Naturalisation in Extra-Tropical Countries. 495 



Royal Navy of Italy have come into universal use as additional 

 means of saving human life in the event of shipwreck. These 

 mattresses continue to float for a very long time and bear a great 

 weight ; thus one mattress is capable of supporting several persons 

 in water (Marquis Toverena and Admiral Romano). The lar.'re 

 rootstoeks are rich in nourishing starch. The closely allied T. 

 angustifolia extends to Australia. 



Vlex Europeeus, Linne. 



The Whin, Gorse or Furze. Western and Southern Europe, 

 Azores, Canary-Islands ; hardy in Norway to lat. 58 58 '. A bush 

 important for covering quickly drift-sands on coasts, not readily 

 approached by pastoral animals. Too apt to stray as a hedge-plant. 

 The straightened stems even used for umbrellas, parasols and walk- 

 ing-sticks [J. R. Jackson]. Prof. C. Koch recommends a thorniest 

 variety for sheep -pastures. 



TJllucus tuber OSUS, Lozano. (Melloca tuberosa, Lindley.) 



Ancles of New Granada and Peru, up to an elevation of 9,000' 

 feet. A perennial herb, the tubers of which are edible ; they are 

 of about the size of hens' eggs. Can be propagated from cuttings, 

 and will endure some frost [Watson]. A mean temperature of 

 about 50 F. is favorable for the production of tubers of this plant 

 [Vilmormj. Shablee found the tubers in a dried state to contain 

 3 per cent, fat, 4 per cent, gum, 19 per cent, grape-sugar, 33 per 

 cent, starch, 12 per cent, albumen. 



Ulmus alata. Michaux. 



The Whahoo-Blm of North-America, extending to Newfoundland 

 and Texas. Of quick growth. Height of tree reaching about 40 

 feet. Wood fine-grained, heavier and stronger than that of the 

 White Elm, of a dull-red colour, unwedgeable, used by wheel- 

 wrights, but like that of U. Americana not equal to the wood of 

 the European Elm. 



"Ulmus Americana, 



The White Elm of Eastern North-America, also called Rock- or 

 Swamp-Elm. A tree of longevity, fond of moist river-banks, 

 becoming fully a hundred feet high ; trunk to 60 feet and as much 

 as 5 feet in diameter. The tree is found hardy in Norway fully to 

 lat. 59" 55 '. Manning mentions, that trees have been known to 

 attain a circumference of 27 feet at 3 feet from the ground, and of 

 13 feet where the branches burst forth. It is highly prized for 

 street-planting in North -America. Can be propagated from suckers 

 like the European elm, irrespective of multiplication from cuttings 

 or seeds. Almost indifferent to soil. The timber is light, used for 

 wheelwrights' work, for tubes, water-pipes ; bears driving bolts 

 well [Robb] ; it is durable, if either kept quite dry or permanently 



