ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY

New YorK STATE COLLEGES OF
AGRICULTURE AND HoME ECONOMICS
AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY

 

GIFT FROM THE
CLIVE M. McCAY LIBRARY
OF
NUTRITION AND GERONTOLOGY

 

 

 

 
Cornell University Library
QK 45.R47 1855

“Nu iii

                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mann
 

LIN WEUS

Nullished by Blackie & Son. Glasgow.
HISTORY

OF THE

gy ABET KU iy @

VE BY Dom.

WILLIAM RHIND.

 

ILLUSTRATED BY SEVERAL HUNDRED

ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD & STEEL.

BLACKTE & SON, OUEEN ST GLASGOW

SOUTH COLLEGE S* EDINBURGH & WARWICK SQUARE LONDON
A HISTORY

OF

THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM;

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF PLANTS,

WITH

THEIR USES TO MAN AND THE LOWER ANIMALS,

AND THEIR APPLICATION IN THE

ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

By WILLIAM RHIND,

LECTURER ON BOTANY, MARISCHAL COLLEGE, ABERDEEN.

ILLUSTRATED BY SEVERAL HUNDRED FIGURES.

 

LONDON:

BLACKIE AND SON: PATERNOSTER ROW,
AND GLASGOW AND EDINBURGH.

MDCCCLXV.
GLASGOW?
W. G. BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS,
VILLAFIELD,
PREFACE.

THERE is, perhaps, no department of science with which so many delightful
associations are connected as the study of Botany. The gorgeous beauty and
periodical verdure of trees and flowers, the economical utility and medicinal
virtues of many plants, and their general application in the commonest arts of
life, have attracted the admiration and secured the attention of mankind from
the earliest ages; and still continue to be objects of the greatest importance.

While it has been the purpose of the present volume to present to the general
reader a comprehensive and popular description of all those Vegetables which
claim an interest, either for their beauty, utility, or rarity, it has also’ been
deemed of importance to give the physiological history and classification of Plants
in such detail as may be of utility to the more systematic student of Botany.

The First Part of the Work, therefore, consists of the physiology, geogra-
phical distribution, and classification of Plants.

The SECOND PART embraces a history of Plants used for food and clothing;
in arts and manufactures; in medicine; and for ornamental purposes.

The ConcLUDING Portion treats of the practical culture of Plants, the pre-
servation of specimens, and the drying of roots and seeds.

In.a popular Work of this nature it was found impossible to proceed alto-
gether on a strictly scientific plan; but so far as was practicable, the Natural
method of arrangement has beenadopted. Thus, in treating of individual plants,
the great leading divisions of the vegetable kingdom have been followed; and
in a considerable number of cases, the species have been grouped under their
natural families, In general, however, the arrangement must be considered as
made subservient to the grouping of vegetables according to their economical
uses, as those employed for food, clothing, dyeing, medicine, and ornament.

To remedy this irregularity, a chapter has been devoted to an account of the
systems of classification, and notices of the Natural families of plants have been
arranged and inserted under the respective divisions. A compendium of Fossil
Botany has also been added, as forming an interesting addition to the existing

genera of plants,
iv PREFACE.

The authors whose works have chiefly afforded the varied materials of this
volume, are so generally referred to in the pages of the work, that it will be
unnecessary to recapitulate them in this place, farther than to state, that to the
French work of the younger Richard on Physiological Botany; to Sprengel,
Mirbel, De Candolle, Dutrochet, Keith, Lindley, &c., frequent reference has been

made.

In the practical and ornamental departments, much assistance has also been
obtained from Loudon’s highly useful works on Botany and Horticulture.

WILLIAM RHIND.

PREFATORY NOTE TO THIS EDITION.

Iy this re-issue considerable improvement has been made on the wood engrav-
ings interspersed throughout the text; and TWENTY-NINE new plates have
been added to the original series. Seven of these illustrate groups of plants,
including pines, palms, cacti, tree ferns, Australian trees and shrubs, and the
characteristic features of a tropical forest. The remaining twenty-two are
coloured after nature, and present faithful representations of plants important
for their uses to man; comprising such as are most extensively used in medicine
and the arts, and those from which food, spices, and clothing materials are
obtained. The plants figured in the new plates, so far as not previously noticed
in the body of the work, are described in an Appendix, in which the portion on
Australian plants, contributed by a botanist long resident in these colonies, is
new and of much interest. References will be found in the list of illustrations
to the pages in which the various figures are described.

GuLascow, 1855,
CYiAP.

III.
IV

VI.
VIL.
VIII.

XXVIL
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX,
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.

XXXVITI.

XXXIX.
XL.
XLI.
XLII.
XLII.
XLIV.
XLV.
XLVI.

CONTENTS.

Ilistory of botanical science, . ‘ 7

The nature and uses of plants, : :

The structure of plants, . : ; ° :

The organs and functions of plants, é . . . .

The roots of plants, ‘ 5 é ‘

The stem, 4 ‘ ‘ ‘ % .

Growth of the stem, - 4 s :

Of buds, ‘

The leaves, : - ‘ 3 , : 7

The stipules, 2 : ‘ .
Nutrition of vegetables and aseent of the sap, .

The organs of reproduction, and history of their discovery,

Organs of fructification, : .

Cryptogamic fructification, . ‘i

Of fecundation, . ‘ i ‘ .

The fruit and its envelopes, : . ‘ . - 7

Of the seed and germination, . . ° . .

The food of vegetables, 5 4 . . ° °

Of vegetable vitality, : . . . .

Diseases of vegetables, ‘ . . :

Vegetable products, . ‘

Geographical distribution of plants, ° .

Systems of botanical classification,

Firsr Drviston or Puants—Including the due fuse lichens ail ferns,
Srconp Drviston—Monocotyledonous plants,

The graminer, wheat, barley, oats, rye, rice, me the grains, &e. by

The sugar-cane, bamboo, Indian cane,

The family of palms, the cocoa-nut, date, banana, wax palm &e. is

The yam, arrow root, and alliaceous plants, ‘i

THIRD Drvistow-—Dicotyledonous plants, the potato, cassava, &e.
Umbellifere, including the carrot, parsnip, &c. .

The crucifere, including the turnip, mustard, cabbage, radish, ees
Leguminous plants, the pea, bean, kidney-bean, vetch, lentil, siacares clover,
Rosacee, the apple, pear, quince, plum, peach, cherry, strawberry, raspberry,
The grape, mulberry, currant, gooseberry, barberry, blaeberry, ‘ é
The orange, lemon, lime, citron, shaddock, pomegranate, fig, olive,

Tropical fruits, tamarind, melon-thistle, Indian fig, mango, bread-fruit, &c.,
The melon, cucumber, gourds, love-apple, egg plant,

The walnut, chestnut, hazelnut, acorn, cashew nut,

Tea, coffee, cocoa, hops, tobacco,

Plants used for clothing, cordage, &c., flax, hemp: eotton, New Feslond flax,
Timber trees, the oak, elm, ash, &c., r F
Mahogany, lignumvite, teak, magnolia, tolip tree, &e. a :

The conifere or pine tribe, the pine, fir, larch, cypress, yew, &c.,

The banyan tree, boabob, dragon’s blood, tallow tree, pitcher plant,

Spice trees and plants, cinnamon, camphor clove, pepper, ginger, mint, rose-

mary, &c. . : a ‘i . °

201
203
235
240
263
270
285
292
310
320
339
347
3863
376
382
388
401
421
448
455
477

482
vi

CHAP.

XLVIT.

XLVIII.

XLIX.
L.

LI.
LI.
LIT.
LIV.
LV.
LVI.
LVII.
LVIJJI.

CONTENTS.

Trees and plants used in dyeing, Brazil wood, logwood, indigo wood, madder,
turmeric, . .

Medicinal plants, Bekiviaa bats qnassia, geutian, centamny, &e.

The aloe, scammony, jalap, poloeynith, ipecacuan, squill,

Narcotic plants, opium, hemlock, henbane, belladonna,

Gums, resins, and balsams,

Garden flowers, bulbous roots, .

The primrose, carnation, pansy,

Ornamental shrubs, . :

Natural families of dicotyledonous wens, .

Fossil plants, plants of the coal formation, of tertiary ‘strata,

Practical culture of plants, soil, manure, pruning, ingrafting,

Preservation of plants, seeds, and fruits, portable conservatory,

Directions for preserving seeds, roots, bulbs, &c. :

Appendix, ‘ ‘ . . F .

Glossary of botanical tevtd : ‘ j

General Index, . 7 ‘ ‘

vVAGE

49-4
520
537
546
556
566
580
598
611
651
666
678
687
689
698
707
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL.

PLATE 1.

EXHIBITS SECTIONS OF VARIOUS WOODS, HIGHLY
MAGNIFIED.
Fre. PacE

1. Monocotyledonous stem, a portion of the trans-
verse section of the sugar-cane, ‘

2. Transverse section of a coniferous stem; the
Scotch pine, u, pith or medulla; 6 b, medul-
lary rays, proceeding from the pitb or centre,
to the circumference; ¢ c, the annular layers
or circles,

3. Section of Diectyledonots ents the walk, a,
medulla; b b, medullary rays; ¢ c, annular
circles ; a, alburnum; e, liber; f, epidermis,
or outer bark, : .

4, Highly magnified view of hevaponad meshes of
the pine,

5. Perpendicular weoltons of ths tine, with the
areola,

6. Section parallel to the mmeitillary rays, A

. Transverse section of sugar-cane, highly mag-
nified, . *

. Transverse section ak the tinhogany tree,

. Do. of the oak, - z y e

. Do. of red sanders-wood, ‘ 2 ¥

24

25

ib.
ib.

ib.
ib.

I

ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.

oO @

PLATE II.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS, WITH RE-
GARD TO ALTITUDE.

The mountain on the left represents one of the Andes in
South America.

1. Tropical zone, or region of palms, ‘ - 170
2. Temperate zone, cerealia and timber trees, . ib.
3. Alpine zone, alpine plants and hardy trees, . ib.
4. Arctic zone, lichens and mosses, ib.
5. Snowy region, no vegetation, . . ib,

The mountain on the right represents the British zones
of climate.

1. Woody region, grain, grasses, and fruit trees, 171

2. Barren region, heaths and hardy trees, and

shrubs, . + ab.

3. Mossy region, lichens, oan a snow-line, ib.
PLATE IIL.
FUNGI, OR MUSHROOM PLANTS.

1. Fly amanita.— A. muscaria, e 196
2. Common mushroom.—Ayg. campestris, > 194
8. Round-headed morel.—_Morchella esculenta, 193
4. Small-headed morel.—M. hybrida, 196
6. Tall cylindrical agaric.—A. comatus, ib.
6. Variable wood agaric.— A. gilvus, ib.
7. Shaggy agaric.— A. floccosus, . % ib.
8, Spangled watery agaric.—Agaricus micas, ib.

 

NOP te

DON AAR tH

. Warty false puff ball.—Seleroderma verruco-

sum,

. Large bladder-like peziza. =P: vethora, :
. Alpine amanita.—A. nivalis, s

. Red-stemmed boletus.—B. luridus,

. Scaly hydrium.—Z. imbricatum, . .

. Hairy earth tongue.—Geoflossum hirsutum,

. Hispid polyporus.—P. hispidus,

. Sulphur-coloured polyporus.—(P. Su phie cis,
. Carmine peziza.—P. coecinea, . .

. Scaly hydrium.—Hydrium imbricatum,

. Pale crested agaric.—A. cristatus, “

. Mitral helvella,—H. mitra, . o 6
. Tuberous agaric.—A. tuberosus, . .

. False puff ball.— Scleroderma cepa,

. Large stemmed peziza.— Pez. macropus, .

. Green and yellow agaric.—Ag. psittacinus, .

. Crisped helvella.—H. leucophea,. é

. Reticulated peziza.—P. reticulata, .

. Yellow spathularia.—S. flavida, .

PLATE IV.
PALMS.

. Plantain.—Musa paradisiaca, ‘ '
. Cabbage palm.—Areca oleracea, .
. Cocoa-nut palm.—Cocus nucifera, .

Fan palm.—Chamerops humilis, .

. Oily palm.—Ele@is guineensis, . .
. Taliput palm.—C. umbraculifera, 4
, Date palm.—Phenix dactylifera,  -

PLATE V.
ALGE, OR MARINE PLANTS.

. Fucus vesiculosus, # e

nodosus,

. Fucus digitatus,

Laminaria esculenta, ‘ 3
debilis, . . ,

. Himanthalia lorea, : ‘
. Halidrys siliquosa, é 7 i

. Lichinia corfinis, ‘ -

. Lichinia pygruga, . .

. Sargassum, . . >

. Halyseris polynadivides; k ‘ ‘

. Halymenia ligulata, . .

. Enteromorpha compressa,

. Odonthalia dentata, .

. Pylophera rubens, Si .

. Padina pavonia,

. Desmarestia ligulata,

. Dictyota, é ti 3 Fs
. Dictyota dichotoma,

. Fustellaria,

. Chondrus crispus, .

PAGR

196
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib-
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.

260
262
240

ib.
263
259
253

187

190
191
ib.
187
191
ib.
ib.
189
191

ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.
ib.

186
viii

LIST OF ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL.

PLATE VI.
CEREALIA, OR GRAIN PLANTS.

Fic. Pace
1. Maize, or Indian corn.—Zea mays, . . 225
2. Fullear of do, . ¥ « . ib.
3. Rice.—Oryza sativa, . « 221
4, Fullear of do, . : ‘ i ib.
5. Millet.—Setaria italicu, . . 228
6. Egyptian wheat.— Triticum compositum, . 209
7. Common wheat.—T. hybernum, . 208
8. Wax palm.—Ceroxylon andicola, . 263
9. — palm.—Corypha cerifera, . x 262

10. Oily palm.—Eleis guineensis, ‘ - 263

PLATE VIF.
canes, &¢.
1. Bamboo.—Bambusa arundinacea, . 239
2. Indian cane.—Calamus verus, . ‘ ib.
3. Dragon’s blood tree.—Dracena draco, » 479
4. Sugar-cane.—Saccharum officinarum, . 235
6. Iris, . » 675
6. Arrow root plant: —Maranta inueiBeiscaes, 264
7. Papyrus.—Cyperus papyrus, « 3 233
8. Lily of the Nile-—Nymphea lotus, ‘ 270
Y. Mangrove tree.—Rhizophora mangle, » 478
PLATE VIII.
FRUIT TREES.
1. Chestnut tree.—Fagus castanea, 383
2. Walnut tree.—Juglans regia, . 382
3. Lemon tree.—Citrus limonum, . 3853
4. Orange tree.—C. aurantium, A 3548
5. Gourds.—Cucurbita, . . 378
6. Cucumbers.— Cucumis sativa, ib.
7. Grapes.— Vitis vinifera, 339
PLATE IX.
TIMBER TREES,
lL. Oak.— Quercus robur, 421
2. Ash.—Frazinus excelsior, 435
38. Elm.—Ulmus campestrus, . 432
4, Beech.— Fagus sylvatica, 434
5. Lime.— Tilia Europea, 441
6. Birch.—Betula alba, - 440
7 Weeping willow.—Saliz Babylonica, 444
PLATE X.
CONIFER, OR PINE TREES.
1. Silver fir.—Abies picea, 469
2. Scotch pine—Pinus sylvestris, 457
3. Larch.—Larix communis, 470
4, Cedar.—Larizx cedrus, 471
5. American spruce, 469
6. Weymouth pine, . 466
J. Spruce fir.—Abies communis, . 469
PLATE XI.
BOABOB, BANYAN, &c.
1, Camphor tree.—Laurus camphora, . 484
2, The Boabob tree.—Adansonia digitata, 478
3. The Banyan tree.—Ficus indica, 477
4, Chatta, or umbrella tree of India. = Mignolia

tripetala, 2 é - . 478

 

Fia.

5.
6.
7.

SOBNAARONE

e

CHONDA HON

2

CONDOR Ot

QAOANFaeN eA

Araucaria in distance.—A. imbricata,
Victoria Regia. e
Aloe plant.— Aloe vobniriia é 5

PLATE XII.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

. Caoutchouc tree.—Siphonia elastica,
. Betel-nut palm.—Areea, .
. Mamme tree.—Mammea Amorlnant,

Mahogany tree.—Swietinia mahogani,

. Bread-fruit tree.—Artocarpus incisa,

Passion flower.—Passiflora cerulea,

. Castor-oil plant.—Ricinus communis,
. Adam’s needle.— Yucca gloriosa,

. Cactii—Cactus opuntia, &e., .

. American aloe.—Agave Americana,

PacB
. 476
688

- 565
202
374

371
601
541
595
364
595

ADDITIONAL PLATES,

NOT IN

FORMER EDITIONS.

PLATE XIIL

TREE FERNS.

. Alsophylla excelsa (young tree), a
. Dicksonia arborescens, . é

. Cyathea elegans, F . .
— arborea,
. Kemitelia speciosa, # <

Drynaria coronans,

. Platycerium grande,
. Neotopteris,
. Asplenium lucidum,

PLATE XIv.

CACTI.

. Opuntia Braziliensis, *
. Cereus senilis,

. Opuntia cochinellifera,

. Echinocactus stainesii,

. Cereus cerulescens,

Echinocactus visnaga,

Cereus hexagonus,
—  Peruvianus.—V. raamtinstith
—  grandiflorus,

. Opuntia cochinellifera,
. Echinocactus oxygonus,

_— myriostoma,
— helophorus,

. Melocactus communis, $ “

PLATE XV.

FRUIT AND ORNAMENTAL TREES.

. Cork oak.— Quercus suber, . i

Hemp palm.—Chamerops excelsa,

. Funereal cypress.—Cupressus funebris,
. Olive tree.—Olea Europea, 2

Apple tree.—Pyrus malus, . 4
Jaca tree.—Artocarpus integrifolia,

. The shaddock.—Citrus decumana,
. Sago palm.—Cycas revoluta,

- 689
ib.

ib,

ib,
ib.
« ib,

690
265, ib.

TD.

ib.

ib.

691

364

365, 690
691

ib.

363, ib.

428
691
691
358
321
371

261
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL. ix

ee PLATE XVI.

PALMS, PINES, &c.
Fria PAGE
1, Sir J. Banks’ Araucaria.—Araucaria imbri-
cata, . ‘ 476, 691
2. The Pandaras—Serew pine. _p. odoratissimus, 479

8. Date palm.— Phenix dactylifera, 253
4, Daum palm.—Hyphene thebaica, . « 258
5. Cacao tree.— Theobroma cacao, . 396
6. Papaw.—Carica papaya, . E . 879
7. Sago palm.—Cycas revoluta,  . - 261, 691
PLATE XVII.
PINE TREES,
1. Douglas’ pine.— Abies Douglassi, 470
2. Sabines’ pine.—-Pinus Sabiniana, 691
8. Screw pine.—Pandanus odoratissimus, 479
4, Stone pine.—Pinus pinea, 464
5. Deodar.— Cedrus deodora, 691
6. Brazilian pine.—Pinus Clanbrasiliana, . 692
7. Coulter’s pine.— Pinus Coulteri, A 691
8. Cluster pine.—Pinus pinaster maritima, 464
PLATE XVIII.
SOENE IN A BRAZILIAN FOREST.
PLATE XLI.
AUSTRALIAN TREES AND SHRUBS.

1. White gum tree.—Zucalyptus obliqua, . 604
2. Stringy bark tree.—Eucalyptus pulverulentus, 695
3. Wattle tree.—Acacia dealbata, . 7 ib.

4, Australian virgin bower. — Clematis Moss-
mana, ‘ ib.
5. Grass tree.. < eeathvenhen hastitis, i ib.

6. White everlasting flower.—Helichrysum ela-
tum, . : ib.

7. Yellow everlasting iawien Herasie brae-
teatum, . mi x ib.
8. She-oak. _—Canmusina pencil. ‘i ib.
9. Cabbage palm.—Corypha Australis, . ib.

10. Captain Cook’s tea tree.—Lepiospermum sco-
parium, 696
11. Bottle-brush stant, Bantste anata, ib.

12. Dwarf native cherry —Exocarpus humifusa, ib.
13. Great flowering Australian heath—Zpacris
grandiflora, . ib.

14, Native rose of ‘Aastiatia. asBarenda wrdlata; 697
15. Australian fuschia.—Correa speciosa, 697
COLOURED PLATES.

PLATE XIX.

MEDICINAL PLANTS.

Senna.—Cassia acutifolia, . ‘ 540
Colocynth.— Cucumis colocynthis, ° 538
Jalap.—Exoyonium purga, . ° 539
Castor-oil.— Ricinis communis, . 541

 

PLATE XX.

MEDICINAL PLANTS.

Pace

Peruvian bark.—-Cinchona condaminea, . « 620

Opium poppy.—Papaver somniferum, ‘4 547

Scammony.—Convolvolus scammonia, . . 6539

Nux vomica.—Strychnos nux vomica, : 554
PLATE XXI1.

MEDICINAL PLANTS.
Rhubarb.—Rheum palmatum, . . « 542
Aloe.—Aloe socotrina, 7 ‘ 537
Gentian.— Gentiana lutca, Z ‘ 524
Cajeput.— Melaleuca leucadendron, . 489

PLATE XXII.

MEDICINAL PLANTS,

Ipecacuan.— Cephelis ipecacuanha, . 544, 692

Squill—Scilla maritima, . . 544

Sarsaparilla.— Smilax sariipediites ‘ . 535

Copaiba.—Copaifera officinalis, . 563
PLATE XXIII.

SPIOE PLANTS,

Nutmeg.— Myristica moschata, « j 487
Cinnamon.—Laurus cinnamomum, - 482
Clove.—Caryophyllus aromaticus, . a 484
Allspice, or pimento.—Myrtus pimenta, . 486

PLATE XXIV.

SPICE PLANTS.

Ginger.—Zingiber officinale, o 489
Black pepper.—Piper nigrum, . 488
Caper.—Caparis spinosa, . ‘ 491
Cayenne pepper.— Capsicum chain, 7 a. Ty

PLATE XXV.

GUM PLANTS.

Gum arabie.—Acacia seyal, * A 556
Gum tragacanth.—Astragalus tragacantha, . 557
Gun olibanum.— Boswellia serrata, 149, 692
Gum mastic.—Pistacia Lentiscus, . ° 147

PLATE XXVI.

GUM PLANTS.
Gamboge.—Hebradendron aes . 644
Benzoin.—Styraz benzoin, ¥ 559
Caoutchoue.—Siphonia elastica, . 565
Gutta percha,—Zsonandra gutta, 692

PLATE XXVIL.
PLANTS USED AS FOOD.
Coffee plant.—-Coffea Arabica, . . 893
Tea plant.— Thea viridis, . é 888
Chocolate.— Theobroma cacao, 396
Bread fruit.—Ariocarpus incisa, 2 y 872
x LIST OF ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL,

PLATE XXVIII.

PLANTS USED AS FOOD.

Date,—Pheenizx dactylifera, F ‘ ‘
Banana.—Musa sapientum,

Jack fruit.—Artocarpus integrifolia,
Pandanus.—Pandanus odoratissimus,

PLATE XXIX.
PLANTS USED AS FOOD.

Millet.— Sorghum vulgare,
Maize.—Zea mays,

Buckwheat.— Fagopyrum soutentine,
Taro.—Collocasia antiquorum,

PLATE XXX.
PLANTS USED AS FOOD.

Arrow-root.—Maranta arundinacea,
Manioe, or cassava.— Janipha manihot,
Yam.—Dioscorea alata, . x a
Sweet potato.—lJpomea batatas,

PLATE XXX1.
PLANTS USED IN DYEING.

Woad.—Isatis tinctoria, .
Weld.— Reseda luteola,
Madder.—Rubia tinctorium,
Sumach.—Rhus cotinus,

PLATE XXXII.
PLANTS USED IN DYEING.

£afflower.— Carthamus tinctorius,
Fustie—Maclura tinctoria,
Brazil-wood.—Cesalpinia crista, .
Logwood._Hematoxylon campechianum,

PLATE XXXIil.

PLANTS USED IN CLOTHING AND CORDAGE.

Cotton.— Gossypium barbadense, rs
Flax.—Linum usitatissimum, . . a
New Zealand flax.—Phormium tenaz, .
Hemp.—Canabis sativa, é ‘ C

PLATE XXXIV.

PLANTS USED IN CLOTHING AND CORDAGE.

Gomuti palm.—Arenga saccharifera, .
Piassava palm.—Attalea funifera,

Sunn hemp.—Crotalarium juncea,
Jute.—Corchorus capsularius,

PLATE XXXyV.

VEGETABLE POISONS.

Fool’s parsley.— _Zthusa cynapium,
Cuckoo pint or wake robin.—Arum maculatum,

PacE
253
260
371
479

229
225
319
264

264
283
263
282

506 |

514
608
519

511
516
497
494

405
401

413

693
693
420
420

291
532

 

Pao

White bryony.—Bryonia alba, . z 693
Greater or common celadine.—Chelidonium ma-

jus, . ib.

PLATE XXXVI.
VEGETABLE POISONS.

Common wolf’s bane or monk’s hood.—Aconitum

napellus, . 655
Deadly nightdhade, or divasites iN Opa pelladona, 551
Woody nightshade, or bitter sweet.— Solanum dul-

camara, . . 552
Common thorn apple. Dana pieamnniiom, 553

PLATE XXXVI.
VEGETABLE POISONS.
Common hemlock.—Conium maculatum, . 549
Black henbane.—-Hyocyamus niger, . 550
Strong scented or poisonous lettuce. action

virosa, 548
Autumnal ‘onder ‘eftrar — Petenteitin gues

nale, . « i . é . 546

PLATE XXXVIII.
VEGETABLE POISONS.
Alpine white crow foot.— Ranunculus ae

tris, < * * 693
Flyblown mushroom.— Agevien muscarius, or

Amanita muscaria, . ‘ 196
Purple foxglove.—Digitalis sunbiurets 554
Black hellebore, or Christmas rose. —Helieboras

niger, : ‘ . a ; 546

PLATE XXXIX.
FRUITS AND NUTS.
Vie.
1. Mammee, fi e ; é 374
2. Papaw, . ‘* ‘ r 5 379
8. Sour sop, i 4 375
4. Negro peach, . . ® 368
5. Granadilla, . « 85
6. Zabucajo (the lid raised), fruit and nut, : 693
7. Brazil nut and fruit, . ‘ s - 693
PLATE XL.

FRUITS AND NUTS.
3 : ‘ 367

. Guava, a

1 ‘

2. Jujube, 2 < . . 871
3. Mangosteen, ‘ ‘ ‘i 369
4, Litchi, . : ‘ - 870
5. Pistacia, P 3 387
6. Avocado pear, ‘ é . 693
7. Durio, ‘i i ‘ 369
8. Malay apple, . % 370
9. Akee fruits and site, ; 367

10. Mango, : . 368
INDEX TO THE ENGRAVINGS

 

PAGE PAGE
A Cocoa-Nut and Flower, . 241
Acorn, 3 x * 96| Coffee Plant, . ; 7 . 894
Alder Tree, . 4 . 441) Colocynth Plant, 5 539
-Almond, . < 5 i 331 | Conifers, fossil, 10 melee. of, oN
Aloe Plant, 0 » 637| Cork Oak, . 428
Ampulle, or Spongicles, 16| Corolla, . 67
Apple, . 93) — ‘Monopetalous, (ivegular), te
— the Custard, 3874 — Papilionaceous,
— the Love, 380| Cotton, Barbadoes, . . 408
— the Rose, . 370 — Flower and Pod, ib.
Araucaria, . 476 — Herbaceons, ib.
Arnatto Tree, 517 | Cotyledons, &c., 104
Arrow Root Plant, . i . 264| Creeping Root, 15
Arum, or Wake Robin, ib. | Cudbear, 198
Ash, bud of the, . . . 86/ Custard Apple, 374
Cypress, . 475
Cysticercus, 4
B
Balsam of Copaiva, 564 D
am es Gilet Plant, re Date Fruit, . 254
Banana, * 260 nok Nightshade, ot
Barley, ‘Long-eared, 215 Dee pathy ee
— Spring, . < ib. Dok Ww a ? 4
— Winter, or Square, ib, Dwa £ Pal aah 163
Benzoin, or Benjamin Tree, 559 | war Will ete * 458
Bilberry, or Blaeberry, . . 846) ~~ >
Bread Fruit, “ 371
Bulbous Roots—Coated Bulb, 15 E
_ Scaly Bulb, ib. Ege Plant, . . 880
Elecampane Plant, - 533
Cc Elm Tree, 432
Episperm, &c., 102
Calamites Mugeotii, ” « 660| Equisetum, 201
Calyx, . a ‘ 66
Camphor Tree, 484 P
Caoutchouc Tree, 565
Caper Plant, . 491] Favularia Tesselata, . 663
Capsicum, . 490| Fenugreek Plant, . 684
Cardiocarpum Acutum, é . 658] Ferns, fossil, 6 figs, 663
Carpolithes, é a 664| — Fructification of, 75
Carpolithes Conica, m . ib.| Fibrous Complex Root, 16
Cashew Nut, x 387 — Root, : i 14
Cassava Plant, ‘ 5 283 | Fig, ‘i . S 355
Castor Oil Plant, : . 642) — Indian, . 364
Cedar, . ‘ s a - 471/| Fir, Cone, 97
Cellular Tissue, . 6) — Scotch, 457
— Hexagonal structure, ib.| — Silver, . “ . 470
—_ Magnified, . i 7|Flax, New Zealand, 420
— Six-sided structure, 6|Fly-trap, . é 42
_— Spherical structure, ib.|Frond, . ¢ * 39
Centaury Plant, . ‘ > 625| — of Pterophyllum, . 665
Cherry, ; < % ‘ 96 | Fucus Vesiculosus(Sea-weed used
Chestnut, * 883| for kelp), . é ‘
Chorda Filium, or Sea Catgut, 185 | Fumaria Hygrometrica, T7
Cinnamon Tree, . 5 482 | Fungi, stem of, dg
Circulation of the Sap, 46
Citron, . 353 G
Classification, Botanical, ‘is. ’
trations of Linneus’s ‘system Garlie, - 265
of, 100 figs., . 178-180;Gemmule, . 108
Clove Tree, j r » 485 Gentian Plant, ‘ ‘ . 524
Cloud Berry, . i . 837| Germination of Wheat, 108

 

ON WOOD.

Page
Ginger Plant, . 7 ; « 490
Ginseng Plant, §28
Glands, Cortical or Epidermic, 21
Glands, Lenticular, 65 figs., . 11

Glume, . . 66

Grass, ‘Crested ‘Dos’ 's-tail, 231
— Meadow Fescue, . ib.
— Meadow Fox-tail, . 230
— Smooth-stalked Meadow, 231
—  Sweet-scented Vernal, 230
— Ray or Rye Grass, 232

Gum Arabic Tree, . “ 556

H

Hellebore Pint . 545

Hemlock, . 549

Hemp, . 413

Hilum, or ‘Umbilicus, 101

Himanthalia Lorea, . 185

Hop Plant, . i 398

Hypnum Cuspidate . 198

I

Iceland Moss, . 197

India Rubber Tree, 565

Indian Fig, . 364

Indigo Plant, z 499

Inflorescence, Catkin, 73

— Corymb, 72

_ Panicle, ib.

-- Spadix, . 73

— Spike, . 72

_ Umbel, ib.

Whorl, 73

Tpecacuan Plant, 544
J

Jalap Plant, . 540
K

Knotty Root, . i . 15
L

Laminaria, 187

Laurel, Big, é * 451

Leaves, Acute, 39

— Compound, 40

Cordate, . . 89
— Decompound, 2 figs., 40
— Doubly Compound, ib.
— Emarginate, 39
— Hastate, . ‘ « By
— Laciniate, ib.
—  Lanceolate, ib.
— Linear, ib.
—  Oboval, ib.
—- Orbicular, ib.
—  Petiolate, 33

Pinnatifid, 39
INDEX TO THE ENGRAVINGS

 

Mu
PAGE PAGE
Leares, Retuse, . : 39 P
Sagittal . ©.  . ib.| Padina Pavonia, . 191
— Semiamplexicaul, 38] Palm, the Dwarf, . 163
— Sessile, - «  «_ ib.|}Palmate Root, . 16
— Simple, . . . 88, 39| Palmella Nivalis, need Snow, . 157
—  Supradecompound, 40 | Pappus, 93
— _ Trilobate, 39| Papyrus, . ‘ 233
—  Tripoliate, . ‘ ib. | Passion Flower, ‘ 7 601
Verticillate, ib. | Pea, a ‘ - 97,310
Lemon Tree. . .  « 8583/Peach,. . 329
Lepidodendron Acephala, 664] Peat-moss Plants, ‘ 198
_ Sternbergii Va- Pepper Plant, Black, . 483
riabilis, . 657 — ong, F 489
Lepidophyllum, . ‘ % 657 | Pecopteris Heterophyllum, . 663
Lepidostrobus, Ni 5s ib.| Peruvian Bark Tree, 521
as Ornatus, 658 | Pimento, 486
_ Pinaster, ib.| Pine, Cone of, Long-leaved, 465
Limes, . 2 . 354) — Cone of, White, 466
Lime Tree, - 441) Pinus Carariensis, 664
Liquorice Plant, . 319| — Primeeva, . Sons ya ib.
Logwood Plant, - 494] Pitcher Plant, . j « 482
Love Apple, ‘ 380| Plantain, ‘ 260
Lycopodites Williamsonis, . 664] Plum, 333
Pods, . 96
Pomegranate, . 354
M Poppy, White, . , a
Madder Plant, . §08|Potate, . +: me
Mahogany Tree, 448|_—_ Sweet, . ae
Mammee, : . 974| Prickles, . 45
Maple, Sugar, 438
Melon Thistle, ‘% - a Q
Mildewed Wheat, 2 gs., o 12 *
Millet, Italian, . 229 eee Tree, a
—  Panicled, x «ab, pemnees -
Mistletoe Plant, a . . 431
Monkey’s Bread, . F 368 R
Mouldiness, Vegetation of, Mag- Radicle, &c., . 108
ee Rafilesia Arnoldii, gs. gran
a Apple Mould, >| Red Snow, bs ee BE
7 Blue, Do., ib. | Reindeer Moss, 159, 198
— Pear, Do., . ib. Rice, . 221
Mulberry Tree, 343] Roots, Bulbons, 2 figs, . . 15
—- Digitate, ib.
N — Fibrous, 14
Neuropteris Acuminata, . 663] Fibrous (complex), a
es Gigantea, ib. = Palmate ib.
_ Loshii, . ib.| ~~ Tuberous 14
New Zealand Flax, 420 Vertical, 3 fi a ib
Nightshade, Deadly, B51 lace Anple ne.
Nutmeg Tree, 487 Rye Pple, ‘ 212
Nux Vomica, . 554| Ve :
8
0 Sap, Circulation of, 46
Oak, . : 422| — Tubes, . fi 7
— oe - 428] Sarsaparilla Plant, . 535
— Liv 429|Scammony Plant, 639
Oats, ‘Bearded or Long, 3 . 218]Scotch Pine, - 457
— White, « e . ib. | Scurvy Grass, 532
Olive Tree, . é s « 3858) Sea Catgut, . 185
Orange Tree, . 5 . 348 | Senna Plant, é 540
Orchis, . - 269] Sensitive Plants, 2 figs. as - 604
Organs, Sexual, Arrangement of Sexual Organs, arrangement of
the, . the, e 67
— of a Flower, 5 Sigillaria Pachyderma, . 660
figs., . 67, 68 | Silver Fir, 470
Osier, . . . 444 | Skirret, a i . 289
Ovary, ‘ * ‘ . 70|Sloe, . ‘ é " i 336

 

ON WOOD.

PAOR
Sphagnum Palustre, 198
Sphenopteris Affinis, 663
_— Dilatata, ib.
Spines, ‘i ri 45
Spongioles, or Ampull, 16
Squill Plant, 545
Stapelia, Wart- flowered, 596
Stems, Internal Form of, 20
Stigmaria Ficoides, 661
Stomata, . 21
Strammonium Plant, 653
Strawberry, 95
Sugar-Cane, . . . 235
— Maple, “i a 2 438
Sycamore Tree, 437
Sylique, or Pod, 2 figs., * 97
_
Tamarind Tree, = . 363
Tea Plant, 388
Teak Tree, . - 450
Tendrils, . 45
Tobacco Plant, . 399
Tree Fern, . 200
Trigonocarpum Noggerathii, 664
Tuberous Root, 44
Tubipore, ‘3 4
Tulip Tree, . ‘ 453
Turmeric Plant, . 518
U
Ulodendron, : 3 659
Umbel, . 285
Umbilicus, or Hilum, 101
Vv
Valerian Plant, . 584
Valisneria Spiralis, . 61
Vanilla Plant, . 397
Venus Fly-trap, 128, 597
Vertical Roots, 3 figs. 4 . 14
Vessels, Beaded, 8
— Mixed, 9
— Punctuated, g
— Slit, . ib.
— Spiral, ib,
Ww
Wake Robin, . . 264
Walnut, 28%
Wheat, "Egyptian, or “ Many-
spiked, - 206
_ Mildewed, 126
—  One-seeded, « 206
— Seeds of, 208
— Winter, . ib
Willow, White, 44:
Woad Plant, . 50
Y
Yams, 26:
Yew, ~ AT
Z
Zamia Ovata, . 66.
Phd Te by

SCTIONS of me INTERNAL STRUCTURE o. WOODS.

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FRUIT AND ORNAMENTAL TREES.

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MEDICINAL PLANTS. PLATE ANN

 

PERUVIAN BARK, X- OPIUM POPPY,
Citchonit Conaainiuned. | = LUPUVEL SONI ETUIN.

 

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RHUBARB,
Rheum palma

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Aloe Socoltina

GRNTIAN. CAJEPUT.
Gentiana (uted Melalenca leucade nidron
MEDICINAL

 

IPECACUAN
Cephaclis — 1pet acuansil

SARSAPARILLA,
Smilar sarsaparil A]

PLANTS.

CULT

C0. PA

COPMLLTCTC
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ALLSPICE or PIMENTO.

CLOVE

carvophvll ws aromalicus myt LIS PUM ne
 

SPICK PLANTS PLATE XXIV

PEPPER
piper nigrum.

GINGER. mis BLACK
zingiber officmate.

 

CAYENNE PEPPER

Capsicum CUPUILLLL EPL

CAPER
caparrs SMnosa
GUM PLANTS « PLATE a

 

GUM TRAGACANTIL,
Astragalus lragacantha

 

GU ARABIC
AGacla seyal

 

Wy uD ( _ y” A Nu
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GUM OLIBANUM, GUM MAS'TIC

Boswellia servata

 

Pashto Lenses
GUM PLANTS. PLATH XXVI

 

Cue Ce Coline ,MNAOILN,
Hebratendron gainbogoudles Sly rad Benzo

 

COUN AS OP MI RCAIAN
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CAOUTCHOUC
Siphon else

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copped Arabica

CHOCOLATH.
ThEOPT OMA CACAO

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USED AS FOOD. PLATE XX

PLANTS

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Wilisil Sup leit

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PLANTS USED AS FOOD. TPO A Lh” SEAL AN,

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Soraum vialorare

 

 

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Fugopyrum exelent Collocasia —antipuerum

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PLANTS USED AS FOOD. PLATH, XXX

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ARROWROOT lanipha  Manshal
Maranta arundmacea

 

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PLANTS U

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PLANTS USED IN DYEING: PLALE, XXKIT

 

 

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BRASILWOOD Hematorylon — campechianii
Cesalpioue  crista.

 
PLANTS USED IN CLOTIING & CORDAGE, PIAUH. VXI

 

 

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NEW ZEALAND FLAX

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VEGETABLE POISONS

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j ARUM MACULATUM

Eee CUCKOO PINT or WAKE ROBIN.

FOOLS PARSLEY

 

 

WHITE BRYONY GREATER or COMMON CELANDINE.

EPA EME AO ee ry
don, We

 

COMMON WOLF'S BANE or MONKS HOOD “a A ? ea DEADLY NIGHTSHADE ov DWALE.

 

 

COMMON THORN APPLE.

WOODY NIGHTSHADE or BITTER SWEET.
VEGETABLE POISONS

AAA VIL.

 

 

‘ONIUM MACULATUM

COMMON HEMLOCK J ip \ BLACK TENBANE

 

LACTUCA VIROSA IOUT
STRONG SCENTED or POISONOUS LETTUCE. AUTUMNAL MEADOW SAFERON

 
POISONS +

ALAVIT

PH SL

 

ALPINE WHILE CROW-FOOT

FLY BLOWN MUSHROOM

 

   

BLACK HELLEBORE or CHRISTMAS ROSE

PURPLE FOX GLOVE
FRUITS» ANDONUTS PLATE NXNIX

L. $Nat. Size 2 4Nat. Size,

 

NUTS. 2Nat Size
LMAMMEB. 2. PAPAW. 3. SOUR SOP 4. NEGRO PRACT 5. GRANADIEIAA

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LGUAVA. 2. J0JUBN. 3. MANCOS'TEEN, 4 LITCHL. 5 PTSTACIA.6 AVOCADO PEAR

7. DURIO, 8. MALAY APPLE. 9. AKT FRUITS AND NUTS. lO.MANGO.
ALT

PLATE,

 

AUSTRALIAN TREES AND SHRUBS
HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

 

CHAP, I.

THE ILISTORY OF BOTANICAL SCIENCE.

In a survey “of the Earth and Animated
Nature,” one important part of creation comes
to be considered—the Vegetable products which
clothe and adorn the surface of the soil, and
which form a link, and a most important one,
between inorganic matter and the animated
beings existing upon the globe. In order to
enhance our ideas of the beauty and useful-
ness of vegetables, we have only to picture
to ourselves what would be the appearance of
the face of nature without them. We would
have the surface of the earth, it is true, portioned
out into hill and valley, and intersected at con-
venient distances by streams and rivers; but
every thing would be bare, rugged, and unseemly,
and nothing but a picture of desolate barrenness
would appear. Even the soil which covers the
sterile and flinty roeks, and which serves to fill
up and smooth over the abrupt ravines and pre-
cipices existing in these, would, in a great mea-
sure, be wanting ; for one effect of vegetation is,
by the successive decay of leaves and fibres, to
accumulate the deep black loam so essential to
the growth of fresh vegetation. The endless
variety of objects in the vegetable kingdom, the
beautiful forms, and the curious structure of
plants, are no less interesting to the student of
nature, than the history of animals, or of inor-
ganized matter. Nor isthe study less important,
as bearing upon the necessities, conveniences, and
elegancies of life.

The study of the vegetable kingdom has been
called Botany, from a Greek word, Gorey, sig-
nifying herb or grass; and it embraces, Ist, A
knowledge of the various parts composing plants,
and of their uses, their mode of growth and cul-
ture, and their diffusion over the earth. 2d, An
arrangement of plants into classes and families,
according to certain prevailing resemblances, by

 

which they are named and described, so that
they may readily be known. 8d, The vari-
ous uses of plants, as for food, medicine, arts and
manufactures. The profusion with which the
beneficent God of nature has clothed the earth
with every variety of vegetable form, is truly
wonderful! Every region of the globe swarms
with multitudes of different kinds, beyond the
power of the botanist to enumerate. The con-
templation of these affords an ever-varying de-
light to the senses, while the investigation of
their habits and structures no less agreeably
exercises the judgment. A tree is perhaps one
of the most noble and beautiful objects in nature.
The massive strength of the trunk, the graceful
tortuosity of the branches, and the beautiful and
variegated green of the leaves, are all so many
sources of pleasure to the beholder. But when
we think of the series of fibres and. tubes by
which this tree for ages, perhaps, has drawn
nourishment from the earth, and, by a process
of assimilation, added circle after circle of woody
matter round the original stem, till it has ac-
quired its present enormous bulk ; when we re-
flect on the curious mechanism of the leaves by
which, like the lungs of an animal, they decom-
pose the air of the atmosphere, selecting through
the day what part of it is fit to enter into the
composition of the tree, and giving out at night
a differertt species of air; when we think of the
sap passing up the small series of tubes during
summer, and these tubes again remaining dor-
mant and inactive throughout the long winter—
these reflections awaken a train of ideas in the
mind more lasting and more intense than even
the first vivid impressions of simple beauty.
The attention of the earliest races of mankind
must have been directed to the vegetable king-
dont; first of all, as furnishing important neces-
saries of life, and afterwards as objects of luxury
andornament, and pleasing subjects of speculation.
We find Noah represented as a hushandman,

planting the vine and manufacturing its juice
A
2 HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

into wine, then at a subsequent period the Ish-
maelites trafficking in spicery, balm, and myrrh,
which they carried down from Gilead to Egypt
in the days of Joseph. There is every reason
to suppose that Solomon, who in his writings
seems to have been a warm admirer of plants
and flowers, wrote a distinct treatise on vegeta-
bles. Thus, in the book of Kings it is said, “He
spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Le-
banon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out
of the wall.’ Of the nature of his treatise,
however, we can now form no speculation. The
silence of sacred history, therefore, leaves us in
the dark with regard to the prosecution of botany
as a science, and for this we must turn to the
philosophical schools of ancient Greece. At
first, among this intellectual people, it was the
physiology of plants which was cultivated ;
because, from the small number of plants which
were then known, and which among the Greeks
and Romans scarcely exceeded a thousand, it was
not found necessary to think of classifying them.
Besides, the views of the ancients with respect
to natural bodies, were entirely confined to the
explanation of phenomena, and to the employ-
ment of the objects of their research in the arts.
Hence in the writings of the Greek philosophers
which have reached us on this subject, we find
chiefly some physiological notions on the life and
nourishment of plants, which they endeavoured
to explain by analogies from the animal kingdom,
with speculations respecting the rank which
plants hold in the scale of natural bodies, and
respecting their relations to animals. At the
most flourishing period of the Greek republic,
there were persons called Rhizotome, who de-
voted themselves exclusively to the digging of
roots and finding of herbs, for the advancement
of the arts, particularly that of medicine. Some
of those who, devoting themselves to the latter
employment, were called Pharmacopole, seem
even to have issued from the schools of the phil-
osophers, and to have acquired for themselves a
comprehensive knowledge of plants; whence,
also, they were called Cultivators of Physics.
But the greater number pursued their occupation
as market criers, and observed a multitude of
superstitious customs, on which account they
are rather to be regarded as traders than as men
who had been trained in a scientific manner.
The first founder of the natural science of plants
was undoubtedly Aristotle, who hence sometimes
was surnamed the Pharmacopolist, as having
employed himself collecting medicinal plants.
Unfortunately, however, his genuine works on
plants have perished ; a treatise on this subject,
attributed to him, being a forgery of the middle
ages. Theophrastus, the pupil of Aristotle, also
cultivated the science of botany after the system
of his great master. But he seems to have un-
dertaken few journies or travels, since he always

 

appeals to the testimony of diggers of roots, the
cutters of wood, and the inhabitants of the
mountains. He wrote two works which have
been preserved ; one on the nature and causes of
vegetation, the other a history of plants. In
these, we do not find either a very scientific ar-
rangement, or precise description of the few
species known to him; yet they possess no small
merit, as being the production of a philosopher,
who, almost without predecessors, endeavoured,
for the first time, to employ the reasoning faculty
upon the phenomena of the vegetable world.
But he found none of his disciples worthy of
being a successor to himself, and after his time
the science declined and was very little culti-
vated.

‘When Greece was subdued by the Romans,
the knowledge of the conquered so far passed
over to the victors, that the latter, who always
sought out only what was useful, cultivated the
study of plants to as great an extent asit afforded
advantages to thearts. In the works of the old
Romans, Cato, Varro, and Columella, on rural af-
fairs, as well as in the poetry of Virgil, we find
a number of plants named which were cultivated
in the fields and gardens. We have no reason
to believe, however, that the study of plants was
pursued with any degree of avidity among this
people, as the Romans, like the early Greeks,
were yet too much engaged in the tumult of war
to have acquired any considerable relish for the
study of natural history. And hence, the first
direct evidence of the existence of any inquiry,
that can be called strictly botanical, among the
Romans, is that which is furnished in the works
of Dioseorides and Pliny; names well known in
the annals of botany, and illustrious as having
long been regarded by the learned as the best
and most infallible guides to the study of plants.
Dioscorides lived in the first century of the
Christian era. He wasa physician, and followed
the Roman armies in their expeditions through
the greatest part of the Roman empire. His
work consists of a description of all those plants
known to possess medicinal virtues, and was long
looked up to as the source of all information on
thissubject. Pliny the elder, who also flourished
during the same era, and occupied a conspi-
cuous station in the state, left behind him a
great work on natural history. In that part of
it devoted to the vegetable kingdom, the plants
are arranged in alphabetical order, and the des-
criptions of Theophrastus and Dioscorides are
followed. Here and there some notices are added,
aad plants are described which were unknown
to his predecessors; and he himself has informed
us, that, in his youth, he acquired his knowledge
of plants in the garden of Antonius Castor, a son
in law of King Dejotanus. Among the later
Romans, the number of persons who cultivated
the knowledge of nature, diminished in propor-
OF BOTANICAL SCIENCE. 3

tion as the night of barbarism descended, and for
a long time the remains even of Greek and
Roman learning were entirely hid. The Ara-
bians, indeed, after they had instituted schools
of learning, infirmaries, and laboratories, applied
themselves diligently to the study of medicinal
plants ; but they drew their knowledge entirely
from Dioscorides.

The flourishing trade which this nation carried
on for some centuries, from Madeira to China,
made them acquainted with many remarkable
oriental plants which had escaped the notice
of the Greeks. There were also, in the western
parts of the Arabian empire, some inquisitive
students of nature, who endeavoured to correct
and extend their knowledge by travel. About
the beginning of the eleventh century, the Ara-
bians became the teachers of the other nations of
western Christendom, who now formed their
schools of learning according to the Mahommedan
pattern, and translated their books from the
Arabians, In this manner, a slight knowledge
of botany was slowly disseminated throughout
the most enlightened parts of Europe.

At the revival of learning in the fifteenth cen-
tury, the botanical knowledge of the ancients
began to be available in the language of the
original treatises; and, in the following century,
the Germans commenced original inquiries into
the science, and first began to illustrate their
treatises, by wood engravings of the different
plants. The first work of this kind was written
by Otto Brunfels, a native of Strasburgh. To
this succeeded, about the middle of the sixteenth
century, the work of Gesner, a professor of
Zurich, in which the first attempts are made at
a classification and systematic arrangement of
plants, founded chiefly on the characters of their
flowers. The taste for Botany, now excited, be-
gan to spread throughout the chief states of
Kurope. Kingsand noblesengaged in the study,
and gardens were established for the cultivation
of the most rare and useful productions of the
soil, We are principally indebted to the esta-
blishment of learned societies, in the seventeenth
century, and to the invention of the microscope,
for the first attempts at a more minute examina-
tion of the structure of plants. In the Royal
Society of London for the promotion of science,
which was liberally supported by Charles II.
several philosophers occupied themselves with
the dissection and microscopical examination of
plants. Of these, the most distinguished was
Nehemiah Grew, secretary to the society. His
discoveries are recorded in his elaborate work
the Anatomy of Plants illustrated by numerous
engravings. In this work we find the first no-
tice of the twofold sex of plants, which doctrine
he had learned from Thomas Millington, a pro-
fessor in Oxford. Malpighi and Leuwenhoeck
also distinguished themselves as investigators of

 

the minute structure of plants; and, the same
subject was ardently pursued by several members
of the French Academy of Sciences, founded in
1665. The doctrine of the sex of plants, which
had been obscurely hinted at by Grew, was ex-
perimentally illustrated by Bobart, and fully es-
tablished by Ray.

But with thisincreasing knowledge of thenature
of plants, and the rapid multiplication of known
species, no method of arrangement had yet been
adopted calculated for general use, and especially
for the guidance of the practical student. In
this crisis of botanical perplexity, when speci-
mens were every day multiplying in the hands
of collectors, and the science was in danger of
relapsing again into an absolute chaos, a great
and elevated genius arose, destined to restore
order; who, surveying the immense mass of
materials, with a sagacity and penetration un-
paralleled in botanical research, and seizing, as
if by intuition, the grand traits of character cal-
culated to form the elements of a philosophical
division, detected the clew by which he was
to extricate himself from the intricacies of the
labyrinth, and rear the superstructure of a new
method. This great and illustrious naturalist
was the celebrated Linneus. He was born at
Roshult, in Sweden, in 1707, and performed in
1732 his memorable journey through Lapland.
He afterwards travelled into Holland, became
superintendent of the Clifford gardens, and pub-
lished his System of Nature at Leyden in 1735,
and the Genera Plantarum in 1737. In 1741, he
was appointed a professor of the University of
Upsal, and continued for many years the suc-
cessful cultivator and illustrator of his favourite
studies. He has the merit of having first regu-
lated, and defined the artificial language of bo-
tany. He fixed the laws of classification, and
divided the vegetable kingdom into classes,
families, and species; invented scientific, and
common, or trivial names, and enriched the
science by many thousand new and hitherto un-
described plants. But, above all, he invented
what is denominated the artificial mode of ar-
rangement, by taking the parts of inflorescence,
as the flower or corolla, and stamens, and pistils,
or distinctive sexual organs, as the basis of his
system. Since the death of Linnseus, the chief
labours of botanists have been employed in per-
fecting his system, in applying it to the lowest
families of plants, in the more careful examina-
tion of fruits and seeds ; and, in short, rendering
it a convenient alphabet, by which the student
of botany may be enabled to know and recog-
nize the families and species of plants. A more
philosophical view of the vegetable kingdom,
based on the natura] affinities of plants, has
also been sedulously pursued by Jussieu, Decan-
dolle, and many other eminent botanists.
4 HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

CHAP. IL.
YE NATURE AND USES OF PLANTS.

Vecrtapies differ from minerals in being
organized bodies, possessed of a degree of life,
and capable of taking into their system extran-
eous matters, and converting these, by an assim-
ilating process into new compounds, which mat-
ters are thus rendered subservient to their growth
and development. They thus increase their own
bulk, and, moreover, throw off from their bodies
germs which spring up into other vegetable
bodies, the same as the parent plants. Vegeta-
bles, also, are under the dominion of the laws
of vitality, by which they retain the matters
entering into their structure, in a state different
from that in which inorganic bodies exist. The
matter, too, which enters into the composition
of vegetables, is essentially the same as that which
forms the structure of animals; the chief ele-
mentary ingredients being oxygen, hydrogen,
carbon, and azote; only, the proportions and
combinations are somewhat different ; vegetables
possessing more carbon and less azote than the
generality of animals. In these respects,
vegetable bodies closely resemble animals; in-
deed, in the lower divisions of each, the resem-
blance is so close, as to render it a somewhat
difficult task to point out the distinctive differ-
ences. We find no hesitation in drawing a line
of distinction between the more perfect plants,
and a quadruped, bird, or fish ; but, if we take
some animals low in the scale of organization,
and compare them with certain simple vegetables,
we shall find the resemblance, both of structure
and functions, very close indeed. Thus, the
Lemna Gibba, or duck weed, a plant which is
found floating on the surface of the water of

 

ditches, and slow running streams, has an oval,
cellular body a, with several porous roots d, which,
unlike most other vegetables, are unattached to
the soil, but which float in water, and absorb
moisture to constitute the juices of the plant.
This moisture flows up into the cellular body,
and hence, by the medium of pores on the
cuticle, or skin, a quantity of air from the atmos-
phere is absorbed, and thus converted into the

 

 

proper nourishment of the plant. In the Cys.
ticercus, c,a species of animal hydatid, which
lives within the cavities of the bodies of other
animals, there is a neck d, with a tubular
mouth, by which the animal draws in the juices
on which it feeds, to its stomach. The skin ot
this animal is also porous, like the epidermis of
the lemna, through which fluids, and perhaps
air, are absorbed into its body, to conduce to its
nourishment. In the tubipore e, consisting of
a branched stem, with numerous cups, each
containing a simple animal called a polype, there
is a close resemblance to the arborescent form of
most vegetables.

Yet, though plants and animals thus resemble
each other very closely, in many essential par-
ticulars there are others in which they differ.
Thus, in animals which have the power of loco-
motion, there is a muscular system, a set of
contractile fibres, whose tension or relaxation
determines their movements; in vegetables, there
is nothing of the kind. Animals have astomach,
or receptacle, for the substances taken from with-
out, in which these are digested before they are
carried, by means of the lacteals, into the mass
of their circulating fluids; but in vegetables,
nutrition is carried on ina more simple man-
ner, The substances absorbed are conveyed
directly into all parts of the body, without un-
dergoing any previous change, so that, in these,
we find neither an intestinal canal, nor a stomach,
because there is no proper solution or digestion.
In animals there is more or less of a circulation of
the fluids from a centre; in vegetables the nutri-
tious juicesare diffused through the plant without
the agency of acentral heart, Plants derive their
nourishment from inorganic matters, from air,
water, and the various salts of the soil; animals
derive their chief nutriment from matter that has
been previously organized, either from vegetable
substances, or the bodies of otheranimals that have
enjoyed an organized existence. Animals have
a nervous system and sensation; the meanest
animal form shrinks from the touch of an oppos-
ing object, and evidently exhibits the indications
of pain and pleasure. Plants have no nervous
system, neither are they capable of external im-
pressions of sensation. Dutrochet, it is true,
has pointed out minute granules in plants, which
he assumes as analogous to the nervous granules
of the lower animals, but this fact has not been
yet sufficiently established. As plants perform
vital functions so closely allied to the nutritious
functions of animals, it is not altogether impro-
bable but that some modification, or approach
to nervous matter, may be found in their struc-
ture. If this shall be hereafter established, it
will not, however, do away with the proposition
above, that plants have, in reality, no sensation
analogous to that of animals. They haveacon-
tractile power of their fibres, which acts on the
THE NATURE AND USES OF PLANTS. 5

application of external stimulants, remarkably
displayed in the sensitive plant, and in the
turning of leaves and tendrils towards the light
and air ; this, which has been termed irritability,
is widely different from the true sensitive percep-
tions of animals.

But, though vegetables thus differ materially
from animals, in having no sensation, nor any
medium of communication with external things,
they yet are possessed of the essential properties
of life. Like animals, they are acted upon by
the external agencies or stimuli of life, as heat,
light, air, moisture, and electricity ; and the vital
laws by which they are governed, place them in
a totally different position from inorganic matter.
In the tubes of vegetables, the sap ascends from
the earth, contrary to the laws of gravity ; and
the juices, and the whole material of the plant,
as long as it is possessed of life, resist the com-
mon chemical laws of decomposition: but, when-
ever it is cut down, or deprived of life, these
juices immediately run into fermentation, and
again return to the elementary matters of which
they were originally composed. Vegetables are
destitute of voluntary motion. Some of them,
however, execute a species of locomotion, or
very simple change of place. The Lemna, or
duck weed, floats in water, yet this is merely a
passive motion. The roots of many of the family
of the Orchis, have two fleshy tubercles placed
side by side, at the base of the stem. One of
these tubercles, after giving birth to the stem,
whose germ it contained within it, withers, con-
tracts, and ultimately perishes. But, in propor-
tion as it disappears, a third grows out close to
that part which still contains the rudiments of
the stem, which is to appear in the following
year, and replaces the former when it has van-
ished. In this development of a new tubercle
occurring each year, on one side of those which
already exist, it will be seen that, when a new
stem is produced, it is removed by a certain
space from that which preceded it. The same
thing happens, and nearly in the same manner,
in regard to the meadow saffron, with the ex-
ception that its bulbs tend continually to sink
deeper and deeper in the earth.

The number of vegetable forms on the surface
of the globe is immense. At least 50,000 dis-
tinct species have already become familiar to
botanists, and as every new exploration of re-
cently discovered regions is adding rapidly to
the list, the probability is, that at least twice
this number exists in nature. The past history
of the earth, too, informs us that many vege-
table forms, which once flourished in great lux-
uriance and profusion, are now swept from the
soil, and no longer exist, but in their fossil forms
in the rocks and strata.

As ig the case in the animal kingdom, we
find that the tribes and families of vegetables

 

vary exceedingly in their forms and sizes. Some
are so minute as to be invisible to the naked
eye, others rise to the height of 150 and 200
feet, and occupy an area of several square yards
with their ramifying foliage.

The lowest tribes of vegetables are not only
minute, but very simple in their structure. The

 

blue mould a, found in bread and other farinaceous
articles of diet, when examined by the microscope,
will be seen to consist of a number of upright
stalks, surmounted by a spherical ball at the
top. This mould is in fact a species of fungi,
and the round heads contain innumerable small
black seeds or sporules, which, when the plant
has arrived at maturity, burst from their cover-
ing, are scattered about, and floating through
the atmosphere, are ready to fall upon other
pieces of bread, and grow up into fresh fungi.
If an apple is cut across, and allowed to remain
in a damp situation for a few days, the surface
will also be covered with a mould of a similar
character. The fungi here have even more of the
arborescent form, and approach somewhat to the
mosses. Figure } represents the apple mould ;
c,thepearmould. The gray lichens which so abun-
dantly encrust rocks and stones are also simple
vegetables, produced froma small seed, which, fix-
ing itself on the flinty rock, by means of a tough
mucilaginous juice, becomes the centre from
whence others radiate, till a large circular patch is
produced. Mosses and ferns are vegetables some-
what more complicated ; and hence we ascend
to herbs and shrubs, the towering palm and
the majestic oak of the forest.

The use of vegetable products to man, and
other higher animals, is obvious to every one.
The paramount importance of the vegetable king-
dom, as forming an essential link in the great
system of nature, may be very shortly pointed
out.

Vegetables clothe the surface of the soil, af-
fording protection to the smaller animals, mi-
tigating the arid effects of the sun, and prevent-
ing the disintegration of surface from the effects
of the elements. They also preserve the purity
of the atmosphere, absorbing the excess of car-
bonie acid, generated by the respirations of ani-
mals, and giving out, by the decomposition of
water, a quantity of oxygen to make up for
that consumed by the animal kingdom. Vege-
6 HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

table actions also have a considerable influence
on atmospheric electricity, and on the humidity
and dryness of the air.

Vegetables so assimilate inorganic matters,
as to convert them into the food of animals;
every animal, either directly or indirectly,
deriving its chief nourishment from vegetable
products. No animal is found capable of sup-
porting itself on air, water, or earthy matter
alone. Fishes and birds prey upon minute flies
and insects, which derive their nourishment from
vegetable matters. Numerous quadrupeds derive
their sole support from grasses, and many species
of birds from grain and seeds. These become
the prey of flesh-feeding animals, and afford
them their sole means of subsistence ; and man,
as well as some other animals, lives both on vege-
table and animal matter.

The vegetation of former ages, floated down
by rivers, and accumulated in the earth’s strata,
has been converted into coal, to supply the wants
of man under a changed climate. Lastly, the
decay of vegetation is continually forming fresh
soil, by which fresh plants are reared, and newly
found countries are rendered habitable. Thus,
a seed of a minute lichen clings to a bare and
barren rock ; others spring from the parent, and
accumulate round it; in process of time they
decay, new ones succeed them, and thus a suffi-
cient soil is formed for the seeds of larger and
more perfect plants.

CHAP III.
THE STRUCTURE OF PLANTS.

Puants are said to be organised bodies, because
they have a structure quite different from that
of inorganic substances ; a structure made up of
cells, fibres, tubes, and membranes, which join
together toform distinct parts and organs. Some
have endeavoured to trace this structure to certain
primitive forms, existing in the rudest beginnings
of vegetables, as well as in all parts of perfect
plants. When vegetable matter is examined
by the aid of a microscope, we discover more or
less of these forms. In the lowest organic bodies,
both of the animal and vegetable kingdom, we
find, by the aid of a powerful magnifier, a spher-
ical structure intermixed with spiculd, or threads,
in the fluids and solids composing their parts.
The simplest plants, as well as the infusory
animalcules, have this structure. Treviranus
saw it in the spawn of frogs, and in the muscu-
lar texture of the higher animals, in the marrow
of frogs, and in the nerves of the garden snail.
We find the same combination of round bodies
and threads, or spiculi, in the sap of plants; hence
some have supposed, that from these are evolved

 

the peculiar primitive forms of the vegetable
kingdom. ‘The structural forms found in vege-
tables may be reduced to three : the cellular, the
tubular, and the spiral.

The cellular tissue is com-
posed of numerous cells con-
tiguous to each other, of
varied form, according to the
resistance which they meet
with, but generally assuming
a six-sided structure, fig. a.
Some have compared thiscell-
ular tissue to the froth or light
foam which is produced by
blowing up a mixture of
soap and water; others
have likened it to the combs of the honey bee,
which, indeed, afford a very good illustration of
its general appearance. Sometimes it assumes
the simple form of a number of spheres slightly
adhering together, fig. d. It was at one time

a generally supposed that the
walls of two contiguous cells
were common to both, till
Malpighi conceived the idea
that each cell was a distinct
and perfect vesicle of itself,
and which he termed wtriele.

é This opinion has since been
confirmed by Sprengel and numerous other ob-
servers. The cells may be separated without tear:
ing, which proves that each cell forms a kind of
small vesicle which has distinct walls, and that
where the two cells meet, the membrane which
separates them is formed of two layers, which
belong respectively to each of them.

The investigations of Dutrochet and Amici
confirm this opinion. This separation of the
vesicles forming the cellular tissue, can be ef-
fected either by simple boiling in water, or in
nitric acid ; but the walls of the cells sometimes
so intimately adhere to each other, that it is
impossible to separate them. When we observe
particularly the growth and successive forma-
tion of the cellular tissue, it will be distinctly
seen that it is made up of cells at first insulated,
but which, in process of their developement,
become at last more or less united. In this
tissue, the microscope displays to us oval or
spherical bodies, generally of a green colour,
but yet exhibiting all possible shades, according
to the position in which they are observed. It
is these small bodies that give colour to the cel-
lular tissue, for the sides of the cells themselves
are colourless and diaphanous. Turpin has
called these bodies globuline; within each of
them may be seen a small vesicle, in which other
small granules are successively formed, which,
arriving at their full development, burst asunder
their enveloping cases, Tach of these again be-
comes a small vesicle, in which new granules are

 

 
THE STRUCTURE OF PLANTS. 7

developed ; and thus the cellular tissue, which
forms the great mass of vegetable bodies, is pro-
duced in every part of the plant.

When the cells compos- 5
ing the tissue only meet with ‘
the equable resistance occa-
sioned by the presence of
the adjacent cells, it is no
unusual thing to find them
assuming a nearly perfect
hexagonal form, or that of
the cells of the honey bee, fig.
c. But according to pressure, e
or the resistance they receive, they become more
irregular, either elongated, rounded, sor eomapieaaesl
Fig. d exhibits a magnified view
of those cells placed contiguous
to each other. The walls of the
cavities are thin and transpar-
ent; they all communicate with
each other either by wide open-
ings, or by pores or clefts in the
thin walls. Some have supposed #
that the cells communicate with “
each other at’ a point where
the walls are interrupted, while thaw have
shown that the communication between the
cells takes place only where the pores of their
sides are invisible; thus rendering it probable,
that it is by exudation that fluids pass from one
cell to another. In the woody parts of trees, the
cells are greatly lengthened, so as to form a
species of small tubes which are parallel to each
other; their walls are thick and opaque, and
often become wholly obliterated. This elongated
tissue exists in abundance in vegetables; it is
much more common than the regular tissue, and
is made up of small tubes which are contracted
at different distances. Occasionally they taper
towards the extremities. It sometimes happens
that the cells of the elongated tissue touch one
another only at their widest points, whenever
intervals or erapty spaces are found between
them. According to some, these cells contain
no liquid, but are filled with air. The medul-
lary rays, to be afterwards described, form another
modification of the elongated tissue; in these
the cells are very small, elongated, and placed
horizontally, instead of vertically.

The cellular tissue has very little consistence ;
it is easily torn. In many vegetables, especially
aquatic plants, there are interspersed around the
tissue a number of large holes or lacuna, filled
with air, which, according to some, are rents or
holes in the fragile tissue, while others suppose
them regularly formed spaces. Sometimes hairs
of a peculiar nature have been found on their
inner surface, in the form of tufts or pencils. It
is possible to distinguish two species of lacune ;
the one having for an orifice the cuticular pores
which communicate with the external air, the

 

 

 

others having no external communication. The
latter exist particularly in plants which want
the porous tubes. The use of the cellular tissue
is simply to contain and prepare the sap. It is
not destined to conduct upwards the unprepared
sap, because in the bark and in the pith, both of
which have a structure entirely cellular, the as-
cent of the sap is not perceived. There are.
however, what have been called sap vessels in
the cellular texture; but these, originally, are
nothing else but extended cells, which are often
stretched to a considerable length.

The vascular vessels, or sap tubes, are formed
of layers of elementary cellular tissue, rolled up
in such a way as to form canals or tubes, which
are more or less elongated, and placed end on
end, and whose partitions are often not to be seen.
The walls of these tubes are sometimes pretty
thick, slightly transparent, and perforated with
a great number of openings, by means of which
they diffase into the surrounding parts a portion
of the air or sap which they contain. These
vessels are not continuous from the root to the
top of the plant, but they frequently join with each
other, and at last are changed into areolar tissue.

The different kinds of vessels are: simple
tubes; the beaded or moniliform ; the porous
vessels ; the slit vessels, or false spirals; the
spiral vessels, and a combination of two or more
of the above called mixed vessels.

Simple tubes. The simple tubes vary in size,
but they are the largest of all the vessels, fig. ¢.
They are formed of a thin and entire
membrane, without any percep-
tible breach of continuity, and
are found chiefly in the bark,
although they are not confined to
it, being met with both in the
alburnum or newest formed wood,
in the matured wood as well as
in the fibres of herbaceous plants.
They are particularly conspicuous
in the stem and other parts
of the different species of Ew-
phorbia, and in all plants in general containing
thick and resinous juices known by the name
of the proper juices, to the ready passage of which
their great width of diameter is well adapted.
Sometimes they are distinguishable by their
colour, which is that of the juices contained in
them being white in the Zuphorbia, yellow in the
Celandine, or scarlet in Piscidia erythrina. In
the plant they are united in bundles, but are
detachable from one another by means of being
steeped for a few days in spirit of turpentine,
when they become altogether colourless and
transparent, because the resinous matter which
they contained has been dissolved. They retain
their cylindrical form even in their detached
state, so that the membrane of which they are

composed must be very strong.

 
8 HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Beaded vessels. The moni-
liform, or beaded tubes, fig. a,
are porous or punctuated, con-
tracted at different distances,
and crossed by partitions,
which are perforated with
holes like a sieve. These
vessels are chiefly found at
the junction of the root and
stem, and of the stem and
branches,

Punctuated vessels. These, fig. bi are continuous
tubes, on which are a number of opaque points ;
or, according to some, pores dis-
persed in transverse lines; hence
Mirbel has called them porous
tubes. They are found in most
abundance in the stems of woody
plants, and particularly in wood
that is firm and compact, as the
oak ; but they do not, like the
simple tubes, seem destined
to convey any oily or resinous
juices.—See section of oak, Plate
1, fig. f

Slit vessels, or false spirals, fig. c. These are
tubes with a number of slits in a transverse di-
rection; they are very abundant e
in the woody layers and fibres of
most species of vegetable produc-
tions, and serve, with the fore-
going, as capillary tubes, through
which the sap and juices of the
plant ow. These tubes are appar-
ently spiral on a slight inspection,
but upon moreminute examination,
are found to derive this appearance
merely from their being cut trans-
verscly by parallel tissues ; they cannot, conse-
quently, be uncoiled like the truespiral tubes ; nor
can they be separated into distinct rings, because
the continuity of the membrane of which they
are formed, and consequently the extremity of
the fissure, which may always be discovered by
a little attention, prevent that separation. They
are somewhat similar to the porous tubes, for
the fissures, like the pores, are furnished with
a ring surrounding the top. But they are more
generally found in the soft parts of woody plants
than the porous tubes, and often also in the her-
baceous plants. In ferns they are found in great
abundance, and also in the soft parts of the
vine.

The Spiral vessels, fig.d. These are fine, trans-
parent, and thread-like tubes, which are occa-
sionally interspersed among the other vessels of the
plant ; but distinguishable from them by being
twisted in a spiral form, either from right to left,
or the reverse, somewhat in the manner of acork
screw. They arefound in greatest plenty inherba-
ceous plants, and particularly in aquatic species ;

 

 

 

c

 

11.

but they are also to be met with in
woody plants, whether shrubs or trees.
Tf the stalk of a plant of the lily
tribe, or a tender shoot of elder, is
taken, and partly cut across, and
then gently broken or twisted asun-
der, the spiral tubes may be seen even
by the naked eye uncoiled some-
what, but remaining still entire, even
after all the other parts have given
way; and if the inferior portion
of the stalk is not very large, it
may be kept suspended for some considerable
time, merely by the strength of the tubes,
which, though now almost entirely uncoiled
by means of the weight they support, will, when
they finally break, suddenly wind up at each
extremity, and again resume their spiral form.
Grew and Malpighi, who first discovered and
described them, fancied they resembled in ap-
pearance the trachea, or windpipe of animals ;
and hence described them by this name, under
which they are still very generally known. Du °
Hamel endeavoured to convey an idea of their
form, by comparing it to that of a piece of rib-
band rolled round a small cylinder, and then
gently pulled off in the direction of its longi-
tudinal axis. The figure of the ribband becomes
thus loosely spiral. This is a very good illus-
tration of the figure of the spiral tubes in their
uncoiled state; but it does not represent them
very correctly as they exist in the plant. But
the best illustration of this kind is, perhaps, that
of Dr Thomson. Take a small cylinder of
wood, and wrap round it a piece of fine and
slender wire, so as, that the successive rings may
touch one another, and then pull out the cylin-
der, The wire, as it now stands, will represent
the spiral tubes as they exist in the plant; and
if it is stretched by pulling out the two extremi-

 

ties, it will represent them in their uncoiled

state also. But although the spiral tubes are
to be met with in almost all plants, they are not
yet to be found in all the different organs of the
plant ; or at least, there are organs in which they
occur but rarely, or in very small numbers.
They do not seem to occur often in the root, or
at least they are not easily detected in it. Grew
and Malpighi do indeed represent them as oc-
curring often in the root, the former referring
for examples to the roots of plants in general,
and the latter to those of the asparagus, poplar,
convolvulus, elm, and reed, all of which, says
Mr Keith, I have examined with great care,
without being able to discover any spiral tubes.
Sprengel states, however, that these spiral vessels
are always in the company of the sap vessels,
being chiefly found between the bark and pith
in common plants; but they appear later than
the sap vessels, and are only discerned when the
young plant begins to shoot. They are, he adds,
THE STRUCTURE OF PLANTS. 9

found in the root as well asin the stalk; they
partly compose the nerves and veins of the leaves
and vessels of the corolla, and are found in the
stamens and pistils in the fruit, and also in the
umbilicus of the seed. These spirals, at their
extremities, terminate in the cellular tissue, ac-
cording to Mirbel ; but according to Dutrochet,
they end in a sort of cone, which is more or less
acute.

If the root of the common garden lettuce is
cut partly across, and the remainder broken
gently asunder, the spiral vessels will most gen-
erally be discernible. They are not always
simple, but are sometimes found with double,
triple, or even with a great number of parallel
spirals.

They may be also found in the leaf stalk of
the common artichoke, when young and fresh,
in the fibres of which, they are not only re-
markably large and distinct, but also remarkably

beautiful, some of them exhibiting in their na--

tural position the appearance of spiral coats,
investing interior fibres, rather than that of form-
ing a distinct tube, and seeming, when uncoiled,
to be themselves formed of a sort of net work
membrane,consisting of three principal and longi-
tudinal fibres. They are discernible also in the
leaf as well as leaf stalk, though not quite so
easily detected. If a leaf is taken and gently
torn asunder in a transverse direction, there will
be seen fragments of the spiral tubes projecting
from the torn edges, and generally accompanying
the nerves, In the calyx and corolla of the
flower they do not exist so generally as in the
leaf, on which account, some botanists have de-
cided too hastily with regard to their non-ex-
istence in these parts. The calyx of the scabiosa,
and the corolla of the honeysuckle, will afford
examples. In whatever part of the plant they
are found to exist, they are always endowed with
a considerable degree of elasticity. For though
they be forcibly extended so as to undo the
spires, they will again contract and resume their
former figure, when the extending cause is with-
drawn ; and if they are even stretched till they
break, the fragments will again coil themselves
up as before. Hedwig considered the spiral
vessels composed of two parts: a straight and
central tube full of air, and of a tube rolled
spirally on the former, and fullof aqueous fluid.
Others have considered them as formed of a
very thin external tube, in whicha small silvery
layer is rolled spirally, in such a manner as to
keep its parietes or walls asunder ; while again,
some suppose that the spires of the vessel are
held together by a very thin membrane, which
is easily torn when the spiral thread is unrolled.
From this it would follow, that the spirals
form continuous tubes.

According to Decandolle, the interior canal of
the spiral vessel, in its natural state, is always

 

found free from water. Itis true, that if a piece
of wood is dipped in water, this fluid penetrates
into the canal; and when we permit coloured
fluids to flow into the cut branches of plants,
these fluids become apparent in the sides of the
spiral canals; but they are also seen still more
distinctly, in the neighbouring bundles of sap
vessels, and they penetrate in considerable quan-
tity even into the cellular texture. We are not
therefore, entitled from this entrance of coloured
fluids, to conclude respecting the natural con-
tents of those canals, because in general this
penetration of coloured sap does not succeed in
an uninjured root. In spiral canals which grow
rapidly, the fibres are often torn in such a man-
ner, that they fall together in the shape of rings.
These ring-shaped vessels, as they have been
called, are therefore an entirely accidental variety
of the primitive form of the spiral vessels ; and
this is the more evident, because we find the
same vessel in one situation as a spiral canal,
and in another as a ring-shaped vessel. This
change, besides, shows incontestibly that the
spiral vessels cannot conduct sap, since they are
often nothing else but rings at a distance froin
one another, As then the spiral vessels and all
their varieties are uniformly found empty of
fluids, as they show themselves only in the higher
plants, and constantly appear wherever a strong
shoot is cut off ; as they are always in the com-
pany of the sap vessels, and as they maintain,
by their constant diagonal direction, the middle
situation between the perpendicular and hori-
zontal; we must from all these considerations
conclude that they are the instruments of the
higher vital activity of plants, and that they
are the organs by which the sap tubes receive
an internal excitement to the speedy propulsion
of the sap. 3
i: Mixed vessels, fig. e, are those which
<<) are composed of two or more of the
foregoing varieties. Mirbel exempli-
fies this combination in the common
flowering rush, in which the porous,
spiral, and false spiral tubes appear
united into one. He seems, however,
to be of opinion, that the appearance
is to be regarded as being merely an
indication of the commencement of
e the process of union, of the contiguous
rings of the spiral tubes, by which they are to be
converted into a newform. Amici thinks that
the false spirals never become true ones; and
he besides remarks, that these two _ of
vessels occupy different places.

These various kinds of vessels thus united in
considerable numbers, form bundles connected
by cellular tissue ; they then form fibres pro-
perly so called ; and these fibres, or bundles of
tubes, constitute the frame work, and, as it
were, the skeleton oF est of the organs of

 
10

vegetables, While the soft portion, composed
of cellular tissue, is called the parenchyma, con-
stituting the pulp of fruits, interstices of leaves,
&c. This term is used in opposition to fibre,
every part which is not fibrous being composed
of parenchyma. These two tissues, combined
in various ways, make up the different organs of
plants; the vascular tissues consisting, as we
have seen, of, Ist, The sap vessels, or lymphatics,
in which the sap is circulated. 2d, The simple
vessels, containing the peculiar or proper juices
of the plant. 38d, The air vessels, in which we
never find any thing but elastic gases. But the
different writers on vegetable physiology are
far from agreeing on the class to which the dif-
ferent species of vessels belong. Thus, many of
the older, as well as the more recent writers in
botany, are of opinion, as already stated, that
the spiral vessels contain gaseous fluids alone,
while Mirbel has denied the existence of air
vessels at all, and maintains, that all the tubular
vessels of vegetables are destined solely for the
circulation of sap. Professor Amici, on the
other hand, affirms positively, that he has ascer-
tained by observation, that the spirals, the false
spirals, the porous vessels, and in general all the
tubular and cellular organs of vegetables which
have visible holes or slits, never contain any
thing but air, When the diameter of these
tubes is large enough, this observation can easily
be verified by cutting the tubes across, they are
then observed to be always empty. If the di-
vision be made under water, each of them is
seen to present a small air bubble at its orifice.
The openings or pores with which the porous
vessels are perforated, are very frequently organ-
ized like the pores of the epidermis or outer skin,
that is, they present at their circumference a
circular swelling, or border. This remark made
by Mirbel, has been confirmed by Amici. From
this resemblance the latter draws a conclusion
which is favourable to his opinion, respecting
the nature of the fluid contained in these vessels.
In fact, the great pores of the epidermis never
give passage to any other than elastic fluids.
The air contained in the porous vessels does not
communicate with the external air. Amici
thinks it is produced in the interior of the vege-
table tissue ; but its nature is not as yet perfectly
known. In woody vegetables, where the air
vessels ultimately disappear, their place is occu-
pied by the medullary rays, which perform the
same functions. These are, in fact, composed of
small, tubes placed horizontally, or of porous
cells elongated in a transverse direction, which
seem to serve as a medium of communication
between the inner parts of the vegetable and the
outer. These tubes orcells nevercontain any thing
but air. From the descriptions given then, it
will be observed that there me two principal
means of communication between the different

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

parts of the vegetable tissue. In the air cells,
or tubes, the communication is preserved by
means of pores or minute slits. These pores
are altogether wanting in the cellular tissue,
properly so called ; and in the vessels called sim-
ple tubes or proper sap vessels. In that part of
the vegetable tissue, the communication takes
place either by a kind of imbibition, or by the
intervening spaces which the globules that com-
pose the layers of that tissue leave between
them.

Pores. These are small and minute openings
of various shapes and dimensions, adapted for
the absorption, transmission, or exhalation of
fluids ; and have, by some, been classed under
perceptible and imperceptible pores. The per-
ceptible pores are either external or internal, and
are the apertures described by Hedwig as dis-
coverable in the net-work of the epidermis, or
by Mirbel as perforating the membranes com-
posing the cells and tubes, and forming a com-
munication between them. The stomata or leaf
pores, will be more particularly described when
treating of the structure of leaves. They are
found in considerable numbers in the softer par-
enchematous structure of the leaf, and rarely or
never on the stems or fibres: on the under side
of the leaf of nymphea or water lily, or on the
lettuce or common cabbage leaf, they may be
distinctly seen. On them they are, however,
discoverable on both surfaces of the leaf, exhib-
iting an oval aperture more or less dilated, to-
gether with communicating ducts. On the upper
surface they are much fewer and smaller than
on the under ; and in the leaves of trees, they
are fewer and smaller on both surfaces, than in
the leaves of herbs. They are generally oval;
in the nymphea they are round and not readily
detected, the epidermis of this plant being very
difficult of detachment. The internal pores, or
apertures, forming the medium of communica-
tion between the different cells and tubes, have
been already described. In some plants, they
are but few and scattered, and in others, they
are numerous and arranged in regular rows,
which extend always in a transverse, never in a
longitudinal direction, being destined, probably,
for the lateral transmission of the sap. The
imperceptible pores are not distinguishable even
by a powerful microscope; but they are pre-
sumed to exist by the evidence of experiment.
In the fine pellicle of pulpy fruits, though
exhibiting evidently traces of organization, no
pores have as yet been discovered. But we must
not on that account conclude that it is altogether
without pores ; on the contrary, we must assume
their existence, because it is very well known
that the fruits in question both absorb and tran-
spire moisture ; and if so, there must of neces-
sity exist apertures for the passage of moisture.
The diameter of such, however, must be extremely
THE NATURE AND USES OF PLANTS.

minute. If an apple, or other pulpy fruit, be
Placed under the receiver of an air pump, and
the receiver exhausted, the air contained in the
apple escapes only by the bursting of the epi-
dermis ; hence it has been thought, that the pores
are so very minute as to be impermeable even to
air. But this conclusion is perhaps too hasty ;
the epidermis of the apple may be permeable to
air, though not in a state of sudden expan-
sion.

Gaps are empty spaces formed in the interior
of the plant by means of a partial disruption of
the membrane forming the tubes or utricles ;
they are often placed regularly and symmetri-
cally. They would appear to be occasioned by
the superabundance of the nutritious juices
which their vessels are found sometimes to con-
tain, without being able to elaborate, and by which
they are ultimately ruptured. They do not
occur often, except in plants of a soft and loose
texture, such as aquatics, though they are some-
times to be met with in woody plants also. In
their general aspect, they resemble longitudinal
tubes interspersed throughout the cellular tissue
or pulp, as may be seen in the stems of ferns;
but in the mare’s tail, (equésetum) they assume a
regularity of disposition, that seems to indicate
something more than merely the accidental rup-
ture of the vessels. One gap larger than the
rest occupies the centre of the stem, around
which a number of smaller gaps are placed in a
circular row, which is again encircled with a
second row of gaps larger than the last, and al-
ternating with them, and forming in their ag-
gregate assemblage a sort of symmetrical group.
In the leaves of herbaceous plants the gaps are
often interrupted by transverse diaphragms,
formed of a portion of the cellular tissue which
still remains entire, as may be seen in the trans-
parent structure of the leaves of Typha, and
many other plants. Transverse gaps are said to
be observable also in the bark of some plants,
though very rarely.

Glands are peculiar organs which are observed
on almost every part of a plant, and whose func-
tion it is to separate from the general mass of
the sap of the plant some particular fluid or
substance. In their uses, and even structure,
they have a near resemblance to the glands of
animals. They appear to be formed of a very
delicate cellular tissue, in which a great number
of vessels are ramified. But thisname has been
also given to vesicular bodies, which are often
transparent and placed in the substance of organs,
and are full of a volatile oil which has been pro-
bably secreted in their terior. Their peculiar
form and structure are very various ; and hence
they have been distinguished into several species.
Thus there are, Ist, Miliary glands. These
are very small and superficial. They appear
under the form of small round grains disposed

 

1]

in regular series, or scattered without order on
all parts of the plant which are exposed to the
air, 2d, Vesicular glands. These are small
reservoirs full of essential oil, and lodged in the
herbaceous integument of vegetables. They are
very distinct in the leaves of the myrtle and of the
orange, and appear under the aspect of small
transparent points when those leaves are placed
between the eye and the light. 8d, Globular
glands. These have a spherical form, and ad-
here to the epidermis only by a point. They
are observed particularly in the labiate. 4th,
Utricular glands, or Ampulle. These are filled
with a colourless fluid, as in the ice plant. 5th,
Papillary glands. They form a species of paps
or papille, something like the papille of the
tongue. They occur in many of the labiate.
Gth, Lenticular glands. Some of these are borne

13. upon stalks, others sessile,
or attached to the plant
without any appendage.
Many tribes of vegetables,
asthemallowsand legumin-
ous plants, bear on their
pellicles, or on the disk of
their leaves, glands of very

 

various forms. Figs. abc,

represent the forms of the

e d simpler glands; d ¢ sessile
glands.

fTairs. These are small filaments of greater

or less delicacy, found abundantly on vegetables,
and which serve for the purpose of absorption
and of exhalation. There are few plants destitute
of these hairs ; but they are observed chiefly on
those which grow on dry situations. In this
case, they have been looked upon by some bo-
tanists as serving to multiply and extend the
absorbing surfaces of vegetables. Accordingly,
they are not found on very succulent plants,
such as the thick leaved or aquatic tribes. They
appear also, to be in many cases the excretory
ducts of many glands, and are thus frequently
found inserted ona papillary gland. Thus, in the
common stinging nettle, the hairs attached to
the gland first pierce the skin, and then conduct
the irritating fluid into the wound; for when
this fluid is dried up, the prick of the hair no
longer produces a painful sensation, Hairs have
been divided into the glanduliferous, the excre-
tory, and lymphatic. The first are either im-
mediately applied to a gland, or surmounted by
a small peculiar glandular body, as in the white
fraxinella ; the second are placed on glands of
which they appear to be the excretory ducts des-
tined to pour out the secreted fluids, while the
third are only a simple prolongation of a cortical
pore. Their forms are various, as the simple-
branched, awl-shaped, head-shaped: some are
hollow and cropped at different places by hori-
zontal partitions. Their disposition and existence
12

on plants is called pubescence, and will be more
particularly alluded to afterwards.

CHAP. IV.
TILE ORGANS AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS.

In the foregoing pages we have treated of the
general structure of vegetables; we now proceed
to consider the several parts, or organs, of which
a plant is composed. A perfect plant consists
of a root, stem, and branches ; leaves, blossoms,
with the parts of fructification, seeds, and,
lastly, fruit. The root, stem, and leaves, as
conducing to the nutrition and growth of the
plant, are called the conservative or nutritive
organs. The flowers, with the parts of fructifi-
cation, as contributing to the multiplication of
the species, are termed the reproductive organs.*
As there is a gradation, however, in the vegeta-
ble kingdom, many plants have not all the organs
now enumerated. Some have neither leaves nor
stem, others are destitute of flowers, or even seeds,
and propagate their kinds by a simple sporule,
which partakes as much of the nature of a bud
or incipient germ, as a regular seed. Before pro-
ceeding to describe the organs in detail, we shall
give a short, general view of the different parts
of plants.

The first, or most perfect division of plants,
is called Phanerogamic, or those having con-
spicuous blossoms. A plant of this class con-
sists of, 1st, The root, or that part of the lower
extremity of the plant which enters the earth,
where it sends out filaments and fixes the plant
in the soil, or, in a few aquatic plants, floats
loose in the water. The use of the roots is to
absorb the nutritive juices from the soil. 2d,
The stem, which grows upwards into the atmos-
phere, and sends out branches, to which the leaves
are attached. The stem contains the cells and
sap vessels already described ; it is covered with
the bark, and gives strength and solidity to the
plant. 38d, The leaves are those green mem-
branous appendages attached to the branches of

 

* Linneeus distributes the parts into root, herb, and
fructification ; the herb comprehending the trunk,
branches, and leaves. This is perhaps sufficiently cor-
rect, considered as a division ; but is objectionable with
regard to the use of one of the terms employed. For
as the term herb was previously appropriated to the
designation of a peculiar class, or division of plants,
it ought not to have been employed to signify also a
part of the plant itself. Another division is that by
which the parts in question are distributed into per-
manent, and temporary, or deciduous—the permanent
parts being the root, stem, and branches, which con-
tinue to exist as long as the plant vegetates, and the
temporary parts being the leaves, flower, and fruit,
which fall off and are renewed annually, at least in
those that are themselves perennial.—Keih’s Botany.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the stem, or they grow out immediately from
the root in those plants having no middle stem.
Their office is to absorb the gases of the atmos-
phere, which combine with the juices of the
plant. 4th, The flowers or blossoms, containing
the parts of fructification, to which are attached
the fruit and receptacles of the seed. The flower
consists of the calyx or cup attached to the flower
stalk, on which is fixed the corolla or coloured
portion of the flower, which may be either formed
of one continuous piece, like a cup or bell, or of
several pieces called petals. The parts of fruc-
tification consist of the stamens or male organs,
with the anthers, filled with podlen or fecundat-
ing dust; and the pést7] or female organ, occu-
pying the centre of the flower, and terminating
in an ovary or receptacle for theseeds. 5th, The
pericarp, of very variable form and consistence,
is the ovary or seed bag fully developed, and
contains the ovules, which are in process of time
matured into seeds. 6th, The seeds contained
in the pericarp, are attached to it by a filament,
called the placenta. They have an external skin
or covering, and a kernel; within thisis attached
the embryo or germ of the future plant, and
either one or two lobes or cotyledons, destined
to afford the first nourishment to the germ.
From the nature of the cotyledons, plants are
divided into two great and distinctive classes :
Monocotyledonous with one seed lobe, Dicotyle-
donous with two seed lobes. Of the former
class are grasses, palms, lilies; to the latter
belong the oak, elm, pea, carrot, and numerous
other families. The acotyledonous class, again,
includes those plants which have no seed lobe,
and either no fructifying organs, or very imper-
fect ones.

But even among the first or highest class of
plants, all the organs are not uniformly present.
Thus neither the plantain, nor the common prim-
rose, have any stem or stalk; there are no leaves
in the dodder. In monocotyledonous plants
there is no corolla or flower blossom around the
parts of fructification, but only a simple integ-
ument; even this integument is in the willow
awanting. Sometimes the blossom contains only
one of the several organs, as in the hazel, where
the stamens are found in one flower, and the
pistils in the other, or both sexual organs disap-
pear altogether, as in the viburnum, portencia, &c.
Yet, in all these different exceptions, this ab-
sence of organs is only accidental, and has no
marked influence on the rest of the organization ;
for it will be found that plants which want
those organs, do not deviate essentially either in
their external characters, or in their mode of
vegetation. and reproduction from those which
possess them,

_The second great division of the vegetable
kingdom is into cryptogamic or acotyledonous
plants. Linneusgave them the name of crypto-
THE ROOTS OF PLANTS.

gamic because their sexual organs are concealed
or invisible ; they include ferns, mosses, lichens,
fungi, and alge; they are a numerous class, and
comprehend nearly an eighth part of the 50,000
known vegetable productions. The following
table will exhibit at one view the foregoing
statements :

Root.
{ se oranches.
{ geen 28,

Organs of Nutrition,

gelyx, corolla,
Stamen.
Organs of Reproduction, pit.
Ovary.
Seed.
Monocotyledonous—one seed
Division I. Phanerogamic, lobe, as palms, grasses,
or Flowering Plants, Dicotyledonous — ewe seed
lobes, as oak, elm, bean,

Division II. Cryptogamic, Acotyledonous — destitute of
or Nonflowering, peed lobes: as mosses, ferns,

CHAP. V
THE ROOTS OF PLANTS.

Tue root is that part of the plant which,
forming its lower extremity, is almost always
concealed in the earth, and which grows con-
stantly in a direction opposite to that of the
stem, that is, it descends perpendicularly, while
the other ascends into the atmosphere. Another
character of the root is, that it never turns green,
at least in its tissue, when exposed to the action
of air and light ; whereas all the other parts of
vegetables acquire that colour when exposed.
This definition is perhaps as comprehensive as
any that can be given, whether with regard to
the class of perfect or imperfect plants, though
it is no doubt liable to many exceptions, if ap-
plied to both. For even of plants denominated
perfect, some are found to float on the surface of
the water, having the roots immersed in it, but
not fixed, as the demna or duck weed; and of
plants of a still simpler structure, some have no
root at all, or at least no visible part distinct from
the rest, to which that appellation can be as-
cribed, such as many of the conferve ; or they
are apparently altogether root, as the truffle.
There are also many “of the simpler plants which
attach themselves to other vegetables, and to
various substances from which they cannot be
supposed to derive any sort of nourishment
whatever, owing either to the mode of their at-
tachment, or to the character of the substances
to which they attach themselves. Such are
many of the mosses, lichens, and marine plants,
found adhering to the outer and indurated bark
of aged trees, to dead or decayed stumps, to
rotten pieces of wood, and frequently even to
stones. These, therefore, are to be regarded as
exceptions to the rule. Most aquatic plants,

 

18

such as the buck bean, water lily, hooded mil-
foil, are possessed of two kinds of roots. The
one, sunk in the earth, fix the plant to the
soil; the other, usually proceeding from the
base of the leaves, are free and floating in the
midst of the water. The Clusia rosea, a shrub
of South America, the Sempervivum arbor-
eum, the Indian corn, the mangrove, and some
species of figs, besides the roots which terminate
them below, produce others from different points
of their stem, which often descend from a consid-
erable height and sink into the earth. These
have received the name of adventitious roots ;
and a remarkable fact respecting them is, that
they do not begin to grow in diameter till their
extremities have reached the soil, and drawn from
thence the materials of their growth. We must
not confound as roots certain subterraneoug
stems of vegetables which creep horizontally
under the soil, as in the German Iris, Solomon’s
Seal, &c. The direction of these alone in a
horizontal, not perpendicular position, would be
almost sufficient to distinguish them from the
true roots if other characters did not mark them.
Different parts of vegetables are capable of pro-
ducing roots. Cut off a willow branch, or the
branch of a poplar, plant it in the earth, and in
the course of a short time its lower extremity
will be covered with rootlets. The same will
happen when both extremities are planted in
the soil ; each of them will push forward roots,
and thus become fixed in the earth. In grasses,
particularly in Indian corn, the lower knots of
the stem sometimes give out roots, which de-
scend and sink into the earth. It is on this
property of the stem, and even of the leaves of
many vegetables, of producing new roots, that is
founded the practice of propagating by slips and
layers, a means of multiplication which is much
employed in horticulture. There is great ana-
logy of structure between the roots which a tree
shoots into the earth, and the branches which
it spreads out into the air. The principal dif-
ference between these two organs, dependschiefly
on the different mediums in which they are de-
veloped. The roots of the gigantic Baobab tree
of Africa, are said to extend one hundred feet
in length. It has been said, that when a young
tree is inverted so as to have its branches buried
in the earth, and its roots in the air, the leaves
are changed into roots and the roots into leaves.
This, however, is incorrect ; the leaves are no
more changed into roots than the roots into
leaves. But when they are placed under the
earth, the buds situated in the axilla of the
leaves, instead of producing young branches, or
leafy scions, are elongated, blanched, and become
radical fibres, aihile the latent buds of the
roots, which are destined annually to renew the
tufts of radical fibres, being placed in the other
medium are expanded into leaves. We have
14

also a striking example of this tendency of the
latent buds of the root, to change into leafy
branches when placed in the air, in those shoots
which sprout up around trees, which have creep-
ing roots, such as the acacia and poplar. The
roots of certain trees, at different distances, pro-
duce a species of cones, or excrescences of a
loose, soft wood, quite naked, and standing above
ground, which are called exostoses. The cypress
of North America affords an example of this.

The root iscommonly divided into three parts.
The body or middle part, of various forms and
consistences, sometimes more or less swelled, as
in the turnip and carrots. The collar or life
knot, an annular bulge at the point where the
stem joins the root, and from which springs the
bud of the annual stem, in perennial roots. The
radical or minute branching fibres, which ter-
minate the root. Raots, according to their dur-
ation, are distinguished into biennial, perennial,
and woody. Annual roots belong to those plants
which, in the course of one year, come to their
maturity and perish, such as wheat, cockspur,
poppy, &c. Biennial roots are those of plants
which require two years to come to maturity.
During the first year, biennial plants usually
produce nothing but leaves ; in the second year
they perish, after having flourished and produced
fruit, as the carrot. The perennial roots are
those which belong to woody plants, and to those
which, during an indefinite number of years,
send forth herbaceous stems, which annually
flourish and decay, while the root lives for several
years, such as those of asparagus, asphodils, lu-
cern. This division of vegetables, however, into
annuals, biennials, and perennials, according to
the duration of their roots, is liable to vary under
the influence of divers circumstances. The
climate, temperature, and situation of a country,
and even cultivation, influence, in a singular de-
gree, the duration of vegetables. It is no un-
common thing to see annual plants vegetate for
two years, and even more, if they are placed in
a suitable soil and protected from the cold.
Thus, the mignonette, which, in Europe, is
only an annual plant, becomes perennial in the
sandy deserts of Egypt. On the contrary, per-
ennial, and even woody plants of Africa and
America, become annuals when transplanted into
northern climates. The marvel of Peru and
cobeea, are perennial in Peru, and die annually
in our gardens. The castor oil plant, which in
Africa forms woody trees, is annual in our climate,
yet it again resumes its woody character when
placed in a proper exposure. In general, all
perennial exotic plants, whose seeds can produce
individuals that flower the first year in our
climate, become annuals. This is the case with
the castor oil plant, the cobcea, marvel of Peru,
&e. Woody roots differ from perennial only
in their more solid consistence, and in the per-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

manency of the stems which they support, such
as those of trees and shrubs. There are four
principal divisions of roots: Ist, Vertical, or
those which sink perpendicularly into the earth.
2d, Fibrous, or those branching out into fibres,
3d, Tuberous, having round or oval appendages.
4th, Bulhbous, having a bulb at the top.

1. Vertical roots are those which sink perpen-
dicularly into the earth, as the carrot, ¢, turnip, 3,

14.

  

and radish, They are either simple, as in this
vegetable; or branched, as in the ash, a. ‘They
belong exclusively to the class of Dicotyledonous
vegetables. They are not true roots, however,
but merely give off the fibrils, or proper roots.
Ibe @ 2. The fibrous root d, consists
of a great number of fibres, which
are either simple and_ slender,
or thick and ramified. The roots
of a great proportion of the
palms are of this kind, and such
roots are found in the Monoco-
tyledonous class only.

 

3. Tuberous roots are those which have at-
tached to the true root, at different points, some-
times at the upper part, sometimes in the middle
or at the extremities, tubers or roundish bodies.

16: (fig. 16,¢). These tubercles or
fleshy bodies, which are com-
monly, though erroneously,
called roots, are only masses of
a starchy consistence and sub-
stance, which nature hasthus
stored up, to afford a supply
of nutritious matter for the
future germ, They are more
or less numerous, as in the
Jerusalem artichoke and potatoe. They are
never found in annual plants; but belong ex-
clusively to perennial. Sprengel considers these
tubercles as a kind of subterranean buds, to
which nature has confided the preservation of
the rudiments of the stem. The only difference
which the tubercles, thus considered, present, ig
that the young stem, in place of being protected
by numerous and close scales, is enveloped by a
dense and fleshy body, which not only serves to
protect it during winter, but supplies it in spring

 
THE ROOTS OF PLANTS.

with the first materials of its development and
nutrition, They might equally be considered
as short and fleshy subterraneous stems, and the
eyes which spring from them might be viewed
as buds. Or might we not rather regard them
as subterraneous cotyledons, containing the germ
of the future plant, and the nourishment neces-
sary for its development.

4, Bulbous roots are
either scaly f, or coat~
ed g. The onion is
of this kind of root,
and is formed of a
thin flat tubercle call-
ed a disk, which,
at its lower part, pro-
duces a fibrous root, J 7
and on its upper supports a bulb, which isa
bud of a particular kind, formed of a number of
coats or concentric layers, one above the other.
From the centre of the bulb, a short or her-
baceous stem is produced, which dies down.
Of this kind are also the lily, hyacinth, garlie,
and other bulbous plants.

Such are the principal forms which we find
the roots of plants assume ; yet, of these forms
there are many modifications and varieties,
Here, as throughout her other works, Nature
does not adhere servilely to artificial or system-
atic divisions. She sometimes obliterates, by in-
sensible gradations, those differences which we
at first thought so complete and decided ; and
many of these modifications are accomplished to
accommodate the plant to the nature of the
circumstances amid which it is placed. Thus,
the radicles or fibrils of the roots are compara-
tively larger, and more abundant, the looser the
soil in which the vegetable lives. When the
extremity of a root happens to meet a stream
of water, it elongates, divides into capillary and
branched fibrils, and constitutes what is called
by gardeners a fox’s tail. This circumstance,
which may be produced at any time, shows why
aquatic plants generally have much larger roots
than others. All the roots which cannot be re-
ferred to any of the four divisions above enum-
erated, retain the general name of roots; but a
few particulars may be added regarding the var-
iety of structure, as useful to practical botanists.
The root is said to be fleshy, when besides being
manifestly thicker than the base of the stem it
is at the same time more succulent, as in the
carrot, turnip, &c. On the contrary, it is said
to be woody when its structure is more solid,
approaching, in some degree, to the hardness of
wood. This is the case in most woody vegeta-
bles. Simple roots have a single tapering body
entirely without divisions ; a branched root is
one divided into more or less numerous rami-
fications, always of the same nature as itself,

 

15

which is the case in most of our common trees,
as the oak, elm, ash. The root is vertical when
its direction is perpendicular to the earth’s
centre, as the carrot, radish ; oblique, as in the
iris ; ov horizontal, as inthe elm; not unfrequently
these positions are assumed by the different
radicles of one root. As to shape, roots are
called fusiform when they are thick in the
middle, and taper to both ends, as in the radish ;
naziform, as in the common turnip, Spanish
radish ; conical, with the form of a reversed

| cone, as in the beet, parsnip, carrot ; rounded, as

in the earth nut; testiculate, when it has one or two
rounded egg-shaped tubercles, as in Jerusalem
artichoke; in this root, one of the tubercles 1s
firm, solid, and somewhat larger than the other;
it is that which contains the rudiments of the
stem which is to grow in the ensuing year; the
other, on the contrary, being soft, wrinkled, and
smaller, contained the germ of the stem which
has been last developed, and on whose growth
it expended the greater part of its amylaceous
or starchy substance ; palmate, when the tu-
bercles of the root are divided about the middle
into lobes like fingers, as in the spotted orchis, 4.

 

i k
Digitate, when this division extends nearly to the
base of the root, as in some of the others of the
genus orchis ; &, creeping, as in mint and other fa-
miliar plants; knotty, when the ramification of the
root presents atintervals a kind of enlargement or
knots, which impart somewhat the resemblance
of a necklace, as in the
drop wort, fig. 7. These
knots, however, are not to
be confounded with the
true tubercles, which al-
ways contain the rudi-
mentsofanewstem. Gran-
ulated, which presentamass
of small tubercles contain-
ing eyes, by which a
new plant is produced, as in the saxifrage, sazi-
Fraga granulata; fasciculate, when formed of
numerous thick, simple, or branched radicles, as
in asphodel and ranunculus ; articulated, or
forming joints at regular distances, as in gratiola;
contorted, when curved in different directions, as
in bistort ; capillary, formed of a number of
slender capillary tubes, as in wheat, barley,

 

 

8rasses 3 comose, when the filaments are branched
16

aud very close, asin the heaths. The internal
structure of roots very closely resembles that
of the stem, and shall be described along with
that organ.

According to the general laws of vegetable

growth, plants of the same species are furnished
with the same species of root, not producing at
one time a woody or fibrous root, and at another
abulhous root. Yet some exceptions to this rule
occur. If part of the root of 2%
a tree planted by a pond or
river, is accidentally laid bare
on the side next the water, or
if in the regular course of its
growth it protrudes beyond
the bank, so as to be now par-
tially immersed, the future de-
velopment of the part is considerably affected ;
for the root, which was formerly firm and woody,
instead of augmenting in the regular way by
the accession of new layers between the wood
and bark, thus enlarging the mass, divides now
at the extremity into many ramifications, or
sends out a number of fibres from the surface,
which become again subdivided into fibres still
more minute, and gives to the whole an appear-
ance’ something like a foxe’s tail,m. This may be
seen in willows, growing beside ponds. On the
other hand, the phlenm pratense, when growing in
its natural moist soil, has a fibrous root; but when
in a dry soil, where it is not unfrequently found,
the root is bulbous. The roots of utricularia
minor, exhibit curious appendages of small
membranous bladders attached to their slender
filaments, containing a transparent fluid and a
bubble of air, by means of which the plant is kept
floating in the water. If a slice of the beet
root be examined when the plant is a year old,
it will exhibit from five to eight concentric circles
of tubes or sap vessels, imbedded at regular in-
tervals in its pulp ; whereas other biennial roots
form only one circle for each year, and are con-
sequently furnished at no time with more than
two.

Themost singularcircumstance regarding roots,
however, is that they may be transformed into
stems, by inverting the plant. Thus, if the
stem of a young plum or cherry tree, or of a
willow, is taken in autumn, and bent so as that
one half of the top may be laid in the earth,
one half of the root being at the same time
taken carefully out, but sheltered at first from
the cold, and then gradually exposed to it; and
the remaining part of the top and root subjected
to the same process in the following year, the
branches of the top will become roots, and the
ramifications of the root will become branches,
protruding leaves, flowers, and fruit in their
season.

Use of roots. In the first place, as regards
the plant itself, the use of the roots is to serve

 

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM,

as a means of attachment to it in the soil,
and to draw from thence a portion of the juices
necessary for its life and nourishment. The
roots of many plants appear to perform only
the first of these functions. This is chiefly re-
markable in thick succulent plants, which ab-
sorb from the air the substances necessary for
their nutrition at all points of their surface; in
this case, these roots serve simply to fix the plants
tothe soil. The magnificent cactus Peruvianus,
growing in the hot house of the museum of
natural history at Paris, is of an extraordinary
height, and sends out its large branches with
extreme vigour, and often with amazing rapidity;
yet its roots are contained in a box which barely
holds four cubic feet of earth, which is never re-
renewed or watered. Some other plants of thesame
nature may besuspended bya thread to the ceiling,
and they will grow without any earth at all,
merely by absorbing their nourishment from the
atmosphere. Neither are the roots of plants
always in proportion to the strength or size of
the trunks which they support. The tribe of
palms and pines, whose trunks sometimes reach
the height of a hundred feet and upwards, have
very short roots, which do not extend far in the
ground, and attach themselves but feebly to it.
On the contrary, herbaceous plants, whose weak
and slender stems die yearly, have sometimes
roots of great length and size compared with
the stem, as is the case in the liquorice shrub,
lucern, and the common weed called rest-harrow.
In general, however, roots extract from the earth
the substances which contribute to the growth
of the plant. All parts of the root, however,
do not equally perform this office, which is
accomplished chiefly, if not solely, by the ex-
tremities of the small fibres. It has been found
that their extremities are terminated by little
spongy bodies, called ampulle or spongioles, with
porous absorbing mouths. Dutrochet has min-
utely described these spongioles, which may be
seen by the aid of a microscope, attached as little
bags or knobs, to the minute fibres of the roots,
as seen at a @ in the wood cut.
With a high magnifying power,
hexagonal cells are visible, covered
by a porous cuticle. The small
bulb at the extremity of the
root of the common duck weed,
affords a good example of these
spongioles. Whatever be their
structure, Dutrochet thinks, ab-
sorption is performed by those
extremities alone; and the truth of this may
be established by a simple experiment. It
we take a radish or turnip, and immerse in water
the small root by which the bulb is terminated,
it will vegetate and shoot forth leaves. On the
contrary, if it be so placed in the water that its
lower extremity is not immersed, it gives no

 
THE ROOTS OF PLANTS.

sign of growth. ‘The roots of certain plants ap-
pear to excrete a peculiar matter, which varies
in the different species. Du Hamel mentions,
that having caused some old elms to be rooted
up, he found the earth about their roots of a
darker and more unctuous colour than that
around. This unctuous fatty matter was pro-
duced by excretion from the roots. . To this
matter, which varies, as we have said, in dif-
ferent species of plants, the sympathies and
antipathies which certain vegetables have for
each other is no doubt to be attributed. For it
is well known, that certain plants in a manner
seek one another, and live constantly near each
other. Such are called social plants; while, on
the contrary, others seem hurt by these peculiar
matters, and will not grow near. Hence, too, the
well known fact, that certain vegetables will
not thrive if successively planted in the same
soil. It has been remarked, that roots have a
marked tendency to grow in the direction of
veins of good soil; and that they are often ex-
tended considerably, in order to reach the places
where the soil is richer, and more friable. They
then grow with more vigour and rapidity. Du
Hamel states, that wishing to protect a field of
excellent soil from the roots of a row of elms
which were extending in that direction, and
wasting a part of it, he caused a deep trench to
be sunk along the row of trees, which cut across
all the roots that stretched into the field. But
soon after, the new roots, on arriving at one of
the sides of the ditch, curved downwards, follow-
ing the slope until they arrived at its lower part,
when they, proceeding horizontally under the
ditch, rose again on the other side, following the
opposite slope, and extended anew into the field.
The roots of trees have not all the same facility
of penetrating the hard subsoil. Du Hamel ob-
served that a vine root had penetrated a very
hard subsoil to a great depth, while an elm-root
had been stopped by it, and had in a manner
retraced its steps. We have already remarked
that the root has a natural and invincible ten-
dency to direct itself towards the centre of the
earth. This tendency is especially observed in
this part at the moment it begins to be developed
from the seed. It is afterwards less apparent,
although it always exists, especially in those
roots which are simple, as in the top root of
those which are branched, for it frequently does
not exist in the lateral ramifications of the root.
Whatever obstacles may be opposed to this na-
tural tendency of the radicle, it possesses the
power of surmounting them. Thus, if a ger-
minating bean or pea be placed in such a manner
that the seed lobes are situated in the earth, and
the radicle in the air, the radicle is soon seen to
bend towards the earth, and immerse itself in it.
This phenomenon has given rise to much specula-
tion, and has received various explanations,

 

17

Some suppose that the root has a tendency to
descend, because the fluids which it contains are
less elaborated, and consequently heavier than
those of the stem. But this explanation is con-
tradicted by facts. In certain exotic vegetables,
such as elusiarosea, we see roots forming upon
the stem at a great height, and descending per-
pendicularly to penetrate into the ground. Now,
in this case, the fluids contained in these aerial
roots are of the same nature as those which cir-
culate in the stem, and yet these roots, in place
of rising like it, descend towards the earth. It
is not, therefore, the difference of the weight of
the fluids that gives them this tendency towards
the centre of the earth. Others have imagined
that they discovered the cause in the avidity of
roots for moisture, which is more abundant in
the earth than in the atmosphere. Du Hamel,
with the view of ascertaining the truth of this
explanation, made seeds germinate between two
moist sponges, suspended in the air. The roots,
in place of directing themselves towards either
of the two sponges, which were well soaked with
water, crept between them, and hung out be-
low; thus tending towards the earth. It is not
moisture, then, that attracts roots towards the
earth’s centre, as is partly illustrated by another
experiment. Dutrochet filled a box with earth,
in the bottom of which several holes were bored.
In these holes he placed French beans in a state
of germination, and suspended the box in the
open air, at a height of about twenty feet. In
this manner, the seeds, being placed in the holes
formed at the lower surface of the box, received
from beneath the influence of the atmosphere
and light, and the moist earth was placed above
them. If the humid earth be the cause which
determines the direction of the radicle in this
case, it ought to be seen ascending into the earth
which lies above it; and the stem, on the contrary,
ought to descend into the atmosphere placed
below it. This, however, did not happen; the
radicles of the seeds descended into the atmos-
phere, where they soon perished, while the
plumules mounted upwards into the earth.

Mr Knight, the celebrated botanist, wished
further to ascertain, by experiment, whether this
downward tendency could be destroyed by a
rapid circular motion communicated to germin-
ating seeds. He accordingly fixed some seeds of
French beans in the nave of a wheel, kept con-
tinually moving in a vertical plane by a stream
of water, the wheel performing one hundred
and fifty revolutions in a minute. The seeds,
which were placed in some moss, kept constantly
moistened, soon began to germinate. All the
radicles were directed towards the circumference
of the wheel, and all the gemmules towards its
centre. By each of these directions, the gem-
mules and radicles obeyed their natural and

opposite tendencies. The same gentleman made
¢
18

a similar experiment with a wheel, moving
horizontally, at the rate of one hundred and fifty
revolutions in the minute. The results were
similar, that is to say, all the radicles were
directed towards the circumference, and the gem-
mules towards the centre; but with an inclina-
tion of ten degrees of the former towards the
earth, and of the latter towards the atmosphere.
These experiments were repeated by Dutrochet,
and with the same results, except that in the
second the inclination was not so considerable,
and that the radicles and gemmules were nearly
horizontal. From these experiments, many
have concluded that the roots, in their descent,
merely obey the common laws of gravity. Be-
fore this conclusion could be made, however, the
phenomena of the gemmules ascending into the
air, contrary to the laws of gravity, ought to be
also explained. “But,” says, Mr Keith, “if
gravitation acts so very powerfully upon the
radicle, why will it mot condescend to exert
its influence upon the gemmules also, which,
if not so heavy as the radicle, are at least
specifically heavier than atmospheric air; and
why does it make an exception in favour of
some radicles.” He then instances the case of
the misletoe. This singular plant shoots out
its radicle in whatever situation chance may
place it. Thus, when the seed, which is envel-
oped ina thick and viscid glue, adheres to the
upper part of a branch, its radicle, which is a
kind of hollow tubercle in the shape of a horn,
is then perpendicular to the horizon. If, on the
contrary, the seed be applied to the under sur-
faces of the branch, the radicle will be directed
towards the heavens; or if situated on the lateral
surfaces, the radicle will be directed laterally.
In short, in whatever situation the seed may he
placed upon the branch, the radicle will always
assume a direction perpendicular to its axis.
Dutrochet tried numerous experiments on the
germination of this seed, in order to ascertain
the laws of determination of its radicle. This
seed, which finds in the viscid substance that
surrounds it, the first materials of its growth,
germinates, and is developed, not only on wood,
either living or dead, but also on stone, glass, or
iron. Dutrochet caused it to germinate on a
cannon ball. In all these cases, the radicle was
invariably directed towards the centre of those
bodies. The same experimenter fastened a ger-
minating seed of misletoe to one end of a copper
needle, moving on a pivot like that of a marin-
er’s compass, a small bit of wax being placed at
the opposite end, to serve as a counterpoise to
the seed. Matters being thus arranged, he
placed, in a lateral direction to the radicle, a pin
of wood, so as to be at the distance of nearly half
a line. The whole was covered with wu glass
receiver, so as to guard against disturbance from
external causes. After the lapse of five days,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the stem of the embryo was bent, and its radicle
directed towards the small plate that was near
it, without any change being produced in the
position of the needle, notwithstanding its ex-
treme mobility on the pivot. Two days after,
the radicle was directed perpendicularly towards
the plate with which it came in contact without
producing the slightest derangement of the needle
that bore the seed. The radicle of this seed
exhibits another constant tendency, which is that
of avoiding light. If the seeds are made to ger-
minate in the inner side of the glass of a window,
the radicles are all directed to the interior of the
apartment in search of darkness, If a seed he
stuck on the outside of the glass, the radicles
closely adhere to it, impelled by its tendencies
inwards to shun the light. These, and other
facts, then, present unsurmountable objections to
the theory of mere mechanical attraction. “If,”
says Mr Keith, “I were to offer a conjecture in
addition to the many that have been already
formed, I should say that the invincible tendency
of the radicle to fix itself in the earth, or other
proper soil, and of the gemmule to ascend into
the air, arises from a power inherent in the
vegetable subject, analogous to what we call in-
stinct (or, perhaps, he should have said the vital
impulse) in the animal, infallibly directing it
to the situation best suited to the acquisition of
nutriment, and consequent developement of its
parts. And upon this hypothesis, we include
all varieties of plants whatever, parasitical as
well as others. For let them attach themselves
to whatever substance they will, to them it still
affords a fit and proper soil.” Something more
than mechanical attraction is evident also in the
tendrils of climbing plants ; one species uniformly
twisting to the right, while another as constantly
twists to the left. The explanation of Dutrochet’s
theory of the ascent of sap, to be given after-
wards, will perhaps tend to throw some light on
this curious subject.

Economical uses of roots. Many roots are use-
fully employed in domestic economy, as articles
of food. Such are the well known roots of
carrots, turnips, parsnips. These have been
greatly increased in size by cultivation, so much
s0 as scarcely to be known to be the same as the
original species growing wild. From the tuber-
cles of the orchis tribe, salop is manufactured ;
sugar is got from beet root, of a quality little
inferior to that obtained from the cane. Roots
are more generally odorous than the stems of
plants, which is owing to an essential oil. Thus,
ginger, horse radish, valerian, spignel, and sweet
cicely, are pungent and aromatic ; the root of
white hellebore is bitter and nauseous. Other
roots again are sweet, bland, and mucilaginous,
as liquorice root, beet, carrot, &c. Some roots
are used for dyeing, as madder, alkanet, turmeric ;
other roots are medicinal, as rhubarb, ipecs-
THE STEM.

cuan, jalap. The peculiar properties of roots,
however, shall be more fully described under
the heads of the particular plants used for
domestic and economical purposes. Certain
plants which have the power of shooting out
roots that ramify and extend to great distances,
are used for the purpose of consolidating sandy
and movable soils, Thus, in Holland, and
around Bourdeaux, the carex arenaria is planted
on the downs, and on the banks of canals, for the
purpose of fixing and consolidating the soil; and
the sallow thorn, and Spanish broom, are used
in many other countries for similar purposes.

CHAP, VI.

THE STEM,

As the root tends towards the earth, so the
stem is that part of the plant which mounts into
the atmosphere, and besides giving support,
and the means of attachment, to leaves, blossoms
and fruit, it contains also the vessels which
convey the sap from the root a Some of
the simpler plants have
no stem, as the lichens;
others have a soft herba-
ceous mass, in which are
combined stem, branches,
and leaves, as the duck
weed or lemna, already
alluded to, the cactus, &c.
In the fungi, the nature
of the stem a 4, is simple,
and composed of the same
cellular membrane as the other parts of the plant.

All the phanerogamous, or flowering vege-
tables, have a proper stem, but this stem, in many
species, is so small as to be occasionally over-
looked ; of this kind are the primrose and hya-
cinth, the leaves of these plants appearing as if
they sprung directly from the summit of the
root. In these last mentioned plants, and many
others, there is a stem which shoots up, and
bears the flowers and seed; this is called the
scape, and is not to be confounded with the
true stem. Sometimes this flower stalk springs
from a part of the leaf of the plant, when it is
called the radicle peduncle, as in the plantain.
There are several kinds of stems, which we shall
proceed to notice.

The trunk is the central and supporting part
of trees, as the oak, ash, fir. Its largest diameter
is at the root, and it tapers gradually as it
ascends, assuming somewhat cf a conical form.
For a space below, it is single and naked, but as
it approaches the top it divides and subdivides
into numerous ramifications; on these branches,
twigs, and ramuli, are situated the leaves, blos-

 

 

19

soms, fruits, seeds. The trunk is peculiar to
dicotyledonous trees; internally, it is made up
of successive circles of woody matter, disposed
one inside the other in concentric layers, and
increases in height and breadth by the addition
of new layers, formed one outside the other like
a succession of cones.

The stipe is the stem of the monocotyledonous
class of trees, such as the palms and yucce, and a
few of the dicotyledonous, as the cycas and zamia.
It is a cylinder of equal thickness from top to
bottom, sometimes even swelling out in the
middle or the top, with no branches, but crowned
at the summit by a tuft of leaves and flowers.
Its bark differs little in structure from the stem.
It increases in height by the successive growths
of the bud at the top, and in breadth by the
multiplication of its filaments. Internally, its
structure also differs from that of the dicotyle-
donous trunks.

The culm, or straw, is the supporting stem of
the grains, grasses, reeds, and canes. It is a
simple or single stem, rarely branched, most
commonly hollow within; and having at inter-
vals knots or compressed parts, which give it
strength and solidity, and from which proceed
alternate leaves. ;

The stock or rhizoma, or stem root, as it has
been called, is found in a considerable number
of plants. It is partly or entirely concealed
under ground, is irregularly knotted, and sends
off new stems from its anterior part, as the others
decay. Of this kind, are the stems of the iris,
scabiosa, anemone, and Solomon’s seal. See wood
Cut. Besides, its nearly horizontal direction
under ground, one of the principal characters of
the stock, and by which it is distinguished from
the root, is that it always, in some part of its
extent, presents traces of the leaves of preced-
ing years, or scales which take place of them,
and that it increases by its base, or the part
nearest the leaves which is the reverse of what
takes places in the true root.

The general name of stem is given to all those
varieties which do not strictly come under any
of the above descriptions; and it may be re-
marked, that the number of vegetables that have
a proper stem, is much greater than that of those
with a stipe, or culm, or trunk. The practical
Botanist distinguishes the varieties of the stem
thus :—

Herbaceous, green, tender, and lasting for a
single year; as borage, chickweed, camfrey, &c.
All these rank under the name of herbs.

Semiligneous, half woody, hard, and continues
above ground for several years, while the slender
twigs and branches are removed annually; as
common rue, garden thyme, sage.

Woody (ligneous) stem, hard, solid, enduring
for years; divided into two classes. Shrubs,
which send out branches from the base or root,
20

and are destitute of buds; as the heaths.
having trunk branches, buds.

Solid, when the stem has no internal cavity; as
most trees, the sugar cane.

Fistulous, or hollow, with an internal canal,
either continuous or divided by partition, at

Trees,

intervals; as in grains, grasses, bamboo cane, &c. .

Pity, or medullary, fitted with a large pith;
as in the elder.

Soft, when it is unable to support the erect
position, and falls to the ground. Firm, flexible,
brittle, succulent, are other terms which suffi-
ciently explain themselves.

In shape, the stem may he cylindrical, com-
pressed, angled, knotty, jointed, geniculated, or
bent at the joints in the form of the knee,
climbing, when it coils round other stems.

Sarmentaceous, when it ascends trees, or other
bodies, by means of tendrils or other peculiar
appendages.

Simple, without ramifications, as in the fox-
glove, white mullein.

Branched, divided into branches and twigs.

Dichotomous, dividing into two forked branches
on bifurcations. TZrichotomous, into three.

Vertical, stem growing erect.

Prostrate, or procumbent, when it lies on the
ground.

Creeping, when it trails on the ground, taking
root at certain joints.

Tortuous, forming curves in different directions.

Spiral, curving in a regular screw form.

Leaf-bearing, having leaves ; leafless, the re-
verse.

Scaly, having leaves placed in the form of scales,

The stem may be either smooth or dotted,
hairy, glaucous or powdery, spinous or thorny,
prickly.

Internal form of stems. The structure of stems
proceeding from a two lobed (or dicotyledonous)
seed, differs considerably from those growing
from a one lobed or monocotyledonous seed;
hence, the two first great divisions of the vege-
table kingdom already alluded to. We shall
proceed first to describe the dicotyledonous stems.

When we examine a piece of the trunk of a
tree, such as the oak or elm, we find it com-
posed of the following parts.

In the centre is the pith or medulla, a; then
the solid woody mass of
the trunk, in successive
circles, from the central
pith outwards. The
outer woody circle of
newest formed wood or
alburnum, b. Tmmedi-
ately investing this, the
liber or inner hark, ¢;
between the inner bark,
e, and the epidermis or
outer skin, d, is a soft

 

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

green juicy matter, called the herbaceous en-
velope and cortical layers, c.

The epidermis, cuticle, or outer skin, is a part
common to all organized beings both of the
vegetable and animal kingdom. In vegetables
it is a thin, nearly transparent layer, formed of
a uniform tissue, which appears composed of
cellules varying extremely in form, and present-
ing numerous small openings or pores, which
some authors consider as a kind of inhaling
mouths. The epidermis envelopes all parts of
the vegetable; but it is more especially apparent
on young stems, from which it may easily be
separated with a little caution. It possesses
only a certain degree of extensibility, and when
stretched beyond this point, by the enlargement
of the trunk, it tears and splits, as is observed in
the oak and elm, or it is detached in flakes or
plates, as in the birch and plane. When re-
moved from a young stem, it isreproduced with-
out difficulty. It is the part of the vegetable
that resists decomposition longest, and putrefac-
tion has no perceptible action upon it. The
colour which it presents is not inherent in
its nature, but is derived from the peculiar
colouring of the tissue on which it is applied.
Hence the green colour so prevalent in the
leaf and tender shoot, which the transparent
epidermis merely transmits, and the beautiful
variety of lines displayed in flowers and fruits,
And yet the colour is sometimes inherent, even
in the epidermis itself, as may be seen by inspect-
ing that of the lower part of the petals of the
crocus, In the permanent parts of woody and per-
ennial plants, the old epidermis often disengages
itself spontaneously, as in the currant, birch, and
plane tree ; in which it seems to be undergoing
a continued waste and repair, and in such parts
it is again regenerated, even though destroyed
by accident. But in herbaceous plants, and in
the leaf, flower, and fruit of other plants, it never
disengages itself spontaneously, and is never
again regenerated, if once destroyed.

The nature and origin of the epidermis form
two rather obscure subjects in vegetable anatomy.
Some authors say, with Malpighi, that the epi-
dermis is not a membrane distinct from the rest
of the vegetable tissue. They consider it as
formed by the outer wall of the subjacent
cellules, belonging to the herbaceous tissue,
hardened by the continued action of the air and
light. Others, again, concur with Grew in con-
sidering it as a perfectly distinct membrane,
simply applied upon the subjacent cellular
tissue. The microscopic observations of Pro-
fessor Amici throw much light on this question,
and seem to confirm the second of these opinions
According to that naturalist, the epidermis {sa
membrane entirely distinct from the cellular
tissue upon which it is applied. And in this
respect, it closely resembles the outer skin of
THE STEM. 21

animals, When examined with the microscope,

it is seen to be composed of a single layer of
cellules, whose form varies exceedingly in differ-
ent plants. It is this cellular structure that has
led into error the authors who have thought the
epidermis to be formed of the outer wall of the
cellular tissue. But, were this the case, the
cellules which constitute the epidermis would
always have the same form as the subjacent
tissue, which, however, they are found not to
have. Thus, in the pink, the cellules of the
epidermis have a four-sided form, while the im-
mediately subjacent layer consists of a multitude
of tubes perpendicular to the epidermis. The
same occurs in many other vegetables; from
which it may be concluded that the epidermis
is a cellular membrane, entirely distinct from
the subjacent tissue, upon which it is merely
applied.

The epidermis presents numerous small open-
ings, named cortical pores, cortical glands, epi-
dermic glands, and lastly, stomata. Several
authors have denied their existence; but Amici,
by the aid of the microscope, has seen them in a
great number of vegetables, and has described
and figured them with the greatest accuracy.
They are a kind of small bags, situated in the
substance of the epidermis, and opening exter-
nally by a slit or elongated oval aperture, bor-
dered with a kind of rim formed by particular
cellules of the epidermis. This rim, or thick-
ened margin, which is very seldom wanting,
possesses the power of contracting or dilating
the aperture according to circumstances. They
are here represented as seen in the leaves, a 0.
Thus, humidity or water 24
closes the pores, while
drought, and the action of
the solar rays, keep them
open, and separate their mar-
gins. The motions of dila-
tation and contraction are
not confined to the living
plant alone, but also take
place in detached fragments
of the epidermis. These
pores or little bags always correspond by their
base to spaces filled with air only, and resulting
from the arrangement of the cellules or tubes
with respect to each other. These intercellular
spaces almost always communicate with each
other, and thus afford a means of communica-
tion to the aériform fluids which exist in the
interior of vegetables. Some parts, however, as
the roots, the petioles which are not leafy, the
petals in general, the epidermis of old stems, and
that of fleshy fruits and seeds, appear to he desti-
tute of stomata. Certain leaves have them only
on one of their surfaces, while others have them
on both.

Various conjectures have been formea regard-

 

 

ing the use of these curious pores, They can-
not be destined for the absorption of moisture,
for we have already seen that they correspond
to internal spaces which are destitute of juices,
that they are closed by water, and that light
and drought cause them to open. Moreover,
they are wanting in all roots, as well as in plants
that live constantly under water. They do not
therefore serve for the absorption of water. Nor
are they intended for evaporation; for if we
allow a plant which has been detached from its
roots to die, although the pores close after some
time, evaporation still continues, so long as any
fluid remains in its interior. It has been ob-
served, moreover, that the corollas and fruits,
which are destitute of cortical pores, yet produce
an abundant evaporation. M. Link supposed
them to be excretory organs, but this cannot be
the case, as they always correspond to empty
spaces. The real office of the cortical pores
seems to be to give passage to air. But it is not
easy to determine with certainty whether they
serve for inspiration more than expiration, or
for both these functions alike. If we consider
that at night, when the large pores of the epi-
dermis are closed, leaves absorb carbonic acid
gas dissolved in the dew, which undoubtedly
penetrates into the cellules by passing through
their membrane; and if we reflect, moreover,
that these leaves decompose carbonic acid gas,
when the pores are open, that is, during the day,
we may suppose them to be solely destined for
the exhalation of oxygen. This use becomes
still more probable, when we add that the
corollas which, according to Decandolle’s obser-
vations, are destitute of pores, are equally desti-
tute of the faculty of disengaging oxygen.

The surface of the epidermis sometimes pre-
sents certain organs named lenticular glands, or
lenticelles, which appear under the form of small
spots elongated in the longitudinal direction in
young branches, and in the transverse direction
in older branches. No traces of them have yet
been discovered in the monocotyledonous or
acotyledonous plants. They are also wanting
in the herbaceous plants of the dicotyledonous
class. They are very distinct on the epidermis
of the birch, and especially on that of ewonymus
verrucosus, Where they are very prominent and
close. From these lenticelles spring the roots
which certain trees develope upon their stem, or
those which form when a branch is immersed in
the ground, as in the operation of propagating
by layers. They may therefore, in some measure,
be considered as root-buds.

From the surface of the cuticle also spring the
hairs of various kinds which are observed on
many plants.

The herbaceous envelope. Under the epider-
mis is observed a layer of cellular tissue, con-
necting the former with the cortical layers, and
22

named the herbaceous envelope. Its colour is
generally green in young stems. It covers the
trunk, the branches and their divisions, and fills
up the spaces which exist between the ramifica-
tions of the nerves of the leaves. To this, Du-
trochet applies the name of the outer medulla,
in opposition to that of inner medulla, which he
gives to the pith. Its colour is not derived from
the cellular tissue of which it is composed, but
is owing to the small grains of globuline, situated
in the walls of the cellules, and which Dutro-
chet considers as nervous corpuscules.

The herbaceous envelope, or outer medulla,
frequently contains the proper juices of vege-
tables, which are enclosed in particular canals or
reservoirs. It is readily repaired on the stem
of woody vegetables; but this phenomenon does
not take place in annual plants. It appears to
have an organization and uses similar to those
of the pith contained in the medullary tube.
When this herbaceous envelope acquires great
thickness, and peculiar physical qualities, it
constitutes the part known by the name of cork
in the cork tree, (quercus suber) and some other
plants. The herbaceous envelope is the seat of
one of the most remarkable chemical phenomena
which vegetable life presents: in its interior,
and that by a cause which it is difficult to un-
derstand, the decomposition of the carbonic acid
absorbed from the air by the plant, is effected,
the carbon remaining in the interior of the vege-
table, while the oxygen that has been disengaged
is thrown out. It is to be remarked, however,
that this decomposition takes place only when
the plant is exposed to the rays of the sun,
whereas the carbonic acid is thrown out unde-
composed when the vegetable is withdrawn
from the influence of that luminary. This organ
is partly renewed each year. It also performs a
very important part in the process of vegetation.
At the return of summer, it incites the sap to
ascend towards the buds, and thus becomes one
of the most powerful agents in producing their
growth and development into leaves.

The herbaceous envelope is very easily dis-
covered on the young branches of a tree, it being
the part exposed when the epidermis is removed.

The cortical layers, or outer bark, do not al-
ways exist, and are occasionally so slightly de-
veloped, and so little distinct from the liber, that
it becomes very difficult to recognise them.
They are placed beneath the herbaceous envelope,
and are applied upon the outermost layers of the
liber, from which they can hardly be distin-
guished. In no vegetable are they more appar-
ent, or more remarkable for the singular disposi-
tion of the tissue of which they are composed,
than in the lace-tree, in which they form several
layers above cach other, which, on being stretched
out, bear a perfect resemblance to some kinds of
linen, or represent lacework of pretty regular

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

texture. In most plants, however, it is difficult
to distinguish this part from the liber.

The liber, or énner bark, or true bark, as it is
sometimes called, lies immediately in contact
with the alburnum, or first circle of woody fibre.
It is composed of a vascular network, the elon-
gated meshes of which are filled with cellular
tissue. It is seldom that it can be easily separ-
ated into distinct lamine, or plates, which have
been compared to the leaves of a book,* but this
effect may almost always be obtained by mace-
ration.

The different lamine of which the liber is
composed, and which have been successively
formed, have thin layers of cellular tissue inter-
posed between them. When the liber is macer-
ated, this cellular tissue is destroyed, and allows
the lamine to be separated. <

Like all other parts of the bark, the liber is
capable of being replaced when it has been
removed. Beforeit can be reproduced, however,
the part from which it has been detached must
be guarded from the contact of air. This im-
portant fact we owe to Du Hamel. That excellent
naturalist, to whom vegetable physiology is in-
debted for so many happy discoveries, removed
a portion of bark from a vigorous tree in full
vegetation. He secured the wound against the
contact of air, and presently saw exuding from
the surface of the woody body, and the edges of
the bark, a viscid substance, which, spreading
over the wound, acquired consistence, became
green and cellular, and reproduced the portion
of liber that had been removed.

To this viscid substance, which exudes from
the denuded parts to reproduce the liber, Grew,
and after him Du Hamel, gave the name of cam-
bium. Several authors are of opinion that the
cambium is nothing else than the descending
and elaborated sap. This opinion becomes the
more probable, when we reflect that this viscid
fluid performs exactly the same functions in the
animal economy as those generally attributed to
the descending sap, which is conveyed bv the
same parts.

Whatever be the origin of the cambium, it
performs a very important part in the growth
of the stem. For, in all the theories that have
been advanced with the view of explaining
that phenomenon, its presence is indispensable,
as we shall presently show, when we come to
treat of the growth of dicotyledonous stems.

Numerous experiments prove that the liber is
absolutely necessary for vegetation. <A graft
does not succeed unless its liber be in contact
with that of the tree on which it is inserted;
and a slip, whose lower part is destitute of liber,

 

* Before the manufacture of paper, the inner bark of

some trees was used as a substitute; hence, the deriva-
tion of liber, a book.
THE STEM.

does not take root. If a circular band of liber
be removed from the trunk of a tree, in such a
manner as to leave the woody body exposed, not
only will all the parts of the tree above this
band cease to be developed the following year,
but the entire tree will ultimately perish. This
process, called girdling, the Americans have re-
course to in clearing their forests.

The liber is hardened each year, and new
layers are formed at its inner surface, by means
of the cambium.

Alburnum or false wood. The outermost
woody layers, or those which are in contact
with the liber, constitute the alburnum. This
substance is not distinct from the wood properly
so called, the layers of which are situated be-
neath it. It is wood, but wood in a young
state, and not yet possessed of all the hardness
and tenacity which it is ultimately to present.
Accordingly, the alburnum exhibits precisely
the same structure as the wood, although its
tissue is formed of fibres that are weaker, more
distant from each other, and generally of a paler
tint.

The difference of colour between the wood
and alburnum is very remarkable in trees whose
wood is very hard and compact, and especially
in those in which it is more or less of a deep
colour. Thus in ebony and logwood, the wood
properly so called is black or deep red, while the
layers of alburnum are of very light grayish
tint. But in trees which have white and coarse-
grained wood, the difference between the woody
layers and alburnum is very slight.

The wood derives its origin from the inner-
most layers of the alburnum, which become
successively harder, and are ultimately converted
into true wood. The latter is therefore com-
posed of all the circular layers situated between
the alburnum and the medullary tube. At a
certain period in the life of the vegetable, there
are formed each year a layer of wood and a layer
of alburnum; in other words, the innermost
layer of the alburnum is converted into wood in
proportion as a new layer of alburnum is pro-
duced at the outside, so that every year a new
concentric band is added to those previously
existing.

The wood is generally the hardest part of the
trunk; but its hardness is not the same in all
the layers of which it is composed. In dicotyle-
. donous trees, the innermost layers, which are
also the oldest, are more solid and more compact
than the outer, which generally approach the
alburnum in these respects. The transition from
wood to alburnum is, in most cases, hardly per-
ceptible, their colour being commonly the same;
but sometimes the difference is very decided, as
we have already remarked with reference to
ebony and logwood.

A not less remarkable difference between wood

 

23

and alburnum exists in the circumstance that
the latter is entirely destitute of vessels, while
they are distinctly perceived in the wood. The
vessels of the wood are false trachee and porous
vessels, but never true trachee or true spiral
vessels. By means of these tubes, which are
sometimes dispersed without order in the sub-
stance of the wood, and sometimes collected into
bundles, the sap is conveyed into the substance
of the trunk. Buta period arrives when, through
the progress of age, the walls of these vessels be-
come thickened, their cavity diminishes, and at
length even disappears, and the course of the
fluids is for ever arrested in the woody sub-
stance.. :

Du Hamel very clearly demonstrated the trans-
formation of the alburnum into wood. He
passed a silver wire into the layers of alburnum,
brought its two extremities out, and tied them.
Some years after, having cut the branch, and
examined the wires which he had passed into
the alburnum, he found them embedded in the
wood, which proved that the alburnum had
been converted into wood.

The medullary tube oécupies the centre of the
stem, lining the innermost layer of the wood,
and containing the pith. Its walls are formed
of very long parallel vessels, longitudinally dis-
posed. These vessels are trachee, false trachee,
and porous vessels. ‘The form of this tube varies
considerably in different plants, being frequently
roundish in its transverse section, sometimes
oval, compressed, or with three, four, five,
or more angles. Its form appears to be deter-
mined by the position of the leaves upon the
branches ; thus, when the leaves are opposite,
the transverse section of the medullary canal is
elliptical, as in the ash; if they are verticillate
in threes, it is triangular, as in the rose-bay, and
so forth. This law, however, presents numerous
exceptions; as the hortensia, which with op-
posite leaves, has a regular hexagonal medullary
tube.

The medullary tube, once formed, never
changes its figure and dimensions, but remains
the same during the whole life of the vegetable.
It is therefore erroneous to say that it gradually
contracts upon itself, and at length disappears,
as the plant grows old.

The pith or inner medulla, is the loose, trans-
parent, light, and spongy substance, formed al-
most entirely of cellular tissue, in its most simple
state, which fills the medullary tube. A few
vessels seem to run through it in the longitudinal
direction. Its cellules are generally very regular.
Like those of the cellular tissue in other parts,
they all communicate with each other. Some-
times, and especially in young branches and
herbaceous plants, the cellular tissue of the pith
is abundantly supplied with fluids, and filled
with granulations of a green colour, as may he
24

seen on breaking a branch of elder, one year old,
in which the pith presents the appearance of a
green and very moist fleshy body. But, in the
progress of vegetation, all these substances, which
are ina manner foreign to the proper nature of
the pith, disappear, and there remains in the
medullary tube nothing but a transparent tissue.

In some vegetables, as the stem grows, the
medullary canal becomes in part, and sometimes
altogether, empty, the whole pith finally disap-
pears, and the stem becomes hollow or fistulous.
This is observed in many plants of the family
of Umbellifere.

The pith communicates with the cellular and
herbaceous layer of the bark by means of peculiar
prolongations, which it sends through the woody
body. To these prolongations, which are dis-
posed in a transverse section of the trunk, like
rays diverging from the centre to the circumfer-
ence, the names of insertions, medullary prolon-
gations, or medullary rays, have been given ; see
Plate I. fig. 2. They establish a direct com-
munication between the pith and the external
cellular tissue of the stem.

The medullary rays are also to be found, in the
greater part, of the thickness of the bark, since
they serve to establish a communication between
the internal medulla and the external medulla ;
but those of the bark have not a direct com-
munication with those of the woody layers,
Professor Amici has found them to be formed
of small porous tubes, transversely placed, con-
taining nothing but air, and establishing a com-
munication between the internal and external
parts of the plant.

Various opinions have been formed regarding
the use of the pith. According to the celebrated
Hales, it is the essential organ of vegetation.
Being elastic and dilatable, it acts like a spring
upon the other parts, which it thus urges on-
wards in their developement. Others, again,
consider it as a totally inert body. Dutrochet
revived the opinion of Ilales, and makes the
pith perform a very important part in the phe-
nomena of the growth of vegetables. These
opinions will be considered afterwards.

Such are the various organs which we find on
analyzing the stem of dicotyledonous vegetables.
All these parts, however, are far from being, in
every case, united and visible in the same plant.
Sometimes they are so confounded with each
other, that it is impossible to distinguish and
separate them. But, when the most complicated
structure of a part is known, it becomes easy
to imagine the organs which, in certain cases,
may happen to be wanting.

Monocotyledonous stems. In general, the stem
of the monocotyledones is more Jengthened and
more simple than that of the dicotyledonous
trees. It is very seldom that it divides into
branches, like that which we have just ex-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

amined. The stipe of a monocotyledonous tree,
as the paln, when cut across, does not, like the
trunk of an oak, an elm, or any other of our
forest trees, present a regular and symmetrical
aspect, arising from circular zones of wood, al-
burnum, liber, and bark, always disposed in the
same order, and a medullary canal, always occu-
pying the central part of the stem. Here all
these parts seem united, or rather confounded
together. The pith fills up the whole diameter
of the stem ; the wood, disposed in longitudinal
fasciculi, is scarcely distinguishable in the midst
of the medullary substance. The bark does not
always exist ; and, when present, it is so little
distinct from the other parts of the stem, that
its use as an external covering is not apparent.
In the dicotyledonous trees, the hardest part is
that which is nearest the centre of the stem,
because it is formed of the oldest woody layers.
The reverse is the case in the monocotyledonous
trees, the part nearest the circumference being
found in them to possess the greatest solidity.
In the dicotyledonous trees, the oldest layers
are at the centre; while, in the other class,
they occupy the circumference. This will
be easily understood, when we shall have ex-
plained the peculiar manner in which the stem
of the monocotyledonous trees grows. The
fibrous bundles of the stem, which frequently
unite together by their lateral parts, so as to
form a more or less regular network, are, as in
the dicotyledones, accompanied by porous vessels,
trachee, and false trachee, destined to convey
the sap, and other nutritious fluids, to all parts
of the stem.

The monocotyledonous trees are therefore
distinguished from the dicotyledonous not only
by the structure of their seeds, but also
by that of their stem, The latter, which is
generally simple and cylindrical, does not, like
the trunk of the oak and elm, present layers of
wood enclosing each other, and disposed regularly
around a central canal containing the pith ; but
the pith forms the whole thickness of the trunk;
and the woody fibres, instead of being collected
and brought close to each other, are separated,
and have their bundles scattered in the midst of
the spongy substance of the pith.

In Plate I. are represented magnified views
of sections of different kinds of wood. Fig. 1,
represents a portion of a thin, transverse slice,
taken from a monocotyledonous plant; the ,
sugar cane. Here there is no appearance of
pith, but a uniform cellular mass from the
centre to the circumference ; larger openings are
seen regularly interspersed among the smaller
ones. In the pine tribe, including all the species
of firs, junipers, yew, &c., a vertical section, fig.
2, exhibits a regular net work of hexagonal
cells ; in the centre is the pith or medulla, a, the
lines 6 6, represent the medullary rays, formed
THE STEM.

of condensed, fibrous tissue, and proceeding from
the central pith to the liber orinnerbark. Atce,
are seen other lines of concentrated fibrous tissue,
forming part of concentric circles, which com-
mence near the centre, and follow each other at
intervals to the circumference. These are the
annular layers, and mark out the growth of each
successive year. A few large openings, or la-
cun, are seen interspersed through the general
structure of hexagonal cells. _ Fig. 3, is a verti-
cal section of the oak, affording a specimen of
the true dicotyledonous class. Here there is the
central pith @, medullary layers 6 6, the an-
nular layers ¢ c, the alburnum 4, liber e, and
epidermis 7, The small hexagonal cells are also
here present ; but a number of larger oval open-
ings are also irregularly dispersed through the
whole, Figs. 4, 5, 6, are vertical sections of
the fir ; fig. 4, is a vertical section made at right
angles to the medullary rays, and exhibits a
number of oval disks, or lateral sections of the
cellular tubes; fig. 5, is a section of the same
tree, made parallel to the medullary rays. Fig.
7, is a transverse section of the sugar cane, highly
magnified ; fig. 8, a transverse section of the oak;
fig. 9, a transverse section of the elm,

Now that the internal structure of the different
kinds of stem is known, it will be more easy for
us to examine that which the roots present.
The roots are generally organized like the stems.
Thus, in dicotyledonous trees, a transverse section
of the roots presents concentric zones of wood
disposed in a circular form, and enclosed one
within the other. It has been said that the best
distinction between the stem and the root, is
found in the circumstance that the latter is des-
titute of a medullary canal ; while, on the con-
trary, it is known that it always exists in dico-
tyledonous trees. From this it necessarily fol-
lows, that the medullary insertions are also
wanting in the roots.

This difference, however, appears of little im-
portance, ahd even entirely at variance with
facts. Indeed, it will be found, in a great num-
ber of vegetables, that the medullary canal of
the stem is prolonged without any interruption,
into the body of the root. If the stem and root
of a horse-chestnut, of two years old, be split
in the longitudinal direction, the medullary canal
of the stem will be seen extending to the lowest
part of the root. We find the same appearances
in the young plant of the sycamore or maple.
But very frequently, the medullary canal, which
was very distinct in the plant soon after germin-
ation, gradually diminishes, and at last disap-
pears as vegetation goes on; 80 that, in the
root of the adult plant, it is no longer to be seen.
Consequently we cannot assume as & distinctive
anatomical character between the stem and the
root, the want of a medullary canal in the latter,
gince it almost always exists in the radicle of

25

the germinating seed, and often in the root of
many vegetables, long after the first period of
their life. The tapering roots, however, even
those which are the largest, never present it in
their ramifications.

Until lately, the want of trachee in the root
had been considered as affording a distinctive
character between the anatomical structure of
the root and that of the stem; but two of the
German naturalists who have made the most
important observations in vegetable anatomy,
Link and Treviranus, have found these vessels
in the root of certain plants ; and still more re-
cently, M. Amici has unrolled trachee in the
roots of several,

The difference which we have seen to exist
in the organization of the trunk of the dicoty-
ledones, and of the stipe of the monocotyledones,
is equally observed in their roots. In fact, in
the monocotyledones, a vertical root is never
found forming a continuation of the stem. This
disposition isa consequence of the mode in which
the seed is developed at the period of germina-
tion, since, as we shall see more particularly
when we speak of that function, the central and
principal radicle is always destroyed soon after
germination. .

There is another very remarkable difference
between rootsand stems. The latter, in general,
grow in height by every portion of their extent,
while the roots lengthen at their extremity
only. This was demonstrated by Du Hamel’s
experiments. If little marks. at the distance
of an inch, are made in a young stem, at the
moment of its developement, it will be seen,
when the growth is terminated, that the spaces
between these marks have been greatly enlarged.
If the experiment be repeated on the roots, it
will be found that the spaces remain unaltered,
while the root itself has been lengthened. which
proves that the increase in length has taken
place by its extremity only.

The branches, in their mode of growth, ex-
hibit nearly the same appearances as the trunk
from which they proceed. They originate in a
bud, and form also a cone that consists of pith,
wood, and bark, or rather, they form a double
cone. For the insertion of the branch into the
trunk resembles also a cone, whose base is at the
circumference, and whose apex is at the centre;
at least, if it is formed in the first year of the
plant’s growth, on the shoot of the present year ;
but falling short of the centre in proportion to
the lateness of its formation, and number of in-
tervening layers. Like the trunk and root, it

 

 

increases also in width by the accession of new

layers, and in length by the addition of new

shoots, at least in as much as regards its external

portion ; exhibiting, however, some slight pe-

culiarities, in as far as regards its insertion. The

apex being never carried nearer to the centre
D
26

than at the period of its first formation, and the
inserted portion elongating only in consequence
of the accumulation of the new layers, by which
the diameter of the trunk is increased. In its
width, however, it increases like the external
portion, by the addition of new layers pervading
the alburnum of the trunk, to which it is in-
timately united by the intermixture of their
respective fibres, forming a firm and compact
knot; this may be seen by cutting across a fir
tree immediatcly above or below a branch ; for
the branches are not formed merely by means of
a horizontal extension of the longitudinal tubes
of the trunk, but are each as it were a distinct
individual, of which the external cone is the
trunk, and the internal cone the root. Lence,
the trunk is to the branches what the soil is to
the plant, the source of its nourishment and
stability. The branches of trees assume almost
all varieties of position, from the reflected to
the horizontal and upright; but the lower
branches of trees are said to be generally par-
allel to the surface of the soil on which they
grow, even though that surface should be the
sloping side of a hill, owing, as it has been
thought, to the growth of a greater number of
buds on the side that forms the obtuse angle
with the soil, in consequence of its being exposed
to the action of a greater mass of air.

CHAP. VII.
GROWTH OF THE STEM.

All vegetables grow in diameter. It is suffi-
cient to cast our eyes on the trees which vege-
tate around us, to be convinced of this truth ;
nor has any person ever denied it. But by what
mechanism is this growth effected? On this
point there is the greatest disagreement. Of the
different opinions which have been advanced by
physiologists, we shall select the three most im-
portant, which are these :—1. Growth is effected
by the annual transformation of liber into albur-
num; 2. By the development of buds; 3. By
the cambium, which every year forms a distinct
layer of liber and alburnum. In the first place,
it has been stated that the growth in diameter
is effected, in dicotyledonous trees, by the an-
nual transformation of the liber into alburnum,
of the alburnum into wood, and by the succes-
sive renewal of the liber. Such is the founda-
tion of Du Hamel’s theory, which that cele-
brated author has given at length in his natural
history of trees.

We shall take the stem at the period of its
first development, that is when, in consequence
of germination, it emerges from the seed which
contained it, and begins to appear externally.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

All parts of the vegetable that are contained
in the seed, previous to germination, are formed
exclusively of a dense and regular cellular tissue.
The stem, like the other organs, is found to be
entirely destitute of vessels. Properly speaking,
there are perceived no traces of bark, pith, liber,
&c. But scarcely has germination commenced—
scarcely has the stem begun to shoot up, when
we see trachee, false trachee, and porous vessels
forming, and by their union constituting the
walls of the medullary tube. This internal part
of the stem is the first that is apparent and be-
comes organized. The pith is contained within
it; but it is as yet green, and filled with watery
fluids. The outer surface of the medullary tube
is soon observed to become covered with a fluid
cellular tissue. This is the first layer of cam-
bium, which, on the one hand, forms the
first liber, and, on the other, constitutes the
cortical layers. This liber is presently to be
converted into alburnum, in proportion as a new
layer becomes organized to replace the first. The
following year, the new liber forms a second
zone of alburnum, and thus successively, each
year, a layer of alburnum is converted into true
wood, while the liber itself acquires the proper-
ties and nature of alburnum. This regular de-
velopment of the stem explains the formation
of the concentric layers or zones, which are ob-
served on a transverse section of the stem of a
dicotyledonous tree. But these layers are not
all of the same thickness, and frequently the
thickness is not equal in the whole cireumference
of the same layer. An attentive observation
easily explains this singular disposition. It has
been remarked, that the greatest thickness of
the woody layers always corresponds to the side
on which the largest roots are found, and which
have consequently extracted a more abundant
nutriment from the earth. Thus, trees that are
situated on the edge of a wood always have
thicker woody layers on their outer side, be-
cause the roots, meeting no obstacles, extend
themselves farther in that direction than in any
other, and acquire a larger size.

In this theory of Du Hamel’s, we see that
the liber performs the most important part in
the formation of the woody layers, it being each
successive year converted into a new layer of
alburnum, which is added to those previously
existing.

The liber being the essential organ of vegeta-
tion, and changing its form and consistence each
year, it was necessary that nature should also
have provided means for reproducing it annually.
This, in fact, is the case. If we examine atten-
tively the successive development of the dif-
ferent organs which compose the stem of the
dicotyledones, we see that in the first year, 4
gelatinous fluid, to which Grew and Du Hamel
have given the name of cambiwm, occurs between
GROWTH OF THE STEM.

the cortical layers and the medullary tube. This
peculiar fluid contains the first rudiments of or-
ganization. In proportion as the young stem is
developed, the innermost layer of this fluid ac-
quires consistence, is organised, becomes hard-
ened, and changes into liber, which at the end
of the first year, is found to be converted into a
soft and half-formed woody substance. Autumn
arrives, and vegetation is arrested in this state.
The outer layer of the cambium, which has not
yet entirely changed its nature, remains station-
ary, and as it were torpid. But, at the return
of spring, when the gentle heat of the sun
awakens vegetables from their winter’s sleep,
the cambium resumes its vegetative power. It
developes the buds and the new roots, and, when
it has produced all the parts that are to serve
for supporting the life of the vegetable, it grad-
ually hardens, becomes compact, and undergoes
the same changes as that which preceded it.
But, in proportion as these changes are effected,
as the liber hardens and changes its nature, as
the layer which it has replaced acquires greater
solidity, a new liber is developed. From all
parts of the outer surface of that which is ready
to be converted into wood, there exudes a viscid
humor, under the form of small drops, which
spread and unite. This is a new cambium, a
new liber, which is about to be organized, and
to pass through the different stages of growth that
have been gone through by those which have pre-
ceded it, and from which it has derived its origin.

Such are the means which nature employs for
renewing each year successively the vegetating
part of the stem. It is here that the greatest
difference between woody stems and herbaceous
stems presents itself. In woody stems, it is to
the successive development of a new layer of
liber that the tree owes its duration and the
continuance of its vegetation. In herbaceous
stems, on the contrary, all the cambium is con-
sumed in producing the different organs of the
plant, and at the end of the year it is found to
be entirely converted into a kind of ligniform,
dry, and arid substance. There does not, there-
fore, remain, as in the woody stem, a certain
quantity of gelatinous matter, to which is con-
fided thé charge of preserving, from year to year,
the germs of a new vegetation, and the plant
necessarily dies, for want of a substance qualified
to renew its development.

Having thus explained the theory of the
formation of woody layers hy means of the an-
nual transformation of the liber into alburnum,
we shall next make known the theory which
has been proposed by Du Petit-Thouars, and
which, to many physiologists, has formed a sub-
ject of so much dispute.

The successive formation of the woody layers,
in other words, the growth in diameter, is pro-
duced by the development of the buds.

 

27

In Du Hamel’s theory, the liber performs the
principal part in the phenomena of the growth
in diameter; but here the buds are the most
important instruments in that operation. Du
Petit-Thouars having remarked that the buds
are seated upon the external parenchyma, and
that their fibres communicate with those of the
scions or young branches which support them,
has drawn from these circumstances the follow-
ing conclusions, which form the basis of his
theory of vegetable organization.

1st, Buds are the first perceptible phenomena
of vegetation. All the parts which in vegetables
are to be developed at the exterior, are at first
contained in buds. There is one in the axilla
of every leaf; but this bud is apparent in dico-
tyledonous plants only, and, among the monoco-
tyledones, in the single family of the grasses.
In the other monocotyledones, the bud is latent,
and consists merely of a vital point, which, in
certain circumstances, is susceptible of being
developed in the manner of the buds of dicoty-
ledonous plants,

2dly, By their development, buds give rise to
scions or young branches, which are furnished
with leaves, and most commonly with flowers.
Each bud has an existence in some measure in-
dependent of that of the otherbuds. Du Petit-
Thouars considers them as analogous in their
structure and development to the embryos con-
tained in the interior of seeds, which, through
the act of germination, develope a young stem,
that may be compared to the scion produced by
the evolution of a bud. Accordingly, he has
given the name of jived or adherent embryos to
the latter, in opposition to that of free embryos,
which he applies to those contained in the in-
terior of the seed.

3dly, If we examine the interior of these buds
on a scion or young branch of the year, we shall
find that they communicate directly with the
internal parenchyma or pith. Now, this pith,
as before mentioned, is at first green, and its
cellules are filled with an abundance of aqueous
fluids. It is from these fluids that the buds
derive the first materials for their develop-
ment. They are thus nourished at the expense
of the internal parenchyma, and, by absorbing
the fluids which it contains, dry it up, and con-
vert it into pith, properly so called, which is
more or less opaque or transparent. -

4thly, As soon as these buds make their ap-
pearance, they obey two general motions, the
one ascending or aérial, the other-descending or
terrestrial. It is here that M. Du Petit-Thouars
finds a similarity in the structure and uses of
buds to those of the seed-embryos. He considers
buds in some measure as germinating embryos.
The layer of cambium situated between the bark
and the wood is, with respect to the bud, analo-
gous to the soil in which the seed begins to
28

germinate. Its aévial evolution gives rise to a
scion, or young branch; while from its base,
that is, from the point by which it adheres to
the parent plant, proceed fibres, which the
author compares to the radicle of the embryo,
and which, gliding along in the moist layer of
cambium, between the liber and alburnum, de-
scend to the lower part of the vegetable. Now,
in their course downwards, these fibres meet
those which descend from other buds, unite with
them, and thus form a layer more or less thick,
which acquires consistence and solidity, and
forms each succeeding year a new woody layer.
The liber, when once formed, does not change
its nature, or undergo any transformation.

This theory is extremely ingenious, and the
author adduces several facts in proof of its ac-
curacy. Thus, he says, when a strong circular
ligature is applied to the trunk of a dicoty-
ledonous tree, a swelling or rim is formed above
the obstacle, and no growth in diameter takes
place below the ligature. This swelling is
formed by the woody fibres which descend from
the base of the buds, running in the cambium
situated between the liber and alburnum. These
woody fibres meet an obstacle which they are
unable to surmount, are stopped, and accumulate
there. Henceforth no new woody layers can be
formed beneath the ligature, as the fibres of which
they are formed cease to arrive there. Such is
the explanation given by M. Du Petit-Thouars of
the phenomena presented after the application
of a ligature, which most authors account for in
quite a different manner.

Ile farther adduces, in support of his theory,
the phenomena exhibited in consequence of the
act of grafting. In grafting by inoculation, it
is usual to take a bud which is yet stationary,
and apply its base to the layer of cambium
which has been laid bare. After this the radicles
or fibres which proceed from the base of the
bud, glide between the bark and alburnum, and
the new’ stock is thus identified with that on
which it has been grafted.

As a confirmation of this fact, this botanist
has had in his possession a branch of Robinia
pseudacacia, on which has been grafted a young
scion of Robinia hispidu. The stock died, but
the graft having continued to vegetate, there is
seen proceeding from its base a mass formed of
very distirict fibres, which embrace the extremity
of the branch to a considerable extent, and form
a kind of sheath for it. In this example, it is
perfectly clear that the fibres descend from the
base of the graft to spread over the stock.

Notwithstanding all the arguments brought
forward by the author in defence of his theory,
it has not as yet been entirely adopted by any
physiologist. On the contrary, almost all authors
who treat of vegetable physics have in some de-
gree opposed it. The principal arguments that

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. “

have been brought against it are the following :
1st, It has been said that there is no incontrover-
tible proof that the fibres which establish a com-
munication between the buds and the stems
which support them, descend in the manner
alleged from these buds to the roots. To this,
however, our theorist replies, that the buds are
indeed the source, the first origin, of the woody
fibres, but that they do not furnish all the ma-
terials of the elongation of these fibres; for when
the latter have once emerged from the base of
the buds, they are found to be immersed in the
cambium, where they absorb all that is neces-
sary for theirgrowth. 2dly, It has been objected
that the phenomena of the circular swelling
which forms after a ligature has been applied to
the trunk, may be accounted for by the inter-
ception and stagnation of the descending sap.
But, says Du Petit-Thouars, the experiment of
Hales, which was confirmed by Du Hamel, af-
fords a refutation of this objection: Two cylin-
ders of bark having been completely insulated
by the removal of three rings, one of the cylin-
ders being furnished with a bud, while the other
had none, the result was that a circular swelling
formed on the first cylinder only, thus affording
an evident proof that the buds give rise to the
woody fibres. 8dly, It is impossible to conceive
how fibres so slender as those which unite the
buds to the stems could, in a space of time so
short as that during which the stem grows in
diameter, descend, by their proper weight, from
the summit of a tree sixty or eighty feet high
to its base. As the opinion of the learned aca-
demician is not that the fibres issue and descend
ready formed from the base of the buds, but,
on the contrary, that they form as they pass
through the layers of cambium, this objection
requires no refutation. 4th/y, That, since the
woody layers are formed of the fibres which de-
scend from the base of the buds, if, in grafting
by inoculation, a bud taken from a tree having
coloured wood, is grafted upon an individual
having white wood, the fibres which proceed
from this bud ought to retain their colour, and
the new woody layers which they form ought
to be similarly coloured; but this is not the case.
This objection, which has been considered as
one of the strongest that have been adduced,
our author finds little difficulty in refuting, it
having originated in a misconception of the
author’s opinion. In fact, as Du Petit-Thouars
has constantly stated, the fibres coming from
the base of the bud are nourished by the cam-
bium of the branch at whose surface they are
formed. Now, in the case of grafting with two
trees, the wood of which is differently coloured,
so long as the new fibres are immersed in the
cambium of the piece that has coloured wood,
they retain their natural tint; but, when they
are formed at the expense of the cambium of
GROWTH OF THE STEM.

the piece that has white wood, they assume the
same colour. 5thly, If it be the development
of the buds that gives rise to the formation of
the wood, how can the first woody layer itself
form on a young shoot of the first year, when
as yet none of the buds which it supports have
heen developed? According to the celebrated
academician whose theory we are here explain-
ing, at the moment when a bud is developed to
form ascion, the leaves which compose it separate
from each other, leaving spaces between them.
If at this period we examine the internal struc-
ture of the young shoot, we see that from the
base of each leaf there proceeds a buihdle of
fibres, which, by joining those from the other
leaves, forms the medullary tube; but as these
leaves become developed, there appears in the
axilla of each of them a bud, which subsequently
tends to establish its radical communication, by
shooting forth woody fibres, which gradually
cover the medullary tube, and form a continuous
layer around it.

The two theories which we have just stated
cannot then be adopted in all their parts, as
affording a satisfactory explanation of all the
phenomena of the growth of vegetables in
diameter. That of Du Hamel is essentially found-
ed upon the annual transformation of the liber
into alburnum, and its reproduction by means
of the layer of cambium. The experiment by
which that celebrated naturalist having passed
a silver wire into the liber, found it the follow-
ing year in the alburnum, is altogether incorrect:
none of those who have repeated the experiment
after Du Hamel have obtained the same result ;
and when the silver wire had actually been
passed through the liber, it was always found
again in that organ, and not in the alburnum.
This theory must therefore of necessity fall, if
we sap the foundation on which its author
vaised it. The following is the explanation
which appears to agree best with facts.

The annual formation of woody layers is
owing to the cambium, which every successive
year forms at once a new layer of alburnum and
a new layer of liber.

This is the opinion which Mirbel has latterly
professed, and which appears to have the greatest
number of probabilities in its favour.

The liber, hitherto considered as the most
essential organ of vegetation, and that. which
contributes each year to the increase in diameter
of the trunk of dicotyledonous trees, being, on
the contrary, neutral and passive in this opera-
tion, another explanation of the phenomena of
growth in diameter must be sought for. The
following, then, is that which seems the most
probable, and the most conformable to the strict
observation of facts. If we examine a young
branch at the period of vegetation, that is, when
the sap circulates abundantly in all parts of the

 

29

vegetable, we find the following appearances :—
Between the liber and alburnum is seen a layer
of a fluid, which, at first colourless and limpid,
gradually thickens, and acquires consistence.
This fluid, the cambium, is formed by the de-
scending sap, mixed with part of the proper
juices of the vegetable. As the cambium thick-
ens, filaments are scen to form in its interior,
and it is presently organized, and assumes the
appearance of a vegetable tissue. This transfor-
mation is gradual, and continues during the
whole’ period of the development of the buds,
so that the formation of the annual layer takes
place in a slow and progressive manner. It is
for this reason that the new layers of albumum
very frequently present several concentric zones,
which show that their whole thickness has not
been formed at once.

The alburnum is not therefore formed by the
liber, which thickens and acquires more con-
sistence, but by the cambium, which is organ-
ized, and thus becomes the agent of growth in
diameter, giving rise each successive year to the
formation of a layer of alburnum and a layer of
liber, both distinct from each other, although
deriving their origin from the same organ.
When Du Hamel found in the alburnum the
silver wire which he thought he had inserted in
the liber, it was because he Nad passed the wire
through the organic layer of the cambium.

It also follows from this, that the liber in-
creases every year in thickness, by its inner
surface ; for the layer of cambium, which bathes
its inner surface, becomes organized, and is added
to the liber, so that the latter gradually becomes
thicker. It is on this account that the liber is
found to be formed of several lamine or leaves,
which are connected with each other by an ex-
cessively thin layer of cellular tissue.

In this manner, then, a new woody layer is
formed each year in the trunk of dicotyledonous
trees. This new layer is produced by a part of
the cambium, which is organized and becomes
solid. The alburnum formed the preceding
year acquires more density, and changes into
wood. But the liber undergoes no transforma-
tion; it is merely renewed and increased at its
inner surface by means of a part of the cambium,
which successively forms new lamine. It is by
this mechanism that the growth in thickness of
the stems of dicotyledonous trees seems to be’
effected. We shall now explain their develop-
ment in height.

Growth in height. At the period of germina-
tion, the radicle sinks into the ground, while
the ascending gemmule shoots upwards. The
first layer of cambium becomes organized, and
obeys this impulse. Towards autumn, when it
is organized into alburnum and liber, its growth
stops. When, at the return of spring, vegeta-
tion recommences, the vegetable tissue is gorged
30

with nutritious fluids, that vivify the buds.
From the upper part of the stem proceeds a new
centre of vegetation, from which rises a new
shoot, which in its development exhibits the
same phenomena as the first. To this second
shoot succeeds a third, which the following year
is surmounted“by a fourth, and so on.

The trunk is therefore found to be formed by
a series of very elongated cones, placed upon
each other, and having their apex directed up-
wards. But the apex of the innermost cone
stops at the base of the second shoot, that-of the
next cone at the base of the third shoot, and so
on successively, it being only at the base of the
trunk that the number of woody layers corre-
sponds to the number of years of the plant.
Thus, for example, a stem of ten years has ten
woody layers at its base, but presents only nine
at the height of the. second shoot, eight at the
third, and finally only one at the top. It is for
this reason that the trunk of dicotyledonous
trees is more or less conical, the number of its
woody layers becoming gradually less, as they
ascend from the base to the summit.

There are trees in which this growth in height
is very manifest; as in pines and firs. At the
end of the first year, there is seen at the top of
the stem a conical bud, from which proceeds a
whorl of young branches, at the centre of which
is one that rises vertically. It is this branch
which is destined to continue the stem. At the
end of the second year, there proceeds from its
summit a similar bud, which, in its develop-
ment, presents the same phenomena. Thus the
age of these trees may be known by the number
of whorls of branches which they have on their
stem.

Growth of the stem of monocotyledonous trees.
If we examine the growth of the stipe of a palm,
we find that it takes place in the following
manner :—After germination, the leaves, which
are generally folded upon themselves, become
expanded, and form a circular bundle, arising
from the neck of the root. From the centre of
this bundle there issues, the second year, another
tuft of leaves, which push outwards those pre-
viously existing. Then the oldest fade, dry,
and fall off; but their bases, being firmly fixed
to the summit of the root, remain without
withering; and, by uniting, form a solid ring
which becomes the base of the stipe. A new
central bud being developed every year, the
outermost leaves of that which precedes it, fall
off, and their base forms a new ring, which is
added above those that already existed.

Such is the development of the stem of mono-
cotyledonous plants. Their stipe, in place of
being formed of concentric layers, like the trunk,
of the dicotyledones, is composed of rings placed
one above another. From this it will be seen,
that the trunk of the monocotyledones can grow

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

but very little in thickness. In fact, its lateral
growth can take place only inasmuch as the
persistent base of the leaves is not yet suffi-
ciently solidified and hardened to resist the
outwards pressure which the bud tends to exer-
cise upon it. Accordingly, we see that the
palms, which sometimes shoot up to a height of
120 or 140 feet, have a stem which is often
scarcely a foot in diameter.

In dicotyledonous trees, the cambium is the
essential agent by which the enlargement of the
stem is effected, as it every year becomes organ-
ized, and forms a new woody layer. Here, on
the contrary, it is the terminal bud which
crowns the stipe that performs this office; and,
were this centre of vegetation removed, the tree
would inevitably perish.

If we compare, in a general way, the growth
in diameter of the stem of dicotyledonous trees
and that of the monocotyledones, we shall find
that it differs not less than their anatomical
structure. In the dicotyledones there are two
distinct systems; the central system, formed of
the medullary tube and the woody layers, and
the cortical system, which is composed of the
bark. These two systems enlarge separately, so
that there are two surfaces of growth in this
class of vegetables. The central system increases
by the new layers which are added to its outer
surface, and the cortical system increases by its
inner surface.

In monocotyledonous vegetables, on the con-
trary, there is but a single surface of growth,
and consequently but a single system; hence, it
may be inferred that the system which exists in
these plants, is the cortical, and that the central
system is wanting. It follows that the stipe of
the palms is organized like the bark of the
dicotyledones,

From these different considerations, it is ob-
vious that the stipe of palms, and other woody
monocotyledonous vegetables, differs essentially,
both in its organization and in its mode of de-
velopment, from the trunk of dicotyledonous
vegetables. If we extend this observation farther,
it will be seen that as the stipe differs so much
from the trunk, in its origin and mode of
growth, it is not surprising that its internal
organization, which is merely the result of this
mode of development, should equally differ from
that of the woody stem of dicotyledonous plants.
For, let it be recollected, how the stem of an
oak, or any other dicotyledonous vegetable, is
formed and grows:—the seed germinates; the
radicle descends into the ground ; the little stem,
or its representative organ, which serves as a
support to the gemmule, and raises it above the
base of the radicle, ascends. At this early period
in the life of the plant, the organ which is to
constitute the stem already exists under the form
of a more or les3 elongated cylinder, composed
GROWTH OF THE STEM.

internally of a cellular tissue, representing the
medulla, and externally of tubes or fibres, con-
stituting the first rudiments of the wood, the
bark, and in general all the filamentous parts of
the stem. We proceed to examine a palm-seed
at the period of germination. Its radicular
extremity elongates more or less, bursts at its
summit, to permit the escape of the radicle,
which was previously imprisoned in a kind of
closed bag, named the coleorhiza, which it tears
in order to penetrate into the ground, and be-
come the root. The opposite extremity to the
radicle, the cotyledon, assumes a slight develop-
ment, but is presently seen to split on one of its
sides, beneath its summit; and through this slit
or rupture, issues a variable number of leaves,
at first, embracing each other. But in this
embryo of the palm, we see no rudiment of the
stem, as in the embryo of the oak, lime, pine,
and other dicotyledones. The organ to which
that name is ultimately given, has to be gradually
formed at the expense of another organ. As we
have already explained, the bases of the leaves
which are successively developed, approaching
closer to each other, in consequence of the pres-
sure exerted upon the outermost, in proportion
as new ones are developed within, adhere to-
gether, and ultimately form « kind of fleshy
platform, composed of cellular tissue, and tra-
versed by scattered fibres. What is called the
stipe or trunk in the palm, is therefore an organ
composed of a great number of scales, which are
only the bases of leaves more or less united
together, and presenting at their interior a cen-
tral and terminal bud, which is its essentially
vegetating organ. Thus, then, the stipe of a
palm is not really a stem, whether we consider
it as to its origin and development, or its organi-
zation. Something of this same nature occurs
in other plants, especially in the subterranean
stem, or what is commonly called the root, of
the genus iris. It is a fleshy body, having some
longitudinal fibres in its interior, and present-
ing, at its outer surface, the cicatrices of the
scales which compose it. If we follow its de-
velcpment, we find that it owes its formation
to the bases of the leaves, which having remained
unwithered, while their upper part has been de-
stroyed, have united together and formed the
fleshy body, which, in the genus iris, is com-
monly designated by the names of root, rhizoma,
stock-root, or subterranean stem. Conse-
quently, this organ, like the stipe of the palms,
is in reality neither a root nor a stem, but a
collection of bases of leaves all united into a
single mass. A species of garlic, allium sene-
scens, presents an organ precisely similar, being
a more or less fleshy and branched stock. From
this stock of allzwm senescens and the genus zris,
does there not appear to be a gradual transition
to the solid or scaly bulbs of the lilies? A

 

31

bulb is merely an organ composed of scales,
varying in their form and disposition, but al.
ways seated on a fleshy platform, and covering
a central and terminal bud; while the scales
themselves are nothing but leaves, whose base
alone is developed, or whose base alone has re-
mained unwithered, while the upper part has
been destroyed. If, as has been presumed, the
subterranean stock of the iris has the same
origin, the same mode of development, and the
same organization as the stipe of the palms; and
if, on the other hand, there is no perceptible
difference between the alleged stock of the
iris and the bulb of most of the lilies, it ap-
pears impossible not to draw the conclusion,
that the stipe of the palms, in place of being a
stem, is in fact merely a bulb. This opinion
might seem paradoxical to a person who should
not overlook the general form, the size and
duration of the stipe of the palms, compared
with the bulb of other monocotyledonous plants.
But if we reflect attentively that these different
properties are not essential to the nature of that
organ; that they are often wanting in a great
number of species; that in some the stipe, in
place of being long and cylindrical, is short,
scarcely perceptible, and sometimes consists
merely of a kind of bulbiform enlargement ;
that, in other species, this stipe, so far from
being hard and woody, is soft and fleshy, and is
easily penetrated by cutting instruments, these
differences, which at first seem so striking, in-
stantly disappear. If, on the other hand, we
examine the origin, the mode of formation, and
the manner of growth of the stipe compared with
those of the bulb, we must conclude that the
two organs are essentially the same.

In this manner of viewing the stipe, we can
easily account for the circumstance of its being so
rarely branched. It is well known that a branch
is never any thing else than the result of the
elongation of a bud, generally placed in the
axilla of a leaf. Now, in the monocotyledones,
these axillar buds are almost always abortive,
or remain in the rudimentary state, as in most
of the grasses. This is also the case in the
palms: their axillar buds generally remain in the
rudimentary state, and then the stipe is perfectly
simple; but, in certain circumstances, some of
these buds receiving more nourishment than the
rest, are developed, or in other words, the leaves
composing them, which unite together at their
base, ultimately form a new stipe proceeding
from the first. This is what takes place in cer-
tain species of yucca, in the Doom Palm of Upper
Egypt, &c.

Hitherto the growth in diameter was generally
admitted as the exclusive result of the new
layers which are added every year between the
alburnum -and bark. Dutrochet has proved
that vegetables increase in diameter in two direc-
32

tions; Ist, In thickness, by the formation of
new layers between the bark and alburnum; and
Qdly, In breadth, by the lateral development of
the new layer and the formation of new bundles
of fibres. This growth, in the direction of the
thickness and breadth, takes place equally in
the roots and stems.

It was on the stem of Clematis Vitalba that
Dutrochet made his first observations. When
the extremity of a young branch of that plant
is cut across, it is found to be composed of six
bundles of longitudinal fibres, separated from
each other by medullary rays or spaces of con-
siderable breadth. By degrees, and in the pro-
gress of vegetation, there forms at the centre of
each medullary space a new bundle of longitu-
dinal fibres, which presently acquires the same
size as the six original bundles, so that, by the
end of the first year, the stem is found to be
composed of twelve bundles of fibres, separated
by an equal number of medullary rays.

In the course of the second year, each of the
six original bundles is divided into three by the
median production of a new bundle of longitu-
dinal fibres, separated from the other two,
between which it has been developed, by two
imperfect medullary rays, which do not reach
the central medulla. On the other hand, the
six other secondary bundles of the first year
divide each into two, by the formation in their
middle of a new imperfect medullary ray. From
this there results, that, at the end of the second
year, there are thirty bundles of fibres, separated
from each other by an equal number of medul-
lary rays or spaces, of which twelve only, viz.,
those which existed at the end of the first year,
are complete, and establish a direct communica-
tion between the external and the internal
medulla.

If we attend to the manner in which the
bundles of longitudinal fibres have been multi-
plied, we shall see that the growth has taken
place in a lateral direction; for the median pro-
duction of new bundles of fibres at the centre of
the medullary rays, or that of new medullary
rays at the centre of the bundles of fibres, would
necessarily produce a lateral dilatation, and con-
sequently increase the width of the circular
layer in which this development had been
effected. This lateral dilatation was first per-
ceived by the able experimenter, whose observa-
tions we here relate.

The growth in breadth stops in the parts the
moment they become solid. Thus it no longer
takes place in the woody layers; but it continues
in the bark, and it is thus that it allows the
woody layers to increase in thickness.

The growth in breadth takes place in the roots
also, as we have already said; but, in that organ,
it always commences by the median production
of new medullary rays at the centre of the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

bundles of fibres. Subsequently, these new
medullary spaces themselves give rise to other
collections of fibres.

From what has been said above, it will be
seen that the organic elements of vegetables have
a natural tendency to the median production.
Thus the bundles of fibres tend to produce new
medullary rays in their middle part, and, on the
other hand, the medullary rays tend to produce
new bundles of longitudinal fibres.

Having stated Dutrochet’s opinion respecting
the growth in breadth, we now proceed to give
an account of his ideas on the development in
thickness. The woody layers of new formation
which are developed each year, are separated
from the old ones by a thin layer of central
medulla. These layers of medulla, which se-
parate the woody layers from each other, are
not always easily perceived ; but they are very dis-
tinct in some trees, for example, in Rhus typhina,
where their darker colour distinguishes them at
first. sight from the layers of wood, which are
lighter. In spring, the growth in thickness
always commences by the formation of this thin
layer of cellular or medullary tissue. Soon
after, in consequence of the faculty which it
possesses of giving rise to longitudinal fibres,
this layer of pith produces vessels which surround
it, and thus forms a kind of medullary canal,
which is destined at a later period to become the
new woody layer.

In this theory we see the important function
which the author attributes to the pith. It be-
comes the essential agent of the growth in
diameter, as it gives rise to the vessels which are
subsequently to form the new layer of wood.

The same phenomena take place in the liber,
Each of its folds is separated by a thin layer of
cellular tissue, which belongs to the cortical
medulla, and by means of which the annual
growth is effected.

Theory of engrafting. The most natural and
most easy means of multiplication in vegetables
is undoubtedly by seeds, and it is that by which
the vegetables dispersed over the surface of the
globe are naturally renewed ; but there are others
which art frequently employs to perpetuate and
multiply certain races or varieties of trees which
cannot be propagated by seed. The processes
here alluded to, are the propagation by layers,
by slips, and by grafts. We shall state the
theory of these three operations in a general
manner, and with reference to vegetable physi-
ology. An account of the practical art of en-
grafting will be given afterwards.

1st, Propagating by layers is an operation by
which the base of a young branch is surrounded

| with earth, and made to shoot forth roots, before , . ,

it is separated from the parent stock. Some-
times this operation is performed upon the lower
branches of a young shrub which are bent
GROWTH OF THE STEM. 33

downwards and covered with earth ; and some-
times it is made upon the upper branches, which
are made to pass through a yessel filled with
peat-earth. To facilitate this process, an incision
is generally made at the base of the young
branch, or a tight ligature is applied to it, in
order to favour the formation of roots. These
roots are buds which, -on being immersed in
earth, become elongated into slender radicular
fibres ; whereas, if left in the air, they would be
developed into young scions. This mode of pro-
pagation is employed for many plants, such as
Pinks, Hortensia, Heaths, Gooseberries, &ec.

2dly, Propagating by slips differs from the
preceding method in this respect, that the young
branch is separated from the stock previously to
its being fixed in the ground. There are trees
of which slips take root very readily. In gen-
eral, those of which the wood is white and light
succeed best. Thus a slip of willow, poplar, or
lime, on being stuck in the ground, takes root
there in a short time, and soon shoots up vigor-
ously. A slip succeeds with more certainty
when two or three young buds are left under
ground; that is, upon the lower part of it.
These buds become elongated into roots, which
singularly aid the suction by which the develop-
ment of the young scions is to be effected. Not
unfrequently incisions are made at the base of
the slips, or ligatures applied, to facilitate the
growth of the roots. Sometimes they are even
split longitudinally at their base, and a piece of
sponge, soaked in water, is inserted. Some woody
species are very difficult to be propagated by
slips, such as the pines, oaks, heaths, and in
general trees with very dense or resinous wood.

3dly, Grafting is an operation by which a bud
or young scion is inserted upon an individual,
and is there developed so as to become identified
with the stock on which it has been placed.
Grafting can only succeed when it is performed
between vegetating parts. Thus, wood cannot
be grafted, nor even alburnum. In the opera-
tion and phenomena of grafting, the great simi-
larity which exists between buds and seeds, es-
pecially with respect to their development, may
be remarked. These two organs are destined to
give rise to new individuals, some of which live
at the expense of the stock on which they are
developed ; while the rest subsist by themselves,
and without requiring foreign assistance.

It is to be remarked, that grafting, or union
of parts, can take place only between vegetables
of the same species, specics of the same genera,

or, lastly, genera of the same family ; but never |.

between individuals belonging to different na-
tural orders. For example, the peach may be
grafted upon the almond, the apricot on the
plum, the pavia on the horse-chestnut ; but the
operation would not succeed between the latter
tree and the almond, it being necessary that

 

there should bea kind vf agreement or similarity
between the sap of the two individuals before
the union of a graft can be effected.

It is the cambium or proper juice of vegeta-
bles that serves as a means of union between
the individual and the graft, in the same manner
that in animals coagulable lymph is interposed
between the two lips of a recent wound, which:
it brings together and unites. When the
wound of a graft is examined about a fortnight
after the operation, a thin layer of small greenish
granulations, dispersed in a viscid fluid, is seen
between the two parts that have been brought
together. These granulations, the rudiments of
vegetable organization, are produced by the
cambium, which becomes solidified and organ-
ized ; and this phenomenon takes place whenever
a superficial wound is made upon a tree, pro-
vided the contact of air be prevented.

Several advantages are derived from this
method of multiplying vegetables. Thus, it is
used for perpetuating remarkable varieties or
monstrosities, which could not be reproduced by
means of seed ; for procuring quickly many in-
teresting trees, which are with difficulty multi-
plied by any other means; for hastening the
fructification of certain vegetables by several
years; for improving and propagating the varie-
ties of fruit-trees, &c. There are four different
methods of engrafting.

1. Grafting by approach. This process is
performed between two plants growing by the
roots, and which it is intended to unite by one
or more points. For this purpose, wounds ex-
actly corresponding to each other are made upon
the parts which are to be grafted. Plates of
bark of equal size are removed, and the wounds
thus produced are kept together, and protected
from the contact of air, when union takes place
between them. By this method, stem, branches,
and roots may be united, and fruits, or even
flowers, may be grafted upon leaves.

2. Grafting by scions. Grafting by scions is
performed with young twigs, or even with roots,
which are separated from the parent plant to be
placed upon another, in order to live upon it and
be developed at its expense. The twigs which
are to be grafted are generally separated some
days, and in some cases even several months,
before the operation is performed, that they
may have less sap-than the stocks on which they
are to be placed. In this case, they are kept
alive by immersing their lower extremity in
water or in earth.

Before this kind of grafting is performed, the
head of the stock on which it is to be practised
is commonly cut off. Sometimes the stock is
cut close to the ground, especially in trees in
which the graft requires to be placed in the
earth, as in the vine, &c. Before this species of
grafting can succeed, it is necessary that the

E
ot

liber of the graft should correspond in the greater
part of its extent with that of the stock on
which it is inserted.

Grafting by-scions is managed in several ways.
Sometimes the head of the stock is split into
two, and the twig to be grafted is inserted in the
slit. This operation is known by the name of
cleft-grafting. Sometimes the bark is separated
from the subjacent woody layers, and seyeral
small twigs disposed in a circular manner be-
tween them. This method is named crown-
grafting. At other times the trunk of the tree
is perforated, and a young branch fitted and
permanently fixed to it. This method, which
is now little employed, bears the name of wimble-
grafting or peg-grafting. Occasionally grafting
by scions is practised upon young twigs covered
with leaves, flowers, and even young fruits. In
this case, it is effected during the full flow of
the first sap. By this process, it is not uncom-
mon to obtain fruit from a tree fifteen or twenty
years sooner than it would otherwise have pro-
duced it. It has even happened, that, in sowing
a seed at a particular period, ripe fruit has been
obtained from it before the end of the year.

Grafting by scions is also practised without
cutting off the head of the stock, a notch being
made on one of its sides, to which the graft is
applied. This is named side-grafting, and is
principally used for the purpose of repairing
the head of a tree which has lost some of its
branches.

Lastly, to this section may he referred the
grafting which is performed with a scion upon
a root left in its place, or with a root upon the
root of another stock.

3. Grafting by buds. This consists in trans-
ferring to another individual a plate of bark to
which one or more buds adhere. Of this kind
also is scutcheon-grafting, flute-grafting, and
other varieties. Bud-grafting is the most gen-
erally practised, especially for multiplying fruit-
trees, it being more easily and expeditiously per-
formed than any other operation of this nature.
ft is performed in spring, at the time when the
sap ascends, or in August. The form to be given
to the graft, and that of the incision, vary greatly
according to the peculiar mode employed.

4. Grafting of herbaceous parts of vegetables.
The discovery of this kind of grafting dates
from a recent period, a few years only having
elapsed since it was for the first time practised.
It may be performed with the young herbaceous
shoots of trees, during the full flow of the sap,
or with annual plants.
may succeed, it must be inserted into the axilla,
or into the vicinity of a living leaf 6f the stock.
This leaf serves to draw the sap into the graft,
and to facilitate its union and development. The
methods employed are much the same as for the
other kinds of graftine.

In order that this graft:

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Size of trecs. Trees are, in general, larger
and taller, in proportion as the climate and the
situation in which they grow are adapted to
their nature, and prove favourable to their de-
velopment. A certain degree of humidity,
joined to a pretty high temperature, appears to
be the circumstance most favourable to the
growth of trees; and in regions possessing these
conditions of the atmosphere, they attain the
greatest height. The forests of South America
are, in general, composed of trees greatly ex-
ceeding ours in their breadth and height, and the
beauty of their foliage and flowers.

Certain trees take a long series of years in ac-
quiring any considerable height or diameter ;
as the oak, the elm, and the cedar. Others, on
the contrary, grow much more rapidly. They
are chiefly trees which have light and soft wood,
as poplars, pines, Acacias, &c. Lastly, there
are plants which grow with such rapidity, that
the eye can, in a manner, follow the progress of
their development. Of this kind is the agave
Americana, or Americanaloe. This plant, which .
covers the rocks along the shores of the Medi-
terranean, in the gulf of Genoa, when it flowers,
shoots out a stalk which sometimes acquires a
height of thirty feet, in the space of thirty or
forty days, or evenless, As it grows about a foot
in a day, its successive development should he
perceptible to the observer,

In general, the greatest height which the trees
of our forests attain is from 120 to 180 feet.
In America, palms and many other trees often
exceed 150 feet. Trees vary as to their diameter,
not less than in height. Some of them occa-
sionally acquire monstrous dimensions.

In Britain, oaks of a great age have been known
to measure upwards of forty feet in circumfer-
ence at the base of the trunk, with an elevation
of ten or twelve feet without any division. At
Colthorpe, near Wetherby in Yorkshire, there
is now growing an oak that measures seventy-
eight feet in circumference close to the ground,
and forty-eight feet at the height of a yard.
It is said to have begun to decline in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, and though now much in
decay, is still likely to ‘stand for many years.

The araucaria,a pine of Norfolk Island, is
found of the extraordinary height of 267 feet,
the width at the base being twelve feet, while at
the height of eighty feet it continues of the same
diameter. Breton * describes another tree in New
South Wales, having a triangular trunk, one
side of which was eighteen feet in width;
another nineteen feet, the third twenty-two feet;
making a total width of fifty-nine feet.

“TJ measured,” says Mr Darwin, “one of those
noble trees called the Kauri Pines, in a part
which was not enlarged near the roots, and found

 

* Sketches of New South Wales.
GROWTH OF THE STEM.

it to be thirty-one feet in circumference, There
was another close by which I did not see, thirty-
three feet, and [heard of one not less than forty
feet. The trunks are also very remarkable for
their smoothness, cylindrical figure, absence of
branches, and having very nearly the same girth,
with a length from sixty to ninety feet. The
crown of this tree, whereitisirregularly branched,
is small, and out of proportion to the trunk,
and the foliage is likewise diminutive, as com-
pared with the branches. The forest was almost
composed of the kauri, and the largest, from the
parallelism of their sides, stood up like gigantic
columns of wood. The timber of these trees is
the most valuable product of the island; more-
over, a quantity of resin oozes from the bark,
which is collected, and sold at a penny a pound
to the Americans, but its use is kept secret.”

Trees, when placed in suitable soil, and in a
situation adapted to their nature, are capable of
living for centuries. Thus the olive-tree may
continue for 300 years, and the oak about 600.
The cedars of Lebanon seem in a manner in-
capable of decay. According to very ingenious
calculations, Adanson supposed that the baobab
might be many thousand years old.

In dicotyledonous trees, the age may be known
by the number of woody layers which a trans-
verse section of the trunk presents. As a new
layer of wood is formed every year, it will easily
be seen that a tree twenty years old, must pre-
sent at its base twenty concentric rings of wood,
and so on successively. In the trees of tropical
climates, however, this annular indication is
less to be depended upon, and may, as in the
case of the baobab, lead to erroneous conclusions.

Uses of stems. Wood is applied to so many
uses in domestic economy and the arts, and is
so indispensable in the construction of ships and
buildings of all kinds, as well as of machines
and instruments, that no part of vegetables can
dispute the superiority with it in this respect.

Many herbaceous stems are employed as food
for man and animals. The stem of the sugar-

-cane supplies most of the sugar of commerce.
Many woods are used for dyeing: for example,
sandal-wood, logwood, brazil-wood, &c. Leather
is tanned with oak-bark, and, in general, with
those kinds of bark which contain a great
quantity of tannin.

With respect to medical properties, the stems,
the wood, and the bark, are of essential impor-
tance. To these belong the cinchonas, cinnamon,
winter’s-bark, sassafras, guyacum, and many
other medicines which possess so well-merited a
reputation.

Various operations are often practised on the
trunks of trees. Jncision is sometimes neces-
sary to the health of the tree, in something
of the same way as blecding is to the health
of an over full animal. The trunk of the

 

35

plum and cherry tree seldom expand freely
till an incision is made lengthwise along the
trunk, and hence this operation is often prac-
tised by gardeners. If the incision only extends
through the epidermis, it heals up without
leaving any scar ; if it penetrates into the interior
of the bark, it heals up only by means of leaving
ascar; but if it penetrates into the wood, the
wood itself never heals up completely, but
new wood and bark are formed above it.
Boring is an operation to which the trunks
of trees are often submitted, for the purpose of
making them part with their sap in the season
of their bleeding, particularly the birch and the
American maple. A horizontal, or rather slanting
hole, is bored in them with a wimble, so as to

penetrate an inch or two into the wood; from

this the sap flows copiously, and though a num-

ber of holes is often bored in the same trunk,

the health of the tree is not materially, if at all

affected ; for trees will continue to thrive though

subjected to this operation for many successive

years, and the hole, if not very large, will close

up again like the deep incision, not by the union

of the broken fibres of the wood, but by the

formation of new bark and wood projecting be-

yond the edge of the orifice, and finally shutting

it up altogether. Gérdiing is an operation to

which trees in North America are often sub-

jected, when the farmer wishes to clear his land

of timber. It consists in making parallel and

horizontal incisions with an axe into the trunk

of the tree, and carrying them quite round the

stem, so as to penetrate through the alburnum,

and then to scoop out the intervening portion. If
this operation is performed early in the spring,

and before the commencement of the bleeding

season, the tree rarely survives it ; though some

trees that are peculiarly tenaceous of life, have

been known to survive it for a considerable

length of time. If a tree is bent so as to break

part only of the cortical and woody fibres, and

the stem or branch is but small, the parts will

again unite by being put back into their natural

position and well propped up, especially if the

fracture occurs in spring, when the juices are

in abundance; but it will not succeed if a con-

tusion has crushed and destroyed the vessels ;

or if the stem is very large, even where it suc-

ceeds, the woody fibres do not contribute to the

union, but the herbaceous substance only, which

exudes from under the liber, and which insinu-

ates itself through all the interstices. In prun-

ing for repressing the excessive growth of
branches, a slanting division of the branch is

made close to the trunk ; in this case the wound

soon closes up by the meeting of the opposite
sides of the cut bark.
CHAP. VIII.
OF BUDS.

Buns (gemme) are bodies of varied form, nature,
and aspect, generally formed of scales closely
imbricated upon each other, and containing in
their interior the rudiments of stems, branches,
leaves, and organs of fructification. They are
always developed upon the branches, in the
axilla of the leaves, or at the extremity of the
twigs. They are oval, conical, or rounded, com-
posed of scales which are superimposed upon
each other, covered externally, in the trees of
our climates, with a viscous and resinous coating,
and furnished internally with a downy tissue,
destined to defend the organs which they enclose
from the rigours of winter. Accordingly, no
envelopes of this kind are observed on the trees
of the torrid zone, nor upon those which are
reared in the shelter of our hot-houses; but
those vegetables which are destitute of them are
unable to resist the cold of our winters, and
would unavoidably perish were they exposed to it.

Buds begin to appear in summer, that is, at
the period when vegetation is in its greatest
vigour and activity. They are then called eyes.
They enlarge a little in autumn, and remain
stationary during winter: but, at the return of
spring, they follow the general impulse com-
municated to the other parts of the plant ; they
dilate and swell, their scales separate and allow
the organs which they protected to emerge. It
is then only that they are properly called buds.

The scales which constitute the outermost
part of the buds, are not all of the same nature
ororigin. The only circumstance in which they
all agree, is, that they are always abortive and
imperfect organs. Thus, they are sometimes
leaves, petioles, or stipules, which have not ac-
quired their full development, but which how-
ever, in certain circumstances, grow, are un-
folded, and disclose their true nature.

Theannexedfigure,which
is a section of a branch of
the ash, exhibits the man-
ner in which buds origin-
ate from the parent stem;
@ is the medullary canal
containing the pith, The
pith is also visible in the
centre of each of the buds;
but the pith of the bud,
or branch, and that of the
stem, do not at first com-
municate, nor do they join
till the second year.

Buds are divided into
naked and scaly. The a
first are those which have no seales at their ex-

 

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

terior, and of which all the parts shoot out and
become developed. Of this kind are the buds
of most herbaceous plants. Scaly buds, on the
other hand, are those whose outer part is formed
of more or less numerous scales, as may be ob-
served in the trees of our climates.

Buds are, in general, visible externally long
before they expand. There are trees, on the
contrary, in which they are, as it were, immersed
in the very substance of the wood, and only
make their appearance just when they are about
to be developed; as in the acacias, and many
other legumines.

Buds may be sémple, that is, may give rise to
a single shoot only; as in the lilac and oak: or
compound, containing several stems or twigs; as
inthefirs. According to the parts which they con-
tain, they are further distinguished into flower-
buds, leaf-buds, and mixed buds. 1. The flower-bud
or fruit-bud, is that which contains one or more
flowers without leaves. It is generally pretty
large, of an oval or rounded form; as in pear-
trees and apple-trees., 2. The lea7-bud contains
only leaves. Of this kind is the bud which
terminates the stem of the common mezereon.
8. Lastly, the mized bud is that which contains
flowers and leaves together ; as in the lilac.

Cultivators are never mistaken respecting the
nature of a bud, which they easily distinguish
in fruit-trees by its form. Thus, the bud which
bears flowers is conical and enlarged, while that
which bears leaves only, is slender, elongated,
and pointed.

The Turio. The name of turio is given to
the subterranean bud of perennial herbaceous
plants, which, on being developed annually, pro-
duces the new stem. Thus, the part of the as-
paragus which we eat is the turzo of that plant.
The difference between the bud properly so called
and the turio, is, that the latter always arises
from a vivacious root, or a rhizoma; in other
words, is of subterranean origin, while the bud
always arises upon a part exposed to the air and
light.

The Jeld is a kind of bud belonging to certain
perennial herbaceous plants, and particularly to
the monocotyledones. It has already been stated,
when describing the bulbiferous roots, that the
bulbissupported by a kind of solid and horizontal
plate, lying between it and the true root. To
this flattened tubercle, the fleshy scales, of which
the bulb is externally formed, are fixed by their
base. The interior contains the rudiments of
the flower-stalk and leaves. These scales be-
come thicker, and more fleshy and succulent,
the more internally they are situated in the bulb.
The outermost, on the contrary, are thin and
dry like paper.

Sometimes these scales are of one piece, and
are enclosed within each other, or a single scale
embraces the whole circumference of the bulb;
OF BUDS.

as in the common onion, cut 17, J, wad the hya-
cinth. They are then named coated or tunicated
bulbs. At other times, these scales are smaller, free
at their sides, and cover each other only in the
manner of tiles on a roof; as in the white lily, cut
17,9. Lastly, the coats are sometimes so closeas to
be confounded together, when. the bulb seems as
if formed of a solid and homogeneous substance.
Bulbs of this kind are named solid, as in the
common saffron.

Bulbs are generally of an oval or globular
form. Sometimes, however, they are more or
less elongated and even cylindrical; as is ob-
served in some species of Allium. In the ba-
nanas the bulb is very elongated, cylindrical, and
stem-like. They are sometimes simp, or formed
of a single body; as in the tulip and squill. Or
they are multiple, when several small bulbs are
found collected under the same envelope; as
in garlic. ;

Bulbs, being the buds of certain perennial
herbaceous plants, are necessarily reproduced
every year. But their regeneration does not
take place in the same manner in all the species.
Sometimes the new bulbs arise in the very centre
of the old ones, as in the common onion; at
other times, from the lateral part of their sub-
stance, as in meadow saffron ; or the new bulbs are
developed by tlre side of the old ones, as in the
tulip and hyacinth; orabove them, as in gladiolus;
or beneath them, as in many species of évia.
In common language, the young bulbs are named
offsets.

In proportion as a bulb shoots up the stem
which it contains, the outer scales diminish in
thickness, fade, and at length become perfectly
dry. They consequently appear to supply the
young stém with a portion of the materials ne-
cessary for its development.

Tubercles ave true subterranean bulbs, belong-
ing to certain perennial plants. They are some-
times simple, and develope only a single stem;
as in the genus orchis. Occasionally multiple,
taat is, several together, each sending out a par-
ticular stem ; asin saatfraga granulata. Some-
times compound, which is the case when several
stems issue from a single tubercle; as in the potato.

The name of buldils is applied to wu kind of
small solid or scaly buds, that grow on different
parts of a plant, and are susceptible of vegeta-
ting by themselves; or which, when detached
from the parent plant, become developed and
produce a vegetable perfectly similar to that
whence they derived their origin, Plants bear-
ing buds of this kind are named viviparous.
They may occur in the axilla of the leaves.
At other times they are produced in the place
of the flowers. The nature of the budbils is
similar to that of the bulbs properly so called.
Sometimes they are scaly; at others solid and
compact.

 

37

The small bodies developed in different parts
of agamic plants, such as ferns, lycopodiacex,
mosses, lichens, &c., and which have been im-
properly named seeds, must be considered as true
bulbils. Although these bodies, to which we
give the name of sporules, are capalle of pro-
ducing a plant similar to that from which they
are detached, they cannot be confounded with
true seeds. In fact, the essential character of
the seed is that it contains an embryo, that is,
a body complex in its nature, composed of a
radicle or rudiment of a root, a gemmule or germ
of the stem, and a cotyledonary body. By the
act of germination, the embryo properly so called,
merely developes the parts which already existed
in it perfectly formed. Germination does not
give rise to them ; it merely places them in cir-
cumstances favourable to their growth. In the
bulbils, on the contrary, and especially in the
sporules of the agamic plants, there is no em-
bryo. In them there is no trace of radicle, coty-
ledons, or gemmule. Germination creates these
parts in them. They are not, therefore, true
seeds, :

Uses of Buds and Bulbs. Several kinds of
buds are employed in domestic economy as food:
suchasthe turios of asparagus, and of several other
plants of the same family. Every one knows
the daily use that is made of different species of
the genus alliwm; such as the common onion,
the garlic, the leek, and the shallot.

The bulbs or buds of some vegetables are also
used in medicine. Thus it is of the buds of the
pinus picea infused in beer that spruce beer is
made. The scales of the bulb of the common
squill furnish a powerful diuretic, and they are
also employed as a stimulant to the pulmonary
organs. Garlic is well known to be a cure for
intestinal worms.

CHAP. IX.
THE LEAVES.

Tur leaves are the next organs to be con-
sidered. They are found on all the higher orders
of plants, although many of the simpler kinds
are entirely destitute of them. Before ex-
panding into their full size, leaves are at first
coiled up in a bud, as has been already explained.
The manner in which leaves are thus coiled up,
differs in the different kindsof plants. Sometimes
they are folded up lengthwise into two halves,
so that the margins of each side exactly coincide.
Sometimes they are folded from above downwards,
as in the aconite ; at other times they are plaited
like a fern, as in the common currant and vine,
or rolled up in a spiral form, as in the apricot;
the margin of the leaves being either rolled
Gs

inwards or outwards, or the leaf is rolled from
above downwards, as in the family of ferns,
Leaves are characterized as membranous, greenish
coloured, and generally flat appendages, springing
from twigs, branches, the trunk, or the neck of
the root of plants. They generally lie with
the plane of their surface in a horizontal direc-
tion. Their epidermis is porous, and their use
is to absorb gases and moisture for the nourish-
ment of the plant, and at the same time to exhale
the moisture and gases which are superabundant.
Leaves are formed of a net-work, of fibrous sub-
stance similar to that composing the stem, while
the interstices are filled up with cellular tissue,
or a soft greenish matter, similar to the herba-
ceous envelope which lies between the outer and
inner bark of the stem.

Sometimes the body of the leaf is attached
immediately to the stem, without any inter-

 

mediate stalk, as in the common poppy, when,
it is said to be sessile, fig. b.

More frequently, however, there is a central
stalk on which it is supported, which is called
the petiole. In this case the leaf is said to be
petiolate, as in the elm, lime, rosemary, &c., fig. c.
This latter being the more general arrange-
ment, the leaf may be considered as formed of
two parts, the petiole, and the disk or limb ; the
latter being the generally flat and greenish part
which constitutes the leaf properly so called.
The petiole being wanting in many leaves, and the
limb itself being also sometimes absent, through
abortion; the leaf then consists of the petiole
only, which frequently dilates and assumes the
form and characters of a sessile leaf: as, for ex-
ample, in all the simple-leaved acacias of New
Holland.

In the leaf there are distinguished an wpper
surface, which is commonly smoother, more
green, covered with a more closely adhering
epidermis, and presenting fewer cortical pores ;
and a lower surface, of a less deep colour, often
covered with hair or down, with an epidermis
more loosely attached to the herbaceous layer,
and presenting a great number of small holes,
the orifices of the internal vessels of the plant.
It is accordingly by their lower surface that the
leaves absorb the fluids which are exhaled by
the earth, or which are diffused and mingled in
the atmosphere.

 

8 TISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The lower surface of the leaf is also remarka-
ble for numerous projecting prolongations run-
ning in different directions, which are merely
divisions of the petiole, named nerves. One
of these nerves, named the mid-rib, or middle-
nerve, is nearly constant in its disposition,
and forms the continuation of the petiole, having
generally a longitudinal direction, and dividing
the leaf into two lateral parts which are pretty
frequently equal. From its base and sides pro-
ceed the other nerves, running in different direc-
tions, and frequently uniting with each other.
The nerves assume different names according
to their thickness, and the degree in which they
project at the lower surface of the leaf. The
nerves, properly so called, are prominent and
very distinct ; when they are less so, they are
named veins; and the last ramifications of the
veins, which intermingle frequently, and form
the skeleton of the leaf, are called venules.

It must be observed that the nerves of plants
have no resemblance in structure or functions to
the nerves of animals. They are merely bundles
of porous vessels, spiral vessels, and false trachic,
enveloped ina certain quantity of cellular tissue.
Sometimes the nerves are prolonged beyond the
circumference of the disk of the leaf, and when
rigid, form spines or thorns, more or less acute,
as in the holly.

As the disposition cf the nerves upon the
leaves serves to characterize certain divisions of
vegetables, they merit the greatest attention.
Thus, in most of the monocotyledones, the nerves
are almost always simple, very little branched,
and with few exceptions, parallel to each other,
as in cut 26, fig.@. In the dicotyledones they
do not present this disposition; but they are
frequently much ramified, and interlaced with
each other.

The more remarkable varieties in the disposi-
tion of the nerves may be referred to the fol-
lowing:

A leaf, whether sessile or petiolate, may be
attached, in various ways, to the stem or branches
which support it. Sometimes it is simply arté-
culated, and without directly uniting by the whole
of its base, is simply fixed bya kind of contraction
orarticulation, as in the mapleand horse-chestnut.
These leaves are then caducous, or fall very early.
At other times the leaf is so united to the
stem, that it cannot be separated from it without
being torn. Such leaves remain on the tree as
longas the branch that supportsthem, asin theivy.

The manner in which sessile leaves
are attached to the stem also deserves
examination. Thus the middle nerve
somctimes enlarges and embraces the
stem in about half of its circum-
ference. The leaves are then named
semiamplexicaul.

The leaf is said to be amplextcanl, on the

 
OF LEAVES. 39

other hand, when it cmmbraces the stem in its
whole circumference, as in the common goats-
beard, and the white poppy.

Frequently also the base of the leaf is pro-
longed so as to form a sheath, which entirely
surrounds the stem, and envelopes it for a certain
length. In this case, the leaves are named
sheathing, as in the wheat, oats, and grasses,
This sheath may be considered as a very broad
petiole, of which the two edges are occasionally
united to form a kind of tube. The place at
which the limb of the leaf and the sheath meet,
isnamed the neck. Sometimes it is naked, at
others furnished with hairs, as in poa pilosa, or
with a small membraneous upper appendage, as
is observed chiefly in the grasses,

Leaves of the same plant frequently differ in
form, according to the part of the plant from
which they arise ; hence they are seminal leaves
when the cotyledons rise above the soil and as-
sume the form of leaves. These will be alluded
to when treating of the germination of seeds.
In some plants the diversity of the leaves is very
remarkable ; thus, ivy has some of its leaves
entire, and others deeply lobed. Leaves also
vary according to the medium in which they
vegetate. Aquatic plants have generally two
kinds of leaves; one set swimming at the surface
of the water, or raised a little above its level ;
the other always immersed in this fluid. Thus,
the water crowfoot has lobed leaves which float at
the surface, and leaves divided into exceedingly
narrow and very numerous segments, which are
immersed inthe water. Radical leaves are those
which come off directly from the root ; cauline,
or stem leaves, are attached to the stem, while
branch leaves spring from the minuter ramifica-
tions. Floral leaves are those which accompany
the blossoms.

Leaves may be ranged opposite
to each other in pairs, or alter-
nate, coming off one by one,
at nearly equal distances from
different sides of the stem. Ver-~*
tictllate or whorled, when more 7”
than two come off together, thus
forming a circle around the stem,
as inthe galiums. Sometimes
the leaf entirely surrounds the stalk, when it is
called perfoliate, d.

The Frond consists of a union,
or incorporation of the leaf, leaf-
stalk, and branch or stem, forming,
as it were, but one organ of which
the constituent parts do not se-
parate spontaneously from one
another, by means of the fracture
of any natural joint, as in the
ease of plants in general; but ad-
here together even in their decay.
The leaf of the palms was termed a frond by

   
 
 

 

 

Linneus; and that of the ferns go under the
same name. The alge and lichens consist, for
the most part, of fronds only.

Leaves are of various shapes, and have received
names accordingly; as, orbicular, oval, oblong,
lanceolate, linear, awl-shaped, filiform, cordate
or heart-shaped, reniform, or kidney-shaped,
sagittate, hastate. Leaves may also be deeply
notched, so as to be divided into three or more
lobes, hence they are called tripartite, quadri-
partite. Pinnatified, divided into deep lobes
along the sides. The following figures will show
the most striking diversities of the form of
leaves.

Acute.

  

Hastate.

  

Sagittal.

Ca

Laciniate. Retuse.

Pinnatified.

  

Cordate. Tripoliute. Lanceolate. Linear. Orbicular.

Leaves are also called entire,
when the margin is even; den-
tate, when the margin is
marked by erect teeth. Ser-
rate, when the teeth are in-
clined to the summit of the
leaf, like the markings of a
saw. Doubly serrate, when
each small tooth is itself ser-
rated. Spinous with acute
thorns, or spines, as in the holly and thistle.
Ciliated, having the margin furnished with hairs.
Leaves are also distinguished by their external
surface into shining, smooth, coreaceous or
leathery, glutinous, fleshy, glaucous, or sea green,
spotted, &c.

Compound Leaves. When several leaves are
attached to a common petiole, they are said to
be compound, fig.e. If the petiole branches out
into several parts, and cach part contains a set

 

Trilobate.
49

of compound leaves, they are then called decom-
pound, or doubly compound, fig. f. The simply

 

compound leaves have two principal modifica-
tions, depending on the position of the leaflets
that compose them. Thus, sometimes all the
Icaflets proceed from the very top of the common
petiole, as in the horse chestnut, and trefoil; some-
times again they spring from the sides of the
common petiole, as in the ash, bladder senna,
&e. The name of digitate has been given to the
former, and pinnate to those of the laiter. Di-
gitate leaves, then, are those which spring in a
divergent manner from the top of the common
petiole, like the fingers of the hand spread out.
‘They are wnifoliate, as in the leaf cf the orange
tree ; trifoliate, as in wood-sorrel, quinquefoliate,
as in potentilla, &c.

Pinnate, leaves arranged on each side of a
common petiole, like the barbs of a feather in
the shaft.

Decompound, where the common petiole is
subdivided into other petioles, being compound
leaves, as in mimosa, fig. g.*

 

Supradecompound, are those in which the
secondary petioles are divided into tertiary
petioles, bearing leaflets, fig. h.

We now proceed to explain the functions of
these essential organs of plants.

Leaves, as before observed, are formed of three
principal parts, namely, abundle of vesselscoming
from the stem; cellular substance, which is a
prolongation of the herbaceous envelope of the
bark ; and, lastly, an outer skin or epidermis, by
which they are covered in their whole extent.

The bundle of vessels constituting the petiole,

 

“* Particular explanations of all the terms will be
fuund in the glossary at the end of this work.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

when this organ is present, consists of trachee,
false trachee, and porous vessels. They are ex.
ternally enveloped by a layer of the herbaceous
substance, which is prolonged over them when
they come off from the stem. By their expan-
sion and successive ramifications, they form the
network of the leaf. The meshes or empty
spaces which they leave between them are filled
with cellular tissue coming from the bark. This
tissue is sometimes wanting, as when the leaf
consists of vascular network alone, presenting
the appearance of a kind of lattice-work or
lace.

The epidermis which covers the surface
of the leaf is generally thin and very porous,
especially on the under side. The two layers
of this organ, seen upon the upper and under
surfaces of the leaf, cover the part which is
formed by the vascular fibres and cellular tissue.
This organ is very thin, in flat and membranous
leaves; but in such as are thick and fleshy, as
those of succulent plants, it is greatly developed,
and gives the leaf its form.

The stomata or pores which are observed on
leaves, are, according to some authors, nothing
but the upper orifices of the sap-vessels; while
others maintain that they transmit air.

The leaves and roots are the principal organs
of absorption and nutrition in vegetables. ‘The
former absorb from the atmosphere the substances
which are subservient to growth, and hence they
have been called atrial roots. ‘They are also
subservient to other purposes of great importance
in the economy of plants. They transpire and
exhale the fluids which have become useless to
vegetation, and it is by their agency that the
sap is freed of the watery juices which it con-
tains, and acquires all its nutritive qualities.

It is chiefly by the pores situated on the lower
surface of the leaves of woody plants that the
watery vapours and gases diffused in the atmos-
phere are absorbed ; and hence this surface is
softer, and less smooth than the upper, and is
generally covered by a light down which is
favourable to this absorption; while the upper
surface, on the contrary, is smoother, generally
glabrous, and throws off the fluids which are
useless for the nutrition of the plant. This ex-
cretion is named transpiration in vegetahles.

The leaves of herbaceous plants, being nearer
the ground, and immersed in aconstantly humid
atmosphere, absorb equally by both surfaces.
The knowledge of this fact we owe to the cele-
brated Bonnet. The most complete set of ex-
periments, upon the absorbent power of the
leaves, is detailed by that naturalist. Satisfied
that leaves are furnished with absorbent organs
for the purpose of taking jn moisture, his object
was that of ascertaining whether the absorbent
power of both surfaces was alike. With this
view he filled several vessels with water, on the
OF LEAVES,

top of which he placed a number of leaves, some
having the upper, and others the under surface
applied to the water, so as that they only floated
in it, but were not immersed. If the leaf re-
tained its verdure longest with its upper surtace
applied to the water, the absorbing power of the
upper surface was to be regarded as the greatest ;
but if it retained its verdure longest with the
under surface applied to water, then the absorb-
ing power of the under surface was to be regarded
as the greatest. The experiment was made in
the spring and autumn, the temperature being
between five and ten of Reaumur, and the leaves
employed being such as were fully expanded.
The result was as follows. Out of fourteen
herbs, of different families, selected for the pur-
pose of experiment, the leaves of six—the wake-
robin, kidney bean, sun flower, cabbage spinach,
and small mallow, were indifferent to the mode
in which they were applied to the water, and
were found to retain their verdure equally long,
whether moistened by the upper or under surface.
The rest, the plantain, white mullein, great mal-
low, nettle coxcomb, purple leaved amaranth,
marvel of Peru, and balm were not indifferent
to the mode in which they were applied to the
water, but retained their verdure longest when
moistened by the upper surface. The following
are the most remarkable examples of the relative
capacity of the different surfaces. The leaf
of the nettle, when moistened by the upper sur-
face, lived two months ; but when moistened by
the under surface, only three weeks. The leaf
of the amaranth, when moistened by the upper
surface, lived three months ; and when moistened
by the under surface, only seven or eight days.
The leaf of the mullein, when moistened by the
upper surface, lived five weeks; and when
moistened by the under surface, only five days.
A leaflet of the French bean absorbed also a
sufficient quantity of moisture to nourish
another leaflet that was still attached to the same
footstalk, though not touching the water. Out
of sixteen trees, or shrubs, of different kinds,
selected for the purpose of experiment, the leaves
of only two, the lilac and aspen, retained their
verdure equally long, by whatever surface they
were moistened. But the leaves of the others ;
the vine, pear, cherry, prune, apricot, walnut,
mulberry, oak, hazel, rose, &c., retained it longest
when moistened by the under surface. The
following are the most remarkable examples of
relative capacity. The leaves of the white
mulberry, when moistened by the under surface,
retained their verdure for nearly six months ;
but when moistened by the upper surface, they
retained it for only five or six days. The leaves
of the vine, poplar, walnut, faded almost as soon
when moistened by the upper surface, as when
left without water altogether. The leaves of
the hazel and rose, when moistened by the under

 

4]

surface, absorbed a sufficient quantity of mois-

| ture to nourish aiso other leaves on the same

branch, though not touching the water. But as
the foregoing experiments on leaves were made
on such only as were detached from the plant,
it may be said that they are not well calculated
to become the ground of any general conclusion ;
and that they do not represent to us what ac-
tually takes place in growing vegetables. But
if we appeal to the actual facts which take
place in nature, we shall find that they are con-
firmatory of the above experiments. If after
along drought a fog happens to take place be-
fore any rain fall, so as to moisten the surface
of the leaves, the plant begins to revive, and to
resume its verdure long before any moisture can
have penetrated to the root. Hence, it follows
incontestibly that moisture has been absorbed
by the leaf, because it is impossible to account
for the change that has been effected, except by
such absorption. But the efficacy of rains
themselves, and of artificial waterings, may be
accounted for upon the same principle ; for they
have not always penetrated to the root when
they are found to have given freshness to the
plant; and, indeed, many ‘plants will thrive
merely by having their leaves kept moist, though
no water should reach the root at all. The same
thing might be said of the immersed fuci, many
of which, being totally destitute of root, and
constituting merely a sort of frond or leaf, ab-.
sorb the nourishment necessary to their support
by the whole of their surface. The moisture
then entering the plant as food, is taken up by
means of the absorbent pores of the epidermis,
not only of the root and leaf, but often, as may
be presumed, vf the other parts of the plant also,
at least when they are in a soft and succulent
state. Bonnet has shown that most leaves ahb-
sorb moisture better by the one surface than
the other; and it is known that some surfaces
do actually repel it, as may be seen in the leaves
of the common cabbage, after a fall of rain or
dew, when the drops roll along the upper sur-
face without wetting it, or lodge in its folds and
hollows, like globules of quicksilver. This is
the case also with all such plants as are covered
with bloom. It is probable, therefore, that all
such surfaces as repel moisture, are fitted rather
for the inhalation of air. Grew first established
the importance of air to the life of plants, and
conjectured that it was absorbed by the leaf.

‘Papin, with a view to ascertain the point in ques-

tion, introduced into the receiver of an air pump
an entire plant, root, stem, and leaf. The con-
sequence was, that on the exhaustion of the'air,
the plant very soon died. He then introduced
a plant by the root and stem only, while the
leaves were still exposed to the infiuence of the
air, In this case, the plant lived much longer
than in the former, and warranted him, as he
F
42

thought, to conclude that leaves are equivalent
to the lungs of animals. Another argument in
support of the doctrine was deduced from Du
Wamel’s experiment of besmearing the surface
of the leaf with oil, in consequence of which
treatment it soon died, owing, as it appeared, to
the exclusion of air. Modern chemistry has af-
forded us many other proofs of the functions of the
leaves of plants. The experiments of Priestley,
Ellis, Decandolle, and others, have fully estab-
lished both the absorption and exhalation of
gases through the medium of the leaves.

From some recent experiments also it appears
that vegetables, by decomposition of moisture,
can supply an atmosphere to themselves; and
thus, that plants will grow and thrive when in-
closed in glass cases, perfectly impervious to ex-
ternal changes of atmosphere, simply by decom-
posing the water of the moist soil, with which
they are furnished.*

The decomposition of the carbonic acid ab-
sorbed from the air is effected in the parenchyma
of the leaves, as well as in all the other green
and herbaceous parts of the vegetable. When
vegetables are exposed to the action of the sun,
they are decomposed, the air retaining the carbon,
and disengaging the oxygen. The reverse takes
place when they are withdrawn from the influ-
ence of light, in which case they extract from
the air a portion of its oxygen, which they re-
place by disengaging an equal quantity of car-
bonicacid gas. Itis well known that vegetables,
when removed from the influence of the sun,
become blanched ; in other words, lose their green
colour, are rendered soft and watery, and contain
a larger proportion of saccharine principle. But
we shall speak more particularly of the phe-
nomena of absorption and transpiration, when
we come to treat of nutrition in plants.

The leaves are susceptible of certain motions
evidently depending upon the irritability of
which they are possessed. This property in
plants is clearly established by numerous and
authentic facts. If a branch, still attached to
its stem, be so placed that the lower surface of
the leaves is turned upwards, these will be seen to
turn gradually round and resume their natural
position. This fact may be daily observed in
pruning and palisading espaliers; such as the
peach, the vine, &c.

Compound and articulated leaves, or those whose
leaflets are attached by a joint to the common
petiole, present the most remarkable motions.
Thus the leaflets of many legumines, whose
leaves are all articulated, have a different posi-
tion at night from that which they occupy in
the day. Linneus called this singular pheno-
menon the sleep of plants. The leaflets of the

 

* The apparatus fur this purpose shall be described
afterwards.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

acacia, for example, are extended nearly in a
horizontal direction at sunrise; but as the day
advances, they gradually rise, and at length be-
come almost vertical, falling again as the day
declines. Other plants present similar pheno-
mena, depending upon the influence of light, as
may be inferred from the ingenious experiments
of Decandolle. That excellent botanist having
placed some plants with compound leaves in a
dark cellar, changed their hours of sleeping and
waking, by depriving them of light during the
day, and exposing them to a etrong light at
night.

The leaves of certain plants also perform mo-
tions depending upon irritability, and which can-
not be attributed to the influence of light alone,
asin the sensitive plant. The slightest shock, the
least agitation of the air, the shadow of a cloud
or of any other body, the action of the electric
fluid, heat, cold, irritating vapours, such as
chlorine, or nitrous gas, each of these is sufficient
to cause its leaflets to perform the most singular
motions. If one of them be touched, it raises
itself against the one which is opposite to it, and
presently all the other leaflets of the same stalk
perform a similar motion, until at length they
cover each other like tiles on the roof of a house.
The leaf itself soon after bends towards the
ground. But, in 9 short time, if the exciting
cause has ceased to operate, all these parts which
seemed withered, resume their natural aspect and
position.

That singular plant the hedysarum gyrans,
which is a native of Bengal, presents very re-
markable motions. Its leaves are single, and
have two small lateral stipules. The two stipules
perform a twofold motion of bending and twist-
ing upon themselves, which in the one appears
to be independent of that of the other; for one of
them sometimes moves with rapidity, while the
other continues at rest. This motion takes place
without the intervention of any externalstimulus,
and is not suspended at night. The motion of
the leaflet, on the contrary, appears to depend
upon the action of light, and ceases when the

plant is withdrawn from it.
The fly-trap (Déonec,

Muscipula,) a native of
North America, has two
lobes connected by aninter-
mediate hinge, at the extre-

mity of its leaves. When
; an insect or any other body
is ? touches and irritates one of

the small glandular bodies
: which are observed on their
upper surface, the two lobes
: quickly rise, approach each
other, and seize the insect by which they were
irritated. From-this circumstance, the plant
has received the vulgar name of fly-trap. But it

  
OF LEAVES.

is to be remarked, that the only irritable parts
in this leaf are the two or three small glandular
points which are observed on its upper surface.
The movements of plants, unlike those of the
higher orders of animals, are. effected by organs
situated in the part where the movements take
place. In the collar of the sensitive plant there
is nothing similar to muscles; yet, while the
collar is the seat of motion, as is shown by its
incurvations when the leaves are irritated, it is
at the same time the seat of mechanism, by
which motion is effected. In the sensitive plant
there is a long leaf stalk, the base of which
swells out into an oval collar, and a similar, but
smaller collar, surrounds the base of each pin-
nula where it joins the leaf-stalk, and also each
leaflet at the point of its attachment. The centre
of the collar is a bundle of vascular tubes, around
which is formed a structure consisting of numer-
ous oval transparent bags, dispersed through a
cellular tissue, with minute corpuscles intermixed.
If all the spongy part of the collar be removed
from around the central bundle of vessels, the
footstalk no longer bends when the leaf is irri-
tated ; if the lower half only of the collar be re-
moved, the footstalk bends, but cannot be res-
tored to the erect position ; when the irritating
curve is withdrawn, and if the upper half only
be removed, the footstalk remains always un-
naturally erect, and does not tend down as usual
in the dark, or on the application of external
stimuli. Hence the motions of the sensitive
leaf are effected by an organic action of the
half of the collar, opposite the side towards
which incurvation takes place. The movements
of the two pinnule on the leafstalk, and of the
several pairs of leaflets in each pinnula, are af-
fected by the same kind of mechanism andactions.
This action is in its nature intimately con-
nected with the afflux of sap ; for where a proper
supply of moisture is withheld, stimuli fail to
excite motion, and when a slice of the collar is
immersed in water, it immediately bends itself
towards what-was the side next the centre of
the leafstalk. This movement and the whole
action of the collar depends, according to Dutro-
chet, on the cells becoming tinged with sap, ac-
cording to his theory of enxdosmose, which will
be explained when treating of the motions of the
sap. . It may be sufficient to explain here, how-
ever, that in all cases where the incurvation of
vegetable leaves, or stalks, or tendrils occur, it has
been found, that the part where the incurvation
takes place, is supplied with vesicular corpuscles,
as Dutrochet terms them, diminishing in magni-
tude from the convex to the concave side of the
curve, the effect of which structure must be,
that when the part is supplied with a fluid less
dense than the contents of the corpuscles, the
larger bodies become most turgid by the flow of
sap into them: Incurvation to the opposite side

 

43

must therefore be always produced in such cir-
cumstances. 'There is little difficulty, then, in
comprehending how the afflux of sap into the
side containing the larger cells, causes incurva-
tion of the opposite side inwards; in fact if a
thin slice of it be immersed in water, it imme-
diately bends towards the side which was next to
the centre of the leafstalk ; and if it be, on the
contrary, immersed in a heavier fluid, as strong
syrup, it unfolds itself, and bends over to the
opposite side. These facts explain sufficiently
the mechanism by which the movements of
the sensitive plant are produced, but they do
not throw any light on the power which exter-
nal stimuli have in exciting this mechanism; they
do not determine why the flow of the sap causes
the incurvation of the upper spring of the colar
to prelominate over the lower, when the leaf-
stalk bends downwards, or why after a little re-
pose the lower spring resumes its predominance,
and raises the leafstalk.

Fall of the Leaves. A period arrives every
year, when most vegetables are stripped of their
leaves. It is commonly at the end of autumn,
or the beginning of winter, that trees lose their
foliage. But the occurrence does not take
place at the same period in all plants. It is ob-
served, in general, that the trees whose leaves
are earliest expanded, are also those which lose
them first, as is seen to be the case with the
lime, the horse-chestnut, &c. The elder forms
an exception to this rule ; for its leaves appear
at an early season, and are very late in falling.
The common ash presents another peculiarity :
its leaves are very late in coming out, and fall at
the end of summer, :

Petiolate leaves, and especially those which
are articulated upon the stem, detach them-
selves sooner than those which are sessile, and
still more so than those which encircle the stem.
In general, in herbaceous plants, whether annual
or perennial, the leaves die along with the stem,
without previously separating. Plants which
annually shed their deaves are termed Deciduous.
On the other hand there are trees and shrubs
which remain always adorned with their foliage ;
these are the resinous species, such as pines and
firs, or certain vegetables whose leaves are stiff
and leathery, as the myrtles, alaterni, rose-
laurels. These are named Evergreen trees,

Although the fall of the leaves generally takes
place at the approach of winter, cold is not to be
considered as the principal cause of thisphenome-
non. It is much more natural to attribute it to
the cessation of vegetation, and the want of
nourishment which the leaves experience at that
season, when the course of the sap is interrupted.
The vessels of the leaf contract, dry up, and,
soon after, that organ is detached from the twig
on which it had been developed.

The various tints of the autumnal leaf, such as
44

yellow, red, brown, are owing to the different
degrees of oxidation of the matters contained in
the desiccated juices of the leaf; not unfrequently
the colour is influenced by numerous minute
fungi which spring up on the surface of the de-
caying leaf. How beautiful are the mellow
tints of an autumn forest ! more deep and gorge-
ous, though not so full of hope and joy, as the
light budding appearance of spring. A late tra-
veller thus remarks of the foliage of the south-
ern hemisphere:

“In South America, Australia, and the Cape of
Good Hope, the trees are all evergreens. The
inhabitants of these and the intertropical regions
generally, thus lose, perhaps, one of the most
glorious, though to our eyes common spectacles
in the world, the first bursting into full foliage
of the leafless tree. They may however say,
that we pay dearly for our spectacle by having
the land covered with mere naked skeletons for
so many months. This is too true, but our senses
thus acquire a keen relish for the exquisite
green of the spring, which the eyes of those liv-
ing within the tropics, sated during the long year
with the gorgeous productions of those glowing
climates can never experience.” *

The size of the leaf, as well as all the other
qualities, varies according to the species of plant
on which it grows. Nor is it always the largest
plant that has the largest leaf. The leaf of
Caltha palustris, an humble herb, is larger than
the leaf of the oak, though a lofty tree. The
largest leaf produced on any British plant is that
of the Tussilago petasites, and yet it is diminu-
tive compared with the leaves of many plants of
tropical climes. The leaf of Strelitzta regina
grows to the height of three or four feet, and is
eighteen inches at its greatest breadth, yet there
are many stilllarger. The leaves of the mag-
nificent banana have been known to grow to
the extent of ten feet in length, by two feet at
the base; hence some fancy writers have set
them down as the leaves which our first parents
employed to clothe their nakedness. The leaves
of some of the palms are from ten to fifteen feet
in length, and even the smallest leaflets are three
feet. A tree in full foliage affords a most grate-
ful shade both to man and animals, especially
under tropical suns, where indeed the foliage is
largest and most luxuriant; even in temperate
regions, the cool canopy of a wide spreading
tree, and the pleasing and refreshing green of
its foliage, are grateful luxuries during the heats
of summer. Hence the fame of the celebrated
groves of Arcadia, where Plato and his succes-
sors delivered their lectures in philosophy; and
the cool and shady, though less classical avenues,
of lime and chestnut trees of our own country.

 

* Darwin’s Nitural History of a Voyage to South
America,

 

{IISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The odour of some leaves is extremely grateful.
particularly when bruised with the hand, as the
myrtle, balm, thyme, and many others. Some
leaves retain this aromatic flavour for several
years, even in a dried state, as is the case of
verbena and lavender. ‘he leaves of many of
the geranium tribe are extremely sweet scented,
and the odour of many others are well known.

The leaves of certain vegetables are extensively
used as articles of food, such as cabbage, lettuce,
celery, parsley; and cultivation has greatly altered
and inhanced them as dietetic substances. The
grasses, and every species of green herbage, also
form the food of a large proportion of animals,
There is scarcely a leaf of almost any species of
plant but what is not appropriated as the food of
certain insects. Leaves are also used as medi-
cines; such are the leaves of foxglove, senna,
and others.

CHAP. X.
TIE STIPULES,

Tne Stipules ave organs connected with the
leaves, existing only in the dicotyledonous plants,
though not always present. They are small
scale-like or leafy appendages, at the point where
the leaves come off from the stem, and are com~
monly in pairs, there being one on each side of
the petiole, as in the hornbeam and lime. They
are more frequently free, not being attached to
the petiole; but, at other times, they are united
to the base of that organ, as in the genus Rosa.

The Stipules afford excellent characters for
the arrangements of plants. When a vegetable
of a natural family has these organs, it is very
seldom the case that all the others are not equally
provided with them, Thus they exist in all
plants of the families of Zeguminosew, Rosacee.
Tiliacee, &e. As they fall off very easily when
they are free, their absence might sometimes
induce one to suppose a plant destitute of them;
but this error may easily be avoided by observ-
ing that they always leave on the stem, at the
place where they were attached, a small cicatrix,
or scar, which attests the fact of their having
existed. :

In the coffee, cinchona, and other similar
plants, the stipules are situated between the
leaves, and appear to be nothing more than
abortive leaves. In fact, in the same family of
our climates, such as the galiums, they are sub-
stituted by true leaves, which then form a whorl
around the stem. Some plants, as the barberry,
have single stipules. Where there are two, they
are always distinct from each other; but some-
times they unite and are connate, as in the hop.
‘The stipules may be united within the axil of
OF STIPULES.

the leaf, between the stem and the petiole, in
which case they are said to be azillar, as in
Melianthus major. The stipules vary greatly
in their nature and consistence. ‘Thus they may
be foliaceous, or similar to leaves, as in the com-
mon agrimony; membranous as in the fig and
magnolia ; spénescent, or thorny, as in the jujube
and the gooseberry.

With respect to duration, some fall off before
the leaves ; as in the common fig and the lime.
Others are merely caducous, or fall at the same
timeas the leaves, as is the case in the generality of
plants. Lastly, there are others which continue
for a longer or shorter time after the leaves have
fallen; as in the jujube, the gooseberry, &c.

The use of the stipules appears to be to pro-
tect the leaves before their expansion, as is evi-
dently shown by their relative disposition in the
buds of some families of plants.

The Tendrils. or
Cirrhi. These are cer-
tain appendages, fig. a, b,
generally filamentous,
situated on different parts
of the plant, simple or
branched, and which
twist themselves, in a
spiral form, around
neighbouring _ bodies,
thus serving to support
the stem of weak and
tlimbing plants. e

Tendrils are inall cases abortive organs. Some-
times, they are floral peduncles, which have been
greatly elongated, as in the vine, and are occa-
sionally seen to bear flowers and fruits; some-
times they are formed of petioles; and at other
times they are altered stipules, or even abortive
twigs. Not unfrequently, the leaves themselves
are rolled up at the extremity, and thus consti-
tute a kind of tendrils, as in the pink. The re-
lative position of the tendrils deserves to be care-
fully attended to, as it indicates the organ for
which they are substituted. Thus in the vine
they are, like the clusters of flowers, opposite to
the leaves, which shows them to be abortive
clusters. They are avillar in the passion-flowers ;
petiolar in lathyrus latifolius and fumaria vesica-
ria; peduncular in the vine; stzpular in certain
species of smilax. Lastly, they may be simple,
as in bryonia alba, or branched, as in cobea scan-
dens.

The name of claspers is given to the kind of
roots which climbing plants sink into the bodies
on which they raise themselves, as in the ivy ;
while that of suckers is given to the very slender
filaments which are met with on the surface of
claspers, and which appear to be destined to
absorb the nutritious parts contained in the body
into which they are inserted.

Spincs or thorns d, are sharp-pointed organs,

 

 

45

formed by the prolongation of the internal tissue

of the vegetable; while prickles c, originate

only from the most ex-

cen ternal part of plants, that

is, from the epidermis,

from which they may

be detached with the
greatest ease.

The origin and nature
of the spines are not
less variable than their
seat, They are substi-
tuted for the leaves in
certain African species of
asparagus, and for the’
stipules inthe jujubeand
the gooseberry. Very frequently they are merely
abortive twigs; as in the sloe, which, on being
transplanted into a good soil, changes its spines
into twigs. The trunk of some trees is so cov-
ered with spines as to render them inaccessible.
According to their situation and origin, they
are cauline, when they spring from the stem; as
in the cactus: terminal, when they are developed
at the extremity of the branches and twigs; as
in the sloe: axillar, when they are situated in
the axilla of the leaves; as in the citron: infra-
axillar, when they spring from beneath leaves
or twigs; as in the gooseberry.

Prickles have been considered by some physio-
logists as indurated hairs. They adhere but
slightly to the parts on which they are observed,
and may easily be detached from them, as isseen
in the rose. The modifications which they pre-
sent with respect to situation, form, &c. are the
same as in the spines.

Among other appendages of plants, may be
mentioned the singular cup of the nepenthes
distillatoria, or pitcher plant. Attached to the
extremity of its long slender leaf, is a body ex-
actly resembling a water pitcher, furnished with
a lid or covering, which opens and shuts accord-
ing to the absence or presence of the sun, or the
degree of heat. In this cup is contained a
quantity of pure water, secreted from the juices
of the plant. What purpose this secretion serves
in the economy of the particular vegetable, has
not been ascertained ; a more particular account
of the plant will be given afterwards,

 

CHAP XI.

NUTRITION OF VEGETABLES, AND ASCENT
OF THE SAP.

We have now finished the description of the
organs which contribute to the nutrition of the
plant, including the roots, stem, and leaves, with
the various minute cells and vessels of which
46

they are composed. It remains now to explain
the manner in which the nutritive matters are
taken into the -plant, and thence circulated and
elaborated, so as to become part of the organized
structure of the vegetable. In this description,
however, we shall confine ourselves at present
chiefly to the course of the juices in the sap
vessels ; as after describing the remaining organs
of plants, we shall have to return to the physi-
ology of vegetation, properly so called.

A plant then, as we have seen, is an organized
body, with a variety of structure suited to the
various purposes of nutrition. Before it can
exhibit the phenomena of life, and grow, and
increase in bulk, certain external stimuli are
necessary. ‘These are, in the first place, a supply
of certain nutritious matters held in solution by
water, or in the form of gas or air. The other
stimulants are heat, light, and electricity. Water
is the necessary vehicle of the nutritious sub-
stances of plants ; but it is also decomposed, and
its constituents, hydrogen and oxygen, enter into
their composition. It is not the sole nutriment
of these, however, as was supposed by the older
naturalists; for if a plant be made to vegetate
in pure or distilled water, without access to any
other substance, it will soon perish. Carbon,
silex, lime, soda, potass, the oxides of iron, and
some other metals, all enter into tne vegetable
structure through the medium of the moist soil.
The air of the atmosphere also affords oxygen,
both in its simple state and combined with car-
bon, forming carbonic acid. Nitrogen, the other
ingredient of the atmosphere, also enters in small
proportion into their substance.

Various experiments have been instituted, to
show that plants really obtain the various matters
of which they are composed, from the soil and
atmosphere. Thus, two grains of buckwheat
were made to germinate in a little pure sulphur,
placed in a platina cup, and moistened with dis-
tilled water, over which was put a glass bell,
the more carefully to exclude all foreign matters.
In the course of a few days the seeds germinated,
and at the end of a fortnight had thrown out
roots and leaves. The whole was now collected
and analysed, and their product exhibited exactly
the same proportion of phosphate and carbonate
of lime, and silex, that the same weight of other
similar seeds contained, which had not been sub-
jected to germination.

Before proceeding to detail the various experi-
ments illustrative of the absorption and ascent
of the sap in vegetables; we shall shortly des-
cribe the process as it is now supposed to take
place according to the most recent investigations ;
and for this purpose we shall use the annexed
diagram.

The juices of the moist soil are absorbed by
the roots @ a, by means of minute spongioles
attached to the extremities of these roots, This

 

THSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

watery fluid having entered by the roots, mingles
with the sap already in the stem of the plant,

26,

 

and mounts upwards by vessels near the central
parts of the woody fibre surrounding the pith,
as represented by the dotted lines 64; having
traversed the trunk it then enters the branches,
and at last reaches the leaves ; here it combines
with air absorbed from the atmosphere, through
the pores or stomata of the leaves,cc. It here
also gives off its superfluous water, and altogether
becomes a different kind of fluid from what it
was in itsascent. It now constitutes the proper
juice or nutritious fluid of the plant, and again
descends from the leaves, through a series of simple
tubes in the liber or bark ¢ d, and then is de-
posited so as to form new wood bark, and other
parts of the plant. Such is the process which
has been called the circulation of the sap.

We are indebted to the celebrated natural
philosopher Hales, for demonstrating by the most
accurate and ingenious experiments the prodi-
gious power of suction, of which the roots and
branches are possessed. He exposed one of the
roots of a pear-tree, cut off its extremity, fitted
to it one of the ends of a tube filled with water,
having the other end immersed in a mercurial
trough, and in six minutes the mercury rose
eight inches in the tube. To measure the force
with which the vine absorbs humidity in the
ground, Hales made an experiment, the results
of which might appear inaccurate and exagger-
ated, had they not been verified of late years by
Mirbel, who repeated the experiment. The
English philosopher, on the 6th of April, divided
a vine shoot without twigs, of about seven or
eight lines in diameter, and at a height of thirty-
three inches above the ground. -He then fitted
to it « doubly bent tube, which he filled with
mercury up to the curve which surmounted the
transverse section of the stem. The sap which
NUTRITION OF

issucd had sufficient force to raise the column of
mercury thirty-two inches and a half above its
level, in a few hours. Now, the weight of a
column of air of the height of the atmosphere
is equal to that of a column of mercury twenty-
eight inches high, or of a column of water of
the height of about thirty-three feet. In this
case the force with which the sap rose from the
roots into the stem, was much greater than the
pressure of the atmosphere.

Many facts and experiments demonstrate the
office which the leaves perform in the pheno-
mena of suction and absorption, Thus, a
branch detached from the tree of which it formed
part, still absorbs with great power the fluid in
which its extremity is immersed. The same
action takes place when it is turned upside
down, and its summit is immersed in the water,
its absorbent power suffering no diminution. In
summer, we see that the heat of the sun causes
the plants which ornament our gardens to shrivel
and fade ; but when we examine them at night
or in the morning, we find that the dew which
the leaves have absorbed has restored their fresh-
ness and vigour.

If a plant be entirely stripped of its leaves, it
will soon perish, because the absorption which
takes place by the roots is insufficient to supply
all the materials necessary for its nourishment.

In many vegetables, and particularly in the
genus cactus, and other succulent plants, whose
roots are very small, and which commonly vege-
tate on rocks, or in the shifting sands of deserts,
it is evident that the absorption of the nutritious
fluid is almost exclusively performed by the
leaves and the other parts exposed to the atmos-
phere; for the smallness of the roots, and the
extreme dryness of the soil in which they grow,
would otherwise prevent them from vegetating.
From what has been said, it will be seen that
the absorbent surface of vegetables, compared
with their general volume, is incomparably
greater than in animals.

Course of the Sap. The sap is the colourless |

and essentially watery fluid which the roots ab-
sorb in the earth, and the leaves in the atmos-
phere, for the purpose of supplying nourishment
to the plant. It contains in solution the true
nutritious principles, and deposits them in the
interior of the plant, as it passes through its
tissue.

The older physiologists were long in doubt
respecting the part of the stem through which
the ascent of the sap takes place ; some believing
it to be the pith, while others considered the
bark as the seat of this singular phenomenon.
But when recourse was had to direct experiments,
it was shown that both these opinions were alike
erroneous. In fact, the course of the sap is per-
formed through the woody layers. The lym-
phatic vessels distributed in the wood and al-

 

VEGETABLES. 47
burnum, serve as canals for the transport of this
nutritive fluid; and the part nearest the medul-
lary tube appears to be the principal seat of this
ascent. If a branch, or a young plant, be im-
mersed in a coloured liquid, the traces of the
absorbed fluid may be followed, especially in the
vessels near the medullary tube, whereas none
of it will be seen either in the pith or in the
bark. Coulon accidentally discovered this fact.
He had a row of large poplars cut down, when
in one of them which had been circularly sawn,
and had fallen, but which still held to the stump
by its centre, he saw bubbles of liquid and air
rising from the inner fibres, and emitting a very
distinct sound. He then tried some experiments
on the trees which still remained to be cut down.
Thus, on having them bored with a large auger,
he found that the fragments which were taken
from the outer layers of the wood were nearly
dry, that they became moister as the auger went
deeper, and that when it had arrived at the
centre of the stem, the sap began to flow out at
the surface. These experiments were laid before
the Academy of Sciences, and Desfontaines and
Thouin, who repeated them, confirmed their
accuracy. This fact then, evidently proves that
the ascent of the sap takes place in the woody
layers, and especially in those which are nearest
the medullary canal. It has also been shown
by experiment, that the progress of the sap is
not arrested in trees deprived of their bark, and
in which the pith is more or less obstructed ;
while in trees from which all the woody layers
are removed, it no longer takes place, although,
in such as have only a small cylinder of woody
layers remaining, the sap may still continue to
ascend, as is the case in hollow trees, and espe-
cially willows, the trunk of which is very fre-
quently carious in the interior.

In thus passing through the layers of the
wood, in its progress upwards, the sap communi-
cates with the lateral parts and branches of the
stem, either directly by junction of their vessels, or
by gradually diffusing itself through the minute
pores with which the canals that transport it are
perforated. The water, which forms the essential
basis of the sap, gives off in its progress, and
deposits in the vegetable tissue, that matter with
which it is impregnated, and which is destined
for the nutrition of the plant, and the reparation
of its expended fluids.

When treating of the suction of the roots, we
mentioned the experiments of Hales, proving
the force with which the ascent of the sap takes
place in a stem even of small diameter, it acting
with more power upon the mercury than a
column of air equal to the height of the atmos-
phere. Bonnet has also made experiments for
the purpose of determining the rapidity with
which the sap may rise. Thus, on immersing
two stalks of the kidney bean in coloured fluids,
45

he found that the latter rose sometimes half an
inch in half an hour, sometimes three inches in
one hour, and sometimes four inches in three
hours.

From the observations and experiments of
Professor Amici, it would appear that the fluids
contained in the vessels, or in the areola of the
cellular tissue of plants, move and circulate in
each of these vessels or cells, quite independently
of the manner in which they move in the others.
Each cavity, he says, constitutes a distinct organ,
and in its interior the fluid moves in a circulat-
ing manner, independently of the particular
circulation which takes place in each of the
adjacent cavities. It was chiefly on Chara vul-
garis, Ch. flewilis, and Caulinia fragilis, aquatic
plants whose organization is more easily per-
ceived on account of the transparency of their
elementary parts, that Professor Amici made his
observations. The motion of the fluid in each
cavity of the cellular tissue, or in each vessel,
may be distinctly perceived, on account of the
solid particles which float in the fluid. These
particles, which are globules of extreme minute-
ness, and sometimes of a very decided green
tint, are seen ascending along one of the walls
of the cavity, and, on arriving at the horizontal
partition which separates the cell from the one
above it, changing their direction, and following
a horizontal course until they reach the opposite
wall, when they descend along it to its lower
part, where their course again becomes horizon-
tal; after which they recommence the same
route. In the same vessel there are thus always
four different currents, an ascending, a descending,
and two horizontal ones, in opposite directions.
It is very remarkable that the direction of the
motion in each vessel does not seem to have any
connection with that which takes place in the
neighbouring tubes. Thus sometimes two vessels
in mutual contact present the same motion, while,
in those which surround them, a directly opposite
motion is observed in the fluids.

The same observer has also remarked, that no
globule is seen passing from one cavity into
another. ‘“ITowever,” says he, “I do not pre-
tend to maintain that the fluid contained in a
vessel, does not, when circumstances require it,
penetrate into the neighbouring vessels. I am
even persuaded that this transfusion is necessary
for the development of the plant; but it is only
the most fluid and subtile part of the juice that
can penetrate through the membrane invisibly,
by passing through holes which the eye, assisted
by the microscope, is unable to perceive.”

Some have attributed the cause of this inde-
pendent motion of the fluid, to the irritability
possessed by the membrane of which the tubes
are formed. Professor Amici is not of this
opinion; but thinks he recognises the moving
power of the fluid in the small green or trans-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

parent grains lining the walls of the tubes where
they are disposed in rows, and which, by an
action similar to that of the voltaic piles, produce
the motion of the fluid. These green grains are
evidently the same as those which Dutrochet
considers as the nervous system of vegetables,

But what is the cause of this ascent of the
sap? How can that fluid rise from the roots to
the upper part of the stem? It may well be
supposed that each of the older physiologists
must have had an opinion of his own to account
for this surprising phenomenon.

Grew attributed it to the action of the utricles,
That author, who considered the vegetable tissue
as formed of small utricles, placed in juxta-posi-
tion, one above another, and all communicating
together, thought that when the sap had once
entered into the lower utricles, they contracted
upon themselves, and pushed it into those im-
mediately above; and that, by this mechanism,
the sap at length reached the summit of the
plant. Malpighi, on the other hand, attributed
the ascent of the sap to its alternate rarefaction
and condensation by heat. De La Ilire, who
supposed the sap-vessels to be furnished with
valves, like the veins of animals, thought that it
depended upon this arrangement. Perault im-
agined it to be produced bya kxind of fermentation.
Lastly, many persons have compared the pro-
gress of the sap in the vegetable tissue, to theascent
of fluids in capillary tubes. But it will readily
be seen that such hypotheses are insufficient to
account for the phenomena in question. If they
were owing to the capillarity of the sap-vessels,
their action would necessarily be independent of
external circumstances, and even of the life of
the plant; but this is not the case. Every
person knows that the sap no longer circulates
in a plant deprived of life. Life has therefore a
direct and powerful action upon the exercise of
this function. In the suction performed by the
roots in the soil, a peculiar vital power has been
admitted, on which depend all the phenomena
of vegetables, and which forms the distinctive
character of living beings, and withdraws them
from the influence of physical and chemical
agents; this power has also been resorted to for
explaining the progress of the sap. In short,
if all the phenomena of vegetation were produced
hy the action of mechanical or chemical agents
alone, by what characters could we distinguish
vegetables from inorganic objects? We must
therefore admit in vegetables, as in animals, a
peculiar vital power which influences all their
functions. But although this vital power be
the agent by which the ascent of the sap is pro-
duced, certain internal and external causes may
facilitate the exercise of this phenomenon.
Among the external causes are to be ranked
temperature, and the influence of light and
electricity, It is generally known that high
NUTRITION Of VEGETABLES:

temperature is singularly favourable to the pro-
gress of the sap. In winter, the tree is full of
sap, but it is thick and stagnant. In spring, the
return of heat causes the ascent of the juices in
the vessels of the stem, which seemed to be
obstructed by them. Light and the electric
fluid have also a decided influence upon the
phenomena of the progress of the sap. It is well
known that when the atmosphere is long charged
with electricity, vegetables acquire a great de-
velopment, which necessarily implies that the
sap moves with more rapidity and power. Cer-
tain internal causes, inherent in the vegetable
itself, appear also to act upon the ascent of the
sap. Of this kind are the greater or less quantity
of cortical pores which the vegetable presents,
and the greater extent of its surface. These two
circumstances are evidently favourable to the
rapidity and force of the progress of the sap.
We now proceed to give a summary of the
theory of the ascent of the sap, as proposed by
Dutrochet, and illustrated by numerous experi-
ments by this ingenious botanist. In the first
place, Dutrochet has confirmed prior experi-
ments, that the imbibition of moisture from the
soil is accomplished solely by the extreme
rootlets or sporgioles of plants. At the com-
mencement of spring, he performed in the vine
successive amputations from the branches down-
wards to the stem roots, and extreme radicles.
At each of these amputations the sap ceased to
flow from the upper surface of the separated
portion, and proceeded to issue from the part of
the plant next the spongioles, till at length he
arrived at those spongioles themselves, from
which the sap issued ina similar manner. These
spongioles are internally composed of a cellular
tissue, in which are found minute corpuscles,
and covered by an exceedingly thin bark, which
in autumn becomes thicker and impervious, and
consequently loses its absorbing function. As
spring approaches, the spongioles are renewed in
the form of buds, from the extremities of those
of the previous seascn. The ascent of the sap
at first view, appears to be nothing more than a
mechanical action of imbibition carried on by
the leaves, as it increases and diminishes in
amount with the evaporation from them, and
diminishes gradually if they are removed one
after the other. But in a more careful inquiry,
it will be seen that this mechanical action alone
will not account for all the appearances. For
in the first place, in the sunshine, or in a diffuse
light, the absorption by the roots does not equal
the transpiration by the leaves; and if the plant,
after losing weight in the light, be removed into
darkness, the transpiration then will not equal
the absorption. Secondly, although the flaccid
state of a plant which has been deprived of
moisture, may be rapidly succeeded by the
healthy state of turgidity, on an adequate supply

 

49

of water being restored; nevertheless, this re-
vival will only take place, provided the desicca-
tion has not been carried too far; and the limit
of desiccation at which revival will no longer
occur, on the one hand, accords with that at
which the organized structure of the plant be-
gins to be decomposed, and on the other hand,
is much within that at which the plant is to be
considered in the light of a sponge, reduced to a
state of dryness, and thereby deprived of its
power of capillary attraction. Neither can the
ascent of the sap, as some have supposed, be owing
to air contained in the vessels, which expanding,
forces the fluid upwards, for the sap vessels, when
cut, exhibit no traces of contained air; nor can
it be propelled by a contraction of the vessels,
for those in the stems of ligneous plants are of
an unyielding and solid nature. In short, Du-
trochet concludes that the ascent of the sap is
due to a peculiar impulse inherent in the tis-
sue of the plant, and which is dependent on the
integrity of its organic structure—We proceed
then to detail Dutrochet’s experiments explan-
atory of his theory.

When a picce of the blind gut or ccecum of a
chicken was half filled with milk, and then im-

mersed in rain water, he found that it became .

gradually fuller and fuller, and at length very
turgid, having in thirty-six hours increased in
weight, from 196 to 313 grains; when a denser
fluid was substituted for the milk, such as albu-
men or solution of gum, the weight and tur-
gescence, were still more increased, and this
increase was more rapidly completed. In eiglit
and a half hours, a cecum, partially filled, and
weighing fifty-eight grains, became extremely
turgid, and weighed 130 grains. This trans-
mission of the water by inward impulse he has
termed endosmose, and corresponds to the imbi-
bition of the moisture of the soil by the roots.
It occurs always when the internal fluid is more
dense than the external, as also under certain
other circumstances to be mentioned afterwards.

On the other hand, when the ececum was filled
with rain water, and immersed in any of the
above mentioned fluids, such as milk or albu-
men, the water passes outwards, through the
membrane; and a weaker solution of gum arabic,
inclosed in the same way, passed outwards to a
stronger solution in which the gut was immersed.
This process he termed exosmose, or outward
impulse ; and it corresponds to the imbibition of
moisture from the external atmosphere into the
interior tubes of plants. But these two pro-
cesses of endosmose and exosmose, are always
reciprocal to a certain degree: thus, while a
portion of one fluid passes inwards, a certain
portion of the interior fluid also passes outwards,
When a little syrup is inclosed in a membran-
ous bag, and immersed in pure water, the water
enters the bag; but at the same time, a part of

i)
50

the syrup passes outwards into the water, and is
indicated by its imparting a sweetish taste to
the fluid. Or if a solution of common salt he
substituted, and submitted to the same process,
the escape of the saline solution will be immedi-
ately proved by the water becoming white on
the addition of a few drops of solution of nitrate
of silver. The transmission of fluids, then, is
always reciprocal, but that power predominates
which transfers the lighter to the denser fluid.
Similar experiments were performed with the
swimming bladder of the carp, and also with
the pods of the bladder senna, and the same
results occurred, yet all pervious substances do
not possess the same properties. Having ob-
scrved this state of distension, which was acquired
by membranous bags through the influence of
endosmose, it immediately occurred to Dutrochet
that the reaction of the membrane on its con-
tents might be strong enough to raise to a
sensible elevation the fluid diluted by the water
which was absorbed. This conjecture was com-
pletely verified by a variety of experiments, of
which the following is the most striking. The
ccecum of a chicken filled with a solution of
gum, in five parts of water, was fixed on one
end of a glass tube open at both extremities,
twenty-four inches long, and a fifth of an inch
diameter, and was then immersed in rain water.
The fluid gradually rose in the tube at the rate
of an inch per hour; and in twenty-four hours
flowed over the upper orifice. Here, therefore,
is an exact representation of the ascent of the
sap, by the impulse communicated to it from the
spongioles of the roots. This discovery enabled
him to construct an instrument which might
serve as a measurer of the power of endosmose.
This consists of an inverted funnel and tube,
the latter of which is furnished with a scale,
while the mouth of the funnel is covered with
a piece of bladder, or other organic membrane;
and which is supported on a plate of metal,
perforated with many holes. The fluid to be
tried as a syrup, for instance, is poured into the
inverted funnel, the tube is then fitted into the
throat of the funnel by means of a cork, and the
covered mouth of the funnel is immersed a little
under the surface of a glass of rain water, in a
tube forty inches long, and a twelfth of an inch
in diameter; the fluid will rise at the rate of
about six inches per hour and in seven hours
will flow over the top.

All fluids having a greater density than water,
consequently all the organic animal and vege-
table fluids, such as albumen, milk, solution of
gum, gelatin, extract syrup, urine emulsions,
&c., are exciters of endosmose. Various sub-
stances have the same power, by virtue of dif-
ferences in chemical nature, as nitric, acetic, and
muriatic acids, potass, ammonia, and alcohol,
the two latter being lighter, and less dense than

 

IISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

water. Sulphate and muriate of soda are also
powerful exciters, even in very minute quantities.
Certain fluids, however, appear quite inactive,
although only two such have been well ascer-
tained, and these are sulphuric acid, and sul-
phuretted hydrogen. Water impregnated with
sulphuric acid excites no action, and if evena
moderate portion of this acid be added to an
active fluid, such as gum, the endosmie action
of the latter is destroyed. The same facts are
observed very remarkably in the instance of
sulphuretted hydrogen. Thus, water containing
a twentieth of its weight of gum, excites power-
ful endosmose, but the solution has no action at
all if there be also added to it a 200th part of
hydrosulphuret of ammonia. Hence, fecal
matters do not excite endosmose. Hence, too,
the various animal fluids formerly mentioned,
cease to excite it as soon as they begin to putrify,
because they then all evolve sulphuretted hy-
drogen. Accordingly, when an experiment in
which endosmose has been produced, is con-
tinued till the fluid putrifies, it rapidly sinks in
the tube till the internal and external fluids are
on a level.

All organic membranes permit of the processes
of endosmose, and exosmose, or as Dutrochet
terms it, are active. Of inorganic substances,
porous clay, minerals, as a thin layer of gray
slate burnt, or a piece of baked clay, are also
active. Through a structure of baked clay, one
twenty-fifth of an inch thick, endosmose takes
place almost as actively as through an organic
membrane; and it is perceptible, even through
a plate three-fifths of an inch thick. Silicious
minerals, on the contrary, have very little ac-
tivity, and calcareous are quite inactive. All
active substances become inactive when they
have been penetrated by inactive fluids, as when
clogged up by sulphuret of ammonia; but on
this matter being washed off, they again resume
their activity. Active membranes are rendered
after a time inactive by all fluids, except those
derived from organic sources; although at first
inorganic mixtures may stimulate, and increase
this endosmose, yet the velocity soon decreases,
and stops altogether at last. The velocity of
action differs according to the different densities
and temperatures of the fluids, the force or im-
pulses also varying. With a syrup formed of
equal parts of sugar and water, the force is cal-
culated as equal to a pressure of four atmos-
pheres and a half. Dutrochet is of opinion that
the cause of this ascension of fluids is due to the
agency of electricity. The first hint which led
him to this conclusion, was taken from some
experiments of M. Porret, who found that if a
vessel was divided into two compartments, by a
partition of bladder, and one was filled with
water, while the other contained only a few
drops, the water was impelled through the
NUTRITION OF VEGETABLES,

bladder, when the positive wire of a galvanic
trough was immersed into the full compartment,
and the negative wire into the other. M. Du-
trochet, improving on this experiment, attached
an empty ccoecum round the end of a glass tube,
the aperture of which was stopped up bya cork,
and through this cork were passed into the
bladder the negative wire of a galvanic pile, and
a fine capillary tube, to allow of the escape of
the hydrogen gas, formed by the decomposition
of the water. The bladder being now immersed
in water, into which the positive wire of the
pile was plunged, the galvanic circle was no
sooner thus completed, than the bag began to
swell, and ina few minutes the water rose in
the tube, and flowed over its upper orifice.
Here endosmose was produced without the aid
of a fluid differing either in density or in chemi-
cal nature from the transmitted fluid. Reversing
the wires, the phenomena of exosmose was pro-
duced, and in half an hour the ccecum was
emptied. ’

Dutrochet then points out the numerous re-
semblances between the common electric actions,
and those of endosmose, concluding that in every
essential circumstance these phenomena are cx-
actly similar, so that -very little doubt can be
entertained that the passage of fluids by endos-
mose and exosmose, depends on electric influ-
ences; in short, that on the internal and external
surfaces of the membranous bags being brought
into opposite states of electricity by the action
of fluids, differing in density, or chemical com-
position, and applied, the one internally, and the
other externally, the phenomenon takes place.
One very striking point of argument confirma-
tory of this conclusion seems to be that an
elevation of temperature powerfully increases
the electric action, as well as the ascent of
vegetable juices; the great difficulty hitherto
encountered in ‘the theories, explanatory of the
circulation of the juices of plants, was to ex-
plain by what means the sap both ascended
from the roots upwards, and descended by the
leaves and bark. This difficulty can, however,
be satisfactorily overcome by the ingenious dis-
coveries of Dutrochet. It may be remarked
also how appropriately the spongioles of the
radicles are constructed to produce endosmose.
They have a delicate, thin, and permeable epider-
mis, covering a series of cellular bodies, which
contain a fluid denser than water. Turgidity
must therefore take place in them, when water
is supplied in sufficient quantity, and as there is
no other outlet by which the turgidity can be re-
leased, under the elastic reaction of the walls of
the spongioles, the absorbed fluid ascends. We
have mentioned that endosmose ceases when the
permeable membrane, through which it is exer-
cised, loses its regularly organised texture by
decay. Accordingly the sap cannot be made to

 

51

rise at all, if the roots are allowed to dry so fur
as to undergo decomposition. The action also is
comparatively feeble when the temperature islow;
hence when the sap is rising in the spring it is
found to attain different elevations, according to
the degree of heat. The stagnation of the flow
of sap in autumn and winter, and of its return
in spring, are all referable, also, to the state of
the temperature, and to the condition of the
spongioles at those periods. For towards the
close of autumn, the epidermis of the rootlets
becomes coarse and impermeable, and it is not
till new spongioles with a tender skin are formed
in spring, that absorption canagain take place. The
leaves also ave of such a structure, as to possess
the power of exciting endosmose; hence they have
a constant tendency to absorb moisture whenever
it is presented to them of less density than the
juices contained in their cells, and consequently
a power of suction must be exerted upon the sap
ascending in the lymphatic vessels. This ac-
tion has been termed the affusz, and seems inde-
pendent of any action of the vessels of the stem,
but is due solely to the endosmose of the mem-
brane of the leaves. Thus if a twig of any
plant is immersed in water acidulated with
sulphuric acid, this fluid will be continued to
be drawn up, although every part of the vege-
table with which it comes in contact is immed-
iately killed, so that the cellules and tubes may
be considered as so many inorganic capillary
passages. Endosmose may also be a prime agent
in the ordinary transpiration of mattcr hy the
leaves. For as has already been stated, wherever
endosmose takes place, there is also the recipro-
cal action of exosmose. The discharge of fluid
by the leaves cannot be accounted for by the
laws of evaporation alone. For the extent of
the discharge is under the influence of agents
which cannot affect evaporation, such as diffuse
light, and it appears to take place to some extent
even under water. Nor is this power generated in
the leaves, all expanded in the function of expira-
tion; part of it seems to be spent in effecting the
passage of the elaborated sap downwards through
the ample tubes; at least, this fluid does not des-
cend from the mere influence of gravity, for
when a branch having a ring of bark removed
from it is bent downwards, the bark is removed
as usual only at the edge of the incision next
the leaves, although the elaborated sap must in
this position ascend to form it.

Transpiration in the leaves. We have just
seen by what force and by what organs the sap
is raised from the roots to the extremities of all
the branches of the plant. Here other phenom-
ena are produced, and a new circulation com-~
mences. When the sap has arrived at the ex-
tremities of the branches, it spreads out into
their leaves, where it loses part of the principles
which it contained, and acquires new ones.
52

The leaves and green parts are the seat of vege-
table transpiration, expiration, and excretion.
The sap is deprived, in them, of the atmospheric
air which it still contains, of its superabundant
quantity of aqueous principles, and of the sub-
stances which have become foreign or useless to
its nutrition. But while it thus loses part of
the principles of which it was previously consti-
tuted, it undergoes a particular elaboration, ac-
quires new qualities, and, following a course the
reverse of that which it has already performed,
descends from the leaves towards the roots,
through the liber or vegetating part of the corti-
cal layers.

The transpiration or aqueous emanation of
vegetables, is that function by which the sap,
on arriving in the leaves, loses and gives out the
superabundant quantity of water which it con-
tained.

It is generally in the form of vapour that this
water is exhaled into the atmosphere. When
the transpiration is not great, the vapour is ab-
sorbed by the air as it forms ; but ifthe quantity
increases, and the temperature of the atmosphere
is low, the liquid is seen transpiring in the form
of extremely small drops, which often unite to-
gether, and then acquire a considerable size.
Thus at sunrise, limpid drops are often observed
hanging at the point of the leaves of many
ptasses. Cabbage-leaves also present them of
large size. It was long thought that they were
produced by dew; but Muschenbroék first
proved, by conclusive experiments, that they
result from vegetable transpiration, condensed by
the coldness of the night. He intercepted all
communication between a poppy and the ambient
air, by covering it with a bell, and between it
and the earth, by covering the vessel in which
it grew with a leaden plate. Next morning the
drops appeared upon it as before.

Hales, in like manner, made experiments to
determine the proportion existing between the
quantity of fluids absorbed by the roots, and
that exhaled by the leaves. He reared a sun
flower in a pot of earth, till it grew to the height
of three feet and a half; he then covered the
mouth of the pot with a plate of lead, which he
cemented so as to prevent all evaporation from
the earth contained init. In this plate he fixed
two tubes, the one nine inches in length, and of
hut small diameter; left open to serve as a
medium of communication with the external air,
the other two inches in length and one in diame-
ter, for the purpose of introducing a supply of
water, but kept always shut, except at the time
of watering. The holes of the bottom of the
pot were also shut, and the pot and plant were
weighed for fifteen successive days in the months
of July and August. Hence he ascertained,
not only the fact of transpiration by the leaves,
front a comparison of the supply and waste, but

 

IIISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

also the quantity of moisture transpired in a
given time, by subtracting from the total waste
the amount of evaporation from the pot. In a
dry and hot day, it transpired the most, and in a
damp and wet day, it transpired the least. The
mean rate of transpiration being one pound four
ounces, that is, seventeen times more in propro-
tion than that from the human body. Ina hot
and dry night without dew, it transpired three
ounces; in a dewy night it did not transpire at
all; and in a rainy night or night of much dew,
its weight was increased by three ounces. Hales
suspected that the quantity transpired was in
proportion to the extent of the surface of the
leaves, which he regarded as the principal organs
of transpiration, and ascertained also the relative
proportion of the capacity of the leaves for tran-
spiration as compared to the capacity of the root
for absorption. The surface of the leaves and
the stem of the plant which was the subject of
experiment was found to be equal to about 5616
square inches, and the surface of the root of
the same plant, or rather, of a plant of nearly
the same size, was found to be about 2286
square inches; the latter being to the former in
the proportion of two to five; from which it fol-
lows that the absorbing power of the root is
greater than the transpiring power of the leaves,
in the proportion of five to two. Similar ex-
periments were also made upon some species of
cabbage, whose mean transpiration was found
to be one pound three ounces a day, and on some
species of evergreens which were found, however,
to transpire less than other plants. The same is
the case also with succulent plants which tran-
spire but little in proportion to their mass, and
which, as they become more firm, transpire less.
It is known, however, that they absorb a great
deal of moisture, though they give it out thus
sparingly, which we cannot but regard as a wise
institution in nature, for the purpose of resisting
the great droughts to which they are generally ex-
posed, inhabiting as they do for the most part the
sandy desert or the sunny rock. Hales also relates
corroborative experiments to hisown, made by Mr
Miller of Chelsea. The result of this was, that,
other circumstances being the same, transpiration
is in proportion to the extent of transpiring sur-
face, and is affected by the temperature of the
air, sunshine, state of moisture, and dryness. It
is also greatest from six in the morning till noon,
and is least during the night; but when tran-
spiration becomes too abundant, owing to excess
of heat or drought, the plant immediately suffers
and begins to languish; hence the leaves drop
during the day, though they are again revived
during the night. For similar reasons, transpira-
tion increases as the summer advances, being more
abundant in July than in June, and still more
in August than in either of the preceding
months, from which last period it begins again
NUTRITION OF VEGETABLES.

to decrease. But the most remarkable instance
of rapid transpiration yet observed, is that whitch
is related by Guettard, who found that a small
sprig of the corneil tree transpired, in the course
of the day, one ounce and three drachms, a
quantity almost double its own weight; they
found also in general, that branches deprived of
their leaves afford but little transpired matter,
and that branches furnished with their leaves
afford a great deal; hence it follows that the
leaves are the principal organs of transpiration.

The substance thus transpired by the plant
may be obtained by enclosing a.bough ina glass
vessel of proper dimensions luted to the branch.
Its properties have not yet been very minutely
investigated. [Halesand Guettard coulddiscover
in it nothing different from common water, ex-
cept that in some cases it had the odour of the
plant. But Duhamel found that it became
sooner putrid than water.

These experiments have since been repeated
by Desfontaines and Mirbel, who have again
found occasion to admire the accuracy and
sagacity of the English philosopher. Senebier
demonstrated, by numerous experiments, that
the quantity of water expired was to that absorbed
by the vegetable as two to three. This cireum-
stance is an additional proof that a part of this
liquid is fixed or decomposed in the interior of
the plant.

These facts incontestably prove: 1. That
vegetables transpire by their leaves; in other
words, throw out a certain quantity of aqueous
fluids. 2. That this transpiration is greater in
proportion to the heat and dryness of the atmos-
phere; whereas in moist weather, and especially
at night, there is scarcely any. 3. That this
function is performed with greater activity, the
younger and more vigorous the plant is. 4.
That nutrition takes place more effectually the
more the transpiration is proportionate to the
absorption ; for, when one of these functions is
performed with more vigour than the other, the
plantlanguishes. Thisis observed in plants which,
on being exposed to the heat of the sun, fade
and lose their vigour, because their transpiration
is no longer proportionate to the absorption per-
formed by the roots.

In newly transplanted vegetables the tran-
spiration by the leaves is so great as often to ex-
haust and destroy the plant before the roots have
so far recovered their action as to supply the
waste. Hence in all such cases an abundant
allowance of water is necessary to secure the
health and vigour of transplanted vegetables.

Expiration. We have already shown that
vegetables absorb or inspire a certain quantity of
air or of other aériform fluids, either directly or
mixed with sap, by means of their roots and
Jeaves, which operate simultaneously in produc-
ing this effect. The portion of these absorbed

 

53

fluids, which has not been decomposed for the
purposé of supplying alimentary matter, is
ejected by expiration. Plants, like animals, are
therefore provided with a kind of respiration,
which in the former, as in the latter, consists of
two phenomena, inspiration and expiration.
This function is very perceptible when we im-
merse a branch of a tree, or a young plant, in a
glass bell filled with water, and expose it to the
action of light. There is then seen rising from
its surface a great number of small bubbles,
which are formed of a very pure air, almost en-
tirely composed of oxygen gas. On the other
hand, let the experiment be made in a dark place,
and the leaves will expire carbonic acid and
nitrogen gass, but no oxygen. It must here be
carefully remarked, that all the other parts
of the vegetable which are not of a green colour,
such as the roots, the bark, the flowers, and the .
fruits, when subjected to the same experiments,
always exhale carbonic acid gas, but never oxy-
gen. Consequently, the expiration of oxygen
gas does not depend solely upon the direct infiu-
ence of the rays of light, but also upon the green
colouring of the parts.

We know that vegetables, when exposed to
the action of the sun, absorb a great quantity of
carbonic acid, which they decompose in the in-
terior of their substance, and eject the greater
part of the oxygen which was combined with
the carbon. Now, this phenomenon is also a
true expiration.

When a plant is dead or languishing, either
expiration ceases entirely, or the expired fluid
is always nitrogen gas. Some vegetables, even
when exposed to the influence of the sun’s rays,
expire only azote. Of this kind are the sensi-
tive plant, the holly, the rose-laurel, and some
others. It seems difficult to point out the true
cause of this anomaly.

Excretion. The ejected matters of vegetables
are fluids of various degrees of thickness, some-
times capable of condensing and becoming solid.
They are of very diversified nature, being some-
times resins, wax, or volatile oils; sometimes
saccharine substances, manna, fixed oils, &c.
All these substances are thrown out at the
surface by the power of vegetation. Thus the
Sraxinus ornus, and some other species of ash,
in Calabria, exude a thick saccharine fluid,
which, under theaction of the air, becomes con-
crete, and forms manna, pines, firs, and, in
general, all trees of the family of conifere, furnish
large quantities of resinous matter. Many plants,
such as the Ceroxylon andicola, a superb species
of palm, described by Humboldt and Bonpland,
and the Myrica cerifera of North America, yield
a large quantity of wax, which is usefully em-
ployed in the countries to which these plants
are indigenous.

What is generally called perceptible perspira-
54

tion is an exudation of sap, too gross or too
abundant to be dissipated immediately, and
which hence acumulates on the surface of the
leaf. It is very generally to be met with in the
course of the summer on the leaves of the maple,
poplar, and lime tree; but particularly on the
surface exposed to the sun, which it sometimes
wholly covers. Its physical as well as chemical
qualities are very different in different species of
plants, so that it is not always merely an exuda-
tion of sap, but of sap in a high state of elabora-
tion, or mingled with the peculiar juices or
secretions of the plant. Sometimes it is a clear
and watery fluid, conglomerating into large drops
such as are said to have been observed by Miller
of Chelsea exuding from the leaves of the plan-
tain, and such as are to be seen in hot and calm
weather exuding from the leaves of the poplar,
or willow, and trickling down in such abun-
dance as to resemble a slight shower. This
was observed by Smith under a grove of willows
in Italy, and is said to oceur sometimes even in
England. Sometimes it is glutinous, as in the leaf
of the lime tree; sometimes waxy, as in the
leaves of the rosemary; saccharine, as on the
orange leaf. On the leaves of the cistus creticus
is exuded a resin known by the name of Jab-
danum. The exudation from the Lombardy
poplar has been rendered famous by Ovid, who
fables them as the tears of Phaeton’s sisters, who
were transformed into this species of poplar.
The leaves of fraxinella are also said to be often

covered with a sort of resinous substance; and.

after a hot day, if the air is calm, the plant is
even found to be surrounded by a resinous at-
mosphere, which may be set on fire by the ap-
plication of the flame of a candle. This is
seid to have been the discovery of a daughter of
the celebrated Linneus. Sometimes this ex-
udation is a redundancy so great as to consti-
tute a disease of plants; of this nature is the
honey dew, a sweetish substance exuded by the
hop plant, beech tree, &c.

Roots, as before remarked, also excrete, by
their slender extremities, certain fluids, which
are injurious or useful to the plants that grow
in their vicinity ; and in this manner, the lik-
ings and antipathies of certain plants may be
accounted for. Thus, it is well known that the
creeping thistle is hurtful to oats, erigeron acris
to wheat, scabiosa arvensis to flax, &c. Such
are the different phenomena which depend upon
the presence of the sap, when it has arrived at
the upper parts of plants. Let us now follow
it in its retrograde course from the leaves to the
roots.

The descending Sap. This has been a subject
of much discussion among physiologists, several
of them having long denied the existence of a
descending sap; but the perceptible phenomena
of vegetation, and the most accurate experi-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ments, have demonstrated that there really is a
sccond sap, which follows a course the reverse
of that which we have just examined. If a
strong ligature be applied to the trunk of a di-
cotyledonous tree, there forms above it a cir-
cular swelling, which gradually becomes more
prominent. This swelling could not be formed
by the sap which ascends from the roots toward
the leaves. Were this the case, it ought to pre-
sent itself beneath the ligature, and not above it;
but this is not what happens. The swelling,
therefore, can only depend upon the obstacle
which the juices encounter as they descend from
the upper parts of the plant to the lower, in
their passage through the cortical layers. There
is, therefore, a descending sap.

The descending sap, divested of the greater
part of its watery principles, more highly ela-
borated, and containing more nutritious princi-
ples than the ascending sap, contributes essen-
tially to the nourishment of the plant. As it
circulates in the vegetating part of the stem,
the only part susceptible of growth, its uses
cannot be equivocal.

Let us examine more strictly the phenomena
which result from the application of a circular,
ligature to the trunk of a dicotyledonous tree,
and we shall see that not only does a swelling
form above the ligature, but also that the part
of the trunk situated beneath it ceases to grow,
no new circular layer being henceforth added to
those which previously existed. Hence we see,
in the clearest manner, the use of the descending
sap. It continually maintains and renews the
cambium, and contributes essentially to the
growth and development of dicotyledonous
trees.

But this second sap is not of the same nature
in all vegetables. There are some in which it
forms a white and milky juice, as in the euphor-
bie. In others, as poppics, it isa yellowish or
brownish fluid; and in the firs it is resinous.
But it is necessary to remark, that, in the opinion
of many physiologists, the proper juices of
plants are not the descending sap itself, but fluids
which are separated from it by the act of vege-
tation. The diversity of nature which these
juices present, their occurring in some vegetables
only, and their being contained in vessels appro-
priated to themselves and existing in small
number, appear so many proofs in favour of this
opinion.

We have now given a successive account of
the various phenomena which are connected with
the nutrition of plants, or contribute to effect
it. We have seen the juices which have been
absorbed by the roots in the earth conveyed by
an inherent power, depending upon the life of
the plant, and electric influence, to the highest
parts of the ultimate ramifications of the stem.
‘Phere, we have seen them mingling with the
ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION.

absorbed fluids, losing such of their aqueous and
aériform principles as are useless for nutrition,
and thus acquiring new properties ; after which,
pursuing a retrograde course they become the
true aliment of the plant,

We thus see, that, although nutrition in plants
has a great similarity to the same function in
animals, it yet differs essentially from the latter.
Thus animals introduce by their mouth the
different substances by which they are nourished;
while plants absorb, in the interior of the earth,
by the imbibing orifices which terminate their
roots, water impregnated with substances which
are either necessary or useful for their nutrition.

In animals, the substances that have been in-
troduced pass along a single canal, from the
mouth to the place where the substance which
is alone directly subservient to nutrition (the
chyle,) is to be separated from the useless parts.
In vegetables the same phenomena take place ;
the absorbed fluids pass through a certain course
before they arrive at the leaves, in which the
parts essential to nutrition are separated from
those which are useless. Both animals and vege-
tables eject the substances which are unfit for
their nutrition.

One of the most striking differences between
vegetables and animals consists in the circum-
stance, that the former are essentially nourished
by inorganic substances, such as water, carbon,
hydrogen, &c., whereas the substances which
are subservient to the nutrition of animals are
organic, and derived from the animal and vege-
table kingdoms.

‘The chyle, by which the nutrition of animals
is effected, mingles with the blood, which it
continually renews and keeps up in due quantity,
circulates through all parts of ‘the body, and
serves for the development and nutrition of the
organs. The sap of plants, after being exposed
in the leaves to the influence of the air, which
changes its nature and properties, descends into
all parts of the vegetable, carrying into them
the materials necessary for their growth, and
thus effecting the development of all their
parts.

CHAP. XII.

THE ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION, AND HISTORY OF
THEIR DISCOVERY,

Tur Organs of reproduction, which are also
called Organs of Fructification, are those by
which the preservation of species and the pro-
pagation of races are effected. Their office is
not less important than that of the organs whose
structure and uses we have already examined ;
for, if the latter are necessary for the existence

 

55

of the individual, and the development of all
its parts, the organs of reproduction are equally
necessary to enable the individual to procreate
others similar to itself, by which its species may
be renewed and perpetuated.

In plants, the flower, the fruit, and the various
parts of which they are composed, constitute
the organs of reproduction.

Here we find a great resemblance between
animals and vegetables. Both are provided with
particular organs, which by their mutual influ-
ence concur in producing the most important
function of their life. Generation is the ultimate
object for which nature has created the various
organs of vegetables and animals. They exhibit
the most perfect similarity in respect to this
great function. From the action which the
male organ exercises upon the female organ,
fecundation takes place, by which: the embryo,
yet in the rudimentary state, receives and pre-
serves the vivifying principle of life. Here,
however, we remark the modifications which
nature has impressed upon these two great
classes of organized beings. Most animals are
furnished at birth with the organs which are, at
a future period, to effect their reproduction.
These organs remain in a state of torpidity until
the period when nature, imparting to them a
new energy, renders them capable of performing
the offices for which they were destined. Vege-
tables, on the contrary, are, at their first appear-
auce, destitute of sexual organs, these not being

| developed by nature until the moment when

they are to be employed for the purpose of fe-
cundation. Another great dissimilarity between
animals and vegetables is, that, in the former,
the sexual organs are capable of performing the
same function several times, and exist during
the whole life of the individual which bears
them; while in vegetables, which have a soft
and delicate texture, these organs have only a
temporary existence, make their appearance for
the purpose of accomplishing the views of nature,
and fade and disappear whenever they have per-
formed their office.

We admire the wisdom by which Nature has
regulated the distribution of sexes in organized
beings. Vegetables, which are invariably fixed
to the place in which they have sprung to life
and are destitute of the locomotive faculty,
usually bear on the same individual the two
organs by the mutual action of which fecun-
dation is to be effected. Animals, on the other
hand, which, being possessed of will and the
faculty of moving, can pass in any direction
from one place to another, generally have the
sexes separated upon distinct individuals. For
this reason, the union of the sexes in one indi-
vidual is as common in vegetables as it is rare
among animals,

The flower is essentially constituted by the
56

presence of one of the two sexual organs, or of
the two placed together upon a common support,
with or without external envelopes intended for
their protection. In its greatest degree of sim-
plicity, the flower may, therefore, consist of
only a single sexual organ, male or female, that
is, of a stamen or a pistil. Thus, in the willows,
whose flowers are wnisexual, the male flowers
merely consist of one, two, or three stamina,
attached to a small scale. The female flowers
are formed of a pistil, which is also accompanied
with a scale, but without any other organs. In
this case, as in many others, the flower is as
simple as possible. It then takes the name of
male flower, or female flower, according to the
organs of which it is composed. The herma-
phrodite flower, on the other hand, is that in
which the two sexual organs, the male organ
and the female organ, exist together.

But the different flowers which we have just
examined are not complete ; for although the es-
sence of the flower consists in the sexual organs,
yet, before it can be called perfect, it must pre-
sent other organs, not indeed essential to it, but
which, nevertheless, belong to it, and assist it in
performing its functions. These organs are the
calyx and corolla, which give support and pro-
tection to the parts of fructification. The fact
of the existence of two kinds of flowers in plants
was at an early period so far conjectured by
botanists ; but its complete elucidation has only
been made at a very modern date. As this is a
most curious and important discovery in the
history of the vegetable kingdom, we shall, before
going into a description of the sexual organs,
trace the progress of opinion on the subject from
the earliest periods to the present time.

It cannot, says Dr Keith, now be ascertained
with whom, or at what particular period, the
notice of vegetable sexuality originated ; but its
antiquity is unquestionably great, as it appears
to have been entertained even among the original
Greeks, from the antiquity of their mode of
cultivating figs, and to have been made the sub-
ject of the speculations of some of their earliest
philosophers. Empedocles taught that the
sexes were united in plants, a doctrine involved
indeed in that of Anaxagoras, by which the de-
sires and passions of animals are attributed to
vegetables. It was evidently a prevalent notion
throughout Greece, and the nations to the east
of Greece, in the time of Herodotus, who recog-
nises it in his account of the cultivation of the
Babylonian palm, which he represents as being
cultivated in the country around Babylon in
the manner of figs; the cultivator taking the
flower of that palm which the Greeks call the
male palm, and binding it around the flowers of
the fruit-bearing palm, that the fruit may not
fall immature. Whether the beneficial effect
resulting from this practice, was produced by

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the agency of insects generated in the male
plant, as Herodotus asserts, it is not our object
at present to inquire. It is enough to have as-
certained that the notion of a sexual distinction
in plants existed, or rather was a general and
prevalent idea, in the age of Herodotus, that is,
about 400 years before the Christian era. The
next authority is that of Aristotle, who maintains
the doctrine of a distinction of sex in plants as
well as in animals, though he admits that some
plants are altogether without sex ; and represents
the beneficial effect of the practice adopted in
the cultivation of the palm, as resulting from
the action of the dust of the male flower quick-
ening the maturity of the fruit, which it is said
to effect equally well, if it is wafted to the female
flower by means of the wind. Theophrastus,
the disciple and successor of Aristotle, who pur-
sued his botanical investigations to amuch greater
length than his master, maintains also the doc-
trine of the sexuality of vegetables, which he
illustrates with more of detail; and exemplifies
not only in the case of the palm tree, but in that
also of the fig, and.a variety of others. The
barren palm he calls the male, and the fruit-
bearing palm the female, pointing out at the
same time the ground of this distinction, as
consisting in the indispensable necessity of the
co-operation of the flower of the barren palm,
to the ripening of the fruit of the fertile palm,
the fruit of the fertile palm being otherwise ex-
tremely apt to fall off before it becomes ripe.
But if the spathe of the male plant containing
the male flowers, is cut off and shaken over the
flowers of the female plant, the fruit does not
fall, but is preserved till it is matured ; in which
case, he adds, there is a sort of junction of
the male and female. But beyond the example
of the date-palm, and such other plants as pro-
duce barren or fertile flowers on distinct indi-
viduals, Theophrastus does not seem to have
entertained any correct notions of vegetable sex-
uality. For although he institutes the distinc-
tion of sex in other families also, yet it is by no
means on the same principle, but rather upon
that of the habit or aspect of the plant, or upon
the quality of the timber when felled ; the male
being represented as shorter and stouter, and the
female as taller and more slender, as erroneously
exemplified in the case of the larch, which is
well known to produce no individuals that are
exclusively male or female; as well as in the
case of the lime tree, of which it is also added,
that the male plant is not only barren, but des-
titute even of flowers, And to complete the
mystery in which the doctrine was yet involved,
the male plant is in some cases said to have fruit
aswell as thefemale. From all which it follows,
that the doctrine of vegetable sexuality was but
very imperfectly understood in the time of Theo-
phrastus.
ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION.

After a long blank in the annals of botanical
research, the next traces of inquiry relative to
the sexuality of vegetables, are such as occur in
the works of Pliny, Dioscorides, and Galen, who
also adopted the division by which plants were
then distributed into male and female, but chiefly
upon the erroneous principle of habit or aspect,
and without any reference to a distinction ab-
solutely sexual ; the fertile plant being sometimes
denominated the male, and the barren plant the
female, as in the example of male and female
mercury, in which the true notion of vegetable
sexuality was altogether reversed. Pliny seems,
however, to admit the distinction of sex in all
plants whatsoever, and quotes the case of the palm
tree as exhibiting the most striking example.
Cesalpinus, who follows next in order, though
not till after an interval of many centuries, enters
more into the detail of the doctrine, and speaks
with more confidence on the subject than any
preceding botanist. Trees which produce fruit
only, he denominates females, and trees of the
same kind which are barren, he calls males,
adding that the fruit is found to be more abun-
dant, and of a better quality, when its males
grow in the neighbourhood of the females, which
is, as he says, occasioned by certain exhalations
from the males dispersing themselves all over
the females, and by an operation not to be ex-
plained, disposing them to produce more perfect
seed, Still, it seems doubtful whether any con-
jecture had been yet formed with regard to the
peculiar and appropriate organs by which the
sexual intercourse is conducted.

Zeluzianski, a native of Poland, who lived
about the end of the sixteenth century, is said
to have made some considerable discoveries re-
garding the sexuality of vegetables. But as his
book, if he ever published one, is not now to be
met with, no one seems able to say what his
discoveries were, if rather, they are not a trans-
cript of the discoveries of Cesalpinus. At last,
however, about the middle of the seventeenth
century, when the improved philosophy of Bacon
had begun to be adopted even in Botany, and its
cultivation to be directed by observation and
experiment, rather than by conjecture ; the
doctrine of the sexes of plants began also to as-
sume a more fixed and determinate character,
and to exhibit the legitiraate evidence of being
founded on fact. Still, it is difficult to say who
first discovered and pointed out the peculiar organs
by which the sexes are respectively characterised;
not that these organs had been overlooked in the
description of the flower, but that their functions
had been misunderstood. Malpighi, who des-
cribes not only the stamens and anthers, but also
the pollen contained in them, regards the former
as excretory organs contributing to the perfection
of the seed, and the latter as the substance ex-
ereted. The true use of the pollen, therefore,

 

57

was not yet discovered. The merit of sugges-
ting its true use seems to be between Sir T.
Millington, professor at Oxford, and the cele-
brated Dr Grew, who represents the suggestion
as originating with the professor, and consisting
in the expression of an opinion that the stamens
serve as the male organs of the vegetable for the
purpose of the generation of the seed, which
opinion he seems himself to have previously
entertained, or at the least, to have acquiesced
in as soon as it was suggested. This we may
regard as the first glimpse that was ever caught
of the true and proper use of the stamens; and
the discovery may be dated about the year 1676.
But the opinion, if not first suggested, was at
least first published by Dr Grew, in his Anatomy
of Plants, together with the grounds on which
he had adopted it, and the illustrations which
its novelty demanded, or his researches had fur-
nished; so that he does not merely ascribe a pe-
culiar function to the stamens, but points out
also the mode in which he thinks that function
is discharged, and which is represented to be as
follows. When the summits of the stamens or
anthers surmounting the filaments burst open
in the process of vegetation, the inclosed pollen
falls upon the pistil and impregnates the embryo,
not by actually entering the pistil, but by means
of a subtile and vivic effluvium ; hence the sta-
mens are the male, and the pistils the female
organs of vegetable impregnation. This was
the very discovery that furnished the clue for
the unravelling of the whole of the mystery
overhanging the subject, because it is equally
applicable to all sorts of vegetables whatever ;
whether producing the organs in question in
separate flowers, and on separate plants, as in
the case of the palm tree ; or in separate flowers,
and on the same plant, as on the hazel ; or lastly,
in the same flower, as in the lily, which last is
by far the most general mode of vegetable sexu-
ality. The opinion of Grew was adopted also
by Ray at first with some appearances of doubt,
but finally without any sort of reservation, as
being founded on evidence which appeared to
him sufficiently convincing, and which he was
even induced to illustrate. Hitherto the doctrine
of the sexuality of vegetables had been sup-
ported chiefly upon the ground of its probability,
as arising from careful observation, or upon that
of the necessity of the case, and had not yet
been confirmed by the evidence of actual ex-
periment; but this confirmation, which was so
devoutly to be wished, and without which all
other arguments must have remained insufficient,
was at length also happily undertaken. The
first example of experiment recorded on this
subject is that of Camerarius, who, having
adopted the opinions of Grew and Ray, though,
perhaps, without regarding their arguments as
the best that could be adduced, conceived that
u
58

the subject might be still farther illustrated by
means of depriving the plant of its male flowers
altogether, or of removing the individuals of
different sexes to a distance from one another.
Accordingly, having selected some plants, and
stripped them of their stamens or male organs,
or separated the male flowers entirely from the
female, he found that the fruit did not nowripen;
the inference from which was, that the genera-
tion of plants is analogous to that of animals,
and that the stamens of the flowers of the
former correspond to the sexual organs of the
males of the latter.

But though the fact of the sexuality of vege-
tables seemed thus unequivocally ascertained,
the peculiar mode of their fecundation was still
left undetermined. Some conjectures had been
offered with respect to it by Cesalpinus and
Grew, the former regarding it as being effected
by means of an exhalation from the male flower,
and the latter by means of an effluvium from
the pollen; but Moreland, who published a paper
on the subject, in the Philosophical Transactions
for 1703, in which, indeed, he adopts the opinions
of Grew with regard to the functions of the
stamens, contends however, that the pollen is a
congeries of seminal plants, one of which, at
Jeast must be conveyed through the style into
the ovary, before it can become prolific. This
conjecture seems to have arisen out of the theory
of Leuwenhoeck on animal generation, which
was then popular; but it is not corroborated
by any experiments. It seems, however, to have
had the effect of keeping alive the discussion of
the subjects. For Geoffroy, in his memoir pre-
sented to the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1711,
on the structure and use of the principal parts
of the flowers, endeavours, as it appears, to re-
concile the discordant theories of Grew and
Moreland, and maintains that the germ is never
visible in the seed till the anthers have shed their
pollen, adding, that if the stamens are cut off
before the anthers burst, the seeds remain barren.
In this we have a step in advance beyond the
point that had been gained by means of the ex-
periments of Camerarius, which relate only to
moneecious and dicecious plants, in which the
proof is less difficult than in hermaphrodites, to
which Geoffroy’s experimentsapply. From the
spirit of inquiry which was thus excited, new
discoveries could not but be expected to follow;
for although the doctrine was discountenanced
and rejected by some of the leading botanists of
the time, and even by the illustrious Tournefort,
yet it was too well established in fact to be over-
thrown by any argument, or any authority.
Accordingly, its evidence was becoming every
day more irresistible, and its advocates more
confident. Vaillant in a dissertation on the
structure of flowers, read at the opening of the
Royal Garden at Paris, in 1717, supports the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

doctrine of the sexes of vegetables by new ac-
cessions of experiments, and throws additional
light both on the structure of the pollen and
manner of its expulsion, which he represents,
however, in terms too glowing for the style of
sober narrative, but ]xy which he appears, accord-
ing to the remarks of w contemporary author,
to have been the first eye witness of that secret
operation of nature, “the loves of the plants.”

Butthe doctrine of thesexesof vegetables which
was thus daily acquiring new accessions of proof,
was destined to receive its last degree of eluci-
dation from the pen of Linneus. This great
and illustrious botanist, reviewing with his usual
sagacity the evidence on which the doctrine
rested; and perceiving that it was supported by
a multiplicity of the most incontrovertible facts,
resolved to devote his labours peculiarly to the
investigation of the subject, and to prosecute
his inquiries throughout the whole extent of the
vegetable kingdom; which great and arduous
enterprise he not only undertook, but accom-
plished with a success equal to the unexampled
industry with which he pursued it. So that, by
collecting into one body all the evidence of former
discovery or experiment, and by adding much
that was original of his own, he found himself
at length authorised to draw the important con-
clusion,—that no seed is perfected without the
previous agency of the pollen, and the doctrine
of the sexes of plants is consequently founded
on fact. It may not be deemed uninteresting
here, to give a brief summary of the facts and
deductions which led to this important con-
clusion.

In all plants hitherto discovered, it has been
observed that the fruit is uniformly preceded by
the blossom, and that without blossom there
is no fruit. This isa remark that can scarcely
fail to be made even by the most inattentive ob-
server, at least with regard to such plants as
come within the sphere of his notice, as every
school boy knows, that unless the cherry tree
blossoms in spring, he will gather no fruit from
itin summer, This proves that the organs ne-
cessary to the production of the fruit exist in
the flower, and is one step at least towards the
general conclusion. But to this rule there exists
a seeming exception, in the case of the meadoav
saffron, which produces its fruit in the spring,
and its flower in the autumn, so that the former
has the appearance of being the cause of the
latter. But the truth is, that the fruit which
ripens in the spring is the natural result of the
flower of the preceding autumn ; for if the flower
is cut off in autumn before its expansion, no
fruit will be produced in the succeeding spring,
and yet, if the fruit is cut off at any time during
spring, the blossom, nevertheless, succeeds in
autumn. There exists also another seeming
exception in the case of the pine apple, in which
ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION,

the part that is commonly called the fruit is
formed before the flower expands. But when
it is recollected that this alleged fruit is merely
a fleshy receptacle, and that the seed, the only
essential part of the fruit, is not developed till
after the expansion of the flower, the seeming
exception vanishes. The fruit-bearing individ-
uals of such species as have their barren and
fertile flowers on distinct plants, do not perfect
their fruit, except where individuals of both
sorts are sustained in the vicinity of one another.
This observation is confirmed not only by the
testimony of the ancients, and their manner of
cultivating the palm and fig tree, but also by the
additional observations of the moderns. Father
Labat, a French ecclesiastic, who had undertaken
a voyage to the West Indian islands, about the
year 1745, says, that when he was in the island
of Martinique, there was then growing near the
monastery of the order to which he belonged, a
female date tree which bore fruit though single,
there being no other tree of the same species
within two leagues of it; but he adds, that the
stones of the dates it produced did not germinate.
It is plain therefore, that the fruit was not per-
fect, though it might have been apparently com-
plete. A female plant of the cycas revoluta, in
the possession of the bishop of Winchester, pro-
duced also fruit though single; but the drupi,
which was externally and apparently complete,
was found, when dissected by Sir J. Smith, to
be internally very defective ; for, in place of the
embryo, the most important part of the whole,
all that could be discovered was only a minute
cavity, which defect Sir J. Smith rightly attri-
butes to the want of the vicinity of a plant fur-
nished with male flowers, which, he adds, was
perhaps not to be found nearer than Japan. The
fruit then is perfected by means of some sub-
stances conveyed from the barren to the fertile
flower, and capable, as it appears, of being trans-
mitted through the medium of the atmosphere,
if the respective plants are situated in the vicinity
of each other. But in the case of the fig tree,
vicinity is not even enough, the structure of the
fruit being such as to require a peculiar
mode of transmission; for the fruit of the fig is
not, as in most other cases, a pericarp enveloping
the seed, but a common calyx or receptacle, en-
closing the flowers; this may be readily seen by
means of cutting a fig in two, in the direction
of the longitudinal axis of the fruit, in the centre
of which there will be found a cavity lined with
a multitude of flowers, the male and female
blossoms being generally in different figs, and in
distinct plants; the medium of communication
between them being only a small aperture at the
summit of the receptacle. Hence, the access of
the substance necessary to impregnation, is ren-
dered impracticable in the ordinary mode of
transmission. But nature is not without a re-

 

59

source, even in this difficulty. For in Greece
and Italy, and the islands belonging to them,
the native country of figs, a species of insect of
the genus Cynips, which is continually fluttering
about from fig to fig, for the purpose of deposit-
ing its eges in the cavity, carries the substance
necessary to impregnation from the male to the
female flower. But the substance which it
carries is the pollen of the anthers, with which
it becomes covered all over in rammaging through
a variety of receptacles, till it finds one to please
it. The pollen then is the substance by which
the impregnation of the female flower is effected,
and the whole of the phenomena of the growth,
and economy of flowering, tends to corroborate
the fact. In Italy and the Levant, where the
fig is much cultivated, the cultivator insures or
facilitates the agency of the insect, by present-
ing it to the fig at the time proper for impreg-
nation, and the service he thus performs is called
caprification. If the stamens or pistils of flowers,
are destroyed by cultivation, or injured by rain
or frost, or by the operation of any other natural
cause, the process of impregnation is interrupted
or prevented, and the fruit deteriorated or di-
minished in quantity or quality. Sometimes
they are wholly obliterated by means of culti-
vation, as in the case of double flowers, in which
the stamens degenerate into petals, and the pistil
not unfrequently into a leaf; but in this case
it is well known that no flower produces perfect
seed. Sometimes they are injured by accidents
arising from weather, and even in such vegetables
as are the most serviceable for the food of man,
particularly in crops of grain ; but some sorts of
grains are much more liable to be iajured by
such accidents than others. Crops of rye, for
instance, are much more liable to be injured by
heavy and continued rains than crops of barley,
because the anthers are better sheltered by the
husks of the latter than the former. But shrubs
and trees are affected in the same manner as the
plants now mentioned. It was observed by Lin-
neus, that the juniper produces few or no berries
in Sweden if the flowering season is wet, and
that the cherry tree is much more liable to come
short of its annual crop than the pear tree, be-
cause in the latter the blossoms are unfolded,
and the stamens and pistils matured all about
the same time, so that the whole of them might
be blasted by the dews or frosts of a single
night. Whereas, in the former the blossoms are
unfolded, and the stamens and pistils matured
by gradual and successive steps, so that if part
of them should happen to be destroyed by the
occurrence of a frosty morning, the rest may
escape. But the fruit is equally blasted whether
the injury is done to the stamens or to the pistils,
the stamens being the organs in which the impreg-
nating substance is contained, and the pistil
being the channel through which it is conveyed
60

to the ovary, Hence, we may account for the
peculiar care with which these organs have been
guarded by the hand of nature from external
injury; sometimes this is effected by means of
a nodding or pendant flower, as in the case of
the crown imperial, and the cowslip, in which
the intention of nature is the more evident in
that the flower stalk after the time of flowering
becomes gradually erect, even though loaded
with fruit ; sometimes it is effected by means of
a capacity inherent in the petals, of folding
themselves together in the night, and opening
themselves out again inthe morning, as in the case
of many of the Papilionaceous and compound
flowers, particularly the pea and dandelion.
But one of the best examples of this capacity is
that of the white water lily, which closing its
petals as the sun begins to get low, and shrink-
ing into itself, reposes its lovely blossom upon the
surface of the water till the morning, when it
again raises its head, sometimes to the height of
several inches, and presents its expanded petals
to the noon-day sun. A phenomenon still more
singular is related by Theophrastus, as occurring
in what he calls the lotus, perhaps the nymphea
lotus of Linneus, of which he says, though only
on report, that in the Euphrates the flower keeps
sinking till midnight, when it again begins to
ascend, but more rapidly as day advances, ele-
vating itself to the surface about sunrise, and
afterwards expanding and rearing its head high
above the water. Some flowers are so very sus-
ceptible to changes of atmosphere, as to shut up
their petals even upon the approach of rain.
One of the most remarkable examples of this
sort is that of the anagallis arvensis, or poor
man’s weather glass, which appellation it seems
to have obtained from its peculiar susceptibility,
always shutting up its blossoms even upon the
slightest symptoms of approaching rain, except
in the case of a sudden thunder storm, when
it happens to be taken by surprise. But Sir
J. i. Smith says he has reason to think that
its susceptibility is apt to be impaired, and some-
times totally destroyed, by long continued wet ;
and Linneus remarks, that flowers in general
lose this susceptibility when the anthers have
discharged their pollen. The pollen is generally
discharged from the anther in such a manner as
to ensure its dispersion, at least to any pistil
that is near it, and at such a time as pistils of
the same species are best fitted to receive it.
When the anther has given indications of ma-
turity by the distended appearance of its cells,
the valves of which the cells consist become
daily more and more indurated, till at last they
fly open with a sudden jerk, and discharge the
contained pollen as if by the force of an elastic
spring. The cypress tree affords a good example
of this, when the pollen is thrown out with such
force, and in such abundance, as to resemble a

 

IISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

little cloud of smoke; but the same circum-
stances may be observed in the discharge of the
pollen from the male catkins of the birch and
willow, particularly if they are suddenly shaken,
or agitated by the wind, in which case a portion
of the pollen can scarcely fail to alight upon the
pistil-bearing and contiguous flowers, or to be
wafted to them if even at some distance. But
at the season of the discharge of the mature
pollen, the pistil is also peculiarly adapted tu
receive it, as is evident from the state of the
stigma, Sometimes this adaptation consists in

the stigmas then assuming a peculiar form or

shape, as is exemplified in the pansy and the

gratiola marlynia, both of which are furnished

with what botanists call a gaping stigma, opening

as if to receive the pollen, yet not in the early

stage of its growth, nor during its decline, but

in the intermediate stage only when the pollen

is ripe. But the adaptation generally consists

in the stigmas being then moistened with an

exuding and viscous fluid, except in the case of

a hispid stigma, in which no such exudation is

discoverable, as is peculiarly well exemplified in

the case of the amaryllis formosissima. This

beautiful flower, which when fully expanded is

pendulous, exhibits the curious phenomenon of

the exuding of a fine and limpid fluid from the

surface of the stigma every morning, which

augments as the day advances, and forms about

noon a drop so large that one would think it in

danger of falling to the ground. It is re-absorbed,

however, by the style about three or four o’clock

in the afternoon, and again protruded about ten

o’clock on the following morning. ‘This limpid

drop, which isthusregularly exuded and absorbed,

is intended, no doubt, in the economy of the

flower, to facilitate the process of impregnation,

by catching a portion of the pollen as it is dis-

charged from the anther, and conducting it to

the ovary. It is at least certain that the pollen

reaches it, and is detained by it, as a number of’
drenched and disfigured particles may generally

be seen adhering to the surface of the stigma

after the drop has been absorbed. Perhaps it

may even have some effect in forwarding the

explosion of the pollen, which is known to be

also strongly affected by moisture. As the

stamens and pistils grow and come to maturity

together, so they also decay together; the stamens
shrinking and withering immediately after the
anthers have discharged their pollen, and the
stigma withering also and falling off much about
the same time, even when the style remains an
appendage to the fruit.

The relative proportion, situation, and mutual
sympathies of the stamens and pistils, are such
as seem expressly calculated to facilitate the
process of impregnation. In pendulous flowers
the pistil is generally longest, as in the case of
the lily ; but in upright flowers the stamens are
ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION.

generally the longest, as in the ranunculus. In
simple and hermaphrodite flowers, the situation
of the pistil is invariably central with regard to
that of the stamens, as may be scen by examin-
ing any kind of flower. In plants of the class
Monecia the barren blossoms stand generally
above the fertile blossoms, even when situated
on the same footstalk, as may be seen in the
case of the carez and arum. And in plants that
have their barren and fertile flowers on distinct
individuals, the blossom is generally protruded
before the leaves expand. But a very little re-
flection will serve to show that all the above ar-
rangements are institutions of nature, by which
the pollen, when it explodes from its envelopes,
shall possess the best possible chance of coming
into contact with the pistil or stigma. And
when such means are wanting, nature displays
a variety of other contrivances to effect the same
end. The style of the gloriosa superba is bent
towards the stamens at a right angle, even from
the very base, and for no other conceivable pur-
pose but that of throwing itself in the way of
the pollen when discharged. The stamens of
the saxifrages bend down to the pistil one or
two at a time; if two, those then are opposite
each other, and discharge their pollen directly
over the stigma, returning afterwards to their
former position, and giving place to one or two
others successively, which also retire in their
turns till all of them have discharged their pollen.
Similar effects have been observed in the flowers
of the garden rue and others. But the most
singular example of this kind is that which is
exhibited in the stamens of the flower of the
berberry bush; the stamens, which are six in
number, lie sheltered under the concave lips of
the petals, as long as they are allowed to remain
undisturbed; but if any extraneous body, whether
by accident or design, is made to touch a stamen
at the base of the filament, it immediately col-
lapses with a sudden jerk, and bends inward till
the anther strikes against the summit of the
pistil, discharging its pollen if ripe, and again
retiring. This curious and singular fact seems
to have been first discovered by Sir J. E. Smith.
The experiment may easily be tried by applying
the point of any instrument, sufficiently delicate,
to the inner side of the base of the stamen, when
it will immediately spring forward till it strikes
against the pistil; and it is to be presumed, that
the same effect is produced in the natural order
of things, by means of the feet or trunks of
insects rummaging the flower in quest of honey.
The economy of many of the aquatic plants,
seems also expressly intended to facilitate the
process of impregnation. Many plants of this
class that vegetate, for the most part, wholly im-
mersed in water, and often at a considerable
depth, gradually begin to elevate their stems, as
the season of flowering advances, when they at

 

61

last rear their heads above the surface of the
water, and present their opening blossoms to the
sun till the petals have begun to fade, when
they again gradually sink down to the bottom
to ripen and to scatter their seeds. This very
peculiar economy is seen in the case of puppia
maritima, and several species of rotamogeton,
which are common in our ponds and ditches ;
from which we may fairly infer, that the flowers
rise thus to the surface merely to give the pollen
an opportunity of reaching the stigma uninjured.
But the most remarkable example of this kind
is that of the valisneria spiralis, a plant that
87.

 

grows in the ditches of Italy. The plant belongs
to the class Diecia producing its fertile flowers
on the extremity of a long and slender stalk,
twisted spirally like a cork screw, which uncoil-
ing of its own accord about the time of the
opening of the blossom, elevates the flowers to
the surface of the water, and leaves them to ex-
pand in the open air. The barren flowers are
produced in great numbers upon short upright
stalks issuing from a different root, from which
they detach themselves about the time of the
expansion of the female blossoms, mounting up
like little air bubbles, and suddenly expanding
when they reach the surface, where they float
about in great numbers among the female blos-
soms, and often cling to them in clusters so as
to cover them entirely ; thus bringing the stamens
and pistils into immediate contact, and giving
the anthers an opportunity of discharging their
pollen immediately over the stigma. When
this operation has been performed, the now un-
coiled stalk of the female plant begins again to
resume its original spiral form, and gradually
sinks down as it gradually rose, to ripen its fruit
at the bottom of the water.

Such are the proofs of the sexuality of vege-
tables, arising from the observation of the na-
tural phenomena exhibited in the economy of
flowers; we shall now enumerate those proofs
deduced from experiment. If the anthers of an
62

hermaphrodite flower, or the stamen bearing
flowers of a moncecious plant are cut off before
they shed their pollen, and care taken to pre-
vent the access of the pollen of any other plant
of the same species, the fruit will prove abor-
tive. From a flower of the red horned poppy
(chelidonum corniculatum) which was detached
from all other individuals of the same species,
Linneus removed all the anthers upon the first
opening of the blossom, and stripped.off at the
same time all the rest of the flowers; but the
result of this experiment was that the flower
produced no seed. A gardener who cultivated
melons and cucumbers, but who was no botanist,
thinking that the stameniferous flowers of the
plant exhausted the nourishment due to the
other flowers, without being of any utility in
themselves, fancied that his plants would be
rendered more vigorous, his fruit of superior
flavour, and his profits consequently increased,
by means of tearing them off altogether. But
like the boy who cut open his goose that laid
golden eggs, in the hope of getting rich all at
once, he soon found cause to repent of his rash
experiment, for the consequence was that his
plants produced no fruit. If, after the anthers
have been removed, the pollen of another plant
of the same specics be shaken over the pistil,
then the fruit will ripen as usual. Linneus
proved this by first treating a flower of the
chelidonum corniculatum, as in the foregoing ex-
periment, and then sprinkling over the pistil
pollen brought from another plant of the same
species; when the flower produced perfect seeds.
Upon this principle, gardeners now assist the
impregnation, or what they call the setting of
the fruit, at Icast in the case of their melons and
cucumbers, by means of sprinkling the pollen
of the male flowers over the pistils of the females.
But if a plant has more than one pistil, and you
apply the pollen only to that one, then that
one only will ripen seed.

If the stigma of the pistil is cut off before the
discharge of the pollen, no fecundation ensues,
and the fruit is inferior both in quantity and
quality. If, again, the stigma of a flower that
has been stripped of its stamens before the burst-
ing of the anthers is sprinkled with the pollen
of a plant of a different specics, then the seeds
will not only ripen and produce perfect plants
when sown, but these plants will partake of the
qualities both of the fecundating and fecundated
species. The pollen of the tragopogon pratensis,
whose petals are yellow, when sprinkled on the
stigmas of the flower of the tragopogon purpureus,
whose petals are purple, yielded seeds that pro-
duced plants with both purple and yellow
flowers. Hence botanists account for the exist-
ence of what are called spurious plants, attribut-
ing them to the accidental mixture or access of
the pollen of a different species. Thus, veronica

 

TUISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

spuria is thought to have sprung from veronica
maritima, impregnated by the pollen of verbena
officinalis, agreeing in its fructification with the
former, and in its leaves with the latter. So
also delphinium hybridum is thought to have
sprung from delphinium clatum and aconttum
napellus, hy its combining together the features
of both. But this spurious impregnation seems
to be confined within very narrow limits, and
takes place only among plants that are nearly
related by natural affinity.

If amale plant is placed in the neighbour-
hood of a female plant which from its having
been formerly insulated, had produced no per-
fect seed, or if the pollen of a male plant of the
same species is conveyed to it from a distance,
and sprinkled over the stigma, it will now pro-
duce perfect seed. A plant of the datisca canna-
bina, which came up in the garden of Linneus,
from seed about the year 1750, and which pro-
duced afterwards many flowers, yielded, however,
no perfect seed, as the flowers happened to be
all females. At last, however, in 1757, a parcel
of sced was procured, from which a few male
plants were obtained, that flowered in the follow-
ing year. They were removed to a distance from
the females, and when their flowers were ready
to discharge the pollen, it was collected by
means of shaking the panicle with the finger
over a piece of paper, till it was covered with a
fine yellow powder. The pollen thus obtained,
was immediately carried to the female plants,
which were growing in another part of the
garden, and sprinkled over them, in consequence
of which they now produced perfect seeds. But
the best example of this kind yet exhibited, is
that of the famous experiment of Linneus upon
the Berlin and Leipsic palms. About the period
of the foregoing experiment, or rather a few
years prior to it, there grew at Berlin an indi-
vidual female palm tree which had never per-
fected any fruit, so as that no seeds would
germinate, while there grew at the same time,
at Leipsic, a male plant of the same species.
Hence it occurred to Linneus, that the impreg-
nation of the female flowers of the former was
still practicable, even by means of the pollen
that might be procured, and carried from the
mal» flowers of the latter. Accordingly, a
flowering branch of the male plant was dispatched
by post from Leipsic to Berlin, a distance of
twenty German miles, and shook or suspended
over the flowers of the female plant. The con-
sequence was, that the fruit was ripened, and the
embryo perfected, and young plants raised from
the seeds. Again, if the male plant be removed
from the vicinity of the female plant to which
it had given fecundity, the fruit of the female
plant is again produced imperfect as before.
About the year 1755, there grew in the garden
of M. dela Serre, at Paris, a female pistachio
ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION.

tree, which blossomed every summer, but with-
out producing any fruit capable of germinating;
as this gentleman had frequently sown the seeds
it yielded, in the hope of raising more plants,
but without success. At last, however, he was
advised by Jussieu and Du Hamel to endeavour
to procure a male plant and place this near it.
Accordingly a male plant was procured, in the
following year, full of flowers, and placed near
the female, the result being, as in other cases of
a similar kind, that the seed now produced was
capable of germinating when sown. But when
the male plant was afterwards removed, the
fruit of the female plant was found to be again
incapable of germinating. In the month of
April, 1752, Linneus sowed a few grains of
hemp seed in two different pots, in both of
which it came up very well. In the one pot he
left the male and female plants together, which
flowered and produced fruit that was ripe in
July ; from the other pot he removed all the
male plants as soon as they could be distinguished
from the females, which grew indeed very well,
and presented their long pistils in great abund-
ance, as if in expectation of their mates. But
when the calyxes were afterwards inspected
about the time that the pistils began to decay
through age, though they were large indeed,
and luxuriant, yet the seed buds were brown,
compressed, and membranaceous, without exhib-
iting any appearance of cotyledons or pulp.
Two plants of cluzia tenella were in like manner
kept growing in a window in Linneus’s house,
during the summer months, the male and female
plants being in separate pots. The female
plants abounded with flowers, not one of which
proved abortive; the pot containing the male
plants was after some time removed to a different
window in the same apartment, and still the
flowers that were protruded under such circum-
stances were found to be fruitful. The pot con-
taining the male plant was at last removed into
a different apartment, and the female plants left
alone, after being stripped of all the flowers al-
ready expanded. They continued to produce
new flowers every day, from the axils of every
leaf, but they proved to be all abortive. For
after remaining on the plant for the space of
eight or ten days, till the foot stalks began to
turn yellow, they all fell barren to the ground.
Such is the amount of the great body of facts,
resulting both from observation and experiment,
on which Linneus has established the doctrine
of the sexes of vegetables, and on which the im-
portant and irresistible conclusion depends, that
no seed is perfected without the previous agency
of the pollen.

