NOTES.

Recent Imports into Hawaii.-The special agent at Honolulu, Mr. Sewall, sends, under date of October 13, 1899, a statement of imports for the month of September and for the first nine months of 1899, as compared with the same period of last year, as follows:

Development of New Caledonia.-Commercial Agent Wolff, of New Caledonia, under date of August 2, 1899, says that not only the colony at large, but the city of Nouméa, have entered upon an era of prosperity. At a recent meeting of the municipal council, $130,000 was voted for public improvements. The mayor, M. Charles Loupias, requested Mr. Wolff to invite American firms to tender for the construction of a market hall. Mr. Wolff forwarded the information to a San Francisco firm. The stone quay, the finest in the Pacific, is well under course of construction, and the plant for the electric lighting of the town is being erected. An automobile service has been inaugurated for conveying the mails around the island, and the governor is authority for the statement that $700,000

will shortly be available for the construction of a dry dock at Nouméa, which enterprise Mr. Wolff also hopes to secure for an American firm.

Under date of August 4, 1899, Mr. Wolff adds that in consequence of the favorable reports made by experts during the year as to the mineral resources of New Caledonia, a number of foreign capitalists have been attracted to the colony. The Caledonia Copper Mining Company (the fifth of the kind), with a capital of $3,700,000, has recently been formed in London to exploit the inexhaustible Pilou mines, in the north. The current of exportation of mineral ores to the United States has begun. A cargo of nickel is ready for a British ship from South Africa, which is to stop on its way to the United States. Other consignments will be effected in the near

future.

American Railway Machinery in India.-Consul-General Patterson writes from Calcutta, September 14, 1899:

On the 31st of August last I made a report on the railways of India,* in which I called the attention of our manufacturers of railway supplies to this market for their products. I now inclose the following clipping from the Englishman of this city of the 13th instant, as forcibly corroborating the statements made in that report:

RAILWAY MACHINERY FROM AMERICA.

The steamer Falls of Keltie arrived at Rangoon on the 4th instant from New York, with twenty locomotives and seventy-five railway carriages and other parts of railway machinery for the Burma railways. Mr. J. J. Ellis, of Messrs. Barber & Co., New York, has been specially sent out by this firm, which has chartered the Falls of Keltie and is the agent of various well-known American iron companies, to superintend the work of delivering the machinery. This is the first voyage of the Falls of Kellie to Rangoon. She left New York on the 24th of June and Alexandria on the 18th of July, arrived at Aden on the 3d of August, Bombay on the 13th, and Colombo on the 27th, and left again for Rangoon on the 29th. She left New York with the largest quantity of machinery that was ever put aboard one boat, viz, railway material for Alexandria, Bombay, and Rangoon, and American oil for Colombo.

Substitute for Celluloid.-Consul Liefeld writes from Freiburg, September 23, 1899:

In a recent issue of a Black Forest newspaper, a new substance closely resembling celluloid is described in a short article, the translation of which I submit:

In London, a new substance has been produced by the boiling of untanned leather in oil, which has first of all the property of being a good electrical insulator, but beside this can be used for manifold purposes.

*See "Railways of India," ante p. 560.

This new material, to which the inventor has given the name "marloid," can be polished on both sides, and in its structure resembles horn, and can be pressed or worked into any form whatsoever, either directly after the boiling process or later, after the hardened hide has been made soft and elastie by being dipped into a salt or alum bath. The boiling process lasts from one to ten minutes, depending on the quality of the leather.

By means of polishing, this material can be made almost transparent, and it can also be given different degrees of hardness, so that a substance is obtained which can be kneaded, embossed, stamped, pressed, drawn, and twisted into any desired shape, style, or design.

From this description, it is evident that out of marloid any and all articles can be manufactured which up to this time have been made from celluloid, horn, or similar material.

