/ V / 3 
1918.] The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 125 
The following South Australian seaweeds were examined, the figures in 
parenthesis being the potash-content of the ash :— 
(1.) Posidonia australis (06 per cent.). 
(2.) Macrocystis kelp (6'0 per cent.). 
(3.) Ecklonia radiata (10-0 per cent.). 
(4.) Seriococeus axillaris (102 per cent.). 
Samples (3) and (4) contained an appreciable quantity of iodine. 
Macrocystis jpyrifera is abundant along the rocky coasts of New 
Zealand. 
Ecklonia radiata is common along the shores of the North and South 
Islands of New Zealand. 
Potash from Wool. —The author finds that merino fleece wools do not 
give the yields of potash reported by earlier Australian authorities, being 
only 2 to 3 per cent, to cold water. On the other hand, the potash from 
stained pieces and locks was much higher than that from the fleece wools, 
being from 4*5 to 6-25 per cent. “ potashes.” The author suggests that 
the decrease in the yield of potash over that obtained thirty or forty years 
ago from fleeces is owing to the increase in the average size of the fleece, 
assuming that the amount of sweat produced is the same, but spread over 
a larger amount of wool. The reason why the locks, skirting, and pieces 
should contain more potash than the fleeces the author explains by the 
fact that the sweat (the solids of which are technically known as “ suint ”) 
containing the potash exudes in greater quantity in some parts of the body 
than others, that it collects and runs down on the lower parts of the fleece, 
and that, being largely soluble in cold water, it is dissolved in light rains and 
dews, and tends to concentrate by gravitation on the lower skirting, locks, 
and pieces. 
The author suggests the following method for scouring wool in order 
to recover the potash. At present the wool is run through the scouring- 
bowls in a scour solution of sodium carbonate. If it were intended to 
recover the potash, it would first be necessary to run the wool through an 
ordinary wash-bowl or Malard steeping-machine containing tepid water 
only, without any chemicals. This would dissolve out all the potash and 
some of the wool-fat. The wool could then be passed to the soda-ash scour 
solution. The water scour carrying the potash would be allowed to con¬ 
centrate, and then run off to open vats and evaporated down to nearly 
dryness. The thick “ sudorate of potash ” would then be transferred to 
pans and ignited at a red heat, when the organic matter and fat would be 
burned off, leaving an ash carrying a carbonate of potash with dirt from 
the wool. The mass could then be extracted with hot water, the liquor 
decanted or filtered off, and evaporated to dryness, yielding a potassium- 
carbonate residue of almost the composition shown by the analyses given 
above. This process aims to recover the potash only, and will probably 
be subject to some modification when the recovery of wool-fat is also taken 
into consideration ; but even this process would effect the recovery of a 
considerable portion of wool-fat from some classes of wool. 
The author gives figures for the erection of a plant for dealing with 
3,000 tons of greasy wool annually, which shows a profit of £863, assuming 
that amount of wool to yield 157 J tons of potassium carbonate worth £17 
per tons, after deducting the cost of production, £1,504. 
