roduce, and that therefore it is
perfectly unfit for the purpose of tempering cane-juice.

Messrs. Thomas Begg and Co., of London, have procured from E.F.
Telchemacher and J. Denham Smith, an analysis of one gallon of
ordinary plantain juice, and one gallon of Ramos' prepared plantain
juice "for the purpose of ascertaining whether any substance can be
used which, in conjunction with water, will answer as a substitute for
the plantain juice in the receipt which accompanied the samples." The
chemists say they find that one gallon of ordinary plantain juice
holds in solution;--

Extract similar to tannin 25.60 grains
Vegetable extract and fatty matter 57.70 "
Carbonate of potash 150.40 "
Muriate of potash 33.60 "
Muriate of soda 2.00 "
Silica 1.20 "
-------------
Contents of one imperial gallon 270.50 grains

--whilst one gallon of "Ramos' prepared plantain juice" contains,
besides vegetable extract, 226 grains of solid matter, consisting of
sulphuret and potash, in the following proportions:--

Sulphur 40 grains
Lime 156 "
Potash 30 "
----------
226 grains

They do not think it likely that the potash exists in fresh plantain
juice as carbonate, but rather that this salt is the product of
decomposition, arising from a compound of potash and a vegetable acid,
such as tartaric or oxalic acid present in the fresh juice; be this as
it may, any utility derivable from the plantain juice is evidently
owing to the potash it contains.

They then give as a substitute for Ramos' liquid, and to be used in a
similar way, the following--

Take of subcarbonate of potash 2 ounces, avoirdupois; sulphur, 21/4
ounces; best British lime slaked, 11/2 lb.; mix them into a paste in an
earthen pan or wooden tub, with one quart of water (warm) and when
thoroughly mixed, pour in ten gallons of boiling water--rain water is
the best to use--and stir from time to time until it has cooled, when
it may be drawn off from the sediment and kept for use. If rain water
cannot be obtained, the purest water obtainable may be used.

One of the causes most fatal to West Indian prosperity, is that
exuberance of advantages which they enjoy from serenity of climate and
fertility of soil--causes