Notes and Gleanings. 249 



is a nice shape, which is impracticable if the old wood is pruned irregularly. A 

 close soil for growing these plants in must be avoided: it should consist of fibrous 

 loam, mixed with a good proportion of leaf-mould and sand, and a liberal sprin- 

 kling of broken crocks. With the selection of half a dozen first-rate kinds we 

 conclude, earnestly advising our readers to dealy justly by these plants, and they 

 will have no more necessity to raise the cry of there being nothing to decorate 

 the conservatory with through July. The following are about the best ; at all 

 events, they are good and distinct, and we can recommend them with the great- 

 est degree of confidence : K. Boieldieu, bright carmine; K. coccinea superba, 

 fine deep scarlet ; K. Madame Desbordes Velmore, fine rose ; K. Otto Dcines, 

 rich velvety scarlet; K. Sultan Achmet, fine dark red. — Floral World. 



Luminosity OF THE Fraxinella. — When the daughter of Linnreus one 

 evening approached the flowers of Dictamnus albus with a light, a little flame 

 was kindled, without in any way injuring them. The experiment was after- 

 wards frequently repeated ; but it never succeeded : and whilst some scientific 

 men regarded the whole as a faulty observation, or simply a delusion, others 

 endeavored to explain it by various hypotheses. One of them especially, which 

 tried to account for the phenomenon by assuming that the plant developed 

 hydrogen, found much favor. At present, when this hypothesis has become 

 untenable, the inflammability of the plant is mentioned more as a citriosicvi, and 

 accounted for by the presence of etheric oil in the flowers. Being in the habit 

 of visiting a garden in which strong healthy plants of Dictainmis albus were 

 cultivated, I often repeated the experiment, but always without success ; and I 

 already began to doubt the correctness of the observation made by the daughter 

 of Linnaeus, when, during the dry and hot summer of 1857, I rei>eated the ex- 

 periment once more, fancying that the warm weather might possibly have exer- 

 cised a more than ordinary effect upon the plant. I held a lighted match close 

 to an open flower, but again without result : in bringing, however, the match 

 close to some other blossoms, it approached a nearly faded one, and suddenly 

 was seen a reddish, crackling, strongly-shooting flame, which left a powerful 

 aromatic smell, and did not injure the peduncle. Since then, I have repeated 

 the experiment during several seasons ; and, even during wet, cold summers, it 

 has always succeeded, thus clearly proving that it is not influenced by the state 

 of the weather. In doing so, I observed the following results, which fully ex- 

 plain the phenomenon. On the pedicels and peduncles are a number of 

 minute reddish-brown glands, secreting etheric oil. These glands are but little 

 developed when the flowers begin to open ; and they are fully grown shortly 

 after the blossoms begin to fade, shrivelling up when the fruit begins to form. 

 For this reason, th? experiment can succeed only at that limited period when 

 the flowers are fading. Best adapted for the purpose are those panicles which 

 have done flowering at the base, and still have a few blossoms at the top. The 

 same panicle cannot be lighted twice. The rachis is uninjured by the experi- 

 ment, being too green to take fire, and because the flame runs along almost as 

 quick as lightning, becoming extinguished at the top, and diffusing a powerful 

 incense-like smell. — Dr. Hahn, ui Floral World. 



