Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 383 



Russell, of Battersea. — Masulipatam melons, Guimaraen plums, 

 from J. Biddulph, Esq. — A collection of apples, from Mr. J. Kirke. 

 Kirke's fine plum, from the same. — Sweet red currants, from Thomas 

 A. Knight, Esq. Two cross-bred melons, from the same. — A queen 

 pine-apple, weighing four pounds one ounce, from Mr. William 

 Greenshields. Tokay grapes and Muscat of Lunel grapes, from 

 the same. — An apple unnamed, from N. W. Wickham, Esq. — Am- 

 ber-coloured Portugal grapes and black grapes of Champagne, 

 from C. Holford, Esq. — A collection of flowers and fruit from the 

 Garden of the Society. 



September 21. — The following paper was read : — Upon the state 

 of Horticulture in Ross-shire. By Sir G. S. Mackenzie,' Bart. 



The following matters were exhibited : — Specimens of the Dahlia 

 Anton, from Mr. James Sutton. — Dahlia flowers, from Mr. Chapman, 

 gardener to the Marquess of Stafford. — Seedling apples, from the 

 Rev. Peter Rashleigh. — A collection of flowers and fruit from the 

 Garden of the Society. 



Notice was issued from the Chair, that the Charter and new Bye 

 Laws were now ready for delivery to the Fellows of the Society. 



LX. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles* 



CHARRING OF WOOD AT LOW TEMPERATURES. 



MR. Charles May, chemist of Ampthill, has sent me some speci- 

 mens of wood converted into nearly perfect charcoal, at a very 

 low but long continued heat. The pieces, he informs me, are part of the 

 bottom of a tub, which held about 130 gallons, and which had been in 

 use in his laboratory about three years and a half, and almost constantly 

 worked for boiling a weak solution of common salt, generally with an 

 open steam pipe, and sometimes, though rarely, with a coil : the tem- 

 perature was seldom higher than 216 c or 220°, and the vessel was 

 lined with tin rolled into sheets about 1-1 6th of an inch thick, and 

 nailed to the inside ; the joints, however, were not so good as to pre- 

 vent the liquid from getting between the metal and the wood. Mr. 

 May states also, that he had long since remarked, that on making 

 extracts with steam of very moderate pressure, all the apparent effects 

 of burning might be produced, but that he was not prepared to find 

 so complete a carbonization of wood by steam ; the vessel was made 

 partly of fir and partly of ash, the former of which was most perfectly 

 reduced to the state of charcoal. R. P. 



LIMITS TO VAPORIZATION. 



A paper on the above-named subject by Mr. Faraday was published 

 in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1826 ; when the expe- 

 riments therein mentioned were published, others relating to the same 

 subject were arranged, but which required great length of time for 

 the development of their results. After a lapse of four years the ex- 

 periments were examined, and the results are now stated. 



