Furrowing is often due to the carelessness of calking, by which the skin of the under plate is cut; careless workmen should not be permitted to use a calking tool.

Furrowing is probably the most dangerous kind of corrosion. In Professor R. H. Thurston's Manual of Steam Boilers we find that of forty explosions of locomotive boilers noted in the British Board of Trade reports, eighteen gave way at the fire-box and twenty at the barrel. Of these twenty every one was the result of grooving or cracks along the lap of seams, all of which were lap joints.

In order to prevent furrowing all seams should be placed above the water line whenever it is possible to do so. In plain horizontal cylindrical boilers there should be no trouble in placing the horizontal seams above the water line, and the transverse seams should have welt pieces placed over the joints up to the water line. In fact, all lap joints which cannot be placed over the water line should have inside welt pieces put over them. That welt pieces greatly reduce and sometimes completely stop furrowing has been amply demonstrated in locomotive practice.

Pitting in a local part of a boiler is not necessarily an indication that it has also occurred in many other parts, but it does demand an immediate and careful inspection of the boiler so as to determine the cause and extent of the injury, and steps must be taken to prevent it.

Frequent and careful inspections of the boilers are absolutely necessary; they will pay in the end and avoid disastrous explosions.-American Machinist.

MAGNESIA AS A FERTILIZER.

THE HE last number of the Bulletin des Agriculteurs de France contains an interesting communication by M. Joulie on this subject, which we reproduce here because of the importance attaching to the opinion of this eminent chemist.

The utility of magnesia for cereals and vegetation in general has been long known. To go no further back, Boussingault in 1851 gives in his Economiie rurale a table of analyses of the ashes of various plants, in which the column devoted to magnesia contains numbers varying from 10% for hemp-seed to 17% for maize. The ashes of wheat contain, according to the same table, 15.9% of magnesia. It has been the custom for the last thirty years in the most elementary lectures to state that the ash of wheat is almost exclusively made up of phosphates, potashes, and magnesia. M. Joulie himself has always given the percentage of magnesia present whenever he has had occasion to publish the analysis of a soil or plant, and the importance of this element, especially for the production of grain, cannot be unknown to anyone. This is therefore a sufficient reason for agricul turists to go to the expense of adding magnesia to the soil, and including it in the composition of fertilizers, whenever the land in question is insufficiently supplied with it.

M. Joulie is not quite decided as to the exact proportion of magnesia which a fertile soil ought to contain, but he does not hesitate to advise the use of a magnesia fertilizer, whenever the soil contains less than 0'05 per cent., say 2,000 kilos. per hectare (21⁄2 acres), in a layer 20 centimetres thick. In any case he would seldom have to give such advice, for soils which are as poor as this are rare.

The determination of magnesia in soils is somewhat difficult, and the processes given in works on the subject do not usually give exact results. Many soils are therefore set down as deficient in this ingredient which are actually well supplied with it. Speaking generally, In magnesia fertilizers are, according to M. Joulie, quite useless. cases where magnesia is actually deficient, on the other hand, they are of the greatest value. Very remarkable results can then be obtained by putting down 200 kilos. of sulphate of magnesia to the hectare, the cost of this being 11-12 francs per 100 kilos. The same object may also be attained by using the residue from the manufacture of chloride of potassium, which comes into the market under the name of kainite, and consists of a mixture of potassium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, and sodium chloride. This material contains 10-12% of potash, and about as much magnesia. The good results obtained by its use (for any soil) do not establish the utility of the magnesia, because it is always possible that they may be due to the potassium. The efficacy of magnesium sulphate when used alone, however, settles the question even more decisively than would a chemical analysis.L'Engrais.

mining the proof of brandy and other spirits or liquors of any kind imported, shall be the same as that which is defined in the laws relating to internal revenue, but any brandy or other spirituous liquors, imported in casks of less capacity than fourteen gallons, shall be forfeited to the United States, provided that it shall be lawful for the Secretary of the Treasury in his discretion to authorize the ascertainment of the proof of wines, cordials, or other liquors by distillation or otherwise, in case where it is impracticable to ascertain such proof by the means prescribed by existing law or regulations.

