94> Foreign Notices. — Germany, 



connected with it, and the other works (anlageri) of the place, is a Russian 

 colony of twelve houses, as a remembrance of the late war, laid out in the 

 taste of their own country. The forcing of fruits {obst-treiberei), at Pots- 

 dam, has been greatly enlarged, and various kinds of fruit brought forward 

 at a very early period of the season. Our botanical garden has received 

 various additions from Mexico and Peru, mostly new and undescribed, spe- 

 cimens of which will be sent to England as soon as they can be conveyed. 

 — Fred. Otto. Berlin, March 11. 



The plough has been used for excavating a water-course, for the use of 

 the Salt-works of Friederichshall, in Wurtemberg, drawn by eight horses. 

 It was found to do the work of nearly 1,500 men, and to produce a saving 

 of 32,000 days' work. The water-course extended several miles. 



Restoring vegetable Life. — This object may in many cases be effected by 

 a powerful stimulant, and, for all practical purposes, nothing is better than 

 hot water, as any person may prove to himself with a withered nosegay. 

 Camphor, however, is a still more powerful stimulant ; and, by combining 

 this substance with water by the medium of alcohol, as much can be ef- 

 fected in the way of restoration to life, as is practicable in the vegetable 

 kingdom. In the Transactions of the Pi'ussian Gardening Society direc- 

 tions are given for dissolving the camphor in alcohol to saturation, by 

 adding it till it remains solid at the bottom of the vessel. The alcohol so 

 prepared is to be added to water in the proportion of four drops to an ounce, 

 and the two fluids beat together, till the flocculi of camphor disappear. 

 Plants or parts of plants are then to be immersed in this liquid, but not 

 longer than four hours ; for, if the vital principle cannot be restored in that 

 time, they may be considered irrecoverable. 



A species of sea-weed has recently been brought into use in Germany for 

 stuffing cushions and mattresses. " It is said to be capable of resisting humi- 

 dity altogether, and that it will not harbour any infectious or contagious 

 matter. No vermin will live in it. Some of the prisons and public esta- 

 blishments have already adopted it. This material is found in the north of 

 Germany, and has been first applied to this use by Mr. Warburg, a mer- 

 chant of that country. If it answers the description, the discovery will be 

 a most valuable one." {Times, August 6.) 



The central Prefecture of the Rural Society of Wurtemberg {Central 

 stelle der landwirthschaftlichen Vereins in Stuttgard ) have lately consti- 

 tuted what is called a Botanical Travelling Union, for the purpose of col- 

 lecting specimens of plants in different parts of Europe, and distributing 

 them equally among the different members of the Union. In Dr. Brewster's 

 Journal for July, Professor Hooker has given some account of this society, 

 strongly recommending it to the patrons of botany in Great Britain. The 

 annual subscription is 15 florins (reckoning the louis d'or at 11 florins), 

 and this sum may be forwarded, and the specimens received in return, 

 through John Hunneman, Esq., 9. Queen Street, Soho. Professor Hooker 

 has received upwards of two hundred rare species collected in the Tyrol 

 for one year's subscription. Last year, one botanist was sent by this Society 

 to Istria and the shores of the Adriatic, and another to Sardinia, and their 

 collection will soon be divided. " In Germany, especially, the art of pre- 

 serving plants is carried to a very high degree of perfection ; and the ad- 

 vantage which the student derives from examining such specimens is 

 incalculable, almost equal to that of doing so in the living state. Among 

 many others, MM. Hoppe, Hornschuch, Funck, and Siebor have com- 

 bined a great love of botany with a happy tact in all that concerns the 

 preparation and drying of specimens ; and, possessing also a deep and 

 scientific knowledge of the plants themselves, these naturalists have given 

 to the world collections which excel every figure, and are necessary to 

 every student. The trifling labour attending the manual operation is amply 



