Filtering The Salt Out

A well-known Austrian engineer, M. Pfister, is stated to have discovered a remarkable property of the trunks oí trees, namely, that of retaining the salt of sea water that has filtered through the trunk in the direction of the fibers. He has consequently constructed an apparatus designed to utilize this property in obtaining potable water for the use of ships' crews. This apparatus consists oí a pump, which sucks up the sea water into a reservoir, and then forces it into the filter formed by the tree trunk. As soon as the pressure reaches one-fifth to two-fifths atmosphere the water is seen- at the end ot from one to three minutes, according to the kind of wood used - to make its exit from the other extremity of the trunk, nt first in drops and then in fine itreams the water thus filtered being potable- freed, in fact, from every par"? of the usual saline taste -which ia -ï-ch a drawback to the water obtained ï the ordinary manner.