\ 
J 
Te. tele 
ee rs ten teak ea 
ag 
1843.) 
THE GARDENERS’ 
CHRONICLE. 
23 
growing on the banks of the river in great abundance. A. 
beautiful Cinchonaceous plant is found about Fair Hope, 
which possesses a climbing habit, and bears large corymbs 
of light pink flowers. A species of Coffee, introduced 
from Prince’s Island, has taken possession of the soil, and 
flourishes exceedingly. In the more open places are 
found a Cardiospermum, and a Violaceous plant, with 
Small white flowers, and a species of Jonidium. The 
order Capparidacee is plentiful, especially in the genus 
Cleome; the Commelinace are abundant in the genus 
Tradescintia and Aneilema; and Euphorbidcee in the 
genus Phyllanthus. The tribe of Ficus is plentiful, but 
the fruit of none of them is sought after. The species of 
Napoleona, found by Dr. Vogel, is growing in the lands 
about the settlement that have been cleared some years 
back, and upon which a young vegetation is springing up, 
but I was not able to obtain any specimens in flower ; it 
is a plant of no beauty, the colour being of a brick red. A 
lovely species of Loranthus is very plentiful, the flowers 
of which are of a rich scarlet and purple colour. In wet 
Situations are two species of Lycopédium ; one possessing 
& creeping habit, the other growing upright. I only met 
with four kinds of Ferns; a climbing one is plentiful, as 
well as a species of Polypddium, but the other species are 
rare. A plant of the Araceous order is growing abun- 
dantly in the marshes; so also are several Cyperdcez. 
The stagnant waters produce a Nymphea, which, I was 
informed, bears beautiful yellow flowers, Amongst the 
Cultivated plants, the settlers have Cotton, Coffee, Indigo 
(found growing also in a wild state), the Sugar-cane, Cas- 
Sava, Yams, &c. The fruits consist of Cocoa-nuts, Ba- 
nanas, Plantains, Papaws, Oranges, Limes, Guavas, 
Sweet and Sour Sop, Pine-apples, Vines, and Mulberries. 
The Vines do not thrive; but the Mulberries are doing 
well—the species is Morus multicaulis. In the garden of 
& missionary, a very pretty Amaranthus was cultivated, 
which was obtained from the interior. A small quantity of 
Camwood is imported from this settlement—that and 
Palm. oil being the principal articles of commerce. This 
Was the only place inthis part of Africa where I saw bees 
€pt in hives for the sake of their honey, as they can be 
found so readily by other means. The thermometer stood 
at 80° at noon; the wet bulb hygrometer indicating 6° of 
dryness.—J. A, 
NOTICES or NEW PLANTS WHICH 
USEFUL OR ORNAMENTAL. 
Botwornyinum apenorn’tALuM. (Stove Enpiphyte). Orchi- 
Sacer, Gyndndria Monindria. A native of Sincapore, whence 
Was received by Messrs. Loddiges. The flowers are yellowish 
8nd slightly sweet-scented. It resembles B. cocoinum, from 
Which its want of a pseudo-bulb, or at most its extremely small 
©, and its petals, not serrated but glandular on the inside, 
readily distinguish it.—Bot. Reg. 
Chi ROPR/OLUM azu’reum. Blue Nasturtium. (Greenhouse 
Tee Balsamindcez, § Tropxoles. Octandria Mondégynia.— 
'is is amost remarkable plant, lately introduced by Messrs. Veitch 
5 much deeper coloured in a wild state than it has yet 
een in cultivation, but it is a very valuable acquisiti 
This pretty species makes a beautiful object when 
ue some ornamental wirework, fastened to the pot, and 
Tequires the same kind of treatment as Trope‘olum tricolorum. 
which it is potted should consist of some good rich 
ony. loam and leaf-mould, or fibrous peat, with a good portion 
©f sand. ‘The mixture should not be sifted fine, but left rather 
When the bulbs begin to grow (which 
ARE EITHER 
AL 
the 
is & confined or shaded situation, out of doors. ‘They will then 
oe Yapidly, and much stronger than if kept in the greenhouse 
wet ts ; but when the nights get cold or wet they must be re. 
fone to the greenhouse for the winter, out of the reach of the 
Oo grow and hang down 
seldom form bulbs.— Bot. Reg. 
