184 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ March 10, 18TO. 



or from the young twigs ; and a red juicy terry-like excrescence, 

 resembling a Cranberry, from the leaves, which is well figured, 

 with its insect inhabitant, in Roesel's work on the transformations 

 of that tribe of animals. The astringent galls brought from the 

 Levant for the purposes of dyeing and making ink, are the pro- 

 duce of an Oak. 



Several galls are found on Willow and Poplar leaves ; but the 

 most remarkable excrescence of this kind is the Bedeguar, or 

 mossy ball found on the Dog Rose of our hedges, each specimen 

 of which lodges internally numerous maggots of the Cynips 

 Rosa?, which, when they arrive at their winged state, eat then- 

 way out. After this, and not before, various perforations may 

 be found m the Bedeguar, which soon afterwards withers and 

 dries. Analogous to this sort of gall is that found on Willows 

 in Provence, which branches out like a moss, or tufted Lichen. 

 Nor is the rosaceous expansion at the end of each branch of the 

 Rose Willow, Salix Helix, at all different in nature, though un- 

 like in shape. Both these last described are permanent, though 

 withered, on the twigs, long after all the proper leaves are 

 fallen. More akin to the galls of the Oak are those of several 

 Sages' in the Levant, Salvia pomifera, triloba, and officinalis, 

 which resem- 

 ble little ap- 

 ples and are 

 sold in the 

 markets of 

 Crete in par- 

 ticular, being 

 esteemeda de- 

 licacy when 

 prepared with 

 sugar. Some 

 todies of the 

 nature of galls 

 lodge in one 

 common cavi- 

 ty amultitudc 

 of growing in- 

 sects, witness 

 those remark- 

 able ones, as 

 big as the fin- 

 ger, found in 

 the south of 

 Europe on the 

 Pistacia Len- 

 tiscus. These 

 are very red, 

 of a coriace- 

 ous texture, 

 and swarm in- 

 ternally with 

 the Aphis ^2 

 Pistacefe of 

 Linnaeus. — 

 (Rees's Cy- 

 clopedia, vol. 

 xv., "Galls.") 

 Quercus in- 

 fectoria is a 

 small shrub, 

 growing a- 

 bundantly in 

 AsiaMinor. It 



an ointment, they serve as a useful external application to 

 hemorrhoidal affections. By analysis, galls contain 65 per cent, 

 of tannic acid; 10'5 of lignin; 5'8 of gum, sugar, and starch; 

 4-0 of gallic, ellagic, and luteo-gallic acids, and llo of water, 

 besides extractive chlorophylle, volatile oil, albumen, and salts. 

 — (Hogg's Vegetable Kingdom.) 



We subjoin some drawings of Galls. 



Galls are of two kinds, called respectively galls and cases. 

 Galls are more or less solid or ligneous, and contain one in- 

 sect. Cases are hollow and horny, comprising a colony of 

 insects. 



Levant or nut galls, fig. 1, are produced as already stated in 

 the buds of Quercus infectoria, a native of Asia Minor. They 

 are imported from Smyrna and Aleppo, and sometimes from 

 Bombay. They contain about 30 or 40 per cent, of tannic acid 

 — the astringent principle which converts the gelatine of skins 

 into leather in the process of tanning. Galls, however, are not 

 suited for this purpose, because they possess so little extractive 

 matter, rendering leather hard and crackling. 



Gallic acid is another important constituent, amounting to not 

 more than 3 or 6 per cent. In the preparation of ink or black dye, 



a persalt of 

 iron is added 

 to an infusion 

 of nut galls, 

 which com- 

 bines with the 

 acid above- 

 named, to 

 produce the 

 black tan- 

 no -gallate of 

 iron. 



British Oak 

 galls resem- 

 ble fig. 1, but 

 are larger and 

 of a much 

 lighter colour. 

 Mecca galls, 

 Dead Sea Ap- 

 ples, Sodom 

 Apples, or 

 Mad Apples, 

 /'</. '2, are occa- 

 sionally im- 

 ported from 

 Bussarah. 

 f~7\ They are pro- 

 ' duced on a va- 

 riety of Quer- 

 cus infectoria 

 by the Cynips 

 insana. These 

 galls, accord- 

 ing to the 

 Honble. R. 

 Curzon, who 

 brought them 

 from the Holy 

 Land in 1847, 

 are like a 

 beautiful fruit 

 when fresh, 



is on the young shoots of this shrub that the gall nuts of are of a fine purple colour, and shine brilliantly in tne sun, as it 

 commerce are produced. Thev are caused by a smaU insect, varnished. They are very poor in tannic acid, therefore are M 

 Diplolepis gallaetinctoriae, the female of which punctures the much less value than those irom the .Levant, 

 young growing shoots and therein deposits its eggs, which occa- , Oak spangles, fig. 3, are galls formed m the substance or 

 sions an extravasation of the sap and a cellular sweUing of the leaves, and ultimately burst through and appear like nat oiscs 

 part, which continues to increase in size. The egg in course of on the surface. . 



time produces a larva, which lives upon the interior of the gall, j Chinese or Japanese galls,/;?. 4, known in China as woo-pei- 

 until, being transformed into a fly, it eats its way out by a small . tzee, are leaf galls, or cases which contain a colony of insects 

 round hole, as may be sometimes seen in gall's. But to have . They are supposed to be produced by a peculiar species ot 

 sails in the highest perfection, thev should be gathered before aphis on a terebinth inous plant. ^ „■,.,„.„ 



the egg is hatched or the fly has escaped; at this period they Kakrasinghee galls, or cases, fig. o, are from the HimaUj as. 

 are of a dark colour, and are hence called blue, green, or black I Acorn galls occur in some parts of Europe en the Uuercus 

 galls; but if allowed to remain longer, they lose their dark I pedunculata, being proouced in the Acorn by Cynips quercus- 

 colour, and are then called white galls. Galls are powerfully , calycis. These are known in Germany as knopperns, where 

 astringent, and are employed in medicine and in the arts ; thev they are used by dyers instead of the Levant galls. _ 

 form an important ingredient in the making of writing ink, and Elm galls are the size of the fist and do not contain any astrin-. 

 are employed as an internal remedy in chronic diarrhoea and gent, but a sweet and viscid fluid. They abound in the oouth 

 chronic dysentery ; and also as an astringent gargle ; formed into I of Europe. 



