The wastes capable of being persuaded to yield potash are far more numerous than may possibly be conceived. And this chemical is derivable from some of the least-expected founts. A Yorkshire gentleman, Mr. E. E. Lawson, threw a bundle of banana stalks upon his polished office chair and allowed them to remain there for some time. When he removed the stalks he noticed that the juice exuding from the stalks had played sad havoc with the finish to the furniture. This action pointed to the presence of potash in the juice, and apparently in material quantity to remove the polish so effectively. So he suggested to a chemical friend, Mr. R. H. Ellis, that it might be profitable to analyse the contents of the stalk to ascertain just how much potash it carried. This was done, and the result was somewhat startling, indicating 45·9 per cent. of potash and practically no soda. The subject was then investigated by Dr. A. J. Hanley, of the Agricultural Department of the Leeds University, and his analysis confirmed the former finding. The dried matter of the original banana stalk was found to be as rich in potash as kainit, the popular fertilizer of this class. These investigations sufficed to establish the possibility of extracting 188 lb. of dried matter from a ton of banana stalk containing 13·7 per cent. of potash, or 54 lb. of ash containing 47·5 per cent., or 25 lb. of pure potash. The yield from the individual ton may seem to be too small to be worth considering. But reflect upon the normal consumption of bananas in this country! The annual importation ranges from 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 bunches, which represents an equal number of stalks--mere refuse. According to Mr. Ellis, under normal conditions the stalks average a round 4,000 in number weekly in Leeds alone. When stripped, the average weight of the stalk is 4 lb., so that there are 16,000 lb. of stalk wasted every week in the Yorkshire city. Properly treated, about 1,340 lb. of dried matter, rich in potash, could be secured therefrom to feed the land.