222 
MISCELLANEOUS, 
a breadth of golden yellow, now a mass of purplish- 
crimson ; the whole exquisitely blended together 
by the different modifications of these colours, in- 
termingled with the greens of the foliage, produced 
what may, without a shadow of fulsomeness, be 
termed a perfect “blaze of beauty,” the effect of 
which was in no small degree heightened by the 
subdued light under canvas, and the diversified 
irregularity occasioned by the appropriate intro- 
duction of standards varying from six to ten feet 
high, with proportionate heads superbly clad with 
the most gorgeous inflorescence ; and, as before 
observed, some of the handsomest of these beauti- 
ful objects were conspicuously located on grassy 
mounds, elevated some two or three feet above 
the surrounding ground level, and with the very 
happiest effect. 
Great credit is due to the Royal Botanic Society’s 
curator, Mr. Marnock, and the gentlemen who sup- 
plied these “ American plants,” for their skilful 
and enterprising arrangements respectively. Nor 
need we stop to inquire into the origin of this new 
exhibition, inasmuch as it will readily be inferred 
that the primary object could be no other than 
the deserving introduction of a richly varied but 
not half sufficiently patronised tribe of hardy orna- 
mental plants more immediately to public notice, 
thereby providing a rich feast for those who love 
to gaze on “ flowers of all hue,” on the one hand, 
and inducing the more extensive patronage of those 
who mainly obtain a livelihood by the nursery 
cultivation of them on the other. All who desire, 
therefore, that success may attend one branch of 
Horticulture as well as another, must concur with 
us in wishing well to such an exhibition as that 
which we have attempted to describe, and rejoice 
to know, moreover, that it has been eminently 
successful. 
Vegetation of the Peninsula of Aden. The 
south-west point of Arabia Felix is terminated by 
three remarkable promontories, which, proceeding 
from east to west, follow each other in this way — 
Cape Aden, Cape Antonio, and Cape Babel-Mandeb. 
The eastern promontory, Aden, forms a heart- 
shaped peninsula, of which the diameter from east 
to west is one mile and a half (German) ; and is 
connected with the main land by a low sand-bank, 
which is under water during the spring tides. 
The indigenous plants are, on account of the 
aridity of the ground and air, limited to a few of 
the desert. Cultivation is out of the question, for 
want of means of irrigation. The largest tree is 
Sterculia urens, which occurs sparingly in the deep 
recesses on the western shore. Poinciana elata and 
Acacia planifrons appear likewise, of considerable 
size in bays of difficult access. Most of them are 
felled at an early age ; Balsamodendron Opobalsa- 
mum, Euphorbia triaculeata, Capparis carnosa, 
Cadaba glandulosa, continue shrubby, covering 
beds of torrents ; Cassia lanceolata and angusti- 
folia, Gynandropsis pentaphylla, Cleome angusti- 
folia, Anastatica Hierochuntica, Psoralea bitumi- 
nosa, Indigofera sp., and Statices sp., are among 
the scanty, stunted vegetation which is met with 
in more protected situations, affording some ap- 
pearance of verdure during one half of the year. 
Corn and vegetables, as well as fodder, have all to 
be imported, partly by sea, from the African coast, 
and partly, in times of peace, from the Continent. 
The coast to the westward, is less barren than at 
Aden ; here are seen groups of Palms and of 
shrubs, consisting probably of Rhamnus Napica, 
and Acacia planifrons. The Akrabbi-Bedouins 
pursue some sort of agriculture far inland, out 
of the produce of which they carry to Aden the 
grain and straw of the Durrha. Excellent grapes 
ripening in May, oranges, lemons, figs, plantains, 
and dates, are brought from a short distance from 
the town of Lahadash, to the north-west of Aden, 
where market supplies are yearly improving. The 
great demand, and the lucrative sale of the pro- 
duce of Aden, have already had a most beneficial 
influence on the neighbouring Bedouin tribes. — 
Hook. Jour, of Bot., 216. 
Vegetable Ivory. The first notice of the exis- 
tence of the Vegetable Ivory Palm was given by 
Ruiz and Pavon in 1798. There under the name 
of Phytelephas Macrocarpa, the following parti- 
culars are given amongst many others of its names 
and properties. It is called Pullipunta and 
Homero of the Indians, of the hot and low valleys 
of the Andes of Peru, about Chanchamoya, Vitor, 
Cuchero, and San Antonio de Playa Grande, its 
native locality, and Palma del Marsel and Marsil 
Vegetal by the Spaniards. The fruit at first con- 
tains a clear insipid fluid with which travellers 
allay their thirst ; afterwards this same liquor 
becomes milky and sweet, and it changes its taste 
by degrees, as it acquires solidity, till at last it is 
almost as hard as ivory. The liquor contained in 
the young fruit turns acid if they are cut from the 
tree, and kept some time. Bears devour the young 
fruit with avidity, and when full grown, the largest 
measures about 10 inches across, and 25 in cir- 
cumference. 
The Cultivation of Roses. Peat soils, although 
not of the best kind for Roses, are found to grow 
them tolerably well. For the improvement of 
such if wet, the first effort should be to drain them. 
After this, stiff loam or pulverised clay, and burnt 
earth, may be brought upon the surface, digging 
2 spit deep, and well mixing the foreign substances 
with the natural soil, as advised in the improve- 
ment of clay-soils. 
The worst soils for roses are those of a sandy or 
gravelly nature. In such they often suffer fear- 
fully from the drought of summer, scorching up 
and dying. Soils of this kind are sometimes bad 
beyond remedy. The best plan to pursue under 
such circumstances, is, to remove the soil to the 
depth of about 20 inches, as the beds are marked 
out, and fill up again with prepared soil Two- 
thirds loam — the turf from a pasture, if attainable 
— and one-third decomposed stable manure will 
make a good mixture. If a strong loam is within 
reach, choose such in preference to others, and if 
thought too adhesive, a little burnt earth or sand, 
may be mixed with it. A good kind of manure 
for mixing with the loam, is the remains of a hot- 
bed, which has lain by for a year, and become 
decomposed. Opiox, a French apothecary, attri- 
butes the superiority of the Roses grown for 
medicinal purposes, in the neighbourhood of 
Provins, to peculiar properties of the soil, which 
contains iron in considerable quantity. — Paul’s 
Rose Garden , 28. 
