1836.] 



Miscellanea. 



429 



sewing-thread and twine, and for making fishing-nets. It is as readily 

 cultivated as the willow from cuttings, grows luxuriantly in the northern, 

 as in the southern parts of India, throws up numerous shoots, as soon 

 as they are cut down, which may be done about five times a-year. Dr. 

 Roxburgh, however, found some difficulty in cleaning the fibres of this 

 plant, notwithstanding his anxious desire to succeed with this substitute 

 for both hemp and flax. Urtica heterophylla, is another Indian nettle, 

 which succeeds well in. every part, and of which the bark abounds in 

 fine white, glossy, silk-like strong fibres (Roxb.). The stinging pro- 

 perties of the nettle are well known, but they are all exceeded by the 

 last mentioned plant, as well as by U. crenulata and sllmulans. 



" The Hop (Hamulus Lupulus) is another plant of this family, which 

 affords fibre fit for rope and cloth-making, and which would be a valu- 

 able acquisition to India, as many situations at moderate elevations are 

 admirably fitted for the brewing of beer. In one establishment which 

 I visited several times, the temperature within the buildings never 

 varied much from 60°. The hop is also a remarkable instance of the 

 change of prejudice with regard to the same thing. Thus, at an early 

 period, in the petition against it, we hear of it as the ' wicked weed 

 called hops f in a subsequent age we find it noted as a subject of admi- 

 ration, that 1 on Kent's rich plains green hop-grounds scent the gales 

 and now, many think, that no beer can be made without it. The plant 

 grows wild in most parts of Europe, and is described further south 

 by Bieberstein, in his Flora Tauro-Caucasica, as ' copiosa in dumetis 

 et sepibus.' It requires a rich strong soil, especially if it be rocky 

 a few feet below the surface. It is planted in October or March, 

 shoots up about the middle of April, flowers in July, and ripens its 

 seeds in September. Warm seasons, without wet, are required for 

 good crops ; great heat after rains, and high winds, are destructive. 

 It might be cultivated in Nepal, or, perhaps, the Deyra Doon ; but it is 

 feared that the rainy season would interfere much with the proper 

 growth of the plant. The subject is well worthy of experiment, and a 

 few plants would suffice to ascertain the effects of the seasons." Page 

 333 to 335. 



XVII. — Miscellanea. 



A circular letter from the Royal Society of London has been sent to 

 the Asiatic Society of Bengal, as we learn from the Proceedings of that 

 body. We subjoin a copy for the information of the scientific readers 

 of this Journal, and shall be glad to see the time arrive when the 

 Madras Society shall have attained a celebrity entitling it to the consi- 

 deration of a similar notification from the Royal Society. 



