«5s^ 
2S0 
MISCELLAXEOUS NOTICES. — REVIEW. — XEW AND RAKE PLANTS. 
3}3isrtllnntnn3 ,f ntitts. 
Influence of Fungi on healthy vegetation. — " The in- 
fluence of fungi on perfectly healthy tissues, is now an 
established fact, The case of bunt, is a well known 
example, the spores of which, constantly reproduce the 
disea.se ; and, if instances are not sufficiently satisfac- 
tory in the vegetable kingdom, we hare only to turn 
to the facts recorded respecting tbe origin of the disease 
of silt- worms, called Muscardine, from the spores of 
a species of Botrytis, to show that fimgi do not grow 
exclusively on languishing or decaying organisims. 
Prejudice to the contrary is so veiy strong and general, 
and is still in ignorance of facts bearing on the 
subject, so often put forwai-d, that the real state of the 
case requires to be frequently pointed out, especially 
since incorrect preconceptions on this subject may be 
of very evil consequence in minute research as to the 
origin of the disease, both in the animal and vegetable 
kingdom." — [Be)-l:eleij.') It has long been- well kno-rni 
that certain species of fungi traverse the loose tissues 
of the gi-een portions of plants ; and, in many cases, 
the more solid sti-uetures, by means of their creeping 
mycelium, or spawn, decomposing the substance of the 
cells, and reducing them eventually to a decaying mass. 
The mode in which this change and decomposition is 
brought about, was however unknown, until, after re- 
peated experiments, Mr. !F. J. Graham succeeded in 
eliciting the fact that the change is due to the contact 
of the myceliimi, which, after having performed its 
ofiice of sending up fruiting shoots, rapidly decays. 
Doubtless, in the first instance, the vital energies be- 
come greaily damaged by, the presence of the parasitic 
rootlets, but the main act of decomposition is due to 
the " body of death" which cleaves to them. K"o more 
fatal, or more general cause of disease, perhaps, exists 
in the vegetable kingdom, than the contamination of 
decaying tissues, and if there be not an extremely vi- 
gorous constitution, to throw off the gangrened part, 
the decay, once began, is sm-e to spread. — M. 
'B.YXTEW. 
TJie Hec-Keepo' s Manual j O/*, Practical Hints on the 
Management and Complete Preservation of the Honey- 
Bee. By Hexrt T.\yi.oe. London: Groombridge 
and Son. 1S.50. 
This is an enlarged, and profusely illustrated, edition of 
Jlr. Taylor's very useful manual, containing very com- 
plete directions for the management of oiu' interesting 
and busy friends, and such practical Olustrations of the 
various structiu'es necessary for their preservation as 
will enable the most uninitiated, to undertake the 
management of this useful, and when properly managed, 
profitable aid to the poor man's income. The work is 
very neatly, but plainly got up, and the dii'cctions are 
e\'idently the resiilt of practical investigation. In the 
preface we find the following passage: — "The author 
must be considered as merely laying down a scheme of 
general recommendations, aiming much less at novelty 
than at plain practiciJ utility ; not hesitating occasion- 
ally to borrow the language of other unexceptionable 
authorities, where it clearly expressed his convictions, or 
coincided \Wth the results of his own experience, but 
carefully abstaining from any interference with the 
dogmatists and hypercritics in the settlement of the 
aifairsof their peculiar vocation." Ve can confidently 
recommend the work. — A. 
NEW AND RAEE PLANTS. 
Cekeus Tweediei, Hooker. Tweedie's Golden- 
flowered Torch-thistle. — Ifat. Ord., Cactaceae, § Cere- 
idce. — A very handsome greenhouse succulent, with 
narrowly-cylindrical stems — one inch in diameter — 
tapering upwards ; they are glaucous green, mth about 
sixteen sti'aight fiuTOws, alternating with obtuse, even 
(not mammillate) ridges ; the spines are in crowded 
clusters, nmnerous, four or five of each group being 
stouter and longer than the rest. The flowers are 
rich orange colour, numerous, on plants less than two 
feet high ; they ai'c three inches long, curved upwards 
at their base, and outwai'ds at top, the petals small 
yellow, the anthers purple. — From Buenos Ayres ; in- 
ti-oduced before 1S4S. Flowers in September. Messrs. 
Lee, of Hammersmith. 
Trop^olum Wagxeriakum, Karsten. "W^agncr's 
Indian Cress. — K^at. Ord., Tropseolaceae, ^ Tropseolese. 
— A distinct and probablj" pretty species, requiring a 
cool stove temperatm'e ; it is without tuberous roots, 
and has smooth, slender, climbing stems, and peltate, 
oblong-triangular leaves, deep green, and shining above, 
paler beneath. The flowers grow from the axils of the 
leaves along the upper pai-t of the branches, on long, 
slender, twisted pedimcles ; the calyx, which is green, 
has a long tubular spiir, orange-coloiured, tipped with 
gi'een ; the petals ai'e wedge-shaped, deeply toothed, 
and of a dark violet colour. — From Venezuela : damp 
woods on the mountains of TrujOlo ; introduced to 
Berlin in 1849. Said to flower throughout the year; 
and though requiring warmth in winter, will probably 
succeed out of doors in summer ; it should have a poor 
soQ and hot situation, if planted out. 
HETXTZLi TIGRINA, Karsten. Spotted Heintzia. 
{Karsten's Answahl Gewachse Vcnezuelas, t. 11) — Ges- 
neracecB !j Gesnercos. — A robust gi-owing, and showy 
stove sub-shrub, with stout soft stems reaching three or 
four feet in height, and bearing opposite lanceolate ser- 
rated leaves, a foot in length, of a deep green colour 
with a bluish tinge. The flowers are in axillary cymes, 
with rosy coloured bracts ; the calyx large five-parted, 
rose coloured ; the corollas white, about an inch in length, 
funnel-shaped, curved, the limb divided into five spread- 
ing segments, studded on the face with soft hairs which 
produce a silky gloss, and ireely maiked with purple 
spots a' d freckles. Eather coarse looking, the flowers 
too much oveiiwwercd by the leaves. — From Venezuala; 
elevation 5000 feet in moist shady places ; introduced 
in 1849. Flowers in summer. Messrs. IIenderson, 
St. John's Wood. 
-s\5^.:S>?B 
