1880.1 



AND R0RTI0ULTURIS7. 



313 



— what a source of pleasure and instruction does 

 it not hold out to the Amateur ? Exactly in" pro- 

 portion as the out door work becomes less ur- 

 gent, the in-door operations become more 

 numerous. The amusements and the products 

 which a small glass-house affords in the hands of 

 an expert or an ingenious amateur, are almost 

 without end. 



Copper in Plants. — Observations communicated 

 to the Academy of Sciences through the dis- 

 tinguished chemist M. Bertholet, show that all 

 plants, large or gmall, gron'n on primitive rocks 

 or on soils directly derived therefrom, contain 

 copper diffused through their tissues in quantity 

 sufficient to be detected when the ammonia test 

 is applied to quantities as small as one gramme 

 (15 grains) of their ashes. In 128 samples of 

 white oak-wood from marly soil copper was 

 found in like manner, but in a less proportion. 

 In plants from magnesian limestone the results 

 varied very much, and in those from highly 

 calcareous soils no trace of copper was detected 

 when quantities of 100 grammes were tested. 



The Botanical Index gives the following dimen- 

 sions of large trees growing in Indiana; A Chest- 

 nut 22 feet in circumference, two feet above the 

 ground ; a Sassafras 3 feet in diameter, and for 

 more than sixty feet clear of limbs and knots. 

 The giant is a Sycamore 48 feet in circumference. 

 At 28 feet it branches into three or four limbs, 

 one of which is more than 5 feet in diameter. 



It is of interest to record i\\?Lt the grand Burn- 

 ham Beeches, with an area of 120 acres, have 

 been purchased by the Corporation of Lon- 

 don. No one who has seen these grand 

 trees can cease to remember them. They are in 

 the vicinity of Windsor, but nearer State Park, 

 the residence of John Penn. A recent writer 

 even points out the tree alluded i^^ by Gray in 

 his immortal poem. The heads cut off by suc- 

 cessive generations, the trees have grown at the 

 butts and roots, which latter cast their fantastic 

 limbs so high. The place is to be preserved for 

 the Londoners, who may wish it was nearer, 

 being twenty miles distant. 



It is a singular fact that the Island of Corsica 

 has some sixty species of flowering plants pecu- 

 liar to it, while the British Isles possess no single 

 kind which is not also found elsewhere. Yet the 

 climate and soil of Corsica have no correspond- 

 ing singularity. 



The Woodbine is only another name for Honey- 

 suckle, but the Eglantine is the Sweetbriar. The 

 bank on which Titania slept was " Quite over- 

 canopied with high Woodbine, with sweet Musk- 

 Roses and with eglantine." Tennyson, in the 

 Talkin;/ Oak, speaks of 



"The pressure thrice as sweet 

 As Woodbine's fragile hold." 



The vine trains round the wood with little flexi- 

 bility. 



The following is curious, and too good not to 

 record: "The Marquis of Bute Colonization 

 Scheme has been very successful. He intro- 

 duced a small colony of beavers into an isolated 

 pine wood near Rothesay, Isle of Bute. The 

 place was walled round, so that they could not 

 escape, and through what is known as the beav- 

 ers' park there runs a roaring mountain stream. 

 This they soon dammed up, completely altering 

 the appearance of the place. The Duke of Port- 

 land is about to make a similar experiment on 

 one of his Scotch estates The Rothesay beavers, 

 on being transferred to their new quartei*s, at 

 once began sawing or gnawing down the trees 

 in the wood. This operation they rapidly effected 

 by the diligent exercise of their keen, chisel-like 

 teeth, which cut out a wedge-shaped gap, caus- 

 ing the tree to eventually topple over by its own 

 weight. These trees they use for damming, 

 standing as they did close beside the river, and 

 the remarkable intelligence of the animal is 

 shown by the fact that they always caused them 

 to fall just in the right spot, requiring no further 

 shifting." 



A material of great interest to the public not 

 yet utilized among us, is the Baraber. Its merits 

 are very striking ; light, strong and cheap, it is 

 adapted to many uses not yet thought of; for 

 instance, it is light beyond any other substance 

 that is so strong. It might be made into car- 

 riages for summer travel, and probably is well 

 adapted to many parts of railroad cars, but espe- 

 cially for street roads. Gigs, &c., made partly of 

 it would be light beyond precedent. We com- 

 mend the subject to those interested in cars and 

 other vehicles. There may be millions in it. 

 Who will be the first to avail of this wonderful, 

 light and cheap material? 



Natural History. — The squirrel is extremely 

 wise. Given a three inch post, the squirrel can 

 always keep out of sight. You may go round and 

 round, but it will always be "on the other side." 

 The brain of an ant is believed to be the most 



