940 
THE TROPICAL AORIOULTURIST. 
[June t, iSgz- 
ease, will frequently take on a new growth in a 
few weeks with a steady application of linie. 
Applied in the same way to potato stalks that 
have noon dried and eaten up by disease, the lime 
has similar good results. When the disease has 
eaten so far down into the heart of the stems that 
the roots of the potatoes are affected, the applica- 
tion of powdered lime will not havo much effect. 
Unless the disease has, however made such rapid 
headway, it will pay to give the who' e held a treat- 
ment with lime. The greatest care should bo taken 
to sprinkle them carefully, sifting the lime on all 
parts of the leaves and stems that are affected in 
the slightest degree. Very many potato fields could 
be saved from partial or complete destruction in 
this way . — SoutJieni Vlanier. 
NOTKS ON KSSENTlAIi OILS.- 
Sandal-wood Oil. — At the Government auctions of 
sandal wood held at Mysore in November and Decem- 
ber last the following quantities were brought for- 
Urom the Shimoga district 770 
From the Kador district 200 
From the Hassan district ikX) 
From the Mysore (Seringapatam and Hunsur) 
district 1,000 
From the Hanvaloro district ISO 
while the auctions in previous years show the fol- 
lowing quantities : 
Tear ., .. IHKt ldH4 18v'5 1886 1887 1888 
Tons .. .. 2,600 2,775 2,650 2 025 2,4,50 2,500 
The assortment usually consists of 15 per cent, of 
root, 20 per cent, of best-quality logs and the remainder 
of second quality logs and chips. Unexpectedly high 
prices were paid for ail qualities, for whereas the 
values had been, superior 40s fid., roots 44 b. 9d., 
ordinary 408., c.i.f , the whole of the quantity brought 
forward sold rapidly at 548. 6d. for superior, .528. 9d. 
for roots, and 468, 6d. for ordinary, an increase of 
20 per cent. It is believed tliat for a long time to 
come the article will be maintained at high prices, 
as the goverument of Mysore has again taken en- 
ergetic steps to obtain tlie full benefit of this mono- 
poly. In future only so much good is to^ be cut 
down as required for the consumption, and it seems 
to be the object of the Government gradually to in 
crease the price of the wood, and then to keep it 
at a definite point. Of the whole of the wood, 
which is sold, about two-thirds is used in Ind a, 
partly for carving, and partly as an incciiso in reli- 
gious ceremonies, and only about oiio-third is con- 
sumed in Buropo. If, in spite of this advance in 
the price cf the rayv material, the cheap oil from 
East Indian wood is frequently offered, cause may 
be fi und in the use of Macassar sandal wood oil, 
which very nearly approaches the Indian oil in 
quality, although for perfumery purposes tlie Indian 
oil deserves decidedly the preference. — Oil, J'aiiit 
anil Drug /Iriiorler. 
NOTES ON POI’UEAK SCIENCE. 
llv Du. J. B. Tavlor, r.L.s., f.g.s., &(s., 
Kditou of “ Science Gckhip." 
The artificial niaiinfactiire of rubies is still going 
on, and a trade demand for them has arisen for 
use as pivots in watches. They arc stated to bo 
not inferior to the natural stones in hardness. The 
two French chemists who have boon long experi- 
menting on the snbject havo been able to produce 
much larger stones than formerly by a modification 
and improvement of their original method. As much 
as six pounds of rubies can be produced at each 
operation. Those experiments show that the colours 
both of natural rubies and sapphires are due to 
chromium in different states of o.xidation. 
Indigo can now be artificially produced by two 
different methods, worked out independently by two 
or three different experimenters, all German chemists. 
* From Messrs. Schiimnol & Co.'a report. 
One is produced with phenylglycocine and the other 
from anilidoacctic acid. 