On all compounds or preparations of which distilled spirits are a component part of chief value, not specially provided for in this act, there shall be levied a duty not less than that imposed upon distilled spirits.

Cordials, liquors, arrack, absinthe, kirchwasser, ratafia and other spirituous beverages or bitters of all kinds containing spirits, per gallon, 2 dols., 2'50 dols.

No lower rate or amount of duty shall be levied, collected, and paid on brandy, spirits, and other spirituous beverages than that fixed by law for the description first of proof; but it shall be increased in proportion for any greater strength than the strength of the first proof, and all imitations of brandy or spirits or wines imported by any names whatever, shall be subject to the highest rate of duty provided for the genuine articles respectively intended to be represented, and in no case less than 150 per gallon.

Bay rum or bay water of first proof, and in proportion for any greater strength than first proof, per gallon, I dol., 1'50 dols.

Oils.-Almond, amber, crude and rectified ambergris, anise or aniseseed, aniline, aspic or spike lavender, bergamont, cajeput, carraway, cassia, cinnamon, cedrat, chamomile, citronella or lemen grass, civet, fennel, jasmine or jasimine, juglandium, juniper, lavender, lemon, limes, mace, neroli or orange flower, nut oil or oil of nuts (25 p.c.), orange oil, olive oil for manufacturing or mechanical purposes, unfit for eating (25 p.c.); ottar of roses, palm and cocoanut, rosemary or anthoss, sesame or sesamum seed or bean, thyme, origanum, red or white; valerian, and also spermaceti, whale and other fish oils of American fisheries, and all other articles the produce of such fisheries. Olives, green or prepared.

Opium, crude or manufactured, and not adulterated, containing 9 pc. and over of morphia (I dol.)

Orange and lemon peel, not prepared.

Orchil, or orchil liquid.

Plumbago.

Potash, crude, carbonate of, or "black salts" (6 p. c.). Caustic potash, or hydrate of, not including refined, in sticks or rolls (20 p. c.). Nitrate of potash, or saltpetre, crude (Ic.). Sulphate of potash, crude or unrefined (20 p c.). Chlorate of potash (3c.). Muriate of potash (free).

Professional books, implements, instruments and tools of trade, occupation, or employment, in the actual possession at the time of persons arriving in the United States.

Pulu.

Pumico.

Quills.

Storax, or styrax.

Strontia, oxide; protoxide, strontianite.

Sugars, all not above number thirteen Dutch standard in colour, all tank bottoms, all sugor drainings and sugar sweepings; syrups of cane juice, melada, concentrated melada, and concrete and concentrated molasses and molasses.

Sulphur, lac or precipitated, and sulphur or brimstone crude, in bulk (75 c. per ton), sulphur ore as pyrites, or sulphuret of iron in its natural state, containing in excess of twenty-five per cent. of sulphur (except on the copper contained therein), and sulphur not otherwise provided for.

Sulphuric acid which at the temperature of sixty degrees Fahrenheit does not exceed the specific gravity of one and three hundred and eighty thousandths, for use in manufacturing superphosphate of lime or artificial manures of any kind, or for any agricultural purposes. Sweepings of silver and gold.

Tar and pitch of wood (10 p.c) and pitch of coal tar (20 p.c.). Tin ore and tin in bars, blocks, pigs or grain or granulated, until January 1, 1892.

Tripoli.

Turmeric.

Turpentine, Venice.

Turpentine, spirits of (20 c. per gal.)

Uranium, oxide and salts of.

Valonia.

Copper, old, taken from the bottom of American vessels in foreign ports.

Cryolite, or kryolith.

Cudbear.

All other textile grasses or fibrous vegetable substances, unmanufactured or undressed (15 dols. per ton).—All binding twine manufactured from istle or Tampico fibre, manila, sisal-grass, or sunn.

