No. 144. j 417 



value of; many of them never having seen this article of food, and 

 scarcely a dozen of the large number present had ever tasted it. 



Solon Robinson called the attention of the club to its great value 

 as an ingredient in soup. At the South, where it grows almost 

 spontaneously, it is considered almost indispensable. Why, the 

 poorest negro would think himself poor, indeed, if he could not 

 get okra for his gumbo soup. This club should take every effort 

 to extend the knowledge of its value, and induce its extended 

 cultivation, so as to cheapen the article, till it comes within the 

 reach of every individual, as to cost and abundance. There is no 

 vegetable that can be used in soup, which produces so much mu- 

 cilaginous and nutritious matter as the roots of the okra plant, 



Mr. Pardee said, that he had received from a friend at New- 

 Orleans, some seeds of a dwarf okra plant, which does not grow 

 more than two or three feet high, and is very prolific of branches 

 and pods. He thinks it a valuable improvement for this latitude. 



Dr. Arthur, of Philadelphia, had sent several tin cans of vegeta- 

 bles and fruit according to his patent, which consists of a solu- 

 tion of three ounces of gutta percha, or thereabouts, in one pound 

 of common rosin, some of which is applied in a small channel 

 surrounding the top of the can, which when warmed sulficiently 

 to expel the ctir from the preserves, is soft enough to receive a tin 

 cover, the edges of which are then pressed into the channel close 

 down on the preserves. This adhesive mass, when cold, is hard, 

 and impenetrable to air and moisture. These cans were opened 

 by heating their tops and lifting them out of the rosin The 

 peaches were tried by the members, and were pronounced to be 

 very good, having retained an unusual amount of their natural 

 taste. The tomato sauce was deemed as good as new. The ad- 

 vantage claimed, besides perfect preservation, is that the same 

 cans can be repeatedly used for the same purpose, and the gutta 

 percha rosin of Dr. Arthur is also equally adapted to suitable 

 glass vessels. 



Subjects for the next meeting, on the first Tuesday in February 

 next, the 6th, at noon : " Alkaline washes for fruit trees," and 

 " New plants valuable for cultivation." 



The club then adjourned. H. MEIGS, Secretary. 



[Assembly, No. 144.] A 2 