Dr. Alfred Carpenter, of Croydon, the well-known 
sanitarian authority, in an address recently delivered 
before the Association of Sanitary Injectors at 
Liverpool, estimates the loss to England from the 
nun utilisation of sewage, during the last 800 years, 
at Ki.ixX) millions sterling, fie declared that if our 
present wasted sewage could be put upon the land, 
meat and milk would be prodneed over that yielded 
now, and five times the amount of labour would bo 
employed thereon. He contended there should be 
from 5,000 to 6,000 tons of sewage placed on every 
35 acres of land, from which 40 to .50 tons of produce 
per acre would be obtained. Moreover, he argued that, 
if properly treated the land would be freed from excess 
of nitrogenous matter, and tliero would be a com- 
pleter purification of the water supply. He did not 
say, however, how tlio latter could be effected. I 
imagine yon would find it difficult in Aii.stralia to 
put 50 tons of sewage on every 35 acres of culti- 
vated land. Even in onr deiiscly-popiilatod country 
we cannot do so. Consequently our British bill for 
artificial manures is a little over five millions a year. 
The official report issued by the U. 8. A. Depart- 
ment of Agrioulture at Washington shows a falling 
off in the wheat cultivation of America during the 
last decade. In the year 1880 the total production 
was 498, .549, 868 biishols ; in 1890 it was reduced to 
399,262,IK)0 bushels, nearly one-fifth less. Maize yielded 
in 1880 1,717,434,543 bnahols ; in 1890 only 1,4.89,970,000 
bushels, although this is a characteristic American 
crop. On the other hand, the yield of oats had 
gone lip, perhaps owing to the large increase in the 
number of horses employed. In 1880 417,858,380 
bushels of oats were produced ; in 1890 the yield 
had increased to 52;!,621,000 bushels. 
From some important experiments by Professor 
Henry, the principal of the Wisconsin Agricultural 
Station, as to the relative fattening properties of 
barley meal and maize meal, it appears that it 
required 361b. more tiarley meal tlian maize meal to 
produce l.otlOlb. of meat. The experiments were on 
ton hogs, 14 months old, extending over a period of 
eight weeks. Both feeds were soaked with water, 
and it was found it required about three pounds 
woiglit of water properly to soak one pound ofbarley 
meal, and only two pounds of water to soak the 
same quantity of maize meal. The hogs fed on barley 
meal consumed 30lb. of water daily with their food, 
while the hogs on maize meal only required 221b. 
I'lvoii with this large amount of water in the feed, 
the barley fed hogs drank two pounds a day extra, 
from a separate trongh, whilst the maize meal fed 
hogs only required three-quarters of a pound extra 
daily. — Aiintmlasian. 
THE I'ROJEOTED JAVA QUININE- 
FACTORY. 
Wo njfniionpJ reo»nrly that the Java plantors itj- 
tPii'l' d to K3iid u well :xcquaiijto>i with the 
ciiioh'-nji iiuiustry to BtitiBh India to report upon the 
qiiinino.worki pxisiii-ir thore, with a view to the 
tsiaHli-hnieut of a factory in Java. Tlio inif<8iot)y 
howov r, i** i-ot lik(-l\ t'* tnke place^ as tlie n< coafary 
fi.nd* hMVR no* b<'#'n fortheofninj.'. A c^^rre^pondeot 
of be Iiulischf. that two yeara ago ho 
iiipp. c he work- at Nudivalam and MniigpoOf m 
Iidia, hot ft'Ufid the ptocefs liJ'ed there quite 
uUMiiunblo for the prop' r m^nularturo of quinine, 
1 hon.h ninve tlivn Me^8ra. Larson A H'Oper hsve 
improvpti the priu’esM in teveral particniais. He 
I app* nwl to inft \ in India one of the largest European 
quinine ma« ut‘aotur* rB, who h d also visiti d the two 
facturieg, and fpike of the procean followed fhere 
With contpinpt, Baxing thut, if the froight were not 
too heavy, he j-liould be glad to buy the already rx- 
tractod Karka from thoie f.iotories, because tbo alka- 
loifU are very impuferth tak“n onU^Chemist and 
lJru<jyi»t. [We doub* tbi ' Jideaol thia critic, con- 
•uf-riiig 'hv chpapnesa of the bark in its original 
state.— Ed, T» a, j 
