Thomas Wright- 

 son suggested that they should hrst sub- 

 mit samples to some qualified person to 

 find out, if possible, whether the phos- 

 phoric acid was in such form as to need 

 chemical treatment. Eventually, several 

 samples were submitted to Sir Thomas 

 Wrightson's brother, Professor Wrightson, 

 of Downton College, Wiltshire, and who, 

 at the time, held an important appoint- 

 ment under Government. The report 

 they had from him was that he thought 

 if the slag was ground to an impalpable 

 powder, and applied to the land, the soil 

 itself would carry out all the chemical 



processes necessary to convert it into 

 plant food. Undcsr Professor Wrightson's 

 supervision, some samples were ground 

 exceedingly fine, and sown, both at Down- 

 ton and in the county of Durham. The 

 produce of manured and adjoining un- 

 manured plots having been carefully 

 weighed and compared, its value as a 

 manure was conclusively demonstrated. 

 The idea of chemical treatment was aban- 

 doned, the slag was ground to an impal- 

 pable powder, put on the market as a new 

 fertiliser, and, in the course of a few years, 

 became one of our most popular of artifi- 

 cial manures. 



This, then, is the story at first hand, pro- 

 bably the first time it has been publicly 

 told, of how basic slag found its way on 

 to the market. — The Stockbreeder. 



Coal Returnsm 



Return of Coal raised and labour employed at the Natal Collieries for the month of 

 February, 1901 :— 



Tjaboiir Emnloved. 



Name of Colliery. 



Natal Navigation 

 Dundee ... 

 Natal Marine 

 Elands Laagte 

 St. George's 

 Natal Steam Coal ... 

 New Campbell 

 Newcastle 

 Inkunzi ... 

 Dudley ... 

 West Lennoxton 

 East Lennoxton 

 Crown 



Total 



Above Ground. 





Below Ground. 



Coal raised. 



E. 



N. 



I. 



E 



N. 



I. 



tons. 



cwt. 



14 



90 



86 



10 



312 



80 



9,555 



6 



12 



25 



104 



10 



138 



293 



7,874 







10 



82 



22 



8 



3 



3(30 



7,840 







12 



16 



105 



9 



145 



205 



7,770 







13 



130 



16 



7 



267 



2 



6,141 







6 



52 



19 



3 



140 



6 



4,219 







7 



32 



18 



6 



97 



7 



1,437 







4 



12 



12 



5 



126 



1 



1,273 



17 



1 



8 







1 



39 







507 



17 



3 



35 



2 



1 



12 







333 







2 



4 



4 



1 



5 



20 



320 











No 



Return. 













No Return. 









84 



486 



388 



61 



1,284 



914 



47,271 







Mines Office, 



March 6th, 1901. 



CHAS. J. GRAY, 



Commissioner of Mines. 



Return of Coal bunkered and exported at the Port of Durban for the month of 

 February, 1901 :— 



tons. cwt. 



'Coal Bunkered ... ... ... ... ... 17,463 9 



tons. cwt. 



Coal exported to Cape Colony ... ... 4,105 19 



Beira ... ... 87 19 4,193 18 



Total bunkered and exported ... ... ... 21,657 7 



'Included in this item are 529 tons 2 cwt. of Imported Coal, 



Customs House, Port Natal, GEO. MAYSTON, 



4th March, 1901. Collector of Customs. 



