400 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec.  i,  1892. 
Yellow  Complexion  from  Eating  Papaws. — 
The  Singapore  Free  Press  of  let  Nov.  says  : — 
Wereati  in  tbe  Java  Bode  that  the  military  sureeon 
Dr.  Jacobs,  relates  in  the  last  cumber  of  the  medical 
periodical  there,  three  cases  of  perrons  whose  skin 
became  yellow  by  eating  papayas.  The  first  was  a 
European  lady  with  a fine,  white  skin  and  a healthy 
complexion.  She  was  accustomed  to  eat  a papaya 
after  tiffin  and  also  after  supper.  The  second  is  the 
commander  of  a man-of-war,  who  used  to  eat  papaya 
every  day,  and  the  third  a gentleman  of  Italian 
origin  who  da;lyfor  the  last  three  years  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  eating  these  fruits.  The  lady  gradually 
lost  her  yellow  complexion  by  no  longer  eating  the 
lruit,  the  marine-officer  regained  his  normal  complexion 
on  leaving  for  Europe,  but  he  resumed  his  yellow  tint 
on  returning  to  India  and  on  again  eating  the  fruit. 
The  Italian  still  continues  to  eat  his  dainty  and  to  be 
yellow.  The  conclusion  Dr;  Jacobs  arrives  at  is  that 
the  papaya  contains  Borne  colouring  matter  which 
reacts  on  the  fkin. 
Voiatile  Constituents  of  Cinnamon — Sohim- 
mel  and  Co.,  in  their  October  report,  claim  that  the 
result  of  Weber’s  examination  of  cinnamon  leaf 
oil  (ante,  p.  6)  is  in  full  accord  with  their  ex- 
periments with  oil  distilled  by  themselves.  They 
further  stats  that  the  product  formerly  known  as 
cinnamon  root  oil  likewise  originates  from  cinna- 
mon leaves,  but  that  it  shows  a rather  different 
composition.  Safrol  is  present  besides  eugenol, 
whilst  cinnamic  aldehyde  is  replaced  by  benzoic 
aldehyde,  and  terpenes  are  present  in  larger  pre- 
portion. The  oil  from  cinnamon  bark  contains  a 
large  amount  of  cinnamio  aldehyde  and  6 to  8 per- 
cent. of  eugenol.  The  presence  of  safrol  has  not 
yet  been  established,  though  it  probably  does  occur. 
In  an  examination  of  the  terpenes  of  Ceylon 
cinnamon  oil  of  their  own  distillation,  Messrs. 
Sohimmel  recognised  phellandrene.  It  is  noted  as 
a peculiarity  of  Cinnamomum  zeylanicum  that  it 
contains  quite  different  volatile  constituents  in  its 
roots,  leaves,  and  bark  ; camphor  beiog  most 
prominent  in  the  root  oil,  eugenol  in  that  from 
the  leaves,  acd  cinnamic  aldehyde  in  the  oil  from 
the  bark. — Pharmaceutical  Journal,  Got.  29. 
Boiler  Pitting  Cured  by  Graphite  and  Oil. 
— In  the  American  Machinist  of  July  28th,  Mr.  T.  T. 
Parker  has  a very  interesting  column  article  regarding 
pitting  in  boilers.  Besides  some  clever  theories,  he 
has  this  to  say  from  a practical  point  of  view  : “ A 
boiler  of  the  porcupine  persuasion  pitting  was  found 
in  the  mud  drum.  Acting  under  advice,  the  drum  was 
cleaned  and  scraped,  after  which  it  was  painted  with 
graphite  mixed  with  cylinder  oil.  Measurements  of 
the  depths  of  the  pits  were  taken,  and  six  months 
after  they  were  found  no  deeper,  and  no  new  ones 
had  shown  up.  Other  parties  have  since  tried 
this  experiment  in  mud  drums,  but  it  is  too  early 
as  yet  to  give  the  result.  However,  knowing  the 
character  of  plumbago,  if  the  interior  of  a boiler 
could  be  painted  with  it  in  such  a way 
that  it  would  stay  it  may  be  this  would 
prove  a remedy.  I am  satisfied  also  that  the 
person  doing  so  would  kill  two  birds  with 
one  s-.one,  as  tbe  soale  could  be  easily  detached.  Iu 
a pair  of  cylindrical  boilers  42x28  oeoeiionai  appli- 
cations of  cylinder  oil  (mineral)  and  plumbago  has 
kept  back  corrosion  on  a trial  of  six  months.  Boilers 
were  new  when  plumbago  was  used.  The  boilers 
which  the  new  oses  rep'ared  were  thrown  out  rotten 
from  corrosion.  The  feed  was  mine  wafer,  as  nothing 
else  could  be  had.”  In  addition  to  Mr.  Parker’s  re- 
marks we  add  that  Messrs.  Harig,  Hoop  & Co  , Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  after  experiencing  more  or  less  trouble  from 
rust  and  scale  in  the  mud  drums  of  their  boilers, 
applied  with  great  success  graphited  oil,  purchased 
from  the  Joseph  Dixou  Crucible  Company,  Jersey 
City.  The  mud  drums  were  cleaned  out  acd  the 
graphited  oil  applied  with  swab,  brush  or  anything 
handy  to  the  joints  and  parts  where  the  water  en- 
ters the  drums.  Every  four  or  six  weeks  this  process 
is  repeated  with  the  most  gratifying  results. 
