HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



259 



such proportions that it is held rigidly upright by 

 them. I suppose I need not add my experience that 

 the helianthus does not follow the sun's movements, 

 and pays him indeed not a whit more deference than 

 do other flowers. The first blooms, being very heavy, 

 naturally droop, and generally, as with other flowers, 

 towards the south, but not that always even. I had 

 one this year which turned face northward towards a 

 high brick wall ; the succeeding flowers growing 

 round the main axis of the plant point generously in 

 all the directions of the compass." 



Mr. G. H. Bryan, of Cambridge, writes, anent the 

 frolicsome plantago, as follows: "I enclose a 

 sketch of an abnormal development of Plantago 

 lanceolata, in which you will observe that a rosette of 

 leaves and a small flowering spike are growing on 

 the top of one of the peduncles. The plant from 

 which the specimen was taken was a very fine one, 

 and the peduncles, including the one in question, 

 were about ten inches long." 



From Foochow, in China, comes the following 

 note: "As you seem to be noting anomalous 

 flowering on the parts of plants, I send you a 

 photograph herewith of a lily of the Nile. The 

 plant only had this one double flower. Another 

 somewhat unusual matter came under my notice 

 quite lately, viz., a walnut with three shells, the 

 three fissures meet at a point at angles of no°, llo°, 

 140 ."— C. H. Brewitt-Taylor. 



Mr. C. Parkinson, F.G.S., says : " I enclose you 

 two flowers of the gaillardia gathered to-day in the 

 garden, and which appear to me to illustrate the 

 subject of teratology which you are writing upon in 

 Science-Gossip. The coloured rays appear trans- 

 formed into barren florets." 



Mr. H. Walmsley, of Sale, writes : " Enclosed is 

 a sketch of a monstrous primrose which I thought 

 might be of interest. The plant from which I took 

 it had four more similar heads, two having four 

 sepals, like sketch, the other two having the typical 

 number. There were also two or three blooms on 

 the same plant of the ordinary form. Flowers 

 with four petals were not uncommon in the same 

 locality." 



We are much obliged to Miss M. Skelton, of 

 Brentford, for sending a very interesting specimen of 

 fuchsia, in which the sepals have not only reverted to 

 the leaf condition, but have also interposed inter- 

 nodal spaces between them and the floral parts. 



Mr. J. Ballantyne forwarded the sketch of a young 

 plant found inside a water melon. This is not an 

 uncommon occurrence, but corresponds to the vivi- 

 parous habit in some fishes and reptiles. 



J. E. Taylor. 



Dr. B. Carrington and Mr. W. H. Pearson 

 announce "Fasciculus IV." (containing Nos. 

 216 to 290), of their Hepatiat Britanniccc Exsiccates 

 as being ready. 



CEYLON COCOA. 

 By Dr. A. J. H. Crespi. 



ONE of the most curious features of modern 

 commercial activity is that Nature is, as it 

 were, compelled to improve on her own earlier 

 efforts. Supposing that some much-prized plant is 

 found to do well in a particular region with a climate 

 of given warmth and under certain recognised con- 

 ditions : the next thing is to find out a region where 

 these conditions are still better, and to introduce the 

 plant there. This seems to have been done with the 

 cacao tree in Ceylon, and cocoa of superlative ex- 

 cellence has for many years been manufactured from 

 cacao beans imported from that beautiful island. 

 Some brands of Ceylon cocoa have been recently 

 commanding very high prices ; this shows what a 

 magnificent field exists in Ceylon for cocoa culture, 

 and that the quality of the cocoa from that island is 

 far above the average of West Indian varieties. The 

 principal peculiarity of the Ceylon brand is its 

 delicate flavour and rich aroma ; although when 

 prepared for use its price is not very high, and quite 

 within reach of most incomes. We confidently pre- 

 dict that as it becomes more generally known it will 

 be sold in still larger quantities, and so open up a 

 fresh and most important branch of trade to British 

 enterprise. 



Messrs. J. S. Fry and Sons, the well-known 

 makers, whose house was founded in 1728, were not 

 slow to recognise the peculiarly delicious flavour of 

 Ceylon cocoa, and they have accordingly added 

 another luxury to our household beverages in the 

 form of Ceylon chocolate, a speciality that is being 

 much appreciated by connoisseurs. 



While on the subject of Ceylon cocoa, we have 

 just been favoured with some of the most recent 

 statistics relating to the consumption of cocoa in 

 England. Although a great authority gives the 

 average consumption as five ounces per head, it is 

 now ascertained to amount to eight, or, to be more 

 precise, in 1889 it reached 18,464,164 pounds. This 

 is not a large total after all, but marks progress. In 

 1820, duty was only paid on 267,000 pounds ; in 1875, 

 on 9,900,000 pounds. In other words, the consump- 

 tion has doubled in fourteen years, and should the 

 present rate of progress continue another fourteen or 

 fifteen years, the trade will reach, for the first time, 

 very respectable dimensions. 



Considering its fragrance and nutritive properties 

 (for all preparations of cocoa are a true food, and 

 valuable as tissue restorers and force producers), 

 perhaps the small consumption is surprising. For 

 our part, we prefer well-prepared cocoa to all other 

 beverages, while indigestion, which is so frequently 

 caused, or, at any rate, aggravated by the too liberal 

 use of hot tea, does not follow cocoa. The cocoa 

 trade is in a healthy and active state, and the wants 



