192 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



June 27, 1859. 



President Renwick in the chair. Present, 70 members. 



The Secretai'y read the following extracts and translations made by him 

 from the last articles received by the Institute from home and abroad, since 

 the last meeting, viz : 



La Belle-de-Nuit. The Night Beauty. According to M. Salesse, of the 

 Emulation Society of the Aire, we ought to cultivate, on a great scale, 

 this Night Beauty, the Mirabilis Jalaj)a, of Linnaeus. (Mistake. It 

 should be TourneforVs.) M. Salesse believes that it can be made to dis- 

 tinguish itself among the nutritious table vegetables. But we find this 

 indicated in the Repertory of useful plants of M. Duchesne, in 1836, viz: 

 "The seeds contain the proper starch for men and animals." And M. 

 Salesse, on analysis, shows it to contain : 



Very pure starch 70 



Extractive matter, 18 



Fibrous, glutinous matter, 12 



100 



Lindley says it belongs to the order Nyctaginaceae-Nyctagos. 



[Royal Society of Literature, London. April 27, 1859.] 

 Sir I. Boileau demonstrated that in very early times English wool was 

 in high repute on the continent of Europe, and he proved from various 

 Spanish writers, chiefly from Gomez Cibda Real, that there was formerly 

 in Spain a Judge of Shepherds, usually a man of high rank. That in 

 1839, Migo Lopez di Orosco was the judge. That then flocks of sheep 

 were brought in transport ships froj}i England to Spai?t! 



In 1465, Edward Fourth gave license "for certaine Cottswold sheep to 

 be transported and sent into the country of Spaine, as a present to the 

 King of Arragon.'' This sending away sheep was then unpopular in Eng- 

 land. It was said that " those Rams and Ewes did so multiply in Spain 

 as to have proved very detrimental to the woolen trade of England." 



[London Farmers' Magazine, June, 1859.] 

 AUSTRIA, 



Of about 140,500,000 acres, has now : 



Forest, , 44,500,000 acres. 



Pasture 22,000,000 



Meadow and garden, 20,000.000 



Arable land, 52,000,000 



Vineyard, 1,740,000 



Olive, laurel and chesnut ground, 155,000 



Products in 1851. 



Wheat, 67,679,000 bushels. 



Rye, 99,000,000 " 



Barley, 74,600,000 " 



