HA R D WICKE'S S CIENCE- G O SSIP. 



123 



Stems short and 

 tubercles on seed 

 a striking resem- 



S terns long, soli- 



of frequent occurrence, so as to throw a new charm 

 to our spring rambles : — 

 Caltha pahistris, L. 



1. C. vulgaris, Schott. Flowers large, one and 

 a half to two inches across ; sepals meeting at the 

 margins ; follicles (seed-vessel) with a short beak ; 

 branches stout, very few. 



2. C. Gtterangerii, Boreau. Flowers numerous, 

 very small ; sepals spreading ; follicles with a long 

 beak. 



No. I is generally found in swampy situations ; 

 No. 2 in brooks, &c. 



Another plant is often overlooked, the lowly 

 Blinks. 



Montia fontanel, L. In this instance new names 

 have been introduced to distinguish each separate 

 plant. 



No. 1. — ill. minor, Gmelin. 

 tufted ; flowers inconspicuous ; 

 with a raised point. This bears 

 blance to Stellaria Boraana, Jord. 



No. 2. — M. rivnlaris, Gmelin. 

 tary, thick and flaccid ; tubercles on seed with flat- 

 tened point. 



We regard No. 1 as a very distinct species ; it alters 

 not in a state of cultivation, but is rather rare in the 

 northern counties. 



"Who does not recognize with feelings of delight 

 and joy the pretty Milkwort? {Poly gala vulgaris, 

 Linn.) Probably no British species has been split up 

 more frequently, if we except the Rubi. After years 

 of toil in looking up these sub-species, and after 

 examining, may be, thousands of specimens, we 

 have come to the conclusion that the so-called P. 

 z'ulgaris, as originally described by Linnaeus, includes 

 two well-marked forms, as follows : — 



No. 1. P. vulgaris, L. Racemes, many-flowered; 

 leaves scattered, lanceolate ; branches numerous, as- 

 cending. 



No. 2. P. depressa, Wend. Racemes few 

 flowered ; flowers small, white or pink ; leaves often 

 tufted below, or crowded thickly on the stem just 

 beneath the flowers, becoming opposite, all linear. 

 This is a pretty species. 



There are other varieties, such as oxyptera, gran- 

 diflora, Sec, but the characters are so liable to varia- 

 tion, even on the same plant, that it is difficult to 

 distinguish them without close inspection, but the 

 above have generally constant characters. F. 



THE DATE-PALM. 



PHGENIX DACTYLIFERA is the name given 

 by Linnaeus to this very important member of 

 the vegetable kingdom. PJicenix is the Greek name 

 of the date, and is probably derived from Phoenicia, 

 whence the best dates were brought. Its origin, like 

 that of so many of our cultivated fruits and vege- 

 tables, is unknown, but it may reasonably be sup- 



posed to be a native of Arabia and Persia. In very 

 ancient times it was cultivated in Egypt (in the 

 Museums of Economic Botany, Royal Gardens, Kew, 

 is a specimen of "mummy bread" which is appa- 

 rently made of dates, such bread being frequently found 

 in jars in the tombs at Thebes) and in North Africa, 

 from which countries it was introduced very long after- 

 wards, probably by the Arabs, into South Europe. 

 It is a noble tree, attaining under favourable condi - 

 tions a height of from 60 to 100 feet. The stout 

 stem, which is very rugged, owing to the persistent 

 bases of the decayed leaves, is surmounted by a large 

 head of feathery leaves, 12 to 20 feet long. The 

 flowers are produced on large branches, which spring 

 from the axils of the leaves. Each inflorescence is 

 at first enclosed in what is called a spathe, which 

 afterwards falls away. As many as 10,000 flowers 

 have been counted in one spathe, and, as one tree 

 will produce many spathes at a time, some idea of 

 the total number of flowers may be obtained. Each 

 tree bears flowers of one sex only ; therefore cross 

 fertilization is necessary. It is said that in times of 

 war the Arabs cut down the male dates belonging to 

 their enemies, the result being of course a total 

 failure of the date crop. In " Hortus Collinsonia- 

 nus," occurs the following memorandum: — "At 

 Berlin was a large date-palm, at Leipsic was another, 

 which was the male ; both made attempts to produce 

 fruit, but imperfect, as these trees are of different 

 sexes, the Berlin tree being the female; anno 1749, 

 they married the two trees by carrying a branch of 

 male flowers and impregnating the Berlin tree ; and 

 then it produced good fruit, from which young trees 

 have been raised, but this espousal must be done 

 annually." 



To the inhabitants of many countries the import- 

 ance of the date-palm cannot be over-rated. The 

 pulp of the fruit serves them and their various do- 

 mestic animals for food ; and even the extremely hard 

 and apparently useless stones are ground and given 

 to their camels. The young undeveloped leaves are 

 eaten as a vegetable ; in a mature stage they are made 

 into bags, and are the sole material used in con- 

 structing the huts of the common people. The stalks 

 of the leaves, when softened by boiling, serve as food 

 for camels ; and numbers are imported into this 

 country for the manufacture of walking-sticks. From 

 the stalks also, excellent baskets and crates are made. 

 Timber for the houses of the better class is obtained 

 from the stems, which also furnish an inferior kind of 

 sago. The fibre, called " lif," from the bases of the 

 old leaves, is converted into ropes and a sort of 

 coarse cloth. The heads of trees not bearing freely 

 are cut off, and the trunks scooped out. Into the 

 hollows thus formed, the sap rises at the rate of 

 from three to four quarts a day ; this quantity is kept 

 up for one or two weeks, after which it gradually 

 diminishes : in six or eight weeks the trees become 

 quite dry, and are used either as timber or firewood. 



G 2 



