4G4 



with the substance : this gradually dimi- 

 nishes and disappears, and then the blue 

 vapour whicli bathes the body is either un- 

 altered and scarcely visible, or else it acquires 

 a colour according to the nature of the sub- 

 stance exposed to its action. Three sub- 

 stances produce a red colour : strontia, Ume, 

 and lithia. Carbonate and sulphate of 

 strontia both produce it. The mixture of 

 baryta makes the colour disappear. Lime 

 gives a less intense colour than strontia. 

 Impure limestone snd dolomites produce 

 little or no colour : fluor spar an intense 

 colour- ; the sulphate a feeble colour ; the 

 phosphate and borate none. Lithia pro- 

 duced a fine purple red colour, which soon 

 disappeared ; petalite produced a very feeble 

 tint. Blue colours are produced by arsenic, 

 antimony, and lead. Green colours are 

 produced by boracic acid, baryta, and oxide 

 of copper. Pure boracic acid yields a fine 

 green. Borate of lime, datholite, and boryo- 

 lite produce a pale green. Borax gives a 

 red atmosphere, unless it be first moistened 

 with sulphuric acid. The addition of Tur- 

 ner's fiux was not found to increase the 

 effect, the substances giving it as well with- 

 out. All barytic minerals colour the flame 

 green. JMost of the copper minerals gave a 

 fine green colour, even though only a small 

 quantity of copper was present. Plumbife- 

 rous minerals, containing a little copper, 

 gave a blue flame with a green extremity. 



Prussian Silh: — The experiments v.hich 

 havebeen making in Prussia, for several years 

 past, relative to the production of silk, liave 

 proved that wliat is obtained there is not 

 inferior to that of Italy ; and a company is 

 being formed, the principal object of wliich 

 is to encourage and improve tlie cultivation 

 of silk in Prussia. 



Fossil Vei/etables The following is a 



list of the fossil plants which characterise 

 the secondary and tertiary formations, ex- 

 tracted from INI. Adolphe Brongni.art's 

 Prodr'ime de V Histoire dcs Vei/elau.r Fos- 



sites. PlANTES CARACTEniSTiaUES 

 DES DIVEHSES FORMATIONS. TeR- 



Haix HouiLLER. Coal Measures. Ca- 

 lamites. Pilices des genres Sphenopteris, 

 Neuropteris, Pecopteris, et *Odontopteris 

 especes tres nombreuses. Lycopodites et 

 ♦Lepidodendron. 'Sphenophy'lum. *An- 

 nularia et *AsteroplTyllites. Les quatres 

 derniers genres ne se trouvent que dans ces 

 tenains. Zechstein et Schistes 

 BiTUMiNEUX. "Algae analogues a des 

 Caulerpa, particulierement *Fucoides se- 

 laginoides. Ores Bizarre. Calaniites. 

 Filices des genres Splienopteris, Neu- 

 ropteris et "Anomopteris. Coniferes du 

 genre •Voltzia. Plusieurs plantes phancro. 

 games monocotyledones. i\IuscHELKALK. 

 Neuropteris Gaillardati. IMantellia cylin- 

 dxica. Marnes Irisees. Keuper et 

 Lias. •Equisetum columnare. Filices des 



Varieties. \Ocm. 



genres •Clathropteris, Taniopteris. Cyca- 

 deae des genres •Pterophyllum, "Nilsonia et 

 Zamites ,• particulierement le "Pterophyl- 

 lum longifoliuni et les Zamites Bechii et 

 Bucldandii. Oolithe Inferieure. 

 Oolite of Whitby. Equiselum columnare. 

 Filices des genres *Pachypteris, Sphenop- 

 teris, Pecopteris et Teniopteris. Cycadees 

 du genre *Zamia (Desperes). Forest 

 Marble. {Stonesjield and Solenhofcrn.) 

 Fucoides. Filices rares. Sphenopteris, 

 Hymenophylloides. Zaniia pectinata. Co- 

 nifera; du genre Thuytes et Taxites podo- 

 carpoides. Galcaire de Portlaxd. 

 Mantellia nidiformis. (Cycadea;.) Hast- 

 ings Sand. *Lonchopteris ManteUi. 

 [Pecopteris reticulata.) •Sphenopteris 

 ManteUi. ♦Clathraria Lcgellii. Green 

 Sand. Fucoides plusieurs especes. * F. 

 Targionii, strictus et Brardii. Zosterites. 

 Cycadites Nilsonii. Craif. Rien. de dele - 

 niinable en plantes terrestres. Confervites, 

 fucoides, rares. Akgile Plastique, 

 Molasse et Lignites. Palmiers pro- 

 bablement du genre Cocos, &.c. Coniferse 

 des genres Pinus, Thuya, Taxus, &c. 

 AmentaceaB, Acerinea?, Juglandeae, etautres 

 dicotyledones arborescentes. Calcaire 

 Grossier. Palmiers. Hares. Conifers. 

 Rares. Pinus Defrancii, feuilles dicotyle- 

 dones assez fre'quentes. Fucoides nombreuses 

 a Monte Bolca. Terrain d'Eau douce 

 Gypseux ou Paleotherien. Cliara 

 Lemani. Palmiers. Flabellaria Laman- 

 onis. Coniferae. Pinus Pseudo-strobus. 

 Taxites Tournalii, &c. Amentaces, Car- 

 pesius ; Betula et autres dicotyledones. 

 Terrain IMarin Superieur. Pinus 

 Cortesii ; veg^taux rares et peu connus. 

 Terrain d'Eau Superieur. (Meu- 

 blieres.) *Chata iMedicaginula. *Nymphea. 

 — Note. Ces plarites qui ne sont propres 

 qu'a une seule formation ou a deux forma- 

 tions tres-voisines, sont marquees d'un.* 



The Doc/sbane. — VV'e have one plant in 

 our gardens, a native of North America, 

 than which none can be more cruelly de- 

 structive of animal life, the dogsbane, apo- 

 cynum androsjemifolium, which is gene- 

 rally conducive to the death of every fly that 

 settles upon it. Allured by the honey on the 

 nectary of the expanded blossom, the instant 

 the trunk is protruded to feed upon it, the 

 filaments close, and catching the fly by the 

 extremity of its proboscis, detain the poor 

 prisoner, writhing in protracted struggles, 

 till released by death — a death apparently 

 occasioned by exhaustion alone ; the fila- 

 ments then relax, and the body falls to the 

 ground. The plant will, at times, be dusky, 

 from the numbers of entrapped wretches. 

 This elastic action of the filaments may be 

 conducive to the fertilizing of the seed, by 

 scattering the poUen from the anthers, as is 

 the case with the barberry. 



