1844.] 



THE GARDEXERS' CHROXICLE. 



83.1 



India-rubber and cork plankinir. 5>iie trill vretgn but 

 one ton and a half, an ordinary life-boat weighing three 

 tons ; and it is the opinion of all naval men and engi- 

 neers who have seen her, that it will be almost impossi- 

 ble to siuk her under ordinary circumstances, and that, 

 when driven on a rock by the action of the waves, she 

 will rebound like a ball, without fracture. It is also 

 proposed to use the caoutchouc preparation for an inner 

 lining between the guns in war-vessels, to prevent the 

 effects of splinters ; for hammock-nettings and bulwarks, 

 to save the crew from canister, gripe, &e. ; and for other 

 useful though less obvious purposes." Such are the 

 numerous purpos.°s to which hu tn ingenuity can apply 

 a single, and to all appearance an insignificant substance 

 — the exuded sap of a tree ; showing that science not 

 only sup s our more obvious wants, but creates others, 

 and calls into use hitherto neglected materials to supply 

 them. I thing in nature is useless; if we cann t now 

 see its value, let us rest assured that the time will come 



for its profitable application. — Chambers's New Edin- 

 burgh. Journal. 



Allotments. — Among other instances of great success 

 in carrying out this system, may be named the village of 

 Pytchley, in Northamptonshire. In that parish are 5b" 

 allotments, and their crops have been " superb," r.o use 

 the words of a corres -ulent. One man had 7\ bushels 

 of clean Wheat off his half rood, and a large crop of i' 

 tatoes off the other half rood. Many others were scarcely 

 inferior. Penjile pueri ! 



The Chocolate Tree an I lis Uses. — V.'Iiat is generally 

 called Cocoa is merely the berries of Theobroma Cacao, 

 pounded and drank either with water or milk, or with 

 both. Chocolate is a compound drink, and is manufac- 

 tured chiefly from the kernels of this plant, whose 

 natural habitat would seem to te Guayaquil, in South 

 America, though it flourishes in great perfection in the 

 West Indies. It grows also spontaneously and luxuri- 

 antly on the banks of the M alena. Mr. homburg 

 in his recent expedition into the interior of British 

 Guiana, found the country abounding in Cocoa, " which 

 the Indians were most anxious to secure, as the pulpy 

 arilius surrounding the seed has an i vinous 



taste. Singular to say, however, they appeared perfectly 

 ignorant of the qualities of the seed, which possesses t: 