Grease and oils, such as are commonly used in soapmaking (free), or in wire drawing (10 p c.), or for stuffing or dressing leather (10 p.c.), fit only for such uses.

Guano, manures, and all substances expressly used for manure.
Gutta percha, crude.

Hides, raw or uncured, whether dry, salted or pickled, and skins, except sheepskins with the wool on, Angora goatskins, raw, without the wool, unmanufactured, asses' skins, raw or unmanufactured. Hide cuttings, raw, with or without hair, and all other glue stock. Hoofs, unmanufactured.

Horns, and parts of, unmanufactured.

India-rubber, crude, and milk of, scrap or refuse India-rubber.

Sized or glued

Cigarette paper

Photographers' paper, not sensitized

Surface coated papers, cardboards, lithographic

prints, autograph and scrap albums..

New Rate. Old Rate. 10 p.c.

2'50 dols.

10 p.c. 10 p.c. 10 p.c.

6'00 dols. 7'00 dols.

10 p.c.

15 p.c.

15 p.c.

20 p.c.

20 p.c.

..

25 pc.

25 c.

Envelopes, per 1,000 Paper hangings, screens, filtering and letterpress copying, albumenized, and sensitised.. Books, pamphlets, engravings, photographs, etchings, maps, charts, and all printed matter, not specially provided for Blank books

Playing cards, per pack ..

Other manufactures of paper

FRENCH writer in the Journal of Practical Agriculture as a remedy for the diseases of the vine. I refer to the subject believing that some information may be gained from the results which have been obtained by the employment of various remedies. If in the French vineyards the action of sulphate of iron has, as we shall see, been so marked in contending against the inroads of the vegetable parasites which attack the grape vine, it is quite possible that it might be of use if employed in connection with some of our own agricultural crops. Be this as it may, the suggestion should be sufficient to induce those who experiment in this direction to test its efficacy. M. Petit, an engineer in the Gironde, made numerous experiments between 1886 and 1889 in the employment of various substances, both in the form of liquid and of powder. The comparative treatments applied to the vine have been as follows :-Sulphate of iron, 50 per cent. ; solution of sulphuric acid, 10 per cent. bouillie Bordelaise, a mixture which has commonly been used in French vineyards, 10 per cent. to 12 per cent.; sulphate of copper 10 per cent. to 15 per cent.; and lime 15 per cent. In obtaining the results, the quantity of grapes gathered upon a given number of vines has been measured, a certain number of the vines having been submitted to each treatment. The coefficients given in the table below show the value attached to each, the maximum being estimated at 10:—

A furnishes useful details with regard to the use of sulphate of iron

Baskets of Grapes Collected from 1,000 Vines.

Substances.

Sulphate of iron Sulphuric acid.

Per cent.

.....

50

Bouillie Bordelaise

Lime..

Sulphate of copper Undressed plot...

ΙΟ

10 to 12

15

10 to 15

No. of Baskets (5'625 litres each).

46'3 42.2

34'4

34°3

28.65

12.

Coefficient of success

9'

7'33

6.825

6'5

6'33

4.66

Thus it appears that the sulphate of iron proves itself incontestably to occupy the first rank as an anti-cryptogamic. In employing substances in the form of powder, M. Petit found the following results were attained, the sulphate of iron again taking the first place, closely followed by sulphate of copper. Here, too, it is valuable to notice that the lime given in larger quantities is of some value :

Substances.

Sulphate of iron Sulphate of copper Sulphate of lime

Per cent.

25

ΙΟ

....

50

LOADING MATERIALS AND THEIR USES.

LOADING materials are defined as those substances which are added to the pulp in the beater engine, other than pure fibre, and which consequently do not felt together, forming the texture of the sheet of paper.

