Vol. VIII. No. 95. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
[November, 1902.] 295 
efficient drainage, whilst Plot II. was surrounded by ditches in which artesian water ran 
constantly, providing both irrigation and drainage. It appears, therefore, that beet-root 
tolerates a comparatively large amount of soluble salts in the soil, without serious detriment 
to the yield of sugar. From Plot II., which was six acres in extent, a total crop of qo'd tons 
was obtained, furnishing an average yield of 14*1 per cent, of sugar containing 84*9 per cent, 
of true sucrose ; so that not only can profitable crops be raised, but at the same time the 
condition of the land is improved and rendered more suitable for the cultivation of other 
plants. These results should be of great value to those interested in the utilization of theusar 
lands of India, where, however, the problem is further complicated by even greater alkalinity 
of the soil than in the cases mentioned above and by the expense and difficulty of 
irrigating crops. 
THE EASTERN ONTARIO GOLD BELT. 
The belt or strip of country along which auriferous deposits have been found at various 
points extends eastward from the township of Belmont, in Peterborough county, across the 
counties of Hastings, Addington and Frontenac, into the western part of Lanark, a distance 
of about 70 miles. Most of the auriferous deposits occur under similar conditions, the rock 
in which they are situated being usually diorite or some closely-related matrix. 
The geology of the district may be summarised as follows : A series of diorites, 
crystalline limestones, and various schistose rocks has been cut through by granite, which 
now forms most of the higher hills and ridges in the district, the diorites and accompanying 
rocks occupying the valleys and lower-lying areas. Above these there occur in places areas 
of Silurian limestone and outliers of sandstone of doubtful age. Most of the gold deposits 
occur near the contact of the diorite and granite in cavities which appear to have been formed 
through the shrinkage of the granite. 
The Gold Deposits . — The most westerly town in the gold belt containing deposits is 
Belmont. The mine is worked by the Cordova Exploration Company, which possesses a 
mill of 30 stamps ; water is supplied from an artificial lake on the property which is 
estimated to Bold 10,000,000 gallons of water. Motive power is obtained from the fall of 
water out of Deer Lake, and transmitted to the mine as compressed air. It is estimated 
that even in dry seasons the compressed air plant will generate at least 1,000 horse power. 
The country rock is diorite, carrying a large percentage of titaniferous iron, magnetite, and 
pyrite. Cracks have been formed in the diorite and have given passage in past geological 
times to healed mineral solutions, which have acted on the walls and enlarged the cavities. 
They are now filled by chloride and biotite schists with some auriferous quartz. There are 
several lodes,' and their directions vary. The pyrites occurring in the schists is also 
auriferous, and carries as much as 5 or 6 ounces of gold to the ton. The main lode runs in 
an east and west direction, and has a dip of 75° towards the south. 
The rock masses with which are associated the auriferous deposits pass northwards 
through Ledyard Round Lake, and Marmora. The only locality at which any exploiting has 
been done is Ledyard, and here the workings were filled with water at the time of 
inspection. Considerable quantities of magnetite have been worked here. Besides 
the Delaro mine (Imp. Inst. Journ,, Yol. vm., p. 70) there are other arsenical 
gold-bearing deposits along the North Hastings belt. That known as the Ilawkeye 
property is of similar character and mode of occurrence, much of the ore is high grade, and 
a number of leases have been taken up. Similar deposits of mispickel occur at Malone and 
Marmora. In the townships of Tudor, Madoc and Elzevir, both auriferous quartz and 
mispickel exist and have been worked to a small extent, and in Kaladar and Anglesea there 
are valuable deposits. 
THE ORE DEPOSITS OF THE BOUNDARY (CREEK) DISTRICT, B.C. 
This district is that lying along the International boundary line in the neighbour- 
hood of and between the valleys of the north fork of the Kettle river and Boundary 
Creek, B.C. Following upon the construction of the Columbia and Western railway a little 
over two years ago and the installation of smelters at Greenwood and Grand Forks some- 
what later, the district at once took a foremost place in British Columbia lode-mining, 
and it now ranks as one of the most important producers of copper in Canada. Though the 
country is not rugged, prospecting has been difficult on account of the drift which 
conceals the rocks over a considerable portion of the surface. Eruptive rocks, including 
granites, greenstones, lavas and intrusive dykes, have the widest distribution, and altered 
sedimentary and metamorphic rocks are met with. The greenstone has the widest area of 
distribution and appears to consist of augite porphyrite, while the dykes which traverse it 
consist either of grey hornblende, biotite granite or diorite porphyry. The ore bodies may 
roughly be divided into three classes: (1), the large low-grade copper- bearing sulphide 
deposits ; (2), the oxidised copper veins ; and (3), the small gold- and silver-bearing quartz 
veins ; of the first class the most striking characteristic is their enormous size. In the 
Mother Lode mine, development work so far has exposed an ore body for a length of 
l, 180 feet, a width of 140 feet, and it is continuous to the bottom of the workings, at 500 feet 
depth. The Knob Hill Ironsides lead is probably of greater dimensions. The lowest stopes 
are 700 feet below the highest point of the vein, and it has been proved for a width of 
400 feet. The principal minerals present are pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and magnetite, with 
pyritic minerals. Marcasite, arsenopyrite, galena, and zinc blende, also occur in smaller 
quantities. Calcite and quartz are the common gangue minerals. The ores occur in all 
rocks except the most recent, and probably belong to the early Tertiary age. The value of 
the ores is principally in copper and gold, with accessory silver. Magnetite and pyrrhotite, 
when occurring alone, are generally barren in gold, and the best gold values are said to be 
obtained in the Mother Lode mineral, when the ore contains about 2 per cent, of copper. 
