106 SIXTH REPORT — 1836. 



or less proportion. These were, the Cichoraceae, Lobeliacere, Apocynew, 

 Asclepiadeae, Euphorbiacese, Artocarpeae. It is remarkable that many- 

 plants of the families which yield caoutchouc are characterized by the 

 strength and tenacity of their fibre, and in tropical countries birdlime 

 is prepared from plants of the same families. These observations, con- 

 nected with the fact that the silkworm feeds on several plants of the 

 famihes which yield the caoutchouc, though otherwise little allied to each 

 other, induced Mr. Royle to suppose that this substance might possibly 

 form a necessary ingredient in those plants upon which only they can 

 feed, and that it was in some way employed in furnishing the material 

 from which the tenacity was given to their silk. This induced him to 

 inquire whether caoutchouc existed in their favourite food the mulberry, 

 and a friend having analysed the juices of this plant, substantiated the 

 validity of his conjecture. 



On the Acceleration of the Growth of Wheat. By G. Webb Hall, Esq. 



The usual period required for the growth and maturity of wheat 

 (eight, ten, or even more months.) might, according to the results of 

 experiments conducted by Mr. Hall, be considerably abridged. By 

 the use of particular seed, planted in a peculiar situation, wheat, sown 

 early in March, has been ripened before the middle of August. Mr. Hall 

 is of opinion that, in consequence of the transmission of special quali- 

 ties from plants to their seeds, the seeds of wheat which had ripened in 

 five months would be more likely to exhibit a like acceleration than 

 grain taken from plants which had been longer in ripening. 



Notice of Crystals of Sugar found in Rhododendron ponticum. By Pro- 

 fessor Henslow. 



Some crystalline fragments of pure white and transparent sugar, re- 

 sembling sugar-candy, and of considerable dimensions, which had been 

 naturally formed in the flowers of Rhododendron ponticum, were exhibited 

 by Professor Henslow. There is a minute glandular spot near the base, 

 and on the upper surface of the ovarium, from whence exudes a thick 

 clammy juice, which, on desiccation, crystallizes into the substance here 

 mentioned. 



On the Fruits, cultivated and wild, of the Deccan, in the East Indies. 

 By Lieut. -Col. Sykes, 



The author stated that they amounted to forty-five cultivated (many 

 of which are found wild also), and twenty-one wild fruits. They were 

 illustrated by many drawings which were formed from careful measures, 

 and had scales of length attached to them. The times of flowering and 

 fruiting were mentioned, and the uses of the various fruits in the arts, in 

 the general oeconomy of the people ; and, deriving his intelligence from 



