182 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



especially when it was remembered that the wild wood strawberry, where 

 the fallen leaves, and decaying bark of trees, furnished an abundant sup- 

 ply of tannic acid, had a finer flavor than any cultivated berrj. But the 

 finest flavored grapes did not produce the finest flavored wines, for the rea- 

 son that they contained too much fusil oil. This topic was one of immense 

 interest to fruit growers, and experiments were already being freely tried. 

 There were 800 kinds of pears now in existence which were unknown when 

 he came on the stand, and he felt sure that the palate was only just begin- 

 ning to enjoy the pleasures in store for it, and which chemistry and the 

 horticulturists were fast developing. 



SEWP^RAGE OF PARIS. 



While London poisons her Thames with the filth of almost three millions 

 of people, and our London cannot clean her ways and by-ways, Paris has 

 subterranean galleries in communication with the dwellings, to convey all 

 refuse to wagons running on railways, to carry all off without being either 

 seen or smelled ! 



Mr. Fuller, botanist gardener, of Williamsburg, grows successfully and 

 readily our Washingtonia Gigantea, of California, and others. The Ore- 

 gon hemlock or spruce ; the Oregon pine ; the Oregon Picea Frasei'i, or 

 Balsam fir ; the Oregon Thuya Gigantea, Biota Orientalis. This noble tree 

 grows rapidly and fast from grafts, &c. It hates conservatories and cities. 



Our Washingtonia Gigantea, was first introduced into England in 1853, 

 by Mr. Loob, and in 1854 into France, by Mr, Boursier de La Riviere. 

 Mr. Loob called it the Monarch of California, of terrible beauty ! as lofty 

 as the dome of the Hospital of Invalids, Paris, and more than thirty feet 

 in diameter. It grows rapidly from seed and cuttings — the latter succeeds 

 wonderfully. I hope next spring to have hundreds of them. We ought to 

 grow this tree by all the means in our power. 



I repeat it, Mr. Cuyler, the chairman of the committee having charge of 

 the public grounds of Philadelphia, has set them out already. The intel- 

 ligent chief of our Central Park, will do his best to raise this grand vege- 

 table monument to Washington, in the great Central Park of New York, 

 in which city he took his first oath of the Pi'esidential office. 



Mr. Pell left the chair to Mr, Lawton. 



The regular topic of the day was 



THE FALL PLOWING OF CLAY LANDS. 



Prof. Mapes said that twenty-five years ago he reported to the club ex- 

 periments to show that the two constituents of the soil, to wit : alumina 

 and carbon, were particularly active in receiving and retaining- ammonia in 

 the soil. That their presence enables the soil to retain the results of de- 

 composition, else they would be washed down with the water into the wells 

 and springs. Liebig afterward claimed this power for carbon, but over- 

 looked it in alumina, but now all agree that it has scarcely less valuable 

 properties of this sort than carbon. Everybody knew long ago that clayey 

 soils held manures well, but it was commonly and erroneously supposed 



