General Notices. 517 



exposed to the north, is much less than in that part which is exposed to the 

 south : it will also be found that the heart or pith is not in the centre of the 

 trunk, but much nearer to the north than to the south side. By attending to 

 this, Indians, who in extensive forests had lost their way, have in the absence 

 of the sun been enabled to travel, as by compass : this, of course, was ascer- 

 tained by cutting a young tree horizontally. — Do you consider the seed of a 

 transplanted tree to be good? No; because it does not receive proper 

 nourishment. — You said that a tree cannot be transplanted without injury to 

 the taproot ; is there a probability of injuring the tree in any other respect ? 

 Yes; great care should be taken place to the tree in the same relative po- 

 sition to north and south as that in which it originally stood : of this, Virgil 

 writes, — 



' Beside, to plant it as it was, they mark 



The heav'n's four quarters on the tender bark, 



And to the north or south restore the side 



Which at their birth did heat or cold abide : 



So strong is custom : such effects can use 



In tender souls of pliant plants produce.' Georgics, ii. 362. 

 In what waj' do you ascertain whether timber, either standing or felled, has 

 dry rot ? By boring about half an inch in diameter into the heart of the tree : 

 this, however, to prevent injury, should be done near the but end. — William 

 Dupe, Gunmalicr. Oxford, 1837." 



Uses of Garlic. — According to the Chinese physicians, this root possesses 

 the faculty of renovating exhausted constitutions; giving fresh vigour; raising 

 the drooping moral and physical faculties ; and restoring to health and eni- 

 bonpoint the victim of debauchery. It is also said that a bit of the root, 

 chewed by a man running a race, will prevent his competitor from getting the 

 start of him. It is somewhat singular that the same property is attributed to 

 garlic when given to horses; and the Hungarian jockeys frequently tie a clove 

 of it to their racers' bits, when the horses that run against them fall back the 

 moment they breathe the offensive odour. It has been proved that no horse 

 will eat in a manger if the mouth of any other steed in the stable has been 

 rubbed with the juice of this plant. I had occasion to ascertain this fact. 

 A horse of mine was in the same stall with one belonging to a brother officer : 

 mine fell away, and refused his food ; while his companion throve uncommonly 

 well. I at last discovered that a German groom, who had charge of the pros- 

 perous animal, had recourse to this vile stratagem. It is also supposed that 

 men who eat garlic knock up, upon a march, the soldiers who have not made 

 use of it. Hence, in the old regulations of the French armies, there existed 

 an order to prohibit the use of garlic when troops were on a march." (Mil- 

 lengen's Curiosities of Medical Experience. Ld. Gaz., Jan. 28. 18.37.) 



N'ew esculent Sea-Weed. — At a recent meeting of the Medico-Botanical 

 Society, a paper was read by Dr. Sigmond, respecting a new esculent sea- 

 weed, which possesses nutritious properties to a much greater extent than 

 Iceland moss, without any of the bitter principle which renders that plant so 

 disagreeable to many. This fucus, of which specimens have lately been 

 brought from Calcutta, is said to contain 5i parts of starch in 100, and to be 

 employed in large quantities by the Chinese, who form with it an agreeable 

 and refreshing jelly. It is abundant in the neighbouriiood of Ceylon, and has 

 been much em.ployed by the medical profession in Calcutta. The jelly is said 

 to be quite equal to blanc manger. {Edinb. Joiirn. of Nat. Hist., Aug., 1837.) 

 Retaining and absorbing Heat in the open Grojind. — Gardeners may find it 

 desirable to bring forward a favourite plant in the open border by extra heat in 

 the soil, and by liquid manure; and for this purpose the following extract from 

 an excellent work (^Matthew on Naval Timber) affords a useful hint: — "In 

 cases where, from the moistness and coldness of the ground in early summer, 

 there was a torpor in the action of the roots, and, in consequence, the de- 

 veloping leaves have withered up under an arid atmosphere, we have at- 

 tempted to stimulate the root to action by the application of warm water, 



L L 3 



