280 
MISCELLANY. 
savage bite, or take a firmer hold, than the Otter, Nature having thus adapted 
it for the seizure and retention of its smooth-skinned powerful finny prey, when 
sweeping through the water, or struggling in the agonies of death.— Fifeshire 
Journal , Jan. 25, 1838, communicated by Mr. Henry Buist , Law Park, near 
St. Andrews. 
BOTANY. 
Proportion of Forests to the Rest of the Soil in Europe. —According 
to a statement in the French papers, the proportion which forests bear to the rest 
of the soil in Russia, Sweden, Norway, and Germany is one third; in Austria 
and Prussia, one fourth; one-fifth in Belgium; one-sixth in Switzerland; one- 
seventh in France ; one-ninth in Italy; and one-twelfth in Spain. The British 
Islands have only the twenty-fifth part of their territories covered with forests.— 
Athenseum, April 7, 1838. 
Enormous Mushroom. —A Mushroom, attaining the almost incredible size of 
three feet one inch in circumference, and from which very nearly a pint of ket¬ 
chup was extracted, was last week gathered in a field belonging to P. J. P. 
Burman, Esq., Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire.— Guide, Oct. 14, 1837. 
Effects of the Frost in the Horticultural Gardens.' —The late severe 
winter has caused considerable devastation amongst the hardy and semi-hardy 
plants. There is scarcely a New Holland or Chili plant that has escaped, and 
many that have for years stood constant exposure to the weather, have this 
year been totally destroyed. Amongst these are several fine Arbutuses, of all 
the specimens in the garden only one remaining; several Acacias, and also Juni¬ 
pers, many of which it was imagined would have borne a climate like that of this 
country. These results must be considered as very unfortunate by the horticul¬ 
turist, as fatal to many experiments for acclimitizing plants which are natives of 
warmer regions in this country, A great devastation has also taken place 
amongst the Roses, but many which were considered dead show fresh signs of 
vitality from the improved genial state of the weather. As a proof of the va¬ 
riable state of the weather, it may be stated, that whilst on March 29, at the 
gardens, the thermometer stood at 62° Fahrenheit, on April 1, it was as low 
as 16°.— Morning Chronicle. 
Effects of the Winter. —The different agricultural reports give deplorable 
accounts of the destruction of shrubs and evergreens by the frosts; even the Ivy 
has been affected by them. In one part of the county of Berks there is only one 
garden that contains any Brocoli alive, and what is remarkable, it is situated on 
the top of one of the most exposed chalk hills in the bounty ! The occurrence is 
accounted for by the fact that at some periods the frosts are more severe in the 
