TREE SI EMS Hi) 



snmc months until llu- soil pails h.ul mulled away 

 and oiil\' ihc round ball of fibre remained. If any 

 OIK- wishes lo follow my example I nould suL,''^est 

 placini; the turnip and its p;in of waler in some 

 outhouse where its perfume will not incommode 

 an\' (jiie. A maid came to me one da\- with a sad 

 account of a fearful smell which had been noticed 

 for some time in a lumber-room at the top of the 

 house, and \er\- naturall\- she thoui;ht that the 

 plumber should be called in to remed\' the e\il. I 

 had almost fori^otten my interesting;" skelet(^n, but 

 in due time I traced the odour to its rii^ht cause, 

 and the turni|) was banished to a distant s[)ot, 

 where many \\ashin^fs and scjme soakiiiL^ in 

 chloride of lime chani^ed it into a real h' beautiful 

 sj)ecimen of wood)' fibre. I jxjssess now onl\' a 

 ijuarter of it, for botanists have scj earnestl\- 

 beL;L;ed fir pieces of it that I ha\e been |)er- 

 suaded to share it with them. 



I ]ia\e sometimes picked up on the seashore old 

 cabbage-stems bleached to a delicate i\or\- white, 

 forming reall\' beautiful instances of wood}' fibre. 

 These we can prepare for oursehes, if desired, b\' 

 soakiiii; the stems in water until they can be 



