426 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



fixed formulas are given for each flavor and 

 for each liquor. These artificial perfumes 

 are much used for the preparation of con- 

 fections into the composition of which neither 

 fruit nor sugar enters, but only algae, potato 

 glucose, and artificial flavors, and of bonbons, 

 jellies, liquors, etc. The essences of cognac 

 and rum are also much used in the prepara- 

 tion of drinks with alcohols of grain, sugar 

 beet, or potato. The perfumes of flowers 

 are harder to imitate. Recourse was at first 

 had to mixtures of other cheaper or more 

 easily obtainable natural perfumes. An ad- 

 vance has now been made, and chemistry has 

 succeeded in imitating these odors with sub- 

 stances derived from plants by complex re- 

 actions. The first perfume derived from 

 combinations with the derivatives of coal tar 

 was nitrobenzine, which was obtained by 

 Mitscherlich in 1834, but is manufactured on 

 a large scale only by Collas, in Paris, under 

 the name of essence of mirbane. It has an 

 odor like that of bitter almonds, and is used 

 for perfuming soaps. Perfumes of similar 

 origin have multiplied very much in recent 

 years ; and we now have among them artifi- 

 cial wintergreen, artificial musk, etc. 



Floral Festivals. — In the arrangement in 

 the Arsenal Garden, Tokio, Japan, of special 

 collections of plants selected for the purpose 

 of producing a display of flowers at different 

 seasons of the year, Garden and Forest per- 

 ceives an idea which can perhaps be adopted 

 advantageously in other parts of the world. 

 It is the expression, it says, of the love of the 

 Japanese for particular flowers and of the 

 popularity of the flower festivals held in 

 spring, when the apricot trees and the cherry 

 trees bloom ; in summer, when the wis- 

 taria, the irises, and the morning-glories are 

 in flower; and in the autumn, at the sea- 

 son of the chrysanthemum, and when the 

 leaves of the maple trees assume their bril- 

 liant coloring. Every public garden in Japan 

 contains collections of these plants, at least of 

 the apricots, the cherries, and the maples, 

 and they are visited by the greatest number 

 of people when these plants are in flower. 

 Their flowering is the excuse for parties of 

 pleasure, and the intelligence of millions of 

 people has in this way been quickened by 

 their interest in the unfolding of petals of 

 cherry trees or wistaria. Similar arrangements 



might be made in our own parks. "As our 

 cities grow large and absorb the surrounding 

 country, many of their inhabitants must pass 

 their lives in ignorance of some of the most 

 beautiful things in Nature, without behold- 

 ing, for example, the glory of an apple tree 

 in flower. In some corner of any one of our 

 large parks, or better, in different parks of a 

 series or system, a number of permanent out- 

 door flower shows might be arranged which 

 would add immensely to their value as places 

 of resort, and would have a powerful influ- 

 ence in directing and educating the public 

 taste. There are many trees, for example, 

 with showy and beautiful flowers, which dis- 

 play their greatest beauty only when massed 

 together in considerable numbers ; and if the 

 people of our cities had the opportunity to 

 see such collections, they would very soon 

 make holidays for the purpose, and 'flower 

 festivals before many years would become as 

 much a part of our life in cities as they have 

 in Japan." 



Superstitions concerning the "Black 



Devil."— While the Dara Deil (Forjicula 

 oleics), or " black devil," a kind of earwig, 

 used to be an object of almost universal ab- 

 horrence in the folk lore of Ireland. Its serv- 

 ices were sometimes invoked in labor that 

 demanded extraordinary physical exertion. 

 In creeping along, whenever it hears any 

 noise it halts, cocks up its tail, and jerks out 

 its sting, which is similar to that of a bee. 

 No reptile has been so much feared and 

 dreaded by the peasantry as this insect, and 

 it used to be commonly believed that it be- 

 trayed to his Jewish enemies the way the 

 Saviour went when leaving the city of Jeru- 

 salem. It was no small gain to destroy this 

 insect, for seven sins, it was said, were taken 

 off the soul of the slayer. The people be- 

 lieved that the sting of the Dara Deil was 

 very poisonous, if not mortal, and that it 

 possessed a demoniac spirit. Under this 

 impression, whenever it wa| seen in a house 

 by the peasantry they always destroyed it by 

 placing a coal of fire over it, and when it was 

 burned the ashes were carefully swept out. 

 It was not trodden on by foot, as a less for- 

 midable insect would be, nor was it killed by 

 a stick, for it was believed that the poisonous 

 or demoniac essence would be conveyed to 

 the body of the slayer through leather or 