To complete this subject we must, however,
allude to the objections which were raised to
the theory of the sexuality of vegetables about
the time when this theory was not yet com-

 

63

pletely established by the foregoing accumula-
tion of facts.

Camerarius, who had inferred the truth of
the doctrine from the result of actual experi-
ment, which he was indeed the first to institute
on the subject, seems after all to have found
cause to doubt the legitimacy of his conclusion,
in observing that some of the female plants on
which his experiments were made, such as hemp,
spinach, and mercury, produced also ripe and
perfect seeds, even when placed altogether be-
yond the reach of the influence of the male
plants. This fact looked, no doubt, extremely
hostile to the doctrine he was endeavouring to
establish, and perhaps constituted to him an
insuperable objection; but the fact has now
been sufficiently accounted for, and consequently
the objection obviated. For it has been ascer-
tained, by means of more minute and accurate
observations, that the fertile plants of the genera
in question have often some latent male flowers
interspersed among their female flowers, so
that the former, though difficult of detection,
are sufficient to secure the impregnation of the
latter, even when the individual producing them
is solitary. Tournefort, who denied the doctrine
of the sexes altogether, though on insufficient
grounds, admitted, however, the utility of the sta-
mens in the economy of fructification, regarding
them as organs both of secretion and excretion,
the substance excreted being the pollen, and the
substance secreted being a peculiar fluid that
was conducted by the filaments to the germen.
But if the pollen is merely an excrement, how
comes it to be so very curiously organized ?
And if the stamens secrete a fluid which they
afterwards conduct to the germen, by what
means do they conduct it when placed on a
different plant? Pontedera, who was one of the
most zealous disciples of Tournefort, and willing
to defend him, even when least defensible, not
only adopted the opinions of his master on this
subject, but endeavoured to establish them by
additional argument, contending that if the
stamens and pistils were even destined to the
discharge of the functions ascribed to them by
the sexualist, yet there are many cases of perfect
fructification in which they could not possibly
co-operate to the production of the effect. Ad-
ducing the example of the wmbellifere, in which
the style, as he rightly remarked, does often not
appear till after the stamens have fallen. But
although the styles remain often inconspicuous
till the period assigned by Pontedera, yet the
stigma is previously mature, and consequently
capable of the necessary co-operation. But if
the fact had been precisely what it appears to
be in the objection, still it would have afforded
no formidable argument against the doctrine of
the sexes. For as the several flowers of the
same plant, and much more the flowers of
G4

different plants, do not all come to maturity pre-
cisely at the same time, the flower whose sta-
mens have fallen before the maturity of its pistil,
may still be impregnated by the pollen of an-
other flower or plant with which the ‘period of
its maturity is identical, and to which it may
be ambiguous. And in this way we may believe
the impregnation of many flowers is effected,
particularly in the case of the Indian corn, the
barren flowers of which, upon the same plants,
have generally quite decayed before the fertile
flowers have burst from the bosom of the leaves,
at least as it grows in this country, as also in
the case of the jatropha wrens, the barren flowers
of which are generally protruded either several
weeks sooner or several weeks later than the
fertile flowers, and are consequently either de-
cayed or not yet come to maturity at the time
the style is perfect. But if the fertile flower
should not be contiguous to the barren flower,
the pollen may yet be wafted to it by means of
the wind, which curious phenomenon may some-
times he distincalyseen. On the 14th June, 1808,
says Dr Keith, as I was accidentally looking at
a field of rye grass situated to the south of the
spot on which I then stood, the atmosphere
being clear, and the wind blowing gently from
the west, I was surprised to observe a thin and
sudden cloud, as if of smoke, a fine dust, sweeping
briskly along the surface of the grass, and gradu-
ally disappearing. This cloud was soon followed
by a second from a different quarter of the field,
and that by a third, and so on in succession for
several minutes. It was a general discharge of
pollen from thousands of anthers bursting at the
same moment, so that no stigma ready to receive
the pollen could possibly fail of being supplied,
either from the anthers proper to the flower of
which it formed a part, or from those of some
other flower discharging their contents into the
general mass. The distance to which the pollen
may be conveyed on a short exposure to the
action of a fine atmosphere, is not likely to do
it any damage. Linneus kept some of the
pollen of the jatropha urens in paper for more
than a month, which even after that period
fertilised the pistils over which it was shaken.
Such were the doubts entertained by the scepti-
cal prior to the elucidations of Linneus, and
indeed they arose almost naturally out of the
darkness in which the subject was then involved.
But as the elucidations of Linneus, though capa-
ble of affording conviction to the minds of the
impartial inquirer, were not able to subdue
passions, or to eradicate prejudices imbibed by
education, or excited by compassion, the doc-
trine of the sexes of vegetables met also with
many opponents even in the time of Linneus.
The most zealous of them was Dr Alston of
Icdinburgh, who professing to be dissatisfied with
every thing that had been said or done in sup-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

port of the doctrine, made a show of refuting
it by means of counter experiments, of which
the most formidable are the following. Admitt-
ing the result of the experiment of the cutting
off of the anthers before the ripening of the
pollen, to be what Linneus and others affirm
the abortion of the seed, he will not allow that
it authorises any conclusion in favour of the
sexes of plants, because he thinks it is to be
expected that a wound in any essential part of
the plant, together with consequent loss of juice
issuing from it, will occasion abortion in the
seeds, and in confirmation of this presumption,
he quotes an experiment of Malpighi, who found
that the ripening of the seeds of a tulip was pre-
vented by means of the putting off the petals
before their expansion. But the two exper-
ments are not at all of the same kind. In the
latter, there was a material injury done to the
flower in consequence of its being prematurely
stripped of the covering of the corolla; in the
former there was no material injury done to
the flower, because the anthers were not cut off
till after the natural expansion of the petals, in
which case it is very well known that if the
pistil is impregnated even with the pollen of
another flower, the seeds will still ripen. But
Alston does not even admit the fact that the
stripping ‘of a plant of its stamens, will render
the seed abortive. Alleging in support of his
opinion Geoffrey’s experiments on maze, in
which it was found that some of the ears
ripened a few seeds even when the stamens were
entirely cut off before the bursting of the an-
thers, together with a similar experiment of his
own upon a solitary tulip, by which the ovary
suffered nothing, but increased, and came to
maturity quite full of seeds. Now the defect of
the argument is, that we are not told whether
the seeds were put to the proper test, that is,
whether they were sown, and found capable of
germination. The next counter experiment was
made upon diecious plants. Three plants of
common spinach, which were removed before it
could be told whether they were to be fertile or
barren, to a distance of at least eighty yards
from the bed in which they were raised, and
from which also they were separated by several
intervening hedges, proved in the end to be all
fertile, and ripened plenty of seeds that germin-
ated again when sown. A solitary plant of
hemp also, that sprung up in Dr Alston’s garden,
having no other plant of the species within a
mile of it to his knowledge, grew luxuriantly, and
produced seeds that germinated also when sown.
These experiments are contradictory no doubt,
to the experiments of Linnaeus, but they afford
no argument against the doctrine of the sexes.
For in the first place, it cannot be proved that
some of the pollen from the spinach bed, or
from a neighbouring male plant of hemp, might
ORGANS OF FRUCTIFICATION,

not have reached the insulated plants by means
of a favourable combination of circumstances;
and in the next place, it is not certain that the
plants in question were not furnished with some
minute and latent male flowers, by which the
impregnation might have been effected. The
next most formidable opponent was Spallanzani.
His first experiment was made upon the ocymum
basilicum, an hermaphrodite plant, the anthers
of several flowers being all cut off before the
pollen was ripe, and the stigmas carefully se-
cured from the access of the pollen of other
flowers, in which case it was found that most of
the seeds produced were evidently imperfect ;
though there were also a few that seemed to be
completely matured by their exhibiting, on dis-
section, the same appearances as others that had
been exposed to the action of the pollen. But
when those apparently perfect seeds were put to
the proper test, they were found to be in reality
imperfect; they did not germinate when sown.
This result was sufficiently discouraging, but it did
not deter him from another attempt. The sub-
ject of his next experiment was from the class
moncecia, the cucurbita citrullus, the male flowers
of which were destroyed as soon as they made
their appearance, and the female flowers, in order
to prevent all suspicion of the access of pollen,
were inclosed in bottles, luted to the stem by
the neck so as to exclude even the external air.
The seeds which were procured in this way,
germinated and produced plants. This result
“was as favourable to Spallanzani’s opinion as
could be wished. But to give to the argument
against the sexes all the weight he could, he
‘now directed his attention to the class diecia,
selecting as the subject of experiment some
plants of particular families, from which he ob-
tained results equally favourable to his views.
For after taking every precaution to secure the
female plants from the access of pollen, as in the
above example, seeds were still procured that
germinated when sown. From all which ex-
periments he was inclined to think that the
pollen is not in any case essential to fecundation.
If to these, however, we oppose the experiments
of Linneus, and others already detailed, the
preponderance of facts is greatly in favour of
thé sexual theory. Even although the experi-
ments instituted by Spallanzani were rather
favourable to his views, yet he does not seem,
after all, to put implicit confidence in them,
thinking that the opposite doctrine may still be
true, that the ripening of the seeds that were
perfected without the pollen, might have been
effected by means of a power, inherent in the
female flowers, of propagating to a certain number
of germinations without the assistance of the
male, in the same way as Bonnet had shown
that the aphis insect does, and as he had himself
observed take place in some other plants which

 

65

propagated in this way for three generations,
Spallanzani suggests also the possibility of the
fecundation of the ovary by means of some
seminal principle residing in the pistil, and
capable of supplying the place of the pollen as
well as necessary in the case of moncecious and
dicecious plants, to ensure the perfection of the
seed. This conjecture is perhaps countenanced
in some degree by Keelreuter’s account of the
chemical properties of the moisture exuding
from the stigma when ripe, which he represents
as being precisely the same with the chemical
properties of the pollen. But this is leaving the
matter precisely as it was taken up; for if the
suggestion of Spallanzani is true, then there
exists at least a virtual sexuality in vegetables.

CHAP. XIII.
ORGANS OF FRUCTIFICATION.

Fuowrrs exist in the incipient state in the
bud long before the period of their evolution.
If the scales of a leaf bud are taken and stripped off
and the remaining part carefully opened up, it will
be found to consist of the rudiments of a young
branch terminated by a bunch of incipient leaves
imbedded in a white and cottony down, being
minute, but complete in all their parts and pro-
portions, and folded or rolled up in the bud in
a peculiar and determinate manner. This has
been called the foliation of plants. If the scales
of a flower bud are taken and stripped off, and
the remaining part carefully opened up, it will
be found also to consist of the rudiments of an
incipient flower, exceedingly small and minute,
but complete in all its parts. This operation
was performed in the month of January, by
Du Hamel, on the bud of a pear tree, and the
following was the result. The scales, which
were from twenty-five to thirty in number,
were found to contain from eight to ten flowers,
attached to a common foot stalk of half a line
in length. The flowers in their general aspect
resembled rose buds set with hairs. The petals
were scarcely perceptible, but the filaments were
distinctly visible, surmounted with white an-
thers. The pistils were not yet visible, but they
became so in the following month, when the
anthers had begun to assume also a tinge of red.
The ovary was not distinguishable in the earlier
dissection, but it became so before the evolution
of the bud. Similar appearances may be seen
by opening up the flower buds of almost any
plant, long before the time of their natural
evolution. The mezereon produees its flowers
in the month of January or February ; but if a
bud be taken and dissected in the month of
August pteceding, the petals, the stamens, and

I
66

the enveloping of the young fruit may be all
distinctly perceived. The peach tree produces
its flowers in April, but if a bud is dissected in
the month of February preceding, the whole of
the parts of fructification may be perceived in
miniature, wrapped up in the calyx by the
overlopping of its divisions. The corolla is ex-
tremely small, but the stamens and pistils are
very perceptible, and the pollen may even be
discerned in the anthers. If a bud producing
both leaf and flower, is taken and dissected in
the foregoing manner, the rudiments of its future
products may be also distinctly perceived long
before the period of its evolution. A bud of the
horse chestnut about the size of a pea, dissected
in the winter, exhibited four branch leaves
covering a flower like spike, consisting of up-
wards of sixty florets. Another bud opened in
the spring, contained, amid sixteen scales, a pair
of opposite leaves, with the divisions closely
matted together by a fine down; within there
was a flower spike, consisting of not less than a
hundred florets closely crowded together, each
enveloped by its downy calyx, which on being
opened, disclosed the corolla, stamens, and pistil,
with the rudiments of the future fruit distinctly
visible in the ovary. The petals of the corolla,
before their evolution, are wrapped up in a
flower bud, like the young leaves of the plant
in the leaf bud, and are also found to exhibit
similar varieties of envolution.

The flower, like the leaf, isa temporary part of
the plant, and takes its rise either from the extre-
mitiesof the branches immediately from the stem,
or the root, and sometimes from a leaf. It is the
apparatus appropriated by nature for the produc-
tion of the seed, and in addition to this important
end, it forms one of the most interesting objects
in nature, being possessed of colour, odour, and
in many cases, a nectareous juice, or honey;
hence, it has been styled by Pliny “the joy of
plants,” flos gaudium arborum. When the flower
is supported by a flower stalk, it is said, like the
leaf, to be pedunculate; when the stalk is want-
ing, sessile. When the stalk branches out and
supports a number of flowers, it is said to be
pedicillate. Sometimes the flower is surrounded
by a number of small leaves of a distinct form
from the rest of those on the plant; these are
named bractea, A complete or perfect flower
consists of the calyx or cup, the corolla or
coloured part, the stamens and pistil; many
flowers, however, have no calyx, and others
neither calyx nor corolla. All the monocotyle-
donous plants are destitute of acorolla. Linnaeus
gave the general name of perianth to the whole
of the floral envelopes which surround the sexual
organs. When the perianth is single, it is called
calyx; when double, the innermost envelope is
ealled the corolla, These floral envelopes, not-
withstanding the delicacy of their texture, and

 

ITISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the varied colours which they frequently exhibit,
are in general nothing more than leaves with
slight modifications. This is particularly the
case in the calyx, which in many flowers is
exactly like leaves.

The calyz, a, is the outer
envelope, or cup, in which
the flower rests; it is either
single or formed of several
leaves; which may be more
or less distinct or divided.
It is called, when it con-
sists of a single piece,
monosepalous, This al-
ways occurs when the
calyx is united to the
ovary; or in other words,
when the ovary is inferior.
It generally remains after the fecundation of the
seed, and in many cases till it is ripe. When
the calyx consists of several parts, it is termed
polysepalous. This description commonly falls
off immediately after fecundation, and fre-
quently on the first expansion of the flower, as
in the common poppy. The calyx is of various
shapes, as pear shaped, urceolate, as in roses, in-
flated, campanulate, or bell shaped, cup shaped,
cylindrical, &c. Generally the calyx is green,
occasionally it is coloured, especially where there
is no corolla,

 

a, calyx; 6, corolla; ¢, sta-
meus and pistil.

The glume, c, isa chaf-
fy membranaceous sub-
stance accompanying the
flowers of grasses, and
grains,and correspondsto
the calyx of other plants,
although not formed
like a cup. Sometimes
it is composed of one
piece only, at other
times of two distinct

sid ieces or valves, and
e cas oe ees as valves vary in
figure in different plants. The scale is another
kind of calyx found in the willow and pine.
The Corolla, cut 38, fig. b. The corolla is the ex-
terior envelope of the flower, investing the central
parts, but invested by the calyx; the corolla,
therefore, never exists unless when there is a
double perianth of which it forms the interior
part. It is generally of a finer and more delicate
texture than the calyx, and is of all the parts of
fructification the most showy and ornamental,
being always, or with few exceptions, that which
is the most highly coloured; hence commonly
regarded as alone constituting the flower as well
as that from which the flower imparts its rich
perfume, delighting at the same time both the
sight and the smell. To this the most elegant
part of the fructification, the term corolla has
been very happily applied by Linneus, signify-

 
ORGANS OF FRUCTIFICATION,

ing, as it does in the original, a crown or
chaplet.

The corolla is monopetalous, or formed of one
piece, as in the fox-glove,
bind-weed, and deadly
night-shade; or polypetal-
ous, composed of several
petals, as in cut 40, d, d,
and in the rose, pink, wall-
flower, and many others.
The corolla is divided into
the tube, the mouth, and
the border; the petals into
the claw and lamina, or
border; the figures and
numbers of the petals vary in different species.
The calyx is regular when its incisions and
divisions are equal to each other, and symmetri-
cally placed; and irregular when its incisions
are unequal, and its parts do not correspond,
such is the snap dragon, hooded mill foil, &c.

The monopetalous corolla assumes various
forms, such as the tubular, campanulate, urceol-
ate, or pitcher shaped, salver shaped, stellar.

The irregular monopetalous corolla is said to
Le two lipped, or /abiate when separated into an

40,

 

41.

 

upper and under lip, as in thyme, balm, rose-
mary, fig. a, b; it is personate, or masked, when
divided into two unequal lips, resembling some-
what the mouth of an animal, fig. c; urceolate
or pitcher shaped, as in the heaths, fig. d. The
polypetalous corolla may consist of two parts, as
in enchanters, night-shade; or of three, four,
five, or six petals.

The papilionaceous corolla
is exhibited in the common
pea, fig 42, when the petals
are irregular, and so placed as
to resemble the wings of a
butterfly.

The petals may be opposite
to the divisions of the calyx,
and thus correspond with
their surfaces, or they may
alternate with these, and cor-  , calyx; 6, corolla.
respond to the divisions of the calyx.

The colour of the corolla is either a pure and
beautiful white, as in the guelder rose and
magnolia; or various shades of red, as in roses;
or yéllow, blue, violet purple, and other inter-
mediate shades. Its use is evidently along with

42.

 

 

67

the calyx to protect the sexual organs, and en-
sure the deposition of the pollen on the pistil,
and in most plants it disappears immediately
after this office is performed. Yet, the corolla
is by no means essential to the structure of a
fruitful plant, as many classes are entirely desti-
tute of such an appendage.
. The annexed cut exhibits
the usual manner in which
the sexual organs are con-
tained within the corolla.

The stamen answers the
same purposes in plants as
the male organs in animals ;
in other words, it contains
the substance by which the
fecundation of the germs is
effected. It is generally
composed of three parts:
J. The anther, a kind of
membranous bag, having a
double internal cavity, formed of two cells in con-
tact with each other; 2. The pollen, a substance
commonly formed of small vesicular grains,
which contain the parts necessary for fecunda-
tion; 3. The filament, a thread-like appendage
by which the anther is frequently supported.
Such are the three parts of which the stamen is
usually composed. But of these parts two only
are essential to it, the anther and the pollen.
The filament is merely an accessory part of the
stamen, and is accordingly often wanting, the
anther being then directly attached to the body
on which it is inserted, without the intervention
of a filament. In this case the stamen is said
to be sessile.

The essence and perfection of the stamen, con-
sists in the presence of the anther. But in order
that this organ may be fitted for performing the
functions allotted to it by nature, it must not
only contain pollen, but must also open, that the
pollen may come into contact with the stigma;
otherwise fecundation could not take place.

The number of stamens vary in the different
families of plants. Some flowers have only one
stamen, as the hippuris or mares-tail; others have
two, as veronica; others three, as the grasses, and
so on, till we come to an indeterminate number.

 

a, ovary; db, style; c,stig-
ma; d, filament; e,e, an-
thers,

‘The first classes of the Linnean system are de-

termined by the number of stamens, the terms of
which will be explained in the table to be after-
wards given. The manner in which the stamens
are inserted, afford also distinctive characters.
Thus, if they are inserted in the receptacle, as
in ranunculus, they are said to be hypogynous ;
if in the corolla, as in veronica, they are epipe-
talous; if in the calyx, as in the family epilo-
bium, they are perigynous; and if in the ovary,
as in the orchis family, they are called epigynous.

The relative proportions of the stamens to one
another, and to the several parts of the flower,
68

is also a circumstance of material importance to
the botanist. In the tulip, and in the generality
of plants, they are nearly of the same length in
the same flower; but there are some in which
their lengths are unequal, This is the case in
the genus mentha, (as peppermint) in which,
out of four stamens, two are always shorter than
the others. The same is the case in the classes
didynamia and tetradynamia ; in the latter, of
six stamens two are always shorter, forming a
remarkable character of the cruciform plant. If
compared in their proportions with the other
parts of the flower, the stamens are sometimes
found to equal the calyx or corolla in their

length, as in the genus polygonum ; sometimes

they are found to overtop it, and in other cases
to fall short of it. In many flowers certain of
the stamens are always abortive, as in Virginian
spider-wort, sage, rosemary &c. The stamens,
though very different in their shape and struc-
ture from the petals, exhibit, however, strong
indications of being nearly allied to them, and
seem in some cases, ag in the flower of nymphea
alba, or water lily, to run mutually into each
other, the inner petals being partly stamen, or
the outer stamens being partly petals. But in
many flowers, particularly the polypetalous,
the stamens are entirely convertible into distinct
petals, and are often so converted either in part
or in whole. In the former case the flower is
said to be double, in the latter case it is said to
be full. But this singular conversion of stamens
into petals, is regarded by the botanist as alto-
gether an aberration from the laws of vegetable
economy, and is found to occur but seldom ex-
cept in consequence of culture. The anemone,
ranunculus, and rose, when cultivated in our
gardens, afford examples of the flowers of this
description. They are more showy indeed, and
more generally admired than the flower in its
natural state, and are consequently the object of
the peculiar care of the florist; but they are
regarded by the botanist as being only vegetable
monsters,

The filament, d, is the elongated, slender, and
threadlike stalk which supports the anther. It
is not an essential part of the stamen, being in
many casesabsent. According toits various forms,
it is distinguished into flattened, wedge-shaped,
awl-shaped, capillary. The anther is generally
attached to the tip of the filament; but some-
times the latter is prolonged above the insertion
of the anther. The stamens are in general free
and unconnected with each other; but in certain
cases they are more or less united by means of
the filaments.

When the filaments are all connected together,

either by the sides or at the base, they are said
to be monadelphous, as in the mallow, fig. a.

When the filaments are united into two distinct
portions, they are said to be diade/phous, as in

 

IIISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the common pea and fumitory, as fig.d. When
41

 

united into three or
termed polydelphous.

The colour of the filament is generally white,
as in the convolvulus; but in the peach it is
spotted, and in the medlar tree red. In some
stamens the filaments are elastic, unbend-
ing themselves with considerable force as the
corolla expands, as in the genus Urtica ; and
in some they are susceptible to the action of
external stimuli, as in those of the barberry,
which, if touched with the point of a needle
or other fine instrument on the inner side, and
near the base, will spring forward immediately
with a sudden jerk to the centre of the flower.

The anther, ¢, is the essential part of the
stamen, and contains the pollen or fecundating
powder. It is generally formed of two mem-
branous bags attached to each other by their
sides, joining or united by an interposed body.
Each of these bags or cells is divided internally
into two parts by a partition, which cells open
at the period of fecundation to allow the pollen
to escape.

Sometimes the anther consists of only one
cell, as in the hazel, mallow, and pine; more
rarely there are four cells, as in butomus umbel-
datus. Tach of the cells have on one side a lon-

45. gitudinal groove, where the opening

takes place. Sometimes the pollen
escapes by pores or slits in the
summit of the anther, as in the
“heaths, the potatoe, &c.; in other
cases their pores are furnished with
immovable valves, as in the bar-
berry, laurel, and epimedium al-
pinum. In fig. 45, @ a, are the
pores in the anther; 64, the mov-
able and elastic valves,
The anther is attached to the fila-
ment in various ways, as by its base,
middle, or summit. The anthers
sometimes are united together so as
to form a continuous tube. This is
the case in the femily of the syngen-
esid, as the daisy, marygold, thistle,
&e, :

The Podlen, or the substance contained in the
cells of the anther, and which is subservient to
fecundation, generally presents the appearance
Of a powder, composed of extremely minute

more bundles, they are

 

 
ORGANS OF FRUCTIFICATION

grains, Sometimes it is in solid masses of greater
or less size; but as, in this state, it occurs in
only a few plants, we shall first examine the pol-
jen in the powdery form.

Previous to the improvement of optical instru-
ments, the knowledge which had been obtained
respecting the varied forms of the grains of pol-
len, and especially respecting their internal strue-
ture, was extremely vague. A great diversity
had indeed been perceived in those which had
been examined with powerful lenses, but their
differences had been pointed out without deriv-
ing from them any references that might tend
to the advancement of science. The structure
of the pollen had also engaged the attention of
most of the botanists, who had long disputed,
without coming to any settled determination, res-
pecting the internal composition of bodies of so
elementary anature. The microscopic examina-
tion of the pollen was therefore a subject that re-
quired revision, and which could not fail to
attract the attention of modern observers. The
grains of the pollen are utricles of various forms,
having no adhesion to the anther at the period
of maturity, and containing a multitude of gran-
ules of extreme minuteness. The utricular
membrane is sometimes smooth, sometimes
marked with eminences or asperities. Some-
times it presents little flat surfaces or promin-
ences symmetrically arranged. When the pol-
len is perfectly smooth at its surface, it is not at
the same time covered with any viscous coating,
whereas the slightest eminences are indications
of this adhesive covering. The papille, mam-
millary eminences, &c., which cover certain
grains of pollen, are true secreting organs, of
which the viscous and usually coloured envelope
with which they are invested is the product.
The powdery pollens may therefore be arranged
under two principal orders, the viscous and the
non-viscous pollens.

M. Guillemin discovered, by extensive obser-
vation, that the nature of the grains of pollen
is the same in each natural family of plants ; or,
in other words, that viscous and non-viscous
pollens never occur together in the same family.
He has found, moreover, that all the genera of a
family present only modifications in the forms
of their grains of pollen; although families very
remote from each other in respect to other char-
acters, agree in having the same kinds of pollen.
We shall here content ourselves with describing
the nature and forms of this organ in a few re-
markable families. :

The pollen of the Mallow and Convolvulus
families is formed of papillar spherical grains,
of a silvery white colour. In the cucumber,
they are spherical, papillar, and of a beautiful
gold-yellow. Those of the tribe of helianthea,
in the family of synantheree, ave also spherical,
papillar, and of a fine orange-yellow. ‘The tribe,

 

69

or rather order, of the etchoracee, presents spheri-
cal grains, which are viscous, but are bounded by
minute plain surfaces. In cobwa scandens, the
pollen is covered with mammillar eminences,
each surmounted by a shining point. The pollen
of the genus phlox very much resembles that
mentioned last; and this is a circumstance corro~
borative of the opinion of those who consider the
two genera as belonging to the same natural
family.

The families in which grains that are not
viscid are found are very numerous. Asin the
potatoe, gentian, grasses; and the grains in
these have always an elliptical form, and are
marked with alongitudinal groove. Their usual
colour is yellow, although they are sometimes
red, as in verbascum. In the pea tribe, the pol-
Jen, although not viscous, is of a very distinct
cylindrical form.

When grains of pollen which are not viscous are
subjected to the action of water, they instantly
change their form, which, from being ellipti-
cal, becomes perfectly spherical. The viscous
gyains first lose their. coating, then burst more
or less quickly, and project a fluid denser than
water, and in which are seen moving myriads of
minute grains, which are rendered visible by
their greenish colour, when they are magnified
to several hundred diameters. Amici saw a
grain of pollen, in contact with a hair of the
stigma, burst, and project a kind of bowel, in
which the minute grains circulated for more
than four hours. Gleichen, who had already
observed the granules contained in the grains of
pollen, considered them as performing the prin-
cipal part in the act of fecundation ; and Guil-
lemin, reasoning from the resemblance of these
organs to the spermatic animalcules of animals,
is inclined to adopt the same opinion.

Such was the state of our knowledge respect-
ing the nature and organization of the grains of
the pollen, when Brongniart undertook his ex-
amination of the generation of vegetables. His
opinion respecting the nature and organization
of the grains of pollen is as follows:—On ex-
amining the interior of the cells of a yellow
anther in a flower-bud, long before its expansion,
it is seen to be filled with acellular mass distinct
from the walls of the cells. By degrees the
cellules of which the cellular mass is composed,
and which are generally very small, separate
from each other, and at length form the gran-
ules, which are named pollen. Sometimes these
particular cellules or grains of pollen ave enclosed
in other larger vesicles, which become torn, and
of which traces may still be perceived.

Each grain of pollen, whose form, as has al-
ready been remarked, is very variable, presents
a uniform organization. It is composed of two
rhembranes, the one external, thicker, and fur-
nished with pores, and sometimes more or less
70

prominent appendages; the other internal, thin,
transparent, and having no adhesion to the first.
When submitted to the action of water, the
inner membrane swells, the outer bursts at some
part of its surface, and through the opening
thus formed there issues a tubular prolongation,
which forms a kind of bag, first observed by
Needham. Sometimes two prolongations issue,
at two opposite points. The cavity of the inner
membrane is filled with spherical granules, of
extreme minuteness, which appear to perform
the most important part of the act of fecunda-
tion.

The pollen of the families Asclepiadee and
orchidee presents very remarkable modifications.
In several genera of these two families, all the
pollen contained in a cell is united into a body,
which has the same form as the cell in which it
is contained. To this united pollen is given the
name of pollen-mass. When the pollen is thrown
on red-hot charcoal, it burns and flames with
rapidity. In many plants, it diffuses an odour,
bearing the most striking resemblance to the
substance in animals to which it is compared, as
is very distinctly observed in the chestnut and
barberry,

The pollen, when it begins to be developed,
and long before the expansion of the flower,
presents itself under the form of acellular mass,
sometimes covered with an extremely thin mem-
brane, which, however, has no attachment to the
walls of the cavity. The utricles of which this
mass is composed, are at first very intimately
united together. Some scattered granules are
perceived in their interior. By degrees the
utricles separate, the granules which they con-
tain unite, and by their successive development,
soon burst the utricles, assume the form which
they are to retain, and finally become grains of
pollen. It will be seen that this mode of de-
velopment is perfectly similar to that of the
cellular tissue, which we described when treat-
ing of the elementary part of vegetables.

The pistil is the female organ in plants, cut
43. It almost invariably occupies the centre of
the flower, and is composed of three parts, the
ovary a, the style 6, and the stigma c.

In most cases, we find only a single pistil in
a flower : as inthe lily, the hyacinth, and poppy.
At other times, there are several pistils in the
same flower; as in the rose and ranunculus.
The pistil, or pistils, when there are more
than one, are often attached to a particular pro-
longation of the receptacle, to which the name
of gynophorum is given, and which does not es-
sentially belong to the pistil, but remains at the
bottom of the flower when the pistil is detached.
When there are several pistils in a flower, it is
not unusual to see the gynophorum becoming
thick and fleshy. This is particularly observable
in the raspberry, and strawberry. The part of

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

the latter which is pulpy and sweet, and which
is eaten, is merely a very large gynophorum ;
and the little shining grains which cover it are
so many pistils. It is easy to satisfy one’s self
as to the nature of these different parts, by fol-
lowing their gradual development in the flower.

The dbase of the pistil is always represented
by the point at which it is attached to the re-
ceptacle.- The swmmit, on the other hand, always
corresponds to the point where the styles or the
stigma are inserted into the ovary.

The ovary, fig. a, always occupies the lower
part of the pistil. Its essential character is,
that when divided in the longitudinal or trans-
verse directions, it presents one or more cavities,
named cells, in which are contained the rudi-
ments of the seeds, or the ovules. It is in the
interior of the ovary that the ovules acquire all
their development, and are converted into seeds,
This organ may therefore be considered, with res-
pect to its functions, as analogous to the ovary and
uterus inanimals. Its usual form is egg-shaped;
but it is more or less compressed and elongated
in certain families of plants, as in the Cruciferae,
Leguminose, &c. The ovary is generally free
at the bottom of the flower; in other words, its
base corresponds to the point of the receptacle,
into which are inserted the stamina and the
floral envelopes, although it does not contract
any adhesion with the calyx; as is observed in
the hyacinth, the lily, and tulip. Sometimes,
however, the ovary is not met with in the hot-
tom of the flower, but seems to be placed entirely
beneath the insertion of the other parts; in other
words, it is united in every part of its cireum-
ference with the tube of the calyx, its summit
alone being free in the bottom of the flower. In
this case, the ovary has been named adherent or
inferior, to distinguish it from that in which it
is free or superior. The genera Iris, Narcissus,
Myrtus, and Ribes, have an inferior ovary.

When this organ,
therefore, is not met
with at the bottom of the
flower, but when the
centre of the latter is oc-
cupied by a style anda
stigma, it will be neces-
sary to examine if there
be not at the bottom of
the flower a particular
0, ovary of gooseberry; p p, bulging, distinct from

magnified ball of pollen. the top of the peduncle.
If this enlargement, on being cut across, presents
one or more cavities, containing ovules, it is
clear that there is an inferior ovary.

The position of the ovary, considered as to its
being inferior or superior, furnishes the most
valuable characters for grouping genera into
natural families. Whenever it is inferior, the
calyx is necessarily monosepalous, since its tubs

47.

 
ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION.

is intimately united to the circumference of the
ovary. Sometimes it is not entirely inferior, but
is free in some portion of its upper part, a third,
a half, or two-thirds, These different gradations
are observed in the saxifrages.

There is, however, a position of the ovary
which, although almost always confounded with
the inferior, requires to be distinguished from it.
It is when several pistils, existing together in a
flower, are attached to the inner wall of a calyx
which is very narrow at its upper part, so that
at first sight it might seem to represent an in-
ferior ovary. These ovaries are named parietal,
as in the genus Rosa, and many other plants of
the same family.

The ovary is sessile at the bottom of the flower
when it is not raised upon any peculiar support;
as in the lily and hyacinth. It may be stipitate,
when it is borne upon a very elongated base; as
in the caper. When cut across, the ovary often
presents a single internal cavity or cell, contain-
ing the ovules. In this case it is said to be uni-
locular; as in the almond, the cherry, and the
pink. It is named bilocular, when it is com-
posed of two cells; as in the lilac, the toadflax,
and the foxglove. Trilocular, when composed
of three. Multilocular, when it presents a great
number of cells; as in the water-lily.

Each cell may“contain a number of ovules,
varying in different plants. Thus there are cells
which never contain more than a single ovule,
and others which contain two. In some cases,
each cell contains a great number of ovules, as
in the tobacco, the poppy, &c.; but these ovules
may be variously disposed. They are not unfre-
quently regularly superimposed upon each other,
along a longitudinal line; as in aristolochia
sypho.

Ovules, when fecundated, become seeds; but
it frequently happens that a certain number of
them regularly become abortive in the fruit.
Several of the partitions are even sometimes des-
troyed and disappear.

The style is the filiform prolongation of the
summit of the ovary which supports the stigma,
cut 43,5. Sometimes it is entirely wanting, and
then the stigma is sess¢e, asin the poppy and tulip.
The ovary may be surmounted bya single style, as
in the lily, and the pea family ; by two styles,
as in the umbellifere ; by three styles, as in the
way-faring-tree; by four, as in the parnassia;
or by five, as in the statice, linwm. In other
cases, again, there is only a single style for several
ovaries; as in the apocinew. The style almost
always occupies the highest part of the ovary ;
as in the crucifere, liliacee, &c. It is then said
to be terminal. It is named Jateral when it
arises from the lateral parts of the ovary; as in
most of the families of roses, and thegenus Daphne.
In some much rarer cases, the style appears
to spring from the base of the ovary. It then

 

71

obtains the name of basal or basilar style. It
has this position in the lady’s-mantle, and the
bread-fruit tree. Sometimes also, the style, in
place of springing from the ovary, seems to arise
from the receptacle; asin the labiate, and certain
boraginee. ‘The style may be included, that is,
contained within the flower, so as not to ap-
pear externally; as in the lilac, and the jas-
mine. Or it maybe protruded,as in red valerian.
The forms of the style are not less numerous
than those of the other organs which we have
already examined. Although it is generally
slender and filiform,+yet, in certain plants, it
has quite a different appearance. It sometimes
seems as if jointed to the summit of the ovary,
so as to fall off after fecundation, leaving no
traces of its presence; as in the cherry and
plum. In this case, it is named caducous.
Sometimes, on the contrary, it is persistent,
when it remains after fecundation. Thus in
the box, and the anemone and clematis, the style
continues, and forms part of the fruit. Lastly,
it sometimes not only remains after fecunda-
tion, but continues to increase in size; as in the
pasque-flower.

The Stigma is the usually glandular part of
the pistil, placed at the summit of the ovary or
style, and destined to receive the influence of the
fecundating substance, cut 43,¢. Its surface is
generally uneven, and more or lessclammy. The
stigma, considered in an anatomical point of
view, is composed of elongated utricles, con-
verging from the surface of the stigma towards
the style, and loosely attached to each other by
a mucilaginous substance. These utricles are
generally naked, although, in some cases, they are
covered byavery thin and transparent membrane.
The number of stigmas is determined by that
of the styles, or of the divisions of the style, the
former always corresponding to the latter. The
stigma is sessile, or directly attached to the sum-
mit of the ovary, when the style is wanting ; as
inthe poppy andtulip. There is only one stigma
in the crucifere, leguminose, primulacee ; tao
in the umbellifere and a great number of grasses.
Three in the iris, the genera Silene, Rheum,
Rumex; five in the flax; siz, and even a greater
number, inmany other plants, suchasthe mallows.
The stigma is generally terminal, or situated
at the summit of the style or ovary; as in the
lily and poppy. It is dateral when it occupies the
sides of the style, or, when that part is wanting,
of the ovary; as in the ranunculus and plane-tree.
With respect to the substance of which it is
composed, it is fleshy when thick, firm, and suc-
culent; as in the lily. Glandular, when evi-
dently formed of small glands, more or less ap-
proximated to each other. Membranous, when
flat and thin. Petaloid, when thin, mem-
branous, and coloured like the petals, Ac-
cording to its form, the stigma may be glo-
G2

bular or capitate, rounded like a little head;
as in the cowslip, belladonna, and marvel of
Peru. Hemispherical, having the form of a
hemisphere; asinthe yellow henbane. Déscoid,
lat, broad, and in the form of a shield; as
in the poppy. Claviform or club-shaped as in
Jasione montana,  Capillar or filiform, slender
and very elongated; as in the maize. Linear,
narrow and elongated; as in the campanule
and many caryophyllee. Trigonal, having
the form of a three-sided prism; as in the wild
tulip. Trélobate or three-lobed, formed of three
rounded lobes; as in the lily. Sécl/ate, flat and
cut into several lobes, so as to resemble a star ;
as in the ericinece, and the genus Pyrola. Umbili-
cate, having a depression in its centre ; as in the
lily. Semilunar or crescent-shaped, as in the
yellow fumitory.

Having described the parts of a single flower,
we shall now allude to the manner in which
these are placed on the stalk, and frequently
grouped together,

The term Inflorescence, is applied to designate
the general disposition or arrangement which
the flowers affect upon the stem, or the other
organs which support them.

The flowers are said to be solitary when the
plant produces only one, or when they come off
one by one from different points of the stem, at
some distance from each other; as in the tulip
and the common garden rose. They are terminal
when situated at the top of the stem; as in the
tulip. Lateral, when they spring from the sides
of the stems or branches. Awillar, when they
spring from the axilla of the leaves, as in the
greater periwinkle, and the ivy-leaved speedwell;
geminate, when they come off in pairs from the
same point of the stem, as in viola biflora ; ter-
nate, when they come off three together, as in
teucrium flavum; fassiculate, when they come
off more than three together from the same
point of the stem or branches, as in the cherry.

1. When the flowers are arranged upon
a common stalk or axis, which is sim-
ple or not branched, whether they be
sessile or pedunculate, and whether the
peduncle be straight or inclined, they
form a spike, and are accordingly des-
cribed as spiked, as in wheat, barley,
tye, the ribwort plantain, the black
currant, the barberry, and the genus
orchis.

2. If the common peduncle branches
several times, and in an irregular manner, this
arrangement takes the name of raceme, and the
flowers are described as being racemose, as in
the vine.

The characters which most authors have given
as distinguishing the spike from the raceme are
80 uncertain, that it is almost impossible to dis-
criminate between these two modes of inflorcs-

48,

 

 

TWSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

cence. Thus, some say that the flowers are
sessile in the spike, and pedunculate in the
raceme ; and others, that the raceme is always
pendulous, and the spike erect. Perhaps the
best distinction is, that the axis of a spike is
always simple, whereas that of a raceme is al-
ways branched.

8. When the common axis is erect, and the
peduncles are irregularly divided into pedicels
bearing the flowers, if the whole assumes a
nearly pyramidal form, it obtains the name of
thyrsus, as in the lilac, the privet, and the horse-
chestnut. This species of inflorescence is closely

‘ *
allied to the raceme.

4. The flowers are said to be
disposed in a panicle, or to be
paniculate, when the common axis
is branched, and its secondary
divisions are greatly elongated and
widely separated. This species
of inflorescence belongs almost
exclusively to the graminee:
such, for example, are the male
flowers of the maize.

5. The flowers are corymbose,
or are disposed in a corymb, when
the peduncles and pedicels spring

4%, from different points of the upper

% part of the stem, but all attain

# nearly the same height; as in
common milfoil.

G. The eyme is produced, and
the flowers are said to be cymose,
when the peduncles proceed from
the same point, the pedicels being unequal, and
coming off from different points, but raising
all the flowers tothe same height; as in the
elder and cornel.

49,

 

   

7. The flowers are wmbcl-
ate when all the peduncles
are equal, spring from the
same point of the stem,

“spac «diverge, and branch into
Se pedicels, which again come
i" off from the same point, so
“that the general mass of the
flowers represents a convex
surface, like an expanded
umbrella. This disposition
is observed in the whole natural family of the
umbellifere ; for example, in the carrot, hem-
lock, opoponax. The peduncles form collec:
tively an wmbel ; and each group of pedicels con-
stitutes an wmbellule. At the base of the umbel,
there is very frequently observed an involucre ;
and at the base of each umbellule an involucel ;
as in the carrot. At other times, the involucre
is wanting, while the involucels are present; as
in chervil, Lastly, both involucre and involu-
cels may be absent; as in pimpinella and sax-
ifraga.

61.

   
  
ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION,

8. The flowers are sertudate, when the pedun-
cles are simple, spring all from the same point,
and attain nearly the same height; as in the
flowering rush, most of the species of aldéum, the
genus primula, &c. This kind of inflorescence
has been referred to the umbel ; but it differs so
much from that species as to deserve a name of
its own.

9. The flowers are disposed
in a whorl or are whorled or
verticillate, when they come
off around the stem at the
same height; as in mare’s tail.

10. The Spadiz is a species
of inflorescence, in which the
common peduncle is covered
with unisexual flowers, which
are naked, in other words, destitute of
a proper calyx, and generally distinct
and separated from each other; as in
arum maculatum, caltha palustris, &c.
Sometimes, however, there are observed
scales, which separate the flowers; but
these cannot be considered as calyces,
as they spring from the substance of |
the peduncle itself, of which they ap-
pear to be appendages, and are always
situated beneath the point at which
the flowers are attached; as in certain species
of pepper. The spadix is peculiar to the mono-
cotyledonous plants, and to the different species
of piper. Sometimes it is naked, in other words,
destitute of a general envelope ; as in the genus
just mentioned. At other times, it is enveloped
in a spatha; as in the aroider, and certain spe-
cies of palms,

11. The catkin isa kind of inflorescence, in
which unisexual flowers are
inserted upon scales which, in
some measure, perform the
office of a peduncle. Flowers
so arranged are named amenta-
ceous. Of this kind are the male
flowers of the chestnut and
hasel, the male and female
flowers of willows, &c. This species of intlor-
escence is that observed in a whole family of
plants, composed of trees of various sizes, and
which are named amentaceous. Of this kind are
willows, poplars, alders, the birch, the hornbeam,
the oak, the beech.

All plants do not flower at the same period
of the year. There are, in reference to this cir-
cumstance, very remarkable differences, which
depend upon the nature of the plant, the in-
fluence of heat and light, and the geographical
position of the vegetable. Were they to come
out all in the same season, and at the same period,
they would disappear too soon, and vegetables
would remain too long destitute of their great-
est beauty. Even winter, notwithstanding the

5

 

53.

 

 

 

73

cold which accompanies it, is not without
flowers. The snowdrop, the hellebores, and
the mezereons, unfold their flowers when the
ground is still covered with snow. These ex-
ainples, however, may be considered as excep-
tions to the general order. Cold, in fact, ap-
pears to oppose the growth and expansion of
flowers, whereas a gentle and moderate heat
favours and maintains them. Accordingly, in
countries where the temperature continues in a
mean state the whole year, a kind of perpetual
spring prevails, and the earth is always covered
with new flowers. In the temperate parts of
Europe, it is in spring, when a gentle and vivify-
ing heat has succeeded to the cold of winter, that
the flowers gradually separating their envelopes,
expand and disclose their beauties to our view.
The months of May and June are those which
see the greatest number of flowers expand.

According to the season in which they deve-
lope their flowers, plants have been distinguished
into four classes:—1. Vernal, those which
flower during the months of March, April, and
May ; such as violets, primroses, &c. 2. Zistivat
or summer plants, those which flower from the
beginning of June to the end of August. These
constitute the great majority of plants. 3.
Autumnal, those which expand their flowers
from September to December. Of this kind are
many species of aster, and meadow saffron. 4.
Hibernal or winter plants, those which flower
from about the middle of December to the end
of February; such as many mosses and junger-
mannie, the snow drop, black hellebore.

From the consideration of the period at which
different plants produce their flowers, Linneus
formed his Calendar of Flora. For, there are
many plants whose flowers always appear regu-
larly at the same period of the year. Thus, in
the climate of Paris, the Christmas rose flowers
in January; the hazel and mezereon in Feb-
ruary; the almond, the peach, and the apricot,
in March; the pear, tulips, and hyacinths, in
April ; the lilac and the apple in May.

Not only do the flowers show themselves at
different periods of the year, in different plants,
but there are many flowers which open and close
at determinate hours of the day, while some ex-
pand only at night. Thus the marvel of Peru
opens its flowers only when the sun has sunk be-
neath the horizon. Hence flowers are distin-
guished into diurnal and nocturnal. The latter
are much less nunferous than the former. There
are even flowers which have the habit of open-
ing and closing at certain periods of the day,
with so much regularity, that one may tell the
hour by them. Linnzus, who was so ingenious
in detecting the most interesting circumstances
respecting flowers, made use of the periods at
which some species are well known to expand,

for the purpose of forming a table, to which he
K
74

gave the name of Flora’s Timepiece. In this
table, the plants are arranged according to the
hour at which their flowers expand.

The state of the atmosphere appears to have a
decided influence upon the flowers of certain
plants. Thus, Calendula pluvialis closes its
flower when the sky is overcast, or when a
thunder-storm threatens to burst. Sonchaus si-
biricus, on the other hand, opens and expands
only when the weather is hazy and the atmos-
phere loaded with clouds. The light of the sun
appears to be one of the causes which acts most
powerfully upon the expansion of flowers. Its
absence produces a kind of sleep in flowers, as
it does in the leaves of the family of Leguminose.
By very ingenious experiments, Bory de St
Vincent succeeded in causing to flower certain
species of oxalis, the flowers of which never ex-
panded naturally, by illuminating them strongly
at night, and collecting upon them the rays of
light by means of a lens.

The duration of flowers also exhibits some
very remarkable differences. Some expand in
the morning, and are withered before the end of
the day. Such flowers are called ephemeral. Of
this kind are the most of the species of Ciéstus,
Tradescantia virginica, some species of Cactus,
&ce. Others, on the contrary, retain their splen-
dour unimpaired for several days, often even for
several weeks. Lastly, there are flowers whose
colour varies at the different periods of their
development. Thus the Hortensia begins with
having green flowers. By degrees they assume
a beautiful rose-colour, which, before they are
entirely faded, becomes of a more or less deep blue.

Nectaries. By the general name of WNectaries
Linneus designated not only the glandular
bodies which are observed in certain flowers, and
which secrete a sweet or nectareous fluid, but
also all the parts of the flower which, present-
ing irregular and unusual forms, appeared to
him not to belong to the floral organs properly
so called, that is, to the pistil, stamina, or floral
envelopes. It may easily be conceived, that the
great extension given by Linneus to the term
nectary could not but render it extremely vague.
Indeed it is almost impossible to give a strict
definition of it, as employed by him. A few
examples will show the truth of our assertion.

‘Whenever one of the constituent organs of
the flower presented some irregularity in its
form or development, or some alteration of its
usual aspect, Linneus called it a nectary. It
will readily be imagined that, in this manner,
he must have confounded a multitude of organs
very different from each other. Thus, in the
columbine, Linneus describes five nectaries in
the form of recurved spurs, hanging between the
five sepals, In the larkspur there are two which
are prolonged into a point at their hind part, and
are contained in the spur which is observed at

 

UISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the base of the upper sepal. In the hcllebores
we find a great number of nectaries, which are
tubular and two lipped. Now, these alleged
nectaries of the hellebores, columbines, and in
general of all the other genera of the family of
yanunculacer, are nothing but the petals. In
the tropeolum, the nectary is a spur which
arises from the base of the calyx. In the toad-
flax, this nectary or spur is a prolongation of
the base of the corolla. This is also the case in
the violet, and balsamine.

Linneus also gave the name of nectaries to
masses of glands placed in different parts of the
flower. Accordingly, he confounded the disks
under that name; as in the crucifere, umbelli-
fere, and rosacee. In the lily, the nectary has
the form of a glandular groove placed at the in-
ternal base of the divisions of the calyx. Inthe
genus és, it is a tuft of glandular hairs, placed
on the middle of the outer divisions of the calyx.
In the grasses, the nectary is composed of two
small scales, varying greatly in form, and situ-
ated on one side of the base of the ovary. These
two scales or paleole form the glumedla, an organ
which performs no secretion. In the orchidee,
the nectary is the lower and inner divisions of
the calyx, which other botanists, and Linneus
himself, have designated as the ip. If it be
necessary to retain the term mectary, it should
be exclusively applied to the little masses of
glands situated on different parts of the plants,
and destined to secrete a sweet juice, care being
at the same time taken not to confound these
bodies with the different kinds of disk, which
are never secreting organs. By this means the
uncertainty and confusion which the term carries
with it might be avoided, and it would be re-
stored to its true signification,

CHAP. XIV.
CRYPTOGAMIC FRUCTIFICATION,

Havine described the floral organs of the more
perfect plants, we now proceed to exhibit a view
of the corresponding organs in the cryptogamic
families, in which we shall find the parts much
less complete, and in some cases, almost in-
visible.

ferns. As this class of vegetables are desti-
tute of conspicuous flowers, so they were at one
time thought to be destitute also of seeds, and
propagated nobody could tell how. Hence the
common opinion so prevalent in ancient-times,
as to the nonentity of fern seed; an opinion
that is scarcely even in the present day exploded
among the vulgar, though shown by botanists to
be entirely erroneous: the fruit or seed of ferns
being not only visible to the naked eye, at least
CRYPTOGAMIC FRUCTIFICATION.

in its aggregate mass, and even the individual
seeds by the assistance of the microscope. The
former must have been often seen though not
attended to by ancicnt botanists ; and the latter
are said to have been first discovered by Cole
and Swammerdam, about the year 1670, as well
as distinguished from the capsules in which they
are contained. It was still possible, however, that
these naturalists might have been mistaken, as
ferns had not yet been propagated by the sowing
of their seeds. But the experiment was at last
instituted in the year 1789, by two English
botanists, and the result was, in each case, con-
formable to expectation, ferns being obtained
from two respective sowings. The reality of
fern seed being thus shown, the next object of
the botanist was that of the discovery of the
parts of the flower which had produced the seeds,
the existence of which was inferred from ana-
logy. But in pursuit of this object, it cannot be
said that botanists have even yet been completely
successful. For although Hedwig, that most
able and accurate of all investigators, has indeed
detected the parts of the flower in a variety of
families, or at least, organs, which he presumes
to be the constituent parts of the flower ; yet,
there seems to be still some considerable degree
of doubt among botanists with regard to the
value of some of his conjectures, and a conse-
quent want of acquiescence in the legitimacy of
some of his conclusions. But where the parts
of the flower have not yet been detected, the
botanist can at least direct his attention to the
mode of fructification, and to the fruit produced.
In some families, the fructification is placed near
the root, asin the pilularia and tsoetes, which
are generally regarded as ferns, though the parts
of the flower are so obvious as to render it doubt-
ful whether they should not be transferred to
the class of conspicuous flowers, rather than to
that of the cryptogamic. In the pilularia the
flowers issue from the bosom of the leaves, which
spring from the root, and consist of a receptacle
or calyx, anthers, and pistils, ascertainable by the
aid of the microscope; the seeds being small
and globular bodies lodged in the receptacle,
covered with a fine membrane. In the ésoetes
the flowers are immersed in the base of the leaf
or frond, and consist also of a receptacle or
calyx, anthers, and pistils, as seen by a good
magnifier, the seeds being small globular bodies,
Jodged in a capsule. In the family Lycopodium,
the parts of fructification issue from the axis of
the leaves (or are axillary); they exhibit, how-
ever, no parts exactly analogous to stamens or
pistils, but consist of kidney-shaped capsules
containing many minute seeds. In the family
LEquisetum, the fructifications consist of a suc-
cession of whorls of target-shaped substances,
attached horizontally, and condensed into a club-
like spike, terminating the stem; these targets

 

75

being considered by Hedwig as forming each a
calyx to the under surface, of which are attached
several tubular cells containing stamens and
pistils, and ultimately, upon becoming capsules,
containing the seed.

55. In Ophioglossum and Os-
munda, in which the frue-
tifications are also in spikes
issuing from a leaf, the
same botanist has discovered
what he regards as both

    

ae ; stamens and pistils. The
ae a 7 capsules, however, are easily
oe hiy.s, discerned, being of a globu-
a Bp e lar figure, arranged in two

rows, and opening cross-
ways when ripe, with many minute seeds. In
the former, the spike is simple ; in the latter, it
is branched. But, in by far the greater number
of ferns, the flowering parts are in the back of
the leaf, as seen in fig. a.

In these also, Hedwig discovered what he be-
lieves to be the parts of the flower; not indeed,
including any thing like the calyx and corolla,
but stamens and pistils only. If a frond of any
of the dorsiferous ferns, as they are termed, is
taken at a very early period of its growth, and
carefully unfolded, there may be seen, with the
assistance of a good microscope, dispersed over
its under surface, but chiefly over that of the
mid-rib, and sometimes also over the upper sur-
face, a number of small globular bodies, which,
when put into a drop of water, and placed under
a high magnifying power, are found to consist
of a small pedicle supporting a minute globule,
filled with a granulated mass. These Hedwig
regards as stamens, partly from the analogy of
their figure, and partly from their disappearing
in the mature state of the plant, as the stamens
in other plants disappear before the fruit ripens.
The pistils he describes as globules, sitting or
supported upon pedicles, which are ultimately
converted into the capsules that contain the seed;
but without specifically determining the stigma.
Bernhardi, a later writer than Hedwig, and an
observer of great accuracy, has introduced a dif-
ferent theory, founded upon a different view of
the subject. He regards the white speck dis-
coverable upon the upper surface of the frond,
which is opposite to the black spot or patch,
on the under surface, as the stigma of the dor-
siferous ferns; and the small globular bodies
situated on the edge of the frond, as the
stamens. The fruit is, however, easily distin-
guishable by the aid of a microscope, each indi-
vidual consisting of a capsule, surrounded by an
elastic and jointed ring, b, opening transversely
when ripe, and discharging the sporules ¢, con-
sisting of small minute globules. The fruits of
all these ferns are so nearly alike in aspect, as
to present few distinctive characteristics to the
76

practical botanist. Besides the capsule already
described as containing the seed, the fructifica-
tion of these ferns is also generally aceompanied
with an additional integument, called the indu-
stwm. This is a thin and membranous substance,
covering the groups of capsules till the period
of the maturity of the seed, each group having
its separate covering or indusium, which origin-
ates, for the most part, in the nerves or veins of
the leaf; but sometimes also in the margin. In
some plants it is circular, in others longitudinal;
in some it consists of one valve, in others of two,
which, when the seed is mature, burst open,
sometimes towards the nerves, and sometimes to-
wards the margin, but in plants of a similar
habit uniformly in a similar manner.

Mosses. The fructification of the mosses,
though extremely elegant in its structure, is yet,
at the same time, so extremely minute, as to be
seldom recognized by the common observer; even
hy botanists it was long overlooked, or at the
most but imperfectly investigated. Theancients,
who believed in the doctrine of spontaneous
generation, regarded the mosses as a tribe of plants
originating in the putrefaction of other vege-
tables, or in the accidental concourse of genera-
tive particles, collected together by the alluvium
of rains in rivers; and, consequently, as produc-
ing no flower or fruit. The earlier botanists of
modern times seem to have regarded them in
much the same light, and even Tournefort, who
published his Botanical Institutions about
the beginning of the eighteenth century, when
the doctrines alluded to had begun to be more
than suspected, and the doctrine of vegetable
sexes admitted, at least in part, classes these
mosses along with mushrooms and sea weed,
under the title of asperme, or plants without seed.
But this arrangement was not long held as at
all satisfactory; and botanists, who began to sus-
pect that a distinction existed even in mosses,
were at last induced to undertake the irksome,
but indispensable task of a minute and scrupu-
lous investigation of the several parts and ap-
pearances of individual subjects, during the
several stages of growth, with a view to the dis-
covery of sexual organs. Perhaps the first hint
leading to a correct view of the subject, was that
given by Dillenius in his appendix to his Cata-
logue of Plants growing in the neighbourhood
of Gisse, in which he regards the mosses as being
indeed without seed, but furnished with little
heads containing a powder, by which the ter-
minating leaves were rendered capable of ger-
mination. But Micheli, inspector of the botanic
garden at Florence, seems to have been the first
of all modern botanists who obtained a complete
view of the fructification of the mosses as con-
sisting of a sexual apparatus, which he not only
describes but figures, though he appears to have
heen at the same time wholly ignorant of the res-

 

WISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

pective functions of the organs he was describing,
having mistaken the barren for the fertile flower,
and being, perhaps, altogether unacquainted with
the true and legitimate doctrine of the sexes of
plants. Dillenius, who again resumed the sub-
ject in his “History of Mosses,” (Oxford, 1741,)
a work that still stands unrivalled in this most
difficult department of vegetable research, though
he describes the flowers of the mosses with great
accuracy, and also with a view to sex, discrim-
inating the barren from the fertile flower, as
being sometimes produced on the same, and
sometimes on a different plant; yet, he still un-
happily mistakes the former for the latter, and
by consequence the latter for the former, without
having thrown any new light on this most im-
portant part of the history of mosses, for which
he was indeed so peculiarly well qualified.
Linneus, whose original ideas on the fructifica-
tion of the mosses seem to have been correct,
by adopting as the ultimate result of his inves-
tigations the opinions, and consequently the
errors of Dillenius, left the subject involved in
the same obscurity in which he found it; and by
giving to error the sanction of his great name
and authority, became unfortunately the occasion
of misleading future inquirers, rather than of
conducting them to the truth. The elucidation
of this obscure subject was afterwards undertaken
by several contemporary or succeeding botanists,
without much success, particularly by Hill in
his History of Plants, in which he controverts
the opinions of Dillenius and Linneus on the
subject of the fructification of the mosses, and
shows them to be erroneous, proving the capsula
of the former, and the anthera of the latter,
both terms indicating the same idea to be a real
seed vessel, by means of the experiment of sow-
ing the powdery substance contained in it, and
obtaining, as the result, a crop of young mosses.
This was of course an unanswerable argument,
and a discovery of the utmost importance; and
yet the work of Hill is now among botanists
seldom heard of. But by thus disproving the
opinion of Linneus with regard to the anthers
of the mosses, he was now under the necessity
of looking out for the true anthers in some other
part of the flower or plant, which he at last
discovered, as he thought, in the same flower,
and in what he called the rays of the corona.
But this opinion was soon found to be equally
erroneous with that which he had just refuted,
because it supposed the flowers of all mosses to
be hermaphrodite, which they in fact are not;
and because the flowers of many of these are
destitute of a corona altogether. Some other
opinions were afterwards advanced by several
botanists hostile to the former, and at variance
with each other, and tending only to show that
the most profound mystery still enveloped the
subject; or, to introduce a degree of botanical
CRYPTOGAMIC FRUCTIFICATION.

scepticism, inconsistent with impartial research,
which discovered itself even in the celebrated
Necker, urging him to exclaim rather too rashly,
that whatever had been or might in future be
said of the fructification of the mosses, he was
determined to regard as a fiction or a dream.
In this stage of progress, the celebrated Hedwig
first began to direct his attention to the study of
the mosses, when, perceiving all that had been
previously done, with a view to elucidate their
fructification, to present but a chaos of confu-
sion and contradiction, he found it absolutely
necessary to renounce all sort of dependence
upon previous opinion and authority, and to ex-
amine every thing for himself. This he accord-
ingly did with a degree of caution, and scrupu-
losity, and patience never yet surpassed; so that,
by applying glasses of a higher magnifying power
than any preceding botanist, and taking no fact
upon trust, he at length succeeded in obtaining
a clear and complete view of the subject, in dis-
encumbering it of the rubbish with which it had
been so long clogged, and in presenting to the
cryptogamist a superstructure not the offspring
of his own fancy, but the image of nature. Ac-
cording to Hedwig, the mosses are, for the most
part, décectous, that is, they have the barren and
fertile flowers on separate plants, as in the family
hypnum. Many of them are, however, monecious,
or have the barren and fertile flowers distinct,
but placed on the same plant, as in the family
phascum ; a few of these are hermaphrodite, or
have the two kinds of flowers united on the
same plant, asin the drywm aureum.

We shall now attempt a description of the two
kinds of flowers. The barren flowers are a sort
of disks or buds, which frequently terminate the
branches of the mosses, or sit in the bosom of the
leaves. If they are carefully dissected under a
good magnifier, they will be found to consist of
an assemblage of leaves or scales, resembling the
other leaves of the plant in form; but generally
larger or more elegant, and sometimes also col-
oured, though never terminating in a hair.
These Hedwig regards, though upon grounds
somewhat questionable, as constituting the calyx
of the barren flower. If the leaves of this calyx
are now taken and carefully stript off in succes-
sion, the dissector will find, as he approaches
the centre, anumber of small thread-shaped and
succulent substances, closely crowded together,
and issuing from between the leaves, or if not so
issuing, occupying the centre of the disk, and
distinguishable into two different sorts; some
consisting of an individual and transparent vis-

cus, and others of a longitudinal succession of | _

small and transparent vesicles united at the ex-
tremities, so as to exhibit a sort of jointed or
necklace appearance. Both of these may be
readily detected in the barren flowers of poly-

trichum commune, if gathered in the month of |

 

77

May or June. The former Hedwig regards a3
stamens, distinguishable into filament and anther,
or the anther longer and somewhat cylindrical ;
but generally approaching more or less to club
or egg-shaped, and both not exceeding the one
fiftieth part of an inch in length. The latter
or necklace-looking substances, which are gen-
erally somewhat longer than the stamens, though
less in diameter, do not yet seem to be well un-
derstood, Hedwig, without pretending abso-
lutely to decide upon their use, calls them merely
the succulent threads that accompany the
stamens; but seems, at the same time, to believe
that they assist fecundation by means of securing
a plentiful supply of moisture, while he infers
the stamens to be such, from the presumptive
evidence of the similarity of their substance
and structure, to that of the stamens of perfect
plants; and of their opening also at the top when
ripe, and discharging a fine pollen, which cir-
cumstance may be seen by means of placing a
stamen fully ripe under a high magnifier, and
wetting it with a drop of water. The summit of
the anther bursts open, and the pollen explodes.
The fertile flowers are like the barren, gener-
ally at the extremities of the branches, but they
are not unfrequently lateral or radical. They
are not furnished with any integument that
can be decidedly called a calyx, though the
leaves immediately surrounding these are gener-
ally different both in size and structure, from
the other leaves of the plant; and in the genus
hypnum are so very obviously different, as to
have obtained the proper appellation of the
perichelium or fence, being an assemblage of
loosely imbricated scales, terminating in a fine
hair or bristle, rather than red leaves. But if
they are not to be regarded as forming a true
calyx, or part of the real leaves of the species,
they are at least to be regarded as constituting
floral leaves, both from their contiguity to the
flower and analogy to the floral leaves and per-
fect plants. In their original distribution they
form generally a sort of bud, from the centre of
which the flower issues, presenting, when first
discoverable, the appearance of a fine and mi-
nute point, projecting from the bosom of the
leaves. This incipient step of growth is very
distinctly visible in the fertile flowers of fumaria
hygrometrica, a, if

as gathered about the

month of January,
which are also ac-
companied by a
number of succulent
pistils, | somewhat
similar to those
already described as
accompanying the
barren flower, and
Hedwig calls them

 

equally unaccountable.
78

auxiliary pistils, but does not pretend absolutely
to determine their function, and Sir J. E. Smith
thinks they may perhaps serve in either case the
purpose of calyx or of corolla, orof both. But
however this may be, the parts of the flower
soon begin to assume a different appearance as
the process of fructification advances, the fine
and pointed substances expanding into a sort of
lengthened cone, invested by a thin and mem-
braneous integument, which is adherent at the
base and summit, but inflated towards the mid-
dle, and which finally separates horizontally into
two distinct portions. The under portion, which
is placed within the fence, remains, as before,
attached to the base of the fructification, and is
called the sheath, while the upper portion ad-
heres also, as before, to thesummit of fruetification,
which it still partially invests in the form of an
extinguisher. In this stage it has been called
by some a calyx, by others a corolla. But its
resemblance to either is so extremely slight, as
scarcely to justify the application of the term.
It is more generally known, however, by the
appellation of the calyptra or veil, a term suf-
ficiently expressive of at least part of its functions,
marking, as it does, a globular or urn-shaped ves-
sel, which is the capsule of the mosses. Insome
species, this capsule is sessile, or very nearly so,
as in phascum muticum, but in by far the great-
est number it is elevated upon a fine and often
capillary, but conspicuous pedicle, as in poly-
trichum commune; sometimes it is erect, and
sometimes drooping, nodding, or pendulous.
The external surface is generally smooth, but
sometimes it is marked with longitudinal fur-
rows, being, when in a young state, somewhat
white or green, but when in a mature state,
brown red or yellow. Like the capsules which
they support, the pedicles are sometimes erect,
asin Brywm cylindricum, and sometimes bent,
asin Bryum hornum. They are generally soli-
tary, but sometimes also aggregate, as in Brywm
ligulatum, in which it is no unusual thing to
find five or six of them issuing from the same
point. In some species, they are so very short,
as to be scarcely perceptible, and in others they
are from one to three inches in length. The
surface is generally smooth and shining, though
sometimes it is rough. Its colour is sometimes
white and pellucid, while in a ripened state it
becomes brown, yellow, purple, or red. At the
base it is almost always sheathed by a thin and
membraneous substance, the lower portion of
the original veil, and sometimes it is slightly
bulbous. At the summit it is also often dis-4
tended into a larger bunch or protuberance, of
a globular or oval form, upon which the capsule
sits, as in the genus splachnum, which protu-
berance is denominated the apophysis. The
mouth of the capsule is externally covered with
an operculum or lid, assuming, in different spe-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

cies a variety of different forms, and detaching
itself horizontally when ripe. Sometimes it is
flat, hemispherical, generally conical or acute,
Tn its position it is erect, or oblique, or bent, or
crooked; on its surface it is smooth, or straited ;
in its colour brown, red, or scarlet, when ripe.
If this bud is stripped off, or detaches itself spon-
taneously, the mouth ‘of the’ capsule is then
found for the most part to be internally fur-
nished with one or more rows of fine teeth, in
number four, or a multiple of four, named the
peristome, sometimes united into one set, and
sometimes divided into several. In some
families, however, it consists of a single row of
teeth only, and in others it is altogether want-
ing, asin the sphagnum. The number of the teeth
is also variable in different genera, though gen-
erally uniform in the same. In their ripened
state, they assume a tinge of brown, red, or
yellow, as does also the lip of the urn or cap-
sule in which they are inserted. Within the
urn, and in the direction of its longitudinal axis,
there is situated a slender and cylindrical sub-
stance, as seen figure b, which seems to bea pro-
longation of the pedicle passing through the
whole extent of the urn, and perforating both
bud and veil. This organ is designated by the
name of the column, and its summit, which
forms the apex of the flower, is regarded by
Hedwig as the style of the mosses. As the urn
and column are concentric, there is formed by
consequence, between the inner surface of the
one, and the outer surface of the others, a small
and cylindrical cavity, which in the mature state
of the fructification is filled with a fine powder,
consisting of a multitude of spherical granules,
of a brown, yellow, or greenish colour, generally
smooth, but sometimes also dotted or prickly.
These granules are the seeds of the mosses, from
the sowing of which Hedwig obtained a crop
of young mosses, in all respect similar to the
parent plants. Such is a short sketch of the
fructification of the mosses, according to the
observations of Hedwig, and of the theory
founded upon them,namely, that the mosses are,
with very few exceptions, either monactous or
diccious plants, furnished with all organs essen-
tial to the constitution of a flower, and produc-
ing perfect seed; a theory that seems at least
founded on fact, and that has obtained the ap-
probation of many succeeding botanists. Others,
again, deny all the cryptogamic class the organs
of fructification properly so called. Thus Richard
remarks:—

“ We agree with Necker in considering the
plants designated by the name of eryptogamus
as entirely destitute of sexual organs, and are
of opinion that nothing in them can reasonably
be compared to these parts as they exist in phan-
erogamous plants,”

A reproductive corpuscle of a fern or a mush-
CRYPTOGAMIC FRUCTIFICATION, 79

room, if placed on the ground, will be developed
there; but it will not be, as in the embryo of a
pharerogamous plant, parts already formed, only
reduced as it were to their rudimentary state,
that will successively acquire a greater develop-
ment; but, on the contrary, parts entirely new
will be produced. It is not a growth of organs
already existing; but the tissue of the sporule
or reproductive corpuscle, becomes elongated, on
the one hand to sink into the ground and form
a root, when the vegetable is to have one, and on
the other hand to stretch up in the opposite di-
rection and form astem. In whatever position a
sporule may be placed, the part in contact with
the earth always elongates to form the root, and
the opposite part becomes the stem. These two
organs, therefore, do not exist previous to this
development, but are produced by the influence
of certain circumstances, which appear as if for-
tuitous and foreign to the very nature of the
body which produces them.

If we now examine the parts which have been
looked upon as the flowers by various authors,
we shall find that their opinions respecting them
are very discordant; some considering as male
flowers what others describe as female flowers.
Thus, in the mosses, Linneus considers the theca
as a male flower, Hedwig as a female flower,
and Palisot de Beauvois as a hermaphrodite
flower.

Whenever these plants, as, for example, the
mosses, present two very distinct kinds of par-
ticular organs, which have been considered as
those of fructification, authors could only have
been embarrassed in selecting this or that for
the function which they had to attribute to it.
But, in the Jungermannie, where there are
sometimes three or four kinds of fructifications
differing from each other in their external form,
as there are only two kinds of sexual organs,
the male and the female, it would be necessary
here to admit four. For, if the name of sexual
organs has been given to two of these parts, why
should it be denied to the other two, whose in-
ternal structure is the same, but which differ
only intheir external forms, or in their disposition ?

In the ferns, on the contrary, in which there
is evidently but a single species of fructification
entirely formed of small grains, commonly en-
closed in little membranous bags, and which have
been considered as seminules or seedlets, where
are the stamina? Where the stigma which has
received the influence of the pollen? Where
the pistil which has transmitted it to the ovules?
Does it afford a satisfactory answer to these
questions to say, as Micheli and Hedwig have
done, that the hairs which are observed on the
young leaves are the stamina; or, as Hill and
Schmidel have asserted, that ‘the male flowers
are the rings which surround the receptacles in
which the seminules are contained?

 

‘

It must be admitted that opinions so discor-
dant, and even contradictory, lead us to an in-
ference which appears tobe inevitable, and which
is, that the alleged flowers of agamous plants,
sometimes considered as containing stamina, and
sometimes as containing pistils, are not in reality
flowers, but peculiar organs, constituting a kind
of buds, to which nature has intrusted the re-
production of these singular plants. Why, in
fact, should we wish to confine the power of
nature within the narrow limits of our concep-
tions? Her means are as varied as her power is
great ; andif she has bestowed upon the agamous
plants an aspect so different from that of the
phanerogamous, and given them external organs
which often bear no resemblance to those of the
latter, why might she not also have accorded them
a peculiar mode of reproduction, having nothing
similar to that of phanerogamous plants but the
effects which it produces, in other words, the
formation of the organs by which the species: is
to be perpetuated ?

Hepatice. The reproductive organs of this
class of simple vegetable productions, in as far
as they are yet known, are pretty much analo-
gous to those of the mosses ; but the parts cor-
responding to the stamens and pistils of perfect
plants, do not appear to have been hitherto as-
certained so satisfactorily as to leave no ground
of doubt. In their flowering, however, they ap-
pear also, like the mosses, to be either moncecious
or dicecious, and, perhaps, even without excep-
tion so, the example of an hermaphrodite
flower being almost unknown. According to
Hedwig, the barren flower of the hepatica which
can scarcely be said to have any perceptible
calyx, or corolla, consists either of small and
globular protuberances, issuing from the summit
of the plant, or from among the leaflets, or from
the surface of the frond, constituting a viscus
that contains a powdery substance, which is the
pollen, asin Jungermania ; or of small andminute
granules, surrounded with substances resembling
the succulent threads of the mosses and imbedded
in the body of the frond, or in target-shaped
substances issuing from the surface of the frond,
and elevated in conspicuous pedicles. The fertile
flowers consist for the most part of a double en-
velope, an outer and an inner, the former corres-
ponding in some degree to the calyx, and the
other, which immediately invests the ovary, and
is surmounted with the style, to the corolla of
perfect plants. The ovary, which in some spe-
cies remains sessile, and in others is elevated as
a pedicle, opens, when ripe, into several longi-
tudinal valves, and discharges the seed. Ita
plant of jungermania is examined, even by the
naked eye, in an early stage of its growth, there
will be seen, besides the general herbage,
number of small oblong and sack-like substances,
issuing from among the leaflets, and assuming
80

a position perpendicular to the surface of the
frond. These sacks, which are the outer enve-
lopes of the flower, if carefully opened up, will
be found to contain an oblong or egg-shaped sub-
stance, which is the ovary wrapped up in a
second envelope that is perforated by the style.
If this second envelope is more carefully stripped
off, the ovary and style will appear, accompanied
with several succulent substances, resembling
the abortive pistils of the mosses; and if the
ovary is itself opened up, it will be found to
consist of a greenish and gelatinous mass, inter-
spersed with a multitude of minute granules.
If the flower, instead of being thus dissected, is
allowed to ripen in the plant, the envelopes will,
in the progress of fructification, burst open at
the top, and discover a small protruding globule,
of a black or brownish colour, and of about the
size of a millet, and which is by and by disen-
gaged entirely from them, and elevated ona fine
and thread-shaped pedicle, from a line to an
inch or more in length. This elevated globule
is the ovary, which, when ripe, separates into four
longitudinal valves; from the extremities of
which a number of small spiral and elastic
threads issue, to which the seeds are attached.
The hepatice, like the mosses, are capable of
being propagated by the sowing of their seeds.
But it has been observed, by Hedwig and others,
that the hepatice produce also gems as well as
seed, by which the species are often propagated.
Ifa plant is carefully inspected, there will oc-
casionally be observed a number of small cup-
shaped substances immersed in the frond, and
toothed at the border. The cups are filled with
a number of small granules which are the gems.

Alge. The fructification of the alge is less
perfectly known than that of any of the pre-
ceding tribes of simple plants; but it has re-
ceived, like them also, considerable elucidation
from the investigations of Hedwig, particularly
the lichens. In all species of lichens, a plant
found abundantly on rocks and stones, and con-
sisting merely of a frondose form, without stem
or root, there issues from the edge or surface of
the frond, a number of small tubercles, or wart-
like substances of the colour and texture of the
parent lichens. If one of these is taken in an
early state of its growth, and divided by means
of a verticle section, it will be found to consist
of a single or double cell, imbedded in the pulp
of the frond, and containing a granulated mass.
The contained granules are particles of pollen,
the maturity of which is indicated by the chang-
ing of the colour of the tubercle to a deep
brown, and their escape by its changing to black.
From a different part of the same plant, or from
a different plant of the same species, there are
also found to issue a number of cup-shaped or
target-shaped substances, supported on short
pedicles of the same contexture with the frond,

 

IHISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and of a greenish colour, but gradually becoming
dark as they ripen. If one of them be now
divided, by means of a verticle section, it will
be found to contain immediately under the black
crust at the top, a number of small and egg-
shaped substances, arranged in perpendicular col-
umns. These substances are the seeds, which
finally escape through the crust. In this species,
both the barren and fertile flowers are well
shown in lichen physodes. Such is the theory
of Hedwig, but Gertner, who is also a great
authority on this subject, contends that the
powdery substance ejected from the targets or
saucers, consists not of seeds, but of a peculiar
species of gem, which he denominates the pro-
page, and describes as being a simple gem, with-
out leaves or regular shape; sometimes naked,
and sometimes covered with an envelope, which
separating at length from the parent plant, is
dispersed in the way of seeds, but is not itself a
seed. In the remaining genera of the alge, the
fructification is, if possible, still more obscure,
exhibiting no traces of stamens or pistils, or even
of the warts and saucers of the lichens, but merely
a number of small granules, irregularly dispersed
throughout the substance of the plant, and ex-
tricated only by its decay, which Hedwig pre-
sumes to be seeds, but which Gertner regards
also as a peculiar species of gem, which he calls
gongylus, describing it as being a simple gem
without leaves, of a globular form and solid con-
texture, embedded in the bark of the plant, and
extracted only by its decay ; so that it may very
well be doubted whether the genera in question
do at all produce perfect seeds, or are propagated
by any other means than that of gems. In the
fuci, the interspersed granules are said to have a
perforation above them, which the other families
have not. .

Fungi. Micheli seems to have been the first
to detect what may be regarded as the seeds of
the fungi; but Hedwig expected to find, and
tried also to discover in them, as indeed in all
cryptogamous plants, the same sort of reproduc-
tive organs as are found in plants with conspic-
uous flowers. And from a persuasion that they
existed, and were certainly to be detected, he
was in some cases, perhaps, rather too soon satis-
fied of having succeeded in their detection. In
fungi furnished with gills * and a curtain, if the
inner surface of the curtain is carefully examined
with a good magnifier before the time of its
natural detachment from the stipe or pileus, there
will be found adhering to it a number of fine
and delicate threads, supporting small globules,
and in such as have no curtain, the same sort ot
substance may be found adhering to the edge of
the pileus. These Hedwig regards as stamens.

 

* See fig. 22, page 19, where 0 points out the gills it
the mushroom,
Ol FECUNDATION.

If the gills are next examined in the same man-
ner, and about the same time, there will be found
resting on their edges or surface a number of
small tender cylindrical substances, some of
which are surmounted by a small globule, while
others are without this. These he-conjectures
to be the styles and summits. Similar substances
may be detected on the other families of the
same tribe ; but from the extreme minuteness of
these parts, and from their strong likeness to
the down with which the inner organs of vege-
tables are covered, it is easy to perceive how very
difficult it must be to decide upon their true
character. Bulliard does not pretend to have
discovered, and does not think it necessary that
there should exist in the fungi, organs exactly
corresponding to the stamens and pistils of con-
spicuous flowers, but only organs analogous to
them, and capable of performing similar func-
tions, the ground of which opinions he has illus-
trated in his theory of the fructification of the
fungi, and rendered at least as tenable as any
that have been taken up against him. Gertner
is also of opinion that the fungi do not in any
case produce perfect seeds, but are propagated
like fuci, by that peculiar species of gem which.
we have already alluded to. However this may
be, one thing is certain, that the fungi as well as
the other simpler plants, do propagate their
species by gems or seeds. In the agaricus and
other similar mushrooms, this receptacle is the
gills, in which, by the aid of a good microscope,
about the time the curtain bursts, there may be
observed, on raising up a small portion of their
flat surface, a number of small minute granules
imbedded in their substance ; these granules are
the seeds or gems, which, in a ripened state, are
discharged in such numbers and with such force,
that a piece of white paper put under the plant
will soon be found covered with a fine brown
powder. In the boletus this receptacle is the
tubes. In the moulds it is the globule, sur-
mounting the thread-shaped pedicle or stipe ; in
the clavaria it is over the general surface.

CHAP XV.
OF FECUNDATION.

Tue discovery of the male and female organs
in plants opened a new field of observation, by
directing attention to the mode of action which
they exercise upon each other.

Until of late years, the mechanism of fecunda-
tion in plants was as little understood as that of
animals. It was known, however, that the female
organ is fecundated; that the ovules or rudiments
of the sceds contained in the ovary become fit for

 

&1

being developed, and for subsequently reproduc-
ing precisely similar individuals, whenever the
pollen, contained in the cells of the stamen, has
exercised its influence upon the stigma. But the
nature of the influence which the pollen exer-
cises upon the stigma was entirely unknown.
The recent inquiries of various observers, have
thrown much light on this important question,
and have shown that, in plants, fecundation
appears to have the same mechanism as in ani-
mals,

Here, as in her other works, we find occasion
to admire the wisdom of Nature, and the per-
fection which she gives to the instruments which
she employs. Animals, possessed of the faculty
of moving, and able to shift at will from one
place to another, generally have the organs of
generation separated on two individuals of the
same species. The male, at determinate periods,
excited by an internal feeling, seeks out and ap-
proaches the female. Plants, on the other hand,
destitute of the locomotive faculty, irrevocably
fixed to the place in which their existence has
commenced, and destined to grow and die in it,
generally have the two sexes combined, not only
in the same individual, but in most cases even
in the same flower. Thus hermaphrodism is
very common in plants.

There are some, however, which might at first
sight seem less favourably situated, and in which
fecundation might appear to be left by nature
to chance, such as the monecious and dicecious
plants. In them the two sexual organs are
separated from each other, and often removed to
great distances. But here also we find reason
to admire the wisdom of Nature. As in animals
the fecundating substance is fluid, the male organ
must in them act directly upon the female organ
before fecundation can be effected. If it had
been of the same nature in plants as in animals,
fecundation would doubtless have experienced
the greatest obstacles in the moncecious and di-
cecious species. But in vegetables the pollen
exists in the form of a powder, whose particles
are light and extremely minute, so that they
can be transported in the atmosphere to distances
which are often inconceivable.

It may also be remarked that, in moncecious
plants, the male flowers are generally situated
at the upper part of the plant, so that the pollen,
on escaping from the cells of the anther, falls
naturally, and by its own weight, upon the
female flowers, which are placed lower.

Hermaphrodite flowers are unquestionably
those in which all the circumstances are most
favourable to fecundation, the two sexual organs
being in them placed in the same flower. The
function commences the moment the cells of the
anther open to allow the pollen to escape.
There are plants in which the adherency of the

anthers permits fecundation to take place before
qt
82

the perfect expansion of the flower; but, in the
greatest number of vegetables, this phenomenon
does not happen until after the floral envelopes
have opened and spread out. In certain herma-
phrodite flowers, the length or shortness of the
stamina, compared with the pistil, might at first
seem to present an obstacle to fecundation ; but,
as already remarked, when the stamina are
longer than the pistil, the flowers are generally
erect, whereas in those which have the stamina
shorter than the pistil, they are reversed. We
need not point out how much this arrangement
must facilitate the act of fecundation. When
the stamina are as long as the pistils, the flowers
are either erect or pendulous.

To favour the emission of the pollen, and
place it in contact with the stigma, the sexual
organs of many plants perform very sensible
motions. Thus, to recur to examples already
alluded to, at the period of fecundation, the
eight or ten stamina which compose the flowers
of the rue rise successively towards the stigma,
deposit part of their pollen upon it, and then
fall outwards.

The stamina of sparmannia Africana and the
barberry when irritated with the point of a
needle, contract and approach each other.

In several genera of the family of Urtices, in
the pellitory and the paper mulberry, the stamina
are bent towards the centre of the flower, and
beneath the stigma. At a certain period, they
rise elastically, like so many springs, and cast
their pollen upon the female organ.

In the genus Kalmia, the ten stamina are
placed horizontally at the bottom of the flower,
and their anthers are enclosed in an equal number
cf small pits, which are perceived at the base of
the corolla. To produce fecundation, each of
the stamina bends a little upon itself, in order
to disengage its anther from the little cavity
which contains it. Itthen rises above the pistil,
and pours its pollen upon it.

The female organs of certain plants appear in
like manner to perform motions which depend
upon their greater irritability during the period
of fecundation. Thus the stigma of the tulip,
and several other liliacer, swells and appears
moister at that time. The two lamine which
form the stigma of the mimulus come together
whenever a little mass of pollen, or a foreign
body of any kind, happens to touch them. It
even appears, according to the observations of
Lamarck and Bory St Vincent, that some plants
develope a very sensible heat at this period.
Thus, in arum Italicum, and some other plants
of the same family, the spadix which sup-
ports the flowers disengages a quantity of heat
sufficient to be felt by the hand that touches
it.

Many aquatic plants have their flower buds
at first under water. They aré seen gradually

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

to approach the surface, emerge, and expand, to
descend again after fecundation has taken place,
and ripen their seeds under the water.

Fecundation may be effected, however, in
plants that are entirely submersed. Thus, Ra-
mond found, in the bottom of a lake among the
Pyrenees, the ranunculus aquatilis covered with
water to the height of several feet, and yet bear-.
ing flowers and perfectly ripe fruits. Tecunda-
tion had therefore been effected in the midst of
the liquid. M. Batard afterwards found the
same plant in similar circumstances. He made
the curious remark that each flower, thus sub-
mersed, contained a quantity of air within its
membranes, previous to its expansion, and that
fecundation was effected through the medium
of that fluid. The air which he thus found en-
closed in the floral envelopes was evidently de-
rived from vegetable expiration.

This observation, the accuracy of which has
since been repeatedly verified, explains perfectly
the mode in which submersed plants are fecun-
dated, when they are furnished with floral en-
velopes; but it is totally inapplicable to vegeta-
bles destitute of the calyx and corolla, the fecun-
dation of which is effected, although their flowers
are entirely submersed.

But admitting that the pollen is conveyed to
the stigma by the means above stated, how is it
thence conducted to the ovary? It was at one
time generally supposed that the pollen is con-
ducted from the stigma to the ovary by means
of a longitudinal canal perforating the style.
This canal is distinguishable in many of the
liliaceous plants,in which it seems indeed to
constitute the passage of the pollen, particularly
from the phenomenon of the amaryllis formos-
isstma, the fluid exuding from the stigma of
which returns again through the perforation of
the style tinged with yellow, the colour of the
pollen. But the existence of the canal in ques-
tion, though distinguishable in the amaryllis
formosissima, and other liliaceous plants, cannot
be admitted as a universal property of the style,
at least it cannot be detected. And if it is so
very fine as to escape all observation, then it
could not admit the particles of pollen, which are
in some cases comparatively large, as in marvel
of Peru; the pollen of which exceeds the style
itself in diameter, and could not consequently
be admitted by a central canal.

But in order to effect the impregnation of the
seed it is not necessary that the particles of pol-
len should enter the style entire. The finer
part of their contents is sufficient, and is indeed
the only effective part in the act of fecundation:
so that whether we regard it as a subtle and
elastic vapour with Grew and Adanson; ot
merely as an oily and gelatinous fluid exuding
or exploding from the globule; still it will ad-
mit of being conducted through the channel of
OF FPECUNDATION.

the tubes of the style, although no central canal
should exist in it.

But another question has also arisen out of
the subject with regard to the quantity of pollen
necessary to effect impregnation. Adanson was
of opinion that the smallest possible particle, if
conveyed to the ovary, is sufficient. But this
opinion is supported by no proof, and is even con-
tradicted by later observation; the merit of hav-
ing ascertained the fact seems due to Koélreuter,
whose experiments are decisive of the question.
The globules of pollen contained in all the anthers
of an individual flower of hibiscus syriacus, were
4863, of which fifty orsixty at least were necessary
to effect a complete impregnation, For when
the attempt was made with a smaller number,
the seeds were not all ripened, though those that
were ripened were perfect. Ten globules were
the least by which the impregnation even of a
single seed could be effected in this plant. But
in the mirabilis jalappa and longiflora, the
flowers of which contained about 300 globules
of pollen, two or three were found sufficient for
impregnation, as the seed was not improved by
the application of more. It was also found that
the impregnation of flowers having two or more
styles, was completely effected, even when the
pollen was applied but to one of them; which
shows that there is a communication between
all the styles, and consequently between all the
germens.

Admitting that the pollen is conducted to the
ovary through the channel of the tubes of the
style, how after all is the ovary fecundated ; or
the seed rendered fertile? On this subject na-
turalists have been much divided ; and accord-
ing to their several opinions they have been classed
under the respective appellations of ovarists,
animalculists, and epigenisists.

Theory of the ovarist. According to the opi-
nion of the first class, the embryo pre-exists in
the ovary, and is fecundated by the agency of
the pollen as transmitted to it through the style.
This seems to have been the opinion of Grew,
who says expressly in his Anatomy of Plants,
that when the summits of the stamens open, and
the pollen is discharged upon the pistil, some
subtil and vivifying effluvium escapes; which,
descending through the medium of the style, im-
pregnates the embryo. Bonnet and Haller seem
to have been of the same opinion also, as well
as many other eminent naturalists. But the
most convincing evidence in support of the opi-
nion of the ovarists is that which has been pro-
duced by Spallanzani, as founded on a series of
observations on the flowers of the spartium
junceum. This plant was chosen on account of
its producing at the same time flowers in all the
different stages of progress. His first observa-
tions were made upon flower buds not yet ex-
panded: they seemed to form a compact and

 

83

solid body ; but upon being dexterously opened,
the petals, which were yet green, were with some
difficulty discovered, then the stamens, and then
the pistil. The powder of the anthers was even
perceived imbedded in a glutinous substance ;
when the pistil was freed from the surrounding
integuments, and attentively viewed with a good
glass, the pod was also discovered of about 17,
line in length. Several protuberances were seen
upon its sides; which, upon opening it longitud-
inally, were found to be occasioned by the seeds,
which though but small globules, were already
discoverable, arranged in their natural order, and
attached by filaments to the interior of the pod.
Upon dissection, they did not exhibit any ap-
pearance of the several parts and membranes
into which the mature seed may be divided; but
a spongy, homogeneous mass. Flowers in the
same state of forwardness were not fully ex-
panded till twenty days after. On dissecting
buds of a larger size the petals were found to be
somewhat yellowish and less compact; and the
powder of the anthérs was thrown out by the
slightest agitation ; but the lobes and plantlet
were not yet perceptible in the seeds.

On the eleventh day after the flowers had fal-
len, that is, after impregnation had taken place,
the seeds, which were formerly globular, began to
assume the figure of an heart, attached to the
pod by the basis, and exhibiting the appearance
of a white point towards the apex. And when
the heart was cut open longitudinally, the white
point proved to be a small cavity enclosing a
drop of liquid.

On the twenty-fifth day after the flowers had
fallen, the cavity was much enlarged towards the
base; but was still full of the liquid, in the
midst of which there appeared a small and semi-
transparent body, of a yellowish colour and
gelatinous consistence, fixed by its two extrem-
ities to the opposite sides of the cavity. In a
month after the flower had fallen, the heart-
shaped seeds became kidney-shaped. In forty
days after the flower had fallen, the cavity
was quite filled up with the body that had
been generated within it; and which was now
found to consist of a thin and, tender mem-
brane enveloping the two seed-lobes, between
which the plantlet attached to the lower ex-
tremity was also perceptible. And hence the
seed was now visibly complete in all its parts.

From these and a variety of other observations
on a number of other species, all of which ex-
hibited similar appearances in the generation of ©
the seed, Spallanzani concludes that the seeds
pre-exist in the ovary before the access of the
pollen, by which they are merely rendered fer-
tile; and contends that the embryo, though not
previonsly perceptible, may yet previously exist.

The theory of the ovarists is supported also
by Gertner, who describes the vegetable egg as
8b

pre-existing in the ovary, where, furnished with
its proper integuments, it waits the fecundating
influence of the pollen, which is necessary to its
complete development; so that it requires in fact
the exertion of two distinet energies to bring it
to perfection, the vital principle, and the sem-
inal; the former generating and organizing the
different parts of which the egg consists in com-
mon with the other parts of the plant; and the
latter communicating to the egg thus formed a
distinct vegetable life.

Theory of the animalcul.s. But-the theory of
the ovarists is not without its difficulties ; for as
the embryo is never found to make its appear-
ance till after fecundation, it has been thought
that it must necessarily pre-exist in the pollen
of the anther; from which it is conveyed to the
ovary through the medium of the style, and
afterwards matured. This theory was founded
upon that of Leuwenhoeck, with regard to animal
generation; which supposes the pre-existence of
animalcules in the seminal principle of the male ;
the animalcules being conveyed in coitu to the
ovary of the female, where alone they are cap-
able of development.* Hence it has been de-
nominated the theory of the animalculists, and
transferred to the case of vegetables by Morland,
Needham, Gleichen, and others, who regard the
pollen as being a congeries of seminal plants, one
of which at least must be conveyed to the ovary
entire before it can become prolific. :

But if the embryo pre-exists in the pollen,
may it not be detected by inspection before im-
pregnation takes place? Spallanzani examined
the pollen in its ripe and perfect state with great
care, and under glasses of the highest magnify-
ing powers, but could distinguish nothing ex-
hibiting the appearance of an embryo. It may
be said, however, that the embryo must still be
supposed to pre-exist in the pollen, though not
visible, as Spallanzani has said of its pre-exis-
tence in the ovary ; and that its invisibility is
no proof of its non-existence. The animalculists
have no doubt a right to offer this reply ; but as
the embryo is not visible whether in the ovary or
pollen, till after fecundation has taken place, no
conclusion can be drawn on either side from the
circumstance of its invisibility.

But admitting that the invisibility of the
embryo is no proof of its non-existence in the
pollen, the total want of a passage, in most
styles, fit to conduct the particles of pollen en-
tire, exposes this theory to the most serious ob-
jections, if it does not rather render the alleged
mode of impregnation altogether impracticable.
And if a passage of sufficient width were found
to exist even in all styles, still the probabilities
of the two cases are in favour of the ovarist.
For if the embryo is to pre-exist at all, is it not

*Phil. Trans. No. 145, p. 74.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

more likely that it should pre-exist in the ovary,
where it is to be brought to maturity, than that
it should first be generated in one organ or plant,
and then transferred to another to be developed?
Is it not also most extraordinary that the em-
bryo should so invariably assume the same posi-
tion in the same species of seed, if it is merely
conducted to the ovary from a different organ or
plant, and introduced as it were at random?
And is not the doctrine of the ovarist counten-
anced from the analogy of the process for which
he contends to that of the generation of the ani-
mal egg, which is produced complete in all its
integral and distinct parts even without the co-
operation of the male, though still destitute of
the principle of fertility? And finally, is it not
further countenanced from the fact of the ap-
parent and numerical perfection of parts often
observable in the fruit of insulated female plants,
in which the embryo is not always wanting, but
only not fecundated? For which reasons the
theory of the ovarist seems to be much more
consonant to truth than that of the animal-
culist.

Theory of the Epigenisists. But the diffi-
culties inseparable from both theories, together
with the phenomenon of hybrid productions,
have given rise also to a third ; this is the theory
of the epigenisists, who maintain that the em-
bryo pre-exists neither in the ovary nor pollen,
but is generated by the union of the fecundat-
ing principles of the male and female organs;
the former being the fluid issuing from the pol-
len when it explodes; and the latter, the fluid
that exudes from the surface of the stigma when
mature. As applicable to the case of plants,
this theory has been stoutly defended by Koél-
reuter, who adduces in support of it a variety of
experiments instituted with a view to ascertain
the fact by means of impregnating the ovary of
one species with pollen taken from another, in
which cases the plant obtained from the seed
uniformly exhibited a combination of the charac-
ters of both species. ‘The following is a most
prominent example, being the result of his ex-
periments on nicotéana rustica and paniculata ;
the former having egg-shaped leaves, with a
short and yellow corolla approaching to green ;
and the latter having roundish or cordated leaves,
with a green corolla approaching to yellow, and
astem longer by one half. A flower of the for-
mer species was accordingly deprived of all its
stamens, and fecundated with pollen from a plant
of the same species. The plant raised from the
seed thus obtained was an hybrid, exhibiting in
all its parts an intermediate character betwixt
the two species from which it sprang. The
stamens of this hybrid, as well as of all others
he ever raised, were imperfect; but when its
pistils were impregnated with pollen from the
paniculata as hefore, the new hybrid obtained
OF VECUNDATION,

from the seeds now produced was more like a
paniculata than formerly ; and when the experi-
ment was continued through several successive
generations, it was at last converted into a per-
fect paniculata.*

This is thought to be an infallible demonstra-
tion of the truth of the doctrine of the epigen-
isists. But why may not the pollen of one spe-
cies of plant be allowed to produce some particu-
lar change upon the development of the embryo
of another species, although that embryo should
be supposed to have pre-existed in the ovary?
The action of the pollen thus introduced must
amount to something; and it is just as difficult
to conceive how an individual, whether proper
or hybrid, should be generated from the union of
the seminal principles of two plants of the same
or of a different species, as from the peculiar
effect of the pollen of the same, or of a different
species, upon an embryo already existing. But
the doctrine is yet liable to a much more serious
objection ; for if the seed is generated from the
union of two fecundating principles which form
an intermediate offspring, then female plants of
the class diecia ought occasionally to produce
seeds whose offspring shall be hermaphrodite, or
at least moneecious, which was never yet known
to happen.

Although the arguments of the epigenisists are
by no means satisfactory, yet it cannot be denied
that hybrid productions partake of the proper-
ties both of the male and female from which they
spring. This was long-ago proved to be the fact
by Bradley, and more recently confirmed by
the experiments of Mr Knight; as well as
happily converted to the advantage of the culti-
vator. Observing that farmers who rear cattle
improve the progeny by means of crossing the
breed, he presumed from analogy that the same
improvement might be introduced into vege-
tables. His principal object was that of procur-
ing new and improved varieties of the apple and
pear, to supply the place of such as had become
diseased and unproductive, by being cultivated
beyond the period which nature seems to have
assigned to their perfection, But as the neces-
sary slowness of all experiments of the kind,
with regard to the fruit in question, did not keep
pace with the ardour of his desire to obtain in-
formation on the subject, he was induced to in-
stitute some tentative experimentsuponthecom-
mon pea, a plant well suited to his purpose, both
from its quickness of growth, and from the
many varieties in form, size, and colour, which
it afforded. In 1787, a degenerate sort of pea
was growing in his garden which had not re-
covered its former vigour even when removed to
a better soil. Being thus a good subject of ex-
periment, the male organs of a dozen of its im-

 

Wildenow, p. 328,

 

85

mature blossoms were destroyed, and the female
organs left entire. When the blossoms had at-
tained their mature state, the pollen of a very
large and luxuriant gray pea was introduced into
the one half of them, but not into the other. The
pods of both grew equally; but the seeds of the
half that were unimpregnated withered away,
without having augmented beyond the size to
which they had attained before the blossoms ex-
panded. The seeds of the other half were aug-
mented and matured as in the ordinary process
of impregnation; and exhibited no perceptible
difference from those of other plants of the same
variety, perhaps, because the external covering
of the seed was furnished entirely by the female.
But when they were made to vegetate in the
succeeding spring, the effect of the experiment
was obvious. The plants rose with great lux-
uriance, indicating in theirstem, leaves, and fruit,
the influence of this artificial impregnation; the
seeds produced were of a dark gray. By im-
pregnating the flowers of this variety with the
pollen of others, the colour was again changed,
and new varieties obtained superior in every res-
pect to the original on which the experiment
was first made, and attaining, in some cases, toa
height of more than twelve feet. In these ex-
periments it was observed that the plant had a
stronger tendency to produce coloured blossoms
and seeds than white ones. For when the pol-
len of a coloured blossom was introduced into a
white one, the whole of the future seeds were
coloured. But when the pollen of a white blos-
som was introduced into a coloured one, the
whole of the future seeds were not white.

Mr Knight thinks his experiments on this
subject afford examples of superfetation, a phe-
nomenon the existence of which has been ad-
mitted amongst animals, but of which the proof
amongst vegetables is not yet quite satisfactory.
Of one species of superfetation Mr Knight had
certainly produced examples; that is, when, by
impregnating a white pea blossom with the pol-
len both of a white and gray pea, white and gray
seeds were obtained. But of the other species
of superfetation in which one seed is supposed to
be the joint issue of two males, the example is not
quite satisfactory. Such a production is perhaps
possible, and further experiments may probably
ascertain the fact; but it seems to be a matter
of mere curiosity, and not apparently connected
with any views of utility. But the utility of
the experiments, in as far as they show the
practicability of improving the species, is very
obvious. And the ameliorating effect is the same
whether by the male or female; as was ascer-
tained by impregnating the largest and most
luxuriant plants with the pollen of the most
diminutive and dwarfish, or the contrary. By
which means any number of varieties may be
obtained, according to the will of the experi-
86

menter, amongst which some will no doubt be
suited to all soils and situations. Mr Knight’s
experiments of this kind were extended also to
wheat; but not with equalsuccess. For though
some very good varieties were obtained, yet they
were found not to be permanent.

But the success of his experiments on the
apple-tree were equal to his hopes. This was
indeed his principal object, and no means of ob-
taining a successful issue were left untried. The
plants which were obtained in this case were
found to possess the good qualities of both of the
varieties employed, uniting the greatest health
and luxuriance, with the finest and best flav-
oured fruit. :

Many experiments of a similar nature were
tried on other plants also ; from which it ap-
peared that improved varieties of every fruit and
esculent plant may be obtained by means of ar-
tificial impregnation, as they were obtained in
the cases already stated. Whence Mr Knight
thinks that this promiscuous impregnation of
species has been intended by nature to take place,
and that it does in fact often take place, for the
purpose of correcting such accidental varieties as
arise from seed, and of confining them within
narrower limits. All which is thought to be coun-
tenanced from the consideration of the variety
of methods which nature employs to disperse
the pollen, whether by the elastic spring of the
anthers, the aid of the winds, or the instrumen-
tality of insects.

But although he admits the existence of vege-
table hybrids, that is, of varieties obtained from
the intermixture of different species of the same
genus, yet he does not admit the existence of
vegetable mules, that is, of varieties obtained from
the intermixture of the species of different
genera; in attempting to obtain which he could
never succeed, in spite of all his efforts. Hence
he suspects that where such varieties have been
supposed to take place, the former must have
been mistaken for the latter. It may be said,
indeed, that if the case exists in the animal
kingdom, why not in the vegetable kingdom?
to which it is perhaps difficult to give a satis-
factory reply. But from the narrow limits with-
in which this intercourse is in all cases circum-
scribed, it scarcely seems to have been the inten-
tion of nature that it should succeed even among
animals.

More recent theories. The curious observations
of Brongniart respecting the generation of plants,
have thrown quite a new light upon this subject.
When the grains of pollen are placed in contact
with the surface of the stigma, they project their
tubular appendage. The latter, when the surface
of the stigma is naked, insinuates itself more or
less deeply within the utricles of the stigma. The
granules of the pollen quickly collect near the
free extremity of the appendage, which swells

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and assumes a slight degree of opacity. The
grain of pollen then shrivels and withers. Soon
after, the extremity of the appendage opens, and
the granules of pollen are laid bare, and come
into contact with the mucilaginous substance of
which we have already spoken, and which con-
nects the utricles of the stigma. They are there
seen in the form of little masses, which succes-
sively penetrate to a greater depth in the direc-
tion of the style. When the utricles of the
stigma are covered by an epidermis, the tubular
appendage is applied to the surface of this epi-
dermis, and sticks to it by its extremity. Both
then open, and the granules of pollen come into
contact with the intercellular matter of the
stigma.

The spermatic granules, adds Brongniart, there-
fore penetrate into the intercellular intervals of
the stigma; but there they meet with no vessel
for their conveyance, as some authors have al-
leged. Link thought they were transmitted
through the walls of the cellules. Brongniart,
on the contrary, says they pass through the in-
tercellular spaces. In pepo macrocarpus, he says,
the utricular tissue which connects the stigma
and the ovules does not show globules in its
intervals previous to fecundation ; but, when the
latter has taken place, the brownish streak pro-
duced by the spermatic granules may be very
clearly traced in the yellow utricular tissue, and
the granules are seen to reach the ovules. The
spermatic granules are never contained in the
cellules, but always appear in their intervals.
This transmission appears to be effected in con-
sequence of the hygroscopic qualities of the
granules. When they have thus arrived at the
ovule, the granules of pollen penetrate, by the
opening which exists in its two membranes, as
far as the kernel, passing either directly through
the aperture, or, as Brongniart thinks, through
a delicate membranous tube, which, issuing from
the kernel, applies itself upon the placenta, and
there takes up the fecundating granules, to con-
vey them into the interior of the ovule. This
tube terminates interiorly at the point where
the embryo is to be formed, that is to say, at the
vesicle which Malpighi named the sac of the
amnios, This vesicle is, as it were, the mould
in which the embryo obtains itsform, After im-
pregnation, there are seen to form in it opaque
granules, often of a green colour, which at last
formtheembryo. The neck by which thevesicle
was attached to the sac of the kernel contracts,
breaks, and forms the radicle of the embryo.

Such is the theory of the generation of vege-
tables, as resulting from the observations of
Needham, Smith, Amici, Robert Brown, and
Brongniart. It will be seen to have a great
analogy to the same phenomenon as observed in
animals.

This explanation appcars to he in accordance
OF FECUNDATION.

with nature, in the greatest number of cases ;
but there are other circumstances in which the
phenomena of fecundation are not produced in
the same manner. In plants which are always
submersed, it is evident that the grains of pollen
do not attach themselves to the stigma and burst
uy on it ; yet fecundation takes place in them as
iv other plants. The surface of the stigma of
many plants is extremely smooth, and by no
means clammy. That of the chestnut is hard
and leathery. In these plants, the pollen cannot
adhere to the stigma. In many of the orchis
tribe, the pollen, in place of presenting a pow-
dery substance, composed of an innumerable
multitude of minute and light particles, forms
an entirely solid mass, The anther opens; the
mass of pollen retains its place, and remains
perfectly entire ; and yet fecundation is effected.
Now, in this case, the pollen has not left the
interior of the anther to be carried to the stigma,
and there pour out its fecundating fluid. By
the opening of the anther, it is merely placed in
contact with the atmospheric air, and yet the
plant is fecundated.

To account for these facts, several authors
have supposed that, in plants, fecundation may,
in some circumstances, be effected without the
direct contact of the pollen with the stigma, and
merely through the influence of a kind of eman-
ation or aura pollinaris. But this question still
remains undecided.

In the moneecious and dicecious plants, al-
though the two sexes are separated, and often
placed at a distance from each other, fecundation
is not on that account prevented from taking
place. In the case of dicecious plants, the pol-
len by which they are to be fecundated is trans-
ported often to great distances, by the air.

‘When the stamens and pistils are situated near
each other, as in the case whether of hermaphro-
dite or moncecious flowers, the elastic spring with
which the anther flies open will generally be
sufficient to disperse the pollen, so as that part
of it must infallibly reach the stigma. The fa-
cilities tending to ensure the access of the pollen
as resulting from the relative proportion, situa-
tion, and mutual sympathies of the stamens and
pistils, have been already noticed ; as well as the
possible action of winds wafting the pollen toa
distance, and hence including the case of dice-
cious plants also. But with all the above facili-
ties the impregnation of the seed would still, in
many cases, be impracticable even in hermaphro-
dite flowers, without further aid; particularly
in such asdo not perfect their stamens and
pistils at the same time. For although the
action of the wind cannot but be efficacious in
some such cases; yet it will, in some others,
naturally give to the flower a direction calculated
rather to prevent than to aid the access of the
pollen, by causing the corolla to veer round like

 

87

a vane according to the quarter from which it
may happen to blow; or the very figure of the
corolla may operate as a bar to the entrance of
the pollen, which must be surmounted by ex-
traordinary means.

What then are the means instituted by nature
for effecting the impregnation of hermaphrodites
so circumstanced? The true reply to this in-
quiry seems to have been first suggested by
Koélreuter, namely, the agency of insects; and
has been since confirmed by the more leisurely
observations of Spregnel, who found that the
pollen in the above case is very generally con-
veyed from the anther to the stigma through
the instrumentality of bees, though sometimes
through that of insects of other species. The
object of the insect is the discovery of honey,
in quest of which, whilst it roves from flower
to flower and rummages the recesses of the
corolla, it unintentionally covers its body with
pollen, which it conveys to the next flower
it visits, and brushes off as it acquired it. by
rummaging for honey ; so that part of it is almost
unavoidably deposited on the stigma, and im-
pregnation thus effected. Nor is this altogether
so much awork of random as it at first appears.
For it has been observed that even insects, which
do not upon the whole confine themselves to one
species of flower, will yet very often remain
during the whole day upon the species they
happen first to alight on in the morning. And
their agency is also completely secured, from
the necessity they are under of procuring food ;
though nature in her care for the impregnation
of the vegetable has not only lodged a honey in
the flower to tempt the taste of insects, but
seems to have furnished also the means of at-
tracting even the eye. This is thought to be
done by means of the coloured spots with which
many flowers secreting a honied fluid are marked,
as indicating the treasure that is contained in
the flower, and thus attracting the attention of
the insect. But the very figure of the flower
seems often intended to produce the same effect.
Spregnel has enumerated several hundreds of
flowers which in their figure as well as colour
resemble insects, and hence attract the notice of
the plunderers of their honied stores. The
beautiful example of the bee orchis is known to
almost every body.

Such then are the means by which the notice
of the insect is attracted ; and such also is the
structure of the internal parts of the flower,
that it must of necessity pass across the stamens
and pistils in procuring the honey it is in quest
of, which passage is often a work of considerable
difficulty, particularly when the tubular part of
the corolla is beset with hairs,as in many flowers
of the class pentandria and didynaméa. But
one of the most difficult and singular cases of ,
hermaphrodite impregnation, as aided by the
88

agency of insects, is that of the aristolochia cle-
matitis. The corolla of this flower, which is
tubular, but terminating upwards in a ligulate
limb, is inflated into a globular figure at the
base. The tubular part is internally beset with
stiff hairs pointing downwards. The globular
part contains the pistil, which consists merely
of a germen and stigma together with the sur-
rounding stamens. But the stamens being
shorter than even the germen, cannot discharge
the pollen so as to throw it upon the stigma, as
the flower stands always upright, till after im-
pregnation. And hence without some additional
and peculiar aid, the pollen must necessarily fall
down to the bottom of the flower. Now the
aid that nature has furnished in this case is that
of the agency of the tépula pennicornis, a small
insect, which, entering the tube of the corolla
in quest of honey, descends to the bottom and
rummages about till it becomes quite covered
with pollen ; but not being able to force its way
out again owing to the downward position of
the hairs, which converge to « point like the
wires of a mouse-trap, and being somewhat im-
patient of its confinement, it brushes backwards
and forwards trying every corner, till after re-
peatedly traversing the stigma it covers it with
pollen sufficient for its impregnation; in conse-
quence of which the flower soon begins to droop,
and the hairs to shrink to the side of the tube,
effecting an easy passage for the escape of the
insect.

Moncecious plants are, according to Spregnel,
mostly impregnated by insects also, excepting
such as are destitute of nectaries. But many of
them do not require that aid, in which case the
male and female flowers stand close together, as
in typha, coix, carer; the females being lowest,
and their petals being deeply or minutely lacin-
iated so as not to interrupt the pollen in its fall,
as in the genus Pinus.

The impregnation of diccious plants is often
effected by insects also, as has been already seen
in the case of the fig, and their flowers are said
to be always furnished with nectaries; the male
flowers being larger than the female flowers, that
the insect, as it has been thought, may have
the better opportunity of loading itself with
pollen.

From the fact of the agency of insects in con-
veying the pollen to the stigma, it will follow
that no plant requiring such aid can possibly
perfect its seed unless the specific insect has ac-
cess to it, or unless some such aid is given to it
by the cultivator, And hence botanists attri-
bute the imperfection of the seeds of hot-house
plants to the want of the insect by which the
species may be impregnated in its native climate,
This conjecture is countenanced by the following
experiment, as related by Willdenow :—A plant
of abroma augusta had flowered for many years

 

iISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

in a hot-house at Berlin without producing any
fruit; but when the gardener, by means of a hair
pencil, placed a little of the pollen upon the
stigma of several of the flowers, perfect fruit

was produced, from which new plants were |. .,

raised.

In dicecious plants, the palms, for example,
fecundation may be artificially effected, as we
have already stated. Linneus even maintained
that, not only may a single flower of a plant be
artificially impregnated by this method, but
that even a single cell of a multilocular ovary
may be fecundated, by placing the pollen in
contact with only one of the divisions of the
stigma. It has been proved, however, that al-
though the pollen should touch only one of the
lobes of a stigma, all the cells of the ovary are
equally fecundated. But in whatever manner
fecundation hasbeen effected, it always announces
its influence by visible appearances. The flower,
which until then was fresh, and often adorned
with the most lively tints, soon loses its beautiful
colouring, and resigns its transient splendour.
The corolla fades, the petals wither and fall off.
The stamina, having performed the functions
for which nature had called them into existence,
share the same fate. In a short time the pistil
remains alone in the centre of the flower. The
stigma and style, now become useless, also dis-
appear. The ovary alone continues, it being in
it that nature has deposited, to be there brought
to maturity, the rudiments of future genera-
tions.

The ovary, when developed, forms the fruit.
It is not uncommon to see the calyx remaining
and accompanying it, until it attains its full
maturity. It is to be remarked, that this takes
place chiefly when the calyx is monosepalous.
If the ovary is inferior or parietal, the calyx
is then necessarily persistent, as it is intimately
united to the ovary.

In the winter-cherry (physalis alkek ngi,) the
calyx remains after fecundation, becomes red,
and forms a vesicular shell, in which the fruit
is contained. In the narcissus, the apple, the
pear, in short, in all plants which have the ovary
inferior or parietal, the persistent calyx forms
the outer wall of the fruit.

Shortly after fecundation has taken place, the
ovary begins to enlarge. The ovules which it
contains, and which are at first of a watery, and
in some degree inorganic substance, gradually
acquire consistence. The part which is to con-
stitute the perfect seed, in other words, the em-
bryo, gradually assumes development. All its
organs acquire a decided form, and, in a short
time, the ovary possesses the characters neces-
sary to constitute a fruit.

We here conclude what relates to the flower
properly so called, considered in a general point
of vicw, and with reference to its constituent
THE FRUIT AND ITS ENVELOPES.

parts. Before commencing our examination of
the fruit, we have to describe an accessory organ
of the flower, which is sometimes wanting, but
which, when present, is of the greatest. impor-
tance for the arrangement of plants in natural
families. This organ is the dish.

It isdistinguished into hypogynous, periqynous,
and epiqynous. ‘

1. The hypogynous disk bears the name of po-
dogynum when it forms a fleshy body, distinct
from the receptacle, and which raises the ovary
above the bottom of the flower; as in the rue,
and the other species of the family of Rutacer.
It is named plewrogynum, when it comes off under
the ovary and rises upon one of its lateral parts;
as, for example, in the periwinkle. It is called
epipodium, when it is formed of several tubercles
which come off upon the support of the ovary.
This variety of disk is observed especially in the
plants of the family of Crucifere, as the mus-
tard, turnip, &e.

2. The perigynous disk is formed by a more
or less thick fleshy substance, spread out upon
the inner wall of the calyx, as in the cherry, the
almond, and certain species of diosma, which, in
this respect, differ from the other species of the
same genus.

58. The epigynous disk is that which is observed
upon the summit of the ovary when the latter
is inferior, that is, when it is attached by every
part of its outer surface to the tube of the calyx,
as in the umbellifere, (carrot) and rubiacee,
(gallium.)

The insertion of the stamina is distinguished
into absolute and relative. The first of these
terms applies to the position of the stamina,
without reference to the pistil. Thus we say:
stamina inserted into the corolla, the calyx, &c.
The second applies to the position of the stamina
or of the staminiferous monopetalous corolla,
with relation to the pistil. Thus we say: stamina
inserted beneath the ovary, around the ovary, or
upon the ovary.

There are thus distinguished three kinds of
insertion, which are named hypogynous, perigyn-
ous, and epigynous. The hypogynous insertion is
that in which the stamina, or the monopetalous
corolla bearing the stamina, are inserted under
the ovary ; as in the crucifere, labiate, &c. The
perigynous insertion is that in which the stamina
are inserted into the calyx, as in the rosacee,
(the wild rose.) Lastly, in the epigynous inser-
tion, which takes place whenever the ovary is
inferior, the stamina or the staminiferous mon-
opetalous corolla are inserted upon the summit
of the ovary. The umbelliferx, rubiacer, &c.,
afford examples of this kind of insertion.

The position of the disk generally determines
the insertion. Thus, whenever there is a hypo-
gynous disk, the insertion is hypogynous. It
is perigynous, when the disk is so. Lastly, it

 

89

is epigynous, whenever there is an epigynous
disk upon the summit of the ovary.

CHAP. XVI,
THE FRUIT AND ITS ENVELOPES.

In the progress of fructification, when the
several organs of the flower have discharged
their respective offices, the petals, the stamens,
the style, and often the calyx, wither and fall.
The ovary alone remains attached to the plant,
and swells and expands till it reaches maturity,
It is now denominated the fruit. But at the
period of its complete development, it also de-
taches itself from the plant and drops into the
bosom of the earth, containing and protecting
the embryo of the future vegetable. The fruit
then is the ripened ovary, and the parts which
it contains. In popular language the term is
confined chiefly to such fruits as are eatable, as
the apple, peach, cherry, or perhaps to the escu-
lent part only; but with the botanist, the matured
ovary of every flower, with the parts contained,
constitutes and is termed the fruit. —

As the fruit consists of the ripened ovary, it
follows that the situation and distribution of the
fruit must be the same with that of the flower
which has preceded it. If the flower was radical
or caulinary, so is the fruit. If it was lateral,
axillary, or terminating, so is the fruit. If it
was sessile or pedunculate, spiked or verticellate,
so also is the fruit. And for the same reason, if
the ovary was detached, the fruit must also
be detached. Or to express these modifica-
tions in language perhaps more correct, if
the flower was inferior, the fruit will be in-
ferior; if the flower was superior, the fruit will
be superior; and if the flower was intermediate,
the fruit will be intermediate. It does not fol-
‘low, however, that mere modifications of posi-
tion shall be the same, because it frequently
happens that plants of which the flower has
been drooping, the fruit is erect, as in the lily
and cowslip ; and, on the contrary, that of plants
of which the flower has been erect, the fruit is
drooping, as in wheat and barley. The figure
of the fruit assumes almost as much variety as
that of the flower, but the following are its most
frequent modifications. It is either spherical,
as in the cherry; or elliptical, as in the almond ;
or oblong, as in the coffee-berry ; or cylindrical,
as in epilobiwm; or inversely conical, as in the
pear; or inversely heart-shaped, as in veronica;
or kidney-shaped, as in anacardium; or three-
cornered, as in the tulip; or twisted, as in me-
cago satira; or jointed, as in hedysarum ; or in-
flated, as in staphylea; or winged, as in crown
imperial ; or stellate, asin the poppy. The apex

M
90

is described also as being acute, as in sago; or
obtuse, as in the filbert; or truncated, or emar-
ginate, as in thlaspi; or umbellicate, as in the
apple. The size of the fruit is also very various,
but is not always in proportion to the plant that
produces it. The oak and the ash, though among
the largest of trees, produce a fruit that is com-
paratively but very diminutive, while the gourd,
whose stem is but herbaceous and creeping,
produces a fruit of a most enormous bulk. The
largest fruits occur amongst the palms, or among
cucurbitaceous and leguminous plants. The
fruit of a palm called leontarus malderica, is often.
a foot and a half in diameter; and that of m#-
mosa scandens, often six feet in length. The
fruit in its immature state is always soft and
pulpy; but in its matured and ripened state it
is generally firm and compact, and sometimes so
very hard that it can scarcely be cut. In the
cherry it is succulent, in the strawberry pulpy,
in the apple fleshy ; in staphylea it is membran-
aceous; in the elm tree leathery, in the nut
woody. But it is very seldom of the same con-
sistence throughout. For sometimes the outer
part is soft, and the inner hard, as in the peach
and cherry ; and sometimes the outer part is hard,
and the inner soft, as in the filbert and cocoa
nut, while sometimes both parts are alike, as in
the pine apple. Some fruits are covered with
a thick rind, many with a thin cuticle only.
The cuticle may be seen in succulent berries,
and the rind or bark in the orange, lemon, and
cocoa nut. The bark is in general closely at-
tached to the interior part, but sometimes it is
remote from it, and inflated. In its exterior
surface it is generally smooth and uniform, as in
the cherry ; or cottony, as in peony ; or scaly, as
in sago; or dotted, as in the orange; or perfor-
ated with holes, as in the bread-fruit, (artocar-
pus ;) or ribbed, as in the melon; or rough, as in
gallium aparine; or set with tubercles, as in
onobrychus ; or with prickles, as in canna indica ;
or with thorns, as in trapa. It is also often
beautifully twisted. When the blossom begins
to fade, and the colour of the corolla to decay,
the beauty of the plant seems to have departed
with the departing flower. But these tints are
often more than compensated by the rich and
mellow colouring of the fruit. The ripened
tints of autumn are found to be equally pleasing
with the bloom of spring; and the colour of the
peach and apricot, the plum and the cherry, are
in nothing inferior to the hues which preceded
them. Nor are fruits ornamental only. They
evidently exhibit one of those arrangements of
nature, by which a beneficent Providence ac-
complishes two important ends by one means.
For not only do pulpy fruits and seeds afford
the necessary nourishment to the germ of the
future plant, but they also furnish important
articles of food to man and the lower animals.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Fruits are said to be single when a flower pro-
duces only one seed, or several seeds contained
in a single seed-vessel. When many seeds are
produced either detached or united, except
by one style, the fruit is said to be multiplicate.
The number of the fruit produced by one indi-
vidual flower, is not, however, always the same,
even in the same species, because all the original
ovaries are not always impregnated. If the
fruit is produced in pairs, as in umbelliferous
plants; or in threes, as in the lily; or in fours,
as in verticellate plants; or in fives, as in the
geranium ; or in an indefinite number from the
same flower, as in the rose and ranunculus; it is
then said to be conjugate, or compound. The
compound fruit is either lobed or divisible. It
is divisible if in its immature state it presents
a uniform and integral appearance, but after-
wards separates into distinct portions, as in the
pod of the pea and bean. It is lobed if the
portions into which it may separate are attached
to a common axis, as in meadow saffron, (col-
chicum.) There is also another species of com-
pound fruit, distinguished by Gertner, which is
formed by the union of two or more ovaries of
different flowers, combined into one whole, as in
caprifolius and artocarpus.

Such are the general and external modifica-
tions of the fruit considered as a whole; we now
proceed to describeits constituent parts, consisting
exteriorly of the pericarp, and interiorly of the
seed.

The pericarp is that part of a ripe and perfect
fruit formed by the walls of the fecundated
ovary, and containing one or more seeds. It
determines the form of the fruit.

The pericarp is never wanting, but it is some-
times so thin, or so intimately united to the
seed, that it can hardly be distinguished in the
ripe fruit, so that, many authors imagining it
not to exist, have said that the seeds are naked ;
as in the labiate, umbellifere, and synantheree.
Bet it is now proved that there are no naked
seeds, and that the pericarp is never wanting.
The pericarp commonly presents, on some part
of its outer surface, generally towards the
highest part, the remains of the style or stigma.
According to Richard, the pericarp is always
formed of three parts, viz. 1st, The epicarp, an
external thin membrane, or kind of epidermis,
which determines its form, and constitutes its
outer covering; 2dly, An internal membrane
which is spread over its seed-bearing cavity, and
which has received the name of endocarp ; 8dly,
Between these two membranes, a parenchyma-
tous and fleshy part, which is named sarcocarp
or mesocarp. These three parts, intimately
united, form the pericarp.

* When the ovary is inferior, that is, whenever
it is united to the tube of the calyx, the epicarp
is formed by the tube of the calyx, the paren-
THE FRUIT AND ITS ENVELOPES.

chyma of which is confounded with that of the
sarcocarp. In this case it is always easy to dis-
tinguish the beginning of the epicarp, as at its
upper part, at a variable distance from the point
of origin of the style and stigma, it presents a
more or less prominent rim, formed by the re-
mains of the limb of the calyx, which disappeared
after fecundation.

The sarcocarp or mesocarp, is the parenchy-
matous part, in which are found collected all the
vessels of the fruit. It is excessively developed
in fleshy fruits, such as peaches, apples, melons,
and pumpkins; all the fleshy part of these fruits
is formed by the sarcocarp.

The endocarp, or internal membrane of the
fruit, is that which lines its internal cavity. It
is almost always thin and membranous. Some-
times, however, it is thickened externally by a
greater or iess portion of the sarcocarp. When
this part of the sarcocarp becomes hard and
bony, it envelopes the seed, and constitutes what
is called a mt, when there is only one seed in
the fruit, and nucleus when there are several.

‘When the pericarp is dry and thin, it might
at first be thought that there is no sarcocarp.
Were this term always to imply a thick, fleshy,
and succulent part, no doubt it would very fre-
quently be wanting; but the peculiar and dis-
tinctive character of the sarcocarp consists in its
being the truly vascular body of the pericarp ;
in other words, it is formed by the vessels which
nourish the whole fruit. Now, as the pericarp
always contains vessels, the sarcocarp is never
wanting, although it is sometimes very thin
when the fruit, having attained its full maturity,
has dried. But, if the pericarp be examined
with attention, there will be seen between the
epicarp and endocarp, ruptured vessels by which
they were connected, and which are the remains
of the sarcocarp ; for, as that part is always full
of aqueous juices previous to the maturation of
the fruit, when the fluid which it contains has
evaporated, it seems at first sight to have entirely
disappeared.

The internal cavity of the pericarp, or that
which contains the seeds, may be sémpile, in
which case the pericarp is said to be wnélocular,
or one-celled ; as in the white poppy. At other
times, there are several cells or partial cavities,
whence the terms bilocular, trilocular, quinquelo-
cular, multilocular, applied to the pericarp, ac-
cording as it has two, three, five, or more, dis-
tinct cells. The cells of a pericarp are separated
from each other by vertical lamin, which take
the name of partitions or dissepiments, AU true
partitions are formed in the same manner. “The
endocarp is prolonged into the interior of the
cavity of the pericarp, in the form of two lamel-
lar processes, placed back to back, and connected
usually by a very thin prolongation of the sar-
cocarp. This is the mode of formation of all the

 

91
true partitions. Those which are differently
constructed must be considered as false.

In certain partitions, it sometimes happens
that the parenchymatous part of the sarcocarp,
which unites the two lamine of the endocarp,
dries up, when the two lamine disunite and se-
parate to some distance, so as to present the ap-
pearance of an additional number of cells. But
these spaces may easily be distinguished from
true cells, by observing that the two lamin of
the endocarp have one of their sides covered
with broken vessels. Besides their mode of
origin and formation, another distinctive charac-
ter of the true partitions is, that they always
alternate with the stigmas or their divisions.
Certain fruits, on the other hand, present false
partitions in their internal cavity. Such are
those of some crucifere, many cucurbitacee, the
poppy, &c. The false are distinguished from
the true partitions: 1st, By their not being
formed by a duplicature of the endocarp properly
so called; and, 2diy, By their generally corre-
sponding to the stigmas or the divisions of the
stigma, instead of being alternate, as the true
partitions are.

The partitions are further distinguished into
complete and incomplete. The first are those
which extend internally from the upper part of
the cavity of the pericarp to its base, without
any interruption. The incomplete partitions are
not continuous from the base to the summit, but
leave a communication between the two cells.
Strammonium, or thorn apple, presents an ex-
ample of both these kinds of partitions existing
together in the same fruit. If the fruit of that
plant be cut across, it presents four cells, and con-
sequently four partitions ; but of these partitions
two only are complete, while the other two do not

yeach the top of the internal cavity of the peri-

carp, but rising only to two-thirds of its height,
allow the two cells, which they separate below,
to communicate together at their upper part.

To be able to know and name correctly the
different parts which compose the pericarp, and
to distinguish them from those which belong to
the seed, it is of the greatest importance to esta-
blish the precise limits between these two organs.
As every seed must receive its nourishment from
the pericarp, it necessarily follows that it must
communicate with it by some part of its surface.
This point of communication has been named
the hilum or umbilicus by botanists. The hilum
is to be considered as the precise limit between
the pericarp and the seed; in other words, all
the parts which occur externally of and above
the hilum belong to the pericarp, while all those
which are situated beneath the hilum, are to be
considered as forming part of the seed.

The seeds are attached within the pericarp to
a peculiar fleshy body, varying in size and form,
to which the name of placenta or trephosperm is
92

given. The endocarp is always perforated at the
internal point of the pericarp, to which the tro-
phosperm is attached, because the sarcocarp, being
the only vascular part of the pericarp, and the
only one that can furnish the materials required
for the nutrition of the seed, it is necessary that
the endocarp should have an opening to allow a
passage to the vessels which go to that organ.

The trophosperm sometimes bears only a single
seed, but at other times supports a great number.
When its surface presents obvious prolongations,
each of which supports a seed, these prolonga-
tions are named podosperms ; as, for example, in
the pea, and bladder campion.

The trophosperm, or the podosperm, commonly
stop short around the hilum of the seed. When
they are prolonged beyond that point, so as to
cover the seed to a greater or less extent, the
prolongation takes the name of arillus.

The arillus being merely an expansion of the
trophosperm, does not belong to the seed, as it is
generally said to do, but to the pericarp.

The partitions are usually longitudinal, so as
to extend from the base to the top of the peri-
carpal cavity. In some very rare cases, as in
cassia, fistula, and a few other leguminose, they
are transverse. These partitions are further dis-
tinguished into complete and incomplete. The
origin of the false partitions is exceedingly vari-
able. Sometimes they are formed by a more
or less considerable projection of the tropho-
sperm, as in the poppy: sometimes by a pro-
longation inwards of the edges of the pericarpal
valves, &e.

The trophosperm is that part of the pericarp
to which the seeds are attached. Sometimes it
presents at its surface a greater or less number
of small projecting mammille, each supporting
a single seed, and which are named podosperms.

When a pericarp is multilocular, the tropho-
sperm generally occupies its centre, and is then
named central. In this case, it is formed hy the
meeting and union of the partitions, and in the
internal angle of each cell presents a greater or
less projection.

The aréilus belongs essentially to the pericarp,
it being merely a prolongation of the tropho-
sperm. It is therefore incorrect to consider it,
as many botanists do, as forming part of the
seed, upon which it is merely applied, without
at all adhering to it, excepting around the hilum.
Few parts of plants exhibit so many varieties in
their form and nature as the arillus. It is con-
sequently very difficult to give a strict definition
of it, which may be applicable in every case.

In the nutmeg (myristica officinalis), the arillus
forms a fleshy covering, of a light red colour,
divided into narrow and unequal shreds. This
is the part which is used in pharmacy, and is
known by the name of mace. Polygala vulgaris
has a three-lobed arillus of small size, forming a

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

kind of little crown at the base of the seed. In
the common spindle-tree (ewonymus europaeus),
and the broad-leaved species of the same genus
(ewonymus latifolius), the arillus, which is of
an orange colour, envelopes and conceals the seed
on all sides. In euonymus verrucosus, it forms
an irregular cup, which is open above.

From the small number of examples given
above, it will be scen that the arillus varies ex-
ceedingly in colour as well as in form and con-
sistence; but, as its origin is the same in all
cases, it is easily distinguished, notwithstanding
the numerous forms under which it may present
itself. Various parts have often been taken for
arilli; for example, the outer, obviously fleshy
part of the proper integument of the seed, in
the jasmine, the endocarp, as in the coffee
(coffwa arabica), the rutacee, &c. It isa gen-
eral law, to which no exception has yet been
found, that the arillus is never met with in
plants which have a monopetalous corolla, ‘The
tabernemontana might seem to form an excep-
tion; but, when better examined, its alleged
arillus is merely the outer part of the proper
integument of the seed, which is soft and fleshy.

Having examined the component parts of the
pericarp, the partitions, the cells, the tropho-
sperm and the arillus, let us return to the pericarp
considered in a general point of view.

In the pericarp, as in the ovary, there are dis-
tinguished: Ist, The dase, or the point by which
it is fixed to the receptacle or the peduncle;
2dly, The summit, which is indicated by the
place formerly occupied by the style or the
sessile stigma; 3dly, The azis. Sometimes the
axis is not merely imaginary, but has a real ex-
istence, and is named the columella. At other
times it is fictitious, or is represented by an
imaginary line, passing through the centre of
the pericarp, from its base to its summit.

The columella forms a kind of little pillar, on
which are supported the different pieces of the
fruit, and which remains at the centre of the
pericarp, when these have fallen off; as in the
euphorbie and umbellifere.

The seeds being enclosed in the pericarp, it
becomes necessary, to allow them to issue at the
period of their maturity, that the pericarp should
open in some manner. The name of dehéi-
scence is given to the action by which a pericarp
naturally opens. There are pericarps, however,
which do not open, and which are termed inde-
hiscent; as in the synantheree, labiate, gra-
miner, &c.

Among the pericarps which open naturally at
the period of maturity, there are distinguished:
Ist, The ruptile pericarps, or those which burst
into irregular pieces, of which the number and
form are very variable; 2dly, Those which open
only by holes formed at their upper part, as in
the genus antirrhinum; Sdly, Those which open
THE FRUIT AND ITS ENVELOPES.

at their summit by teeth, which are at first close
together, but which separate from each other, as
in many caryophyllee; 4thly, Those which
separate into a determinate number of distinct
pieces, which are named valves. These latter
are the truly dehiscent pericarps. The number
of valves in a pericarp may always be learned
by the number of longitudinal seams or sutures,
which are observed upon its outer surface. The
true valves are of the same number as the cells
of the pericarp. Thus a dehiscent fruit, which
is guadrilocular, has four valves. There are
some exceptions, however. The capsule of the
violet is a single cell, and opens into three valves.
Tn some fruits, each of the valves separates into
two pieces, so that the number of the former
seems double what it ought naturally to be.

A pericarp is called bivalve, when it separates
of itself into two equal and regular valves; as in
the lilac, and the speedwells. Zrivalve, when
it opens into three valves; as in the tulip, the
lily, the violet. Quadrivalve, or with four valves;
as in the genus epilobium, and the thorn-ap-
ple.  Quinguevalve, opening with five valves.
Multivalve, when it divides into a greater number
of valves or distinct segments.

The opening of the valves may take place in
different ways, agreeably to the relative position
of the valves and partitions. It may take place
at the middle of the cells, or between the parti-
tions which then correspond to the middle part
of the valves. This is observed in most of the
ericinee, At other times the opening takes
place opposite the partitions, which it usually
divides into two lamine ; as is seen in the scro-
phularinez, and rhodoracee. Lastly, the burst-
ing may take place towards the dissepiment,
which remains free and entire at the moment
when the valves separate; as in the bignonie
and calluna vulgaris. Most commonly the open-
ing takes place by longitudinal sutures. In
some cases, however, these sutures are trans-
verse, and the valves are superimposed upon
each other; examples of which are seen in the
henbane, the pimpernel, and the plantain. The
fruit may be crowned by the teeth of the calyx,
when the ovary is inferior or parietal, as in the
pomegranate, the apple, the pear. At other
times, it is surrounded by a tuft of bristly hairs
(the pappus), which is to be considered as a
true calyx. This is the case in almost all the
species of the extensive tribe of synantheree.

The pappus may be sessé/e, or applied directly
upon the summit of the ovary, without the aid
of an intervening body; as in the genera hiera-
cium, sonchus, prenanthes, fig.a. In other genera,
it is supported upon a small pivot or stalk, which
is named the stipe, and the pappus is said to be
stépitate, as in the lettuce and dandelion, &c.,
fig. 5, The hairs of which the pappus is com-
posed, may be simple, or undivided, in which

 

93

case the pappus is said to be pilose or hairy. At
other times they are feathery, or have on their

67.

 

sides other shorter and finer hairs, resembling
the barbs of a feather. The pappus is then
named plumose or feathery.

In the valerians, the pappus, which is obvi-
ously nothing but the limb of the calyx, is at
first rolled up within the flower, and appears in
the form of a small circular rim at the upper part
of the ovary; but, some time after feeundation,
it is seen to stretch out, elongate, and form a
true feathery pappus.

The pericarp also not unfrequently presents
membranous appendages in the form of wings ;
as in the elm and maple. According to the
number of these appendages, it is named dépter-
ous, tripterous, tetrapterous, &c. Sometimes
it is covered with long, stiff hairs, as in ontarus ;
or is stuck over with spines, as in the horse-
chestnut and thorn-apple.

As every fruit is composed of two parts, the
pericarp and the seed, we have first to distinguish
these two parts from each other. We know that
the seed is always contained within the pericarp.
If we cut a peach in two, we shall find its centre
occupied by a cavity or-cell, containing a single
seed, rarely two. The seed once distinguished,
all that is placed externally of it, according to
Richard, belongs to the pericarp, and he thus
enumerates its different parts. In the first
place, we find, at the outside of the whole, a
thin, coloured pellicle, covered with a very short
down, which is easily removed. This pellicle is
theepicarp. The internal cavity of the pericarp
is lined by a smooth membrane, intimately
united to, and confounded with, the hard part
which forms the nut or shell. This membrane
is the endocarp. All the thick, fleshy, spungy
part, contained between the endocarp and the
epicarp, forms the sarcocarp. But to which of
these three parts belongs the bony shell which
we observe within? Is it, as was long supposed,
a proper integument of the seed, a thick and
woody endocarp, or is it part of the sarcocarp?
These questions can easily be solved by examin-
ing how this hard part is formed. Ii we take
a young peach, long before it is ripe, and cut it
through, we find no resistance, there being as
yet no solid shell in it. At this period, the
94

three parts of the pericarp are extremely distinct
from each other, and the exdocarp is here evi-
dently under the form of a mere membrane ap-
plied upon the internal surface of the sarcocarp.
But, shortly after, we see the part of the sarco-
carp nearest this inner membrane gradually be-
coming whiter and denser, and passing through
all the intermediate stages, before acquiring the
bony solidity which it presents at the period of
maturity. Now, in this case, although this
portion of the sarcocarp is intimately united and
confounded with the endocarp, it cannot by any
means be referred to the latter, but belongs to
the sarcocarp, as it is really formed by it. The
shell, or the bony part which is found at the centre
of the peach, is therefore formed by the endocarp,
to which is joined an ossified portion of the sar-
cocarp. What we have here said of the peach
is equally applicable to the apricot, the prune,
the cherry, and thealmond. Such are Richard’s
views of the pericarp, but other botanists are
still disposed to consider the shell of such seeds
as distinct from the soft enveloping pulp.

If we now take the fruit of the common pea
and analyze it, we find it to be elongated and
compressed so as to present two short edges,
along which run two longitudinal sutures. This
circumstance shows that, when ripe, it will open
in two segments or valves. It is, therefore, a
bivalve pericarp. On cutting it Jongitudinally,
we find only a single internal cavity, containing
from eight to ten seeds. Thus it is wnilocular
and polyspermous. The seeds are all fixed, along
the upper suture, to a small thick margin, run-
ning along the suture, and giving off a distinct
prolongation to each seed. All that occurs ex-
ternally of the seed forms part of the pericarp.
At the outer surface is a thin membrane, which
adheres closely to the adjacent part: it is the
epicarp. The internal cavity is lined by another
membrane, not quite so closely adhering: it is
the endocarp. The fleshy, green, and vascular
part, which is observed between these two mem-
branes, although of no great thickness, is the
sarcocarp. The small longitudinal prominence
which runs along the suture, and to which the
seeds are attached, is the trophosperm. Each
little prolongation connecting a seed with that
body is a podosperm,

We thus see that the pericarp is the part of
the fruit which forms the walls of the simple or
multiple cavity in which the seeds are contained :
that it is always composed of three parts: 1s¢,
The evicarp, or membrane by which it is covered
externally ; 2dly, The endocarp, or internal par-
ietal membrane lining its internal cavity ; 3dly,
A more or less thick and fleshy part, which,
however, is sometimes thin, and not easily per-
ceived, but always vascular, and which is named
the sarcocarp or mesocarp ; and that the pericarp
is often divided internally by partitions into a

 

IHISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

greater or less number of cells, when it is called
bilocular, trilocular, quadrilocular, multilocular,
&e. The point of the cavity of the pericarp
to which the seeds are attached presents a fleshy
prominence, of variable size, coming off from
the sarcocarp, which has received the name of
trophosperm. The podosperm, again, is the little
process of the trophosperm which supports the
seed. When the ¢rophosperm or the podosperm
cover the seed, so as to embrace it over a con-
siderable extent, the peculiar prolongation by
which this is effected bears the name of ardilus.

Fruits, considered in a general point of view,
have been divided in various ways, and have re-
ceived particular names. Thus, the name of
simple fruit has been given to that which pro-
ceeds from a single pistil, contained in a flower;
of which kind is the peach, the cherry, &. A
multiple fruit, on the contrary, is that proceed-
ing from several pistils contained in the same
flower: for example, the rasp, the strawberry,
the fruit of the genera ranunculus, clematis, &c.
Lastly, the name of compound fruit is given to
that which results from a greater or less num-
ber of pistils placed close together, and ofvea
united, but all coming from distinct flowers sit-
uated very near each other; as in the mulberry.

According to the nature of their pericarp,
fruits are distinguished into dry and fleshy. Dry
fruits are those whose pericarp is thin, or formed
of a substance generally containing little juice,
Fleshy fruits, on the contrary, have a thick and
succulent pericarp, and their sarcocarp in parti-
cular is very large. Of this kind are melons
peaches, apricots, &c. Fruits may remain en-
tirely closed in all parts, or may open into a
determinate number of pieces named valves.
From these circumstances, they are distinguished
into dehiscent and indehiscent. The latter, when
they are dry, are also named capsular fruits.
According to the number of seeds which they
contain, they are divided into oligospermous and
polyspermous. Oligospermous fruits are those
which contain only a small number of seeds,
which, in most cases, is precisely determined :
whence the epithets monospermous, dispermous,
trispermous, tetraspermous, pentespermous, &c.,
applied to the fruit, to denote that the numbei
of its seeds is one, two, three, four, five, &e.
Polyspermous fruits are all those which contain
numerous seeds, the precise number of which it
is unnecessary to determine.

The form and structure of the pericarp, being
so various in different plants, botanists have
found it extremely difficult to arrange them
under any systematic classification; the following
distinguishing forms, however, can be always
recognized : the capsule, the pome, the berry,
the nut, the drupe, the silique, the legume, and
the cone.

The capsule is a dry and membranaceous peri
THE FRUIT AND [TS ENVELOPES,

carp, separating for theinost part, when ripe, into
valves, or at least opening in some definite and
determinate manner ; it is seen in the snow drop,
bell flower, and poppy. It is one valved, as in
primula, two valved as in cercoa, many valved
as in owalis, or without valves, as in the ash. In
the lily the valves are vertical, in anagallis they
are transverse, in meadow saffron they are intro-
flected. Itis one celled as in the violet, two
celled in veronica, three celled in the iris, or
many celJed as in the andromeda. In convol-
volus, the partitions are central, in the poppy
they are marginal and incomplete, in the tulip
they are perpendicular to the valves, and in the
water lily they bear the seed. In the irés, the
opening is longitudinal, in hydiciamus it is
horizontal, in silene it is at the apex, in phy-
tuna at the side, and the triglochin at the base.
In some cases the varieties of form and struc-
ture which the capsule assumes, are so striking
or peculiar ag to have been thought worthy of
being designated by proper names, as the utricle,
samara, bag, and coceus. The wtricle is a small
and bladder-like capsule, without valves, consist-
ing of one cell, and one seed, as seen in the cle-
matis and cheropodium, In gallium it is light,
closely investing the seed; in adonis and thalic-
trum, it is loose. In amaranthus it bursts hori-
zontally in the middle, and in cheropodium it is
so tender as to be easily rubbed off with the finger.

The samara is a compressed and leathery cap-
sule, of one or two cells, but without valves,
terminating in a membranaceous wing or border,
and falling off entire with the contained seed by
which it is irregularly burst open in the process
of germination, as in the ash, elm, and maple.

The bag is an elongated and leathery capsule,
consisting of one valve and one cell, and opening
longitudinally on the one side. It is sometimes
single, but more frequently double, with the
seeds loose or attached to a proper receptacle,
which is generally the edge of the seam by which
it opens, as is seen in the genus vinca or pwoma.

The coccus is a dry and elastic capsule, of two
or more lobes joined together, each forming a
cell, and containing a seed, but separating, when
vipe, from the axis, and bursting longitudinally
into two valves united at the base. It is two
celled,as in mercwrialis,three celled in euphorbia,
many celled as in pwracrepitans, the valves of
which latter, it is said, when fully ripe and dry,
frequently burst open with a sudden and violent
jerk, so as to produce an explosion a the re-
port of a pistol.

The pome is a pulpy or
fleshy pericarp, without
valves, but inclosing a
capsule. It is exempli-
fied in the familiar case
of the apple, from the
Latin appellation from

 

 

95

which it has taken itsname. It is generally
of a globular or oval figure, as in most varieties
of the apple, but sometimes it is inversely coni-
eal, as in the pear. At the apex it is marked
with a small cavity, surrounded by the re-
mains of the calyx, which is persistent, or in
the language of other botanists, adherent; this
cavity is the wmbilicus, or eye of the fruit; at
the base there is often also a small cavity formed
by the expansion of the pome, around the in-
sertion of the foot stalk, which has not received
any particular name; in the pear, the pome
tapers down gradually to the point of insertion,
and renders the cavity less distinct. The en-
closed capsule is a thin and membranaceous sub-
stance, consisting, for the most part, of five dis-
tinct cells.

The berry is a soft and
pulpy pericarp, contain-
ing one or more seeds, but .
not separating into regu-
lar valves, nor enclosing
acapsule. It isexempli-
fied in the common goose-
berry, currant, and straw-
berry. It is not, however,
always strictly succulent,
for in the ivy it is of a

 

Strawberry.
dry and mealy nature, and in ¢rientalis, it is

covered with a sort of brittle crust. ‘he same
may be said of the gourd, melon, and cucumber,
together with the lemon, and orange, which
though regarded by botanists as being varieties
of the berry, are yet covered with a thick coat
or rind, which is not pulpy. The seed vessel of
cucurbitaceous plants is even distinguished by
the peculiar name of peps, and characterized by
having its seeds situated remote from the axis,
and inserted into the sides of the fruit ; the fig-
ure of the berry is for the most part globular,
as in vaccinium, but in the strawberry it is
oval. In daphne, it is one seeded, in asparagus
it is generally two seeded, in the ivy three
seeded, in nymphwa many seeded. Sometimes
the seeds are irregularly dispersed in the pulp,
as in nymphea; sometimes they are attached to
a common receptacle, as in solanum,; and occasion-
ally the cells are separated by regular partitions,
asin the lemon. In the foregoing examples the
berry is said to be simple when it consists of
only one ovary, but sometimes it is compound
when several ovaries are inserted into one mass,
as in the bramble and bread fruit. In this case,
each ovary contains a seed, and the individual
ovaries are also farther designated by the pecu-
liar appellation of acini. 1t should be observed,
however, that the berry of the bramble is com-
posed of the united ovaries, of only a single
flower; while that of the bread fruit is com-
posed of the united ovaries of many flowers.
Several other fruits, though not corresponding
96

exactly to the above definition or exceptions,
are regarded, however, by botanists as being also
varieties of the berry, such particularly as those
of the juniper and yew tree. In the former the
seales of the fertile catkin, which ultimately be-
come succulent, unite also together and form a
globular fruit, resembling a berry so much as to
have obtained the name. In the latter, the
calyx or receptacle, as it is generally believed to
he, which is at first a thin and scaly like sub-
stance, of a whitish or greenish complexion,
embracing merely the base of the ovary, expands
and enlarges into a thick and pulpy envelope, of
a bell shaped figure, and of a most beautiful red,
investing the whole of the ovary except the
mouth or open extremity, and giving the fruit
the appearance of a berry, as it is generally
called, though, strictly speaking, it is more pro-
perly a nut than a berry.

The nut shell is a pericarp
of a hard woody texture,
though sometimes of the
consistence of leather; it
rarely opens spontaneously,
or if it does so, it divides
into two valves only. The
acorn and filbert are ex-
amples of the hard nut; the
chestnut of the soft leathery.
In the genus echiwm, the pericarp is crustace-
ous, and in myosotés as hard as flint. The figure
of the nut shell is generally spherical or oval,
sometimes it is angular. The acorn is a
single celled fruit, and one seeded, in conse-
quence of the constant abortion of several ovules.
It proceeds from an inferior many celled and
many seeded ovary, of which the pericarp is in-
timately attached to the seed, and always pre-
sents at its summit the very minute teeth of the
limb of the calyx, and is in part contained in a
kind of scaly or leafy involucre, named the cup.
In trapa it is two celled, and in the chestnut
six celled, but the partitions are not perceptible
in the mature state of the fruit. The contained
seed or nut is generally denominated the nuc-
leus, and is extricated for the most part, by
means of a fissure, effected in the process of ger-
mination, or by the gradual decay of a part.
But in the walnut the shell opens spontaneously
into two valves, and in the filbert, in which it does
not perhaps open spontaneously, the valves seem
at least to be marked out by a sort of superficial
line, and are easily divided with the assistance
of aknife. In lycopsis it opens by a hole or
fissure at the base, and in ¢rapa by a hole at the
apex. Sometimes it is naked, as in lycopsis;
while in other cases it is coated or covered with
a membranous envelope, either wholly or in
part, as in the acorn and walnut.

The drupe is a soft and pulpy pericarp, with-
out valves, but inclosing a nut. It may be

 

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ol. exemplified in what is gen-
erally called stone fruit, as in
the cherry, the peach, the apri-
cot. It is generally round, as
in the cherry; or elliptical, as
in the apricot. In the genus
helesia it is winged. Its sub-
stance is succulent, as in the
plum; or fibrous, as in the
cocoa-nut; or dry and leath-
ery, as in the almond, spar-

 

Cherry. 3 2
ganium and gaura, which last are nearly alliea

to nuts. It opens for the most part merely
by accident or decay, but in the peach, and
perhaps a few others, it opens spontaneously,
The shell of the drupe is generally very hard,

whence the term stone fruit. But in some cases
it is soft and tender, as in styrax callaphylium in
some it is leathery, as in hyphen ; and in some
woody, as in cerbera. It does not, perhaps, in any
case open spontaneously, and yet there are some
shells in which the traces of valves may be dis-
cerned, as in that of elwocarpus; or in which a
division may easily be effected, by means of the
knife, as in prunus. Incomplete valves indeed
are sometimes found at the top of the shell, as
in nitraria and gaura, so as to make it resemble
a toothed capsule; and in a few genera there is
an opening formed by means of a hole or pore
at the top, as in cocoa-nut. The figure of the
shell is very often elliptical or egg-shaped, but
compressed, assuming, however, a great variety
of modification, sufficient,in most cases, to deter-
mine species. Its surface is never quite smooth,
but often rough, and irregularly furrowed, as in
the peach; in order, perhaps, that it might the
more closely unite with the exterior part of the
fruit. Sometimes the shell is separable into
several different divisions, each forming an en-
closed cavity, and containing a seed. In this
case each division assumes the appellation of a
pyrena, and the fruit is said to be deperenous,
treperenous, or polyperenous, according to the
number of divisions into which it separates,
The partitions, however, as in the compound
nut, are effaced in the matured fruit.

 

The sélique or pod is a dry and elongated
pericarp, consisting of two valves with two op-
THE FRUIT AND ITS ENVELOPES.

posite seams, to which the seeds are alternately
attached. It is said to be siliculous, if the trans-
verse and longitudinal diameters are equal or
nearly so, as in thlaspi, fig. a; and siliquose, if the
longitudinal diameter exceeds the transverse, so
as to give to the pod the oblong figure, as in
cheiranthus, fig. b. In brassica the pod is cylindri-
cal, in crysiumum it is four cornered, in lepidium it
is elliptical, and in thlaspi it is inversely heart-
shaped. The surface of the pod is generally
smooth or pubescent, but in raphanus and sin-
apis, it is covered with protuberances. Though
the valves are generally two, yet the pod of the
genus bunias is wholly without valves. In
dentaria the valves open with a sudden jerk,
and in cardamin, after opening, they roll back
spirally. Sometimes the partitions are parallel
to the valves, as in draba, and sometimes they
are contrary, as in subularica, but always longi-
tudinal. The cells of the silique are generally
two in number, as in cheiranthus, but some-
times the valves are without partitions, and
the pods consequently are celled, as in the genus
isatis.

The leguine is a dry and
elongated pericarp, con-
sisting of two valves with
two opposite seams, to the
one of which only the
seeds are attached, as ex-
emplified in the pea and
bean. It consists, for the
most part, of one cell only,
as in cathyrus; but some-
times it consists of two
cells as in astragalus, and
sometimes of many, as in lotus. It is one seeded,
as in trifolium procumbens; two seeded, as in
trifolium fragiferum; or many seeded, as in pisum.
Its figure is oblong, as in wlex; or cylindrical, as
in orobus; or compressed, as in hippocrassi,; or
rhomboidal, as in ononis ; or gibbous, as in astrag-
alus ; or spiral, as in medicago ; or inversely heart~
shaped, as in polygala. The substance of the
legume, when ripe, is membranaceous, as in med-
icago; or leathery, asin vicia ; orfirmand woody,
as in mimosa; sometimes the surface is smooth,
at others rough. Such is the general charac-
ter of the legume; but there is also a peculiar
variety of it, which, though externally forming
longitudinal sutures, to one of which only the
seeds are attached, does not yet open longitud-
inally by means of two general valves, but trans-
versely, by means of joints; each joint forming a
cell that contains one seed, which is finally ex-
tricated by the opening of the individual joint
when detached. This variety of the legume is
regarded by Wildenow as constituting a dis-
tinct species of pericarp, designated by the name
of commentum. But it isa distinction to which
it seerns scarcely entitled.

 

 

$7

The strobile or cone is a
hard and woody pericarp,
consisting of the general
receptacle and indurated
seales of the catkin; in
some cases, however, as in
the larch, the scales are
rather leathery than woody,
and in others, as the com-
mon fir, (pinus sylvestris,)
they are beset with tuber-
cles. Under each scale

64.

 

Fir cone.
there is lodged one or more seeds or nuts, in
which the seeds are contained. The figure ot
the strobile is generally conical, or cylindrical,
as in most species of pines, but sometimes also it

is spherical, as in the cedar. In themature state
of the fruit, the scales which are now closely
imbricated, cover the seeds or nuts so completely
as to assume the appearance of forming only one
compact whole, and thus the strobile hangs upon
the tree during the whole of the winter season,
protecting the inclosed seeds, but the heats of
the succeeding summer have no sooner arrived,
than the scales, formerly close and compact, be-
gin to shrink and separate, detaching themselves
from one another by the whole of their ccon-
nected surface, and thus forming a passage for
the discharge of the seeds.

When a fruit has attained its full maturity, it
opens, the different parts of which it is composed
separate, and the seeds which it contains burst
the bands that, until now, kept them confined
in the cavity in which they were developed.
This action, by which the seeds are naturally
dispersed over the surface of the ground, at the
period when they are ripe, is called dissemina-
tion.

In the wild or natural state of plants, the
dissemination of the seeds is the most powerful
agent in the reproduction of species. In fact,
were the seeds contained in a fruit not to issue
in order to be dispersed over the earth and there:
be developed, species would cease to be repro-
duced, and entire races would disappear; and,
as all plants have a determinate duration, a period
would necessarily arrive when all would have
ceased to live, and when vegetation would have
for ever disappeared from the surface of the
globe. The commencement of dissemination
indicates the termination of life in annual plants,
for, before it can take place, it is necessary that
the fruit should have attained maturity, and
that it should have become in some degree dried,
but still this phenomenon does not take place, in
annual herbaceous plants, until the period when
vegetation has entirely ceased. In woody plants,
dissemination always takes place during the
period of rest into which they enter when their
liber has become exhausted, and is no longer able
to give rise to leaves or organs of fructification.

N
98

The fecundity of plants, in other words, the
astonishing number of germs or sceds which they
Produce, is one of the causes which are most
powerful in facilitating their reproduction, and
in effecting their surprising multiplication. A
single capsule of the white poppy has been
known to contain 8000 seeds, and a single cap-
sule gf the vanilla, from 10 to 1500; a single
stalk of zca mays will produce 2000 seeds; a
single plant of énule helenium, or elicampane,
3000; and a single spike of typha major, or
greater cat’s tail, 10,000; asingle plant of tohacco
has been found, by calculation, to produce the
almost incredible number of 860,000; and a
single stalk of spleen-wort has been thought by
estimation to produce at least a million of seeds.
Let one imagine the regularly increasing pro-
gression of this number, merely to the tenth
generation of these plants, and he will hardly
conceive how the whole surface of the earth
should not be covered by them. But many
causes tend to neutralize, in part, the effects of
this astonishing fecundity, which, by its very
excess, would soon prove injurious to the repro-
duction of plants. In fact, all the seeds are not
placed by nature in circumstances favourable to
their development. Besides, numerous animals,
and man himself, deriving their principal nutri-
ment from fruits and seeds, destroy incalculable
quantities of them. Various circumstances fay-
our the natural dispersion of seeds. Some of
these result from the structure of the pericarp,
and others depend upon the seeds themselves.
Thus, there are pericarps which open naturally
with a kind of elasticity, by means of which the
seeds contained by them are projected to greater
or less distances. The fruits of hura crepitans,
dionea muscipula, the fraxinella, and balsamine,
separate their valves rapidly, and by a kind of
spring, -project. their seeds by this means to
some distance. The fruit of echallium elateriiun,
when ripe, separates from the peduncle which
supported it, and projects its seeds with surpris-
ing rapidity through the cicatrix of its point of
attachment.

The seeds of oats, when ripe, are projected from
the calyx with such violence, that in a fine and
dry day, in passing through a ripe field, they
may be heard as then thrown out with a sudden
snap. The pericarp of the dorsiferous ferus is
turnished with a sort of peculiar elastic ring, in-
tended, as it would appear, for the very purpose
of projecting the seeds. The capsule of the
cucumber, geranium geum, and fraxinella, dis-
charge their seeds also when ripe, with an elastic
jerk. But the pericarp of émpatiens, which con-
sists of one cell, with five valves, exhibits, per-
haps, one of the best examples of this°“mode of
dispersion. If it is accidentally touched when
ripe, it will immediately burst open, while the
valves coiling themselves up in a spiral form,

 

 

IISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and springing from the stem, discharge tl.e con-
tained seeds, and scatter them all around, The
bursting of the pericarp of some species of pines
is also worthy of notice. The cone remains in
the tree till the summer succeeding that on
which it was produced, the scales being still
closed. But when the hot weather has com-
menced, and continued for some time, so as to
dry the cone thoroughly, the scales open of their
own accord with a sudden jerk, ejecting the con-
tained seeds, and if a number of them happens to
burst together, which is often the case, the noise
is such as to be heard at some considerable dis-
tance. The twisted arm of avena fatua, or wild
oat, as well as that particularly of geranium
cicutarium, and some others, seems to have been
intended for the purpose of aiding the further
dispersion of the seed after being discharged from
the plant or pericarp. This spiral arm, or spring,
which is beset with a multitude of fine and
minute hairs, possesses the property of contract-
ing by means of drought, and of expanding by
means of moisture. Hence, it remains of neces-
sity in a perpetual state of contraction or dilata-
tion, dependent upon change of weather, from
which as well as from the additional aid of the
fine hairs which act as so many fulcra, and
cling to whatever object they meet, the seed to
which it is attached is kept in continual motion
till it either germinates or is destroyed. The
arm of barley, which is beset with a number of
minute teeth all pointing to its upper extremity,
presents also similar motions. For when the
seed with its arm falls from the ear, and lies flat
upon the ground, it is necessarily extended in
its dimensions by the moisture of the night, and
contracted by the drought of the day. But as
the teeth prevent it from receding in the direc-
tion of the point, it is consequently made to
advance in the direction of the base of the seed,
which is thus often carried to the distance ot
many feet from the stalk on which it grows. If
any one is sceptical with regard to this motion,
let him introduce an ear of barley with the seed
uppermost between his coat and shirt sleeve, at
the wrist, when he walks out in the morning,
and by the time he has returned, he will find it
has mounted to his arm pit. This journey has
been effected by means of the continued motion
of the arm, and consequently of the teeth of the
arm acting as feet to carry it forward. It is
obvious, however, that the modes of dispersion
now stated, can never carry the seed to any great
distance, but where distance of dispersion is re-
quired, nature is always furnished with a re-
source, Qne of the most common modes by
which seeds are conveyed to a distance from
their place of growth, is that of the instrumen-
tality of animals. Many seeds are thus trans-
ported merely by their attaching themselves to
the bodies of such animals as may happen
THE FRUIT AND ITS ENVELOPES.

accidentally to come in contact with the plant
in their search after food. The hooks or hairs
with which one part or other of the fructifica-
tion is often furnished, serving as the medium
of attachment, and the seed being thus carried
about with the animal till it is again detached
by some accidental cause, and at last committed
to the soil. This is exemplified in the case of
bidens and mysotis, in which the hooks or
prickles are attached to the seed itself ; or in the
case of galium aparini, and others, in which they
are attached to the pericarp, or in the case of
the thistle and burdock, in which they are
attached to the general calyx. Many seeds are
dispersed by animals in consequence of their
pericarps being used as an article of food. This
is often the case with the seeds of the drupe, as
cherries, sloes, and haws, all which birds often
carry away till they meet with some convenient
place for devouring the pulpy pericarp, and
then drop the stem into the soil, And so also
fruit is dispersed that has been hoarded up for
the winter, though even with the view of feed-
ing on the seed itself, as in the case of nuts
collected by squirrels, which hoards are often
dispersed by some other animal. Sometimes the
hoard is deposited in the ground itself, in which
case part of it is generally found to take root
and spring up into plants. But it has been ob-
served that the ground squirrel often deprives
the kernel of its germ before it deposits the fruit
it collects, which it has been supposed to do
from some peculiar instinct, as the means of pre-
venting the germination of the seed. It has
been suggested, however, that the preference
thus given to the embryo arises, perhaps, from
its possessing some specific flavour peculiarly
agreeable to the animal’s taste, and this is, per-
haps, the true solution of the question. Crows
have been also observed to lay up acorns and
other seeds in the holes of fence posts, which
being either forgot or accidentally thrust out, fall
ultimately into the earth and germinate.

But sometimes the seed is even taken into the
stomach of the animal, and afterwards deposited
in the soil, having passed through it unhurt.
This .is often the case with the seed of many
species of berry, such as the misletoe, which the
thrush swallows, and afterwards deposits upon
the boughs of such trees as it may happen to
alight upon. The seeds of the coranthus Ameri-
canus, and other perennial plants, are said to be
deposited in like manner on the branches of the
cocoloba grandiflora, and other lofty trees; as
also the seeds of phytolacea decandria, the berries
of which are eaten by the robin, thrush, and
wild pigeon. And so also the seeds of currants
or roans are sometimes deposited after having
been swallowed by blackbirds, or other birds, as
may be seen by observing a currant bush or
young roan tree, growing out of the cleft of an-

 

99

other tree, where the seed has been left, and
where there may happen to have been a little
dust collected by way of soil, or where a natural
graft may have been effected by the insinuation of
the radicle into some chink or cleft. It seems
indeed surprising that any seeds should be able
to resist the heat and digestive action of the
stomach of animals; but it is undoubtedly the fact.
Some seeds seem even to require it. The seeds
of magnolia glauca, which have been brought to
this country, are said to have generally refused
to vegetate till after undergoing this process, and
it is known that some seeds will bear a still
greater degiee of heat without any injury. Spal-
lanzani mentions some seeds that germinated
after having been boiled in water, and Du Hamel
gives an account of some others that germinated
even after having been exposed to a degree of
heat equal to 285° of Fahrenheit. In addition
to the instrumentality of animals in the disper-
sion of the seed, may be also added the labours
of man, who for purposes of utility, or of orna-
ment, not only transfers to his native soil seeds
indigenous to the most distant regions, but sows
and cultivates them with care.

The agency of wind, too, is a powerful means
of the dispersion of seeds. Some are fitted for
this mode of dispersion from their extreme
minuteness, such as those of the mosses, lichens,
and fungi, which float invisibly in the air, and
vegetate wherever they happen to meet with a
suitable soil. Others are fitted for it by means
of an attached wing, as in the case of the fir tree,
and liriodendron tulipiferum, so that the seed, in
falling from the cone or capsule, is immediately
caught by the wind, and carried to a distance.
Others are peculiarly fitted for it, by means of
their being furnished with an agrette or down,
as in the case of the dandelion, goat’s beard, and
thistle, as well as most plants of the class syn-
genesia; the down of which is so large and
light in proportion to the seed it supports, that
it is wafted in the most gentle breeze, and is
often seen floating through the atmosphere in
great abundance at the time the seed is ripe.
Others are fitted for this mode of dispersion by
means of the structure of their pericarp, which
is also wafted along with them, as in the case of
staphylea trifolia, the inflated capsule of which
seems as if obviously intended thus to aid the
dispersion of the contained seed, by its exposing
to the wind a large and distended surface with
but little weight. And so also in the case of the
maple, elm, and ash, the capsules of which are
furnished, like some seeds, with a membranous
wing, which, when they separate from the plant,
the wind immediately lays hold off and drives
before it.

A further means adopted by nature for the
dispersion of the seeds of vegetables, is that. of
the instrumentality of streams, rivers, and cur-
100

rents of the ocean. The mountain stream or
torrent washes down to the valley the seeds which
inay accidentally fall into it, or which it may
happen to sweep from its banks when it suddenly
overflows them. The broad and majestic river
winding along the extensive plain, and traversing
the continents of the world, conveys to the dis-
tance of many hundred miles, seeds that may
have vegetated at its source. Thus the southern
shores of the Baltic are visited by seeds which
grew in the interior of Germany, and the west-
em shores of the Atlantic by seeds that have
been generated in the interior of America, Even
fruits indigenous to America and: the West
Indies, have sometimes been found to be swept
along by the currents of the ocean to the
western shores of Europe. The fruit of mimosa
scandens, dolichos pruriens, genlendena bonduic,
and anacardium occidentale, or cashew nut, have
been thus known to be driven across the Atlan-
tic, to a distance of upwards of 2000 miles; and
though the fruits now adduced as examples are
not such as could vegetate on the coast on which
they were thrown, owing to soil and climate,
yet it is to be believed that fruits may have been
often thus transported to climates or countries
favourable to their vegetation.

Mr Darwin thus describes the flora in Keeling
islands, some of those recently formed out of the
coral reefs of the Pacific. “The cocoa-nut tree,
at the first glance, seems to compose the whole
wood; there are, however, five or six other kinds.
One of them grows to avery large size; but
from the extreme softness of its wood, is useless:
another sort affords exccllent timber for ship
building. Besides the trees, the number of
plants is exceedingly limited, and consists of
insignificant weeds. The collection amounts to
twenty species, without reckoning a moss, lichen,
and fungus. To this number two trees must be
added, one of which was not in flower, and the
other I only heard of. The latter is a solitary
tree of its kind in the whole group, and grows
near the beach, where, without doubt, the one
seed was thrown up by the waves. I do not
include in the above list the sugar-cane, ban-
nana, some other vegetables, fruit trees and im-
ported grasses. As these islands consist entirely
of coral, and at one time, probably, existed as a
mere water-washed reef, all the productions
now living here must have been transported by
the waves of the sea. In accordance with this,
the flora has quite the character of a refuge for
the destitute. Professor Henslow informs us, that
of the twenty species nineteen belong to different
genera, and these often to no less than sixteen
orders. Seeds and plants from Sumatra and Java,
have been driven up by the surf on the windward
side of the other islands. Among these have
been found the kimiri, a native of Sumatra
and the peninsula of Malacca; the cocoa-nut

 

IUISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

of Balci, known by its shape and size; the dadap,
which is planted by the Malays with the pepper
vine, the latter intwining round its trunk, and
supporting itself by the prickles of its stems;
the soap tree, the castor oil plant, trunks of the
sago palm, and various kinds of seeds unknown
to the Malays who settled on the islands. These
are all supposed to be driven on shore by the
north west monsoon, from the coast of New Hol-
land, and thence to these islands by the south-east
trade wind. Sago, masses of Java teak, and
yellow wood, have also been found, besides im-
mense trees of red and white cedar, and the blue
gum wood of New Holland, in a perfectly
sound condition. All the hardy seeds, such as
creepers, retain their germinating power; but
the softer kinds, among which is the magnolia,
are destroyed in the passage. Fishing canoes,
apparently from Java, have at times been washed
on shore. It is interesting thus to discover how
numerous the seeds are, which, coming from
several countries, are drifted over the wide ocean.
Perhaps all the plants I brought from this island
are littoral species, on the Indian islands; from
the direction, however, of the winds and currents,
it seems scarcely possible that they could have
come here ina direct line ; it has been suggested
that they may have been first carried to the
coast of New Holland, and drifted back again,
together with the productions of that country,
In this way the seeds, before germinating, must
have travelled a distance of 1800, or 2400 miles.
Chamesso, when describing the Radack Ar-
chipelago, situated in the central part of the
western Pacific, states that ‘the sea brings to
these islands the seeds and fruits of many trees,
most of which have not yet grown here ; the
greater part of these seeds appear to have not
yet lost the capability of growing.’ It is also
said that trunks of northern firs are washed on
shore, which must have been floated from an
immense distance.”

Uses of fruits and sceds. The fruits, and es-
pecially the seeds of many plants, contain ali-
mentary substances possessed of the most nutri-
tious qualities, and frequently medicines of the
greatest power. The family of Graminew, in-
cluding the grains and grasses, is unquestionably
one of those from which man procures the most
abundant supplies of food, and herbivorous ani-
mals their most usual pasture. All the civilized
nations of Europe, and of the other parts of the
world, make use of bread, which is prepared
from the farinaceous endosperm of the wheat,
the barley, and many other graminee, For this
reason alone, had it no other claims upon our
notice, this natural family of plants is one of
the most interesting in the vegetable kingdom.

The pericarps of many fruits furnish food as
agreeable as useful. Every one knows the eco-
nomical uses to which many fleshy fruits, such
OF THE SEED AND GERMINATION.

as peaches, apples, melons, strawberties, goose-
berries, currants, &c., are applied. The pericarp
of the olive yields the purest and most esteemed
oil. Wine, so useful to man, when used’ in
moderate quantity, is prepared of the juice ob-
tained by pressure from the fruits of the vine,
by submitting it to fermentation. Several other
fruits, such as apples, pears, rowans, &c., afford
fermented liquors, which supply provinces and
entire nations with their ordinary drink.

In the interior of several pericarps of the
family of Leguminose, there is found an acidu-
lous or sweetish, but sometimes nauseating sub-
stance, which possesses laxative properties; as is
observed in the cassia, the tamarind, the follicles
of the senna. Dates, figs, jujubes, and dried
raisins are alimentary substances which are re-
markable for the great quantity of saccharine
principle which they contain. The fruits of
the lemon and orange-trees contain citric acid
nearly in a pure state. The small berries of the
buckthorn (rhamnus catharticus) are highly
purgative.

Seeds are not less rich in nutritious principles
than pericarps. Those of the cereal plants or
graminee, and of many leguminose, contain a
large quantity of starch, which renders them
highly nutritive. The seeds of the common
flax, the quince, and the psyllium, also contain
a very abundant mucilaginous principle, which
renders them essentially emollient. Many seeds
are distinguished by possessing a highly aromatic
stimulant principle. Such are those of the anise,
the fennel, the coriander, and the caraway, which
are named carminative seeds. Others, again,
produce a refrigerant or sedative effect upon the
animaleconomy; such as those of thecalabash, the
cucumber, the melon, and the water-melon. The
carminative seeds all belong to the family of
umbellifere ; the refrigerant to the cucurbita-
cee. The roasted seeds of the coffee and cocoa,
are used by all civilized nations. From the seeds
of the almond, walnut, beech, ricinus, hemp,
and poppy, an abundant oil is obtained, which
possesses properties modified in each of these
plants by its being mixed with other substances.
The seeds of Bixa orellana are used for dying
reddish brown.

—_——

CHAP. XVII.
OF THE SEED AND GERMINATION.

We have seen that the fruit is essentially
composed of two parts, the pericarp aod the
seed.

The seed is that part of a perfect fruit which
is found in the internal cavity of the pericarp,
and which contains the body that is destined to

 

101

reproduce a new individual. There are no naked
seeds, strictly so called: in other words, none
which are not covered by a pericarp. But this
latter organ is sometimes so thin, or adheres so
closely to the seed, that it cannot easily be dis-
tinguished at the period when the fruit is ripe,
on account of their being intimately attached to
each other, and confounded, although the two
parts were perfectly distinct in the ovary after
feeundation. Hence it is absolutely necessary
to examine the structure of the ovary with at-
tention, in order to understand the structure
which the fruit is to have. ;

Thus in the grasses and synantherer, the
pericarp is very thin and intimately adherent to
the seed, from which it is very difficult to dis-
tinguish it. Thisis equally the case in many
umbellifere, and other plants; whereas if we
examine them in the ovary, these two parts are
very distinct from each other.

Every seed comes from a fecundated ovule.
Its essential character consists of its containing
an organized body, which, on being placed in
favourable circumstances, is developed and con-
verted into an individual perfectly similar to
that from which it derived its origin. This body
is the embryo, which is therefore the essential
part of the seed.

The seed is formed of two parts: Ist, The
episperm, or proper integument; 2dly, The ker-
nel contained within the episperm.

The part of the seed by which it is
attached to the pericarp, is named the
umbilicus or hilum, represented fig. a,
/ in the common wheat. It is also

familiarly Iknown as the eye of the com-

mon bean. The hilum is always mark-

ed, on the proper integument, by a

kind of cicatrix or scar of greater or less

extent 4, which never occupies more than

a part of its surface, and by means of
which the vessels of the srophauperm communi-
cate with those of the proper integument of the
seed. The centre of the hilum always repre-
sents the base of the seed. Its semmit is indi-
cated by the point diametrically opposite to the
hilum.

When a seed is compressed, the surface which
looks to the axis of the pericarp is the face, and
that which is directed towards the wall of the
pericarp is named the back. The margin or edge
of the seed is represented by the meeting of the
face and back.

When the Ai/um is situated on some part of
the edge of the seed, the latter is said to he com-
pressed. It is depressed, when the hilum is
placed on its face or back.

Every seed connected by its extremity with
the bottom of the pericarp, or of one of its cells,
when it is multilocular, and following the same
direction in a more or less decided inanner, is

 

 
102

named erect, as in all the synantheree. On the
contrary, it is said to be reversed when it is at-
tached in the same manner to the summit of the
cell of the pericarp; as in the dipsacew. In these
two cases, the trophosperm occupies the base or
the summit of the cell.

The episperm, skin or pro- 66.
per integument of the seed, . a
is almost always single.
Sometimes, however, when
it is pretty thick, and slight-
ly fleshy in its interior, its @
inner wall becomes detached
and separates, so that it seems »
to be composed of two coats,
an outer, thicker, sometimes
hard and solid one, to which
Geertner has given the name :

é . a, the episperm; 6,
of testa, and an inner one of 4,,’embryo, consisting,
less thickness, which is named when developed, of -,
the tegmen. This disposition oe gf. thergem-
i a x 3 € é, the cotyle-
is very distinctly seen in the dons or lobes.
seed of ricinus communis; but these two mem-
branes are not more distinct from each other
than the three parts which compose the peri-
carp.

The Azlum is always situated upon the epi-
sperm. It varies in its appearance and extent.
Sometimes it has the form of a hardly percep-
tible dot. At other times, it is very large, as in
the horse-chestnut, in which its whitish colour
renders it easily distinguishable from the rest of
the episperm, which is dark-brown.

Towards the central part of the hilum, some-
times on one of its sides, there is observed a very
small aperture, through which the nutritious
vessels pass from the trophosperm into the tissue
of the episperm. When the bundle of vessels is
continued some time before it ramifies, it forms
a prominent line, to which the name raphe has
been given. The internal point at which this
ends is named the internal chalaza or wmbilicus.
The raphe is often not easily perceptible at the
outside, and only discoverable by the aid of dis-
section, as in many euphorbiaceew ; while, at
other times, it is prominently and easily seen,
as in the genus eéérws, in which it extends from
one end of the episperm to the other.

In many seeds there is observed near the
hilum, often on the side next the stigma, a per-
forated organ, which Turpin has designated by
the name of mécropyle. Some authors are of
opinion that the fecundating fluid makes its way
to the young embryo through the aperture in
this organ.

Mr Brown considers it as the base of the seed.
The radicle of the embryo always corresponds
exactly to it. Previous to fecundation, the
ovule is composed of two membranes and a ker-
nel. The outer membrane, or festa, has, some-
times near the hilum, sometimes at a greater or

  
 

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

less distance from it, a small punctiform aper-
ture, which had been noticed by some of the
older observers, and to which M. Turpin gave
the name of micropyle. This aperture has no
direct communication with the walls of the
ovary. According to Mr Brown, it indicates the
true base of the ovule; and the point which is
opposite to it, its summit. The nutritious ves-
sels of the pericarp, which arrive at the ovule
through the hilum, creep in the substance of the
testa until near its summit, where they form a
kind of expansion communicating with the in-
ner membrane, and which is named the chalaza,
This inner membrane has a direction the reverse
of that of the outer, being inserted by a broadish
base upon the summit of the latter, the only
point at which the two membranes communi-
cate with each other. The summit of the inner
membrane is also perforated with a small aper-
ture, exactly corresponding to that in the base
of the testa, The kernel contained within the
two integuments of the ovule is a cellular body,
having always the same direction as the internal
membrane, or, in other words, is inserted at its
base, or the point opposite to its perforated sum-
mit. It consists of two parts, an outer, thick
and cellular part, the chorion of Malpighi; and
an internal part, forming a kind of small cellular
sac, often filled at first with a mucilaginous fluid.
This inner part is the ammnios, and its fluid the
liquor amnii. It is in the internal sac that the
embryo begins to make its appearance. Its ra-
dicle always corresponds to the summit of the
kernel, or to the aperture or base of the outer
integument of the ovule. The endosperm, which
often accompanies the embryo, may be formed
by the sac of the amnios, or by the chorion, the
amnios being absorbed, or by both organs at
once.

There is sometimes observed, at a greater or
less distance from the hilum of some seeds, a kind
of inflated body, as in the date, the asparagus
and commelina. During germination this body
separates, and allows the embryo to pass.

The episperm is in general merely applied
upon the kernel, from which it is easily separ-
ated ; but, in some cases, it adheres so intimately
that it can be removed only by scraping it off.
It never has cells or partitions in its interior, its
cavity being always simple, although, in some
rare cases, it may contain several embryos.

The kernel is all that part of a ripe and per-
fect seed which is contained in the cavity of the
episperm. It has no vascular communication
with the episperm, unless when the two organs
are intimately united, in which case it is diffi-
cult to determine whether they may not have
some communication of this kind. The entire
kernel may be formed by the embryo, as in the
kidney-bean, the lentil, &c. In other words,
the embryo exclusively fills the whole internal
OF THE SEED AND GERMINATION,

cavity of the episperm. At other times, the
kernel contains, together with the embryo, an-
other body, which is named the endosperm; as
in ricinus communis, the wheat, &c.

The structure of these two organs is so differ-
ent, that they are easily distinguished at first
sight. The embryo is an organized body, which
is destined to become enlarged and developed by
germination. The endosperm, on the contrary,
is a mass of cellular tissue, sometimes hard and
horny, at other times soft and fleshy, which,
after germination, shrivels and generally dimin-
ishes in size, instead of enlarging. Thus, then,
germination will remove all doubt as to the na-
ture of the two bodies contained within the epi-
sperm, when it may not have been satisfactorily
determined by analysis and dissection.

The endosperm is that part of the kernel which
forms, around or on the side of the embryo, an
accessory body, which has no continuity of ves-
sels or of tissue with it. It is generally formed
of vascular tissue, in the meshes of which is con-
tained starch, or a thick mucilage.

This substance affords nutriment to the young
embryo. Before germination, it is entirely in-
soluble in water ; but at the first period of vege-
table life it changes its nature, becomes soluble,
and contributes to the nutrition and develop-
ment of the embryo. It is always easy to sep-
arate the endosperm from the embryo, as they
do not in the least cohere. Its colour is gener-
ally white, or whitish, though green in the
misletoe and the substance of which it is formed
varies greatly. Thus it is dry and farinace-
ows, in many gramines, as wheat, oats, barley.
Coriaceous, and, as it were, cartilaginous, inmany
umbellifere. Oleagenous and fleshy, or thick and
greasy to the touch, as in ricinus communis,
and many other euphorbiacee. Horny, tena-
cious, hard, and elastic, asin the coffee and many
other rubiacee, most of the palms, &c. Thin
and membraneous; as in many labiate, &c.

The embryo is the already organized body, ex-
isting in a perfect seed after fecundation, and
which constitutes the compound rudiment of a
new plant. When placed in favourable cireum-
stances, it is converted, by the act of germination,
into a plant perfectly similar, in every respect,
to that from which it derived its origin. When
the embryo exists by itself in the seed, that is,
when it is immediately covered by the episperm
or proper integument, it is said to be epespermic,
as in the kidney-bean. When, on the contrary,
it is accompanied by an endosperm, it takes the
name of endospermic, as in the graminee, ricinus
communis.

The embryo being a plant already formed, all
the parts which it is one day to develope already
exist in it, but only in the rudimentary state.
It is essentially composed of four parts: 1. The

 

103

radicular body; 2. The cotyledonary body; 8.
The gemmule; 4. The caulicle.

1. The radicular body or radicle, constitutes
one of the extremities of the embryo. When
germination takes place, it gives rise to the root,
or forms it by its development.

In the embryo in the state of rest, that is, be-
fore germination, the radicular extremity is al-
ways simple and undivided. When it begins to
be developed, it often sends off several small
knobs, which constitute so many radicular fila-
ments; asin the graminee. If, in some cases,
it is difficult, before germination, to distinguish
the radicle, it becomes easy to do so when the
embryo begins to grow. ‘Thus, the radicular
body always tends towards the centre of the
earth, whatever impediments may be put in its
way, and changes into a root, while the other
parts of the embryo take an opposite direction.
In a certain number of plants, the radicular
body itself elongates, and changes into a root, in
consequence of the development which germina-
tion induces in it. This is what is observed in
many dicotyledones.

When the radicle is external and exposed, the
plants are named exorhizous. Of this kind are
the labiate, crucifere, boraginer, synantheree,
&c., and the greater number of dicotyledonous
plants.

In other plants, again, the radicle is covered
and entirely concealed by a particular envelope
which bursts at the period of germination, to
allow it to escape. This body has received the
name of coleorhiza. In this case the radicle ig
internal or coleorhizous, and the plants which
present this disposition are named endorhizous.
To this division belong most of the true mono-
cotyledones, such as the palms, the graminee,
liliacer, &c.

Lastly, in some less frequent cases, the radicle
is incorporated with the endosperm. Plants in
which this organization is observed, are named
synorhizous. Of this kind are the pines, firs, and
other conifere, the cycader, &c. All the known
phanerogamous or flowering plants belong to these
three great classes.

The cotyledonary body may be simple and per-
fectly undivided. In this case, it is formed by
a single cotyledon, and the embryo is named mone-
cotyledonous; as in the wheat, the barley, the
oat, the lily. At other times, it is formed of
two bodies united base to base, which are named
cotyledons, and the embryo is then said to be
dicotyledonous, as in the bean, ash, elm. All
plants whose embryo has a single cotyledon
are named monocotyledonous. All those which
have two cotyledons are called dicotyledonous.

Sometimes there are more than two cotyledons
in the same embryo. Thus there are three in
cupressus pendula; four in pinus tnops, and
ceratophyllum demersum; five in pinus laricio:
104

six in tavodinm distichum; eight in pinus stro-
bus; and lastly, ten and even twelve in pinus
pinea.

It is thus seen that the number of cotyledons
is not the same in all plants, and that the divi-
sion into monocotyledons and dicotyledons, if
strictly observed, is incapable of including all
known vegetables. Besides, it not unfrequently
happens, that the two cotyledons unite and ad-
here together, so that, at first sight, it is difficult
to say whether an embryo is monocotyledonous
or dicotyledonous, as, for example, in the horse-
chestnut,

The cotyledons appear to be destined by nature
to favour the development of the young plant,
by supplying it with the first materials of its
nutrition. Tor this purpose, the cotyledons are
almost always very thick and fleshy, in plants
which have no endosperm, whereas they are thin,
and as it were leafy, in those which are furnished
with that organ. These differences may easily
be seen on comparing the thickness of the cotyle-
dons in the kidney-bean and the ricinus com-
munis.

At the period of germination, the cotyledons
sometimes remain concealed under ground, with-
out appearing at the surface. In this case, they
bear the name of hypogeal cotyledons, as in the
horse-chestnut. At other times they emerge

 

a a, cotyledons, forming seminal leaves; , the gemmule ex-
panded into primordial leaves; c, the radicle.

from the ground, in consequence of the elonga-
tion of the neck, which separates them from the
radicle. In this case, they are named epigeal,
ag in the kidney-bean and most of the dicotyle-
dones. When the two cotyledons are epigeal,
or rise above the ground, they form the two
seminal leaves.

The gemmule is the simple or compound body
which arises between the cotyledons, or in the
very cavity of the cotyledon when the embryo
has only one. It was formerly called the plu-
mule. As this organ, in most cases, bears no

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

similarity to a feather which it was thus supposed
to resemble, but, on the other hand, always
forms the first bud (gemma) of the young
plant which is about to be developed, the name
gemmule is more suitable. The gemmule is the
rudiment of all the parts which are to be devel-
oped in the open air. It is formed of several
small leaves variously folded upon themselves,
which, being developed by germination, become
the primordial leaves. Sometimes it is free, and
to be seen at the exterior, previous to germina-
tion. At other times, on the contrary, it becomes
apparent only when germination has commenced.
Lastly, in some rare cases, it is concealed under
a kind of envelope which is named coleoptile.
This envelope of the radicle is, in most cases, to
be considered only as a thin cotyledon, covering
the gemmule in the manner of a sheath.

The caulicle. This organ is not always very
obvious. It is confounded, on the one hand,
with the base of the cotyledonary body, and on
the other with the radicle, of which it is a kind
of prolongation. It is by the growth which the
caulicle acquires during germination, that the
cotyledons, in some plants, are raised out of the
ground.

As the monocotyledonous embryo and the
dicotyledonous embryo differ greatly from each
other, in the number, form, and arrangement of
the parts which enter into their composition, we
shall give a separate account of the characters
peculiar to each.

The dicotyledonous embryo, or that which has
two distinct lobes, presents the following char-
acters: Its radicle is cylindrical or conical, naked,
and projecting. It elongates at germination, and
becomes the true root of the plant. Its two
cotyledons are attached at the same height upon
the caulicle; they have, in many cases, a thick-
ness proportionate to the thinness of the endo-
sperm, or its total absence. The gemmule is
contained between the two cotyledons, which
cover it, and, in a great degree, conceal it. The
caulicle is more or less developed.

Such are the characters common to the dico-
tyledonous embryos in general. Some of them,
however, present anomalies which might at first
seem to remove them from this class. Thus the
two cotyledons are sometimes so intimately
united, as to look like a single one; as in the
horse-chestnut, and usually in the chestnut.
But it will be remarked that this union is merely
accidental, for in some cases it does not take
place. Besides, every embryo, the base of the
cotyledonary body of which is entirely cleft, or
divided into two, although it should itself appear
simple and undivided at its summit, is to be con-
sidered as truly dicotyledonous.

The monocotyledonous embryo is that which,
previous to germination, is perfectly undivided,
and has no cleft or incision. If. in most cases,
OF THE SEED AND GERMINATION.

it is easy enough to distinguish, in the dicotyle-
donous embryo, the different parts of which it
is composed, it is not always so in the monoco-
tyledonous embryo, in which all its parts are
often so united and confounded, as to form a
single mass, in which germination alone enables
us to distinguish any thing. For this reason,
the organization of the embryo of the monoco-
tyledons is much less perfectly known than
that of plants that have two cotyledons. In the
monocotyledonous embryo, the radicular body
occupies one of its extremities. It is more or
less rounded, often has very little prominence,
and forms a kind of indistinct papilla. At other
times, on the contrary, it is extremely broad and
flat, and forms the greatest part of the mass of
the embryo, as in most of the graminee.

The radicle is contained in a coleorhiza, which
it bursts at the period of germination. It is not
always simple, as in the dicotyledones, but is
commonly formed of several radicular filaments,
which sometimes separately perforate the cole-
orhiza which contains them, as in the graminee.

The cotyledonary body is simple, and presents
no incision or cleft. Its forin is extremely vari-
able, and always lateral, with respect to the total
mass of the embryo. Most commonly the gem-
mule is contained in the interior of the cotyledon,
which envelopes it on all sides, and forms round
it a kind of coleoptile. It is composed of small
leaves enclosing each other. The outermost
usually forms a kind of sheath closed on all
sides, which embraces and covers the rest. The
caulicle does not generally exist, or is intimately
confounded with the cotyledon or the radicle.

Such is the more usual organization of the
monocotyledonous embryos; but, in many cir-
cumstances, there occur modifications peculiar
to certain plants. Thus, for example, the family
of the graminee presents some peculiarities in
the structure of the embryo. It is composed of
two parts: the first a thick fleshy body, applied
upon the endosperm; the second, the dlastus,
which is the one to be developed.

The term germination is applied to the series
of phenomena through which a seed passes, when
having arrived at a state of maturity, and being
placed in favourable circumstances, it swells,
bursts its envelopes, and tends to develope the
embryo which it contains. Before a seed can
germinate, there must be a concurrence of cir-
cumstances favourable and essential to this pro-
cess.

The seed must be in a state of maturity, must
have been fecundated, must contain an embryo
perfect in all its parts, and must not be too old,
otherwise it may have lost its faculty of germina-
tion. There are seeds, however, which retain
their germinating powers for a great number of
years, especially those belonging to the family
of leguminose. Thus, kidney~beans have ger-

 

105

minated after having been kept for sixty years;
and some seeds of the sensitive-plant are said to
have perfectly germinated about a hundred
years after they were gathered. But, before
seeds that have been long kept can germinate,
they must have been defended against the con-
tact of air, light, and moisture,

The external agents which are essential to
germination are water, heat, and air.

Water, as we have already seen, is indispen-
sably necessary for producing vegetation and the
phenomena of nutrition in plants. It is not
merely as an alimentary substance that it acts in
this case; its solvent faculty, and.its fluidity,
qualify it to become a menstruum and a vehicle
to the substances which afford nutriment to the
vegetable. In germination, its action is precisely
the same. It penetrates into the substance of
the seed, softens its envelopes, causes the embryo
to swell, and produces changes in the nature of
the endosperm or cotyledons, which often render
them fitted for supplying the young plant with
the first materials of its nutrition. It moreover
conveys the gaseous or solid substances which
are to furnish aliment to the plant which is
beginning to grow. It also contributes to the
development of the plant by means of the de-
composition which it undergoes; its disunited
elements combine with carbon, and give rise to
the various principles found in plants.

The quantity of water, however, must not be
too great, otherwise the seeds would undergo a
kind of maceration, which would destroy their
germinative faculty, and prevent their develop-
ment. We here speak of the seeds of land
plants, for those of aquatic vegetables germinate
when entirely immersed in water. Some of the
latter, however, although of such there is but a
very small number, ascend to the surface to ger-
minate there in the open air, being incapable of
receiving development under water. It is there-
fore obvious, that water has two modes of ac-
tion in germination. It softens the envelope of
the seed, and renders it more easy for the embryo
to burst it; and affords a solvent and a vehicle
to the substances which form the aliment of the
young plant.

Heat is not less essential to germination. For
it exercises x very decided influence upon all
the phenomena of vegetation. If a seed be put
in a place, the temperature of which is under
zero, it exhibits no germinative action, but re-
mains inactive, and, as it were, torpid; whereas
a gentle and regular heat greatly accelerates ger-
mination. The heat, however, must not exceed
certain limits; for, if it does, instead of favour-
ing the development of the germs, it will dry
them up and destroy their vital principle. Thus
a heat of from 45° to 50° of the centigrade ther-
mometer prevents germination, while a heat not
higher from 25° to 30°, especialiy if accompanied

°
106

by a certain degree of humidity, accelerates the
evolution of the different parts of the embryo.

Air is as useful to plants, in contributing to
their germination and growth, as it is necessary
to animals for respiration and the general func-
tions of life. Were a seed totally withdrawn
from contact with air, it would undergo no process
of development. Homberg, however, says he
got some seeds to germinate in the vacuum of
an air-pump ; but although the experiment has
frequently been repeated, the same results have
never been obtained. It is, therefore, certain
that air is indispensably necessary for germina-
tion. Saussure, whose testimony is of such
weight in the experimental part of vegetable
physiology, is of opinion that Homberg’s ex-
periments cannot in the least invalidate this
truth, and that the conclusions which he has
drawn from them must be considered as imper-
fect, and possessed of little accuracy. Seeds
buried too deeply in the ground, and thus with-
drawn from the action of atmospheric air, have
often remained for a very long time without ex-
hibiting any sign of life; but when, by some
cause, they have been brought nearer the surface
of the ground, so as to come into contact with the
ambient air, their germination has been effected.

As air is not a simple body, but is formed of
oxygen and azote, it has been a subject of spec-
ulation whether both gases, or only one, are in-
fluential in the phenomena of germination.

The action of air upon plants, at this first
period of their development, presents the same
circumstances as in the respiration of animals.
It is the oxygen of air that, in the act of re-
spiration, is the principal agent in giving the
blood the qualities which are to render it fitted
for the development of all the organs; and the
same oxygen aids and facilitates the germination
of plants. Seeds placed in azotic gas or carbonic
acid gas are unable to germinate, and quickly
perish. We know that animals placed in similar
circumstances cease to respire, and die. But it
is not in a pure and separate state that oxygen
produces so favourable an effect upon the evolu-
tion of the germs. In this state it accelerates
germination at first, but soon puts a stop to it by
the too great activity which it communicates,
Accordingly, seeds, plants and animals, are unable
to germinate, respire or live, in pure oxygen
gas. Another substance must be mixed with it
to moderate its activity, before it can be rendered
fit for respiration and vegetation. It has been
found that a mixture of nitrogen or azote ren-
ders it better qualified to perform this office, and
that the best proportions for the mixture are
one part of oxygen to three parts of azote or
nitrogen.

The oxygen absorbed during germination
combines with the excess of carbon which the
young plant contains, and forms carbonic acid,

 

TIISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

which is expelled. By this new combination,
the principles of the endosperm being no longer
the same, the fecula of which it is composed,
and which was insoluble before germination,
becomes soluble, and is often partly absorbed,
to afford the first materials of nutrition to the
embryo.

Certain substances appear to have a decided
influence in accelerating the germination of
plants, as we learn from the experiments of
Humboldt. That illustrious naturalist, towhom
almost every department of human knowledge is
indebted for some improvement, and many valua-
blesuggestions, has shown that the seeds of thecul-
tivated cress, when placed in asolution of chlorine,
germinate in fiveorsix hours; whereas, if placed in
pure water, they would require thirty-six hours
to attain the same state. Certain exotic seeds,
which had resisted every method that had been
tried to make them germinate, became perfectly
developed in a solution of the same substance.
He further observed, that all substances which
readily yield a part of their oxygen to water,
such as many metallic oxides, nitric and sul-
phuric acids sufficiently diluted, accelerated the
evolution of seeds, but at the same time pro-
duced the effect which we have remarked as re-
sulting from pure oxygen, that of exhausting
the young embryo, and quickly destroying its
vitality.

Although seeds are usually placed in earth, to
germinate there, this circumstance is not abso-
lutely necessary for their development, as we
every day see seeds growing very well, and
with great rapidity, in fine sponges, or other
bodies which are kept soaked with water. But
let it not be imagined that earth is entirely use-
less or unnecessary for vegetation ; for the plant
extracts from it, by its roots, substances which,
after converting them into nutritious elements,
it is enabled to assimilate.

Light, so far from accelerating the develop-
ment of the organs of the embryo, retards it in
an evident manner. In fact, seeds always ger-
minate much more rapidly in darkness than
when exposed to the light of the sun. All seeds
do not take the same time in beginning to ger-
minate. Thus some seeds germinate in a very
short period: the cress in two days; spinach,
turnips, and kidney-beans in three days; the
lettuce in four; melons and gourds in five ; most
of the graminee in a week; byssop at the end
of a month; others remain for a very long period
without showing signs of germination; some,
and chiefly those which have the episperm very
hard, or are surrounded by a woody endocarp,
germinate only at the end of a year; while the
seeds of the hazel, the rose, the cornel, and others,
are not developed until two years after they are
placed in the ground.

The first visible effect of germination is the
OF THE SEED AND GERMINATION,

swelling of the seed, and the softening of the
envelopes which cover it. These envelopes burst
at a period which varies in different plants. The
bursting of the episperm sometimes takes place
in a manner quite irregular, as in the kidney-
bean and common bean; while, at other times,
it takes place with a uniformity and regularity
which are presented by all the individuals of
the same species. The latter circumstance is
chiefly observed in seeds which are furnished
with an embryotegium,a kind of operculum or lid,
which separates from the episperm to allow the
embryo to pass; as, for example, in the Virginian
spiderwort, Commelina communis, Phoenix dac-
tylifera, and several other monocotyledonous
plants. The embryo takes the name of plantule,
or young plant, as soon as it begins to be deve-
loped. There are then distinguished in it two
extremities, which always grow in opposite di-
rections. One of these extremities, which is
formed by the gemmule, tends upwards to the
region of air and light, and is named the as-
cending caudex. The other, which passes deeper
into the earth, and thus follows a direction the
reverse of the first, bears the name of descending
caudex, It is formed by the radicular body.
In most cases, it is the descending caudex or the
radicle, that first experiences the effects of ger-
mination.

During this time, the gemmule does not re-
main inert and stationary. From being at first
concealed between the cotyledons, it rises up-
wards, elongates, and proceeds in the direction
of the surface of the ground, when it has been
covered with earth. When the ascending caudex
begins to be developed beneath the point of inser-
tion of the cotyledons, it raises them, and carries
them out of the ground. Cotyledons which ex-
hibit this phenomenon, are then named epigeal.*
They enlarge, sometimes even become thinner,
assume a foliaceous appearance, and are then
named seminal leaves. When, on the contrary,
the ascending caudex commences above the co-
tyledons, the latter remain concealed in the
ground, and, in place of acquiring any increase
of size, diminish, wither, and at length disappear
entirely. They are then named hypogeal coty-
ledons +. When the gemmule has reached the
open air, the leaflets of which it is composed are
unrolled, spread out, and presently acquire all
the characters of leaves, the functions of which
they speedily perform.

The use of the episperm, or proper covering
of the seed, is to prevent the water, or other
substances in which a seed germinates, from
acting too directly upon the matter of which

 

* From jas, upon, above, and ya, earth ;—rising
above the surface of the ground.

+ From 679, under, and y, earth;--remaining
under ground.

 

107

the embryo is composed. It performs, in some
measure, the office of a sieve, through which only
the finest earthy molecules can pass. Du Hamel,
remarked that seeds, from which their proper
integument is stripped, seldom germinate, or
produce slender and deformed plants.

The endosperm, which is not always present,
is nothing more than the residuum of the water
contained in the cavity of the ovule, where the
embryo was developed. This fluid, which Mal-
pighi compared to the liquor amnii, when it has
not been entirely absorbed during the formation
and growth of the embryo, gradually acquires
consistence, thickens, and at length forms a solid
mass, in which the embryo is enclosed, or upon
the surface of which it is merely applied. This
mass is the endosperm. This is the reason why
that body has always an inorganic aspect. Some-
times all the fluid ccntained in ‘the interior of
the ovule, and which has not been employed in
nourishing the embryo, does not harden, part of
it remaining fluid, as isexemplified in the cocoa-
nut, which contains within its kernel a greater
or less quantity of a kind of mild emulsion of
a white colour, known by the name cocoa-milk.

The origin and first uses of the endosperm
show of themselves the uses to which nature
has intended it to be applied in germination, to
supply the young plant with its first aliment.
The changes which it then undergoes in its
chemical composition and the nature of its ele-
ments, render it perfectly fit for this use. In
some plants, however, the endosperm is so hard
and compact, that it requires a long period to
soften and be reduced to a more or less fluid
substance, which can be absorbed by the embryo.
But this phenomenon always takes place. If
an embryo be deprived of, or separated from,
the endosperm which accompanies it, it becomes
incapable of being developed. It is therefore
evident, that the endosperm is intimately con-
nected with its growth.

The cotyledons, in many cases, appear to per-
form functions similar to those of the endo-
sperm. For this reason, the celebrated naturalist
Bonnet called them vegetable mamme. If the
two cotyledons be removed from an embryo, it
fades, and ceases to receive any further develop-
ment. If only one be removed, it may still
vegetate, but only in a feeble and languishing
manner, like a sickly and mutilated object. It
is a very remarkable fact, that a dicotyledonous
embryo, that of the kidney-bean, for example,
may be split and separated into two lateral parts,
without detriment; for, if each part contain a
perfectly entire cotyledon, it will germinate as
well as an entire embryo, and give rise to as
strong and vigorous a plant.

The great difference of structure between the
monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous embryos,
has a remarkable influence upon their peculiar
108

mode of germination. In the dicotyledonous
embryo, the radicle is generally conical and pro-
tuberant; the caulicle is cylindrical; and the
gemmule is naked and concealed between the
bases of the two cotyledons, which are placed
face to face, and are directly applied upon each
other. Thus, in the kidney bean, the entire
mass of the seed becomes first impregnated with

a,

 

a, the radicle; b, the gemmule; ¢ c¢, the cotyledons; d, the
eaulicle.

humidity and swells. The episperm becomes
torn in an irregular manner. Presently, the
radicle, which formed a small conical prominence,
begins to elongate, penctrates into the ground,
and gives rise to small lateral ramifications of
extreme delicacy. Soon after, the gemmule,
which, until now, has remained concealed be-
tween the two cotyledons, rises upwards, and be-
comes apparent at the exterior. ‘The caulicle
elongates, and raises the cotyledons out of the
ground, while the radicle proceeds farther into
it and ramifies there. The two cotyledons then
separate, and the gemmule is entirely free and
uncovered ; the leaflets of which it is composed
spread out, enlarge, become green, and already
begin to extract from the atmosphere a portion
of the fluids which are to be employed in effect-
ing the growth of the young plant. Germina-
tion is now ended, and the second period of the
life of the plant commences.

Some dicotyledonous plants have a peculiar
mode of germination. Thus, for example, we
very often find embryos that have already ger-
minated, in the interior of certain fruits, which
are entirely closed all round. This is not un-
frequently seen in the fruits of the lemon tree,
in which it is pot rare to {md several seeds al-
ready in a germinating state. In the mangrove
tree which inhabits salt marshes, and shores of
the sea in the equinoxial regions, the embryo
begins to be developed, while the sced is still
contained in the pericarp. The radicle presses
against the pericarp, which it wears, and at
length perforates, and elongates at the outside,
sometimes more than a foot. The embryo then

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

becomes detached, and, leaving the cotyledonary
body in the seed, falls off, the radicle first, sinks
into the mud, and there continues to grow. In
the horse-chestnut, the common chestnut, and
some other dicotyledonous plants, the two coty-
ledons, which are very large and thick, are, in
most cases, directly united. In these, the radicle,
as it sinks into the ground, elongates the base
of the two cotyledons, and thus disengages the
gemmule, which shows itself above ground; but
the two cotyledons are not raised by the gem-
mule, they remain below.

Monocotyledonous embryos generally undergo
fewer changes, during germination, than those
of dicotyledonous plants; which is caused by
the uniformity of their internal structure. As
in the dicotyledones, the radicular extremity is
that which is first developed. It elongates, and
its coleorhiza bursts to allow a passage to the
radicular tubercle, which enlarges, and passes
downwards into the ground. Several smaller
roots usually spring from the lateral and inferior
parts of the caulicle. When they have acquired
a certain development, the principal radicle is
destroyed, and disappears. Accordingly, mono-
cotyledonous plants never have a tapering root
like the dicotyledonous.

The cotyledon which contains the gemmule,
always enlarges more or less before it is perfor-
ated by that organ, which generally issues at the
lateral part of the cotyledon, scarccly ever at
the summit. When the gemmule has perforated
the cotyledon, the latter changes into a kind of
sheath which embraces the gemmule at its base.
It is to this sheath that the name of coleoptile
has been given. Cut 69. fig. a 4, represents the
germination of a grain of com-
mon wheat; ec are the radi-
cles; d d the gemmules, with
their sheath. It has already
beenremarked that, in whatever
position the seed is placed in
the soil, the gemmule invari-
| ably ascends, and the radicle
descends. This is a beautiful
provision of nature; for had
this arrangement not existed,
one half of the seeds of grain sown, would have, in
all probability, been unproductive; as the chances
are almost equal, that the end containing the
embryo falls either upwards or downwards.

It nowremainsto consider the chemical changes
which take place in the seed, during the pro-
cess of germination, and regarding this a variety
of opinions have been advanced. The matter
contained in the cotyledons of seeds is not, in the
first instance, adapted for the nourishment of
the future germ; before it can become so, it must
undergo certain changes in its chemical composi-
tion. It has been already shown that a seed is
no sooner placed in the ground than it begins to

69,

 
OF THE SEED AND GERMINATION.

imbibe moisture, and swell out and burst its in-
teguments. The moisture thus absorbed is im-
mediately imbibed by the cotyledons or albur-
num, and i chemical action soon takes place.
The farina and oily matters entering into its
composition, form an emulsive juice, and a fer-
mentation takes place, by which a saccharine
matter is generated, and carbonic acid gas is
evolved. This process is well exemplified in
the case of the conversion of barley into malt.
In the barley, the starchy matter of the seed is
changed trom an almost tasteless and inodorous
substance, into sugar; oxygen gas is absorbed,
carbonic acid given out, and the greater pro-
portion of the seed converted into a nutritious
substance for the future germ.

Now, the question is, how does the absorbed
oxygen operate? Does it act simply as a stimu-
lant, or does it enter into combination with the
materials of the seed, to form a new substance ;
or does it abstract from the seed any principle
by which the subsequent changes are effected.

Humboldt was of opinion, that the oxygen
acts merely as a stimulant, and this opinion was
founded on the fact, that seeds germinate faster
in pure oxygen, than in the common atmospheric
air; and particularly if the seeds were previously
steeped in water containing oxymuriatic acid.
This philosopher found that seeds brought from
the East and West Indies, which would not ger-
minate at Vienna, in the usual manner, did sou
readily when steeped in oxymiuriatic acid, even
though they had been kept for upwards of
twenty years.

Rollo was of opinion, that the absorbed oxy-
gen is partly taken up by the seed, and assimu-
lated with its substance, forming, along with the
carbon of the seed, carbonic acid. His opinion
was founded on the following fact, which he had
observed in watching the process of the germin-
ation of some grains of barley, confined in an
artificial atmosphere. When the seeds were
made to germinate in pure oxygen gas, the oxy-
gen gradually disappeared, and its place was
found to be occupied by carbonic acid gas.

Saussure the younger, having also directed
his attention to the subject, perceived that the
only means of ascertaining the fact was, that of
comparing the quantity of oxygen gas consumed,
with the quantity entering into the composition
of carbonic acid gas evolved. If the quantity
of the former proved to be greater than that of
the latter, it was to be inferred that a portion of
oxygen gas had been actually assimilated to the
substance of the seed. But if the two quantities
proved to be constantly equal, then it was to be
inferred that the oxygen gas had not been assim-
ilated to the substance of the seed, but only
employed for the purpose of abstracting from it
part of its carbon, in the formation of carbonic
acid gas, From the experiments of Lavoisier

 

109

on combustion, he had discovered that oxygen,
in combining with carbon, undergoes no percep-
tible alteration of volume, and that one hundred
cubic inches of carbonic acid gas, contains
ninety-eight cubic inches of oxygen gas. From
these facts, Saussure instituted a series of ex-
periments to ascertain the proportion between
the quantity of oxygen inhaled; and the quan-
tity of carbonic acid evolved. For this purpose
he employed the seeds of peas, beans, barley,
lettuce, and cress, and the results were as follows.
In an atmosphere of 100 cubic inches of com-
mon air, known to contain about twenty-one
cubic inches of oxygen, and seventy-nine of ni-
trogen, where a number of these seeds were made
to germinate, it was found that if fourteen cubic
inches of carbonic acid gas were formed during
the process, seven cubic inches of oxygen gas
remained uncombined in the atmosphere; and if
seven cubic inches of carbonic acid gas were
formed during the process, then fourteen cubic
inches of oxygen gas remained uncombined in
the receiver. Hence it appeared that the quan-
tity of carbonic acid gas that was evolved dur-
ing the process of germination, was precisely
equal to the quantity that had been absorbed
during the same process. There was conse-
quently no actual accumulation of oxygen in
the seed, the portion of this gas absorbed having
gone to diminish the quantity of carbon. The
change, therefore, produced in the farina of the
seeds of plants, by which it is converted into a
saccharine juice fit for the nutrition of the germ,
or infant plant, consists in diminuting the pro~
portion of its carbon, and in augmenting that
of its oxygen and hydrogen. Humboldt, as we
have already mentioned, found that seeds could
be made to germinate in pure oxygen gas, and
in a shorter period of time than in ordinary air.
But Saussure, in repeating these experiments of
Humboldt, did not find any difference in the
periods of germination. The only difference
was in the comparative lengths of the roots,
those seeds which had been made to germinate in
pure oxygen, having their radicles less developed
in a given time, than the others in common air.
This circumstance, according to Mr Keith, may
be accounted for in two ways. The oxygen, in
its pure state, might have abstracted too great
a quantity of carbon from the seed; or the car-
bonic gas, evolved in too great abundance, might
have been prejudicial to the development of
the young plant. For it has been found that
carbonic acid gas is not useful to vegetables in
general, except in proportion as they can decom-
pose it; and seeds before the development of the
plumulet, do not seem capable of effecting that
decomposition; so that, the application of car-
bonie acid, in almost any proportion, rather re-
tards than accelerates the first process of ger-
mination. Saussure also found that different
110

species of seeds require different proportions of
oxygen for their germination. The quantity of
this gas consumed by the bean and lettuce, be-
fore the commencement of germination, seemed
to be equal, and amounted to an 100th part of
their weight; while the quantity consumed by
wheat, barley, and purslain, which seemed also
to be equal, was only about 1000th part of
their weight. The carbon lost at the same time,
is only about one-third part of these quantitics;
and the oxygen consumed is in proportion to
the weight of the seeds, not in proportion to their
size or number.

But Huber and Senebier detail experiments,
in which certain seeds are said to have germin-
ated in an atmosphere of pure hydrogen and ni-
trogen gases. In these cases, the usual carbonic
acid gas being also evolved, as in ordinary
germination, the question arises whence the
oxygen was derived necessary to the formation
of the carbonic acid. Senebier accounts for it
from the decomposition of the water contained
in the seed, while Saussure, doubting this theory,
repeated the experiments which gave rise to it,
and found that no seeds would germinate in an
atmosphere of pure hydrogen, or nitrogen; and
that the seeming exceptions may be accounted
for from the action of the uncombined oxygen,
contained in the water in which the seed had
been placed, or previously steeped. Even after
the process of germination has taken place, if
the young plant be immersed in an atmosphere
of either of those gases, vegetation and life will
immediately cease. It is true that seeds im-
mersed in water, do evolve a portion of carbonic
acid, carbonated hydrogen, and nitrogen gases;
but these separate from the seed during the pro-
cess of fermentation, when this process is passing
into that of putrefaction.

M. Rollo had observed, that during the pro-
cess of germination, many seeds had their mu-
cilage converted into sugar; but finding that this
process never took place where there was no access
of oxygen, and knowing that sugar contains
more oxygen than mucilage, he concluded that
the accession of oxygen was derived either from
the atmosphere, or from the decomposition of the
water in which the seeds were soaked. He as-
certained that it could not be derived from the
atmosphere surrounding the plant, as its ele-
ments remained the same, and therefore con-
cluded, that it was obtained by the decomposi-
tion of water. Saussure supposed that the same
facts may be established from the circumstance
that the carbon of the seed suffers diminution.
But finding that a certain weight of dried seeds,
after germination, contained more carbon than
the same weight before this process, he instituted
experiments, by which he established that if any
seed whatever is subjected to the germinating
process, it actually loses weight, in a proportion

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

greater than what might be allowed for its loss
of carbon and mucilage during this process.
Saussure attributes this circumstance to a dimi-
nution of the water formerly existing in a fixed
state in the seed. A quantity of peas gathered
for some years, and dried in a stove, were found
to weigh 200 grains. They then underwent the
germinating process, in a vessel placed over mer-
cury, amid five times their weight of water,
and an atmosphere of common air. When ger-
mination was completed, 44 cubic inches of
carbonic acid gas were found to have been pro-
duced in the receiver, which, according to La-
voisier, contains 0.85 parts of a grain of carbon.
The water which was now evaporated, left as a
residuum, 0.75 parts of a grain of mucilage, and
extract; and the seeds which were again dried,
evolved during this process, a quantity of car-
hon, in the form of carbonic acid, very nearly
equal to the quantity lost in germination. The
seeds, therefore, ought to have weighed 1974
grains; but their actual weight was only 189 grains.
Now, besides the principles already mentioned,
they could have lost only water, and this loss
amounted to 834 grains. It remained to be
proved then, whether the loss arose in the pro-
cess of germination, or in drying afterwards.
The latter was the case.

Such are the phenomena, physical or chemical,
observablein thegerminationof the seed. Airand
moisture are absorbed from the soil oratmosphere;
their agency is immediately exerted on the far-
ina of the albumen or cotyledons; and a food is
thus prepared for the nourishment of the tender
embryo, to which it passes through the medium
of the vessels of the cotyledons, or, as they have
been also denominated, the seminal root. ‘The
radicle gives the first indications of life, expand-
ing and bursting its integuments, and at length
fixing itself in the soil: the plumulet next un-
folds its parts, developing the rudiments of leaf,
branch, and trunk; and finally the seminal leaves
decay and drop off; and the embryo has been
converted into a plant capable of abstracting
immediately from the soil or atmosphere, the
nourishment necessary to its future growth.

CHAP XVIII.
THE FOOD OF VEGETABLES,

Arter the embryo, as we have seen, has been
converted into a plant, and after it has exhausted
the store of nutritious matter prepared for it by
the cotyledons, it then has to seek its future
nourishment from the soil by means of its roots,
and from the air by its leaves, It remains to
be considered then, what are the substances
which plants derive from the earth and air.
THE FOOD OF VEGETABLES.

Soil is composed of certain mixtures of the
following substances. The earths, silex, alumina,
lime, magnesia. The alkalies, potass, soda, and
ammonia, oxide of iron, and small portions of
other metallic oxides, and a considerable propor-
tion of aqueous moisture, and several gases, as
oxygen, hydrogen, carbonic acid, besides the
soil also contains vegetables and animal matters
either partially or wholly decomposed.

The atmosphere, again, consists of oxygen,
nitrogen, and carbonic acid, with a varying por-
tion of aqueous vapour.

All these ingredients, however, are not taken
up by vegetables; part only are selected, and in
certain proportions, The elementary ingredi-
ents of all plants consists of carbon, oxygen, and
hydrogen, in various proportions, and under
various modifications. Now, most soils would
yield these ingredients, and yet it is well known
that certain plants only thrive in particular
soils. Nor does it follow that these ingredi-
ents enter the plant in an uncombined state,
because they do not actually exist in this free
and uncombined state in all soils. A power of
selection then is made by the plant, and this it
is enabled to do by the vital powers of assimila-
tion, by which it is endowed. We shall con-
sider the food of plants under the six heads of
water, gases, vegetable extracts, salts, earth, and
manures,

Water. A certain degree of fluidity is ne-
cessary for all organised bodies before the prin-
ciple of germination can be excited in a seed. It
must first be moistened with water, and after
the process of evolution has been completed, a
regular supply of fluid is necessary to fill the
cells and tubes of the growing plant. Plants
will not continue to vegetate unless their roots
are supplied with water; and if they are kept
long without it the leaves will droop and be-
come flaccid, and assume a withered appearance.
Now this is evidently owing to the loss of fluid ;
for if the roots are again well supplied with
water the weight of the plant is increased, and
its freshness restored. But many plants will
grow, and thrive, and effect the development of
all their parts, if the root is merely immersed in
water, though not fixed in the soil. Lilies,
hyacinths, and a variety of plants with bulbous
roots, may be so reared, and are often to be met
with so vegetating; and many plants will also
vegetate though wholly immersed. Most of the
marine plants are of this description. It can
scarcely be doubted, therefore, that water serves
for the purpose of a vegetable aliment.

But if plants cannot be made to vegetate
without water, and if they will vegetate, some,
when partly immersed without the assistance of
soil; and some even when totally immersed so
as that no other food seems to have access to
them, does it not follow that water is the sole

 

111

food of plants, the soil being merely the basis on
which they rest, and the receptacle of their
food? This opinion has had many advocates,
and the arguments and experiments adduced in
support of it were at one time thought to have
completely established its truth. It was indeed,
the prevailing opinion of the seventeenth cen-
tury, and was embraced by several philosophers
even of the eighteenth century; but its ablest
and most zealous advocates were Van Helmont,
Boyle, Du Hamel, and Bonnet, who contended
that water, by virtue of the vital energy of the
plant, was sufficient to form all the different
substances contained in vegetables.

Van Helmont planted a willow weighing fifty
pounds inan earthen vessel containing a known
quantity of earth which had been previously
dried in an oven. He moistened it with distilled
water, or with rain water, and took care to pre-
vent any accession of other earth. At the end
of five years the plant was taken up and weighed.
Its weight, together with that of all its leaves,
was 1691 pounds, and the weight of the earth,
only two ounces less than at first, giving an
accession of 1191 pounds, which is to be ac-
counted for only from the water with which the
earth was moistened. Hence, it was concluded
that water is the sole food of plants; the two
ounces of earth lost being regarded as bearing
too small a proportion to the increased weight
of the willow to deserve any notice in the cal-
culation.

Boyle dried a quantity of earth in an oven,
which after having weighed he put into an
earthen pot. He then sowed some gourd seed
in the earth, and watered it with spring or rain
water. <A plant was ultimately produced that
weighed three pounds, and in a subsequent ex-
periment, a plant that weighed four pounds;
and yet the weight of the earth, when dried and
weighed again, was not perceptibly diminished,
This seemed to give weight to the foregoing
conclusion.

Du Hamel placed some bulbous roots merely
in moss or wet sponges, and they vegetated ; and
beans and peas when so treated even flourished
and produced fruit. Bonnet in repeating the
experiments of Du Hamel had the same result,
and in trying its operation upon vines, found
that they produced excellent grapes. Nothing
further seemed necessary to determine the point
at issue, and it was accordingly believed that
water is the sole food of plants, and that the
other substances which they may contain are
formed merely from the water, by virtue of the
vital energy of the plant.

But though these experiments have the ap-
pearance of being somewhat decisive, yet there
are others by the same experimenters which are
not quite so favourable to the opinion they were
intended to support. Du Hamel reared in the
112

above manner plants of the horse-chestnut and
almond to some considerable size, and an oak
till it was eight years old. And though he in-
forms us that they died at last only from neglect
of watering; yet it seems extremely doubtful
whether they would have continued to vegetate
much longer even if they had been watered ever
so regularly ; for he admits, in the first place, that
they made less and less progress every year, and
in the second place, that their roots were found
to be in a very bad state.

But if they had even continued to vegetate,
still the experiments were insufficient to decide
the point in question. Their insufficiency was
first pointed out by Bergman in 1773, who
showed, from the experiments of Margraff, that
in one pound of rain water there is contained
one grain of earth. Larth, therefore, must have
been absorbed along with the water, so that
even the boasted experiment of Van Helmont, on
which so much stress had been laid, amounted
to nothing. For the rain-water employed in
the experiment must have contained in it as
much earth as could have been well expected to
exist in the willow at the end of five years.
And if not, then it is easy to point out an addi-
tional source of supply; for it has heen shown
by Hales and others, that unglazed earthen
vessels when placed in the earth, will readily
absorb moisture; so that, according to Mr Kir-
wan’s remark, the earthen vessel in which the
willow was planted must have absorbed moisture
from the surrounding soil, impregnated with
whatever substances the earth contained. The
access of earth, therefore, is accounted for with-
out the joint efforts of the water and vital energy
of the plant, and no satisfactory proof alleged of
the similar formation of other substances,

The subject was afterwards investigated by
Hassenfratz, who saw the insufficiency of the
foregoing proofs, and objected to them because
no account was given of the proportions of car-
bon at the commencement and termination of
the respective experiments, Did not the carbon
of the plant increase also as well as its other
ingredients? And yet the carbon could not he
supposed to be formed from the water. To
clear up this point he analyzed the bulbs of the
hyacinth, and of several other plants, together
with a number of kidney-beans, and cress-seeds,
with a view to discover the quantity of carbon
they contained, and consequently by calculation
the quantity contained in any given weight of
similar bulbs or seeds. He then made a number
of each to vegetate in pure water, some within
doors, and others in the open air, having first
ascertained their weight. They germinated,
grew up, and flowered; but produced no seed.
They were afterwards gathered, leaves and all,
and subjected to a chemical analysis, the result

of which was, that the carbon containcd in each !

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

was somewhat less than the quantity which
existed in the bulb or seed from which the plant
had sprung.

From these circumstances Hassenfratz came
to the conclusion that water was not the sole
food of plants, because plants growing in pure
water receive no increase of carbon, and in con-
sequence, without a sufficiency of this substance,
cannot produce perfect seeds. Not reckoning
the experiments of Hassenfratz conclusive, how-
ever, Saussure instituted others. Having gathered
some plants of mint (mentha piperita), he found
that 100 parts in weight of the green vegetable
substance were reduced by drying to 40.29,
which were found by experiment to contain
10:96 of charcoal. He then took a number of
plants of the same species, and placed them by
the roots in bottles filled with distilled water ;
exposing them to the sun on the outside of a
window, but sheltering them from the rain,
After ten weeks of vegetation the 100 parts of
mint weighed in their green state 216 parts,
which were reduced by drying to 62. They
had augmented therefore, in dried vegetable
matter 21.71 parts; but they had augmented
also in their quantity of carbon; for the 62 parts
of dried vegetable substance furnished 15.78 of
charcoal. A similar result was obtained from a
siinilar experiment upon beans, from which we
may infer the accuracy of Saussure, and the con-
sequent inaccuracy of Hassenfratz, who was no
doubt misled by some circumstances not taken
into the account. Perhaps, the plants on which
he made his experiments were not sufficiently
exposed to the light of the sun; so that if he
corrected one error he committed also another.
While it is maintained, therefore, that water is
not the sole food of plants, and is not convertible
into the whole of the ingredients of the vegetable
substance, even with the aid of the vital energy,
it must, at the same time, be admitted that
plants, though vegetating merely in water, do
yet augment the quantity of their carbon.

Gases. When it was found that water is in-
sufficient to constitute the sole food of plants,
recourse was next had to tlie assistance of the
atmospheric air, and it was believed that the
vital energy of the plant is at least capable of
furnishing all the different ingredients of the
yegetable substance, by means of decomposing
and combining, in different ways, atmospheric
air and water. But as this extravagant con-
jecture is founded on no proof, it is consequently
of no value. It must be confessed, however,
that atmospheric air is indispensably necessary
to the health and vigour of the plant, as may be
seen by looking at the different aspects of plants
exposed to a free circulation of air, and plants
deprived of it; the former are vigorous and
luxuriant, the latter weak and stunted. It may
be seen also by means of experiments even upon
THE FOOD OF

asmall scale. Ifa plant is placed under a glass
to which no new supply of air has access, it
soon begins to languish, and at length withers
and dies; but particularly if it is placed under
the exhausted receiver of an air pump, as might
indeed be expected from the failure of the ger-
mination of the seed in similar circumstances,
According to the experiments of Saussure, plants
of peas, though completely developed and fur-
nished with their leaves, died in the space of three
days, when put into the exhausted receiver of
an air-pump, whether in the shade or the sun.
But plants with thick and succulent leaves seem
capable of supporting vegetation in vacuo, at
least if exposed to the sun. A plant of the
cactus opuntia, lived more than a month in this
state without showing any symptoms of decay,
except that the epidermis seemed dry, which
again recovered its freshness, however, in the
atmospheric air, And though plants with thin
leaves generally died under the experiment, yet
there were exceptions even among them, A
plant of the polygonum persicaria lived for six
months in the vacuum of an air-pump, and was
at the end of the experiment as fresh and vigor-
ous as at the beginning, with the exception of
two or three leaves near the root, which were
withered. The same was the case also with
plants of the epilobéwn molle, epilobium hir-
sutum, lythrum salicaria, and inula dysenterica.
They were placed in the light, but not 0 as to
receive the direct rays of the sun, to which when
they were exposed they withered, even though
the rays were but feeble.

In these experiments of Saussure, however, it
is doubtful whether the inclosed plants did not
create an atmosphere for themselves out of their
superfluous moisture, in the same way as is
illustrated in the recent experiments of enclosing
plants in an air-tight bell glass, or glass frame,
when they will continue to vegetate for years;
the moisture being restrained from passing off
by evaporation, and the vital energies of the
plant being adequate to reproduce the gases
necessary for its existence by the decomposition
of water.

The gases, therefore, seem essential to vegeta-
ble existence, though we are not yet to conclude
that water and the gases are the sole ingredients
which are necessary for the growth and vigour
of plants.

It must be admitted no doubt, that plants of
slow growth and tenacious of life, such as many
of the mosses, and some of the succulent plants,
do indeed effect the development of their parts,
without the aid of any other nourishment be-
yond what they derive from the atmosphere.
But plants of rapid growth, such as annuals, can
never effect that developement without the aid
of nourishment derived from the soil. Saussure
tried the experiment upon beans, peas, and

 

VEGETABLES. 113
cresses, by placing them in horse-hair, or in pure
sand, and moistening them with distilled water.
They grew indeed, and some of them even
flowered, but never produced perfect seeds. It
is plain, therefore, that some essential principle
of nourishment was wanting, which is furnished
by the soil; and that atmospheric air and water
are not the only principles constituting the food
of plants.

But as in germination so also in the progress
of vegetation, it is part only of the component
principle of the atmospheric air that are adapted
to the purpose of vegetable nutrition, and selected
by the plant as a food. Let us take them in the
order of their reversed proportions.

Carbonic acid gas. In the process of the ger-
mination of the seed, the effect of the application
of carbonic acid gas was found to be altogether
prejudicial. But in the process of subsequent
vegetation its application has been found, on the
contrary, to be extremely beneficial. Plants
will not indeed vegetate in an atmosphere of
pure carbonic acid, as was first ascertained by
Dr Priestley, who found that sprigs of mint
growing in water, and placed over wort in a
state of fermentation, generally became quite
dead in the space of a day, and did not even
recover when put into an atmosphere of common
air.

But Dr Percival, of Manchester, observed that
a plant of mint, immersed in water by the root,
and exposed to a current of atmospheric air
mixed with carbonic acid gas, was more vigorous
and luxuriant than a plant of the same species
similarly situated and exposed to a current of
pure atmospheric air.

Improving upon this hint, Saussure made
some experiments with a view to determine the
dose of carbonic acid gas, which, being mixed
with atmospheric air, is the most favourable to
vegetation. Having made some peas to germin-
ate in water till they acquired the height of four
inches, and weighed about twenty grains, he
then placed a number of them in glasses filled
with water by threes, so as that the roots only
were immersed, and introduced them into re-
ceivers filled with different mixtures of common
air and carbonic acid gas. They were situated
so as to receive the direct rays of the sun,
moderated when too intense. The mean aug-
mentation in weight of such as were placed in
pure atmospheric air, and exposed during ten
days to the sun, was eight grains to each plant.
Such as were exposed to the sun, in an atmo-
sphere of pure carbonic acid gas, faded and
withered away without any further develop-
ment. In an atmosphere containing three-
fourths or two-thirds of its volume of carbonic
acid gas, they withered also; but in an atmo-
sphere containing only one half of its volume of
carbonic acid they lived seven days, And in an

P
t4

atmosphere containing but one-fourth of its
volume of the same gas, they lived ten days,
and augmented their weight by five grains.
Lastly, the mean augmentation in weight of
such as were placed in an atmosphere of common
air, containing one-twelfth part of carbonic acid
gas, was eleven grains. This experiment was
repeated frequently, and was found to yield a
uniform result; the plants always succeeding
better than in pure atmospheric air. Carbonic
acid gas, therefore, is of great utility to the
growth of plants vegetating in the sun, as applied
to the leaves and branches, and whatever in-
creases the proportion of this gas in their atmo
sphere, at least within a given degree, forwards
vegetation.

But the result was not the same when the
plant was placed in the shade; the smallest dose
of carbonic acid gas, in addition to that of the
atmospheric air, being then prejudicial to vege-
tation. This appears from the following ex-
periments: Plants kept in the shade, and placed
in an atmosphere containing one-fourth of its
volume of carbonic acid gas, died on the sixth
day; and when the atmosphere contained only
one-twelfth of its volume of this gas, they lived
indeed ten days, but weighed only three grains,
while those in pure atmospheric air weighed
five grains. Carbonic acid gas, therefore, as
applied to the leaves and branches of plants, is
prejudicial to their vegetation in the shade, if
administered in a proportion beyond that in
which it exists in atmospheric air. This may
be readily accounted for from the now ascer-
tained modes in which plants feed and respire.

Tn the shade, plants absorb oxygen, and throw
out carbonic acid gas, or perform a function
nearly allied to the respiration of animals. In
sunshine they absorb carbonic acid, and give out
oxygen, or perform an action somewhat analo-
gous to digestion.

But carbonic acid gas is also beneficial to the
growth of the plant, when applied to the root.
This Saussure ascertained by experiment also.
Two boards, pierced with 4 number of holes,
were made to float in two vessels filled, one with
distilled water, and the other with water im-
pregnated with carbonic acid gas. On each of
these boards was placed a number of peas that
had been lately made to germinate in distilled
water. Their radicles at the commencement of
the experiment were two lines and a half long.
At the end of ten days, the roots in contact with
the distilled water were longer by five inches,
than those in contact with the acidulated water;
and the stalks and leaves were developed in the
same proportion. But at the end of a month
the plants vegetating in the acidulated water,
had acquired the same dimensions as the others,
and at the end of six weeks had considerably
surpassed them. It follows, therefore, that car-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

bonic acid gas as applied to the roots of plants,
is also beneficial to their growth, at least, in the
more advanced stages of vegetation.

Oxygen. As oxygen is essential to the com-
mencement and progress of germination; so also
it is essential to the progress of vegetation. This
is clearly proved by the following experiments
of Saussure: Having pulled up some young
plants of the horse-chestnut, furnished with
their leaves, and weighing about 460 grains, he
introduced their roots, which were nearly a foot
in length, into receivers of about sixty cubic
inches in capacity, and luted the base of the
stem to the neck of the receiver. Into one of
the receivers, each of which contained a quan-
tity of distilled water, he introduced twenty-
eight cubic inches of nitrogen, which was in
contact with the upper part of the root, while
the under part was immersed in water. Into
another he introduced an equal quantity of hy-
drogen; and into a third an equal quantity of
carbonic acid. The plant, whose root was in
contact with the carbonic acid, died in the course
of eight days: the others lived a fortnight, but
had not diminished the volume of their atmos-
phere. But plants which were placed at the same
time in a similar apparatus, furnished with at-
mospheric air, gave a very different result; for
at the end of three weeks, when the experiment
was stopped, they were still fresh and vigorous,
and the volume of their atmosphere was dimin-
ished. It is obvious, then, that the presence of
oxygen is beneficial to the growth of the vege-
table, at least, as applied to the root; because
that is the only principle which had access to
the root in the last experiment, which had not
access to it in the former.

But oxygen is beneficial to vegetation, as ap-
plied also to the other parts of the plant as well
as to the root. Branches of woody plants taken
in the spring, immediately before the expansion
of the bud, and enclosed in receivers filled with
common air, together with a small quantity of
water to supply them with moisture, developed
their leaves as if attached to the parent plant.
And this development was effected solely by
means of the oxygen contained in the receiver;
for in mediums deprived of oxygen, no deve-
lopment took place. The presence of oxygen,
therefore, is necessary to the development of the
leaves.

But it isnecessary also to the development of the
flower and fruit. The flower-bud will not expand
if confined in an atmosphere deprived of oxygen;
nor will the fruit ripen. Flower buds confined in
an atmosphere of pure nitrogen, faded without
expanding. A bunch of unripe grapes introduced
into a globe of glass, which was luted by its orifice
to the bough, and exposed to the sun, ripened
without effecting any material alteration in its
atmosphere. But when a bunch was placed in
THE FOOD OF

the same circumstance, with the addition of a
quantity of lime, the atmosphere was contamin-
ated, and the grapes did not ripen. Oxygen,
therefore, is essential to the development of the
vegetating plant ; and for this purpose it is ab-
sorbed by the stomata of the leaves,

Saussure having suspended a plant of the
cactus opuntia, after sunset, in a receiver con-
taining forty-eight cubic inches of atmospheric
air deprived of its carbonic acid, but of which
six cubic inches were displaced by the leaves,
found early next morning, after making the
necessary corrections relative to change of tem-
perature and pressure, that the atmosphere of
the plant had diminished in volume four cubic
inches, The remaining air when examined, con-
tained but yy of oxygen, though before the in-
troduction of the cactus, it had contained 23; of
the same gas. It follows, therefore, that the
diminution of quantity had affected the oxygen
only. But the oxygen did not exist in the at-
mosphere of the plant under any combination
whatever; for the application of lime water gave
no indications of the presence of carbonic acid.
The oxygen of the atmosphere, therefore, must
have been abstracted by the leaves of the cactus.
From which it also follows, that the leaves of
vegetating plants do actually inhale oxygen, at
least in course of the night.

Similar experiments on vegetating plants gave
similar results, but the quantity of oxygen ab-
stracted, was not always in the same proportion,
In the present case it was very considerable,
amounting to three-fourths of the volume of the
leaves, while in other cases, it was often not
more than one-half of their volume.

Nitrogen. Though nitrogen gas constitutes
by far the greater part of the mass of atmos-
pheric air, it does not seem capable of affording
nutriment to plants; for as seeds will not ger-
minate in it, so neither will plants vegetate. It
was regarded, however, as constituting a vegeta-
ble food by some of the earlier pneumatic che-
mists, particularly by Priestley, who found, as it
seems, that some sprigs of mint on which he had
made the experiment, vegetated better in phlo-
gisticated air than in either dephlogisticated or
common air; and hence, he interred that phlo-
gisticated air, the nitrogen of modern chemists,
serves as a vegetable food. In this opinion he
was followed by Ingenhoutz, whose experiments
appear to have given a similar result; contra-
dicted, however, by the result of the experi-
ments of Senebier, Woodhouse, and Saussure,
on the same subject.

Branches of poplar, (populus nigra,) and
willow, (salix alba,) whose leaf-buds were just
ready to open, were introduced by Saussure into
an atmosphere of nitrogen both in the shade and
sun. They effected no farther development of
parts, but were found to be in a state of putre-

 

VEGETABLES. 118
faction, after a period of five days; but in an
atmosphere of common air they readily effected
their development, and continued to vegetate for
many weeks. Roses and lilies gathered two or
three hours before their expansion, and treated
in the same manner, gave similar results,

It must be admitted, however, that many
plants will continue to vegetate for a time in an
atmosphere of nitrogen gas, when their leaves
have been previously developed; but they are
such plants only as present a great extent of sur-
face, and consume but little oxygen in the shade.
A plant of the cactus opuntia, nourished with
water, and placed in an atmosphere of nitrogen
gas exposed to the influence of the sun, was
found capable of supporting vegetation for the
space of three weeks; but it was greatly injured
by the experiment, and in the shade it lived
only five days. <A plant of the sedum tellephium
when treated in the above manner, gave a similar
result; and yet these plants vegetated to an inde-
finite time in an atmosphere of common air.

From the above experiments, it seems to fol-
low that nitrogen gas, at least in its pure state,
is unfavourable to vegetation; but particularly
in the shade. And yet there are some plants
that seem to succeed equally well in an atmos-
phere of nitrogen gas, as in an atmosphere of
common air. A plant of the lythrum salicaria,
selected for the purpose of experiment, was put
into a receiver containing sixty-five cubic inches
of nitrogen gas, of which it displaced about one-
eighth of acubicinch. It had its roots immersed
in about an ounce of water, and was exposed to
the rays of the sun, when it grew and became
so luxuriant, that it was more than once neces-
sary to remove it into a larger receiver. But
this luxuriance of growth seems incompatible
with the previous conclusion. At the end of
two months, however, when the experiment was
stopped, the receiver was found to contain the
same quantity of nitrogen gas as at the begin-
ning. The plant could have derived no nutri-
ment, therefore, from its atmosphere. But this
was the case also in all of the preceding exam-
ples. There was no diminution in the original
quantity of nitrogen introduced into the receiver.
It follows, therefore, that nitrogen gas, at least
in its pure state, is not only incapable of afford-
ing a vegetable aliment, but is not even absorbed
into the plant. But nitrogen is found in almost
all vegetables, particularly in the wood, in ex-
tract, and in their green parts. It is probable,
therefore, that their nitrogen is derived from the
extractive principle of vegetable mould.

Hydrogen gas. A plant of the epilobium hir-
sutum, which was confined by Priestley in a re-
ceiver filled with inflammable air or hydrogen,
consumed one-third of its atmosphere, and was
still green. Hence Priestley inferred that it
serves as a vegetable food, and constitutes even
116

the true and proper pabulum of the plant. But
the experiments of later phytologists, do not at
alleountenance thisopinion. Saussure introduced
a plant of the lythrum salicaria, into a receiver
containing sixty cubic inches of hydrogen gas,
and exposed it to the sun. Its vegetation was
perhaps somewhat more vigorous than that of
plants confined in an atmosphere of nitrogen ;
but it had abstracted no nourishment from its
atmosphere, nor effected any material change
upon it. For at the end of five weeks of ex-
periment, when its atmosphere was fired by the
electric spark along with the proper quantity of
oxygen, the result was the formation of water.
The volume of its atmosphere was indeed di-
minished during the period of its vegetation;
but this is to be accounted for by another cause,
as will appear in the course of tracing the pro-
gress of vegetation.

The conclusion, therefore, must be, that ly-
drogen is unfavourable to vegetation, and does
not serve as the food of plants. But hydrogen
is contained in plants, as is evident from their
analysis; and if they refuse it when presented
to them in a gaseous state, in what state do they
then acquire it? To this question it is sufficient
for the present to reply, that if plants do not
acquire their hydrogen in the state of gas, they
may at least acquire it in the state of water,
which is indisputably a vegetable food, and of
which hydrogen constitutes one of the compon-
ent parts.

Carboric oxide. When plants were confined
by Saussure in atmospheres of carbonic oxide,
they required nearly the same condition to sup-
port vegetation, and exhibited nearly the same
phenomena as in nitrogen. Such as were de-
prived of their green parts died in the course of
afewdays. The vegetation of peas whose leaves
were completely developed, was languid in the
sun, and did not succeed at all in the shade.
The epilobium hirsutum, lythrum salicaria, and
polygonum persicarta, vegetated indeed, as in
common air; but at the end of six weeks of ex-
periment, they had neither decomposed the oxide
constituting their atmosphere, nor diminished
its quantity. It cannot, therefore, be regarded
as favourable to vegetation.

Vegetable extract. - All vegetables, after they
have flourished their allotted time, at last suffer
decay, and moulder into the elements, out of
which they were originally formed. In this
process of decay, part of their substance escapes
as gaseous matter, and part returns to the earth.
This latter part has been called vegetable mould,
and consists of carbon, tannin, or vegetable ex-
tract, and a portion of the earths and alkalics.

Without a certain portion of this vegetable ex--

tract, no soil is fit for the nourishment of the
higher classes of vegetation; although some
lichens, and other cryptogamic plants, will grow

 

ALSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDUAL.

from the bare and barren rock, or in pure sand.
It has become a question in what manner those
saline and earthy particles are taken up by
plants, and whether it is necessary that the sub-
stance absorbed, should be either in a gaseous
state, or in solution in water. To determine
this, Saussure filled a large vessel with pure
mould of turf, and moistened it with distilled
or rain water, till it was saturated. At the end
of five days, when it was subjected to the action
of the press, 10,000 parts in weight of the ex-
pressed and filtered fluid, yielded by evapora-
tion to dryness 26 parts of extract. Ina similar
experiment upon the mould of a kitchen-garden
which had been manured with dung, 10,000
parts of fluid yielded 10 of extract. And ina
similar experiment upon mould taken from a
well cultivated corn field, 10,000 parts of fluid
yielded 4 parts of extract. Such was the result
in these particular cases.

But the quantity of extract that may be se-
parated from pure mould formed by nature upon
the surface of the globe, is not, in general, very
considerable. After 12 decoctions, all that could
be separated from mould of this sort, was about
7, of its weight ; and yet this seems to be more
than sufficient for the purposes of vegetation:
for a mould containing this quantity was found
by experiment to be less fectile, at least for peas
and beans, than a mould that contained only one
half or two thirds the quantity.

But if the quantity of extract must not be
too much, neither must it be too little. Plants
that were put to vegetate in mould deprived of
its extract, as far as repeated decoctions could
deprive it, were found to be much less vigorous
and luxuriant than plants vegetating in mould
not deprived of its extract: and yet the only
perceptible difference between them is, that the
former can imbibe and retain a much greater
quantity of water than the latter.

From this last experiment, as well as from
the great proportion in which it exists in the
living plant, it evidently follows that extract
constitutes a vegetable food. But extract con-
tains nitrogen; for it yields, by distillation, a
fluid impregnated with ammonia. The difficulty,
therefore, of accounting for the introduction of
nitrogen into the vegetating plant, as well as for
its existence in the mature vegetable substance,
is done away; for although the plant refuses it
when presentec. in a gaseous state, it is plain that
it must admit it along with the extract.

But it seems also probable, that a small quan-
tity of carbonic acid gas enters the plant along
with the extractive principle, as it is known to
contain this gas also. The mould analysed by
Saussure, was quite dry before the commence-
ment of the experiment, and the water employed
to moisten it contained no carbonic acid. But
the solution contained some; for when it was
THE FOOD OF VEGETABLES.

mixed with lime-water, carbonate of lime was
precipitated, though not in a quantity much ex-
ceeding that of its precipitation’ by spring-water
in general. 100 cubic inches of the solution
yielded by experimentan air containing two cubic
inches of carbonic acid gas. This is, no doubt,
a small proportion: but it appears from a variety
of considerations, that the quantity of this gas
taken up by the roots of plants is not great;
consequently they do not require a great supply
from the soil.

Salts. On analysing vegetable substances,
certain proportions of saline matters are found
in their composition, such as the nitrate, muriate,
and sulphates of potash and soda. Now it may
either be that the assimilating powers of vege-
tables, are such as to form these substances out
of their primary elements, derived from the soil
and atmosphere ; or, that these saline matters,
in a state of solution, are absorbed from the soil.
Perhaps in the economy of plants, both these
processes are adopted. Facts are not wanting
to show that plants do absorb by their roots
considerable quantities of salts in solution. M.
Saussure prepared 10 different solutions, consist-
ing each of 40 cubic inches of distilled water,
together with 12 grains of the peculiar salt or
other substance on which the experiment of ab-
sorption was to be made. The first solution
contained muriate of potash; the second, muriate
of soda; the third, muriate of lime; the fourth,
sulphate of soda; the fifth, muriate of ammonia;
the sixth, acetate of lime, the seventh, sulphate
of copper; the eighth, crystallized sugar; the
tenth, vegetable extract. Plants of polygonum
persicaria, and bidens cannabina, were then im-
mersed in each of these solutions with the fol-
lowing result:—In the solutions of muriate of
potash, muriate of soda, sulphate of soda, nitrate
of lime, and extract, the former species vegetated
in the shade for five weeks, developing their
parts; but in the other solutions, they died in
the course of a few days. The latter species
succeeded or failed in nearly the same way. It
was afterwards found that a portion of the salts
had been taken up along with the water by which
they were held in solution; and if we suppose
the quantity contained in each of the solutions
to be divided into 100 parts, the ratio of their
absorption may be shown as follows:—In con-
suming one half of the water assigned to the
experiment, plants of the polygonum had ab-
sorbed 14 parts of muriate of potash, 13 of muriate
of soda, 4 of nitrate of lime, 14 of sulphate of
soda, 12 of muriate of ammonia, 8 of acetate
of lime, 47 of sulphate of copper, 9 of gum,
27 of sugar, and 5 of extract. Plants of the
bidens had absorbed the several salts in propor-
tions not very different. But without minutely
regarding proportions, the fact is thus clearly
ascertained that plants are capable of taking up

 

17

salts by the root, at least when presented to
them in a state of artificial solution; and if so,
there is then reason to presume that salts are
also taken up by the roots of plants vegetating
even in their natural habitats.

But if salts are thus taken up by the root of
the vegetating plant, does it appear that they
are taken up as a food? Some plants, it must
be confessed, are injured by the application of
salts, as is evident from the experiments of
Saussure; but others are as evidently benefited
by it. Trefoil and Lucern have their growth
much accelerated by the application of sulphate
of lime, though many other plants are not. at all
influenced by its action. The parictaria, nettle,
and borge, will not thrive except in such soils
as contain nitrate of lime, or nitrate of potash:
and plants inhabiting the sea coast, as was ob-
served by Du Hamel, will not thrive in a soil
that does not contain muriatic of soda,

It has been thought, however, says Dr Keith,
that the salts are not actually taken up by the
root, though converted to purposes of utility,
by acting as astringents or corrosives, in stopping
up the orifices of the vessels of the plant, and
preventing the admission of too much water:
but it is to be recollected that the salts in ques-
tion are found by analysis in the very substance
of the plant, and must consequently have en-
tered in solution. It has been also thought
that salts are favourable to vegetation only in
proportion as they hasten the putrefaction of
vegetable substances contained in the soil, or at-
tract the humidity of the atmosphere. But sul-
phate of lime is not deliquescent ; and if its ac-
tion consist merely in accelerating putrefaction,
why is its beneficial effect confined but to a
small number of plants? ;

Lastly, some writers have contended that the
salts which are found in vegetables, are merely
accidental in their occurrence, and not necessary
to the health or perfection of the individual;
because they are found to exist in but a very
small proportion, both in the soil and plant: but
as there are many species in which some salts
are to be met with constantly and uniformly, at
least, if they have vegetated in a soil in which
they are found to thrive, we can scarcely regard
their occurrence as being merely accidental, or,
as producing no beneficial effect upon the plant.
But the proportion of salts lodged in the soil is
not so small as is generally believed. Re-agents
do not indeed detect a great quantity in general;
but that is because the alkaline salts of mould,
like the alkaline salts of vegetables, are to be
discovered chiefly in the remains of combustion;
and because the ashes of the greater part of
vegetable moulds do not readily part with their
salts in boiling water. This difficulty of solu-
tion is thought by Saussure to be owing to a
semivitrifaction that takes place in the mould
118

when the ashes are abundant. An 100 parts
of mould furnished by combustion 50 parts of
ashes which did not give out their salts to
boiling water. But 100 parts only of dried
extract from the same mould, yielded only
14 parts of ashes; and 100 parts of the ashes
formed with boiling water, a ley which con-
tained 25 parts composed of potash in an un-
combined state, and of alkaline sulphates and
muriates; and yet, upon further analysis, it was
found that the water had not extracted more
than one half of the salts which the ashes con-
tained. The soil, therefore, contains an abun-
dant supply of salts for all the purposes of vege-
tation. It may even in some cases, contain too
much; for it is to be recollected that saline sub-
stances are beneficial to vegetation only when
applied in very small quantities. If they are
administered in great abundance they destroy
the plant.

And the argument against their utility that
has been drawn from the small proportion in
which they are found to exist in the plant itself,
is altogether inadmissible; because it is very
well known that some particular ingredient may
be essential to the composition of a body, and
yet constitute but a very small proportion of its
mass. Atmospheric air contains only about one
part in the 100th of carbonic acid; and yet no
one will venture to affirm that carbonic acid gas
ismerely an adventitious and accidental element,
existing by chance, in the air of the atmosphere,
and not an essential ingredient in its composi-
tion. Phosphate of lime constitutes but a very
small proportion of animal bodies, perhaps not
one part in 500; and yet no one doubts that it is
essential to the composition of the bones. But
the same salt is found in the ashes of all vege-
tables; and who will say that it is not essential
to their perfection?

Earths. As most plants have been found by
analysis to contain a portion of alkaline or earthy
salts, so most plants have been found to contain
also a portion of earths: and as the two sub-
stances are so nearly related, and so foreign in
their character to vegetable substances in general,
the same inquiry has consequently been made
with regard to their origin. Whence are the
earths derived that have been found to exist in
plants?

It seems to have been the opinion of Lampa-
dius, that the earths contained in plants are
merely the effect of vegetation, and altogether
independent of the soil in which they grow:
and extravagant as the opinion is, it has been
made to assume the semblance of resting upon
experiment. Lampadius prepared, in his garden,
five small beds of four feet square in surface by
one in depth; each bed consisted of a pure earth
mixed with eight pounds of cow-dung. The
carths were alumine, silica, lime, magnesia, and

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

garden mould. They were sown with rye, and
the produce of each was separately reduced to
ashes. But the same principles were found in
them all; amongst which was a portion of silica;
whence Lampadius concluded, that the silica
found in plants is merely the result of vegeta-
tion, having no relation whatever to the soil in
which the plants grow. *

But this conclusion was by much too hasty,
and has been since shown to be most palpably
erroneous; because Lampadius does not take into
the calculation the constituent principles of the
cow-dung with which his earths were mixed, the
very substance from which his plants must have
derived the greater part of their nourishment. If
this precaution had been taken, his conclusion
must have been very different: for it has been
ascertained by Ruckert, that dung does actually
contain a portion of silica; which, in the case
of cow-dung, will appear the less surprising if
it is only recollected that the plants which cows
principally feed on, do themselves contain a por-
tion of silica, To the cow-dung, therefore, with
which the different earths were manured, the
origin of silica may be traced. It was thus of
necessity found in them all, though not per-
haps in an equal proportion.

Saussure, in adverting to the experiment of
Lampadius, exposes indeed, the absurdity of his
conclusion ; but deduces from it another which
is perhaps equally exceptionable, namely, that
plants growing in calcareous and granitic sand,
mixed with the same manure or mould, will
produce equal quantities of ashes. But this
supposes manures to have the same action upon
all soils, which is surely not the fact: and if
there be any manure that acts on a calcareous
soil, without acting at all on a granitic soil, then
the quantity of ashes will be altered in the for-
mer case, from that very circumstance; because
the plant is now nourished not only by the
manure that was committed to the soil, but from
the original soil itself, in its state of combina-
tion with the manure.

The Berlin academy proposed as a prize ques-
tion, “to determine the earthy constituents of
the different kinds of corn, and to ascertain
whether these earthy parts are formed by the
process of vegetation. The prize was gained by
Schrader of Berlin. He analyzed the seeds of
wheat, rye, barley, and oats, and ascertained the
portion of earth which each contains. He ana-
lyzed, in the same manner, rye straw; and hay-
ing in this way ascertained the proportion of
earth which these seeds contained, he endeavoured
to make them grow in some medium, which could
not furnish any earthy ingredient whatever.
For a long time his attempts were baffled; every
substance tried containing less or more of earth.
and being therefore improper. At last he found
that flowers of sulphur might be used with
THE FOOD OF VEGETABLES.

success, as it contained no earthy matter what-
ever, and as the seeds grew in it, and sent out
their roots perfectly well when it was properly
moistened with water. The oxides of antimony
and zine were the substances which answered
best after sulphur. The sceds, then, were planted
in sulphur, placed in a garden at a distance from
all dust, put into a box to which the light and
air had free access; but from which all dust and
rain were carefully excluded, and they were
watered with distilled water. The corn raised
in this manner, was found by Schrader to con-
tain more earthy matter than had existed in the
seeds from which it had grown. Here. then, it
would appear, was the formation of earthy mat-
ter, unless we conceive that the air might have
contained a sufficient quantity floating in it, to
furnish all that was found. Subsequently Schra-
der has given to the public additional experi-
ments on the same subject. In these, he notices
the trials of Saussure, and the results which were
obtained from vegetables growing in calcareous
and granitic soils, and particularly draws the
attention of chemists to the fact ascertained by
Saussure, that plants vegetating in a calcareous
soil, which contained little or no silica, were
yet found to yield a considerable portion of that
earth. Einhof likewise found in the ashes of
the common fir, which had grown in a soil
that yielded no traces of lime, no less than 65
per cent of that earth.

If the earths, then, that are contained in vege-
tables, are derived chiefly from the soil, in
what peculiar state of combination do they enter
the vessels of the plant? The state most likely to
facilitate their absorption, is that of their solu-
tion in water, in which all the earths hitherto
found in plants are known to be in a slight de-
gree soluble.

Lime is soluble in water with the aid of a
little carbonic acid, in the proportion of about
eto part of its weight; but it is also soluble even
without the aid of the acid, and the solution is
known by the name of lime-water. Clay is
soluble in water by means of the mineral acids;
and also, though very sparingly, in pure water,
from which even the filtre cannot abstract it.
Silica is soluble in water by means of carbonate
of potash, as is evident from Black’s analysis of
the waters of Geyser in Iceland. It is soluble
also in pure water, according to the analysis of
Klaproth; and in that state of division in which
it is precipitated from its solution in fixed
alkalies, it is perfectly soluble in 1000 parts of
water. Magnesia is soluble in water by means
of the mineral acids, and even in pure water, in
very small quantities ; requiring about 2000 times
its weight to hold it in solution.

All the earths, then, found in plants, are less
or more soluble in water. And if it be said
that the proportion in which they are soluble is

 

119

so very small, that it scarecly deserves to be
taken into the account, it is to be recollected
that the quantity of water absorbed by the
plant is great, while that of the earth necessary
to its health is but little, so that it may easily
be acquired in the progress of vegetation.

Such is the manner in which their absorption
seems practicable: but the following experiments
afford a presumption that they are actually ab-
sorbed by the root. Woodward took three
plants of spearmint, one of which he made to
vegetate in distilled or pure water; another in
river water; and a third in water mixed with
mould. At the commencement of the experi-
ment the first plant weighed 114 grains; at the
end of the experiment it weighed 155 grains,
being augmented by 41 grains. The water ex-
pended was 8868 grains, and the increase as
1.214-4-. At the commencement of the experi-
ment, the second plant weighed 28 grains, at
the end 54 grains, being augmented by 26
grains. The water expended was 2493 grains,
and the increase as 1 : 95+. At the com-
mencement of the experiment the third plant
weighed 92 grains, at the end 876 grains, being
augmented hy 284 grains. The water expended
was 14950 grains, and the increase as 1 : 52 +.

From the greater proportional augmentation
of the plant to which the mould had access, we
may infer the beneficial effect of the earths as
applied to the root, and perhaps the absorption
of a part; particularly as it is known that the
proportion of earths contained in the ashes of
vegetables, depends upon the nature of the soil
in which they grow. The ashes of leaves of the
rhododendron ferrugincum, growing on Mount
Jura, a calcareous mount, yielded 43.25 parts of
earthy carbonate, and only 0.75 of silica. But
the ashes of leaves of the same plant, growing
on Mount Brevin, a granitic mountain, yielded
two parts of silica, and only 16.75 of earthy
carbonate.

It is probable, however, that plants are not
indebted merely to the soil for the earthy parti-
cles which they may contain. They may ac-
quire them partly from the atmosphere. Margray
has shown that rain water contains silica, in the
proportion of a grain to a pound; which, if it
should not reach the root, may possibly be ab-
sorbed along with the water that adheres to the
leaves,

But although the earths are thus to be re-
garded as constituting u small proportion of
vegetable food, they are not of themselves suffi-
cient to support the plant, even with the assis-
tance of water. Giobert mixed together lime,
alumine, silica, and magnesia, in such propor-
tions as are generally to be met with in fertile
soils, and moistened them with water. Several
different grains were then sown in this artificial
soil, which germinated indeed, but did not thrive;
120

and perished when the nourishment of the coty-
ledons was exhausted. It is plain, therefore,
that the earths, though beneficial to the growth
of some vegetables, and perhaps necessary to the
health of others, are by no means capable of
affording any considerable degree of nourishment
to the plant.

Manures. In the preceding pages has been
given a brief view of the different species of
vegetable food, whether it be regarded as derived
from the soil or the atmosphere. It now remains
to show how the food necessary to the support of
the vegetating plant may be supplied when defec-
tive, or restored when exhausted: but this un-
avoidably involves the subject of manures, or
artificial preparations of vegetable food, so im-
portant to the advancement of agriculture, and
consequent interest of mankind.

With regard to the food of plants derived
from the atmosphere, the supply is pretty regu-
lar; at least, in as far as the gases are concerned ;
for they are not found to vary materially in their
proportions on any part of the surface of the
globe: but the quantity of moisture contained
in the atmosphere is continually varying, so that
in the same season you have not always the same
quantity, though, in the course of the year, the
deficiency is perhaps made up. From the at-
mosphere, therefore, there is a regular supply
of vegetable food kept up by nature for the sup-
port of vegetable life, independent of the aid of
man: and if human aid were even wanted, it
does not appear that it could be of much avail.

But this is by no means the case with regard
to svils; for if soils are less regular in their com-
position, they are at least more within the reach
of human management. We have already seen
the materials of which soils are composed: but
what are the proportions of the materials in soils
best suited for culture? According to the analy-
sis of Bergman, the soil best suited for culture
contains four parts of clay, three of sand, two
of calcareous earth, and one of magnesia: and,
according to the analysis of Foureroy and Has-
senbratz, 9216 parts of fertile soil contained 305
parts of carbon, together with 279 parts of oil;
of which, according to the calculations of La-
voisier, 220 parts may be regarded as carbon:
so that the whole of the carbon contained in the
soil in question, may be estimated at about 525
parts, exclusive of the roots of vegetable, or to
about 7, of its weight.

According to Mr Young, equal weights of
different soils, when dried and reduced to powder,
yielded by distillation quantities of air some-
what corresponding to the ratio of their values.
The air was a mixture of fixed and inflammable
airs, proceeding probably from decomposition of
the water; but partly, perhaps, from its capacity
of abstracting a portion of air from the atmos-
phere, which the soi] at least is capable of doing.

 

THSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The following is the analysis of a fertile soil,
as occurring in the neighbourhood of Bristol.
In 400 grains, there were of

   
 
  
 

 

 

 

Water sescassaseavierscrenceveaegyacrenitaaass neat 52
Silicious sand . -240
Vegetable fibre .. 2 8
seni Rethsie Bema alse 3

Alumine 48
DRMORIA vcaceupitnageoiice 4 9 & Sa emiw aaurnencogeg 2
ORO OL TFON i .cunin aqsaeaeernceyene’ 9 meme seeed 14
Caleareous carth ........0.ccce cee ceeeee eee eeseeas 30
DOG 58 6 iainiccincunciwtesdn ubecniacniaen ideonde 6
TOGA bss si shictuecevasiuseagaamies 400

But Mr Kirwin has shown in his Geological
Essays, that the fertility of a soil depends in a
great measure upon its capacity for retaining
water; and if so, soils containing the same in-
gredients must be also equally fertile, all other
circumstances being the same; though it is plain
that their actual fertility will depend ultimately
upon the quantity of rain that falls, because the
quantity suited to a wet soil cannot be the same
that is suited to a dry soil. And hence it often
happens that the ingredients of the soil do not
correspond to the character of the climate. Silica
exists in the soil under the modification of sand,
and alumine under the modification of clay.
But the one or the other is often to be met with
in excess or defect. Soils in which the sand
preponderates retain the least moisture; and soils
in which the clay preponderates retain the most;
the former are dry soils; the latter are wet soils.
But it may happen that neither of them is suffi-
ciently favourable to culture; in which ease,
their peculiar defect or excess must he supplied
or retrenched, before they can be brought to a
state of fertility.

But soils in astate of culture, though consist-
ing originally of the due proportion of ingre-
dients, may yet become exhausted of the prin-
ciple of fertility by means of too frequent crop-
ping, whether by repetition or rotation of the
same, or of different crops. And in this case,
it should be the object of the phytologist. as well
as of the practical cultivator, to ascertain by
what means fertility is to be restored to an ex-
hausted soil; or communicated to a new one.

In the breaking up of new soils, if the ground
has been wet or marshy, as is frequently the
case, it is often sufficient to prepare it merely by
means of draining off the superfluous and stag-
nant water, and of paring and burning the turf
upon the surface. This mode of preparation is
at present much practised throughout England,
but particularly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire,
as being the best suited to the character of the
soil of these counties that remains to be taken
into cultivation.

If the soil has been exhausted by too frequent
a repetition of the same crop, it often happens
THE FOOD OF VEGETABLES.

that a change of crop will answer the purpose
of the cultivator ; for although a soil may be ex-
hausted for one sort of grain, it does not neces-
sarily follow that it is also exhausted for another.
And, accordingly, the practice of the farmer is
to sow his crops in rotation, having in the same
field a crop, perhaps, of wheat, barley, beans,
and tares in succession; cach species selecting in
its turn some peculiar nutriment, or requiring,
perhaps, a smaller supply than the erop that has
preceded it. But even upon the plan of rota-
tion, the soil becomes at length exhausted, and
the cultivator obliged to have recourse to other
means of restoring its fertility.

In this caso, an interval of repose is consider-
ably efficacious, as may be seen from the increased
fertility of fields that have not been ploughed
up for many years, such as those used for pas-
ture; or even from that of the walks and paths
in gardens when they are again broken up.
Hence also the practice of fallowing, and of
trenching or deep ploughing, which must have
nearly the same effect.

If any one asks how the fertility of a soil is
restored by the means now stated, it will be
sufficient for the object of the present section to
reply that, in the case of draining, the ameliora-
tion is effected by means of its carrying off all
such superfluous moisture as may be lodged in the
soil, which is well known to be prejudicial to
plants not naturally aquatics, as well as by ren-
dering the soil more firm and compact. In the
case of burning, the amelioration is effected by
means of the decomposition of the vegetable
substances contained in the turf, and subjected
to the action of the fire, which disperses part
also of the superfluous moisture, but leaves a
residue of ashes favourable to future vegetation.
In the case of the rotation of crops, the fertility
is not so much restored as more completely de-
veloped and brought into action; because the
soil, though exhausted for one species of grain,
is yet found to be sufficiently fertile for another,
the food necessary to’each being different, or re-
quired in less abundance. It has also been sup-
posed that plants growing long in the same soil,
throw out a particular excretion, which is inim-
ical to plants of the same species, though harm-
less to those of different families and species.

In the case of the repose of the soil, the res-
tored fertility may be owing to the decay of
vegetable substances that are not now carried
off in tHe annual crop, but left to augment the
proportion of vegetable mould; or to the accum-
ulation of fertilizing particles conveyed to the
soil by rains; or to the continued abstraction of
oxygen from the atmosphere. In the case of
fallows, it is owing undoubtedly to the action of
the atmospheric air upon the soil, whether in
rendering it more friable, or in hastening the
puirefaction.of noxious plants; or, it is owing

 

121

to the abstraction and accumulation of oxygen.
In the case of trenching, it is owing to the in-
creased facility with which the roots can now
penetrate in the proper depth; and in the casa
of deep ploughing, it is owing, as it would ap-
pear, to the same cause.

But it often happens that the soil can no longer
be ameliorated by any of the foregoing means,
and in this case there must be a direct and actual
application made to it of such substances as are
fitted to restore its fertility. And hence the in-
dispensable necessity of manures, which consist
chiefly of animal and vegetable remains that are
buried and finally decomposed in the soil, from
which they are afterwards absorbed by the root
of the plant, in a state of solution.

But as carbon is the principal ingredient fur-
nished by manures as contributing to the nour-
ishment of the plant, and is not itself soluble in
water, nor even disengaged by fermentation in a
state of purity; under what state of chemical
combination is its solution effected? Is it ef-
fected in the state of charcoal? It has been
thought, indeed, that carbon in the state of
charcoal, is soluble in water; because water from
a dunghill, when evaporated, constantly leaves
a residuum of charcoal, as was first ascertained
by the experiments of Hassenfratz. But there
seem to be reasons for doubting the legitimacy
of the conclusion that has been drawn from it;
for Senebier found that plants whose roots were
immersed in water, took up less of the fluid in
proportion as it was mixed with water from a
dunghill. Perhaps then the charcoal of water
from adunghill is held merely in suspension,
and enters the plant under some other modifica-
tion.

But if carbon is not soluble in water in the
state of charcoal, in what other state is it solu-
ble. It is soluble in the state of carbonic acid
gas. But is this the state in which it actually
enters the root? On this subject physiologists
have been somewhat divided in opinion. Sene-
bier endeavours to prove that carbonic acid gas,
dissolved in water, supplies the roots of plants
with almost all their carbon, and founds his ar-
guments upon the following facts:—In the first
place it is known that carbonic acid gas is solu-
ble in water; in the second place it is known to
be contained in the soil, and generated by the
fermentation of the materials composing man-
ures; and in the next place it is known to be
beneficial to vegetation when applied artificially
to the roots, at least in a certain degree. This
is evident from the following experiment of
Ruckert, as well as from several experiments of
Saussure’s, previously related. Ruckert planted
two beans in pots of equal dimensions, filled
with garden mould; the one was moistened with
distilled water, and the other with water im-
pregnated with carbonic acid gas, But. the latter

&
122

appeared above ground nine days sooner than
the former, and produced twenty-five beans ;
while the former produced only fifteen. Now the
result of this experiment, as well as the preced-
ing facts, is evidently favourable to the pre-
sumption of Senebier, and shows that, if carbonic
acid is not the state in which carbon enters the
plant, it is at least a state preparatory to it; and
there are other circumstances tending to corro-
borate the opinion resulting from the analysis of
the ascending sap of plants. The tears of the
vine, when analysed hy Senebier, yielded a por-
tion of carbonic acid and earth; and as the as-
cending sap could not be supposed to have yet
undergone much alteration, the carbonic acid,
like the earth, was probably taken up from the
soil.

But this opinion, which seems to be so firmly
established upon the basis of experiment, Has-
senfratz strenuously controverts. According to
experiments which he had instituted with an
express view to the investigation of this subject,
plants which were raised in water impregnated
with carbonic acid, differed in no respect from
such as grew in pure water, and contained no
carbon that did not previously exist in the seed.
Now if this were the fact, it would be decisive
of the point in question. But it is plain from
the experiments of Saussure, as related in a pre-
ceding section, that Hassenfratz must have been
mistaken, both with regard to the utility of
carbonic acid gas as furnishing a vegetable ali-
ment, and with regard to the augmentation of
carbon in the plant. The opinion of Senebier,
therefore, may still be correct.

It must be acknowledged, however, that the
subject is not yet altogether satisfactorily cleared
up; and that carbon may certainly enter the
plant in some state different from that either of
charcoal in solution, or of carbonic acid gas. Is
not the carbonic acid of the soil decomposed
before entering the plant? This is a conjecture of
Dr Thomson’s, founded upon the following facts:
The green oxide of iron is capable of decom-
posing carbonic acid; and many soils contain
that oxide. Most soils indeed, contain iron,
cither in the state of the brown or green oxide,
and it has been found that oils convert the brown
oxide into green. But dung and rich soils con-
tain a quantity of oily substance. One effect of
manures, therefore, may be that of reducing the
brown oxide of iron to the green, thus rendering
it capable of decomposing carbonic acid gas, so
as to prepare it for some new combination, in
which it may serve as an aliment for plants.
All this, however, is but a conjecture; and it is
more probable that the carbonic acid of the soil
enters the root in combination with some other
substance, and is afterwards decomposed within
the plant itself.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

CHAP. XIX.
OF VEGETABLE VITALITY.

Vecrtanies, as we have already remarked,
differ entirely from mineral bodies, in possessing
an organized structure; and in obeying laws
totally different from those which regulate in-
organic matter. In this respect, they nearly re-
semble animal bodies; and hence, both are said
to be endowed with life or vitality. So little is
known, however, of the nature of this vitality,
either in animals or vegetables, that it need not
be surprising if a variety of conflicting theories
have been formed by physiologists, to account
for its primary cause. While some affirm that
the vital actions are the result simply of an or-
ganized structure, acted upon by external stimuli;
others are disposed to believe in a distinct prin-
ciple of vitality, which, acting by peculiar laws,
moulds and regulates inorganic matter, so as to
exhibit all the phenomena of life.

One of the chief arguments in support of a
principle of vitality, is the fact that organized
bodies are thereby rendered capable of resisting,
and counteracting the ordinary laws of chemical
affinity. This circumstance, which seems to
have been first established by Humboldt, is obvi-
ously applicable to the case of animals; as is
proved by their processes of digestion and as-
simulation, whereby the food is converted into
chyle and blood, as well as from the various se-
cretions of their several organs, effecting the
growth and development of the individual, in
direct opposition to the laws of chemical affinity,
which, as soon as this principle of vitality ceases
to operate, immediately begin to give indications
of their action in the incipient symptoms of the
putrefaction of the dead body, and its ultimate
resolution into the elements of which it was
formed. This rule is also applicable to vegeta-
bles, as is illustrated in a similar manner by the
ascent of the sap, and its ultimate elaboration
into the various substances proper to the plant,
by a series of operations contrary both to the
laws of gravity and chemical action. At the
death of the plant, too, and on the cessation of
its principle of vitality, the usual chemical
agencies are resumed, and a similar decomposi-
tion takes place, as in the case of animals.
The vegetable economy, therefore, exhibits phe-
nomena totally different from that which char-
acterises mineral and inorganic bodies. Vegeta-
ble life, therefore, is upheld by different and
peculiar laws; and it may be, is in its essence a
peculiar principle, distinct from the matters
which it moulds and forms into various shapes
and textures. Vegetable life, then, is charac-
terised by the following properties,

Excitability. A remarkable property of or-
OF VEGETABLE VITALITY.

ganised vegetable structure, is its susceptibility
of being acted on by external stimuli, whereby
all the phenomena of vegetable life are called
into existence. These stimuli are light, heat,
and electricity; and we shall consider their in-
fluence separately.

Light. The action of light is very percepti-
ble in plants, as affecting their leaves, stems,
flowers, and even roots. It is to this influence
of light that the bending of the stem and leaves
of plants is attributable, producing in them, as
it were, a direct motion towards the luminous
quarter. Bonnet planted three beans for the
purpose of comparative experiment; one in the
open air, another in a tube of glass covered at
the top; and a third in a tube of wood covered
at the top also. The first plant was strong and
luxuriant, the second was also strong, and in-
clined towards the sun; but the third, though it
grew tall, was pale and sickly. Hence it is, upon
the principle of the exclusion of light, that
plants are blanched, as in the case of the blanch-
ing of celery. The direction and luxuriance of
the branches depend also upon the influence of
light, as may be remarked in all plants growing
in hot-houses, the branches of which are not so
conspicuously directed either to the heated place
in quest of heat, or to the door or open sash, in
quest of aif,as to the sun by a mysterious attrac-
tion for his light. It may be observed also, that
the branches of vegetables turned towards the
south, are always more luxuriant than those on
the north, or at least, on that side which is most
fully exposed to the influence of light.

The position of the leaf is also strongly affected
by the action of light, to which it uniformly
turns its upper surface. This may be observed
in trees trained to a wall, from which the upper
surface of the leaf is necessarily always averted,
being on a south wall turned to the south; and
ona north wall turned to the north. And if
the upper surface of the leaf is forcibly turned
towards the wall, and confined in that position
for a length of time, it will soon assume its
original position upon regaining its liberty, but
particularly if the atmosphere is clear. Bonnet
tried to retain a leaf in its inverted position, by
means of twisting the leaf stalk; but it was
always found to untwist itself again in the course
of a short time, and again to present its upper
surface to the sun or light. This it was some-
times found to do, even in the night; but always
the most expeditiously in young subjects. If
the experiment is often repeated, the leaf resumes
its original position with more difficulty, and
exhibits evident marks of being injured by the
exertion, in the appearance of several black
spots about the veins of the under surface, and
in the scaling off of the cuticle. All leaves,
however, are not equally susceptible to the action
of the stimulus of light. Thus the leaves of

 

1238

the common mallow show few signs of this sus-
ceptibility; and it is the same with all those
leaves of a narrow shape. The leaves of the
misletoe have never been known to resume a
former position in consequence of any change in
the position of the branch, because, as Smith
observes, they are perhaps equally susceptible
on both sides. Succulent leaves, notwithstand-
ing their thick and firm texture, are said to be
particularly susceptible ; and if the leaf of the
vine is even separated from a branch, and sus-
pended by a fine thread, so as that the upper
surface shall be turned from the light, it will
yet gradually alter its position till it comes round
again to it. This experiment requires to be
made with great care and delicacy, lest the leaf
should be made to turn by means of the effect
of the atmosphere upon the thread.

In speculating on these effects, it may be asked
if light is here the sole agent; or, whether some-
thing may not also be due to the influence of
heat and moisture. To set this question at rest,
Bonnet placed several plants in a heated stove,
and he found that the stems were not turned to
the side from whence the greatest heat proceeded,
but to a small opening in the stove, admitting
the light. He also found that the leaves of the
vine turned towards the light exactly in the same
manner when placed in water, as when left in
the open air; whence it may be naturally inferred,
that to the influence of light alone is due the
motions of plants already described.

But as light produces such effects upon the
leaves, so darkness, or the absence of light, pro-
duces an effect quite the contrary; for it is well
known that the leaves of many plants assume a
very different position during the night from what
they have in the day. This is particularly the
case with winged leaves, which, though fully ex-
panded during the day, begin to droop and bend
down about sun-set, and during the fall of the
evening dew, till they meet together on the in-
ferior side of the leaf-stalk, the terminal lobe, if
the leaf is furnished with one, folding itself
back till it reaches the first pair; or the two side
lobes, if the leaf is trifoliate, as in the case of
common clover, which fact seems to have been first
observed by the daughter of Linneus. So also
the leaflets of the false acacia and liquorice hang
down during the night, on each side of the mid-
rib, but do not meet beneath it. The leaves of
the sensitive plant (mimosa pudica) fold them-
selves up along the common foot-stalk, so as to
overlap one another. But, perhaps, this effect
is produced partly by the agency of moisture, as
it is accelerated by dews and rains, and may even
be occasioned by artificial watering. On referr-
ing to our account of the theories of Dutrochet
of endosmose and exosmose, already given, some
farther light on this subject may be obtained.

During the absence of light, too, it is highly
,

124

probable that plants undergo a change in their
functions; or that, during this period, they per-
form a process analogous to breathing, giving out
their excess of carbonic acid, and taking in a
quantity of oxygen; whereas, during the day,
their digestive process consists in decomposing
carbonic acid and water, and liberating a quantity
of superfluous oxygen.

The action of light is the chief agent in the
expansion of the blossoms of flowers. Many
plants do not fully expand their petals except
when the sun shines; and hence they alternately
open them during the day, and shut them up
during the night. This is distinctly observable
in the case of the garden pea, and other papilion-
aceous flowers, which spread out their wings in
fine weather to admit the rays of the sun, and
again fold them up as the night approaches. It
may be exemplified also in all compound flowers,
as in the dandelion and hawkweed. But the
most remarkable case of the kind is that of the
celebrated lotus, or lily of the Nile, as described
by Theophrastus and Pliny. This plant is re-
presented as raising and expanding its blossom
during the day, and closing and sinking down
beneath the surface of the water at night, so as
‘to be beyond the grasp of the hand, and thus
remaining till morning again calls it up to the
air and light.

But though the opening and shutting of the
blossoms of plants takes place on the change
from day to night; yet all plants do not open
and shut them at the same timeexactly. Plants
of the same species are, however, wonderfully
regular, even to an hour, other circumstances
being the same; and hence has been constructed
what botanistscall “ Flora’s Time piece.” Flowers
requiring a slight stimulus of light, open early
in the morning, others requiring more and more
open in succession until noon. Many do not
fully expand till mid-day, or a little later; and
some, whose extreme delicacy cannot bear the
action of full light at all, open only at night;
of this nature is the cactus grandiflora, ov night
blowing cereus.

Some, however, have doubted whether light
be the sole agent in this expansion of the blos-
soms, as it has been observed that equatorial
flowers open always at the same hour; and that
tropical flowers change their hour of opening
according to the length of the day. It has been
observed also, that the flowers of plants that
have been removed from a warmer to a colder
climate, expand at a later hour in the latter. A
flower that opens at six in the morning at Sene-
gal, will not open in France or England till eight
or nine, nor in Sweden till ten. A flower that
opens at ten at Senegal, will not open in France
or England till noon, or later, and in Sweden it
will not expand at all. Neither will a flower
open at all in Ungland or 'rance, which delays

 

HIstORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

its expansion in Senegal till noon or later. This
seems as if a certain amount of heat were as
necessary as light, though the opening of such
as blow only at night cannot be attributed to
either of these stimulants. It is highly proba-
ble that the expansion of some flowers depends
as much on other conditions of the air, as
on the presence or absence of light and heat,
such as its moisture or dryness, and its electric
condition, Hence it is, that their opening or
shutting betokens meteorological changes. Thus,
if the Siberian sow-thistle shuts at night, the
ensuing day will be fine; and if it opens, it will
be cloudy and rainy. If the African marygold
continues shut after seven o’clock in the morp-
ing, rain may be soon expected; and if the con-
volvulus arvensis, calendula fluvialis, or anagallis
arvensis, ave even already open, they will shut
upon the approach of rain, the last of which,
from its nice susceptibility in this respect, has
been called “the poor man’s weather glass.”
Some flowers not only indicate the same in-
fluence by expanding under his presence, but
they also follow him in his course, by bending
or turning gradually from the east to the west as
the day advances; and thus, looking towards the
east in the morning, towards the south at noon,
and to the west in the evening, while during the
night they again return to their eastern position,
to meet the rising luminary. Such flowers have
been called heliotropes, on account of their thus
following the course of the sun; and the move-
ment they thus make has been called by the as-
tronomical term of their mutation. The ancients
had remarked this circumstance long before they
had made any considerable progress in botany;
and it had even been interwoven into their
mythology, having, according to their legends,
originated in one of the metamorphosis of early
ages. Clytia, inconsolable for the loss of the
affections of Sol, by whom she had been for-
merly beloved, and of whom she was still en-
amoured, is represented as brooding over her
griefs in silence and solitude; where refusing all
sustenance, and seated upon the cold ground,
with her eyes invariably fixed on the sun during
the day, and watching for his return during the
night, she is at length transformed into a flower,
retaining as much as a flower can retain it, the
same unaltered attachment to the sun. This is
the flower which is denominated the heliotrope
by the ancients, and described by Ovid as “the
flower which turns to the sun.” But it mast
be remarked that the flower thus alluded to by
Ovid, cannot be the heliotrope of the moderns,
because Ovid describes it as resembling the violet;
much less can it be the modern sun-flower, which
is a native of America, and could not conse-
quently have been known to the Latin poet; so
that the true heliotropium of the ancients yet
remains unascertained, Bonnet has remarked
OF VEGETABLE VITALITY.

that the ripe ears of corn which bend down with
the weight of grain, scarcely ever incline to the
north, but always more or less in a southerly
direction; of the accuracy of whicli remark, any
one may easily satisfy himself by looking at a
field of wheat ready for the sickle; he will find
the whole mass of ears nodding, as if with one
consent, to the south. The immediate cause of
the phenomena, has heen supposed to be a con-
traction of the fibres of the stem or flower stalk,
on the side exposed to the sun; and the contrac-
tion has been thought by De la Hire, and Dr
Hales, to be occasioned by an excess of transpira-
tion on the sunny side, which is probably near
the truth.

Heat. Acertain medium degree of heat is
essential to the first development of the vegetable
germ, and to the future life of the plant.

No plants will vegetate at a temperature so
low as 82°, ox freezing point of Fahrenheit; and
few will bear a higher temperature than 150 or
160, although instances have been adduced of
plants vegetating in situations where the tem-
perature, in consequence of volcanic action and
boiling springs, was not less than 212. The
points we have indicated, however, may be looked
upon as the extremes of vegetable existence. It
is true plants, like animals, can bear a much
greater degree of cold than that of 32°; but any
temperature, much under this, suspends their
vegetative powers for the time, which are only
resumed after an elevation of temperature where
the juices of the soil on which they live are in
such a fluid state as to be capable of being ab-
sorbed by their roots.

The influence of heat, too, has a marked ef-
fect on the development of the different parts of
plants; and thus leaves, blossoms, and fruit make
their appearance in successive periods or seasons.
From this circumstance, Linneus constructed
his Calendar of Flora, which comprehends a
view of the successive periods at which plants
blossom and produce fruit. With regard to the
frondescence, it must be evident to all that plants
do not produce their leaves at the same time.
Thus, the honey-suckle protrudes them in the
month of January; the gooseberry, currant, and
elder, in the end of February, or beginning of
March; the willow, elm, and lime tree, in April;
and the oak and ash, which are always the latest
among trees, in the beginning or towards the
middle of May. Many annuals do not come up
till after the summer solstice; and many mosses
not till after the commencement of winter. This
gradual and successive unfolding of the leaves
of different plants, seems to arise from the peculiar
susceptibility of the species to the action of heat,
as itrequiresa greater or less degree of it to give the
proper stimulus to the vital energies of the plants.
Butagreat many circumstances willalways concur
to render the time of the unfolding of the leaves

 

125

somewhat irregular, because the mildness of the
season is by no means uniform at the same per-
iod of advancement; and because the leafing ot
the plant depends upon the peculiar degree of
temperature, and not upon the return of a par-
ticular day of the year. Tlence it has been
thought that no rule could be so good for direct-
ing the husbandman in the sowing of his several
sorts of grain, as the leafing of such species of
trees as might be found by observation, to cor-
respond best to each sort of grain respectively
in the degree of temperature required.

Linneus, who instituted some observations
on the subject, about the year 1750, with a view
chiefly to ascertain the time proper for the sow-
ing of barley in Sweden, regarded the leafing
of the beech tree as being the best indication
for that grain, and recommended the institution
of similar observations with regard to other gpris
of grain, upon the ground of its great impor-
tance to the hushandman. But however plausi-
ble the rule thus suggested, may be in appear-
ance, and however pleasing it may be in contem-
plation, it is not likely that it will ever be much
attended to by the hushandman, because nature
has furnished him with indications that are still
more obvious in the very evidence of his own
feelings, as well as perhaps more correct; as all
trees of the same species do not come into leaf
precisely at the same time, and as the weather
may change even after the most propitious indi-
cations.

The flowering of the plant, like the leafing,
seems to depend upon the degree of temperature
induced by the returning spring, as the flowers
are also protruded pretty regularly at the same
successive periods of the season. ‘The mezereon
and snow drop blossom in February, the prim-
rose in the month of March, the cowslip in
April, the great majority of plants in the months
of May and June; many in July, August, and
September; some not till the month of October,
as the meadow saffron; and a few not even till
winter, as the arbutus and laurestinus. Such
at least is the period of their flowering in this
country; but in warmer climates they are earlier,
and in colder regions later.

In tropical countries, where the temperature
is steadily at a high elevation, it often happens
that plants will blossom more than once in the
year, because they do no more require to wait
till the temperature is raised to a certain height,
but merely till the development of their parts
can be effected on the regular operations of nature
under a temperature already sufficient. For the
greater part, however, they flower during our
summer, though plants in opposite hemispheres,
flower in opposite seasons. In all climates,
however, the time of flowering depends also
much on the elevation of the place above the
level of the sea, as well as on other causes affect-
126

ing the degree of heat. Hence plants occupying
the polar regions, and plants growing on the
summits of high mountains of southern latitudes,
are in flower at the same season. And hence
the same species of flowers are later of blossom-
ing in North America, than in the same latitudes
in Europe, because the surface of the earth is
higher, or the winters more severe.

There is also much diversity in the degree of
warmth, and its duration necessary for the ma-
turation of the fruits of vegetables, as well as
for their frondescence and flowering. But the
plant that flowers the soonest, does not always
ripen its fruit the soonest. The hazel tree, which
blows in February, does not ripen its fruit till
autumn, while the cherry, which does not blow
til May, ripens its fruit in June. It may be
regarded, however, as the general rule, that if a
plant blows in spring, it ripens its fruit in sum-
mer, as in the case of the currant and gooseberry;
if it blows in summer, it ripens its fruit in
autumn, as in the case of the vine; and if it
blows in autumn it ripens its fruit in winter.
But the meadow saffron, which blows in the
autumn, does not ripen its fruit till the succeed-
ing spring. Such are a few of the facts on which
a Calendar of Flora might be formed. They
have not hitherto been very minutely attended
to by botanists, and perhaps by many may be
reckoned more curious than practically useful.
At all events, all such records afford pleasing
associations connected with the ever varying
phases of the year, and the phenomena are at
least sufficiently striking as to have attracted the
attention even of savages. Thus, some tribes of
American, savages act upon the very principle
suggested by Linneus, and plant their corn when
the wild plum blooms, or when the leaves of
the oak are about as large as a squirrel’s ears.
‘The names of some of their months are also de-
yived from the stages of vegetation. One is
called the budding month, and another the
flowering month; one the strawberry month,
and anotherthe mulberry month; and theautumn
is designated by a term signifying the fall of the
leaf.

There are also several other ways in which
the agency of heat may be observed, as exciting
the vital energies of plants. Thus, the leaflets
of some of the leguminous plants, when exposed
to the action of an ardent sun, are often erected
into a vertical position on each side of the leaf-
stalk, which they sometimes even pass, so as to
close together. Under similar circumstances
the leaves of the Indian mallow become concave,
and it seems as if the effect were produced
mercly, or at least chiefly, by means of heat,
because the same effect may be produced even
by means of the application of a hot iron; and
yet the leaflets of nany such plants fold them-
selves back at night, so as to meet under the

 

FISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

leaf-stalk. Several species of inimosa also, ex-
hibit a singular phenomenon even in the common
foot-stalk, which isfound to have a sort of natural
movement dependent upon the temperature, so
that it is elevated in the course of the day, and
depressed at night. According to the observa-
tions of Du Hamel, at nine o’clock in the morn-
ing of a September day, the weather being mo-
derately fine, the foot-stalk of a leaf of mimosa
pudica, formed by its position an angle of 100°;
with the lower part of the stem at noon, it
formed an angle of 212°; at three in the after-
noon it had fallen to an angle of 100°; and dur-
ing the night it fell to an angle of 90°, thus in-
dicating an evident susceptibility to the stimulus
of heat.

As a summer heat is necessary to the full
and perfect exertion of the functions of vege-
tables; so the depression of temperature conse-
quent upon the cold of winter, has been thought
to suspend the exertion of those functions alto-
gether. But this opinion requires some limita-
tion; for some plants expand their leaves and
flowers even in winter, such as many of the
mosses; and others develope their buds during
this season, in which there is a regular and
gradual progress of vegetation till they expand
in spring. The sap, it is true, flows much less
freely, but is not entirely stopped. Hales lopped
off some branches from the hazel, and vine, and
jessamine, respectively, in course of the winter,
and covered the section of the separated branches
with mastic; and in a few days these branches
were found to have lost considerably in weight;
whence he inferred the motion of the sap, be-
cause it seems reasonable to suppose, that this
dissipation of sap would have been repaired, it
the branches had remained on their parent trees.
Du Hamel planted some young trees in the
autumn, cutting off all the smaller fibres of the
root, with a view to watch the progress of the
formation of new ones. At the end of every
fortnight he had the plants taken up and ex-
amined with all possible care, to prevent injuring
them; and found, that when it did not actually
freeze, new roots were uniformly developed.
Hence it follows, that even during the period of
winter, when vegetation, to all appearance, seems
totally at a stand, the tree being stripped of its
foliage, and the herb apparently withering in
the frozen blast, still the energies of vegetable
life are exerted, and still the vital functions are
at work, carrying on, in the interior of the plant,
concealed from human view, and sheltered from
the piercing frosts, operations necessary to the
preservation of vegetable life, or development of
future parts; though it requires the returning
warmth of spring to give that degree of velocity
to the juices which shall render their motion
evident to man, as well as that expression of the
whole plant, which is the most evident token of
OF VEGETABLE VITALITY,

life; just in the same way as the processes of
digestion, assimulation, and circulation are carried
on in the sleeping animal.

Heat, then, isa most important stimulus in
the operations of the vegetable functions, accel-
erating the motion of the sap, and exciting all
the other actions; for the sap flows much more
copiously as the warmth of the season increases;
or as the artificial temperature of the hot-house
is raised. At the same time, it is ascertained
that excessive heat impedes the progress of vege-
tation as well as extreme cold, both being equally
prejudicial. Hence the sap flows more copiously
in the spring and autumn, than in either the
summer or winter months. This may readily
be proved by watching the progress of the growth
of the annual shoot, which, after having sprung
up rapidly in spring, remains for a while sta-
tionary during the great heat of summer, but is
again elongated during the more moderate tem-
perature of autumn.

Other stimulants have been found to accelerate
the growth of vegetables when dissolved in water,
and applied to the roots or branches. Thus the
germination of peas is accelerated by moistening
them in water impregnated with oxymuriatic
acid gas, a fact first ascertained by Humboldt;
and the vegetation of the bulbs of the hyacinth
and narcissus is accelerated by.the application
of nitre in solution. Dr Barton of Philadel-
phia found that a decaying branch of lirioden-
dron tulipiferum, and a faded flower of the yel-
low iris, recovered, and continued long fresh,
when put into water impregnated with camphor,
though a flower and branches, in all respects
similar, did not recover when put into common
water. .

Plants have also the power of generating
heat, and in this respect show a wonderful coin-
cidence with the more perfect vital powers of
animals. The heat of plants is evinced by the
more speedy melting of snow when in contact
with their leaves or stems, compared with what
is lodged upon inorganic bodies, provided the
preceding frost has been sufficiently permanent
to cool those substances thoroughly. MrHunter
detected this heat by the rise of the thermometer,
applied in frosty weather, to the internal parts
of vegetables newly opened. And Lamarck
mentions an extraordinary degree of heat evolved
by the arum maculatum, or wake robin, about
the period when the sheath is about to open.
Most plants, at the period of inflorescence, ex-
hibit this internal heat in a greater degree than
at other times.

Electricity. There can be no doubt but that
electricity is one of the stimuli of vegetable life,
although its mode of action is not yet ascertained.
Vegetation is seen to increase prodigiously dur-
ing electric changes of the atmosphere, and es-
pecially in that condition of it when the air is

 

127

positively charged with the electric fluid. It
is probable, too, as we have explained when
treating of the theory of the ascent of the sap,
that electricity is concerned in this phenomenon,
and perhaps in the elaboration and secretion
of the various vegetable juices and products.
The influence of light on vegetables has al-
ready been explained; and when we call to mind
the recent discoveries by which it is shown’that,
in the sun’s rays, there are some which exercise
a powerful chemical action on bodies, it may
not be without probability conjectured, that
these chemical rays have a considerable influ-
ence in imparting colour, and promoting the
various chemical changes which take place in
vegetable bodies.

frritability. This property of plants corre-
sponds somewhat to the muscular irritability of
animals. Plants are not only susceptible to the
action of light and heat, but also to the contact
of external matter. It is true that this suscep-
tibility is not very apparent in the generality
of plants; but in a few, especially the mémosa, or
sensitive plant, a decided shrinking and folding
up of the leaves takes place when they are
touched by the finger, or any other body. The
twisting of tendrils round any other body; the
bending of stems and branches; and, above all,
the extension of roots, as influenced by moisture
or particular svils, are all, however, evident
proof of this irritability.

Du Hamel made the following experiments,
with a view to ascertain the susceptibility of the
sensitive plant. At eight o’clock in the morn-
ing of a day in September, a leaf-stalk of a sen-
sitive plant, formed with the lower part of the
stem an angle of 185°, which, upon being touched,
fell to an angle of 80°: an hour afterwards it rose
again to 185°; and upon being touched a second
time, it fell again also to 80°. An hour and a
half afterwards it rose to 145°, and upon being
touched fell to 185°, where it remained till five
o’clock in the evening, when upon being touched
it fell to 110°. Hence it follows, that the sus-
ceptibility is greatest in the morning, or during
the heat of the day; but the leaf recovers itself
sooner or later, according to the vigour of the
plant, the season of the year, and temperature
of the atmosphere, as well as the hour of the
day at which the experiment is made, though
it does not always recover itself in the same way ;
for sometimes the common foot-stalk recovers
first, sometimes the lateral foot-stalk, and some-
times the leaflets themselves.

The leaves of dionwa muscipula, or Venus
fly-trap, are also extremely susceptible to the
action of accidental stimuli. They are all
radical, and approaching to battledore-shaped,
with a sort of circular process at the apex,
which is bisected by a tendril, and ciliated with
fine hairs like an eyelash. This circular process is
128

the seat of irritability, and if it is touched with
any sharp pointed instrument, or if an insect
alights upon it,thesegments 4,
immediately collapse, and ad-
here so closely that the in-
sect is generally squeezed to
death in its grasp, or at the
least, detained a prisoner. A
similar susceptibility to the
action of accidental stimuli,
has been observed in the leaves
of the several British species
of drosera or sun dew. But
sometimes the irritability re-
sides in the flower, and has its
seat either in the stamens or style. The former
case we have already alluded to in the blossoms of
the common barberry, the stamens of which,
when undisturbed, lie reclined upon the petals
which shelter the anthers under their concave
tips. But no sooner is the inner side of the
filament touched either accidentally or inten-
tionally, with any sharp pointed substance, than
the stamen immediately bends itself inwards,
till its anther strikes against the stigma. This
fact had been long familiar to botanists; but it
remained to be ascertained whether the suscep-
tibility in question was confined to the inner
side of the filament merely, or whether it per-
vaded the whole stamen. With this object in
view, Sir J. E. Smith having procured some flowers
fully blown, on the 25th of May, examined them
with great care; and after applying the point of
a quill or fine bristle, with all possible delicacy,
to every part of the surface of the stamen, he
found that it no where exhibited any indications
of susceptibility, except on the inner side of the
filament, and towards the base. It had been
thought that the stamens possessed this property
only at the time of shedding the pollen; but Sir
J. E. Smith found that they possess it at all ages,
and even when the petal with its annexed filament
has fallen to the ground, they gradually re-
cover their original situation, and are capable of
being again stimulated as before. The stamens
of cactus tuna, a sort of Indian fig, are said to
be endowed with a similar irritability. If a quill
or feather is drawn across its long and slender
filaments which surround the germen in great
numbers, they will immediately begin to bend
to the one side, and will in a short time sink
down to the base of the flower. The case in
which the seat of irritability is confined to the
style is exemplified in stylédium glandulosum,
a native of New Holland. The style of this
flower, which is about an inch in length, is bent
backward a little above the base, in the manner
of the piece of iron that is fixed to the end of a
shepherd’s crook, or to the end of the pole of a
chaise, so that the style forms a sort of hook
with the flower-stalk, the stigma being reflected

70.

 

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

so as in many cases to touch it. But if the
stigma is itself touched with the point of the
finger or other suitable instrument, the style is
immediately put into motion, and flies back till
it bends itself as much in a contrary direction,
and on the other side of the flower as it did in
its first direction.

—_——

CIIAP. XX.

DISEASES OF VEGETABLES.

VecerraniEs being organized structures, are
liable to disease as well as animals. The min-
uteness and delicacy of their internal cells and
tubes render them frequently liable to disorgan-
ization; and their soft and succulent exteriors
are continually exposed to abrasions and injuries
from the contact of other bodies. Besides these,
the influence of the atmosphere, as regards its
moisture and dryness, or electric condition, ma-
terially affects the health and vigour of plants.
Vegetables, like animals, are also liable to the
attacks of parasites; and thus fungi or minute
plants, and insects and animalcules, have a very
prejudicial effect upon many plants. The diseases
of vegetables haye been classed under the fol-
lowing heads: blight, smut, mildew, honeydew,
dropsy, flux of juices, gangrene, etiolation, suffo-
cation, contortion, consumption.

Blight. This is one of the most common
diseases which affect vegetables, and yet one on
the nature of which the greatest differences of
opinion have prevailed. The disease seems to
have been observed by, and to have been familiar
to the ancient Greeks. They regarded it as a
scourge from heaven, or from their enraged
deities; and therefore did not trouble themselves
in the investigation of its nature or cause. It
was familiar to the Romans also, under the
name of rubigo, or rust; and this people regarded
it in the same light as the Greeks, believing it,
however, to he under the special influence of a
particular deity named Rubdigus, whom they
solemnly invoked in order to keep this calamity
from their trees and corn fields. In modern
times it is not less well known; yet still its true
nature remains matter of speculation. The
fact is, that there may perhaps be several varie-
ties, and the disease all arising from different
causes.

Dr Keith has endeavoured to point out at
least three species. 1st, Blight arising from cold
and frosty winds: 2d, from a peculiar vapour,
perhaps originating in certain electric conditions
of the atmosphere: and, 3d, from the presence of
a minute parasitical fungus,

The first kind of blight is often occasioned hy
the cold and easterly winds of spring, which nip
DISEASES OF

and destroy the tender shoots of the plant, by
stopping the current of the juices. The leaves
which are thus deprived of their due nourish-
ment, wither and fall; and the juices that are
now stopped in the passage, swell and burst the
vessels, and become the food of innumerable
little insects, that soon after make their appear-
ance. Hence they are often mistaken for the
cause of the disease, instead of the consequences
of it; the farmer supposing they are wafted to
him on the east wind, while they are only fos-
tered in the superabundant and obstructed juices,
which form an appropriate nursery for their eggs
and young. These propagating, will undoubt-
edly contribute to the extension of the disorder,
as they increase in proportion to the supply of
suitable food.

A similar disease is also occasioned by the
early frosts of spring. If the weather is pre-
maturely mild, the blossom is forced before its
time, a circumstance which, though hailed by
the inexperienced with pleasure, is yet viewed
by the judicious with fear. For it frequently
happens that this premature blossom is totally
destroyed by subsequent frosts, as well as both
the leaves and shoots; which consequently wither
and fall, and injure, if they do not actually kill the
plant. This evil is also often augmented by the
unskilful gardener, even in attempting to pre-
vent it, that is, by matting up his trees too
closely, or by keeping them covered in the course
of the day, and thus rendering the shoots so
tender, that they can scarcely fail to be destroyed
by the next frost.

The second kind of blight generally happens
in summer, when the grain has attained to its
full growth, and when there are no cold winds
or frosts to occasion it. Such was the blight
that used to damage the vineyards of ancient
Italy, and which is yet found to produce great
destruction in the hop plantations and wheat
fields of Britain.

The Romans had observed that it generally
happened after short but heavy showers, occur-
ring about noon, and followed by clear sunshine
about the season of the ripening of the grapes;
and that the middle of the vineyard suffered the
most. This corresponds pretty nearly to what is in
England called the fire-blast among hops, which
has been observed to take place most commonly
about the end of July, when there has been rain,
witha hot gleam of sunshine immediately after.
The middle of the hop ground is also the most
affected, whether the blight is general or partial;
and is almost always the point in which it ori-
ginates. In a particular case, minutely observed
by Hale, the damage happened a little before
noon, and the blight ran in a line, forming a
right angle with the sunbeams at that time of
the day. There was but little wind, which was,
however, in the line of the blight. Wheat is

 

VEGETABLES. 129
also affected with a similar sort of blight, and
about the same season of the year, which totally
destroys the crop. “In the summer of 1809,’
says Dr Keith, “I had watched the progress
of the growth of a field of wheat on rather a
light and sandy soil, merely from having had
occasion to pass through it every Sunday, in
going to serve at church. It came up with every
appearance of health, and also into ear, with a
fair prospect of ripening well. I had taken par-
ticular notice of it on a Sunday about the be-
ginning of July, as exceeding any thing I should
have expected on such a soil; but on the follow-
ing Sunday, I was surprised to find a portion of
the crop on the east side of the field, to the ex-
tent of several acres, totally destroyed, being
shrunk and shrivelled up to less than one-half
the size of what it had formerly been; with an
appearance so withered and blasted, that I for
some time imagined I had got into the wrong
field; the rest of the field produced a fair crop.”
Vhe third kind of blight seizes on the leaves
and stem, both of herbaceous and woody plants,
such as euphorbia cyparissus, berberis vulgaris,
and rhamnus catharticus; but more generally
grasses, and particularly our most useful grains,
wheat, barley, and oats. It generally assumes
the appearance of a rusty-looking powder, that
soils the finger when touched. “On the 25th of
March, 1807,” says Dr Keith, “I examined some
blades of wheat that were attacked with this
species of blight; the appearance was that of a
number of rusty-looking spots or patches, dis-
persed over the surface of the leaf, exactly like
that of the seeds of dorsiferous ferns, bursting
their indusium. Upon more minute inspection,
these patches were found to consist of thousands
of small globules, collected into groups beneath
the epidermis, which they raised up in a sort of
blister, and at last burst. Some of the globules
seemed as if imbedded even in the longitudinal
vessels of the blade. They were of a yellowish
or rusty brown, and somewhat transparent. But
these groups of globules have been ascertained,
by Sir J. Banks, to be patches of a minute fun-
gus, the seeds of which, as they float in the air,

 

a, Stem of mildewed wheat; 2, The fungus magnified.

enter the pores of the epidermis, of the leaf
particularly, if the plant is sickly; or they exist
a
130

in the manure or the soil, and enter by the pores
of the root. This fungus is known among far-
mers by the name of the red rust, and as it af-
fects the stalk and leaves only, it does not ma-
terially injure the crop. There is another species
of fungus known to the farmer by the name of
red gum, which attacks the ear only, and is ex-
tremely prejudicial. In the aggregate it consists
of groups of minute globules, interspersed with
transparent fibres; the globules are filled with a
fine powder, which explodes when they are put
into water. It is very generally accompanied
with a maggot of a yellow colour, which pro-
duces a fly, well known as the destructive wheat-
fly.

Smut is a disease extremely frequent in cul-
tivated corn. It consists of a conversion of the
farina of the grain, together with the integu-
ments, and even part of the husk or pericarp,
into a black soot-like powder. If the injured
ear is struck with the finger, the powder will
he dispersed like a cloud of black smoke; and if
a portion of the powder is wetted by a drop of
water, and put under the microscope, it will be
found to consist of millions of minute and trans-
parent globules, which seem to be composed of
aclear and glairy fluid, encompassed by a thin
membrane. This disease does not affect the
whole body of the crop; but the smutted ears
aré sometimes very numerously dispersed through
it. Some have attributed it to the soil in which
the grain is sown, to the manure, or to contam-
ination of the seed. This latter is the most
likely cause, as Willdenow regards it as origin-
ating in a small fungus plant, which multiplies
and extends till it oceupies the whole ear. As
a proof that the minute seeds of this fungus
may attach themselves to the grain, it is found
that washing the seed with a solution of arsenic,
or sulphate of copper, of such strength as to
destroy the vegetating power of the parasitic
plant, but not the germ of the grain itself, will
effectually prevent the recurrence of smut. A
modification of this disease usually seizes on
ears of wheat, and is called by the farmer smut-
ball. In this case, the cotyledons only are con-
verted into a black mass, while the enveloping
membranes remain sound. The ear is not much
altered in its external appearance, and the dis-
eased grain contained in it will even bear the
operation ef thrashing; and thus the fungi mingle
with the bulk, and of course tend to propagate
the same disease, if the grain be used for seed.

Mildew consists in a thin whitish coating with
which the leaves of vegetables are sometimes
covered, causing their decay and death, and of
consequence an interruption of the functions of
the plant. It is frequently found on the leaves
of tussilago farfara, humulus lupulus, corylus
avellana, and the white and yellow dead nettle.
It is also found to attack wheat fields, in the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

form of a glutinous exudation. According to
Willdenow, it is occasioned either by the growth
of an exceedingly minute fungus, the mucor
eresyphe of Linneus, or by a sort of whitish
slime, which a species of aphis, or plant louse,
deposits upon the leaves. Soot is said to pre-
vent its occurrence.

Honey dew is a sweet and clammy substance
which coagulates on the surface of the leaves
during hot weather, particularly on the leaves
of the oak tree and beech; and is regarded by
some as the excrement of the plant louse, while
others look on it as an exudation of the juices
of the plant. The leaves of the beech tree on
the occurrence of an unfavourable wind, become
covered with a glutinous coating, similar in
flavour to the fluid obtained from the trunk, and
in every respect resembling the honey dew of
other plants. Saccharine exudations are fre-
quently found on the leaves of many plants,
though not always distinguished by the name
of honey dew, which term should be applied
only when the exudation is in such excess as to
cause disease. For if it is to be applied to all
saccharine exudations whatever, these must be
included under the term honey dew: the sac-
charine exudation observed on the orange tree,
by De la Hire, together with that on the lime
tree, which is more glutinous; and of the poplar,
which is more resinous, as also that of the cistus
ereticus, from which the gum resin labdanum is
collected by means of beating the shrub with
leathern thongs, and of the manna which exudes
from the ash tree of Italy, and the larch of
France. It is also possible that the exudation
of excrement constituting honey dew, may oc-
casionally occur without producing disease; for
if it should happen to be washed off soon after
by rains or heavy dews, then the leaves will not
suffer.

Dropsy. When the atmosphere is surcharged
with moisture, or too much water is applied to
the roots of plants, an excess of their juices oc-
curs, which has some resemblance to the dropsy
of animals. That is, their absorbing actions
become too great for their exhaling. Willdenow
describes it as occasioning a preternatural swell-
ing of particular parts, and inducing putrefac-
tion. It occurs chiefly in bulbous and tuberous
rooted plants, which are often found much
swelled after rain. It affects fruits also, which
it renders watery and insipid. It prevents the
ripening of seeds, and occasions an immoderate
production of roots from the stem. Succulent
plants in particular are apt to suffer from too
profuse waterings; and the discase thus occa-
sioned is generally incurable. The leaves drop
even though plump and green; and the fruit rots
before reaching maturity. In this case, the ab-
sorption seems to be too great, in proportion to
the transpiration; while a soil toorichly manured,
DISEASES OF

produces similar effects. Du Hamel planted
some elms in a soil that was particularly well
manured, and accordingly they pushed with
great vigour for some time; but at the end of
tive or six years they all died suddenly. The
bark was found to be detached from the wood,
and the cavity filled up with a reddish coloured
water.

Some trees, but particularly the oak and birch,
are liable to a great loss of sap, either bursting
out spontaneously, owing to a superabundance
of juices, or issuing from accidental wounds.
Sometimes it is injurious to the health of the
plant ; while in other cases it has no such effect.
The theory of the ascent of the sap, as proposed
by Dutrochet, and already detailed in these
pages, may perhaps account for diseases of this
nature, by supposing an excess of the action of
endosmose over that of exosmose.

There is a spontaneous extravasation of the
sap of the vine, known by the name of the tears
of the vine, which is not injurious, as it often
happens that the root imbibes sap which the
leaves are not yet prepared to throw off, because
not yet sufficiently expanded, owing to an in-
clement season; the sap which is first carried up
being propelled by that which follows, ultimately
forces its way through all obstructions, and ex-
udes from the bud. But this is observed only
in cold climates ; for in hot climates, where the
development of the leaves is not obstructed by
cold, they are ready to elaborate the sap as soon
as it reaches them. There is also a spontaneous
extravasation of proper juice in some trees,
which does not seem in general to be injurious
to the individual. Thus, the gum which exudes
from cherry, plum, peach, and almond trees, is
seldom detrimental to their health, except when
it insinuates itself into the other vessels of the
plant, and occasions obstructions. But when
the sap ascends more copiously than it can be
carried off, it sometimes occasions a fissure of
the solid parts, inducing disease or deformity, by
encouraging the extravasation and corruption of
the ascending or descending juices. Sometimes
the fissure is occasioned by means of frost, form-
ing what is called a double alburnum; that is,
first, a layer that has been injured by the frost,
and then a layer that passes into wood. Some-
times a layer is partially affected, and that is gene-
rally owing to a sudden and partial thaw on the
south side of the trunk, which may be followed
again by asudden frost. In this case the albur-
num is split into clefts or chinks, by the expansive
force of the freezing sap. But a cleft thus oc-
casioned often degenerates into a chilblain, that
discharges a blackish and acrid fluid, to the great
detriment of the plant, particularly if the sore
is so situated that rain and snow will lodge in it,
and become putrid. The same injury may be
occasioned by the bite or puncture of insects,

VEGETABLES. 131
while the shoot is yet tender, and ag no vegetable
ulcer heals up of its own accord, the sooner a
remedy is applied to it the better, as it will, if
left to itself, ultimately corrode and destroy the
whole plant, bark, wood, and pith. The only
remedy is the excision of the part affected, and
the application of a coat of grafting wax.

Gangrene. There are two varieties of this
disease. The one arising from an excessive de-
gree of temperature; the other from the extreme
of cold. A very low temperature shrivels and
destroys the vitality of green leaves and shoots,
converting them from the natural green to a
black or brown. The inner bark also becomes
affected from the same cause, and thus the de-
struction of the whole plant follows. The eftects
of excessive heat are nearly similar, as may be
witnessed in tropical climates, and in our very
hot summers; and even under ordinary heat,
when the roots of trees or vegetables are unduly
exposed to the sun.

Sometimes gangrene is caused by the too rapid
growth of a particular branch, depriving the
one that is next it of its due nourishment, and
hence inducing its decay. Sometimes it is oc-
casioned by parasitical plants, as in the case of
the bulbs of saffron, to which a species of lyco-
perdon often attaches itself, and totally corrupts.
The harmattan winds of the coast of Africa
kill many plants, by inducing a kind of gangrene
that withers and blackens the leaves, and finally
destroys the whole plant.

Plants are sometimes affected with a gangrene,
by which a part becomes first soft and moist,
and then dissolves into foul ichor. This is con-
fined chiefly to the leaves, flowers, and fruit,
Sometimes it attacks the roots also, but rarely
the stem. It seems to be owing, in many cases,
to too wet or too rich a soil; but it may origin-
ate in contusion, and may be caught by infection.

Menonville, in his work on the culture of the
nopal, as the food of the cochineal insect, gives
several interesting notices of this disease. This
writer travelled many years ago through the
Spanish settlements in South America, chiefly
noted for the cultivation of the cochineal insect,
on purpose to transport it clandestinely to some
of the French islands. Such were the supine-
ness and ignorance of the Spaniards, that he
succeeded in conveying not only the living in-
sects, but the bulky plant necessary for their
sustenance, notwithstanding severe edicts to the
contrary. He had attended previously to the
management of the nopal, and made his remarks
on the diseases to which it is liable. Of these,
the gangrene is extremely frequent in the true
nopal of Mexico, beginning by a black spot,
which spreads till the whole leaf or branch rots
off, or the shrub dies. But the same kind of
plant is often affected with a much more serious

 

disease, called by Thiery “la dissolution.” This
132

seems to be a sudden decay of the vital principle,
like that produced in animals by lightning. In
an hour’s time, from some unknowncausea joint,
a whole branch, or sometimes an entire plant of
the nopal, changes from apparent health to a
state of putrefaction or dissolution. One minute
its surface is verdant and shining, the next it
turns yellow, and all its brilliancy is gone. On
cutting into its substance, the inside is found to
have lost all cohesion, being quite rotten. The
only remedy in this case, is speedy amputation
below the diseased part. Sometimes the force
of the vital energy makes a stand as it were,
against the encroaching disease, and throws off
the infected joint or branch, just as we find the
vital powers in animals overcoming the effects
of mortification.

Ltiolation. Plants are sometimes affected by
a disease which entirely destroys their verdure,
and renders them paleand sickly. This is called
etiolation; and may arise merely from want of
the agency of light, by which the extrication of
oxygen is effected, and the leaf rendered green.
And hence it is that plants placed in dark rooms,
or between great masses of stone, or in the clefts
of rocks, or under the shade of other trees, look
always peculiarly pale. Butif they are removed
from such situations, and exposed to the action
of light, they will again recover their green
colour. Etiolation may also occur from the
depredation of insects nestling in the radicle,
and consuming the food of the plant; and thus
debilitating the vessels of the leaf, so as to render
them unsusceptible to the action of light. This
is said to be often the case with the radicles of
secale cereale; and the same circumstances may
also arise from poverty of soil.

Suffocation. It occasionally happens that ex-
traneous substances may so obstruct the pores
of the epidermis, as to prevent the free exhala-
tion of the juices, and thus produce the disease
called suffocation. Sometimes it is caused by
the accumulated growth of the lichens on the
bark extending over the whole plant, as is seen
frequently in fruit trees. If the young and suc-
culent branches are thus coated, the proper func-
tions of the bark are interrupted and decay, and
death of the tree ultimately takes places. Fruit
trees, on this account, should be carefully cleared
of these parasites.

A similar effect is also produced by insects
which feed on the sap or shoot. Thus the aphis
or plant louse, accumulates in such myriads on
tender shoots, as to exclude the air altogether,
and consume the juices. The coceus hesperidum,
and acarus tellarius, are parasitical insects, which
infest hot-house plants, the latter by spinning
a fine and delicate web over the leaf, and thus
preventing the access of atmospheric air. Some-
times the disease is occasioned by an exudation
of juices, which thicken on the surface of the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

stalk, so as to form a crust investing it as a
sheath, and preventing its further expansion,
Dr Keith writes that, on the 7th July, 1816, he
observed some stalks of a grass partly enveloped
with a crust, not unlike a piece of dried orange
pill, particularly when viewed through the mi-
croscope. The part thus enveloped proved to
be that in which the spike was yet contained
within its sheathing leaves. The crust which
thus totally locked up and suffocated the spike,
extended from about one and a half to two inches
in length, surmounted by the terminating leaf,
whose base it also invested, thus giving to the
grass the appearance of a typha in miniature.
On examining this crust more minutely, it
seemed to consist of thousands of yellowish
globules, imbedded ina sort of ground resem-
bling mortar. But in some species the crust was
much paler, and not unlike the boletus medulla-
panis in a recent state. It not only invested the
outer leaf, but also the inner, though sheathed
by the outer; and the spike, though sheathed by
the inner leaf. The ear was so totally consumed,
or so imperfectly formed, that the species of
grass could not be ascertained till afterwards
that a sound ear found showed it to be holcus
lanatus. If this crust is not originally caused
by the puncture of insects, it is at least selected
as a fit nidus for depositing their eggs. For in
looking at some specimens about a week after,
several were found in which the surface of the
crust was disfigured, with a sort of protuberant
blister, which, when opened up, contained a
maggot. And even in unsheathing, an ear which
was thus locked up, and apparently inaccessible
to insects, a small black fly occupied the interior.
Sometimes the disease is occasioned from want
of an adequate supply of nourishment, as derived
from the soil in which the lower part of the
plant is the best supplied, while the upper part
is starved. Hence the top shoots decrease in
size every succeeding year, because a sufficient
supply of sap cannot be obtained to give them
their proper development. This resembles what
takes place in animal life, when the action ot
the heat becomes too feeble to propel the blood
through the whole of the system, for then the
extremities are the first to suffer. It may per-
haps also account for the fact, that in bad soils,
and unfavourable seasons, when the ear of barley
is not wholly perfected; yet a few of the lower
grains are always completely developed, which
not only shows the superintending care of Provi-
dence for the preservation of the species, but
points out also the efficient cause.