The opinion is frequently expressed by large consumers of paper that their so called loading materials are added to the pulp in order to increase its weight, and thereby augment the profits of the manufacturer. When they are used, cheapness is aimed at rather than quality of product. Paper is applied to a multitude of purposes, where great durability is not essential and where cheapness is a necessity before all other requirements.

The chief requisites of a loading material are, that it is in a fine state of division, is not acted on by alkalies (resin-size), chlorine or acids and does not act disadvantageously on the fibre by altering the strength of the sheet of paper.

Inorganic and organic substances are both used for loading. The former are mainly mineral earths, whilst the latter are ground wood (mechanical wood pulp) and waste paper. The latter is prepared by grinding very hard sized papers for a long time to a fine powder. The nature of the loading materia!, and the mode in which it is added to the pulp in the beater engine influences to a great extent the strength of the paper. The resin-size and starch both assist in fastening the loading in the fibre which, in consequence loses in softness and suppleness. The finished paper possesses less strength, as the felting capabilities of the individual fibres are reduced. The quantity of loading substances which can be used, depends upon the weight and strength of the paper to be made, and also on the nature of the loading itself.

It is necessary to add loading materials to many kinds of paper, in order to increase its absorptiveness. Ordinary news printing paper contains as much as 85% loading, in the form of mechanical wood pulp and mineral substances, and 15% of pure fibre. These substances serve to increase its weight and its power to imbibe the printing ink. The preparation of such papers requires much experience, as the large amount of ground wood ordinarily used makes the paper harsher than is desired for the printing type. An addition of some mineral matter is therefore employed to diminish the degree of harshness, and increase its absorptiveness. The small addition of strong pulp (pure fibre) and the consequent low strength of the paper makes it difficult to hit the exact proportions to be used. Experience and long practice can alone guide one to good results. Clay, for example, is added in isolated cases, up to as much as 50%. The paper thus produced absorbs the ink well, and is easily calendered. It yields good printing impressions and the colour or ink dries quickly. Soft sized paper of this composition throws off dust, however, during the printing, and easily smears.

Minerals are also added to the pulp to give the paper greater whiteness. The bright appearance which many papers possess in these days, and which are produced from sulphite wood pulp, is increased by the addition of loading minerals. Medium fine writing papers having this appearance should be free from mechanical wood pulp, refuse fibre, and minerals. Cotton has the same properties and must also be taken for thin papers, as paper waste and mineral substances part with the water but slowly, so that the web of paper adheres too much to the couch roll or wet press.

Mineral and organic loading substances give to the paper a beautiful clear transparency. The cloudiness produced by too long fibre is diminished by their use. In paper prepared with clay, a low pressure suffices for producing the necessary gloss and smoothness. Clay, however, absorbs moisture from the atmosphere, and as quickly parts with it again on change of temperature, so that the gloss and smoothness of the paper rapidly disappear.

China clay, a loading material in great request among papermakers, is obtained free from sand and grit, from the native clay, by repeated washing. It is almost free from iron. Next to mechanical wood pulp, it is the most extensively used loading in the manufacture of printing papers. Its colour, somewhat yellowish at times, answers well the purposes to which it is applied. It is mixed with water to the consistency of thick cream, and is then simply added to the pulp for unsized papers. The loss in the paper machine under such circumstances is large, sometimes more than 50%. To reduce this loss in the preparation of soft sized, e.g., ordinary printing paper, the China clay is first boiled up with starch and frequently with resin-size. The fine particles of resin and mineral float in the thick fluid, absorb the resin-size and fasten themselves on the fibre. The thin layer of pulp next the wire on the wire cloth more effectually prevents the clay passing away with the water; thus preventing undue loss.

In the preparation of hard sized papers and of writing paper, the addition of China clay is limited. The more clay added to such papers the less resisting are they towards ink, because the clay itself absorbs a quantity of resin-size. The resin and resinate of alumina are altered and are not so suitable for sizing the paper. A writing paper was.

sized with 3% resin without the addition of clay, but when loaded with clay as much as 7% resin was necessary. When clay is introduced into papers their "body" and appearance are altered.

