1885.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



5' 



Large Deciduous Cypress. — Some of the 

 States are trying to rival one another in regard to 

 the largest specimens of Taxodium distichum for 

 the World's Fair. Trunks eight feet long are set 

 up. North Carolina has one six feet through ; but 

 the specimen growing in the Bartram Gardens, 

 near Philadelphia, is larger than this. But we 

 learn that a Florida specimen has appeared that 

 is fourteen feet through ! Philadelphia must re- 

 sign the sceptre to this huge monarch of the South- 

 ern forest. One thing may be said, that no con- 

 tention for the world's admiration could induce 

 Philadelphia to part with its huge cypress. The 

 Quaker city, in the spirit of brotherly love, yielded 

 to the application from New Orleans to let the old 

 Independence Bell go to the Exposition, and felt 

 they were making their greatest sacrifice in letting 

 this precious relic go out of their safe keeping for 

 a short time. But in this cypress they have an- 

 other treasure which cannot be moved ; and this 

 may be some comfort to those who are mourning 

 for the temporary absence of the great bell which 

 first rang in the Independence of the colonies. 



Rapidity of Forest Fires. — It has been , 

 found by observations on some of the forest fires 

 the past season, that the rate of travel under a 

 fair wind is about twenty-five to thirty miles an 

 hour. It would take smart riding on a fast Indian 

 pony to keep ahead of a blaze like that. 



Waste Land in England. — England is begin- 

 ning to believe that free trade is not good even 

 for England. The moment there is any manufac- 

 turing depression, the population leaves for coun- 

 tries that protect manufactures, instead of remain- 

 ing on their own land to improve it. Sir John Lub- 

 bock recently stated in the English House of Com- 

 mons that there were between five and si.x 

 millions of acres of land in England which had 

 not yet been brought into a productive condition. 

 Ireland and Scotland together also had about the 

 same quantity. Free trade helped the manufac- 

 turers so long as they were able to compete in the 

 open market of the world ; when they could do 

 this no longer, both agriculture and manufacture 

 suffered. He proposes to make forest land of 

 these twelve million acres. 



Natural History and Science. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



INTERESTING VEGETABLE FORMS. 



BY REV. L. J. TEMPLIN. 



To the thoughtful observer almost every vege- 

 table form has something of interest, but to the 

 masses they are generally only weeds or common 

 plants. Even those that have some striking pecu- 

 liarity soon lose their interest by familiarity. The 

 vegetable kingdom is full of unique forms, many of 

 which, to the common reader, are almost, if not 

 entirely unknown. Some of these, from their form, 

 habits, or productions, are quite curious and inter- 

 esting. A list of all such as would be strange 

 and curious to 80 per cent, of the people of this 

 country, would be quite a long one, and leave but 

 little room in an ordinary article for description. 



A brief note of some little known vegetable 

 forms may not be without interest to some of the 

 younger readers of the Gardeners' Monthly. 



The gourd tribe furnishes some interesting spe- 



cies. One of these — the Cucurbita claviformis, 

 grows in the vicinity of Constantinople, and is be- 

 lieved, by the people of that country, to be the real 

 Jonah's gourd. It forms an almost impermeable 

 shade, under which the orientals delight to sit and 

 smoke. 



The curious fruit hangs down in long, delicate 

 clubs, somewhat resembling large, overgrown can- 

 dles. This fruit is prepared for food by scooping 

 out the central portion and filling it with force 

 meat. It is then boiled, when it forms a very pal- 

 atable dish. 



Another member of this family is the squirting 

 cucumber, Momordica Elaterium, which is remark- 

 able for the strange property it has when ripe of 

 throwing its seed contents to a considerable dis- 

 tance on being touched or shaken. As the fruit 

 approaches maturity there is an accumulation of 

 fluid in it till it can contain no more, when, on the 

 least touch or jar, the substance about the stem 

 gives way and the contents are thrown out with 

 force sufficient to carry them several yards, and a 



