454 Domestic Notices : — England. 



ever been so honourably distinguished, has this year attempted the field cul- 

 ture of these tubers upon a large scale : the result of so important an experi- 

 ment will not, I trust, be kept from the public, even should its success fall 

 short of our most reasonable expectations. — Wm. Hamilton. 15. Oxford 

 Place, Plymouth, June 13. 1834. 



The Victoria Wheat. — It may be interesting to many of our readers to learn 

 that, in several instances, both in this neighbourhood and that of Bristol, the 

 Victoria wheat, received from Sir Robert Ker Porter, has been in ear for 

 some weeks, and promises to be ripe before the wheats in ordinary cultivation 

 show their blossom. A letter from my friend, W. P. Taunton, Esq., of Stoke 

 Bishop, near Bristol, of the date of the 25th of April, says : — " Your six grains 

 of Victoria wheat have produced six healthy plants, which have spindled, and 

 are swelling in the upper part of the stem, indicating the existence of an 

 embryo ear; but they have not, either of them, thrown out a single sucker, 

 so that I have had no means of dividing and multiplying them, and look only 

 to the produce of seed for their increase." Mr. Richard Barret, an ingenious 

 and industrious horticulturist, residing at Portland Place, Morier Town, to 

 whom I gave three grains last year, succeeded in raising as many plants, two 

 of which were unfortunately destroyed by cats ; but the survivor, a fine healthy 

 plant about 4 ft. high, has been in ear since the latter part of April, and has 

 been in blossom for the last fortnight : the ear is as large and full as that of 

 other wheats. At Newbury, Sir Edward Thornton, I understand, has several 

 plants raised from seed which I gave him, in ear. 



On the 24th of August last, the day after I first received the seed from 

 Caraccas, I sowed a few (I think three) grains in pots. The whole of these 

 grew, and one plant, in particular, flourished vigorously, tillering out and 

 attaining a height of above 3 ft. During the winter, however, either from my 

 mismanagement, or from a want of space to expand its roots in the pot, it 

 suddenly became sickly, and died. Another plant, which I removed in the 

 latter part of the year to my garden, was destroyed by a man who was 

 employed to put the garden in order, and to whom I forgot to give a caution 

 respecting this plant. Thus my stock was reduced to one starved plant which 

 continued alive, but made little progress during the winter, if winter it could 

 be called, in which we had but two, or at the most three, nights' frost, and no 

 snow even for ten minutes' duration. At length, on the 26th of February, I 

 turned this plant out to take its chance, conceiving the period of greatest 

 danger past. The weather, however, during part of March, and nearly the 

 whole of April, was colder; we had more nights of frost, and of greater 

 intensity, than during the period which preceded its being planted out. Yet 

 from that period it began to grow, and, although a dwarf plant growing in a 

 wretched soil, it flourished beyond my expectation. Hearing of Mr. Barrett's 

 plant being in ear, I was induced to call and see it on the 29th of April ; and, 

 on the following day I examined my own plant, the ear of which, to my no 

 small surprise, I found protruding above the vagina; and on the 16th inst. I 

 observed it in flower. I have two other plants sown in pots, after twenty-four 

 hours' maceration in soft water, on the 2d of March, at the same time with 

 two others which had been macerated for an equal length of time in a saturated 

 solution of oxalic acid. The latter never sprouted. I omitted to register 

 the date of the first appearance of the others; but on the 1st of April I trans- 

 ferred them both to the open ground, where they are flourishing vigorously, 

 and show symptoms of coming soon into ear. One of them has three fine 

 suckers. Since I began this letter, I have been informed that some Victoria 

 wheat, which I gave to Mr. John Jarman here, and which he sowed on the 

 1st of February last, is now (May 20.) in the ear, and has been so for some 

 weeks. — Id. 



Yucca Starch. — Mr. Watts has sent me a sample of yucca starch, which, 

 he says, a friend assured him was equal to carpenters' glue ; and which can 

 be purchased at Carthagena for \\d. the Spanish pound : he also sent me some 

 manteca de corozo, or palm oil, which is used for lamps, and which may be 



