32 
ACCLIMATIZATION. 
sugar and alcohol; and lastly, in the south of France, where the seeds arrive 
at perfect maturity, they furnish an abundant product, which serves to fatten 
poultry and pigs. It has been determined by experiment that the cane yields 
from fifty to sixty per cent, of sugar-juice, which juice yields from ten to 
twenty per cent, of sugar, at first supposed to be uncrystallizable, but from 
which crystals were subsequently produced. 
By the distillation of the fermented juice, live per cent, of absolute alcohol 
is drawn over. If we compare these results with beetroot, we shall find that 
this latter produces eight to ten per cent, of sugar, and that wdiile beetroot 
juice gives three to four per cent, of alcohol, which is not fit for wine, the juice 
of the sorgho yields from six to ten per cent, of excellent alcohol, fit for all 
industrial and economic purposes. 
3. Chenopodium Quinoa, from the Cordilleras. An annual. The leaves are 
eaten like spinach ; the seeds produce a farina, of which soups are made as 
well as cakes, which have a very agreeable taste, and are easy of digestion. 
A sort of beer is obtained from the seeds by fermentation. The Chenopodium 
also affords an excellent food for poultry, while the whole plant is a good 
fodder for cows. In Peru, and on the level plain of the Cordilleras, this 
plant is one of their most valuable possessions, inasmuch as the country is de¬ 
void of cereals. In 1802 a variety of the plant was received from Peru, which 
seemed decidedly superior. Its immediate cultivation is about to be actively 
undertaken. 
4. Hibiscus cscn lentus. An annual, from South America. The unripe capsules, 
or young fruits, are made into a stew,—a dish held in much estimation by the 
Creoles. In the south of France its seeds are used as a substitute for coffee. 
5. Solarium tuberosum. A fair number of tubers have been received 
from their original home, the Cordilleras of the Andes. Many of the smaller 
ones have much improved by culture during the second year; not one has as 
yet been affected by disease. The number of varieties is fifteen, and the 
next gathering will allow the choice of a better selection for replanting. 
6. Convolvulus Batatas, from Japan. Convolvulaceee. Sweet Potato. [Stem 
creeping widely; leaves cordate, acute, angular, stalked ; peduncles longer 
than the petiole ; 3-4 flowered; sepals mucronate ; corolla large, purple ; 
root very large, tuberous. Habitat—East Indies ; cultivated in all tropical 
countries. Quality—sweet, nutritive, laxative. Uses—the tubers are largely 
consumed for food in all hot countries, where they occupy the place of po¬ 
tatoes with us.— Lindley.'] 
This new species is of a yellowish-white and elongated form. It is so sugary 
that little can be eaten at a time. Great hopes are entertained that it will 
be found extremely useful in the production of sugar. (I may add that, 
though occasionally recommended as a vegetable, its taste is sweet beyond 
endurance.) 
7. Tetragonia expansa, from New Zealand. [New Zealand spinach. A 
trailing succulent: annual; leaves stalked, ovate, rhomboid ; fruit 4-horned, 
6-8-seeded. Habitat—New Zealand. Quality and uses—-cultivated in gardens 
for its mucilaginous, insipid, succulent foliage ; used instead of spinach.—- 
Lindley. ] Leaves and young shoots are eaten like spinach, to which they 
are said to be quite equal in taste. The plant is antiscorbutic. It is of 
very rapid growth, especially in hot, dry weather, particularly during the 
months of July, August, and September. It should be potted under cover 
towards the end of April, and transplanted when tolerably advanced. Its 
grow th is most abundant. 
{To be continued.') 
