FOREIGN AND MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



is certainly deserving tlie attention of cultiva- 

 tors. — Ibid. [A writer in tlie Scottish Garden- 

 er recommends to try this plan with the Rhodo- 

 dendron nivale of the snowy summits of tlie 

 Sikkira Himalaya.] 



The Pe-la, or Insect-rvax of China, has been 

 largely used in Cliina since the thirteenth cen- 

 tury, and has been occasionally imported into 

 France and Britain for many years past, but its 

 natural history is still very imperfectly known. 

 Its chemical properties were investigated in 1848, 

 by Mr. B. C. Brodie, of London, who showed 

 that, even as it is met with in commerce, it is 

 nearly in a state of chemical purity, and that it 

 most closely resembles cerin, the base of bees- 

 wax. The Pe-la is perfectly white, translucent, 

 shining, not unctuous to the touch, inodorous, 

 and insipid. It melts at 100° Fahrenheit. It 

 is found adhering to the branches of certain 

 shrubs, whence it is collected yearly in June. 

 It seems to be produced by myriads of minute 

 insects, which either excrete, or are changed 

 into, the wax. Dr. Mcgowan, Medical Mission- 

 ary at Ningpo, is inclined to believe that the in- 

 sect undergoes what may be called aceraceous 

 degeneration, its whole body being periueated 

 by the peculiar product, in the same manner as 

 the Coccus cacti is bj' carmine. — Report of 

 Royal Physical Society. 



In the village of Gries, four leagues from 

 Strasburgh, stands Aixiieof JEscuhis Hippocas- 

 taiium, one of the oldest in the country, cer- 

 tainly dating farther back than the year 1680. 

 At a foot above the ground it measures twelve 

 feet in circumference. The peculiarity of this 

 tree is, that from an unknown period it has an- 

 nually blossomed on one side alone, one year on 

 the west side, the next only on the east. The 

 bare half does, indeed, present a bunch of flow- 

 ers here and there, though seven-eighths of the 

 branches are without blossom ; but the leaves 

 exhibit a more vivid green hue, while those on 

 the flowering half of the tree are of a dull, un- 

 pleasant color. — Flora. ' 



Those who have paid little attention to the 

 Mosses, can hardly imagine the great variety of 

 beautiful forms they present to the inquiring 

 eye; and indeed, excepting the Ferns, there is, 

 perhaps, no tribe of plants which look prettier 

 than a collection of these in a dried state, and 

 neatly fastened to small sheets of paper. "We 

 mention this just now, because a very nice se- 

 ries of specimens of the British Mosses, are in 



course of publication, by Mr. F. Y. Brocas, of 

 Basingstoke ; and these would form an excel- 

 lent ground-work for those who might wish to 

 begin to collect and study these interesting low- 

 ly forms of vegetation, and would also furnish 

 materials for those who could only find leisure 

 to study — not to gather for themselves. The 

 two fasciculi published, containing each fifty 

 species, consist of excellently preserved speci- 

 mens, and, as far as we have observed, very cor- 

 rectly named. — M. 



It appears that the flowers of the Victoria 

 regia evolve a considerable amount of latent 

 heat during the period of their development, si- 

 milar to what has been observed to occur in Ca- 

 ladium and other Araceou.? plants. M. Otto, 

 of Hamburgh, has observed that a thermome- 

 ter plunged into the Victoria flower at the mo- 

 ment of expanding its anthers, (7h. 11m. p.m.) 

 rose to 211° R., the temperature of the house 

 being IT/f" R., and that of the tank 16^" R. 

 Ijpon being sunk below the anthers, a gradual 

 decrea.se took place. On another occasion, the 

 temperature of the air being 18" R., that of the 

 water 1G| and the thermometer at 165° R., in 

 the course of fifteen minutes the latter rose, in 

 the flower, to 32^° R. These experiments were 

 made at the suggestion of Prof. Lehiuann, who 

 thought he had formerly noticed an increase of 

 temperature to occur in the flowers of Nymphcea 

 alba during their development. — Hooker's Jour- 

 nal of Botany. 



Analysis of the Strawberry. — B. Kirt- 

 LAND gives the following analysis in the Fami- 

 ly Visitor, showing a large amount of pota.sh in 

 proportion to other constituents, much silica, 

 and more magnesia and common salt, than are 

 usually found in other fruits. One hundred and 

 sixteen grains of the ashes were taken, prepar- 

 ed from the leaves and stalks immediately after 

 they had borne a moderate crop of fruit. 



Silica. 6.117 grains. 



Charcoal and sand, 3.101 do 



Perphosphate of iron, 1 .515 do 



Pcrpliosphate of lime, 26.519 do 



Magnesia, 8. 90S do 



Sulphuric acid, 1.469 do 



Phosphoric acid 6.970 do 



Chlorine, 708 do 



Potash, 33.154 do 



Soda 2.790 do 



Carbonic acid, 23.008 do 



Oiganie matter and loss, 1 . 739 do 



116.000 do 



