1907.] Live Stock Import Regulations. 



541 



The question whether fine-ground felspar can be used as a 

 potash fertiliser has frequently been discussed on the Continent, 

 and in a Bulletin (No. 104) published by the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 a review is given of the various experiments which have been 

 conducted in past years on this subject, from which it appears 

 that the conclusions reached have not been very definite. 



It may be admitted that the potash contained in ground 

 felspar is at least in some part available as a plant food, 

 but the question whether it can be made sufficiently available 

 under certain conditions to be an economical substitute for 

 concentrated and soluble potash salts remains to be determined. 

 A very important point is the degree of fineness to which the 

 felspar can be ground. 



The suggestion has also been made that the potash could be 

 extracted from the rock by chemical and electrical processes. 

 This has not yet been done on a commercial scale, but it has 

 been done in the laboratory, and the method is described in 

 a recent United States Bulletin (Office of Public Roads, 

 Bulletin No. 28). Briefly, it consists in converting the ground 

 felspar into slime by adding water containing a small quantity 

 of hydrofluoric acid. This slime is placed inside a suitable 

 wooden vessel and a current of electricity is passed through 

 it. The alkali set free by the action of the acid is carried 

 away, while the acid appears to be used over and over again. 

 Finally, a material is obtained in which the potash which has 

 been set free is soluble and available. It is hoped that further 

 investigation will result in the discovery of a commercial 

 method for making the potash contained in felspathic rocks 

 completely available. 



The regulations relating to the importation of animals into 

 Natal, which were summarised in this Journal, Vol. xiii, 

 November, 1906 (p. 489). have been 

 Live Stock Import amended by an Act dated 10th September, 

 Regulations, Natal. 1907, whereby all cattle imported into 

 Natal by sea, except those accompanied 

 by certificates given by qualified veterinary officers approved 

 of by the Minister of Agriculture, are upon their arrival to be 

 quarantined until tested with tuberculin, and not released 