 most delightful aroma. Mr. Schouibu gk states, they 

 evinced the greatest astonishment when t'uey be d him 

 and Mr. Good ill colle . these seeds and using them 

 as Chocolate, which was the most delicious they had ever 

 tasted." The height of the Cocoa shrub is generally 

 from eighteen to twenty feet ; the leaf is between four 

 and six inches long, and its breadth three or four, very 

 smooth, and terminating in a point like that of tl 

 Orange tree, but differing from it in colour ; of a dull 

 green, without gl , and not so thickly set upon the 

 branches. The blossom is first white, then reddish, and 

 contains the rudiments of the kernels or berries. When 

 fully developed, the pericarp, or seed-vessel is a pod, 

 which gro vs not only from the branches, but the stem 

 of the tree, and is from six to seven inches in length, 

 and shaped like a Cucumber. Its colour is green 

 •when growing, like that of the leaf; but when ripe, 

 is yellow, smooth, clear, and thin. When arrived 

 at its full growth, and before it is ripe, it is 

 gathered and eaten like any other fruit, the taste 

 being subacid. Chocolate, so called, and so prized both 

 in the Spanish Continent and in the West Indies, never 

 reaches Great Britain except as a contraband article, 

 being, like nearly all colonial manufactured articles, pro- 

 hibited by the Custom-house . What is generally 

 drank under that name is simply the Cocoa boiled in 

 milk, gruel, or even water, and is as much like the Spanish 

 or West India Chocolats as vinegar is to Burgundy. It 

 is, without any e on, of all estic drinks the most 

 alimentary; and the S, ds esteem it so necessary to 

 the health and support of the body, that it is considered 

 the severest punUhment to withhold it, even f a crimi- 

 nals ; nay, to be unable to procure Chocolate, is deemt 

 the gre t misfortune in life! Yet, notwithstanding 

 this esti nation in which it is held, the q' itity made in 

 the neighbourhood of Cartha ii is in for the 

 demands of roe population, and is so i y priced that 

 none is exported but as presents ! The signs by which 

 good Chocolate or Cocoa is known are I se : — It should 

 dissolve entirely in water, and be without sediment ; it 

 should be oily, and vet melt in the mouth ; and if genuine 

 and carefully prepared, should deposit no grits or grounds. 

 That made in the West Indies and in 60 of Cuba 

 is dark ; but that I uuf tred in Jamaica is of a bright 

 brick colour, owing to the greater quantity of arnatto 

 which is in the preparation, and which, I think, 

 gives it a ri oid a more agi tble flavour. Inan 

 economical ; it of view, Chocolate ia a very important 

 article of diet, as it may be literally term meat and 

 drink; and were r half-starve :.s, over-wrought 

 factory c ft, and rickety millinery girls, induced to 

 drink it in, of the innutritions and unwholesome 

 beverage called Tea, its nutritive qualities would soon 

 develop tl selves in their improved looks and more 

 robust constitution. The price, too, is in its favour, 

 Cocoa being lOflf. per pound ; while the cheapest black 

 Tea, such ■ ea the Chinese be, r would despise, 

 drank by milliners, washerwomen, and the poorer class 

 in the M is, is .a lb., or 310 percent, dearer, while 

 it is d led injurious to health. The heads of the naval 



««•! ill .1 _1 ^^mM I,* Vnrrlaml liaYtt llPPI! 



and military medical departments iu England have been 

 so impressed with the wholesomenebs and superior nutri- 

 ment "of Coco*, that they have judiciously directed that it 

 shall be served out twice or thrice a we k to regimen 

 of the line, and to the seamen on board Her Miyeatj 



effects in the improved heaLii and condition th n. 



Indeed, this has been most satisfactory established in 

 Jamaica among the troops ; and a remarkable fact corro- 

 borating this statement is, that by returns to the Hor 

 Guards, it is shown that only one death took place a1 

 Newcastle Barracks, in that island, out of a force of 700 

 men, for the quarter ending Sept. 30, lu?2; and the 

 same may be asserted of other regiments in the VvV 

 Indie?, and of the seamen in Her Majesty's ships on the 

 coast. But the excellent qualities of Chocolate were 

 known not only to the .Mexicans and Peruvians, from 

 whom, as a matter of course, the Spaniards acquired a 

 knowledge of its properties ; but European nations also 

 acknowledged its virtues- The Portuguese, French, 

 Germans, and Dutch, considered i: an exceedingly valu- 

 able article of diet, and Hoffman loo' I upon it both as a 

 food and a medicine. In his monograph, entitled " Potus 

 Chocolate/' he recommends it in all diseases of general 

 weakness, raucies, lo.v spirits, and in hypochondriacal 

 complaints, and what since his time have been termed 

 nervous diseases. As oneexamp'e of the good t s of 

 Cocoa, he adduces the case or Cardinal Richelieu, who 

 was cured of eremaciusis, or a general wasting away of 

 the body, by drinking chocolate. Liebi md other 

 chemists have demonstr beyond question that no part 

 of an organ which poss lea motion and life is destitu 

 of nitrogen : — ct All parts of the animal body which have 

 a decided shape, which form parts of org L, contai 

 nitrogen ;" and the chief ingredients of the blood ntain 

 17 per cent, of nitrogen, and no part of an organ less 

 than 17 per cent. It follows, therefore that nitrogen is 

 that principle of the body which, being in the greatest 

 quantity, and pervading all tissues, is that most fre- 

 quently wasted, and most frequently in need of renewal. 

