8o West American Scientisi. 



PLEASURES OF A NATURALIST. 



Well! I am safe in a civilized country at last. I have had a 

 rather hard time of it. I had a narrow escape in the Mohave 

 River and thought one while that I should have to stay there, but 

 as I had a good horse I managed to pull through. Then I en- 

 countered a snow-storm on the desert and missed my way; went 

 about twenty miles on the wrong road; it was snowing fearfully 

 hard, the wind was blowing strong from the mountains, night was 

 coming on and my horse was getting tired and hungry. The 

 prospect of a night alone on the desert in a snow-storm, without 

 food, water or shelter was not very inviting. When I had about 

 given up hope of finding my way out, I came upon a camp of a 

 couple of prospectors on their way home, and by their hospitality I 

 passed quite a comfortable night. The next day being pleasant 

 I found the right road, with their help, and reached the summ.it 

 house at dark. There was six or eight inches of snow in the 

 Cajon pass. Ira J. Gray. 



San Bernardino, Cal., Feb. 21, 1887. 



BOTANICAL NOTES FROM ABROAD. 



The curious observation has been made that the cinchona trees 

 growing in the hot-houses of Europe develope no quinine in their 

 bark. 



A gigantic sea-weed, more than 1500 feet long, has been discov- 

 ered near the equator by the ship Clever, Captain John Stone, 

 portions being taken to Montevideo. The plant has been botan- 

 ically identified as Marcrocystis Pyrifera. 



Primrose seeds from a height of 11,000 to 15,000 feet, in the 

 Himalayas, have been received at Calcutta, and some are to be 

 planted in England. 



The importance of microbes to the growth of plants has been 

 practically demonstrated by M. Laurent, who obtained only one- 

 fourth as much buckwheat from sterilized mould as in soil con- 

 taining bacteria. 



By a Japanese process sea-weed is made into paper, so trans- 

 parent that it may be substituted for window glass. When colored 

 it makes an excellent imitation of stained gla'^s. 



The oil of an African bamboo is reported by Catholic mission- 

 aries to be an excellent lubricator, and, when refined, to form a 

 fair substitute for olive oil. Its preparation bids fair to become an 

 important industry in the Kongo region. 



A series of festivals have been held in the north of France, in 

 honor of Parmentier, who — only 100 years ago — was the first to 

 bring the potato to French soil. 