Changeable Cob (Half-hardy 
Hexandria Monogy —This beautiful 
R e excursions of J, Maclean, Esq., over 
and thewian Andes from Lima, where he did not see it in flower, 
of Coline place of its growthis not noted. The large species 
clefts la are found deeply imbedded in rich alluvial soil, inthe 
a ant 
Or on thi 
hey 
Coburg Pneipat diviston of season i 
the heat 
, if bloom does not appear, place them ina 
He . They like strong soil, mixed with perfectly. 
Browne if tpulverised dung or leaves, the neck being kept above 
hey are in pots,— Bot. Reg. 
BS Mr. Clowes'’s Miltonia. (Stove Epiphyte). 
®pproaches ; Gynandria Monandria.— This very beautiful species 
(0 M. candida, which it resembles in several 
aracteristics, Its md leav 
» €xcept th: 
wards pi ‘at the former are rather more tapering 
e, morese cumini, and mostly a trifle greener. ‘The flowers 
©onformation Hercoedingly. like those of M. céndida in general 
fe © lip is ailtopert Only a very little smaller; but the structure 
iS con, 
the siderably 
er different, and its hues are quite peculiar, 
most desirable of Orchidaceze, on 
Blooming through the dull months of October, 
ry may be cultivated like the pseudo- 
botsherde yn idiums, by being potted in turfy heath-mould 
Of soil 3. mixed and efficiently drained. A very slight 
18 needed, and the Pot can be principally filled by 
placing a smaller one inits centre in an inverted position. It does 
not require a great heat, an’ t a scanty supply of water in 
winter. It is a native of Brazil.—Pugton’s Mag. of Botany. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Contrivance in the Creation a Demonstration of the 
Existence of the Deity—One of the mostirresistible ar- 
guments by which we demonstrate the existence of a God, 
as well as the character of many of his attributes, is that 
which we gather fyom a minute investigation of his works. 
The region of Nature is full of God; and the deeper our 
researches are into its wonders, the fuller and the stronger 
does the conviction become that all its parts have had their 
origin and arrangement from a Power—a Power altogether 
independent in its own being of the various objects over 
which it presides, and a Power which in all its operations 
has followed a specific plan, purpose, and design. The 
marks of contrivance which meet us all through Creation 
declare unanswerably a Contriving Mind. This arrange- 
ment of matter cannot come of chance. The fortuitous 
concurrence of atoms, of which ancient sages pitiably phi- 
losophized, could never have organised such mechanism as 
the whole Universe developes; and he who, with that me- 
chanism before him, owns no God, is, we affirm, but a 
melancholy witness of the truth of that saying—that no 
man is so credulous as aninfidel. I pass by a throng of 
facts which, in answer to such a question, seem to rush 
forth from above us, and beneath us, and around us, to 
fix on one particular class of evidences of Designing Power 
which pre-eminently claims attention: it is that class 
which so plainly contemplates the condition of this our 
world, and especially of our own species—not as God made 
them at the first, but as we now see them—subject to suffer- 
ing, disease, and pain. Now that ourrace, in common with 
all animal existence, has become liable to physical suffering 
—and that suffering of so various and often opposite kinds 
—we look into the resources of Creation, and what do we 
discover? We discover the fact, that all this state of 
things has been foreseen, anticipated, and provided for ; 
inasmuch as here are stores laid up in all the vast reposi- 
tories of the mineral and vegetable kingdoms—yes, and 
even in the secret properties of animal substances also— 
stores of every kind, exactly adapted to meet the wants, 
and ease the pains, and often altogether to remove the 
diseases that our ‘flesh is heir to.’”? So that here is de- 
sign and contrivance shown in the most affecting manner. 