 This must he admitted. It follows, then, that those sub- 

 stances which p ess this principle iu the greate 

 quantity in a given bulk, are those which must be be 

 calculated to renew that which has bee.i lost or wasted 1 

 the operations of the body. Now caffeine (the principle 

 of Coffee), and theobromine (the principle of Theobrtu 

 Cacao), are the most highly nitro. raised products in 

 nature, as the following analysis will show : — Caffeine 

 according to Pl'alT and Ltebig contains — 

 Carbon . . . 4977 j Nitrogeo 



Hydrogen . . . 5*83 | < -n . . 

 Theobromine, according t • Weskresensky, contains 



( bon . . . 17--'1 I Nitr ■• :i 



) Irofren . . . 4.53| Oxygen 

 — Dr. Bums-, in Stpnmonds' Col ' Mag. {abridged). 



Upon the 1)t generation of Brussels Sprouts. — The 

 degeneration of this plant has been much discussed. It 

 ; aiains unchanged in the soil of Brussels, and also in 

 the environs of Louvain, but at M dines, which is at 

 sqnal distances from these two towns, and where every 

 possible care is paid to the cultivation of vegetables, yet, 

 after the first generation, it loses its peculiar character. 

 It does not, however, appear that any parti ar soil, or 

 special precautions, are nece ry for its cultivation, for 

 these sprouts grow in Brussels and irs environs, in all 

 kinds of soils and s : itions. According to M. Van 

 Mons, its degeneration had been very sudden at ?*lalines. 

 •' The p I which I sent there," says he, " and which 



seed, made shoots exactly 

 at Brussels ; but the seed 

 it produced plants whic 

 compact heads, but open, 



ceediagly block, < I glistenii is » ly irsngible 



and appear be liitle, if anywise, inferior in quality to 

 the best Wal 1 or Larabton sample n the 



London m I far superior to the Burdwan coal of 



India. The proportion of coal to '> v fa and sulphuret 

 of iron, in the abov samples, is as 13 to 20. — Daily 

 Papers. 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 



For the ensuing Wrrk. 



"8 



icia 



35*31 



ru 



OT 



I.— HOTHOUSE, CONSERVATORIES, to. 



Wiiekk practicable, plant-b ht to be Covered with 



m or e other covering in severe weather* particularly 



the stove. The I yhigh I rature n rained in Cucum- 



ber-pits could not be eff d wit ; coverings; slight 



etOD frames made e glass Bathes, vered with 



suite witteri are nv \ and iD the 



long: roil tbe cheap Where mats we u they should be 



se ;et her, tor the irenienee of i* rnlied off and 



on easily. All store plants, except a /Orchidac- re and $omc 

 bulbs, &c„ i .1 in ; we* teqtftite at 



<t, and in that Igh r them in c wea- 



th No more wal than v 



will keep tin eaves from flw *ttn hereought 



to be kept i m . A high dry atmosphc 



nraeh man > stoi dtl 



suffer in a tempera! 



ton;.— e best temperature for th 



house in < . wi that the g 



m 



them, i is h 



aittiiifi>roji .and. poteofwii g large 



eciou bont pi >od * f lanta 



and a forcing. pit are esse > a d < rva in 



ter. See that t: , ; pipes ait pi rly, 



»h • often r of accidents aii*;ng from irees. 



Whore the hcaihi; barely sufficient t<> kor he 



required temperature, accidt arc i e likely * owv 



Sometime riants a time bj g placed over 



here the pass under pavement, Am in such cases 



an empty pert placed er them would I i *he risk of the 

 roots bei - dr . Ai tier source of grc;i to 



plants In me ) etting in contact vv the 



walls v. t \s " pi re 



!. Kc ' e- 



u of the injur ut In cases ol tins sort the beds or 



bon i ought to be tccted I a few ei - -ome nnn- 



imlttCting ma al, as dry t or pounded i rcoal, 



c.i with a ok-on-t ill be n it and the soil. This 



hi gem i be omitted where the pipes run 



under the paths, &c. — D. B. 



