622 [Assembly 



gar. Hence it lias been called the " sugar-cane of Great Britain." 

 It has been recommended, however, that the hay made from it 

 be cut like chaff and given to cattle, either alone or mixed with 

 other food. 



The purpose for which this plant is generally employed, and 

 for which its creeping matted roots fit it in an eminent degree, is 

 for binding or consolidating loose sands, when sown with the 

 Arundo arenaria, to prevent the encroachment of the sea. 



Sea Reed (Arundo arenaria), from Holland. This plant, like 

 the preceding, is unworthy of cultivation as food for cattle, but 

 can only be employed to advantage iu raising a barrier against 

 the encroachment of the ocean. 



The object of importing the seeds of these grasses was to sow 

 them on such parts of our coasts as may be threatened, or are suf- 

 fering injury from the sea, particularly on beaches or sand hills, 

 which are liable to changes from abrasion or drifting winds. The 

 world renowned dykes of Holland owe much of their strength 

 and durability to the protection afforded by these remarkable 

 plants. With regard to their culture I have no definite know- 

 ledge. 



TREES AND SHRUBS. 



The Carob Tree, or Si. Johri's Bread (Seratonia siliqua). — Of all 

 the seeds imported for the purpose of distribution there is not 

 one more interesting or more valuable than those of the carob 

 tree. The pods, when matured, contain a few drops of a sub- 

 stance resembling honey. The tree is unquestionably of eastern 

 origin, and it is supposed to be identical with that upon which 

 St. John fed while in the wilderness. The seeds were procured 

 for the office from Alicante, in Spain. In Murcia, Valentia, Ca- 

 talonia, and other provinces in that country, it abounds, and fre- 

 quently forms, with the olive and other valuable trees, large 

 forests. It w^as, without doubt, introduced there by the Moors, 

 who knew its nutritive qualities as a food for their horses, mules, 

 and cattle. They probably brought it from Palestine and Egypt, 

 whence it appears to have originated. In these Spanish pro- 

 vinces it now grows naturally in every kind of ground, not tx- 



