184 



THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



follows:— (1) The daily gathering of vast 

 masses of mky clouds risiug slowly from 

 the south-west and up to the zenith with 

 an ominous stillness, as if a great storm 

 must burst forth ; next a great puif of air 

 from the centre of the mass, which 

 rapidly becomes stronger, and within an 

 hour breaks up and disperses every par- 

 ticle of cloud. {2) This threatening of 

 rain and storm taking place about 4: to o 

 o'clock of an afternoon, sometimes for six 

 or eight days m succession, and occurring 

 only during dry seasons. And the ques- 

 tions submitted on the above data, are:— 



(1) Why do these great ram-bearmg 

 clouds not condense their moistures ? 



(2) What is wanting in the conditions oi 

 the atmosphere during dry seasons 

 under the circumstances related above — 

 as compared with the conditions of the 

 atmosphere during wet seasons, when 

 small gatherings of clouds give down 

 copious rains ? (3) Is man likely to hnd 

 a remedy ? and, lastly, if so, the possible 

 or probable form of it ? We may look on 

 this matter as of national importance, 

 and all squatters would gladly tax them- 

 selves to provide a fund or bonus for the 

 solution of this great problem ; this 

 should be made known. And 1 think a 

 solution will some day be found, because 



in all that relates to man's occupation of 

 the earth, no insuperable bar has yet 

 been met, for when one great step m 

 advance is gained — such as steam travel 

 — fresh possibilities thus open to view, 

 and fresh triumphs are won m the suc- 

 cessful occupation of the world. And 

 why not in the regions of the air as well 

 as on the land ? My belief is the human 

 race is only on the threshold of the oc- 

 cupation of the earth, and that m a not 

 remote future no great area of the earth s 

 surface will be unoccupied by reason of 

 extreme of climates. Yes, the time will 

 come when the present waste places, now 

 so vast, will be the homes of countless 

 millions oi c.vilised men — when even 

 the burst-up, sun-blasted wastes of Aus- 

 uaiia will support their share of 

 humanity, and it will be felt that an 

 active life — if a just one — is ihe truest 

 form of worship of that Being who gives 

 us the earth to subdue. 



What a revolutionising of Australian 

 squatting affairs would be brought al)out 

 by the possession of means of draw- 

 ing rain from the clouds ; and what pos- 

 sibilities of supplying the old country 

 with our meats in bulk, the scheme you 

 are now intent on. Let me hear from 

 you some day about my craze. 



A Creamery Bye-Product. 



rrHE following is taken from "Chambers' 

 i Journal" :— Many new industries 

 have been developed in the British Isles 

 at the close of the last century. One 

 of the most novel had its birth in the 

 vicinity of Buckingham — namely, that 

 of the manufacture from the milk of 

 creameries, after the butter has been ex- 

 tracted, of a substance known by ^ the 

 highly classical name of plasiuon. This 

 substance takes its name from the^ Greek, 

 meaning "that which gives form." 



The fresh milk as it comes from the 

 cow is put into a separator, all the cream 

 being removed by this method. The 

 separated milk is afterwards treated so 

 as to coagulate all the proteids of the 

 milk ; and this coagulated mass is then 

 kneaded and dried at a temperature of 



seventy degrees centigrade v.nder an 

 atmosphere of carbonic acid gas. \\ hen 

 perfectly free from moisture the plasmon 

 is ground into a granular powder, which 

 is completely soluble in hot water. 



As an article of commerce this sub- 

 stance has a great future before it, and u 

 opens up a fine field for the farmer or 

 dairy-keeper to get rid of the separated 



milk. „ , 



The process of manufacture is an ex- 

 pensive, though very rapid, one ; special 

 machinery having to be got from Ger- 

 many, as the substance was origmaliy 

 prepared there by a well-known chemist 

 named Siebold. n i ^„ 



As to the economic value of plasmon 

 there can be no doul)t when it is known 

 that the German Government supply it 



