188 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



Thk Great Hail Stohm. — The cflbcts of the great 

 liail storm in tlic vicinity of London, on the first 

 of August, a]>iioar to have been most disastrous to 

 the interests of lun'liculture. Tlic South I.ouilon 

 Floral anil Horticultural Societj- have made a re- 

 j)ort that " the losses sustained by those engaged 

 in horticultural trade in tlie neigliborhood of Slock- 

 wvW, Clapham and Urixton, amounted to no less a 

 sum than .t'l.S,OUir' (about ?!)0,00().) A jtublic 

 meeting was held at the London Tavern, on the 

 l7th of August, for the relief of those who suffer- 

 ed most severely. The iJuke of Cambridge pre- 

 sided. A public subscription was opened, and 

 about $1,800 was subscribed on the spot, liis Royal 

 Highness subscribing 20 guineas, the Lord Mayor 

 10 guineas, Dr. Linilley 10 guineas, etc. J. Al- 

 nictt, Esq., stated that 3000 squares of glass had 

 been broken in his conservatory. An efficient 

 committee, with the Lord IMayor at its head, was 

 appointed to carry out the objects of the meeting, 

 by soliciting farther subscriptions. 



On the 21th and 25th of August, a floricultural 

 fete was held at the Surrej' Zoological Ganlens, in 

 behalf of the sufferers. It was well attentled, and 

 many plants, bouquets and fruits were sent to be 

 sold, and the proceeds added to tlie fund. 



Pabis Horticultural Show, August, 1S46. — 

 The Paris Societe Royale dHorticulture held its 

 grand sliow on the 7th, Sth and 9th of August. 

 The time selected is complained of as being always 

 an unsuitable one, and the present season particu- 

 larly so — "the excossi^■e heat and drouth, which 

 for the last two or three months have been almost 

 unprecedented, even in Paris, scarcely a drop of 

 rain having fallen for the last ten weeks, Roses, 

 Dahlias, anil other flowers, have been at times lite- 

 rally scorched to powder; and the ravages of the 

 Thrip and Red Spider almost universal." Under 

 these circumstances, the exhibition is spoken of 

 as having been a creditable one — the number of 

 exhibitors not so numerous as previously, but the 

 plants of a better description. 



The prizes offered were two gold medals by the 

 Duchesse d'Orleans and the Princesse Adelaide, 

 and sixteen silver medals, and the like number in 

 bronze by the Society. 



The finest and best cultivated plant shown was 

 JDichorizandra ovata, by M. Ryfkogel, for which 

 a silver medal was giv^en. M. Crochet obtained a 

 prize for two magnificent Canteloupe melons, 

 weighing from twelve to eighteen pounds each. 

 The gold medal of the Duchesse d'Orleans was 

 awarded to M. Jaquin Aind, for a miscellaneous 

 collection of plants. " M. Jamin sent the plums 

 Reine Claude (Green Gage) and Reine Victoria, 

 really fit to set before a queen. Neither grapes nor 

 peaches," observes the correspondent of the Chro- 

 nicle, "were worthy of France." 



In'diax Corn Bread-stuffs in E.vgland. — 

 The English journals abound with recipes for the 

 manufacture of the " staff of life," in various 



forms, from our Indian corn. Eliliu Burritt, liet- 

 ler known in this country as the " learned black- 

 smith," of New-England, appears to be devoting 

 himself to teaching the iidial)itant8 of Great ilri- 

 tain how to feed the million with this cheap and 

 wholesome food. We have seen extracts from a 

 pamidilet of his published there, which gives a 

 great number of poi)ular American recijies for such 

 bread as ''Johnny cake," "Indian Pound cake," 

 " Corn Meal cake," "Corn Dodgers," " Hoc cake," 

 " Corn muffins," " Hasty Pudding bread," " Hom- 

 miny," Stc, &c. If these get fairly naturalized 

 among the middle classes of Great Rritain and Ire- 

 land, as there is at present every reason to believe 

 they will, we cannot doubt that Indian Corn will, 

 at no distant day, become to America the most 

 I)rotitable of exjjortable i)roducts. The climate of 

 Great Britain will not produce it, and the soil and 

 climate of the United States, throughout the whole 

 length and breadth of the country, are so highly 

 favorable to it, that jts production may be increas- 

 ed to an almost unlimited extent. 



The Potato Disease. — The potato disease, as 

 we learn by the last files of our agricultural i)apers 

 by the steamer, down to the 29th of August, is 

 dreadfully prevalent in all parts of Great Britain 

 and Ireland. Blany districts tliat altogether escap- 

 ed last season, are suffering badly this year; and 

 in various parts of the country, the crop is alrea- 

 dy entirely destroyed — or so far gone that the pu- 

 trid smell arising from the fields is very offensive. 

 Those who planted in peat soil, or used soot in the 

 drills, in the hope of preventing the disease, have 

 suffered alike with those who have planted in the 

 common way. It is now thought that the culti- 

 vation of the potato, on a large scale, will have to 

 be abandoned, for the present at least, in Great 

 Britain, and attention must be turned to field peas, 

 Swedish turnips or something of the kind in its 

 stead. 



A Gaiu>en on the House top. — In Sweden it is 

 not an uncommon sight in ihe country, and some- 

 times even in the villages, to see the roofs of the 

 poorer cottages covered with herbs which serve as 

 pasture for the goats. In Norway they even ])lant 

 trees in the turf which covers the roofs, and to 

 such an extent is this carried, that some of their 

 hamlets or villages, seen at a distance, have quite 

 the air of a little wood. Nothing is more com- 

 mon than to see rude kitchen gardens on these 

 roofs of the houses. — Revue Horticole. 



London Zoological Gardens. — Of the Lon- 

 don Zoological Gardens I had formed too exalted 

 an idea; perhaps, too, the sight of noble animals 

 in confinement is naturally painful. As a garden, 

 the ])lace is well enough; and much is done to ren- 

 der the prisoners comfortable. The bears get 

 plenty of cake for climbing up a long pole; the 

 monkeys chatter and frolic as much as one could 

 wish; while the elephants bathe in a miniature 

 lake, and look sulky ; and the cameleopards enjoy 