Contortion. The leaves of plants are often
injured from the puncture of insects, so as to
induce a sort of disease that discovers itself in
the folding up or contortion of the margins, or
wrinkled appearance of the surface. The leaves
of the apricot, peach, and nectarine, are extremely
DISEASES OF VEGETABLES.

liable to be thus affected in the months of Juno
and July. The leaf that has been punctured
soon begins to assume a rough and wrinkled
figure, and a reddish and scrofulous appearance,
particularly on the upper surface. The margins
roll inwards on the under side, and enclose the
eggs which are scattered irregularly on the sur-
face, giving it a blackish and granular appear-
ance, but without materially injuring its health.
In the vine, the substance deposited on the leaf
is whitish, imparting to the under surface a
frosted appearance; but not occasioning the red
and scrofulous aspect of the upper surface of
the leaf of the nectarine. In the poplar, the
eggs, when first deposited, resemble a number of
small and hoary vesicles, containing a sort of
clear and colourless fluid; the leaf then becomes
reflected and folded up, enclosing the eggs, and
exhibits a few reddish protuberances on the upper
surface. The embryo is nourished by the con-
tained fluid, and the hoariness is converted into

_ 4 fine cottony down, which for some time envel-
opes the young fly. The leaf of the lime tree
in particular is liable to attacks from insects
when fully expanded, and hence the gnawed ap-
pearance it so often exhibits. The injury seems
to be occasioned by some species of puceron, de-
positing its eggs in the parynchema, generally
about the angles that branch off from the mid-
rib. A sort of down is produced, at first green,
and afterwards hoary; sometimes in patches,
and sometimes pervading the whole leaf, as in
the’case of the vine.
eggs are hatched, and then the young insect gnaws
and injures the leaf, leaving a hole or scar of a
burnt or singed appearance. Sometimes the
upper surface of the leaf is covered with clusters
of wart-like substances. These seem to have
their origin from a puncture made on the under
surface, on which a number of openings are
discoverable penetrating into the warts, which
are rotten and villous within.

The punctures causing the gall-nuts are oc-
casioned by insects chiefly of the genus Cynips.
‘These punctures are made in some vigorous part
of the plant, as the leaves, leaf stalks, young
stem or branches; or more rarely in the calyx
or germen. The parent insect deposits its egg
there, which is soon hatched, and in consequence
of the perpetual irritation occasioned by the
young maggot feeding on the juices of the plant,
the part where it is lodged acquires a morbid
degree of luxuriance, frequently swelling to an
immoderate size, and assuming the most extra-
ordinary and whimsical shapes. This often
happens to the shrubby species of hawkweed
and umbellatum, whose stems in consequence
swell into oval knots. Several different kinds
of galls are borne by the oak, as those light
spongy bodies as big as walnuts, commonly
called oak apples: a red berry-like excrescence

Under this covering the |

 

133

on its leaves, and the very astringent galls brought
from the Levant for the purposes of dyeing and
making ink, which last are produced by a spe-
cies of oak different from the British. The
common dog rose frequently bears large moss-
like balls, in whose internal parts numerous
maggots are always to be found, till they become
the winged cynips rose, and eat their way out.
Many willows bear round excrescences as large
as peas, on their leaves. The mastic tree is often
laden in the south of Europe with large red
hollow finger-like bodies, swarming internally
with small insects. The young shoots of salvia
pomifera,and other species, in consequence of the
attacks probably of some cynips, swell into
large juicy balls very like apples, and even
crowned with rudiments of leaves resembling
the calyx of that fruit. These are esteemed in
the Levant for their aromatic and acid flavour,
especially when prepared with sugar. It may
be remarked that all these excrescences are more
acid than the plant which bears them, and also
generally inclined to turn red; the acid is partly
the acetous.

Consumption. This consists in a gradual de-
crease of the energy of the vegetable functions,
till at last decay. and death occurs, and may arise
from a barren or unfavourable soil, from climate,
careless planting, or tov frequent blossoming
exhausting the strength of the plant. Excess
in drought, or dust lodging on the leaves, or the
fumes of deleterious matters floating in the at-
mosphere of manufactories, occasions the same
decay, and not unfrequently the attacks of nu-
merous minute insects.

There is a malady which frequently attacks
the pine tree, called teredo pinorum, which seizes
on the alburnum and inner bark chiefly, and
seems to proceed from long-continued drought,
or from frost suddenly succeeding mild or warm
weather, or heavy winds. ‘The leaves assume a
tinge of yellow bordering on red, a great num-
ber of small drops of resin exude from the mid-
dle of the boughs, of a putrid odour, the bark
peels off, and the alburnum presents a livid ap-
pearance. The tree swarms with insects, and
the disease is incurable, inducing inevitably the
total decay and death of the individual.

Natural decay. We have thus enumerated the
principal diseases to which plants are liable, whe-
ther from external injuries, or internal derange-
ment of structure in functions. Yet though a
plant should escape all these, still a period will
arrive when its several organs will begin to ex-
perience the approaches of a natural decay, the
vital energies will at last cease to act, and the
plant will moulder into its component elements.
We thus find that in the vegetable, as well as
the animal kingdom, there is a limit or term set
beyond which the individual cannot pass, al-
though the period of existence varies as much
13+

among the various classes and species of vegeta-
bles as among animals. Thus some plants are
annuals, and last for one season only, springing up
suddenly from seed, coming rapidly to maturity,
reproducing other seeds, and scattering them
abroad into the soil, and after this immediately
perishing. Such is the case with the various
kinds of corn, as oats, wheat, and barley. Some
plants continue to live for a period of two years,
and are therefore called biennials, springing up
the first year from seed, and producing root and
leaves, but no fruit; and in the second year pro-
ducing both flower and fruit, as the carrot, pars-
nip, carroway. Other plants are perennial, last-
ing for many years, of which some are called
under shrubs, and die down to the root every
year; others are called shrubs, and are perma-
nent both by the root and stem, but do not at-
tain to a great height or great age; others are
called trees, and are not only permanent by both
root and stem, but attain to a great size, and live
to a great age. The oak, in particular, is re-
markable for its size and longevity, taking at
least one hundred years to attain its full growth,
and continuing vigorous for one or two hundred
years more before falling to decay. But even
of plants that are woody and perennial, there are
parts which perish annually, or which are, at
least, annually separated from the individual,
such as the leaves, flowers, and fruit, leaving no-
thing behind but the bare caudex, which sub-
mits in its turn to the ravages of time. Hence
we shall consider first the decay of the temporary
organs, and next the permanent organs, and con-
sequent death of the whole plant.

The decay of the temporary organs, which
takes place annually, is a circumstance familiar
to every one, and comprehends the fall of the
leaf, the fall of the flower, and of the fruit. The
fall of the leaf commences in most: plants in this
climate with-the first chill of autumn, and is ac-
celerated by the frosts of the coming winter, that
strip the forests of their foliage, and the face of
nature of its green verdure. Yet there are some
trees that retain their foliage throughout the
whole winter, though changed to a dull and
dusky brown, as the beech tree and others, that
retain them in full verdure till the ensuing
spring, when they ultimately fall. These latter
are known as evergreens. It was at one time,
indeed, a common error, and perhaps it continues
to be so to some extent still, that evergreens
never part with their leaves. This error may be
traced back even to the period of the fabulous
history of the Greeks, with whose mythology it
was closely interwoven, at least in one particular
example, as related by Theophrastus, who says
that in the country of Cortynia in Crete, it was re-
ported there was a plane tree growing by a foun-
tain which never shed its leaves, being the tree
under the shade of which Jupiter is said to have

 

WISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

had his interview with Europa. But Theophras-
tus was himself acquainted with the fact of the fall
of the leaves of evergreens, as every accurate ob-
server of nature must be, though they do not ac-
tually fall till the young leaves have begun to
appear, so that trees of this sort are never left
wholly without leaves, which it was hence sup-
posed they never shed. In warm climates it is
said that many plants retain their leaves for
several years; but in temperate and polar cli-
mates there are no such plants to be found.
Such is the fact of the annual fall of the leaves,
But the cause of their fall has been an inquiry
which has baffled the attempts of the botanist
to explain. Du Hamel minutely considered this
subject without arriving at any very definite
conclusion. He observed that leaves which fall
the soonest transpire the most, and are conse-
quently the soonest exhausted, and rendered un-
fit to discharge their functions, so that the period
of the fall of the leaves of different species is pro-
bably in proportion to their capacity for tran-
spiration. Their fall is accelerated by frost or ex-
cessive heat, followed by rain. Itisalso acceler-
ated, if not actually induced, by the structure of
the pedicle, which is very different from that of
the branch, having no prolongation of pith, aud
nothing analogous in its mode of insertion, nor
in its external figure, which is divisible into an
upper and under surface, resembling the figura
of the leaf. He compares the union of the leaf
and stem to that of the joints of the lime twig,
which, at a certain period of its growth, ‘are
stronger than its internodia, but which really
give way after a frost. The comparison, however,
throws but little light on the subject, as the il-
lustration is itself to the full as dark as the thing
to be illustrated ; but he offers an additional con-
jecture, which is considerably more luminous.
When the sap begins to flow less plentifully, the
leaves, to whose vigour a great supply is neces-
sary, soon become dry, and consequently less fit
to convey it. But it is known that the branches
grow in thickness after they have ceased to grow
in length, which must necessarily occasion, in
some degree, a disruption of the fibres of the foot
stalk and stem, a branch at the point of articula-
tion, and hence the leaf loses its hold and falls.
This is certainly a very plausible conjecture,
though it may he doubted whether this explica-
tion will apply to the case of evergreens or of
plants in warm climates, that retain their leaves
for several years. It is not, therefore, altogether
satisfactory, and hence, accordingly, other expla-
nations have been offered. That of Willdenow
is as follows: As the sap is conveyed to the leaves
in greater abundance during the summer, the
vessels of the petiola become gradually more
woody, as well as the whole of the leaf. The
sap consequently stagnates, and at last the bond
of union between the leaf and stem is dried up
DISEASES OF VEGETABLES,

and cracks. The wound that the stem thus re-
ceives cicatrizes before the petiola separates, and
the petiola separates at last in consequence of the
interrupted connection between the leaf and stem
which the crack has occasioned. This, it must
be confessed, does not make up for the deficiencies
of the hypothesis of Du Hamel; for in the first
place, there is no proof that the bond of union
between the leaf and stem cracks in the manner
here supposed ; and even upon the supposition
of its being the fact, it is, in the second place,
extremely improbable that the petiola should,
after the cracking of this bond of union, still con-
tinue attached to the stem till the wound thus
occasioned has cicatrized, because, when the ori-
ginal bond of union cracks, there remains no
other attachment by which the petiola is to re-
tain its hold. Willdenow quotes another expla-
nation by Vorlick: The leaf, which possesses a
peculiar vitality within itself, though dependent
upon the vitality of the plant, and generally of
shorter duration, dies when it reaches maturity ;
and the plant being able to exist, for a time,
without leaves, throws off the dead leaf, as the
animal throws off the dead part from the sound
part. But the peculiar vitality which the leaf
is here supposed to possess seems to me, says Dr
Keith, to be altogether a groundless assumption,
and an unphilosophical multiplication of causes
without any apparent necessity. Isit not rather
the individual vitality of the plant extended toa
perishable organ, and again withdrawn when that
organ has discharged its destined functions, or
become, by disease or decay, unfit for the pur-
poses of vegetation? This is perhaps a better
founded supposition than the former, though the
reference to the phenomenon of the throwing off
of the dead part from the sound in the animal sub-
ject, is sufficiently well adapted to the purposes
of illustration, and the analogy sufficiently strik-
ing, at least under some of its aspects, to warrant
its introduction ; for which, or for similar reasons,
Sir J, E. Smith gives his sanction to the opinion
of Vorlick, which he had himself indeed been pre-
viously led to adopt, though he was anticipated in
the publication. Thenotion was first suggested to
him by some remarks of Mr Fairburn of Chel-
sea, who had observed that, in the transplanting
of trees, if the injury extends suddenly beyond
the leaf, then the leaf remains firmly attached to
the twig, even though dead; but when the leaves
alone are affected, and the vital energy acting
with full force in the branch, the leaves are
thrown off, or fall on the slightest touch ; hence
Sir J. E. Smith concludes that leaves are thrown
off by a process similar to that of the sloughing
of discarded parts in the animal economy. it
does not, however, seem quite evident to me,
continues Dr Keith, that the idea of sloughing is
comprehended in the opinion of Vorlick. Slough-
ing in the animal economy is the exertion of that

 

185

power by which the vital energy is capable of
throwing off a part that has accidentally become
diseased, and unfit for discharging the functions
to which it was originally destined, but not that
power by which it is capable of throwing off a
distinct organ, intended by nature to be finally
separated from the individual. Now, in the case
of the disfoliation of the plant, there is, for the
most part, no disease, but merely a gradual and
natural decay, which reduces the leaf to a state
indeed no longer fit for the purposes of vegeta-
tion, but to which it was intended by nature to
be reduced, for the purpose of facilitating its se-
paration from the plant; and hence it always
separates in a determinate manner, and at a de-
terminate point, namely, at the base of the foot
stalk, which forms as it were a sort of natural
joint, to which there is nothing analogous in the
case of sloughing. If this were not the fact, it
might be expected that a part of a leaf, or even
the whole of it, should occasionally become per-
manent as well as the branches, though no such
thing has ever yet happened. In the sloughing
of the diseased part there is yet another circum-
stance coinciding with the analogy that is here
instituted. The part supplying the place of the
slough, on throwing it off, is formed, or exists
already formed, immediately beneath it, and is
precisely of the same character with what the
slough originally was, which slough it pushes
off as it comes itself to maturity, or acquires
strength sufficient for the effort. But the leaves
fall off, when they have reached maturity, of
their own accord, without being at all pushed
off by the new ones, which are yet merely in
embryo, and do not even occupy the place of the
old leaves, but are only formed contiguous to
them, except in the case of the plane tree, the
new leaf of which is formed precisely under the
base of the foot stalk of the old leaf; and yet we
would not call the fall of that leaf sloughing, be-
cause the new leaf does not after all push off the
old one, and because there is here, as in other
cases, the same natural articulation uniting the
leaf to the branch or stem, and rendering it a
distinct organ, that is ultimately and spontane-
ously to detach itself from the plant. Not that
there exists no example whatever of vegetable
sloughing,which the same tree will also furnish,
in the annual, or rather continual, exfoliation of
its bark; but that the fall of the leaf does not
seem to afford that example. I can see an ob-
jection, adds Dr Keith, that may be urged against
the above argument, from the fact of the slough-
ing of the actual skin of the snake and other
species of serpents, which may be regarded as a
distinct organ. But although the skin of the
snake, or of any other animal, may be regarded
as a distinct organ, yet it must be ina light very
different from that of an organ attached to the
body of a plant or animal by a natural joint or
136

articulation, that comes asunder of its own ac-
cord, for the skin of the animal in question is
forced off, in the manner of a slough, merely by
means of the formation of a new skin beneath it,
which has already taken the place of the old skin
in the living system, and to which it has just
been shown that there exists nothing whatever
analogous in the fall of the leaf; so that, after
all, the best reason we can give is, perhaps, that
the leaves fall in consequence of their being worn
out, and no longer necessary to the immediate
process of vegetation, which is evidently divisible
into annual stages, commencing with the ap-
proach of spring, and terminating with the re-
turn of winter, which is to the vital principle ap-
parently u period of rest. If it is necessary,
however, to attempt an explanation of the pro-
cess by which the leaf is made ultimately to de-
tach itself from the plant, it may be observed,
that it consists wholly in the change that is ef-
fected in the articulation uniting the foot stalk
to the branch, as is evident from the remarks of
Mr Fairburn; for in the case in which the in-
jury extends suddenly beyond the leaf, the leaf
may wither and decay, but will not fall off, be-
cause the articulation has not been duly pre-
pared, and because the vital energy can now no
longer act upon it from the intervention of the
dead or diseased portivn of the plant, beyond
which it has withdrawn itself. But in the na-
tural process of vegetation the necessary change
is effected by the leaf on the one hand, in its
yielding to the influence of physical or chemical
agencies, and withering and shrinking into nar-
rower compass when the usual supply of sap is
no longer transmitted to it, and by the vital
energy on the other, in its controlling and di-
viding of chemical agencies, so as to facilitate the
final detachment of the foot stalk, and form the
scar necessary to its own protection. And this
effect is brought about by the conversion of the
substance that cements the respective fibres of
the leaf, stalk, and branch together, from « soft
and glutinous to a dry and brittle consistence,
analogous to the change that takes place in the
seams of the valves of ripening capsules or peri-
carps, so that the leaf falls at last merely by force
of its own weight, or of the slightest breath of
wind, but without the intervention of any pre-
vious chink or crack. If it be necessary to il-
lustrate the fall of the leaf by any analogous pro-
cess in the animal economy, it may be compared
to that of the shedding of the antlers of the stag,
or of the hair or feathers of animals, which
being, like the leaves of plants, distinct and pe-
culiar organs, fall off, and are annually renewed,
but do not slough.

The flowers which, like the Jeaves, are only
temporary organs, are for the most part very
short lived; for as the object of their production
is merely that of effecting the impregnation of

 

HISTORY OF THK VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the germs, that object is no sooner attained than
they begin again to give indications of decay,
and speedily fall from the plant, so that the most
beautiful part of the vegetable is also the most
transient. The flower of the night-blowing
cereus, the most magnificent of all flowers, no
sooner expands than it begins to decay, and be-
fore the sun has risen upon it its beauty is gone,
The flowers of the poppy and tulip, though very
gaudy, are very short lived, and the beautiful
blossom of our fruit trees soon begins to fade.
The scene often continues beautiful indeed, both
in the landscape of nature and of art; but that is
more owing to the succession of blossoms on the
same or on different plants, than to the perman-
ency of individual blossoms. And so also of
the flowers that adorn the fields or meadows;
they spring up in perpetual succession, but are
individually of very short duration.

The fruit which begins to appear conspicuous
when the flower falls, expands and increases in
volume, and assuming a peculiar hue as it ripens,
ultimately detaches itself from the parent plant,
and drops into the soil. But it does not, in all
cases, detach itself in the same manner; thus in
the bean and pea, the seed vessel opens and lets
the seeds fall out; while in the apple, pear, and
cherry, the fruit falls entire, enclosing the seed
which escapes when the pericarp decays. Most
fruits fall soon after ripening, as the cherry and
apricot, if not gathered; but some remain long
attached to the parent plant after being fully
ripe, as in the case of the fruit of crategus and
uenymus, which may be seen in the hedges in
the midst of winter; and of mespilus, which
continues till the succeeding spring. But these,
though tenacious of their hold, detach them-
selves at last as well as all others, and bury
themselves in the soil about to give birth to new
individuals in the germination of the seed. The
fall of the flower and fruit is accounted for in
the same manner as that of the leaf.

Such then is the process and probable cause
of the decay and detachment of the temporary
organs of the plant. But there is also a period
beyond which even the permanent organs them-
selves can no longer carry on the process of
vegetation, Plants are affected by the infirmi-
ties of old age as well as animals, and are found
to exhibit similar symptoms of approaching
dissolution. The root refuses to imbibe the
nourishment afforded by the soil; or if it does
imbibe a portion, it is but feebly propelled, and
partially distributed through the tubes of the
alburnum; the elaboration of the sap is now af-
fected with difficulty, as well as the assimilation
of the proper juice, the descent of which is
almost totally obstructed: the bark becomes
thick and woody, and covered with moss or
lichens; the shoot becomes stunted or diminutive;
and the fruits palpably degenerate both in quan-
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.

tity and quality. The terminal or smaller
branches first fade and decay, and then the larger
branches, together with the trunk and root. The
vegetative energies gradually decline, and at last
totally cease. At last the whole solid mass of
the plant, acted on by the surrounding elements,
moulders down and mingles with the dust from
which it originally sprang. Such is at last the
fate of the aged oak, as well as the fragil weed;
each has its allotted span; but in the present
state of physiological knowledge, it would be
utterly vain to attempt a solution of the mys-
terious cause.

CHAP. XXI.
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.

Tue simple or elementary substances which
enter into the composition of all vegetables, are,
as we have already shown, confined to a very
small number. Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen,
carbon, lime, silex, alumina, magnesia, potash,
soda, iron, forming the greater part of the list.
Plants, however, are endowed with the powers
of assimilating and combining these various sub-
stances into compounds, assuming various forms
and properties. The chief of these vegetable
compounds are gum, sugar, farina or starch,
gluten, albumen, fibrina, extract, tannin, colour-
ing matter, bitter principle, narcotic principle,
alcohol, acids, oils, wax, resins, gum resins,
balsams, camphor, caoutchouc, cork, lignin or
woody fibre, sap, proper juice ; while the simple
or uncombined products are carbon or charcoal,
the mineral alkalies, earthy and metallic oxides.

Gum. This is a substance which flows spon-
taneously from the bark and leaves of many
plants. It is at first a viscid, transparent, and
tasteless fluid; and, on exposure to the atmos-
phere, gradually solidifies into 4 mass. Gum
is produced abundantly from many of our fruit
trees, especially those which have stone kernels,
as the cherry and plum. It flows from fissures
in the bark, and sometimes from the fruit itself.
Some plants do not discharge it spontaneously;
but from those it may be extracted by macera-
tion in water. There are several varieties of
gum, known under the name of gum Arabic,
gum tragacanth, cherry tree gum, and mucilage.

Gum Arabic is obtained from the mimosa
nilotica, a native of the interior of Africa, and of
Arabia, from whence it has gbtained its name.
Gum Senegal, an exactly similar gum, is pro-
cured from acacia verek. It comes to this country
in irregular globules, or masses ; is hard, brittle,
and when pure almost colourless, or of a slight
straw-colour, and transparent. It readily dis-

 

137

solves in water, forming an adhesive and emol-
lient mucilage; and if left exposed to the air,
will again soon form into a hard mass, in the
lan of the water. Itis insoluble in alco-
hol.

By chemical analysis, 100 parts of gum Arabic
contain the following elementary matters:

Carbon . .. : - 6 42,23
Oxygen . gh 4d) - 50.84
Hydrogn . .. » 6.93

Saline and earthy matter, a small quantity.

Gum tragacanth. This substance is obtained
from astragalus tragacantha, a thorny shrub,
which grows abundantly in the islands of the
Levant. ‘The gum exudes spontaneously from
the stem and branches. In appearance, it re-
sembles gum Arabic, and is similar to it in its
other properties, though less transparent, and less
soluble in water. It comes to this country in
thin twisted plates or cakes.

Cherry tree gum, is obtained from the prunus
avium, and other similar species, and indeed,
from all trees bearing stone fruits, from the bark
of which it spontaneously flows. It is in all
essential points of similar properties to the fore-
going gums; but rather more easily melted by
heat. This gum contains a peculiar substance,
called cerasin. Mucilage is found in the roots
and leaves of bulbous rooted and succulent
plants, such as the bulbs of the hyacinth, and
leaves of the marshmallow, (malva sylvestris; )
it is found also abundantly in lintseed, and in
several other oily seeds. It may be extracted
also from many of the lichens by maceration
in water, and separated by the addition of sul-
phuric acid.

Gum and mucilage, though insipid to the
taste, contain highly nutritive qualities and form
a useful diet in some kinds of diseases and par-
ticular states of the digestive organs. Gums are
also externally used in the arts, particularly in
calico printing, in which the printers use them
to give consistency to their colours, and to prevent
their spreading on the cloth. Gums are used as
convenient adhesive fluids for pasting substances
together A simple solution of gum in water,
with the addition of a little spirit of lavender,
to prevent the acetous fermentation, is the most
convenient for all purposes of this kind. Gum
also gives thickness to ink, and promotes the
intimate mixture of its particles. In medicine
it is also used extensively.

Sugar. This important article is found in the
juices of a great many vegetables, but in greatest
abundance in the sugar cane, (arunda sacchari-
fera,) from which the sugar of commerce is
manufactured. This cane, when it has arrived
at its proper state of maturity, is found to be
full of a sweet juice. In this state it is taken

and bruised between the rollers of a mill, the
s
138

expressed juice is collected and put into boilers,
and mixed with a proportion of lime, to absorb
the excess of acid; then it is boiled for some
time, care being taken to clear away the scum,
which accumulates on the top. When the
boiling has been continued sufficiently long to
convert the juice into a thickish syrup, it is
drawn off, and placed in shallow vessels to cool.
The thinner part, or the molasses being drawn
off by small holes, a mass of crystallized sugar
remains, This is the raw sugar of commerce,

which has a brown colour and peculiar odour;

when further purified it becomes the white or
loaf-sugar. Thus obtained, it has a sweet luscious
taste, but no smell: when perfectly pure it is
white, and somewhat transparent. On exposure
to a moist atmosphere, it absorbs moisture; but
is not otherwise altered. It is very soluble in
water, boiling water dissolving its own weight
of sugar. It is soluble in alcohol, and in the
acids, though in u less degree. Concentrated

 

acids are capable of decomposing it. Its ele-
mentary composition consists of
Oxygen 64.7.
Hydrogen - 7.8
Carbon 27.5
100.

Many other plants contain also a large propor-
tion of sugar. The American maple (acer sac-
charinum,) at particular seasons of the year, af-
fords a juice highly saccharine. For the pur-
pose of manufacturing sugar, early in spring a
slanting hole is bored in the trunk of the tree,
and the juice is collected in pitchers. A tree of
ordinary size, will yield from 159 to 200 pints
of juice intheseason. This juice ismixed with
lime, and boiled; when after due evaporation,
crystals of sugar are deposited in the proportion
of about 11b. sugar to 40 pints of sap. The
sugar in its qualities nearly resembles that
procured from the sugar-cane. Grapes also
yield w sugar when treated with potash; but
owing to the quantity of acid in the fruit, its
taste is not found veryagreeable. Common beet
root, (beta vulgaris) also yields a large quantity
of saccharine juice, which, by skilful manufac-
ture, can be made into very good sugar; and
during the war with Britain, this manufacture
was extensively cultivated in France, by the ex-
press commands of Bonaparte, who strictly
excluded all products of British colonial impor-
tation. Sugar has also been procured from many
other plants; from the birch tree, sycamore,
bamboo, maise, American aloe, cocoa nut, and
walnut; from the roots of the parsnip, carrot,
turnip, cow parsnip, and from the nectaries of
most flowering plants. The farina of wheat and
potatoes, when treated with concentrated sul-
phuric acid, will also yield a saccharine pro-
duct.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Sugar is highly esteemed as an article of food
not only by man but by most animals. Bees
extract it from the nectaries of plants, and store
it up in cells where it becomes honey. Besides
being highly grateful to the palate, it is found
to be a nutritious food; but perhaps more so
when combined in the natural state in vegetables,
than when highly concentrated and refined by
the art of man. It was at one time, especially
in the form of honey much used in medicine;
but has now been found to possess no medicinal
virtues, its use being confined to a vehicle for
the exhibition of more active drugs.

Farina or Starch. This substance exists in
the seeds and bulbs of many vegetables, and
may be readily obtained by taking a quantity
of wheaten flower, and kneading it under the
flow of a stream of water. When the kneading
has proceeded so far that the water is no longer
tinged of a white colour, this water is allowed
to settle, and in a few hours a pure white mass
will be found at the bottom, which, when dried.
and powdered, becomes starch. This substance
may also be procured by grinding down potatoes
in a quantity of water, allowing time for the
starch to subside to the bottom, and then pouring
off the other matters above. Starch is, in its
dry state, a fine white powder, tasteless and in-
odorous. It is only partially soluble in cold
water, and forms with it a white emulsion; with
boiling water, it forms a thick and tenaceous
paste. If thrown upon a plate of red hot iron,
it burns with a slight explosion, leaving scarecly
any residuum behind. Its component elements
are,

Carbon 43.55

Oxygen . « 49.68

Hydrogen . 6.77
100,

On reverting to the analysis of sugar, it will be
seen how very nearly both substances coincide

‘in their composition; and, indeed, starch may be

converted into sugar by diminishing the propor-
tion of carbon, and augmenting that of oxygen
and hydrogen. This may be done artificially,
by the addition of an acid, as the sulphuric; and
is exemplified in the germination of seeds, es-
pecially in the conversion of barley into malt,
This grain contains a great proportion of starch,
which, absorbing oxygen in the germinating
process, and giving out carbonic acid, is finally
converted into sugar. Potatoes also, if exposed
to a degree of cold that destroys their vital en-
ergy, immediately undergo a fermentation, and
their starch is converted into sugar. Starch
is also obtained from the pith of several species
of palms of the Molucca and other East Indian
islands. For this purpose, the stems of such
palms are cut into longitudinal pieces of six feet
in length, so as to expose their pith, which is
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.

taken out, pounded, and mixed with cold water.
After a few hours the starch collects as a sedi-
ment at the bottom of the vessel, and the fluid
above is poured off. This is the sago of the
shops. The roots of the orchis tribe afford a
starch called salopand cassava; itis prepared from
the root of the poisonous Jatropha manchot, a
native of America. The husks of oats also,
treated by maceration in water, afford a starch
which in Scotland is used as an article of food
called sowins. Parmentier enumerates a list
of plants, from the roots of which starch may
be made, among which are the following:

Imperatoria ostruthium
Hyosciamus niger
Rumex obtusifolius
acutus
aquaticus

Arum maculatum

Tris pseudacorus

Arctium lappa
Atropa belladonna
Colchicum antumnale
Spirsea filipendula
Ranunculus bulbosus
Scrophularia nodosa
Sambucus ceruleus

 

 

 

niger foetidissima
Orchis moria Orobus tuberosus
mascula Bunium bulbocastaneum

 

Starch is also found in the following seeds :

Wheat Chestnut
Barley Horse-chestnut
Oats Peas

Rice Beans

Maise Acorns

Millet seed

Various other substances somewhat similar to
starch have been discovered by chemists, such
as hordein from barley, and lichnein from Iceland
moss. Starch is one of the ingredients of all
food derived from vegetable grains, grasses, &c.;
and forms a nutritive diet both for man and many
animals. The latter feed upon it in that state
in which nature presents it; but man prepares
and cooks it so as to render it pleasing to his
taste, and more easily assimilated into his sys-
tem, In thearts starch is used toa considerable
extent, in stiffening linen goods, and preparing
them for taking on or rejecting particular dyes.
Wafers are also made of paste, and many trinkets
and ornaments.

Gluten. That portion of the flower of wheat
which remains insoluble after the application of
water in making starch, is called gluten. It is of a
dull, white, or brown colour, tough, elastic, taste-
less but possessed of a peculiar faintsmell. It is
soluble in the acids and alkalis; but insoluble in
water and alcohol. When exposed to the at-
mosphere it becomes hard and tough, assumes a
dark brown colour, with a slight degree of trans-
parency, resembling animal glue; but it is brittle,
and breaks like a piece of glass. When kept in
a damp situation it undergoes a kind of fermen-
tation, in which it swells and emits air bubbles,
consisting of hydrogen and carbonic acid gas.
When exposed in a dry state to heat, it cracks,

 

139

swells,and melts, and exhales a fetid odour, burn-
ing like horns or feathers. When distilled it
yields ammonia and an empyreumatic oil, and
leaves a charcoal that is with difficulty reduced
to ashes. Gluten, then, in many of its charac-
teristics, resembles closely animal jelly, particu-
larly in its fermentation and destructive distilla-
tion, and in its containing a portion of nitrogen.
Gluten is found in a great proportion of vege-
table substances, as well asin wheat. Rowelle
found it existing in the green fecula of plants;
and Proust detected it in peas, beans, barley,
rye, acorns, chestnuts, horse-chestnuts, apples,
quinces, elder-berries, grapes; in the leaves
of rue, cabbage, cresses, hemlock, borage, saffron,
and in the petals of the rose. As regards the
food of man it seems one of the most important
of vegetable products, especially in the forma-
tion of wheaten bread, the great staple of life.
It is also used in forming cements, and as a
ground forvarnishing. Gluten has been resolved
by chemists into four distinct principles: albu-
men, emulsion, mucin, and gluten.

Albumen. Animal albumen is a glairy, taste-
less fluid, exemplified in the white of an egg.
Its existence, in vegetables, was first announced
by Fourcroy, and afterwards confirmed by Vau-
quelin, who pointed it out on the dried juice of
the papan tree, a plant indigenous to India and
the isle of France. A specimen of this juice,
which often exudes from the tree, in a viscid
and milky state, was brought to Paris by Char-
parbier after being evaporated to dryness, and
presented to Vauquelin. It was somewhat yel-
lowish and semi-transparent, and its taste was
sweetish; but it had no smell. When it was
subjected to maceration in cold water, the greater
part of it was dissolved. The solution frothed
with soap, and was coagulated, and rendered
white by the addition of nitric acid. When
boiled it precipitated white flakes, which were
coagulated albumen, possessing all the properties
by which it is distinguished in animals; disen-
gaging ammonia, by burning and yielding at the
same time carbonic acid and water. And hence
its relation to animal gluten is established, and
the elements of its composition ascertained, which
are as follows:

Carbon . . . i é » 52.883
Oxygen. . 2.) - 23.872
Hydrogen... oo. ‘ » 7.540
Nitrogen EN 3 Seo eh 15.705

Albumen has not been found in such abundance
in any other plant as in that just alluded to.
But it has been ascertained to exist in mush-
rooms, and some other of the fungi; and the
juice of the fruit of hibiscus esculentus, a West
Indian plant, is said to contain such a propor-
tion of it as to render it fit to be employed as a
substitute for the white of esgs in clarifying
140

the juice of the sugar cane. Almonds also,
and other kernels, from which emulsions are
made, have been found to contain a substance
possessing the properties of curd, which resem-
bles albumen very closely.

Fibrine. A substance somewhat like the
fibrine of the animal flesh, or muscular parts,
was detected in the juice of the papau tree, by
Vauquelin. When the inspissated juice of this
tree was subjected to maceration in water, the
greater part of it was dissolved; but there re-
mained a portion that was insoluble. It had a
greasy appearance, and became soft and viscid
upon exposure to air, assuming a brown colour,
with a slight degree of transparency. When
thrown upon ignited charcoal it melted, exuding
drops of grease, accompanied with a noise like
that of meat roasting, and producing smoke
which had the odour of volatilized fat. It left
no residuum. This substance was vegetable
fibrine, possessing the properties of the fibrine
of animals.

&xiract. Vegetable substances, when macer-
ated in water, dissolve; and if the water is eva-
porated, a residuum remains, which is called
vegetable extract. As vegetables differ consider-
ably, however, according to the families to which
they belong, and to the nature of the soil and
climate in which they have grown, it is obvious
that this extract must also vary according to the
plants which have been employed in its produc-
tion. It was necessary, therefore, for the pur-
poses of chemical accuracy, to endeavour to as-
certain whether there existed in extracts any
peculiar and definite principle, independent of
such accidental ingredients as have been now al-
luded to; and which might itself be regarded as
the true extractive principle. With this view,
Vauquelin commenced a series of experiments
chiefly upon the sap and expressed juices of
plants, during the process of which he remarked
that they always began to acquire a darker shade
of colour from the moment they were exposed
to the air; and that during the evaporation a
brown or reddish pellicle was formed on the
surface, which afterwards broke into flakes and
remained insoluble. Similar appearances were
observed in medicinal extracts, and the longer the
evaporation was continued the more of the in-
soluble flakes were formed. This was accord-
ingly regarded as a detection of the true extrac-
tive principle; and the formation of the pellicle
and flakes was found to be the result of its ab-
sorption of a portion of the atmosphere, to which
it was thus found to have astrong affinity. This
extract, then, is thus distinguished. It is solu-
ble in water when directly obtained from the
vegetable, but becomes afterwards insoluble in
consequence of the absorption of oxygen from
the atmosphere. It is soluble in alcohol, and
unites with alkalies, forming compounds which

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

are soluble in water. When distilled it yields
an acid fluid, impregnated with ammonia, and
seems to be composed chiefly of hydrogen, oxy-
gen, carbon, and a little nitrogen. This extrac-
tive matter is found in greater or less quantity
in all plants, and is very generally an ingredient
of the sap and bark, particularly in barks of an
astringent taste; but yet it is not exactly the
same in all plants, even when separated from all
impurities. Several different kinds of extract,
then, are distinguishable.

Extract of catechwis obtained from an infusion
of the interior wood of the mimosa catechu. It is
of a brown colour, and very astringent, and hence
used as an astringent and tonic in medicine.

Extract of senna is got from an infusion of
the dried leaves of cassia senna in alcohol; it
is of a brown colour, bitter, and slightly aro-
matic.

Extract of Quinquina was obtained by Four-
eroy, by evaporating an alcoholic solution of the
bark of the guinguina tree. It is of a brown
colour and bitter taste; soluble in boiling water,
though insoluble in cold.

Extract of saffron is obtained from the sum-
mits of the pistils of the crocus sativus.

Many other extracts might be enumerated
which were formerly much used in medicine,
though now their efficacy is not so much de-
pended upon as preparations of the substances
from whence they were derived. Vegetable ex-
tracts are, however, extensively used in the arts,
especially for the purpose of dyeing cloths and
silks,

Colouring Matter. Nothing can exceed the
beauty and delicacy of the tints of flowers; and
though these have been the admiration of all
ages, yet the nature of the colouring principle is
not yet by any means well undefstood. Chemists,
however, have endeavoured to isolate this colour-
ing matter, and to investigate its nature. It
seems to have a great affinity for oxygen, the
earthy alkalies, and metallic oxides, as also for
cloths made of vegetable fibre or animal wools.
This affinity seems stronger for the latter than
the former, and hence wool and silk assume a
deeper dye, and retain it longer than cotton or
linen. Colouring matter exhibits a great variety
of tints, as it occurs in different species of plants,
and as it is combined with the oxygen of the at-
mosphere it assumes a deeper shade; but it
loses, at the same time, a portion of its hydrogen,
and becomes insoluble in water, thus indicating
its relation to extract.

The fundamental colours used in the art of
dyeing are blue, red, yellow, and brown. The
finest of all vegetable blues is that which is known
by the name of indigo. It is procured from a
shrub which is cultivated in Mexico and in the
West Indies, the Indigofera tinctoria of Linneus.
The plant arrives at maturity in about six
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.

months, when its leaves are gathered, and im-
mersed in vessels filled with water till fermenta-
tion takes place. The water then becomes opaque
and green, exhaling an odour like that of vola-
tile alkali, and evolving bubbles of carbonic acid
gas. When the fermentation has been continued
long enough, the liquor is decanted and put into
other vessels, where it is agitated till blue flakes
begin to appear. Water is now poured in, and
the flakes are precipitated in the form of a blue
powdery sediment, which is obtained by decan-
tation; and which, after being made up into
small lumps, and dried in the shade, forms the
indigo of commerce. It is insoluble in water,
though slightly soluble in alcohol; but its true
solvent is sulphuric acid, with which it forms a
fine blue dye, known as liquid blue. Several
other plants also yield indigo, and particularly
the isatis tinctoria, or woad, a plant indigenous
to Britain, and thought to be the plant with the
Juice of which the ancient Britons stained their
naked bodies, to make them look terrible to their
enemies. If this plant is digested in alcohol, and
the solution evaporated, white crystalline grains,
somewhat resembling starch, will be left behind,
which grains are indigo, and they will become
gradually blue by the action of the atmosphere.
The blue colour of indigo, therefore, is owing to
fts combination with oxygen. Litmus, or turn-
sole, is procured from a species of lichen, lecinora
tartarea, found chiefly in Norway. These lich-
ens are cleaned and powdered, and mixed with
putrid urine. The ammonia of the urine acts on
the powder, and a fermentation is produced, and
a blue colour is developed. Acids, even of the
weakest kind, redden this blue very readily ; and
hence paper stained with litmus is a frequent test
of the presence of acids.

A red colour is produced from the root, stem,
or flower, of the five following plants: 1st. From
the roots and stems of rubia tinctorum, or mad-
der, dried, bruised, and sifted, a powder is ob-
tained, that is soluble in alcohol, and partly sol-
uble in water, and dyes cloth, by means of pro-
per mordaunts, either violet or red. The red
colour is very beautiful. This powder not only
tinges vegetable matters, but will communicate
a red hue to the bones of animals, if mixed with
their food. 2d. From two species of lichens
(lichen roccella and parellus ), when dried, pow-
dered, macerated in water, and mixed with a
solution of muriate of tin, a fine red dye is ob-
tained, which, however, is very evanescent on
ordinary articles, though more permanent on
marble, which it stains of a deep violet. 3d.
From the flowers of the carthamus tinctorius, on
the addition of an alkali, a red extract is obtained,
which is precipitated by acids, and forms the
beautiful powder called carmine, or rouge. 4.
Brazil wood, obtained from the Cesalpina crista,
furnishes, with the addition of alum, a red pow-

 

141

der, which dyes stuffs, and affords the lake used
in water colours. 5. A red colouring matter is
obtained from hematoxylon Campechianum, or
Campechy wood, nearly resembling Brazil wood,
except that its shade is somewhat deeper, and
more permanent; much used in silkdyeing. Cud-
bear, a substance extracted from several species of
lichens, affords a beautiful purple dye. Red
sanders wood is soluble in alcohol, and imparts
a deep crimson to the fluid.

Yellow, a very general vegetable colour, is pro-
cured from several plants. The resida cuteola ot
Linneusyields a yellow by boiling its dried stems,
and precipitating with alum. This matter is
much used in the dyeing of silks, cottons, and
wool. The morustinctoria, a native of the West
India islands, also yields a yellow dye, by decoc-
tion of its wood and the addition of the acid. If
the bruised seeds of the déra orellana are made
into a paste with a little oil, and boiled in water,
a solution of alum will throw down a yellow pow-
der, well known asanotto. Several other plants
yield a yellow dye, as serratula tinctoria, genista
tinctoria, rhus cotinus, and rhamnus infectorius.
Turmeric is the prepared root of the curouma
longa, a plant which is a native of the East Indies.

Saffron is a yellow dye obtained from the
petals of the crocus sativus, extensively culti-
vated in Cambridgeshire. Stmac is obtained
from the dried and powdered branches of the
rhus coriaria, a shrub indigenous to Italy and
the south of France, where it is cultivated for
dying yellow, and for tanning leathers.

A brown colour is produced from a great many
vegetables, especially those of an astringent
character. It is obtained from the root of the
walnut tree and rind of the walnut, from the
elder tree and oak, and especially from nutgalls.
These last are procured from a species of oak,
indigenous to the south of Europe. If a de-
coction of powdered galls be added to a solution
of sulphate of iron, a deep black is produced,
much used as a dye, and also with the addition of
a little gum arabic, forming the common writing
ink.

Though green is the universal livery of vegetable
nature, yet there is no distinct principle which
can be used as a green dye. Green is in fact a
compound colour, and is always formed by dying
substances first yellow and then blue. The
green matter of the leaves of plants has been
called chromalite. Sap green is the inspissated
juice of the half-ripe berries of buckthorn,
(rhamnus catharticus) a plant which grows wild
in Britain, and other parts of Europe. Alkalies
change this sap green into yellow.

Tannin. If a quantity of pounded nut galls
or bruised seeds of the grape, be taken and dis-
solved in cold water, and the solution evaporated
to dryness, there will be left behind a brittle and
yellowish substance of a highly astringent taste,
142

which is tannin. Pure tannin is colourless, its
taste is excessively astringent, without bitterness.
It has no smell, water dissolves it freely, and
the solution reddens paper stained with litmus.
It decomposes the alkalies with effervescence,
forms with most of the metallic solutions a pre-
cipitate, and with the salts of iron a deep black
ink.

When tannin is distilled it yields charcoal,
carbonic acid, and inflammable gases, with a
minute quantity of volatile alkali, and seems
accordingly to consist of the same elements as
extract; from which, however, it is distinguished
by the peculiar property of its action upon gela-
tine.

Gall nuts were known to the ancients, and
were employed by them in medicine; but they
seem to have had no accurate idea of their origin,
as they considered them to be the fruit of the
oak. They are now ascertained to be the nidus
or nest of the young of the cynips galle tinc-
toriw, and of the cynips quercus folie, insects
which live on the oak.

Proust was the first chemist who procured
tannin from galls in a separate state, and who
accurately described its properties. Chemists
have since enumerated several varieties of it.
The purest kind is that obtained from the seeds
of the grape. It forms a white precipitate with
the solution of isinglass, and in most of its quali-
ties resembles the tannin of nut galls. Catechu
contains another kind; its precipitate by gelatine
has a brown colour. The substance known
under the name of dragon’s blood yields a tannin
also, with some distinctive peculiarities. That
got from sumac by drying and grinding the
shoots of the plant to a powder, yields a white
sediment when precipitated by gelatine. A
sixth kind is got from the wood of the morus
tinctoria hy maceration in water or alcohol.
It is precipitated by a solution of common salt,
A seventh is got from the kino of the shops,
which is an extract from the cocoloba urifera.
Its solution throws down gelatine of a rose
colour, and forms with salts of iron a deep green
precipitate. Tannin is now reckoned an acid,
and other acids are procured from the various
substances just mentioned.

Tannin exists in a great many vegetables, and
chiefly in the barks of various trees. The fol-
lowing table by Sir H. Davy, exhibits the rela-
tive value of different kinds of barks. It gives
the average obtained from 480 Ib. of the entire
bark of a middle sized tree, of the several species
taken in spring when the quantity of tannin is
largest :

Ib.

Oak . te ‘ 29
Spanish chestnut $ . 2i
Leicester willow, (large) 33
Elm wa 13

 

HISTORY OF THi VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Ib.

Common willow, ae) : ; fj i
Ash ri A : 4 a . (6
Beech . i é ‘ ‘ ‘ * 10
Horse-chestnut . . : 3 2 a 9
Sycamore * 7 “ é ‘ ll
» Lombardy poplar be Ss oS te | dD
Birch * ‘ a * i 8
Hazel. 3 ‘ ‘ , 7 14
Black thorn ‘ ‘ ‘ ’ : 16
Coppuci oak 32
Inner rind of oak backe re
Oak cut in autumn . x F . 21

The use of tannin in the arts is its property of
combining with the gelatine of the skins of
animals, and thereby rendering the leather
prepared in this way thick and impervious to
water.

The bark of the oak tree, which contains
tannin in great abundance, is that which is most
generally used by the tanner. The hides to be
tanned are prepared for the process by steeping
them in lime water, and scraping off the hair
and cuticle. They are then soaked first in weaker
infusions, and afterwards in stronger infusions
of the bark, till at last they are completely im-
pregnated. This process requires a period of
from ten to eighteen months, if the hides are
thick; and four or five pounds of bark are neces-
sary on an average to form one pound of leather.
Some recent improvements have shortened the
process of steeping the hides. Bark is used in
medicine, in the various forms, in which it is
found, as a tonic.

Bitter and alkaline principles of vegetables.
Many vegetables have an extremely bitter taste,
such as quassia, peruvian bark, gentian, &c.
This bitter principle has been ascertained, by the
researches of modern chemists, to be of an al-
kaline nature. There are twenty-one of these
alkaline substances now ascertained. They are
all compounds of the following elementary sub-
stances: carbon, hydrogen, azote, and oxygen.

Quinine. This is one of the most important
of the vegetable alkaline bitters. It was first
discovered by Vauquelin in 1811, and its pre-
paration on a large scale pointed out by Pelletier
and Caventon, in 1820. It is obtained by boiling
the yellow bark, (cinchona cordifolia) in water
and sulphuric acid, and then treating it with lime
and alcohol, when the quinina is precipitated in
the form of a white powder. It is a pure bitter,
possessing all the medicinal virtues of the Per-
uvian bark. The annual produce of this sub-
stance in Paris exceeds 120,000 ounces.

Strychnina exists in the seeds or fruits of
several species of strychnos, as the mux vomica.
lis taste is intensely bitter, it leaves an impres-
sion in the mouth similar to that produced by
certain metallic salts, and it acts with great energy
on the animal economy as a virulent poison.

Narcotic principle. This well known medi-
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.

cinal property of certain vegetables, has also
been ascertained to possess an alkaline quality.
This narcotic principle is obtained from the
milky and proper juices of some vegetables, and
from the infusion of the leaves or stem of others.
Jt exists in great quantity in the concrete juice
of the poppy, and is known as opium. It is
8oluble in boiling water and alcohol, as well as
in all acids. When distilled it emits white va-
pours, which are condensed into a yellow oil.
Some water and carbonate of ammonia pass into
the receiver, and at last carbonic acid gas, am-
monfa, and carburetted hydrogen are disengaced,
and a bulky charcoal is left behind. Many other
substances besides opium possess narcotic quali-
ties. Thus the inspissated juice of the garden
lettuce resembles opium in its appearance and
qualities, and is obtained in a similar manner,
The deadly night shade furnishes a narcotic sub-
stance, as do also hemlock, black hellebore,
strammonium, and fox-glove. All these are active
poisons, if taken in large quantity.

Vegetable acids. The acids derived from the
vegetable kingdom have been multiplied by
modern chemists to the number of 116. Some
of these acids exist ready formed in the juices
of the plant, as the acetic, oxalic, citric, malic,
&c.; others are in certain states of combination,
and do not exhibit their acid qualities until arti-
ficially decomposed, such as the camphoric, su-
beric, pyrolignous, &c.

Ozxalic acid. If the“expressed juice of the
wood sorrel, (owalis acetocella) is left to evaporate
slowly, it deposits small crystals of a yellowish
colour and saltish taste, which are known by
the name of salt of sorrel, that is, a salt with ex-
cess of acid; from which the acid may be obtained
pure, by a simple chemical process. Oxalic acid,
in its pure state, is always solid. Its taste is
sharp and acrid. It is readily soluble in cold
water, and is distinguished from other acids by
its property of decomposing all calcareous salts,
and forming with lime a salt insoluble in water.
Hence it is used by chemists as a test to detect
the presence of calcareous salts. But it is not
used in medicine or the arts, except in its state
of acidulum, in which it is employed to make
a sort of lemonade, and to discharge stains of
ink. It has been found also in oxalis corniculata,
geranium aciduum, in the several species of rumez,
and in the pubescence of cicer arietinum.

Acetic acid, or vinegar, which is generally man-
ufactured from wine or sugar in a certain stage
of fermentation, has also been found ready formed
in the sap of several trees, as analysed by Vau-
quelin; and also in the acid juice of the cicer
arietinum, of which it forms a constituent part.
It was obtained also by Scheele from the sap of
the sambucus nigra, and is consequently to be
regarded as a native vegetable acid. It is dis-
tinguished from other vegetable acids by its

 

143

forming soluble salts with the alkalies and
earths,

Citric acid. This substance exists in the
juice of the lemon. It has an agreeable acidu-
lous taste, especially when diluted with water.
By ared heat it yields carbonic acid gas, and
carburetted hydrogen gas, and is reduced to char-
coal. Nitric acid converts it into oxalic and
acetic acid; and with lime it forms a salt insol-
uble in water. It is much used as lemon juice
to give a seasoning to liquors, which it does
equally well in its concentrated state also. It
has been found in an unmixed state in the fol-
lowing vegetable substances: in the juice of
oranges and lemons, and in the berries of vaccin-
tum oxycoccus, vitis idea, prunus padus, solanum
dulcamara, and rosa canina, as well as in many
fruits mixed with other acids.

Malic acid. This acid is found in the juice
of unripe apples, whence it derives its name; but
it is found also in the juice of berberries, elder-
berries, gooseberries, plums and common house
leek. It cannot be obtained in a crystallized
and solid form; but if left exposed to the air, it
becomes thick and viscous. It is decomposed
by heat and strong acids; nitric acid converts it
into oxalic acid. It combines with the alkalies
and several of the metals, and forms with lime
a soluble salt, by which test it is distinguished
from other acids. It is used chiefly in the la-
boratory.

Gallic acid. This acid is derived chiefly from
nut galls, by exposing a quantity of the powder
to a moderate heat in a glass retort, where the
acid will form on the top in octohedral crystals.
Its taste is austere and astringent; and it reddens
vegetable blues. It is soluble both in water and
alcohol, and communicates to solutions of iron
a deep purple or black colour. When exposed
to a gentle heat, it sublimes without alteration;
but a strong heat decomposes it. Nitric acid
converts it into the malic and oxalic acids. It
isof great utility in the art of dyeing, and forms
the basis of all black colours, and of those with
adark ground. It is an excellent test of the
presence of iron, and with the sulphate of iron
or copperas it forms common writing ink.

Tartaric acid. In old wine which has been
kept in a cask, a sediment is precipitated which
adheres to the sides and bottom, and forms a
crust known by the name of tartar, which is a
combination of potass and a peculiar acid in
excess. The compound is supertartrate of potass
and the acid in its state of purity is the tartaric
acid with potass; it forms a salt that is with
difficulty soluble. It exists in the following
vegetable substances: in the pulp of tamarinds,
in the juice of the grape, mulberries, sorrel, and
sumac; and the roots of triticum repens, and
leontodon taraxacum. Itis not much used except
by chemists; but the supertartrate, from which
l4t

it is usually obtained, is well known as the use-
ful medicine called cream of tartar.

Benzoic acid. The benzoin of the shops is
a resinous exudation from styrax bensoe, a tree
which grows in the island of Sumatra. From
this substance benzoic acid is procured. As it
is met with in commerce, it is usually contam-
inated with some resinous and oily matters.
When pure, benzoic acid has no smell; when
sublimed, it assumes the form of long flat pris-
matic needles, having a beautiful silvery lustre.
It is used in medicine more to give flavour to
other more active drugs than for any efficacy it
possesses of itself.

Prussic acid. This acid is generally classed
among the animal acids, because it is obtained
in greatest abundance from animal substances.
But it has been proved to exist in vegetable sub-
stances also, and is procured by distilling laurel
leaves, or the kernels of the peach and cherry,
or bitteralmonds. When pure it formsa colour-
less fluid, with an odour resembling that of the
peach blossom. It does not redden vegetable
blues, but it is characterised by its property of
forming a bluish-green precipitate when it is
poured with a little alkali added to it into
solutions containing iron. Itisavirulent poison.
From experiments on the vegetable acids, it ap-
pears that they all contain, as elements, carbon,
oxygen, and hydrogen, and that prussic acid
contains a portion of nitrogen. Gallic acid con-
tains more carbon than the other vegetable acids,
and oxalic acid more oxygen.

Modern chemistry has detected a great many
more acids in’ vegetable substances, such as in
kino, cinnamon, camphor, &c.

Oils. Vegetable bodies afford a great variety
of oily substances, differing considerably in their
properties. These oils have been divided into
fixed, solid, and volatile. Fixed oils are but
seldom found except in the seeds of plants, and
especially in the dicotyledonous class. Occa-
sionally they exist in the pulp of fleshy fruits,
as in that of the olive, which yields the mostabun-
dant and valuable species of all fixed oils. But
dicotyledonous seeds which contain oil, contain
also at the same time a quantity of mucilage
and fecula, and form, when bruised in water, a
mild and milky fluid known by the name of
emulsion; on this account they are sometimes
denominated emulsive seeds. Some seeds readily
yield their oil by simple pressure, having been
previously reduced to a soft pulp by pounding
them ina mortar. Others require to be exposed
to the action of heat, which is applied to them
by means of pressure between warm plates of
tin, or of the vapour of boiling water, or of
roasting before they are subjected to the press.
But the oil which is thus expressed, is still
mixed or combined with other substances, such
as fecula, starch, and mucilage, which sometimes

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

subside spontaneously, if the liquid is kept in a
state of repose; first the grosser parts, such as the
fragments of parenchyma, that may have beenex-
pressed along with the oil; then the green fecula,
then the starch, and lastly the mucilage. The
oil is now left in a state of tolerable purity,
but not yet without a mixture of other sub-
stances, to deprive it of which chemists employ
a variety of processes. Fixed oil, when pure,
is generally a thick and viscous fluid, of a mild
or insipid taste, and without smell. But it is
never entirely without some colour, which is
for the most part green or yellow. Its specific
gravity is to water as 9.403 to 1.000. It is insol-
uble in water, is decomposed by the acids, and
with the alkalies it forms soap. When exposed
to the atmosphere it becomes inspissated and
opaque, and assumes a white colour and a resem-
blance to fat. This is in consequence of the ab-
sorption of oxygen; but owing to the appear-
ance of a quantity of water in oil that is ex-
posed to the action of the air, it has been thought
that the oxygen absorbed by it isnot yet perhaps
assimilated to its substance. When exposed to
cold it congeals and crystallizes, or assumes a
solid and granular form; but not till the ther-
mometer has indicated a degree considerably
below the freezing point. "When exposed to the
action of heat it is not volatilized till it begins
to boil, which is at 600° of Fahrenheit. By
distillation it is converted into water, carbonic
acid, and carburetted hydrogen and carbon; the
product of its combustion is nearly the same,
and hence it is a compound of carbon, oxygen,
and hydrogen. Some oils remain solid at the
ordinary temperature of the atmosphere, such
as palm and cocoa-nut oil, and wax, which in
its properties resembles the oleaginous bodies.
Of the fixed oils some are of a fatty nature, and
are readily inspissated by the action of the air;
others dry into a sort of tenacious varnish.

Olive oil is expressed from the pulp of the
fruit of the olive tree, (Olea Europea) a shrub
that is indigenous to the south of Europe. In
the manufacture of the oil, the fruit is first broken
in a mill and reduced to a sort of paste. It is
then subjected to the action of a press, and the
oil, which is now easily separated, swims on the
top of the water in the vessel beneath. It is
manufactured chiefly in France and Italy, and
is much used throughout Europe to give a sea-
soning to food.

Almond oil is extracted from the fruit of the
almond tree, (amygdalus communis) a native of
the south of Europe. The almonds are first
well rubbed or shaken in a coarse bag or sacl,
to separate a bitter powder which covers their
epidermis. They are then pounded to a paste
in mortars of marble, which paste is afterwards
subjected to the action of a press, and the oil is
now obtained as in the case of the olive. It is
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.

of a clear transparent colour, almost without
smell or taste, and is used where fine oils are
requisite.

Rapeseed oil is extracted from the brassica,
napus, and campestris. It is less fixed, and less
liable to become rancid than the two former,
and is manufactured chiefly in Flanders.

Oil of behen is extracted from the fruit of the
guilandina mohringa, common in Egypt and
Africa. It is apt to become rancid, but is with-
out odour, and ig on this account much used in
perfumery.

Drying oils. The principal of these are lint-
seed oil, nut oil, poppy oil, and hempseed oil.
Lintseed is obtained from flax seed, which is
first of all roasted, in order to dry up the muci-
lage contained in the seed, as also to promote
the freer and more copious separation of the oil.
This oil still contains a portion of mucilage, and
hence perhaps its property of quickly drying
and hardening depends. Long boiling converts
it into a sort of varnish. With the oxide of
lead it forms a convenient lute, much used in
the arts. Nut oil is extracted from the hazel or
walnut. The kernel is first slightly roasted, and
then subjected to pressure, when the oil flows
out. It is used for food in some parts of France,
and in the coarser kinds of painting. It is apt
to become rancid. Poppy oil is procured from
the seeds of a poppy, (papaver somniferum) which
is cultivated in France for this purpose. It is
clear and transparent, and dries readily; and
when pure is without taste and odour. It is
used for the same purposes as the olive oil, for
which it is often sold. Hempseed oil is procured
from the hemp, has a harsh and disagreeable
taste, and is used only for mixing up the coarser
paints.

Volatile oils. A great variety of vegetables
contain an oil which, being of a lighter and less
permanent nature than the fixed oils, has been
called volatile or essential oil. These oils per-
vade almost every part of the plant. They are
found in many roots, to which they impart a
fragrant and aromatic odour, with a somewhat
acrid taste. The roots of inula helenium, genista
canariensis, and many others, contain oils of this
sort. They are found also in the bark, as in the
cinnamon tree; or in the wood, as in the sassa-
fras and the fir; in the leaves of labiate plants,
such as mint, rosemary, marjoram; and of the
odorous umbellifere, such as fennel, charvil, an-
gelica; and of plants with compound flowers,
such as worm-wood. They are found also in
the flower itself, as in the flowers of camomile
and the rose; and in the fruit, as in pepper
and ginger; and lastly, in the external integu-
ments of many seeds; but never in the cotyle-
don. Itis probable that every plant possessing
a peculiar odour owes this to a peculiar oil, and
that this aroma is caused by the volatile particles

 

145

of the oil being continually given off from the
plant. Volatile oils are obtained by expression
from the plant, or distillation. They are char-
acterised by their strong and aromatic odour,
and rather acrid taste. They are soluble in al-
cohol, but are not readily converted into soaps
by alkalies. They are very inflammable, and
are volatilized by a gentle heat. Like fixed oils,
their specific gravity is generally less than that
of water, on the surface of which they will
float, though in some cases it is found to be
greater than that of water, in which they con-
sequently sink. They are much prized, on
account of their agreeable taste and odour, and
are prepared and sold under the name of distilled
waters or essences. Oil of turpentine is used
as a varnish, and for mixing with other oils in
the composition of pigments.

Wax. This substance is found exuding from
the upper surface of the leaves of many trees. It
exudes also from other parts of the plants be-
sides the leaf, and assumes a more stiff and con-
crete form, as from the catkins of the poplar,
the alder, and the fir, from the fruit of the
myrica cerifera and croton sebiferum; but par-
ticularly from the anthere of flowers. Bees’
wax, though an animal production, agrees so
closely in all its characters with that from plants,
that there can be no doubt of their being the
same substance. It was at one time the opinion
of naturalists, that the bees collected their wax
ready formed from the pollen of plants; but
Huber has shown that the pollen which the bees
carry to their hives is employed as the food of
their larve; and that the wax is manufactured
by them from the saccharine juices of the flower.
It exudes from the rings in the abdomen of
these insects, and is employed by them in con-
structing the walls of their cells. Wax, as it
comes from the bee-hive, has a yellow colour
and a peculiar smell, both of which are derived
from the honey with which the wax cells are
filled. To free it from these impurities, it
is melted in water and cast into thin ribbons,
which are exposed to the light of the sun, till,
by the joint action of the light and moisture,
they are bleached white. Several fusions and
exposures are required, however, to render it.
perfectly pure.

Wax, when pure, is tasteless and inodorous,
insoluble in water or alcohol, but combines
with the fixed oils, forming with them a paste
or cerate. It readily combines with alkalies,
and assumes the consistence of soap. The acids
have little action on it, and on this account wax
forms aconvenient chemical lute. Wax softens
with heat, and melts at the temperature of 142°
if unbleached, and 155° when pure; at a higher
temperature it boils and passes off into vapour,
which vapour may be set on fire by the appli-
cation of a red heat. Hence, its utility in mak-

T
146

ing candles; and hence an explication of this
singular phenomenon observable in the pictam-
nus fracinella. This plant is fragrant, and the
odour which it diffuses around forms a partial
and temporary atmosphere, which is inflamma)le;
for if a lighted candle or other ignited hody is
brought near to the plant, especially in the time
of droughts, its atmosphere immediately takes
fire. This phenomenon was first observed by
the daughter of the celebrated Linneus, and is
explained by supposing the partial and tempor-
ary atmosphere to contain a portion of wax ex-
uded from the plants, and afterwards reduced to
vapour by the action of the sun. The result of
its combustion in oxygen gas was, according to
Lavoisier, carbonic acid and water, in such pro-
portions as to lead him to conclude that 100
parts of wax are composed of 82.28 of carbon,
and 17.72 of hydrogen. But owing to the little
action of acids on it, there seems reason to be-
lieve that it contains also oxygen as an ingre-
dient. Wax possesses all the essential properties
of afixed oil. But fixed oils have the property
of becoming concrete, and of assuming a waxy
appearance when long exposed to the air, in
consequence, as it seems, of the absorption of
oxygen. Wax, therefore, may be considered as
a fixed oil rendered concrete, perhaps by the
absorption of oxygen during the progress of vege-
tation. Butif this theory is just, the wax may
be expected to occur in a considerable variety of
states, according to its degree of oxygenation,
and this is accordingly the case. Sometimes it
has the consistency of butter, and is denominated
butter of wax, as butter of coco, butter of galam;
sometimes its consistency is greater, and then it
is denominated tallow, as tallow of croton; and
when it has assumed its last degree of consis-
tency, it then takes the appellation of wax. The
butter of cacao is extracted from the seeds of
the theobroma cacao, or chocolate plants, either
by boiling them in water, or by subjecting them
to the action of the press, after having exposed
them to the vapour of boiling water. They
yield almost half their quantity of butter. It
is at first brown or yellow, but when well puri-
fied it is white; its taste is swect, its fracture
slightly granular, and its touch unctuous. It
is to this butter that chocolate owes its flavour
and unctuosity. Butter of coco is found in the
fruit of the coco-nut tree. It is expressed from
the pulp of the nut, and is even said to separate
from it when in a fluid state, as cream separates
from milk. Butter of nutmeg is obtained from
the seeds of the myristica officinalis, or nutmeg
tree. They are pounded and formed into a paste
with water, and then subjected to the action of
the press. The butter is firm and orange coloured,
and of a sweet and aromatic smell. From the
croton scbiferum, a tree that grows in Asia and
America, a waxy substance is extracted, of the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

consistence of tallow. It adheres to the surface
of the fruit, and is detached from it by means
of boiling the fruit in water. Its odour is rather
pleasant, but it acts as aviolent purgative. The
Chinese use it in the manufacture of candles,
The myrica cerifera, a plant which grows
abundantly in Louisiana and other parts of North
America, furnishes the wax of myrtle. The
berries, which are about the size of a pepper
corn, are gathered and thrown into a kettle
which is nearly filled with water. The water
is then made to boil, and the wax which is ex-
tracted floats on the surface. It is of a pale
green colour; its specific gravity is 1.0150, it
melts at the temperature of 109°; and when
strongly heated burns with a white flame pro-
ducing smoke, and emitting an agreeable odour.
Wax is also extracted from a variety of other
vegetables, and has been detected by Proust in
the green fecula of many plants, as in that of
the cabbage. Ie considers it as a constituent
part of the pollen of all flowers, and thinks that
the bees collect it along with the gluten of the
pollen, which, according to him, serves them for
food. Certainly it is one of the most abundant
of vegetable principles, and is of great utility
both in medicine and in the arts. Its soft and
unctuous qualities render it fit for being em-
ployed as an ingredient inointments and plasters,
and in a great variety of other medicaments. It
is employed also by the sculptor, statuary, and
modeller, in the exercise of their arts. But its
chief utility consists in its being better adapted
than all other substances fur the manufacture
of candles. The candle burns with a clear and
brilliant flame, and the wick needs no snuffing.
Resins. The term resina was given by the
ancients to the expressed juice of certain pine
trees, and corresponds to our common resin.
Many vegetables yield a resinous juice. It is
obtained either by exudation from trees, or by
digesting the substance containing the resin in
alcohol. In the first case, it exudes from natural

‘or artificial openings in the bark and part of

the wood of trecs. The resin flows out in sum-
mer in a liquid state, it being held in solution
by a volatile oil, which, when the exudation is
exposed. to the air, either makes its escape or is
converted into resin by the absorption of oxygen.
When this change takes place the liquid is con-
verted into a solid resin. In the second place,
the alcoholic solution being diluted with water,
the resin falls down, and the alcohol is recovered
by distilling the diluted liquor.

Resins are solid substances, naturally brittle,
have a certain degree of transparency, and a
colour most commonly inclining to yellow.
Their taste is insipid, and they have no smell
except when they retain a portion of volatile
oil, in which case they partake of the odour and
acrid taste of that oil, They are insoruble in
VEGETABLE PRODUCIS.

water, most of them are souble in alcohol, and
some of them in the fixed oils. When exposed
to heat they melt and afterwards take fire, burn-
ing with a strong yellow flame, and evolving a
great deal of smoke. Their elementary consti-
tution consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Resin, or Rosin. This substance exudes in
the form of drops or tears, from the various
species of pines. Its flow is generally aided by
means of incisions into the bark and wood,
and it receives different appellations according
to the species from which it is obtained. If itis
obtained from the pinus sylvestris, it is denom-
inated common turpentine; from pinus larix
Venice turpentine; or from amyris balsamea,
Canada balsam. It originally consists of two
ingredients, oil of turpentine and rosin. The
oil is extracted by distillation, and the resin re-
mains behind. If the distillation is continued
to dryness, the residuum is common rosin, or
colophonium; but if water is mixed with it while
yet fluid and incorporated by violent agitation,
the residuum is yellowrosin. The yellow rosin
is the most ductile, and the most generally used
in the arts. Oil of turpentine begins to boil at
318° of the thermometer; but if the ebullition
be still farther continued, the temperature rises
to 350°, or even higher, showing the presence of
more than one volatile oil.

From the resinous juices of the fir, the sub-
stances known by the name of pitch and tar
are also manufactured. The trunk is cut or cleft
into pieces of a convenient size, which are piled
together in heaps, and covered with turf. They
are then set on fire, and the resinous juice which
is thus extricated, being prevented from escaping
in a volatile state by means of the turf, is pre-
cipitated and collected in a vessel beneath. It
is partly converted into an empyreumatic oil,
and is now tar, which by being farther inspis-
sated, is turned into pitch.

Mastic. This resin is extracted from the pis-
tacea lentiscus, a tree which grows plentifully in
the island of Chios. It exudes in a fluid state
from incisions made in the stem, and concretes
into brittle grains, somewhat yellowish and
semi-transparent, In this state it is sold under
the name of mastic. It has scarcely any taste;
‘put when heated it melts and exhales a fragrant
odour. It is sometimes employed as a varnish.

Sandarac. This resin is obtained from the
juniperus communis, or common juniper, by
spontaneous exudations. It concretes in the
form of small round tears, somewhat brownish
and semi-transparent, resembling mastic. It is
also employed as a varnish.

Elemi. This resin is extracted from the
amyris elemifera, a tree which grows in North
America. It exudes from incisions made in the
bark during dry weather, and is left to harden
inthe sun. It is of a pale yellow colour, and

 

147

strong smell, ard is somewhat semi-transpar-
ent.

Tacambac. ‘This resin is the produce of the
Fagara octandra, and populus balsamifera. It
is brought from America in large oblong masses,
wrapped in flag leaves. Its colour is light brown.
It is brittle but easily melted by heat, and it
has been found to be soluble in alkalies and nitric
acids,

Labdanum. This resin is obtained from the
cistus creticus, a shrub which grows in Candia
and other Grecian islands. The surface of the
leaves is covered with a viscid juice, which is
collected by a sort of rake furnished with thongs
of leather, to which the juice adheres. It is
afterwards scraped from the thongs with a knife.
It is very. soft, and always mixed with sand and
dust. Its colour is blackish, its odour fragrant,
and its taste bitter. When dissolved in alcohol,
it leaves behind it a little gum. It is employed
in medicine as an astringent.

Opobalsamum, or balm of Gilead. This resin,
which has obtained a sort of notoriety for its
fancied medical virtues, is the produce of
the amyris Gileadensis, a shrub which grows in
Judea and Arabia; but it is so much valued by
the Turks, that its importation is prohibited.
This is the balm of Gilead so much celebrated
in Scripture. Pliny says it was first brought to
Rome by the generals of Vespasian. It is ol)-
tained in a liquid state from incisions in the
bark, and is somewhat bitter to the taste.

Copaiva balsam. This resin is obtained from
the copaifera officinalis, a tree which grows in
South America. It exudes from artificial in-
cisions, having at first the consistence of oil, but
gradually assuming the consistence of honey.
It is transparent, and of a yellow colour, with
an agreeable smell, but pungent nauseous taste.
It is a combination of resin and volatile oil,
which may be separated by distillation with
water. It is insoluble in water, but abundantly
soluble in alcohol. Itis used only as a medicine.

Dragon's blood. This resin is obtained from
the dracena draco, pterocarpus draco, and cal-
amus rotang, plants that grow in the East Indies,
and in Spanish America. Its colour is a dark
red. It is tasteless and almost inodorous. Its
fracture is glossy, and its powder of a deep
crimson hue. It is brought to this country in
small masses, wrapped in leaves, and is used
chiefly as a tooth powder.

Guiac. This resin is the produce of the
guiacum officinale, a tree which grows in the
West Indies. It exudes spontaneously, or is
driven out in a melted state by means of the
action of heat. Its colour is green with some
transparency, its consistence brittle, its fracture
vitreous. It hasscarcely any taste, and no smell ;
but when thrown on burning coals it exhales 4,
fragrant odour. It is used in medicine.
148

Botany Bay resin. This resin is said to be
the produce of the acarois resinifera,a tree which
grows abundantly in New Holland, especially
near Botany Bay. The resin exudes spontan-
eously from the trunk of the singular tree which
vields it, especially if the bark be wounded. It
is at first fluid, but becomes gradually solid when
dried in the sun. It is insoluble in water, but
communicates to that liquid the flavour of
storax. Alcohol dissolves it.

Green resin. This resin constitutes the colour-
ing matter of the leaves of trees, and of almost
all vegetables. It is insoluble in water, but sol-
uble in alcohol. When treated with oxymuriatic
acid it assumes the colour of a withered leaf,
and exhibits the resinous properties more dis-
tinctly.

Copal. This resin is obtained from the rhus
copallinium, a tree which is found in North
America, It is a transparent substance, with a
slight tinge of brown. It possesses the general
properties of other resins, but differs from them
in not being soluble in alcohol or oil of turpen-
tine, without peculiar management. When
dissolved in any volatile liquid, and spread thin
upon wood, metal, or paper, so that the volatile
menstruum may evaporate, it forms one of the
most perfect and most beautiful of all the var-
nishes, known by the name of Copal varnish.
For this purpose it is generally dissolved in oil
of turpentine.

Anime. This resin is obtained from the hy-
mena courbaril, or locust tree, a native of North
America. It resembles copal exactly in its ap-
pearance, but differs from it in being readily
soluble in alcohol. It is employed also in mak-
ing varnishes.

Lae. This resin is the produce of the croton
lacciferum, a native of the East Indies. It ex-
udes in consequence of the puncture of an in-
sect, whence it is supposed to derive its colour,
which is deep red verging to brown, with a de-
gree of semi-transparency. It forms the basis of
many varnishes, and of the finest kinds of seal-
ing wax.

Bloom. Upon the epidermis of the leaves
and fruits of certain species of plants, there is
to be found a fine soft and glaucous powder. It
is particularly observable upon cabbage leaves,
and upon plums, to which it communicates a
particular shade. It is known to gardeners by
the name of bloom. It is easily rubbed off by
the fingers, and when viewed under the micros-
cope seems to be composed of small opaque and
unpolished granules, somewhat similar to the
powder of starch; but with a high magnifying
power it appears transparent. When rubbed
off it is again reproduced, though slowly. It
resists the action of dews and rains, and is con-

sequently insoluble in water. But it is soluble
in alcohol, from which circumstance it has

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

becn suspected with some probability to be a
resin,

Such are some of the most remarkable of the
resins that have been subjected to chemical analy-
sis, or employed in medicine or the arts. Their
medical virtues, however, are not quite so great
as has been generally supposed, but their utility
in the arts is very considerable. They are em-
ployed in the arts of painting, varnishing, em-
balming, and perfumery; and they furnish us
with two of the most important of all materials
to a naval power, pitch and tar.

Gum resins. There are many plants which,
when cut or pierced, give out a milky juice more
or less thick. This juice has generally a strong
taste, and frequently also a peculiar smell. These
milky juices are contained in the living plant in
a peculiar set of vessels, which usually run along
the interior part of the bark. The common
leontodon taraxicum, lactuca virosa, the different
species of euphorbia, and the poppy, may be
mentioned as examples of plants yielding these
milky juices. When the milky juice is made
to exude from a plant, and then exposed to
the atmosphere, it becomes solid, and assumes
different appearances according to the plant from
which it isobtained. Now these concrete juices
are the substances which have long been distin-
guished by the name of gum resins. Gum resins
are usually opaque, or at least their transparency
is inferior to that of resins. They are always
solid, and most commonly brittle, and have
sometimes a fatty appearance. When heated
they do not melt as the resins do, neither are
they so combustible. Heat, however, commonly
softens them, and causes them to swell. They
burn with a flame. They have almost always
a strong smell, which, in several instances, is
similar to that of garlic. Their taste also is
often acrid, and much stronger than that of the
resins. They are partially soluble in water, but
the solution is always opaque, and usually
milky. Alcohol dissolves only a portion of
them, the solution is transparent; but when di-
luted with water it becomes milky. They dis-
solve much better in dilute aleohol.

Galbanum. This substance is obtained from
the bubon galbanum, a perennial plant found at
the Cape of Good Hope. An incision is made
in the stem a little above the root, and the milky
juice flows out. When it concretes it consti-
tutes galbanum. It is brought into this country
in small pieces, composed of agglutinated tears
of a yellow colour, acrid and bitter taste, and
smell of garlic. Water, vinegar, and wine, dis-
solves the greater part of it, but the solution is
milky, It is chiefly used in medicine.

Ammoniae. This substance is brought from
Africa in the form of small tears, but nothing
certain is known concerning the plant which
yields it. It is thought to bea species of ferula.
VEGETABLE

Tts colour is yellow, and taste nauseous.
used sometimes in mtdicine.

Scammony. ,This substance is the produce of
the convolvulus scammonia,a climbing plant which
grows in Persia. The root when cut yields a
milky juice by expression, which, when it con-
cretes, forms scammony. Its colour is dark gray,
its smell nauseous when rubbed, and its taste
bitter. It forms with water a green opaque
liquid. It is much employed in medicine, and
operates as a strong purgative.

Opoponga. The plant from which this sub-
stance is obtained, is the pastinacea opoponax,
a native of the countries of the Levant. It
exudes in the state of a milky juice, from in-
cisions made in the root. It is afterwards dried
in the sun, and is generally to be met with in
lumps of a reddish colour, and white within.
Its taste is bitter and acrid, and it forms with
water a milky solution.

Euphorbium. This substance is the produce
of the euphorbia officinalis, a plant which grows
in Africa. It is the milky juice of the plant
dried in the sun, and obtained by means of in-
cisions. It assumes the form of small yellow
tears. It has no smell, its taste is caustic. It
is poisonous, but is occasionally employed in
medicine.

Olibanum. This substance is obtained from
the juniperus lycia, which grows in Arabia, par-
ticularly by the borders of theRed sea. It is
the frankincense of the ancients. It exudes
from incisions made in the tree, and concretes
into masses about the size of achestnut. It is
brittle, transparent, and of a yellow colour. It
has little taste, but when burnt diffuses an
agreeable odour.

Sagapenum. The plant from which this sub-
stance is obtained is not well known; but it is
supposed to be the ferula Persica, The sub-
stance itself is brought from Egypt, Persia, or
India. It is generally in the form of agglutin-
ated tears. Its colour is yellow, its taste hot
and bitter, and its srnell alliaceous.

Gamboge is the produce of the mangostana
cambogia,'a tree which grows in the East Indies.
It exudes from incisions. of the bark, and is
brought to Europe in large cakes or cylindrical
masses. Its colour is yellow, and its fracture
vitrious; but it has no smell and very little
taste. It forms with water a yellow turbid
liquid, but is soluble almost entirely in alcohol.
In medicine it isa strong purgative. It is much
used as a pigment. .

Myrrh. This substance is procured from a
tree which grows in Abyssinia and Arabia; the
real species of which has not yet been ascertained.
According to Bruce it belongs to the mimosa.
It exudes from the tree in the state of a yel-
lowish white liquid, which soon concretes into

It is

 

a solid substance. The best is transparent, and

PRODUCTS. 149
has a reddish brown colour. Its odour is strong
and peculiar, its taste bitter and aromatic. It
does not melt when heated, and burns with dif-
ficulty. It is occasionally used in medicine, and
as a dentifrice,

Asafectida. This substance, so well charac-
terised by its strong and feetid smell, is obtained
from the ferula asafcetida, a plant which grows
in Persia. At four years old the plant is dug
up by the root; the root is then cleaned and the
extremity cut off; a milky juice exudes, which
is collected; and when it ceases to flow another
portion is cut off and more juice extricated. The
process is continued till the root is exhausted.
The juice which has been collected soon con-
cretes, and constitutes asafetida. It is brought
to Europe in small agglutinated grains of differ-
ent colours: white, red, and yellow. It is hard
but brittle. Its taste is bitter, and its smell in-
sufferably foetid; and yet the Indians use it as
a seasoning for their food, and call it the food of
the gods. This forms a strong contrast to the
name it has obtained in Europe, where it is vul-
garly known by the appellation of devil’s dung.
It is used in medicine.

Alocs. Strictly speaking, aloes hardly belongs
to the gum resins; but as it often exudes spon-
taneously from the leaves when the point of
these is cut off, and afterwards gradually con-
cretes into a solid mass, the analogy is so close
as to warrant its insertion here.

Two kinds of aloes occur in commerce, Soco-
tara aloes, and Barbadoes aloes. The first kind
came originally from Socotora, an island at the
entrance of the Red sea; but of late years this
country is almost entirely supplied with aloes
from Bombay. The plant which yields this
variety is the aloe spicata. The leaves are cut
off close to the stem, then cut in pieces, and their
juice allowed to run out; after a sediment has
subsided the clear liquid is allowed to concrete
in the sun. The taste of aloes is entirely bitter;
it is soluble in alcohol and water, and is much
used in medieine as a purgative.

Balsams. The substances known by the name
of balsams are nearly related to the resins and
gum resins, They all contain benzoic acid.
They are obtained by incisions made in the bark,
from which a viscous juice flows, which is after-
wards thickened by exposure to the sun or a
fire; or they are obtained by boiling the part of
the tree containing them. They are thick and
viscid juices, but become readily concrete; their
colour is brown or red; their smell aromatic when
rubbed; their taste acrid. They are insoluble in
water, but boiling water extracts part of their
acid; they are soluble in the alkalies and nitric
acid. When heated they melt and sweil, evolv-
ing a white and odorous smoke.

Benzoin. twas long supposed that this sub-
stance was the produce of a species of laurus;
150

but it appears from the observations of Mr
Dryandi, to be the produce of a species of styraw,
a tree which grows in Sumatra, and is known
as the styrax benzoin. It flows from incisions
made in the trunk, and comes into Europe in
masses of a light brown colour, variegated with
yellow specks. It is brittle, with a vitrious
fracture. It is soluble in aleohol; when rubbed
it emits a fragrant odour; and when heated the
benzoic acid is sublimed in the form of white
crystals. It is used in medicine and perfumery.

Storaz. This balsam is obtained from the
styraz officinale, a tree which grows in France,
Italy, and the islands of the Levant. It is ex-
tracted by means of incisions, and coneretes into
cakes or masses of an irregular form, and a brown
or reddish colour. Its taste is spicy, and its
smnell fragrant : it is employed in perfumery.

Styrax. This substance is a semi-fluid juice.
The tree from which it flows is cultivated in
Arabia; but the true species has not yet been
ascertained. It is known to the natives by the
name of rosamallos. The balsam procured from
it is greenish, its taste aromatic, and its smell
pleasant. It is a combination of benzoic acid,
and resin, and is used in medicine occasionally.

Balsam of Tolu. This substance is the pro-
duct of a tree of South America, the toluifera
balsamum. It flows from incisions made in the
bark, and is brought to Europe in small gourd
shells. Its colour is brown, and its smell very
fragrant. It is employed in medicine, and was
at one time thought efficacious in diseases of the
lungs.

Balsam of Peru. This balsam is obtained
from the myroxylor Peruiferwn, a tree which is
found in South America. It is extracted by
boiling the twigs in water; after evaporation the
extract is put into cocoa nut shells, and in this
state brought to Europe. It resembles the bal-
sam of tolu in its chemical properties, as far as
they have been hitherto examined, and is ap-
plied to the same medical purposes; but its con-
sistency is less solid, and it is more easily vola-
tilized by heat.

Camphor. This substance was unknown to
the Greeks and Romans, but appears to have
heen first brought into notice by the Arabian
physicians. Sotius is the first person who
notices it under the name of kamphur. A great
variety of plants, especially the Jabiate, contain
camphor, such as thyme, rosemary, lavender,
zedoary, sassafras; but it is chiefly obtained from
the laurus camphora, a tree which grows in
Japan and the islands of the East Indies. In
order to obtain it, the root and stem of the
plant are cut into small pieces, and put into a
large alembic furnished with a head, and con-
taining some water. When sufficient heat is
applied, the camphor sublimes in the form of
small grayish grains, which are afterwards

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

worked into larger masses by friction. In this
state it is impure, but it is afterwards refined by
a second distillation. Camphor, when pure, is
a white brittle substance, forming octagonal
crystals, or square plates. Its taste is peculiarly
hot and acrid, leaving afterwards a sensation of
cold; its odour is strong and aromatic. When
broken into small fragments and put into water,
on the surface of which it swims, a singular
phenomenon ensues. The water surrounding
the fragments is immediately put into commo-
tion, advancing and retiring in little waves, and
attacking the fragments with violence. The
minuter fragments are driven backwards and
forwards upon the surface, as if impelled by
contrary winds. If a drop of oil is let fall on
the surface of the water, it produces an imme-
diate calm, This phenomenon has been attri-
buted to electricity. Fourcroy thinks it is
merely the effect of the affinities of the camphor,
water, and air, entering into combination.

Camphor is not altered by exposure to the air,
but it is so volatile that it evaporates completely,
if exposed to it in warm weather. It is insolu-
ble in water, to which, however, it communicates
its peculiar odour. It is readily soluble in al-
cohol; and in the acids its solution in nitric acid
forms what is called oil of camphor. It melts
at the temperature of 800°, and is so inflamma-
ble that it will burn even on the surface of the
water. It burns with a bright flame, and leaves
no residuum. If formed into a paste with water
and alumina, and distilled in a glass retort, the
products are volatile oil, camphoric acid, car-
bonic acid gas, and carburetted hydrogen gas,
with a residuum of charcoal and alumina, in
such proportions as to warrant the conclusion
that the ultimate ingredients of camphor are
carbon and hydrogen.

Camphor is much employed in medicine. It
is regarded as a powerful stimulant and anti-
spasmodic. It is particularly offensive to insects,
and is frequently used as a preservative in cabi-
nets of natural history.

Caoutchouc. This substance was introduced
into Europe about the beginning of last century;
and from its being applied to rub out the stains
of black-lead pencils, it got the name of India
rubber. It is obtained from at least two trees,
natives of South America, the jatropa clastica,
and havea caoutchouc, and from the ficus indica,
artocarpus integrifolia, and urceola elastica of the
East Indies. If an incision is made into the bark
of any of these plants, a milky juice exudes,
which, when it is exposed to the air, concretes
and forms caoutchouc. As the object of the na-

| tives in collecting it had been originally to form

it into vessels for their own use, it is generally
made to concrete in the form of bags-or bottles.
This is done by applying the juice, when fluid,
in thin layers, to a mould of dried clay, and then
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 151

leaving it to concrete in the sun, or by the fire.
A second layer is added to the first, and others in
succession, till the vessel acquires the thickness
that is wanted. The mould is then broken, and
the vessel fit for use; and in this state it is gen-
erally brought to Europe.” It is brought over in
its milky state also, by being excluded from the
action of the air. Ifthe pulpy juice be exposed
to the air, an elastic pellicle is formed on the
surface. If it is confined in a vessel containing
oxygen gas, the pellicle is formed sooner. Ifoxy-
muriatic acid is poured into the milky juice, the
caoutchouc precipitates immediately. This ren-
ders it probable that the formation of the caout-
chouc is owing to the absorption of oxygen.
When pure this substance is of a white colour,
without taste or smell. The black colour which
it commonly presents is owing to the method of
drying the different layers upon the moulds on
which they are spread. They are dried by being
exposed to smoke. The black colour of the
caoutchoue, therefore, is owing to the smoke or
soot alternating with its different layers. It is
soft and pliable like leather, and extremely elas-
tic, so that it may be stretched to a very gresi
length, and still recover its former size. Mr
Gough of Manchester has made some curious ex-
periments on the changes of temperature which
this substance undergoes on its being stretched
out suddenly, from which it would appear that
iuetility, or elasticity, as well as fluidity, de-
pends upon latent heat. It is not altered by ex-
posure to the air; is insoluble in water; but if
boiled in this fluid for some time, its edges be-
come so soft as to adhere if pressed together
closely for some time. It is insoluble in alco-
hol; but soluble in-pure ether and some of the
volatile oils, as also the alkalies. Naptha, or the
essential oil derived from tar or coal gas, is a
ready solvent of this substance. It is also acted
on by acids; and from their decomposition, it
seems to consist of the elementary constituents
of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Caoutchouc exists in many vegetables, com-
bined with other ingredients. From resins it
may be separated by their solution in alcohol;
and from the berries of the misseltoe it may be
separated by the addition of water. Opium and
mastic contain a portion of it, but not a suffi-
cient proportion to compensate the labour of its
extraction. It is applied to many useftl pur-
poses. Rolled out into very thin plates it forms
a tenacious covering to jars and phials, and is
quite impervious to water and most liquids. It is
also used to construct tubes and cylinders for
chemical and surgical purposes; and dissolved
in naptha, and spread over various kinds of cloth,
it forms the Mackintosh fabrics, now so univer-

sally used. An immense quantity of this sub- |

stance is now imported into this country for this
manufacture, and consequently its price has been

 

greatly raised. In the countries where it is pro-
duced the natives manufacture it into bottles,
make of it boots and shoes, and often burn it in-
stead of candles,

Cork. This well known and useful article is
the outer bark of the guercus suber, or cork tree,
a kind of oak that grows abundantly in France,
Italy, and Spain. To prevent its natural exfo-
liation, which is always irregular, and to disen-
gage it in convenient portions, a longitudinal in-
cision is made in the bark from the root to the
top of the stem, and a transverse and circular in-
cision at each extremity; the outer layer, which
is cork, is then stripped off, and to flatten and
reduce it to sheets, it is put into water, and
loaded with weights. The tree continues to
thrive though it is thus stripped of its cork once
in two or three years.

Cork is a light, soft, and elastic substance. Its
colour is a sort of light tan. It is very inflam-
mable, and burns with a bright white flame,
leaving a black and bulky charcoal behind.
When distilled it yields a small quantity of am-
monia. Nitric acid corrodes and dissolves it,
changing its colour to yellow, and finally decom-
poses it, converting it partly into an acid, and
partly into a soft substance resembling wax or
resin, The acid which is thus formed is deno-
minated the suberic acid, and has been ascer-
tained to be one of a peculiar nature. It seems
probable that cork exists in the bark of some
other trees as well as the guercus suber. There
is a variety of the wlnus campestris, common in
hedge rows, whose bark assumes something of
the external appearance of cork, which it re-
sembles in its thickness, softness, and elasticity,
and in its loose and porous texture, as well as in
its chemical properties. Fourcroy seems indeed
to regard the epidermis of al] trees to be a sort
of cork, but does not say on what grounds his
opinion is founded.

Woody fibre. The principal part of the stem,
root, and branches of trees, is known under the
denomination of wood; but this term is too
general for the purpose of analytical distinction,
as the part so designated often includes a great
proportion of the substances that have already
been described. Jt remains, therefore, to be con-
sidered whether there exists in the plant any in-
dividual substance different from those already
described, and constituting more immediately
the fabric of the wood. Ifa piece of wood is
well dried and digested, first in water and then
in alcohol, or such other solvent as shall produce
no violent effects upon the insoluble parts, and
if the digestion is continued till the liquid is no
longer coloured, and dissolves no more of the
substance of the plant, there remains behind a
sort of vegetable skeleton, which constitutes the
basis of the wood, and which has been called
woody fibre, It is composed of bundles of lon-
152
gitudinal threads, which are divisible into others
still smaller. It is somewhat transparent, is
without taste or smell, and is not altered by ex-
posure to the atmosphere. It is insoluble in
water and alcohol; but the fixed alkalies decom-
pose it with the assistance of heat. When
heated in the open air it blackens without melt-
ing or frothing, and exhales a thick smoke and
pungent odour, leaving a charcoal that retains
the form of the original mass. When distilled
in a retort, it yields an empyreumatic oil, car-
buretted hydrogen gas, carbonic acid, and a por-
tion of ammonia. One hundred parts of the
woody fibre of oak yielded, according to the
analysis of Gay Lussac and 'Thenard,

Carbon, 52.53

Oxygen, 41.78

Hydrogen, ‘ 5.69
Charcoal. When wood is covered up from

the full action of the atmosphere, and burnt with
a smothered flame, the volatile parts are driven
off by the heat, and there remains behind a sub-
stance exhibiting the exact form, and even the
several layers, of the original mass. This pro-
cess is denominated charring, and the product is
charcoal. As it is the woody film alone which
resists the action of heat, while the other parts
of the plant are dissipated, it is plain that char-
coal must be the residuum of woody fibre, and
that the quantity of the one must depend upon
the quantity of the other, if they are not rather
to be considered as the same. Charcoal may he
obtained from almost all parts of the plant, whe-
ther solid or fluid, and it is rendered perceptible
by means of combustion. It often escapes, how-
ever, during this process, under the form of car-
bonic acid, of which it constitutes one of the
elements. From a variety of experiments made
on different plants, and on their different parts,
it appears that the green parts contain a greater
proportion of charcoal than the rest; but this
proportion is found to diminish in autumn, when
‘the green parts begin to be deprived of their glu-
tinous and extractive juice. The wood contains
more charcoal than the alburnum—the bark
more than both; but this last result is not con-
stant in all plants, because the bark is not a ho-
mogeneous substance, the outer parts being af-
fected by the air, and the inner parts not. The
wood of the quercus suber, separated from the
alburnum, yielded, from a hundred parts of its
dry substance, 19.75 of charcoal, the alburnum
17.5, the bark 26, leaves gathered in May, 80, in
September, 26. But the quantity of charcoal
differs also in different plants, as well as in dif-
ferent parts of the same. In the plants exa-
mined by Proust, the proportion was found to
be as follows, the quantity of wood charred being
represented hy unity :—

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Black Ash, . 4 . 0.25
Guiacum, 0.24
Pine, 0.20
Green Oak, 0.20
Heart of Oak, 0.19
Wild Ash, 0.17
White Ash, 0.17

Charcoal is insoluble in water, of which, how-
ever, it absorbs a portion when newly made, as
also of atmospheric air. Itis incapable of putre-
faction. It is not altered by the most violent
heat that can be applied, if all air and moisture
are excluded; but when heated to about 800°,
it burns in atmospheric air or oxygen gas, and
if pure, without having any residuum. It is
regarded by chemists as being a triple compound,
of which the ingredients are carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen.

Charcoal is of great utility, both to the che-
mist and artist, as a fuel for heating furnaces, as
well as for a variety of other purposes. It isan
excellent filter for purifying water. Itis avery
good tooth powder, and is an indispensable in-
gredient in the manufacture of gunpowder.

The Sap. Tf a branch of a vine is cut asun-
der early in the spring, before the leaves have
begun to expand, a clear and colourless fluid will
issue from the wound, which gardeners denomi-
nate the tears of the vine. It is merely, how-
ever, the ascending sap, and may be procured
from almost any other plant by the same or simi-
lar means, and at the same season, but particu-
larly from the maple, birch, and walnut tree, by
boring a hole in the trunk. A small branch of
a vine has been known to yield from twelve to
sixteen ounces in the space of twenty-four hours.
A maple tree of ordinary size yields about two
hundred pints in a season, as has been already
stated; and a birch tree has been known to yield
in the bleeding season, a quantity equal to its
own weight. The taste of this fluid is generally
insipid, but sometimes it is slightly saline, and
sometimes agreeably sweet, as in the case of the
birch tree. If it is agitated but slightly a froth
is formed on the surface; and if it is kept for
any length of time in a close vessel, it ferments
and effervesces spontaneously, and at length be-
comes strongly acid, assuming a bluish colour
and a turbid appearance. At last it deposits a
sediment, and resumes its transparency, but
forms, at the same time, a thin and mouldy pel-
licle on the surface. If exposed to the action of
heat it emits bubbles of carbonic acid gas, ex~
hales a strong odour of vinegar, and yields, by
distillation, carbonate of ammonia. Its charcoal
contains carbonate of potass, carbonate of lime,
and muriate and sulphate of potass. It com-
bines, in all proportions, with water, which di-
lutes and dissolves it when thick and viscid.
Strong acids deprive it of the carbonic and ace-
tous acid which it contains, and occasion the
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.

formation of carbonate of lime and acetate of
potass, which it previously held in solution.
Alkalies combine with it readily, and saturate
its excess of acid. They resist its tendency to
Spontaneous decomposition, and retain in solu.
tion its extract.

Deyeux and Vauquelin instituted a set of ex-
periments on the nature of thissap. The former
analyzed the sap of the vine and elm, and found
in it acetate of lime, acetous acid, and an extract
to which he attributed the formation of ammo-
nia, and the spontaneous precipitation of the sap
when left exposed to the action of the air. But
the analysis of Vauquelin was more minute. In
the sap of fagus sylvatica he found the follow-
ing ingredients: Water, acetate of lime, with ex-
cess of acid, acetate of potass, gallic acid, tannin,
mucous extractive matter, and acetate of alumi-
na. In 1039 parts of the sap of wlmus campes-
tris, he found 1.027 parts of water and volatile
matter, 9.240 of acetate of potass, 1.060 of veget-
able matter, 0.796 of carbonate of lime, besides
some slight indications of the presence of sulphu-
ric and muriatic acids; and at a later period of the
season he found the vegetable matter increased,
and the carbonate of lime and acetate of potass
diminished. From the above experiments, there-
fore, as well as from those of other chemists, it
is plain that the sap consists of a great variety
of ingredients differing in different species of
plants, though there is too little known concern-
ing it to warrant the deduction of any general
conclusions, as the number of plants whose sap
has hitherto been analyzed is yet but very
limited. It is the grand and principal source of
vegetable aliment, and may be regarded as being
somewhat analogous to the blood of animals. It
is not made use of by man, at least in its natural
state; but there are trees, such as the birch,
whose sap may be manufactured into a very
pleasant wine; and it is well known that the sap
of the American maple tree yields a considerable
quantity of sugar. Boussingault has lately ex-
amined the sap of the musa paradisaica. It is
limpid like water. When left exposed to the
air it lets fall red flakes. It stains linen; but
loses this property by exposure to the air. It
contains tannin, gallic acid, acetic acid, common
salt, and salts of lime, potash, and alumina.

The proper juice. After the sap has passed
into the leaves, and has thus communicated with
the atmosphere, it becomes elaborated into what
is called the proper juice, and descends again
through the vessels of the stem. This fluid is
distinguishable from the sap by a difference of
colour, as well as qualities. Thus in the peri-
winkle it isgreen, in logwood red, white in spurge,
and yellow in the celandine, from the two last
of which it may readily be obtained by breaking
the stem asunder, as it will then exude from the
fracture. Its principal seat is in the bark, where

 

153

it occupies the simple tubes ; but sometimes it is
situated between the bark and wood, as in the
juniper tree; or in the leaf, as in the greater
part of herbs; or it is diffused throughout the
whole plant, as in the fir and hemlock, in which
case either the proper juice mixes with the sad,
or the vessels containing it have ramifications so
fine as to be altogether imperceptible. It is not,
however, the same in all plants, nor even in the
different parts of the same plant. In the cherry
it is mucilaginous, in the pine it is resinous, in
spurge and celandine it is caustic, though resem-
bling in appearance an emulsion. In many
plants the proper juice of the bark is different
from that of the flower, and the proper juice of
the fruit different from both. Its appearance
under the microscope, according to Senebier, is
that of an assemblage of small globules, con-
nected by small and prism-shaped substances
placed between them. If this juice could be ob--
tained in a state of purity, its analysis would
throw considerable light on the subject of vege-
tation; but it seems impracticable to extract it
without a mixture of sap. Senebier analyzed
the milky juice of euphorbia cyparissus, of which
he had procured a small quantity considerably
pure, though its pungency was so great as to oc-
casion an inflammation of the eyes to the person
employed to procure it. It mixed readily with
water, to which it communicated its colour.
When left exposed to the air a slight precipita-
tion ensued; and when allowed to evaporate, a
thin and opaque crust remained behind. Alco-
hol coagulated it into small globules. Ether
dissolved it entirely, as did also oil of turpen-
tine. Sulphuric acid changed its colour to black,
nitric acid to green. The most accurate experi-
ments on the subject are those of Chaptal. When
oxymuriatic acid was poured into the peculiar
juice of euphorbia, a very copious white precipi-
tate fell down, which, when washed and dried,
had the appearance of starch, and was not al-
tered by keeping. _ Alcohol, aided by heat, dis-
solved two kinds of it, which the addition of
water again precipitated. They had all the pro-
perties of resin. The remaining third part pos-
sessed the properties of woody fibre. The same
experiment was tried on the juice of a variety of
other plants, and the result uniformly was, that
oxymuriatic acid precipitated them from woody
fibre.

The peculiar qualities and virtues of plants
seem to reside in their proper juice. Thus the
juice of the poppy is narcotic, furnishing opium.
The stimulating and diuretic effects of the fir are
in itsturpentine. Cinnamon and other aromatic
shrubs yield a highly pungent éssential oil. The
resinous juice of the jalap is a purgative. Sugar
is the sweet juice of the sugar cane, the maple
tree, and the beet root. The bark of trees con-
tains this juice in greatest abundance, as is ex-

u
15+

emplified in the cinnamon tree and camphor
tree. The peach tree, however, furnishes an ex-
ception to this rule. Its flowers are purgative,
and the whole plant aromatic; but its juice is
without any distinguished virtues,

Malpighi regarded the proper juice as the prin-
ciple of nourishment, and compared it to the
blood of animals; but this analogy does not hold
very closely. The sap is, perhaps, more analo-
gous to the blood, from which the proper juice
is rather a secretion. In one respect, however,
the analogy holds good, that is, with regard to
extravasated blood and peculiar juices. If the
blood escapes from the vessels, it forms neither
flesh nor bones, but tumours; and if the proper
juices escape trom the vessels containing them,
they form neither wood nor bark, but a lump or
deposit of inspissated fuid. To the sap, or to
the proper juice, or rather to a mixture of both,
we must refer such substances as are obtained
from plants under the name of expressed juices,
because it is evident that they can come from
no other source. In this state they are generally
obtained in the first instance, whether with a
view to their use in medicine, or their applica-
tion to the arts. It is the business of the che-
mist, or artist, to separate and purify them after-
wards, according to the peculiar object he may
happen to have in view, and the use to which
he purposes to apply them. They contain, like
the sap, acetate of potass or of lime, and assume
a deeper shade of colour when exposed to the
fire or air. The oxymuriatic acid precipitates
from them a coloured and flaky substance, as
from the sap; and they yield by evaporation a
quantity of extract; but they differ from the
sap in exhibiting’ no traces of tannin or gallic
acid, and but rarely of the saccharine principle.

Ashes. When vegetable matter is submitted
to the action of fire, all its volatile parts are
dissipated, and there only remains a small pro-
portion of incombustible ashes. This ash ex-
hibits a flaky whitish appearance, is soft and
crumbling to the touch, and is both tasteless and
inodorous. Ashes may be obtained from all parts
of the plant, but in different quantities from the
same weight, not only in different plants, but in
different parts of the same plant. Thus, herba-
ceous plants, after being dried, yield more ashes
than woody plants, the leaves more than the
branches, and the branches more than the trunk.
The alburnum yields also more ashes than the
wood; and putrified vegetables yield more ashes
than the same vegetables in a fresh state, if the
putrefaction has not taken place in a current of
water. The result of Saussure’s experiments on

this subject was the following: Pia

1000 parts of dried leaves of oak gathered in May, z 53
——_________—_——— Rhododendrum ferrugineum, 30
Esculus hippocastanus, 72
do. trunk & branches, 35
do. gathered in Sept. 86
do. gatheredin Oct. 34

“ z . 60

 

 

—— do,

do
—— 0,
1000 parts dried bark of the oak,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Tius ash is a compound of several ingredients,
the principal of which are alkalies, earths, and
metals.

Alkalies. Two of the well known alkalies,
potass and soda, are obtained from the ashes of
plants ; but of late years chemists have discovered
upwards of thirty distinct alkaline substances in
the vegetable juices. These alkalies have been
named generally after the plants from which
they are derived, as strychuina, atropina, qui-
nina, &e.

Potass. If the ashes ot vegetables, burnt in
the open air, are repeatedly washed in water,
and this water filtered and evaporated to dry-
ness, potass is left behind. The potass of com-
merce is manufactured in this manner, though it
is not quite pure; but it may be purified by
dissolving it in spirits of wine, and evaporating
the solution to dryness in a silver vessel. When
pure, it is white and semi-transparent, and is
extremely caustic and deliquescent. It dissolves
all soft, animal substances, and changes vegetable
blues into green. It dissolves alumina, and also
a small quantity of silex, with which it fuses
into glass with heat. It had long been suspected
by chemists to be a compound substance, which
conjecture was put beyond a doubt by the bril-
liant experiments of Sir H. Davy, who proved it
to consist of a metallic basc, in combination with
oxygen.

Soda. This substance is found chiefly in ma.
rine plants, and those growing within the influ-
ence of salt water. It is obtained from the ashes
of burnt fuci, by means of solution in water.
Besides the fuci, or sea weed, it is found in great
abundance in salsola soda and zostera maritima.
It is generally obtained in the state of a carbon-
ate, and is purified in the same manner as potass,
to which it is similar in its general properties,
but from which it is easily distinguished by its
forming a hard soap with oil, while potass forms
a soft soap. It, too, isa combination of a me-
tallic base with oxygen. The importance of
this alkali in the arts is very great. It enters
into the formation of glass, soap, and various
other materials used in the dyeing and manu-
facture of cloths. They are also of essential im-
portance in medicine.

Earths, The earths which are usually found
in vegetables are lime, silex, alumina, and mag-
nesia. Of these, lime is by far the most frequent
and abundant, and it is generally found com-
bined with phosphoric, carbonic, or sulphuric
acids. The phosphate of lime is, next to the al-
kaline salts, the most abundant ingredient in the
ashes of green herbaceous plants, whose parts are
all in a state of active vegetation. The leaf of
a tree bursting from the bud contains in its ashes
a greater proportion of earthy phosphate than
at any other period. One hundred parts of the
ashes of the leaves of the oak, gathered in May,
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 155

furnished twenty-four parts of earthy phosphate,
in September only eighteen parts. In annual
plants the proportion of earthy phosphate di-
minishes from the period of their germination
to that of their flowering. Plants of the bean,
before flowering, gave fourteen parts of earthy
phosphate; in flower only thirteen, Carbonate
of lime is, next to phosphate of lime, the most
abundant of the earthy salts that are found in
vegetables ; but if the leaves of plants are washed
in water, the proportion of carbonate is aug-
mented. This is owing to the subtraction of
their alkaline salts and phosphates in a greater
proportion than their lime. In green herbace-
ous plants, whose parts are in a state of increase,
there is but little carbonate of lime; but the
ashes of the bark of trees contain an enormous
quantity of this earth, and much more than the
alburnum, as do also the ashes of the wood. The
ashes of most seeds contain no carbonate of lime;
but they abound in phosphate of potass; hence
the ashes of plants, at the period of the maturity
of the fruit, yield less carbonate of lime than at
any previous period.

Silica, or flint earth, is not found to exist in
great proportion in the ashes of vegetables, un-
less they have been previously deprived of their
salts and phosphates by washing; but when the
plants are washed in water, the proportion of
their silica augments. The ashes of the leaves
of the hazel, gathered in May, yielded 23 parts
of silica in the hundred ; the same leaves washed
yielded 4 parts in the hundred. Young plants
and leaves bursting from the bud contain but
little silica in their ashes; but the proportion of
silica augments as the parts are developed. This
is perhaps owing to the diminution of the alka-
line salts. The ashes of some stalks of wheat,
gathered a month before the time of flowering,
and having some of the radical leaves withered,
contained 12 per cent. of silica, and 65 of alka-
line salts. At the period of their flowering, and
when more of their leaves were withered, the
ashes contained 32 parts of silica, and 54 of alka-
line salts. Seeds, divested of their external cov-
ering, contain less silica than the stem furnished
with its leaves; and it is somewhat remarkable
that there are trees of which the bark, alburnum,
and wood, contain scarcely any silica, and the
leaves a great deal, particularly in autumn. This
isa phenomenon that cannot be readily accounted
for. ‘The greater part of the grasses contain a
very considerable proportion of silica, as do also
the plants of the genus eguisetum. Sir H. Davy
discovered that it forms a part of the epidermis
of these plants, and in some of them the prin-
cipal part. From 100 parts of the epidermis of
the following plants, the proportions of silica
were as follows:

Bonnet cane,
Bamboo,

 

48.1
66.5

Common reed,
Stalks of corn,

Owing to the silica’contained in the epidermis,
the plants in which it is found are sometimes
used to give a polish to the surface of substances
where smoothness is required. The Dutch rush,
a plant of this kind, is used to polish even brass.

Alumina. This earth exists in the ashes of
several plants, but not by any means so gene-
rally, or in such proportions, as lime, or even
silica. Saussure found in the ashes of the com-
mon fir 14 per cent.of alumina, In many other
plants, however, only a trace of it is discoverable.
Yet clay earth forms a large, and apparently an
indispensable ingredient, in all soils adapted for
the support of vegetables.

Magnesia. This earth is also sparingly found
in vegetables. It is confined chiefly to marine
species, as the fuci. Vauquelin obtained 17 per
cent. of magnesia from the ashes of salsola soda.

Metallic oxides. Some of the metals exist in
minute proportions in the ashes of vegetables,
such as gold, magnesia, and iron. The latter is
by far the most common. It occurs in the state
of an oxide; and the ashes of hard and woody
plants, such as the oak, are said to contain nearly
one-twelfth part their weight of this oxide. The
ashes of salsola contain also a considerable quan-
tity. The oxide of magnesia was first detected
in vegetables by Scheele, and afterwards found
by Proust in the ashes of the pine, vine, green
oak, and fig tree. It has been stated, too, that
minute portions of gold have been detected in
vegetable bodies. Saussure remarks that the
properties of the oxides of iron and of magnesia
augment in the ashes of plants as their vegeta-
tion advances. The leaves of trees furnish more
of these principles in autumn than in spring. It
is so also with annual plants. Seeds contain
metals in less abundance than the stem; and if
plants are washed with water, the propovtion of
their metallic oxides is augmented.

Decomposition of vegetables. During the spon-
taneous decomposition which all vegetables, in
common with all organized bodies, undergo, it is
obvious that the simple substances of which they
are composed must unite together in a different
manner from that in which they were formerly
united, and form a new set of compounds which
did not formerly exist. Now it has been re-
marked, that the specific gravity of these new
compounds is almost always less than that of
the old body. Some of them usually fly off in
the state of gas or vapour; hence the odour that
vegetable bodies emit during the whole time that
they are running through the series of their
changes. When the odour is very offensive or
noxious, the spontaneous decomposition is called
putrefaction; but when the odour is not offen-
sive, or when any of the new compounds formed
is applied to useful purposes, the spontaneous
156

decomposition is called fermentation. Fermen-
tation never takes place unless vegetable sub-
stances contain a certain portion of water, and
unless they are exposed to a temperature at least
above the freezing point. When dry or freezing,
many of them continue long without alteration.
There are three kinds of fermentation. The
vinous, where saccharine matter is converted into
intoxicating liquors, as wine, alcohol, &c.; the
acetous, where fermented liquors undergo a fur-
ther change into vinegar; and the panary, where
amylaceous matter is converted into bread, As
these different kinds of fermentation come to be
treated of at length under the heads of the vege-
table products which yield them, we shall re-
turn to the subject in a subsequent part of this
work,

CHAP. XXII.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS.

Tue surface of the earth, with very few ex-
ceptions, presents the aspect of a natural garden,
teeming spontaneously with vegetable produc-
tions of every variety of form, of hue, and mag-
nitude. Notwithstanding the extremes of tem-
perature, from the fervid glow of the tropics to
the chill atmosphere of the polar regions, there
are yet vegetable forms adapted to every climate;
and there is no region almost so cold, or arid, or
steeped in moisture, which has not its appropri-
ate vegetation. It has in consequence become a
question with the observers of nature, by what
means all these varieties of families and species
have obtained possession of their present locali-
ties; and why it is that the banks of the Orinoco
are fringed with trees and herbs whose counter-
parts we should in vain seek on the margin of
the Rhine; that out of 7000 species of flower-
ing plants found wild in Europe, not a hundred
have been seen in Australasia; that the Alps of
Switzerland, and mountains of Nepaul, produce
perhaps not a greater number common to both ;
and in short, that every country of considerable
extent has certain species to distinguish it from
others. Investigations concerning the original
creation of plants, in the present state of human
knowledge, might be deemed by many at best
an idle waste of time; and even inquiries into
the means by which they occupy their present
situations, except in some few particular in-
stances, may truly seem a speculation not much
more profitable in itself, or likely to arrive at
ultimate success.

This inquiry, nevertheless, has occupied the
attention of many eminent botanists, and has led
to considerable diversity of opinion amongst
them; one party supposing all plants to have

 

INSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

originated in some central point, from which
they have been gradually spread over the earth’s
surface; others conceiving that several of such
centres must have existed; anda third party be-
lieving species, for the most part, to have ori-
ginated where they now appear, as the natural
and untransported products of the soil and cli-
mate. Some again suppose that at first only
genera existed, species arising from generic ad-
mixture; while others maintain that all vege-
table forms are modifications of each other, or
the result of a certain concurrence of molecules
dispersed through matter, hence liable to be pro-
duced in any situation where the necessary con-
ditions of their existence occur.

The causes, says Mr Watson, now visibly ope-
rating in the extension of species, from one part
of the earth to another, afford us a more tangible
subject for inquiry. Millions of seeds are an-
nually ripened and dispersed abroad by the
agency of the winds, currents of water, or ani-
mal locomotion; and though doubtless a very
large proportion of them may be either entirely
lost, or being carried into situations unfavourable
to their development, may long remain un-
changed; yet some among them must occasion-
ally be dispersed under more favourable circum-
stances, and the conditions requisite for their
vegetation being supplied, they are forthwith
developed, and add an additional species to the
flora of the district to which they have been car-
ried. How much of vegetable distribution has
thus been effected it is quite impossible now to
estimate; but any observer may have evidence
that such causes are still operative in our flora,
although, perhaps, not very materially altering
the range of its species, except when the inter-
ference of human agency is also introduced.

When man transports the vegetable forms of
distant regions to his own home, then it may,
and does really happen, in Britain for instance,
that their ripened seeds, dispersed by the wind,
or carried to a distance by streams, spring up,
grow, and produce other seeds, to be again scat-
tered farther, until a species once unknown to
the country, next limited to one small spot only,
is spread over its surface, and at length comes to
be regarded as a part of its flora. The turnip,
parsley, canary grass, beech tree, and many
others, have been thus introduced to Britain.
Mr Winch enumerates nearly fifty specigs not
included in the catalogues of British plants,
which are nevertheless occasionally found wild
on the ballast hills of Northumberland and Dur-
ham, to which they have been carried by ship-
ping. The different kinds of corn, the grape,
the sugar cane, the bread fruit, the potatoe, aud
the coffee shrub, have thus been more or less
extensively spread over the earth; and the wide
waste of waters, formerly bounding the progres-
sion of species, by the restless ingenuity of man
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLAN'S.

hus been made a road of communication, over
which the plants of Europe may pass to America,
and those of America be in turn transported to
the fields of Europe; by means of which New
Holland may send her snowy and fantastic forms
to adorn the lawns and conservatories of Britain,
receiving in exchange the not less valuable pro-
ductions of her farms and culinary gardens.

But it is not sufficient for vegetation that
the seeds and roots of plants be merely trans-
ported from place to place by the agencies al-
ready mentioned. Unless carried to a congenial
climate and soil, they sooner or later perish, and
again disappear from a country unadapted to
their nature. Year after year living seeds are
carried from the shores of tropical America, and
deposited, by the gulf stream, on the coasts of
Europe, without securing to themselves any per-
manent existence in its flora; and of our culti-
vated exotics, how few have become even im-
perfectly naturalized? ‘What then, it may be
inquired, are the conditions necessary to the
successful development of vegetation, and its un-
aided continuance by descent? Undoubtedly
they are various, both in kind and degree, each
particular species, perhaps, requiring some mo-
dification of the general conditions. In Britain
how often do we see a sharp frost of spring, or
early summer, lay prostrate the gayest beauties
of the garden, yet spare the humbler flowers that
adorn unbidden our fields and groves. Continued
drought at times converts the fresh verdure of
an English landscape into brown aridity. And
while the sheltered valley may be adorned with
lofty trees, on the exposed hills that bound it,
these forest monarchs, crouching before the blasts
of heaven, are scarcely able to raise their dis-
torted and ungraceful boughs a few feet above
the surface of the ground. Again, the clear
stream and stagnant morass, the porous gravel
and the adhesive clay, the saline soil of the coast,
and the vegetable earth of the peat bog, are each
distinguished by some peculiarities in the plants
they produce; and when by any chance the spe-
cies flourishing on one of these soils are trans-
ferred to another, their feeble growth and altered
habit frequently prove sure evidences how little
their new situation is congenial to them.

Certain conditions, then, of the atmosphere, as
regards temperature and moisture; of the soil, as
regards qualities and composition ; and of their
situation, as regards altitude, exposure, and shel-
ter—allinfiuence the distribution and localization
of plants.

Temperature. Geographers have divided the
globe into zones, corresponding to the modifica-
tions of heat on.its surface. Generally speaking,
the temperature diminishes from the equator,
where it is greatest, to the poles, where the mean
heat of the sun is least. Vegetation also follows
this course with regard to particular kinds of

 

157

vegetation. The torrid zone is the region of
palms; the temperate zones of oak and other
magnificent trees of the forest. As we reach the
extremities of the temperate zone, and under
those of the frigid, pines, birches, and other hardy
trees only thrive. At last we come to a region
of heaths and lichens; these, too, begin to dis-
appear on the verge of the snow line; and at
last extreme cold shuts out vegetation altogether.
The plant which is found to approach nearest to
the pole, and which there is good reason to be-
lieve even reaches it, is the paimella nivalis, or

 

red snow, a minute cryptogamic plant, which is
found incrusting the surface of the snow like
drops of blood. :

In considering the influence of temperature,
however, it must be remarked that the degree of
heat does not regularly coincide with the latitude
or distance from the equator. Various causes tend
to modify the heat both of the earth and atmos-
phere; such as long ranges of continent or of
ocean, and locality as regards the eastern or
western sides of islands or continents.

Altitude has also an effect on temperature, and
on the localization of plants. As elevated situ-
ations are colder than others on a level with the
ocean, the higher we ascend mountains the lower
the temperature becomes, till at last we reach
their summits tipt with snow; and thus we ex-
perience a change of climate corresponding to
that which takes place between the equator and
the poles. A similar change of vegetation is
also observable. Thus, in ascending the Alps
or Pyrenees, we find the oaks and vines charac-
teristic of a temperate climate around their base.
A little higher these have disappeared; but pines,
birches, and alders, still remain. Still higher,
the absence of trees, while there yet appear small
willows and heaths, with many mosses and saxi-
frages, recalls the treeless flora of the polar re-
gions. Many of the plants found high on the
mountains of South Europe, are indeed specifi-
cally the same as those of Spitzbergen and Green-
land. Below them we have Lapland species ;
lower still those of Britain. Nearly one half of
the plants of Spitzbergen are found on the hills
of Scotland; those of England, lower in height,
have only one-fourth. ‘The altitude at which per-
petual snow lies on the mountains of the equator
is about 16,000 feet, becoming lower as we advance
to the poles, and resting on the sea level in 70° or
80° north latitude ; but the height of this snow
line varies greatly from local circumstances. As
158

a general rule, it may be said to depend on the
temperature of summer more than that of the
whole year, and is, therefore, lower in maritime
countries than in continental.

Moisture and soil. Some plants require a
much greater proportion of moisture than others ;
and thus we find some thriving on the sandy
rocks, while others luxuriate in the marsh, or
banks of the lake or river. Moisture depends
no less on the state of the atmosphere, and the
prevailing currents of winds in the district, than
on the nature of the soil. The quantity of mois-
ture influences much the vegetation of a country.
Marshes tend to increase rushes; frequent rains,
the grasses and cryptogamic plants.

Aspect. Under this term are included shelter
from, or exposure ¢o, particular winds, sun, light,
air, &c. Some plants grow best on sunny banks;
others scarcely exist save in the deep gloom of the
forest; some bear the chafings of the rudest
winds, by which others are immediately de-
stroyed, Several species in southern latitudes,
or at low elevations, will only grow in shaded
places; while higher up, or farther north, they
woo the sun. The summits of hills have a more
rigid vegetation than vallies of an equal alti-
tude; and the shores of the sea rarely show trees
of so vigorous growth as inland situations. A
small belt of trees, planted in an exposed situa-
tion, generally fails; while a large compact mass
succeeds, though often at the expense of those
on the ontside.

We shall now proceed to offer a general view
of the distribution of vegetables over the globe.

Scarcely fourteen hundred species of plants
appear to have been known and described by
the Greeks, Romans, and Arabians.* At pre-
sent, more than three thousand species are enum-
erated as natives of our own island; and the
researches of botanists in other parts of the
world, have extended our knowledge of the
vegetable kingdom to at least 50,000 species. Of
this vast number, comparatively few belong in-
discriminately to all climates and _ situations;
none, perhaps, excepting some mosses and other
obscure plants, which appear to require for their
existence only an abundance of shade and mois-
ture. This limitation of particular plants to
certain latitudes, is undoubtedly connected with
certain peculiarities in their internal structure;
though for the most part, we are unable to dis-
cover in what those peculiarities consist. Inde-
pendently, however, of the restriction thus im-
posed by the climate of every place on the nature
of its vegetable productions, each of the great
divisions of the earth appears to have given birth
toa set of plants distinct from those of other
parts. Thus, a large proportion of the trees and
plants growing wild in the western hemisphere,
are unlike those of the eastern hemisphere in

 

* Barton on Geographical Distribution of Plants,

 

DASTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the same latitude. The vegetable productions
of the Cape of Good Hope are unlike those of
the south of Europe, though the climate in these
two situations is little dissimilar. The plants
of the East Indian islands form another distinct
class; those of China and Japan another; those
of New. Holland again another. The little
island of St Helena contains a set of plants
peculiar to itself, not one of which is to be found
on the neighbouring western shore of the con-
tinent of Africa. The plants originally belong-
ing to one part of the world, when removed to
another enjoying a similar climate, often appear
to flourish as well as in their native soil. ‘Thus
the potatoe, a native of South America, which
was brought to England by Sir Walter Raleigh,
in the reign of queen Elizaheth, grows as well
here as the turnip, the carrot, or the cabbage,
which are natives of Great Britain. In like
manner do the sugar-cane and the coffee-tree
flourish in the West Indies, though not originally
produced there, but transplanted, the sugar-cane
from China, the coffee-tree from Arabia.

It will be convenient to begin our survey of
the vegetable kingdom from the colder regions
of the earth, and to proceed gradually towards
the warmér. Beyond the arctic circle, the
number of plants is extremely limited. Captain
Ross, speaking of a tribe of Esquimaux that he
met with on the shores of Baffin’s Bay, says:
“Their knowledge of wood seemed to be limite:
to some plant like heath, of a dwarfish growth,
with stems no thicker than the finger.” Acc
cordingly, they knew not what to think of the
timber they saw on board the ship; and so little
notion had they of cloth, or any kind of vege-
table texture, that, when presented with a shirt,
they inquired of what animal’s skin it was
made. On the shores of Hudson’s Bay, it is
said that no trees are found north of latitude
60°. In Europe, however, vegetation extends
considerably further. A great part of Sweden,
Norway, and the north of Russia, is covered
with forests of fir; and from these countries we
derive our best deal timber. The yellow deal,
which is most valued, is the wood of the silver
fir; white deal of the spruce fir.

73. In no part of the
Q world has the distribu-
in tion of plants been more

i a carefully observed than
sf a ! a ~ &

in Norway and Lapland.
2 Gy ey

‘The trees which are
bo Ties there found to approach
O w

nearest the limits of

    
 
 

  

perpetual snow are the
dwarf birch and dwarf
willow, if they can be
properly denominated
trees; the dwarf birch seldom exceeding two or
three feet in height, and the dwarf willow being

Dwarf Willow.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS.

still smaller: so small, indeed, that half a dozen
plants, wiih their roots, stem, branches, and
leaves complete, may be laid out on the page of
a duodecimo volume. Even beyond the limit
of these trees are found, however, several small
plants; and among them 14.
one which particularly
deserves to be noticed—
the reindeer moss, which
forms the principal food
of the reindeer, an ani-
mal employed by the
Laplanders both for
drawing their sledges for
food,and formilk. Inthe
winter, when the ground
is covered with snow
these sagacious creatures dig with their feet to
get at the mossheneath. When boiled in water,
this moss affords a nutritious jeily, which has
been employed as a remedy in consumptive
complaints.

Next after the dwarf birch and dwarf willow,
come the common birch, the mountain ash, and
the Scotch fir, with two or three other species of
willow; then a species of alder, which has been
called the cold alder, from its peculiar place of
growth, not being found south of latitude 60°;
the bird cherry, and the aspen, the gooseberry
and the raspberry. Still travelling towards the
south, we arrive successively at the northern
limit of the ash, the oak, and the beech. The
northern limit of the oak has been traced
throughout Europe. At Dronthiem, in Norway,
on the coast of the Atlantic ocean, this tree is
found in latitude, 63°; in the eastern part of
Europe, on the confines of Asia, it ceases to grow
in latitude 573°; a remarkable proof of the
superior mildness of the climate on the western
shore of the old continent, as compared with
that of the interior; for it is by no means true,
as generally supposed, that the climate of the
sea coast is universally milder than that of the
interior. If we.pursue the limits of vegetation
through Asia, to the eastern extremity of the
continent, we shall find the cold little, if any
thing diminished, as we approach the shores of
the Pacific ocean. The oak lJanguishes on the
banks of the Argoun, towards the east of Asiatic
Russia, in the latitude of London, eight hundred
miles nearer to the equator than the point at
which it ceases to grow on the opposite shore of
the continent. At Pckin, in China, situated
only fifty miles from the sea coast, (in the lati-
tude of the south of France, where orange trees
grow without protection in the open air,) the
severity of the winter’s cold far exceeds that ex-
perienced in any part of Great Britain, and falls
short only two or three degrees of that at North
Cape, the furthest extremity of Europe. When
we speak of the mildness of a maritime climate,

 

 

159

we must therefore keep in mind that the ex-
pression applies only to the western, not to the
eastern shores of the continent.

It is easy to comprehend why the neighbour-
hood of the sea, in countries situated far north,
should tend to render the climate milder, while
in the tropical regions it moderates the intensity
of the heat, since it is known that the tempera-
ture of the ocean varies much less than that of
the land; the waters from the equator being
continually mixed with those of the Polar
regions by-the current of the gulf-stream. Why
the inhabitants of the eastern shore do not enjoy
this advantage, as well as those of the western
shore of the continent, is in part explained by
the prevalence of westerly winds in these lati-
tudes; a westerly wind bringing with it the warm
and humid atmosphere of the Atlantic to the
inhabitants of Iceland and of Norway, while it
brings the dry and cold atmosphere of Siberia
to the inhabitants of Kamschatka and Corea.

Norway and Lapland enjoy a more temperate
climate than any other country in the same lati-
tude. The Scotch fir there attains to a height
of sixty feet in latitude 70°; and at Tornea, at
the head of the gulf of Bothnia, in latitude 66°,
the birches are described by Von Buch as mag-
nificent. For this superiority of climate, these
countries are probably indebted to their peculiar
position between four seas, the Atlantic, the
Arctic ocean, the White sca, and the gulf of
Bothnia. A very curious difference has, how-
ever, been observed between the climate of Lap-
land, lying to the north of the gulf of Bothnia,
and that of Norway, which skirts the shore of
the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. These two
countries are separated by a chain of mountains
of considerable elevation, which fall abruptly
and precipitously towards the sea on the northern
and western sides, and descend with a gentle
and gradual slope towards the gulf on the other
side. Norway, exposed to the moist and tem-
perate atmosphere of the ocean, enjoys a singu-
larly mild winter, but receives little of the sun’s
rays in summer; partly from the humidity and
mistiness of the air, partly from the declivity
of the land towards the north. Lapland has a
colder winter, but a warmer summer. And, ac-
cordingly, it is found that such plants as require
only a few wecks of warm weather to bring
them to maturity succeed in Lapland, though
they will not grow in Norway; while those which
are easily killed by a severe frost flourish better
in Norway than in Lapland.

For the sake of distinction, that kind of
equable climate enjoyed by the countries border-
ing on the Atlantic, has been called the Lsland
Climate. It belongs, perhaps, still more strik-
ingly to Ireland and the west of Scotland, than
to Norway. The other sort of climate, where
both the summers are hotter, and the winters
160

colder, is called the Continental Climate; and as
Lapland possesses it in a greater degree than Nor-
way, Russia possesses it in a still greater degree
than Lapland, We shall hereafter see that similar
differences have been found to prevail between
the maritime and inland districts in other parts
of Europe.

In the Orkney islands, off the northern coast
of Scotland, no tree is found but the hazel, which
seems to bear the winds of the Atlantic better
than either the Scotch or the spruce fir. On
the coast of Norway, the hazel and the spruce
fir terminate nearly at the same point. In
Sweden, on the coast of the Baltic, the spruce
fir is found eight degrees nearer to the Pole than
the hazel. Travelling still towards the east, we
lose the hazel altogether, soon after entering the
confines of Asia; and it is not met with again in
any part of Siberia till we reach the river Amur,
near the shores of the Pacific ocean. Again,
in Scotland there are extensive natural woods of
the Scotch fir, but none of the spruce fir. On
the coast of Norway, the spruce fir terminates
at latitude 67°, but the Scotch fir extends to
latitude 70°, and the birch nearly to 71.° In
Siberia, the spruce fir and the larch (the latter
unknown in Norway and Sweden) extend furtlier
to the north than either the Scotch fir or the
birch. On the limits between Asia and Europe,
the mountain ash, aspen, black alder, and juniper,
which in Norway grow under the Polar circle,
scarcely reach the 60th degree.

It happens in Lapland, as in some other parts
of the world, that the limits of vegetation are
determined more by the form and disposition of
the neighbouring mountains than by the lati-
tude. The lines which separate the growth of
the different species of plants, are disposed in
semicircles round the head of the gulf of Both-
nia; each semicircle rising above the other, as
we ascend towards the chain of the Dofrines.
In the first, or lowest band, the prevailing tree
is the spruce fir; and to this region, for the most
part, the cultivation of corn isconfined. Above
this grows the Scotch fir, and above the Scotch
fir the dwarf birch and willow. At the height
of 2500 feet, the dwarf birch just finds sufficient
warmth, about the end of June, to put forth
three leaves from each bud, which in afew weeks
wither and fall off again; yet this feeble effort
of vegetation is found sufficient to continue the
life of the plant. It has been observed, that the
leaves of the birch unfold whenever the temper-
ature of the air rises to 52°: in situations, there-
fore, where the heat of the warmest month does
not rise to this point, it is incapable of growing.

During the short but warm summer of Lap-
land, vegetation proceeds with extraordinary
rapidity. Until the middle of May, the ground
is covered with snow. About a month later,
the rivers begin rapidly to swell, in consequence

 

HISTORY OF TH VEGETABLE KINGDOM,

of the breaking up of the frost. In the begin-
ning of October the ground is hard frozen, and
remains so from seven to eight months. Such
is the climate of Hnoniekeis, which is situated
in the higher and colder part of Lapland. It
is not till the month of June that barley cau
be sown; yet, in the short space of three months,
the fields are ready for the harvest. It has been
found that the cultivation of this grain succeeds
wherever the mean temperature during ninety
days rises to 48°.

Notwithstanding its northern and inclement
climate, Lapland has to boast of some wild flowers
of great beauty. Among these are the mezer-
eon, the yellow and white water lily, and the
European globe flower. As we travel southward
along the shores of the Baltic, towards Stock-
holm, we find, for the first time, in Angerman-
land, the wood anemone, the hepatica, the dog
rose, and the sycamore;—in Medelpad, the bur-
dock, and the campanula persicifolia;—in. Gas-
trickeland, the cowslip, the guelder rose, the
spirea filipendula, and the hazel. At the river
Dal we find the anemone pulsatilla, the hawthorn,
and the sloe. Here we lose the hoary or cold
alder. Several of these plants extend further
north on the sea shore than inland; owing, as it
would appear, to the greater mildness of the
maritime climate.

A great part of the Russian empire, both in
Europe and Asia, is covered with forests. In
the northern provinces are found principally the
various species of firs; the Scotch and spruce fir,
the larch; and towards the Ural mountains the
Siberian cedar. Of deciduous trees, the most
abundant is the birch; and next to this the lime
tree, of whose inner part the common garden-
mats are made; and shoes, platted from the rind
of the young shoots of this tree, are generally
worn by the common people in Russia. The
beech, elm, and poplar, are chiefly the growth
of the southern provinces. Such was the abun-
dance of wood, till of late years, in this country,
that the peasants were for the most part allowed
to cut down as much as they pleased. It is,
indeed, by the produce of the forests, that the
people of the northern provinces chiefly live.
Their houses are almost universally constructed
of timber; wood is every where used for fuel;
and they employ a slip of birch-wood, lighted,
fora candle. From the ashes of trees, cut down
and burnt for this purpose, they obtain potash,
of which large quantities are annually exported.
For the purpose of tanning, the Russians employ
not merely the bark of the oak, but of the birch
and willow. From the wood of the birch they
procure a species of tar, which is used in dress-
ing that kind of leather commonly known by
the name of Russia leather, and much employed
in book-binding.

As we pass into Asiatic Russia, we succes-
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS.

sively lose the oak, the hazel, the ash, the lime
tree, the Scotch fir, the spruce fir, and the Si-
berian cedar; while the larch extends to the
shores of the Arctic ocean. In the southern
parts of Siberia are found wild tulips, anemones,
two species of rhododendron, and the scarlet
Jychnis. To the east of lake Baikal, the Euro-
pean globe flower is replaced by the Asiatic
species. In Siberia also grow the cranberry and
the hautboy strawberry.

The oak, the beech, and the elm are natives
of Great Britain. Each of these trees has its
appropriate soil. In the western part of the
county of Sussex,,we have three distinct belts
of country, each strongly marked by the char-
acter of its vegetation. To the north we have
a strong and deep clay, admirably adapted to
the growth of oak. Then come the chalk hills,
where the luxuriant growth of the beech attests
that this tree has found its congenial soil. This
tree is not met with north of Stamford in Lin-
colnshire. The elm seen in Scotland and the
north of England is the wych elm, a different
species, growing in a more straggling form, with
pendent branches, and a larger leaf. Its wood
is very unlike that of the English elm; more
resembling that of the ash. In the approach
to some of the royal palaces in Spain, are some
rows of elm, which, we are assured by Evelyn,
were transplanted from England by Philip IL.,
the husband of queen Mary of England, the
elm not being a native of Spain. In addition
to the trees just mentioned, the ash, the maple,
the sycamore, and the small-leaved lime tree,
may be enumerated as growing wild in Great
Britain.

If we now turn our attention to the countries
occupying the southern side of the Baltic, we
shall find a wide district of heath, beginning from
the northern extremity of Jutland, extending as
far south as latitude 62°; thence westward as
far as the ocean, and eastward over a considerable
part of the north of Germany. In this barren
tract, the few spots which have been brought
into cultivation by human industry appear like
green islands amidst the waste. The variety of
species of heath found in this tract is very small;
and few, if any of them, are strikingly beautiful.
In the wet and springy parts of the district are
many tracts of bog, or peat moss, scarcely less
sterile than heath. Occasionally, however, the
cranberry, and some other eatable berries of the
same family, as the dilberry and the whortleberry,
cover the surface; and the substance of the bog
itself furnishes a kind of fuel to the poor inhabi-
tants, after being cut in small square pieces, and
piled in stacks to dry. When attentively ex-
amined, it is found to consist of vegetable fibres,
partially decayed, and compacted by the pres-
sure of the superincumbent portion. Its com-
position is only to be seen, however, in that part

 

16]

.

of the bog which lies toward the surface; towards
the bottom it takes the appearance of a black
and sclid mass, In many places the natural soil
is covered to a depth of twenty or thirty feet
with this substance. The plants by whose de-
composition these bogs are formed, appear to be
principally two or three kinds of moss. These
are almost invariably found growing on the sur-
face; and it appears that each generation, as it
dies, forms a soil for that which is to succeed.
That a continual growth really takes place, is
proved by the gradual filling up of the hollows
excavated for obtaining fuel. Much of the sur-
face of Scotland, the north of England, Wales,
and Ireland, is covered with these bogs, as well
as of that part of the continent of Europe which
touches the shores of the German ocean and the
Baltic.

To the south of this barren tract of heatn and
peat moss, we find an extensive region of re-
markable fertility, in which every species of our
cultivated grain flourishes. This district, which
is for the most part unbroken by hills of any
considerable height, comprises the Netherlands,
the greater part of France, the middle of Ger-
many, Poland, and southern Russia. The east-
ern part of this region being comparatively thinly
peopled, supplies with corn several other parts of
Europe; the produce of the soil oeing carried
down by internal navigation, partly to the ports
on the Baltic, partly to those on the Black sea.

The line which limits the cultivation of corn,
like that which limits the growth of the oak and
other forest trees, extends much further north
on the western side, than on the eastern side of
the continent. In Norway, barley sometimes
ripens, in favourable aspects, under the 70th par-
allel of latitude. In European Russia, the cul-
tivation of corn scarcely succeeds beyond lati-
tude 60°; and in Kamschatka, the eastern extre-
mity of Asia, this limit descends as low as 51°,
the latitude of London. On the eastern shore of
the continent of America, the growth of corn
does not extend beyond latitude 62°. Wheat
demands a warmer climate than barley or oats.
This grain is not found to succeed so well in the
west of Scotland, the summer’s sun being insuf-
ficient to ripen it. Even in England, the west-
ern side of the island appears better adapted to
the growth of grass than of corn; and accord-
ingly, it may be observed, in every part of the
kingdom, that corn is carried from east to west,
while cattle are driven from west to cast. All
our principal corn counties are situated on the
eastern side of the island, from the Lothians, in
Scotland, to Kent, the south-eastern county of
England. Thisis to be attributed, in a great
measure, to the humidity of the climate in those
districts bordering on the shores of the Atlantic.

The cultivation of corn does not succeed better
in the torrid zone than in the polar rezicns.

x
162

Within the tropics, wheat, barley, and oats, are
not cultivated, excepting in situations elevated,
considerably above the level of the sea.

The cultivated apple is thought to be a variety
of the crab, and may therefore be considered a
native of England. This fruit does not ripen
north of Sundswall, in Sweden, in latitude 62°,
nor in the east of Europe, beyond latitude 57°.
Its near relations, the pear and the quince, are
not natives of England, but are found wild in
the southern parts of Europe. The quince
scarcely succeeds in the northern counties of
England. It has not been known to ripen its
fruit beyond the Tees more than twice in twenty
years, though it flowers freely. The medlar,
the walnut, and the chestnut, succeed no better;
and even the filbert bears very sparingly. The
vine seldom flowers; and if, by chance, small
grapes are produced, they soon drop off. The
mulberry is there a low, stunted tree; but in hot
summers bears abundance of small fruit, which
in part comes to maturity, and is well flavoured.

We are thus able to assign the northern limit
to the cultivation of most of our common fruits.
But if we pursue the same inquiry on the west-
ern side of the kingdom, following the line of the
coast from Cumberland to Cornwall, we shall
arrive at some very extraordinary and unex-
pected results; results which serve remarkably
to illustrate the peculiarities of an island climate.
At the further extremity of that long promon-
tory, which, projecting into the Atlantic, forms
at once the most southern and the most western
point of England, neither the apricot, the vine,
nor the greengage plum, produce ripe fruit, for
want, as it should appear, of sufficiently power-
ful sunbeams. Yet such is the mildness of the
winter, that the myrtle, the camellia, and other
greenhouse plants, grow luxuriantly in the open
air; and the ponds are seldom sufficiently frozen
to bear the weight of a man.

An analogous observation was made by Arthur
Young, nearly forty years ago, with regard to
the climate of France. Having, in the course of
several tours through that kingdom, minutely
observed the agriculturai productions of its dif-
ferent provinces, he found that the lines which
form the northern boundary of the cultivation
of the vine, maize, and olive, follow an oblique
direction from south-west to north-east; an ob-
servation which appears, at first sight, strangely
at variance with the known mildness of mari-
time climates. But the apparent contradiction
disappears, when it is considered that the ripen-
ing of fruit and of grain depends altogether on
the force of the sun’s rays in summer, and is not
affected by the severity of the winter. Now, as
before observed with regard to Lapland and Nor-
way, the interior of the continent of Europe en-
joys a hotter summer than the coast, though it
has to endure a colder winter. It would be

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

wrong, however, to suppose that the line drawn
by Arthur Young, as limiting the cultivation of
the vine in France, extends throughout the con-
tinent of Europe in the same direction. In that
case it would reach to Moscow, in latitude 56°;
whereas vineyards are unknown in Russia to the
north of latitude 50°; which is precisely the ex-
treme limit of the cultivation of the vine in
France. According to Malte-Brun, a line of se-
paration between the countries in which wine
forms the principal drink of the people, and those
in which they principally consume beer, may be
drawn from the south of England through French
Flanders, Hesse, Bohemia, the Carpathian moun-
tains, Odessa, and the Crimea. This line, it will
be observed, is not exactly the same as that which
limits the cultivation of the vine. Something
must be allowed for national custom. The
people of the north-western part of France drink
wine, though not produced on the spot, bur
brought, at a considerable expense, from the more
southern provinces, because, to a Frenchman,
habit has rendered wine one of the necessaries of
life. The Russians, on the other hand, accus-
tomed to beer, do not drink much wine, even in
those southern districts where the climate admits
of the cultivation of the grape.

Humboldt estimates that the cultivation of the
vine succeeds only in those climates where the
annual mean temperature is between 50” and
63°; or the mean temperature may even be as
low as 48°, provided the summer heat rises to
68°. In the old world these conditions are
found to exist as far north as latitude 50°; in
the new world, not beyond latitude 40°. In
both hemispheres the profitable culture of this
plant ceases within 30° of the equator, unless in
elevated situations, or in islands, as Teneriffe,
where the intensity of the heat is moderated by
the atmosphere of the sea. Thus the region of
vineyards occupies a band of about 20° in breadth
in the old world, and not more than half that
breadth in America. It may be observed, that
the wines produced in the northern part of this
region, as those of France and of the Rhone, are
lighter and more acid than such as are produced
nearer the tropic; owing, probably, to the infe-
rior force of the rays under which the fruit is
ripened. In the southern hemisphere, the Cape
of Good Hope just falls within the latitude

| adapted to the grape; and a considerable quantity

of wine is annually exported from that settle-
ment. It is of very inferior quality to the wines
of Europe and northern Africa, having an unplea-
sant earthy taste, which is said to arise from the
clayey nature of the soil,

In the north of Italy, west of Milan, we first
meet with the cultivation of rice. This is the
seed of a species of grass, bearded like barley,
which, having somewhat of a stiff and reedy
foliage, yields a whispering sound when agitated
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS,

by the wind. It delights in moisture 3 and from
the time when the bla le rises a few inches above
the surface, the fields in which it “grows are
flooded to the depth of several inches by means
of artificial water-courses, provided with sluices,
The water is not drawn off till the grain is nearly
ripe Three years in succession does the soil
yield a crop of rive without manure 3 it is then
suffered to remain two years uncovered with
water, during which time it receives one coat of
dung, and becomes spontaneously covered with
an abundant, though coarse, herbage. Since an
acre of rice is worth, on an average, two acres of
wheat, it may be supposed how large a profit
attends the cultivation of this grain; but so de-
leterious is the employment to the health of the
labourers engaged in it, that the government has
_ Prohibited its further extension. Rice can evi-
dently be raised only in situations where the
land may at pleasure be covered with water.
This is an advantage enjoyed by the whole plain
of Lombardy, naturally of great fertility, and
rendered still more productive by a system of
irrigation more complete, we might almost say
more magnificent, than is to be found in any other
part of the world. Enclosed between two noble
chains of mountains, the Alps to the north and
west, the Apennines to the south, the deep and
rich soil of this plain seems to have been depo-
sited by an inundation which brought down a
portion of the substance of those mountains ;—
consisting, near their bases, of large rounded
stones, which gradually diminish in magnitude
towards the shores of the gulf of Venice, where
the soil consists entirely of finely-divided matter.
To the east of Milan this plain is covered with
pastures of extraordinary richness, from which
is brought the celebrated Parmesan cheese.
These pastures are regularly flooded. The grass
is cut no less than four times in the year; part
is made into hay, and part carried green to the
cows, which are kept in stalls. In about fifteen
years, the herbage, in consequence of this con-
tinual watering, becomes too coarse for use; the
land is then ploughed up, and during five years
cropped with wheat, oats, maize, hemp, and
beans, after which it is again laid down to grass.
This admirable system of irrigation, which has
rendered northern Italy the most fruitful coun-
try, perhaps, in the world, was established in
very early times. It was during the flourishing
period of the Lombard republics, about the era
of our Norman and early Plantagenet kings,
while the greater part of Europe remained yet in
a state little short of barbarism, that the design
was conceived and executed of this great national
work. From each of the lakes that occupy the
lower declivities of the Alps, and receive the
waters of their innumerable springs, issues one
principal canal, which, as it descends, is subdi-
vided into a multitude of smaller channels, visit-

 

163

ing every district, every farm, and even every
individual field, to each of which the water is
admitted at pleasure by sluices; and having per-
formed its office, passes off by another cut to the
lower land, till it ultimately reaches the Po,
which carries off the whole drainage of central
Lombardy into the gulf of Venice. The banks
of these canals are mostly planted with willows
and alders, over which are frequently seen rows
of tall poplars. The principal canals belong to
the government; the smaller ones are generally
the property of individuals, who let or sell the
use of the water at so much per hour.

The cultivation of the olive is bounded to the
north by a chain of mountains, extending, with
few interruptions, from the Atlantic ocean to
the Black sea. This tree is found in every part
of Spain and Portugal (with the exception of
those districts too much elevated above the level
of the sea). It extends over that part of France
south of the mountains of the Cevennes; over
Italy, south of the Apennines; and Turkey,
south of the Hemus. <A traveller from the north,
crossing this chain of mountains for the first
time, is surprised and delighted at the new as-
pect of vegetation. Gigantic plants of the grass
tribe are seen rising to the height of twenty feet
and upwards; the air is perfumed with the blos-
soms of the orange and lemon tree; the myrtle
and pomegranate grow wild among the rocks,
with the various species of cistus, that beautiful
tribe of plants, which afford such a wonderful
succession of flowers, opening every morning,
and falling off before the close of the day. ‘The
American aloe here blooms in the open air; the

15. chamerops humilis af-
fordsthe first specimen
of the magnificent tro-
pical family of palms:
and a few plants may
be seen of the date
palm of Africa, culti-
=~ vated only indeed for
ornament, since this
tree does not produce
fruit on the northern
side of the Mediterra-
nean. Itmay perhaps
be asserted, without exaggeration, that the appear-
ance of vegetation exhibits a less striking change
in travelling northwards from Piedmont to Lap-
land, than in crossing the Maritime Alps from
Piedmont to the gulf of Genoa. On the south-
ern side of those mountains, the vivid green of
our meadows and forests is replaced by the dusky
tint of the olive and the evergreen oak, which
might, perhaps, be termed sombre, if not con-
trasted with the intensely dark indigo colour of
a deep and tranquil sea, undisturbed by tides,
and resting on a rocky bottom ;—on the other
side with the snow-crowned summits of the

 

The Dwarf Palm.
16+

mountains, strongly relieved against the azure
sky; the whole illuminated by the splendour of
an Italian sun. Nor is the olive itself by any
means destitute of beauty. It has been compared
to a willow; it differs, however, very materially
in its colour, having none of that sickly hue of
blueish green which gives such a peculiar cold-
ness to the landscapes of some of the Dutch
painters. The upper side of the leaf has pre-
cisely that tint familiarly known by the name
of olive. The under side is of shining white-
ness; and as the foliage is turned up by the
lightest breeze, its progress over the valleys cov-
ered with olive gardens, becomes visible in the
form of a silver cloud gliding across the land-
scape.

According to Humboldt, the olive is cultivated
with success in every part of the old world, where
the mean temperature of the year is between 58°
and 66°; the temperature of the coldest month
not being under 42°, nor that of the summer be-
low 71°—73°. These conditions are found, as be-
fore observed, in Spain, Portugal, the South of
France, Italy,and Turkey. The olive also flour-
ishes on the northern coast of Africa; but is not
found south of the Great Desert. In Europe it
extends as far north as latitude 443°; in America,
scarcely to latitude 34°, so much greater is the
severity of the winter on the other side of the
Atlantic. In the neighbourhood of Quito, situ-
ated under the equator, at a height of eight thou-
sand feet above the level of the sea, where the
temperature varies even less than in the island
climates of the temperate zone, the olive attains
to the magnitude of the oak, yet never produces
fruit.

The inhabitants of the south of Europe em-
ploy the oil expressed from the fruit of this tree
for the same purposes as we employ butter, and
feel at least as much dislike to the produce of the
dairy, as an article of food, as we may feel to the
use of oil. In this country it is scarcely eaten
except with salads, for which purpose it is im-
ported in flasks of very thin glass, covered with
hasket-work. The fruit of the olive is some-
times gathered in a green state and salted. We
are told by Malte-Brun, that if a line be drawn
from the Pyrenees, through the Cevennes, the
Alps, and the Hemus, it will separate those
countries in which the inhabitants principally
make use of butter, from those in which they
make use of oil.

The orange and lemon tree are rather more
tendar than the olive. According to Humboldt,
they require a mean annual temperature of 62°.
Orange gardens abound at Nice and Genoa, on
the borders of the sea, and sheltered by the high
range of the Alps to the north; yet they are not
to be seen at Florence, or even at Rome, nor do
we meet with them again, in travelling through
Italy towards the south, till we arrive at Naples.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Accordingly it appears, from registers of the daily
temperature during the years 1815, 1816, and
1817, that the temperature of the month of De-
cember at Nice exceeds that of Rome by 2°, the
temperature of January by 3°, that of February
by 4°.

The Spanish chestnut abounds in the forests
of the south of Europe, and sometimes attains to
a great size. On the sides of Mount Etna are
some of prodigious magnitude: one of them is
named the chestnut of a hundred horse, intimat-
ing that it is capable of sheltering a hundred
horsemen under its boughs. It is one hundred
and ninety-six feet in circumference. The in-
terior is entirely decayed; and a hut is built
within the trunk for the habitation of those who
are engaged in gathering and preserving the fruit.
Another tree found in the southern parts of Eu-
rope is the cork tree, a species of oak, whose
tough and elastic bark we use for stopping bottles.
In the same district are found, growing wild
among the rocks, many of the productions of our
gardens: thyme, layender, and rosemary; the
cypress, the laurestinus, the arbutus, the bay,
and the Judas tree. The laurel appears to be a
native of Turkey. The cabbage rose and the
damask rose, which appear to have been culti-
vated in our gardens in very early times, were
originally brought from the south of Europe.
The evergreen roses, introduced within the last
twenty or thirty years, are, as their common
name imports, from China. Not one species of
rose is found in South America. According to
Arthur Young, the culture of the fig and the
pomegranate is limited nearly to the same line
as that of the olive. The culture of the mul-
berry, for feeding silkworms, is not marked by
quite so well defined a boundary, and appears to
extend rather further north.

From the declivities of that long chain of
mountains which traverse Europe from west to
east, we have received some other of our garden
flowers. The auricula, the deep blue gentian,
and several species of saxifrage, delight in the
elevated regions approaching towards the limits
of perpetual snow. From the lower parts of the
mountains come the peony, the fraxinella, the
black hellebore (sometimes called the Christmas
rose), the yellow aconite, and the laburnum.
The common blue monkshood, and the yellow
monkshood, are also found in this district; but
unlike the plants before mentioned, they extend
as far north as Sweden, and the latter even to
Lapland. The althewa frutex is a native of Car-
niola, on the southern side of the mountains.
The beautiful pyramidal bell-flower, bearing a
profusion of pale blue flowers, which is often
cultivated in pots, and trained in a fan-shape as
an ornament to halls and parlours, is from the
southern side of the same chain. It is in moun-
tainous regions that the botanist, as well as the
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS.

geologist, finds the most abundant harvest; in-
deed, even the unscientific traveller is struck
with the novelty and beauty of the flowers which
he finds at every step on crossing the Alps or
the Pyrenees. A variety of surface and expo-
sure is favourable to a variety of productions.
Some plants prefer the crevices of naked rocks,
others the edges of springs, or the banks of clear
and rapid streams, others stagnant morasses. All
these circumstances are found abundantly in
mountainous districts. From these mountain
bogs we have obtained a tribe of plants of extra-
ordinary beauty, which, when planted in the
same kind of peaty soil as they find in their na-
tive spots, are made to flourish tolerably in our
gardens. These are the azaleas, rhododendrons,
andromedas, and others of the same family.

If from the south of Russia we travel eastward
into Asia, the appearance of the country will be
found to undergo a very remarkable change.
Approaching the northern shore of the Black
sea, the soil becomes sandy, intermixed in places
with sea-shells, impregnated with salt, and
abounding in lakes of salt water. Such is the
aspect of the celebrated steppes of Russia. From
the low tract lying between the Black sea and
the north of the Caspian, these sterile regions
extend over a considerable part of central Asia.
It has been conjectured that these steppes were
once covered by the sea, and the limits of the
ancient coast have even been assigned; but the
observation can by no means be extended to the
salt deserts in the north of Persia and in Inde-
pendent Tartary. ©

The presence of salt, in any considerable quan-
tity, is fatal to corn and most other vegetables;
there are, however, certain plants to which it
appears indispensable, and which have been, for
that reason, called saline plants. The sugar-
cane and the cocoa-nut tree are almost the only
plants which flourish equally well when wetted
with fresh water or with brine. From the ashes
of these saline plants soda is obtained.

Immediately south of that salt plain which
occupies the space between the Black sea and
the north of the Caspian, is the chain of Mount
Caucasus, a most interesting region, both on ac-
count of its natural beauties, and of its connec-
tion with the earliest authentic records of his-
tory. In the fruitful valleys of Curdistan, a
Turkish province on the southern side of these
mountains, amidst mountains crowned with per-
petual snow; and on the banks of the river

Gihon (better known by its ancient name of

Oxus), which falls into the sea of Aral, on the
east of the Caspian, are found whole thickets of
lemon, pomegranate, pear, and cherry trees.
Every species of fruit cultivated in our gardens
grows there apparently wild; but whether they
are to be considered as truly natives of the soil,
or as being the remains of very ancient gardens,

 

165

is the more difficult to determine, as this is the
spot which appears to have been first peopled by
the descendants of Noah. The walnut and the
peach we derive from Persia; the vine and the
apricot from Armenia; the sweet cherry and the
Spanish chestnut from Lesser Asia; from Syria
the fig, the olive, and the mulberry. In the
triumph of the Roman general Lucullus, after
his return from the conquest of Pontus, about a
hundred-years before the Christian era, was ex-
hibited a cherry tree, loaded with fruit, a sight
till then unknown to the inhabitants of Italy.
From the same regions we derive the hyacinth,
the tulip, the iris, the ranunculus, and some other
of our garden flowers, most of which appear to
have been first brought into this country during
the reign of Elizabeth. To this list may be
added the horse chestnut, the lilac, the sweet jas-
mine, the melon, and the cucumber. That the
melon and cucumber were raised in Egypt at a
very remote period, appears from the complaints
of the Israelites, when they murmured against
Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. “We re-
member the fish,” said they, “‘ which we did eat
in Egypt freely ; the cucumbers, and the melons,
and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick.”
And in another place they speak of some kinds
of fruit now cultivated: “Wherefore have ye
made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in
unto this evil place? It is no place of seed, or
of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates, neither
is there any water to drink.”

The “ wilderness” in which these complaints
were uttered by the children of Israel, forms a
part of that great sandy desert which bounds to
the west the fruitful plain of the Euphrates, ex-
tending thence southward over a considerable
part of Arabia. In this desert are still to be
seen the ruins of Palmyra, supposed to be the
city built by Solomon, and named by him Tad-
mor in the Wilderness. Between the desert and
the Mediterranean sea is the “Land of Promise,”
bounded on the north by Mount Lebanon, still
famed for its majestic cedars. The cedar of Le-
banon, though now cultivated as an ornamental
tree in many parts of the world, has not been
found wild except in the mountain from which
it derives its name. Again crossing the desert to
the extremity of the Red sea, we find a narrow
tract of cultivated country along its eastern shore,
extending to Yemen the Happy, or Fertile Ara-
bia, the country of balm, frankincense, and
myrrh. From Arabia the balm tree was first
carried to Judea, as Josephus assures us, by the
queen of Sheba, as a present to Solomon; where,
being afterwards cultivated for the sake of its
fragrant and medicinal juice, particularly on
Mount Gilead, it acquired the name of balm of
Gilead. Frankincense and myrrh also consist of
the dried juices of trees: the same may be said
of gum Arabic. which is procured from a species
166

of mimosa, growing on both sides of the Red sea,
as well as in Senegal, and other parts of Africa.
The mimosa family is a very numerous one, all
of them natives either of the tropical countries,
or of the warmer part of the temperate zone.
Some of them have the remarkable property of
folding up and drooping their leaves at the ap-
proach of night, or when touched by any exter-
nal object, whence they have attained the name
of sensitive plants. All of them bear pods, like
the pea family; but their blossoms are rather
like those of the willow, consisting of little globes
of yellow threads. Their leaves (when they pro-
duce leaves) are always finely divided, often as
much so as those of the carrot, a circumstance
which gives to these trees a very peculiar aspect ;
but a considerable proportion of the mimosas are,
properly speaking, leafless, excepting when very
young, or after having been injured. The leaf-
stalk, however, remains, and assumes a flatted
shape, having somewhat of a leaf-like appearance,
but differing from a true leaf in its edge being
turned towards the stem its two sides are con-
sequently similar, and perform the same func-
tions with respect to the light. This is particu-
larly the case with the mimosas of New Hol-
land.

Returning to the neighbourhood of the Red
sea, we find, on its eastern shores, the native
country of the coffee-tree, which is an evergreen,
fifteen or twenty feet high, bearing in the bosom
of the leaves several white, sweet-scented flowers,
of the size of snowdrops. The flower is suc-
ceeded by a berry, containing two seeds: these
seeds are coffee. In the neighbourhood of the
Red sea is found also that species of cassia whose
dried leaves are employed in medicine, under the
name of senna, and the plant yielding bitter
aloes, which must not be confounded with the
American aloe cultivated in our greenhouses.
Bitter aloes are brought chiefly from the island
of Socotra, in the Arabian sea, near the straits
of Babelmandel.

Tn the narrow, but fruitful valley of the Nile,
we find several new vegetable productions.
Among the most remarkable of these is the pa-
pyrus, a species of reed which was employed by
the Egyptians in early times for making paper.
Vor this purpose, the inner rind of the stem
being cut into strips, and laid together somewhat
like matting, was pressed with a weight till the
whole adhered together. The papyrus is several
feet in height,and bears a sort of tuft or feathery
bead at the top of the stalk: it grows chiefly in
marshy places. In Egypt also grows « species
of water lily, called the lotus, of which both the
root and the seeds are eatable; and from Egypt
was introduced into our gardens the mignonette.
This country was once regarded as the granary
of Europe, and is still remarkable for its fertility ;
producing large crops of rice, wheat, barley, and

 

HiSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

some other species of grain unknown among us;
while oats are equally unknown in Egypt; the
horses, as in all parts of the East, being fed upon
barley.

It will scarcely be necessary to say any thing
more of the plants peculiar to Africa, except to
mention that its southern extremity (the Cape
of Good Hope) has supplied us with a consider-
able proportion of the most splendid flowers
which ornament our greenhouses; particularly
the heaths, the geraniums, and the bulbous-
rooted plants, comprising ‘the two families of
ixia and gladiolus.

Before passing to the New World, it will be
proper to take a cursory survey of the remaining
productions of Asia. The weeping willow grows
wild in all parts of the temperate zone of this
continent, from Persia to Japan. ‘The plant
‘whose root affords the medicinal rhubarb, is
from the confines of Russian and Chinese Tar-
tary. The crown imperial is from Persia. In
the same country grows an umbelliferous plant,
from whose root the stinking gum called asa-
foetida is procured. From India we have re-
ceived the balsam and the kidney bean. There
also grows the teak tree, or Indian oak, which
has been much employed of late years in ship-
building. It so far excels the European oak in
durability, that Indian-built ships, constructed
of the wood of this tree, often last forty years 01
more in those seas, where our ships are ruined in
five years. Instead of corroding the iron bolts,
the teak wood is said to possess an oily quality,
which serves rather to preserve them. In India
is also found the banyan-tree, whose branches
have the remarkable property of drooping to the
earth, and there taking root; so that a single
tree forms a curiously-arched grove. From
China we appear to have originally received the
orange tree, which is now cultivated abundantly
in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and other parts of
the south of Europe. From the same country
the hydrangea was introduced by Sir Joseph
Banks, in 1790. It has been cultivated by the
Chinese in their gardens from time immemorial ;
but of what place it is a native seéms doubtful.
The various species of China rose are of still
more recent introduction into this country. The
Chinese chrysanthemum, which produces its
variously coloured and beautiful blossoms after
almost all our other flowers are past, was intro-
duced in 1795. From China we are also said to
derive the radish and endive.

The tea tree is cultivated almost exclusively
in China and Japan; and from the first of these
countries our whole supply (amounting yearly
to about three hundred and fifty thousand chests)
is derived.

Before we travel further southward, to survey
the vegetable productions of the torrid zone, it
will be proper to cross the Atlantic. and take a
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS

review of the plants belonging to North America ;
for so great is the resemblance between the trop-
ical productions of the two hemispheres, and so
little analogy have they with the productions of
other parts of the glohe, that it is better to con-
template them as a whole, rather than separately
to speak of those which grow in the Old and in
the New World. Returning therefore towards
the polar regions, we shall find, on ,comparison,
some interesting points of resemblance between
the climate and vegetation of the corresponding
shores of the two continents; the western coast
of America exhibiting appearances similar to
those of Norway and other countries on the
western shore of Europe; while the vegetation
of Newfoundland, on the eastern coast of Amer-
ica, is like that of Kamschatka, on the eastern
coast of the Old Continent, in the same lati-
tude. In Greenland, of which the southern
extremity lies in latitude 59° 38’, (ten or eleven
degrees nearer to the equator than the point at
which trees cease to grow in Norway and Lap-
land,) are found only a few birches and willows,
of which the utmost height is eighteen or twenty
feet. At Nain, on the coast of Labrador, in
latitude 57°, only one degree nearer to the pole
than Edinburgh or Glasgow, the mean tempera-
ture of the year is 5° below the freezing point;
lower, therefore, by 5°, than the mean tempera-
ture of Cape North, the extremity of Europe, in
latitude 71°. In Canada, which lies under the
same parallels of latitude with France, the
rigour of the winters is destructive to every spe-
cies of tree excepting those belonging to north-
ern climates: yet the heat of the summers suf-
fices to bring to perfection many of the southern
annuals, and such low plants as are protected in

winter by the covering of snow. In this country,

grows the Weymouth pine, not unfrequently
planted in our shrubberies. It is a very beauti-
ful tree when healthy and vigorous; and as it
grows remarkably tall and straight, affords the
best masts for large ships. Another native of
Canada is the sugar maple, from whose sap a
considerable quantity of sugar is annually pre-
pared by the inhabitants.

The vegetable productions of the temperate
regions of North America are distinguished by
their variety and splendour, compared with those
produced in the same latitudes of the eastern
hemisphere. From the territories of the United
States we have received some of the most beauti-
ful of the family of bog-plants, magnolias, rho-
dodendrons, azaleas, and kalmias. The magnolia
grandiflora, whose northern limit, according to
Humboldt, is in latitude 354°, has been denom-
inated the most admirable production of the
vegetable world: it is an evergreen, bearing a
leaf not unlike a laurel, but larger, with white
flowers five or six inches in diameter, of deli-
cious fragrance. From North America comes

 

167

likewise the aloe, distinguished by its long, thick,
fleshy leaves, furnished with thorns at the points
and along the edges. It blooms only once, the
plant dying after it has completed its fructifica-
tion, as happens with our annuals and biennials ;
but, instead of coming to maturity in one or two
years, it requires a very long period for its
growth: according to the vulgar opinion, a hun-
dred years; but this appears to be an exaggera-
tion. When the time for its blooming arrives,
a flower-stem rapidly pushes up from the root
to the height of thirty feet or more, bearing a
branched spike of many thousand large and
splendid flowers. From the ridges of the Alle-
ghany mountains, which intersect the United
States, running nearly parallel with the shore of
the Atlantic, comes the beautiful robinia pseudo-
acacia, commonly cultivated in our shrubberies,
under the name of acacia. Few trees equal it in
elegance of foliage, or in the beauty of its pendent
clusters of white pea-shaped blossoms, some-
times slightly tinged with pink. It grows very
fast, and has been recommended by Cobbett to be
planted for timber. In the United States is also
found the red cedar, a tree not uncommon in
our shrubberies. Its wood is employed for
black-lead pencils, and for lining the inside ot
desks ; for which last purpose it is recommended
both by its pleasant smell and by its property
of driving away insects. There also grows the
tulip tree, the arbutus, and one of the two spe-
cies of arbor vite commonly cultivated here:
the other species, of a looser growth, which
comes from China, is often improperly called the
lignum vite. The sort of hard and heavy wood
known by this name among cabinet-makers, is
the produce of the guiacum, a tree growing in
the West Indies, of totally different appearance.

The observations of Mr Barton of Philadelphia
on the vegetation of the United States, furnish
a remarkable proof how far maritime climates
are from being universally milder than inland
climates. Comparing the northern limits of the
different species of plants on the western and the
eastern side of the Alleghany Mountains, he as-
certained that this limit extends, in most cases,
several degrees further towards the pole in the
interior than upon the coast. Thus, on the coast,
the growth of the yellow horse chestnut termin-
ates at latitude 36°; behind the mountains, at
latitude 42°. The black walnut on the coast,
ceases to grow in latitude 41°; behind the moun-
tains, in latitude 44°. :

It has been observed that in America the form
of the continent, and disposition of the moun-
tains, admit of a greater intermixture of the
productions of warm and cold climates, than in
the Old World; where the Mediterranean, ex~-
tended from east to west, and the mountains,
lying in the same direction, form impassable
barriers, which preclude the passage of plants
168

from one latitude to another. Thus the pines
of the north are found on the high lands of
Mexico as far as the isthmus of Panama; and
the liquid amber, a handsome tree, sometimes
cultivated in our shrubberies, where it is valued
for its fragrance, covers the declivities of the
American mountains within the tropics, in lati-
tudes 18—19°, and is found at the level of the sea,
in latitude 483°; while the native plants of Africa
are, for the most part, quite distinct from those
of Europe,

In the southern part of the United States are
extensive plantations of tobacco, rice, and cotton.
The tobacco plant, which is thought to be a
native of the Andes, is seen not unfrequently
in our gardens. The use of tobacco was intro-
duced into England by Sir Walter Raleigh, in
the reign of Elizabeth. Our best rice is from
Carolina; but this grain is likewise imported
from India, in which country, as well as in
China, it forms a great part of the food of the
inhabitants. The rice plant is said by Linneus
to be a native of Ethiopia. Cotton is procured
from the pods of several plants, but all of them
of one family: it forms the covering of the seeds.
Those of the larger species, which attain to the
magnitude of trees, require, according to Hum-
boldt, a mean annual temperature of at least
68°: the shrubby kind is cultivated with success
under a mean temperature of 60 to 64°, as far
as latitude 40°. In the Old World this culture
is carried on near Astracan, in latitude 46°.

The tree which furnishes us with mahogany,
isa native of the New World. It grows toa
large size, and produces handsome spikes of
white flowers, not unlike those of the lilac. The
mahogany of best quality comes from St Do-
mingo; an inferior sort from Honduras, on the
western shore of the Caribbean sea. From the
same coast we receive two species of dye-wood:
logwood, which yields a purple colour; and
fustic, a brown. Brazil wood, which gives a
red colour, is from Florida, on the other side of
the gulf of Mexico. In the territories of the
republic of Mexico grows the sun-flower, which
in its native soil is said to attain to a height of
twenty feet, with a flower two feet in diameter,
The Jerusalem artichoke, nearly allied to the
sun-flower, is from Brazil; the word Jerusalem
being a corruption of the Italian girasole, “tur
to the sun;” alluding to a property said to be
possessed more or less by all the plants of this
genus. From Mexico comes likewise the splendid
dahlia, which was introduced into this country
by lady Holland, in 1804. From Peru we have
the potatoe, the nasturtium, the scarlet fuchsia,
and the fragrant heliotrope. The common
passion-flower is from Brazil.

The cactus family belongs as exclusively to
the New World, as the heaths to the Old. As
specimens of this extensive genus may be men-

 

FISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

tioned the prickly pear, or Indian fig, and the
creeping cereus, which are common in our green-
houses. There is something very marked and
extraordinary in the aspect of this tribe. In
many of the species the functions of the leaves
and the stems are so confounded, that it is diffi-
cult to say which of these parts is present, and
which wanting. In the Indian fig it is the stem
which seems wanting, the thick, fleshy leaves
growing one out of the other: the foliage of the
creeping cereus, on the other hand, consists en-
tirely of long trailing stems like cat’s tails. In
most of the cacti, the plant is set with prickles
disposed in bunches, which enter the flesh of a
person handling them imprudently, and cause
inflammation. The flowersare generally beautiful
and brilliant; not produced on stalks, but issu-
ing directly from the substance of the plant.
A few of the cacti are found in the United States
of North America; but most of them are natives
of the West Indies and South America, where
they attain to a great size, and contribute to the
singular aspect of the vegetation of the tropicai
regions of the New World.

The last mentioned plants have brought us
within the limits of the torrid zone. Let us
now proceed to take a more general view of the
productions of those glowing regions. These
productions are not only more numerous, but
more splendid in their colours, more fragrant,
more pungent in their taste, and more varied in
their forms than the plants of other climates.
“When a traveller newly arrived from Europe,
penetrates for the first time into the forests of
South America, if he is strongly susceptible of
the beauty of picturesque scenery, he can
scarcely,” says Humboldt, “define the various
emotions which crowd upon his mind; he can
scarcely distinguish what most excites his ad-
miration,—the deep silence of these solitudes,
the individual beauty and contrast of forms, or
that vigour and freshness of vegetable life which
characterises the climate of the tropics. It
might be said that the earth, overloaded with
plants, does not allow them space to unfold
themselves.” The trunks and branches of the
trees are covered, not with mosses and lichens,
as in our climate, but with beautiful flowers:
among therest with several species of orchis, a tribe
of plants, some of which grow wild in our own
country; remarkable for the singular resemblance
of their flowers to certain species of insects.
In the bee orchis, particularly, this resemblance
is very striking. “In the torrid zone,” con-
tinues Humboldt, “creeping plants often reach
from the ground to the very summits of the
trees, and pass from one to another at the height
of more than a hundred feet, so as to deceive
the observer, and lead him to confound the
flowers, the fruit, and the leaves, which belong
to different species. So thick and uninterrupted
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS.

are the forests which cover the plains of South
America between the Orinoco and the Amazons,
that were it not for intervening rivers, the
monkeys, almost the only inhabitants of these
regions, might pass along the tops of the trees
for several hundred miles together without
touching the earth.” This vast wilderness pre-
sents none of that wearisome uniformity of as-
pect which often characterises the forests and
heaths of temperate climates. Not only do we
meet in the tropical regions with new genera and
species, but with new families of plants, strongly
contrasted in their forms and modes of growth
with those of other parts of the world: others
again acquire, in the torrid zone, the height and
bulk of trees, which in Europe never exceed
the magnitude of herbs; and some of those which
abound in our climates wholly disappear.

Yet the mean annual temperature of the equa-
torial regions is by no means so different from that
of other parts of the globe as we might be led
to suppose by observing the extraordinary phe-
nomena of tropical vegetation. In a climate
where the bamboo attains in a few months to
the height of sixty feet; where the whole aspect
of the vegetable world exhibits so singular and
striking an aspect, we naturally expect to find
as marked an increase in the heat of the sun’s
rays. This, however, is not the case. There is
no reason to believe that the mean temperature
at the equator exceeds 82°, a degree of warmth
by no means very uncommon in our own coun-
try. The mean temperature of Cumana, on
the northern coast of South America, in latitude
10° 27’, is 82°; that of Havannah, the capital of
the island of Cuba, in latitude 23°10’, is 78°; that
of Madras, in latitude 18° 5’, is 81°; that of
Manilla, the principal of the Philippine islands,
in latitude 15°, is 78°. In fact, the climate of
most parts within the tropics is more remarkable
for equability than for extreme heat. Twice in
the year the sun is vertical to every place lying
within the torrid zone; therefore every place so
situated should have two summers in twelve
months, and of course two winters. But, in
fact, the difference of temperature at different
seasons is so trifling in these regions, as scarcely
to attract attention: at Cumana, for instance,
the mean temperature of the winter is 804°;
that of the three hottest months only 833°.
The different seasons are marked by circum-
stances far more striking than this slight differ-
ence of temperature. From the time when the
sun becomes vertical in its passage towards the
tropic till it again becomes vertical in returning
towards the equator, (that is, during the time
answering to summer in the temperate zone,)
the country, in most parts of the tropical regions,
is deluged with almost continual rain, while
the other part of the year is a season of fine
weather.

 

169

A similar equability of climate is found to pre-
vail in those districts which are situated far above
the level of the sea, but of course accompanied
by a lower temperature. Thus the mean tem-
perature of Quito, directly under the equator,
at a height of eight thousand feet, corresponds
nearly with that of the south of France; but
the lowest point which the thermometer has
been observed to indicate at Quito is 42°; whereas
at Marseilles, though the climate there is less
liable to great fluctuations than in most places
under the same latitude, the mercury sinks oc-
casionally as low as 28°, The temperature of
that great elevated plain which occupies the
western side of the continent of South America,
resembles a perpetual spring; and as very little
difference is felt in the warmth of the different
seasons, the gradual diminution of heat from
the level of the sea upwards is more distinctly
observable than in other climates. Accordingly,
the several families of plants which cover the
sides of the Andes are arranged in distinct belts
or zones, whose limits are marked with a pre-
cision unknown in the mountains of Europe,
where the plants belonging to the plains are
sometimes seen growing in company with those
of more elevated regions. Upon the declivities
of the South American mountains may be found,
within a comparatively small compass, every
gradation of temperature, from that of the
burning plains at their feet to the limits of per-
petual snow; and every variety of vegetable
productions, from the palms and bamboos, sugar-
canes and plantains, to the mosses and lichens
which clothe the rocks thirteen thousand feet
above.

There are some families of plants which arrive
in the tropical regions at a magnitude unknown
in our climate, as the grasses, ferns, and mallows,
The bamboo, which has a jointed hollow stalk
like the grasses, often reaches the height of sixty
feet. Of ferns we have in England about forty
species, none of which exceed three or four feet
in height; whereas in the torrid zone they attain
the size of trees. Of all the forms of tropical
vegetation, these and the bamboos, according to
Humboldt, most excite the attention, and
awaken the admiration of the traveller, in
their general aspect the tree ferns resemble the
palms, Their stems are generally black, as if
burnt with the sun; their leaves of a bright and
delicate green, beautifully crisped at the edge.
It has been observed of the ferns that they prin-
cipally delight in insular situations; few com-
paratively are found in the interior of large
continents, owing, perhaps, to the want of a
due proportion of moisture. They abound
amongst the dropping springs that ooze from the
crevices of rocks; and some species of exquisite
beauty are found lining the sides and roof of

the little caverns which contain the sources of
¥
170

natural fountains. Ferns are very numerous in
Jamaica, in New Zealand, in Otaheite, and in St
Helena. In this last island they constitute a
large proportion of the whole number of native
plants.

Of the mallow family only five species exist
in England, all of them very small; while in
the torrid zone the plants of this family are ex-
ceedingly numerous and splendid, many of them
attaining to the magnitude of our forest trees.

The species of palms hitherto discovered, ex-
ceed 180 in number. Not only do they excel
every other family of plants in beauty and
stateliness, but in the luxuriance of their fructi-
fication. Amidst the solitudes of the South
American forests, in places far remote from human
habitation, Humboldt found the ground covered
with the fruit of these trees in places to the
depth of three inches, More than 12,000 flowers
have been counted in a single sheath of the date
palm. The wax palm, which bears on its trunk
a varnish of wax, is a native of the Andes. The
cocoa nut grows abundantly in the South Sea
islands; and the plantain or banana, is dispersed
over large tracts of the tropics. The sugar cane,
supposed to be a native of China, now grows
over all the West India islands, as do also the
coffee plant and indigo. The pine apple is con-
jectured to be a native of New Spain; but it ap-
pears to grow wild in Africa and other parts of
the Old World. The caoutchoue, or Indian rub-
ber tree, is a native of Brazil. That curious

 

Rafflesia Arnoldii.

flower the Raffesia Arnoldii, the blossom of
which, when fully expanded, measures no less
than three feet in diameter, and the petals three
quarters of an inch in thickness, is a native of
the island of Sumatra.

In India and the East India islands, grow the
greater number of our spicery and aromatic
plants, as cinnamon, cloves, camphor, ginger,
pepper, nutmegs; as also the gums and resins used
in medicine and perfumery.

Instead of the European grains, maize and
rice are the chief products of tropical regions,
and other farinaceous substances allied to corn,
such as arrow root, sago.

The bread fruit tree, which bears a substance
having the taste and much of the nutritive

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

qualities of wheaten bread, is a native of the
South Sea islands,

Humboldt has given a sketch of the vegeta-
tion of the Andes, commencing at the level of
the ocean and extending to the highest summits,
A condensed view of this sketch may serve as a
general illustration of the distribution of plants
as influenced by climate, arising from altitude
above the sea level.

1. Tropical Zone or Region of Paims, This
region stretches from the level of the ocean to
the height of 518 toises. Here flourish the
magnificent family of palms, odoriferous and
balsamic plants, the family of scitaminee,
laurels, mimosa, the sugar cane, coffee plant, and
indigo.

2. Temperate Zone. Above the region of
palms is that of the tree-ferns and cinchonas,
the latter of which yield the different kinds
of Peruvian bark, the caoutchouc tree, cam-~-
phor shrubs, passion flower, and a variety of
beautiful and useful plants. At 1330 to 1340 toises
is the region of oaks. Here also grow wheat,
barley, and oats, and the fruit trees of Europe.

3. Alpine Zone. From 1026 to 2103 toises,
extends the region of alpine plants. Here flourish
the ranunculi, gentians, and a variety of hardy
plants. At an elevation of 2103 the alpine
plants give place to the graminee, of which the
region extends to 2360 toises.

4. Arctic Zone. This region may be so called,
for at the height of 2360 toises all flowering
plants disappear, and lichens alone clothe the
rocks and ground. Some of these, indeed, ap-
pear to vegetate under the snow, for at 2850
toises, near the summit of Chimborazo the wm-
bilicaria pustulata, and verrucaria geographica,
are seen growing on a shelf of rock; and these
were the last organized substances adhering to
the soil at so great a height, which Humboldt
and his companions were able to detect.

5. Snowy Region. The last region is that
within the line of perpetual congelation, whence
eternal ice and snow hold their dominion.*

Mr H. Watson has portioned out the island
of Great Britain into three regions, each of
which are subdivided into two zones, thus:

1, Agricultural zone

1, Weedy tegiom, {2 Upland zone

8. Moorland zone

Hs Barren region, 4, Subalpine zone

{ 5, Alpine zone

III. Mossy region, 6, Snowy zone

1. The woody regionextends over at least three-
fourths of the whole surface of Britain. In
England all the south-eastern dictrict, and a very

 

* See illustrative diagram, Plate II. where the moun-
tain on theright corresponds to this description.
SYSTEMS OF BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION.

large proportion of the others, belong toit. The
summits of the Penine chain, the hills in the
lake counties, and the high ranges in Wales
being the exceptions.

From the wide surface which it occupies, the
woody region necessarily presents much difference
at its two extremes, particularly in the minor
details; yet, on the whole, there is more of same-
ness in its general features than might be anti-
cipated. From one end to the other it is an
undulated plain of meadows, pastures, and cul-
tivated fields, separated from each other by hedge-
rows of hawthorn orstone walls; and thickly inter-
spersed with parks, woods, gardens, towns, and
high roads, betokening a climate where man
may attain a high state of civilization, and live
for ease and pleasure as well as for laborious oc-
cupation. It is the region where flourish the
trees and bloom the flowers rendered classic by
our poets. It is the land of the daisy and cow-
slip, the oak and the hawthorn, the hazel copse,
and the woodbine bower; the region of fruits
and flowers.

The Agricultural Zone is distinguished from
the upland by the presence of wheat fields, and
indeed this grain may be reckoned the charac-
teristic of the zone. The highest elevation at
which wheat is cultivated in thenorthof England,
does not exceed 1000 feet. In Scotland from
800 to 1000 feet. Here the fruits of Britain
flourish in greatest perfection, as well as all our
finest and most delicate garden produce.

The Upland Zone. In sheltered situations
with a favourable aspect, the oak, beech, wild-
cherry, ash, sycamore, and lime, still form fine
timber trees; and the lilac, laburnum, monthly
rose, and corchorus, flourish in the gardens.
Apples, cherries, and currants, ripen; but the
peach, plum, and apricot, will not do in the open
air. The Scotch fir flourishes as well as the
birch, rowan, and trembling poplar. In sheltered
vallies, and by the borders of lakes, corn fields
are found, and most of the common weeds and
larger grasses.

2. Barren region. Black swamps and cheer-
less moors make up this region. The dwarf
birch, bog myrtle, juniper, and the heaths, com-
pose the principal part of the woody plants.
he cloud berry is one of the few fruits. Its
lower subdivision or moorland zone, still exhibits
traces of some flowers and flowering shrubs, as
the alpine arbutus, the broom, and furze, and
the digitalis, or fox-glove.

The subalpine zone or upper division, assumes
a still more barren aspect; stinted shrubs and
heaths, mosses and lichens, being the sole vege-
tation.

8. The Mossy region is destitute of shrubs,
and is characterised by the cryptogamic plants,
a few weeds, grasses, and saxifrages. Its alpine
zone gradually passes into the snow line, con-

 

171

stituting the snowy zone, where all vegetation
is repressed by perpetual congelation.*

CHAP. XXIII.
SYSTEMS OF BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION,

Wuen the sciences were as yet in their infancy,
and when all that was known of them consisted
of but a small number of facts, those who de-
voted themselves to their cultivation required
but very little exertion, and a tolerable memory,
to enable them to embrace the entire knowledge,
and retain the names of the objects, in the study
of which they were engaged. The first philoso-
phers who treated of botany speak of plants
without adopting any order or methodical ar-
rangement. In the time of Theophrastus, who
first wrote particularly on vegetables, the func-
tions of the organs were misunderstood, the
genera and species were entirely confounded,
and their distinctive characters were unknown.
For although that philosopher may be said to
have been the first who wrote on botany, it may
also be said that, in his time, the science had no
real existence. The characters of plants rested
merely on empirical knowledge, or on simple
tradition ; for their number was then so limited,
that it was easy to know them all individually,
without its being necessary to distinguish them
otherwise than by imposing a particular name
upon each, with which, however, no idea of
character or comparison was connected. Such
was the state of botany during many ages,
when, from its intimate connection with medi-
cine, it found a place only in the works of those
who wrote on the healing art. But when, in
consequence of more judicious inquiries, and of
journeys made to distant countries, the number
of objects belonging to natural history was in-
creased, it became necessary to employ more pre-
cision in naming these different objects, and to
distinguish them by characters of some kind,
that they might be more easily recognised. Ina
short time, the memory was unable to retain the
names of the numerous objects which accumu-
lated, and which were mostly new, and previously
unknown.

At this period, naturalists began to be sensible

.of the necessity of arranging objects in some

order, which might facilitate research, by fur-
nishing the means of arriving more readily, and
with more certainty, at the names which had
been given to them individually. But the ar-
rangements followed were at first entirely em-

 

* In Plate II. the mountain on the left represents
the British distribution of plants, numbered according
to the above description.
172
pirical, and have no title to be regarded as true
methods. Indeed, they were not at all founded
on the knowledge derived from characters pe-
culiar to these objects individually, and which
might serve to distinguish them from each other,
but rested merely upon some external circum-
stances, which were often foreign to the nature
of the object. Thus the alphabetical order in
which plants were arranged, could be of no ad-
vantage excepting to those who were already
acquainted with them, and were desirous of ex-
amining some of them more particularly. This
is equally the case with the arrangements founded
upon the economical or medicinal properties of
plants, which always suppose a previous know-
ledge of the virtues of the plants whose names
it is proposed to discover.

It will easily be perceived that, upon such
foundation, there could only be raised classifi-
cations of the most defective character, as they
generally rested upon circumstances unconnected
with the nature and organization of plants.
They were, therefore, incapable of affording any
satisfactory idea of them.

Experience, however, soon showed the neces-
sity of deriving the characters by which plants
might be made known and distinguished from
their own organization, and the parts of which
they are composed. From this period, botany
assumed the rank of a science; for it was then
that the organization of plants began to be
studied, in order to educe from it the characters
by which these objects might be made known
and distinguished.

Methods now began to assume a regular form.
But, as the organs of vegetables are numerous,
the number of methods became correspondingly
great, as each author imagined some one of the
former to supply the most solid foundation for
a good arrangement. Thus some of them
founded their methods on the consideration of
the roots, and of all the modifications which
these organs are capable of presenting; others
upon the stems; some like savages, on the
leaves; others on the inflorescence.

In the sixteenth century, Gessner, a native of
Zurich, first demonstrated that the characters
derived from the flower and fruit are the most
certain and the most important for obtaining
from them a good classification of plants. He
also showed the existence, among plants, of
groups, composed of several species, connected
by common characters. This first idea of
grouping vegetables into genera, had the greatest
influence upon the after progress of botany.

Soon after, Cesalpinus, who was born in 1519,
at Arezzo, in Tuscaay, presented the first model
of a botanical method. In it all the species
were arranged according to the consideration of
characters which may be derived from most of
the organs of plants, such as their duration, the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

presence or absence of the flowers, the position
of the seed, their adhesion to the calyx, and the
number and situation of the cotyledons. The
invention of such a method, imperfect as it is,
must be considered as the first step towards the
discovery of a natural classification.

The number of known vegetables, however,
was daily receiving augmentation from new dis-
coveries, and the works that existed were be-
coming more and more insufficient. Several
authors, among whom may be mentioned with
approbation the two brothers Bauhin, Ray,
Magnol, and Rivinus, successively gave proofs
of extraordinary merit in theiy works. Some
of them even invented new methods, which,
however, were all eclipsed by that of Joseph
Pitton de Tournefort, which was published
about the end of the seventeenth century.

That celebrated botanist, one of those whose
writings have most redounded to the honour of
his native country, was born at Aix, in Provence,
on the 5th June 1656. He was professor of
Botany at the Garden of Plants, in Paris, in
the reign of Louis XIV., who, in 1700, sent him
on an important mission to the Levant. Tour-
nefort, at that time, traversed Greece, the shores
of the Black sea, and the islands of the Archi-
pelago. He returned to Paris, and published an
account of his journey, which may be men-
tioned as one of the most perfect models of its
kind. Previous to his departure, he had already
promulgated, in a work entitled Institutions of
Botany, his new method, in which were des-
cribed 10,146 species, which were referred to
698 genera.

Tournefort’s merit was not solely that of
having invented an ingenious method, in which
were described and arranged all the plants then
known. His principal title to fame is his hav-
ing been the first who distinguished, with more
strictness and precision than had previously
been done, the genera, the species, and the varie-
ties which might be referred to them.

Before his time the science was a mass of con-
fusion. The species were not clearly distin-
guished from those to which they were allied.
He first reduced the chaos of botany to order,
separated the genera and species by characteristic
phrases or definitions, and, by means of his in-
genious system, arranged all the plants then
known in methodical array.

After Tournefort appeared a great number of
botanists, who enjoyed a certain degree of repu-
tation. Some of them proposed new methods,
none of which, however, had the least tendency
to eclipse that of Tournefort. This glory seemed
reserved for the celebrated Linneus, whose sys-
tem, which was published in 1734, had the most
surprising success, on account of its extreme sim-
plicity, and the singular facility which it affords
for attaining a knowledge of the names of plants.
SYSTEMS OF BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION.

Linneus had moreover the merit of reforming,
or rather of creating, the nomenclature and sy-
nonymy of botany, which his predecessors had
left in so imperfect a state. Tournefort himself
had traced the path to be pursued, without, how-
ever, clearing away all the obstacles. Hitherto
each species was still named by a characteristic
phrase, in which the distinctive characters were
frequently not included. These phrases were so
long that it was very difficult to retain any num-
ber of them in the mind. Linneus gave a pro-
per or generic name to each group or genus, in
so far following the example of Tournefort. He
further designated each species of these genera
by a specific name added to the generic; and, by
this ingenious contrivance, greatly simplified the
already very extensive study of botany.

The sexual system of Linneus, which was
rendered so seductive by its extreme simplicity,
produced a sudden revolution in the science, and
was every where received with an enthusiasm
which it would be difficult to describe.

When the first emotions of admiration which
a great discovery always inspires, had somewhat
subsided, it was soon perceived that this system,
ingenious as it was, yet possessed some disad-
vantages, and was not entirely unobjectionable.
Being founded upon the absolute consideration
of a single organ, it often separated plants which
all their other characters seemed to unite beyond
the possibility of their ever being disjoined ; for
it had already been perceived that certain genera
of plants possess so many points of contact and
of mutual resemblance, and are so united by their
general characters, that they seem, as it were,
members of the same family. Thus the gramt-
new, labiate, umbellifere, leguminose, crucifere,
and several other groups equally natural, had al-
ready been brought together in the form of distinct
tribes. The separation of plants which it might
be considered so necessary to keep together, was
therefore a great defect in the artificial system of
Linneus. Thus the graminee were dispersed in
the first, second, third, sixth, twenty-first, and
twenty-third classes of hissystem. The labiate
were placed partly in the second class and partly
in the fourteenth. Most of the natural tribes,
which had already been admitted as such by a
great number of botanists, were separated in the
same manner, as Linneus found himself obliged
to adhere strictly to the principles of his system.

Another method, which, retaining the already
acknowledged affinities of plants, might present
their general distinctive characters, was, there-
fore, preferable to a system which, however in-
genious, was faulty in one of the most important
points.

Adanson gave the first sketch of such a me-
thod. Bernard de Jussieu searched, during forty
years, for the most solid and constant characters
on which to found it, He studied with the

 

173

greatest care the natural affinity of the species
and genera. But his nephew, Antoine Laurent
de Jussieu, bringing together the rich materials
collected by his uncles, and adding to them the
numerous observations which he had made him-
self, was the real author of the method of na-
tural families. It was in his Genera Plantarum,
a work stamped with the impress of genius, and
one of the finest monuments of the progress of
botany, that he laid the foundations of a method,
which must one day be the only one adopted and
followed by all unprejudiced minds, it being un-
questionably superior to any that has hitherto
been published.

It has not as its basis the consideration of a
single organ, but examines all the characters
furnished by every part of a plant, and brings
together all those which bear the greatest affin-
ity and resemblance to each other. It is owing
to this method that botany, within the last forty
years, has made such rapid progress, and has as-
sumed the first rank among the natural sciences.

It may be here observed, that there are two
very distinct kinds of classification in natural
history. In one, the consideration of a single
organ is taken as the basis. Thus Tournefort
employed the corolla, and Linneus the stamina,
for establishing their principal divisions. The
name of systems has been given to these purely
artificial arrangements. It will easily be con-
ceived that a system, having no other object than
that of enabling one to find out the name of a
plant with facility, affords no idea of its organ-
ization. Thus, when we have found that a plant
belongs to the first class of the system of Lin-
neus, or of that of Tournefort, all that we know
is, that, in the former case, it has a single stamen,
and that in the latter its corolla is monopetalous,
regular, and bell-shaped ; but these systems dis-
close to us nothing respecting the other parts
which compose the plant, of which they have
taught us only the name. In the second kind
of classification, which has received the name of
method, properly so called, as the basis of each
class rests upon the total sum of all the charac-
ters derived from the different parts of the plant,
when we come to one of these classes, we already
know the more prominent points of the organ-
ization of the plant whose name we are desirous
of knowing. Should we, for example, have
found, by means of analysis, that the plant which
we are examining belongs to the fourth class of
Jussieu, this circumstance apprises us that it is
a phanerogamous plant, that its embryo has only
asingle cotyledon, that it has only one floral
envelope, and that its stamina are inserted upon
the ovary.

We shall now proceed to explain the three
most prominent and important systems of classi-
fication, that of Tournefort, Linneus, and Jus-
sieu.
174

Tournerort’s Sysres is founded chiefly upon
the consideration of the various forms of the co-
rolla. He is generally blamed for not having
followed the example of Rivinus, and for con-
tinuing to separate herbaceous and woody plants.
This system is very defective in this respect, as
these two modifications of the stem frequently
occur in the same genus, and circumstances may
sometimes act so directly upon the same species,
as to render it at one time woody and at another
herbaceous.

This system consists of twenty-two classes, of
which the characters are taken—1. From the
consistence and size of the stem; 2. From the
presence or absence of the corolla; 3. From the
separation of the flowers, or their union within
a common involucre, in which latter case they
are compound; 4. From the circumstance of the
corolla being entire or divided into separate seg-
ments; 5. From its regularity or irregularity.

1. With reference to the consistence and du-
ration of their stem, Tournefort divides vegeta-
bles into herbs and suffruticose plants, shrubs,
and trees. The herbs and suffruticose plants to-
gether are contained in the first seventeen classes.
The last five classes contain the shrubs and
trees.

2. Agreeably to the presence or absence of the
corolla, herbs are distinguished into petalous and
apetalous. The first fourteen classes of herbs
contain all those which are furnished with a
corolla, the other three those which are destitute
of one.

3. The herbs which have a corolla have their
flowers separated and distinct, or united to form
compound flowers. The first eleven classes con-
tain the herbs which have simple flowers, the
three next those which present compound flowers,

4. Of the herbaceous plants with simple
flowers, some have a monopetalous corolla, while
in the others it is polypetalous. In the first
four classes Tournefort has brought together the
plants which have a monopetalous corolla, and
in the next five those with a polypetalous one.

5. But this monopetalous or polypetalous co-
rolla may be regular or irregular, and these cir-
cumstances have furnished subdivisions.

The plants which have a woody stem are con-
tained in the last five classes of the system.
Tournefort has divided them according to the
same principles as in the herbaceous plants. Thus
they are apetalous, or furnished with petals;
their corolla is monopetalous or polypetalous,
regular or irregular.

It is of importance to remark, that Tournefort
gave the name of corolla to the single and co-
loured perianths, as in the tulip and lily, which,
according to his ideas, have a regular polypeta-
lous corolla.

Such are the principles by which Tournefort
was guided in forming the classes of his system,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

of the characters of which we shall now give a
brief view.

FIRST DIVISION.—HERBS.

WITH SIMPLE FLOWERS,

Corolla monopetalous, regular.

Cuass I. CampantForm.—Herbs with a regu-
lar monopetalous corolla, resembling a bell, as in
the bellflower, convolvulus, the lily of the valley,
the heath, &c,

Crass IJ. Inrunpreutirorm.—Herbs with a
regular monopetalous corolla, resembling the
form of a funnel, as in the tobacco; that of an
ancient cup, as in the lilac, or that of a wheel,
as in borage.

Corolla monopetalous, irregular.

Crass III, Personate.—Corolla monopetalous,
irregular, resembling in form a calf’s mouth or
an antique mask, as in the genus antirrhinum ;
or having the limb more or less open, as in the
foxglove and figwort. Plants of this class al-
ways present a simple ovary in the bottom of.-
their calyx.

Crass IV. Lasrate.—Corolla monopetalous,
irregular, the limb as if divided into two lips:
—plants having an ovary divided into four very
distinct lobes, which are considered as naked
seeds. Such are the sage, rosemary, betony,

thyme.

Corolla polypetalous, regular.

Crass V. Crucirorm.—Corolla polypetalous,
regular, composed of four petals, placed cross-
wise. The fruit is a siliqua ora silicula. Of
this kind are the wallflower, cabbage, shepherd’s-
purse.

Crass VI. Rosacrovs.—Corolla polypetalous,
regular, composed of from three to ten petals,
arranged in the form of a rose, as in the pear
tree, the apple tree, the wild rose, the strawberry,
the rasp, the cistus.

Crass VII. Umbet.irerous.—Corolla polype-
talous, regular, composed of five petals, which
are often unequal; the flowers arranged in an
umbel. Such are angelica, parsnip, fennel.

Crass VIII. Caryoruytiovs.—Corolla poly-
petalous, regular, formed of five petals with long
claws, contained in a monopetalous calyx; the
limb expanded, as in the pink, soapwort, corn-
cockle, and the caryophyllee in general.

Crass IX. Lit1aczovus.—Flowers with the co-
rolla generally polypetalous, composed of six or
only three petals, sometimes monopetalous, with
six divisions. The fruit is a trilocular capsule
or berry, as in the lily, the tulip, the hyacinth.

Corolla polypetalous, irregular.
Crass X. Papiiionaceors, or Leauminose.—
SYSTEMS OF BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION.

Corolla polypetalous, irregular, composed of five
petals, an upper one named the standard, two
lateral named the wings, two lower, sometimes
united, forming the keel, as in the pea, the kid-
ney bean, Lucerne. The fruit is always a le-
gume.

Cuass XI. Anomatous.—This class contains all
the herbaceous plants whose corolla is polypeta-

lous, irregular, and not papilionaceous, such as
the violet, nasturtium.

WITH COMPOUND FLOWERS.

Cuass XII. Froscurose.—Flowers composed
of small, funnel-shaped, regular monopetalous
corollas, having their limb divided into five seg-
ments. Each of these small flowers is named a
floret. Of this kind are thistles, artichokes,
knapweeds.

Crass XIII. Semirroscutosz.—Flowers com-
posed of a great number of small, irregular mo-
nopetalous corollas, whose limb is thrown to one
side, and to which the name of semiflorets has
been given, as the lettuce, the goatsbeard, the
dandelion.

Cuass XIV.’ Raprare.—Flowers composed of
florets at the centre, and semiflorets at the cir-
cumference, as in the sunflower and the daisy.

APETALOUS PLANTS.

Cuass XV. Aprratous.—Plants whose flowers
have no true corolla, as the grasses, barley, rice,
the oat, wheat. In some there is around the
sexual organs a simple perianth or calyx, which
often remains after the flowering is over, and
grows with the fruit, as in docks,

Cuass XVI. Areratous, entirely destitute of
flowers.—Plants which have no sexual organs or
floral envelopes properly so called, but which
have leaves. Of this kind are the ferns, such as
polypody, osmunda.

Crass XVII. Apzratous, without apparent
flowers or fruit, as mushrooms, mosses, lichens.

SECOND DIVISION.—TREES.
Apetalous.

Crass XVIII. Areratous TrEEs or Sarvs,
having their flowers destitute of corolla, These
trees are either hermaphrodite or moncecious, as
the box, many conifer, &c.; or dicecious, as in
the genera terebinthus, and lentiscus.

Crass XIX. Amenracrous.—Apetalous trees,
whose flowers are disposed in catkins. They are
moneecious, as the oak, the walnut; or dicecious,
as the willows.

Monopetalous.

Cuass XX. Trees with a regular or irregular
monopetalous corolla, such as the lilac, the elder,
the catalpa, the arbutus.

 

Regular polypetalous.
Cuass XXI. Trees or shrubs with rosaceous
polypetalous corolla, as the apple tree, the pear
tree, the orange and cherry tree.

Irregular polypetalous.

Crass XXII. Trees or shrubs whose corolla
is papilionaceous, as in the acacia and laburnum.

Such are the twenty-two classes proposed by
Tournefort for the arrangement of all known ve-
getables, Although, at first view, this system
may appear simple and easily reducible to prac-
tice, it yet in many cases presents difficulties
which are not easily overcome. Thus the form
of the corolla is not always so decided as to en-
able one immediately to determine the class to
which it really belongs; for where is the precise
point of separation between a hypocrateriform
and an infundibuliform corolla, or between the
latter and a campanulate corolla?

The greatest objection that can be offered to
this system is, that it separates the herbaceous
from the woody plants. The most natural rela-
tions are by this means mistaken, and plants
which bear the greatest resemblance to each
other are often widely separated, on account of
their differing in this respect only.

Each of these classes has been subdivided into
a greater or less number of sections or orders,
whose characters have been taken from particu-
lar modifications which the form of the corolla
may undergo, from the consistence, composition,
and origin of the fruit, the form, arrangement,
and composition of the leaves.

Moreover, each of these sections contains a
greater or less number of genera, to which are
referred all the species that were known up to
the period at which Tournefort wrote.

THE SEXUAL SysTEM OF Linnxvs is principally
founded on the different characters which may
be derived from the male organs or stamina, in
thesame manneras Tournefort’s system is founded
upon the various forms which the corolla pre-
sents. It consists of twenty-four classes.

Linneus first divides all the known vegetables
into two great sections. In the first he places
all those which have sexual organs, and conse-
quently distinct flowers. These are the phan-
erogamous or phenogamous plants. The second
section comprehends those in which the sexual
organs are not apparent, or in which they are
entirely wanting. There are thus two primary
sections in the vegetable kingdom :—

1, Phanerogamous plants.

2. Cryptogamous plants.

But, as the number of vegetables belonging
to the first section is infinitely greater than
that belonging to the second, the phanerogamous
plants have been divided intotwenty three classes,
176

whereas the cryptogamous form only the twenty-
fourth and last class of this system.

Of the phanerogamous plants some have her-
maphrodite flowers, that is, having the two sexes
united, while the rest are unisexual.

The first twenty classes of the sexual system
contain the phanerogamous plants, with herma-
phrodite or monoclinous flowers. In the next
three are placed the diclinous plants, or those
with unisexual flowers.

3. Phanerogamous monoclinous plants.

FeeenaNs ctmeaideaine diclinous plants.

The monoclinous plants have the stamina free
and detached from the pistil; or the stamina are
united to the pistil.

4, Monoclinous plants with free stamina.

bNdimerveded detineaaaneede with stamina united to
the pistil.

The stamina, when disunited from the pistil,
may be free and distinct from each other; cr
they may be united together.

5. Stamina not united to the pistil, free and
distinct.

Staminanot united to the pistil, united together.

The free and distinct stamina are equal or
unequal to each other.

Those which are free and equal exist in de-
terminate or indeterminate number.

6. Stamina free and equal, in determinate
number.

Stamina free and equal, in indeterminate
number.

It was upon considerations of this kind that
Linneus laid the foundations of his system.
Accordingly, it will be seen that it is founded:—

1st, Upon the number of stamina, the first
thirteen classes.

2dly, Upon their relative proportion, the four-
teenth and fifteenth.

3dly, Upon their connection by means of the
filaments, the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth.

4thly, Upon their union by means of the
anthers, the nineteenth.

5thly, Upon their union with the pistil, the
twentieth.

6thiy, Upon the separation of the sexes, the
twenty-first, twenty-second, and twenty-third.

Tthly, Upon the absence of sexual organs, the
twenty-fourth,

1. Stamina in determinate number, and equal to
each other.

Crass I. Monanpria.—It contains all the plants
whose flowers have only a single stamen, as Hzp-
puris vulgaris, Blitum, Canna indica.

Crass IJ. Dianpria.—T wo stamina; the jas-
mine, the lilac, the genus Veronica, the sage,
the rosemary.

Crass ITI. Trranpria.—Three stamina : most
of the graminee, the genus Jris.

Crass IV. Trrranpria—Four stamina: the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

madder, the bedstraw, the woodroof, the genus
Scabiosa. :

Crass V. Pentanpria.—Five stamina: the
boraginee, such as the borage and lungwort; the
Solanez, such as the bitter-sweet, the belladonna,
the potato, the winter-cherry; the exotie rubi-
acee, as the genera Chinchona, Psychotria; the
Umbellifere, as the parsnip, the hemlock, the
opoponax, the coriander.

Cuass VI. Hexanpria.—Six stamina. To
this class belong most of the Liliacee, the lily,
the tulip, the hyacinth ; many Asparagines, as
the asparagus, the lily of the valley, and the
rice. 2

Crass VII. Hepranpria.—Seven stamina.
This isavery small class. It contains the horse-
chestnut, the saururus.

Crass VIII. Ocranpria.—Eight stamina : the
genera Rumex, Polygonum, and Erica.

Crass IX. Enneanpria.—Nine stamina. To
this class are referred the different species of
laurus and rheum, butomus umbellatus.

Crass X. Decanpria.—Ten stamina. In this
class we find nearly all the Caryophyllee, such
as the pink, the genera Lychnis and Silene, the
rue, Phytolacca decandra.

2. Stamina not strictly determinate as to number.

Crass XI. Doprcanpria.—From eleven to
twentystamina, Asin asarum Europeum, reseda
luteola, agrimonia eupatoria, sempervirum tec-
torum.

Cuass XII. Icosanprra.—More than twenty
stamina inserted upon the.calyx. To this class
belong the true rosacee, the plum, the almond,
the rose, the strawberry, the myrtle, the pome-
granate.

Cuass XTIT. Potyanpria.—From twenty to a
hundred stamina, inserted under the ovary. In
this class are contained the true ranunculacee,
such as anemone, clematis, ranunculus, helleborus;
most of the papaveracee, such as the common
poppy, chelidonium.

38. Relative length of the Stamina.

Crass XIV. Dipynamia.—Four stamina, of
which two are always smaller and two longer,
all inserted upon an irregular monopetalous
corolla, This class contains the labiate and
personate of Tournefort; such as thyme, laven-
der, the bugle, betony, snapdragon, foxglove,
scrophularia, catalpa.

Crass XV. Tetrapynamis.—Six stamina, of
which two are always smaller than the other
four: the corolla polypetalous; the fruit a siliqua
or silicula. This class corresponds entirely to
the crucifere of Tournefort,

4. Union of the Stamina by their filaments.

Crass XVI. Monapvetpnra.—Stamina in vari-
able number, united into a single body by their
SYSTEMS OF BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION.

filaments; as in the mallow and marsh-mal-
low.

Cusss XVII. Draperputa.—Stamina varying
in number, united by their filaments into two
distinct bodies, Of this kind are the fumitory,
the milkwort, and most of the leguminose, as
the acacia, laburnum, liquorice, melilot.

Crass XVIII. Potyaperpura.—Staminaunited
by their filaments into three or more bundles.
As in the genera Hypericum, Cistus, Melaleuca.

5. Union of the Stamina by the anthers.
Cusss. XIX. Syneenesta.—Five stamina
united by the anthers: flowers generally com-
pound, rarely simple. This class contains the
flosculose, semiflosculose, and radiate of Tour-
nefort. It also contains certain other plants,
such as the genera Lobelia, Viola.

6. Union of the Pistil and Stamina.
Cuass XX. Gynanpria.—Stamina united into
one body with the pistil. To this class belong
all the orchidee, the genus Aristolochia.

7. Flowers unisexual.

Crass XXI. Monceecta.—Male flowers and
female flowers distinct, but both occurring on
the same individual. As in the oak, the box,
the maize, the arrow-head, the castor-oil plant.

Cusss XXII. Diccra.—Male flowers and
female flowers existing on two separate indi-
viduals of the same species, as in mercurialis,
the date-palm, the misseltoe, willows, the pistacia.

Crass. XXIII. Potyeamra.—Hermaphrodite
flowers, male flowers and female flowers occurr-
ing together on the same individual, or on dif-
ferent plants, as in the ash, the pellitory, the
crosswort.

8. Flowers invisible.

Crass XXIV. Cryptocamia.—Plants whose
flowers are invisible, or very indistinct. This
class contains the ferns, such as the polypody,
osmunda; mosses, lichens, equiseta, alge, fungi.

We have now given a brief account of the
characters of each of the twenty-four classes
established by Linneus in the vegetable king-
dom. It will be seen that the arrangement of
this system is simple, and easily understood.
Indeed, one might at first think that he had
nothing more to do than to count the number
of stamina in a flower, to know the class to
which it belongs; but, in many cases, this de-
termination is not so easy as might at first be
supposed, and one is very often left in doubt,
especially when the plant presents some unusual
anomaly.

Tue Orvers. In the first thirteen classes,
the characters of which are taken from the
number of the stamina, those of the orders have
been obtained from the number of styles or dis-

 

177

tinct stigmas. Thus a plant belonging to the
class Pentandria, such as the parsnip or any
other umbelliferous plant, which may have two
styles or two distinct stigmas, is referred to the
second order. Should it have three, it will be-
long to the third order, &c, These orders are
designated as follows :—

Order 1. Monogynia, one style.

Order 2. Digynia , two styles.

Order 3. Trigynia, three styles.

Order 4. Tetragynia, four styles.

Order 5. Pentagynia, five styles.

Order 6. Hexagynia, six styles.

Order 7. Heptagynia, seven styles.

Order 8. Decagynia, ten styles.

Order 9, Polygynia, numerous styles.

It is to be remarked, that there are classes in
which this entire series of orders does not occur.
In Monandria, for example, there are only two
orders: Monogynia, to which belongs the genus
Hippuris; and Digynia, which contains the
genus Blitum.

In Tetrandria, there are three orders: Jono-
gynia, Digynia, and Tetragynia. There are six
in Pentandria, and in the classes following a
variable number.

In the fourteenth class, Didynamia, Linneus
has founded the characters of the two orders
into which he divides it, upon the structure of
the ovary. The fruit is sometimes formed of
four small akenia, situated at the bottom of the
calyx, and which he considered as four naked
seeds. Sometimes, on the other hand, it is a
capsule, which contains a variable number of
seeds. The first order bears the name of Gym-
nospermia (naked seeds,) and contains all the
true labiate, such as the genera Marrubium,
Phlomis, Nepeta, Scutelaria. The second order,
which is named Angiospermia (enclosed seeds, )
and of which a capsular fruit is characteristic,
contains all the Personate of Tournefort, such
as the genera Rhinanthus, Linaria, Melampyrum,
Orobanche.

Teradynamia, the fifteenth class, has also two
orders, derived from the form of the fruit, which
is a siliqua ora silicula. Accordingly, we have
first tetradynamia stliculosa, containing the plants
of which the fruit is a silicula, such as the genera
Isatis, Cochlearia, Thiaspi, &c.; and secondly,
tetradynamia siliquosa, containing those of which
the fruit is a siliqua; as the wall-flower, cabbage,
the water-cress,

The sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth
classes Monadelphia, Diadelphia, and Polyadel-
phia, have been established on the union of the
staminal filaments into one, two, or more distinct
bundles, without regard to the number of stamina
of which these bundles consist. Linneus has,
in this case, employed the characters derived
from the number of the stamina to form the
orders of these three classes, Thus the plants

z
178

which belong to Monadelphia, are said to be
triandrous, tetrandrous, pentandrous, or poly-
androus, according as they contain three, four,
five, ten, or a greater number of stamina united
by their filaments into a single body. In Dia-
‘delphia and Polyadelphia, the same method is
followed, the orders having the names of the
first classes of the system.

Syngenesia, the nineteenth class of the sexual
system, is one of the most extensive. In fact,
the synantheree or syngenesian plants form
about the twelfth part of all the known vegeta-
bles. It was therefore necessary to divide this
class into several orders, to facilitate the inves-
tigation of its different species. Linneus, ac-
cordingly, instituted six orders. But here the
number of the stamina could not be employed
as the basis of these subdivisions, it being almost
invariably five; for which reason he derived the
characters of the orders from the structure of
the little flowers which constitute the assem-
blages known by the name of compound flowers;
for in consequence of constant abortions, there
occur along with the hermaphrodite flowers,
male flowers, female flowers, and even somctimes
perfectly neutral flowers. Linneus, whose poeti-
cal fancy is observable in all the names which
he imposed upon the different classes and orders
of his system, looked upon these associations
and mixtures of flowers as a kind of polygamy.
This name he accordingly gave to each of the
six orders of syngenesia, adding to it a distinc-
tive epithet. The following are their characters.

Order 1. Polygamia wequalis. All the flowers
are hermaphrodite, and in consequence are all
equally fertile; as in thistles and goatsbeards.

Order 1. Polygamia superflua. The flowers
of the disk are hermaphrodite, those of the cir-
cumference female; but both kinds furnish per-
fect seeds, as in wormwood and tansy.

Order 3. Polygamia frustranca. The flowers
of the disk are hermaphrodite and fertile, those
of the circumference neutral or female, but
sterile in consequence of their stigma, and there-
fore entirely useless; whereas in the preceding
order they were only superfluous, as the knap-
weeds and sunflowers.

Order 4. Polygamia necessaria. The flowers
of the disk are hermaphrodite, but sterile, in
consequence of an imperfect formation of the
stigma; those of the circumference are female,
aud fecundated by the pollen of the former.
In this case, they are therefore necessary for the
preservation of the species: the marigold is an
example.

Order 5. Polygamia segregata. All the flowers
are hermaphrodite, and placed close together,
but are separately contained each in a small
involucre of its own, as in the genus Evhinops.

Order 6. Polygamia monogamia. The flowers
are all hermaphrodite, but they are simple, and

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

are separated from each other, as in the violet,
lobelia, balsamine.

The last order, as may easily be seen, has no
affinity to the rest, possessing nothing in common
with them but the union of the stamina by
their anthers.

In Gynandria, the twenty-first class of the
sexual system, there are four orders which are
derived from the number of the stamina. ‘Thus
we have Gynandria monandria, as in the genera
Orchis and Ophrys; Gynandria diandria, as in
Cypripedium ; Gynandria hexandria, as in Aris-
tolochia; Gyandria polyandria, as in Arum,

Monecia and Diecia present in some measure
a union of all the modifications which we have
remarked in the other classes. Thus Moneciu
contains monandrous, triandrous, decandrous,
polyandrous, monadelphous, and gynandrous
plants. Each of these varieties is used for the
establishment of a distinct order in this class.

Diecia contains a still greater number of
varieties, the characters of which being the same
as those of some of the classes previously es-
tablished, are employed as designative of the
orders.

The twenty-third class, Polygamia, which
contains plants with hermaphrodite flowers and
unisexual flowers intermingled, whether on the
same individual, or on two or three distinct in-
dividuals, has, in accordance with these circum-
stances, been divided into three orders.

1. Monecia, in which the same individual
bears monoclinous flowers, and declinous flowers;”
2, Diecia, in which there are hermaphrodite
flowers on one individual and unisexual flowers
on the other; 3. Zriwcia, in which the species
is composed of three individuals, one bearing
hermaphrodite flowers, another male fluwers,
and the third female flowers,

Cryptogamia, the twenty-fourth and last class,
is divided into four orders: 1. Ferns; 2. Mosses;
3. Alpe; 4. Fungi.

TABLE OF CLASSIFICATION.

stamen and one or gy
two pistils. y

2. DIANDRIA. W
The British f 1 Monogynia
plants in this( @) ¥e \f?
class have two OR l
stamens and one mm 2 Digynia Ae?

or tivo pistils
1 Monogynia Yb)

the flowers are larger and
2 Digynia Se)

their parts more distinct
3 Trigynia WwW

- CLASSES, ORDERS,
1, MONANDRIA. 1 Monogynia M4
Plants of one 9A Ly)

2 Digynia

than in the first class,
3. TRIANDRIA.

Plants of three
stamens,andoue, SS
two, or three pis-
tils. Besides a 4

considerable number of
very beautiful plants, and
a few useful in medicine,
this class contains the
most important natural
family in the whole circle
of vegetation—the Grami-
nea.
4. TETRANDRIA.
The plants in
this class are dis-
inguished from
those in Did:
mia by their four stamens
being of equal lengths, and
by their flowers being of
distinctly different natu-
ral orders,

5. PENTANDRIA.
Plants of five

stamens not unit-
ed. This class is 4
distinguished

from Syngenesia by its
flowers being simple, while
those of Syngenesia are
compound.

6. HEXANDRIA.

In this class the
flowers have six AK
stamens all nearly
of the same [
fength, and one to four
pistils; but none of the

enera have four petals
ke those we find in Te-
tradynamia.

7. HEPTANDRIA.

Plants of seven >
stamens. There Z
fs only one Bri-
tish genus in this

class.

8. OCTANDRIA.
The British

plants of this
class have eight
stamens, and
one, three, or

four pistils. Some of the
Ericas are much admired
for their beauty, and the
Daphne is an active alter-
ative medicine.

9. ENNEANDRIA.,

Plants of nine
stamens. This
class contains on-
y one British in-

igenous plant.

10. DECANDRIA.

The British .,
lants in this class VV, ’
have ten stamens, 23 ry
and one, tivo, @

three, or five pistils.

1. DODECANDRIA.

Plants from ele-
ven to nineteen
stamens, and one,
two, three, or
twelve pistils.

  

TABLE OF CLASSIFICATION. 179

(1 Monogynia

5 2 Digynia

L3 Trigynia

(1 Monogynia

2 Digynia

3 Trigynia

we & Eaves CER WEY eed IO

4 Tetragynia
5 Pentagynia :

6 Hexagynia

L7 Polygynia

[ 1 Monogynia

4 2 Digynia

3 Trigynia

 

L4 Polygynia

| 1 Monogynia

1 Monogynia

2 Trigynia

ayia

 

3 Tetragynia

\: Hexagynia Lp

(1 Monogynia GEE

2 Digynia

3 Trigynia y
4 Pentagynia NE

- 1 Monogynia
2 Digynia Ww)

4

3 Trigynia Se

L Dodecagynir' Se

 

 

12. ICOSANDRIA.
This class con-

sists of herma-
phrodite plants,
with twenty or

more stamens fix-

ed in the calyx, They
produce our most esteem-
ed Arts ane. no poison
ous fruit has yet been :
found where the parts of 3 Polygynia
the flower correspond

with the characters of this

class.

1 Monogynia

 

2 Pentagynia ee

13. POLYANDRIA,

The plants be-
longing to this
class are herma-
phrodite, and

ave twenty or
more stamens fixed in the
receptacle. The situation
or insertion of the stamens
constitutes the essential
and characteristic distinc-
tion between the twelfth
and thirteenth classes.

1 Mouogynia

2 Pentagynia WG
Sis

   

3 Polygynia

14. DIDYNAMIA.

This class con-
sists of plants y
with four sta- Oy,
mens, twolonger

than the other { Gymnospermia ie

two, and one pistil. The
orders are formed upon

2 Angiosperipia yy

4

the presence or absence of
a covering to the seeds.
The flowers in the first
order are all ringent; in
the second order they are
most frequently person-
ate, or resupinate.

15. TETRADYNAMIA.

Plants of six
stamens, four
long and two
short, and one
pistil, which
turns into a

two-valved pericarp, call- { Siliculosa Vay

eda Siliqua; some of these

 

pericarps are long, and re-
tain the name siliqua;
others are short, round, or
flat, and receive the name
of silicle, and upon this
distinction of their seed-
pods the orders are form-
ed.

2 Siliquosa

16. MONADELPHIA.

The plants in

Pe
1 Pentandria ay
this class have the ae
filaments of their eS

in CF
stamens united in- 2 Decandria LARS
to one set.
3 Polyandria

17. DIADELPHIA.
The plants in

this class have
their stamens in RE
two sets, of

which the first

genus is an excellent ex-
ample; but there are five
of the genera strictly Mo-
nadelphous in the union
of their stamens, and the
other genera have one sta-
men separate from the
rest on the upper surface
of the pistil.

18. POLYADELPHIA.

The plants of ‘
His class ane a
hermaphrodite,
and their sta- ( 1 Polyandria

1 Hexandrla

2 Octandria

3 Decandria

Ee,
ab
>

 

mens are united into three
or more sets. There is
but one British genus,
180

19. SYNGENESIA.

This class is
composed of SSS
rompound
flowers, consist-

ing of many little florets
within one common calyx.
When these are herma-
phrodite, they have five
stamens united by their
anthers into a cylinder,
round one pistil. Some of
the florets are tubular,
others ligulate, some her-
maphrodite, some fernale,
and others neuter. Our
British genera are em-
braced by Dr Smith in
three orders; viz. Ist.
those where the little flo-
retsareall hermaphrodite,
ex. thistle; 2d. those
where the florets in the
disk are hermaphrodite,
and those in the ray, fe-
male, ex. mountain daisy ;
the 3d. where the florets
in the disk are hermaphro-
dite, and those in the cir-
cumference neuter, ex.
blue bottle.

20. GYANDRIA.

The plants of
this class beas

 

flowers, with
stamens gitus-
ted on the style,

or upon a_ receptacle
stretched out in form of a
style, which supports both
stameus and pistils.

21. MONCECIA.

The Moneeci-
ous or  one- 2 Wie
house _ plants, et ne
have their sta- \~
mens in one
flower, and their pistils

on a separate flower on J

the same plant—the orders
are from the number and
connection uf the stamens.
Besides a number of herb-
aceous plants, some of the
most beautiful and useful
of our forest trees belong
to this class.

22. DIGECIA.

The Dicecious, “A
or _ two-house (¥"
plants, are male’
and female, the
stamens are found in the
flowers of one plant, and
the pistils in the flowers
of another—the orders are
from the number and con-
nection of the stamens.
Some soft-wooded, quick

rowing plants belong to
this class, as the willow
and the poplar.

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

1 Polygamia Aqualis ch
2 Polygamia Superfiua eh

3 Polygamia Frustranen AEN

) Monandria
2 Diandria

3 Hexandria

(1 Monandria
2 Triandria
3 Tetrandria
4 Pentandria
5 Hexandria
6 Polyandria
Es Monadelplia
(1 Diandria

2 Triandria
3 Tetrandia
4 Pentandria
5 Hexandria

6 Octandria

7 Enneandria

 

8 Monadelphia

 

 

 

23. POLYGAMIA.
The plants of
this class have
hermaphrodite, $e oe
and male or fe-
male flowers, or both on
the same plant. Dr Holl,
in his British Flora, has
arranged and described
seven genera in this class.

24. CRYPTOGAMIA.

The tO- ty,
gameous plants he
are those vege-
tables whose & &

arts of fructi-
Feation are so minute that
they are but imperfectly
yisible to the naked eye.
Linneus divided the
plants of this class into 4
natural orders, viz.Filices,
Musci, Algw, and Fungi.

Ist Order. Fitices.—
The Filices, or Ferns, in
general push up only one
stem, termed a_ frond,
which, in the early stage
of its growth, is rol ed up
in a spiral form. They
bear their fructification in
a spike, in a racemus, or
on the under surface of
the leaf. The Botrychi-
um is an example of a
spike, the Osmunda of a
racemus, and the Polypo-
dium bears its fructifica-
tion on the under surface
of the leaf. The fructifi-
cation is arranged in lines
or dots; and from their
situation and direction,
with the presence and
manner of opening of a
thin covering termed the
Involucre, and from being
with or without an elastic
ring, the genera are form-
ed and distinguished.

2d Order. Musci.—The
mosses are a beautiful na-
tural family of very mi-
nute plants, whose female
parts of fructification are
covered by a calyptra,
which adheres to the top
of the theca, and in gene-
ral opens transversely.
The mouth of the theca is
sometimes naked, and
sometimes clothed with a
single or double fringe,
termed a periostoma. Its
divisions are named teeth;
and from their number,
their being upright or re-
flected,straight or twisted,
triangular, spear, or bris-
tle-shaped, blunt or acute,
and whether their seeds
are smooth or rough, an-
gular or round, the genera
are characterized.

3d Order. ALaa.—The
plants in this order have
their root, stem, and leaf,
of one continuous similar

iece of matter. They are

ivided into those which
grow on the land and
those that grow in the
water. Their generic cha-
racters are taken from
their parts of fructifica-
tion when these are any
Way evident, and from the
general structure of the
plant when these organs
escape notice.

4th Order. Fune1.—The
fungi consists of plants
mostly of a spongy or
cork-like texture. ‘They
are generally of short du-
ration, and bear their
seeds in gills or tubes, or
attached to fibrous or
spongy substances. Their

eneric characters are

ken from the disposition
of their seeds, or from
their external figure or
appearance.

{ 1 Monecia

(1 Filices

2 Musd

3 Alga

 

La Fungi

 

 

 

 
SYSTEMS OF BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION.

We have now stated the principles of the
sexual system, and presented a sketch of its
twenty-four classes and numerous orders, such
as they were established by Linneus. In ex-
amining this system, one is struck by its ex-
treme simplicity, and the ease with which the
name of a plant may be discovered by means of
it, The classes, in fact, are, for the most part,
precisely limited and defined, especially those
which have the stamina in determinate number.
Not only does this system contain all the plants
already known, but it is also capable of com-
prehending all that may yet be discovered. In
consequence of its possessing these advantages,
it was generally adopted at the period of its
first publication.

But it must be admitted, that it labours under
more than one serious disadvantage. It is not
always easy to determine the precise class to
which a plant ought to be referred. Thus the
rue (Ruta graveolens) has almost all its flowers
furnished with eight stamina, there being only
asingle flower in the centre of each of its groups
that presents ten. The beginner, in this case,
would experience some embarrassment, and
might be induced to place the plant in question
in the eighth class of the system, Octandria,
although Linneus referred it to Decandria, as
he considered the flower with ten stamens as the
most perfect.

Dodecandria, in like manner, is not very
strictly characterized. It contains all the plants
which have from twelve to twenty stamina; but
the agrimony, which is referred to it, has often
more than twenty.

Certain labiate or personate which belong to
Didynamia, have their four stamina of equal
length, and the irregularity of the corolla is, in
many cases, hardly perceptible.

It is extremely difficult to determine with cer-
tainty the orders to which many plants belong-
ing to Syngenesia should be referred. Besides,
the intermixture of male flowers, female flowers,
and hermaphrodite flowers, throws several of
them into Diacia and Polygamia. The sixth
of these orders Polygamia Monogamia, contains
plants which have no affinity to the composite,
such as the genera Viola, Lobelia, Impatiens.

Polygamia, the twenty-third class, is a con-
fused mixture of plants, which almost all belong
to some of the other classes.

If we now examine the plants brought to-
gether under each of these classes, we find that
very frequently the natural affinities that have
long been established are entirely disregarded.
Thus one of the most natural families, the
Graminew, is scattered through the classes Mon-~
andria, Diandria, Triandria, Hexandria, Mon-
ecia, Diccia, and Polygamia. The labiate are
partly placed in Diandria, partly in Didynamia.
It is the same with many other families equally

 

18]

natural. But as the classification proposed by
Linneus is a system, that is, a methodical, but
purely artificial arrangement, intended solely
for facilitating the discovery of the name of a
plant which one may be desirous of knowing,
it would not be just to blame it for having thus
separated plants which bear a great resemblance
and affinity to each other. But the Linnean
system is not the one which is to be studied
when the object is to obtain a knowledge of the
mutual relations of plants, although, of all the
artificial systems, it is unquestionably that
which enables one to find the name of a plant
with most ease.

Tue sysTEM oF JusstEv, or THE METHOD oF
Narvrat Famitits, differs essentially in itscourse
and characters from the systems of Tourneforte
and Linneus, which we have already explained.
In it the divisions are not founded upon the
consideration of a single organ, but are derived
from characters presented by all the parts of
plants. Accordingly, the plants which are thus
brought together are disposed in such a manner
that they have a greater affinity to that which
immediately precedes or follows them than to
any other.

This classification is therefore superior to those
which preceded it, in so far as it presents general
and philosophical ideas respecting the produc-
tions of the vegetable kingdom. It does not
consider objects separately, but collects and ar-
ranges them into groups or families, according
to the greatest number of common characters
which they possess.

We find that nature, in impressing upon the
external form of certain plants a peculiar char-
acter bearing relation to their internal organiza-
tion, seems to have indicated to a certain extent,
the affinities which exist among vegetable pro-
ductions. In fact, there are many plants which
bear so great a resemblance to each other in the
structure and conformation of their parts, that
this similarity has at all times been perceived,
and these different plants have been considered
as in some measure belonging to the same family.

Thus the Gramineex, Labiate, Crucifere, and
Synantheree, have always been kept together
whenever the characters of affinity and mutual
resemblance have not been sacrificed to the prin-
ciples of an artificial system.

Accordingly, when botanists began to bring
together plants into families, that is, into groups
or series of genera, resembling each other in the
greater number of characters, they had only to
imitate nature, which had, as it were, created
types of essentially natural families, as if to
serve as models. Thus the leguminose, cruci-
fere, graminee, umbellifera, labiate, &c., stood
forth to the view as so many examples which
were to be imitated.

But as all plants have not, like those just
182

named, external characters so precise or so de-
cided as at once to disclose their resemblance to
certain others, recourse was had to analysis, and
it became necessary to search in all their organs
for modifications which might furnish char-
acters,

The characters have to be considered with
reference to their value, their number, and their
affinity.

With respect to their value, it will easily be
conceived that the characters derived from the
most essential organs of plants must be less
liable to variation, and more important than
those derived from other organs. Now, those
organs which conduce to reproduction, perform
the most important part in vegetable life, and
among them the embryo, which is in a manner
the common end towards which all the organs
of the plant direct themselves, is that which
occupies the first rank in importance. The
embryo, therefore, has supplied Jussieu with his
primary divisions. The stamina and the pistil
occupy the second rank, and afford more con-
stant and more valuable characters than the
floral envelopes. These characters are the more
fixed and important, that they are derived, not
from the number and structure of these organs,
which are very subject to variation, but from
their relative position, which is fixed. Thus,
next to the embryo, the relative position of the
sexual organs, or their insertion, affords the best
characters for the arrangement of plants. Lastly,

the stems, the leaves, and the roots, are all em-:

ployed as accessory characters.

With respect to their number, the characters
are associated, grouped, and arranged; and, from
the combination of simple characters, result
general characters, which serve to unite a certain
number of plants under a common denomina-
tion.

Some characters are mutually connected, and
seem inseparable from each other. Those which
are derived from the flower and fruit are chiefly
of this kind. Thus for example, the inferior
ovary always implies a monosepalous calyx and
an epigynousinsertion. A monopetalous corolla
almost always indicates that the stamina are in-
serted upon it, and that they have a determinate
number,

From the value and importance which the
different characters possess, it is easy to see that
those least liable to vary ought to have been
employed for the fundamental divisions of the
vegetable kingdom. Thus the embryo has fur-
nished the first three great divisions in plants.
The stamina and the floral envelopes have after-
wards been employed for subdividing the first
three sections, which were established upon the
embryo.

Jussiew’s method is thus explained by Richard:
The plants that occur scattered over the surface

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

of the globe constitute the individuals of the
vegetable kingdom. When we examine them
with attention, we soon perceive that in the
general mass there are numerous individuals,
which always present themselves to our view
under the same appearance, possess the same ex-
ternal and internal characters, and are always
reproduced under the same form. To all these
perfectly similar individuals, considered gene-
rally and abstractly, the name of species is given.
The species, then, is the aggregate of individuals
which are always reproduced in the same man-
ner. A seed produced by any given species al-
ways gives rise to an individual perfectly similar
to that from which it originated. The charac-
ters on which the distinction of the different
species from each other is founded, are generally
derived from the organs of vegetation, that is,
from the leaves, the stem, and the roots. The
species which present some differences with re-
spect to the colour of their flowers, the place in
which they grow, and their relative height, con-
stitute varieties, which are distinguished from
species properly so called, by the circumstance
of their not being, in the natural state, repro-
duced from seeds with all their characters. Thus,
for example, the lilac usually has the flowers of
a delicate purple tint; but its flowers are some-
times white, although none of the other charac-
ters have been altered. The white lilac, then,
is merely a variety of the purple lilac; for if
seeds taken from the white-flowered lilac are
sown, they give rise to individuals whose flowers
are indifferently purple or white; which proves
that varieties are not always preserved by means
of seed.

The genus consists of a greater or less number
of species, united by common characters derived
from the organs of fructification, but all distin-
guished from each other by specific characters
peculiar to each of them, and furnished by the
organs of vegetation. Thus, the genus Anagallis
has for its characters a rotate monopetalous co-
rolla, five stamina, and a pyxidiwm for its fruit,
that is, a globular capsule opening in a circular
manner by a kind of lid. All the species of this
genus must possess these different characters;
but they are distinguished from each other by
the form of their stem and leaves. The other
genera are similarly constituted.

If we bring together the genera in the same
manner as the species; in other words, if we
place near each other all those which have com-
mon and similar characters, we form orders pro-
perly so called, if regard is had only to a single
character, such as the number of the stigmas,
the form of the fruit, &¢.; and natural families
or orders, if we include all the considerations
that relate to the form, the structure, and the
relative disposition of all the organs of the plants
which we are arranging.
SYSTEMS OF BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION.

By a natural order or family of plants must
therefore be meant a series or assemblage of
genera, which all present the same characters in
the organs of fructification.

Thus the family of crucifere is characterized
by a dicotyledonous embryo, a siliquose or sili-
culose fruit, usually four petals opposed to each
other in pairs, stamina in determinate number,
&c, All the genera of that family must present
the same characters, but only with some slight
modifications, which do not alter the primitive
type, but afford distinctive characters for the
genera which collectively constitute the family
in question.

By following a course like this, botanists have
brought together the various species of plants,
so as to form them into groups or natural fami-
lies. But as these families are numerous, it was
necessary to distribute them into classes, in which
regard should be had to the same resemblance
and affinity. It is to this classification of the
families that the name of Jussieu’s Method, or
the system of natural families, has been given.
This system has been divided into fifteen
classes. The primary divisions are derived from
the characters which may be obtained from the
presence or absence of the embryo; whence the
embryonate and inembryonate plants.

The embryonate plants are distinguished ac-
cording to the number of their cotyledons: 1st,
Into monocotyledonous; 2dly, Into dicotyledo-
nous. All vegetables are arranged under these
three primary divisions: acotyledones, monocoty-
ledones, dicotyledones.

The second consideration, or that by which
the classes properly so called are established, is
founded upon the relative insertion of the sta-
mina, or of the staminiferous monopetalous co-
rolla. Now, we have seen that there are three
kinds of insertion:

1. The hypogynous insertion, or that in which
the ovary being entirely free, the stamina or the
staminiferous corolla are inserted close around
its base.

2. The perigynous insertion, or that in which
the ovary being free or parietal, the stamina or
the staminiferous monopetalous corolla are in-
serted into the calyx at a certain distance from
the circumference of the base of the ovary.

3. The epigynous insertion, or that in which
the ovary is always inferior, and in which the
stamina or the staminiferous corolla are inserted
upon the upper part of the ovary.

These three kinds of insertion serve to estab-
lish an equal number of classes.

The acotyledones being destitute of embryos,
and consequently of flowers and fruits, could not
be brought under this division, but constitute
the first class.

The monocotyledones, possessing these three
modes of insertion, have been divided into three

 

183

classes: 1. Monocotyledones, with hypogynous
stamina; 2. Monocotyledones, with perigynous
stamina; 8. Monocotyledones, with epigynous
stamina.

The acotyledones and monocotyledones, there-
fore, form four classes, thus:

Acotyledones, . . . ‘ Class I.
stamina hypogynous, Class II.

Monocotyledones, < stamina perigynous, Class ITT.
stamina epigynous, Class IV.

The dicotyledones being much more numer-
ous than the acotyledones and monocotyledones
together, it was necessary to increase the num-
ber of their divisions. Here the insertion, al-
though still attended to, becomes,a secondary
character. Thus it has been observed, that these
plants are destitute of a corolla or are apetalous,
or that they have a staminiferous monopetalous
corolla, or that their corolla is polypetalous.
These distinctions have given rise to the three
first divisions that have been established among
the dicotyledones, namely :

1, Apetalous dicotyledones.

2. Monopetalous dicotyledones.

8. Polypetalous dicotyledones.

The insertion has been employed as a second-
ary character for subdividing these three sections
into classes. ‘Thus the apetale form three classes,
in which the insertion is epigynous, perigynous,
and hypogynous.

The monopetale, of which the corolla always
bears the stamina, in like manner form three
classes, according as their staminiferous corolla
is hypogynous, perigynous, or epigynous. The
last, or epigynous class of the monopetale, has
been further subdivided, according as the stamina
are free or connected by their anthers, which
carries the number of classes in the monopetalous
corollas to four, namely :

Class I.

stamina hypogynous,
Monopetale, = perigynous, Class Il.

ar : anthers united, Class III.
stamina epig: ynous } Class IV.

anthers free.

These four classes, together with the three
classes of the apetalous dicotyledones, and the
four classes of the monocotyledones and acotyle-
dones, form eleven.

The polypetale have, in like manner, been di-
vided into three classes, according to their mode
of insertion, which is epigynous, perigynous, or
hypogynous.

Lastly, in the fifteenth or last class, are placed
all the dicotyledonous plants, whose flowers are
essentially unisexual, and separated upon distinct,
individuals. They have been named irregular
diclinous plants.

Such are the fifteen classes which M. Jussieu
established in the vegetable kingdom, for the
purpose of methodically arranging the different
184

families of plants, which he had previously
formed,

Each of these classes contains a greater or less
number of natural families, all connected by the
common character which constitutes the class.
The number of these families is not definitively
settled, and indeed cannot be so, as new discoy-
cries, and more accurate observations, by making
known new objects, or demonstrating the differ-
ences which exist between plants previously as-
sociated and confounded, continually augment
the number of families. When M. de Jussieu
published his Genera Plantarum, in 1789, he
described 100 families. We have now upwards
of 160, and the number is still capable of being
increased.

We have thus exhibited a view of the three
great systems of botanical arrangement, and
in such detail as will enable the student of bo-
tany to perceive the relative merits of each.
Undoubtedly the Linnean system is best suited
for a catalogue or dictionary, by which the spe-
cies and families of plants may be recognised and
classified; and for this purpose the system of
Linneus must be familiar to the botanist, and
will ever hold its ground as an admirable con-
trivance to facilitate his progress. In the follow-
ing pages, however, which are intended to con-
vey to the general reader a popular view of the
vegetable kingdom, more especially the practical
and economical history of plants, the natural
method or system of Jussieu will be adhered to,
in so far as he has portioned out the vegetable
kingdom into three great divisions, commencing
with plants of the simplest structure, especially
as regards their fructification, and ascending to
those of a more complicated nature. But al-
though we adopt this arrangement so far, we
shall deviate in some measure in the subdivisions,
and not follow exactly the order of the families
instituted by Jussieu; on the contrary, we shall
rather arrange the plants of each division as they
furnish food, clothing, or other conveniences, to
man, keeping as close, however, to the arrange-
ment of natural families of plants as is consistent
with our plan.

CHAP. XXIV.

FIRST DIVISION OF PLANTS, INCLUDING THE ALG,
FUNGI, LICHENS, MOSSES, AND TERNS,

Tue First Diviston of the vegetable kingdom,
including the acotyledones, or those plants desti-
tute of a seed lobe, corresponds to the class eryp-
togamia of Linneus. It contains all those plants
which are destitute of true organs of generation,
and which are reproduced by means of small
sporules, in their structure and development

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

more resembling the bulbs of some of the true
flowering plants than that of ordinary seeds, Lin-
neus called those plants cryptogamia, because he
imagined their fecundation to be effected by
means of organs which were concealed or little
known. De Candolle, remarking that only one
vegetable structure entered into their composi-
tion, names them cellular plants, in opposition
to the term vascular, which he gives to lowering
plants.

The plants of this division have a simpler struc-
ture than that of the phanerogamous or flowering
plants. Many of them have not the distinction
of root, stem, branches, and leaves, but consist
simply of one mass of a uniform shape and tex-
ture throughout. The division contains the
families of algw, or sea weeds, fungi, or mush-
rooms, lichens, mosses, and ferns.

Atcx. Little interest, comparatively, has been
taken in the alge, because they have been found
less conducive, either as articles of use or beauty,
to the convenience of man. They are not, how-
ever, without their admirers; nor is the investi-
gation of their form and structure devoid of that
interest which all the works of nature are cal-
culated to excite. We find, says Dr Greville, the
vegetation of the ocean no less conspicuous for
beauty and variety of form than splendour of
colour, admirably fitted for the place it is de-
signed to occupy, and of direct utility to man-
kind. Viewing these tribes in the most careless
way, as a system of subaqueous vegetation, or
even in a merely picturesque light, we see the
depths of ocean shadowed with submarine groves,
often of vast extent, intermixed with meadows
as it were of the most lively hues, while the
trunks of the larger species, like the giant trees
of the tropics, are loaded with innumerable mi-
nute kinds as fine as silk, and delicate as the
most transparent membrane. Nor must we for-
get that while thousands and tens of thousands
of quadrupeds, birds, and insects, depend upon
the vegetation immediately surrounding us for
their very existence, a countless host of creatures
derive protection and nourishment from the
plants of the deep, appropriated to their use by
that merciful Power in whom they live, move,
and have their being, whose goodness is over all
his works. Some of the alge, placed, on account
of the simplicity of their structure, at the bot-
tom of the scale, are so small as to be invisible
to the naked eye, except by the appearance they
give to other species on which they happen to
be parasitic in prodigious numbers. From these
microscopic forms, alge are found of all sizes on
our shores, up to thirty or forty feet in length,
an extent to which a common sea weed, like a
rope or cord (chorda filum) not unfrequently
attains. This plant resembles an enormous piece
of catgut, and is in fact known by the name of
sea catgut in Orkney, while in Shetland it goes
FIRST DIVISION OF PLANTS.

by the name of Lucky Minny’s lines, and in Eng-
land of sea dace, see cut, fig.a. Lightfoot mentions

 

a. Sea Catgut, chorda filum; b. Himanthalia Lorea.

that the fronds, skinned when half dry and
twisted, acquire so considerable a degree of
strength and toughness, that the highlanders
sometimes use them for fishing lines. In Scalpa
bay, near Kirkwall in Orkney, says Dr Neill, we
have sailed through meadows of it in a pinnace
not without some difficulty, where the water
was between three and four fathoms deep, and
where of course the waving weeds must at least
have been from twenty to thirty feet long. The
various species of sea tangle, as laminaria digi-
tata and bulbosa, are more robust, the former
having a stalk as thick and as long as a stout
walking stick, and a large flat many-cleft frond
at the summit. It is a social species, grows
erect in the water, and reminds the spectator of
a palm-like tropical forest. The Z. bulbosa has
sometimes so large a head that a single plant is
a3 much as aman can carry. It isin the south-
ern hemisphere, however, that we must look for
the most wonderful examples of marine vegeta-
tion. The lessonia fuscescens, described by
Borey de St Vincent, is twenty-five or thirty
feet high, and has a trunk often as thick as a
man’s thigh, which divides into numerous
branches, each terminated by a lanceolated frond.
The laminaria buccinalis of the Cape of Good
Hope is much larger than our common tangle,
and is furnished with a hollow stem, which the
natives convert into a kind of horn, whence it
has acquired the name of trumpet weed. The
Fucus giganteus of Solander, or kelp, as it grows
on the shores of Terra del Fuego, is thus de-
scribed by Mr Darwin: “This plant grows on
every rock from low water to a great depth, both
on the outer coast and within the channel. I
believe, during the voyages of the Adventurer

 

185

and Beagle, not one rock near the surface wag
discovered which was not buoyed up by this
floating weed. The good service it thus affords
to vessels navigating near this stormy land is
evident, and it certainly has saved many a one
from being wrecked. I know few things more
surprising than to see this plant growing and
flourishing amidst those great breakers of the
western ocean, which no.mass of rock, let it be
ever so hard, can long resist. The stem is round,
shining, and smooth, and seldom has a diameter
of so much as aninch. A few taken together
are sufficiently strong to support the weight of
the large loose stones to which, in the inland
channels, they grow attached; and some of these
stones are so heavy, that when drawn to the sur-
face they can scarcely be lifted into a boat by
one person.” Captain Cook, in his second voy-
age, says, that at Kirguelen land some of thia
weed is of a most enormous length, though the
stem is not much thicker than a man’s thumb.
I have mentioned that on some of the shoals
upon which it grows we did not strike ground
with a line of twenty-four fathoms. The depth
of water, therefore, must have been greater; and
as this weed does not grow in a perpendicular
direction, but makes a very acute angle with the
bottom, and much of it afterwards spreads many
fathoms on the surface of the sea, lam well war-
ranted to say, that some of it grows to the length
of sixty fathoms and upwards. Certainly, at the
Falkland islands, and about Terra del Fuego,
extensive beds frequently spring up from ten
and fifteen fathom water. I do not suppose the
stem of any other plant attains so great a length
as 360 feet, as thus stated by Captain Cook. Its
geographical range is very considerable. It is
found from the extreme southern islets, near
Cape Horn, as far north on the eastern coast as
latitude 43°, and on the western it was tolerably
abundant, but far from luxuriant at Chiloe in
latitude 42°; thus having a range of 15° of lati-
tude. The number of living creatures of all or-
ders whose existence intimately depends on the
kelp is wonderful. I can only compare these
great aquatic forests of the southern hemisphere
with the terrestrial ones in the intertropical re-
gions. Yet if the latter should be destroyed in
any country, I do not believe nearly so many
species of animals would perish as under similar
circumstances would happen with the kelp. In-
dependent of the numerous zoophytes, amidst
the leaves of this plant many species of fish live
which no where else would find food or shelter.
With their destruction the many cormorants,
divers, and other fishing birds, the otters, seals,
and porpoises, would soon perish also; and
lastly, the Fuegian savage, the miserable lord of
this miserable land, would redouble his cannibal
feast, decrease in numbers, and perhaps cease to

exist.
2a
186

The Jongest, perhaps of all known alge, though
at the same time comparatively slender, are the
macrocystes. This appears to be the sea weed
reported by navigators to be from 500 to 1500
feet in length. The leaves are long and narrow,
and at the base of each is placed a vesicle filled
with air, without which it would be impossible
for the plant to support its enormous length in
the water, the stem being not thicker than the
finger, and the upper branches as slender as pack
thread. All those alge destined to resist the
force and agitation of stormy seas, have roots pe-
culiarly adapted to take the firmest hold of the
rocks, which they grapple by means of tough
and thick fibres. Other species of shorter dura-
tion, or presenting less surface to be acted on by
the waves, are generally fixed by asimple shield-
like base or disk.

Man, who has been humorously defined to be
a cooking animal, not content with the tribute
of fish rendered to him by the ocean, converts
many of her vegetable productions into articles
of diet. The dulse of the Scotch (rhodomenia
palmata), dillesh of the Irish, and saccharine
Fucus of the Icelanders, is consumed in consider-
able quantities throughout the maritime coun-
tries of the north of Europe, and in the Grecian
Archipelago. Another species, nearly similar,
the iridea edulis, is still occasionally used both
in Scotland and England. The thin purple and
green membranous slake, or laver (porphyra la-
ciniata_), is stewed, and brought to our tables as
aluxury. The pepper dulse (laurentia pinna-
téfida_), distinguished for its pungent taste, and
the young stalks of the sea tangle, were of old
often eaten in Scotland; and even yet, though
rarely, the old cry, “ Buy dulse and tangle,” may
be heard in the streets of Edinburgh. When
stripped of the thin part, the beautiful tangle,
called in Scotland badderlocks (alaria esculenta),
forms a part of the simple fare of the poorer
classes of Ireland and Scotland, Iceland, Den-
mark, and the Faroe islands. The Lrish moss,
as it is erroneously called, the chondrus crispus,
very common on the Scottish and Irish coast,
may, by boiling, be converted into a tenacious
glue, or, boiled with milk and sugar, and al-
lowed to cool, it forms a light and nutritious
blanc-mange.

To go farther from home, we find the large
sea tangle, laminaria potatorum, of Australia fur-
nishing the aborigines with a proportion of their
instruments, vessels, and food, while other spe-
cies of the same family constitute an equally im-
portant resource to the poor on the west coast of
South America. In Asia several species of gele-
dium ave made use of to render more palatable
the hot and biting condiments of the East. Some
undetermined species of this family also furnish
the materials of which the celebrated edible swal-
lows’ nests are composed. It is remarked by

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Lamouroux, that three species of swallows con-
struct edible nests, two of which build at a dis-
tance from the sea coast, and use the sea weed
only as a cement for other matters. The nests
of the third are consequently most esteemed, and
they sell for nearly their weight in gold. Gra-
celaria achenoides is highly valued for food in
Ceylon and other parts of the coast, and bears a
great resemblance to gracelarta compressa, a spe-
cies recently discovered on the British coast, and
which seems to be little inferior to it.

It is not to man alone that these marine vege-
tables have furnished luxuries or resources in
times of scarcity. Several species are greedily
sought after by cattle, especially in the north
of Europe. One species, rhodomenia palnata,
is so great a favourite with sheep and goats, that
Bishop Gunner named it fucus ovinus. In some
of the Scottish islands horses, cattle, and sheep,
feed principally on bladder fucus during the
winter months; and in Gcthland it is commonly
given to pigs: other common species constitute
a part of the fodder upon which the cattle are
supported in Norway.

The alge are also of service in medicine. The
Corsican moss, as it is frequently called, is a na-
tive of the Mediterranean, and was at one time
esteemed asa vermifuge. The most important
medical use, however, derived from sea weeds,
is their affording iodine, which may be obtained
either from the plants directly, or after they
have been converted into kelp. French kelp,
according to Sir H. Davy, yields more iodine
than British; and from some recent experiments
made at the Cape of Good Hope, laminaria
buccinalis is found to contain more than any
European alge. Iodine is known to bea power-
ful remedy in glandular swellings of a scrofu-
lous nature, as also in cases of gottre, or swelling
of the glands of the neck. The burnt sponge
formerly administered in similar cases, most
probably owed its efficacy to the iodine it con-
tained; and it is also a very curious fact, that
the stems of a sea weed are sold in the shops
and chewed by the inhabitants of South America
wherever goitre is prevalent, for the purpose of
cure. This remedy is termed by them polo coto,
literally goitre stick.

The alge are also of essential service in the
arts, and probably farther experience will daily
render them more so. A Chinese sea weed, the
fucus tenax, is extensively used by that people
as a glue and varnish. Though a small plant,
the quantity annually imported at Canton from
the provinces of Fokien and Tchekiang is stated
hy Mr Turner to be about 27,000 Ibs. It is sold
at Canton for 6d. or 8d. per lb.; and is used for
all those purposes for which we apply glue and
gum Arabic. The Chinese employ it chiefly in
the manufacture of lanthrons, to strengthen or
varnish the paper; and sometime to thicken or
FIRST DIVISION OF PLANTS.

give a gloss to gauze or silk. It seems probable
also that this is the principal ingredient in the
celebrated gummy matter called chin-chou, or
hai-tsai, in China and Japan. Windows made
merely of slips of bamboo crossed diagonally,
have frequently thin lozen-shaped interstices,
wholly filled with this transparent gluten.

But it isin the manufacture of kelp, for the use
of the glass maker and soap boiler, that the alge
take their place among the most useful vegeta-
bles. Almost all the common sea weeds may
be used for the manufacture of this substance;
but the most valued for this purpose are the
fuci, generally known under the name of blad-
der kelp. The fucus vesiculosus, nodosus, and
serratus.

  

a, Fue vesiculosus; 4. Laminaria.

The different kinds of sea tangle are the Jam-
inaria digitata, and bulbosa, himanthalia lorea,
and chorda filum,

The manufacture of kelp is an exceedingly
simple process. The sea weed is cut from the
rocks, and allowed to dry partially by spreading
it on the beach. It is then taken to a simple
kiln formed by a hole dug a few feet in the
sand, and surrounded with rude stones, and ig-
nited; as the dry sea weed gradually consumes,
more is added, until ‘the bottom of the kiln is
filled with the ashes or kelp, which is a dark
brown fursed-like substance of a half glassy as-
pect, consisting of soda mixed with many im-
purities. This manufacture was introduced into
Scotland and its islands nearly half a century
after it had been established in France and
England. The first cargo exported from Orkney
was in the year 1722. The employment, how-
ever, being new to the inhabitants, the country
people opposed it with the utmost vehemence.
Their forefathers had never thought of making
kelp, and it would appear that they themselves
had no wish to render their posterity wiser in
this matter. So unanimous and violent was the
resistance, that officers of justice were found
necessary to protect the individuals employed
in the work; and several trials were the conse-
quence of those outrages. It was gravely pleaded
in a court of law, on the part of the defendants,
that the suffocating smoke that issued from the

 

187

kelp kilns would sicken or kill every species of
fish on the coast, or drive them into the ocean
far beyond the reach of the fishermen; blast the
corn and grass on their farms; introduce diseases
of various kinds; and smite with barrenness their
sheep, horses, and cattle, and even their own
families,—a striking instance of the gross preju-
dice, indolence, and superstition of the simple
people of Orkney in those days. The influen-
tial individuals who had commenced the manu-
facture, succeeded at last in establishing it; and
the benefits which accrued to the community
soon wrought a change in the public feeling.
The value of estates possessing a sea coast well
stocked with sea weed, rose so much in value,
that where the plants did not grow naturally,
attempts were made, and not without success,
to cultivate them by covering the sandy bays
with large stones. By this method a crop of
sea weed has been obtained in about three years,
the sea appearing to abound every where with
the necessary seeds. During the years 1790 to
1800, the annual quantity sometimes made was
3000 tons; and as the price was then from £9 to
£10 per ton, the manufacture brought into the
place nearly £30,000 Sterling in one season.
During the eighty years subsequent to its intro-
duction, the total value amounted to £595,000

-| Sterling. Thus in the space of eighty years the

proprietors of those islands, whose land rent did
not exceed £8000 a year, had, together with their
tenants and servants, received in addition to their
incomes the enormous sum of more than half a
million, In the Hebrides also, kelp is extensively
manufactured. “The inhabitants of Canna,”
says Dr E, D, Clarkein 1797, “like those of the
neighbouring islands, are chiefly occupied in the
manufacture of kelp; cattle and kelp constitute,
in fact, the chief objects of commerce with them.
The first toast usually given on all festive occa-
sions is ahigh price to kelp and cattle. In this
every islander is interested, and it is always
drank with evident symptoms of sincerity. The
discovery of manufacturing kelp has affected a
great change among the people, whether for their
advantage or not, is a question not yet decided.
I was informed in Canna that, if kelps keep its
present price, Macdonald of Clanronald will
make £6,000 Sterling, and Lord Macdonald no
less than £10,000.”

During the course of the late war kelp
rose to £18, £20, and even £22 per ton, in
consequence of the interruption to the impor-
tation of barilla, and the profits upon it dur-
ing that period were enormous. The price has
subsequently fallen by degrees to £5 per ton,
and the sale has latterly been heavy even at that
rate. This was to be attributed at first to the
superior qualities of the Spanish bardl/a, for the
purposes of glass making and soap boiling; but
tore recently to the almost entire removal of
{88

the duty on muriate of soda or common salt.
The rock salt of Cheshire, which now bears an
insignificant price, is submitted to a chemical
process, by means of which the soda is separated
fvom the muriatic acid; and this is found to answer
so completely as a substitute for kelp, that the
great glass manufacturers of Newcastle are sup-
plied with soda thus prepared. So pernicious,
however, are the fumes of the muriatic acid gas
which issue from the soda works, that vegetation
is destroyed to a considerable distance; and the
proprietors have been compelled to purchase the
ground in the immediate neighbourhood.

The number of people that find occupation in
the manufacture of kelp is so great, that a per-
manent interruption to the trade would be a
serious evil. In the Orkney islands alone, the
number of hands employed a few years ago
amounted to probably 20,000; for all the rural
population is more or less employed in the busi-
ness during the kelp season. Such being the
case, it is gratifying to find that the Highland
society have instituted inquiries regarding the
qualities of kelpas a manure. It has long been
known that common sea ware is extremely val-
uable for that purpose; and if the success which
has attended the experiments already made with
kelp, be confirmed by additional observation,
the manufacture may still be regarded as an im-
portant article of domestic commerce.

It appears from communications made to the
highland society, that the past success has been
such as to induce Lord Dundas to take a cargo
of fifty tons of kelp to Yorkshire, for the sole
purpose of agricultural experiments. It has
been tried as a top dressing, and singly, or in
combination with other manures, on corn, pas-
ture, potatoes, turnips, &c., and in most instances
with decided good effect. The committee ap-
pointed to collect the result of the experiments,
are inclined to think that, for raising green crops
it would be better to compost it with other sub-
stances; that with good earth or moss, and a little
vegetable or animal manure, a few tons of kelp
would enable a farmer to extend his farm dung
over at least four times the usual quantity of
land. A very curious circumstance is mentioned
by Mr M‘Intosh, who tried the effects of kelp
manure on potatoes, at Crossbasket near Glas-
gow. A severe frost which occurred in Sep-
tember injured and blackened every lot of po-
tatoes to which the kelp had not been applied,
while the kelp lots remained in perfect foliage,
even when the respective drills were contiguous.
It would appear that the soil for the time being
had acquired a property equivalent to a certain
degree of atmospheric temperature; or rather
that the nourishment absorbed by the plants
under such circumstances, had enabled them to
resist a degree of cold that would otherwise
have destroyed them,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The alge grow very rapidly, and the pro-
duce is far less exposed to casualities than the
crops of the agriculturist in so precarious a
climate as that of the Hebrides and Orkney
islands. While in some places the sea weed is
cut only every third year, in others, especially
where there are strong currents, an annual har-
vest may be obtained without injury. The ra-
pidity of growth in the larger alge, is indeed
wonderful. When Mr Stevenson the engineer
was erecting a lighthouse on the Carr rock, in
the Firth of Forth, which rock is about sixty
feet long and twenty broad, and only uncovered
at low water, he had occasion to remark the
quick renewal of the sea tangle with which it
was covered. In the course of the autumn of
1813 the workmen had succeeded in clearing out
and levelling with the pick and axe a consider-
able part of the foundation of the intended bea-
con, when, in the beginning of November, the
operations were necessarily abandoned for the
winter. At this time the rock was reduced to
a bare state; the coating of sea weed had at first
been cut away by the workmen; the roots or
bases were afterwards trampled by their feet;
and much of the surface of the rock had been
chiselled. Upon returning to the Carr, in May
1814, in order to recommence operations, it was
matter of no slight surprise to find the surface
again as completely invested with large sea
weeds as ever it was; although little more
than six months had elapsed since the work had
been left off, when, as already said, the rock had
been cleared of weeds. In particular, it was
observed that many new produced specimens of
fucus esculentus measured six feet in length, and
were already furnished with the small appen-
dages near the base or pinne, which, at maturity,
contain the seeds of the plants. The common
tangle was generally only about two feet long.
It may be observed that the specimens here al-
uded to, were taken from that part of the sur-
face of the work which had been dressed off with
the pick and chisel the preceding autumn; they
had therefore grown from the seed.

Every zone of the earth presents a peculiar sys-
tem of existence; and it is said that after a space
of 24° of latitude, a nearly total change is ob-
served in the species of organized beings, and
that this change is chiefly owing to the influence
of the sun. Lamouroux remarks, that if this
holds good, as is certainly the case in phceno-
gamous plants, temperature should also exert
some corresponding influence upon marine vege-
tation. It is beyond doubt that the alge are
found upon the British coasts in greatest abun-
dance during the summer months, and in un-
usual luxuriance during hot seasons. It is pro-
bable also, the same author observes, that these
plants may be acted on by the temperature of
the water at greater or less depths; and that those
FIRST DIVISION OF PLANTS.

species which grow at the bottom of the ocean,
may have some resemblance to those of the polar
circle. On the shores of the British islands, it
is easy to perceive that certain species become
more plentiful and luxuriant as we travel from
north to south; and on the other hand, that
several others occur more frequently, and in a
finer state, as we approach the north; while
others again possess too extended a range to be
influenced by any change of temperature between
the northern boundary of Scotland and the
south-western point of England. The researches
and observations of Lamouroux have demon-
strated satisfactorily that the great groups of
alge do affect particular temperatures or zones
of latitude, though some genera may be termed
cosmopolite. Thus the genus codiwm, a small
greenish coloured and branched alge, and the
family Ulvacee, which consist of extremely
thin, transparent, and purplish membranes, are
scattered over every part of the world. Codium
tomentosum is found in the Atlantic, from the
shores of England and Scotland to the Cape of
Good Hope in the Pacific; from Nootka Sound
to the southern coast of New Holland. It abounds
in the Mediterranean, on the shores of France,
Spain, and Africa, and is common in the Adri-
atic; more recently it has also been brought from
the coasts of Chili and Peru. This plant, how-
ever, is not a social one, to make use of a term
that Humboldt has applied to some pheenogam-
ous plants. It grows even in the same locality,
in asolitary and scattered manner. The ulvacee,
on the contrary, are strictly social, and preserve
this character in every part of the world. They
appear, however, to attain the greatest perfection
in the polar and temperate zones. That they
are capable of sustaining very intense cold, is
proved by the fact that five specimens of them
were picked up in high latitudes of the Arctic
ocean, by some of the gentlemen in Captain
Parry’s voyages. The Fucoidew, comprehend-
ing the sea tangles, increase as we leave the polar
zone, especially in the variety of species. But
the natural groups into which they are separated,
are strongly marked in their distribution. The
Juct flourish between the latitudes 55° and 44°;
and according to Lamouroux, are rarely seen
nearer to the equator than 36°. In New Hol-
land, remarkable alike for its vegetable and ani-
mal productions, a distinct group of cystoseire
predominates, as remarkable in the water as the
aphyllous acacie are on land. ‘heir stems are
compressed, often appearing jointed: the branches
spring from the flat side and not from the angles.
The Red sea is full of another family, sargassa,
of which several species, consisting of small
branched and dark olive green plants, are
common on our British shores. It is principally
to one or two species of this family that the
popular name of gulf weed is applied by marin-

 

189

ers. The prodigious accumulations of these
plants were first encountered by the early Por-
tuguese navigators. Columbus compares them
to extensive inundated meadows, and states,
that they absolutely retarded the progress of his
vessels, and threw the sailors into consternation.
Such accumulations occur on each side of the
equator, in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian
oceans; but the sea particularly denominated
Mer do Sargasso, by the Portuguese, stretches
between the 18th and 22d parallels of north lati-
tude, and the 25th and 40th meridians of west
longitude. Humboldt describes the two banks
of sea weed that occur in the great basin of the
northern Atlantic ocean. “The most extensive
is a little west of the meridian of Fayal, one of
the Azores, between latitude 25° and 36°. Vessels
returning to Europe, either from Monte Video
or the Cape of Good Hope, cross the bank nearly
at an equal distance from the Antilles and Can-
aries. The other occupies a much smaller space,
between 22° and 26°, eighty leagues west of the
meridian of the Bahama islands. It is generally
traversed by vessels on the passage from the
Caicos to the Bermudas.” ‘That these plants are
produced within the tropics, there can hardly
be a question; but at what depth they vegetate
is still involved in obscurity. Neither is it
clearly ascertained why the banks of weed should
always occur in the same places. The supposi-
tion that they proceed with the gulf stream,
from the gulf of Mexico, whence the name of
gulf weed, is now exploded. It is evident that
the gulf stream would convey them rather to
the banks of Newfoundland than to the latitudes
in which they usually occur; and it could not,
in any case, accumulate them to the south of
the Azores.

Some of the alge prefer the southern sides
of rocks; others affect an eastern, western, or
northern exposure; but they change their posi-
tion according to the difference of latitude, those
which are found on the southern side, in cold
climates, being generally seen on the northern
in the warmer and temperate regions. Certain
species live near the surface, and close to the
sea beach; others at various degrees of depth.
The first would seem to enjoy the regular ex-
posure to light and heat which they experience
during the turnings of the tide: the second, on
the contrary, show the influence of the atmos-
phere; and growing and fructifying in depths
where the light can scarcely ever penetrate, they
bear, without receiving any injury, both the enor-
mous column of water which constantly presses
upon them, and the severe cold which exists in
those regions. There are even parasitical alge
which grow indifferently upon all the others, and
some which only affect peculiar species. Many
sea weeds prefer such spots as are exposed to the
fury of the waves, and the action of the current,
190

where they are perpetually floating in an agi-
tated medium; others dwell in the hollows of
tock, or in the marine gulfs, where the water is
generally calm. The lapse of a few days puts a
period to the existence of some kinds, while the
tempests of successive winters fail to destroy
others. The general aspect is apt to change in
several individuals, so that were it not for more
stable characters derivable from their fructifica-
tion and texture, they might be mistaken for
new species. A number of the more delicate
marine plants are quickly destroyed by a re-
moval from their native place of growth; but
the greater proportion being coriaceous, and in-
soluble in salt water, live for a length of time
in different situations; and it is not uncommon
to find upon our own shores the alge of the
most distant regions which have traversed the
ocean, and yet remain unchanged in their general
appearance. From these circumstances it bears
a necessary inference, that it is not all the alge
that are found in any country which may be
said to belong to that country.

But there are few kinds of sea weed that pre-
fer any particular spot, or show a predilection
of one substance over another whereon to fix.
Deriving no nutriment from the roots or points
of attachment, they need nothing farther than
a temporary support. Thus they cling indis-
criminately to any solid marine body, equally
to pranitic and calcareous rocks, to floating or
sunken pieces of wood, to the bones of terres-
trial or marine animals, to shells or polypi.
Notwithstanding that very highly respectable
naturalists have averred that the growth of these
plants proceeds with most vigour on such and
such substances, on some or other peculiar rock
in the vicinity of rivers, or in the open sea, it
has been fully ascertained, says Dr Hooker, hy
a great number of observations, that marine
weeds do grow with equal vigour, though planted
upon rocks or substances of very different na-
tures; and that, if we except some few ulve,
which affect brackish water, those which vege-
tate in situations where fresh water mingles with
the salt, are generally bleached, produce little or
no fructification, have a thin and weak texture,
and contain but little soda. The qualities re-
quisite for their different uses are only found
united in such sea weeds as grow in pure salt,
water, where they have found a spot which is
sufficiently tenaceous to fix them in that zone
of habitation which they prefer. Some kinds
certainly prefer sand or mud; but then their
roots become elongated and strike deep, till they
meet with some stone or shell, or other body,
which may serve them asa point of attachment,
and offer the requisite degree of resistance.

If the nature of the bottom appears indifferent
in a great measure, to marine plants, it is not so
with the level which they select in the ocean,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

or with the distance of their birth place from
the surface. Every species of maritime vege-
tables appears to make choice to as great an ex-
tent as the terrestrial kinds of certain zones or
regions of different depths in the sea; places
where the superincumbent weight of water, and
the relative proportions of light and heat, are
adapted to its peculiar organs. ‘Those individuals
which are found towards the centre of their
proper zone, contain all the elements requisite
for their perfect development, and generally show
an active state of vegetation: they are vigorous;
they fructify at the scason suitable to their de-
gree of immersion; while those that grow at the
extreme limit, or out of the bounds of this same
zone, prove languishing, fructify imperfectly,
are always covered with marine animals, which
destroy them, and live but a short time in com-
parison with their better situated congeners
The seeds which escape from these plants would
appear by their various specific weights to gain
an equilibrium equivalent to the column of
water which they displace; or, in other words,
to float in that peculiar zone which the future
alge would prefer to inhabit. Those which be-
come developed either above or below it, are
inevitably driven from their spot of nature or
of election, by the agitation in the waves at the
vicinity of the coasts.

Lower down than 100 feet from the surface
of the sea, taking a medium between the high
and the low tides, it is rare to find living sea
weeds in the gulf of Gascony, and even these
are attached to portions of rock severed from
more elevated rocks, and before long they inevi-
tably perish. It may be observed that the deeper
we explore the waters of the ocean, the fewer
will the number of plants appear; and the more
numerous the polypi, or plant-like animals.
Thus, below the depth of forty feet very few
ulve are found; beyond sixty feet no living
cermium, and after having descended to the depth
of 100 feet, not a fucus is to be seen, and vege-
table objects entirely disappear.

The laminarie, among which are the giants
of the marine flora, exhibit, in a general view,
a tolerably decided geographical distribution.
This family predominates from the 40th° to the
65th° of latitude; while ancther family, the
macrocystes, seem to extend from the equator to
about the 45th° of south latitude.

The laminaria digitata is the well known
tangle so abundant on the British coasts. The
stem is from one to six feet in length, and from
a half to two inches in diameter; solid, very
tough, and in old plants woody, expanding at
the top into a flat frond, one to five feet or more
in length, and about nine to twelve inches in
width. In England it is known by the name
of sea girdles. In Scotland, where the tender
stalks of the young fronds are eaten, it is called
FIRST DIVISION OF PLANTS.

tangle; in Orkney it is known as red ware, and
is the stat-mhara, or sea weed of the Scotch
highlanders. Bishop Gunner mentions, that the
fronds and stems of young plants are boiled and
given to the cattle in Nordland. On many parts
of the British coast it is collected ‘and thrown
in heaps, and in a putrescent state, extensively
used as a manure. The dried stalks serve the
inhabitants of the Orkney islands and the coast
of Brittany for fuel. In Scotland, says Dr Neil,
the stems are sometimes put to rather an unex-
pected use, the making of knife handles. A
pretty thick stem is selected and cut into pieces
about four inches long; into these, while fresh,
are stuck blades of knives, such as gardeners use
for pruning and grafting. As thie stem dries it
contracts and hardens, closely and firmly em-
bracing the hilt of the blade. In the course of
some months the handles become quite firm, and
very hard and shrivelled, so that when tipt with
metal, they are hardly to be distinguished from
hart’s horn,

The laminaria esculenta is the badderlock or
hen-ware of Scotland, and the honey-ware of
Orkney. The stem is about the thickness of a
goose quill, from four to eight inches long; from
this stem proceeds the frond, extending from
three to twenty feet in length; a continuation of
the stem forms the midrib, and on each side is
a thin membfane from two to four inches in
width. The midrib of the stem is eaten in the
same way as the sea tangle; and this species is
also employed as a manure.

Padina pavonia. Many of the alge are of a

 

very beautiful structure, few, perhaps, more so
than this plant. The whole is beautifully marked
with concentric zones, and when growing in the
water, it decomposes the sun’s rays, so as to as-
sume an iridescent appearance.

The species represented in the Plate of Alge
are:

i i Fucus vesiculosus

8. Fucus digitatus
4, Laminaria esculenta
5. debilis
6. Himanthalia lorea
7. Halidrys siliquosa
8.

Lichinia corfinis

 

191

9. Lichinia pygruga
10. Sargassum
11. Halyseris polypodioides :
12. Halymenia ligulata
13, Enteromorpha compressa
14, Odonthalia dentata
15. Phyllophera rubens
16. Padina payonia
17. Desmarestia ligulata
18. Dictyota
19. Dietyota dichotoma
20. Fustellaria
21, Chondrus crispus

Funer are extremely variable in their form,
consistence, and colour. They are fleshy or corky
bodies, having sometimes a form which may be
compared to that of an umbrella; in other words,
composed of a pileus or head, which is generally
convex, and is furnished beneath with perpen-
dicular lamine or gills, a central or lateral stalk,
at the top of which is a circular membrane or
annulus, which stretches along the circumfer-
ence of the pileus. The whole mushroom is
sometimes covered, previous to its development,
by a kind of membranous bag, complete or in-
complete, which is named the volva; at other
times they are globular, ovoidal, or elongated
masses, cup-shaped bodies, simple or articulated
filaments, coralliform trunks, or bodies irregu-
larly branched in the manner of coral, and of
extremely variable colours, sometimes presenting
the most lively tints; but their internal tissue,
which consists of irregular cells, is never green.
The sporules, or reproductive parts, are some-
times naked, sometimes inclosed in a kind of
small capsules named thece. They are either
seattered at the surface of the fungus, or enve-
loped in a peridium or receptacle, which is fleshy,
membranous, or hard and woody. They are in
general parasitical plants, which grow either on
other vegetables still living, or in organic sub-
stances in a state of putridity, at the surface, or
in the interior of the ground. They are, for the
most part, of extremely quick growth, and their
duration is often as fugitive; but some, as the
boletus, vegetate slowly, and for several succes-
sive years. A very small number of species grow
in water.

The fungi form several natural groups, which

some authors consider as distinct families. These
‘groups are the following:
_ 1, Funet or mushrooms properly so called:
fleshy, corky, or woody plants, having the spo-
rules placed in capsules, which form collectively
a membrane, variously folded, and covering the
surface of the fungus in whole or in part, as
agaricus, boletus, merulius, morchella, clavaria.

2. The Lycoprrpaces are formed of a fleshy
or membranous peridium, at first closed, but af-
terwards opening and containing naked sporules,
without capsules, and escaping from the peri-
dium or receptacle under the form of powder,
192

such as lycoperdon, geastrum, stemonitis, desmo-
dium.

8. The Hypoxyirz, which have the appear-
ance of tubercles or conceptacles, of very diver-
sified forms, opening by a fissure or pore, and
containing, in a kind of gelatinous pulp, small
capsules (thecw_) full of sporules, as hysterium,
spheria, erysiphe.

4. The Mucepinex.— Branched filaments
crossing each other, and bearing sporules desti-
tute of capsules, such as all the species of mucor,
and the numerous genera into which they have
been formed.

5. The Urepinra.—The sporules are con-
tained in capsules, which are either free, or placed
without order upon the surface of a filamentous
or pulverulent basis, as the wredo.

The family of fungi is distinguished from those
of the alge and lichens by the absence of any
kind of frond or crust bearing the organs of fruc-
tification.

The fungi have in general the characteristics
of vegetable bodies, yet, when analyzed, they
yield the same products as animal matter, among
the rest nitrogen, and in a state of putrefaction,
give out a similar odour. Ammonia, the phos-
phoric salts, and albumen, very analogous to that
of animals, are found in the fungi. It might be
supposed that such substances are highly nutri-
tious; this, however, is not the case, as they are
among the mast indigestible matters of food.
Most of them are of a highly poisonous nature ;
and even those kinds which, in particular situa-
tions, are harmless, become poisonous by a change
of soil. They differ from many noxious vegeta-
bles in this, that their poison cannot be separated
by boiling, or even by distillation, which has
been proved by the experiments of Parmentier.
The fungi thrive best in the decomposing mass
of vegetable bodies. Their seeds are exceedingly
minute, and not easily detected even by the aid
of the microscope, and therefore may be present
in almost every organic product, in the vessels,
fluids, and solid parts of both plants and animals.
We have already alluded to the minute fungi
in bread and fruits, constituting what is com-
monly called blue mould (page 5). These arise
from innumerable minute seeds floating about in
the atmosphere, or even carried along with the
circulating fluids of plants or animals. The in-
stant vitality ceases in them, the seeds of the
fungi come into action. Accordingly, many
species are most abundant in autumn, in rank
and shady places, and in rainy weather, when
decayed plants and insects may be presumed
most to abound.

This class of plants is still very imperfectly
understood, and the phenomena attendant on
their mode of growth cannot be very well ex-
plained. Thus, as already remarked, locality
has a marked influence on the nature of their

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

juices, for it has been found, by fatal experience,
that some species which are perfectly harmless
when raised in open meadows and pasture lands,
become virulently poisonous when they grow in
contact with stagnant water, or putrescent ani-
mal and vegetable substances. What the poison
in fungi may be, has not yet been accurately as-
certained. Some of the doleti, which have the
under sides of the caps formed of tubes instead
of gills, yield even spontaneously crystals of
oxalic acid, and others, as the champignon, are
supposed to contain prussic acid. The nutritive
part seems to reside in the fungin, and the poison
and flavour in the acid, or at least in the juices
of which the acid formsa part. Fungin is white,
soft, and insipid. When burnt it smells like
bread, and by distillation it yields a brown oil,
water, ammonia, and charcoal. The charcoal
contains phosphate of lime, some silica, with
traces of phosphate of alumina, carbonate of
lime, and sulphuretted hydrogen. Fungin, ob-
tained from whatever species of fungi, has all
these characteristics. This composition shows
that it combines the nature of vegetable and of
animal matter; and when it is allowed to pu-
trefy in water, it has first the odour of putrefy-
ing vegetable gluten, and then that of a putrid
animal substance. Boletic acid crystallizes in
the form of irregular white prisms, does not
alter when exposed to the air, is soluble in 4
times its weight of alcohol, and 80 times its
weight of water, at the temperature of 68°. Its
taste is somewhat similar to that of cream of tar-
tar. The propagation and growth of the fungi
are among the most curious subjects in the eco-
nomy of nature. Their seeds or germs, too mi-
nute in general to be injured by any mechanical
means, and having the power of resisting any
common chemical process, remain in the earth,
or in the vegetable substances, for an unlimited
period of time; and they pass through the di-
gestive organs of animals, or endure the action
of heat, without sustaining the smallest injury.
This is exemplified in paste made of flour, which
produces mould or a species of fungi, as indeed
does almost every vegetable and animal sub-
stance when it arrives at a certain stage of de-
cay; and this development is only prevented by
the action of the more active metallic salts. The
fungi themselves, when they decay, are, as well
as extraneous substances, subject in their turn
to the attacks of other fungi. Montagu men-
tions a case in which the membrane that sepa-
rates the lungs of an animal from the rest of the
intestines, were covered with blue mould, even
before death; but the membrane itself was dis-
eased, and the surface dead. Minute fungi have
been found growing from the bodies of living
flies.

The quick growth of fungi is as wonderful as
the length of time they survive, and the nume-
FIRST DIVISION OF PLANTS.

rous dangers which they will resist while they
continue in the dormant state. To spring up
“like a mushroom in a night,” is a scriptural
mode of expressing celerity, which accords won-
derfully with observation. My Sowerby re-
marks, “I have often placed specimens of the
phallus caninus by a window over night, while
in the egg-form, and they have been fully grown
by the morning ;” while he adds, “ they have
never grown with me in the day time.” From
this and other analogous experiments it is not
too wild a speculation to suppose, that if placed
in the requisite cireumstances as regards tempera-
ture, moisture, and absence of light, the whole
earth would speedily be overrun with fungi.
These substances sometimes grow in a singular
manner, a remarkable instance of which is fur-
nished in the fairy rings, which are found chiefly
upon dry downs, and which are circles perfectly
regular when the surface is uniform ; but vanish-
ing when they come to gravel or marsh. On
these rings an innumerable array of fangi spring
up in the latter end of summer. ‘When the
fungi are in progress the grass withers, and the
ring has the appearance of having been trodden
by invisible feet; hence its name. The distinc-
tion is however only temporary, for by the time
that the rest of the grass is withered, that in the
fairy path becomes green and vigorous, and a
new circle is formed next season immediately
outside. When two rings meet they do not cross
each other, but unite, and gradually become an
oval; but ifa circle be interrupted by any small
obstacle, such as a tree or a stone, it will: unite
again on the other side. These rings are formed
by various species of mushrooms, and also by
some of the Zycoperdons, or puff balls; but the
cause of the circular formation has not been satis-
factorily explained. It would seem that the
ground which has produced one crop of fungi is
not immediately fit for the production of another,
and thus the annual sowing is outwards. Italso
appears that the decayed matter of the fungi is
favourable to the grass by which it is succeeded.
' The kinds of fungi which are used as articles
of diet in Britain are the truffle, the morel, and
some species of mushroom; but in other coun-
tries, and especially in Russia, most species are
eaten, even those which in Britain are the most
deleterious, or at least the most acrid.

The Truffle (tuber cibarium), is found grow-
ing in clusters, some inches under the surface of
the ground, in a soil which is composed of clay
and sand. It is nearly spherical, and without
any visible root, of a dark colour, approaching
to black, and studded over with pyramidal tu-
bercles. The internal part is firm, and grained
with serpentine lines. Its colour is white when
young; but becomes black from age. Natural-
ists who have examined its structure with mi-
croscopie attention, affirm that minute oval cap-

 

198

sules, each containing from three to four seeds,
are embedded in its substance. Truffles are na-
tives of the woods both of Scotland and England ;
but they are not produced in the same abun-
dance, nor do they attain to equal perfection,
with those which grow in some parts of the con-
tinent, and especially in Italy. When of more
than three or four ounces in weight, they are
considered large for the production of this coun-
try; but it is said that in Italy some are occa-
sionally found weighing from eight to fourteen
pounds. Since there is no appearance to indi-
cate the particular spot where the truffles lie
concealed, man calls the sagacious dog to assist
him in his search after these subterranean deli-
cacies. With much pains this animal has been
trained to discover them by the scent; if success-
ful, he barks and scratches the ground, when the
gatherer follows and digs up the object of his
pursuit. Truffles are used, like mushrooms, as
an ingredient in ccrtain high-seasoned dishes.
They are esteemed the best of the fungi; but are
confined in their locality, and have not hitherto
been distributed by artificial culture. They are
common in the downs of Wiltshire, Hampshire,
and Kent.

The Morel (phallus esculentus_), see Plate IIT.
fig. 8, is a spheroid, hollow within, reticulated
with irregular sinuses on the surface, and of a
yellowish colour, standing on a smooth white
stalk, the whole rising to the height of about
four inches. The substance when recent is wax-
like and friable. It is used in the same manner
as truffles, and when gathered dry, will keen for
several months. The morel is a native of Bri-
tain, growing in damp woods and moist pastures,
and coming to perfection in May or June. Gle-
ditch mentions, that in some woods in Germany
this fungus had been found in the greatest per-
fection in those parts where charcoal had been
made. Acting upon this hint, the morel gath-
erers were accustomed to make fires in certain
spots in the thicket; but these were sometimes
attended with such serious consequences, that
the magistrates found it necessary to interfere
and forbid the practice. The morel is not, like
the mushroom, made an object of culture; but
Lightfoot says that he has raised it from seed.
There is a fungus in Terra del Fuego which af-
fords a staple article of food to the aborigines,
and which is thus described by Mr Darwin: It
is globular, of a bright yellow colour, of about
the size of a small apple, and it adheres in vast
numbers to the bark of the birch trees. It pro-
bably forms a new genus allied to the morel.
In the young state it is elastio and turgid, from
being charged with moisture. The internal skin
is smooth, yet slightly marked with small cireu-
lar pits, like those from the small pox. When
cut in two, the inside is seen to consist of a white

fleshy substance, which, viewed under a high
2B
194

power, resembles, from the numerous thread- |
Close beneath the |
surface, cup-shaped balls, about one-twelfth of |

like cylinders, vermicelli.

an inch in diameter, are arranged at regular in-
tervals. These cups are filled with a slightly
adhesive, yet elastic, colourless, quite transparent
matter, and from the latter character they at
first appeared empty. These little gelatinous
balls could be easily detached from the surround-
ing mass, except at the upper extremity, where
the edge divided itself into threads, which
mingled with the rest of the vermicelli-like mass.
The external skin, directly above each of the
balls, is filled, and as the fungus grows old it is
ruptured, and the gelatinous mass, which no
doubt contains the sporules, is disseminated.
After this process of fructification has taken
place, the whole surface becomes honey-combed
with empty cells, and the fungus shrinks and
grows together. In this state it is eaten by the
natives in large quantities uncooked, and when
well chewed, has a mucilaginous and slightly
sweet taste, together with a faint odour like that
of amushroom. Excepting a few berries of a
dwarf arbutus, which need hardly be taken into
the account, these poor savages never eat any
other vegetable food besides this fungus. In
New Zealand the root of the fern was consumed
in large quantities before the introduction of the
potatoe. At the present day probably Terra del
Fuego is the only country in the world where a
cryptogamic plant affords a staple article of food.

The Mushroom (agaricus campestris), Plate
III. fig. 2. This well known substance is com-
mon in Britain, as well as in most parts of the
world. It is found throughout Europe, even in
Lapland; in Asia as far as Japan, in Africa and
America. It is the only species of mushroom
cultivated as an article of food in this country.
As some other poisonous kinds resemble it nearly,
a minute description may not be without its use.
The stem of the edible mushroom is short, solid,
and white, marked a little below the cup with
a prominent ring, the remains of the curtain
which covers the gills in their early stage. The
cup is at first white, regularly convex, and a
little turned in at the edge. As it advances in
growth, the surface becomes brown, scaly, and
flattened. The flesh is white, firm, and solid;
the gills are loose, reaching to the stem on all
sides, but not touching it. When young, these
are of a pinky red; but change to a livid colour
about the same time that the cup alters its form,
and the upper surface also changes colour. The
latter circumstances distinguish it in this stage
from the dark gilled toadstool, with which it
might otherwise be confounded. This is the
champignon of the French, and the pratiole of
the Italians. It was well known and highly es-
teemed by the ancients. This species varies much
in size, from two to eight or nine inches in dia-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

meter. In some parts of the northern countics
of England a mushroom was gathered which
measured thirty-four inches in circumfcrence,
and weighed upwards of a pound; another mea-
sured thirty-two inches in circumference, and
ten inches round the stem, and weighed one
pound eight ounces. The mushroom is chiefly
used to communicate its peculiar flavour to ra-
gouts, enters into the ingredients of sauces, or is
served up by itself, prepared with a rich gravy.
The button, or fleshy part, is the only portion
employed, the stem, gill, and skin, being re-
moved. Mushrooms are chiefly used for making
the well known sauce catsup. For this purpose
they are sprinkled over with salt, by which
means a juice is obtained, which is afterwards
mixed with spices, and boiled. The places
where mushrooms chiefly grow are dry rich old
pastures, where they are gathered in the autumn
months. They exert considerable expansive
force in growing. Some men in the isle of
Wight, a few years ago, observed a large stone
rising considerably at the interstices, and upon
removing the pavement to discover the cause,
found it to be occasioned by a mushroom, the
vigorous efforts of which to increase upwards
had forced the stone from its proper station.

Tn some parts of the country mushrooms are
to be found in great abundance, and sometimes
under circumstances and situations very unex-
pected. Some cultivators of a patch of potatoes,
situated in a field in Derbyshire, proceeding to
dig up their crop, found, to their great surprise,
that a large quantity of fine mushrooms had
sprung up among their potatoes; and in a small
space of ground they gathered at least five pecks.
The ground, previously to planting the potatoes,
had been dressed with road scrapings, and with
a small quantity of moss taken from off an old
building. Indeed, in no case does it appear ab-
solutely necessary to sow the visible seeds of
these fungi. They seem to exist almost every
where; and all that is requisite is a proper loca-
lity for their development. Some years ago
such an abundant supply of this “ voluptuous
poison” was brought for sale to Preston, that
immense quantities were sold at from threepence
to fourpence per peck, and the smallest kind for
pickles, at twopence per quart. Cartloads were
purchased for the Manchester markets.

Although of so spontaneous and abundant
growth in some situations and seasons, yet to
obtain a regular and unfailing supply, mush-
rooms are, in most large gardens, raised artifi-
cially from the spawn or seed in an incipient
state of growth; but wild mushrooms from old
pastures are always considered more delicate in
flavour than those obtained by garden culture.

Mushroom Spawn is a white fibrous substance,
running like broken threads in any substance
which is fit to nourish it; and this, scattered on
FIRST DIVISION OF PLANTS.

properly prepared beds, produces a plentiful
evop. For this purpose, in June or July, to any
quantity of fresh horse droppings, mixed with
short litter, add one-third of cows’ dung, and a
small portion of mould to cement it together.
Mash the whole into a thin compost, and
spread it on the floor of an open shed, and let it
remain till it becomes firm enough to be formed
into flat square bricks; which being done, set
them on edge, and frequently turn them till half
dry. This being completed, level the surface of
a piece of ground three feet wide, and of length
sufficient to receive the bricks, on which lay a
bottom of dry horse dung six inches thick; then
form a pile by placing the bricks in rows one
upon another, the spawned side uppermost, till
the pile is three feet high; next cover it with a
small portion of warm horse dung, sufficient in
quantity to diffuse a gentle glow throughout the
whole. When the spawn has spread itself
through every part of the bricks, the process is
ended, and they must be laid up in a dry place
for use. Mushroom spawn made according to
this process will preserve its vegetative power
for many years, if well dried before it is laid up.
If moist, it will grow and soon exhaust itself.

Mushrooms may also be raised in abundance
on melon beds, by placing the sporules or spawn
on the surface of the beds. This must be done
when the bed is earthed up for the last time.
The strong loamy soil used for melons is much
more congenial to the mushroom than the light
soil used for cucumbers; and if it is made still
more firm by treading, it will be of very great
advantage. Nothing more is required than to
manage the bed and the melons as if no spawn
had been used. The warmth of the bed will
soon cause the spawn to run, and extend itself
through the surface of the ground. InSeptem-
ber or October following, when the melon plant
is decaying, the bed must be carefully cleaned,
the glass put on and kept close, and when the
mould becomes dry it must be frequently watered,
but not immediately, as too much wet would
destroy the spawn; advantage should also be
taken of every gentle shower, for the same pur-
pose. The moisture coming up on the dry
earth produces a moderate heat, which soon
causes the mushrooms to appear in every part
of the bedin such abundance as even to prevent
each other’s growth. Two bushels at a time
have frequently been gathered from a bed ten
feet by six, and have produced individual mush-
rooms of nearly 2 lbs. weight. This mould
being kept warm by the glasses, and properly
watered, the mushrooms will continue to spring
till the frosts of winter prevent their further
growth.

Besides the cultivated mushroom, there are
about a dozen other species common to Britain,
which are described as eatable.

 

195

The agaricus pratensis has asolid stem like
the common mushroom, with the cap of a pale
brown at the upper surface, and the gills yellow-
ish. It growsona moister soil than the common
mushroom, and therefore is in itself to be looked
upon with some suspicion. There is, however,
another circumstance which renders the eating
of this mushroom unsafe. On the upper surface
it very much resembles the agaricus virosus,
the most poisonous of all the tribe, and they
both grow in similar situations. The gills of
the poisonous fungus are, however, broader in
proportion to the size of the plant than in the
pratensis, and they are very dark coloured, or
black. The fleshy part of the cap is also thin-
ner, and there is a collar on the stem of the
poisonous one; while that of the pratensis is
naked. Many of the different species of agaric,
are, however, so similar to each other, some being
wholesome, while others are highly noxious,
that persons who are not perfectly familiar with
all their respective characteristics, should hesi-
tate before they venture to gather the mushroom
for use. In judging of the qualities of a mush-
room, the smell is not a perfect or safe criterion.
If the smell be nauseous, that is a good ground
for rejection; but the opposite odour is no de-
cided proof of innoxious qualities.

In other countries, many species of fungi are
not only considered eatable, but are also made
the objects of cultivation. <A species of boletus
is raised by the Italians, and for its production
two kinds of stones are employed. The one is
of calcareous formation, containing vegetable
fibre, and is found on the chalk hills near Naples.
The other is an indurated turf from the volcanic
mountains near Florence. Both of these have
the quality of imbibing moisture, and if either
of them be kept in a cellar and constantly
watered, it will produce this fungus; but the
water with which they are moistened, must oc-
casionally be that in which the boletus has been
washed, and in which, of course, its seeds are
contained. This proves that, under particular
circumstances, some fungi have the power of
elaborating their own substance out of méisture
and the atmosphere. At Brescia, one species of
fungus, amanita incarnata, is produced from the
bruised fragments of the mushroom. The agari-
cus ostreatus, another eatable species, is obtained
from the husks of the berries of the sweet bay,
(lawrus nobilis.) After the oil has been ex-
tracted by boiling, the husks are burned in a
trench, and are then submitted to considerable
pressure, and covered with a layer of earth about
half a foot thick, and the whole is protected
from excessive rain. From this trencli mush-
rooms will spring up in October, and afford a
supply during that and the two following months,
for three successive years. At Genoa, mush-
rooms are produced in a similar manner, by
196

using the refuse of the olive presses. In the
Landes of the south of France, the earth under
oak trees is sometimes kept continually moist
by water in which the Boletus edulis has been
boiled; whence, it is said, arises an abundant
crop of that species which, we are told, resem-
bles the cocoa nut in taste. «

Agaricus muscarius, or Ily-blown mushroom,
Plate XXXVIIL. Thissplendidspecies isa native
of Britain, and very abundant in Scotland. It
has a large cap sometimes six inches in diameter,
of a brilliant pink or crimson colour; beset with
angular warts, and growing on a ta! well pro-
portioned stalk. It is very conspicuous even at
a distance, in the shaded recesses of its native
woods.” “In the highlands of Scotland,” says
Dr Greville, “it is impossible not to admire it,
as seen in long perspective between the trunks of
the straight fir trees; and should a sunbeam
penetrate through the dark and dense foliage,
and rest on its vivid surface, an effect is produced
by this chief of a humble race which might
lower the pride of many a patrician vegetable.
This mushroom is used by the inhabitants of
the north-eastern part of Asia in the same man-
ner as ardent spirits or wine, to promote intoxi-
cation. It is the favourite drug moucho-more of
the Russians, Kamchadales, and Korians, who use
it to promote intoxication. These fungi are col-
lected in the hottest month, and hung up by a
string in the air to dry. Some dry of them-
selves on the ground, and are said to be far more
narcotic than those artificially preserved. Small
deep coloured specimens thickly covered with
warts, are also said to be more powerful than
those which attain to a larger size, and are of a
paler colour. The usual mode of taking this
fungus is to roll it up like a bolus and swallow
it without chewing, which the Kamchadales say
would disorder the stomach. It is sometimes
eaten fresh, in soups and sauces, and there loses
much of its intoxicating property. When
steeped in the juice of the berries of vaccinium
uliginosum, its effects are the same as those of
strong wine. One large, or two small fungi, is
a common dose to produce a pleasant intoxica~
tion for a whole day, particularly if water be
drank after it, which augments the narcotic ex-
citement. The desired effect comes on one or two
hours after taking the fungus. Giddiness and
drunkenness result from the fungus in the same
manner as from wine or spirits. Cheerful emo-
tions of the mind are first produced, involuntary
words and actions follow, and sometimes an en-
tire loss of consciousness. It renders some per-
sons remarkably active, and proves highly stimu-
lant to muscular exertion; with too large a dose,
violent spasmodic effects are produced. So very
exciting to the nervous system in some individ-
uals is this fungus, that the effects are often
very ludicrous. If a person under its influence

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. a

wishes to step over a straw or small stick, he
takes a stride ora jump sufficient to clear the
trunk of atree. A talkative person cannot keep
secrets or silence, and one fond of music is per-
petually singing.

Agaricus comatus, or tall cylindrical aqarte,
Plate III. fig. 5. This is another handsome
mushroom, and also a common one in autumn.
Its pileus is bell-shaped, and from three to six
inches long; the surface covered with large
shaggy scales. In passing to decay it dissolves
into a black fluid. If this fluid be collected
and boiled with a little water, and a few cloves
to prevent its becoming mouldy in keeping, and
passed through a filtre, it furnishes an excellent
bistre for painting, and it may be procured in
any quantity.

The puff balls, (Scleroderma), Plate III. fig.
9, 22, are also well known species of fungi. In
decaying the centre is reduced to a minute black
powder or snuff, enveloped by the external cu-
ticle, which in process of time bursts, and the
whole mass containing the sporules or seeds, are
dissipated to the winds.

The carmine pesziza, (P. coccinea,) Plate III.
fig. 17, is found attached to decaying trees, and
rotten pieces of wood. It isasplendid cup-shaped
fungus; the interior of the cup is lined with the
brightest carmine.

LIST OF FUNGI, PLATE III.

. Fly-blown mushroom.— Agaricus muscarius.
- Common mushroom.—l.. campestris.

. Round headed morel.—Morchella esculenta.

. Small headed morel.—MV. hybrida.

. Tall cylindrical agaric.—. comatus.

Variable wood agaric.— A. gilvus.

. Shaggy agaric.—A. floccosus.

. Spangled watery agaric.— Agaricus micoceus.

. Warty false puff-ball.—Seleroderma verrucosum.
. Large bladder-like peziza.—P. vesiculosa.

11, Alpine amanita.—A. nivalis.

. Red stemmed boletus.—B. luridus.

. Sealy hydrium —Z. imbricatum.

. Hairy carth tongue.-—Geoflossum hirsutum.

15. Hispid polyporus.—P. hispidus.

. Sulpliur coloured polyporus.—(P. sulphureus.)
, Carmine peziza.—P, coccinea.

. Sealy hydrium.—Hydrium imbricatum.

. Pale crested agarie.—A. cristatus.

20. Mitral helvella—Z. mitra.

21, Tuberous agarie.—A. tuberosus.

22. False puff ball.—(Scleroderma cepa.)

23. Large stemmed peziza.—Pez. macropus.

24. Green and yellow agaric.—.A7. psittacinus,

25. Crisped helvella.—ZH. leucophea,

26. Reticulated peziza—P. reticulata,

27. Yellow spathularla.—S. flavide.

is
SOONAGARWN

LicueEns consist of a very simple kind of vege-
tation, being composed of fronds extended in
the form of membranous crusts of varied con-
sistence, simple or variously lobed; or of simple
or ramified stems; or lastly, merely of a kind of
powder: the sporules or seeds are inclosed in re-
FIRST DIVISION OF PLANTS. :

ceptacles. These vary exceedingly in their form,
which may be round, oval, linear, convex, con-
cave; and in their colour, which is often brilliant:
they are further sessile or stipitate, with or
without a rim or margin. From these different
modifications have been formed the numerous
genera of this family, which were all included
by Linneus in the genus lichen.

The lichens are in general parasitical plants,
living upon the bark of trees, or sometimes upon
the moist ground, or even upon the bare rocks,
Their substance is generally dry as if horny;
and on being boiled is converted into a jelly,
which is nutritious, and sometimes employed as
food. The genera of this family are exceedingly
numerous, and have been variously arranged
according to the fancy of different authors.

The lichens, as they are in form among the
simplest of plants, so they may be called the
pioneers of the vegetable kingdom. The sporules
of the lichen are furnished with a gummy and
adhesive fluid, and being scattered about by the
winds they fall upon bare rocks, and to these
attach themselves. Without soil, and simply
from moisture and the air, they vegetate and form
a small central lichen; others grow in circles
around, till, in process of time, the whole sur-
face of the bare rock becomes covered with a
hoary coat. These lichens periodically decay,
and mouldering to the earth form with the par-
ticleS of the abraded rocks a soil which is fitted
for the reception of other plants further advanced
in the scale of organization. Lichens also are
found at the extreme points of vegetation, on
the summits of high mountains, and near the
poles, where all other vegetable bodies disappear.
Humboldt mentions, that near the summit of
Chimborazo, even within the limits of the snow
line, the umbilicaria pustulata and the verru-
caria geographica are seen growing on a shelf
of rock: and these were the last traces of organ-
ised nature at such a height. The most remote
land, the Ultima Thule of the southern hemi-
sphere, that has been yet explored, constitutes a
group of islands called New South Shetland,
lying off the southern extremity of America,
“Some of these islands,” says the enterprising
Captain Weddel, “afford scarcely any vegetation,
save a short straggling grass which is found in
very small patches on spots where there happens
to be a little soil. This, with a moss similar to
what is found in Iceland, appears in the middle
of January, at which time the islands are par-
tially clear of snow.” A very beautiful lichen
appears to be common there, bearing large, deep,
chestnut-coloured fructifications, described under
the name of usnea fasciata. It is the same
lichen probably which is noticed by Lieutenant
Kendal, when speaking of Deception island,
one of this same group. “There was nothing,”
he says, “in the shape of vegetation, except a

 

197

small kind of lichen, whose efforts seemed al-
most ineffectual to maintain its existence among
the scanty-soil afforded by the penguin’s dung.”

Tripede Roche. An article of food extensively
used by the Canadian hunters in the arctic re-
gions of North American, is afforded by some
species of lichen, all belonging to a distinct tribe
of the liverworts, and now constituting the
genus Umbilicaria. It was this which, under
the name of tripe de roche, is described as sup-
porting for many days our enterprising country-
men Captain Sir J. Franklin and Dr Richard-
son, and some of their companions, when they
were in that country exposed to the most un-
paralleled hardships and sufferings from a want
of every other aliment; while other individuals
of the same party perished, incapable of sub-
sisting on so wretched a diet.

Iceland moss, (Lichen islandicus,) is used as
an edible substance by the Icelanders, who rarely

79

 

obtain corn bread, and whose limited stock of
substitutes obliges them to have recourse to every
species of vegetable production, which is per-
mitted by their inclement climate to spring
forth. The plant is collected by the inhabitants
of this northern region; and after being washed,
is either cut into pieces, or it is dried by the fire
or in the sun, then put into a bag which is well
beaten. It is ultimately worked into a powder
by being trampled on, and in this state is used
as food. This lichen is found growing on the
mountains both in the lowlands and highlands
of Scotland. It consists of upright leaves nearly
two inches high; soft and pliant when moist,
but rigid when dry. They are smooth and
shining, inclining to a red colour towards the
roots, and having the exterior surface sprinkled
with very minute black warts. The margins are
set with small short stiff sporules. ‘his lichen
contains a nutritious matter called lichen-starch,
along with a bitter principle. It is demulcent
and tonic. When boiled and macerated in water,
forms a nutritious and light jelly, which, with
198

the addition of sugar and milk, has been used
as a dietetic medicine in cases of decline, and
was fancied at one time as a cure for consump-
tion.
The Reindeer moss, 80.
(lichen rangeferinus. )
This is also a valuable 17:
lichen, which grows in \W’
great abundance in the
north of Europe, espe-
cially in Lapland. It
constitutes almost the
sole winter food of the
rein-deer, that useful
animal, without which
the natives of that barren
region could not exist. Linnus assures us that
this lichen grows so luxuriantly in Lapland, as
to be found sometimes a foot in height. The
rein-deer are so fond of it, that although it is
covered up in winter under a great depth of
snow, they will eagerly scratch it up with their
feet and antlers. The plant is an exceedingly
simple one; yet on it hinges the existence both
of the rein-deer ind the Laplanders. “Thus,” re-
marks the great naturalist just mentioned,
“things that are often deemed the most insig-
nificant and contemptible by ignorant men, are,
by the good providence of God, made the means
of the greatest blessing to his creatures.”
Cud-bear, (lichen tartar-
eus.) This small lichen
grows abundantly in
Sweden and Norway,
where it is gathered for
the purpose of the dyer.
Many other species of
lichen, on being macerated
in urine, afford dyes of various tints, chiefly red
and brown. The more remarkable of these are
leucanora perella and tartarea, parmelia saxatilis
and omphalodes, rocella tinctoria and fusiformis.
The Heraticm are intermediate between the
sichens and mosses. They are either spread out
in the form of simple lobed membranes, through
which runs a middle nerve, which has been con-
sidered as a stem; or they are composed of a
small ramified stem bearing sessile leaves. The
sporules are arranged in various ways, some-
times at the surface of the frond, sometimes
at the base of the ramifications. As examples
of this family we may mention the genera mar-
chantia, reccia, blasia, jungermannia. Their
properties are very little known, and none of
them have been applied to any use.
+ The Musct, or Mossrs. These plants, in their
general aspect, resemble more the phanerogamic
or flowering vegetables, than those we have just
treated of. They are consequently a scale higher
in the vegetable kingdom, and present the struc-
ture of roots, stems, fronds, or an approach to

 

8).

 

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

leaves, and more distinct organs of reproduction.
They delight in moist and shady places, grow
on the ground or the trunks of trees, or on walls
and old buildings. Many of them are very
minute, yet extremely beautiful; imitating all
the ramifications of trees or shrubs. They are
most verdant generally in winter, and during
moist seasons; and put forth their flowers and
various coloured tufts when other plants are
inactive or denuded of their charms.

Though avery numerous family, there are
few or none of the species directly conducive to
the wants or luxuries of man; yet, they are
doubtless not without their use in the great
scheme of nature. In the temperate and northern
regions they clothe the hill sides and valleys as
with a soft green carpet; and by the growth and
successive decay of certain species in ourmarshes,
the accumulation of peat soil is formed.

The Sphagnum palustre, hypnum cuspidatum,
and bryum hypnoides, are those plants which

82.

 

a. Sphagnum palustre ; 6. Hypnum cuspidatum.
chiefly contribute to the formation of peat moss.
These mosses are particularly suited for the
accumulation of this peculiar vegetable pro-
duct. They grow to the height of five or six
inches, when the lower stem begins to decay,
and forms a soil from which the upper portion
of the plant continues to vegetate. Thus a suc-
cessive decay and fresh vegetation of the same
stem goes on for many years, till a large accum-
ulation of spongy vegetable matter is formed fill-
ing up the hollows between mountains, or ranging
over marshy valleys. The formation of peat is
peculiar to elevated, moist, and temperate regions.
In hot climates dead vegetable matter is almost
instantaneously decomposed, or reduced to its
elementary principles; but in colder regions 4
partial decomposition only takes place where
much of the woody fibre and many of the
original combinations of the vegetable remain.
FIRST DIVISION OF PLANTS.

Peat consists of from sixty to ninety parts in
the hundred of inflammable matter, resembling
thus far the composition of coal: the residue is
earthy matter, derived from an admixture of the
soil in which it has been produced. Besides the
mosses already mentioned, several lichens, heaths,
rushes, and shrubs, and trees, enter into the for-
mation of peat. Not unfrequently large trunks
and roots of trees are found amid peat; and, in-
deed, whole forests have gradually fallen down
and become converted into this substance. The
rapidity with which large accumulations of this
matter is formed, is also remarkable, considering
the gradual process of the peculiarvegetation. We
learn from a paper in the Philosophical Trans-
actions, that in the year 1651, when the earl of
Cromarty was nineteen years old, in travelling
over the parish of Lochbrun he passed by a very
high hill which rose in a gradual acclivity from
the sea. At less than half a mile up from the
sea there is a plain about half a mile in cireum-
ference, and from it the hill rises in a constant
steepness for more than a mile in ascent. This
little plain was at that time completely covered
with’ a firm standing wood, which was so very
old, that not only the trees had no green leaves,
but the bark was quite thrown off, which the
old countrymen, who were with his lordship,
said was the universal manner in which fir woods
terminated, and that in twenty or thirty years
after, the trees would commonly cast themselves
up from the roots, and so lie in heaps till the
people cut and carried them away. About fif-
teen years afterwards, his lordship had occasion
to come the same way, and observed that there
was not a tree nor even a single root of all the
old wood remaining; but, instead of these, the
whole bounds where the wood had stood was
all over a flat green ground, covered with a plain
green moss. He was told that nobody had been
at the trouble to carry away the trees, but that,
being all overturned from their roots by the
winds, the moisture from the high grounds
stagnated among them, and they had in conse-
quence been covered over by the green moss.
The place was so soft and spongy, that his lord-
ship in attempting to pass over, sunk up to the
shoulders. Before the year 1699, (in the space
of forty-eight years) the whole piece of ground
was converted into a moss, and the country
people were digging peats out of it. At first
they were soft and spongy, but gradually im-
proved to the ordinary quality of peat. Ex-
tensive accumulations of peat are found in
England, Ireland, and Scotland, and in many
parts of the north of Europe. They exist par-
tially in the southern countries of Europe, as
France, Spain, and Portugal; but disappear as
we approach towards the torrid zone. Peat moss,
from containing a large proportion of tannin,
is found to possess high antiseptic qualities;

 

199

from this cause entire trees, with their seeds, and
the bodies of animals, are frequently found at
considerable depths, and after having lain for
centuries, in a wonderful state of preservation,

As food or medicine, no species of moss is
now employed, although formerly polytrichkum
commune, which is highly astringent, was used
as a stimulant.

Much uncertainty still remains regarding the
fructiferous organs of the mosses; we shall here
only briefly allude to this subject, as we have
treated it under the general view of the reproduc-
tive organs of the cryptogamia. Their sporules
are inclosed in a kind of capsules named thece,
which are supported upon aslender thread (seta, )
and are at first enveloped in a kind of bag, which
bursts circularly in the middle, and of which the
lower part remaining at the base of the thread
is named the vaginula, while the upper part
which covers the top of the theca has received
the name of calyptra. The theca itself presents
internally a central axis named columella, and
opens by means of a circular operculum. ‘The
circumference of the aperture of the theca is
named the peristome, and is distinguished into
internal and external. It may be furnished
with teeth or cilie, closed by membranes, or
entirely naked. Besides these organs, there are
others of adifferent kind. These are irregularly
oval and elongated bodies, supported upon a very
short pedicle, and accompanied by articulated
filaments.

The authors who have admitted in mosses the
existence of flowers composed of the same organs
as those of phanerogamous plants, have differed
much respecting the functions of these organs,
and the name which ought to be given to them.
Thus Hedwig, whose labours have thrown so
much light upon the history of plants of this
family, considers mosses as furnished with male
flowers and female flowers. The ovidal and vesi-
cular bodies, intermingled with articulated fila-
ments, he considers as male flowers, of which
each is composed of a naked and pediculate grain
of pollen, The thece, on the other hand, are
female flowers. Palsot de Beauvois considers
the theca as a hermaphrodite flower, of which
the central columella is the pistil, and the gran-
ules which surround it the pollen. He considers
what Hedwig calls male flowers as mere buds or
bulbils of a peculiar nature. Dillenius, on the
other hand, describes the theca as a male flower.
Hill sees in it a hermaphrodite flower, the semi-
nula of which are the ovules, and the cilie of
the peristome are the stamina.

The Lycoroprums are intermediate in their
general appearance between the mosses and the
ferns. They are furnished with a branched,
often spreading and creeping stem, and very
numerous small leaves. The organs of fructifi-
cation present two modifications. Sometimes
200

they are very small globular, trigonal or reni;
form, umlocular capsules, containing a great
number of very small sporules. Sometimes
these capsules are a little larger, open into two
or three valves, and contain only three or four
sporules of a large size. These two species of
capsules, which may both occur on the same in-
dividual, are sometimes axillar and solitary,
sometimes aggregated in the axil cf bracteas,
and then form simple or digitate spikes.

The genus Lycopodium, which forms the type
of this family, was placed by Linneus among
the musci, and by Jussieu among the ferns.
But the organization and position of the repro-
ductive organs easily distinguish the lycopodia-
cee from these families.

The powder contained in the capsules of /y-
copodium clavatum and selago is very inflamma-
ble, and has been used in fireworks. No species
of this family seems to be of any importance
in an economical point of view.

Ferns are herbaceous perennial plants, some-
times becoming arborescent in the tropical re-

83.

 

Tree Feru.

gions, and then rising in the manner of palms.
Their leaves or fronds are sometimes simple,
sometimes more or less deeply cut, pinnatifid
ordecompound. These fronds present a common
character, that of being rolled up like a crosier
at their extremity, at the period when they be-
gin to be developed. The organs of fructifica-
tion are commonly situated on the lower surface
of the leaves, along the nerves, or at their ex-
tremity. The sporules are naked or contained
in a kind of small capsules. These capsules are
aggregated into little masses, which are named
sort. These sori are in the form of round kidney-
shaped, sessile or stipitate scales, sometimes sur-
rounded by an elastic ring, opening either at
their circumference, or by a longitudinal slit, or
bursting irrecularly. In the genus Preris, the
sporules are placed under the replicate margin

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

of the leaves, which forms an uninterrupted
line. In the species of adiantum, they consti-
tute small prominent and isolated plates, by
means of the replicate margin of the leaves. In
certain genera they are isolated, while in others
they are aggregated, and form more or less elon-
gated lines. The sori begin to be developed
under the epidermis, which they raise in such a
manner as to be covered by it. The portions of
epidermis which thus form a covering to the
sori are named indusia. In some ferns, such as
the osmunde@ and ophioglossa, the fructifications
are disposed in clusters or spikes.

The genera of ferns at present known are very
numerous, and form five natural sections:

1. Polypodiacee.—Capsules free, bursting in
an irregular manner, surrounded by a narrow
and prominent elastic ring, which terminates in
a pedicle of greater or less length, as polypodium,
aspidium, asplenium, pteris.

2. Gleichenie.—Capsules free, sessile, regu-
larly arranged in a small number of groups,
surrounded at the middle by a broad and flat
elastic ring, opening by a transverse slit, as cera-
topterts, gleichenia, mertensia.

3. Osmundaceee.—Capsules free, opening by a
longitudinal slit into two valves; no elastic ring:
or, instead of one, u striated cup, as anemia, ly-
godium, osmunda.

4, Marattiee.—Capsules sessile, aggregated,
and united, so as to represent a many-celled
capsule; no elastic ring, as dancea and marattia.

5. The Ophioglossece.—Capsules free, partly im-
mersed in the frond, without elastic ring, and
opening by a transverse fissure, as ophioglossum,
botrychium.

Authors have varied much as to the nature of
the reproductive organs in ferns. Almost all
have considered the capsules as female organs.
But some, as Micheli and Hedwig, have consid-
ered as male organs the glandular hairs which
are sometimes seen on the young leaves. Others,
with Hill and Schmidel, have called the rings of
the conceptacles, stamina; and, lastly, others
have given this name to the miliary glands and
indusia.

Several species of fern have been employed as
food, such as ptesis csculenta, diplagium esculen-
tum, and nephrodium esculentum. The leaves of
many species are mucilaginous, with a slight
astringency, and some aroma. They have ac-
cordingly been used as expectorants. Polypodium
calaguala and crassifolium are said to be medi-
cinal, but are now rarely or never used. The
stems of other species being bitter and astringent,
have been used as anthelmintics. Aspidium
filtz-mas, A. filiv-feemina, and pteris aquilina,
have been thus employed.

Equiseta or Horse-tail, This small family
is composed of the single genus Hgutsetum. All
the species are herbaceous, perennial plants.
SECOND DIVISION OF PLANTS.

Their stems, which are simple or branched, are
generally hollow, longitudinally striated, and
present atintervals knots
or enlargements, from
which arises heaths
which areslitintoanum-
ber of shreds, and which
seem to be verticillate
leaves united together,
Sometimes verticillate
branches come off from
these knots. The fructi-
fications form terminal
spikes. These spikes are
composed of thick, pel-
tate scales, similar to
those which are observed
in the male flowers of
several conifere, and
among others of the yew.
At the lower surface of these scales, growa kind of
capsules, disposed in a single row, and opening
by a longitudinal slit which looks towards the
axis. These capsules are filled with minute
granules, which are composed of a globular part,
from the base of which arise four long articu-
lated filaments, enlarged at their upper part,
and spirally rolled around the globular body,
which is a true sporule.

Influenced by the similarity of form which
exists between the reproductive organs of the
equisetacee and the stamina of some conifers,
Linneus named these organs stamina, without
pointing out the organs which he considered as
pistils. Hedwig, on the other hand, considered
each granule as a hermaphrodite flower; the
globular part was the pistil, and the filaments
were four stamina, the pollen of which was situ-
ated externally. The equisete are remarkable
for the quantity of silica or flinty earth which
they contain. A species of mare’s-tail is very
common in our marshes, and is sometimes cut
for fodder; otherwise this family of plants are
of no use to man.

