Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 141 



verts, and elatior, in which he contended that instead of three, these 

 form but two species, viz. P. acauUs and veris; and that P. elatior 

 is not only not a hybrid, but a non-existence, inasmuch as after par- 

 ticular investigation he had not been able to find any plant at all 

 agreeing with the characters of P. elatior as given by Jacquin, who 

 was the founder of the species. 



Professor Christison presented some observations on the preser- 

 vation of fruits and other botanical specimens in the moist state, and 

 remarked that after numerous experiments made for a series of years 

 with various fluids, he had found none which served so well to pre- 

 serve both the consistence and colour of fruits, leaves and flowers, as 

 a concentrated solution of common salt. Numerous specimens were 

 exhibited which had been preserved in this way for one, two, three, 

 and five years, among which were sprigs with leaves and ripe and 

 unripe fruit of Myristica moschata, Xanthochymus pictorius, Garcinia 

 Cambogia, G. Mangostana, Hehradendron cambogioides , Alpinia Car- 

 damomum, Mangifera indica, Ricinus communis, Flacourtia inermis, &c. 

 In the greater part of these the green tint of the leaves and the pe- 

 culiar colour of the fruit seemed to have undergone little alteration. 

 When the fruit however is very pulpy, as in Solanum Lycopersicum, or 

 lemons and oranges, a solution of salt is comparatively inapplicable, 

 because the fruit shrivels by exosmosis of its fluids, and diluted pyro- 

 ligneous acetic acid is found to be preferable. 



Mr. Hamilton read a paper on the Gardens of the Ancient Hebrews, 

 treating in succession, 1st. Of grounds for the cultivation of the vine, 

 the olive, or any single species of fruit tree ; 2nd. Of orchards for 

 rearing fruit trees in general ; 3rd. Of kitchen gardens ; 4th. Of 

 flower gardens. The paper concluded with assigning the reasons on 

 account of which gardens were excluded from the waUed cities of 

 Judah, and with mentioning certain restrictions on the horticultural 

 taste and skill of the people, occasioned by the interference of their 

 Doctors and Rabbis. 



May 10th. — Professor Graham, President, in the Chair. 



Mr. Macaulay read the first part of a paper " On the eflfects of Ve-^ 

 getation on the Atmosphere," in which the influence of the vegetable 

 kingdom on the composition of the atmosphere was treated. After 

 detailing various experiments tending to show that diff"erent natural 

 families may diff'er in their efi'ects on the atmosphere, and giving an 

 abstract of the researches of Priestley, Senebier, Berthollet, Ellis, 

 Saussure, Burnet, Morren, Daubeny, and others, Mr. Macaulay 

 concluded by presenting a series of propositions which appeared to 

 him to contain the present state of our knowledge on this subject. 