II.— FLOW/ \Rr AND SHRUBBERIES. 



( r Departmmt. 



This hB4 b. en a * i season for the blooming-of 



ma >r Chrysan hare ever 



i ire on them in r to so n \ advan- 



tage. For the a - < ( Un wer-pa . espe- 



ci inc ry pi are eserving of more 



arte >n thnn has hithei oeen h» ced u)X>nthemi and for 

 that r on 1 have, through tiie k M: an- 



er, who favour*. ic w.i of their newest flowers, 



made an arrangement (re; s below), in 



which some ot the finest kinds in cul n arc grouped ac- 



cord : to their complementary, or rather contra ». 



The figures may be considered either to n separate 



groups, or ^le plants in a larprc bed. ever arrange- 



ment is a I, it is n latthep; ■ should ex- 



ceed 18 incur i heifVit.and lor hat reason l t to »>e 



layered in July in the re< e- garden, and be removed to tacit 

 flowering qu rs in October ■ — 



were produced from tru 

 like those which are a 

 which was obtained from 

 m*de shoots, not in little 



with Ion^ drooping leaves ; so that after the third genera- 

 tion, it entirely lost its primitive character. The tame 

 senomena of degeneracy have also been observed in 

 Germany, where, at different times, they have tried to 

 cultivate" Cru Is sprouts. At my request," cmtinues M. 

 Van Mom, 6 * they sent me some seed, gathered from the 

 degenerated plants, I sowed it by itself, and as the plants 

 grew, I observed tkat they showed the same character 

 jeneracy that they did at Malines. I allowed them 

 to seed, which I carefully thered. The second time of 

 sowia^ they came nearer their original character, but the 

 heads were still ] very compact and did not shoot a 

 second time, as the true sort does. At the third genera- 

 tiotl, the plants had regained ai 1 :he merits of their or 

 nal character/' Th e experiments, and their resuli 

 certainly deserve our attention ; but as we have said be- 

 fore, the influence of the pollen extends to such great 

 distances, that the re-establishment of the sprout might 

 be attributed to fertilisation by the pollen of sprouts 

 growing iu the neighbourhood. Besides, it is easy to ex- 

 iin the degeneracy of a plant, if external influences be- 

 e unfavour. e to it ; but that a plant once degener- 

 ated may regain its original characters by mere local in- 

 fluences, would reonire more than one experiment to 

 prove. — Journal (f Hor %lture de Bruxcllcs. 



On the Advantage i the Use of Carbonate of Soda 

 ia the Preparation of Coffee (by Professor Pleischl). — 

 It is a fact well known in Pi ue, that the water of the wells 

 in that town is better adapted for use in making coffee 

 than the river water; comparative analyses of the water 

 indicate that this depends on the carbonate of soda con- 

 ned in tbe former. Pleischl found this opinion cor- 

 roborated by the fact, that a small quantity of the nit 

 added to Coffee improves its flavour, and advises conse- 

 quently the addition of 43 grains of the pure carbonate 

 oh pound of rousted Coffee, as an impiovement to 

 the flavour and also to the therapeutic effect of s beve- 

 rage, as it neutralises the acid contained in the infusion. 