Cuaracez, The chare are aquatic and sub-
mersed plants, found growing in our ditches, whose
slender, branched, green, and sometimes translucid
stems, bear at intervals verticillate branches, from
eight to ten in number. On the branches of the
upper verticles are observed a kind of sporangia,
or capsules, three, four, or five in number. Each
of them is surrounded at its base by two or
three bracteas or abortive branches, which Lin-
neus considered asacalyx. They are unilocular,
and contain numerous sporules, collected into a
single mass, which has been considered as a single
seed. These sporangia are formed of two integu-
ments, of which the outer is membranous, trans-
parent, very thin, and terminated above by five
spreading teeth; the inner hard, dry, opaque,
and composed of five small narrow valves spir- |

84.

 

Eqnisetum.

 

201

ally twisted. Besides these organs, there are
also observed on the branches sessile and rounded
tubercles of a reddish colour. Most authors
describe them as stamina. They consist of a
reticulated, transparent membrane, forming a
kind of vesicle filled with a mucilaginous fluid,
in which are observed articulated filaments of a
whitish colour, and others of a larger size filled
with a reddish fluid, closed at one of their ex-
tremities, and appearing to open at the other
These tubercles, in the progress of vegetation,
shrivel, but do not open.

This family is composed of the single genus
Chara. It was established by Vaillant, in 1719.
Linneus at first placed it in the class Crypto-
gamia, close to the lichens, but afterwardschanged
his mind, and referred it to moncecia monandria
of the phanerogamic plants. The chare are re-
markable for the quantity of calcareous matter
with which some of them are incrusted; but they
are useless to man, either as food or medicine.

CHAP. XXV.
DIVISION SECOND, MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS.

In the previous chapter have been enumerated
and described those vegetables which have a
simple structure, and no conspicuous reproduc-
tive organs or blossoms: we now come to a second
division of plants whose structure is more com-
plex, and which are furnished with distinct male
and female organs that produce true seeds.

MonocoryLeponous pianis. These are dis-
tinguished by the seed being composed of only
a single cotyledon; besides this, there are the
following distinctions:

The internal structure of the stem is com-
posed of a mass of cellular tissue, in which are
scattered bundles of vascular tubes.

The nerves of the leaves are generally parallel
in the monocotyledons, while they are ramified,
or branched, in the dicotyledons.

The perianth is always simple, there being
only a calyx, which sometimes assumes the
colours of a corolla.

The floral organs are generally three, or a
multiple of this number, whereas five is the
predominating number in dicotyledonous plants.

In their general aspect, these two great divisions
of the vegetable kingdom differ considerably,
The grains, grasses, recds, palms, are in structure
and general aspect totally unlike any families
in the two-lobed division, and are readily dis-
tinguished from them.

There are twenty-seven families or groups of
plants enumerated by botanists under the head
of this division, which are as follow:

Nagadee. Water plants, as the nugus, zostera,
2¢
potamogeton, possessing no very remarkable pro-
perties, and of no economical use.

Aroidew, Perennial herbaceous plants, gen-
erally with tuberous roots; many of them are
acrid and poisonous; acorus calamus is aromatic.
The root of erum maculatum or wake-robin, as
well as that of others of this family, contains
farina or starch.

Typhinee. Aquatic, or arborescent and ter-
restrial plants, containing two genera, intimately
allied in their properties to the family aroidew.

Saururee, plants growing in the water, or
floating on its surface. There are two genera,
saururus and aponogeton.

Cabombece. Herbaceous perennial plants,
growing in the fresh waters of America, consist-
ing of two genera.

Cyperacee. Herbaceous plants, generally
growing in moist places on the margins of lakes
and streams; stem a cylindrical or triangular culm
with or without knots; the leaves sheathing, con-
taining the geneva scirpus, cyperus, schanus, ma-
riscus, papyrus, and many others. They resem-
ble the grasses, but are of little or no economical
use, with exception of papyrus, which furnished
the ancient materials for paper. ,

Graminece. Herbaceous plants, annual or per-
ennial; stem or culm generally hollow, and
knotted with alternate, sheathing leaves; flowers
disposed in spikes or panicles more or less
branched. A family containing numerous and
important genera, including the grains, as wheat,
rye, oats, barley, maize, pannick, rice, millet; the
grasses, sugar cane, bamboo, &c.

Palme or Palms. Large trees, with simple,
cylindrical, leafless stems or stipes, crowned at
their summits by a bundle of very large pinnate
or decompound leaves, with leaflets of various
forms, The flowers are hermaphrodite, or more
commonly unisexual, dioecious, or polygamous.
The cocoa, date, areca, sagus, are a few of the
genera of this interesting and highly useful
family.

Restiacew. Plants having the habit of rushes,
many of them of peculiar genera, natives of
New Holland.

Juncee. Herbaceous plants, rarely annual,
with simple, cylindrical, naked, or leafy stem;
leaves sheathing at the base, sometimes entire,
sometimes slit in their whole length. The flowers
are hermaphrodite, terminal, disposed in the
form of a panicle or cyme, and contained before
their expansion in the sheath of the last leaf,
which forms a kind of spatha for them. The
genera are juncus, lugula, and abama; and they
compose the well known plants called rushes.

Commelinee. A small family allied to the
juncece, herbaceous, annual, or perennial.

Pontederiacee, Plants growing in the vicinity
of water, bearing alternate, petiolate leaves,
sheathing at their base; flowers solitary, or dis-

 

HISTORY Of THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

posed in a spike or umbel, and springing from
the sheath of the leaves which is slit. There
are only two genera.

Alismacee. Terbaceous plants, annual or
perennial; leaves petiolate, sheathing at the base;
flowers hermaphrodite, rarely unisexual, disposed
in spikes, panicles, or sertules. The foliage is
generally acrid; the roots of some species are
eatable. The genera are butomos, sagittaria, lilias,
&e.

Colchicacee, Uerhaceous plants, with a fibrous
or bulbiferous root, and w simple or branched
stem, bearing alternate sheathing leaves; flowers
terminal; hermaphrodite or unisexual. All the
plants of this family are more or less acrid, as
colchicum and veratrum, which are used in medi-
cine.

Asparaginee. Perennial, herbaceous, or fru-
tescent plants, with fibrous roots, alternate, op-
posite, or verticillate leaves; flowers sometimes
unisexual, and variously disposed. Most of the
genera are more or less acrid and stimulant;
dracena draco yields the gum-dragon, and sar-
saparilla is a medicinal plant.

Siliacee. Plants with bulbous or fibrous
roots, leaves sometimes all radical, flat, or cylin-
drical; hollow, or thick and fleshy; stem naked,
flowers solitary and terminal, in simple spiles
or branched racemes. The squill, garlic, onion,
aloe, are examples of the genera.

Bromeliacee. Parasitic perennial plants, leaves
alternate, and generally collected into a bundle
at the base of the stem; elongated, narrow,
toothed, and spinous on the margins; flowers
scaly spikes, or branched racemes. The genera
are tellandsia, bromelia, agave, annana, or pine
apple, &c.

Dioscoree. Frequently climbing plants, leaves
alternate or opposite, with irregularly ramified
nerves; flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual.
The yam belongs to this family.

Narcissee. Plants with a bulbous or fibrous
root,and radical leaves. The flowers are solitary,
often very large, disposed in sertules or simple
umbels; enveloped before expansion in a mem-
branous sheath. Among thegenera are narcissus,
amaryllis, galanthus. They are bitter, and gen-
erally nauseous. The bulbs of the common
garden lily are emetic. ;

fridee. Plants generally herbaceous, with
tuberous, fleshy, and rarely fibrous roots. The
stem cylindrical, or compressed, with flat, ensi-
form, alternate leaves; flowers very large, envel-
oped previous to expansion in membranous
sheaths, and solitary or variously grouped. The
iris, crocus, galaxia, ave examples of the genera.
Saffron is the dried stigmas of a species of cro-
cus,

Hemodoracee. UWerbaceous perennial plants,
sometimes stemless, having simple distichous
leaves, sheathing at their base; and flowers dis~
THE GRAMINEZS,

posed in corymis or spikes. This family is nearly
allied to the preceding.

Musacee. Herbaceous or perennial plants,
destitute of stem, sometimes furnished with a
stype or cauliform bulb. Leaves on long petioles,

amplexial at the base, entire at the margins. |.

Flowers very large, often of the most brilliant
colours, aggregated in great numbers, and con-
tained in spathas. The genera are musa, helt-
coma, strelitzta, urania. The fruits of this family
are used as food, and highly nutritive.

Amomee. Perennial herbaceous plants, of
peculiar aspect, somewhat resembling the orchi-
dew; root often tuberous and fleshy; leaves simple,
terminated at the base by an entire or slit sheath;
flowers rarely solitary, accompanied with pretty
large bracteas, forming dense spikes or panicles.
The genera are canna, maranta, thalia, phrynium,
suyrosma, amomum, zinziier, hellenia, costus. Many
useful aromatic substances are obtained from the
roots and seeds of species of this family, as gin-
ger, zedoary, cardamums. From the roots of
several species of maranta, arrow root is ob-
tained; from amomum the dye called turmeric.

Orchidee. Perennial herbaceous plants, some-
times parasitic on other vegetables; root composed
of simple cylindrical fibres, often accompanied
by two tubercles; leaves simple, alternate, and
sheathing; flowers often very large, and of a
peculiar form; they are solitary, fasciculate, in
spikes or in panicles. An extensive and beautiful
family of plants, rather, however, ornamental
than useful. Orchis mascula affords from its
tubers the nutritive substance called salep.

fTydrocharidew. Aquatic herbaceous plants,
having the stem leaves entire or minutely toothed,
sometimes spread out at the surface of the water;
flowers contained in spathe, generally dicecious,
rarely hermaphrodite. Valisneria, stratioles,
othelia, are genera of this family.

Nympheacee. Large beautiful plants floating
on the surface of water, their stem forming a
creeping subterranean rhizoma; entire alternate
leaves, cordiform or orbicular, supported on very
long petioles; flowers large,solitary. The genera
are nymphea and nuphar.

Balanophoree. Parasitic plants, living on the
roots of other vegetables; stem leafless, naked,
or covered with scales; flowers moncecious, form-
ing dense ovoidal spikes.

We shall now proceed to describe in detail,
some of the most important families of this di-
vision of the vegetable kingdom.

 

203

“CHAP, XXVI.

THE GRAMINEA,—WHEAT, BARLEY, OATS, RYE,
RICE, MAIZE, THE GRASSES, &c.

Tue graminee form one of the most distinct
and valuable families of plants, consisting of the
different kinds of corn, the grasses, the sugar-
cane, and bamboo.

The Cerealia, a genus of this family, so named
from Ceres the goddess of corn, is the most im-
portant to man of all those into which vegetables
have been divided. It consists of several species,
all bearing a strong natural affinity to each other,
and all resting their claims, as articles of nour-
ishment, to the quantity of farinaceous or starchy
matter which their seeds contain. That one
among them upon which any people depends
chiefly for its food, is called by that people corn,
as wheat in England, oats in the northern low-
lands of Scotland, rye in the sandy districts of the
southern shores of the Baltic sea, rice and maize
throughout the United States of America. To
the family graminez also belong the grasses, so
necessary for the support of herbivorous animals,
especially those of the domestic kind; as also
the sugar cane, which furnishes another impor-
tant article of dict.

The cerealia, or corn plants, which we shall
first notice, are all annuals, and herbaceous, the
whole plant withering away after the seed has
been produced and fully ripened. Sometimes
this decay takes place in the stems and root be-
fore this latter process has been perfectly ac-
complished. heir stem is a culm or straw,
which is hollow, and divided into lengths by
nodes or joints; from these joints proceed alter-
nate sheathing leaves, embracing the stem for
some length. In order to give sufficient support
to the light hollow straw, nature has bestowed a
portion of silex or flinty earth, which enters
largely into the composition of the outer layer
of theculm. From this circumstance their ashes
are found useful in imparting a polish to wood,
horn, ivory, and even some of the softer metals ;
while, however, the presence of this silicious
matter, and the great difficulty attending its se-
paration from the purely vegetable fibre, have
prevented straw from being employed in the
manufacture of paper, for which it would other-
wise be adapted. The last or terminatory leaf
of the stem, constitutes a sheath to the newly
formed flower, embracing it for a time so firmly,
that the sheath cannot be opened without diffi-
culty. With the growth of the flower it bursts
open its protecting spatha, rises above it, and the
leaf then turns backwards. The head or ear
consists of an uncertain number of flowers; these
are disposed in spikes or panicles. At the base
are two scales, an outer and inner, forming the
204

lepicene (see cut 89, p. 66.); other two scales
form the glume. The stamens, usually three in
number, have capillar filaments, and the anthers
are biped at both extremities. The pistil rises
from a unilocular ovary, marked by a longitu-

dinal furrow, and is surmounted by two styles,’

which terminate in two hairy and glandular stig-
mas. When the ear with its seeds is placed upon
a single rib or rachis, it is called a spike, as in
wheat; when the rachis is branched, as in oats,
it is called a panicle,

The principal plants forming the cerealia are
wheat, rye, barley, oats, millet, rice, maize; other
cereal grasses, possessing the same farinaceous
properties, are neglected only on account of the
smallness of their seeds. None of this family
possess any deleterious properties, with the single
exception of the darnel (lolium temulentum), a
common weed in every field in Britain, whose
deleterious qualities, though perhaps somewhat
exaggerated, are undoubtedly ascertained.

Every civilized nation, from the earliest re-
cords, has sedulously cultivated grain. In the
sepulchres of the most ancient of the Egyptian
monarchs, which have been explored by modern
travellers, was found the common wheat, in ves-
sels which were so perfectly closed, that the
grains retained both their form and colour. The
wheat, buried there for several thousand years,
affords a proof of the ancient civilization of Egypt
as convincing as the ruins of temples and the
inscriptions of obelisks. And yet, what is suf-
ficiently singular, the corn plants, such as they
are found under cultivation, do not grow wild in
any part of the earth. Wheat has been traced,
indeed, in Persia, springing up in spots, very re-
mote from human habitation, and out of the line
of the traffic of the natives; but this cireum-
stance is far from proving that it isa production
natural and indigenous to Persia. In Sicily
there is a wild grass called Gigilops orata, which
is found in particular districts. It has been held
that the seeds of this plant may be changed into
corn by cultivation; and that the ancient wor-
ship of Ceres, which considered the fields of
Enna and of Trinacoria as the cradles of agricul-
ture, had its origin in this transformation of the
native grass. Professor Latapie of Bourdeaux
affirms, that having cultivated the seed of the
cegilops, the plant has changed its generic char-
acter, and has made approaches to that of wheat.
Sir Joseph Banks, in a paper addressed by him
to the horticultural society, in the year 1805,
stated, that having received from a lady some
packets of seeds, and among them one labelled
“hill wheat,” the grains of which were hardly
larger than those of our wild grasses, but which,
when viewed through a magnifying lens, were
found exactly to resemble wheat, he sowed
these grains in his garden, and was much sur-
prised on obtaining, as their produce, a good

 

TISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

crop of spring wheat, the grains of which were
of the ordinary size. Every inquiry that was
made to ascertain the history of these seeds
proved fruitless. All that could be established
with regard to the place of their production was,
that they came from India; but as to the par-
ticular locality, or the amount of cultivation they
had received, or whether the grain was indeed
in that instance a spontaneous offering of nature,
could not be ascertained. Experiments such as
these may lead to the supposition, that in the
corn plants, as in other vegetables, great modifi-
cations have been produced by cultivation; but
they do not at all interfere with the belief that
the cereal grains are spread over the earth by
the agency of man alone; and that they are be-
quests from past ages of civilization too remote
to afford any materials for the authentic history
of their introduction even into countries possess-
ing the most ancient records. Other seeds are
dispersed throughout the earth by winds and
currents, and various other ways; but the corn
plants, in common with many other important
vegetable productions, follow the course of man
alone. This is a blessing which even hostile
armies are instruments in diffusing. Cortez, the
conqueror of Mexico, inhuman as he was in many
parts of his conduct, thus writes from Mexico to
the king of Spain: “All the plants of Spain
thrive admirably in this land. We shall not
proceed here as we have done in the isles, where
we have neglected cultivation and destroyed the
inhabitants. A sad experience ought to render
us more prudent. I beseech your majesty to
give orders that no vessel set sail for this country
without a certain quantity of plants and grain.”
The diffusion of plants useful to man is an acci-
dent diminishing the evils of hostile invasion ;
it is a necessary attendant of commercial inter-
course. The Indians of New England called the
plantain “ Englishman’s foot ;” and in the same
way in the infancy of ancient society, wheat
might have been similarly regarded as springing
from the footsteps of the Persians or Egyptians,
In times approaching nearer to our own, we
know that wheat followed the march of the Ro-
mans, as the vine was in the train of the Greeks.
And to come still nearer, we find cotton remain-
ing in countries which had otherwise suffered
from the incursions of the Arabs. Humboldt
remarks, “that the migration of these plants is
evident ; but their first country is as little known
as that of the different races of men which, from
the earliest traditions, have been found in all
parts of the globe.”

The manner in which the most important gifts
of Providence to mankind, says a recent writer,*
have been diffused by the influence of conquest
or commerce, has some striking instances in the

* Library of Entertaining Knowledge.
THE GRAMINE.

history of America. In the new world such
facts are too recent to admit of any doubt. The
same class of facts, too, are exhibited in several
cases in the history of our empire in Hindos-
tan. We shall give a few examples. None
of the cereal grasses, properly so called, were
found in cultivation among the Mexicans when
their country was first visited by Europeans.
The foundation of the wheat harvests at Mexico
is said to have been three or four grains, which
aslave of Cortez discovered in 1530, accidentally
mixed with a quantity of rice. The careful ne-
gro, who preserved and made so advantageous a
use of the few grains which a happy chance
had thrown in his way, and which, in the hands
of a careless or thoughtless person, would, with
their future inestimable advantages, have been
lost to his country, kas not been thought
worthy—doubtless because he was a negro—
of having his name preserved. The Spanish
lady, Maria d’ Escobar, wife of Diego de Cha-
ves, who first imparted the same blessing to
Peru by conveying a few grains of wheat to
Lima, has been more fortunate. Her name, to-
gether with the means which she took for ef-
fecting her object, by carefully distributing the
produce of successive harvests as seed among the
farmers, have been gratefully preserved in the
records of history. The exact period when the
cultivation was commenced in Peru is not in-
deed known; but it appears reasonable to be-
lieve that this event did not occur until after the
date assigned for the introduction of wheat into
Mexico, as in the year 1547 wheaten bread was
hardly known in the important city of Cuzco.
The first grains of wheat which reached Quito
were conveyed thither by Father Josse Rixi, a
Fleming, who sowed them near the monastery
of St Francis, where the monks still preserve
and show as a precious relic the rude earthen
pot wherein the seeds first reached their estab-
lishment. The rice of Carolina is now the prin-
cipal produce of that portion of North America.
Mr Ashby, an English merchant, at the close of
the 17th century, sent a hundred weight from
China to this colony; and from this source all
the subsequent rice harvests of that division of
the new world, and the large exportations of the
same valuable grain to Europe, have sprung. The
wheat now cultivated at Rohileund, in India,
was propagated by seed brought from England,
since the conquest, by Mr Hawkins; and the
potatoe, within a very few years, has been ex~-
tensively spread by us through the Indian pen-
insula, and thereby preventing the exclusive use
of rice, is generally ameliorating the condition of
the.native population. Tracts such as these are
highly interesting, because they exhibit the mo-
ral as well as the natural causes which influence
the distribution of vegetable food throughout the
earth.

 

205

Before describing the different kinds of corn,
it may be interesting to take a general view of
their cultivation over the. globe. The utmost
limit of the culture of grain in Siberia reaches
only to the 60° of latitude; and in the more
eastern parts of the province these important
products are scarcely to be met with higher than
55°. In the more southern parts of Siberia, and
in districts adjoining the Wolga, the land is ex-
ceedingly fertile, so that crops of grain are ob-
tained with a very trifling amount of labour.
Buck wheat is very commonly cultivated in
this district ; and it is found that one sowing of
the seed will produce five or six crops in as many
successive years, each harvest yielding from
twelve to fifteen times the quantity first sown.
The seed which is shed during the reaping is
sufficient to insure the growth of plants for the
following year without any manuring, and with
no more labour on the part of the farmer than
that of harrowing the land in the spring. This
system is continued without intermission until
the diminished fertility of the soil compels its
abandonment; but this state of things rarely
oceurs, until, as already stated, six years have
thus been occupied. Europe is indebted to Si-
beria for a particular description of oats, which
are considered excellent; and at Yakoutch bar-
ley is sometimes seen to arrive at maturity.

In some districts of Lapland, situated to the
westward, the inhabitants are, by dint of careful
tillage, enabled to produce plentiful crops of rye.
In some spots nearer even than this to the pole,
potatoes are made to supply the place of grain;
but for the most part the inhabitants are con-
strained to subsist upon dried fish. In Kamt-
chatka, which is considerably to the south of
Siberia, extending from 62° to 51° of north lati-
tude, but united with that province at its eastern
extremity, no attempts to cultivate the cereal
grasses have ever proved successful, the produce
not having in any case been sufficient to repay
the labour of the tillage. These features may,
however, be attributable more to the generally
ungrateful nature of the soil than to the effects.
of an unkindly climate, since in some spots where
the land is of better quality, other esculent ve-
getables are produced in tolerable perfection;
cabbages, carrots, turnips, radishes, beet root,
and even cucumbers, are reared constantly and
without difficulty.

Barley and oats are the kinds of grain the cul-
ture of which extends furthest to the north in
Europe. The meal which they yield, and which
is seldom or never used by the inhabitants of
South Britain for human food, forms, on the
contrary, the principal sustenance of the inhabi-
tants of Norway and Sweden, of a part of Sibe-
ria, and even Scotland.

Rye follows next in order, being associated
with oats and barley in the more northern divi-
205

sion of the temperate zone. In the southern
parts of Norway and Sweden, in Denmark, in
districts bordering on the Baltic sea, and in the
north of Germany, rye forms the principal object
of cultivation, barley being raised in those coun-
tries, as with us, only for the purpose of brew-
ing, and the use of oats being limited chiefly to
the feeding of horses. In all these last men-
tioned places wheat is also grown; but its con-
sumption is limited, and the principal part is
made an object of internal trade.

The Norwegian summer, though short, is ge-
nial, and the sun is but a very few hours absent
during the short night. Barley is here gene-
rally ‘sown and reaped within the short space of
sixty days, sometimes even six weeks are found
to suffice for fulfilling the hopes of the husband-
man. The Norwegian agriculturist is, however,
accasionally visited by seasons throughout which
the sun appears to lose its genial power, and ve-
getation is stunted, blossoms indeed appear, but
are unsucceeded by fruits, and the straw yields
nothing but empty ears. This calamity is hap-
pily of rare occurrence, and unless when checked
by a premature frost, the harvests of Norway are
for the most part abundant and excellent.

In Sweden agriculture is pursued in a syste-
mati¢ and scientific manner, by which means
the natural barrenness of the soil is in a consi-
derable degree remedied—the province of Goth-
land producing barley, oats, rye, and wheat, as
well as pease and beans. In these climates the
transition of the seasons is always abrupt. Ve-
getation, when it has once commenced, proceeds
with a rapidity unknown in these more tempe-
rate regions; and the interval which elapses he-
tween committing the seed to the soil and gath-
ering the ripened harvest, is scarcely greater in
Sweden than is experienced in Norway. Some-
what farther to the south rye in a great measure
disappears, and wheat becomes the principal
grain used for human food.

France, England, the southern part of Scot-
land, part of Germany and [lungary, and the
lands of western and middle Asia, fall within
this description. In most of these countries the
vine is also successfully cultivated, and wine
forming a substitute for beer, the raising of bar-
ley is consequently much neglected. Still far-
ther southward wheat is found in abundance ;
but maize and rice are also produced, and enter
largely into the constituents of human food.
Portugal, Spain, that part of France which bor-
ders on the Mediterranean sca, Italy and Greece,
are thus circumstanced. Still farther to the
east, in Persia and northern India, Arabia, Nu-
bia, Egypt, and Barbary, wheat is indeed found;
but maize, rice, and millet, form the principal
materials for human sustenance. On the plains
near the Caspian sea, in the province of Georgia,
rice, wheat, barley, and millet, are raised abun-

 

TIISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. .

dantly, and with little culture. In the more
elevated parts of those districts rye is sometimes
cultivated; but oats entirely disappear, the
mules and horses being fed on barley.

The mode of culture followed at the present
day in Egypt is exceedingly simple, and calls but
fora small amount of labour. All that is re-
quired for raising barley and wheat is, when the
inundation of the Nile has subsided, to throw
theseed uponthe mud. Ifthis should be thought
too hard and stiff, the grain is lightly ploughed in,
and no farther care or culture is then required
until the ripening of the produce, which usually
happens from the beginning to the end of April.
In Nubia, and particularly above the great cata-
ract, the banks of the river are so high as seldom
to admit of the overflowing of the waters; and
the Nubian cultivators are consequently obliged
to employ sakies, or water wheels, for the pur-
pose of irrigating the fields during the summer.
This practice prevails as far as Sumcar. The
principal vegetable productions of Nubia are
barley and dhowrra, or Indian millet. The use
of wheat is confined to the more wealthy inhabi-
tants.

InChina and Japan rice is the prevailing grain.
This arises more from the peculiar tastes of the
people than from climate, for in the Japanese
islands, and in a considerable part of the Chinese
empire, all the other grains might be advantage-
ously raised. The dense population in China,
and their restricted foreign trade, renders them
so entirely dependent on their agriculture, that
it is fostered in every way by their government.
Thus we learn from their annals, that one of their
greatest and wisest emperors was taken from his
plough to ascend the throne. Another of their
rulers is celebrated for having discovered the art
of draining low lands, of collecting the water in
canals, and of converting it from a noxious im-
pediment to the useful purpose of irrigation.
Their emperor Ven-li, who reigned one hundred
and seventy-nine years before Christ, is said to
have incited his subjects to the more zealous cul-
tivation of their lands by ploughing with his
own hands the land surrounding his palace, which
example being followed by his ministers and
courtiers, influenced in turn those who moved in
a less exalted sphere.

Of the tropical countries Asia adopts princi-
pally the use of rice, while maize is more used
by the Americans. This may arise from these
substances being respectively indigenous to the
two regions. In Africa the two grains are
used nearly in equal proportions. Wheat is oc-
casionally found within the tropics; but its scar-
city and high price renders it more an object of
luxury than common consumpt. In the upper
provinces of British India, the wheat, though of
asmaller grain than that used in Britain, is of
excellent quality. Barley is also grown in the
THE GRAMINEA, 207

more northern districts of India; but it, too, is
of a diminutive size. The variety thus culti-
vated is the bigg of this country. Its cheapness
renders it a common food for the native popula-
tion, who make it into cakes.

The agriculture of the Hindoo Ryots is of a
very primitive description. Their ploughs are
scarcely deserving of the name, being merely a
sharp pointed piece of wood, which scratches but
does not turn over the soil; after the grain is
scattered in, a branch of a tree serves as a har-
row to cover it over. In seasons of drought,
however, they have recourse to irrigation.

In America there is great diversity in the cul-
ture of the cerealia, corresponding to the diver-
sity of climate in that continent. In the 57°
and 58° of north latitude, barley and rye are
brought to maturity; on the eastern coast, the
same cultivation rarely succeeds higher than 50°
or 51°. In the United States wheat and rye
grow asin the more temperate regions in Europe;
and it is perhaps owing to faulty methods of til-
lage, occasioned by the great abundance of land
and the dearness of labour, that the produce bears
a small proportion when compared with that ob-
tained from cultivating the same extent of land
in Europe. Great improvements in this respect
have already been introduced; and when popu-
lation shall be found, as in older settled countries,
pressing against the means of subsistence, there
is no reason why the lands should not be made
as productive generally as they are in the care-
fully cultivated districts of this country. Maize
is very extensively raised in the United States;
and in the southern parts of the Union rice is
also very largely cultivated.

Canada produces wheat in sufficient abundance
to supply its own population, and to make large
occasional shipments to the mother country,
where this produce is received upon more advan-
tageous terms, as regards the duty payable on im-
portation, than wheat the produce of any part of
the continent of Europe. In proportion as the
lands of Canada are cleared of their timber, it is
to be expected that a large amount of grain will
be spared by that province for consumption in
Europe, unless the tide of emigration should con-
tinue to set more and more strongly towards that
quarter, so as to call for a proportionately in-
creased quantity of grain for the sustenance of
the settlers.

Humboldt, in his account of New Spain, has
given a very interesting view of the agriculture
of South America. In the lower latitudes of the
Mexican republic, the cereal grains of Europe,
comprehending under this denomination wheat,
barley, oats, and rye, are never cultivated at a
lower elevation than from 2500 to 3000 feet above
the level of the sea. It is well known that the
habitation of plants is determined in a very de-
cided manner by the elevation of different re-

 

gions. On this subject De Candolle calculates,
that in France every 540 feet of vertical eleva-
tion is equivalent to a receding of one degree
from the equator; while Humboldt estimates
every rise of 396 feet to be equal to the sane ad-
vance to the north in tropical countries, On
the declivity of the Cordilleras, between Vera
Cruz and Acapulco, wheat cultivation does not
in general commence at a lower level than 4060
feet. Sometimes, as in the immediate vicinity
of the city of Xalapa, wheat is sown not for the
sake of the grain, which indeed it there never
produces, but because the straw and succulent
leaves furnish excellent fodder for the cattle. It
does not appear, however, that the degree of
latitude and the amount of elevation are the only
circumstances that determine the ‘fructification
of wheat, since in Guatemala, which is nearer to
the equator, and at a much lower level than
Xalapa, that grain comes to full perfection.
Humboldt offers a reason for this variance from
the usual rule, the exposed situation of the dis-
trict, and the prevalence of cool winds, which
serve to modify the otherwise unfavourable in-
fluence of the climate. I have seen, says this
traveller, in the province of Caraccas, the finest
harvests of wheat, near Victoria, at 1640 to
1968 feet of absolute elevation; and it appears
that the wheaten fields which surround the
Quatre Villas, in the island of Cuba, have a still
smaller elevation. At the Isle of France wheat
is cultivated on a soil alinost level with the ocean.

Circumstances altogether unconnected with
climate must be taken into account in determin-
ing the relative agricultural capabilities of Mex-
ico, where the absolute absence of rain through-
out a large portion of the time when the plant is
in the ground, must be in a high degree detri-
mental to wheat husbandry, unless artificial
means were resorted to, as in Nubia, for supply-
ing the natural deficiency of moisture. Through-
out a great part of the temperate regions of New
Spain the farmers are compelled to adopt the
system of artificial irrigation, This is effected
by the agency of canals and reservoirs, which are
supplied from the rivers, and which are so con-
structed that the water may-be dispersed at plea-
sure over any and every part of the farms. In
districts where the system of artificial watering
is fully adopted, the fertility of the Mexican
farms is extraordinary, far beyond any thing ex-
perienced in the richest soils of Europe; the
wheat harvest being commonly thirty-five and
forty to one, and some considerable estates yield-
ing even fifty and sixty measures for one mea-
sure of seed. In similar localities, and with land
of equal quality, but where no opportunity has
been provided for watering the fields, the annual
return does not exceed more than fifteen or
twenty for one. Maize is also very extensively
cultivated in Mexico, and from the genial na-
208

ture of the climate and the general fertility of
the soil, the returns which it yields to the farmer
are most abundant. Humboldt writes that in
the valley of Mexico the maize harvest yields
two hundred for one. The Indians and Meti-
zoes, who form a large proportion of the inhabi-
tants of the republic, feed on gnaize and manchol,
or the produce of the cassava plant, the consump-
tion of wheat being principally confined to the
white inhabitants of the towns. In the tempe-
rate and polar districts of the southern hemi-
sphere, the order of cultivation is very similar to
that pursued in similar latitudes and elevations
north of the tropics. In America, wheat is com-
monly found in the southern provinces of Bra-
zil, in Buenos Ayres, and in Chili. The same
gvain predominates at the Cape of Good Hope,
the flour which it yields being of beautiful
quality, and accompanied by less than the usual
proportion of bran. In Australia, wheat also
forms the principal object of cultivation on the
part of the settlers; but in the southernmost por-
tions of that vast island, or rather continent, and
in Van Dieman’s land, barley and rye are like-
wise to be found.

Wuerat. This is perhaps the most valuable
of all the cercalia. As for the manufacture of
bread, that “staff of human life,” it possesses
qualities superior to any of the other species of
evain.

Triticum, or wheat, of which there are several
species and varieties, is an annual herbaceous
plant, possessing the usual characteristics of the
graniner. The seed is a compressed oval, en-
closed in a scaly pericarp, or chaff, from which
it is easily separated. The cotyledonous matter
is separated into halves by a deep ‘gs,
groove (fig. a.), which runs along that
side of the grain that, while the plant ©
was attached to the ear, was placed i
next to the rachis or stem. On the
other side, which is more convex, is seen
an oval body, where the embryo is
situated, and where the germ of the fu-
ture plant springs from. The vessels by
which the grain was attached to the pa-
rent plant, and by which it was nourished, were
attached to this end of the seed lobe. When the
seed is matured, these umbilical vessels separate,
the point of separation then closes up, and the
grain may then be easily detached from the chaff
by which it isenveloped. There are two sorts
of wheat generally cultivated in this country,
triticum hybernum, or winter wheat, and triticum
cestivum, spring or summer wheat.

TPinter Wheat has a large plump ear, smooth,
or destitute of awn, with a conspicuous bloom,
and a strong, vigorous, and erect stem. It is
sown in autumn, begins to vegetate and remains
green during the winter, and comes to maturity
towards the end of the following summer. It is

 

 

IISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

very apt to pass into varietics,
arising from soil, climate, and
modes of culture. Two of the
most marked of them are the
red and white wheat. The red
wheat has a thicker and rougher
envelope, is of a hardier nature
than the other, and consequently
more suited for cold and high
situations ; but it is less produc-
tive, and yields a flour of an in-
ferior quality.

Spring Wheat. This is sup-
posed to have come from the
north of Europe. It is less hardy
than the winter wheat, the stem
is more slender and delicate,
the ear thinner and drooping,
and furnished with beards or
awns, ‘This grain, which, in
our uncertain climate, cannot be safely or pro-
ductively cultivated throughout the kingdom, is
yet domesticated in the more southerly and the
midland districts. As its grain is smaller than
that of the common winter wheat, and as its pro-
duce is less alundant, the farmer would not be
led to its cultivation could he be certain of suc-
cess with earlier sown seed, or if, in the progress
of his agricultural operations, the land could al-
ways be got ready for the autumnal sowing. The
principal advantage to be derived from the adop-
tion of summer wheat consists in the security
which it offers against the injurious effects of a
cold and rainy spring; so that, in situations and
seasons where winter sown wheat is so far in-
jured as to destroy all prospect of a harvest, this
delicate but more rapidly growing species may
he more confidently depended on for yielding
its inerease. Some farmers, when they per-
ceive that ihe seed which they have sown in
autumn fails and goes off in patches from any
untoward causes, are accustomed to rake spring
wheat into the vacant spaces, and wherever the
plants appear weak and thin. By this means
the uniformity of the crop is restored; and if
the operation has not been delayed beyond the
beginning of April, the spring wheat will be ma-
tured, and ready for the sickle at the same time
with the earlier sown plants. This mixture of
grain is of no consequence to the miller; but it
would of course be improper to employ the pro-
duce as seed. When spring wheat is sown by
itself, the season for this operation is in April or
the early part of May, from which time onward
the farmer has but little to dread from any se-
verity of weather. It is said that this species of
wheat is not subject to blight, According to
the analysis of Sir II. Davy, the nutritive quality
of this kind is not quite equal to that of winter
wheat, the proportions being 954 per cent. in the
latter, and only 94 per cent. in the former, of

 

Winter Wheat.
TIE GRAMINEA,

the entire bull of the grains, The gluten con-
tained in the two kinds varies in a greater degree
that of winter wheat being 24, while that of
spring sown corn is only 19, so that the winter
variety is more eligible for the purpose of the

baker.
Egyptian or many
spiked Wheat (triticum Si.

compositum ). This spe-
cies of wheat, called also
the “corn of abun-
dance,” is chiefly culti-
vated in Egypt and some
parts of Italy. It is
supposed to be of Afri-
can origin, and in its
qualities and habits re-
sembles the spring
wheat, above described,
more than any other.
The stem or rachis of
this species is branched,
and bears several ears
or spikelets. The ear
is bearded, and the grains are thinner than those
of winter wheat. This kind will endure the
extremes of moisture, as well as a high tem-
perature, without injury, so that it is peculiarly
adapted to the climate of the countries where it
is chiefly raised.

Spelt Wheat (triticum spelta). This is con-
jectured to have been the species of wheat used
by the Romans, and the zea of the Greeks, al-
though this latter name has been given to maize,
a grain with which the ancients were totally
unacquainted. This variety is still cultivated
on the continent, and to a considerable extent in
the south of Europe. A coarse soil will produce
it, and it requires less culture and attention than
the finer qualities of wheat. In many parts of
Germany, in Switzerland, in the south of France,
in the north of Africa, and at the Cape of Good
Nope, spelt is raised in considerable abundance.
Tt is also common in Spain, and is given to
horses instead of barley, when that grain hap-
pens to be scarce. It is said, too, that this va-
riety of wheat is well suited to the climate and
soil of Australia. There are two varieties of
spelt, one with awns, and the other quite bare.
The spike of this latter variety is scantily sup-
plied with grains, which have a very slight en-
velope of chaff, the individual grains, however,
are large and plump. It is almost universally a
spring sown crop, and grows luxuriantly, with
a thick nearly solid culm. The bread made
from it is of a dry quality.

One Seeded Wheat (triticum monococcum ).
This variety goes under the name of St Peter’s
corn. It is a very diminutive plant, and the
spike contains only a single row of grains. It is
cultivated in the more Alpine parts of Switzer-

 

Egyptian or many spiked
Wheat.

 

209

land, and contains less gluten than
88, the common sorts; on this ac-
count it is less adapted for the
manufacture of bread, and is used
in soups and gruels. ‘The four-
sided form of the ripe ear is so
regular, that it has the appear-
ance of being carved out of ivory.
The stem, from its hardness and
tenacity, is well adapted for
thatching, for which purpose it is
generally used. Several stalks
grow up from one seed of wheat
deposited in the soil, and the num-
ber varies much according to the
manner of cultivation and other
accidental circumstances. The
One Seeded Wheat, power of renewing and multiply-
ing the stems possessed by the
grain-bearing plants, is called éélering hy agricul-
turists. In its progress the stalks do not rise
immediately from the germ, but are thrown out
from different points of the infant sprouts while
they are yet in contact with the moist soil. The
increase of plants by this means is often most as-
tonishing, and it is an admirable provision to
repair and counteract the various casualties to
which these plants are liable in the earlier stages
of their progress. Among these casualties not
the least common is that of the depredations of
the wheat fly (musca pumilionis). This insect
is in the habit of depositing its eggs in the very
centre of the young plant, and when these are
hatched into larve, the primary shoot is by these
worms instantly devoured. Did the plant pos-
sess within itself no means of repairing this in-
jury, the whole previous labour of the husband-
man would in this case have been in vain. But
this destruction occurring in the spring of the
year, when the vegetative power of the plant is
in the greatest activity, an effort is produced
somewhat analogous to that of heading down a
fruit tree, shoots immediately spring up from the
divided part, the plant becomes more firmly
rooted, and produces probably a dozen stems and
ears, where, but for the temporary mischief, it
might have sent forth only one.

Several extraordinary facts have been recorded
in connection with the inherent power of mul-
tiplication possessed by these vegetables. Among
others, Kenelm Digby asserted, in 1660, that
“there was in the possession of the Fathers of
the Christian doctrine at Paris a plant of barley,
which they at that time kept as a curiosity, and
which consisted of two hundred and forty-nine
stalks springing from one root or grain, and in
which they counted above eighteen thousand
grains or seeds of barley.” In the Philosophical
Transactions it is recorded, that Mr C. Miller of
Cambridge, the son of the eminent horticulturist,
sowed, on the 2nd of June, a few grains of eom-

2D

 
210

mon red wheat, one of the plants from which
had tiered so much, that on the 8th of August
he was enabled to divide it into eighteen plants,
all of which were placed separately in the ground.
In the course of September and October so many
of these plants had again multiplicd their stalks,
that the number of plants which were separately
set out to stand the winter was sixty-seven.
With the first growth of the spring the tillering
again went forward, so that at the end of March
and beginning of April a farther division was
made, and the number of plants now amounted
to five hundred. Mr Miller expressed his opi-
nion, that before the season had too far advanced
one other division might have been effected, when
the number might have been at least quadrupled.
The five hundred plants proved extremely vi-
gorous, much more so than wheat under ordi-
nary culture, so that the number of ears submit-
ted to the sickle was 21,109, or more than forty
to each of the divided plants: in some instances
there were one hundred ears upon one plant.
The ears were remarkably fine, some being six
or seven inches long, and containing from sixty
to seventy grains. The wheat, when separated
from the straw, weighed forty-seven pounds and
seven ounces, and measured three pecks and
three quarters, the estimated number of grains
being 576,840.

Such an enormous increase is not of course at-
tainable on any great scale, or by the common
modes of culture; but the experiment is of use
as showing the vast power of increase with which
the most valuable of vegetables is endowed, and
which, by judiciously varying the mode of til-
lage, may possibly in time be brought into bene-
ficial action.

The ordinary produce of wheat varies exceed-
ingly, depending much upon the quality of the
soil, the nature of the season, and the mode of
culture. The average produce of the soil of a
country depends, as does every other species of
production, upon the advance of its inhabitants
in knowledge and in the possession of capital.
It has been conjectured, that in the 13th century
an acre of good land in England would produce
twelve bushels of wheat. In two centuries this
rate of produce appears to have greatly increased.
Uarrison, writing in 1574, says, “The yield of
our corne-ground is much after this rate follow-
ing:—Throughout the land (if you please to
make an estimate thereof by the acre), in meane
and indifferent years, wherein each acre of rie
or wheat, well tilled and dressed, will yield com-
monlie sixteene or twentie bushels; an acre of
barley, six-and-thirtie bushels; of otes, and such
like, four or five quarters; which proportion is
notwithstanding oft abated toward the north, as
it is oftentimes surmounted in the south.” The
mean produce in Great Britain, according to
the estimate of Mr Arthur Young, did not, at

 

TIISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the time when he wrote (about fifty years ago)
exceed twenty-two and a half bushels per acre.
Other and later writers have calculated the aver-
age at from twenty-four to twenty-eight bushels ;
while the author of the Reports on Agriculture
for Middlesex has asserted, that the medium
quantity in that county is forty bushels, the
highest produce he has known being sixty-eight,
and the lowest twelve bushels per acre. ‘The
land in the county which was the subject of these
Reports, owing to its proximity to the metropo-
lis, may be considered as in a state of high con-
dition, and much beyond the ordinary rate of
fertility. At all times, and in every country,
some situations will he found more prolific than
others, and some individuals will be more suc-
cessful in their agricultural labours. Pliny has
related a case which occurred among the Ro-
mans, where this success was seen in so marked
a degree, that the able agriculturist who, by ex-
celling his countrymen, had rendered himself
the object of envy, was cited before the Curule
Edile and an assembly of the people, to answer
to a charge of sorcery, founded on his reaping
much larger crops from his very small spot of
ground than his neighbours did from their ex-
tensive fields. ‘In answer to this charge Cre-
sinus produced his efficient implements of hus-
bandry, his well-fed oxen, and a hale young wo-
man his daughter, and pointing to them, ex-
claimed, These, Romans, are my instruments of
witcheraft; but I cannot here show you my lJa-
bours, sweats, and anxious cares.”

It will easily be conceived that the quantity
of straw must vary considerably from year to
year, according to the séasons, and that this pro-
duce will likewise be generally influenced by the
nature of the soil. It is therefore impossible to
give any certain information upon this point;
but it will perhaps amount to a near approxima-
tion to the truth, if we consider that for every
twelve bushels of wheat, one load, containing
thirty-six trusses of straw, will be obtained, the
weight of which is 11 cwt. 2 qrs. 8 lbs. The
straw of summer wheat is more agreeable to
cattle than that produced from winter sowing.*

This most important vegetable is not wholly
free from casualties apart from climate. The
principal of these are blight, mildew, and smut,
which we have already explained in the chapter
on the diseases of vegetahles,

There are two modes of sowing wheat prac-
tised by agriculturists. The one consists in scat-
tering the grain from the hand over the well-
ploughed fields, and is called sowing broad-cast;
the other is by sowing it in uniform drills, or
dibbling it, and afterwards hoeing and clearing it
from weeds. This latter practice was attempted
in the time of lord Bacon; but it was abandoned

* Library of Useful Knowledge.
THE GRAMINE A

on the score of expense. In 1669 Evelyn pre-
sented to the royal society a description of a sow-
ing machine, invented by Locatelli, a native of
Italy, who had obtained a patent for its use in
Spain, having demonstrated its utility by public
experiment. The drill plough, however, says a
recent writer, was not used in England, and was
perhaps quite unknown to a body of men who
are proverbially slow all over the world to adopt
any improvement, till public attention was
awakened to it, in the early part of the last cen-
tury, by the celebrated Jethro Tull, who, after
practically following for some years his own im-
proved plan of husbandry, and thereby proving
its advantages, published a particular account of
his process in the year 1733. This work, which
he entitled “An Essay on Horse-hoeing Hus-
bandry,” became highly popular, compelling the
attention of English agriculturists to the sub-
ject, and engaging no less the consideration of
scientific foreigners. The system of Mr Tull
consisted in discarding the old method of scatter-
ing seed upon the land broad-cast, and in substi-
tuting a mode of sowing the grain in straight
rows or furrows, by means of an implement more
perfect than Locatelli’s machine, which delivered
the seed at proper intervals, and in the exact
quantity that was found most beneficial. Spaces
of fifty inches breadth were left between the fur-
rows, so that the land could be ploughed or
horse-hoed in these intervals at various periods
during the growth of the crop, the object of these
hoeings being to bring fresh portions of the soil
into contact with the fibrous roots of the plants,
and thus to render every part in turn available
for their nutrition. One material advantage that
results from the new method of husbandry is the
saving which it occasions in seed-corn, and which
is said to amount to five-eighths of the quantity
usually expended in the old method.

A bushel of wheat of the average weight, when
ground into flour, yields the following produce:

Ibs.

Bread Flour, 47
Fine Pollard, 4h
Coarse Do., 4
Bran, 22
Loss, 2
60

The method of making loaf bread, similar to
that used in the present day, was known in the
east at a very early period; but neither the pre-
cise time of the discovery, nor the name of the
person to whom mankind is indebted for it, has
been handed down to us. That the Jews knew
how to make bread in the time of Moses, or above
1600 years before the commencement of the
Christian era, is evident from the prohibition of
the use of leavened bread during the celebration
of the passover, There is no evidence that loaf

 

21

bread was known to Abraham, for in his history
cakes are frequently mentioned, but loaf bread
or leavened bread never. It can scarcely be
doubted that the Jews learned the art of making
loaf bread from the Egyptians. The Greeks in-
form us that they were taught the method of
making loaf bread by the god Pan. We learn
from Tomer that loaf bread was known during
the Trojan war. Pliny tells us that no bakers
existed at Rome till the year 580 after the build-
ing of the city, or about two hundred years be-
fore the commencement of the Christian era.
Before that time bread was made in private
houses, and was the business of the women. The
only substance fit for making good loaf bread is
wheat flour. It is the practice of some to mix
this flour with potatoe starch; such an addition,
however, cannot and ought not to exceed 30 per
cent., otherwise the flour would not be fit for
making bread.

The process of baking consists in mixing wheat
flour with water, and forming it into dough. The
average proportion is two parts of water to three
of flour by weight; but this proportion varies
considerably, according to the age and quality of
the flour. In general the older and better the
flour is, the greater is the quantity of water re-
quired. If the dough, after being thus formed,
be allowed to remain for some time, the sugar of
the farina undergoes a fermentation, being de-
composed into carbonic acid and alcohol. The
gluten which exists in every part of this dough
prevents the carbonic acid from escaping; it
therefore heaves up the dough in every part, and
more than doubles its bulk. The fermentation,
however, does not stop when the sugar is decom-
posed, it continues to act upon the alcohol, and
gradually converts it into acetic and lactic acids.
The consequence of this last action, which can-
not be prevented on account of the slowness of
the vinous fermentation of the dough, is, that it
acquires a sour taste and smell, and if it be baked
in the oven, though the loaf is full of eyes, and
possesses the characters of loaé bread, yet its acid
taste and smell render it disagreeable to the pa-
late, and unfit for the purposes of food. Dough
that has been allowed to ferment in this way is
called leaven; but if a small quantity of this
leaven be mixed with new made dough, and the
mixture laid aside for a few hours, fermentation
commences and goes on much more rapidly, so
that the dough swells to at least twice its ori-
ginal bulk. If it be now put into the oven and
baked, the fermentation is checked before any
acid begins to be formed, and the bread is full of
eyes, light, spongy, and sweet.

The ancient Gauls and Spaniards, as Pliny in-
forms us, contrived another method of bringing
on a fermentation in dough. Instead of leaven
they added to the dough a quantity of the yeast
or barm, which collects on the surface of fer-
212
menting beer, This addition occasions fully as
speedy a fermentation as leaven, and it is not
nearly so apt to give the bread a sour flavour.
About the end of the 17th century the bakers of
Paris began to substitute yeast for leaven. The
practice was discovered, and declaimed against.
The faculty of medicine, in 1668, declared it pre-
judicial to the health; and many years elapsed
hefore the bakers were able to convince the pub-
lic that bread raised by means of yeast is better
than that fermented by leaven. Barm is now
employed in preference to leaven in every civil-
ized country. In this country the yeast used
by bakers is made artificially, chiefly from pota-
toes. The process, according to Dr Thomson, is
nearly as follows: A certain quantity of salt is
dissolved in water, the temperature of which va-
ries, according to circumstances, from 70° to 100°.
Yeast_is mixed with this water, and then a por-
tion of flour is added, but always less than is ul-
timately employed in forming the finished dough.
The mixture is covered up, and set apart in a
warm place. Ferméntation begins to be evident
in about an hour. The sponge, so the imperfect
dough is called, begins to swell up in consequence
of the evolution of carbonic acid-gas. This gas,
being confined by the adhesive nature of the
gluten, heaves up the sponge to twice its original
bulk. Being no longer capable of containing
this pent up gas, it bursts, and subsides. This
alternate rising and falling of the sponge might
be repeated a great many times; but unless the
baker stops it after the second, or at the utmost
the third dropping of the sponge, the bread inva-
riably proves sour; he therefore, at this period,
adds to the sponge the remaining quantity of
flour, water, and salt, and incorporates these new
materials with the sponge by a long and Jabori-
ous course of kneading. After this the dough is
left to itself for a few hours, during which time
it continues in a state of active fermentation,
diffused through every part of it. It is then
subjected to a second, but much less laborious
kneading, in order to distribute the imprisoned
gas as equally as possible through the whole
dough. It is now weighed out into the portions
requisite to form the kinds of bread desired.
‘These portions are shaped into loaves, and set
aside for an hour or two in a warin situation.
‘The fermentation still goes on, and gradually ex-
pands the mass to double its former bulk. They
are now put into the oven and baked into loaves.
The mean heat of the oven is about 448°. This
heat immediately stops the fermentation; but
the gas already generated is swelled out by the
heat, and gives the loaf its characteristic vesicu-
lar structure. When bread is taken out of the
oven it is lighter than when put in, from the
evaporation of a portion of moisture during the
baking. A portion of the starch, also, is con-
verted into sugar.

 

WISTORY OF TITE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

80. Rye (secale cereale). This
grain has an appearance some-
thing intermediate between
wheat and barley. The ear is
bearded, and the stem tall and
slender. Four species of this
plant are enumerated, secale
villosum, orientale, creticum, and
cereale. ‘The last only is cul-
\|\ tivated in Britain. The rais-
i ing of rye was formerly much
more practised in this country
than at present. Two centu-
ries ago rye flour, either alone
or mixed with wheaten flour,
formed the common bread of
this country. Now this mix-
ture is only partially used. At
present rye is cultivated by
our farmers principally that they may draw from
it a supply of green food for their flocks. For
this purpose the plants, which are sown in No-
vember, are eaten early in the spring, before they
begin to spindle, which they will do towards the
end of March. After this stage of the growth
has taken place, the succulent quality of the
blade is impaired, it becomes coarse and harsh,
and is no longer agreeable to animals. When
rye is left to ripen its seeds, these are, for the
most part, applied in this country to purposes
distinct from human food; the principal use to
which the grain is put being the preparation of
a vegetable acid, to be employed by tanners in
an operation which they call ratsing, and where-
by the pores of the hides are distended, so as to
dispose them the more readily to imbibe the tan-
ning principle of the oak-bark, which is after-
wards applied. Rye, when parched and ground,
has been recently used as a substitute for coffee.
It would be difficult, however, to convince any
one accustomed to the use of this grateful beve-
vage, that the grain of home production is ever
likely to take place, at least to any extent, of
the fragrant Mocha bean. In fact rye contains
neither the aromatic nor stimulating properties
which render coffve so grateful.

Rye straw is useless as fodder, but forms an
excellent material for thatching, and is so suit-
able for stuffing horse-collars, that saddlers will
usually pay for it a very good price.

The secale cereale, which is said to be a native
of Candia, was introduced into England many
ages ago. ‘There are two varieties of this species,
occasioned more probably by difference of cul-
ture than by any inherent variation in the plants;
one is known as winter, and the other as spring
rye.

It was formerly usual to sow rye together
with an early kind of wheat. The harvested
grain, thus necessarily intermixed, was termed
meslin, from misceflanca; it also obtained the

 
THE GRAMINEZE.

name of mung-corn, corruptly fiom monk-corn,
hecause bread made with it was commonly eaten
in monasteries.

With the exception of wheat, rye contains a
greater proportion of gluten than any other of the
cereal grains, to which fact is owing its capabi-
lity of being converted into a spongy bread. It
contains, likewise, nearly five parts in every
hundred of ready-formed saccharine matter, and,
is in consequence easily convertible into malt,
and thence into beer or ardent spirit; but the
produce of this last is so small, in comparison
with that of malted barley, as to offer no in-
ducement for its employment to that purpose.
Rye has a strong tendency to pass rapidly from
the vinous to the acetous state of fermentation,
and whenever that circumstance has intervened,
it would be vain to attempt either to brew or to
distil it. Unmalted rye meal is mixed in Hol-
land with barley malt, in the proportion of two
parts by weight of the former, with one part of
the latter, and the whole being fermented to-
gether, forms the wash whence is distilled all
the grain spirit produced in that country, and
known throughout Europe as Hollands, Geneva.
‘There must, however, be some circumstances. of
a peculiar nature connected with the process, as
conducted by the Dutch distillers, since no at-
tempts made elsewhere have ever been success-
ful in obtaining a spirit having the same good
qualities.

Rye is the common bread-corn in all the sandy
districts to the south of the Baltic sea and the
Gulf of Finland, furnishing abundance of food
for the numerous inhabitants of places which,
without it, must have been little better than
sandy and uninhabited deserts. In these dis-
tricts it not only forms the chief article of con-
sumption, but furnishes a material of some con-
sequence to the export trade of the Prussian
ports.

The peasantry in Sweden subsist very gene-
rally upon rye-cakes, which they bake only
twice in the course of the year, and which, dur-
ing most part of the time, are consequently as
hard as a board. ‘Linneus observed a curious
practice in Lapland. One part of rye and two
parts of barley being mixed together, the seed
is committed to the ground as soon as the earth
is capable of tillage in the spring. The barley
shoots up vigorously, ripens its ears, and is
reaped; while the rye merely goes into leaf with-
out shooting up any stem, its growth being re-
tarded by the barley, which may be said to
smother it. After the barley is reaped, the rye
advances in growth, and, without any farther
care ‘of the cultivator, yields an abundant crop
in the following year.

This grain, to which so many human beings

ve thus indebted for aliment, is subject to a dis-
eage which, when it occurs, not only deprives it

 

213

of all its useful properties as food, but renders it
absolutely noxious, and, it may even be said,
poisonous to man. When thus diseased it ‘is
called by English farmers horned rye, and by
the French ergot, from the fancied resem-
blance to a cock’s spur of an excrescence which
the grain then bears. Whenever this disease
has been witnessed, it has usually happened that
a wet spring has been succeeded by a summer
more than ordinarily hot. Tissot, a French
physician, bestowed much attention on this sub-
ject, and upon its melancholy consequences. It
is from him we learn that the excrescence just
mentioned is an irregular vegetation, which
springs from the middle substance, between the
grain and the leaf, growing to the length of an
inch and a half, and being two-tenths of an inch
broad. It is of a brownish colour.

Bread which is made of rye thus diseased has
an acrid and nauseous taste, and its use is fol-
lowed by spasmodic symptoms and gangrenous
disorders. These effects cannot by any means he
classed among imaginary evils. In 1596 an epi-
demic prevailed in Hesse, which was wholly as-
cribed to the use of horned rye. Some of the
persons who had unfortunately partaken of this
food were seized with epilepsy, the attacks of
which, for the most part, ended fatally; of others,
who became insane, few ever fully recovered the
proper use of their senses; while some, who
were apparently restored, were liable through
life to periodical returns of their disorder.

Similar calamities were experienced in differ-
ent parts of the continent at various times, be-
tween 1618 and 1736, and these visitations have
been recorded by Burghart, Hoffman,yand others.
In 1709, this diseased condition of the rye oc-
curred in a part of France to such a degree, that
in consequence of it no fewer than five hundred
patients were at one time under care of the sur-
geons at the public hospital at Orleans. The
symptoms first came on with all the apparent
characteristics of drunkenness, after which the
toes became diseased, mortified, and fell off. The
disorder thence extended itself up the leg, and
frequently attacked the trunk, and this some-
times occurred even after amputation of the dis-
eased limbs had been performed, with the vain
hope of stopping the progress of the disorder.

The poisonous quality of horned rye is not
exerted upon human beings alone, both insects
and larger animals having been fatally affected
by it; even flies, that merely settled casually
upon the grain, have been killed by that means;
and deer, swine, and different kinds of poultry,
upon which experiments were tried, all died
miserable deaths, some in strong convulsions,
and others with mortified ulcers. These cir-
cumstances must have been truly appalling by
their severity and the frequency of their recur-
renee, Few evils, however, are wholly of an
214

unmixed character, and this one is not of the
number. Lrgot of rye, which was formerly pro-
ductive of so much misery, has since found ad-
mission as a medicine into our pharmacopeias;
it acts powerfully on the uterus, and is now, in
the hands of skilful and honest practitioners, ren-
dered subservient to the interests of society.
Horned rye is of very rare occurrence in Great
Britain.

Bariey (hordewn). This species of grain
has a seed of a stenderer form, and a rougher
covering or husk than that of wheat; the awn
too is larger and more serrated than any of the
other species of corn. Barley differs still more
from wheat in containing more farina or starch,
much less gluten, and about 7 per cent. of un-
combined saccharine matter, which latter wheat
docs not possess previous to germination.

Next to wheat, barley is in this country the
most important grain, being used chiefly in the
formation of fermented liquors and: spirits.
There are four distinct species of barley, besides
numerous varieties: hordewm vulgare, or spring
barley; hordewm hexasticon, winter or square
barley; hordeum distichon, long-eared barley ;
hordeum zeocriton, sprat or battle-dore barley.

The Egyptians have a tradition that barley
was the first of the cerealia made use of by man,
and trace its introduction to their goddess Isis.
‘The native country of barley, however, is as
little known as that of wheat. Some travellers
have mentioned it as being produced in a wild
state in distant parts of the world; but there is
reason for believing that all statements to this
effect have been founded in error, since the har-
diest varieties of the cultivated grain have never
yet been seen to propagate themselves during
two following years. The seed of cultivated bar-
ley, when chance-sown, will indeed produce
plants; but the grains which these bear are
rarely, if ever, seen to germinate. Some grasses
which have been placed by hotanists in the same
genus with barley, bear to it a strong outward
resemblance; yet none of them can, by any de-
gree of culture, be brought into use as human
food, nor indeed be made to exhibit any marked
improvement. One of these grasses, the hordeum
murinum of Linneus, known commonly as wall-
harley, bears the nearest resemblance of any to
the cultivated plant.

In one respect barley is of more importance to
mankind than wheat. It may be propagated
over a wider range of climate, bearing heat and
drought better, growing upon lighter soils, and
coming so quickly to maturity, that the short
northern summers, which do not admit of the
ripening of wheat, are yet of long enough dura-
tion for the perfection of barley. It is the latest
sown, and the earliest reaped of all the summer
grains. In warm countries, such as Spain, the
farmers can gather two harvests of barley within

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the year, one in the spring from winter-sown
grain, and the other in autumn from that sown
in summer. Barley sown in June is commonly
ready for the sickle in three months from the
time of the seed being committed to the ground;
and in very northern climates the period neces-
sary for its growth and perfection is said to be
of still shorter duration. Linneus relates, in his

.tour in Lulean Lapland, that on the 28th of July

he observed the commencement of the barley
harvest, and although the seed was sown only a
few days before midsummer, that the grain was
perfectly ripe, the whole process having thus oc-
cupied certainly not longer than six weeks.

The property of not requiring moisture ad-
mirably fits barley for propagation in those
northern countries, where the duration of sum-
mer is limited to a very few months in the year,
and where wet is of very rare occurrence from
the time when the spring rains are over, at the
end of May or the beginning of June—after
which period the seed-time commences—until
the autumnal equinox, previous to which the
harvest is reaped.

So hurtful is excessive moisture to the plants,
that even heavy dews, if of frequent occurrence,
are found injurious. Wet is detrimental at al]
periods; but the mischief is exhibited in a very
different manner, according as it occurs before or
after the formation of the ear. If, during the
former stage, the leaves, as already mentioned,
will become yellow and sickly, and the ears will
probably not make their appearance; whereas,
if these should already have been formed, and
completely filled when visited by rain, the grain
will sprout in the ear; and should the weather
which follows be warm and genial, this growth
will be so rapid that the ears will put on the ap-
pearance of tufts of grass. Barley is besides
very liable to be beaten down by rain and to
lodge; and should this occur after the filling of
the ear, germination of the grains will take place
to such a degree, that the first growth will be
completely rotted and destroyed by the second.
Gentle showers, however, if of short continuance,
and if they do not happen either very early after
the plant is above the ground, or during the time
of blooming, or when the ear is full, are rather
beneficial than hurtful. It is worthy of remark
that the very quality which renders barley so
precarious a crop in unsettled climates, imparts
fo it likewise its chief value. The facility with
which the grain is made to germinate is favour-
able to the operation of converting it into malt,
which is, in fact, simply the process of germina-
tion induced and carried forward up to and not
beyond the point when the maximum quantity
of saccharine matter is developed in the grain.

Spring Bartey—Hordeum vulgare—is the
kind most commonly cultivated in England. Of
this species farmers distinguish two sorts; one
THE GRAMINEE.

the common, and the other the
rath-ripe barley. These, in
fact, are the same plant, the
latter being a variety occasioned
by long culture upon warm
gravelly soils. If seeds of this
kind are sown in cold or strong
land, the plants will ripen
nearly a fortnight earlier than
seeds taken from other strong
land; but this holds good only
during the first year. This
variety is said in extraordinary
seasons to have been returned
to the barn within two months
inthiscountry. Siberian bar-
ley, another variety, was
brought into culture in the
year 1768, by Mr Haliday, who
received a very small portion
out of about a pint of seed which had been pre-
sented by a foreign nobleman to the London
Society for the Encouragement of Arts. This
variety exhibits, on first coming up, a broadér
blade, and is of a deeper green than common bar-
ley. The ears are shorter, containing only from
five to nine grains in length, while the com-
mon sort has from nine to thirteen grains. Si-
berian barley arrives at maturity about a fort-
night earlier than other kinds.

WINTER or SQUARE
Bantey, calledalso Bear,
or Biee—Hordeum hexas-
tichon—is the second spe-
cies, (8). This is rarely
cultivated in the south-
ern parts of England ;
but in the northern coun-
ties and in Scotland is
very generally sown,
beinga much more hardy
plant than spring barley.
‘The grains are large and
plump, and the spike is
thicker and shorter than
the last-described spe-
cies, being seldom longer
than two inches, and
square. Maltsters in the
southern division of the
kingdom are of opinion that this barley does
not answer their purpose so well as that more
usually cultivated among them, while in Scot-
land this idea is considered to be an unfounded
prejudice.

The number of grains in each ear is greater
than are found on spring barley in the propor-
tion of three to two, one ear frequently yielding
forty or more grains, These are disposed in six
rows, two of these being on each of two sides,
and one row on each of the other sides,

Spring Barley.

 

Winter or Square Barley.

 

215

Lone-rarepD  =- Barty,
sometimes called Two-
rowED Bartzyr—Hordeum
distéchon—is partially eulti-

. vated in every part of Eng-
land, andis avery good sort.

Some persons object to it,

that the ears being long and

heavy, itismoreapt to lodge
than other kinds, The
grains are regularly dis-
posed in a double row,
lying over each other like
tiles on a roof, or like the
scales of fishes. The ear is
somewhat flatted, being
transversely greater in
breadth than in thickness.

The husk of the grain is
Tong-Eared Barley. thin, and its malting qua-
lities are excellent,

Srrat or Barrieporr Barrey—Hordeum
zeocriton—has shorter and broader ears than
either of the sorts already described ; its awns or
beards are longer, so that birds cannot so easily
get out the grains, which also lie closer together
than those of other kinds. Sprat barley seldom, if
ever, grows so tall as either of the other species,
and its straw is not only shorter, but coarser, so
as to render it not desirable for use as fodder.

It was formerly the universal practice in this
country to sow barley in the spring. The end
of March or beginning of April was the more
usual time, but the sowing was sometimes de-
ferred to the beginning of May. The practice in
this respect has somewhat varied of late, and a
more early season has been chosen for sowing, so
that it is not uncommon for the process to be
performed in January, under the idea that the
produce in such cases is greater. In the county
of Norfolk, where the cultivation of barley is
carried forward very extensively, and with the
greatest skill, the farmers were formerly guided
in their choice of seed time by a maxim which
had long been handed down to them from father
to son :—

‘When the oak puts on his gosling gray,
*Tis time to sow barley night and day ;”

meaning, that when the oak exhibits the gray
appearance which accompanies the bursting of
its buds, a few days preceding the expansion of
the leaves, it is then improper to lose any time
in getting their seed-barley into the ground. The
budding and leafing of the birch trees is, in Swe-
den, considered an indication of the proper time
for barley-sowing. In different countries there
are, of course, different natural guides in the
operations of husbandry; but an intelligent and
observing farmer, in every country, wil) not fail
; to regard those which bave been sanctioned by

 
216

experience; while the agriculturist, who is bound
by a servile adherence to particular months and
even weeks for his operations, will unwisely treat
as old saws such relics of the practical skill of
our forefathers us the lines we have quoted, Lin-
nexus, the great Swedish naturalist, constantly
exhorted his countrymen to observe at what time
each tree unfolds its buds and expands its leaves.
In our own country, Mr Stillingfieet, an eminent
naturalist, made a series of very accurate obser-
vations upon this interesting appearance of the
spring. A farmer who would keep a calendar of
Nature in the same manner for a few years, and
at the same time register his days of sowing and
the issue of his harvest, would secure, no doubt,
a valuable collection of rules for his guidance,
peculiarly applicable to the exact circumstances
of situation and soil amidst which he pursues his
calling.

The produce of barley, according to the qua-
lity of the soil, is from three to four quarters to
the acre. A larger produce is not unfrequent;
and even so much as seven quarters have been
reaped in very favourable seasons and situations.

The average weight of a Winchester bushel of
harley is between fifty and fifty-one pounds, and
the same measure of bigg weighs but little more
than forty-six pounds. It is very seldom that
the former is found to weigh beyond fifty-two,
or the latter beyond forty-eight pounds to the
bushel. The average length of a grain of barley,
taking the mean of many thousand measure-
ments, is 0.345 inch, while that of a grain of
bigg is 0.8245 inch. The medium length of
these two species gives, therefore, as nearly as
possible one-third of an inch, which agrees with
the lowest denomination or basis—the barley-
corn of our linear measure.

The purposes to which barley is principally
applied in this kingdom are those of brewing and
distilling. Some portion is still brought more
directly into consumption as human food; but
this portion, for the most part, now undergoes
the previous process of decortication (removal of
the bark), whereby it is converted into what is
called Scotch or pearl barley. This grain, in its
raw state, is also used to some extent for feeding
poultry and fattening swine, for which latter
purpose it is commonly converted into meal.
The ancients were accustomed to feed their horses
upon barley, as is the case among the Span-
iards to the present day; and Pliny relates (Book
xviii. c. 7,) that the Roman gladiators were
called Hordearii, from their use of this grain as
food.

The use of barley in the preparation of a fer-
mented liquor dates from the very remotest
times. The invention of this preparation is as-
cribed to the Egyptians by ancient Greek wri-
ters, one of whom, Dioscorides, attributes the
first cultivation of barley to the same people,

 

HISTORY OF TIIE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

under the guidance of Osiris; while Herodotus
informs us that the people of Egypt, being with-
out vines, made their wine from barley. Pliny,
in his Natural History, gives the Egyptian name
of this liquid as Zythum. An intoxicating li-
quor is still made from this grain, both in Egypt
and Nubia, to which the name of bouzah is given.
This is of very general consumption among the
lower rank of people. Burckhardt observed an-
other use to which barley is applied in the lat-
ter country. The green ears are boiled in water,
and served up to be eaten with milk. Among
the Greeks beer was distinguished as barley wine,
aname which sufficiently identifies the intoxi-
cating property of the liquid, and the material
whence this was drawn. From a passage in Ta-
citus we learn that the German people were, in
his day, acquainted with the process of preparing
beer from malted grain; and Pliny describes a
similar liquid under the name of Cerevisia, an
appellation which it retained in Latin books of
more recent date. It farther appears that malt
liquor has formed an article of manufacture and
consumption ‘in this country for a period at least
coeval with the time of Tacitus; but we do not
know whether any one kind of grain was exclu-
sively employed in its preparation, or whether
wheat and barley were not used for the purpose,
either indiscriminately or in conjunction.

The general drinks of the Anglo-Saxons were
ale and mead: wine was a luxury for the great.
In the Saxon Dialogues preserved in the Cotton
Library in the British Museum, a boy, who is
questioned upon his habits and the uses of things,
says, in answer to the inquiry what he drank—
** Ale if I have it, or water if Ihave it not.” He
adds, that wine is the drink “ of the elders and
the wise.” Ale was sold to the people, as at this
day, in houses of entertainment; “for a priest
was forbidden by a law to eat or drink at ceape-
alethetum, literally, places where ale was sold.”
After the Norman conquest, wine became more
commonly used; and the vine was extensively
cultivated in England. The people, however,
held to the beverage of their forefathers with
great pertinacity; and neither the juice of the
grape nor of the apple were ever general favour-
ites. “The old ale knights of England,” as
Camden calls the sturdy yeomen of this period,
knew not, however, the ale to which hops in the
next century gave both flavour and preservation.
Hops appear to have been used in the breweries
of the Netherlands in the beginning of the four-
teenth century. In England they were not used
in the composition of beer till nearly two centu-
ries afterwards. It has been affirmed that the
planting of hops was forbidden in the reign of
Henry VI.: and it is certain that Henry VIII.
forbade brewers to put hops and sulphur into
ale. In the fifth year of Edward VI., the
roval and national taste appears to have
THE GRAMINEA,

changed; for privileges were then granted to
hop-grounds.

‘In the reign of James I. the plant was not suf-
ficiently cultivated in England for the consump-
tion; as there is a statute of 1608 against the im-
portation of spoilt hops. In 1830, there were
46,727 acres occupied in the cultivation of hops
in Great Britain.

Of barley, there are above thirty million bush-
els annually converted into malt in Great Bri-
tain; and more than eight million barrels of beer,
of which four-fifths are strong beer, are brewed
yearly. This is a consumption, by the great
body of the people, of a favourite beverage which
indicates a distribution of the national wealth,
satisfactory by comparison with the general po-
verty of less advanced periods of civilization in
our own country, and with that of less industri-
ous nations in our own day.*

Marr. This term is applied to barley, or
other grain, which has been made to germinate
artificially to a certain extent, after which the
process is stopped by the application of heat.
In the manufacture of malt, the barley is steeped
in cold water for a period which, as regulated by
law, must not be less than forty hours, but be-
yond that period the steeping may be continued
as long as is thought proper. There it imbibes
moisture and increases in bulk, while at the
same time a quantity of carbonic acid is emitted,
and a part of the substance of the husk is dis-
solved by the steep water. The proportion of
water imbibed depends partly on the barley, and
partly on the length of time that it is steeped.
From the average of a good many trials, it ap-
pears that the medium increase of weight from
steeping may be about 47 lbs. in every 100 lbs.,
the average increase of bulk is about a fifth. The
carbonic acid emitted while the barley is in the
steep, is inconsiderable, and probably is derived
from the oxygen of the steep water. The water
gradually acquires a yellow tinge and the smell
and taste of water in which straw has been
steeped; these qualities are derived from the ex-
tractive matter of the husks of the barley.

After the grain has remained a sufficient time
in the steep, the water is drained off, and the bar-
ley thrown out of the cistern upon the malt floor,
when it is formed into a rectangular heap about
sixteen inches in depth, called the couch. In this
situationitis allowed to remain about twenty-one
hours. It is then turned by means of wooden sho-
vels,and diminished alittlein depth. Thisturning
is repeated twice a day, or oftener, andthe grain is
spread thinner and thinner, till at last its depth
does not exceed a few inches, When placed on
the couch it begins gradually to absorb oxygen
from the atmosphere, and to convert it into car-
bonic acid, at first very slowly, but afterwards

« Library of Entertaining Knowledge.

 

217

more rapidly. ‘he temperature at first, the
same with that of the internal air, begins slowly
to increase, and in about 96 hours the grain is at
an average about 10° hotter than the surround-
ing atmosphere. At this time the grain, which
had become dry on the surface, becomes again so
moist that it will wet the hand, and exhales at
the same time an agreeable odour, not unlike that
of apples, The appearance of this moisture is
called sweating. A small portion of alcohol ap-
pears volatilized at this period. The great ob-
ject of the maltsmen is to keep the temperature
from becoming excessive. This they do by fre-
quent turning. The temperature which they
wish to preserve varies from 55° to 62° accord-
ing to the different modes of malting pursued. At
the period of the sweating, the roots of the grain
begin to appear, at first like a small white pro-
minence at the bottom of each seed, which soon
divides itself into three rootlets, and increases in
length with very great rapidity, unless checked
by turning the malt. About a day after the
sprouting of the roots, the rudiments of the fu-
ture stem, called acrospire by the maltsters,
may be seen to lengthen. It rises from the same
extremity of the seed with the root, and ad-
vancing within the husks, at last issues from the
opposite end; but the process of malting is
stopped before it has made such progress.

As the acrospire shoots along the grain, the ap-
pearance of the kernel, or cotyledon, undergoes a
considerable change. The glutinous and muci-
laginous matter is taken up and removed, the
colour becomes white, and the textureso loose that
it crumbles to powder between the fingers. The
object of malting is to produce this change ; when
it is accomplished, which takes place when the
acrospire has come nearly to the end of the seed,
the process is stopped by drying the malt upon
the kiln, at first with a temperature of 90°
increased slowly to 140° or higher, according to
circumstances. The malt is then cleaned, to se-
parate the rootlets, which are considered as in-
jurious. By this process of malting, barley in-
creases in bulk from two to three per cent. and
decreasesin weight about twenty percent., twelve
parts of which however is merely water evapo-
rated by the kiln drying. The remaining eight
parts of loss consist of extract carried off in the
steep water, the roots separated in cleaning, and
loss by attrition on the floor and otherwise.

The malt thus prepared is next ground in a
mill, and infused in the mash tun with somewhat
more than its own bulk of water, of a tempera-
ture from 160° to 180°. After a few hours the
infusion is drawn off, and more hot water added.

Wort has a brownish yellow colour, a luscious
sweet taste, w peculiar smell, and when pure is
perfectly transparent. The water of the wort
holds in solution a saccharine matter analogous
in every respect to sugar— starch, in greater or

25
218

less quality according to the quality of the malt
—a small proportion of gluten, and mucilage in
considerable quantity. The wort is afterwards
boiled with hops, which arethe pericarpsand seeds
of thefemale flower of the humulus lupulus,a dice-
cious plant of the family of wrticea. The use of
the hops is partly to communicate a peculiar
flavour, from the essential oil which they con-
tain, partly to neutralize the sweetness of the
saccharine matter by the bitter principle which
they contain, and partly to counteract the tendency
which wort has to run into acidity. The wort
is now placed in flat vessels to cool, and when
brought down to 52° is then put into a deep vat
or fermenting tun. When fermentation takes
place, the temperature rises, a scum collects on
the surface, and the whole ingredients assume a
new action. In order to induce and accelerate
this fermentation, a quantity of yeast is added, in
proportion of about a gallon to every three barrels
of wort. In ale wort the rise of temperature is
about 15°, in stronger wash, for the purpose of
distillation, the increase of temperature is some-
times 50°. The fermented liquor is also speci-
fically lighter than the wort, and now contains
alcohol in place of the displaced saccharine mat-
ter of which it was originally for the most part
composed.

Oats (avenu). This grain differs in its ex-
ternal appearance from wheat, barley, or rye,
especially in the form of the ear. The ear is a
panicle formed by the rachis, dividing into nu-
merous branches, the large ones being at the base,
while towards the top they gradually decrease,
thus forming a conical or tapering figure. While
the ear is yet recent the branches are erect; but
as the seeds advance towards maturity, and be-
come full and heavy, they assume a dependent
form. By this position the air and light has
more free access to the ripening grains, while the
rain washes off the eggs or larve of insects that
would otherwise prey upon the young seeds.
From these circumstances, as well as from the
nature of the plant generally, oats are found to
be of such a hardy nature as to thrive in soils
and climates where the other grains cannot be
raised. Cold and wet climates are not unfavour-
able te the production of oats; while, on the con-
trary, extreme heat and drought render this grain
husky and tasteless. We accordingly find the
oat thriving in great luxuriance in northern eli-
mates, while it cannot be cultivated with any
success in the southern parts of the temperate
zone. Even in the south of Iingland the pro-
duce is inferior to that which is obtained in the
more northern districts and in Scotland.

There are now no means of ascertaining the
period when oats were first introduced into Eng-
land; indeed some suppose that this grain is in-
digenous to the country.

Avena Sativa, Of this, the species most com-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

 

monly cultivated, there are several varieties, as
the bearded or long black oat, a; the white oat,
b; the red oat, and the naked or pilcorn.

The best variety of oats produced in Great
Britain is unquestionably the potatoe oat. Of
this kind the first plants were discovered grow-
ing accidentally on a heap of manure in company
with several potatoe plants, the growth of which
was equally accidental ; and it is to this cireum-
stance that the distinctive name of this variety
is owing. To an occurrence thus purely acci-
dental, and which might well have passed unno-
ticed, we are indebted for decidedly the best and
most profitable variety we possess of this useful
grain. It requires to be sown on land in a good
state of cultivation, when the grains on ripening
will be found large, plump, and firm, often
double, and of a quality which insures for the
corn a higher price in the market than is given
for any other variety. It also yields an abun-
dant produce of straw. Potatoe oats form al-
most the only kind now cultivated in the north
of England and the lowland districts of Scot-
land.

The seed-time of oats is almost universally in
March and April. The grain is scattered broad-
cast, in the large proportion of from four to six
bushels to the acre, the medium produce of which
is from forty to fifty bushels.

The nutritive quality of oats is smaller in a
given weight than that of any other cereal grains.
In oats of the best quality it does not exceed 75
per cent., while that of wheat is 954 per cent.
The very small proportion of saccharine matter
ready formed in oats renders it very difficult and
unprofitable to convert this grain into malt.
Brewers at the present day do not employ oats
in the preparation of any kind of beer. In former
times, when the public taste was different from
what it is at present, a drink called mam was
manufactured for sale, and in the preparation of
this liquid oatmeal was employed. The princi-
pal use now made of oats in the southern divi-
sion of the kingdom is the feeding of horses, for
which purpose the grain is admirably adapted ;
a large quantity of this grain is farther consumed
in the fattening of poultry. The deer of Henry
VIII. were fed with oats. In the privy purse
expenses of this king (published by Mr Nicolas),
is the following entry :—“ Paied to the keper of
THE GRAMINEZE. 219

Grenewiche parke for xiiij lode of hey And for
vi lode of Oots, for the relief of the dere there,
And for the carriage thereof, vj/é. ijs. viiid.”
Oatmeal, prepared by various processes of cook-
ing, composes at this day a large proportion of
the food of the inhabitants of Scotland, and par-
ticularly of the better-fed portion of the labour-
ing classes. Oaten cakes, too, are much used in
Lancashire.

The wild oat, which is certainly indigenous to
this country, is found to be a very troublesome
weed. It is said that the seed will remain buried
under the soil during a century or more without
losing its vegetating power; and that ground
which has been broken up, after remaining in
grass from time immemorial, has produced the
wild oat abundantly.

The Anglo-Saxon monks of the abbey of St
Edmund, in the eighth century, ate barley bread,
because the income of the establishment would
not admit of their feeding twice or thrice a-day
on wheaten bread. The English labourers of
the southern and midland counties, in the latter
part of the eighteenth century, refused to eat
bread made of one-third wheat, one-third rye,
and one-third barley, saying, that “they had lost
their rye-teeth.” It would be a curious and not
unprofitable inquiry, to trace the progress of the
national taste in this particular. It would show
that whatever privations the English labourer
may now endure, and whatever he has endured
for many generations, he has succeeded in ren-
dering the dearest kind of vegetable food the gen-
eral food of the country; this single circumstance
is a security to him against those sufferings from
actual famine which were familiar to his fore-
elders, and which are still the objects of conti-
nual apprehension in those countries where the
labourers live upon the cheapest substances.
‘Wages cannot be depressed in such a manner as
to deprive the labourer, for any length of time,
of the power of maintaining himself upon the
kind of food which habit has made necessary to
him; and as the ordinary food of the English
labourer is not the very cheapest that can be got,
it is in his power to have recourse for a while to
less expensive articles of subsistence should any
temporary scarcity of food, or want of employ-
ment, deprive him of his usual fare—an advan-
tage not possessed by his Irish fellow-subjects,
to whom the failure of a potatoe crop is a matter
not of discomfort merely, but of absolute starva-
tion.

Pierce Plowman, a writer of the time of Ed-
ward IITL., says, that when the new corn began to

be sold,

“ Woulde no beggar eat bread that in it beanes were,
But of coket, and clemantyne, or else clene wheate.”

This taste, however, was only to be indulged
“when the new corn began to be sold ;”” for then

 

a short season of plenty succeeded to a long pe-
riod of fasting—the supply of corn was not equal-
ized throughout the year by the.provident effects
of commercial speculation. The fluctuations in
the price of grain, experienced during this period,
and which were partly owing to insufficient agri-
cultural skill, were sudden and excessive. On
the securing of an abundant harvest in 1317,
wheat, the price of which had been so high as
80s., fell immediately to 6s. 8d. per quarter.
The people of those days seem always to have
looked for a great abatement in the price of grain
on the successful gathering of every harvest; and
the inordinate joy of our ancestors at their har-
vest-home—a joy which is faintly reflected in our
own times—proceeded, there is little doubt, from
the change which the gathering of the crops pro-
duced, from want to abundance, from famine to
fullness. That useful class of men, who employ
themselves in purchasing from the producers that
they may sell again to the consumers, was then
unknown in England. Immediately after the
harvest, the people bought their corn directly
from the farmers at a cheap rate, and, as is
usual under such circumstances, were improvi-
dent in the use of it, so that the supply fell short
before the arrival of the following harvest, and
prices advanced out of all proportion.

In a valuation of Colchester, in 1296, almost
every family was provided with a small store of
barley and oats, usually about a quarter or two
of each. Scarcely any wheat is noticed in the
inventory, and very little rye. The corn was
usually ground at home in a handmill or quern;
although wind and water mills were not uncom-
mon. The general use of the latter machines
was probably prevented by the compulsory laws
by which the tenant was under an obligation te
grind his corn at the lord’s mill; and, therefore,
to evade the tax called mzltwre, the labour of the
handmill was endured. In Wicliff’s translation
of the Bible we find a passage in the 24th chap-
ter of St Matthew thus rendered: “Two wym-
men schulen (shall) be gryndyngein one querne.”
Harrison, the historian, two centuries later, says,
that his wife ground her malt at home upon her
quern. In the present authorized version of the
Bible, published more than half a century after
Harrison, the word “quern” yields to “ inill.”
By that time, probably, the trades of a miller
and a baker were freely exercised ; and the lord’s
mill and the corporation oven had been super-
seded by the competition growing out of increas-
ing capital and population.

The Reformation and the discovery of America
were events that had a considerable influence
upon the condition of the great body of the people
in England. The one drove away the inmates
of the monasteries, from whence the poor were
accustomed to receive donations of food; the
other, by pouring the precious metals into Eu-
220

rope, raised the price of provisions. In the latter
half of the sixteenth century, wheat was three
times as dear, both in England and France, as in
the former half. The price of wheat, upon an
average of years, varied very little for four cen-
turies before the metallic riches of the New
World were brought into Europe; upon an
average of years it has varied very little since.
The people of the days of Henry VIII. felt the
change in the money-value of provisions, al-
though the real value remained the same; and
they ascribed the circumstance to the dissolution
of the monasteries.

When wheat was fourteen-pence a bushel, it
was probably consumed by the people in seasons
of plenty, and soon after harvest. During a por-
tion of the year there is little doubt that the
English labourers had better food thanthe French,
who, in the fifteenth century, were described by
Fortescue thus: “They drynke water, they eate
apples, with bred right brown, made of rye.”
Locke, travelling in France in 1678, says of the
peasantry in his journal, “ Their ordinary food,
rye bread and water.”” The English always dis-
liked what they emphatically termed “changing
the white loaf for the brown.’ They would
have paid little respect to the example of Masi-
nissa, the African general, who is described by
Polyhius as eating brown bread with a relish at
the door of his tent. Their dislike to brown
bread in some degree prevented the change which
they proverbially dreaded. In the latter part of
the sixteenth century, however, this change was
pretty general, whatever was the previous con-
dition of the people. Harrison says, speaking
of the agricultural population, “As for wheaten
bread, they eat it when they can reach unto the
price of it, contenting themselves, in the mean-
time, with bread made of oates or barlie, a poore
estate, God wot!” In another place he says,
“The bread throughout the land is made of such
graine as the soil yieldeth ; nevertheless, the gen-
tilitie commonlie provide themselves sufficiently
of wheate for their own tables, whilst their house-
hold and poore neighbours, in some shires, are
inforced to content themselves with rie or bar-
lie.” Harrison then goes on to describe the se~
veral sorts of bread made in England at his day,
viz. manchet, cheat, or wheaten bread ; another
inferior sort of bread, called ravelled, and lastly,
brown bread. Of the latter there were two sorts:
“One baked up as it cometh from the mill, so
that neither the bran nor the floure are any whit
diminished. The other hath no floure left there-
in at all; and it is not only the worst and weak-
est of all the other sorts, but also appointed in
old time for servants, slaves, and the inferior kind
of people to feed upon. Hereunto, likewise, be-
cause it is drie and brickle in the working, some
add a portion of rie-~meale, in our téme, whereby
the rough drinesse thercof is somewhat qualified,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and then it is named mescelin, that is, bread
made of mingled corne.” In the household book
of Sir Edward Coke, in 1596, we find constant
entries of oatmeal for the use of the house, be-

ides “otmell to make the poore folkes porage,”’
and “rie-meall, to make breade for the poore.”
The household wheaten bread was partly baked
in the house and partly taken of the baker. In
that year it appears, from the historian Stow,
that there was a great fluctuation in the price of
corn; and he particularly mentions the price of
oatmeal, which would indicate that it was an
article of general consumption, as well in a li-
quid form, as in that of the oat-cakes of the north
of England.

In 1626, Charles I., upon an occasion of sub-
jecting the brewers and maltsters to a royal li-
cense, declared that the measure was “for the
relief of the poorer sort of his people, whose
usual bread was barley; and for tne restraining
of innkeepers and victuallers, who made their ale
and beer too strong and heady.” The grain to
be saved by the weakness of the beer was for the
benefit of the consumers of barley-bread.

At the period of the Revolution (1689) wheat-
en bread formed, in comparison with its present
consumption, a small proportion of the food ot
the people of England. The following estimate
of the then produce of the arable land in the
kingdom tends to prove this position. This es-
timate was made by Gregory King, whose sta-
tistical calculations have generally been consi-
dered entitled to credit.

Bushels.

Wheat, 14,000,000
Rye, 10,000,000
Barley, 27,000,000
Oats, 16,000,000
Pease, 7,000,000
Beans, 4,000,000
Vetches, 1,000,000

In all, 79,000,000

At the commencement of the last century
wheaten bread became much more generally used
by the labouring classes, a proof that their con-
dition was improved. In 1725, it was even used
in poor-houses in the southern counties, The
author of “Three Tracts on the Corn Trade,”
published at the beginning of the reign of George
Jil, says, “It is certain that bread made of
wheat is become much more generally the food
of the common people since 1689, than it was
before that time; but it is still very far from
being the food of the people in general.” He then
enters into a very curious calculation, the results
of which are as follow: The whole number of
people is 6,000,000, and of those who eat

Wheat, the number is, 38,750,000
Barley, 739,000
Rye, 888,000
Oats, 623,000

Total, 6,000,000
THE GRAMINEAE. |

This calculation applies only to England and
Wales. Of the number consuming wheat, the
proportion assigned to the northern counties of
York, Westmoreland, Durham, Cumberland,
and Northumberland, is only 30,000. Eden, in
his History of the Poor, says, “ About fifty years
ago (this was written in 1797), so small was the
quantity of wheat used in the county of Cum-
berland, that it was only a rich family that used
a peck of wheat in the course of the year, and
that was used at Christmas. The usual treat
for a stranger was a thick oat-cake (called haver-
bannock) and butter. An old labourer of eighty-
five remarks that when he was a boy he was at
Carlisle market with his father, and wishing to
indulge himself with a penny loaf made of wheat-
flour, he searched for it for some time, but could
not procure a piece of wheaten bread at any shop
in the town.”

At the time of the Revolution, according to
the estimate of Gregory King, 14,000,000 bushels
of wheat were grown in England. In 1828, ac-
cording to the estimate of Mr Jacob, in his Tracts
on the Corn Trade, 12,500,000 quarters, or
100,000,000 bushels were grown. The popula-
tion of England at the Revolution was under
five millions, so that each person consumed about
three bushels annually. The population, at the
present time, is under fifteen millions, so that
each person consumes about seven bushels an-
nually.

Ricz (oryza sativa). This isa panicled grass,
bearing, when in ear, a
nearer resemblance to bar-
ley than to any other of the
corn-plants grown in Eng-
land. The seed grows on
separate pedicles springing
from the main stalk; each
grain is terminated with an
awn or beard, and is in-
closed in a rough yellow
husk, the whole forming a
spiked panicle. The stalk
is not unlike that of wheat,
but the joints are more nu-
merous. The farina of rice
is almost entirely composed
of starch, having little or
no gluten, and being with-
out any ready formed sac-
charine matter. The outer
husk clings with great tenacity to the grain,
and is only to be detached from it. by pass-
ing the rice between a pair of mill-stones, placed
at such a distance from each other as shall serve
to remove the husk by friction, without crush-
ing the grain. This is besides enveloped by a
thin pellicle, which for the most part is rubbed
off by trituration in large mortars, with pestles
weighing from two to three hundred pounds.

94

 

 

221

There is little reason for doubting that this
grain is of Asiatic origin. From the earliest re-
cords it has formed the principal, if not the only
food of the great mass of the population on the
continent and islands of India and throughout
the Chinese empire.

Rice is one of the chief productions of Egypt,
and constitutes one of the principal sources of
wealth to the inhabitants. It grows in the rice
fields round Damietta and Rosetta, which are
easily irrigated for this purpose by the waters of
the Nile. The Egyptians are supposed to have
learned the cultivation of rice under the reign of
the Caliphs, at which time many useful plants
were brought over the Red sea to Egypt, which
now grow spontaneously there and enrich the
country. Hasselquist thus describes the man-
ner in which he witnessed the separation of the
grain from the husk. It is pounded by hollow
iron pestles of a cylindrical form, an inch in dia-
meter, lifted up by a wheel worked by oxen. A
person sitting between the two pestles pushes
forward the rice when the pestles are rising;
another sifts, winnows, and lays it under the
pestles. In this manner they continue working
until it is entirely free from chaff and husks.
When it is clean they add a thirtieth part of
salt, and pound them together, by which the
rice becomes white, which before was gray.
After this fining it is passed through a fine sieve
to part the salt from the rice, and then it is ready
for sale.

The introduction of rice as an object of culti-
vation in America is of very modern occurrence.
The author of a work “On the importance of
the British Plantations in America,” which was
published in London during the year 1701, has
recorded, as a circumstance then recent, that “a
brigantine from the island of Madagascar hap-
pened to put in at Carolina, having a little seed-
vice left, which the captain gave to a gentleman
of the name of Woodward. From part of this
he had a very good crop, but was ignorant for
some years how to clean it. It was soon dis-
persed over the province; and by frequent expe-
riments and observations, they found out ways
of producing and manufacturing it to so great
perfection, that it is thought to exceed any other
in value. The writer of this has seen the said
captain in Carolina, where he received a hand-
some gratuity from the gentlemen of that coun-
try, in acknowledgment of the service he had
done the province. It is likewise reported, that
Mr Dubois, then treasurer of the East India com-
pany, did send to that country a small bag of
sced-rice some short time after, from whence it
is reasonable enough to suppose might come those
two sorts of that commodity; the one called red
rice, in contradistinction to the white, from the
redness of the inner husk or rind of this sort, al-
though they both clean and become white alike.”
Zoe,

The swamps of South Carolina, both those
which are occasioned by the periodical visits of
the tides, and those which are caused by the in-
land floodings of the rivers, are well suited for
the production of rice; and not only is the cul-
tivation accomplished with trifling labour, but
the grain proves of a remarkably fine quality,
being decidedly larger and handsomer than that
of the countries whence the seed was originally
derived.

It does not appear that this naturalizing of
rice in Carolina and Georgia was ever productive
of much effect in regard to the diet of the in-
habitants of those provinces. Their consump-
tion of rice was doubtless increased by it, because
the abundance and cheapness of an article always
influence persons to its use. But wheat and
maize continued, as before, to be the bread-corn
of the country; and the newly introduced grain
was cultivated principally because it furnished
an article in constant demand, which might be
transmitted to the mother country in return for
British manufactured goods.

Tad a contrary effect followed upon the in-
troduction of rice into the then British colonies
of America, and this grain had become, as in In-
dia, the universal food of the inhabitants, it is
not probable that their condition would have
been in any way ameliorated by the change. In
countries where rice forms the chief article of
food, dearths are not by any means of uncom-
mon occurrence. A failure of the usual supply
of rain, which is followed by evil consequences
where other descriptions of grain are raised, is
‘productive of tenfold misery where the chief de-
pendence is upon the crop of rice, which with-
out its due degree of moisture proves wholly un-
productive. In such cases there can be found
few sources of relief, other objects of cultivation
being pursued to only a limited extent, and the
means of the people not enabling them to com-
pass the purchase of these scarcer articles of food,
even when, through the general abundance, they
may be procured at their natural price. Happily
for the interests of humanity, dearths are becom-
ing less and less frequent of occurrence, through
the better understanding of subjects connected
with the production and distribution of commo-
dities.

Some botanists enumerate four species of
rice, while others suppose these only varieties of
the same grain, occasioned by difference of soil,
climate, and culture. These varieties are common
rice—early rice, mountain rice, and clammy rice.

Common rice is a marsh plant. If the ground
on which it is sown should become dry before
the plants arrive at maturity, they wither. Itis
this variety which grows most strongly ; and on
lands peculiarly adapted for it the culture is pro-
bably as advantageous as can well be pursued.

Early rice, like the other, is a marsh plant,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

hut it does not grow to the same size. It comes
much sooner to maturity; for while common
rice is never ripe in less than six months from
the time of ploughing, this variety, if placed in
favourable situations, requires only four months
for arriving at perfection.

Mountain rice thrives on the slopes of hills
and in other situations where it can receive hu-
midity only occasionally. Dr Wallich, sent to
London a few years ago some specimens of rice
grown on the cold mountains of Nepaul. These
seeds were furnished to him by the resident of
the East India Company in that district, and
were recognised by the Doctor as mountain rice,
The degree of cold which this plant is qualified
to bear is very great. According to the infor-
mation collected on the subject by Dr Wallich, the
cultivators consider their crop quite safe if the
growth of the plants is advanced five or six
inches above the surface at the time the winter
snows cover the ground. It is probable that the
slow melting of the snow is beneficial to the
growth of the plant, which advances with great
vigour on the return of spring.

A knowledge of these circumstancesmight have
led to the opinion that this variety of rice could
be naturalized in England, if the attempt had not
already been fairly made by one well qualified
for conducting the experiment. Samples of six
different sorts of mountain rice which had been
procured by Sir John Murray from the neigh.
bourhood of Serinagur at the foot of Mount
hhnaus, were, on the occasion alluded to, presen-
ted by the Board of Agriculture to Sir Joseph
Bauks, who planted each kind in a separate bed,
in a sheltered spot with a south aspect, in hig
garden at Spring Grove. The grains, which
were sown very thin on the 21st of May, speedily
sprang up, and the plants tillered so much that
the beds put on the eppearance of compact, dense
masses of vegetation ; each plant having from ten
to twenty off-sets. Although the blades grew
vigorously, attaining in a short time to the
length of two feet, there was never any symptom
of a rising stem, and if the ground was not
watered, either by rain or artificially every three
or four days, the plants began to assume a sickly
hoe. In this manner vegetation proceeded, with-
out the smallest symptom of their perfecting
themselves by fructification, when the plants
were suddenly destroyed by an carly night frost
in September. Some of the plants, which had
been transferred to pots and placed in the hot-
house at an early period of their growth, soon
died; while others, which were sown originally
in a hot-house, produced cars and flowered, but
the blossoms dropped without perfecting any
seed.

The conclusion to which Sir Joseph Banks
arrived from these experiments was unfavourable
to the cultivation of rice in this country as a
THE GRAMINE. 223

grain-bearing plant; but he was led to consider,
from: the great quantity of its blades, that it
would afford excellent green-meat for cattle.

Clammy rice appears to be endowed with the
peculiar property of growing both on wet and
on dry lands: the period occupied by its growth
is intermediate between those of the common and
early varieties.

Rice seed is sown in Carolina in rows, in the
bottom of trenches, which are about eighteen
inches apart, reckoning from the centres of the
trenches. The sowing is generally performed by
negro women, who do not scatter the seed, but
put it carefully into the ground with the hand,
so as to preserve the perfect straightness of the
line. The sowing is for the most part completed
by the middle of March. The water, which
until then has been kept back by means of flood-
gates, is at this time permitted to overflow the
ground to the depth of several inches, and things
remain in this state for some days,—generally
about a week. The germination of the seed is
promoted by this flooding, and the water being
then drawn from the surface of the land, the
plants sprout, rising in about four weeks to the
height of three or four inches. At this time the
flood-gates are again opened, the fields are once
more overflowed, and remain in that state during

about sixteen days; one good effect of this se--

cond flooding being the destruction of the grass
and weeds which may have sprouted at the same
time with the rice. The land is allowed after
thisto remain without further irrigation until the
middle of July, being repeatedly hoed during the
interval, as well to remove any weeds at the mo-
ment of their appearance, as to loosen the soil
about the roots of the rice, adopting thus in all
its principal parts the drill system of husbandry.
At the time last mentioned, water is again ad-
mitted, and remains covering the surface until
the grain is actually ripened.

The rice harvest in the United States usually
commences at the end of August, and extends
through the entire month of September, or even
somewhat later. The reaping is performed with
a sickle by male negroes, and these are followed
by females, who collect the rice into bundles.

This cultivation is found to be extremely un-
healthy to the negroes employed in its prosecu-
tion. The alternate flooding and drying of the
land in so hot a climate, where natural evapora-
tion proceeds with great rapidity, must necessa-
rily be prejudicial to health. To avoid exposure
to this unwholesome atmosphere, the whole
white population abandon the low grounds to
the care of negro cultivators. The mortality
thus occasioned among the labourers in rice dis-
tricts is so great, that while the general increase
of population in the States exceeds by far that
realized in the older settled countries of Europe,
fresh supplies of negro slaves must continually

 

ae

be brought, to repair the waste of life, from the
more northern slave states of the Union.

The cultivation of rice is very extensively and
successfully carried on in the rich meadows of
Lombardy, which can be irrigated by the waters
of the Po. The meadows chosen for the purpose
are perfectly flat. After the seed is sown, the
water is turned on and allowed to cover the sur-
face to the depth of several inches during the
whole course of its growth, and until the rice is
ripe. Three crops are taken successively from
the ground in this manner without manuring ;
but the soil is then so far exhausted, that it must
be manured and planted for a time with other
crops, before another succession of rice harvests
can be drawn from it.

This system of agriculture proves the most
profitable to the cultivator of any that is carried
on in Lombardy; but the same unwholesome
effect is experienced there as in Carolina; and
the government at Milan finds it expedient to
restrict the cultivation within a certain limit,
beyond which the production of rice is not
allowed. The quantity of seed usually sown is
three”bushels to the acre, and the average pro-
duce from the same measure of land, is commonly
about six quarters.

In the province of Valencia in Spain, the me-
thod of rice cultivation is very similar to that
pursued in Lombardy. The water remains on
the ground even during the operations of harvest.
and the reapers are obliged to wade up to their
knees in order to cut the grain, other persons
following to receive the sheaves as they are cut,
and to convey them to some dry place, where
the grain is detached from the ear by the tread-
ing of mules.

The hollows between Columbo and Candy, in
the island of Ceylon, are devoted to the produc-
tion of rice. The fields on which it is sown are
artificially formed into a regular succession of
terraces, one above another, so that the water of
irrigation may be made to flow from a higher to
a lower level, the plants being in different stages
of their growth. In some cases the water is led
for a mile, or even two miles along the side of a
mountain, and is then discharged over the high-
est terrace, and thence downward in succession
to the lowest, according as moisture. may be re-
quired by each. Bishop Heber, for whom the
charms of nature, whether in a wild or culti-
vated state, were never displayed in vain, re-
marks, on visiting this district, that “the ver-
dure of the young rice is particularly fine, and
the fields are really a beautiful sight, when sur-
rounded by and contrasted with the magnificent
mountain scenery.”

Rice is extensively cultivated throughout the
Chinese empire, and in consequence of the value
of all such products of the earth, to a people so
numerous, much care is taken in its culture.
224

The Chinese method of raising rice is thus de-
tailed by Duhamel:

“To hasten the germination of the seed-rice
it is placed in baskets and iminersed during some
days in standing water.

“When the ground is so thoroughly soaked
that the surface is like soft mud, it is ploughed
with a buffalo, yoked to a very simple plough,
without wheels, and having only one handle.
‘he clods are after this broken down by means
of arude kind of hurdle, drawn also by a buffalo,
the driver sitting upon the hurdle to increase the
weight. The ground is cleared very carefully
of all stones, and whatever weeds may be found
are diligently removed with their roots. The
land is then partly covered with water, and
smoothed by a harrow which has several rows
of great iron teeth.

“ The seed-rice, when it has once sprouted, is
known to be good; grains not in-this situation
are rejected, and the remainder is sown by hand
very thickly and as equally as possible upon a
part only of the land, which is thus used as a
sort of nursery for the remainder. The land
having at this time upon it just as much water
as will barely cover it, the points of the plants
appear above the surface one day after the seed
has been sown, :

“In ashort time, when the plants have ac-
quired a little strength, they are sprinkled over
with lime-water, the object of this being the
destruction of'insects. For this purpose a small
basket with a long handle is used, and this being
filled by immersion in the lime-water, the fluid
runs through in divided portions over the plants.
This practice is found to be so efficacious, that
the Chinese are said to hold its first inventor in
the highest veneration.

“Towards April, when the plants cover thickly
the ground that has been sown, the greatest part
of them are pulled up with their roots and planted
in tufts, pretty far asunder in a quincunx form, in
fields prepared for their reception. A serene day
is chosen for this operation, which must be per-
formed quickly, so that the plants are as short a
time as possible out of the ground.

“ After this, water is admitted to overflow the
rice, the grounds being, for this purpose, always
situated near a rivulet, pond, or great pool of
water, from which they are separated only by a
bank which may readily be cut. It sometimes
happens, however, that the water is below the
level of the fields, in which case the necessary
quantity is conveyed in buckets, which are
worked chiefly by the aid of ropes,—a most la-
borious occupation.

“Though a man cannot step in these rice-
grounds without sinking up to his knees, the
Chinese weed them three times during the sum-
mer, and that so carefully, that every weed they
can find is pulled up by the roots,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

“When the rice is ripe, which is known in
the same manner as wheat, by its turning yellow,
it is cut down with a sickle, made into sheaves,
and conyeyed into a barn, where it is threshed
with flails very similar to those used among our-
selves.’ The husk and inner pellicle are re-
moved by beating and trituration, pretty much
in the same manner as has already been de-
scribed.

The Chinese plant their seed-rice at regular in-
tervals, and carefully weed and raise up the soil
between the plants; thus they have practised for
ages the system of drilling and hoeing grain,
which has been but lately introduced into the
husbandry of Europe. The method of cultivat-
ing rice in Hindostan very much resembles that
of the Chinese.

In both India and China rice forms the
subsistence of the native population, more
exclusively and to a greater extent than can per-
haps be said of any other vegetable substance in
any known region of the globe. In the coun-
tries just mentioned, as well as in those districts
of Africa where it is used indiscriminately with
maize, rice undergoes but little culinary prepar-
ation, being, for the most part, simply boiled
with water, and eaten either by itself, or accom-

‘panied by some stimulating or oily substance.
‘In countries, on the other hand, where it is em-

ployed only as an auxiliary article of food, rice
is subjected to agreater degree of preparation for
the table, and except when used to thicken
broths, is seldom presented, unless after concoc-
tion with eggs, and milk, and sugar, which cover
the natural insipidity of the grain.

When our grain crops happen to be deficient
in this country, it has been proposed to mix a
quantity of rice with wheat, or rye flour for
making bread. ‘This has been tried with some
success, though it is alleged that such bread
soon becomes dry and unpleasant.

The method is as follows:—First reduce the
rice to powder in a mill, or throw the whole
grains into water at nearly a boiling heat,
and allow them to soak during some hours.
Then drain off the water, and when the rice shall
have become sufficiently dry, beat it in a mortar,
and pass the powder through a fine sieve. This
flour must next be placed in a kneading-trough,
and moistened in the necessary degree with water
rendered glutinous by boiling whole rice in it for
some time; add salt, and the proper quantity of
leaven or yeast, and knead the whole intimately
together. The dough must then be covered with
warm cloths and left to rise. During this fer-
mentative process, the dough, which was of a
pretty firm consistence, will become so soft as
not to be capable of being formed into loaves. It
is, therefore, placed in the requisite quantities as
in forms, and these being covered with larger
leaves, or with sheets of paper, are introduced
THE GRAMINE.

into the oven, the heat of which speedily sets the
dough sufficiently, so that the tins being re-
versed, their contents are turned out upon the
leaves or paper. The bread, when perfectly
baked, will be of a fine yellow colour, similar to
that imparted to flour by the yolks of eggs, and
when new is said to be sufficiently agreeable.

‘The Chinese manufacture a sort of wine from
rice, said to be similar to Spanish white wine.

Duhamel describes a method of mixing rice
with malted barley, for the manufacture of beer.
Four parts of crushed rice steeped in an equiva-
lent weight of water, are added to one part of
malt, the ready formed saccharine matter of the
barley malt appears to have the singular property
of speedily converting the fecula of unmalted
corn into a kind of soluble matter which has the
fermentative properties of sugar. If malt and
rice flour, diluted so as to have a pasty consis-
tence, be mixed and mashed together, and then
left during three or four hours, the mixture will
present the appearance of a liquid which is
slightly saccharine to the taste, and having a se-
diment at the bottom of the vessel, which is
found, on examination, to be composed of only
the husks of barley and rice. M. Dubrunfaut
used for the purpose rice from which the husk
had not been removed previous to its being
crushed, and which in this state is known by
the name of paddy or more properly paddee.

Zea Mayz (maize or Indian corn) is a plant
indigenous to America, having been found under
partial cultivation by the Indians on the discov-
ery of the New World. It is extensively culti-
vated both in North and South America, and
forms an article of food as important to the in-
habitants of those regions, as rice does in the
eastern countries. There is only one ascertained
species of maize, although several varieties seem
to arise in consequence of differences of soil, cul-
ture, and climate.

The plant consists of a strong jointed stalk
(see Plate VI., figs. 1, 2.), provided with large
alternate leaves, almost like flags, springing from
every joint. The top produces a bunch of male
flowers, of various colours, which is called the
tassel. Each plant bears, likewise, one or more
spikes or ears, seldom so few as one, and rarely
more than four or five, the most usual number
being three: as many as seven have been seen
occasionally on one stalk. These ears proceed
from the stalk at various distances from the
ground, and are closely enveloped by several thin
leaves, forming a sheath, which is called the
husk. The ears consist of a cylindrical substance,
of the nature of pith, which is called the codé,
over the entire surface of which the seeds are
ranged, and fixed in eight or more straight rows,
each row having generally as many as thirty or
more seeds. The eyes or germs of the seeds are
in nearly radial lines from the centre of the cy-

 

225

linder; from these eyes proceed individual fila-
ments of a silky appearance, and of a bright green
colour; the aggregate of these hang out from the
point of the husk, in a thick cluster, and in this
state are called the si&. 1t is the office of these
filaments, which are the stigmata, to receive the
farina, which drops from the flowers on the top,
or tassel, and without which the ears would pro-
duce no seed—a fact which has been established
by cutting off the top previous to the develop-
ment of its flowers, when the ears proved wholly
barren. So soon as their office has been thus
performed, both the tassel and the silk dry up,
and put on a withered appearance.

The grains of maize are of different colours,
the prevailing hue being yellow, of various shades,
sometimes approaching to white, and at other
times deepening to red. Some are of a deep cho-
colate colour, others greenish or olive-coloured,
and even the same ears will sometimes contain
grains of different colours.

Maize is said to contain no gluten, and little
if any ready-formed saccharine matter, whence
it has been asserted to have but a very small nu-
tritive power; on the other hand, it is seen that
domestic animals which are fed with it very
speedily become fat, their flesh being at the same
time remarkably firm. Horses which consume
this corn are enabled to perform their full por-
tion of labour, are exceedingly hardy, and re-
quire but little care; and the common people of
countries where Indian corn forms the ordinary
food, are for the most part strong and hardy
races. The produce of maize, on a given extent
of cultivation, is greater than that of any other
grain; and the proportional return for the quan-
tity of seed committed to the ground is equally
advantageous.

American Indian Corn is the largest known
variety of maize. It is found growing wild in
many of the West Indian islands, as well as in
the central parts of America; and there can be
no doubt of its being a native of those regions.
In favourable situations it has a very consider-
able growth, attaining to the height of from seven
to ten feet; in some cases it has acquired the
gigantic height of fourteen feet, without in any
way impairing its productive power. Its spike,
or ear, is eight or ten inches in length, and five
or six inches in circumference. The plant gen-
erally sends out one, two, or more suckers from
the bottom of the stalk; but these it is advisable
to remove, not only as they draw away part of
the nourishment which should go to support the
main stalk, but because the ears which the
suckers bear ripen at later periods than the
others, and the harvest could not all be simulta-
neously secured in the properest state of matu-
rity.

This variety will rarely come to maturity in

northern climates, and could never be securely
25
226

relied on for a crop in any part of Europe. In
the Mexican states, where this grain is known
by the name of Tlaowili, there are few parts of
either the lower districts—tierra caliente—or of
the table-land, whereon it is not successfully cul-
tivated. In the former districts its growth is
naturally more luxuriant than in the latter; but
even at an elevation of six or seven thousand feet
above the level of the sea, its productiveness is
calculated to excite wonder, if not to provoke
incredulity on the part of European agricultur-
ists. Some particularly favoured spots have
been known to yield an increase of eight hun-
dred for one; and it is perfectly common in situ-
ations where artificial irrigation is practised, to
gather from three hundred and fifty to four hun-
dred measures of grain for every one measure
that has been sown. In other places, where re-
liance is placed only on the natural supply of
moisture to the soil from the periodical rains,
such an abundant return is not expected; but
even then, and in the least fertile spots, it is rare
for the cultivator to realize less than from forty
to sixty bushels for each one sown.

The system of husbandry employed is closely
analogous to Tull’s horse-hoeing plan. The seed
is sown, from three to five grains together, at
regular intervals of three feet, in rows sufficiently
far apart to admit of the passage of a small
plough between them, for the purposes of loosen-
ing the soil around the roots, and of removing
the weeds. The use of manure is altogether un-
known in Mexican maize husbandry.

Humboldt states, that in some warm and hu-
mid regions of Mexico three harvests of maize
may be annually gathered, but that it is not
usual to take more than one. The seed-time is
from the middle of June to near the end of Au-
gust. <A great part of the internal commerce of
Mexico consists in the transmission of this grain,
the price of which varies considerably in not very
distant stations, owing to the imperfect state of
the roads and the insufficient means of transport.
As an instance of this, Humboldt mentions the
fact, that during his stay in the intendancy of
Guanaxuato, the fanega (five bushels) of maize
cost at Salamanca nine, at Queretaro twelve, and
San Luiz Potosi twenty-two, livres. For want
of a proper diffusion of commercial capital, the
Mexican public is without the advantage of mag-
azines for storing corn, and for preventing, by
that means, great fluctuations in price. It is a
fortunate circumstance, and one which should
be mentioned as adding very materially to the
natural value of maize in warm climates, that it
will remain in store uninjured for periods vary-
ing from three to five years, according to the
mean temperature of the district,

This kind of corn is generally planted in the
United States of America about the middle of
May, so as to avoid the mischance of its experi-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

encing frost after it is once out of the ground.
The Indians who inhabited the country previ-
ously to the formation of any settlement upon
its shores by Europeans, having no calendar or
other means of calculating the efflux of time,
were guided by certain natural indications in
their choice of periods for agricultural operations.
The time for their sowing of maize was governed
by the budding of some particular tree, and by
the visits of a certain fish to their waters—both
which events observation had proved to be such
regular indicators of the season, as fully to war-
rant the faith which was placed on their recur-
rence. These simple and untaught people dis-
covered and practised a method of preserving
their grain after harvest, which afforded a cer-
tain protection against the ravages of insects, and
which might be advantageously adopted in other
situations, and in climates where this evil is very
prevalent. Their method was to separate the
corn from the cobb as soon as the harvest was
finished; to dry it thoroughly by exposure to
the sun, and to a current of air; and then to de-
posit it in holes dug out of the earth in dry situ-
ations, lining these holes with mats of dried
grass, and covering them with earth, so as com-
pletely to prevent the access of air.

With the exception of artificial irrigation, to
which recourse is not had in the United States,
the method of sowing and managing maize is
there singularly analogous to that pursued in
Mexico. The proportionate produce, from a
given quantity of seed, or a certain breadth of
land, is smaller, however, than that realized in
Mexico, although the practice of manuring is
universally followed. As compared with the
yielding of other kinds of grain, maize cultiva-
tion is, nevertheless, highly productive in the
United States. In Pennsylvania, where the
average crop of wheat does not exceed from four-
teen to seventeen bushels, that of maize amounts
to from twenty to thirty bushels to the acre. A
writer in the Monthly American Journal of Ge-
ology and Natural Science, considers that maize
produces the heaviest crops near the northern
limits of its range. The American farmers find
this advantage to attend the partial culture of
maize upon their farms, that the time of harvest-
ing is some weeks later than that of wheat, and
that, consequently, the general operations of the
harvest may be conducted without great bustle
and temporary advance of wages, to be followed
by a season of inaction and consequently of idle-
ness to the labourer—evils which are commonly
experienced in England.

The second variety of maize has white grains.
This kind, which is cultivated in Spain, Portu-
gal, and Lombardy, is altogether a smaller plant
than the variety just described, seldom exceeding
six or seven feet in height; the leaves are nar-
rower, and the tops hang duwnwards. The ears
THE GRAMINEA.

or spikes are not more than six or seven inches
long. The French, among whom this grain is
partially cultivated, have given to it the name of
Blé de Turquie, doubtless because their seed was
originally obtained from that country.

Except in unusually favourable seasons, the

- two varieties hitherto described will not come to
maturity in England, although they are some-
times sown as a curiosity in warm spots in
gardens.

The third variety has both yellow and white
seeds. It is even smaller than the last mentioned,
seldom rising to a greater height than four feet.
‘The ears do not often exceed four or five inches
in length. In ordinary seasons it will ripen its
grains perfectly in England; and one reason why
it has been presumed that its cultivation would
prove advantageous to this country, is the short-
ness of time required for its growth, whereby
the late frosts to which we are sometimes liable
in spring, and the early frosts of autumn, would
be alike avoided. This particular variety is cul-
tivated in some of the middle regions of the Eu-
ropean continent, as well as in some parts of
North America, from which latter country it is
understood to have its origin. It is also par-
tially cultivated in Germany, not as a bread-
corn, but that it may be malted and used in the
preparation of a kind of beer, or made to yield
an ardent spirit. The use chicfly made of it,
however, is that of fattening swine and poultry.

In the cultivation of Indian corn in northern
climates, it is proper to make choice of warm
spots, and particularly to avoid shady situations.
In order to admit the sun as much as possible to
the plants, and probably also with the view of
affording more nutriment to the grain, it is usual
to remove the blades, together with the top and
tassel, as soon as its office of dropping its fecun-
dating farina upon the ears has been fully ac-
complished. This process is very easy of per-
formance. When the blades and tops are per-
fectly dry they are stacked and thatched, and
form an excellent substitute for hay and chaff in
the spring, both for cattle and horses, as well as
for sheep, all these animals being attracted by its
sweetness.

It may generally be known when the corn is
ripened, by the dry and white appearance put
on by the husk; a more intimate inspection is,
however, accomplished without difficulty. The
ears must then be plucked off, together with the
husks, and conveyed at once in carts to the barn.
In America, the stalks are usually left standing
for some time Jonger. Being then cut near to
the ground, tied up into bundles, and stacked in
a dry place, they will prove useful as food for
horned cattle, which, from the saccharine quality
of the plants, will thrive upon them.

The ears are preserved in bins or cages, which
are called corn-cribs, sometimes with the husk,

 

227

and at other times without it; and it is not con-
sidered good farming to shell the corn before it
is required to be sent to market. This operation
of shelling is very easily performed. The only
implement required for the purpose is a piece of
iron in shape like a sword-blade, the edge of
which is not sharp, and this iron being fixed
across the top of a tub in which the shelled
grains are to be collected, the ear is taken in
both hands, and scraped lengthwise smartly
across the edge of the iron until all the grains are
removed. In this manner, it is said, an indus-
trious man will shell from twenty to twenty-five
bushels of corn in the course of the day. The
cobb which remains makes a very tolerable quick-
burning fuel, and thus no part of the plant proves
altogether without use.

The grain forms one-half the measure of the
ear, that is to say, two bushels of ears will yield
one bushel of shelled corn. So correct is this
estimate found to be, that in the markets of the
United States, where Indian corn is sold both
shelled and with the cobb, two bushels of the
latter are taken without question by the pur-
chaser, as being equal to one bushel of shelled
grain.

Captain Lyon, in the narrative of his travels
in Mexico, has given an amusing account of the
mode of preparing tortillas, a species of cake
made with the crushed grains of maize, which is
eaten hot at the meals of all classes of people, the
more wealthy using the cakes in the way weare
accustomed to use wheaten bread,—as an auxil-
iary to more nourishing aliments—and the pea-
sants being fain to enjoy them as a substantive
food, seasoning them, when they have the op-
portunity, by the addition of chilies stewed into
a kind of sauce, wherein the tortillas are dipped.
Simple as the art may appear of thus making
an unleavened cake with moistened flour, some
persons are found to acquire a greater degree of
expertness in it than others; and so great is the
necessity for their preparation, and the desire of
having them well concocted, that according to
Captain Lyon, “in the houses of respectable
people, a woman, called from her office Tortill-
era, is kept for the express purpose; and it
sounds very oddly to the ear of a stranger during
meal-times, to hear the rapid patting and clap-
ping which goes forward in the cooking-place,
until all demands ave satisfied.”

Dr Franklin thus details the various uses to
which maize may be applied:

“Tt is remarked in North America, that the
English farmers, when they first arrive there,
finding a soil and climate proper for the hus-
bandry they have been accustomed to, and par-
ticularly suitable for raising wheat, despise and
neglect the culture of maize or Indian corn; but
observing the advantage it affords their neigh-
bours, the older inhabitants, they by degrees get
228

more and more into the practice of raising it;
and the face of the country shows from time to
time that the culture of that grain goes on visi-
bly augmenting.

“The inducements are the many different
ways in which it may be prepared so as to afford
a wholesome and pleasing nourishment to men
and other animals. First, the family can begin
to male use of it before the time of full harvest ;
for the tender green ears, stripped of their
leaves, and roasted by a quick fire till the grain
is brown, and eaten with a little salt or butter,
areadelicacy. Secondly, when the grain is riper
and harder, the ears, boiled in theirleaves and eaten
with butter, are also goodand agreeablefood. The
tender green grains dried may be kept all the
year, and mixed with green haricots (kidney
beans), also dried, make at any time a pleasing
dish, being first soaked some hours in water, and
then boiled. When the grain is ripe and hard
there are also several ways of using it. One is
to soak it all night in a lessive or lye, and then
pound it ina large wooden mortar with a wooden
pestle; the skin of each grain is by that means
skinned off, and the farinaceous part left whole,
which being boiled swells into a white soft pulp,
and eaten with milk, or with butter and sugar,
is delicious. The dry grain is also sometimes
ground loosely, so as to be broken into pieces of
the size of rice, and being winnowed to separate
the bran, it is then boiled and eaten with turkeys
or other fowls, as rice. Ground into a finer
meal, they make of it by boiling a hasty pud-
ding or bowilli, to be eaten with milk, or with
butter and sugar; this resembles what the Ital-
jans call polenta. They make of the same meal,
with water and salt, a hasty cake, which being
stuck against a hoe or other fiat iron, is placed
erect before the fire, and so baked to be used as
bread. Broth is also agreeably thickened with
the same meal. They also parch it in this man-
ner, An iron pot is filled with sand, and set on
the fire till the sand is very hot. Two or three
pounds of the grain are then thrown in, and well
mixed with the sand by stirring. Each grain
bursts and throws out a white substance of twice
its bigness, The sand is separated by a wire
sieve, and returned into the pot to be again
heated and repeat the operation with fresh grain.
That which is parched is pounded to a powder
in mortars. This being sifted will keep long
for use. An Indian will travel far and subsist
long on a small bag of it, taking only six or eight
ounces of it per day mixed with water. The
flour of maize, mixed with that of wheat, makes
excellent bread, sweeter and more agreeable than
that of wheat alone. To feed horses, it is good
to soak the grain twelve hours, they mash it
easier with their teeth, and it yields them more
nourishment. The leaves stripped off the stalks
after the grain is ripe, tied up in bundles when

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

dry, are excellent forage for horses, cows, &c.
The stalks, pressed like sugar-cane, yield a sweet
juice, which being fermented and distilled yields
anexcellent spirit; boiled without fermentation, it
affords a pleasant syrup. In Mexico, fields are
sown with it thick, that multitudes of small
stalks may arise, which being cut from time to
time, like asparagus, are served in desserts, and
their sweet juice extracted in the mouth by
chewing them. The meal wetted is excellent
food for young chickens, and the old grain for
grown fowls.”

In addition to the many uses enumerated by
Franklin in the foregoing account, Humboldt
acquaints us that the Mexican Indians, previous
to the conquest of their country, were accus-
tomed not only to express the sweet juice from
maize-stalks for the purpose of fermenting it
into an intoxicating liquor, but that they boiled
down this juice to the consistence of syrap;°
giving it likewise as his opinion that they were
able even to make sugar from this inspissated
juice. In confirmation of this opinion, he re-
cites a letter written by Cortez, who in describ-
ing to the Emperor Charles V. the various pro-
ductions in both a natural and manufactured
state which he found in the new country, as-
serts, that among these were seen “honey of
bees and wax, honey from the stalks of maize,
which are as sweet as sugar-cane, and honey from
a shrub which the people call maguey. The
natives make sugar from these plants, and this
sugar they also sell’ There is no question that
the productions here enumerated will yield sac-
charine matter; but crystallized sugar, properly
so called, is a different preparation, and, from
our present knowledge, it is difficult to believe
that any such substance could have been so pre-
pared.

The Indians, at the period above alluded to,
evinced considerable skill in the preparation of
fermented liquors, which is by no means lost
by the Mexicans of the present day. “A che-
mist,” says Humboldt, “would have some diffi-
culty in preparing the innumerable variety of
spirituous, acid, or saccharine beverages which
the Indians display a peculiar address in making,
by infusing the grain of maize, in which the
saccharine matter begins to develope itself by
germination. These beverages, generally known
by the name of chicha, have some of them a re-
semblance to beer, and others to cyder.” The
spirituous liquor called pulquede mahisor tlaouili,
which is prepared from juice expressed from the
stalk of the maize, forms, in some parts of the
republic, a very important article of commerce.

Siraria irattica—Italian Millet, (fig. a.)
Millet, is a species of grass, which in certain
countries where the soil is light and arid, is culti-
vated in place of corn. The seed is extremely
smal] but this is made up by the number borne
THE GRAMINEZ,

 

a 6
a, Italian Millet. 6, Pannicled Millet.

by each ear or pannicle. From this great num-
ber of grains, amounting to a thousand (mzile,)
the name of the plant is supposed to be derived.

The Italian millet is without doubt a native
of India, where it is called congue. The stalk isa
jointed reed, with a long, broad, amplexial leaf,
proceeding from each joint. Itisin height about
three or four feet, and terminates in a compact
spike of an oval form, about nine inches long.
The numerous grains adhere but slightly to the
husks, and are easily shaken out; the seeds are of
various colours. The Italians make a sort of
coarse brown bread from the flour of these seeds;
but the principal use of them is for feeding poul-
try. The leaves and stalks are used as fodder for
cattle, and are also made into brushes. The
German variety of millet, Sitaria Germanica, is
similar to the Italian, but rather more diminu-
tive.

Sorghum vulgare, or pannicled millet, (fig. b.)
goes under different names in the different coun-
tries where it is cultivated. In India it is
called jovarce; in Egypt and Nubia dhourra ;
while in our West Indian colonies it has received
the name of Guinea corn, either because the seed
was first conveyed thither from the western
coast of Africa, or, as some persons have affirmed,
because of its extensive use in feeding the Afri-
can negroes throughout those colonies, The
height to which this plant attains varies accord-
ing tothe soil andculture. In Egyptits growth
seldom exceeds five or six feet, while Burck-
hardt speaks of the stalks of dhourra as being
sixteen or twenty feet long. The leaves are
thirty inches long, and two inches wide in the
broadest part. The flowers, when they first
come out in large panicles at the top of the stalk,
resemble the male spikes of the maize plant.
These flowers are succeeded by roundish seeds,
the colour of which is, in some cases, a milky

 

229

white, with a black umbilical dot; in others the
seeds are red, but in both cases they are wrapped
round with the chaff, and are better protected
from feathered depredators than other kinds of
millet.

This grain was introduced into cultivation in
Switzerland about the middle of the last century
by M. Tschiffeli, who 1¢ceived about a spoonful
of the seed from Dr Schreber. M. Tschiffeli
published an account of his method of cultiva-
tion in the Transactions of the Berne Society ;
some extracts from which paper will suffice to
show the capabilities of this grain when cultiva-
ted in northern latitudes. Among the advanta-
ges which it offers are stated, its adaptation to
all sorts of soils, the small quantity of manure
which it requires, the trifling amount of labour
for which it calls, and the small degree of ex-
haustion which it occasions to the soil in com-
parison with the largeness of the return which
it yields.

M. Tschiffeli sowed his first seed in the month
of May, on a gravelly soil exposed to the north
wind, and which the year before had borne a
very indifferent crop of bigg. The seed was
spread very thin, and to this circumstance he
attributed the fact that the stalks rose to the
height of eight feet and upwards. The ears
were above ten inches long, and but for an in-
opportune shower of hail which destroyed half
the seed, the spoonful would probably have been
multiplied intoa peck of grains. In May of the
following year, about a quart of seed was sown
upon a piece of ground twenty paces long and
half as broad, which space, it was soon apparent,
was far too circumscribed for the quantity of
seed. The stalks came up very close, and were
interwoven with each other, reaching scarcely to
the height of five feet; and the ears were much
smaller than those of the preceding year. The
produce, however, was seven pecks, or equival-
ent to fifty-six forone. In the next year, thirty
square rods of land were sowed with half a peck
of the seed. Here, again, the millet came up far
too thick, being almost as much crowded from
its greater tillering, as it was in the preceding
year; notwithstanding which, the produce was
so great, that twenty bushels were harvested,
being a return of one hundred and sixty for one,
and at the rate of more than one hundred bush-
elstotheacre. M. Tschiffeli was of opinion that
ten pounds of seed would prove an ample allow-
ance for an acre of ground, and that greater
space being thus allowed for the individual
plants, the proportion between the quantities
sown and harvested would be still more favour-
able. It does not appear that millet has ever
been subjected to the system of drill husbandry,
although the results here given seem to point out
that system as being peculiarly applicable to its
cultivation.
250

Sorghum is cultivated largely in some parts of
China and in Cochin China. In England the
autumn is rarely sufficiently dry and warm for
ripening its seeds, otherwise the plant might
prove useful in some poor and light soils, the pro-
duce of which is ordinarily insufficient to repay
the greater expense attendant upon the cultiva-
tion of other grain. Sorghum was raised in this
country as a rare plant, in the garden of John
Gerarde, as early as 1596.

The golden-coloured millet seeds seen in our
grecers’ shops are the produce of the sorghum
saccharatum, or yellow-seeded millet. Use is
made of these in a similar manner with rice, for
the preparation of puddings.

This variety is likewise a native of India; it
is cultivated largely in China and Cochin China;
and has been introduced into the island of
Jamaica. Philip Miller reared it in his garden
in 1759.

In warm climates millet is usually sown in
May and June, and perfects its seeds within four
months. The plant is not subject to blight, nor
is it easily injured hy either drought or rain.
The only care required in its cultivation is to
allow sufficient space for the tillering of the
plants, and to weed and hoe the intervals during
the early part of the growth; after which it will
overtop and smother all weeds.

When millet is ripe, the panicles are cut off
near to the top of the stalk,-and collected in
sacks or baskets. They are then laid up in
heaps, and carefully covered during five or six
days; after which they are spread on the barn
floor, and the grain is threshed out in the ordi-
nary manner with a flail. The more primitive
method of treading out the grain by means of
oxen is resorted to in some parts of India,

If millet is not perfectly dry when deposited
in the granary, it will soon be spoiled; but, on
the other hand, if this precaution be properly
taken, there is no grain that will keep longer or
better. The weevil will not touch it, and al-
though it is doubtless the better for being turned
over occasionally, that process, so indispensable
with other grain, may be omitted here without
producing any scrious injury. In addition to
the use made of the stalks as fodder, the Nubi-
ans employ them in the construction of tempor-
ary huts.

In the barren districts of Bornou, a species of
millet is produced, which is called by the inha-
bitants gusswb,-and upon which both men and
animals are almost exclusively fed. By the
poorer class itis frequently eaten, simply parched,
or even without any culinary preparation. Other
persons crush and then steep the seeds in water
previous to eating them, and some few, who are
the epicures of the land, clear the grain from the
husk, pound it, and make it up into a light paste
with melted fat: this favourite dishiscalled Laddel.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The Nubians prepare a fermented liquor from
dhourra which they call bouzah.

Tun Grasses. As the various kinds of corn
are of the utmost importanee as the food of man,
so the grasses are no less essential to the main-
tenance of herbivorous animals. The grasses
form a numerous family, and grow abundantly
in our pastures and meadows. Several turfs,
only six inches in diameter, and taken from va-
rious localities in England, were examined by
Mr Curtis, and found to contain from six to ten
distinct species of the grasses. Of British grasses
no less than twenty-five families, or distinct gen-
era, have been classified, and many of these fam-
ilies contain from twelve to eighteen species.
The different kinds of grasses are adapted to dif-
ferent localities; some are found to flourish in
dry and arid soils, others in rich meadows, and
not a few in marshes and moist situations, and
thus we have hill and dale clothed with their
appropriate verdure. We shall here point out
a few of the most important of this family of
vegetables.

Meadow Fox-tail Grass (alop-curus praten-
sis). This grass is distinguished by the large-

 

@ Meadow Fox-tail Grass. b Sweet-scented vernal Grass,

ness of its foliage, and by its producing a soft
spike on a long stalk early in May. The mea-
dow cat’s-tail grass, or Timothy grass, produces
a spike somewhat similar; but it is rougher to
the touch, and flowers much later in the summer.
It is a very productive grass, shoots very rapidly
after mowing, and yields a very plentiful after-
math. This grass grows naturally in a moist
soil, and hence it is well adapted to improve very
wet ground which has been so far drained of its
superfluous moisture. Its seeds are easily col-
lected; but in certain seasons they are very apt
to be destroyed by a minute larva, or maggot,
of an orange colour, which feeds on the germ.
THE GRAMINEZ.

Sucet-scented vernal Grass ( anthoxanthum odo-
ratum). This is also an early-growing grass.
It grows readily in all soils and situations, in
bogs, in woods where there is little underwood,
in rich meadows, and in dry pastures. It is not
so productive as some of the other grasses; yet
cattle are particularly fond of it. It is the only
one of the grasses which is odoriferous. The
agreeable scent of new made hay arises entirely
from this grass, hence its name of sweet-scented.
The green leaves, when slightly compressed or
bruised, readily impart this perfume to the fin-
gers, by which means the foliage may be known.
It produces fewer seeds than most of the other
grasses ; and in certain localities, and especially
in dry seasons, the leaves are liable to blight, by
which they are changed to a yellow hue.

Smooth-stalked meadow Grass (poa pratensis ).

97.

Se

sz
ee

 

   

Smooth-stalked meadow Grass.

From a creeping root the foliage of this grass
begins to shoot and to assume a beautiful ver-
dure very early in spring. The seeds are borne
on a panicle of a light and graceful structure.
This grass delights in a rather dry situation, and
hence it keeps green in long-continued droughts
better than the other grasses, yet it will also
thrive in a moist locality. It is seen growing on
the top of a dry wall, and also flourishing in a
wet meadow. It only flowers once a-year, while
some of the other grasses are running to seed
very frequently; from this circumstance it is
well adapted for lawns, where smoothness and
uniformity of appearance are desired. In dry
soils this grass is apt to fall off in the quantity
of foliage; and on the whole, is not reckoned a
very productive one to the agriculturist.
Rough-stalked meadow Grass (poa trivialis ).
In appearance this grass is very like the preced-
ing, yet there are some marked distinctions. The
poa pratensis has a smooth stalk, the trivialis a
rough one, which is very perceptible when the
latter is drawn across the fingers, and which
arises from a number of little sharp sete or
points, placed on the leaf. The trivialis has a
long-pointed membrane at the base of the leaf;
the pratensis a short blunt one. While the

 

231

smooth-stalked meadow grass is found chiefly in
dry pastures, the rough-stalked principally occurs
in moist meadows, or on the edge of wet ditches.
It loves moisture and a sheltered situation;
hence, though there are few grasses more pro-
ductive, or better adapted for hay or pasturage,
it is a tender grass, and liable to be injured by
severe cold or excessive drought.

Crested Dog’s-tail Grass (cynosurus cristatus ).

98,

 

d Crested Dog's-tail Grass. |b Meadow fescue Grass.

This grass grows naturally in dry situations, and
will not thrive in meadows that are very wet.
It flowers about the middle of June. It pro-
duces but little foliage, and its stems are dry and
wiry. It is found abundantly in sheep pasture
grass, and those animals are said to relish it; but
other cattle are not fond of it; and on the whole,
it is not a grass to be recommended for culture.
Meadow fescue Grass (festuca pratensis ).
This in appearance and qualities nearly resembles
the ray grass, and indeed is reckoned by some
to have several superior qualifications. It is
larger and more productive in leaves; it is
strictly perennial; is very hardy, and will
thrive not only in very wet, but also in dry
ground. It produces numerous seeds, which are
easily collected, and which readily germinate
when sown. It is late of flowering, however, as
it does not put forth its panicle till the middle
of June. It differs from the tall fescue grass in
being of a much smoother and more succulent
quality. i
Ray or Rye Grass, darnel (lolium perenne).
This grass, originally brought from Norfolk, has
now obtained a universal celebrity as one of the
best of the cultivated grasses. It is peculiarly
adapted both for hay and pasture, especially in wet
or uncertain climates. It flowers in June; ani if
cut in this month it again flowers the same sea-
232

99.

 

Ray or Rye Grass.

son, though not with the same vigour. In the
dry soils of Scotland this grass affords the sweet-
est of our early pastures, especially in fields in
which it has been recently sown; and if eaten
down close and even, it rises again repeatedly, to
be again consumed in the same season. If it is
permitted, however, to rise into flower stalks,
and especially if these are permitted to stand till
they whiten, it is in that state disliked, as most
of the other grasses in a similar state are, by
every grazing animal. In this country, sheep,
horses, and cattle, relish it much before the stalks
have seeded. For post and work horses it makes
the best and most substantial hay, and is par-
ticularly adapted for intermixture with clover
crops. There are three species of this plant:
lolium perenne, perennial rye grass or red darnel ;
lolium tremulentum, annual rye grass or bearded
darnel; lolium arvense, annual white or beardless
darnel. The perennial rye grass is characterised
by being less tall in the stalk than the others ;
but the roots are larger and send up more stalks,
the spike has no awn, there are fewer flowers,
and those are more tapering and pointed at the
extremities. It also flowers earlier than the an-
nual plant. The white beardless darnel resem-
bles the lolium tremulentum, only it has no awns,
is of less dimensions, and feels smooth along the
stalk and spine; but from these characters it may
possibly be mistaken for the perennial plant.
The reddish colour of perennial rye grass, ample
stalks, and large roots, are the readiest marks to
the farmer’s eye. The distinctive marks in the flo-
ral organs between the J. perenne and 1. tremulen-
tum are, that the spicules in the first are longer
than the calyx, and the flowers beardless; where-
as, in the second, the spicules are only of equal
length with the calyx, and the flowers have short
beards. The seed of the perennial is character-
ised by a reddish colour; if fresh, a sweet smell,
asmall size of body, not swelling much in the
middle, but of considerable weight, and no ap-
pearance of awn or beard. The annual species
is much less suited to the general purposes of the
agriculturist, although it is said by some to yield
the heaviest crop of hay.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Water Meadow Grass (poa aquatica). This
grass grows naturally in standing waters, or land
that is periodically overflown. Accordingly, in
flat countries, which do not admit of being suffi-
ciently drained, it is almost the only grass for
hay and pasturage.

Dwarf Meadow Grass (poa annua). A grass
common to every quarter of the globe where cold
does not prevent it, perpetually flowering and
seeding, and that most rapidly; growing in al-
most any soil and situation; varying in size, but
never acquiring any great height ; its foliage ten-
der and grateful to cattle; but liable to be killed
by winter’s frost and summer’s drought; hence
frequent in the edges of paths, where its seeds
being scattered, quickly vegetate, and where it
is not overpowered by more luxuriant herbage,

Creeping bent Grass, or fiorin Grass (agrostis
stolonifera,). This grass is characterized by long
strings, with lively green sprouts issuing from
them at right angles, at a few inches distant
from each other. The strings vary in length,
from one to ten feet, in summer always green.
Sometimes part of these have a dull blood-red
shade, whence probably the grass got the name
of red robin. Most of the strings whiten in win-
ter, when not covered up by their own mat, or
by water, when they preserve their green co-
lour, the whiteness being confined to the enve-
lope. Fiorin has scarcely any root, the slightest
catch of the earth being sufficient for its exist-
ence and nourishment. It is indifferent to the
extremes of wet or drought, though most luxuri-
ant with an ample allowance of moisture; nei-
ther is it influenced by high or low ground, or
extremes of heat or cold. There is no soil so
dry or poor, or no situation so excluded from
sun and air, but where it will find a lodgment,
and grow and flourish. This grass is never pro-
pagated by seeds, which are small and slow of
growth. Itis planted by laying down the strings.
These strings, laid on a bare surface, any time
from the 10th September to Ist April, and
lightly sprinkled with earth or compost, so as
nearly to cover them, will soon vegetate, and in
a short time clothe the surface with a uniform
verdure. It is reputed to produce from five to
ten tons of good hay per acre.

The natural families Cyperacee and Junci, con-
tain plants nearly allied to the grasses; such are
the reeds and rushes, a few of which we shall
enumerate.

The Papyrus (cyperus papyrus _), is an aquatic
plant, with large tortuous roots, a triangular
stem, from fifteen to twenty feet in height, gra-
dually tapering to the top, surmounted by a tuft
of fine fibrous filaments, which subdivide into
still smaller, on which are the small seedy
flowerets. This plant is celebrated as that which
yielded the paper of the ancients, which was
made from the inner bark of the stem, This
THE GRAMINEAE,

100.

 

Papyrus.

liber or bark is composed of thin lamine or
plates, and these unrolled and placed together
formed a sheet. The plates obtained near the
centre were the best, and each cut diminished in
value in proportion as it was distant from that
part of the stem. When carefully peeled from
the plant, and dressed at the sides, that these
might join evenly, these plates were laid close
together on a hard flat table, and then other
pieces similarly cut were laid across them at right
angles. They thus formed a sheet of many
pieces, and to promote their adhesion, the whole
was moistened with the water of the Nile, and,
while wet, pressure was applied. The glutinous
matter inherent in the bark promoted adhesion.
They were afterwards dried in the sun. Bruce
the traveller, who frequently made the paper in
the manner thus described, ascertained that the
saccharine juice contained in the plant, and dis-
solved and diffused in the water, causes the im-
mediate adhesion of the parts. In some cases
where the plants themselves did not contain suf-
ficient juice, or when the water did not dissolve
the juice properly, the strips of bark were joined
together with paste, made of fine flour, mixed
with hot water and alittle vinegar. After being
dried and again pressed, the paper was smoothed
and flattened by beating it with a wooden mal-
let.

A recent traveller thus describes the papyrus
as he found it growing near Syracuse in Sicily,
the only locality in Europe where this beautiful
plant is found indigenous. “The river Anapus,
after flowing through an alluvial plain, which
requires draining very much, being in many
parts swampy, and emitting the most unhealthy
miasmata, falls into the sea at the west side of
the magnificent harbour of Syracuse. We as-
cended the river for some distance in a flat-bot-
tomed boat. Near its mouth the water was pretty
deep, but muddy; and a little farther on we

 

233

found it contaminated and obstructed by heaps
of hemp, which were steeping there. The cur-
rent was scarcely perceptible; but our progress
was impeded by aquatic plants and strong high
rushes, which in many places so covered the
river from side to side, that we could scarcely see
the water. At the distance of about an Italian
mile from the mouth of the river, we first came
in sight of the object of our search, the graceful
papyrus plant, which we saw growing in little
clusters, and shooting above groups of water-
lilies on either side of the river. A quarter ofa
mile higher up we turned to the westward, and
quitting the main stream, entered the Cyanean
branch, which here forms its junction. This
branch was still more covered with reeds and
aquatic plants than any part of that we had come
through; but unlike the Anapus, its water, when
visible, was as clear as w mountain stream in
Scotland. In proportion as we proceeded up
this branch, which is very winding and deep, we
saw the papyrus in thick groups; and as we la-
boured to force our way through the rich vege-
table obstruction, which became stronger and
stronger, the beautiful feathery tuft of the plant
bending with its slim elastic stem, frequently
flapped in our faces. At a short distance from
the fountain head, the serpentine stream was so
completely choked up with a vegetation of sur-
prising tenacity, that having no man to tow us
along from the banks, and, indeed, no assistance
but such as a little boy from Syracuse could ren-
der us, we were well nigh giving up our farther
progress, for the present, in despair. Persevering,
however, by cutting, and tearing, and forcing
our little punt through or over this matting of
plants and flowers, we at last shot into the clear
basin of the Cyanean fountain, well bathed with
perspiration and its own waters. This famous
fountain, which, coming by the famous course of
the stream that flows from it, may be somewhat
more than half a mile from the Anapus, is a cir-
cular pool, of from sixty to seventy feet in dia-
meter. Its waters, though the bottom of the
basin seems formed of black mud, are remarka-
bly pure, and so transparent that you can see
the fish which swarm there, and any other ob-
ject far beneath the surface, as clearly as though
you looked through the medium of a transparent
atmosphere. According to our measurement,
the fountain was then thirty-two feet deep ;—it
was fringed all round with the graceful eyperus
papyrus. Nothing remained of the ancient
temple of Cyane except some blocks of marble,
that had fallen or been thrown into the foun-
tain; even the name of Cyane was no longer
known there, the Syracusans calling the foun-
tain and the stream La Pisma. Few spots could
be more solitary, and still the limpid water
flowed without a ripple, nor were any sounds
heard except the occasional twitter of a sort ot
26
234

reed sparrow, and now and then the rustling of
the high papyrus, and other aquatic plants, as
_they were shaken by a breath of summer air, or
agitated by the fish gliding among their roots.
The papyri fringing the pool seemed literally to
float upon its tranquil waters, their principal
root, which is large and bulbous, running hori-
zontally at the surface of the stream, and long
slender filaments depending perpendicularly
from it, like so many little cables to keep it at
anchor. The shaft or stern proceeding from this
root was frequently ten feet high, without mea-
suring the flowing tuft in which it terminated.
From some of them which we cut down and
carried away with us, we easily made a sort of
paper, though I cannot say much of the quality
we produced, being hurried and without proper
implements. We were obliged to fasten the
strips together, to form one sheet, with gum,
which may have arisen from the Syracusan pa-
pyrus being deficient in the glutinous quality of
those of the Nile, or, which is at least as pro-
bable, from our not dissolving it properly, or not
giving the strata sufficient pressure. Some manu-
factured papyri we saw in the house of a gentle-
man of Syracuse were certainly infinitely supe-
rior to our own, though even those would have
been a poor substitute for our English writing
paper of the very worst quality. They were
specimens of the result obtained by an antiquary
called L. Cavalier Landolina, who, a good many
years before, had endeavoured to revive the an-
cient manufacture, confidently anticipating that
it would supplant paper, not only in Sicily, but
in all Europe. It may, however, be doubted,
whether paper produced from this substance,
even when the ancient art was in its perfection,
and the best papyri of the Nile employed, ever
equalled the paper we now produce from linen
rags in any one quality save in durability.”
The ancient Egyptians made their sheets of
prodigious length, though narrow. One of those
purchased by the Earl of Belmore, and unrolled
by his lordship, was fourteen feet long by one
foot broad. Belzoni had a papyrus twenty-three
feet long by one and a half broad. The quantity
of the papyrus used by the Egyptians in their fu-
neral operations alone must have been very great.
Those papyri now found in the ancient tombs,
and about the mummy caves in Egypt, are yet
in a wonderful state of preservation. The rolls
are always compressed. Sometimes their exte-
rior is ornamented with gilding, in which case
they are looked upon asof superior value. They
are generally thrust into the breast, or between
the knees of the mummy, and occasionally they
are inclosed in small wooden boxes, or purses.
In the museum of Naples there are not less than
1700 to 1800 MSS. papyri, which have been
dug from the ruins of Herculaneum, and yet
only a very small portion of this ancient city has

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

yet been dug out of the mass of lava by which
it was overwhelmed. .

Several of the Junci are used for making mat-
ting and baskets. The bullrush of this country,
and the juncus acutus, or sharp rush, are thus em-
ployed. In Holland, the sharp rush is planted
with great care on their sea embankments, to
prevent by its roots the action of the tides from
washing away the earth. These roots are nume-
rous, and strike very deep into the ground, and
mat themselves near the surface in such a man-

‘ner, as to hold the earth closely together, and

whenever they are presumed to be destroyed,
much assiduity is employed in replacing them.
‘When these rushes have attained their full height,
which is in summer, they are cut down, tied
into bundles, dried, and conveyed to the town,
where they are wrought into baskets and other
useful articles.

On the banks of the Maese in England this
rush attains the height of three or four feet; but
in general does not grow so luxuriantly in this
country. Asa substitute for it, the great cat’s
tail, typha latifolia, which grows abundantly in
all our swamps, and on the borders of our lakes,
has been used with success. The stem of this
plant is six feet long, its leaves about an inch in
breadth, and convex on one side. It is termi-
nated by a long cylindrical head, where the
flowers and seeds are formed, of a dark brown
colour, and five to six inches in length. The
young and succulent stems of this rush, which
grows in vast quantities in the swamps of Rus-
sia, are used by the Cossacks and Russian boors
as an article of food, and, though mawkish and
insipid, are by them esteemed a luxury.

Two of our common junci, the conglomeratus
and effusus, when the outer skin is peeled off,
are used for wicks in making what are called
rush-lights. We learn from Pliny, that the Ro-
mans applied the pith of various kinds of rushes
for similar purposes, and that they entered into
the composition of the torches and candles used
at their funeral ceremonies.

In Japan, rush making is a trade extensively
followed. All the floors of their houses are cov-
ered with mats, which are of great beauty and
variety, and many of their household utensils are
fashioned out of the same materials. So late as
the days of Queen Elizabeth, our halls and pub-
lic places were strewed with loose rushes, so that
we then had not attained the ingenuity or re-
finement of those eastern nations. The Japanese
employ chiefly the juncus conglomeratus and ef-
Jusus, hard and soft rush. Their mats are
formed of the soft rush, plaited very closely, and
the interstices afterwards filled up with rice
straw. These mats, which are at once the car-
pets and the only beds used by the Japanese, are
soft, elastic, and often three or four inches thick.
Some law appears to regulate the size of these
THE SUGAR CANE.

mats, for, according to Thunberg, they are pre-
cisely of the same dimensions throughout all
parts of the kingdom, with the exception of those
in the imperial palace of Jeddo. The common
dimensions were two yards long and one broad,
with a narrow blue or black border. They make
a lighter sort of matting of the same materials,
which is used as window blinds, and to protect
the transparent paper which forms a substitute
for glass. Of some harder species of rush they
even make shoes for their horses, which come up
to the pastern joint, and cover the hoof. Rushes
and mats are extensively used in many eastern
countries. The sugar sent home from the Mauri-
tius is contained in bags made of matting, which
are thick, strong, and very durable.

CHAP. XXVII.
THE SUGAR CANE, BAMBOO, &c.

Or the same natural family as the cerealia,
and possessing qualities little less valuable than
the various kinds of grains constituting that
family, is the sugar cane. Sugar, as we have
already stated, is a substance found in the juices
of a great many vegetables, and in its chemical
composition is very nearly the same as the farina
of corn. It is a grateful and nutritious sub-
stance, and from having once been esteemed as
a luxury, is now almost from its universal use,
looked upon as a necessary of civilized life.

Tuer Sucar Cane (saccharum oficinarum ),
belongs to the class triandria and order digynia

N01.

 

The Sugar Cane.

of Linneus. Its root is perennial, fibrous, and
the stem simple, knotted, or undivided, jointed,
and smooth. It is two inches in diameter, and
from eight to eighteen and twenty feet in length;

 

235

the number of joints varies from thirty to eighty.
The leaves are long, amplexial, and pointed. The
flowers are small, and produced in the form of a
terminal loose panicle. Calyx, a glume of two
valves, which are oblong or lance-shaped, pointed,
erect, concave, and equal; the base being sur-
rounded by long woolly hairs. The corolla is
composed of two valves shorter than those of the
calyx, and of a fine delicate texture. The germ
is oblong, and supports two feathered styles ter-
minated by a plumous stigma; the seed is oblong,
and is invested by the corolla.

There are now several varieties cultivated in
the American colonies, which were introduced
there about the end of the last century from the
islands of Bourbon, Java, and Otaheite. These
are so far superior to the old plant, that they
have almost superseded its culture. The new
varieties are larger in diameter, the joints are
farther separated from each other, and the plants
arrive several months sooner at maturity than the
old canes. Thus the old Brazilian cane takes
from twelve to twenty months to arrive at ma-
turity, while the new varieties are ready in about
ten months.

The nature of the soil and mode of culture
have a considerable effect on the size of the
plants. In a favourable soil, and in new and
moist lands, it reaches to the height of twenty
feet, while in dry and light soils it does not ex-
ceed six or ten feet. It is always propagated
from cuttings, for although many attempts have
been made to raise plants from seed, these have
always proved unproductive. Bruce athrms
that he has seen it raised from seed in Nubia,
and there must certainly be some country where
the seeds prove productive, else nature would
not have been so lavish in bestowing them on
this as well as every other plant. Neither the
Greeks or Romans were acquainted with the
sugar cane, or at least cultivated the plant as an
article of luxury. It is supposed that Thec-
phrastis alludes to it when he mentions, that
besides being procured from bees, honey, or sweet
juice, is also the product of canes. The sugar
cane, however, seems to have been early culti-
vated in China and India, and from the latter
region it is probable it was introduced into
Europe. Before the discovery of the West
Indies by the Spaniards in 1492, or of the East
Indies by the Portuguese in 1497, sugar was
manufactured from the sugar cane in consider-

‘able abundance in the islands of Sicily, Crete,

Rhodes, and Cyprus. The plant is supposed to
have ‘been brought to these islands originally by
the Saracens, and from thence transported into
some parts of Italy ; and to Spain from Africa
by the Moors. In Spain the sugar cane was first
planted in Valencia, and afterwards in Granada
and Murcia. In these southern districts of the
kingdom, sugar was at one time produced in
236

great quantity. Mr J. Willoughby, an English
traveller in Spain in 1664, says, “ I went to Oli-
ves in Valencia, where, as well as at Gandia, are
enginés for sugar works; the best are at Olives.
By the way we saw the sugar canes growing
at'several places. They are planted in low wet
grounds, well manured and dressed, divided into
beds or hillocks and furrows. They cut the
canes close to the roots in November and Decem-
her, and cutting off the slender tops, which afford
no good juice, keep them under ground till
March, and then prick them into these hillocks
or beds. Out of every talea or cut shoot four,
five, or six canes, which will be ripe next De-
cember. The knots or joints of the cane at the
bottom are very close together, scarce an inch
asunder ; but upwards the distance is more, as
the cane grows more slender. Within is a white
pulp or pith, full of sap, sweet as honey. They
sell them at Gandia to eat, and cutting them in
pieces just in the middle between two knots,
suck the pieces at both ends. To make sugar,
after the canes are cleansed from the tops and
leaves, and cut to pieces, they are first bruised
either with a perpendicular stone running round,
as apples to make cyder, or olives to make oil,
or between two axles strongly capped with iron,
horizontally placed, and turned contrary ways,
and then pressed as grapes or olives are. The
juice thus pressed out is boiled in three several
cauldrons, one after another. In the third caul-
dron it becomes thick and black, and is then put
into conical pots, which at the bottom have a
little hole stopped only with coarse and foul
sugar. These pots are covered when full with a
cake of paste made of a kind of earth called the
Spanish gritty, and found near Olives, which is
good to take spots out of clothes, and which cap
or cover sinks as the sugar sinks. These coni-
cal pots are put into others of another shape by
the hole at the vertex, and the juice drains down
through the coarse sugar at the bottom. It
drains for five or six months, in which time the
sugar in the conical pots grows hard, and while
all the juices being drank up by the late, or run
out by the hole in the vertex, the juice is
boiled again so long as it is good for any thing,
but at last it makes only a foul red sugar that
will never be better. The conical loaves of su-
gar, after they are taken out, are set to drain
over the same pots for fourteen or fifteen days.
To make the sugar more white they must boil
it again, but about one-sixth is lost every time.
A pound of sugar of twelve ounces is sold at
Olives for three sous and a half, refined for five
or six sous, (equal to 3d. of English money.)
The sugar juice is strained through linen strain-
ers, and is put out of one cauldron into another.
They take it out of the first and second caul-
drons so soon as it begins to boil; but in the
third cauldron they let it boil till the scum rises,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and then take off only the scum with the seum-
mer, and put it into a long trough to cool; and
when it is cool, put it into the conical pots.
One scum rises after another in the third caul-
dron. The scum when it is taken off is white,
but turns to a black liquor in the trough. They
never refine the sugar more than three or four
times. They use for the refining of it whites of
eggs, putting in two or three dozen into a caul-
dron, and they use but one cauldron for refining.
‘When the process is finished it grows hard, and
white in nine or ten days.”

From Valencia, the cultivation of the sugar
cane, and the manufacture of sugar, were carried
in the beginning of the fifteenth century by the
Spaniards to the Canary islands, and the com-
merce arising from the sugar then produced was
considerable, but prior to this period the Portu-
guese, in 1420, carried the cane and the manufac-
ture of sugar from the island of Sicily to Ma-
deira. From these origins the cultivation of the
sugar cane, and the art of making sugar, were
extended by different nations of Europeans to
the West Indian islands and the Brazils.

This progress of the cultivation of the sugar
cane has, however, given rise to the supposition
that the Europeans propagated this plant from
Sicily and Spain to Madeira and the Canary
islands, and -from thence to the West Indian
islands and the continent of South America, and
that it was not an original and indigenous plant
in those localities. There are good grounds for
supposing, however, that this opinion is incor-
rect; and although there are no very authentic
accounts regarding the first settlements, or in-
digenous products of those islands, yet there is
every reason to believe that the sugar cane was
found growing in some of them, as it has un-
doubtedly been discovered by navigators as in-
digenous to all the islands of the South seas.
Thus it was found flourishing in the Society
islands, Easter island, and the Sandwich isles,
where the natives were perfectly acquainted with
the use of its expressed juice, though they had
not the knowledge of making sugar. Some
plants of those canes were introduced into the
West Indies, and the astonishing increase of
sugar, which those brought from Otaheite and
planted in Jamaica yielded over those of the
island, showed if they were not distinct species,
that the plant, like many others, improved
greatly by a change of soil and climate. Sir
John Laforey, who introduced some of the Ota-
heitian as well as Indian canes into the island of
Antigua, thus gives an account of them. “There
was one sort brought from the island of Bour-
bon, reported by the French to be the growth of
the coast of Malabar. Another sort from the
island of Otaheite ; a third from Batavia. The
two former are much alike both in their appear-
ance and growth, but that of Otaheite is said to
THE SUGAR CANE.

make the finest sugar. They are much larger
than those of our islands, the joints of some
measuring eight or nine inches long, and six in
circumference. Their colour and that of their
leaves also differs from ours. They are ripe
enough to grind at the age of ten months. They
appear to stand the dry weather better than ours,
and are not liable to be attacked by that destruc-
tive insect called the borer. The Batavian canes
are a deep purple on the outside; they grow short-
jointed, and small in circumference, but branch
exceedingly, and vegetate so quick, that they
spring up from the plant in one-third of the time
which those of our island do.”

When Europeans first visited America, the
sugar cane was found growing in the low lands
near the mouth of the Mississippi. Father
Hennepin says, “From thirty leagues below
Maroa down to the sea, the banks of the Missis-
sippi are full of canes ;”
mentions the sugar cane as growing spontane-
ously near the Rio de la Plata. John de Laet
also mentions it as indigenous in the island of
St Vincent.

Jamaica was discovered by Columbus in his
second voyage in 1494, and a settlement was
made there by the Spaniards in 1509. In 1656
it was taken possession of by the English, and
the sugar cane first planted there for the purpose
of sugar making in 1660. Sir Thomas Modi-
ford, who afterwards became governor of the
island, introduced the art of sugar cultivation,
and the necessary canes from the island of Bar-
badoes. In this latter place the production of
sugar had been sedulously carried on chiefly un-
der his auspices for many years previous. Ligon,
in his history of Barbadoes, thus writes on the
subject: “ At the time we landed on this island,
which was in the beginning of September 1647,
we were informed partly by those planters we
found there, and partly by our own observations,
that the great work of sugar making was but
newly practised by the inhabitants there. Some
of the most industrious men having gotten plants
from Fernambrock, a place in Brazil, and made
trial of them at the Barbadoes; and finding
them to grow, they planted more and more as
they grew and multiplied on the place, till they
had such a considerable number as they were
worth the while to set up a very small ingenio,
and so make trial what sugar could be made on
that soil. But the secrets of the work being not
well understood, the sugars they made were very
inconsiderable and little worth for two or three
years. But they finding their errors by their
daily practice, began a little to mend, and by
new directions from Brazil, sometimes by stran-
gers, and now and then by their own people,
who were content sometimes to make a voyage
thither to improve their knowledge in a thing
they so much desired. Being now much better

and Francis Ximenes

 

237

able to make their queries of the secrets of that
mystery, by how much their often failings had
put them often to stops and non-plusses in the
work ; and so returning with more plants and
better knowledge, they went in upon fresh
hopes, but still short of what they should be
more skilful in ; for at our first arrival we found
them ignorant in those main points that much
conduced to the work, viz., the manner of plant-
ing, the time of gathering, and the right placing
their coppers in their furnaces, as also the true
way of covering their rollers with plates or bars
of iron. At the time of our arrival there, we
found many sugar works set up and at work,
but yet the sugars they made were but bare
Muscovadoes, and few of them merchantable
commodities, so moist and full of molasses, and so
ill cured or dry, they were hardly worth bringing
home to England. But about the time I left
the island, which was in 1650, they were much
bettered, for then they had skill to know when
the canes were ripe, which was not till they were
fifteen months old, while before they gathered
them at twelve, which was a main disadvantage
to the making good sugar, for the liquor want-
ing of the sweetness it ought to have, caused the
sugars to be lean and unfit to keep. Besides
they had grown greater proficients both in boil-
ing and curing them, and had learnt the know-
ledge of making the white, such as you call lump
sugar here in England, but not so excellent as
those they make in Brazil ; nor is there any like-
lihood they can ever make such, the land there
being better, and lying in a continent, must
needs have constanter and steadier weather, and
the air much drier and purer, than it can be in
so small an island as that of Barbadoes,

The rearing of canes,and the manufacture of
sugar has now become the chief employments in
the West India islands, and immense quantities
of this artiele are annually exported from
them. The culture of the cane, therefore, has
now become an object of anxious solicitude.
We have already said that the cane is propagated
by cuttings alone. The top joints are always
selected for this purpose, because they are less
rich in saccharine matter than the lower parts of
the cane, while the vegetating powers are equally
strong. The cane-plant is possessed of the power
of tillering, in a manner similar to that shown
by wheat, although not to an equal extent.

In preparing a field for planting with the cut-
tings of cane, the ground is marked out in rows
three or four feet apart, and in these lines holes
are dug from eight to twelve inches deep, and
with an interval of two feet between the holes.
Where the ground is level, larger spaces are left
at certain intervals for the facility of carting;
but there are many situations at the sides of
steep hills where no cart can be taken, and in
such cases these spaces are not required. The
238

ripe canes are then conveyed to the mill in bun-
dles on the backs of mules, or are passed down
to the bottom of the hill through wooden spouts.

The hoeing of a cane-field is a most laborious
operation when performed, as it must be, under
the rays of a tropical sun. Formerly this task
was always effected by hand labour; but of late
years, where the nature of the ground will admit
of the employment of a plough, that instrument
has been substituted, to the mutual advantage
of the planter and his labourers. The planting
of canes does not require to be renewed annually;
in such a case the utmost number of labourers
now employed on a sugar plantation would be
wholly inadequate to its performance. ‘The most
general plan is for a certain portion of the Jand
in cultivation to be planted annually and in suc-
eession, the roots and stoles of the canes of the
former year being left through the remaining
parts of the plantation. From these, fresh canes,
which are called rattoons, spring up, and are
nearly as large the first year as plant canes.
Rattoon canes have a tendency to deteriorate, at
least in size, every year they are continued, for
which reason the progressive renewal of the
plants is adopted. This plan may, however, be
continued with very good effect for several years,
provided the roots are furnished every year with
a liberal supply of manure, that the ground about
them is well loosened, and that all weeds are
carefully removed. In this way it is said the
same roots have been made to send up canes dur-
ing twenty years. In some few cases the planters
adopt a different course, and never wholly re-
new any individual field of canes, but content
themselves with supplying new cuttings in such
particular spots as from time to time appear to
be thin.

The mode of cultivation varies in some parti-
culars in different countries. In India, where
the price paid for daily labour is exceedingly
small, great pains are taken in preparing the
ground for the reception of the plants, which are
carefully weeded and watered, and freed from
insects, at all periods of their growth, when such
operations are called for. Unfortunately for the
Indian sugar-cultivator, something more than
mere labour is required for the proper manufac-
ture of his produce—an acquaintance with che-
mical science, and the possession of adequate ap-
paratus—in both which particulars he is lament-
ably deficient. The Indian agriculturist would
suffer martyrdom rather than be guilty of the
crime of innovation. ‘The discoveries of scienti-
fic men are to him as though they never had
been made; and in conducting processes he is
contented with apparatus, the total cost of which
does not exceed many shillings, where manu-
facturers of cther countries think it necessary to
expend many hundred pounds. If their invete-
rate prejudices could be overcome, and the Indian

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

sugar-planters were furnished with adequate
utensils, there is every reason to believe that the
markets of Europe could be supplied thence with
sugar of a quality quite equal to that of West-
India manufacture, and at a considerably lower
cost.

The manufacture of sugar is a somewhat com-
plicated process, requiring for its successful per-
formance not only some degree of chemical know-
ledge, but likewise a considerable amount of
practical experience. We have already quoted
Willoughby’s description of sugar-making in
Spain before its introduction into the West In-
dies, and the following is a summary of the mo-
dern practice in the colonies.

When the canes are fully ripe they are cut
close to the stole, and being then divided into
convenient lengths, are tied up in bundles, and
conveyed to the mill, This always consists of
three iron cylinders, sometimes standing perpen-
dicularly in a line with each other, and at othe
times placed horizontally, and disposed in the
form of atriangle, and so adjusted that the canes,
on being passed twice between the cylinders of
either kind of mill, shall have all their juice ex-
pressed. This is collected in a cistern, and must
be immediately placed under process by heat to
prevent its becoming acid, an effect which has
sometimes commenced as early as twenty mi-
nutes from the time of its being expressed. A
certain quantity of lime in powder, or of lime-
water, is added at this time to promote the sepa-
ration of the feculent matters contained in the
juice; and these being as far as possible removed
at a heat just sufficient to cause the impurities
to collect together on the surface, the cane-liquor
is then subjected to a very rapid boiling, in order
to evaporate the watery particles, and bring the
syrup to such a consistency that it will granulate
on cooling. The quantity of sugar obtainable
from a given measure of cane-juice varies accord-
ing to the season, the soil, the period of the year,
and the quality of the canes; but it may be cal-
culated, that, taking one state of circumstances
with another in these respects, every five gallons,
imperial measure, of cane-juice, will yield six
pounds of crystallized sugar, and will be obtained
trom about one hundred and ten well-grown
canes.

The fuel used for thus concentrating the juice
is furnished by the cane itself, which, after the
expressing of that juice, is dried for the purpose
by exposure to the sun.

When the sugar is sufficiently cooled in shal-
low trays, it is put into the hogsheads wherein
it is shipped to Europe. These casks have their
bottoms pierced with holes, and are placed up-
right over a large cistern into which the molasses
—which is the portion of saccharine matter that
will not erystallize—drains away, leaving the
ray sugar in the state wherein we see it in our
THE BAMBOO.

grocers’ shops: the casks are then filled up,
headed down, and shipped.

With the planters in our own colonies, the
process of sugar-making mostly ends with the
draining away of the molasses in the manner
Just mentioned ; but in the French, Spanish, and
Portuguese settlements, it is usual to submit this
raw sugar to the farther process of claying. For
this purpose the sugar, as soon as it is cool, is
placed in forms or moulds, similar to those used
in the sugar refineries in England, but much
larger; and these being placed with their small
ends downwards, the top of the sugar is covered
with clay moistened to the consistence of thin
paste, the water contained in which gradually
soaks through the sugar, and washes outa far-
ther quantity of molasses, with which it escapes
through a hole purposely made at the point of
the earthen mould. It is then called clayed-
sugar. The loaves, when removed from the
forms, are frequently divided into three portions,
which, being of different colours and qualities,
arising from the greater effect of the water in
cleansing the upper portion, are pulverized and
packed separately for exportation.

The molasses which have drained from the
sugar, together with all the scummings of the
coppers, are collected, and, being first fermented,
are distilled for the production of rum. The
proportionate quantity of this spirit, as com-
pared with the weight of sugar produced, varies
considerably with the seasons and management.
In favourable years, when the canes are fully
ripened, and the quality of the sugar is good, the
proportion of molasses and scummings is com-
paratively small, and the manufacture of rum is
consequently lessened. The proportion usually
made is reckoned to be from five to six gallons
of proof spirit for every hundred-weight of sugar.

Tae Bamnoo (bambusa arundinacea). This
gigantic member of the family of reeds and
grasses has, when growing, an appearance not
unlike an immense sheaf of wheat standing on
end (see Plate VII., fig. 1.) Some of them are
upwards of sixty feet in height, and the quan-
tities of single canes which they yield is prodi-
gious. The cane is porous in the centre, and
partly hollow. Externally the epidermis is
composed of a hard wood, into which silex enters
so largely, that it will strike fire with steel in
the same way asa piece of flint. This plant is
indigenous to China; and although it grows
spontaneously and most profusely in nearly all
the immense districts included in the southern
portion of that empire, yet the Chinese do not
entirely rely on this profusion of nature, but cul-
tivate the reed with much care. They have
treatises entirely devoted to this matter, where
all the rules of experience are propounded for its
culture, showing the proper soils, the best kind
of water, and the appropriate seasons for plant-

 

238

ing and transplanting this most useful produc-
tion. Among this singular people, the bamboo
is used for almost every article of convenience
or luxury. Marco Polo says, that in his time
they had canes thirty English feet in length,
which they split in their whole length into very
thin pieces, and then twisted them together into
strong ropes three hundred passi (six hundred
English feet) long, that were used to track their
vessels on their numerous rivers and canals. M.
De Gurgenes says, that in the course of his jour-
ney through part of the celestial empire, he often
saw the Chinese making this kind of rope. The
artizans were mounted on scatfolds twelve or
fifteen feet high, and let the cord fall to the
ground as it was plaited. Van Braam, ano-
ther modern traveller, speaks of this bamboo
cordage as being admirably light and strong.
The sails of the Chinese junks, as well as their
cables and rigging, are made of bamhoo. The old
Venetian also describes a pavilion of the grand
Khan, the roof of which was made of bamboo
cane, richly gilt and varnished. These bamboos,
he says, were each three palms in circumference,
and ten fathoms long, and being cut at the joints,
were split into two equal parts, and laid concave
and convex to form gutters. The missionaries
inform us, that not merely the roofs, but entire
dwellings, are constructed of bamboo; this is
particularly the case in the southern province of
Se-chuen, where nearly every house is built
solely of this strong cane. Moreover, almost
every article of furniture, mats, screens, chairs,
tables, bedsteads, bedding, are all made of the
same material. This curious people also convert
the fibres of this plant into paper. In short, as
Van Braam remarks, scarcely any thing is to be
found in China, either upon land or water, into
the composition of which bamboo does not enter
or to the utility of which it does not conduce.
The same extensive use of the hollow reed is
made in Japan; nor is it much less employed in
Java, Sumatra, Siam, Pegu, the Ladrone islands,
and other eastern countries. Even the young
shoots of the bamboo afford the Chinese an ar-
ticle of food, and its fibres serve them for candle
wicks.

The Indian Cane (calamus verus_), plate VII.
fig. 2, grows straight and tall, without branches,
and is surmounted by a tuft or crown. Its bark is
thickly covered with straight spines; but this be-
ingremoved, the straightsmooth cane is displayed.
Sumatra produces this plant in great abundance.
Formerly the Dutch monopolized the sale of
canes from that quarter, and we were accustomed
to purchase them from this people, who, studi-
ously withheld all information concerning the
plant from which they were obtained, fearing
lest travellers should discover how easily and
plentifully they were procured. The secret,
however, could not long be thus kept. As our
240

navigators found their way to the eastern islands
and different parts of the Indian ocean, they be-
came well acquainted with the cane-plant, and
the great variety of uses to which it might be
applied. At Java, as well as at Sumatra, at Ja-
pan, Malacca, Siam, Pegu, and many other
places, the rattan was found in great abundance.
The natives of Java cut the cane into fine slips,
which they plait into beautiful mats to sit upon,
manufacture into strong and neat baskets, or twist
into cordage. With them it supplies the place
of our string or twine, for all their parcels are
neatly tied up with the fibres of cane. The
fruit it bears, which, when ripe, is of a round
form, about the size of a hazle nut, and lies in
clusters, they sell in the markets as an article of
food. They sometimes suck the pulp to quench
thirst, and at other times pickle the fruit.
Twisted cane forms the cables of their ships.
At Malwia was a manufactory of this sort of
cable. “Flere,” says Dampier, “we made two
new cables of rattans, each of them four inches
about; they. were strong and serviceable, and
had the property of buoyancy in the water,
not sinking like our hemp cables.” In Japan
the natives make all sorts of upholstery work
from the split pieces of the cane.

CHAP, XXVIII.

THE FAMILY OF PALMS, THE COCOA NUT, DATE,
BANNANA, WAX-PALM, &e.

Tue family of palms form one of the most
magnificent in the vegetable kingdom. Inter-
mediate in their structure, between herbaceous
plants and trees, they possess the towering height
and the umbrageous shade of these latter glories
of the vegetable tribes, with an elegance offormand
beauty of proportion not inferior to any of the
denizens of the woods or forests. They are all
natives of tropical regions, and bring to us asso-
ciations of bright and sunny skies, and a tem-
perature in which their leafy shade and the cool-
ing products which they yield must be peculi-
arly grateful and appropriate.

The palms are generally large trees, with a
simple, cylindrical, leafless stem, designated by
the name of Stipe. At itssummit, the palm is
crowned bya bundleofvery large, petiolate, persis-
tent leaves, which are pinnate or decompound, with
a greater or less number of leaflets of diversified
form. The flowers are hermaphrodite, or more
commonly unisexual, dicecious or polygamous,
forming catkins, or a large cluster named regime,
and enveloped previous to its expansion in a co-
riaceous, sometimes ligneous spatha. ‘The peri-
anth has six divisions, of which three are inner
and three outer, so as to resemble a calyx and a

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

corolla. The staminaare six, rarely three. The
pistil is simple, or formed by the aggregation of
three distinct or united pistils. It presents one
or three cells, each containing a single seed.
Each pistil is terminated by a style, surmounted
by amore or less elongated stigma. ‘he fruit
is a fleshy or fibrous drupe, containing a very
hard bony nucleus, with one or three monosper-
mous cells. The seed, besides its proper integu-
ment, consists of a fleshy or cartilaginous endo-
sperm, sometimes presenting a central or lateral
cavity. The embryo is very small and cylindri-
cal, and is placed horizontally in a small lateral
depression of the endosperm.

With the exception of the fan-palm (Cham-
erops humilis ), all the plants of this family are
extra-European, inhabiting especially the inter-
tropical regions of the old and new continents.
These trees are not only remarkable for the ele-
gance of their form and the prodigious height
which several of them attain, but are also of the
greatest importance on account of the numerous
services which they render to the inhabitants of
the countries in which they naturally grow.
The fruits of many species, as the cocoa, the
date, and the terminal bud of the cabbage-palm
are eaten by the inhabitants of Northern Afxica
and India. Several species furnish an amylace-
ous fecula named sago; others an astringent
principle, similar to dragon’s-blood. Some again
yield a fixed oil, as Hlais guineensis, from which
the palm-oil is procured. The betel-nut, which
possesses an intoxicating and narcotic power, is
the product of the areca catechu. There are
upwards of one hundred and thirty known spe-
cies of palms.

One of the most interesting of the palm tribe
is the cocoa nut tree, both as regards the variety
and the utility of its products. The following
account of this tree by Mr Marshall is so full and
complete as leaves nothing farther to be desired
on the subject.*

Tux Cocoa Nur Trex (cocus nucifera) belongs
to the class Monwcia, order Hexandria, of the
Linnean classification of plants.

Stem erect, without branches, from sixty to
ninety or 110 feet in height, and from one to
two feet in thickness. See Plate IV. fig. 3. It
is marked with parallel rings from the cicatrices
of the fallen leaves, about two of which separate
annually. By these cicatrices or marks the age
of a tree may be ascertained.

The stem is crowned with a bunch of about
twelve or fifteen fronds (palm-leaves), each
twelve or fourteen feet long, and composed of a
double row of opposite sword-shaped leaflets, in
length from three to four feet ; upper leaves are
erect, middle horizontal, lower ones rather droop-

* The Natural and Economical History of the Cocoa
Nut Tree.
THE COCOA

ing. A single leaf closely resembles an ostrich-
feather imagnified a great number of times
beyond its natural size.

 

Cocoa Nut and Flower.

The flower is axillary, and proceeds from a
large single-leaved pointed spathe, which always
opens on the under surface. The spadix is spi-
cate; each spike has towards its base one or two
female flowers, the others being male. In both
male and female flowers the calyx has three di-
visions, and the corolla three petals. The male
flowers have six stamens, and the female three
stigmas. Drupe oval, three-sided, about eight or
ten inches long, exterior covering smooth, inte-
rior fibrous; nut monospermous, very hard, has
three unequal holes at the base closed with a
black membrane; medullary part nearly half an
inch thick, white, hard, commonly filled with a
sweetish watery liquid. Ripe nuts are known
by a succussion of the water they contain, when
shaken.

A recticulated substance, resembling coarse
cloth, (Matulla, Singhalese,) involves the base
of each leaf, which falls off before the leaf has
attained a state of maturity. In Bengal, this
filamentous body is supposed to harbour insects,
which are destructive to the tree: on that ac-
count, it is there destroyed by fire.

The roots are slender, and very flexible: they
rise separately from the bottom of the trunk,
some sink into the earth, while others take a
horizontal direction very little under the surface.
They do not penetrate an indurated soil.

The tree when young bears a near resemblance
to a herbaceous plant; indeed, during the whole
progress of its growth it has some analogy with
vegetable productions of this kind. It has no
bark; the surface appears to be formed of the ci-
catrices, which succeed the fall- of the leaves,
much hardened by the action of the air and sun,
A slight wound in the central bud is fatal to the
tree; but the hardened trunk is capable of bear-
ing considerable injury with impunity.

Cocoa nut trees are often struck by lightning,
which frequently kills the terminal leaf-bud, and
thereby occasions the death of the tree, This
tree never changes the diameter it has once ac-
quired. Should any circumstance occur capable
of retarding the growth during one or more

 

years, such as transplantation, the effect is very

NUT TREE, 94]
in its diameter. Immediately above these
blighted parts small roots sometimes protrude,
but they seldom extend beyond a few inches,
Frequently the trunk has a larger diameter at
the base and top than in the middle.

The wood of the stem is composed of hard,
flexible, ligneous, black fibres, united by a soft
brownish cellular substance, capable of being re-
duced to powder. The palms have in the inte-
rior structure of their trunks no analogy with
other trees, Their manner of growth may be
compared to that of the white lily, whose stems,
“though of annual duration, are formed nearly
on the same principle as that of a palm, and are
really a congeries of leaves rising one above an-
other, and united by their bases into an appar-
ent stem.” In habit and in stricture they re-
semble the ferns, in their blossom the grasses,
and the asparagi in their mode of fructification.
All the palms have in a greater or less degree a
spongy structure. The cellular substance of the
Cycas circinalis (sago-palm) is, in some of the
islands of the eastern Archipelago, manufactured
into the nutritive substance called sago, or
sagu,—a word which is said to mean mea in the
dialect of Amboyna. The Caryota wrens (ne-
pery tree) yields a considerable quantity of
fecula, or sago; but in Ceylon this substance is
not extracted, except during a period when rice
is scarce. Sago is easily obtained from the in-
terior part of the trunk of these trees. The pro-
cess consists in pounding the spongy or cellular
texture of the stem,—sometimes erroneously
called the pith,—and washing it with water,
which is strained, to separate the ligneous fibres
from the fecula. Sago is grained by moistening
the flour, and pressing it through a sieve, into a
shallow iron pot, that is suspended over a fire,
by which means it assumes a globular form, In
consequence of being half-baked during the pro-
cess of granulation, it may be kept a long time
without undergoing a chemical change. Sago is
not manufactured in Ceylon, although the tree
grows there in abundance. The exterior lamina
of the stem of a cocoa nut tree is always much
harder than the interior.

There is a variety of this palin called the
King’s cocoa nut, the fruit of which has a bright
yellow colour. Nuts of this kind contain a
great proportion of fluid, which, on account of
its supposed cooling quality, is given to invalids,
in preference to that of the common nuts; but
they are not esteemed so good as common nuts
for culinary purposes.

The nut known by the name of the Maldive
cocoa nut, Gundira (Singhalese,) Sea cocoa nut,
Double cocoa nut, Nux medica (Borassus Se-
chellensis), is the produce of a pali-tree, which
Rochon tells us abounds in the isle of Palms,
one of the Seychelle islands, but nowhere else.

evident in the stem by a permanent contraction } The fruit presents an appearance of two thighs;

211
242

in other respects it is not materially different
from the common cocoa nut. The nuts which
are occasionally found at the Maldive islands
have been carried there by currents from the
place of growth.

Great medicinal virtues are ascribed to this
nut by the indigenous inhabitants of India, both
in the prevention and cure of diseases. The ve-
nereal disease is supposed to be radically cured by
it. Thunberg says, it is deemed a sovereign re-
medy against the flux, epilepsy, and apoplexy.
Rochon tells us that it was not uncommon at
one time to see them sold for upwards of £400
Sterling each. The Emperor Rodolph the
Second could not procure one at the price of
4000 florins. Some of the wealthy Indians had
cups made of them, which they ornamented
with gold and precious stones. They are now
more generally diffused than formerly, and con-
sequently much less valuable. Malte Brun in-
forms us, that it has been found profitable to
cultivate them in the isle of France. Many of
the mendicants in Ceylon have nuts of this kind,
in which they put the provisions they receive in
alms.

The tree sometimes bears fruit in five or six
years from the time it is transplanted from the
seed-bed, but the produce is rarely abundant be-
fore the eighth or ninth year. It continues to
yield fruit for sixty or seventy years. In good
soils, and particularly during wet seasons, the
tree blossoms every four or five weeks; hence
there are generally fresh flowers and ripe nuts on
the tree at the same time. There are commonly
from five to fifteen nuts in a bunch; and, in
good soils, a tree may produce from eight to
twelve bunches, or from eighty to 100 nuts an-
nually.

Cocoa nut trees are sometimes much injured by
several species of the Coleopterous tribe of in-
sects. They excavate a hole of about an inch
diameter in the terminal leaf-bud, and, when the
leaves expand, the leaflets appear full of holes,
as if they had been perforated with shot of dif
ferent sizes. In consequence of the injury done
to the bud by these insects the trees are some-
times killed. The larva or grub of one of the
species of beetles which infest cocoa nut trees is
called Tucuma or Grugru in British Guiana. It
is about two or three inches long, and three
quarters of an inch in diameter, and the head is
black. They are reckoned a great delicacy by
wood-cutters and epicures of that country; and
they are generally dressed by frying them in a
pan. By some they are preferred in a raw state ;
and after seizing them by the black head, they
are dipped in lime juice, and forthwith swal-
lowed.

This species of the palm family has its habi-
tat in intertropical Asia, Australia, America, and
Africa. It is by some authors said to have in

 

2 HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ancient times been cultivated in Arabia; but
Niebuhr informs us that it is not found to the
north of Mocha. Like all other equinoctial
plants, the cocoa nut tree becomes less luxuriant
ag we approach the tropics. At the suggestion
of Mr Dunlop, who lately, in so able a manner
superintended the clearing of Saugur island, at
the estuary of the Hooghly, that den of tigers is
likely to be a continued grove of cocoa trees.
Saugur lies in N. Lat. 21° 80’, which is perhaps
as far from the Equinoctial line as that species
of palm can be cultivated with advantage. In
the neighbourhood of Lucknow, which lies in
N. Lat. 26° 24’, the cocoa nut tree grows, but ‘it
does not produce fruit. As the cocoa tree seems
to require for its perfection a mean temperature
of not less than 72° Fahrenheit, the proper cli-
mate for it will therefore be from the equator
to the 25th parallel of latitude, and in the
equinoctial zone to an altitude of about 2900
feet. This general statement will no doubt ad-
mit of some qualification in regard to particular
situations. ‘There may be exposed spots within
its favourite climate, where the fruit will not
come to maturity, and warm valleys beyond the
above limits, where the tree will grow, and per-
haps produce ripe nuts. The cocoa tree occu-
pies, therefore, a zone of 25° of latitude on both
sides of the equator, which includes nearly four-
fifths of Africa, one-sixth of Asia, one-third of
America, and excludes Europe. It may be re-
marked, that trees which grow in the immediate
neighbourhood of the sea are much more Juxur-
iant and productive than those which are planted
inland or upon elevated situations. The cause
of this degeneration is not very evident.

The cocoa tree is much cultivated on some
parts of the east coast of America; from the
river St Francisco to the bar of Mamanguape, or
from about 7° 80’ to 10° S. Lat., being about
ninety-four leagues, the Brazilian coast is with
few interruptions planted with cocoairees. The
small island of Itarmaraca, which is only three
leagues in length, yields annually about 360,000
nuts. But perhaps this palm is no where so ex-
tensively cultivated as in Ceylon; and the fol-
lowing remarks regarding its products are in-
tended more immediately to apply to the tree as
it grows in that island. The cocoa tree is culti-
vated both in the interior of Ceylon and along
the flat country adjoining to the sea; it thrives
best, however, on the coast of the south-west
aspect of the island, or from Calpenteen on the
north, to Dondrahead, on the south. About the
year 1813, it was estimated that 10,000,000 trees
grew between these two points, and since that
period the number has been annually increasing.
The extent of coast between Dondrahead and
Calpenteen is about 184 miles; the whole cir-
cuit of the island is 754 miles. Except cinna-
mon, the products of the cocoa tree form the
THE COCOA NUT TREE.

chief staple commodities of Ceylon. The Mal-
dive islands produce great quantities of cocoa
nuts; where they are reckoned to be the price
of labour. In Congo, this palm is said to form
one of the greatest blessings in nature.

It does not appear that the cocoa tree is nearly
as much cultivated in the West India islands as
in the east. Mr Stewart, in his account of Ja-
maica, says, however, that “on some estates
groves of them are planted, and an oil extracted
from them to light the works during crop-time.
Occasionally the nuts are served out to the slaves
as an article of food.”

In many places along the coast of Ceylon cocoa
trees thrive well upon the sandy soil near to the
sea, where hardly any other plant will vegetate.
These cocoa groves, through which the eye can
reach for a great extent, intermixed with the
huts of the natives, composed entirely of cocoa
leaves, form a very picturesque object. When
the trees are full grown, the bare trunks rise like
columns of from sixty to 100 feet in height, while
the horizontal pinnated leaves interlace, by which
meansagrove resembles the long aisles and Gothic
arches of a cathedral: above these arches a pro-
fusion of fine leafy plumes rise from the centre
of the trees, and project almost perpendicularly
towards the sky, thereby adding greatly to the
beauty and variety of the prospect. About
thirty years since, the colonial government of
Ceylon had it in contemplation to impose a tax
upon cocoa trees; but, in consequence of the
strongly marked aversion of the people to such
a measure, the plan was abandoned. On the
Malabar coast, cocoa nuts pay a land tax of half
a fanam for every tree that is in full-bearing, old
and young trees being exempted as unproduc-
tive. And, at Marzouck, in northern Africa, a
tax of one dollar is levied upon every 200 trees
of the date palm. Ben Ali informs us, that the
king of Fezzan imposes a tax upon the same spe-
cies of the palm tribe.

The cottages of the inhabitants are always
surrounded by a great number of palm-trees
more particularly of the cocoa nut palm; and
those plants seem to thrive best which are situ-
ated near to the dwellings of the inhabitants,
This circumstance has given rise to an observa-
tion of the natives, namely, that a cocoa nut
tree delights in conversation. The ashes which
result from the burning of wood for culinary
purposes, is a more probable cause of the luxur-
iance of the trees close to the cottages, as the
sweepings of the huts are generally deposited at
the foot of a tree. The cluster of trees which
surrounds a hut is called a “ toddy tope” by the
English. The word tope is probably derived
from the German word zapfen, to draw, and
hence also tap, a spout, tapsters, and tap-room.
Tope has been supposed by some authors to be
derived from our word copse. Pol-watte signi-

 

243

fies a cocoa nut garden or plantation in the
Singhalese language. It has been already stated
that the Singhalese almost always construct
their huts under the dense shadow of palm-trees
of different kinds. This comfortable mode of
defending habitations from the direct influence
of an. ardent sun, seems to have in ancient times
been practised in Judea (Judges iv. 5,) and it
is very generally adopted in all countries where
the palm family is found to thrive.

When very young, the fruit is called bellaca
by the inhabitants of the Malabar coast, who
speak the Tamool language, and coquinhas by the
Portuguese ; Singhalese, ooroomba. When fully
formed, but with a soft pulp, it is called elani by
the Tamools, in Portuguese lania. When a
little firmer, it is called tenga in the Tamool
language, and coguo in the Portuguese. The ma-
ture nut is called cotta tenga by the Malabars,
and coguo sicco by the Portuguese. In the Sing-
halese language, the nut iscalled pol. Theterm
cocoa, by which this palm and its fruit is dis-
tinguished, is said by several authors to be of
Portuguese origin. Bauhin tells us, that cocoa,
or coguhen, is derived from the three holes at the
end of the nut, giving it the resemblance of a
Cercopithecus, a species of monkey. St Pierre,
in his Harmonies of Nature, says, that a cocoa
nut, stripped of its pericarp, bears an exact re-
semblance to the head of a negro. Piso asserts,
that the term cocoa has been applied to the tree,
on account of the sound emitted, when air is
blown into one of the holes of the nut, having a
resemblance to the voice of anape. The Portu-
guese name for a monkey is macaco, or macoco.
There is, however, little doubt that cocoa, is de-
rived from the Greek word xoxo, a seed, or berry.

Uses. Cocoa nut trees are sometimes found
growing on low flat coral islands, owing, probably,
to the accidental circumstance of the nuts which
may have dropped into the sea being thrown upon
land by the waves, and hence a cocoa nut tree
often becomes a useful beacon to the mariners,
by pointing out the situation of rocks. little
above the water’s edge. No plant seems to ve-
getate sooner on the newly formed islands of
coral which are so frequent in some of the seas
within the tropics, than the cocoa nut tree. By
falling into rivers, the nuts are often conveyed
to the ocean, and by this means they are disse-
minated to widely distant countries.

Roots. This part of the tree is sometimes
masticated by the natives in place of the areca
nut. The Brazilians make baskets of the small
roots.

Wood. The hard woody shell or crust of the
trunk is employed by the natives in making
drums, and in the construction of their huts, &c.
It is also much employed for making gutters,
Towards the base of the trunk the wood is re-
markably hard, and admits of a high polish. A
245

transverse section of this part of the tree, when
well polished and varnished, has a lapide-
ous gloss and beauty, which rival those of an
agate. It is sometimes set in the lid of silver
snuff-boxes, in the same manner as jewellers oc-
casionally fix agates or cornelians; and might be
found highly useful in ornamental cabinet-work.

Reticulated Cloth. In some parts of the
world, it is said a kind of cradle or couch for
young infants is made of the reticulated sub-
stance formed at the base of the leaf. In Cey-
lon it is there chiefly employed as an instru-
ment of filtration, for straining the sweet juice
which is extracted from the flowering spathe of
this tree. The Reverend Mr Cordiner, in his ac-
count of Ceylon, asserts, that it “is manufac-
tured into a durable sackcloth, called gunny,
which is used in making bags for transporting
grain,” &c.; and Captain Percival says, that it
is manufactured into a coarse cloth called grin-
jakken (ganja sakken) or gunny-cloth. Their
statements are erroneous; gunny-cloth is chiefly
made of hemp. Gunny or Goni is not impro-
bably a corruption of ganja, the Hindostanee
name of the hemp-plant, (cannabis sativa.)
Goni cloth is also made from the Agave Ameri-
cana. Sacks made of goni cloth are called
gunny-bags by the English, and ganja sakken by
the Dutch.

Buds. The unexpanded leaves or terminal
leaf-bud is occasionally eaten by the Europeans
as well as by natives. When boiled it is tender,
and forms a good substitute for cabbage. The
natives sometimes preserve it in vinegar, and eat
it asa pickle. It may be observed, that the tree
dies when this part is removed.

Fronds or Leaves. Many of the indigenous
inhabitants, as well as natives of Europe, thatch
their houses with cocoa nut leaves, by the Singha-
lese called polattu, and sometimes cadjans. The
latter term has, we believe, a Malay origin. To
prepare cadjans, the stipe or central ligneous por-
tion of the leaf is divided longitudinally; the
leaflets of each half are then interwoven, by
which means they are adapted for a variety of
uses. In this state they are employed to thatch
cottages, to shelter young plants from the scorch-
ing rays of the sun, to construct fences, to form
the ceiling of rooms, and to make baskets for
carrying fruit, fish, &c. Sometimes baskets are
made of palm leaves, so close as to serve the pur-
pose of buckets to draw water from deep wells.
In the Maldive islands, bonneta, a species of fish,
is preserved by a process in which cocoa leaves
are employed. The process consists in removing
the back bone, and laying the fish in the shade,
occasionally sprinkling it with sea water. After
a certain period has elapsed, the fish is wrapped
up in cocoa nut leaves, and buried in sand, where
it becomes hard. Fish thus prepared is known

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

name of cummelmus. ‘The pieces of this fish
brought to the market have a horny hardness.
It is rasped upon rice to renderit savoury. The
inhabitants of several of the South sea islands
manufacture a kind of mask or visor of the leaves
of the cocoa nut tree, to defend their faces from
the scorching rays of the sun; and this kind of
armour is said to have a somewhat pleasing and
graceful appearance when worn by young per-
sons.

The unexpanded leaves are employed to show
marks of respect to persons in power. When
the governor or chief justice travels, lines made
of the stems of creeping plants are stretched along
on each side of the road, about three or four feet
from the ground. Upon these lines young palm
leaves are suspended. The head civil servant of
a district may command the inhabitants under
his immediate control to ornament the road along
which he passes; but he is not warranted in
claiming this mark of attention beyond his own
district.

The immature leaves of the cocoa nut tree have
a fine yellow colour and a beautiful texture, re-
sembling fine leather or satin. In some parts of
Ceylon, the natives evince great taste in orna-
menting triumphal arches, as also ball rooms,
and similar places of public resort, with the
leaves of this tree, and some remarkably beauti-
ful species of moss. As the young leaves are
translucent, they serve to make lanterns, in the
construction of which many of the inhabitants
are very dexterous.

The practice of showing respect to individuals
by means of the branches of palm trees appears to
be very ancient. See Matt. xxi.8; Mark xi. 8;
John xii. 13. The foliage of the palm tribe of
plants has been in many countries considered an
emblem of joy and victory; and hence the word
palm is sometimes employed as a synonym of
victory and triumph. See Lev. xxiii. 40. Itis
remarkable that a similar mode of showing re-
spect, by “waving palm branches,” prevailed
among the aborigines of America when it was
discovered by Columbus. In ancient times,
wheh pilgrims resorted to Palestine, they com-
monly returned bearing palm leaves; on this ac-
count they were denominated palmers. Captain
Lyon, when describing the amusements of the
natives of some parts of northern Africa, informs
us, that the dancers “were directed by an old
woman, with a torch in one hand, and a long
palm branch in the other, and sung in chorus
verses which she repeated to them.” In the
island of Otaheite, the female inhabitants wear
bonnets constructed of the leaflets of the cocoa.

The leaflets are sometimes used to write upon,
and the instrument employed to make the im-
pression is an iron stylus, the pen of the scrip-
tures. The stylus was used by the Romans to

in Ceylon, and perhaps over all India, by the! write on waxen tables, leather, &c. The leaves
tate

‘ally a border of silver or gold.

THE COCOA NUT TREE.

of the palmyra (borassus flabelliformis ), or tali-
pot (corypha umbraculifera ), are, however, much
more frequently employed for this purpose. Con-
tracts and other legal instruments are often en-
graven upon tablets of copper, similar in shape
to a slip of the talipot leaf, which have occasion-
An allusion is
made to the practice of writing upon tablets in
Isa. xxx. 8, and Hab. ii. 2. Palm leaves, when
they are prepared to receive the impression of
the stylus, are called ol/ahs. The natives write
letters to one another upon odlahs, which are
neatly rolled up, and sometimes sealed with a little
gum-lac; in this manner they pass through the
post-office. During the operation of writing,
the leaf is supported by the left hand, and the
letters scratched upon the surface with the stylus.
Instead of moving the hand with which they
write towards the right, they move the leaf in a
contrary direction, by means of the thumb of the
lefthand. To render the characters more legible,
the engraved lines are frequently filled by be-
smearing the leaf with fresh cow dung, which is
tinged black, by rubbing the lines over with co-
coa nut oil, or a mixture of oil and chareoal pow-
der. The natives can write standing as well as
walking, and they rarely use tables.

Palm leaves, and perhaps the leaves of trees
that do not belong to this natural class, were
much used by the ancients as writing materials;
hence the word leaf (of a book) is synonymous
with that of a tree.

Baskets for catching fish, shrimps, &c., are
made of the ligneous ribs of the leaflet. The
same substance is employed by the natives for
many of the purposes for which we use pins. A
bundle of these ribs is in universal use, as a broom,
to sweep the cottages; and when an European
asks for a tooth-pick, his servant brings him a
portion of one of these fibres. I am informed,
that they have lately been recommended to be
employed as a nucleus for bougies. The South
sea islanders make the teeth of combs for the
hair of this part of the leaf.

In a domestic state, elephants are fed chiefly
upon cocoa nut leaves; and this animal evinces
much sagacity in separating the elastic woody
fibre from the thinner margin of the leaf.

For temporary purposes, cadjan houses are fre-
quently constructed, both by natives and Euro-
peans. During the insurrection in the Kandy-
an country in 1818, almost all the sick were ac-
commodated in cadjan hospitals. Except the
frame work, every part of the house, walls, and
roof, is formed of cocoa nut leaves, and they are
capable of resisting all kinds of weather for a
year or more.

To prevent thieving, the owners of topes fre-
quently fix a cocoa nut leaf along the stems of
the fruit trees. As the leaf rustles much when
touched, a thief is cautious of ascending the

 

245

trunk of the tree lest he should alarm some of
the inmates of the neighbouring huts. Thun-
berg mistook the use of these leaves, and sup-
posed that they supplied “the place of ladders,
by means of which the natives could climb up
and gather the fruit.”

In warm climates it is customary to travel
during night, with the view of avoiding the in-
fluence of an ardent sun. Torches then become
necessary, and cocoa nut leaves are chiefly em-
ployed for this purpose. By tying the leaflets
close to the centre rib of a leaf, the ignition is
prevented from being too rapid. Torches of co-
coa nut leaves, commonly denominated chels,
(ooloo attu, Singhalese), are in constant use, to
obstruct the inroads of wild beasts upon culti-
vated fields, more particularly of elephants. In
the interior of Ceylon, every field under culti-
vation must be watched during night, to prevent
the depredations which would be made upon the
crops, were these animals to have free ingress.
When burned, the cocoa nut tree, especially the
leaves, affords a large proportion of potash,
whence the washermen procure all the potash
they require by the incineration of different parts
of the tree. Soap is very little used by the na-
tive washermen in Ceylon.

Boats are rowed with the centre rib of the
leaf, in which operation it forms a substitute for
paddles. The end of this part of the leaf, when
well bruised, and thereby converted into a brush,
is used for a variety of purposes, such as white-
washing houses, &c.

In British Guiana, the natives make a species
of Adolian harp of the stipe of the leaf of a cocoa
nut tree; and some tribes split the stipes, and
after rendering the slit portions very thin, they
are attached together laterally by means of their
silky grass, thereby forming a sail for canoes.

Flower and Fruit. The spaths, or fibrous cov-
ering of the blossoms, are inflammable; on that
account they are often employed as torches; and
in some parts of India they are soaked in water,
and converted into coarse cordage, with which
the thatch of houses is tied. In the South sea
islands it is employed in a green state by females
as an apron, or substitute for a petticoat.

Many useful products are derived from the
flower and fruit of this tree. By a peculiar
manipulation the flower yields a rich saccharine
juice, which is convertible into arrack or sugar.
The word arrack, arak, rack, is probably a cor-
ruption of the Arabic word urug or wrak, a gen-
eral name for distilled spirits. _Urug, more or
less corrupted, is employed along the northern
coasts of Africa, including Egypt, over all Asia
with its islands, and even in the north and east-
ern parts of Europe, to denominate spirits. Raké
is made at Constantinople from the skin of grapes
when the juice has been expressed for wine. It
is rendered aromatic with angelica, and a portion
246

of gum mastich is dissolved init. In the neigh-
bourhood of Hermanstadt it is distilled from
prunes. The Rakia of the coast of Dalmatia is
also drawn from the husks of the grape, mixed
with aromatics; and a similar word is employed
by the mountain Tartars to distinguish an in-
toxicating liquor from sloes, dog-berries, elder-
berries, wild grapes, plums, &c. Arrack is also
made from milk. “Ariki or Arki; this the Tar-
tars and Calmucks call the brandy which they
distil from mare’s or cow’s milk. They put the
milk in raw ox-hides, sewn into bags, and then
let it grow sour and thick. They afterwards
shake it so long till a thick cream settles on it;
this they take off and dry it in the sun, and
treat their guests with it, and the sour milk they
either drink or distil the said brandy from it.
The sour milk which they drink they call £u-
misse.”—(Stahlenburg’s Account of Siberia and
Tartary.) From the very extended use of the
corruption of the word urug, designating ardent
spirits, we may infer, that the art of distillation
was discovered in Arabia, and thence dissemi-
nated over the old world.

Sweet juice is extracted from the unexpanded
flower in the following manner: A man, in col-
loquial language called a “toddy drawer,” cuts
off the point of the spadix, and ties the stump
firmly round with a ligature. It is then daily
beaten with a stick, which operation is supposed
to determine the sap to the wounded part. Un-
der this management, the juice begins to flow in
a few days from the cut surface of the flower, and
is carefully collected in an earthen vessel, which
is suspended from the spathe. A thin portion
of the flower and spathe is sliced off daily, and
the end of the stump is bound with a ligature.
A good healthy blossom will give from two to
four English pints of sweet juice daily, and some
flowers will continue to yield juice for about
four or five weeks. Hence there are frequently
two spathes on one tree, yielding toddy at the
same time.

The mode by which a toddy drawer ascends
the tree is as follows: He takes the dried stem
of a creeping plant, and forms it into a circle of
about a foot diameter, into which he puts his
feet. He then raises himself up a little on the
stem of the tree, by means of his hands, and sub-
sequently supports his whole weight upon the
feet and the connecting ligature. By the alter-
nate motion of his hands and feet, he reaches the
top. The ordinary implements of a toddy
drawer are, the shell of a large gourd, capable of
containing several pints of sweet juice, and a
broad knife, which he suspends to a belt tied
round his waist. In Bombay, the stem is some-
times notched on each side, to enable the toddy
drawer to ascend the tree. The more common
mode of ascent is there performed by putting a
piece of cloth loosely round the body of the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

toddy drawer and the trunk of the tree. Under
these circumstances, he presses the soles of the
feet close to the stem, while he at the same time
raises the encircling band, and thereby gains the
ascent of a few inches at a time.

But when it is intended to draw juice from a
“tope” or cluster of trees, the toddy drawer
connects the heads of a great number of trees,
by means of the stems of creeping plants, of which
apreat many growin Ceylon. Insome districts,
coir-rope is used in place of these creepers. The
toddy drawer selects a tree of easy access, near to
the centre of the tope, the trunk of which he
surrounds with a number of bands made of some
creepers, each at about a foot distance. He then
ascends by means of these bands, and passes
along, from tree to tree, upon the connecting
stems, assisted by the horizontal leaves, collect-
ing as he proceeds the sweet juice, which he
pours into the shell of the gourd suspended from
his waist, and conveys it to the ground by means
ofa line. The gourd is emptied by a person on
the ground, and drawn up by the man on the
tree to be filled.

Juice is seldom drawn from a cocoa nut tope
above six or seven months at a time, as this ope-
ration is supposed to exhaust the trees. During
the intervening period, nuts are produced.

Toddy. This is the name given by the Eng-
lish to the sweet juices which are extracted from
the different species of the palm tribe, including
that of the cocoa nut tree. It is perhaps a cor-
ruption of tari or taree, the Mussulman name of
the juice of the Palmyra palm, of which ter or
tal is the Sanscrit name. Ra, which literally
means juice, is the Singhalese name of the fluid
extracted from the flower of a cocoa nut tree.
Sometimes it is called mee-ra (honey or sweet
juice), when prepared for making jagery. Among
the inhabitants of the maritime provinces of
Ceylon, it is frequently denominated suri, which
is said to be a Sanscrit word. With the above
explanation, the words toddy, ra, mee-ra, and
suri, may be used synonymously. Fresh drawn
juice is sweet, and has a peculiar flavour, in con-
sequence of some extractive matter it contains;
and, in general, it operates as a laxative. When
it is intended to distil arrack from suri, the toddy
drawers seldom change or clean the pots into
which it is received, hence the juice soon fer-
ments, and emits an acid smell. In a half-fer-
mented state, suri is much relished by some
Europeans. When it has become, by fermenta-
tion, highly intoxicating, the European soldiers,-
and the dissipated portion of the natives, drink
it freely. To render this beverage acrid, the sol-
diers occasionally add green chillies (Capsicuin
Frutescens_) to it.

Is it not very probable that the “strong drink”
mentioned in scripture was mee-ra, drawn from
the flower or terminal bud of some of the palm
THE COCOA NUT TREE.

tribe, perhaps the date tree—palm wine, In
several of the Oriental languages there appears
to be an intimate connection between the words
which designate honey, sugar, sweetness, and
the juice of plants of the palm family. Mee, in
the Singhalese language, means honey, sweet;
and the toddy or juice extracted from palm trees
is called mee-ra. Juice drawn from the flower
of the sago palm, is by the Malays denominated
aer (water) saguer. As the word saguer appears
to be only a slight alteration from the Sanscrit
adjective implying sweet, aer sagwer will there-
fore literally mean sweet water, or the sweetest
water. In the Javanese language, the juice of
the-gomuti palm is called Jagen, which means
the sweet material by distinction. We learn
from Shaw, that the Hebrew word rendered
honey in scripture, is by some commentators sup-
posed to denominate the sweet juice procured
from palm trees, as well as the honey of bees.
He tells us that, in Barbary, the sweet juice ex-
tracted from date palms is called dipse; and
that débse or dipse, which is a Hebrew word, is
generally translated honey in the Old Testament.
Dr Moseley, in his Treatise upon Sugar, &c.,
says, that the strong drink of the scripture was
called shecar, a word which likewise means in-
toxication. This word shecar does not differ
much in enunciation from the Sanscrit adjective
implying sweet; and it very closely resembles
the Malay name of the intoxicating toddy of the
sago palm (aer saguer.) Dr Moseley concludes
his disquisition on the strong drink of the Old
Testament by saying, “ What sottish liquor she-
car was, no person knows. It was probably
made from grain, perhaps from honey. Our
term eyder, which exclusively implies the fer-
mented juice of apples, is supposed by Dr Clarke
to be derived from the Hebrew word shecar, de-
signating “strong drink.” St Jerome says, any
intoxicating liquor obtains the denomination of
siker or shecar, whether it be made of corn,
apples, honey, dates, or fruits of any kind. She-
car seems to have become sicera (Latin), after-
wards corrupted into sédera, hence cyder.

“Tt is usual for persons of respectability in
Barbary to entertain their guests on festive oc-
casions with the honey or diépse of the palm tree.
This they procure by cutting off the head or
crown of one of the more vigorous plants, and
scooping the top of the trunk into the shape of
a basin, where the sap in ascending lodges itself
at the rate of three or four quarts a-day during
the first week or fortnight; after this the quan-
tity daily diminishes; and at the end of six
weeks, or two months, the juices are entirely
consumed ; the tree becomes dry, and serves only
for timber or fire-wood. This liquor, which has
a more luscious sweetness than honey, is of the
consistence of a thin syrup, but quickly grows
tart and ropy, acquiring an intoxicating quality ;

 

247

and giving by distillation an agreeable spirit.
This is called Araky by the natives, and is the
palm wine of the ancients.”

The suri pots are sometimes visited, and the
contents carried off during night. To detect the
thief, the leaves of a species of datura are occa~-
sionally put into some of the pots. By means
of the highly intoxicating effect of this com-
pound, the marauder is often discovered. On
the Coromandel coast the retailers of toddy some-
times rub the inside of the pots with the seed
vessel or leaves of this highly poisonous plant,
to increase the intoxicating influence of toddy.

Arrack may be distilled from suri the same
day it is drawn; but sometimes this operation is
delayed for a few days, without diminishing the
quantity, or injuring the quality of the spirit.
The process of distillation is carried on, in the
maritime provinces, in copper stills; but, in the
Kandyan provinces, earthen vessels are chiefly
employed. Suri yields, by distillation, about
one-eighth part of proof spirit. Arrack, when
well prepared, is clear and transparent: gene-
rally, however, it is slightly straw-coloured. It
has a peculiar flavour, no doubt depending upon
an essential oil which rises from the suri during
distillation. Many of the small distillers allow
the toddy to run into acetous fermentation be-
fore the process of distillation commences, to
which circumstance may be attributed the fre-
quent existence of a small portion of acetic ether
in the Ceylon arrack. Arrack is issued to the
soldiers in India as part of the established ration ;
and the seamen belonging to the Royal Navy in
the Indian seas are furnished with this spirit in
place of rum.

Ceylon exports annually, and, for the most
part to the presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and
Bombay, from 5000 to 6000 leaguers of arrack,
each containing 150 gallons. The custom duty
on the exportation of arrack amounts to twenty
per cent. ad valorem; and in 18138, the Madras
government imposed an excise duty of 440 per
cent. upon Ceylon manufactured spirits. The
prime cost of arrack in Ceylon varies from 8d. to
10d. per gallon. It is stated by Mr Bartolacci,
that arrack distilled at Batavia, is sold in India
from ten to fifteen per cent. cheaper than that
brought from Colombo, the Ceylon arrack being
considered superior to the Javanese. In Eng-
land, this spirit has brought as high a price as
from five to six shillings per gallon.

Rajah Sri Wickreme Rajah, the king of
Kandy, who was deposed in 1815, like his pre-
decessors, prohibited the distillation of arrack in
the interior of the island of Ceylon, except a
small quantity, which was prepared in the royal
laboratory, for the use of sick elephants belong-
ing to the maha vihare, or great temple, and to
be employed in the manufacture of gunpowder,
Spirits is a favourite remedy in India for ele-
248

phants and horses, when they are supposed to
be sick, From the number of empty cherry-
brandy bottles found in the king’s palace, when
the British troops captured Kandy, it was in-
ferred that he occasionally indulged in the use
of spirits, when they were so far disguised or
medicated as to enable him to escape the scandal
of his subjects.

Batavian arrack is made from a mixture of
molasses, palm-wine, and rice, in the following
proportions :

Molasses, 62 parts.
Toddy (palm-wine, 3 ditto.
Rice, . : 35 ditto.

100 parts of these materials yield 234 of dis-
tilled proof arrack.

The rice is first boiled; after cooling, a quan-
tity of yeast is added to it, and pressed into
baskets. In this condition, it is then placed over
a tub or tubs, for eight days, during which time
a liquor flows abundantly from the mixture. At
the end of that time, the liquor which has sub-
sided is added to a mixture of molasses and palm-
wine. The mixture remains in a small vessel
for one day only, when it is removed into large
fermenting vats, in which it remains for seven.
The liquor is finally removed into the still; and,
according to the number of distillations it un-
dergoes, becomes arrack of the first, second, or
third quality in commerce. The above account
of the preparation of arrack is extracted from
Mr Crawfurd’s work on the Indian Archipelago.
Mr Marsden informs us, that the “ palm-wine”
used in this kind of arrack is obtained from the
cocoa nut tree, and that arrack of the first quality
may be purchased for about sixty Spanish dol-
lars; second for fifty ; and the third for thirty,
each leaguer of 160 gallons. At this rate, the
best arrack may be procured for 20d. per gallon.
It is at present manufactured chiefly for domes-
tic consumption.

The phrase “ pariah-arrack”’ is often used to
designate a spirit distilled in the peninsula of
India, which is said to be often rendered un-
wholesome, by an admixture of ganja (canna-
lis sativa), and a species of datura, with the in-
tention of increasing its intoxicating quality. It
is not clear, whether the term pariah-arrack be
colloquially employed to designate an inferior
spirit, or an adulterated compound. This li-
quor is sometimes distilled from cocoa nut toddy,
and at other times from a mixture of jagery,
water, and the barks of various trees. The chief
of the barks so used are those of the mimosa fer-
rugenea, and the phenix spec. The bark of the
mimosa leucophiea is employed for a similar pur-
pose.

Suri is the yeast commonly used by bakers in
Ceylon. By allowing it to pass into the acetous
fermentation, an excellent vinegar is obtained

 

OISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

A great variety of vegetable substances are
pickled with vinegar of this kind.

When it is intended to extract jagery from
suri, great care is taken to prevent it from fer-
menting. Jagery is perhaps a corruption of the
Singhalese word Hackarur or Sackarur, the H
and S being often used indiscriminately in that
language. A Sanscrit scholar has suggested, that
sugar may be derived from the word goor (sweet, )
the superlative of which is segoor, sweetest, hence
very probably is the origin of the Arabian word
sukkar. The earthenware pot into which the
suri is received is emptied twice or thrice in
twenty-four hours. After this operation, the pot
is always well cleaned, then dried, and a small
quantity of chunam (lime) is thrown into it, be-
fore being replaced. Sometimes a portion of the
bark of a tree, whose name I do not recollect, is
introduced into the receiving vessel, instead of
chunam. The lime perhaps contributes to check
the progress of fermentation. Almost immedi-
ately after the mee-ra is drawn from the tree, it
is filtered through a portion of the reticulated
substance found at the base of the leaf.

The juice is then slowly boiled in an earthen
vessel, until it becomes light-coloured, and ac-
quires a considerable degree of consistency.
While still warm, and semifluid, it is poured
into sections of cocoa nut shells, where it soon
becomes solid. Twenty-four ounces of jagery
may be procured from a gallon of mee-ra. I
state the quantity of jagery which mee-ra yields,
on the authority of Mr Bartolacci, who paid
much attention to this subject. Forbes, in his
Oriental Memoirs, says, that three quarts of tari
(toddy,) when boiled down, will yield a pound
of sugar,—a proportion not materially different
from that given by Mr Bartolacci. It would ap-
pear that mee-ra is vicher in saccharine matter
than juice expressed from the sugar-cane in the
West Indies. Dr Moseley, in his History of
Sugar, says, “ we consider a pound of sugar trom
a gallon of cane-juice as good yielding.” Ac-
cording to Mr Crawfurd, cane-juice in Java
yields, on an average, twenty-five per cent. of
sugar. Jagery contains both the crystallizable
portion of the juice, and a quantity of molasses
or liquid sugar; but, by a subsequent operation,
they can be, in a great measure, separated. This
coarse sugar is generally made into little loaves,
having the shape of a hemispherical vase, from
the form of the vessel in which it cools. It has
a deep chocolate colour; and, when broken, pre-
sents many clear shining particles of sugar. In
the Malay language, jagery is denominated goola
or goora itan (black sugar or black sweet).

The ordinary price of jagery is about 24. per
pound. It is the only sugar used by the native
inhabitants, and no other is prepared in Ceylon.
They enjoy the juice of the sugar-cane, by masti-
cating the green shoots, but in no other way, al-
THE COCOA NUT TREE.

though they have a name for sugar extracted in
other countries from that plant, which is since or
chinee. The commonsoldiers ordinarily use jagery;
and many Europeans of the upper ranks prefer it
for sweetening coffee. Sugar-candy, which is
chiefly imported from China, isthe saccharinesub-
stance commonly used by the richer classes of Eu-
ropeansin India. In some parts of the interior of
Ceylon, particularly in the vicinity of Adam’s
Peak, great numbers of the inhabitants support
themselves by extracting a sweet juice from the
nepery tree ( Caryota wrens, ) and manufacturing
it into jagery. This tree grows spontaneously
in the woods. ‘The people thus employed, sub-
sist chiefly upon coarse sugar. They occasion-
ally procure a little rice and salt by barter, but
they do not raise grain by cultivating the soil.

There is some foundation for supposing, that
the sugar of the ancients, which seems to have
heen imported from India, was the produce of
the palm family of plants, and not that of the
sugar-cane. Salmasius, the commentator of
Pliny, is decidedly of opinion, that the sugar of
the moderns is the produce of a different plant
from that which produced the sugar of the
Greeks and Romans. All authors on this sub-
ject describe the sugar of the ancients as being of
a very coarse quality, and mixed with a large
portion of molasses, exactly resembling jagery,
the produce of some of the palms. Virey, in his
account of sugar, says expressly, that, “le pre-
mier sucre apporté des Indes n’etoit qu’une
moscouade (sucre brut.) And, in an essay upon
the History of the Commerce of Venice, it is
stated, that the sugar which was manufactured
in Sicily, as early as 1173, brought a higher
price than that which they imported from Egypt
or from India, by the way of the Red sea. The
extraction of sugar from the sugar-cane is much
more operose than from the juice afforded by
palms ; and this may be one reason why palm-
sugar should be more early known than cane-
sugar, even in countries where the sugar cane is
indigenous.

Among the articles of commerce which the Ve-
netians imported from Asia, about the year 996,
sugar is mentioned; but whether it was the pro-
duce of palm trees, or of the sugar-cane, cannot
be satisfactorily ascertained. It is the opinion
of Mr Marsden, that the sugar of the ancients
was procured from palms. In his history of
Sumatra he says, “If the ancients were ac-
quainted with sugar, it was produced from some
species of the palms, as the sugar-cane was not
brought into the Mediterranean from the coast,
till a short time before the discovery of the pas-
sage to India by the Cape. The word saccharum
is conjectured to be derived from jaggree, which
the French pronounce schagarec.” Tis opinion.
is corroborated by Mr Crawfurd, who informs
us, that, “although the cane be a native of the

 

249

Indian islands, the art of manufacturing sugar
from it is certainly a foreign art. There is no
name for sugar in any dialect of the Indian
islands, but a foreign one gula, (perhaps a cor-
ruption of goor sweet; ) and this foreign one
is pure Sanscrit. When Europeans first became
acquainted with the natives of these islands, they
found them ignorant of the manufacture of sugar
from the cane. The Hindoo word gula (¢some-
times written gour) is indeed equally applicable
to palm sugar as to that of the cane. It may be
supposed therefore that the Hindoos instructed
the Indian islanders only in the simple process
of manufacturing the former, and that the ma-
nufacture of the latter was introduced by the
Chinese, under the auspices chiefly of Europeans
and in times comparatively very recent.” Hum-
boldt however infers, from some Chinese paint-
ings which he saw at Lima, representing the
different processes for extracting sugar, that this
art is extremely ancient in that country.

Lime, to which a small quantity of jagery is
added, takes on a very fine polish. Walls are
prepared for receiving this covering, by wetting
them with a strong infusion of the husk of un-
ripe cocoas; and the same kind of fluid is used
for mixing and tempering the materials. In
Madras, and some other parts of India, the flat
tops of the houses are covered with this cement.
It is much employed to cover columns, as also
to form the floors of rooms. Floors of this kind
are sometimes stained and made to resemble the
finest marble. It is said that jagery-cement has
succeeded very well in Holland. In 1813, Cey-
lon exported jagery to the value of 39,245 rix
dollars. The Ceylon rix-dollar at par was then
equal to 1s. 9d. Sterling.

‘When the flower has not been injured, the
tree bears nuts which are converted to many
useful purposes. In some parts of India the
cocoa nut is a symbol of matrimonial alliance,
Young cocoa nuts are much used by the natives
as an article of diet. During the unripe state of
the fruit, the shell is lined with a pulpy sub-
stance, while the centre is filled with an aqueous
fluid. This fluid is at first slightly astringent
and sub-acid; as the fruit ripens, it becomes
sweetish, and not unlike the colour and consis-
tence of the whey of milk. When drunk before
the sun has far advanced, it is much cooler than
the atmosphere, and is then a pleasant beverage.
Natives, particularly when travelling, generally
furnish themselves with a few unripe nuts (/a-
nias, Portuguese, ) the water of which they drink,
and eat the pulpy portion or kernel. Upon a
few repasts of this kind, a man will labour from
morning till night, without any other article of
diet. he native inhabitants of the coasts of
some of the islands in the equinoctial zone, are
more palmivorous than granivorous. Where a

people can he satisfied with food so easily pro-
: 21
250

cured as the produce of the cocoa nut tree, is in
some tropical regions, they are little sensible to
the ordinary motives which impel mankind to
labour. The Reverend Mr Cordiner says, and
perhaps with truth, that the person who posses-
ses a garden with twelve cocoa trees and two
jack trees, has no call to make any exertion. In
Sumatra the annual produce of a cocoa nut tree
is commonly estimated to be worth a Spanish
dollar.

The husk or fibrous pericarp of the nut is
employed to polish furniture, and to scour the
floors of rooms, &ec. Birds which build pendu-
lous nests commonly construct them of this
substance, Its chief use, however, is in the ma-
nufacture of coir, and for this purpose the nut
ought not to be completely ripe. The word coir
seems to be derived from the Latin vocable, cor-
zum, the skin. To remove the husk, an iron
spike, or sharp piece of hard wood, is fixed in
the ground; the nut is then forced upon the
point, which passes through the fibres, thereby
separating the rind from the shell. In this man-
ner a man can clear 1000 nuts daily. Coir is
prepared by soaking the rind in water for several
months, like flax, and then beating it upon a
stone with a piece of heavy wood. On the coast
of America, when a running stream of water is
not near at hand, the coir-manufacturers dig holes
in the sand below high-water mark, and bury
the rind of the cocoa nut before beating it. Sub-
sequently it is rubbed with the hand until the
interstitial substance be completely separated
from the fibrous portion of the husk. The rind
of forty cocoas furnished Mr Koster with six
pounds weight of coir. The next operation is
to twist the fibres into yarns, which are manu-
factured into cordage of all sizes. Coir is re-
markably buoyant, and well suited for ropes of
alarge diameter, Until chain-cables were intro-
duced, all the ships which navigated the Indian
seas had cables made of this substance. Sea
water is said to be rather beneficial than hurtful
to it. Coir-cordage, when properly prepared, is
pliable, smooth, strong, and elastic: it is very
well suited for running-rigging, more especially
where lightness is deemed an advantage, such as
top-gallant studding-sail sheets, &c. On account
of its elasticity, seamen consider it not well
fitted for standing rigging. Dr Roxburgh, in
his observations on the comparative strength of
English hemp and other vegetable fibres, states,
that. he found hemp-rope and coir-rope, when
large, to be respectively as 108 to eighty-seven
in strength, and when smaller, as sixty-five is to
sixty. In the same paper (Transactions of the
Society of Arts, Vol. ii.) he says, “Coir is cer-
tainly the very best material yet known for
cables, on account of its great elasticity and
strength.”

The natives sew the planks together which

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

compose their boats with coir-yarns. When
twisted into yarns adapted for being manufac-
tured into cordage, it is valued in Ceylon at
about £2 per candy (500 lb.) Large quantities
of this substance are exported to the different
ports in India. Under the Dutch government
about 3,000,000 lb. were annually manufactured
in the island. The quantity of coir exported
from Ceylon in 1813, amounted to 40484 candies,
and each candy may be valued at twenty-eight
rix dollars, total amount in rix dollars 137,649.
Very lately a manufactory for the making of
coir-cordage has been established upon a large
scale at Recif, near to Pernambuco, on the coast
of Brazil.

Coir ismuch used in India, in place of hair, to
stuff matresses, cushions for couches, saddles, &c.
It is also employed to make brooms and brushes
to white-wash houses.

The kernel of the ripe cocoa nut is not unlike
the substance of an almond either in taste or
consistence. It is eaten by the natives, and fre-
quently along with jagery. The natives of the
Ladrone islands eat it in lieu of bread, with meat
and fish. Sometimesit is rasped into very small
pieces, and mixed with dressed rice, to give it a
peculiar flavour; and occasionally it is pounded
into meal, of which fritters and small cakes are
made, In India this fruit is generally allowed
to be very nutritious, and many suppose that it
possesses the quality of inducing corpulence.

By a little pressure the kernel may be made
to yield a white fluid resembling milk. When
the milk of cows or buffaloes cannot be procured,
Europeans sometimes add this liquid to tea asa
substitute. Another substitute for milk may be
obtained by rasping a kernel, and mixing the
scrapings with some of the liquid contained ina
nut. We are informed by Dr Pinckard, in his
Notes on the West Indies, that puddings are
made of cocoa-nuts in Barbadoes. A similar
use is made of them in Ceylon. The kernel is
sometimes pressed with honey and sugar, and
used to make preserves.

When mature, the nut is much used in Cey-
lon, to furnish an oleaginous fluid required to
prepare a dish in very general use among all
ranks and classes in India, which is named Cathy
in the Singhalese and Malabar languages, An-
glicé Curry. This word is probably derived
from the Hindoostanee vocable Qurmoo to stew.
For this purpose the kernel is finely rasped by
means of an iron instrument called hiramana,
which resembles the rowel of a spur, the rasp-
ings are washed with a small quantity of water,
and subsequently filtered. The emulsion thus
formed is boiled along with the meat, fish, or
vegetable substance intended to be “curried,”
and thereby supplies the oily fluid necessary in
the composition of curry, <A due proportion of
spices is added to the mixture before it is re-
THE COCOA

moved from the fire. When cocoa nuts cannot
be procured, ghee, (clarified butter) is used as a
substitute in the preparation of this delicious
dish. In Bengal, and, I believe, over great part
of the peninsula of India, curry is chiefly pre-
pared by frying the meat with butter or ghee.
The Ceylon or cocoa nut curry possesses much
of the flavour of the nut; it has a light-yellow
colour, and is easily digested, the oily part of the
mixture being seldom too abundant.

But the chief product of the kernel of the
cocoa nut is an excellent oil; and, to extract it,
two different processes are employed; namely,
decoction and expression. When the former
process is followed, the fresh kernel is finely
rasped; the raspings are next washed with
water, which assumes a milky appearance; and,
by decoction, yields a limpid oil. If the emul-
sion be exposed for a night, it separates sponta-
neously into an oily and a watery portion, and
the oily part is purified by a very short boiling.
To separate the oil, the operator, who is gene-
rally a female, lays the palm of her left hand
flat upon the surface of the fluid; a portion of
oil adheres to the hand, which is brushed off
into a vessel by the right hand. The oil made
in this manner is nearly as colourless as water,
and when newly prepared does not smell offen-
sively. In the course of a few days, particularly
if exposed to the atmosphere, it emits a disagree-
able odour. On an average ten nuts are stated
by Mr Bartolacci to yield about a quart of oil ;
but Koster, who made the experiment, says,
that thirty-two nuts rendered him only 8 Ib. of
pure oil.

Compression is the process chiefly adopted
when cocoa nut oil is prepared in the large way.
After clearing the nut of the husk, the kernel is
exposed, which is effected by breaking the shell
with a crooked knife,—an operation which is ge-
nerally performed by one stroke. A large por-
tion of the watery part of the kernel is dissipated
by exposing it to the sun for a few days, during
which period it acquires a considerable degree of
rancidity. In this state the kernel is called
copra or copperas. The oil is extracted from
copra by grinding it in a very clumsy mill,
which is worked by bullocks. Oil has for some
years past been extracted by government from
copra in large quantities at Colombo, by means
of a steam-engine. The value of copperas ex-
ported from Ceylon, in 1813, amounted to
27,976 rix dollars.

The substance which remains after the oil has
been extracted from copra is called pohak, which
serves well to feed pigs, poultry, &c.

Ceylon exports annually a great quantity of
cocoa nuts, chiefly to India. In 1809, the num-
her amounted to 2,977,275. The medium price
may be stated at about 3s. 6d. per hundred, or
nearly one halfpenny a-piece. According to

 

NUT TREE. 25]
Koster, the value of cocoa nuts in Brazil is about
5s. 6d. per hundred, or a little more than yoths
of apenny each. In Ceylon they pay an export
duty of five percent. ‘These nuts are sometimes
brought to this country from the West Indies.
The captain’ of ships use them instead of wed-
ges of timber, to fill up the vacuities between the
casks and other packages which compose their
cargoes. On this account the freightage of the
nuts adds little to their original price. Cocoa
nut oil may be exported at the rate of one shil-
ling per gallon; and, at this price, a large quan-
tity is annually sent to different parts of India.
In Java, where it is an article of importation,
the market price is usually about six Spanish
dollars a-picul, which is equal to about 1s. 9d.
per gallon. Within these few years, it has been
imported into Great Britain, where the same
quantity has been sold as high as from 5s. to 6s,
The quantity exported from Ceylon, in 1813
amounted to 27,265 measures, each measure
about two pints; value in rix dollars 7952.

In Ceylon this oil is universally used both by
Europeans and the indigenous inhabitants, as a
lamp oil. The natives burn it in a section of the
cocoa nut shell, or in a small earthen vessel.
Some of the upper ranks have brass lamps four
or five feet high, which have several flat basons,
with projecting beaks, affixed to a vertical stall.
The oil is introduced into the basons, the beaks of
which are furnished with cotton-wick. Torches
are prepared in Siam, by drying elephants’
dung, soaking it in cocoa nut oil, and then co-
vering the mass with long dry leaves tied at short
distances, with shreds of bamboo. Mr Deville
of the Strand, London, who has paid much at-
tention to the illuminating qualities of different
gases, says that the gas light from cocoa nut
oil has so far the quality of day-light, that
with it the difference between flowers of sulphur
and wheat flour may be easily distinguished,
which he was unable to do with any other arti-
ficial light. Cocoa nut oil isnow manufactured
into candles in this country, which closely re-
semble those made of wax, and for which they
are a cheap and excellent substitute.

The Singhalese, and indeed a great proportion
of the inhabitants of Asia, use considerable quan-
tities of this oil, for the purpose of external in-
unction. It is not easy to ascertain precisely
the benefits they expect to result from this prac-
tice. Some of the Orientals say, that inunction
is used for the purpose of preserving their skins
from thesun and wind. They sometimes anoint
their bodies previously to going into the bath,
probably for the purpose of diminishing the
shock they might feel by a sudden reduction of
the temperature of the skin: more commonly,
however, the inunction takes place upon coming
out of the water. The oilis applied with a con-
siderable degree of friction; or, as Dampier des-
252

cribes the process, “ chafing it for half an hour
into hair and skin ;” and the whole surface of
the body, from the crown of the head to the
soles of the feet, is generally anointed. It is
perhaps more frequently applied to the hair of
the head than to any other part of the body. I
cannot, however, learn that they intend to des-
troy vermin by this means, although in all pro-
bability it may have such an effect. The Asia-
tics, without much exception as to rank, do not
seem to consider this source of disquietude as
either uncomfortable or disgraceful. Captain
Lyon, who seems to have practised the inunc-
tion of oil, while in Northern Africa, says, “It
is very refreshing, after a long day’s journey to
be well oiled over.”

Cocoa nut oil is used as a substitute for olive
oil, in the composition of pharmaceutical pre-
parations, snch as ointments, plasters, &c.; and
it is found to succeed extremely well, except in
the composition of plasters where a union is re-
quired to take place between oil and the semi-
vitreous oxyde of lead. In the laboratory at
Columbo, it is employed in a number of the pre-
parations where olive oil is directed to be used
by the different pharmacopceias. One of the
editors of the Journal de Pharmacie, says, res-
pecting cocoa nut oil, “J’ai aussi observé que
cette huile divisait mieux le mercure qu’aucune
autre huile végétale.’””—Tom. ii. p. 101.

Mixed with dammer (a species of resin) and
the compound melted, a substance is formed
which is much used in India to caulk the seams
of boats and ships, in place of pitch. The same
compound is employed to protect the corks of
wine and beer bottles from the depredations of
white ants.

In this country, it has been employed as a
lamp oil, and in the manufacture of cloth, in-
stead of olive oil. Soap is also made of it; and
I am informed the glass-blowers preter this oil
to all others in their operations.

The following is a schedule of duties levied on
the produce of the cocoa nut plantations in Cey-
lon, average of three years, 1827-8-9.

 

Distillery of Arrack, ‘ £.3,644
Retail of Do. 5 24,975
Export of Do. 3,136
Export of Coir. 153
Export of Jagery, 162
Lixport of Copperas, 1,539
Export of covoa nuts, Lee
Export of cocoa nut oil, 413

£35,573

Hitherto the importation of cocoa nut oil into
Europe has been attended with much waste by
leakage, in consequence of having been imported
in casks, the wood of which permits the contents
to transude in large quantities. Between the
tropics, the temperature of the cabin or cuddy of

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

a ship is frequently as high as from 83° to 86?
Fahren.; that of the hold must be considerably
higher. Cocoa nut oil does not freeze until the
temperature be reduced to 73° Fahren. Hence
it is in a fluid condition during a great part of
the voyage from India.

The shells of cocoa nuts are manufactured into
beads for rosaries. They are also used as drink-
ing-vessels, and for various other domestic pur-
poses. Occasionally they are polished by the
natives, who cut figures in relief upon them.
When thus ornamented, they are sometimes em-
ployed by the English as sugar-basins. In the
neighbourhood of Monte Video, in South Ame-
rica, the ladies drink an infusion of an herb
called matte (Paraguay tea) from highly orna-
mented cocoa nut cups. They extract the tea
from the cup by sucking it through a long silver
tube. The common ladle used in great part of
India and in the Brazils, is formed of a part of
a nut, to which a long wooden handle is fixed.
In America they have even given a name to the
instrument, for ladles made of silver are called
silver cocoas. By the inhabitants of some of the
oriental islands, they are employed as a measure
for ascertaining the quantity of both dry and
fluid substances. ‘Their capacity is known by
the number of cowries (Cyprea moneta) they
will contain. Hence there are cocoas of 500 or
1000 cowries, and so on.

They are used as fuel by the Indian washer-
men to heat their smoothing-irons; and, when
converted into charcoal, and mixed with lime,
they are employed to colour the walls of houses,

As an article of the Materia Medica, the na-
tives of India recommend a decoction of the
roots of the cocoa tree, mixed with ginger, as an
excellent febrifuge. The juice expressed from
young branches, combined with oil, is said to be
a useful application to piles. In chronic
inflammation of the urinary organs they re-
commend a mixture of the expressed juice of
the flower of the cocoa tree and sugar. The
oil is said to be useful, if applied to ulcers
or pustules on the head. Mixed with salt, and
drunk to the quantity of eight ounces, it is said
to expel worms from the intestines. Particular
virtues have been attributed to cups made of the
shell of the nut. They have been supposed to
give an anti-apoplectic quality to intoxicating
liquors. Many other virtues are ascribed to
different parts of the tree, of which it is not ne-
cessary here to take notice.

‘When cocoa nuts are intended for seed, they
are placed close to one another, with the holes
uppermost, and covered with a small quantity of
earth. In a short time, the aqueous fluid is ab-
sorbed, and the cavity becomes filled with a
spongy-white substance. Through the largest
of the three holes the plumula passes, and some-
times along with it the radicles, which run
THE DATE.

downwards on the outside of the shell. The
seedlings are allowed to remain in this state for
about a year before they are transplanted. [Holes
of about two feet deep, and from twenty-five to
thirty feet distant from each other, are dug in
the field intended for a cocoa nut garden, and the
young shoots put into them, Under each nut
on the Malabar coast a fanum is placed. A little
earth is put round the nut; and, in dry weather,
the plants are watered. They require to be pro-
tected from eattle, and particularly from elephants.

Double Cocoa Nut Palms. About eight or ten
degrees north of Madagascar, lies a small group of
islands called the Seychelles, which are rendered
famous by the production of a palm not known
in any other part of the world, and whose history
is too remarkable to be passed over altogether in
silence. Even of this small group of islands,
three only, lying within half a mile of each other,
produce the palm that bears the double cocoa nuts,
or, as they are called, cocos de mer, from an er-
roneous idea that they were marine productions,
Until the discovery of these islands in 1743,
double cocoa nuts were only known from having
been found floating on the surface of the sea in
the Indian ocean, generally destitute of husk,
and with the inner part decayed; but still so
highly prized as to be spoken of by Rumphius
as « “wonderful miracle of nature, the most
rare of marine productions.” This author fur-
ther assures us that the double cocoa nut is no
terrestrial production that may have fallen in
the sea, and there become petrified, as others
ignorantly stated; but “a fruit growing itself in
the sea, whose tree has hitherto been concealed
from the eye of man.” The Malays asserted that
the palm that bore it was sometimes seen at the
bottom of the ocean, but thatif dived foritinstantly
vanished; while the negro priests further affirmed
that its submarine branches harboured an enor-
mous griffin, which nightly came to shore, and,
seizing elephants and tigers, carried them off to
its nest as a prey; and not satisfied with those,
attracted such ships as came near to the spot,
and devoured the luckless mariners. With such,
and even stranger ideas respecting its place of
growth and history, there is no wonder that
this nut should be highly prized in the Mal-
divian islands: it was death to any man to pos-
sess it, and all that were found belonged to the
king, who sold them at high prices, or distributed
them as regal gifts. From 120 tb 150 crowns
were paid for each nut; and even kings have
been so greedy of obtaining these fruits, as to
give a loaded ship for one. Rumphius certainly
states his suspicions, that the Chinese and Malays
may have perhaps set too high a value on the
double cocoa nut, when considering it an antidote
against all poisons. The albumen, or meat, which
lines the nut, was thought to he the part where
this virtue resided ; it was mingled with red

 

253

coral, black ebony, stag’s horns, and many such
anomalous ingredients, and drank from vessels
of porphyry. Allinflammationsof the body were
likewise believed to be subjected to its powers.
It was a preservative against colic, apoplexy,
paralysis, &c. The shell being less precious,
was granted to the great men for drinking-vessels;
a single slice being sufficient, if used as the lid,
to neutralize the effect of any noxious ingredient
that might mingle with the drink. The dis-
covery of the Seychelles islands, and the know-
ledge thus obtained, that these mystical nuts
grew upon trees, caused a speedy reduction in
their value, though the botanical history of the
palm that produced them, continued long a de-
sideratum. Some imperfect notices served but
to stimulate the curiosity that was finally gra-
tified by Mr Telfair, who entreated Mr Harrison,
a freed resident in the Seychelles, to obtain the
necessary species and delineations. “To behold
these trees,” says Mr Harrison, “growing in
thousands close to each other, the sexes inter-
mingled; a numerous offspring starting up on
all sides sheltered by the parent plants, the old
ones fallen into the sear and yellow leaf, and
going fast to decay to make room for the young
trees, presented to my eyes a picture so mild
and pleasing, that it was difficult not to look
upon them as animated objects, capable of en-
joyment, and sensible of their condition. A
new leaf is formed annually, which, falling off
at the year’s end, leaves a scar or ring; by count-
ing the number of which, it is estimated that
this palm requires 130 years for its full growth.
The foliage is finest on young plants shooting
up perpendicularly, folded close like a fan, to
ten feet or more. In this state it is pale yellow,
and is used for hats and bonnets, afterwards it
expands in all its beauty, and becomes green.
The crown or cabbage in the midst of the teaves
is eaten, the trunk is used for building, and the
foliage serves for thatching, and even for the
walls of houses; a hundred leaves sufficing to
construct a house, including the partitions, doors,
and windows. The down attached to the young
foliage serves for filling mattresses and pillows,
while the ribs of the leaves make baskets and
brooms. Vessels of different forms and uses are
made out of the nut, some of them holding six
or eight pints; and being very strong and durable,
they are much valued. Among other articles,
shaving dishes, black, beautifully polished, set in
silver, and carved, are formed of these nuts.

The Date (phenix dactylifera.) Next to the
cocoa nut, the date is unquestionably the most
interesting and useful of the palm tribe. It is
of the class Diecia; order Triandria of Linneus.

The date palm, though some of the family
are more majestic, is still a beautiful tree. The
stem of it shoots up in one cylindrical column,
to the height. of fifty or sixty feet, without
254

branch or division, and of the same thickness
throughout its whole length. When it attains

103.

 

Date Fruit.

this height, its diameter is from a foot to eighteen
inches. From the summit of this majestic trunk
it throws out a magnificent crown of leaves,
which are equally graceful in their formation
and their arrangement. The main stems of the
leaves are from eight to twelve feet long, firm,
shining, and tapering; and each embraces, at its
insertion, a considerable part of the trunk. The
trunk of the palm is, in fact, made up of the
remains of leaves, the ends of which are pro-
minent just under the crown, but more obliter-
ated toward the root of the tree. The bottoms
of the leaves are enveloped in membranous
sheaths, or fringed with very tough fibrous mat-
ter. These leaves are pinnated, or in the form
of feathers, each leaf being composed of a great
number of long, narrow leaflets, which are al-
ternate, and of a bright lively green. Near the
base of the leaf, these leafiets are often three feet
long; but even then they are not one inch in
breadth; neither do they open flat, but remain
with a ridge in the middle, something like the
keel of a boat. When the leaves are young
they are twisted together, and matted up with
loose fibres, which open and disperse as the leaf
expands. The young leaflet is also armed at the
extremity with a hard black spine, or thorn.
They are more stiff and firm than the leaves of
any other tree.

The trunk of the palm, though it is in some
parts remarkably hard and durable, can hardly
be considered as timber. It consists of longi-
tudinal fibres, which are not so much interwoven
as those of the branching trees; but have their
interstices filled with a sort of pith, or medul-
iary substance, when young, that is near the top,
where the young leaves are in the progress of
formation. This medullary substance is a sort
of sap; but in the older portions of the tree it
consolidates, though it always remains granular,
and, as is the case with the pith of trees, is as
easily divided across as longitudinally. Gener-
ally speaking, the medullary part of the palm is
much lighter in the colour than the fibrous part;
and thus well consolidated palm trunks have a
beautifully mottled appearance when cut across.

 

The wood of the areca palm, or cabbage palm of ,
South America, is sometimes used in ornamental |
furniture, under the name of cabhage wood; but |

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

it does not answer very well, as the ends of the
fibres are too hard, and the medullary matter too
soft, for holding glue. For the same reason, the
surface is very difficult to polish, and cannot be
preserved without varnish. The flowers come
out in large bunches or spikes, from between the
leaves; they are at first inclosed in a spatha or
sheath, which opens to let them expand, and
then shrivels and withers.

The date palm is a dicecious tree, having the
male flowers in one plant, and the female, or
fruiting ones, in another. The male flowers are
considerably larger than the female; and the
latter, instead of stamens, have in the centres of
them, the rudiments of the dates, about the size
of small peas.

The two distinct sexes of the date tree appear
to have been known from the remotest antiquity,
as they are noticed by all the ancients who de-
scribe the tree. It is not a little remarkable,
that there is a difference in the fructification of
the wild date and the cultivated, though both
are precisely the same species. Wild dates im-
pregnate themselves, but the cultivated ones do
not, without the assistance of art. Theophrastus
and Pliny mention this fact; and in every plan-
tation of cultivated dates, gne part of the labour
of the cultivator consists in collecting the flowers
of the male date, climbing to the top of the
female with them, and dispersing the pollen on
the germs of the dates. So essential is this opera-
tion, that though the male and female trees are
growing in the same plantation, the crop fails if
it be not performed. Avery remarkable instance
of this is related by Delisle, in his Egyptian
Flora. The date trees in the neighbourhood of
Cairo did not yield a crop in the year 1800. The
French and Turkish troops having been fighting
all over the country in the spring, field labour
of every kind was suspended, and amongst the
rest, the fecundation of the date. The female
date trees put forth their bunches of flowers as
usual, but not one of them ripened into edible
fruit. The pollen of the male trees appears to
have been scattered over the country by .the
winds; and, as it had not been sufficiently abun-
dant for reaching the germs so as to ensure fruc-
tification, an almost universal failure was the
consequence. The Persians, according to the
elder Michaux, who travelled in the country,
were more provident than the Egyptians. Ina
civil war, which was attended with all the ruin-
ous effects of anarchy, the male date trees of a
whole province were cut down by the invading
troops, that the fructification of this necessary
of life might be stopped. But the inhabitants,
apprehending such a result, had been careful
previously to gather the pollen, which they pre-
served in close vessels; and thus they were en-
abled to impregnate their trees when the country
was freed from the destroying army. It is said
THE

that the pollen had thus preserved its powers
during nineteen years.

Pontanus, an Italian poet of the fifteenth
century, gives a glowing description of a female
date tree, which had stood lonely and barren,
near Otranto, in Italy, until a favouring wind
wafted toward it the pollen of a male that grew
ata distance of fifteen leagues. Father Labat,
in his account of America, relates a story of a
date tree in the island of Martinico. There
were palm trees of various other kinds in the
island, but there was only one date tree, which
grew near a convent. That tree produced fruit
which was grateful enough to the taste; but
when an increase of the number of the date
trees was wanted not a single one would grow
from the seed; and thus, after a number of un-
successful trials, they were obliged to send to
Africa for dates, the stones of which grew readily,
and produced abundantly.

Hasselquist thus writes of the date palm from
Alexandria, while on his travels through Egypt.
“The first thing after my arrival here was to see
the date tree, the ornament and a great part of
the riches of this country. It had already blos-
somed; but I had nevertheless the pleasure of
seeing how the Arabs assist its fecundation, and
by that means secure to themselves a plentiful
harvest of a vegetable which was so important
to them, and known to them many centuries be-
fore any botanist dreamt of the difference of
sexes in vegetables. The gardener informed me
of this before I had time to inquire, and would
show me, as a very curious thing, the male and
female of the date tree; nor could he conceive
how I, a Frank lately arrived, could know it
before; for, says he, all who have yet come from
Europe to see this country have regarded this
relation either as a fable ora miracle. The Arab
seeing me inclined to be farther informed, ac-
companied me and my French interpreter to a
palm tree, which was very full of young fruit,
and had by him been wedded or fecundated with
the male when both were in blossom. This the
Arabs do in the following manner: When the
spadix has female flowers that come out of its
spatha, they search on a tree that has male
flowers, which they know by experience, for a
spadix which has not yet bursted out of its spa-
tha. This they open, take out the spadix, and
cut it lengthwise in several pieces, but take care
not to hurt the flowers. A piece of this spadix,
with male flowers, they put lengthwise between
the small branches of the spadix which hath
female flowers, and then lay the leaf of a palm
over the branches. In this situation I yet saw
the greatest part of the spadices which bore their
young fruit; but the male flowers which were
put between were withered. The Arab, besides,
gave me the following anecdotes: First, unless
they in this manner wed and fecundate the date

DATE. 255
tree, it bears no fruit; secondly, they always
take the precaution to preserve some unopened
spatha, with male flowers, from one year to an-
other, to be applied for this purpose in case the
male flowers should miscarry or suffer damage ;
thirdly, if they permit the spadix of the male
flowers to burst or come out, it becomes useless
for fecundation; therefore the person who cul-
tivates date trees must be careful to hit the right
time of assisting the fecundation, which is almost
the only nicety in their cultivation; fourthly,
on opening the spatha, he finds all the male
flowers full of a liquid, which resembles the
finest dew; it is of a sweet and pleasant taste,
resembling much the taste of fresh dates, but
much more refined and aromatic; this was like-
wise confirmed by my interpreter, who had lived
thirty-two years in Egypt, and therefore had
opportunities enough of tasting both the nectar
of the blossoms and the fresh dates.

“In Upper Egypt, many families subsist almost
entirely on dates. In Lower Egypt they don’t
eat so many, rather choosing to sell them. The
inhabitants here yearly sell a considerable quan-
tity, which are chiefly carried to the towns in
Turkey, for which reason we see dates exposed
to sale in every town. The Egyptians make a
conserve of the fresh dates, mixing them with
sugar. This has an agreeable taste. The stones
or kernels of the dates are hard as horn, and no-
body would imagine that any animal would eat
them; but the Egyptians break them, grind
them on their hand-mills, and for want of better
food, give them to their camels, which eat them.
In Barbary they turn handsome beads for pater-
nosters of these stones. Of the leaves they make
baskets, or rather a kind of sheet bags, which
are used in Turkey on journeys, and in their
houses. In Egypt they make fly-flaps of them,
convenient enough to drive away the numerous
insects which incommode a man in this country.
I have likewise seen brushes made of them, with
which they clean their sofas and clothes. The
hard boughs they use for fences round their gar-
dens, and cages to keep their fowls in, with
which they carry on a great traffic; they also
use the boughs for several other things in hus-
bandry instead of other wood, of which they are
destitute. The trunk or stem is split up, and
used as beams for building houses, or for fire-
wood. They lay a whole tree across their cis-
terns, on which they wind the rope when they
draw water. The integument which covers the
tree between the boughs entirely resembles a
web, and has threads which run perpendicularly
and across: of this all the ropes used at the cis-
terns are made, as also the rigging of their smaller
vessels, They reckon in Egypt that date trees
afford a sequin annually of profit for each tree.
It is common to see two, three, or four hundred

 

fruit-bearing date trees, all belonging to one
256

family; and we may sometimes see three or four
thousand in the possession of one man, which, at
the above rate, bring in a considerable revenue
to their owner for the little spot of ground they
occupy. A full grown date tree does not at most
take up above four feet in diameter, so that they
may be planted within eight feet of one another.”
The same learned traveller, in another place,
writes, “About this time we daily eat ripe dates.
In Europe we seem to envy the felicity of the
people who enjoy these fruits. I confess they
are good to taste once or twice; but though I
have got over the age when such things please
most, yet I would gladly give two bushels of
dates for half a bushel of good Swedish apples,
and am persuaded I should find thousands in
Egypt ready to make the same exchange.” *

Four or five months after the operation of fe-
cundation has been performed, the, dates begin
to swell; and when they have attained nearly
their full size, they are carefully tied to the base
of the leaves, to prevent them from being beaten
and bruised by the wind. If meant to be preserved,
they are gathered a little before they are ripe;
but when they are intended to be eaten fresh,
they are allowed to ripen perfectly, in which
state they are a very refreshing and agreeable
fruit. Ripe dates cannot, however, be kept any
length of time, or conveyed to any very great
distance, without fermenting and becoming acid;
and therefore those which are intended for stor-
ing up, or for being carried to a distant market,
are dried in the sun upon mats. The dates which
come to the European market from the Levant
and Barbary are in this state; and the travellers
in the desert often carry with them a little bag
of dried dates, as their only or their chief sub-
sistence during journeys of many hundred miles.
In parts of the East, the dates that fall from the
cultivated trees are left on the ground for the
refreshment of the wayfaring man.

In the Hedjaz, the new fruit, called ruted,
comes in at the end of June, and lasts two months.
The harvest of dates is expected with as much
anxiety, and attended with as general rejoicing,
as the vintage of the south of Europe. The
crop sometimes fails, or is destroyed by locusts,
and then a universal gloom overspreads the
population. The people do not depend upon
the new fruit alone; but during the ten months
of the year when no ripe dates can be procured,
their principal subsistence is the date-paste,
called adjoue, which is prepared by pressing the
fruit, when fully matured, into large baskets.
“What is the price of dates at Mecca or Me-
dina?’ is always the first question asked by a
Bedouin who meets a passenger on the road.

There is, indeed, hardly any part of the tree
which is not serviceable to man, either as a ne-

* Travels in the Levant, in 1750.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

cessary or a luxury. When the fruit is com-
pletely ripened, it will, by strong pressure, yield
a delicious syrup, which serves for preserving
dates and other fruits; or the fruit may be made
into jellies and tarts. The stalks of the bunches
of dates, hard as they are in their natural state,
as well as the kernels, are softened by boiling,
and in that condition are used for feeding cattle.
Dates, with the addition of water, afford by dis-
tillation a very good ardent spirit, which, as it
does not come within the prohibition of the
Koran against wine, is much used in some of the
Mahommedan countries, and answers the same
purpose of false excitement as the brandy or the
malt spirits of other nations. Palm wine is also
made from the date: this is also without the
statute of the Prophet. It is known in Egypt
by the name of lakhisy. It is the sap or juice
of the tree, and can only be obtained by its de-
struction; so that such trees only as are unpro-
ductive are selected for obtaining it. The time
chosen for this purpose is when the tree is in the
most active state of vegetation. The crown is
then cut off, and a cavity scooped in the top of
the trunk. As the sap rises, it exudes into this
cavity, at the rate of nearly a gallon a-day for
the first two weeks; after which it gradually
diminishes; and at the end of six weeks or two
months it stops entirely, and the tree, which has
become by the operation completely dry, is cut
down for fire-wood, or for any other of the pur-
poses to which the trunk of the palm is applied.
When the juice first exudes from the tree, it is
remarkably sweet; but it soon ferments and be-
comes vinous, with a certain degree of acidity,
This juice may also be distilled into an ardent spi-
rit, forming the genuine arrack, or rack, of the
East. In Egypt and Arabia, the date trees that
have become unproductive, through age or any
other circumstance, are commonly disposed of in
this manner. What is called the cabbage of the
palm is esculent in many of the species, and in the
date among others. The cabbage is a conical
tuft in the centre of the crown of leaves, and is
formed of the future leaves in their undeveloped
state. When the outside is removed, this part
of the date tree tastes very much like a fresh
chestnut; but, like the palm-juice, it is costly,
being obtained only by the destruction of the
tree; and therefore it is not used except in those
trees which are cut for the sake of the sap or
juice.

The fibrous parts of the date tree are made
into ropes, baskets, mats, and various other ar-
ticles of domestic use; and so are the strings or
stalks that bear the dates. The cordage of the
ships navigating the Red sea is almost exclusively
of the inner fibrous bark of the date tree. The
trunk answers very well for posts, railings, and
other coarse purposes; but it is not fit for being
worked into planks, as the fibrous nature of it
THE DATE.

makes it easily split lengthwise into threads.
The medullary part is much more abundant and
soft toward the centre of the tree than toward
the circumference; and, therefore, when it is to
be used as timber, the trunk is generally cleft in
two down the middle, for the purpose of allow-
ing the heart to dry and harden.

“The medullary part of the date tree is partly
farinaccous, and soluble in water; and a nutri-
tious substance may be obtained from it, resem-
bling in consistency the sago which is obtained
from another kind of palm. In the proper date
tree, however, it is small in quantity, and by no
means good in quality. From another, and'a
much smallerspecies (phenix farinifera ), which
is a native of the East Indies, the supply is much
moreabundant. his farinaccous date tree grows
upon the dry and sandy parts of the east or Co-
romandel coast of the peninsula of Hindoostan.
It is a very low tree, or rather a great leafy bush,
for the trunk is never above a foot and a half or
two feet in height, and the leaves completely
conceal it. This palm is of a much deeper green,
and has the leaves much narrower, than those of
the date. It fruits and flowers nearly in the
same manner. The berries are about the size of
kidney beans, and of a shining black; they have
not much pulp, but what they have is sweet and
mealy. In times of scarcity the natives of Hin-
doostan have recourse to the wood of this palm
for food. When the stem is divested of the
leaves, and of the brown fibrous matter with
which their roots are enveloped, it is about eigh-
teen inches long, and six in diameter where
thickest. The outside of it consists of woody
fibres, of a white colour, and very much matted
together, and within these the farinaceous mat-
ter is contained. To obtain that, the natives
split the trunk into longitudinal pieces, dry
them, beat them in mortars, and then sift the
mass to separate the fibres. After this, the fa-
rina is ready for being boiled into gruel, or congee,
as it is called in India; but it is bitter, and far
inferior to sago. It has, however, occasionally
been of much use, and saved the lives of the
people at times when famine has threatened them
with destruction.

Even the leaves of the date palm have their
uses; their great length and comparatively small
breadth, and their toughness, render them very
good materials for the construction of coarse
ropes, baskets, panniers, and mats. On the con-
tinent of Europe, palm-branches are a regular
article of trade; and the religious processions,
both of Christians and Jews, in the greater part
of Europe, are supplied from some palm-forests
near the shores of the Gulf of Genoa.

The cultivation of the date tree is an object of
high importance in the countries of the East. In
ihe interior of Barbary, in great part of Egypt,
in the more dry districts of Syria, and in Arabia,

 

257

it is almost the sole subject of agriculture. In
the valleys of the Hedjaz there are more than a
hundred kinds of dates, each of which is pecu-
liar to a district, and has its own peculiar vir-
tues. Date trees pass from one person to ano-
ther in the course of trade, and are sold by the
single tree; and the price paid to a girl’s father,
on marrying her, often consists of date trees.

The palm is not wholly confined to the warmer
latitudes, though in those only it matures its
fruit. There are greenhouse specimens in many
parts of England. Some of the more luxuriant
parts of the province of Valencia, in the south-
east of Spain, have very fine forests of date-palms,
from which, as well as from the neighbourhood
of Genoa, palm branches are exported. There
are date palms upon the coast of Gallicia, near
Ferrol and Corunna; but the fruit on them does
not come to maturity. There is abundance of
palms in the gardens of Naples; and they are
still finer and more numerous in that part of
Sicily in the neighbourhood of Palermo, which,
from the fertility of its soil, and the variety and
beauty of its productions, has the name of “the
golden shell.” They are also to be met with in
some parts of the south of France, though they
rarely, if ever, ripen their fruit in that country.
There are, in particular, two very majestic spe-
cimens growing in the open air in the botanical
garden at Toulon; but these, so far as we have
heard, have not yet flowered. As greenhouse
plants, with heat in the colder season, they have
been introduced into England for about a cen-
tury ; and the celebrated Miller, of the botanical
garden at Chelsea, is reported to have been the
first cultivator. The Messrs. Loddiges, of Hack-
ney, have palms of considerable height growing
under glass; there are also some fine palms at
the botanical garden at Kew, and a great variety
of splendid specimens in the botanic garden of
Edinburgh.

The date palm is a very slow-growing tree ;
and even in the soil and climate that are most
congenial, old trees do not gain above a foot in
height in five years, so that, supposing the in-
crease uniform, the age of a tree, sixty feet high,
cannot be less than three hundred years. Dr
Shaw says, that the palm of Barbary usually
falls about the latter end of its second century.

The date is one of those plants which, in the
countries that are congenial to their growth, form
the principal subsistence of man ; and its locality
is so peculiar, that it cannot, strictly speaking,
be classed either with the fruits of the temperate
climates or with those of the tropical. It holds
a certain intermediate place, and is most abun-
dant in regions where there are few other escu-
lent vegetables to be found.

There is one district where, in consequence of
the extreme aridity of the soil, and the want of

moisture in the air, none of the cerealia will
gk
258

grow; that district is the margin of the mighty
desert which extends, with but few interruptions,
from the shores of the Atlantic to the confines of
Persia, an extent of nearly four thousand miles.
The shores, the banks of the rivers, and every
part of this region in which there is humidity,
are exceedingly fertile; and with but unskilful
culture, produce the most abundant crops and
the choicest fruits. But along the verge of the
desert, and in the smaller oases or isles, which
here and there spot that wilderness of sand, the
date pal is the only vegetable upon which man
can subsist. The lofty summits of the moun-
tains of Atlas form an effectual barrier to the
humid winds from the sea. Accordingly, the
richer vegetation extends only as far to the south
of them as the courses of the streams that are
fed by the mountain snows; and these streams
are soon evaporated by the air, or absorbed by
the thirsty soil. The more lowly vegetables on
that soil are chiefly of a saline and succulent de-
scription, such as euphorbias, salsolas, and cac-
tuses, which retain their own humidity in con-
sequence of their smooth and close rinds, with-
out much aid from external moisture; but their
juices are in gencral too acrid, or too much im-
pregnated with soda, for being of any use as
food. Over these, the date palm raises its trunk
and spreads its leaves, and is the sole vegetable
monarch of the thirsty land. It is so abundant,
and so unmixed with any thing else that can be
considered as a tree, in the country between the
states of Barbary and the desert, that this region
is designated as the Land of Dates (Biledulge-
rid); and upon the last plain, as the desert is
approached, the only objects that break the dull
outline of the landscape, are the date palm and
the tent of the Arab. ‘Ihe same tree accom-
panies the margin of the desert in all its sinuosi-
ties; in Tripoli, in Barea, along the valley of the
Nile, in the north of Arabia, and in the south-
east of Turkey. *

This region of the date has perhaps remained
for a longer period unchanged in its inhabitants
and its productions than any other portion of
the world. The Ishmaelites, as described in
scripture history, were but little different from
the Bedouins of the present time; and the palm
tree (which in ancient history invariably means
the date) was of the same use, and held in the
same esteem, as it is now. When the sacred
writers wished to describe the majesty and the
beauty of rectitude, they appealed to the palm
as the fittest emblem which they could select.
“ He shall grow up and flourish like the palm
tree,” is the promise which the royal poet of Is-
rael makes for the just.

Even among the followers of other faiths, the
palm has always been the symbol held in the

* Library of Entertaining Knowledge.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

greatest veneration. It is recorded of Mahomet
that, like the psalmist, he was accustomed to
compare the virtuous and generous man to the
date tree: “He stands erect before his Lord; in
every action he follows the impulse received from
above; and his whole life is devoted to the wel-
fare of his fellow-creatures.” The inhabitants
of Medina, who possess the most extensive plan-
tations of date trees, say that their prophet
caused a tree at once to spring from the kernel
at his command, and to stand before his admiring
followers in mature fruitfulness and beauty,
The Tamanaquas of South America have a tra-
dition that the human race sprung again from
the fruits of the palm, after the Mexican age of
watcr. The usefulness of the tree has thus caused
it to be the subject of universal veneration. In
ancient times, and in modern, the palm has been
the symbol of triumph. ‘The Jews carry it on
a solemn festival in commemoration of their
fathers having gained possession of the promised
land ;+ and the Christians in remembrance of
that more glorious victory, when the Saviour
rode into Jerusalem amid the jubilations and
hosannahs of the people.

Indeed, the tree is not unworthy of those hon-
ours which mankind have in all ages bestowed
upon it; for the great utility of the tree must
have been the cause of those honours. Rearing
its stem, and expanding its broad and beautiful
shade where there is nothing else to shelter man
from the burning rays of the sun, the palm tree
is hailed by the wanderer in the desert with more
pleasure than he hails any other tree in any other
situation. Nor is it for its shade alone, or even
for its fruit, that the palm is so desirable in that
country; for, wherever a little clump of palms
contrast their bright green with the red wilder-
ness around, the traveller may in general be sure
that he shall find a fountain ready to afford him
its cooling water.

Nor is it only when standing alone in the
desert that the palm is a majestic tree. Palms
form the shade and the beauty of many of the
tropical forests. Some of them are among the
tallest of trees; and when the margin of a river
is spoken of as more than usually delightful, we
allude to its palmy side.

The Daum Palm, (nuifera thebaica.) This
tree is much esteemed in the countries where it
abounds. “A native of the desert,” says M.
Delile, “its shelter renders many places that
would otherwise be totally waste, capable of cul-
tivation.” Many species of thorny sensitive
plants, which rarely grow on the spots watered
by the Nile, find an asylum under its shadow.
They increase there, and spreading in the direc-
tion of the desert, limit its extent hy augment-

+ Judea was typified by the palm tree upon coins of
Vespasian and Titus.
THE PALM.

ing the productive districts. The trunk of the
daum is composed of longitudinal, parallel fibres,
similar to that of the date, but much stronger,
and closer. It is cut into planks, which are used
for doors in Upper Egypt. The fibres are black,
and the intermediate pith is yellow. The leaves
are used for making carpets, bags, and baskets
of various kinds, The pulp of this fruit is plea-
sant to the taste, and would be much used for
food if it were not for the numerous fibres with
which it is mixed; still the inhabitants of Said
or Upper Egypt do frequently eat it. The fruit
is sold in large quantities, and very cheap, at Cairo,
where it is rather considered as a useful medicine
than an article of food. It tastes like ginger-
bread, and is much relished by the children. An
infusion something like the drink made of steeped
liquorice root, or the pods of the carob tree, is
prepared from the fruit, which, before maturity,
contains a clear and tasteless fluid: when ripe,
the kernel becomes very hard, and fine beads for
rosaries are made of it.

The Zaliput, or Palmyra Palm, (corypha um-
braculifera.) This species is a native of Ceylon,
where it occurs among the mountains in the in-
terior. It also grows in the Burman empire,
and other parts of the East Indies. The leaves
are eighteen feet or more in diameter. They are
of a coriaceous texture when dricd, capable of
being folded, and again opened repeatedly like a
fan. Hence the usual term of the Fan Palm.
hey readily receive an impression from any
hard point. Advantage is taken cf this propgrty
to use stripes of them, prepared in mill, instead
of paper, to write upon which is one of the
most important uses of this palm. Their ribs
are of the texture of cane, which adds greatly
to their strength. When cut at the extremities
of the petioles they are said to be used to pro-
tect the heads of travellers and fighting men
who have to force their way through the jungle.
For this purpose only a portion of the leaf is
used. The thicker part, which was attached to
the petiole, is placed forward, and the sides hang-
ing over the ears, a kind of wedge or inverted
keel is formed, which forces the branches aside
as the wearer pushes forward. All the books of
importance in Pali, or Cingalese, in Ceylon, re-
lative to the religion of Buddhoo, are written
upon lamine of these leaves. The Pali and
Cingalese character is engraved upon stripes of
them, with either a brass or an iron style. There
are some of these books in Sir A. Johnston’s
collection, which are supposed to be between five
and six hundred years old, and which are still
very perfect. Two finespecimens of books written
upon the leaves, now in the library of the Royal
Asiatic Society, are invaluable. The one is a
complete copy of the Pali book, called the Pan-
syapanas Jatakaya, written upon eleven hundred
and seventy-two lamine of the finest description.

 

259

This book contains the whole moral and religious
code of the Buddhists, and is so scarce that it
was for some time believed there was no complete
copy extant. Sir A. Johnston, when president
of his Majesty’s council in Ceylon, being, from
the various benefits which he had conferred upon
the priests of Buddhoo, much in their confi-
dence, was allowed by them to have copies taken
of all the different parts which were dispersed
among the most celebrated temples in the island,
and of them formed a complete book. The
other isa very fine specimen of a Burmese volume
on the Buddhoo religion, written upon lamine
of the taliput leaf, lacquered over, and beautifully
gilt, which was sent to the president by the king
of Ava, with some other books as the finest spe-
cimen he could give him of the manner in which
the books in a royal library at Ava were writ-
ten. The taliput leaf is used in the mari-
time provinces of Ceylon as a mark of distinc-
tion, each person being allowed to have a number
of these leaves folded up as a fan, carried with
him by his servant. It is also used in the Can-
dian country, in the shape of a round flat wm-
brella upon a stick. It is farther used to make
tents, and by the common people to shelter them
from the rain, one leaf affording sufficient shelter
for seven or eight persons. When about eighty
years old, which is when it has attained its full
growth, the flower spike bursts from its envelope
with a loud report; it is then as white as ivory.
In the course uf fifteen or twenty months, it
showers down its abundance of nuts; this effort
to provide a numerous succession, proves fatal to
the parent. Thus it presents the singular phe-
nomena of a long-lived plant only blossoming
once during its existence, when it dies, and in
dying, like the fabled Pheenix, sheds the seeds
of a future generation around it. The flower is
oceasionally thirty feet long. Mr Bennet, author
of an Account of the Fishes of Ceylon, was pre-
sent during several of these rare explosions. In
times of great scarcity, the natives of India cut
down this palm and extract the pith for food.
It very much resembles sago in its qualities.

The blossoms have such a strong heavy smell,
that the natives cut them down and destroy them
when in the vicinity of their cottages. The
fruit is round, and very hard, about the size of
a cherry, and so abundant, that one tree will
produce sufficient to plant a whole country.
They are not edible.

The Torypha calicra, or Taliera palm, another
similar species, is also a noble plant, the wood
of which is of universal use throughout the
northern provinces of India for roofing houses
and other domestic purposes.

The Dwarf Palm, (chamerops humilis, ) has
already been alluded to as the only species which
will endure the cold of the temperate zone. It
is of small stature, and grows, though not very
luxuriantly, in some of the southern countries
of Europe.

The Puantaiy (musa
paradisiaca) is of con-
siderable size; it rises
with a herbaceous stalk,
about five or six inches
in diameter at the sur-
face of the ground but
tapering upwards to the
height of fifteen or
twenty feet. The leaves
ave in a cluster at the
top; they are very large,
heing about six feet
long and two feet broad:
the middle rib is strong,
but the rest of the leaf is tender, and apt to be
torn by the wind. The leaves grow with great
rapidity after the stall has attained its proper
height. The spike of flowers rises from the
centre of the leaves to the height of about four
feet. At first the flowers are inclosed in a sheath,
but as they come to maturity, that drops off.
The fruit is about an inch in diameter, eight or
nine inches long, and bent a little on one side.
As it ripens it turns yellow; and when ripe, it is
filled with a pulp of a luscious sweet taste.

The Banana (musa sapientum) yields a shorter
and rounder fruit than the plantain; the stem
is also different, that of the plantain being
wholly green, while the banana is spotted with
purple. The banana is not so luscious as the
plantain, but it is more agreeable. ‘Those brought
to this country are gathered unripe, but upon
heing kept for some time, acquire a rich golden
colour. ‘The plant is very successfully cultivated
in our conservatories, and often produces the fruit
in perfection. The manilla plantain fibre is the
produce of a species named musa tertilis. The
finer kinds are manufactured into textile fabrics,

Having thus observed the slight differences in
these plants, we shall proceed to their general
character—in which notice we shall confine our-
selves to the use of the word banana.

The banana, unlike some others of the tribe, is
not confined to any particular country of the torrid
zone, but offers its produce indifferently to the in-
habitants of equinoctial Asia and America, of tro-
pical Africa, and of the islands of the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans. Wherever the mean heat of
the year exceeds 75° of Fahrenheit, the banana is
one of the most important and interesting objects
tor the cultivation of man. All hot countries
appear equally to favour the growth of its fruit;
and it has even been cultivated in Cuba, in situ-
ations where the thermometer descends to 45° of
Fahrenheit. Its produce is enormous; the ba-
nana, therefore, for an immense portion of man-
kind, is what wheat, barley, and rye are for the
inhabitants of Western Asia and Europe, and

 

Plantain.

 

IL{STORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

what the numerous varieties of rice are for those
of the countries beyond the Indus.

The banana is not known in an uncultivated
state. The wildest tribes of South America,
who depend upon this fruit for their subsistence,
propagate the plant by suckers. Yet an all-
bountiful Nature is, in this case, ready to dimin-
ish the labours of man, perhaps too ready for
the proper development of his energies, both
physical and moral. Eight or nine months after
the sucker has been planted, the banana begins
to form its clusters; and the fruit may be collected
in the tenth and eleventh months, When the
stalk is cut, the fruit of which has ripened, a
sprout is put forth, which again bears fruit in
three months. The whole labour of cultivation
which is required for a plantation of bananas is
to cut the stalks laden with ripe fruit, and to
give the plants a slight nourishment, once or
twice a year, by digging round the roots. A spot
of a little more than a thousand square feet will
contain from thirty to forty banana plants. A
cluster of bananas, produced on a single plant,
often contains from one hundred and sixty to
one hundred and eighty fruits, and weighs
from seventy to eighty pounds. But reckoning
the weight of 2 cluster only at forty pounds,
such a plantation would produce more than four
thousand pounds of nutritive substance. M.
Humboldt calculates that as thirty-three pounds
of wheat and ninety-nine pounds of potatoes
require the same space as that in which four
thousand pounds of bananas are grown, the pro-
duce of bananas is consequently to that of wheat
as 183: 1, and to that of potatoes as 44: 1.

The bananaripened in the hot-houses of Europe
has an insipid taste; but yet the natives of both
Indies, to many millions of whom it supplies
their principal food, eat it with avidity, and are
satisfied with the nourishment it affords. This
fruit is a very sugary substance; and in warm
countries the natives find such food not only
satisfying for the moment, but permanently nu-
tritive. Yet, weight for weight, the nutritive
matter of the banana cannot at all be compared
to that of wheat, or even of potatoes. At the
same time, a much greater number of individuals
may be supported upon the produce of a piece
of ground planted with bananas, compared with
a piece of the same size. in Europe growing
wheat. Humboldt estimates the proportion as
twenty-five to one; and he illustrates the fact by
remarking that a European, newly arrived in the
torrid zone, is struck with nothing so much as
the extreme smallness of the spots under culti-
vation round acahin which contains a numerous
family of Indians.

The ripe fruit of the banana is preserved, like
the fig, hy being dried in the sun. This dried
banana is an agreeable and healthy aliment.
Meal is extracted from the fruit, hy cutting it
SAGO.

in slices, drying it in the sun, and then pounding
it.

The facility with which the banana can be cul-
tivated, observesa recent writer, has doubtless con-
tributed to arrest the progress of improvement in
tropical regions. In the new continent civiliza-
tion first commenced on the mountains, in a soil
of inferior fertility. Necessity awakens industry,
and industry calls forth the intellectual powers of
the human race. When these are developed, man
does not sit in a cabin, gathering the fruits of his
little patch of banana, asking no greater lux-
uries, and proposing no higher ends of life than to
eat and to sleep. He subdues to his use all the
treasures of the earth by his labour and his skill;
and he carries his industry forward to its utmost
limits, by the consideration that he has active
duties to perform. The idleness of the poor Indian
keeps him, where he has been for ages, little ele-
vated above the inferior animal; the industry
of the European, under his colder skies, and
with a less fertile soil, has surrounded him with
all the blessings of society, its comforts, its affec-
tions, its virtues, and its intellectual riches,

In a very interesting and instructive paper by
Mr John Lindley, “on the Tropical Fruits likely
to be worth cultivating in England,” it is stated,
upon the authority of Mr Crawford, that some
of the varieties of the banana possess an ex-
quisite flavour, surpassing the finest pear; and
that others in the East-Indies have been com-
pared to an excellent rennet apple, after its
sweetness has been condensed by keeping through
the winter. Of these varieties there are so many,
that they would be as diffieult to describe as the
sorts of applesand pearsof Europe. The banana
has frequently produced its bunches of yellow
fruit in hot-houses in this kingdom; particularly
at Wynnstay, the seat of Sir W. W. Wynn;
and at Messrs. Loddiges’, at Hackney; and, ac-
cording to Mr Lindley, “it appears probable that
there will be as little difficulty in ripening the
fruit, as that of any tropical tree whatever.”

Saco, (sagus farinifera.) This and some
other species, all yielding the nutritious farina
called sago, are natives of the south-east of Asia,
and of the islands of the Indian ocean. The
sago, or, as it is called in the Molucca islands,
the libley tree, is of peculiar appearance. The
trunk, which is formed of the bases of the leaves,
grows at first very slowly, and is covered with
thorns; so soon, however, as the stem is formed,
the growth of the tree proceeds with great ra-
pidity, so that it speedily attains its full height
of thirty feet, with a circumference of five to
six feet, losing in this stage its thorny accom-
paniments. Like the cocoa nut palm, the sago
has no distinct bark that can be peeled off; but
the trunk consists of a long, hard, ligneous tube,
about two inches thick, the internal area of
which is filled with a kind of farinaceous pith,

 

261

intermixed with numerous longitudinal fibres.
The maturity of the tree is known by the tran-
spiration of a kind of whitish dust through the
pores of the leaves, and when this appears, the
trunk is felled near to the ground. Forrest, in
his account of the Molucca islands, thus details
the process of sags manufacture: “The tree
being felled, is cut into lengths of five or six
feet. A part of the hard wood is then sliced
off, and the workman coming to the pith, cuts
across the longitudinal fibres and the pith to-
gether, leaving a part at each end uncut. So
that when it is excavated there remains a trough
into which the pulp is again put, mixed with
water, and beaten with a piece of wood. Then
the fibres separated from the pulp float at top,
and the flour subsides. After being cleared in
this manner by several waters, the pulp is put
into cylindrical baskets made of the leaves of the
tree; and if it isto be kept some time, those
baskets are generally sunk in fresh water to keep
it moist. One tree will produce from two to four
hundred weight of flour’’ We seldom see sago
in Europe but ina granulated state. To bring
it into this state from this flour, it must be first
moistened and passed through a seive into a very
shallow iron pot, held over a fire, which enables
it to assume a globular form. Thus all our
grained sago is half baked, and will keep long.
The pulp or powder of which this is made, will
also keep long if preserved from the air; but if
exposed, it presently turns sour. Loaves of
bread are sometimes made in the Molucca islands
of sago flour, and baked in small ovens, the floors
of which are divided, hy means of partitions,
into cells about the size of an octavo volume,

Sago has lately been used in this country,
mixed with wheaten flour, for bread. In certain
proportions it makes a very palatable bread; but
if used in excess, the farina, of which it entirely
consists, renders the bread heavy, and less di-
gestible than wheaten flour alone. The sago
palm affords a greater quantity of nourishing
matter than any other, except the banana. Asit
grows spontaneously, and in great abundance in
the Asiatic islands, a means of subsistence is thus
afforded to the indolent natives, without much
toil or ingenuity. The single trunk of a tree
in its fifteenth year, sometimes furnishes six
hundred pounds of sago. Mr Crawford has cal-
culated in his History of the Indian Archipelago,
that a single acre of land will support four hun-
dred and thirty-five sago palms, which will an-
nually produce 120,500 Ibs. of sago.

The Cycas cincinalis, sometimes mentioned
as the only sago plant, yields a very inferior
kind.

The Mauritia Palm, which also yields sago,
grows in great abundance on the banks of the
Orinoco river, in South America. This whole
country is subject to inundations; and the fan-
262

ike branches of these trees, look like a forest
rising out of the expanse of waters. The navi-
gator who passes along the delta of the Orinoco,
is surprised to see the tops of these trees lighted
with fires. They are kindled by the Gaunchos,
a people who have remained for ages in these
marshes, secured from the fleods by living in the
paln trees. In the branches they suspend mats,
which they fill with clay; and on this damp
earth kindle the fires which are necessary for
their comfort. Sir Walter Raleigh saw and de-
scribed these people. The palm offers to this
rude race, as well as to other tribes who inhabit
the gulf of Darien, and the watery lands be-
tween the Guarapitha and the mouths of the
Amazon, 1 safe habitation amidst the inunda-
tions to which those countries are subject. But
it affords them also in its fruit, its farinaceous
bark, its sap abounding with sugar, and its fibrous
stalks, pleasant food to eat, wine to drink, and
thread to make cordage and hammocks. “It
is curious to behold,” says Humboldt, “in the
lowest stage of civilization, the existence of a
whole race depending upon a single species of
palm, ina similar degree with those insects which
subsist upon one species of flower.

The Cabbage Palm (areca oleracea). This
is one of the most beautiful and stately of the
palm tribe, and hence, in some of the tropical
islands, has received the name of the palmetto-
royal. The stem, which, at its base, measures
seven feet in circumference, ascends straight and
tapering to a gigantic height. Logan mentions
some of them, when the island of Barbadoes was
first taken possession of by Europeans, as two
hundred feet in height; but Mr Buges observes,
that the highest in his time in the island was
one hundred and thirty-four feet. “I am in-
clined to believe,” says Bryan Edwards, “ that I
have seen them in Jamaica upwards of one hun-
dred and fifty feet in height; but it is impossible
to speak with certainty without an actual mea-
surement.” Near the base the trunk is of a
brown colour, hard, woody, and jointed, with a
pith inside like the elder. The upper part of
the trunk, from whence the foliage springs, re-
sembles a well turned finely polished baluster, of
a lively green colour, gently swelling from its
pedestal, and diminishing gradually to the top,
where it expands into branches, waving like
plumes of ostrich feathers. These are decorated
with numerous leaflets, some of which are about
three fect long, and an inch and a half broad,
tapering into a sharp point. The leaflets eradu-
ally decrease in size as they approach the extre-
mities of the branches. This lofty regular group
of foliage, impelled by the most gentle gale, and
constantly waving in feathery elegance, is an ob-
ject of beauty which cannot be imagined by an
inhabitant of temperate climes, unused to the
magnificent vegetation of a tropical sun, The

 

HISTORY OF TUE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

seed js enclosed in a brown spatha, which rises
from the centre of the branches, and hanging
downwards, consists of small oval nuts, not un-
like a bunch 6f dried grapes, but much longer in
proportion to their circumference. Within the
leaves, which constitute the summit of the trunk,
the portion called the cabbage lies concealed.
This substance is white, about two feet long, of
a cylindrical form, and the thickness of a man’s
arm. It is composed of longitudinal flakes like
ribands, and so compact as to form a solid crisp
body. When eaten raw, it tastes somewhat like
the almond, but more tender and delicious,
When cut into slices and hoiled, it is served up
with meat asa vegetable dish. To obtain this
very small portion, growing on the very summit
of such a stately trunk, the noble tree must be
felled to the ground. In the place where the
cabbage grew, a species of beetle very generally
takes up its abode, and deposits*its eggs, from
which, in due time, grubs are hatched, that have
received the name of palm tree worms. By the
negroes these are reckoned a very great luxury;
and Stedman thus gives an account of them in
his History of Surinam: “ Another negro also
brought in a regale of groe-groe, or cabbage tree
worms, as they are called in Surinam. This
reptile grows to the size and thickness of a man’s
thumb, and is extremely fat. However disgust-
ing to appearance, these worms are a delicious
treat to many people, and they are regularly sold
at Parameribo. The manner of dressing them
is by frying them in a pan, with a very little
butter and salt, or spiting them on a wooden
skewer. In taste they partake of all the spices
of India, as mace, cinnamon, cloves, nutmes.
Several specics of these worms are produced in
all the palm trees when beginning to rot; but
some are lirger than others. They are all of a
pale yellow colour, with black heads.”
Carnauba Palm (corypha cerifera). This
palm is a native of Brazil, and grows in the low
lands on the banks of rivers. It attains the
height of thirty feet. The leaves are two feet in
length, and, while young, are folded up like a
fan; when expanded, they measure two feet in
breadth. If they are cut from the tree when
they have attained their full growth, and are
placed to dry in the shade, a considerable quan-
tity of light coloured scales is loosened from their
surface. These scales, when subjected to a heat
of 206° Fahrenheit, melt into a substance ex-
actly resembling wax. It is of a pale yellow
colour, and on cooling, becomes hard and brittle.
Alcohol, unless heated, has not the power of dis-
solving this wax. Fixed oils, at the tempera-
ture of boiling water, cause its solution. Its
specific gravity is .980. It possesses most of the
properties of bees’ wax, and can be formed into
candles, which burn with a good and steady
light. The addition of a tenth part of tallow
THE YAM.

renders these candles less beittle, without im-
parting to them any unpleasant smell, or mate-
vially impairing the intensity of the light. IEx-
cellent candles are also made from a mixture of
three parts of this wax and onc part of common
bees’ wax. A quantity of the wax of this palm
was sent to England from Rio de Janeiro, and
subjected to a chemical analysis by My Brande.
The result of these experiments was highly
satisfactory as to its efficiency as a substitute for
wax candles. We know not whether its em-
ployment for this purpose be still persevered in.

The leaves are not the only useful part of the
carnauba palm. The green fruit, after being
boiled in several waters, affords a nutritive food;
the pith of the stem of the young plants, after
being bruised in water, is likewise applied to the
same purpose. The kernel of the fruit, when
ripe, is covered with a layer of sweet pulp, and
this is found to be wholesome food for cattle.
The leaves make a very durable covering for
houses, and in such service will sustain every
vicissitude of weather for twenty years without
requiring to be renewed. The trunk of the tree
is a useful wood for building houses, making
fences, and a variety of other purposes.

The Ceroxylon Andicola, another species of
palm, also yields a substance somewhat resem-
bling wax. This palm is a native of the Andes,
towering in majestic beauty on mountains which
rise many hundred toises above the level of the sea,
approaching even to the verge of perpetual snow.
Humboldt describes the tree as attaining to the
prodigious height of one hundred and sixty feet,
while it differs from all the other species of palms
in flourishing under a much colder temperature.
The trunk of the ceroxylon is covered with a
peculiar kind of varnish, possessing some of the
properties of wax. Vauquelin subjected this
product to chemical analysis, and found that it
contained two-thirds of resin and one-third of
wax, thus differing materially from the inflam-
mable substances obtained from the corypha.

El«is Guineensis. This palm grows in vari-
ous parts of Africa. It grows best in shady
places, and attains the height of fifteen to six-
teen feet. The fruit resembles the stone of the
date. When ripe, this nut is heated by fermen-
tation, and then coarsely pulverized in hollow
cylinders, by which its oily matter is separated.
It is then macerated in hot water, when the oil
gradually collects on the surface, and cooling,
concretes into a thick unctuous cake, of a light
lemon colour, with litéle or no taste, but having
arich perfume. At the ordinary temperature
of the air it is not a fluid oil. At 69° it
begins to be slightly opaque; at 62° it is of the
consistence of honey; at 45° it is proportionably
thicker, but still retains a degree of softness. It
is heavier than most of the other expressed oils.
The quantity of oil in these nuts is very con-

 

263

siderable, one gallon of nuts usually producing a
quart of cil. “This oil is used as butter by the
natives of the Gold Coast, entering into all their
culinary preparations; and when eaten fresh, is
a delicate and wholesome article of diet, differing
as much from the palin oil imported into Eng-
land, as fresh butter does from that which is ran-
cid. It is employed in this country to make a
soap, which bears the name of palm soap; and
also enters into thé composition of other articles
of perfumery. The quantity used for home con-
sumption in 1830 was 160,000 ewt.

CHAP. XXIX.

TUE YAM, ARROW ROOT, AND ALLTACEOUS PLANT},

TuERE are several plants belonging to the mo-
necotyledonous division whose roots are service-
able to man as food, especially some of those
which possess a farinaceous or starchy substance.
Although none of these are equal in value to the
potato, which will be described afterwards, yet
there are a few which deserve notice as affording
a considerable quantity of a farina as pure as
that derived from the cerealia.

The Yam (dioscorea sativa), belongs to the
class diccia, and order hezandria of Linneus.
It is an herbaceous climb-
ing plant, with a slender
stalk, growing to the height
of about twenty feet. The
leaves have long foot stalks,
and are smooth and sharp
pointed. The flowers are
small spikes, arising from
the base of the leaf stalk.
The roots are flat, either
palmated, a, or irregular
shaped, b, about twelve
inches in diameter; exter-
nally of a dark brown colour, approaching to
black ; internally white.

The Winged Yam (dioscorea alata), is ano-
ther species frequently cultivated. Its roots are
much larger than the other, being frequently
three feet long, and weighing abvut thirty
pounds.

It is supposed that the yam was originally a
native of the East Indies, and from thence was
conveyed to the West India islands by the ori-
ginal settlers, for it is no where found growing
in a natural state in these islands. On the Mala-
bar coast, and in the island of Ceylon, on the
contrary, it is a common indigenous plant, grow-
ing in the woods with great luxuriance. It is
extensively cultivated in the tropical parts of
the continents of Africa, Asia, and America, and
is there an excellent substitute for the potatoe,

 

Yams.
254

Tt is easily raised, is very productive, and re-
sembles the potatoe in its qualities, only is of a
closer texture. When dug out of the earth the
roots are put for some time to dry in an airy
place, and may afterwards be kept in casks or in
sand for a long time. They are used either
roasted or boiled, and form a substitute for bread.

Yams are raised from the cuttings of the roots,
which are planted generally in August, and come
to maturity in four or five months. Brown, in
his account of the culture of this plant, mentions,
that in dividing the roots for seed plants a por-
tion of skin must be left on each piece, other-
wise no germination will take place, for he says,
that by this skin alone they germinate, the roots
having no apparent buds or eyes, but they cast
out their weakly stems from every part of the
surface alike.

Inpran Annow Roor (iferanta arundinacea).

 

Arrow Root Plant.

This is an herbaceous perennial plant, of the class
monandria, and order monogynia of Linneus, and
a native of the south of Africa. It grows to the
height of two or three feet, has broad pointed
leaves, and bears a spike of small white flowers.
It is cultivated to some extent in the islands of
the West Indies, and in parts of India, for the
purpose of obtaining a farinaceous powder from
its roots, well known as the substance called
arrow root. This latter name it obtained from
confounding it with another plant from which
the Indians extract a poison with which they
anoint their arrows. There are two species, the
maranta arundinacea and ramosissima, which
yield the arrow root. The process is as follows:
When the roots are a year old they are dug up,
and carefully washed in clean water. They are
then either grated or beaten into a pulp, in a
large wooden mortar. This pulp is then thrown
into a quantity of clean water, and after thorough
agitation, all the fibrous matter is collected with
the hand, squeezed, and thrown out. The re-
maining milky fluid contains the farina, mixed
with water, and a portion of the remaining
fibrous matter. This latter is separated by strain-
ing through a sieve, when the liquid is then al-
lowed to rest, the starch subsides to the bottom,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and the water is drained of. Lhe white pasty
residuum is again washed in a farther portion of
water, and allowed to subside as before ; and this
process is sometimes repeated a third time and
even oftener, if a very fine powder is required.
The powder is finally spread on clean white
cloths, and dried in the sun; and in this state is
fit for use, and will keep for any length of time,
provided moisture is kept from it.

Common Arum, or Wake Rosin (arum macu-
latum_). This plant belongs to the class monacia,
and order polyandria of Linneus. The root is
perennial, tuberous, about the size of the thumb,
sending off many long simple fibres. The leaves
are commonly three or four, growing from each
root; these are arrow-shaped, of a deep green
or purplish colour, beset with many veins and
dark spots, and stand upon long grooved and
somewhat triangularly-shaped footstalks. The
flower-stallx is very short and channei-
shaped ; the calyx isa sheaf of one leaf,
large, oval, nerved, and enclosing the
spadix, which is round, club-shaped,
fleshy, above of a purple colour, below
whitish, standing in the centre of the
sheath, and supporting the parts ne-
cessary to fructification. On tracing
it towards the base, we first discover
the nectaries, or several oval corpuscles,
which are terminated by long tapering
points; next to them are placed the
anthers, which are quadrangular, united, and of
a purple colour; under them again we find more
nectaries, and lastly the germina, which are very
numerous, round, without styles, and crowned
with small bearded stigmata. This curious spe-
cies of inflorescence displays itself early in
spring; but the berries do not ripen till late in
the summer, when they appear in naked clus.
ters, of a bright scarlet colour, making a con-
spicuous appearance under the hedges, where
they commonly grow. The root, in its recent
state, contains a milky juice, extremely acrimo-
nious, and in this state it is used in medicine as
a powerful stimulant. This acrimony is, how-
ever, dissipated by drying and by the application
of heat, when the substance of the root then be-
comes a bland farinaccous matter, like arrow
root. For this purpose it is either roasted or
boiled, then dried and pounded in a mortar, the
skin being previously peeled off. The powder is
said to possess a saponaceous quality, and has
been used for cleaning linen instead of soap. It
forms also the Cypress powder of the Parisians,
much used as a cosmetic for the skin. ;

The Egyptian Arum (arum colocasie_) abounds
in Egypt, Syria, and the adjacent countries, and
is extensively cultivated for the sake of its large
esculent roots, which are no less esteemed than
those of the other species of the same plant.

Taro (arum esculentum) is another species

108.

 
GARLIC.

cultivated in the Polynesian islands. The root |

requires to be planted in a hard soil, and kept
covered with water from nine to fifteen months,
when it is fit to eat, though it increases in size
and excellence for two years more. In the natu-
ral state both the foliage and roots of taro have
all the pungent acrid qualities that mark the
genus to which the plant belongs; but these are
so dissipated by cooking, whether baking or boil-
ing, that they become mild and palatable, with
no peculiar flavour more than belongs to good
bread. The islanders bake the root in the na-
tive ovens in the same way as the bread fruit,
and then beat the paste into a mass like dough,
called poe. It is eaten by thrusting the fore-
finger of the right hand into the mass, and se-
curing as much as will adhere to it, passing it
into the mouth with a hasty revolving motion
of the hand and finger.

Garuc (allium sativum). Several bulbous
rooted plants belonging to the natural order /é/i-
acew, of which garlic is the type, have a peculiar
pungency, which habit has rendered grateful as
an article of food, or rather as an addition to other
more insipid viands. Garlic belongs to the class
hexandria, and order monogynia of Linneus.
The root is perennial, composed of several bulbs,

 

Garlic.

enveloped in a common membrane, and from its
base sends off many long white fibres. The
stem is simple, and rises about a foot and a half
in height; the leaves at the root are numerous,
on the stem few; they are all long, flat, grass-
like. The flowers of all the plants of this spe-
cies arise between the small bulbs, or rocamboles,
which terminate the stem in a cluster. Each
flower is very small, whitish, and commonly
abortive. The calyx is a spatha common to all
the florets and bulbs; it is withered, and of a
roundish shape. The corolla consists of six ob-

‘

 

255

long petals, The filaments are six, tapering al-
ternately, trifid, shorter than the corolla, and
furnished with oblong erect anthere. The ger-
men is placed above the insertion of the corolla,
short, angular, and supports a simple style, ter-
minated by an acute stigma. The capsule is
short, broad, trilobed, three-celled, three-valved,
and contains roundish seeds. It flowers in July.

This species of garlic, according to Linneus,
grows spontaneously in Sicily ; but as it is much
used both for culinary and medicinal purposes,
it has been long very generally cultivated in gar-
dens. It shows the same propensity to forming
bulbs, instead of flowers, as the rocambole garlic,
which it also resembles in other respects. Every
part of the plant, but especially the root, has a
pungent acrimonious taste, and a peculiar rather
offensive odour. This odour is extremely pene-
trating and diffusive, for on the root being taken
into the stomach, the alliaceous scent impreg-
nates the whole system, and is discoverable in
the various excretions. This volatile matter is,
in part at least, an essential oil, which may be
obtained in distillation in the ordinary manner ;
and like the oils of many of the siliquose plants,
sinks in water. Applied to the skin, garlic has
the same effects as a blister. This plant was first
cultivated in England in 1548. It is a hardy
plant, and thrives best in a rich dry soil. There
are three species of garlic which grow wild in
Britain, the sand, the crow, and the leek garlic.
The wild garlic of Kamchatka (allium ursinum_)
is eagerly gathered by the natives, and used with
their food, and also as a medicine for the cure of
scurvy.

Tuxz Onion (allium cepa). This is a biennial
herbaceous plant, with long tubulated leaves, a
swelling pithy stalk, thicker in the middle than
at either end. The flowers are in the form of a
large spherical head, which blow out the second
summer after sowing. The root is in form of a
series of concentric coats, varying in size accord-
ing to the soil and climate, and also in colour,
from a wine-red to white. The peculiar flavour
is less intense or acrid than that of the garlic,
and there is also more of a mucilaginous nutri-
tive substance in the bulb. The flavour also
varies much, according to the size of the bulb,
the small reddish onions having much more pun-
gency than the larger ones. There are at least
twenty varieties of this plant.

The onion was known and cultivated at a very
early period in Britain. It is not supposed that
any variety of it is indigenous, since the large
and mild roots which are imported from warmer
climates deteriorate both in size and sweetness
after having been cultivated a few years in this
climate. The onion called the Strasburgh, and
the varieties which have been obtained from it
in this country, appear to be the most natural-

ized, as they are the hardiest which are grown,
2.
266

It is, therefore, probable that this plant was first
introduced into England from the central parts
of continental Europe; although it may have
been originally the native of countries farther to
the south, and have been rendered hardier and
less prone to degenerate from its gradual change
of climate.

The onions of Spain and Portugal, and even
those of the south of France, are very superior
to the common onion of our gardeas, being of a
much larger size, and more mild and succulent.
These sorts, however, will not bear the colder cli-
mate of this country without degenerating, while
their seed seldom comes to maturity in Britain.

Though the history of the onion can be but
imperfectly traced in Europe, there is no doubt
as to its great antiquity in Africa, since there is
evidence to show that this bulb was known and
much esteemed in Egypt 2000 vears before Christ.
Tt still forms a favourite addition to the food of
theEgyptians. Hasselquist, in a panegyric on the
exquisite flavour of the Egyptian onion, remarks,
that it is no wonder the Israelites, after they had
«tuitted their place of bondage, should have re-
eretted the loss of this delicacy; for whoever has
tasted of the onions of Egypt, must acknowledge
that none can be better in any part of the universe.
“There,” says he, “‘ they are mild and pleasant to
the palate; in other countries they are strong and
nauseous. There they are soft and yielding; but
in countries to the north they are hard, and their
coats so compact, as to render them less easy of
digestion.” The Egyptians divide them into
four parts, and eat them roasted together with
pieces of meat; which preparation they consider
so delicious, that they devoutly wish it may form
one of the viands of Paradise. A soup made of
these onions was pronounced by the learned tra-
veller to be certainly one of the best dishes of
which he ever partook.

This predilection for the savoury bulb extends
in Africa beyond the country of the Nile. Major
Denham, in his route south from Bornou, ob-
served numerous gardens; but the only veget-
able produced in them appeared to be onions.

The following varieties of the onion are those
commonly cultivated in our gardens:

Dutch blood red.
Deptford.

Early silver skinned.
Globe.

James long keeping.
Lisbon.

Pale red.

Potatoc onion.
Silver skinned.
Spanish.
Strasburgh.
Tripoli.

True Portuyal,
Two-bladed.
Welsh.

Yellow,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

A rich mellow ground, on a dry subsoil, is the
most favourable to the growth of this plant. It
is propagated by seed sown broad-cast in spring;
the quantity of seed being regulated according
to the destination of the onions, whether they
are to be drawn young, or to remain for bulbing.
The plants begin to bulb in June, increasing in
growth till the middle of August, when the necks
shrink and the leaves decay; they are then in a
fit state to be drawn, and preserved for the win-
ter store.

A method of improving the size of onions, by
transplanting them, was recommended by Wor-
lidge, so early as the beginning of the seventeenth
century, in his “‘ Systema Horticulture ;” and
this practice has lately been revived with great
success hy some eminent horticulturists.

The theory on which it is founded is extremely
ingenious. Every plant which lives longer than
one year, generates the sap or vegetable blood
which will elaborate the leaves and roots of the
succeeding spring. In bulbous roots this re-
served sap is deposited in the bulb, which, in a
great measure, it composes. Now the store which
is thus formed varies considerably in the same
species of plant, according to the particular cir-
cumstances under which it is raised. Thus the
onion in the south of Europe accumulates a much
greater quantity in a single season, under a
greater degree and longer duration of heat, than
is afforded by our colder climates, and therefore
it acquires, in a given time, a much larger size.
Mr Knight was induced by these observations to
suppose that two short and variable summers in
England might, perhaps, be equal in effect to
one long and bright season in Portugal; and, ac-
cordingly, he attempted a method of culture
which has proved his inference to be correct. In
pursuance of this plan, seeds of the Portugal
onion were sown in spring very thickly, on a
poor soil, and in a shady situation. Under these
circumstances, the bulb in the autumn had at-
tained scarcely beyond the size ofa large pea. The
bulbs were then taken from the ground and pre-
served during the winter; in the ensuing spring
they were again planted at equal distances.
From this treatment the plants afforded bulbs
very superior to those raised immediately from
seed, some exceeding five inches in diameter;
and being more matured, they may he preserved
sound throughout the winter with greater cer-
tainty than those which are raised from seed in
asingle season. Many other cultivators pursue,
with some slight alterations, the same method,
and find it perfectly successful.

It is found that in those countries in which
the onion comes to the greatest perfection, the
practice of transplanting it prevails.

In Portugal it is sown in November and De-
cember on a moderate hot-bed, and protected
trom the frost; in which situation the plants re-
THE CHIVE.

main till April or May, when they are trans-
planted to a rich soil.

Onions are considered wholesome under any
form; but they become more succulent and mild
after having undergone culinary preparation.

The Welsh Onion, or Ciboule (allium fistulo-
sum), is originally from Siberia. It is a hardy
plant, and strong in flavour, approaching more
nearly to garlic than onion. This species does
not forma bulb. The cultivation of the ciboule
has been known in England since the early part
of the seventeenth century; how much earlier
there are now no means of knowing. It is much
less cultivated in the present day than it was in
former times, when broths and pottages, seasoned
with the green tops of the onion tube, were more
in fashion. It is now only occasionally raised
for a spring crop. For this purpose the seed is
sown at the end of July or August; in a fort-
night the plants usually appear above ground;
but in October their leaves wither, and the
ground appears quite bare. In the beginning of
the ensuing year, however, they become reno-
vated, and in March are fit for drawing to be
used as onions. The scalien is another name
given to long-necked onions, which produce
leaves abundantly, but do not bulb.

The Tree, or bulb-bearing Onion (allium cepa,
var. viviparum_), is a singular variety, which has
probably been produced by climate. It runs
with a strong stem, about two feet in height, on
the top of which the flowers are produced in a
manner similar to the rest of the species; but
instead of being succeeded by capsules containing
seeds, the germs swell, and towards the end of
the season a'crop of bulbs is obtained from the
top of the stalk, and which, in a natural state,
as soon as they drop off and fall to the ground,
begin to put out roots and vegetate. This va-
riety is more an object of curiosity than of use,
though we learn that in some parts of Wales
these bulbs are planted, and produce ground-
onions of a considerable size, while the stem sup-
plies a succession of bulbs for the next year’s
planting.

This variety is said to have been introduced
here from Canada; the French call it ’ognon
@’ Egypte; there is no proof, however, of its
being a native of the country which its name
would indicate, while the probability is greatly
to the contrary. It is not in such a climate, but
in cold and wet countries, that seminal plants are
shanged to viviparous. The same species of
grass which has perfect seeds upon warm and dry
grounds, bears little plants in the spike when
grown upon the cold and humid mountain top ;
and the corn, which in a dry season remains firm
and without any signs of vegetation in the grain,
sprouts in the ear, and becomes green and matted
in the shock, when the weather is rainy; this
effect being produced much more freauently in

 

267

the northern parts of the country than in the
south. It is by no means improbable that, in
the humid atmosphere of the Hebrides, both
grain and pulse would become viviparous, if they
were not taken to the barn and dried by artifi-
cial means. By analogy drawn from facts it is
therefore probable that the tree-onion is not only
from Canada, but that it is not indigenous there,
being merely the common onion introduced from
France by the colonists, and changed to the vi-

| viparous form by the climate.

The Ground, or Potatoe Onion, is another cu-~
rious variety. This multiplies itself in an oppo-
site direction to that of the tree-onion, producing,
by the formation of young bulbs on the parent
root, an ample crop below the surface. This
plant has also been described as being a native of
Egypt, or at least as having been brought from
that country by the British army in the early
part of the present century. It must be admit-
ted that a plant which bears an additional num-
ber of bulbs is more likely to be a native of a dry
and warm climate than a plant which is vivipa-
rous. The time of the introduction of the po-
tatoe-onion has, however, been erroneously as-
signed, since it was known and cultivated in the
south and west of England some years prior to
the Egyptian expedition. If it be a native of
Egypt, or of any other warm country, it is, in-
deed, a hardy one, since it bears the alteration of
the seasons, and resists the attacks of insects much
better, it is said, than the common onion.

The bulbs are planted in the middle of winter ;
as the tops appear they are usually earthed up
like potatoes, and by the middle of summer the
new crop is ready for removing. The size and
number of the new bulbs depend very much on
the size of those which have been planted; but
they always yield a proportionately large pro-
duce.

Mr Wedgewood employs another method. He
says, when the onions have shot out their leaves
to their full size, and when they begin to get a
little brown at the top, he clears away all the
soil from the bulb down to the ring from whence
proceed the fibres of the roots, and thus forms a
basin round each bulb, which catches the rain,
and serves as a receptacle for the water from the
watering pots. The old bulbs then immediately
begin to form new ones; and if they are kept
properly moist, and the ground good, the clusters
will be very large and numerous; besides, bulbs
grown thus above ground are much sounder than
those grown below, and will keep much better.

Tur Curve (allium Schenoprasum), is the
smallest, though one of the finest flavoured of
the genus. It is a hardy perennial plant, an in-
habitant of Siberia, and said to be a native of
Britain, though rarely found growing in an un-
cultivated state. The bulbs are very smali, con-
nected in clusters of an elongated form, and the
263

leaves are long, slender, and pointed. The flower-
ing stem, when it is allowed to rise, is slightly
curved, and seldom attains to more than a few
inches in height. The flowers are white, with a
purple tinge; they grow crowded together, and
are, even in the most cold and moist situations,
followed by capsules and seeds. When culti-
vated, the plants are, however, seldom allowed
to run to seed, as they are not usually drawn to
he eaten entire, but have the leaves and young
tops cut off to be used as a potherb. Chives are
very hardy, and require no attention during their
growth except to keep them free from weeds;
they are propagated by slips, or by dividing the
roots in the spring or autumn.

When the leaves are gathered for use, if they
are cut close, others will shoot up in succession,
and in this nanner a bed lasts three or four years;
after which period it must be renewed. When
fresh cut, these leaves are by some persons con-
sidered as an improvement to salads and season-
ings. Their flavour suffers greatly if they be
kept after gathering even fora very short time,
and their produce is but small in proportion to
the labour of gathering. On these accounts they
are not much cultivated in places where veget-
ables are supplied in the markets; and they sel-
dom find a place in the garden of the English
peasant, who, partly from ignorance, and partly
from prejudice, does not live much upon those
soups and savoury dishes which, while they are
more wholesome and nourishing than the food
which he consumes, are also considerably cheaper.

Tus Leek (allium porrum ), is said to be in-
digenous to Switzerland, whence it was intro-
duced into this country; but it has been for so
many ages under cultivation, that its native place
cannot, perhaps, be very accurately traced. Ac-
cording to translators and commentators, this, as
well as the onion and garlic, was included among
the Egyptian luxuries after which the Israelites
pined. It still makes its constant appearance at
the tables of the Egyptians, who eat it chopped
small as a savoury accompaniment to meat.

The exact period when the leek was first
brought into this country is not known; but itis
mentioned by Tusser, in his “Five Hundred
Points of Good Husbandry,” as early as 1562.
There is, however, every reason for believing
that it was introduced prior to that time, and
had long been the favourite badge of the Welsh
principality. Shakspeare makes this to have
arisen at the time of the battle of Cressy.

Worlidge gives a good idea of the love of the
Welsh for these kinds of odoriferous vegetables.
Ile says, “I have seen the greater part of a gar-
den there stored with leeks, and part of the re-
mainder with onions and garlic.”

The hardiness and pungency of the leek both
tend to recommend it in those countries where
few yotherbs are grown, and it seems to have

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

great facility in adapting itself to climate. The
leek which is cultivated in the colder parts of
Scotland, and thence is called the Scotch leek, is
more hardy and also more pungent than the
broad-leaved variety, chiefly cultivated in Eng- -
land. It was formerly a very favourite ingre-
dient in the “cock-a-leekie” of the Scotch,
which is so graphically described in *‘The For-
tunes of Nigel;” and of which James the First
is reported to have been so fond, that he retained
his preference for it notwithstanding all the
dainties of London cookery.

This species requires more boiling than others
of the same genus, and unless it be reduced nearly
to a pulp, it taints the breath in a very offensive
manner. The offensive odour of a vegetable is,
however, no evidence of unwholesomeness, pro-
vided the odour is natural to it, and not the re-
sult of putrefaction.

The bulb of the leek consists of the bottoms
of the leaves, which do not form in bulbules or
cloves like those of the garlic, neither are they
so entire as the tunics of the onion; the stem
runs to the height of about three feet ; the flowers,
which are bell-shaped, appear in May, in large
close balls, followed by capsules containing seeds.
As the root of the leek is rather the blanched
end of the leaves than a bulb, properly so called,
the plant is to be considered chiefly as a potherb ;
though in some places both the root and the
greater part of the leaves are eaten by the pea-
santry as an accompaniment to their bread. Its
chief value, however, is as a potherb, which
stands the winter well, and is in a forward and
succulent state at that part of the season when
fresh vegetables are the least abundant. The
culture of the leek is similar to that of the onion.

Tue Suatrot (allium Ascalonium), is a na-
tive of warmer climates than ‘that of England.
It is found growing wild in many parts of Syria,
especially near Ascalon, whence it derives its
name. The time of its introduction into this
country is not known. Some writers assume
that it was brought home by the crusaders. It
is mentioned as a well known plant by Turner,
in his “Signes of Herbes,” published in 1548.
This plant resembles the true garlic in having its
roots divided into cloves or smaller roots, and
enclosed in a thin membrane. Lach of these
small roots sends forth two or three fistular awl-
shaped leaves, issuing from a sheath; they are
nearly similar, but not so large, as those of the
onion. The shallot does not in all situations
produce perfect seeds, or even flowers, and some-
times, indeed, does not send up any foot-stalk.
The want of seed is, however, fully compensated
by the multiplication of the roots. It is suffi-
ciently hardy to bear uninjured the severest
winters of England; but it is liable sometimes
to be attacked by insects. This evil is found to
be surcly prevented when the bulbs are planted
ROCAMBOLE.

rather above the surface, instead of being buried
in the earth; and this improved mode of culture
has a farther advantage of bettering the quality
and increasing the quantity of the crop obtained.

The flavour of the shallot is much more pun-
gent than that of garlic, but not nearly so rank.
It seasons soups and made-dishes, and makes a
good addition in sauces, salads, and pickles.

Rocampote (allium scorodoprasum ), is a na-
tive of the northern parts of Europe, and is found
in situations which are rather elevated. It has
been cultivated in this country, though not very
extensively, from a period much anterior to any
annals of horticulture. The earliest records on
this subject mention it as being a plant in com-
mon cultivation. It is a perennial, having nar-
row flat leaves, with the mark of a keel or ridge
on the under sides. The flower-stem rises to the
height of about two feet; the globular head, on
its first appearance, is contorted, As the plant
advances, however, the head untwists, and the
flowers come to maturity ; after which the sphe-
rical top changes into a cluster of small bulbules,
which have a tinge of purple. The cloves of the
rocambole, taken either from the root or the top
of the flowering stalk, are the parts used; the
latter being the largest in size; but those from
the roots have the most pungency, especially
when the whole of the bulb is buried in the
earth.

Rocambole holds an intermediate place between
garlic and shallot, and is applied to the same pur-
pose as the latter.

Orcuts, class gynandria, order monandria, of
Linneus. The orchidie form a numerous and
curious family of plants. They are rather diffi-
cult of culture. Few of the species produce
seeds, and they are propagated by their bulbs or
tubers, which are of a peculiar structure. An
orchis, when taken out of the ground, is found
with two solid masses, of an oval form, at the
base of the stem, above which spring out the
thick fleshy fibres which nourish the plant. One
of these bulbs or tubers is destined to be the suc-
cessor of the other, and is plump and vigorous,
whilst the other, or decaying one, is always
wrinkled and withered. From this withered
one has proceeded the existing stem, and the
plump one is an offset, from the centre of which
the stem of the succeeding year is destined to
proceed. By this means the actual situation of
the plant is changed about half an. inch every
year; and as the effect is always produced from
the side opposite to the withered bulb, the plant
travels always in one direction, at that rate, and
will in a dozen years have marched six inches
from the place where it formerly stood. In the
garden the orchis can hardly be said to be pro-
pagated. The species are generally taken up
from their native habitations with balls, and
transferred to a shady border, where they remain

 

269

for a year or two, but seldom increase. Those
which grow in the open fields are generally found
in a calcareous soil, and those in bogs or woods
thrive best in peat, or peat and loam mixed.

Several species of the orchis afford the sub-
stance called salep, This word is supposed to
have been derived from the Arabic name of the
plants, which is sakhleb.

Orchis Mascula, is the species usually em-
ployed for the manufacture of salep. It grows

110,

 

Orchis.

abundantly in Oxfordshire, and there salep of
the best quality has been manufactured from
the roots. The great proportion of that used,
however, comes from the Levant. The plant
consists of a root, composed of two lobes, from
which proceed broad oblong spotted leaves.
The flower-stalks are about twelve inches long,
are furnished with one or two narrow leaves, and
terminated by a long spike of reddish purple
flowers, which have a slight but very agreeable
odour. The flowers make their appearance in
the months of June and July. It prefers adry,
rather light soil. In rich loamy soils, which
have been fully manured, this plant does not
thrive; the roots become black and half rotten.
The root is ascertained to be fully matured when
the leaves and stalk begin to decay. The plants
may then be dug up, and the new formed bulbs,
from which alone the salep is prepared, separated
from the dry shrivelled one.

The most approved mode of treating the roots
is as follows: The root is to be washed in water,
and the fine brown skin which covers it is to be
separated by means of a small brush, or by dip-
ping the root in hot water, and rubbing it with
a coarse linen cloth. When a sufficient number
of roots have been thus cleansed, they are to be
spread on a tin plate and placed in an oven,
heated to the usual degree, where they are to re-
270

main six or ten minutes, in which time they
will have lost their milky whiteness, and ac-
quired a transparency like horn, without any
diminution of bulk. Being arrived at this state,
they are to be removed, in order to dry and
harden in the air, which will require several days
to effect; or by using a very gentle heat, they
may be finished in a few hours. The Turkey
salep comes to this country in oval masses,
hard, and semi-transparent, of a yellowish white
colour.

Salep has been lauded as containing a greater
quantity of nourishment, in a given bulk, than
any other vegetable body; we suspect, however,
that in this respect it must yield to good wheaten
bread. It has been said, however, that an ounce
of powdered salep, mixed with an ounce of ani-
mal jelly or portable soup, and boiled in two
quarts of water, will be sufficient for the daily
food of an able-bodied man. It has accordingly
been recommended as a part of ships’ stores on a
long voyage. A small quantity of salep added
to milk retards the latter from becoming sour.
The late Dr Percival of Manchester proposes this
substance as a mixture in wheaten bread. I di-
rected, says he, an ounce of the powder to be dis-
solved in a quart of water, and the mucilage to
be mixed with a sufficient quantity of flour, salt,
and yeast. The flour amounted to two pounds,
the yeast to two ounces, and the salt to eighty
grains. The loaf when baked was remarkably
well fermented, and weighed three pounds twelve
ounces. Half a pound of flour and an ounce of
salep were mixed together, and the water added
according to the usual method of preparing bread.
The loaf when baked weighed thirteen ounces
and a half; but it should be remarked that the
quantity of flour used in this trial was not suffi-
cient to conceal the peculiar taste of the salep.

Salep was at one time in considerable esteem
asa medicine. It is now never used by medical
men but as an article of diet for invalids, when a
light nutritious vegetable food is advisable.

