146 
hu-pplement  to  the  “ Tropical  Agriculturists  [Aug.  i,  1895. 
“ We  never  could  fathom  the  inwardness  of 
the  practice  of  wet  milking.  ISo  milker  we 
ever  met  could  give  a satisfactory  reason  for 
adopting  tl>e  habit.  1C  very  milking  we  ever 
e.vamined  in  which  thi.s  method  was  adopted 
had  a decidedly  cowy  odour  that  was  not  present 
when  the  herd  was  dry  milked.  Tlie  liabit  of 
the  wet  milker  in  placing  his  fingers  in  the 
milk,  or  scpiirting  the  fluid  on  them  direct  from 
the  cow,  is  an  all-snllicient  cause  for  the  odour. 
Such  milk  is  unclean,  and  no  treatment  flint  can 
be  applied  to  it  can  sensibly  alter  its  diameter. 
A per.son  afflicted  with  the  wet  milking  habit, 
for  it  is  a grievous  ailiiction,  should  be  scru- 
p^ulously  neat  concerning  the  things  he  handles 
at  milking  time.  A thorough  washing  of  hands 
should  be  a cardinal  requirement  with  him 
previous  to  beginning  the  operation  of  milking, 
and  a vessel  containing  clean  water  to  moisten 
the  lingers,  should  he  among  the  chief  requisites 
of  the  proceeding.  better  still,  abandon  the 
nasty  method  by  learning  the  cleanly  dry  way 
of  milking.  The  latter  has  the  advantage  of 
leaving  the  teats  uninjured  by  chaps  in  cold 
weather,  as  well  as  relieving  the  milker  of  the 
suspicion  that  he  is  in  some  degree  responsible 
for  the  offensive  odour  in  the  fluid.  The 
matter  of  chapped  teats  in  winter  is  one 
that  is  a trouble  to  the  cow  and  milker.  When 
the  latter  is  of  the  wet  sort  the  chap  trouble 
is  constantly  augmented,  for  the  reason  that  the 
cause  for  it  is  reinforced  at  every  milking  until 
the  cow  becomes  fractious  at  such  times,  and 
gives  an  inferior  yield  in  quantity  and  quality. 
Wet  milking  has  alwaj'S  been  in  our  thought 
ns  filthy  milking,  and  it  is  barbarous  withal. 
Cows  dry  milked  can  be  stripped  easier  and 
better  than  by  the  other  method  of  milking.  In 
a dark  stable  during  the  winter,  the  accidents 
possible  to  milk,  when  the  cow  is  handled  by 
a wet  milker,  are  too  suggestive  to  require 
de.scription.  Tlie  best  that  good  care  and  feed 
can  accomplish  can  be  overcome  by  tlie  foul' 
ne.ss  that  is  in.separablo  from  wet  milking.” — 
Diary  lieview. 
We  read  in  the  Cape  Journal  of  Agriculture 
that  there  is  nothing  to  equal  tobacco  water 
(using  about  2 oz.  of  tobacco)  for  animal, s 
puffed  up  with  gas  (hoven).  The  tobacco  solution 
should  be  given  in  .3  or  4 doses. 
The  Dairy  Review  draws  attention  to  the 
trouble  that  can  arise  from  rusty  cans  in  dairies. 
Thorough  rinsing  out  with  warm  water  or 
steaming  will  not  remedy  the  evil  to  which 
special  attention  must  be  paid.  Milk  carried 
in  rusty  cans  are  said  to  acquire  a “ beastlj' 
smell  and  a tallowy  taste,”  which  even  cling 
to  the  butter  made  from  the  milk.  Analy.ses 
of  milk  kept  in  such  showed  it  to  contain 
“a  considerable  amount  of  iron,”  which  we 
have  little  doubt  must  be  hurtful  to  those  (par- 
ticularly young  children)  who  consume  the  milk. 
A cheap  and  successful  remedy  for  sore  teats 
is  zinc  ointment,  which  should  be  always  kept 
in  a^dairy. 
