May 6, 1896.] 



Garden and Forest. 



183 



or the Cabbage Palm, S. Palmetto, is intended. For in- 

 formation concerning the former, the papers by Dr. J. B. 

 Read {American Journal of Pharmacy, 1879, page 169) and 

 by Rusby, Bastedo and Coblentz {Alumni Journal of the 

 College of Pharmacy of New York, 1895, page 169) may be 

 consulted. 



The Cabbage Palm has not been written about so much, 

 nevertheless it is used extensively in a variety of ways ; 

 the Cabbage is a valuable article of food, and the wood is 

 employed in constructing wharves and other works where 

 a wood is needed to withstand the attacks of the teredo. 

 Both Palms are used in the manufacture of brushes, brooms, 

 etc., in which their fibre is available. One of the exhibits 

 in the Agricultural Building of the recent Cotton States 

 Exposition at Atlanta was composed entirely of products 

 manufactured from the two Palmettos. 



The reports which have circulated in regard to the tanning 

 value of the Palmetto have, no doubt, always referred to 

 the Scrub Palm, and excellent leather has been and is made 

 from it. A recent sample yielded the following percent- 

 ages on analysis : 



Ash in absolutely Tannin in abso- 

 Muislure. dry material. lutely dry material. 



Stem, above ground, 

 Root, 



8.56 

 746 



5.68 

 443 



548 

 7.58 



The stem examined was from above ground, and the root 

 was a section of that part proper, and not of the under- 

 ground stem. 



The tannin is associated in the plant with a large pro- 

 portion of red coloring matter, which has a tendency to 

 make a dark leather. When finally separated the pure 

 tannin gave reactions with iron salts and with bromine 

 water, which indicated its close relationship with that from 

 Oak bark. An ultimate analysis confirmed this by yielding 

 the following percentages : 



Carbon, 61.22 



Hydrogen 4.85 



Oxygen, 33.93 



Something over a year ago a tanning extract made from 

 the Scrub Palm appeared in the northern markets under the 

 name of "syrup of tannin," but, as it contained a consider- 

 able quantity of the red coloring and not over seven per 

 cent, of tannin, it did not find purchasers. Dr. Charles 

 Mohr is authority for the statement that this extract indus- 

 try has been abandoned. If a high-grade extract were 

 offered at a reasonable price, there is no doubt but tanners 

 could be found who would use it. 



The question has often arisen about the tanning value of 

 the Cabbage Palm, and recently, through the courtesy of 

 Dr. J. H. Mellichamp, of Bluffton, South Carolina, two 

 specimens have been received and examined. One was a 

 section from a medium-sized tree five feet from the ground, 

 and the other a section of the same tree a few inches below 

 the sheaths of the living leaves near the top. On analysis 

 they yielded the following percentages : 





Moisture. 



dry material. 



lutely dry in; 



Section near ground, 



IO.04 



7.80 



1.79 



top, . . 



8-35 



378 



1 54 



The section near the top, being more porous, dried out 

 more rapidly in transit, and, therefore, yielded less moisture. 

 The tannin percentages indicate that this species is not 

 likely to ever have any value as a tanning agent. Some of 

 the cortex was separated from the lower section, and it was 

 found to contain just about the same percentage of tannin 

 as the whole section. 



The credit has frequently been given to tannin for en- 

 abling the wood of this Palm to withstand the attacks of 

 the teredo when placed under water, but it is evident, from 

 the foregoing figures, that this property must be attributed 

 to something else. . 



College ot Pharmacy, Philadelphia, Pa. Henry Trimble. 



Foreign Correspondence. 

 London Letter. 



Flora of South Africa. — Botanists and horticulturists 

 interested in south African plants will be gratified to know 

 that the Systematic Flora of that region, commenced in 

 i860 by Harvey and Sonder, but completed only as far as 

 the order Campanulaceae, is being carried to a conclusion 

 at Kew under the direction of Mr. Thiselton Dyer. Part 1 

 of vol. vi. has just been published. Price, seven shillings 

 and sixpence. The volume, of which this is the first install- 

 ment, will be of more than ordinary interest, as it will 

 include the whole of the plants familiarly known as "Cape 

 Bulbs," which have been popular in gardens for a century 

 or more. We owe to south Africa more beautiful garden 

 bulbous plants than to all the rest of the world put together. 

 Thus of Iridea; alone, of which there are between 700 and 

 800 species, about one-half of them are natives of south 

 Africa. These occupy over 160 pages of the publication 

 under notice, which has been entirely elaborated by Mr. 

 J. G. Baker, who has long been the accepted authority on 

 this and allied orders. Among the larger genera included 

 are Gladiolus, 81 species; Moraea, 45 ; Babiana, 26; Tri- 

 tonia, 32 ; Ixia, 23 ; Lapeyrousia, 24 ; Watsonia, 15. The 

 descriptions are in English. The work is published by L. 

 Reeve & Co., under the authority of the Governments of 

 the Cape and Natal. 



The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society for 

 March contains several papers of exceptional interest. Mr. 

 Francis Darwin has a paper on ""Etiolation as a Phenome- 

 non of Adaptation," in which the occurrence of white or 

 bleached leaves or flowers in various plants is commented 

 upon. Mr. Freeman-Mitford's valuable paper on hardy 

 Bamboos will serve as a guide to the cultivation and an 

 authority upon the nomenclature of these plants to those 

 who do not possess his beautifully illustrated book upon 

 them. Mr. A. W. Sutton contributes an account of the 

 Potato from its introduction to its present development. 

 His grafting experiments with the Potato and Tomato go 

 to show that neither stock nor scion was affected by the 

 union. Mr. Sutton is in a position to speak with authority 

 upon the best varieties of the Potato as grown here now. 

 Dr. Masters' paper on substitutes for Larch, which in the 

 British islands is too often ruined by fungoid diseases, will 

 be useful to foresters. The results of various trials at Chis- 

 wick among vegetables and flowers are given in better 

 style in this number than before. 



Apples and Pears. — It is difficult for the would-be planter 

 of only good sorts to make a selection from the hundreds 

 that are grown and catalogued by dealers in fruit-trees. 

 With a view to the formation of a definite list of the best 

 varieties the Royal Horticultural Society offer this year 

 special prizes for the best-flavored apples and pears. Six- 

 fruits of each variety must be shown, the judges to cut any 

 three of them. The fruits must be grown out-of-doors ami 

 the place, conditions as to soil, etc., stated. If grafted the 

 name of the stock must be given. The judges will allot 

 points to quality, appearance and size as well as to flavor. 

 Enormous specimens will not be preferred, as beyond a 

 certain point size becomes a defect. A prize of ten shillings 

 will be awarded to each apple. By this means it is hoped 

 that an authoritative list of apples and pears of Mist-rate 

 quality will be obtained. At present we are too much at 

 the mercy of the dealer who supplies sorts which arc said 

 to be excellent, but which are too often worthless. Of 

 course, the conditions under which the tree is grown are 

 an important factor. I have in my garden trees that are 

 generally admitted to be good, but which have never yet 

 borne good fruit. [This subject was discussed on p. 161 

 of this volume. — Ed.] 



Streptocarpi. — The success of Messrs. Veitch & Sons in 

 crossing and improving these plants has been marked, anil 

 this year they have some striking new seedlings. The 

 monophyllous species, such as ' arpus Dunnii and S. 



