142 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 6, 1859. 
Mr. Matthew states in the Glasgow National, that the sewage 
of that city is sufficient to irrigate, at the least, 15,000 acres; and 
valuing the manure at considerably less than according to 
Liebig’s formula, it would be worth £300,000. The Rev. J. C. 
Blair Warren, of Horkesley Hall, Esses, showed to the Royal 
Agricultural Society that the sewage of London was sufficient to 
fertilise 57,000 acres, which at the same ratio of value would be 
worth £1,140,000. Speaking of the sewage discharged annually 
from London into the Thames alone, a distinguished chemist 
thus speaks:—“The annual value of the chief constituents of 
the sewage water which passes into the Thames from the King’s 
Scholars’ Pond Sewer is £23,360, and of that which flows from 
all the sewers of Loudon, on the supposition that the fluid they 
discharge is of equal strength, £433,879.” 
In caiTying this calculation still further, we cannot do better 
than quote from a lecture delivered by Professor Guy at the 
Russell Institution. “ In Elanders, where manure is carefully 
collected, the annual excreta of an adult are valued at £1 17s. 
Considering the enormous additions made to this manure in our 
towns, it will not be thought unreasonable to estimate the value 
of that part of the refuse which now runs to waste at £2 per 
head of the population ; and supposing that in England and 
Wales the towns which are guilty of this extravagance contained 
in all only 5,000,000 inhabitants, we have an annual waste of at 
least ten millions of money! If this estimate were extended to 
the whole of the United Kingdom, it seems highly probable that 
the value of town manure annually wasted would be twenty 
millions sterling.”—J. 
(To le continued.) 
NOTES UPON FEENS. 
GymnoPTERIS quercieolia. Bernh. (Synonymies— Acrosli- 
chum quercifolium, Rctz. Osmunda trifida , Jacq.) Sterile 
fronds ternate, membranaceous, clothed with short, downy hair 
below, somewhat ciliated, four inches long; the middle pinnule 
much the largest, oblong, obtuse, sinuated or partially lobed ; the 
two side-pinnules ovate, sub-cordate, or auricled on the lower side 
of the base. Veins compoundly anastomosing with free veinlets 
in the areoles. Fertile fronds erect on a slender footstalk, which 
is three times as long as that of the sterile frond, contracted, 
ternate, with linear segments ; the whole under surface covered 
by the sporangia. Stipes hairy, slightly squamose at the base. 
Rhizome creeping. 
A native of the warmer parts of China, Cochin-China, and 
Ceylon. It was introduced from the latter island a few years 
ago, and, as it is easily increased by division, it is now become 
pretty plentiful. The sterile Oak-leaf-shaped fronds overlapping 
each other just above the level of the soil, and the fertile ones 
shooting up among them, render it well worthy of cultivation, 
even in a limited collection. From its small size it is also well 
adapted for Wardian Cases. The name “ Gymnopteris ” means 
naked-Eern, and refers to the sori not being covered by an in- 
dusium. 
Hymenodium crinituh. Fee. (Synonymes— Acrostichum 
cHnitum, Sw. Fictyoglossum crinitum, J. Sm.) Sterile fronds 
nearly erect, oval, from fifteen to eighteen inches long by from 
seven to ten wide, thick and leathery, with numerous, long, thin, 
black hairs scattered over both surfaces. Veins all of about one 
thickness, except midrib or costa, reticulated so as to form a net¬ 
work of hexagonal meshes. Stipes short, thick, and densely 
covered with the same sort of hairs. Fertile fronds about half 
the size of the others, the whole under surface covered by the 
black sporangia. The rhizome thick, decumbent, or slowly creep¬ 
ing. This is also clothed with the purple-black scales, or hairs, so 
plentifully produced on all parts of the plant. This is a native of 
the West Indies, but even there is by no means common. I am 
assured by persons living on the spot, that they have sought 
diligently for it where other Eerns abound, and have only found 
a few isolated plants of it. Although introduced so long ago as 
the end of the last century it still remains rare, and commands a 
high price in the nurseries. This may be accounted for by the 
difficulty of parting it, and the rarity with which it grows from 
spores. Almost all are imported plants. It belongs to the same 
division of the family as the last—viz., Acrostichese (characterised 
by the fertile fronds being distinct from the sterile, more or less 
contracted, and the whole underside of the fronds being covered 
by the sporangia), but two plants more unlike each other in general 
appearance could scarcely be selected. This Hymenoclium is the 
most curious Fern grown, and is utterly unlike any other plant 
in cultivation. It succeeds best grown in the still, warm, moist 
atmosphere of a small house. 
