312 Ediiorial Miscellany. 



large flowers, of a brilliant carmine outside, and fine blue inside, 

 with golden spots in the interior of the petal. Its perfume re- 

 sembles that of the violet. Stem robust, rising to the height of 

 six feet. It flowers from four to five months, and early ; resists 

 the greatest cold, and may be cultivated in pots, in an apartment, 

 or in a greenhouse. 



f 

 Double White Petunia Imperial. — Amongst the novelties for 



the decoration of the flower garden, this year, will be the double 



white Petunia, said to be as double as the Oleander, and fragrant. 



If it is really pure white, and a free bloomer, it cannot fail to be 



valuable as a bedding plant. — Midland Florist. 



Building stone may be tinted in diflerent shades by impregnat- 

 ing it with metallic salts and then adding a precipitating re- 

 agent. By means of salts of lead and copper, with sulphuretted 

 hydrogen, graj's, browns, and blacks may be produced. Copper 

 and ferrocyanide of potassium give a red tint. If porous lime- 

 stones are boiled in solutions of metallic sulphates, carbonic acid 

 is evolved, and the metallic oxyd, combined with sulphate of 

 lime, is deeply fixed in stone. In this manner, sulphate of iron 

 gives rusty tints, sulphate of copper a fine green, sulphate of 

 manganese a brown, and mixed sulphates of iron and copper a 

 chocolate. The double sulphates thus formed increase the hard" 

 ness of stone. — London Artizan. 



Vanilla. — The vanilla, so much prized for its delicious flavor, is 

 the product of a vine which grows to the tops of the loftiest 

 trees. Its leaves somewhat resemble the grape ; the flowers are 

 red and yellow, and when they fall off are succeeded by the pods, 

 which grow in clusters like our ordinary beans — ^^green at first, 

 they change to yellow, and put in heaps for a few days to ferment. 

 They are aftewards placed in the sun to dry, flattened by the hand, 

 and carefully rubbed with cocoa-nut oil, and then packed in dry 

 plaintain leaves, so as to confine their powerful aromatic odor. 

 The vanilla bean is the article used to scent snuflT, flavor ice 

 creams, jellies, &c., &c. Tlie plant grows in Central America and 

 other hot countries. 



