312 
Sttppkment to the " Tropical Agriculturist." 
[Sept. 1, 1902. 
cool.. The tobacco will then absorb a certain 
amount of moistnreand become soft, and the colour 
will become regular. If wet weather should come 
after this process is finished keep small flres in the 
shed to maintain an even temperature. More 
tobacco is spoilt by too fast airing than too slow, 
and care should be taken to see that the tobacco 
does not get wet or poleburn while the drying 
process is going on. If such should occur, open 
up the shed at once to allow free circulation of 
air, and when the sweating stops go on with the 
fires. The system generally followed by growers 
in Victoria is that for air curing is open sheds 
with the aid of little firing. The shed is covered 
round with hessian, Which is rolled up during fine 
weather, and the air allowed to get through the 
tobacco. 
Directly wet weather ensues the hessian is 
dropped, the shed closed as close as possible, and 
small fires lighted in pits to keep out an excess 
of moisture. — Victoria Agricultural Journal. 
GENEEAL ITEMS. 
In Germany the regulations of the Meat 
Inspection Act of 1900 are of the strictest, and 
prohibit the use of boracic acid and its salts, 
formaldehyde or formalin, salicylic acid atid its 
compounds and other less known substances ; 
but in England the Committee of the L^cal 
Government Board have allowed the use of 
boracic acid and its compounds in fresh and 
cured meat, butter, &c., (equivalent to 5 per cent 
boracic acid) and one grain per lb. or pint of 
salicylic acid except for milk, cream, and butter 
and infants' food. The presence of salicylic acid 
where used must be declared and the use of 
formalin is condemned. 
A Mr, Swinle is reported (by the Chicago 
American) to have produced (and to be able to 
reproduce always) water melons up to 20 lbs. 
weight, which do not contain a single seed. 
The Arseuite of Soda, the Queenslomd Agri- 
cultural Journal states, that the Principal of 
Hawkesbury Agricultural College has found a 
solution of one lb. of the chemical to eight quarts 
of cold water very effective, the spray killing 
every living plant on the ground, on which 
nothing was able to grow for quite a month. 
So that for keeping garden walks, tennis courts, 
&c. clear of weeds, nothing could be better, 
The Journal of the Jamaica Agricultural Society 
refers to the " Lawton Process" of fruit pre- 
serving as a decided success, and states that 
delicate fruit (such as bananas) could now be 
carried from the ends of the earth to London 
with safety. 
Here are some useful hints for thrifty house- 
wives : — 
(1.) Ink Stains. — Ink stains are very easily 
removed if put immediately in milk and slightly 
rubbed for a few minutes. If allowed to dry, 
they are not so easily removed, but can be by 
a little more effort. 
(2.) Blood Stains. — Blood stains can be removed 
from an article that you do not care to wash 
by applj'ing a thick paste made of starch and 
cold water. Place in the sun, and rub off in 
a couple of hours. If the stain is not entirely 
removed, repeat the process, and soon it dis- 
appears. 
(3.) To remove Mildew. —Soak and wash the 
spots ill sour milk and you will have no trouble 
in removing the same. 
(4.) Fruit Stains. — Hold the goods stained 
over a vessel in such a way that pouring boiling 
water on the opposite goods, and in a short 
time the stain will be seen to disappear. 
(5.) Iron Rust. — Place a bright tin, pour over 
a kettle steaming with boiling water, moisten 
the goods with water and hold the iron rust 
spots closely to the tin and rub them with 
oxalic acid. As soon as you see the rust disappear 
rinse in cold water to remove the acid, as it 
tends to rot the goods, but if the process 
is performed quickly there is no danger of this. — 
Queensland Agricultural Journal. 
The following facts from the Sunday Times 
are calculated to make one pause and think a 
little about the complexity of that wonderful 
machine, the human body: — "Every time the 
heart beats a small tumblerful of blood is passed 
from one of the chambers of the heart towards 
the lungs to be purified ; at the same time 
another tumblerful of purified blood leaves the 
heart to travel through the system. As the 
heart beats 72 times a minute, it thus deals 
with about 3 gallons of blood in that brief space. 
The body contains roughly 70,000,000 pores 
which are always giving out moisture, though 
this may not appear as beads of perspiration. 
During hot weather or when laborious work is 
being done, the moisture given out varies between 
a pint and a quart a day. Every square inch 
of the body bears a pressure of 14 lbs,, or a total 
of about 29,000 lbs. on the entire body. Every 
meal we eat traverses a journey during digestion 
and assimilation of about five times the height of 
the human body. This fact should be sufficient 
to persuade against over-feeding and over-taxing 
the digestive organs. 
