————— ae - 
THE WATER HYACINTH. 
The plants should be cut off from the roots. Drying should be carried out 
quickly, and in such a manner as to facilitate draining. The well-dried stalks 
- should be burned in pits dug in the earth in places sheltered from the wind. 
The collected ash—about 12 per cent. of dried plants—is spread out on a cement 
floor, sprinkled with water, and worked through till it is evenly damped. 
Experience will show whether a little lime should be added, as probably this 
would keep the phosphate in the residue. The damp ash is placed in a cask 
provided with a false bottom covered with dried grass or leaves, and water 
preferably hot, is poured over it. After standing some time in the sun, the 
liquor formed is drawn off from a plughole at the bottom. When it reaches a 
specific gravity of about 1.16, it can be evaporated down at once, the weaker 
liquors and washings being used for lixiviating fresh ash. ‘The residue, which 
will still contain some potash, is a good manure, and jf the prosphate remains, 
is practically as good for local use as the original ash. This process is suitable 
for work on a small scale in scattered places, while the purification, if needed, 
could be done in central establishments. 
Natural Science is a subject which a man cannot learn 
by paying for teachers, He must teach it himself, by patient 
observation, by patient common sense. And if the poor man 
is not the rich man’s equal in those qualities, it must be his 
own fault, not his purse’s. 
— CHARLES KINGSLEY. 
