in Extra-Tropical Countries. 261 



essential oil) and iuosit-sugar. Lentils contain more legumin but less 

 starch, while peas and beans are almost alike in respect to the pro- 

 portion of these two nourishing substances. The kidney-bean can 

 still be cultivated in cold latitudes and at sub-alpine elevations, if the 

 uninterrupted summer warmth lasts for four months; otherwise it is 

 more tender than the pea. The soil should be friable, somewhat 

 limy and not sandy for field-culture. Phaseolus nanus, L. (the 

 dwarf bean) and P. tumidus, Savi (the sugar-bean, sword-bean, 

 or egg-bean) are varieties of P. vulgaris. Several other species of 

 Phaseolus seem worthy of culinary culture. Haricot-Beans contain 

 very decided deobstruent properties, which however are generally 

 destroyed by too much boiling. To obviate this they should be soaked 

 for 24 hours in cold water to which salt has been added, and then 

 gently boiled for not more than 30 or 40 minutes in very little water 

 (W. B. Booth). The seeds will retain their vitality fully three years. 



Phleum pratense, Linne.* 



The Timothy- or Catstail-grass. Europe, North-Africa, Northern 

 or Middle Asia, ascends to 10,000 feet in Spain. One of the most 

 valuable and most cultivated of all perennial fodder-grasses. Its 

 production of early spring-foliage is superior to that of the Cock's- 

 foot-grass. It should enter largely into any mixture of grasses for 

 permanent pasturage. It will live also on moist and cold clay -ground. 

 This grass, and perhaps yet more the allied Phleum alpinum, L., are 

 deserving of an extensive transfer to moory mountain-regions. It is 

 very hardy, having been found indigenous in Norway to lat. 70 (Pro- 

 fessor Sciiuebeler). For hay it requires mowing in a young stage. 

 The seed is copiously yielded and well retained, The greatest 

 advantage from this grass arises, according to Langethal, when it is 

 grown along with clovers. It thrives even better on sandy meadows 

 than on calcareous soil; it will prosper on poorer ground than Alope- 

 curus pratensis; the latter furnishes its full yield only in the fourth 

 year, whereas tbe Phleum does so in the second. The Timothy -grass 

 dries more quickly for hay and the seeds are gathered more easily, 

 but it vegetates later, is of harder consistence, and yields less in the 

 season after the first cut. Dr. Curl, of New Zealand, observes that, 

 while many grasses and clovers, if eaten in their spring-growth, may 

 cause diarrhoea in sheep, the Timothy- grass, when young, does not 

 affect them injuriously. 



Phoenix dactylifera, Linn4.* 



The Date-Palm. North- Africa, also inland; Arabia, Persia. This 

 noble palm attains finally a height of about 80, exceptionally 120 feet. 

 It is unisexual and of longevity. " Trees of from 100 to 200 years 

 old continue to produce their annual crop of dates," though gradually at 

 very advancing age at diminished rates. This palm seems to . live 

 through several centuries. Though sugar or palm-wine can be 

 obtained from the sap, and hats, mats and similar articles can be 

 manufactured from the leaves, we would utilize this palm beyond 