The ores, as a rule, are very low grade, lower than was at first hoped. This has been partly 
counterbalanced by the size the ore bodies have shown on development, and their remark- 
able adaptability to smelting. The magnetite quartz and calcite arc present in the required 
proportion, so that no fluxing or roasting is necessary, and the cost of mining and smelting 
these ores is exceptionally low. It is generally admitted that many of the properties can only 
be successfully operated by doing their own smelting, and for this reason a union of the 
smaller mines lias been suggested. A sample of ore from Greenwood camp, showed a net 
value of copper $3' 10, gold $2-40, silver $0‘22, per ton of ore, while at Winnipeg mine 
values as high as §30 per ton are reported, but the latter return is exceptional. 
THE PEARL FISHERIES OF CEYLON. 
A preliminary report has recently been issued by Professor Herdman, briefly setting out 
the results of investigations on this subject made round the coast of Ceylon. Professor 
1 lerdman and Mr. Ilornell inspected the pearl oyster banks, which are opened for fishing at 
intervals of 9, 10, or 1 1 years, for two or three years at a time, and the marine fauna of the 
vicinity in the interests of the fishing industries, and finally it was decided that Galle would 
be the most suitable position for the establishment of a marine laboratory. Two cruises were 
made, the first being for the purpose of examining the oyster banks and investigating the 
marine zoology, and the second, on which they were accompanied by Sir William Twynam 
and Captain Donnan, to more closely examine the oyster banks likely to be valuable. 
The most important banks in the Gulf of Manaar include the East and West Cheval, the 
Periya, and the Muttuvaratu Paars, and although careful search was made no new banks of 
6} -SC/! 53 
adult oysters could be found, although several small beds of young and immature oysters were 
noted for the first time. Unfortunately, on most of these beds the young oysters (four or five 
months old) were deposited so thickly that only a small proportion would ultimately attain 
maturity, in fact the deposit on the Periya Paar alone was estimated at over a hundred 
thousand million. Experiments were therefore started, and will be continued by Mr. Ilornell 
at Galle, on the best means of transporting the oysters from the overcrowded banks to open 
suitable beds which will probably be made up near the Cheval Paar and Galle. The few 
trials already made show that transporting can be carried out without great damage to the 
oysters. 
All the samples of oysters obtained were examined in order to detect the presence of any 
injurious parasite or abnormal disease ; but nothing of that nature could be found, and they 
were considered to be in a very healthy condition, the nature of their sea bed being highly 
suitable. With regard to the prospects of fishing, a fuller report is to be issued, but the 
present report mentions the presence of an abundant and valuable flat fish fauna in Palk Bay. 
Later, an examination was made of Trincomalee Harbour, which had been reported to 
contain pearl oyster beds, but none could be discovered, except a few near York Island. 
Most of the sea bed consists of a very fine mud, which appears to be carried down by rivers, 
and is quite unsuited to the cultivation of oysters. An examination of Beligam Bay and 
Galle was made, and the latter place was found to be well protected from the south-west 
monsoon, and in many other respects well suited to the carrying out of experiments in 
cultivation on a large scale. Some trawling was done on the south-eastern coast, and 
considerable hauls of small but edible fish made. As a result of the investigations, 
Professor 1 lerdman concludes that there arc abundant healthy oysters, but the great majority 
are immature ; secondly, they are so over-crowded that most will die ^before reaching 
maturity ; thirdly, that the matter of transplanting can be readily carried out by means of 
dredging from a steamer and transporting in tanks of sea water from place to place ; but the 
most suitable size of oyster and the best time of year (October or March) have yet to be 
settled. 
The following table shows the names of the banks and the number of pearl oysters 
( Avicula fucata) estimated to be present when the inspection was made in March, 1902 : — 
Name of Bank. 