Hard sized papers are prepared with ground gypsum (native sulphate of lime) or “annaline." Gypsum, unlike China clay, does not absorb the resin-size, and, consequently, it allows the fibre to receive the full amount of size. Nor does it absorb moisture from the air, and, therefore, the finished paper does not lose its gloss and smoothness so readily. Annaline has also a very pure white colour, which it communicates to the paper. Indeed, the value of annaline depends upon its whiteness and upon the degree of fineness to which it has been ground. The finer it is, the better it answers as a loading material. Low or poor qualities yield a rough paper, and there is much loss occasioned by settling in the sand trap of the paper machine. Besides, when the paper is glazed, its surface is covered with fine glistening particles of annaline. When prepared by washing the ground mineral free from grit, and mixing with starch or resin-size, it does not give the same results as China clay. It is impossible by the most perfect sifting to obtain it in such a fine state as clay, and, as its absorptiveness is less, it is not so much employed for loading printing papers. For writing paper it is better adapted-yielding a somewhat less ragged appearance and firmness.-Papier Zeitung.

A METHOD FOR PRODUCING RED DESIGNS ON AN INDIGO GROUND.

THE

IE large demand for cotton fabrics with designs, in which navy blue, associated with red predominates, has led colour chemists to pay attention to the means of producing similar effects with various colouring matters.

As far as concerns certain colours, the problem has found its solution in the process by which an aluminium mordant is added to the discharges which are used to produce white designs on an indigo ground, and then dyeing with alizarine. It appears, however, that up to the present time no method has been found by which indigo can be discharged and at the same time printed with Turkey red. Hitherto, the so-called albuminous colour, i.e., vermilion and red lakes have been used in combination with the well-known discharges.

J. Mullems (Färber Zeitiug, 1889, p. 97), has recently succeeded in producing the red colour directly on the fabric by employing a method based upon reactions already known, but which have not hitherto been employed for this purpose. The discharge of the indigo is effected by the oxidising action of alkaline potassium ferricyanide. This salt passes into ferrocyanide with loss of oxygen, which, in the nascent state, destroys the blue colour.

If the colours derived from benzene and toluine, which are fixed by cotton without the aid of mordants, could withstand the action of concentrated alkalies, it will readily be understood that they would furnish a means of obtaining discharge patterns in various colours. Mullems remedies their lack of stability in this respect, by the use of silicate of sodium instead of caustic soda.

Commercial silicate of sodium has not, however, given good results. In order to obtain a permanent and light shade of benzopurpurine or Congo red, the silicate must be chemically pure, that is to say it must not contain an excess of caustic soda, and must be in the state of very fine powder.

If alkalies are present, the change of potassium ferricyanide (red prussiate) to ferrocyanide (yellow prussiate) takes place at the ordinary temperature, whereas this change is not required to take place until after the printing. It is therefore obvious that the silicate of sodium must not be in solution when it is applied to the fabric. The proportions to be employed are :

Benzopurpurine, or Congo red.. British gum..

Water

Ferricyanide of potassium...

....

The mixture is boiled, and, after cooling, made up with water to 1,000 grammes. Just before printing, 176 grammes of powdered silicate of sodium are introduced, and the whole filtered. After printing, the tissue is exposed for an hour to steam (at 100° C.), then to air, and is finally washed with warm water (40-50° C.) and soap. This last washing is essential to the production of a bright and rigour. ous red.

Knowing that ammoniacal salts are disassociated by steam with formation of ammonia, it has been proposed to use chloride of ammonium in the hope that the alkali thus rendered free would effect the change of ferricyanide into ferrocyanide. It has, however, been found that the blue cannot be discharged in this way.

The author has obtained satisfactory results by employing powdered stannate of sodium instead of silicate, whilst he has failed in every attempt to make use of the liquid and silicate of commerce.-Moniteur de la Teinture.