MISCELLANEOUS. 
349 
48. We may best observe this transition in all its stages in flowers inclining to become 
double. In several kinds of Roses we find in the inner circle of the complete petals others 
which are contracted, either in the middle or on the sides. This contraction is caused by 
a small wart, which approaches more or less to a perfect anther, and in the same degree 
the petal will resume the more simple form of a filament. In some flowers of the double 
Poppy we find perfectly developed anthers resting on little changed petals of the very 
double corolla ; in others the petals are more or less contracted by anther-like warts. 
49. If all the stamens become transformed into petals, the flower will become sterile ; 
but if there are some stamens left, the fecundation may take place. 
50. And so we see that a stamen is formed when those organs which we saw expanding 
as petals, become again contracted, and at the same time much finer than before. The 
above-mentioned observation finds here again its confirmation, and this alternate action of 
contraction and expansion, by which nature proceeds to her aim, will more and more claim 
our attention. 
(To be continued.) 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
The Chinese Cultivation of Tchou-ma, or 
Chinese Flax. Among the products of Chinese 
industry which were exhibited a few years ago at 
Paris, in the Rue St. Laurent, were some pieces of 
a fine silky tissue, called by the Chinese Ma-pou, 
or summer-cloth, and made of the fibres of the 
plant called by botanists Urtica nivea. The cul- 
tivation of this plant in China is as follows : — 
The seeds are sown in the third and fourth month 
in a light sandy soil, situated near a river or a well. 
The ground is dug once or twice, and beds are 
formed 1 foot broad and 4 feet long, after which 
the ground is again loosened up, after which it is 
evenly beat with the back of the spade or foot, and 
raked to an even surface. The next night the 
soil is watered, and on the following morning is 
again loosened up and levelled as before. Then 
pints of moist earth and 1 pint of seeds are well 
mixed together, which quantity is sufficient to sow 
6 or 7 beds ; the seeds are not covered with earth, 
or they would not vegetate. Support a light roof 
to shelter the bed from the sun, and make this 
roof thicker in proportion to the increase of heat. 
Give no water until after the seeds have germi- 
nated and the young leaves have become strong, 
but keep the roof damp that the plants may not 
become too dry. At night remove the covering, 
to admit of the young plants catching the dew. 
When the plants are an inch or two high, remove 
the covering altogether ; and if the soil is dry, sup- 
ply as much moisture as will penetrate into about 
3 inches depth of the soil. For transplantation 
a stiffer soil is chosen, and thrown into beds as 
before. Water the seed-beds the night previous 
to the young plants being removed, and before 
beginning to plant the next morning, water the 
new beds, and then dig up the young plants with a 
spade, carefully keeping a small ball of earth to 
each, and prick them out to the distance of 4 inches 
from plant to plant ; and keep the ground betwixt 
them clean and often stirred up. At the end of 
three or five days the earth must be watered, and 
again at the end of ten, fifteen, and twenty days. 
After the tenth month the plants must be covered 
with a foot of fresh horse, ass, or cow-dung. 
When the tufts of the tchou-ma are strong 
enough, the earth around is dug, and new stocks 
are detached and transplanted elsewhere. The 
principal stock then grows more vigorously. At 
the end of four or five years, the old stock becom- 
ing excessively strong, are divided and replanted 
in other beds. Some persons bend the long stems 
down and obtain layers. When a bed becomes too 
crowded, another should be formed, and in this 
way the plants may be propagated to any extent. 
The best time for transplanting is when growth 
commences ; the new plants should be placed a 
foot and a half apart, and when well surrounded 
with earth they should be watered. Always select 
moist weather, and, if possible, have a ball of earth 
to each plant. 
Gathering the Tchou-ma. The crop is gathered 
three times in the year ; the stems of the second 
crop grow much faster than the others, and is by 
far the best. After the crop, the stocks of tchou-ma 
are covered with manure and immediately watered. 
Steeping and Bleaching. Tie up the stems in 
little sheaves, and place them on the roof of a 
house, in order that they may be moistened by the 
dew at night, and dried again by the sun in the 
day. In five or seven days they become white, 
but if exposed to rain they immediately turn black. 
There are several other methods of bleaching and 
preparing the stalks ; when thoroughly white and 
clean, the fibres are joined end to end on the wheel, 
so as to make long threads, which form the warp 
and woof, and are manufactured into stuff" in the 
usual way. — Jour. Hort. Soc., vol. iv., p. 236. 
Cultivation of Brunsvigia Josephines. By 
Charles Leach , King's Road , Clapham Park. In 
March, 1844, I received three fine bulbs, among 
various others, of Brunsvigia J osephinae, from the 
Cape. They were at once potted in good fresh 
turfy loam. In November the leaves become yel- 
low, and water was withheld, but was resumed in 
J December, when new leaves began to appear ; they 
