238 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



orders and families of a rank far above them. On 

 the drj' land of the lower old red sandstone, on 

 which, according to the theory of Adolphe Brong- 

 niart, nothing higher than a lichen or a moss 

 could -have been expected, the ship-carpenter 

 might have hopefully taken axe in hand, to ex- 

 plore the woods for some such stately pine as the 

 one described by Milton: — 



" Hewn on Norwegian hills, 1o be the mast 

 Of some great admiral." 



— Miller's Foot-prints of the Creator. 



Different Berries in the Same Bunch of 

 Grapes. — In the autumn of 1846, I found, near 

 Mersberg, bunches of grapes bearing, at the same 

 time, on one side, white Burgundy, and on the 

 other red Riilander, or even red Riilander and 

 black Burgundy; the berries, therefore, were dif- 

 ferent in colour, size and flavor. The cause of 

 this phenomenon was, that the three kinds of 

 grape in question were planted side by side in 

 continuous rows, so that the pollen might easily 

 be carried from the flowers ol one to the stigmas 

 of the others. Among other circumstances which 

 ■warrant this explanation is the fact, that some- 

 times half, sometimes a third, or even a quarter, 

 of the berries of a bunch belonged to the ditTerent 

 sorts, and that these occurred on that side of it 

 next the plant of that kind. — M.Jack, in The Flo- 

 ra. [The same thing we have seen at Stradsett 

 Park, Norfolk. A se-jdling vine raised there pro- 

 duces both black and white grapes on the same 

 bunch; but they are worthless. It is, therefore, 

 very doubtful whether the transmission of pollen 

 had anything to do with the change of colour. 

 Gard. Magazine of Botany.'] 



Chinese Rice-paper, or Bok-shung. — The 

 substance commonly called Rice-paper by the 

 Chinese, is made from the pith ot a plant or tree, 

 which grows principally in the swampy grounds 

 in the province of Samswi, in the northern part of 

 the island of Formosa, where it is said to form 

 large forests. The bark and rind are, previous to 

 exportation, stripped from the pith, which is then 

 called B ok-shung . The iron knife used for cut- 

 ting this pith weighs about two and a half pounds, 

 and is of the roughest and coarsest workmanship. 

 In cutting, the knife is kept quite steady, the cyl- 

 indrical pith being moA'ed round and round against 

 the edge of the knife, which is just inserted into 

 the substance, and thus a leaf or sheet is formed 

 resembling the most delicate paper, but rather 

 thick in substance. When brought quickly from 

 the workman's hands, the paper is in a damp 

 state. It may have been rendered so in order to 

 facilitate the smoothing and pressing. It is said 

 that there is a neat method of joining this paper 

 when broken, and that it is chiefly made from the 

 smaller pieces of the Bok-shung, and that the 

 larger pieces are used in medicine in the same 

 way as Epsom salts. It is vain to conjecture, 



from the pith alone, to what plant or tree this ex- 

 quisitely beautiful substance belongs. The vulgar 

 opinion still generally prevails, that because it 

 bears the name of rice-paper, it is manufactured 

 from rice; but the slightest inspection with a mi- 

 croscope exhibits the exquisitely delicate medul- 

 lary portion of a dicotyledonous stem. Again, 

 from an affinity with the well-known Shola of the 

 East Indies, (of which floats and buoys for fisher- 

 men, and the very light hats of Sincapore are 

 made,) many have supposed, and even Chinese 

 travellers have declared, that Rice-paper is made 

 from this, the -.Eschynomene paludosa; but a 

 comparison of the two will clearly show t!ie dif- 

 ference. Both are light and spongy, but the 

 Shola is far less delicate than the Bok-shung. 

 A Chinese drawing of what is said to be the Rice- 

 paper plant is in possession of Dr. Lindley, but 

 neither flower nor fruit is represented. Some 

 have conjectured this to be a malvaueous plant, 

 others araliaceous. We have seen in the branches 

 of the common fig (Ficus carica) a copious me- 

 dulla, very much resembling, in its texture and 

 pure whiteness, that of the Bok-shung. Hooker's 

 Journal of Botany. 



Gromier du Cantal Grape. — At the present 

 day, the vine is distributed very extensively over 

 the globe, in countries where the mean summer 

 temperature reaches 67 degrees Fahrenheit. The 

 hmit to which the culture of the vine extends in 

 France, forms an oblique line, which, beginning at 

 the coast above Nantes, passes a little beyond 

 Paris, Laissons, and the confluent of the Moselle 

 and the Rhine. Beyond this line the vine does 

 not ripen its fruit in the open ground, and can 

 only be grown in a A'inery, or, in favored situa- 

 tions, on espaliers, a method of growing it which 

 is only applicable to some varieties, such as fur- 

 nish what are called dessert grapes, {Raisins de 

 table.) Among the varieties raised from the vine 

 since its introduction to Europe, and the number 

 of which, according to M. Odart, may be uj)wards 

 of a thousand; nearly sixty produce very good 

 dessert grapes. The Gromier du Cantal is one 

 of the best quality in this class. Unfortunately, 

 when the northern limits of the vine are approach- 

 ed, its culture presents considerable difficulty. 

 Even at Paris it is not readily propagated, or 

 transplanted, and must be treated with much skill 

 and care. Notwithstanding this fact, the Gro- 

 mier du Cantal may be almost considered as an 

 exception; for, round Paris, it is found to ripen 

 its fruit, even in the most exposed situation. The 

 bunches are irregular, and measure from ten to 

 twelve inches in breadth, weighing about three 

 pounds. The berry is large, round, and of a rose 

 colour; the skin is thickish and the flesh firm, and 

 very agreeably flavored. Revue Horticole. 



Deodar Cedar. — The Deodar Cedar (C. Deo- 

 dara,) is found on the Himalayas at an elevation 