Belgian Artificial Stone.-Consul Atwell, of Roubaix, on October 17, 1899, writes:

An artificial stone from Belgium has recently been introduced into the French market which is said to have four times the force of resistance of French free stone and which has nearly all of the properties of Cobestang granite. It has been tried in the Malines arsenal. and is found to be insensible to the action of cold, absorbs only 6 to 7 per cent of water, even after a long dry spell, and can not be crushed under a pressure of 40 kilograms (88.184 pounds) to the square centimeter. This artificial stone is manufactured at Uccles, near Brussels, in the following manner: Eighty parts of extremely clean and dry coarse sand are mixed with twenty parts of hydraulic lime reduced to a fine, dry dust; this mixture is put into an iron box, which is plunged into a boiler of water, and this is hermetically closed. During seventy-two hours, the cooking goes on under a pressure of 6 atmospheres, the temperature being maintained at 165°. At the end of this time, the iron box contains a perfect homogeneous mass of stone, which rapidly hardens upon exposure to the air. The most varied colors are given to this stone, and its manufacture costs only 2 cents per cubic foot.

Nettle Fiber in Germany.-Consul Sawter, of Glauchau, under date of September 26, 1899, says:

Nettle fiber has of late come greatly into favor in the manufacture of fine yarns and tissues. In Germany, there are factories which use these fibers both in spinning and also for ulterior purposes. In nettle-spinning alone, over 10,000 spindles and some hundred workmen are employed. The raw material is imported almost exclusively from China, whence 3,000 to 4,000 double cwts. (661,500 to 802,000 pounds) are annually sent to Germany. Nettle fiber produces one of the finest tissues obtainable from any known kind of

vegetable fiber. In view of the importance which this seems likely to attain in connection with the weaving industries, it is intended to introduce the cultivation of nettles, if possible, into the Kameroons. The idea is to prepare the products of this experimental culture at the place where they are obtained, and test them in German factories. Should favorable results follow from these experiments, it is intended to organize nettle-growing enterprises on an extensive scale.

German Trade and Industry.-Consul Winter writes from Annaberg, October 11, 1899:

Germany's export trade continues to increase. Through recent treaties with Japan and Spain, exporters look for a still greater gain.

The figures for the first half of the present year make an extraordinary showing, and this result is based upon the increased exports to the United States. Germany also sold much more to Great Britain during the first half of 1899 than during the same period of 1898. During the first half of 1899, one hundred and eighty-two joint-stock companies were organized in the German Empire. Their capital was invested for the most part in establishing new banks, in opening mines, in electrical undertakings, and in building breweries. The new Dortmund-Ems Canal, connecting the Elbe and the Rhine, giving cheap transportation to the inland cities. of Germany in connection with ocean freights, will undoubtedly stimulate foreign commerce in a large degree.

German Emigration.-Consular Agent Harris sends from Eibenstock, September 25, 1899, the following statement, issued by the imperial statistical bureau, showing emigration from Germany to foreign countries for the first six months of 1899:

Strikes in Germany.-Consul-General Guenther, Frankfort, September 25, 1899, writes:

During the period from January 1 to June 30, 1899, there were 574 strikes inaugurated in Germany, affecting 2,910 establishments They were distributed mainly among the

and 89,048 employees.

following industries:

Diamonds in Amsterdam.-Consul Hill sends the following from Amsterdam, October 18, 1899:

The diamond trade in Amsterdam shows the effect of the war in its inactivity. Prices of rough diamonds, which for some time have been noted as rising at intervals of two months, have been marked up twice within the last eight days. The rise must restrict sales, since manufacturers will find it difficult to buy at the advanced prices.

Under date of October 24, Mr. Hill adds:

The main reason for the great scarcity and high prices is the unusual demand from the United States and continental buyers. The whole output of the De Beers mines is sold in March of each year; this year, the syndicate had to consent to an advance of 35 per cent. There is great difficulty in obtaining supplies, scarcely any parcels of less value than £5,000, or $25,000, being sold.

Swiss Demand for American Coke.-Consul Gifford, of Basel, on October 20, 1899, says:

I transmit to the Department, for the benefit of American manufacturers, a communication from the Aluminium Industrie-Actien