FOREIGN AND MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



likewise from the absorption of other volatile 

 substances; for fruit of all descriptions has a 

 very remarkable power of absorbing odorous 

 matters of various kinds. 



Amongst the many plans for preserving fruit 

 which have been described, and which more or 

 less depend in principle on the exclusion of air, 

 such as packing it in close sealed vessels, wrap- 

 ping in fine paper, covering the ends of the 

 stalks with sealing-wax, or arranging it in boxes 

 filled with thoroughly dry sand, bran, straw, 

 fern, or other similar substance, the greatest 

 care in all cases must be taken that the pack- 

 ing material has no odor; for if it has, the 

 fruit, besides losing a portion of its own natural 

 aroma, will acquire some of the odor of tlie 

 packing material, and the delicate flavor of the 

 fruit, and consequently its value, will be de- 

 stroyed. On the other hand, when fruit is pre- 

 served by cold, and especially when for this 

 purpose it is gathered before it is perfectly ripe, 

 it is often found that on removing it from the 

 ice-house or cold w^ell in which it has been pre- 

 served, though at first it has but little flavor, 

 yet that on gently warming it and keeping it a 

 few days, the flavor improves and decidedly 

 increases. This and other similar facts may 

 fixirly lead to the consideration, whether the 

 odor and flavor of fruit which has been pre- 

 served some time in carbonic acid, nitrogen, or 

 hydrogen, and which has in con.sequence be- 

 come deteriorated, is, in truth, really altogeth- 

 er destroyed ; and whether it might not be pos- 

 sible to recover the whole, or at least a portion, 

 of the lost flavor? 



The absorption of manure, or rather manner 

 in which plants fed with very strong manures 

 acquire a peculiar and often very disagreeable 

 flavor in consequence; and also the curious 

 way in which the odor of flowers is sometimes 

 modified by the absorption of particular sub- 

 stances, are probably also examples of the fa- 

 cility with which vegetables absorb odorous 

 substances. Concerning the formation of odors 

 by plants, very little indeed is known. There 

 are, however, a number of curious facts bearing 

 upon the subject, and showing how volatile 

 odors, closelj' resembling those secreted by 

 plants, are sometimes formed in the most unex- 

 pected manner. Thus, for example, in the 

 process of bleaching rags by chlorine for making 

 paper, it frequently happens that the bleached 

 pulp has precisely the odor of ripe apples; this 

 is evidently due to the presence of some sub- 

 stance formed by the action of the chlorine. — 

 Gard. Chronivle. 



New Tkee Peonies. — We have lately re- 

 ceived from Mr. VerschafTelt. of Ghent, flow- 

 ers of two tree Peonies of admirable beauty. 



They were intended for exhibition in London, 

 but would not keep for that purpose. 



One wos rosy pink, large, and uncommonly 

 showy because of the very fine color of the 

 When full blown they measured 7 

 across ; but in this state they showed 

 quantities of stamens in the centre, and 



some of the petals, though all of good sub- 

 stance, were much longer than the others, giv- 

 ing the general aspect of the flower a somewhat 

 ragged appearance . 



The other was French white, shading off into 

 rose at the base of the petals, and rather smal- 

 ler, but more double and regular, and conse- 

 quently more compact, holding together well, 

 even after it had been cut a very long time. 

 Both kinds were exceedingly handsome, as all 

 tree Paeonies are. A well grown specimen or- 

 namented with such flowers in even tolerable 

 profusion must produce a magnificent display. 



We understand that these were prodifCed by 

 Mr. Charles Goethals, a gentleman residing at 

 Ghent. The darker kind, called Gloria Bel- 

 garum, is described in the •' Journal d'Horti- 

 culture Prati(|ue," as a seedling which, in 1844, 

 had flowered for five successive years, and at 

 that time was producing blossoms at least 10 

 inches in diameter ; a single plant bearing seven 

 of them. It would seem tliat they are now 

 appearing in great abimdance, Mr. Verschatfelt 

 having been able to forward four of them. 

 Certainly these Moutans are among the finest 

 we have ever seen. — Gard. Chronicle. 



The Acuminate Onion. — A few bulbs of this 

 charming plant were sent from California to 

 the Horticultural Society, by Mr. Hartweg, 

 and flowered last spring in the Chiswick Gar- 

 den, in a greenhouse. It is, however, in all 

 probability, hardy, if kept in a place dry in 

 winter. The name onion conveys to an English 

 ear ideas of anything but beauty, for many 

 common species are as ugly as plants well can 

 be, and the handsome kinds are almost un- 

 known in gardens. Nevertheless, in a genus 

 consisting of nearly a couple of hundred spe- 

 cies, many may be found which ought to take 

 rank with hyacinths and jonquils; of these, 

 the moly and the magical onion are well-known 

 examples, though now-a-days confined to curi- 

 ous collections; and the rare species here 

 figured is anotlicr, much handsomer than either, 

 and probably the queen of the family. Its gay 

 flowers, almost transparent when colorless, and 

 stained with the richest rose color near the 

 points, can scarcely be regarded as inferior in 

 beauty to the Guernsey lily itself, and they are 

 far less fugitive. Were it permitted to sup- 

 pose that a plant so similar to onions in most 

 lespects could forma separate genus, one would 

 be tempted to place this apart, for it wants 

 their smell, and is most remarkable for its petals 

 being considerably smaller than the sepals. 

 But no other difference being perceptible, we 

 must believe it to belong to the group of which 

 allium roseum forms one. At first sight it would 

 seem to diffiu" from the acuminate allium de- 

 scribed by Sir W. Hooker, in his " FIora-Bo- 

 reali-Araeric;ina," in the absence of toothings 

 from the petals, in thesmallnessof those ymrts, 

 and in stature; being a much larger an " 

 hawlsome plant than Sir W. Hooker's 

 represents. — Pa.vton's Flower Garden. 



