236 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



were about a foot Dbovo the wafer, and in the form 

 of a long- sqiKirc. A fiorvvarils, in their natural taste 

 for llowiMS, they not only ciillivatctl the useful, but 

 the ornamental, and these small garilcns inulliply- 

 ing-, were covered with flowers and aromatic herbs, 

 which were used in the worship of the gods, or 

 were sent to ornament the palace of the em]>eror. 

 The t'hinami>as along- the canal of the Viga, are 

 no longer floating gardens, but fixed to the main 

 land, in the marshy grounds lying between the two 

 great lakes of Chalco and Tezcuco. A small 

 trench full of water sejiaratcs each g-arden; and 

 though now in this marshj- land, they give but a 

 faint iilea of what they may have bejpn, when they 

 raised their flower crowned heads above the clear 

 waters of the lake, and when the Inilians, in their 

 barks, wishing- to remove their habitations, could 

 tow along their little islands of roses, it is still a 

 pretty and pleasant scene. — Calderon's Mexico. 



Superb Mexican Orange Grove. — In the 

 evening we drove to the orange grove, (near Hau- 

 tapec,) where three thousand lofty trees are ranged 

 in avenues, literally beniling under the weight of 

 their golden fruit and snowy blossoms. I never 

 saw a more beautiful sight. Each tree is perfect, 

 and lofty as a forest tree. The ground under their 

 broad shadows is strewed with thousands of oranges, 

 dropping in their ripeness, and covered with the 

 white fragrant blossoms. The place is lovel}', and 

 everywhere traversed by streams of the jjurest wa- 

 ter. We ate a disgraceful number of oranges, 

 limes, guayavas, and all manner of fruits, and even 

 tasted the sweet beans of the coH'ce i)lants. 



We spent the next morning in visiting the coffee 

 mills, the great brandy works, sugar houses, &c., 

 all which are in the highest order; and in strolling 

 through the orange groves, and admiring the curi- 

 ous and beautiful flowers, and walking among or- 

 chards of loaded fruit trees — the calabash, papaw, 

 mango, tamarind, citron, — also mameys, chiri- 

 moyas, custard apples, anil all the family of the 

 zapotes, white, black, yellow, and chico ; cayotes, 

 cocoas, cacahuates, aguacates, &.C., &c., &.C., a list 

 without an end. 



Besi(les these, are an infinity of trees covered with 

 the brightest blossoms; one with large scarlet 

 flowers, most gorgeous in their coloring, and one 

 whose blossoms are so like large pink silk tassels, 

 that if hung to the cushions of a sofa you could 

 not discover them to be flowers. What prodigality 

 of nature in these regions. W'ith what a lavish 

 hand she flings beauty and luxury to her tropical 

 children ! — Madame Calderon's Mexico. 



Transmission of Bulbs. — Considering the num- 

 ber of bulbs which are.-annually brought to this 

 country from very distai'^foreign parts, it is a mat- 

 ter of some importance to know the best means of 

 preparing them for transmission. Some bulbs, re- 

 ceived from India, had been experimentally pre- 

 pared, and were sent to the garden of the Horti- 

 cultural Society for examination. W'e learn from 

 the Society's Journal, that one half the bulbs were 

 simply wrapped in cotton, while the other portion 

 (the same kinds of bulbs) were incrusted in a kind 

 of white-wax, and covered with cotton like the 



others. When received in June, IS 11, those which 

 were simply \vra))ppd in cotton and brown paper, 

 had emitted roots, and the tops in most cases had 

 grown considerably ; while those coated with wax 

 remained quite Arm, and as fresh as when first 

 packed, although they had been confined in the wax 

 three months. 'I'he bulbs transmitted in cotton 

 began to grow first; one soon showed symptoms 

 of debility; wliile those sent in wax did not i)ush 

 till a month after they were potted, but then they 

 grew strong and healthy. In one or two cases the 

 bulbs perished in the coton, while the same kinds 

 packed or coated in wax survived the journey. — 

 M., in the London Hort. Magazine. 



New Vegetable: Rhaflower. — Mr. A. For- 

 syth, the Earl of Shrewsbury's garilener, at Alton 

 Towers, in Staffordshire, suggests the use of the 

 flower stalks of Uhubarb as an excellent addition to 

 our list of culinary vegetables. He says — "We 

 have been in the habit of eating the leaves (foot- 

 stalks) of the Rhubarb plant for many years; and 

 seeing that the fruit stalks were counted as waste, I 

 thought it very likely that they were the better 

 part of the plant, and I now find that the jjouches 

 of unojiened flowers, [i. e., comjiact clusters of 

 buds. — Ed.,] bear the same relation to the leaves 

 of rhubarb, that cauliflowers do to cabbage leaves, 

 and may be obtained in great abundance, anil that 

 at a time — April — when all kinds of vegetables are 

 valuable. The pouches of flower buds arc of a 

 beautiful colour, when dressed in the same man- 

 ner that rhubarb is usually dressed, and resemble 

 the inside of a fig; the flavor is milder than that 

 of rhubarb stalks; but I do not look upon it so much 

 in the light of an article for making tarts of, as I 

 do for its use as a boiled vegetable, to be used like 

 Brocoli. Let no one take my opinion of this mat- 

 ter, but let every one judge for himself, in the 

 spring, as soon as the flower stalks show them- 

 selves. As a matter of course, the plants should 

 be grown in rich ground, and the pouches to be 

 crisp should be got very young, and will require 

 some care in cooking. — London Hort. Mag. 



Foreign Cohrespondence. — Paris, Sept. 10. — 

 The Potato blight has been for some time past 

 gradually extending in the western and southern 

 districts of France ; every week adds some new 

 locality. Last j'ear the principal scene of infec- 

 tion was in the north ; beyond Amiens to the fron- 

 tier of Belgium almost every field was more or 

 less itamaged, and in some districts a sound Potato 

 was hardly to be found; it was also, but in a mod- 

 ified form, in some parts of Picardy, Normandy, 

 and on the borders of the Rhone; now the crops 

 are all but lost in some of the lowlands of Calva- 

 dos, Normandy, Touraine, on the Garonne, about 

 Toulouse, and from thence to the Mediterranean; 

 in several places near the Rhone, at Chamberry, 

 and other parts of Sardinia and Italy, the loss is 

 still more extensive; in all these districts the late 

 kinds have suffered most; at present I have not 

 heard that it has made any progress in central 

 France; in the neighborhood of Paris, we are al- 

 most entirely free from taint. I have from time to 

 time visited the various markets and seen but very 



