Bewember I, i?9i.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
i6g 
the* supples hitherto huvinst been chb fly ilerivefl from 
the vicinity of Jeddah, in the Red Sea. The produce 
of the Jeddah fishery has greatly diminished within 
the last few yeare, and the discovery of any new 
sources of supply would be gladly wclooiiied. There 
is, Mr. Kent consider#, every i laraeiit in favour of the 
davelopminc of a profitable blacli oorol fishery in North 
Queenlaud waters. 
Ml. Kent reports the complete BUOOfsa of tlie 
fxperime''ts iult'atcd Inst year at Thursday Island In 
tlio liireotiou of transporting and artiflcsliy cult valiug 
tlie mother-of-pearl shell. Tho speoiraens brought in 
from the outer fishing grounds and laid down on a 
scleotod reserve on Vivian Point, have thriven tr a 
remark ihle degree, and had aided, on an nvorago 
niiOthcr inch to the diamet r of their shells r-inoe 
their transimrtation to the reserve elKlrf months pre- 
viously. Attempts have slmady bcenroadeatsovcc.il 
of the shelling stations to bring poarlshell in a'ivefroro 
the fishing grounds and to lay it down in the vicinity 
of the stali-iDS. These exp.cimentshave been attendea 
with partial success, but are not likelv to bo prosecuted 
in a thoroughly systcroatio manner until tho bill recently 
drafted is pissed which wi 1 secure to those engaged 
in tlie trade tlio power of taking np portions of reefs 
nod f reshoies for pearlslioli cultur and afford them 
logiil pcotsaliun for the shell laid down. I found on 
niy airvalat Thursday Island that tho opinion among 
these engaged in the pearlshclling industry in favour 
ef legisla'ion ti restriot tho limit of the size of tho 
shell taken by tho divers had greatly increased At 
a nioudng of the trade representing srvonly-tlireo boats, 
he'd iliiring my v sit, a resolution was unauimnmly 
pasHnd advocating tho appointmei't of a downed 1 mit. 
Suoa ihe submission cf my last years repor', the 
CO nm.H.Hioner ha-s been furliier impressed with the 
ooi'Violim that pearl and pearlaholl fi-heries might be 
pr. litably worked or duveloped tliroughonttheS nthern 
in audit on to tho Nortliorn moioly of the Qiiecnelaud 
seaboard. Black-Iippcd shell, of largo size, lirving a 
marko‘ viil jg of £50 or £00 pi r ten, from whioh cxcell nt 
pearls nia. bu oblniuoj, have heen coi'ccted ns far south 
ns Mor.-to;i liay Oonli,le!.co in this anticipation i.s 
rr, ‘ho loading pionoets 
ot tlie I r-rr-.s Straits and aVost Australian pearlsbelling 
industries th t ha is making nrraugoinenti to fully test 
tho pearl uni pcnrl-hell prolnoing proporliea of the 
Southern coastline, and to ( stablivli thereon stations 
for tho piirpne of pearlshell cultivation so anon as tlie 
Act is passed iliat will accord tho ncoessary pruteefion 
and facilitioi lor Urn developmout of this new indus'ty. 
—Qiieen.ilaiiirer. 
Nl'lW CJILOROh'ORM OISCOVERV. 
There is no reason, on the face of it, for doubting 
the reported diaoovory by M. Pictet of an improved 
niothod of manufacturing chloroform. The gontla- 
haan is a dietinguielied Genova aivtiiU, who long 
kgo won his soicalilio spurs by hia well-known 
reaearohes carried cut in 1877 airaultaueously with 
Uroaaol M. Caillotet, on the ooudonsntion ot oxygen, 
hydrogen, and other gases. Those rescsroliea wore 
of a very important ohnrnoter and constituted a real 
step in our knowledge of gaseous bodhs. There 
had previously beeu a distinction made between 
permanent and "non-permanent” gases — that is 
to say, between those whioh could be oonvortod 
into liquids and those whioh oouM not. B it MM. 
