112 



A circular from flie Association Botanique Fran^aise d'Exporla- 

 tion. Reprinti^d in French. 



A circular from Dr. Nees von Esenbeck concerning his suspen- 

 sion from the Professorship in the University of Breslau. 



A complaint from Mr. Woods of an erroneous report of his paper 

 jHi Salicornia. 



Notice of ' Museum Botanicum Lugduno Batavum sive Stirpium 

 Exoticarum Novarum ex vivis aut siccis brevis Expositio, additis 

 figuris. Scripsit C. L. Blume, Leyden, 1849.' 



Concerning the dilpasand [Citrullus Jistulosus), a plant allied to 

 the gourds so commonly cultivated in this country, the following 

 information is given, in addition to a detailed botanical description : — 



" This species is known in Scinde by the name of ' meho :' in the 

 Punjaub it is called ' hindwana,' the name of the water-melon in 

 Scinde; and in the Deccan it is named ' dilpasand' or ' delicious,' a 

 very appropriate name. I believe it is not known in Bengal proper, 

 and it does not grow in the Concans or on the Malabar Coast, but is 

 brought down, when there is a demand, from the more elevated, 

 milder and drier climate of the Deccan. In Scinde it is cultivated 

 from April to September, generally in the same plot of ground with 

 common melons, lufTa, gourds and cucumbers. The fruit is picked 

 when about two-thirds grown, the size and shape of a common field 

 turnip, two inches and a half high and three inches and a half across. 

 It is pared, cut in quarters, the seeds extracted, well boiled in water, 

 and finally boiled in a little milk, with salt, black pepper and nut- 

 meg. Mussulmans generally cut it into dice and cook it together with 

 meat in stews or curries. Hindoos fry it in clarified butter with split 

 gram peas [Cicer arietinum) and a curry powder of black pepper, 

 cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, dried cocoa-nut, turmeric, salt, and last, 

 but not least in their opinion, the never-failing assafcetida. It is 

 sometimes made into a preserve in the usual manner. It is some- 

 times picked when small, cooked without scraping out the seeds, 

 and regarded a greater delicacy than when more advanced. In Eng- 

 land it might be cultivated and cooked like the vegetable marrow, 

 which it much resembles in its qualities," 



My friend Mr. Spruce does not enter so fervidly on the glories of 

 tropical America as Mr. Bates in the pages of the ' Zoologist :' his 

 communications are certainly to the point, and very business-like, 

 but why they should be printed is not obvious. The following brief 

 passages are selected as the most interesting : — 