God our Maker has been under the necessity—a necessity 
imposed by his creatures’ sin—of inflicting certain suffer- 
i upon us. Yet how do these provisions of nature 
exhibit Him beforeus? Even while, as it were, with the 
one hand He wounds, with the other He ministers, if not 
the cure, at least the mitigation of the pain. Here are 
ills existing all around us; and, all around, here are the 
antidotes to those ills already prepared. Now we ask—Is 
this chance? Comes it of chance that the world should 
prove one great depository of medicines for its own ma- 
ladies? No, we reply: here is intention—here is fore- 
knowledge of special cireumstances—here is preparation 
to meet those ci And the plati 
such a coincidence between the world’s physical woes, and 
the world’s medicinal stores—the one so corresponding to 
the f the 3 of a Mind that has 
foreseen, and anticipated, and determined to provide for, 
a condition of suffering existence such as earth now ex. 
hibits.—J'rom a Sermon preached before the Apothecaries’ 
Society, by the Rev. John Harding. 
Productions of the Valley of Herat.—The winter at 
Herat is not so severe as that of England, although snow 
lies on the ground for a few days during the months of 
December and January, and occasional frost occurs until 
early in March. The summer months are much hotter 
than in England, but cooler than in India, in conse- 
quence of a very high wind which blows steadily from 
the North during the months of June, July, August, and 
September. Little rain falls except in.winter and early 
spring, the cultivation of the valley being carried on by 
means of canals cut from the river. The climate may 
certainly be considered as a very dry one. The principal 
trees in the valley are the Elm, Ash, Fir, Plane, Poplar, 
Willow, and Cypress. Of fruit trees there are the Pear, 
Apple, Quince, Peach, Apricot, Plum, Cherry (sour), 
Mulberry (red and white), Pomegranate, Walnut, Filbert, 
Berberry, and the Fig ; the Pistachio flourishes in the dis- 
trict immediately north of the valley. Of Melons and 
Grapes there is every. variety in perfection. .The vege- 
tables are Cucumbers, Beet, Onions, Lettuce, Brinjals, 
Carrots, Turnips, Spinach, Knol. Kok, and Beans; all, ex- 
cept the three first, of very indifferent quality. The gar- 
den flowers are few in number: the Rose, red, white, and 
yellow, the Jessamine and a species of Lilac, the com- 
mon Red Tulip, the Narcissus, Blue Iris, Pink and Mari- 
gold; the Sunflower, yhock, and Cock b, are 
common. Amongst the wild flowers, are the Butter-cup, 
Dandelion, Cornflower, Nettle, Clove, Forget-me-not, and 
Poppy-— Transactions of the Agri-Horticultural Society 
of India. 
af Conversion of Starch intoGum and Sugar.—Durin, 
germination, a great change has taken place in the chemical 
composition of the seed ; a notable quantity of its starch 
has passed into the condition of Grape-sugar, and become 
soluble, while the gluten, or azotised portion, has under- 
gone partial decomposition, giving rise to a certain quan- 
tity of a most extraordinary substance called ‘‘ diastase, 
which possesses the power of inducing the conversion of 
starch into Grape-sugar. The simplest experiment for 
illustrating the specific property of this curious body is to 
add to a quantity of warm thick gelatinous starch, a little 
infusion of common malt made with tepid water, and then 
maititain the whole at a temperature which does not much 
exceed 160° Fahr. In the course of a very few minutes, 
ion o 
the starch, before so thick that the vessel might be inverted 
without spilling any, becomes as limpid and thin as water. 
It is now ‘dextrin? or starch-gum, a state intermediate 
between ordinary starch and sugar. If the temperature 
be still kept up, in the course of some hours, depending 
upon the quantity of malt-infusion used, the liquor will 
have acquired a sweet taste, and have become, in fact, a 
solution of Grape-sugar. This is the principle of the first 
step towards the manufacture of beer, and which is called 
“mashing ;” its object is to get a saccharine liquid sus- 
ceptible of fermentation. The practice is as follows :—-The 
malt, roughly ground, or rather crushed, between rollers, 
is placed in a spacious wooden vessel or « mash-tun,’” 
furnished with a false bottom pierced with smal) holes, 
like a colander, and raised a little space above the true 
bottom. A stop-cock, placed between the two, communi. 
