608  On  the  Genus  Myriogyne.  {^{TjjT^ 
straight).  The  first  incision  is  made  near  the  ground  in  the  beginning 
of  July,  and  is  followed  by  daily  incisions  each  I  centimeter  higher 
than  the  preceding  one,  until  the  branches  are  reached,  when  incisions 
are  cut  into  the  bark  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  tree,  again  commenc- 
ing near  the  ground.  The  cutting  of  incisions  is  continued  until  the 
end  of  September.  The  exuding  juice  is  at  first  brown  and  bitter,  but 
becomes  concrete,  white  and  sweetish  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours, 
forming  stalactites  or  tubes;  these  are  kept  separate,  and  are  the 
so-called  u  flake  manna."  or  "manna  canellata"  of  commerce.  When 
very  thin  the  juice  runs  down  the  bark  or  drops  to  the  ground,  and  is 
collected  on  the  leaves  of  Ficus  indica;  this  manna  is  then  far  inferior 
to  the  stalactites,  and  is  known  in  commerce  as  "sorts."  All  manna 
is  collected  once  a  week,  and  dried  in  the  sun  before  shipping.  The 
collection  from  the  same  trees  continues  for  nine  years,  when  the 
trees  are  exhauted  and  are  cut  down,  but  when  shoots  appear  one  is 
allowed  to  remain,  which  is  usually  capable  of  yielding  manna  in  four 
or  five  years.  The  average  yield  of  one  hectar  of  land  is  about  6  kilos 
of  flake  manna  and  94  kilos  of  manna  in  small  flakes  and  sorts,  both 
having  a  value  of  about  837'6o  francs,  to  which  may  be  added  about 
1275  francs  as  the  value  of  wood  cut  during  the  year. — Fharrn.  Ztg.r 
Oct.  15,  1879.    Agric.  Merid.  L.  v.  C. 
ON  THE  GENUS  MYRIOGYNE. 
By  Baron  von  Mueller. 
Of  the  genus  Myriogyne  (of  Lessing)  three  species  occur  within 
the  boundaries  of  the  colony  of  Victoria,  all  strongly  sternutatorian. 
The  most  common  one  here  is  Myriogyne  Cunninghami  of  De  Can- 
dolle,  which  now  usually  passes  under  the  name  Centipeda  Cunning- 
hami, the  genus  Myrigyne  having  been  defined  already  in  1780  by 
Loureiro  under  the  curious  and  odd  name  Centipeda,  because  these 
herbs  attach  their  creeping  stems  with  hundredfold  multiplied  roots  to 
the  ground.  Centipeda  Cunninghami  occupies  the  more  open  ground,, 
particularly  on  moist  pasture,  and  is  widely  dispersed  through  extra- 
tropic  Australia,  but  not  to  be  found  outside  of  the  Australian  conti- 
nent, not  even  in  Tasmania,  whereas  Centipeda  Arbicularis  of  Lou- 
reiro (Myriogyne  Minuta  of  Lessing)  occupies   more  of  the  forest 
