MAY. 
117 
the Cork Tree into that colony. A large quan¬ 
tity of young plants have been raised in the 
pleasure-ground nursery for transport, to be 
sent out this spring in a growing condition 
in glazed cases. Large collections of semi- 
tropical trees and shrubs have been sent, at 
the request of the Admiralty, to the once 
desert island of Ascension, the upper parts of 
which are now clothed with trees and shrubs, 
chiefly derived from Kew. The most satisfac¬ 
tory accounts are received of the thriving con¬ 
dition of these plants, and the consequent 
rapid increase of the fertility, water supply, 
pasture land, and vegetable produce of the 
island. The Bermuda Grass especially, which 
was sent from Kew several years ago, has 
now become the staple fodder of the place.— 
{Times). 
CuRATORSHIP OF KEW GARDENS. —This 
post having become vacant in consequence of 
the retirement of Mr. Alexander Smith, who 
has so long and so ably filled it, Mr. John 
Smith, gardener to the Luke of Northumber¬ 
land, at Syon, has been appointed as his suc¬ 
cessor. 
Soldiers’ Gardens. —In reply to a ques¬ 
tion as to what steps had been taken, or were 
about to be taken, to enable soldiers to employ 
themselves in the cultivation of gardens, the 
Marquis of Hartington stated that the Se¬ 
cretary for War had every disposition to 
afford the troops facilities for so employing 
themselves, and that a commencement had 
already been made. The Horse Guards had 
received a report from the officer commanding 
the artillery at Aldershott that two batteries 
had been for some time cultivating ground 
as gardens, and that the very best results had 
followed. Occupation had been afforded to 
the men, and their comfort had also been 
greatly increased by the production of vege¬ 
tables for their mess. The land had also been 
allotted for that purpose for the military 
train at Aldershott; but owing to a question 
having arisen as to the payment of rates by 
the soldiers, it had not yet been cultivated. At 
Warley three acres had been allotted for that 
purpose. In the neighbourhood of Brighton 
and Dover some of the troops had had allot¬ 
ments made to them. In Woolwich also some 
allotments were in existence, and more were 
being provided. At Colchester arrangements 
of a similar nature were in progress. 
Fluke Potato. —Mr. Bennett, of Osberton 
Hall, states in the “ Gardeners’ Chronicle,” 
that the raiser of this variety was John 
Turner, a handloom weaver, and occasionally 
a farm labourer, of Birch, near Middleton, 
Lancashire. He took a Potato apple from a 
field ir» 1841, and sowed the seeds. The re¬ 
sult was twelve plants, one of which was the 
Fluke and the others were worthless. 
The Sea Cocoa Nut of The Seychelles. 
—At a late meeting of the Linnean Society, 
on the motion of Dr. Hooker, it was unani¬ 
mously resolved to address a memorial to the 
Governor of the Mauritius, calling his atten¬ 
tion to the wanton destruction of this tree in 
the Seychelles Islands, and expressing a hope 
that he will take steps towards the preser¬ 
vation of a tree of such high scientific in¬ 
terest, independent of its practical importance. 
A very interesting account of this Palm, Lo- 
doicea seychellarum, was given by S. Ward, 
Esq., the Civil Commissioner for the Sey¬ 
chelles, of which the following is a brief ab¬ 
stract. The tree, found only in two small 
islands of the Seychelles group, takes a hun¬ 
dred years to arrive at its full growth, and 
the earliest age at which it has been known 
to flower is thirty years. The stem is per¬ 
fectly straight, and in the male tree is fre¬ 
quently 100 feet in height, the females attain¬ 
ing a less height. The male catkins are a 
yard long and 3 inches in diameter. The 
usual number of nuts borne on a stem is 
four or five, but sometimes there are as many 
as eleven, averaging 40 lbs. weight each. 
The fruit takes four years to come to its full 
size, and is then full of a jelly-like substance, 
but it requires nearly ten years to arrive at 
its full maturity. The arrangement for the 
roots of this Palm is different from that in 
any known tree and extremely curious. The 
base of the stem is rounded, and fits into a 
bowl of 2| feet in diameter and 18 inches in 
depth, and which is pierced with hundreds of 
oval holes of the size of a thimble, and having 
in connection with them hollow tubes on the 
outside. Through these, roots pass from the 
stem into the ground, but without being in 
anyway attached to the bowl. The latter is of 
the same substance as the nut, and so inde¬ 
structible that it has been found quite perfect 
sixty years after a tree has been cut down. 
Sending Seeds to the East Indies. —By 
an alteration of the postal regulations samples 
of seeds may now be sent to the East Indies 
in bags tied at the neck, or otherwise fastened 
so that they may be readily opened and their 
contents inspected. Such may be sent at the 
following reduced rates—viz., via Southamp¬ 
ton, under 4 ozs., id. ; under half-pound, 8 d. ; 
and 8 d. for every additional half-pound. Vid 
Marseilles, under 4 ozs., 6 d .; under half- 
pound, Is., and Is. for every additional half- 
pound. 
Koval Horticultural Society. —Much 
opposition has been raised to the prizes which 
this Society has offered for collections of 
native plants, on the ground that they will 
lead to the extermination of many scarce 
species, and a remonstrance has been ad¬ 
dressed to the Council. A memorial has also, 
we understand, been sent to the Council by 
Sir W. Hooker and other botanists, requesting 
a reconsideration of the matter. Most of the 
leading exhibitors of stove and greenhouse 
plants and Orchids have likewise memorialised 
the Council on the subject of the shows being 