Area of Bed 
ia 
Estimated 
Number of 
Nature of 
Cheval Paar (east) 
Square Yards. 
11,804,676 
Oysters. 
74 . 413,000 
Oysters. 
Very good. 
Cheval Paar (west) 
10,500,050 
125 , 357,000 
Very good. 
Moderagam Paar (north and south) 
— 
— 
Young oysters. 
Periya Paar Karrai 
• 
1,232,250 
21,477,000 
Very good. 
Periya Paar 
• 
Very large. 
— 
Young oysters. 
Karaitivu Paar . 
• 
h 5 / 0,850 
25,350,000 
Very good. 
Muttuvaratu Paar 
• 
10,206,725 
277,000,000 
Very good. 
♦ 
GENERAL NOTES. 
COTTON CULTIVATION IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 
The occasional shortages in the American supply of raw cotton, which have in recent 
years seriously affected the cotton manufacture of South Lancashire, have led to the formation 
of an “ Association for the promotion of cotton cultivation within the Empire,” with head- 
quarters in Manchester. The objects of the Association are, in the first place, to collect all 
available information on the subject of cotton cultivation in British colonies and depen- 
dencies, and in the second to provide funds for the initiation of experiments under proper 
supervision in suitable localities, and for the distribution of seed to natives in districts 
where cotton cultivation is already well established. At a recent meeting of the Association 
the claims of India as a cotton-producing country were brought forward by Mr. S. M. 
Johnson, of Cawnpore, who stated that many varieties of the fibre were grown in India, from 
the short woolly variety found in Assam, to the long-staple cottons of Bombay and Southern 
India. The systems of cultivation at present employed, however, were of the most primitive 
character, and the improvements attempted had resulted in failure to produce a cotton 
suitable for export. Many attempts had been made to introduce the popular American 
and Egyptian cottons into India, but experiments of this kind were useless, the speaker 
considered, since there was no reason for supposing that these cottons were suitable for 
cultivation in India, and even if they were they did not represent the utmost which could be 
attained in the way of cotton-growing. He advocated rather the more careful cultivation 
of native cottons and judicious selection of seed from the best plants only, in order to improve 
the quantity and quality of fibre produced. When this stage had been reached it would 
then perhaps be advisable to import foreign seed, and attempt by hybridisation between the 
native and exotic varieties to improve upon both. Such experiments would be both tedious 
and expensive, and for their successful prosecution Government aid would be almost a 
necessity. Such aid, Mr. Johnson thought, planters would be justified in applying for, 
since the small experiments already made at Cawnpore (Imp. Inst. Journ., 1901, p. 273', 
were of a highly promising character, the out-turn of clean cotton of good quality being 
in excess of the usual American yield. The promotion of cotton planting would also 
be beneficial to planters who had been compelled to abandon indigo cultivation, and 
whose lands were now lying waste or were sub-let for the growth of unremunerative 
fodder-crops. 
THE INFLUENCE OF LOW TEMPERATURES UPON BACTERIA. 
Some experiments upon this subject conducted some time ago by Dr, Macfadyen, and 
recorded in this Journal (Vol. VI. , p. 182), showed that a number of typical representa- 
tives of saprophytic and parasitic organisms, possessing varying degrees of resistance, were 
able to withstand exposure to the temperature of liquid air (-190° C.) for seven days 
without undergoing any appreciable change in vitality, as evidenced by their subsequent 
growth, the production of their characteristic physiological properties and their pathogenicity. 
A severer test was afterwards made by exposure in liquid hydrogen at a temperature of 
about - 252° C. for ten hours, but in this case also no effect upon the vitality could be 
detected. It must be concluded that at such low temperatures the chemical metabolism of 
the cell ceases, owing to the withdrawal of two of the necessary conditions — heat and 
moisture — and this being so it became of interest to test the influence of a long-continued 
exposure to such conditions. A series of experiments with this object have now been carried 
out by Dr. Macfadyen and Mr. Sydney Rowland, M.A., at the Jenner Institute of 
Preventive Medicine, and the results were communicated at the recent meeting of the British 
Association (Section K). 
In these experiments, four organisms, viz., Bacillus typhosus , Bacillus toll com munis 
Staphylococcus pyogenes aureus and a Saccharomyces, have been maintained at the tempera- 
ture of liquid air for a period of six months. The bacteria were suspended in small loops of 
platinum wire or on cotton-wool swabs, and were directly immersed in liquid air ; the yeast, 
washed and pressed, was wrapped in rice paper and similarly treated. Samples were with- 
drawn and tested at intervals during the six months’ immersion, but in no instance was any 
impairment of the vitality of the organisms detected. The yeast gave a good growth, and its 
fermentative powers were unaltered ; the typhoid bacillus retained its pathogenic and other 