Tne Ecyprran Water Lity (nymphea lotus ).
This plant grows in vast quantities in the plains
of Lower Egypt, near Cairo, during the time the
land is under water. It flowers about the mid-
dle of September, and ripens towards the latter
end of October. The Arabians call it nephar.
The sacred lotus of Egypt has given rise to much
controversy among the learned. In fact it ap-
pears that several plants were called by this name
by the inhabitants of different parts of the coun-
try. According to Shaw, in the plate that re-
presents the mosaic pavement at Preeneste, re-
lating to some of the plants and animals of Egypt
and Ethiopia, the lotus of these countries is un-
questionably a water lily, of which three kinds
are mentioned by Des Fontaines, and represented
on many Egyptian monuments. Two of them,
he says, have been well described in the works

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

of Herodotus and Theophrastus; one has white
flowers and fruit like that of a poppy, full of a
great number of small seeds; this is the nymphea
lotus of Linneus. The other, called by Herodo-
tus the lily rose of the Nile, and by Theophyas-
tus the Egyptian bean, or lotus of Antinoiis, has
a flower of a lovely red, and a fruit shaped like
the rose of a watering-pot, pitted with deep hol-
lows, each containing an oblong seed as large as
a small filbert; this is the nymphea nelumbo of
Linneus, the cyannus nelumbo of Sir J. E. Smith,
and according to him, the £uamos of the ancients,
which has been confounded by other able writers
with the true lotus of Egypt, and has probably
become important in the Egyptian mythology
only as a substitute for the former. This fruit,
compared by Theophrastus to a wasp’s nest, is
represented in various Egyptian monuments.
See the nymphea lotus, plate VII., fig. 7. The
red-flowered lotus is common in India, but has
disappeared in Egypt. The third species has
blue flowers, and a fruit like the first; it is like-
wise delineated on the monuments of antiquity,
and has been noticed by Atheneus. This au-
thor says, that at Alexandria the crowns worn at
the festivals of Antinotiis were composed of the
red or the blue lotus. Delile observed the blue
water lily lotus in Egypt, and has described it
under the name of nymphea cerulea.

Several other plants deserving notice belong
to this division of the vegetable kingdom; but
as they come under the heads of medicinal or
ornamental plants, we shall recur to them under
those heads. Of such are the aloes, the various
kinds of lilies, &e. The pine apple we shall
also describe among the other fruits,

CHAP. XXX,

DIVISION III, DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS.—THE

POTATO, &c.

Wr now come to the third great division of
the vegetable kingdom, where the seeds of all
the plants are found to be divided into two lobes
or cotyledons; a familiar example of which we
have in the common bean, or in the seed of the
oak or elm. There is but one exception to this
general character, and that is in the family of
the pines, or conifere, whose seeds consist of
from three to ten different parts, or verticellate
cotyledons.

Dicotyledonous plants, as we have already
explained, are characterised from the members
of the two other divisions, by the internal or-
ganization of their stem, (Chap. VI.) of which
all the parts are disposed in concentric layers;
the disposition and mode of branching of the
nerves of the leaves; the circumstance of five or

‘
THE POTATO.

one of its multiples being the prevalent number
in almost every part of the flower, the very fre-
quent prevalence of both a calyx and corolla;
and lastly, the general aspect of the plants.

Dicotyledonous plants have been distinguished
into four divisions, according to the structure of
the corolla, as the Apetalous, Monopetalous, Po-
lypetaious, and Diclinous.

There have been enumerated in the natural
system as belonging to this division one hundred
and twenty-five families, including a great pro-
portion of those trees, shrubs, and herbs, which
are conducive to the necessities or luxuries of
mankind, A systematic list of these natural
families we shall give afterwards; in the mean
time, we proceed to describe those vegetables
in this division which are appropriated as food
to man.

Tue Porato, (solanum tuberosum.) This val-
uable plant belongs to the family Solanew of
Jussieu; almost all the species of which family
are of a poisonous and narcotic quality, as the
belladonna, solanum dulcamara, hyosciamus, to-
bacco. What is remarkable, however, it is only
particular parts of many of these vegetables
which possess the narcotic qualities, the other
parts being perfectly innoxious and edible. Thus
the root and berry of the duleamara are per-
fectly harmless, as well as the root of the so-
lanum tuberosum. The solanee are characterised
by the peculiar form of the flower, of which that
of the potato is a familiar example. The potato

 

The Potato.

belongs to the Linnean class Pentandria ; order
Monogynia, It is a perennial herbaceous plant,
rising with a slender branching stem to the height
of two or three feet. The leaves are of a roundish
form, of unequal size, and of a dark green; the
petals are white, or of a purplish tinge; the
fruit is a large berry with a greenish pulp, which
latterly changes to black, containing numerous
small seeds in the centre.

Besides the true roots of the plant, there are
numerous runners which grow out from the stem,
and which bear the tubers or potatoes. There
are numerous scars or eyes on the tuber, from
whence proceed the rootlets and future germs of
a new plant; hence, in cutting up potatoes for
seed, care must be taken that each division pos-
sesses one of these eyes or points of sermination.

 

271

The pointed end of the potato whieh is attached
to the runner or root, is more matured than the
rounder end, which is of asoft, waxy, and watery
nature, while the other is dry and farinaceous.

Gomara, in his General History of the Indies,
and Josephus Acosta, are amongst the early
Spanish writers who have mentioned the potato
by the Indian names, openanck, pape, and papas.
Clusins, and after him Gerard, gave figures of
the plant; and Gerard gave it the name of' so-
lanum tuberosum, which Linneus adopted.

There is perhaps no vegetable product, not
even excepting the cerealia, or the most useful
of the palm tribe, which has proved of such es-
sential importance, or which is likely still to
have such an influence on the population of the
temperate regions as this admirable root. One
could scarcely have believed that, in little more
than two centuries, a small and almost neglected
tuber, transported from the newly discovered
regions of Mexico, where it occupied but a very
insignificant space, and was but sparingly, if at
all used as human food, should have been mul-
tiplied so as to form the principal subsistence of
millions of human beings for succeeding gener-
ations. Humboldt, in his essay on the kingdom
of New Spain, gives the history of the potato.
He believes that the plant described by Molina
under the name of Maglia, is the original stock
of this useful vegetable, and that it grows in
Chili in its native soil. He supposes that thence
it was transported by the Indian population to
Peru, Quito, New Granada, and the whole Cor-
dilleras.

Among the Chonos islands, Mr Darwin saw
the wild potato growing abundantly. They
grow near the sea beach in thick beds, on a sandy
shelly soil, wherever the trees are not too close
together. In the middle of January they were
in flower; but the tubers were small and few in
number, especially in those plants which grow
in the shade, and had the most luxuriant foliage,
“Nevertheless, I found one,” says he, “which
was of an oval form, with a diameter two
inches in length. The raw bulbs had precisely
the smell of the common potato of England;
but when cooked they shrunk, and became
watery and insipid. They had not a bitter
taste, as, according to Molina, is the case with
the Chilian kind, and they could be eaten with
safety. Some plants measured from the ground
to the tip of the upper leaf, not less than four
feet. There can be no doubt, from the state in
which they grow, and from their being known
to the various Indian tribes scattered over the
country, that they are indigenous, and not im-
ported plants.” * Mr Cruickshanks thus farther
corroborates the above remarks.

* Darwin’s Natural History of voyage to South Seas,
18-40,
272

Mr Lambert, in the tenth volume of Brande’s
Journal, and in the appendix to his splendid
work on the genus Pénus, has collected many
valuable facts which prove that the potato is
found wild in several parts of America, and
among others in Chili and Peru.
Pavon, in a letter to Mr Lambert, says, “The
Solanum tuberosum grows wild in the environs
of Lima, and fourteen leagues from Lima on the
coast; and I myself have found it in the kingdom
of Chili;” and Mr Lambert adds, “I have lately
received from Mr Pavon very fine wild specimens
of solanum tuberosum, collected by himself in
Peru.” There is also a note from Mr Lambert
on the same subject, in the third volume of the
New Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, with an
extract from a letter of Mr Caldcleugh, who
sent tubers of the wild plant some years ago,
from Chili to the Horticultural Society. But it
is frequently objected, that in some of those
countries where the potato is found wild, it may,
like many other species met with in that state
in America, be an introduced, not an indigenous
plant. There are, however, many reasons for
believing that it is really indigenous in Chili,
and that wild specimens found there have not
been accidentally propagated from any cultivated
variety. In that country it is generally found
in steep, rocky places, where it could never have
been cultivated, and where its accidental intro-
duction is almost impossible. It is very com-
mon about Valparaiso, and I have noticed it
along the coast for fifteen leagues to the north-
ward of that port; how much farther it may ex-
tend north or south, I know not. It chiefly in-
habits the cliffs and hills near the sea, and I do
not recollect to have seen it at more than two or
three leagues from the coast. But there is one
peculiarity in the wild plant that I have never
seen noticed in print, that its flowers are always
pure white, free from the purple tint so common
in the cultivated varieties, and this, I think, is
a strong evidence of its native origin. Another
proof may be drawn from the fact, that while it
is often met with in mountainous places, remote
from cultivated ground, it is not seen in the im-
mediate neighbourhood of the fields and gardens
where it is planted, unless a stream of water run
through the ground, which may carry tubers to
uncultivated spots. Having observed the dis-
tribution of this and other plants through the
agency of the streams employed for irrigating
the land, I am led to think, that the wild speci-
mens found near Lima may have had similar
origin. If they occurred in the valley, this is
more than probable, as almost the whole of the
land is either cultivated by irrigation, or the
uncultivated spots are overflowed when the river
is swelled by the rains in the interior. Upon
the whole, it may be safely concluded that this
important vegetable is really indigenous to Chili;

Don José

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

but with respect to Peru, some further evidence
appears necessary to remove all doubt on the
subject. The question can only be decided by
ascertaining the exact situations in which the
plants present themselves at Lima and Chancay,
especially with respect to land that is or has been
cultivated. It would be interesting, too, to
know the colour of the flowers.

There is strong evidence for believing that
this plant was first introduced into England by
the colonists adventuring to North America under
the auspices of Sir Walter Raleigh, who had ob-
tained a patent in 1584, from Queen Elizabeth,
“for discovering and planting new countries not
possessed by Christians.” Thomas Heriot, after-
wards known asa mathematician, was among
these voluntary exiles; who, however, all re-
turned within two years after they had first
gone forth for the purpose of founding a colony.
These voyagers most probably brought home the
potato, since in Heriot’s report of the country,
which is printed in De Bry’s collection of Voy-
ages, he describes (vol. i. p.17,) under the article
Root, a plant called openawk, which, there is
little doubt, is identical with the potato. “The
roots of this plant,” says he, “are round, some as
large as a walnut, others much larger; they grow
in damp soils, many hanging together as if fixed
on ropes. They are good food either boiled or
roasted.” The introduction of this plant into
Ireland by Sir Walter Raleigh, on his return
from Virginia, is indeed well authenticated by
corroborative testimony. In the manuscript
minutes of the Royal Society,we find that Sir R.
Southwell distinctly stated to the fellows, that
his grandfather was the first who cultivated the
potato in Ireland, and that for this valuable root:
he was indebted to Sir Walter Raleigh.* Among
the anecdotes told of this enterprising voyager,
it is said that when his gardener at Youghall, in
the county of Cork, had reared to the full ma-
turity of “apples” the potatoes which he had re-
ceived from the knight, as a fine fruit from
America, the man brought to his master one of
the apples, and asked if that were the fine fruit.
Sir Walter having examined it, was, or feigned
to be, so dissatisfied, that he ordered the “weed”
to be rooted out. The gardener obeyed, and in
rooting out the weeds found a bushel of pota-
toes.

In contradiction to the above account, Dr
Campbell, in his Political Survey, states that
this plant was not introduced into Ireland until
the year 1610; while some writers affirm that
the people of that country were in possession of
the potato at a period prior to the one just as-
signed. One supposition is, that this root was
brought from Santa Fe into Ireland in the year
1565; and another, that it is of so very ancient

* Library of Useful Knowiedye,
THE POTATO.

a date in that island as to make it equally pro-
bable that it is anative vegetable of the country.

It is found, however, that the plant carried to
Ireland by Captain Hawkins, in 1565, was the
Spanish batata, or sweet potatoe. The claim to
its greater antiquity in that country was made
by Sir Lucius O’Brien, who stated to Mr Arthur
Young that the venerable Bede mentioned this
plant as being in Ireland about the year 700.
Sir Lucius did not, however, point out the pas-
sage containing any proof of his assertion; and
the potato, largely as it is cultivated in that
country, has not yet made out its title to a place
in the indigenous flora of Ireland.

Gerarde mentions in his Herbal, published
1597, that he cultivated this plant in his garden,
where it succeeded as well as in its native country.
He gives a drawing, which he distinguishes by
the name of Virginian potato, having, as he
states, received the roots from Virginia, otherwise
called Nozembega. It was, however, considered
by him as a rarity, for he recommends that the
root should be eaten as a delicate dish, and not
as common food.

From the authority of more than one writer,
it would appear that the potato was brought into
southern Europe through a different channel,
and at an earlier period than the introduction of
the root from Virginia into this country. Clu-
sius relates that he obtained this root at Vienna
in 1598, from the governor of Mons in Hainault,
who had procured it in the preceding year from
Italy, where, in common with the truffle, it had
received the name of taratougit. Peter Cieca, in
his Chronicle, printed in 1553, chap. xl. p. 49,
relates that the inhabitants of Quito and its
vicinity, besides producing maize, cultivated a
tuberous root which was used as food under the
name of papas: this, it is affirmed, is the same
plant which had been transplanted to the south
of Europe, and which Clusius reeeived from
Hainault.

Though now so extensively used, the value
of this root as an esculent, was not perfectly ap-
preciated for a great length of time in this
country, during which period it was indeed only
cultivated in gardens, and that as a curious exotic,
The potato was considered as a great delicacy in
the reign of James the First. At that period,
though it formed one of the articles provided
for the household of the queen, the quantity
used was extremely small, and exorbitantly
dear, being at the price of two shillings per
pound. This esculent remained equally scarce
throughout the turbulent times of the succeeding
reign, and during the Commonwealth. Its cul-
tivation very gradually spread in different parts
of Ireland, and also into Lancashire, but not till
nearly a hundred years after the discovery of
Virginia by Raleigh. Mr Buckland of Somer-
setshire, in the year 1663, drew the attention of

 

273

the Royal Society to its value, earnestly recom-
mending the general cultivation of the potato
throughout the kingdom to guard against a
famine. This appeal was not made in vain. A
committee was appointed to inquire into its
merits, and all those Fellows of the society who
had lands adapted for the growth of the potato,
were entreated to plant them with that vegeta-
ble; while Mr Evelyn was requested to notice
the subject at the close of his Sylva. This cele-
brated man appears, however, not to have been
aware of the importance of the potato as an
article of food, for he did not mention it until
more than thirty years after that period, and
then in rather slighting terms. In his Kalen-
darium Plantarum, the first gardener’s calendar
published in Britain, he thus writes: Plant po-
tatoes in your worst ground. Take them up in
November for winter spending, there will enough
remain for a stock, though ever so exactly
gathered. In another of his works, Acetarius,
he remarks that the small green fruit or apples
of the potatoe make an excellent salad. This as-
sertion has not, however, been verified by ex-
perience.

The zeal of the Royal Society to promote the
growth of this vegetable, failed for a long time
to exercise much influence upon the habits of
the nation; and, if we may judge from the opinions
which were published respecting the plant, we
must conclude that the necessities of the poor of
Treland, who have ever been left too entirely to
their own resources, did more to promote the
culture of potatoes than all the labours of the
learned, and the philanthropy of the patriotic.
At the end of the seventeenth century one writer
on gardening, indeed, admits that “potatoes are
much used in Ireland and America as bread, and
may be propagated with advantage to poor people.”
Woolridge, who wrote in 1687, twenty-four
years after the appeal of Mr Buckland, describes
potatoes as being very useful in ‘‘forcing fruits,”
stating that they are planted in several places in
this country to good advantage; he adds, “I do
not hear that it has been yet essayed whether
they may not be propagated in great quantities
for the use of swine and other cattle.” The cele-
brated Ray, who began to publish his Historia
Plantarum in 1686, takes no farther notice of
this vegetable than by saying that it is dressed
in the same manner as Spanish batatas. Merritt,
who wrote in the following year, records that
potatoes were then cultivated in many fields in
Wales, but in what part of the principality he
does not mention.

On the other hand, Lisle, who made obser-
vations on husbandry from the year 1694 to
1722, is wholly silent about the potato. In
Mortimer’s Gardener’s Kalendar for 1708, this
plant is directed to be sown in February; and,
as if its character had not been generally known,

2M
274

it is added, that “the root is very near the nature
of the Jerusalem artichoke, although not so good
and wholesome, but that it may prove good for
swine.” In the Complete Gardener, by the emi-
nent nurserymen, Loudon and Wise, the seventh
edition of which was published in 1719, no
mention is made of this root; and Bradley, who
wrote about the same time, and whose very ex-
tensive works on horticultural subjects treated
expressly on new improvements in the art, notices
it as if by compulsion. “They (potatoes) are,”
says he, “of less note than horse-radish, radish,
scorzonera, beets, and skirret; but as they are
not without their admirers, I will not pass them
by in silence.”

These facts and extracts are curious, as they
serve to show that this most valuable article of
food was not brought into general use by the skill
and labour of professional men, but in defiance
of their prejudices, and the bad methods of cul-
ture which they promulgated. There can indeed
be little doubt that the imperfect modes of both
cultivating and preparing the potatoe as an es-
culent, were in a great measure the causes which
prevented its more speedy adoption as a whole-
some and substantial article of food; while this
very ignorance of its nature and management
produced the low estimation in which it was
held by writers about the beginning of the
eighteenth century.

To those who know anything practically of
the cultivation of this plant, it must be evident
how much the early sowing, the late taking up,
and the leaving in the ground during winter
of the roots intended for propagation, tended to
deteriorate the quality of the potatoes. These
circumstances, together with the little culinary
skill exercised in its preparation, caused it to
appear under no very tempting form, <A person
who had been invited to taste the first potatoes
which were planted in the county of Forfar, in
or about the year 1730, related that the roots had
been merely heated, and that they adhered to the
teeth like glue, while their flavour was far from
agreeable. The food was about to be condemned
through the ignorance of the cook, when the
accidental arrival of a gentleman who had tasted
a potato in Lancashire, caused the rejected roots
to be remanded back to the hot turf ashes, till
they became as dainty as they had before been
nauseous,

We have no records of the early practice and
progress of potato husbandry in Ireland. The
more tardy progress, and the less favourable re-
sults, attendant on this culture in England, might
induce a belief that it had been better conducted
in the former country; though no doubt the more
genial climate of Ireland, its humidity, and the
absence of those chilling winds from the east,
which are so often fatal to the tender spring
crops of England, gave to it a natural advantage,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and might perhaps sufficiently account for the
superiority of this branch of husbandry in Ire-
land over England.

The early practice in this country of plant-
ing potatoes in February was, in itself, an effec-
tual bar to their goodness as field culture, since
the young plants betray their origin to have been
from a warmer climate, by their inability to bear
the slightest degree of frost with impunity; so
that if they put forth their tender heads to the
nipping frosts of spring, a great part of the crop
is certain to fall a sacrifice. The better quality
of the potato grown in Ireland, and its excel-
lence as a substantial article of food among a
population sunk to the lowest state of poverty,
caused it to be brought into general use in that
country, finding its way even to the tables of the
rich, at a period when it was scarcely known in
the sister island.

The introduction of this plant into Scotland
was probably earlier than into any part of
England, with the exception, perhaps, of Lanca-
shire. The people living in that county were
then distinguished by a marked difference of
habits, manners, and character from their neigh-
bours. A remnant of these peculiarities is even
still to be found, notwithstanding the singulari-
ties of the inhabitants, and local circumstances,
combined to render this a favourable situation for
the introduction and improvement of the potato,

The land in Lancashire is rather poor, and the
climate rainy, so that wheat, with even the
present improved system of husbandry, cannot
be raised to very great advantage. Oats were
consequently, there, as in Ireland and the low-
lands of Scotland, the staple production. The
mechanics, who worked chiefly in iron and brass,
were all cottagers, who followed their respective
employments in the winter, and raised food for
themselves upon their little patches of land in
the summer. The population of Lancashire
then bore a great resemblance to the cotters of
Ireland. They were, however, more ingenious
in handicraft works, and still more resembled
the manufacturing peasantry in the centre and
south of Scotland, who grow the whole or the
greater part of their food upon their cottage
lands. Even the education of their children was
formerly often obtained out of the produce of
their little field; the school-master went thig-
ging, that is, collecting a portion of produce from
every cottager, in proportion to the wealth of
the individual, and to the number of pupils he
might have contributed to the school-room. The
poor likewise were relieved by a voluntary con-
tribution of produce, and it is probable that this
system worked as well as that of a compulsory
rate. Even in the smaller burghs of Scotland,
and in the villages where the lands are held on
feu or perpetual lease, the same system was, and
in many places still is, followed. The portion-
THE POTATO,

ers, as they are called, are allowed a house in the
village, and land for their subsistence, in the
surrounding fields,

In such a state of the peasantry the cultiva-
tion of the potato would offer peculiar advan-
tages, as no other substantial article of food
could be raised by the inexperienced rustic in
equal quantities, with so little risk and trouble,
and without any but his own and his family’s
being required for its culture and after-prepara-
tion. Accordingly, when once this plant was
introduced into cottage cultivation in Scotland.
its importance was quickly recognized.

It is understood, however, that this valuable
root was not, until the year 1728, made the ob-
ject of useful culture among the Scotch, and
they were then indebted to a cottager for first
attempting its culture. This man’s name was
Thomas Prentice; he was a day-labourer living
near Kilsyth, in Stirlingshire, and drawing his
subsistence partly from the produce of his little
plot of ground. This crop proved extremely
valuable, and was almost instantly in demand
for propagating other crops, first among the cot-
tagers, and then among the farmers. Prentice
continued to cultivate this root very carefully,
and to supply his neighbours with the produce
of his crop. He was, moreover, frugal and in-
dustrious, so that in a few years he found him-
self in possession of two hundred pounds, no
small fortune at that time and in that place.
When he had “made his fortune,” he sank his
capital in an annuity, at a good interest, upon
which he lived independently to an old age.
The last years of his life were spent in Edin-
burgh, where he died in the year 1792, at the
advanced age of eighty-six, having thus been,
for sixty-four years, a witness to the happy ef-
fects of the blessing which he had been instru-
mental in conferring on his country.

But notwithstanding the success that attended
the culture of the potato among the cottagers,
its progress among the higher classes in Scotland
was retarded by the opinions of the writers for-
merly alluded to; while, what is not a little
singular, a mistaken zeal in religious mattersmade
some of the Scotch folks hostile to the innovation.
“Potatoes,” said they, “are not mentioned in the
bible,” and thus the same anathema was pro-
nounced against them as against the “spinning-
wheel,” and the “corn farmers.”

The name of this plant was indeed inserted in
the Hortus Medicus Edinburgensis, published
by Sutherland in 1683. It is therefore probable
that the potato had been introduced as a curi-
osity into some of the gardens about Edinburgh
some time before it was brought into full culture
by Prentice. But if its management was the
same as that recommended by so great an author-
ity as Evelyn, the produce was, most probably,
of little value.

 

275

The year 1742, which was long remembered
in Scotland as the “dear year,” gave an impulse
to the cultivation of the potato. Old people
who were still living at the beginning of the
present century, represented the state of things
in the summer of 1743 as being dreadful. Many
of the destitute wandered in the fields seeking to
prolong the misery of existence by devouring the
leaves of pease and beans, of sorrel and other
wild plants, while not a few perished from ab-
solute want, and still more were carried off by
those diseases which always follow and aggra-
vate the devastations of famine. This state of
distress naturally called the general attention to
the cultivation of the potato, and indeed to the
whole agriculture of the country. So that, dur-
ing the latter half of the eighteenth century,
the practice and science of husbandry made much
more rapid progress in Scotland than in England.
Previously to this general scarcity in 1743, some
potatoes which were growing in the county of
Roxburgh, were so uncommon as to have been
considered objects of curiosity. But the state
of things soon altered; and immediately after
the “dear year,” the farmers of Lothian began to
make this a branch of field husbandry.

In England, with the exception of Lancashire,
the progress of the cultivation of the potato
continued at an extremely slow pace. It was
known in Yorkshire only as garden produce
down to 1760; and in Somersetshire it was rare
indeed to meet with a whole acre under this cul-
ture so late as 1770.

So little attention had been bestowed on this
subject even by the most intelligent land-owners,
that Miller, in the quarto edition of his Gardener’s
Dictionary, published in 1771, names only two
varieties, and founds the distinction of these not
upon quality, or time of coming to maturity,
but on the trifling accident of a red and of a
white colour, which is found to be productive of
no other difference. At present, however, the
varieties are so numerous, without any reference
to colour, that it would be equally vain to at-
tempt their description within any limited com-
pass, as it is unnecessary to point out their uses,
or enumerate their properties.

Not many years after the appearance of Miller’s
valuable work, the potato began to form an im-
portant article of English husbandry; and in
the year 1796 it was found that in the county
of Essex alone seventeen hundred acres were
planted with this root for the supply of the
London market,

The culture of the potato is now so exten-
sive in this country, that an abundant supply
can be obtained in all places throughout the
year, and such have been the improvements in
the culture, and the varieties to which these im-
provements have led, that a succession is fur-
nished fresh out of the earth for nearly six
276

months in the year. The early sorts have been
the reward of horticultural skill now so success-
fully exerted in this country; under the shelter
of frames, with careful management, the tender
young plants are made to struggle through un-
genial weather, and to produce tubers at the
earliest approach of summer.

The culture of the potato in the rest of
Europe appears to have attained to no great ex-
tent until during the last century. In the latter
half of this period it was made in more than
one country a subject of interest and inquiry.
Several works published about that time, treat-
ing on its culture, are to be found in both the
French and German languages. From one of
these, we learn that the potato was introduced
from England into the Netherlands; and was
thence transplanted into some parts of Germany.
It was first cultivated in Sweden in 1720, but,
notwithstanding the exertions and recommenda-
tions of Linnreus, it did not come into general
cultivation until 1764, when a royal edict was
published for the encouragement of this branch
cf husbandry.

The potato was still unknown to the agricul-
turists of Saxony so late as 1740; but so rapidly
did its culture increase, that less than thirty years
after the above date, a small detachment of the
French army, while in that country, having its
supplies wholly cut off, the soldiers subsisted for
eight or ten days entirely on potatoes obtained
from the fields; nor was this manner of living
considered among them as by any means a hard-
ship.

The Swiss discovered the value of this cul-
tivation about the same period in which it was
introduced into Sweden, and in a few years they
not only grew potatoes among their mountains
in abundance, but had likewise learnt the art of
drying them, grinding them into flour, and
making them into bread. A traveller in 1780
relates that the miller of Untersen had scarcely
anything to grind but potatoes; and in 1734 a
peasant was so well aware of the profit arising
from this culture, that he bought a small field
situated near the Swiss mountains, and in only
two years after paid the purchase money by the
produce of his potato crops.

It is said by another writer, about the same
period (1770,) that during the twenty-five or
thirty years preceding, the culture of this root
in some parts of Switzerland had so much in-
creased, that it constituted the food of two-thirds
of the people. In the present day it still forms
a principal article of food among the peasantry
of that country.

It likewise makes a very prominent figure
in the husbandry of Poland, where it is culti-
vated to an extraordinary extent. In 1827, as
much as 4,288,185 korzecs, (about 2 cwt.) of
potatoes were produced in that country, while

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

4,439,399 korzees of rye were reaped, 3,183,025
of oats, 4,506,062 of barley, and 751,076 of
wheat.

The cultivation of the potato has been of
late years introduced into some parts of India
with every prospect of success. In Bengal, es-
pecially, it has been attended with the most
satisfactory results. Bishop Heber, in his inter-
esting Journal, notices in several places the pro-
gress of this culture, the crops becoming by de-
grees more and more extended. These roots
were at first very unpopular, but they have gra-
dually gained favour, and are now spoken of as
being the best gift which the natives ever received
from their European masters. They are, we are
told, held in much esteem, “particularly by the
Mussulmans, who find them very useful as ab-
sorbents in their greasy messes.” The following
observations are gathered from the same volumes.
In the neighbourhood of Patna many descrip-
tions of European vegetables are brought to
market in abundance; they are, however, reared
tor the consumption of the European inhabitants
alone, the natives rejecting all but the potato,
which, though known only since the last few
years, may perhaps soon take its rank with rice
and plantains, as a substantial article of food
with the frugal Hindoo. It is already largely
cultivated in that district, but can never become
an exclusive crop, inasmuch as those humid stiff
soils which are peculiarly favourable to the growth
of rice, are wholly unsuited to the potato, the
cultivation of which must therefore be confined
to those sandy and drier soils, which are inimical
to the culture of the rice plant. In such situa-
tions this vegetable of English production may
be raised with unmixed utility, while the resource
of so important a supplementary crop may, in
seasons of the failure of the rice harvest, avert
the evils of famine, and diminish, in one strong
point of view, the resemblance between the In-
dian and Irish peasantry, their reliance on a
single article of food. The almost infinite di-
vision and subdivision of their farms is in India,
as in Ireland, a fertile source of poverty and
wretchedness.

The observations of another intelligent writer
on the same subject likewise tend to show the
advantages which may result from this cultiva-
tion in Hindoostan. He remarks that adry sea-
son is prejudicial to the rice crop, while it is fav-
ourable, or rather not so hurtful, to that of the
potato, and “therefore nature points out the one
crop as a substitute when the other fails.” It is
certainly a fortunate circumstance that the su-
perstition by which the Hindoo is enslaved does
not shut up every avenue to innovation and im-
provement. No religious prejudice forbids the
culture of this vegetable, and therefore the na-
tives evince a readiness to adopt it in all situa-
tions where it can be as easily obtained as other
THE POTATO.

food. The soil of Bengal, and the long continu-
ance of dry weather, may, perhaps, be obstacles
sufficient to prevent this root from becoming the
principal nourishment of the lower orders; but
it is supposed that if it could be raised cheaper
than rice, the potato would be generally preferred
by Hindoos. At present it is almost universally
served up at European tables in Bengal in the
same manner as in England; and though the
crop is less abundant, and the roots are smaller
in size, they are scarcely inferior in quality to
those of this country.

Wherever the Englishman seeks a home, he
always strives to naturalize this root, which was
so long struggling into notice in his own country.
Now amid all the luxuriant and delicious vege-
tation of tropical climes, he still retains his pre-
ference for that simple vegetable, which he con-
siders almost a necessary of life. At Ceylon all
his attempts to cultivate this plant have been
nearly vain, as it will not thrive in that island at
any place except at Candy, a town almost seventy
miles in the interior, and the only spot in the
country where European vegetables come to any
degree of perfection. A basket of these roots is
sent every morning thence for the supply of the
governor’s table, as all the indigenous vegetables
are considered an inferior substitute for this
necessary auxiliary to the Englishman’s more
substantial fare.

There are a great many varieties of the potato,
arising from soil, culture, and other circumstances,
but even in the same soil, and under exactly
similar circumstances, there are few plants which
exhibit such endless diversities as this one, es-
pecially in the size, form, and colour of the
tubers. It will be sufficient to mention a few
of these varieties.

The Spanish or White Kidney, is an oblong
flat potato, of a yellowish hue when boiled; dry
or mealy, and of an early sort.

The Wicklow Banger, is a very long flat root,
with very few eyes, and those scarcely sunk in
the surface, with a rose-coloured spot on one end
and sometimes on the side; an early kind much
esteemed in Ireland.

English White, or London lady, a smooth fair
potato, generally flat, at first watery but after-
wards dry and mealy.

The White Eye, a large round root, of a red
colour, with the eye sunk very deep in the white
blotches; a productive kind and moderately
dry.

There are other varieties of a deep purple
colour, and of a bright red or mottled appear-
ance.

All these varieties are produced from sowing
the seeds.

Potato plants raised from seeds do not blossom
for the first three years, nor are the potatoes fit for
use until replanted for two or three years, un-

 

277

less care be taken to sow the seeds inrich ground
in small drills, and afterwards transplant the
shoots and frequently hoe them,

It is perhaps of advantage thus occasionally
to rise potatoes from seed in order to obtain fresh
tubers and new varieties. But if care be taken
to change the soil of the tubers every other year,
that is, to procure seed potatoes from a distant
and different locality, the healthy perfection of
the plants may be indefinitely prolonged.

With regard to the best soil, the uplands and
the lighter grounds are found to be much better
adapted than rich and strong lands to the culti-
vation of the potato. This root has one great
advantage over all grain and leguminous crops,
in being perfectly secure against the late rains,
which often completely destroy the hopes of the
farmer. Rains which have no bad effects upon
the potato, injure the bloom upon the cerealia,
or cause them and the legumes to run so much
to straw as not only to be less productive of seed,
but actually to lodge and rot. The quality of
the roots is no doubt a little deteriorated by ex-
cess of moisture, but when they are sufficiently
matured, rain has little or no injurious influence
over them.

This plant seems alone to have been wanted to
make the agriculture of the British isles com-
plete. Upon the western side, and among the
mountains, a grain crop is always precarious, and
seldom or never good. Scanty and bad as it is, its
culture is also expensive, as, after it has been
reaped, it cannot be left in the field to dry, but
must be taken wet into barns constructed of
wicker-work, for the purpose of obtaining a cur-
rent of air, and there suspended upon ropes.
Such a process is not merely tedious and costly,
but absolutely incompatible with the culture
of any considerable quantity of grain.

A new soil produces better potatoes than
worked land in the highest condition; and ground
which is light and spongy, provided that it has
the advantage of plenty of moisture, which does
not stagnate, is better than the strongest lands.
The reasons are obvious—the tubers will form
with the greater ease according as the resistance
is less which the ground offers to their expan-
sion, while so large a quantity of vegetable mat-
ter elaborated in so brief a space demands no
little supply of humidity. Now the little patches
among mountains are composed of the very best
soil for this purpose, being generally a mixture
of sand and vegetable matter. Such a soil is
readily penetrated throughout by every shower,
and yet the water does not stagnate; as a moun-
tainous country near the sea is, in high lati-
tudes, always one in which there are frequent
showers, the watering of these mountain patches
is precisely that which is most beneficial, and
therefore it would be difficult to imagine a soil
and climate better fitted for the growth or for
278

producing excellence in the quality of these
tuberous roots,

When cultivated in tenacious argillaceous
soils, if the summer be dry, the swelling of the
tubers is prevented by the mechanical pressure of
the earth; and on the other hand, such soils, if
constantly in a state of moisture, produce imma-
ture tubers, which are sodden, waxy, and other-
wise of bad quality. But in ground which to all
appearance is little else than loose sand, if there
be humidity enough, potatoes will grow and be
of excellent quality, and, even should there be
any failure in the sufficiency of moisture, the
quality of roots yielded by the first planting
will be good, but they will be small, and too
hard for propagating. In the mountain districts
of Scotland the frequent rains in all seasons are
of so constant recurrence, that a whole week of
dry weather is considered worthy of record.
This circumstance, so unfavourable to the ma-
turity of other crops, operating in union with
the peculiar nature of the soil, causes the situa-
tion to be well adapted to this cultivation: while
there are still other advantages on the west coast
of the Scottish Highlands, and which apply ina
great measure to Ireland. In the first place there
is very little frost—mever any except in high and
comparatively inland places—until the potatoes
are come to their proper growth. Again, spade
husbandry is best adapted for potatoes, and it is
also the best for those places where the acclivi-
ties are generally too abrupt, and the spots of
land really worth culture too small to admit of
the use of the plough with any advantage. Per-
sons who are accquainted with only flat coun-
tries, where there is little inequality of soil in a
field, and no absolute sterility in a parish, but
that which is consequent on neglect, can form
but an imperfect idea of the variations witnessed
in a little portion of mountain land. In a sec-
tion of thirty yards there may be ten yards of
useless gravel in which moisture can find no
resting-place till it be fathoms deep in the ground,
ten where there is not above three inches of soil
on the bare rock, and ten of soil of the very best
quality. The first and second portions would
not of course produce a crop of any description,
and yet in the use of the plough it would be
necessary to pass over them, or to lose about the
same time in turning; so that the expence of
ploughing such a piece of land would be triple
that of ploughing the same extent of a cham-
paign country. On the other hand, when the
spade is employed, the culture of the fertile spots
is not more expensive than if they were continu-
ous, and situated on the flattest surface in the
island; while the nature of the soil renders the
labour of turning it and taking up the crop com-
paratively easy.

Thus the potato has this great and peculiar
advantage over all other substantial esculent

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

vegetables, that it can be not only cultivated in
places where no others can be profitably grown,
but that it can be cultivated there at small ex-
pense; while it is less subject to disease, and
more secure against degenerating in those situa-
tions than on richer lands. Consequently, in a
soil so diversified as that of Britain, and where
the communication between any two places is so
easy, an almost unlimited supply of potatoes
may be grown without any diminution of the
breadth of profitable crop of the cerealia, the
legumes, or indeed of any other useful plant;
while this crop is recommended as causing an
amelioration rather than an exhaustion of the
soil.

The most usual and profitable manner of pro-
pagating this vegetable is by putting into the
ground the tubers, either whole or divided into
as many parts or sets as they containeyes. The
sets are planted in lines from twenty to twenty-
four inches apart, either in drills or by the
dibble, at intervals of from twelve to fifteen
inches. The proper season for planting the main
crop is from the 1st of April, till the middle of
May, and a peck of seed potatoes is usually re-
quired to plant a bed of twelve feet by thirty-
two.

It seems generally admitted, that the cuttings
should be made from large but not from over-
grown potatoes, and that it is not profitable to
plant either small potatoes or small cuttings. A
good set, part of a large potato, all other things
equal, will naturally produce a stronger and bet-
ter plant than part of a small potato, the crop
being in general proportioned to the weight of
the sets. They ought to weigh about two ounces
each, and should not be such small cuttings as
thrifty managers are so apt to employ. A large
cutting gives nourishment to the plant when
young, which promotes their future growth.
MrGeorge Lindly says, “the earliest tubers of the
potato are always those which have been pro-
duced from sets which have been cut with a
single eye to each. This circumstance should
be particularly attended to in the first crop, as I
have always found these ten days or a fortnight
earlier than those produced from sets which had
been cut with two or more eyes. I have tried
them several years, planting the single-eyed sets
in alternate drills with the others, and the differ-
ence has proved uniformly the same.”

In Lancashire they are convinced that the best
plan is to cut off the front or nose end, and also
the umbilical or tail end of a large potatoe, and
rejecting both, to take the middle part entire for
planting. The common practice of cutting the
potatoe down the middle, from nose to tail, is
not to be recommended.

The advantages of large cuttings are satisfac-
torily proved by an experiment tried by Mr
Whyn Baker, in Ireland. He planted three
THE POTATO.

sorts of cuttings, 1. reasonably large; 2. very
small; and 3, very large; the result was,

Produce.

1. The reasonably I dovsie das} 3.
asonably large, or moderate size

produced es : a 3

2. The very small, . 5 . 64 12

 

Difference, 19 7

This, upon an acre, would make a very material
difference. The produce of the very large was
little or nothing different from the reasonably
large or moderate sized.

The mode of managing the sets requires more
attention than is commonly paid to it, more es-
pecially for early crops. In regard to them, the
following is the most approved method in Lan-
cashire. When the sets are cut, they are put on
& room-floor, where a strong current of air can
be introduced at pleasure, two lays in depth, and
covered two inches thick, with chaff, or saw-
dust. If desired to be very early, they remain
thus from November till March, much attention
being paid to give or to exclude air, according
to the weather.

If the seed, after being cut, is suffered to lie
in a heap, é will heat, and it will either be to-
tally destroyed, or at least so weakened as to
produce curled stalks and a poor crop. Curled
stalks will proceed from any other eause which
weakens the vegetative power either before sow-
ing or when the plant is in a state of growing;
but nothing can more effectually produce it than
laying potatoes together in too large quantities,
in a wet or damp state. This must occasion re-
peated sprouting before planting, and perhaps
worms may be produced, which, wounding the
young shoots, may oecasion much mischief.

It is said that a set will not sprout until the
cut be healed; and, therefore, if the cutting be
performed long enough before the setting, to al-
low time for the cut to heal or dry, so much
time will be gained by the planter, which is a
great object, especially to the poor, who are late
in planting.

The quantity of seed per acre varies from fif-
teen to thirty bushels; medium about twenty,
which is quite enough if the rows are kept at an
adequate distance from each other, namely, four
feet. Nothing can be more injudicious than the
close planting so prevalent in many parts of the
kingdom, and more especially in the more
northern districts.

Some recommend the plan of planting the en-
tire potato; but the saving of the seed, by cut-
ting large potatoes, is considerable, amounting to
£1 19s. 8d. per statute acre; for it appears, by
repeated experiments, that the uncut potatoes
required 374 bushels per acre, and the cut only
201, making a difference of not less than seven-
teen bushels.

 

279

Some years ago a gentleman in Fife tried
the following experiment: He took one of the
largest potatoes he could get, and planted it
whole in his garden without dung; the produce
was seventy-two potatoes in all; above twenty
of them were nearly as large as the mother-plant,
the remainder of different sizes, gradually de-
creasing to about the size of a walnut. Next
season he planted the whole of that produce also
uncut, setting the largest in the front row, the
next largest in the second, and so on, diminish-
ing the size in every row till the last, which was
the smallest of all. By this experiment he found
not only that the stems of the largest seed were
by far the strongest, but their produce was also
by far the greatest, none of them producing po-
tatoes larger than their respective seed. From
this it would appear that the larger the seed-po-
tato, the larger will be the produce. Whether
the original potato would have produced an
equal weight, had it been cut in three or four
sets, he could not say; but unless it would have
produced a great deal more, the advantages are
certainly in favour of setting them whole, by
saving a deal of labour, and oecupying a less
space of ground.

It is well known that in the spring potatoes
shoot out, and that in stirring, moving, or cut-
ting slices, many of these shoots fall off, and are
commonly thrown away. They may, however,
be preserved and planted with success, instead of
cuttings; by which means there is a saving of
seed to a certainamount. Although it is highly
proper carefully to preserve all the sprouts which
can be collected in the sowing season, yet the
entire substitution of sprouts in the place of po-
tatoe-sets can never take place so as entirely to
supersede the necessity of planting a considerable
quantity of the latter. Every man’s experience
proves, that when sprouts are put forth the po-
tatoes are considerably weakened, and that that
weakness increases in proportion as sprouts ap-
pear, until the potatoes are entirely exhausted,
and unfit either for food or'seed. The general
practice therefore is, to prevent as much as pos-
sible potatoes from sprouting at all; and when
that cannot be done effectually, farmers choose
to let the sprouts remain and wither, which they
will do by turning the potatoes often, shaking
the mould off, and keeping them in a dry state.
The withering of the sprouts, it is said, prevents
or retards new shoots, by which the potatoes are
preserved in a better state for food than if they
were encouraged or suffered to put forth many
sprouts. But supposing all the sprouts of pota-
toes which are brought to view during seed time
be preserved for seed, yet the quantity of good
shoots will fall far short of the complement ne-
cessary for a general planting, inasmuch as a po-
tato, however large and full of eyes, will not, at
the first sprouting, put forth more than one o7
280

two shoots. It is to be considered also, that the
poor people’s sowing of potatoes seldom com-
mences until May, and continues but a short
time; so that were they to plant nothing but
sprouts, their stock of potatoes should be much
larger, to produce a sufficiency of sprouts, than
they generally jossess, or have occasion for at
that season.

Sprouts are fit for planting at any time after
they acquire roots sufficient to support them-
selves, independent of the mother-potatoes, which
they generally do when about three inches long.
Sprouts may be planted successfully in all the
various methods by which potatoes are usually
planted; but it is not advisable to have the
sprouts cut in pieces. It is better to plant them
whole, be they ever so long, or have ever so
many series of roots and joints. When left
whole, they may be planted at greater distances.
They answer best when laid horizontally, cover-
ing them in every instance as potato-sets are
treated.

It is said that potatoes, and the sprouts of po-
tatoes, have been planted on the same day, and
that sprouts came up about three weeks sooner
than the potatoes. It is likewise maintained
that sprouts will produce as good, if not better
crops, than potato-sets, and more seldom fail of
growing; so that this branch of the subject still
requires additional investigation.*

The young plants are kept free from weeds,
and when they are about half a foot or a foot
high, some earth is drawn around the lower part
of the stem; little or no farther care is required
till the taking up of the crop. The plants are
suffered to remain until the roots attain to their
full growth. This state is indicated by the stalks
beginning to decay, which usually takes place
at the commencement or latter end of October,
when the roots should be dug up for the winter
store. Some careful cultivators pinch off the
blossoms as they appear on the plant. The good
effects of this practice have been very often
proved, it being supposed that the weight of the
tubers of each plant is increased an ounce in con-
sequence, or considerably above a ton per acre.
The cause of this result has been thus explained :
the fluid or sap gives sustenance alike to the tu-
ber and blossom, and, therefore, if a portion be
diverted from the formation of the blossom, it
will be exerted for the enlargement of the root.

This plant may be propagated also from cut-
tings or layers of the green shoots; but this is
not at all advantageous for any culture, except
in some instances, when it is required to multi-
ply as quickly as possible a rare sort.

The tubers obtained from seeds are at first
very few and very small, and therefore seed cul-
tivation is by no means advisable to “the grower”

* Sir John Sinclair on the Potato.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

of potatoes; but it is of great service to “the
breeder,” who seeks to improve its quality.

On the other hand, by cultivation from the
tubers a good variety may be extended and pre-
served after it has been once obtained; as the
plant from the tuber is not a new plant, like that
which is procured by the operations of flowering
and seeding, but an identical part of the old one.
Though the planting tubers will not lead to any
new variety, it may have effects every way as
advantageous, for no plant profits more by
changes from one district to another.

Besides improvement in quality which a judi-
cious change produces, it likewise often prevents
the most destructive disease to which the po-
tato is liable. That disease is known by the
technical name of the curl, or the curl-top, a
name by no means inexpressive of the appear-
ance of the plant when under its influence. The
top leaves begin to shrink just about the time
that the tubers should form, the young shoots
cease to expand, and the whole plant assumes
very much the appearance of the tip of a cherry
twig when the under leaves are assailed by
aphides. From the moment in which this dis-
ease appears, all farther growth in the plant
ceases, and though it may linger in a yellow and
sickly state until autumn, the produce, if any,
is little, and that little is of a bad quality. If,
as soon as the disease shows itself, the tuber
which has been planted be taken up, it will be
found much firmer and less exhausted than those
of the plants of the same age that are in a healthy
state. This at the same time points out at least
one cause of the disease, and suggests its remedy.
The old tuber has been too compact for yielding
to the vegetative powers of the plant.

The curl first made its appearance in this
country in the year 1764, in Lancashire, where
potatoes had been first introduced into British
field culture, and had been propagated without
any change of seed. From Lancashire this dis-
ease spread over all the potato districts of Bri-
tain, and as the cause and cure were equally un-
known, there was a general apprehension that
the plant would be exterminated. Premiums
were offered by different agriculturat societies to
those who should point out a remedy for a dis-
ease so destructive; in consequence of which
many speculations and theories were raised,
which, however, led to very little practical uti-
lity.

The discovery of at least a temporary preven-
tive, and therefore of the probable cause, was
made, as is believed, more from accident than de-
sign, in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. Some
of the growers in that situation were in the habit
of procuring seed potatoes from the cold moor-
land districts, and fields planted with these were
free from the curl. Upon inquiry it was found
that in those bleak and humid situations the po-
THE POTATO.

tato crop was so late that the frost came on and
blackened the leaves, while they and the stems
were still green, and the tubers of course not
ripe. The change of climate was therefore not
the sole cause of prevention, if indeed it was the
cause at all, for when the full ripened potatoes
were planted in the moors, the curl appeared in
them, in situations where there was none in the
native potatoes. It was thus found that the
curl could be prevented by using tubers that
were not quite ripe. _

A writer in the Gardener’s Magazine for May
1827 thus ingeniously accounts for this fact:
“The potato tuber is a perfect organized sys-
tem, in which the circulation regularly proceeds,
and if suffered to ripen will then tend to decay ;
but if separated before ripe from the stem or
stalk which furnishes it with blood or fruit-sap,
descending from the leaves, the circulation of the
blood-sap is suddenly arrested. The ripe potato,
having performed all its operations, becomes
more inert; but the circulation of the sap in the
unripe tuber having been stopped, it starts more
readily, and with greater vigour, when planted ;
the one appears to die, worn out with age, the
other seems accidentally to have fallen asleep, and
when awakened, possesses an unspent vigour and
energy.” —p. 317.

That over-ripeness is the principal cause of
the disease, has been found by experience to be
so much the case, that out of the same potato
it is possible to make some sets that will, and
others that will not, produce the curl. The por-
tion of the tuber that is nearest to the cord by
which it is fastened to the plant, ripens first, as
any one may observe, especially in an elongated
potato, where the root end is often so mealy as
to fall to powder, when the top or thick end is
soft and waxy. If such a potato be taken when
only the small end is ripe enough to boil mealy,
the eyes upon another of the same parcel that
are upon the waxy part, will all produce sound
plants, while curl may appear in those which
are taken from the mealy end. The soil and
mode of culture may have likewise some effect
in producing this evil. Experience has shown
that high culture and stimulating manure tend
more to produce curl than poorer treatment ;
that this disease is less frequent in new lands
than in those which have been long in culture;
and that it seldom appears in cold and upland
places.

The following facts, collected by the late Sir
J. Sinclair, on this important subject, deserve
attention. About the beginning of October, a
gentleman took his potatoes out of the ground,
put them upon some straw in a vault in the cel-
lar, and covered them with straw on the top,
where they were left for the winter. It was im-
possible for frost to approach them. In the suc-
ceeding February a friend requested a few of

 

281

them to plant. Accordingly, about a bushel
were taken from the store, and put in an out-
house in the yard, where they remained for some
time, during which there were several severe
frosts. It was evident that the frost had affected
them; and the gentleman therefore determined
to try what effect it would have upon them.
They were planted; and the consequence was,
that one-half of them had curled leaves, and was
not half a crop. Those which remained in the
vault until they were planted were not én the
least disordered. Many other causes may doubt-
less produce this disorder; but the foregoing ex-
periment clearly demonstrates, that frost will
cause it, and ought therefore to be most carefully
guarded against.

There is reason also to believe, that the fre-
quent application of lime to the soil will occa-
sion this disease, of which the following experi-
ments furnish a strong proof: A piece of ground
(deep loam) was well manured with lime, and
planted with potatoes. When the plants ap-
peared above ground, nearly three-fourths of
them were curled; while at the same time a few
drills, immediately adjoining, which had got no
lime upon the soil, and planted with the same
seed, were entirely free from the distemper. This
circumstance attracted notice, and the same ex-
periment was repeated next year, with the same
result.

Any cause that weakens the plant must cer-
tainly occasion the curl; but there is nothing to
which it can be more justly attributed than to
the sets lying in heaps in a house, and being suf-
fered to heat before they are planted. On the
other hand it has been remarked, that when po-
tatoes, to be used as seed, are kept in pits under
ground, and not in a house, the crop is seldom
liable to that distemper.

The best means of avoiding the curl is, to
change the seed every second or third year, as
from moss land to cultivated soil, and vice versa.
It is a practice of the Lancashire planters to send
some of their favourite kinds to the mossy
grounds to recover, if they are found to have
a tendency to curl; and it is certain that pota-
toes from mossy lands will not curl. The moor
lands in Yorkshire, and the mountains of Rad-
nor and Montgomery, are free from curl, while
the vales are infested with it.

It has also been found, that sets taken from
young potatoes are not so liable to the curl as
those which have been forced to a great size by
rich manure and earthing up; and some farmers
on purpose sow the potatoes intended for seed
later than the rest, that they may not attain
great size or maturity.

The economy of this article of food, as com-
pared with wheat, is seldom questioned, although
doubts have been raised even as to its compara-
tive cheapness with wheaten bread. The fol-

2N
'282

‘lowing statement, from Mr Jacob’s Corn Tracts,
contains all the facts that can be depended upon
for forming an opinion on this question: “If an
acre of land, with the same degree of labour be-
stowed upon it, and the same portion of manure
applied to it, yields 3800 bushels of potatoes, it
may yield 24 bushels of wheat. The food pro-
duced by the former, at 88 lbs. to the bushel,
will then be 11,400 lbs. in weight; the food from
the latter, at 60 Ibs. to the bushel, will be 1,400
lbs., or the weight of the wheat will be one-
eighth that of the potatoes. It is difficult to as-
certain the quantity of nutrition in a given quan-
tity of either wheat or potatoes. The chemical
experiments of Sir Humphrey Davy show that
wheat contains about three times the quantity
of mucilage or starch, and of gluten or albumen,
of what is contained in a like weight of pota-
toes; but that potatoes contain also about from
three to four per cent. of their weight of saccha-
rine matter, in which wheat is deficient, though
it abounds in barley. The difficulty of esti-
mating the nutritive power of the two substances
is not wholly removed by this appeal to chemis-
try, because we are still ignorant of the effect
which the combination of the saccharine matter
with the mucilage and gluten may produce when
used as aliment. A small addition of the former
to the two latter may communicate to the whole
mass a degree of nutritive power very far exceed-
ing its own separate proportion of weight. Some
inquiries have been made as to the actual quan-
tity of potatoes consumed per head in families
in Ireland, in Prussia, and in Saxony; but the
answers varied to such a degree as to be little
satisfactory. It does not appear to me to be
very far from the fact, if we estimate the propor-
tion of the nutritive power of wheat to that of
potatoes, as about seven is to two; or that 2 lbs.
of wheat afford as much subsistence as 7 lbs. of
potatoes, though it may be doubtful if it affords
as much nourishment. We have seen before
that the mean weight of the two kinds of food,
from the same extent of land, is nearly as one to
eight; and now assume that the consumption of
an individual is yearly one quarter, or 480 lbs.
of wheat, or an equivalent quantity of potatoes
being 1680 lbs., then one acre of wheat will pro-
duce sustenance for three persons, or one acre of
potatoes will afford it to six and five sixths,”

The chemical composition of the potato is as
follows: 100 parts, deprived of the skin, con-
tain

Parts.

Water, . - 68 to 72
Starch, . . * 17 to 15
Fibrous matter, : 4 9to 8
Extract, or Soluble Mucilage, 6 to 5

There is also a small proportion of Potash and of an
Essential Oil.

The farinaceous matter of the potato may be

 

HiSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

preserved in a dry state by two processes. The
one consists in washing the roots well in water,
then subjecting them to the temporary action of
steam, by which the skins are readily detached,
and finally slicing them into thin pieces, drying
them, and grinding the whole into a powder. Of
this, bread may be made by an admixture of
wheaten flour or oatmeal. The other method is
to grate down the potatoes into a pulp, either by
a hand grater, or a machine constructed for the
purpose, This pulp is then repeatedly washed
with water till the whole of the fibrous and mu-
cilaginous matter is cleared off, and the pure fa-
rina or starch remains in a white and insoluble
powder at the bottom. If sufficient pains are
taken by repeated washings, this farina is of a
perfectly pure and unmixed nature, and equal
to that procured from wheat or the other farina-
ceous roots, This starch, mixed in certain pro-
portions with wheaten flour, forms a palatable
bread; or it may be used for all purposes for
which arrow root is employed.

Sugar has also been manufactured in France
from the potatoe, and a syrup like treacle. This
treacle, says Mr Jacob, appeared to me as sweet
as any from the tropics, the only perceptible
difference between them was, that it had less
consistence. By fermentation a kind of spirit
may also be distilled from this root.

Sweer Porato, (convolvulus batata ; ) an herb-
aceous perennial plant, belonging to the natural

 

The Sweet Potato.
family convolvulacew, and to the order pentandria,

and class monogynia of Linneus. The term Ba-
tata, according to Rumphins, is of Malay origin.
It is also called skirrets of Peru. It is a native
of both Indies, as also of China, in all which
countries it is generally cultivated; and much
esteemed, not only for its tuberous roots, but for
the young leaves and tender shoots, which are
boiled and eaten.

The sweet potato is a low trailing plant; the
stems are creeping, jointed, and extend from the
central root about six or eight feet. They are of a
pale green colour, and at each joint give out roots,
which are oblong tubers of considerable size, ac-
cording to the soil andclimate. The leaves arise
from the stem by long petioles; they are of an
, JERUSALEM

angular shape, and irregularly notched. The
flowers are of a purple colour. There are seve-
ral varieties of the cultivated plant, depending
upon soil and climate. In tropical countries, of
which it is a native, the roots attain a consider-
able size, and sometimes fifty are found attached
to one plant. The roots, when roasted or boiled,
have.a sweetish mucilaginous taste, more watery
and more insipid than the potato, but whole-
some and nourishing. It is of very easy culti-
vation, and very prolific; all that is necessary is
to lay down the young shoots in spring, and
strew a little earth over them; if this is followed
by a shower of rain, they will immediately
spring up and grow luxuriantly. The roots also,
if planted, will readily throw out fresh shoots in
abundance. The batata is raised in hot-houses
in the Garden of Plants in Paris, and the young
plants then put into the open ground, where
they thrive well, and are productive in favour-
able seasons. Sir Francis Drake and Sir John
Hawkins introduced this plant into England in
the middle of the sixteenth century, bringing it
from Brazil, of which country it is a native; but
although attempts were made to naturalize it to
our climate, it was found too tender to endure
the cold of winter, except in hot-houses. Pre-
vious to the general use of the common potato,
considerable quantities of the batata were im-
ported into England from Spain and the Canary
islands; and this is the potato alluded to by
Shakespeare and other contemporary writers. Its
use is now greatly superseded by its more hardy
‘and palatable rival. In tropical climates, how-
ever, it is still esteemed as a wholesome and
pleasant vegetable. In many parts of South
America, especially in Guiana, it forms a princi-
pal article of diet. The Indians, too, also pro-
duce from its fermented juice a kind of spirit, of
which they are fond. The leaves are relished
hy cattle, and prove to them a most nutritious
food. Cows fed on this foliage produce a larger
portion of milk, and of an improved quality.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE (helianthus tuberosus ).
This plant resembles the common sun-flower, to
which order it belongs. It is a herbaceous per-
ennial, growing to the height of three or four
feet. The tubers are oblong, and of the size of
acommon potato. They have a sweetish fari-
naceous nature, somewhat akin to the common
potato, but contain Jess farina, and more saccha-
rine matter and water. This plant is a native of
Brazil, and was introduced into Europe about
the year 1617. It is cultivated in the same
way as the potato, by planting the small
tubers in February or March, in rows four feet
apart, and the sets eighteen inches from each
other in the rows. In order to have the roots
handsome, they should be taken up and trans-
planted into fresh ground every year, otherwise
they are apt to degenerate.

ARTICHOKE, 283

Cassava (jatropha manihot). A woody plant,
a native of Brazil, growing to the height of five

114.

 

Cassava Plant.

or six fect. Its root is woody and branched,
with a number of small fibres, which swell out
into small farinaceous masses, from which the
cassava flower is procured. The stalk is slender,
woody, and knotted. The leaves are smooth,
palmated, increasing in breadth to within an inch
and a half of the top, when they diminish to an
acute point. When it is considered that this
plant belongs to a highly poisonous tribe, and is
itself one of the most virulent of the species, it
cannot but excite astonishment to find that it
yet yields an abundant flour, which by the art
of man becomes not only perfectly innocent, but
highly nutritious, yielding nourishment to many
thousands of the natives of South America, and
affording a luxury to the tables of more refined
Europeans. Such is the poisonous nature of the
juice of the mandioc, that it sometimes occasions
death in a few minutes; and in this way many
of the unhappy Indians destroyed their Spanish
persecutors. A Surinam physician administered
it, by way of experiment, to dogs and cats, which
died after twenty-five minutes in dreadful agony.
Dissection proved that it operated by means of
the nervous system alone; an opinion confirmed
by thirty-six drops being afterwards given to a
criminal. These had scarcely reached the sto-
mach, when such torments and convulsions en-
sued, that the man expired in six minutes.
Three hours afterwards the body was opened,
when the stomach was found shrunk to half its
natural size, so that it would appear that the
poisonous principle resides in a volatile substance,
which may be dissipated by heat, as indeed is
satisfactorily proved by the mode of preparing
the root for food.

When the climate is favourable, the plant is
of a hardy nature and of easy culture. It, how-
ever, requires the land to be of good quality; and
the same spot cannot well be employed to yield
two crops of it in succession. It needs a dry
situation for its most successful cultivation ; and

 

when spots of a different nature are applied to
284

the purpose, precautions must be taken, by rais-
ing hillocks whereon to set the cuttings, against
the effects of excessive moisture, which would
rot the plants: some moisture is, notwithstand-
ing this, needed by the plant at its earliest stages,

There are nine different species of jatropha
enumerated by botanists, only two of which are
cultivated for human food, the jatropha manithot,
or bitter cassava; and the jatropha janipha, or
sweet cassava.

The first of these varieties, when in its natural
state, is highly poisonous; while the other, al-
though equally agreeable and wholly innocuous,
is yet not cultivated to anything like an equal
extent. The two roots are very similar in ap-
pearance, their only perceptible difference being
a tough, ligneous fibre or cord running through
the heart of the sweet cassava root, which the
bitter variety is wholly without. Bread is made
of both kinds, which is palatable and wholesome ;
and although its taste may be thought somewhat
harsh by persons accustomed to soft fermented
bread made from wheaten flour, cassava bread is
not without its admirers, and is in such high re-
pute with those who have been accustomed to
its use, as to be frequently procured at some ex-
pense and trouble by Creole families who have
transferred their residence to Europe.-

The tubers are spindle-shaped, much resem-
bling parsnips in appearance; they are generally
about fourteen or fifteen inches long, and four
or five inches thick at the middle. When first
dug out of the ground they are washed clean ;
the rind, which is of a dark colour, is then peeled
off, and the root is ground or grated. In Guiana
the mode of preparation is as follows: The root
is rasped in large tin or wooden graters, fixed on
benches, behind which the women employed in
making itstandinrows. A sufficient quantity hav-
ing been rasped for one time—for the surplus would
ferment and spoil—it is put into long circular
baskets of plaited rushes, about ten feet long and
nine inches in diameter, called mangueras. These
are hung up with weights attached to the lower
end, which draw the plaited work tight together,
diminishing its capacity, and squeezing out the
juice. When all the fluid is extracted, the man-
gueras are emptied of their contents on raw
hides laid in the sun, where the coarse flour

soon dries. It is then baked on smooth plates
made of dry clay, with a slow fire below. This
is the most difficult part of the process. The

‘coarse flour is laid perfectly dry on the hot
plates, where the women, with a dexterity only
to be acquired by practice, spread it out in a
round and very thin layer, nearly the size of the
plate it is laid on. This they do merely with a
piece of calabash, which they keep in constant
motion, pressing gently every part of the sur-
face, until the heat has united the meal into a
cule, without in the least altering its colour or

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

scorching it. ‘Their method of turning a cassava
cake of that size resembles slight of hand, for
they effect it with two pieces of split cane with-
out breaking it, though scarcely so thick as a
dollar, and only as yet half cemented together,
and of a substance always brittle, especially when
warmed. This bread is very nourishing, and
will melt to a jelly in a liquid; but it is danger-
ous if eaten in any quantity when dry, as it
swells on béing moistened to many times its ori-
ginal bulk. It will keep good for any length of
time if preserved in a dry place. The expressed
juice deposits, after standing for some time, a
fine white starch, which, when made into jelly,
is not to be distinguished from that prepared
from the arrow root.

To whatever cause the poisonous quality of
the juice of bitter cassava may be owing, it is so
highly volatile as to be entirely dissipated by
exposure to heat. Even a comparatively low
temperature suffices for correcting its deleterious
nature; for when the root has been cut into
small pieces and exposed during some hours to
the direct rays of the sun, cattle may be fed on
it with perfect safety. If the recently extracted
juice be drunk by cattle or poultry, these will
speedily become much swollen, and die in con-
‘vulsions; but if this same liquid is boiled with
meat and seasoned, it forms a favourite soup,
called by the Brazilians casserepo, and which is
found to be wholesome and nutritious. Dr
Pinckard mentions having partaken of this soup
in Demerara.

Stedman acquaints us that the Indians of
Guiana, among whom cassava forms the chief
bread, first grind the root on a rough stone, and
then, for the purpose of separating the juice, pre-
pare a curious kind of press out of reeds, which
being disposed in the form of a long tube, and
secured at bottom, the ground pulp is introduced,
and the press being suspended to a tree, a heavy
stone or log of wood is fixed to the bottom, the
weight of which draws the tube gradually to-
gether, by which means the juice is squeezed
through the interstices. Occasionally the juice
is collected into a receptacle, and is then used for
the poisoning of arrows. The baking process of
these inhabitants of the woods is similar to that
described above, with this only difference, that,
being without iron plates, their cooking is per-
formed upon heated stones.

The Indians eat the simple root after having
roasted it in hot ashes, without any subsequent
preparation. They also ferment the juice of the
plant with the addition of molasses, and produce
an intoxicating liquid, of which they partake
but too freely. This knowledge they possessed
before they were ever visited by Europeans, thus
affording onc out of many examples of the almost
universal use among nations, however differently
situated, of some kind of stimulating and intox-
THE

icating drink or another. The leaves of this
plant are also boiled and eaten by the Indians.

Such is the productiveness of the cassava plant,
that it has been calculated that an acre planted
with it will yield nourishment to more human
beings than six acres of wheat.

The tapioca of this country is the produce of
the cassava root. It is in every respect identical
with pure farina.

Tue Pra (tacia pinnatifida). This is an
herbaceous plant, indigenous to the South sea
islands, from the dried roots of which the natives
prepare a farinaceous substance, very much re-
sembling arrow root. The plant grows wild,
but is also cultivated in their gardens. In pre-
paring the farina the root is first beaten to a
pulp, and subjected to repeated washings, by
which it becomes tasteless and colourless. It is
then dried in the sun, and becomes fit for use.

CHAP. XXXI.

UMBELLIFER.Z, INCLUDING THE CARROT, PARSNIP,
&e.

Unper the natural family of umbellifere, are
comprehended a number of edible roots and cu-
linary plants of considerable importance, as arti-
cles of food, The same family contains, how-
ever, plants of a very opposite nature, possessing
all the properties of acrid and virulent poisons.
The members of this family are generally recog-
nised by their hollow stems and deeply notched
leaves, with a sheathing petiole. Their flowers
are mostly white, or greenish sometimes, but
rarely of a pinkish hue. The inflorescence is
what is called umbellate,
and the seed or fruit con-
sists of two ribbed portions,
which are joined together
by a common axis, and a
thickened discus. All are
inhabitants of moist ditches
or damp way-sides, in the
colder parts of the earth, and
temperate zones. In the
tropics they are either ex-
tremely rare, or wholly unknown; and when
present have generally a character different in
most respects from the European species. The
simplicity of their structure, and uniformity of
their appearance, have rendered their classifica-
tion a matter of difficulty. The culinary and
agricultural importance of many species is fam-
iliar to all. The parsnip and carrot form a large
part of the winter store of the inhabitants of
Europe, as the arrachaches do of those of South

 

P. 72.

America; and the prangos of. Thibet is supposed .

 

PIA, 285
to be the most important and productive of any
in the whole world as a forage plant.

The medicinal properties of some species of this
family, of which we shall treat afterwards, are
of various and powerful natures. While the
seeds of some are aromatic and highly stimulat-
ing, the fresh roots of others are strongly nar-
cotic and sedative. This has been supposed to
arise from the difference in the state of the sap
in different parts of the plant; and it has been
thought that the narcotic principle is only to be
found in the ascending sap; while the aromatic
stimulating properties are found in the juices
which are fully elaborated and matured. It is
a singular fact that cultivation destroys the
dangerous properties of some species. The com-
mon celery is a familiar example of this; but the
most remarkable, a species of Ginanthe, a most
poisonous kind, when wild, is cultivated about
Angers for the sake of its roots, which are there
called jouanettes; and about Samur, where they
are known by the name of mechons. The
roots of some umbellifere contain a large pro-
portion of sugar; those of the carrot when dried,
contain more than an eighth, those of the pars-
nip an eighth exactly; and those of the chervil
about eight per cent. The umbellifere are a num-
erous family, and have been divided into nine
tribes. They all belong to the Linnean class
and order Pentandria digynia. We shall in the
mean time, describe those species which are
used as food.

Earru Nort, (bunium bulbocastanum.) This
isa plant very common on elevated and hilly grass
pastures; hence its name of bunium, the Greek
word for a hill. It has a few deeply pinnated
root leaves, and a slender stem with a white
cluster of flowers atthe top. The tuber is found
about four or six inches below the surface, at the
termination of a long slender root. It is about
the size of a chestnut, of an irregular figure, and
covered with a brown cuticle. It is of a
sweetish farinaceous nature, resembling in taste
the common chestnut; being more amylaceous
on being subjected to heat. Swine are very fond
of them, and fatten rapidly where they are pro-
cured in abundance.

We do not know what effect cultivation might.
have in increasing the size and edible qualities
of this root, or whether any attempts have been
made to raise them artificially. It is not im-
probable, however, but that frequent transplant-
ing and a genial soil, might render them worthy
the attention of man, as an article of food.

The Carror, (daucus carota.) The wild car-
rot is indigenous to Britain, and is found grow-
ing in waste plains and by the way-sides. Its
root is small, hard, and fibrous, and of a white
colour; the leaves and inflorescence are similar to
the cultivated species. It is a matter of some
doubt whether the garden carrot has been de-
286

rived originally from the wild species. Several
horticulturists have attempted to cultivate the
wild root, but without success. The probability
is, therefore, that the garden carrot is either a
distinct species, or a variety obtained in a warmer
climate than that of Britain from a wild stock.

This root, according to the commentators,
would appear to have been known to, and culti-
vated by the Greeks under the name of staphy-
linos; at all events, the description of Dioscor-
ides seems to apply pretty accurately to the
modern carrot. He describes it as a plant grow-
ing wild, but also cultivated for the purpose of
an esculent root. The carrot also appears to
have been a cultivated vegetable among various
nations, from the time of the Greeks downwards.

The garden, or cultivated carrot, was first in-
troduced into England by the Flemings, during
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Finding the soil
about Sandwich in Kent very favourable for the
culture of the carrot, the emigrants soon engaged
in its production on that spot. ‘The English,
whose knowledge of horticulture was at that
time extremely circumscribed, were in this case
well pleased to add another edible vegetable to
the scanty list which were then under general
cultivation, The carrot, therefore, unlike the
turnip, grew quickly into esteem, and being
made an object of careful culture, was very
shortly naturalized throughout the island. Par-
kinson, the celebrated botanist to James the
First, mentions that in his time the ladies adorned
their head-dresses with carrot-leaves, the light
feathery verdure of which caused them to be no
contemptible substitute for the plumage of birds.
Although the taste of the fair sex in the present
day has discarded this simple and perishable or-
nament, the leaves of the carrot are even now
sometimes used as house decorations. If in the
winter a section be cut from the end or thick
part of the root, and this be placed in a shallow
vessel containing water, young and delicate leaves
are developed, forming a “radiated tuft,” the
graceful and verdant appearance of which make
it a pleasing ornament for the mantel-piece in
that season when any semblance of vegetation is
a welcome relief to the eye.

The carrot is a biennial plant, the first year
develops the root and stem, and the second year
the flowers appear in the form of a close umbel,
in June and July, and are succeeded by the seeds,
which are covered with a rough coat of hairs or
bristles. There are not less than ten varieties
enumerated of the carrot, characterised by size,
shape, and the earliness or lateness of their
growth. The early carrots are short, and of a
paler colour; the late are larger, longer, and of
a deeper red hue.

The red or large field carrot attains to a con-
siderable growth; itis chiefly cultivated in fields as
tuod for cattle, and in farmer’s gardensas a material

 

IISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

for colouring butter. The orange carrot, though
not so productive, is generally the main crop in
garden culture; the flavour of this is more deli-
cate, and therefore it is in higher estimation as a
culinary vegetable. There are, likewise, white,
yellow, and purple varieties; these are not, how-
ever, in common cultivation. The horn-carrot
has a shorter and smaller root than the long var-
ieties; it is, therefore, a good crop for a shallow
soil, and in such a situation is preferable to the
larger kind; it has likewise the advantage of
coming to maturity in a shorter period than the
long, and is consequently found well adapted for
the early and late crops.

When a carrot is cut transversely, it is found
to consist of two parts of different colour and
texture. These are the bark and the wood; the
bark is of the darkest colour, and of the most
pulpy consistence, and it is also the sweetest to
the taste; the heart or wood, especially when the
root has attained its full size, is more fibrous or
stringy, and, if it be separated, it is bristled over
with hard points or fibres that extend to the
rootlets outside. Almost the whole crown of
the root, or the part which sends up the leaves,
is connected with the wood, and only the epi-
dermis of the leaves and stem with the external
portions of the root.

The skin or bark is found to be more nutri-
tious than the central part, and consequently
the value of the carrot as an esculent will depend
on the relative proportion of these two parts of
the root. The object of the skilful cultivator
is, therefore, to obtain the root with the smallest
possible proportionate quantity of wood. In
endeavouring to secure this result, much must
of course depend upon the nature of the plants
from which the seeds are obtained ; but adapta-
tion of soil is likewise a very important consid-
eration.

The carrot is most successfully cultivated in
a light mellow soil mixed with sand: the ground
should be well dug to some depth, and made ex-
tremely friable and porous, that the roots may
meet with no obstruction in running down, which
would cause them to grow forked, and to shoot
out lateral branches. This accident will happen,
especially when the ground has been too highly
manured previously to the seed being sown. It
may perhaps be taken as a general rule that
strong soils are not well adapted for any plants
which form esculent roots deep under the sur-
face, as the mechanical resistance which is thereby
opposed to the swelling of the bulb forces much
of the strength of the plant up into leaves; and
in the carrot especially, that part of the root
which is the most valuable is diminished in the
greatest proportion.

The best mode of cultivating these roots has
been made by many agrticulturists a subject of
inquiry. So early as the year 1765, this branch
THE CARROT,

of husbandry engaged the attention of the So-
ciety for the Encouragement of Arts, &c.; and,
In consequence, an account of the culture of
carrots, and the uses to which they may be ap-
plied, was published by Robert Biling, a farmer
of Norfolk, in whose work much useful matter
on the subject is obtained.

The seeds of carrots are surrounded by num-
erous forked hairs, by which they adhere to each
other so tenaciously, that there is some difficulty
in causing their separation; this is performed
either by rubbing them through the hands, or
by passing them through a fine chaff-seive; but
the best and most effectual method, as recom-
mended by an intelligent cultivator, is to mix
them with fine sand in the proportion of one
bushel to every four or five pounds of seeds; this
mixture is then laid in heaps, being occasionally
watered and turned during two or three weeks
previous to sowing. The above preliminary
process not only occasions the more equal diffu-
sion of the seeds, but likewise promotes their
quicker germination; besides this, when they are
sown alone their extreme levity causes great in-
convenience, and prevents this operation from
being successfully performed except in the calmest
weather. The ground being duly manured, and
reduced to the required degree of fineness, the
seed mixed with the sand is sown about the
middle of March or beginning of April: the seeds
thus prepared germinate and send up young
plants before the appearance of the annual weeds,
which are always abundant in a soil so worked
and manured. In about five or six weeks the
plants are in a fit state for hoeing, and that oper-
ation two or three times repeated, according to
the increase of the weeds, is all the after-culture
which is requisite.

From this manner of sowing, more than eight
hundred bushels per acre of carrots of very large
growth have been obtained. According to Mr
Arthur Young, the produce of these roots on in-
different land is about two hundred bushels, and
on a more congenial soil six hundred and forty
bushels per acre. The garden culture of carrots
is somewhat different. In that case they are
sown in a succession of crops from the latter end
of February to the beginning of August, and
the plants when hoed are thinned at regular dis-
tances, of from five to eight inches apart, the
particular interval being regulated by the size
of the variety under cultivation, and by the
period of their growth at which they are to be
drawn.

In order to preserve carrots for winter use,
they are dug up in the beginning of November,
and placed in a dry place in sand, by which
means they may be kept without spoiling until
March or April of the ensuing year.

To obtain carrot seed, some roots which have
been taken up in November are replanted in

 

287

February about two feet apart, and with the
crown or head a few inches below the surface.
Leaves and flower-stalks will spring up from
these, and seeds will be produced which ripen
in autumn. A considerable quantity of carrot
seed is raised at Weathersfield in Essex, but this
is insufficient for a home supply, and it is said
much is imported from Holland into this country.
It would appear that the production of carrot
seed may occasionally be made a source of con-
siderable profit to the cultivator. We find it
recorded that, in the latter half of the last cen-
tury, a farmer in Essex obtained from an acre of
land sown with carrots ten cwt. of seed, which
he sold in London for £10 per cwt. This is a very
rare case. If it were general the price would
soon be reduced.

The size of carrots differs, of course, very
much according to soil, culture, and variety.
Some have been known to measure two feet in
length, and from twelve to fourteen inches in
circumference at the thickest part. In the
autumn of 1826 several were taken up in the
neighbourhood of Lancaster, having an average
weight of four pounds each; these were fine firm
roots, and in every respect good for the table.

Carrots are very liable to the attacks of grubs
and insects. These animals, especially some
species of ring-worms, ( Zulus ) eat into the root,
where they lie concealed, and thus cause what is
commonly called canker. The upper part of
the root is also attacked by the grub of a kind
of fly; under these atiacks the root and whole
plant withers. The best remedy is late sowing,
to avoid the period at which these insects are
evolved from the eggs.

The carrot is extensively used in cookery,
entering into soups and stews, as well as forming
a vegetable dish. Besides their use as human
food, carrots are in some places grown largely
for the consumption of stock, especially for
horses. It is affirmed that cattle which have
once tasted these, usually prefer them so much
to turnips, as with difficulty to be made to return
to the latter. The milk of cows fed on carrots
never acquires any unpleasant flavour, while at
the same time the quantity produced is increased.
Calves thrive admirably, and bullocks are quickly
fattened on this food. Carrots are equally bene-
ficial as nourishment for sheep, and are devoured
with avidity by swine. In the short space of
ten days a lean hog was fattened by these roots,
having consumed during that period 196 pounds.
Its fat proved very fine, white, and firm, and
did not waste in the dressing. Horses receiving
no other sustenance perform their work as usual
without any diminution of their sleekness. The
efficacy of these roots in preserving and restor-
ing the wind of horses had, it is said, been par-
tially known in Suffolk, where carrots were ad-
ministered as a secret specific for the complaint,
288

long previously to their being commonly ap-
plied as food for horses. These roots may also
with advantage be given to poultry. In severe
winters they have been found of great utility in
the preservation of deer; and they have been also
strongly recommended as wholesome and cheap
nourishment for dogs. Although, perhaps, the
virtues and nutritive qualities of the carrot may
be somewhat over-rated by writers who have
evidently a strong bias in its favour, it is more
than probable that carrots are a more wholesome
food than either cabbages or turnips, as they are
so strongly opposed to putrefaction, as to be occa-
sionally used, on account of this property, in
certain surgical applications.
exist among agriculturists as to the relative ad-
vantages arising from the culture of the carrot
or the turnip as food for cattle. The latter root
may perhaps be more productive, and succeed
better in a variety of soils, but the positive
amount of nourishment it contains would seem
to be much less than that of the carrot. This
assertion is advanced on the testimony of Mr
Biling, who obtained from twenty and a half
acres of land, varying in soil and degree of pre-
paration, five hundred and ten loads of carrots.
Experience led him to conclude that these were
equal in use and effect to one thousand loads of
turnips, and to three hundred loads of hay. At
Parlington in Yorkshire, the stock of a farm,
consisting of twenty working-horses, four bul-
locks, and six milch cows, were fed from the end
of September to the beginning of May on the
carrots produced from three acres of land. The
animals, during the whole of that period, lived
on these roots with the addition of only a very
small quantity of hay, and thirty hogs were
fattened on the refuse left by the cattle.

The greater part of the alimentary portion of
the carrot consists, according to Sir Humphrey
Davy’s analysis, of saccharine matter, which
may in a considerable degree account for its an-
tiseptic qualities. The quantity of nutritive
matter is nearly ten per cent. in the whole weight
of carrot, being 98 parts in 1000, and of these three
are starch or mucilage, and the remaining ninety-
five saccharine matter. The quantity of ready
formed saccharine matter in carrots is much
greater than in any of the cerealia, being 24 per
cent. more than in barley, and about six times
more than the quantity contained in potatoes.
It is presumed, therefore, that carrots are much
better adapted than the latter for the distillery.
Dr Hunter, in the Georgical Essays, details ex-
periments made to prepare from carrots a beverage
resembling beer, and subsequently a spirituous
liquor; the former proved unsuccessful; but the
result of the latter was, according to the Doc-
tor’s opinion, very encowaging. “From a gross
calculation,” he concludes, “I am induced to
think that a good acre of carrots manufactured

Various opinions |

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

in this manner will leave a profit of forty pounds,
after deducting the landlord’s rent, the cost of
cultivation, distillation, and other incidental ex-
penses. In this calculation I presume that the
spirit is worth six shillings per gallon, and not
excised.” This is perhaps rather an exagger-
ated statement: it has, however, been found by
other experiments that eighteen tons, the pro-
duce of one acre, will yield one hundred gallons
of proof spirit, a larger product than that ob-
tained from an acre of barley; while the refuse
supplies a greater quantity of food for hogs.

Attempts have likewise been made to prepare
sugar from carrots, but without success; a thick
syrupy matter which refuses to erystallize can
alone be obtained.

Tur Parsnip, (pastinaca sativa.) ‘This is
also a British plant, and grows wild in calcare-
ous soils by road sides. ‘The leaves are broader
and less divided than those of the carrot; in the
wild kind they are hairy, and dark green; in the
cultivated parsnip smooth, and of a light yel-
lowish green. ‘The flowers have a yellowish
tinge. Theroots of the wild parsnip are smaller,
tougher, and have less of the peculiar taste
than the cultivated kind. Pastinaca, from pas-
tus, nourishment, is one of the names given by the
Romans to the daucus of the Greeks.

The parsnip has long been cultivated in En-
glish gardens. There are a great many varieties
of this root, one only of which is cultivated in
Britain. In France, as well as in Guernsey and
Jersey, where the soil is peculiarly adapted to
this cultivation, three varieties are distinguished
by the names of coguaine, Usbonaise, and siam.
The first runs very long, to the depth of three,
and even four feet in the ground, and attaining to
from three to four inches in diameter; while its
leaves grow proportionally high, and proceed
from the whole crown of the root. The Usbonaise
is shorter, but considerably thicker, and of an
equally good quality; the leaves of this variety
are small and short, and proceed only from the
centre of the crown. The siam has not so large
a root, and is of a slightly yellow tinge; it is
more tender, and of a richer flavour than the
other varieties.

A light, deep soil, free from stones, is requisite
for the favourable growth of the parsnip. The
seed is usually sown at the latter end of Febru-
ary or March, in the proportion of nearly three
and a half pounds of seed to one rood of land.
It is sown broad-cast, and raked into the ground.
The only after-culture required is to keep the
plants free from weeds, and to thin them to about a
foot distance from each other. The roots come
to maturity at the latter end of October; this
state is indicated by the decay of the leaf; they
are then fit for use.

The parsnip is not so liable as the carrot to be
hurt by frost. Indeed, by many, the root is not
THE SKIRRET. 289

esteemed till it has had a touch of the winter
cold. Part of the crop may be dug up and
covered with sand for use in November, while
the rest will keep good in the ground till they
begin to shoot in the spring, when they may he
dug up in February or March, the tops cut off
and preserved in sand till the end of April. To
obtain the seed, transplant some of the best roots
in February two feet asunder, inserted over the
crowns. They will shoot up in strong stalks,
and produce large umbels of seed ripening in
autumn.

When the parsnip is grown upon poor Jand it
loses much of the rank taste which it acquires
if cultivated in richer soils, and though not nearly
so abundant, is far more sweet and agreeable.
Thus produced, when slowly roasted in the ashes
of peat or turf, it becomes nearly as farinaceous
as the best potatoes, and in some of the poorer
‘districts of the country is used with the same
additions as an article of substantive food. “In
the north of Scotland,” Neill observes, “parsnips
are often beat up with potatoes and a little butter;
of this excellent mess the children of the peas-
antry are very fond, and they do not fail to thrive
upon it.’ From the same authority we learn
that in the north of Ireland an agreeable bever-
age is prepared from the roots brewed with hops.
In some places a species of wine is also made
from them, and a very pure spirit is obtained
when parsnips are distilled after a similar pre-
paratory process to that used with the carrot.
In Catholic countries the parsnip is more abun-
dantly employed for human food than in Britain.
It was, however, formerly held in much greater
estimation here than it is at present. This root
is wholesome as well as hardy, but, as the soil
which is most favourable to its production as
human food, is also best adapted for the growth
of the potato, which is both more productive
and more nutritious than the parsnip, the cul-
ture of this plant as a culinary esculent, has de-
clined; and the use of it with salt fish in Lent
may perhaps be regarded more as the relic of an
old custom than as a choice arising from any
partiality for the peculiar flavour of the parsnip
in combination with this particular kind of
viand.

According to Arthur Young, about the time
of the revolution, half the people about Marlaise
in France, subsisted on parsnips, during winter,
boiled in soup and various other ways. They
also feed horses with them, and for this purpose
they are accounted as nourishing as oats.

The nutritious matter in parsnips is found by
analysis to be ninety-nine parts in a thousand,
of which nine parts are mucilage, and the re-
maining ninety are saccharine matter.

Tur Sxrrret, (siwm sisarum.) This is a
perennial tap-rooted plant, a native of China,
and introduced into this country about the year

 

-

1548. It is of more diminutive size than either
the carrot or parsnip. It has pinnated leaves,

 

Shirret.

and a stem twelve inches high, terminated by an
umbel of white flowers. The root consists of a
cluster of tubers about the size of the little finger;
at first they are small fibres, but swell out grad-
ually to this size. They are connected together
at the crown or head, and covered with a whit-
ish rough bark, with a hard cone or pith running
through the centre. They contain a mucilagin-
ous and saccharine matter, and were at one time
much esteemed in cookery. The skirret is pro-
pagated either by sceds or offsets from the root.
Those raised from seed are the most ten-
der, The skirret is one of those plants which
are now neglected, because we are become
acquainted with others more pleasant to the
taste, and more profitable in their culture. Its
peculiar sweetness, so delightful to the palates
of our less refined forefathers, to us appears nau-
seous lusciousness; and that root which the em-
peror Tiberius esteemed so much as to cause it
to be brought from the banks of the Rhine for
the use of his table, is little relished in the pre-
sent day. Beckmann ingeniously accounts for
this change of taste in the use of vegetable pro-
ductions. “In the oldest times mankind were
so fond of sweet things, that the goodness and
agreeable taste of every kind of food was deter-
mined according to the degree of its sweetness;
and such is the manner of judging, even at pre-
sent, throughout all the East, in Africa, and in
America, This is the case also among us with
the greater part of the lower classes, who are
not able to follow the mode of richer tables. In
the northern countries this taste is almost every
where prevalent. Thus the Swedes spoil, by the
addition of sugar, costly Rhenish wines, sauer-
kraut, and other articles, the agreeable tartness
of which is gratifying to other nations. In pro-
portion to their population and luxury, the
Swedes seem to use more sugar than the Ger-
mans, and the Ny more than the English
0
290

or French; and one might almost suspect that a
taste for sweet things was in the inverse ratio of
culture. At any rate, one can thus explain why
many vegetable productions which some cen-
turies ago were reckoned among the most agree-
able dishes appear to us to be nauseously sweet.”

For some time after the cultivation of skirrets
had become neglected in the gardens of the rich,
they still continued to be an object of culture
among the poor in a few remote parts of the
country. But even in those situations they
have now very generally given way to the potato,
and are seldom grown, and even then rather from
the love of variety than for any superior pro-
perties they may possess. In the north of Scot-
land this plant was cultivated under the name
of crummack.

Srver WEED, (potentilla anserina.) A creep-
ing plant belonging to the natural family Rosacex,
and very common by waysides, and in waste
places; known also under the name of goose-
grass. The leaves are interruptedly and deeply
pinnate, of a silvery shining aspect. The flower
is a pretty yellow. The roots are oblong, and
sometimes attain a considerable size. These are
amylaceous when roasted or boiled, and resemble
in taste the chestnut. In spring, when the fields
were ploughed up, these used to be gathered by
the inhabitants of many parts of Scotland, and
eaten either raw or roasted. It is not improba-
ble but cultivation might increase these roots
to a considerable size. The plant is hardy, and
extremely prolific, as it spreads by runners as
well as by seeds.

CeLery (apium graveolens). This is ahardy
biennial plant, a native of Britain, and known
in its wild state by the name of smallage. It is
frequent by the sides of ditches and near the sea,
where it rises with wedge-shaped leaves and a
furrowed stalk, producing greenish flowers in
August. The whole plant has a rank coarse
taste; and the effects of cultivation, in producing
from it the mild sweet stalks of celery, are not a
little remarkable. In its cultivated state it some-
times attains an immense size. A head of celery
was dug up in 1815, in the neighbourhood of
Manchester, which weighed nine lbs. when
washed, with the roots and leaves all attached to
it, and measured ten feet six inches in height.
It was of a red sort, perfectly solid, crisp, firm,
and remarkably well flavoured.* The blanched
leaf stalks are used raw as a salad from August
till March, and are also stewed in soups and other
dishes.

There are several varicties of the cultivated
celery, such as the early, red, and white solid,
North’s upright, the turnip-rooted, or celeriac.
The red variety is of a coarse but more hardy
nature than the others; and though not so deli-

4 Loudon,

 

IMSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

cate as salad, is well suited for stews and soups.
The Italians use the green leaves and stems in
their soups, and, as a matter of economy, these
impart an agreeable enough flavour to soups;
the seeds also are used ina similar manner. The
celeriac, or turnip-rooted, is a hardy kind. The
root is the only part used. _ It attains to a very
considerable size, especially in Germany, where
it is much esteemed, either as entering into the
composition of mixed dishes, or prepared by it-
self. For this purpose it is divested of the ex-
ternal skin and fibres. ‘The boiled root sliced
when cold, and mixed with oil and vinegar, is
considered a very choicesalad. Celeriac is occa~
sionally imported from Hamburgh into Britain;
but it is not generally cultivated in our gardens.
According to Mr Ellis, it is easier cultivated than
the other kinds, and requires less space. The
knob-roots, however, have a constant tendency
to degenerate, or return to the natural type.

The best soil for celery is a rich deep vegetable
mould. The seed is sown in spring, and if
wished to be early, may be forced in a hot-bed.
When the plants are from two to four inches
high, the seed-bed is thinned, and those removed
are transplanted from them to six inches apart
from each other, in an intermediate bed. They
remain in this situation till they become vigor-
ous plants, of from six to twelve inches high;
they are then finally transplanted, and generally
into trenches. The plants are placed at from
five to ten inches apart, and as they grow up
the stems are gradually covered up with earth.
This operation being repeated every fortnight,
till at length they are covered to one, and even
to two feet high, in order that they may be
blanched, and thus a considerable portion he
made edible. By this management celery is ob-
tained from August to March; and when the
soil is favourable and the cultivation skilful,
these plants attain to a very large size.

Panrstey (apium petroselinum), was known
to the Greeks, and received its distinctive name
of petroselinum from Dioscorides, It is said to
be a native of Sardinia, whence it was brought
into England about the middle of the sixteenth
century; but the plant is of so ancient culture
in this country, that the period of its introduc-
tion cannot, perhaps, be accurately assigned, and
though supposed not to be indigenous to Britain,
it is now completely naturalized in various parts
both of England and Scotland. It is a hardy
biennial plant.

The principal varieties are the common plain-
leaved, the curled-leaved, and the Hamburgh, or
broad-leaved. The plain-leaved parsley was the
first known in this country; but it is not now
much cultivated, since the leaves are not so hand-
some as those of the curled, are of a less brilliant
green, and are coarser in flavour. Another rea-
son for banishing it from the gardens is its re-
FENNEL.

semblance to fool’s-parsley, or lesser hemlock,
Athusa cynapium, which is a noxious weed of a
poisonous nature, infesting gardens and ficlds.
Tf this intruder were growing among plain pars-
ley, an unobservant person might confound the
leaves of the one with the other, although they
differ somewhat in shape and colour; the leaves
of the poisonous plant being of rather a darker
green, and, if bruised, they emit an unpleasant
odour, very different from that of parsley. When
in flower they are easily distinguished, the wthusa
having an involucrnm of three long, narrow,
sharp-pointed leaflets, hanging down under every
partial umbel, and vulgarly termed the beard;
while in the garden-parsley there is usually only
one leaflet at the general umbel, and at the par-
tial umbel the involucrum consists of only a few
short folioles, almost as fine as hairs.

Parsley is raised from seed, which is sown in
the early part of spring, most generally in single
drills, round the edges of any of the vegetable
beds. The plants appear in three or four weeks,
and soon the tender leaves are fit to be gathered
for use; a succession springing forth and fur-
uishing a supply throughout the whole of the
year, till the ensuing May, when the flower-
stalks begin“to run, bloom, and bear seed in
July or August.

The Hamburgh parsley is cultivated for its
roots. For this purpose a deep well dug soil is
requisite. The seed is to be sown in February,
March, or early in April. The plants should be
thinned to nine inches distance, to give room
for proper growth in the roots. These will be
fit for use in autumn, and will continue good till
spring. These roots are similar to, and are used
the same as parsnips.

Parsley has been supposed to be an effectual
cure for the rot in sheep, provided it be given to
them in sufficient quantities. Attempts were
made some years ago to promote its extensive
culture in fields for this purpose, under the aus-
pices of the Society for the Encouragement of
Arts, &c. It is said that this specific was tried
in Hampshire with success; and Mortimer men-
tions the cultivation of parsley, as a remedy
against this destructive disease, being practised
in Buckinghamshire. This herb, when used as
food for sheep, imparts to their flesh, it is said, a
very agreeable flavour.

Hares and rabbits, we are told, will come from
a great distance in order to indulge their taste
for parsley; and in countries where these ani-
mals abound, in no situation does their favourite
herb escape from their depredations unless se-
curely fenced.

Fennet (anethum feniculum), is a plant of
very ancient use, and if not native, is at least
naturalized in England, where it is sometimes
found growing on chalky soils. It is a peren-
nial, rising to the height of five or six feet. The

 

29]

leaves are divided into a variety of fine long seg-
ments, of a bright green colour. Yellow flowers,
growing in umbels, appear in July and August.
The whole plant has a strong and disagreeable
odour. Its light and delicately formed leaves
are occasionally used as a garnish; and, when
boiled, enter into the composition of certain fish-
sauces.

Caraway (carum carui). The caraway is a
biennial aromatic plant, a native of England, and
still found growing wild occasionally in meadows
and pastures. This plant is cultivated for its
seeds chiefly, which are of a pleasing aromatic
flavour, and are used in confectionary and some-
times in medicine. In spring the under leaves
are occasionally used in soups; and in former
times the fusiform roots were eaten as parsnips, to
which root Parkinson gives them the preference.
In Essex large quantities of the seed are annu-
ally raised for distillation with spirituous liquors.
Its culture is easy; the seeds are sown in au-
tumn, they soon vegetate, and the crop is to be
weeded and thinned, one plant being sufficient
to the square foot. Next season the plants run
into flower and seed; when the latter is ripe, the
plants are pulled up by the root, and put into a
dry place till the seeds are fully matured.

Ditt (anethum graveolens ). Dill is a hardy
biennial plant, a native of Spain, and introduced
into Britain in 1590. The plant grows upright,
and resembles fennel, only is smaller. It has a
slender single stem, and leaves finely divided, or
pinnatifid. The flowers, which form an umbel,
appear in June or July. The whole plant is
strongly aromatic. The leaves are used in certain
pickles, as cucumber, and to give flavour to soups
and sauces. It is also occasionally used in me~
dicine. It is easily raised from seed, which
should be sown in February, March, or April, 01
in autumn.

Currvit (scandix cercfolium). This is an
annual plant, indigenous to various parts of Ku-
rope, and sometimes observed naturalized in
English gardens. It rises to nearly two feet in
height; the leaves are of a very delicate texture,
three times divided; and the flowers, which are
of a whitish colour, appear in June. The ten-
der leaves are used in soups and salads, and those
of acurled variety, common in France, in gar-
nishing. It is easily raised from seed, the sow-
ing of which may be commenced in February,
and continued every month for a succession of
young plants.

Sea Horry (eryngium maritimum). This is
a plant which grows wild in Britain, belonging
to a family of singular plants, somewhat like
thistles in general aspect. They are usually ot
a bluish hue, prickly, and with large involucres,
and dry horny leaves. Linneus says that the
tops of sea holly are eaten like asparagus in Swe-
den. The roots of this plant have been celebrated
292

since the time of Dioscorides as a medicine, and
are said by him to be a specific for flatulence.
The roots formerly used to be candied, and sold
in the shops under the name of kissing comfits,
They are thus alluded to by Shakespeare. They
are reckoned stimulating and restorative; but
have fallen entirely into disuse in modern prac-
tice.

CHAP. XXXII.

TITE CRUCIFERA, INCLUDING THE TURNIP, MUSTARD,
CABBAGE, RADISH, CRESS, &c,

Tue natural family of eructfere is a well
marked one, and contains many plants of con-
siderable importance to man. ‘The cross-like
form which the four petals of the corolla assume
in all the species, has afforded the general name
of the family. The order consists wholly of an-
nual or perennial, often of biennial herbs, occa-
sionally assuming a half shrubby form, but even
in this case, not exceeding the height of three
feet. The roots are either thick and perennial,
or annual or biennial, and slender, almost always
perpendicular, and undivided. The young roots
are tipped with a little sheath called the coleo-
vhiza, which is produced by the extended rup-
tured coat of the epidermis when the rootlet first
appears. The stems are round or somewhat an-
gular, branched, and often even in the annual
species indurated at the base. The branches
proceed from the axilla of the leaves, but the
uppermost ones are in most cases abortive. The
racemes are always opposite to the leaves. The
leaves are simple, generally radical, or alter-
nate, or rarely opposite. The flowers are either
white, yellow, or purple; orin a few Cape species
bright blue. The fruit is called either a siliqua
or silicula; the former being a linear pod con-
taining many seeds, the latter a roundish pod
containing one or very few seeds.

The whole order is pre-eminently European:
166 species are found in the north and middle
of Europe, and 178 on the sea shores of the
Mediterranean; 45 are found between Mogadore
and Alexandria; 184 in the countries of the east,
as Syria, Asia Minor, Tauria, and Persia; 99 in
Siberia; 35 in China, Japan, and India; 16 in
New Holland, and the South sea islands; 6 in the
Mauritius and adjacent countries; 70 at the Cape,
9 in the Canaries, 2 in St Helena, 2 in the West
Indies, 41 in South America, 48 in North Amer-
ica, 5 in Kamchatka and the bordering islands;
and finally, 85 are common to several parts of
the globe. From this it appears that there are
about 100 species in the southern hemisphere,
and about 800 in the northern; or, if they are
considered with reference to the zones of tem-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

perature, 205 are natives of the frigid zone of
the northern hemisphere; 80 of the whole of the
tropics, 548 of the temperate zone of the nor-
thern hemisphere, and 86 of the southern. The
forty-first degree of north latitude may be con-
sidered the equatorial line of this family, about
half being found on one side of it, and half on
the other. Their station is very variable; many
inhabit open sandy plains, some form the vege-
tation about the limits of the perpetual snows
of lofty mountains, and many follow the foot-
steps of man through all parts of the world.

The useful qualities of the turnip, the radish,
the rape, and the cabbage, with its multiform
varieties, are all well known. The greater part
of this order consists of plants possessing high
antiscorbutic powers. These appear to depend
upon a certain acrid, volatile, oily principle, the
chemical nature of which is imperfectly known.
It is particularly abundant in the seeds of mus-
tard, and the roots of horse radish; and the
leaves of a pepper wort, lepedium lai¢foltum,
which latter exercises a violent influence upon
the organs of digestion. The same sort of acri-
mony, but in less degree, is found in the her-
bage of the scurvy grass; and the roots of the
radish, which act much more mildly when taken
inwardly. Thus, when any cruciferous plants
are found to be eatable, either from culture or
other circumstances, it is to be understood to
depend upon a reduction of this acrid principle.
The exciting powers of this last are what renders
the horse radish, the scurvy grass, and others, so
remarkably useful as antiscorbutics; they are
also believed to possess diuretic and diaphoretic
qualities. It is to be remarked that, crucifere
are always eatable when their texture is succu-
lent'and watery, as in the roots of the radish,
and the turnip, and the leaves of the cabbage
tribe. A further diminution of the acrid prin-
ciple is produced by blanching; crucifere are
said to possess a greater share of azote than any
other tribe of plants, as is apparent in their foetid
smell when fermented. The embryo of all the
order abounds in oil, whence several species are
employed with much advantage for expressing
this fluid, either for eating or for the purpose
of burning. Some of the species are extremely
beautiful and fragrant, as the stocks, the gilly-
flowers, the hesperides, the candy tufts, and
many others. The Hutchinsias, drabas, carda-
mins, are among the most interesting of alpine
plants.

This natural order includes the whole of Lin-
neus’ 15th class, Tetradynamia, and a single
other genus, Cleome.

Tue Tursip, (brassica rapa.) This we put
at the head of the cruciferx, as being one of the
most important species of the family. The tur-
nip is a biennial plant, indigenous to Britain. Jf
the cultivated plant be in reality a variety of
THE TURNIP.

this, of which there is some doubt, its nature has
been greatly changed by the labours of man. In
the first year the turnip produces the large radicle
leaves, and the well known root. In the second
year a stem shoots up crowned with numerous
four-petalled flowers in the form of a cross, con-
taining six stamens. The seeds are contained in
an clongated pod.

The turnip, if it was not familiar to the Greeks,
was well known to the Romans, and all that can
be gathered on this subject from the writings of
the ancients renders it probable that it occupied
nearly the same place in Roman culture as it
does in British husbandry in the present day.
Columella recommended that the growth of
turnips should be abundant, because those,which
were not required for human food could be given
with much advantage to cattle; and both Pliny
and he concur in their testimony, that this pro-
duce was esteemed next to corn in utility and
value. The best grew in the country of the Sa-
bines, and were worth at Romea sestertius or two-
pence each.

It is averred that the Roman method of culti-
vation must have been superior to that of the
moderns, since Pliny relates that some single
roots weighed as much as forty pounds, a weight
far surpassing any which has been obtained by
the most skilful modern agriculturists. Indeed,
the large size of the Roman turnip is supposed
by some authors to furnish a collateral proof of
the colder temperature of Italy in ancient than
in modern times. Speculations, however, raised
upon what might perhaps have been an exagger-
ated statement of the Roman naturalist, must
be purely hypothetical. It is certainly found
by experience that a warm climate is not so fa-
vourable to the growth of the turnip as cold
moist regions. Though receiving equally careful
culture, it does not attain to the same size in the
south as in the north of England and in Scot-
land, while it thrives best in the west of the latter
country, and in those parts of Ireland where the
climate is the most humid. Though the colder
parts of the temperate regions are found most
favourable for this cultivation, the countries of
still higher latitudes are not congenial to the
growth of theturnip. Those arctic climes where
the summer, though brief, is dry and warm, are
decidedly adverse to its successful cultivation.

It is very probable that the garden culture of
the turnip was introduced by the Romans into
this country, and that, like some of the fruit-
trees which they had transplanted here, though
neglected, it was never altogether lost; and, if
appearing to be so for a time, was restored by
the monks, those constant guardians and foster-
ers of horticulture.

There is no doubt that this root was in culti-
vation in the sixteenth century. Whether re-
vived by native industry, or introduced at that

 

293

period by the Flemings, is a question differently
answered by different writers; nor docs the in-
quiry possess much interest. Turnips were par-
tially grown for many years in this country,
before they came into extensive notice. Horti-
cultural pursuits were at that time so little un-
derstood and practised here, that even the most
successful issue which attended the cultivation
of the turnip in Norfolk, a county peculiarly
adapted to its growth, failed for a long time to
be followed by its more extended adoption; and
a considerable period elapsed before it travelled
out of Norfolk into Suffolk, and thence into Es-
sex,

Towards the latter end of the sixteenth cen-
tury it is mentioned by more than one writer.
Cogan, in his Haven of Health, published in
1597, says, that “although many men love to
eat turnips, yet do swine abhor them.” Gerarde,
who published in the same year, and who had
rather more rational views on the subject of
plants, leads us to conclude that more than one
variety was cultivated in the environs of London
at that time. “The small turnip,” says he,
“grown by a village near London, called Hack-
ney, in a sandie ground, and brought to the
crosse in Cheapside by the women of that vil-
lage to be solde, are the best that I ever tasted.”
Gerarde is silent concerning the field culture of
turnips; neither is this mentioned by Parkinson,
who wrote in 1629. It is not until the close of
the seventeenth century that we can find any
account of this root being thus cultivated in any
part of the country. :

The turnip, in some of its varicties, is of very
universal culture throughout Europe. In Sweden
it is a very favourite vegetable. We also learn
from the interesting journal of Linneus, that
even so far north as Lapmark the colonists sow
annually a considerable quantity of turnip seed,
which frequently succeeds very well, and pro-
duces a plentiful crop. The native Laplanders
are so fond of this root that they are often in-
duced to part with a whole cheese in exchange
for one single turnip, “than which nothing,”
our author adds, “can be more foolish.”

In Russia, turnips are used as fruit and eaten
with avidity by all classes. In the houses of
the nobility, the raw turnip cut in slices is handed

| about on a silver salver, with brandy, as a pro-

vocative to the more substantial meal, “The
first nobleman of the empire,” says Dr Clark,
“when dismissed by his sovereign from atten-
dance upon his person, may be found throughout
the day with his neck bare, his beard lengthened,
his body wrapped in a sheep’s skin, eating raw
turnips, and drinking quass.”

It is said that the roots of the turnip cultivated
in the plains of Germany seldom exceed half a
pound in weight; and that in France and coun-
ties still farther to the south, they are yet more
294

diminutive. These are, however, no doubt a
particular species naturally of a small growth,
and it must not thence be inferred that hot
countries are wholly inimical to this production.
At Benares, in Tindostan,a latitude of about 26°,
turnips, radishes, asparagus, cauliflowers, and
other garden vegetables are raised in considerable
plenty by the natives, and exposed to sale in the
bazaars, principally for European purchasers, to
whom these plants of home association are wel-
come even among the rich display of tropical
productions, and even though they cannot be
obtained in their native excellence, being com-
paratively tasteless when raised under the fervid
sun of India. When destined for human food,
of course the quality more than the size of this
root is considered; but in raising them as an
economic aliment for cattle, the greatest possible
quantity of nourishment which can be produced
in a given space is the object most to be desired.
Various sorts, differing in size, shape, and colour,
but all assuming, in a greater or less degree, the
globular or spheroidal form, are the objects of
either garden or field culture. Of these there
are ten varieties in common cultivation, distin-
guished by colour, size, time of coming to ma-
turity, productiveness, or flavour. Among this
number, the Maltese golden turnip is a very fine
variety, of one uniform orange tinge. It is per-
fectly spherical, and the crown and tap-root are
both so very small, that if dexterously removed
the exact parts of the root whence they were
divided are not easily discernible. When quite
fresh, and just before it has acquired its full
consistence, it makes its appearance in the
northern parts of the country with the dessert,
and it is considered to be superior both in form
and flavour to many fruits. The Swedish turnip
is another variety of a much larger growth, and
of a more hardy nature than any of the other
kinds under cultivation; this is very seldom
raised among garden vegetables, as it is too strong
and harsh to be acceptable for human food. It
has, however, the advantage of surviving through
seasons when even the hardiest of the others
would be destroyed. This turnip is largely
cultivated in fields and employed as food for
cattle.

The root of the French turnip, or xavev, differs
from the other varieties, having more the ap-
pearance, in shape and size, of the carrot. It is
of a very fine flavour, and in high repute on the
Continent. When used, the outer rind is not
peeled off as in the common turnip, but merely
scraped, since the peculiar taste chiefly resides in
that part. In France, as well as in Germany,
few great dinners are set on the table without
this vegetable appearing under some form, either
enriching the gravies and stews, or prepared as a
viand by itself. The nayeu was more cultivated
in this country a century ago than it is at pre-

| that purpose.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

sent, being now but rarely found in our gar-
dens.

In Barbary a small parsnip-like turnip with
fibrous roots, called in that country ef baskoure,
is held in much esteem for its agreeable pun-
gency.

A light gravelly soil, broken fine by tillage,
is most favourable to the production of turnips
of the best quality; but they will succeed in
almost any land. Any poor, light, sandy ground
suits the naveu, which has the great advantage
of never requiring any manure in its cultivation.

Turnips may be obtained in this country in
succession almost throughout the year by sowing
seed every month in spring andsummer. Thisis
distributed broad-cast, or sometimes sown in
drills in the proportion of about half an ounce of
seed to one hundred square feet. As soon as the
plants are sufficiently advanced, having rough
leaves of about an inch broad, they are hoed and
thinned to six or eight inches apart from each
other. In the early stages of their growth tur-
nips are rather a delicate crop. When they first
put forth their tender and succulent seed-leaves,
they are liable to be preyed upon by a peculiar
species of beetle called thence the turnip fly;
this is extremely destructive, and various pre-
ventives against the evil have been suggested,
Several preparations of the seeds previously to
sowing have by turns been recommended, such
as steeping them in sulphur-water or sprinkling
them with soot at the time of sowing; these,
however, have not been considered efficacious,
and even when they have apparently been suc-
cessful, perhaps it has been under circumstances
in which the plants would have equally escaped
without any precautionary measure. No insect
can very well deposit its eggs in the seed of the
turnip before it is in the ground, at least there is
no known species which perforates the pods for
The sulphur or soot, or any other
application, is of course thrown off with the
tunie or outer coat, and does not in any way
protect the cotyledon or side lobes of the seed,
which come up in the form of leaves, and in
which the eggs of the fly are then deposited. By
some cultivators these leaves are powdered with
quick-lime as soon as they show themselves above
ground; a plan which appears the most rational
for preventing the mischief. One of the easiest
remedies against it, however, is recommended by
Neil, to sow thick, and thus ensure a sufficiency
of plants both for the fly and the crop. As soon
as the rough leaves are a little developed, the
danger from the insect depredator ceases.

Loudon says, as to the choice of seed, it should
be bright and well dried. In seasons when the
turnip fly is dreaded, old seed may be mixed in
equal parts with new, the mixture divided, and
one half steeped twenty-four hours in water. By
this means four different times of vegetation are
THE CABBAGE TRIBE,

ia and as many chances of escaping the
ys

Turnips, if carefully cultivated, attain to a
very great size in this country, though appearing
insignificant when compared with the gigantic
root of the Roman naturalist. Tull speaks of
some weighing as much as nineteen pounds, and
of often meeting with others of sixteen pounds.
In Surrey, a Swedish turnip, the seed of which
had been sown in July, was dug up in October,
1828, which weighed twenty-one pounds, and
was one yard in circumference. But these are
far surpassed by one which was pulled up in
1758 at Tudenham, in Norfolk, and which weighed
twenty-nine pounds. In No. 860 of the Philo-
sophical Transactions, we find a curious calcula-
tion made by Dr Desaguliers, on the rapid in-
crease of a turnip root. One ounce of turnip

seed was found by him to contain between four- |

teen and fifteen thousand single seeds; therefore,
one seed would weigh one-fourteen or one fifteen-
thousandth part of an ounce; and assuming its
growth to be always uniform, a turnip seed may
increase fifteen times its own weight in a minute!
By an actual experiment made on moss or peat
ground, turnips have been found to increase by
growth 15,990 times the weight of their seeds
each day they stood upon it. It is not, how-
ever, only the size and weight of the root which
renders this crop so productive; the number con-
tained in a given space, with reference to their
size, is very great. Some writers speak rather
marvellously on this subject, but it is generally
thought a good crop to obtain a turnip from each
square foot of ground. Mill considers an average
crop to be 11,664 roots per acre, which at six
pounds each, will be 69,984 pounds.

The uses of the turnip asa culinary vegetable,
are too familiarly known to require that they
should be here enumerated. Though in very
extensive favour among the moderns, the dif-
ferent modes of preparing it appear poor and in-
sipid compared with those efforts of gastronomic
skill by which the ancients made it assume so
many inviting forms. It is related that “the
king of Bithynia, in some expedition against the
Scythians in the winter, and at a great distance
from the sea, had a violent longing for a small
fish called aphy—a pilchard, a herring, or an an-
chovy. His cook cut a turnip to the perfect
imitation of its shape; then, fried in oil, salted,
and well powdered with the grains of a dozen
black poppies, his majesty’s taste was so exqui-
sitely deceived, that he praised the root to his
guest as an excellent fish. This transmutation
of vegetables into meat or fish, is a province of
the culinary art which we appear to have lost;
yet these are cibi inmocentes, (harmless food)
compared with the things themselves.”

Our more immediate ancestors appear to have
applied the turnip to more extensive uses as an

 

295

esculent than is done in the present day. It is
recorded, that in the years 1629 and 1630, when
there was a dearth in England, very good, white,
lasting, and wholesome bread was made of boiled
turnips, deprived of their moisture by pressurc,
and then kneaded with an equal quantity of
wheaten flour, the whole forming what was
called turnip-bread. The scarcity of corn in
1693, obliged the poor people of Essex again to
have recourse to this species of food. This bread
could not, it is said, be'distinguished by the eye
from a wheaten loaf; neither did the smell much
betray it, especially when cold.

The earliest spring-produced leaves of the
turnip are sometimes boiled or stewed, and ap-
pear on the table under the name of turnip-tops.
The Romans likewise applied these tender leaves
to the same purpose.

Turnips, in all their varieties, do not contain
so much nourishment as either carrots or pars-
nips. Sir Humphrey Davy’s analysis gives only
forty-two parts of nutritive matter in one
thousand parts of the common turnip, and sixty-
four parts in one thousand parts of the Swedish
root; but as the turnips cultivated in the envirors
of London are not considered of so good a quality
as those farther north, it is probable that this
estimate may be somewhat below the average
proportion.

Tur Canpace Tree, (Brassica oleracea), is
perhaps of all culinary vegetables, the most an-
cient as well as the most extensively cultivated.
The original plant being extremely liable to run
into all sorts of varieties, has in the course of time
become the parent of a numerous race of culinary
vegetables, so various in their habit and appear-
ance, that to many it may appear not a little
extravagant to refer them to the same origin. Be-
sides the different sorts of white and red cab-
bage and savoys which form their leaves into a
head, there are various sorts of borecoles which
grow with their leaves loose, in the natural way,
and there are several kinds of cauliflower and
brocoli which form a head of their stalks or flower
buds. All these, from the true cabbage, growing
to the height of twelve feet, to the colzer and
some other varieties, which before they come
into bloom seldom exceed a foot in height,
including the turnip rooted cabbage, and tho
Brussels sprouts, claim a common origin from
the single species of Brassica above mentioned.

The principal varieties of this plant are :

1. The White Cabbage, (Brassica oleracea
capitata), with firm compact conical head,
glaucous green externally, blanched within, from
two to twelve and fifteen inches in diameter.

2. Red Cabbage, (B. O. rubra), of similar form
to the white, but of a purple or red colour.

3. Savoy, (B. O. sabauda), with wrinkled
leaves, either open or formed into a compact
head; a winter vegetable,
296

4. Brussels sprouts, (B. ©. sabauda), a sub-
variety of the last noticed, with an elongated
stem, four or five feet high from the ale of the
leaves of which sprout out small green heads, like
cabbages in miniature.

5. Borecole, (B. O. Subellica), with an open
head of curled or wrinkled leaves, deep green,
and very strong and hardy. Of this kind of the
common kale, or cwrlies, there are a great many
sub-varieties, no less than fourteen being enum-
erated. The most common and useful are the
green, the dwarf, the purple or brown, and the
German greens or curlies of Scotland.

6. Cauliflower, (B. O.botrytis), with the un-
developed flower buds, forming a close firm
cluster or head; a late variety of this is the

7. Brocolt, (B. O. botrytis), a hardier plant
than the other, and with more colour in the
flower and leaves. The chief varieties are the
green, purple and dwarf brocoli.

Several varieties of the cabbage have been cul-
tivated from the very earliest times of which we
have any record. But the migrations and
changes of the best sorts have not been traced :
neither is it at all probable that the varieties
which the ancients enjoyed have descended to us
unaltered.

It is probable that some species of the brassica
were first introduced into this country by the
Romans, since kale is mentioned among the
oldest English records. It is well known that
brassicae. was in very common cultivation at
Rome, where, according to Columella, it was a
favourite edible with freemen, and in sufficient
plenty to be an article of food for slaves. The
ancient Germans likewise cultivated this plant
from very remote times; whether they, too,
were indebted to their Roman conquerors for its
introduction it is impossible to decide. The
Saxon name for February is sprout-kale, and
that is the season when the sprouts from the old
stalks begin to he fit for use; the Saxons must
therefore, of course, have been familiar with the
culture of cabbage or kale, as it is not at all
probable that they invented the name after their
settlement in this country.

The variety of brassica which was first culti-
vated in England cannot he ascertained, since
our ancestors had no distinctive name for the
different kinds. Many improvements have been
made in the cultivation of this vegetable, and
many new varieties introduced by different in-
dividuals at comparatively recent dates.

The close-hearted variety, which is now more
peculiarly called cabbage, was for many years
imported into England from Holland. Sir An-
thony Ashley first introduced its cultivation into
this country, and made the English independent
of their neighbours for a supply. This planter
cf cabbages likewise rendered his name known
by other deeds, less creditable to his character.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

It is related that he had a command at Cales
(Cadiz), where he got much by rapine, especially
from a lady who intrusted her jewels to his
honour; whence the jest on him, that he got.
more by Cales than by cale and cabbage. There
is said to be a cabbage at his feet sculptured on
his monument at Wimborne St Giles, in Dor-
setshire. Although Sir Anthony Ashley intro-
duced the cabbage, it does not appear to have
become generally cultivated, for we continued
to import the vegetable for many years. Ben
Jonson, who wrote more than half a century
afterwards, says “He hath news, from the Low
Countries, in cabbages.”

It is recorded that cabbages were first intro-
duced into the north of Scotland by the soldiers
of Cromwell. A country embroiled in internal
hostilities might be supposed not to be in a very

favourable state for the more extended cultiva-

tion of plants, the passions of the contending
parties being too keenly roused to pay attention
to improvements in those arts the progress of
which more peculiarly belongs to a period of
peace. But in the present case the fact is op-
posed to this conclusion; we learn that “Crom-
well was a great promoter of agriculture and the
useful branches of gardening, and that his sol-
diers introduced all the best improvements
wherever they went.”

The colonies of German fishermen from Cux-
haven and the adjacent places, which peopled
the coasts of the central parts of the east of Scot-
land, are, however, supposed by some writers to
have brought with them their national love of
brassica, and to have introduced some species of
those plants at a period much anterior to that of
the Commonwealth, to this part of Scotland,
which is more peculiarly “the land of kale.”
There the cabbage and the open colewort are in
equal favour, giving the name of kale to a soup
of which they form the principal ingredients,
the outside leaves and the stalks of the plants
falling to the share of the cattle.

Many allusions in the old Scotch songs point
to the fact of the country about Aberdeen
abounding with this vegetable. In recommend-
ing the good fare of the country, the poet says,

“There’s cauld kad! in Aberdeen,
Aw’ castocks in Stra’bogie.”

These castocks are the cabbage stems having
the fibrous part peeled off, and the remainder
softened by boiling. Before the introduction of
the turnip into general use in Scotland, this me-
dullary substance of the stalks of the brassica
was very commonly eaten by the peasantry.
The “kale brose 0’ auld Scotland” is celebrated
to the same tune as the “roast beef of old Eng-
land;” and though, with many of the ancient
peculiarities of the people, it has fallen much
into disuse, it is still considered a national dish.
KALE,

The White and Red Cabbage. In these the
leaves gather into what is called a head, and are
blanched by their own compression. The green
colour is always much more completely des-
troyed by this blanching than the red; and the
smaller the tendency which the expanded leaves
have to blue or purple, the more sweet and crisp
will the head become.

Cabbages are propagated by sced, which is
sown at the three seasons, spring, summer, and
autumn, to obtain a supply in succession. The
soil for the seed-beds should be light, and not
very rich.

The plants, from seed sown in autumn, are
finally transplanted in spring. Most generally the
seedlings are pricked out from the seed-beds as
soon as they have one or two leaves of an inch
or two broad, into beds of good earth: thence
they are transplanted into a rich soil, which
should be well manured.

Kate or Cotzwort.—In these the leaves are
expanded and coloured, with the exception of a
small portion in the centre, which encloses the
rudiments of the flowering stem. The plain-
leaved colewort is now seldom found in English
cultivation. Borecole, or curly-leaved colewort,
Brassica oleracea var. 3 sabellica, very generally,
however, finds a place in our gardens. The
green borecole, or Scotch kale, and the purple
or brown borecole, are the most hardy of the
race, and are therefore best adapted for cold situ-
ations and late seasons. The plants, when vege-
tating in a rich soil, grow vigorously, and attain
to large dimensions; but, in common with most
of the genus, moderate sized plants are best for
culinary purposes, the very large being harsh,
and those which are so small as to be stunted
are better.

Sauerkraut, “that excellent preparation” of
the Germans, and of which they are so immod-
erately fond, is merely fermented cabbage. To
prepare this, close-headed white cabbages are cut
in shreds, and placed in a four-inch layer in a
cask; this is strewed with salt, unground pepper,
and a small quantity of salad oil: a man with
clean wooden shoes then gets into the cask, and
treads the whole together till it is well mixed
and compact. Another layer is then added,
which is again trod down, and so on until the
cask is entirely filled. The whole is then sub-
jected to heavy pressure, and allowed to ferment;
when the fermentation has subsided, the barrels
in which it is prepared are closed up, and it is
preserved for use. The preparing of sauerkraut
is considered of so much importance as to form
a separate profession, which is principally en-
grossed by the Tyrolese. The operation of
shredding the cabbage is now performed by a
machine, which the men carry on their backs
from house to house; this means for the abridge-
ment of labour has not been invented more than

 

297

ten or twelve years. Every German family
stores up, according to its size, one or more
large casks of this vegetable preparation. Octo-
ber and November are the busy months for the
work, and huge white pyramids of cabbage are
seen crowding the markets; while in every court
and yard into which an accidental peep is ob-
tained, all is bustle and activity in the concoct-
ing of this national food, and the baskets piled
with shredded cabbage resemble “‘ mountains of
green-tinged-froth or sylabub.”

Sauerkraut has been found of sovereign effi-
cacy as a preservative from scurvy during long
voyages. It was for many years used in our
navy for this purpose, until displaced by lemon-
juice, which is equally a specific, while it is not
so bulky an article for store.

The larger and grosser kinds of cabLage are
used as food for cattle. But this nutriment has
a great tendency to impart a disagreeable flavour
to the milk of cows fed on it, and even to the
flesh of other cattle. This unpleasant effect
may, we are told, be prevented by removing the
withered leaves; but cabbage is more disposed
to fermentation and putrefaction than almost any
other vegetable. When cultivated as food for
stock, it is of course a matter of importance with
agriculturists to produce the greatest weight in
agiven-space. The average crop, as stated by
Mr Arthur Young, is thirty-six tons per acre,
when the plants are grown on a dry soil, which
is very similar to that quoted from other and
more modern writers; but on a sandy soil only
eighteen tons have been obtained. Some cab-
bages are occasionally produced of an astonishing
size and weight. A cabbage seed accidentally
sown among onions came up in the onion bed,
and without any care being taken of it, grew to
very large dimensions, and weighed, when taken
up, twenty-five pounds. A cabbage was also
produced in Devonshire, two or three years back,
which, when growing, occupied a space of fif-
teen feet of ground, measured five feet in circum-
ference, and weighed sixty pounds,

A variety of brassica, under the name of cow-
cabbage (brassica oleracea, var. arborescens_), has
been recently introduced into this country from
La Vendée by the Comte de Puysage. The
proximity of this department to the ancient pro-
vince of Anjou, and the description of the plant,
leave no doubt of its identity with the Anjou
cabbage, a very large variety described by Mill,
In 1827 thirty-six seeds were divided among six
agriculturists, for the purpose of raising this use-
ful vegetable in England. The perfect success
resulting from some of these seeds, which have
produced plants of a luxuriant growth, is already
known; and horticulture is now so much more
disseminated and understood in this country,
that there is every reason to hope that the cow-

cabbage will at length become naturalized in
2p
298

England. It is said that sixty plants afford pro-
vender sufficient for one cow during three or
four years without fresh planting. A square
of sixty feet will contain two hundred and fifty-
six plants, four feet apart from each other, six-
teen plants more than four cows require for a
year’s provender without the aid of other food.
This plant is now successfully cultivated in
Jersey, whence seeds have been sent to a nur-
seryman in London.

Tuer CavuiirLower (brassica oleracea, var. 0.
botrytis ), is the most delicate variety of the bras-
sica genus. It was first brought into England
from the island of Cyprus, where it is said to at-
tain to high perfection, although it is not sup-
posed to be indigenous to that country. The
exact period of the introduction of this plant
into English horticulture is not known; but it
was certainly cultivated in this country at the
beginning of the seventeenth century, although
as a rarity, which could only be produced at the
tables of the most opulent. In the year 1619,
two cauliflowers cost three shillings, the price of
wheat being at that time 35s. 4d. per quarter.
It was not, however, until the latter end of the
same century that this vegetable was brought to
any degree of perfection; at least it was not
vaised in sufficient abundance to appear in our
English markets until that period. The im-
portation then of Dutch gardeners and Dutch
gardening gave an impulse to English horticul-
ture, which had been in rather a languishing
state during the intestine troubles to which the
revolution of 1688 put a termination. But al-
though the Dutch gardening no doubt produced
an improvement in the cultivation of the cauli-
flower, as well as in vegetables generally, this
plant became more naturalized in England than
in Holland, or any of the adjacent countries of
the continent. Up to the period of the French
revolution, cauliflowers were regularly exported
from England into Holland, some parts of Ger-
many, and even France; and while the seed of
very many cultivated plants is in this country
preferred, when it is of Dutch rather than of
English produce, cauliflower seed obtained from
England is the most esteemed in Holland, and
indeed throughout the continent. The superi-
ority of the English cauliflower is to be attri-
buted solely to culture, and to culture carried
on in the vicinity of London, not by experimen-
talists or amateurs, but by those who rear the
plants for sale in the way of ordinary business,
This vegetable is now cultivated very generally
throughout the island; but since the portion of
the plant which is used as food is not nearly as
large as that of the cabbage, occupying an equal
space, while it requires a richer soil and a warmer
situation, it evidently can never become so cheap
an esculent. Its delicate flavour is, however, in
general much preferred to that of the cabbage,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and it takes a higher rank in the list of culinary
vegetables. Dr Johnson, whose most trivial and
perhaps sometimes absurd remarks have been
considered worthy of record, used to say, “ Of
all flowers I like the cauliflower the best.”

This plant, like the common cabbage, is first
raised in a seed-bed of light earth, and finally
transplanted into soil which can scarcely be either
naturally or artificially too rich. The seed is
generally sown at the latter end of the months
of February, May, and August, for three suc-
ceeding crops. The plants raised from seed sown
in the latter month stand through the winter,
during which season and the first part of spring
they are usually protected under hand-glasses,
In the neighbourhood of London it is not un-
common to see whole acres overspread with such
glasses, fostering an early supply of this veget-
able for the inhabitants of the metropolis, and
conveying to the mind of the beholder a forcible
idea of the riches and luxury of that vast city.

The head of the cauliflower is not nearly so
liable to putrescency, after being cut, as its
leaves, which in this respect are similar to those
of the cabbage. For a considerable time after
the leaves have become flaccid and in a state of
decay, the head remains unchanged, and with
care may be preserved without putrefaction for
some months. By merely drawing up the plants
entire, and hanging them in a cellar, they will
continue in a sound state for a considerable time.
The method most successfully adopted in Scot-
land, is to place the plants in layers in a pit,
with their heads inclining downwards. The pit
is then covered up closely with earth, beaten
down, and smoothed in a sloping direction, so as
to exclude both the rain and the atmosphere.

Brocoli is usually considered as merely a sub-
variety of cauliflower; and that this is the case
is rendered very probable from the great ten-
dency of the plant to run into new varieties,
which are constantly making their appearance,
and as rapidly vanishing and giving place to
others. It is a matter of common observation,
that the more any plant has been changed by
culture, the more readily does it admit of other
changes.

But a few years back only two sorts of bro-
coli were recognised—the red and the purple,
both of which originally came to us from Italy.
Thirteen varieties are now enumerated as raised
in the English garden, and each in turn is re-
commended to the notice of the cultivator by
some characteristic quality. In the culture of
no vegetable has so marked and rapid an im-
provement taken place as in that of brocoli.
Horticulturists have recently succeeded in pro-
ducing a hardy white variety, which has a hand-
somer appearance than either the green or the
purple, while it is more delicate in flavour.
White as well as purple are now obtained
SEA KALE,

throughout the winter, some attaining to the
size, and equalling the cauliflower in appearance,
though not in taste. The earliest spring crop
follows without an interval the late winter crop,
and no cessation need take place in the supply
of brocoli, although, perhaps, it is not commonly
raised during a month or two in the middle of
the summer, when many other vegetables are
produced in abundance.

Brocoli succeeds best in a fresh loamy soil;
the seed-beds should be of rich mould, on which
the seeds are thinly scattered, and covered with
mats or litter till the plants appear.

The whole cabbage tribe are very liable to the
attacks of various insects, such as slugs, snails,
the tépula fly, and two species of butterfly, the
large and small garden butterflies.

Sea Karr (crambe maritima). This is a
-hardy perennial, found in various parts of the
sea shores of England and Scotland. The com-
mon people on the western shores of England
have from time immemorial been in the practice
of watching when the shoots begin to push up
the sand or gravel, in March and April, when
they cut off the young shoots and leaf-stalks,
then blanched and tender, and boil them as
greens. The precise period of its introduction
into the garden is unknown. Parkinson and
Bryant state that the radical leaves are cut by
the inhabitants where the plant grows wild, and
boiled as cabbage; and Jones states that he saw
bundles of it in the Chichester market in 1753.
Maher states that the crambe maritima was
known and sent from this kingdom to the con-
tinent more than two hundred years ago, by
Lobel and Turner. About the year 1767 it was
cultivated by Dr Lettsom, and by him brought
into notice in the neighbourhood of London. It
is now a common vegetable in the British mar-
kets, and it is also found in some of those of the
continent of Europe and in America.

The young spring shoots, and the stalks of the
unfolding leaves blanched, by rising through the
natural ground in a wild state, or by earthing
up in gardens, are the parts used, and when
boiled and dressed like asparagus, are not infe-
rior to that vegetable. They form, also, an ex-
cellent ingredient in soups. Sometimes the ribs
of the large leaves are peeled and dressed as as-
paragus, after the plant has ceased to send up
young growths. By forcing, sea kale may be
had in perfection from November till May. Ve-
getables are in general not improved by forcing ;
but, as Nicol remarks, the sea kale is an exception.

The native soil of this vegetable is deep sand,
partially mixed’with alluvial matter from the
sea; hence this soil is to be imitated in garden
culture. The ground is prepared, and the seeds
sown early in the year. The plants come up in
May; but cuttings are not obtained till the se-
cond or third year.

 

299

Mustarn (sinapis alla,s. nigra). There are
two species of mustard in common use, the white
and the black, both annual plants, indigenous to
Britain, and found in abundance growing in the
fields. The leaves are pinnatifid, the pods round
and rough, and abruptly terminated. The flowers
appear in June and July. The seed of the
white mustard is larger than that of the black,
and of a yellow colour. Mustard seeds are cha-
racterized by a pungent aromatic taste, which is
derived from an essential oil of a peculiar kind.
The tender leaves are used as a salad, and the
ground seed as a condiment to food. Mustard
is easily raised in a light soil, and repeated sow-
ings give a succession of tender salad leaves in
spring. The seeds strewed in moist flannel, put
over a cup, will also quickly germinate, and will
afford an agreeable salad in winter, or on board
of a ship at sea,

Rave (brassica rapus). This is a biennial
plant, a native of Britain. It is distinguished
by its glaucous root-leaves and yellow flowers,
which appear in April. The leaves have a simi-
lar taste, and are used in the same way as those
of mustard. An expressed oil is obtained from
the seeds,

GarvrEn Cress (lepidum sativum). This isa
hardy annual plant, not indigenous to Britain,
but introduced about the year 1548. It is sup-
posed to have come from Persia and the island
of Cyprus, in both which it is native. This plant
produces a number of small leaves, which are
curled in some of the varieties, and plain in the
others. The flowering stem is branched, and rises
to the height of about a foot and a half, produc-
ing white flowers, which blow in June or July.
It germinates very easily and rapidly, and is
most commonly used when the leaves are young
and tender, either alone or mixed with mustard
leaves, and other salad herbs. The flavour of
the cress is warm and pungent, hence it has re-
ceived the name of pepper wort. During the
greater part of the year a constant supply may
be obtained by sowing a portion every week;
and the application of a moderate artificial heat
will furnish it throughout the winter.

Warer-Cress (nasturtium officinale). This
plant is a creeping amphibious perennial, putting
out rootlets at the joints-of the stems. The
leaves, which have a slight tinge of purple, are
pinnate and rather heart-shaped. When the
current in which they grow is rapid, the root-
lets from the young shoots do not easily take
root, and then a considerable portion of the plant
rises above-the surface of the water, and the
form of the leaves alters. This is the case with
many plants; when the leaf is near the ground
it is broad, but when elevated it becomes longer
and narrower. In water-cresses this change in
the form of the leaves is sometimes followed by
unpleasant consequences, since it then causes
300

them to be similar in shape with the joint-
flowering water-parsnip (sium nodiflorum), a
plant which very generally grows mixed with
the cresses, and has poisonous qualities. The
leaves of the cress are however more smooth and
shining, and are entire at their edges, while those
of the parsnip are serrated. When the flower-
ing stems are up, the plants are easily distin-
guished, The water-parsnip bears its flowers in
umbels close upon the joints of the stems, while
the flowers of the cress are cruciform, and rise
into aspike. The four petals in the flower of
the water-cress, and five in the parsnip, are also
an obvious distinction. If they are in seed the
parsnip has capsules, the water-cress pods.

In Europe the cress appears to have been first
cultivated at Erfurth, about the middle of the
sixteenth century, and in England in 1808, by
Bradbury. It now has become an object of re-
gular cultivation; and the demand of the me-
tropolis, and of other large towns, for this fa-
vourite vegetable, will probably render the natu-
ral products of our brooks less and less in request.
Few wild plants are the same under cultivation ;
but even when their qualities are not changed
by the care of man, the cultivated sort soon su-
persedes the uncultivated. The cost of rearing
them at will is less than that of searching for
them under the difficulties which attend all spon-
taneous produce.

In a pretty valley called Springhead, situated
in Kent, at a short distance from Gravesend,
water-cresses are grown on a very extensive scale.
The plants, neatly trimmed, growing in regular
rows, and appearing under a limpid stream of
purest water, give the idea of careful cultiva-
tion, and present themselves under a more pleas-
ing form to be plucked for the table, than when
found the inhabitants of ditches. For the pur-
pose of this culture a clayey soil is selected, in
which shallow beds, scarcely a foot deep, are
made, having a slight inclination from one end
to the other, and into which a small stream of
water is introduced. At the bottom of these
beds the cress is planted in rows, at about half
a foot apart. Dams of six inches high are made
at intervals across each bed, their number and
frequency being regulated by the length of the
bed and its degree of inclination, in such sort,
that when these dams are full, the water may
rise at least three inches over all the plants of
each compartment. The water will thus circu-
late throughout, and the plants, if not allowed
to flower, will furnish an abundant succession of
young tops throughout the spring, summer, and
autumn. A stream of water no larger than
what will fill a pipe of one inch bore, will, if not
absorbed by the soil, suffice to irrigate in this
way an eighth of an acre. The water-cress, ac-
cording to Mr Main, is cultivated in Windoostan
under sheds erected for the purpose,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Wunter Cress (barbarea vulgaris). This is
a well known perennial plant, common in moist
shady situations. he lower leaves are lyre-
shaped, and the upper obovate and indented.
The flower-stalk rises about a foot high, and
produces yellow flowers from April to August,
The whole plant is bitter and somewhat aroma-

tic. A double variety is well known in the yel-
low rocket. The winter cress is used as a win-
ter salad.

American Cress (barbarea precox). This is
a native of Britain, similar to the winter cress,
only it is an annual; the leaves, too, are smaller,
Ii is called, also, French cress. Used the same
as the others.

Scunvy Grass (cochlearia officinalis ), a Bri-
tish plant, common on the sea shores. The
root-leaves are round, those of the stem sinuated.
The whole plant is low and spreading, seldom
vising above a foot. The flowers are white, and
appear in April or May. It is used as a salad, and
also, as the name implies, for the cure of scurvy.

Tue Ravish (raphanus sativus), an annual
plant, said to be a native of China; but whether
it was introduced from that country directly to
Britain has not been ascertained. Bullein, who
wrote in 1562, says; “Of radish roots there be
no small store growing about the famous city of
London; they be more plentifull than profyt-
able, and more noysome than nourishinge to
manne’s nature.” Yet notwithstanding this,
they were used, thirty years before, at the table
of Henry VIII. Gerarde thus describes the
plant in 1584, “The leaves are rough, lyrate, or
divided transversely into segments, of which the
inferior less ones are more remote. The root is
fleshy and fusiform in some varieties, in others
sub-globular; white within, but black, purple,
and yellow, or white on the outside; the flowers
pale violet, with large dark veins; pods long,
with a sharp beak.” The tender leaves are used
as « salad in early spring, and the succulent
roots are now much esteemed. They soon, how-
ever, by age become hard and stringy, so that
frequent sowings at intervals are necessary to
ensure a succession of young and tender plants,
There are several varieties: the spring, or early,
are the long purple and long white; the white
turnip and pink; the yellow turnip and round
brown, being autumn sorts; and the white
Spanish, oblong brown, and black Spanish, win-
ter sorts. All the varieties are easily raised on
light mellow soils.

Horse Radish (cochlearia armoracia). This
is a perennial plant, growing wild in marshy
places, and by the sides of ditches, in some parts
of England. The radical leaves are large, ob-
long, crenate; the stalk-leaves long, lanceolated,
and toothed, or cut; the root is large and fleshy ;
the pods elliptical. This plant has been long
cultivated in gardens for the sake of its root,
THE BEET,

which scraped into shreds is a well known ac-
companiment to English roast beef; it is also
used in winter salads and in sauces. Horse rad-
ish thrives best in deep soft sandy loam, that is
not very dry in summer, nor inundated in win-
ter. The situation must be open. Two modes
of cultivating it have been detailed by Messrs.
Knight and Judd. Both agree in trenching the
soil to a considerable depth, and putting the
manure at the bottom of the trench; but Knight
plants the sets on the surface, and calculates on
the root that strikes down to the dung for pro-
duce. Judd, on the other hand, makes holes
quite to the bottom of his trenched soil, and in
each drops a set, filling up the hole with wood
ashes, rotten tan, or sand, calculating for produce
on the shoot made from the set at the bottom of
the hole up through the sand or ashes to the
surface. Judd’s mode is the most ingenious, and
appears the best; but either will do extremely
well. A moist soil increases the bitter and al-
kaline flavour of this and all the erucifere.
Horse radish forms an agreeable and wholesome
condiment, at the same time serving as a veget-
able adjunct to animal food, and affords a power-
ful stimulant to the digestive organs.

We have thus enumerated the principal nerbs
belonging to the family erucifere@ which are used
as the food of man; to these we subjoin a few
other vegetables not belonging to the same family,
but allied to them in their utility and habits.

Tue Beer (beta cicla, B. maritima), a hardy
biennial, belonging to the natural order cheno-
podec, including also the spinage, and to the class
pentandria, order digynia, of Linneus. The sea
beet is a native of the British coasts, but is not
very common. There are several varicties of
the common beet.

The beet was known as an esculent root in
the time of Pliny, who has given an accurate
description of it in his work. The period when
this plant was first introduced into Britain as a
garden vegetable is not ascertained. It was cul-
tivated at Lambeth, by Tradescant the younger,
in 1656; but there is no reason for supposing
that he was the first cultivator; on the contrary,
it is more than probable that the beet was
brought into this country by the Romans, and
that it has continued since that period to be an
object of partial cultivation.

The cultivated beets, in all their varieties, are
plants of the same duration, and nearly of the
same habits, as turnips. They are sown in the
early part of the summer, bulb towards the close
of the season, and, if allowed to stand, send up
their flowering stems, and ripen their seeds in
the following year.

The variety which has its root red throughout
its whole substance is most used in England for
culinary purposes. This plant is said to be a
native of the warmer countries of Europe; but

 

301

it is sufficiently hardy to bear the climate of
most parts of Britain. The root isin the form
of a carrot, but thicker in proportion to its
length, those of a foot long often being three or
four inches in diameter. It is very juicy, and,
when wounded, bleeds freely a limpid fluid of a
beautiful purple colour, The leaves are large,
long, and succulent, and generally have a red or
purple tinge. When eaten warm, beet-root has
rather a mawkish flavour; it is, therefore, usu-
ally eaten cold, cut in slices, after having been
previously boiled, and with the addition of vine-
gar is by some persons found agreeable to the
palate. Its culture, as an esculent, has not, how-
ever, increased of late years, and it is not gene-
rally a favourite vegetable for the table; although,
according to Sir H. Davy’s analysis, it contains
much more nutritive matter than any other root
excepting the potato, the total quantity being
one hundred and forty-eight parts in a thousand,
or nearly fifteen per cent. Nearly twelve per
cent. of the whole weight of the beet is saccha-
rine matter, which is a much greater proportion
than is contained in any other European escu-
lent. The quantity contained in the red and
the white beet is nearly the same; the propor-
tion of mucilage in each is likewise almost equal,
the red having rather the advantage, while it has
nearly three times as much gluten as the white.
From this account of its composition it would
appear that the red beet is the most nourishing
of all the edible roots, the potato alone excepted.

In a country like Britain, where, with the
bulk of the people, vegetables are esteemed for
their agreeable flavour, rather than for their nu-
tritive qualities, the superiority of the beet, in
the latter respect, is disregarded, and those roots
which are considered more savoury obtain the
preference.

The white beet is seldom, if ever, used as hu-
man food, but is largely cultivated for the nour-
ishment of domestic animals, and is preferred for
this purpose to the turnip or carrot, especially in
the vicinity of populous towns. The field-tur-
nip is esculent when young; the carrot is so in
all stages of its growth; and, therefore, when
grown amid a thick population, they form a
great temptation to petty depredators, by which
the farmer finds this provender for his cattle
much diminished. The field-beet, however, af-
fords no allurement to the hungry plunderer, as
starvation itself could scarcely induce him to
make a meal of this harsh, coarse root, previously
to its being subjected to culinary preparation,
and even then it would prove a most unpalatable
repast. When cows are fed with the beet, it is
said that they yield a greater quantity of milk
in consequence; and this food does not impart
any of that rank flavour which is communicated
by turnips.

There are several varieties of the field-beet;
302

some with the stem, branches, and veins of the
leaves red; others with leaves wholly red; and
some, again, with the epidermis of the root in
different shades of red, brown, and yellow.
Those coloured varieties are considered more
hardy than the white, and one, having a reddish
skin, the mangold, or mangol-wurtzel, of the Ger-
mans, is said to produce the largest roots, and
the most weighty crop in a given space of land.
In Guernsey, crops have been raised of one hun-
dred tons per acre.

Some varieties of white beet are cultivated in
the gardens for their leaves alone; these are
larger than the leaves of the red beet, and are
more thick and succulent; they are boiled as
spinach, and put into soups. One kind, called
the great white, or sweet beet, is esteemed for
the footstalks and midribs of the leaves, which
are stewed and eaten under the name of Swiss
chard, ov poirée aus carotes.

Sugar has been manufactured in France from
a variety of the beet, which has a red skin, but
is white internally. The history of this sugar
manufacture is thus detailed in a popular work.*

The celebrated Prussian chemist Margraff,
about the year 1747, discovered the existence of
a certain portion of sugar in the beet. This dis-
covery was communicated to the Scientific So-
ciety of Berlin; but no attempt was made to
carry the principle of the discovery into prac-
tice. Farty years after this, Achard, another
Prussian chemist, resumed the experiments
which Margraff had commenced. This man was
somewhat of a visionary; and he was so enrap-
tured by the prospects which his labours opened
to him, that he announced the beet-root as “‘one
of the most bountiful gifts which the Divine
munificence has awarded to man upon the earth;”
affirming that not only sugar could be produced
from beet-root, but also tobacco, molasses, coffee,
rum, arrack, vinegar, and beer. Here, then, was
clearly nothing for Europe to do but to apply
itself to the cultivation of beet, and leave the
West Indies to be covered once more with
jungle. The Institute of Paris, however, did
not sympathise with the enthusiasm of Achard;
for in 1800 a committee of that body, having
gone through a series of the most careful expe-
riments, reported that the results were so unsa-
tisfactory that it would be unwise to establish
any manufacture of sugar from beet.

Here, probably, the matter would have rested,
and Europe would have continued wholly to re-
ceive its sugar from countries adapted to the
growth of the sugar-cane, had not the decrees of
Bonaparte, in 1809, excluded France from pur-
chasing the produce of the West Indies. To a
large number of the French sugar was an ar-
ticle of the first necessity; and the public dis-

* Library of Entertaining Knowledge.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

satisfaction at the Milan decrees was therefore
excessive. he emperor directed his active mind
to the best method of obviating the inconveni-
ence which his political schemes had imposed
upon his people. Manufactories of syrups from
raisins and honey were established; but sugar,
or a crystallized saccharine substance, could not
be procured. M. Deyeux, a member of the com-
mittee appointed by Napoleon to consider how
the wants of the people could be supplied with-
out foreign commerce, once more turned his at-
tention to the beet-root. His experiments were
more satisfactory than those of the committee of
1800; probably because the necessity of pro-
ducing sugar at home was more pressing. An
imperial manufactory of sugar was forthwith
established at Rambouillet; imperial schools
were instituted for instructing pupils in the pro-
cess; premiums were given for the best samples
of sugar; and thus, by 1812, the manufacture of
beet-root sugar might be considered prosperously
set on foot. The profits of the manufacturers
were so large, that in one year they were reck-
oned sufficient to cover all the expenses of the
original establishment. There was no competi-
tion. Of course these enormous profits were
paid by the consumer. The French obtained
some sugar, but they paid an extravagant price
for the luxury. In 1814 Europe was at peace;
the ports of France were again open to the pro-
duce of the West Indies; and in a moment the
foreign sugar swept the heet-root manufacture
entirely away. The consumers once more had
cheap sugar; and the government had not then
made the discovery that it would be a good thing
to compel them to eat dear sugar, that the manu-
facturers of beet-root sugar might be kept in
activity.

This cheapness was a natural and healthy state
of things, which would be sure to provoke the
meddling propensities of that class of rulers who
can never believe that the interests of trade can
take care of themselves. Immediately after the
peace, sugar from the French, English, and
American colonies was permitted to enter France
at the same rate of duty. Ina few months, how-
ever, it was found that the sugars from the Eng-
lish colonies were driving the sugars of Marti-
nique, Guadaloupe, and Bourbon, out of the
market. The colonies must be protected; so a
protecting duty of twenty francs the 100 kilo-
grammest was imposed upon all sugars of foreign
origin. In 1816 the duty on foreign raw sugar
was increased to forty-five francs; in 1820 to
seventy-five francs; and in 1822 to ninety five
frances, the 100 kilogrammes. The law of 1816
was the first bounty to the beet-root sugar manu-
facturers, and they accordingly once more be-

+ A kilogramme is equivalent to 2 Ibs. 2 oz. 4 drs. 16
gr3. English avoirdupois,
SPINACH.

gan to be active. But when vhe duty of 1822
upon foreign sugar amounted to a prohibition,
their prosperity was certain. They were en-
abled to tax the consumer to the amount of the
prohibition. The beet-root sugar pays no duty
whatever. In 1829 there were 101 manufacto-
ties of this sugar in employment, which pro-
duced five million kilogrammes in the year, or
about one-sixteenth part of the whole consump-
tion of sugar in France. That the people of
France are the sufferers by this miserable policy
is sufficiently evident, from the fact that their
average yearly consumption does not exceed four
pounds of sugar per head: in the United King-
dom it is twenty pounds per head,

Upon the national advantage of that. commer-
cial policy which has given rise to the manufac-
ture of beet-root sugar in France, and which
may probably extend the system to Germany
and Russia, we have much pleasure in extract-
ing the following sensible observations from a
valuable periodical work :—

“The history of this manufacture in France
is an illustration, we apprehend, not of the na-
tural progress of industry and of the arts, but of
the effects of a system which counteracts the
natural progress of both. Whatever may be the
ultimate state of this singular manufacture, in
consequence of mechanical and chemical im-
provements yet unknown to us, it is now only
supported by a system of commercial and finan-
cial policy, which it is for the interest of all
countries to see proscribed in Europe. The
people of France were the first to be taught by
their own philosophers those principles of mu-
tual intercourse which form the basis of trade.
Nearly a hundred years have elapsed since Ques-
nay and his followers taught his countrymen,
that freedom of intercourse is the soul of com-
merce. But his countrymen have yet to learn
that liberty is as necessary to the health of com-
merce as to the well-being of the citizen; that
trade is but an interchange of things produced ;
and that if France will not take the productions
of other countries, other countries will not and
cannot take the productions of France. The
cultivation of the beet is but one ramification of
that system of repulsion and exclusion which
has been adopted in France, to the oppression of
her domestic industry, the ruin of her foreign
commerce, and the maintenance of false prin-
ciples in the commercial policy of surrounding
countries.”

Srinacn, (spinacia oleracea.) The native
country of the common spinach, and the time
of its introduction into Britain, are not precisely
known.

The west of Asia is assigned as its native
country, but on what groundsare not very clearly
shown, except that the earliest notice we find of
it is in the works of the Arabian physicians,

 

303

who of course only treat of its supposed medi-
cinal properties, which might probably have
originally led to its adoption as an edible vege-
table. Spain is supposed to have been the first
European country into which it was introduced,
for many of the old botanists call it olus Hispani-
cum; while some writers, among whom is Ruel-
lius, distinguish it as atriplew Hispaniensis, and
the latter adds that the Moors call it hispanach
or Spanish plant. According to Beckmann, the
first notice of its being used as an edible sub-
stance in Europe occurs in the year 1851, in a
list of the different vegetables consumed by the
monks on fast-days: at that time it was written
spinargium or spinachium. This plant found a
place among culinary vegetables at rather an
early period in England; for Turner, who wrote
in 1568, mentions it as being at that time in
common cultivation, and prepared for the table
precisely in the same manner as it is at present.

Spinach is an annual plant, having large and
succulent leaves: the flowering stems, which are
hollow and branched, rise to the height of two
or three feet. The male flowers grow on different
plants to those of the female, which yield the
seed. The former are produced in long terminal
spikes, and the latter in clese branches at the
joints of the stem, or in the axille of the leaves
and branches.

Two varieties of spinach are cultivated. The
leaves of the one are arrow-shaped and rough,
and of the other round and smooth. July and
August are the months in which the seeds of
both kinds would naturally come to maturity;
but as they slightly differ in their qualities, it is
found more advantageous to sow them at different
seasons, The round leaved grows the fastest, is
the largest and most succulent, and therefore is
sown for succession crops in spring and summer;
the other, being much more hardy, is preferred
for winter supply. The former is usually sown
in January, from which time until the end of
July frequent sowings are made for a regular
succession, from the beginning of April to con-
tinue throughout the summer. The rough-leaved
is usually sown in August for a winter crop.
The seed is sown broad-cast, and in subsequent
culture the plants are thinned first to three inches
apart, and as they increase in size that distance
is doubled.

From the circumstance of the male and female
flowers growing on different plants, when they
are left to bring their seed to maturity, care is
taken that a due proportion of each is suffered
to remain. As soon as the seed capsules are set,
the male plants are pulled up, thus allowing a
freer space for the female plants wherein to per-
fect their seeds.

Wild Spinach, or English Mercury, or Good
King Harry, (chenopodium bonus Henricus.)
This plant, which has obtained so many names,
304

grows wild on a loamy soil, and may be found
on way-sides and among ruins in many parts of
England. The stalksrise to the height of afoot
and a half; they are upright, thick, and striated,
and covered with a whitish powder, which is
likewise found on the under side of the leaves,
These are arrow-shaped, and rather large for the
size of the plant. ‘The flowers, of a yellowish
green colour, grow upon close spikes; they ap-
pear in June and July, and in August the seeds
come to maturity. This plant is a perennial,
and may be propagated by seeds or by offsets
from the root. When young, both the stem and
the leaves are succulent, the former being used
as an asparagus, and the latter as a spinach.

Lincolnshire is the part of England where it
is most in request, and where it is cultivated and
preferred to the common spinach. It is, how-
ever, more nearly in a state of nature than the
latter plant, and therefore cannot accommodate
itself to differences of soil and situation.

The superior docility of a plant which has
been long under cultivation, and which has tra-
velled or borne changes of soil and climate in a
growing state, is very: apparent to those who at-
tempt to rear wild plants in situations where
they are not indigenous. This fact is so impor-
tant a feature in the natural history of plants,
that it is not perhaps sufficiently pointed out or
explained in books treating on these subjects.
It is a very natural result, which on considera-
tion should not excite surprise, that a wild plant,
which has been from time immemorial produced
on the same spot, and has there accommodated
itself solely to the circumstances of that spot,
should refuse to grow in any other situation
where the circumstances are not precisely simi-
lar. It is upon this principle that the mountain
berry will not flourish upon the champaign
country, and that the sweetest flowers of the
woodlands refuse their odour to the parterre. In
like manner, “ good king Harry,’ which makes
a very estimable spinach or asparagus in its na-
tive country, might make but a very sorry one
if removed to a place where it is not indi-
genous,

New Zealand Spinach, (tetragonia expansa, )
so called, because it was found growing wild on
the shores of New Zealand when Captain Cook
first touched at that island. Although the na-
tives made no use of this plant as an esculent,
the naturalists who accompanied the expedition
were induced to recommend it as a vegetable
which might be safely eaten, since its appearance
and general characteristics were so similar to the
chenopodium. On trial, it was found to be both
agreeable and wholesome. Sir Joseph Banks
brought it into culture in England in 1772, and
it has subsequently been found to be a much
more hardy and valuable plant than was at first
supposed, It was at first treated as a green-house

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

plant; but now grows freely in the open garden,
and indeed seems already to have naturalized
itself in the south-west of England. A writer,
from Exmouth, observes, in the Gardener’s Ma-
gazine for February, 1829, “the New Zealand
spinach is quite a weed with us, as, wherever it
has once grown, plants rise spontaneously, even
when the seeds have been wheeled out with the
dung in the winter, and again brought in as
manure in the spring. Ihave nowa full supply
of it in my old pink bed.” This spinach has
an advantage over the common sort under culti-
vation, in producing an abundance of large and
succulent leaves during the hot weather, when
the latter plant runs almost immediately to seed,
and produces little or nothing. It is likewise
milder in flavour, and of so rapid growth, that
a bed with about twenty plants is sufficient for
the daily supply of a large family.

Though by some called a biennial, this spinach
is an annual in our climate. The stem has nu-
merous thick and strong branches, somewhat
procumbent for the greater part of their length,
but raised at the points. The leaves are fleshy
and succulent, three or four inches long, of a
dark green on the under part, but of a paler
colour on the surface, on which the midribs and
nerves are strongly marked. They are triangu-
lar, or rather of an elongated heart-shape, having
the angles at the base rounded, and the apex
sharp and extended. The flowers are small, and
of a yellowish green colour; they appear in
August and September. The whole plant is
thickly studded with minute aqueous tubercles;
a peculiarity likewise to be found in some sp2-
cies of atriplex and chenopodium.

In six weeks after sowing, some of the leaves
of the plants are fit for gathering. These are
pinched off, and not torn from the branches.

This plant has been likewise found growing
on the Tonga islands; and Thumberg discovered
it of spontaneous growth in Japan.

New Zealand spinach is remarkable as being
almost the only native of the isles of Australasia
which has been found worthy of a place in the
kitchen-gardens of Europe.

Asparagus, (a. officinalis.) The name is de-
rived from the Greek word sparasso, (to tear)
on account of the strong prickles with which
some of the species are furnished. Natural
family Asphodelew. Hexandria monogynia, Linn.

It is found a native plant on the sea shores of
Britain, and has been long cultivated as a fa-
vourite vegetable, This plant was much esteemed
both by the Greeks and Romans. It is much
praised by Cato and Columella; and Pliny men-
tions a sort which grew near Ravenna, a deep
sandy district, three shoots of which weighed a
pound,

Asparagus has a perennial root and annual
stalks, The root is fleshy and succulent, com-
THE ARTICHOKE,

posed of round knobs, which are united together
into a kind of tuber. This is seated deep in the
ground, and is not liable to be much affected by
the winter frosts. From this root, which con-
tains turions or eyes somewhat analogous to those
on the tuber of the potato, the stems rise up in
the early part of the spring, and are cut for use
when only a few inches above the ground. The
shoot of an asparagus grows only from the ex-
tremity, and works or vegetates from the centre,
and not from the surface as in trees. Thus it
pushes up through the soil in one mass. The
branches, which lie so thick together, safe and
well protected under their scaly leaves, soon begin
to be developed, and are drawn out until the
whole plant, with its numerous thread-like leaves,
assumes very much the character of a larch tree,
having its miniature parts more light and ele-
gant, and the colour of a more lively green. The
flowers, which wave in graceful panicles, are of
a yellow hue, and of a fragrant smell. ‘They
are followed by round berries of a bright orange-
red.

The head of the young shoot of asparagus is
edible just as far as the part which is to flower
extends; and thus one who eats a head of aspar-
agus eats in that little space the rudiments of
many hundreds of branches and many thousands
of leaves,

Asparagus is distinguished into two varieties,
the red and the green: the first is a larger kind,
growing fuller and closer; though handsomer in
appearance, it is not considered of so good a
flavour as the green. In consequence of its
being more showy, it is, however, held in greatest
esteem with market-gardeners. This kind has
been cultivated with great success in soils con-
sisting of little else than sea sand, dressed annu-
ally with sea-weed; and by attending to this
mode of culture it is probable that asparagus
might be reared on many spots on the coast,
that will hardly produce any other vegetable.

A large quantity of asparagus is raised for the
Londonmarket. Battersea, Mortlake, and Dept-
ford, at each of which places the soil is light and
friable, are the chief localities for its cultivation.
The breadth of land in asparagus-beds, in the
parish of Mortlake alone, is estimated to be nearly
a hundred acres; one of the principal growers
having sometimes forty acres under this crop.
The largest cultivator in Deptford has eighty
acres entirely laid out in asparagus beds.

Although the natural soil of this plant is poor
and light, beds for asparagus can scarcely be too
highly manured, since its good quality depends
on the quickness of its growth, which is accel-
erated by richness of soil. It is propagated by
seed, which is sown broad-cast in spring; and at
the same period of the ensuing year the young
plants are transplanted to beds prepared for their
reception, and where they are allowed to remain

 

305

three or four years before the tender shoots are
cut for use. When these are from two to four
inches above the ground, they are cut two or
three inches below the surface. In cutting, care
is taken to leave to each plantule or stool one or
two shoots, to grow up into flower and seed, or
otherwise the roots would perish. Under'good
culture, the same plants will continue to furnish
annual crops during twelve or fourteen years.
It is estimated by a practical gardener that five
square poles of ground, planted with sixteen
hundred plants, will yield, during the season,
from six to eight score heads daily.

Asparagus contains little nutriment, but it is
a mild vegetable, and pleasant to the taste.
Its culinary preparations are few, its very deli-
cate flavour rather being deteriorated than im-
proved by other adjuncts.

Tur Articnoxr, (cynara scolymus.) This
plant belongs to a well marked natural family,
the Composite, and the Syngenesia aqualis of
Linneus, all the species of which are character-
ised by the adhesion of their anthers forming a
tassel or button-shaped mass, as in the thistle,
daisy, dahlia, erysanthemum, &c. The form of
the artichoke most nearly resembles that of the
thistle. The name is supposed of Arabic origin,
the plant being called in that language “har-
chiof.

The artichoke is evidently not indigenous to
Britain, but is probably a native of some of the
warmer parts of the temperate zone, and is sup-
posed to be indigenous to the countries which
bound the Mediterranean, as well as to the islands
which are situated in that sea.

Like sea-kale, it is naturally a maritime plant,
or at least one which thrives best on soils where
there is a mixture of saline or alkaline matter.
It does not, however, flourish on the same sandy
shore with the former plant, its most genial soil
being that in which there is a mixture of peat, or
other decayed marshy vegetablematter. Nowhere
does the artichoke arrive at greater perfection
than in the Orkney islands, and this successful
culture is said to be consequent on the plentiful
supply of sea weed with which the ground is
annually dressed. «

Beckmann made very laborious researches to
ascertain the positive antiquity of the artichoke.
These discussions are, however, more curious
than interesting. A commentator of Dioscor-
ides, Hermolaus Barbarus, who died in 1494, re-
lates that this vegetable was first seen in the
Venice garden in 1473, at which time it was
very scarce. A few years previous to that time
it was, however, an object of cultivation in other
parts of Italy. It was introduced into France
at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and
not many years afterwards, during.the reign of
Tfenry VIII., was first transplanted into our

gardens. In the Privy-Purse expences of this
22
306

king we find several entries regarding artichokes.
Thus :—“Paied to a servant of maister Tresorer
in rewarde for bringing Archecokks to the king’s
grace to Yorke place, ilijs. iiijd.’ A treatise,
written in the reign of Mary, on “the best set-
tynge and keepynge of artichokes,” is still pre-
served in the Harleian library, of which it forms
the 645th number. Though in very common
culture in this country this plant is not held in
as much estimation here as on the continent.

The artichoke has large thick perennial roots
and annual stems, rising to three feet or more in
height. The leaves are large and pinnatifid, or
cut in deep, horizontal, convex segments; these
are covered with an ash-coloured down. In the
midst of them rise the upright stalks, which
are surmounted by large, scaly heads, composed
of an involucrum, having numerous oval leaves
or scales, enclosing the florets, and placed on a
broad, fleshy receptacle; this, and the lower part
or talus of the scales, are the only edible portions
of the plant used in the early stage of their
growth, before the central leaves of the calyx
are separated, or the flowers in any way exposed.
A large portion of the centre is occupied by what
is vulgarly called the choke, which consists of
the young flowers and seed-down, having the
appearance of bristles or prickly filaments, and
from which the receptacle, or bottom, must be
entirely freed before it can be eaten.

Artichokes are most readily propagated by
offsets from the roots of the old plants, from
which they may be separated, and planted out
anew in March or April, when they have at-
tained a height of about five inches. They will
produce a crop the same year, but not an abun-
dant one, commencing in August, and continuing
till November; the second year they will be in
full bearing, and produce two months earlier.
Thus by planting fresh offsets every year, a suc-
cession of artichokes may be obtained from June
to November. The old plants, however, will
continue productive for many years, provided
the ground be annually manured at the winter
dressing. But although the heads may be ob-
tained from roots twenty years old, they degen-
erate in size and abundance with the age of the
plant, and therefore it is advisable often to renew
the plantation.

The artichoke is one of those plants most par-
tial of drought. Once in the 17th century, and
again, about 1739, most of the artichokes in
England were destroyed by frost, but were re-
placed from France. There are three varieties
in cultivation, the conical or oval, the globe
with a large dusky, purplish head; and the dwarf
globe, a smaller variety, but very prolific.

Tur Carpoon, (eynara cardunculus, ) is a na-
tive of Candia, whence it was introduced into
England, but not until more than a century after
the artichoke. Its cultivation has never, how-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ever, been an object of much attention in Britain,
where it is considered of little value. On tho
continent this vegetable takes a higher rank,
and is much more extensively used. The stems
of the young leaves, rendered mild and crisp hy

blanching, are the only edible parts of the plant;

these are stewed or used as an ingredient in
soups and in salads.

The cardoon very much resembles the arti-
choke in appearance; but it is of a larger and
more regular growth.

Scorzonera (scorzonera hispanica), is indi-
genous to Spain. It was introduced into this
country some years after the skirret, and, like
it, was formerly more cultivated than it is at
present. Its root has not, however, the peculiar
sweetness of the latter, but is extremely delicate,
and when properly prepared makes so pleasant
an addition to the list of culinary vegetables,
that it appears to be unjustly excluded from our
gardens. It has shared the fate of those veget-
ables which, according to Beckmann, have been
banished by fashion; “for this tyrant, which
rules with universal sway, commands the taste,
as well as the smell, to consider as intolerable
articles to which our ancestors had a peculiar
attachment.”

Scorzonera was first known on account of its
supposed medicinal properties, but was after-
wards cultivated as food in consequence of its
agreeable flavour. It was applied to this first
purpose, in the middle of the sixteenth century,
in Spain, where it was esteemed as an antidote
to the poison of a snake, called there scwrzo. A
Moor, it is said, who had learnt in Africa that
this plant possessed so valuable a property,
availed himself of the knowledge in effecting
many cures with the juices of the leaves and
roots upon peasants who had, while mowing,
been bitten by these venomous reptiles; but he
carefully concealed the plant, that he might re-
tain to himself all the honour and the profit at-
tendant on the discovery. He was, however,
clandestinely followed to the mountains, where
he was observed to collect this plant, to which
the name of scurzonera, or scorzonera, was then
given, from the name of the snake, the venom of
which it was believed to render innocuous. The
knowledge was quickly disseminated. Petrus
Cannizer transmitted the plant, together with a
drawing of it, to John Oderick Melchion, phy-
sician to the queen of Bohemia; and he, in his
turn, lost no time in sending it to Matthioli,
who had not any previous knowledge of the
plant.* Soon after this Nicholas Monardes pub-
lished a tract, in which the particular virtue of
these roots was panegyrized. It is probable that
in Spain their adaptation as an edible substance
was likewise first discovered; and thence, about

* Matthioli Epistol. Medivixal.
LETTUCR. 307

the beginning of the seventeenth century, it was
introduced into France. The author of “Le
Jardinier Francois,” who was a practical as well
as theoretical gardener, assigns to his own exer-
tions its first cultivation in the French gardens.
Scorzonera is at present much more used on the
continent than in this country; its medicinal
virtues are now, however, but little regarded.

This plant is a hardy perennial, with a stem
from two to three feet long, and having yellow
flowers, which continue to bloom from June to
August. The lower leaves, which are linear and
pointed, are about eight or nine inches in length.
The root is thin and spindle-shaped, covered
with a dark brown skin, but white within, and
containing a milky juice.

Though the plants are perennial, producing
offsets from the crown of the root, it is better to
propagate from seeds, in the same manner in
which carrots are cultivated, since the offsets de-
generate from year to year, both in size and
quality. The roots, like those of parsnips, re-
main uninjured in the ground throughout the
winter, and till they begin to put out fresh
leaves in the spring. The whole plant is some-
what bitter. To divest the roots of that quality,
they are scraped, and then steeped in water pre-
viously to their being made to undergo any cu-
linary process.

Lerrucr (lactuca sativa). This plant also
belongs to the family composite. It is a hardy
annual, introduced into English gardens in 1562,
but from what country isunknown. Some con-
sider it derived from one of the three species na-
tive to Britain, most probably from Jactuca vi-
rosa, which it closely resembles.

The leaves are large, milky, frequently
wrinkled, pale green, but varying in form in the
numerous varieties. The general name dactuca
is derived from the milky juice which it contains.
This juice possesses a slightly narcotic principle,
which is in general elaborated only in small
quantities during the early stages of the plant,
but increases greatly as that advances towards
flowering. This juice is very bitter, and when
it becomes abundant, the plant ceases to be use-
ful.

The absolute quantity and strength of the
opiate portion of the juice most probably varies
both with the variety of the plant and with the
soil on which it is produced. In the strong-
scented wild lettuce (Jactuca virosa,) the narco-
tic juice is so abundant, and so acrid in itself, or
so mixed with other acrid principles, as almost
to bring the plant within the class of vegetable
poisons.

The narcotic principle of lettuce-juice has been
long familiarly known. Itis only very recently,
however, that this juice, inspissated, or the ex-
tract of lettuce, has found a place among our
pharmaceutic preparations, under the name of

 

Lactucarium. It is supposed to possess, though
in an inferior degree, the virtues of opium, with-
out producing the same deleterious effects; and
therefore it is held that it may be safely admin-
istered in cases where the more powerful medi-
cine is not desirable, or even admissible.

As soon as the flower-stems have attained a
considerable size and height, but before the
flowers begin to expand, a portion of the top is
cut off transversely. This operation is performed
when the sun has excited the plants into power-
ful action. The milky juice quickly exudes
from the wound, while the heat of the sun ren-
ders it immediately so viscid, that it does not
flow down in a fluid state, but concretes around
the part whence it issues, forming a brownish
scale, about the size of asixpence. When it has
acquired the proper consistence it is removed,
and as the inspissated juice closcs up the extre-
mities of the divided vessels, it is necessary to
cut off another small piece of the stem; this
causes the escape of the juice again, and another
scale is formed. ‘The same process is repeated as
long as the weather is favourable, or the plant
will yield any juice.

Under so yariable an atmosphere as that of
Britain, a crop of this kind must be precarious,
unless in those places where there is generally a
week or two of settled drought about the warmest
period of the year, and where the cultivator has
sufficient local knowledge for enabling him to
time the state of his plants accordingly. Mr
Henderson, the Brechin cultivator, an intelligent
and experienced horticulturist, states, that in
favourable years the lettuce-opium, notwith-
standing the trouble of collecting it, is much
more profitable than any other crop that comes
to maturity in so short a time, upon the same
breadth of land.

Turner mentions the lettuce as being, in 1652,
not a rare or recently cultivated plant, but one
with which the public generally had been long
familiar. In the privy-purse expenses of Henry
VIITI., in 1530, we find that the gardener at
York Place received a reward for bringing “let-
tuze” and cherries to Hampton Court. Al-
though it cannot now be definitely ascertained
when or how this plant was first introduced into
England, we are no doubt indebted for some of
its varieties to the Greek islands. The Cos let-
tuce, as its name indicates, is a native of the
island of Cos, and was most probably brought
thence into this country.

The culture of this plant is so simple, and it
requires so little space, that a garden of the most
humble dimensions is seldom found without hay-
ing a small nook appropriated to this cooling and
agreeable vegetable. There are many varieties
of the lettuce, very nearly twenty being enu-
merated as objects worthy of garden culture, and
each of them differing somewhat in colour, shape,
308

or some other circuastance attending its growth.
These, however, may all be ranged under two
distinctive heads, the cos and the cabbage lettuce.
The former grows upright, and its leaves are of
an oblong shape; the latter has rounder leaves
folded together, and forming a low, full head,
spreading out close to the ‘ground. When in
perfection for gathering, the leaves of both sorts
are lapped one over the other in a compact, close
order, forming what is usually called the heart,
the inner part of which, being thus excluded
from light and air, becomes nearly white. This
natural blanching is often assisted by artificial
means, and when the inner leaves begin to close,
the outer ones are tied round them with a piece
of bast.* The blanching prevents the formation
of the bitter or acrid principle, which is very
perceptible in all the varieties, if allowed to re-
main in the ground and complete their growth,
when the leaves expand and the flower-stalk
begins to ascend.

Lettuce being a hardy and free growing plant,
may be obtained early in the season, if sown in
a warm border, and protected from the frost
during the night. For early use the cabbage is
the best, as in that stage it is more delicate in
flavour than the other; but when both have ar-
rived at maturity, the cos is the most succu-
lent.

Expive (cichoriiwm endivia), is aoundautly
cultivated, if not found wild, in China and Ja-
pan; and thus the accounts that describe it as a
native of those countries, and as having been im-
ported into the West about the early part of the
sixteenth century, have probability on their side.
Few particulars of the history of this plant are,
however, known,

It is a hardy annual, producing a great stock
of leaves from the crown of the root. These
leaves are large, smooth on the surface, but much
divided into lobes, and toothed at the edge, The
flowering stem rises to the height of about two
feet, and the flowers, which are of a pale blue
colour, bloom in July and August. Like the
lettuce, its leaves are used as an edible before its
flowering stem begins to appear. These leaves
are very harsh and bitter when exposed to the
air; they are therefore blanched, and if this be
properly performed, they become crisp and ten-
der, and retain only an agreeable bitterness.
Endive may be blanched for use by tying the
leaves together, by earthing up the plants, or by
covering them with pots. By judicious culture
and a succession of sowing, endive may be ob-
tained during autumn, winter, and spring. It is
considered a valuable salad at a time when few
other vegetables are furnished for the table; and

* The material of Russia matting, made from the in-
ner bark of the lime tree, and which is a well known
essential in kitchen-gardens,

 

INSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

it also serves as an ingredient’in some other cu-
linary preparations. 7

Succory, Cuicory, or WiLp EnpIvE (cicho-
rium intybus). There is little doubt that the
cichorium, as mentioned by Theophrastus, in use
among the ancients, was the wild endive, since
the names by which this plant is known in all
the languages of modern Europe are merely cor-
ruptions of the original Greek word; while
there are different names in different countries
for the garden endive.

Succory is a hardy perennial plant, not un-
commonly growing about the edges of fields, in
those parts of England where the sub-soil is
lime. It will bear all the varieties of climate in
Europe, being cultivated from Italy to St Pe-
tersburgh. This plant has a strong and fleshy
root; the leaves have some resemblance to those
of endive, differing only in being narrower, more
feathery at the edges, and having the mid-rib
beset with hairs. The flowering stem rises much
higher, sometimes attaining to five feet in height;
the flowers are like those of the garden plant in
appearance, as well as in time of blooming.

This plant is not much valued or cultivated in
Britain. On the continent it is held in greater
esteem, and is used as an edible vegetable in a
variety of ways.

Both in France and England succory has oc-
casionally been cultivated as food for cattle; it
is in a proper state for this purpose just as it is
coming into flower.

The root of this plant is used as a substitute
for coffee; and it is sometimes considered supe-
rior to the exotic berry. In many parts of Hol-
land and Germany this prepared root is used in
large quantities, either alone or mixed with coffee,
by those who cannot afford to indulge in the
latter luxury in its genuine state. Indeed, it
has been very recently introduced into this coun-
try as an addition which much improves the fla-
vour of coffee; but where economy is not the
consideration, it is not likely to gain much es-
teem. The succory root, when applied to this
purpose, is merely cut in pieces, and sufficiently
dried to admit of its being easily ground.

Ruvbars (rhewn), belongs to the natural
family polygonew, and the class enneandria, and
order monogynia of Linneus. Of this well
known plant there are several varieties. The
petioles of rhubarb have a pleasant acidity ; these,
when peeled and cut into pieces, form no un-
worthy substitute for fruit in spring tarts; to
furnish a supply for which this plant is now
largely cultivated in the vicinity of the metro
polis.

Several species of rhewm are cultivated in Eng-
land, The root of the true rhubarb (rhewm pal-
matum_) is well known as a medicinal drug, and
for that purpose has long been imported from
the Levant, though the particular plant. of which
RITUBARB.

it was the root, was not ascertained until 1758,
when it was first introduced and cultivated in
this country by Dr John Hope. It is a native
of some parts of Tartary, where the physical
characters of the climate are well adapted for
the perfecting of its root, the properties of which
are very faintly retained in countries where the
season of dormant vegetation is humid. This
plant is of very handsome appearance. Its beau-
tiful palmate leaves distinguish it from the other
species; but as the parts used for culinary pur-
poses, the footstalks of the radical leaves, are
much smaller than those of the other kinds, it is
not in general cultivation.

Monk Rhubarb, (rheum rhaponticum, ) is also
a native of Asia, but of what particular part is
not known, neither is the time of its introduction
ascertained; we find it mentioned by Tusser so
early as 1573, as being then cultivated in England.

The leaves of this species are blunt and smooth,
with red veins; the footstalks have also a red
tinge, they have a groove or furrow on their upper
sides, and are rounded at the edges.

The Hybrid Rhubarb, (rheum hybridum, ) is
a native of more northern parts of Asia than the
others, and is of more recent introduction into
Britain. It was first cultivated in this country
by Dr Fothergill in 1778, but it did not come
into general use as a culinary vegetable till sev-
eral years after, having been introduced in our
kitchen-gardens for this purpose about thirty
yearsback. This plantis of amuch more lively
green than the former species. The leaves are
slightly heart-shaped and very large, being, in
favourable soils and under good culture, some-
times as much as four feet in length, including
the footstalk. In the Gardener’s Magazine for
February, 1829, we find a notice of a plant of
this species, the leaves of which attained to great
dimensions, One leaf being cut, with its petiole,
was found to weigh four pounds. The circumfer-
ence of the leaf, not including its foot-stalk, mea-
sured twenty-one feet three inches; its diameter,
three feet ten inches; length of leaf, including
the petiole, five feet two inches, and length of
petiole, one foot four inches. The stalks of the
hybrid are much more succulent, as well as
larger, than those of the monk rhubarb, which,
therefore, cause it to be the preferable species for
cultivation, although rhkeum undulatum, called
by gardeners Buck’s Rh., and the Elford Rh.,
has been found the finest in flavour.

Rhubarb is very easily cultivated, and though
it occupies much space, the produce, under pro-
per treatment, is very considerable. The petioles
obtained from it will furnish a greater supply of
material for tarts than the fruit of either apple
or gooseberry-trees occupying an equal breadth
of ground. It may, therefore, be considered as
a good plant for the cottage garden, more es-
pecially as it comes into productive bearing in

 

309

the earliest spring, a time when fresh fruit can-
not be obtained.

New plantations may be raised either by sow-
ing the seeds or parting the roots. The latter is
not, however, an eligible mode of culture. As
in most cultivated plants, the produce of a sucker
is, when it has to make its own root, always in-
ferior in vegetative power to that which is ori-
ginally from the seed, and vigorous vegetation
is the quality most sought for in rhubarb; the
flowering stems should be removed, except in
such plants as may be wanted for seed. If the
seeds are sown in spring, the plants will be ready
for planting out in autumn, and will come up
strong enough for use the next spring, after which
the plantation will last for many years. The
plants of the hybrid kind require from two feet
and a half to three feet of space for each, and
those of the other species about a foot less; but
the superior produce of the former, under fa-
vourable circumstances, will more than compen-
sate for the greater breadth required.

ANGELICA, (angelica archangelica,) is occa-
sionally to be found native in cold and moist
places of Scotland; but it is more abundant in
countries farther to the north, as in Lapland and
Iceland. This plant was formerly much more
in repute than it is at present. It may be in-
ferred from its common name of angelica, as
well as from another name, “The Holy Ghost,”
which was sometimes given to it, that supersti-
tious virtues were imputed to it. The chief of
these virtues was driving away the pestilence,
for which general cleanliness has proved to be a
better preventive than all the charms which ever
were named.

Its stem was formerly blanched and eaten like
celery, but the use of this plant in the present
day as an English edible is mostly confined to
confectionary, for which purpose the young and
tender stalks are candied. The roots, seeds, and
leaves, are sometimes, though not very com-
monly in modern practice, used in medical pre-
parations. The whole plant is highly aromatic.
In Lapland the inhabitants consider the stalks
of angelica as a great delicacy. These are
gathered before flowering; the leaves being strip-
ped off and the peel removed, the remainder is
eaten with much relish. This is a favourite
plant with the Laplanders, who have given so
many names to it, according to the different
stages of its growth, as to occasion much con-
fusion to a stranger.

SorREL, (rumex acetosa.) An indigenous
perennial plant, very common in meadows and
moist places. The root leaves have long foot-
stalks, are narrow shaped, blunt, and are marked
with two or three large teeth at the base: the
upper leaves are sessile and acute. There are
several varieties of this species; the broad-leaved
is the most succulent.
310

The French sorrel, or round Jeaved, is the
rumex scutatus, with somewhat hastate blunt
leaves, cultivated in gardens,

Both sorts are used in soups, sauccs, and salads;
and by the French and Dutch as a spinach.
The succulent stalks may also be used like those
of rhubarb for tarts.

CHAP. XXXII.

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS,—THE PEA, BEAN, KIDNEY-
BEAN, VETCI, LENTIL, LUCERN, CLOVER, &c.

Turnre is a great variety of most important
plants which have been grouped under the na-
tural family Leguminose.
The form of the corolla called
papilionaceous, from its shape
resembling a butterfly, char-
acterisesa large number, as the
pea tribe; and the pinnate
leaves and pods include the
remainder, as the mimose, and
similar shrubs. Though there
is thus a marked resemblance
in structure, yet the family in-
cludes plants possessing very opposite properties,
some being bland and nutritious, as the pea, bean,
and others of the same tribe; while others are pur-
gative, emetic, and otherwise highly stimulating
to the animal system. As objects of ornament
many are possessed of unrivalled beauty; such,
among the trees and shrubs, are the laburnum,
robinia, cytisus, and amorpha; among hardy
climbing plants the far-famed glycone of China,
and its sister of North America, with the num-
erous more lowly herbaceous families of vicia
and lathyrus; the numerous kinds of Iupines and
astragalus. Great, however, as is the beauty of
these plants of the temperate regions, it must
give way before the splendour and elegance of
similar inhabitants of the tropics. The flowers
of the erythrina or coral tree, are of the deepest
crimson, and wave in profusion upon some of
the loftiest trees of the forest. The bauhinias,
with their snake-like stems and turn leaves, hang
in festoons of flowers from branch to branch of
other trees, and are only rivalled by the less
vigorous and elegant, but more richly coloured
blossoms of the carpofagus. But all these, with
their broad foliage and gaudy colours, are far
surpassed by the rugged trunks, light trembling
foliage, and golden flowers of the mimosa, which
cast a rich glow over even the most sterile deserts
of burning Africa. While the tropical forests
are thus adorned, the meadows and pastures of
the same latitudes are enamelled with the flowers
of myriads of hydesarumous and sensitive plants,

ily.

 

 

HISTORY OF THE \ EGETABLE KINGDOM.

shrinking on the slightest external touch, like
beings of a higher and animated order. As in
our own country, the gayest part of our scenery
is in many places indebted to the yellow blos-
soms of our furze and broom; so in those regions
other leguminose, as the liparia, barbonia, as-
palathus, davisias, and aoluses, spread profusely
their gay blossoms to the common gaze. The
trees of this family have a very hard and durable
wood, of a yellow tinge, sometimes passing into
green, as in the Jaburnum and Brazil wood.

The pulses, vetches, and similar families, all
afford seeds containing a farinaceous matter, some
with a considerable quantity of oil. The pulp
of the tamarind and other mimose, are more or
less purgative, and are used in medicine. The
leaves of senna also afford a well known purga-
tive. The astringent substance called catechu,
isthe expressed juice of a mimosa, as well as
the gums tragacanth and Arabic, the latter being
of a bland, mucilaginous nature.

Several of the same tribe yield balsams, as the
balsam of Tolu and Copaiva. Indigo, liquorice,
logwood, are all derived from plants of this
family.

The Liguminose are included in the class
Diadelphia, order Decandria, of Linnaeus. The
family has been arranged into three natural
tribes, thus:

1. Papilionaceee, The corolla formed of five
unequal petals, constituting the irregular or pa-
pilionaceous corolla, with the stamina generally
diadelphous, as the bean, robinia, astragalus,
&e.

2, Cassiee. Corolla generally formed of five
regular petals; the ten stamina usually free, a
cassia, bauhinia, &c.

3. Mimose. Containing the apetalous genera,
furnished with a caleyform involucrum; stamina
very numerous, and free, as the mimosa, acacia,
inga.

As we shall consider many of the genera of
this family under other heads, we confine our
descriptions at present to the liguminous plants
used as food.

Tne Leeumes, or Putsts, are, perhaps, next to
the cerealia and the potato, the most important
of esculent vegetables. They are numerous,
most universally diffused, and many which are
not applicable for human food ean still be ad-
vantageously used as nourishment for domestic
animals,

The whole of the edible legumes, with the
exception of some of the species which grow on
trees, have papilionaceous flowers. ‘The seeds
are contained in an oblong legumen, or pod,
consisting of two valves, on the upper suture of
which they are placed alternately on each side.
These seeds, in germinating, have no power of
pushing forth more than one stem, as in the case
of the cerealia, so that the pea docs not tiller,
THE PEA.

but the buds on the stem produce fertile
branches.

It is said that carbonic acid gas is generated
in great abundance when leguminous plants are
in the highest vigour of vegetation. The quan-
tity of this gas which is then given ont, and
more especially during the period of flowering,
is very considerable, and being heavier than at-
mospheric air, it is carried along the surface of
the earth into pits and cavities, in the same
manner as a flood of water would be carried,
only that its effects are the sole indications of
its presence,

It is said that miners, in fertile districts where
legumes are extensively cultivated, are but too
well aware of the production of this mephitic
gas, of the noxious effects of which they are
sometimes made fatally sensible. Under par-
ticular states of the weather, which are known
to the overseers from experience and observation,
the men do not then go to work until a fire-
grate has been let down in one of the ventilation
pits, as deep as the rooms or galleries in which
the operations are to be carried on. If the fire
in the grate will not burn, of course their labours
are suspended, until, by the play of the atmos-
pheric current between pits at different eleva-
tions, the superabundant carbonic acid gas is re-
moved.

The principal legumes cultivated in Britain
are the pea, the bean, and the kidney-bean;
which, according to the analyses that have been
made, contain quantities of nutritive matter,
diminishing in the order in which they have
been enumerated, and all of them much less than
any of the cerealia.

Peas contain fifty-seven and a half per cent.
of nutritive matter, a proportion of which is
saccharine. Beans have very nearly as much
nutriment, but it is not entirely composed of
the same principles. No saccharine matter ready
formed is found in this vegetable, which is con-
sidered a coarse though nutritive esculent.
Kidney-beans do not contain more than nine
per cent. of nutritive matter.

Tur Pra (pisum), from the Celtic word pis,
a pea, is a climbing plant, furnished with ten-
drils, issuing from the terminations of the com-
pound leaves, and which, clinging round bodies
in their vicinity, afford support to the otherwise
recumbent stems. There are several species, and
a great many varieties of the pea. Among the
species are, the common pea, piswin sativum ; the
sea pea, pisum maritimum; the Cape Horn pea,
pisum Americanum; the yellow-flowering pea,
pisum ochrus. The varieties of the common pea
are numerous, and differ widely among them-
selves from the early frame, a low plant, bearing
only one white blossom on each footstalk to the
crown, bearing heavy pink blossoms on a termi-
nating corymb. The rouncival grows ten or

 

dll

twelve feet high, and the imperial not two feet.
The sugar pea has pods, in which the inner film
is wanting, or much less tough than usual, which
admits of boiling the pods entire, an eating them
in the same manner as kidney beans.

The Common Pea (pisum sativum), Like
many of our most familiar domestic vegetables,
the period of the introduction into Britain, or
even the native country of this vegetable, is in-
volved in obscurity. It is probable, however,
that it was introduced into Britain from the
warmer parts of Europe, and may have been
brought to these from Egypt and Syria. It is
known in India, China, and Cochin China; but
it is not very plentiful in those places, and there
is no evidence of its being a native plant. It is
more abundant in the Japan isles, the climate
and soil of which agree better with its habits;
and therefore there is reason to conclude that it
is not a native of very dry and burning regions ;
neither is it the offspring of very frigid climes,
since it is soon affected by cold, severe weather,
and the leaves become blackened by the autum-
nal frosts.

Historical evidence would make it appear that
both the pea and the bean must not only have
been introduced, but extensively cultivated, in
some parts of Scotland, as well as in England,
at a very early period. It is on record, that
when the English forces were besieging a castle
in Lothian, in the year 1299, their supply of pro-
visions was exhausted, and their only resource
was in the peas and beans of the surrounding
fields. This circumstance would lead to a belief
that the pea was then one of the staple articles
of produce for human food.

The more delicate kinds, however, do not ap-
pear to have been cultivated in England until a
much later period, since Fuller informs us that
peas, in the time of queen Elizabeth, were
brought from Holland, and were “fit dainties
for ladies, they came so far, and cost so dear.”
In the reign of Henry VIII., too, the pea would
appear to be somewhat of a rarity, as in the
privy purse expenses of that king is an entry,
“ paied to a man in rewarde for bringing pescodds
to the king’s grace, iiijs. viiid.”’ From a song,
however, called “London Lyckpeny,” made in
the time of Henry VI., peacods appear to have
been commonly sold in London:

“ Then unto London I dyde me hye,
Of all the land it bearyeth the pryse;
*Gode pescode,’ one began to cry.”

At Windsor there is a street called “ Peascod,”
mentioned by that name in old documents.

The use of the pea as an esculent, both in its
green and its dried state, is too familiar to need
description. This plant.is annually cultivated
to a great extent in Britain; perhaps, since the
more general introduction of the potato, a dimi-
312

nution of peas culture may have taken place in
the poorer districts; but peas are always in con-
stant requisition in this country. They are con-
sumed in immense quantities as sea-provisions;
they are likewise largely supplied to hospitals,
infirmaries, and work-houses, and are in familiar
use in every private family.

The principal varieties of the common pea are
the white or yellow, and the gray. Soil and
culture have probably produced all the varieties
under the two sorts, different as they now are,
both in their colours and their qualities, and
even in the number of flowers and pods growing
from each peduncle.

Among gray peas, where much attention has
not been paid to the purity of the seed, it is not
unusual to find several shades of colour, from a
deep purple, almost approaching to a black,
to a very pale or nearly white hue. In even the
same parcel, some seeds are gray, some mottled,
and others purple.

The white and yellow peas are distinguished
as garden peas and field peas. The former being
the choice sorts, are raised by more careful and
expensive culture for the purpose of being eaten
green; the latter, inferior chiefly on account of
the manner of their being raised, are allowed to
come to maturity.

The sub-varieties of the common pea are never-
ending. These have obtained their names, some
from imaginary qualities, some from the peculiar
mode of culture, others from the persons who
first produced them, and some from more fanci-
ful distinctions. Of those no less than twenty-
two are enumerated as being objects of garden
culture, differing in the colour of the flowers,
height of the haulm or stalk, time of coming to
maturity, produce of legumes, or size and flavour
of the seeds. The varieties are in different de-
grees tender or hardy; if, then, a due regard be
paid to the choice of soil and situation, and the
time of sowing most favourable to the respective
kinds, the success of the crop may, in a great
measure, be commanded.

The most useful varieties are:

Dwarf growing Peas—carly,

Early Frame.

Early Warwick.
Early Charlton.
Bishop’s Early Dwarf.
Dwarf Spanish.

Fall growing Peas.
Tall Marrowfat.
Knight’s Tall Marrowfat.
Green Imperial.
Wellington.

Egg.
Tall Crooked Sugar.

The varieties of the garden peas may, there-
fore, be divided into early and late. The former

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

are distinguished as being more slender in the
plant, and less abundant in the crop, but they
are more hardy, and can better withstand the
cold weather; while some kinds admit better of
being forced, and thus can be produced at the
earliest approach of summer, as the grand ve-
getable luxury of the season. The late sorts are
more vigorous and more productive, both in the
number of the pods and the size of the grain;
and as they come to maturity by the natural
heat of the season, and in a free change and cir-
culation of the air, they are more rich and sac-
charine. Thus it happens, as is the case with
many other articles of human food, that green
peas are really of the best quality when they are
so cheap that they may be purchased by the
people generally.

The pea goes through all the stages of its ve-
getation in a very brief period. More than one
instance is on record of a crop being obtained
from seed matured the same season. Some
Spanish dwarf peas were sown in February, and
the crop was reaped the first week in July;
some of the pods were left to mature their seed,
which, when sufficiently ripe, were again com-
mitted to the earth on the same piece of ground,
and a second crop was reaped on the 27th of
September.

To obtain the very earliest crops, the seeds are
sown in a dry soil, about the end of October; in
favourable situations and seasons they stand
through the winter, and if the spring be a for-
ward one, they may be ready for gathering about
the end of May. They are a precarious crop,
however, and do not pay the cultivator, unless
they are produced so early as to command a very
high price. In consequence of the uncertainty
of the winter, in places where the demand is such
as to bear the expense, the earliest peas are
brought forward in hot-beds.

The gray, or field pea, so much cultivated in
agriculture, is by some considered as a distinct
species, though it is obviously a mere variety,”
not farther removed from the frame pea than is
the blue Prussian, or the crown pea. A dry
soil and season are essential for a good crop, un-
less the plants can be supported by sticks, like
the garden crops. The seed is chiefly used for
feeding pigs, and splitting for soup. In boiling
split peas some samples, without reference to va-
riety, fall or moulder down freely into pulp,
while others continue to maintain their form;
the former are called boilers. This property of
boiling depends on the soil. Stiff land, or sandy
land, that has been limed or marled, uniformly
produces peas that will not melt in boiling, no
matter what the variety may be. eas straw,
cut green and dried, is reckoned as nourishing
as hay, and is censidered as exrellent for sheep.

* Louden,
THE BEAN.

The produce of peas in flour is as three to two
of the bulk in grain, and husked and split for
soups, as four to two. A thousand parts of pea
flour afforded Sir H. Davy 574 parts of nutritive
or soluble matter; that is, 501 of mucilage, 22
of sugar, 35 of gluten, and 16 of extract or in-
soluble matter.

Of field peas there are several varieties. The
dark sorts are generally the longest in coming to
maturity, and they have the rankest flavour. In
favourable places, if they are sown in autumn,
and cleared the instant they are ripe, they may
be followed by turnips the same year; but if the
sowing is delayed till after Christmas, the ground
will not be free in time for any crop save winter
wheat. A crop of peas is considered to improve
the soil, especially for turnips. But it is not on
the whole very profitable, unless upon very rich
loams, in which situation they are often sown
with beans, and the produce used as food for
stock. The bean-stalks, from their greater
strength, prevent the peas from lodging.

The Pisum Americanum is a biennial plant,
which was found growing at Cape Horn by some
of the people attached to Lord Anson’s expedi-
tion. This fresh pulse was a most welcome ad-
dition to the ordinary sea provisions, and under
such circumstances it appeared to be of more ex-
cellent flavour than the common pea. It waa
accordingly brought home and propagated; but
was soon found not to equal even the worst sort
of those which were already in cultivation, and
it is now only preserved in botanical collections.
The flowers are blue, each peduncle sustaining
four or five flowers, the pods taper, and the seeds
are very small.

The yellow flowering pea is found in a wild
state in the corn-fields of Sicily and some parts
of Italy; but is here merely preserved in botanic
gardens for the sake of variety. The peduncles
have but one flower each, and the pods and seeds
are larger than those of the sea-pea. They are
sometimes eaten; but they are coarse and of
little value.

The Sea Pea (pisum martiimum). This plant
is a native of Britain, is a perennial, and grows
among loose stones by the sea shore. The seeds
have a bitter and unpleasant taste; yet, accord-
ing to Turner, in former times of scarcity they
were used extensively as food.

Tne Bean (vicia faba), has been cultivated
in Britain from very remote antiquity, having
been in all probability introduced into this coun-
try by the Romans. It is said to have originated
in Egypt; perhaps because the Greeks, from
whom we have the earliest accounts of it, re-
ceived it from that country as a cultivated ve-
getable. Some travellers affirm that the bean is
found growing wild in Persia, near the shores of
the Caspian; but that part of Asia has been sub-
jected to so many fluctuations, to so many alter-

 

313

nations of culture and destruction, that it is not
easy to decide whether any plants which may
be discovered vegetating spontaneously be really
indigenous, or only the remains of a former cul-
tivation, In many parts of Britain, where all
other memorials of former habitations and cul-
ture have been swept away, certain plants are
found growing which a traveller passing hastily
over the country would very naturally describe
as indigenous, since of their introduction the
present inhabitants of the vicinity could most
probably give him no account, but which, from
history and the nature of the plants themselves,
are known to be exotics introduced at a specific
time.

Beans are cultivated over many countries, a3
far to the eastward as China and Japan, and
they are very generally used as an esculent in
many parts of Africa. From its northern coast
some of the more valuable varieties were trans-
planted by the Moors into Spain, and by the
Portuguese into their own country.

This plant is grown abundantly in Barbary,
where it is usually full-podded at the latter end
of February, and continues in bearing during
the whole of spring. When stewed with oil and
garlic, beans form, according to Shaw, the prin-
cipal food of persons of all classes.

The bean in its green state is well known as
a culinary vegetable. When mature and dried
it is never used as human food in this country ;
but is then considered good, though coarse, nour-
ishment for labouring horses. Campbell, in his
Political Survey, published in 1774, mentions,
that “beans are exported for the food of the ne-
groes in our plantations, and are employed in
feeding horses at home; so that altogether they
are in daily use, and most certainly turn to a
very considerable amount.” King stated the
annual consumption of beans at that period to
be four millions, and of peas seven millions of
bushels. Campbell, indeed, considered this es-
timate to be excessive; but if it at all approxi-
mates to the truth, it shows that these legumes
were then cultivated to a very great extent.
Provisions for this unhappy race of human beings
are in the present day somewhat better selected,
and horse-beans do not any longer form an article
of export to the colonies.

All the cultivated beans are annuals, having
upright fibrous stems, rising from two to four
feet high. The flowers are usually white, with
a black spot in the middle of the wing; these
are succeeded by long thick legumes, woolly
within, and enclosing large flat seeds. These
flowers are very fragrant; and the rich perfume
of a bean-field, when the plants are in full blos-
som, is as familiar as it is delightful to all lovers
of simple rural pleasures. The popular division
of the several varieties is, like that of peas,

into field beans and garden beans; the same va-
2R
3lt

riety is, however, often cultivated in both situa-
tions. The earliest garden bean is a small seeded
kind called the mazagan. The large variety,
called the “‘ Windsor bean,” is said to have been
first cultivated in that neighbourhood by some
of the Dutch gardeners who came over at the
revolution. There is a field near Eton still
called “the Dutchman’s garden.”

Beans are propagated by seed sown in rows
from two to three feet asunder, either by the
dibble or by drilling; the early kinds in Octo-
ber, and from December to January inclusive.
The main crop is sown in March and April, and
the several varieties are continued in monthly
succession until July. For late crops the seeds,
previously to being used, are soaked for several
hours in soft water. Some cultivators cut off
the tops of the plants when in bloom, which ope-
ration is supposed to promote an earlier and
more abundant production of well filled legumes;
while a very late crop may be obtained by cut-
ting down the plants, as soon as they are in
flower, to within a few inches of the base. New
stalks spring from the roots, and yield pods at
an advanced period of the year.

The field bean, of which there is a larger and
smaller sort, the latter called ticks, is sown in
drills by a machine, so as to admit of horse-hoe-
ing, and otherwise ploughing or stirring up be-
tween the rows. By this means a larger crop is
produced, and the land cleaned and brought into
a better state for a succeeding corn crop. Beans
are excellent food for hard working horses, and
for fattening hogs for bacon. The flour of beans
and peas is more nutritive than that of oats, but
less easy of digestion. A bushel of beans is sup-
posed to yield fourteen pounds more of flour than
a bushel of oats; and a bushel of peas eighteen
pounds more, or, according to some, twenty
pounds. A thousand parts of bean-flour were
found by Sir H. Davy to yield 570 parts of nu-
tritive matter, of which 426 were mucilage and
starch, 103 gluten, and 41 extract.

The bean, though a coarser plant than the pea,
is much more liable both to disease and to the
depredations of insects. When the plants he-
come sickly, from an unfavourable soil or season,
small fungi are apt to form withinside the epi-
dermis, such as the nestling spheria (spheria
nidula), upon the roots, and the bean blight
(uredo fube) upon the stems and leaves.
Though these are most probably the conse-
quence of a diseased state of the plants, they so
destroy the epidermis as to render recovery im-
possible, and the crop is greatly injured or alto-
gether destroyed. The black aphis also often
commits terrible havoc. It generally appears
first in the young leaves of the top, and therefore
may be removed by a little timely care without
injuring the plants; but if once it is allowed time
to establish itself, it is very difficult of eradication,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Several other specics of vicia are found grow-
ing wild in Britain, known as vetches or tares,
Thus, vicia sylvatica and v. cracca are not unfre-
quent in meadows, and are considered as valu-
able herbage plants. They yield a great bulk of
fodder, which is reckoned very nutritious. Some
agriculturists have proposed to cultivate these
alone; but Curtis remarks, that they would pro-
bably in that case choke themselves for want of
support.

The Vicia Sativa, the winter and summer tare,
is also a valuable agricultural plant. Some con-
sider the winter variety as a distinct species; but
Martyn proved, by cultivating both, that they
were not even very distinct varieties. The win-
ter variety is sown in September or October, and
the summer at different periods from February
to June, for successive cuttings. The soil re-
quires to be in good condition, otherwise they
will not grow to great luxuriance. On a good
soil they will yield ten or twelve tons per acre,
The crop is seldom left to ripen its seeds but
when seeds are wanted. The only use of these
is to feed pigeons or poultry.

Tur Kipney-Bgan (phaseolus_), is so called
from phaselus, a little boat, which the pods very
much resemble. Two species are cultivated in
England, both natives of warm countries, and
though they grow and pod well in Britain dur-
ing the warm months, they will neither bear the
frosts of early spring, nor those of late autumn.
The dwarf kidney-bean (phaseolus vulgaris), a
native of India, but erroneously called the French
bean, is mentioned as being in common cultiva-
tion in England in the year 1597. The species
called the runner (phaseolus multiflorus) was
introduced from South America in the year 1633.
It is supposed that the scarlet variety, which
grows so tall and is so prolific, was first culti-
vated about that time by Tradescant, the cele-
brated gardener at Lambeth. It was then, we
are told, in so great repute for its flowers, that
they formed the leading ornament in the nose-
gays of the ladies; and it seems to have kept its
place only as an ornamental plant for nearly a
hundred years, as its legumes were seldom used
as an edible substance until brought into notice
by Miller of Chelsea, in the eighteenth century.

The general characteristics of the two species
are the same. The leaves are ternate, attached
to long petioles; and the flowers, differing in
colour according to the variety, grow on racemes
or short lateral branches, coming out from one
common peduncle, These are succeeded by ob-
long pods, containing shining seeds of a kidney
shape.

The stems are more or less voluble in all; but
those of the dwarf kind are of very low growth,
and require no support. The stalks of the run-
ners ascend eight or ten feet, and, therefore, either
tall sticks are provided around which they may
THE LENTIL.

wind, or they are planted near a building or fence
from which slender cords are suspended, and the
flexile stems as they rise clasp and entwine them-
selves with these. “It deserves notice, that in
their voluble habit of growth the tendrils turn
to the right, or in a direction contrary to the ap-
parent diurnal course of the sun. This aberra-
tion from the common habit of plants has been
accounted for by supposing that the native cli-
mate of the scarlet runner will be found to lie
south of the equator, and that the plant, although
removed to the northern hemisphere, is still obe-
dient to the course originally assigned to it,
turning in a direction which in its native climate
would be towards the sun.” *

Both species are tender plants, and seldom
thrive if they are sown very early in the season;
but in favourable weather they are prolific
bearers, especially the scarlet runner, which for
a long continuance yields a plentiful crop from
one sowing. Though generally supposed to be
annuals, the runner is in fact a biennial, fresh
shoots springing up from the root the second
year.

In England, only the immature pod is used as
alegume. The ripe seeds known by the name
of haricots are prepared in various ways asa fa-
vourite edible in France, where the dwarf white
kidney-bean is extensively cultivated as a field
crop, to furnish a supply of their seeds, which
are in so constant demand. The seeds of the
Dutch runners, which are larger than these, and
of a superior quality, are made into a kind of
soup, which is held in much esteem in Holland.
The leaves likewise of the kidney-bean afford
when boiled a culinary vegetable which the Nu-
bians consider an excellent esculent.

Some varieties of the kidney-bean are found
in cultivation throughout almost every civilized
country of the western as well as the eastern
hemisphere. The small black beans called fri-
collis, which are in general demand all over
Mexico, are no doubt a kind of kidney-bean.
Recent travellers in that country relate that im-
mense fields of these are under cultivation for
the supply of the large cities, where they form a
part of every meal, and are not only in great fa~
vour with the inhabitants, but are considered
excellent even by strangers.

Another species, the Snail Flower (phaseolus
caracalla_), so named from the Celtic caracalla,
a hood or head dress, is a very curious plant, and
will grow and flower freely if kept clear from
the red spiders. This species was brought by
the Portuguese from South America, and thus
introduced into the gardens of Europe.

Among the productions of Bornou, Major
Denham enumerates four kinds of beans, which
are raised in great quantities, called mussagua,

* Loud. Ency. of Gardening.

 

315

marya, kiceny, and kimmay, all known by the
general name of gafooly. These are eaten by the
slaves and the poorer people. A paste com-
pounded from beans and fish was the only eat-
able the Major and his companions could find in
the towns near the river.

Tor Lenrin (ervum), is a small climbing
plant, with weak stalks, about a foot and a half
high. The leaves are winged, and each is ter-
minated by a tendril. The flowers, of a pale
purple colour, are succeeded by short flat pods,
containing two or three flat round seeds. Ano-
ther sort, distinguished as the French lentil, is
of much larger growth than the former, and al-
together more worthy of cultivation. These
plants are rarely raised in England, and then
only as food for cattle. In most parts of the
continent they are cultivated for the use of man,
and the seeds are made into soups, or become an
ingredient in other culinary preparations. They
are readily softened by, and mixed with, water,
forming with it a pottage of a chocolate colour.
In Catholic countries, where the formulary of
the church enjoins a number of meagre days,
such plants as the kidney-bean and the lentil are
more cultivated than they are in countries where
the religion of the people does not prescribe the
same observances. In England there are no
fasts scattered through the year on which the
people are expected to subsist upon pulse with
the addition of vegetable oils. The use of hari-
cots and lentils is therefore but little known in
this country.

The Chick Pea, (cicer arietinum, ) is another
small legume which is occasionally cultivated in
the south of Europe, especially in Spain, where
it is used as a dyeing ingredient as well as an
article of food. It is known there, and on the
opposite coast of the Mediterrancan, by the name
of garavance or garvanzos. These seeds do not,
like most other pulse, become of a soft and pulpy
consistence by boiling, and therefore they never
constitute a dish by themselves, but are strewed
singly asa garnish over certain savoury viands,
and form part of the olla,a dish composed of
bacon, cabbage, pumpkin, and garvanzos, with
which a Spanish dinner almost invariably com-
mences. Thechick pea, when parched, has been
much esteemed among many nations from the
earliest periods of history, and in that state it
still continues an article of great consumption.
According to Bellonius, this pea was the parched
pulse which formed the common provision
of the Hebrews when they took the field; and
Cassianus. supposes it to have been the torrified
seed mentioned by Plautus and Aristophanes.
The frictwm cicer seems also to have constituted
apart of the usual food of the lower orders at
Rome.

In those warm and arid countries where tra-
vellers are constrained to carry their scanty pro-
316

visions with them across vast desert tracts, they
gladly supply themselves with small dried sub-
stances which require much mastication, and
thus stimulate the salivary glands. Under these
circumstances parched chick-peas, or leblebby, are
in great demand, and are ascommon in the shops
as biscuits in those of England. In Grand Cairo
and Damascus there are many persons who make
it their sole business to fry peas, for the supply
of those who traverse the desert.

The seeds of the kerkedan, a small shrub
found growing wild and sometimes cultivated in
the north of Nubia, are made into a kind of
bread, and form the principal food of the Ker-
rarish Arabs; and a decoction of the roasted
grains is used asa substitute for coffee. Another
shrub, called symka, indigenous to the same
country, produces legumes resembling peas, and
containing round rose-coloured seeds which af-
ford excellent nourishment for camels, and are,
when green, employed as human food. These
likewise the “Arabs collect and dry, and by hard
boiling obtain from them an oil which they use
instead of butter to grease their hair and bodies.”

Various descriptions of pulse are cultivated in
the East, but these are seldom of a large growth.
The culture of smaller legumes as human food,
similarly with that of the millets and other
small-seeded grains, is adapted only to that state
of society in which the money-price of labour
is low, and yet where the climate and other con-
cwrring circumstances are obstacles to the culti-
vation of the more valuable kinds of vegetables.
Moisture and heat, as well as a soil comparatively
rich, are required for the production of rice; and
the cerealia grown in more temperate climates
cannot be raised unless there be either a suffi-
ciency of manure, which cannot be procured
without an abundant stock of domesticated ani-
mals, or a natural richness of soil, which is in-
compatible with dry land in a warm climate.

In the elevated parts of India which lie out of
the direction of the periodical rains, a scanty ir-
rigation can at best be obtained, and that only
by sinking deep wells, or by constructing tanks
and reservoirs at a great expence; where these
imperfect means are not within reach, the ground
is scarcely ever moistened, as probably a shower
of rain does not fall during six months. Under
these circumstances the cultivation of pulse is
resorted to as a matter of necessity, and the
smaller and the more hardy these are, the more
certain is the prospect of their yielding a crop.
In sultry climates there is often a portion of
humidity which plays in the atmosphere, and
which will form dew upon the leaves of a plant,
when the evaporative power of the naked and
baked earth is so great that not acondensed drop
will settle upon it, or a trace of moisture be
found, From this cause dew may be seen early
in the morning spangling the verdant lawn when

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

there is no humidity whatever upon the gravel
walk; and upon a burnt-up heath, any plant
which may have preserved its greenness, will at-
tract moisture, when the withered grass con-
tinues perfectly dry. The pulses which are
sown in the rainless parts of India, not only
preserve themselves, but often aid in preserving
millet and other small grain with which they
are mixed. When the Ilindu, in his simple
husbandry, sows several kinds of seed on the
same land, he does not therefore give a proof of
his ignorance of the art. There is in it a little
of the schooling of experience, the practical
knowledge of the climate with which he has to
deal. THe sows his small grain in order that he
may have a good crop if the season should send
him rain; and he at the same time sows pulse in
order that he may not only reap pulse in the
event of a drought, but that he may even then
perhaps obtain with it a little accompanying
grain,*

Tue Lupine, (lupinus.) The name of this
well known plant is said to be derived from dupus
(a wolf), because it devours, as it were, all the
fertility of the soil; but this seems a very doubt-
ful explanation. These plants, of which there
are several species and varieties, are border flowers
in much esteem in gardens for their velvet-like
leaves and fine large flowers. They are vigorous
growing plants, and if cultivated in the fields
would afford the agriculturist a considerable
bulk of herbage.

The white lupine is supposed to be the species
that was cultivated for this purpose by the Ro-
mans, though the yellow species is what is grown
in the fields in the present day in Italy, as human
food. Inthe south of France the same plant is
grown in the extensive plains of dry, poor soil
of that country, as a meliorating crop, to be
ploughed in where red manure is to be procured,
and where clover or other herbage would not
grow. The perennial and ligneous species may
be increased by pieces of the root, but they all
seed freely.

Brrrer Vercn, (orobus.) This tribe, of which
there are several species common in the fields of
Britain, are easily known by their yellow and
white papilionaceous blossoms.

The orobus luteus Haller considers as one of
the handsomest of the papilionaceous family.
Orobus tuberosus, according to Lightfoot, is in
great esteem among the highlanders of Scotland
for the tubercles of the root. They dry and chew
them in general, to give a better relish to their
liquor. They also affirm them to be good against
most disorders of the chest, and that by their
use they are enabled to repel hunger and thirst
for along time. In Breadalbane and Rosshire,
they sometimes bruise and steep them in water,

* Library of Entertaining Knowledge.
LATIYRUS.

and make an agreeable fermented liquor with
them. They have a sweet taste, somewhat like
the roots of liquorice, and when boiled are well
flavoured and nutritive; and in times of scarcity
have served as a substitute for better food.
Boiled well a fork will pass through them, and
dried slightly and roasted, they are Berved up in
Holland and Flanders in the manner of chestnuts,
which they resemble in flavour. Dickson re-
commends cultivating them in a bed or border
of light, rich soil, paved at the depth of twenty
inches, to prevent their roots from running down,
Plant the tubers six inches apart, and three inches
below the surface. The second year some will
be fit to gather, and by taking only the largest,
the bed will continue productive for several years,
adding some fresh compost every year.

Latuyrus. Of this genus the chickling
vetch, the sweet pea, everlasting pea, &c., are well
known species.

Tue Cuicxiine Vercu, (1. sativus, ) is fre-
quently cultivated on the continent. The straw
is used for the stable, and a white, light, and
pleasant-flavoured bread was made from the
flower of the seed; but it produced such dreadful
‘effects in the last century, that the use of it was
forbid by the governments of the countries in
which it was raised. Mixed with one half of
wheaten flour, a perfectly harmless and good
bread is produced; but when employed alone,
and eaten for some time, the most singular rigid-
ity of the muscles and paralysis of the limbs are
brought on.

These symptoms usually appear on a sudden,
and without any previous pain; but sometimes
they were preceded by a weakness and disagree-
able sensation about the knees. The cold and
hot bath fomentations and stimulating ointments,
were tried without effect by the people; the af-
fection was regarded as incurable, and not being
very painful or fatal, was endured by them with
patience and unconcern.

Swine fed with this meal lost the use of their
limbs, but grew very fat lying on the ground.
A horse fed some months on the dry herb was
said to have his legs perfectly rigid: cattle are
reported to grow lean on it, but sheep are not
affected. Pigeons, especially young ones, loose
the power of walking by feeding on the seed.
Poultry will not readily touch it, but geese eat
it without any apparent damage. In some
parts of Switzerland cattle feed on the herb
without any harm. It becomes a question of
some interest, then, whether the nature of the
soil may not contribute to the deleterious quali-
ties of the plant. It is remarked that the seed
from a strong rich soil is much more deleterious
than that from a light dry one.

Fabbroni, who wrote at Florence in 1786, says
that the government there has cautioned the pea-
sants against the use of this vetch, swine having

 

317

lost the use-of their limbs by being fed on it ex-
clusively. The peasants, however, eat it boiled
or mixed with wheat flour, in the quantity of
one-fourth, without any harm.

Tue Sweet Pra, (lathyrus odoratus,) is one
of the most esteemed of garden annuals. Its
sweet scent, and the beauty of the flowers, ren-
dering it a general favourite.

Sarnt-Forn, (hydesarum onobrychis.) This is
a deep rooting perennial, with branching, spread-
ing stems, compound leaves, and showy red
flowers. It is indigenous to many parts of
Europe, and found exclusively on dry chalky
soils, where it is of great duration. It has been
long cultivated in France and in other parts of
the continent, and as an agricultural plant a good
deal in England in the chalky districts; and its
peculiar value is, that it may be grown on soils
unfit for being constantly under tillage, and
which would yield little under-grass. ‘his is
owing to the long and descending roots of the
saint-foin, which will penetrate and thrive in
the fissures of rocky and chalky under-strata.
Its herbage is said to be equally suited for pas-
turage or for hay; and eaten green it is not so
apt to swell or hove cattle as the clovers or
lucern.

Arthur Young says, that upon soils proper
for this grass, no farmer can sow too much of it;
for it is one of the most valuable herbage plants
we owe to the bounty of Providence. The deeper
the soil is stirred, previously to sowing, the
better. The seed is generally put in broad-cast,
at the rate of three or four bushels the acre; and
sometimes a little red clover is sown afterwards
to produce a crop the second season, when the
saint-foin plants are but small. When saizit-
foin is annually mown, it should be top-dressed
with manure; but if only occasionally mown,
the benefits derived from the grazing of sheep or
cattle will, to a considerable extent, answer for
surface dressings in a plant that derives a part
of its nutriment from the subsoil. Saint-foin
is highly nutritive, either cut green or made
into hay. The produce on a medium of soils
and cultivation, may probably be estimated at
from about one and a half to two tons the acre;
and on the poorer and thinner staple sorts of
land, it will perhaps seldom afford less than from
a ton to a ton and a half on the acre. One
thousand parts of saint-foin afforded Sir H.
Davy thirty-nine of nutritive matter, which is
the same as that afforded by the red and white
clover. The usual duration of saint-foin in a
profitable state, is from eight to ten years. It
usually attains its perfect growth in about three
years, and begins to decline towards the eighth
or tenth on calcareous soils, and about the seventh
and eighth on gravels. There are instances,
however, of fields of this plant which had been
neglected and left to run into pasture, in which
318

}lants have been found upwards of fifty years
from the time of sowing. It has been cultivated
upwards of a century on the Cotswold hills, and
three sorts of it have been traced down into stone
quarries from ten to twenty fect in length; and
in Germany, Von Thaer found them attain the
length of sixteen feet. In general, the great
enemy to the endurance of saint-foin is the grass
which accumulates and forms a close turf on the
surface, and thus chokes up the plant.*

Me itor, (melilotus.) The species of this
family are similar to the lotus, and are the favourite
resort of bees; hence the name from mel, honey,
and lotus. The m. officinalis, is one of the plants
which imparts the peculiar smell to hay. It is
also employed, and forms the chief ingredient, in
flavouring the Swiss cheeses called Gruyere. No
doubt the milk, obtained by the pasturage formed
of a mixture of various aromatic herbs, contri-
butes to the peculiar excellency of these cheeses;
but the flowers and seeds of the melilot, bruised
and mixed with the curd, imparts an additional
flavour.

Trerotn, or Crover, (trifolium,) literally a
plant with three leaves. Two of the most valu-
able herbage plants, the red and white clover,
are the most remarkable species of this genus.

“Notwithstanding,” says Loudon, “all that
has been said of the superiority of lucern to
clover, and of the excellence of saint-foin, and
other plants of the pea tribe, yet the red clover
for mowing, and the white species for pasturage,
are, and probably ever will, be found to excel
all other plants in these respects. The yellow
clover, (¢. procumbus,) and the cow or meadow
clover, (t. medium, ) are also cultivated, but they
are far inferior to the others. The meadow clover
is a useful addition to the white sort, in laying
down permanent pastures. The yellow grows
on poor soils, but the herbage is not much liked
by cattle. The soil best adapted for clover is a
deep sandy loam, which is favourable to its long
tap roots; but it will grow in any soil provided
it be dry. So congenial is calcareous matter to
clovers, that the mere strewing of lime on some
soils, will call into action clover seeds, which, it
would appear, have lain dormant forages. At least
this appears the most obvious way of account-
ing for the well known appearance of white clover
in such cases, The climate most suitable for the
clovers, as of most plants natives of Europe, is one
neither very hot, nor very cold and dry. Most
leguminous plants delight both in a dry soil and
climate, and warm temperature; and the clover will
be found to produce most seed under such circum -
stances; but as the production of seed is only in
some situations an object of the farmer’sattention,
a season rather moist, provided it be warm, is al-
ways attended by the most bulky crops of clover

* Loudon.

 

INSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

herbage. The time of sowing seeds is generally
the spring, during the corn seed time, or from
February to May, but they may be also sown
from August till October; and when they are
sown by themselves, that is, unaccompanied by
any corn crop, this will be found the best sea-
son, as the young plants are less liable to be
dried up and impeded in their progress by the
sun than when alone in spring, and remaining
tender and unshaded during the hot and dry
weather of July. The manner of sowing is
almost always broad-cast. When sown with
spring corn, clover and grass seeds are usually
put in immediately after the land has been pul-
verized by harrowing in the corn seed, and are
themselves covered by one course more of the
harrows; or if the corn is drilled, the small seeds
are sown immediately before or after hand hoe-
ing, and the land is then finished by a course of
the harrows. The quantity of seed varies from
eight to fourteen pounds per acre, according to
the intention of the crop, and the quantity of
grass seeds sown along with the clover.

The clover and rye grass crop is either cut
green or made into hay, or fed upon by cattle.
The produce of clover hay, without any mixture
of rye grass, on the best soils, is from two to
three tons per acre; and in this state, in the Lon-
don market, it generally sells 20 per cent. higher
than meadow hay, or clover and rye grass
mixed,

The produce in seed may generally be from
three to four and five bushels per acre, weighing
from two to three hundred weight.

Tree Mepicx, (medicago arborea.) This
shrub is supposed to be the citysus of the ancients.
It flowers the greater part of the year, beginning
in April, and continuing till December, and with
its delicate stem and handsome leaves, forms a
conspicuous ornament in the shrubbery. It
grows in great plenty in Abruzza, and other
parts of the kingdom of Naples, where the goats
feed on it, and their milk yields abundance of
cheese.

It seems to be the shrub alluded to by Virgil
and Columella as the citysus. In this country,
however, it has not been found useful as an ar-
ticle of food for animals; and, indeed, will not
grow luxuriantly except in gardens and warm
shrubbery ground.

Lucern, (medicago sativa, ) is a deep rooting
perennial plant, sending up numerous small and
clover-like shoots, with blue or violet spikes of
flowers. It is highly praised by the Roman
writers, and is also of great antiquity in Old
Spain, Italy, and the south of France; and is much
cultivated in Persia and Peru, where it is mown
all the year round.

In Britain it excited little attention till Harte
brought it into notice in 1757, and though much
extolled, has not yet found great reception in
TOP TREFOIL.

this country. It is less hardy than red clover,
requiring three or four years before it attains its
full growth, thus becoming less adapted for pro-
fitable cropping in the rotations of English
farining.

The yellow or Swiss Iucern (m. falcata ), is a
coarser and much more hardy plant than the
other. The soil suited for the growth of lucern
should be dry and friable, and rather sandy, but
good and deep. The climate requires to be warm
and dry. The seed should be sown early in the
spring months. From fifteen to twenty pounds
per acre of broad-cast, is the quantity usually
required.

The mowing, &c. of this plant is the same as
that used for clover. According to Sir H. Davy,
the nutritive qualities of the plant are two and
three tenths percent.; andare to that of theclovers
and saint-foin as twenty-three to thirty-nine.

Hor Trerorr, (medicago lupulina, ) is by some
considered the shamrock of the Irish. It very
nearly resembles the common yellow clover, but
is larger than that plant, and is a perennial, while
the clover is an annual.

Liquoriocs ( Glycyrhiza glabra). This is a per-
ennial deep-rooted plant, with herbaceous stalks,
four to five feet in height, pinnated alternate
leaves, and small blue, violet, white, or purplish
papilionaceous flowers, disposed in axillary heads
or spikes. It belongs to the natural order Legu-
muinosw, and to the class diadelphia, and order
decandria of Linnzus.

 

Liquorice.

Liquorice is a native of the south of Europe,
and appears to have been cultivated in England
since the time of Elizabeth. The chief places
where it was long reared in any quantity for
sale, were Pontefract in Yorkshire, Worksop in
Nottinghamshire, and Godalming in Surrey. It
is now, however, raised by many gardeners in
the vicinity of London, by which the London
market is supplied with roots in no respect infe-
rior to those of warmer climates.

Tt requires a deep sandy loam, trenched by the

spade or plough to two or three feet deep, and |

manured if necessary. The plants are procured

 

319

from old plantations, and consist of those side
roots which have eyes or buds. The planting
season is either October or February, and March;
the latter is preferable. The plants are dibbled
in, in rows three feet apart. The plants do not
rise above a foot the first season, and take three
years before the root is fit for use.

Decoctions of this root yield an extract con-
taining a large quantity of saccharine matter and
mucilage, with a little bitter extract. It is used
in medicine under various forms, and is the black
sugar, or Spanish juice, so generally known.
The liquorice roots are also used by brewers, to
a considerable extent, in the manufacture of
porter.

Liquorice juice has been famed since the days
of Hippocrates as useful in allaying thirst. Dr
Cullen supposes, however, that this property
does not actually belong to the saccharine juice;
but that if a piece of the root be chewed till all
this juice is extracted, there remains a bitter
which acts on the salivary glands, and this may
contribute to remove thirst.

Cuestnut Bran (castanospermum Australe }.
This bean was discovered by Mr Cunningham
upon the banks of the river Brisbane, which
flows into Morton bay, New South Wales. It
grows on a large handsome tree, which belongs
to a new and undescribed genus, in many par-
ticulars allied to the robinia.. The leaves are
pinnated on long footstalks, the leaflets entire,
with a terminal one. The flowers, which are
papilionaceous, are produced at the bases of the
leaves in considerable numbers, not unlike those
of the robinia hispida. Those flowers are suc-
ceeded by large hard pods, of a brown cinnamon
colour. The pods contain a varying number of
round seeds, or beans, compressed on one side,
and covered with a thin loose shell of a chestnut
colour. When these beans are roasted they have
much the flavour of chestnuts, and may yet prove
in that country a wholesome article of food.

" Though not belonging to the family of pulses,
the following plant may here be described as in-
termediate between this family and the grami-
nee.

Buck-wHeEat (polygonum fagopyrum_), or beech:
wheat, from its seed resembling the mast of
beech. Octandria, trigynia, Linn.; nat. order,
polygonee. Buck-wheat is considered a native of
Asia, though sometimes found in Europe in a
seemingly wild state. It will not, however, bear
the frosts of our springs, or the severity of win-
ter. In China and other eastern countries it is
cultivated as a bread-corn, The meat of the
seed is also used in cooking, and in making a
kind of coarse bread, in various parts of Europe.

Buck-wheat is an annual plant, growing rather
handsome, with branched herbaceous stems, hav-
ing leaves which at first are roundish, but after-
wards become arrow-shaped, resembling some-
320

what those of ivy, but being longer pointed and
much softer. The stalk is round and hollow;
its general colour is green, but it sometimes has
a reddish tinge. It commonly grows to the
height of about thirty inches. At almost every
joint of the stalk, lateral branches shoot out,
which are terminated by purplish flowers, and
these are succeeded by small triangular-shaped
seeds, which are of a brownish-black colour on
the outside, and white within. This grain is
usually sown in May or June, and is of such ra-
pid growth, that it generally ripens its seeds
within about one hundred days from the time
of sowing. It will thrive in any soil, even in
those which contain little else than sand. The
largest increase is, however, obtained from dry
ground, which has been thoroughly ploughed
and pulverized; and in such circumstances, as
much as fifty or sixty bushels have been reaped
from an acre, on which only one bushel of seed
has been bestowed.

This plant is more generally cultivated for the
sake of its green fodder, and then the seed is
strewn much thicker, as much as three or four
bushels being allotted to the acre. If the season
is forward, and the weather continues warm,
buck-wheat may be sown for this purpose in
April, and will bear cutting twice during the
summer; but the slightest degree of frost will
destroy it entirely. When it is thus intended
to apply the plant as green meat, a sufficient
quantity should be cut one day for the consump-
tion of the next. The state most proper for cut-
ting is when the blossoms are making their ap-
pearance.

All animals are fond of this food, and will
thrive upon it. When given to cows it causes
them to yield an abundance of excellent milk,
which makes good butter and cheese. The stalk
and leaves will continue green during the driest
weather, even when all the grasses in the mea-
dows are burnt up. The straw or haulm is
sometimes given in a dry state to cattle, but is
not then so useful as when green.

Buck-wheat is also sometimes sown in order
that the plants may be ploughed into the ground,
and serve as manure in the process of bringing
iands into proper order for other crops. The
time most proper for this ploughing is when the
blossoms are full upon the plants, as they are
then in their most succulent state. The land is
then left at rest for some months, during which
time the vegetable matter of the buck-wheat be-
comes fermented and decomposed. The variety
known as Tartarian buck-wheat, polygonum tar-
éaricum, being of more luxuriant growth than
the common sort, fagopyrum, has been prefer-
ably recommended for this object.

Birds are exceedingly fond of the seeds, and
one of the principal uses made of them in this
country is to feed pheasants during the winter,

 

HiSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

in spots set apart for the preservation of that
species of game. With this object, the grain is
sometimes sown in these preserves, and left stand-
ing, to afford both cover and food to the birds;
at other times the straw is taken unthreshed, and
left in heaps at intervals throughout the places
where the birds resort. Such an abundance of
their favourite food will not only prevent phea-
sants from rambling, but frequently allures others
from spots where an equally comfortable provi-
sion is not made.

Horses are fond of the seeds, which are some-
times given to them in conjunction with oats;
it is proper, however, in such case, to subject
the buck-wheat to the previous operation of
crushing. Pigs are often fattened upon buck-
wheat; and it is said, that if this food be given
to them in great quantity at first, it will occa-
sion the animals to exhibit symptoms of intoxi-
cation, so that they run squeaking and tumbling
about in a grotesque manner. As they become
habituated to the use of the grain, such an effect
ceases. It is necessary to crush the seeds for
this purpose also.

Buck-wheat is sometimes used by distillers, it
being capable of yielding a considerable quantity
of good spirit. ‘This use is made of it to a great
extent at Dantzig, where an extensive manufac-
ture of cordial waters is continually carried on.

The poor of some countries mix the meal of
buck-wheat with a small proportion of wheat-
flour, and make a kind of bread of the compound,
which is black and bitter, and deficient in a due
degree of nourishment. In Brabant it is not un-
usual for persons who derive a profit from keep-
ing bees to sow this grain near to their dwell-
ings, they being of opinion that no plant is equal
to it for affording to those insects a proper sup-
ply of materials whence their sweet store is ela-
borated.

CHAP. XXXIV.

ROSACEA—TIHE APPLE, PEAR, QUINCE, PLUMB,
PEACH, CHERRY, STRAWBERRY, RASPBERRY, &c,

Tue natural family rosacee embraces a con-
siderable number of plants of the herbaceous
kind, shrubs, and trees. It takes its name from
the rose, which may be considered as the type of
the family. Besides this, the chief of ornamental
flowers, it comprehends other favourites of the
garden, as the potentillas, geums, &c. This
family also includes all the most important fruits
of the temperate regions. Thus, to the genera
pyrus, belong the apple and pear; to prunus,
the plumb and apricot; to amygdalus, the peach,
nectarine, and almond; eriobotrya, the loquat;
mesphilus, the medlar; cydonia, the quince;
TILE APPLE.

while fragrari« contains the strawberry, rasp-
berry, and bramble.

The medicinal properties of many plants of
this family are not less active than their fruits
are excellent. The principal of these is the well
known prussic acid, which exists in abundance
in the leaves and kernels of many genera, espe-
cially in prunus and amygdalus. It is the active
ingredient in laurel water, which, when taken
in small doses, acts either as an emetic or violent
purgative, and in larger doses, proves almost in-
stantly fatal by at once destroying the irritabi-
lity of animal fibre without any organic change
ef structure, such as inflammation. Some of
the other genera, as the drupacew, yield a gum,
similar to gum Arabic; and this shows the near
affinity of the two families of Zegauminose and
rosacce. Others yield an astringent principle,
and are employed in medicine and the arts, The
root of the tormentilla was formerly used in
Scotland for-tanning leather, and is still so used
in the Ferro islands; while that of the capollim
cherry is similarly employed in Mexico. The
bark of prunus Virginiana is used as a febrifuge
in the United States of America; and that of
potentilla repians has been praised for the same
properties. The root of gewm urbanum has been
found, by Milandi and Moretti, to contain one-
eleventh of its weight of tannin. It has been
used both in America and Europe as a substitute
for Peruvian bark. The leaves of dryas octope-
tala in the north of Europe, of rubus arctéicus in
Norway, of prunus spinosa and avium, and of
rosa rubiginosa, have been dried and used as a
sort of substitute for tea. The bark of the root
of gallenia trifoliata is remarkable in having, in
addition to the astringency alieady mentioned,
an emetic property, on which account it is em-
ployed in North America in place of ipecacuanha.
It is said that a similar power exists in other
spire. The family rosacee nearly corresponds
to the class icosandria of Linneus. The leaves
are alternate, simple, or compound, accompanied
at the base by two persistent stipules, sometimes
united to the petiole. The calyx is monopeta-
lous, with four or five divisions; the corolla con-
sists generally of four or five regularly spreading
and delicate petals; the stamina are generally
very numerous and distinct; the pistil is formed
of one or several carpels, either free and distinct,
or adherent by their outer sides to the calyx;
sometimes they are also united to each other, or
collected into a kind of capitulum upon a recep-
tacle; the style is always more or less lateral,
and the stigma simple. The form and position
of the fruit is extremely diversified,

We proceed to consider the fruit-bearing trees
and plants of this family, and shall commence
with the apple.

Tur Apria (pyrus malus). The English
name of this well known fruit is said to be de-

 

S21

rived from the Greek apzos, aud the Celtic api,
both signifying a fruit. The apple is essentially
a fruit of the colder and more temperate regions
of the globe, over which it is almost universally
spread and cultivated. The tree attains a mode-
rate height, with spreading branches; the leaf
ovate, and the flowers, terminating in umbels,
are produced from the wood of the former year,
but more generally from very. short shoots or
spurs, from wood of two years’ growth. The
fruit is roundish, umbilical at the base, and of
an acid flavour, The original of the cultivated
apple is the wild crab, which is armed with
spines or thorns, has serrate leaves, and a small
extremely acrid fruit, and is to be found as an
indigenous tree in most of the countries of Hu-
rope. From the crab all the numerous varieties
of the apple, which are cultivated so extensively
in most parts of Europe and in North America,
have been derived. ‘The apple tree is supposed
by some to attain a great age. Haller men-
tions some trees in Herefordshire that attained a
thousand years, and were highly prolific; but
Knight considers two hundred years as the or-
dinary duration of a healthy tree, grafted on a
crab stock, and planted in a strong tenacious soil.
Speichly mentions a tree in an orchard at Bur-
ton-joyce, near Nottingham, of about sixty years
old, with branches extending from seven to nine
yards round the bole, which in 1792 produced
upwards of a hundred pecks of apples. Of all
the different fruits of the colder latitudes, the
apple is perhaps the most serviceable. It is of
easy culture, remains the longest in season, is
used in the greatest number of ways, and is uni-
yersally relished. The stone fruits of the Bri-
tish orchard keep only for a few days, unless
they are preserved, and in this state they lose
that natural flavour on which their value chiefly
depends. Many of the finer pears keep only for
a short time, when they ferment and become
vapid; while there are apples of very rich fla-
your, which, with care, can be preserved from
one fruit season till the commencement of an-
other.

The celebrated traveller Von Buch has re-
marked, that the apple and the commoner fruit
trees grow in the open air wherever oaks thrive;
accordingly we find the apple cultivated to the
sixtieth degree of north latitude. Even in the
Orkney and Shetland islands very good apples
grow. As we proceed farther north the apple is
scarcely known. The people of Lapland showed
Linneus what they called an apple tree, which,
they said, bore no fruit, because it had been
cursed by a beggar woman, to whom the owner
of the tree had refused some of its produce. The
naturalist found that it was the common elm, a
tree also rare in that severe climate. ‘The apple,
as well as most other European fruits, which

now appear indigenous, is probably a native of
oO
s
=
jee
the East. The prophet Joel, enumerating the
trees of Syria, says, “the vine is dried up, and
the fig tree langnisheth; the pomegranate tree,
the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all
the trees of the field are withered.” The culti-
vated apple was probably scarce at Rome in the
time of Pliny; for he states that there were
some apple trees in the villages near the city
which yielded more profit than a small farm.
The art of grafting was at that period cither
very recently discovered, or comparatively little
known. This practice must evidently have be-
longed to an advanced state cf civilization. It
is remarkable that Moses, in his directions to the
Israelites when they “shall come into the land,
and shall have planted all manner of trees for
food,” makes no mention of the art of grafting.
Hesiod and Elomer, in like manner, have no al-
jusion to a practice which would naturally have
formed part of their subject had it existed when
they wrote. The art of grafting, as wellas that
of pruning, has been ascribed to an accidental
origin. ‘The more vigorous shooting of a vine,
after a goat had broused on it, is said to have
euggested the one great principle in the manage-
ment of fruit trees; and it is probable that the
oecasional natural union of the boughs of distinct
trees may have shown the general practicability
of the other. Pliny mentions apple trees “that
will honour the first grafters for ever ;” and this
enthusiastic sort of praise belongs to the infancy
of an art, when mankind are first conscious of
its blessings, and therefore not disposed to un-
dervalue them through their familiarity. To
the facility of multiplying varieties by grafting,
is to be ascribed the amazing extension of the
sorts of apple, probably from one common stock.
The varieties at present known are considerably
more than a thousand. Of late years these va-
rieties have increased in a remarkable manner,
by the application of the pollen of one sort to
the blossom of another.

Many of the better sorts of English apples
were probably at first introduced into this coun-
try from the continent. The greater part of
our names of apples are French, either pure or
corrupted. Those varieties which had been
celebrated abroad were spread through the king-
dom by their cultivation in the gardens of the
religious houses; and many of these fine old
sorts still exist. Thus the nonparei/, according
to the old lerbalists, was brought from France

by a Jesuit, in the time of queen Mary, and first |

planted in the gardens of Oxfordshire. The
oslin, or Arbroath pippin, an ancient Scotch va-
riety, was either introduced or extensively cul-
tivated by the monks of the abbey of Aberbroth-
wick, On the other hand, the celebrated golden
pippin has been considered as the native growth
of Ingland, and noticed as such by French and
Butch writers. It is described by Duhamel

 

ILUSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

under the name of pomme d’or, reinette d Angle:
terre. The same celebrated authority on fruit
trees, also mentions the grosse reinette d’ Angle-
terre. The more delicate apples for the table,
such as the pippins, were probably very little
known here till the latter part of the sixteenth
century. Fuller states that one Leonard Mas-
chal, in the sixteenth year of the reign of Henry
VIIL, brought pippins from over sea, and
planted them at Plumstead in Sussex. Pippins
are so called because the trees were raised from
the pips or seeds, and bore the apples which
gave them celebrity without grafting. In the
thirty-seventh year of the same king we find the
barking of apple trees declared a felony; and the
passing of the law had probably a relation to the
more extended growth of the fruit through the
introduction of pippins. “ Costard-monger”’ is
an old English term for the dealers in vegetables,
derived from their principal commodity of applcs;
the costard being a large apple, round and bulky
as the head, or “costard.” If we may deduce
any meaning from this name, which is the same
as “coster,” it would appear that the costard, or
large apple, was the sort in common use, and
that hence the name of the variety became sy-
nonymous with that of the species; the more
delicate sorts were luxuries unknown to the or-
dinary consumers of our native fruits, till they
were rendered common by the planting of or-
chards in Kent, Sussex, and other parts of the
kingdom.

The growth of the more esteemed apple trees
had made such a general progress in half a cen-
tury, that we find Shakspeare putting these
words in the mouth of Justice Shallow, in his
invitation to Falstaff: “ You shall see mine or-
chard, where, in an arbour, we will eat a last
year’s pippin of my own graffing.” Sir Hugh
Evans, in the “ Merry Wives of Windsor,” says,
“T will make an end of my dinner—there’s pip-
pins and cheese to come.” Pippins were, there-
fore, in the time of Shakspeare, delicacies for
the dessert. But in another fifty years the na-
tional industry had rendered the produce of the
apple an important article of general consump-
tion. The fine cider orchards of Herefordshire
began to be planted in the reign of Charles I.
The adaptation of these apples to the soil was
quickly discovered, and they spread over the
face of the whole country. Of the varieties of
the cider apples, the redstreak and the sline were
formerly the most prized; and the cider of these
apples, and the perry of the sguash pear, were
celebrated throughout Europe. At the time
when cider was first manufactured in England,
it was believed that it would almost wholly su-
persede the use of foreign wines. From the pe-
riod of the Norman conquest England carried on
a great wine trade with France, principally with
Bordeaux and the neighbouring provinces. It
THE APPLE.

increased considerably when Henry LI. married
the daughter of the duke of Aquitaine ; and after
the kings of England subsequently became pos-
sessed of some of the great wine provinces of
France, the consumption of their produce was
almost universal. About the middle of the six-
teenth century, although no wines were per-
mitted to exceed the price of twelve-pence per
gallon, we find a law enacted, by which no per-
son, except those who could expend a hundred
marks annually, or were of noble birth, should
keep in his house any vessel of wine exceeding
ten gallons—a regulation which would suggest
that the demand for wine was greater than the
supply, owing probably to the increase of the
middle ranks of society. In the year 1635, we
find a patent granted to Francis Chamberlayne,
for making wine from the dried grapes of Spain
and Portugal; and the patentee set forth that
his wines would keep good during several years,
and even in a voyage under the line.

Cider became a general beverage before the
time of Charles IT., though it had been partially
used for nearly a century before. Gerard, who
published his Herball about the close of Eliza-
beth’s reign, says, in his quaint way, “I have
seen, about the pastures and hedgerows of a wor-
shipful gentleman’s dwelling, two miles from
Tlereford, called Mr Roger Badnome, so many
trees of all sortes, that the servants drink, for
the most part, no other drink but that which is
made of apples. The qualitie is such, that, by
the report of the gentleman himselfe, the parson
hath for tythe many hogsheads of cyder.”

We have already alluded to the great number
of varieties of the apple. These have gone on
increasing with the increased zeal and industry
of modern gardeners. In 1573 Tusser mentions,
in his list of fruits, “apples of all sorts.” -Par-
kinson, in 1629, enumerates fifty-seven sorts.
Evelyn, about thirty years afterwards, says, “It
was through the plain industry of one Harris, a
fruiterer to Henry VIII., that the fields and en-
virons of about thirty towns in Kent only were
planted with fruit from Flanders, to the univer-
sal benefit and general improvement of the coun-
try. In 1650, Hartlib speaks of “ one who had
two hundred sorts of apples,” and “verily be-
lieves there are nearly five hundred sorts in this
island.” Ray, in 1688, selected from the infor-
mation of the most skilful gardeners about Lon-
don a list of seventy-eight sorts. Succeeding
writers have been enabled greatly to increase the
list, partiy from the almost continual accession
of sorts received from the continent during in-
tervals of peace, but principally from the great
number reared from seeds. The second edition of
the Catalogue of Fruits, published by the horti-
cultural society of London in 1831, contains the
names of 1400 sorts of apples; and although
some of these may, when fruited, prove synony-

 

323

mous, yet the accession of new collections within
the seasons of 1832 and 1833, would doubtless
extend the number of distinct sorts beyond
1500.

A variety of the apple, like that of most other
plants, is supposed by some to have only a
limited duration; and hence, on looking back
on the lists of Parkinson, Evelyn, and other
authors, many of the varieties then numbered
are not now to be found, or are so degenerated or
diseased as no longer to deserve the attention of
the planter. Thus the moi/, and its successful
vival the redstreak, with the musts and golden
pippin, ave in the last stage of decay, and the
stine and fox whelp are hastening rapidly after
them. ‘This circumstance has given rise to a
curious physiological speculation. Mr Knight,
after studying the subject, and making a great
variety of experiments for several years, and at-
tempts to propagate every old variety, arrives at
the following result: “I think,” says he, “I
am justified in the conclusion, that all plants of
this species, however propagated, from the same
stock, partake in some degree of the same life,
and will attend the progress of that life in the
habits of its youth, its maturity, and its decay,
though they will not be any way affected by any
incidental injuries the parent tree may sustain
after they are detached from it.” This rather
fanciful opinion has not been confirmed by other
horticulturists; on the contrary, several emi-
nent writers consider that the deterioration of
the varieties of the apple and other fruits may
be owing to climate, and that the return of ge-
nial summers would restore to us from old trees
as good fruit as heretofore. Loudon remarks on
this subject: “It is unquestionably true that
all varieties have a tendency to degenerate into
the primitive character of the species; but to us
it appears equally true, that any variety may be
perpetuated with all its excellencies by proper
culture, and more especially varieties of trees.
However unsuccessful Knight may have been in
continuing the mozl, redstreak, and golden pip-
pin, we cannot alter our conviction, that by
gratting from these sorts they may be continued,
such as they are or were when the scions were
taken from the trees, to the end of time. As to
plants propagated by extension, ‘partaking in
some degree of the same period of life as the
parent,’ we cannot admit the idea as at all pro-
bable. Vines, olives, poplars, and willows, have
been propagated by extension for ages, and are
still, as far as can be ascertained, as vigorous as
they were in the time of Noah or Pliny.” *

In enumerating a few of the most approved
varieties of the apple, we shall class them as
they are suited for the dessert, for the kitchen, for
cider making, or for cottage economy.

* Ency. of Gardening.
od
ve

For the Table. Apples for the table are char-
acterised by a firm juicy pulp, poignant flavour,
regular form, and beautiful colouring, as the
sugar-loaf pippin, Wormsley pippin, autumn
pearmain, king of the pippins, Fearn’s pippin,
Ribston pippin, old pome, rosy Hertfordshire
pearmain, Pennington’s seedling, Rennet du
Canada, Dutch mignonne, Sweeny nonpariel,
Dowton nonpariel, Newton pippin, Boston rus-
sot.

for the Kitchen. Apples for cooking are
characterised by the property of what is tech-
nically called falling, or forming by the aid of
heat, into a general pulpy mass of equal consis-
tency, as also by their large size, and keeping
properties. Some have this property of fall-
ing when green, as the Keswick, Carlisle, and
Hawthornden codlins; others, again, only after
they are ripe, as the russet tribe. The following
may suit éither for dessert or kitchen use. Gra-
venstein and Blenheim pippin, Bedfordshire
foundling, Brabant belleficyr, London pippin,
white winter calville, northern greening, Rhode
island greening.

for Cider. Foy the purpose of making into
cider, the apples must have a considerable degree
of asiringency, with or without firmness of pulp
vy Vichness of juice. The best kinds, according
to Knight, are often tough, dry, and fibrous; and
the Siberian harrey, which he recommends .as
one of the very best cider apples, is unfit either
for culinary purposes or the table. MKnight re-
marked: that the specific gravity of the juice of
the apples was a test of the future strength of
the cider to be made from them.

for Cottage Garcens. Wheve the space will
admit of only one tree, the best is the Ribston
pippin; if two, add to this the Dutch mignonne;
if three, add to these the Wormsiey pippin; and,
according to space and convenience, king of the
pippins, old nonpariel, Dowton nonpariel, alfris-
ton, Bedfordshire foundling, Pennington’s seed-
ling. For training against the wall or roof, the
best are the Ribston pippin, old nonpariel; or
when a large kitchen apple is required, the Ded-
fordshire foundling, the Hawthornden, or non-
such. In cold and unfavourable situations, the
court pender plat, the Bedfordshire foundling,
the northern greening, or the Keswick codling,
which is an excellent autumn apple for kitchen
use. Unlike other fruits, the apples which ripen
latest are the best. The trees may be trans-
planted at various ages, apple trees bearing this
process at w greater age than any others. The
time of transplanting may be in any open wea-
ther, from November till February.

The propagation of apple trees is accomplished
hy seeds, cuttings, suckers, layers, or ingrafiing.
In raising from seed, care should he taken in
the choice of the fruit and varieties. The sorts
of apples proper for crossing, or reciprocal im-

 

IUSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

pregnation, appear to Le those which have a great
many qualities in common, and some different
qualities. Thus, the golden pippin has been
crossed by other pippins or rennets, and not by
calvils or codlings. A small sized apple crossed
by a large sort, will be more certain of produe-
ing a new variety than the above mode, but will
be almost equally certain of producing a variety
destitute of valnable qualities, the qualities of
parents of so opposite a nature, being, as it werc,
crudely jumbled together in the offspring. Mr
Knight’s method was as follows. In the blossoms
of the variety to be impregnated, he cut out the
stamens early; and after the pistil was mature
and ready for the pollen, he introduced this from
stamens of another variety. In this way, by
impregnating the orange pippin with the pollen
of the golden pippin, he produced the dowton,
red and yellow ingestrie, and grange pippins.

The seeds may be sown in autumn in light
earth, covered an inch, and either in beds or in
pots. They should be transplanted ont at the
end of the first year. The quickest way to bring
them toa bearing state, according to Williams, is
to let the plants be furnished with lateral shoots
from the ground upwards, so disposed as that
the leaves of the upper shoots may not shade
those situated underneath, pruning away only
trifling shoots. In this way he procured fruit
from seedling apples at four and five years of age,
instead of waiting ten years, as in ordinary cases.

By cuttings, every variety of apples may be
propagated. Trees raised in this way, according
to Bigg, from healthy one year old branches, with
blossom buds upon them, will continue to go on
bearing the finest fruit in a small compass for
many years; and are not liable to canker, proba-
bly because they spread out their roots horizon-
tally, and do not send down a long tap root.
The cuttings are to be chosen from the young
wood of horizontal or oblique branches, from six
to eight inches or more in length, with a small
portion of old wood at the lower end. The tip
of the shoot is to be cut off, and all their buds, ex-
cept two or three next the tip; the section at the
lower end is then to be smoothed, and the twig
inserted three or four inches in sandy loam,
covering with a glass, and watering and shading
them. The proper time for this operation is
early in February.

Grafting and Inoculation. This may be said
to be the universal practice in propagating the
apple. There are five kinds of stocks on which
the graft may be inserted. Seedling apples used
for full standards, and riders or wall standards.
Seedling crabs, for standards or half standards;
codling apples, from layers or cuttings, for dwarfs
and espaliers; paradise apples or doucins, from
layers or cuttings, for low dwarfs trained; and
creeper apples, from layers or cuttings, for the best
dwarfs or bushes,
TITE PEAR.

A preference, says Knight, has generally and
justly been given to apple stocks raised from the
seeds of crabs or the native tree, as heing more
hardy and durable, than those produced from
apple seedlings. The offspring of some varieties
of the crab, particularly that introduced from
Siberia, vegetate much earlier in the spring, and
hasten on to maturation sooner in summer than
other species of more temperate climes; and
hence it was at first supposed that such stocks
would continue to accelerate the grafts put‘ on
them in a similar manner; this, however, is found
not to be the case, the stock being entirely sub-
servient to the influence of the branches. The
operation of ingrafting we shall describe after-
wards,

The apple tree thrives best in a rich deep
loam, or marshy clay; but it will thrive in any
soil provided it is not too wet or too dry. It
succeeds best in situations which are neither
high nor remarkable low; in the former its blos-
soms are frequently injured hy cold winds; and
in the latter by spring frosts, particularly when
planted in the lowest part of a confined valley.
A south or south-east aspect is generally pre-
ferred, on account of the turbulence of the west,
and the coldness of north winds; but orchards,
where mutual shelter is afforded, succeed well in
all aspects.

In all the varieties of the apple, the mode of
bearing is upon small terminal and lateral spines,
or short robust shoots, from half an inch to two
inches long, which spring from the younger
branches of two or more years’ growth; appearing
first at the extremity, and extending gradually
down the side; the same bearing branches and
fruit spines continue many years fruitful.

Pruning. Apple trees do not admit of short-
ening in the general bearers, except when any
grow out of order, or irregularly, when they may
be pruned. As, where a good shoot is contig-
uous to a vacant space, it may be shortened to a
few eyes, in order that it may bud out Juxuri-
antly, and fill the vacant space. But to shorten
without such motives is not only to cut away the
principal bearing part of the branches, but gives
encouragement to the putting forth of many
useless woody shoots, where fruit spines would
otherwise arise. Espaliers and wall trees require
more cutting both in summer and winter, as well
as training into particular positions. All the
best fruit spines are carefully retained, and the
loose and useless shoots lopped off.

Apple trees are very liable to injuries by in-
sects. The greatest enemy is the apple bug, or
wooly aphis, (aphis lanigera.) This insect first
appeared in a nursery in Sloan St London, so
recently as the year 1787, and has now spread
over the whole kingdom. It is a minute insect,
covered with a long cotton-like down, and lives
in the chinks of the bark, where it multiplies

 

825

rapidly. It may be destroyed by anointing the
trees with spirit of tar, or carefully freeing the
branches of all loose bark, and sponging them
with lime water. In early spring the blossom
is attacked by the caterpillar of two or three
small moths, which conceal themselves in the
buds and open leaves, thus causing what is called
the blight. When the leaves are fully expanded,
other caterpillars attack and feed on them, the
chief of which is the figure of eight moths,
(bombyx ccevaleocephalus; ) snails and slugs also,
as well as the larve of insects, prey upon the
tender fruit.

In several of the counties of England, cider is
largely manufactured from apples. This process
consists in grinding down the pulp in a mill,
collecting and afterwards fermenting the juice,
when a brisk, pleasing, acid liquor is produced.

The cider counties of England have always
been considered as highly interesting. They lie
something in the form of a horse-shoe round the
Bristol channel; and the best are, Worcester and
Hereford on the north of the channel, and
Somerset and Devon on the south. In appear-
ance, they have a considerable advantage over
those counties in which grain alone is cultivated.
The blossoms cover an extensive district with a
profusion of flowers in the spring, and the fruit
is beautiful in autumn. Some of the orchards
occupy a space of forty or fifty acres; and the
trees being at considerable intervals, the land
is also kept in tillage. A great deal of practical
acquaintance with the qualities of soil is required
in the culture of apple and pear trees; and his
skill in the adaptation of trees to their situation
principally determines the success of the manu-
facturer of cider and perry. The produce of the
orchards is very fluctuating; and the growers
seldom expect an abundant crop more than once
in three years. The quantity of apples required
to make a hogshead of cider is from twenty-four
to thirty bushels; and in a good year an acre of
orchard will produce somewhere about six hun-
dred bushels, or from twenty to twenty-five
hogsheads, The cider harvest is in September.
When the season is favourable, the heaps of
apples collected at the presses are immense, con-
sisting of hundreds of tons. If any of the ves-
sels used in the manufacture of cider are of lead,
the beverage is not wholesome. The price of a
hogshead of cider generally varies from £2 to £5,
according to the season and quality; but cider of
the finest growth has sometimes been sold as
high as £20 the hogshead, direct from the
press, a price equal to that of many of the fine
wines of the Rhine or the Garonne.

Tue Pear, (pyrus communis.) This tree, in
its wild state, is armed with thorns, has upright
branches tending to the pyramidal form, in which
it differs materially from the apple tree. The
twigs or spray hang down, the leaves are cllipti-
326 ILSTORY OF THE VE
cal, obtuse, serrate; the flowers in terminating
villose corymbs produced from wood of the
preceding year, or from buds gradually formed
on that of several years’ growth on the extremi-
ties of very short protruding shoots, technically
called spurs. It is found in a wild state in
England, and abundantly in France and Ger-
many, as well as other parts of Europe, not ex-
cepting Russia, as far north as latitude 57°. It
grows in almost any soil. The cultivated tree
differs from the apple not only in having a ten-
dency to the pyramidal form, but also in being
more apt to send out tap roots, in being, as a
seedling plant, longer of coming to bearing, tak-
ing from fifteen to sixteen years; and when on
its own root, or grafted on a wild pear stock, of
being much longer lived. Ina dry soil it will
exist for centuries, and still keep its health, pro-
ductiveness, and vigour. The pear has been
known from the remotest antiquity.

Amongst the trees which Homer describes as
forming the orchard of Laertes, the father of
Ulysses, we find the pear. Pliny mentions several
sorts of pears which were grown in Italy, and
particularly mentions that a fermented liquor
was formed of their expressed juice. It is pro-
bable that the Romans brought the cultivated
pear to England, and that the monks paid great
attention to its yarictics. There is a tradition
that King John was poisoned in a dish of pears
by the monks of Swinstead; and the tale, whether
true or false, would imply that the fruit was
such as the churchmen would offer to the mon-
arch asa luxury. In an old book of household
accounts of Ilenry VIIT., there is an item of
twopence “toa woman who gaff the kyng peres;”
and in the time of Gerard, we find that great
attention was paid to their growth by the nur-
serymen in the neighbourhood of London, The
old herbalist, after declaring that in his time to
write of the sorts of apples and pears, “and
those exceeding good,” would require ‘¢a par-
ticular volume,” adds, “Master Richard Pointer
has them all growing in his ground at Twicken-
ham, near London, who is a most cunning and
curious grafter and planter of all manner of rare
fruits; and also in the ground of an excellent,
grafter and puinful planter, Master Henry Bun-
bury, of Touthil street near unto Westminster;
and likewise in the ground of a diligent and most,
affectionate lover of plants, Master Warner, necre
Ilorsly Down, by London; and in divers other
grounds about London.” The neighbourhood of
Worcester was probally then celebrated, as at
the present day, for the cultivation of this fruit,
for three pears are borne in the arms of the
city.

Most of the fine sorts of pears are of contin-
ental origin, the horticulturists of France and
the Netherlands having paid more attention to
that species of fruit than those of Mnaland, As

 

GETABLE KINGDOM.

these varicties have retained their original names,
a good many laughable corruptions have heen
produced in their popular nomenclature. Thus
the Bon-chréticn, is converted into the Bon-
erutching; the Beurré into the Bury; the Chau-
montelle into the Charmingtel. Such odd names
as the bishop’s thumb, and many others which
our fruitercrs use, may probably be traced to a
similar caus>. In the names of apples there is
the same corruption, as Runnet for Retnette.
The names of fruits in all countries occasionally
present some Janghable anomalics, such as the
“ Bon-Chrétion Ture,’ one of the finest of the
French pears.

The Chines, who are said to carry the culti-
vation of fruit to much greater perfection than
the European gardeners, are stated hy Marco
Polo to have pears, white in the inside, melting,
and with a fragrant smell, of the enormous weight
of ten pounds cach.

The wood of the pear is much firmer than
that of the apple, and it is much less liable to be
attacked by insects, or to decay. In some of the
old orchards, where the apple trees have wholly
disappeared, the pears are in full vigour, and
bear abundantly. This is remarkably the case
at the old Abbey garden at Lindores, on the
south bank of the Tay, in the county of Fife:
disease could have nothing to do with the death
of the apple trees there, as the soil is one of tho
very best for apples in the kingdom, Icing fine
strong black loam to a great depth. Yet there
are many old apple trees in the kingdom. At
lforton, in| Buckinghamshire, where Milton
spent some of his earlicr years, there is an apple
tree still growing, of which the oldest people re-
member to have heard it said that the poet was
accustomed to sit under it. And upon the low
leads of the church at Rumsey, in Iampshire,
there isan apple tree still bearing fruit, which
is said to be two hundred years old.

The fruit catalogue of the Uortieultural So-
ciety contains above six hundred varieties of the
pear; and itis there observed, that “the newly
introduced Flemish kinds, are cf much more
importance than the greater part of the sorts
which have been hitherto cultivated in Great
Britain, and when brought into use will give
quite a new feature to the dessert.”

Good pears are a luscious fruit. They are
characterised by a saccharine aromatic juice, a
soft and pearly liquid pulp melting in the mouth,
as in the leurrés or butter pear; or a firm and
crisp consistence, as in the winter bergamots.
Kitchen pears should be of a large size, with the
flesh firm, neither brittle nor melting, and rather
austere than sweet, as the wardens. Pears for
the manufacture of perry, may be cither large
or small, but the more austere the taste the better
will be the liquor. The wild pear produces an
excellent perry.
THE QUINCE,

The best sorts of pear where the space is lim-
ited, or for the cottage garden, are: The jargon-
elle, Marie Louise, beurre de capiaumont, beurre
diel, glout morgeau, easter Leurré, and beurré
rance. With the exception of the jargonelle,
all these sorts are hardy enough without a wall;
but when this can be obtained, the best fruit
will be produced.

The propagation of the pear may be accom-
plished by seeds, by layerg, or suckers, but not
easily by cuttings: the most approved way is
raising seedlings, or grafting and budding. The
same principles of selection of seed, and crossing
by means of the pollen of different sorts, are
applicable to the pear as to the apple. Seedling
pears, however, do not so soon bear as apples,
At Brussels, according to Neill, scedling pears
hear fruit in four or five years; whereas in Bri-
tain they seldom bear before the seventh or eighth
year. The fruit of the first year of bearing
is Always inferior to that of the second or third
years. Ifa pear or an apple possesses a white
and heavy pulp, with juice of rather pungent
acidity, it may be expected in the second, third,
and subsequent years, greatly to improve in size
and flavour. New varieties of pears, and indeed
of all fruits, are more likely to be obtained from
the seeds of new than of old sorts.

In grafting the pear, the most common stocks
are the common pear and wilding; but as the
apple is dwarfed, and brought more early into a
bearing state by grafting on the paraden or
creeper, so is the pear by grafting on the quince
or white-thorn. The pear will also succeed very
well on the white beam, medlar, service, or apple;
but the wilding and quince are in most general
use. On the thorn, pears come very early into
bearing, continue prolific, and, in respect of soil,
will thrive well on a strong clay. <A dry deep
loam is reckoned the best soil for the pear tree,
when the stock is of its own species; on a quince
stock it requires a moist soil. Gravel is a good
subsoil where the incumbent soil is suitable.

The mode of bearing of the pear differs some-
what from that of the apple. It does not pro-
duce blossoms on the former year’s wood, but
its buds are formed on spurs growing out of wood
not younger than one year old, and consequently
projecting spurs all over the tree must be ieft
for that purpose.

Pruning is not often wanted in the culture of
the pear tree, which is rarely much encumbered
with superfluous branches; but in some kinds,
whose form of growth resembles the apple tree,
it will sometimes be found beneficial. All ir-
regular crowded or decayed branches are of
course to be lopped off, and the head is to be
kept moderately open in the middle.

Perry is produced from the pear. It is chiefly
manufactured in Worcestershire, and from thence
is exported to America, and the East and West

 

327

Indies. It is of a higher and richer flavour than
cider, and less acid; and when of genuine quality
is highly esteemed, commanding a price equal
to that of some of the best continental wines,
Tue Quince, (Pyrus cydonia,) The quince
tree is of low growth, much branched, and gene-

 

The Quince.

erally much contorted; the leaves are roundish,
or ovate, entire, of adusky green above, and white
underneath, and attached by short petals, The
flowers are large, white, or pale red, and appear
in May and June. The fruit differs in shape
and size in the different varieties, It is large,
globular, oblong, or pear-shaped, of arich yellow
or orange colour wlien ripe, and a strong peculiar
odour. Its taste is austere; the pulp is composed
of sugar, vegetable jelly, astringent matter, malic
acid, &c. The seeds are mucilaginous, The
dietetic properties of the fruit are similar to
those of the apple and pear. It is mentioned
by Tusser as cultivated in England in 1753, but
it has now come into general use in this coun-
try. Quince pie was once reckoned amongst
the delicacies of the table, but it is now rarely
produced. To some tastes, quince mixed with
other fruit contributes to it an agreeable
piquancy.

The quince was introduced into Europe, ac-
cording to Pliny, from the island of Crete.
From the largeness of this fruit, and its splendid
colour, it is not improbable that it was the same
with the apples of the Hesperides; for Galesio,
in his treatise on the orange, has shown that the
orange tree was unknown to the Greeks, and
that it did not naturally grow in those parts
where the gardens of the Hesperides were placed
by them. The fruit of the quince, however
useful and ornamental it may be in some res-
pects, does not warrant such honours, and in
truth has not continued to receive them; for the
French, who have paid great attention to its cul-
tivation, particularly for grafting pears upon its
stocks, call the quince tree “coignassier,” pro-
bably, according to Du Hamel, because the dis-
agreeable odour of the fruit requires that it should
be placed in a corner (coin) of the orchard or
garden. In the south of France, particularly
on the borders of the Garonne, the quince is
very extensively grown; and the peasants pre-
pare from it a marmalade, which they call cotéy-
328

nae. The term marmalade is derived from the
Portuguese name for the quince, marmelo, Ger-
ard says, that in his time quince trecs were
planted in the hedges of gardens and vineyards;
and marmalade, two centuries ago, seems to have
been in general use, principally from a belief
that it possessed valuable medicinal properties.
The seeds of the quince are still used in medi-
cing, on account of the great quantity of muci-
lage which they yield to boiling water.

There are eight varieties of the quince noticed:

in the fruit catalogue of the Horticultural So-
ciety. Amongst these the Chinese quince (cy-
donia Chinensis ) is inserted on account of the re-
semblance which its fruit has to that of the
common quince; although in France, where only
in Europe it has produced fruit, it is not con-
sidered catalle. The Chinese quince was intro-

duced into Englandand Holland nearly forty years ,

ago, and was planted in France about ten years
later. The tree has much the appearance of the
common quince, as well as the fruit. It is re-
markable for the number and brilliency of its
flowers.

The quince is not caten raw, but is used in
pies or tarts, stewed. It also forms an excellent
marmalade or syrup. When apples have lost
their flavour, the addition of a few quinces adds
much to their sharpness and acidity. The ex-
pressed juice of the quince was formerly a good
deal employed in medicine; as also an infusion
of the seeds, which forms a good emollient, simi-
lar to that made from the gums.

This tree prefers a soft moist soil, and rather
shady situation. It is propagated by layers and
cuttings, and approved sorts are perpetuated by
grafting.

Tue Mepiar, (mespilus Germanica.) This is
wu middle sized branching trec. The branches
are woolly and covered with an ash-coloured
bark, and in a wild state armed with stiff spines,
The leaves are oval, lanceolate, serrate; towards
the point somewhat woolly, and set on very short
channeled petioles. The flowers are produced
on small natural spurs, at the ends and sides of
the branches. The bractee are as long as the
corolla, the calyxes terminating fleshy, the petals
white. The tree flowers in June and July, and
the fruit is ripe in November.

The medlar is a fruit resembling the smaller
apples, and has a good deal of flavour, but is not
fit for use until it is very ripe. This ripeness is
seldom or never attained while the fruit remains
on the tree. It is generally understood to be a
native of the south of Europe; but it has been
naturalized, though rarely, in the hedgerows in
England.

thn Sicily, according to Miller, it rises to be a
large tree, with a straight stein, and the fruit
shaped like a pear. The Dutch medlar, which
is the kin] most cultivated in Mngland, does not

 

NISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

reach a great height, and is crooked and unsightly
in the branches. The leaves are much larger
than those of the common medlar, and they are
downy on their under sides. The fruit, also, is
larger, and so are the flowers; but it is inferior
in pungency and flavour to the smaller sort,
which is known by the name of the Nottingham
medlar.

The timber of the medlar is very hard and
durable. he tree is also rather a slow grower,
and lasts to a great age.

Tron Service, (pyrus domestica.) This tree
is a native of France and Italy. Ithasalso been
occasionally found wild in England. At present
it is scarcely cultivated in this country, and plants
of it are rarely to be met with in our nurseries.
Tt is a middle-sized tree; the leaves are small
and pinnated, and villous beneath. It bears a
profusion of white flowers. There are two vav-
ieties, one bearing an apple-shaped fruit, the
othera pear-shaped. These fruits are very small,
and, like the medlar, are only eatable when mel-
lowed with age. They have a peculiar acrid
flavour. The wood of this tree is very hard and
homogeneous; quite free of pores, and is much
used in making mathematical rulers.

In France it was also at one time employed
in the construction of screws for wine presses.
The tree is propagated by seeds, cuttings, and
layers; or, in good soils, by grafting on seedlings
of the same species. The best soil is a strong
clay loam.

Cocoa Prum, (chrysobalanus, ) literally golden
acorn, There are two species of this tropical
fruit, the West Indian c. écaco, and the American
c. oblongifolius. The icaco bears flowers and
fruit similar to those of the plum. This fruit is
common in the West Indies, and is eaten both
raw and preserved; both species grow well in a
sandy loam. They are propagated by large cut-
tings, taken off at a joint.

Tue Loquat, (criobotrya japonica.) This is
also a tropical plant, belonging to the pomacee.
The leaves are lanceolate and serrated, the fruit
about the size of a gooseberry, of a fine yellow
colour, and, according to Sir Joseph Banks, as
good asthe mango. To bring it to maturity in
this country, it requires the heat of a stove,
and it comes into use in March. It may be
erafted on any species of the genus, or on the
hawthorn.

Amyepatus. This, the Greek name of the
almond, forms a genus of fruit trees and shrubs,
comprehending the peach, nectarine, sweet and
bitter almond, dwarf almond, and a few others.
The leaves are lanceolate or obovate, with ser-
rated edges; the flowers make their appearance
early, and are of a delicate gray colour. The peach
and nectarine are the most delicious of European
fruits: the sweet almond is esteemed for its ker-
nel, which contains a quantity of bland fixed
THE PEACH AND NECTSRINE. 829

oil. The dwarf and double dwarf almonds, are
pretty ornamental shrubs,

Tun Peacu ayp Necrarinz, (amygdalus Per-
sica..) The peach, when growing naturally, is

 

The Peach.

rather under the middle size of trees, with spread-
ing branches, of quick growth, and not long
lived. The blossoms come out before the leaves
are fully expanded; they are of a gay delicate
colour, but with little odour. The fruit is round,
with a furrow on one side, and with a delicate
downy skin. Sickler considers Persia as the
original country of the peach, which in Media
is esteemed unwholesome; but when planted in
the alluvial soils of Egypt, becomes pulpy, de-
licious, and salubrious. The peach also, accord-
ing to Columella, when first brought from Per-
sia into the Roman empire, possessed deleterious
qualities, which Knight concludes to have been
from those peaches being only swollen almonds,
or imperfect peaches, and which are known to
contain the prussic acid, a poisonous substance.
The flesh of the almond is at this day considered
as poisonous on some parts of the continent.
The tree has been cultivated from time imme-
morial, in most parts of Asia. At what period
it was introduced into Greece is uncertain. The
Romans seem to have brought it direct from
Persia, during the reign of the Emperor Clau-
dius. It is first mentioned by Columella, and
afterwards described by Pliny. The peach was
introduced into England about the middle of the
sixteenth century, where it is always cultivated
against walls or under glass. The peach is more
grateful to the palate than perhaps any other
fruit raised in England, either naturally or by
art, with the exception of the luscious, mellow-
flavoured pine apple. It surpasses the grape in
richness, and is more delicate than the melon.
Linneus divides the peach into two varieties,
that with downy fruit, or the peach, commonly
so called, and that with smooth fruit, as the nec-
tarine. here are various instances of both
fruits growing on the same tree. Thus, trees
raised from the stone or seed, have not only borne
fruit having on one part of the tree the downy
coat of the peach, and on another the smooth
coat of the nectarine, but they have exhibited

 

varieties even closer than that, for single fruits
have been produced with the coat of the peach
on the one side, and that of the nectarine on the
other.*

The French consider them as identical, and
arrange the peach into four divisions. 1. The
free stone peaches, the flesh of whose fruit separ-
ates readily from the skin and the stone; 2. The
free stone nectarines, or smooth peaches; 3. The
cling-stone peaches, whose flesh is firm, and
adheres both to the skin and the stone; 4. The
cling stone smooth peaches, The double blos-
somed peach is one of the most ornamental of
spring flowering trees. It is about three weeks
later of blossoming than the common peach.

In the warmer parts of Asia the peach is very
generally cultivated, and in many it grows abun-
dantly without culture.

On some parts of the American continent
also, the peach grows readily, and in great plenty.
Captain Head, in his Rough Notes, mentions the
beauty and productiveness of the peach trees
which are scattered over the corn fields in the
neighbourhood of Mendoza, on the east side of
the Andes; and the same traveller notices dried
peaches as an article of food in the mountainous
parts, to which they must of course be carried
from the plains.

In many parts of the United States, peach
trees grow in extensive plantations. They con-
tinue without culture; and the fruit is of little
value, except in the distillation of peach brandy,
and the fattening of hogs, The following ac-
count of the peach orchards in the United States,
and of a variety of peach which the describer
obtained from that country, was communicated
to the Horticultural Society in 1815, by Mr John
Braddick, of Thames Ditton :—

“Some years ago, when travelling through
Maryland, Virginia, and the neighbouring pro-
vinces of the United States of America, I had
an opportunity of observing the mode in which
the peach trees of those provinces were culti-
vated, which was invariably from the stone of
the peach, the plant being never budded, but
always remaining in a state of nature. In the
middle and.southern provinces of the United
States, it is no uncommon circumstance for a
planter to possess a sufficient number of peach
trees to produce him, after fermenting and dis-
tilling the pulp, from fifty to one hundred gal-
lons of peach brandy; the manufacturing of this
liquor, and the feeding of hogs, being the prin-
cipal uses to which the peach is applied in those
countries. A peach orchard usually contains a
thousand or more standard trees. The tree
being raised in the manner I have detailed, it is
easy to conceive that the fruit growing on them
must be an endless variety, scarcely two treos

* Horticult. Transact. Vol. I.
2T
330

producing exactly alike; and although by far
the greater number of trees, in any of these
orchards, will always be found to produce fruit
below mediocrity in point of flavour, yet a judi-
cious observer will never fail, among so great a
number, to pick out a few trees, the race of which
may be considered worthy of preserving.”

The peach is said to have been first cultivated
im England about the middle of the sixteenth
century. Gerard describes several varieties of
peach as growing in his garden. Tusser men-
tions it among his list of fruits in 1557.

In the neighbourhood of Paris much attention
is paid to the culture of peach trees; and the
peaches there are of excellent quality. The
principal gardens for the supply of the French
capital are at Montreuil, a village near Paris;
and one tree there sometimes covers sixty feet
of wall, from the one extremity to the other.
The Montreuil peaches are of the finest flavour;
and their excellence is properly attributed to the
exclusive attention of the people to their cul-
ture. The sub-division of labour and skill pro-
duces the same results in every art.

The espalier peaches of the Duc de Pyraslin,
near Melun, are stated to be the finest in Europe.

All the peaches have in the kernel a flavour
resembling that of noyau, which depends on the
presence of prussic or hydrocyanic acid. The
leaves have the same flavour, which they impart
by infusion either in water or in spirits.

The facility of raising the peach from the
stone has probably tended to its general diffusion
throughout the world. This fruit has steadily
followed the progress of civilization; and man,
“from China to Peru,” has surrounded himself
with the luxury of this, and of the other stone
fruits, very soon after he has begun to taste the
blessings of a settled life. There are still spots
where ignorance prevents portions of the human
race from enjoying the blessings which Provi-
dence has everywhere ordained for industry; and
there are others where tyranny forbids the earth
to be cultivated and produce its fruits. The in-
habitants of the Hauran, who are constantly
wandering, to escape the dreadful exactions of
some petty tyrant, have neither orchards nor
fruit trees, nor gardens for the growth of vege-
tables. “Shall we sow for strangers?” was the
affecting answer of one of them to Burckhardt.

The peach is raised from the stone, and this
mode is pursued in America, even for procuring
trees for common purposes. Knight produced
varieties in the following manner. He planted
dwarfs in large pots; these being brought into a
state of vigorous health, the pistils of the blos-
som of one sort were impregnated with the pol-
len of another, only three peaches were suffered
to remain on each tree; and from sowing the
stones of these, the Acton Scot, the spring grove,
and other varieties were produced. Knight also

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

maintained “that the peach tree might, in succes-
sive generations, beso far hardened and naturalised
to the climate of England and Ireland, as to
succeed well as a standard in favourable situa-
tions. The peach does not, like many other
species of fruit trees, exercise the patience of
the gardener who raises it from the seed; for it
may always be made to bear when three years
old.” Mr Knight even succeeded in producing
blossom buds the first year.

The peach is generally budded on damson,
plum stocks, and some of the more delicate sorts;
on apricot stocks, or old apricot trees cut down,
or on seedling peaches, almonds, or nectarines.
The soil best suited for the peach is “three parts
mellow, unexhausted loam; and one part drift
sand, mixed with vegetable mould or manure.”
Peaches require a lighter soil than pears or
plums.

All the varieties bear the fruit upon young
wood of a year old, the blossom buds rising im-
mediately from the eyes of the shoots. The
same shoot seldom bears after the first year, ex-
cept on some casual small spurs on the two year’s
wood. Hence the trees are to be pruned, as
bearing entirely on the shoots of the preceding
year, and a full supply of every year’s shoots
must be trained in for successorial bearers the
following season. The following are short and
useful hints: “ Use a strong loam for the border,
never crop it, add no manure, keep the trees
thin of wood by disbudding, and the early re-
moval of useless wood; shorten each shoot ac-
cording to its strength at the spring pruning, ele-
vate the ends of theleading branches, so that they
may all form the same curvilinear direction up-
wards, and keep the trees in a clean and healthy
state.’* Various species of aphis, and the
acarus, ov red spider, infest the leaves of the
peach.

One of the greatest blessings, says a recent
writer,t that can be conferred upon any rude
people, (and it is a blessing which will bring
knowledge, and virtue, and peace, in its train) is
to teach them how to cultivate those vegetable
productions which constitute the best riches of
mankind. The traveller Burchel rendered such
a service to the Bachapins, a tribe of the interior
of southern Africa. He gave to their chief a
bag of fresh peach stones, in quantity about a
quart; “nor did I fail,” says the benevolent visitor
of these poor people, “to impress on his mind a
just idea of their value and nature, by telling
him that they would produce trees which would
continue every year to yield, without further
trouble, abundance of large fruit of a more
agreeable flavour than any which grew in the
country of the Bachapins.” This is an interest-

* Callow.
+ Library of Entertaining Knowledge,
THE ALMOND.

ing example of how much good a right minded
and active individual may do to his humbler
brethren of the human family. “Why have
not every where the names been preserved,” says
Humboldt, “of those who, in place of ravaging
the earth, have enriched it with plants useful to
the human race?” It is satisfactory to observe,
however, that when men -are highly civilized,
there is an elasticity in their mental energies,
which makes the destruction of tyranny and war
of less permanent injury than when their in-
flictions fall upon a rude people. Sickler, a dis-
tinguished naturalist of Germany, who has paid
particular attention to the cultivation of fruit
trees, had, in the Duchy of Saxe Gotha, formed
three nurseries for fruit trees, one of which con-
tained eight thousand grafted plants. In 1806,
this nursery was entirely destroyed by the French,
after the battle of Jena: Ney’s corps bivou-
acked in it. After the battle of Leipsic, in 1814,
another nursery, planted by the same eminent
man, was destroyed by the Cossacks. Yet in
1817 he had planted and reared a third nursery
with his own hand,—persevering, in spite of the
injuries which he had received in these dreadful
contests to distribute his fine plants, and the
knowledge of their cultivation, over his native
country. The labours of such aman will endure
when the fame of conquerors is forgotten, or
thought worthless, or only remembered to be
hated as it deserves.

It has been already stated that some doubts
exist as to the difference between the peach and
the almond being more than apparent. With
reference to this subject, there is a curious fact
recorded by the president of the Horticultural
Society. The fruit of asweet almond tree, which
had been obtained from an almond kernel, that
had, when in flower, been impregnated with
peach pollen, was sown, and produced a tree:
this tree bore eight peaches, some of which were
perfect, and the others burst at the centre when
ripe, as is the case with almonds. The peaches
were finely formed and coloured ; the flesh white,
soft, melting, and of good flavour. This experi-
ment is curious; for though it does not com-
pletely establish the fact of the convertibility of
an almond into a peach, it does so in great part,
by showing that only the pollen is necessary to
effect such a change.

The Flat Peach of China is perhaps the most
singular of the peach tribe. The size of it re-
sembles that of the apple; and the stalk and eye
approach so near as to give it the appearance of
aring of flesh, with a stone in the middle. The
following description accompanied specimens
presented to the Horticultural Society by Mr
Braddick :—

“This fruit is of truly singular form, and per-
haps will be best described as having the appear-
ance of a peach flattened by pressure at the head

 

331

and stalk; its upright diameter, taken through
the centre, from eye to stalk, being eleven six-
teenths of an inch, consisting wholly of the
stone, except the skin; that of its sides is one
inch and one-eighth, its transverse diameter being
two inches and a half. The head of the fruit is
crooked in such a manner, as to look like a
broad and rather hollow eye of an irregular and
five-angled, (or lobed) shape, surrounded by the
appearance of the remains of the leaves of a
calyx: the whole surface of this eye is roughly
marked with small irregular warted lines, like
the crown of amedlar. The colour of the skin
of the fruit is pale yellow, mottled, or rather
speckled with red on the part exposed to the
sun, and covered with a fine down. The flesh
is pale yellow, having a beautiful radiated circle
of fine red surrounding the stone, and extending
far into the fruit. The stone is flatly compressed,
small, rough, and irregular. The consistence
and flavour of the fiesh is that of a good melting
peach, being sweet and juicy, witha little noyau
flavour, or bitter aroma. This peach is culti-
vated in China, representations of it being con-
tinually seen on the papers and drawings received
from that country; and it is well known at Can-
ton, where it is esteemed as a good fruit.”

Tue Atmonp, (amygdalus communis, and a.
amarus.) The sweet and bitter almond trees

121.

 

The Almond.

are similay in appearance to the peach, and grow
to the height of about twenty feet, with spread-
ing, branches, and blossoms of « more varied
colour than the peach.

It is probable that the almond is a native of
the western parts of Asia. The almond is men-
tioned in the Scriptures as amongst the best
fruits of the land of Canaan. It is very plen-
tiful in China, in most of the eastern countries,
and also in Barbary. In that country it is the
most early bearer of all the fruit trees. It flowers
552

in January, and gives its fruit in April. It does
not appear that the almond tree, (which is now
abundantly cultivated for its fruit in Italy, Spain,
and the south of Francc) was so early introduced
into the first of these countries as the peach, or
that its native region was so well known, “Greek
nuts” being the name given to almonds at Rome
in the time of Cato.

The fruit of the almond is not so attractive as
that of the peach; because, instead of presenting
the same delicious pulp as that, the pericarp of
the almond shrivels as the fruit ripens; and when
the ripening is completed, has become a horny
kind of husk, which opens of its own accord.
The kernel of some varieties of the almond, is
not defended by so tough a shell as that of the
peach and nectarine; for it is eften so tender that
the nuts break when shaken together.

In the south of Europe, where the almond is
cultivated with as much care as the peach is in
this country, its varieties are carefully distin-
guished. The bitter and the sweet are perman-
ently distinct varieties; and after this leading
character is observed, the variety is further dis-
tinguished by the form and degree of hardness
of the shell. For instance, the French have,
“amandier a coque dure’—“‘amandier a coque
demi-dure”—“amandier a coque tendre.”

In England, almond trees are chiefly culti-
vated for the beauty of their early flowers; and
for this reason, the common kind, and the double-
flowering dwarfs, are preferred. There is some-
thing very charming in the peculiarity which
belongs to this tree, of blossoming on the bare
branches :

“The hope, in dreams, of a happier hour,
That alights on miscry’s brow,

Springs out of the silvery almond-flower,
That blooms on a leafless bough.”

One of the most beautiful tales of the Greek
mythology (that of the Loves of Phylis and De-
mophoon) is founded on this property of the
almond tree.

The almond is raised from seed like the peach,
for varieties or for stocks; and by budding on
its own or on plum stocks, for continuing varie-
ties. The fruit is produced chiefly on the young
wood of the previous year, and in part on small
spurs of two or three years’ growth.

Almond trees ripen their fruit in England,
though the produce is very inferior to that which
is imported. The flowers of the productive
almond, both the sweet and the hitter, are much
less showy than those of the unproductive,
Like most of the other nut-bearing trees, the
almond yields an oil. Between the expressed
oil of bitter, and that of sweet almonds, there is
little difference; but the bitter almond contains
an essential oil, while the sweet almond has
none. Owing to the prussic acid which it con-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

tains, this essential oil is found, by experiment,
to be exceedingly poisonous; and therefore the use
of bitter almonds should be carefully avoided in
every instance where there is a chance that the
essential oil may be separated in the stomach.
So very violent is the poison of this oil, that in-
stances are recorded of persons dying in conse-
quence of drinking even a very small portion of
spirits flavoured by it; and, in its concentrated
state, it is probably not exceeded, in its hurtful
effects, even by the essential oil of tobacco itself,
or by any of the narcotic vegetable poisons,

According to Haller, bitter almonds are a poi-
son to birds and quadrupeds.

Almond oil (the expressed oil) is principally
obtained from the almonds of Valentia and Bar-
bary; the Syrian almonds, usually called Jordan
almonds, being preferred for the table.

The Large Fruited Almond (var. macrocarpa )
is one of the most beautiful varieties of the
almond. The flowers are twice as large as those
of the common sort, and remain longer in per-
fection: the fruit also is larger. There is a spe-
cimen in the garden of the Horticultural Society,
which has been figured and described by Mr
Lindley in the Botanical Register; who remarks,
that this almond is “inereased by budding upon
plums and other drupaceous plants.”

About four hundred and fifty tons of almonds
are annually imported into Great Britain, pay-
ing a duty of £18,000.

Prunus. This genus comprehends the apricot,
the plum, the cherry, the sloe, the laurel, and
several other ornamental shrubs. The designa-
tion prunus, is of Greek origin, but its deriva-
tion or particular meaning is unknown. This
family are characterised by all the species possess-
ing, in greater or less degree, a portion of prussic
acid. In fact, many of the species are decidedly
poisonous; and though the fruit of some of them
is agreeable to the taste, and safe enough when
taken in limited quantities, there is none of the
family that can be indulged in to excess with
impunity. Columella says that the Persians
sent the peach to Egypt to poison the inhabi-
tants; and a species of apricot is called by the
people of Barbary, “matza Franca,” or the killer
of Christians. All these evil qualities are, how-
ever, destroyed by cultivation; for it is the pri-
vilege of man not only to distinguish between
the good and evil properties of vegetables, but
to eradicate the evil, in many cases, by his skill
and industry.

Tur Apricot, (prunus Armeniaca.) The apri-
cot is a low tree of rather crooked growth, with
subcordate leaves and sessile flowers. The fruit
is round, about the size of the peach, and re-
sembling it in delicacy of flavour.

The apricot is very widely diffused in Asia,
and grows upon the slopes of the barren moun-
tains westward of China. Many species of it
THE PLUM.

are cultivated; and, as they ripen earlier than
the peach and nectarine, they are in considerable
estimation. Some varieties are exceedingly de-
licious; and the Persians, in their figurative lan-
guage, call theapricot of Iran “the seed of thesun.”

It should seem that the apricot was known in
Italy in the time of Dioscorides; and that it got
itsname precocia from ripening earlier than some
other fruits. The modern Greek name zegixux-
xe is very like the Arabic name berikach. The
Romans set little value upon the apricot, as ap-
pears by an epigram of Martial. If the ancient
name is to be retained, a-precoke, as it used to
be styled by our most early writers on horticul-
ture, is the classical appellation, and the modern
apricot the vulgarism or corruption.

The apricot is said to derive its scientific name
from its almost covering the slopes of the Cau-
casus, the Ararat, and the other mountainsin and
about Armenia, up almost to the margin of the
snow. The general opinion that it is a native of
Armenia has, however, been controverted by M.
Regnier, a French naturalist, who contends, that
as Armenia is a high mountainous country, the
climate of which resembles that of middle
Europe, it cannot possibly be the country of a
tree which begins to flower so early, that its
blossoms are often destroyed by the frost, not-
withstanding every care of the cultivator. The
apricot, too, although it has been cultivated in
Europe for many ages, never sprang up from
seeds in any of our forests; neither has it been
found wild either in Armenia or any of the
neighbouring provinces. M. Regnier is of opin-
ion that it is a native of Africa, and that its
limits appear to be a parallel between the Niger
and the range of the Atlas mountains, from
whence it has, by cultivation, been carried to-
wards the north.

Apricots are very plentiful, and in great var-
iety, in China; and the natives employ them
variously in the arts. From the wild tree, the
pulp of whose fruit'is of little value, but which
has a large kernel, they extract an oil; they pre-
serve the fruit wet in all its flavour; and they
make lozenges of the clarified juice, which afford
avery agreeable beverage when dissolved in water.
The apricot attains the size of a large tree in
Japan. It also flourishes in such abundance
upon the Oases, as to be dried and carried to
Egypt as an article of commerce. In those sul-
try climates, the flavour is exquisite, though the
fruit is small.

Gough, in his British Topography, states that
the apricot tree was first brought to England, in
1524, by Woolf, the gardener to Henry VIII.
Gerard had two varieties in his garden.

There are fifteen or twenty excellent varieties
of apricot, besides the peach apricot, a large
fruit supposed to be a hybrid, between a peach
end an apricot.

 

333

New varieties are procured by planting the
seed; and approved sorts are propagated by bud-
ding on plum stocks, The trees are trained
against the wall, and bear in the open air, in all
the sheltered parts of Britain. The fruit is pro-
duced on the young shoots of last year, or some-
times on two or three year old spurs, The bear-
ing shoots throw out the blossoms immediately
from the eyes along the sides, and the buds have
around and swelling appearance. The apricot
does not force well.

Tae Prum, (prunus domestica.) The plum
appears to be still more widely diffused in ita
original locality than the apri-
cot; and it is much more prone
to run into varieties. It is a
tree of fifteen to twenty feet in
height, and branches out intoa
moderately spreading head. It
is a native of Asia, and of many
parts of Europe; and even grows
wild in the hedges in some
parts of Britain, though possi-
bly it may have found its way
there from some of the culti-
vated sorts, and have degener-
ated. The plum, and almost all
its species, is very apt to run under ground, and
produce suckers from the roots. Du Hamel says
that if plums are grafted low, and covered with
earth, they push out shoots which may be trans-
planted.

Plums of various sorts appear to have been
introduced into England as early as the fifteenth
century. These varieties came to us from France
and Italy. The “Green-gage” is the Heine
Claude of France, so called from having been in-
troduced into that country by the wife of Francis
I. Itis called gage in England, after the name
of the family who first cultivated it here. The
“QOrleans” probably came to us when we held
possession of that part of France from which it
takes its name. Lord Cromwell introduced
several plums from Italy, in the time of Henry
VII. The damson, or damascene, as its name
imports, is from Damascus.

In some countries, particularly in Alsatia, a
considerable quantity of alcohol is produced from
plums and cherries by fermentation. Dried
plums form a large article of commerce, under
the name of prunes and French plums.

There are nearly three hundred varieties of
plums, many of which are, perhaps, only dis-
similar in name. The Washington, a modern
variety, which is stated in the Pomological Ma~
gazine not to be surpassed in richness of flavour,
beauty, and other good qualities, by any, is
curious in its origin. The parent tree was pur-
chased in the market of New York, some time
in the end of last century. It remained barren
several years, till, during a violent thunder-

 
334

storm, the whole trunk was struck to the earth
and destroyed. The root afterwards threw out
a number of vigorous shoots, all of which were
allowed to remain, and finally produced fruit.
It is, therefore, to be presumed that the stock of
the barren kind was the parent of this. Trees
were sent to Mr Robert Barclay, of Bury Hill,
in 1819; and in 1821 several others were sent to
the Horticultural Society by Dr Hosack.

Most of the varieties of the plum are propa-
gated by grafting or budding on the muscle, St
Julian magnum bonum, or any free growing
plums raised from seed or from suckers; but for
a permanent plantation seedlings are to be pre-
ferred. The common baking plums, as the dam-
son, bullace, Wentworth, are generally propa-
gated by suckers, without being either budded
or grafted. Plumb-grafting is performed in
July or March; budding in July or August.
A middling light soil, neither too wet or too
dry, is best suited for this tree.

All the sorts produce their fruit on small na-
tural spurs, rising at the ends and along the
sides of the bearing shoots, of one, two, or three
years’ growth. In pruning, the fruitful branches
should not be shortened, but thinnings made of
cross placed or irregular branches.

Tor Cuerry (prunus cerasus). The culti-
vated cherry is by some considered a distinct
species, while others suppose it a domesticated
yariety of the wild cherry or gean. Besides being
prized for its fruit, the cherry is also a very
ornamental tree, and cultivated for this object
in shrubberies. The tree is a native of most
temperate countries of the northern hemisphere.
The small black is found not only in some parts
of England, but even in places among the Scot-
tish mountains, where it would be difficult to
imagine it to have been carried. It is gen-
erally said that the first of the present cultivated
sorts was introduced about the time of Henry
VIII., and were originally planted at Sitting-
bourn, in Kent. The cherry orchards of Kent
are still celebrated. It seems, however, that
they were known much earlier, or, at any rate,
that cherries were hawked about London before
the middle of the sixteenth century, in the very
same manner as at present. The commencement
of the season was announced by one carrying a
bough or twig loaded with the fruit. Our pre-
sent popular song of “Cherry ripe, ripe I ery,”
is very slightly altered from Herrick, a poet of
the time of Charles I. One of our old English
games, cherry-pit, consisted of pitching cherry-
stones into a little hole :—“ I have loved a witch
ever since I played at cherry-pit.”* Shakspeare
also alludes to the same custom.

The wild cherry, of which there are a good
many varicties, is a much more hardy tree than

* Witch of Edmonton.

 

HISIORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

any of those that produce the finer sorts of fruit;
and it is therefore much cultivated for stocks
upon which to graft the others, as trees so grafted
attain a larger size, are more durable, and less
subject to disease. At some of the ruined abbeys
and baronial castles there are found cherry trees,
chiefly black ones, which have attained the
height of sixty or eighty feet, and continue to
produce great quantities of fruit. These ancient
sorts are not confined to the warmer parts of the
country, but are met with in some of the north-
ern counties of Scotland. Evelyn ranks the
black cherry amongst “ the forest berry-bearing
trees, frequent in the hedges, and growing wild
in Herefordshire and many places.” .

The cherry is generally understood to have
been brought to Rome, from Armenia, by Lu-
cullus, the conqueror of Mithridates. This was
about sixty-eight years before the Christian era;
and such was the fondness for the fruit, that
Pliny says, “in less than one hundred and
twenty years after, other lands had cherries, even
as far as Britain beyond the ocean.” The cherry
is spread over Africa. In Barbary it is called
“The Berry of the King.” Desfontaines (His-
toire des Arbres_) contends, in opposition to the
received opinion, that the wild cherry is indige-
nous to France, and of equal antiquity with the
oak; nor can we help thinking, from the situa-
tion in which we have seen wild cherries, that
the same may be the case with parts of the
United Kingdom.

The transplantation of fruit trees from one
distant locality to another has been employed by
Hume as an argument to prove “the youth, or
rather infancy of the world,” in opposition to
the opinions of those who maintain that this
earth has existed, in its present condition, from
countless ages :—

“Tucullus was the first that brought cherry
trees from Asia to Europe; though that tree
thrives so well in many European climates, that
it grows in the woods without any culture. Is
it possible that, throughout a whole eternity, no
European had ever passed into Asia, and thought
of transplanting so delicious a fruit into his own
country? Or if the tree was once transplanted
and propagated, how could it ever afterwards
perish? Empires may rise and fall; liberty and
slavery succeed alternately; ignorance and know-
ledge give place to each other; but the cherry
tree will still remain in the woods of Greece,
Spain, and Italy, and will never be affected by
the revolutions of human society.

“Tt is not two thousand years since vines were
transplanted into France, though there is no cli-
mate in the world more favourable to them. It
is not three centuries since horses, cows, sheep,
swine, dogs, corn, were known in America. Is
it possible that, during the revolutions of a whole
eternity, there never arose a Columbus who
THE CHERRY. 3835

might open the communication between Europe
and that continent? We may as well imagine
that all men would wear stockings for ten thou-
sand years, and never have the sense to think of
garters to tie them. All these seem convincing
proofs of the youth, or rather infancy, of the
world, as being founded on the operation of
principles more constant and steady than those
by which human society is governed and directed.
Nothing less than a total convulsion of the ele-
ments will ever destroy all the European ani-
mals and vegetables which are now to be found
in the western world.”

Several liqueurs are manufactured from cher-
ries. A large black cherry (Merise notre) is
used in the composition of the ratajia of Gren-
oble; and the maraschino of Zara is prepared
from a particular species of cherry cultivated in
Dalmatia. Kiérschwasser, which is a cheap spi-
rit, forming a considerable article of commerce,
is the fermented liguor of a small black
cherry.

The whole of the genus prunus yield what is
commonly called gum, that of the cherry tree
being the best. But this substance, which is
called cerassin, resembles tragacanth (the gum
of the astragalus), and is therefore improperly
called gum, as the term is usually understood,
and applied to gum Arabic.

The Romans had eight varieties of cherry. In
the British gardens are upwards of forty sorts.
The French divide the cherries into grioties, or
tender-fleshed ; bigarreaux, or hard-fleshed; and
guignes, or small fruits. The fruit of many va-
rieties is somewhat heart-shaped; hence the very
general name of heart-cherry. Why someare called
dukes is not so well ascertained. ‘The Morello
cherry is very distinct from the other varieties,
bearing almost exclusively, in the preceding
years, stock wood, and the pulp of the fruit has
somewhat of the consistence and flavour of the
morel; whence the name.

Varieties of the cherry are continued by graft-
ing, or budding on stocks of the black or wild
red cherries, which are strong shooters, and of a
longer duration than any of the garden kinds,
Some graft on the Morello, for the purpose of
dwarfing the tree, and rendering it more prolific;
but the most effectual dwarfing stock is the ma-
haleb, which, however, will not succeed in the
generality of soils in Britain. For procuring
new varieties, however, recourse must be had to
raising from the seed. From these a good many
new sorts may be expected. The stones are
planted in light sandy soil, in autumn or spring.
They will germinate the same year, but should
not be planted out till the second autumn after
sowing. The cherry thrives best in a dry, light,
sandy soil, and an elevated situation. Some
sorts, as the May-duke, will thrive in all soils
and aspects. Early fruit is obtained from wall

 

trees; but the cherry does equally with espaliers
or standards. Insects, as the red spider, attack
the wall-cherry ; but the other sorts are not very
liable to be preyed on by such vermin.

The Chinese Cherry (prunus pseudo-cerasus )
is a valuable new species of that fruit, introduced
into this country so recently as 1819. The fol-
lowing is an extract from the account of this
variety, presented to the Horticultural Society
by Mr Knight, their president :—

“T received a plant of the Chinese cherry from
the garden of the Horticultural Society in the
summer of 1824, after it had produced its crop
of fruit; and it was preserved under glass, and
subjected to a slight degree of artificial heat till
the autumn of that year. It appeared very little
disposed to grow; but produced one young shoot,
which afforded me a couple of buds for insertion
in stocks of the common cherry. Soon after
Christmas the tree was placed in a pine-stove,
where it presently blossomed abundantly, and its
fruit set perfectly well, as it had previously done
in the gardens of the Society, and it ripened in
March. The cherries were middle-sized, or ra-
ther small, compared with the larger varieties of
the common cherry, were of a reddish amber
colour, very sweet and juicy, and excellent for
the season in which they ripened. The roots ot
the tree were confined to rather a small spot, and
the plant was not even in a moderately vigorous
state of growth. I therefore infer that the fruit
did not acquire either the size or state of per-
fection which it would have attained if the tree
had been larger and in a vigorous state of growth,
and the season of the year favourable.”

The Gean (prunus avium), the French guigne,
is a tall tree common in woods in some parts of
England, and frequently growing wildin Scotland,
The fruit is smaller than that of the common
cherry, of a red colour when unripe, and a
deep purple or black when it arrives at maturity.
The flavour is superior to that of most cherries.
Indeed, the cerone, or black cherry, is supposed
to be an improved variety of the wild gean. The
wood of this tree is used for many kinds of do-
mestic furniture, and other purposes.

The Bird Cherry (prunus padus). This is
a Greek name given to this tree by Theophrastus.
It is in shrubberies very ornamental, from its
purple bark, bunches of white flowers and ber-
ries, which are successively green, red, and black.
It is common in the native woods of Sweden and
Scotland, and in both countries the berries are
infused in spirits in order to give them an
agreeable flavour. The fruit is nauseous to the
taste, though greedily eaten by birds. The bark
has been employed by the Swedes and Finlanders
in medicine. The tree is very leafy, and dislikes
a wet soil. The wood is beautifully veined, and
is used for cabinet work in France, as is that of
the prunus Virginiana in America,
336

The Cornish Bird-Cherry (p. rubra) very
much resembles the padus.

Tux Stoz (prunus spinosa), is also indigenous
in Britain, and is frequently met with in a wild

123,

 

The Sloe.

state in Scotland. It is a low shrubby tree,
with elliptical lanceolate leaves, pubescent be-
neath; the branches armed with hard strong
spines; the blossom resembling the prune, and
the fruit round, of a deep black colour, and ex-
tremely austere astringent taste. Some have
supposed the sloe the original of the cultivated
plum. It is used as stocks on which to engraft
the plum and some other species.

Tur Laure. (prunus lauro-cerasus). This is
one of the most generally prized evergreens, It
was brought from Constantinople to Holland in
1576. The first we read of in England was one
at Highgate, in the garden of Mr James Cole, a
London merchant, who, as Parkinson informs
us, was in the practice of covering the plant in
winter with a blanket. In less than half a cen-
tury after this, we are told by Ray, that the
laurel became a common shrub in English gar-
dens. It is now universally a conspicuous ob-
ject in almost every shrubbery. The leaves con-
tain a considerable quantity of prussic acid, and
from this circumstance have been used to give
an agreeable flavour to various articles of food:
Much caution, however, ought to be employed
not to use the juice of these leaves in excess,
otherwise they will prove a virulent poison. The
laurel water, distilled from the recent leaves,
contains all the active principle of the prussic
acid. This has been used criminally for pro-
ducing death; and several cases of accidental
poisoning have arisen from cordials flavoured
with the infused leaves of the laurel. The laurel
bears a small red berry, which is also poisonous.

The Portuguese Laurel (p. Lusitania) is
also a highly admired evergreen shrub. It was
brought to England from Portugal, though it
does not appear to be a native of that country.
It probably is indigenous to Madeira, or some
more southern islands.

Rusvs, a family of the rosacew, includes the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

raspberry, bramble, cloud berry, and several
other species. Many of them are only biennial
woody plants, producing suckers or stolones
from the roots, which ripen and drop their leaves
one year, and resume their foliage, produce blos-
soms, shoots, flower, and fruit, and die the next.
Of this kind are the raspberry and bramble.

Raseperry (rubus ideus). This well known
plant is indigenous to Britain; but has been
greatly improved, both in size and flavour, by
cultivation. There are several varieties, as the
common, red, and yellow, the double-flowered,
and a yariety that bears twice a year, in July
and September.

This plant obtains its common name from the
rough and bristly appearance of the fruit. The
French call the raspberry Ronce du Mont Ida,
(in common parlance, Framboise), considering it
a native of that classic ground, for which they
have the authority of Pliny. The root is per-
ennial and spreading, but the stems last only
two years. Both the red and the yellow varie-
ties prefer situations that are shaded and rather
moist. The uses of the raspberry, both for the
table and for sweetmeats, are well known.
Though the flavour of raspberries is peculiar, it
is one which is very generally liked; but it is
the most fleeting with which we are acquainted,
Even a few hours will diminish it; and if the
berries be kept for two or three days, the flavour
is almost entirely gone. Even on the bush, the
flavour does not continue above two or three days
after the fruit isripe. Raspberries, indeed, to be
enjoyed in perfection, should be eaten from the
bush. They require less attendance than almost
any other fruit; and if the twice-bearing kind
be mixed with the others, they may be continued
till November, The shrubs come into full bear-
ing about three years after the planting of the
stools or roots, and they last good for about three
years more, at the end of which they begin to
degenerate. The common mode of propagation
is by cuttings, which should always be taken
from plants that are in their prime bearing con-
dition, on or about the fourth year after they
are planted. A quantity of peat or bog-earth
greatly improves both the size and the flavour
of raspberries. New varieties may easily be ob-
tained from the seed, the plants raised from
which begin to bear the second year. There are
thirty-five varieties of raspberry mentioned in
the Fruit Catalogue of the Horticultural Society,
of which the differences in quality are very con-
siderable.

When a plantation is made of several rows to-
gether, it may be placed in the open garden, as
the plants will shade one another to a sufficient
degree. Frequent renewal is necessary, to pre-
vent the stools getting large and matted, when
they send up only weak suckers. No more
suckers should be left at the stools than are in-
THE BRAMBLE.

tended to bear the following year, unless young
plants are wanted ; and if very large fruit is the
object, no suckers should be left at all; on the
contrary, when the strongest suckers are wanted,
the fruit-bearing shoots should be cut down.

The raspberry requires a rich moist soil and a
shaded situation, where plants grow singly. The
best varieties are the early prolific, Barnet, and
Cornwallis, seedling and large red, red Antwerp,
yellow Antwerp, Bromley hill, Cornish, double-
bearing.

The American Raspberry (R. occidentalis ),
is a showy plant for large shrubberies. The
fruit of the dew berry, r. cesius, is blue, and it
continues till frost comes on. It is an edible
berry, but possesses no very high flavour.

Tue Brampsie (rubus fruticosus) Though
the bramble is rather annoying with its long
trailing stems and its sharp thorns, the fruit,
commonly called blackberry, is perhaps in its
wild state (and it does not need to be cultivated),
among the best, and certainly it is the most
abundant, of our native berries. The bramble
prefers a soil that is moderately good; but it is
found in every situation, except marshes, to the
borders of which it creeps very close. On the
slopes of the Welsh mountains, more especially
in Denbighshire, the bramble berry grows to the
size of a middling gooseberry; and in a dry and
sunny autumn is really an excellent fruit. Pliny
mentions the mulberry growing on a brier, which
probably was a fine blackberry. In England
there are a number of species confounded under
the names of rubus fruticosus, and rubus coryli-
Jolius, that vary very much in the quality of
their fruit, some of them really deserving culti-
vation. The family of brambles is divided into
those with upright stems, those with prostrate
stems, and those with herbaceous stems.

The Corylifolius and Fruticosus are both com-
mon in our hedges. The shoots of the latter are
much tougher than those of the former, and are
preferred by thatchers for binding their roofs,
and by straw-hive and mat makers. The berries,
eaten at the moment they are ripe, are cooling
and grateful; a little before, they are acid and
astringent, and a little after, disagreeably fla-
voured and astringent.

The Arctic or Dwarf Crimson (rubus arcticus )
is a small species, and a native of the coldest re-
gions of the world. Its fruit, however, is ex-
ceedingly delicious; and were it possible to cul-
tivate it in any habitable situation, it would be
a most important addition to garden berries. We
have not heard of its ever having been found
either in England or in the Welsh mountains;
and in Scotland it grows only in the most wild
and elevated situations. Some of the Scottish
horticulturists have tried to raise it from the
seed, and have, we believe, obtained plants;
though the fruit, when they bore any, has been

 

337

tasteless, and the plants themselves are preserved
alive with difficulty. The Arctic berry, which
grows in the wildest and most exposed districts
of Lapland, sometimes offered to Linneus the
only food which he found in his perilous journey
in those dreary regions; and he thus speaks of
it with much feeling :—“TI should be ungrateful
towards this beneficent plant, which often, when I
was almost prostrate with hunger and fatigue,
restored me with the vinous nectar of its berries,
did I not bestow on it a full description.”

Tus Crovp-Berry ( rubus chamemorus ),
called also, in some parts of Scotland, the roe-

124.

 

The Cloud-berry.

buck berry and knot berry. They grow on the
sides about the base of Alpine mountains; but
are only found in particular localities. The plant
is small, with a rather large handsome leaf, in.
dented and serrated at the edges. A single berry
grows on the top of the stem. They are about
the size of small strawberries, and the flavour is
exceedingly fine, superior to that of any of the
strawberries as found wild in this country, and
having a sharpness which does not belong even
to the best of those which are cultivated. They
remain in season for about a month; and during
that time, the Highlanders, in the districts where
they are found (for they are by no means gene-
rally diffused over the Highlands), collect them
in considerable quantities, and make them into
excellent preserves. In the east, as well as the
north, the wild berries of the mountains and
valleys, which nature offers in such abundance
for a short season, are thus used by man.

This berry has not hitherto been raised in gar-
dens, as it seems difficult of naturalization to any
but its native soil and climate. Loudon thinks,
by raising it from seeds, and again from the
seeds of plants so raised, and so on for six or
eight generations, perhaps at the same time cross-
ing the flowers with those of the bramble or
raspberry, this plant might possibly become a
valuable accession to our native fruits.

In more northern countries the cloud-berry is
still more abundant, so much so as to justify the
encomium passed on it by the poet, while speak-
ing of those dreary lands —

u 2
338

“ Ever enduring snows, perpetual shades
Of darkness, would congeal the living blood,
Did not the arctic tract spontaneous yield
A cheering purple berry, big with wine.”

In the northern parts of Sweden and Norway,
and in Lapland, even to the North Cape, the
cloud-berry grows in such abundance as to be
an article of extensive commerce. Great quan-
tities of it are sent every autumn to the Swedish
capital, and to the southern parts of that coun-
try, where they are used in a variety of ways;
and, in fact, it forms the principal fruit that they
have.

Dr Clarke notices the value of this berry in
his travels:—“In woods, and moist situations
near the river, we found the rubus chamemorus
still in flower. The Swedes call it Hiorton; the
Laplanders give it the name of Latoch; the in-
habitants of Westro-Bothnia call it Snotter; and
in Norway its appellation is Multebear. The
same plant is found upon some of the highest
mountains, and in some of the peat-bogs of the
north of England; on which account, perhaps, it
is called cloud-berry in our island; but it is not
likely that its fruit ever attains the same degree
of maturity and perfection in Great Britain as
in Lapland, where the sun acts with such power
during the summer. Its medicinal properties
have certainly been overlooked, owing, perhaps,
either to this circumstance, or to its rarity in
Great Britain. The fruit is sent in immense
quantities, in autumn, from all the north of the
gulf of Bothnia to Stockhohn, where it is used
for sauces, and in making vinegar.”

Our English traveller, as appears by the fol-
lowing passage, was under greater obligations to
the cloud-berry than the Swedish naturalist to
the other species of Arctic fruit: “Mr Grape’s
children came into the room, bringing with them
two orthree gallons of the fruit of the cloud-berry.
This plant grows so abundantly near the river,
that it is easy to gather bushels of the fruit. As
the large berry ripens, which is as big as the top of
a man’s thumb, its colour, at first scarlet, be-
comes yellow. When eaten with sugar and
eream, it is cooling and delicious, and tastes like
the large American hautboy-strawberries. Little
did the author dream of the blessed effects he
was to experience by tasting of the offering
brought by these little children, who, proud of
having their gifts accepted, would gladly run and
gather daily a fresh supply, which was as often
blended with cream and sugar by the hands of
their mother, until at last he perceived that his
fever rapidly abated, his spirits and his appetite
returned, and, when sinking under a disorder so
obstinate that it seemed to be incurable, the
blessings of health were restored to him, where
he had reason to believe he should have found
his grave. The symptoms of amendment were
almost instantaneous after eating of these berries.”

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Tur Srrawserry (fragraria vesca). This
well known berry has received the name fragra-
ria from its delightful flavour. No vegetable
production of the colder latitudes, or which can
be ripened in those latitudes without the assist-
ance of artificial heat, is at all comparable with
the strawberry in point of flavour; and if the
soil and situation be properly adapted to it, the
more cold the climate, indeed the more bleak
and elevated, the more delicious is the berry.
The fine aroma of the strawberry is not quite so
evanescent as that of the raspberry; but it is by
no means durable; and the berries can be had
in absolute perfection only when taken from the
plants, and in dry weather, for a very slight
shower will render the strawberry comparatively
flavourless. The soils and situations in which
the strawberry and the raspberry come to the
greatest perfection are the very opposites of each
other. The strawberry, in all its varieties, cer-
tainly in all the finest of them, is a sort of rock
plant; and soil which contains a good deal of
decomposed rock, more especially if that rock be
greenstone, or any other containing much clay,
produces fruit of the finest flavour. The places
where the strawberry is the finest, as raised for
the market, and of course as produced at the
least expense of artificial culture, are probably
Edinburgh and Dundee, at both of which the
soil is of the description mentioned.

The strawberry is very widely diffused, being
found in most parts of the world, especially in
Europe and America. Its common name is pe-
culiar to England, and is supposed to have been
derived from the custom of laying straw under
strawberry plants when their fruit begins to
swell. Others, however, contend itis strayberry,
from its trailing along the ground. The gar-
dener of Sir Joseph Banks revived this old me-
thod with advantage. The fruit was known in
London, as an article of ordinary consumption,
in the time of Henry VI. In a poem of that
age, called “ London Lyckpeny,” by John Lid-
gate, who died about 1483, we find the follow-
ing lines :—

“ Then unto London I dyde me hye,
Of all the land it bearyeth the pryse ;
*Gode pescode,’ one began to cry—
*Strabery rype, and cherrys in the ryse.’ ”

It is mentioned by Hollinshed, and the fact has
been dramatised by Shakspeare, that Glo’ster,
when he was contemplating the death of Hast-
ings, asked the bishop of Ely for strawberries:

“ My lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn,
I saw good strawberries in your garden there.”

The cultivation of the strawberry is very ex-
tensive in the neighbourhood of London. The
largest quantities, and the finest sorts, are grown
at Isleworth and Twickenham.
THE GRAPE VINE,

The common wood strawberry (which was
probably the earliest cultivated) has the leaves
rather small, the runners (at the joints of which
the new plants are produced) slender, and often
ofapurple colour. The fruit is small, and gen-
erally red, but without much flavour, owing to
its being shaded from the sun. When brought
out of the shade, or in countries where the in-
fluence of the sun is more powerful, bothvits size
and flavour are very much improved ; and though
not the handsomest, it becomes far from the
worst of the cultivated sorts. There is a variety
of the wood strawberry a good deal paler, both
in the leaves and the fruit, than the one now
mentioned, which also ripens later in the season;
but it is by no means productive, and is accord-
ingly not much cultivated.

The Alpine strawberry is, in its native situa-
tion, a more vigorous plant, and produces larger
and more highly flavoured fruit than the com-
mon one of the woods. It is often much darker
in the colour than any of the other strawberries;
and when it is so, the flavour has a sharpness
bordering upon austerity. Still, however, it is
an excellent fruit; and it has this advantage,
that it continues bearing from June until stopped
hy the frost; and, in very open seasons, fruit
has been gathered from it at Christmas.

The Hautbois was the first known of the larger
variety of strawberry. Its history has never
been well ascertained, though it is generally be-
lieved to be the mountain strawberry of Bohe-
mia, and to have been first improved by cultiva-
tion in France. The hautbois is very produc-
tive; and the fruit is highly flavoured, with a
peculiar kind of perfume; but some care is ne-
cessary in order to prevent the plants from de-
generating. The name of this strawberry is pro-
bably derived from the circumstance of the scape
which bears the fruit standing higher than the
leaves, and, consequently, being called hautbois
(high wood). In the old gardening books it is
written hauthoy.

In the early part of the last century, the Al-
pine strawberry of Chili was introduced into the
Royal Gardens at Paris, and from thence found
its way over many parts of Europe. It grew to
an immense size, and had a finer colour than the
hauthbois; but in the southern countries of Eu-
rope it was soon neglected, because it ran greatly
to leaves, produced comparatively little fruit,
and what it did produce was deficient in flavour.
The “old scarlet strawberry,” which wasan ori-
ginal introduction from North America, has been
an inhabitant of our gardens for nearly two hun-
dred years. The “old black strawberry,” an
unproductive sort, has been long known in Eng-
land. The “Chinese” and the “Surinam”
strawberries are of considerableantiquity amongst
us. The “old pine, or Carolina,” has been cul-
tivated and highly prized by the English growers.

 

339

Since attention began to be paid to the culture
of strawberries, the number of varieties has been
greatly increased. The British strawberries are
divided into scarlet, black, pine, hautbois, green,
alpine, and wood, according to a classification in
a valuable paper in the sixth volume of the Hor-
ticultural Transactions. Of these varieties the
pine is the most esteemed. It is a native of
Louisiana and of Virginia. Its colour is a deep
red on both sides; and it is the most rich and
highly flavoured of all strawberries, constituting
the most valuable variety that has yet been dis-
covered.

Strawberry plants multiply spontaneously
every summer, as well by suckers from the pa-
rent stem, as by numerous runners, all of which
rooting and forming a plant at every joint, re-
quire only removal to a bed where there is room
for them to flourish. Each of these separately
planted bears a fine fruit the following season,
and will bear in full perfection the second sum-
mer. A plantation of the alpine yields fruit the
same year that itis made. The wood and the
alpine grow readily from seed, and bear a finer
fruit than that from offsets. The other kinds,
however, are regularly propagated from offsets.

Strawberries require a deep soil, and manure
not much rotted. A bank, exposed to the sun,
or freely exposed beds, are most suited for all
the sorts, except the alpine and wood, which re-
quire shaded situations. They may either be
planted in beds or borders. The plants are to be
kept clean, and the suckers cut away frequently.
The whole plants are to be renewed every fourth
or fifth year; some, however, renew the plants
every year. A strawberry wall may be made
of loose stones or bricks, three to four feet wide,
and sloping upwards two to three feet; the in-
terior is filled up with soil, and the strawberries
planted outside,

CHAP. XXXV.

