452 [Assembly 



Algeria. — JVotes on the products of the Central JVursery of Algeria 

 which were exhibited at the J^ational Fair in Parisj June and Jvly^ 

 1849. 



Oleaginous seeds. — Algeria is able to supply oil to the "whole north- 

 ern surface of our hemisphere. Beside the olive which grows spon- 

 taneously and which forms one of the principal riches of the country, 

 there are many oleaginous plants, yery rich in oil. 



The Oriental or Indian Sesame,vfhich yields per J/ec^are when pro- 

 perly irrigated, about 4,000 pounds weight of oil. The Arachido^ 

 the Cacahuetes of the Spaniards, which yields, when properly irrigated, 

 6,000 pounds weight of oil, &c., &c. 



Graminacea- Grasses — An order of Endogenous plants, grow by ad- 

 ditions to the inside of their stems. Corn and grain of all sorts, 

 bamboo, sugar cane, reeds, &c. Two valuable works on grasses 

 should be consulted. The Agrostographia by Kunth, and Sinclair's 

 Hortus Graminaceee on pasture grasses. 



Lindley, the highest botanical authority, in his Vegetable Kingdom, 

 makes the Graminaceae, contain two hundred and ninety-one genera, 

 with three thousand eight hundred species. 



It is remarkable that the native country bf wheat, oats, barley, and 

 rye, should be unknown. This had led some persons to think that 

 all our cereal plants are artificial productions, accidentally obtained 

 but retaining their habits which have become fixed in the course of 

 ages. 



The cuticle of these plants contains a large proportion of Silex. 

 Masses of it are found melted in burnt heaps of straw or other 

 grasses. In the joints of some grasses there is found a perfect silicious 

 deposite, especially in a jungle grass. Wheat straw may be melted 

 by a blow pipe into a colorless glass. Barley straw melts into a topaz 

 colored glass. In the joints of bamboo, a singular deposite of silex 

 is formed, called in India Tabashea, in which there are also a little 

 lime and vegetable matter. Sulphur also exists in corabmation with 



