Foreign Notices. — South America^ Africa. 397 



Wisthi'a. Conseqiidna. — The generic name should be spelled Wistaria, 

 it being named after Mr. Wistar. This information was received from Dr. 

 Wray, of Augusta, who was confident on the subject, and wished me to set 

 you right. {Gordon's MS. Journal.') 



The Public Squares of Philadelphia have been handsomely laid out and 

 planted, and also a double row of trees planted on the noble pavement in 

 front of the State House, in consequence of a petition drawn up by Dr. 

 Meuse, some years ago, and signed, on his personal application, by such a 

 number of citizens as produced the eftect intended. — J. M. Philadelphia, 

 June 10. 1828. 



Cactus 2)eruviana var. — There is a plant of the Tuna family, called 

 Pelaga and Organo in the language of the country, which shoots up in long 

 fluted stems, covered with thorns, and many feet in height. It is abundant 

 and gigantic at Bolaros, and in a rancho through which we passed this day; 

 the gardens and the roads are bounded by it, planted in the most perfect 

 regularity, and forming exceedingly secure and beautiful fences. It is a va- 

 riety of the Cactus peruviana, a plant cultivated in our hot-houses, which 

 greatly resembles it, and which requires a height of 20 ft. {Lyon's Mexico.) 



A violent Tempest of Hail, Wirid, and Rain broke upwards of 1 500 panes 

 of glass in Washington, on the 26th of April. In some other parts of the 

 country, trees, fences, and houses were blown down, windows broken, and 

 the crops spared by the frosts were destroyed. Some of the hailstones 

 measured 8 in. in circumference. In its course through South Carolina, 

 the ravages of the tornado are stated to have been still greater. {Washing- 

 ton Neivs, April 28. 1828.) 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



Andna Cherimblia. — On our road this day we saw a great many trees 

 bearing the Cherimoya fruit in a wild state ; a single wild Cherimoya has 

 been known to weigh an arroba (25 lbs.). It is a very nice fruit, rather 

 more acid than when cultivated in gardens, and is considered a good remedy 

 in bilious fevers. Monkeys are very fond of it. {Hamilton's Inferior of Co' 

 lombia, vol. ii. p. 174.) 



CcBsalpinia coridria ; Leguminoscs. — This shrub, or low tree, is abundant 

 on the sandy shores of Curacao and Carthagena, and at both places its pods 

 are employed for tanning leather. According to experiments made by Mr. 

 Prideaux, a chemist of Plymouth, at the suggestion of Dr. Hamilton, three 

 tons of Caesalpinia pods (dividivi and libidibi, as they are called in South 

 America) are equal to 7 tons 16 cwt. of oak bark. Dr. Hamilton, therefore, 

 with that unwearied zeal for the good of society by which he is character- 

 ised, is extremely anxious that it should be extensively cultivated in South 

 America, the West Indies, and even on the coast of Africa; and he has 

 transmitted a memoir on the subject to the Secretary of State. We hope 

 Dr. Bancroft will direct the attention of some spirited cultivator in Jamaica 

 to the plant, and that it will not be lost sight of in Australasia, by Mr. 

 Macleay. If Dr. Hamilton's calculations are any thing like correct, the 

 material cannot fail, in a short time, to become an article of commerce 

 between South America and this country. The plant is of the easiest 

 propagation and culture, and seeds may be had from the consuls in South 

 America. 



AFRICA. 



Tlie Garden of the Hesperides. — Lieutenant Beechey, in his Travels in 

 Cyrene, recently published, has thrown some curious light on the ancient 

 account of these celebrated gardens. It appears that, like many other 

 wonders ancient and modern, when reduced to simple truth, they are little 



