328 Jalap Plant of Commerce. 



two bushels of wheat, whilst we had the benefit of the produce 

 of the poultry in eggs and chickens, of far greater value than 

 what they destroyed in the way of grain ; to say nothing of 

 their invaluable services in the insect-destroying way. My 

 farmer was greatly astonished ; and confessed that the hens, as 

 he called them, were not so destructive as he had always ima- 

 gined they were. I must observe that it was my practice to 

 feed regularly my poultry ; under the persuasion that a good 

 meal was quite as beneficial to the fowls as to myself. Let all 

 those who attend to rural economy pay attention to this matter, 

 and they will find their interest in it. 



In my late journey into Holland, I had the gratification of 

 observing the good feeling of the Dutch, with respect to the 

 feathered creation. Their fondness of the stork is well known; 

 but they also protect the rook, the jackdaw, the wood pigeon, 

 &c. In Rotterdam I lodged in a hotel, situated on the quay of the 

 Meuse, called the Boompjes. This quay is ornamented with a row 

 of venerable trees, which are inhabited by jackdaws, ringdoves, 

 starlings, and sparrows; all living in friendship, building their 

 nests and rearing their young, in perfect security. A stranger, 

 unaccustomed to such a spectacle in a busy commercial city, 

 would be surprised, as I certainly was, on being awaked, at 

 early dawn, with the cawing of the daws, the chattering of the 

 starlings, and the cooing of the doves, in a place where no 

 sounds would be expected but those which are the concomitants 

 of a maritime port. Whilst sitting in my window, to enjoy the 

 morning air, the ringdoves would alight within a few feet of 

 me, without manifesting the least alarm ; thereby affording me 

 an opportunity of admiring the graceful form, and glossy plu- 

 mage, of this beautiful bird. I really envied the Dutch their 

 happiness in this particular. 



London, May 10. 1839. 



Art. IX. Note on the Jalap Plant of Commerce. By D. Beaton. 



At the last November meeting of the Botanical Society of 

 Edinburgh, Dr. Graham stated that Ipomce v a purga is now 

 believed to be the plant Which produces the true jalap of com- 

 merce. That he received a tuber of it from Dr. Christison, 

 which flowered freely in a stove, and proved to be quite distinct 

 from the Ipomce v a hitherto in cultivation in our stoves as the 

 jalap plant. In the Annals of Nahiral History for this month, 

 in which I read a notice of the above meeting, the authority for 

 the specific name purga is not stated, and I cannot find it in any 

 work to which I have access. The true Ipomceva, or Convol- 

 vulus Jalapa, was cultivated in the Chelsea Botanic Garden 



