150 General Mtices. 



appeared to be azotic, of, at any rate, the authors at present so con- 

 sider it; its proportion was rather smaller than that of the air con- 

 tained in the water. 



These experiments, then, prove that during the respiration of 

 plants, water is decomposed, and that the carbonic acid formed is 

 derived from the oxyf>en of the water, which unites with the carbon 

 of the grain. MM. Edwards and Colin propose to examine, on a 

 future occasion, whether carbonic acid thus formed, is totally or 

 partially disengaged, and whether the hydrogen of the water is ab- 

 sorbed by the grain. — (L' Institute, No. 257, as quoted in Phil. 

 Mag., and the Gard. Mag., Vol. XVI., p. 181.) 



Propagating jjlanls in Charcoal. — A new method of increasing 

 plants, by cuttings inserted in charcoal, has been practised with con- 

 siderable success in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Munich. The 

 experiments, so far as they have been made, are of the most satis- 

 factory description, and leave little doubt that this new discovery 

 will lead to important benefits to the cultivator of rare plants. The 

 article of M. Lucas, who discovered this method, by mere accident, 

 appears in the Gardener^s Magazine, translated from the German. 



We have not room, under this head, to notice at proper length the 

 details connected with the experiment made by M. Lucas. As yet, 

 his experiments must be considered as very imperfect, but as the re- 

 sults have been remarkable, he was induced to communicate, for the 

 information of all cultivators, the success which accompanied his 

 first attempts. 



After detailing the method of preparing the charcoal and the cut- 

 tings, he proceeds to name the number of plants which he has suc- 

 ceeded in rooting by the process, and among them we notice some 

 which have been generally considered as difficult to increase, and 

 which, under M. Lucas's new plan, rooted in from eight to fourteen 

 days: others from fourteen days to three weeks: some from three to 

 four weeks; and others in four to six weeks. 



We shall take an early opportunity to lay the substance of M. 

 Lucas's experiment before our readers, as we are certain that the 

 discovery of this new plan will lead to important results. Many 

 j)lants which it has been found very difficult to propagate, may be 

 readily increased by the means of charcoal dust, and in a period 

 much shorter than it has been supposed could be accomplished. — Kd. 



Preservation arid Staining of Wood. — At tiie Academy of Arts and 

 Sciences, Paris, at the sitting of Nov. 30, 1840, M. Dumas, in the 

 name of a commission composed of MM. Arago, De Mirbel, Sam- 

 bey, Audouin, Boussingault, and himself, made a report on a me- 

 moir of M. Boucherie. The following is in the very words of this 

 commission : — 



M. Boucherie has endeavored to render wood much more dura- 

 ble, to preserve its elasticity, to prevent the variations in bulk which 

 it undergoes from drought and moisture, to dimini.sh its combusti- 

 bility, to increase its tenacity and its hardness, and, lastly, to give it 

 various durable colors, and even smells. To say that tliese endea- 

 vors have been fulfilled !)y new ami sim[>le methods, by no means 

 expensive, and l)y the aid of common substances, at a very low cost, 

 is sufficient to characterize the importance of the author's labors. 



To imbue an entire tree with conservative, coloring, or other sub- 



