428 Gleanings. • 
matters, and may then be employer! in printing; the colors so 
printed will probably prove as lasting as the fabrics or materials 
'on which they are impressed. 
Another and equally valuable use to which it has been applied 
by our enterprising townsman, D. Hodgeman, Esq., of 27 Maiden 
Lane, is that of boot and shoe soles, which is a most admirable 
improvement. Pleasant to the wearer, light, durable, and per- 
fectly impervious to wet. Hodgeman's Gutta Percha bottomed 
boots and shoes are a real luxury. We invite the attention of 
the public to the subject. — Farmer and Mechanic. 
On Ergot. — Dr. Latham states his conviction that ergot is on 
the increase in this country. When he first observed it, some 
eight years ago, he found it on only a few plants; he now fmds 
it in great quantities. He has collected it altogether from 
eighteen different species of grasses. It has also increased on the 
cultivated grain, and he believes that ergot is at this moment 
increasing absolutely and indefinitely. A friend of his attributes 
its increase to the use of animal manure, and states that he has 
always found the ergot most abundant in the grasses of church- 
yards. — Pro. British Ass. 
Caterpillars. — An English agricultural pa^er gives the follow- 
ing method of destroying caterpillars, which was accidentally 
discovered, and is practised by a gardener near Glasgow\ A 
piece of woolen rag had been blown by the wind into a currant 
bush, and when taken out was found covered by the leaf devouring 
insects. Taking the hint, he immediately placed pieces of woolen 
cloth in every bush in his garden, and found the next day that 
the caterpillars had universally taken to them for shelter. In this 
way he destroys many thousand every morning. 
Cast Iron Roofing. — A specimen of cast iron plates for roofing 
of buildings, says the Philadelphia Ledger, has been exhibited at 
the Exchange, in Philadelphia, by the inventor and patentee, 
Mr. William Beach. The plates are about a foot square, and 
aie made to fit one into another so as to render the roof perfectly 
.water-tight, with the application of white lead to the joints. In 
every respect this material for roofing is preferable to every other 
description now in use. As to its durability, there can be no 
doubt that it would remain perfectly whole for ages, if covered 
occasionally w^ith a coat of paint, and even without that pre- 
servative, rust would not affect it materially for a period of fifty 
years at least. As compared with copper, the cost would be 
nearly one half, as it is expected the iron can be furnished at 16 
cents per square foot, while copper would at the most moderate 
estimate cost 28 cents. As regards the weight of an iron roof, 
