VARIETIES. 
181 
factory,  partly  because  of  the  presence  of  a  resinous  substance  which 
was  separated  with  difficulty,  and  partly  on  account  of  the  dark  shell 
of  the  nut,  which  it  was  thought  necessary  to  remove  before  extracting  the 
fecula. 
In  the  new  process,  the  nuts  are  grated  with  the  bark  on,  and  treated 
like  the  potato  with  its  skin  ;  the  material  is  then  washed  in  water  as 
easily  and  as  economically  as  the  potato,  so  that  the  price  is  not  above 
20  centimes  per  kilogramme,  the  cost  of  cultivation  and  manufacture  being 
included.  20,000  kilogrammes  of  the  fecula  manufactured  this  year  with 
the  apparatus  that  is  used  for  the  potato  have  settled  the  question  of  its 
importance. — Ibid. 
Gura  Nut  of  Africa. — The  gura  nut  is  a  species  of  large  red  bean,  of  a 
bitter  taste,  but  greatly  prized  for  its  tonic  properties.  It  grows  on  a  tree 
resembling  somewhat  the  magnolia,  and  is  to  be  found  only  along  the  sea 
coast  regions.  The  tree  bears  a  large  number  of  pods,  in  appearance  and 
size  not  unlike  a  cucumber.  Each  of  these  pods  contains  a  half  dozen  or 
more  of  these  irregular-shaped  beans.  They  are  greatly  prized  by  the  in- 
terior nations,  and  especially  by  travellers,  who  have  to  perform  long  jour- 
neys, and  many  times  without  sufficient  food. — The  Medical  World,  Dec, 
1856. 
Families  of  Insects. — A  celebrated  entomologist  says,  that  more  than  a 
lifetime  would  be  necessary  to  enumerate  the  various  species  of  insects  and 
describe  their  appearance.  Meiger,  a  German,  collected  and  described  600 
species  of  flies,  which  he  collected  in  a  distance  of  ten  miles  circumference. 
There  have  been  collected  in  Europe  20.000  species  of  insects  preying  on. 
wheat.  In  Berlin,  two  professors  are  engaged  in  collecting,  observing,  and 
describing  insects  and  their  habits,  and  already  they  have  published  five 
large  volumes  upon  the  insects  which  attack  forest  trees. — Ibid. 
Raising  Opium  in  Alabama. — A  writer  proposes  the  attempt  of  raising 
the  large  white  poppy  in  that  State,  and  thinks  the  manufacture  of  opium 
would  be  a  profitable  enterprise.  Children  and  females  could  manage  a  good 
part  of  the  labor,  which  is  a  light  and  agreeable  occupation. 
The  climate  is  unquestionably  favorable  to  a  strong  growth.  Vast  fields 
of  poppiesare  grown  in  Belgium  and  some  parts  of  France,  not  for  the  opium, 
however,  but  for  the  oil,  extracted  from  the  seed,  which  is  used  with  white 
lead  or  zinc,  for  producing  a  beautiful  white  paint  that  does  not  turn  yellow, 
like  linseed  oil  exposed  to  light. 
Just  at  sundown,  those  having  care  of  the  opium  poppies,  make  several 
slight  cuts  lengthwise  on  the  seed  bulb,  before  they  become  ripe.  A  milky 
juice  immediately  exudes,  which  thickens  in  the  sun  next  morning,  and  is 