THE GRAPE, MULBERRY, CURRANT, GOOSEBERRY,
BARBERRY, &c,

Tur Grark Vin, (vitis vinifera.) This
celebrated plant belongs to the natural family
vinifere, of which it is the principal and typical
genus; and to the class pentandria, order mono-
gynia of Linneus. It is a trailing, deciduous,
hardy shrub, with large, elegantly shaped leaves,
and producing flowers in the form of a raceme,
of a greenish white colour, and fragrant odour;
appearing in the open air in this country in June,
and the fruit, which is of the berry kind, attains
such maturity as the season and situation admit
by the middle or end of September.

The grape is of a globular, ovate, or oblong
340

shape, varying in colour according to the varie-
ties, being green, white, red, yellow, and deep
purple; the skin is smooth, the pulp of a sweet
luscious flavour; the pulp incloses from three to
five heart-shaped small stones or seeds; some
varieties, however, as the ascalon, produce no
seeds. The weight of the grape depends not
only on its size, but the thickness of its skin,
and texture of the fleshy pulp. The lightest are
the thin skinned, juicy sorts, as the sweet water,
and muscadine; the largest of these measure an
inch and a half in circumference. A single vine
in a large pot, or grown as a dwarf standard, in
the manner practised in the vineyards of the
north of France, generally produces from three
to nine bunches; but by superior management,
in gardens in England, the number of bunches
is prodigiously multiplied: vines in pots have
ripened twenty bunches each plant the first year.
A Hamburgh vine in Hampton Court gardens,
produced the astonishing number of 2200 bunches,
averaging one pound each, or in all, nearly a
ton.*

The vine is a very long lived plant, indeed, in
warm climates, the period of its existence is un-
known. It is supposed to equal, if not surpass
the oak in this respect. Pliny speaks of a vine
which had existed six hundred years; and there
are vines in Burgundy, said to be upwards of
four hundred years old. In some parts of Italy
there are vineyards which have been in a flour-
ishing state for upwards of three centuries, and
there a vineyard of one hundred years’ duration
is reckoned young. The extent of the branches
of the vine, in certain situations and circum-
stances, is commensurate with its produce and
age. In the hedges of Italy, and the woods of
America, they are found overtopping the highest
elm and poplar trees; and in England, one plant
trained against a row of houses in Northallerton,
covered a space of one hundred and thirty-seven
square yards; and that at Valentines, in Essex,
above one hundred and forty-seven square yards.
The size to which the trunk or stem sometimes
attains in warm climates, is such as to have af-
forded planks fifteen inches broad. The timber
of the vine is of great durability.

The grape seems to have been one of the ear-
liest cultivated fruits. We read in Genesis that
Noah planted a vineyard, and wine is mentioned
as a beverage among the earliest nations of the
world. Yet we are to this day ignorant of the
native country of the vine. The oldest pro-
fane writers ascribe its introduction to their
gods. According to the tradition of the Egyp-
tians, Osiris first paid attention to the vine, and
instructed other men in the manner of planting
and using it. The inhabitants of Africa ascribe
the same gift to the ancient Bacchus. We find

” * Loudon.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

mention of the fermented juice of the grape as
early as that of its cultivation. Wine was among
the first oblations to the Divinity. ‘“Melchizedek,
king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine,
and he was the priest of the Most High God.”
We may trace through all the most ancient
records of the human race, a conformity between
the chief articles of subsistence, and the sacri-
fices to heaven. In the earliest ages, herbs, fruits,
and plants were alone offered up; the first liba-
tions were made with water, wine then being
unknown; gradually honey, milk, oil, wine, and
corn were added; and at last, when animals were
rendered domestic, and formed the principal
nourishment of man, the kid and the ox were
laid upon the altar.

“The vine,” says Humboldt, “which we now
cultivate, does not belong to Europe; it grows
wild on the coasts of the Caspian sea, in Armenia,
and in Caramania. From Asia it passed into
Greece, and thence into Sicily. The Phoceans
carried it into the south of France; the Romans
planted it on the banks of the Rhine. The
species of vites, which are found wild in North
America, and which gave the name of the land
of the vine ( Winenland) to the first part of
the New continent which was discovered by
Europeans, are very different from our vitus vini-
fera.’ Tt isa popular error that the grape vine
was common to both continents.

It has been said that the vine was introduced
into England by the Romans; but if so, it could
not have been till near the close of their influ-
ence, for Tacitus mentions that it was not known
when Agricola commanded in the island. At
the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons, however, when
the country had been under the Roman dominion
four hundred years, and had received, during
that long period, all the encouragement which
that people gave to the agriculture of their pro-
vinces, the vine, without doubt, was extensively
cultivated. Vineyards are mentioned in the
earliest Saxon charters, as well as gardens and
orchards, “and this was before the combating in-
vaders had time or ability to make them, if they
had not found them in the island.” In the Cot-
tonian Manuscripts, in the British Museum,
there are some rude delineations in a Saxon cal-
endar, which, in the month of February, repre-
sent men cutting or pruning trees, some of which
resemble vines. King Edgar, in an old grant,
gives the vineyard, situate at Wecet, as well as
the vine-dressers. In Domesday Book, vine-
yards are noticed in several counties, Accord-
ing to William of Malmesburgh, who flourished
in the first half of the twelfth century, the cul-
ture of the vine had in his time arrived at such
perfection within the vale of Gloucester, that a
sweet and palatable wine, “little inferior to that
of France,’’ was made there in abundance. In
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, almost
THE GRAPE VINE.

every large castle and monastery in England
had its vineyard. The land on the south side
of Windsor Castle, now a pleasant green lawn,
running from the town under the castle wall,
was @ vineyard, of which a particular account
may be seen in the Archeologia. At this period,
wine was made in England in considerable quan-
tities; and yet the importation of foreign wines
was very large. In the year 1272, London im-
ported 3799 tons; Southampton and Portsmouth,
3147; and Sandwich, 1900. In the time of Ed-
ward III., a trade in Rhenish wine was carried
on between Hull and the ports of the Baltic.
The vineyards were, probably, continued till the
time of the Reformation, when the ecclesiastical
gardens were either neglected or destroyed; and
about this period, ale, which had been known in
England for many centuries, seems to have su-
perseded the use of wine as a general beverage.

This arose from the better cultivation of the
country. Under the feudal tenures, when the
serfs were often suddenly compelled to follow
their lords to battle, husbandry, particularly the
growth of grain, was fearfully neglected; and
sometimes the most dreadful famines were the
result. The prices of wheat occasionally fluc-
tuated from ten shillings to twenty pounds per
quarter. But when just principles of tenancy
were established, so that the occupier of the land
could be sure of appropriating to himself a fair
proportion of the fruit of his labour, agriculture
began to flourish. The cultivation of hops was
revived or introduced about the end of the fif-
teenth century. All these circumstances—the
decay of the vineyards, the encouragement to
the growth of grain, and the culture of hops,
gradually tended to supersede the demand for
wine, by offering a beverage to the people which
was cheaper, and perhaps as exhilarating.

We are told,* that on the southern coast of
Devonshire, possessing the mildest temperature
of the English counties, there are still two or
three vineyards, from which wine is commonly
made. <A vineyard at the castle of Arundel, on
the south coast of Sussex, was planted about the
early part of the last century, and of the pro-
duce there are reported to have been sixty pipes
of wine in the cellars of the Duke of Norfolk,
in 1768. This wine is said to have resembled
Burgundy; but the kind of grape and the mode
of culture have not been particularly recorded.
Whatever may have been the condition and
qualities of the early English grapes employed
in making wine, we know that ihey must have
been ripened by the natural temperature of the
climate, as artificial heat was not resorted to for
the ripening of grapes till the early part of the
last century; and then the heat was applied
merely to the other side of the wall on which

* Library of Entertaining Knowledge.

 

341

the vines were trained: nor is it till about the
middle of the same century that we have any
account of vines being covered with glass. Pro-
fessor Martyn is an advocate for the renewal of
grape culture in this country for wine. For that
purpose he recommends that the vines should be
trained very near the ground, he having found
that, by this method of training, the berries
were much increased in size, and also ripened
earlier. The same method is pursued in the
northern part of France, where it is found to be
successful,

The culture of the grape, as an article of hus-
bandry, extends over a zone about two thousand
miles in breadth, that is, from about the twenty-
first to the fiftieth degree of north latitude; and
reaching in length from the western shores of
Portugal, at least to the centre of Persia, and
probably to near the sources of the Oxus and
the Indus. Farther north than that, it does not
ripen so as to be fit for the making of wine; and
farther south, it seems to be as much injured by
the excessive heat. The best wines are made
about the centre of the zone; the wines towards
the north being harsh and austere, and the grapes
towards the south being better adapted for dry-
ing and preserving as raisins. ‘Thus, in Spain,
while the wine of Xeres, in the Sierra Morena
(the real Sherry, ) is an excellent wine, and while
that of the ridge of Apulxarras, in Granada, is
very tolerable, the grapes of the warm shores
about Malaga, and in Valentia, are chiefly fit
only for raisins. So, also, while the slopes of
Etna, and those of the mountains in Greece,
furnish some choice vines, the grapes upon the
low shores in those countries have also to be
dried. It should seem, that the grapes are always
the higher flavoured and the more vinous, the
greater the natural temperature under which
they are ripened, but that an extreme heat throws
the juice into the acetous fermentation before
the vinous one has time to be matured. We
have an analogous case in the fermentation of
malt liquors in this country, which cannot be
properly performed in the warm months.

About eight thousand tons of raisins, or dried
grapes, are annually imported into England, at a
duty of about £160,000. A considerable quan-
tity of undried grapes are also imported, prin-
cipally from Portugal, in jars, among saw-dust.
The value of those so imported is about £10,000.
The currants of commerce, which are so exten-
sively used in England, and of which about six
thousand tons are annually imported into this
country, are small dried grapes, principally grown
in the Ionian islands. _

Laborde, in his account of Spain, gives the
following description of the mode of drying
raisins: “In the kingdom of Valencia they make
a kind of ley with the ashes of rosemary and
vine branches, to which they add a quart of
342

slaked lime. This ley is heated, and a vessel,
full of holes, containing the grapes, is put into
it. When the bunches are in the state desired,
they are generally carried to naked rocks, where
they are spread on beds of the field artimesia,
and are turned every two or three days till they
are dry. In the kingdom of Granada, particu-
larly towards Malaga, they are simply dried in
the sun, without any other preparation. The
former have a more pleasing rind, but a less
mellow substance; the skins of the latter are not
so sugary, but their substance has a much greater
relish; therefore, the raisins of Malaga are pre-
ferred by foreigners, and are sold at a higher
price: to this their quality may likewise contri-
bute; they are naturally larger, and more deli-
cate, than those of the kingdom of Valencia.”

A vineyard, associated as it is with all our
ideas of beauty and plenty, is, in general, a dis-
appointing object. The hop plantations of our
own country are far more picturesque. In France,
the vines are trained upon poles, seldom more
than three or four feet in height; and “the pole-
clipt vineyard” of poetry is not the most invit-
ing of real objects. In Spain, poles for support-
ing vines are not used; but cuttings are planted,
which are not permitted to grow very high, but
gradually form thick and stout stocks. In Swit-
zerland, and in the German provinces, the vine-
yards are as formal as those of France. But in
Italy is found the true vine of poetry, “sur-
rounding the stone cottage with its girdle, fling-
ing its pliant and luxuriant branches over the
rustic viranda, or twining its long garland from
tree to tree.’ It was the luxuriance and the
beauty of her vines and her olives that tempted
the rude people of the North to pour down upon
her fertile fields.

In Greece, too, as well a3 Italy, the shoots of
the vines are either trained upon trees, or sup-
ported, so as to display all their luxuriance, upon
a series of props. This was the custom of the
ancient vine-growers; and their descendants have
preserved it in all its picturesque originality.
The vine-dressers of Persia train their vines to
run up a wall, and curl over on the top. But
the most luxurious cultivation of the vine in hot
countries is where it covers the trellis-work which
surrounds a well, inviting the owner and his
family to gather beneath its shade. ‘The fruit-
ful bough by a well” is of the highest antiquity.

Although the vine bears at three or four years
plentifully, it is said that vineyards improve in
quality till they are fifty years old. Pliny men-
tions a vine which had attained the age of six
hundred years. In France and Italy there are
entire vineyards still in existence, and in full
bearing, which were in the same condition at
least three centuries ago, and have so continued
eversince. ‘he slender stems of ordinary vines,
when they have attained a considerable age, are

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

remarkably tough and compact; and the timber
of the very old ones in foreign countries, which
is occasionally of size enough for being sawn
into planks, and being made into furniture and
utensils, is almost indestructible. Strabo men-
tions an old vine which two men could not em-
brace. A single vine plant, already alluded to,
which was trained against a row of houses at
Northallerton, covered, in 1785, one hundred and
thirty-seven square yards. It was then about
ahundred years old, and it increased in size after-
wards; but it is now dead. In 1785, the princi-
pal stem of this vine was about fifteen inches in
diameter.

The varieties of the grape are exceedingly
numerous. Tusser, in 1560, mentions only
white and red grapes; Parkinson, in the follow--
ing century, gives a list of twenty-three sorts.
In modern times, a great profusion of varieties
have been obtained by sowing the seeds of grapes
ripened in this country. The varieties are thus
classified by Loudon:

Red, purple, and black grapes, round-shaped,
including the early black. Miller’s Burgundy,
Muscadine, Frontignan, Lombardy, &c.

Oval, dark red, purple black, including black
cluster, black muscadel, claret, Alicant, &c.

Round white, including white Muscadine, sweet-
water, chasselas, white Frontignan.

Oval white, white muscat of Alexandria, white
Hamburgh, white Tokay, Alexandrian ciblet.

Rose-coloured, red and grizzly Frontignan,
Lombardy, &c.

The vine is propagated from seeds, layers, cut-
tings, grafting, and inoculation; by seed, for the
sake of obtaining new varieties; by layers, to get
strong showy plants the first year; by cuttings,
for economy in management, and to get plants
with top proportioned to their roots; and by
grafting and inoculation, for various useful, and
curious purposes.

The vine will thrive in any soil that has a dry
bottom: in a rich deep soil it will grow with
great luxuriance, and produce abundance of large
fruit. In dry chalky or gravelly soils, though
the quantity and size of the fruit be less, the
flavour is higher. The greater part of the vine-
yards of France are on an argillaceo-caleareous
soil, or an argillaceous gravel. The debris of
granite and schistose rocks produce vines both
of good and bad qualities. The wines produced
from chalky soils are weak and colourless, and
do not keep well, as champaigne; wines produced
from grapes, grown in the ashes of volcanoes,
are of excellent quality. Deep retentive clays
are least adapted for the production of grapes.

Vines are trained on walls, which should have
a south exposure, as espaliers, or as standards.
They are liable to the attacks of various insects,
particularly to a species of red spider, which
burrows in the under side of the Jeaves.
THE MULBERRY.

In vine countries, the grapes which are reck-
oned best suited for making wine, are not the
most agreeable to eat. The wine grapes in
France, Italy, and Germany, as well as in Spain
and Portugal, are varieties of the black cluster;
while the sweet wines, as Constantia, Malmsy,and
Madeira, are varicties of the chasselas and mus-
cadine.

Of the variety of the vine called the black
Hamburgh, there are several remarkable trees in
England, covering a great extent of surface, and
bearing (under glass) a profusion of the finest
fruit. Of these, among the most celebrated are
the Hampton Court vine, and the vine at Valen-
tines, in Essex. The Hampton Court.vine, al-
ready alluded to, is in a grape-house on the north
side of the palace: it covers a surface of twenty-
two feet by seventy-two, or 1694 square feet.
Itisa most productive bearer, having seldom fewer
than two thousand clusters upon it every season.
In the year 1816, there were at least 2240, weigh-
ing each, on the average, a pound; so that the
whole crop weighed a ton, and, merely as an ar-
ticle of commerce, was worth upwards of £400.
The Valentines vine extends over a greater sur-
face, and has a. larger trunk, than that at Hamp-
ton Court; but it is not, on the average of sca-
sons, so productive. It has, however, been known
to produce two thousand bunches of a pound
each,

Tue Mutperry (morus nigra). This tree,
more celebrated as affording leaves on which the

 

The Mulberry.

silk-worm feeds than for its fruit, which is, how-
ever, of a very grateful quality, belongs to the
class monaecia, and order tetrandria of Linneus.
It is rather a small tree, and sends off crooked
branches, which are covered with a rough brown
bark. The leaves are numerous, heart-shaped,
serrated, veined, rough, of a bright green colour,

 

343

and stand upon short foot-stalks. The flowers
are male and female upon the same tree, the
male being placed in close catkins. The fruit is
a large succulent berry, composed of a number
of smaller berries, each containing an oval seed,
and affixed to a common receptacle. It flowers
in June, and its fruit ripens in September. The
ripe fruit abounds with a deep violet-coloured
juice, which in its general qualities agrees with
the other acidulous fruits.

The mulberry tree appears to have formed an
object of cultivation at a very early period in the
western parts of Asia, and in Europe. The at-
tention there bestowed upon it must have been
solely on account of its fruit; for the knowledge
of the mode of rearing silk-worms was confined
to the people of central and southern Asia till
the sixth century. We read in the Psalms that
the Almighty wrath destroyed the “mulberry
trees with frost ;” and this must have been re-
corded as a remarkable instance of the divine
displeasure, for the mulberry is universally
known not to put forth its buds and leaves till
the season is so far advanced that, in the ordinary
course of events, there is no inclement weather
to be apprehended. It has therefore been called
the wisest of trees; and in heraldry it is adopted
as “an hieroglyphic of wisdom, whose property
is to speak and to do all things in opportune sea-
son.” In the history of the wars of David with
the Philistines, the mulberry tree is mentioned
as a familiar object. Pliny says of it, somewhat
questionably, that “when it begins to bud, it
despatches the business in one night, and that
with so much force, that their breaking forth
may be distinctly heard.”

In this country there are many old mulberry
trees of large dimensions, and remarkable also
for the quantity of fruit they bear. It is pro-
bable that some of these old trees were planted
at the latter end of the sixteenth and the begin-
ning of the seventeenth.centuries; for James I.
endeavoured to render the cultivation of the tree
general, in the same way that Henry IV. had
laboured to introduce it in France. The first
mulberry trees of England are said to have been
planted at Sion House, the seat of the duke of
Northumberland, in 1548; and the trees, though
decayed in the trunk, still bear fruit. Mulberry
gardens were common in the seventeenth cen-
tury in the neighbourhood of London; but cither
from the climate, or the prejudices of the people,
the growth of silk never prospered. The mul-
berry is distinguished for the facility with which
it may be propagated. A cutting from a tree
which has borne fruit will soon become a vigor-
ous plant. It is recorded that, at Bruce castle,
at Tottenham, an immense branch being torn off
by the wind from an old mulberry tree, about
forty years ago, the branch was thrust into the
ground, and flourished. It is now a handsome
B44

tree. That part of the trunk of the old tree
which lost the branch is covered with lead. But
at the same time, the mulberry has been also re-
markable for not producing fruit till the trees
have acquired a considerable age; and this cir-
cumstance has materially affected its cultivation
as a fruit tree. The same objection has applied
to the walnut. Recent experiments, however,
have shown that, by proper culture, both the
mulberry and the walnut may be made to pro-
duce fruit at three years old.

The sort principally cultivated for fruit is the
black mulberry (morus nigra), although the
fruit of the white, Tartarian, red, and Pennsylva-
nian species (of the white particularly) “are of
sufficient consequence to merit a place in a list
of edible fruits.” The black mulberry is a hardy
tree; and as the berries are abundant, and of
very wholesome quality, while the wood makes
excellent timber, and the leaves are adapted for
the feeding of silk-worms as well as those of the
white mulberry, it deserves more attention than
it generally receives.

The mulberry is the latest tree to put forth
its leaves; and it drops every leaf on the first
night of severe frost. Some trials have been
made of mulberries trained against a south wall,
and the result has been a great improvement in
the fruit.

The mulberry is generally propagated by
layers, cuttings, grafting, and occasionally from
seed. It thrives best in a rich light earth, with
sufficient depth of soil, and an open sunny situa-
tion. A full grown tree will afford fruit suffi-
cient for the supply of a large family.

Tue Curranr (ribes). The currant and
gooseberry form a natural family, nearly allied
to the cacti, and denominated grossularie. They
belong to the class pentandria, and order mono-
gynia of Linneus.

The Red Currant (ribes rubra) is a native of
the northern parts of Europe, and is found in
hedges and woods in England. The berries of
this shrub, in its wild state, are uniformly red ;
cultivation has produced the white variety com-
mon in our gardens. According to Professor
Martyn, the currant was unknown to the ancient
Greeks and Romans, as in the south of Europe
it has not an appropriate name to thisday. Mr
Aiton, in his Hortus Kewensis, is of opinion that
the currant is indigenous to Britain. Its name,
however, being the same as the small seedless
grape of the Levant (Corinth), is against this
theory; and in “ Dodoen’s History of Plants,”
translated in 1578, it is called “‘the red heyond-
sea gooseberry.” The white, having the most
delicate flavour, is most in request for the des-
sert. The red is principally used in the prepa-
ration of jellies; and the white is converted into
wine, which, with fine fruit, and using the juice
alone, or only with sugar, without any mixture

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

of spirits or of water, may, when kept to a pro-
per age, be made to equal some of the inferiur
wines from the grape. For pastry, the currant
is amongst-the most valuable of the British fruits,
being easily preserved, and growing in sufficient
abundance, on account of its hardiness, to offer a
cheap luxury to the humblest classes. This
bush forms the principal ornament of some of
those neat cottages which are so peculiarly cha-
racteristic of England. In parts of the country
where it is the custom to train the currant against
the walls of the house, its rich dark leaves, and
its brilliant fruit, growing over the latticed win-
dow, offer almost as pleasing a picture as the
vines of Italy.

The Black Currant (ribes nigra) is a native
of most parts of Europe, and abounds in the
woods of Russia and Siberia. It is supposed to
be a native of Britain; or, at all events, the pe-
riod of its introduction is unknown. The berries
are larger than those of the red or the white, but
they are not so juicy; and the crop upon a single
bush is less abundant. Their taste is peculiar,
and to some disagreeable. They are supposed
to have medicinal qualities which do not belong
to the other species of currants. They answer
well for tarts and puddings; and can be made
into a very pleasant jelly, which, in village phar-
macy, is recommended in cases of sore throat;
and they make a very good rob (souring) for
flavouring liquors. The leaves of the black cur-
rant have a strong taste, especially in the early
part of the season; and if a small portion be
mixed with black tea, the flavour is changed to
one resembling that of green. On this account
it is suspected that those leaves are pretty exten -
sively used in the adulteration of tea,—the
coarser sort of black being coloured green by
moistening it with vinegar, laying it upon heated
plates of copper till it be shrivelled into small
balls, and mixing it with black currant leaves,
which ,.have also been shrivelled by heat. If
this process has been employed, the tea will dis-
colour a silver spoon.

There are thirty-five varieties of the currant
specified in the fruit catalogue of the Horticul-
tural Society ; but there is perhaps no class of
fruits in which so much ignorance exists as to
the merits and difference of the varieties. It is
stated to be impossible to obtain the different
kinds with certainty from the nurseries.

Tur GooskeErRy (ribes grossularia.). Some
have derived the name gooseberry from gorse-
berry, or the resemblance of the bush to gorse;
others from the berry being used as a sauce to
young geese. In Cheshire, and some of the
neighbouring counties of England, it was called
fea, or feverberry; in Norfolk this name is ab-
breviated to feabes, pronounced thapes ; carberry
is another English name. In France it is called
groseille; in Scotland, sometimes grozez. It is
THE GOOSEBERRY.

a native of several parts of Europe, and abounds
in. the valleys in copse woods, where it produces
a small green hairy berry of high flavour. In
England, if not a native, it is now naturalized
in various places, and grows wild in old walls,
ruins, and in woods. It is cultivated in Lan-
cashire in greater perfection than in any other
part of Britain; and next to Lancashire, the cli-
mate of the Lothians, and some of the northern
counties of Scotland seem to suit this plant. In
France it is neglected; in Italy and Spain it is
scarcely known. It was early a favourite fruit,
and still continues to be so, in all parts of Bri-
tain. In the time of Tusser, who flourished in
the reign of Henry VIIL., this fruit was culti-
vated. He says:—

“The barbery, respis,* and gooseberry too,
Look now to be planted as other things do.”

{n the south of Europe it is small, tasteless,
and neglected; and though it grows to a large
size in the warmer parts of England, its flavour
there is very inferior to that which it has in
Scotland. Even in that country, the flavour
seems to increase with the cold; for if there be
warmth enough for bringing gooseberries to ma-
turity and ripening them, the farther north they
are grown the better. The market-gardeners
about Edinburgh pay much attention to the cul-
ture and kinds of their gooseberries; but they
are never equal in flavour to those which are
grown at Dundee, Aberdeen, or Inverness.

In England, the Lancashire gooseberries are
the finest in appearance. They are very large;
but still their flavour is far inferior to that of the
Scotch. Perhaps the inferiority of the English
berries may be in great part owing to the large
sorts that are cultivated,—the finest, even in
Scotland, being those that are of a middle size,

Gooseberries are of various colours—white, yel-
low, green, and red; and of each colour there are
many sorts. If, however, any particular sort be
wished to be preserved, it must be done by cut-
tings, because the seeds of any one sort are apt to
produce not only all the known sorts, but new
ones.

‘The gooseberry plant, under favourable cir-
cumstances, will attain a considerable age, and
grow to an immense size. At Duffield, near
Derby, there was, in 1821, a bush ascertained to
have been planted at least forty-six years, the
branches of which extended twelve yards in cir-
cumference. At the garden of the late Sir Joseph
Banks, at Overton Hall, near Chesterfield, there
were, at the same time, two remarkable goose~
berry plants, trained against « wall, measuring
each upwards of fifty feet from one extremity to
the other.

* Raspberry.

 

345

The yellow gooseberries have, in general, a
more rich and vinous flavour than the white ;
they are, on that account, the best for the des-
sert, and also for being fermented into wine.
When the sort is choice, and well picked, so that
none of the fruit is damaged, or over or under
ripe, and when the wine is properly made, it
often puzzles an unpractised taste to distinguish
the wine of the best yellow gooseberries from
champaign. It has the flavour and colour, and
it mantles like the best of the foreign wine.

Generally speaking, the green gooseberries are
inferior to the yellow, and even to the white;
many of them, however, run large, and are used
for the sake of appearance. Large gooseberries
in general, and large green ones in particular, are
thick in the husk, and contain less pulp than
those of a smaller size; while the flavour is in
general rich in proportion to the thinness of the
husk. Some of the larger greens, especially those
that are smooth, gourd-shaped, and of a brown-
ish tinge, are almost tasteless, or even disagree-
able.

The red gooseberries are very various in fla-
vour, but are commonly more acid than the
others. The same may be said of most other
fruits; and it agrees with the well known fact,
that acids change the vegetable blues to red.
In many fruits, and the gooseberry in particular,
the amber colour is accompanied by the richest
vinous flavour, while the white tends to insipi-
dity. When the green is deep and pure, sweet-
ness seems to be the leading characteristic, as
in the Gascoigne gooseberry, the green-gage plum,
and the small green summer pear, known in
Scotland by the name of the “ Pinkey green.”
Among the red gooseberries there are, however,
many exceptions. Some of the older and smaller
red sorts (especially that known by the name
of the “old ironmonger”) are very sweet. It
would be unavailing to fix upon any particular
kind of gooseberry as the best, as every year pro-
duces new varieties. In the fruit catalogue of
the Horticultural Society there are nearly two
hundred kinds enumerated, of which about a
hundred and fifty are the large Lancashire goose-
berries.

The cultivation of gooseberries forms a pleas-
ing occupation amongst the manufacturers of
that part of the kingdom; and the custom has
doubtless a tendency to improve both the health
and the morals of the people. Any pursuit
which makes men acquainted with the peculi-
arities of vegetable economy, in however small a
degree, has a beneficial effect upon the heart and
understanding; and it is certainly better for
weavers and nailers to vie with each other in
raising the largest gooseberries, than in those
games of chance or cruel sports, to which the
few leisure hours of the working classes are too
often devoted.

2x
346

Both currants and gooseberries are of very
easy culture. They may be raised from slips,
which is the usual mode of perpetuating varie-
ties, or by all the other methods used in propa-
gating shrubs and trees. New varieties are ob-
tained from seed. Any good soft soil is suitable
tothem. <A moist soft soil is most favourable
to the gooseberry. The bushes require a prun-
ing twice a year. The gooseberry plant of four
years old produces the largest and finest fruit;
afterwards the fruit becomes smaller, though it
increases in quantity. The fruit is produced not
only on the shoots of last summer, and on shoots
two or three years old, but also on spurs arising
from the older branches along the sides. Many
insects attack the gooseberry, such as the aphis,
caterpillar, and saw fly. The currant moth,
abraxas grossulariata, is a middle-sized moth,
white, with numerous black spots. It deposits
its eggs on the under side of both currant and
gooseberry leaves. The gooseberry moth is ra-
ther smaller, and feeds on the leaves of both
shrubs. ‘The saw fly, nematus ribesti, is still
more destructive to the gooseberry. arly in
March this small fly, of a greenish colour, sha-
greened with deep black tubercles, deposits a
string of minute eggs along the under ribs of
the lower leaves. A single fly will fill the ribs
of many leaves. In ten days those eggs will be
hatched into caterpillars; then after feeding vora-
ciously on the leaves for about ten days more, they
drop unto the ground, and change into the chry-
salis state. In this state they remain for four-
teen or fifteen days, when another fly is produced,
which mounts up and deposits a fresh progeny
among the leaves. In this way the bushes of a
whole garden are stripped of their foliage in a
few weeks. The best preventive is to hand pick
the bushes early in the season, and destroy all
the eggs and flies that can be found. Digging
up the earth about the roots of the bushes fre-
quently, but especially in autumn, previous to
the winter frosts, is also advisable. Sprinkling
with lime-water, tobacco juice, and other fluids,
has also been recommended.

Tue Barserry, (berberis vulgaris.) Natural
family Berberidew. Hexandria monogynia, Linn.

This is an ornamental as well as useful shrub.
When covered with flowers in spring, or fruit in
autumn, it forms a pleasing object. The leaves
are of a yellowish or bluish green, and gratefully
acid to the taste; the odour of the flowers is
pleasant at some distance, though too strong, and
offensive when near.

This shrub is a native originally of the eastern
countries, though it is now found in most parts
of Europe, where it thrives best upon light and
chalky soils. It grew formerly wild, in great
quantities, in the hedgerows of England, but has
been universally banished, from a general belief
that its presence is injurious to the growth of

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

corn. Du Hamel, Broussonet, and other scien-
tific writers, treat this belief as a vulgar preju-
dice. It should, however, be remarked, that the
fructification of the barberry is incomplete, un-
less the stamens be irritated by insects, when the
filaments suddenly contract in a most remarka-
ble manner towards the germ. The flowers are,
therefore, by a beautiful arrangement of nature,
peculiarly attractive to insects; and thus the
barberry may become injurious to neighbouring
plants. The berries grow in bunches, and are
so very acid, that they are seldom eaten; but
with the requisite quantity of sugar, they make
an excellent jelly. They are used also asa sweet
meat, and put into sugar plums or comfits. The
fruit is sometimes used in medicine, as a mild
and cooling refrigerant. The roots boiled in an
alkaline ley, yield a yellow colour, used in Poland
for dyingleather. The barkalsoyieldsayellowdye.

Cattle, sheep, and goats browse on this shrub,
and numerous kinds of insects are remarkably
fond of the flowers and leaves.

Tur Exper Berry, (sambucus nigra.) Pen-
tandria trigynia of Linn.

The elder is a native of this country; is very
generally diffused; grows with singular rapidity,
though it never arrives at great size; and endures
the most bleak situations, though in the northern
parts of Scotland the fruit seldom ripens. The
berries of the elder are fermented into a wine,
which, when spiced and drunk warm, is a pleas-
ing winter beverage. They are supposed to con-
tain a portion of the narcotic principle. The
black variety is chiefly cultivated for this pur-
pose; but the berries of the yellow and green are
also applicable to wine making.

The elder tree furnishes the unscientific prac-
titioner of the healing art with many of the
most approved remedies; and perhaps not with~
ous reason. Boerhaave, the great physician, is
said to have regarded the elder with such rever-
ence, for its medicinal virtues, that he sometimes
took off his hat in passing a tree of this species.
The leaves are narcotic, purgative, and acrid; the
flowers in decoction are diaphoretic, and are used
to give a flavour to vinegar. The French strew
them among casks of apples, to which they com-
municate an agreeable odour.

The berries are said to prove poisonous to
poultry, and especially to turkies.

126: Tue Birsrrry, or Braz.
BERRY, (vaccinium myrtillus. )
This berry grows plentifully
on heathsand waste places; and
is very hardy. It is a hand-
some berry, with a delicate
bloom when in perfection;
but it is tender, and, when
kept for some time, ferments,
In some of the pine forests

 

The Blaeberry.
in Scotland it grows to the height of three
TILE CROW BERRY.

feet; and there are places where the pedestrian
can pull handfuls of berries as large as the com-
mon black currant of the gardens.

Two other species of vaccinium, the black
whortleberry, and the red (the cranberry) are
common enough in some parts of this country.
One, if not both of these, grows most readily in
moist situations, such as the dry patches in peat-
bogs. Tusser mentions “hurtil-berries” amongst
the cultivated fruits of his time. ‘These were,
perhaps, confounded with the fruit of the bram-
bles. “Dewberries” (though supposed by some
to be gooseberries) were formerly amongst the
delicacies of fruit, if we may judge from the
celebrated passage in Midsummer’s Night’s
Dream :—

“Feed him with apricocks and dewberries,
With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries.”

The Red Cranberry, (vaccinium vitis Idec, ) of
which the berries are excellent, has borne fruit
abundantly under cultivation. The berries of
the Pennsylvanian vaccinium are very ornamen-
tal. This genus of berries is very abundant in
North America, and also in the northern parts
of Russia.

The American Cranberry (vaccinium macro-
carpon,) forms a considerable article of com-
merce; and, as does not appear to be the case
with some others of the genus, it may be culti-
vated to advantage on the margins of ponds, and
in other moist situations. The importation of
cranberries to this country is about 30,000 gal-
lons annually, the duty being sixpence per gal-
lon. This species has been grown in England.

An interesting account of its culture and
produce is given by Sir Joseph Banks, in the
Horticultural Transactions. In one year, from a
bed of about eighteen feet square, three and a
half Winchester bushels of berries were pro-
duced, which, at five bottles to the gallon, gives
140 bottles, each sufficient for one cranberry

ie.
: Wherever there is a pond, observes Neill, the
margin may at a trifling expence be fitted for
the culture of this plant, and it will continue
productive for many years. All that is neces-
sary is to drive in a few stakes two or three feet
within the margin of the pond, and to place
some old boards within these, so as to prevent
the soil of the cranberry bed from falling into
the water. Then to lay a parcel of small stones
or rubbish in the bottom, and over it peat or bog
earth, to the depth of about three inches above,
and seven inches below the usual surface of the
water. In such a situation the plants grow
readily; and if a few be put in they entirely
cover the bed in the course of a year or two, by
means of their long runners, which take root at
different points. froma very small space a very

 

347

large quantity of cranberries may be gathered,
and they prove a remarkably regular crop,
scarcely affected by the state of the weather, and
not subject to the attacks of insects. The cran-
berry will also succeed when planted as an edging
to any pond, provided some bog earth be placed
for its roots to run in; or if a bed of bog earth
be sunk in any shady situation, so as its surface
may be a few inches below the general level for
the sake of retaining water, the plant will thrive
well, and being regularly watered in the driest
weather, produces abundant crops.

Tus Crow Berry, (empetrum nigrum.) Di-
ecia triandria, Linn.

This humble plant, in appearance resembling
some of the mosses, derives its generic name
from growing on rocks, and elevated stony
mountains. The berry is jet black; and hence
probably the common name of crow berry. It is
common in all the northern parts of Europe, in
elevated situations, on dry, barren, moorish, or
boggy soils; and is more patient of cold, bleak
atmospheres, than even the common heath. The
berries have a slight subacid taste, and are eaten
by children in the Highlands. The Russian
peasants eat them; and the Kamchatdales gather
great quantities of them to boil with their fish,
or to make a sort of pudding, with the roots
of their lilies; wild game especially grouse, feed
on them. They afford a dark purple dye; and
boiled with fat, are used for imparting a black
colour to otter and sable skins.

CHAP. XXXVI.

THE ORANGE, LEMON, LIME, CITRON, SHADDOCK,
POMEGRANATE, FIG, OLIVE, &c.

Tue natural family Aurantiacew, or Hesper-
idee, contains some of the most beautiful and
important of exotic fruits. The family belongs
to the class polyadelphia, and order polyandria
of Linneus.

The common character of the cétrons or orange
family, is that of low evergreen trees, with ovate
or oval, lanceolate, entire, or serrated leaves. On
the ungrafted trees, and those growing in a na-
tural state, there are frequently found axillary
spines. Thereisa structure of the petiole of the
leaf, which serves to distinguish the species.
Thus, in the orange and shaddock the petiole is
winged, producing a marked form of the leaf, as
seen in the wood cut, 127.

In the citron, lemon, and lime, the petiole is
naked. The flowers appear in peduncles, axil-
lary or terminate, and one or many flowered: the
citron and lemon have ten stamens, the orange
more. The fruits are large berries, round or ob-
long, and generally of a yellow colour. In ths
343

orange and shaddock, the shape is spherical, or
rather an oblate spheroid, with a red or orange
coloured rind; in the lime spherical, with a pale
rind; in the lemon oblong, rough, with a nipple-

like protuberance at the end; in the citron ob- |

long, with a very thick rind. There is a pecu-
liarity in the fruit of all this tribe. The rind or
external pericarp, is of a soft spongy texture,
containing but little juice or sap of any kind in
its substance; but the external surface is covered
or tuberculated over with little glands, that se-
crete a volatile oi], which is very inflammable and
acrid. According to Decandolle, the fruit con-
sists first, of a thick valveless indehiscent coat,
which is most likely to be considered a continu-
ous torus; secondly, of several carpella, verticel-
late around an imaginary axis, often separable
without laceration : membranous, and either con-
taining seeds only, or filled with pulp lying in
innumerable little bags, proceeding from the
inner coats of the cells.

The flowers of this tribe are deliciously fra-
grant, and the fruits almost all eatable. The
wood is particularly close grained.

The golden apples of the heathens, and the
forbidden fruit of the Jews, are supposed to al-
lude to this family, though it is remarkable that
we have no authentic records of any species of
citrus having been known to or cultivated by
the Romans.

It is very difficult to determine what is a var-
iety, and what a distinct species in this family.
Four species are, however, commonly enumerated
—the orange, the lemon, the citron, and the shad-
dock. Of these there are a great many varieties.

The orange family are originally natives of the
warmer parts of Asia, from whence they have
been introduced, and naturalised in the southern
counties of Europe, in the West India islands,
and the tropical parts of America. They will
even grow in the open air in the warmer coun-
ties of England. In warm climates they con-
tinue flowering during nearly all the summer,
and the fruit takes two years to come to matur-
ity, so that for a considerable period of each
year, a healthy tree has every stage of the pro-
duction, from the flower bud to the ripe fruit, in
perfection at the same time.

Tur Onancr, (citrus aurantium.) The orange
isa middle sized evergreen tree, with a green-
ish brown bark, and in its wild state with prickly
branches. The leaves are ovate, acute, pointed,
and at the base of the petiole are winged. The
flowers are white, containing about twenty sta-
mens, and are disposed in clusters of from two
to six upon acommon peduncle. The fruit is
globose, bright yellow,and contains a pulp, which
consists of a collection of oblong vesicles filled
with a sugary and refreshing juice: it is, besides,
divided into eight or ten compartments, each

 

containing several seeds. The principal varieties ;

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM,

ave the sweet or China orange, the bitter or
Seville, the Maltese or red pulped. The box-
leaved, willow-leaved, and some others, are cul-
tivated more as curiosities than for use.

The precise time at which the orange was in-
troduced into England is not known with cer-
tainty, but probably it may have taken place
not long after their introduction into Portugal,
which was in the early part of the sixteenth
century.

 

1ho Orange.

The first oranges, it is stated, were imported
into England by Sir Walter Raleigh; and it is
added that Sir Francis Carew, who married the
niece of Sir Walter, planted their seeds, and they
produced the orange trees at Beddington, in Sur-
rey, of which bishop Gibson, in his additions to
Camden’s Britannia, speaks as having been there
for a hundred years previous to 1695. As these
trees always produced fruit, they could not, as
professor Martyn justly observes, have been raised
from seeds; but they may have been brought
from Portugal, or from Italy, (the place whence
orange trees have usually been obtained,) as
early as the close of the sixteenth century. The
trees at Beddington were planted in the open
ground, with a movable cover to screen them
from the inclemency of the winter months. In
the beginning of the eighteenth century they
had attained the height of eighteen feet, and the
stems were about nine inches in diameter; while
the spread of the head of the largest one was
twelve feet the one way and nine the other.
There had always been a wall on the north side
of them to screen them from the cold of that
quarter, but they were at such a distance from
the wall as to have room to spread, and plenty
of air and light. In 1788 they were surrounded
by a permanent inclosure, like a greenhouse.
They were all destroyed by the great frost of the
following winter; but whether wholly owing to
the frost, or partly to the confinement and damp
of the permanent inclosure, cannot now be as-
certained.

John Parkinson, apothecary, of London, one
of the most voluminous of our early writers on
plants, who published his Practice of Plants in
1629, gives some curious directions fur the pre-
THE ORANGE,

servation of orange trees, from which one would
be led to conclude that the trees at Beddington,
with their ample protection of a movable coy-
ering in winter, had not been in existence then.
“The orange tree,” says he, “hath abiden, with
some extraordinary branching and budding of
it, when as neither citron nor lemon trees would
by any means be preserved for any long time.
Some keepe them in square boxes, and lift them
to and fro by iron hooks on the sides, or cause
them to be rowled on trundels or small wheels
under them, to place them in an house, or close
galerie, for the winter time: others plant them
against a bricke wall in the ground, and defend
by a shed of boardes, covered with seare cloth in
the winter; and by the warmth of a stove, or such
other thing, give them some comfort in the colder
times; but no tent or meane provision will pre-
serve them.” The orange trees at Versailles are,
during the winter, wheeled into warm places
under the terrace; and the same plan is pursued
with respect to some fine orange trees at Windsor,
which were presented by the late king of France.
At Hampton Court there are many orange trees,
some of which are stated to be three hundred years
old. They are generally moved into the open air
about the middle of June, when the perfume of
their blossoms is most delicious. Orange and
lemon trees have been cultivated in the open air in
England. Fora hundred years, in afew gardens
of the south of Devonshire, they have been
seen, trained as peach trees against walls, and
sheltered only with mats of straw during the
winter. The fruit of these is stated to be as
large and fine as any from Portugal.

At the time when the people of Europe first
visited the Levant in great numbers, that is, dur-
ing the crusades for the recovery of Syria from
the dominion of the Saracens, oranges were found
abundant in that country. Though they were
in reality cultivated trees, their number, and the
beauty and goodness of their fruit, naturally
caused the adventurers (who were not very con-
versant with natural history, and not a little
prone to romance and credulity) to believe and
state that these were indigenous to the country,
and formed a portion of the glories of the “Holy
Land.”

The fables of the profane writers, and the am-
biguity of the descriptions of vegetables in Holy
Writ, helped further to confirm this opinion. As
the oranges were of the form of apples, and the
colour of gold, it did not require much stretch
of imagination to make them the golden apples of
the garden of the Hesperides; and the only point
that remained was to settle the locality of that
fabled paradise, which was generally laid in the
part of Africa which lies between the moun-
tains of Atlas and the southern shore of the
Mediterranean. The authority of Moses was
called in to confirm the existence of this fruit in

 

549

Syria, even at the time when the children of
Jacob were wandering in the wilderness; and
one of the trees borne in the procession com-
manded in the twenty-third chapter of the book
of Leviticus, was considered to have been the
orange. The mala medica of the Romans, which
is mentioned by Virgil, and afterwards by Pal-
ladio and others; the kitron of the Greeks; and
the citrus of Josephus, were all understood to
mean the same fruit: and, as has been found to
be the case with many other substances, the
moderns supposed that, because there was an
identity of name, there must be an identity of
substance, never reflecting that the name had
been imposed by themselves, and that therefore
its identity proved nothing.

The fable continued, however; and, though
there was a good deal of writing upon the sub-
ject, there was no attempt to examine the au-
thorities with that minuteness which the search
of truth demanded, till the nineteenth century.
The history of this fruit was first carefully traced
by Galessio, who published his T'raité du Citrus,
at Paris, in 1811. He maintains that the orange,
instead of being found in the north of Africa, in
Syria, or even in Media, whence the Romans
must have obtained their “Median apples,” was
not in that part of India which is watered by
the Indus at the time of Alexander the Great’s
Indian expedition, as it is not mentioned by
Nearchus among the fruits and productions of
that country. It is not mentioned either by
Artian, by Diodorus, or Pliny; and even so late
as the year 1300, Pietro di Cuescengi, a senator
of Bologna, who wrote on agriculture and vege-
table productions, does not take the least notice
of the orange.

The first distinct mention of oranges is by the
Arabs; and Avicenna (hook v.) not only des-
cribes olewm de citrangula (oil of oranges) and
oleum de citrangulorum seminibus (oil of orange
seeds,) but speaks of citric acid (salt of lemons, )
which is contained in all the genus, though more
abundantly in that species from which it got its
common English name.

According to Galessio, the Arabs, when they
penetrated to India, found the orange tribes there,
further in the interior than Alexander had pene-
trated; and they brought them thence by two
routes: the sweet ones, now called China oranges,
through Persia to Syria, and thence to the shores
of Italy and the south of France; and the bitter
oranges, called in the commerce of England, Se-
ville oranges, by Arabia, Egypt, and the north
of Africa to Spain.

Ii, does not appear that the orange was origin-
ally a Chinese fruit, as it is not mentioned by
Marco Polo, the father of modern travellers, who
is so circumstantial in describing all the other
wonders of that country.

Now these facts certainly go far to show’ that
350

the orange was not known to the ancients either
in Europe or in Syria; but that we are indebted for
the first knowledge of it to the Arabs, who, with
their zeal to propagate the religion of the Koran,
were as anxious to extend the advantages of
agriculture and medicine. The sweet orange
which they introduced was not, strictly speaking,
that which has since been called the China orange,
and under that name introduced into Spain, Por-
tugal, St Michael’s, the other Atlantic isles, and
the West Indies; but rather the orange which
was known in Italy before Vasco de Gama had
doubled the Cape of Good Hope.

The orange is said to have been found by the
Portuguese upon the east coast of Africa; but it
is not known whether it had been indigenous
there, or disseminated by the Arabs. When the
Portuguese reached India, they found the orange
there, and also in China, which was visited for
the first time by sea in the early part of the
sixteenth century.

Although the oranges of St Michael, in the
Azores, are now the best that are to be met with
in the European market, they are not indigenous
productions of that island; but were sent there
by the Portuguese, as the same fruit was origin-
ally sent to the American continent by the Span-
iards, In the middle of a forest, on the banks
of the Rio Cedeno, Humboldt found wild orange
trees, laden with large and sweet fruit. They
were, probably, the remains of some old Indian
plantations; for the orange cannot be reckoned
amongst the spontaneous vegetable productions
of the New World.

But, in whatever way oranges were first in-
troduced into those parts of the world of which
they are not natives, they are now very widely
diffused; and wherever they are found they are
among the most ornamental of trees, and the
most delightful of fruits. The species and var-
ieties have also been greatly multiplied; but
whether from their proneness to produce varie-
ties, from some original differences, or from dif-
ference of soil and climate, cannot now be ascer-
tained. Including all the different species, Risso,
an eminent naturalist at Nice, (and from his
living in a country producing oranges, he had
the best opportunities of examining and study-
ing them,) has, in a very elegant and elaborate
natural history of oranges, published at Paris in
the year 1818, enumerated, described, and, with
respect to all the more important sorts, figured
no fewer than one hundred and sixty-nine varie-
ties: these he has divided into eight species:
sweet oranges, bitter oranges, bergamottes, limes,
pampelucos, sweet limes, lemons, and citrons.

Of the first of these there are no fewer than
forty-three varieties; though, in the opinion of
Galessio, they are all derived from the common
orange. The others are, generally speaking, more
acid in their flavour; though some of them, such

 

BISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

as the bergamottes, from the rind of which the
celebrated oil of bergamot is obtained, are highly
perfumed.

Of the bitter oranges Risso enumerates thirty-
two varieties; of the bergamottes, five; of the
limes, eight; of the pampelucos, six; of the sweet
limes, twelve; of the lemons, forty-seven; and
of the citrons, seventeen.

The family of the oranges, in almost all
their varieties, are now cultivated in Portugal,
in Spain, in France, in Italy, and in Greece.
In the first two countries they especially abound;
in Algarve, and in the fine plains of Andalusia,
on the banks of the Guadalquivir. The latter
is the place from which the bitter, or Seville,
oranges are chiefly obtained. In Algarve and
Andalusia the orange trees are of great size;
and extensive orchards of oranges have formed
the principal revenve of the monks for several
centuries. In Cordova, the seat of Moorish
grandeur and luxury, there are orange trees still
remaining, which are considered to be six or seven
hundred years old; and in that province, whose
craggy mountains are covered with gardens, and
vineyards, and forests abounding in fruit, the
flowers of the orange fill the air with their per-
fume, and lead the imagination back to those
days which the Moorish poets and historians de-
light in describing, when the land which they
conquered was adorned with all the refinements
of their taste and intelligence, and the luxuries
of the East were naturalized in the most deli-
cious regions of the South. The trunks of the
old trees of Cordova have begun to decay; and
when they get diseased, they are crusted with a
kind of lichen, which is supposed to be peculiar
to the orange. In France, the orange country is
chiefly Provence, or that part of the south which
lies to the eastward of the Rhone; and planta-
tions or groves of oranges are the most abundant
and the most beautiful on the banks of the Var,
and especially in the environs of Nice, where the
species are very many, and come to great perfec-
tion. To the west of the Rhone, the country
along the coast is flat, sandy, and barren; and on
the plains of Languedoc, that lie interior of this
barren tract, the olive thrives better than the
orange, apparently because there are no second-
ary mountains between the cold heights of the
Cevennes and the plains. The country to the
eastward of the Rhone is much better adapted
for choice vegetables, both in soil and in aspect.
In the western or French part of it, the Alps
descend gradually, by successive elevations, from
the high summits of Mont Blanc, Mont Rosa,
and St Bernard, to the sea. Thus the lowgrounds
are finely exposed to the southern sun; and being
at the same time sheltered from every quarter
whence a cold wind could come, the vegetation
is at once luxuriant and choice.. The finest bul-
hous flowers, the myrtle, the cactus, and many
THE ORANGE,

others, give more the air of the perpetual sum-
mer of the tropical countries, than is to be found
perhaps in any other country of Europe, cer-
tainly in any other of the same extent.

The glory of that delightful country is the
orange, which, when full grown, attains the
height of about five and twenty feet, and is grace-
fulin allits parts, The trunk and older branches
are of a delicate ash colour; the twigs of so soft
a green that they almost appear transparent; the
leaves are moderately large, beautifully shaped,
of a fine healthy green, and shining on the upper
sides, while the under ones have a slight appear-
ance of down. The flowers, which are in little
bunches, and very graceful in their form, are, in
the sweet oranges, of a delicate white, and, in the
more acid varieties of the family, lightly marked
with pink. Some plants have a more powerful
odour, and are for the moment more rich; but
there is a freshness in the aroma of an orange-
grove which never offends or cloys; and as the
tree is at one and the same time in all stages of
its bearing—in flower, in fruit just set, and in
golden fruit, inviting the hand to pull and the
palate to taste—it is hardly possible to imagine
any object more delightful. The perfumes of
Arabia do not exceed the fragrance of the groves
on the north of the Mediterranean, in which the
beautiful white Provence rose, the tuberose, and
countless other flowers, blend their sweets with
that of the orange; and where, with all this rich-
ness, the pestilent airs of the tropics, and even
the szrocco of the southern parts of Italy, are al-
together unknown. This delightful fertility and
fragrance accompany the chain of the Apennines
round the whole gulf of Genoa, and until, upon
the boundary of the plain of Tuscany, they sub-
side in elevation, and bend more toward the
Adriatic. :

Tuscany is further to the south; but the cli-
mate and the vegetation cannot be compared to
those of the little valleys of Provence and Ligu-
ria, especially the latter. About Florence there
are still orange trees in the gardens; but there
are none of those aromatic groves and plantations
which are found further to the west. Nor are
the causes difficult to find out. There is an
enemy on each side of the plain of Tuscany,
which will not allow the orange to arrive at per-
fection. The gales that come from the south-
east, over the sandy shores near Leghorn, are not

adapted for a plant which, as well as heat and |

pure air, requires a considerable quantity of
moisture; and the winds from the north, that
are cooled in passing over the Adriatic, are not
so genial as those from the Alps, that are warmed
in passing over the vale of Lombardy. But still
the olives, the grapes, and the melons, of the
vale of the Arno, in so far compensate the in-
habitants for the want of the orange.

Eastward of Tuscany, though the coast of

 

351

Italy inclines still further to the south, it is even
less adapted for the production of the orange;
the sea coast is barren, the interior is dreary, and
over the whole the pestilent malaria creeps, for-
bidding man to approach even for the cultiva-
tion of the fields; and thus it may be that, ere
long, the arid downs by the sea will meet the
marsh of the interior, and the centre of Italy
shall be desolation to the very base of the Apen-
nines. After the gulf of Gaeta is passed, and the
shelter of the more elevated mountains of Cala-
bria is obtained, orange groves again make their
appearance.

Thus the locality of the orange depends fully
as much upon situation and soil as upon lati-
tude; and therefore we need not wonder that,
considering the many and varied lands in which
it is cultivated, there should be so many varie-
ties of its fruit. There is no absolute reason for
supposing that the sweet and the bitter orange
were originally different; and even now they are
not so different as two mushrooms of the very
same variety—the one produced upon a dry and
airy down, and the other upon a marsh. Now,
if it be true that the bitter orange of Seville
came, by successive removals, from the head of
the Persian Gulf, along the margin of the salt
desert, till it reached the states of Barbary, where
it was transplanted into Spain; if the sweet
orange of Malta, Italy, and France, came through
the more fertile parts of Persia and Syria; and
if the orange of India and the Azores came direct
from China—it would follow that each should
have those qualities which we find in it; and
that the opinion of Galessio is borne out by the
only evidence which the case admits.

Looking at the facts, we are induced to infer,
that, if the temperature be sufficiently high for
maturing its flavour, the orange is delicious in
proportion to the uniform salubrity of the air;
and that those high temperatures which force a
very large expansion of the fruit are against the
fineness of its quality. In this respect we have
an opportunity of contrasting both the oranges
of islands and those of continents. St Michael’s,
in the Azores, and Malta, are both small islands;
the former always exposed to the equalizing
breezes, which, from whatever quarter they blow,
are always wafted across the expanse of the At-
lantic; and the latter lying near the dry and
sultry shores of Africa, and, of course, subjected

‘to more changes of season and a higher tempera-

ture. There is also some difference in the soil.
Whether it be the decomposition of the rock, or
saline particles, brought by the same pestilent
wind that withers the south of Italy and Sicily
with the sirocco, it is well known that, under
the artificial earth (brought originally from Si-
cily) which forms the soil of Malta, there gathers
acrust; and that if the earth be not trenched,
and this crust removed at the end of a certain
352

number of years, it ceases to he productive, or
the produce becomes so bitter, that it is not
healthful. St Michael’s has no such disadvan-
tage; the soil there is native and fertile, and de-
posits nothing calculated to injure its fertility,
or impair the qualities of its produce.

The oranges of the two islands are such as one
would expect from those differences. The Mal-
tese orange is large, the rind is thick and spongy,
the glands that secrete the volatile oil are pro-
minent, the pulp is red, and there is a trace of
bitterness in the taste; while the St Michael’s
orange is small, the rind is thin and smooth, the
glands less prominent, the volatile oil in smaller
quantity, and the lighter coloured pulp more
sugary and delicious. Some allowance must no
doubt be made for the original differences of
those oranges, regarding them as having come in
the manner stated by Galessio; but they have
now been long enough in both islands for having
their qualities modified by the different climates
and soils,

The modifications produced hy differences of
soil and climate, in the same vegetable, are
among the most important inquiries in the science
of plants; and they are, at the same time, among
the most difficult, and certainly the least at-
tended to. One principal source of the difficulty
lies in the observer being as much changed as the
thing observed. Those who are parched with
thirst do not stop to analyze the water, or descant
upon the flavour of whatever beverage they may
have recourse to for slaking it. The removal of
the painful sensation is to them far more deli-
cious than the purity of the most limpid spring,
or the flavour of the choicest wine. Just so
with man when he is panting under a burning
atmosphere; the fruit which is most delicious to
him is that which is most cool. This necessary
change in the judge, as well as the thing judged
of, must never be omitted when we come to
compare the fruits of different countries as re-
ported of by those who have enjoyed them there;
and we never can be certain of their real merits
till we have them decided by the same individual
under the same circumstances. To take a case
in point: a guava, apart from its rarity, is cer-
tainly not in this country any thing comparable
to a peach; and yet those who have been in tro-
pical countries talk in raptures of the guava, and
say that the fruit grown here is inferior and de-
generated. But they should bear in mind that,
in the tropical countries, there is the tropical
zest, as well as the tropical flavour. The man
who traverses a mountain country in the north,
heeds not the glittering fountains that issue from
every rock around him; but send him from Suez
to Bassora, or from Morocco to Fezzan, and he
would remember them with veneration.*

* Library of Entertaining Knowledge.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

But, again, we have a further confirmation
when we compare the continental oranges. The
climate of the slopes and valleys of the Estrella,
near the lower Tagus, and that of the Maritime
Alps, and the Apennines, in Provence and Ligu-
ria, are certainly very different from the climate
of Andalusia. The diversities of surface, and the
vicinity of the sea, keep the air over the former
places in continual play and motion, and prevent
those intense heats which unquestionably (though
by a process which chemistry has not yet fully
investigated) render the juices of plants acid,
acrid, or saline; while, from the wider extent of
Andalusia, and its comparative distance from the
ocean, the air over it is, in the warmer months,
much more quiescent.

These considerations will, to a certain extent,
explain why there are so many varieties in a fruit,
which, according to the authorities, appear all to
have come from the same part of the world; and
a further extension of these considerations would
form a criterion of the situations in which it
would, or it would not, be desirable to cultivate
the orange.

One great recommendation of the orange is,
that it may be had fresh in every region of the
world, and almost at every season of the year.
The tough rind, and the aromatic oil with which
it is filled, protect it from both extremes of tem-
perature; and the acidity of the pulp deters in-
sects from piercing it; and if pulled from the
tree before it is quite ripe, this fruit will keep
for along time. Indeed, the greater portion of
the oranges imported into this country are taken
from the tree while they are still green. This
gathering of both oranges and lemons for the
English market begins in October, and continues
to the end of December. Oranges are not fully
ripe till spring. It is found that the orange trees,
from which the fruit is gathered green, bear
plentifully every year; while those upon which
the fruit is suffered to ripen, afford abundant
crops only on alternate years.

During the latter end of the seventeenth and
beginning of the eighteenth centuries, the orange
tree was a very fashionable article of growth in
conservatories, when there were but few exotics
of other sorts kept there. The plants were pro-
cured from Genoa, with stems generally from
four to six feet in height. They were planted
in large boxes, and were set out during summer
to decorate the walls near the house, in the man-
ner still practised at Versailles and the Tuilleries.
About the middle of the eighteenth century,
when a taste for botany and forcing exotic fruits
became general, that for superb orange trees be-
gan to decline. Many of these large trees
have decayed through neglect, and those which
are now to be found in the greater number of
green-houses are generally dwarf plants, bearing
few fruit, and those of small size. In some
7 THK LEMON,

places, however, are still to be found large and
flourishing trees. Those at Smorgomy in Gla-
morganshire are the largest in Britain, They are
planted in the floor of an immense conservatory,
and bear abundantly, It is said that the plants
were procured from a wreck on the coast in that
quarter, in the time of Henry VII.

At Woodhall, near Hamilton, trees of all the
species of citrus are trained against the back
wall of forcing houses, in the manner of peaches,
and produce large crops of fruit. At Castle
Semple, near Paisley, there isa citron tree which,
in 1830, covered a wall twenty-five feet in length,
and sixteen feet high, besides returning about
six feet on each end of the house. In that year
it produced between seven and eight dozen of
fruit, one of which measured eighteen inches
and a half by nineteen and a half.*

Tue Lemon (citrus limonum). This is a
knotty wooded tree, about eight feet in height,

 

The Lemon.

with rough bark, and pale green leaves. The
fruit is oblong and smooth, and rather thin
skinned. The juice of the pulp is much more
acid than that of the orange, and consists of the
citric acid. The flavour of the essential oil of
the rind is also peculiar and extremely grateful.
Dr Sickler enumerates twenty-eight varieties as
grown in Italy; the French cultivate eleven;
and in the London nurseries are about twelve
varieties,

The lemon grows naturally in that part of
India which is situated beyond the Ganges; but
its transmigration to Europe is due to the Caliphs
during their invasion of the West. The lemon
thus transplanted was found by the crusaders, in
Syria and Palestine, towards the end of the
eleventh century. By them it was introduced

* Loudon.

 

353

into Sicily and Italy, though it is probable that
at the same period it was already multiplied in
Africa and Spain. Arabian writers of the twelfth
century spealc of the lemon tree as then culti-
vated in Egypt and many other places. Matthew
Silvaticus, a writer of that time, says, that the
lemon was then spread over all Italy.

In the southern parts of Europe, where the
lemon is abundant, the varieties are very nume-
rous. Lemons are imported into this country
both fov their agreeable acid juice and essential
oil, and also for the manufacture of citric acid
in a concrete state. They will keep good for a
considerable time, especially if steeped for a
short period in salt water.

Tus Citron (citrus medica), This is by
some supposed to be the same species as the le-
mon. In its wild state the tree
grows to the height of about
eight feet, erect and prickly,
with long reclining branches.
The leaves are ovate, oblong,
alternate, sub-serrate, pale
green. ‘The fruit is six inches
in length, ovate, with a protu-
berance at the tip. There are
two rinds, the outer thin, with

: innumerable miliary glands,
The Citron, — full of a most fragrant oil; the
inner thick, white, and fungous. The citron was
introduced into Europe from Media, under the
name of malus medica, and was first cultivated
in Italy by Palladius, in the second century,
The date of its introduction into England is not
exactly known, it would probably be coeval with
that of the lemon, which was cultivated in the
botanic garden of Oxford in 1648. The fairest
fruit, Millar states, was in the duke of Argyle’s
garden at Whitton, where the trees were trained
against a south wall, through which there were
flues for warming the air in winter, and glass
covers put over them when the weather began to
be cold; and thus fruit as large and as perfectly
ripened was produced as any in Italy or Spain. In
Italy, citrons and lemons are generally trained
on walls or espaliers, because being considerably
more tender than the orange, they require, at
least in the north of Italy, some protection in
winter. The fruit does not ripen regularly at
one time, like that of the orange, but comes suc-
cessively to maturity almost every month in the
year. There are about six varieties cultivated in
Britain: the common, the flat-fruited, the rough-
fruited, the forbidden-fruited, the round-fruited,
and the thick-leaved.

Tue Lime (citrus acida). The sour lemon,
or lime, grows to the height of about eight feet,
with a crooked trunk, and many diffused
branches armed with prickles. The leaves are
ovate, lanceolate, almost quite entire. The fruit

is an inch and a half in diameter, almost globu-
2¥

 
354

lar, with a protuberance at the top; the surface
is regular, shining, greenish yellow, with a very
130,

 

The Lime.

oderous rind, enclosing an acid juice. It is a
native of Asia, but has long been common in the
West Indies, where it is raised both for its fruit
and for fences. The juice of the lime is by some
preferred to that of the lemon, and it is used for
similar purposes. The following varieties are
grown in the London nurseries: the common,
the weeping, the broad-leaved, the West Indian,
the Chinese spreading.

Tue Saappock (citrus decumana) is much
larger than the orange, both in the tree and the
fruit. The tree is both lofty and spreading, and
the fruit is about eight inches in circumference,
some indeed, much larger. The shaddock is a
native of China and the adjoining countries,
where the name of “sweet ball” is given to it.
There are many varieties, some with the pulp
white, others with it nearly red; some that are
sweet, with but little acidity; and some acid,
with but little sweetness. The shaddock de-
rived its specific name from having been first
carried from China to the West Indies by Cap-
tain Shaddock. It has, however, been neglected
there, and now but seldom merits its oriental
name of sweet ball. The planters have never
been remarkable for their knowledge of science,
or their skill in the new operations of the arts;
and thus, instead of propagating the shaddock
by budding, as is done in China, and which is
the only way that it can be improved, or even
kept from degenerating, they have reared it from
seed, and consequently have generally obtained a
harsh and sour sort, which is of very little value.
It is showy, no doubt, from its size, and the ap-
pearance of the tree when growing; but it is the
least valuable or desirable of the genus produced
in the west.

All the citrus tribe may be propagated by
seeds, cuttings, layers, grafting, and budding.
In general, citrons, lemons, limes, and shaddocks,
are more easily propagated than the orange. The
latter do not grow readily from cuttings, and it
is advisable to raise them by engrafting. Rais-
ing from seed is a tedious process, as the plant
is not fruitful for five or six years, even in Italy.
hey require a rich soil; and when in pots or
in tubs, should be liberally supplied with water.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Tur PomEcranate (Punica granatum), This
plant, so celebrated in ancient and scripture his-
tory, belongs to the natural order Myrtacem:; and
to the class and order icosandria monogynia of

 

The Pomegranate.

Linneus. This fruit was called by the ancients
the Carthaginian apple, because, according to
Pliny, the tree was first known to grow in the
vicinity of Carthage. There are two species: the
dwarf, which bears very small fruit and flowers,
and is common in the West Indies; and the
common, or grained, from the number of seeds
or grains contained within the pulp of the fruit.
The pomegranate is rather a low tree, of about
fifteen to twenty feet in height, with numerous
slender branches, some of which are armed with
sharp thorns. The leaves are opposite, about
three inches long, and of a beautiful green. The
flowers are produced at the end of the branches,
on the shoots of the same year, single, or three
or four together; frequently one of the largest
terminates the branch; and immediately under
that are two or three smaller buds, which con-
tinue a succession of flowers for some months,
generally from June to September. The calyx
is very thick and fleshy, and of a fine red colour;
the petals are scarlet. The beauty of the tree, in-
dependently of its fruit, has caused it to be planted
for ornament in the south of Europe, and in many
countries in the East. “The nightingale,” says
Russel in his account of Aleppo, “sings from
the pomegranate groves in the day-time.” The
fruit is a berry, covered with a hard leathery
coat, and beautifully crowned with the tube of
the calyx, which is sharply toothed, and remains
even after the fruit is ripe, contributing greatly
to its singular and beautiful appearance. The
fruit ripens in October; and in a green-house
will hang on the trees till the spring or summer
following. It was introduced into England in
1596, and cultivated by Gerarde; but though it
grows very well in the open air, and is prized for
the beauty of its flowers, especially the double
variety, vet it seldom ripens its fruit. Even at
THE FIG,

Paris it will not bear exposure in the open air
in early spring. Some of the pomegranate and
orange trees at Versailles, Risso states to be be-
tween two and three hundred years old.

Before the peach, the nectarine, and the apricot,
had travelled from Persia to the more western
countries on the borders of the Red sea, the pome-
granate was there assiduously cultivated, and held
in the greatest esteem. In the wilderness, when
the children of Israel murmured for the fruits of
Egypt, they exclaimed, “It is no place of seed,
or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates.” On
the borders of the promised land, Moses described
it as “a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and
fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil-olive
and honey.” In the Canticles, Solomon speaks
of “an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant
fruits.” A tree, therefore, which partakes of
the antiquity of the vine, the fig, and the olive,
and which, in point of utility, is numbered with
the grain-bearing plants, and with honey, all
constituting the principal food of the nations of
antiquity in their early stages of civilization,
must possess’a considerable historical interest.
It is probable that the pomegranate, differing
from the stone fruits, travelled from the West to
the East. Pliny says that it is a native of Car-
thage, as its name (punica granatum) imports.
Yet as it is found wild in the same botanical re-
gions of Europe, that is, in countries having the
same temperature as the northern coasts of
Africa, it is probably indigenous there also. It
is still common in Barbary (where, according to
Shaw, the fruit often weighs a pound, and is
three or four inches in diameter), in the south
of France, in Italy, in Spain, and throughout
the East. The Jews employ the fruit in their
religious ceremonials; and it has entered into the
heathen mythology—for in the isle of Eubcea
there was formerly a statue of Juno, holding in
one hand a sceptre, and in the other a pomegra-
nate.

The single flowering sorts may be raised from
seed, and all the varieties by cuttings, suckers,
or layers, or by inoculation or grafting on the
wild sort. The tree thrives best in a strong rich
soil,

The pomegranate is common in Syria and
Palestine, particularly in all the gardens of
Aleppo. ‘The ripe fruit is in abundance in Au-
gust, and is then laid up for a winter, stock.
here are three sorts, a sour kind, a moderately
sweet kind, and a very sweet kind. The juice
of the first is used instead of verjuice, or the
juice of the unripe grapes; the others are eaten
‘at table, after being cut open, the seeds taken
out, strewed with sugar, sprinkled with rose
water, and served up on little plates. The pome-
granates, on account of their round and graceful
figure, formed a frequent ornament on the chapi-
‘ters of the building of the temple. “And the

 

355

chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates
also above, over against the net-work; and the
pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round
about.” They were also embroidered upon the
hem of the high-priest?s ephod. A wine is
sometimes extracted from these fruits, and pro-
bably was so by the ancient Jews, as may be in-
ferred from the word “ Gath Rimmon,” signify-
ing the press of pomegranates. The seeds, ac-
cording to Russel, constitute an important culi-
nary article in the manufacture of conserves and
syrups. We must not judge of the pomegranate
from the stunted specimens to be found in this
country. In warm climates it grows to a con-
siderable size; and several towns and places
have derived the name of Rimmon from the
abundance or excellence of this tree. The bark
has been used in dyeing; and it is this which
gives the colour to yellow Morocco leather.

Tae Fie, (ficuscarica). Natural order Urti-
cacee. Polygamia diccia of Linneus.

132.

 

The Fig.

The fig is a native of Asia, Africa, and the
south of Europe, and has been cultivated from
remote antiquity in the countries surrounding
the Mediterranean, where it forms a principal

article of food in many places. The stem is from
fifteen to twenty-five feet high, with a trunk
sometimes two feet in diameter, giving out a
great number of long, twisted, pliant branches,
which are grayish and rough when young ; the
leaves are deciduous, of the size of the hand,
having three to five rounded lobes; the flowers
are very small, unisexual, contained in great
numbers in acommon receptacle, which is fleshy
and connivent at the summit, where it is almost
closed by a series of little teeth; the male
towers occupy the superior part of this recepta-
cle, and the female, which are the most numer-
ous, the bottom, and all the remaining part of
the cavity ; each ovary becomes a seed, sur-
rounded with a pulp, which, together with the
receptacle, forms the fruit. ‘The fruit is soli-
tary, generally of a purplish colour, has a soft,
sweet, fragrant pulp, and is much esteemed, be-
ing constantly brought upon the table, during
five months of the year, in the south of Europe.
Thegreater part of the flowers prove abortive, both
with and without the process of caprification.
356

This process is performed by suspending by
threads, above the cultivated figs, branches of the
wild fig, which are full of a species of cynips.
When the insect has become winged, it quits the
wild figs and penetrates the cultivated ones, for
the purpose of laying its eggs; and thus it ap-
pears koth to ensure the fructification by dis-
persing the pollen, and afterwards to hasten the
ripening by puncturing the pulp, and causing a
dispersion or circulation of the nutritious juices.

In France, this operation is imitated by inserting ©

straws dipped in olive oil. Many of the French
naturalists are of opinion, that caprification is a
very unnecessary process. Oliver terms it a“‘tri-
bute which man pays to ignorance and prejudice.”
In many countries of the Levant, he says, it is
not now performed, nor is it done in France,
Italy, or Spain. Perhaps it may tend to hasten
in some degree the maturation of the fruit; but
it does not seem to be essential to fecundation;
nor, indeed, is fecundation itself indispensably
requisite to the swelling and ripening of the
fig.

The traditions of the Greeks carried the origin
of the fig back to the remotest antiquity. It
was probably known to the people of the East
before the cerealia; and stood in the same rela-
tion to men living in the primitive condition of
society, as the banana does to the Indian tribes
of South America, at the present day. With
little trouble of cultivation, it supplied their
principal necessities; and offered, not an article
of occasional luxury, but of constant food,
whether in a fresh or a dried state. As we pro-
ceed to a more advanced period of the history of
the species, we still find the fig an object of gen-
eral attention. The want of blossom on the fig-
tree was considered as one of the most grievous
calamities by the Jews. Cakes of figs were in-
cluded in the presents of provisions by which
the widow of Nabal appeased the wrath of David.
In Greece, when Lycurgus decreed thatthe Spartan
men should dine in a common hall, flour, wine,
cheese, and figs were the principal contributions
of each individual to the general stock. The
Athenians considered figs an article of such
necessity that their exportation from Attica was
prohibited. Either the temptation to evade this
law must have been great, or it must have been
disliked; for the name which distinguished those
who informed against the violators of the law,
compounded from ouxe», a fig, and aia, to shew,
became a name of reproach, from which we ob-
tain our word sycophant. As used by our older
writers, sycophant means a tale-bearer ; and the
French employ the word to designate a liar and
impostor generally, not a flatterer merely. At
Rome the fig was carried next to the vine, in the
processions in honour of Bacchus, as the patron
of plenty and joy; and Bacchus was supposed
to have derived his corpulency and vigour, not

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

| from the vine, but from the fig. All these cir-
, cumstances indicate that the fig contributed very
| largely to the support of man; and we may rea-
sonably account for this from the facility with
which it is cultivated in climates of moderate
temperature. Like the cerealia, it appears to
flourish in a very considerable range of latitude;
and even in our own country frequently pro-
duces fine fruit, without much difficulty, in the
open air, Yet the tree is not generally culti-
vated except in very favourable situations; and
it must belong to more genial climates to realize
the ancient description of peace and security,
which assigns the possession of these best bless-
ings of heaven to “every man under his own
fig tree.” .

The double, and, in some climates, the treble,
crop of the fig tree, is one of the most curious
circumstances belonging to its natural history,
and further illustrates the value attached to it
in the countries of the East. It offers the people
fruit through a considerable portion of the year.
The first ripe figs, according to Dr Shaw, are
called boccére, and come to maturity about the
latter end of June; though, like other trees, they
yield a few ripe before the full season. These
few are probably of inferior value; for the pro-
phet Hosea says, “I found Israel like grapes in
the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-
ripe in the fig tree at her first time.” When the
boccére draws near to perfection, the karmouse,
or summer fig, begins to be formed. ‘This is the
crop which is dried. When the karmouse ripens
in Syria and Barbary there appears a third crop,
which often hangs and ripens upon the tree after
the leaves are shed.

The time of gathering the summer fig in the
Levant, with its corresponding process of drying
and packing for the European market, is one of
considerable bustle and activity. The principal
seat of this commerce is Smyrna.

The import of figs to Great Britain alone,
which is principally from Turkey, amounts to
nine hundred tons annually, subject to a duty
of £1 1s. per ewt. Dry figs form, also, a very
considerable article of commerce in Provence,
Italy, and Spain; besides affording, as in the
East, a chief article of sustenance to the native
population. In Spain the principal exports of
dried figs are from the provinces of Andalusia and
Valencia; though the fruit grows, more or less,
in every province. In the northern parts of
France there are many fig gardens, particularly
at Argenteuil.

It is probable that if the fresh fig were much
esteemed by the people of this country, the tree
would be more extensively cultivated here in
favourable situations, such as our southern coas'.

But it would seem, from our old writers, and
indeed from a common expression even of the
present day, that, from some association of ideas,

 
THE

the fig was an object of contempt. “Fégo for
thy friendship,” says Pistol. Stevens, the com-
mentator on Shakspear, thinks that the “fig of
Spain,” mentioned in many of our old poets, al-
luded “to the custom of giving poisoned figs to
those who were the objects of Spanish or Italian
revenge;” and hence, probably, a vulgar preju-
dice against the fruit. We have, however, old
trees still remaining in some gardens, which bear
good crops. These are generally trained against
walls; but fig trees have also been planted as
standards here with success. We shall mention
a few instances of each case.

The fig tree is said to have been first brought
into England, in 1525, by Cardinal Pole; though
probably it was introduced before, both by the
Romans and the monks. The specimens came
from Italy, and are still in the archbishop’s gar-
dens at Lambeth. They are of the white Mar-:
seilles kind, and bear excellent fruit. In the
course of their long existence, they have attained
a size far exceeding the standard fig tree in its
aative situations, They cover a space of fifty
feet in height, and forty in breadth. The trunk
of the one is twenty-eight, and the other twenty-
one inches in circumference. In the severe winter
of 1813-14, those venerable trees were greatly
injured; and, in consequence of the injury, it
was found necessary to cut the principal stems
down nearly to the ground; but the vegetative
powers of the roots remained unimpaired, and
they are shooting up with great vigour.

In the garden of the manor-house at Mitcham,
which was formerly the private estate of arch-
bishop Cranmer, there was another fig tree of the
same sort, which is generally understood to have
been planted by that prelate. It was low, com-
pared with the trees at Lambeth, but had a thicker
stem. It was destroyed some time before the
close of the last century.

Another celebrated fig tree was in the Dean’s
garden at Winchester. It bore a small red fig,
and was in a healthy state in the year 1757. It
was inclosed in a wooden frame, which had a
glass door, with two windows on each side, by
which the sun and air were admitted, while the
frame protected it from the wind and rain. On
the stone wall to which the tree was nailed,
there were several inscriptions; and, among the
rest, one which mentioned that, in the year 1623,
King James I. “tasted the fruit of this tree with
great pleasure.” That tree also has been de-
stroyed.

A few years since, there was a fine old fig tree
at the back of a house, in King street, Covent
Garden. The trunk has now been cut down to
build a wall where it grew; but sltoots are spring-
ing up from the root. This tree was doubtless
one of the Convent garden; which, in the reign
of Elizabeth, bounded the Strand, on the north,
extending from St Martin’s lane to Drury lane,

FIG. 357
these two lanes being the only approaches to the
neighbouring village of St Giles.

The pocock fig tree is one of the most cele-
brated in this country, and was once supposed to
have been the first of the white Marseilles figs
introduced into England, The tradition is, that
it was brought from Aleppo by Dr Pocock, the
celebrated traveller, and planted in the garden of
the Regius professor of Hebrew at Christ Church,
Oxford, in the year 1648. An extract from a
communication by Mr William Baxter, curator
of the Botanical Garden at Oxford, read before
the Horticultural Society in 1819, contains the
latest history of this tree. It received consider-
able damage from the fire that happened at Christ
Church on the 8rd of March, 1809: till that
time, the large trunk mentioned by Dr John
Sibthorpe, in Martyn’s edition of Miller’s Gar-
dener’s Dictionary, remained. In order to pre-
serve it from the injuries of the weather, this
trunk had been covered with lead; but at the
time of the fire the lead was stolen, and, soon
after, the trunk itself decayed, and was removed.
The tree in 1819 was in a very flourishing state,
‘There are some remains of the old trunk to he
seen a few inches above the surface of the ground.
The branches then growing were not more than
eight or ten years old; but those in the middle
of the tree were twenty-one feet high.

It is probable that standard fig trees were for-
merly much more common in this country than
at present. Bradley, an old writer on agricul-
ture, mentions an ancient fig tree at Windsor,
which grew in a gravel pit, and bore many
bushels every year, without any pains being
bestowed upon it.

In the fourth volume of the Horticultural
Transactions, there is a very interesting account,
by Mr Sabine, of some standard fig trees in the
garden of a cottage at Compton, near Worthing,
in Sussex. The garden in which they stand
slopes gently to the south, is protected on the
north by a thick grove of apple and plum trees,
and the climate is very mild. “The number of
the fig trees,” says Mr Sabine, “is fourteen; they
occupy the principal part of the garden, which
is very small, and are in perfect health; their
average height is about ten feet; and, if any of
the larger ones were detached, they would cover
a space of twelve feet in diameter. Their stems
are not large: the plants are bushes rather than
trees, for the branches spread in all directions
from the root. These are propped up by stakes,
but many of them are suffered to hang near the
ground.” Mr Kennard, to whom they belonged,
informed Mr Sabine, that though the quality
varied, there always was a crop; that the figs
began to ripen in the end of August, or begin-
ning of September, and continued during Oc-
tober; that the crop was generally from the spring

 

figs, though occasionally a few of the autumn
358

ones ripened; that he manured the ground every
autumn; and that he pruned as little as possible.
In the neighbourhood of Worthing, and in-
deed along nearly all the south-east coast of
Sussex, fig trees are very common in the gardens.
At Tarring (about two miles from Worthing)
there is a remarkable plantation of figs, called
by the inhabitants of that village, the “fig gar-
den.” The trees, which are about eighty in
number, grow luxuriantly at intervals of about
twelve feet, on the sides of the paths. They
are about fifteen feet high; and the stems are
from six to eleven inches in diameter. The
people to whom the garden belongs know nothing
of the history of these trees; but it is believed
that they were planted about fifty years ago.
With the requisite degree of care, figs may be
readily obtained in this country in a hot-house;

but they require a mode of cultivation so peculiar, |-

that if it is wished to procure them in perfection
they ought to be cultivated along with no other
fruit, and then two or three crops may be
gathered.

Figs may be propagated in all the modes usual
with other fruit trees. The most approved
method is by layers or cuttings, which come
into bearing the second, and even the first year.

The fig tree, as already stated, is distinguished
from almost all others by the extraordinary pro-
perty of producing two crops of fruit in the same
year on distinct shoots, in climates congenial to its
growth. The shoots formed by the first or spring
sap, put forth figs at every eye, as soon as the sap
begins to flow again in July and August. These
figs, which form the second crop of the year, ripen
in their native climate during the course of the
autumn; but rarely if ever come to perfection in
England, where, though they cover the branches
in great abundance at the end of that season,
they perish and fall off with the first severe frosts
of winter. The shoots formed by the second
flow of sap commonly called midsummer shoots,
put forth figs in like manner at every eye, but
not until the first flow of sap in the following
spring. ‘hese last mentioned figs, which form
the first crop of each year, ripen in warmer
climates during the month of June and July,
but not in this country before September or Oc-
tober. In warmer climates indeed very little
attention is given to this first crop, because the
midsummer shoots on which it is borne are
commonly in proportion only of one to six or
eight in length, when compared with the shoots
of the spring, which produce the second crop,
and the crop itself is always small in the same
proportion; but in England it is the reverse, as
no care or skill of the gardener can ever insure
a second crop of ripe figs in the open air.

Tue Oxtve (olea Europea). Natural family
oleine; diandria, monogynia, Linneus. The
olive is a low branching evergreen tree, in height

 

IIISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

from twenty to thirty feet, with stiff narrow
dark-green or bluish leaves. The flowers are

 

The Olive.

produced in small axillary bunches, from wood
of the former year, and appear in June, July,
and August. The fruit is a berried drupe of an
oblong spheroidal form, the fleshy part hard and
thick, at first of a yellowish green colour, but
becoming black when ripe. The tree is supposed
to have been originaliy a native of Greece; but
it is now naturalized in the south of France,
Italy, and Spain, where it has been extensively
cultivated for an unknown length of time, for
the oil expressed from its fruit. The tree attains
an incredible age. Near Ferni, in the vale of
the cascade of Marmora, is a plantation, above
two miles in extent, of very old trees, and sup-
posed to be the same plants mentioned by Pliny
as growing there in the first century of the Chris-
tian era.

The young olive bears fruit at two years old;
in six years it begins to repay the expense of
cultivation, even if the ground is not otherwise
cropped. After that period, in good years, the
produce is the surest source of wealth to the
farmer. A common saying in Italy is, “if you
want to leave a lasting inheritance to your chil-
dren’s children, plant an olive.” There is an
old olive tree, says a recent traveller, near Geri-
comio, which last year (1819) yielded two hun-
dred and forty English quarts of oil; yet its
trunk is quite hollow, and its empty shell seems
to have barely enough hold on the ground to se-
cure it against the mountain storm.

There is something peculiarly mild and grace-
ful in the appearance of the olive tree, even apart
from its associations. The leaves bear some re-
semblance to those of the willow, only they are
more soft and delicate. The flowers are as deli-
cate as the leaves. At first they are of a pale
THE OLIVE.

yellow; but when they expand their four petals,
the insides of them are white, and only the centre
of the flower yellow. The matured wood of the
olive is hard and compact, though rather brittle,
and has the pith nearly obliterated, as is the case
with box. Its colour is reddish, and it takes a
fine gloss; on which account the ancients carved
it into statues of the gods; the moderns make it
into snuff-boxes and other trinkets.

Besides its use for the production of oil, the
unripe olive is used asa pickle. For this pur-
pose they are steeped in an alkaline solution, to
extract a part of their bitter; they are next
washed in pure water, and afterwards preserved
in salt and water, to which fennel, or some avo-
matic, is sometimes added.

The wild olive is found indigenous in Syria,
Greece, and Africa, on the lower slopes of the
Atlas. The cultivated one grows spontaneously
in many parts of Syria, and is easily reared in
all parts of the shores of the Levant that are not
apt to be visited by frosty winds. Where olives
abound they give much beauty to the landscape.

‘“‘The beautiful plain of Athens, as seen toward |.

the north-west from Mount Hymettus, appears
entirely covered with olive trees.” Tuscany,
the south of France, and the plains of Spain, are
the places of Europe in which the olive was
first cultivated. The Tuscans were the first who
exported olive oil largely, and thus it has ob-
tained the name of Florence oil; but the purest
is said to be obtained from about Aix in France.
The particular departments of France in which
the olive is most successfully cultivated are those
of the Mouths of the Rhone, of the Var, of the
Gard, and some others; but it does not ripen its
fruit to the north-west of a line drawn from the
Pyrenees, near Narbonne, to the foot of the little
St Bernard in the Alps; or in that part of
France which may be considered as forming a
portion of the basin of the Mediterranean, and
which is enclosed between that sea and the moun-
tains of Cevennes and the Alps.
+ The proper time for gathering olives for the
press is the eve of maturity. If delayed too
long, the next crop is prevented, and the tree is
productive only in the alternate years. At Aix,
where the olive harvest takes place early in No-
vember, it is annual: in Languedoc, Spain, and
Italy, where it is delayed till December or Janu-
ary, it is in alternate years. The quality of the
oil, also, depends upon the gathering of the fruit
in the first stage of its maturity. It should he
carefully plucked by the hand ; and the whole
harvest completed, if possible, in a day. To
concoct the mucilage, and allow the water to
evaporate, it is spread out, during two or three
days, in beds three inches deep. The oil mill is
simple. The fruit is reduced to a pulp, put into
sacks of coarse linen, or feather-grass, and sub-
jected to pressure. The oil first expressed is the

 

359

purest. The oil of the kernel is said to injure
that of the fruit, and cause it to become sooner
rancid. The growth of olives and the manufac-
ture of the oil offer a considerable employment to
many of the inhabitants of France and Italy.
The importation of olive oil into Great Britain
amounted, in 1827, to about four thousand five
hundred tons, paying a duty of eight guineas
per ton.

The olive grows in England, though, in the
severity of our winters, it changes its character.
In the south it is an evergreen; but in England
it loses its leaves. Indeed, it needs protection
even in the mildest winters; and it is only in
the very warmest summers that it will produce
fruit a little, which does not ripen, and is of very
slight favour. It appears to have been culti-
vated in the botanic garden of Oxford in 1648.
In Devonshire some trees have stood the open
air for many years. Some trees, planted against
a warm wall at Camden house, near Kensington,
succeeded so as, in 1719, to produce fruit fit for
pickling.

In ancient times, especially, the olive was a
tree held in the greatest veneration, for then the
oil was employed in pouring out libations to the
gods; while the branches formed the wreaths of
the victors at the Olympic Games. It was also
used in lubricating the human body. Some of
the traditions say that it was brought out of
Egypt to Athens by Cecrops; while others affirm
that Hercules introduced it to Greece on his re-
turn from his expeditions; that he planted it
upon Mount Olympus, and set the first example
ofits use in the games. The Greeks had a pretty
and instructive fable in their mythology on the
origin of the olive. They said that Neptune,
having a dispute with Minerva as to the name
of the city of Athens, it was decided by the gods
that the deity who gave the best present to man-
kind should have the privilege in dispute. Nep-
tune struck the shore, out of which sprung a
horse; but Minerva produced an olive tree. The
goddess had the triumph; for it was adjudged
that peace, of which the olive is the symbol, was
infinitely better than war, to which the horse
was considered as belonging, and typifying.
Even in the sacred history, the olive is invested
with more honour than any other tree. The
patriarch Noah had sent out a dove from the ark,
but she returned without any token of hope.
Then “he stayed yet other seven days, and again
he sent forth the dove out of the ark; and the
dove came to him in the evening, and, lo, in her
mouth was an olive branch plucked off: so Noah
knew that the waters were abated from the
earth.”

The veneration for the olive, and also the
great duration of the tree, appears from the his-
tory of one in the Acropolis at Athens. Dr
Clarke has this passage in his Travels, in speak-
360

ing of the temple of Pandrosus: “ Within this
building, so late as the second century, was pre-
served the olive tree mentioned by Apollodorus,
which was said to be as old as the foundation of
the citadel. Stuart supposed it to have stood
in the portico of the temple of Pandrosus (called
by hiin the Pandroseum) from the circumstance
of the air necessary for its support, which could
here be admitted between the caryatides; but in-
stances of trees, that have been preserved to a
very great age, within the interior of an edifice
inclosed by walls, may be adduced.”

The province of Suse, in Morocco, produces
great abundance of olive oil, which is stated to
be equal in quality to the best Florence oil, when
it is expressed from the fruit before it becomes
quite ripe. Mr Jackson, in his Account of the
Empire of Morocco, mentions a curious circum-
stance regarding an extensive plantation of olive
trees in the neighbourhood of Messa, which in-
dicates the great facility with which this tree
may be propagated. Being struck with the
whimsical arrangement of this large plantation,
he inquired the cause of their being so arranged,
which was thus explained: “TI learnt from the
viceroy’s aide-de-camp, who attended me, that
one of the kings of the dynasty of Saddia, being
on his journey to Soudan, encamped here with
his army; that the pegs with which the cavalry
picketed their horses were cut from the olive
trees in the neighbourhood; and that these pegs
being left in the ground, on account of some sud-
den cause of the departure of the army, the olive
trees in question sprung up from them. I con-
fess, while I acknowledge the ingenuity of the
idea (for the disposition of the trees exactly re-
sembled the arrangement of cavalry in an en-
campment), I treated it as fabulous. Some time
afterwards, however, the following circumstance
cecurred, which induced me to think the story
was not only plausible, but very credible. Hav-
ing occasion to send for some plants for a garden
which I had at Agadeer, or Santa Cruz, the
foulah (gardener) brought, amongst other things,
afew bits of wood, without any roots or leaf,
about eighteen inches long, and three in cireum-
ference, which he with a large stone knocked
into the ground. Seeing the fellow thus em-
ployed, I asked him what he meant by trifling
in that way? ‘Iam not trifling,’ said he, ‘but
planting your pomegranate trees.” I began to
take them out of the ground; but some persons
who were near assuring me that it was the mode
in which they were always planted, and that
they would (with the blessing of God) take root
and shoot forth leaves the next year, I was at
length prevailed on to leave a few in the ground,
merely for experiment; and they certainly did
take root, and were in a fair way of becoming
good trees when I left Santa Cruz.”

The olive will grow luxuriantly in a strong

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

clayey richly manured soil; but will not be so
prolific as in a dry, calcareous, schistous, sandy,
or rocky situation, which ought to be imitated
in some degree in the green house. The mode
of propagation is generally from suckers, which
arise abundantly from the roots of the old trees.
In pruning, the ohject is to have a regular dis-
tribution of wood of the former year from the
axils of the leaves, of which the flowers spring
out. When shoots of three or more years are
shortened for this purpose, they do not produce
blossoms; but wood of the preceding or current
year may be shortened, and thé shoots proceeding
from them will produce blossoms in due course.
In the olive countries the varieties are nearly

as numerous as those of the grape or fig. The
French describe between thirty and forty sorts.
The following are found in the English nurse-
ries :—

The Common.

Large leaved.

Broad leaved.

Tron coloured.

Twisted leaved,

Box leaved.

Besides the extensive consumpt of olive oil
in the countries where it is produced, there is
an annual exportation to a great amount. In
1831, four millions, one hundred and fifty-eight
thousand gallons, were imported into Great Bri-
tain, nearly one-half of which was retained for
home consumption.

The following interesting details of the olive
trade were communicated to the Library of Ea-
tertaining Knowledge by a gentleman long resi-
dent on the spot.

“ All that part of Italy which may be called
the heel of the boot, is little else than one con-
tinuous olive grove. It forms an extreme point
of the Neapolitan kingdom, and is divided into
two provinces, viz. Bari and Lecce, or La Terra
@Otranto, Its principal ports are Bari, Brin-
disi (the ancient Brundusium), Otranto, Galli-
poli (now the most important of them all), and
Taranto (the ancient Tarentum). Starting from
Gallipoli, as I have often done, and travelling to
the Cape Santa Maria di Leuca, or to Taranto,
or to Lecce, a very large city, and the capital of
one of the provinces, you literally are scarcely
ever ten minutes out of the shade of olive trees.
The slight cultivation of grain, &c., which is
not nearly enough for the consumption of that
district, is carried on in the midst of olive groves.
Before and behind you, on hill or in hollow, you
see scarcely any thing but olveti. I have stood
on the terrace of an old baronial castle at the
town of Parabita, and seen the olive grove spread
around me on every side for many miles, like a
dull sea of leaves. Though so much poetry is
associated with this emblem of peace, the tree
itself is certainly neither picturesque nor poetic;
THE OLIVE.

and travelling through them for such a length of
time, with scarcely any other object to relieve
the eye, is excessively monotonous and tedious.
Starting again from the city of Lecce to Otranto,
or to Brindisi, you have olive groves nearly the
whole of the way; or going on from Lecce to
Bari, with short interruptions at the mountains
of Ostuni and one or two other places, your road
lies through the same continuous plantation of
olives. The soil of these districts is very stony,
and waved into hills of slight elevation. It is
in no part remote from the sea, whose contiguity
is certainly favourable to the growth of this valu-
able tree. Though the long summer heats, and
the sirocco blowing from Africa, are most op-
pressive at morning, mid-day, and evening, the
narrow neck of land is generally refreshed by
breezes from the open Mediterranean, or the
Adriatic, or the Gulf of Taranto. These im-
mense olive groves bear every year; but it is a
well known fact here, as in the south of Spain,
Greece, and all the other oil countries I have
visited, that they never produce the same, or any
thing like the same, quantity of fruit two years
following. They have what the people there
call a ‘sd 6 20, or a ‘buon’annata’ and a ‘ cattiva
annata,’ or agood year and a bad one, and this,
in ordinary cases, in regular alternation; the
groves bearing a bad crop this year, bearing a
good one the next, and those highly productive
this year being proportionably less productive
the next year.

“T could not ascertain the precise time at
which they cease to bear; but I have seen abun-
dance of fine fruit taken from trees whose trunks
were sadly hollowed, and seemed altogether sap-
less, and which were known to have been planted
a century and a half before the time of my ob-
servation. I believe, however, that after a hun-
dred years the tree requires manure and more
attention, and gradually decreases in its power
of production. As the whole wealth of the
country consists in olives and oil, and as all

_hands are employed or interested in this branch
of agriculture, it is amusingly curious to observe
what frequent allusions are made to it in the
popular parlance. A man who is in a.gay hu-
mour is said to be ‘as merry as if he had la
buon’ annata,’ or the good year of olives, and so
on with the reverse, when a man is in a bad hu-
mour. An improvident person, who dies and
leaves his family badly provided for, is said to
have left ‘ un’eredita dé oliveit antichi’ (a fortune
of olive trees past bearing); or they say he has
consumed all the buone annate (good years), and
bequeathed the bad ones. ;

“The oil throughout these two provinces,
where the soil and cultivation vary but very
little, is much the same at its production; but
its quality is very considerably influenced by the
nature of the wells or cisterns where it may be

 

361

preserved afterwards, It is carried to Trani,
Barletta, Bari, Molo di Bari, Molfetta, Giove-
nazza, Brindisi, Otranto, Taranto, and some
other sea-ports; but its great depét for some
ages has been the town of Gallipoli, which gives
its name to the oil imported in such great quan-
tities by the English, French, Americans, and
other nations, though, in fact, that oil is not pro-
duced exclusively in the country of Gallipoli,
but throughout the two provinces I have de-
scribed.

“Gallipoli owes this very advantageous pre-
ference not merely to its port, which, though
bad enough (as I have occasion to remember,
having once been nearly driven from my anchor-
age upon some saw-like rocks), is infinitely bet-
ter and more accessible than any of the others;
but to the quality of the rock on which the
town is built. This rock isa small island, which
is united to the main land by a bridge, and en-
tirely covered by the city, whose walls follow
the shape of the low cliffs, and rise on all sides
perpendicular from the sea.

“This solid compact base is easily excavated ;
and in caverns thus constructed oil clarifies
sooner, and keeps without rancidity much longer,
than in any other place. Hence numerous 9il-
houses are established at Gallipoli, and a very
considerable portion of the rock is cut into cis-
terns. A Gallipolitan oil-warehouse generally
occupies the ground-floor of a dwelling house,
and has a low arched roof. Some are more ex-
tensive; but on an average they are about thirty
feet square. In the stone floor you see fuor,
six, or more holes, which are circular, about two
feet in diameter, and like the mouths of wells.
Each of these holes gives access to a separate cis-
terna beneath your feet; and when the oil is
poured into them, care is taken not to mix dif-
ferent qualities or oils at different stages in the
same reservoir. One cistern is set apart for
‘oglio mosto,’ or oil that is not clarified, another
for pure oil of the season, another for old oil, &c.
I have seen oil that had thus been preserved for
seven years in a perfect state, or, as the Gallipoli
merchants’ documents have it, ‘chiaro, giallo, e
lampante, words which I can never forget, for
during some months ] must have heard them at
least a hundred times a day. I also many times
verified the fact, that the mosto, or oil, in its tur-
bid state, which arrived almost as black and
thick as pitch, soon became bright and yellow in
these excellent reservoirs without any help from
man.

“All the oil, whatever may be its quality, is
brought to the magazine in sheep or goat skins,
which are generally carried on mules, there being
but few strade rotabile, or roads, fit for wheeled
carriages in these parts. In a good year, and at
the proper season, I have counted, in the course

of an afternoon’s ride, as many as a hundred
22
362

mules returning from Gallipoli, where they had
been to deposit their unctuous burdens, to dif-
ferent towns and villages in the Terra d’Otranto,
or the more distant province of Bari. The
quantity of oil required may be conceived when
I state, that at one time (in the year 1816) I
saw nine English, three American, two French,
and six Genoese vessels (not to mention some
small craft from the Adriatic), all waiting in the
port of Gallipoli for entire or partial cargoes of
it. When the oil is to be shipped it is drawn
off from the césterne into wleri, or skins, and so
carried on men’s shoulders down to a small house
on the sea shore. In that house there is a large
open basin, capable of containing a given quan-
tity, and of measuring the liquid, and into that
the porters empty their skins as they arrive. A
tube communicates from the basin to w large
cock at the outside of the house. When the
basin is full, well made casks of various sizes, for
the convenience of stowage, are placed under the
cock, which is then turned, and the casks are
filled. As the casks are closed up by the cooper,
the porters roll them down to the brink of the
sea, where the sailors secure several of them to-
gether with a rope, and taking the end of the
cord into the boat, they row off to the vessel,
towing the oil casks through the water after
them.

« Each porter being able to carry but a small
quantity at a time, the number of men and boys
employed to load a ship is very considerable ;
and as these are an active fine limbed set of fel-
lows, going with their legs and arms entirely
bare, and running up and down and crossing
each other with their oil skins, on their way to
and from the town, with great rapidity, and as
they delight in singing as they work, and more-
over, frequently sing very well in parts and con-
cert, the scene presented on such occasions is often
very animating and pleasing.

“ The hilarity of the Gallipolitans when I first
became acquainted with them, might have been
heightened by an agreeable contrast, for it was
shortly after the fall of Bonaparte, whose system,
whatever good parts of it may have done in the
rest of Italy, was certainly most ruinous to the
provinces of Lecce and Bari. Unable to export
or to find any market for their produce, the pro-
prietors in many parts of those provinces let the
olives lie and rot upon the ground. ‘For some
years, indeed, the price of oil scarcely paid the
cost of its preparation, to say nothing of trans-
port and other necessary expenses. During the
continental system the best ‘chéaro, giallo, e
dampante’ oil was sold at Gallipoli for eight Nea-
politan ducats the salma;* in 1816 and 1817 it
found a ready market at from sixty to seventy
ducats per salma!

* The salma is equal to 429 English gallons.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

“Those who, during the evil time, had pene-
tration enough to foresee better days, and that
a system opposed to the general commercial pros-
perity of Europe could not last, and who had at
the same time money enough for such objects
by annually making their oil as usual, and by
buying up the oil of others at the low current
prices of the day, realized enormous profits when
peace threw open the port of Gallipoli, and ships
of all nations flocked thither as before.

“T have been in no part of Europe where the
benefits resulting from the peace were so broad
and tangible as here. At the end of 1816 these
provinces had already partially recovered; those
proprietors whom the war had left in debt were
gradually paying off their obligations; those
groves which had been almost abandoned were
again looked to as a source of wealth, and the
poor peasantry were restored to their ancient
employment. In 1818 the improvement was
much farther advanced; and though, since that
period, owing to the increased use of gas, the ex-
tended cultivation of rape for oil, and various
other circumstances, the olive oil shipped at Gal-
lipoli and other ports has declined considerably
in price and somewhat in quantity, it may still
be held as a valuable product; and Lecce and
Bari, in regard to the condition of the rest of the
kingdom they belong to, may be considered as
two prosperous provinces.

“The olives of which the Gallipoli oil ismade
are never gathered, but allowed to drop in their
maturity from the tree on the ground, where
they are picked up chiefly by women and chil-
dren, and carried to the mill.

“The machinery employed in expressing the
oil is of the rudest kind, and no doubt numerous
improvements might be introduced, not only into
this branch, but into that of cultivating the olive
tree. The peasantry, however, ard in the king-
dom of Naples those who stand higher in the
scale of fortune and rank, are too often but boors
in intellect, are obstinate in their attachment to
old practices, and are apt, when any of these are
reprehended, to stop discussion by saying, ‘ Fac-
cio come faceva la buon’ anima di mio padre, e cié
basta’ (I do as my father, of blessed memory,
did before me, and that is enough).

“The poor people of the country make culi-
nary uses of the same oil that is exported, and
which in England is only used in manufactures
or burnt in lamps; but in the houses of the
gentry I have often tasted oil prepared with more
care, which was truly delicious, being equal to
that of Sorrento, Vico, and Massa, or even to the
best oils of Tuscany or Provence.”

The olea fragrans is highly odoriferous, both
in the leaves and blossoms, and on this account
is much esteemed in China, where the leaves are
used to adulterate and flavour tea,
THE TAMARIND. 363

CHAP. XXXVII.
TROPICAL FRUITS.

Tur Tamarinp, ( Tamarindus Indica). Nat.
ord. Leguminosw, Linn. Monodelphia triandria.

 

The Tamarind.

The name is of Arabic origin, Tamar-hindy.
This tree isa native of Arabia and Egypt, and
of the East and West Indies. It is a large,
spreading, and beautiful tree; the leaves are
abruptly pinnate, composed of sixteen or eigh-
teen pairs of sessile leaflets; half an inch only in
length, and one-sixth of an inch broad; of a
bright green colour, downy, oblong, entire, and
obtuse. The flowers are in loose bunches of five
or six, which come out from the sides of the
branches: the calyx is of a straw yellow colour,
and deciduous; the petals are also yellowish, and
beautifully variegated with red veins: the fila-
ments are purplish, bearing incumbent brownish
anthers. The pods are thick, compressed, and
of a dull brown colour when ripe; those from
the West Indies from two to five inches long,
with two, three, or four seeds; those from the
East Indies are twice as long, and contain
five, six, or seven seeds: the seeds in both are
flat, angular, shining, and lodged in a dark pulpy
matter, which is the edible part of the fruit. In
the West Indies the pods are gathered in June,
July, and August, when fully ripe; and the fruit
being freed from the shelly fragments is placed
in layers in a cask, and boiling syrup poured
over it till the cask is filled; thus the syrup per-
vades every part quite down to the bottom;
when cool the cask is headed or closed in, and
is now fit for sale. The East India tamarinds
are darker coloured, and drier, and are said to be
preserved without any addition of syrup. Ta-
marinds are inodorous, but they have a sharp,
penetrating, and agreeable acid taste, softened by
a sweetish one. The acid is chiefly the citric.
The pulp is frequently employed in medicine; it
is cooling, and gently laxative, and is peculiarly
grateful in fevers and inflammatory diseases.

 

The ,tamarind tree is both useful and highly
ornamental in those countries where it grows,
and where its cool shade is nearly as much prized
as its fruit. In this climate the plants thrive
best in a peat or loamy soil, and root under a
glass in sand. They rarely blossom here in our
confined hot-houses.

About forty tons of tamarinds are annually
imported into Great Britain. :

Pricxty Pzar, (cactus.) The cacté form a
natural family of peculiar plants. They belong
to the icosandria monogynia of the Linnean ar-
rangement. Under the name of cactus, Theo-
phrastus describes a spiney plant used as food,
which grew in Sicily. The family consists of
succulent plants, of perennial duration; gen~-
erally without leaves, and having the stem or
branches jointed. They are for the most part
armed with spines in bundles, with which, in
many species, bristles are intermixed. These
bundles of spines are placed on the top of the
tubercles, on the smaller melon thistle, which
is tubercled all over, and produces its flowers be-
tween the tubercles, In the great melon thistle
the spines are ranged in a single row on the ridge
of ten ribs. These are of an ovate or globular
form. Those on the torch thistle, on the con-
trary, are slender, rise up high, and are jointed
and branched. Many of them are almost cylin-
drical, with from five to ten shallow ribs; some,
however, are square or three cornered.

The structure of the creeping cereuses is the
same with these, except that the stems are weak
and cannot support themselves; they therefore
seek support from trees, and throw out roots
from the stem like ivy. In the Indian figs the
branches are jointed, and flattened like the sole
of ashoe. The bundles of spines or bristles are
scattered over the surface, and the flowers are pro-
duced from the edge of the extreme branches.
The leaves are alternate, flat, and thick, the
prickles are large and stiff, and come out in
bundles on the stalk and branches, chiefly at the
axils. The flowers spring from the axils also,
several together. In this species, and in the
Indian fig, the flowers are pitcher-shaped. In
the other species they are sub-cylindrical, and
longer; in phyllanthus very long. The fruit in
some of the sorts is small, Jike currants; but in
most it is larger, and shaped like a fig, whence
their name of Indian fig.

Tun Turx’s Cap, or Metron Tuistix, (cactus
melocactus.) This species appears like a large
flesh green melon, with deep ribs, the elevations
set all over with knots of strong sharp thorns.
When divided through the middle the inside is
found to be a soft, green, fleshy substance, very
full of moisture. The flowers and fruit are
produced in circles round the upper part of the
cap. Some of those which have been brought
to England have been more than a yard in cir-
364

cumference, and two feet and a half high, in-
clading the cap. But in the West Indies there
135.

 

The Melon Thistle.

are plants nearly twice this size. Linneus re-
marks that this plant resembles a hedgehog in
its form and spines, and on the top has a discoid,
convex, villous body, from which the flowers
proceed.

These plants grow out from the steep rocky
mountain sides in the warmer parts of America,
where they seem to be thrust out of the aper-
tures of the rocks, having apparently little earth
to support them; their roots shooting down the
fissures to a considerable depth, so that it is
troublesome to get the plants up. As they de-
light in such rocky places, they seldom live long
when transplanted into a better soil. In times
of great drought the cattle repair to the barren
rocks where these plants grow, rip them up with
their horns, tear off the outside skin, and greedily
devour all the fleshy moist part. The fruit is
frequently eaten by the inhabitants of the West
Indies. It is about three quarters of an inch in
length, of a taper form, drawing to a point at
the bottom, but blunt at the top. The taste is
an agreeable acid.

C. repandus has a fruit about the size and
shape of a Bergamot pear, having many soft
spines intheskin. The outside is a pale yellow,
the inside very white, full of pulp, having a
great number of small black seeds lodged in it,
It frequently flowers in July; and in warm sea-
sons will perfect its fruit, which has very little
flavour in this country, but is frequently served
up at table in the West Indian islands.

Tue Nicut-rrowrrine Cactus, (c. grandi-
florus,) as its name implies, produces flowers of
great beauty and sweetness; they are very evanes-
cent, however, like most of their kind, enduring
at the most for not more than six hours. They
begin to open between seven and eight o’clock
in the evening, are fully blown by eleven, and
by three or four in the morning they fade and
hang down quite decayed, never opening again
when once closed. During their short continu-
ance there is scarcely any flower of greater beauty,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

or that makes a more magnificent appearance;
for the calyx of the flower, when open, is nearly
a foot in diameter, the inside of which being of
a splendid yellow colour, appears like the rays
of a bright star: the outside is of a dark brown;
the petals being of a pure white, add to the lus-
tre. The vast number of recurved stamens sur-
rounding the style in the centre of the flower,
make a fine appearance, while the delicious odour
scents the air to a considerable distance. Few
plants are more deserving of a place in the hot-
house than this, especially as by training it
against the wall it occupies little room. The
usual season of its flowering isin July; and when
the plants are large, many flowers will blow the
same night, and there will be a succession for
several nights together. Sometimes from six to
ten flowers open on the same plant in one night,
thus exhibiting a most magnificent appearance
by candle light. In this country the fruit never
forms.

Another species, the flagelliformis, produces a
ereater number of flowers than the preceding.
They blow in May, or even earlier, in mild sea-
sons. The petals are of a delicate pink colour,
both outside and inside; their petals are not so
numerous as in the other species, while the tube
of the flower is longer. These flowers remain
open for three or four days, provided there is
not too much warmth; fruit sometimes succeeds
the flowers, but seldom ripens. This species has
slender trailing branches.

Tue Srrawnerry Prar, (c¢. triangularis, )
bears the best flavoured fruit of any of the family.
It is sweetish, slightly acid, pleasant, and cool-
ing. In Martinique, and the other West India
islands where it is cultivated, it is much es-
teemed.

Tue Inpran Fie, (‘cactus Opuntia, ) a native of
the country of the Opuntiani, whose chief town

 

The Indian Fig.

was Opus, in the vicinity of Phocis, though, like
others of the same family, a native of America
also, is now found growing wild on the sides of the
THE CACTUS TUNA.

roads between Rome and Naples, and other parts
of Italy, and even in the Valais; Gerarde says it
was brought from Virginia into England, and
Collinson had it from Newfoundland. It was
fruited in Scotland in astove, by Justice, in 1750,
and recently by Braddoch, near London, in the
openair. Thisactive horticulturist having eaten
with pleasure of the prickly pear in Virginia,
was desirous of cultivating it here. He recol-
lected that the plant in its wild state delighted
in a dry soil, amongst rocks, near the skirts of
the sunny sides of the forests, and having heard
that it would stand the open air in this country,
he planted itin acompost, prepared for the purpose,
ina sheltered situation exposed to the sun. “The
first plant,” says he, “that I turned out, has
lived in the open ground of this country for six
or seven years, during which period it has ex-
perienced one exceeding hard winter, and several
trying springs; and in all, except the two first
years, it has never failed to ripen its fruit and
seeds, so that it may now be considered decidedly
acclimated. The compost which I used is as
follows: One half is carbonate of lime, for which
lime rubbish from buildings will answer; the re-
maining half consists of equal portions of Lon-
don clay, and peat earth, having the acid neu-
tralized by barilla; these are intimately blended
and sifted. One square yard of this compost I
conceive to be sufficient for one plant, which
must be placed in the middle of a small artificial
hillock, raised eighteen inches above the surface
of the ground, which ground should be rendered
perfectly dry, if not naturally so by under drain-
ing. Neither the leaves, flowers, or fruit, should
ever be suffered to touch the ground; but they
should, as constantly as they are produced, be
kept from the earth by placing stones, pebbles,
flints, or bricks under them, in imitation of ar-
tificial rock work.

The Indian fig is very common in Jamaica,
and on it feed the wild sort of cochineal insect.
The fruit is large, and of a deep purple colour,
and when eaten stains the urine of a blood-red
hue.

Tur Cacrus Tuna is used as a hedge plant in
Spain, South America, and the West Indies.
When the island of St Christopher was to be
divided between the English and the French,
three rows of the tuna were planted by common
consent between the boundaries. SirJ.E. Smith
remarks, that the stamens of the flower are very
irritable, and that if a feather be drawn through
them, in two or three seconds they begin to lie
down gently on one side, and in a short time
become recumbent at the bottom of the flower.

Tue Cocutneat Fre, (¢. cochinellifera, ) is the
species on which the cochineal insect chiefly feeds,
and is selected because it is least annoying by its
prickles. This insect, however, does not confine
itself entirely to the cacti, but feeds on other

 

865

succulent plants. This species produces an edible
fruit larger than that of the opuntia: on the top
of the fruit there grows a red flower; this, when
the fruit is ripe, falls down on the top of it, and
covers it, so that no rain or dew can wet the in-
side. Aday or two after, the flower being scorched
up by the heat of the sun, the fruit opens wide,
and the inside appears full of small red insects.
The Indians, when they perceive the fruit open,
spread a large linen cloth, and then with sticks
shake the plant to disturb the insect, so that
they take wing to begone; but keep hovering
over the plant till from the heat they fall down
dead on the cloth, where the Indians let them
remain two or three days till they are dry. The
cochineal plants are called by the Spaniards toona;
and they are planted in the country about Gua-
timala, Chiape, and Guaxaca, in the kingdom of
Mexico. The difference of quality in the co-
chineal, depends entirely on the plants on which
the insects feed. The prickly pear, so abundant
in Jamaica, is covered with the insects; but not
having their proper food, they are in general di-
minutive, and have very little red tincture in
their bodies. The delicate red coloured juice of
the fruit is the natural food of the insect. Its
exuvie and animal salts are, from the minute-
ness of its body, inseparable from the essential
principles of the dye, and tend to diminish some-
what the brilliancy of the colour. On this ac-
count attempts have been made to obtain the
inspissated juice of the plant directly from
itself,

Tue Prive Apriy, (bromelia.) The natural
family bromcli belongs to the second division
of plants, or the monocotyledons; and we have
reserved a description of it to this place, merely
as it comes under the general denomination of
pulpy fruits.

This fruit is somewhat of the shape and ex-
ternal form of the cone of the pine tree, hence
its name of pine apple. It is without doubt the
most delicious of all known fruits, and yet it
has not been known in Europe above two cen-
turies; nor is it more than half that period that
its cultivation has been practised in Britain.

It is doubtful to what quarter of the glohe we
were first indebted for this fruit. The earliest
exchanges of tropical plants that took place he-
tween the Portuguese in the East, and the Span-
iards in the West, have not been recorded with
perfect accuracy, so that we are not absolutely
certain that the pine apple may not be a native
of some parts of Asia, and even of Africa, as
well as of America. That it is a native of the
West is certain, however, as all the varieties,
except some of the trivial ones arising from cul-
tivation, are found wild on the continent or the
islands of that quarter of the world.

The bromelias have been variously described;
some having formed them into three or four dis-
366

tinct genera, and others considered them as only
species of one. In the hortus Kewensis, in the
formation of which the very best authorities
have been consulted, six species are enumerated;
and, with the exception of the bromelia humilis
(dwarf,) they are all there represented as being
natives cither of South America or the West
Indies. Only one of the species is of any value
in cultivation, the others being merely wild
plants. The cultivated species is the ananas ;
the others are the pinguin, or broad-leaved; the
Larata, or upright-leaved; the tongue-leaved, the
red-breasted, and the dwarf.

In the form and combination of their leaves,
all the bromelias have some resemblance to each
other, and also to the aloe; but the only species
in which the seeds are united into one fleshy and
esculent strobile or pine, is the ananas.

The pinguin species have the leaves very short
and strong about the root, and their edges are
armed with strong crooked spines. The fruits
are detached; each about the size of a walnut.
The pulp is sweet, but it is at the same time so
sharp as to be absolutely corrosive. A tuft of
leaves growing above the fruit makes the pinguin
look something like the pine apple, when seen
at a distance; but the detached fruit soon dis-
tinguishes it upon a closer inspection. Though
not edible, the pinguin is not without its use.
Tt grows readily and abundantly in the West
Indies, both on the fertile savannahs and the
mountains. It is hardy, and is formidable with
its spines, and thus it answers well for hedges.
The fibres of the leaves too, are very tough and
strong; and, when freed from the pulpy matter,
they are made into ropes. A small portion of
the juice mixed with water, forms a very cooling
draught; and some of the varieties, which grow
so plentifully about Campeachy that it is hardly
possible to move amongst them, have their fruit
in clusters, and are not unpalatable.

The karata grows in woods, under trees, both
in the West Indies and on the continent of
America. The leaves are six or seven feet long;
the fruit of an oval form, and from two to three
hundred in number upon a single plant. Before
it is ripe the fruit is sour and acrid, but when
ripe it is not unpleasant. Until the fruit is ripe
it is defended by the spines of the leaves, so as
to be quite secure against injury.

The tongue-leaved, the red-branched, and the
dwarf, are smaller species. The first and second
very much resemble some of the species of aloe
in their forms, and are found in most of the
West India islands.

The ananas or pine apple, properly so called,
when of a good sort and healthy, is accounted the
best, at least the most luscious, fruit that this coun-
try produces; and, with careful cultivation, is equal
in quality to that of places where it is a native.
It is said even to be superior, because the English

 

HISTURY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

gardeners may, by skilful treatment and choice
of sorts, more than make up for the want of sun
and the deficiency of natural temperature.

It has been said that the pine apple was brought
from Brazil, first to the West Indies, and thence
to the East; but the evidence is not complete.
It was known in Holland some time before its
introduction into this country; and even about
its introduction here there are some disputes.
The picture of king Charles II., with his gar-
dener presenting him with a pine, said to be the
first grown in England, is rejected by the better
informed authorities; and the pine, if ever such
a fruit was offered to that monarch, is supposed
to have been brought from Holland, or the pine
to have been presented, and the picture drawn,
before his return to thiscountry. Mr Bentinck,
the ancestor of the duke of Portland, is, accord-
ing to the best accounts, supposed to have first
introduced and cultivated the pine in the year
1690; and this is rendered the more likely, from
the fact that he was previously acquainted with
the fruit in Holland. And yet the cultivation
of the pine had made so little progress in England
a quarter of a century later, that lady Mary
Wortley Montagu, on her journey to Constan-
tinople in 1716, remarks the circumstance of pine
apples being served up in the dessert, at the
Electoral table at Hanover, as a thing she had
never before seen or heard of.

Pine apples have been grown in this country
of an extraordinary size. One of the New Pro-
yidence kind, that weighed nine pounds, four
ounces, was presented to his Majesty in June,
1820, by John Edwards, Esq., of Rheola, Glam-
organshire, where it was grown. In July, 1821,
another Providence pine is mentioned, in the
Transactions of the Horticultural Society, to
have weighed ten pounds eight ounces: it was
grown by Mr Buchan, gardener to Lord Cawdor,
at Stackpool Court, Pembrokeshire. It was ten
inches and a half high, exclusive of the crown
and stalk, and twenty-two inches in circumfer-
ence. From the extraordinary size and beauty
of the fruit, it was thought proper by the Fel-
lows of the Horticultural Society to present it
to his Majesty, which was accordingly done;
and it was served up in the dessert at the royal
table at the Coronation banquet. Mr Buchan
raised three other pines of extraordinary weight
in the same season: one weighed ten pounds six
ounces; another, ten pounds two ounces; anda
third, nine pounds eight ounces; making the
total weight of the four, forty pounds eight
ounces.

In the Indian Archipelago, and in China, an
extraordinary, monstrous state of the pine apple
is sometimes seen, called the many-headed pine.
Tt is caused by the plant producing branches
bearing fruit at each point; where, under common
circumstances, it produces single flowers. There
THE GUAVA.

are specimens of this kind in the library and
garden of the Horticultural Society of London.

As the pine plant is a triennial, bearing fruit
once only, unlike the peach, and vine, and other
fruit-bearing plants, its propagation, rearing, and
fruiting, are necessarily all carried on in every
garden where it is cultivated. Its culture gen-
erally commences in a common hot-bed frame,
heated by dung. At the end of a period varying
from six to nine months, it is removed to a larger
framed hot-bed or pit, generally called a succes-
sion bed, or house; and after remaining there
from eight to twelve months, according to cir-
cumstances, it is removed to its final destination,
the fruiting bed, pit, or house. Here it shows its
fruit, which continues in a growing state during
a period varying from six to twelve months, ac-
cording to the variety grown, and mode of cul-
ture; and finally ripens its fruit and dies, leaving
the crown or terminal shoot of the fruit, and
one or more suckers or side shoots as successors.
The production of a single pine apple requires
a course of exotic culture, varying from eighteen
months to three years, and generally not less
than two years. The pine is generally grown
in pots; and as it requiresa high temperature
in addition to the heated air of the hot-house, it
is plunged into a bed of hot fermenting bark or
dung. A rich sandy loam is the fittest soil
for it.

TuE Guava, (psidiwm.) This genus of tro-
pical fruits belongs to the natural family myr-
tacew, and to the écosand:*a monogynia of Lin-
neus,

There are seven or eight species of the guava
known to botanists; some natives of Asia, and
others of tropical America.

The white guava, (psidium pyriferum ) is the
best, and also the most abundant in the West
Indies. When wild, the white guava is a shrub
rather than a tree, as it seldom exceeds eight or
nine feet in height; but, when introduced into
gardens, it attains the size of an ordinary apple-
tree, with a trunk about six feet high, and six
inches in diameter. The wood is very hard and
tough; the leaves are from two to three inches
long, and grow in pairs opposite each other; the
flower is white, and has a very agreeable flavour;
the fruit is rather bigger than a hen’s egg, of a
sulphureous yellow, very smooth, and has a pe-
culiar smell; it is covered with a rind of some
thickness, within which are the seeds, contained
in a pulp without any shell. The pulp is flesh-
coloured, sweet, aromatic, and very grateful to
the palate. It is used as a dessert fruit, and also
preserved with sugar; and guava jelly is esteemed
one of the finest conserves that come from the
West Indies. By proper culture it may be
brought to be a large and handsome tree; but
when wild, it remains shrubby, and overruns the
land.

 

367

The red guava (psidium pomiferum,) is a
much larger tree than the white; the trunk often
attaining the height of twenty feet. On poor
soils, however, it is apt to be rugged and shrubby.
The leaves are of alight green; the flowers white;
the fruit shaped like a pomegranate, and having
an agreeable odour when ripe. As a fruit, how-
ever, many of the authorities represent it as
being very much inferior to the white guava;
but it is probable that they have found it in the
wild state, for it appears to be much improved
by culture.

The mountain guava, found in the woods of
Jamaica, is not much esteemed as a fruit tree;
but it grows to a large size; the wood is of a
beautiful dark colour, finely curled, easily worked,
susceptible of a high polish, and therefore much
valued as a timber tree.

In a paper read to the Horticultural Society,
Mr Cattley, of Barnet, gives an account of a
previously undescribed species of guava. The
fruit is nearly spherical, of a fine deep claret
colour, growing at the insertion of the leaves,
and contains from twenty to thirty seeds, in-
closed in a pulp, which is sweet, and slightly
acid. Independently of the value and beauty
of the fruit, this is a highly ornamental plant,
may be propagated freely by cuttings, and bears
at the age of eighteen months. It is understood
to have come from South America, and has an
external texture resembling the fig: its internal
consistence and flavour bear a considerable resem-
blance to those of the strawberry. With proper
treatment, it is one of the most free growing of
all the tropical fruits.

This guava, which has received the name of
psidium cattleyanum, promises to become a very
valuable addition to stone fruits; and, both for
its appearance and its flavour, merits attention.
There is a specimen in one of the hot-houses
belonging to the Horticultural Society, which is
a thriving and elegant tree. It is about ten feet
high, and trained something in the fan shape,
till the outside branches have a width of sixteen
feet. The bark of the tree is of a soft ash colour,
with a very slight trace of brown, and smooth,
but not glossy. The leaves are beautiful and
vigorous, the blossoms abundant. That the fruit
would, properly managed, come to the same ma-
turity in the average of situations in this country,
as in those places of which it is a native, there
cannot be the least doubt; and it has this advan-
tage over most other fruit trees, whether indi-
genous or exotic, that it produces two crops in
the year.

Tur AxEr, (blighia sapida.)  Octandria
monogynia of Linn.

This is a native of Guinea, from whence it
was carried to Jamaica by Captain Bligh in
1793, It has grown well in the West Indies,
and is there much esteemed as a fruit. It was
368

introduced into England in 1793. The leaves of
the akee are something similar to those of the
ash: the flowers are small and white, and are
produced in branched spikes. The fruit is ob-
long, ribbed, and compressed in the middle, of a
dull orange colour, and contains several large
seeds, to the end of which is attached a rich
and slightly acid arillus (the outer coat of a seed
lightly attached to it), which is the part eaten.
Tur Nrero Peacu, orn Eprpue Peacu. The
tree on which the negro peach is produced is
very handsome, with lanceolate leaves, resem-~-
bling those of the orange. The flowers are
white, and grow closely clustered in little round
heads, like those of the American button wood,
so common in shrubberies. The tree has flowered
in the gardens of the Horticultural Society, but
has not borne fruit in this country. The fruit
is about the size of an ordinary peach, but very
different in colour and qualities, Externally
and internally it is brown, of varying shades:
its form is irregular, and the whole surface
covered with tubercles. About one-third of the
diameter in the centre consists of a very firm
and somewhat dry pulp, of a flavour resembling
an apple. Between that and the rind, the pulp
is of softer consistency, full of seeds and fibres,
and has a flavour resembling the strawberry.
Monxey’s Breap (Adansonia digitata). This
tree, known as the celebrated baobab, 1s a native
of the western coast of Africa, and also of
Egypt. In the former country it is described

137.

   

iy
Monkey’s Bread.

by Adanson as being a tree of large dimen-

sions and singular economy. ‘he trunks

were about twelve or fourteen feet high, but of

the vast circumference of sixty or seventy feet,

 

INSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The lateral branches were forty or fifty feet long,
of the thickness of a great tree, and with their
remote branches touching the ground; while
some of the roots that had been laid bare were
upwards of a hundred fest long, and even then
were not exposed for their whole length. The
fruit is from nine to twelve inches long, and about
four in diameter, of a brownish colour, and rather
pointed toward the extremities. The pulp is a
little farinaceous, mixed with fibres: when re-
cent, it has a very refreshing, acid taste; and
eaten with sugar, it is both pleasant and whole-
some. It retains its cooling qualities when dry ;
and, on that account, the physicians of Cairo
administer it in fevers and other diseases.

We shall have occasion to describe this curious
tree more minutely afterwards.

Tus Maneo (Mangifera indica). Natural
order terebinthacee ; Pentandria, Monogynia, of
Linn.

The mango isa large spreading tree like the
walnut, with lanceolate, shining, green leaves,
seven or eight inches long, having a sweet resin-
ous smell. The flowers are white, growing in
bunches at the extremity of the branches: the
fruit las some resemblance to a short, thick cu-
cumber, and on the average of the varieties, of
which there are many, about the size of a goose’s
ege, At first the fruit is of a fine green colour,
and in some of the varieties it continues so, while
others become partly or wholly orange. When
ripe, the mango emits a smell, which, though
faint is very pleasant ; and the flavour of it is
then as delicious as can be imagined. Ester-

nally there isa thin skin; and uponremoving |, ,

that, a pulp, which has some appearance of con-
sistency, but which melts in the mouth with a
cooling sweetness, that can hardly be imagined
by those who have not tasted that choicest of
nature’s delicacies. Jn the heart of the pulp
there is a pretty large stone, resembling that of
a peach, to which the pulp adheres firmly.

It isa native of Asia and its islands, as well
as Brazil. ‘The mangos of Asia are said to be
superior both in size and flavour to those of
America; and so highly are some of the finer
trees prized in India, that guards are placed over
them during the fruit season. The mangos of
Mazagong, which are thus carefully watched, are
thought to be superior to any other. The varie-
ties of a fruit so much esteemed must be num-
erous ; accordingly it is reckoned that there are
upwards of forty in the island of Java alone,
while those of some of the islands farther to the
east, such as Amboyna and Banda, are said to be
still finer. The mango dodol is the largest var-
iety, the fruit weighing upwards of two pounds;
generally about the size of a middling shaddock.
Some of the others, which make up the five
principal heads into which Rhumphius (herbar-
zum amboinense), arranges the whole, are of su-
perior size and flavour ; but the fruit, taken alto-
THE MANGOSTAN.

gether, is one of the chief dainties of the vege-
table world.

The mango is never brought from India to this
country in any other state than the green fruit
pickled, from which no ‘idea of the flavour can
be formed. The ripe fruit is very perishable;
and when it begins to decay it is offensive, and
tastes strongly like turpentine. It is not easy
even to secure the vegetative power of the nut
or kernel during the voyage from India, unless
it be inclosed in wax; and the plants are with
difficulty preserved as objects of curiosity.

In the Transactions of the Horticultural So-
ciety for 1826, there is an account of some man-
gos, raised by Earl Powis, at Walcot Hall, in
Shropshire. “The mango,’ says Mr Sabine, the
secretary to the society, in his very able paper
upon the subject, “is well known to all travel-
lers who have visited the tropical parts of the
world, as being by far the best fruit that is gen-
erally produced in those regions, and as that
which is the most uniformly grateful to an Eur-
opean palate. In such climates, it is cultivated
wherever the arts of civilization have penetrated;
and it may there be said to hold the same station,
among other fruits, as the apple possesses among
those of northern regions. Like the apple, the
number of varieties raised from the seed of the
mango is also very great; and of these, while
some possess the highest excellence, there are
others in which the flesh of the fruit is so fibrous
and ill-flavoured, as to resemble, as is commonly
said, nothing so much as a mixture of ‘tow and
turpentine.’ ”

Tue Maneostan, (garcinia mangostana). The
mangostan, or mangustin, is one of the most
delicious fruits that grows; and the tree on
which it is produced, is one of the most grace-
ful and beautiful anywhere to be met with.
It is a native of Sumatra, and also of the Mo-
lucca, or Spice islands, from which it has been
transplanted to Java, and some other parts of
the eastern Archipelago. The stem, which is
of a variegated brownish-red colour, rises to
the height of about twenty feet; the branches
come out in regular order, and give the head
of the tree the form of a parabola; and the
leaves are entire, about eight inches long, and
four broad at the middle, of a beautiful green on
the upper side, and a fine olive on the under,
The flower resembles that of a single rose, with
some dark red petals. The fruit is round, about
the size of an ordinary orange; and has a little
cap on the extremity, under which it is plaited
into rays. The shell of the fruit, which is at
first green, but changes to brown marked with
yellow spots, has some resemblance to that of a
pomegranate, but is thicker and softer, and the
contents are more juicy. The pulp is divided
internally by thin septa, like those in an orange,
and the seeds are lodged in the divisions. The

 

369

flavour of the pulp is said to be that of the finest
grape and strawberry united; but those who have
tasted the fruit in perfection, and attempted to
convey to others some idea of the impression
that it had made on them, are not agreed as to
what it resembles. Abel says that “he and his
companions were anxious to carry with them
some precise expression of its flavour; but after
satisfying themselves that it partook of the com-
pound nature of the pine apple and the peach,
they were obliged to confess that it had many
other equally good but utterly inexpressible fla-
yours.”

There are two other species of this tree. These
are the Celebes mangostan (garcinia celebica, )
and the horny mangostan (garcinia cornea.)
The first is found wild in the woods of Celebes,
near Macassar, whence it has been transplanted
to Amboyna, Java, and other places; but the
fruit, which is rather larger than that of the true
mangostan, does not always ripen. The corneous
species is found in the high remote mountains of
Amboyna: it is a lofty tree, though not of very
great diameter. The fruit is so excellent as nearly
to equal the true mangostan. ‘The wood is very
hard, heavy, and tough, and of the colour of
horn, from which latter circumstance the specific
name is given to it.

All the sorts may be propagated from seed,
layers, and even cuttings; but layers come soonest
into bearing, producing fruit generally the second
year. The seedlings of the purple-fruited sort,
will produce fruit the first year. All the species
will bear fruit even in large pots; but, according
to Sabine, the best method is to plant them ina
corner of the bark bed. hey flourish best in a
temperature from 60° to 70°.

Tur Durtion, (durio zibethinus.) Polyadel-
phia polyandria of Linn.

The durion, which is pretty generally diffused
over the south-east of Asia, is accounted next to
the mangostan; and, in the opinion of some, is
superior to it. However excellent the taste may
be, the durion is revolting to those unaccustomed
to it; for it has a strong smell, which is said to
arise from sulphuretted hydrogen. Yet this
quality is soon forgotten, after the palate becomes
familiar with it. Though of the most nutri-
tious quality, and the most dainty taste, the
durion never palls upon the appetite or injures
the digestion: its effects are directly opposite.

The tree which produces the durion is about
the size, and something in the form of a pear
tree; but the leaves are in shape like those of the
cherry, only they are entire and smooth at the
edges. ‘The flowers are large, and of a yellowish
white. The fruit is large, in some of the species
as large as a man’s head; and, externally, it is
not unlike the bread fruit. It has a hard rind,
covered with warts and tubercles. When ripe,

it becomes of a brownish yellow, and opens at
Ba
370

the top. It must then be eaten fresh from the
tree, as it putrifics in less than twenty-four
hours.

Internally, the fruit contains five large longi-
tudinal cells, in each of which are the seeds,
about the size of pigeon’s eggs, and from one to
four in each cell. The remainder of the cells is
filled with the pulp, which is the delicious part
of the fruit. It is of the consistence of thick
cream, of a milk-white colour, highly nutritious,
and blending the flavour and qualities of a deli-
cate animal substance with the cool acidity of a
vegetable, ‘This compound flavour is peculiarly
its own, and cannot be imitated by any process
of cookery. The Spanish mangia blanco, pullet’s
flesh distilled with vinegar, is said to come the
nearest to it.

The durion is a particular favourite with the
natives of the eastern archipelago; and there are
many varieties of it. They all, however, belong
to three principal ones:—The borneo durion is
found in the island after which it is named. It
grows to so great a size, that one fruit is a load
fora man. The cassomba, which has a smoother
rind, is more orange in the colour, more elongated
in the shape, and contains fewer seeds and more
pulp. The babi is a small, but very delicious
sort. The kernels or seeds of the durion, when
roasted, have nearly the same taste as chestnuts.
It Las not been found in a wild state; but in the
countries where it will grow and ripen at all, it
is easily cultivated. So highly is it esteemed,
thatit is the most costly fruit in the archipelago,
a single durion being worth more than a dozen
of the choicest pine apples.

The danseh, and the jamie, fruits of Sumatra,
are esteemed most highly by the natives, the
former next to the durion.

THe Matay AppLte (fugenia malaccensis ).
This, though an inferior fruit to the durion, is
attractive hy its fragrance, its smell being that of
arose. The Malay apple belongs to a numerous
genus of plants, there being a great number of
species very generally diffused over the tropical
countries. The fruit of all the species is a fleshy
rind, inclosing one or two large seeds. The
Malay apple varies in size from about an inch in
diameter to the bigness of a man’s fist. The
skin is yellowish, thin, and shining; the nut
large, and without any hard shell; and the pulp
very wholesome and agreeable. The tree that
produces it has a brown stem, about twenty feet
high, very full of branches at the top. The
young leaves are bright purple, and the old ones
green.

Tut Rosr Appie, or Jamrosade ( Eugenia
jambos,), This is a branching tree, from twenty
to thirty feet in height, with long narrow leaves,
resembling those of the peach. The flowers come
out in terminal bunches in July, are of a greenish
yellow colour, and succeeded by fruit ahout the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

size of a hen’s egg; white, red, or rose-scented,
with the flavour of a ripe apricot. It isa native

 

The Rose Apple.

of the East Indies, and was cultivated in Eng-
land, by Millar, in 1768.

Lrrent (dimocarpus litcht )—Loxean (dimo-
carpus longan,). These fruits are natives of the
south of China, where they are held in the
highest estimation. They have thence been in-
troduced into many parts of the East Indies, and
to the gardens of the curious in some places of
Europe. John Knight, Esq., of Lee Castle, near
Kidderminster, presented the Horticultural So-
ciety with some of the fruit that had ripened in
his hot-house in 1816, and it was found to be as
good as that which is produced in China. The
litchi was introduced into this country by the
celebrated Warren Hastings, Esq., in 1785: the
longan had been introduced before.

The trees on which these fruits are produced
have a considerable resemblance to each other;
are in fact so much alike, that they are distin-
guished only by the flowers of the litchi being
without petals, while those of the longan have
eight; and the fruit of the litchi being larger,
and generally of a red colour, while that of the
longan is always brown. They are moderately
sized trees, with brown bark, which is very
bright in the twigs. The leaves are large, have
some resemblance to those of the laurel, are
placed alternate, and hang very gracefully. The
fruit is produced in bunches, which are pendent
from the extremities of the twigs; and there is
a considerable number of fruit in the bunches,
not close together, like grapes, but on stalks, the
principal ones from six inches to a foot in length;
while those of the individual fruit are from one
inch to two.

Of both species there are many varieties in
China, which differ in the time of ripening, and
the form and qualities of the fruit. In general,
the litchi is about an inch and a half, or from that
to two inches, in diameter, and the longan about
an inch and a quarter; and both are covered with
small scaly processes, which are most prominent
in the longan. Both fruits are covered by tough,
thin, leathery coats, within which is the pulp,
and in the inside of that a single brown seed.
The pulp is colourless, semi-transparent, slightly
THE JUJUBE.

sweet, and very grateful to the taste. The
Chinese prefer the longan, to which they ascribe
medicinal qualities ; but Europeans give the pre-
ference to the litchi, probably on account of its
larger size, and the greater beauty of its colour.
The litchi is often brought to this country in a
dried state, in which, though the pulp be much
diminished in size, it retains a very considerable
portion of its original flavour. Fyrom the beauty
and flavour of these fruits, and the perfection to
which they have been brought in this country,
in all cases where they have had a fair trial, it is
by no means unlikely that they may become
common as hot-house fruit.

Tue Jususe (cizyphus jujuba_) belongs to the
very numerous genus of the buckthorns (rham-
ni). Itis found in the south of Europe; but
no where is it brought to so much perfection as
in China, where there are upwards of sixty kinds,
all of them highly esteemed. In the opinion of
Mr Lindley (Trans. Hor. Soc. v. 123), the Chi-
nese jujube might be fruited in greenhouses in
England, with a very moderate degrce of artifi-
cial heat.

Tue Kaxt, or Chinese Date-Plum (diospyrus
kaki), is a tree of a middle size, bearing a fruit
about the size of an apple, of a reddish orange
colour, and with a very luscious, brownish, semi-
transparent pulp. ‘The fruit of one species is
dried with sugar, like figs.

Tus Breap-Fruir (artocarpus incisa). This
celebrated tree belongs to the natural family

 

Bread Fruit.

urticee, and to the class and order monecia mon-
andria of Linneus. The bread-fruit, originally
found in the south-eastern parts of Asia and the
islands of the Pacific, though now introduced
into the tropical parts of the western continent
and the West India islands, is one of the most
interesting as well as singular productions of the
vegetable kingdom. There are two species of it:
the bread-fruit, properly so called (artocarpus
incisa, fig. a), with the leaves deeply gashed or
divided at the sides, which grows chiefly in the
islands; and the Jack fruit, or Jaca tree (arto-
carpus integrifolia, fig. 6), with the leaves en-
tire, which grows chiefly on the main land of
Asia,

 

of}

The bread-fruit is a beautiful as well as a use-
ful tree. The trunk rises to the height of about
forty feet, and, in a full grown tree, is from a
foot to fifteen inches in diameter; the bark is
ash-coloured, full of little chinks, and covered
by small knobs; the inner bark is fibrous, and
used in the manufacture of a sort of cloth; and
the wood is smooth, soft, and of a yellow colour.
The branches come out in a horizontal manner,
the lowest ones about ten or twelve feet from
the ground, and they become shorter and shorter
as they are nearer the top. The leaves are di-
vided into seven or nine lobes, about eighteen
inches or two feet long, and are of a lively green.
The tree bears male and female flowers, the males
among the upper leaves, and the females at the
extremities of the twigs. When full grown, the
fruit is about nine inches long, heart-shaped, of
a greenish colour, and marked with hexagonal
warts, formed into facets. The pulp is white,
partly farinaccous and partly fibrous; but when
quite ripe, it becomes yellow and juicy. The
whole tree, when in a green state, abounds with
a viscid milky juice, of so tenacious a nature as
to be drawn out in threads.

Tur Jaca (artocarpus integrifolia). The
Jaca, or Jack, grows to the same, or even to a
larger size, than the bread-fruit of the Society
islands; but it is neither so palatable nor so nu-
tritious. Though its specific name implies that
it is entire-leaved, the leaves of it are sometimes
found lobed like those of the other. The fruit
often weighs more than thirty pounds, and con-
tains two hundred or three hundred seeds, each
of them four times as large as an almond. De-
cember is the time when the fruit ripens; it is
then eaten, though not much relished ; and the
seeds or nuts also are eaten, after being roasted.
There are many varieties of the jaca tree, some
of which can hardly be distinguished from the
seedling variety of the true bread-fruit. The
fruit, and also the part of the tree on which it is
produced, varies with the age. When the tree
is young, the fruit grows from the twigs; in
middle age it grows from the trunk; and when
the tree gets old, it grows from the roots. The
sort called the champadak is more esteemed than
the common Jack or Nangka.

In the island of Otaheite and other places,
where the bread-fruit forms the chief support of
the people, there are, as is the case with culti-
vated vegetables in all countries, many varieties;
only two, however, are very different from each
other—that which contains seeds in the fruit, and
that which contains none. The variety with
seeds is much inferior to the other, being more
fibrous, containing less farina, and not so plea-
sant tothe taste; it is, therefore, not cultivated,
though, in cases of need, it is roasted and eaten.
Whether the seedless sort has been pruduced
wholly by cultivation it is not easy, and would
not be of much importance, to ascertain. It is
the one cultivated in the South Sea islands; it
was originally found only there; and the tree
was not in much repute till these islands were
discovered.

The bread-fruit continues productive for about
eight months of the year. Such is its abundance,
that two or three trees will suffice for a man’s
yearly supply ; a store being made into a sour
paste, called make in the islands, which is eaten
during the unproductive season. The planting
of the seedless variety is now saved, as the creep-
ing roots send up suckers which soon grow to
trees. When the fruit is roasted till the outside
is charred, the pulp has a consistency not very
unlike that of wheaten bread; and the taste is
intermediate between that of bread and roasted
chestnuts. It is said to be very nourishing, and
is prepared in various ways.

The timber of the bread-fruit, though soft, is
found useful in the construction of houses and
boats; the male flowers dried, serve for tinder;
the juice answers for bird-lime and glue; the
leaves for packing and for towels; and the inner
bark, beaten together, makes one species of the
South sea cloth.

The earliest account of the bread-fruit is by
Captain Dampier, in 1688. “The bread-fruit,”
says this navigator, “grows on a large tree, as
big and high as our largest apple trees. It hath
a spreading head, full of branches, and dark
leaves. The fruit grows on the boughs like
apples; it is as big as a penny loaf, when wheat
is at five shillings the bushel; it is of a round
shape, and hath a thick tough rind. When the
fruit is ripe, it is yellow and soft, and the taste
is sweet and pleasant. The natives of Guam use
it for bread. They gather it when full grown,
while it is green and hard; then they bake it in
an oven, which scorcheth the rind, and maketh
it black; but they scrape off the outside black
crust, and there remains a tender thin crust; and
the inside is soft, tender, and white, like the
crumb of a penny loaf. There is neither seed
nor stone in the inside, but all of a pure substance,
like bread. It must be eaten new, for if it be
kept above twenty-four hours, it grows harsh
and choky; but it is very pleasant before it is
too stale. This fruit lasts in season eight months
in the year, during which the natives eat no other
sort of bread kind. I did never see of this fruit
any where but here. The natives told us that
there is plenty of this fruit growing on the rest
of the Ladrone islands; and I did never hear of
it any where else.”

The scientific men who accompanied Captain
Cook in his voyages, came home with the most
enthusiastic ideas of the bread-fruit. Dr So-
lander calls it “ the most useful vegetable in the
world,” and urges that no expense should be
spared in its cultivation, The mere idea of

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

bread, the most valuable food of man, growing
spontaneously, was doubtless calculated to excite
attention—almost, perhaps, as strongly as the
subsequent description of the poet :—

“ The bread-tree, which, without the ploughshare yields
The unreap’d harvest of unfurrow’d fields,
And bakes its unadulterated loaves
Without a furnace in unpurchased groves,
And flings off famine from its fertile breast,
A priecless market for the gathering guest.”’ *

A tree, of the value and easy culture of which
so very encouraging accounts were given, could
not but attract the notice of the public generally,
and more especially of those colonists of Great
Britain who lived in a climate warm enough for
its cultivation. An application to be furnished
with plants of the bread-fruit tree was accord-
ingly made to his late Majesty by the planters
and others interested in the West Indies, and it
met with a favourable reception. The Bounty,
a vessel of about two hundred and fifteen tons
burthen, was fitted up for a voyage to Ota-
heite. Lieutenant (afterwards Admiral) Bligh,
who had accompanied Cook on his last voyage,
and shown himself an officer of great talents, en-
terprise, and bravery, was appointed to the com-
mand. In addition to the crew of the vessel,
two men were appointed, at the recommendation
of Sir Joseph Banks, to take immediate charge
of the procuring, shipping, and tending of the
plants.

The Bounty was skilfully fitted up for her in-
tended purpose. A large cabin between decks,
in midships, was prepared for the reception of
the plants. This had two large skylights on
the top for light; three scuttles on each side for
ventilation of air, anda double bottom; an upper
one of timber on which to place the pots and
tubs containing the plants, which was drilled full
of holes to allow escape to the superfluous water
which might have injured them by stagnation,
and a leaden one upon the lower deck, in which
the water that ran through the other was col-
lected, and from which it was conducted by a
leaden pipe at each corner, into casks below for
future use.

Thus prepared, the vessel put to sea about the
middle of November, 1787, but. was beat about
and baffled by contrary winds, so that the voy-
age was not commenced till the 23d of Decem|):er.
The instructions given to Lieutenant Bligh were
full and explicit. He was to resort to those
places in the Society isles where Captain Cook
had stated that the bread-fruit tree was to be
found in the greatest luxuriance, and there pro-
cure as many plants as the vessel could carry ;
after which he was to proceed with them to the
West Indies with all possible expedition.

* Byron,
THE BREAD-FRUIT.

The commander sailed first for Teneriffe, and
thence for the south of America, intending to
enter the Pacific by the passage of Cape Horn.
But the storms of that inhospitable region beat
him back, and he was forced to bear away for
the Cape of Good Hope, and reach the Society
islands on the side of New Holland. This voy-
age, which had occupied ten months, terminated
on the 25th of October, by the arrival of the
Bounty at Otaheite.

No time was lost in putting the instructions
into execution. _ The young shoots that sprung
from the lateral roots of the bread-fruit trees
were taken up, with balls of earth, where the
soil was moist; and this operation was continued
till they were in possession of one thousand and
fifteen live plants, secured in seven hundred
and seventy-four pots, thirty-nine tubs, and
twenty-four boxes. To complete this cargo
took them till the 3d of April, 1789; and Bligh
sailed on the 4th, passing from Otaheite through
the group of islands, and bidding adieu to the
natives, with whom he and his crew had been on
the most friendly terms during their stay.

Hitherto there had been no perils to contend
with but those of the sea; but when four and
twenty days had elapsed, and they were, of
course, far from any land, a new scene took
place, which frustrated for a time the bounty of
the government and the skill of the commander.
Under the cloak of fidelity, a mutiny had been
forming of a very determined and extensive na-
ture; and so well had the mutineers disguised
their intentions, that not one but those who
were in the plot had the slightest suspicion of it.

The known bravery of Lieutenant Bligh made
the mutineers afraid to attack him awake; and
so, on the morning of the 28th of April, he was
seized, while asleep in his bed, by a band of
armed traitors, and hurried upon deck in his
shirt; and on coming there, he found the master,
the gunner, one of the master’s mates, and Nel-
son the botanist, who had been with him under
Cook, confined in the fore hatchway, and guarded
by sentinels. The launch was hoisted, and such
individuals as the mutineers did not like were
ordered to quit the ship, and forced if they re-
fused or hesitated. Eighteen individuals, out of
the forty-six, remained true to the commander ;
and one of them, Mr Samuel the clerk, contrived
to save Mr Bligh’s commission and journals; but
he failed in attempting to procure Bligh’s sur-
veys, drawings, and remarks during fifteen years,
which were exceedingly valuable, and the time-
keeper. Fourofthemen, who kept theirallegiance,
were detained by the mutineers contrary to their
wishes, The cause of this singular mutiny, for
which none of the usual motives could very well
account, could not with certainty be known; but
it was generally supposed that the instigator was
Mr Christian, one of the master’s mates. Bligh

 

himself says, in his most interesting account of
this voyage and mutiny, “It will naturally be
asked what could be the cause of this revolt? In
answer, I can only conjecture that the mutineers
had flattered themselves with the hope of a hap- "
pier life among the Otaheitans than they could
possibly enjoy in England.”

Thus, after they had made certain of the suc-
cessful termination of an enterprise which was
looked upon with a great deal of interest, both
in a scientific and an economical point of view,
Bligh was disappointed; and he and his faithful
associates were sent adrift upon the wide ocean,
in an open boat, with only an hundred and fifty
pounds of bread, a few pieces of pork, a little
wine and rum, a quadrant and compass, and a
few other implements of navigation. But they
were undaunted, and they were skilful; and
though they had hard weather to contend with,
they reached Tofoa, one of the Friendly islands.
But as the people there were as treacherous,
though not quite so successful in their treachery,
as their former shipmates, they again put to sea,
and stood for New Holland, which they reached
in safety, rested for a little, and got a supply of
provisions. From New Holland they again
sailed in the direction of the Eastern Archipe-
lago; and after suffering the greatest fatigue,
being exposed to the full action and vicissitudes
of the elements, and forced for some time to bear
famine, they reached the Dutch settlement of
Coupang, in the island of Timor, without the
loss of one individual by disease, though they
had traversed at least five thousand miles of sea.
Nay, so ardent was Bligh as a seaman, that, amid
all those perils, he was occupied in making some
very valuable observations.

The Dutch governor of Coupang showed them
every attention; and from the care that was
taken of them, twelve were enabled to return to
England. Though the adventure had failed,
every body was disposed to bestow all praise on
the adventurer; and he was promoted to the
rank of captain, and appointed to the command
of his Majesty’s ship Providence, in order to re-
peat the voyage.

The Providence, with the Assistant, a small
ship in company, sailed on the 3d of August,
1791. His instructions were to procure the
bread-fruit trees for the West Indies, and on his
return, to examine the passage between the north
of New Holland and New Guinea—which, in his
former voyage in the Bounty, he had’ been the
first to navigate.

On the ninth of April, 1792, they reached
Otaheite; and by the 17th of July they were
ready to leave the island, having on board twelve
hundred and eighty-one tubs and pots of plants,
all in the finest condition. There was no mutiny
on this voyage; but the passage between New
Holland and New Guinea was dangerous; and
374

it was the 2d of October before the captain
reached his old friends at Coupang. He re-
mained there for a week, replacing with plants
from that island those that had died on the voy-
age; and then he came to the Atlantic by the
Cape of Good Hope,. which he contrived to pass

so closely, as never to have a lower temperature

than sixty-one degrees of Fahrenheit.

On the 17th of September he anchored at St
Helena, collected there a number of trees, and
among others the akee; and leaving twenty-three
bread-fruits, and some other valuable plants, he
sailed, and reached St Vincent on the 28d of
January, 1793—where he left with Dr Ander-
son, the superintendent of the botanical garden,
three hundred and thirty-three bread-fruit trees,
and two hundred and eleven fruit trees of other
kinds, receiving at the same time nearly five
hundred tropical plants for the botanical garden
at Kew. From St Vincent, Captain Bligh sailed
for Jamaica, where he left three hundred and
forty-seven bread-fruits, and two hundred and
seventy-six others, which were a selection of all
the finest fruits of the east. Some of the plants
were also left on the island of Grand Cayman;
and the ships finally came to the Downs on the
zd of August, 1793.

But after all the peril, hardship, and expense
thus incurred, the bread-tree fruit has not, hith-
erto at least, answered the expectations that were
entertained. The banana is more easily and
cheaply cultivated, comes into bearing much
sooner after being planted, bears more abundantly,
and is better relished by the negroes. The mode
of propagating the bread-fruit is not, indeed, dif-
ficult; for the planter has only to lay bare one
of the roots, and mound it with a spade, and in
a short space a shoot comes up, which is soon fit
for removal.

Europeans are much fonder of the bread-fruit
than negroes. They consider it as a sort of
dainty, and use it either as bread or in puddings.
When roasted in the oven, the taste of it re-
sembles that of a potato; but it is not so mealy
as a good one.

Tue Oraueire Toa Pium (spondias cytherea).
The tree which bears this fruit is large and grace-
ful, rising to the height of fifty feet, spreading
and shadowy. The fruit is oval, of considerable
size, a fine golden yellow when ripe, very smooth,
disagreeable to the smell, but having a fleshy
pulp, and a great stone covered with fibres, which
penetrate the flesh. It is peculiarly grateful
from its cooling, and, at the same time, aromatic
qualities, and its flavour very much resembles
that of the pine apple. It is a very beautiful
tree when in fruit. The leaves are of a dark
clear green, among which the smooth fruit hangs
in clusters, like burnished gold.

Tun Mammzr (manunea Americana). The
mammee is a native of the West Indies, where

IISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

: it grows to a large tree, sixty or seventy feet in
height. It is a handsome straight-growing tree,

 

a The Mammee. & The Custard Apple.

with a spreading head, and the leaves are oblong
and obtuse, with very many fine, closely set, par-
allel veins. The fruit of the mammee is yellow,
not unlike one of the largest russet apples, either
in shape or insize. The skin, which easily peels
off, and the seeds, of which there are two or
three in the centre, are resinous, and very bitter;
but the pulp under the skin, which, when ripe,
is of a deep yellow, resembling that of the finest
apricot, and of considerable consistency, is very
fragrant, and has a delicious flavour. It is eaten
raw alone, or cut in slices, with wine and sugar.
To people with weak stomachs it is said to be
more delicious than healthful; but still it is
highly prized, very abundant in the West India
markets, and accounted one of the best native
fruits they have. The mammee was found by
Don in the vicinity of Sierra Leone; but whether
native there, or imported from America, cannot
be ascertained. It was introduced into England,
in 1789, by Miller.

Tue Atiicator Prar (laurus Persca). The
avocado, or alligator pear, grows upon a tree
about the size of the common apple. It isa na-
tive of the West Indies. The leaves are oblong
and veiny, the flowers of a yellowish green co-
lour, and the fruit, which is the size of a large
pear, is considered the most delicious in the
world. It contains a kernel, inclosed in a soft
rind; and the yellow pulp, which is firm, has
the delicate rich flavour of the peach, but infi-
nitely more grateful. It is sometimes called
Vegetable Marrow, and is eaten with pepper and
salt. It appears necessary, on account of the
richness of the pulp, to apply some spice or acid,
and thus lime-juice is also frequently added to
it, mixed with sugar. Of the three kinds, the
red, the purple, and the green, the latter is the
best. The fruit is eaten with avidity, not only
by men, but by birds and quadrupeds.

Tur Ancuovy Pear (grias cauliflora). The
anchovy pear is a fruit also much esteemed in
the West Indies, of which islands it is a native.
The tree on which it grows is tall, upright, and
handsome, rising to the height of about fifty
feet, with leaves two or three feet long. It bears

 

large whitish flowers, that come from the stem;
THE CUSTARD APPLE.

and these are followed by the fruit, which is of
considerable size, brownish, having a kind of
pulp over a single oval kernel. The fruit very
much resembles the manzo in taste; and, like
that, it is often made into pickles before it is
ripe. The tree grows in the moist parts of Ja-
maica, and other places of the West Indies;
where, in addition to the value of its fruit, it is
a highly ornamental tree. Tt may be reared in
England, by the joint effects of bark and the
heat of a stove, as is done with the pine apple,
In the West Indies it grows readily from the
kernel, and is often cultivated in clumps.

Tur Custarp APPLE (anona muricata, anona
squamosa,). Ten or twelve species of the cus-
tard apple are cnumerated. They are natives of
the tropical parts of Africa, Asia, and America;
but the better sorts are more abundant in the
latter part of the globe.

The Sour Sop, rough custard apple (anona
muricata_), is a middle-sized tree, growing abun-
dantly on the savannahs in Jamaica, and bear-
ing a large oval fruit of a greenish yellow colour,
covered with small knobs on the outside, and con-
taining awhite pulp, havinga flavour compounded
of sweet and acid, and very cooling and agreeable.
It is, however, too common to be much esteemed
by the wealthier people, though it is much
sought after and relished by the negroes. The
odour and taste of the whole plant are very simi-
lar to those of the black currant. It was early
introduced into England, but has not come into
cultivation as a fruit tree.

The Cherimoyer (anona cherimolia) is a na-
tive of the continent of America; and in Peru it
is accounted one of the best fruits they have.
Humboldt speaks of it with high praise; but
Feuillée, another traveller in South America,
says, an European pear or plum is worth all the
cherimoyers of Peru. The tree which produces
this fruit has a trunk about ten feet high; the
leaves are oval, and pointed at both ends; the
flowers are solitary, very fragrant, and of a green-
ish colour; the fruit of considerable size, some-
what heart-shaped, rough on the outside, and
grayish brown, or even nearly black, when ripe.
The flesh, in which the seeds are contained, is
soft, sweet, and pleasant, and highly esteemed
both by natives and foreigners. It has been in-
troduced into England for about a century, but
not cultivated as a fruit'tree. In the South of
Spain it is occasionally found in gardens, where
it bears its fruit as an orchard tree.

The Sweet Sop (anona squamosa) is a very
small tree, being, in many situations, little better
than a bush. It is found both in the East and
the West Indies. The fruit is almost the size
of the heaa of an artichoke, scaly, and of a green-
ish yellow colour, The rind is strong and thick;
but the pulp is delicious, having the odour of
rose-water, and tasting like clotted cream mixed

 

a
875

with sugar. It is, like many other fruits, said
to have a much finer flavour in the Indian Ar-
chipelago than in the West Indies. It, too, was
early known in England, but has not become
general.

The Alligator Apple (anona palustris) grows
wild in the marshes of Jamaica. The fruit is
shining and smooth in appearance, and sweet
and not unpleasant to the taste; but it is a strong
narcotic, and, therefore, not generally eaten. One
thing worthy of remark is, that the wood of the
alligator apple tree is so soft and compressible,
that the people of Jamaica call it cork-wood, and
employ it for stoppers.

Witp Piums (achras,). There are various
species of the wild Plum in the West Indies,
some of them timber trees of large dimensions;
but those most valued for their fruit are the sap-
podilla plum (achras sapota), and the mammee
sapota (achras mammosa).

The Sappodilla Plum is a large and straight
tree, which runs to a considerable height with-
out any branches, with a dark gray bark, very
much chapped. The leaves are smooth and
beautiful, and the flowers white and bell-shaped.
The fruit resembles a bergamot pear in shape
and size, but in colour is like a medlar, and is
similar also to that, in being eaten whien it is be-
ginning to decay.

The Mammee Sapota grows on a much smaller
tree, with larger leaves, and flowers of a cream
colour; the fruit about the same size as the
former, but brownish when ripe, and containing
a pulp resembling marmalade of quinces in con-
sistency, and of a very delicious flavour. On
account of this, the tree is sometimes called the
marmalade tree, and is, in all probability, the
same which Stedman, in his account of Surinam,
calls the marmalade box. It is a native of the
West Indies and the adjoining coast, and is very
much cultivated in the gardens there for the
sake of its fruit.

Stan Appie (chrysophyllum cainito). This
is also a native of the West Indies. It grows on

-a moderately-sized spreading tree, with slender

flexile branches. There are some species, or, at
least, varieties of the fruit. The star apple, pro-
perly so called, bears fruit resembling a large
apple, which, in the inside, is divided into ten
cells, each containing a black seed, surrounded
by a gelatinous pulp. The West Indian damson
plum has small fruit, and is chiefly found in the
woods. The milky juice of the star apple, both
of the tree and the fruit, before it is ripe, is re-
markably astringent; but when the fruit ripens,
it is sweet and very agreeable to the taste.
GrewnavitLas (passiflora). The passifloras
are a very numerous race. They are mostly na-
tives of the West Indies and the tropical parts
of America, from which some of the species have
been introduced into this country, chiefly on ac-
376
count of the beauty of their flowers. Few of
the species bear fruit in this country.

The grenadillas with which we are best ac-
quainted are those of the West India islands, the
chief of which are the purple-fruited (passtflora
edulis), the passiflora quadrangularis, and the
water-lemon (passiflora laurifolia), The first
is thus described hy Sabine: “ The stem is thick
and woody, the leaves three-lobed, and of con-
siderable size. The flowers, proceeding from the
axilla of the leaves, are fragrant, and of a white
colour, tinged with purple. The fruit, when
unripe, is green; but as it ripens, changes to a
dark livid purple, and much resembles the fruit
of the purple egg plant. The shape is elliptic,
an inch and a half in diameter, and two inches
from the stalk to the top. The pulp is orange
coloured, and the seeds numerous; the taste acid,
and the flavour somewhat like that of the orange.
It is a native of the Brazils, was introduced from
Portugal, by Boehm, in 1810, and has produced
fruit abundantly in the stoves at Walton on
Thames, at the royal gardens at Windsor, and
other places. Such is the rapid growth of this
species, that a single plant will, in one season,
extend in a line over upwards of forty feet of
glass, in which space it will produce from 400 to
560 fruit.

The flesh-coloured grenadilla (p. incarnata )
has a perennial root, sending up annually a num-
ber of herbaceous shoots, with three-lobed leaves,
and sweet scented flowers, variegated with
purple, and appears from July to September.
The fruit, when ripe, is about the size of an
apple, orange coloured, with a Swedish yellow
pulp. It isa native of Virginia, was cultivated
in the open air, by Parkinson, in 1629, and af-
terwards by Miller, in the stove, with whom it
bore fruit.

The passiflora quadrangularis is the most
valuable for cultivation here; and it has borne
fruit in the gardens of the Horticultural Society.
The water lemon is a larger and more woody
plant; the flowers are handsome and very fra-
grant; and the fruit something in the shape and
of the size of a lemon, full of a watery but very
agreeable tasted juice, whence the name. The
plant grows wild in the woods, but is often cul-
tivated for the sake of its fruit. It was intro-
duced into England about the same time with
the pine apple; but it has not met with equal
attention.

On the American continent, and especially in
Brazil, where the productions of the vegetable
kingdom are very numerous and luxuriant, there
are many varieties of grenadilla, if not distinct
species, with which botanists do not appear to
be very well acquainted ; indeed, the forests and
savannahs of Brazil appear to offer the richest
harvest for botanical research of any places now

 

cn the surface of the globe. so, in his natural |

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

history of Brazil, enumerates and gives figures
of several sorts of grenadilla, under the name of
Murucuja. One, he says, has five-lobed leaves
and purple flowers, with oblong fruit, larger
than any European pear, filled with a mucila-
ginous pulp, of a scent and flavour that nothing
can exceed. Another has the same leaf and fla-
vour, but fruit in the form and size of an apple,
the pulp of which has a vinous flavour. There
are many other sorts, but these are described as
the best. The grenadillas generally, which are
called parchas by the Spaniards, have a pleasant
sweetish acid, with a fragrance something be-
tween that of a melon and a strawberry.

CHAP. XXXVITI.

TILE MELON, CUCUMBER, GOURDS, LOVE APPLE,
EGG PLANT, &c,

Tue natural family cucurbitacee consists of
large herbaceous plants, frequently with twining,
climbing stems, and covered with short, very
stiff hairs. The leaves are alternate, petiolate,
and more or less lobed. The tendrils, which are
simple or branched, arise beside the petioles,
The flowers are generally unisexual, and monce-
cious, very rarely hermaphrodite. The fruit is
fleshy, mostly sweet, watery, cooling, and pleasant
to the taste; or bitter, drastic, and purgative in
its qualities. The seeds, when the fruit is ripe,
seem scattered in the midst of a filamentous or
fleshy cellular tissue.

The principal genera of this family are: The
cucumis, cucurbita, pepo, ecballium, :nemordica,
bryonia, gronovia. Thus including several es-
teemed and cooling fruits, as the melon, gourds,
cucumber; as also the colocynth and bryons, both
drastic purgatives. The papaw tree, classed
among this family, is a remarkable deviation from
the ordinary herbaceous and climbing character
which distinguishes the others.

Tur MELON, (cucumis melo.) Moncecia men-
andria of Linn,

The melon is the richest and most highly fla-
voured of all the fleshy fruits, It is often said
to be a native of the central parts of Asia, and
to have been first brought into Europe from
Persia; but the date of its first culture is so re-
mote, that there is no certain knowledge on the
subject. Pliny and Columella describe the fond-
ness of the Emperor Tiberius for melons, and
detail the contrivances by which they were pro-
cured for him at all seasons. Stoves appear to
have been used in this process; so that forcing-
houses were not unknown to the Romans. The
melon has certainly been generally cultivated in
England since about the middle of the sixteenth
century; how much earlier is not known. It is
THE MELON,

highly probable that those ecclesiastics who paid
such attention to the other fruits grown in Italy
and France, would not neglect one so delicious
as the melon; and it is distinctly said by a writer
on British Topography, Gough, that the culti-
vation of the melon in England preceded the
wars of York and Lancaster, but that it was de-
stroyed in the times of civil trouble that suc-
ceeded. It is probable, however, that the melon
was confounded with the pumpkin by the earlier
writers whom Gough consulted. While in
France, and in England, melons are grown as an
article of luxury, in some parts of the East they
are used as a chief necessary of life. Niebuhr,
the celebrated traveller, says, “of pumpkins and
melons, several sorts grow naturally in the woods,
and serve for feeding camels; but the proper
melons are planted in the fields, where a great
variety of them is to be found, and in such abun-
dance, that the Arabians of all ranks use them,
for some part of the year, as their principal article
of food. They afford a very agreeable liquor.
When its fruit is nearly ripe, a hole is pierced
into the pulp; this hole is then stopped with
wax, and the melon left upon the stalk. Within
afew days the pulp is, in consequence of this
process, converted into a delicious liquor.”

Although the melon is a very delicious fruit,
it is not one of the most wholesome, more espe-
cially in cold climates, where, if eaten in any
considerable quantity, it is apt to derange the
stomach, unless corrected by warm and stimu-
lating ingredients; and the same remark may be
applied to the cucumber.

Small melons are, when equally ripe, more
highly flavoured than large ones. In general,
however, the fruit is chosen as much for show
as for use, and thus the large ones are preferred.
Indeed, in almost all the cultivated fruits and
vegetables, quality is very apt to be sacrificed to
appearance; as in the markets the articles are
bought by the judgment of the eye, and not by
that of the palate. To obtain the large size, a
yanker manuring and higher culture must be
resorted to than are altogether consistent with
the natural development of the juices of the
plant.

Of the melon there are many varieties, and
the number of them is constantly increasing.
Seventy-one are enumerated in the Fruit Cata-
logue of the Horticultural Society. The Can-
taloupe is one of the best. It obtains its name
from a seat belonging to the Pope, not far from
Rome, where it was probably first cultivated in
Europe, and whence it has spread into most
countries. The Cantaloupe is of a middling size,
nearly round in form, and remarkably rough and
irregular in the surface. The colours, both of
the surface and the flesh, vary ; the former from
orange mottled with green, to green mottled with
black; and the latter from white, or nearly so,

 

apes
oli

to orange tinged with rose colour. The flesh of
some varieties is greenish; but these are inferior
to the others. When melons of this sort are
equally ripened, it may be considered as a gen-
eral rule, that those which are darkest on the
outside, most richly tinted in the flesh, and of a
moderate size, have the most high and musky
flavour.

There is also a small African or Egyptian melon,
the flesh of which is green, of a particular ex-
cellence. Frederick the Great was passionately
fond of these melons; and Zimmerman, who at-
tended him in his last illness, finding him very
ill from indigestion, discovered that he ate three
or four of them daily for breakfast. On remon-
strating with the king, the only answer that the
physician could get was, that the king would
send him some of the fruit to taste the next day,
as if its excellence would be a sufficient apology
for the habitual indiscretion.

The Romana is also a fine lemon; and it ripens
earlier than the Cantaloupe. The surface is often
netted. It is of an oval shape, highly flavoured,
and when good, very heavy and solid.

The Salonica, which has been but recently in-
troduced into this country, is a beautiful melon.
It is spherical, smooth, and ofa fine golden colour.
The flesh is white, very sweet, and in consistency
resembling the water melon. The Salonica pre-
serves its qualities, though it is very large; and
with good culture specimens may be had weigh-
ing seven or eight pounds.

The small Portugal is a very early and produc-
tive melon, but not remarkable for flavour. The
rock melons are thickly set with knobs; they are
of various colours, and some of them oc very
fine flavour. The oblong-ribbed is marked into
segments from the root to the crown; it is very
productive; and the flavour is so high, that it is
sometimes called, by way of eminence, the musk
melon.

The melon in this climate, to be raised to per-
fection, requires the aid of artificial heat and
glass throughout every stage of its culture. Its
minimum temperature may be estimated at 65°,
in which it will germinate and grow; but it re-
quires a heat of from 75° to 80° to ripen its
fruit, which, in ordinary cases, it does in four
months from the time of sowing the seeds, A
rich mould of vegetable extract, with sand, is
the most suitable soil.

The melons of Persia have long borne a high
character. “ Persia,” says Malte Brun, writing
after Chardin, Oliver, and Langles, “is consoled
for the occasional failure of her grain crop, by
the fineness of her fruits. There are twenty
sorts of melons, the finest in Khorassan. In
Persia, this fruit is extremely succulent, and
contributes greatly to health. They are some-
times so large, that three or four are a full load
fora man.” It was ae wt lately that the seeds
378

of inelons were received here direct from that
country. In 1824, Mr Willock, the Ambassador
to the Court of Persia, sent a parcel of seed, and
another parcel in the spring of 1826, An ac-
count of ten varieties of these melons, by Mr
Lindley, was read before the Horticultural So-
ciety in September, 1826; and the individual
fruits referred to were the produce of the So-
ciety’s garden that season.

The Persian melons are extremely rich and
sweet; and instead of thethick rind of the common
melons, they have a very thin and delicate skin,
which makes a fruit of the same apparent size
contain nearly twice as much edible matter. In
addition to this, the melons are beautiful, and
they bear abundantly ; but they require a great
deal of care. In the warm climate of Persia,
the only attention which they ask from the cul-
tivator is to be regularly watered; and though
the melons may be supplied with water artifi-
cially, the air, in their native country, is still
very dry: this humid soil and dry atmosphere
are, as Mr Lindley remarks, very difficult to be
obtained in this country. The covering which
is requisite for confining the heat, confines also
the moisture raised by evaporation. It is fur-
ther judiciously observed in this paper, that the
supply of water should be at the roots, and not
over the plant; and that the air should be kept
warm by repeated changes of soil on the surfuce,
and dry by abundant ventillation. Some of the
melons, of which Mr Willock furnished the seed,
are ready for the table as soon as cut; and some
are winter melons, which must be kept for some
months before they are eaten.

Tux Cucumber, (cucumis sativa.) The cu-
cumber is an annual plant, a native of the East
Indies; and was introduced into this country
about the year1578. In England it is cultivated
generally and extensively in forcing frames, and
in the open air; and in great quantities near large
cities. In Hertfordshire, whole fields are annu-
ally seen covered with cucumbers, without the
aid of dung or glass; and the produce is sent to
London for pickling. In March cucumbers are
sold in the London market for a guinea a dozen;
in August and September they may be bought
for a penny perdozen. The village of Sandy, in
Bedfordshire, has been known to furnish 10,000
bushels of pickling cucumbers in one week.

In the East the cucumber has been very ex-
tensively cultivated from the earliest periods, as
well as most of the other species of gourd. When
the Israelites complained to Moses in the wilder-
ness, coinparing their old Egyptian luxuries with
the manna upon which they were fed, they ex-
claimed, “We remember the fish which we did
eat in Egypt freely,—the cucumbers and the
melons.” Tasselquist, in his Travels, states that
these cooling fruits still form a great part of the
food of the lower class of the people in Exypt,

 

JISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

especially during the summer months; and that
the water melon in particular, which is culti-
vated in the alluvial soil left by the inundation
of the Nile, serves them for meat, drink, and
physic. The cucumber of Syria was cultivated
in large open fields, in which a hut was erected
for the abode of the watchman, who guarded the
fruit against foxes and jackals. These fields,
doubtless, were far away from the habitations of
men; for Isaiah, speaking of the desolation of
Judah, says, “The daughter of Zion is left as a
cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of
cucumbers.” In India, beyond the Ganges,
bishop Heber saw a man in a small shed of bam-
boos and thatch, watching a field of cucumbers;
and he was naturally interested in the circum-
stance, as being the same custom to which Isaiah
alludes. He again observed a watcher of, cu-
cumbers, who lighted a fire during the night, to
keep off the wild dogs and wolves from his fruit.
On the west side of the Jordan, Burckhadt saw
fields of cucumbers.

he cucumber has been known in England
from the very earliest records of horticulture.
Gough says, that it was common, like the melon,
in the time of Edward III; but being neglected
and disused, became entirely forgotten, till the
reign of Henry VIII. It was not generally cul-
tivated till about the middle of the seventeenth
century. There are many varieties of cucum-
bers.

Some cucumbers are cultivated for their fan-
tastic shapes, of which the snake is remarkable
for its great length and small diameter; but it is
of no value, except for show.

For raising cucumbers in the open air, a warm
border is chosen exposed to the sun. Dig up the
soft mould, and sow the seeds in the beginning

of June; and when the plants come up train the

shoots, and water them in dry weather in the
morning or evening, keeping the soil always
moist. The fruit will be ready in the end of
July or in August.

Though cucumbers are thus extensively used,
they are not esteemed a very safe article of food
by our dieticians. The late Mr Abernethy gave
a quaint receipt for their use, which was to peel
off the cucumber, slice it, pepper it, put vinegar
to it, and then throw it out at the window.

Gounns, (cucurbita.) Of the gourd there are
many varieties, some of them of beautiful form
and colour, and others of an immense size. In
England, however, they are cultivated more as
matters of curiosity than for food. One sort,
the pumpkin (cucurbita pepo, ) is occasionally
eaten, but always in a baked state, and combined
with other substances of higher flavour. In
warm situations, and when highly manured, it
grows luxuriantly in the open air; and villagers
sometimes grow it, and, when ripe, convert it
into a sort of pie, hy cutting a hole in the side,
THE PAPAW.

extracting the seeds and filaments, stuffing the
cavity with apples and spices, and baking the
whole. The pumpkin seems to have been earlier
introduced into general culture than either the
cucumber or the melon: the pumpkin is, in fact,
the melon of the old English writers, the true
melon being then styled the musk melon. The
pumpkin or gourd enters more into the cookery
of the southern nations on the continent, than
into those of Britain.

The squash, (cucurbita melopepo, ) has a large
fruit, reddish, yellow, or yellowish-white, within
and without; of a round form, but often flattened
at top and bottom: occasionally warted. It is
cultivated in America as an article of food.

The water melon, (cucurbita citrullus.) This
is readily distinguished from all the other species,
by its deeply cut leaves. The fruit is roundish,
large, smooth; often a foot and a half in length,
with a white icy flesh, streaked with dark red
and black seeds. It is.much cultivated in the
warm countries of Europe, and also in Asia,
Africa, and America, for its cooling quality. It
is said to be a native of the Levant, but it is
probably indigenous to many other countries.
Hasselquist says, “the Arabians call it batech.
It is cultivated on the banks of the Nile, in the
rich clayey earth which subsides during the in-
undation, from the beginning of May until the
overflowing of the Nile, towards the end of July
or beginning of August; and in the island Delta,
especially at Burlos, from whence the largest
and best are procured. This fruit serves the
Egyptians for meat, drink, and physic. It is
eaten in abundance during the season, even by
the richer sort of people; but the common people,
on whom Providence hath bestowed nothing but
poverty and patience, scarcely eat any thing but
these during their season, and are obliged to put
up with worse fare at other times. They eat
them with a little bread, and scarcely ever taste
them in their ripe state. The juice also serves
them for a refreshing drink; for this purpose
they make a hole in the melon, whence all the
juice collects. A variety of a sotter and more
juicy nature also supplies them with physic, but
this kind is more rare; it also comes from Burlos.
When it is very ripe, almost approaching to
putridity, the hollow part of it collects the juice,
and mixing it with a little sugar and rose-water,
they administer it in burning fevers, being the
only medicine which the common people use in
those maladies.”

By Europeans this fruit should be eaten with
great caution, especially during the heat of the
day, and after exercise. Instances of sudden
death have followed the eating of this fruit in any
quantity. It is said also to favour the produc-
tion of intestinal worms in those who live much
on it,

The orange fruited gourd, (cucurbita aurantia)

 

379

is a native of the East Indies. It is a very hand-
some variety, but cultivated only as a curiosity,
The calabash or bottle gourd, (cucurbita lagen-
aria, ) is similar to the other in quality, and gets
its trivial name as well from its form as from the
use to which the hard and tough rind is applied.
It is a native both of the Hast and the West
Indies; and the humbler inhabitants employ these
gourds as ready made bowls and other vessels,
In some parts of the East, gourds are sufficiently
large to support a man in the water, who floats
upon across bar fastened to the top of two ot
vast dimensions, The Arabians call the bottle
gourd charrah. The poor people eat it boiled
with vinegar, or fill the shell with rice and meat,
and thus make akind of pudding of it.

Vegetable marrow (cucurbiia succuda,) isa very
important gourd; and though it has been but
lately introduced into this country, it is already
cultivated to a considerable extent. It is straw
coloured, of an oval or elongated shape, and when
full grown attains the length of about nine
inches. When very young, it eats well, fried in
butter; when half grown, it may be cooked ina
variety of ways, and is peculiarly soft and rich,
having an oily and almost an animal flavour;
when fully matured, it may be made into pies,
for which purpose it is much superior to any of
the other gourds. But it is in the intermediate
or half grown state only, that it deserves its
common appellation of vegetable marrow. The
vegetable marrow gourd is a native of Persia;
but if the soil on which it is placed be rich and
warm enough, it thrives very well with us in the
open air.

“T have been able,” says Mr Sabine, “to cb-
tain but very imperfect accounts of the origin of
this gourd. It was certainly new in this country
within a few years; and I think the most proba-
ble account, of the many that I have heard, of
its introduction, is, that the first seeds were
brought here in one of our East India ships, and
came probably from Persia, where, as I am told,
it is known, and called cicader. Its cultivation
is easy.” If any other kind of gourd grow in
the neighbourhood, no reliance can be placed on
the goodness of the seed of the vegetable mar-
row.

Tue Papaw, (carica papaya.) Though the
papaw tree is now found in the East as well as
in the West, it is generally understood to be a
native of America, and to have been carried to
the East about the time of the first intercourse
between the two continents. The papaw rises
with a hollow stem to the height of about twenty
feet, after which it has a head composed, not of
branches, but of leaves and very long foot-stalks.
The male and female flowers are on different
trees: the female flowers are bell-shaped, large,
generally yellow, and followed by a fleshy fruit,
about the size of a small melon, The tree, and
380

even the fruit, are full of an acrid milky juice;
but the fruit is eaten with sugar and pepper, like
melon; and when the half grown fruit is pro-
perly pickled, it is but little inferior to the
pickled mango of the East Indies. There are
many forms in the fruit, and some varieties in
the colour of the flower of the papaw: and there
is also a dwarf species; though, as this has been
observed chiefly in arid situations, it may be the
common sort stunted for want of moisture.

Love Appie, (solanum lycopersicum.) The
natural family solanew, contains plants for the
most part of a narcotic and poisonous quality,
as the deadly nightshade, henbane, strammonium,
tobacco, and several others, It also contains a
species whose rvots are edible, the potato already
described, and the following edible fruits.

142,

 

Egg Plant,

The love apple, or tomata, is a native of the
tropical parts of South America; but as it now
thrives well in the warmer countries of Europe,
and will, if the plants are forwarded in a hot-bed
in the early part of the season, produce fruit
with as much certainty in this country, upon a
warm border, it may be considered as naturalized
in the temperate regions. It is an annual: the
leaves and flowers have some resemblance to those
of the potato, only the latter are yellow. The
fruit, when ripe, attains the size of a small apple.
Tt is compressed at the crown and base, and fur-
rowed along the sides; the whole is of uniform
colour, and smoothand shining. There are some
varieties both in the shape and colour of the
fruit; bright red and orange are the prevailing
colours. The love apple is used for eating in
every stage of its growth. When green, it is
pickled or preserved; when ripe, it is employed
for soups and sauces, and the juice is made into
a kind of ketchup. In this country, however,
where the culture requires a good deal of care,
except in favourable situations, the love apple is
not in very general use; but in warmer countries
it is in much more esteem, so that in Italy, whole
fields are covered with it, and it is a general
article at table.

Humboldt describes a species of the solanum,
which he conceives indigenous to the isle of Cura,
and which is at present cultivated in many parts

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

of South America. The fruit is round and small,
but very savoury.

The egg plant belongs to the same family, has
the same habits, and requires nearly the same
culture as the love-apple. It is found in the
warmer parts of Africa, Asia, and America: it
is an annual; rises to the height of about two
feet; bears light violet flowers, which are followed
by large fleshy berries, having the size and shape,
and, in the white varieties, very much the colour
and resemblance of eggs, whence the common
name. The forms of the egg plant are globe-
shaped and oval; and some of both forms are
white, and others purple or mottled. The egg
plant, according to the Hortus Kewensis, has
been cultivated in England since the year 1596;
but it has seldom been made use of as an article
of cookery. Even on the continent, where the
temperature agrees better with its habits, it has
not so much flavour as the love apple; but still it
is used in soups and stews, and is also eaten sliced
and fried with oil or butter. Though the young
plants require to be forwarded in a hot-bed, they
may afterwards be made to produce fruit on
warm and sheltered borders; and both they and:
the love apple succeed best when placed against
a sunny wall.

Besides the white egg plant, (the solanum mc-
longena of Linnens,) which has been long culti-
vated as a curiosity, though never used as food,
there are several others; and M. Dunal, in his
History of Solanums, has separated the edible
ones, of which he has enumerated four varieties,
into the species of solanwm esculentum. The
round and the long variety of the esculent are
both cultivated in the garden of the Horticul-
tural Society. The plants, which are annuals,
are raised to the height of nine or ten inches in
the stove, and then planted on the borders in the
open air, where they grow to the height of be-
tween two and three feet. The fruits of both
are large: the round, or rather oval (for that is its
proper shape, is four inches long, and about three
thick. This variety is called the Mammoth egg
plant. The long has larger fruit, measuring
sometimes as much as eight inches in length.
They vary much more in colour than the round,
some of them being streaked with yellow. Other
varieties are described as being found in India;
but the seeds that have been sent to this country
have produced fruit similar to the kinds now
mentioned.

Various species of the solanum are common in
the Levant: and three are particularly described
by Dr Walsh in the Horticultural Transactions.
The following is the substance of his communi-
cation:

Solanum Zithiopicum is the scarlet egg plant,
of which the fruit is produced in the neighbour-
hood of Constantinople; but it is rare, being
never sold in the markets, and but seldom seen
LOVE

in private gardens. It is used as an ingredient
in soups.

Solanum Sodomeum is a purple egg plant, of
which the fruit is large and handsome. A spe-
cies of eynips often attacks and punctures the
rind; upon which the whole fruit gangrenes,
and is converted into a substance like ashes,
while the outside is fair and beautiful. It is
found on the borders of the Dead sea, and is that
apple, the external beauty and the internal de-
ception of which have been so celebrated in fabu-
lous, and so perplexing in true history.

* Dead sea fruits, that tempt the eye,
But turn to ashes on the lips.”

The dreadful judgment of the cities of the
plain, recorded in sacred history—the desolation
around the Dead sea—the extreme saltness of its
waters, the bitumen, and, as is reported, the
smoke that sometimes issued from its surface—
were all calculated for making it a fit locality for
superstitious terrors; and among the rest were
the celebrated apples which are mentioned by
Josephus, the historian of the Jews, not as fabu-
lous matters of which he had been told, but as
real substances which he had seen with his own
eyes. He says, they “have a fair colour, as if
they were fit to be eaten; but if you pluck them
with your hand, they vanish into smoke and
ashes.”

Milton, who collected all of history or fable
that could heighten the effect of his poem, refers
to those apples as adding new anguish to the
fallen angels, after they had been transformed
into serpents, upon satan’s return from the
temptation of man.

——_——— — There stood
A grove hard by,
———— laden with fair fruit, like that
Which grew in Paradise, the bait of Eve,
Us’d by the Tempter: on that prospect strange
Their earnest eyes they fix’d, imagining,
For one forbidden tree, a multitude.”
* * * €
“ They parched with scalding thirst, and unger fierce,
+ could not abstain ;
But on they rolled in heaps, and up the trees
Climbing, sat thicker than the snaky locks
That curl’d Megera: Greedily they pluck’d
The fruitage fair to sight, like that which grew
Near that bituminous lake where Sodom placed;
This more delusive, not the touch but taste
Deceives; they fondly thinking to allay
Their thirst with gust, instead of fruit
Chew’d bitter ashes, which the offended taste
With sputtering noise rejected.”

*

Henry Teonge, a chaplain in the English fleet,
whose Diary was, a few years since, published
from the original manuscript, so well describes
the real condition of the decayed solanwm sodo-
meum, which he states that he saw in December,
1675, that no one can doubt that his notice was

381

founded upon personal examination. “ This
country (that about the Dead sea) is altogether
unfruitfull, says he, “ being all over full of stones,
which looke just like burnt syndurs. And on
some low shrubbs there grow small round things,
which are called apples, but no witt like them.
They are somewhat fayre to look at; but touch
them and they moulder all to hlack ashes, like
soote, boath for looks and smell.” Though
these are only the remarks of a popular observer,
who told what he saw, without any view to a
scientific purpose, the single addition of the at-
tack of the plant by the insect, and the subse-
quent mortification and internal drying, would
have made it just as perfect as the descriptions
of the present day.

Pocock, who travelled more than fifty years
after Teonge, did not see the apples; and though
he did mention them, he pointed to a plant very
different from the real one: “As for the fruits
of Sodom, fair without and full of ashes within,”
says he, “J saw nothing of them; but from the
testimony we have, something of the kind has
been produced. But I imagine they may be
pomegranates, which, having a tough hard rind,
and being left on the trees for two or three years,
the inside may be dried to dust, and the outside
remain firm.” Mariti, who visited those regions
thirty years after Pocock, mentions, that “No
person could point out to me in the neighbour-
hood that species of fruit called the apples of
Sodom, which, being fresh and of a beautiful
colour in appearance, fall to dust as soon as they
are touched.” Tasselquist, however, not only
found the apples, but the plant, referred it to
the Linnean species of solanum melongena, and
pointed out the cause of the disease; and though,
in the more recent and accurate division of the
genus solanwm, to which allusion has been made,
the name of Sodomeum has been substituted for
that of melongena, the fruit and the disease have
been proved to be as Hasselquist stated.

Solanum melongena is more common in the
markets of Constantinople than either of the
former sorts, being almost as abundant as the
gourd and the melon, and used for nearly the
same purposes. There are several varicties of
thissolanum. The first appearance of the plant,
it is said, is always attended with a north-east
wind of some continuance; and, therefore, the
ships for the Black sea sail before this harbinger,
or rather companion, of bad weather comes forth.
This is probably one of the superstitions which
in all countries attach to matters so uncertain as
the weather.

In this country the seeds must be sown in rich
mould, and raised in a hot-bed, from about the
vernal equinox tiJl May. About the middle of
the month they may be transplanted to a warm
sunny border, where, if duly watered and tended,

APPLE.

 

the fruit will be ripened in August.
os
ca
Lo

CHAP. XXXIX.

THE WALNUT, CHESTNUT, HAZEL NUT, ACORN,
casHEw nut, &e.

Tur Watnut (juglans regia). Nat. fam.
terebintacee; moncecia, polyandria, of Linneus.
The fruit, or nut, of the walnut is a universal
favourite; and “wine and walnuts” form, in
the dessert, an association not likely to become
extinct. The general objection against nuts
applies, in some degree, to this variety; but it
is more pleasant to the taste, and less inju-
rious to the stomach, than many other kinds.

 

The Walnut.

The common walnut is a handsome and useful
tree. The branches assume a graceful form; and
the warm hue of the foliage in spring forms a
pleasing contrast with other trees. The flowers
begin to open about the middle of April, and are
in full blow by the middle of May, before which
time the leaves are fully displayed. It drops its
leaves early in the autumn.

In the colder parts of Britain the fruit does
not come to maturity ; and even in the warmer,
it is occasionally liable to be nipt by the spring
frosts; but in most situations it flourishes as an
ornamental and useful tree in gardens and shrub-
beries. The walnut is supposed to be a native
of Persia and the south side of mount Caucasus,
and is probably the Persian nut mentioned hy
Theophrastus. It is the juglans, or nut of Jove,
of the Romans. It is found growing wild in the
northern parts of Persia, sometimes, though more
rarely, in the Russian territory to the north of
the Caucasus, and in China. In the east of
France, the south of Germany, and Switzerland,
it is very abundant, more especially in Germany,
in many parts of which, such as the plains of
the Bergstrasse, which run parallel to the Rhine,
between the Neckar and Mayn, there is hardly
any other timber. It is supposed to have been
introduced into England from France, and called
gaul-nut, previous to 1562. Before the intro-
duction of mahogany and other foreign woods,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the walnut was much used in England in all
sorts of cabinet work, for which the wood was
well suited, being tough and strong in propor-
tion to its weight, of a beautiful variegated tex-
ture, susceptible of a fine polish, of sufficient size,
and very durable. In many parts of the conti-
nent this wood is still extensively used for do-
mestic articles of furniture; and both there and
in Britain for the manufacture of the stocks of
all kinds of fire-arms. In England there are
still a good many walnut trees scattered over the
country, although the same attention is not paid
to planting it, and thus affording a supply for
the more limited and casual demand of the wood.
This tree grows rapidl]y till it has attained a con-
siderable size. Its duration is not well ascer-
tained; but probably the most profitable period
for cutting it down is when it has attained the
age of filty or sixty years,

The kernel, which is externally of a corru-
gated form, is contained within an oval-shaped
shell, and this again is enveloped in a green husk.
It is, when ripe, esteemed as a fruit; but from
its containing a large proportion of oil, is like all
substances of the kind, apt to disagree with many
stomachs. The green fruit makes an agreeable
pickle; and the expressed oil is somewhat simi-
lar to almonds, and is used as a finer sort by
painters. It is also used in cooking, and for
burning. The Spaniards strew the gratings of
old and hard walnuts, first peeled, into their
tarts and other meats. When the leaves and
recent husks, in their green state, are macerated
in warm water, the extract, which is bitter and
astringent, is used to destroy insects; and it isa
very permanent dye, imparting to wool, or the
skin and nails of the living body, a dingy greenish
yellow, which cannot be obliterated without a
great deal of labour. On this account it is said
to have been used by gypsies, in staining the
complexions of stolen children, that they may
appear to be their own offspring. The quantity
of oil in fresh walnuts is very considerable, being
about equal to half the weight of the kernels. A
bitter decoction of the unripe fruit has been ex-
tolled as a cure for intestinal worms: Pliny thus
recommends it; but it has now been superseded
by other more certain and powerful remedies.

Of the common walnut there are several va-
rieties; as the large, the thin shelled, the thick
shelled, the late ripe, the double, and the French
walnut. But the nuts from these respective va-
rieties do not always produce fruit of their own
kinds, so that no dependence can he put on the
seeds until the tree has produced fruit.

Besides raising from seeds, the tree may be
propagated, according to the method of Knight,
by budding, or by layers and inarching. The
tree will succeed in any fertile soil, as a light
or clayey loam, provided the subsoil be dry, and
the site a little sheltered; but it thrives best
TILE CHESTNUT. 3883

where there is a good depth of loam, mixed with | height, of a nearly uniform thickness, as straight

sand or gravel rather than clay. As this tree is
long before it bears fruit, there is a particular
inducement for procuring plants from the nur-
sery either inarched, budded, or in as advanced
a stage as it will be safe to remove them. This
may be when they are from eight to twelve years
old. A line of walnut trees serves as a good
screen to an orchard of fruit trees—the plants
should stand at 25, the trees at 50 feet distance.
All those trees which are intended for timber
only, should be sown in the places where they
are to remain, in order to preserve the tap root,
for when once broken, the tree ceases to aspire,
but inclincs to branch out. On the contrary,
transplanting, by destroying the tap root, ren-
ders the tree more fruitful; it being a common
observation, that downright roots greatly en-
courage the luxuriant growth of timber, and
that such trees as spread their roots near the sur-
face always produce the greatest quantity and
best flavoured fruit. The best season for trans-
planting is as soon as the leaves begin to decay;
and if they are carefully taken up, and their
branches preserved entire, the success will be al-
most certain, even at the ages of eight or ten
years.

Of the walnut there are the following species:

The Black Virginian Walnut (juglans nigra ),
with spear-shaped serrated small leaves, and the
exterior ones smaller. This tree grows to a large
size in North America. The leaves are composed
of five or six pair of spear-shaped lobes, which
end in acute points, and serrated on the edges.
These leaves, when bruised, emit a strong aro-
matic flavour, as do also the outer covers of the
nuts, which are rough and rounder than those
of the common walnut. The shell of the nut is
very hard and thick, and the kernel small, but
very sweet. A variety of this species has heart
spear-shaped leaves, and downy footstalks, with
very long fruit, and kernel deeply furrowed.

Hickory (juglans alba). This tree is also
very common in most parts of North America.
The leaves are composed of two or three pair of
oblong lobes, terminated by an odd cne. They
are of a light green colour, with serrated edges.
The fruit is shaped like the common walnut; but
the shell is smoother, and of a light colour. It
is edible, and yields an oil similar to that of the
walnut. One part of the wood is more porous
than that of the walnut; but the other is more
compact. This gives the grain of the wood
something of the appearance of that of the ash,
and it is used for similar purposes, the small
shoots for hoops, and the grown trees for agri-
cultural instruments. It is very tough and elastic,
and suits well for the shafts and poles of wheel-
carriages, fishing-rods, &c.

In favourable situations, this tree grows well
in England. The trunk rises to a considerable

 

as a line, and without any lateral branches.

The Pennsylvania Walnut (juglans cinerea).
This species seldom exceeds the height of thirty
feet. ‘The leaves are long, and composed of
seven pairs of folioles, terminated by an odd
one. The flowers are yellow, and come out
at the same time with the others, and are suc-
ceeded by a small, roundish, hard-shelled fruit.

Tue Cuestnut (fagus castanea). Nat. fam.
amentacee ; monecta, polyandria, of Linneus.
The fruit, or nut, of the chestnut is much
esteemed as an accompaniment to the dessert, and
when roasted, is both nutritious and agreeable.
This isa splendid tree, growing to a great size,
and enduring for ages. The leaves are large,
lanceolate, and deeply serrated on the edges.

 

The Chestnut.

The male flowers are collected in long catkins,
and begin to open about the month of May ;
the buds usually appear about the middle of
April, and in a few days are followed by the
leaves, which remain green till October, when
they assume a yellow tinge. The fruit is con-
tained within a strong skin, or leathery coat, and
this again is surrounded with a second coat, co-
vered with numerous spines or bristles. The
chestnut is composed chiefly of farinaceous and
mucilaginous matters. It is commonly eaten
roasted, with a little salt, or it may be eaten
raw. On the Continent it is not only boiled and
roasted, but puddings, cakes, and bread, are
made of it. According to Phillips, chestnuts
stewed with cream make a favourite dish, and
many prefer them as stuffings for Turkeys,
They are also stewed and eaten with salt fish,
The chestnut tree is generally understood to
be a native of Asia in many parts of which it
384

is to be found in situations where it is not very
likely to have been planted. Tradition says that
it was brought from Asia Minor by the Empe-
ror Tiberius, and that it soon spread all over the
warmer parts of Europe. At present it is very
abundant, as a native treo, in the mountainous
parts of the south of Europe; and it is also found
in North America, from New York to Carolina.
The castagno de cento cavalli, or ‘chestnut of the
hundred horses,’ upon Mount Etna, is probably
the largest tree in Europe, being more than two
hundred feet in circumference. Brydone, a tra-
veller who wrote about fifty years ago, has given
a particular description of this celebrated tree:

“From this place it is not less than five or six
miles to the great chestnut trees, through forests
growing out of the lava, in several places almost
impassable. Of these trees there are many of an
enormous size; but the castagno de cento cavalli
is by much the most celebrated. I have even
found it marked in an old map of Sicily, pub-
lished near an hundred years ago; and in all the
maps of Etna and its environs, it makes a very
conspicuous figure. I own I was by no means
struck with its appearance, as it does not seem
to be one tree, but a bush of five large trees
growing together. Wecomplained to our guides
of the imposition; when they unanimously as-
sured us, that, by the universal tradition and
even testimony of the country, all these were
once united in one stem; that their grandfathers
once remembered this, when it was looked upon
as the glory of the forest, and visited from all
quarters; that for many years past it had been
reduced to the venerable ruin we beheld. We
began to examine it with more attention, and
found that there is an appearance that these five
trees were really once united in one. The open-
ing in the middle is at present prodigious; and
it does, indeed, require faith to believe that so
vast a space was once occupied by solid timber.
But there is no appearance of bark on the inside
of any of the stumps, nor on the sides that are
opposite to one another. Mr Glover and I mea-
sured it separately, and brought it exactly to the
same size, viz. two hundred and four feet round.
If this was once united in one solid stem, it
must with justice, indeed, have been looked upon
asa very wonderful phenomenon in the vegetable
world, and deservedly styled the glory of the
forest. I have since been told by the Canonico
Recupero, an ingenious ecclesiastic of this place,
that he was at the expense of carrying up pea-
sants with tools to dig round the custagno de
cento cavallt, and he assures me, upon his honour,
that he found all these stems united below ground
in one root. JI alleged that so extraordinary an
object must have been celebrated by many of
their writers; he told me that it had, and pro-
duced several examples.

Tn most parts of Britain the chestnut thrives ,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

well, there being authenticated anecdotes of many
very large ones in various parts of England and
Iveland. Nor is it confined to the southern parts
of the islands, for there is one in the garden at
Castle Leod, in Ross-shire, which measures at
least fifteen feet in cireumference, and which,
only a few years ago, showed no signs of decay.
Nor is it by any means a slow-growing tree; for
in Kensington Gardens, and other places, where
it has been planted along with elms and other
trees of very inferior timber, it equals them both
in height and diameter. Ifthe symptoms of de-
cay that are apparent in some of those trees, of
which the age is known not much to exceed a
hundred years, are to be taken as eviden:ze of the
general failure of the tree, and not of its being
in a situation indifferently adapted for it, we
should be led to question the great antiquity
which has been assigned to some of the chestnut
trees in England. ‘The lives of trees must, how-
ever, like those of animals, vary with the situa-
tions in which they are placed; and the immense
size of the celebrated chestnuts must lead us to
assign to them a much longer duration than he-
longs to some others of the same species.

Though none of the English chestnuts rival
the great one on Mount Etna, yet this country
possesses immense trees, That at Hitchin Priory,
in Hertfordshire, had, in 1789, a cirenmference
of more than fourteen yards at five feet from the
ground; and though the internal part was de-
cayed and hollowed by time, the external part
and the leaves were vigorous. Grose found one
of four chestnuts in the garden at Great Cranford
Park, Dorset, thirty-seven feet in circumference;
and though shattered and decayed, it still bore
good crops of fruit. In Gloucestershire there
was a chestnut, in the hollow of which was “a
pretty wainscoted room, enlightened with win-
dows, and furnished with seats;” and the great
chestnut at Tortworth, in the same county, had
dimensions, and a reputed age, belonging to no
other English tree. In the year 1150, it was
styled the great old chestnut tree. In 1720, it
measured fifty-one feet, at six feet from the
ground; but Lysons, by a later mensuration,
1791, made it only forty-five feet three inches.
It bore fruit abundantly in 1788; and tradition
carries its origin back to the days of the Saxon
Egbert.

The chestnut tree is very ornamental when
growing, and it makes excellent timber. In ex-
treme age, too, its timber is not so valuahe as
when of a moderate size. One advantage of
chestnut is, that there is very little sap-wood;
and thus, in the growing state, it contains much
more timber of a durable quality than an oak of
the same dimensions.

In the Transactions of the Society of Arts for
1789, there is an account of the comparative du-
rability of oak and chestnut, when used for posts.
THE HAZEL NUT.

Posts of chestnut, and others of oak, had been
put down at Wellington, in Somersetshire, pre-
vious to 1745. About 1763, when they had to
undergo repair, the oak posts were found to be
unserviceable, but the chestnut were very little
worn. Accordingly, the oak ones were replaced
by. new, and the chestnut allowed to remain. In
twenty-five years (1788) the chestnut posts,
which had stood about twice as long as the oak,
were found in much better condition than those.
In 1772 a fence was made, partly of oak posts
and rails, and partly of chestnut. The trees made
use of were of the same age, and they were what
may be termed young trees. In nineteen years
the oak posts had so decayed at the surface as to
need to be strengthened by spurs, while the
chestnut ones required no such support. A gate-
post of chestnut, on which the gate had swung
fifty-two years, was found quite sound when
taken up; and a barn, constructed of chestnut in
1748, was found sound in every part in 1792. It
should seem, therefore, that young chestnut is
superior to young oak, for all manner of wood
work that has to be partly in the ground. We
have not heard of any case in which it has been
tried against larch.

Chestnut trees of full growth were more abun-
dant in England than they are now; the timber
was used indiscriminately with oak, in the con-
struction of houses, in mill-work, and in house-
hold furniture. Many plantations of it have been
formed since the proprietors of land began to turn
their wastes to profit, in the production of trees.
It makes also excellent underwood, and is quick
growing.

The fruit of the chestnut in England is infe-
rior to the produce of the trees of the south of
France and of Spain. In some provinces of
France, and in Corsica, this fruit constitutes the
principal food of the poorer people. The inhabi-
tants of Limousin, a province of France covered
with chestnut trees, have from time immemorial
prepared them in a peculiar manner, which de-
prives them of all their astringent and bitter pro-
perties, and, thus prepared, they make them into
bread.

The chestnut is the tree with which Salvator
Rosa delighted to adorn his bold and rugged
landscapes. It flourished in the mountains of
Calabria, which furnished the scenes of many of
this great artist’s pictures. It grows not unlike
the ash, except that its branches are more strag-
gling.

There are numerous varieties of the chestnut,
especially in the south of France and in Italy.
In Devonshire there are some kinds which ripen
their fruit somewhat earlier than the others.

The usual mode of propagating this tree is
from well selected nuts; but if a fruit-bear-
ing tree is the object, the Devonshire practice of
grafting is preferable. The trees prefer a sandy

 

385

loam, with a dry bottom; but will grow in any
common soil, provided the subsoil be dry. The
nuts ripen from the end of September to the end
of October. When the outer capsule, containing
the nuts, begins to divide, and the nuts appear
of a brown colour, their full maturity is indi-
cated.

Tar Hazet Not, or Firzert, (corylus avel-
lena.) Natural family amentace. Monccia poly-
andria of Linn.

This is a middle sized tree, with ovate, deeply
serrated leaves. The male catkins make their
appearance in September, on the previous year’s
shoots, but are not fully developed or expanded
until the succeeding season, when the female
flowers appear about the first of February, and
in April are in full blow. These are small, and
of a beautiful red colour. It is said that the
hazel was originally imported into Italy. from
Pontus; and hence was known among the Romans
by the name of nux Pontica, which, in process
of time, was changed into that of nue Avellana,
from Avellino, a city of the kingdom of Naples,
where they were first cultivated; and, according
‘to Swinbourne, where they are still reared to a
great extent, producing an annual profit of
nearly twelve thousand pounds,

The common hazel is found growing in a wild
state in many woods and coppices in Great Bri-
tain. The nuts are extensively used as an article
of food; and the wood is employed for hoops,
fishing rods, walking sticks, crate making, and
other purposes. Formerly the roots were used
by cabinet makers; and where yeast was not
always readily to be procured, the twisted twigs
of the hazel were steeped in ale during its fer-
mentation until they had imbibed a quantity of
yeast, when they were hung up to dry; and in
this way preserved this useful commodity for
many months. The dry twigs thus saturated
were immersed into new wort to promote its fer-
mentation.

There are many varieties of the hazel nut, dis-
tinguished by the size and shape, as also by the
quality of the kernel. The oblong large Spanish
nut is most esteemed, and in general use.

The Filvert is not a distinct species, but merely
a variety of the common nut.

The word filbert is a corruption of the original
English name for this nut, fudl-beard, which was
applied to the large and fringed husks, to distin-
guish it from the closer covering of the common
hazel. Our old poet, Gower, assigns a more
classical origin to the name:

“Phillis
Was shape into a nutte-tree,
That all men it might see;
And after Phillis, Phi/berd
This tree was cleped.”

Of the filbert thereare many sorts. Thered, white,
8c
386

frizzled, and cosford, being esteemed the best.
The cob nut is also a useful kind, because it fills
and keeps well, and may suit some situations from
its branches growing more upright than the
other varieties. For large sized fruit the great
cob nut, the Dowton large square nut, and the
Spanish nut, may be selected.

The American hazel nut, corylus Americana, is
also of a very excellent quality. Upwards of a
hundred thousand bushels of foreign nuts are
annually consumed in this country.

The Spanish nuts of the shops are fresh nuts
from Spain; the Barcelona nuts are another var-
iety, kiln-dried before exportation.

The Constantinople nut (corylus colurna) is a
superior nut to even the best variety of the hazel.
lts flavour is equal, and its size more than double.
It is a round nut, invested with a deep calyx, or
involucre, which covers it almost entirely, and
is very much lobed and fringed at its extremity.

L’Ecluse, a distinguished gardener, brought
the nuts of the corylus colurna from Constantin-
ople, in 1582; and Linneus states, that in the
Botanical Garden at Leyden there was growing,
in 1736, a fine tree of this species, planted by
L’Ecluse. It was cultivated in England by Ray,
in 1666. This tree grows naturally in the neigh-
bourhood of Constantinople.

The natural soil of the hazel is a cool, dry
gravelly and sandy loam, and this is the best for
their cultivated state also. Filbert trees are gen-
erally planted in the orchard or in the slips which
surround the kitchen garden. They require
dressing every year, and a supply of manure.
All the sorts can be propagated by grafting, lay-
ers, suckers, and seeds. To preserve the varie-
ties distinct, the best mode of propagating is by
grafting in February or March upon seedling
or sucker stocks of the filbert or hazel. All the
kinds bear principally upon the sides and ends
of the upper young branches, and from small
shoots which proceed from the bases of side
branches cut off the preceding year.

A particular form of tree receives in some parts
of the country, (especially in Kent, where the
culture of the filbert is carried on with advan-
tage) the name of the dwarf productive nut,
though that name indicates rather the mode in
which the tree is trained than the variety to
which it belongs. Generally speaking, the filbert
is but a low grower; but still considerable ingen-
uity is exerted in keeping it down, it having
been found by general experience that the dwart-
ing of fruit trees is the most effectual means of
ensuring a large and uniform crop, and fruit of
superior quality. The trees that are dwarfed are
not allowed to exceed seven feet in height; and
they are trimmed in the form of a goblet, with
an open centre, as is generally done with well
managed gooseberry trees. When the tree comes
into proper bearing, this goblet has attained a

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

diameter of about six feet, which is every season
covered with filberts, both outside and inside.
The nuts are of excellent quality; and it is found
by comparison, that a tree treated in this man-
ner, with the ground regularly hoed and cleaned,
will produce more than those which are planted
in a hedge-row or coppice, and allowed to run
wild in the usual manner.

The Rey. G. Swayne, having had a plantation
of filberts, which for the twenty years of their
existence had produced very little fruit, began
to suspect a want of male blossoms. He there-
fore selected a number of catkins from the com-
mon hazel, and suspended them over the scarlet
blossom of his filberts, and the result was, that
the first year he had more fruit than he had
during the twenty preceding ones. To prove
that this was owing to the farina of the male
blossoms, he tried some with and some without
their assistance, and found the fruit produced only
where the male blossoms had been applied. He
taught this mode to a neighbouring farmer’s wife
who had a row of barren trees, and she was
much delighted to find the plan succeed with
these also; and next season sent her instructor
6 lbs. of very fine filberts from four old stunted
trees that had not borne one for many years.

The maturity of the fruit is indicated by the
crop turning brown, and by the nuts, which
have also become brown, readily quitting the
husk. I£ covered with dry sand, filberts will
keep for several months without shrinking. By
inclosing them in casks perfectly air tight, and
placing them in a cool place, they may also be
preserved for a year or more.

In a rude state of society wild nuts are sup-
posed to have afforded a considerable portion of
the food of man. Even acorns, or the rougher
nut of the oak, are said to have been eaten by
the ancient Britons. Beech mast or nuts are
now used as well as acorns, as an excellent food
for fattening pigs.

Tre Canos Tras, (ceratonia siliqua.) Natural
family, leguininose. Polygamia diecia of Linn.

This tree grows extensively in the south of
Europe, particularly in some provinces of Spain,
of which Valencia is the principal, and bears atruit
called the carob bean, which is an important article
of commerce. It is chiefly used for the feeding
of cattle; but furnishes a nutritive aliment to
the poor in times when there is a scarcity of
bread-corn.

This is generally considered the locust tree of
scripture; and in Spain, where the seeds are eaten,
it is called St John’s bread. Ignorance of eastern
manners and natural history, professor Martin
observes, induced some persons to fancy that the
locusts on which John the Baptist fed were the
tender shoots of plants, and that the wild honey
was the pulp of the pod of the carob, whence it
had the name of St John’s bread. ‘here is
THE CASHEW NUT, &o.

better reason to suppose, he adds, that the shells
of the carob pod might be the husks which the
prodigal son desired to partake of with the swine.
The tree is very common in the south of Spain;
and the seeds or beans, as they were then called,
often formed the principal food of the British
cavalry horses, during the war of 1811 and 1812.
In our greeen-houses the plant seldom flowers.

Casnew Nut, (annacardium occidentale.) Na-
tural family, terebintacew. Enneand. Monogynia
of Linn.

This is an elegant tree, anative
of Jamaica, bearing panicled
corymbs of sweet-smelling
flowers, succeeded by an edible
fruit of the apple kind, of a yel-
low or red colour. The fruit
has an agreeable subacid flavour,
withsome degree of astringency.
The juice expressed and fer-
mented yields a pleasant wine,
and distilled, a spirit is drawn
from it far exceeding arrack or
rum. The dried and broken kernels are occa-
sionally imported for mixing with old Madeira
wine, the flavour of which they greatly im-
prove.

The nut protrudes from one end of the apple.
It isof the size and shape of ahare’s kidney, but
is much larger at the end next the fruit than at
the other. The outer shell is of an ash colour,
and very smooth; under this is another which
covers the kernel; between these there is a thick
inflammable oil, which is very caustic: this will
raise blisters on the skin, and has often been very
troublesome to those who have incautiously put
the nuts into their mouths to break the shell.
This oil has been used with great success in eat-
ing off ring worms, cancerous ulcers, and corns;
but it ought to be applied with caution. The
kernel when fresh, has a most delicious taste,
and abounds with a sweet milky juice, and forms
an ingredientin puddings, &c. When older it
is generally roasted, and in this state is not so
proper for weak stomachs. Ground with cacao
it makes an excellent chocolate.

A milky juice exudes from the trunk of the
tree by tapping, which stains linen a deep and
indelible black. Asemi-transparent gum is also
produced from this tree, similar to gum Arabic.

Tue Juvia, (bertholletia excelsa.) This is
one of the most extraordinary fruits of South
America, which has been made familiar to us
principally by the interesting description of Hum-
boldt. It was first noticed in a geographical
work published in 1633, by Laet, who says that
the weight of this fruit is so enormous, that, at
the period when it falls, the savages dare not
enter the forests without covering their heads
and shoulders with a strong buckler of wood.
The natives of Esmerelda still describe the danger

 

Cashew Nut.

 

387

which they run, when the fruit falls from a
height of fifty or sixty feet. The triangular
grains which the shell of the juvia incloses, are
known in commerce under the name of Brazil
nuts; and it has been erroneously thought that
they grow upon the tree in the form in which
they are imported.

The tree which produces the juvia is only
about two or three feet in diameter, but it reaches
a height of a hundred and twenty feet. The
fruit is as large as a child’s head. Humboldt
justly observes that nothing can give a more
forcible idea of the power of vegetable life in the
equinoctial zone than these enormous ligneous
pericarps. In fifty or sixty days a shell is formed
half an inch in thickness, which it is difficult to
open with the sharpest instrument. The grains
which this shell contains have two distinct en-
velopes. Four or five, and sometimes as many
as eight, of these grains are attached to a cen-
tralmembrane. The Capuchin apes (Simia chir-
optes) are exceedingly fond of the almonds of
the juvia; and the noise of the falling fruit ex-
cites their appetites in the highest degree. The
natives say that these animals unite their strength
to break the pericarp with a stone, and thus to
obtain the coveted nuts. Humboldt doubts this;
but he thinks that some of the order of rodentia,
such as the cavia aquti, are able to open the outer
shell with their sharp teeth applied with un-
wearied pertinacity. When the triangular nuts
are spread on the ground, all the animals of the
forest surround them, and dispute their posses-
sion. The Indians, who collect these nuts, say
“it is the feast of the animals, as well as of our-
selves;”” but they are angry with their rivalry.
The gathering of the juvia is celebrated with re-
joicings, like the vintage of Europe.

Tur Pisracia Nut, (pistacea officinalis.) The
pistacia tree belongs to the natural family tere-
bintacee. Diccia pentandria of Linn. It is
from twenty-five to thirty feet in height, with
heavy tortuous branches, covered with a thick
grayish bark. The leaves are large, oblong, and
of a coriaceous texture. The male flowers are
minute and scarcely visible, and spring from the
sides of the branches in loose clusteus: the female
or fertile flowers are also small, and both are of
a greenish colour. The fruit is a thin shelled,
oval, acuminate nut, about the size of an olive.
These nuts are produced in bunches, and are
commonly in profusion. They are esteemed by
some of a more agreeable flavour than the hazel
nut or almond, and are annually exported to
those parts of Europe where the tree does not
flourish.

This tree is indigenous to Asia Minor, and is
particularly abundant in Syria. It is cultivated
to a considerable extent in Sicily, for the sake of
its nuts. It succeeds in dry, stony, calcareous
grounds, but thrives in a sandy or moist soil. In
388

forming plantations, care must be taken to select
trees of different sexes, without which the fruc-
tification is impossible: one male should be al-
lotted to five or six females; and to avoid mis-
takes, young grafted stocks should be procured,
or suckers from the foot of an old tree. The
male flowers are produced first; and some gar-
deners pluck them whilst yet shut, dry them,
and afterwards sprinkle the pollen over the female
tree; but the method usually followed in Sicily,
where the trees are far asunder, is to wait till the
female buds are open, and then to gather bunches
of male blossoms ready to blow; these are stuck
into a pot of moist mould, and hung upon the
female tree till they are quite dry and empty.
The operation is called tonchearare, and never
fails to produce fructification. Sometimes the
gardeners ingraft the male bud upon the female
tree. The wood is hard, resinous, excellent for
fuel, and proper for economical purposes.

According to Pliny, pistacio nuts were first
brought to Rome about the reign of Tiberius by
Vitellus, governor of Syria, and probably the tree
was introduced into Italy at the same period.
It has been long cultivated in Spain, Portugal,
and the south of France; and when protected by
a wall, and favoured by a southern exposure, it
yields fruit even at Paris. It is less delicate than
the orange tree, and thrives in the same soil and
climate with the olive.

Tue Turrrytine Tren, (pistacia terebinthus, )
is another species of this genus. It yields a
species of turpentine known as the Chios turpen-
tine, which is of the consistence of honey; very
tenacious, clear, and almost transparent; of a
whitish yellow colour, and fragrant smell. It is
procured by wounding the bark of the tree in
several places about the month of July, when
the turpentine ooses out, and is scraped off with
aknife. Another species, pistacta lentiscus, pro-
duces the gum mastic.

CHAP. XL.
TEA, COFFEE, CACAO, HOPS, TOBACCO.

Besiprs those substances furnished by vegeta-
bles which constitute the food and nourishment
of man, there are others which the refinements
of civilization have added as luxuries, and which
habit has at last rendered essential.

It is a singular enough circumstance that al-
most all these substances, although eagerly
relished after the taste for them has been ac-
quired by habit, are at first repulsive to the na-
tural appetite; that they possess little or no nutri-
tive qualities, and that they belong to that class
of vegetable products called narcotic, which may
be explained by stating that they produce a

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

powerful influence on the nervous system; and
that if taken in excess, espécially before the
system has been accustomed to their influence,
that they are productive of deleterious effects on
the living body.

Notwithstanding this, however, man in all
his progressive stages has a strong craving
for such stimulants. Even in the savage state,
the bowls of intoxicating cava were as eagerly
drained by the South sea islanders, as the infu-
sion of tea by the more refined Chinese; and the
mead and beer of the Scandinavians have only
given place to the coffee and the fumes of to-
bacco of more modern times.

Tua, (thea.) Natural family camellie. Mon-
adelphia polyandria of Linneus.

146,

 

The Tea Plant.

This plant seems to have been known to and
used extensively by the Chinese at a very ancient
period; and although it is not yet two centuries
since it was introduced into Britain, its use here
is now almost universal; not less than 31,829,620
lbs, being consumed annually. Its importation
employs a large capital, and numerous shipping;
and so important is this article reckoned, that
its fall or rise in price is looked upon with anxiety
by the meanest individual in the nation. At its
first introduction into Europe a great outcry was
raised against it, and many ingenious and refined
speculations were started regarding its insidious
and deleterious effects on the human constitu-
tion. The origin, or at all events the exaspera-
tion of many diseases, was attributed to its in-
fluence; and many prospective evils were laid to
its charge. Yet, since its introduction, men and
women have lived, and multiplied, and died,
much in the same way as before the leaf ever
crossed the Chinese seas; and although its use
in excess may often have been found deleterious
in particular instances, yet its general effect on
the health and habits of the community may
rather perhaps be estimated as beneficial than
the reverse.

It is not yet accurately ascertained whether
there be more than one species of the tea plant,
TEA.

or whether the different sorts of leaves are only
from varieties of the same species.

The tea plant is a small evergreen shrub, much
branched, and covered with a rough, dark, gray
bark. The leaves and blossoms are not unlike
the common hawthorn. The leaves are ellip-
tical or lanceolate, entire, alternate, obtusely ser-
rated, veined, and placed on short footstalks.
The calyx is small, smooth, persistent, and di-
vided into five obtuse segments. The flowers
are white, often two or three together on separate
peduncles, and placed at the axilla of the leaves.
The corolla, in one sort, fig. a, has five petals;
in another, fig. 5, the petals are more numerous.

The filaments are very numerous, short, and
inserted at the base of the corolla. The anthers
are large and yellow, the germen roundish, or
triangular. The style trifid, the capsule three-
celled, containing three oblong brown seeds.

Linneus describes two distinct species of the
tea plant, founding the distinction on the num-
bers of the petals. Others have also observed
that the leaves of tea plants differ considerably
in shape and colour. De Loureird has described
three species, the cochin chinensis, cantonensis, and
oleosa. The first is a native of Cochin China,
where it is extensively cultivated, and used as a
beverage, and medicinally; the second is the siad
chong ché of the Chinese, or souchong of the
Europeans; the third grows in the neighbourhood
of Canton, where an oil obtained from its seed
is used for many domestic purposes. Both the
latter are brown, but more fragrant than the
common green tea, which grows in the province
of To-Kien. Notwithstanding that this author
has described the three species of tea as above,
he says, that on examining the dried flowers of
the green tea brought from the province of Kiang
Si, he observed a great diversity in the number
of the parts of the calyx and corolla; hence, he
concludes, that all the various teas are derived
from the same botanical species, and that the
different flavour and appearance of teas depend
upon the nature of the soil, the culture, and the
method of preparing the leaves. “This opinion,”
says Dr Woodville,* “which is founded on the
sportive tendency of the flowers of the tea plant,
clearly shows the fallacy of distinguishing the
bohea and green tea trees by the number of
their petals, which, even in this country, have
been found to vary from three to nine; yet this
circumstance by no means determines the botan-
ical identity of the green and bohea teas; and
while the present narrow and jealous policy-of
the Chinese continues, many interesting particu-
lars respecting the natural history of tea must
still remain unknown to Europeans,

Dr Abel could not satisfy himself whether
there were two species or one; but is rather in-

* Medical Botany.

 

389

clined to believe there are two, the Johea, fig. a,
and sasanqua,b. Mr Main says that all the dif-
ferent sorts of tea are produced from the same
kind or variety of the plant. All writers on the
subject are agreed that the leaves of the true tea
are adulterated by those of certain other plants.
According to Mr Main, small proportions of leaves
of other plants are sometimes added, but care is
taken that it be not detected, as this is consid-
ered a deterioration. These are the leaves of the
fragrant olive, (olea fragrans;) and sometimes
those of the san-cha-yu, (camelia sasanqua).

In the sort called pekoe, small silvery leaves
may be observed, which appear to be those of
the tokune, (azalea Indica) all perfectly harm-
less. The Chinese, however, deny that any of
the latter leaves are ever intermixed. Modern
botanists have abolished the genus thea, and
placed it under the camelia genus. It is curious
that without any knowledge of the sexual sys-
tem, the Chinese have done the same: cha or tcha
is their name of tea, and tcha fan tea flower, that
of camelia.

Perhaps the dohea may be taken as the only
species, and the virddis, and others, as varieties.
It is indeed doubtful, says Loudon, whether
even the Chinese themselves know the original
species, because the best varieties obtained from
long experience and cultivation, are called by
them the true white; the wild sort found on the
mountains of Ho-nan, is called tchaw tcha, or
bastard tea.

The tea plant is indigenous to China and Japan.
The tea districts of China extend from the
twenty-seventh to the thirty-first degree of north
latitude. According to the missionaries, it thrives
in the more northern provinces; and from Kamp-
fer it appears to be cultivated in Japan, as far
north as latitude 45°. It seems, according to Dr
Abel’s observation, to succeed best on the sides
of mountains, where there can be but little ac-
cumulation of vegetable mould. The soils from
which he collected the best specimens consisted
chiefly of sandstone, schistus, or granite. The
plants are raised from seeds, which are deposited
in rows four or five feet apart.

The plant will grow in either low or elevated
situations, but always thrives best and furnishes
leaves of the finest quality when produced in
light stony ground. The leaves are gathered
from one to four times during the year, accord-
ing to the age of the tree. Most commonly there
are three periods of gathering; the first com-
mences about the middle of April; the second
at Midsummer; and the last is accomplished dur-
ing August and September. The leaves that are
earliest gathered are of the most delicate colour
and most aromatic flavour, with the least portion
of either fibre or bitterness. Leaves of the second
gathering are of a dull green colour, and have
less valuable qualities than the former; while
390

those which are last collected are of a dark green,
and possess an inferior value. The quality is
farther influenced by the age of the wood on
which the leaves are borne, and by the degree of
exposure to which they have been accustomed;
leaves from young wood, and those most exposed,
being always the best.

The leaves, as soon as gathered, are put into
wide shallow baskets, and placed in the air or
wind, or sunshine, during some hours. They

are then placed on a flat cast iron pan, over a |

stove heated with charcoal, from a half to three
quarters of a pound of leaves being operated on
at one time. These leaves are stirred quickly
about with a kind of brush, and are then quickly
swept off the pan into baskets, The next pro-
cess is that of rolling, which is effected by care-
fully rubbing them between men’s hands; after
which they are again put, in larger quantities,
on the pan, and subjected anew to heat, but at
this time to a lower degree than at first, and just
sufficient to dry them effectually without risk of
scorching. This effected, the tea is placed on a
table and carefully picked over, every unsightly
or imperfectly dried leaf that is detected being
removed from the rest, in order that the sample
may present a more even and a better appearance
when offered for sale. With some finer sorts of
tea u different manipulation is employed; the
heated plates are dispensed with, and the leaves
are carefully rolled into balls, leaf by leaf, with
the hands.

The names whereby some of the principal sorts
of tea are known in China, are taken from the
places in which they are produced, while others
are distinguished according to the periods of their
gathering, the manner employed in curing, or
other extrinsic circumstances.

Bohea, of which description there are five
kinds, takes its name from the mountain of Vou-
yee, which is covered with tea plantations. The
earliest gatherings, in this district, is called Sou-
chong, the Chinese name for which is Saatyang ;
and Pekoe, called by the cultivators back-ho, or
pack-ho ; Congou, Kongfou, and other commoner
kinds of Bohea tea, are made from the leaves
when in a state of greater maturity. Padres
Souchong, or Pao-sut-icha, is gathered in the
province where the best green tea is produced.
This kind is esteemed on account of some medi-
cinal virtues which it is supposed to possess,

There are three kinds of green tea, of which
one called hyson, (hayssuen,) is composed of
leaves very carefully picked, and dried with a
less degree of heat than others: it is one-fourth
dearer than souchong. The kind of green tea
which is most abundant is called singlo, which
ig the name of a mountain on which it grows,
about one hundred and fifty miles to the south-
ward of Nan-king. Gunpowder tea is made of
tender grocn leaves, which yet have attained w

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

considerable size. Thisind is sometimes rolled
into balls by hand, and is very highly esteemed;
it sells for fifteen per cent. more than hyson. It
is a commonly received opinion, that the dis-
tinctive colour of green tea is imparted to it
by sheets of copper, upon which it is dried. For
this belief there is not, however, the smallest
foundation in fact, since copper is never used for
the purpose. Repeated experiments have been
made to discover, by an unerring test, whether
the leaves of green tea contain any impregnation
of copper, but in no case has any trace of this
metal been detected.

The succulent tea leaves are sometimes twisted
into thin rolls or cords, about an inch and a half
or two inches long, and several of these are tied
together by their ends, with coloured silk threads.
This is done with both green and black tea.

The Chinese do not use their tea until it is
about a year old, considering that it is too ac-
tively narcotic whennew. Teais yet older when
it is brought into consumption in England, as,
in addition to the length of time occupied in its
collection, and transport to this country, the
East India Company were obliged by their charter
to have always a supply sufficient for one year’s
consumption in their London warehouses; and
this regulation, which enhanced the price to the
consumer, is said to have been made by way of
guarding, in some measure, against the incon-
venience that would attend any interruption to
a trade entirely dependent upon the caprice of
an arbitrary government.

The people of China partake of tea at all their
meals, and frequently at other times of the day.
They drink the infusion prepared in the same
manner as we employ, but they do not mix with
it either sugar or milk. The working classes in
that country are obliged to content themselves
with a very weak infusion. Mr Anderson, in his
narrative of Lord Macartney’s embassy, relates
that the natives in attendance never failed to
beg the tea leaves remaining after the Europeans
breakfasted, and with these, after submitting
them again to boiling water, they made a bever-
age which they acknowledged was better than
they could ordinarily obtain.

The tea plant is found in our conservatories,
and in such situations has occasionally put forth
blossoms in this country.

The tea plant, and its use as affording an agree-
able and exhilarating beverage, must have been
familiar to the Chinese from avery early period,
and the following extract would show that even
as an article of traffic with other nations, it was
known so early as the first century of the Chris-
tian era. In an ancient work entitled the Peri-
plous of the Erythrean sea, the following passage
occurs, “But there use to come yearly to the
frontier of the Sine, a certain people called Se-
sate, with a short body, bruad forehead, flat
TEA,

391

noses, and of a wild aspect. They come with | than could be desired. A few Chinese tea gather-

their wives and children, bearing large mats full
of leaves, resembling those of the vine. When
they have arrived on the frontier of the country
of the Sine, they stop and spend a few days in
festivity, using the mats for lying upon; they
then return to the abode of their countrymen
in the interior. The Sine next repair to the
place and take up the articles which they left;
and having drawn out the stalks and fibres, they
nicely double the leaves, make them into a cir-
cular shape, and thrust into them the fibres of
the seeds. Thus three kinds of malabathrum are
formed; that from the larger leaf is called hadros-
pheerum, that from the middling one mesospher-
wm, and from the smaller microspherum.” Al-
though Vossius Vincent, and some other writers,
have conjectured this description to refer to the
betel nut, it appears much more likely to allude
to tea.

Tea was first introduced into Europe by the
Dutch East India Company; and about the year
1666, a small quantity was brought from Hol-
land to England, by the lords Arlington and Os-
sory. At first it was sold for sixty shillings per
lb.; and for many years its great price limited
its use only to the most opulent.

According to the experiments of Dr Smith, as
detailed by Cullen, a strong infusion of green tea
nas the effect of destroying the sensibility of the
nerves, and the irritability of the muscles; and
by distillation affords an odcrous water, which
is powerfully narcotic when long infused: the
leaves also yield a bitter principle, which is tan-
nin, known by its effects in forming a black pre-
cipitate with iron.

The recent plant is much more narcotic than
that preserved dried for some time. Before tea
leaves can be used with safety, they must be
subjected to a considerable heat, and kept, as al-
ready stated, in the dry state for at least twelve
months.

The tea manufacture has been prosecuted
within these last three years in Assam, a recently
acquired district to the north-east of Bengal, in
our Indian possessions.

According to Mr Bruce, the superintendent’s
report, there are not less than 120 tea tracts among
the mountains and plains. Some of them are
of considerable extent; one near Jaipore, he
mentions as being from two to three miles in
length: the trees were in most parts as thick as
they could grow, and the ripe seeds strewed the
ground in abundance. One of the largest trees
here was two cubits in circumference, and full
forty cubits in height. The country around is
populous, and grain plentiful and cheap; labour
is easily procured, but the mass of the .people
are addicted to the pernicious and inervating use
of opium, which is also raised in the district,
and thus have less energy to exert themselves

 

ers have been introduced into the country, and
under their direction the manufacture of the vari-
ous sorts of tea has been commenced.

Although, in China, the tea plant is said to
thrive best on the sides of rather elevated hills,
Mr Bruce thinks that in Assam the trees are
most thriving in the valleys between the jungles,
and on the banks of running streams. The tea
shrubs are six feet and upwards in height; while
in China they seldom exceed three feet. The
Chinese tea gatherers pluck the leaves squatting
on the ground; but the Hindoos find it a tedious
and tiresome employment, as from the height of
the trees they have to stand erect. By trans-
planting the trees, and denuding them of their
leaves annually, Mr Bruce is of opinion that
the Assam trees which have grown in a rich
soil, and in a state of nature from time im-
memorial, may be gradually reduced to a more
convenient height. My Bruce, in his report, al-
ludes not to more than one species or even var-
iety of the tea tree, the different kinds of tea
being described as produced according to the
time and manner of pulling the leaves, and of
drying them.

The light of the sun is found to influence the
colour of the leaf, turning it from a deep green
toa yellow. The more the leaves are plucked
the greater number of them are produced; thus
successive crops are procured; but if the first set
of leaves were not taken off, one might look in
vain for the leaves of a second crop. The tea
made from those leaves grown in the shade, is
inferior to that from leaves exposed to the sun;
the latter are also produced much earlier than
the former. The leaves from the shady tract
give out a more watery liquid when rolled, and
those from the sunny a more glutinous substance.
When the leaves of either are rolled on a sunny
day, they emit less of this liquid than on a rainy
day. This juice decreases as the season advances.
The plants exposed freely to the sun produce
flowers and seed much earlier than those in the
shade, and in greater profusion. They blossom
in July, and the seeds are ripe in November.
Numerous plants are to be seen that by some
accident, either cold or rain, have lost all their
flowers, and commence throwing out fresh flower
buds more abundantly than ever. Thus it is
not unfrequent to see some plants in flower so
late as March, bearing at once the old and the
new seeds, flower buds, and full blown flowers,
all at one and the same time. The rain also
greatly affects the leaves, for some sorts of tea
cannot be made in arainy day. The leaves for
powchong and mingehew ought to be collected in
the morning of a sunny day, when the dew has
evaporated. The powchong can only be manu-
factured from the leaves of the first crop; but
the mingchew, although it requires the same care
392

in making as the other, can yet be made from
any crop, provided it is made on a sunny morn-
ing. The Chinese dislike gathering leaves on a
rainy day for any description of tea, and never
will do so unless necessity requires it. The As-
sam season for tea making generally commences
about the middle of March; the second crop in
the middle of May; the third crop about the first
of July; but the time varies according as the rains
set in, sooner or later.

The mode of manufacturing the sychee, or
black tea, is as follows. The leaves for this sort
are what are termed the souchong and powchong.
After they have been gathered and dried in the
sun, they are beaten four different times; they
are then put into baskets, pressed down, and a
cloth put over them. When the leaves become
of a brownish colour by the heat they throw
out and have a peculiar smell, they are then ready
for the pan, the bottom of which is made red
hot. This pan is fixed in masonry, breast high,
and in a sloping position, forming an angle of
forty degrees. ‘Thus the pan being placed on an
inclined plane, the leaves when tossed about in
it cannot escape behind or on the sides, as it is
built high up, but fall out near the edge close to
the manufacturer, and always into his hands, so
as to be swept out easily. When the bottom of
this pdn has been made red hot by a wood fire,
the operator puts acloth to his mouth to prevent
inhaling any of the hot vapour. A man on the
left of him stands ready with a basket of pre-
pared leaves; one or two men stand on his right
with dollahs or shallow baskets, to receive the
leaves from the pan; and another keeps lifting
the hot leaves thrown out of the pan into the
dollah, that they may quickly cool. Ata given
signal from the China man, the person with the
basket of prepared leaves seizes « handful and
dashes it as quick as thought into the red hot
pan. The China man tosses and turns the crack-
ling leaves in the pan for half a minute, then
draws them all out by seizing a few leaves in
each hand, using them by way of a brush, not
one being left behind. They are all caught by
the man with the dollah or basket, who, with
his disengaged hand, continues lifting the leaves
and letting them fall again, that they may quickly
cool, Should a leaf be left behind in the pan hy
any accident, the cloth that is held ready in his
mouth is applied to brush it out; but all this is
done as quick as lightning. The man that holds
the basket of leaves watches the process eagerly,
for no sooner is the last leaf out of the pan than
he dashes in another handful; so that to an ob-
server at a little distance, it appears as if one
man was dashing the leaves in and the other as
fast dashing them out again, so quickly and dex-
terously is this managed. As soon as one basket
has received about four handfuls of the hot leaves
from the pan it is removed, and another basket

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

placed to receive the leaves, and so on until all
is finished. A good fire of wood is kept under
the pan to keep the bottom red hot, as the suc-
cession of fresh leaves tends greatly to cool it.
The leaves are next rolled up and latched the
same as other teas, and put into the drying basket
for about ten minutes. When a little dry, people
are employed to work and press them in their
hands, in small quantities at a time, for about

half a minute; they are then put into small square '

pieces of paper and rolled up; after this they are
put into the drying basket, and permitted to dry
slowly over a gentle fire for some hours, until
the whole is thoroughly dry. This tea is not
sold in the China market, but is used chiefly
as offerings to the priests, or kept for high days
and holidays.

The manufacture of green tea under the direc-
tion of Chinese labourers, at Assam, is as follows.
All leaves, up to the size of what is called sou-
chong, are taken for the green tea. About three
pounds of the fresh leaves, or sometimes those
that have lain gathered over night, are cast into
ahot pan, and rolled, and tossed about until they
become too hot for the hand, when they are fur-
ther stirred by pieces of bamboo. They are then
taken from the pan and rolled in dollahs, in a
similar way as the black tea, for about three
minutes. The leaves are then pressed hard be-
tween both hands until they assume a pyramidal
form, and are then placed in open baskets ex-
posed to the sun for a few minutes; these pyra-
mids are then gently opened, and the leaves
spread out todry. The rolling up and spreading
out is repeated three times in the open air if the
weather be sunny and dry; if rainy, over a fire.
After the third rolling and drying there is very
little moisture remaining in the leaves. They
are now turned into a hot pan, gently stirred and
dried, and from this transferred to a strong bag,
where they undergo great compression by the
hands and feet of the operator. After remaining
a night in this bag, the leaves are again emptied
out, gently separated, and for the last time dried
over the fire, till they become quite crisp. In
this state the tea is placed in boxes or bamboo
baskets, where it may remain for months, until
it undergoes the second process, which is as fol-
lows. The boxes being opened, the tea is taken
out and exposed in large shallow baskets, until
it has become soft enough to roll. It is then put
into cast iron pans, set in brick fire-places, the
same as those used for the sychee black tea.
The pan is madevery hot, and about seven pounds
of the leaves are thrown in at a time, and rubbed
against the sides for a considerable time, The
pan being placed on an inclined plane the leaves
always come towards the operator, while he
pushes them from him again, moving his hand
backwards and forwards, and pressing on the
leaves with some force with his palms, keeping

*
COFFEE.

up the points of the fingers to prevent their
coming in contact with the hot pan. After one
hour’s good rubbing, the leaves are taken out
and thrown into a large coarse bamboo sieve;
from this into a finer one, and again a still finer,
until three sorts of tea have been separated.
The first or largest sort is put into the funnel of
a winnowing machine, which has three divisions
of small traps below to let the tea out. A man
turns the wheel with his right hand, and with
the left regulates the quantity of tea that shall
fall through the wooden funnel above, by a wooden
slide at the bottom. As the tea falls through
gently, and in small quantities, the blast from
the fan blows the smaller particles to the end of
the machine, where they are intercepted by acir-
cular movable board placed there. The dust and
smaller particles are blown against this board,
and fall out at an opening at the bottom into a
basket placed there as a receptacle. The next
highest tea is blown nearly to the end of the
machine, and falls through a trough on the side
into a basket. This tea is called young hyson.
The next being a little heavier, is not blown
quite so far; it falls through the same trough,
which has a division in the middle near the
centre of the machine. A basket is placed be-
neath to receive the tea which is called hyson.
The next, which is still heavier, falls very near
to the end of the fan; it is in small balls, and is
called gunpowder tea. The heaviest falls still
closer to the fan, and is called big gunpowder.
It is two or three times the size of the gun-
‘powder, each ball being composed of several
young leaves, adhering firmly together. This
sort is afterwards put into a box, and cut down
by a sharp instrument to the size of gunpowder
tea, with which it is mixed.

The different sorts are next put into fine bam-
boo sieves, and all bad leaves and pieces of sticks
are carefully picked out by women and children,
when it undergoes a second drying in the pans,
and rolling and rubbing as before. A finely
pounded and sifted mixture of indigo and sul-
phate of lime is now added, in the proportion
of a tea spoonful to 14 lbs. of the leaves, and in-
timately mingled with them in the pan, by which
a uniform colour is imparted to the whole. The
indigo imparts the colour, and the sulphate of
lime fixes it; but no additional flavour is hereby
obtained.

Mr Bruce observes, that the leaves both for the
black teas and the green, are plucked from the
same trees; and that the difference lies in the
manufacture of the leaves alone.

The green tea gatherers are accommodated with
a small basket each, having a strap passed round
the neck, so as to let the basket hang on the
breast. With one hand the person holds the
branch, and with the other plucks the leaf, one
at a time taking as high as the souching leaf; a

 

393

small piece of the lower end of the leaf is left
for the young leaf to shoot up close to it, and
not a bit of the stalk must be gathered. This
makes the process very tedious. The black tea
maker, on the contrary, plucks the leaves with
great rapidity with both hands, using the fore-
finger and thumb, and collects them in the hol-
low of the hand, emptying them occasionally
intoabasket. This process he accomplishes with
inconceivable quickness. The quality of the tea
depends upon the size of the leaves employed,
and their age, and time of plucking.

To damaged black teas, the leaves of the olea
fragrans, or sweet scented olive, and another
aromatic plant, are added, in the proportion of a
pound of these leaves to a box of tea. This
improves the flavour without adding any thing
that is pernicious.

In order to afford some idea of the labour of
tea manufacture, Mr Bruce gives the following
statement. To manufacture 80 lbs. of black tea
per day, 25 tea gatherers are requisite, and 10
driers and sorters. To produce 92 lbs of green
tea, 30 gatherers, and 16 driers and sorters are
requisite. This supposes the day to be fine and
sunny throughout. If rainy, one half may be
deducted.

The produce of all the tea tracts in Assam, in
1839, is estimated at 5274 lbs.; in 1840, at
11,160 Ibs.

The cultivation of the tea plant has only been
commenced in this district lately. It might be
increased to a very great extent, as the ground
suitable for it is most ample. At present the
quality and quantity of the produce must be in-
fluenced very much by the state of the trees,
and by the labourers employed being as yet not
sufficiently trained to the manufacture.

Mr Bruce says, that the Chinese method of
digging a hole and putting in a handful of seeds
of the tea plant, does not succeed so well in As-
sam as putting two or three seeds on small ridges
of earth, and covering them over. As the plants
grow very slender, he advises to put four or five
close together, when they will grow up and form
a bush. Plants raised from seed produce a small
crop in three years; but they do not come to
maturity till six years. It is said they live to
the age of forty or fifty years.*

Correr, (coffea Arabica.) Natural family
rubiacee, Pentandria monogynia of Linneus.

In the Arabic language, guahouch is the name
for the liquor of coffee; in Turkish cahney, hence
the common name coffee.

The coffee tree is of low stature, seldom ex-
ceeding twelve feet in height; slender, and at the
upper part dividing into long trailing branches.
The bark is almost smooth, and of a brown
colour.. The leaves are elliptical, smooth, entire,

* Edin. Phil. Journal, 1840,
3D
394

pointed, waved, three to four inches long, placed
opposite on short footstalks, They are ever-

147,

 

Coffee.

green, and somewhat resemble those of the Por-

tuguese laurel. The flowers are white, in form
not unlike those of the jessamine. They are
axillary, on short footstalks; or sessile, two or
three together. The calyx is very small, tubular,
and five toothed. The corolla is monopetalous,
funnel-shaped, cut at the limb into five reflexed,
oval, or lanceolate segments. The fruit which
succeeds is a red berry, resembling a cherry, and
having a pale, insipid, and somewhat glutinous
pulp, inclosing two hard oval seeds, each about
the size of an ordinary pea. One side of the seed
is convex, while the other is flat, and has a little
straight furrow inscribed through its longest
dimension; while growing, the flat sides of theseeds
are towards each other. These seeds are immedi-
ately covered by a cartilaginous membrane,
which has received the name of the parchment.
Some botanists have enumerated two distinct
species of the coffee tree. The c. Arabica, and ec.
occidentalis ; others, again, are of opinion that the
different sorts are only varieties, resulting from
soil, climate, and mode of culture. The tree is
a native of Arabia Felix, and Ethiopia, and was
first introduced to the notice of Europeans by
Rauwolfius, in 1578; but Alpinus, in 1591, was
the first who scientifically described it. The
Dutch were the first to introduce the plant into
Europe. Having procured some berries at Mo-
cha, which were carried to Batavia, and there
planted, a specimen was sent to Amsterdam in
the year 1690, by governor Wilson, where it
bore fruit, and produced many young plants.
From these, the East Indies, and most of the
gardens of Europe, were furnished.
first cultivated in Britain by bishop Compton, in
1696. In 1714 a plant was presented by the
magistrates of Amsterdam to the French king,
Louis XIV. This plant was placed at Marley
under the care of the celebrated Jussieu; and
from this source plants were forwarded some
years after to the French islands in the West

It was’

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Indies, from whence all the coffee plants now
found there derived their origin.

The use of coffee as an alimentary infusion
was known in Arabia, where the plant is sup~-
posed to have been indigenous, long before the
period just mentioned. All authorities agree in
ascribing its introduction to Megalleddin, mufti
of Aden, in Arabia Felix, who had become ac-
quainted with it in Persia, and had recourse to
it medicinally when he returned to his own
country. The progress which it made was by
no means rapid at first, and it was not until the
year 1554 that coffee was publicly sold at Con-
stantinople. Its use had, in the meanwhile, been
much checked by authority of the Syrian govern-
ment on the ground of its alleged intoxicating
qualities: but more probably because of its lead-
ing to social and festive meetings incompatible
with the strictness of Mahommedan discipline.

A similar persecution attended the use of coffee
soon after its introduction into the capital of
Turkey, where the ministers of religion having
made it the subject of solemn complaint that the
mosques were deserted while the coffee houses
were crowded, these latter were shut up by order
of the mufti, who employed the police of the
city to prevent any one from drinking coffee.
This prohibition it was found impossible to es-
tablish, so that the government, with that in-
stinctive facility so natural to rulers of convert-
ing to their own advantage the desires and pre-
judices of the people, laid a tax upon the sale of the
beverage, which produced a considerable revenue.

The consumption of coffee is exceedingly great
in Turkey, and this fact may be in a great mea~-
sure accounted for by the strict prohibition which
the Moslem religion lays against the use of wine
and spirituous liquors. So necessary was coffee
at one time considered among the people, that
the refusal to supply it in reasonable quantity
to a wife, was reckoned among the legal causes
for a divorce. The Turks drink their coffee very
hot and strong, and without sugar; occasionally
they put in, when boiling, a clove or two bruised,
or a few seeds of starry aniseed, or some of the
lesser cardamums, ora drop of essence of amber.*

Much uncertainty prevails with respect to the
first introduction of coffee into use in the western
parts of Europe. The Venetians, who traded
much with the Levant, were probably the first
to adopt its use. A letter, written in 1615 from
Constantinople, by Peter de la Valle, a Vene-
tian, acquaints his correspondent with the writer’s
intention of bringing home to Italy some coffee,
which he speaks of as an article unknown in his
own country. Thirty years after this, some
gentlemen returning from Constantinople to Mar-
seilles, brought with them a supply of this lux-
ury, together with the vessels required for its
preparation; but it was not until 1671 that the

* Ellis’s History of Coffee.
COFFEE,

first house was opened in that city for the sale
of the prepared beverage.

In 1671, an Armenian named Pascal, set up a
coffee house in Paris, but meeting with little
encouragement he removed to London. He was
succeeded by other Armenians and Persians, but
not with much success, for want of address and
proper places to dispose of it; genteel people not
caring to be seen in those places where it was to
be sold. However, not long after, when some
Frenchmen had fitted up for the purpose spa-
cious apartments in an elegant manner, orna-
mented with tapestry, large looking-glasses, pic-
tures, and magnificent lustres, and began to sell
coffee, with tea, chocolate, and other refresh-
ments, they soon became frequented by people
of fashion and men of letters; so that in a short
time the number in Paris increased to three
hundred.

Coffee houses date their origin in London from
an earlier period. The first was opened in George
Yard, Lombard Street, by one Pasqua, a Greek,
who was brought over in 1652 by a Turkey
merchant named Edwards,

The first mention of coffee that occurs in our
statute books, is found in the act 12th Car. ii.
cap. 24, (Anno 1660,) whereby a duty of four-
pence per gallon, to be paid by the maker, was
imposed upon all coffee made and sold: three
years after this, coffee houses were directed to be
licensed by the magistrates at quarter sessions.

Coffee ‘cannot be cultivated to advantage in
climates where the temperature at any time de-
scends below fifty-five degrees of Fahrenheit’s
scale. The trees flourish most in new soils on a
gentle slope, where water will not lodge about
the roots. In exposed situations it is necessary
to moderate the scorching heat of the sun by
planting rows of umbrageous trees at certain in-
tervals throughout the field.

Coffee trees are usually raised from seed in
nursery grounds, and are afterwards planted out
at regular distances, which vary according to the
nature of the soil. Where this is very dry or
gravelly, the trees seldom rise higher than six
feet, and may be planted five feet apart; but in
rich soils, where they attain the height of nine
or ten feet, or more, the plants should not be so
crowded, and intervals of eight or ten feet should
be left between them.

It is well known, says Mr Ellis, that coffee
imported from the West Indies does not equal
in its flavour that produced in Arabia and other
parts of the East; and it is commonly imagined
that this inferiority is principally owing to local
causes, and is therefore incapable of being re-
medied. The seed of the West India coffee, from
growing in a richer soil, and more humid atmos-
phere, is larger than that of Arabia. Though
there is reason for believing that the superior
quality of Turkey and East India coffee is not

 

395

altogether to be referred to the influences of soil
and climate, but depends, in part at least, upon
the age to which the seeds are kept before they
are brought into consumption. Trees planted in
a light soil, and in dry and elevated spots, pro-
duce smaller berries, which have a better flavour
than those grown in rich, flat, and moist soils:
the weight of produce yielded by the latter is,
however, double that obtained from the former;
and as the difference in price between the two is
by no means adequate to cover this deficiency
of weight, the interest of the planter naturally
leads him to the production of the largest but
least excellent kind. Mr Ellis further states the
following results of his experience,

New coffee will never parch or mix well, use
what art you will. This proceeds from the
natural clamminess of the juices of the grain,
which requires a space of time proportioned to
its quantity to be wholly destroyed.

The smaller the grain, and: the less pulp the
berry has, the better the coffee, and the sooner
it will parch, mix, and acquire a flavour.

The drier the soil, and the warmer the situa-
tion, the better will be the coffee it produces, and
the sooner will it acquire a flavour.

The larger and the more succulent the grain,
the worse it will be; the more clammy, and the
longer in acquiring a flavour.

The worst coffee produced in America will, in
a course of years, not exceeding ten or fourteen,
be as good, parch and mix as well, and have as
high a flavour as the best we now have from
Turkey; but due care should be taken to keep
it in a dry place, and to preserve it properly.

Small grained coffee, produced in a dry soil
and warm situation, will be matured in three
years.

The trees begin bearing when they are two
years old; in their third year they are in full
bearing. The produce of a good tree is from 13,
to 2 lbs. of berries. The aspect of a coffee plan-
tation during the period of flowering, which does
not last longer than one or two days, is very in-
teresting. In one night the blossoms expand
themselves so profusely, as to present the same
appearance which has sometimes been witnessed
in England when a casual snow storm at the
close of autumn has loaded the trees while stil]
furnished with their full complement of foliage.
The mode of culture of coffee in Arabia Felix
is thus described by La Roque. The coffee tree
is there raised from seed, which the natives sow
in nurseries, and plant them out as they have
occasion. They choose for their plantations a
moist shady situation on a small eminence, or at
the foot of the mountains, and take great care
to conduct from the high grounds little rills of
water in small channels to the roots of trees; for
it is absolutely necessary that they should be
constantly watered, in order to produce and ripen
396

the fruit. For that purpose, when they remove
or transplant the tree, they make a trench three
feet wide, and five feet deep, which they line or
cover with stones, that the water may the more
readily sink deep into the earth with which the
trench is filled, in order to preserve the moisture
from evaporating. When they observe that there
is a good deal of fruit upon the tree, and that it
is nearly ripe, they turn off the water from the
roots, to lessen that succulency in the fruit which
too much moisture would occasion. In places
much exposed to the south, they plant their coffee
trees in regular lines, sheltered by a kind of
poplar tree, which extends its branches on every
side to a great distance, affording a necessary
shade from the intense heat of the sun. The
seeds are known to be ripe when the berries as-
sume a dark red colour, and if not then gathered
will drop from the trees. The planters in Arabia
do not pluck the fruit, but place cloths for its
reception beneath the trees, which they shake,
and the ripened berries drop readily. These are
afterwards spread upon mats and exposed t the
sun’s rays, until perfectly dry, when the husk is
broken with large heavy rollers made either of
wood or of stone. The coffee thus cleared of
its husk is again dried thoroughly in the sun,
that it may not be liable to heat when packed
for shipment.

The method employed in the West Indies
differs from this. Negroes are set to gather such
of the berries as are sufficiently ripe, and for this
purpose are provided each with a canvas bag
having an iron ring or hoop at its mouth to keep
it always distended, and this bag is slung round
the neck so as to leave both hands at liberty. As
often as this hag is filled, the contents are trans-
ferred to a large basket placed conveniently for
the purpose. When the trees are in full bear-
ing, an industrious man will pick three bushels
ina day. If more are gathered, proper care can
hardly be exercised in selecting only the berries
that are ripe. It is the usual calculation, that
each bushel of ripe berries will yield ten pounds
weight of merchantable coffee.

In curing coffee it is sometimes usual to ex-
pose the berries to the sun’s rays in layers, five
or six inches deep, ona platform. By thismeans
the pulp ferments in a few days, and having thus
thrown off a strong acidulous moisture, dries
gradually during about three weeks: the husks
are afterwards separated from the seeds in a mill.
Other planters remove the pulp from the seeds
as soon as the berries are gathered. The pulp-
ing mill used for this purpose consists of a hor-
izontal fluted roller, turned by a crank and act-
ing against a movable breast board, so placed
as to prevent the passage of whole berries between
itself and the roller. The pulp is then separated
from the seeds by washing them, and the latter
are spread out in the sun to dry them. It is

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

then necessary to remove the membranous skin
or parchment, which is effected by means of
heavy rollers running in a trough wherein the
seeds are put. This mill is worked by cattle.
The seeds are afterwards winnowed to separate
the chaff, and if any among them appear to have
escaped the action of the roller, they are again
passed through the mill.

The roasting of coffee for use isa process which
requires some nicety; if burned, much of the
fine aromatic flavour will be destroyed, and a
disagreeable bitter taste substituted. The roast-
ing is now usually performed in a cylindrical
vessel which is continually turned upon its axis
over the fire-place, in order to prevent the too
great heating of any one part, and to accomplish
the continual shifting of the contents. Coffee
should never be kept for any length of time after
it has been roasted, and should never be ground
until the moment of its infusion, or some por-
tion of its fine flavour will be dissipated.

The quantity of coffee consumed in Europe is
very great. Humboldt estimates it at nearly
one hundred and twenty millions of pounds, about
one fourth of which is consumed in France.
Since the time that this estimate was made, a
vast increase has been experienced in the use
of coffee in England. This was at first occa-
sioned by the very considerable abatement made
in the rate of duty, and the public taste has
since been continually growing more and more
favourable to its consumption.

More than sixty years ago, Dr Fothergill
strenuously urged this reduction of the duty,
predicting the increased consumption which has
actually occurred.

Coffee possesses both an aromatic and narcotic
principle. The flavour and taste which at first
are both rather repulsive, become by habit
agreeable and grateful. Its effects are stimulat-
ing, soothing, and exhilarating, in a calm and
moderate degree, unlike the turbulent effects of
fermented liquors. It is more stimulating than
tea, and to some constitutions proves too heating
and exciting; in general, however, it is grateful
to the stomach, and seems to aid digestion if
taken an hour or two after a full meal. It pos-
sesses little nutritive qualities in itself, though
conjoined with sugar and cream, it may be reck-
oned a nourishing drink. The addition of much
sugar, however, is apt to make the beverage dis-
agree with weak stomachs, and to cause acidity.

CuocotaTe, or Cacao (theobroma cacao).
Natural family byttneriacee ; polyadelphia, decan-
dria, Linneus. Linneus named this plant theo-
broma, or “food for the gods,” from the excellent
nature of its seeds. The Mexicans call the bev-
erage composed of the pounded seeds, chocolate.

The tree is a very handsome one, about twelve
or sixteen feet high; the trunk is upright, and
about five feet long; the wood is light, and of a’
VANILLA. 397

white colour; the bark is brownish. The leaves
are lanceolate, oblong, bright green, quite entire;
the flowers are small, reddish, and inodorous,
*The fruit is smooth, of a yellow or red tinge,
and about three inches in diameter; the rind is
fleshy, about half an inch in thickness, flesh-
coloured; within the pulp white, of the consis-
tence of butter, separating from the rind when
ripe, and adhering only to it by filaments, which
penetrate it and reach to the seeds, Hence it is
known when the seeds are ripe, by the rattling
of the capsule when it is shaken. The pulp has
a sweet and not unpleasant taste, with a slight
acidity. It is sucked and eaten raw by the na-
tives. The seeds are about twenty-five in num-
ber; when fresh they are of a flesh colour; ga-
thered before quite ripe they preserve them in
sugar, and thus they are very grateful to the
palate. They quickly lose their power of vege-
tation if taken out of the capsule, but kept in
it they preserve that power for a long time-
The tree bears leaves, flowers, and fruit, all the
year through; but the usual seasons for gathering
the fruit are June and December. In two years
itis above three feet high, and spreads its branches,
not more than five of which are suffered to re-
main: in three years it begins to bear fruit. A
tree yields from two to three pounds of seeds
annually. The seeds are nourishing and agreea-
ble to most people, and are in general use in
South America, and in the West India islands,

The seeds of the cacao were made use of as
money in Mexico, in the time of the Aztec kings,
and this use of them is still partially continued,
the smaller seeds being employed for the pur-
pose. The lowest denomination of coined money
current in Mexico is of the value of about six-
pence; and as there must arise many petty tran-
sactions of business to a lower amount, the con-
venience of these seeds, six of which are reckoned
as of the value of one halfpenny, must needs be
very great.

Cacao is principally used after having been
made into cakes, to which the name of chocolate
is given. The method anciently employed by
the Indians in making these cakes, was simply
to roast the seeds in earthen pots, and after clear-
ing them from the husks, which by reason of
the heat employed could be easily removed, the
naked seeds were bruised between two stones,
and made up with the hands into cakes. The
process at present used by Europeans does not
differ greatly from that just described: more
care is taken in grinding the seeds after they are
roasted, so as to convert them into a paste which
is perfectly smooth, and some flavouring ingre-
dients are added, according to the taste of the
people who are to consume the chocolate. Cloves
and cinnamon are much used for this purpose hy
the Spaniards; other aromatics, and even per-
fumes, such as musk, and ambergris, have some-

 

times been added; but the principal flavouring
ingredient used with cacao is vanilla, a short
notice of which we subjoin. The intimate mix-
ture of these substances having been effected,
the whole is put while yet hot into tin moulds,
where it hardens in cooling, and in this form, if
preserved from the air, it will keep good for a
considerable time. Chocolate is not very much
consumed in England; it is in greater esteem in
France. It forms the ordinary breakfast in Spain;
and in Mexico, according to Humboldt, it is not
considered an object of luxury, but rather of
prime necessity.

Vanitia (vanilla aromatics), belongs to the
natural family orchidewe ; gynandria, monandria,
Linneus. It is a native of Mexico, and of some
parts of India. The Spaniards found its fruit
in use among the Aztecs at the time of their first
invasion of Mexico. At this day, although a
considerable quantity of vanilla pods is collected
in that state for the purpose of exportation, the
people do not themselves employ them in the
manufacture of chocolate, the only use to which
they have ever been anywhere applied, conceiv-
ing them to be possessed of unwholesome pro-
perties,

The vanilla is a climbing
plant; its leaves are lanceo-
late and ribbed, eighteen
inches long,and three inches
broad. Itsflowersare white,
intermixed with stripes of
red and yellow colours;
these are succeeded by long
and slender pods, which at
first are green, but become
yellow as they ripen, and
are then collected for use.
The cavity of the pod
contains, besides its numerous seeds, a sub-
stance which is black, oily, and balsamic; when
recently gathered this is humid, and its odour is
said to induce a kind of temporary intoxication.
The pods are harvested during the three latter
months of the year, and are carefully dried by
exposure to the sun’s rays until they are made
warm, in which state they are wrapped in wool-
len cloths, to promote and absorb evaporation.
By this process the vanilla acquires a black hue,
with a somewhat silvery appearance. Five of
the pods, thus treated, will usually weigh one
ounce. The pods and seeds have a pleasing
smell, somewhat like Peru balsam, or the ton-
quin bean.

The vanilla plant is very easily propagated by
cuttings, as it shoots out roots at every joint;
these, each about a foot in length, are planted at
the root of the tree about which it is intended
to climb. These plants will yield pods in their
third year, and each will continue to furnish
about fifty annually for thirty or forty years,

 

The Vanilla.
398

What is a singular advantage in that climate, no
insect will attack this plant. They require very
little moisture.
Tue Hor Pranr (humulus lupulus). Nat.
fam. urticew ; dicecia, pentandria, Linneus. The
119.

 

The Hop.

hop has been cultivated in Europe, from the very
earliest records, for the sake of its flowers, which
are used for preserving beer, and imparting a bit-
ter and narcotic quality to that liquid. Although
indigenous both in Scotland and Ireland, its cul-
ture was not introduced into England till the
reign of Henry VIII., when it was imported
from Flanders. It is little cultivated either in
Ireland or Scotland, owing to the moist nature
of their autumnal seasons. The hop, like all the
dicecious family, bears its flowers on separate
plants; the female plant, therefore, is alone cul-
tivated. There are several varieties raised in
Kent and Surrey, as the Flemish, Golding, Can-
terbury. The first is the most hardy, differing
little from the wild plant; the second is an im-
proved variety, and highly productive; but more
liable to the disease of blight than the other.
The hop grows only in rich soils, and prefers a
deep loam with a dry bottom, a sheltered situa-
tion, exposed to the south or south-west, but, at
the same time, not so confined as to prevent a
free circulation of air. The soil requires to be
well pulverized and manured previously to plant-
ing. In hop districts the ground is generally
trenched, either with the plough or spade. The
mode of planting is generally in rows, six feet
apart, and the same distance in the row. Five,
six, or seven plants are generally placed together
in a circular form, and at a distance of five or
six feet from each other. The plants or cuttings
are procured from the most healthy of the old
shoots; each should have two joints or buds; from
the one which is placed in the ground springs
the root, and from the other the stalk. Some
plant the cuttings at once where they are to re-
main; and others rear them for a year in nurse-
ries, and then transplant them. An interval
crop of beans or cabbages is generally taken the
first year. The poles are placed to the plants
generally the second year, at first only five or

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

six feet in length; in the third year are substi-
tuted poles of sixteen feet in length, from four
to six poles to each circle of plants, as they now
acquire their perfect dimensions, and come into
full bearing. The Spanish chestnut affords the
most durable wood for poles, and, accordingly,
is much grown in Kent, the chief hop county,
for this purpose. The after culture of the hop
consists in stirring the soil, and keeping it free
from weeds; in guiding the shoots to the poles,
and sometimes tying them, for that purpose,
with withered rushes; in eradicating any super-
fluous shoots which may arise from the root, and
in raising a small heap of earth over the root, to
prevent any more shoots from rising. Hops are
known to be ready for gathering when the chaffy
capsules acquire a brown colour and a firm con-
sistence. Each chaffy capsule, or leafed calyx,
contains one seed. Before these are picked, the
poles, with the attached stalks, are pulled up,
and placed horizontally on frames of wood, two
or three poles at a time. The hops are then
picked off by women and children. After being
carefully separated from the leaves and stalks,
they are dropped into a large cloth, hung all
round within side the frame on tenter hooks,
When the cloth is full the hops are emptied into
a large sack, which is carried home, and the hops
laid on a kiln to be dried. This is always done
as soon as possible after they are picked, as they
are apt to sustain considerable damage, both in
colour and flavour, if allowed to remain long in
sacks in the green state in which they are pulled.
In very warm weather, and when they are pulled
in a moist state, they will often heat in five or
six hours; for this reason the kilns are kept con-
stantly at work, both night and day, from the
commencement of the hop harvest till the ter-
mination. The operation of drying hops is not
materially different from that of drying malt,
and the kilns are of the same construction. The
hops are spread on a hair cloth, from eight to
twelve inches deep, according as the season is dry
or wet, and the hops ripe or immature. When
the ends of the hop stalks become quite shri-
velled and dry, they are taken off the kiln, and
laid on a boarded floor till they become quite
cool, when they are put into bags. The bagging
of hops is performed in the following manner:
In the floor of a room, where the hops are laid
to cool, there is a round hole or trap, equal to
the mouth of a hop bag. After tying a handful
of hops in each of the lower corners of a large
bag, which serve afterwards for handles, the
mouth of the bag is fixed securely to a strong
hoop, which is made to rest on the edges of the
hole; and the bag itself being then dropped
through the trap, the packer goes into it, when
a person, who attends for the purpose, puts in
the hops in small quantities, in order to give the
packer an opportunity of packing and trampling
TOBACCO.

them as hard as possible. When the bag is filled,
and the hops packed in so hard as that it will
hold no more, it is drawn up, unloosed from
the hoop, and the end sewed up, other two
handles having been previously formed in the
corners, in the manner already mentioned. The
brightest and finest coloured hops are put into
pockets, or fine bagging, and the brown into
coarse or heavy bagging. The former are chiefly
used for making fine ales, and the latter by the
porter brewers. But when hops are intended to
be kept two or three years, they are put into bags
of strong cloth, and firmly pressed so as to ex-
clude the air.

The stripping and sacking of the poles suc-
ceeds to the operation of picking. The shoots
or bind being stripped off such poles as are not
decayed, are set up together in a conical pile of
three or four hundred, the centre of which is
formed by three stout poles bound together a
few feet from the top, and their lower ends
spread out.

The hop crop is liable to great variation, and
to many casualties. In a good season an acre
will produce twenty cwt.; in a bad season only
two or three cwt., and sometimes none. From
ten to twelve cwt. is reckoned an average crop.
The quality is estimated by the abundance or
scarcity of an unctuous clammy powder which
adheres to them, and by their bright yellow
colour.

The expenses of forming a hop plantation are
very great; but once in bearing, it will continue
so for ten or fifteen years before it requires to
be renewed. The hop culture in England, like
that of the vine in France, is only fitted for cul-
tivators of considerable capital, who can retain
the produce from years of abundance to those of
scarcity. It is calculated on an average, that the
hop crop fails almost entirely every fifth year,
when the price will rise from £2 to £30 per ewt.

The hop is peculiarly liable to diseases. When
young it is devoured by flies of different kinds;
at a more advanced stage it is attacked by the
green fly, red spider, and ottor moth, the larve
of which prey on every part, even to the roots.
The honey dew often injures the plants, as also
other kinds of blight.

The use of hops in beer is to prevent it becom-
ing sour, and to assist in its clarification. This
it does both by its aromatic and narcotic prin-
ciple, as well as by its astringent effects on the
mucilage of the wort.

It is used in medicine. A decoction of the
roots are sodorific, and of the flowers anodyne.
A pillow case stuffed with fresh hops will pro-
cure sleep in some affections of the brain when
other anodynes fail.

The stalk and leaves dye wool yellow; and the
fibrous part of the stalks has been manufactured
into a strong cloth.

3899

Topacco (nicotiana tabacum). Nat. fam. so-
lance ; pentandria, monogynia, Linneus. This

 

celebrated plant may properly find a place among
those other narcotics which habit has rendered
almost essential toman. The generic name nico-
tiana is derived from John Nicot of Nismes, in
Languedoc, ambassador from the king of France
to Portugal, who procured the seeds from a
Dutchman, who had obtained them from Flo-
rida. The first plant was said to have been pre-
sented to Catherine de Medicis, whence the
French name herbe & la reine. The common
name tobacco is the appellation of a district in
Mexico.

The root is annual, large, long, and fibrous;
the stalk is erect, strong, round, hairy, branched
towards the top, and rises five or six feet in
height; the leaves are numerous, large, oblong,
pointed, entire, veined, viscous, of a pale green
colour, without footstalks, and follow the stem
downwards; the bractee are long, linear, and
pointed; the flowers terminate the stem and
branches in loose clusters or panicles; the co-
rolla is monopetalous, funnel-shaped, with a long
hairy tube, which gradually swells towards the
limb, where it divides into five folding acute
segments of a reddish colour; the calyx is hairy,
about half the length of the corolla, and is cut
into five narrow segments; the five filaments are
bent inwards, tapering, and crowned with ob-
long anthere ; the germen is oval, and supports
along slender style, terminated by a round cleft
stigma; the capsule is oval, and divided into
two cells, which contain many small roundish
seeds. It is indigenous to America, and flowers
in July and August.

There are upwards of twelve species of this
genus; but the kinds cultivated are the m. taba-
cum, and n. rustica, of which the first is greatly
preferred. The taste and even odour of this nar-

 
400

cotic plant are nauseous, and yet it has obtained
a more universal popularity than almost any
other kind of luxury, not even excepting the
famous betel nut of the east. According to Lin-
nus, tobacco was known in Europe from 1560.
It was brought to England from Tobago in the
West Indies, or Tobasco in Mexico, by Ralph
Lane, in 1586; but only the herb for smoking.
Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have first intro-
duced this practice. In the house in which he
lived at Islington, are his arms on a shield, with
a tobacco plant on the top. Smoking has con-
sequently been common in Europe for upwards
of two centuries,

Tobacco is a powerful narcotic and stimulant,
especially acting on the stomach and intestines,
proving both emetic and purgative, and in large
doses extinguishing life. The essential oil ap-
plied to a wound is said by Redi to prove as ef-
fectually fatal as the bite of a viper. The expe-
riments of Albinus do not altogether confirm
this however. The oil occasioned vomiting and
death when given to pigeons. To those persons
not accustomed to its daily use, snuff or tobacco,
taken in any considerable quantity, produces
nausea, vomiting, fainting fits, and even death.
Habit, however, has rendered its use grateful as
a stimulant, both to the savage and the philoso-
pher; and the longer it is indulged in, the more
man becomes a slave to its temporary soothing
and exhilarating effects. According to Du Tour,
not less than a hundred volumes have been
written against it, of which a German has pre-
served the titles. Among these works is that of
James I. of England, who violently opposed it.
The Grand Duke of Moscow forbade its entrance
into his territory under pain of the knout for the
first offence, and death for the next. The em-
peror of the Turks, king of Persia, and Pope
Urban VIII. issued similar prohibitions, all of
which were as ridiculous as those which attended
the first introduction of coffee or Jesuit’s bark.
At present all the sovereigns of Europe, and
most of those of other parts of the world, derive
a considerable part of their revenue from to-
bacco.

This plant is cultivated in Europe as far north
as Sweden, and is also raised in China, Japan,
and other tropical countries. The common to-
bacco is the kind principally cultivated. The
rustica is reckoned a hardier sort for the climate
of Europe. It has been cultivated in various
parts of Britain; but is prohibited, partly to en-
courage the American trade, and partly because
it is deemed a too exhausting crop for the soil.
In Germany, most families who have gardens
raise the ¢. rustica for their own use; but as
they do not know how to manufacture it into
snuff or chewing tobacco, it is not much valued.

Long, in his history of Jamaica, describes the
manner of its cultivation thus: When a regular

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

plantation of tobacco is intended, several beds
are prepared, well turned up with the hoe. The
seed, on account of its smallness, is mixed with
ashes, and sown upon them a little before the
rainy season. The beds are then raked or
trampled with the feet, to make the seed take
the sooner. The plant appears in two or three
weeks. So soon as they have acquired four
leaves, the strongest are drawn up carefully, and
planted in the tobacco field by a line, at the dis-
tance of about three feet from each plant; this
is done either with a stick or with the finger.
If no rain falls, it should be watered two or three
times, to make it strike root. Every morning
and evening the plants must be surveyed, in
order to destroy a worm which sometimes in-
vades the bud. When they are grown about
four or five inches high, they are to be cleared
from weeds and moulded up; and as soon as
they have eight or nine leaves, and are ready
to put forth a stalk, the top is nipped off, in
order to make the leaves longer and thicker,
After this the buds, which sprout at the jointa
of the leaves, are all plucked, and not a day suf-
fered to pass without examining the leaves, to
destroy a large caterpillar which is sometimes
very destructive to them. When they are fit
for cutting, which is known by the brittleness
of the leaves, they are cut with a knife close to
the ground; and after being left to lie there
some little time, are carried to the drying shed,
or house, where the plants are hung up by pairs,
upon lines or ropes stretched across, leaving a
space between, that they may not touch one an-
other. In this state they remain to sweat and
dry. When they become perfectly dry, the
leaves are stripped from the stalks and made into
small bundles, tied with another leaf. These
bundles are laid in heaps, and covered with
blankets. Care is taken not to overheat them;
for which reason the heaps are laid open to the
air from time to time, and spread out. This
operation is repeated till no more heat is per-
ceived in the heaps, and the tobacco is then
stored in casks for exportation.

In the manufacture of tobacco the leaves are
first cleansed of any earth or decayed parts;
next they are gently moistened with salt and
water, or water in which salt, along with other
ingredients, has been dissolved, according to the
taste of the fabricator. This liquor is called to-
bacco sauce. The next operation is to remove
the midrib of the leaf; then the leaves are mixed
together, in order to render the quality of what-
ever may be the final application equal; next
they are cut into pieces with a fixed knife, and
crisped or curled before a fire. The succeeding
operation is to spin them into cords, or twist
them into rolls, by winding them with a kind of
mill round astick. These operations are all per-
formed by the grower; and in this state of rolls
LINT.

the article is sent from America to other coun-
tries, where the tobacconists cut it into chaff-like
shreds by a machine like a straw cutter, to be
used as smoking tobacco. They also form it into
small cords for chewing, or dry and grind it for
the various kinds of snuffs. The three principal
kinds of these are called rappee, Scotch or Span-
ish, and thirds. The first is only granulated,
the second is reduced to a very fine power, and
the third is the siftings of the second sort. The
best Havannah segars are made from the leaves
of n.repanda. The Indians of the rocky moun-
tains of North America prepare their tobacco
from the n. guadrivalvis and n. nana.

The moderate use of tobacco, like that of the
other stimulants used by man, may be harmless,
or even, in some respects, and under certain cir-
cumstances of climate, &c., probably beneficial.
Its inordinate use, however, is followed by those
symptoms which characterize the action of all
narcotics on the human body, such as loss of
tone of the digestive organs, debility of the ner-
vous system, and the diseases and premature de-
cay consequent on such. A pallid countenance,
indigestion, and not unfrequently impaired vi-
sion and loss of sight, follow an undue use of
this herb in whatever way it is taken.

CHAP. XLI.

PLANTS USED FOR CLOTHING, CORDAGE, &C.—FLAX,
HEMP, COTTON, NEW ZEALAND FLAX, &c,

Havine in the preceding chapters treated of
those vegetable substances used for the food of
man, we now proceed to describe those which
are employed for clothing and other useful pur-
poses.

Many of the fibrous parts of vegetables possess
considerable tenacity, especially the inner bark
or true liber; and accordingly we find, that,
among rude nations, the prepared bark of trees
constitutes their chief clothing. In more ad-
vanced states of society, the fibres of smaller
plants bleached, and wove into an artificial tex-
ture, form more comfortable and elegant substi-
tutes. In the South sea islands the natives pre-
pare for themselves robes of the inner bark of
trees, having first beat and softened the fibre, and
then sewed the strips together, so as to form a
large cloak. In more northern climes the bark
of the birch and other trees are also occasionally
used along with the skins and furs of animals.
If we endeavour to trace the first origin of woven
garments, we must look to the cradle of all the
arts and inventions of civilized man—to Pales-
tine and Egypt. In the earliest history of the
patriarchs we find frequent mention made of
linen garments. Solomon imported flaxen yarn

 

401]

from Egypt, which was woven by his people
into cloth; and fine linen is enumerated among
the ornaments of the temple of Jerusalem. He-
rodotus mentions that the Greeks also derived
their linen from Egypt; and we find that the
mummies of that singular people were enveloped
in many folds of linen of various textures, ac-
cording to the rank of the persons embalmed ;
some of those envelopes being of a very fine tex-
ture and in wonderful preservation, even after a
lapse of many thousand years.

Herodotus also mentions, that, in the temple
of Minerva at Lindus, in Rhodes, there was kept
a linen corslet of curious workmanship, which
had belonged to Amasis king of Egypt, who
flourished 600 years before the Christian era.
Each thread of this corslet was composed of 3860
filaments, and it was ornamented with cotton
and gold. Pliny mentions that in his time a
fragment of this cloth still remained, but that
the curious touch of numerous visitors had re-
duced it to a mere relic. At the commencement
of the Christian era, the use of linen was also
well known, not only in Egypt, but in various
parts of Europe. Pliny says, that the flax of
Spain surpassed that of all other nations. He
gives a description of the mode of raising and
preparing flax; and it is singular to mark, that
it differs little from the modern practice. The
Romans preferred the use of woollen garments
even to a late period of their history; but linen
was used in their domestic establishments, and
employed in making the sails and cordage of
their navy.

Lint (linum usitatissimum ), from the Greek
linon, and Latin Linum. Natural family, caryo-
phyllece ; pentandria, pentagynia, Linneus. This
is an annual slender upright plant, with fibrous
stalks about the thickness of a crow quill, hol-
low, composed of soft woody matter, and a tough
fibrous rind. The leaves are alternate, long,
narrow, of a greenish gray. At the height of
two and a half feet the single stem divides imto
several footstalks, in which are the flowers, with
delicate blue petals. The ovary is large, globu-
lar, divided into ten cells, each containing a seed
of an oblong form, smooth, shining, and unctu-
ous to the feel, containing a large quantity of
oil and mucilage. The plant thrives best in rich
land; but it will grow on almost any soil. It
impoverishes the ground very much, and, there-
fore, should never be sown two years on the
same place. A field of lint, with its soft silken
foliage and its delicate blue flowers, forms a very
beautiful object; and such is the beauty of the
blossom, that it is not unfrequently introduced
as a garden ornament.

It is supposed that this plant. was introduced
into Britain some time subsequent to the Nor-
man conquest, as it is not enumerated among the
tithable articles of that period. It was not till

3B
402

the year 1175 that flax and hemp were, by the
council of Westminster, included among the
tithable productions from whence the clergy had
their dues.

Notwithstanding that the British government
for many years held out every encouragement
for the cultivation of both flax and hemp in this
country, its production has rather declined than
increased. Indeed, it was found by no means so
profitable a crop for our soils as many other sub-
stances; and as it could readily be procured from
abroad at a cheaper rate, we now wisely depend
upon foreign importation, and devote our fields
to more suitable and less scourging crops; yet
in some of the counties a considerable quantity
is still raised, both in the north of England and
in Scotland and Ireland.

Russia, Holland, and America, supply Britain
with flax and hemp seed, as also with consider-
able quantities of the raw products of them. The
flax plant seems to flourish in all varieties of cli-
mate, in cold, in temperate, and in torrid re-
gions. One species yields its products to Europe,
North and South America, Africa, and Asia.
The Hindoos cultivate it for the seed and the
expressed oil alone, rejecting the stalks as useless.

There are numerous species of this plant. The
perennial (7. perenne) may be cultivated for the
same purposes as the other. It has several strong
upright stalks, rising to the height of four or
five feet. The leaves are small, alternate, nar-
row, and dark green. The flowers are in large
clusters. The fibres are very strong and tena-
cious; but do not bleach so white, or become so
soft and fine, as the common species.

Although flax is easy of growth, its quality
depends very much on fitness of soil and situa-
tion. Low grounds, and those which have re-
ceived deposits left by the occasional overflow-
ing of rivers, or where water is found not very
far from the surface, are deemed the most favour-
able situations for its culture. It is attributed
to this last circumstance that Zealand produces
the finest flax grown in Holland. Preparatory
to the cultivation of this plant, it is not neces-
sary that the ground should be very deeply fur-
rowed by the plough, but it should be reduced
to a fine friable mould by the repeated use of
the harrow. Two or three bushels of seeds are
required. for each acre of ground, if scattered
broad-cast; but half the quantity will produce a
better crop if sown in drills. Care is taken to
distribute the seed evenly, and the earth is then
raked or lightly harrowed over. When flax is
raised to be manufactured into cambric and fine
lawns, double the quantity of seed is sown in the
same space of grouud—the plants growing nearer
to each other have a greater tendency to shoot
up in long slender stalks; and as the same num-
ber of fibres are usually found in each plant,
these will be of course finer in proportion.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The usual time for sowing the seed is from the
middle of March to the end of April, and some-
times May. In some parts of the south of Eu-
rope the cultivators of flax sow part of their crop
in the autumn. This is perhaps a judicious
plan in low latitudes; but where the winter is
severe, if this method were pursued, the tender
shoots would be in danger of destruction from
the frost. The plant blooms in June or July,
and is considered ripe and fit for pulling towards
the latter end of August. When the crop grows
short and branchy, it is esteemed more valuable
for seed than for its fibrous bark, and then it is
not gathered until the seeds are at full maturity.
But if the stalks grow straight and long, then all
care of the seed becomes a secondary considera-
tion, and the flax is pulled at the most favourable
period for obtaining good fibres. Experience
has shown that when the bloom has just fallen,
when the stalks begin to turn yellow, and before
the leaves fall, the fibres are softer and stronger
than if left standing until the seed is quite ma-
tured.

It has been found from experience, that most
seeds, though not quite mature when gathered,
ripen sufficiently after being plucked, provided
they be not detached until dry from the parent
plant; all the sap which this contains contri-
buting towards farther nourishing and perfecting
the seed.

The Dutch avail themselves of this fact with
regard to their flax crop. After pulling the
plants they stack them. The seed by this means
becomes ripe, while the fibres are collected at the
most favourable period of their growth. They
thus obtain both of the valuable products from
their plants, and supply their less careful neigh-
bours with the seeds.

The plants which have been sown thickly are
liable, if left without support, to be laid by the
wind, and consequently to be spoiled; provision
is therefore made to prevent this accident. Forked
sticks, a foot and a half or two feet high, are
fixed in the ground in rows three or four feet
asunder. Poles from ten to fifteen feet in length
are then laid horizontally on the sticks, and long
branchy brushwood is placed across these paral-
lel rows of poles; this is laid very thick, and the
vacancies are filled up with smaller brush. Oalc
brushwood is never employed for this purpose,
as it is found to tinge the flax. Thus the whole
forms a support and shelter to the plants, which,
as they grow, find an effectual prop in the hang-
ing brushwood. Another more simple and
equally efficacious plan is pursued by some cul-
tivators. Small ropes are extended both across
and along the fields, intersecting at right angles,
and fastened at their points of intersection; the
whole is propped up by stakes fixed in the
ground, and forms a kind of netting.

After the plants have been pulled and sorted,
LINT.

they are either laid regularly across the field in
handfuls, raised a little aslant, or are tied loosely
in sheaves, and set upright upon their roots.
The general practice is to leave the plants in the
field twelve or fourteen days after they have been
gathered in order to dry them. This method
does not meet the approbation of intelligent cul-
tivators, who consider it most judicious to dis-
pense with the drying altogether. In some parts
of France it is the custom to lay the flax on the
ground for only a day or two. In Yorkshire the
sheaves are immediately taken to the watering
place. Flax intended for cambric is never so
much dried, previously to watering, as that which
is employed in the making of lawn, lace, or
thread.

An experienced flax raiser is careful to sort his
plants after pulling them, putting together those
only which are of the same size and quality, as
each kind requires a different treatment in the
subsequent preparation.

The first operation which flax undergoes is
called rippling, and this can be performed equally
well whether the plants be green or dry. This
is done to free the stalk part from the leaves and
seed-pods called bolls.

The ripple is a kind of comb, consisting of six,
eight, or ten long triangular teeth, set in a nar-
row piece of wood, so that their bases nearly
touch each other. This being firmly fixed on a
beam of wood, two persons sit, one at each end,
and taking up the handfuls of flax, draw them
repeatedly through the ripple; in a very short
time each handful is by this means entirely di-
vested of all its leaves and pods.

If the seed of the plants under operation is to
be preserved, a large cloth is spread on the ground
to receive the pods as they fall; these are then
spread out in the sun, and when dry and hard
the seeds are carefully sifted and winnowed from
the husk. Those which separate spontaneously
are reserved for sowing. The second and inte-
rior sort is extensively used in the arts, and is
known under the name of lintseed or linseed,
from which linseed oil is obtained.

The delicate fibres of flax intended for cambric
would be injured by the use of the ripple, and
therefore the stalks are in that case divested of
their seed, pods, and leaves, either by beating
them with a wooden mallet, or by cutting them
off with a wooden knife.

The flax, after being rippled, is placed in wa-
ter to dissolve the gummy sap, by which the
bark adheres to the ligneous stalk; to cause ma-
ceration, by promoting a slight fermentation of
those parts which are not fibrous, and conse-
quently to promote the more easy disengagement
of the useful from the useless portion. This is
called water-retting. A difference of opinion
exists as to the superior efficacy of a running
stream or a standing pool for the purpose. It is

 

403

said that a running stream wastes the flax, while
on the other hand it gives to it a greater degree
of whiteness.

Hemp and flax impart somewhat of a poison-
ous quality to the water in which they are im-
mersed. It was for a long time asserted, that if
there were any fish in the water they quickly
died; and if cattle were allowed to drink of it,
the draught proved fatal. This may be the case
where a very great quantity is soaked in a small
pool; but where the volume of water employed
is at all considerable, no such effects are produced.
The exhalations proceeding from hemp and flax,
when under maceration, are indeed very noisome.
The great quantity of hemp soaked every sum-
mer in the lake of Agnano, in the south of Italy,
is even said to increase the malaria of the imme-
diate neighbourhood; but it has never been
known to poison the fish or the frogs, or any
other animal drinking of that water. An act
was passed in the reign of Henry VIII. forbid-
ding the watering of flax and hemp in any river
or common pond, and this act still continues in
force. Canals are therefore generally dug for
the purpose. <A canal of four feet in depth, forty
feet long, and six broad, is found of sufficient
extent to water the plants produced in one acre.

The bundles of flax are placed in regular layers
in the pond, and loaded with large pieces of
wood until the whole isimmersed in water. Ten
days is about the usual period of their remaining
in this situation, but sometimes a fortnight is
required. The proper time depends on various
circumstances. The state in which the flax was
pulled, whether green or approaching to matu-
rity; the quality and temperature of the water,
all have an effect on the length of time required
for watering. It can only be known by trial
when this operation is completed. If the flax
feels soft to the touch, and if the rind separates
easily from the stem, it having become brittle,
then all that was required from the action of the
water has been accomplished; the plants are con-
sequently removed, spread thinly on heath or a
stubble field, and turned about once a week until
completely dry. In this manner of steeping, the
flax soon gives to the water an inky tinge, and
imbibes it again so strongly that much labour is
required in its bleaching, and therefore many
plans have from time to time been proposed to
obviate this objection. It has been recommended,
as a much better method, to subject the flax to
the action of boiling water, or even to boil it for
an hour or more, by which every advantage
would be obtained of macerating the reed or
boon, and separating the juices, while the bad ef-
fects attending long immersion in stagnant pools
would be avoided.

The water-retting for very fine flax is more
carefully performed; and in this process the ad-
vantages of running and still water are endea-
404

voured to be combined. The pitinto which the
water is introduced for this purpose is made three
or four months before it is wanted. A pure stream
from a soft spring, or where a small rivulet is
always gently running through; the pit having
only two small apertures at opposite sides for
the ingress and egress of the water. This recep-
tacle should be about five feet deep, narrow, and
of a length proportionate to the quantity of flax
under process. Poles with hooks attached to
them are driven in along the sides, the hooks
being rather below the surface of the water; a
long pole, the whole length of the pit, is fixed
into these hooks. The flax is then made into
narrow bundles of about two and a half feet long
and four feet high, and these being wrapped in
straw, are immersed in the water, where they
are kept securely by means of horizontal cross
poles, which are then introduced between the
long pole and the hooks.

Some cultivators do not steep the flax in wa-
ter, but only spread it on the surface of grass
ground, exposed to the air and moisture, which
is called dew-retting.

As the fibre gains nothing, however, by ma-
ceration in water, it has been proposed, in order
to shorten and simplify the process of separation
from the woody parts, to omit the process of
steeping entirely, and simply to dry and stack
the lint when taken from the field as a crop of
corn. Afterwards, by machinery, the capsules
are separated, and the fibre detached. In this
way there is less loss of seed, and less demand
for labour at a busy season. The fibre has
also all its original strength, part of which must
be lost by the process of maceration; and the
bleaching and clearing it of all colouring and
mucilage must be an easier process from the di-
minished bulk of the material. Two patents
have been taken out for this process, one in 1810,
and the other by Messrs. Hill and Bundy, in
1817, the latter of whom also invented an inge-
nious machine for the purpose. This process,
however, has not yet come into general use. On
the first trials it was found that the flax proved
too harsh and rough for the purpose of manufac-
tures; and this objection does not seem to have
been hitherto obviated.

For many ages it was the universal practice to
separate the flax from the useless parts by hand-
machinery, either by beating with mallets, or by
the use of an instrument called a break. Even
now, in those countries where flax is most cul-
tivated, the hand-break is still used.

This instrument is a block of wood, about seven
or eight feet in length, and seven or eight inches
in breadth and thickness. Deep grooves are
made in the wood, extending through its whole
length, about an inch wide at bottom, and in-
creasing in width in such a manner that the di-
visions thus formed may present rather sharp

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

edges on the surface. Over this block of wood
another block is fitted, one end of it being made
fast by means of a hinge, and the other shaped
into a handle. This upper block has two longi-
tudinal edges, so shaped as to enter and fit into
the corresponding grooves of the under part of
the machine.

The person who is to perform the operation of
breaking takes a quantity in his left hand, while
with his right hand he holds the handle of the
upper jaw of the break. The flax being put
between the upper and under part, the former is
raised up and let down several times with all the
force of the operator; this breaks the reed with-
out injuring the fibres which surround it, and at
the same time effectually separates these from
the cellular texture which united them, and
which together with them formed the bark. By
putting the flax between the two jaws the
bruised refuse is partially separated from the
fibres.

Some of the smaller particles still remain en-
tangled among the flax; to get rid of these, an-
other operation is required which is called seutch-
ing. The scutch, the instrument used for this
purpose, is merely a kind of long wooden hat;
and the scutching-frame is an upright board,
fastened to a horizontal piece, which latter forms
the foot-board. In the upright piece a semi-
circular incision is made, on which the workman
places the flax, which he holds in one hand,
while with the other he strikes it with the seutch;
after giving it several strokes, he shakes it, re-
places it on the board, and continues striking
till it is sufficiently clean, and the fibres appear
tolerably straight. The qualification of a good
scutcher is to make as little waste as possible,
while he perfectly cleanses the flax.

This manner of breaking and scutching the
flax is very tedious and laborious. About sey-
enty years ago a more expeditious method was
invented in Scotland, and it has been found so
advantageous, that the hand-break and scutcher
are now seldom used in this country. The in-
vention consists of a mill, having three indented
cylinders placed in contact, and one above the
other. The middle cylinder, by means of a wa-
ter-wheel, or other motive power, is made to
revolve with a quick motion, which is imparted
to the other two through the intervention of
cogs. The stalks are introduced between the
upper and middle cylinders, a curved surface be-
hind causes the flax to return again between the
middle and lower cylinder, and this operation is
continued till the boon is completely broken.
The upper and under rollers are pressed against
the middle one by means of weights.

The boon being now thoroughly broken, the
fibres are freed from it likewise hy means of the
same mill, which gives motion to four arms pro-
jecting from a horizontal axle, and so arranged
THE COTTON PLANT.

as to strike in a slanting direction on the flax,
imitating as much as possible the action of the
hand-scutcher.

It is evident that this process cannot wholly
free the fibrous parts from the smaller pieces of
the reed, or from the gummy substance which
still adheres to the filaments. To effect the en-
tire disengagement of all extraneous matter, and
to disentangle the fibres from between them-
selves, recourse is had to another operation called
heckling.

The heckle is a square frame of hard wood,
studded with rows of sharp-pointed iron pins,
about four inches in length, half an inch in cir-
cumference and an inch apart from each other.
The teeth are set in rows, disposed in a quincunx
order. By this arrangement they more effectu-
ally divide the flax than if they were placed
square; the teeth in that case would scarcely
produce a better effect than a single row. Coarse
or fine heckles are employed according to the
quality ofthe flax ; a coarse one is generally first
used to disentangle the filaments, and then a
finer one gives to them the last degree of pre-
paration.

The heckle is firmly fixed to a bench before
the workman, who, grasping a handful of flax
in the middle, draws first one side and then the
other through the teeth, till the whole is freed
from all extraneous matter, and presents a series
of smooth distinct filaments. Though this ope-
ration 1s apparently so simple, much practice and
skill are required to perform it with little waste,
and to produce even and continuous fibres.

Flax for cambric and fine lawn is dressed in a
more delicate manner. After only slightly un-
dergoing the process of scutching, it is not then
consigned to the teeth of the heckle, but is merely
scraped and cleansed with a blunt knife, on a
soft skin of leather; thence it is carried to the
spinner, who, with a brush made for the pur-
pose, dresses each parcel previously to spinning
it.

An account was published some years ago, in
Sweden, of a method used in preparing flax so as
to superadd all the finer qualities of cotton to
those of linen fibres. The plants were boiled
for many hours in a mixture of sea-water, birch
ashes, and quicklime; then washed in the sea,
and being subsequently rubbed and cleansed with
soap, were laid out to bleach. By this process
the flax lost one-half of its weight; but it is
said that its superior quality more than compen-
sated for the deficiency in quantity.

Berthollet likewise made experiments in
bleaching flax, and succeeded in giving to its
fibres the whiteness and softness of cotton. He
subjected it to the action of chlorine, which in-
deed bleached it effectually, but at the same time
injured its fibre; and although a thread was pro-
duced from it of considerable tenacity, yet this

 

405

was a most troublesome operation, in consequence
of the shortness of staple.

It was found that this chemical bleaching pro-
cess had the remarkable property of reducing the
finest flax and the coarsest hemp alike to one
uniform fineness of fibre and colour, and that
even the refuse from rope-walks might thus be
made into a substance valuable in the arts.

The produce from the flax plant is extremely
uncertain in quantity. It is affected by differ-
ence of soil and season, as well as by the degree
of carefulness bestowed on its cultivation and
preparation; these different circumstances caus-
ing a variation of from 280 to 980 Ibs. per acre;
but the average crop in the same area may be
estimated at 560 to 700 Ibs. of clean fibre avail-
able for spinning and weaving.

The quantity of seed produced from an acre of
ground averages from six to eight bushels; some-
times, however, an acre yields ten or twelve
bushels.

Tue Corton Prant (gossypium). Natural
family malvacee ; monodelphia, polyandria, Lin-
neus. There are several distinct species of cot-
ton plants, and a great many varieties. Some
are herbaceous annuals, others shrubs of three or
four feet in height, and others again reach the
size of trees of fifteen to twenty feet in ‘height.
The stems are smooth or hairy; leaves either
three or five lobed, vine-shaped, cordate, blunt,
or lanceolate. The blossom is large, with yel-
low or white petals, and a purplish centre; and
to this succeeds an acuminated pod, which, on
coming to maturity, bursts, and displays a pro-
fusion of white or yellowish down that forms
the cotton of commerce. In the centre of this
down are contained the seeds, varying in num-
ber from ten to thirty, according to the species,
of a dark brown colour, and of an oleaginous na-
ture.

The early history of the cotton plant is in-
volved in obscurity, nor can we now ascertain
in what region of the globe it was first cultivated
and applied to purposes of domestic use. Hero-
dotus, who had travelled into Egypt, and was
familiar with its productions, does not describe
the cotton plant as existing there, but gives some
obscure hints of such a plant being in use in
India. The inhabitants of India, says he, pos-
sess a kind of plant which, instead of fruit, pro-
duces wool of a finer and better quality than
that of sheep; of this the natives make their
clothes. When describing the corslet of Amasis,
he accordingly designates cotton. under the name
of tree-wool, a combination of terms which the
Germans use for the same substance at this
day. His particularly detailing the linen gar-
ments of the Egyptians, and their mode of weav~
ing linen cloth, as differing from that of the
Greeks, while he omits all mention of the manu-
facture of cotton garments, would lead us to sup-
406

pose that this latter—the cotton plant, was un-
known to the Egyptians; and that if they pos-
sessed cotton cloth at all, it was imported from
India. The absence of all appearance of cotton
amid the profusion of linen cloths which enve-
lope their mummies, would also confirm the sup-
position, that, if not unknown, at least cotton
cloth was extremely rare among them.

Pliny, however, in his work on Natural His-
tory, describes the cotton plant as a small shrub
growing in Upper Egypt, called by some zylon,
and by others gossypium, the seeds of which are
surrounded by a soft downy substance of a dazz-
ling whiteness, and which is manufactured into
a cloth much esteemed by the Egyptian priests.
This was five centuries after the time in which
Herodotus wrote, and during this period the
plant may have become more common.

In the present day the cotton plant is culti-
vated to a considerable extent in the Levant.
From Pliny’s account it would not appear that
cotton was much used at Rome, even in the first
century of the Christian era, nor for many cen-
turies afterwards was its use introduced into
Europe. Butin the ninth century the Arabians,
who were then in possession of Egypt, appear to
have used cotton cloth for their ordinary gar-
ments; for one of the first remarks of two Ara-
bian travellers, who went to China at that pe-
riod, was, that the Chinese, instead of wearing
cotton as they and their countrymen did, chiefly
used silk stuffs.

It is probable, then, that the cotton plant first
came from Persia to Egypt, from thence it spread
into Asia Minor, and latterly to the islands of the
Archipelago. In the time of Tournefort, who
visited these islands, Milo was celebrated for its
cotton. The cotton now raised in small quan-
tity in the Cyclades possesses that dazzling
whiteness which Pliny describes as the property
of the Egyptian cotton.

It is a question not now easily solved, whether
the cotton plant was originally a native of the
West India islands and the continent of America.
It is said that a species of cotton is found grow-
ing wild in some parts of America, distinct from
that which the European settlers introduced
from the old world; and it is also affirmed that
the Mexicans, when first discovered, wore cot-
ton garments stained with most vivid and bril-
liant colours, an art practised by the Aztecs,
but which is now entirely lost. There can be
no doubt, however, but that the colonists who
took possession of the southern states of North
America, disregarding the native productions of
the soil, introduced the cotton plant from Smyr-
na at an early period of their settlement, and
its culture has continued and greatly extended
ever since. I: Georgia the most abundant crops
are annually produced of very superior cotton,
known for the length and fineness of its fibre.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

According to Humboldt, the cultivation of the
cotton plant in the United States has increased
in a prodigious ratio, and the production of cot-
ton continues to be an object with the Americans
of growing importance. “Sea Island” and
“Upland” cotton are the terms used in com-
merce to designate the cotton which comes from
Georgia. “These hieroglyphics in the Liverpool
News,” are fully explained in Captain Basil
Hall’s entertaining narrative of his travels in
North America.

Near the Georgian coast are several small
islands. It is on these insular spots that the
finest cotton is grown, and from these it takes
its name, which, however, is borrowed, in order
to class under the same head cotton raised at va-
rious places on the main coast, and also in the
swampy regions bordering on most of the great
rivers. That which grows farther from the sea,
and at a higher level, has acquired the name of
upland cotton, and is of inferior quality.

The cotton tree is cultivated in most of the
West India islands; and in South America this
branch of agriculture has long been an object of
attention. Until a very recent period, cotton
formed one of the principal articles of exporta-
tion from Demerara; but its increased and
cheaper production in many other countries has,
notwithstanding the great and constantly in-
creasing demand, lowered its price so consider-
ably, that the Demerara planters have found it
more to their advantage gradually to convert
their cotton into sugar plantations. Much, how-
ever, is still grown in other parts of Guiana, and
is known in commerce as Demerara cotton.

Among other nations, the Egyptians have,
within the last few years, enormously increased
the production of this article, and have become
formidable rivals to other cotton cultivators. A
very large quantity of an excellent quality is
annually exported thence, to the great prejudice
of the Smyrna and other markets.

In 1825 more than a hundred thousand bags
of cotton were exported from Egypt to Great
Britain; and although the supply has not con-
tinued so excessive as in that year of excitement
and speculation, yet the importation thence still
continues much beyond that from the whole
West India islands. In the same year, and in
1826 and 1827, the exports of Egyptian cotton
to France, entirely through the port of Marseil-
les, were immense. In 1828 and 1829 there was
aglut. The immense department of the laza-
retto of Marseilles, devoted to the reception of
this and other products from plague countries,
was then literally crammed with Egyptian cot-
ton.

The cultivation of cotton is very extensively
pursued in China; and in the time of Alexander
the Great it was grown and spun in the Penj-ab.
This valuable indigenous production did not be-
THE COTTON PLANT.

come an article of commerce from the Indies to
this country until many years after the British
had possessed their widely-extending eastern ter-
ritory. It must be remembered, however, that
antecedent to this period, though the Europeans
did not import raw cotton from the East Indies,
they imported a vast quantity of muslins and
other manufactured cotton stuffs, which were
superior to what we could produce until we
called in the aid of machinery.

‘When the enterprising French traveller Ber-
nier was in Hindostan (about the year 1666),
Bengal was the mart for these cotton goods.
“There is in Bengal,” says he, “such a quantity
of cotton and silks, that the kingdom may be
called the common storehouse for those two
kinds of merchandize, not of Hindostan only,
but of all the neighbouring kingdoms, and even
of Europe. Ihave been sometimes amazed at
the vast quantity of cotton cloths of every sort,
fine and coarse, white and coloured, which the
Dutch alone export to different places, especially
to Japan and Europe. The English, the Por-
tuguese, and the native merchants, deal also in
these articles to a considerable extent.”

The first importation of raw cotton from the
East Indies into England did not take place until
the year 1798, and it was not even then imported
by the chartered company, but by privileged
merchants, The first cargo of this material
which was brought to London was valued in
India at £10,000, and it cleared the large sum
of £50,000, having been sold at 2s. 2d. per Ib.
During the following year the price fell to 10d.;
and the cotton of India is now the lowest priced
that is brought to the English market. It can
at present be purchased at 63d. to 74d. per Ib.,
while the best cotton from Georgia commands
from 1s. 44d. to 1s. 6d. per Ib. Notwithstanding
this very low price of East India cotton, a con-
siderable quantity is still annually shipped to this
country, where, in 1832, more than 35,000,000
Ibs. were retained for home consumption.

During the late war, when it was the policy
of the French ruler to render his country inde-
pendent of foreign commerce, efforts were made
by him to introduce the cultivation of cotton
into Italy, Corsica, and some of the southern
parts of France. The attempt was attended by
partial success as long as other supplies were cut
off; but as soon as the cessation of warfare hap-
pily restored freedom: to commerce, the culture
of cotton was gradually abandoned, since the
product obtained could not at all compete with
that of foreign growth, as regarded either price
or quality. :

The part of Italy where the cultivation of cot-
ton was most successful was the kingdom of
Naples, particularly in that fine plain which ex-
tends between Mount Vesuvius, the sea, and the
Tifate mountains by Castellamare. Here anew

 

407

and important trade was created, and carried on
successfully as long as the continental system
was in force, chiefly by French and Swiss mer-
chants, who had establishments for the purpose
at the neighbouring towns of La Torre dell’ An-
nunziata and La Torre del Greco. These estab-
lishments closed with the coercive system that
had produced them, and generally to the ruin of
those who had largely engaged in them. Some
small quantities of cotton are still produced there;
but of late years it has only been used in the
very limited manufactories of the Neapolitan
kingdom, and not exported.

An eminent spinner of Manchester, in the year
1824, imported a small quantity of this Neapo-
litan cotton by way of experiment. The defect,
as compared with the American cotton, was the
shortness of its fibres. During the eruption of
Vesuvius in 1822, some of these cotton grounds
suffered much, from being covered to the depth
of twelve or fifteen inches by a dry impalpable
powder ejected by the volcano.

The Neapolitan cotton was known in com-
merce by the name of cotton of Castellamare.
The agriculturists of the kingdom had also be-
gun to cultivate cotton in some districts of Apu-
lia, under very favourable circumstances of soil
and climate, but had made no great progress
when the system of Bonaparte fell. In 1824 all
these Apulian cotton grounds bore wheat and
Indian corn.

About the commencement of the present cen-
tury the cultivation of the cotton plant had been
introduced with success into the southern parts
of Spain, by Mr Kirkpatrick, while acting as
consul for the United States of America at Ma-
laga. The environs of the village of Churriana,
at the foot of La Sierra de Mijas, which before
had been an uncultivated waste, was converted
by him into a flourishing cotton plantation.
Success in this apparently unpromising situation
caused the cultivation of the plant to be quickly
extended from Motril to Almeira, along the coast
of the Mediterranean sea; and the pursuit has
become at once a beneficial employment for na~-
tive industry, and a source of considerable foreign
commerce.

‘When the French armies occupied the southern
parts of Spain, in 1810, the exportation of cot-
ton was so considerable as to lead the French
government. to suspect that the whole of that
which went under the name of Spanish cotton
was not the produce of Spain. Orders were
therefore received by the military authorities to
institute inquiries concerning the cotton planta-
tions at Malaga, and to ascertain the quantity
which these actually furnished.

Restricted in the exportation of his produce,
the indefatigable Kirkpatrick transferred his
energies to the erection of spinning factories, and
3,000 workmen were soon employed in a village,
408

which only a few years before had been a mise-
rable hamlet. But popular commotions, and the
occupation by hostile troops, were not favourable
to the continued prosperity of the peaceful arts ;
and so soon as the French troops had evacuated
this part of Spain, the prejudiced populace, either
instigated by a blind fury, or more probably in-
cited by the agents of those who criminally in-
dulged in political animosities, not only destroyed
the factories, but even tore up the cotton plants,
and thus, to all appearance, entirely dried up the
source of prosperity to a place which had only
existed from the profitable employment fur-
nished by this branch of industry.
Notwithstanding, however, its apparently total
destruction, the cultivation of cotton had been
found too advantageous to be altogether aban-
doned by those persons who had formerly pros-
pered through its means; and as soon as the op-
portunity was offered by returning tranquillity,
plantations again flourished on the coast of Gra-
nada, cotton being now produced in abundance,
and of excellent quality, at Motril and through
the surrounding country.
The Herbaceous Cotton Plant (gossypium
herbaceum_) is the only species cultivated in Eu-

 

a Barbadoes Cotton ; b Herbaceous,

rope, and is the kind most generally cultivated
in other countries also. It is an annual plant,
and grows to the height of about twenty inches.
The stem is smooth; the leaves with five round
lobes, and glandular beneath. The flower is
composed of large yellow petals, with a purple
centre. The pod is about the size of a walnut;
and when mature the external covering bursts,
and displays the soft downy fibres of the cotton.
This species is supposed to be a native of Persia,
and is grown extensively throughout Asia Minor,
some parts of America, and in the Mediterranean
islands. In the Levant it is sown, in well pre-
pared land, in March, in lines about three feet
apart, and the patches of seeds two feet distant
in the lines. The plants when they come up
are thinned out to two or three in one place, and
the earth is stirred up by a one-horse plough, or

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM,

by manual labour with hoes, and irrigated once
or twice a week by directing the water along

   

Cotton Flower and Pod.

the furrows between the rows. The flowering
season is generally over about the middle of Sep-
tember, and then the ends of the shoots are
picked off to determine the sap to the capsules.
These are collected by the hand as they ripen, a
tedious process, which lasts till the end of No-
vember. The cotton is then separated from the
seeds, also by the hand; the former is packed in
bales for the market; the latter are bruised, and
an oil extracted from them. In the Levant the
seeds are also used as food.

The Barbadoes, or Indian Cotton (g. Barba-
dense). The herbaceous stem rises to the height
of ten or twelve feet. The leaves grow upon
long hairy foot-stalks, and are divided into deep
lobes, the lower leaves having five, and the upper
generally three lobes. This plant is a native of
India, from whence it was transplanted to the
West India islands, where it is extensively
raised,

In Barbadoes, according to Mr Long, this plant
is sown, in rows about five feet asunder, at the
end of September, or the beginning of October,
at first but slightly covered, but after the plant
springs up, the root is well moulded. The soil
should not be stiff nor shallow, as this plant has
atap root. The ground is then hoed frequently,
and kept very free of weeds, until the young
plants rise to a moderate height. It grows from
four to six feet in height, and produces two crops
annually; the first in eight months from the
time of sowing the seed; the second within four
months after the first, and the produce of each
plant is reckoned about one pound weight. The
branches are pruned and trimmed after the first
gathering; and if the growth is over luxuriant,
pruning should be practised earlier. When great
part of the pods are expanded, the wool is picked,
and afterwards cleaned from the seeds by a ma-
chine called a gin, composed of two or three

 
THE COTTON PLANT.

smooth wooden rollers, of about an inch diame-
ter, ranged horizontally, close and parallel to
each other in a frame; at each extremity they
are toothed or channelled longitudinally, corre-
sponding one with the other; and the central
roller being moved with a treddle or foot-lathe,
resembling that of a knife-grinder, makes the
other two revolve in contrary directions. The
cotton is laid, in small quantities at a time, upon
these rollers whilst they are in motion, and
readily pressing between them, drops into a sack
placed underneath to receive it, leaving the seeds
which are too large to pass with it behind. The
cotton thus separated from the seeds is afterwards
hand-picked and cleansed thoroughly from any
little particles of the pods or other substances
which may be adhering to it. It is then stowed
in large bags, where it is well trod down that it
may be close and compact, each bag containing
300 lbs. An acre may be expected to produce
from 240 to 300 Ibs. of cotton.

The Tree Cotton (g. arboreum). This, as the
name implies, assumes the form of a tree, and
reaches the height of fifteen to twenty feet if left
unpruned. The leaves are five-lobed, spear-
shaped, and grow on hairy petioles. It isa na-
tive of India, and probably the same as seen by
Marco Polo at Guizerat. “Cotton,” says this
observant traveller, “is produced here in large
quantities from a tree that is about six yards in
height, and bears during twenty years; but the
cotton taken from trees of that age is not adapted
for spinning, but only for quilting.”

The Vine-leaved Cotton (g. vitifolium). In
this species the leaves resemble those of the vine.
This is also indigenous to the East Indies, and is
the kind chiefly cultivated at the Mauritius.

The Hairy Cotton (g. hirsutum). The stalk
is herbaceous, with lateral branches, about three
feet in height, and covered with a thick down.
The upper leaves are undivided and cordate; the
lower divided into three and sometimes five
lobes, and covered with hair. This plant is bi-
ennial, and in warm situations even perennial.
It is said to be indigenous to South America, and
is occasionally grown in the West Indies.

The Spotted-barked Cotton (g. religiosum).
The bark and petioles of this shrub are spotted
with black; the leaves are three and five lobed.

The Silk Cotton Tree (g. bombyx ceita). This
is one of the tallest of oriental trees. Its stem
is of a reddish colour, and hairy or prickly. The
leaves are palmate, divided into five lobes. The
flowers are first white, then they change to rose
colour, and finally become red. Lamarck sup-
poses this tree was indigenous to the lower lati-
tudes of America. The wood is very light, and
not much valued except for the construction of
canoes, The trunk is very large, and when hol-
Iswed out makes canoes capable of containing
from fifteen to twenty hogsheads of sugar, of

 

409

from 6 to 12 ewt. each. When sawn into boards
and well saturated with lime water, it bears ex-
posure to the weather for many years. It is also
formed into laths for roofs and other domestic
purposes in the West Indies. The seed capsule
contains a down of a coarser quality than the
other cottons.

This tree is cultivated in the Mauritius, where
there are two varieties, one producing a white,
and the other a yellowish brown cotton. A cot-
ton of this colour is also cultivated in China, and
forms the cloth called Nankin.

These are a few of what are perhaps distinct
species. The varieties of the cotton plant are,
however, exceedingly numerous. Dr Rohr, an
extensive cultivator of cotton in the island of
St Croix, who paid much attention to the sub-
ject, enumerates upwards of thirty species; and
Mr Bennet, a cultivator in Tobago, remarked
more than one hundred varieties. Dr Rohr con-
siders the different forms of the seeds as distinc-
tive of the different kinds of plants, and classi-
fies them accordingly. Others again consider
the distinctive difference to reside in the shape
of the seed-pod, the number of its divisions, or
the manner and time in which the cotton is re-
tained in its place after the bursting of the pod ;
while others believe the only circumstances wor-
thy of attention in the classification to be those
which regard the staple or fibre.

Very white cotton is not considered the best ;
a slightly yellow tinge, when not the effect of
accidental moisture or of an inclement season,
is indicative of greater fineness.

The number of seeds in one pod vary accord-
ing to the different species; the pods of some
containing only ten or twelve seeds, others as
many as thirty; while in all there is a marked
difference in colour, shape, and size.

The shrub which grows wild in many parts of
the West Indies, especially in low and marshy
grounds, has a rough black seed. The cotton of
this is in colour a pale red, and is of so short a
fibre that it cannot be spun; in consequence, it
is scarcely worth the trouble of gathering, and
what little is picked up is used for stuffing mat-
tresses and pillows. Among other varieties, the
Brazil and the Guiana cottons bear the same kind
of seed as the wild species, differing slightly in
shape; these are both nearly alike as to the
quality of their produce. The Guiana is, after
the “Sea Island cotton,” the most esteemed in
Europe, on account of its colour and fineness,
and the length and strength of its staple and
fibre; it is likewise extremely productive, as it
furnishes two gatherings in the year. It is far-
ther valuable, as the seeds of this kind conglo-
merate, or adhere firmly to each other in the pod,
and are easily separated from the cotton. This
variety requires a moist soil, such as generally
predominates in ae

F
410

The Indian cotton has a dark brown seed
streaked with black; this cotton is very white,
and finer than that of Guiana, but not so pro-
ductive. Six other varieties bear nearly the
same description of seed, among which is the
Siam, so noted in the West Indies as being
nearly equal to silk in beauty and fineness. It
‘is of a brilliant whiteness, and its fibres are very
fine, long, and elastic. This variety produces
twice in the year, but does not bear a great quan-
tity. It is not much cultivated, because it can-
not be cleansed without extreme difficulty; the
seed being entirely covered with a kind of green
moss or hair, cannot be separated from the cot-
ton by any machine, and not even by the hand
without much labour and care.

The cotton of Curacoa and that of St Domingo
have small seeds, the surface of which is thinly
covered with a few short hairs or a thin beard.
This kind is of a very tolerable quality.

The seeds of the Jamaica cotton are perfectly
smooth, but so brittle as to break in the process
of separating them from their downy envelope.
The fibre is coarse but strong; and this would
be considered of a very useful quality if it could
be better cleansed. Little or scarcely any cotton
is at present grown in Jamaica compared to the
quantity which was produced there a few years
back; but it was always considered as one of the
worst cottons in the English market, in conse-
quence of the planters’ persisting in the cultiva-
tion of a species which could not, without hand
labour, be properly divested of its seed; it was
always exported mixed with pieces of these, and
was therefore known by the technical term fowl
cotton.