 — PharmacenticalJournaL 



New Zealand Coal.— Some interesting specimens of 



Md have bten recently brought over from >iew Zealand. 



jal traverses, in Beams, the seagirt rocks of the 



island, ami the specimens that have come to hand are 



nodules of a moderate size, composed of carbonate of 



l 2 



10 11 



19 20 



2.3 29 

 37 38 



1 Isolicr 



2 Golden Lotus, 



vered 

 I Imo^ene 



4( ir Perrier 



6 Gouvloo St. Cyr 



6 Horatio 



7 V ame Porapa 

 dour 



8 Defiance 



9 S i prise 



3 

 12 



21 

 30 



4 



ia 



31 

 40 



5 



14 



32 



41 



las 







15 



42 



7 

 16 



21 

 34 



43 



8 



17 



44 



9 



IS 



45 



i6Ai: * 

 »7Vei 



I insCccsnr 



iy Park's Small Yel- 



! I I W 



20f eral Laborde 

 i Hora 



ictor 

 -Philippe 

 irshal Soult 

 3 Canu'e^troui 



10 Grand Napoleon 2G E rcss 



11 Lu ■ um 27 I id 



12 Incomparable 



j Minerva 





Taric 

 ss .-actum 



ntei i 

 ins 

 86 Due dc Corneg- 



liano 

 J37 Phidias 

 fiance 

 9 De Crenui 

 U Annie Jane 

 41 Queen of 

 ws 

 Leontinc 

 ;43 Arsgo 



44 F >osum 



43 r 



Yel- 



ships, and this wise regulatiea has evinced its salutary [ baryta, coal, and sulphuret of iron. The coal itself is ex- 



13 Celestial ..^r. , 



14 Sappho 30 ( cs 



15 Byou 31 i 

 The preceding arra n.ent v , I am certain, produce a 



Snc'effect in the autumn, and wo ampl om ethe 



cul to list for a he might bestow upon the preparation of 



tbepiauts.— W. PA. 



1 1 [.-FLORISTS' FLO" 



Should the weather continue frosty iittlecnn bedonearr st 

 V i 1 Flower tilt there is always fu rroent even 



aopropitiow weather like the pr- it. V. ^ stated 



.at Carnation oompesl f, as the case may be, sh^ be 



frequently turned ; when the o ide of the heap is frozen it 



may he r »ved, so that anothi r ayer of soil may be ex % d 



tbe action of the frosl hotild the hard weather continue, 



x like manner n e removed, and each - -essive crust 



ken a I the v le heap has been frozen, i has a 



big] beneficial efT and ifl the means ol de y- 



in^ the e^g-s and iarvse of many iuriooa insects. Leaden Car- 

 nation pegs may now be -lightened, cleansed by wishing, 

 and put by till tl e next la; ng season ; fresh om s msy also 

 be cast. Carna- should be repainted, and, in fwet, all 



auxiliaries must be attended to. As for layers in pots, the less 

 they are meddled with during se e better; where 



they have been p< I off early, and are well e dished, tiiey 

 will endure severe cold wit jury, and may have all the air 



possible; on the other hand, if they have only bee n put in 

 % November, the frames must he kept rather c! .only 

 giving air during the m 1 the day. Aurieu &«u 



heal will bear frost with im] : : ?e framt-Hgfrte may 



be tilted dari e m day. We iown the 



soil in Auricula pots to be t\ hard as marble witho«r any 



apparent Injurioas < ffect ca R/innnemlmMes May 



ionelly be looked over, taking care to keep them in a mo- 

 derate dry i t prev <\ tlje r s maybe 

 cleaned and made ren for pis. The bt >^ne- 

 fitcd by being turned du «r, I Itannn- 

 ises d«» better on I a c e texture, it will be as well 

 not to remove the s ii a r the e he month; merely 

 throw it up in ridges of r 4 inc nw be 

 exposed to the action of the wtath mi n remain so ill 

 planting time, when all that need 1 vill be to rake the 

 bt :ovd, previous to puffing tl.ero ;nd. Ptmmet 

 —Are kept by many in pots, during winter: v aen well esta- 

 blished they will bear a great degr* - it w. u <l be ad- 

 visable, however, where coll .mportance, to hoop 

 the beds, over whic ats B l)C thrown.— J.FM . 



