554 
Supplement to the " •p'opical Agriculturist." 
[June I, 1892. 
SUBSTANCES OP MANUEIAL VALUE. 
It has often been asked how the ammoniacal 
liquor from gas works, a byproduct in the process 
of purifj'ing coal gas, may be used for agricul- 
tural purposes. Griffiths, iu his treatise on 
manures, says that gas lii|uor is essentially an 
impure solution of carbonate and acetate of 
ammonia. As gas liquor is of various degrees 
of strength, the amount of water to be added 
to it before applying to the land varies also. 
As a rule, ammoniacal liquor should be diluted 
with 4 or 5 times its bulk of water. For grass 
land the manure can bo ajiplied by means of 
a water cart. In very dry weather gas liquor 
burns up grass, but on the first appearance of 
the rains, the herbage will again spring up 
with increased luxuriance. Ammoniacal liquor 
has also proved a valuable fertilizer for cereal 
crops growing on clayey soils. 
Another way suggested by Dr. Griffiths for 
utilizing gas liquor is to absorb it by means 
of saw dust, peat or charcoal (and we might 
add coir dust), and then to add bone dust to 
the mixture. 
Gas liquor is said to keep off flies and slugs, 
and it also promotes the fermentation of saw 
dust, peat, and similar vegetable substances. 
It is thus used for preparing composts, The 
addition of dilute sulphuric acid to ammoniacal 
liquor till it shows no alkaline reaction with 
redlitums paper, fixes the ammonia as a sulphate. 
In an article on the agricultural value of 
shoddy or woolen waste, Mr. John Hughes says : 
" Quite recently, in Ceylon, shoddy (manufactured 
into a very fine powder by treatment with sul- 
phuric acid) has been tried as a manure for the 
tea plantations; and for these, bearing in mind 
its richness in organic nitrogen, it promises to 
be an excellent fertiliser, if only it be properly 
applied and of good quality." This is a very im- 
portant qualification, for shoddy is generally 
of very variable composition, containing cotton 
and other substances of little or no value, 
which, moreover, sometimes deter the action of 
the manures. When very greasy, shoddy is of little 
value ; if consisting of pure wool, it contains a 
large proportion of nitrogen, and should dissolve 
under the action of caustic soda. Shoddy as 
got from woolen mills contains from 2 to 8 % 
of nitrogen and is generally very greasy : acted 
upon by sulphuric acid and dried it falls as a 
powder. Of leather and shoddy Dr. Aitkin says : 
" Of no value unless they are dissolved." The 
latter is used by manure maiiufacturers as a 
source of ammonia in dissolved manures, and it 
is capable of yielding from 5 to 10 % of 
ammonia, but is said to be unsuitable for direct 
application. The following points should there- 
fore be considered in comparing the merits of | 
shriddy and farmyard manure: — Whether the I 
shoddy consists of pure wool, containing from 
7 to 8 % of ammonia and not more than 20 % 
of water, whetlier the ingredients are in a | 
suitable condition, and what would be tlie value 
of slioddy sold at £.'3 per ton after Ijeing brought 
into a state convenient for ajjpJication, and after 
allowance is made for freight &c, at the present 
rate of excliange. It will also liave to be con- ! 
sidered when tlie calculation according to Mr, I 
Iluglics' iMi;tliorl is nuidc, wlictlii^r till! saving of I 
£3 in England by the use of shoddy in place 
of cattle manure could be effected here under the 
circumstances just mentioned, and with the fact 
in view that 1 ton of cattle manure does not 
cost anything like 7s. 6d. or its equivalent in 
Eupees in Ceylon. 
The value of dried blood in England is about 
£8 per ton. The nitrogen is in the form of 
albumen, and is capable of yielding from 12 to 
16 2^er cent of ammonia. '■ Dried blood," says 
Warrington, "is an excellent manure, containing 
10 to 13 per cent of nitrogen." 
Horn dust or keronikon sells in England for 
about £7 7s. It is capable of yielding from 
16 to 18 per cent of ammonia. When in 
the form of fine dust it decomposes easily and 
is a good nitrogenous manure even for cereals. 
When in the form of chips or coarse shavings 
horn decomposes but slowly. 
GENEEAL ITEMS. 
A simple process for preparing bees-wax is 
to reduce the comb to the smallest compass, 
tying the same in a piece of muslin or simi- 
lar fine material, and placing in a vessel of boiling 
water, attaching a weight to the bag to keep 
it some distance below the surface. After 
boiling for half an hour or so, allow to 
Gool, when the wax will be found as a solid 
cake on the surface, the impurities being left 
in the strainer. Or the rough comb may be 
placed in a vessel of water, and after boiling 
a short time the whole m.ay be poured through 
some straining medium placed over another 
receptacle, where the wax may be left to cool 
as above. As; the wax lightest in colour will 
be the most valuable, the combs should be 
sorted before boiling. 
Drury mentions the fact that. Valisneria Spi- 
ralis and Hydrilla Verticillata are used in India in 
the process of sugar refining. It is said that 
sugar refined in the ordinary way is rendered 
Still purer and whiter by covering it with the 
moist leaves of these succulent aquatic plants, 
the moisture from which drains slowly through 
the sugar and carries with it the dark-coloured 
molasses. After several days the leaves are 
removed and the upper part of the sugar, 
which has been most purified, is taken away 
and dried in the sun. Fresh leaves are then 
added, by which another layer of sugar is 
whitened in like manner, and the operation is 
repeated until the whole mass is refined. 
Wight, writing in 1839, of Cocoa says: — This 
is a native of America, and has been introduced 
into India. Hitherto our attempts at culture 
have not been very successful, but I saw very 
thriving trees at Courtalkim, and there is one 
at Palamcottah wliich annually bears a crop of 
fruit, and gives promise that it might be in- 
creased. I attempted to take grafts from that 
tree, and also to propagate by slips and gooties, 
but failed in both attempts I presume 
the most probable tracts of country in India 
for commencing its cultivation on a considerable 
scale, would be the high and cool tableland 
of Mysore, in ])lantations well sheltered, and 
