FLOOE.] 
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY. 
55 
orders. On the floor of this Case are two specimens of longitudinal sec- 
tions of the trunk of Xanthorrhoea arborea, R. Br., one of them 
branched, and a portion of the trunk of another species of Xaxthor- 
rhcea, from Western Australia. Of the latter there is a transverse 
section on one of the shelves, on which are also a longitudinal section 
of another species, loaded with its resinous secretion, a corona of leaf- 
bases similarly loaded, and a circular mass stripped from the stem, 
and consisting almost entirely of the resin. Of one of the species 
there is a very fine spike. At the back of the Case is a longitudinal 
section of the so-called Grass-tree of Western Australia, Kixgia 
aijstralis, R. Br. ; the tops of three other specimens, loaded with 
heads of flowers; a very young specimen ; and another cut longitudi- 
nally. On the sides are specimens of six different species of Vellozia, 
from Brazil ; and at the back are placed specimens of a suffrutescent 
Eriocaulon, from Brazil; of the great woody rush of South Africa 
(Prionium palmita, E. Meyer) ; and of a remarkable species of Dasy- 
pogon (D. Hookeri, Drumm.), from Western Australia. There are 
also in this Case specimens of the Lechugilla of Mexico, a species of 
Yucca, the root of which is used instead of soap in the washing of 
dyed woollens, without injury to their colours. 
The upper part of Case 9, the last Case on the northern side of 
the room, is devoted chiefly to Gramine^e, or Grasses, but contains 
also a few other specimens of Monocotyledonous structures. Above, 
at the back, and on one of the sides, are placed inflorescences and 
fruits of the genus Urania. At the back of the Case are also suspended 
a garment from the coast of Tenasserim, ornamented with the invo- 
lucres of several species or varieties of Coix (commonly called Jobs 
Tears), the elongated forms of which are unknown to botanists, except 
as attached to similar garments ; a monstrous variety, brought from 
China, of a species of Bamboo, in which the lower joints, instead of 
being long and cylindrical, are short and triangular ; and specimens of 
Arundinaria Schomburgkti, Benn., the reed through which small 
poisoned arrows are blown by the native Indian tribes of Guiana, the 
smooth and straight joints often reaching a length of sixteen or seven- 
teen feet. On either side are specimens of the light and elegant 
inflorescence, male and female, of Gyxerium saccharoides, Humb., 
a grass of Equinoctial America, and also of the Pampas Grass, grown 
in England. ]n front are specimens of the Papyrus reed, and a re- 
markable plant of Zea mats, grown at Fulham. The floor of the Case 
is occupied by specimens of the Woods of some remarkable Apetalols 
trees; such as the great Tree-Nettle of New South Wales (Ubmca 
gtgas, A. Cunn.), of which there are two sections, one presenting a 
very irregular outline, and a diameter at the widest part of nearly lour 
feet; and a section of Phytolacca dioica, L. (the Bellasombra of 
the Spaniards). Both this and the Tree-Nettle are remarkable for 
their rapid growth, loose texture, and the number of their concentric 
rings. There are also on the floor sections of the Wood and Bark of 
the Cork-Oak (Quercus suber, L.), from the Garden of the Company 
of Apothecaries at Chelsea, and a line specimen of Cork from the ^loun- 
