729 
April  1,  1896.]  Supplement  to  the  “ Tropical  Agriculturist.” 
the  stove,  add  to  tlie  water  enough  alum  to  make 
it  of  siiflicient  density  to  bear  an  egg,  and  let  it 
boil.  Then  remove  the  saucepan,  and  place  the 
grasse.s,  which  should  he  already  hunched,  in  the 
water.  When  tlie  w'ater  is  cold  lift  them  out,  and 
they  will  have  become  a mass  of  boantifnl  crystal. 
For  decorative  purposes  the  beauty  of  driedgrasses 
and  ferns  is  greatly  enhanced  by  this  process. 
A Japanese  furniture  polish,  said  to  bo  excep- 
tionally valuable  for  its  purpose,  is  prepared  by 
mi.xing  w'ell  together  one  pint  of  linseed  oil,  one 
pint  of  strong  cold  tea,  the  whites  of  two  eggs  and 
two  ounces  of  spirits  of  salt.  When  thoroughly 
combined  pour  into  a bottle,  wdiich  must  be  shaken 
each  time  before  the  polish  is  used.  Make  a pad 
of  soft  linen,  pour  on  a few  drops  of  liquid,  rub 
well  over  the  article  to  be  poli.shed,  and  finish  the 
process  with  an  old  silk  handkerchief  or  dry  cha- 
mois skin.  The  Japanese  use  their  fine  paper,  both 
as  polisher  and  first  applier. 
Some  very  cooling  summer  drinks  for  use  in 
health  or  disease  may  he  made  as  follows  : — Cut  a 
lemon  in  slices,  put  in  a jug,  add  a heaped  teaspoon- 
ful of  sugar,  and  fill  up  with  boiling  water,  let  it 
stand  until  cool,  then  strain  and  place  on  ice  imtil 
wanted.  Or,  peel  and  slice  an  apple,  add  a small 
slip  of  lemon-peel  and  three  lumj)sof  sugar,  pour 
on  boiling  water,  and  strain.  In  fevers  tlie  latter 
drink  is  very  refreshing. 
To  take  ink  out  of  linen  dip  the  spotted  parts 
immediately  in  pure  melted  tallow  ; then  w’ash  out 
the  tallow  and  the  ink  will  have  disappeared. 
To  make  green  tomato  jiickle,  take  1 gallon  green 
fruit  gathered  on  a dry  day,  wipe  them  to  remove 
any  grit,  and  remove  the  outer  skin  with  a sharp 
knife,  slicing  them  w’hen  peeled.  Take  1 table- 
spoonful of  salt,  1 oz.  peppercorns,  24  tablespoon- 
fuls of  mustard  seed,  1 ditto  of  powdered  cinnamon, 
1 tablespoonful  black  pepper,  2 ditto  cloves,  1 
teaspoonful  of  cayenne,  1 lb.  brown  sugar,  and  3 
pints  of  vinegar.  Divide  the  spices  into  three,  and 
place  in  three  small  muslin  bags.  Take  half  the 
vinegar,  boiling  it  and  the  spices  together  with  the 
sugar,  pepper,  mustard,  &c.,  for  half-an-hour.  Get 
jars  ready,  and  first  put  in  a third  of  the  sliced 
tomatoes  at  the  bottom  of  the  jar,  then  a spice  bag, 
,and  pour  some  boiling  vinegar,  &c.,over  them; 
repeat  same  process  till  the  jars  are  nearly  full, 
finally  adding  the  cold  vinegar  to  fill  up  with.  Seal 
the  jars  securely,  and  put  away. 
Evergreens  and  flowers  may  be  preserved  by  the 
following  simple  process: — Immerse  them  in  a 
solution  of  gum  arabic  and  water  two  orthree  times, 
allowing  sufficient  time  between  each  immersion 
as  will  allow  them  to  get  dry.  As  the  result  of 
this  dipping  the  specimens  are  preserved  from  the 
.air  by  a thin  coating  of  gum,  which  prevents  their 
decay. 
