390 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [Nov. 
which have been introduced within these ten. years. into French 
agriculture ; and a particular memoir on the dahlia, a plant newly 
spread over our gardens. Its flower constitutes a fine ornament, and 
its: roots are Jarger, and almost as good for food as those.of the 
RAtateeot tad elesadoa dies ons 2 chosarnierin Moganer 
Among the buds of trees there are some which do not spread out 
with.the others, and which are called dead eyes, but, which should 
yather be called sleeping eyes; for they may be brought out of that 
lethargy even after it has continued, for several years. It is generally 
owing to the tendency of the sap to go to the superior buds, and to 
elongate them into great branches. The lower buds by this means 
‘are deprived of the nourishing fluid. ‘This is no inconvenience in 
the trees destined merely to produce wood or to furnish shade. But in 
fruit-trees in which we wish to dispose of the branches in a certain 
order, we aye sometimes obliged to put grafts in the places which the 
dead eyes occupy, a method both tedious and uncertain. M.. Marion 
de Ja Martiniere has practised a simpler and more successful method. 
It is to make a small cut above the dead eye in form.of a V reversed, 
and as deep as the alburnum. By thus stopping the progress of the 
ascending sap, it is obliged to deyelope the bud, or to produce 
others. > ' 519% 
_ We may likewise reckon among the labours of the Class in agri- 
culture the memoirs on the Spanish sheep called merinos, by MM. 
Tessier and Yvard; the description of the practical school of agri- 
culture, by M. Thouin ; and the essay of a rural code, by M. de 
la Bergerie, correspondent. But as these books have been published 
for several months, it is only necessary to mention their titles. 
A contrary reason induces us to make some observations on a 
considerable work which M. de Lasteyrie du Saillant has presented 
to the Class, on all the branches of \agriculture,: and. of the rural 
and domestic economy of the Chinese. It is collected from all the 
authors who have written on China, and embellished by a great 
number of figures drawn in China, and by Chinese, in which are 
represented all the proceedings of their industry, and all the instru- 
ments which they employ, ‘This great empire, in. which an.im- 
mense population is entirely supported by agricu}ture,and in, which 
this art has been uninterruptedly honoured and protected since the 
first establishment of the monarchy, cannot but have made great 
progress in it: and in fact M. de Lasteyrie makes us acquainted 
with different instraments, more simple and commodious than those 
which we employ for the same purposes, and points out to,us pro- 
cesses which might be advantageously followed here, principally in 
the culture of fruit-trees. We might even imitate the Chinese in 
their dyeing processes. Thus they prepare a blue with some species 
of venouces, very common here, which, if adopted by us, might 
diminish the consumption of. indigo. ] 
M. Yvard, become lately. an associate, had presented while a 
correspondent a large treatise on the plants injurious to corn, and 
on the method.of keeping cultivated land free from them.) \What 
