ladies’ department. 
131 
ly clad with foliage, the bark yellowish-green, 
the leaves deep-green with an even border, lan¬ 
ceolate, about four inches long, and one broad, 
alternate, but irregularly placed around the 
branches at about half an inch from each other. 
It is of very thrifty growth; the fruit ovate, 
about the size of a small lime, and usually two 
or three together, rendering it highly ornamen¬ 
tal. They remain green until October, when 
they become straw-colored, and attain their ma¬ 
turity. Both the fruit and the leaves are odor¬ 
iferous and pleasant, having the same fragrance 
as the West-Indian bay, from which “ bay rum” 
is made. 
The flowers I have had no opportunity of 
seeing, but the flower buds for the ensuing 
spring were already formed at the beginning of 
October, when I discovered this most beautiful 
tree, which I consider the greatest acquisition I 
have yet met with in California. The Photinia 
serrulata, however, cannot be deemed a new 
acquisition, it having been cultivated for some 
years in my gardens on Long Island and else¬ 
where. I shall transmit you a continuation by 
the next steamer. 
Wm. R. Prince. 
Sacramento City, Dec., 8th, 1849. 
Cctlues’ Skpavinuitt. 
WHAT IS DIRT ? 
oysters are opened and laid around singly, with¬ 
out any of the liquor; and then the shells are 
set upon embers, where the heat of the fire will 
also strike the upper surface, and cooked slowly 
until done. They are then brought hot to the 
table, setting each shell upon a plate, and are 
eaten direct from the shell, after seasoning with 
butter, pepper, &c., to suit the taste. No sea¬ 
soning should be added while cooking. They 
are truly delicious, having all the flavor of 
roasted oysters—only, a little more so. Any of 
the York-River oyster boats could procure any 
quantity of the right kind of shells, to supply 
the New-York Market. The shells will last a 
long time, if taken care of. No earthen nor 
metal vessel will answer the purpose, for this 
would make quite a difference in the flavor. 
Couve Troncuda.— This is a species of mam¬ 
moth cabbage, which grows in Portugal to a 
height of four or five feet. The seeds are sown 
and treated exactly like those of the common 
cabbage. The most valuable parts of the plant 
are the heart and tender flower buds, which, 
when boiled tender, and served up with pepper, 
salt, a little garlic, olive oil, and vinegar, form a 
most delicious dish with the Portuguese. The 
white ribs, also, when cooked, somewhat resem¬ 
ble seakale. The outer leaves and chopped 
stalks make excellent food for milch cows. 
PORTUGUESE METHOD OF BLEACHING LINEN. 
Old Doctor Cooper, of South Carolina, used 
to say to his students, “ Don’t be afraid of a little 
dirt, young gentlemen. What is dirt? Why 
nothing at all offensive, when chemically viewed. 
Rub a little alkali upon that 4 dirty grease spot’ 
on your coat, and it undergoes a chemical 
change and becomes soap. Now rub it with a 
little water and it disappears; it is neither 
grease, soap, water, nor dirt. ‘That is not a 
very odorous pile of dirt,’ you observe there. 
Well, scatter a little gypsum over it and it is no 
longer dirty. Everything you call dirt, is wor¬ 
thy your notice as students of chemistry. Ana- 
lise it! Analise it! It will all separate into very 
clean elements. 
“ Dirt makes corn, corn makes bread and 
meat, and that makes a very sweet young lady 
that I saw one of you kissing last night. So, 
after all you w r ere kissing dirt—particularly if 
she whitens her skin with chalk or fuller’s 
earth. There is no telling, young gentlemen, 
what is dirt. Though I must say that rubbing 
such stuff upon the beautiful skin of a young 
lady is a dirty practice. 4 Pearl powder,’ I think 
is made of bismuth—nothing but dirt.” 
TOASTED OYSTERS. 
This is a very common dish in lower Virginia, 
and is the best way in which this delicious shell¬ 
fish is cooked. It can only be done, however, 
in that region, or in the proper cooking utensils, 
procured from some of the vast shell-marl 
aeposites of the South-Atlantic states. These 
are antedeluvian scollop shells, about as large 
as a full-sized coffee saucer, into which the 
In Lisbon, Oporto, and other large towns in 
Portugal, the inhabitants wash or bleach their 
clothes in the following manner :—Into tubs of 
a convenient size, they first place a layer of 
clothes, over which they sprinkle a thin layer 
of hen or pigeon manure, mixed with wood ashes 
in the proportion of one peck of the manure to 
two pecks of the ashes; then another layer of 
clothes, and again another layer of ashes and 
manure, and so on, till the tub is full. Then 
they pour over the clothes boiling-hot water 
until the tub is filled, and let them soak for 
24 hours, after which they are taken out, rinsed 
in cold water, boiled and washed with soap and 
water the usual way. 
Next they are dried, and afterwards spread 
out on the grass for one or two bright sunny 
days, occasionally sprinkled with clean water. 
In this manner, the most dingy clothes will be¬ 
come of a beautiful pure white. 
Embrocation for Wounds.— Take of 
Spirits of ammonia, 1 oz. 
Spirit of wine, 1 oz. 
Tincture of Belzoni, 1 oz. 
Tincture of organum, 1 oz. 
mix well, and apply with a feather to wounds, 
bruises, or sprains. 
New Green-House Plant.— Few recent acquisi¬ 
tions to the greenhouse, are of more merit than the 
Asiatic torrennia (Torrenia asiatica). Its exqui¬ 
sitely-shaded flower is small, and of a delicate 
light-blue, shaded towards the top with a rich, 
purplish-blue. 
