40 Foreign Notices : — Italy. 



as a guide in performing gardening operations. You shall, therefore, be 

 the Mentor to guide my pupils in the art of cultivation. 



Ifshall now give you & notice which I think will interest you, and perhaps, 

 also, the readers of your excellent periodical. 



The Abbe Ambrozio Longoni, residing in Monza, formerly professor of 

 philosophy, distinguished for his profound knowledge, not only in the belles 

 lettres, but also in mechanics and natural sciences, who wrote a manual 

 on the cultivation of the pistacchios di terra (J'rachis hypogde'a), which I 

 formerly mentioned (Gardener's Magazine, vol. xvi. p. 309.), and who spares 

 neither means nor trouble to render himself useful to society, has now dis- 

 covered a new oleaginous seed. Under the windows of his house there was 

 a garden, in which grew a tree of Negundo yiaxinifolium, of about 6 in. in 

 diameter. Looking at this tree loaded with seed, he said to himself: Can- 

 not all this quantity of seed, which Providence has bestowed on this tree, be 

 brought to some use? With this view, it occurred to him to try whether it 

 would produce oil; he set to work, and obtained the following results : — 



From a bag containing eight bushels of keys, one bushel of clean seed was 

 obtained ; and, therefore, there is one bag of clean seed from eight bags of 

 samaras. A bag of clean seed weighs about 96 lb. small Milanese of 12 oz. 

 From a bag of clean seed, 42 lb. 8 oz. of oleaginous powder were obtained. 

 One pound of powder produces not less than 50 denari of oil, without reckon- 

 ing the loss that takes place in expressing it; that is, a product of 17*3 per 

 cent. Therefore, from a bag of clean seeds there are 7 lb. 5 oz. of oil, and 

 about 32 lb. of husks or refuse. Supposing the price of this oil to be 

 sixpence * for every pound-weight, and about a halfpenny a pound for the 

 husks, we shall have for 7 lb. 5 oz. of oil, at sixpence, 3s. 8d. ; for 32 lb. 

 of husks, at a halfpenny, Is. 4rf. ; making the produce of a bag of clean 

 seed, 5s. 



Deducting the expenses for gathering the seeds, separating them, grinding 

 them, taking out the kernels, and for the preparation of the oil, which may be 

 supposed to amount to three fifths of the produce, that is, to 3.s. ; there 

 remains of the net produce, 2s, 



From one of these trees, 6 in. in diameter, more than two bags of seeds 

 have been gathered : hence, from 1000 trees, taking large and small together, 

 we may have an average produce of 2000 bags of keys, and 250 bags of clean 

 seed, giving a net product of 2\l. 



The oil produced is not suitable for cookery, as it retains the taste of the 

 bark itself; but it is good for burning, gives a redder light than olive or other 

 oil ; and has the advantage above all other oils, of making less smoke. 



For some years past, owing either to the deficiency of the crops of 

 oleaginous plants, caused by drought or some other malignant influence, or 

 to the great consumption of oil for machinery, oil has been rising in price 

 annually; so much so, that superfine olive oil, that is, what is used for 

 culinary purposes, which, ten years ago was sold for Id. for a pound of 12 oz. 

 now costs 9d. ; and oil for burning, which cost 3%d., now costs 6d. 



From what has been said, you will see how useful this discovery may prove. 

 I do not mean to say that I recommend the planting of the negundo for 

 the expression of oil, to the injury of other branches of agriculture ; but 

 I only mean that in Lombardy, where so many of these trees grow already 

 (and, I think, it is the same with you) that they appear more like indigenous 

 than exotic plants, instead of allowing the seed (and they are very prolific 

 with us) to run to waste as formerly, it might be gathered, and thus a new 

 branch opened for industry. Allowing the utility of the negundo, instead of 

 making plantations of less useful trees, such as the horsechesnut, in situations 



* [In reducing the Venetian to English money, we have had recourse 

 to Murray's Hand-Booh for Travellers on the Continent; by far the most useful 

 work of the kind that has ever been published.] 



