374 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[December, 



of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia appears in 

 the late number of the Bulletin of the Torrey 

 Botanical Club. The institution above named 

 was formed primarily for mutual aid to study 

 among the members of the body. But, besides 

 this mutual aid it has taken a pride in aid- 

 ing science all over the world. All this has been 

 done by the free labor of the members and their 

 friends. Not a dollar has ever been given by 

 city or State, or any endowment made toward 

 maintenance to any material extent by outside 

 parties. In view of its eminent services a fine 

 building was partially given it by citizens; but 

 nothing toward the increasing expenses the 

 large building brought. The Herbarium is a 

 fine tribute to this long series of voluntary work. 

 Collins, Elliott, Pursh, Baldwin, Le Conte, Con- 

 rad, Nuttall, Torrey, Durand and Pickering are 

 among the famous dead that have aided in 

 bringing it up. Many other famous names, who 

 have taken part in this great work, directly 

 or indirectly, are mentioned — the names o^ 

 Schweinitz, Bentham, Hooker, Asa Gray, Von 

 Martius, Euschenberger, Styles, Lesquereux, 

 Eavanel, John Stuart Mill, Dr. Short, and most 

 of the living celebrities of botanical science- 

 Parmentier, the celebrated physician, made the 

 first presentation of specimens about 1812. It 

 is diflScult to tell how many good species the 

 Herbarium contains; but it is not less than 

 40,000 or 45,000, although other esdmates place 

 it much higher. National use could be made o^ 

 this valuable material if some Smithson would 

 arise just now to step in and go beyond what 

 voluntary work can possibly do. Much is being 

 given to new enterprises. A little once in a 

 while to finish those that are well begun would 

 do no harm. — The Independent. 



Japan Lacquer.— The Museum of Kew has 

 recently been enriched by a very fine collection 

 of Japanese lacquer-work. The collection, 

 which was obtained especially for the Museum 

 by the Acting Consul at Hakodate, under in- 

 structions from H. M. Charge d'Affaires atTokio, 

 is extremely complete, and illustrates the whole 

 process of manufacture. Thus, for instance, 

 there are specimens of the trunk of the Varnish 

 tree (Rhus vernicifera), showing the deep cuts 

 through the bark, made in a horizontal manner 

 and close together, by a sharp, gouge-like instru- 

 ment, which is also shown, as well as several 

 other instruments used in various branches of 

 the collection of the lacquer or its preparation. 

 There is also a neatly made pot for holding the 



lacquer as collected, constructed from a simple 

 joint of a large Bamboo stem ; a large series o 

 lacquer as collected from the stems or as pre- 

 pared, and a complete set of tools, such as fine 

 and coarse brushes, made of human hair, rat's 

 hair, &c., spatulas, burnishers, and a series of 

 colors used in decoration. Besides these there 

 is a very fine and instructive series of lacquer- 

 work, from the earliest stages to the most highly 

 finished examples, some of which are of great 

 age, one, for example, being 120 years old, and 

 of exquisite workmanship. The processes 

 through which good lacquer-work passes are 

 both tedious and numerous ; the results, how- 

 ever, are wonderful accuracy in every detail, 

 many of the designs, especially those represent- 

 ing plants and flowers, being worked with so 

 much care as to be in many cases botanically 

 correct ; this is particularly the case with the 

 gold work on wood, both flattened and raised. 

 The collection is all the more valuable because 

 it is said that good lacquer-work is becoming 

 more and more scarce, the demand for cheap 

 articles in the European markets being so great 

 as to induce lacquer-workers to turn their at- 

 tention to the class of goods which meets with a 

 ready sale, to the neglect of the more costly and 

 consequently more carefully wrought. The 

 value of the collection is also increased from the 

 fact that a very elaborate account accompanies 

 them descriptive of the collection of the juice 

 from the Varnish trees, its subsequent manipu- 

 lation and final application. — /. R. Jackson, in 

 Gardener's Chronicle. 



Night Closing in the Leaves of Purslane. — 

 Mr. Meehan noted that in the list of plants 

 having diurnal or nocturnal motion Portulaca 

 oleracea did not appear. At sundown the leaves, 

 at other times at right angles with the stem, rose 

 and pressed their upper surfaces against it. The 

 morning expansion began with dawn, and soon 

 after sunrise the leaves were fully expanded. 

 Mr. Isaac Burk also discovered it, as also in an 

 allied plant of the West Indies, Talinum 'patent. 

 — Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia. 



Summer Migration of the Robin. — Mr. Thos. 

 Meehan remarked that Audubon, Nuttall, Wil- 

 son and other eminent ornithologists had sug- 

 gested that the seasons had evidently not so 

 much to do with the migrations of birds, as the 

 question of food, though most authors connected 

 this question of food with the autumn or winter 



