May 2:j, 1S72. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETIGULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



which chew my iitteution by their rich bright appearance. 

 Most of the blooms were large and very double, of an oval 

 shape, and rich in colour. The perfume was (juite wonderful. 

 The house is 10 or 12 yards from the road, yet the perfume 

 there was dehcious. — I. E. M. 



REVIEWS. 

 Tlic Varietii's, tC-c, of Wheat. By Colonel J. Le Couteue, 

 F.E.S. Second Edition. London : H. J. Johnson. 

 Ir is now about thii-ty-four years since the author of this 

 valuable work obtained the prize offered by the Royal Agricul- 

 tural Society for his essay on the varieties of Wheat (Journal, 

 vol. i., p. 113). His efforts for the improved cultivation of 

 this invaluable plant have, in conjunction with other able 

 labourers, been productive of a gradual and cousidorable in- 

 crease in the average produce of our Wheat lands. We would 

 gladly extract from his v.-ork many of his remarks if they were 

 suitable for the columns of a journal of horticulture. There 

 is every reason to believe that Wheat was consumed by man 

 from the very carhest of his days CGeu. iii., 19), "In the 

 sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." 



The selection of this grain as the food of man in so many 

 countries may bo attributed to its chemical composition : it 

 contains, in fact, the various substances necessary to repair 

 that gradual waste of our tissues and bones which is inces- 

 santly going on. The carbon which is ever emitting from our 

 lungs, the nitrogen of our flesh, the salts of lime which are 

 removing from our bones, are all supplied in the bread we 

 eat. Thus, in one hundred parts of the flour of Wheat are 

 contained — 



Water IBparts. | Fat a pai-ts 



Gluten 10 „ ] Stai-ch, Ac 72 „ 



The " (fee. " noted in the foregoing analysis is chiefly the 

 mineral matter or ash, and forms about IJ per cent, of the 

 flour of Wheat. In one hundred parts of the ash from the 

 Hopetoun Wheat Professca- Way found (Ibid., vol. vii., p. 6-31) — 



Silica 5.63 pai-f s. ' Peroxide of iron 29 parts. 



Pliosiihorio acid 43.98 „ Potash 34.51 „ 



Sulphuric acid 21 ,. Soda 1.87 „ 



Lime 1.80 „ 1 ■ 



Magnesia 11.C9 „ 99.98 



From these chemical researches we see why bread is so uni- 

 versally consumed by mankind in all cUmates that are adapted 

 to the growth of the cereals. The gluten, which forms one- 

 tenth of the flour of Wheat, is nearly chemicaUy identical 

 with albumen (white of egg), and the fat of the flour is the 

 same as the fat of animals ; and when we examine the mineral 

 matter wo find the same phosphoric acid and lime of which 

 bones ai-e so largely composed. 



Of the marvels of this constant waste and supply of the 

 bodies of animals the world are far too little aware. 



Flowers of the Field. By the Eee. C. A. Johns, B.A., F.L.S., 



ifej. London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 



The fact that the ciyhth edition of this volume is now before 

 us is a powerful endenee of its worth. No book that is not 

 good ever has such an extensive success. The title is not suf- 

 flciently explanatory, for the volume contains a brief descrip- 

 tion — brief, yet sufiicieut for identification, of om- native 

 flowering plants. Nor is that all that renders it useful, for to 

 facilitate the identification the plants are arranged according to 

 the Natural System ; there is a woodcut of one species in each 

 genus, and a glossary and index close the work. 



That a taste for an acquaintanee with oirr wild flowers is io- 

 creasing truly gladdens us, for it is in every aspect a healthful 

 taste — healthful to the mind, healthful to the body ; it makes 

 us acquainted more with the wonderful and beautiful, and it 

 tempts more into the pure air and sunlight. Moreover, let 

 all parents remember that to establish in then- childi-en a 

 love of plants is to secure to them one of the most inex- 

 haustible sources of pleasure, and in many instance.^ pleasure 

 leading to wealth and distinction. The first book that takes 

 hold of the youthful mind often has a great influence over 

 the youth's future. Sir James Edward Smith, President of 

 the Linnean Society, attributnd his devotion to botany to 

 a botanical lesson-book of his childhood ; and Sir Joseph 

 Banks, President of the EoyarSociety, told that he was led to 

 botany by the cuts in Gerarde's "Herbal" being a resource of 

 amusement in his early days. 



To discover an unpossessed plant for our herbarium is a 

 vivid pleasure. We can fully appreciate the feeling that 



caused Linniuus to fall on his knees by the side of the Fui'ze 

 when he saw it for the first time bespangled with its golden 

 flowers ; we fully appreciate the feehng, because vi\-rdly do we 

 remember in our youth kneeUng by the first Wood Anemone 

 we saw, and venting our admu'ation in the exclamation " Oh I 

 my pretty Page." Wo cannot give a fairer specimen of Mr. 

 Johns' volume than by extracting its engraving and descrip. 

 tion of that flower. 



" A. nemorosa (Wood Anemone, Wind-flower). — Flower droop- 

 ing; sepals or petals six; carpels without tails. — This is one of 



om- most beautiful spring flowers, adorning our upland woods 

 at the season when Primroses and Violets are in perfection. 

 The petals and sepals are generally white, but not uiirequently 

 tinged with jiiuk externally ; more rarely they are of a delicate 

 sky-blue, both within and without. Fl. March — May. Perennial." 

 Those who are led to companionship with our native plant.-? 

 will not rest satisfied with this volume, therefore w'e will add 

 the following notes on this our pet flower from our own "Wild 

 Flowers of Great Britain," a work which admits of more de- 

 tails than Mr. Johns could include in his small volume. 



" The name Anemone is derived from the Greek Anenw:i, the 

 wind, and is well applied to most of the species of the genus, for 

 they not only do not shrink from, but really benefit by the 

 wind's btiffetings — facts gently touched by two poets who have 

 written thus : — 



" ' The veteran troop v.'ho will not for a blast 



Of nipping ail-, like cowards, ciuit the field.' — Mason. 

 " ' The coy Anemone, that ne'er unclosed 



Her lips until they're blown on by the wind.' — Hai-ace Stnitlt. 

 " The specific name nemorosa, or more correctly neinortitme, 

 refers to this species being a frequenter of wooded localities. 



" ' — thickly strewn in woodland bowers. 



Anemones theil- stars unfold; ' 

 and, as Charlotte Smith descriptively adds — 

 " ' Gather the copse's pride, .\jiemones, 

 With i-ays like golden studs on ivory laid, 

 Most delicate : but touch'd with pui-ple cloud.'^. 

 Fit crown for April's fair but chaugefiU brow.' 

 " The flowers fold up in a ciu-ious manner, and bend down- 

 wards, against raiu. The whole jdant is acrid, ©oats and 

 sheep eat it, but it is apt to disorder the latter violeutlv. Horses, 

 cows, and swine refuse it. The recent flowers are poisonous, 

 and the plant yields an acrid, volatile principle, so c<nrrosive as 

 to be used externally instead of cantharides. It is al^o service- 

 able in headaches, tertian agues, and rheumatic gout. This 

 plant is sometimes found with j-eUow dots on the under surface 

 of the leaves, which some have supposed to be the ^vovk of au 

 insect, but without sufficient proof. Dr. I'ulteuey, in Liuu. 



