1877.J 



AND HOBTIGULTURIST. 



30t 



lowest forrriB of animal or vegetable life could be 

 "spontaneously " generated from inorganic mat- 

 ter, said he had not made up his mind whether 

 it could be or not. He was simply waiting for 

 the proof that it could, before believing in it. 



Eeproduction in Plants.— Mr. Byron G. Hal- 

 sted contributes a good paper to the Scientific 

 Farmer, showing the difference between sexual 

 (seeds) and asexual (cuttings, etc.) reproduc- 

 tion. He takes the ground that the latter is de- 

 fective because it cannot secure cross-fertiliza- 

 tion, i. e., " varieties will run out." 



Trees will not last forever. — The preserva- 

 tion of our forests is a good idea, yet it must not 

 be forgotten that trees will not last forever, and 

 American trees do not last as long as trees grow- 

 ing in Europe. It is far more important to look 

 after the planting of new forests. The New Eng- 

 land Homestead notices that the famous great 

 elm of West Springfield, which Dr. Holland in 

 his history of Massachusetts, says is one of the 

 largest in New England, is destined to go the way 

 of all things very soon. About one-third of it 

 broke off last week, and shows that the whole is 

 much decayed. 



Heating Cities by Steam. — A very novel and 

 at the same time interesting experiment, ac- 

 cording to the Lockport (N. Y.) papers, is soon 

 to be attempted in that city by Mr. Holly, the 

 successful water-works pump inventor. This 

 experiment is to heat the whole city with steam, 

 after the same manner as it is lighted with gas. 

 Unfortunately, the entire programme is not pub- 

 lished, as it would no doubt be interesting read- 

 ing. It is not thought feasible to have one boiler 

 do the job, but the city is to be divided into dis- 

 tricts, and each district is to have its separate 

 boiler. Mains from each boiler are to run to the 

 different houses, and all the occupant has to do 

 is to turn on a faucet and obtain all the heat he 

 wants. 



Preparing Vegetable Tissue.— Hansteim's 

 method of rendering vegetable tissues transpar- 

 ent as described in his Botanische Ahhandlungen, 

 heft i., p. 5., is very simple. He employed it 

 especially in his investigations on the develop- 

 ment of the embryo of phanerogamous plants. 

 To release the embryo from the seed a dilute 

 solution of caustic potash was used, and this ren- 

 dered the embryo transparent. Very young em- 

 bryos required only a few seconds' immersion in 

 the solution, and afterwards placing in glycerine 

 to make them transparent, and preserve them 



in that state. The glycerine was diluted with 

 water and alcohol. Older embryos required 

 longer treatment with the potash solution, and 

 subsequent washing in acetic acid. Sometimes 

 it happens that the preparation is too transpa- 

 rent, and the cell-walls are no longer distinguish- 

 able; but this is easily remedied by immersing 

 it in a dilute solution of alum, when the walls 

 become distinctly visible. — Gar. Chronicle. 



Growth of a Bamboo. — At a meeting of the 

 Societe Centrale d' Hortietdture, M. A. Riviere 

 exhibited specimens of several different spe- 

 cies of Bambusa from the botanic garden of 

 Hamma, Algeria. Stems of B. nigra upwards 

 of 16 feet long sprang up in six weeks, 

 whilst those of B. viridi-glaucescens attained an 

 even greater height during the same period. 

 B. Quilioyi is regarded as one of the most orna- 

 mental, it is quite hardj'^ in the climate of Paris. 

 B. mitis grows from 35 to 50 feet high in the 

 South of France, and is sufficiently hardy to be 

 very useful. Bamboo stems make excellent 

 vine props, supports for flowers, &c., and seve- 

 ral persons are engaged in growing them. It is 

 reported that Bamboo culture in the South of 

 France is likely to develope into a remunerative 

 industry. M. Riviere affirms that he has dis- 

 covered good specific characters in the bracts 

 covering the young buds. He adds, spring- 

 growing Bamboos will bear without injury from 

 18° to 25° of frost.— Gar. Chronicle. 



Danger of Fire from Steam-Heating. — It is 

 a question whether steam-pipes in connection 

 with wood are dangerous ; not because the heat 

 of saturated steam is capable of directly exciting 

 combustion, but because the conditions under 

 which wood, so placed, is liable to ignite, may be 

 produced by the continued high temperature to 

 which it is exposed. The marine inspection law 

 of the United States recognizes this danger when 

 it prohibits the use of steam-pipes in conjunction 

 with wood upon vessels. A contemporary speaks 

 thus : " Just what these conditions are, and the 

 peculiar combination of circumstances under 

 which they are most readily developed, are not 

 now known, so that until they have been deter- 

 mined by a careful and exhaustive investigation 

 of the whole subject — which task, we trust, some 

 able scientist will soon undertake — it is by far the 

 wisest plan to avoid all possibility of inducing a 

 conflagration by taking the precaution to ascer- 

 tain that heat-conveying pipes at no point come 

 in contact with inflammable material." 



