As a river-port it has a brisk trade in the produce of the surrounding district as well as in the raw materials of its manufactures, especially in wool from La Plata, Australia and Germany.
Planted against a wall or a building having a south aspect, or trained over a sunny roof, such sorts as the Black Cluster, Black Prince, Pitmaston White Cluster, Royal Muscadine, Sweetwater, &c., will ripen in the warmest English summers so as to be very pleasant eating; but in cold summers the fruit is not eatable in the raw state, and can only be converted into wine or vinegar.
As butter is consumed in the raw state, a trustworthy preliminary treatment of the cream is in the highest degree desirable.
Silk in the raw and thrown state absorbs a large amount of moisture, and may contain a percentage of water without being manifestly damp. As it is largely sold by weight it becomes necessary to ascertain its condition in respect of absorbed water, and for that purpose official conditioning houses are established in all the considerable centres of silk trade.
A portion of the white metal is calcined to such a degree of oxidation that when fused with the unroasted portion, the reaction between the oxygen in the roasted matte and the sulphur in the raw VII.