CAMl'HOK, 
Camphor  is  a concrete  vol.atile  oil  found  in 
different  species  of  plants,  and  especially  tho.se  of 
the  Laiiraceie  order.  Camphor  of  commerce  is 
chiefly  obtained  from  the  Cinnamomum  Camphora. 
This  plant  is  also  known  ns  Camphora  ollicia- 
rum  and  l.anrus  camphora.  The  camphor  laurel  is  a 
tall  tree  with  smooth-handsome  evergreen  leaves;  it 
is  much  branched  and  bears  small  yellow  flowers. 
It  is  largely  met  witli  in  China,  Japan  and  Formosa. 
Tlie  wood  and  leave-;  of  this  treecontiiiis  the 
volatile  oil  which  forms  the  camphor.  Most  of 
the  camphor  imported  to  Hurope  is  the  produce 
of  Formosa  ; Japan  stands  .second  and  China  third 
in'  this  respect. 
Camphor  is  prepared  by  the  dry  distillation  of 
the  chips  of  wood  of  the  camphor  tree.  The  dis- 
tillation is  carried  on  by  boiling  the  chips  in 
water  contained  in  wooden  vessels  and  allowing 
the  steam  to  pass  through  vessels  containing 
straw  dipped  in  water.  The  volatile  camphor  as 
it  passes  crystallizes  among  the  straw  from  whence 
it  is  collected.  This  forms  the  crude  camphor  of 
commerce.  The  best  camphor  and  the  largest 
quantity  is  obtained  in  Japan  from  trees  growing 
close  to  the  sea,  the  sea  air  e.verting  a beneficial 
influence  in  the  production  of  the  article.  Crude 
camphor  is  purified  by  a process  of  resubli- 
raalion,  in  this  the  object  being  to  have  as 
much  interstial  water  in  the  camphor  cake  as 
possible.  The  crude  camphor  is  mi.ved  in  the 
proportion  ^ to  2k  of  water,  and  is  heated  in 
a copper  vessel  which  is  kept  cool  by  dashing 
cold  water  on  to  it;  after  about  three  liours’ 
heating  the  vessels  are  opened,  and  camphor 
deposits  in  tlie  form  of  small  cakes  found  on 
the  sides  of  the  vessel  are  taken  and  thrown  on 
to  cold  water.  In  Europe  camphor  is  refined  in 
(juite  a different  way,  and  at  one  time  this  process 
was  a secret  in  the  po.sses-ion  of  Hollanders, 
but  refiiuM'ies  are  now  met  with  in  all  parts  of 
the  continent  and  in  England  and  America. 
C'nide  camphor  is  mi.ved  with  3 to  5 per  cent  of 
slaked  lime  and  1 to  2 per  cent  of  iron- 
filings.  This  mixture  is  introduced  into  a 
series  of  flasks  made  of  glass,  placed  on  a 
sand  bath  and  heated  by  means  of  metal  plates 
without  directly  introducing  fire,  the  heating 
going  on  for  about  forty-jight  hours.  Thejtiasks 
are  then  removed  from  the  sand  bath  and 
broken  by  spinkling  cold  water  on  them,  when 
large  cakes  of  camphor  formed  in  the  flasks 
are  removed. 
India  imports  about  six  lacs  worth  of  camphor 
from  China  and  .Japan. 
There  are  two  other  important  jilants  which 
yield  camphor,  viz.,  the  IJryobalanos  camphora 
of  Sumatra  and  tlie  bliemea  balsanifera  of  China. 
iV.  A.  D.  S. 
• 
COMMON  MORTAR. 
( Concluded.) 
The  third  and  last  ingredient  used  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  mortar  is  sand.  The  word  sand  is  generally 
u ed  in  a very  wide  sense,  and  is  applied  to  any 
kind  of  rock  or  mineral  matter  in  a tine  state  of 
division,  or  to  any  earthy  matter  containing  a fair 
admixture  of  silica.  Band,  however,  is  strictly 
speaking,  pure  silica,  or  oxide  of  silicon — and  its 