Blechnum lanceola. Sw. Fronds entire, glabrous, linear- 
lanceolate, acuminate, very rarely auricled at the base, from three 
to six inches long; the sterile fronds are shorter and broader 
than the fertile ones, and borne on shorter footstalks. Sori con¬ 
sisting of two lines, one on each side of t he midrib, each covered 
by an inclusium opening inwards. Veins of sterile fronds, simple, 
forking ; in the fertile fronds they are similar, but are connected 
by one vein on each side running parallel to the costa, and bearing 
the sporangia. Vernation fasciculate, but producing runners in 
all directions. Stipes with a few scales near the base. 
A native of Brazil, where it grows abundantly. This is the 
smallest species of Blechnum in cultivation, and is also the only 
one with entire fronds. It produces fertile much more plentifully 
than it does sterile fronds. It is very rarely that it produces one 
auricled at the base, though Dr. Seemann found that at Yeraguas, 
in the Isthmus of Panama, that was the more usual form. He 
found also some varieties with ternate fronds. There is nothing 
particularly striking in the appearance of this Fern, but its small 
size renders it useful for growing in Wardian Cases, where its 
entire dark green lance-shaped fronds contrast well with the cut¬ 
leaved species.— Karl, 
NOTES ON NEW OE EAEE PLANTS. 
SIPIIOCAHPYLOS manettIjEFIOEtts. Hook. Nat. ord, Lobe- 
I liacece. Native of New Granada.—Erect, dwarf, somewhat 
woody at the base, herbaceous above. Branches thickly clothed 
with leaves. Leaves alternate, shortly petioled, rigid, oblong- 
ovate, sometimes nearly spatulate; margins incurved and ob¬ 
scurely serrate; veins much reticulated, and very prominent on 
the under side, upper side glabrous, clothed below with short 
hoary hairs. Peduncles short, axillary, solitary, one-flowered, 
and supporting two minute bracts half way between the base and 
the apex, downy. Calyx tubular, short, turbinate, dividing at 
the limb into five, erect, open, subulate segments. Corolla 
tubular nearly the whole of its length, curved slightly, compressed 
j laterally; limb composed of five, ovate-lanceolate, nearly equal 
segments, the two upper ones rather more deeply divided and 
| slightly larger than the others. Anthers brownish, and terminated 
by tufts of minute hairs. Stigma two-lobed. 
A very useful, rather free-flowering species of this interesting 
1 genus. The flowers, which are yellow and crimson, are very 
beautiful, and appear towards the end of summor and in the 
autumn months. A compost of about two parts peat and one of 
; loam, with plenty of sand, is very suitable to it. The stove is 
' the proper place for it in winter, but it will do very well in the 
greenhouse during summer. Cuttings root freely. 
Hibiscus moschentus. L. Nat. ord., Malvaceee. An 
inhabitant of the swamps and salt marshes in Canada, but more 
frequent throughout the United States of North America.— 
About four feet high, suffruticose, with strong, usually undivided 
stems. Leaves large, ovate-acuminate, inclined to the cordate 
form at the base, and occasionally trilobate, coarsely serrate; 
veins numerous, strong, and reticulated, clothed above and below 
with short soft hairs. Peduncles short, stout, axillary, often 
coalescing with the petioles for some distance above the base. 
Involucel of a number of linear-lanceolate, green, downy leaflets. 
Calyx tube short; limb divided into five, ovate, slightly acumi¬ 
nate lobes. Corolla very large, rose-coloured or white, with a 
crimson base internally. Staminal column and pistil included 
within the corolla. Stigma five-lobed. 
It is difficult to overrate the beauty of this fine plant. Good 
habit, fine foliage and noble flowers, are terms inadequate to 
convey a proper conception of its character to the mind un¬ 
aided by the eye. The flowers are quite as large as those of 
the common Hollyhock, and the habit less coarse. It is perfectly 
hardy, and will succeed in any good garden soil. Division is the 
ordinary way of propagating it; but it may, perhaps, strike in 
the same way and as freely as the Hollyhock. It flowers in 
August, September, and November. 
Malva geranioides. Schlochl and Chamiss. Nat. ord., Mal¬ 
vaceae. Native of Mexico.—Herbaceous, with spreading, trail- 
. ing, branches, all of which are covered, with long, fascicled hairs. 
Leaves somewhat triangular, divided into three lobes, which are 
again cut into several segments, dark green and hairy above, paler 
and glabrous below. Flowers axillary and several together. In- 
volucel composed of three small leaflets, lanceolate, or setaceous. 
