North America. ^5S 



pigeons, which are thus made to alight on prepared ground 

 within reach of the concealed spring-net, or on a long pole 

 rising a little from the horizontal line, so as to give the greatest 

 effect to the discharge of the gun from the bush-house which 

 conceals the sportsman. The net, concealed by cut grass, is 

 sprung by a rope, which is pulled at the moment after the 

 pigeons alight upon the prepared ground. {Stlliman's Journal.) 



E'5c?.r osseuSf the Great Gar Fish. — This singular fish is 

 sometimes found in the western waters of the United States, of 

 a great size. Five years since, one was killed, near the town 

 of Jackson, in the Chicasaw country, the length of which was 

 6 ft., girth 3 ft., and weight 150 lbs. They rise to the sur- 

 face, and spout water to the height of 10 ft. Their blowing, 

 can be heard to the distance of 200 fl. — J. M. Philadelphia^ 

 Oct. 10. 1829. 



Food of Bees in North America, r-^ The American black wil- 

 low and the red maple are the first trees that are visited by,, 

 bees. They are fond of the crocus, which is the earliest qf, 

 our bulbous roots. The stercory and piggery are next re- 

 sorted to by these insects, and the extract absorbed from thenj^ 

 must be used as a tonic. Blossoms of all kinds, except those, 

 of the red clover and of the honeysuckle, are excellent food ; 

 and the bees especially profit by the increased attention be- 

 stowed at present on the cultivation of the peach tree, in some 

 parts of America. They not only drink the nectar, and col- 

 lect the pollen of the flower, but they appropriate the peach 

 itself. We have seen twenty or thirty bees devour a peach 

 in half an hour ; that is, they carried away the juices of it to^ 

 their cells. The scent of bees is so acute that every flower 

 which has a powerful odour can be discovered by them at a 

 great distance. Strawberry blossoms, mignonette, wild and 

 garden thyme, herbs of all kinds, apple, plum, cherry, and, 

 above all, raspberry blossoms, and white clover, are delicious,, 

 food for them; and a thriving orchard and apiary fitly go 

 together. {North American Review.) 



A Botanic Garden at Baltimore, attached to the College of 

 St. Mary, has just been commenced; and I am very anxious 

 to procure from Europe plants, seeds, or roots. A corre- 

 spondence with the principal botanic gardens and nurseries of 

 Britain and France is much desired. — H. T.Dickehut, Curator 

 of the Botanic Garden, St. Mary's College, Baltimore. Au- 

 gust 10. 1831. 



Nelumbium specibsum. — Is this plant an inhabitant of the 

 continent of America ? According to the writings of botanists, 

 it is confined to Asia, but, according to the following account, 

 may also inhabit America. " Among the flowering aquatic 



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