Of all the species of cotton the annual herba-
ceous plant yields the most valuable produce.
The “ Sea Island cotton,” imported into England
from Georgia, bears a price double to that im-
ported from any other country. The Persian
cotton has long been celebrated for its superior
quality ; and the concurrent testimonies of many
travellers show, that where this species is culti-
vated in other parts of the globe it is equally ex-
cellent. But the additional labour and conse-
quent expense attendant on its cultivation, as
well as its not being equally adapted to all soils,
afford perhaps sufficient reasons why it is not
more generally adopted. This species is culti-
vated in China, but not in sufficient quantities
for the home consumption, as they import this
article largely from India.

The quantity of cotton which each plant yields
is as various as its quality. Accordingly, there
are scarcely two concurrent opinions to be col-
lected on this subject. The average produce per
English acre is reckoned by different writers at
various quantities, varying from one hundred
and fifty to two hundred and seventy pounds of
picked cotton.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The cotton plant will grow in most situations
and soils, and is cultivated with very little trouble
or expense. According to Humboldt the larger
species, which attain to the magnitude of trees,
require a mean annual temperature of 68° Fahr.;
the shrubby kind may be cultivated with suc-
cess under a mean temperature of 60° to 64°,
and may therefore be propagated as far as lati-
tude 40°. This plant is indeed cultivated in the
neighbourhood of Astracan, the latitude of which
is 46°. Some species flourish best in the neigh-
bourhood of the sea; others again are injured by
this proximity. The Pernambuco cotton, which
is the finest in Brazil, is of the latter kind, and
the planters find that in proportion as they re-
cede from the coast the quality of the cotton is
improved; they are, in consequence, every year
penetrating more into the interior, and they
always obtain a ready market for their produce,
as the dealers follow their footsteps, and settle
where they settle.

Open situations and a strong soil moderately
dry and warm are most congenial to some spe~
cies, while others thrive better in a moist and
deep soil.

In selecting seed for a plantation, therefore,
care should be used to adapt it to the soil and
situation in which it is to be cultivated. Pre-
viously to sowing them the seeds should be
wholly divested of every particle of cotton fibre,
and then steeped in water during some hours;
they are afterwards rolled in sand or any light
earth, in order entirely to separate them from
each other. This process is considered very
much to accelerate their germination. The time
for sowing in the West Indies is usually from
May to September, both months inclusive. The
ground is well prepared and manured, and then
holes are made some inches deep and about three
feet apart from each other. Eight or ten seeds
are generally dropped in each hole, because some
of them are liable to be destroyed by a grub or
worm, and others to rot in the ground; besides
which, a superfluity of plants is required to re-
place the ravages which are sometimes commit-
ted by caterpillars on the tender shoots. The
seeds being covered with earth, it is generally
expected, and especially if there have been any
rain to hasten the germination, that the plants
will begin to make their appearance in about
eight days. In some situations, when the weather
has been very dry, a much longer time elapses.
At about the end of six weeks the ground is
carefully weeded, and those plants which are
the weakest are drawn out, only two or three
being left in each hole. When the plants are
about three or four months old they are again
cleaned and thinned, and the stems and branches
are pruned, or, as it is called, topped, an inch,
or more, of the plants being broken off from the
end of each shoot. Occasionally some of the
THE COTTON PLANT.

lower leaves are also taken off. These cares
from time to time should be continued till the
period of flowering. The time of the seeds
coming to maturity varies according to the
climate and the species of the plant. When
the season has been favourable, the cotton is
generally fit for pulling about seven or eight
months after it has been sown. This period is,
however, well indicated by the spontaneous
bursting of the capsule or seed-pod. The plan-
tations at this time are said to present a very
pleasing appearance. The glossy dark green
leaves finely contrast with the white globular
forms profusely scattered over the plant. In
the East the produce is gathered by taking off
the whole of the pod. In other parts, and this
is the more general practice, the seeds and cotton
are taken away, leaving the empty husks. The
first is, of course, much the most expeditious
method, but it has a very serious disadvantage.
The outer part breaks in minute pieces, and
thus mixes with the cotton, which cannot be
freed from it without much time and difficulty.

Whichever method is pursued, this work is
always performed in the morning before sunrise,
as soon as possible after the cotton displays itself;
because long exposure to the sun injures its
colour, by giving it a yellow tinge. The pods
likewise, which are ready for gathering expand
in the heat of the day, and in some varieties the
seed and its envelope are then detached from the
pod, and falling to the ground the cotton be-
comes soiled and deteriorated.

In some countries the plant after yielding its
produce is every year cut even with the ground;
in others this operation is performed only once
in two or three years.

The cotton shrub does not in general last more
than five or six years in full or productive bear-.
ing; the plantation is therefore generally after
that period renewed. The seeds may usually
be preserved for one or two years, but in some
varieties they should be planted almost as soon
as they are gathered. The surplus seeds serve
as food for cattle; an oil is likewise expressed
from them which is employed for many domestic
purposes. Although the extraction of oil from
the cotton seeds has been long practised in
the Levant, it isnot many years since these seeds
were turned to similar advantage in America.

“Not many years ago,” says a recent traveller,
“those who had cotton gins felt themselves
obliged by any neighbour who was willing to
take the seed away; and what might have pro-
duced millions of dollars, has been rejected as
of no value.”

A machine has been invented for pulling the
seed, that is, separating the external skin, and
adhering fibres of cotton from the kernel. After
the seeds are pulled, they are ground and pressed
in a imill similar to the Dutch oil mills. The

 

411

expressed oil is then refined, and it answers all
the purposes of the best sperm oil. ‘The refuse
or oil cake forms a nutritious food for cattle. In
this way a considerable quantity of excellent
vil, and about forty bushels of cake is obtained
from the seeds of a quantity of pods that furnish
four bags of cotton.

The annual plant is cultivated in the same
manner as that just described; only that in sow-
ing it more seeds are put into the holes, and
these are placed nearer to each other. It comes
to maturity much quicker, the seeds being sown
in April or May, and the crop reaped in Sep-
tember; in some hot climates two harvests can
be gathered in each year.

Another important consideration is, that the
cotton should not be pulled immediately after
rain, as this would render the drying process
much more tedious and difficult; and should it
retain any moisture when it is packed, it would
ferment or become mouldy.

Immediately after gathering it is taken to a
barn and assorted according to its quality; it is
then laid on mats or hurdles, and exposed to the
heat of the sun, or dried in stoves.

The separation of the cotton from the seeds
is a very long and troublesome operation, when
performed by the hand; for the fibres of the
cotton adhere tenaciously to the seed, and some
time is consumed in cleansing even a small weight
of so light a material. In the greater part of
India the use of machinery for this purpose is
unknown, and all the cotton is picked by hand.
Aman can in this manner separate from the
seeds scarcely more than one pound of cotton in
aday. In some parts of India, however, they
make use of a machine, which, though more
simple, does not materially differ from the gin
used in the West Indies. Dr Buchanan describes
it in a Journey from Madras through the coun-
tries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar. Mr Clarke
Abel also found precisely the same machine in
China, at the village of Ta-tung, not far from
Nankin, which he thus describes: “It consisted
of two wooden cylinders placed horizontally one
above the other, on a stand a few feet from the
ground. The cylinders, very nearly touching,
were put in motion by a wheel acted upon by
the foot. The cotton being brought to one side
of the crevice intervening between them during
their revolution, was turned over to the oppo-
site; whilst the seeds, being too large to enter,
fell at the feet of the workmen.” Mr Clarke
Abel then describes the instrument used by the
Chinese for freeing the cotton from knots and
dirt : “This is equally simple, and is the same as
that used, I believe, in most countries for the
same ora similar purpose. It is a very elastic
bow with a tight string. In using it the carder
places it in a heap of the material, and having
pulled down the string with some force, he sud-
412

denly allows the bow to recoil; the vibration of
the string scatters the cotton about, and separates
it into fibres freed from all knots and impurities.”
A drawing of an instrument scarcely at all dif-
fering from this Chinese cotton how, is given by
Sonnerat, in his Voyage aux Indes Orientales,
tom. i. p. 108. Thunberg says, that in Batavia,
he saw “the cotton cleansed from the seed, by
heing laid out on extended cloths, and beaten
with sticks, till all the seed was perfectly separ-
ated from it.’ The use of the machine called a
gin, which we have already described, very much
facilitates the process; and by its means one
person may separate and cleanse sixty-five pounds
per day, and thus, by the use of a simple piece
of machinery, increase his effective power sixty-
five times. A still greater increase may be ob-
tained by the employment of more complex
engines. In the United States of America mills
are constructed on a large scale, and are impelled
by horses, steam, or other power. Eight or nine
hundred pounds of cotton are cleansed in a day
hy one of these machines, which requires the
attendance of very few persons. The Ameri-
can mills are exactly on the same principle as
the smaller ones, but are more complete in their
appointments. A description of one of the larger
sort will therefore comprise all the requisite de-
tails of a cotton gin. It consists of two wooden
rollers of about an inch in diameter; these are
placed horizontally, parallel, and touching each
other. Over them is fixed a sort of comb, hav-
ing iron teeth two inches long and seven-eighths
of an inch apart. This comb is of the same
length as the rollers, and so placed that its teeth
come nearly in contact with them. When the
machine is set in motion the rollers are made to
revolve with great rapidity in opposite direc-
tions, so that the cotton being laid upon them
it is by their motion drawn in between the two,
whilst no space is left for the seeds to pass with
it. To detach these from the fibres of cotton in
which they are enveloped, the same machinery
which impels the rollers gives to the toothed in-
strument above a quick wagging motion to and
fro, by means of which the pods of cotton as
they are cast upon the rollers are torn open, just
as they are beginning to be drawn in; the seeds
now released from the coating which had en-
circled them fly off like sparks to the right and
left, while the cotton itself passes between the
cylinders. The sharp iron teeth of the comb
moving with great velocity, sometimes break
the seeds; then the minute pieces are instantly
hurried on, and pass between the rollers with
the cotton. These stray particles are afterwards
separated by hand, a process which is called
moting. Entirely to cleanse the cotton from any
remaining fragment of seed it is subjected to
another process. This consists in whisking it
about in a light wheel through which a current

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM,

of air is made to pass. As it is tossed out of
this winnowing machine it is gathered up and
conveyed to the packing house, where, by means
of screws, it is forced into bags, each, when filled,
weighing about 800 pounds. These are then
sewed up and sent to the place of shipment,
where they are again pressed and reduced to half
their original size.

Some manufacturers fancy that this wholesale
machine tears and injures the fibres of the cot-
ton, but it is perhaps an idle prejudice, since the
best cotton which we import is from Georgia,
where it is most expeditiously cleansed; and that
which obtains the least price comes from the
East Indies, where the hand is the only machine
used,

Another description of gin, called a saw gin,
is likewise used for short staple cotton in the
United States and in Brazil. This consists of
one roller nine inches in diameter, having a series
of circular saws fixed upon it parallel to each
other, and at a distance of one inch and a half
apart. Above this roller is a hopper, having the
bottom formed of a grating of wire work, through
which the teeth of the saw project to a certain
depth. In this hopper the cotton to be cleaned
is placed, and, as the cylinder revolves, the pro-
jecting teeth of the saw come in contact with
the cotton, and drag it through the wire bottom
of the hopper, which being inclined at a con-
siderable angle, the seeds, as they are disengaged,
roll down, and are conveyed away through a
spout in the machine.

The cotton is more quickly cleansed by this
method than by the use of the cylinder gin, but
at the same time it tears and injures the staple.
It is usual in the Liverpool Price Currents to
denote, as saw-ginned cotton, the cotton of Brazil
cleansed by this process, which fetches a lower
price in the market than the Brazil cotton not
so operated upon.

Before the invention of spinning machinery
in 1787, the demand for cotton wool in England
was comparatively small. In the seventeenth
century we obtained our trifling supply wholly
from Smyrna and Cyprus. In 1786-7 we im-
ported 19,900,000 Ibs., viz.: 5,800,000 lbs. from
the British West Indies, 9,100,000 lbs. from the
French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch colon-
ies, and 5,000,000 Ibs. from Smyrna and the
rest of Turkey. Shortly after that memorable
period in the history of our national manufac-
tures, the annual consumption of cotton increased
six-fold, and it has been progressively augment-
ing ever since.

The average annual import for the six preced-
ing years has been 777,372 packages, each bale
weighing about 24or3cwt. Some few packages
come from South America of smaller weight.

From all corners of the world does this raw
material flow in upon us, and with expedition
HEMP.

scarcely credible is converted into textures which
are reconveyed to the countries of production.

The value of cotton goods exported from Great
Britain during four years, stands thus:

Piece Goods. Yarn or Twist.

1828... £13,649,012......00. £3,595,405
1829... esse 13,558,132......... 3,976,874
1830... 15,294,923... 4,133,741
188]... 13,282,185 3,975,019

 

All these are real mercantile values. The
official value at the custom house is nominal and
invariable.

In 1792 the official value of cottons exported was £1,892,329
Inls30 - i. . . 37,269,432

The quantity of manufactured cottons ex-
ported to the East Indies alone in 1828, stood
thus:

To the East India Company’s territo-) ,_ Y°"" Valine
ries, Ceylon, and China. } 37,566,836 £1,394,681
To the East India islands, Sumatra, &c. 4,680,370 153,238

Besides which there was exported the follow-
ing quantity of cotton twist, or spun yarn:

Ibs. weight. Value,
4,549,219 £390,344

37,836 -2,790

To the East India Company’s territo-
ries, Ceylon, and China,
To the East India islands, Sumatra, &c.

The celerity with which the raw material is
converted into cloth by the aid of modern ma-
chinery is truly wonderful. The proprietor of
a cotton factory in Manchester, having obtained
an order for the shipment of some goods of a
particular description, purchased ten bales of
cotton of suitable quality in Liverpool. On
their arrival in Manchester, they were received
into the highest floor of his works, and thence
proceeding regularly downwards, underwent all
the intermediate processes of carding, spinning,
and weaving until, in ten days from their recep-
tion, the finished goods into which they were
converted were packed in bales, and proceeding
again to Liverpool for shipment.

When, in 1787, spinning machinery was first
erected, one pound of Demerara cotton could be
spun into yarn one hundred and sixty miles in
length; since that period great improvements
have been made in this machinery, and yarn is
now spun having a still greater degree of fine-
ness.

Heme (cannabis sativa). Natural family
urticee; diwcia, pentandria, Linneus. This is
an annual herbaceous plant, rising generally to
the height of six feet in ordinary soils; but in
a deep rich soil attaining a much greater height.
According to Du Hamel, in some parts of Alsace
the plant grows to the height of twelve feet, and
the stem at the lower part being three inches in
diameter. In some parts of Italy it has been
found eighteen feet in height.

The stalk is hollow, and contains inside a white,
soft, medullary matter, inclosed in a very tender

 

413

tube, chiefly composed of a cellular texture; and
of a portion of longitudinal fibres, commonly

153.

 

called the reed or boon of the hemp. The bark
is rough and hairy, of a green colour, and com-
posed of a number of fibres which extend longi-
tudinally the whole length of the stem. These
are not reticulated, but are placed parallel to each
other, and united by the cellular texture. When
viewed with a microscope, each of these fibres
are seen to be made up of bundles of other
fibrils, which are twisted spirally, and which,
after the process of maceration, caa be drawn
out and lengthened considerably. The leaves
grow out in pairs, opposite each other, on petioles,
accompanied by stipules or leaflets. The leaves
are divided into four, five, or more deep lobes,
which are pointed and deeply serrated on the
margins. The upper sides are dark green, the
under of a lighter hue; they are rough and fur-
rowed above, and ridged underneath. The male
and female flowers grow upon separate plants.
In general, the male plants are more slender and
delicate than the female, and have also finer and
more elastic fibres, composing the bark. The
stem grows up single, till near its top, where it
divides into several branches, which terminate
in thin pointed spikes. In the female the stem
is surmounted by tufts of leaves of a considera-
ble size, which readily distinguish it from the
male plant. The male flowers grow near the
top of the stem in clusters, each cluster bearing
nine or ten flowers. The fruit grows in great
abundance on the stem of the female hemp. The
seed is not preceded by any corolla; a membran-
ous hairy calyx, terminating in long points in-
closes the pistils, the base of which becomes the
seed, The male plant is quicker in its growth
than the female, and generally rises half a foot
higher, by which provision of nature the farina
from the stamina is readily diffused on the pistil
414

of the lower female plant. 'The seeds which
have grown on the same stalk produce both male
and female plants indiscriminately, and the differ-
ence cannot be known until the plants are some-
what advanced in growth. When the seed is
put into the ground it is therefore quite uncer-
tain what proportion there will be of each; yet
here too we have occasion to mark the admirable
arrangements of nature, for the due proportion
of each generally make their appearance. The
seeds are sown about the end of April. The
male plants are usually pulled about the begin-
ning of July, and the female in a month or five
weeks after, when they have ripened their
seeds.

Arich moist soil is most favourable for the
full growth of hemp; but it will grow on any
soil if well manured, except ona stiff clay, where
it does not thrive well. A poor light soil yields
but a small return, although the quality is fine;
while a strong rich soil yields abundantly, but
the quality is inferior.

The fibre of hemp produces a cloth much
stronger than that of flax; but its principal use
is for the manufacture of cordage, for which its
great tenacity particularly adapts it.

The seeds yield by expression an oil, which
the Russians use in their cookery, and which
painters employ in this country. The seeds are
yeckoned also a good and nutritious food for
poultry, and are supposed to increase the number
of hen’s eggs. Small birds are in general very
fond of them; but they must be given to caged
birds with caution, and mixed with other seeds,
else they prove too stimulating. The bullfinches
and goldfinches by feeding on hemp seed, change
the red of their plumage to a black.

The leaves of hemp possess a strong narcotic
quality, and they form the basis of the well
known Turkish intoxicating drug called dang,
or haschisch.

There is little doubt that hemp was indigenous
in Europe. We have records of its growth here
for nearly two thousand five hundred years,
Werodotus (book iv. 74) says “Hemp grows in
the country of the Scythians, which, except in
the thickness and height of the stalk, very much
resembles flax; in the qualities mentioned, how-
ever, the hemp is much superior. It grows in
a natural state, and is also cultivated. The
Thracians make clothing of it very like linen
cloth; nor could any person, without being very
well acquainted with the substance, say whether
this clothing is made of hemp or flax. A person
who has never seen hempen cloth, would cer-
tainly suppose that this, of which I am speak-
ing, is made of flax.” The Scythians of Hero-
dotus lived in Europe, north of the Danube,
and bordering on the Black sea.

The shirts worn by the peasants in the greatest
part of Russia, are made of hempen cloth; and

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

they wear very large full breeches of the same
coarse material.

The hemp plant was well known to the Ro-
mans as a material for cordage in the time of
Pliny. This naturalist describes its culture and
the preparation to which it was subjected, in
order to obtain its fibres, classing these in two
different qualities. The filaments nearest to the
outer bark and to the reed were considered in-
ferior to those growing in the middle, and were
distinguished by the name of mesa. But in
consequence of their supposed greater liability
to be damaged by exposure to moisture, hempen
cords, and particularly cables, were not so highly
esteemed at that time as were those made from
spartium, which were thought to be better quali-
fied for resisting the injurious action of water.

Pliny eulogizes the root, juice, and other parts
of this plant, as possessing wonderful medicinal
virtues, for which it appears to have obtained a
higher value in those days than for its excellent
adaptation to the manufacture of cordage, an
application at present considered so important as
to cause its other properties to be almost entirely
disregarded.

Hemp is grown in Persia, Egypt, and various
parts of the East Indies; in Africa, in the United
States of America, in Canada, and Nova Scotia.
Marco Polo mentions that hemp and flax, as well
ag great quantities of cotton, were cultivated in
his time in the neighbourhood of Kashgar in
the lesser Bucharia, and in the province of Khoten
in Chinese Tartary. According to Mr Clarke
Abel, in China proper, though the Xing-ma
(Sida tiliefolia) is preferred for cordage, the
Gé ma (Cannabis sativa, or hemp) is also culti-
vated and manufactured into ropes. At Tung-
chow, that distinguished naturalist saw the sida
and cannabis growing together, the first in long
ridges or in fields like the millet, the second in
small patches.

Dampier was told that the Spaniards at Leon
in South America, near the Pacific ocean, made
cordage of hemp, but he saw no manufactory.
Thunberg, on a journey from the Cape of Good
Hope into the interior of Africa, found the Hot-
tentots cultivating hemp. “This is a plant,”
says he, “universally used in this country, though
for a purpose very different from that to which
it is applied by the industrious Europeans. The
Hottentot loves nothing so well as tobacco, and
with no other thing can he be s0 easily enticed
into servitude; but for smoking he finds tobacco
not sufficiently strong, and therefore mixes it
with hemp chopped very fine.”

Hemp is cultivated in Great Britain and Ire-
land, but not very abundantly. The counties of
England in which it is principally grown are,
Suffolk, Yorkshire, Somersetshire, and the fens
of Lincolnshire; in Norfolk and Dorsetshire
some few hemp grounds are likewise to be seen.
HEMP.

Hemp is likewise raised in various parts of
France, Spain, Denmark, and Sweden, in Wal-
lachia and Moldavia, and in several of the Italian
states; but with the exception of Italy, which
affords a trifling export, and of Wallachia and
Moldavia that supply the Turkish fleet with
cordage, none of these countries produce it in
sufficient abundance for their own consumption.
Among the Italian states the kingdom of Naples
is very productive of this useful vegetable sub-
stance.

A very considerable quantity is grown in the
Terra di Lavora and the districts in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of the capital of that king-
dom. In 1827 there were many fields of im-
mense extent lying a little in the rear of the
swampy shore, that extends between the mouth
of the river Volturnus and Cape Misenum, de-
voted to this produce. On account of the very
disagreeable effluvia proceeding from the hemp
while macerating, and from an idea that it is
noxious both to the water and the atmosphere,
the Neapolitan government has appointed the
Lago d’Adnano (a small lake beautifully situated,
about a mile in circumference, and between three
and four miles from the city of Naples) for this
purpose; nor are the growers allowed to steep
their hemp in any other place. Those who hap-
pen to raise the plant in thinly inhabited places
where there is water at hand, as near the swampy
shore we have mentioned, put it through the
process of maceration on the spot; but the pro-
hibition by law extends to all places within a
circuit of many miles, except the Lago d’Agnano.
To reach that lake the greater part of the hemp
has to pass through the city of Naples, and as
the cars on which it is transported are of great
magnitude, and many streets of the capital are
narrow, and all of them crowded, the cars are
not permitted to enter the town until one or two
hours after midnight. Every person who has
resided at Naples during the summer must have
been made sensible of the very considerable
quantity of hemp grown in the neighbourhood,
by seeing, day after day, the long lines of cars
laden with it stationed at three of the four great
avenues to the city waiting the appointed hour;
and by having his rest broken night after night
by the rumbling noise made by these numerous
and heavy vehicles as they roll over the lava-
paved streets of the town towards the grotto of
Posilippo and the lake. In the long subterran-
ean road or tunnel of Posilippo, through which
also they must of necessity pass, there being no
other communication, the noise they make is
astounding. What with going and returning
after the hemp has been macerated, the inhabi-
tants of a considerable part of the city of Naples
are regaled with this nocturnal music for more
than two months every year.*

* Library of Useful Knowledge.

 

415

The grand mart however for hemp, as an
article of commerce, is Russia, where it is grown
in immense quantities, and of the best quality.
The principal places of its cultivation are in the
southern and western provinces bordering upon
Poland, and in the provinces of Poland which
belong to Russia. The plants even grow wild
in some parts of Russia, In Siberia and about
the river Volga it is found flourishing in natural
vigour near spots where towns have formerly
stood. The Cossack and Tartar women gather
it in considerable quantities in autumn, when it
has shed its seed and begins to die away. It is
not, however, collected by them for its fibres,
but is used, as by some other eastern people, as
an article of food, for which it is prepared in
various ways.*

Much anxiety was evinced some years since
in this country that we should obtain supplies
of hemp from our own dependencies, and its
cultivation was very much encouraged in Canada.
The attention of the planters being strongly
called to it, several samples of hemp of Canadian
growth were sent home. These were placed
under the examination of the best judges, by
whom they were considered defective, rather
from the faulty mode of preparation than from
any inferiority in the material itself. Some was
found to be of as great a length as the Italian
hemp, which is longer than that from the Baltic,
but the whole was mixed together without any
regard to length or quality. The Petersburgh
hemp, on the contrary, is always carefully as-
sorted into different classes, distinguished in
commerce as “Clean, or best staple hemp,” “best
shot,” which is rather inferior to the first; and
“half clean,” which ismuch inferior. These
classes of course obtain very different prices in
the market. It was supposed that the Canadian
planters would have readily attained to better
methods of preparing and assorting, but they
have not yet been able to compete with the
Russian cultivators, who still exclusively supply
our market, At the latter end of the last cen-
tury, in consequence of our extensive warfare,
the importation of this article into England
very much increased. For the five years ending
with 1776, the average annual quantity was
246,573 cwt.; in the same number of years end-
ing with 1799, the annual average is found to be
more than double that quantity, being 573,358
ewt. It is calculated that the sails and cordage
of a first-rate man-of-war require 180,000 lbs,
of rough hemp for their construction.

From the Annals of Agriculture, it appears
that in the year 1785 the quantity of hemp ex-
ported from Petersburgh to England alone,
amounted to 353,900 ewt.; and assuming that it
requires five acres of ground to produce a ton of

* Pallas’ Travels,
416

hemp, the whole space of ground requisite for
raising the above quantity would amount to
88,475 acres. Since that period it has been much
more extensively grown in Russia. In 1799
about 600,000 ewt. were exported in British
ships from St Petersburgh.

Riga also exports hemp and flax in large quan-
tities. Hemp and hemp seed, the produce both
of Poland and Russia, are carried thither on the
river Dwina, and warehoused or shipped at once
for foreign ports, according to circumstances.
Persons sworn to that office sort the hemp ac-
cording to its different qualities, and regular
prices are fixed before it is brought into the
market. It generally arrives at Riga about the
middle of May. Polish hemp is, for many pur-
poses, preferred to Russian, being softer, and of
amore tender nature. Riga also exports some
hemp grown in Livonia, which, though inferior
to the best Polish and best Russian, is sometimes
valuable to the exporter, as it is carried by land,
and is sure to arrive, whereas that brought by
water is liable to be detained beyond time by the
freezing of the Dwina.

“The bringing together the produce of such
an extent of country at the mart of Riga,” ob-
serves an intelligent traveller, “is well worthy
of attention. The produce of Poland from
Kieve northward, around the shores of the
Dwina, are sent to this place. After the opera-
tion of thrashing the different grain is per-
formed, and the frost set in, so that the ice on
the rivers will bear, the peasantry are engaged
in constructing the raft which is to float these
cargoes to their destined port. These vessels are
formed with much ingenuity and little expense,
being put together without the use of a nail, and
merely pegged with wooden pegs, and stuffed
with tow (made from hemp) to make them im-
pervious to the water. They carry from 200 to
500 tons burden, and are from 200 to 400 feet in
length, being formed of large trees split into
rough boards. The rudder is a single fir tree,
at which ten or twenty men preside, according
to the strength required. The most valuable
part of the cargo, which is wheat, hemp seed,
&c., is stowed in the centre of the vessel, a space
being left around the sides for the package of
those goods which a little wet will not materi-
ally injure, such as hemp, hempen cordage, &c.
This being completed, the vessel is ready to take
advantage of the earliest part of the navigable
season. As soon as the ice is broken up and
clear, the vessel floats with the strong current
which succeeds to the removal of the ice, and
thirty or forty of the peasants, sometimes with
their wives and families, take their passage upon
it. The owner or his steward meets the cargo
at Riga, where it is either sold to the merchants
or warehoused. The vessel then is knocked to
pieces, and sold for firing, or frequently for pal-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ing for the merchants’ yards, and often fetches
no more than from 100 to 200 rubles.” *

Sir Joseph Banks remarks on this subject,
that “coarse hemp, such as is required for the
manufacture of cables, hawsers, and other heavy
rigging, requires every where an abundance of
manure and land of the richest quality.” ‘The
richest of the new moist lands in the south of
Italy will bear hemp two, and sometimes even
three years, without manure, but they are then
much impoverished, and require it.

In Lincolnshire, where strong and heavy hemp
is grown, the hemp gardens are small, and near
the houses of the growers. These gardens ab-
sorb vast quantities of manure, and produce
hemp every year, without any alternation of
crop, or any change except that in years when
the hemp is pulled early a few turnips are sown
for a stubble crop.

In Russia the same mode of cultivating hemp
on small patches of land, near the houses of the
growers prevails, from the facility of getting
manure upon it.

When the hemp is required for cordage, it
should be sown in drills, as a stronger and coarser
fibre will be produced.

‘When it is wanted for purposes of weaving,
then broad-cast is the best method, as the stems
rise more slender and fine in proportion to their
proximity, provided they are not so near to each
other as to choke and impede the growth. There
should never be a smaller interval than a foot
between each plant.

Three bushels of seed is the ordinary allow-
ance for an acre, when sown broad-cast, this
quantity being more or less, according to cir-
cumstances. If sown in drills, a bushel and a
half is found sufficient.

When the seed is sown it is carefully covered
with earth, either by means of a harrow or rake.
But, notwithstanding this precaution, it is re-
quisite to keep a constant watch over the ground,
to prevent the devastations of the feathered tribe,
which, if left unmolested, would make sad havoc
among the newly sown grain. The seeds rise
up out of the ground with their green shoots in
the manner of French beans or lupins, and the
birds, mistaking these for perfect seeds, tear them
away with the young plants adhering to them;
thus the hopes of the planter may be destroyed
as soon as they have sprung forth.

The farmers endeavour to frighten away these
depredators with scarecrows, as well as by the
clamour of children, who are set to watch the
grounds. But these precautions are often found
insufficient, and the superior vigilance of men
or dogs is required effectually to prevent the .
mischief. Fortunatcly the irksome occupation

* Journcy from Riga to the Crimea, by M. Holder-
ness. London, 1823.
IIEMP.

is but of short duration, for as soon as the hemp
has put forth a few leaves, it is no longer in
danger from the attacks of its former assail-
ants.

After this period, the hemp ground requires
very little care or labour till it is fit for pulling.
This plant is never overrun with weeds, but on
the contrary, has the remarkable property of
destroying their vegetation. The cause of its
producing this effect is attributed by some cul-
tivators to a peculiar poisonous quality residing
in its roots; by others it is considered to be so
great an impoverisher of the soil as to draw off
all the nourishment, which would otherwise
contribute to the growth of weeds.

Agriculturists sometimes take advantage of
this well known fact, and by sowing a crop or
two of hemp on the rankest soils, they subdue
all noxious weeds, and entirely cleanse the ground
from these troublesome intruders. One of the
greatest difficulties attending the clearing a tract
of ground in the vicinity of Naples, the swamp
near the Lago di Patria, was to rid it of an ex-
uberant growth of canne, or reeds, that rose con-
siderably above the head of a man on horseback.
The sowing of hemp was found to be by far the
most efficacious means. After hemp, Indian
corn was very successfully sown in some of the
fields.

It is said that this plant has likewise the pe-
culiar property of destroying caterpillars and
other insects which prey upon vegetables; it is
therefore very usual, in those countries where
hemp is much cultivated, for the peasantry to
secure their vegetable gardens from insects, by
encircling the beds with a border of hemp, which
in this manner proves a most efficient barrier
against all such depredators.

The male hemp is known to be ripe by the
flowers fading, the farina falling, and the stems
turning partially -yellow. It is the frequent
practice to pull these before they are quite ripe,
for after having arrived at their full maturity,
the fibres adhere so tenaciously to the reed as
not to be readily separated without injury, The
Suffolk cultivators gather both male and female
plants at the same time, reserving a small part
for seed. In Lincolnshire and on the Continent
they gather the male plant a month earlier than
the female, and therefore small paths are made
at intervals through the field, in order that the
persons employed may pluck the plants which
are ripe without trampling down those which
are to remain.

-The ripeness of the female hemp is known by
the same indications as that of the male, and
also by the calyx partially opening and its seed
beginning to change colour. They are both less
injured by pulling too soon than too late, but
when very young, though the fibres are more
flexile and fine, the ropes which are made with

 

417

them are found not to be so lasting as when the
plants are gathered in a more matured state.

Hemp is never suffered to remain ungathered,
till the seed is perfectly ripe, as at this period
the bark becomes woody, and so coarse that no
subsequent process can reduce its fibres to a
proper degree of fineness. Some plants should
therefore be preserved for seed. These require
no particular cultivation, but the male hemp is
likewise left rather longer than usual that it may
attain to maturity and shed its farina upon the
seed-bearing plant. The most careful cultiva-
tors, however, generally plant out a piece of
ground for the purpose of raising seed, as it
proves much more prolific when the plants are
set at a greater distance from each other.

This has been fully ascertained by the experi-
ments of M. Aimen, who found that forty plants
raised in the common way yielded only a pound
and a half of seed, whereas from a single plant
which grew by itself seven pounds and a half
were obtained.

‘When the hemp is pulled it is taken up by
the roots, and before the plants are taken from
the field, the leaves and flowers, and sometimes
the roots, are taken off with a wooden sword;
these are left on the ground, as they greatly con-
tribute to enrich it for the succeeding crop. The
stalks are then arranged as nearly as possible in
equal lengths, the root ends being laid all on the
same side of each handful or bundle, which is
then tied round with one of the stalks.

When the hemp is gathered from which seed
is to be preserved, it is exposed eight or ten days
to the air, after which the heads are cut off, and
the seed is thrashed and separated in the same
manner as lintseed,

The processes to which the hemp is subjected
before it is rendered marketable, and in a state
fit for spinning, are very similar to those practised
with flax. The same end is required to be at-
tained, that of separating and cleansing the fibres
from the woody and gummy matters which ad-
here to it, and the means used are therefore the
same,—the time and degree of each operation
being proportionate to the different nature of
the two fibres,

The plant is generally dried previously to
being watered, but this is objected to by some
of the most intelligent cultivators. Mills, in
his work on husbandry, gives some very excel-
lent reasons for dissenting from the general prac-
tice; he observes, ““Those that are for drying it
first, say that the hemp thereby becomes stronger
than when it is steeped, without having been
previously dried. For my part, I confess that
this drying seems to be a needless trouble; for as
it is necessary in-the steeping of hemp that a
certain degree of putrefaction should arise suffi-
cient to destroy the texture of that glutinous
substance which ioe fibres to the woody
418

part of the hemp, it certainly is advisable to lay
the hemp in water as soon as can be after it is
pulled, because the more there is of the natural
moisture left in this glutinous substance the
sooner the putrefaction would begin. If either
by design or by accident the hemp has been
dried, the putrefaction comes on more slowly
and unequably, and the fibres contract a hard-
ness which the steeping will not afterwards easily
correct,”

Marcandier is of the same opinion as the
writer just quoted, and farther adds, that hemp
newly gathered requires only four days’ immer-
sion in water, but if it has been previously dried,
eight or ten days will scarcely suffice to produce
a similar effect, and if the water be hard or of a
very cold temperature, a fortnight or three weeks
may be found necessary.

Mere exposure to the air is sometimes substi-
tuted for the water steeping; this is called dew-
retting. ‘The hemp to be so treated is stacked
and covered during the first part of the winter,
and in January and February is spread upon
meadow land and whitened with the frost and
snow. The fibres of the plants thus treated are,
however, always much inferior to those which
are retted by water, and they are fit only for the
coarser yarns.

In the cold regions of some part of Russia
and Sweden the snow which falls so abundantly
is made the means of separating the fibres from
the useless part of the plant. The hemp pre-
viously dried instead of being steeped in water,
is, after the first fall of snow, spread on the
ground to receive afresh accession of snow upon
its surface; and this, when dissolved in the spring,
leaves the hemp in such a state that the fibres
are readily disengaged. In some parts of Livonia
a more complicated method is pursued, which it
is said enhances the value of the hemp twenty-
five or thirty per cent,

A spot where there is a fall of clear water is
selected, and five or six basins of about two feet
deep are made, one beneath the other; they are
divided by slight banks of clay, and communi-
cate with each other by means of a small aper-
ture in each, which can be stopped at pleasure.
The plants are steeped in the lowest basin for
two or three days, and so on successively to the
highest; the first basin as soon as emptied always
being filled again with fresh plants; at each time
these are supplied, the water is renewed in the
top basin, and the apertures being unclosed, an
exchange of water takes place throughout all
the vessels.

It has always been supposed that some im-
provement might be introduced in this prelim-
inary part of the preparation of hemp. M,
Brulles, an old curate of the department of the
Somme, influenced by this opinion, occupied
himself for several years with various experi-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ments on the subject. Encouraged by his govern-
ment, he at length, in 1803, discovered a much
superior method, and offered it to the inspection
of those interested in promoting the improve-
ment. Napoleon, in the midst of his ambitious
schemes and stupendous projects, still gave his
attention to this minute point of domestic ad-
vantage, and directed that trials should be made
of M. Brulles’ plan, under the superintendence
of Berthollet and other scientific and competent
persons. These experiments were carefully pur-
sued for six months, and the result proved highly
satisfactory.

The process is wholly different to the usual
water-retting wherein so much time is consumed,
and in which a situation near a river is almost
indispensably necessary for the supply of the
canals with soft water. This is M. Brulles’ pro-
cess: soft soap being dissolved in water it is heated
to nearly boiling temperature; the hemp stalks
are then entirely immersed in this soapy mixture,
the plants and fluids bearing the relative propor-
tion in weight of 148 to 650; the boiler contain-
ing the whole is then closed, and the fire extin-
guished. After being subjected to this macera-
tion for only two hours, the hemp is taken out
and covered with a layer of straw, that it may
cool gradually without losing its humidity.

As soon as one parcel of plants is taken out
of the cauldron, fresh ones are put into the same
water, care being taken to add a quantity of the
soapy mixture equal to that which had been
absorbed by the preceding plants.

By then crushing and beating the fibres, they
were found to separate more readily than after
the common method of retting, and with much
less waste, producing in the proportion of four
ounces from one pound of plants, while in the
ordinary way only three ounces were obtained.
On the other hand, the utensils required, and the
soap and fuel consumed, might be adduced as
countervailing objections, which, however, were
believed not only by the inventor, but by those
who investigated the method, to be more than
compensated by the great advantages attendant
on this process.

After watering or maccrating the hemp, it is
sometimes dried in the same manner as flax, but
this operation is more usually hastened by means
of an oven or kiln. In this case the heat must
be very carefully applied, as too great a degree
will injure the fibres by drying up the oil which
they contain, leaving them harsh and brittle.
Combustion is so casily excited in dry hemp,
that when a kiln is employed, great care is taken
that no fuel is used which can blaze or sparkle;
coke is therefore considered most proper for the
purpose.

The drying place is sometimes a kind of cavern,
so situated as to be sheltered from the north and
north-east winds, and open to the south, that it
THE NETTLE.

may receive the full benefit of the sun. About
four feet above the floor, bars of wood are fixed
across this cavern, on which the hemp is laid six
inches thick. Under the hemp so placed, a small
fire is kindled, which is usually fed by the frag-
ments of the reeds of plants, which have been
already peeled; this is tended by a careful person,
who must always be on the alert to replenish
the fire, for the fuel used quickly consumes, and
a constant and regular heat should be kept up
in the cavern or oven, while very great caution
is required to prevent the flame from reaching
the hemp. During the process this is turned
from time to time, that it may be equally dried
throughout.

After it is dried the hemp is usually broken
by the hand-break or by mills; when the former
is used it is reckoned that one woman can break
twenty or thirty pounds during the day. Some
cultivators adopt another method for separating
the fibres, This is done by simply breaking off
a piece of the stalk at the lower end, and peeling
the bark from the reed in ribands. It is so simple
of performance, that the children, the aged, and
the infirm, can be advantageously employed in
the task; and where there is a large family, and
some hands which would be otherwise useless,
this method may be pursued with a good result,
but it would be very unprofitable work for an
active labourer. Besides which it is not as ef-
fectual as the use of the break in separating the
fibres. The peeled hemp comes off with much
of the useless membranes adhering, and it is not
disengaged from any of the dirt, which it may
have contracted in the stagnant pools where it
has been watered; these circumstances render the
after processes with the peeled hemp more diffi-
cult than with that which is broken.

The Abbé Brulles recommends another manner
of accomplishing the same thing, and which he
terms reeding the plant. For this purpose a
trough is provided, twelve or fourteen inches
deep, and somewhat longer than the hemp under
process; to this trough are fitted two pieces of
wood, a foot in length, set on one side with brass-
wire teeth. The trough being filled with water,
and the hemp laid evenly along, these pieces of
wood are placed over the hemp, one at the end
and the other in the middle of the stalks, serving
thus the double purpose of keeping them straight,
and of retaining them in the water.

Immediately that the hemp is found to be
sufficiently macerated, it is transferred to the
trough without any previous drying; there it is
gently rubbed, to promote still farther the separ-
ation of the bark from the reed. The bark is
then disengaged from the stem at the root end;
keeping the hand and the reed under water, and
laying hold of the stem, it is readily drawn out
from the bark, like a sword from its scabbard.
In this way a skilful operator may draw out six

 

419

or more reeds at once. Should any of the reeds
be broken, then the board is taken off at the
upper end, and the remaining pieces are drawn
out at that side.

When the fibres are thus freed from the reeds
they are readily disengaged from the remaining
parts, now macerated into a jelly, which is re-
moved by washing and rubbing, care being taken
not to twist or displace the threads.

After the fibres have been disengaged by either
of the foregoing methods, the operation of scutch-
ing commences; this has been already described.
The usual allowance for waste’ in Russian hemp,
under this process, is estimated at four pounds
per hundred weight. A good workman can
scutch from sixty to eighty pounds of hemp per
diem, Those fibrous parts which are beaten out,
are carefully collected and scutched separately,
and the smaller pieces which are shaken out from
the coarse tow used for caulking ships, making
flambeaux, mops, and various other articles.

Before the hemp is heckled it is usually made
to undergo a previous operation called beetling.
This is performed by beating it with heavy
wooden mallets, in order still more completely
to separate the fibres, and to make them finer
and softer. The motion is given to the mallets
either by hand or by water, or by other motive
power. When a machine is used, the hemp is
constantly turned by a boy, in order to change
the surface, that every part in turn may receive
the strokes. It is then consigned into the heckle.

The heckles used for hemp are somewhat
coarser than those for flax. The teeth of the
coarsest are usually about an inch in circumfer-
ence at bottom, diminishing gradually to a sharp
point, and they are set about two inches apart
from each other.

The produce of an acre of land sown with
this plant usually averages from four to five
hundred weight of cleansed hemp, and from six-
teen to twenty-four bushels of seed. The cul-
ture of hemp is considered to be very profitable,
and many attempts have been made to encourage
its farther growth in England; but a great pre-
judice formerly existed against this crop, and it
was supposed to exhaust the land to such a de-
gree, that many landowners inserted in the leases
granted to their tenants, covenants prohibiting
its cultivation.

Hemp is admitted from all countries under
a nominal duty of one penny per ewt.; its pre-
sent price, varying according to its quality, is
from £21 to £28 per ton.

Tut Nerrie(urtica.) This genus, belonging
to the same natural family as hemp, also affords
a fibre tenacious enough to be manufactured into
cloth. The urtica dioica grows a weed in almost
every region of the globe. This species, as well
as u, urens and pilulifera, have the singular pro-
perty of being furnished with a poisonous juice.
420

The small prickles with which the leaves are
covered, are hollow tubes filled with an acrid
liquid. These tubes have a small hole at the
point, and when gently pressed the sharp points
enter the skin, and the fluid flows into the wound,
causing a burning sensation in the skin, and a
blister. A strong decoction of the plant salted,
will readily coagulate milk without imparting
the disagreeable flavour that ill prepared runnet
is apt to do. The Chinese and other nations
manufacture a sort of cloth from the prepared
fibres of the nettle.

Sunn, or Inpian Hemp (crotoleria juncea).
Natural family leguminose ; diadelphia, decan-
dria, Linneus. Two species of crotoleria are
cultivated in the Indies, and used for the same
purposes ashemp. The stalk is herbaceous, fur-
rowed, and grows to the height of four to six
feet. ‘The leaves are simple, lanceolate, subses-
sile; the flowers are papilionaceous; the pods
smooth. It is of easy culture, and very produc-
tive. The seeds are sown pretty thick, in a soil
which requires little previous culture, about the
commencement of the rainy season. In about
three or four months afterwards the plants are
ready for gathering, which is known by the
blossoms beginning to fall off. The plants are
either pulled up by the roots, or cut down short.
They are then immediately placed in shallow
water, standing on their root ends, not more than
one-third of the plant being immersed; next day
they are wholly covered with water; and thus
the thicker and more woody part is steeped longer
than the thinner and more delicate. After three
or four days’ maceration, the dresser, standing in
the water, takes up a handful of the stems, breaks
them in the middle, and strikes each part suc-
cessively on the water until the fibre separates
from the reed. The filaments are then hung up
to dry, and with little more preparation are made
into cordage, fishing nets, and small lines.

Paat, or Jute (corchorus olitorius). Natural
family siliacew; polyandria, monogynia, Lin-
neus. This is an annual plant, which flowers in
autumn, and grows wild in many districts of
India. In Bengal it is cultivated for its fibres,
which are made into cordage. In its wild state
it is short and branchy; but when cultivated it
sends up a smooth round stem, of the height of
three feet. About Aleppo the Jews cultivate
this plant as a pot herb. The Hindoos also boil
and eat the leaves. The stems require to be ma-
cerated for two or three weeks before the fibres
can be separated. The bags in which Indian
sugar is brought to this country are made of the
material of this plant.

Chinese Hemp (corchorus capsularis). This
species is cultivated in China, as well as in Ben-
gal, both as an article of food and for the manu-
facture of cordage. It is found, however, to be
inferior in every respect to the fibre of Hemp.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Another plant, sanseviera zylanica, found in
China, Ceylon, and other parts of India, is cul-
tivated for similar purposes. Its leaves, which
are from three to four feet in length, afford a
fibrous substance, which the natives prepare by
placing the leaf on a smooth broad table, holding
it down by putting their great toe on one end of
it, and then scraping it with a thin piece of hard
wood held in both hands. Forty pounds of
leaves thus scraped will afford one pound of
clean dry fibres. Dr Roxburgh reckons this
material of excellent quality; and thinks that
the China grass, used by the Chinese for fiddle
strings, fishing lines, and other purposes, is no-
thing else than this plant. It is used also by
the natives of the Circars for stringing their
bows.

Another species, sanseviera guineansis, found
wild in great abundance in western Africa, is
said to rival the New Zealand flax in tenacity of
fibre.

New Zeatanp Fiax (phormium tenaz). Na-
tural family asphodelew ; hexandria, monogynia,

 

Linneus. This plant, which grows in great
abundance in New Zealand, has long slender
leaves, resembling the common flag, and which,
proceeding from the root, encircle the stem. ‘This
latter rises single to the height of several feet,
and then branching out, bears a number of small
flowers.

The fibrous part of the leaves is possessed of
great tenacity and strength, and with very little
preparatory labour, is converted by the natives
of New Zealand into clothing and cordage, which
latter is found to be much stronger than that
made from hemp. Another preparation produces
from the same plant long slender fibres of a beau-
tiful whiteness, and having the lustre of silk.
Of these the natives make their best clothes.
This plant was introduced into Ireland hy Mr
Underwood, in the year 1798, where it has been
cultivated as an ornamental plant ever since,
THE

It thrives well in the climate of Britain in the
open air, and in almost any situation.

Mr Salisbury, of the Botanic Garden of Chel-
sea, gives, as the result of his experiments and
observations, many useful hints for its culture
and preparation. He found that plants of three
years old will, on an average, yield thirty-six
leaves, besides a very considerable increase of
offsets, which leaves being cut down in the au-
tumn, others spring up anew in the ensuing
summer. Six leaves have produced one ounce
of dry available fibres, having been previously
scutched and cleansed; at which rate an acre of
land cropped with these plants, growing at three
feet distance from each other, will yield rather
more than sixteen hundred weight per acre, a
great produce compared with that of either flax
or hemp. It has likewise the farther advantage
of being cleansed with very little labour or
trouble. The leaves are cut when full grown,
and macerated for a few days in stagnant water;
they are then passed under a roller machine pro-
perly weighted. By these means the fibres se-
parate, and if then washed in a running stream
will instantly become white.

Two or three years back some of this material,
which had been obtained from the Colonial
Office, was woven into cloth by the pauper chil-
dren of St George’s workhouse, Little Chelsea.
It was soft to the touch, and of a good colour.
From other trials, however, which have been
made, it is supposed that this material does not
produce very durable cloth, and that it is not
well adapted to the purpose of weaving; but
every test has proved its superiority for the for-
mation of cordage.

The leaves of this plant grow in Ireland to
five, six, and even eight feet high. It is propa-
gated by offsets, which should not be parted till
the parent root is four years old. May is the
most favourable season for this work of hus-
bandry.

Experiments have likewise been made at
Portsmouth in the application of another pro-
duct of New Zealand to the manufacture of large
and small ropes. A favourable report has been
given of the result of these trials. The new ma-
terial is a strong pliable grass, very silky in its
nature, and ef very rapid and luxuriant growth,
three crops being obtained in one year. It may
be brought into this country at the estimated
price of £8 per ton, which is now about one-
fifth of the price of hemp of the best quality.

 

CHAP. XLII.
TIMBER TREES—THE OAK, ELM, ASH, &c,

Tue Oax (quercus). Natural family amen-
tacee; moneecia, polyandria, of Linneus. The

 

OAK. 42]
oak, from the remotest antiquity, has obtained a
pre-eminence among trees, and has not unjustly
been styled the “monarch of the woods.” Its
great size, noble aspect, long duration, and the
strength and durability of its wood, all contri-
bute to enhance its importance. It was held sa-
cred by the Greeks and Romans, and no less so
by the ancient Gauls and Britons. The Romans
dedicated this tree to Jupiter; and the Roman
husbandmen, before they began their harvest,
crowned their heads with wreathes of its leaves.
The solemn ceremonies of the Druids were held
under its shade, their mysteries were connected
with it, and cutting the mistletoe from its trunk
formed one of their most sacred rites. To mo-
dern Britons, as furnishing the materials of their
navy, it is held in no less esteem and importance
as a national tree.

Let India boast her plants, nor envy we

The weeping amber and the balmy tree,

While by our oaks the precious loads are borne,
And realms commanded which those trees adorn.”

Of the oak there are a great many species,
Three kinds are indigenous to Britain. A con-
siderable number of species, and many varieties,
are found in the temperate parts of Europe; and
at least fifty species have been discovered in
North and South America. Some of these are
deciduous, others evergreen; some only attain the
height of shrubs, while others rise to magnifi-
cent trees. The temperate regions of the globe
are most favourable for the growth of the oak.
It is not found generally in the torrid zone, un-
less at considerable elevations, where the atmos-
pheric heat is greatly reduced; and it grows
sparingly and stunted in latitudes far north.

The common British Oak (quercus robur ). In
this well known species the leaves are deciduous;
they are oblong, broader at the top than the bot-
tom, having acute notches with obtuse angles.
The trunk is knotty, or “ gnarled;”’ the branches
thick, tortuous, and numerous. It flowers in
spring, the time depending on the temperature
of the season, and the situation and soil. We
often observe an oak in full leaf, and at the same
time another standing near it without any such
appearance, owing to the coldness or poverty of
the stratum on which it stands, and which would
have been unperceived had not the tree shown
it. But notwithstanding this, observation and
experience teach us that these differences are
very inconsiderable, and that the oak, which is
most backward in putting forth its leaves, gen-
erally retains its verdure the longest in the au-
tumn. In general the flowers, which are of a
yellowish hue, begin to open about the 7th of
April; about the 18th the leaves appear, at which
time the flowers are in full bloom; and about

* Pope,
422

the Gth of May the leaves will be quite out, and
remain until the autumnal frosts come on. When

 

The Oaks

the oak grows alone it is moderately low,
and its branches spreading. In this case the
timber is also said to be more compact and
stronger, and the crooked arms or branches bet-
ter suited for ship building. In thickly planted
groups the stems grow upwards, and often reach
the height of forty to fifty feet without giving
off lateral branches, while the branches attain
a height equal to that of the trunk, thus form-
ing a tree of 100 feet in height.

The wood of the oak, though full of minute
pores, forming to appearance a spungy net-work
(see Plate I., fig. 8.), is yet of great strength and
durability. Some timber may be harder, some
more difficult to rend or tear, and some less ca-
pable of being broken across; but none contains
all these qualities united in such a superior degree
as the oak; hence its great use in ship building,
where all these requisites are demanded. ‘The
oak is not so much used for ship-building as it
was formerly, having been in a great measure
superseded by fir, and latterly larch wood has
been much employed for this purpose. The
sailor will still, however, maintain that his
ship is “heart of oak.” ‘The seed of the
oak, or acorn, is a well-known nut, contained
in, and partially covered by, the calyx of the
flower. Our rude ancestors are said to have fed
on them; and acorns are still used as food by the
peasantry in the south of Europe. Cervantes,
in his romance of Don Quixote, not only sets
them before the goat-herds as a dainty, but picks
out the choicest as a dessert for the Countess her-
self. The oaks with edible acorns are not, how-
ever, of the same species as the English oak.
The Italian oak, which Virgil represents as the
monarch of the forest, and of the elevation of
whose top, the stedfastness of whose roots, and
of whose triumph in its greenness over the lapse
of ages, he gives a splendid description in the
second book of his Georgics, bore fruit which
was used as food. The quercus ilex (the ever-
green oak), which is still common in Spain, in

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Ttaly, in Greece, in Syria, in the south of France,
and on the shores of the Mediterranean, bears a
fruit which, in its agreeable flavour, resembles
nuts. It isa slow-growing tree, and is always
found single, and not in clumps. There is an-
other evergreen oak, guercus baillota, very com-
mon in Spain and Barbary, of which the acorns
are most abundant and nutritive. During the
Peninsular war, the French armies were for-
tunate in finding subsistence upon the ballota
acorns in the woods of Salamanca. We are often
startled by the assertions of ancient writers, that
the acorn, in the early periods of society, formed
the principal food of mankind. Much of our
surprise would have ceased had we distinguished
between the common acorn and that of the ilex,
ballota, and esculus oaks. Some of the classic
authors speak of the fatness of the primitive in-
habitants of Greece and southern Europe, who,
living in the forests which were planted by the
hand of nature, were supported almost wholly
upon the fruit of the oak. The Grecian poets
and historians called these people balanophagi
(eaters of acorns); but then the Greek word
balanos, which the Romans translated glans
(acorn), applied also to such fruits as dates,
nuts, beech-mast, and olives. ‘These all contain
large quantities of oil, which renders them par-
ticularly nutritive.

Whether the custom existed among the an-
cient Britons, or (as is more probable), was im-
ported by the Saxons, who came from the thick
oak forests of Germany, it is certain that, during
the time when they held sway in this country,
the fattening of hogs upon acorns in the forests
was accounted so important a branch of domes-
tic economy, that, at about the close of the
seventh century, king Ina enacted the panage
laws for its regulation. The fruit of the oak
then formed gifts to kings, and part of the duw-
ries of queens. So very important was it, in-
deed, that the failure of the acorn crop is re-
corded as one of the principal causes of famine.
One of the most vexatious acts of William the
Conqueror, in his passion for converting the
whole of the forests into hunting grounds, was
that of restricting the people from fattening their
hogs; and this restriction was one of the griev-
ances which king John was called upon to re-
dress at the triumph of Runnemede, where his
assembled subjects compelled him to sign Magna
Charta. It is to be observed that swine’s flesh
was the principal food of most nations in the
earlier stages of civilization; and this is to be at-
tributed to the extreme rapidity with which the
hog species multiply.

Up to-a recent period, large droves of hogs
were fattened upon the acorns of the New Forest,
in Hampshire, under the guidance of swine-herds,
who collected the herds together every night by
the sound of a horn. At the present time, the
THE OAK,

hogs of Estremadura are principally fed upon
the acorns of the ballota oak; and to this cause
is -assigned the great delicacy of their flesh.

The history of the importance of the oak as
timber nearly keeps pace with that of ship-build-
ing; and there is little doubt that, from the time
of Alfred, who first gave England a navy capa-
ble of contending with her enemies upon the sea,
to that of Nelson (about nine hundred years af-
terwards), in whom nautical skill appears to have
heen raised to the greatest possible height, the
oak was the principal and essential material in
ship-building. It is more than probable that
the inferiority of some of our more recently built
ships, and the ravages which the dry-rot is mak-
ing among them, have arisen from the substitu-
tion of foreign oak for that of native growth. A
writer in the Quarterly Review has ascribed this
evil to the substitution of a foreign species of
oak, in our own plantations, instead of continu-
ing the true native tree.

“We may here notice a fact long known to
botanists, but of which our planters and pur-
veyors of timber appear to have had no suspi-
cion, that there are two distinct species of oak
in England,* the quercus robur, and the quercus
sessiliflora ; the former of which affords a close-
grained, firm, solid timber, rarely subject to rot;
the other more loose and sappy, very liable to
rot, and not half so durable. This difference
was noticed so early as the time of Ray; and
Martyn, in his Flora Rustica, and Sir James
Smith, in his F7ora Britannica, have added their
testimonies to the fact. The second species is
supposed to have heen introduced, some two or
three ages ago, from the continent, where the
oaks are chiefly of this latter species, especially
in the German forests, the timber of which is
known to be very worthless. But what is of
more importance to us is, that, de facto, the im-
postor abounds, and is propagated vigorously in
the New Forest and other parts of Hampshire,
in Norfolk, and the northern counties, and about
London; and there is but too much reason to be-
lieve that the numerous complaints that were
heard about our ships being infested with what
was called, improperly enough, dry-rot, were
owing to the introduction of this species of oak
into the naval dockyards, where, we understand,
the distinction was not even suspected. It may
thus be discriminated from the true old English
oak: the acorn-stalks of the robur are long, and
its leaves short; whereas the sessiliflora has the
acorn-stalks short, and the leaves long; the
acorns of the former grow singly, or seldom two
on the same foot-stalk: those of the latter in
clusters of two or three, close to the stem of the
branch. We believe the Russian ships of the
Baltic, that are not of larch or fir, are built of

* Or rather, the sessiliflora may be reckoned a variety.

 

423

this species of oak; but if this were not the case,
their exposure on the stocks, without cover, to
the heat of summer, which, though short, is ex-
cessive, and the rifts and chinks, which fill up
with ice and snow in the long winter, are enough
to destroy the stoutest oak, and quite sufficient
to account for their short-lived duration.”

The trunk of the detached oak acquires by far
the greater diameter; some of the old hollow
trees, most of which are of this description, hav-
ing a diameter of as much as sixteen feet in the
cavity, and still a shell of timber on the outside,
sufficiently vigorous for producing leaves and
even acorns. The age to which the oak can con-
tinue to vegetate, even after the core has de-
cayed, has not been fully ascertained; but in
favourable situations it must be very consider-
able. In the New Forest, Evelyn counted, in
the sections of some trees, three hundred or four
hundred concentric rings, or layers, of wood,
each of which must have recorded a year’s growth.
The same celebrated planter mentions oaks in
Dennington Park, near Newbury, once the resi-
dence of Chaucer, which could not have arrived
at the size which they possessed in a less period
than about three hundred years; and though he
does not say upon what evidence the opinion is
grounded, Gilpin notices, in his Forest Scenery,
“a few venerable oaks in the New Forest, that
chronicle upon their furrowed trunks ages before
the Conquest.”

Some out of the number of ancient oaks that
are celebrated, it may not be uninteresting to
mention. One of the three in Dennington Park,
the King’s Oak, was fifty feet high before a
bough or even a knot appeared, and the base of
it squared five feet entirely solid; the Queen’s
Oak was straight as a line for forty feet, then di-
vided into two immense arms, and the base of it
squared to four feet; and Chaucer’s oak, said to
have been planted by the poet, though inferior
to the royal ones, was still a most stately tree.
The Framlingham oak (Suffolk), used in the
construction of the Royal Sovereign, was four
feet nine inches square, and yielded four square
beams, each forty-four feet in length. An oak
felled at Withy Park (Shropshire), in 1697, was
nine feet in diameter without the bark; there
were twenty-eight tons of timber in the body
alone; and the spread of the top, from bough to
bough, was one hundred and forty-four feet. In
Holt Forest (Hampshire), there was an oak
which, at seven feet from the ground, was thirty-
four feet in circumference in 1759, and twenty
years after, the circumference had not increased
half an inch. Dr Plott mentions an oak at Nor-
bury which was of the enormous circumference
of forty-five feet; and when it was felled, and
lying flat upon the ground, two horsemen, one
on each side the trunk, were concealed from each
other. The same author mentions an oak at.
424

Keicot, under the shade of which four thousand
three hundred and seventy-four men had suffi-
cient room to stand. The Boddington oak, in
the Vale of Gloucester, was fifty-four feet in cir-
cumference at the base. The larger arms and
branches were gone in 1783; and the hollow ca-
vity was sixteen feet in its largest diameter, with
the top formed into a regular dome; while the
young twigs on the decayed top had small leaves
about the size of those of the hawthorn, and an
abundant crop of acorns. The hollow had a
door and one window; and little labour might
have converted the tree into a commodious and
rather a spacious room. The Fairlop oak in
Essex, though inferior in dimensions to the last
mentioned, was a tree of immense size, being be-
tween six and seven feet in diameter at three
feet from the ground. Damory’s oak in Dorset-
shire was one of the largest oaks of which mention
ismade. Its circumference was sixty-eight feet ;
and the cavity of it, which was sixteen feet long
and twenty feet high, was, about the time of the
Commonwealth, used by an old man for the en-
tertainment of travellers; as an ale-house. The
dreadful storm in the third year of last. century
shattered this majestic tree; and in 1755 the last
vestiges of it were sold as firewood. Animmense
oak was dug out of Hatfield bog. It was a hun-
dyed and twenty feet in length, twelve in dia-
meter at the base, ten in the middle, and six at
the smaller end where broken off.

Dr Hunter, in his notes to Evelyn’s Sylva,
thus describes the great Cowthorpe oak, near
Wetherby, in Yorkshire, as it stood in 1776:
“The dimensions are almost incredible. With-
in three feet of the surface it measures sixteen
yards, and close by the ground twenty-six yards,
or seventy-eight feet. Its height in its present
iuinous state is almost eighty-five feet, and its
principal limb extends sixteen yards from the
bole. Throughout the whole tree the foliage is
extremely thin, so that the anatomy of the an-
cient branches may be distinctly seen in the
height of summer. When compared to this,
all other trees are but children of the forest.”
In 1829 it is again described thus by the Rev.
Thomas Jessop: “The Cowthorpe oak is still
in existence, though very much decayed. At
present it abounds with foliage and acorns; the
latter have long stalks, the leaves short ones.
The dimensions are as follow: Height forty-five
feet; circumference, close to the ground, not in-
cluding the angles, sixty feet, at one yard high
forty-five feet; extent of principal branch fifty
feet, being an increase of two feet in about half
acentury. Iam inclined to think that the ori-
ginal dimensions were those given in the Sylva.
The oldest persons in the neighbourhood speak
of the tree as having been once much higher;
and were the angles included in the measure-
ment, which project from the lower trunk, the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

circumference might be made out twenty-six
yards. It is said by the inhabitants of the vil-
lage, that seventy persons at one time got within
the hollow of the trunk; but on inquiring, 1]
found many of these were children; and as tho
tree is hollow throughout to the top, I suppose
they sat on each others’ shoulders; yet, without
exaggeration, I believe the hollow capable of
containing forty men.” *

The Greendale oak, in Nottinghamshire, still
remains a curious monument of antiquity. In
1724 a road-way was cut through its venerable
trunk higher than the entrance to Westminster
Abbey, and sufficiently capacious to permit a
carriage and four horses to pass through it. The
circumference of the trunk above the arch is
thirty-five feet, the height of the arch ten feet,
and the circumference about the middle upwards
of six feet.

Some oaks have been as celebrated for being
the records of historical events, as others have
been for their magnitude, although a part of the
celebrity may no doubt be fabulous. Not a hun-
dred years ago, the oak in the New Forest, against
which the arrow of Sir William Tyrrel glanced
before it killed William Rufus, is said to have
been standing, though in such a state of decay,
that Lord Delaware erected a monument to in-
dicate the spot. The Royal Oak at Boscobell,
in which Charles the Second concealed himselt
after the defeat at Worcester, has disappeared ;
and though several trees were raised from its
acorns, the race seems now to be lost to vege-
table history. An oak of still more venerable
pretensions now stands, or lately stood, at Tor-
wood Wood, in Stirlingshire, under the shadow
of which the Scottish patriot Wallace is reported
to have convened his followers, and impressed
upon them not only the necessity of delivering
their country from the thraldom of Edward, but
their power of doing it, if they were so deter-
mined. Gilpin mentions one more ancient even
than this—Alfred’s oak at Oxford, which was a
sapling when that great monarch founded the
university. This cannot, of course, be impli-
citly credited; but still the very mention of such
things proves, that the oak can reach an age
several times exceeding that of the longest lived
of the human race.

Oaks are generally raised in quantities to-
gether, forming woods, either sown by the ope-
rations of nature, or planted by art. The plants
are raised from seed, and either allowed to grow
up in the spots where they have originally sprung,
or they are first reared in nurseries, and then
transplanted. Some diversity of opinion exists
as to which of these methods is the best, although
it is generally allowed that the best oak wood is

~

* Strutt’s Sylva Britannica,
THE OAK,

produced from natural growth, or which nearly
resembles this, seed planting.

For raising the seeds in the nursery, a good
fresh loamy soil is selected, Having prepared
the beds, the acorns, which should also be well
selected, and taken from the finest trees, are to
be sown about three inches apart, and covered
over with the soil. This operation is best per-
formed in February, though some prefer the
autumnal months. In about six weeks the
plants will appear above ground; and in these
beds they may remain two years without any
further care than keeping them free from weeds.
The ground, when they are to be planted out,
must be prepared by deep trenching, or plough-
ing several times. The plants are then pulled
up, the tap root cut off, and a sufficient hole be-
ing made with a spade, successively placed into
the fresh earth, in rows four feet apart. A man
and boy will thus plant 1500 to 2000 in a day.

In raising oaks from the seed; the ground is to
be prepared in the same manner, and marked
out into lines or spaces, The acorns are then
deposited about ten inches apart, in a hole made
with a dibble, and covered up. This is done in
February or March; and care is afterwards taken
to keep the ground free from weeds. As the
plants come up thinnings are made, and defi-
ciencies supplied as found necessary.

In all cases of planting, shelter and warmth
are essentially necessary; and when the aspect
is unfriendly, the plantation should be skirted
to a sufficient thickness with Scotch firs, mixing
some of them also in the body of the wood. In
this manner an exposed situation may be made
to produce excellent timber; and when the trees
are grown to a size sufficient for their own pro-
tection, the firs in the centre should be removed,
otherwise they will injure the young oaks. On
the judicious thinning and clearing of young
wood depends much of the planter’s success and
profit.

The transplanting of large trees seems to have
been a circumstance long ago practised. Evelyn
thus alludes to it: “ Veterem arborem transplan-
tare, to transplant an old grove, was said of a
difficult enterprise. Yet before we take leave
of this subject, let us show what is possible to
be effected in this kind with cost and industry.
Count Maurice, the late governor of Brazil for
the Hollanders, planted a grove near his delicious
paradise of Friburgh, containing six hundred
cocoa trees of eighty years’ growth, and fifty
feet high to the nearest bough. These he wafted
upon floats and engines four long miles, and
planted them so luckily, that they bore abun-
dantly the very first year, as Gasper Barleus
hath related in his elegant description of that
prince’s expedition. Nor hath this only suc-
ceeded in the Indies alone; Monsieur de Fiat,
one of the mareschals of France, hath with huge

 

425

oaks done the like at Fiat. Shall I yet bring
you nearer home? A great person in Devon
planted oaks as big as twelve oxen could draw,
to supply some defect in an avenue to one of his
houses, as the Right Honourable the Lord Fitz-
harding, late treasurer of his Majesty’s house-
hold, assured me, who had himself likewise
practised the removing of great oaks, by a par-
ticular address extremely ingenious, and worthy
the communication.

“Choose a tree as big as your thigh, remove
the earth from about it, cut through all the col-
lateral roots till, with a competent strength, you
can enforce it down upon one side, so as to come
with your axe at the tap root; cut that off, re-
dress your tree, and so let it stand covered about
with the mould you loosened from it, till the
next year, or longer if you think good, then take
it up ata fit season; it will likely have drawn
new tender roots apt- to take, and sufficient for
the tree wheresoever you shall transplant it.
Some are for laying bare the whole root, and
then dividing it into four parts, in form of a
cross, to cut away the interjacent rootlings, leav-
ing only the cross and master roots that were
spared to support the tree; then covering the
pit with fresh mould, as above, after a year or
two, when it has put forth and furnished the
interstices you left between the cross roots with
plants of new fibres and tender shoots, you may
safely remove the tree itself, so soon as you have
loosened and reduced the four decapitated roots,
and shortened the tap roots; and this operation
is done without stooping or bending the tree at
all. And if, in removing it, you preserve as
much of the clod about the new roots as possible,
it would be much the better."

“ Pliny notes it as a common thing to re-esta-
blish huge trees that have been blown down,
part of their roots torn up, and the body pros-
trate. To facilitate the removal of such mon-
strous trees for the adornment of some particu-
lar place, or for the rarity of the plant, there is
this farther expedient: A little before the hard-
est frosts surprise you, make a square trench
about your tree, at such distance from the stein
as you may judge sufficient for the root; dig
this of competent depth, so as almost quite to
undermine it, by placing blocks and quarters of
wood to sustain the earth; this done, cast in as
much water as may fill the trench, or at least
sufficiently wet it, unless the ground were very
moist before. Thus let it stand till some very
hard frost do bind it firmly to the roots, and
then convey it to the pit prepared for its new
station, which you may preserve from freezing
by laying store of warm litter in it, and so close
the mould the better to the straggling fibres,
placing what you take out about your new
guest to preserve it in temper. But in case the

mould about it be so ponderous as not to be re-
38
426

moved by an ordinary force, you may then raise
it with a crane, or pulley, hanging between a
triangle, made of three strong and tall limbs
united at the top, where a pulley is fastened, as
the cables are to be under the quarters which
bear the earth about the roots, for by this means
you may weigh up and place the whole weighty
clod upon a trundle, sledge, or other carriage, to
be conveyed and replanted where you please, be-
ing let down perpendicularly into the place by
the help of the foresaid engine. And by this
address you may transplant trees of a wonderful
stature without the least disorder, and many
times without topping, a diminution of the head,
which is of great importance where this is prac-
tised to supply a defect or remove a curiosity.”’*

Such are the directions of Evelyn, which lately
have been revived and put in practice by Sir J.
Stewart of Allanton, and many others.

About sixty years after the time of Evelyn,
the “transplanting machine” was invented by
Brown, the celebrated landscape-gardener, and
the removal of large trees became much more
easy. The machine consisted of two very high
wheels, an axle, and a pole; and when the trees
were large, a truck-wheel was used at the end of
the pole. The tree was considerably lopped, the
earth loosened from the roots, the pole set erect
and lashed to the stem; and then a purchase
being made fast to the upper part of the pole,
the whole was pulled at once, and drawn hori-
zontally along.

Still, though this machine, and the mode of
using it, were great improvements upon the me-
thods recommended by Evelyn, yet the trees
were subjected to much mutilation, and they
did not recover their beauty and vigour till some
time had elapsed.

In the year 1816 a much improved mode of
transplanting grown timber was introduced by
Sir Henry Stuart of Allanton. By the practice
of that mode, he, in the course of five years, and
at an expense remarkably moderate, converted
his park, from a cold and naked field, to a rich
scene of glade and woodland. Sir Henry’s suc-
cess has been so complete, that his example has
been followed hy many other proprietors in the
uplands or central part of the south of Scotland.
Generally speaking, that part of the island is re-
markably destitute of timber; and as the coun-
try is pastured by sheep, which require fences
more elevated and also more close than cattle,
the rearing of wood, in the common way of
planting, is very expensive. The nakedness’ of
that part of Scotland is severely felt in the vio-
lence of the winds, which are certainly more
tempestuous, and attended by more intense cold,
than in some parts of the country much further
to the north,—the snows never falling to the

* Evelyn’s Sylva.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

same depth, or being accompanied by the same
violence on the Grampians in Perthshire, as upon
the naked mountains in the counties of Selkirk
and Peebles, In this part of the country, there-
fore, the invention by Sir Henry Stuart is of the
utmost value. Nor is its value confined to those
districts in which wood is wanted; for there is
much in the disposition of trees, not only as re-
spects beauty, but as regards usefulness; and by
Sir Henry’s plan, growing timber may be moved,
at no very great expense, from one place to an-
other, and that without almost the least inter-
ruption of its growth.

According to this method, there is no mutila-
tion of the tree—not a branch is lopped off; and
at the time of the removal, not a root is broken;
the trees are prepared before they are begun to
be removed. This preparation consists in cut-
ting all the roots at some distance from the tree.
It is well known that such an operation, instead
of being hurtful to trees, is often of advantage.
When the long lateral roots are cut, the stumps,
if they have not been rendered too short, put out
a number of young fibres, which appear to draw
and convey the nourishment with more effect
than those fibres that are connected with the
more extended roots.

The most handsome and thriving trees are se-
lected as those that will bear transplantation
with the least danger; and the lateral roots being
divided, as has been stated, the stumps are cov-
ered with fresh mould, in which they are left
for two or three years, in order that they may
put out new fibres for the absorption of nourish-
ment. This preparation of the tree actually im-
proves it, as the fibres have to fetch the nourish-
ment from a shorter distance. The tree, being
thus prepared, can be moved not only without
mutilating the top, but also without tearing up
the root; and thus the transplanting, if per-
formed with skill, becomes a healthful rather
than a dangerous operation. The pits for the
reception of the trees are, in the meantime, got
ready; and for trees of about thirty feet in height
(the diameter of the trunk of such a tree may
average about a foot), the diameter of these pits
is about eighteen feet. The earth of the pits is
trenched to the depth of about two feet; and in
the course of the trenching, it is well mixed with
compost of a nature as different as possible from
that of the soil; and the ground thus prepared
is the better if it lie for a year or more, in order
that the component parts of the soil may be pro-
perly mixed and mellowed. When that has
been done, the planting is accomplished by re-
moving the earth to a proper depth, placing the
tree in the pit thus made for it, adjusting the
roots as nearly as possible to their natural order,
and then covering them with earth. This being
properly accomplished, the firmness which the
trees have is much preater than would at first
THE OAK. 427

sight be suspected. Though the trees in Allan-
ton park are a good deal exposed to the violence
of the winds, yet they do not require to be much
propped.

The expense of this system of transplantation
is comparatively trifling; and if there be a sup-
ply of trees at not too great a distance, there is
no question that a park may be ornamented, or
land sheltered, by this means, much more cheaply
than by any other, and with the incomparable
advantage that it is done at once. After the
ground has been prepared, the whole expense of
removing and replanting the trees is not more
than from ten to thirteen shillings each, for trees
of from twenty-five to thirty feet in height;
about half that sum for smaller ones; and not
above two shillings or eighteen pence for shrubs
or brushwood, The following is Sir Henry’s
account of his park, extracted from his “Planter’s
Guide :’—

“There was in this park originally no water,
and scarcely a tree or a bush on the banks and
promontories of the present lake and river, for
the water partakes of both these characters.
During the summer of 1820 the water was intro-
duced; and in that and the following year, the
grounds immediately adjoining were abundantly
covered with wood by means of the transplant-
ing machine. Groups and single trees, grove
and underwood, were introduced in every style
of disposition which the subject seemed to admit.
Where the turf recedes from, or approaches the
water, the ground is somewhat bold and irregu-
lar, although without striking features of any
sort; yet the profusion of wood, scattered over
a surface of moderate limits, in every form and
variety, gave it an intricacy and an expression
which it had never possessed before.

“ By the autumn of the third year only after
the execution, namely, 1823, when the Commit-
tee of the Highland Society honoured the place
with their inspection, the different parts seemed
to harmonize with one another, and the intended
effects were nearly produced. What it was
wished to bring forward appeared already pro-
minent—what was to be concealed or thrown
into the back-ground, began to assume that sta-
tion, The fore-ground trees, the best that could
be procured, placed on the eastern bank, above
the water, broke it into parts with their spread-
ing branches, and formed combinations which
were extremely pleasing. The copse or under-
wood, which covers an island in the lake, and
two promontories, as also an adjoining bank that
terminates the distance, was seen coming down
nearly to the water’s edge. What was the most
important of all, both trees and underwood had
obtained a full and deep-coloured leaf, and health
and vigour were restored to them. In a word,
the whole appeared like a spot at least forty
years planted.”

 

Of the guercus robur, or British oak, three
varieties, or perhaps distinct species, are enum-
erated. The, sesséflora, sessile-fruited or female
oak, has oblong, obtuse, deciduous leaves, which
are winged, sinuated, and have very short foot-
stalks, with the acorn growing on long footstalks.
The pedunculata has oblong, subsessile, smooth,
sinuated leaves, with round lobes, and fruit ob-
long, stalked. The pubescens is distinguished by
oblong, obovate, sinuated leaves; downy beneath,
with obtuse, angular lobes, somewhat heart-
shaped, and unequal at the base. The fruit is
nearly sessile,

The pedunculata is supposed to be the common
indigenous oak of England, being much more
common in woods than the others. The timber
is said to be whitish and hard, while that of the
sessile-fruited is reddish and brittle. We shall
proceed to enumerate some of the more remark-
able species of the oak found in other countries.

Turkey Oak (quercus cerris.) This oak is
indigenous to Spain and the south of Europe.
The leaves are oblong and pointed, and frequently
indented in the middle like a lyre. They are
jagged and acute, pointed; a little hoary on their
under side, and stand upon slender footstalks.
The acorns are small, and have rough prickly
cups. Of this species five varieties are enumer-
ated:

The rough-leaved, bedlate.
Narrow-leaved, simuata.
Lucombe, exoniensis.
Fulham, sempervirens.
Toothed, dentata.

Italian Oak (q. esculus.) This species is
found growing naturally in Italy and Spain.
The leaves are smooth, and deeply sinuated,
like winged leaves; some of the sinuses are ob-
tuse, and others end in acute points; they have
very short footstalks, the branches are covered
with a purplish bark when young; the acorns
are long and slender, the cups rough and a litile
prickly, sitting closetothe branches. Theseacorns
are sweet, and are frequently eaten by the poor
in the south of France in times of scarcity, and
ground and made into bread along with wheat
flour. Of this species of oak the Romans made
their civic crowns,

The Velonian Oak (q. egilops.) A native of
the Levant and of Spain. The trunk rises nearly
as high as the common oak; the branches extend
very wide on every side, and are covered with a
grayish bark, intermixed with brown spots; the
branches are closely garnished with oblong, oval
leaves, about three inches long, and almost two
broad, which are deeply sawed on their edges;
most of the teeth turn backwards, and terminate
in acute points. The leaves are stiff, of a pale
green on the upper, and downy on the under
sides. The acorns have very large, scaly cups,
which almost cover them; the scales are ligneous,
428

and acute pointed, standing out a quarter of an
inch; some of the cups are as large as middle
sized apples.

The Evergreen Oak (q. tlex). The holly,
holm, or evergreen oak is a handsome tree, and
is common in the south of France and the
southern parts of Europe. Of this tree there
are several varieties, marked by the size and
shape of the leaves; yet Miller has proved that
they all spring from the same acorns. Some-
times even the lower leaves of the same tree

differ from those on the higher branches. The
varieties are :

The common, integrifoliu.
Notch-leaved, serrate.
Long-leaved, oblonga.

The leaves of this tree are from three to four
inches long, and one broad near the base, gradu-
ally lessening to a point: they are of a lucid
green on the upper side, but whitish and downy
on their under; and are entire, standing upon
pretty long footstalks. They remain green during
all the year, and do not fall till they are thrust
off by the young leaves in the spring. The
acorns are smaller than those of the common
oak, but of the same shape. The timber is sup-
posed to equal that of the common oak.

The Kermes Oak (q. coccifera,). This is a
common tree all along the Mediterranean coast.
It is of small growth, seldom rising above twelve
feet; the leaves are oval and undivided. They
are smooth on their surface, but indented on
their edges, which are armed with prickles like
those of the holly. The trunk is feathered to
the bottom, which gives it the appearance of a
bushy shrub, The acorns are smaller than those
of the common oak. From this tree are gathered
the kermes, with which the ancients used to dye
their garments of that beautiful colour called
coccineus or coccus, being different from the pur-
ple of the Pheenicians, which was obtained from
the testaceous mollusk, called murex. In course
of time the murex was neglected, and the kermes
of the oak was introduced. This continued in
use till the discovery of America introduced the
cochine insect from the cactus opuntia, already
described. The people of Barbary still employ
the kermes for dyeing the round scarlet caps, so
much used in the Levant; and they prefer that
of Spain to their own growth.

The Cork Oak (q. suber). The cork tree
rarely exceeds thirty-five to forty feet in height,
and from two to three feet in diameter. The
leaves are entire, oblong, oval, about two inches
long, and one and a quarter broad, with serrated
edges, and slightly downy on the under sides:
the footstalks are very short. The leaves con-
tinue green throughout the winter, till the mid-
dle of May, when they generally fall off just
before the new leaves come out, so that the trees

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

are very often almost bare for a short time, The
acorns are oval, rather large, and of a sweet

 

Cork Oak.

taste. This tree is found in abundance in Por-
tugal, Spain, Italy, the southern parts of France,
and in the Barbary states: Spain and Portugal
supply the greater portion of the cork which is
used in Europe. The timber of the cork oak is
heavy, hard, and compact, but is not so durable
as that of the common oak, especially when ex-
posed to water. ‘The outer bark of this tree
grows unusually large, and when removed is
speedily again renewed by the liber or inner
bark. This process, so far from injuringis said
to prolong the life of the tree; for when this ex-
cess of bark is not artificially removed, the tree
seldom lives longer than fifty or sixty years,
while the barked trees flourish for upwards of a
hundred and fifty years. This barking process
is not commenced till the tree is twenty-five
years old, and even then the bark is of little value.
Ten years after, it is barked a second time; but
though this second growth is much better, be-
cause less cracked, it is not yet thick enough to
make good corks for bottles, and is used princi-
pally for fishermen’s nets. It is not till after
forty-five or fifty years that the bark has all the
requisite qualities for making good corks; and
from this period a tree is regularly barked every
eight or ten years.

The months of July and August are those in
which the bark is removed. For this purpose
two longitudinal incisions are made opposite each
other the whole length of the body of the tree;
other two incisions are made transversely at the
two extremities; the bark is then detached hy
inserting between it and the wood the handle
of the hatchet, which is wedge-shaped. In this
operation great care must be taken not to injure
the tender lamine of the epidermis; for were
this inner bark destroyed, no further deposition
of cork bark would take place.

After having been scraped the bark is cut into
pieces, slightly charred to contract the pores and
destroy insects, and then pressed flat with stones.
In Catalonia it is divided into pieces and boiled
in water, which adds to the quality of the cork.
Good bark should be elastic and compressible,
THE OAK.

neither porous nor ligneous, and from fifteen to
twenty lines in thickness. The advantage of
this substance for bottle corks is, that it possesses
the elasticity necessary to conform exactly to the
shape of the neck of the bottle; and also an im-
permeability of structure, which prevents the
contained liquor from being absorbed, and dissi-
pated by evaporation.

According to Michaux, the cork gathered in
France is from 17 to 18,000 quintals, each of
which gives from 7,000 to 7500 corks 18 lines
long, when the sheet iseven and smooth. From
110 to 115 millions of corks are annually con-
sumed in France. In the year 1827, 2500 tons
of cork bark were imported into Great Britain.
Besides being made into corks, it is also manu-
factured into floats, shoe soles, and other articles.
The smoke and charcoal of burning cork col-
lected, forms the substance called Spanish black.

Cork was well known to the ancients.
It is mentioned by Theophrastus, Pliny, and
other authors, as in use among the Greeks and
Romans for floats to fishing nets, buoys to anchors,
and several other purposes. During the seige
of Rome by the Gauls, when Camillus was sent
to the capitol through the Tiber, he had a life
preserver of cork under his dress.

The White Oak (q. alba). This is a native
of the United States of America, and of parts
of Canada. It rises to the height of seventy or
eighty feet, by six or seven feet in diameter.
The leaves are of alight green, six or seven inches
long, and four broad in the middle: they are
regularly indented, almost to the midrib; the
indentations are obtuse, the footstalks are short.
The acorns very much resemble those of the
common oak. The bark is of a grayish-white
colour, with large black spots. The timber is
of a reddish hue, and in strength and durability
much resembles that of the British oak; but it
is less heavy and compact. The wood is uni-
versally used in America for various purposes in
the arts. The bark, which is used for tannin, is
also said to produce a purple dye.

The exports of this wood which come through
Quebec, are chiefly from the borders of Lake
Champlain, within the limits of the territory of
the United States. Though not so durable for
ship-building as the British oak, it has the ad-
vantage of a superior elasticity, by which it can
be bent in a shorter time into ship timber,

The Red Oak (q. rubra). This species is
found in most parts of the North American con-
tinent, but flourishes best in the northern states,
and in Canada. It is a tall tree, growing to the
height of eighty feet. The bark is smooth, and
of a grayish colour, but darker on the young
branches. The leaves are six inches long, and
two and a half broad in the middle; they are
obtusely sinuated, each sinus ending with a
bristly point; of a bright green colour, with

 

429

short footstalks. The leaves continue green till
late in autumn, and if frost does not set in early,
even to Christmas, before which time they change
their colour to a red. The acornsare very abun-
dant, large, and contained in very flat cups. The
timber is reddish, its texture coarse, and its pores
entirely empty; they are sometimes large enough
to admit the introduction of a hair. The wood
is strong, but is apt to decay soon. It is chiefly
used for staves, The bark is also employed in
tanning.

Chestnut Oak (q. prinus). Michaux enum-
erates five species of the chestnut oak. They
are so called because the leaves resemble very
closely those of the chestnut tree. The largest
sort grows in the rich low lands, and attains a
considerable height. The wood is small grained,
and very serviceable in the arts: the bark is gray
and scaly, the leaves six inches long, and two
broad, indented on the edges witn numerous
transverse veins proceeding from the midrib to
the margin. They are of a bright green hue.
The acorns are large, with short cups. The
species are—

The swamp white oak, discolor.
Chestnut white oak, palustris.
Rock chestnut oak, monticula.

Yellow oak, acuminata.
Small chestnut oak, chencapin.

These oaks are found partially diffused over the
middle and northern states ot America.

The Live Oak (q. virens). This species is
found exclusively in the maritime parts of the

 

Live Oak,

southern states of Florida, and lower Louisiana.
The influence of the sea air seems necessary to
its existence; for it is seldom seen to make a part.
of the forests even at so short a distance as fif-
teen or twenty miles from the shore. It is most
abundant on the islands, and around the bays
of the main land. The most common height of
this oak is from forty to forty-five feet, with a
diameter of from one to twofeet. Like all solitary
growing trees, this one has a very broad tufted
head, borne upon a trunk eighteen or twenty
feet high, but which most frequently branches
out into several boughs at akout half that height;
430

so that seen from a distance, its appearance is
not unlike that of an old apple tree. Its leaves
are oval, coriaceous, of adark green on the upper
surface, and whitish underneath. They are
several years without falling, and suceeed each
other but partially. The acorns are of a long
oval form, almost black, with shallow cups of a
grayish colour, borne on pretty long footstalks.
It is said that the Indians formerly extracted an
oil from them, which they mixed with their food;
and it is not improbable but that they ate them,
as they have not the austere taste of most other
acorns. In some years these nutsare very plen-
tiful, and they germinate so readily, that if the
weather is moist and rainy during the period of
their maturity, they begin to shoot out their
radicles even while still hanging on the trees.
The trunk of this oak is covered with a blackish
bark, which is hard and thick. The timber is
of a yellowish colour, deeper in old than in
young trees, and very heavy and compact. Its
texture is fine and close, the annual circles being
very near each other, evidently showing the
slowness of its growth. Being more durable
than the best white oak, it is much esteemed for
ship building, and is accordingly in high request
in all the harbours of the northern states, where
it is regularly imported. Its durability, when
kept dry, makes it useful in constructing the
upper parts of vessels; while its weight renders
it less adapted for the lower parts, unless when
accompanied hy corresponding pins of red cedar
wood, which being light, and susceptible of re-
sisting decay under changes of wet and dry,
renders it a suitable accompaniment to the oak.

The small size of the tree does not afford tim-
bers of any great magnitude; but its spreading
branches furnish knees and other suitable parts
for ship building. The consumption of this
wood, both in the United States, and for expor-
tation to England, is now very considerable, and
has increased much of late years. From this
consumption, and the clearing of the islands on
which it chiefly grows for the production of
cotton, joined to the slow growth and difficulty
of raising the live oak, it is fast disappearing
from the country.

The Willow Oak (q. phellos). This tree is
confined to the middle and southern states of
America. It attains the height of fifty to sixty
feet, with a diameter of two feet. The bark is
smooth and of a thick texture; the leaves from
two to three inches long, and narrow and taper-
ing like the common willow; they are of a light
green colour and smooth surface. The acorns
are small, round, and not abundant on the trees.
The willow oak grows in humid situations. The
wood is of loose coarse texture, and is not much
used.

Of the other species, described by Michaux,
wa may shortly mention the laurel oak, or

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

swamp willow oak, which attains the height ot
fifty to sixty feet. Its wood is very valuable,
and almost preferable to that of the live oak al-
ready described. The water oak, q. aquatica,
which, when full grown, is about thirty feet
high, with leaves varying exceedingly in their
form. The downy black oak, g. triloba, forty
feet high, of very rapid growth, and well suited
for enclosures. The barren black oak, or black
jack of Virginia, ¢. nigra, of low growth, bear-
ing numerous nuts, which are excellent feeding
for hogs. The black, or quercitron oak, g. ténc-
tora, one of the largest of the American oaks,
and highly valuable for its timber and bark.

The Dyer’s Oak (q. infectoria), is that from
which the nut-galls of commerce are procured,
although the gall nut is common on almost all
the other species of the family. This species is
a shrub, seldom exceeding six feet in height, very
common in Asia Minor. It was first accurately
deseribed hy M. Olivier in his Travels, and the
shrub itself was introduced by him into France,
where it is now cultivated as a garden plant, and
grows well in the open air.

The gall is a morbid excrescence produced by
the puncture of a winged insect, to which Olivier
has given the name of Diplolepis Galle Tineto-
vice, This excrescence is of a globular form,
with an unequal and tuberculous surface. It is
developed on the young shoots of the tree, and
contains within it the eggs which the insect has
deposited. The best galls are gathered before
the transformation of the insect, because in that
state they are heavier, and contain more of the
tannin principle. When the insect has left them,
they are pierced from the interior to the surface.
The best galls come from Aleppo. The sub-
stance of.which they are composed is peculiarly
astringent; of which, according to Sir Humphry
Davy, five hundred parts contain a hundred and
eighty parts of soluble matter, principally formed
of tannin and gallic acid. One hundred and
seventy-four tons of galls were imported into the
United Kingdom in 1827.

The instinct by which certain insects choose
for the nests of their future offspring the sub-
stance of various vegetable bodies, is one of the
most curious provisions in the economy of na-
ture. After having pierced those bodies, they
deposit their eges, which, being hatched, pro-
duce darve, that are more or less fatal to the ve-
getable substance to which they are attached.
According to Virey, an irritation is produced by
the introduction of these insects, that resembles
a tumour and inflammation in an animal body.
The cellular tissue swells; the parts, which were
naturally long, become round; and the flow of
liquid matter produces a change of organization,
from which results a complete change in the ex-
ternal form of the organ. In this way is the
gall produced. The oak-apple is an exerescence
THE MISLETOE,

of the same nature, though effected by a different
species of insect. There are various inseets pos-
sessing the instinct thus to deposit their eggs,
that are furnished with an apparatus of the most
curious construction, necessary for puncturing
the branch, as is done by the parent, and for
piercing a way out of the-gall, as is done by the
insect produced, after it has passed its larva state.
Each species of insect chooses not only the par-
ticular vegetable, but the part of that vegetable
which is best adapted for the reception of its
larve; and in this way the same plant, for in-
stance the oak, sometimes receives the nests of
twenty different species of insects. A gall some-
times contains a single larva, sometimes many,
and it is thus either called simple or com-
pound.

“The insect that wounds the leaf of the oak,”
says Mr Knapp, “and occasions the formation
of the gall-nut, and those which are likewise the
cause of the apple rising on the sprays of the
same tree, and those flower-like leaves on the
buds, have performed very different operations,
either by the instrument that inflicted the wound,
or by the injection of some fluid to influence the
action of the parts. That extraordinary hairy
excrescence on the wild rose, likewise the result
of the wounds of an insect (cynips rose), re-
sembles no other nidus required for such crea-
tures that we know of; and these red spines on
the leaf of the maple are different again from
others. It is useless to inquire into causes of
which we probably can obtain no certain results;
but, judging by the effects produced by different
agents, we must conclude that, as particular birds
require and fabricate from age to age very differ-
ent receptacles for their young, and make choice
of dissimilar materials, though each species has
the same instruments to effect it, where, gene-
rally speaking, no sufficient reasons for such va-
riety of forms and texture is obvious; so is it
fitting that insects should be furnished with a
variety of powers and means to accomplish their
requirements, having wants more urgent, their
nests being at times to be so constructed as to
resist the influence of seasons, to contain the
young for much longer periods, even occasionally
to furnish a supply of food, or be a storehouse to
afford it when wanted by the infant brood.”

According to Reaumur, the cynips is provided
with a needle in a sheath, which has most sur-
prising powers of extension, derived from the
peculiar construction of the whole body of the
insect, so much so that the needle can be ex-
tended to double the length of the animal itself;
and thus it forms a nest for its offspring, while
the young, in the same manner, pierce their way
out of the vegetable shell which has been their
protection.

Another parasite of a vegetable kind, also fre-
quently found on the oak, and connected with

 

451

this tree by the mysteries of the Druids, we shall
also here describe.

Tue Mistetor (viscum album). Diccia, te-
trandria, of Linneus, ‘This may be considered

158.

 

The Misletvue,

the only true parasitical plant indigenous to Bri-
tain, as at no period of its existence does it de-
rive any nourishment from the soil or from de-
cayed bark, like some of the fungi, &c. It is
an evergreen. The branches are numerous and
forked, covered with a smooth bark of a yellow-
ish green colour. The leaves are tongue-shaped,
entire, in pairs upon very short footstalks, The
flowers are male and female in different plants,
axillary,and inshortclose spikes; neithermalenor
female flowers have a corolla, the parts of fruc-
tification spring from the calyx. The fruit is a
globular smooth white berry, covered with a
viscous substance; these berries appear in win-
ter. The root insinuates its fibres into the
woody substance of the tree, and thus derives
nourishment from the plant. The whole forms
a pendent bush of from two to five feet in dia-
meter. It grows on various trees, chiefly fruit
trees, or on the thorn, oak, and maple, ash, or
even pines, There is only one species that grows
on the oak, though at one time designated by a
distinct name, being found identical with the
others. It is generally conveyed from tree to
tree by birds, which swallow the berries, and
pass the seeds undigested. It may also be rea-
dily propagated artificially, by introducing the
berries into slits in the bark of a suitable tree,
By the Druids the misletoe was held sacred, and
many virtues were attached to it. They sent
round their attendant youths with this plant to
announce the entrance of the new year; and a
somewhat similar custom is still continued in
France. In England, branches of it are hung
up in most houses at Christmas, along with other
evergreens. Birds feed on the berries, especially
432

the misletoe thrush. Bird-lime is obtained from
the berries and the bark of this plant, as well as
from the bark of the common holly, by decoc-
tion in water.

The misletoe was formerly esteemed in medi-
cine as a cure for epilepsy and other convulsive
diseases; but it is now entirely disused.

Tur Erm (ulmus). Natural family ulmacee ;
pentandria, digynia, of Linneus. There are se-

 

The Elm.

veral species of the elm tree, all, bearing so close
a resemblance to each other, as to render any
distinctive description difficult. It is doubtful
whether the most common kinds, the w. campes-
tris, montana, glabra, and fruticosa, be not but
varieties of the same tree. Linnzeus considered
all the European elms as forming but one species.

The Common Elim (u. campestris), is one of
the tallest and finest of European trees, Some
of those old elms planted in France by Sully,
minister of Henry IV., about the year 1580, yet
survive, and reach in height from eighty to
ninety feet, with a circumference of twenty-five
to thirty feet of spreading branches,

The bark of the elm is smooth in young trees,
and very tough, but afterwards it cracks and be-
comes rough. The leaves are oblong, pointed,
doubly serrate, rough, and unequal at the Lase,
with a short foot-stalk. The flowers appear in
the beginning of March, about three weeks be-
fore the leaves. They are small, of a reddish
colour, united in clusters, and spring from the
shoots of the preceding year. They are succeeded
by oval-bordered capsules, containing a single
round compressed seed, which ripens in May.
The wood has less strength than that of the oak,
and less elasticity than the ash; but it is tougher
and less liable to split. The quality of the wood
depends much on the soil, high ground and a
strong soil being necessary for its perfection. The
knobs which grow on old trunks are divided into
slips by the cabinet makers, and often exhibit
beautiful veins and contortions of the fibres,

The elm appears to be indigenous to Britain,
and several other countries in Europe. Not less
than forty places in England derive their names
from this tree, evidently from remote antiquity,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

most of them being mentioned in Doomsday
book.

The Wych Elm (u. montana). The Wych
elm, or Wych hazel, so called from its resem-
blance to the latter tree, grows wild in some of
the northern counties of England. It attains a
great size, The bark of the young shoots is
smooth, tough, and of a yellowish brown colour,
with white shoots. The leaves are oval, six
inches long, and about four broad. The flowers
grow in clusters towards the end of the twigs;
they have long leafy impalements of a green
colour, and appear in spring before the leaves.
The wood is not reckoned so serviceable as the
commonelm. Anciently it was made into bows.

The Smooth Elm (u. glabra), is very common
in several parts of Hertfordshire, Essex, and
other north-east counties of England, where it
grows to a large tree, and is much esteemed.
The branches spread out like those of the first
sort. The leaves are oval, and sharply serrated
on the edges. They are smoother than most
of the other sorts, and do not appear till the
middle or latter end of May.

The Dutch Elin (u. suberosa_), is character-
ized by large thick leaves and a fungous bark,
The flowers are also of a light tint, and the seeds
large. Its wood is said to be softer than that of
the common elm. It was brought from Hol-
land during the reign of king William, ard was
used in the trim clipt hedges of that period, but
is not now much cultivated.

The American Elm (u. Americana). There
are two kinds enumerated, the white and the red;
the former having a grayish bark, deeply fur-
rowed; the latter a reddish brown. Both rise to
the height of noble trees, and their wood is much
employed for various domestic purposes.

The elm is propagated by layers, seeds, and
grafting. It thrives best in a good soil, and in
single trees, or interspersed in hedge-rows, in-
stead of forming large woods.

The elm attains a large size, and lives to a great
age. Mention is made of one planted by Henry
IV. of France, which was standing at the Lux-
embourg at the commencement of the French
revolution. One at the upper end of Church-
lane, Chelsea (said to have been planted by queen
Elizabeth), was felled in 1745. It was thirteen
feet in circumference at the bottom, and one
hundred and ten feet high. FPiffe’s elm, near
the Boddington oak, in the vale of Gloucester,
was, in 1783, about eighty feet high, and the
smallest girth of the principal trunk was sixteen
feet. From the planting of Sir Francis Bacon’s
elms, in Gray’s Inn walks, in 1600, and their
decay about 1720, one would be disposed to as-
sign the healthy period of the elm to be about
one hundred and twenty years. The health of
these must have been, however, affected in some
degree hy the smoke of London. The superb
THE ELM.

avenue, ¢alled “The Long Walk,” at Windsor,
was planted at the beginning of the last century.
Most of the trees have evidently passed their
prime. The most profitable age of elms, both
for quantity and quality of timber, is, probably,
about fifty or sixty years. The central parts of
a tree get indurated, lose their natural sap, and
are apt to absorb moisture, by which they soon
rot on exposure to the air, long before the dry
rot consumes them, shielded as they are by the
external parts. The predominance of resin in-
soluble in water, and not liable to be acted on
by the acids of the atmosphere, is the cause why
the pine and the larch are more durable than the
silver fir and the spruce. It is possible that the
elm is injured by too much humidity in the soil
upon which it grows; and that the Dutch elm,
which is usually classed as a different species
from the common elm, and of which the timber
is inferior, may be merely the common one de-
based in the humid soil of Holland.

The elm rises to a greater height than the
generality of English forest trees, with a foliage
at once full and hanging loosely, and thus ca-
pable of receiving great masses of light, and of
producing “the chequered shade,” which im-
parts such a sparkling beauty to woodland
scenes.

The elm has been always considered as one of
the trees which can be most safely transplanted
after attaining considerable size. Evelyn gives
several accounts of trees of this species being thus
removed into other soils.

The shelter which trees afford to the soil is
one of the surest means of increasing the warmth
and fertility of a country; and many districts
have been converted from bleakness and sterility,
to productiveness and value, by plantations of
timber. This is particularly the case where the
wind blows over those cold surfaces of heath and
morass, which occur in the northern parts of the
island of Great Britain. The subject has not
heen investigated with that attention which its
importance merits; but appearances render it
highly probable that the spawn of mosses and
lichens ave wafted by the winds; and that if
these winds are not purified from the pestilent
spawn, they spread a noxious vegetable growth
over what would otherwise be fertile land. In
this way belts of plantations act as a sort of fil-
ter for the winds. The trees next to a marshy
heath haye been covered with lichens, so that
no part of the bark was visible; while in the in-
terior of the belt, and on the side most distant
from the barren track, the bark has been free
from these parasites. Further, after the trees
have attained sufficient size to shelter the land,
the moss has disappeared from it, and the soil
has become fit for the production of valuable
crops. Nor is it on trees alone that this effect
of winds, from cold and watery tracks, may be

 

433

perceived; for those sides of ancient and elevated
buildings which are opposed to them are in-
crusted with moss and lichen, while the other
sides are comparatively clean. To any one who
has paid much attention to the more sterile dis-
tricts of the country, it is matter of every-day
notice, that nothing tends so much to confine
within bounds the plants which are hostile to
the grasses and cultivated crops as timber; and
this being the case, it follows that the means of
procuring an instantaneous shelter of grown tim-
ber are, at the same time, the surest means of
procuring, comparatively, instantaneous fertility.
In many instances the land, when not sheltered
by timber, has returned to its original sterility,
whenever it has been allowed to lie in grass; but
when so sheltered, the pastures have retained
their greenness for years, and, instead of being
deteriorated, have been improved by remaining
for a few years out of tillage.

The transplantation of grown timber trees ap-
pears, indeed, to be the only way by which shel-
ter can be restored to cold, bleak, and exposed
districts, The remains of large trees, which are
found in the mosses and bogs of such districts,
prove that once both the soil and climate have
been adapted to the production of wood. This
is true not only of those countries where timber
is still to be found in warm and sheltered places,
but in those dreary climes where now hardly a
shrub is to be found, and where, although young
timber be planted, it will not grow—as in the
counties of Sutherland and Caithness, the Ork-
ney and Shetland isles, and even in Iceland it-
self, The latitude has not altered since the trees
which are found in the peats-bogs of those re-
gions were green and flourishing upon the sur-
face; and if the soil and the climate have been
deteriorated, it must have been by exposure to
the damp and bleaching winds. Those winds,
as has been said, prove fatal to young trees; but
it is probable that, if grown timber, of the more
hardy sorts, could be introduced as a shelter, the
land would recover its former fertility, and the
landscape its ancient beauty.

The observations of philosophical travellers
and inquirers, with regard to the whole of the
northern countries of the world, whether in the
eastern continent or the western, confirm these
remarks. Sir [Hans Sloane, in his account of the
bogs of Ireland, mentions that a great part of
those districts which are now covered by that un-
profitable substance, must have been once clothed
with forests of trees. Broke, in his Winter in
Lapland and Sweden, notices the same change as
having taken place in the north of Lapland and
the islands, Sir George Mackenzie and others
observe the same as being the case in Iceland;
and Hearne mentions that large tracts of the
northern parts of America, which at his visit

were covered with moss and swamp were forests
31
434

in the days of the fathers of the Indians then
living. In many parts of the highlands and
western islands of Scotland, where there is now
hardly a tree, or, at most, only coppice, along
the shores of the lochs, or arms of the sea, there
are found not only the trunks and roots of trees
in the soil of the bogs, but the roots of oaks of
large dimensions standing on the surface; nor
can the period at which they were growing have
been very remote, for, in some of the wild and
almost inaccessible glens, many large trunks still
lie mouldering and neglected.

Tuer Brecn (fagus sylvatica). Natural family
amentacee; monecia, polyandria of Linneus.
The beech is a stately and beautiful tree, attain-
ing a large size. The trunk is massive, and
covered with a smooth shining bark, which sel-
dom cracks into fissures; the branches spread out
horizontally, thus affording “the cool shade,” so
often alluded to by the poets. The leaves are
rather small, of a soft silken texture, and deli-
cate green colour when young, and becoming
harder and darker as they come to maturity.
After they have lost their verdure they still ad-
here to the branches, and thus continue for the
greater part of the winter. In this way the
trees planted in hedges or other fences afford a
good shelter for tender plants.

A variety called the purple beech, with foliage
of a deep brown or purplish hue, forms a very
heautiful and striking contrast among other green
foliage. This variety may readily be propagated
by engrafting. The ferruginea is of a still deeper
red, and is common in America.

The buds of the common beech begin to ex-
pand about the 15th of April, and the leaves
come out about the 21st. The flowers appear
about the 12th of May, and by the first week
of June they are in full blossom. The mast or
seed, which is an angular nut contained in a
prickly capsule, is ripe in autumn. This tree
thrives best in a chalky or strong soil, the bark
upon such soils being clear and smooth, a sign
of healthy vigour in the tree. When planted
upon strong or chalky cliffs, the beech will resist
the winds better than most other trees; and in
this case the plants should be taken from a nur-
sery of a similar soil.

The wood is brittle, and not well adapted for
those purposes where strength and durability
are required. It is, however, well suited for
the turning lathe; and beechen bowls seem to
have been in early use among the Roman peas-
antry. The mast is found to be a very nutritious
food for swine, and is much used for this purpose.

In North America two species of the beech are
common. The white and redbeech. The white
beech, f. sylvestris, is more slender and less
branching than the red; but its foliage is superb,
and its general appearance magnificent.* The

* Michaux.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

leaves are oval, acuminate, smooth, shining, and
bordered in the spring with a soft hairy down.
The sexes are borne by different branches on the
same tree. The barren flowers are collected in
pendulous, globular heads; and the others are
small, and of agreenish hue. The perfect wood
of this species bears a small proportion to the
sap, and frequently occupies only three inches
in a trunk, eighteen inches in diameter. Not-
withstanding the beauty of this tree, its wood is
of little use but for fuel. The red beech, f fer-
ruginea, is almost exclusively confined to the
north-eastern parts of the United States; and to
the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, and
Nova Scotia. It bears a close resemblance to
the commen European species. Its wood is
stronger, tougher, and more compact than that
of the white kind, and is accordingly more use-
ful. It is so liable to the attacks of insects, that
its use in domestic furniture is rare. Experience
has shown the advantage of felling the beech in
summer, while the sap is in full circulation; cut
at this season it is very durable, but felled in
winter it decays in a few years. The logs are
left several months in the shade hefore they are
hewn, care being taken that they do not repose
immediately on the ground, after which they
are fashioned according to the use to which they
are destined, and laid in water for three or four
months. They are said to be rendered in this
way inaccessible to worms. The beech is very
durable when preserved from humidity, and in-
corruptible when constantly in the water; but
it rapidly decays when exposed to alternations
of dryness and moisture. When burnt the wood
ash affords a Jarge proportion of potass.

Hedges are frequently constructed of the beech,
and when trimmed close afford an excellent
shelter, especially in the winter and spring
months, in consequence of the old leaves still
remaining in a withered state on the stems.

In Belgium, between Ghent and Antwerp, very
solid and elegant hedges are made with young
beeches, planted seven or eight inches apart, and
bent in opposite directions, so as to cross each
other and form a trellis, with apertures five or
six inches in diameter. During the first year
they are bound with osiers at the point of inter-
section, where they finally become grafted and
grow together. As the beech does not suffer in
pruning, and sprouts less luxuriantly than most
other trees, it is perfectly adapted for this pur-
pose.

The becch is reared easily from the seed, which
may be sown at any time between October and
February; but the best season is about two weeks
after they drop from the tree. In France and
Germany an oil is extracted from the beech nut
little inferior to olive oil.

The forests in the department of the Oise
have yielded in a single season more than two
THE HORNBEAM,

millions of bushels of these nuts; and in 1779
the forest of Compaigne alone afforded oil suffi-
cient to supply the wants of the district for more
than half a century. The nuts are collected
in dry weather as they fall from the trees, which,
to facilitate this, ave shaken by the peasants: the
oil is abundant only when the fruit is perfectly
ripe. Being thus collected and cleansed by win-
nowing or in mills, they are spread out on floors
like corn, and frequently turned till they are
dry. In the winter months they are ground
down and formed into a paste; and afterwards
this paste is subjected to strong pressure in wool
or hair bags, when the oil oozes out and is col-
lected; this process is repeated a second or third
time, till all the oil is extracted. By care and
skill the quantity of oil thus obtained is equal
to one-sixth of the nuts employed. The oil
becomes limpid by repeatedly drawing it off the
dregs, and at the end of six months arrives at
perfection. It will last good for ten years or
upwards.

The Hornpeam (carpinus betulus). Natural
family amentacew; monecia, polyandria of Lin-
neus. This is sometimes called the horse beech,
from its resemblance to the common beech. It
is common in England, but is rarely allowed to
grow to its full height, being polled by the
country people. According to Miller, however,
the tree reaches seventy feet in height, with a
large round stem, perfectly straight and sound
when growing on a stiff clay, which appears to
be its natural soil. As this tree then thrives on
cold, barren, and exposed hills, and in situations
where few other trees will vegetate, it may be
cultivated with advantage in such situations.
It is by no means of slow growth, and resists
the violence of winds better than most other
trees; and is thus well adapted as a means of
shelter. It should be raised from seeds planted
in the spot where it is intended to grow; and
these seeds may be sown in autumn, when they
will spring up the following spring. Like the
beech, the leaves of the hornbeam remain on the
branches till the young buds push them off in
spring.

The wood is not much esteemed except for
fuel. Hedges are constructed of the hornbeam
similar to those formed of the beech. They are
very common in some parts of Germany.

The American Hornbeam (c. Americana ), is
common in the States, and in the warmer parts
of Canada. The trunk, like that of the Euro-
pean species, is obliquely and irregularly fluted,
frequently through all its length.
smooth and spotted with white. The fertile
flowers are collected in long, pendulous, leafy
aments, at the extremity of the branches; and
the scales or leaves which surround them con-
tain at the base a hard oval seed. The fructifi-
cation is always abundant, and the aments remain

The bark is.

 

435

attached to the tree long after the foliage is shed.
The wood is white and exceedingly compact,
and fine grained; but as the timber attains a very
limited size, it is fit for no useful purpose.

Iron Woop (carpinus ostrya). This tree
belongs to the same natural family and order as
the above. It isa native of North America, and
grows not in groups, but loosely disseminated
in cool, fertile, and shaded situations. The leaves
are alternate, oval, acuminate, and finely and
unequally serrated. The fertile and barren
flowers are borne at the extremity of different
branches of the same tree; and the fruit is in
clusters like hops, hence the name ostrya. The
small hard triangular seed is contained in a spe-
cies of reddish, oval, inflated bladder, covered at
the age of maturity with a fine down, which
causes a violent irritation of the skin if care-
lessly handled. In the winter this tree is recog-
nised by a smooth grayish bark finely divided
and detached in stripes, not more than a line in
breadth. The wood is perfectly white, compact,
fine grained, and heavy. The concentric circles
are closely compressed, and their number in a
trunk of only four or five inches in diameter,
evinces the slow growth of the tree.

The wood is so hard as to be used in place of
iron levers for splitting trees. In New York
brooms and scrubbing brushes are made of it, by
shredding the end of a stick of suitable dimen-
sions. If the wood could be procured of larger
size, it no doubt might be applied to many use-
ful purposes.

This tree has been transplanted to France,
where it flourishes; and it probably might be
propagated with advantage in other parts of
Europe.

The Asu (fraxinus excelsior). Natural family
aleinee; polygamia, diecia of Linneus. The
ash is indigenous to Britain, and is a well known
tree. The stem is covered with a smooth bark,
and grows tall and rather slender. The branches
are flattened; the leaves have five pairs of lobes,
terminated by an odd one of a dark green colour;
lanceolate, with serrated edges. The flowers are
produced in loose spikes from the sides of the
branches, and are succeeded by flat seeds which
ripen in autumn. In its period of leafing the
ash is very late, being generally towards the end
of April, or middle of May. It is also among
the first to shed its leaves on the first approaches
of the autumnal frosts. The varieties of this
species are the weeping ash (pendula), first dis-
covered in a field at Gamblingay, Cambridge-
shire. The yellow barked, (jaspidea); the green
coloured, (atrovirens). It has been known from
the remotest period of history, and it is very
generally diffused. It agrees with a greater var-
iety of soil and situation than perhaps any other
tree producing timber of equal value; and, dif-
fering from many other trees, its value is in-
436

creased rather than diminished by the rapidity
of its growth. On very poor soils, where it
grows stunted, it is brittle, and soon affected by
the rot; but, where the growth has been vigorous,
the compact part of the several layers bears a
greater proportion to the spongy, and the timber
is very tough, elastic, and durable. In elasticity
it is far superior to the oak, and it is not so liable
to be broken by a cross strain; but it is much
more fibrous, and more easily split. The ash is,
by way of eminence, called the “hushandman’s
tree,” nothing being equal to it for agricultural
implements, and for all sorts of poles, ladders,
long handles, and other purposes which require
strength and elasticity combined with compara-
tive lightness,

At all ages the growth of the ash is of value:
the thinnings of young plantations, and the
suckers that spring up from the roots of grown
trees, or from the stools of trees that have been
cut down, are excellent for hoops, hop-poles,
and every other purpose where clean, light, and
strong rods are wanted at small expense. The
leaves, and even the twigs, are eaten by cattle
with great avidity; the bark is useful in tanning;
and the wood yields, when burnt, a considerable
quantity of potass.

-The drip of the ash is injurious to most other
plants, and, therefore, when it is planted in corn-
fields, a certain portion round it is unproductive;
but, in marshy situations, the roots of it, which
run a long way at a considerable depth, act as
under-drains. Hence the proverb, in some parts
of the country, “May your foot-fall-be by the
root of an ash,”—may you get a firm footing.
Some idea of the change of times and opinions
may be formed from the value set upon the ash,
in the laws of Howel Dda, wherein, while a
branch of misletoe is reckoned at thirty shillings,
an ash, not being named, must be classed with
“trees after a thorn,” and therefore be rated at
fourpence! In the useful arts, one good ash is
worth all the misletoes that ever grew. Such
was the veneration of some of the ancients for
the ash, that Hesiod derives his brazen men from
it; and the Edda, or sacred book of the North-
men, gives the same origin to all the human race.

The ash does not grow to such thickness as
some of the other forest trees. Dr Plot men-
tions one eight feet in diameter; Mr Marsham
another, at Dumbarton, nearly seventeen feet in
girth; Arthur Young mentions one in Ireland
that had reached the height of nearly eighty feet
in thirty-five years; and one is spoken of in the
county of Galway, a district not remarkable for
timber, as forty-two feet in circumference, at
four feet from the ground. Instances of so great
dimensions are not numerous, however; and it is
not desirable that the ash should be left for such
a growth, as trees of fewer years, and inferior
scantling, are invariably better timber.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Gilpin, in his work on Forest Scenery, calls
the oak the Hercules of the Forest, and the ash
the Venus. The chief characteristic of the one
is strength; of the other, elegance. The ash
carries its principal stem higher than the oak ;
its whole appearance is that of lightness, and the
looseness of the leaves correspond with the light-
ness of the spray. Its bloom isone of the most
beautiful appearances of vegetation. The ash,
however, drops its leaves very early; and, instead
of contributing its tint to the many-coloured
foliage of the autumnal woods, it presents wide
blanks of desolated boughs. In old age, too, it
loses that grandeur and beauty which the oak
preserves. :

There are upwards of thirty species of the ash
enumerated,—a considerable proportion of these
being natives of America.

The Flowering Ash (f. ornis), is a native of
the southern parts of Europe, is said to be that
which chiefly produces the substance called
manna; although other species, as the excelsior
and rotundifolia, also furnish it. This substance
is secreted from the inner bark, and is a species
of sugar. In Sicily the three species we have
mentioned are regularly cultivated for the pur-
pose of procuring manna, and with this view
are planted on the declivities of the hills, with
an eastern aspect. After ten years they begin to
yield this substance, which exudes from incisions
made on the bark by means of a sharp crooked
instrument. These incisions are first made in
the lower part of the trunk, and repeated at the
distance of an inch from the former wound,
still extending the incisions upwards as far as the
branches; and confining them to one side of the
tree, the other side being reserved till the year
following, when it undergoes the same treatment.
On making these incisions, which are of a longi-
tudinal direction, about a span long, and nearly
two inches wide, a thick whitish juice imme-
diately begins to flow, which gradually hardens
on the bark; and in the course of eight days it
acquires the consistence and appearance in which
the manna is imported into Britain, when it is
collected in baskets and afterwards packed in
large chests. Sometimes the manna flows in
such abundance from the incisions, that it runs
upon the ground and becomes mixed with im-
purities, unless this is prevented by the inter-
position of concave leaves, or flat stones. The
business of collecting manna usually terminates
at the end of September, when the rainy season
sets in.

The most useful and important American spe-
cies are :—

The White Ash (f. Americana), a beautiful
tree, with trunk perfectly straight and undi-
vided to the height of forty feet; leaflets three
to four inches long, oval, acuminate, and of a
light-green colour and undulated surface; the
THE MAPLE,

wood is reddish, and the sap white. This tree
is found on the margins of rivers and swamps,
and is of quick growth.

The Black Ash (f. sambucifolia), common
in the United States and Canada, rising to the
height of sixty to seventy feet; and having the
buds of a deep blue colour.

The Red Ash (f. tomentosa), very common
in the northern and middle States. The lower
surface of the leaves and shoots are covered with
a reddish down; the bark of a deep brown.

The Blue Ash (f. quadrangulata), confined
chiefly to Kentucky and West Tennessee; a large
tree, and furnishes a useful wood. Its bark is
said to afford a blue dye.

The Carolinian Ash (f. platicarpa), a native
of the more southern States; is characterised by
its nearly round acuminated leaflets, of which
there are commonly only two pairs, with an odd
one. It is of much inferior size to the others.

Tue Mapux (acer). Natural family acerinee ;
polygamia, monecia, of Linneus. Of the maple
there are a considerable number of species, of
which eight are indigenous to Europe, about a
dozen to America, and several more to various
parts of Asia. Two species are common in Bri-
tain, the sycamore and the common maple.

The Great Maple, or Sycamore (acer pseudo-
platanus). This is a large growing tree, with a

160.

 

Sycamore.

large broad leaf divided into five lobes, glaucous,
and smooth beneath, the lobes unequally toothed.
The flowers hang in long pendulous racemes; the
fruit is smooth. This is a fast growing tree, and
is well adapted for situations near the sea, as the
salt spray seems to have no bad effect on its ve-
getation. The timber is very close and com-
pact, easily cut, and not liable either to splinter
or warp. Sometimes it is of a uniform colour
throughout, and in other cases beautifully curled
and mottled. In the latter state, as it takes a
fine polish, and bears varnishing well, it ismuch
used for certain parts of musical instruments.
This wood contains none of those hard particles
which are injurious to tools, and is therefore em-
ployed for cutting boards; and not being apt to
warp, either with variations of heat or of mois-

 

437

ture, it is a suitable material for saddle-trees,
wooden dishes, founders’ patterns, and many
other articles both of furniture and machinery.
Before the general introduction of pottery ware,
it was the common material for bowls and plat-
ters of all sorts, and many are still made of it.
As the juice of the maple, both in the leaves and
in the tree, is of a sweet taste, numerous insects
are attracted to it. At certain seasons the wild
bees and wasps may be seen about it in crowds;
and if the timber be placed so that insects are
allowed to settle upon it, it is speedily attacked
by the worm. When kept dry and free from
this attack, it will last a considerable time; but
exposed to humidity, it is one of the most per-
ishable of trees. From the largeness of its leaves,
the maple forms a cool and pleasing shade. It
is also a picturesque tree, as the constant exco-
riation of its bark produces a variety of hues, .
which serve to diversify the landscape. If
pierced in the spring or autumn, a juice flows
out which is of a saccharine nature, and may be
fermented into wine, or sugar may be obtained
from it by evaporation.

The sycamore is not only a large timber tree,
but it is long lived. St Hieron, who lived in
the fourth century of the Christian era, writes,
that he saw the same sycamore tree on which
Zaccheus climbed up to see our Saviour ride in
triumph into Jerusalem. The propagation of
all the maples is very easy. In the autumn,
when the seeds are ripe, they are gathered from
the tree, dried for a few days, and then sown in
any good mould. In the spring the plants will
appear, and make a shoot of about a foot by the
following autumn.

The Common Maple (acer campestris). This
is a smaller tree than the sycamore, with rather
smaller leaves. These are cordate, five-lobed,
with nearly entire obtuse margins, smooth and
shining beneath. The corymbs of the flowers
are erect, and the wings of the seeds devaricated.
The flower buds begin to open about the 6th of
April, and the leaves come out about the 18th of
the same month. About the 10th of May the
flowers are in full blow, and the seeds ripen in
autumn. The timber of this tree is superior to
that of the great maple. We meet with high
encomiums of its excellence among the ancients.
Pliny highly commends the maples, growing in
different parts of the world, for the remarkable
fineness of their grain; and Virgil introduces
Evander sitting on a maple throne. In former
times, so eager was the demand for the curious
portions of this wood, which, in its veined aspect,
often formed representations of birds and various
animals, that no pains or expense were spared in
procuring them. When boards, large enough
for tables, were formed of this curious part of
the wood, the extravagant prices paid for them
is almost incredible. We read of a table formed
438

of this wood which cost ten hundred thousand
sesterces, and of another that cost upwards of
fifteen hundred thousand. ©

This tree is seldom planted so as to form woods
or large plantations. It is more commonly cut
down so as to form underwood; for this purpose
it is very suitable, as the shoots spring up very
fast from the old stools, and they make useful
fuel. The largest trees are generally found in
hedge-rows.

The Norway Maple (acer platanoides). This
species grows to a great size. The leaves are
large, like the sycamore, of a shining green co-
lour, five-lobed, acuminate, cuspidate, and some-
what toothed. The corymbs are nearly erect.
It grows on the mountains of the northern coun-
tries of Europe, descending, in some places of
Norway, to the sea shore. It abounds in the
‘north of Poland and Lithuania, and is common
throughout Germany, Switzerland, and Savoy.
The leaves are not liable to be preyed on by in-
sects, as they contain a milky bitter juice, re-
pulsive to these animals. This circumstance
heightens the beauty of the tree; and in spring,
when it is full of its yellow blossoms, it has a
very fine appearance. In autumn the leaves as-
sume a golden yellow, which adds to the diver-
sified beauty of the surrounding foliage. It
thrives well in this country, where its seeds
come to maturity, and where it may be propa-
gated in the same way as the other maples. On
the continent it is reckoned among the best trees
for giving shelter to dwelling-houses. It is of
quick growth, and attains a very ‘considerable
size. Its wood is also held in great estimation,
and its juice yields sugar by evaporation.

The Sugar Maple (acer saccharinum ), is also
known in America under the name of rock

 

Sngar Maple.

maple and hard maple. It is a native of North
America, and grows in great abundance in Ca-
nada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, the
States of Vermont and New Hampshire, the dis-
trict of Maine, Genesee, New York, and the up-
per parts of Pennsylvania. According to Dr
Rush, in the northern parts of these two latter
states, there are ten millions of acres which pro-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

duce this tree, in the proportion of thirty to the
acre. In the middle and southern states it
is rare, and almost unknown. It flourishes
best in mountainous districts, where the soil,
though fertile, is cold and moist; and, in addi-
tion to the localities just mentioned, it grows
along the whole chain of the Alleghany moun-
tains to their termination in Georgia.

The sugar maple attains the height of seventy
to eighty feet, with a diameter in proportion ;
but its average height is fifty to sixty feet, with
a diameter of twelve to eighteen inches. Well
grown thriving trees have a beautiful appear-
ance, and are early distinguishable by the white~
ness of their bark. The leaves are about five
inches broad, and vary in length according to the
age of the tree; they are opposite, attached by
long petioles, palmated, or unequally divided
into five lobes, entire at the edges, of a bright
green above, and glaucous or whitish underneath.
In autumn the first frosts change them to a red
colour. Except in the colour of the lower sur-
face, they nearly resemble the leaves of the Nor-
way maple. The flowers are small, yellowish,
and suspended by slender drooping peduncles.
The seed is contained in two capsules, united at
the base, and terminated in a membranous wing.
The wood when cut is white; but after being
wrought, and exposed for some time to the light,
it assumes a rosy tinge. It is fine and close
grained, and, when polished, has a silky lustre,
It is very strong and sufficiently heavy, but
wants the property of durability, for which the
chestnut and the oak are so highly esteemed.
When exposed to moisture it soon decays, After
a seasoning of two or three years, it is employed
by wheelwrights for axle-trees and spokes, and
for chairs and other domestic furniture. In the
neighbourhood of towns it is much used as fuel.
The ashes are rich in alkaline salts; and four-
fifths of the potass exported from Boston and
New York are the produce of this tree.

But it is chiefly prized for its juice, which af-
fords an excellent sugar, little inferior to that of
the sugar cane. The process of obtaining this
juice and sugar is very simple. The work gene-
rally commences in February or the beginning of
March, while the cold continues intense, and the
ground is still covered with snow. The sap be-
gins to be in motion at this season, two months
before the general revival of vegetation. In a
central situation, lying convenient to the trees
from which the sap is to be drawn, a shed is
erected, called a sugar camp, which is intended
to shelter the boilers, and the persons who tend
them, from the weather. An auger, three-
fourths of an inch in diameter—small troughs
to receive the sap—tubes of elder or sumach,
eight or ten inches long, corresponding in size to
the auger, and laid open for a part of their length
—buckets for emptying the troughs, and con-
THE MAPLE.

veying the sap to the camp—boilers, of fifteen
or eighteen gallons capacity—moulds to receive
the syrup when reduced to a proper consistency
for being formed into cakes—and, lastly, axes to
cut and split the fuel, are the principal necessa-
ries required in the operation.

The trees are perforated in an obliquely as-
cending direction, eighteen or twenty inches
from the ground, with two holes four or five
inches apart. Care should be taken that the
augers do not enter more than half an inch with-
in the wood, as experience has shown the most
abundant flow of sap to take place at this depth.
It is also recommended to insert the tubes on
the sunk side of the tree; but this useful hint is
not always attended to. A trough is placed on
the ground at the foot of each tree, and the sap
is every day collected, and temporarily poured
into casks, from which it is drawn out to fill the
boilers. The evaporation is kept up by a brisk
fire, and the scum is carefully taken off during
this part of the process. Fresh sap is added
from time to time, and the heat is maintained

till the liquid is reduced to a syrup, after which.

it is left to cool, and then strained through a
blanket or other woollen stuff, to separate the
remaining impurities. Some recommend leav-
ing the syrup twelve hours before boiling it for
the last time; others proceed with it immedi-
ately. In either case the boilers are only half
filled, and by an active steady heat the liquor is
rapidly reduced to the proper consistency for
being poured into the moulds. The evaporation
is known to have proceeded far enough when,
upon rubbing a drop of the syrup between the
fingers, it is perceived to be granular. If it isin
danger of boiling over, a bit of lard, or of butter,
is thrown into it, which instantly calms the
ebullition. The molasses being drained off from
the moulds, the sugar is no longer deliquescent
like the raw sugar of the West Indies. Maple
sugar manufactured in this way is lighter co-
loured in proportion to the care with which it
is made, and the judgment with which the eva-
poration is conducted. It is superior to the
brown sugar of the colonies, at least to such as
is generally used in the United States; its taste
is as pleasant, and it is as good for culinary pur-
poses. When refined, it equals in beauty the
purest sugar used in Europe. Its use, however,
is confined to the districts where it is made,
and then only in the country. From prejudice
or taste, imported sugar is used in all the small
towns and in the inns.*

The sap continues to flow for six weeks, after
which it becomes less abundant, less rich in sac-

charine matter, and sometimes even incapable of | .

crystallization. In this case it is consumed in

the state of molasses, which is superior to that |

* Michaux.

 

439

of the islands. After three or four days expo-
sure to the sun, maple sap is converted into vine-
gar by undergoing the acetous fermentation. To
make beer of it, one quart of maple molasses is
mixed with four gallons of boiling water; to
this, when cool, a little yeast and a spoonful of es-
sence of spruce are added, and thus a very plea-
sant and wholesome beverage is obtained.

It is found that those trees which grow in low
and moist places yield more sap than those
growing on rising grounds; but it is less rich in
sugar. That of single or isolated trees, is also
the best. The following operations were made
on a tree near Pittsburg: twenty tubes were
introduced into a sugar maple, and on the same
day 23 gallons 8 quarts of sap were drawn, which
yielded 7 pounds and a quarter of sugar. 33
lbs. were made the same season from the same
tree, which supposes 100 gallons of sap.

In the United States maple sugar is made in
greatest quantities in the upper part of New
Hampshire, in Vermont, in the State of New
York, particularly in Genesee; and in the coun-
ties of Pennsylvania which lie on the eastern
and western branches of the Susquehannah, west
of the mountains in the country bordering on
the Alleghany, Minongahela, and Ohio rivers.
The farmers, after laying aside a sufficient store
for their own consumption, sell the residue to
the shop-keepers in the small towns of the
neighbourhood, at eight cents a pound, by whom
itis retailed at eleven cents. A great deal of sugar
is also made in Upper Canada, and on the Wa-
bash. The Indians dispose of it to the commis-
sioners of the north-western company established
at Montreal, for the use of the numerous agents
who go out in their employ in quest of furs
beyond lake Superior. In Nova Scotia, and the
district of Maine, and in the highest mountains of
Virginia and Carolina, where these trees are
sufficiently common, the manufacture is less
considerable; and probably six-sevenths of the
inhabitants consume imported sugar.

It has been said, that the northern parts of New
York and Pennsylvania contain maples suffi-
cient to supply the consumption of the whole
of the United States.

Wild and domestic animals are exceedingly
fond of maple juice, and break through the in-
closures to sate themselves with it.

Another species, the black sugar maple (acer
nigrum), is found growing in the western States;
the leaves are similar to the sugar maple, only
they are of a deeper green, of a thicker texture,
and slightly downy: the wood is coarser grained,
and less brilliant when polished.

The Red Flowering Maple (acer rubrum).
This is also a common tree in the United States,
It is the earliest whose bloom announces the re-
turn of spring; and in the neighbourhood of New
York is in flower about the middle of March.
440
The blossoms are of a beautiful purple, or deep
red, and come out about two weeks before the
leaves. They are sessile, aggregate, and situated
at. the extremity of the branches. The leaves
are smaller than those of the preceding species,
but in some respects are similar. The wood is
hard, and well adapted for the turning lathe; and
before the introduction of mahogany, was much
esteemed for its variegated aspect and the fine
polish which it bears.

The French Canadians make sugar from this
tree, which they call plaine, but the juice is not
very strong. A dark blue and black dye is fur-
nished by the bark.

The red maple thrives in wet and swampy
situations.

The Striped Barked Maple (acer striatum),
has a slender stem, with a smooth bark, beauti-
fully varied with green and white stripes; the
boughs are of a shining red in winter. The thick-
ness of the shade, the beauty of the bark, and
the tree not heing liable to be infested by insects,
render it very desirable for ornamental planta-
tions. The only objections to it are, that it is
subject to be injured by storms, and that the
abundance of its foliage and seeds occasions a
great litter in autumn.

The Italian Maple (acer opalus), is a noble
tree, with large and beautiful foliage, throwing
an extensive shade. It is much prized in Italy
for planting in avenues and public walks.

The Brrcn (betula). Natural family amenta-
cee ; moneccia, triandria, of Linneus. The birch
is a native of cold and inhospitable climates; and
the dwarf birch is the last tree that is found as
we approach the snow in elevated regions. At
the island of Hammerfest, lat. 79° 40’, the dwarf
birch, in the sheltered hollows between the
mountains, rises to about the height of a man;
and in the low branches which creep along the
ground, the ptarmigan finds a summer shelter,
where it breeds in security. Naturalists affirm
that the birch tree constitutes the principal at-
traction to the birds which are found in such
plenty in high northern latitudes; the catkins af-
fording them food in the spring, and the seeds
during the remainder of the year.

The Common Birch (betula alba), is a grace-
ful tree, and throws out a pretty strong and very
agreeable fragrance. When it arrives at a con-
siderable size, the branches hang down or“ weep;”
and as they are sometimes thirty or forty feet
long, and not thicker than a common packthread,
they are very beautiful, especially when the
points of them are laved in a clear mountain
stream. Coleridge calls the weeping birch the
“lady of the woods.”

Though the people of more favoured places
rather despise the birch tree, and leave it to the
turner, out of which to make some of the smaller
of his wares, or employ the shoots as mop handles,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM,

and the twigs as brooms; there are situations in
which it is among the most valued and valuable
productions of nature.

In those parts of the Highlands of Scotland
where pine is not to be had, the birch is a timber
for all uses. The stronger stems are the rafters
of the cabin; wattles of the boughs are the walls
and the door; even the chests and boxes are
of this rude basket work. To the highlander,
it forms his spade, his plough, and, if he happen
to have one, his cart and his harness; and when
other materials are used, the cordage is still
withies of twisted birch. These birch ropes are
far more durable than ropes of hemp; and the
only preparation is to bark the twig, and twist
it while green.

In ancient times, both in Britain and other
parts of Europe, strong and light canoes were
made of the touch bark of the birch; and it is
still used for the same purposes in the northern
parts of America. The species used for canoes
by the Indians and French Canadians is called
the canoe birch, (betula papyracea, or betula
nigra). In good soils it reaches an elevation
of seventy feet. ‘he weight of a canoe that
will hold four persons, does not exceed fifty
pounds.

The peasantry in some parts of northern Eu-
rope thatch their houses with the birch, weave
the long fibres into mats, and twist them into
ropes, and even grind the inner bark to mix with
their bread. The bark is used in the simple
dyes, and also in tanning. The Laplanders use
it in the preparation of their rein-deer skins;
and in Russia the hides which are so esteemed
for binding books are prepared with the empy-
reumatic oil of the birch. A weak but not un-
pleasant wine may be obtained by draining the
sap in March, boiling it, and then fermenting it.
The Northern people also make very neat bas-
kets and boxes of the bark, the Laplanders carv-
ing the large knots which the trees put forth,
into vases, which, although fashioned with their
rude knives, have much of the beauty of turnery.
In Kamtschatka also, it is formed into drink-
ing cups. The wood of the birch on the banks
of the Garry, in Glengarry, Scotland, is cut into
staves, with which herring barrels are made.
It is an excellent wood for the turner, being
light, compact, and easily worked; and for un-
dressed palings and gates, such as are used in the
sheep countries, few timbers are superior to it.
It is not very durable, however, but very cheap,
as it thrives upon soils that are fit for little else,
and sows itself without any assistance from art.
It grows upon rocks which one would think
absolutely bare; and such is the power of its
roots, that penetrating through fissures, they
will separate stones several tons in weight, to
reach the soil. The black birch of America has
been imported into this country. It is compact
THE LIME TREE,

and rather handsome, but it soon decays. Birch
makes very good charcoal.

The weeping birch, 5. pendula, is the most
graceful tree of the family. It grows both in
mountainous situations and bogs, from Lapland
to the subalpine parts of Italy and Asia. The
mahogany birch, 6. lenta, or cherry birch of
Canada, abounds in the middle states of Penn-
sylvania, New York, and the Jerseys; but dis-
appears altogether in the higher latitudes of the
northern states, It is deemed a very fit tree for
planting in the valleys of the mountainous dis-
tricts of Britain. Its growth is rapid, and the
timber is close-grained; beautifully variegated,
and well adapted for cabinet work. The leaves,
which appear early in spring, possess a peculiar
fragrance, which they retain after being dried in
a stove, affording by infusion an agreeable di-
luent, superior to some of the common teas of
commerce. _The white bark of the birch con-
trasts well with the sombre trunks of other trees,
and, indeed, all the species are highly ornamen-
tal and graceful in gardens and shrubberies.

The Alder (alnus glutinosa_), belongs to the
same natural family and Linnean order as the

162.

 

birch; it is not so handsome a tree, however, as
the birch, and the timber is not applicable to so
many useful purposes. The alder is a native
of almost every part of Europe. It thrives best
in marshy situations, and by the margins of
lakes and rivers, where it is generally a large
shrub rather than a tree. As its shade rather
improves than injures the grass, coppices of it
afford good wintering for the out-door stock on
mountain grazings,

The bark of the alder contains a good deal of
tannin; and the young shoots dye a yellow or
cinnamon colour, the wood a brown, and the
catkins of the flowers a green. The twigs of
the alder are brittle, and so is the stem when
green. In that state it is more easily worked
than any other timber. When of considerable
size, the timber of one of the varieties (there
are several of them) is red, and often so finely
streaked, that it is called Scotch mahogany in
the north, and furniture is made of it. That

 

44]

which is got out of the bogs, in an undecayed
state, (and though it be not so durable in the
air as birch, it lasts much longer in water), has
the colour, if not the consistency of ebony. Of
birch or holly, which are very white, of juniper,
which has a slight cinnamon tinge, and of the
bog alder or the bog oak, both of which are
black, the coopers in the north of Scotland form
variegated cups, some of which are very hand-
some. In moist situations alder does very well
for foundation piles; and from the ease with
which it can be perforated when green, and from
its not being liable to split, it is well adapted
for wooden pipes.

On the banks of the Mole, in Surrey, the alder
grows very luxuriantly; and it adds great beauty
to the landscape in the neighbourhood of Dork-
ing and Esher.

Tue Lins Tree (tilia Europea), Natural
family tiliacee; polyandria, monogynia, Lin-

 

Lime Tree.

neus, The lime is a handsome tree, which at-
tains a considerable size. The leaves are cordate,
serrated, unequal at the base, and of a light green
colour. The flowers begin to open about the
middle of May, and are in full blow by the middle
of July, when they appear of a white colour, and
have a very fragrant smell, yielding a honey of
peculiar and excellent flavour. The leaves be-
gin to open about the 12th of April, are quite
out by the end of that month, and begin to fall
very early in autumn.

Of the lime there are several species and var-
ieties, characterised chiefly by the size and shape
of the leaves; but the most valuable, and the
one which is most frequently met with, is the
common lime. It is an exceedingly beautiful
tree, grows fast, and attains a very great size.
It is not supposed to be a native of England,
but mention is made of it growing here as early
as the middle of the sixteenth century. In
Switzerland and Germany there are lime trees of
an enormous size; and one, in the county of
Norfolk, is mentioned by Sir Thomas Brown as
being ninety feet high, with a trunk forty-eight
feet in circumference, at a foot and a half from
the ground.

The lime bears the smoke of cities better than
any other tall-growing forest tree; and for this
reason the shaded walks about the cities on the

3K
442

Continent, more especially in Germany, are
planted with it. It has other advantages: the
trunk is smooth; the leaves are of a, most beau-
tifully delicate green; the flowers throw out a
very agreeable fragrance; and it is not so liable
to get unsightly, from wounds and decayed
branches, as almost any other tree. But its
leaves come late in the spring, and they begin
to fall early,—as early sometimes as the month
of July.

Though a soft and weak timber, the lime is
valuable for many purposes. It is delicately
white, and of an uniform colour, and therefore
it is admirably adapted for all light works that
are to be partially painted, and then varnished.
Though it be very close in the grain, it blunts
the tool less than any other timber; and as it has
the same property as maple, of not warping, and
even in a higher degree, it is used for cutting-
hoards, and for the keys of musical instruments.
Tt also stands the tool well, and is called, by way
of eminence,“ the carver’s tree,” being used by the
carvers and gilders for most parts of their wooden
ornaments. At iron foundries, the ornaments
for the fronts of stoves and other purposes are
all first cut in lime tree, and some of them are
moulded from the carving, though casts be more
generally taken in lead, as being more durable,
and admitting of a smoother surface. ‘The ex-
quisite carvings with which Grindling Gibbons
ornamented so many of the churches and palaces
in England, in the time of Charles IT., are all
executed in lime tree. Lime, though softer and
more easily cut than beech or maple, is not so
much affected either by the worm or by rot.

The bark of the lime tree is an article of
commerce. As the trunk of the tree is tall and
free from knots, the bark may be stripped off in
long pieces. These are macerated in water till
the fibrous layers separate; and are then divided
into narrow slips, called bast, which, in the
northern parts of Europe, are plaited into ropes,
and worked into mats. The mats in which flax
and hemp are imported from the Baltic, and
which, in this country, are in constant use by
gardeners for covering plants from the weather,
and tying them up, and also for market and tool
haskets, are made of dast, or the bark of the
lime tree. Though the lime be not so great a
favourite in this country as it was in former
times, it may very fairly be doubted whether
the poplars, and other soft, fast-growing trees
that have been substituted for it, are a change
for the better. The lime is not a tree for bleak
and cold lands. It thrives best in rich loam,
and in warm and rather moist situations; and
though the average age to which it will grow
has not been accurately determined, yet, from
the healthy nature of the tree, and the great
size that it has arrived at, it must be considera-
ble—upwards of a hundred years.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The lime is generally raised from seeds, which
produce the handsomest trees; it may, however,
be propagated by cuttings or suckers. The seeds
are collected and dried for a few weeks, and then
sown in a rich mould in autumn. They will
spring up in the following spring, and after two
years’ age may be planted out.

The honey made from the flowers of the lime,
is reckoned the finest in the world. Near Kowno,
in Lithuania, there are large forests chiefly of
this tree. The honey produced in these forests,
sells at more than double the price of any other,
and is used exclusively in medicine, and for
mixing with liquors.

It was customary with the ancients to crown
themselves with garlands of roses and other
flowers during their convivial entertainments;
and these were artfully bound together with
slips of the inner rind of the lime tree.

The American Lime (t. Americana), of which
there are several varieties, very nearly resembles
the European species. The leaves, which vary
in size according to the varieties, are finely ser-
rated on the edges, and end in acute points, with
the under surface of a paler green than the upper.
The large-leaved is by far the finest sort; and
the branches of this species vary from all the
others, in having a dark brown bark. The
flowers are furnished with nectaries; whereas
those of the common lime have none. They
are produced in bunches, and are succeeded by
seeds contained in coriaceous capsules.

Tue Horse Carsrnur (esculus hippocastan-
um). Natural family hippecastanee; heptan-
dria, monogynia, of Linneus. This tree is a
native of the northern or central parts of Asia,
from which it was introduced into Europe about
the middle of the sixteenth century. Its pro-
gress can be traced from parts of Northern Asia
to Constantinople, thence to Vienna, and thence
to Paris, where the first tree was planted in 1615.
It is very beautiful in the arrangement of its
branches, which give it the form of a paraboloid;
in the shape of its leaves; and in its pyramids
of large white flowers, delicately marked with
red and yellow. It grows very rapidly, and to
a great height; but the timber is soft, spongy,
and not durable, and therefore of little value.
It is white, but every way inferior to the lime,
as it does not stand the tool, and almost any
thing will scratch it. It has sometimes been
used by the turner, and also for pipes; but though
it be cheap, the advantage of using it is very
questionable. As it requires a good soil, it is
not worth cultivating but as an ornamental tree.
The Turks are said to grind the nuts, and mix
them with the food of their horses (whence the
common name): they devour them with avidity,
and they are stated to be eaten whole by deer
and sheep, and by poultry when boiled; but
hogs refuse them both raw and prepared. The
THE POPLAR.

bark of the horse chestnut has been employed
with some success in dyeing yellow.

This tree is extremely well adapted for the
ornament of parks and pleasure grounds, as it
grows to a large size, and forms a beautiful regu-
lar head. The buds, before they shoot out, be-
come turgid and large, so that they have a good
effect to the eye by their bold appearance, long
before the leaves appear. A peculiarity of these
buds is, that as soon as the leading shoot bursts
out, it continues to grow so fast as to be able to
form its whole summer’s shoot in about three
weeks or a month’s time. After this it grows
little more in length, but thickens, and becomes
strong and woody, and forms the buds for the
next year’s shoot. The flowers are in full blow
about the 12th of May, and on fine trees make
anobleappearance. ‘This tree is generally raised
from the nuts. These should be collected in
autumn, and sown in spring. If the nuts, pre-
vious to being put into the ground, are steeped
for a short time in water, they will more cer-
tainly, and more quickly spring up into
plants.

Tur Porzar (populus). Natural family
amentacee ; dicecia, octandria, of Linneus. In
ancient times the public places of Rome were
planted with rows of this tree, whence it came to
be called arbor populi, and from this probably
we derive the common name it now bears.

There are about sixteen species of this family
enumerated. Their general aspect is that of
tall, straight, and light trees, with the branches
in general rising up perpendicularly instead of
spreading out horizontally.

The leaves vary in size and shape in the dif-
ferent species; generally they are small, oval,
cordate, or deltoid, with long, slender petioles,
and light coloured on the under side. The flowers
are male and female, on distinct plants, and both
are arranged in the form of an amentum. The
flowers appear about the beginning of April, and
in two months the seeds are perfected.

The small-leaved white poplar is a native of
most parts of Europe; but it is doubtful whether
the large-leaved one, the abele, be a native of
England,—at all events, the plants of it were
obtained chiefly from Flanders in the seventeenth
century. The poplar grows very rapidly. In
favourable situations it will make shoots three
inches in diameter, and sixteen feet long, in the
course of asingle season. The loppings of the
poplar are not very inflammable, and thus they
are superior to those of the elm, and many other
trees, for heating ovens, and for other purposes
in which the loppings of trees are used.

The wood of the poplar is soft, and it is far
from durable; but it is not apt either to swell
and shrink, or to warp, and it is very light, so
that it is employed for butchers’ trays, hogs’
troughs, and other articles, in which lightness

 

443

and cheapness are preferred to durability. It
is possible, in consequence of the rapidity with
which the poplar grows, and the ease with which
it can be worked, that, on the spot where it is
produced, it may be more economical for com-
mon household purposes, and for casks and pack-
ages for dry goods, than more durable timber.
It is a tree largely cultivated by the Dutch, being
well adapted to their moist soil and climate.
On the Continent a species of poplar is manu-
factured into thin slices, called sparterie, which
is made up into ladies’ bonnets, The seeds of
the white poplar, also, are surrounded with a sort
of cotton, of which it has been attempted to
manufacture paper and even cloth. Pallas, in
his voyages, attempted to show that the cotton
of the Populus alba was as valuable as that of
America; but no experiments upon it have yet
been successful.

In Holland, the back poplar is also much cul-
tivated. It grows rapidly, is cut down at about
twenty-four years old, and made into wooden
shoes, and other articles. The timber is of nearly
the same quality as that’ of the white poplar,
perhaps a little better; and it is used for almost
the same purposes.

The trembling poplar, or aspen, is singular on
account of the agitation of its leaves by the
slightest breeze that can stir. It is very gener-
ally diffused, and the timber of it, though it
does not attain quite the same size, is applied to
the same purposes.

The leaves of almost all the poplars are of a
pale or silver colour on the under sides, and the
twigs are flexible, which gives them an agreeable
variation of colour when agitated by the wind.
The susceptibility of motion is one of the acci-
dental beauties of trees; and the motion of the
poplar is peculiarly graceful, for it waves in one
simple sweep from the top to the bottom, and
the least breath of wind stirs it, when other trees
are at rest.

The Lombardy poplar grows rapidly, and
shoots in a compact spire to a great height. It
is not so hardy as the others; but when planted
in a favourable soil, it will grow at the rate of
four or five feet in height annually.

The timber of the Lombardy poplar is even
worse than that of the other poplars; but for
temporary purposes the rapidity of its growth is
some compensation. It is, perhaps, the lightest
of timber, and, therefore, well calculated for
packing-cases; and though soft, it will bear some
strain without breaking. The vessels in which
the people of Lombardy carry and squeeze their
grapes are all made of this poplar; and they also
frequently train their vines to the tree. In
England it is chiefly used as an ornamental tree.
The Lombardy poplar is, so far as has been ob-
served, the only spiry tree that is deciduous, or
sheds its leaves: the tree which it most nearly
4b

resvinbles in its form, though not in its foliage,
is the cypress.

The balsam poplar is a moderate sized conical
tree, a native both of Siberia and America: the
buds of this tree, from autumn to the leafing sea-
son, are covered with a quantity of a glutinous
yellow balsam, which often collects into drops,
and is pressed from the tree for medical use.
‘This balsam is brought to Europe from Canada
in shells, It is smooth, of an even texture, yel-
low colour, and fragrant scent, not unlike the
flavour of Tolu balsam. In Siberia a medicated
wine is prepared from the buds, which is diuretic,
and esteemed by the inhabitants as serviceable
in scurvy. The grouse and other game birds
feeding on these buds during winter, acquire a
flavour which is much esteemed by epicures.

All the poplars are very easily raised from
cuttings: they prefer a moist soil, and are of a
very rapid growth, but do not last long.

The chief species and varieties are thus dis-
tinguished.

White Poplar (p. alba_), with roundish leaves,
angularly indented, and downy on the under
side; trunk straight, and covered with a smooth
whitish bark. A variety with larger leaves is
called the abele poplay.

Black Poplar (p. nigra), with pointed, ser-
rated leaves; shaped like the letter delta, A, and
smaller than those of the former tree.

Lombardy Poplar (p. dilatata), with Icaves
smooth on each side; pointed, serrated, and del-
toid, broader than long. Branches in form of a
cone.

Alspen, or Trembling Poplar (p. tremula),
with roundish, broadly toothed leaves, smooth
on both sides; leafstalks compressed, and long
and slender, moving with the least breath of
wind,

Balsam Poplar (p. balsamifera), with oval
pointed leaves, closely serrated, and netted be-
neath: the buds are resinous, and of a pale yel-
lowcolour. This tree is of a very quick growth,
and attains a considerable size.

Tur Wittow (saliz). Natural family amen-
tacee; diccia, diandria, of Linneus. Of the
willow family there have been enumerated about
one hundred and forty species and varieties.
The willow is a light, graceful, and quick grow-
ing tree, with generally narrow, lanceolate, and
serrated leaves. It flourishes on the banks of
rivers and lakes, and other moist situations, and
is confined chiefly to the temperate regions of
Europe and America. Many of the species are
distinguished by such delicate shades, that it
becomes very difficult to particularize and dis-
tinguish them. Soil, situation, and climate,
produce so considerable a change in their appear-
ance, as to render it difficult to determine what
are species and what are varieties. Those kinds
which attain -a timber size, are chiefly valued for

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the rapidity of their growth, they produce a
great bulk of trunk, and Jop in a short time;
and the bark of most of the specics has recently
been used in tanning, being, at an average of
sorts, about half as valuable as that of the oak.
One great use of the willow is for basket making.

The basket-making willows, at least those
most generally and frequently used for that pur-
pose, (for baskets may be made of the twigs of
many others)—are the osicr (salie viminulis );
and the yellow willow (saliz vitellina ); the tim-
ber tree is the white willow (salix alba); and
the ornamental one, the werping willow (sali«
Babylonica).

 

« The Osier; b White Willow.

The osier is a native of most parts of Europe,
and grows spontaneously in fenny places. When
allowed, it becomes a small tree, but it is gener-
ally cut down for basket-work. The osier grows
very rapidly; and is used only for the coarser
basket-work, unless when split into pieces. On
the banks of large rivers, osier beds may be
planted with great advantage; and the osier will
also thrive in dry situations if the soil be good.
Cuttings of osiers take root very readily, and
it is not of much consequence which end of
them be put into the ground. They are of great
use in giving consistency to banks and embank-
ments, which are in danger of being washed
away, ‘here are many osier beds in the Thames,
which are generally cut about once in three
years, and are very profitable to their proprie-
tors.

The shoots of the yellow willow are much
more slender than those of the osier: they are
very tough; and on that account they are well
adapted for the finer kinds of basket-work.

In common language, osier is used for almost
any willow tree, while of that which botanists
call the osier there are many varieties.

The white arborescent willow grows to a large
size, by the sides of rivers; and when the wind
agitates its twigs, and turns up the silvery sides
of its leaves, it has a fine appearance. It is a
native of most parts of Europe.

The weeping willow is a native of the Levant;
but it thrives very well in England, if the situa-
tion be not too cold for it, and if it be near
THE MOUNTAIN ASH.

water. It runs to a considerable height, and no
tree can be more graceful on the margin of a lake
or stream. The twigs, which hang down so
beautifully, are tough, as well as long and slen-
der; and there can be no doubt that they would
answer well for basket-making; but this tree is
chiefly introduced on account of the beauty of
its appearance. It has been said, that the first
willow was planted in England by the celebrated
Alexander Pope. According to the account of
this circumstance, the poet having received a
present of figs from Turkey, observed a twig of
the basket in which they were packed putting
out a shoot. He planted this twig in his garden,

and it soon became a fine tree; from which stock. |

many of the weeping willows in England have
sprung. This tree, so remarkable on every ac-
count, was cut down a few years ago.

The willow has not only been noticed, but
employed in basket work in this country from
avery early period, and there is some probability
that the Britons taught the art to the Romans,
at least, frora the mention of a basket brought
to Rome by painted Britons, in Martial, we
should be led to infer that baskets of British
manufacture were esteemed in the capital of the
world. ¥

The timber of the willow is applicable to many
purposes similar to those in which the poplar is
employed, and in toughness it is far superior.
The ancient Britons sometimes made their boats
of basket-work of willow, and covered them
with the skins of animals: they were remarka-
bly light and buoyant.

The willow is used extensively in the manu-
facture of charcoal; and it has been found to be
superior to most other woods in producing char-
coal, for gunpowder. A good deal depends,
however, upon the manufacture. In the ordin-
ary modes of making charcoal, by building the
wood up in a pyramidal form, covering the pile
with clay or earth, and leaving a few air-holes,
which are closed as soon as the mass is well
lighted, combustion is imperfectly performed.
For charcoal, to be used in the manufacture of
gunpowder, the wood should be ignited in iron
cylinders, so that every portion of vinegar and
tar which it produces should be suffered to es-
cape. In India, charcoal is manufactured by a
particular caste, who dwell entirely in the woods,
and have neither intermarriage nor intercourse
with the Hindoo inhabitants of the open country.
They bring down their loads of charcoal to par-
ticular spots, whence it is carried away by the
tatter people, who deposit rice, clothing, and iron
tools, a payment settled by custom. The be-
nevolent bishop Heber wished to mitigate the
condition of these unfortunate people, but he
found that he could not break through the Hin-
doo prejudice against them. Evelyn, in his
Sylva, fears that the progress of our iron man-

 

445

ufacture would lead to the destruction of all our
timber, in the preparation of charcoal for fur-
naces. He did not foresee that we should find
a substitute, by charring pit coal into coke. In
1788, there were eighty-six iron furnaces in
England, of which twenty-six were heated by
charcoal of wood; in 1826, there were three
hundred and five, all served by coke.

The flowers of the sallow willow make their
appearance about the 10th of March; and those
of the others follow in succession. The leaves
are out by the second week of April. They are
all’ of uncommon facility of propagation and
culture, and are readily raised from cuttings.
Plantations for basket-work or hoops, should be
made on deep loamy soil on the banks of rivers,
within reach of water, but by no means satur-
ated with it. Few willows are either bog or
marsh plants. The cuttings should be of two
year’s wood, or the strongest portions of one
year’s growth, two and a half feet long, one foot
and a half of which should be put into the
ground. They are commonly planted in rows
two and ahalf feet distant each way. After three
years they should be cut down to the first planted
head; after this the stock will afford an annual
crop of twigs. According to Dr Hunter, willow
plantations yield £5 per acre and upwards, ac-
cording to situation and demand.

Among the many uses to which the willow
was applied by the Romans, was that of binders
to tie up the vines to their poles. Regular
plantations of the willow were raised for this
purpose. The weeping willow, so called from
its pendulous branches and leaves, which often
contain a crystal drop of water at their points,
was the emblem of grief and disappointment.
Thus Shakspeare writes, “I offered him my
company to a willow tree to make him a garland,
as being forsaken.” It is probable that under
those trees, the children of Israel mourned their
captivity. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we
sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered
Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows
in the midst thereof.”— Psalms.

The saliz herbacea, which is not a herbaceous
plant, as the name would imply, but really a
tree, is the smallest of all trees yet known, being
only from one to three inches in height, even
when of mature age.

THE Mountain Asu (pyrus aucuparia). Na-
tural family rosacew ; icosandria, di-pentaginea,
of Linneus. This is also called the wild service,
quickbeam,and rowantree. This tree grows natur-
ally in many parts of England, and is frequently
introduced into plantations and ornamental
shrubberies, both for the beauty of the leaves,
and the brilliant red of its clusters of berries.
In the south of England it is rarely permitted
to grow to any height; but in the northern coun-
ties, and in Scotland and Wales, it frequently
4-46

attains a considerable size. The stems are covered
with a smooth gray bark; the branches, while
young, have a purplish brown bark, and the
leaves ave winged. They are composed of eight
or nine pair of long narrow lobes, terminated by
an odd one. The lobes are about two inches
long, and half an inch broad towards the base,
ending in acute points; and are sharply sawed
on their edges. The leaves on the young trees
in the spring, are hoary on their under side,
which about midsummer goes off; but those upon
the older branches have very little at any season.
‘The flowers are produced in large bunches almost
in form of umbels, at the end of the branches.
They are composed of fine, spreading, concave
petals, shaped like those of the pear tree, but
smaller; these are succeeded by roundish berries
growing in large bunches, which have a depres-
sion on the top, and are of a bright red when
ripe. ‘The buds of this tree begin to open about
the beginning of April. The leaves are out by
the middle of the month, and the flowers are in
full blow by the sixth of May. This tree is
raised from seeds, which, when planted, frequently
remain till the second spring before they make
their appearance. In the following spring the
young trees should be planted out. It may also
be raised from layers; but trees from these are
not so handsome as seedlings. It will grow in
almost any soil or exposure, flourishing on moun-
tains, or in woods and thickets; and is so hardy
as never to be affected by the severity of the
weather. In autumn, when loaded with its
clusters of red berries, it has a rich and striking
effect among shrubberiesand ornamental grounds.
The wood is used for tools, and was formerly
made into bows.

Another species, the true service, we have
already shortly described under the head of fruit
trees.

Lanurnum (cytisus). This family of orna-
mental shrubs belongs to the Jeguminose or pea
tribe,.to which they are allied by the similarity
of their organs of fructification. They may
be considered rather as shrubs than trees, and
are very ornamental from the handsome form of
their leaves, which are composed of small oval
leaflets, and the beauty of their dependent ra-
cemes of gay coloured flowers. There are two
species of the common laburnum, which are so
much alike, as often to be confounded together.

The ¢. alpinus is the tree laburnum, whose
timber is much prized by cabinet makers and
turners for its hard, compact, durable structure,
and which is called false ebony by the French.
Hares and rabbits are so fond of the bark of this
species, that it is frequently planted on the out-
skirts of other plantations in order to protect
the more valuable trees. Though eaten to the
ground in winter, it will spring again next
season; and thus afford a constant supply for

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

these animals, so.as to save the other trees till of
a size to resist their attacks. The timber has
been sold as high as ten shillings per foot, and
is most valuable when grown in light loams and
sandy soils.

Even of the small size to which it is permitted
to grow, this wood is used for many purposes,
as wedges, pulleys, pegs, and handles of knives,
and other instruments. When of larger dimen-
sions, no timber is fitter for cabinet work of all
kinds. It takes a fine polish, looks well, and is
durable. Chairs made of it are stronger than
those made of mahogany. It has been objected
to the wood, however, that in consequence of
its oily nature, it does not hold glue so well as
the drier woods. This property, on the other
hand, fits it well for pins, blocks, and cogs, in
mill-work, as its unctuous nature prevents it
from being abraded. Many of the purposes for
which it was once used, are now supplied by
lignum vite, which is a harder wood, and still
more unctuous; but it is more splintry. For
pillars, bed posts, feet for tables, and other pur-
poses, laburnum wood is well adapted, and fre-
quently used.

The seeds are possessed of narcotic and pois-
onous qualities; and it is said that if a garland
of the flowers be worn around the neck, that
they produce headache.

The purple-flowered, and winged-leaved spe-
cies, purpureus and wolgaricus, are very hand-
some and ornamental shrubs, and are frequently
engrafted on stocks of the common Jaburnum
five or six feet in height.

The medicago arborea is, as we have already
stated, supposed to be the cytésus alluded to hy
Virgil and the ancients.

The Pigeon Pea (cytisus cagan_), is frequently
planted in the West India islands chiefly in rows,
as a fence to the sugar plantations; and will
thrive on very barren land. The seed is eaten
by the negroes, and is esteemed a wholesome
pulse. In the island of Martinico, the better
sort of people hold it in estimation, and prefer
it to the European pea: the chief use of it in
Jamaica is for feeding pigeons, whence its name.
The branches, with the ripe seed and leaves, are
given to feed hogs, horses, and other cattle, which
grow very fat on them.

Acacia (robinia). Natural family legumin-
ose; diadelphia, decandria, of Linneus. This
isa family of useful and ornamental trees; natives
of America, and allied in their general appear-
ance to the foregoing. The common acacia is a
thriving, fast growing tree, of middling stature,
and ornamental when young; and very well
adapted for copse wood and rough timber. The
leaves come out late in spring, and fall off early
in autumn, like those of the ash.

This is the locust tree of America, the timber
of which is much valued there, and is said to
DOGWOOD.

be superior to that of the laburnum, being
close grained, hard, and finely veined, and
highly valued by the turner. Being of a very
incorruptible nature, it is also valuable for posts,
rails, and gates, many of which, made of this
wood, have remained fresh for nearly a century.
Its delicate, finely-shaped, pinnated leaves, and
white, pendulous, odorous flowers, also recom-
mend it as anornamental shrub. It thrives best
in a deep sandy soil, and sheltered situation, and
throws up suckers abundantly from the roots,
thus adapting it for coppice wood. It is also
recommended as possessing superior qualities to
the oak for ship-building; but its comparative
scarcity has hitherto prevented its extensive use
in this department.

Doawoop (cornus). Natural family capri-
Jolie ; tetrandria, monogynia, of Linneus. There
are ten or eleven species of this family, all char-
acterised by the hardness of their wood. The
larger kinds are very ornamental and hardy
shrubs, not only from the beauty of the flowers,
and the gay colour of the berries, but also from
the diversified colours of their barks and young
shoots, which have a lively effect, especially in
winter, among other more monotonous shrub-
hery. The great-flowered, c. forida, an American
species, is thus described by Michaux :—The
dogwood sometimes reaches thirty to thirty-five
feet in height, and nine or ten inches in diame-
ter; but it does not usually reach more than
eighteen or twenty feet. The trunk is strong,
and is covered with a blackish bark, chopped
into many small portions, which are often in the
shape of squares more or less exact. The branches
are proportionally less numerous than on other
frees, and are regularly disposed nearly in the
form of crosses. The young twigs incline up-
wards in a semicircular direction. The leaves
are opposite, about three inches in length, oval,
of a dark green above, and whitish beneath.
The upper surface is very distinctly sulcated.
Towards the close of summer they are often
marked with black spots; and at the approach
of winter they change to a dull red. The flowers
are full blown about the middle of May, before
the leaves have yet unfolded themselves. The
flowers are small, yellowish, and collected in
bunches, which are surrounded with a very large
involucre, composed of four white floral leaves,
sometimes inclining to violet. This constitutes
all the beauty of the flowers, which are very
numerous; and which in their season robe the
tree in white, like a full blown apple tree, and
render it one of the fairest ornaments of the
American forest. The berries are of a vivid
glossy red, of an oval shape, and always united.
They remain upon the trees till the first frosts,
when, notwithstanding their bitterness, they are
devoured by the robin, or migratory thrush,
which about this period arrives from the northern

 

447

regions. The wood is hard, compact, heavy, and
fine grained, and is susceptible of a brilliant
polish. The alburnum is perfectly white, and
the heart is of a chocolate colour. This tree is
not large enough for works which require pieces
of considerable volume; it is used for the handles
of light tools, and agricultural implements, cogs
of mill wheels, and other purposes. The inner
bark is extremely bitter, and has been used in
agues: it will also make a good ink, in the pro-
portion of half an ounce of the bark to two
scruples of sulphate of iron; and the same quan-
tity of gum Arabic mixed with sixteen ounces
of rain water.

This species grows and blossoms, but does not
bear berries in Britain.

The Common Cornel Cherry (cornus mascula),
blossoms early in this country, and bears hand-
some berries, which were formerly made into
tarts, and formed the rob de cornis. The wood
is very hard, and is celebrated by Virgil as a
material for warlike weapons, “bona bello cornus.”
The common and blue-berried cornels have
red twigs, and are used as ornamental shrubs.
The wood of both is hard and useful, and an oil
may be extracted from the berries. The wood
of the common dogwood makes a very superior
charcoal, used in the manufacture of the finest
kinds of gunpowder.

The dwarf species, (succica) is common in the
highlands of Scotland, and other alpine regions;
and its berries are esteemed tonic and stomachic,

Lancrwoop(gualtheriavirgata). Natural family
annonacee ; polyandria, polygynia, of Linneus.
This tree is a native of Jamaica; and though of
moderate size, is one of the most useful and valu-
able in the island. It possesses in a high degree
the qualities of toughness and elasticity, and is,
on this account, extremely well adapted for the
shafts of light carriages, and all those uses where
light, strong, but elastic timber is required. Ash
of the very best qualities is found to be inferior
to this wood, both in strength and elasticity;
while the ash is open in the grain, whereas the
other is close and compact.

The leaves are ovate, acuminate, very smooth,
with very short footstalks. The blossoms are
pedunculate, axillary, and single-flowered.

Hawtuorn (crategus). Natural family rosa-
cee; icosandria, di-pentagynia, of Linneus.
This is a family of hard-wooded trees, both use-
ful and ornamental. The common hawthorn,
c. oxycantha, or sharp spined, is the best hedge
plant in Europe; and some of its varieties are
also very beautiful and ornamental, when in full
blossom. The flowers appear in May; hence the
popular name of May or May blossom. One
variety, the Glastonbury thorn, to which the
monks of the dark ages attached a popular legend,
flowers in January or February, and in favour-
able seasons and situations, as early as Christmas,
443

When young, the hawthorn springs up very
rapidly; a shoot of a single year being sufficient
for a walking-stick. It thus, if well pruned and
kept down, very quickly grows into a thick and
intricately woven hedge. When it arrives at
the height of a tree, however, it makes wood
very slowly, and lives toa greatage. The trunk:
of an old hawthorn has a gnarled, rough, and
very picturesque effect, supporting its crown of
branches, white with innumerable blossoms.

“Sometimes these trunks split into two or more
divisions, and thus in time gradually becoming
covered over with an extension of the bark,
oppear as distinct stems,

The timber of the hawthorn is extremely
hard and durable, and fit for many purposes of
utility. There are several distinct species, and
many varieties of the hawthorn, all natives of
Europe and America. The double-flowering is}
one of the most ornamental for shrubberies,
The fruit of the sweet-scented, odoratissima, is
reckoned very agreeable; and that of the azarole
is much esteemed in the south of Europe: in
this country it rarely arrives at perfection.

CHAP. XLITi.

MAHOGANY, LIGNUMVITEA, TEAK,

TULIP TREE, &c.

MAGNOLIA,

Manocany TREE (swietinea mahogani). Na-
tural family meliacee ; decandria, monogynia, of

 

Mahogany Tree.

Linneus. This is avery large and graceful tree,
with numerous spreading branches. The trunk is
of great size, covered with a rough, scaly, brown
bark, which on the younger branches is of a gray
colour. The leaves are compound; the leaflets
are pinnated, in three or four, rarely five pairs,
without any odd one at the top. They are en-
tire, ovately lance-shaped, oblique, reclining,
smooth, and ahout two inches and a half long.
The flowers are small, of a white colour; the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. :

calyx bell-shaped. The capsule is ovate, large,
five-celled, and contains numerous compressed
seeds. It isa native of the West India islands,
and the warmer parts of the adjoining continent
of America; and has become celebrated, and in
request, from the beauty and durability of its
wood. The trees on the Bahama islands are not
so large, but are more curiously veined; and are
known in Europe as Madeira wood.

Swietenia mahogant is, perhaps, the most
majestic of trees; for though some rise to a greater
height, this tree, like the oak and the cedar,
impresses the spectator with the strongest feelings
of its firmness and duration. In the rich val-
leys among the mountains of Cuba, and those
that open upon the bay of Honduras, the
mahogany expands to sogiantatrunk, divides into
so many massy arms, and throws the shade of
its shining green leaves, spotted with tufts of
pearly flowers, over so vast an extent of surface,
that it is difficult to imagine a vegetable pro-
duction combining in such a degree the qualities
of elegance and strength, of beauty and sublim-
ity. The precise period of its growth is not
accurately known; but as, when large, it changes
but little during the life of a man, the time of
its arriving at maturity is probably not less than
two hundred years. Some idea of its size, and
also of its commercial value, may be formed
from the fact that a single log, imported at Liv-
erpool, weighed nearly seven tons; was in the
first instance, sold for £378; resold for £525; and
would, had the dealers been certain of its quality,
been worth £1000. Mahogany of remarkable fine-
ness is very costly, being much prized as a fancy
wood,

As is the case with much other timber, the,
finest mahogany trees, both for size and quality,
are not in the most accessible situations; and as
it is always imported in large masses, the trans-
portation of it for any distance overland is so
difficult, that the very best trees, both on the
islands and on the main land—those that grow
in the rich inland valleys—defy the means of
removal possessed by the natives. Masses of
from six to eight tons are not very easily
moved in any country; and in a mountainous
and rocky one, where much attention is not paid
to mechanical power, to move them is impossible.
In Cuba, the inhabitants have neither enterprise
nor skill adequate to felling the mahogany trees,
and transporting them to the shore; and thus the
finest timber remains unused.

The discovery of this beautiful timber was
accidental, and its introduction into notice was
slow. The first mention of it is that it was used
in the repair of some of Sir Walter Raleigh’s
ships, at Trinidad, in 1597. Its finely varie-
gated tints were admired; but in that age the
dream of El Dorado caused matters of more
value to be neglected. The first that was brought
MAHOGANY TREE.

to England was about the beginning of the last
century; a few planks having been sent to Dr
Gibbons, of London, by a brother who was a
West India captain. The Doctor was erecting
a house in King Street, Covent Garden, and gave
the planks to the workmen, who rejected it as
being too hard. The Doctor’s cabinet maker,
named Wollaston, was employed to make a
candle-box of it, and as he was sawing up the
plank he also complained of the hardness of the
timber, But when the candle-box was finished,
it outshone in beauty all the Doctor’s other fur-
niture, and became an object of curiosity and
exhibition. The wood was then taken into
favour: Dr Gibbons had a bureau made of it,
and the Duchess of Buckingham another; and
the despised mahogany now became a prominent
article of luxury, and at the same time raised the
fortunes of the cabinet maker, hy whom it had
been at first so little regarded.

The mahogany tree is found in great quanti-
ties on the low and woody lands, and even upon
the rocks in the countries on the western shores
of the Caribbean sea, about Honduras and Cam-
peachy. It is also abundant in the islands of
Cuba and Hayti, and it used to be plentiful in
Jamaica, where it was of excellent quality; but
most of the larger trees have been cut down. It
was formerly abundant on the Bahamas, where
it grew, on the rocks, to a great height, and four
feet in diameter. In the earliest periods it was
much used by the Spaniards in ship building.
When first introduced by them it was very dark
and hard, and without much of that beautiful
variety of colour which now renders it superior
to all other timber for cabinet work; but it was
more durable, and took a higher polish with less
Jabour. At that time it was called Madeira
wood, though it appears to have come from San
Domingo (Hayti) and the Bahamas. Of course
it was wholly unknown to the ancients. It was
first introduced in the sixteenth century, but it
was not generally used in England till the eigh-
teenth,

This tree so far corresponds with the pine
tribe, that the timber is best upon the coldest
soils, and in the most exposed situations. When
it grows upon moist soils and warm lands, it is
soft, coarse, spongy, and contains sap-wood, into
which some worms will eat. ‘That which is
most accessible at Honduras is of this descrip-
tion; and therefore it is only used for coarser
works, or for a ground on which to lay veneers
of the choicer sorts. For the latter purpose it
is well adapted, as it holds glue better than deal,
and, when properly seasoned, is not so apt to
warp or to be eaten by insects. When it grows
in favourable situations, where it has room to
spread, it is of much better quality, and puts
out large branches, the junctions of which with
the stem furnish those beautifully curled pieces

 

449

of which the choicest veneers are made. When
among rocks, and much exposed, the size is
inferior,and there is not so much breadth or var-
iety of shading; but the timber is far superior,
and the colour is more rich, The last descrip-
tion is by far the strongest, and is therefore the
best adapted for chairs, the legs of tables, and
other purposes in which a moderate size has to
bear a considerable strain. Since the produce of
Jamaica has been nearly exhausted, there are
only two kinds known in the market. Bay
wood, or that which is got from the continent
of America, and Spanish wood, or the produce
of the islands chiefly of Cuba and Hayti.
Though the Bay wood be inferior to the other
both in value and in price, it is often very beauti-
ful, and may be obtained in logs as large as six
feet square. It is, however, not nearly so com-
pact as the other; the grain is apt to rise in
polishing, and, if it be not covered by a water-
proof varnish, it is very easily stained. It also
gives to the tool in carving, and is not well adapted
for ornaments. Spanish wood cuts well, takes
a fine polish, resists scratches,.stains, and frac-
tures much better, and is generally the only sort
upon which much or delicate workmanship
should be expended. The colours of mahogany
do not come well out without the application of
oil or varnish; and if the best sorts be often
washed with water, or long macerated in it, they
lose their beauty, and become of a dingy brown.
The red is deepened by alkaline applications, espe-
cially lime-water; but strong acids destroy the
colour, When the surface is covered by a colour-
less varnish, which displays the natural tints
without altering any of them, good mahogany
appears to the greatest advantage.

Another species, the febrifuga, or East India
mahogany, is a very large tree. It grows in the
mountainous parts of central Hindostan, rises to
a great height with a straight trunk, which,
towards the upper part, throws out many branches.
The head is spreading, and the leaves have some
resemblance to those of the American species.
The wood is of a dull red colour, not so beauti-
ful as common mahogany, but much harder,
heavier, and more durable. The natives of India
account it the most lasting timber that their
country produces, and therefore they employ it
in their sacred edifices, and upon every occasion
where they wish to combine strength with dura-
bility.

The chlorozylon is chiefly found in the moun-
tains of the Sircars, that run parallel to the bay
of Bengal, to the north-east of the mouth of the
river Godovery. The tree does not attain the same
size as either of the former, and the appearance
of the wood is different. It is of a deep yellow,
nearly of the same colour as box, from which it
does not differ much in durability; and it could
be applied to the same purposes.

3 L
450

Mahogany bark has been ascertained by Drs
Wright and Lind, to possess all the febrifuge
qualities of the Peruvian bark, and has been
employed instead of this latter. It is said,
indeed, to contain a larger proportion of the bitter
principle than the Peruvian bark, and to have
other qualities to recommend it in medicine.

Lienumvitz. The Lignumvite of commerce
(guaiacum officinale} is a dark-looking evergreen,
and grows to a great size in the West India
islands, of which it is a native. It bears blue
flowers, which are succeeded by roundish cap-
sules, In its native climate the lignumvite is
a very hardy tree, and retains its greenness in
the dryest weather. It strikes its roots deep
into the ground, and thus defies the hurricane as
well as the drought. The bark is hard, smooth,
and brittle; and the wood is of a yellowish, or,
rather olive colour, with the grain crossing in a
sort of irregular lozenge-work. Lignumvite
is the weightiest timber with which we are
acquainted, and it is the most difficult to work.
It can hardly be split, but breaks into pieces like
a stone or crystallized metal. It is full of resinous
juice, which prevents oil or water from working
into it; and it is, therefore, proof against decay.
Its weight and hardness make it the very best
timber for stampers and mallets of all sorts; and
its resinous matter fits it the best for the sheaves
or pulleys of blocks, and for friction rollers and
castors. A sheave of lignumvite cuts a wooden
pin less, and is less cut by a metal one, than a
sheave of any other timber; while its own sap
makes it work as smoothly as other timber even
when smeared with grease, black lead, or any
other anti-attrition application. Lignumvite is
much used in our dock-yards for sheaves; and
its application may be seen upon a grand scale,
in the beautiful block-machinery at Portsmouth.

When full grown, the largest lignumvite trees
are from forty to fifty feet in height, and from
fourteen to eighteen inches in diameter. Like
the other resinous trees, it contains sapwood,
which is of lighter colour than the heart; but,
though not so hard, the light part is a weighty
and strong timber, and not liable to separate from
the other.

The resin of the lignumvite, gum guaiacum
of the shops, may be obtained by bleeding the
live tree, and also by boiling the chips and saw-
dust of the wood. It is aromatic, slightly bitter,
and prescribed in chronic rheumatisms, and other
diseases, The capsules and also the bark are
aperient, and used in medicine, the former being
the more powerful.

The lignumvite has been reared by artificial
heat in this country; but, as it grows slowly
even in the West Indies, its growth here must
of course be still slower, and therefore it does
not admit of being cultivated, except in botani-
eal collections, or as a curiosity.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Tur Trax Tree (éectonia grandis). Natural
family verbenacew; pentandria, mongynia, of

 

Teak Tree.

Linneus. It is extensively used in the East, in
the construction of houses and temples; and its
leaves furnish a purple dye of much brilliancy.
This interesting tree is called ¢ecca in Malabar;
it grows to a very great size, is of great dura-
bility, and is justly entitled to the name of the
oak of the East. The trunk is erect and mas-
sive, the bark ash-coloured; the leaves are obo-
vate, downy underneath; and on young trees
from twelve to twenty-four inches long, and
from eight to sixteen broad. The flowers are in
panicles, small, white, and fragrant; the seeds
are lens-shaped, in four-celled drupes. This tree
abounds in the vast forests of Java, Ceylon, Mal-
abar, and Coromandel, and especially in the
empires of Birman and Pegu. The wood has by
long experience been found to be the most
useful in Asia. It is easily worked, and at the
same time both strong and durable. It is con-
sidered superior to all others for ship-building,
not even excepting the oak.

Calcutta and Madras derive all their supplies
of wood for ship-building from the teak forests
of Ava and Pegu. Some of the finest vessels
that have ever arrived in the Thames have been
of teak tree, built in Bengal. The tree was
introduced to the British possessions by Lord
Cornwallis, and is now planted with a view to
timber in the mountainous parts of Bengal.

Besides its value as timber, the teak has great
beauty as a tree. It is found more than two
hundred feet high, and the stem, the branches,
and the leaves, are all very imposing, On the
banks of the river Irrawady, in the Birman
empire, the teak forests are unrivalled; and they
rise so far over the jungle or brushwood, by
which tropical forests ave usually rendered impe-
nétrable, that they seem almost as if one forest
were raised on gigantic poles over the top of
another. The teak has not the broad strength
of the oak, the cedar, and some other trees; but
there is a grace in its form which they do not
possess,
THE BIG

A specimen was introduced into the Royal
gardens at Kew, about sixty years ago. It thrives
in loam and peat, and ripe cuttings root freely
in sand under a hand-glass; but from the warmth
of the climate of which it is a native, it can
never become a forest tree in this country.

Macwotra. Natural family, magnoliacee ;
polyandria, polygynia, of Linneus. ‘The trees
and shrubs which compose this family are, with-
out exception, natives of Asia and America,
where they are found nearly in the same lati-
tude, being included within the 28th and 42d
parallels, All the magnolias have beautiful fo-
liage, and most of them large and splendid flowers,
The species which are indigenous to North Ame-
rica, and particularly those which grow in the
southern part of the United States, are in these
respects the most remarkable; hence for more
than half a century they have been highly
esteemed in Europe as ornamental plants. In
the climates of London and Paris, several of the
Asiatic, and even of the American species, require
shelter in winter to secure them from the frosts.
Of thirteen species of this family, five belong to
China and Japan. Of these, the magnolia yalan
is the largest. It attains the height of forty to
fifty feet; and its flowers, which are nearly six
inches in diameter, diffuse a delicious odour. It
has been cultivated for several centuries, and
serves particularly for the embellishment of the
emperor of China’s garden. In Chinese poetry
it figures as a symbol of beauty and candour.
Of the eight remaining species one belongs to the
West Indies, and seven to the United States.

Tue Bie Lauren (magnolia grandiflora). Of
all the trees of North América this is the most

 

The Big Laurel.
remarkable for the majesty of its form, the mag-
nificence of its foliage, and the beauty of its

flowers. It is first seen in the lower part of
North Carolina; proceeding from this point, it
is found in the maritime parts of the southern
states of the Floridas, and as far up as 300 miles
above New Orleans.

 

LAUREL. 451

Its ordinary stature is from sixty to seventy
feet, although it sometimes grows as high as
ninety. Its trunk is commonly straight, and its
summit nearly in the shape of a regular pyra-
mid. Its leaves are entire, oval, sometimes acu-
minate and sometimes obtuse at the summit, six
to eight inches long, and borne by short petioles.
They are evergreen, thick, coriaceotis, and very
brilliant on the upper surface. On trees which,
for their beauty, have been left standing here
and there in clearing the land, the foliage, upon
being exposed to the sun, assumes a rusty ferru-
ginous colour beneath. The flowers are white,
from seven to eight inches in diameter, of an
agreeable odour, and, on detached trees, they are
very numerous. Blooming in the midst of rich
foliage, they produce so fine an effect, says Mi-
chaux, that those who have seen the tree in its
native soil agree in considering it as one of the
most beautiful productions of the vegetable king-
dom. The fruit is a fleshy oval cone, about
four inches in length. It is composed of a great
number of cells, which, at the age of maturity,
open longitudinally, showing two or three seeds
of a vivid red. The seeds soon after quit the
cells, and for some days remain suspended with-
out, each by a white filament attached to the
bottom of its cell, The red pulpy substance
which surrounds the stone decays and leaves it
naked. The stone contains a white milky kernel.

In Carolina this tree blossoms in May, and its
seeds are ripe about the beginning of October.
The trunk is covered with a smooth grayish
bark, resembling that of the beech. The wood
is soft, and remarkable for its whiteness, which
it preserves even after it is seasoned.

This tree grows only in cool and shady places,
where the soil, composed of brown mould, is loose,
deep, and fertile. These tracts lie contiguous to
the great swanzps which are found on the bor-
ders of the rivers, and in the midst of the pine
barrens, or form themselves a part of these
swamps; but they are never seen in the long
and narrow marshes called branch swamps, which
traverse the barrens in every direction, and in
which the miry soil is shallow, with a bed of
white quartz or sand beneath.

The seeds of the big laurel become rancid less
speedily than those of the other magnolias. They
may be kept several months before they are
sown. A single tree sometimes yields 300 or 400
cones, each of which contains forty to fifty seeds.

The big laurel is deservedly esteemed in
Europe by the cultivators of foreign plants. It
is valued not only for the magnificence of its
foliage and flowers, but also for its power of
resisting cold. It is hardier than the orange tree,
and in America grows five degrees farther north.
Indeed, in some parts of the States, it stands
winters which are much more severe than those
of Paris or London.
452

Tue Smart Macnouia, or Wuire Bay (m.
glauca). This tree, though inferior in size to
the preceding, and less regularly formed, is yet
very interesting on account of its beautiful
foliage and flowers. It is found in the eastern and
some of the middle states of America, and in the
maritime parts of the southern states. It is one
of the most abundant of the trees which grow in
wet ground. It is not found to penetrate far
into the interior of the country, and is unknown
in the western states. In the lower parts of
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and farther south,
it is seen only in the most miry swamps, which,
during the greater part of the year, are so wet
as to be impassable. Tere it is accompanied by
the white cedar, and by the different species of
andromeda and whortle-berry. In the Caro-
linas and Georgia it grows abundantly in the
long narrow marshes which traverse the pine
barrens, on a black miry soil, which lies above
a bed of sterile sand.

The leaves of the small magnolia are five to
six inches long, -petiolated, alternate, oblong,
oval, and entire. They are of a dark shining
green above, and glaucous underneath, thus pre-
senting an agreeable contrast in the colour of the
two surfaces. The leaves fall in the autumn,
and re-appear early in spring. The flowers, which
are single, and situated at the extremity of the
branches, are two to three inches in breadth,
white, and composed of several concave oval
petals. In the southern states the blossoms appear
in May; in the northern a month later. In the
neighbourhood of New York and Philadelphia,
they are collected and sold in the markets. The
fruit is small, green, and conical, composed of a
number of cellules, and varying in length from
an inch to an inch and a half. When ripe, the
seeds, which are of a scarlet colour, burst their
cells, and remain some days suspended by white
slender filaments. The seeds very speedily become
rancid; and in order to preserve their germi-
nating power, they must be placed as soon as
gathered, and before the enveloping pulp is
withered, in rotten wood, or in sand slightly
moistened. The bark of the tree is smooth, and
of a gray colour. The trunk is much bent, and
divided into a great number of branches. The
wood is of a white colour, light, and of no use.
From its obtaining the name of “beaver wood,”
it is probable these animals at one time were inha-
bitants of the localities where it grows, and made
use of it for constructing theirdams. The bark
and seed-cones have a bitter taste and aromatic
flavour, and are used as tonics. This elegant tree
stands the climate of Europe, and ripens its seeds
in the environs of Paris.

Tue Cvcumper TREE (magnolia acuminata).
This is a beautiful tree, equal in height and dia-
meter to the big laurel. It abounds along the
whole mountainous tract of the Alleghanies, in-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

cluding a distance of 900 miles, and is also com-
mon on the Cumberland mountains. The situ-
ations peculiarly adapted to its growth are the
declivities of mountains, narrow valleys, the hanks
of torrents, where the atmosphere is constantly
moist, and where the soil is deep and fertile.
The leaves are six to seven inches in length, and
three or four inches broad upon old trees. Upon
saplings, growing in moist places, they are some~
times double this size. They are oval, entire,
acuminate, and deciduous. The flowers are five
to six inches in diameter, of a blue colour,
or sometimes white, with a tint of yellow, and
a faint odour. As they are very numerous, they
produce a pleasing effect amid the dark foliage.
The cones are about three inches long, eight or
ten lines in diameter, of nearly a cylindrical
shape, and often a little larger at the upper end
than at the base. On one side they are convex,
and concave on the other, and when green, nearly
resemble a young cucumber; hence the common
name of the tree. The inhabitants in the neigh-
bourhood of the Alleghanies steep these cones
in spirits, and use the tincture as a tonic.

This tree sometimes exceeds eighty feet in
height, and three or five feet in diameter. The
trunk is straight and of a uniform size, and often
destitute of branches for two-thirds of its height.
The summit is ample, regularly shaped, and
altogether forms one of the handsomest forms of
foliage of any tree in America. The heart wood
is soft, and of a yellowish brown colour, resem-
bling that of the poplar or tulip tree. Like this
wood, also, it is fine grained, and susceptible of
a brilliant polish; but it is less strong and
durable when exposed to the weather. Being not
a very common tree, it is not much employed in
the arts. Sawn into bands, it serves for joinery
work in the interior of houses; and for its size
and lightness it is selected for large canoes. It
bears the winters of England, Germany, and
France, and flourishes in the open fields.

The other species are the heart-leaved cucum-
ber tree (m. cordata), which is nearly similar,
but smaller, and has yellow petals; the um-
brella tree (m. tripetala_), with large leaves and
flowers, but a tree of. moderate size; and the
long-leaved cucumber tree (m. auriculata), with
leaves eight to nine inches long, broad at the
top, and acuminated and narrow and somewhat
spear-shaped at the base. The flowers are large,
white, and of an agreeable odour; the cones
smaller than those of the other species, and of a
red colour.

Lostotty Bay (gordonia lasyanthus). This
tree grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet,
with a diameter of eighteen to twenty inches.
For twenty-five to thirty feet its trunk is per-
fectly straight. The leaves are evergreen, four
to six inches long, alternate, oval, acuminate, and
slightly toothed. The flowers are upwards of an
FRANKLINIA,

inch in breadth, white, and sweet scented, mak-
ing their appearance about the middle of July,
and blooming in succession for two or three
months. The fruit is an oval capsule, with five
segments, containing small black winged seeds.
The wood is light, of a fine silky texture and
rosy hue, brittle, and rapid in its decay when
exposed to moisture. The bark is used in tan-
ning.

Franxuinta (gordonia pubescens). This tree,
which rarely exceeds thirty feet in height, is
confined almost entirely to the banks of the Alta-
maha in the state of Georgia. The leaves are
alternate, oblong, narrow at the base, and toothed;
they are deciduous. The flower is five petaled,
white, and, like those of the loblolly, they con-
tinue to blow in succession fer two months. The
shrub has long been cultivated in France and
England, and is a beautiful ornamental plant,
especially when the flowers are rendered double
by culture,

Tug Ture Tree (liriodendron tulipifera).
This tree which surpasses most others of North

ire,

 

Tulip Tree.

America in height, and in the beauty of its
foliage and of its flowers, is also one of the most
interesting from the numerous and useful appli-
cations of its wood. Throughout the States it
is generally called poplar, or white wood, canon
wood, and more rarely the tulip tree.

This tree is often seen eighty and one hundred
feet in height, with a diameter from eighteen
inches to three feet. In the development of its
leaves it differs from most other trees. Leaf-
buds in general are composed of scales closely
applied one upon another, which in the spring
are distended by the growth of the minute bundle
of leaves which they enclose, till they finally
fall. On some trees these buds are without
scales. On the tulip tree the terminal bud of

 

453

each shoot swells considerably before it gives
birth to the leaf; it forms an oval sack, which
contains the young leaf, and which produces it
to the light only when it appears to have acquired
sufficient force to endure the influence of the
atmosphere. Within the sack is found another,
which, after the first leaf is put forth, swells,
bursts, and gives birth to a second. On young
and vigorous trees, five or six leaves issue suc-
cessively in this manner from one sack. Till
the leaf has acquired half its growth, it retains
the two lobes which composed its sack, and which
are now called stépule. In the spring, when the
weather is warm and humid, the growth of the
leaves is very rapid. They are six to eight inches
broad, borne on long petioles, alternate, some-
what fleshy, smooth, and of a pleasing green
colour, They are divided into three lobes, of
which the middle one is horizontally notched at
its summit; the two lower ones are rounded at
the base. This conformation is peculiar to the
tulip tree, and renders it easily distinguishable
in the summer. The flowers, which are large,
brilliant, and, in detached trees, very numerous,
are variegated with different colours, among
which yellow predominates. They have an
agreeable odour, and surrounded by luxuriant
foliage they produce a very striking effect. In
spring they are collected by females, and sold in
the market of New York. The fruit is com-
posed of a number of thin narrow scales, attached
to a common axis, and forming a cone two or
three inches in length. Each cone consists of
sixty or seventy seeds, of which never more than
a third, and in some seasons not more than seven
or eight of the whole number are productive. It
is also remarked, that for the first ten years after
the tree has begun to yield fruit, the seeds are
unproductive; and that in large trees the seeds
from the highest branches are the best. The
bark in young trees is smooth and even; in older
trees it cracks, and separates into deep furrows.
The heart or perfect wood is yellow, approach-
ing to a lemon colour, and its alburnum is white.
The wood is heavier than that of the poplars,
and its grain equally fine and more compact. It
is employed for various useful purposes in house
building, coach pannels, trunks, &c. The bark,
especially of the roots, has an aromatic smell and
bitter taste; it has been used in medicine as a
tonic and febrifuge.

The tulip tree has been introduced into Europe
within the last century, where it thrives well,
and bears abundance of flowers.

Tue Lavret (laurus nobilis). Natural family
laurine; enneandria, monogynia, of Linneus,
This common and beautiful evergreen is cele-
brated as the /aurus of the Romans and the
daphne of the Greeks, which was consecrated to
priests and heroes, and used in their sacrifices.
In the south of Italy it grows to a sufficient
454

height to be considered a tree; but is so prolific
in suckers and low shoots as always to have the
character of a shrub. It forms a dense and yet
broken and picturesque mass of a very fine deep
green, inclining to olive, and is abundantly
covered with berries, which are dark purple, or
black, when ripe. Oil is obtained from the
latter by boiling water. Both the leaves and the
berries have a sweet fragrant odour, and an aro-
matic astringent taste; and the oil, which is of
a yellowish green colour, has a strong but simi-
lar odour and taste. Water distilled from the
leaves is embued with prussic acid, and on this
account hecomes poisonous.

Tue Royat Bay (J. indica), grows in the
Canary islands and in Virginia. The wood is of
a yellow colour, and rather light, and is used for
buildings and for furniture. In Madeira it is
called vigmatico, and is probably the same wood
which is imported into England under the name
of Madeira mahogany ; indeed it is hardly to be
distinguished from mahogany, only it is of a
lighter colour. The Portuguese laurel, a com-
mon shrub in our gardens, we have already
alluded to under the head of fruit trees, as it
belongs to the same family as the plum and
cherry. It is also a favourite evergreen, and
possesses the same narcotic qualities as the laurels,
prussic acid being contained in the leaves.

Tue Rep Bay (1. caroliniensis). This tree
is found in the lower part of the state of Vir-
ginia, and in the Carolinas and Georgia, in which
places it often rises to the height of sixty and
seventy feet. The leaves and flowers bear a
close resemblance to the common bay, and have
the same peculiar odour when bruised. The
wood is of a beautiful rose colour, is strong, and
has a fine compact grain, and is susceptible of a
beautiful polish. Before the general introduc-
tion of mahogany, this wood was much employed
in the construction of furniture. It is now,
when it can be procured, employed along with
red cedar in ship building, for which purpose its
strength and durability well fit it.

Tue Hotty (ilex). Natural family rhamni ;
tetrandria, tetragynia, of Linneus. Of the holly
there are sixteen species, and the varieties pro-
duced, distinguished chiefly by the leaves, are
very numerous.

The Common Holly (ilex cequifolium ), is very
abundantly diffused, being found in warm climates
and in cold, in most countries of Europe, and in
many of Asia and America. Hollies are abun-
dant in some of the uncultivated parts of the
southern counties of England; and they are also
to be met with in the Highlands of Scotland, in
places where one could hardly suppose they had
been planted.

Were it not that the holly grows very slowly
when young, and cannot be safely transplanted
when it has attained a considerable size, it would

 

HISTURY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

make better hedge-rows than the hawthorn.
When allowed time, and not destroyed by short-
ening the top-shoot, the holly grows up to a
large tree. Some at the Hollywalk, near Fren-
sham, in Surrey, are mentioned by Bradley as
having grown to the height of sixty feet; and
old hollies of thirty and forty feet, with clean
trunks of considerable diameter, are to be met
with in many parts of the country.

A holly hedge is a pleasing object, though it
is too often clipped into formal shapes. Evelyn
had a magnificent hedge of this sort, at his gar-
dens at Say’s Court, which he planted at the
suggestion of Peter the Great, who resided in
his house when he worked in the dock-yards at
Deptford. He thus rapturously speaks of this
fine fence: “Is there under heaven a more glo-
rious and refreshing object of the kind than an
impregnable hedge, of about four hundred feet
in length, nine feet high, and five in diameter,
which I can show in my new raised gardens at
Say’s Court (thanks to the Czar of Muscovy),
at any time of the year, glittering with its armed
and varnished leaves, the taller standards, at
orderly distances, blushing with their natural
coral.” The largest holly hedge in Scotland is
at Tynningham, near Dunbar, planted by a
former earl of Haddington, author of a treatiso
on fruit trees. It has for many years past been
left uncut, and now presents a noble phalanx of
deep shining green leaves, and numerous spiry
tops, with spikes of coral berries.

The timber of the holly is very white and
compact, which adapts it well for many pur-
poses in the arts; though, as it is very retentive
of its sap, and warps in consequence, it requires
to be well dried and seasoned before being used.
It takes a durable colour, black, or almost any
other; and hence it is much used by cabinet-
makers in forming what are technically called
strings and borders in ornamental works. When
properly stained black, its colour and lustre are
not much inferior to those of ebony. For vari-
ous purposes of the turner, and for the manu-
facture of what is called Tunbridge ware, it is
also much used; and next to box and pear tree,
it is the best wood for engraving upon, as it is
close and stands the tool well. The slowness of
its growth, however, renders it an expensive
timber. The bark of the holly contains a great
deal of viscid matter; and when macerated in
water, fermented, and then separated from the
fibres, it forms bird-lime.

Martin first discovered the difference of sexes
in the holly, some being male, others female, and
others hermaphrodite. It is a tree of great lon-
gevity, and will grow in any soil not very wet;
but it thrives best in a dry deep loam. The
holly is produced from seed. The berries being
gathered in November, and mixed with sand in
heaps, in the open garden, till they are divested
BOX,

of the pulp, which process extends till the fol-
lowing autumn, are then sown in beds. In gen-
eval they do not vegetate till the second year
after they have been gathered. There are six
or eight varieties of the common holly, chiefly
marked by the size and form of the leaves ;
there are also about sixteen distinct species,

Box. Natural family euphorbiacee ; monecia,
tetrandria, of Linneus. The wood of the box is of
considerable size, though we generally meet with
small species in this country, in the state of a
shrub, forming borders, where the largest stem
is not thicker than a packthread; or, when not
in this state, still as a little shrub often taste-
lessly cut into fantastic shapes. Only two spe-
cies of box are mentioned by botanists; but there
are several varieties, and one of them, the dwarf
bow (buxus suffruticosa), ought, perhaps, to be
considered as a distinct species from the common
bow (buaus sempervirens), and not merely a
variety, as no art has been able to rear the former
to the size of the latter. The seeds of the one
were never observed by Miller to produce plants
of the other, as is the case with most varieties of
species in the vegetable kingdom, more espe-
cially of trees and shrubs,

When allowed to arrive at its full growth, the
box attains the height of twelve or fifteen feet,
and the trunk varies in diameter from three to
six inches, which it sometimes, though rarely,
exceeds,

It is a native of all the middle and southern
parts of Europe ; and it is found in greater abun-
dance and of a larger size in the countries on the
west of Asia, to the south of the mountains of
Caucasus. In many parts of France it is also
plentiful, though generally in the character of a
shrub. In early times it flourished upon many
of the barren hills of England.
it upon some of the higher hills in Surrey, dis-
playing its myrtle-shaped leaves and its bright
green in the depth of winter; and till very
recently, it gave to Boxhill, in that county, the
charms of a delightful and perennial verdure.
The trees have now been destroyed, and the
name, as at other places called after the box, has
become the only monument of its former beauty.

Yet no tree so well merits cultivation, though
its growth be slow. It isan unique among tim-
ber, and combines qualities which are not found
existing together in any other. It is as close
and heavy as ebony; not very much softer than
lignumvite ; it cuts better than any other wood;
and when an edge is made of the ends of the
fibres, it stands better than lead or tin, nay almost
as well as brass. Like holly, the box is very
retentive of its sap, and warps when not pro-
perly dried, though, when sufficiently seasoned,
it stands well. Hence, for the wooden part of
the finer tod!s, for every thing that requires
strength, beauty, and polish in timber, there is

Evelyn found |

 

4955

nothing equal to it. There is one purpose for
which box, and box alone, is properly adapted,
and that is the forming of wood-cuts, for scien-
tific or other illustrations in books, These
reduce the price considerably in the first engray-
ing, and also in the printing; while the wood-
cut in box admits of as high and sharp a finish
as any metal, and takes the ink much better.
It is remarkably durable too; for if the cut be
not exposed to alternate moisture or heat, so as
to warp or crush it, the number of thousands
that it will print is almost incredible. England
is the country where this economical mode of
illustration is performed in the greatest perfec-
tion ; and just when a constant demand for box
was thus created, the trees available for the pur-
pose had vanished from the island.

Permanent figures and ornaments are often
impressed upon box, by a much more cheap and
simple process than that of carving. For this
purpose the wood is softened by the application
of heat and moisture; and the die being strongly
pressed upon it when in that state, the impres-
sion comes off, and is retained with considerable
sharpness. Snuff-boxes of this description are
extensively made in France, Switzerland, and
Germany, and the material used is principally
the root of the box.

Animals have an aversion to the leaves and
seeds of the box; and the honey from the flowers
was supposed by the ancients to have a poison-
ous quality.

CHAP. XLIV.

THE CONIFER, OR PINE TRIBE—THE PINE, FIR,
LARCH, CYPRESS, &c,

Tus very important tribe of trees is compre-
hended under a very well marked natural family,
the conifere, belonging chiefly to the class mone-
cia, polyandria, of Linneus. They are all ever-
greens, with the exception of the larch and gingo.
The leaves are stiff and coriaceous, generally
linear, and collected in bundles of from two to
five, accompanied at the base by a small sheath.
The flowers are unisexual, and generally disposed
in cones or catkins. The male flowers consist
essentially each of a stamen, either naked or
accompanied by a scale in the axilla; not unfre-
quently several stamina are united together by
their filaments. The female flowers vary much;
the general form is that of a cone or scaly catkin.
The cotyledons of the seed vary from two, three,
four, and even as many as ten.

The greater number of the species are tall and
lofty trees, and they all yield an essential oil,
well known as turpentine, and resin, or gum.
The seeds contain a bland oil, and those of some
456

of the species are eatenasnuts. They are chiefly
natives of the northern, temperate, and arctic
regions, a few only being found in the southern
hernisphere.

The family has been divided into thirteen
genera, containing a considerable number of spe-
cies, The genera are :—

Pinus, the Fir.

Abies, Spruce.

Larir, Larch.

Shubertia, Deciduous Cypress.
Cupressis, Cypress.

Thuja, Arbor Vite.

Juniperus, Juniper.

Araucaria, New Holland Pine.
Belts, Javelin-shaped. .
Agathus, Dammer Pine,
Exocarpus, Cypress-like.
Podocarpus, Chinese Pine.
Tuxus, Yew.

Tre Pine (pinus). This name is of Celtic
origin, and is the same in all the dialects of that
tongue. Pin, or pen, signifies a rock or moun-
tain, the chief favourite locality of this tribe of
trees.

Although in all, or most of its species, infe-
rior to the oak in the strength or the durability
of its timber, the pine, perhaps, claims the
second place among valuable trees. It is very
abundant, its growth is comparatively rapid, and
its wood is straight, elastic, and easily worked.
Accordingly, as oak is the chief timber in build-
ing ships for the sea, pine is the principal one in

the construction of houses upon land, It is “the |

builder’s timber:” and as, when the carpenter
wants a post or a beam of peculiar strength and
durahility, he has recourse to the oak ; so when
the shipwright wishes to have a piece of timber
that shall combine lightness with great length,
as for a spar or mast, he makes use of the pine.

The distinct species of pines enumerated by
botanists are upwards of twenty. None of
these bear flat leaves, but a sort of spines, which,
however, are true leaves. They are mostly ever-
greens; hut the appearance of the tree, as well
as the quality of the timber, varies with the spe-
cies, as also with the situation in which it grows.
Generally speaking, the timber is the more hard
and durable the colder the situation, and the
slower the tree grows; and in peculiar positions
it is not unusual to find the northern half of a
common pine hard and red, while the southern
half, though considerably thicker from the pith
to the bark, is white, soft, and spungy.

No account can be given of the first use of the
different species of pines by the natives of the
countries where they are indigenous. The cedar
of Lebanon appears to have been used from the
earliest periods of Syrian history. The Romans,
and after them the Venetians, made use of the
larch for architectural and household purposes,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

as well as in the construction of their galleys
and vessels. The Norwegians and Danes con-
structed their first ships of the pines of the Scan-
dinavian mountains. Upon the Gulph of Both-
nia, near the borders of Lapland, at the bottom
of one of the forests sloping towards a bay, Dr
Clarke saw a pine vessel ¢f forty-six tons, just
launched, which had been built by the natives
upon one of the wildest scenes of the coast, with-
out the aid of docks, or any other convenience
required by marine architects. The people of
the northern parts of Britain still make their
boats, and the rudest of them even their cordage,
of the pine; and though the timber of the pines
of the New World be, tpon the whole, less
hard and durable than those of Europe, it is
employed for ship building, as well as for domes-
tic purposes. The pine found in the bogs of
Treland is of a very superior quality, and used
by the inhabitants for many purposes. Some
persons of rank in that country have halls and
other apartments floored with bog-pine; while,
in several districts, it is the only timber of the
peasants, who make of it their wooden utensils,
and also their cordage. It is perfectly proof
against the worm; and seems, in durability,
almost to rival the cedar itself. From the greater
ease with which it can be worked, and its apti-
tude to receive and retain paint, pine is now
chiefly employed in the roofs, floors, and inter-
nal finishing of houses;—the European sort,
where it has to bear a strain, or is exposed to
wearing,—and the softer kinds, from America,
for internal mouldings and ornaments,

As is the case now with a great part of Canada,
Norway, Sweden, the eastern shore of the Baltic,
and some considerable tracts of the Highlands of
Scotland, it is probable that, in very early ages,
great part of Britain, with those islands towards
the north, in which there is now hardly a shrub
of any kind, were covered by pine forests. There
has been much controversy amongst the learned
whether the pine was indigenous to England.
Cesar expressly says that Britain had all the
trees of Gaul, except the beech and fir. It is
remarkable, however, that our names for the
beech are derived from the Roman word fagus ;
but the fir has three narnes, which are purely
British—this would seem to justify the conclu-
sion, that the tree was not introduced by the
Romans, but was originally British. The fir
is perpetually discovered in such of our mosses
as were certainly prior to the time of the Romans;
remains of the tree have been found, not only
on the sides of Roman roads, but actually under
them. But amore complete proof of the ancient
existence of pine forests in England has been
afforded by a minute examination of an exten-
sive district called Hatfield Chase, in Yorkshire.
This curious subject was investigated with great.
diligence by the Rev. A. De la Pryme, and the
|
|

THE PINE. 457

results of his researches were communicated to
the Royal Society, in a paper published in their
Transactions for 1701.

The famous levels of Hatfield Chase were the
largest chase of red deer that king Charles the
First had in England, containing in all above
180,000 acres of land, about half of which was
yearly drowned by vast quantities of water. This
being sold to one Sir Cornelius Vermuiden, a
Dutchman, he at length effectually dischased,
drained, and reduced it to constant arable and
pasture grounds, with immense labour, and at
the expense of above £400,000. In the soil of
all or most of these 180,000 acres of land, of
which 90,000 were drained, even in the bottom
of the river Ouse, and in the bottom of the adven-
titious soil of all marshland, and round about by
the skirts of the Lincolnshire Wolds, unto Gains-
bury, Bawtry, Doncaster, Baln, Snaith, and
Holden, are found vast multitudes of the roots
and trunks of trees, of all sizes, great and small,
and of most of the sorts which this island either
formerly did, or at present does, produce; as fir,
oak, birch, beech, yew, thorn, willow, ash, &c.,
the roots of all or most of which stand in the
soil in their natural position, as thick as ever
they could grow, as the trunks of most of them
lie by their proper roots. Most of the large trees
lie along about a yard from their roots (to which
they evidently belonged, both by their situation
and the sameness of the wood), with their tops
commonly north-east, though, indeed, the smaller
trees lie almost every way, across the former,
some over, and others under them; a third part
of all being pitch trees, or firs, some of which are
thirty yards in length or upwards, and sold for
masts and keels of ships. Oaks have been found
of twenty, thirty, and thirty-five yards long, yet
wanting many yards at the small end; they are
as black as ebony, and very durable in any ser-
vice they are put to. It is very observable, and
manifestly evident, that many of those trees of
all sorts have been burnt, but especially the pitch
or fir trees, some quite through, and some all on
a side; some have been found chopped and
squared, some bored, others half split, with large
wooden wedges and stones in them, and broken
axe heads, somewhat like sacrificing axes in
shape; and all this in such places and at such
depths that they could never have been opened
since the destruction of this forest till the time
of the drainage. Near a large root, in the parish
of Hatfield, were found eight or nine coins of
some of the Roman emperors, but exceedingly
consumed and defaced with time; and it is very
observable, that on the confines of this low coun-
try, between Burningham and Brumby in Lin-
colnshire, are several great hills of loose sand,
under which, as they are yearly worn and blown
away, are discovered many roots of large firs,
with the marks of the axe as fresh upon them

 

as if they had been cut down only a few weeks.
Hazel-nuts and acorns have frequently been
found at the bottom of the soil of those levels
and moors, and whole bushes of fir tree apples,
or cones, in large quantities together.

The author of this paper then goes on to show
that the Romans destroyed this immense forest,
partly by cutting down the trees, and partly by
burning them; and that these fallen trees dammed
up the rivers, which, forming a lake, gave origin
to the large turf moors of that part of the coun-
try. The Romans themselves mention cutting
down the British forests, as well for the purpose
of making roads through the country, as to drive
the natives out of their fastnesses,

In the peat-bogs of the bleakest districts of
Scotland, the remains of pine trees are very abun-
dant; and such is their durability, in consequence
of the quantity of turpentine they contain, that,
where the birch is reduced to a pulp, and the
oak cracks into splinters, as it dries, the heart of
the pine remains fresh, and, embalmed in its
own turpentine, is quite elastic, and used by the
country people in place of candles. In England,
too, subterraneous beds of pines have been found;
and though, in consequence of the greater warmth
of the climate, these contain less turpentine, and
are more decayed, the remains of the cones, or
seed-vessels, show that they belong to the same
species, .

The Wild or Scotch Pine (pinus silvestris),
commonly, though erroneously, called the Scotch
fir, is a very widely diffused
tree. There can be no doubt
but that it is indigenous to
Scotland. It is found growing
in a state of nature in many
situations; and the native
forests of Invercauld and
Rothiemurchus exhibit the
finest specimens of this tree in
Britain. It is also indigenous
in the Alps, in the north of
Germany, in Sweden and Nor-
way, andin Russia. The pine
in favourable situations attains
the height of eighty feet, and from four to five
feet in diameter. The trunk is covered with a
thick and deeply furrowed bark; the leaves are
in pairs, of a pale green colour, stiff, twisted, and
about three inches long; the flowers are of a
yellowish tint, and the cones are grayish, of a
middling thickness, and a little shorter than the
leaves. Each scale is surmounted by a retorted
spine. The seeds are small, black, and garnished
with a reddish wing; they ripen the second year.
The timber is called red or yellow deal, and is
the most durable and valuable of the whole
genus, with the exception of the larch, which is
also very durable.

The timber produced in the cold elevated situ-
3M

 

Scotch Pine.
458

ation of the north of Scotland is found not infe-
rior to any imported from Norway; but that
which has been planted and reared in the low
districts is not nearly so durable. There are
several varieties of this pine. According to Sang,
the variety cultivated is least worth the trouble.
The p. silvestris, variety montana, he says, is
that which yields the red wood; even young
trees of this sort are said to become red in their
wood and full of resin very soon. The late Mr
Don of Forfar exhibited specimens of cones of
each variety to the Highland Society of Scot-
land. The variety preferred by him is dis-
tinguished by the disposition of its branches,
which are remarkable for their horizontal direc-
tion, and for a tendency to bend downwards close
to the trunk. The leaves are broader and shorter
than in the common kind, and are distinguished
at a distance by their much lighter and beautiful
glaucous appearance. The bark of the trunk is
smoother than in the common kind; the cones
are thicker, and not somuch pointed. The plant
is also more hardy, grows freely in almost any
soil, and quickly arrives at a considerable size.

Pines generally are found growing in forests,
or clustered together. In this position they
grow tall and upright, with few lateral branches,
except near the top. Growing singly, however,
they branch out into a broad spreading tree, and
have certainly a more picturesque appearance
than when in the other position.

With the exception of cedar and larch, in
respect of toughness and durability, Scotch fir
produces better timber than any of the pines.
It is good, too, almost in proportion to the slow-
ness of its growth. When it is cut directly to
the centre, or right across the grain, as for breasts
of violins, and the sounding-boards of other
musical instruments, it is very beautiful, the
little stripes formed by the annual layers being
small and delicate, and in perfectly straight lines.
This pine very often, though not in trees com-
pletely matured, contains sap-wood next the
bark; and toward the pith it is a little spongy.
The best part is that nearest the root; and the
roots themselves are excellent for any purpose
that their size and shape will answer. It has
been mentioned, that the best pine timber is
that grown in cold situations; it is also best on
light soils, and when planted by nature. On
strong clay it will not thrive, and the timber is
worth little; and on rich loams, though it grows
rapidly, the timber is of inferior quality, and
contains a great deal of sap-wood. At what
time the sap-wood changes to durable wood has
not been determined by very accurate observa-
tion; although most writers on vegetable physi-
ology conceive that the ligneous matter is
deposited in the second year. This, however,
depends on circumstance; sometimes the albur-
num remains soft for four or five years.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Pines, and especially the Scotch pine, occur in
much more extensive forests, and with a far
less admixture of other trees, than any other
genus whatever. Immense districts in North
America are covered with them; and so are the
mountains of Sweden and Norway, and the
sandy tracts near the Baltic. In Poland also,
upon each side of the river Memel, they grow
in great abundance, and Memel fir is imported
into this country in large quantities.

Though the pine is not the timber that we
Jast meet with on the confines of the snow, as
we ascend high mountains, or at the verge of
vegetation as we approach the pole, yet, after a
certain elevation, and north of the latitude of
about 55°, it is by far the most abundant timber,
in Europe, in America, and in Asia. From the
peculiar nature of the surface in Siberia,—the
country which occupies the north of Asia,—from
the intense cold, and lowness of the portion next
to the sea, the forests in that part of the world
are not very extensive, till we arrive at some
distance from the Arctic ocean. In America,

| too, there are extensive naked tracts between

the sea, and the unexplored country to the
northward. But, from the summit of the ridge
that extends from the dreary shores of Labrador
westward, across the country, till it subsides in
the central marshes about Jake Winnipec, and
on the south side of the vast estuary of the St
Lawrence, as far as the boundary of the United
States, the land, before it began to be cleared by
European settlers, was covered by one immense
forest of pine; and much of the clearing has
been accomplished by burning, or otherwise
destroying the trees. On the south side of the
St Lawrence, the forest reached down to the
water along the whole shore, and upon the islands;
and advantage has been taken of this to send a
great quantity of the most accessible of the
timber to the European market, and to distil
into tar a good deal of that which was not so
accessible.

The pine forests of the north of Europe are,
however, the most valuable, especially on account
of the quality of their timber. Once they
abounded over the greater part both of the con-
tinent and the islands; but in the latter situations
they have been exhausted somewhat wantonly.
Not much more than a century, or a century
and a half ago, there was an extensive pine
forest in the north of Ireland, in that elevated
part of the country which extends through the
counties of Donegal and Tyrone, and separates
the rivers that flow to the sea on the north, from
those that flow south and east to Loughs Earn
and Neagh. Hardly a vestige of that forest.
now remains, nor is there any very clear account
of what became of it.

In the lowlands and rich soils of Scotland,
there perhaps never was an extensive pine forest;
THE PINE,

but there can be little doubt that upon the
uplands the pine was once as general as it now
is in the back settlements of Upper Canada. Of
these forests many vestiges still remain. The
fragment which lies farthest to the south-west,
is that of Rannoch, on the confines of the shires
of Perth, Inverness, and Argyle. The greater
part of that forest has, however, been felled, and
the timber was floated down the Tummel and
the Tay, for a distance of at least sixty miles to
Perth, from Rannoch. The roots that remain
bleaching on the surface, and the occasional trees
that are still found in sheltered situations, or in
situations which are not accessible, afford evi-
dence that the forest once extended eastward
not only to the remaining woods of Mar, at the
sources of the Dee and the Don, in the west part
of Aberdeenshire, but to the shore of the sea
along that bleak ridge in the northern part of
the county of Mearns, which forms the southern
boundary of the valley of the Dee, and in the
very extensive peat moss, upon which pine is
the submerged timber almost exclusively found.
Further to the north, the pine forest appears
once to have reached much nearer to the sea;
though in the lowlands of the shires of Aberdeen
and Moray, the chief evidence of it now is in
the peat mosses or bogs: in these, however, it is
abundant—so much so, that it forms an article
of commerce, not only in the villages near which
it is found, but in the city of Aberdeen. The
sapwood is altogether gone; and, indeed, the
principal remains are roots; but they contain a
vast quantity of resin and turpentine: this ren-
ders them much superior to any other wood for
kindling fires; and in the country districts slips
of them are used as a substitute for candles.
Along the shores of the Moray Firth, no
remains of the forest are found above ground,
on the slopes of the mountains that are nearest
to the sea; but at what may be considered as the
highest summit of the Grampians, amidst the
immense mountains of Cairngorm, Brae Riach,
and Ben-mhuic-dhu, there are very extensive
forests in the glens or valleys of the rivers that
flow northward to the Spey. The estate of
Rothiemurchus, in that part of Scotland, con-
sists almost exclusively of natural pine forests.
In places where it can be removed, the timber of
this forest is of great value, and forms the chief
revenue of the proprietor of the estate. The
surface has, generally speaking, a northern aspect;
and, in consequence of the very high mountains
which lie to the south, with at least some part
of their summits covered with perpetual snow,
the climate is very cold, so that the pine of
Rothiemurchus is full of turpentine, and is of
excellent quality. A considerable portion of
the pine which is in the most accessible places
has been cut down; but, differing from many
other parts of Scotland, a succession springs up,

 

459

and that forest appears to have still the power
of continuing itself, and is, perhaps, the only
pine forest in the island which has that power.

The Rothiemurchus pine is generally floated
down the river Spey; and when it is once brought
to that river, the passage of a raft is a matter of
little difficulty at any season. In times of drought
there is, however, a good deal of difficulty in
getting the timber to the Spey; and, in order to
accomplish that object, the workmen collect the
trees in the dell, or den, build up a temporary
dam, and wait the coming of a flood, which, in
a country of so varied surface, is of frequent
occurrence. When the flood comes, and the
temporary dam is full of water, they break down
the dyke, and away go the whole contents,
thundering down to the Spey.*

On the hills to the northward of the Spey,
and just opposite to Rothiemurchus, there is a
good deal of timber on the banks of the Dulnan;
but in that part of the country the forest is
decreasing. The timber there, however, is of
good quality, though, perhaps, not altogether
equal to that of Rothiemurchus.

The principal rivers by which timber is floated
to the sea from the remains of the Sylva Cale-
donig, or Great Scottish Forest, beside the Tay
and Spey, as has been mentioned, and the Dee,
by which the timber of Mar is floated to Aber-
deen, are the Ness and the Beauly, both in Inver-
ness-shire. ‘Fhe pines on the Ness are to a con-
siderable extent exhausted; and the trees that
are now found in the remote places are, when
cut, thrown into the small rivers, and float to
Loch Ness. On the Beauly the forests are more
extensive; and there are regular saw mills about
midway between the forest and the sea, at which
the trees are cut into scantlings. To the mills
the trees float down the river; and at one place
they have to descend a cascade of at least forty
feet in height. This they sometimes do with
so much violence, that they are split to threads.
In that place, too, they have recourse to an arti-
ficial dam; but the dam is made of the trees
themselves, which are left in a heap till the
swelling of the river carries them away. Pines.
have not been found in Scotland at an elevation
of more than 1500 or 2000 feet; and at even less
than that, they are very stunted, if not sheltered
in the ravines.

The immense Scandinavian forest, which occu-
pies the slopes of the mountains, and banks of
the rivers and arms of the sea, in all the central
parts of Sweden and Norway, is one of the most
considerable on the Continent. This forest con-
sists for the most part of Scotch fir and spruce,
the former yielding red or yellow deal, and the
latter white. In very many places, both on the
Swedish and the Norwegian side of the moun-

* Library of Entertaining Knowledge.
460

tains, these forests are not accessible; and they
are of value only when situated near the banks
of a lake, an arm of the sea, or a river,

Dr Clarke gives the following account of the
extent of the pine forests on the Swedish side
of the Gulph of Bothnia:

“At Helsinborg, some fir trees of an astonishing
length were conducted, by wheel-axes, to the
water side. A separate vehicle was employed
for each tree, being drawn by horses which were
driven by women. These long, white, and taper
shafts of deal timber, divested of their bark,
afforded the first specimens of the produce of
those boundless forests of which we had then
formed no conception. That the reader may
therefore be better prepared than we were for
the tract of country we are now to survey, it
may he proper to state, in the way of anticipa-
tion, that if he cast his eyes upon the map of
Sweden, and imagine the gulf of Bothnia to be
surrounded by one contiguous unbroken forest,
as ancient as the world, consisting principally
of pine trees, with a few mingling birch and
juniper trees, he will have a general and tolerably
correct notion of the real appearance of the
country. If the sovereigns of the Europe were
to be designated each by some title characteristic
of the nature of their dominions, we might call
the Swedish monarch Lord of the Woods,
because, in surveying his territories, he might
travel over a great part of his kingdom, from
sun-rise until sun-set, and find no other subjects
than the trees of his forests. The population is
everywhere small, because the whole country is
covered with wood; yet, in the nonsense that
has been written about the Northern hive, whose
swarms spread such consternation in the second
century before Christ, it has been usual to main-
tain that vast armies issued from this land. The
only region with which Sweden can properly be
compared is North America, a land of wood and
iron, with very few inhabitants, ‘and out of
whose hills thou mayest dig brass;’ but, like
America, it is also as to society in a state of
infancy.”

Except that the mountains are of less eleva-
tion, and that the climate is more moist, the
eastern side of the gulph of Bothnia does not
differ much from the western, as described by
Dr Clarke.

The coast of Norway is more wild than that
of Sweden, and the temperature is warmer in
the same latitude, so that the pine forests extend
rather farther to the north. Spruce is hardly
found within the Arctic circle, but Scotch fir
continues for nearly a degree more, even at con-
siderable heights; and beyond that, straggling
trees are to be met with in very sheltered places,
The summit of the mountains on the north of
the gulph of Bothnia may be taken as the limit
of the Scandinavian pines, as from thence to

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

North Cape there is nothing to be met with but
dwarf birch.

The principal rivers by which the pines of the
Scandinavian mountains are brought to the sea,
westward, for the purposes of commerce, are the
Gotha in Sweden, and the Glomm in Norway.

The Gotha issues from the large lake of Wener,
in the centre of the southern part of Sweden;
and the lake receives many streams from the
mountains, some of which are of great length,
and pass through forests of the finest pines. By
means of these the pine trees are easily conveyed
to the lake, and thence by the Gotha to Gotten-
burgh. In former times, the timber was allowed
to float down the cataract of Trollhetta, by
which many of the trees were spoiled, as there
is a succession of falls, and some of them as high
as thirty feet. Saw-mills are now erected at
Trollhetta, and the timber is conveyed to the
river farther down, by a canal. The timber of
the south of Norway is brought by the Glomm
to the bay of Christiana, where a great quantity
is exported. Dr Clarke thus describes the pro-
cess of sawing timber on the banks of the Dal,
westward of the gulph of Bothnia; and we
believe it does not vary much all over Scandin-
ayia:

“Between Meheda and Elfskarleby, about two
English miles before we reached the latter place,
we were gratified by a sight of some cataracts
of the Du/, which we thought far superior to
those of Zrollhetia. The display of colours in
the roaring torrent was exceedingly fine; rushing
with a headlong force, it fell in many directions,
and made the ground tremble with its impetu-
osity. The height of the fall is not forty feet,
but the whole river being precipitated among
dark, projecting rocks, gives it a grand effect; a
swelling surf continues foaming all the way to
a bridge, where another cataract, meeting the
raging tide, adds greatly to its fury. Such is
the commotion excited, that a white mist, rising
above the fall, and over the banks of the torrent,
rendered it conspicuous Jong before we reached
the river. Close to the principal cataract stood
a sawing-mill, worked by an overshot wheel, so
situate as to be kept in motion by a stream of
water diverted from its channel for this purpose.
The remarkable situation of the sawing-mills,
by the different cataracts, both in Sweden and
Norway, are among the most extraordinary sights
a traveller meets with. The mill here was as
rude and as picturesque an object.as it is possible
to imagine. It was built with the unplaned
trunks of large fir trees, as if brought down and
heaped together by the force of the river. The
saws are fixed in sets, parallel to each other; the
spaces between them in each set being adapted
to the intended thickness for the planks. A
whole tree is thus divided into planks, by a
simultaneous operation, in the same time that a
THE PINE.

single plank would be cut by one of the saws.
We found that ten planks, each ten feet in length,
were sawed in five minutes, one set of saws
working through two feet of timber in a single
minute. A ladder, sloping from the mill into
the midst of the cataract, rested there upon a
rock, which enabled us to take a station in the
midst of the roaring waters, On all sides of the
cataract, close to its fall, and high above it and
far below it, and in the midst of the turbulent
flood, tall pines waved their shadowy branches,
wet with the rising dews. Some of these trees
were actually thriving upon naked rocks, from
which the dashing foam of the torrent was
spreading in wide sheets of spray.”

In some parts of Sweden there are accidental
fires, and the pines are also sometimes burned,
in order to clear the soil for agriculture. In the
acount of his journey from Stockholm, north-
ward, Dr Clarke says, “As we proceeded to Ham-
range, we passed through noble avenues of trees,
and saw some fine lakes on either side of the
road. Some of the forests had been burned, by
which the land was cleared for cultivation. The
burning of a forest is a very common event in
this country; but it is most frequent towards
the north of the gulph of Bothnia. Sometimes
a considerable part of the horizon glares with a
fiery redness, owing to the conflagration of a
whole district, which, for many leagues in extent,
has been rendered a prey to the devouring flames.
The cause is frequently attributed to lightning;
but it may be otherwise explained; and we shall
have to notice some remarkable instances of these
fires in the sequel.”

Again, Dr Clark mentions that in Lapland,
beyond Tornea, “some forests were on fire near
the river, and had been burning for a considerable
time. Mr Tipping informed us, that these fires
were owing to the carelessness of the Laplanders
and boatmen on the rivers, who, using the boletus
igniarius (German tinder) for kindling their
tobacco pipes, suffer it to fall in an ignited state
among the dry leaves and moss. They also leave
large fires burning in the midst of the woods,
which they have kindled to drive away the
mosquitoesfrom their cattle and from themselves;
therefore, the conflagration of a forest, however
extensively the flames may rage, is easily ex-
plained. Yet Linneus, with all his knowledge
of the country and customs of the inhabitants,
attributed the burning of the forests in the north
of Sweden to the effects of lightning. During
these tremendous fires, the bears, wolves, and
foxes are driven from their retreats, and make
terrible depredations among the cattle. A bear,
having crossed the river, about a fortnight before
we arrived, had killed in one night six cows and
twelve sheep, the property of a farmer. We
saw their former owner, and the place where all
this slaughter had been committed, having landed

 

461

to walk by the side of the river, while our boat-
men were engaged in forcing the rapids. The
farmer attributed his loss to the burning of the
opposite forest, which had compelled the bear to
pass the river for food.”

On the southern shores of the Baltic there are
also extensive pine forests. These are chiefly
situated to the east of the Vistula, on the whole
of the sandy tract that lies between the rich corn
valley of that river and the flax and hemp valley
of the Dwina, and stretches back into the cen-
tral parts of Russia. The soil upon which this
forest grows is almost wholly sand, and the sur-
face is in consequence comparatively level, nor
does any of it lie at a great elevation above the
sea. The river Memel is the principal channel
by which this timber is conducted to the sea,
and Memel is the port at which it is chiefly dis-
posed of. Much of the timber of Memel is
exported in logs that are only squared by the
axe; and masts and spars of Memel timber are
much esteemed. In the Aaa/s or low lands on
those shores of the Baltic, amber is found in
greater abundance than in any other part of the
world; and it is considered that it may be the
turpentine of decayed pines, changed by the
length of time it has been buried in the earth.

The northern slopes of the Alps, and the secon-
dary mountains in the south of Germany, abound
in pines; and the Rhine and Danube (the prin-
cipal upper branches of the latter rise in the
Alps) are well adapted for conveying the timber
to the lower districts, where it is valuable. The
mode of conveying the timber on the Rhine, in
immense rafts, is very curious. The following
account of these rafts is by the author of “An
Autumn near the Rhine :’—

“A little below Andernach, the little village
of Namedy appears on the left bank, under a
wooded mountain. The Rhine here forms a
little bay, where the pilots are accustomed to
unite together the small rafts of timber floated
down the tributary rivers into the Rhine, and
to construct enormous floats, which are navi-
gated to Dortrecht, and sold. These machines
have the appearance of a floating village, com-
posed of twelve or fifteen little wooden huts, on
a large platform of oak and deal timber. They
are frequently eight or nine hundred feet long,
and sixty or seventy in breadth. The rowers
and workmen sometimes amount to seven or
eight hundred, superintended by pilots and a
proprietor, whose habitation is superior in size
and elegance to the rest. The raft is composed
of several layers of trees, placed one on the other,
and tied together. A large raft draws not less
than six or seven feet of water. Several smaller
ones are attached to it by way of protection,
besides a string of boats, loaded with anchors
and cables, and used for the purpose of sounding
the river and going on shore. The domestic
462

economy of an East Indiaman is hardly more
complete, Poultry, pigs, and other animals, are
to be found on board, and several butchers are
attached to the suite. A well supplied boiler is
at work night and day in the kitchen. The din-
ner hour is announced by a basket stuck on a
pole, at which signal the pilot gives the word of
command, and the workmen run from all quar-
ters to receive their messes. The consumption
of provisions in the voyage to Holland is almost
incredible, sometimes amounting to forty or fifty
thousand pounds of bread, eighteen or twenty
thousand of fresh, besides a quantity of salted
meat, and butter, vegetables, &c., in proportion.
The expenses are so great, that a capital of three
or four hundred thousand florins (about £35,000)
is considered necessary to undertake a raft.
Their navigation is a matter of considerable skill,
owing to the abrupt windings, the rocks, and
shallows of the river; and some years ago the
secret was thought to be monopolized by a boat-
man of Riidesheim and his son.”

These rafts are not of modern invention, and
are not confined to Europe. Evelyn, on the
authority of Le Comte, says, that the timber
merchants of China transport immense trees or
floats, upon which they build huts and little
cottages, where they live with their families.

The following passage from Planché’s “ Descent
of the Danube,” gives a description of the method
of floating timber on a branch of that river; and
the practice appears to be common in Germany:

“ At the mouth of the Erlaf is a Rechen or
Grate, where the wood collects that is floated
down this stream from the forests in the neigh-
hourhood of Maria-Zell, in the Steyermark, near
which it takes its rise. It is customary in Ger-
many to place one of these gratings at the mouth
of any tributary stream, or in the bed of any
river where a line of demarcation is drawn natu-
rally or artificially between two kingdoms, two
provinces, or even two parishes; so that the
branches and trunks of trees blown down by
high winds, and swept away by inundations into
the current, should not be carried beyond the
frontiers, or boundaries, of the state or property
to which they belong, and which derives from
them no inconsiderable portion of its revenue.

“The timber, also, regularly felled by the
woodcutters is thrown thus carelessly on the
mountain-streams of Germany, and floats down
to the Rechen or Grate, where it is afterwards
collected by its owners, who are thus saved the
trouble and expense of land carriage; and the
drifting property is protected from plunder by
the severity of the laws relating to it.”

In many parts even of Europe, the timber of
pine forests is useless for purposes of commerce,
from their inaccessible situations, and the conse-
quent difficulty of transport. The rugged flanks
and deep gorges of Mount Pilatus, in Switzer-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

land, for instance, had been covered with impene-
trable forests for many centuries, till an enter-
prizing individual conceived the daring idea of
conveying the pines from the top of the mountain
to the lake of Lucerne, a distance of nearly nine
miles, by means of an inclined plane, extending
the whole distance. This extraordinary contri-
vance, which was completed in 1812, became an
object of wonder to all Europe, and was called
the Slide of Alpnach, from the name of the Com-
mune in which it was situated. The Slide was
a trough, formed of 25,000 pine trees, six feet
broad, and from three to six feet deep; this was
kept moist. Its length was 44,000 English feet.
It had to be conducted in an undeviating line
over the summits of rocks, or along their sides,
or under ground, or over deep gorges, where it
was sustained by scaffoldings; and thus innu-
merable difficulties presented themselves in its
construction. The perseverance of the engineer,
M. Rupp, overcame all obstacles ; and in eighteen
months his work was finished. The trees
descended from the mountain into the lake with
an incredible rapidity. The larger pines, which
were about one hundred feet long, ran through
the space of eight miles and a third in about six
minutes. A gentleman who saw this great work
states, that such was the velocity with which a
tree of the largest size passed any given point,
that he could only strike it once with a stick as
it rushed by, however quickly he attempted to
repeat the blow. The markets of the Baltic
being opened hy the peace, the speculation was
abandoned as unprofitable; and the Slide of
Alpnach fell into ruin.

All the species of the pine, fir, and larch fami-
lies, with the exception of one or two, as yct
rare in this country, are raised from seeds. ‘The
cones are gathered in the winter season, and
exposed to the sun, or to a gentle heat ona kiln,
in order to facilitate the separation of the seeds.
The cones of the cedar should be kept fora year
at least after they are taken from the tree, before
the seed be attempted to be taken out. This is
necessary on account of the soft nature of the
seeds, and the great quantity of resinous matter
which the cones contain when growing, and
which is discharged by keeping. Cedar cones
are generally imported from the Levant, and the
seeds retain their vegetative powers for many
years. The cones of the Scotch pine, spruce, and
larch, are the principal kinds which are opened
by kiln heat. The cones of the Weymouth
pine, silver fir, and balm of Gilead fir, give out
their seeds with very little trouble. April is
the best season for sowing all the species. ‘The
soil should be soft and rich, well mellowed by
the preceding winter’s frost and snow, carefully
dried, and raked as finely as possible. The rarer
sorts are generally sown in pots; hut the more
common in beds. The seed of the Scotch pine
THE PINE,

and pinaster require a covering of half an inch
in depth, those of the Weymouth pine three
quarters of an inch, and those of the stone pine
an inch and a quarter. The cedar is generally
sown in broad pots, or boxes of light sandy loam,
and covered half an inch. The seeds of the
larch require a covering of only a quarter of an
inch, those of the spruce fir an inch, those of the
silver fir and balm of Gilead, from a half to three
quarters of an inch. The seeds of the American
spruce fir are smaller than any of the preceding,
and therefore require a lighter covering. The
strictest attention is required, both as to quality
of soil and thickness of covering the seed, for
though resinous trees are extremely hardy when
grown up, yet they are all very tender in infancy.

The pine, fir, and larch families, benefit less
by transplanting in the nursery than the non-
resinous trees; and in general, when circum-
stances admit, the better plan is to remove them
at once from the seed-bed, at two years old, to
where they are finally to remain. The more
delicate species, including the cedar and most of
the pines, are best transplanted into pots, unless
they can be placed at once where they are to
remain. The more common pines and firs are
transplanted, at two years of age, into nursery
beds about the middle of April, for all the tribes,
excepting the larch, which, being deciduous,
should be transplanted in February. No descrip-
tion of tree plants receive so much injury as this
tribe from the loss of roots, from the roots being
exposed to the air, by being kept long out of
the soil, or from compression, and exclusion of
air and moisture, by being kept in close bundles
or thick layers. They should, therefore, be
finally planted as soon as possible after removal
from the nursery, and, indeed, wherever it is
practicable, no more should be taken up in one
day than can be planted that day or the next.
Nor are any plants more easily deprived of the
vital principle by packing and carriage, either by
sea or land, though, being all evergreens, except-
ing the larch, they do not readily show it. This
fact, says Loudon, has been stated to us by expe-
rienced planters in Wales and different parts of
England as the reason why so few trees are
finally produced from the immense numbers of
Scotch pine and larch fir annually sent to the
south by the Scotch nurserymen.

The Scotch pine being the hardiest of all the
sorts, and affording the most useful wood, is of
course the most desirable for all rocky, sandy,
and otherwise barren soils. The young trees are
generally planted about four feet apart, and irre-
gularly, not in rows. They are planted by tak-
ing up a turf, digging out two or three spadefuls
of earth, and then depositing the plant along
with the earth and the turf; or they may be
planted, according to other directions, simply by
a dibble hole in the soil. After planting, the

 

463

only care necessary for several years is protection
from cattle and hares, rabbits, and other vermin,
In about five or six years the process of pruning
is to be gradually commenced, in order that the
branches may not too much interfere with each
other. In about fourteen years from the date of
planting, thinning out trees where they are too
thick will now be proper; but as the upright
growth of these trees renders their wood the
more valuable, they should be left pretty close
together, by which they will grow up tall. I
have seen, says Miller, some of these trees grow-
ing whose naked stems have been more than
seventy feet high, and as straight as a walking-
cane; and from one of these trees there were as
many boards sawed as laid the floor of a room
nearly twenty feet square. If these trees, he
adds, are left eight feet asunder each way, it will
be sufficient room for their growth; therefore, if
at first thinning a fourth part of the trees are
taken away, the others may stand twelve or
fourteen years longer, by which time they will
be of a size for making ladders and standards for
scaffolding, and many other useful purposes, so
as to yield a remunerating sum for the original
expense and rent of the land. In order to secure
these advantages, it is necessary that the soil!
should be properly chosen; for there are instances
in which, during thirty years, the average
increase of the trees in height has hardly been
an inch, while, in situations not particularly
unfavourable, it might not be much less than
thirty feet. It is fortunate, however, that those
places which do not agree with the common pine
are generally well adapted for the larch; so that
if the planter finds his pines will not thrive,
which he can soon do by observing the tur-
pentine exuding through the leaves and buds,
and covering them like hoar frost, he ought
immediately to root them out, and replace them
with larches, In like manner, when the larch
exhibits this appearance on the leaves, and espe-
cially on the branches, it will never come to
maturity. Care must be taken, however, not to
mistake the pollen for this disease. The pollen
appears only when the male flowers are in bloom;
it has a tinge of yellow, and it seldom adheres to
the leaves, and never to the branches; whereas,
the turpentine is white and efflorescent, adheres
to the twigs and leaves, and cannot be shaken off
without difficulty.

An evidence of the advantages resulting from
the cultivation of pines may be adduced from
a portion of Culloden Muir, near to the spot
where the battle was fought in 1746. It slopes
to the north-east, and is exposed to the cold blasts
of the Moray Firth. The subsoil is a deep bed
of clay and sand gravel; and the surface, where
not planted, very barren, with not more than an
inch of mould, and that of the very worst quality.
A portion was enclosed and planted, about seventy
464

years ago, by the celebrated Lord President
Forbes. The successive thinnings had more than
repaid the enclosing and planting; and when the
timber was cut down, about twenty years since,
it yielded several times as much rent per acre,
for every year it had stood, as the unplanted part
of the muir let at the time when it was cut down.

Large plantations of pines have been made in
England during the last thirty years; and thus
some of our barren lands, which were formerly
utterly worthless, have become valuable additions
to the national wealth. Sometimes these plan-
tations have been formed without due investiga-
tion; and through this, some species of fir, which
are useless except for fuel, have been raised in
large quantities. On the other hand, the pro-
perties of the several species have been accurately
studied by some planters; and experiments, upon
a large scale, have been made to determine the
relative value of the various sorts. At Dropmore,
in Buckinghamshire, a place which, thirty years
ago, was a most desolate and barren heath, Lord
Grenville has formed the most valuable fir plan-
tations; and he has established a garden of the
genus pinus, in which he has collected almost
every known species from all quarters of the
globe. The late Bishop Heber, who was hon-
oured with the friendship of that justly venerated
nobleman, had a commission from him to search
out any new species of the pines of India; and
the following extract of a letter from this ami-
uble prelate, addressed to his Lordship, giving an
account of the pines of the Himalaya mountains,
will show the solicitude with which he dis-
charged his trust :—

“ A visit which I paid to those glorious moun-
tains, in November and December last, was
unfortunately too much limited by the short time
at my disposal, and by the advanced season, to
admit of my penetrating far into their recesses ;
nor am I so fortunate as to be able to examine
their productions with the eye of a botanist. But
though the woods are very noble, and the general
scenery possesses a degree of magnificence such
as I had never before either seen or (I may say)
imagined, the species of pine which I was able
to distinguish were not numerous. The most
common is a tall and stately, but brittle, fir, in
its general character not unlike the Scottish, but
with a more branching head, which, in some
degree, resembles that of the Italian pine. An-
other, and of less frequent occurrence, is a splen-
did tree, with gigantic arms and dark narrow
leaves, which is accounted sacred, and chiefly
seen in the neighbourhood of ancient Hindoo
temples, and which struck my unscientific eye
as very nearly resembling the cedar of Lebanon,
But these I found flourishing at near nine thou-
sand feet above the level of the sea, and where
the frost was as severe at night as is usually met
with at the same season in England. But

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

between this, which was the greatest height that
I climbed, and the limit of perpetual snow, there
is doubtless ample space for many other species
of plants, to some of which a Dropmore winter
must be a season of vernal mildness.”

_ The pines of the Himalaya mountains were
found at the height of nine thousand feet above
the level of the sea. The elevation at which the
pine grows in tropical countries is very remark-
able. Humboldt describes the third zone of the
Peak of Teneriffe, the region of firs, as at nine
hundred toises of absolute height (about five
thousand seven hundred and sixty feet); and he
says that, in the Cordilleras of New Spain, under
the torrid zone, the Mexican pines reach as high
as two thousand toises (about twelve thousand
eight hundred feet).

The other European species of the pine are:
The Corsican (p. laricio), which is nearly allied
in its character to the Scotch pine, but is a much
handsomer and finer tree. Professor Thouin
considers it equally hardy with the Scotch pine;
its wood is more weighty and resinous, and con-
sequently more compact, stronger, and more
flexible. It grows wild on the summits of the
highest mountains of Corsica. The cluster pine
(p. pinaster ), is a grand and picturesque tree;
and is a great favourite with the Roman and
Florentine painters. The timber is of less value
than that of the others: in Switzerland, it is cut
into shingles for roofing houses, &c. As an orna-
mental tree it is well deserving of culture, but
not for its timber. The stone pine (p. pinea),
is very common in the south of Italy. At
Ravenna there is an extensive forest of this
species, and they are commonly planted around
the villas, and in the gardens at Rome and
Florence. The seeds of this and the cluster pine
are eaten throughout Italy, both by the poor and
rich. They are as sweet as almonds, but partake
slightly of a turpentine flavour. ‘The wood is-
not so resinous as that of most of the other
species; and the tree can only be considered as
valuable for its effect in the landscape. The
Siberian pine (p. cembra), the tannenbaum of
Byron’s Childe Harold, and the aphernousli pine
of Harte, grows higher up the Alps than other
pines; and is even found at elevations where the
larch will not grow. The wood is very soft, and
having scarcely any grain, is very fit for the
carver. The peasants of the Tyrol, where this
tree abounds, make various sorts of carved works
with the wood, which they dispose of in Switzer-
land among the common people, who are fond of
the resinous smell which it exhales. The Canary
pine (p. canariensis), grows in the high moun-
tains of the Canary islands, at an elevation corres-
ponding to the coldest parts of Scotland. The
wood is resinous, highly inflammable, and is well
adapted for building material, as it lasts for ages,

Of American species of the pine, Michaux
THE PINE.

enumerates ten; a few of the most valuable of
which we shall describe.

The Red Pine (p. rubra), sometimes called
the Norway pine, is found in Canada, Nova
Scotia, and the northern parts of the States. It
occupies small tracts of a few hundred acres,
either alone, or singled with the white pine. It
grows in dry and sandy soils to the height of
seventy or eighty feet, and two feet in diameter.
It is chiefly remarkable for the uniform size of
its trunk for two-thirds of its length. The bark
is of a clearer red than that of the other species.
The cones are about two inches long, rounded at
the base, and abruptly pointed. They shed their
seeds the first year. The wood has a fine com-
pact grain, and is very resinous; it is frequently
employed in naval architecture, and affords masts
for the largest ships. It isexported into Britain
from the district of Maine, and the shores of lake
Champlain.

The Yellow Pine (p. mitis). This tree is
widely diffused in North America. It is a beau-
tiful and symmetrical tree, the branches forming
a pyramid at the summit, It rises to the height of
fifty and sixty feet, having a thickness of about
eighteen inches: the leaves are rather short, of a
bright green colour, and united in pairs. The
cones are oval, armed with five spines, and of
very small size. The concentric or annual circles
of the wood, are six times as numerous ina given
space, as those of the pitch and loblolly pines:
the heart is fine grained, and moderately resinous,
which renders the wood compact without great
weight. Long experience has proved its excel-
lence and durability; and it is universally em-
ployed in the countries where it grows as a
domestic wood, as well as extensively imported
to Britain and the West India islands.

The Long-leaved Pine (p.
eustralis ), is also known as the
yellow pitch, broom, and Georgia
pine. It is first seen near Nor-
folk in Virginia, where the pine
barrens begin; and it extends
over the lower part of the Caro-
linas, and the states of Georgia
and Florida, occupying dry
sandy soils. Its mean stature is
about sixty feet, with a uniform
diameter of eighteen inches for
two-thirds of its stem. The
leaves are a foot long, of a beauti-

‘ful brilliant green. The cones
are also very large, being seven to
eight inches long, and four inches
thick when open. ‘They are
armed with retorted spines; the
seeds are in general very abundant; the kernel
is of an agreeable taste, and is voraciously
eaten by wild turkeys, squirrels, and the swine
that live almost wholly in the woods. In some

 

Cone of Long-
leaved Pine,

 

465

unfruitful years, however, whole forests of hun-
dreds of miles will not yield a single cone. The
wood is compact, fine grained, durable, and
susceptible of receiving a fine polish, advan-
tages which give it a preference over every other
species. These qualities, however, are much
influenced and modified by the nature of the
soil. It is extensively used in the States where
it grows for all domestic purposes; and in naval
architecture is reckoned superior to all the other
pines. Sometimes the wood is of a reddish hue,
when it is considered of superior quality. In
England and the West Indies, it sells for thirty
per cent. more than other pine woods. It is from
this tree also that the principal supply of pitch,
resin, and turpentine, is obtained; while the
pine barrens being of vast extent, afford an
abundant supply of these materials, both for home
consumpt and exportation.

To obtain the turpentine, which begins to flow
about the middle of March, and increases in the
warm months of July and August, boxes, or
hollows, are formed in the base of the pines,
about three or four inches from the ground,
generally on the south side. These boxes will
contain about three pints of fluid; but they are
made in proportion to the size of the trunk, of
which they generally occupy about one-fourth of
the diameter. On large trees, two, and sometimes
four such boxes, are made on opposite sides. The
ground is carefully raked and cleared of all brush
wood around the trees, to prevent accidents from
fire communicating with the boxes. On each
side of this hollow two notches or gutters are
made in the tree, to conduct the sap into the box
or cavity; they are oblique, and about three
inches long. During a fortnight, which is
employed in this first operation, the boxes become
filled, when the contents are taken out and con-
veyed into casks by wooden ladles. To increase
the product, the upper edge of the box is newly
chipped once a week, the bark, and a portion of
the alburnum being renewed to the depth of four
concentric circles. The boxes fill every three
weeks; and the turpentine thus procured is of
the purest quality. A tree continues thus to
yield turpentine for five or six years; but the
quantity is greatest in dry and warm years, and
least in cold and wet. It is calculated that 250
boxes yield a barrel of 320 lbs. of turpentine.
A single negro can attend to 4,000 boxes,

This substance contains resin, and the pure oil
or spirit of turpentine, which latter is obtained
by distillation in retorts.

All the tar of the southern States is made
from dead wood of the long-leaved pine, which
has fallen by accident, and from the summits of
trees felled for timber. To obtain this tar, a
circular mound of earth is raised with a ditch
around the base; in the centre of this earthen

mound is a hole communicating with the
3.N
466

ditch, the whole is coated with clay, and beaten
hard; on this are piled the cut branches and
pieces of wood divested of their bark. The
wood is piled up so as to form a truncated and
inverted cone; the whole is then strewed with
pine leaves, and covered with earth, a few holes
being left for air. Fire is communicated to the
top, and a gradual and confined combustion is
produced downwards to the base. As the tar
flows into the ditch, it is emptied out into casks
ready for receiving it.

The American tar is reckoned inferior to that
of the north of Europe, probably from using
dead wood, and less care being employed in its
manufacture,

Dr Clarke thus describes the method of distil-
ling tar in the gulph of Bothnia: “The process
by which the tar is obtained is very simple: and
as we often witnessed it, we shall now describe
it, from a tar-work which we halted to inspect
upon the spot. The situation most favourable
for this process is in a forest near to a marsh or
bog; because the roots of the fir, from which tar
is principally extracted, are always the most
productive in such places. A conical cavity is
then made in the ground (generally in the side
of a bank or sloping hill); and the roots of the
fir, together with logs or billets of the same,
being neatly trussed into a stack of the same
conical shape, are let into this cavity. The whole
is then covered with turf, to prevent the volatile
parts from being dissipated, which, by means of
a heavy wooden mallet, and a wooden stamper,
worked separately by two men, is beaten down
and rendered as firm as possible above the wood.
The stack of billets is then kindled, and a slow
combustion of the fir takes place, without flame,
as in making charcoal. During this combustion,
the tar exudes; and a cast-iron pan being at the
bottom of the funnel, with a spout, which pro-
jects through the side of the bank, barrels are
placed beneath this spout, to collect the fluid as
it comes away. As fast as the barrels are filled,
they are bunged and ready for immediate expor-
tation. From this description, it will be evident
that the mode of obtaining tar is by a kind of
distillation per descensum ; the turpentine, melted
by fire, mixing with the sap and juices of the
fir, while the wood itself, becoming charred, is
converted into charcoal. The most curious part
of the story is, that this simple method of
extracting tar is precisely that which is described
by Theophrastus and Dioscorides; and there is
not the smallest difference between a tar-work
in the forests of Westro-Bothnia, and those of
ancient Greece. The Greeks make stacks of
pine; and, having covered them with turf, they
were suffered to burn in the same smothered
manner; while the tar, melting, fell to the bottom
of the stack, and ran out by a small channel cut
for the purpose.”

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

The Pitch Pine (p. rigida), is common
throughout the United States, but is most abun-
dant on the Atlantic coast. It isa very branchy
tree, and the wood is consequently knotty. It
is very resinous, and affords a large quantity of
pitch. The bark is thick, of a dark colour, and
deeply furrowed. The concentric circles of the
wood are far asunder; and three-fourths of the
larger stocks consist of sap. On high ground
and light gravelly soils, the wood is heavy and
full of resin; on low humid soils it is the reverse,
and unfit for use.

The White Pine (p. strobus). This is one of
the most valuable and interesting species of pines,
is common to Canada and the northern parts of
the United States, and has its distinctive name
from the perfect whiteness of its wood when
freshly exposed. The leaves are five-fold, four
inches in length, numerous, slender, and of a
bluish green. The cones are four to five inches
long, and composed of thin,
smooth scales, rounded at the
base. It grows extensively
between the parallels of 48° and
47° in almost all varieties of soil;
but attains its greatest dimen-
sions in the upper part of New
Hampshire, the State of Ver-
mont, and near the source of the
St Lawrence. This ancient and
majestic inhabitant of the North
American forests, is still the
loftiest and most valuable of their
productions; and its summit is
seen at an immense distance
aspiring towards heaven, far
above the heads of the surround-
ing trees. The trunk is simple
for two-thirds or three-fourths
of its height; and the limbs are short and verti-
cellate, or disposed in stages one above the other
to the top of the tree, which is formed by three
or four upright branches. This tree is the fore-
most in taking possession of barren districts, and
the most hardy in resisting the impetuous gales
from the ocean. On young stocks not exceeding
forty feet in height, the bark of the trunk and
branches is smooth and polished; as the tree
advances in age it splits and becomes rugged,
but does not fall off in scales like that of the
other pines. The trunk also tapers and lessens
from the base to the summit, more than those
of the others of the same tribe. ‘The wood is
soft, light, free from knots, easily wrought, and
very durable when exposed to the air and sun;
on theseaccounts it is much employed in domestic
use, a great proportion of the houses in the
northern States being built of it.

It is also largely exported to Britain, where
it is much used in domestic architecture. The
wood is not resinous enough to furnish turpen-

 

Cone of White
Pine.
THE PINE.

tine for commerce: nor would the labour of
extracting it be easy, since it occupies exclusively
tracts of only afew hundred acres, and is usually
mixed in different proportions with the leafy
trees.

The vast consumption of this tree for domestic
use, says Michaux, who wrote about twenty
years ago, and for exportation to the West Indies
and to Europe, renders it necessary every year
to penetrate farther into the country, and inroads
are already made in quest of this species only
upon forests which probably will not be cleared
for cultivation in twenty-five or thirty years.
The persons engaged in this branch of industry
are in general emigrants from New Hampshire,
led by a roving disposition, and a desire for
amassing wealth. In summer, they unite in
small companies, and traverse these vast solitudes
in every direction to ascertain the places in which
the pines abound. After cutting the grass and
converting it into hay, for the nourishment of
the cattle to be employed in their labour, they
return home. In the beginning of winter they
enter this forest again, establish themselves in
huts covered with the bark of the canoe birch,
or the arbor vite; and though the cold is so
intense, that the mercury sometimes remains for
several weeks from 40° to 45° below the point
of congelation, they persevere with unabated
courage in their work. When the trees are
felled they cut them into logs from fourteen to
eighteen feet long, and by means of their cattle,
which they employ with great dexterity, drag
them to the river; and after stamping on them
a mark of property, roll them upon its frozen
bosom. At the breaking up of the ice in the
spring, they float down with the current.

About 120 miles from the sea the timber is
collected, and each party forms his own into
rafts, and either disposes of them to the proprie-
tors of the various saw-mills on the banks of
the river, or gets them formed into deals on his
own account.

The upper part of Pennsylvania, near the
source of the Delaware and Susquehannah,
which is mountainous and cold, possesses large
forests of this pine; and in the spring the timber
is floated down those streams for the internal
consumption of the state. It enters into the
construction of houses, both in the country and
in the towns, and is cut into planks for exporta-
tion to the West Indies.

Boston is the principal emporium for this wood
in the northern States.

Besides deals for constructing the doors and
other parts of the interior of their houses in
America, the white pine is formed into what are
called clap boards and shingles. These form the
exterior coverings of the houses. These wooden
houses last about twelve or fifteen years.

A great quantity of fir timber is annually

 

467

imported into Great Britain from our Canadian
possessions, and New Brunswick. Mr M‘Gregor
gives the following account of the mode of pro-
curing this timber in the latter place :—

“The timber trade, which, in a commercial as
well as political point of view, is of more impor-
tance in employing our ships and seamen, than
it is generally considered to be, employs also a
vast number of people in the British colonies,
whose manner of living, owing to the nature of
the business they follow, is entirely different
from that of the other inhabitants of North
America,

“Several of these people form what is termed a
‘lumbering party,’ composed of persons who
are all either hired by a master lumberer, who
pays them wages, and finds them in provisions,
or of individuals who enter into an understanding
with each other, to have a joint interest in the
proceeds of theirlabour. The necessary supplies
of provisions, clothing, &c.,are generally obtained
from the merchants on credit, in consideration
of receiving the timber which the lumberers are
to bring down the rivers the following summer.
The stock deemed requisite for a lumbering party
consists of axes, a cross-cut saw, cooking utensils,
a cask of rum, tobacco, and pipes, a sufficient
quantity of biscuit, pork, beef, and fish; peas
and pearl barley for soup, with a cask of molasses
to sweeten a decoction usually made of shrubs,
or of the tops of the hemlock tree, and taken as
tea. Two or three yokes of oxen, with suffi-
cient hay to feed them, are also required to haul
the timber out of the woods.

“When thus prepared, these people proceed
up the rivers, with the provisions, to the place
fixed on for their winter establishment; which
is selected as near a stream of water, and in the
midst of as much pine timber, as possible. They
commence by clearing away a few of the sur-
rounding trees, and building a camp of round
logs, the walls of which are seldom more than
four or five feet high; the roof is covered with
birch bark or boards. A pit is dug under the
camp to preserve any thing liable to injury from
the frost. The fire is either in the middle or at
one end; the smoke goes out through the roof;
hay, straw, or fir branches are spread across or
along the whole length of this habitation, on
which they all lie down together at night to
sleep, with their feet next the fire. When the
fire gets low, he who first awakes, or feels cold,
springs up, and throws on five or six billets; and
in this way, they manage to have a large fire all
night. One person is hired as cook, whose duty
it is to have breakfast ready before daylight; at
which time all the party rise, when each takes
his morning, or the indispensable dram of raw
rum immediately before breakfast. This meal
consists of bread, or occasionally potatoes, with
boiled beef, pork, or fish, and tea sweetened with
468

molasses; dinner is usually the same, with pease-
soup in place of tea; and the supper resembles
breakfast. These men are enormous eaters, and
they also drink great quantities of rum, which
they scarcely ever dilute. Immediately after
breakfast, they divide into three gangs: one of
which cuts down the trees, another hews them,
and the third is employed with the oxen in
hauling the timber, either to one general road
leading to the banks of the nearest stream, or at
once to the stream itself; fallen trees and other
impediments in the way of the oxen are cut
away with an axe.

“The whole winter is thus spent in unremitting
labour: the snow covers the ground from two to
three feet from the setting in of winter until
April; and, in the middle of fir forests, often till
the middle of May. When the snow begins to
dissolve in April, the rivers swell, or, according
to the lumberer’s phrase, the freshets come down.
At this time all the timber cut during winter is
thrown into the water, and floated down until
the river becomes sufficiently wide to make the
whole into one or more rafts. The water at this
period is exceedingly cold; yet for weeks the
lumberers are in it from morning till night, and
it is seldom less than a month and a half, from
the time that floating the timber down the
streams commences, until the rafts are delivered
to the merchants. No course of life can under-
mine the constitution more than that of a lum-
berer and raftsman. The winter snow and frost,
although severe, are nothing to endure in com-
parison to the extreme coldness of the snow
water of the freshets; in which the lumberer
is, day after day, wet up to the middle, and often
immersed from head to foot. The very vitals
are thus chilled and sapped; and the intense heat
of the summer sun, a transition which almost
immediately follows, must further weaken and
reduce the whole frame. To stimulate the
organs, in order to sustain the cold, these men
swallow immoderate quantities of ardent spirits,
and habits of drunkenness are the usual conse-
quence. Their moral character, with few excep-
tions, is dishonest and worthless. I believe there
are few people in the world on whose promises
less faith can be placed than on those of a lum-
berer. In Canada, where they are longer in
bringing down their rafts, and have more idle
time, their character, if possible, is of a still more
shuffling and rascally description. Premature
old age, and shortness of days, form the inevitable
fate of alumberer. Should he even save a little
money, which is very seldom the case, and he
enabled for the last few years of life to exist
without incessant labour, he becomes the victim
of rheumatisms and all the miseries of a broken
constitution. But, notwithstanding all the toils
of such a pursuit, those who once adopt the life
of a lumberer seem fond of it. They are ina

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

great measure as independent, in their own way,
as the Indians. In New Brunswick, and parti-
cularly in Canada, the epithet ‘lumberer’ is
considered synonymous witha character of spend-
thrift, and villanous and vagabond principles.
After selling and delivering up their rafts, they
pass some weeks in idle indulgence; drinking,
smoking, and dashing off, in a long coat, flashy
waistcoat, and trowers, Wellington or Hessian
boots, a handkerchief of many colours round the
neck, a watch with a long tinsel chain and
numberless brass seals, and an umbrella. Before
winter they return again to the woods, and
resume the pursuits of the preceding year. Some
exceptions, however, I have known to this gener-
ally true character of lumberers. Many young
men of steady habits, who went from Prince
Edward’s island, and other places, to Miramichi,
for the express purpose of making money, have
joined the lumbering parties for two or three
years, and, after saving their earnings, returned
and purchased lands, on which they now live
very comfortably.”

The “lumberers” of New Brunswick, and
those who cut down the timber of the woods of
the United States, select the firs of proper girth
and quality with especial care. It is stated by
Mr M‘Gregor, that not one tree in ten thousand
is fit for purposes of commerce. These thinnings,
therefore, of the woods of North America do not
produce the destruction of timber which now
forms a subject of complaint in that country of
forest trees. The indiscriminate clearings of the
agricultural settlers, and the conflagrations which
occasionally take place, are the causes which, in
a few centuries, may render North America no
longer an exporting country for timber. Some-
times the forests are injudiciously set on fire by
the settlers, to save the labour of cutting
and partially burning; but by such indiscrimi-
nate conflagration, the land is not properly
cleared, and a very strong and noxious plant,
called the fire-weed, instantly springs up, exhaust-
ing all the fertility of the ground. Sometimes
these conflagrations extend over the whole face
of a country, producing the most fearful destruc-
tion of life and property. The spectacle of a
burning forest, according to the accounts of those
who have witnessed it, is most sublime. The
flames leap from tree to tree, and rushing up to
their tops, throw out immense volumes of fire
from the thick clouds of smoke that hang over
the burning mass, while the falling trees come
down with the most tremendous crash. One of
the most destructive of these fires took place a
few years ago in New Brunswick. We extract
an account of this calamity from Mr M‘Gregor’s
work :—

“Tn October 1825, upwards of a hundred miles
of the country, on the north side of Miramichi
river, became a scene of the most dreadful con-
THE FIRS.

flagration that has perhaps ever occurred in the
history of the world. In Europe we can scarcely
form a conception of the fury and rapidity with
which the fires rage through the American forests
during a dry hot season; at which time the
underwood, decayed vegetable substances, fallen
branches, bark, and withered trees, are as inflam-
mable as a total absence of moisture can render
them. When these tremendous fires are once in
motion, or at least when the flames extend over
a few miles of the forest, the surrounding air
becomes highly rarefied, and the wind naturally
increases to a hurricane. It appears that the
woods had been, on both sides of the north-west
branch, partially on fire for some time, but not
to an alarming extent, until the 7th of October,
when it came on to blow furiously from the
north-west, and the inhabitants on the banks of
the river were suddenly alarmed by a tremen-
dous roaring in the woods, resembling the inces-
sant rolling of thunder; while, at the same time,
the atmosphere became thickly darkened with
smoke. They had scarcely time to ascertain the
cause of this phenomenon, before all the surround-
ing woods appeared in one vast blaze, the flames
ascending more than a hundred feet above the
tops of the loftiest trees, and the fire, like a gulph
in flames, rolling forward with inconceivable
celerity. In less than an hour, Douglastown
and Newcastle were enveloped in one vast blaze,
and many of the wretched inhabitants, unable to
escape, perished in the midst of this terrible fire.”

A Miramichi paper, published on the 11th of
October, at the scene of this fearful conflagration,
contains some interesting particulars, from which
it appears that several hundred lives were lost in
Newcastle, Douglastown, and Fredericton; that
nearly all the “lumberers” in the woods perished;
that in many parts of the country the cattle were
all destroyed; and that the loss of property in
the towns was immense, as the fire rushed upon
the inhabitants with such inconceivable rapidity,
that the preservation of their lives could be their
only care.

Tue Firs, or Spruces (abies), form another
genus of the conifere, differing from the pines
in the form and position of the leaves, as well as
in the general aspect of the trees. In the firs
the leaves are generally shorter than in the pines,
and placed solitary instead of in pairs.

The Norway Spruce Fir (abies communis) is
a beautiful and stately tree. The branches are
verticillate, and spring from a common centre.
The leaves are solitary, short, slightly arched,
and acute, of a dark green colour, which gives to
the tree a sombre aspect. The cones are cylin-
drical, five to six inches in length, and contain
small winged seeds, which ripen in November.
This is one of the tallest of our European firs,
with a very straight but not thick trunk. It is
a native of the north of Germany and Russia,

 

469

and particularly abundant in Norway, from
whence it is largely imported into this country,
both as spars and as the white deal of that coun-
try and the Baltic. The timber is inferior to
that of the common pine in durability, and being
often knotty, is not proportionally strong for
horizontal beamings. It is used, however, for a
great variety of purposes in building; and the
entire trees are more prized than any others for
masts for small craft, or spars, What constitutes
the value of this fir is, that, like the larch, its
timber is equally durable at any age; and its
perfectly erect and straight form well suits it for
“the mast of some great admiral!” ‘Ihe tree
may be cut for rods, stakes, and scythes, or the
handles of other implements, where the trunk at
the base is not more than ten inches in diameter,
and the bark being retained, it will prove almost
as durable as the larch. This tree is peculiarly
valuable as a nurse, from being evergreen, and
closely covered with branches, by which radiated
heat is retained. It will not, however, grow in
elevated situations, where the pine and larch
flourish. By incision it yields resin and Bur-
gundy pitch. The tops, or young sprouts, give
the flavour to what is called spruce beer.

The white, black, and red spruces are natives
of America, and nearly resemble, in their general
properties, those of Europe. The black spruce
is reckoned the most durable. In America it is
used for knees for ship-building, where neither
oak nor larch can be easily obtained. These
knees are not prepared from two diverging
branches, as in the oak; but from a portion of
the base of the trunk connected with one of the
largest diverging roots. The timber of the red
spruce is universally preferred throughout the
United States for sail yards; and imported into
this country from Nova Scotia, for this purpose
also. It is chiefly from the decoction in water
of young shoots of the black spruce, and not
exclusively from those of the white species, that
spruce beer is prepared by fermentation with sugar
or molasses. The essence of spruce of the
dealers, is prepared by evaporating the decoction
to the consistence of honey.

The Silver Fir (a. picea), is one of the most
beautiful of this family. When standing alone
and developing itself naturally, its branches,
which are numerous and thickly garnished with
leaves, diminish in length as they approach the
top, and thus form a pyramid of perfect regu-
larity. The upper surface of the leaves is of a
beautiful vivid green; and their under surface
has two white lines running lengthwise on each
side of the midrib, giving the leaves that silvery
look from whence the common name is derived.
The cones are nearly cylindrical, about eight
inches long, and always directed upwards. The
wood is light and slightly resinous, and inferior
to that of the common pine. The resin of this
470

tree is sold in England and in America under
the name of balsam, or balm of Gilead, although

172.

 

The Silver Fir.

the true balm of Gilead is produced from a
totally different tree, the amyris Gileadensis.

Two new species of conifers, of more gigantic
dimensions than any that have hitherto been
described in Europe or America, have been found
by Mr David Douglas, a most enterprizing botan-
ist, who was sent out by the Horticultural
Society of London in 1825, to explore the west
coast of North America. He returned from that
country in the autumn of 1827, bringing with
him a rich addition to the known catalogue of
plants. These pines are :—

1. Pinus Douglasii. This pine grows to the
height of two hundred and thirty feet, and is
upwards of fifty feet in circumference at the base.
It has a rough corky bark, from an inch to twelve
inches thick. The leaves resemble those of the
spruce, and the cones are small. The timber is
of good quality, and very heavy. This pine was
found by Mr Douglas on the banks of the Colum-
bia, where it forms extensive forests, extending
from the shores of the Pacific to the Stoney
Mountains.

2. Pinus Lambertiana.* This species of pine
was discovered in Northern California, where it
is dispersed over large tracts of country, but does
not form dense forests like most of the other
pines. It is a very majestic tree; and one speci-
men which, in consequence of its having been
blown down, Mr Douglas was enabled to measure,
was two hundred and fifteen feet in length, fifty-
seven feet nine inches in circumference at three
feet from the root, and seventeen feet five inches
at one hundred and thirty-four feet. It is pro-
bably the largest single mass of timber that ever
was measured by man, though some of the grow-

* The name of this pine was given to it as a tribute
to Lambert, the author of a most splendid work on the
genus Pinus,

 

HISTURY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ing specimens of the same pine were evidently of
greater elevation. The trunk of the Lambertz-
ana is straight, and clear of branches for about
two-thirds of the height. ‘Che bark is uncom-
monly smooth, and the whole tree has a most
graceful appearance. The cones resemble those
of the Weymouth pine, but are much larger,
being on an average at least sixteen inches in
length. The seeds are eaten roasted, or pounded
into cakes. The tree bears a considerable resem-
blance to the spruces; and as is the case with
them, its turpentine is of a pure amber colour,
and the timber soft, white, and light. One sin-
gular property of this tree is, that when the tim-
ber is partly burned the turpentine loses its pecu-
liar flavour, and acquires a sweetish taste. It is
used by the natives as a substitute for sugar.

Tue Lance (lariz communis) is, after the
common pine, probably the most valuable of the
tribe. The name seems derived from the Celtic
lar, fat, in allusion to the resinous juice which
it exudes, Dioscorides remarks that lariz is
the Gallic name for resin. Though a native of
the mountains of more southern regions, it thrives
uncommonly well in Britain; and as it grows
more rapidly, and also in more varied soils than
the other, it is, perhaps, better adapted for gene-
ral cultivation. In the south it attains an immense
height; some single beams of Jarch, employed in
the palaces and public buildings of Venice, being
said to be one hundred and twenty feet long.
Even in the plantations of the Duke of Atho},
and other proprietors in Perthshire, some larches
are at least one hundred feet high. The wild
alternation of hill and valley in that county,
with the general opening of the glens and expo-
sure of the surface to the south, seem to afford
the larch a situation something like its native
locality in the Tyrolese and Dalmatian Alps;
for though other trees, and some of them fast
growing ones, such as the spruce, have been
planted at the same time, the larch overtops them
all; and in summer, when it is in the full luxu-
riance of its leaves (which are a bright clover
green), it rises over the dark forest like an obe-
lisk of beryl. The larch sheds its leaves, and
is probably by that means saved from those keen
blasts of the very early spring that prove destruc-
tive to pines. Even when naked it is an orna-
mental tree. The trunk is generally straight,
tapering gradually to a point; the branches,
which are rather small in proportion to the tree,
taper up in the form of a perfect cone; and the
whole is of a lively brown, streaked with a golden
colour.

A few larches are said to have been introduced
into thiscountry in the earlypart of theseventeenth
century, as rarities; but it only began to be cul-
tivated as a forest tree about the middle of the
eighteenth century. Since that time it has been
extensively planted, more especially in Scotland;
THE CEDAR OF LEBANON,

and the success has been far greater, and far
more uniform, than in the case of any other tree
not a native of the country. It appears that the
quality of larch timber does not depend so much
upon the maturity of the tree, and the slowness
of its growth, as that of the pine,—as a fishing
boat built of larch, only forty years old, has been
found to last three times as long as one of the
best Norway pine. It is not so buoyant, how-
ever, nor so elastic; and as it does not dry so
completely as pine, boards of it are more apt to
warp. It is, however, much more tough and
compact; and what are very valuable properties,
it approaches nearly to being proof, not only
against water, but against fire. If the external
timbers, and the principal beams of houses, were
made of larch, fires would not only be less fre-
quent, but they would be far less destructive ;
for before a larch beam be even completely
charred on the surface, a beam of pine, or of dry
oak, will be in a blaze beyond the ordinary means
of extinguishment. Larch, however, is heavier
to transport and elevate, and also much harder
to work, than pine; and as these circumstances
are all against the profits of the builder, they
probably prevent the introduction of this most
safe and durable timber. The Venetian houses
constructed of it show no symptoms of decay;
and the complete preservation of some of the
finest paintings of the great masters of Italy is,
in some respects, owing to the panels of larch on
which they are executed.

The objects for which larch timber seems pre-
ferable to every other, are chiefly these :—gates,
palings, posts of all kinds that are inserted either
in the earth or in water, wooden buildings,
many agricultural implements, cottage furniture,
bridges and gangways, carriages for transporting
stones and all hard and rough materials, barrows
for builders and road makers, lighters, fenders,
and embanking piles, lock and dock gates for
canals and harbours, coal and lime waggons, ves-
sels for carrying lime, pit-props, and hop poles
of thesmallerthinnings. For all these purposes,
and many minor ones, larch would come con-
siderably cheaper than any timber now in use;
and would, in the average of them, last at least
thrice as long,—the saving to the public would
thus be immense; and the lands upon which an
abundant supply might be raised in every county,
are at present lying idle.

There is a variety of the larch with red, and
another with white flowers; one with grayish
bark, called the Russian larch, and one with pen-
dulous branches. The black and red are con-
sidered either distinct species, or sub-species.
The timber of both is said to be harder than that
of the common white larch ; but these trees have
never yet had a fair trial in this country. The red
larch trees in the Athol estates do not contain
one-third as many cubic feet of timber as the

 

471

white larch of the same age. The wood isso heavy
that it will scarcely swim in water. Such is the
rapidity of growth of the white larch, that on
the estates of the Duke of Athol, at an elevation
of 1600 feet, in the course of eighty years, a tree
has arrived at the size to produce 300 cubic feet
of timber of such durability, as to be fit for any
use. According to Sang, the superiority of the
larch over the Scotch pine is, that it brings
double the price at least per measurable foot;
that it will arrive at a useful timber size in one-
half, or a third of the time which the pine in
general requires; and, above all, that the wood
of the larch, at forty or fifty years old, if in a
suitable soil and climate, is in every respect supe-
rior to that of the pine at one hundred years old.
The chief objections to the timber of the larch
are its liability to warp and twist; but this is
said to be obviated by barking the trees in spring
while growing, and not cutting them down till
the following autumn, or even for a year after-
wards; this is also said to prevent the timber
from being attacked by dry-rot.

The bark of the larch is more than half as
valuable as that of the oak in tannin, and the
tree yields turpentine by incision. The best tim-
ber is that which has grown on elevated, cold,
and bare soils.

The Black Larch of America (1. pendula ),.
called by the Indians tamaracke, or hackmatack,
is a beautiful tree, resembling the European spe-
cies, both in appearance and in the excellent
quality of the wood and bark.

Tue Cepar or Lepanon (Jl. cedrus). This
celebrated tree is a native of the coldest parts of
the mountains of Libanus, Ama-
nus, and Taurus; but it is not
now to be found in those situ-
ations in great numbers. Maun-
y, drell, in his journey from Alep-
po to Jerusalem, in 1696, could
~ reckon only sixteen large trees,
although there were many small

173.

 

The Codar, Ones. One of the largest was
twelve yards in the spread of its
boughs. The forest of Lebanon never seems to

have recovered the havoc made by Solomon’s
forty score thousand hewers, so that we have
now probably more cedars in England than there
are in Palestine.

This tree would, if the rapidity of ifs growth
were at all correspondent with its other qualities,
be the most valuable in the forest. Its resistance
to absolute wear is not indeed equal to that of
the oak; but it is so bitter, that no insect what-
ever will touch it, and it seems to be proof against
Time himself. We are told that the timber in
the temple of Apollo at Utica was found unde-
cayed after the lapse of two thousand years; and
that a beam in the oratory of Diana, at Sagun-
tum in Spain, was carried from Zante, two
472

centuries before the Trojan war. Some of the
most celebrated erections of antiquity were
constructed of this tree. ‘Solomon raised a
levy of thirty thousand men out of all Israel;
and he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a
month, by courses; and he had threescore and
ten thousand that bore burthens, and fourscore
thousand hewers in the mountains. And he
covered the temple with beams and boards of
cedar, And he built chambers against it, which
rested on the house, with timber of cedar. And
the cedar of the house within was carved with
knops and flowers: all was cedar, there was
no stone seen.” Thus writes the sacred historian,
who mentions that the same monarch had a
palace of cedar in the forest of Lebanon. Ancient
writers notice that the ships of Sesostris, the
Egyptian conqueror, one of them two hundred
and eighty cubits long, were formed of this
timber; as was also the gigantic statue of Diana
in the temple at Ephesus. Some difficulty, no
doubt, exists, with regard to the ancient history
of this celebrated tree,—there being other trees,
still named cedars, which, though somewhat
resembling them, do not belong to the same genus,
as the white cedar, which is a cypress; and the
red, which is a juniper.

In addition to the durability of its timber, the
cedar is, in its appearance, the most majestic of
trees; and when it stands alone in a situation
worthy of it, it is hardly possible to conceive a
finer vegetable ornament. Its height in this coun-
try has seldom equalled the taller of the larches,
though it has nearly approached to it; but the
very air of the tree impresses one with the idea
of its comparative immortality. There is a
firmness in the bark and a stability in the trunk,
in the mode in which that lays hold of the ground,
and in the form of the branches and their inser-
tion into the trunk, not found in any other pine,
scarcely in any other tree. The foliage, too, is
superior to that of any other of the tribe, each
branch being perfect in its form: the points of
the leaves spread upwards into beautiful little
tufts; and the whole upper surface of the branch,
which droops in a graceful curve toward the
extremity, having the semblance of velvet. The
colour is also fine; it is a rich green, wanting the
bluish tint of the pine and fir, and the lurid and
gloomy one of the cypress.

The description of the cedar of Lebanon by
the prophet Ezekiel, is fine and true :—“ Behold
the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair
branches, and of an high stature; and his top was
among the thick boughs. His boughs were mul-
tiplied, and his branches became long. The fir
trees were not like his boughs, nor the chestnut
trees like his branches; nor any tree in the garden
of God like unto him in beauty.”

Whether the cedars of Lebanon were thinned
to exhaustion by the fourscore thousand axes of

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the king of Israel, or whether they have decayed
in consequence of some variation of climate, or
other physical change in the country, it is impos-
sible to say; but modern travellers represent that
very few now exist, though some are of immense
bulk—about thirty-six feet in circumference,
and quite undecayed.

The eedar of Lebanon, though it has been
introduced into many parts of England as an
ornamental tree, and has thriven well, has not
yet been planted in great numbers for the sake
of its timber. No doubt it is more difficult to
rear, and requires a far richer soil than the pine
and the larch; but the principal objection to it
‘has been the supposed great slownessof its growth,
although that does not appear to be very much
greater than in the oak. Some cedars, which
have been planted in a soil well adapted to them,
at Lord Carnarvon’s, at Highclere, have grown
with extraordinary rapidity. Of the cedars
planted in the Royal garden at Chelsea, in 1683,
two had, in eighty-three years, acquired a cir-
cumference of more than twelve feet, at two feet
from the ground, while their branches extended
over a circular space forty feet in diameter.
Seven and twenty years afterwards the trunk of
the largest. one had increased more than half a
foot in circumference; which is probably more
than most oaks of a similar age would do during
an equal period. The surface soil in which the
Chelsea cedars throve so well, is not by any
means rich; but they seem to have been greatly
nourished from a neighbouring pond, upon the
filling up of which they wasted away.

Various specimens of the cedar of Lebanon
are mentioned as having attained a very great
size in England. One planted by Dr Uvedale,
in the garden of the manor-house at Enfield,
about the middle of the seventeenth century,
had a girth of fourteen feet in 1789; eight feet
of the top of it had been blown down by the
great hurricane in 1708, but still it was forty feet
in height. At Whitton, in Middlesex, a remark-
able cedar was blown down in 1779. It had
attained the height of seventy feet; the branches
covered an area one hundred feet in diameter; the
trunk was sixteen feet in circumference at seven
feet from the ground, and twenty-one feet at the
insertion of the great branches twelve feet above
the surface. There were about ten principal
branches or limbs, and theiraverage circumference
was twelve feet. About the age and planter of
this immense tree its historians are not agreed,
some of them referring its origin to the days of
Elizabeth, and even alleging that it was planted
by herownhand. Another cedar, at Hillingdon,
near Uxbridge, had, at the presumed age of 116
years, arrived at the following dimensions: its
height was fifty-three feet, and the spread of the
branches ninety-six feet from cast to west, and
eighty-nine from north to south. The circum-
THE YEW TREE.

ference of the trunk, close to the ground, was
thirteen feet and a half; at seven feet it was
twelve anda half; and at thirteen feet, just under
the branches, it was fifteen feet eight inches.
There were two principal branches, the one
twelve feet and the other ten feet in girth. The
first, after a length of eighteen inches, divided
into two arms, one eight feet and a half, and the
other seven feet ten. The other branch, soon
after its insertion, was parted into two, of five
feet and a half each.

Tue Yew Tree, taxvus baccata; dicecia, mona-
delphia, of Linneus, (called taaus, probably

174.

 

The Yew,

from the Greek, which signifies swiftness, and
may allude to the velocity of an arrow shot from
a yew tree bow,) is a tree of no little celebrity,
both in the military and the superstitious history
of England. The common yew is a native of
Europe, of North America, and of the Japanese
isles, It used to be very plentiful in England
and Ireland, and probably also in Scotland.
Cesar mentions it as having been abundant in
Gaul; and much of it is found in Ireland,
imbedded in theearth. The trunk and branches
grow very straight; the bark is cast annually;
the wood is red and veined; it is compact, hard,
and very elastic. It is, therefore, of great use
in every branch of the arts in which firm and
durable timber is required; and, before the general
use of fire-arms, it was in high request for bows:
so much of it was required for the latter purpose,
that ships trading to Venice were obliged to bring
ten bow staves along with every butt of Malmsey.

The yew was also consecrated—a large tree,
or more, being in every churchyard; and they
were held sacred. Flood gates for ponds made
of it, are said to be of incredible duration. The
twigs and leaves of this tree eaten, even in very
small quantities, are certain death to horses and
cows; but deer, it is said, will crop them with
impunity; and sheep and goats, according to
Linneus, eat them readily. Turkeys, peacocks,
and other poultry birds, eat both the leaves and
fruit with impunity. The leaves, if eaten by
man, are fatal; and the berries, if taken in any
quantity, are deleterious. In funeral processions
the branches were carried over the dead by
mourners, and thrown under the coffin in the

 

473

graye. According to Ray, the yew being an ever-
green, was thus made typical of the immortality
of man. The following extract from the ancient
laws of Wales will show the value that was there
set upon these trees, and also how the consecrated
yew of the priests had risen in value over the
reputed sacred misletoe of the Druids :—

“A consecrated yew, its value is a pound.

“A misletoe branch, threescore pence.

“ An oak, sixscore pence.

“Principal branch of an oak, thirty pence.

“ A yew tree, (not consecrated) fifteen pence.

“ A sweet apple, threescore pence.

“A sour apple, thirty pence.

“A thorn tree, seven pence half penny. Every tree
after that, fourpence.”

By a statute made in the fifth year of Edward
IV., every Englishman, and Irishman dwelling
with Englishmen, was directed to have a bow of
his own height made of yew, wych-hazel, ash, ov
awburne—that is, laburnum, which is still styled
“awburne saugh,” or awburne willow, in many
parts of Scotland. His skill in the use of the
long bow was the proud distinction of the English
yeoman, and it was his boast that none but an
Englishman could bend that powerful weapon.
It seems that there was a peculiar art in the

} English use of this bow; for our archers did not

employ all their muscular strength in drawing
the string with the right hand, but thrust the
whole weight of the body into the horns of the
bow with the left. Chaucer describes his archer
as carrying “a mighty bowe;” and the “cloth-
yard shaft,’ which was discharged from this
engine, is often mentioned by our old poets and
chroniclers. The command of Richard ITI. at
the battle which was fatal to him, was this:

“Draw archers, draw your arrows to the head.”

The bowmen were the chief reliance of the
English leaders in those bloody battles which
attended our unjust contests for the succession
to the crown of France. Some of these scenes
are graphically described by Froissart.

In the account of the battle of Blanchetagne
(the passage of the Somme), just before Crecy,
Froissart says: “The Frenchmen defended so
well the passage at the issuing out of the water,
that they (the English) had much todo, The
Genoese did them great trouble with their cross-
bows. On the other side, the archers of England
shot so wholly together, that the Frenchmen
were fain to give place to the Englishmen.”

At Crecy—“ There were of the Genoese cross-
bows about a fifteen thousand, but they were so
weary of going a-foot that day, a six leagues,
armed with their cross-bows, that they said to
their constables, ‘We be not well ordered to fight
this day, for we be not in the case to do any
great deeds of arms; we have more need of rest.’
The words came to the Count d’Alencon, who

said, ‘A man is well at ease to be charged with
30
474

such a sort of rascals, to be faint and fail now at
most need.’”’? A storm then ensues, which, and
its passing away, are described in Froissart’s own
singular style, He then continues thus: “When
the Genoese were assembled together, and began
to approach, they made a great leap and cry
to abash the Englishmen; but they stood still,
and stirred not for all that. Then the Genoese
again the second time made another leap and a
fell cry, and stepped forward a little; and the
Englishmen removed not one foot. Thirdly,
again they leapt and cried, and went forth till
they came within shot. They then shot fiercely
with their cross-bows. Then the English archers
stept forth one pace, and let fly their arrows so
wholly, and so thick, that it seemed snow. When
the Genoese felt the arrows piercing through
heads, arms, and breasts, many of them cast
down their cross-bows, and did cut their strings,
and returned discomfitted. When the French
king saw them fly away, he said, ‘Slay these
rascals, for they shall lett and trouble us without
reason.” Then ye should have seen the men of
arms dash in among them, and killed a great
number of them; and ever still the Englishmen
shot where as they saw thickest press. The sharp
arrows ran into the men of arms, and into their
horses; and many fell, horse and men, in the
midst of the Genoese; and when they were down,
they could not relieve again, the press was so
thick that one overthrew another.”

At Poitiers—“Then the battle began on all
parts, and the battles of the marshals of France
approached, and they set forth that were appointed
to break the array of the archers. They entered
a horseback into the way where the great hedges
were on both sides, set full of archers. As soon
as the men of arms entered, the archers began
to shoot on both sides, and did slay and hurt
horses and knights; so that the horses, when
they felt the sharp arrows, they would in no
wise go forward, but drew aback, and flang, and
took on so fiercely, that many of them fell on
their masters, so that for press they could not
rise again, in so much that the marshals’ battle
could never come at the prince. . . True
to say, the archers did their company that day
great advantage; for they shot so thick that the
Frenchmen wist not on what side to take heed.”

At the battle of Aljabarota, in Portugal, fought
in the early part of Richard the Second’s reign,
between the kings of Portugal and Spain, the
former aided by John of Gaunt, with an English
force, and the latter by volunteers from France
and Béarn, the English archers distinguished
themselves greatly ; indeed they chiefly contri-
buted to win the battle, one of the bloodiest even
of that time, by the total impossibility of bring-
ing the horses to advance, or even stand fast
under the arrows. Thus Froissart describes the
encounter :—

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

“The same Saturday was a fair day, and the
sun was turned towards even-song. Then the
first battle (of the Spaniards) came before Alja-
barota, where the king of Portugal and his men
were ready to receive them. Of these French
knights there were a two thousand spears, as
fresh and well ordered men as could be devised ;
and as soon as they saw their enemies, they
joined together like men of war, and approached
in good order till they came within a bow-shot;
and at their first coming there was a hard ren-
counter, for such as desired to assail, to win grace
and praise, entered into the strait way, where
the Englishmen by their policy had fortified
them. And because the entry was so narrow,
there was great press, and great mischief to the
assailants; for such English archers as were there
shot so wholly together that their arrows pierced
men and horses, and when the horses were full
of arrows they fell upon one another, . . .
There were many of the lords and knights of
France and Béarn taken and slain, and all their
companies that were entered within the strait,
Their horses were so hurt with the archers that
they fell on their masters, and one upon another.
There these Frenchmen were in great danger, for
they could not help one another, for they had no
room to enlarge themselves or to fight at their
will.”

It is to be observed, that long after the intro-
duction of fire-arms in the fourteenth century,
the bow continued to be a principal instrument
of war. The bow was used at Agincourt and at
Flodden.

The use of the bow as a weapon of war, or of
the chase, has ceased in this country; but archery
is still followed as an amusement; and though
some of the foreign woods have more elasticity,
the best bows of native growth are certainly
those made of the yew tree.

The yew has often attained a very great size
in each of the three kingdoms, though the speci-
mens now remaining in Scotland and Ireland be
but few. In the first of those countries, Queen
Mary’s yew at Crookstone was much celebrated,
though probably more on account of the princess
with whose history it was connected, than any
peculiarity in its own magnitude. The trunk
of a large yew, found by Pennant in the church-
yard of Fortingal, in Perthshire, though wasted
to the outside shell, and with only a few leaves
at one point, is quoted by him as being fifty-six
feet and a half in circumference, or about eigh-
teen feet in diameter.

The yew tree at Mucruss abbey, in Ireland,
has a trunk about six feet and a half in circum-
ference, and fourteen feet high, which terminates
in a head that fills the area of the cloisters.

In England and Wales some very large speci-
mens are mentioned. According to Evelyn, the
Crowhurst yew was thirty feet in circumference;
THE CYPRESS.

that at Braburne churchyard, in Kent, was nearly
twenty feet diameter, although it had been dis-
mantled by storms; and at Sutton, near Win-
chester, there was, as Evelyn quaintly says,
“such another monster.” At Hedsor, in Buck-
inghamshire, there was lately, if there be not
atill, one in health and vigour, full twenty-seven
feet in diameter. In the woods of Cliefden, near
Hedsor, there are some extraordinary remains of
these trees, whose roots, apparently of vast age,
twine about the chalk rocks in the most fantas-
tic shapes.

Considering the immense size to which the
yew grows, and the strength, durability, and
even beauty of its timber, one cannot help regret-
ting that, when those great trees shall have yielded,
as yield they must, to the destructive power of
time, there should not be asuccession. It is true
that, in consequence of the great improvement
of the iron manufacture, and the cheapness of
that article, it can be applied to many purposes
for which the great strength of the yew was well
adapted.

The custom of clipping yews into fantastic
shapes was much practised in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. Some of our churchyards
still have their yew trees thus cut into the pre-
tended likenesses of birds and beasts. At Bed-
font, in Middlesex, there are two celebrated trees,
whose branches are annually shaped into some-
thing like the form of a peacock, with a date
(1708) showing when this piece of useless labour
was first performed. The Romans, as we learn
from Pliny’s letters, cut their evergreens into
the fantastic shapes of birds and beasts. Lord
Bacon, with his wonted good sense, protested
against this practice, which was the fashion of
his time. “TI, for my part,” he says in his
Essays, “do not like images cut out in juni-
per and other garden stuff; they be for chil-
dren.

Tur Cypress (cupressus sempervirens). The
cypress obtains its name from the island of

175,

 

The Cypress.

Cyprus, where it grows in great abundance; the
evergreen cypress is also a common tree in the
Levant. It was planted by the Moors around
their palaces, and both by the ancient and modern

 

475

Romans as an ornamental tree around their villas.
Of this species there are two varieties, the upright
and the spreading, the last attaining a larger size
than the other, and being thus more valuable as
a timber tree. It thrives best in a warm, sandy,
or gravelly soil; and though it has not been
much cultivated in England as a timber tree,
yet it seems well adapted for many situations in
the southern parts of the kingdom. It is true
that, in the early stages of its growth, it has
been supposed to fall a victim to the keen frosts
of our climate; yet Evelyn says that he had
upwards of a thousand cypress trees in his gar-
den, and did not lose more than three or four of
them during the uncommonly severe winters of
1663 and 1665.

Of all timber, that of the cypress is generally
supposed to be the most durable, superior even
to that of the cedar itself. The doors of St
Peter’s church at Rome, which had been formed
of this material in the time of Constantine,
showed no sign of decay when, after the lapse of
eleven hundred years, Pope Eugenius IV. took
them down to replace them by gates of brass.
In order to preserve the remains of their heroes,
the Athenians buried them in coffins of cypress;
and the chests or coffins in which the Egyptian
mummies are found are usually of the same mate-
rial, Cypress is a handsome timber.. Though
hard, it is elastic, and, therefore, would answer
well for musical instruments. For furniture, it
would be equal even to mahogany; for though
not so beautiful in its colour, it is stronger, resists
the worm equally, and its odour repels insects
from whatever may be contained in a cabinet or
chest made of it. For building, there is no tim-
ber superior to the cypress, which lasts almost
as long as stone itself; accordingly, where it is
found in great abundance, it is very much used
for that purpose. The cypress is reputed to live
to a great age; and though the precise period
has not been ascertained, the fact of its being
planted over the graves of the dead, and carried
in funeral processions, as an emblem of immor-
tality, isa proof that its duration must be very
considerable.

The White Cedar is a native of America, where
it grows to a considerable size, but it grows
slowly, being eighty years old before it is fit for
timber; and even then, though it answers well
for hoops, small boats, roofing, and some other
purposes, it does not appear very worthy of
cultivation as a timber tree. But it is hardy,
and forms a good variety in clumps of evergreens.

Arbor Vite (thuja occidentalis). The wood
of this tree, which gives out when burnt an
agreeable odour, was used by the ancients at their
sacrifices; and hence the name from the Greek
word thuo, to sacrifice.

The common arbor vite is a well known ever-
green shrub in this country. In Canada, its
476

native locality, it however assumes the form and
height of a tree, and the wood is considered more
durable than any other. The trunk is sawn up
into planks and boards for houses and boat build-
ing, and their branches are used for posts and
fencing, the smaller branches and spray for
besoms, and the leaves, made into an ointment,
are used by the native Indians for the cure of
rheumatism. In England the timber has been
chiefly employed by the turner and cabinet
maker,

In America the arbor vite succeeds best in
soils where the roots have abundance of mois-
ture, and it accordingly grows tallest in swamps
and marshes; in dry situations it is stunted, and
never grows to any degree of perfection, The
first tree of this species which was sent to
Europe was planted in the Botanic Garden at
Fountainbleau, in the reign of Francis I, The
Chinese species (t. ortentalis_) very nearly resem-
bles the above; both are readily propagated by
seeds, cuttings, and layers.

Norfolk Island Pine (araucaria excelsa).
Diccia, monadelphia, of Linneus. This spiendid

176.

 

Araucaria.

tree attains an immense size, often attaining not
less than 220 feet in height. It is a native of
Australia, and presents a magnificent object, with
its bright evergreen foliage and innumerable
waving branches. The leaves are closely imbri-
cated, inflexed, and pointless. The longitudinal
section of the wood, with all the distinctive marks
of the conifer, exhibits the peculiarity of three
rows of oval disks. From this circumstance,
Mr Nicol of Edinburgh has identified the fossil
tree of Craigleith quarry with the araucaria of
Norfolk island.

Sir J. Bank’s Araucaria (a. imbricata), is
also a splendid and beautiful tree. It thrives
well in the open air in this country, whereas the
excelsa requires the protection of the green-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

house. The soil suited for this is an equal
mixture of sandy loam and peat, Cuttings taken
off at a joint will, with much care, take root if
planted in a pot of sand, and placed under a bell-
glass. We have as yet had little experience of
the nature or durability of the wood. Spars for
nautical purposes have been used, and apparently
with advantage,

The Juniper (juniperus communis). Dicecia,
monadelphia, of Linneus. This plant is com-
mon in all the northern parts of Europe, in fer-
tile or barren soils, on hills or in valleys, in open
sandy plains, or in moist or in close woods.
On the sides of hills its trunk grows long; but
on the tops of rocky mountains and in bogs it is
a tufted shrub, In England it is found chiefly
in open downs, in a chalky or sandy soil. In
Scotland it is found in granite, trap, and schis-
tous hills and mountains; but not on the highest
summits of the more elevated of the latter. In
the south of Europe it is only found in elevated
situations, It abounds in the Alps of Switzer-
land; but is not very common in the Appenines,
In our shrubberies it forms a not ungraceful
bush, grouping and combining very well with
eypresses, American cedars, and various species
of the pine and fir tribe. It is easily trans-
planted, and bears cropping. Grass will not
grow beneath it; but the avena pratensis is said
to destroy it. The wood is hard and durable;
the bark is so tenacious, that it may be formed
into ropes; and the berries are used for impart-
ing the peculiar flavour to gin. Various insects
feed on this shrub; and it is eaten by horses,
sheep, and goats, when they can get nothing
better. A gum oozes spontaneously from the
trunk of old plants, which forms the gum san-
darack, and in its powdered form is known as
pounce. The berries require to remain two
years on the tree before they assume the black
form which indicates their maturity. The
greater quantity of those which are used in Bri-
tain are brought from Germany, Holland, and
Italy. They have a peculiar aromatic odour,
and a sweetish, pungent, bitterish taste. In dis-
tillation with water they yield a volatile terebin-
thinate oil of a greenish colour, on which their
virtues depend. The flavour and diuretic pro-
perties of Hollands arise from this oil. In medi-
cine cil of juniper is used as a diuretic, and in
this way has been employed for the cure of
dropsy. The tops yield the same oil as the ber-
ries, and may be used instead of these.

Bermudas Cedar Wood is the product of a
West Indian species of juniper. The red cedar
(j. Virginiana) is one of the highest timber
trees in Jamaica, affording large boards of a close
fine texture, and reddish colour, very bitter to
the taste, and avoided by all insects; hence it is
employed by the cabinet makers for the manu-
facture of clothes’ presses and drawers.
THE BANYAN TREE.

Common Savin (j. sabina). This plant, which
only attains the size of a few feet in this country,
is found as a tree in some of the Greek islands.
The leaves and tops have a strong heavy disa-
greeable odour, and a bitter hot taste, with a
considerable degree of acrimony. These quali-
ties depend upon an essential oil, which is
obtained in considerable quantity by distillation
with water. Both water and alcohol extract its
active principles. Savin is used in medicine as
a powerful stimulant, both internally and exter-
nally, when applied to the skin.

Gum Olibanum, supposed to be the incense of
the ancients, and the substance now used in the
Catholic churches, is supposed to be the product
of the j. licta.

Somewhat allied to the conifere is the family
of plants myrica, or candleberry myrtles. One
of these, the sweet gale (myrica gale), is com-
mon and very abundant in bogs and marshes in
Scotland. It is a small shrub, with leaves some-
what like the myrtle or willow, of a fragrant
odour and bitter taste, and yielding an essential
oil by distillation. The northern natives for-
merly used this plant instead of hops; and it is
still in use for that purpose in some of the west-
ern islands, and in some parts of the Highlands
of Scotland. Unless it be boiled for a long time
it is said to cause headache. The catkins, or
cones, boiled in water, throw up a scum resem-
bling bees wax, which, collected in sufficient
quantities, would make candles. The plant is
used to tan calf skins. Gathered in the autumn,
it dyes wool a yellow colour, and is used for this
purpose both in Sweden and Wales. The Swedes
sometimes use a strong decoction to kill insects
and vermin, and to cure the itch. An infusion
of the leaves is also used as a vermifuge, and the
dried leaves are generally employed to scent
linen and other clothes. It is also made into
brooms, and used as firewood to heat ovens.
Horses and goats eat it, while sheep and cows
refuse it.

Myrica Cerifera, or Tallow Shrub, is common
in North America, where candles are made from
the waxy substance collected from a decoction
of the fruit or berry. It grows abundantly in a
wet soil, and seems to thrive particularly well in
the neighbourhood of the sea, nor does it seem
ever to be found high up in the country. The
berries intended for making candles are gathered
late in autumn, and are thrown into a pot of
boiling water, where the fatty or waxy substance
floats on the top, and is skimmed off. When
congealed, this substance is of a dirty green
colour, somewhat intermediate in its nature
between wax and tallow. After being again
melted and refined, it assumes a transparent
green hue. This substance, mixed with a pro-
portion of tallow, forms candles, which burn
better and slower than common tallow ones, and

 

477

do not run so much in hot weather. They have,
also, very little smoke, and emit a rather agree-
able odour. A soap is also made of this sub-
stance, which has an agreeable scent, and is well
adapted for a shaving soap, and is used by sur-
geons for plasters. In Carolina they likewise
make a sealing wax from these berries. The
root is used as a cure for toothache.

All the species grow well and readily in peat
soil or sandy loam, in a moist situation. They
are propagated by seeds or layers, but not readily
by cuttings.

MM. cerifera has been cultivated in France and
in Germany, where it grows in the open air;
and where, in many waste marshy situations, it
might prove a profitable object of culture.

CHAP. XLV.
THE BANYAN TREE, BAOBAB,

We have in the foregoing chapters described
the most useful trees, and in this shall consider
some of the more remarkable and curious.

Tue Banyan Tree (ficus Indica).* This
singular tree belongs to the family of figs, natu-
ral order, urticew. It is a native of India; and
it and another species (f. religiosa_), are held in
such veneration by the Hindoos, that if a person
cuts or lops off any of the branches, he is looked
upon with as great abhorrence as if he had broken
the leg of one of their equally sacred cows.

This remarkable tree was known to the ancients,
Strabo describes it, and states very accurately that
after the branches have extended about twelve
feet horizontally, they shoot down in the direc-
tion of the earth, and there root themselves; and
when they have attained maturity, they propagate
inward in the same manner, till the whole becomes
like a tent supported by many columns. This
tree is also noticed by Pliny with a minute accu-
racy, which has been confirmed by the observa-
tions of modern travellers; and Milton has ren-
dered the description of the ancient naturalist
almost literally, in the following beautiful pas-
sage :—

“ Branching so broad along, that in the ground
The bending twigs take root; and daughters grow
About the mother tree; a pillared shade,
High over-arched, with echoing walks between.
There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat,
Shelters in cool; and tends his pasturing herds
At loop-holes cut through thickest shade.”

Another poet also describes it thus :—

“Twas a fair scene wherein they stood,
A green and sunny glade amid the wood,
And in the midst an aged Banian grew.

* For a figure of this tree, see Plate XT.
478

It was a goodly sight to sce
That venerable tree,
For o’er the lawn, irregularly spread,
Fifty straight columns propt its lofty head;
And many a long depending shoot
Secking to strike its root,
Straight, like a plummet, grew towards the ground.
Some on the lower boughs, which crost their way,
Fixing their bearded fibres, round and round,
With many a ring and wild contortion wound:
Some to the passing wind, at times, with sway
Of gentle motion swung;
Others of younger growth, unmov’d, were hung
Like stone-drops from the cavern’s fretted height.
Beneath was smooth and fair to sight,
Nor weeds nor briers deform’d the natural floor;
And through the leafy cope which bower’d it o’er
Came gleams of chequer’d light.
So like a temple did it seem, that there
A pious heart’s first impulse would be prayer.” *

Some specimens of the Indian fig tree are
mentioned as being of immense magnitude. One
near Mangee, twenty miles to the westward of
Patna, in Bengal, spread over a diameter of 370
feet. The entire circumference of the shadow
at noon was 1116 feet, and it required 920 feet
to surround the fifty or sixty stems by which
the tree was supported. Another covered an
area of 1700 square yards; and many of almost
equal dimensions are found in different parts of
India and Cochin China, where the tree grows
in the greatest perfection, The fruit is small,
not exceeding the size of a hazle nut, and is of
no use.

Tur Mancrove (rhizophora mangle). Dode-
candria, monogynia, of Linneus. This singular
tree is a native of the East Indies and other tro-
pical climates, where it grows in swampy situa-
tions on the coast, and penetrates even within
low water mark of thesea. It attains the height
of forty to fifty feet, and is an evergreen.

Dampier thus gives an accurate description of
it. “The red mangrove groweth commonly by
the sea side, or by rivers or creeks. It always
grows out of many roots, about the bigness of a
man’s leg, some bigger, some less, which, at about
six, eight, or ten feet above the ground, join into
one trunk or body, that seems to be supported
by so many artificial stakes. Where this sort
of tree grows it is impossible to march, by rea-
son of these stakes, which grow so mixed one
among another, that I have, when forced to go
through them, gone half a mile and never set my
foot on the ground, stepping from root to root,
The timber is hard, and good for many uses.
The inside of the bark is red, and it is used for
tanning of leather very much all over the West
Indies.”

What adds to the singularity of this tree is,
that the seeds begin to germinate and send out
roots while they are yet attached to the parent

* Southey’s Curse of Kehama.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

branches, This is the natural way in which the
tree is propagated, by their roots descending and
fixing themselves in the earth. The mangrove
gave rise to the fable of oysters growing from
trees, because, from its situation on the sea shores,
and within tide mark, it becomes a favourite
resort of those shell-fish, which cling to its
branches, and thus have the appearance of grow-
ing from them.t

An extract has been prepared by boiling the
bark in water, and then evaporating the solution
till it becomes of the consistence of pitch. This
extract is said to possess the tanning property in
a very perfect degree; and by being prepared on
the spot where the tree grows, a great saving of
carriage and other expenses might be made.

Tue Umsretia TREE (magnolia tripelata), a
species of magnolia, a native of North America,
has received this name from the form and posi-
tion of its leaves, These leaves are from twelve
to fifteen inches long, and: five to six inches in
breadth, narrowing to a point at each extremity,
and placed at the ends of the branches in a cir-
cular manner, like an umbrella. The flowers,
like all those of the magnolia family already
described, are large, and of a beautiful white
colour.

There is another tree, a native of India, which
has also obtained the name of umbrella tree from
the form of its branches, which spread out near
the top into a close and very regular flat dome
or circle. This tree affords the natives a shade
from the sun, or a protection from the rain, and
in this respect serves the purpose of an umbrella.

Tue Boaxos, adansonia digitata ; monodelphia,
polyandria, of Linneus, is a native of Western
Africa, and is likewise said to be found in Egypt
and Abyssinia; it is cultivated in many of the
warmer parts of the world. There seems to be
no doubt but that it is the largest known tree,
its trunk being sometimes not less than thirty
feet in diameter.

In Adanson’s account of Senegal, some calcu-
lations are made regarding the growth of this
tree, founded on the evidence of the annular
layers. The height of its trunk by no means
corresponds with the thickness which it attains.
Thus, according to his calculations, at one year
old its diameter is one inch, and its height five
inches; at thirty years old it has attained a
diameter of two feet, while its height is only
twenty-two feet, and so on; till, at 1,000 years
old, the boabob is fourteen feet broad, and fifty-
eight feet high; and at 5,000 years the growth
laterally has so outstripped its perpendicular
height, that the trunk will be thirty feet in
diameter, and only seventy-three feet high. The
roots, again, are of a most extraordinary length;
so that in a tree with a stein seventy-seven feet

+ See Plate VIL, Fig. 9.
DRAGON’S BLOOD TREE.

round, the main branch or tap root measures 110
feet in length.*

It often happens that the profusion of leaves
and of drooping boughs almost hide the stem,
and the whole forms a hemispherical mass of
verdure, 140 to 150 feet in diameter, and sixty
to seventy feet high. The wood is pale-coloured,
light, and soft; so that in Abyssinia the wild
bees perforate it and lodge their honey in the
hollow, which honey is considered the best in
the country. The negroes on the western coast,
again, apply their trunks to a very extraordinary
purpose. The tree is liable to be attacked by a
fungus, which, vegetating in the woody part
without changing the colour or appearance,
destroys life, and renders the part so attacked
as soft as the pith of trees in general. Such

trunks are then hollowed into chambers; and’

within these are suspended the dead bodies of those
to whom are refused the honour of burial. There
they become mummies, perfectly dry, and well
preserved, without further preparation orembalm-
ing, and are known by the name of giuriots.
The boabob is emollient and mucilaginous:
the pulverised leaves constitute Jado, a favourite
article with the natives, which they mix with
their daily food to diminish excessive perspira-
tion; and which is even used by Europeans in
fevers and diarrheas. The flowers are large,
white, and handsome; and in their first expan-
sion bear some resemblance to the white poppy,
having snow-white petals, and violet-coloured
stamens. Both flowers and fruit are pendant,
and the leaves drop off before the periodical rains
come on. The fruit has already been described;
it is of an oblong shape, of considerable size,
and tastes like ginger-bread, with a pleasant acid
flavour. The expressed juice, when mixed
with sugar, forms a cooling drink, much used
in putrid fevers: this juice also is generally
used as a seasoning for corn-gruel and other
food.

Dragon’s Buoop TREE, (dracena draco). Hexz-
andria, monogynia, of Linneus. This tree is a
native of the East Indies, but is found in the
Canary islands, growing to an immense size. It
has a singular appearance,t which can be better
understood by a figure than by description.
Humboldt describes one he saw in the Canary
islands as forty-five feet in circumference. Ac-
cording to Sir George Staunton’s measurement,
one he saw was twelve feet in diameter at about
ten feet from the ground. It is held in great
veneration by the Guanchos, or inhabitants of
these islands; is of extremely slow growth, and
endures for ages. It and the boabob tree are
perhaps the oldest vegetable inhabitants of the
globe.

At certain times the trunk cracks in various

* See Plate XI. fig.2. +See Plate VII. fig. 3.

 

479

parts, and emits a gum which concretes into
tears, and is the red substance commonly known
as dragon’s blood. Other trees, however, yield
a substance similar to this, although not reckoned
so genuine. It being originally a native of the
East Indies, the high veneration in which it is
held by the Guanchos of the Canary islands,
would indicate its introduction into those islands
from the Indian continent; as also the original
country of the primitive inhabitants of those
islands.

Dragon’s blood was at one time highly esteemed
in medicine; but it is now little used. It pos-
sesses astringent properties in a very considerable
degree.

Panpanus. There are several species of this
family natives of the East and West Indies.

The Green-spined Pandanus (p. odoratis-
simus), is a large spreading, branching bush,
with imbricated leaves, which embrace the stem,
bearing some resemblance to those of the pine
apple. They are from three to five feet long,
and are placed in three spiral rows round the
extremities of the branches.

It grows in all soils and situations in the warm
parts of Asia. It grows readily from branches,
whence it is rare to find the full grown ripe fruit.
The tender white leaves of the flowers, chiefly
those of the male, yield that most delightful
fragrance for which they areso generally esteemed,
and for which the plant is cultivated in Japan.
Of all perfumes it is by far the richest, and ‘most
powerful. The lower pulpy part of the drupe,
is sometimes eaten by the natives in times of
scarcity and famine. The tender white base of
the leaves is also eaten, raw or boiled, at such
times of scarcity. The taste of the pulpy part
of the drupe is very disagreeable. The roots are
composed of tough fibres, which basket makers
use to tie their work with. They are so soft
and spongy, as to serve the natives for corks.
The leaves are composed of longitudinal tough
fibres, which are used for various purposes. In
the South sea islands, where the pandanus is
also a native, this or some other species or variety,
is employed for making mats. The leaves are
beautifully white and glossy. In the Sandwich
islands these mats are handsomely worked in a
variety of patterns, and stained of different
colours. The branches being of a soft, spongy,
juicy nature, cattle will feed on them when cut
into pieces. At Otaheite, they call this tree
wharra.

SNAKEWooD (secropia peltata). This tree is
a native of Jamaica, is singular in having the
trunk and branches hollow everywhere, and
sloped from space to space with membranaceous
septas or divisions, and answering to so many
annual marks on the surface. The leaves are
large, peltate, lobed like those of the papaw tree,
and placed at the ends of the branches. The
480

fruit rises from the summit of a peduncle, and
shoot into four, five, or more cylindrical berries,
composed of a row of little acini, something like
the common raspberry, which they resemble also
in flavour, and are agreeable to most European
palates on that account.

The wood, when dry, readily takes fire by
attrition; and from this the native Indians have
taken the hint, and kindle their fires in the
woods by rubbing a piece of it against some
harder wood. The bark is strong and fibrous,
and is frequently used for all sorts of cordage.
The trunk is very light, and for that reason
much used for bark-logs and fishing floats. The
smaller branches, when cleared of the divisions
inside, serve for wind instruments. Both trunk
and branches yield a great quantity of fine salt,
which is much used among the French to refine
and granulate their sugars. Pigeons and other
birds feed readily on the fruit, and thus the tree
is extensively propagated.

Porsonous Trees. The upas tree (antiares
toxicaria_), has been fabled to diffuse a poisonous
atmosphere around it, which is fatal to all animals
that come within its influence. There is no
truth in this assertion, although the inspissated
juice of this tree, which belongs to the natural
family urticeew, is highly poisonous when taken
into the stomach. Another, the manchineal trev,
is also possessed of a highly acrid and poisonous
juice. This tree grows to a vast size on the coasts
of the Caribbean islands, and neighbouring
continent. The leaves are ovate, serrated, acute,
and shining. The fruit falls from the tree spon-
taneously, strewing the ground in immense
numbers,

This fruit is highly poisonous. The whole
tree abounds with a white milky juice, which
is also of an acrid, poisonous quality. If asingle
drop of this juice falls on the skin, it causes a
sensation like the touch of a hot iron, and raises
a blister on the part. It is a common belief in
that country, that to sleep under its branches
will cause death. But Jaquin and his companions
proved the fallacy of this, by sitting under it for
three hours at a time with impunity. The
wood is beautifully variegated with brown and
white, and is highly prized for furniture and
ornaments. The workmen who fell the trees
first kindle a fire round the stem, by which
means the juice becomes so much inspissated, as
not to flow out when wounds are made with
their axes. Whole woods on the sea coast of
Martinique have been burnt in order to clear
the country of such a dangerous plant.

Tur Tattow TREE (croton sebiferum), is
remarkable in yielding a substance very much
resembling tallow in consistence, in colour, and
even in smell. This tree grows abundantly in
China, where the inhabitants convert its produce
into candles,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Mr Clarke Abel describes it as being one of
the largest, the most beautiful, and the most
widely diffused, of the plants found by him in
China. Te first saw it a few miles south of Nan-
kin, whence it occurred in greater or less abun-
dance all the way to Canton. “ We often saw
it,” he says, “imitating the oak in the height of
its stem, and the spread of its branches. Its
foliage has the green and lustre of the laurel. Its
small flowers, of a yellow colour, are borne at
the ends of its terminal branches. Clusters of
dark-coloured seed-vessels succeed them in au-
tumn; and, when matured, burst asunder and
disclose seeds of a delicate whiteness.”

The seed-vessels are hard brownish husks, not
unlike those of chestnuts, and each of them con-
tains three round delicately white kernels, resem-
bling in size and shape our ordinary hazel-nuts,
but having small stones in the interior. It is
the hard white oleaginous substance surrounding
these stones which possesses most of the proper-
ties of tallow ; but on stripping it off it does not
soil the hands. From the shell and stone, or
the seed, oil is extracted, so that this fruit pro-
duces tallow for candles, and oil for lamps. To
obtain its useful extract, the Chinese subject the
fruit of the tallow-tree to much the same pro-
cess as the seed of the camellia oleifera, or oil
plant. It is ground in a trunk of a tree which
is hollowed out, shaped like a canoe, lined with
iron, and firmly fixed in the ground, Length-
ways within this hollowed trunk there moves
backwards and forwards a mill-stone, whose axis
is fixed to a long pole laden with a heavy weight
to increase the pressure, and suspended from a
beam. The pendulum-like motion is given by a
man or boy who grasps the pole, and with very
little exertion sways it from side to side. Afte:
the seed has been thus pounded, it is thrown,
with a small quantity of water, into a large iron
vessel, exposed to fire, and reduced by heat into
a thick consistent mass. It is then put hot into
a case consisting of four or five broad iron hoops,
piled one above the other, and lined with straw,
and then pressed down with the feet as closely as
possible till it fills the case. It is then carried
to the press.

Another, and perhaps a more generally adop-
ted process is, merely to boil the bruised seed in
water, and to collect the tallowy matter that
floats to the surface. A certain quantity of some
vegetable oil, occasionally in as great a propor-
tion as three pounds to every ten pounds pro-
cured from the tallow-tree, is mixed up with it.

It is not so consistent as tallow, and therefore
to promote the better cohesion of the material,
the candles made of it are dipped in wax ; this
external coating hardens them, and preserves
them from guttering. The combustion of these
candles is described as being less perfect, yield-
ing a thicker smoke, a dimmer light, and con-
THE PINEY TREE.

suming much more rapidly than ours. These
serious defects are perhaps attributable in a great
measure to the unappropriateness of the wick
employed, whichis merely a little rod of dry
light wood (generally bamboo), with the pith of
arush wound round it; the pores of this pith
serving as a medium to convey to the wood the
inflammable matter with which it is surrounded.

