EDITORIAL. 
The highest yields of ammonium sulphate were 16.8 lbs. per short ton, 
obtained with rapid heating at from 750° to 800° ©.; 11.5 lbs. of 
ammonium sulphate; 5 gallons (Imp.) of tar-oils; and 870 Ibs. of 
carbonized residue having a calorific value of 12,400 B.Th.U. per lb. 
FARMING SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
Something of the character of reconséruction work going on in agri- 
cultural districts of Italy can be gained from data recently compiled 
by the States Relations Service of the United States Department of 
Agriculture concerning the itinerant agricultural instruction of that 
country. According to the latest statistics, the farmers of Italy have | 
had the benefit of instruction from 278 agricultural professors, who 
travel through the country giving short courses, which are both 
theoretical and practical in character. The cost of this work is 
approximately £80,000 a year. This expense is shared by the State, 
the province, and some local organization. Thirty-eight of these 
itinerant professors specialize in such subjects 2s cheese making, silk- 
worm raising, mulberry culture, viticulture, fruit culture; and plant 
diseases. Since the close of the war, many courses have been conducted 
in farm mechanies to instruct farm labourers in the use and repair of 
farm machinery. Courses in farm bookkeeping for young men and 
women have also been contemplated. 
PAPER YARNS—DEVELOPMENT IN GERMANY. 
The uses to which paper yarns were put in Germany during the years 
of the great war are manifold, and the ingenuity shown therein is worthy 
of admiration. Paper string is well known nowadays, but the Germans 
have used,.and still continue to use, paper yarns for sacking, mats, 
carpets, table covers, dress stuffs for house wear, and for aprons, curtains, 
casement cloths, and even for suitings, underclothing, &. As things 
are getting more normal, and cotton yarn can-now be obtained in Ger- 
many, naturally a good many of the uses to which paper yarns were 
put have now been abandoned, but apparently a good number of the 
articles have, so to speak, come to stay. ; 
The Teatile Mercury states that, when travelling in Germany to-day, 
the observant man or woman will notice that many of the seats in first 
and second class compartments have been re-covered with a material 
woven from paper yarns, and it must be said that in most cases one 
gets the impression that the material is likely to prove very serviceable, 
although it is, of course, harder and more brittle’ than the plush or 
velour formerly used. Paper suitings, underclothing, &ec., are already 
out of date, and almost unsaleable, but mats, carpets, and more especially 
printed paper-woven material for casements, curtains, and for many 
decorative purposes still find a ready sale, and will likely do so for years 
to come, as they are much cheaper than cotton goods. 
Paper window curtains, printed to give the effect of tapestry, and 
decorative stuffs, are very much in vogue, as are also carpets, stair- 
casings, &c., and these will be valuable for a long time yet, as they have 
been proved to be very serviceable. The designs for decorative stuffs 
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