30 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
reducing the number of the larger trunks from 1350 to the 350 now remaining. 
The original size of this colossal tree may be better conceived by remembering that 
2000 feet, its circumference when Forbes saw it, is more than one-third of a mile. 
It is truly one of the wonders of nature. The careful provision by which every- 
thing is made to adapt itself to the circumstances in which it is placed, is strongly 
exemplified in the growth of this tree ; for if these branches did not throw out roots, 
and so form a trunk with which to support their own weight, thej”- would tear them- 
selves off from the parent stem. 
Tiiuffles in Fkance. — Truffles appeared to be very abundant last year. Tlie 
Department of the Drome has produced £72,000 worth; the Lot, £96,000 ; Dor- 
dogne, £60,000; Aveyron, £24,000; Vaucluse, £16,800; and Charente, £20,000. 
The entire produce in France was estimated at from £720,000 to £800,000. 
Floweki.vg of Agave Amekicana. — In addition to the two specimens of 
Agave Americana which have flowered in the Royal Horticultural Society’s con- 
servatory at South Kensington, another has flowered at the Crystal Palace, and a 
fourth in the gardens of Miss Elliotson, Claphara. The last-named example is much 
the fine t. Its height from the ground was 21 feet 6 inches, the length of the 
flower-scape 16 feet 3 inches, and the diameter of the heads of flower, of which 
there were 24, about 15 inches across. 'Hie base of the flower-scape measured 15 
inches in circumference. The plant has been in the Elliotson family sixty-one 
years, and is supposed to be seventy years old. 
American Parks. — -Our contemporary. Nature, in a recent issue, gives a de- 
scription, with illustrations, of the Yellow Stone National Park, which is to be 
“ dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasure-ground for the benefit and 
enjoyment of the people.” Ttiis park is described as being about half the size of 
'Wales, and contains 3575 square miles between the 110th and 111th degrees of 
West longitude, and the 44th and 45th parallels of Nortli latitude. No one is to 
settle upon or enclose any portion of this area, and only such buildings can be 
erected as the Secretary of the Interior ma}- approve of. The district is very moun- 
tainous, the highest peak reaching to 10,575 feet above the sea level. In addition, 
there is a noble lake, waterfalls, hot springs, mud geysers, in comparison with 
which the geysers of Iceland sink into insignificance, and other indications of vol- 
canic activity. 
Curb for Bee-stings. — Mr. George Gordon writes as follows to the “ Gar- 
dener’s Magazine ” respecting the use of soil us an antidote to the sting of bees : — 
“ There are a number of well-known antidotes to the sting of the honey-bee, and, 
were it not for the fact that they are seldom available when required, it would be 
unnecessary to direct attention to an additional one. But the antidote I am about 
to recommend is everywhere available, for it is nothing more nor less than an 
application of common soil to the wound. Towards the end of the spring of this 
vear, I had the misfortune to be stung by a bee when in the garden, and, as none of 
the usual antidotes Were just then available, I drew the sting from the wound, and 
applied a little common soil, after wetting it sufflcientl 3 - to admit of its being worked 
into the consistency of thick cream. The pain previous to the application of the 
soil was most intense, but in a few seconds afterwards it was reduceh to a dull ache, 
and nothing more beyond a slight stifl’ness in the joints of the thumb was felt after- 
wards. I have had an opportunity of testing the same remedy since, and with the 
same degree of success. As the stings of bees and wasps affect some persons more 
than others, it is proper to remark that hitherto I have suffered most severely, losing 
in one or two instances the use of mj- hand for several days, through its swelling to 
such a large size, and being in the most intense pain.” 
TO COEEESPONDENTS. 
Top-dressing Rose Beds. — A Young Gardener . — ''^^"e have often recom- 
mended a mixture of guano and wood-ashes as a top-dressing for all roses that give 
autumn blooms ; the dressing to be applied when the first bloom is declining. But 
the truth is that any manurial matters that are of a solvent nature, and not un- 
sightly when laid on the surface, w'ill answer the purpose. Two or three inches of 
fresh pigs’-dung, or short stable-dung only half-rotted, are the dressings generally 