Gai, etet and Pictet showed that no such d siijction 
leal y epsled, and that all gases could b., roduood 
to the liquid, and oven to tho solid fo-in. The 
method by which this is ollooted o insists esmiitially 
in a flombinatioii of very high pressure with iir.at 
OQKJ, and apparently M. Piotnt has mido liis now 
uiscovory by pursuing a Similar line of iiiveoligtvion. 
lie reduooa chloroform to a very low temperatiiro 
vl'fu '**'*‘’ separate llio impurities. 
With regard to tho practical value of this aohiove- 
®®“t it would bo rash to speak with any oorlahity- 
The idea is that the new chloroform will be mush 
safer to administer than the old ; but two things 
may be slid on this head. It is quite true thqt 
at present it is diffiinlt-perhapi impossiblo-'to 
obtain the drug ahs-iluiely puto, a- d the variability 
of its composition is shown by the differ -mt speoifio ’ 
gravities adopted as the standard in tho pharma. 
oopcoiaB cl different countries. But, in the first 
place, it has yet to be proved that oliloroform, 
as manufactured in Eotlind — or rather, in Scotland 
— since the days of Simpson, is dangerous when 
properly administered. All the ovidinco, regarded 
with an unprejudiced mind, points v.-ry strongly 
to the conclusion that the danger is not in the 
drug — ^excepting in so far as every powerful drug 
is dangerous — but in the hand whioh administers i', 
And in the second jdaca it has yet to be proved 
that the danger, if it exists, is due to impurities. 
If, as 18 alleged, chloroform has never been obtained 
pure, how on earth can it bo known that the 
pure, whioh has never yet existed tor practical 
purposes, is safer than the impure ? It may be 
precisely the other way. We have recently had a 
lesson in this direction which should not be for- 
gotten. We have learned that in this case ot spirits 
ohemioal purity by no means implies wliolesom^noss. 
Is has been shown that the “ beautifully pure ’ 
product of the patent still gives you a violent 
headache, while tho old-fashioned pot-still stuff, 
reeking with lusol-oil and other eupposid abomi- 
nations, is perfectly innoou -us. The Iiuman interior, 
for reasons of its own, often takes a different vi 'w 
of these matters from that of the ohemiet; and 
it may be so in the present instance. At any 
rate, that has all gat to be found out, and it 
woui-l bo foolish to jump to tho conclusion that 
tho new and improved chloroform — supposing it 
exists — will necessarily be a porfrotly safe thing to 
administer just became the alveitlsamenls say so. 
Its real value can only ho asoert lined by prolonged 
trial. Of course the ni 'dioal profession knows that, 
and will use tho novelty with all duo care. Bat 
unfortunately, as wo knew by expirionoe, the public 
nowadays does not wait for an authorativo verdict, 
but flings itself upon everything new if suflloiuntly 
advertised, and patients am quite likely to iusi.st 
on being anmethetized by JJ. Pictet’s chloroform 
before anything is know a about it. 
The rumour that M. Pictet is negotiating with 
German manufacturers for the establishment of a 
monopoly shonld also be raoeivod with caution. 
Snob a proeseding would certainly raise a tremendous 
storm in Pranoo ; tliougli to be sure, ho may care 
nothing for that. Still it is utilikrly; and surely 
things have not come to such a pass that every 
Boientlfic discoverer must sell his braius to specu- 
lators in Berlin. — St. Jniiu's's Uiuli/i l. 
• 
BL'RMA RL'liV MINIW CO, 
London, July 10th, 
Tho report of the meeting of tho Burma iiuby .Mines 
Company whioh is enclosed with this (see p.igo 
17-'> ) must, in view of the kindred pursuits 
whioh several ooniijauics have been oudeavouring to 
follow in Oeylon, bo interesting renting 1 1 you. The 
Company does not sacra to have iint with any larger 
measure of success as yet than that which has 
att ndad the efforts made in Oeylcn. Everything 
it is reported, promi-ioa fairly, hut so did cvery- 
lliing when the iindcrlakiui! in Ceylon was embarked 
upon. There arc several inatters which were 
touched upon by the Chairman, Sir Lapel H. Griffin, 
whioh must seem rnysterious to general readers. 
Why, for instance, is it to be only anticipated Ihut 
good i‘nhio.s may” bo found ? Jt had always 
heen onv beli'f that tho Burma Ruby Mines 
