General JS^otices. 145 



MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



Art, I. General Notices. 



Effect of Carbonic acid on vegetation. — M. Treviranus, in his Phy- 

 siologie Vegetale has stated that vegetation i.s not so active near springs 

 where carbonic acid Is disengaged. In reply to this assertion, M. Sehlei- 

 den has inserted, in Wiegmann's Journal of Natural History, a note to 

 prove to the contrary. Accordin'j to M. Scliieiden, the numerous springs 

 in the valley of Gixttingen contain a <freat quantity of disengaged car- 

 bonic acid gas, and sonje car!)onate of lime in solution ; and the vegeta- 

 tion of their waters and on tlieir si<lcs is always vigorous, more advanc- 

 ed in spring and prolonged in autunni, than in other situations. Amongst 

 the plants growing in water was Slum angustifolium ; and among those 

 growing on the sides of the springs Avcre i?anunculus lanuginosus, the 

 pilewort, the Marsh inarygold and Primula elatior. It ap|)ears from 

 this, that carlionic acid, either when disengaged, or when al)sorbed by 

 water, exerts a beneficial influence on vegetation. — (Gard. Mag., trans, 

 from the French.) 



Silkworms fed upon Rice. — In a Chinese work on the culture of the 

 silkworm, lately translated into French by M. S. Julien, a curious pro- 

 cess is mentioned, the correctness of which has been proved by experi- 

 ment. It is said that in China, in order to supply more nourishment to 

 the silkworms, the mulberry leaves upon which they feed are powdered 

 with the flour of rice. But M. Bonafons of Turin, who translated the 

 work into Italian from the French, wishing to prove the truth of the 

 Chinese process, jjowdered the mulberry leaves with the flour of rice, 

 with wheat flour, and with other fecula; and found that these various 

 substances, which otherwise are not eaten by the silkworms, become, in 

 this case, excellent nourishment, and cause the worms to develop tliein- 

 selves more rapidly. The cocoons of the silkworms fed upon rice flour 

 are much finer an(l heavier than usual. The other kinds of fecula did 

 not produce a satisfactory result ; but it is to be ho[)ed that, by experi- 

 ments made anions European gro\vers of silkworms, with diflerent fari- 

 naceous substances, some sidistitute may be found for the rice. 



Preservation of Plants. — M. D'Eaubonne prejiared a case in such a 

 manner as to entirely exclude the air ; he then mixed potters' clay and 

 cows' dung to:rether, with water enough to render them liquid ; with 

 this he covered the stems of some young trees which he wished to con- 

 vey to the Mauritias, and he also steejied in it the roots; he then cover- 

 ed them with connnon moss, and filled u|) all the interstices with straw. 

 He closed the case hermetically ; and, when it was opened at the end 

 of the voyaae, not only were the trees alive, but bearing both leaves and 

 blossoms. — {Athenamm.) 



Errors of the French Florists and Nurserymen. — Mr. Rivers states, 

 in his new work on roses, that "in fornunga collection of roses from the 

 French gardeners, great difficulty is often ex[)eriencrd by then* incor- 

 rectness in the muiies of their plants; this inattention, to call it by no 

 worse name, has long been the banc of commercial garilening. In this 

 country [Fjigbind] almost every nurseryman is now aware of the great 

 responsibility he is under as to correct nomenclature. But, in France, 

 they manage things differently, certainly not 'better;' for if a Parisian 

 cultivator raises a L^ood rose from seed, and aivrs it a pof)ular name, a 

 provincial florist will immediately give some of his seedlings, j)erha]is a 

 very inferior rose, the same name, so that there are often two or three 



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