ACADEMY or SCIENCES. 225 



plionse Amussat, Fils ; Traitement du Cancer du col de I'llterus 

 par le Galvano, Caustique, Thermique ; and several other papers, 

 (13 pamphlets, 8vo.) by the same author. 



Donation to the Museum : Specimen of the bark of the Dirca 

 palustris, \>j Dr. Kellogg. 



Dr. Fourgeaud, of committee in the matter of the decease of 

 our late member, Mr. Pioche, submitted the following resolutions : 



Resolved, That in the death of our associate, F. Tj, A. Pioche, the Califor- 

 nia Academy of Sciences has lost one of its most valuable members, as distin- 

 guished for his love of the Arts and Sciences, as for his wide-spread liberality. 

 That, while deploring his loss with heartfelt pain, we will ever cherish his mem- 

 ory, and the recollection of the many noble qualities which endeared him to us 

 during life. 



Resolved, That we tender our sincere sympathies to his brother, Leopold 

 Pioche, residing in France; that these resolutions be placed in our records, and 

 that a copy of them be sent to the family of our deceased friend. 



A life-like medallion in plaster of the deceased, executed by the 

 sculptor, P. Mezzara, was presented to the Academy by that gen- 

 tleman, and the thanks of the Academy were unanimously tendered 

 him for his very acceptable present. 



Dr. Kellogg presented specimens of the bark of a shrub of the 

 strongest fibre of any hitherto known — obtained in this vicinity by 

 tons, and in the valley of the Mississippi by millions of tons ; the 

 bark presented was in the crude condition as it came from the 

 ramie machine. The entire shrub, wood and bark, is suitable to 

 work into the finest quality of paper. If desirable to separate the 

 bark, it is done in the easiest manner possible — by making a circular 

 section at the base and lifting the bark so as to seize it, the whole 

 tree to the very tips can be instantly stripped. 



On the State University grounds may be seen a tree, four and a 

 half to five inches in diameter ; the fibre mixed with silks and satins 

 is equal, if not far superior to ramie : whether it can be cultivated 

 as well, is left to future experiment. Even as crude, coarse fabric, 

 it may prove a substitute for jute, of which a large quantity is an- 

 nually imported into the Southern States for baling cotton. 



The tree is familiar to .us as moose-wood, leather-wood, etc., 

 (^Direa palustris') but has not hitherto, as we are aware, been 

 brought forward as proper paper or fabric material. 



