278 Domestic Notices: — England. 



Gedrus Deodara Rox. — Dr. Wallich, of the Calcutta Botanical Garden, has 

 sent us some seeds, for distribution, of this very interesting tree. His letter 

 is dated Nov. 22. 1833. He speaks of the seeds as, then, received " about a 

 fortnight ago from Kumaon," and expresses his hope that they may reach us 

 in a vegetative state. He adds: — " Those which I have sowed here have 

 come up in ten days from the time they were put into the ground. Contrary 

 to my express orders, they had been taken out of their cones before being for- 

 warded to me from the hills; but I expect ample supplies of fresh and good 

 cones, of which I will send you a proportion. There is in the box, also, a phial 

 of seeds, of 



" The White Nelumbium specibsum, a most lovely flower, more lovely to my 

 eyes, than the pink-coloured one." 



We received the seeds on May 12. 1834. Those of the Cedrus Deoddra, 

 in four sealed phials, were all devoid of life, and some of them nearly rotten. 

 A white mould was obvious among the seeds towards the necks of the vials, 

 where it coated, also, the end of the cork, and, partially, the inward face of 

 the phial. The source of this may have been some fermentation among the 

 seeds themselves,* the dampness of the cork when put in; or some damp- 

 ness which it had acquired subsequently. The oily matter which surrounds 

 the embryo in the Coniferse, and is plentiful in the seeds of this species, had 

 partially come through to the surface of the seed, and appeared in blisters 

 under the integument. The embryoes (polycotyledonous) were flaccid and 

 yellow. Just for the chance of any one of the numerous seeds growing, we 

 have sowed them ourselves: had they been perfect, we should have sent 

 them, as Dr. Wallich wished, to various cultivators. 



Since the above was written, we have received a small quantity of the 

 deodar seeds from Mr. Auben of the East India House, sent by direction of the 

 Chairman of the Company. These seeds are in quite the case of those above 

 named, but drier. Along with them, Mr. Auben forwarded extracts from 

 letters from Dr. Wallich ; one of which we quote : — " The deodar cedar is, of 

 all others, the most desirable to introduce into England. It is equal in state- 

 liness and magnificence to the Lebanon cedar, and far superior to it in the fra- 

 grance of its wood, which is incredibly durable. The tree will stand the cli- 

 mate of the North of Europe, beyond all doubt." Dr. Wallich, besides again 

 noticing that the seeds had germinated with him in ten days in the open ground, 

 has added, " and under glass, in my own room, in eight days." 



The seeds of the Nelumbium, twenty-two in number, we have distributed 

 in pairs to Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Marryatt, Messrs. W. Young and Penny, 

 Loddiges, Low, Knight, Campbell, Bevan, Baxter, and Allcard ; and C. A. 

 Fischer, Gottingen. 



Our friend, Dr. Wallich, remarks that seeds, roots, or growing plants, of 

 all rare species, exotic to India, and especially of South American species, 

 will be always welcome to the botanic garden at Calcutta; and we hope that 

 some of the friends named above will be able to contribute, at least in some 

 degree, to the gratification of Dr. Wallich's wishes. 



Two Specimens of Brompton Stock, the one red and the other white, have 

 been sent to us from the garden of Mr. Cullen, of the Brown Bear, Green- 

 hithe, of extraordinary luxuriance and beauty. The principal spike of flowers 

 on the red stock is a foot in length, and it is surrounded by twelve others, 

 varying in length from 9 in. to 6 in. The number of flowers fully expanded 

 on the central spike is twenty, not one of which is faded ; and there are nearly 

 as many on each of the twelve side spikes. Most of the flowers are upwards 

 of an inch and a half across. The central spike of the white stock is 14 in. in 

 length, and there are thirty flowers on it fully expanded, and many of them above 

 2 in. across : nine of the lower flowers have thrown out secondary flowers or 

 spikes from their centres ; and it is evident that all the flowers on this spike 

 have a similar tendency. There are only two side spikes to this white stock, 

 each with about 15 flowers fully expanded. The leaves are upwards of 9 in. in 

 length; those of the red stock are not quite so long. The stem of the white stock, 



