485 



made — 1st, in a room naturally lighted; 2ndly, in a room artificially 

 lighted by gas ; and 3rdly, in a room totally dark. They ought to be 

 made in cold weather, say with a temperature of 35° Fahr. ; and this 

 temperature should in each instance be artificially increased until the 

 flowers expanded ; then, if the flowers were found to expand in the 

 naturally-lighted room at 45°, in the artificially-lighted room at 50°, 

 and in the dark room at 55°, we should have precise, appreciable, and 

 really interesting results, more especially if a series of experiments 

 established these phenomena as unvarying. — Edward Newman. 



Adulteration of Tea. 



The adulteration of coffee has lately proved a prolific source of 

 interest to the British public. How much more interesting to British 

 botanists it would be to learn what British herbs are employed in the 

 manufacture of tea. It is said that the weight annually imported of 

 real tea bears but a very small proportion to that retailed under the 

 name. The inquiry is highly interesting, not only in a statistical and 

 economical but also in a botanical view. — Edward Newman. 



Claytonia perfoliata in Britain. 



I enclose specimens of Claytonia perfoliata, I think an American 

 species, which is found in great abundance at Ampthill, on a sandy 

 bank not near any garden ; and 1 am informed that it has grown there 

 for several years, and increases in abundance every year. I cannot 

 learn that any one has it in cultivation in the neighbourhood. — T. 

 Carder. 



[This little plant, very similar in habit, &c., to our Montia fontana, 

 belongs, like that, to the Natural Order Portulaceae. " Claytonia per- 

 foliata, Don; Bot. Mag. 1336. North America; introduced 1794. 

 Very hardy, and not easily eradicated where once introduced. It 

 grows on the poorest soil, vegetates early, and the whole of the her- 

 bage gathered and boiled makes a very tender spinage." — Loudon's 

 Encyclopedia of Plants. C. virginica, caroliniana, lanceolata, sibi- 

 rica, and alsinoides are other species. — E. N.I 