cates with an exit-pipe. The due proportion of water, 
regulated of course by the quality of the liquor required, 
which has meanwhile been heating to the proper tempera- 
ture in a large copper boiler close at hand, is now let on, 
and the mixture in the tun, after due agitation, either by 
machinery or by hand, is closely covered up to prevent 
loss of heat, and suffered to remain during & space of time 
varying from two to four hours. In this interval the 
greater part of the starch of the grain, which had escaped 
unaltered during the malting, is, by the action of the 
diastase before mentioned, converted into soluble muci- 
laginous matter and sugar ; the liquid, or ** wort,’’ acquir~ 
ing a degree of sweetness incomparably greater than could 
have been communicated by the sugar actually contained 
in the maltitself.—Fownes, in the Pharmaceutical Journal. 
Protecting Plants—At the last sitting of the Paris 
Horticultural Society, M. Victor Paquet made an interest« 
ing communication relative to a mode of protecting, on 
the open ground, delicate plants from the frost in winter. 
The branches are to be tied together, and, if necessary, 
two sticks are to be fixed in the ground as supporters. 
Some litter is to be spread over the ground round the 
plant, and a sack or other covering is to be placed over 
the whole. This covering is to be made thoroughly wet, 
so that it may be frozen at the first frost. The frozen 
surface not admitting within the interior a cold so intense 
as itself, the plant is in a comparatively warm temperature. 
Guano.—The superintendent of the hardy department 
reported that he had tried several experiments with guano, 
upon plants in | pots. loam, containing one-fiftieth 
part of this substance, Verbenas and Sélvias became luxu-~ 
riant in about the same degree as if potted in rotten dung. 
The same plants also flourished exceedingly in sand con- 
taining a similar proportion of guano. The same effect, or 
even amore beneficial action, was produced upon them 
when peat was substituted forsand. But when rich garden 
soil was employed with the same proportion of guano, 
the plants became languid and died. It was therefore 
inferred that the value of guano as a manure, will depend 
upon the soil with which it is employed, and that a quan- 
tity which would be highly beneficial in poor soil will 
become deleterious upon Iand previously rich and well 
manured.— Proceedings of the Hort. Soc., No. 17. 
Bacon.—As it is of some importance to cottagers to 
know how best to preserve their bacon, we have borrowed 
the following receipts from an old lady whose bacon is 
never rusty. For the bacon of a large pig take 14 lbs. of 
common salt, 1 lb. saltpetre, and }1b. bay salt; with this 
mixture rub the bacon thoroughly, and then put it down 
tightly into a tub kept expressly for the purpose, having 
a lid to fit tightly on, and also an inner cover, which rests 
on the bacon, and presses it down as it diminishes. Be- 
fore the salt is used it should be damped with a quart of 
cold boiled water. If these precautions are‘attended to, 
the bacon will preserve its colour and good flavour for 18 
or 20 months. As soon as the weather becomes hot, the 
brine should be poured carefully out of the tub, be boiled 
and well skimmed, and when cold be again poured over 
the bacon. 
mild 
from the Lon- 
weather in that neighbourhood, some be Suanberrica 
were, afew days ago, gathered in seg lies taser 
Stewart, of Altrest, near Donemana, Sor of th so 
an exposed situation. In Se ae Paki sae Gu: 
thrushos “have aisoebeckian ees and sparrows have com. 
menced to build their nests- 
SS 
THE NATURALIST’S CORNER.—No, VIII. 
(Continued from puge 7.) 
25. The Peonias, a vervconspicuous genus of herbaceous 
dsuffruticose plants, were highly esteemed by the an- 
cient Greek physicians, but their praises are too extrava- 
gant for sober repetition. Modern times, however, are 
not altogether free from some remnants of absurdity. 
“The anodyne necklaces,” says Burnett, “ still sold to 
prevent convulsions in children, and to ease dentition, 
= made of beads turned from the root of the common 
sony. 
26. The great utility of the bark of the Birch-iree in 
North America is very remarkable. Not only are the canoes 
in which the Indians trust themselves on lakes sufficiently 
boisterous, some miles from the shore, made of it, but also 
allsorts of small cups and dishes. Besides, it burns like 
Pitch; splits into threads which serve for twine ; and 
the filmy part, near the outside, may be written upon in 
