194 
POrUIAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
which followed, Dr. Anderson, superintendent of the Botanic Gardens at 
Calcutta, gave some interesting particulars of the cultivation of cinchona at 
the Darjeeling plantations. The culture of the plant, too, in St. Helena is 
progressing satisfactorily. The plants are all in excellent health, and have 
a fine green, vigorous appearance. There are now about 4,000 planted out, 
and it is thought a sufficient number can be obtained from them to stock the 
whole colony. 
Barleria Lichtensteiniana . — Under this title Dr. T. Maxwill Masters 
describes a new garden plant, in a recent number of the Gardeners' Chro- 
nicle . The characters are described by Dr. Masters with much detail, and 
of its general features he gives the following description : “ It is one of the 
most peculiar-looking plants we have ever had the fortune to see; and 
though it is destitute of the attractive colours which render so many of its 
fellow Acanthads such favourites in our stoves, it is very far from inelegant. 
The structure of the flowers, and the arrangements apparently intended to 
prevent cross-fertilisation and to secure self-fecundation, invest it with 
additional attractions for the plant lover.” 
The Chemistry of Lichens. — At the meeting of the Royal Society, on the 
24th of February, Dr. Stenhouse read a paper “ On the Organic Compounds in 
certain Lichens.” The species were Cladonia rangiferina , and a mixture of 
Usnea barbata and Evernia prunastri. 
The Flora of Naples . — In January Professor Allman, of Edinburgh, paid 
a visit to Naples, and sent the following account of the flora to the Botanical 
Society of Edinburgh. (February 10th.) “It is the indigenous flora, after 
all, which, in my opinion, gives a special and peculiar charm to the Mediter- 
ranean vegetation, and possesses an interest beyond that of all the intro- 
duced plants, however beautiful. It is on the coast road from Naples to 
Amalfi that we have the native flora in perfection, for, though still rather 
early in the year for its full development, the hill-sides are clothed with 
Arbutus , and arborescent heath and myrtle, and Cistuses and rosemary 
wherever the native vegetation is not displaced by terraces of lemons, and 
oranges, and olives. The Smilax clings wherever it can get support ; the 
woods are filled with purple crocuses, and the broad leaves of the Cyclamen 
give promise of a carpet of flowers somewhat later; the little Italian Arum 
is in blossom in every shady nook, and wherever there is a moist rock the 
beautiful fronds of the Adiantum capillus-veneris form a tapestry of exquisite 
verdure. Those who have seen only the flora of Northern and Central 
Europe can have no conception of the wonderful richness and beauty of the 
vegetation of the warmer temperate zone. 
The Physiology of Floating Leaves. — In a recent number of the 
llolanische Zeitung Herr Hildebrand gives an account of some interest- 
ing observations in the physiology of the floating leaves of Marsilea quad- 
ri'ulia, which is thus well abstracted by one of our contemporaries: — 
When a plant of this species is sunk beneath the surface of the water, so 
that all the leaves are more or less deeply covered, those leaves which are 
fully developed at the time of immersion, remain unchanged, while those 
which are not so far advanced, undergo a remarkable change; the petioles 
gradually lengthening in succession according to their position on the stem, 
und soon over-topping those which were already formed. At first the four 