Coffee  Leaf  Disease  in  Java. — The  Singapore  Free 
Press  of  1st  Nov.  says  Soutabaya  reports  as  to  the 
coffee  leaf  disease  are  somewhat  contradictory.  Never- 
theless the  Handelsllad  assures  us  that  numbers 
of  gardens  belonging  to  the  Government  as  well  as 
to  private  individuals  have  suffered  very  much 
from  this  siokness.  Perhaps  the  approaching  West 
monsoon  will  do  something  to  stay  the  disease,  other- 
wise the  prospect  of  a good  ooffee  crop  is  very  doubt- 
ful. An  agreeable  prospeot  for  the  gentlemen  coffee 
planters  and  the  Government’s  exohsquer 
The  Gold  Production  of  the  World. — Year 
by  year  the  gold  production  of  the  world  is  (says 
the  London  Times ) increasing,  and  the  result 
for  1891  were  the  largest  on  record.  In  round 
numbers,  the  production  for  the  last  five  years  wa 
as  follows -.—1887,  5,097,600cz.;  1888.  5,251.0C0ozs 
1889,  5,641,00Uoz. ; 1890,  5 58,GOOO->z.  ; and  1891, 
6,033,000oz.  For  the  first  time  for  many  years 
there  was  a slight-set  back  in  1890  A noticeable 
feature  of  recent  years  has  been  the  development 
of  the  Witwatersrand  Goldfields.  The  produc- 
tion of  these  fields  has  been  as  follows  : —1887, 
34,897oz.  ; 1888,  230,917cz.;  1889,  379,733oz.;  1890, 
494,801oz.;  and  1891,  729,2l3oz.  Adding  in  1891 
the  output  of  other  Transvaal  goldfields,  which 
amounted  to  aboul  107,000oz,,  the  total  production 
of  the  Transvaal  for  1891  reaches  836,250oz.  For 
the  current  year  it  is  expected  that  the  production 
will  quite  reach  l,250,000oz.  In  1888  the  Transvaal 
only  produoed  4^  per  oent.  of  the  world’s  yield, 
but  in  1891  the  proportion  had  risen  to  13  8 per 
cent,  and  this  year  it  is  tolerably  certain  to  reach 
21  per  cent.  The  following  was  the  production 
in  1890  for  the  countries  named  : — United  States 
about  1 586  500oz.  ; Australia,  1,469  200oz.  ; and 
Russia,  l,019,000oz  As  the  return  for  these  coun- 
tries has  not  altered  to  any  large  extent,  tbe 
Transvaal  will  probably  take  tbe  third  place  for 
the  current  year  RDd  very  likely  the  second  place  in 
1893.  Mining  in  tbe  Transvaal  has  not  yet  reached 
its  culminating  point,  as  new  mines  are  being 
constantly  opened  and  old  ones  Etiil  further  de- 
velopep. 
Analysis  cf  the  Banana. — W,  M.  Doherty, 
Assistant  Government  Analyst,  New  South  Wales, 
has  undertaken  the  analysis  of  the  banana  fruit, 
basing  his  investigations  on  the  Cavendish  or  Fiji 
variety  (Musea  Cavendishii).  which  is  the  kind  in 
chief  demand  in  Australia.  In  his  report,  read 
before  the  Australian  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Soienee,  he  gave  the  results  of  the  analysis 
of  picked  specimens  divested  of  their  skins.  These 
proved  that,  far  from  the  fruit  being  a perfect 
food  for  man,  as  frequently  claimed,  the  small 
quantity  of  albuminoids  present  indicates  it  as 
being  insufficiently  nutritious.  To  obtain  the 
quantity  (4-2  ounces)  of  flesh-forming  substanoes 
required  by  the  average  man  under  normal  con- 
ditions, fiiteen  pounds  weight  of  the  fruit  would 
need  to  be  consumed  daily,  and  this  would  contain 
nine  pints  of  water.  The  banana  is  therefore 
described  as  a very  unevenly  balanoed  food,  not 
suited  alone  for  the  diet  of  man,  but  an  excellent 
and  wholesome  addition  to  a diet  rich  in  nitrogenous 
substances.  In  nutritive  properties  it  bears  a re- 
semblance to  the  potato,  as  shown  by  the  following 
results  of  a comparison  analysis  : — 
Cavendish 
Banana.  Potato. 
Water  75  71  75  77 
Albuminoids  :..  ...  1 71  1 79 
Total  carbonaceous  matter  (dod- 
nitrogenous)  ...  ...  20 13  20-72 
Woody  fibre  ...  ...  1 74  0-75 
Ash  0-71  077 
Chemical  News , Ixvi,  187). — Pharmaceutical  Journal ^ 
Out.  29. 
