MISCELLANY. 51 



Enormous Turnip. — Among the various Turnip crops produced within this 

 county (Yorkshire), there are few that will be found to vie with one grown by 

 Mr. William Swale, of the White Swan Inn, Middleham, on a part of the 

 estate of Col. Wood, of Middleham Parks ; the balls of the Turnips completely 

 cover the ground, which may literally be said to groan under the weight of them >' 

 one selected almost at random, weighs the enormous weight of 25 pounds, is two 

 feet nine inches in circumference, and the length, including the top, is three feet 

 ten inches. There appear to be many in this heavy crop of Turnips of a still 

 larger size. 



fJThe above communications are interesting in as far as they prove the enor- 

 mous size to which various fruits and vegetables employed as food may be grown ; 

 but how far their quality is improved, is very questionable. That skilful cul- 

 ture might cause size and quality to go hand-in-hand, is, however, sufficiently 

 probable. — En. Nat.~\ 



Propagation of Apple-trees. — A new plan for increasing plantations of 

 Apple-trees has lately been carried into extensive practice by the inhabitants of 

 Bohemia. Neither seed nor grafting is required. The plan is to take shoots 

 from the best sorts, insert them in Potatoes, and plunge both into the ground, 

 leaving an inch or two of the shoot above the surface. The Potatoe nourishes 

 the shoot, while it pushes out roots, and the shoot gradually grows up and 

 becomes a beautiful tree, bearing the first fruit without requiring to be grafted. 

 Whatever may be the success of the undertaking, its novelty at least is an in- 

 ducement to give it a fair trial. — Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 



Result of cutting down Forests. — M. Devez de Chabriol, in a memoir 

 treating of the effects arising from the extirpation of forests, cites several histo- 

 rical documents, all tending to establish the fact that the temperature of a coun- 

 try is not only lowered by the taking away of the trees, but that streams dry 

 up, and rain ceases to fall. M. Boussingault confirms these by several in- 

 stances, where lakes have been diminished in consequence of cutting down the 

 neighbouring woods, and the water restored to its former level by suffering the 

 trees to grow again ; also where the quantity of water has always remained the 

 same when the woods near it have been left untouched. M. Boussingault 

 states that in some of the provinces of South America which are covered with 

 wood it rains every day ; and in others, where the soil is sandy and arid, it 

 never rains ; yet these provinces have the same latitude and climate, and the 

 projections and distances of mountains are nearly similar. — Aug. 19. 



h2 



