1864.] lawson's botanical notes. 13 



best for the turner and the wood-engraver. It is made by the vil- 

 lagers into little boxes for holding ghee, honey, snuff, and tinder. 

 At the medical stores in Sealkote it is turned into pill-boxes ; and 

 it appears to be adapted for plugs, trenails, and wedges. The 

 wood is very heavy, and does not float; it is liable to split in the 

 hot weather, and should be seasoned, and then stored under cover. 



" The Olive Zaitoon, which has also been tested for wood- 

 engraving at the Madras School of Arts, is another plant of the 

 Mediterranean Flora which range from the coast of the Levant to 

 the Himalaya. It varies a good deal in the shape of its leaves and 

 in the amount of ferruginescence ; hence the synonyms cuspidata 

 ^nd ferruginea : but it does not appear to differ specifically from 

 the Olea Europea of the Mount of Olives, — the emblem of peace- 

 and plent3^ The finest specimens I have seen are in theKaghan 

 and Peshawur valleys, where the fruit resembles that of rocky 

 sites in Palestine or Gibraltar. The wood is much used for combs 

 and beads, and is found to answer for the teeth of wheels at the 

 Madhopore workshops." 



25. Nettle Fibre. — It is perhaps not generally known in 

 Canada that the exquisitely beautiful fibre known as China grass- 

 cloth, and so much in favor for the best kinds of ladies' hand- 

 kerchiefs, is obtained from an Indian nettle. No doubt the Amer- 

 ican Urtica gracilis, which grows abundantly about the Falls of 

 Niagara and elsewhere in Canada, might be turned to good 

 account, were our Agricultural Associations to direct atten- 

 tion that way. Dr. Cleghorn tells us that the Urtica hetero- 

 pliylla (the species cultivated by Mr. Mclver at Ootakamund) is^ 

 plentiful in Simla, having followed man to the summit of Jako, 

 attracted by moisture to an elevation unusual for any member of 

 the family. It is found within the stations of Dalhousie and 

 Dharmsalla, and at many intermediate points. The quantity is- 

 surprising, wherever the soil has become enriched by the 

 encamping of cattle. The growth at this season also is luxuriant 

 in shady ravines near houses, where there is abundance of black 

 mould ; but the sting being virnlent, the plants are habitually cut 

 down as a nuisance, both by private persons and municipal com- 

 mittees. 



There are other plants of the nettle tribe, particularly ^o/imenoi 

 salici/olia, " siharu," used for making ropes (to which attentioD 

 has been directed by Dr. Jameson). This plant does not sting, and 

 is abundant at low elevations. 



