30() Mr D. Don m the Purpk-Fir of Nepal 



regret the want of much interesting information respecting the 

 mode of collecting and preparing the roots, and other details in- 

 teresting in a commercial point of view. The unfortunate fate 

 of Mr Moorcroft, whose zeal and multifarious knowledge well 

 fitted him for a scientific traveller, has deprived us of much 

 valuable information on this as well as on many other subjects. 



2. On the Purple-coned Fir of Nepal. 

 Mr Lambert has raised two plants of this interesting species 

 from seeds received from Dr Wallich, alongwith those of the rhu- 

 barb plant above described. These are the first that have been 

 raised in Europe ; for, although quantities of the seeds had been 

 received from time to time, from the difficulty of transporting the 

 seeds of coniferous trees, especially through the Tropics, all pre- 

 vious attempts to raise this valuablefirproved unsuccessful. This, 

 which may be regarded as the silver-fir of Nepal, surpasses all 

 others of the fir tribe in beauty. Its lofty and pyramidal form ; 

 its numerous long, erect, cylindrical, purple cones, studded with 

 drops of pellucid resin ; and its flat leaves, silvery underneath, 

 and of a bright shining green above, which thickly adorn its 

 ash-coloured branches, render it a truly picturesque object. The 

 trunk is from 70 to 80 feet high, perfectly straight, covered 

 with a smoothish grey bark, and having a circumference of 7 or 

 8 cubits. The wood is light, compact, and of a rose-colour, re- 

 sembling in grain and colour the pencil cedar, Juniperus Ber- 

 mudiana. Its cones afford by expression a purple dye. The 

 resin, especially that of the seeds, is highly pungent to the taste ; 

 and its scent is very powerful, not inferior to that of the Deo- 

 dara. The elevation at which it is found, namely, of from 8000 

 to 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, induces us to hope, 

 that it will be found capable of enduring our severest winters. 

 A magnificent plate of this species, accompanied by a complete 

 description, will be found in the second volume of Mr Lam- 

 bert's monograph of the genus, under the name of Pinus spec- 



tabilis. 



3. On the Mustard Tree. 



Captains Irby and Mangles, in their interesting Travels *, 



• Travels in Egypt and Nubia, Syria, and Asia Minor, during the years 1817 

 and 1818, by the Honourable Charles Leonard Irby and James Mangles, Com- 

 manders in the Royal Navy. — Printed for private distribution^ London^ 1823. 

 1 vol. 8to. 4. 