Roup  IS  one  of  the  most  dreaded  diseases  in 
chickens  we  have  to  fight  against.  Much  has  been 
said  and  wwitten  on  this  subject,  and  there  are 
hundreds  of  remedies  on  the  market  guaranteeing 
a cure,  but  many  of  the  guarantees  prove  false, 
because  the  disease  has  gained  such  a hold  before 
the  remedy  is  applied  that  it  is  impossible  to  effect 
a cure.  For  mild  cases  of  roup  1 give  the  bird 
half  a tea.cpoonful  of  camphor  and  put  a little  in 
the  drinking  water,  and  by  giving  the  jiatients 
good  warm  quarters  and  good  feed  for  a few  days 
they  are  soon  over  it. 
THE  NUTRITIVE  PROCESS  IN  PLANTS. 
(PRORBSSOB,  J.  Reynolds  Green,  d.sc.,  p.r.s.) 
{Continued.) 
When  we  consider  the  conditions  of  life  of  the 
plant  with  the  irregular  intervals  of  feeding  which 
they  necessarily  involve,  we  .see  that  the  organ- 
ism not  only  absorbs  material  for  immediate  use, 
but-  taking  in  a far  larger  amount  than  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  moment  demand — accumulates  a 
reserve  store  on  which  it  can  subsi.st  during  the 
periods,  short  or  prolonged,  when  no  absorption 
is  possible. 
We  may  view  the  matter  from  a slightly  different 
standpoint  and  yet  come  to  the  same  conclusion. 
The  processes  of  .absorption  in  a plant  depend  to  a 
far  larger  degree  than  in  the  animal  upon  purely 
or  almost  entirely  physical  conditions.  Given  a 
certain  amount  of  carbon  dioxide  in  the  air,  and  a 
certain  amount  of  water  in  the  pl.ant,  to  which 
that  air  has  access,  and  the  carbon  dioxide  will  be 
dissolved  according  to  the  power  of  the  water  to 
dissolve  it,  or — -putting  it  more  technically — ac- 
cording to  its  co-efficient  of  solubility.  In  the 
presence  of  the  chlorophyll,  the  green  colouring 
matter  of  plants,  with  the  access  of  sunlight  other 
changes  supervene  which  le.ad  to  the  continuation 
of  the  process  of  absorption  of  the  gas.  Simi- 
larly with  the  root  and  its  relations  to  the  soil, 
the  process  of  absorption  of  water  with  its  dis- 
solved substances  will  j)roc6ed  so  long  as  certain 
physical  conditions  obtain.  Thus  the  plant  is  on 
the  whole  rather  passive  than  active  in  the  initial 
stages  of  its  own  feeding,  exercising  no  inhibitory 
power  such  as  that  attendant  in  the  animal  on  a 
failure  or  cessation  of  ajtpetite.  Again  we  are  led 
to  the  fact  that  when  the  absorption  of  food  in  a 
plant  is  proceeding,  the  probabilities  are  decidedly 
in  favour  of  such  absorption  being  much  greater 
than  the  immediate  need  for  direct  consumption; 
and  thus  that  the  excess  must  either  be  got  rid  of 
wastefully,  or  be  stored  in  some  advantageous 
form  for  consumption  later  on,  when  absorption 
shall  be  suspended. 
It  must  be  noticed,  however,  that  these  reserve 
materials  are  not  a simple  .accumulation  of  food 
pabulum  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  of  immediate 
use.  Granted  that  the  plant  in  the  first  instance 
forms  certain  bodies  on  which  its  living  substance 
dr.aws  at  the  place  where  it  is  originally  con- 
structed, then,  so  long  as  the  immediate  needs  are 
in  excess  of  the  amount  prepared,  it  follows  that 
there  w’ill  be  no  ovei  flow  from  that  spot ; it  will 
be  at  once  utilised  by  the  living  substance  in  the 
processes  of  nutrition  and  growth.  Rut  if  there 
should  be  a greater  amount  formed  than  can  be 
immediately  used,  it  is  not  simply  retained  un-. 
changed  in  the  cell,  nor  does  it  oveiflow  unchanged 
to  contiguous  cells  where  demand  exceeds  sujiply, 
or  where  provision  is  made  for  temporary  storage. 
The  storage  forms  are  different  from,  and  more 
complex  than,  the  originally  jirepared  ones,  and 
more  energy  has  to  be  expended  on  theic,  either 
where  they  are  made  or  in  the  ])lace  of  storage  it- 
self. When,  therefore,  they  come  t,o  be  utilised  in 
after  time,  they  are  necessarily  made  to  undergo  a 
