152 General Notices. — Domestic Notices. 



MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



Art. I. General JVotices. 



The extreme Fibrils of the Roots of Plants, it has been asserted by Duha- 

 mel and others, die annually in tlio winter sf?ason, and are renovated in the 

 s{)rin<r in tiie same manner as leaves. Mr. Kniglit admits tiie position to be 

 true in regard to the fibrils of bulb roots, but denies it in regard to the fibrils 

 of the roots of trees. To aseertain the jwint, the Rev. P. Keith took up por- 

 tions of the roots of different plants, chiefly trees, at different seasons of the 

 winter, and, as a result, he conclutles that " the root is never wholly denuded 

 of its fibrils or spongioles, as the branches are denuded of their leaves. A 

 partial ileeay, with a partial renovation, of these organs, seems to be occur- 

 ring at ail seasons; but a total denudation of the root occurs at no season. 

 If, with Mr. Knight, we admit of a total denudation of bulbous roots, I 

 think it will not go beyond such as are taken up out of the soil for the win- 

 ter; for, if the bulb is allowed to remain i^i the earth, it is to be believed that 

 new fibrils will have begim to be protruded before the old ones have finally 

 <lecayed."— {P/n7. Mag., third series, v. 211.) Mr. Keith appears to have 

 been the first to discover that vegetating roots do not receive their incren)ents 

 of length solely by the extreme pf^inis. Professor Lindly has since confirtned 

 the expf^rimciits of Mr. Keith, which were made so long ago as 1819. — [Ibid. 

 IKige 208.) 



Art. II. Domestic JVotices. 



JVeiv Potatoes, Convolvulus batatas. L. Panbell, Esq., of New Jerse)\ has 

 comn)unicated the following letter to Messrs. Wm. Prince & Sons, of the 

 Linnsean Botanic Garden, Flushing, L. I. : 



Gentlemen: — I have this day sent to Messrs. Swords, Stanford & Co. 

 with a request to forward it as soon as possible, a small box, containing four 

 roots, received from Martinico, by Mr. L. du Bereaii, a gentleman of this 

 place, as a species of the Convolvulus Batatas, the specific name of which I 

 am ignorant. They were recommended to him as superior to the common 

 sweet potatoe ; when bf)iled, they are harder than the Carolina kind ; le gout 

 tient un peu de celui de Vigname. The root, it is said, will keep sound a whole 

 year in the West Indies ; those sent have been dug these four months. They 

 do not require a longer time to come to maturity than is necessary for the 

 maturity of the kind cultivated with success in the lower part of this State. 

 The foliage is a very good fodder, and is used as such in Martinico and Gua- 

 daloupe. 



I tliink the i-:troduction of this variety of potatoe in the United States, 

 Avhere it is, I believe, entirely unknown, may be a very great advantage ; and 

 should the heat in this latitude not be great enough to bring it to perfection, 

 there is no doubt but that its culture in the southern States will be attended 

 with the success it has had in the West Indies. c 



The possibility of introducing, through your means, a new vegetable into 

 this country, is the only apology I can offer for the liberty I take of request- 

 ing you to give a trial to its culture, in hopes that you will be successful in 

 the attempt. — A*. Y. Farmer. 