Father D’Incarville mentions, in a letter writ-
ten by him from Pekin, and published in the
Philosophical Transactions for 1753, that almost
all the candles sold in the southern provinces of
China are made with tallow prepared from these
berries. There are very few sheep in that part
of the country ; animal tallow is therefore very
scarce, and this vegetable production is in con-
sequence held in high estimation.

Tue Pinzy Tree (vateria Indica) growing on
the coast of Malabar, yields 2 substance very
much resembling that of the croton sebiferum.
The peculiar product of this tree is fully described
in an interesting paper on the subject, by Dr
Benjamin Babington, who, from many experi-
ments, has shown that its inflammable proper-
ties admirably adapt it for the manufacture of
candles, it being in every way superior to animal
tallow.

The useful matter is obtained by simply boil-
ing the pulpy fruit of the piney tree in water,
when the fused vegetable tallow rises to the sur-
face, and, on cooling, forms a solid cake. No
farther preparation is necessary, This substance
is generally white, sometimes yellow, unctuous
to the touch, “ with some degree of waxiness,
almost tasteless, and has an agreeable odour
somewhat resembling common cerate.” It takes
a liquid form at the temperature of 973° Fah-
renheit, and consequently generally remains solid
in India, in which respect it differs from palm
or cocoa-nut oil. Its specific gravity at the
melting point, or 974°, is ‘8965, and at 60°, is
9260.

A piece of this tallow enveloped in folds of
blotting paper was submitted to strong pressure,
and scarcely sufficient elain, or pure oil, was
expressed to imbue the inmost fold. Its tenacity
and solidity are so great, that the united efforts
of two strong men were in vain exerted to cut a
round piece of nine pounds weight asunder with
a fine iron wire, and it was no easy task to effect
a division even with the assistance of a saw. Dr
B. Babington likewise remarked that, “on a
fracture being made, it exhibits a crystalline
structure in small aggregated spheres, composed
of radii emanating from a centre, not unlike the
form of Wavellite.” Animal tallow, when melted
into large casks, and slowly cooled, has a some-
what similar appearance.

When piney tallow is manufactured into can-
dles, they come from the mould freely, differing
in this respect from wax, which it is found diffi-

 

481

cult to cast. These candles afford as strong a
light as those made of animal tallow, and have
the great advantage of being free from the unplea-
sant odour of the animal substance.

Piney tallow readily unites in all proportions
with wax, spermaceti, and tallow, forming, when
mixed with spermaceti and wax, a compound
which fuses at a temperature approximating to
their mean melting point, according to their rela-
tive proportions, A mixture with any of these
ingredients has been found to form a better can-
dle than when the pure and more fusible sub-
stance is alone employed. Dr B. Babington made
several experiments to discover its inflamma-
bility compared with other substances; and
ascertained with tolerable accuracy, that the
piney tallow approaches nearer to animal fat in
its rate of combustion than to spermaceti or
wax, and that, all circumstances being similar,
a less weight was consumed of this in a given
time than of either of the other substances.

The natives have never hitherto applied this
vegetable product as a means of affording light.
Its concrete form is probably the cause of their
having neglected it; as a solid substance is never
used in India for feeding the flame of their wicks,
and candles are unknown there. Their lamps
are supplied with many fluid vegetable oils, which
their country yields in profusion. The product
of the piney tree is, however, employed medici-
nally by the Indians, who consider it as an
excellent application for bruises and rheumatic
pains.

A resin, very nearly similar in its properties
to that of copal, exudes from the same tree, and
furnishes a very durable natural varnish. ‘This
resin, when mixed up with the tallow of the
piney tree, is used as a substitute for tar, in
smearing the bottoms of boats.

The vateria Indica grows very commonly
throughout the western coast of the peninsula
of India, as far northward as the extreme limit
of the province of Canara. A plentiful supply
might therefore be readily obtained, which could
be imported into this country at one-fourth the
price of wax. Although it may not possess all
the advantages of that substance, it is still con-
siderably superior to animal tallow.

Tue Pitcuer Piant, nepenthes distillatoria ;
dieecia, monodelphia, of Linneus. This, though
a herbaceous plant, may be included among the
more singular productions of the vegetable
kingdom. It is a native of China and the East
Indies, and grows in marshy situations. The
flower isa panicle. The leaves are sessile, oblong,
and terminated at the extremities by a cylin-
drieal, hollow vessel, exactly resembling a com-
mon water pitcher.

This pitcher is furnished with a lid, which
opens and shuts by the contractions of a mem-
branous hinge. In its native state this cup is

3 P
482

found filled with fluid secreted from the juices
of the plant. What is remarkable, this fluid,

177.

 

Pitcher Plant,

is a pure and wholesome water, while the water
of the soil in which the plant grows, is stagnant
and unwholesome. From forty to fifty of these
eups grow on a plant, each holding about an
ounce or two of water.

This plant thrives, with care and attention, in
hot-houses in this country, where the pitchers
are fully developed. It requires a very damp
atmosphere, and much heat.

CHAP. XLVI.

THE SPICE TREES AND PLANTS—CINNAMON, CAMPHOR,
CLOVE, PEPPER, GINGER, &c,

Tue plants to be treated of in this chapter
are distinguished by their aromatic qualities,
depending on the existence of an essential oil,
either diffused throughout the whole plant, or
existing in the bark, fruit, or roots.

These aromatic species have been used as lux-
uries, and perhaps formed the first articles of
commerce among the earliest races of mankind.
In eastern countries, from the earliest times,
they were employed as perfumes, and entered into
the composition of most of their culinary
dishes. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans
used them in profusion both as articles of luxury,
and at their religious ceremonies and funeral
obsequies. Nor are they less esteemed by the
moderns, or the inhabitants of the more tem-
perate and colder regions of the globe. Into
every country almost, are these fragrant and
stimulating substances diffused by the universal
agency of commerce.

THe CINNAMON TREE (laurus cinnamomum ).
Natural family laurinee: ; enneandria, monogynia,
of Linneus. This valuable and beautiful species
of the laurel family, grows to the height of
twenty to thirty feet. The trunk is short, erect,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

with wide spreading branches, and a smooth ash-
coloured bark. The leaves stand in opposite
pairs upon short footstalks; they are oval, three
to five inches long, of a bright green above, and
pale beneath, and traversed longitudinally by
three whitish nerves. The flowers are in panicles,
with six small petals; they have no show, and
have a slight, rather foetid odour. The fruit is
the size of a middling olive, soft, insipid, and of
a deep blue. It encloses a nut, the kernel of
which germinates soon after it falls, and there-
fore cannot easily be transported to a distance.
The timber is white, and not very solid; the root
is thick and branching, and exudes abundance
of camphor. The inner bark forms the cinnamon
of commerce.

This tree is a native of Ceylon, to which place
it was at one time thought that it was entirely
confined; but it isnow known to grow plentifully
in Malabar, Cochin-China, Sumatra, and the
eastern islands; and it has beef cultivated in the

178.

  
 

    

s

me
N

  

Cinnamon Tree.

Brazils, the Mauritius, India, Jamaica, and other
tropical localities. There are probably many
varieties, and several species of this tree, modified
by soil andclimate. The soil in which it thrives
best is nearly pure quartz sand. That of the
cinnamon garden near Colombo, in Ceylon, was
found by Dr Davy to consist of 98.5 of siliceous
sand, and of only one part of vegetable matter
in the hundred. The garden is nearly on a level
with the lake of Colombo; its situation is shel-
tered; the climate is remarkably damp; showers
are frequent; and the temperature is high, and
uncommonly equable.

Although, ever since the Dutch first had a
settlement in Ceylon, cinnamon was made by
them a lucrative article of trade, and one which
they strove by every means wholly to mono-
polize, this tree was not made by them an object
of cultivation in the island until 1766. Before
THE CINNAMON TREE,

that period cinnamon was collected in the forests
and jungles, since an idea prevailed that its
excellence depended on its spontaneous growth,
and that if once subjected to culture, it would
no longer be genuine.

When Falk was appointed governor of Ceylon,
he felt the inconvenience of depending for a
regular supply on such a resource, the more
especially as the greater part of the cinnamon
trees lay in the dominions of the king of Candy,
who frequently, with or without apparent reason,
refused the cinnamon peelers admission into his
dominions, and the Dutch were, in consequence,
often restricted to less than half their required
annual exports.

Governor Falk, in his attempt to remedy this
evil, by cultivating the cinnamon tree in the
territory belonging to the Dutch, was discouraged
by the prejudices of the natives, and discounte-
nanced by the parsimony of the Supreme Govern-
ment of Batavia. It was said, “for one hundred
and fifty years Ceylon had supplied the requisite
quantity of cinnamon, the expense of which
was ascertained and limited: why then risk the
success of a new plan, attended with extraordi-
nary charges.” This public spirited governor
nevertheless persevered in his undertaking, and
to his success the English owe the flourishing
state in which they found the cinnamon planta-
tions of Ceylon, when they captured that island.
This tree is now cultivated in four or five very
large gardens, the extent of which may in some
measure be imagined by the quantity of cimamon
annually exported thence, amounting to more
than 400,000 Ibs.; and from the number of
people who are employed in the cinnamon
department, these being from twenty-five to
twenty-six thousand persons.

The trade in this produce had always been a
monopoly; during the government of the Dutch,
this was enforced with an excessive degree of
rigour, at which humanity revolts. Itis painful
to contemplate man, when greediness for exclu-
sive gains, the meanest of all motives, incites
him to acts of oppression and tyranny. “The
selling or giving away the smallest quantity of
cinnamon (even were it but a single stick), the
exporting of it, the peeling of the bark, extract-
ing the oil either from that or the leaves, or the
camphor from the roots, except by the servants
of government, and by their order, as well as
the wilful injuring of a cinnamon plant, were
all made crimes, punishable with death, both
on the persons committing them, and upon every
servant of government who should connive
at it.”

In order to keep up the price of the spices,
the Dutch government was formerly accustomed
to have these destroyed, when supposed to be
accumulated in too large quantities. Sometimes,
it was said, this oriental produce was thrown

 

483

into the sea, and sometimes the work of destruc-
tion was accomplished by other means. M.
Beaumare relates, that on the 10th June, 1760,
he beheld, near the Admiralty at Amsterdam, a
blazing pile of these aromatics, which were
valued at eight millions of livres, and an equal
quantity was to be burnt on the ensuing day.
The air was perfumed with this incense, the
essential oils, freed from their confinement, dis-
tilled over, mixing in one spicy stream, which
flowed at the feet of the spectators; but no
person was suffered to collect any of this, nor
on pain of heavy punishment to rescue the
smallest quantity of the spice from the wasting
element!

The cinnamon tree is very difficult to rear in
hot-houses in this country. Yet many plants
are to be seen, which regularly flower and ripen
their seeds in Britain.

Cassia, or Bastard Cinnamon (1. cassia). This
tree is found in China, and several parts of South
Asia. It yields the same products as the true
cinnamon, but of inferior quality and value;
and thus often serves to adulterate the other.
What are called cassia buds, are the hexangular,
fleshy receptacles of the seeds of the true cinna-~
mon, and perhaps of the cassia trees.

The trees which are cultivated are kept as a
sort of coppice, and numerous shoots spring
apparently from the roots; these are not allowed
to rise higher than ten feet. We are told, that
when the trees first put forth their flame-
coloured leaves and delicate blossoms, the scenery
is exquisitely beautiful. In three years after
planting, each tree affords one shoot fit for cut-
ting, at the fifth year from three to five shoots
may be taken; but it requires the vigour of
eight years’ growth before it yields as many as
ten branches of an inch in thickness. From the
ages of ten to twelve years is the period of its
greatest perfection; but its duration of life is not
limited, as the root spreads, and every year sends
up new shoots or suckers.

Trees which grow in rocky situations, and the
young shoots, when the leaves are of a reddish
colour, yield the best and most pungent aromatic
bark. The tree is known to be in the best state
when the bark separates easily from the wood,
and has the inside covered with a mucilaginous
juice; but if that be not carefully removed, the
flavour of the spice is injured. The shoots are
cut when from half to three-quarters of an inch
in thickness, and in lengths of from two to three
feet. Many hands are employed in this work;
each man is obliged to furnish a certain quantity
of sticks. When this part of his task is fulfilled,
he conveys his fragrant load to a shed allotted
for the purpose, where the bark is instantly
stripped from the wood, and freed from the epi-
dermis, which is scraped off. The fragrance dif-
fused around, during this process, is described as
454

being extremely delightful; but in parts of the
plantation remote from this spot, unless the trees
be agitated with violence, the peculiar smell of
the cinnamon cannot be distinguished. The wood,
deprived of the bark, has no smell, and is used
as fuel.

When the bark is perfectly cleansed it is of a
pale yellow colour, and about the thickness of
parchment. It is then placed on mats, to dry in
the sun, when it curls up, and acquires a darker
tint. The smaller pieces are then put inside the
larger, and the whole close together into the
tubular form in which it is sold in the shops.
When the rind, or part forming the cinnamon,
is first taken from the tree, it is described as con-
sisting of an outer portion which tastes like com-
mon bark, and an inner portion, which is very
sweet andaromatic. In the course of the drying,
the oil of the inner portion, on which the flavour
depends, is communicated to the whole; and the
quality of the entire bark is understood to depend
more upon the relative quantities of those por-
tions of the bark than upon anything else. The
cinnamon of Ceylon has the outer portion much
thinner, in proportion to the inner, than the
cassia of other countries; and to that its higher
pungency is attributed.

Under favourable circumstances, the cinnamon
tree yields a large and a small harvest every
year. The large one is obtained soon after the
fruit is ripe; that is, when the tree has again
pushed out shoots, and the sap is in vigorous
circulation. May and June are the best months
in the year for the great harvest; in November
and December the little harvest is obtained. In
those plantations which belong to government,
however, there is but one harvest, beginning in
May, and ending in October.

Though cinnamon has found a place in our
Pharmacopeia, the purpose to which it has been
applied by the South Americans, invests it with
inedicinal properties, which it is not usually
supposed to possess. ‘One thousand bales
(92,000 Ibs.) are said to be consumed annually
hy the slaves in the mines of South America.
Each receives daily a certain quantity, cut into
pieces one inch in length, which he eats as a
preservative against the noxious effluvia of the
mines.”

Oil of cinnamon was formerly obtained at
Colombo, from distilling the fragments broken
off in packing; latterly a great proportion has
}een made from coarse cinnamon unfit for expor-
tation. A very small quantity of oil is contained
in the bark; three hundred pounds of which are
required to yield twenty-four ounces of oil, and
consequently this is extravagantly dear. When
made from the finest cinnamon its specific gravity
is greater, but from the coarse sort it is less than
that of water.

Tue Camruor Tree (1. camphora). This

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM,

tree grows to a considerable height, dividing into
many branches covered with smooth greenish

 

Camphor Tree.

bark. The leaves are ovate, lance-shaped, entire,
smooth, nerved ; on the upper side of a pale yel-
lowish green colour, on the under glaucous. They
stand upon long footstalks. The flowers are
small, white, destitute of calyx, with a six-petal-
led corolla. The fruit resembles that of the
cinnamon.

This tree is a native of Japan, growing abun-
dantly in the woods of the western part of the
island. It was first cultivated in Britain by
Miller, and is a hardy hot-house plant. The
roots, wood, and leaves have a strong odour of
camphor. This substance is found to lodge every
where in the interstices of the fibres of the wood,
also in the pith, but most abundantly in the ere-
vices and knots. To obtain the camphor, the
parts of the tree are cut into chips, which are
suspended in a net within a kind of still, or iron
pot, the bottom of which is covered with water,
and an earthen head fitted to it. Heat is then
applied, and the steam of the boiling water pene-
trating the contents of the net, elevates the cam-
phor into the capital, where it concretes on straws,
with which this part of the apparatus is lined.

Many other plants yield camphor when treated
in a similar manner. Pure camphor is white,
pellucid, somewhat unctuous, of a bitterish aro-
matic acrid taste, accompanied afterwards by a
sense of coolness, very volatile and inflammable,
and when taken into the stomach, stimulating
and narcotic.

It does not seem to have been known to the
Greeks, but was much used by the Arabian phy-
sicians, and called cafur or canfur. Its odour is
disagreeable, and destroys insects and vermin ;
and it is on this account used in museums,
From its great volatility, however, it soon eva-
porates, unless confined in close boxes or
bottles.

Tue Cove (caryophyllus aromaticus.) Natu-
ral family myrtacee ; icosandria, monogynia, of
THE CLOVE.

Linneus. This tree does not rise to any great
height, the trunk soon dividing into large

  

Clove Tree.

branches, which are covered with a smooth gray-
ish bark. The leaves are large, entire, oblong,
lance-shaped, of a bright green colour, and stand
in pairs upon short footstalks, ;

The flowers grow in bunches at the very extre-
mity of the branches; when they first appear,
which is at the beginning of the rainy season,
they are in the form of elongated greenish buds,
from the extremity of which the corolla is
expanded, which is of a delicate peach-hblossom
colour. When the corolla begins to fade, the
calyx turns yellow, and then red; the calyces,
with the embryo seed, are in this stage of their
growth beaten from the tree, and after being
dried in the sun, are what are known as the
cloves of commerce. If the fruit be allowed to
remain on the tree after arriving at this period,
the calyx gradually swells, the seed enlarges,
and the pungent properties of the clove are in
great part dissipated. Each berry contains only
one seed, which is oval, dark coloured, and of a
considerable size. It is a long time before a
clove-tree yields any profit to the cultivator ; as
after repeated trials, it can be safely said that it
rarely produces fruit till eight or nine years
after being first planted.

The whole tree is highly aromatic, and the
foot-stalks of the leaves have nearly the same
pungency as the calyx of the flowers. “ Clove-
trees,” says Sir T. Raffles, “as an avenue to a
residence, are perhaps unrivalled—their noble
height, the beauty of their form, the luxuriance
of their foliage, and above all, the spicy fragrance
with which they perfume the air, produce, on
driving through a long line of them, a degree of
exquisite pleasure only to be enjoyed in the clear
light atmosphere of these latitudes.”

The clove is a native of most of the Molucca
islands where it has been produced from the ear-

 

485

liest records, so abundantly, that in exchange
for their spicy produce, the inhabitants were
enabled, before the intrusion of the Europeans
into their country, to procure for themselves the
productions which they required of almost every
other region, Although Europeans have for more
than two thousand years known the use of this
spice, yet little more than three hundred years
back they were ignorant whence it was obtained.
The Persians, Arabians, and Egyptians formerly
brought cloves and nutmegs to the ports in the
Mediterranean, and hither the Venetians and
Genoese resorted to buy the spices of India, until
the Portuguese, in 1511, discovered the country
of their production. This nation did not, how-
ever, long enjoy the fruits of its discovery; the
Dutch soon drove them from the Moluccas, and
for a long time maintained a very strict mono-
poly over the productions of these islands. It
is said that they destroyed the clove trees grow-
ing on the other islands, and confined their cul-
ture wholly to Amboyna. They allotted to the
inhabitants four thousand parcels of land, on each
of which it was expected that one hundred and
twenty-five trees should be cultivated; and in
1720 a law was passed compelling the natives to
make up this number: there were in conse-
quence five hundred thousand clove trees planted
in this small island, each of these on an average
produced annually move than two pounds of
cloves, so that the aggregate produce weighed
more than a million of pounds. Subsequently
to this period, the policy of the Dutch somewhat
relaxed, and the tree has been suffered to grow
on other islands, and even to be carried to the
West Indies, where, however, it does not appear
until very lately to have succeeded. Sir Joseph
Banks introduced it into this country about
1797.

The clove seems to have been unknown as an
aromatic spice to the ancients, neither the Greek
nor Roman writers having taken any notice of
it. The Arabians first introduced it as a medi-
cine. The essential oil is used as one of the
most powerful stimulants in cases of gout or
cramp of the stomach, or of paralysis. It will
also be found a useful ingredient to allay the
pain of a carious tooth, when inflammation of
the membranes or gums is not present. Cloves,
in substance, are also used as condiments in
preserves and pickles.

Cloves contain a very large proportion of essen-
tial oil, larger perhaps than any other plant or
parts of aplant. This oil isextremely pungent,
and is one of the few essential oils which is spe-
cifically heavier than water. It is usually pro-
cured by distillation, but when the cloves are
newly gathered, it may be obtained by pressure.
A part is often so taken, and the cloves, which
are thereby rendered of little value, are fraudu-
lently mixed with sound ones; but the robbed
486

cloves are easily detected by their pale colour,
shrivelled appearance, and want of flavour.

The pungent and aromatic virtues of the clove
reside in this essential oil, combined with the
resinous matter of the spice ; but it does not
appear that these qualities are absolutely neces-
sary to the growth or fructification of the tree.
To give to this its greatest value, it must, how-
ever, be cultivated in a situation where they can
be elaborated in the greatest quantity. Its pro-
fitable growth is therefore limited to a very nar-
row range of temperature and climate; as the
clove loses its flavour if the situation be too
moist or too dry, too near the sea, or too much
elevated above its level. Though the tree be
found in the larger islands of Eastern Asia, and
in Cochin China, it has there little or no flavour.
The Moluccas seem to be the only places where
the clove comes to perfection without cultiva-
tion.

This tree is so great an absorbent of moisture
that no herbage will grow under its branches ;
while the cloves, when gathered, if placed in a
heap near a vessel of water, are found very much
to have increased their weight at the end of only
a few hours, in consequence of the large por-
tion of water which they have attracted and
imbibed. It is said that both the grower and
trader in cloves avail themselves of the know-
ledge of this fact, and since this spice is always
sold by weight, thus give a factitious value to
their goods.

Pimento or Jamaica Perrer (myrius pi-
menta.) This is another species of the same

182,

 

Pimento.

family. It is an extremely handsome tree ; a
native of South America and the West Indies,
especially of the island of Jamaica, whence the
berries or pimento of commerce are exported in
large quantities. This tree grows to the height
of about thirty feet, with a smooth brown trunk,
and shining green leaves, resembling those of the
bay; branches, coming out on all sides, are
clothed in the most luxuriant foliage. In the
months of July and August a profusion of white
flowers pleasingly contrast with the dark green
leaves—the whole forming an object of vegetable
beauty rarely surpassed ; while the rich perfume

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

which is exhaled around, and which is wafted
by the gentlest breeze, renders an assemblage of
these trees one of the most delicious plantations
of even a tropical clime. When the leaves are
bruised, they emit a fine aromatic odour as
powerful as that of the fruit; indeed it is said
that they yield by distillation a delicate oil, which
is often used in the dispensaries as a substitute
for oil of cloves.

The pimento tree grows spontaneously in many
parts of Jamaica ; it abounds more particularly
on the northern side of that island, in elevated
spots near the coast. When a new plantation of
these is to be formed, no regular planting or sow-
ing takes place; it is usual to appropriate a
piece of land either in the neighbourhood of a
plantation already formed, or in a part of the
woodlands where these trees are scattered in a
native state. The land is then cleared of all
wood but these trees, which are left standing,
and the felled timber is allowed to remain where
it falls to decay and perish. In the course of a
year young pimento plants are found springing
up on all parts of the land ; produced, it is sup-
posed, in consequence of the ripe berries having
been scattered there by the birds, while the pros-
trate trees protect and shade the tender seedlings.
At the end of two years the land is thoroughly
cleared, only those plants being left which pro-
mise a vigorous growth ; these come to maturity
in about seven years from the first formation of
the plantation, and usually attain to the height
of thirty feet. But though apparently of so easy
propagation, it is only in those parts where the
tree is of spontaneous production. Edwards
observes, that “this tree is purely a child of
nature, and seems to mock all the labours of
man, in his endeavours to extend or improve its
growth: not one attempt in fifty to propagate
the young plants, or to raise them from the seeds,
in parts of the country where it is not found
growing spontaneously, having succeeded.” The
tree was introduced into this country in the early
part of last century, but the fruit does not ripen.
It is delicate and difficult to manage, requiring
at the same time warmth and a great deal of
air.

The flowers scarcely fade and give place to the
berries, ere these are fit for gathering ; since, if
the fruit be suffered to ripen on the tree, it loses
its pungency and becomes valueless. While yet
green, therefore, the berries are carefully picked
by hand; one person on the tree gathers the
small branches; and three others, usually women
and children, find full employment in picking
the berries from these. The produce is then spread
on terraced floors, and exposed to the action of
the solar heat for about a week; in the course of
this time the berries loose their green hue, and
become of a reddish brown. When perfectly
dry, they are in a fit state for exportation.
THE NUTMEG TREE,

In a favourable season the pimento crop is
enormous. “A single tree has been known to
yield one hundred and fifty pounds of the raw
fruit, or one hundred weight of the dried spice ;
there being commonly a loss in weight of about
one-third in curing.” ‘This return is not, how-
ever, of very usual occurrence, as the produce is
variable ; a very plenteous harvest seldom occur-
ring above once in five years. This spice is
chiefly imported from Jamaica, hence the name
Jamaica pepper,

Pimento also combines the flavour and pro-
perties of many of the oriental spices, hence its
popular name of all-spice.

Tne Nurmee Tree (myristica moschata).
Natural family, myristice ; dicecia, monadelphia,

183.

 

Nutmeg.

of Linneus. This tree attains the height of
thirty feet, producing numerous branches. The
bark of the trunk is a reddish brown, that of the
young branches is of a bright green colour. The
leaves are nearly elliptical, pointed, undulated,
obliquely nerved; on the upper side, of a bright
green, on the under, whitish; the male and female
flowers are on different trees.

The flowers of both are small, white, bell-
shaped, and without any calyx; the embryo
fruit appearing at the bottom of the female
flower, in the form of a little reddish knob. The
female flowers grow on slender peduncles, two
or three together, but it is rare that more than
one flower in each bunch comes to maturity and
produces fruit; this resembles in appearance and
size a small peach, but it is rather more pointed
at both ends. The outer coat is about half an
inch thick when ripe, at which time it bursts at
the side and discloses the spices. These are—

The Mace, having the appearance of a leafy
net-work of a fine red colour, which seems the
brighter by being contrasted with the shining
black of the shell that it surrounds. In general,
the more brilliant its hue, the better is its qua-
lity. This is laid to dry in the shade for a short
space; but if dried too much, a great part of its
flavour is lost by evaporation, while it is also

 

487

more apt to break in packing. On the other
hand, if packed too moist, it either ferments or
breeds worms. After being dried, it is packed
in bags and pressed together very tightly.

The Nutmeg. The shell is larger and harder
than that of a filbert, and could not, in the state
in which it is gathered, be broken without injur-
ing the nut. On that account the nuts are suc-
cessively dried in the sun, and then by fire-heat,
till the kernel shrinks so much as to rattle in the
shell, which is then easily broken. After this,
the nuts are three times soaked in sea-water and
lime ; they are then laid in a heap, where they
heat, and get rid of their superfluous moisture
by evaporation. This process is pursued to pre-
serve the substance and flavour of the nut, as
well as to destroy its vegetative power. Dry
lime is the best package for nutmegs.

There are two varieties, the royal and the
green. The royal is the largest, and it produces
mace longer than the nut; on the nut of the
green the mace only reaches half-way down. A
good nutmeg should be large, round, and heavy,
of a light gray colour, and finely marbled in the
cross section.

Oil of nutmegs is obtained by pressure from
the broken kernels ; a pound of them generally
yields three ounces of oil. According to Neu-
mann’s experiments, the oil produced is one
third of the weight of nutmeg; it is yellow, of
the consistence of tallow, and of a pleasant smell.
This is a fixed oil, but a transparent volatile oil
may likewise be obtained by distillation, in the
proportion of one thirty-second part of the weight
of nutmeg used.

The nutmeg is likewise a native of the Mol-
uccas, and after the possession of these islands
by the Dutch, was, like the clove, jealously
made an object of strict monopoly. Actuated
by this narrow-minded policy, the Dutch endea-
voured to extirpate the nutmeg-tree from all the
islands except Banda; but it is said that the
wood-pigeon has often been the unintentional
means of thwarting this monopolizing spirit, by
conveying and dropping the fruit beyond these
limits; thus disseminated, the plant has been
always more widely diffused than the clove.
This tree grows in several islands in the Eastern
ocean, in the southern part of both peninsulas
of India, and it has been introduced into the
Mauritius, and some other places. It was fora
long time supposed that though the plant could
be transplanted, the peculiar aroma of the nut,
which gives to the tree its commercial value, was
weakened, if not entirely lost, when this was
removed from its native soil, and that as a spice-
producing tree, it, as well as the clove, was con-
fined to the same narrow locality to which the
clove was said to be restricted. In Sumatra,
however, it has been successfully cultivated to a
large extent. Sir Thomas Raffles gives an
488

account of the plantation at Bencoolen in 1820:
“Out of the number of one hundred thousand
nutmeg trees,” he writes, “ one-fourth are in full
bearing, and although their culture may be more
expensive, their luxuriance and produce are con-
sidered fully equal to those of the Moluccas.”
An attempt has been made at Trinidad to natu-
ralize there the clove and the nutmeg; and very
recently samples of these spices produced in that
island have been transmitted to England for the
inspection and approval of the Society for the
Encouragement of Arts, &c, The opinions of
the best judges have been taken with respect
to their quality as compared with the Oriental
produce, and, in consequence of a most favour-
able report, the gold medal of the society has
been awarded to the western cultivator of these
spices; while sanguine hopes are entertained
that the clove and the nutmeg will one day be
perfectly acclimatized in the tropical regions of
the western hemisphere. The nutmeg tree, as
well as the clove, was introduced into this coun-
try by Sir Joseph Banks, as an ornamental hot-
house plant.

Buack Perrer (piper nigrum). Natural
family, piperacee; diandria, trigynea, of Linneus.

 

Black Pepper.

There are a number of species in the family
piperacea, all possessing more or less of the warm
aromatic qualities for which the common kinds
are distinguished. The black pepper is a peren-
nial plant, found native upon the slopes of moun-
tains in the southern parts of both the Indian
peninsulas, especially on the coast of Malabar.
It is likewise cultivated to a great extent in
Sumatra, Java, and the adjacent places. Pepper
at one time formed the principal export from
Java; it was chiefly cultivated in Bantam, and
likewise in the dependencies of that province in
the southern part of Sumatra; these districts
producing the greater part of the supply exclu-
sively furnished by the Dutch to the European
market. It is, however, a satisfaction to find,
that the greedy spirit which would appropriate
all to self, may sometimes, in its unjust efforts
to secure this end, defeat its own purpose. We
learn from Sir T.S. Raffles, that “the system by

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

which pepper was procured, was too oppres-
sive and unprincipled in its nature, and too impo-
litic in its provisions, to admit of long duration.
Tt was calculated to destroy the energies of the
country, and with them the source whence the
fruits of the monopoly proceeded. In the year
1811, accordingly, neither Bantam nor its depen-
dencies furnished the European government with
a single pound of this article.”

The system of raising pepper in Java is now,
however, completely changed ; there is no longer
a monopoly, and the cultivation of pepper has
for the last few years been declared free.

This plant was introduced some time back at
Cayenne, by General Bernard, who has with
unceasing perseverance attended to its cultiva-
tion in that settlement, in the hope of making
the French independent of foreign supply for its
produce. It is said that he has already formed
a plantation of more than thirty thousand pepper
trees on his estate.

The pepper-plant, or pepper-vine, as it is
sometimes called, is a creeping or climbing plant,
with a dark coloured stem, which requires sup-
port; and it is usual to plant a thorny tree by
the side of this plant, to which it may cling. In
Malabar, the chief pepper country of India, the
jacea tree (artocarpus integrifolia) is made thus
to yield its support, because the same soil is
well adapted to the growth of both plants.

The stem of the pepper plant entwines round
its support to a considerable height ; the flexile
branches then droop downwards, bearing at their
extremities, as well as at other parts, spikes of
green flowers, which are followed by the pungent
berries ; these hang in large bunches resembling
in shape those of grapes, but the fruit grows dis-
tinct on little stalks like currants. Each berry
contains a single seed, which is of a globular
form and brownish colour, but changes to nearly
a black when dried ; this is the pepper of com-
merce. The leaves somewhat resemble those of
the ivy, but they are larger, and of rather a
lighter colour; they partake strongly of the
peculiar smell and pungent taste of the berry.

The plant is propagated by shoots, which do
not produce fruit the first three years ; the fourth
year they come into bearing, and yield an in-
crease of produce annually until the eight year
of their growth; they then gradually decline,
and rarely bear for more than two or three years
longer. When in full vigour, the pepper plant
is very prolific; each bunch usually contains
from twenty to thirty berries, and sometimes as
much as six or seven pounds of pepper are ob-
tained from one tree. The time of the pepper
harvest on the western coast of Sumatra is usu-
ally about September and October, and some-
times another smaller crop is gathered in March
and April. The pepper plantations on this
island are described as being most carefully cul-
CAJEPUT TREE.

tivated ; not a weed is to be seen, every species
of litter is removed, and if the season be dry, the
plants are watered with unremitting assiduity.

The black and white sorts of pepper are both
the produce of the same plant; the best white
peppers are supposed to be the finest berries
which drop from the tree, and lying under it
become somewhat blanched by exposure to
weather—these the poor people pick up and
bring to the merchants; they are, however,
obtained in very small quantities, and are on
that account, as well as for their’ superior quality,

.sold much dearer than the gathered pepper, which
pepper was formerly thought to be a different
species from the black; and at the East India
sales used to bring them twice the price of the
other. The greater part of the white pepper used
as a condiment, is, however, the black merely
steeped in water and decorticated, by which
means the pungency and real value of the pepper
are diminished; but in this state it can be more
readily reduced to powder, and, when thus pre-
pared, it has a fairer and more uniform appear-
ance,

The pepper is distinguished in Sumatra into
three sorts: the molucea, which is the best; the
second, caytongee; and the worst sort, negaree,
which last is the most abundant; this is a small
pepper usually full of dust; it is much lighter
than the others, and therefore, unless the buyer
be wise enough to purchase his pepper by weight
instead of measure, he will assuredly be imposed
upon, and have this substituted for the heavy
Molucea berry.

By distillation a green-coloured matter is
obtained from pepper; this is partly resinous,
and partly oily, and to this the pepper owes its
pungent quality.

Long Pepper (p. longum). The roots of this
species are perennial; the stems are shrubby,

 

Long Pepper.

round, smooth, branched, slender, and climbing,
but do not rise to any considerable height. The
leaves differ much in size and form; they are
commonly heart-shaped, pointed, entire, smooth,
nerved, of a deep green colour, and stand alter-
nately upon footstalks; the flowers are small, and
produced in short, dense, termiual spikes, which

 

489

are nearly cylindrical. The berries or grains
are very small, and lodged in a pulpy matter
like those of the black pepper; they are first
green, and become a dark red or black, when
ripe.

It is a native of Java, Malabar, and Bengal.
It is most pungent when gathered in its green
state, before full maturity. It is afterwards
dried in the sun, and assumes a black colour.

Caserur Tree (melaleuca leucodendron ).
Natural family myrtacee ; polyad Iphia, polyan-
dria, of Linnezus, This tree rises with a long
flexible trunk, sending off irregular ascending
branches, covered with a pale, thick, lamellated,
tough bark. The leaves are linear, lanceolate,
entire; of an ash colour, and placed alternately
on short footstalks. The flowers are sessile,
white, and in the form of a long spike. This
tree is a native of India, and yields the aromatic
oil known under the name of cajeput oil. The
leaves, which have a highly aromatic odour, yield
by distillation this oil. It is highly volatile and
stimulating, resembling in odour camphor, or
rosemary, or the odour of cardamom seeds.

It is imported into Europe from the East
Indies; and is distilled chiefly in the island of
Banda. It is used in medicine as a powerful
stimulant and antispasmodic, and seems similar
in its effects to the others. The dose is from
two to twelve drops. Externally, it isemployed
in rheumatic pains.

Carpamom (amomum repens). Natural family
scitamenez ; monandria, monogynia, of Linneus,
This is a perennial herbaceous plant, with an
erect, sheathy stalk, and lanceolate leaves. The
flower stalk proceeds immediately from the root,
and creeps along the ground; it is commonly
about afoot and ahalf in length, with numerous
small white flowers. Several small dark-coloured
seeds are contained in a triangular capsule. It
is a native of the East Indies, and grows abun-
dantly on the Malabar coast. There are several
species, or perhaps varieties, distinguished chiefly
by the size of the seeds.

‘The lesser cardamom is that usually imported
into this country. These seeds contain an aro-
matic oil, and mucilage, both which is readily
given out in aqueous infusions. Their flavour
is agreeable, and similar to the other camphor-
aceous plants. The seeds are used chiefly in
medicine.

Caraway, carum carui; pentandria, digynia,
of Linneus. This is a well known plant, of the
family umbellifere. It is a biennial, and bears
its seeds the second year. ‘The stem and leaves
of this plant have a sweetish, aromatic taste; and
the seeds contain a pleasant aromatic oil, which
is obtained by distillation. The seeds are used
in confectionaries; and both they and the oil are
carminative, and gently stimulating.

GincEr, zingiber officinale ; monandria, mono-

3Q
490

gynia, of Linneus, is a native of the south-east
of Asia and the adjacent isles, It was naturalized

 

Ginger.

in America very soon after the discovery of that
country by the Spaniards; indeed, at so early a
period that it is scarcely believed to be an exotic,
and is supposed to have been found indigenous
in the Western World. Acosta relates that a
person named Francisco de Mendoza, first trans-
planted it from the East Indies into New Spain,
where its cultivation was diligently pursued by
the Spanish Americans to no small extent, as,
from the testimony of the same author, 22,053
cwt. were exported thence to Europe in the year
1547.

The plant is now cultivated in great quantities
in the West Indies, especially in the’ island of
Jamaica. Ginger is imported into this country
under the form of dried roots, and as a preserve.
We receive it both from the East and West
Indies, but that from the latter is much superior
in quality to the former. British plantation
ginger pays eleven shillings per cwt., import
duty, and all other is not admitted under fifty-
three shillings per cwt.; these two causes unite
in confining the home consumption of ginger
almost entirely to that coming from the West
Indies,

The ginger plant has been cultivated in this
country as a stove exotic since about the year
1600. It has a perennial root, which creeps and
increases under ground in tuberous joints, from
each of which arises in the spring a green reed-
like stalk of about two feet and a half in height,
having narrow and lanceolate leaves. The stem
is annual; the flowering stalk rises directly from
the root, ending in an oblong scaly spike; from
each of these scales a single white and blue
flower is produced. The ginger of commerce is
distinguished into black and white; but the

 

difference of colour depends wholly on the modes
of preparation. For both of these kinds the’

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

tubers are allowed to be ripe, that is, the roots
are taken up after the annual stalks are withered.
For the black, they are scalded in boiling water,
and then dried in the sun; and for the white,
they are scraped clean and dried carefully without
being scalded. The best and soundest roots are
selected for the latter process, and therefore
white ginger is, independent of the manner of
preparation, superior to the black, and it always
bears amuch higher price in the market. When
a preserve is to be made of the roots, they are
dug up in the sap, the stalks not being more
than five or six inches long. For this purpose
the young roots are scalded, then washed in cold
water, and afterwards carefully peeled. This
process lasts for three or four days, during which
period the water is frequently changed.

When the cleansing is complete, the tubers
are put into jars, and covered with weak syrup
of sugar. After a day or two the weak syrup
is removed, and replaced by a stronger; and the
shifting is two or three times repeated, increasing
the strength of the syrup each time. The pre-
serve thus formed is one of the finest that is
made; and the removed syrups are not lost, but
fermented into a pleasant liquor, which gets the
name of “cool drink.”

Tur Capsicum (natural family solanew ), is a
native of tropical regions, but is become so far

 

Capsicum,

acclimatised in this country as to be successfully
reared, and during summer to endure the open
air uninjured.

Three species of capsicum are cultivated in
England.

The Guinea Pepper (capsicum annuum), was
introduced into England, from India, so early
as 1548, and is mentioned by Gerarde as being
under cultivation in his time. This plant has a
branchy stem, rising about two feet high; the
leaves are long, narrow, and of a dark green
colour. White flowers bloom in June or July,
and are succeeded by pods varying in shape and
colour; some being long, others short, some
round, and others again heart-shaped, while the
colour is either red or yellow.

The Cherry Pepper (capsicum cerasiforme ),
is a native of the West Indies, and was not
CAYANNE PEPPER.

cultivated in England until 1759. This species
is very similar in appearance to the first, and is
only characterised by the different shape of the
pods, which take somewhat the form of acherry;
sometimes heart-shaped, bell-shaped, or angular;
their colour is the same as the preceding. Both
these species are annuals,

The Bell Pepper (capsicum grossum), is a
biennial, a native of India; it produces larger
pods than either of the others. It may be trans-
planted with safety in the open garden, on the
arrival of summer, requiring a place in the stove
during the winter season.

The green pods of all these varieties are used
for pickling; those of the last are generally pre-
ferred, being not only larger, but having the
skin more pulpy and tender.

Cayanne Prrrer (c. baccatum), commonly
called bird pepper, is gathered when ripe, dried
in the sun, pounded and mixed with salt; it
is then kept stopt in bottles, and is known under
the name of cayanne. There are many other
species of this genus, differing from each other
in bearing fruit of various size, shape, and
colour; -but they all have, in a certain degree,
the same pungent qualities; the smallest possess-
ing them with the greatest intensity. They are
natives of most of the tropical regions, but are
most abundant, and most used in the western
hemisphere. In the West Indies, and in some
parts of South America, they form, either in
substance or in powder, an ingredient to almost
every dish.

A mixture of sliced cucumbers, shallots, or
onions, cut very small, a little lime juice, and
Madeira wine, with a few pods of bird pepper
well mashed, and mixed with the liquor, is
reckoned an unfailing stimularit to the appetite
in the West Indies, and is called man-dram.

THE Carer (capparis spinosa); polyandria,
monogynia, of Linneus, is a native of Italy and

188.

 

Caper Plant,

Sicily. It was introduced into this country as
an exotic so early as 1596. Modern horticul-
turists are of opinion that with care it might be
raised in the open air in England, but this has
never yet been accomplished to any useful extent.
One instance, indeed, is recorded by Neill, of a

 

491

caper tree standing alive in the open air for
nearly a century; this was in the garden at
Campden House, Kensington. This plant was
sheltered from the north, and remained uncovered
during winter. It was generally much injured
by frost; but the roots being particularly strong
and vivacious, it sent out strong shoots, and
produced flower buds every year. In France
the caper tree has been long naturalized, being
cultivated in the vicinity of Paris with no other
shelter than a low wall, against which it is
trained; in winter, the shoots are laid down, and
covered with litter or fern. Near Toulon it is
not trained in this manner, but overspreads the
ground in the manner of brambles. It is a
trailing shrub, and in the southern parts of
Europe, where it is found native, grows very
abundantly out of the joints of old walls, the
fissures of rocks, and amongst ruins. The stem
is ligneous, sending out many lateral branches;
the shoots rise two or three feet, and then become
procumbent. From under each of the branches
proceed two crooked spines; immediately above
these the petioles of the kidney-shaped leaves
are produced. White flowers, growing on long
peduncles, would, if allowed to remain, bloom
through the summer; but before they expand,
their buds, with the empalements, are plucked
and used for pickling. A large quantity of these,
which form a well known pickle, is annually
imported into England, from Italy and ports in
the Mediterranean. |

Inpran Cress or Nasturtium (tropeolum majus
and minus.) Octandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
This plant is a native of Parma, where it is a
hardy perennial. In this country, though it
thrives well in the open air, it only lasts for one
season, being unable to endure the cold of win-
ter.

There are two species, the small and large nas-
turtium, the latter of which is the hardiest, and
that usually cultivated. They will thrive in
almost any soil, but prefer a light fresh loam; as
the plant is a creeper, it requires to be trained to
a fence, wall, or trellice. The seeds are employed
as a pickle, and are used as a substitute for
capers, many preferring them to that seed. The
flowers and under leaves are also eaten as sal-
lads. There is a variety with double flowers,
which is propagated by cuttings. The daughter
of the celebrated Linneus observed, that in the
evening these flowers emit spontaneously at cer-
tain intervals visible electric sparks.

This plant was introduced into Britain in
1686, and is very commonly cultivated in gar-
dens, both for show and use.

Tue Laprara, a natural family of plants which
are found chiefly in the temperate regions of the
globe, is remarkable for containing numerous
genera possessing an aromatic odour and pun-
gent flavour. They owe this quality to the
492

existence of an aromatic oil, which they yield in
distillation. This oil differs in its odour accord-
ing to the species from which it is procured; but
the essential ingredient of the whole tribe is cam-
phor, or a matter very nearly allied to this sub-
stance, which, as we have seen, is found in such
abundance in tropical plants.

A large proportion of the labiate are natives
of Britain; some are mere weeds, and others use-
ful herbs; all are perfectly harmless; and to them
we owe much of the fragrant odour of our fields
and meadows. Thus we have on our dry heaths
and downs the sweet-smelling thyme, the balmy
calamint, the rosemary, and many others, while
the peppermints correct the chill and_pesti-
lent odours arising from marshes and stagnant
pools.

The mints, thyme, rosemary, sage, basil, mar-
joram, and several others, are employed in giv-
ing an odour to various meats.

Mint (Mentha). There are numerous species
of this genus, three of which are commonly used.

Peppermint (m. piperita), has oboval, pointed,
and serrated leaves, a strong aromatic smell, and
pungent penetrating taste, succeeded by a sensa-
tion of coldness. It is chiefly used for obtaining
oil of peppermint by distillation, and for this
purpose is extensively cultivated in low, rich, and
marshy lands. To keep up its quality, the roots
are transplanted every three years. The leaves
must be pulled in dry weather.

Spearmint (m. viridis), has lanceolate leaves
finely serrated. The odour is less strong and
heavy than that of peppermint, and the taste less
pungent. It is used to give flavour to food, and
as astomachic. An infusion of the leaves retards
the coagulation of milk. For medicinal pur-
poses, the leaves should be gathered in dry wea-
ther, just as the flowers appear. For distilla-
tion, the flowers are allowed to blow.

Pennyroyal Aint (m. pulegium). This is a
trailing plant, with small, smooth, ovate leaves.
‘The odour is less pungent than that of the others,
the bark is pungent and aromatic. It is used
for the same purposes as the others.

Tuy (thymus). Two species are found
natives of Britain, the thymus serpyllum and thy-
mus acinas; but that which is cultivated in our
gardens, thymus vulgaris, isa native of Spain, and
other parts of southern Europe. The climate of
Spain seems peculiarly genial to the growth of
all sweet herbs. At Marvella, about midway
between Malaga and Gibraltar,De Laborde speaks
of “sage, thyme, marjoram, lavender, myrtle, and
rosemary, more than six feet high, embalming the
air on all sides.” Thyme was introduced into
this country certainly before the middle of the
sixteenth century, but how long previous to that
period is not ascertained. This herb is well
known as a low shrubby evergreen, of a strongly
aromatic odour. When of the largest growth it

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

scarcely attains to a foot in height. Its minute
leaves are smooth and oval, and the flowers are
smaller than those of the wild thyme. Three
varieties are usually cultivated, and distinguished
as the broad, the narrow, and the variegated
leaved.

Two or three tufts of another species, the
lemon thyme, thymus citriodorus, sometimes find
a place in the herb compartment of the kitchen-
garden. This is a trailing evergreen, of still
smaller growth than the common kind, and is
remarkable for its smell, which resembles that
of the rind of lemons, whence its distinctive
name. Both the species thrive best in a dry
soil. They are propagated most generally from
seed; but they can likewise be multiplied by
slips, or by parting the roots.

This herb is used in many savoury prepara-
tions. It was employed by the Romans to give
its peculiar aromatic flavour to cheese ; a prac-
tice pursued likewise with some flowers and
seeds of other plants. This manner of preparing
cheese was still continued during the middle
ages. We collect this from an anecdote told of
Charlemagne, who, travelling unattended, arrived
at a bishop’s palace. It was unfortunately a
fast-day, and the only fare which the bishop
would set before his royal guest was bread and
some choice cheese; this the king did not appear
particularly to relish, picking out with his knife
small specks, which he mistook for unsound
parts, but which in fact were parsley seeds. The
prelate ventured to hint that he was throwing
away the best parts of the cheese; when the
monarch tasted it, and liked it so much, that he
requested the bishop to send him an annual sup-
ply of this excellent flavoured curd; and, lest
the cheese-merchant might by chance pack
cheeses without any admixture of seeds, the
king desired that they might always be cut in
two, in order to ascertain the fact, and be then
fastened together again with a skewer. The
mountaineers in the canton of Glaris in Switzer-
land, prepare a cheese known by the name of
Schabzieger, which is readily distinguished by
its peculiar marbled appearance and aromatic
flavour ; these are communicated by the pressed
flowers or the bruised seeds of the melilotus /i-
cinalis.

Sace (salvia officinalis), is a native of the
warmer parts of Europe, but it has long been
cultivated in Britain. Gerarde notices it as
being, in 1597, a well known herb of the English
garden. It is a hardy plant, but, though a per-
ennial, does not last above three or four years
without degenerating. New plantations are
readily made by cuttings of the young shoots
taken in the latter end of spring.

This aromatic herb is chiefly used with the
more strong and oily kinds of food, as a mixture
in stuffings, and an ingredient in sauces, The
CLARY,

leaves are sometimes introduced into English
cheese.

A species of sage ( salvia pomifera), of a
very peculiar growth, is ‘common to some of
the Greek islands. It has firm fleshy tumours,
of about three quarters of an inch in thickness,
swelling out from the branches of the plant, and
supposed to be produced in the same manner as
oak apples, by the puncture of an insect of the
cynips genus. These excrescences are semi-
transparent, like jelly. They are called sage
apples, and under that name are always to be
met with in the markets, as an article of
ordinary sale. They are made into a kind of
conserve, which is highly esteemed by the Greeks.
Dr Clarke, in the sixth volume of his travels,
mentions having been regaled with this delicacy
by the English consul, at the island of Syros,
and he bears testimony to its excellence. This
plant is considerably larger than the common
sage of our gardens, and its flavour and smell
are much more powerful. It grows very abun-
dantly in Candia, Syros, and Crete, where it
attains to the size of a small shrub.

Crary (salvia sclarea_), is a biennial plant, a
native of the south of France, of Switzerland,
and of Italy. It was first introduced into
English cultivation in the year 1562.

Marsoram (origanum). The common mar-
joram, or origanum vulgare, isa native of Britain;
it is a perennial under-shrub, growing among
copsewood in calcareous soils. The leaves are
small and acute. The flowers are slightly red,
and appear in July and August, in smooth
clustered spikes.

The Winter marjoram (origanum heracleo-
ticum), very much resembles the above species
in appearance; but it is of a more aromatic
flavour, and is always used in preference. It is
indigenous to Greece, whence it was introduced
into this country in 1640. A sheltered, dry
situation is most favourable to its growth. The
seeds of this, and of the two following species,
seldom come to maturity in England. Winter
marjoram is, therefore, usually propagated by
cuttings.

Sweet Marjoram (origanum majoranum_), was
an inhabitant of the English garden about
seventy years prior to the first cultivation in
this country of the above species. It is a bien-
nial, having its flowers growing in close knotted-
like heads. As soon as it blossoms, this plant
is cut and dried for winter use; it must be renewed
by seed annually, for which purpose the seed is
imported from France and Italy into England.

Pot Marjoram (origanum onites), was not
introduced into English cultivation until the
middle of thelast century. It is a hardy peren-
nial, with a hairy stem, rising to more than a
foot high; it blooms from July to November,
and is usually propagated by cuttings.

 

493

Basin (ocymum J, is rich in aroma, its odour
and pungency being very similar to those of
cloves. It is a favourite herb among French
cooks, as giving an additional zest to highly
seasoned dishes. The leaves in small quantities
are sometimes mixed in salads, or are made a
flavouring ingredient in soups.

Baim (melissa officinalis), is a native of the
south of France, and was introduced into this
country in 1573. It is a hardy perennial.

Balm was long famed for its medicinal virtues;
and although it has ceased to be invested with
its former supposed potent qualities, it still retains
a kind of posthumous fame, and “balm” has
become the generic name for a soothing healer of
wounds, both of the body and the mind. Balm
was the plant which the adept Paracelsus selected
from which to prepare his elézir vite, his primum
ens melisse, whereby he was to renovate man;
and, if he did not bestow on him absolute immor-
tality, to produce a very close approximation to
that state. Such strange conceits of ill-directed
minds have, however, long gone by; and balm,
stripped of its fancied virtues, is now only
employed as an infusion in preparing a cooling
drink, or in giving flavour to a weal factitious
wine.

Rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis). This is
a hardy evergreen under-shrub, a native of the
south of Europe. The stalk attains the height
of six or eight feet; the leaves are sessile, long,
narrow, entire, obtuse; upper surface dark green,
under a silvery gray, placed in whorls upon the
branches: the flowers are large, of a pale blue
colour, and arise from the axille of the leaves.
The whole plant is aromatic, and the flowers by
distillation yield a strong essential oil. The
flowers form a principal ingredient in the distil-
lation of Hungary water. In some parts of the
west of England and in Wales, sprigs of rose-
mary are distributed to the company at funerals
as tokens of remembrance, and often thrown
into the grave upon the coffin of the deceased.
The varieties are the green, or. common, the
gold-striped, and silver-striped. The green is
the best and most easily raised.

Tue Cosrmary, or Axecost (balsamita vul-
garis), an herbaceous plant resembling in odour
the rosemary, though belonging to a different
family (composite), may here be properly intro-
duced.

It is a hardy perennial, a native of Italy,
introduced into this country in 1568, and com-
mon in almost every rural garden. The name
implies that it is the costos, or aromatic plant of
the Virgin Mary. In France it is used in salads,
and was formerly put into ale and negus; and
hence the name of alecost. In this country it
is now little used, except for the pleasing fra-
grance of the leaves in a nosegay.

Lavenver (lavandula spica). This is a hardy
49 4

under-shrub of the family labzatw, a native of
the south of Europe, and introduced into Britain
in 1658. The leaves and flowers are highly aro-
matic, and-produce by distillation the well known
oil of lavender, so much esteemed as a perfume.
The leaves, and especially the flowers, are col-
lected, dried, and put into places where linen is
kept, to impart to it their odour. It is of easy
culture, and prefers a dry, rather sandy soil, in
which situations the odour of the flowers is
greatest.

Tansy (tanacetum vulgaris). This is a peren-
nial plant, growing on the sandy banks of rivers
in many parts of Britain. It belongs to the
family composite and syngenesia, of Linneus.
The young leaves, which partake of the aromatic
flavour of the plants of the labiatw, are used in
cookery. The flowers have a pungent, aromatic
odour.

SaMPHIRE (crithmum maritimum). Natural
family umbellifere ; pentandria, digynia, of Lin-
neus. The common samphire is a perennial
plant, a native of Britain, and grows on rocky
cliffs hy the sea side, and on dry stone walls.
The root leaves are triternate, those of the
stem lanceolate and fleshy; the flowers appear
on a stem of about eighteen inches high in
August, and are of a yellow colour. The name
is a corruption of the French Saint Pierre.

It forms an excellent pickle, and a frequent
addition to salads. In taste it is crisp and aro-
matic, and constitutes a light and wholesome
condiment. It was at one time much more
extensively used than now, when many other
foreign aromatics have been introduced into this
country.

CHAP. XLVII.
TREES 4ND PLANTS USED IN DYEING.

Tur nature of vegetable colouring matter, and
the principal products of this kind obtained from
the vegetable kingdom, have already been noticed
in the twenty-first chapter of this work: we
now proceed to describe those trees, shrubs, and
lerbaceous plants which yield the several kinds
of dyes.

Tur Logwoon Tree (hematoxylon campechi-
anum). Natural family leguininose ; decandria,
monogynia, of Linneus. This tree is a native
of South America, and does not attain a height
above twenty to twenty-five feet. Both the trunk
and branches are extremely crooked, and covered
with a dark coloured, rough bark. The smaller
ramifications are numerous, close, prickly, or
beset with strong sharp spines. The leaves are
pinnated, generally composed of four or five
pairs of leaflets, of an irregular, oval shape,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

obliquely nerved, and obtusely sinuated at tbe
top. The flowers are yellow, and grow in

 

Logwood.

racemes, or in close, regular, terminal spikes,
and appear in March: these are followed by long,
double-valved pods, containing oblong, com-
pressed, and somewhat kidney-shaped seeds.

This tree is of rapid growth, and very easily
propagated; so that under cultivation a flourish-
ing plantation may be formed in a few years.
It thrives best in marshy ground; but this ground
must not be always under water. Trees of full
growth are from sixteen to twenty-four feet in
height, and from five to six feet in circumfer-
ence,

This tree was first discovered in the bays of
Campeachy and Honduras, growing in the greatest
luxuriance and abundance. It was known as a
dye-wood as early as the reign of Elizabeth, but
its use was forbidden by an act of parliament for
“abolishing certain deceitful stuffs employed in
dyeing cloths.” The act sets forth that “log-
wood, or block wood, of late years brought into this
realm, is expressly prohibited to be used by dyers,
the colours thereof being false and deceitful to the
queen’ssubjects at-home, and discreditable beyond
seas to our merchants and dyers.” The injunc-
tion against the use of this valuable dye was
rigorously enforeed, and all logwood found was
seized and condemned to be burnt. The English
were probably at that time ignorant of the
manner of applying this dye with proper mor-
dants. The prohibition was continued until the
year 1661, the words of the act by which it was
then repealed stating “that the ingenious indus-
try of these times hath taught the dyers of
England the art of fixing colours made of log-
wood; so that by experience they are found as
lasting and serviceable as the colour made with
any other sort of dye-wood.”

Immediately after this repeal logwood became
in great request, and adventurous individuals
were induced to make exertions to obtain a
supply. This tree is one of the productions of
the province of Yucatan, where the possessions
THE LOGWOOD TREE,

of the Spaniards for a long time consisted only of
the port of San Francisco de Campeachy, and two
other inconsiderable towns, Merida and Valla-
dolid. These could boast of but few inhabitants,
and the rest of the province was wholly desolate,
without any indication of the abode of man.
The English, from the north continent of America,
in the year 1662, tempted by the desire of pur-
suing a profitable occupation, ventured to cut
down some of the logwood trees, which grew in
great abundance on the uninhabited parts of the
coast of Yucatan, and more especially in the bay
of Campeachy. These persons soon formed a
small colony in a spot remote from any Spanish
settlement. They first raised their huts near
Cape Catoche, and afterwards at Laguna de
Terminos, which was found to be a more eligible
situation. A few settlers thus continued to cut
logwood unmolested by the Spaniards, but always
with the feeling that they were intruders on the
soil of other colonists.

After the treaty of Madrid in 1667, which
was principally made for adjusting our com-
merce with Spain in Europe, British subjects
were led to imagine that the respective interests
of the two countries in the western hemisphere
had also been accurately defined by the same
treaty, and that the right of the English to cut
logwood in those places of the Honduras, unin-
habited by the Spaniards, was now clearly esta-
blished. Many other persons were therefore in
consequence induced to become logwood-cutters
at Laguna de Terminos, so that in a year or two
the number of settlers was greatly increased,
and they transported large quantities of wood
both to Jamaica and New England. TheSpaniards
for many years made no expostulations or com-
plaints, and the English logwood-cutters con-
tinued to increase and flourish.

At first a sufficiency of wood was found near
the coast, but when this, after a time, became
exhausted, the settlers gradually penetrated
farther into the country, where they planted
Indian provisions, and built houses. The jealousy
of the Spaniards was at length excited by this
growing colony, and suddenly evinced itself very
unceremoniously by the seizure of two English
ships laden with logwood. The settlers of
Laguna immediately made reprisals by taking
possession of a Spanish bark. These mutual
acts of violence were only the commencement of
a series of hostilities, and after suffering much
annoyance, the English settlers were, in 1680,
forcibly ejected by the Spaniards from the island
of Trist, and from Laguna de Terminos. This
triumph on the part of their adversaries was,
however, but transitory, and in two or three
months the English were again cutting their
logwood, and trading in it more extensively than
ever. Notwithstanding the continued opposition
of the Spaniards, the indefatigable settlers still

 

495

contrived to increase their supply of that article,
for whose possession they hazarded so much.
Independent of the vexatious warfare by which
they were constantly harassed, the lives of these
poor wood-cutters were marked with hardship
and privation; sometimes they worked up to
their knees in water, and they were always tor-
mented by the stings of innumerable insects.

We learn from Dampier that the commodities
sent from Jamaica to procure a return cargo of
logwood from Campeachy, were rum and sugar,
“and very good commodities,” says the sailor,
“‘were these for the logwood-cutters, who were
then (1675) about 250 men, most English.”
“Neither was it long,” he adds, “before we had
these merchants come on board to visit us; we
were but six men and a boy in the ship, and all
little enough to entertain them: for besides what
rum we sold by the gallon or firkin, we sold it
tnade into punch, wherewith they grew frolick-
some. We had none but small arms to fire at
their drinking healths, and therefore the noise
was not very great at a distance, but on board
the vessel we were loud enough till all our liquor
was spent. We took no money nor expected
any, for logwood was what we came hither for,
and we had of that in lieu of our commodities
after the rate of five pound per ton to be paid
at the place where they cut it.”

This occasional festivity, a prospect perhaps
of making more than by regular labour in the
British colonies, and the entire freedom from all
restraint, were circumstances likely to recom-
mend the life of a logwood-cutter in spite of its
frequent hardships. It had such charms to the
adventurous Dampier himself, that he soon
returned and settled for ten or twelve months at
Campeachy, and left that place with the inten-
tion of again returning for a longer stay. He
thus quaintly describes the manner in which the
logwood men lived.

“The logwood-cutters inhabit the creeks of
the east and west lagunes in small companies,
building their huts by the creeks’ sides for the
benefit of the sea breezes, as near the logwood
groves as they can, removing often to be near
their business: yet when they are settled in a
good open place, they choose rather to go half a
mile in their canvas to work than lose this con-
venience. Though they build their huts but
slightly, yet they take care to thatch them very
well with palm or palmet leaves, to prevent the
rains, which are then very violent, from soak-
ing in.

“For their bedding they raise a barbecue, or
wooden frame, three foot and a half above ground,
on one side of the house, and stick up four
stakes, at each corner one, to fasten their curtains;
out of which there is no sleeping for moskitoes,
Another frame they raise covered with earth for
‘a hearth to dress their victuals; and a third to
496

sit at when they eat it. During the wet season,
the land where the logwood grows is so over-
flowed, that they step from their beds into the
water, perhaps two feet deep, and continue stand-
ing in the wet all day till they go to bed again;
but nevertheless account it the best season for
doing a good day’s labour in.

“Some fell the trees, others saw and cut them
into convenient logs, and one chips off the sap,
and he is commonly the principal man; and
when a tree is so thick, that after it is logged, it
remains still too great a burden for one man, we
blow it up with gunpowder. The logwood-
cutters are generally sturdy strong fellows, and
will carry burthens of three or four hundred
weight ; but every-man is left to his choice to
carry what he pleaseth, and commonly they
agree very well about it: for they are con-
tented to labour very hard. In some places,
especially in the west creek of West Lagune, they
go a hunting wild cattle every Saturday to pro-
vide themselves with beef for the week fol-
lowing. When they have killed a beef they
cut it into quarters, and taking out the bones,
each man makes w hole in the middle of his
quarter, just big enough for his head to go
through, then puts it on like a frock and trudg-
eth home ; and if he chanceth to tire,he cuts off
some of it, and throws it away.”

The hides of these wild cattle, and many
which they killed merely for their hides, were
another valuable article of commerce to these
hardy adventurers. Many of these men made
considerable sums of money ; and Dampier re-
marks, generally, that those who had the advan-
tage of some education, were careful to improve
their time, industrious and frugal; but that those
who did not possess this advantage, “ would
extravagantly squander away their time and
money in drinking and making bluster.”

As these settlements continued to be regarded
with an hostile eye by the Spaniards, the intro-
duction of the logwood-tree into Jamaica was
attempted in 1715. Seeds were procured from
Campeachy for this purpose, and the growth of
the plants was found to be so rapid, that in three
years they attained to the height of ten feet. In
a comparatively short period this tree flourished
abundantly in the island, large plantations were
formed for the purpose of cutting, and the tree
has so multiplied, that in the course of years it
has become completely naturalized in Jamaica.
The wood of Campeachy is, however, prized
beyond that of Jamaica. The success attendant
on its cultivation in that island, did not, there-
fore, by any means cause a cessation of the
demand for Campeachy wood, and accordingly
the cutters still continued to contend with the
Spaniards for the right of cutting down these
trees.

In the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, the com-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

mercial relations of the two countries in America
were not again neglected, and at length the pri-
vilege of cutting logwood was confirmed to the
English in plain and express terms, so that
it was supposed the question was set at rest
for ever. It, however, still continued to he
a subject of constant dispute between the
parties, and, in 1717, the Marquis de Monte-
leone, then Spanish ambassador-extraordinary
at the court of St James, delivered a memorial
to the British government against the settle-
ments in the isle of Trist, and at Laguna de Ter-
minos, in the bay of Campeachy, declaring that
if, in the space of eight months, these places
were not evacuated, the inhabitants should be
considered and treated as pirates. This docu-
ment was submitted to the Board of Trade in
England, which, after much investigation, came
to the decided opinion that British subjects were
entitled to cut wood in the bay of Campeachy.
Spain reluctantly acquiesced in this positive
decision, and the settlement continued without
being matter of farther dispute or treaty for more
thanforty years. During this long period the Brit-
ish settlers had not been idle. Fortifying them-
selves against the assaults of the Spanish Ameri-
cans, their colony assumed a more important and
imposing aspect, not only having the power to
resist, but to resent aggression.

These defensive measures were naturally
viewed with alarm by the Spaniards, and in 2
treaty concluded in 1763, the two countries camu
to a compromise on this question ; the English
government consenting that the fortifications
erected in the bay of Ilonduras, and other Span-
ish territories in America, should be demolished;
while the Spanish government engaged that the
subjects of Great Britain should not be molested
in cutting or shipping logwood.

Notwithstanding the above treaty, the gover-
nor of Yucatan in the ensuing year gave great
annoyance to the British logwood-cutters in
Campeachy Bay, and even drove them from the
place, on the pretext that they had no certificate
to prove them British subjects; and that, more-
over, they made too free with the produce of the
country. No time was lost in remitting a remon-
strance to the Spanish court, which unreservedly
disavowed and disapproved of the conduct of the
governor. Positive orders were sent out to that
man of office, and the English once more ob-
tained their logwood without molestation. They
were not, however, allowed to remain long undis-
puted occupiers of this coast. The French now
attempted to supplant, or to share with them in
this lucrative employment, and invaded their
privilege by cutting logwood on those parts of
the coast, the productions of which had been
assigned to the English by the last treaty.
Although this had forbidden them to raise forti-
fications, it had at the same time not onl v given
BRAZILWOOD.

to them the right of cutting and shipping log-
wood, but of erecting houses and magazines,
together with the privilege of a free fishery in
the adjacent seas, on that part of the coast of the
bay of Honduras, which was comprehended
between the river Wallis on the south side, and
the Rio Nuevo on the Rio Hondo on the north
side, the sovereignty of the country still remain-
ing with Spain. The privileged settlers of Cam-
peachy of course treated the French as intruders,
and were forced again to contend for the right
of being undisputed wood hewers in a tropical
morass.

The logwood-tree grows abundantly through-
out whole districts in Jamaica. Besides being
cultivated as a dye-wood it is used for other
purposes, It is found well adapted for making
strong full hedges, and is constantly planted for
this purpose, no other fences being seen in many
parts of the island. It is excellent for fuel, and,
according to Dampier, is advantageously used in
hardening or tempering steel. The wood of this
tree is very hard and heavy; it is of a deep
orange red colour; it yields its colour both to
aqueous and spirituous menstrue, but the latter
extracts it the most readily and copiously. A
decoction of this wood is of deep violet or
purple colour, which after a time changes to a
yellowish tint, and becomes finally black. Like
that of Brazil-wood it is made yellow by acids,
and deepened by alkalis. Although an adjective
dye,* it can be made very durable by the judi-
cious application of mordants. With alum and
tartar it produces a violet dye. With acetate of
copper, a fine blue. But its principal use is in
dyeing black, to which it gives a superior lustre,
and in the production of all the different
shades of gray. It contains a large proportion
of gallic acid, whence it is that in combina-
tion with acetate of iron, the black colour is
produced.

Logwood is imported into England in large
blocks, at the very small import duty of three
shillings per ton; that brought from foreign

* Dr Bancroft has made a distinction of dyeing sub-
stances into two kinds, substantive and adjective, and
thus explains the reason for adopting these terms.
“Colouring matter seems to fall naturally under two
general classes ; the first including those matters which,
when put into a state of solution, may be permanently
fixed, and made fully to exhibit their colours in or
upon the dyed substance, without the interposition of
any earthy or metallic basis ; and the second compre-
hending all those matters which are incapable of being
fixed, and made to display their proper colours without
the mediation of some such basis. The colours of the
first class I shall denominate substantive, using the term
in the same sense in which it was employed by Bacon,
Lord Verulam, as denoting a thing solid by, or depend-
ing only upon, itself; and colours of the second class I
shall call adjective, as implying that their lustre and
permanency are acquired by adjection upon a suitable
basis.”

 

497

countries is chargeable with fifty per cent. higher
duty.

The average annual importation for the last
five years has been 14,092 tons.

‘The average price for the best logwood during
that time has been £8. 10s. per ton. Logwood
is also occasionally used in medicine as an
astringent and tonic, and has been found effica-
cious in the cure of diarrhea and dysentery.

Brazitwoop (cesalpinia). Natural family
leguminose ; decandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
There are several species of this family natives
of South America, and of the East and West
Indies. It was probably, however, first imported
into Europe from the Brazils, and hence the
name. Soon after its introduction the Portu-
guese government began to appreciate its value,
and accordingly it was made one of the objects of
royal monopoly, being imported into Europe on
account of the crown. From this circumstance it
is known in Brazil as pao de Rainha, or Queen’s
wood,

The cesalpinia crista, or oval-leaved species, is
commonly found growing in dry rocky situa-
tions. Its trunk is large, crooked, and full of
knots; at a short distance from the ground
innumerable branches spring forth, and 'extend
in every direction in a straggling, irregular, and
unpleasing manner. Trees of the largest growth
attain to thirty or forty feet high, but they are
rarely met with of so great dimensions. The
branches are armed with short, strong, upright
thorns; the leaves are small, and never appear
in luxuriant foliage. The flowers are of a
beautiful red colour, and emit a fragrant smell.

When first cut, the wood is a pale red, but
becomes darker by exposure to air. It is varie-
gated with irregular and fantastical black spots,
which has obtained for it among the French the
name of bots du lettres. The bark of this tree, which
is cxtremely thick, and the white pithy part, are
both useless; the heart being the only valuable
portion, and when both within and without are
cut away it is diminished to nearly half its bulk.
It is a very hard and dry wood. The thickest
pieces with a close grain are considered the best.
It is sometimes used in turnery, and susceptible
of a good polish, but its principal use is as a red
dye. The colour which it communicates is
however very fleeting. It is an adjective dye,
and generally applied in combination with a
mordant of alum and tartar, but with different
mordants it may be made to assume all the
shades allied to red. The most permanent col-
ours produced from this dye are those in which
the natural purple red is changed by acids to an
orange or yellow colour. Brazil-wood is often
used in dyeing silk of a crimson hue, but cannot
be made so durable as the cochineal crimson.

Red ink is made of a decoction of this wood
in beer, wine, or vinegar, to which a portion

3R
498

of alum is added, to render its colour less fugi-
tive.

Brazil-wood boiled in water communicates
to it a fine red colour, while the wood itself
becomes of a darker colour, and if the ebullition
be continued long enough the residuum will be
black. Paper tinged red with this decoction is
altered to a violet colour by the action of the
alkalis, and to a yellow by most of the acids.
The action of sulphuric acid gas renders it quite
white. M. De Bonsdorff, in the “Annales de
Chimie et de Physique,” details many phenomena
of the effects which this colouring matter has
on different acids. It is an excellent test to
detect the presence of sulphuric acid in vinegar.
In pure acetic acid it receives only a violet tinge,
but the admixture of only one two-hundreth
part of sulphuric acid will give the stained paper
a yellowish instead of a violet hue.

In two decoctions made with equal weights
of madder and of Brazil-wood, only half the
quantity of chlorine gas, which will destroy the
colour of the madder, is required to produce a
like effect on the Brazil-wood. More colour is
extracted from this wood by alcohol than by
water. Warm marble stained by the spirituous
tincture assumes a purplish red colour, which,
on the heat being increased, changes to a violet
hue. If the stained marble be covered with
wax and considerably heated, the colour changes
through all the shades of brown, and at last
becomes fixed of a chocolate hue.

A fine crimson red lake is prepared from this
colouring matter by precipitating it when in a
state of solution with alum. The average
annual quantity imported for the last five years
is 950 tons. Its price has very much fallen off,
differing from £65, in 1826, to £35 per ton in
1830. A duty of £2 per ton is charged on the
importation of Brazil-wood.

A species of this tree grows in the West
Indies, the wood of which is known in commerce
as Brazilletto. It is of the same kind, but of
very inferior quality to the Brazil wood. The
duty charged on its importation from British
possessions is only 3s. per ton, and in consequence
it can be obtained on much cheaper terms than
that from South America. Some years ago the
demand for it was so great that it was cut down
with unsparing hand, and scarcely any of the
large trees were left in the British plantations.
‘This species is known to botanists as ccesalpinta
vesicaria ; it never attains to so large a growth
as the ewsalpinia crista. Its branches are slen-
der and full of small prickles; the flowers are
white, growing in a pyramidal spike at the end
of a long slender stalk.

Sapan-wood is another dyeing substance
obtained from another species of the same genus.
It is distinguished as cesalpinia sapan. The
flowers of this and the vesicaria have ten

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

stamina; those of the criste have only five.
There is scarcely any consumption of this wood
in England; very few tons being annually
imported. Its price averages from ten to six-
teen pounds per ton, and it is admitted on a
duty of fifteen shillings per ton.

The same duty is charged upon Nicaragua or
Peach wood, which is another kind of Brazil-
wood. It dyesa bright fugitive red, called fancy
red. Though not so rich in colouring matter as
the Brazil, it yields a colour which is brighter,
more delicate, and more beautiful.

It takes its name from the Gulf of Niacaragua
in America, opposite to Providence island,
whence it was first imported into England.
Dampier says this was the only place on the
Atlantic where he saw the tree; but that on the
South-sea side of the American continent it
grew abundantly. In his time Nicaragua-wood
was sold at £30 per ton, being double the price
of Logwood.

The average importation for the last five years
is much more considerable than that of Brazil-
wood, being 1765 tons. The price of the best
is about £15.

Cam-wood is another red dye-wood, obtained
from the Brazils, and also from Africa. It once
grew commonly in the neighbourhood of Sierra
Leone, and was found at Tonquin and other
parts of Asia. This wood is of a very fine col-
our; it is principally used in turnery for the for-
mation of handles of knives and other similar
articles. A very small quantity of Cam-wood
is imported into this country, averaging annu-
ally not more than 400 tons. It is admitted at
the same duty as the sapan. Bar-wood is also
liable to the same duty, and is not brought more
abundantly into England. This is likewise a
red dye-wood of Africa.

Invico (Indigofera). Natural family lequ-
minose ; diadelphia, decandria, of Linneus.
There are not less than twenty-four species of
this genus enumerated, all natives of tropical cli-
mates. In [indostan, China, Japan, the south-
ern parts of Africa, America, Java, and Mada-
gascar, the various species of this plant grow in
a wild state. The three species chiefly cultivated
for the production of the blue dye, are the East
Indian (Indigofera tinctoria); the West Indian
(i. anil); and the Silver-leaved (7. argentca).
The East Indian, which is that most largely culti-
vated, is not so hardy, nor is its pulp so good as
the others ; but it yields a larger produce, and
on this account is preferred.

The West Indian plant grows much higher,
and is hardier than the tinctoria, while the silver-
leaved or wild indigo, is hardier than either of
the other two, and yields the finest pulp, though
in least quantity. They are all rather elegant
little shrubs, and all yield more or less indigo.

The East Indian plant (ind. tinctoria) has a
INDIGO.

root of about a quarter of an inch in thickness,
and upwards of a foot in length” The root has

 

Indigo,

a faint smell, somewhat resembling parsley.
From this root issues a short bushy stem of
nearly the same thickness ; this stem rises about
two feet from the ground ; it is hard and almost
entirely ligneous, and without any appearance
of pith in the inside. The leaves are winged, or
consist of small leaves ranged in two or three
pairs on each side of a long foot-stalk, which is
surmounted by an odd leaf; they are of an oval
form, smooth and soft to the touch, furrowed
above, and of a darker colour on the upper than
the under side. From about one-third of the
stem to the extremity, there are ears that are
loaded with very small flowers, from twelve to
fifteen in number ; these are destitute of smell ;
they are succeeded by long crooked brown pods,
which contain small yellow seeds. The wild
indigo has shorter pods and black seeds. The
seeds of the Guatimala are green, and the stalks
red. This plant requires a smooth rich soil, well
tilled, and neither too dry nor too moist. Indigo
is entirely the production of a warm climate ; it
has been observed that it is “the child of the
sun,” and cannot be advantageously cultivated
any where exéept within the tropics. A higher
temperature than 60° is absolutely necessary both
for its vegetation and maceration.

The seed is sowed in little furrows about the
breadth of the hoe, and two or three inches in
depth. These furrows are made a foot apart
from each other, and in as straight a line as pos-
sible. A bushel of seed is sufficient for five
acres of land. Though it may be sown in all
seasons, spring is mostly preferred for the purpose.
Soon after sowing, continual attention is re-
quired to pluck the weeds, which would quickly
choke up the plant, and impede its growth.
Sufficient moisture causes it to shoot above the
surface in three or four days, and it is usually
fit for gathering at the end of two months.
When it begins to flower, it is cut with a sickle
a few inches above its roots. The ratoons, or
subsequent growth from the same plant, ripen in
six or eight weeks. Sometimes four crops are
obtained in one year from the same roots; but
in North America and other parts where the sun

 

499

is less fervid, the cultivator obtains but two, or
perhaps only one crop. The produce diminishes
fast after the second cutting, and therefore it is
said to be absolutely necessary to sow the seeds
afresh every year, or every two years at farthest.

The Arabs in Egypt however sow the seed of
this plant only once in seven years, and obtain
two crops ina year. The sun which so rapidly
improves and invigorates the plant, propagates
at the same time an insect destructive to it.
This is a species of grub or worm, which, becom-
ing a fly, preys on the leaves and too often dis-
appoints the planter’s expectations, especially
when the plant is grown a second year upon the
same land. The only known remedy is to
change the soil every year. This plant has not
only to contend against the vicissitudes of the
seasons and the ravages of the insect peculiar to
it, but the leaves, which are its most valuable
part, are liable to the depredations of cater-
pillars, myriads of which sometimes attack a
plantation, and devour all the leaves in the short
space of twenty-four hours.

The real nature of indigo was not generally
known in Europe until a long period after it had
been obtained direct from India, the country of
its production, and many erroneous notions
existed as to its nature at a comparatively recent
period. In the letters patent granted to the pro-
prietors of mines in the principality of Halber-
stadst, not many centuries ago, indigo was classed
among the minerals, to obtain which the works
were permitted to be erected.

Marco Polo, indeed, who flourished in the
thirteenth century, and who is the earliest Euro-
pean traveller into China and India on record,
relates that he saw indigo made in the kingdom
of Coulan, and describes the process by which it
was prepared. “Indigo,” says the old Venetian,
“of excellent quality and large quantities, is
made here (Coulan). They procure it from an
herbaceous plant, which is taken up by the roots
and put into tubs of water, where it is suffered
to remain till it rots, when they press out the
juice. This, upon being exposed to the sun, and
evaporated, leaves a kind of paste, which is cut
into small pieces of the form in which we see it
brought to us.” This passage of the Italian
ought at least to have prevented the Germans
from considering the product as a mineral which
they were to seek in the bowels of the earth; but
illiberal ignorance had thrown discredit on Marco
Polo, and ranked him among those travellers
whose lies were proverbial. At two other places
in India, Guzzerat and Kambaia, Marco speaks
of indigo as an article of extensive manufacture.
Much curious information in regard to the trade
in this article at the middle of the fourteenth
century, is contained in the works of Francesco
Balducci Pegolotti. At that time indigo was
imported in leather bags and in chests in the
500

same manner as at present. Although for more
than two thousand years its value had been
recognised in Asia, still its use was either pro-
hibited or restrained for a considerable period in
different European countries, under the errone-
ous belief that its colour was fugitive.

About the sixteenth century improvements in
the art of dyeing were attempted in several
European countries. Among the many new
methods employed, some gave greater brilliancy,
others greater permanency to the colours. Some,
however, though they might impose on the eye,
gave but an evanescent beauty of tint; while
others subjected the stuffs to pernicious chemi-
cal preparations, whereby their texture was
injured, and they were found “to rot on the
shelves of the shop-keeper.” Governments were
in consequence induced to interfere by legisla-
tive enactments, to prevent their subjects from
being imposed upon by “ these false and perni-
cious dyes ;” and prohibited at once the use of
all the new materials which produced only fleet-
ing shades, and which contained, or were sup-
posed to contain, any thing detrimental to the
stuff under preparation, Now, these govern-
ments, to their mistaken views of domestic
policy, united an equally profound ignorance of
chemistry; and listening to the reports of the
uninformed or interested, sometimes laid under
one prohibitory ban the useful as well’as the
hurtful. In Germany a decree of the diet, held
in 1577, prohibited under the severest penalties
“the newly invented, pernicious, deceitful, eat-
ing, and corrosive dye, called the devil’s dye, for
which vitriol and other eating substances were
used instead of woad.”

In the middle of the next century, the use of
indigo was found to interfere with the cultiva-
tion and sale of woad, which had hitherto formed
a considerable branch of industry with the Ger-
mans. A prohibition was therefore issued against
its use in Saxony, and in order to raise a preju-
dice against it in the minds of the people, and
that they might be blinded by the imposition of
a name, it was classed among those substances
uready prohibited as devil’s «ves, and this pro-
hibition was for some years enforced with great
vigilance and severity. The people of Nurem-
berg, who at that time cultivated woad, went
still farther. They made a law that their dyers
should annually take an oath not to use indigo.
Although the dyers do not scruple to avail them-
selves in the present day of the superiority of this
colouring matter, the oath is still enforced ; and
this strange unrepealed edict may be classed
among those demoralizing relics of defective
government which take from an oath its sanctity,
and prepare the minds of the people to dread the
penalty, rather than to abhor the crime of per-
jury. The use of indigo was likewise forhidden
in France from 1596 to 1669, when Colbert

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

showed more enlightened views on the subject,
and the prohibition was repealed.

It was not until after the discovery of Ame-
rica that indigo was obtained in any very large
quantities in Europe. The plant from which it
is prepared was found growing wild in most of
the tropical parts of the western hemisphere.
Its application was likewise well known. We
learn from the authority of more than one tra-
veller, that the Aztecs, the unfortunate abori-
gines of Mexico, were well aware of its value as
a dye, and that it was commonly employed by
them in giving a beautiful hue to their cotton
fabrics. During the last century the cultivation of
indigo has been almost entirely neglected by the
Spanish Mexicans, from the preference given in
Europe to the indigo of Guatimala, or central
America, and the failure of the native cotton
manufacture, in which it was principally used.
Since the Mexicans have shaken off the Spanish
yoke, their commercial and agricultural pro-
sperity has become a subject of more rational
interest and attention. Attempts are now there-
fore being made to revive, among other branches
of industry, the cultivation of indigo. A little
is now grown on the western coasts, and it has
been introduced into the valley of Cuautla. In
some parts, which are hot and marshy, it is a
natural production of the soil.

The indigo of Guatimala was long prized as
the best, and although this plant was cultivated
in the West Indies and other parts of America,
none ever approached to the excellence of that
of Guatimala, which was long rated in commerce
as of unrivalled quality. This plant was much
cultivated in the French West India islands, and
the government of the parent country took so
great interest in its improvement, as to appoint
scientific men to investigate its preparation, and
to point out in what manner it was susceptible
of improvement. It does not appear, however,
that these exertions were attended with any very
beneficial results, and although much was sug-
gested, perhaps no real, certainly no very impor-
tant, improvements were introduced in the mode
of preparing indigo. That prepared by the
French still ranked lower, though next in qua-
lity to the produce of Guatimala.

This plant was for some time cultivated in
great abundance in Jamaica, forming one of its
principal articles of exportation ; but a tax hav-
ing been laid upon it, the culture of sugar
became a more profitable branch of agriculture.
Ladigofcra was found growing spontaneously in
Carolina in the year 1747, and so abundantly,
that 200,000 lbs. were shipped to England, and
sold at a very good price, though it was not quite
so well prepared as the French indigo ; its far-
ther cultivation in North America has not, how-
ever, been very extensively prosecuted,

In the year 1787 another source for the supply
INDIGO.

of Indigo was opened by the French, who then
began to import cotton and indigo from their
settlement at Goree, on the coast of Africa. This
dye was pronounced by the English dyers to be
almost equal to that of Guatimala, and superior
to every kind of West India indigo.
England,though now occupying so commanding
a position in the commercial and manufacturing
world, was for a long time slow not only in ori-
ginating inventions and improvements, but even
in adopting those of other nations. A long
period elapsed after the discovery of America,
before indigo began to take its rank among the
most useful ingredients of the English dye-house.
Richard Hakluyt, at the close of the sixteenth
century, mentions it as an object deserving of
inquiry, as at that time it was not known in
this country what plant produced the indigo.
Instructions were therefore given to discover
whether “ Anzle, that blue colour, be a natural
commodity, or, if it be compounded of an herb,
to send the seed or root with the order of sow-
ing.” The French name of indigo is andl ; it is
known under that term, or simply né/, in South
America, whence it was adopted by the French
and Portuguese. It is remarkable that Nile is
the Arabic name of the same plant. The name
by which it is designated in English is evidently
a corruption of the ancient indicum, but on its
first introduction into England from America, it
was usually known as anil. In Chinese it is
called tien haam, which signifies sky blue.

Indigo from America was for a long period
very superior to that obtained from the East ;
and although this dyeing ingredient was recog-
nised in commerce as coming from the East
Indies, it was imported thence in small quanti-
ties, and of so indifferent a quality, as not in any
way to compete with the western production.
Scarcely twenty years ago, this was the relative
position of the indigoes from America and Asia.
Since then the judicious and spirited exertions
of a few enlightened individuals, have shown,
that by careful cultivation and preparation, its
character might be essentially improved in the
British possessions in India. At the present
day this article ranks among the most important
objects of our commerce with the East Indies,
while its quality has been raised far above that
received from South America.

Indigo has long been cultivated in Spain, but
is on the decline in that country, owing to the
more favourable circumstances attending its cul-
ture in the East and West Indies. During the
reign of Bonaparte, and his attempted restric-
tions of commerce, it was also tried in the south
of France and Italy, but proved a failure.

The colouring matter is obtained from the
whole plant. There are two modes used for its
extraction—it is fermented, or it is scalded. The
first method is universally practised in South

 

501

America and the West Indies; and almost
wholly by the English factors in the East.

In an indigo house, where the fermenting
process is pursued, the chief apparatus consists of
three wooden vats of different sizes, placed on
different levels, so that the contents of the first
may flow into the second, and those of the second
into the third. The plants, on being cut, are
laid in the first or steeping vat, in sufficient
quantity to fill it without receiving pressure,
and water is poured over them until it rises about
three inches above the level of the top plants.
A frame of heavy wooden bars is then laid on
the vat to prevent the plants from rising when
infermentation. This state is generally induced
in less than eighteen hours. The contents swell
and foam; large bubbles of gas are formed, which
on being disengaged appear of a lively green,
and tinge the whole vat of the same colour.
When at the highest, the fermenting mass is
covered with a brilliant copper-coloured scum,
which passes into violet towards the end, but
the pulp and liquor remain green. The gas
given off during the process is inflammable.
The heaving of the scum is so powerful as often
to lift up the heavy wooden frame above men-
tioned. This fermentation is carried on for the
purpose of extracting all the grain or colouring
matter from the plant, and it is a nice point to
ascertain the exact period when it ought to
cease. If the fluid be drawn off too soon, much
of the pulp is left behind, and if too late, the
tender tops of the plant occasion putrefaction,
by which all the dye is destroyed. Many plans
have been suggested to discover to a scientific
certainty the most advantageous degree of fer-
mentation. Experiments were made at St
Domingo, when the French possessed that island,
under the sanction and encouragement of the
Chamber of Agriculture; but the unsatisfactory
result only served to convince practical men that
they could not with safety trust to any test save
that of experience. In order to ascertain the
state of fermentation, it was recommended to
dip a pen, at intervals of every quarter of an
hour, into the contents of the vat, and to make
with it a few strokes on paper: when the marks
thus made are colourless, it is the proper period
for arresting the fermentation. Much practical
skill is required in seizing on this moment, in
which the fermenting mixture assumes the
appearance of a liquor, holding in suspension
a distinct green pulp, which by slight agitation
speedily and completely separates and falls to
the bottom, leaving a clear gold-coloured super-
natant fluid. The whole of the turbid green
liquor is then discharged from the steeping vat,
and passes into the second vessel. The first
vat is then immediately cleansed, fresh plants
are thrown in, and the work proceeds without
intermission. The refuse matter is carefully
502

removed from the house as soon as taken out.
The noxious odour of this refuse occasions the
peculiar unhealthiness incident to the occupa-
tion.

As soon as the liquor is received into the
second vat, it is violently heaten by the repeated
fall of wooden buckets, full of holes, and fixed
to long handles moved by manual labour or
other power. A more complicated mechanical
contrivance is sometimesemployed. This agita-
tion of the parts, by checking any farther fer-
mentation, prevents putridity, and especially
promotes the separation of the grain, as it is
technically called, or the dark coloured granular
pulp, which is the indigo. The whole of the
liquor and of the pulp change during the process
from green to deep blue. A large quantity of
air-bubbles are also expelled by the beating.
Lime-water is most usually added at this time,
as it greatly assists in the formation of the grain.
When the grain, on being left in a quiescent
state for a brief period, separates readily from
the liquor which holds it suspended, the agita-
tion is stopped, and the grain slowly subsides,
The same degree of nicety isrequired to discover
the exact point for the cessation of agitation as
for determining that of fermentation. If too
little beaten, the grain will not be sufficiently
separated; if too much, a second fermentation
would be excited, which would alter the dye,
spoil its colour, and make what is called burnt
indigo. Fyrom time to time, therefore, a little is
drawn off and examined.

When the grain is precipitated, the liquor
floating on the top is drawn off by means of
cocks, and suffered to run to waste; care being
taken to avoid mixing it with any brook or
cattle pond, as it contains poisonous qualities
which would be fatal to animals who might
drink it. The thick pulpy matter is then dis-
charged into the third or lowest vat, and after it
is still more disencuimbered of superfluous water,
it is laded into common sacks. These are hung
up that the water may drain off, the indigo itself
being too thick to pass through. After draining
it is transferred to small wooden boxes, where
it is farther dried by exposure to alternate sun
and shade.

In the indigo factories of Bengal, some part
of the moisture is driven off by the direct appli-
cation of fire heat. This is done after the
colouring particles have been separated from the
solution by beating. The indigo is then removed
from the agitation vat into a boiler, the bottom
only of which is of iron, while the sides are
built up of solid masonry. Of course only this
bottom can be exposed to the action of the fire,
by which circumstance. the efficiency of the
vessel is importantly diminished; fuel is wasted,
because that portion of the heated air which
should apply to the sides, is prematurely drawn

 

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

off into the chimney; time is lost, since the fluid
will necessarily impart to the masonry a portion
of the heat which it is made to imbibe; and, for
this last reason, the liability of the indigo to
the far greater evil of charring is much aug-
mented. If abetter arrangement were provided
for this purpose, the process would be materially
simplified, and might be carried farther than is
now consistent with prudence.

When the indigo is brought by this means to
that degree of consistence which is safely prac-
ticable, the thickened fecula is transferred to
large cloths wherein the evaporation is further
continued by exposure to atmospheric influ-
ence.

This intermediate operation of boiling is con-
sidered to be beneficial in arresting a second fer-
mentation of the fecula, to which it is sometimes
liable during the process of draining, while the
farther advantage is obtained of holding in solu-
tion the gummy and other matter unavoidably
extracted with the colouring matter. This
extraneous part thus passes off with the water,
and leaves the indigo in a purer state. The
superior quality of the Bengal indigo is attri-
buted to this method of preparation.

If dried hastily in the sun it is apt to become
brittle. When all moisture is expelled, and the
substance is quite solid, it is cut into square
cakes. The process is not yet, however, com-
pleted, If exported in this state it would
speedily become mouldy; a second fermentation
is therefore necessary. ‘Io produce this the
cakes are heaped in a cask, and simply suffered
to remain there for about three weeks. During
this time they undergo a degree of fermentation;
they become heated, moisture exudes from the
surface, a most disagreeable odour is emitted,
and finally the cakes are covered with a fine
white meal. They are then taken out and dried
in the shade for five or six days, when they are
in a fit state to be packed for exportation.

The second method by scalding, instead of
fermentation, was first proposed for adoption by
Dr Roxburgh, and its great advantages over the
usual process were forcibly pointed out. The
method of obtaining the colouring matter, how-
ever, by boiling the plant was by no means the
invention of Dr Roxburgh, although that
centleman has the merit of investigating scien-
tifically the peculiar nature and properties of
indigo, and of adopting and recommending a
treatment of it in accordance with his more
enlightened views on the subject. The Hindoos
and the Egyptians both pursue this apparently
more simple process.

In Egypt the plants are dried previously to
being put into an earthen jar with hot water.
They are then worked with a palm branch, in
the manner of churning, until the whole of the
colour is pressed out. The liquid is next strained
INDIGO.

through the bark of a tree into’ another jar.
It is left there for eight or nine days, during
which time part of the water escapes by trick-
ling through a small aperture half way down
the side of the containing vessel, leaving the
sediment at bottom. This residuum is after-
wards poured into a broad but very shallow hole
formed in the sand, which absorbs the remaining
liquid, and leaves the indigo in solid cakes on
the surface.

The Hindoo method at Ambore is somewhat
similar, though more elaborate. The plants are
first boiled in earthen pots of about eighteen
inches in diameter, disposed in the ground in
excavated ranges, from twenty to thirty feet long,
and one broad, according to the number used.
When the boiling has extracted all the colouring
matter ascertainable by the colour exhibited, the
extract is immediately poured into another small
jar fixed in the ground for its reception, and it is
then filtered through a cloth, and laded by means
of small pots intoa larger jar disposed inadjoining
higher ground. The contents of the larger jar,
when three-quarters full, are agitated with a
split bamboo extended into a circle, having a
diameter from thirteen to twenty inches; this
hoop is twisted with a sort of coarse straw, with
which the manufacturer proceeds to beat or agi-
tate the extract until a granulation of the fecula
takes place. This operation occupies nearly
three-quarters of an hour. A precipitant com-
pound of red earth and water,* about four quarts,
is poured into the jar. The whole stands during
the night; in the morning the supernatant liquor
is drawn off through apertures in the side of the
jar, the lowest reaching to within five inches of
the bottom, thus leaving just sufficient space to
retain the fecula, which is taken out and dried
in bags.

The method by scalding has only been very
partially adopted among the English in the East;
the dyers of this country not reporting favour-
ably of indigo thus made. It is said that it
contains much less colouring matter than that
obtained by fermentation, and that the dye pro-
duced is not so permanent.

The indigo fuctories in the East Indies are
conducted very differently from those in the
West, on account of the dissimilar circumstances
of the population of the two countries. In the
West Indies the indigo plantations, and the
works connected with its preparation, are all the
same property, and under the same superinten-
dence. In Bengal and other of the British
possessions in India the cultivation is exclusively

* This red earth and water debase the indigo. In
the northern parts of the coast of Coromandel the
natives use a cold infusion of the bark of the jambo-
long tree (jambolifera pedunculata), which is a very
powerful astringent to precipitate their indigo. This
indigo is of a very good quality.—Dr Roaburgh,

 

503

left to the Ryots, or native farmers, who are
provided with seed by the factor, and bound to
deliver at a certain rate of price the whole of
the plants produced from these seeds. The cul-
tivators, in consequence of failures in crops, or
other accidents, too frequently require advances
from their employer; and thus, though nominally
free, they are in reality subjected to him, and
compelled to raise the indigo exclusively for the
supply of hisfactory. These factories are generally
on a very large scale, by which a much greater
quantity of colouring matter is produced, than
would result if natives were employed in its
preparation as well as in its cultivation. It is
calculated that in the European method one man
can bring to issue one vat, containing fifty bundles
of indigo plants, which, according to quality,
will afford from ten to thirty pounds of indigo;
whereas by the Indian method, one man employed
during the same time will produce only one
pound of indigo.

The extensive indigo factories are nearly
always remote from the seat of the English
precedencies. The superintendence of an esta-
blishment is seldom intrusted to any but one of
its proprietors; who, entirely excluded from the
society of his countrymen, consents to many
privations, with the hope that in a few years he
may reap sufficient wealth to ensure to his future
life those enjoyments for whose possession he has
been willing to sacrifice, as it were, a part of his
existence. As soon as he has accomplished this
end, he usually resigns his situation to a junior
partner, who pursues the same course.

These expectations are not, however, always
fulfilled. The profits of an indigo property are
in some seasons greater than those afforded by
almost any other investment, One acre of rich
land, by proper cultivation and management,
may be made to yield annually 500 pounds of
indigo, and in some years indigo of the best
quality has in England been as high priced as
eleven shillings per pound. According to both
Edwards and Stedman, 300 pounds are produced
on ordinary land, and the labour of four persons
is required for the cultivation of five acres, and
the subsequent preparation of the produce.

The large returns consequent on favourable
crops, and the high prices of the home market
for a few successive years, lead to the belief that
the profits will always be thus excessive; and
although the frequent and disastrous casualties
which follow these periods of prosperity, should
excite doubts as to the realization of all the
extravagant expectations which are so sanguinely
indulged, yet the confidence which each person
has in his own peculiar “luck,” or superior
management, too readily induces him to become
a participator in the cares and hopes of an indigo
factory.

It might be supposed that establishments thus
504
superintended by persons who are deeply inter-
ested in their success, would be conducted in the
best possible manner; while improvements would
be continually suggesting themselves, by which
favourable results might be attained with greater
certainty. Surprise must therefore be excited
when we find that very little scientific know-
ledge is engaged in the pursuit, and that the
whole is arranged and conducted by means at
variance with philosophical principles, a due
attention to which might often produce totally
different results.

Until within the last few years, since the
appointment of Lord William Bentinck as gover-
nor-general of India, Europeans were not allowed
to take the land in their own hands for agricul-
tural purposes, and they were therefore of neces-
sity dependent on native industry for the pro-
duce of the soil. The cultivation of indigo was
thus left to the care of the indolent and preju-
diced Hindoo, who from age to age is found
obstinately pursuing the same track, without
deviation or improvement, making no attempt
to discover the cause, or arrest the progress of
those ravages so often fatal to his whole crop,
but which the superior intelligence of skilful
European agriculturists might perhaps success-
fully combat.

The uncertainty of this production, though
in the present day more known and felt in the
Hast, was equally great in the West Indies dur-
ing the time when its cultivation formed there
an object of importance. In a statement of the
comparative advantages of different crops, Mr
Edwards, after dwelling on the extreme produc-
tiveness of indigo, thus continues : “ Unhappily,
however, the golden hopes which speculations
like these have raised in the minds of thousands
have vanished on actual experiment like visions
of the morning. I think I have myself, in the
course of eighteen years in the West Indies,
known at least twenty persons commence indigo
planters, not one of whom has left a trace by
which I can now point out where his plantation
was situated, except perhaps the remains of a
ruined cistern covered by weeds and defiled by
reptiles. Many of them too were men of know-
ledge, foresight, and property. That they failed
is certain, but of the causes of their failure I
confess I can give no satisfactory account. I
was told that disappointment trod close at their
heels at every step. At one time the fermenta-
tion was too Jong continued, at another the liquor
was drawn off too soon. Now the pulp was not
duly granulated, and now it was worked too
much, To these inconveniences, for which prac-
tice would doubtless have found a remedy, were
added others of much greater magnitude,—the
mortality of the negroes from the vapour of the
fermented liquor, the failure of the seasons, and
the ravages of the worm. ‘These or some of

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

these evils drove them at length to other pursuits
where industry might find a surer recompense.”

To this melancholy statement may be added
the fact, that of all the productions that have
been made objects of great commercial specula-
tion, not one has of late years so tended to swell
the sad list of bankruptey and ruin as indigo.

The prepared indigo of commerce is usually
imported in square, or oblong cakes, of an intense
blue colour, approaching to black. ‘The specific
evavity of the best quality is small. It has a
peculiar and disagreeable smell.

There is no article of commerce which fluctu-
ates more in its price, and is of greater variety
of quality than indigo. It is distinguished
according to its different shades of colour, arising
from the manner of its preparation, and the
proportion of foreign substances with which it
is mixed. The principal shades are blue, violet,
and copper colour; the blue being the best
quality. These are again subdivided into fine,
good, and middling. The indigo which is
imported from different countries is known in
commerce by its relative value, and accordingly
there are no less than twenty-four kinds in the
English market, each bearing a different price,
varying through all the intermediate proportions
from 8s. G7. to 2s. per Ib,; Bengal is the best,
and Manilla indigo the worst in quality, In
1831, 7,307,813 Ibs. of indigo were imported
into England. The duty on that coming from
British possessions is 3d., on other sorts 4d,
per lb.

However carefully indigo may be prepared,
there are always more or less of impurities mixed
up with it. The relative quantity of these is
ascertained by the specific gravity of the indigo,
which is lighter in proportion to its purity.
Bergmann found that the best indigo which he
could procure contained more than half of
extraneous matter, being in these proportions :—

Pure indigo
Gum

Resin

Earth

Oxide of iron.

= so
Sl swens

Proust, on subjecting indigo to analysis, found
it to contain a large proportion of magnesia.
This substance has very singular chemical pro-
perties. It is now well ascertained to be com-
posed of the fecula of the plants combined with
oxygen, to which it has so great an affinity that
its transition from green to blue on exposure to
the atmosphere is instantaneous. Pure indigo
is insoluble in water, alcohol, ether, or oils;
neither alkalis nor earths have any action on it,
nor have any of the acids hitherto tried, except
the nitric and sulphuric. Nitric acid converts its
colour into a dirty white, and finally decomposes
INDIGO.

it completely. Sulphuric acid dissolves it, and
causes it to acquire a more lively, though a less
durable colour than it naturally possesses. This
peculiarity has been taken advantage of by the
dyers, and sulphate of indigo, under the name
of Saxon blue, is a well known ingredient of
the dye-house. Its application was first discov-
ered and carried on in Saxony in the year 1740,
whence its name. That powerful chemical
agent, chlorine, instantly decomposes indigo.

This valuable dye has a strong affinity for
almost every species of fibrous texture, whether
animal or vegetable; it can therefore impart to
all descriptions of stuff a very permanent colour,
without the assistance of a mordant. By the
superiority and richness of its dye, the facility
with which it is worked, and the other advan-
tages attending its employment, indigo has nearly
superseded the European woad as a first colour;
woad being now rarely used except as an auxil-
iary. Indigo can only be applied as a dye ina
state of solution, and must consequently be
deprived of its oxygen, +o be rendered again
soluble in water. Ingredients therefore, having
a strong affinity for oxygen, are mixed in the
vat together with the indigo, whereby it is again
held in a state of solution. To produce this
effect, the dyers usually employ protoxide of
iron, to deoxidize it, and lime water to render
it soluble in its yellow green state. Bancroft
considers that its colouring matter is somewhat
injured by this process, and supposes that the
very durable blue dyes of some nations, in
different parts of Asia and Africa, are derived
from the indigo plant employed when the colour
is first extracted by steeping and fermentation.
The Chinese are said thus to apply this dye, and
the Africans use it in a way nearly similar. Mr
Clarkson has remarked that the dyes of Africa
are superior to those of any other part of the
globe. The blue produced there is so much
more beautiful and permanent than that which
is extracted from the same plant in other coun-
tries, that many have been led to doubt whether
the African cloths brought into this country
were dyed with indigo. It was believed that
this vivid and permanent African colour, which
obtained more lustre by repeated washings, must
have been derived from some other plant, or
extracted from some of the woods of the country
celebrated for imparting beautiful colours. It
has, however, been clearly ascertained, that the
balls of indigo, prepared by the Africans, are
simply the leaves rolled up. Two or three of
these balls have been procured, and subjected to
chemical examination.

M. Adanson, in noticing the indigo cultivated
by the negroes in Senegal, observes that these
people do not take much trouble to draw the
dye out of the plant. The leaves are gathered
at any time in the year, and merely pounded in

 

505

a mortar till reduced to a paste. This paste is
made up into leaves in order to be preserved dry.
When required for use it is dissolved in a kind
of ley, made of the ashes of an unctuous plant
which grows in the fields, and is called by the
natives rhemi,—in this, the cloth to be dyed is
immersed. It is supposed that indigo in this
state, will keep as long as that which has received
the usual preparation; but the enhanced expense
of freight caused by the much greater bulk of
the article thus simply prepared, is perhaps a
sufficient objection to its importation in that
form.

Indigo is imported into England at a duty of
threepence per pound for that grown in British
possessions; the addition of another penny per
pound is placed on that coming from foreign
ports.

The average quantity of this substance annu-
ally imported, for the last five years, is 27,842
chests of East Indian, weighing from 2 to 3
ewt. each; and 3,151 serons, Spanish, weighing
about 250 Ibs. each; a considerable portion of
which is re-exported to the continent of Europe.

Another species of indigo was discovered by
Dr Roxburgh, to which he gave the name of
cerulea, from the beauty of its colour. It is an
erect shrubby species, growing naturally in some
parts of India, on dry, barren, uncultivated
grounds, to the height of from one to three feet,
and still higher in a better soil. It mainly
resembles the indigofera argentea, somewhat
differing from that plant in the shape and growth
of its leaves, A much finer indigo of a lighter
colour was obtained from it, and in a larger pro-
portion, than from the common plant, Eight
pounds of these leaves gave two hundred and
forty grains of indigo. Another species of indigo,
called by Thunberg the indigofera arborea, was
cultivated by the Dutch colonists at the Cape of
Good Hope. i

In the year 1792 Dr Roxburgh transmitted
home a sample of indigo prepared from the leaves
of a species of rose bay, which he distinguishes
by the name of neriwm tinctorium. From the
excellent quality of this indigo, and other advan-
tages attending its cultivation and preparation,
it might have been supposed that the nerium
indigo would quickly have become an article of
commerce, and have been in much request among
our dye-houses; but it has not yet taken its place
among the imported eastern productions, though
it should seem that the extensive cultivation of
this tree would be attended with much _ less
labour-and cost, and offer a greater certainty of
profit than the common indigo plant.

The nerium grows plentifully throughout the
Carnatic, and in every part of the Circars where
there are hills and mountains, being an extent
of about a thousand miles in length. Near

inhabited places it is so often cut down for fire
ag
506

wood, that in such situations it is always found
in the state of avery small tree, or a large bush.
But when suffered to reach its full growth, it
attains to the height of from eleven to fifteen
feet up to the branches. Its trunk, which is of
an irregular shape, is about a foot and a half to
two feet in diameter. Its bark, when old, is
scabrous, but when young smooth and ash-
coloured. The wood of this tree is remarkably
white and close grained, in appearance resem-
bling ivory. The leaves are oval, pointed, toler-
ably smooth, and of a pale green colour; they
are very numerous, and when full grown, from
six to ten inches long, and from three to four
inches broad. To cause a greater production of
leaves, it should be eut low as the mulberry
trees are for feeding silkworms, and like them,
the oftener it is cut down the greater is its dis-
position to increase. Many shoots issue from
the old stumps, and in the space of one year
these shoots grow to various heights—from one
to ten feet, according to the nature of the soil
and season. The leaves fall at the commence-
ment, or during the colder part, of the year, In
March, or the beginning of April, the young
leaves together with the flowers first make their
appearance. Towards the end of April, those
which were earliest in unfolding attain to their
full size. This period was found by Dr Rox-
burgh to be the most favourable for gathering
the leaves; about this time also it ceases flower-
ing, and many of the seed vessels become per-
fectly formed, though the seeds do not ripen
until January or February. The leaves remain
in afit state for gathering until about the end of
August, when they begin to acquire a yellow,
rusty tinge, and are gradually cast. The colour-
ing matter resides in the leaves alone; all trials
toextract any from the twigs proved unsuccessful.
Indigo is prepared from these leaves in the same
manner as from the indigo plant by the scalding
process, The leavesof the nerium, unlike those
of the common indigofera, will not yield their
colour to cold water, but by hot water it is readily
extracted. Hard spring water is found preferable
in increasing the quantity and improving the
quality of the indigo, After being exposed to
the action of the fire for about three hours, the
leaves begin to assume a yellow hue, then the
scalding has been sufficiently pursued, and as the
agitation and precipitation do not consume a
longer time, the whole process is very speedily
completed. From two to three hundred pounds
of green leaves yield one pound of indigo.

Mr Marsden, in his valuable history of Sumatra,
mentions, that the inhabitants of that island
have a kind of indigo which seems to be peculiar
to their country. hey call it tarroom akkar.
Totally unlike the common indigo, it is a vine
or creeping plant, with leaves four or five inches
long, in shape like a laurel, but finer, and of a

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

dark green colour. Its qualities are, however,
precisely the same as those of the common
indigo; there is no difference in their colours,
they are prepared in the same manner, and used
indiscriminately, no preference being given to
one above the other, except that the akkar, by
reason of the superior size of its leaves, yields a
greater proportion of sediment.

The people of Sumatra do not manufacture
either sort of their indigoes into a solid substance,
as is practised elsewhere in the East, and in the
West Indies, They merely soak and macerate
the stalks and branches for some days in water,
then boil it, and work with their hands some
quick-lime among it, with leaves of a species of
fern, for fixing the colour. They then drain it
off and use it in its liquid state.

The Japanese cultivate three other plants—the
polygonum chinense, barbatum, and aviculare, for
the same purpose, and procure from each of them
a beautiful blue colour resembling that from
indigo. They dry the leaves, then pound them
and mix them up into small balls or cakes, which
are sold in the shops ready for use. When they
are to be used they boil these cakes in water,
adding some ashes to the decoction. This liquid
dye is equally available for linen, silk, and
cotton.

Woan (isatistinctoria). Natural family cru-
cifera ; class tetradynamia, of Linneus. This

191.

 

plant was at a very early period employed as a
colouring matter by the ancient Britons. It was
anciently called glastum from the celtic word
glas, blue, whence Glastonbury derived its name,
The ancient Britons, when first invaded by the
Romans, were in the practice of staining their
bodies of a blue colour with some preparation of
this substance; thence also is supposed to be
derived the name Briton from the celtic britho,
paint,

This plant was also believed to destroy, by its
simple application, all roughness and inequali-
ties of the skin. Pliny, in his description of
it, while he notices its use by the dyers,
chiefly dwells upon its medicinal qualities. This
plant is biennial, having a large woody root,
which penetrates deep into the ground. The
WOAD. 507

stem is from three to four feet high, and about
half an inch in diameter, dividing into several
branches, which are loaded with many leaves of
a lucid green colour, and sitting close to the
stalk. They are thick, and of a long oval form,
terminating in obtuse points, generally about a
foot long, and half a foot broad in their widest
part. The branches are surmounted by small
yellow flowers, disposed in panicles; these appear
in July, and are succeeded by seeds, which come
to maturity in September. The soil in which
this plant succeeds best is a gentle hazel loam,
whose parts will easily separate ; that is,a medium
between a light, sandy, and a stiff, moist soil.
Three or four crops are usually obtained in one
year. The first when the stems begin to turn
yellow and the flowers are about to appear; the
others at successive intervals of six weeks, or
more, according to the temperature of the
climate. The two first gatherings render the
best woad. The plants are mowed down with
a scythe, and as soon as collected are washed in
a stream of water, and dried in the sun. The
desiccation must be rapidly performed; if the
season be unfavourable, and the woad be exposed
to rain, it will run the hazard of being spoiled.
A single night is sometimes sufficient to turn it
black. Immediately on being dried from the
effects of the washing, it is conveyed to a mill,
resembling the oil and tan mills, and is ground
into a smooth paste. If this process were defer-
red for any time it would speedily putrefy, and
emit an intolerable and unwholesome odour.
This paste is laid in heaps, which are pressed
close and smooth, and then covered to protect
them from rain. A blackish crust is soon formed
on the outside, which, if it happen to crack, is
carefully reunited. Should this be neglected,
little worms would be produced in the cracks,
and the woad lose part of its strength. After
remaining thus covered u fortnight, the heaps
are opened, and the crust rubbed and mixed
with the inside. This matter is then formed
into solid balls, which are pressed into a com-
pact substance in wooden moulds. These balls
are dried upon hurdles; if exposed to the sun
they turn black on the outside, but in a sheltered
place they become of a yellowish hue. Dealers
in this commodity usually prefer the first,
though it is said that there is really no material
difference between the two descfiptions. Good
balls ate distinguished by their superior weight,
and by exhibiting, on being rubbed, a violet
colour within.

These balls require a farther preparation
before they can be converted to the purpose of
dyeing. They are first beaten with wooden
mallets on a brick or stone floor, until they are
reduced to a coarse powder. This is heaped up
into the middle of the apartment to the height
of about four feet, space being left to allow a

 

sufficient passage round the sides; it is then
moistened with water, which speedily induces
fermentation, and thick fetid fumes are emitted.
The heap is daily moistened and stirred about
with shovels, for the space of twelve days, after
which period it is moved less frequently, and
without being watered. At length it is made
into a heap for the dyer. Dr Bancroft observes,
that the proper mode of conducting the fermen-
tation, and the exact time at which it ought to be
stopped, still remain so uncertain, that those who
make it their business to prepare woad have no
decided facts or indications to govern their man-
agement in this respect; and the goodness of any
particular quantity can never be ascertained
otherwise than by actual use. The powder thus
prepared gives only brownish tinctures of differ-
ent shades, to aqueous, spirituous, or alkaline
menstrua; rubbed on paper it communicates a
green stain. If the powder be diluted with
boiling water and allowed to stand for some
hours in a close vessel, then with the addition
of about one-twentieth of its weight of newly
slacked lime, on exposure to a gentle heat, with
frequent stirrings of the fluid, afresh fermentation
takes place, a blue froth rises to the surface, and
the liquor, though it appear itself of a reddish
colour, dyes woollen of a green colour, which,
like that from indigo, changes to a blue, as soon
as exposed to the atmosphere. Its nature is
very similar to that of indigo in every respect,
and experiments have been made which prove
the identity of their colouring matter. If the
woad plant be prepared like the ¢ndigofera,
indigo will be afforded, though in a much less pro-
portion than that obtained from the exotic plant.

To raise the plants with good large leaves a
rich soil is requisite, and a culture nearly similar
to that used in raising turnips. The seeds are
sown in July, and the plants when they come
up are weeded and thinned. Next July, or
earlier, the first crop of leaves may be gathered,
and two or three others will be obtained during
the season. If left beyond two years they will
run to seed, and yield but small leaves.

The average produce from an acre of land is
about one ton of woad; in very favourable
seasons sometimes one and a half ton are
obtained. It requires change of soil; the best
land is injured by being sown more than twice
successively with woad. It is imported into
England at rather a heavy impost duty of 3s. per
ewt., its price being from 18s. to 20s. the ewt.

Woad affords a substantive blue colour,
extremely durable and substantial, which may
not only be reduced to many different shades,
according to the quantity employed, but is like-
wise of great use in dyeing and fixing many
other colours.

For many centuries it has been an ingredient
of great importance with the English dyers. So
508

early as the year 1198 we find it in very exten-
sive use, and it continued an article of increas-
ing trade until the introduction of indigo, when,
as it has been already observed, woad began to
decline in consideration. Its natural colour is
a deep blue, almost approaching to black. In-
digo affords a much more lively and pleasing
hue, while it contains, beyond all comparison,
a proportionate greater quantity of colouring
matter; but it is less permanent than woad,
which is therefore still used in conjunction with
that and other dyes, but now seldom employed
by itself. Its price has been lowered by its
lessened consumption, and consequently there is
not so much inducement held out for its careful
cultivation and preparation. The colour now
sold is consequently much inferior to that for-
merly prepared; and it is supposed that a more
careful management might be productive of
great improvement in this dye.

Woad is cultivated in the Azores and the
Canary islands, in Italy, in Switzerland, and in
parts of Germany and of Sweden. It is like-
wise indigenous to England, and is very exten-
sively grown in Lancashire, where it much used.
This plant is also cultivated and prepared in
various parts of France. That of the southern
departments is the most esteemed, and is distin-
guished by the name of pastel. Another species,
the ésatis lusitanica, is grown in Portugal and
Spain. ‘This differs from the dsatis sativa in
being of smaller growth, and having narrower
leaves. A species of woad, apparently the same
plant as that used by the dyers, is found grow-
ing wild in some parts of France, and on the
coast of the Baltic sea.

Reo Saunpers Woop (pierocarpus santa-
linus). Natural family leguminose:; diadelphia,
decandria, of Linneus. This is a large tree,
sending off lofty alternate branches, and covered
with rough bark resembling that of the common
alder. ‘The leaves are alternate, oval, and grouped
three together. The flowers are yellow, papil-
ionaceous, and grow in spikes from the axille of
the branches. This tree is a native of the East
Indies, and is found chiefly on the Coromandel
coast. Its qualities were first ascertained by
K6nig, who sent a specimen and description of
it to the younger Linneus. The wood is solid
and compact ; on the outside it appears of a dull
muddy red, approaching to black ; within it is
of a brighter red, but becomes brown on expos-
ure to the air. This wood is never employed
without being pulverized. It is slow of impart-
ing its colour to water, but yields it readily to
alcohol. It does not produce much colouring
matter when used alone, but this is a permanent
dye. Its colouring matter is found to dissolve
much better when mixed with astringent sub-
stances, such as walnut-peels, sumach, or nut-
galls, With asolution of this in diluted spirit,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and on a tin mordant, Volger produced a poppy
red; on alum, a scarlet ; on sulphate of copper,
a crimson ; and on sulphate of iron, a deep vio-
let colour. :

A very trifling importation of this wood is now"
received into England. The duty charged upon
it is 1s. per ton. Its price varies from £18 to
£19 per ton.

The people of Sumatra, who have great skill
in extracting and imparting dyes, and who are
in possession of a vegetable black dye which is
said to be much wanted by us, derive good red
colouring matter from several other trees and
shrubs.

From the outer parts of the root of a tree,
(morinda citrifolia), by drying, pounding, and
boiling them in water, they procure a red dye,
to fix which they employ the ashes yielded by
the burning of the stalks of the fruit and mid-
ribs of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree.

Oobar isa red wood which they use in col-
ouring their fishing nets. It resembles the log-
wood of Honduras, and, in the opinion of
Mr Marsden, might be substituted for that pro-
duct.

Mr Marsden remarks, that the Sumatrans are
acquainted with no purple dye, nor apparently
are any of the Indian nations, though the art
is most ancient among them, and some others of
their colours are of unrivalled beauty.

Mapper (rubia tinctorum). Natural family
rubiacee ; tetrandria, monogynia, of Linneus.

 

Madder,

This plant is frequently mentioned by the Greek
writers, who employed its root as a medicine.
The root is perennial, having an annual stalk,
and is composed of many long thick succulent
fibres, about a quarter of an inch in thickness.
It is joined at the top in a head like asparagus,
and runs very deep into the ground. Many side
roots issue from the upper part or head of the
parent root, and they extend just beneath the
surface of the ground to a considerable distance.
It in consequence propagates itself very rapidly,
for these numerous side roots send forth many
shoots, which, if carefully separated in the spring
soon after they are above ground, become so
MADDER,

many plants. These roots are covered with a
black bark or rind; divested of this, they are of
a reddish colour, and semi-transparent ; a yel-
lowish pith is found in the middle, which is
tough, and rather of a bitter taste. The whole
has a strong and peculiar smell. From the roots
spring forth many large square-jointed stalks ;
these are weak and unable to sustain their own
weight ; they rise in good land to the height of
eight feet, but if not propped, they creep along
the ground. They are armed with short her-
baceous prickles, and round each joint are placed
in a whorl from four to six spear-shaped leaves
of about three inches in length, and in the broad-
est part almost an inch wide. The upper sur-
face of these is smooth, but the mid-rib on the
under side is armed with rough herbaceous pines.
The branches which sustain the flowers pro-
ceed from the joints; they are placed by pairs
opposite to each other, having a few small leaves
growing in triplets towards the bottom, and in
pairs as they approach the top. These branches
are terminated by loose branchy spikes of yel-
low flowers, the corollas of which are divided
into four parts, and resemble stars.

The madder plant does not bear flowers until
the second or third year, when they bloom in
June, and are succeeded by berries which con-
tain the seeds. It is propagated by shoots. In
the beginning of August the land is ploughed
in ridges, eighteen inches asunder, and a foot
deep ; the young plants are placed in these a
foot apart from each other. They thus remain
for two seasons, care being taken to clear them of
weeds. At the latter end of September, when
the leaves are fallen off, the roots are taken up
and dried for market.

Madder grows best in a moderately rich, light,
and somewhat sandy soil. It is a native of the
Levant, and grows thus in Italy, in the south of
France and Holland, in which latter country it
is largely cultivated. Its culture was first intro-
duced into England by Gerard, and subsequently
every encouragement for its cultivation in this
country was held out; yet although it thrives
well with care, it is found that it can be imported
better and cheaper from abroad.

According to an experiment made near Tours,
an arpent (48,000 square French feet) of ground
produced eight thousand pounds weight of fresh
roots of madder; but in general not more than
four, five, or six thousand pounds are expected
from the same space.

As soon as the roots are dug up, they are taken
to a place of shelter, so constructed as to admit
the air freely from all sides.

The French distinguish two qualities of mad-
der, that which is prepared from the parent root,
and that from the side shoots; the first, when
the roots are not too large, is considered the best,
These two descriptions of root are kept separate

 

509

in the drying-house, where they are left for four
or five days, being turned once or twice during
that time, in order that they may dry equably,
and that the earth adhering to them may be
rubbed off. They are then conveyed to kilns
constructed for the purpose, where they are still
farther dried. When the roots are sufficiently
dried outwardly, they are removed to a floor
made as clean as possible, and the outer skin
is then separated by means of thrashing.

This skin is pulverized by itself, and packed
up in separate casks. It is known in commerce
by the name of mud/, and being extremely infe-
rior to the other part, is sold at a comparatively
very low price.

After the outer skin is thus separated, the
roots are again conveyed to the kiln, and sub-
jected to a greater degree of heat than before.
That this heat may not be injurious to the roots,
they are frequently turned, and a current of
fresh air is blown through the kiln, to carry off
the noxious exhalations of the plant,which would
otherwise injure the colour. When the roots
are sufficiently dried, they are conveyed to the
pounding-house to be reduced to powder.

In warm climates madder is prepared without
the application of artificial heat. It results from
this difference of preparation, and perhaps also
from the variety of the plant, that two kinds of
madder are distinguished, which differ in their
dyeing properties.

The roots are ground either between mill-
stones or under knives similar to those of a tan-
bark-mill. After the first milling, the impuri-
ties are separated by means of boulters or fan-
ners. In this state it is so partially cleansed,
that the French call it mon-robée ; the residuum
consists of earthy matter, epidermis, and bark.

After a second milling, what is separated is
called mi-robée; and finally, after a third milling,
the madder rodée, or madder cleared from the
husk, is obtained, and which is of the best quality.
This substance is employed as a red dye, and
also as a first tint for several other colours. The
madder used for dyeing cotton in the East
Indies is in some respects different from that of
Europe. On the coast of Coromandel it has the
name of chat. It grows wild on the coast of
Malabar ; the cultivated kind is obtained from
Vaour and Tuccoun, but the most esteemed is
the Persian chat, called also duwmas.

The madder imported in considerable quanti-
ties from Smyrna is more esteemed than the
best Dutch madder, which ranks the first of that
grown in Europe. The madder produced in the
lower part of the Rhine is considered by Ber-
thollet as not inferior to that of Zealand.

This is an adjective dye, but affords a perma-
nent colour to cloth which a few days previ-
ously has been boiled for two or three hours in
a solution ofalum and tartar. The colour which
510

it imparts is not so beautiful as that obtained
from kermes or cochineal, but being much less
expensive, it is extensively employed for com-
mon stuffs. Linen takes this dye with more dif-
ficulty than cotton. It is seldom used for silk,
but is one of the most valuable dyeing drugs for
a variety of purposes. It is an agent for dyeing
many colours, and is therefore peculiarly adapted
to the process of calico-printing, since by the
use of different mordants, a variety of hues may
be produced by immersion in the madder bath.
One mordant, in combining with it, precipitates
the colouring matter red, another purple, ano-
ther black, and so of every possible shade from
lilac to black, and from pink to deep red. If a
portion of weld or quercitron be added to the
madder, every shade from brown to orange may
be produced. Tin, iron, and aluminous bases,
as well as other mordants, are used for this pur-
pose, dependent on the colour required. It isa
matter of doubt and speculation with chemists
whether these various colours are produced by
the combination of the colouring principle of
madder with the different mordants, by which a
chemical change takes place, or whether several
colouring matters are not really contained in the
substance itself, and severally precipitated or
retained by the varying action of the different
agents to which it may be subjected. It is, how-
ever, certain that it contains at least two distinct
colouring matters, a fawn and a red, and that
the admixture of the former with the latter very
much injures its clearness and beauty. In con-
sequence of this, two kinds of red are obtained
from madder. The first is simply called madder
red, which contains the whole of the colouring
matter. The other possesses far more lustre,
and is much more valued ; it is called Turkey
red, because first obtained from the Levant. Its
superior brilliancy is imparted in consequence of
the red colouring matter being alone preserved ;
and while the tint communicated excels in
brightness, it has the additional and great advan-
tage of extreme durability.

The manner of producing this desirable effect
was for a long period of time a subject of much
interest and inquiry, the process used in Turkey
being enveloped in mystery. The industry of
the French artisans was stimulated by the inter-
est which their government took in the dis-
covery. Yet attempts at imitating this beauti-
ful dye were long fruitless, and when at length
they proved successful, this success was limited
to one or two dye-houses. It was only by very
slow degrees that it came more diffused, and then
each individual who acquired the knowledge,
jealously guarded his own peculiar secrets which
he had introduced in the process.

At length the Abbe Mazeas published the
result of his experiments on the subject ; and in
the year 1765, the French government promul-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

gated all the information which had by its
direction been diligently collected. These
instructions were entitled, “ A memoir contain-
ing the process for the incarnate red dye of Adri-
anople on cotton yarn.” Berthellot, Vitalis, and
other eminent chemists, have likewise subse-
quently given an account of the course of pro-
cedure. All nearly agree in the detail, whence
it appears that the process is most elaborate and
tedious. Many different ingredients are used
previously to applying the madder. Oil, sheep’s
dung, calf’s blood, gall-nuts, soda, alum, and
subsequently a solution of tin are employed, and
the yarn undergoes seventeen distinct operations
before it is finally imbued with its rich colouring.
Many of these materials are considered by Dr
Ure as unnecessary, and his opinion has received
the confirmation of an eminent calico-printer,
who assured him that oil and alumina are the
only essential mordants in the process.

It is said that a dilute super-sulphate of potash
is now used with success in France for separating
the two colouring matters.

It was not until the year 1790 that the art of
dyeing the Turkey red was introduced into our
country. At that time M. Papillon, a French-
man, formed an establishment at Glasgow for
carrying on the process. He obtained a pre-
mium from the commissioners and trustees for
manufactures in Scotland, on the condition of
communicating his secret to Dr Black, it being
stipulated on the Doctor’s part that it should not
be divulged for a certain term of years, during
which period M. Papillon was to have the sole
use of, and the benefit accruing from his pro-
cess. The term being expired, the process pur-
sued was published, and found to be very similar
to that already given by the French chemists.

Another species of madder has been cultivated
in France by M. D’Ambourney, who found it
growing wild among the rocks of Oissel in Nor-
mandy. Ontrialit yielded a dye as beautiful as
that of Smyrna madder, and he was therefore
induced to prosecute its culture. This plant
is rather different from the madder grown in
Holland. Its roots are more slender, and of a
less bright colour. They are furnished with few
fibres at their joints, and those joints are farther
apart ; the stalk is not so thick, and the leaves
are narrower, and of a paler green.

In consequence of the impossibility of drying
his roots without fire, M. D’Ambourney was
induced to use them fresh after being well washed
and cleansed. It is estimated that the root of
the madder loses seven-eighths of its weight
when dried and reduced to powder. But four
pounds of the fresh root were found to be as
efficacious as one pound of pulverized madder;
therefore, by this plan, twice as much effective
colouring matter was obtained: besides which
advantage there were many others,—the expense
THE SAFFLOWER.

of erecting sheds and kilns for drying was ren-
dered unnecessary—there was no danger of injur-
ing the substance by improper drying, nor was
the cost of a mill for grinding required. Lastly,
the roots did not evaporate or ferment, as is the
ease with powdered madder if not speedily used;
but they might be preserved fresh during several
months, by laying them in a hole three feet
deep, in alternate layers of roots and of earth.
Roots are now imported in large quantities into
England, and obtain a proportionate higher
price than the prepared madder.

In 1804 the gold medal of the society for the
Encouragement of Arts, &c., was voted to Sir H.
C. Englefield, for his discovery of a pigment pre-
pared from madder. He obtained a fine lake by
many different processes, and found that the colour
produced from the Smyrna was of a deeper and
vicher tint than any prepared from the Dutch
madder. In pursuing his experiments he dis-
covered that the colouring matter might be
extracted from fresh madder, and thus not only
all the expenses and difficulty attendant on the
process for prepared madder might be avoided,
but the cost of carriage would be one-fourth less
than for the roots; while separated from these
the colouring matter might be kept for any
length of time without danger of being spoiled.
A further advantage would also arise in the
quantity obtained, as ai/ the colouring matter
could be extracted; while in the manner which
the dyers use the roots, a very considerable part
of the colour is left in the refuse matter, and
consequently wasted.

The following is a slight sketch of the method
proposed for obtaining this extract. A given
quantity of the roots ground into a pulp is put
into a woollen bag. This is then triturated in
large vats filled with a certain relative propor-
tion of water; the friction is continued until the
colouring matter is entirely washed out of the
madder; thé water thus loaded with colour is
boiled,—an iron vessel must not be used, as a
chemical change would take place and the colour
would be spoiled. After being boiled it is poured
into an earthen receiver, and a solution of alum
is mixed with it in given quantities. Then a
certain proportion of asaturated solution of mild
vegetable alkali is added, which causes efferves-
cence, and the colouring matter is immediately
precipitated, from which the supernatant liquor
being drawn off, the colour is readily dried for use.

The average annual importation of prepared
madder in England for the last five years is
67,525 cwts. Of madder roots 46,272 ewts.
The former pays a duty of 2s. per cwt.; the
latter only 6d. for the same quantity. The
average price of the best madder for the five
preceding years was 83s. per cwt., and of the
best roots 48s. per cwt. It is imported from
Holland, France, and Turkey.

 

511

An inferior kind of madder, known in com-
merce under the name of munject, is at present
imported from the East Indies into this country.
The average annual import for the five preceding
years is 28,826 bales, each bale weighing 20 lhs.;
the average price during that time being 34s. per
cwt. for the best.

Madder has the singular property of imparting
its colour to the animal fluids when given along
with food. In this way it tinges the milk, urine,
and even the bones, thus affording a proof that
the digestive process does not in all cases destroy
the natural properties of the substances taken
into the stomach.

Its use in medicine is now almost entirely
given up. It was supposed to possess diuretic
properties, and to be a cure for jaundice.

Tue Sarrirower (carthamus tinctorius). Na-
tural family composite; syngenesia, equalis, ot
Linneus. This plant is a native of Egypt, and
the warmer climates of Asia. It is likewise
cultivated in the Levant and the southern parts
of Europe. The Chinese have long known its
use, and produce from it their finest red. The
colour called by them bing, which is used by the
Japanese ladies as a cosmetic, is made from it,
and kept in little round porcelain cups. “With
this,” says Thunberg, “they paint, not their
cheeks, as the Europeans do, but their lips.
If the paint is very thin, the lips appear red;
but if it be laid on thick, they become of violet
hue, which is here considered as the greatest
beauty.

We obtain it from the Hast Indies and from
Turkey, that from India being considered the
most valuable. It is cultivated with success in
the gardens of France, but not as an article of
commerce. In Spain it is grown in gardens as
marygolds are in England, to colour soups, olives,
and other dishes. It is also used by the Polish
Jews in almost all their dishes.

The carthamus tinctorius is an annual plant,
with an upright, firm, smooth stem, of a colour
approaching to white, and of about three feet in
height; this stem is divided at top into several
branches, bearing leaves of an oval form, and
edged with small spines. Each of the branches
is terminated by a large flower head, composed
of several flowerets, all of which are furnished
with stamina and pistils. The flowers are of a
deep red colour. This plant is propagated by
seeds, which are sown early in the spring, in
drills, at about the distance of two feet and a
half asunder.

In abouta month the young plants are expected
to appear, and they are allowed to remain undis-
turbed for another month. They are then hoed
and thinned, each plant being left about half a
foot from the other. A second and third hoeing
are given before blossoming. In rich land the
flowers seldom appear till late in autumn, while
512

in a poor dry ground the plants bloom at an
earlier period, but the flowers of these are smaller,
and yield a less portion of colouring matter. A
moderately dry and well manured soil is con-
sidered to be on the whole best adapted to the
culture of this plant, especially if the seed be
sown early in February. ;

The moment the flowerets which form the
compound flowers begin to open, they are gathered
in succession without waiting for the whole to
expand, since when allowed to remain till fully
blown, the beauty of the colour is very much
faded. As the flowers are collected they are
dried in the shade. This work must be carefully
performed, for if gathered in wet weather, or
badly dried, the colour will be much deteriorated.
These flowers contain two kinds of colouring
matter,—the one yellow, which is soluble in
water, the other red, which being of a resinous
nature, is insoluble in water, but soluble in
alkaline carbonates. The first is never converted
to any use, as.it dyes only dull shades of colour:
the other is a beautiful rose-red, capable of dye-
ing every shade, from the palest rose to a cherry-
red. Itis therefore requisite, before these flowers
can be made available, to separate the valueless
from the valuable colour; and since the former
only is soluble in water, this operation is matter
of little difficulty.

The flowers are tied in a sack and laid in a
trough, through which a slender stream of water
is constantly flowing; while, still farther to pro-
mote the solution of the yellow colouring matter,
a man in the trough treads the sack and subjects
every part to the action of the water: when this
flows without receiving any yellow tinge in its
passage, the washing is discontinued, and the
safflower, if not wanted for immediate use, is
made into cakes, which are known in commerce
under the name of stripped safflower. It is
principally used for dyeing silk, producing
poppy-red, bright orange, cherry, rose, or flesh-
colour, according to the alteratives employed
in combination. These are alum, potash, tartar,
citric acid, or sulphuric acid.

A smaller variety of the carthamus is culti-
vated in Egypt, where it forms a considerable
article of commerce. “The dyes the Egyptians
use,” says Volney, “are probably as old as the
time of the Tyrians, and they carry them at this
day to a perfection not unworthy that people;
but their workmen, jealous of the art, make an
impenetrable mystery of the process.” Hassel-
quist, in his Voyage d’Egypte, describes the
manner in which the Egyptians prepare the
carthamus for use. As soon as the flowers are
gathered, they are squeezed hetween two stones
to extract all their moisture; they are then
washed several times with pit well water, which
in Egypt is naturally brackish. On being taken
out of the water they are pressed between the

 

HALSTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

hands, and then spread out on mats upon ter-
races; they are covered during the day lest the
drying should be too quickly completed, and
they are exposed to the dews of night. Every
part is turned over from time to time, and when
found to be dried to the proper point, the whole
is taken up and preserved for sale.

The colouring matter from the stripped saf-
flower is obtained by the application of an
alkaline carbonate. On being soaked in a weak
solution of barilla it speedily colours the fluid
of a deep red, When the whole of the colouring
matter is thus extracted and held in solution by
the alkaline menstruum, the infusion is strained.
It now remains to precipitate the colour, for
which purpose acid is added in sufficient quantity
to saturate the alkali employed. Citric acid or
fresh lemon juice is generally chosen, because it
renders the colour more lively than when in
combination with any of the other acids. The
carbonic acid gas, which is disengaged during
the saturation of the alkali, of course produces
considerable effervescence, and therefore care
must be taken that the acid be added gradually,
and that the dimensions of the vessel are such
as to allow of the ebullition without the liquor
running over. The colouring matter extracted
from the safflower being only kept in solution
by the action of the alkali, it is of consequence
separated, as this becomes neutralized by the
acid, and it fixes on the sides and bottom of the
vessel. Most generally, however, carded cotton
is introduced into the fluid previously to the
application of the acid, and as the colouring
matter has more affinity for the cotton than for
the surface of the vessel, it fixes upon that as it
separates from the alkali. It is scarcely possible
wholly to separate the yellow colouring matter
in the first washing, and the part which remains
renders the shade of colour given to the cotton
rather dull, but this is easily removed by repeated
washings. If no cotton is employed the pre-
cipitate appears in the form of a fine powder.
The supernatant liquor is then decanted, the
colour washed and distributed upon saucers,
where, as it dries, it acquires a coppery tinge;
the rose-red colour is produced as soon as this
is wetted. The resinous part may also be pre-
served in a mass by merely drying the precipi-
tate. It is then called India or China lake. It
does not communicate any colour to water,
but produces abeautiful red tincture whenalcohol
is poured uponit. This colouring matter, mixed
with French chalk, or tale, finely pulverized, is
the substance known under the name of vegetable
rouge.

To render this substance efficient for dyeing,
it must be again held in solution by an alkaline
menstruum, in which the stuff to be dyed is
immersed, and by the application of the acid the
colouring matter is precipitated on the fabric
ST JOHN’S WORT.

under process, in a similar manner to that by
which it was retained on the carded cotton.

Safflower is imported into England from India
and Turkey: the Indian is very much superior,
being nearly double the price of the Turkish.
It is admitted at the trifling duty of 1s. per
ewt. The average annual importation for the
last five years has been 2,942 bales, each weighing
one cwt. The average price of the best during
that time was £8 17s. per cwt.

In Germany this plant is cultivated pretty
extensively on light land well pulverized. It
is sown in rows about eighteen inches distance,
and afterwards thinned to three or four inches
apart in the row. In September the plants
begin to flower, and the field is then gone over
once a week for six or seven weeks, to gather
the expanded florets, which are dried in a kiln
in the same manner as true saffron. Turkeys
and geese are said to feed greedily on the seed,
and soon fatten on it.

St Joun’s Worr (hypericum perforatum ;)
polyadelphia, polyandria, of Linneus. This
plant grows naturally in many parts of Great
Britain, and can be easily propagated by layers
or seeds. It has a shrubby stalk about two feet
high. The branches grow in pairs, shooting
forth in opposite directions. The flowers grow
at the ends of the stalks, and bloom in July and
August. These are succeeded by globular berry-
like capsules of a black colour,

The juice expressed from the tops and flowers
is perfectly soluble in water, alcohol, and vinegar;
a solution in the two former affords a blood-red
colour, in the latter a fine bright crimson; when
combined with other acids it exhibits a yellow
colour, which proves that it contains two colour-
ing matters, capable of separate solution in dif-
ferent menstrua. If alum, combined with a
certain portion of potash, be used as a mordant,
a bright yellow dye is obtained; by increasing
the quantity of the mordant, the colour some-
what inclines to green, and by the addition of a
solution of tin in nitro-muriatic acid, according
to the proportion used, rose, cherry, or crimson
hues, all of a fine lustre, will be produced.

This juice can be made to assume a concrete
form by being exposed in shallow dishes to the
moderate heat of anoven. If then it be reduced
to powder, it will readily combine by trituration
with turpentine. The resin, thus saturated with
the juice, can be mixed with olive oil, and forms
the oil of St John’s wort, sometimes used in
pharmacy. Incorporated with linseed oil, and
with the addition of a small portion of oil of
turpentine, a fine red varnish is produced, which
may be advantageously employed for coating
articles of furniture made of wood.

OrricinaL Croton (croton tinctorium.) Natural
family exphorbiacee ; monacia, monandria, of
Linneus. This plant yields the dye called turn-

*

 

538

sole. It is an annual, producing a round her-
baceous branching stalk with many leaves, stand-
ing upon long slender footstalks. It seldom
exceeds nine inches in height. The flowers are
produced in short spikes from the sides of the
stalks at the end of the branches. They appear
in July or the beginning of August, which is
the proper time for collecting them. At this
time the peasants assemble from the distance of
fifteen or twenty leagues round, and each gathers,
on his own account, the flowering tops of the
plants. These are immediately bruised in a
mil], and the dark green juice is expressed into
stone vessels. It is then, without loss of time,
poured over pieces of canves or linen provided
for the purpose. These first appear of a lively
green, but afterwards change to a red-purple
hue. Thus prepared, they are packed and sold
by the French under the name of tournesols en
drapeaux. These shreds are employed to colour
several articles in domestic economy. The Dutch
buy up large quantities, which are used by them
to colour wines and the rinds of cheese.

When infused with distilled water they afford
an excellent test. Litmus, well known to
chemists as a test for detecting alkalis or acids,
is prepared from this plant. The former changes
its colour to blue, the latter to red. Persons
who formerly prepared the litmus purposely
concealed the source whence it was derived, pre-
tending that it was extracted from the heliotro-
pium tricoccum, in order to mislead others and
restrict the preparation to themselves. It is
now, however, well known that croton is the
plant from which litmus is obtained.

ALKANET, or Buatoss (anchusa tinctoria).
Natural family boraginice ; pentandria, mono-
gynia, of Linneus. This plant is a native of
the Levant, and the warmer parts of Europe.
France, particularly about Montpelier, produces
itin the greatest abundance. Our chief supplies
are drawn thence; for though it is raised in
England, the roots are much inferior to those of
foreign growth. It is a hardy plant, growing
with a branchy stem, having oval leaves set
alternately on the branches. The flowers come
forth from the summit in long spikes, growing
grouped together like the tiles of a house. It
is propagated by seed, sown in beds either in
spring or autumn; when sufficiently advanced
the young plants are transplanted at intervals of
two feet from each other. The colouring matter
is confined to the bark of the roots, and therefore
the small roots, having more bark in proportion
to their bulk than the large ones, afford the most
colour, and are considered the best.

Alkanet root is insoluble in water, an aqueous
decoction being of only a dull brownish colour;
but this substance imparts a deep red colour to
alcohol, oils, wax, and all unctuous substances.
In consequence ne principal use made of it is

t
514

in colouring oils, unguents, and lip-salves. It is
also fraudulently used, to give a colour to adul-
terated wines, Wax tinged with it imparts a
flesh-coloured stain when applied to warm marble,
which by an infusion in alcohol is stained of a
deep red colour.

Its consumption isconsiderable in thiscountry,
in comparison with the apparently trifling uses
to which it is applied; 55,374 Ibs. were retained
for home consumption in 1830. The import
duty is 2s. per ewt.; its price being about £2
10s. per cwt.

Wetp, or DyeEr’s WrEp (reseda luteola).
Natural family resedaceew; dodecandria, mono-
gynia, of Linneus. This plant is well known
throughout Europe. It is cultivated near Paris
and other parts of France; it is likewise indi-
genous to England, and is found growing spon-
taneously in many parts of the country on
uncultivated wastes. It thrives in all our
abandoned stone quarries, upon the rejected
rubbish of the lime-kiln, and waste places of the
roads, apparently a perfectly indigenous plant.
Unmindful of frost or of draught, it preserves
a degree of verdure when nearly all other vege-
tation is seared up by these extremes in exposed
situations. The wild weld does not, however,
abound with as much colouring matter as that
which is cultivated, although it grows larger and
higher. This plant is therefore cultivated for
its colouring produce in several of our counties,
especially in Kent, Herefordshire, and about
Doncaster in Yorkshire. It is not an object of
careful husbandry, as it will grow on the worst
soils, without the aid of manure.

Mr Swayne observes that it is one of the first
plants which grow on the rubbish thrown out
of coal pits. The root and bottom leaves are
formed from the fallen seeds before winter; and
thus it happens in this, as in many other cases,
that the wild plant is biennial, whilst the culti-
vated plant, growing from seeds sown in the
spring, is annual. Linneus remarked that the
nodding spike of flowers follows the course of
the sun, even when the sky is obscured; this is
the case with this plant, as its spike will be found
in the morning pointing east, at noon south, and
westward in the evening.

Weld is a biennial plant. Its root consists of
only a few ligneous fibres. Radical leaves spring
forth from this of about four inches long and
half an inch wide, spreading circularly near the
ground; they are soft to the touch, and of a
lively green colour. In good soils the stem
which springs up from amidst these leaves is
often branchy and furnished with narrow leaves
like the radical ones, but smaller in proportion
as they approach the flowers. It attains to the
height of about three feet before blooming. The
stems are cylindrical, hollow, and furrowed,
terminating in long spikes of yellowish green

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

flowers, like those of mignonette; these expand
in the months of June or July, and are succeeded
by globular fruits of the same colour, terminat-
ing in three points, and enclosing small brown
spherical seeds, which come to maturity in Sep-
tember.

The more slender the stalk the more it is
valued. This plant is commonly sowed with
or immediately after barley or oats, no other
additional care being required but the application
of a bush harrow to cover in the seeds. It
makes so little progress during the first year,
that the reaping of the grain does it little or no
injury. In the ensuing summer it is fit to be
pulled. The more careful cultivator, however,
devotes a piece of ground solely to its propaga-
tion. The seed is then sown in the month of
August, in about the proportion of one gallon
per acre; at the end of two months it is hoed
and thinned, the plants being left about half a
foot apart. The hoeing is repeated twice more,
and at the end of June in the ensuing year, the
flowers appear in full bloom and vigour; in a
short time the seeds form, and the stalks then
acquire a yellowtinge. Thisis the most favour-
able period for gathering; the performance of
which, previous to these indications, or some
time after they are exhibited, would alike be
detrimental to the colour of the dye. At the
proper time for pulling the plant the seed is not
sufficiently mature for propagation, some plants
are therefore reserved for this purpose, and left
in the ground until September. The plants,
after being gathered, are carefully dried, and
then tied up in bundles of from thirty to fifty
pounds, and sold to those who prepare the colour
from them, or to the dyers who sometimes use
them without preparation. ‘

It is generally supposed by the cultivators,
that the colouring matter is contained in the
whole plant, but some assert that the valuable
part resides in the seeds alone, and they there-
fore consider it a very injudicious practice to
reserve the whole plant for sale, as the seeds are
much wasted, not only by being shaken while
the stalks are formed into bundles, but subse-
quently in the transport of these from one place
to another. Nor is this the only disadvantage;
the carriage of so bulky an article very much
enhances its cost, while if the seeds alone were
an article of commerce, their transport from one
place to another would be comparatively trifling.
The plants occupying a space of six cubic feet,
would not yield more than half a peck of seeds.
This simple fact might be ascertained without
much difficulty, and if the seeds were found to
be really the only useful part, surely the dyer
would be loth to encumber himself with the
whole plant. It is, however, still put into the
dyer’s pot, occupying one hundred times more
space than the quercitron bark, containing an
WELD, OR DYER’S WEED.

equal quantity of similar colouring matter.
This is one of the strongest grounds for prefer-
ence that has been brought forward by Dr Ban-
croft in favour of that bark.

The beauty of the weld colour, however, not-
withstanding the great bulk of the article, as
compared with other dyes, causes it to be much
used by dyers, calico-printers, colour-makers,
and paper-hanging manufacturers, It isan adjec-
tive colour, but tolerably permanent when used
with alum and tartar as a mordant.

In the year 1773, the sum of two thousand
pounds was granted by act of parliament to a
Dr Williams, as a reward for his discovery of a
fast green and yellow dye on cotton yarn and
thread. This supposed fast colour was given by
the combination of weld with a certain mordant,
the composition of which the patentee was per-
mitted to conceal, that foreigners might not
enjoy the benefit of his discovery; while he, on
his part, engaged to supply the cotton and thread
dyers with his dye at a certain fixed price. The
mordant used was supposed by chemists to be a
solution of tin alone, or of tin and bismuth,
which gives to weld yellow the power of resist-
ing the action of acids and of boiling soap-suds,
though it is not proof against the continued
action of the sun and air. This defect, however,
was not easily discoverable, in consequence of
the ingenious method which, according to Dr
Bancroft, the inventor employed to obtain a
favourable testimony of the dyers on the subject.
He caused his specimens of dyed yarn to be
woven into pocket-handkerchiefs, and gave them
to be worn in the pockets of those who were
afterwards to attest to the goodness of his dye;
and as handkerchiefs enclosed in pockets are not
exposed to the sun and air, this want of per-
manency of colour was not discovered until some
time after the reward had been paid, for an in-
vention which proved of little or no value.

A water-colour, called weld yellow, is much
used in paper-hanging manufactories, This
pigment, as it is usually prepared in London for
sale, is the extract of the plant, and is in the
form of hard lumps, which must be ground into
powder previously to being used. Every colour
is in some degree injured by that operation.
Messrs. Collard and Fraser, therefore, use a pro-
cess by which the necessity for subsequent
grinding is avoided, the colour being obtained
in the form of a fine powder. To produce this
desirable result equal quantities in weight of
carbonate of lime and soft water are put into a
copper vessel; the mixture is raised to the boil-
ing point, and stirred until it becomes of a uni-
form consistence. Then, to each pound of car-
bonate of lime, three ounces of pulverized alum
are added; this is gradually mixed in, and as
carbonic acid gas is by this means disengaged,
the operation must be carefully performed, lest

 

515

the effervescence which takes place should cause
the mixture to overflow from the boiler. When
the effervescence has subsided, this part of the
process is completed, the fire is withdrawn, and
the mixture may remain any length of time
without injury. Meanwhile the weld plants are
placed with their roots uppermost in another
copper vessel, into which soft water is poured in
just sufficient quantity to cover every part con-
taining seed. These plants, after being boiled
for a quarter of an hour, are removed to a tub,
where they remain until the liquor is drained
from them; the water in which they have been
boiled, added to these drainings, are then passed
through a flannel filter, to intercept the seeds
and fecula. The quantity of plants required
for a given quantity of carbonate of lime cannot
possibly be ascertained with accuracy, for some
bundles contain three times as much colouring
matter as others; but should too much of either
mixture have been prepared, it can be kept in
earthen vessels for many weeks without being
in any way deteriorated.

‘When the weld liquor has been thus prepared,
a fire is again kindled under the boiler con-
taining the basis to which the weld liquor is
added. The proper degree of colour required
can only be obtained by trial. When the mix-
ture is found to have a due proportion of each,
it is raised to a boiling heat, and the process is
completed. The contents of the vessel are then
put into an earthen receptacle, and the colour
precipitates in the form of a powder. The next
day the supernatant liquor is drawn off, and the
residuum placed on large pieces of chalk, which
in a few hours absorb the moisture, leaving the
colour dry and fit for use. The liquor poured
off from the colour is, with the addition of
water, used again; the old plants are likewise
boiled a second time previously to the addition
of fresh ones, so that no colouring matter is lost.
Tron vessels must not on any account be used
in this process; for the gallic acid, which is
very abundant in weld, would instantly dis-
solve the iron, and “the smallest particle of that
metal is fatal to the delicacy of the weld yellow.

Although cultivated in the parts of England
we have mentioned, a sufficient quantity of weld
is not produced for our home consumption, and
we consequently draw it from foreign markets.
Some writers have recommended the extension
of its cultivation, and argued that it would
thrive and render a handsome profit on some of
our poorest lands, which for any other purpose
are not worth ten shillings per acre. Marshal,
in his Rural Economy of Norfolk, says, it prefers
a good soil, but others assert that it becomes
stalky in a rich soil; and the author of the
Journal of a Naturalist, supports the opinion
that very poor land is the best for the purpose,
“With us,” he says, “it grows luxuriantly (4. ¢
516

in its wild state), three or four feet high, on a
thin, stony, undressed soil, apparently the very
station it prefers.

Tae Quercitron Oax Barx, though long in
common use in those countries where it is indi-
genous, was not introduced into England until
the year 1785, when Dr Bancroft first applied it
to the purpose of dyeing, and obtained a patent
for its exclusive use. The quercus tinctoria,
which produces thisdyeing substance, hasalready
been described in the account of timber trees.
The quantity of colouring matter contained in
this bark is very great, compared to its weight;
while the beauty of the colour it imparts is
nearly equal to that of weld, and its durability
is superior. According to Dr Bancroft, it is
capable alone of producing more cheaply all, or
very nearly all, the effects of every other yellow
dyeing drug. Its value is now fully appreciated,
and a large quantity is annually imported from
America into this country.

The epidermis, or exterior blackish coat of
this bark, affords a yellow colour, but less pure
than the other parts of the bark; it is therefore
separated from these, being shaven off with a
sharp instrument. The cellular and cortical
parts which remain are then ground in a mill,
some falling into a light fine powder, and the
rest into stringy filaments; this last yields only
half as much colouring matter as the powder.
These are seldom separated from each other,
however, but are used together as a dyeing sub-
stance. In this state the bark yields as much
colour as about eight or ten times its weight, and
one hundred times its bulk of the weld plant.
The colouring matter is readily extracted by
water, at a temperature of 100° Fahrenheit.
This decoction is of a brownish yellow colour,
which alkalis deepen and acids brighten. All
the different shades of yellow may be produced
by varying the quantity of colouring matter.
It is an adjective colour; the mordants used are
nitro-muriate of tin and acetate of alumina.
Drab colours are obtained from the same dye,
with a mordant of sulphate of iron and carbonate
of lime, and olive shades by a mordant of sul-
phate of copper and carbonate of lime. An
extract may be made from the bark amounting
to about one-twelfth of its weight, but its colour
becomes injured by the application of boiling
heat, and therefore the extract cannot be used
with advantage in dyeing. It would indeed be
a most valuable desideratum if the colouring
matter obtained from distant countries could be
brought in the form of extract, thus concentrat-
ing all their virtues within the least possible
space. But hitherto all colours are found to be
injured while undergoing this process. The
chemist would render an acceptable service to
the arts who should discover means whereby
this purpose might be successfully accomplished.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Quercitron bark is imaported into England
under an impost of 8d. per cwt.: its price is
about 9s, per ewt.

The average annual importation for the last
five years is 2,214 casks, containing ten cwt.
each,

Fusric (morus tinctoria). Natural family
urticee ; monecia, tetrandria, of Linneus. This
tree is a native of Brazil and of several of the West
India islands. It is tall and branching, with a
fine head, smooth leaves, and oval-shaped, solitary
spines. The whole plant abounds in a slightly
glutinous milk, of a yellow sulphureous colour.
The berries are sweet and wholesome, and fed
on by birds.

The precise period of its introduction into
Europe as a dyeing substance is not exactly
known, but it was certainly soon after the middle
of the seventeenth century, as at about that time
we find it noticed among the dyeing drugs in use.
It is now in very extensive demand in our dye-
houses under the name of fustic.

This wood, which is of a sulphur colour, with
orange veins, abounds with colouring matter; it
may be used substantively, and is tolerably
durable, but it can be made extremely so when
in combination with the same mordants as are
employed with weld or quercitron. Though a
permanent dye, it is seldom used for pure yellow,
as the colour which it imparts is dull and muddy;
it is therefore chiefly employed in compound
colours. It goes much farther than weld, but
is not of so economical a use as quercitron. In
equal weights, quercitron yields four times as
much colouring matter as fustic, and their rela-
tive prices render the bark a cheaper dyeing
material. This wood is, however, found more
efficient in some mixtures of colours. It ismuch
employed in combination with indigo, to dye
what is called Saxon green, With an iron basis
it dyes drab, and with an aluminous basis olive
colours. This colouring matter is never applied
to calico-printing, since the English dyers have
hitherto been unsuccessful in producing from it
any thing like an equal degree of clearness or
brightness with that of weld or quercitron.
Chaptal gives a simple method of obtaining a
more lively colour from fustic. It consists in
merely boiling in a decoction of this wood shay-
ings of skin, glue, or other animal matter. The
stuffs dyed in this preparation will, according to
that eminent chemist, take a beautiful and most
intense colour.

Fustic is imported into England in large quan-
tities, chiefly from Cuba and Jamaica. That
from Cuba is very superior, and usually obtains
fifty per cent. higher price than that from
Jamaica, It is admitted into England at the
nominal duty of three shillings per ton from
British possessions, and of four shillings and
sixpence from other countries. The average
VENETIAN SUMACH.

annual import for the last five years was 6,104
tons. The average price of the best is from £7
to £14 per ton.

Venetian Sumacu (rhus cotinus), is a shrub
growing principally in Italy and the south of
France. Both the root and the stem, when
deprived of the bark and chipped, are employed
for dying a full high yellow, approaching to
orange, upon wool or cloth prepared with nitro-
mutiate of tin. But the colour obtained in this
manner is extremely fugitive, neither is it so
bright as the yellow, which can be more cheaply
obtained from quercitron bark. Four pounds
of this chipped wood affords no more colouring
matter than one pound of quercitron. This
dyewood is seldom used alone; it is employed
merely as an accessary colour to heighten
cochineal and other dyes, and to give them an
approach to a yellow tinge.

Venetian sumach was long distinguished in
France by the name of fustet, and, with the
wood, the name somewhat altered into fustic,
was introduced into England. The wood of the
morus tinctoria was subsequently brought from
America, and likewise employed for dyeing
yellow; destitute of a name, the American wood
also acquired that of fustic, as being like it a
yellow dye-wood. A confusion having conse-
quently arisen to distinguish them, the wood of
the shrub was called young fustic, and that of
the large American tree, which is always imported
in the form of large blocks or logs, old fustic.
Many persons have in consequence been misled,
so far as to conclude that two very distinct dye-
ing drugs were the same, differing with each
other only in point of age.

The wood known in England by the name of
green ebony possesses a species of colouring
matter very similar to that of morus tinctoria,
and is sometimes employed in its stead in
dyeing.

Arnatro. Bixa orellana ; Polyandria, mono-
gynia, of Linneus. This small tree is a native

193.

 

Arnatto.

¢

of South America. ‘The Europeans who first
visited America found that the berries which it

 

517

yields were used by some of the Indian tribes to
paint their bodies. The brilliant and showy
colour soon attracted the attention of the settlers,
who not only applied it to their own uses, but
likewise converted it very speedily into an arti-
cle of commerce. The arnatto tree is also
extremely common in Jamaica and other parts
of the West Indies. It abounds in Java and
Sumatra, and is much valued by the natives of
those islands on account of its colouring matter,
which they skilfully extract. It seldom attains
to more than twelve feet in height. The leaves
are of a deeper green on one side than on the
other, and are divided by fibres of a reddish
brown colour ; they are four inches long, broad
at the base, and tend to a sharp point. The
stem has likewise fibres, which in Jamaica are
converted into serviceable ropes. The tree pro-
duces oblong bristled pods, somewhat resembling
those of a chestnut. These are at first of a beau-
tiful rose-colour, but as they ripen change to a
dark brown, and bursting open display a splen-
did crimson farina or pulp, in which are con-
tained thirty or forty seeds, in shape similar to
raisin stones. As soon as they have arrived at
maturity, these pods are gathered, divested of
their husks, and bruised. Their pulpy sub-
stance, which seems to be the only part that
constitutes the dye, is then put into a cistern
with just enough water to cover it, and in this
situation it remains for seven or eight days, or
until the liquor begins to ferment ; sometimes,
indeed, weeks or even months elapse before this
effect is produced. It is then strongly agitated
with wooden paddles and beaters to promote the
separation of the pulp from the seeds; this
operation is continued until these have no longer
any colouring matter adhering to them. The
turbid liquor is then passed through close cane
sieves, leaving the refuse seeds behind. The
mixture is now very thick, of a deep red colour,
and of an extremely unpleasant odour. On
being boiled the colouring matter is thrown up
to the surface in the form of scum, or otherwise
the colour is allowed to subside; in either case
the scum or the precipitate must be boiled in
coppers until reduced to a consistent paste. It
is then suffered to cool, and made up into cakes,
which are dried in the shade. The liquor from
which the colouring matter has been removed, is
preserved under banana leaves until it becomes
heated by fermentation ; it is then re-boiled, and
the scum which rises is taken off. It then
again undergoes similar treatment, until no more
colour remains to be extracted. Instead of this
tedious process, which occasions diseases by the
putrefaction induced, and which at best affords
only a spoiled product, M. Leblond proposes
simply to wash the seeds of arnatto until entirely
deprived of their colour, which lies wholly in
the pulpy part, and to precipitate the colour by
518

means of vinegar or lemon-juice, and then to
boil in the ordinary manner.

The experiments of M. Vauquelin made on
some arnatto berries imported by M. Leblond,
confirmed the efficacy of the process which he
proposed, and the dyers ascertained that arnatto
obtained in this manner had at least four times
the value of that which was procured in the
ordinary manner. It was reported to be more
easy to work, to require the addition of less sol-
vent material, to give less trouble in the dyeing
vessel, and to furnish a purer colour. Guiliche
recommends that the application of heat should
be avoided in the preparation of arnatto. There
can indeed be no question that this substance is
very much injured in its preparation ; as all
vegetable extracts, when exposed to the direct
action of fire, have their properties lessened, or
even altered, by partial charring ; an accident
which never fails to occur in a greater or less
degree. In the country of its production, we
are told that this colouring matter is much supe-
rior when used, as by the aborigines, fresh from
the trees. The Brazilians, by another method
of preparation, produce a permanent crimson
colour from arnatto. The Spanish Americans
mix the berries after having undergone a parti-
cular process with their chocolate, to which, in
their opinion, it not only gives an excellent tint,
but imparts valuable medicinal virtues.

The arnatto of commerce is moderately hard,
of a brown colour on the outside, and a dull red
within. It is seldom employed in England but
as a dye for silken stuffs, or as an auxiliary in
giving a deeper shade to the simple yellows. Its
colour is a bright orange, but this is extremely
fugitive, fading very fast on exposure to the air.
It, however, powerfully resists. soap, and the
action of the strongest acids. Dr Bancroft, in
making experiments on this substance, found
that pieces of linen and cotton dyed in the usual
way with arnatto, and subjected to the action of
chlorine, not only retain their colour, but, on
the contrary, bore exposure to the atmosphere
longer than those pieces similarly dyed, which
had not been so treated. Arnatto is acted upon
with great difficulty by water, to which it im-
parts only a pale brown tinge. When made into
a dye-bath, alkali is therefore always added,
which facilitates its solution, and produces a
better colour. The liquid sold in the shops
under the name of “ Scott’s Nankin dye,” is
nothing but a solution of arnatto in potash and
water. Arnatto is perfectly soluble in alcohol ;
it is much used in this state for lacquering, and
for communicating an orange tint to the yellow
varnishes.

It is likewise employed in large quantities as
a colouring ingredient for cheese, to which it
gives the required tinge, without imparting any
unpleasant flavour or unwholesome quality.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Arnatto is imported into this country in cakes
of two or three pounds weight, wrapped up in
large flag leaves, and packed in casks. In this
form it is a kind of paste, the evaporation not
having been carried on to absolute dryness.
Another kind, the roll arnatto of commerce, is
of a much superior quality, being a hard extract,
and containing a much greater proportion of
colouring matter.

The average annual importation for the five
preceding years, was 1074 casks, each weighing
from three to four and a half ewt.

Turmeric. (Curcuma longa.) Natural family
scitamineee; monandria, monogynia, of Linneus.

194,

 

Turmeric.

This plant is indigenous to the East Indies,
and other parts of Asia, and to Madagascar. It
has likewise been cultivated with some success
in Tobago; samples of turmeric sent to England
from that island having been found superior to
that usually imported. It does not, however,
yet form an article of importation from the West
Indies. Our supplies are brought from the
East Indies, China, and Java; of these the
Chinese turmeric is the best. The island of
Sumatra might also furnish supplies, for it is
much cultivated there, and principally used by
the natives to give that yellow tinge to their
rice, and other food, of which all eastern people
seem so fond. The East Indians make the same
use of it,

The roots of the curcuma longa spread far
under the surface of the ground ; they are long
and succulent, and about half an inch in thick-
ness, having many circular knots, from which
arise four or five spear-shaped leaves, standing
upon long foot-stalks. The flowers grow in loose
scaly spikes, surmounting the foot-stalks which
spring from the larger knots of the roots, and
attain to about a foot in height. The flowers are
of a yellowish red colour, shaped somewhat like
those of Indian reed.

These roots are externally of a colour inclin-
ing to grey, but internally of a deep lively yel-
low. - They are very hard, and not unlike, either
in figure or size, to ginger. The roots are reduced
to powder previously to being employed as a
FRENCH OR AVIGNON BERRIES.

dye. Turmeric is very rich in colour, but it pos-
sesses no durability, nor can any combination of
mordants give to it this quality in a sufficient
degree. Chloride of sodium and muriate of
ammonia are the substances which best fix the
colour, but they spoil its beauty by deepening
its hue almost to brown. It is sometimes em-
ployed to impart a golden cast to yellow made
from weld, or to give an orange tinge to scarlet ;
but the shade which it imparts is very evanes-
cent, and soon vanishes on exposure to the air.

This root was at one time much employed in
medicine, chiefly for obstructions of the bowels
and liver. It has now entirely fallen into dis-
use,

It readily gives out its active matter both to
water and spirits. In distillation with water, it
yields a small quantity of a gold coloured essen-
tial oil, of a moderately strong smell, and pun-
gent taste.

In Europe it is sometimes employed as a sub-
stitute for saffron to heighten the colour of cer-
tain culinary preparations. It is very often used
as an ingredient in yellow varnishes.

Sixteen thousand and sixteen bags of turmeric
were imported into England in 1880, each bag
weighing from one to two cwt.

That received from our own possessions is sub-
jected to an import duty of 2s. 4d. per ewt.;
coming from foreign countries the duty is quad-
rupled. The price of Bengal turmeric is from
22s. to 24s. per cwt., and of the best Chinese 32s.
per ewt.

Frencu or Avienon Berrigs are known in
commerce as a yellowdye, They are the unripe
berries of a species of buckthorn, the rhamnus
infectorius, which isan evergreen shrub, a native
of Spain and southern France. It grows to the
height of ten or twelve feet, sending forth many
branches from the bottom.

A particular variety of this plant grows in
Candia and other parts of the Levant, yielding
berries larger than those which are brought from
the south of France. They are distinguished by
the name of Turkey berries, and are preferred to
the French. Both kinds yield a very beautiful,
but remarkably fugitive colour. No mordant
has yet been discovered with sufficient affinity
to this colouring matter, to render their combin-
ation permanent. It therefore cannot be used
with advantage to the consumer, except where a
fine but very transient colour is required. These
berries are, however, of very common use in our
dye-houses.

Three thousand four hundred and twenty-five
cewts. were imported in 1831. They are admitted
ona duty of 2s. per cwt. Their average price
for the last five years was 68s.

Yellow berries of another description are
brought from Persia, and from some parts of
Asia Minor; these are much superior to the

 

519

French berries. They are very soluble in salt
water. A gentleman on a passage from Smyrna,
on board a ship that carried a few bags of these
yellow berries, observed, that when a leak was
sprung, and the pumps applied, the water brought
up from the hold was almost immediately of a
bright yellow colour. This curious effect, which
gave to the deck of the vessel the appearance of
a dye-house, continued for tavo whole days, or
until the circumstances of the navigation allowed
the sailors to remove that part of the cargo from
the action of the sea-water.

The well known pigment, sap-green, is simply
the concentrated juice of the ripe berries of
buckthorn.

Common Saw-Wort (serratula tinctoria), is a
perennial plant indigenous to England, growing
in woods and in pasture grounds, where it flowers
in month of July.

Dyer’s Broom (genista tinctoria). Natural
family, leguminose ; diadelphia, decandria, of
Linneus. This plant is a native of Britain, and
grows on dry and elevated grounds. It attains
the height of about three feet ; its shrubby stalks
are terminated by spikes of yellow flowers suc-
ceeded by pods. The leaves are spear-shaped,
and placed alternately on the branches. The
colour produced by a decoction of these branches
cannot be compared in beauty with that of weld
or saw-wort, but it attains sufficient permanency
by means of mordants. It is sometimes used for
inferior woollen goods in combination with alum
or tartar, and sulphate of lime. The Romans
employed this plant for dyeing, and it is described
by several of their writers. It is still applied to
the same purposes in some of the Grecian islands.
Tournefort thus describes the process which he
witnessed at Samos. “To dye yellow, they
throw into boiling water the extremities of the
broom ; after several boilings, they add a little
alum to the decoction. Then they plunge into
it linen, woollen, cloth, or leather, or whatever
they wish to dye, and removing the cauldron
from the fire, leave the material to soak all night.
The yellow imparted is tolerably fine, and no
doubt more skilful operators might make a more
perfect colour of it. This Grecian plant differs
from that which grows in the coast of Provence,
only in having its leaves narrower and larger.”
The seeds powdered operate as a mild purga-
tive, and a decoction of the plant is used as a
diuretic.

Sumacu (rhus coriaria). Natural family,
terebintacee ; pentandria, trigynia, of Lin-
neus. This tree is a native of Syria, and is
diligently cultivated in Spain and Portugal, and
in some parts of Italy and Sicily. The stems
are ligneous, dividing at bottom into many irre-
gular branches, attaining to the height of eight
or ten feet. The bark is hairy, and of an her-
baceous brown colour. The leaves are winged,
520

having seven or eight pair of jagged lobes, and
terminated by an odd one. They are hairy on
their under side, of a yellowish green colour, and
placed alternately on the branches. These are
surmounted by loose panicles of flowers, which
are of a greenish white colour, each panicle being
composed of several spikes of flowers, sitting
close to the foot-stalks,

The shoots of this tree or shrub are cut down
every year close to the root, and after being dried
are reduced to powder by means of a mill. An
infusion of this yields a fawn colour bordering
on green, It is a substantive colour, but may
be altered and improved by the judicious appli-
cation of mordants. The principal use, how-
ever, of sumach in dyeing, is the production of
black, by means of the large quantity of gallic
acid which it affords.

The hark is used instead of that of the oak for
tanning leather, and it is said that the Turkey
leather is thus prepared. The seeds are used in
Aleppo to provoke an appetite before meals.
Both leaves and seeds are astringent and tonic.

The different kinds of sumach known in com-
merce are the Sicily, Malaga, Trieste, and Ver-
ona; the first of these being of the best quality.
Its import duty is 1s. per ewt.; and its price
averages from 12s. to 15s. per cwt. The average
annual importation for the five preceding years
is 100,101 cwits.

Henna or Eoyprian Priver ( Lawsonia iner-
mis). This plant is a native of Egypt, and is
of easy culture and propagation. It was known
to the ancients under the name of Céprus. It is
also indigenous to India, Palestine, and Persia.
It blossoms from May to August. The leaves
are the only parts used. These are gathered, and
after being hastily dried and bruised to a pasty
consistence, are made to yield, by boiling, the
rich colouring matter in which they abound.
Sir William Jones mentions that in the island
of Hensuin or Johanna, he met with this shrub,
not then in blossom. Having heard of the fame
of the plant, he, in imitation of the heroes of
oriental poesy, had his nails stained with a
preparation, and thus obtained sufficient evi-
dence of the durability of the colour ; his fingers
remaining discoloured until the substance of
the nails changed by growth. This plant is
much esteemed in the Hast and in Africa for
this strange purpose; and the toilet of the
Asiatic or African beauty is deemed incomplete,
unless her charms are heightened by this potent
auxiliary, the dark tints of which, to European
eyes, impart no very becoming lustre. The use
of henna is not, however, wholly confined to
staining the nails and skin, as it is employed in
the East for dyeing ordinary stuffs. It pro-
duces a reddish brown substantive dye. There
is evidence that the ancient Egyptians made a
similar application of this colouring matter, as

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

in the envelopes of their mummies the henna
dye is still observable.

CHAP. XLVIII.

MEDICINAL PLANIS—PERUVIAN BARK, QUASSIA,
GENTIAN, &c.

From the earliest records of the healing art, it
appears that medicinal substances were obtained
from the vegetable kingdom. Indeed, almost all
medicines were for a long time exclusively pro-
cured from plants, or “simples,” as they were
called, in contradistinction to those drugs which
were afterwards compounded from the mineral
or animal kingdoms.

The medical virtues of plants reside in almost
all their different parts, sometimes in the roots,
at others in the stem and leaves ; sometimes they
are exclusively confined to the bark, or to the
flowers, seeds, or pericarps. These medicinal
substances, too, assume various forms, as gums,
resins, bitter extract, bland oils, or volatile aro-
matic essences. Several plants yielding many of
these substances we have already described, as
those yielding spices, essential oils, &c. In treat-
ing of the remainder of those plants most
esteemed in medicine, we shall group them
chiefly according to the effects which the sub-
stances they yield produce on the human body.

Peruvian Bark (cinchona). Natural family,
contortie ; pentandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
There are several species of this genus, of which
the following are supposed to yield the medicinal
bark used in this country :

Cinchona condaminea,with ovo-lanceolate leaves
and hairy corolla, which yields the pale bark or
cascarilla fina of Uritasinga.

C. lancifolia, with lanceolate leaves, grows in
an elevated temperate climate. Known in Santa
Fé as the quina naranjada, rare.

C. cordifolia, with sub-cordate or oval leaves.

C. oblongifolia, with oblong acuminated leaves,
common near Maraquita.

Common or Oficinal Bark (c. officinalis), This
tree attains a considerable height, sending off
large branches covered with rough brown bark.
The leaves vary from an ovate to an elliptical
shape ; the larger approaching more to the for-
mer, and the smaller to the latter figure. They
are all entire, nerved, smooth on the upper side,
on the under covered with dense hairs, and stand
in pairs upon rather short foot-stalks. The
flowers are produced in panicles, and stand upon
slender pedicles. The calyxes small, bell shaped,
and divided on the margin into five minute seg-
ments. The corolla is funnel-shaped, consisting
of a long cylindrical tube divided at the limbs
into five segments, which are ovate, oblong, cer-
PERUVIAN BARK. 521

rated at the edges, and tinged of a pink hue in
the centre. The filaments are five, bristly, and

 

Peruvian Bark Tree,

placed in the middle of the tube. The germen
is ovate. The seeds, which are numerous, are
contained in a two-celled capsule. This tree is a
native of Peru, growing most abundantly on a
long chain of mountains extending to the north
and south of Lima. Formerly it was not unfre-
quent to find trees with a trunk as large as a
man’s body; now since the demand for the bark
has increased, there are only young and much
smaller trees to be seen,

The soil in which the tree thrives best, is a
red clayey or rocky ground on the banks of
mountain streams or rivers.

The proper season for cutting the bark is,
according to Mr Arrot, from September to
November, the only months in the whole year
in which the rainy season wholly intermits
among those mountains. Having discovered a
plain where the trees most abound, huts are then
built for the accommodation of the workmen,
and a large one to contain the bark, in order to
protect it from the wet. The workmen then
clear a road through the forest to the nearest
plantation, or farm houses in the low country,
to which in dry weather they convey the bark
as it is procured, accumulated in the temporary
hut. Each Indian or wood-cutter is provided
with a large knife, and a bag that will hold
about fifty pounds of green bark. Every two
Indians take a tree, from which they slice down
the bark as far as they can reach from the
ground. They then take sticks about half a
yard long each, which they tie to the tree with
tough withes at proper distances, like the steps
of a ladder, always slicing off the bark as far as
they can reach, before they fix a new step;
and thus mount to the top, the Indian below
gathering what the other cuts. This they do

 

by turns, and go from tree to tree until the bag
is full, which, when they have plenty of trees,
one Indian will do ina day. Great care must
be taken that the bark is not cut when wet, and
if this should happen to occur, it must be imme-
diately taken down to the low country to be
dried ; for, if heaped up in a wet state, it loses its
colour, turns black, and becomes useless.

The bark, as it is cut, is, therefore, as soon as
possible conveyed down to the low country by
mules, where it is spread out to dry. On the
trees being entirely stripped of the bark, the
trunks soon perish ; but, according to Conda-
mine, in a short time fresh shoots are sent up
from the roots.

Like most other valuable discoveries, that of
the medicinal efficacy of Peruvian bark, would
appear to have been accidental. Indeed, the
time or manner of this discovery is not well
ascertained. Some contend that its use in inter-
mittent fevers was known to the American
Indians long before the invasion of that country
from Europe, and that the natives carefully con-
cealed its virtues from the Spaniards who invaded
Peru. Others again assert, that the Peruvians
never appropriated the bark to any use whatever,
but imagined that the large quantities exported
from their country by the Spaniards was for the
purpose of dyeing; and, according to Ulloa,
they actually made some trials of its effects in
this art. Condamine says, that according to an
ancient tradition, the Americans owe the dis-
covery of this remedy to some wild beasts which
were remarked to resort to the bark for the
cure of the disease. Geoffrey states, with
more appearance of reality, that the use of the
bark was first learned by the following circum-
stance :—Some cinchona trees being thrown by
the winds into a pool of water, lay there till the
water became so bitter, that every one refused
to drink it. However, one of the neighbour-
ing inhabitants being seized with a violent par-
oxysm of fever, and finding no other water to
quench his thirst, was forced to drink this, by
which he was almost immediately cured of his
fever. He afterwards related the circumstance
to others, and prevailed upon some of his friends,
who were ill of fevers, to make use of the same
remedy, with whom it proved equally successful.
The use of this medicine, however, was very little
known till about the year 1638, when a signal
cure having been performed by it on the Spanish
Viceroy’s lady, the Countess del Cinchon, at

‘Lima, it came into general repute, and hence

obtained the name of the Countess powder or
cinchona. On the recovery of the lady, she dis-
tributed a large quantity of the bark to the
Jesuits, in whose hands it acquired still greater
reputation ; and by them it was first introduced
into Europe. Louis XV., when Dauphine, is
said to have been one of the first in Europe who
3 U0
522

experienced its efficacy. Cardinal de Lago, a
benevolent Italian ecclesiastic, also brought a
large quantity of the powder to Rome, and dis-
tributed it among the poor

The bark is brought to this country in pieces
of various sizes, some rolled up into short thick
quills, and others flat ; the outside is brown, and
generally partially covered with a whitish moss ;
the inside is of a yellowish, reddish, or rusty
iron colour. The best sort breaks close and
smooth, and proves friable between the teeth ;
the inferior kinds appear, when broken, of a
woody texture, and in chewing, separate into
fibres. The former pulverizes more easily than
the latter, and looks, when powdered, of a light
brownish colour, resembling cinnamon, or some-
what paler. It has a slight smell, approaching
somewhat to mustiness; yet, with a degree of
aromatic flavour which renders it not disagree-
able. Its taste is very bitter, astringent, durable
in the mouth, and accompanied with some
degree of aromatic warmth, but not sufficient to
prevent its being ungrateful.

There are three kinds known in commerce,
the pale, yellow, and red.

Pale Bark. Of this kind there are several
varieties, the most remarkable of which are the
quilled bark, which comes from Lixa, and the
flat bark from Guanaco. That which comes
from Lixa consists of thin singly or doubly
rolled pieces, four or five inches long, and scarcely
a line in thickness ; externally rough, of a gray-
ish brown colour, and generally covered with a
kind of lichen, internally of a cinnamon colour ;
its fracture not fibrous and powdery, but even
and shining. It has a pleasant bitter astringent
taste, and a peculiar aromatic smell. The bark
which comes from Guanaco, consists of much
thicker, coarser, and flatter pieces, externally of
a dark brown or almost black colour, though
internally of a cinnamon colour, and in its resin-
ous fracture, smell, and taste, it exactly resem-,
bles the former. When genuine, both varieties
are excellent remedies, although the former are
generally preferred on the Continent, and the
latter in Britain.

Yellow Bark. This consists of pieces about
six inches in length, thicker, and less rolled up
than the common bark. Its internal surface is
of a deeper red. It sometimes wants the epider-
mis, which is often as thick as the bark itself.
It is lighter and more friable than the former
variety ; its fracture is fibrous, and when reduced
to powder, its colour is paler. Its taste is much
more bitter, astringent, and stronger, but its
smell is weaker. Its decoction, when hot, is
redder, but when cold, paler. Its solution strikes
a deeper colour with sulphate of iron. It con-
tains more of the active constituents, but less
gum than the common, and less resin than the
red. Its medicinal effects are said to be much

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

more powerful than the others ; and, according
to Humboldt, it is most esteemed at Lixa, and
known by the name of cascardlla fina.

Red Bark occurs generally in larger, thicker,
and flatter pieces, but sometimes also in the form
of quills. It is heavy, firm, sound, and dry,
friable between the teeth, does not separate into
fibres, and breaks not shivery, but short, close,
and smooth. It has three layers, the outer is
rugged, of a reddish brown colour, but fre-
quently covered with mossy matter. The middle
is thicker, more compact, darker coloured, very
resinous, and brittle, the inmost is more woody,
fibrous, and of a brighter red. Its powder is of
a dark red colour, its astringency and bitterness
more intense, and its resinous properties greater,
than that of the pale bark. According to Hum-
boldt, from 12,000 to 14,000 quintals of bark are
annually exported from Peru ; 2000 are exported
from Carthagena, and come from the kingdom
of Santa Fe; Lixa furnished, previous to 1779,
10,000 quintals, but now only 110, which are
sent to Spain on account of the king. The rest
is furnished by the provinces of Huamunga,
Cuenco, and Jaen de Bracamorros, and are
exported from Lima and other parts of the Paci-
fic ocean.

The powder of the bark at first acquired its
reputation for the cure of ague or intermittent
fever, and it has retained its reputation ever
since. At first many prejudices were raised
against it, but these gradually gave way to
repeated facts, and the test of experience. Given
at the very commencement of the disease, after
the stomach and bowels have been cleared by
some purgative, and repeated in successive doses,
it is the only remedy now to be depended upon,
and rarely fails of producing a cure. It is thus
to be continued till the peculiar paroxysms of
the disease go off, and till the natural appetite
and strength return. It is then to be gradually
left off, repeating it in smaller quantities occa-
sionally, to prevent any symptoms of a relapse,
Besides intermittents, it is used in other diseases
which have a periodical return, and all those
affections which indicate impaired nervous influ-
ence, or loss of tone of the animal fibre. The
bark itself is not, however, now administered in
almost any form,quinine, orthe active agent, being
extracted from the bark by a peculiar process,
and now substituted as a medicine. This is a
light white powder without smell, but possess-
ing an intensely bitter taste, and reckoned by
chemists of an alkaline nature. Its small bulk,
and the readiness by which it can be dissolved
in water or acids, and its producing no sickness
or irritation of the stomach, are all reeommenda-
tions to its substitution in place of the common
powder of bark. On the whole, the virtues of
Peruvian bark are of the most valuable and
powerful kind, and it forms one of the most
QUASSIA.

esteemed medicines which the discovery of Ame-
rica has bestowed on the human race. It was of
course entirely unknown to the ancients, and
was first used with success and extensively in
Britain, by Sydenham, Martin, and Lister.
Quassia (quassia amara). Decandria, Mon-
ogynia, of Linneus. This tree attains a medium

 

Quassia.

height, sends off many strong branches, and is
not unlike the common ash in its general appear-
ance, inhabiting the same countries. Its name,
as will be more particularly mentioned hereafter,
has immediate reference to the medicinal value
of the strong bitter which pervades all parts
of the tree, but more especially the bark. The
wood is light, and of a white colour. The bark
is thin and grayish. The leaves are placed alter-
nately upon the branches, and consist of two
pairs of opposite pinne, with an odd one at
theend. All the leaflets are of an elliptical shape,
entire, veined, smooth, pointed, sessile, on the
upper side of a deep green colour, on the under
paler. The common foot-stalk is articulated,
and winged, or edged on each side with a leafy
membrane, which gradually expands towards the
base of the pinne. The flowers are all herma-
phrodite, of a bright red colour, and terminate
the branches in long spikes. The bractee, or
floral leaves, are lance-shaped or linear, coloured,
and placed alternately upon the peduncles. The
calyx is small, persistent, and five toothed ; the
corolla consists of five lance-shaped equal petals,
at the base of which is placed the nectary or five
reddish coloured scales. There are ten filaments
with simple anthers. The germen is ovate,
divided into five parts, and supports a slender
style with a tapering stigma. The capsules are
five, two-celled, and contain globular seeds. This
tree is a native of South America, particularly
of Surinam, and also of some of the West India
islands. It was named quassia by Linneus,
from a negro called Quassi, who employed it
with great success in Surinam, as a secret remedy
in the malignant endemic fevers of that country.
In consequence of a valuable consideration, this
secret was disclosed to Daniel Rolander, a Swede,
who brought specimens of the quassia to Stock-

 

523

holm in the year 1756, and since then the effects
of this drug have been very generally tried in
Europe ; and numerous testimonies of its effi-
cacy have now confirmed its value as a tonic and
febrifuge.

The root, bark, wood, and even the leaves and
flowers, all possess the peculiar bitter principle.
The wood of the trunk and roots is that part
now generally brought to this country. The
bark, however, is more intensely bitter than the
wood, and seems the most powerful as a medi-
cine. Quassia has no sensible odour, its taste is
that of a pure bitter, more intense and durable
than that of any other known substance. It
imparts this bitter to water more completely
than to alcohol, or any other liquid; and the
infusion is not blackened by any of the salts of
iron. The medicinal virtues of quassia are those
of a tonic, stomachic, antiseptic, and febrifuge.
It has been found very effectual in restoring the
tone of the stomach, producing appetite for food,
assists digestion, expelling flatulency, and remov-
ing habitual costiveness produced from debility
of the intestines, and that inaction of them con-
sequent upon a sedentary life.

Dr Lettsom says, “In debility succeeding
febrile diseases, the Peruvian bark is most gene-
rally more tonic and salutary than any other
vegetable bitter hitherto known ; but in hysteri-
cal attacks, to which the female sex is so prone,
the quassia affords more vigour and relief to the
system than the other. In debility arising from
intemperance, and in laxity of the bowels, it is
also very efficacious.” But he adds, “ With
respect to its superiority to the Peruvian bark,
as atonic and febrifuge, I by no means subscribe
to the Linnean opinion. It is indeed very well
known, that there are certain peculiarities of
the air, and of the human constitution, unfavour-
able to the exhibition of the Peruvian bark, even
in the most clear intermissions of fever, and
writers have repeatedly noticed it, but this is
comparatively rare. About midsummer, 1785,
I met with several instances of low remittent
and nervous fevers, wherein the bark uniformly
aggravated the symptoms, though given in inter.
mission, the most favourable to its success, and
wherein quassia, or snake root, was successfully
substituted. In such cases I mostly observed,
that there was great congestion of the liver, and
the debility at the same time discouraged eopious
evacuations. And in many fevers, without
evident remissions to warrant the use of the
bark, whilst at the same time increasing debility
began to threaten life, these two medicines,
quassia and snake root combined, upheld the
vital powers, and promoted a critical intermission
of the fever, by which an opportunity was
afforded to effect a cure by means of the Peru-
vian bark.

The usual way in which quassia is prepared
524

as a medicine, is to infuse half an ounce of the
wood shavings in sixteen ounces of water, for
twelve hours. Then strain off the pure liquid,
and take a small wine glassful twice a day, or
oftener, according to the nature of the complaint.
A few drops of elixir of vitriol will add to the
efficacy of the infusion.

Quassia is used by some brewers to give the
necessary bitterness to malt liquors. ‘This in
Britain is not legal, but it is not contrary to
health.

The intense bitter of this wood destroys
insects ; hence an infusion of quassia is a com-
mon and safe poison fer flies,

Simaruba, or IWinged-leaved Quassia, is ano-
ther species possessing the same, or even a more
‘intense bitter than the other. It is known in
Jamaica by the name of mountain damson, bit-
ter damson, or slave-wood. It grows to a con-
siderable height and thickness, and sends off
alternate spreading branches. The bark which
covers the trunks of the old trees is black, and
a little furrowed, but that of the younger trees
is smooth, gray, and here and there marked with
broad spots of a yellow colour. The wood is
hard, white, and without any remarkable taste.
The leaves are numerous, and stand alternately
on the branches ; each leaf is composed of seve-
yal pinne, nearly of an elliptical shape ; on the
upper side smooth, and of a deep green colour ;
on the under side whitist ; they stand on short
foot-stalks. The flowers are of a yellow colour,
and placed on branched spikes or long panicles.
They are male and female; and, according
to Dr Wright, the female flowers are never
found in Jamaica on the same trees with the
male,

The bitter principle resides in the bark of the
roots. This bark is rough, scaly, and wasted ;
the inside, when fresh, is a full yellow, but when
dry, paler. It has little smell ; the taste is bit-
ter, but not disagreeable. Macerated in water,
or in rectified spirits, it quickly impregnates both
with its bitterness, and after becomes a yellow
tincture. It seems to give out its virtue more
perfectly to cold than to boiling water, the cold
infusion being rather stronger in taste than the
decoction, which last is of a transparent yellow
colour, when hot; but grows turbid, and of a red-
dish brown as it cools. This bark was first sent
from Guiana to France in 1713, as a remedy for
dysentery. In the years 1718 and 1725, an epi-
demic flux prevailed very generally in France,
which resisted all the medicines usually employed
in such cases. Under these circumstances,
recourse was had to the Simaruba, which proved
remarkably successful, and first established its
medical character in Europe. Dr Wright says,
most authors who have written on this medi-
cine agree, that in fluxes it restores the lost tone
of the intestines, allays their spasmodic motions,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

promotes the secretions, removes the lowness of
spirits attending the disease, and disposes the
patient to sleep. Ina moderate dose it occasions
no disturbance or uneasiness, but in large doses
it produces sickness and vomiting. More exten-
ded experience has shown, that this medicine is
only successful in the latter stage of dysentery,
when there is no fever, when the stomach is
in no way affected, and when there only remains
a relaxation and weakness of the bowels. In
such cases, a glassful of the decoction given every
five or six hours, with a few drops of laudanum,
has been found very efficacious. It has been
particularly recommended in old affections of
the kind contracted in warm climates, and exist-
ing in debilitated habits. Such are the recom-
mendations of this medicine at a period shortly
after its discovery. Like many other remedies,
it has now fallen into comparative neglect. Dr
Cullen did not seem to think that it possessed
virtues superior to the other bitter tonics, and
in dysentery preferred an infusion of chamomile
flowers.

A quarter of an ounce of simaruba may be
infused for twelve hours in twelve ounces of
cold or boiling water, and a wine glassful of the
infusion taken every three or four hours.

Gentian (gentiana lutea). Natural family,
rotacee ; pentandria, digynia, of Linneus. This

 

Gentian.

is an herbaceous plant, possessing bitter qualities
in a considerable degree. The root is perennial,
long, cylindrical, externally brown, internally
yellowish. The flower stem is strong, smooth,
erect, tapering, and rises two or three feet in
height. The leaves, which proceed from the
lower part of the stem, are spear-shaped, large,
entire, ribbed, sessile, and pointed ; those on the
upper part are concave, smooth, egg-shaped, and
of a pale or yellowish green colour. The flowers
are large, yellow, produced in whorls, and stand
upon strong peduncles. The corolla consists of
five long narrow elliptical petals. The capsule
is conical, one-celled, and contains numerous
seeds. This plant is a native of the Alps, and
was introduced into Britain by Gerard. Our
British supply, however, comes from Switzer-
land and Germany. The root, which is the only
CENTAURY.

part of the plant used in medicine, has no smell,
but has an extremely bitter taste. This bitter
principle is readily yielded to alcohol and water,
but more so to the former than to the latter.
Gentian possesses the general virtues of bitters
in an eminent degree, and it is totally devoid of
astringency. On dead animal matter it acts as
an antiseptic. Taken into the stomach, it proves
a powerful tonic, and in large doses acts as a
laxative.

The Purple Gentian (g. purpurea), is ano-
ther species, having similar properties to the yel-
low. Itis a native of the Alps, and was first

introduced into this country for the purpose of

cultivation by Saussure, in 1768. The root is
perennial, cylindrical, slender, branched, exter-
nally of a brown colour, and yellow in the
inside. The stem grows erect to the height of a
foot, is simple, smooth, strong, succulent. The
lower leaves are nearly elliptical, ribbed, and
entire. The upper leaves are in pairs, sheath-
like, concave, pointed, ribbed, embrace the stem,
and enclose the flowers. These are of a purple
colour, and stand in whorls upon short peduncles.
The calyx is a deciduous scape; the corolla
bell-shaped, plaited, and of a purple colour ; the
ovate two-celled capsule containing numerous
seeds. The root, both in appearance, taste, and
medicinal qualities, exactly resembles the other,
-and may be employed for the same uses. It is
said that the Swiss and other peasants of the
chill Alpine parts of Europe use a decoction of
the gentian and other bitter roots, as a cordial
drink; and it is probable it may prove a whole-
some tonic and stimulant in those moist and
inclement regions which they inhabit. Gentian
and the root of the acorus calamus, or sweet
flag, form the chief ingredients in the Stockton
and other bitters used by the common people of
this country. The great objection to them is
the strong spirituous menstruum in which they
are infused. An infusion in simple water, with
as much spirits as would be sufficient to prevent
putrefaction, would be equally useful, and less
productive of abuse.

Centaury (chironia, centaurium). Pentan-
dria, monogynia, of Linneus. This plant was
originally classed with the gentians by Linneus,
from which family, however, it essentially differs.
The root is annual, woody, fibrous, and of a
yellowish colour. The stalk is erect, with few
branches, smooth, angular, and usually rises from
six to ten inches in length. The leaves are oppo-
site, sessile, smooth, oblong, ribbed, and blunt at
the points. The flowers are terminal, produced
in a bunch, with five pinkish-coloured petals.
The plant is common in Britain in woods and
pastures, and flowers in July.

The centaury was formerly much used, both
by physicians and by the country people, as a
bitter. It is less employed in modern times,

 

525

although the testimony of Cullen, Lewis, and
other writers on medicinal plants, is highly
favourable to its virtues. The
tender leaves, shoots, and
flowers of the top of the plant,
are those parts of it used. Its
active parts are dissolved
yveadily both by water and rec-
tified spirit; the herb, after
infusion in sufficient quanti-
ties of either fluids, being
quite insipid. Water tukes up
along with the bitter a large
quantity of an insipid muci-
laginous substance, where-
as rectified spirit seems to dis-
solve little more than the pure bitter part. Hence,
on evaporating the two solutions to the same
consistencies, the watery extract proves much less
bitter than the spirituous, while its quantity is
above four times greater. “The centaury,” says
Dr Woodville, “is justly esteemed to be the most
efficacious bitter of all the medicinal plants, indi-
genous to this country. It has been recom-
mended by Dr Cullen as a substitute for gentian,
and by several thought to bea more useful medi-
cine. Experiments also prove, that it possesses an
equal degree of antiseptic power. Many authors
have observed, that along with the tonic and
stomachic qualities of a bitter, it frequently
proves laxative; but it is probable that thisseldom
happens unless the dose be very lurge. The use
of this, as well as the other bitters, was formerly
common in febrile disorders previous to the know-
ledge of Peruvian bark, which now supersedes
them perhaps too generally, for many cases of
fever occur which are found to be aggravated by
the cinchona, yet afterwards readily yield to
simple bitters.”

Its use as a vermifuge depends upon its bitter
qualities and hence it will be found more effica-
cious for strengthening the bowels, after the
expulsion of worms by other more powerful
medicines, and thus preventing their return.

Water Trerott, or Buck Bean. Pentandria,
monogynia. This is a very common plant in
Britain, growing in marshes and by the sides of
ponds, and flowers about the latter end of June.
The stalk rises from a sheath to the height of
six or twelve inches. The leaves are ternate,
waved at the margins, and resemble the common
bean ; hence the common name of buck bean.
The petals are pink coloured on the outside, and
within finely fringed, so as to have a fibrous
or hairy appearance. The root is perennial,
jointed, and sends forth many long slender fila-
ments. The whole plant is so extremely bitter,
that in some countries it is used as a substitute
for hops in the preparation of malt liquor ; yet,
according to Linnzus, the poorer people in Lap-
land make a bread of the powdered roots mixed

 

Centaury,
526

with meal, although it makes a very unpalatable
food. The juice contains a large proportion of
astringent matter, producing a deep black preci-
pitate with the salts of iron. A dram of the
powdered leaves will also act on the bowels as a
purgative, and produce vomiting, so that, besides
its tonic properties, it seems to possess other
medicinal powers. It has accordingly been
employed for the cure of a variety of diseases, as
scurvy, dropsy, jaundice, &c. Dr Boerhaave
and others experienced its effects in removing a
fit of gout ; it is said to have cured sheep ill of
the dropsy ; and Dr Cullen mentions, that it
has proved efficacious in some kinds of cutane-
ous diseases. It has, however, in modern prac-
tice, fallen into disuse. The leaves may be used
in powder, or infused in water or spirits.

Common Camomite. Natural family, compo-
site ; class syngenesia, polygamia superflua, of
Linneus. This well known plant is a perennial,
with slender, trailing, hairy, and branched stems.
The leaves are doubly pinnated, with linear
pointed pinne. The flower is white, with a
yellow centre. This plant was known to the
Greeks, and obtained the name it now bears,
which is expressive of its peculiar smell. It is
the anthemis of Dioscorides and Theophrastus.
The corn feverew is similar to the camomile in
appearance, and is used on the continent in
medicine ; but it is less fragrant, and contains
less oil than the latter. There is a double variety
sometimes kept in the shops, but the single is
preferable, as the essential oil on which its aro-
matic qualities depend, is contained in the exter-
nal disk, or tubular part of the male florets.
Both leaves and flowers of this plant have a
strong, though not ungrateful smell, and a very
bitter nauseous taste ; but the flowers are more
bitter and aromatic than the leaves. ‘he flowers
give out their virtues both to water and rectified
spirits. When the flowers are dried and pow-
dered, the infusions are more grateful than from
the fresh, or but moderately dried. Distilled
with water, an essential oil in small quantities
is obtained, of a greenish colour, and strong pun-
gent taste. Rectified spirit also extracts, and
in some degree conceals, the odour of this oil ;
and the bitter taste of the tincture is stronger
than that of the watery infusion.

These flowers possess the tonic and stomachic
qualities usually ascribed to simple bitters, hav-
ing very little astringency, but a strong odour
of the aromatic and penetrating kind; hence
they are also of a stimulating nature, and in
some degree allay nervous irritability. They
were formerly much used in the cure of inter-
mittent and other similar fevers, and have in
some instances been substituted for the Peruvian
bark. Dr Cullen has administered from half a
dram to a dram of the powder, during the inter-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

account of the laxative quality he had to give
with them an opiate. They have also been
found useful in hysterical affections, flatulent
colic, and dysentery. At present they are per-
haps less used than they deserve to be. A simple
infusion of them is frequently taken to induce
vomiting, or assist the operation of an emetic ;
and in fomentations to external parts, and for the
formation of poultices, they are still in request.

Spanish Camomile or Pellitory. This plant
resembles the other, only the flowers are consi-
derably larger, and less numerous. It is a native
of the Levant, and the southern parts of Europe,
and was introduced into England by Lobel, in
1750, but it does not ripen its seeds unless in
favourable seasons. The root has a very hot
pungent taste, without any sensible smell. This
pungency resides in a fixed resinous matter, only
partly soluble in water.

It is said that the ancient Romans employed
this root as a pickle, and indeed it seems less
acrid than most substances now used for this
purpose. In its recent state it is not so pungent
as when dried, yet, if applied to the skin, it pro-
duces great irritation, and even inflammation.

The aromatic and stimulating properties of
this root point it out as an appropriate medi-
cine, when such stimulants are necessary. Its
use, however, has hitherto been chiefly confined
to that of a masticatory, and it has been em-
ployed for this purpose from a very early date.
On being chewed or retained for some time in
the mouth, it excites a glowing heat, stimulates
the salivary ducts, and causes a discharge which
has been found to relieve toothache and rheuma-
tic affections of the gums and fauces, and has
been recommended in paralysis of the tongue.

Souter Woop (artimisia abrotanum.) This
is another plant possessing bitter qualities, and
belonging to the same natural family as the fore-
going. The root is perennial, woody, and fibrous.
The stalk is shrubby, covered with brown bark,
and rises to the height of two or three feet. The
leaves are numerous, doubly pinnated, hoary, and
stand on long foot-stalks. The flowers are com-
pound, composed of numerous small florets of a
yellow colour. The seeds are naked and soli-
tary. It is a native of France, Spain, and Italy,
and was introduced into this country by Gerard,
where it grows luxuriantly, but rarely flowers.
It is to be found in almost every cottage garden.
The leaves and tops have a strong, and to most
people an agreeable smell. The taste is pungent,
bitter, and somewhat nauseous. These qualities
it yields to spirits readily, and tinges the liquid
of a green colour. Water extracts them less
perfectly, and the infusion is of a light brown
tint. It yields a very small portion of essential
oil by distillation.

This plant was much employed by the ancient

missions of ague, and with success, only that on | physicians, and was esteemed as stomachic and
WORMWOOD.

stimulating to the system. It is now, however,
entirely laid aside by modern physicians, and is
prized chiefly on account of its fragrant odour.

Wormwoop (artimisia absinthium.) This
belongs to the same family as the foregoing. The
root is perennial, the stem is ligneous, downy,
and grows to the height of two or three feet.
The leaves are compound, and divided into many
blunt segments, and downy on the under side.
The flowers are brownish yellow, and placed in
numerous spikes. It grows wild in this country
about rocks and rubbish. The leaves have a
strong disagreeable smell, their taste is nauseous,
and so intensely bitter, as to be proverbial. The
flowers are more aromatic and less bitter than
the leaves, and the roots have an aromatic
warmth, without any bitterness. Linneus says,
that the plant communicates a bitter taste to the
milk and even flesh of cows and sheep that feed
on it; and that the milk of a woman who took
the extract became extremely bitter. The leaves
and flowers yield the bitter both to water and
spirits. The flowers form the most agreeable
and grateful tincture. This plant is supposed to
be the absinthium penticum of Dioscorides and
Pliny. Besides its strictly tonic powers, for
which it has been used by the moderns, it is also
supposed to possess certain narcotic qualities,
which act on the nerves of the stomach, and those
of the head. Itis used to form an ingredient
of a kind of ale called purl, and this drink was
found to affect the head much more quickly and
strongly than malt liquor alone. Its power of
destroying worms is not more than the ordinary
class of bitter substances. It is now rarely used
as a medicine.

May Wort (artimisia vulgaris). This plant
is also common in Britain, and resembles the
former in its general properties and appearance.
The leaves have a light agreeable smell, espe-
cially when rubbed, but scarcely any taste. The
flowery tops are somewhat stronger than the
leaves. This plant is rarely used now, although
it was much employed by Hippocrates, Dios-
corides and Galen, in uterine complaints, in
which it is employed by the Chinese of the pre-
sent day.

Moxa is a substance prepared in Japan from
the dry tops and leaves of May wort, by beating
and rubbing them between the hands till only
the fine woolly fibres of the inside remain,
which are then combed, and formed into little
cones. Those used as cauteries are greatly
celebrated in Eastern countries for the cure of
many disorders. The manner of applying the
moxa is very simple. The part affected being
previously moistened, a cone of the moxa is
laid, which being set on fire at the apex, gradu-
ally burns down to the skin, where it produces
a dark-coloured spot ; by repeating the process
several times, an eschar is formed of any desired

 

527

extent, and this on separation leaves an ulcer,
which may be kept open as long as required.
It is said that the use of the moxa was originally
introduced by the Jesuits, but it is probably of
greater antiquity. Hippocrates, for a similar
purpose, used flax, and also a species of fungus ;
and the Laplanders to this day use the agaric in
a similar way. The Egyptians employed cotton
or linen for a similar purpose.

The Chinese also manufacture a paper and
a kind of cloth, from the down of the artimisia.

Hyssop (hyssopus officinalis). Natural family
labiate: ; didynamia, gymnospermia, of Linneus.
This is a perennial, shrubby plant, which rises
to the height of two feet. The leaves are long,
narrow, and elliptical, of a deep green colour,
and stand in pairs without footstalks. The
flowers are produced chiefly on one side, in short
verticellated spikes terminating the branches,
and are of a blue colour. It is a native of
Siberia and the mountainous parts of Austria,
and flowers from June till September. This is
not supposed to be the hyssop mentioned in the
Old Testament; nor, indeed, is it at all ascer-
tained what is the esof of the Hebrews, or the
hyssopus of the Greeks. It appears to have
been one of the smallest plants, and “grew out
of the wall;”’ hence some have conjectured it to
be one of the mosses.

Hyssop was first introduced and cultivated in
England by Gerard, in 1596, and is now common
in gardens. ‘The leaves have an aromatic smell,
and a bitterish, moderately warm taste. They
give out their action both to water and spirits,
but more perfectly to the latter. The spirituous
extract possesses little of the flavour of the
plant, but has a warm aromatic taste, like
camphor. The watery distillation of the fresh
herb yields an essential oil, having the flavour
of the plant. Its medicinal properties were held
in some estimation by the older physicians, but
it has now fallen into disuse. Dr Cullen reckons
it aromatic and stimulating; and it was used in
asthma and other affections of the chest, as an
expectorant: for this purpose an infusion of the
leaves is drunk as tea. Externally, decoctions
of the leaves are used in bruises and indolent
swellings,

Rue (ruta graveolens). Natural family
rutacee; decandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
The root sends forth several shrubby stalks,
which, towards the bottom, are strong, woody,
and covered with a rough, gray, striated bark.
The upper or young branches are smooth, and
of a pale green colour; the leaves are compound,
consisting of double sets of irregular pinne
minutely notched, oval shaped, and of a glau-
cous blue colour. The flowers are numerous,
the petals, consisting of four or five, are yellow.
This shrub is a native of the south of Europe,
and flowers in June and September,
528

Rue was much used by the ancients, who
ascribed toit many virtues. Hippocrates praises
it as a diuretic, and attributes to it the power of
resisting the contagion of fevers, as well as other
poisons; and with this view it was used by
Mithridates. Boerhaave even gave it credit for
these virtues; but it is now almost entirely laid
aside as a medicine. In Shakespeare and other
authors, it is called herb of grace, as rosemary is
called herb of remembrance.

The first account we have of the cultivation
of rue in Britain is given by Turner, who
published his herbal in 1562. It is now a very
common plant in gardens, where it retains its
verdure the whole year. It has a strong, un-
grateful smell, and a bitter, hot, penetrating
taste. The leaves are so acrid, that by much
handling they are said to irritate and influence
the skin; and the plant, in its natural or uncul-
tivated state, is reported to possess these sensible
qualities still more powerfully. Both water and
rectified spirit extract its virtues, but the latter
more perfectly than the former.

Its properties are no doubt highly stimulating,
and adapted to phlegmatic habits where there
is nervous irregularity of the system, and espe-
cially of the uterine system. Dr Cullen says,
I have no doubt of its antispasmodic powers.

Horenounn (marrubium vulgare). Natural
family labiate ; didynamia, gymnospermia. This
isa perennial plant, with hairy stalks,and oblong,
deeply serrated leaves, which are also covered
with a down. The flowers are white, and pro-
duced in whorls at the footstalks. It is a native
of Britain, growing near the sides of roads and
among rubbish, and flowers in June. The
leaves have a moderately strong aromatic smell,
which is rendered less disagreeable by drying,
and keeping for some months. Their taste is
very bitter, penetrating, diffusive, and durable
in the mouth. The dry herb gives out its medi-
cinal qualities both to water and spirits. This
plant is the prasion of the ancient Greeks, by
whom it was held in estimation as a cure for
affections of the lungs and intestines. It was
at one time a good deal employed as a cure for
asthma, obstinate coughs, and affections of the
chest; but it now seems to have fallen into dis-
repute. That it possesses some tonic and stimu-
lating powers, cannot be disputed; but its former
reputation as an active and useful medicine was
no doubt overrated. The expressed juice of the
fresh plant, or the dried leaves, taken either in
powder or in an infusion in water or spirits, are
the modes of administering this herb.

Baum (inelissa officinalis). This is another herb
belonging to the same family as the above. It
is a perennial, with stems two feet in height,
with oblong, deeply serrated leaves, and a white
flower.

This plant is a native of the southern parts of

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Europe, especially of mountainous districts. It
was cultivated by Gerard previous to the year
1596, and iscommon in our gardens.- The herb,
in its recent state, has a weal, roughish, aromatic
taste, and a pleasant smell, somewhat of the
lemon kind, and hence it has been called lemon
balm. A small portion of essential oil is obtained
by distillation, of a yellowish colour and very
fragrant smell. It is uncertain under what name
it was known to the ancients. It was formerly
esteemed of use in all nervous affections; and
Paracelsus employed it in hypochondriacal
diseases. The praises bestowed on it by the Arabic
physicians probably sustained its reputation even
to the time of Hoffman and Boerhaave; but it
is now looked upon as a medicine of inferior
powers, and little used. Prepared as tea, how-
ever, it makes a grateful and slightly stimulating
drink in fevers. The essential oil recommended
by Hoffman, seems to possess no other remark-
able properties than that of a stimulating aro-
matic.

Ginsene (panex quinguifolium). Natural
family aratéacew ; polygamia, dicecia, of Linneus.

 

Ginseng.

The fame which this plant has acquired in China,
is not by any means maintained by the estima-
tion in which it is held in Europe. It is a per-
ennial, with a round purple stalk about a foot
high. The leaves arise with the flower stems
from a thick joint at the extremity of the stalk.
They are generally three, but sometimes more
of the digitated kind, each dividing into five
simple leaves, which are of an irregular, oval
shape, with serrated edges; smooth and pointed,
and of a deep green colour. The flowers are
produced in a round terminal umbel, and are of
a whitish colour. They appear in June.

This plant was formerly supposed to be con-
fined to Chinese Tartary, growing in mountain-
ous situations shaded by close woods; but it is
now known to be a native of North America,
from whence Sarrasin transmitted specimens to
Paris, in 1704; and the ginseng, since discovered
in Canada and the United States, has been found
to be identical with that of Tartary; so that its
roots are regularly purchased by the Chinese,
who consider them to be the same as that of
SWEET-FLAG.

their own growth, though theirs undergoes a
process whereby its appearance is rendered some-
what different. In China the roots are said to
be washed or soaked in a decoction of rice, or
millet seed, and afterwards exposed to the steam
of this liquor, by which they ‘acquire a greater
firmness and clearness than in their natural state.
The plant was first introduced into England in
1740, by that industrious botanist Peter Collin-
son. The dried root of ginseng, as imported
here, is scarcely the thickness of the little finger;
about three or four inches long, frequently
forked, transversely wrinkled, of a horny tex-
ture, and both externally and internally of a
yellowish white colour. ‘To the taste it discovers
a mucilaginous sweetness, approaching to that of
liquorice, accompanied with some degree of
bitterness, and a slight aromatic warmth, with
little or no smell. It is far sweeter and pleasanter
than the roots of fennel, to which it has been by
some supposed similar, and differs likewise
remarkably from those roots in its nature and
properties ; the sweet matter of the ginseng being
preserved entire in the watery as well as in the
spirituous extract, whereas that of fennel roots
is destroyed or dissipated in the evaporation of
the watery tincture. The slight aromatic flavour
of the ginseng is likewise in a good measure
retained in the watery extract, and perfectly in
the spirituous.

The Chinese ascribe extraordinary virtues to
the ginseng root, and have long considered it as
a sovereign remedy in almost all diseases to
which they are liable, having no confidence in
any medicine unless in combination with it. It
is observed by Jartoux, that the most eminent
physicians in China have written volumes on
the medicinal powers of this plant, asserting,
that it gives immediate relief in extreme fatigue,
either of body or of mind, that it dissolves
superfluous and noxious humours, and eases
respiration, strengthens the stomach, improves
the appetite and digestion, allays vomitings, and
almost any other ill that flesh is heir to. These
and many other effects of this root equally
extravagant, are related gravely by various
authors; and Jartoux was so much biassed by
this eastern prejudice in its favour, that he seems
to have given them full credit, and confirms them
in some measure by his own experience.

Osbeck says that he never looked into the
apothecaries’ shops in China but they were always
selling ginseng; that both poor people and those
of the highest rank made use of it; and that
they boil half an ounce in their tea or soup
every morning, as a remedy for consumption
and other diseases. In Europe, however, exper-
fence has by no means borne out those assertions.
It is seldom or never now employed, nor do its
sensible qualities seem to produce any active
effects.

 

529

The hardy species of this plant grows well in
rich light soil, the others in loam and peat; they
are propagated by cuttings in sand, under a hand
glass.

Sweer-Firag (acorus calamus). Natural
family aroidee; hexandria, monogynia, of Lin-
neus. This is one of the most pleasing and
powerful of the aromatic bitters. It is a peren-
nial. The root, which is the medicinal part, is
about an inch in thickness, somewhat compressed,
of a yellowish colour outside, and white and
porous within. The leaves are long, sword-
shaped, sheathing one another, and commonly
undulated on one side. The flowers are small,
numerous, and produced on a spadix, or conical
spike at the edge of the leaf; they are of a
greenish yellow. The capsule is oblong, three-
celled, and contains numerous oval seeds. Ac-
cording to Linneus, this is the only true aro-
matic plant indigenous to northern climates.
It is common in many parts of England, and
usually grows in stagnant waters, and by the sides
of rivers, producing its flowers in May or June.
The roots haye been long medicinally employed,
and were formerly imported here from Asia and
the Levant; but those of English growth are
now very generally substituted, and found to be
little or nothing inferior to the exotic sort, which
is merely a variety of the same species. The
root, in its dried state, has a moderately strong
aromatic smell, and a warm, pungent, bitter,
taste. Water completely extracts this bitter
principle, and rectified spirit that of the aro-
matic. Distillation with water affords a small
proportion of aromatic oil.

Both the Greek and Arabian physicians em-
ployed this root as a medicine. It is pungent,
warm, and bitter, though not so heating as the
spices, and is used greatly in conjunction with
the other simple bitters, to render them more
grateful to the stomach. It has been adminis-
tered in intermittent fevers, and with success
even after the failure of Peruvian bark. Accor-
ding to Professor Thomson, it is too little used
in modern practice.

Warre Canetta (canella alba). Natural
family oleracee ; dodecandria, monogynia, of
Linneus. This is a tree from ten to fifty feet
in height, with a straight stem, branched only
at the top. It is covered with a whitish bark,
by which it is easily distinguished at a distance
from other trees, in the woods where it grows;
the leaves are placed upon short footstalks, and
stand alternately. They are oblong, obtuse,
entire, of a dark shining green hue, and thick
like those of the laurel. The flowers are small,
seldom opening, of a violet colour, and grow in
clusters at the tops of the branches upon divided
footstalks. The fruit is an oblong berry, con-
taining four kidney-shaped seeds, of unequal
size.

3x
530

The whole tree is very aromatic, and when in
blossom perfumes the whole neighbourhood.
The flowers dried and softened again in warm
water, have a fragrant odour, nearly approaching
to that of musk. The leaves havea strong smell
of laurel. The berries after having been some
time green, turn blue, and become at last of a
black glossy colour; and have a faint aromatic
taste and smell. They are, when ripe, fed upon
greedily by the wild pigeons in Jamaica, and
impart a peculiar flavour to their flesh.

The canella was first introduced into Britain,
according to Clusius, in 1600. The canella of
commerce is the bark of the tree freed from its
outward covering, and dried in the shade. It is
brought to Europe in long quills, which are
about three-quarters of an inch in diameter;
somewhat thicker than cinnamon, and both exter-
nally and internally of a whitish or light brown
colour, with a yellowish hue; and commonly
intermixed with thicker pieces, which are pro-
bably obtained from the trunk of the tree. This
bark is moderately warm to the taste, and aro-
matic and bitterish. Its smell is agreeable, and
resembles that of cloves. Its virtues are extracted
most perfectly by proof spirits. In distillation
with water ‘it yields an essential oil, of a dark
yellowish colour, of a thick tenacious consis-
tence, with difficulty separable from the aqueous
fluid; in smell sufficiently grateful, though less
so than the bark itself. The remaining decoc-
tion, when evaporated, leaves avery bitter extract,
composed of resinous and gummy matter imper-
fectly mixed. Canella was frequently confounded
with Winter’s bark, another somewhat similar
substance; but having more active qualities, the
canella is now generally used. It has been sup-
posed to possess a considerable share of active
medicinal powers, and was formerly employed asa
cure in scurvy. Now it is merely esteemed as
a pleasing aromatic bitter, and as a useful
adjunct in correcting more active, though nau-
seous medicines. The powder is given along
with aloes, as a stimulating purgative. The
negroes and Caribs are said to use it as a condi-
ment to their food.

Tormentit (tormentilla erecta). Natural
family rosacew; icosandria, polygynia, of Linneus.
This little plant is seen rearing its yellow flower
on our heaths and hills in great abundance. It
is perennial, with a thick, round, knobbed root,
of a dark brown colour, the interior of which
has a reddish tinge. Its stems are about a span
high. The stalk leaves are divided into seven;
those of the branches into five parts; three of
them are larger than the others; and all are ellip-
tical and deeply serrated. The flowers stand
singly on long stalks, and have four small yellow
petals.

The root is the only part which is used in
medicine. It has a strong styptic taste, but

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

imparts no peculiar flavour. As a proof of its
powerful astringency, it has been substituted
for bark in the tanning of leather. It is still
used in the western islands of Scotland for this
purpose, and in the Orkneys. The roots are
boiled in water, and the skins steeped in the cold
liquor for a considerable time, In the islands of
Tirey and Coll, the inhabitants have destroyed
so much ground by digging them up, that they
have been prohibited the use of them. They
are also used for dyeing cloth of a red colour.
In Killarney they feed pigs with the roots.

Tormentil was at one time in considerable
esteem as an astringent medicine, especially in
diarrhea, although it has now fallen into dis-
use. Dr Cullen says it has been justly com-
mended for every virtue that is competent to
astringents. I myself, he adds, have had several
instances of its virtues in this respect, and par-
ticularly have found it, both alone and combined
with gentian, cure intermittent fevers; but it
must be given in substance, and in large quan-
tities.

This dry root is given in powder, or a decoc-
tion may be made by boiling it in water, and
adding a little cinnamon.

Arsutus, or Bearserry (arbuius wa ursi).
Natural family ericeew; decandria, monogynia, of
Linneus. This little plant is found in alpine
regions at a considerable height. The root is
perennial, long, branched, and fibrous. The
stems are numerous, procumbent, woody, and
scarcely a foot long, seldom divided into branches.
The leaves are small, oblong, obtuse, without
footstalks, of a dark green colour. The flowers
are flesh-coloured, and terminate the stems in
small clusters; the corolla is monopetalous; the
fruit is a pulpy, round, red berry. It iscommon
in the north of Scotland, and flowers in June.
There is reason to suppose that this plant was
used by Dioscorides and Galen, as a cure for
spitting of blood.

The dry leaves are inodorous at first, though
bitter; but on keeping and being powdered, have
the flavour of hysson tea. They have been used
to dye an ash colour, and are also sometimes
employed in the tanning of leather. The
uvca ursi, though employed by the ancients in
several diseases requiring astringent medicines,
had almost entirely fallen into disuse till about
the middle of last century, when its use was
revived as a medicine in diseases of the kidneys
and stone.

Inthe years 1763 and 1764 it rose into fashion-
able notoriety, for the cure of gravelly com-
plaints, and, indeed, all affections of the urinary
organs; and was much lauded by the German,
French, and Spanish physicians. Time and
further experience, however, proved all these
encomiums to be exaggerated. The experiments
of Drs Alexander and Murray show this sub-
MEZEREON.

stance to possess little diuretic power, and to
have no material effect upon the urinary organs.
Dr Cullen deems that its only beneficial effect
arises from its astringent properties. Dr With-
ering says, “perhaps we shall find it no better
than other vegetable astringents, some of which
have long been used by the country people in
gravelly complaints, and with very great advan-
tage, though hitherto unnoticed by the regular
practitioners.” The leaves may be used either
in powder or boiled in water. A small tea-
spoonful of the powder is given twice a-day.

Carecuu ( acacia catechu). Natural family
leguminose ; polygamia, monecia, of Linneus.
The small tree which yields the valuable astrin-
gent called catechu, is a native of the moun-
tainous parts of India. It attains the height of
twelve feet, and one foot in diameter. The
trunk is covered with a thick, tough, brown
bark, and towards the top divides into many
close branches. The leaves are bipinnated or
doubly winged, and are placed alternately upon
the younger branches. The partial pinne are
nearly two inches long, and are commonly from
fifteen to thirty pair, having small glands inserted
between the pinne; each wing is usually fur-
nished with about forty pair of pinnated or
linear lobes, beset with short hairs. The flowers
are hermaphrodite, and stand in close spikes,
which arise from the axille of the leaves. The
seeds are contained in lance-shaped pods.

The highly astringent substance long known
under the name of terra Japonica, or more pro-
perly catechu, was long used in Europe before it
was known how it was actually produced.
Clusius and others supposed that this substance
was extracted from the kernel of a nut, the
produce of a species of palm, and confounded
with the areca or beetle nut. According to Mr
Kerr, however, in the province of Bahar, where
the catechu is manufactured, the price of the
areca nut far exceeds that of the catechu. But
he thinks it probable that where this nut is in
great plenty, they may perhaps join some of the
fruit in making the extract to answer a double
purpose; for the most frequent use of both is in
chewing them together, as Europeans do tobacco;
to these two substances they add a little shell
lime, and a leaf called pan.

The preparation of catechu is as follows :—

After felling the trees the manufacturer care-
fully cuts off all the exterior white part of the
wood. The interior coloured wood is cut into
chips, with which he fills a narrow-mouthed,
unglazed, earthen pot, pouring water upon them
until he sees it among the upper chips. When
this is half evaporated by boiling, the decoction
without straining, is poured into a flat earthen
pot, and boiled to one-third part. This is set in
a cool place for one day, and afterwards evapor-
ated by the heat of the sun, stirring it several

 

531

times in the day; when it is reduced to a con-
siderable thickness it is spread upon a mat or
cloth, which has previously been covered with
the ashes of cow dung. This mass is divided
into square or quadrangular pieces by a string,
and completely dried by turning them frequently
in the sun, until they are fit forsale. In making
the extract, the pale brown wood is preferred,
as it produces the finer whitish extract; the
darker the wood is the blacker the extract, and
of less value. This extract is called cutt by the
natives. In its ordinary state it is a dry, pul-
verulent substance, outwardly of a reddish colour,
internally of a shining dark brown, tinged with
areddish hue. In the mouth it discovers con-
siderable astringency, succeeded by a sweetish,
mucilaginous taste. It dissolves almost entirely
in water, leaving only the impurities with which
it is mixed, and which are of a sandy or earthy
nature. Of the pure matter, spirits dissolves
about seven-eights into a deep red liquor. The
part undissolved is an almost insipid, mucila-
ginous substance.

In medicine this substance is employed in all
cases where an astringent is required, especially
in relaxed states of the intestines and uterine
vessels. In ulcerations of the gums, mouth, or
throat, it is also beneficial. In India an oint-
ment is prepared, composed of four ounces of
catechu, one ounce of alum, and half an ounce
of white resin. These are reduced to a fine
powder, and mixed with the hand, adding olive
oil ten ounces, and a sufficient quantity of water.
To all sores and ulcers in warm climates, astrin-
gentapplicationsof this kind are found to beuseful.

For internal use, a simple infusion in warm
water, with the addition of a little cinnamon
powder, is the best mode in which it can be pre-
pared.

Mezerron (daphne mezereon). Natural family
thymelee ; octandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
The mezereon is a hardy shrub, and a native of
England, though not very commonly to be met
with in a wild state. It grows to the height of
five or six feet, and sends off several branches.
The exterior bark is smooth, and of a gray colour.
The root is of afibrous texture, of a pale colour,
and covered with smooth, olive-coloured bark.
The leaves are few, tender, lance-shaped, sessile,
and deciduous, and appear at the termination of
the branches after the flowers have expanded.
The flowers surround the branches in thick
clusters; they are sessile, monopetalous, tubular,
having the limb divided into four oval segments,
commonly of a purple hue. The seed is con-
tained in a round reddish berry. In England
this shrub is said to be frequently seen near
Andover, in Hampshire, and Laxfield, in Suffolk.
It is a common plant in gardens on account of
the beauty of its early blowing flowers, which
appear in February or March.
532

This plant is extremely acrid, especially when
fresh; and if chewed and retained in the mouth,
excites great and long continued heat and inflam-
mation, particularly of the throat and fauces. The
berries also have the same effects, and when
swallowed, prove a powerful corrosive poison not
only to man, but to dogs and other quadrupeds,
though birds feed on them with impunity. The
bark and berries formed into ointments and
infusions, have long been used as external appli-
cations to old ulcers and long continued sores.
In France the bark is used as an application
to the skin, and, under certain management,
produces a continued serous discharge without
blistering, and is thus rendered useful in many
chronic diseases of a local nature, answering the
purpose of what has been called a perpetual
blister, while it occasions little pain or incon-
venience. The mode of application is as follows:
A square piece of the recent bark about an inch
long, and three-quarters of an inch broad, macer-
ated a little in vinegar, is applied to the skin,
over which is bound a leaf of ivy or plantain.
This application is at first renewed night and
morning, till it cauterises the part and brings on
a serous discharge, when a renewal of the bark
once in twenty-four hours is found sufficient to
continue the issue for any length of time. By
means of a piece of adhesive plaster, pieces of
the bark might thus be applied behind the ears,
or at the back of the neck, for diseases of the
eyes, &c.

Tn an affection of the throat of three years’
standing, where there was great difficulty of
swallowing, Dr Withering directed the mezereon
root to be chewed frequently, and a complete
cure was thus effected ina month. The root of
the mezereon is very large, and possesses even
more acridity than the bark. Slices of the root
are frequently chewed in the mouth for tooth-
ache,

Mezereon has also been employed in decoction,
either alone or joined with sarsaparilla in the
secondary forms of syphilis, and in the cure of
schirrous tumours.

Arum, or Waxe-Rogin (arum maculatum );
moneecia polyandria. This plant has already been
alluded toas yielding afarinaceous substance from
its roots. In a recent state the juice of this root,
which is extremely acrimonous, has been used as
a medicine. The plant grows wild in Britain,
and is in some respects remarkable. The root
is perennial, about the size of a large nut, and
sends off many long fibres. The leaves are com-
monly three or four, growing from each root.
These are arrow-shaped, of adeep green or purplish
colour, with numerous veins and dark spots, The
flower stalkis very short ; the calyx is a sheath of
one leaf, large,oval, andinclosing thespadix, which
is round, club-shaped, fleshy, above of a purple

colour, below whitish, standing in the centre of ;

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the sheath, and supporting the parts necessary to
fructification. Towards the base are several oval
corpuscles or nectaries; next to them are placed
the anthere, under them are more nectaries; and
lastly, the germina with bearded stigmata. This
curious flower shows itself early in spring, but
the berries which follow do not ripen till late
in summer, when they appear in naked clusters,
of a bright scarlet colour.

The root, when recent, contains a milky fluid,
which is extremely acrimonious, exciting a pain-
ful sensation of burning heat in the tongue and
mouth. When cut in slices and applied to the
skin, it produces a blister. By drying, it loses
this activity; and exposed to a sufficient heat for
a short time, thereremains the starchy substance,
described in another place.

The recent root does not impart its acrimony
to spirits, wine, or water; the juice, however,
is reckoned a powerful stimulant and diuretic,
not only exciting the languid digestive organs,
but also the whole system. By the ancients it
was used both externally and internally, but has
fallen into disuse in modern practice where fresh
herbs of any kind are so seldom resorted to.

The root should be young, and slightly dried
in the shade and without heat. A scruple of
this root, pounded, or made into an emulsion
with gum Arabic, may be given once or twice a
day; or the fresh root pounded may be used
in the same way, in cases of rheumatism.

It occasions a slight warmth in the stomach,
and afterwards promotes perspiration, and has
frequently been known to cure chronic rheuma-
tism and severe headaches, arising from nervous
debility of the stomach.

Scurvy Grass (cochlearia officinalis); tetra-
dynamia, siliculosa. This plant is common on

200.

 

Scurvy Grass.

our sea shores, as also in mountainous situations
in Britain. It is a perennial; the stems are
about a span high; the radical leaves are heart-
shaped, those of the stem ovate and deeply ser-
rated. The flowers are cruciform and terminate
the branches in thick clusters, It has an
unpleasant smell, and a warm acrid bitter taste.
As a medicine, it is aperient, diuretic, and gene-
rally stimulating. The fresh plant, eaten as a

.
ASSAFCTIDA,

salad, is found to be one of the best cures for
scurvy, brought on by long sea voyages and a
diet of salted provisions. This disease has,
however, in a great measure been obviated in
modern times by a supply of citric acid or
lemon juice on board of ship; and in domestic
diet great and important improvements have
taken place by the continued supply all over
the year of fresh provisions, and abundance of
vegetables,

Assararipa (ferula assafetida). Natural
family, wmbellifere; pentandria, digynia, of
Linneus. The well known gum assafcetida is
the juice of several species of a plant which in
its general appearance and habits resembles
hemlock. Dr Hope was the first who introduced
this plant into Europe; and in 1784, a fine speci-
men grew in the botanic garden of Edinburgh.
The plant is a native of Persia; the root is per-
ennial, tapering, and grows to the size of a man’s
arm; it is covered with a dark coloured bark,
with many stiff fibres on the upper part. The
internal white fleshy substance abounds with a
thick milky juice, which has a strong fetid smell
resembling garlic. The stalk is round, smooth,
striated from six to eight feet in height, and six
or seven inches in circumference, The leaves are
radical, six or seven in number, and nearly two
feet in length, bipinnated, of a deep green colour
and fetid smell. The flowers form an umbel.
and produce oval seeds. The plant varies much
according to the nature of the soil in which it
grows, not only in the shape of the leaves but in
the intensity of the odour of the juice. Some-
times this is so slight, that goats feed on the
plant.

Assafcetida is collected from plants grow-
ing in the mountainous provinces of Chorassan
and Loar in Persia. At the season of the year
when the leaves begin to decay, the oldest plants
are selected. First, the firm earth which encom-
passes the root is rendered light by digging,
and part of it is cleared away so as to leave a
portion of the upper part of the root above the
ground; the leaves and stalk are then twisted
off and used with other vegetables for a cover-
ing, to screen the root from the sun; and upon
this covering a stone is placed, to keep the whole
from being blownaway. In this state the root is
left for forty days, after which the covering is
removed, and the top of the root is cut off trans-
versely. It is then shaded from the sun for
forty-eight hours more, which is thought a suffi-
cient time for the juice to exude upon the cut
surface of the root. The juice is then scraped
off, and exposed to the sun-to harden. A second
transverse section of the root is again made, but
no thicker than is necessary to remove the
remaining superficial concretions which would
otherwise obstruct the farther effusion of fresh
juice, It is asecond time shaded for forty-eight

 

5338

hours, and the juice scraped off as before. This
process is repeated eight times on each root; after
every third collection, ten days of an interval is
allowed to elapse, in order to give the root suffi-
cient time to secrete the juice. Thus from the
first incision to the last, a period of five or six
weeks is required; after this the root isabandoned,
and it soon perishes. The whole of this pro-
cess is conducted by the peasants who live in
the neighbourhood of the mountains where the
plants grow, and as they collect the juice from
a number of roots at the same time, and expose
it in one common place to harden, the sun soon
gives it that consistence and appearance in which
it is imported into Europe. Assafcetida has a
bitter, acrid, pungent taste, and a powerful and
peculiar fetid smell, the strength of which is the
surest test of its genuineness. As this odour is
very volatile, the gum loses much of its strength
by keeping, and when recent the odour is much
more powerful than after its transportation to
Europe. It comes to us in large irregular masses,
of a heterogeneous appearance, composed of
various little lumps, or grains of a white
brown, reddish, and violet colour. The best
masses are those which are clear, reddish, and
variegated with whitish tears. It isa gum resin,
the smell and taste residing in the latter, which
is readily dissolved in spirits, and to a consider-
able extent in water.

In medicine it is of very general use as a
stimulant and antispasmodic in nervous affec-
tions; especially nervous affections of the
stomach, combined with hysterical disease,
flatulence, and colic pains. It is given in tinc-
ture, or emulsion, or in pills combined with
aloes or colocynth. In some countries it is
used as a condiment in food, in a similar way as
garlic, which it in many respects resembles.

Inuta orn Exzcampane (inula helenium).
Natural family, composite; syngenesia polygamia,

 

Elecamprne.

of Linnzus. This plant is a native of England,
and grows in moist meadows; it is also not unfre-
quently met with in the cottage garden. The root
is perennial, large, thick, branched, externally
brown and ofa whitish gray within. The stalk is
upright, strong, round, striated, hairy, and about
534

four feet in height. The leaves are large, ovate,
serrated, crowded with a net-work of veins, with
a strong fleshy mid-rib. The flower is very
large and yellow. This plant is described as
medicinal by Dioscorides and Pliny. The root
is the part used; when dried and kept for some
time it has a pleasant odour, like that of orris
root. Its taste is aromatic, bitter, and pungent.
It yields these qualities to spirits more readily
than to water. Its virtues were much extolled
by the older physicians; but it has not been
found so deserving of praise in modern practice.
Indeed, it is now fallen entirely into disuse. Its
action, however, is similar to that of the other
stimulating and aromatic bitters, and it is used
in similar complaints; as in cases of weak
digestion, hysterical and nervous complaints.
One dram of the root in infusion, and from two
to four drams in decoction, is said to be the dose
usually given.

FrorentingE Orris Roor (iris florentina);
triandria, monogynia. This iris is a native of
Italy, and flowers in June. It was cultivated in
England, by Gerard, in 1590; and is now gene-
rally reared by flouists as an ornament in the gar-
den. The roots of those plants produced in this
country, have not, however, the odour, or other
qualities of those of warmer climates. The orris
root of our shops is imported from Leghorn.
The root in its recent state is extremely acrid ;
and when chewed excites a pungent heat in the
mouth, which continues several hours. On
drying this acrimony is almost wholly lost, the
taste is slightly bitter, and the smell agreeable,
resembling that of violets. On distillation it
does not yield an essential oil; but the flavour is
communicated to spirituous tinctures. The
fresh root is a powerful purgative and emetic,
and a dram of the juice for u dose has been
employed in the cure of dropsies. The dry root
is only used as an agreeable perfume, and is the
ingredient which gives the peculiar flavour to
artificial brandies made in this country.

Fenucreex. Natural family, papilionacee;
diadelphia, decandria, of Linneus. This is an

 

Fenugreek.

annual plant, with an erect hairy stem about two
feet high; the leaves are oblong, obtuse, and

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

slightly serrated, and of a disagreeable smell.
The flowersare whiteand appear in pairs; they are
succeeded by a long compressed pointed pod con-
taining numerous seeds of a round yellow colour.
These seeds have a strong disagreeable smell, and
an unctuous farinaceous taste, accompanied with
a slight bitterness. These seeds are not now
given as medicine internally, and are only rarely
used as fomentations and cataplasms in indolent
swellings, rheumatism, and ulcers, and some-
times in glysters. Formerly they were held
in more esteem by medical men than they are
now.

VALERIAN (valeriana officinalis). Natural
family valerianee ; triandria, monogynia of Lin-

203.

 

Valerian.

neus. This is a common plant about hedges
and woods in Britain. The root is perennial,
consisting of a number of simple fibres which
unite at their origin; the stalk is upright,
smooth, channelled, round, branched, and rises
from three to four feet in height. The leaves
in the stem are placed in pairs upon short broad
sheaths, they are composed of several lance-
shaped, partially dentated pinne with an odd
one at the end, which is the largest. The radical
leaves are much larger. The flowers are small,
of a white or purplish colour, and terminate the
stem in large branches. The flowers appear in
June,

The narrow-leaved variety of this species,
which does not exceed two feet in height, and
grows on dry heaths, and elevated pastures, is
in more repute than the other. Its roots mani-
fest stronger sensible qualities, and consequently
possess more active medicinal powers. Their
odour is strong and peculiarly heavy, with a
mixture of both aromatic and fetid qualities,
The taste is warm, bitter, unpleasant, and slightly
acrid.

Valerian is supposed to be the phu (expressive
of its abominable smell) of Dioscorides and
Galen, by whom it is extolled as an aromatic
and diuretic. It was afterwards found to be
useful in certain kinds of epilepsy arising from
nervous irregularity; and, indeed, is now
employed in many nervous affections arising
from debility and irregular nervous action, or
hysterical affections and convulsions.
SASSAFRAS.

A tea-spoonful of the powdered root, with a
little cinnamon or mace, may be given twice or
thrice a day. It also yields its virtues to spirit
of wine and water, and a tea-spoonful or two of
the tincture is also a common dose.

Cats are particularly fond of the odour of this
root, and seem to be fascinated, as it were, when
it is presented to them. It is said also that rats
are equally attracted by its odour, and that rat-
catchers employ it as a means of snaring these
animals. This liking probably depends upon
some sexual analogy of smell which the root
presents to them.

Several of the species of this family of plants
are cultivated as ornaments to the garden
borders.

Sassarras (laurus sassafras). Natural family
lauridie ; enneandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
This plant resembles the laurel, to which family
it belongs. It attains the height of twenty-five
feet, and is above a foot in diameter, but in
general it is of much less growth, and is divided
towards the top into several crooked branches.
The bark of the young shoots is smooth and
green ; of the old trunks it is rough and furrowed,
and of a light ash colour. The leaves vary ; some
being oval, others divided into three lobes; they
are of a pale green, downy on the under side, and
placed alternately in long footstalks. The flowers
are produced in pendent spikes or panicles, which
spring from the extremities of the shoots of the
preceding year. They appear in May and June,
and are generally male and female upon dif-
ferent trees; the fruit is a berry like that of
the cinnamon.

This tree is a native of North America, and
appears to have been cultivated in England
sometime before the year 1633; forin Johnston’s
edition of Gerard he says, “I have given the
figure of a branch taken from a little sassafras
tree which grew in the garden of Mr Welmot
at Bon.” It is said that this tree was first dis-
covered by the Spaniards when they took pos-
session of Florida, and the first import of the wood
into Spain was about the year 1560, when it
acquired great reputation for curing various dis-
eases. It is now usually imported here in long
straight pieces, very light, of a spongy texture,
and covered with a rough fungous bark. It has
a fragrant smell, and a sweetish, aromatic,
subacid taste. The root, wood, and bark agree
in their medicinal qualities, but the bark has
most fragrance, and is thought to be more power-
ful than the wood. Distilled with spirits, a fra-
grant essential oil of a penetrating nature is pro-
cured, and so heavy as to sink in water. It
yields its principles less completely to water,
though a decoction of the wood is that frequently
ordered. Its effects on the system seem to be
slightly stimulant and sudorific, promoting the
general secretions, but not showing much activity.

 

5385

Indeed it is now seldom used, except conjoined
with other more active medicines in rheumatism,
gout, and affections of the skin. A tincture is
made by dissolving the bark and wood in recti-
fied spirits, and in this way the whole properties
of the plant are best obtained.

SarsaraniLia (smilax sarsaparilla). Natural
family sermentacee; diccia, heaandria, of Lin-

 

Sarsaparilla.

neus. This plant is a native of America,
although another species, s. aspera, very similar
in all respects, is common in the south of
Europe.

The root is perennial, divided into several
branches which are somewhat thicker than a
goose quill, straight, externally brown, internally
white, and three or four feet in length. The
stalks are shrubby, long, trailing, and beset with
spines. The leaves are oval and pointed. The
flowers are male and female, on different plants.
The calyx of both flowers is bell-shaped and six
lobed. The fruit is a round, three-celled berry,
containing two seeds. The root, which is the
medicinal part, has a farinaceous, somewhat bit-
terish taste, and no smell. To water it communi-
cates a reddish brown, to rectified spirits a
yellowish red tincture, but imparts no taste to
either. This root was introduced into Spain
nearly three centuries ago, as an undoubted cure
for syphilis and other diseases, as rheumatism
and scrofula, and affections of the skin. Like
many other remedies, however, its virtues in
time came to be disputed, and it was for a time
laid aside. Physicians are not even agreed in
the present day about its effects, some assert-
ing that its powers are considerable as an altera-
tive and restorer of the system, especially after
mercury has been administered, others holding
it as entirely inert. The common mode in
which the roots are used is as a decoction in
water, either alone or joined with sassafras and
guiacum.

Guiacum (G. officinalis) ; decandria, monogy-
nia of Linneus. This tree is a native of South
America, and the West Indian islands. It grows
to the height of forty feet, and four to five feet
in circumference sending off several large sub-
536

dividing knotty branches. The bark is dark
gray, variegated with green or purplish spots on
the trunk, but those of the branches are ash
coloured. The roots are thick and large, and thick
in proportion to the size of the tree, and run deep
into the ground in a perpendicular direction.
The leaves are pinnated, consisting of two, three,
or four pairs of pinne. The flowers grow in clus-
ters,the calyx is five-petalled,and of a blue colour.

The wood, gum, bark, fruit, and flowers,
ave all said to possess medicinal qualities.
The wood is brought to Britain from Jamaica
in large pieces of four or five hundred weight
each; and from its hardness and beauty is in
great demand for various articles of turnery ware;
it is extremely compact, and so heavy as to sink
in water. The outer part is of a pale yellow
colour, the heart of a dark blackish brown, with
a greater or less admixture of green. It has little
smell except when heated, or when it is being
rasped down, when it yields a slight aromatic
odour. When chewed it discovers a slight
acrimony. Its pungency resides in a resinous
matter which dissolves readily in rectified spirit,
and partially in boiling water. This gum or
gummy resin is obtained by wounding the bark
in different parts of the tree, which is termed
jagging. The gum flows gradually, but plenti-
fully from those wounds, and hardens in the
sun, when it is scraped off and packed in small
kegs for exportation. This resin is of a friable
texture, of a deep greenish colour, and sometimes
of a reddish hue. It has a pungent acrid
taste, but little or no smell unless when heated.
This tree yields a spontaneous exudation from
the bark, which is called the native gum,
and is brought to this country in small irregular
pieces, of a bright semi-pellucid appearance, and
differs from the other gum in being much
purer. The bark contains less resinous matter
than the wood, and is consequently a less power-
ful medicine, though in a recent state it is
strongly purgative. The fruit is said to be
purgative also, and in medicinal qualities far
excels the bark. The flowers are laxative, and
in Jamaica are commonly given to children in
the form of a syrup, which in appearance
resembles that of syrup of violets. But the
wood and resin alone are employed in Europe.
Guiacum, like the resins and balsams, is a stim-
ulant of a very diffusible nature in the human
system, and affects the skin, urinary organs, and
intestines very readily. Hence perhaps its use
in rheumatism and similar affections, and also
in diseases of the skin. It is used in decoction
along with the other woods just described, as
also in tincture when its active parts are most
perfectly preserved. The only objection is the
amount of spirits which is combined in the
tincture, and this in many cases may be a
serious objection.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Snake roor, Brrr Wort (aristolochia ser-
pentaria,) gynandria, hecandria, of Linneus.
This plant is a native of Virginia, North America,
where there are several species nearly allied.
There are also several European species. The root
is perennial, and composed of a number of small
fibres proceeding from a common trunk, exter-
nally brown, and internally whitish. The stems
are slender, round, crooked, jointed, and eight to
ten inches high. The leaves are heart-shaped,
entire, pointed, and stand upon long footstalks.
The flowers are monopetallous, solitary, and
of a purple colour; the corolla is tubular and
twisted. The root is the medicinal part. It
has an aromatic smell, approaching to that of
valerian, but more agreeable, and a warm, bit-
terish, pungent taste, which is not easily con-
cealed by other mixtures. It imparts its active
matter both to water and spirits, and yields, by
distillation, an essential oil.

This root was first extolled as a cure for the
bite of the rattle snake, and other serpents, and
hence its name. It was also said that the snake
charmers used the juice of this root to stupity
the snakes as preparatory to taming them. It is,
however, extremely doubtful whether it possesses
either the power of charming snakes or curing
their bites. Jqually apocryphal are its reported
cures of malignant fevers; and modern physi-
cians are contented to employ it as a tonic, and
aromatic stimulant.

The powdered root is given to the extent of
ten or thirty grains, and in tincture one or two
tea-spoonfuls. Its employment, however, is
now much less practised than formerly.

The long rooted Birth Wort (a. longa) and
other two species, the round and slender, are
European plants, whose roots possess similar
properties to the American snake root. These
were employed by the ancient physicians, and
by them esteemed in affections of the uterus.

The celebrated Portland powder for the cure
of gout contained the roots of aristolochia, along
with gentian, centaury, and some other bitters;
a dram of this mixture was directed to be taken
every morning for three months, and in gradually
diminished doses afterwards for a year or more.
This powder had in many cases the effect of
warding off attacks of gout, but its long con-
tinued use injured the stomach and nervous
system, and brought on premature decay and
death.

‘Tue Rose (rosa canina, r. centifolia, r. gal-
ica). Icosandria, polygynia, of Linneus. The
hip or dog rose, is the common wild species from
which the garden roses are produced. It is a
shrub rising to six or ten feet in height, with
smooth bark, beset with alternate, hooked
prickles. The flowers are large, and composed
of five flesh-coloured, or white petals. The
capsule containing the seeds or hip, is of a
THE ALOE,

subacid, pleasant flavour, and is formed with
sugar into a preserve,

T'wo varieties, the hundred-leaved, and red or
common rose, are used in medicine. The hun-
dred-leaved is so called from the number of its
petals, which are of a pale red or flesh colour.
The red rose has larger and finer petals, and ‘is
of a deep crimson colour. The leaves of the
latter are generally collected and dried, and are
used for making the infusion of roses; they are
more astringent than the former, but have less
odour. An essential oil is obtained from the
distillation of rose leaves, which possesses all
the concentrated and delightful odour of the
rose. It is well known under the name of attar,
or oil of roses. It is chiefly made in India,
where the rose grows in abundance.

To produce this oil, forty pounds of the rose
flowers, with their calyces, are put into a rude
still with sixty pounds of water. The mass
being well mixed, a gentle fire is put under the
still; and when fumes begin to rise, the cap and
pipe are properly fixed and luted. When the
impregnated water begins to come over, the fire
is lessened by gentle degrees, and the distillation
iscontinued until thirty pounds of water are come
over, which generally takes place in about four
or five hours. This water is to be poured upon
forty pounds of fresh roses, and thence are to be
drawn from fifteen to twenty pounds of distilled
water by the same process as before. It is then
poured into pans of earthen ware, or of tinned
metal, and left exposed to the fresh air for a
night; the attar or essence will be found in the
morning congealed, and swimming on the top of
the water. It is then skimmed off, carefully
freed from any remaining drops of water, and
then put into bottles for sale.

A conserve with honey or sugar is made of
the fresh petals of the hundred-leaved rose, which
is found a mild and pleasant laxative, and may
also be employed in making infusion of roses,
by pouring on an ounce of the conserve one
pound of water. The addition of a few drops
of diluted sulphuric acid, heightens the colour
and improves the astringent effect of this infu-
sion. It may be used internally in spitting of
blood, or as a gargle in affections of the throat.

-CHAP. XLIX.
THE ALOE, SCAMMONY, JALAP, COLOCYNTH, &c.

In the preceding chapter we have described
those plants which are possessed of a bitter and
astringent principle, joined sometimes with
an aromatic flavour. We now proceed to con-
sider those plants whose juices have an action
on the stomach and intestinal canal, called pur-

 

537

gative ; in other words, which have a peculiar
stimulating property on those organs, by which
their natural or peristaltic motion is increased,
as also the secretions from their surface.

Tax ALoE (aloe socotrina). Natural family
hemerocalledee ; hexandria, monogynia, of Lin-

205.

 

Alves.

neus. Of this genus there are al least 150 spe-
cies and varieties. The greater part of which
are natives of Africa, and a few of the East and
West Indies.

There are several species or varieties supposed
to yield the gum aloes, and known in commerce,
namely, a. Socotrina (from Socotra), vulgaris
(Barbadoes), spicata (Cape), Indica, two or three
varieties. About 120 to 130 tons of aloes are
annually imported.

The root of the socotrine aloe is perennial,
strong, and fibrous; the flower stems rise three
or four feet in height, and are smooth, of a
shining green colour, and towards the top beset
with bracteal scales. The leaves are numerous,
and proceed from the upper part of the root;
they are narrow, tapering, thick or fleshy, suc-
culent, smooth, shining, and beset at the edges
with spiney teeth. The flowers are produced
in terminal spikes; there is no calyx; the corolla
is tubular, divided into six narrow segments at
the mouth, and of a striped purplish colour.
The capsule contains numerous angular seeds.
It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and
the island of Socotra. It flowers most part of
the year, and must not be confounded with
another plant, the American aloe (agave Ameri-
cana), which is remarkable for the long interval
between the periods of its inflorescence.

A tract of mountains about fifty miles from the
Cape of Good Hope, is wholly covered with the
aloe plant, which renders the planting of them
there unnecessary; but in Jamaica and Barbadoes
they are carefully cultivated. To the former of
these islands they were first brought from Ber-
muda, and gradually propagated themselves,
They require two or three years standing before
they yield their juice in perfection, to procure
which, the labourers go into the field with tubs

and knives, and cut off the largest and most
oY
538

succulent leaves close to the stalk; these are
immediately put into the tubs and disposed one
by the side of another in an upright position,
that all the loose liquor may flow out at the
wound. When this is thought to be almost
wholly discharged, the leaves are taken out one
by one, passed through the hand to clear off any
part of the juice that may yet adhere or stick in
the less open veins; and the drained liquor is put
into shallow flat-bottomed vessels, and dried
gradually in the sun until it acquires a proper
consistence. What is obtained in this manner
is generally called socotrine aloes, and is the
clearest and most transparent, as well as the
highest in esteem and value.* The method of
procuring the common aloes in Barbadoes is thus
described by Millington.t After a quantity of
juice is drained from the leaves, it is carried to
the boiling house. One, two, or three iron or
copper boilers, are placed on the fire and filled
with juice. As the boiling goes on and the fluid
becomes thicker by evaporation, it is ladled for-
ward from boiler to boiler; and fresh juice is
added to the first boiler as it is gradually emptied.
When the juice in the third boiler, which is the
smallest, has arrived at a proper degree of con-
sistency, it is ladled out into gourds; and this is
known by dipping in a small piece of wood,
allowing the matter to cool, and then observing
whether the resin cuts freely, or comes away in
thin flakes from the stick. A little lime water
is used by some aloe boilers during the process,
when the ebullition is too great. The sun-dried
resin, which is a tedious process, is seldom made
in Barbadoes. Dr Wright gives a somewhat
different account of the manufacture of aloes.
According to him the plant is pulled up by the
roots, and carefully cleansed from earth or other
impurities. It is then sliced and cut in pieces,
and put into small hand baskets or nets; these
are put into large iron boilers with water, and
boiled for ten minutes, when they are taken out
and fresh parcels supplied, till the fluid becomes
strong and black. At this period the liquor is
thrown through a strainer into a deep vat, nar-
row at bottom, and left till it cools, and deposits
its feculent parts. Next day the clear liquor is
drawn off by a cock, and again committed to the
large iron vessel. At first it is boiled briskly,
but towards the end the evaporation is slow, and
requires constantly stirring to prevent burning.
When it becomes of the consistence of honey,
it is poured into gourds or calabashes for sale.
The socotrine aloe was formerly procured
from the island Socotra, or Zocotra, at the
mouth of the red sea. It comes wrapt in skins,
and is of a bright glossy surface, in the lump, of
a yellowish red colour, with a tinge of purple;
when reduced into powder it is a golden yellow,

* Brown’s Jamaica. + Hist. of Barbadoes.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Its consistency alters with heat and cold. Its
bitter taste is accompanied by an aromatic flavour,
but not sufficient to prevent its being disagree-
able. The smell is not very unpleasant, and
sometimes resembles that of myrrh. The hepatic
aloes are chiefly brought from Barbadoes; the best
sort in large gourd shells, the inferior kind in
pots, and a still worse in casks; it is of a darker
colour, and not so clear as the other. It is gen-
erally drier and more compact, though some-
times the inferior sort is soft and clammy. Its
smell is much stronger, and more disagreeable;
the taste intensely bitter and nauseous, with
little aromatic flavour.

The Horse Alve is easily distinguished from
both the foregoing, by its strong rank smell.
In other respects it resembles the hepatic, and is
sometimes as clear and bright as the socotrine,
only its smell is disagreeable, and devoid of all
aromaticodour. This kind, as the name implies,
is used chiefly by Farriers.

Aloes consists of a resin and gummy matter
united. It readily dissolves in proof spirits,
and in hot water, but not so perfectly. The
hepatic contains more resin and less gum than
the socotrine, and on the gum its active prin-
ciple depends.

It is a universal and well known purgative,
and forms the principal part of most aperient
pills. It is thought to act chiefly on the lower
and larger intestines, and is not so frequently
given alone as in conjunction with rhubarb,
colocynth, and scammony. It will in many
cases act in the quantity of three or four grains,
in others, from twenty to thirty grains is a usual
dose.

This drug was known to the ancients, and
employed by Dioscorides, Celsus, and Avicenna,
although it is not mentioned by Hippocrates.

It is one of the safest and best warm and
stimulating purgatives to persons of sedentary
habits, and phlegmatic constitutions.

Conocynru (cucumis colocynthis), Natural
family cucurbitacee; monecia, syngenesia, of
Linneus. This is one of the gourd family, and
is common in Turkey; although it is not well
ascertained in what country it is indigenous. It
is an annual trailing and climbing plant, like
the garden cucumber. The leaves are triangular,
obtusely notched, hairy, green on the upper
surface, and light-coloured, and rough on the
under. The flowers are small, solitary, and of
a yellow colour. The fruit is a round gourd,
about the size of an orange, divided into three
cells, abounding with a pulpy matter, and con-
taining numerous oval, compressed seeds, It
seems to have been cultivated in Britain in the
time of Turner; but in our hot-houses its fruit
is rarely developed. The spongy medullary part
of the fruit is that which possesses medicinal
activity; it is nauseous, acrid, and intensely
 

SCAMMONY. 539

bitter. A decoction of this pulp in water, and
then evaporated, forms the extract of colocynth

206.

 

Colocynth.

used in medicine. The pulp is very bitter; hence
the terms bitter apple, devil’s apple, &e., by
which it is popularly known. This very power
ful purgative is the “olokunthzs of the ancient
Greeks, and the alhandat of the Arabian physi-
cians. It was frequently used by both in different
diseases, though not without an apprehension of
danger from the violence of its effects, of which
various instances are related. In doses of ten to
twelve grains, it acts vehemently on the intestines,
frequently producing violent gripes. The best
method of abating its violence without dimin-
ishing its purgative effect, is to triturate it with
gummy, farinaceous substances, or oily seeds,
and form it into an emulsion.

In the proportion of one or two grains, it may
be combined with aloes or rhubarb, and forms
a safe and excellent pill in all cases where the
bowels and constitution are of an indolent nature.
The seeds are perfectly bland, and highly nutri-
tious; and in northern Africa are used by the
natives as a common article of food.

Scammony (convolvulus scammonia). Natural
family convoluulacee; pentandria, monogynia, of

 

Scammony,

Linneus. This plant grows in abundance about
Maarash, Antioch, Edlib, and towards Tripoli,
in Syria; and was first introduced into England
by Gerard, in 1597. The root is from three to

 

four feet in length, and from nine to twelve
inches in circumference, covered with bark of a
light gray colour. It is perennial, tapering,
branched towards the bottom, and contains a
milky juice. The stalks are numerous, slender,
twining, and spread themselves upon the ground
or neighbouring trees, to the extent of fifteen
or twenty feet. The leaves are arrow-shaped,
smooth, of a bright green colour, and stand upon
long footstalks. The flowers are funnel-shaped,
yellow plicated, and placed in pairs upon the
pedicles. The capsule is multilocular, and con-
tains seeds of a pyramidical shape.

It is from the milky juice of the root that the
scammony of medicine is procured, no other
part of the plant possessing any active qualities.
The mode of procuring the juice is as follows:
The peasantry having cleared away the earth
from about the root, they cut off the top in an
oblique direction about two inches below where
the stalks spring from it. Under the most
depending part of the slope, they fix a shell or

‘some other convenient receptacle, into which

the milky juice gradually flows. It is left there
about twelve hours, which time is sufficient for
drawing off the whole juice. This, however,
is in small quantity, each root affording but a
very few drams. The juice from the several
roots is put together, often into the leg of an old
boot for want of some more proper vessel, where,
in a little time, it grows hard, and forms the
genuine scammony.* It is a green resin, gen-
erally of a light, shining gray colour, and friable
texture. It is brought from Aleppo and Smyrna;
that which comes from the latter place is less
valued than the former, and is supposed to be
more ponderous, and of a deeper colour; but the
colour affords no test of the goodness of this
drug, which seems to depend entirely upon the
purity of the concrete juice. The smell is rather
unpleasant, and the taste bitterish, and slightly
acrid. The different proportions of gum and
resin, of which it consists, have been variously
stated; but as it dissolves entirely in proof spirits,
this shows that the two substances must be in
nearly equal proportions.

Scammony was well known to the Greek and
Arabian physicians, and was not only employed
internally as a purgative, but also as an exter-
nal remedy for tumours and diseases of the
skin. In small doses of two or three grains, it
may be given alone; but it is more frequently
used combined with other purgatives, as aloes
and colocynth.

Jaap (convolvolus jalapa). This is another
plant of the genus ipome, nearly allied to the
former. It is a native of Xalapa, in Mexico,
hence probably its name. The root is perennial,
large, heavy, of an irregular oval form, black

* Dr Russel,
540

colour, and abounding in a milky juice. The
stalks are numerous, shrubby, slender, striated,

      

  

 

 
   

QoS 8 a X

    
   

Jalap.

twisted, and climb for support to other bodies,
rising to twelve feet in height. The leaves vary
in form, but are generally heart-shaped; they
are smooth, of a bright green colour, and stand
alternately upon long footstalks. The flowers
are large, bell-shaped, entire, and plicated, of a
reddish colour externally, but a purple within.
The flowers appear in August and September.
It is said that the root of Jalap was first brought
to Europe about the year 1610. It is now one
of the most common purgatives. The root has
little smell or taste, but imparts a slight degree
of pungency in the mouth. Its medicinal activity
resides in the resinous matter of the root. It is
found to bea safe and efficacious purgative, when
given in doses of twenty to thirty grains of the
powdered root. The root requires to be well
pounded, so as to separate the resinous particles,
and for this purpose crystals of tartrate of potass
are often added.

It may also be dissolved in proof spirits, and
administered in tincture, either alone or conjoined
with senna or aloes.

Bucxtuorn (rhamnus catharticus.) Natural
family, rhamni ; pentandria, monogynia, of Lin-
neus. This shrub is a native of Britain, and
usually is to be found in woods and hedges near
running streams. The stem is covered with
dark brown bark, and divides into many branches
beset with strong spines. Its height is seven or
eight feet. The leaves are elliptical, serrated,
and stand on short footstalks. The flowers are
eommonly male and female on different plants.
There is no corolla; the calyx is of a greenish
yellow colour, divided at the extremity into
four seements. The fruit is around black berry,
containing four seeds. It flowers in May or
June, and the seeds are ripe about the end of
September.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The berries, which are the medicinal part of
the shrub, contain a pulpy deep green juice,
which has a faint unpleasant smell and a bitter
acrid taste. Twenty of the fresh berries produce
a purgative effect, with heat and thirst, and often
severe griping. Theexpressed juice and powder
of the dried berries have also similar effects. A
syrup is made of the expressed juice and sugar.
Though a powerful purgative, and useful in
dropsies and obstinate costiveness of habit, it is
now seldom used in modern practice, on account
of the violence of its effects. The inner bark
is also of a purgative nature.

The juice of the unripe berries stains paper of
a saffron yellow. The juice of the ripe berries,
mixed with alum, forms the sap green of artists.
If the berries be allowed to get over ripe, theit
juice produces a,purple colour; the bark yields a
beautiful yellow dye.

209.

 

Senna.

Sunna (cassia Egyptiaca). Natural family,
lequminose ; decandria, monogynia, of Linnzus.
This plant is an annual; .the stalk is strong,
smooth, branched, and rises to the height of about
two feet. The leavesare alternate, with narrow
pointed stipule at the base. Lach leaf is com-
posed of several pairs of oval or elliptical pointed
nerved sessile pinne, of a yellowish green colour.
The flowers are yellow, and produced succes-
sively in long axillary spikes. They appear in
July and August. The seeds are contained ina
compressed curved pod. This plant is a native
of Egypt, it also grows in some parts of Arabia,
especially about Mocha; but as Alexandria has
ever been the great mart from which it has been
exported into Europe, it has long been known
under the name of Alexandria senna, or sena.
Hassilquist found this plant growing spontane-
ously in Upper Egypt. The blunt leaved senna,
S. natica, is a variety of the sea species, which
by its cultivation in the south of France has been
PURGING CASSIA.

found to assume this change. It is less purga-
tive than the pointed leaved senna, and requires
therefore to be given in larger doses. It was
employed by Dr Wright in Jamaica, where it
grows on the sand banks near the sea.

Senna appears to have been cultivated in
England in the time of Parkinson, about the
year 1640, and Miller says that by keeping
these plants ina hot bed all the summer, they
frequently flowered; but they rarely perfect their
seeds in this country. There is little doubt,
however, but that senna might be cultivated in
some parts of the British colonies in sufficient
quantity to supply our wants. The dried senna
leaves imported to this country and in common
use, have a slightly unpleasant smell and a bit-
terish nauseous taste. They impart these vir-
tues both to water and proof spirit. The most
common mode of ‘using them is in an infusion,
by pouring boiling water on the leaves. They
should not, however, be subjected to the boiling
process, as this dissipates certain volatile parts
of the leaves in which their active powers mainly
depend,

Senna was first brought into use by the
Arabian physicians Serapion and Mesue, and
Achiarius is the first of the Greeks by whom
it is noticed, who, however, does not recommend
the leaves but the fruit. Mesue likewise seems
to prefer the pod to the leaves, as being more
powerful, but this is not the case, its purgative
quality being certainly less powerful, although
it does not cause griping as the leaves some-
times do. An infusion of senna, combined with
bitter infusion, as gentian or centaury, has
its purgative qualities increased. The ‘ black
draught,’ so much in use among medical practi-
tioners, is a combination of senna and gentian,
with the addition of any aromatic, as cardamom
or coriander seeds, or the rind of the Seville
orange. A strong infusion of senna gripes more
than a weaker one; the proper proportion is one
dram of senna to four ounces of water.

The common bladder Senna, (Coluntea arbor-
escens, ) a shrub cultivated in gardens for orna-
ment, and which grows spontaneously on the
sides of mount Vesuvius, also possesses apurgative
quality similar to senna, though in an inferior
degree. A double quantity of the leaves of this
plant may be substituted for the common senna,
with similar results. A dram or two of the
seeds excite vomiting. Haller and Ray mention
that cattle feed readily on the leaves and twigs
of this plant.

Puroine Cassta (cassia fistula). This is a
tree belonging to the same natural family, which
attains the height of forty feet; producing many
spreading branches towards the top, and covered
with brownish bark, intersected with many
cracks and furrows. The leaves are composed
of four or six pairs of pinne, which are ovate,

 

54]

pointed, and of a pale green colour. The flowers
are large, yellow, and placed in spikes upon long
peduncles. The pods are cylindrical, pendulous,
and from one to two feet in length; they contain
numerous hard, compressed seeds, surrounded by
a black pulpy matter.

This tree is a native of Egypt, and of the
East and West Indies. It was first introduced
into England by Miller, in 1781. The pods of
the East India cassia, are of less diameter,
smoother, and afford a blacker, sweeter, and
more grateful pulp, than those which are brought
from the West Indies, South America, or Egypt;
and are universally preferred. In Egypt, it is
the practice to pluck the cassia pods before they
arrive at a state of maturity, and to place them
in a house from which the external air is excluded
as much as possible; the pods are then laid in
strata of half afoot in depth, between which
palm leaves are interposed: the two following
days the whole is sprinkled with water, in order
to promote its fermentation; and the fruit is suf-
fered to remain in this situation forty days, when
it is sufficiently prepared for keeping. Those
pods which are the heaviest, and in which the
seeds do not rattle on being shaken, are com-
monly the best, and contain the most pulp,
which is the part employed in medicine.

The best pulp is of a shining black colour, and
of a sweet taste, with a slight degree of acidity.
It is doubtful whether this substance was em-
ployed by the ancient Greeks; and it seems first
to have been brought into notice by the Arabian
physicians. This pulp has been long used as a
gentle and mild laxative to children and delicate
persons; its operation, however, is so gentle, as
in most cases to require the aid of other stronger
medicines. An electuary or compound, has
therefore long been in use, called “lenetive elec-
tuary.” Perhaps, however, a cheaper, and as
effectual substitute for the cassia pulp, is to be
found in the common damson preserve.

Castor O11 Piant (ricinus communis, or palma
christi_). Natural family ewphorbiacee ; monecia,
monadelphia, of Linneus. This plant, though
an annual, and herbaceous in our gardens,
becomes a tree in Africa of several years’ standing.
In Candia it continues many years; and, accord-
ing to Belon, requires a ladder to come at the
seeds. The root is long, thick, whitish, and
sends off many small fibres. The stem is round,
thick, jointed, shining, of a purplish red colour
towards the top; and rises luxuriantly in this
country to six or ten feet, in warm climates to
fifteen and twenty feet in height. The leaves
are large, and deeply divided into seven lobes, or
pointed, serrated segments; and are of a bluish
green colour. The flowers are male and female
on the same plant, and are produced on a clus-
tered, terminal spike. The male flowers have
no corolla. and are placed on the under part of
542

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the spike; the female flowers occupy the upper | produces the seed from which the oil cf croton
part, and have the calyx cut into three narrow!is procured. This oil is so irritating, that a

segments, of a reddish colour. The capsule is a
large, three-celled nut, covered with tough spines
and contains three flattish, oblong seeds, which
are forced out on the bursting of the capsule.
It flowers in July and August.

This plant was most probably familiar to the
ancients, for it is conjectured to be the kiki or
croton, of Dioscorides, who describes the seeds
as powerfully cathartic. It is also mentioned
as a rather violent and irritating cathartic by
Etius, Paulus /Zgineta, and Pliny; and most
probably obtained this character from giving the
bruised seeds along with the membranes, which
latter produce a griping, irritating effect.

This plant was first introduced into Engiand
in 1562, in the time of Turner; and is now
common border plant in gardens, where it often
attains the height of ten feet, and forms a splendid
ornamental flower. For this purpose it requires
to be sown in pots early in the season, kept in
the hot-house for some time, and then trans-
planted into light rich soil.

The oil is obtained from the seeds by expres-
sion, in a similar way as that already described
in obtaining the other vegetable oils.

The oil obtained without heat, or the “cold
drawn,” is the purest, and has little or no colour
It is a clear, limpid, almost tasteless, and odour-
less fluid, not liable to become rancid. The oil
obtained by heating, or parching the seeds, has
more colour, but according to the opinion of some
is more bland, and less liable to gripe than the
other. The manner of obtaining the oil in
Jamaica is as follows: The seeds being freed
from the husks or pods, which are gathered upon
their turning brown, and when beginning to
burst open, are first bruised in a mortar, after-
wards tied up in a linen bag, and then thrown
into a large pot with a sufficient quantity of
water, about eight gallons to one of the seeds;
and then boiled till the oil has risen to the sur-
face, when it is carefully skimmed off, strained,
and kept for use. In Jamaica, besides its medi-
cal use, it is employed for lamps and other domes-
tic uses.

In doses of half an ounce to an ounce, it forms
a mild, safe, and quickly operating purgative.
The addition of a small portion of spirits takes
away its nauseating effects, and makes it more
agreeable to the stomach. Unlike almost all
other purgatives, its frequent use has the effect
of enabling the patient to diminish, instead of
to increase the dose. It may also be used as an
enema; and joined with equal parts of oil of
turpentine, is the most efficacious cure for
worms,

Croton (croton tiglium). Natural family
euphorbiacee ; moneecia, monodelphia, of Linneus.
This shrub, which is a native of the East Indies,

 

210.

 

Castor Oil Plant.

single drop of it applied to the tongue, produces
an effect on the whole alimentary canal. It is
given in severe and obstinate cases of costive-
ness, in doses of from one to two drops, made
up with oil of almonds, or mucilage of gum
Arabic and sugar. It is also applied combined
with any bland oil, as an external irritant to the
skin.

The Cascarilla Croton (c. eleutherium_), another
shrub of this family, affords a bitter aromatic
bark, which is not unfrequently used in medi-
cine.

Some of the other species of the same genus
are used as dyes, and have already been alluded
to.

Ruvsars (rheum palmatum). Natural family
polygonee; enneandria, trigynia, of Linneus,
There are at least half a dozen species of rhubarb,
the roots of all of which possess medicinal pro-
perties; the palmatum, however, is that which
yields the rhubarb of commerce. The root is
perennial, thick, of an oval shape, and sends off
long tapering branches; externally it is brown,
and internally of a deep yellow colour. The
stalk is erect, round, hollow, jointed, sheathed,
and rises to the height of six or eight feet. The
radical leaves are numerous, large, rough, of a
roundish figure, and deeply cut into lobes, and
irregularly pointed segments. The stalk leaves
spring from the joints, which they supply with
membranous sheaths. The flowers terminate
the branches in numerous clusters, forming a kind
of spike, and appear in April or May. The
corolla divides into six obtuse segments, which
are of a greenish white colour. This species is
a native of Tartary.

It was not till the year 1782, that naturalists
became acquainted with the plant which seemed
to afford the officinal rhubarb; when some plants
received from Russia by Jussieu, at Paris, and
RHUBARB.

Rand, at Chelsea, were said to supply this
important desideratum.

As some doubts still remained, Boerhaave
procured from a Turkish merchant the seeds of
those plants whose roots he annually sold. These
seeds were soon propagated, and were discovered
to produce two distinct species, the r. undulatum,
and r. palmatum. Previous to this time Dr
Gorter had repeatedly sent its seeds to Linneus,
but the young plants which they produced con-
stantly perished; at length he obtained the fresh
root, which succeeded very well at Upsal, and
afterwards enabled the younger Linneus to
describe this plant in 1767.

Two years before this, Dr Hope had read
before the Royal Society of London, an account
of a plant of the r. palmatum, which grew in
the Botanic garden at Edinburgh. “From the
perfect similarity of this root,” says Dr Hope,
“with the best foreign rhubarb, in taste, smell,
colour, and purgative qualities, we cannot doubt
of our being at last possessed of the plant which
produces the true rhubarb; and may reasonably
entertain the agreeable expectations of its prov-
ing a very important acquisition to Britain.”
Since that period this species, as well as several
others, have been cultivated with success in this
country. But owing to the prejudice in favour
of foreign roots, the demand for the home growth
has not been such as to encourage its farther
cultivation. The only deficiency was in the
digging of the root, but this might easily be
improved. Its cultivation is easy. It is sown
in spring, in a light soil, and transplanted next
spring into a similar soil well trenched, the
plants being set at a yard distance from each
other each way. The third year some plants
begin to flower; but the roots are not lifted till
the autumn of the sixth year. When dug out
of the ground, they are first to be washed in a
large quantity of water; and after the fibres and
small roots are cut off, they are well brushed in
fresh water, and cut into pieces of a proper size.
The brown bark is then washed off, and they
are again thrown into fresh water for three or
four hours, in which they give out a great quan-
tity of gummy matter. They are then taken
out and laid upon twigs to drip till next morn-
ing; and it is chiefly in this time that they
exude at every part, awhite, transparent, gummy
matter, resembling jelly. They are lastly placed
in a stove, heated to 120° or 140°, till they dry.
Twenty-five pounds of the recent root, yield
only about eight pounds of the dry. It is not,
however, yet fit for sale. All the wrinkles must
be rasped and filed out, and the pieces thus
dressed put in a barrel fixed on an axis, and
rolled about in it for twenty minutes or half an
hour, when they get covered by a fine powder
formed by their rubbing against each other.
Prepared in this way, it may be powdered, and

 

543

has in every respect the appearance of foreign
rhubarb, The chief peculiarity in this process
is the steeping the roots in water, to extract the
gummy or mucilaginous matter; without this
precaution, according to Baume, the root cannot
be reduced to powder, even when perfectly dry,
but becomes pasty under the pistil. British
rhubarb is cultivated in considerable quantities
in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and sold
at nearly the price of foreign rhubarb. It is
easily reduced to a very fine powder, although
it is merely washed and peeled, before it be cut
into proper pieces, and dried upon the top of a
baker’s oven.

There are two sorts of rhubarb imported into
this country, Chinese and Turkey rhubarb, dif-
fering in quality, although they both come from
the same country. All the rhubarb of com-
merce is brought from the Chinese town, Sini,
or Selim, by the Bucharians. It grows on the
neighbouring chain of lofty mountains, which
stretches to the lake Kokonor, near the source
of the river Chorico. It is dug up by the pea-
sants, cleared from the earth, cut into pieces,
strung with the bark on strings, and exposed to
dry under cover in the shade for a whole year,
when it is again cleansed and prepared for expor-
tation. In Kiachta, on the Russian frontier, it
is received from the Bucharians by a Russian
apothecary, who examines it; the bad is imme-
diately burnt, and the good is freed from its
bark, woody parts, and every impurity in the
most careful manner. It is then sent to Moscow
and Petersburgh, where it undergoes a second
examination. This forms the Russian or Turkey
rhubarb, which is reckoned the best. It is com-
monly in round pieces, of a reddish or whitish-
yellow colour, feels gritty between the teeth;
and is often perforated with so large a hole, that
many pieces have the appearance of a mere
rind. The Chinese or East India rhubarb, is
brought by sea from Canton, and is heavier,
harder, and more compact, than the other; sel-
dom perforated with holes, and is either in long
pieces or with two flat sides, as if they had been
compressed. The general characters of good
rhubarb are, its having a whitish or clear yellow
colour, being dry, solid, and compact; moderately
heavy, brittle; where recently broken appearing
marked with yellow or reddish veins, mixed
with white, being easily pulverizable; forming
a powder of a fine bright yellow, having the
peculiar, nauseous, aromatic smell of rhubarb,
and a subacrid, bitterish, somewhat astringent
taste, and-when chewed feeling gritty under the
teeth; speedily colouring the saliva, and not
appearing very mucilaginous. Rhubarb contains
a large proportion of bitter extractive matter,
soluble in water and spirits; and also an aromatic,
odorous matter, on which its activity as a pur-
gative depends,
544

Rhubarb acts as a mild purgative, and as a
tonic and astringent. It may be given in powder,
in doses of a tea-spoonful, or in infusion in
water, or as a tincture dissolved in spirits. It
is found to yield more of its purgative quality
to water than to alchohol.

In habitual costiveness it is not an appropriate
medicine, as its astringency tends to keep up
this state of the bowels. In stomachic affections,
and laxity of the intestines, it is, however,
highly useful; and on this account is a common
remedy in diarrhea, or looseness of the bowels,
either alone or given with some absorbent sub-
stance, as magnesia or chalk,

We have elsewhere alluded to rhubarb as fur-
nishing from its stalks a pleasant and salutary
acid substance, which is made into tarts. The
Persians have fora long period been in the habit
of using this substance for the same purpose.

Gampocr. This substance is obtained from
the juice of a tree which grows in Siam and
Ceylon, belonging to the natural family tricocew;
polygamia, monecia, of Linneus. This tree is
of a middling size; and the leaves and young
shoots when cut, yield a juice which soon con-
cretes into a yellow resin.

A similar substance is also obtained from
various species of garcinia and hypericum. This
gum is brought from India in large cakes or
rolls. The best sort has a deep yellow or orange
colour, shining fracture, and is free from irregu-
larities. It has no smell, and very little taste,
unless kept in the mouth for some time, when
it imparts a slight sense of acrimony. It is a
most active purgative, both upwards and down-
wards, in doses of from two to six grains. In
cases of tapeworm, it has been given in doses of
fifteen grains, combined with fifteen grains of
vegetable alkali. In general, it is exhibited in
small quantity, along with aloes or other pur-
gatives, in the form of pills. It requires to be
administered with caution.

It forms an active ingredient in “Morrison’s
pills.” It is also an ingredient in most of the
nostrums for the cure of tapeworm.

Ipecacuan. It is somewhat singular that the
real plant from which this well known emetic
powder is obtained, has not yet been accurately
ascertained. It has been referred to several
different genera, as euphorbia, lonicera, viola, and
physcotria. The annexed cut is a figure of the
true ipecacuan plant, but without the inflores-
cence; the original of which was sent to the
late Joseph Banks by governor Philip, from
Brazil.

There are three sorts of ipecacuan root com-
monly brought to this country, chiefly distin-
guished by the colours of ash gray, brown, and
white. The ash coloured is brought from Peru,
and is a small wrinkled root, bent, and contorted
into a great variety of figures; brought over in

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

short pieces full of wrinkles and deep circular
fissures, down to a small white, woody fibre,

 

Ipecacuan.

that runs in the middle of each piece. The
bark is compact, brittle, looks smooth, and
resinous, upon breaking it has very little smell;
the taste is bitterish, a little acrid, and slightly
mucilaginous.

The brown is small, somewhat more wrinkled
than the foregoing, of a brown or blackish
colour without, and white within. This comes
from Brazil. The white sort is woody, has no
wrinkles, and no perceptible bitterness in taste.
The ash coloured is that generally preferred for
medical use. The brown has been sometimes
observed, even in a small dose, to produce violent
effects. ‘The white is of aweak action. Accord-
ing to Dr Irving, the root contains a resin and
gum, the latter being more powerfully emetic
than the former, and also existing in greater
quantity. The bark is stronger than the woody
part, and the whole root is antiseptic and
astringent. Vinegar has the power of destroying
the emetic quality of the root; thirty grains of
the powder given in acetous acid, only produces
a laxative effect on the bowels.

Piso gives the first account of ipecacuan in
1649; and about thirty years after this period it
was introduced into general practice in France,
by Kelvetius. In doses of fifteen to twenty-
five grains, it forms one of the safest and most
effectual of emetics; in smaller quantities, it is
employed as a sudorific; and in all those cases
where the increased action of the vessels of the
skin is deemed useful. Combined with opium,
it forms the celebrated sweating medicine called
Dover’s powder.

Squitn (scilla maritima). Natural family
asphodelie; heaandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
This is a perennial, herbaceous plant, with a
large bulbous root, coated like the common
onion, of a reddish colour, and abounding in a
thick juice. The stem is round, smooth, suc-
culent, and is from two to three feet in height.
The leaves spring from the roat, and are long,
sword-shaped, and pointed. The flowers are
produced in a long close spike, and have six
WHITE HSELLEBORE.

whitish coloured petals, ‘They appear in April
and May. The capsule is oblong, and contains
numerous rounded seeds,

This plant is a native of 212,

Spain, Sicily, and Syria, where &
it grows in sandy situations on
the sea coast.

It was first cultivated in
England in 1648, in the Oxford
botanic garden. The red rooted
variety has been supposed to
possess greater strength than
the white, and is preferred
for medical use. The root
has little smell, but to the taste
is very nauseous, and intensely

 

Squill.
bitter and acrimonious. It imparts its virtues to
both spirits, vinegar, and water.

This root was known to the ancient Greeks,
and has ever since been employed by physicians.
In large doses it proves poisonous to many ani-
mals; and in man excites violent action of the

stomach, intestines, kidneys, and bladder. In
moderate doses, however, of a few grains, it is
a perfectly safe and efficacious medicine, and is
used in coughs, asthma, and dropsy. To prevent
its too great action on the stomach, it is fre-
quently combined with a portion of opium.
With calomel it forms a powerful stimulant of
the urinary organs.

The root to be preserved should be slowly
dried, but not overmuch, and then reduced to
powder. It may be given in doses of from two
to five grains in this way, or as a tincture in
spirits or vinegar. ‘

Warre Hetiusore(veratrum album). Natural
family léliacee ; polygamia, monecia, of Linneus.

213,

 

Hellebore.

The root is perennial, about an inch thicls, with
numerous strong fibres, The stalk is thicl,
strong, round, hairy, and about four feet high,
The leaves are large, oval, ribbed, plaited, and
of a yellowish green colour. The corolla is six-
petalled. The flowers are both hermaphrodite
and male.

 

545

This plant is a native of Italy, Switzerland,
Austria, and Russia. Gerard is supposed to be
the first who introduced it into Britain, about
the year 1596.

Two kinds of hellebore, the white and the
black, were held in much esteem by the ancients,
although it is difficult exactly to trace which
kind is described by Dioscorides. Hippocrates
frequently mentions hellebore, simply or gen-
erally, by which we are told the white is to be
understood, as he adds, the words black, or purg-
ing when the other species is meant; and as the
purgative powers of white hellebore are known
to be weaker than those of the black, the dis-
tinction is so far applicable to the effect now
experienced of the two roots now known.

The famous Anticyrian hellebore is supposed
to be the black. Pausanias says, that both the
white and black hellebore grew at Anticyra; but
the latter was accounted safer, and therefore
more commonly employed.

Not only the roots, but every other part of the
plant of white hellebore, is acrid and poisonous,
and is shunned by most animals. The dried
root has no peculiar smell, but a nauseous, acrid,
and bitter taste. When applied to open sores
and ulcers, it produces its purging effect; and if
snuffed up the nose, gives rise to violent sneez-
ing. In large doses, it produces violent action
on the intestines, followed by inflammation and
death.

The ancients, though sufficiently acquainted
with the powerful and dangerous effects of white
hellebore, yet frequently prescribed it internally,
especially in cases of melancholy madness, dropsy,
epilepsy, and leprosy. Hippocrates gave it for
the purpose of exciting vomiting, and deemed
it safer when this action took place. To those
of infirm and weak habits, to women, children,
old men, and the consumptive, it was deemed
inadmissible; and even when given to the robust,
it was thought necessary to moderate its violence
by different combinations and preparations; for
it was frequently observed to effect a cure not
only by its immediate action on the stomach
and bowels, but when no sensible action was
manifested.

Hellebore has not, however, kept its ground
among the moderns, as a cure of madness; nor,
indeed, is it now very much employed in any
disease. Its violent action as a purgative, in
which capacity alone it is looked to as a means
of cure by modern practitioners, has perhaps
been the cause of its disuse. The powdered
bark of the root collected in spring, has been
given in cases of melancholy madness, beginning
with a grain, and increasing it to eight grains,
and even to twenty; nausea, vomiting, purging,
and increase of cutaneous and urinary secretions
followed its use, together with redness of face,

and efflorescence of the skin.
3.4
546

In diseases of the skin it is still employed
with success, especially as an external applica-
tion in the form of an ointment.

Brack Heiirpore (helleborus niger) Curist-
mas Rose. anunculacew. The root is peren-
nial, rough, knotted, and externally of a black
colour, internally white, and sends off many
strong, round fibres. The flower stalks are
erect, round, tapering, and red towards the
base. The bracteal leaves supply the place of
a calyx, and are oval, concave, and generally
indented at the top. The flower is large, with
five whitish petals, tinted on the edges of a pink
hue. ‘The capsules, or pods, contain numerous,
shining, blackish seeds. The leaves are com-
pound, and are divided in a peculiar manner, or
pedated. There are two pairs on each side,
with a solitary centre leaf. It is a native of
Austria and Haly, and was introduced into the
gardens of this country by Gerard, in 1596. In
mild weather it flowers in January, and hence
has been called the Christmas flower. It is often
confounded with other species, and hence the
uncertainty of its supposed effects in medical
experience.

The taste of the fresh root is bitter and some-
what acrid, leaving on the tongue a benumbed
sensation, as of a loss of taste, similar to what
oceurs when the tongue is burnt with a drop of
hot liquid. It also emits a strong nauseous
smell; both these qualities, however, are impaired
hy drying and keeping. In its most active state
its effects on the constitution are violent, and
often dangerous. By the ancients it was em-
ployed as a purgative in cases of madness, and
other diseases where there was obstinate costive-
ness. In modern practice it is much less em-
ployed; and chiefly in small doses, as an alter-
ative in obstructions of the uterine discharge,
and in dropsies.

An extract prepared by dissolving the root in
water, and then evaporating it, is that prepara-
tion most employed; and it is given in doses
varying from two to ten, and twenty grains,
according to the object in view.

The Latin poets and writers have frequent
allusions to this drug, and describe it as growing
on the island of Anticyra, and about mount
Olympus. ‘Tournefort saw a species of this
plant growing in great plenty in those localities.

fetid [Hellebore, or Bear’s-foot (h. fetidus ),
is another species which has been long used in
Yorkshire and other places, by the country
people, as a cure for the long round worm in
children. The juice is an acrid and nauseous
substance, and owes its virtues to its cathartic
qualities. It isa native of many parts of England,
and flowers in July.

Merapow Sarrron, or Cotcuicum, (colchicum
autumnale). Natural family Hléacew ; hexan-
dria, trigynia, of Linneus, This plant is com-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

mon in meadow grounds in England. It was
first recommended to the attention of medical
men by Baron Stoerck, of Vienna, and has lat-
terly, again, come into considerable repute as a
medicine.

The root is a perennial, succulent bulb, from
which rises a long tube containing the flower,
which is large, and of a purple colour. This
flower appears in September, while the leaves
make their appearance in the following spring.
The active nature of the root varies probably
according to age, and the nature of the soil. In
its fresh state, it is acrid, pungent, and affects
the stomach and bowels. From various obser-
vations made on the effects of colchicum by
Baron Stoerck, and especially upon the infusion
of three grains of the fresh root in four ounces
of wine, he remarked, that its diuretic power
was very considerable; and therefore concluded,
that if its deleterious acrimony were destroyed,
it might provea useful medicine. Accordingly,
he digested an ounce of the recent root in a
pound of vinegar for forty-eight hours, with a
gentle heat; the vinegar being then strained, it
proved acrid to the taste, irritated the fauces,
and excited a slight cough, to obviate which, he
mixed the vinegar with twice its weight of honey,
and gently boiled it down to the consistence of
honey, forming an oxymal sufficiently grateful,
and which, taken in doses of a dram, acted on
the urinary organs, and also on the mucous
membranes of the throat and lungs.

An infusion of the root in wine or vinegar is
now commonly employed; and is found a most
useful medicine in rheumatism, gout, and dropsy.

The leaves and roots of the common daffodil,
narcissus, and other species of the family déliacee,
are also possessed of acrid, purgative, and emetic
qualities.

We recollect an instance where the leaves of
the common daffodil were taken by a cook for
leeks, and put into broth, the consequence of
which was, that on two occasions where the
broth was eaten, all those that partook of it
were seized with sickness and vomiting. The
circumstance excited considerable alarm and
conjecture, until at last the mystery was cleared
up by the mistake of the cook having been
detected.

CHAP. L.

NARCOTIC PLANTS—OPIUM, HEMLOCK, HENBANE,
BELLADONNA, &c.

Tue vegetable substances contained in ‘this
chapter, are characterised by possessing a peculiar
principle called arcotic, which acts on the ner-
vous system, in the first instance, it is supposed,
OPIUM.

asa stimulant, and subsequently as a sedative. In
this way they produce more or less of an exhilara-
tion of spirits, and an increase of the actions and
secretions of the body, followed, however, by a
corresponding depression and inaction. In suffi-
cient doses, they allay pain and nervous irregu-
larity of action; in excess, they destroy the
functions of life altogether. The active princi-
ple of all these plants resides in the natural
juices, and varies in nature according to the
particular plant.

Opium (papaver somniferum). Natural family
rheeades; polyandria, monogynia, of Linneus.

214.

   

White Poppy.

This celebrated drug is the expressed juice of a
species of poppy. ‘The root is annual, tapering,
and branched; the stalk is round, smooth, erect,
often branched, of a shining green colour, and
rises two or three feet in height. The leaves
are alternate, large, ovate, deeply serrated, and
closely embrace the stalk. The flowers are very
large, terminal, and usually white or purplish,
The capsule is one-celled, divided half way into
many compartments, which open by several
apertures beneath the crown, and contain numer-
ous small seeds. It is a native of the warmer
parts of Asia, and is not uncommon in a wild
state in England, growing in old neglected gar-
dens, and even in the fields. It flowers in July
and August.

This species is said to have been named white
poppy, from the whiteness of its seeds; a variety
of it, however, is well known to produce black
seeds, The double-flowered white poppy is
also another variety; but for medicinal purposes
any of them may be employed indiscriminately,
as no difference is discoverable in the sensible
qualities or effects.

The leaves, stalks, and especially the capsules
of the poppy, abound with a narcotic, milky
juice, which, when exposed to the sun and air,
hardens into the substance called opium. This
substance may also be obtained, though in a
much less pure or concentrated state, by boiling
the above parts of the plant in water, and then
evaporating it so as to form an extract.

Opium is chiefly obtained from Persia, Arabia,

 

547

and other parts of India. The manner of cul-
tivating the poppy in those countries, is thus
detailed by Mr Kerr. ‘he field being well pre-
pared by the plough and harrow, and reduced
to an exact level guperficies, is then divided into
quadrangular areas of seven feet long, and five
feet in breadth, leaving two feet of interval,
which is raised five or six inches, and excavated
into an aqueduct for conveying water to every
avea, for which purpose they have a well in every
cultivated field. The seeds are sown in October
or November. The plants are allowed to grow
six or eight inches distant from each other, and
are plentifully supplied with water. When the
young plants are six or eight inches high, they
are watered more sparingly; but the cultivator
strews all over the areas a compost of ashes and
animal manure, and a large portion of nitrous
earth, scraped from the highways and old mud
walls. When the plants are about to flower,
they are watered very profusely, and kept con-
stantly moist. When the capsules are half grown,
the supply of water is stopped, and the process
of collecting the opium iscommenced. At sun-
set they make two longitudinal double incisions
upon each half-ripe capsule, passing from below
upwards, and taking care not to penetrate the
internal cavity of the capsule. The incisions
are repeated every evening until each capsule
has received six or eight wounds; they are then
allowed to ripen their seeds. The ripe capsules
afford little or no juice. If the wound was
made in the heat of the day, a cicatrix would
be too soon formed, while the night dews, by
their moisture, favour the exudation of the
juice.

Early in the morning old women, boys, and
girls, collect the juice by scraping it off the
wounds with w small iron scoope, and deposit
the whole in an earthen pot, where it is worked
by the hand in the open sunshine, until it becomes
of a considerable thickness. It is then formed
into cakes of a globular shape, and about four
pounds in weight, and laid into little earthen
basins to be farther dried. These cakes are
covered over with poppy or tobacco leaves, .and
dried till they are fit for sale. Opium is fre-
quently adulterated by an admixture of cow
dung, the extract of the plant procured by
boiling, and various other substances. At the
period Mr Kerr wrote, towards the end of the
last century, there were 600,000 pounds of opium
exported from the Ganges. Since that time the
trade has greatly increased, especially since the
opium trade with China has prodigiously increased
the demand.

The cultivation of the white poppy, and the
manufacture of opium, has been several times
tried in Britain, and several years ago by Dr
Young, in the vicinity of Edinburgh. The
uncertainty of the seasons, however, and the fre-
548

quent absence of the sun with rainy weather,
were found to be very great drawbacks to the
successful cultivation of this drug, in consid-
erable quantity. In strength and medicinal
effects, however, the British opium equalled that
of warmer climates.

There are two kinds of opium imported into
this country:

Turkey opium is a solid compact substance,
possessing a considerable degree of tenacity, with
a shining fracture, and uniform appearance when
broken; and of a dark brown colour, exciting
at first when chewed, a nauseous, bitter taste,
which soon becomes acrid, with some degree of
warmth, and having a peculiar, heavy, disagree-
able smell. The best pieces are the flat or com-
pressed, the round masses being of inferior
quality.

Last Indian opium has much less consistence,
being sometimes not much thicker than tar, and
always ductile. Its colour is much darker, its
taste more nauseous, and less bitter, and its smell
rather empyreumatic. It is considerably cheaper
than Turkish opium, and is supposed to be of
one-half the strength. One-eighth of the weight
of the cakes is allowed for the large quantity
of leaves with which they are enveloped. In
the East Indies, when opium is not good enough
to bring a certain price, it is destroyed under the
inspection of public officers.

Opium is soluble in water and spirits; the
latter forms the tincture of opium or Jaudanum.

The chemical analysis of opium shows it to
be a compound of morphium and narcotine, the
two principles on which its action on the body
depends; as also of mecomic acid, a substance
like caoutchouc, one like fibrina, a resin, gum,
starch, fixed oil, and lignine.

The action of opium on the animal system
has been the subject of much controversy. Some
asserting that it is a direct sedative, while others
maintain that it is a powerful stimulus. The
iruth appears to be, that it is capable in the first
instance, of producing great excitement, while
the sedative effects, which always succeed, are
much greater in proportion than the previous
excitement. In small doses it is decidedly
stimulant. The pulse is accelerated, the heat
of the body is raised, and the mental energies
roused and excited. These effects are succeeded
by languor, lassitude, and torpor. In larger
doses, the stimulating effects are not so apparent;
but the excitability of the system is remarkably
diminished, and confusion of the head, giddiness,
and sleep, are produced. In excessive doses, it
causes headache, delirium, apoplexy, and death.

By habit, the effects of this drug on the body
are greatly diminished; one, two, and three
grains produce marked effects at first; and cases
have occurred of death from swallowing even
four grains: by degrees, however, the habit of

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

daily taking opium will enable a person to
swallow with impunity 20, 40, 60, and 100
grains, and upwards, The habitual use and abuse
of opium, produces the same effects on the con-
stitution as dram drinking, such as dyspepsia,
with total loss of tone of the stomach; tremors,
palsy, stupidity, general emaciation, and pre-
mature decay. In eastern countries, opium is
not only taken into the stomach, but is also
smoked like tobacco, the inhaled fumes produc-
ing the same stupifying effects as the solid drug.
Few of those infatuated wretches who once
yield to this debasing vice, ever have the resolu-
tion or power to abandon it.

The use of this celebrated medicine, though
not known, or at least alluded to, by Hippocrates,
was familiar to Diagoras, who immediately suc-
ceeded him. It was anciently prepared at Thebes,
and hence the name of Thebaicum by which it
waslongknown. This differs from the meconéumn
of the ancients, which was the expressed juice
of the plant, obtained by decoction in water.

As a medicine, it is the chief narcotic of
modern practice, and is universally used in dis-
eases to mitigate pain, diminish over sensibility
of the system, to procure sleep, check looseness
of the intestines, and other excessive discharges.
It is improper, however, in all cases of an inflam-
matory nature, where previous bleeding or eva-
cuations have not been used. It also requires
much skill and management in its exhibition.
Reference always being had to the peculiarities
of the constitution, the nature of the disease,
and the regulation of the dose, or the medicines
with which it may be combined. Thus, with
ipecacuan, it produces perspiration; with calomel,
it allays certain states of inflammation; and with
purgatives, it relieves colic, pain, and looseness
of the bowels.

Lerruce (lactuca virosa). Syngenesia, poly-
gumia, equalis of Linneus. This is a common
perennial plant in meadows, and on the sides of
ditches. The stalk is about three feet high, the
root leaves are cut into deep clefts, the edges
serrated; the stem leaves are arrow-shaped, entire,
and embrace the stalks. The flowers are com-
posed of numerous, equal, yellow florets, and
appear in July and August.

The plant has a strong, unpleasant smell, very
similar to that of opium; and a bitter, acrid
taste. It abounds in a milky juice, which, when
scraped off and hardened, has a strong resem-
blance to opium.

Dioscorides, the Greek physician, seems to
have looked upon the effects of the juice of this
plant as similar to that of the white poppy.
Dr Collin of Vienna first brought it into notice
in modern times, as a cure for dropsies. It has
not, however, in further experience, maintained
its reputation.

The common garden lettuce also yields a milky
HEMLOCK.

juice, which, in its action, resembles that of
opium, though in a milder degree, This juice
is collected when the plant has put forth its
flower stem, by cutting this stem across, and
collecting the juice by successive small pieces of
cotton, which are thrown into a little water; and
after a sufficient quantity has accumulated, this
water holding in solution the contents of the
pieces of cotton, is evaporated, and an extract is
thus procured. It may also be procured at less
expense, by macerating in water the stems and
leaves, just after the seeds have been matured,
and before the plant decays, ‘The maceration is
to be continued for twenty-four hours, then the
liquid is boiled for two hours, and finally eva-
porated in shallow basins. This extract is called
lactucarium, or lettuce opium. It is said to
allay pain, and procure relief in rheumatism,
colic, and affections of the bowels, and to have
less of the disagreeable effects which opium not
unfrequently produces.

Hemiocx (conium maculatum). Natural
family umbellifere; pentandria, digynia, of

215.

 

Hemlock.

Linneus. ‘There are two kinds of hemlock, the
water hemlock, and thecommon. The common
hemlock is a biennial plant, very common in
waste grounds. The stalk rises to the height of
five or six feet. It is hollow, jointed, and thickly
marked externally with brown spots. The lower
leaves are very large, tripinnated, of a shining
green colour, with long, concave footstalks. The
upper leaves are much smaller. The flowers are
produced in umbels; and both they and the seeds
bear a close resemblance to another plant of the
same natural family, the common carraway.
The Water Hemlock (cicuta virosa ), is found
growing on the borders of pools and rivers; it
strongly resembles the former, only the pinne
of the leaves are larger, and lanceolate; and the
umbel of the flowers is denser, and more com-
pact. The stem is not spotted like the common

 

549

hemlock, and the odour of the plant resembles
that of smallage or parsly; while that of the
common hemlock is nauseous, and peculiarly
unpleasant. Both plants are poisonous. The
root of the water hemlock is acrid, and power-:
fully poisonous in its fresh state, but loses its
virulent qualities when dried. The root of the
common hemlock possesses little or no active
powers; but the other parts of the plant are
decidedly poisonous, if taken in sufficient quan-
tity. Sheep and some other animals eat it with
impunity, while, to the greater number, it proves
an active poison.

The ancients were familiar with the poisonous
nature of hemlock; but from their descriptions
of the plant, it is not well ascertained whether
the water hemlock or the common, (maculatum )
was the species they employed. Perhaps, indeed,
they were in the habit of using both. The juice
of hemlock was frequently administered to
criminals; and this was the fatal poison which
the greatest of Greek philosophers, Socrates,
was adjudged by his persecutors to drink. The
symptoms produced by a poisonous dose of hem-
lock are: great anxiety, vomiting, convulsions,
stupor, raving, madness, and death. In smaller
doses it may, and is, however, used internally,
without producing any of these symptoms.
Externally, both the Greek and Arabian physi-
cians were in the practice of using it for the
cure of indolent tumours, swellings, and pains
of the joints, as well as for affections of the skin.
Among the moderns, Baron Stoerck was the
first who called the attention of medical men to
the use of cicuta, both externally and internally,
for the cure of cancerous and other ulcers.
Although further experience has not altogether
confirmed the high praises bestowed on it by
this German physician, yet it has been found a
useful medicine for affording relief in those
malignant diseases. It is used in the form of an
extract, and the seeds are said to yield a stronger
one than the leaves, or other parts of the plant.
The leaves are also used either as a tincture in
spizits, or dried and formed into a powder. These
leaves should be gathered about the end of June,
when the plant is in flower. The small leaves
should be selected, and the stalks picked out and
discarded. The leaves are then dried in the sun,
or in a pan before a good fire, and are then to be
put into strong paper bags, and kept in a close
drawer; or they may be powdered and put into
glass-stopped phials, taking care to exclude them
from the light. The medical activity of this
plant is said to reside in a resinous substance,
which may be obtained by evaporating a solution
of the leaves made in ether. It has a rich dark
green colour, and contains the peculiar odour and
taste of hemlock.

Hemlock Water-dropwort (enanthe crocata).
This is also a poisonous plant, which grows on the
550

banks of rivers and ditches, and flowers in June
and July. The root is perennial, the stalk chan-
neled, smooth, and of a yellowish red colour, and
two to three feet in height. The leaves are simply
and doubly pinnated; the larger pinne three-
lobed; the flowers in a spreading globular umbel.
The root is not unpleasant to the taste, but isa
virulent poison. Mr Howell mentions, that
during the late war, eleven French prisoners had
the liberty of walking for a short distance around
the town of Pembroke. Three of these being
in the fields a little before noon, dug up a large
quantity of this plant, which they took to be
wild celery, to eat with their bread and butter
for dinner. After washing it they all three ate,
or rather tasted of the roots. As they were
entering the town, without any previous notice
of sickness at the stomach, or disorder in the
head, one of them was seized with convulsions,
the other two ran home and sent a surgeon to
him. The surgeon endeavoured first to bleed,
and then to vomit him; but those endeavours
were fruitless, and he died presently. Ignorant
of the cause of their comrade’s death, and of
their own danger, the two men gave of these
roots to the other prisoners, who all ate some of
them with their dinner. <A few minutes after-
wards, the remaining two who gathered the
plants were seized in the same manner as the
first, of which one died; the other was bled, and
an emetic with great difficulty forced down, on
account of his jaws being locked together. This
operated, and he recovered; but was sometime
affected with dizziness in his head, though not
sick, or the least disordered in his stomach. The
other eight being bled and vomited immediately,
recovered.*

At Clonmel, in Ireland, eight boys mistaking
this plant for water parsnip, ate plentifully of
its roots. About four or five hours after, the
eldest boy became suddenly convulsed, and died;
and before the next morning, four of the other
boys died in a similar manner. Of the other
three, one was maniacal several hours; another
lost his hair and nails; but the third escaped
unhurt. In other cases where children ate the
root by mistake, burning heat in the stomach,
great agony, sickness, vomiting, and convulsions
followed.

The leaves and juice of the plant are equally
deleterious. Goats brouse on it with impunity,
but to most other animals it proves a poison,
Even the odour of the plant, if long inhaled,
causes nausea and giddiness. This plant is not
commonly used as a medicine, although, in some
cases, it has been taken with effect in eruptive
diseases of the skin. It should be given at first
in small doses, gradually increased.

Hewzann (hyosciamus niger). Natural family

* Philosoph. Transact. vol. 44,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

solanew ; pentandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
The black henbane is a biennial plant, which
grows wild in Britain, and is to be found com-
monly among rubbish, and on road sides. The
root is long, compact, and fibrous, The stalk
is round, woody, branched, and about two feet
high. The leaves are large, deeply divided into
irregular lobes, and of a sea-green colour, woolly,
and with their base embrace the stem. ‘The
flowers grow in irregular clusters at the tops of
the branches. The corolla is funnel-shaped, con-
sisting of a short tube, with an expanded limb,
divided into five qbtuse segments; of a dingy
yellow colour, with many minute, purple veins.
The capsule is oval, two-celled, and contains
many small, irregular, brown seeds. The plant
flowers in June. The smell of the whole plant
is strong and peculiar. ‘I'he bruised leaves emit
an odour somewhat like that of tobacco. This
odour is still stronger when the leaves are burnt,
and on ignition they sparkle with a crackling
noise, somewhat like the deflagration of nitre.
To the taste the leaves are mild and mucila-
ginous.

All parts of the plant, the roots, seeds, and
leaves, when taken into the stomach in sufficient
quantity, prove a powerful narcotic poison. A
French physician relates that nine persons,
having eaten by mistake the roots of henbane,
were seized with most alarming symptoms.
Some were speechless, and showed no other signs
of life than by convulsions and contortions of
the limbs; others uttered terrible howlings, and
exhibited strong muscular convulsions: in all,
the eyeballs stared from their sockets, and their
mouths were drawn backwards on both sides.
On recovering, all objects appeared for several
days of a red scarlet hue. “Four children,”
says Sir Hans Sloane, “who ate the berries,
mistaking their capsules for filberts, were seized
with great thirst, swimmings of the head, dim-
ness of sight, ravings, and profound sleep, which
last, in one of the cases, continued for two days
and nights.

Dr Stedman relates a case in which the leaves
were boiled by mistake in broth, which was
eaten by seven persons. “I saw them,” says
he, “‘about three hours after, and then three of
the men were become quite insensible, did not
know their comrades, talked incoherently, and
were in as high a delirium as people in the rage
of a fever. All of them had low irregular pulses,
slavered, and frequently changed colour; their
eyes looked fiery, and they catched at whatever
lay next them, calling out that it was going to
fall.”

This plant proves also a poison to some ani-
mals, as to birds and dogs; while cows, horses,
goats, and pigs, eat it with impunity.

In medicine this plant has been used from the
earliest records. Dioscorides employed it to pro-
DEADLY NIGHTSHADE.

cure sleep, and allay pains; and Celsus and others
have made use of it for the same purposes, both
externally and internally. Its modern use was
revived by Baron Stoerck, who gave it in the form
of an extract, in cases of epilepsy, and other
nervous and convulsive diseases.

In modern practice it is employed in all those
cases where opium is found not to suit the par-
ticular constitution. As it is of a laxative ten-
dency also, it is employed in preference to opium,
where it is of importance to preserve the due
action of the bowels,

The usual preparations are an extract made
by evaporating the inspissated juice, the dose
of which is from a grain to fifteen, twenty, and
even thirty, increased gradually.

A spirituous tincture is also prepared from the
leaves, which is about one-half the strength of
laudanum. Externally, both those preparations
are used in rheumatism and local pains, and in
certain diseases of the eye. A watery solution
of the extract applied to the eye, has a similar
effect with that of belladonna in dilating the
pupil, and thus preparing the eye for an opera-
tion, or assisting the cure of its internal mnflam-
mation. This dilatation leaves no injurious
effect afterwards. Poultices of the leaves are
also applied to indolent tumours, and irritable
sores. Its effect in cancerous sores, however, is
only to allay pain.

Dzsavty Nieutsnape (atropa belladonna).
Natural family solanew ; pentandria, monogynia,

216.

 

Deadly Nightshade.

of Linneus. This plant, which is found grow-
ing in shady situations and waste grounds in this
country, belongs to a natural family which all
possess, in a greater or less degree, the narcotic
poisonous quality.

The root is thick, whitish, and perennial,
sending forth annually a strong, branched, pur-
ple coloured stem, from three to five feet high.

 

551

The leaves are of unequal size, and are entire,
oval, pointed, standing in pairs on very short
footstalks. ‘The flowers are large, bell-shaped,
pendent, and of a brown purple hue; appearing
in June or July, and producing a round purple
berry, which ripens in September. The whole
plant is covered with a fine down.

Dioscorides and other Greek physicians wer
in all probability acquainted with this plant,
though their descriptions are not sufficiently
minute so as to identify it. Sauvages supposes
that the belladonna was the plant which pro-
duced such strange and dreadful effects upon the
Roman soldiers under the command of Anthony,
during their retreat from the Parthians. In this
retreat they suffered great distress in the want
of provisions, and were urged to eat unknown
plants; among others they ate one which had a
deleterious effect, so that he that had eaten of
it, lost his memory and his senses, and employed
himself wholly in turning about all the stones
he could find; and after vomiting up bile, fell
down dead. Buchanan, the Scotch historian,
also relates that the Scots mixed the juice of .
the belladonna with the bread and drink which
by their truce they were to supply the Danes
with, which so intoxicated them, that the Scots
killed the greater part of Sweno’s army while
asleep. The root, the leaves, the juice, and the
berries of. this plant, are all more or less poison-
ous. The latter are often eaten by children; and
if more than three of them be taken into the
stomach, sickness, great heat, and thirst, painful
swallowing, giddiness, delirium, and convulsions
follow. ‘The eyelids are drawn down, the iris is
dilated and immovable, the face becomes red
and swelled, and spasms affect the jaw. The
sensibility of the stomach and other organs
becomes so paralyzed, that the strongest emetics
have no effect; while the action of the heart is
gradually diminished, till death takes place.
After death, the coats of the stomach and
bowels exhibit signs of inflammation. Strong
emetics, the stomach pump, and afterwards
draughts of vinegar and water, should be used
as a means of cure when these berries have been
swallowed.

The leaves of this plant were at an early period
used internally in cases of glandular swellings
and cancerous tumours, as also to ulcers. Their
beneficial effects in these cases, led physicians to
employ them internally for the same disorders,
when they were in many instances successful.
Dr Cullen says, “I have had a cancer of the lip
entirely cured by it; a schirrosity in the breast,
of such a kind as frequently proceeds to cancer,
I have found entirely discussed by the use of it:
a sore a little below the eye, which had put on
a cancerous appearance, was much mended by its
internal use; but the patient having learnt some-
what of the poisonous nature of the medicine,
552

refused to continue the use of it, upon which
the sore again spread, and was painful; but upon
a return to the use of the belladonna, was again
mended to a considerable degree, when the same
fears again returning, the use of it was again
laid aside, and with the same consequence of the
sore becoming worse. Of these alternate states
connected with the alternate use of and abstin-
ence from the belladonna, there were several of
these alternations which fell under my own
observation.”

The dose of this medicine, like all other nar-
cotics, should be begun in small quantity, as a
grain, and gradually increased. Six grains of
the dried leaves of belladonna is reckoned an
average full dose. A watery infusion of the
leaves also, contains all the virtues of the plant.

Externally, it is used in local pains and swell-

ings, and to dilate the pupil of the eye in some
of its diseases, and previous to the operation for
cataract. For this purpose, a few drops of the
infusion may be dropped into the eye, or the
extract may be rubbed on the external part of
the eyelids. In about four hours the greatest
degree of dilatation takes place.
“ The active principle of belladonna has been
discovered to be of an alkaline nature, and is
called atropium. My Brandes, the discoverer, on
tasting a small quantity of the sadphate of atro-
pium, which was rather salt than bitter, experi-
enced extreme confusion of head, trembling in
all his limbs, alternate rigours and heat, violent
tension of the chest, difficulty of breathing,
sinking of the pulse, and retching. The most
severe of these symptoms abated in half an
hour.

“Manpraxe (atropa mandragora). The root
is perennial, and three or four feet long. The
leaves are radical, sessile, ovate, entire, waved.

There is no stem; but the flowers, which are
white, with a bell-shaped corolla, divided at the
top into five notched segments, stand upon
simple stalks. The fruit is a large two-celled
berry, of an orange colour, containing many
kidney-shaped seeds.

This plant is a native of the southern parts of
Europe, where it flowers in March and April.
it was cultivated in England by Turner, in 1562,
and is not uncommon in English gardens.

The superstitious and absurd fables formerly
told of themandrake, would not now fora moment
impose upon the most credulous and ignorant.
The great resemblance of some of the roots to
the human form, the danger of taking them out
of the ground, and their surprising effects, were
all the invention of empirical knavery and im-
posture.

The ancient writers represent the root of this
plant to be possessed of an anodyne and soporific
quality; in large doses, it is said to excite delir-
ium and madness, They used it for procuring

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

rest and sleep in continued watchings, and in
those painful diseases that resisted other reme«
dies; inmelancholy, convulsions, rheumatic pains,
and scrophulous tumours. They used the bark
of the root, either expressing the juice, or infus-
ing it in wine or water. The leaves boiled in
milk, and used as w poultice, were employed
by Boerhaave as an application to indolent
tumours. Hoffberg, also, employed the root in
discussing swellings of the glands, and internally
in the form of a tincture.

There is no doubt but mandragora has the
narcotic qualities in considerable strength; yet
it is rarely employed in modern practice.

Garden Nightshade (solanum nigrum). This
annual plant is common in this country, and
grows about rubbish and dunghills. The flower
is very like that of the common potato. The
stalk is about a foot in height; the leaves are
alternate, irregularly ovate, waved in the mar-
gins, and covered with soft down. The fruit is
a round, two-celled berry, of a black colour
when ripe, and contains several kidney-shaped,
yellow seeds. The smell of the plant is faint
and disagreeable. It has very little taste, but it
possesses the narcotic qualities of the class to
which it belongs in a considerable degree; even
the odour of the plant is said to cause sleep.
The berries are equally poisonous with the leaves.
Three children, upon eating them, were seized
with burning heat of the stomach and delirium,
accompanied by spasms and distortions of the
limbs. The leaves boiled in water, and eaten
by a mother and four children, produced swell-
ings of the face and limbs, followed by inflam-
mation and mortification; but the husband, who
partook of the same mess, felt no disorder. The
berries prove a deadly poison to poultry. Dios-
corides and Theophrastus mention this plant as
employed as an esculent; at the same time they
used it as an external application to swelled
glands, ulcers, eruptions of the skin, and diseases
of the eyes. The Arabians also employ it in
the same manner; and Ray speaks highly of its
effects in removing swellings of the breast. It
is not much used in the modern practice of the
healing art.

Voody Nightshade ( solanum dulcamara ).
This is also a common plant, which grows in
hedges in moist situations. The stalkis slender,
climbing, covered with bark of an ash colour,
and rises to six or seven feet in height. The
leaves are long, oval, and pointed, those near the
top are spear-shaped. The flowers are purple
coloured, with long yellow anthers. The fruit
is an oblong, reddish berry, containing many
flat, yellow seeds.

_The roots and stalks, on being chewed, first
cause a sensation of bitterness, which is soon
followed by a considerable degree of sweetness;
and hence the plant obtained its name of bitter-
STRAMMONIUM, OR THORN APPLE.

sweet (dulcamara). The berries act powerfully
on the stomach and bowels, exciting both vomit-
ing and purging. Thirty of these were given
to a dog, which soon became mad, and died in
the course of three hours;* and upon opening
his stomach, the berries were discovered to have
undergone no change by the powers of digestion.
There can therefore be little doubt of the dele-
terious nature of these berries; and as they are
very common in hedges, and may casily be mis-
taken by children for red currants, which they
somewhat resemble, the greatest care should be
taken to point out their danger. The stem and
young branches are the parts employed in medi-
cine; and these are said to be strongest in autumn,
after the leaves are shed.

Dulcamara does not exhibit those decided nar-
cotic qualities that the other species do. It is
said, however, to act as a general stimulant, by
increasing all the secretions of the body when
given in moderate doses; in larger quantities, it
produces sickness, vomiting, and convulsions.
Much of its activity seems to depend on the soil
in which it grows. In light dry soils, and warm
climates, its powers are very greatly increased.
It has been recommended in rheumatism, affec-
tions of the skin, glandular swellings, and ulcers.
A decoction of the young twigs in water, is the
form usually employed.

Srrammonium or Tuorn Arps (datura stram-
monium). This plant,belonging to thesame natural

217.

 

Strammonium,

family as the above, is a native of America; it
is also a common annual in this country, grow-
ing about dunghills, and among rubbish. The
stalk is thick, smooth, and shining, growing to
the height of two feet. The leaves are alternate,
large, broad towards the base, pointed at the
extremities, indented, and formed into several
obtuse angles. The flowers are large, solitary,
white, with a tubular, pentangular calyx, and
funnel-shaped corolla. The capsule is large,
oval, fleshy, beset with long spines, and divided
into cells.

The strammonium, in its recent state, has a
pitterish taste, and a smell somewhat resembling

* Woodyille’s Botany.

 

558

that of poppies. It has strong narcotic quali-
ties. The odour of the plant is said to induce
giddiness and stupor; and the leaves, stem, or
capsule, if taken into the stomach, produce all
the effects of a poison. The seeds are the most
powerfully narcotic part of the plant; and
instances have occurred where they were eaten
by mistake, and death followed. When taken
into the stomach in moderate quantity, they
produce a sort of intoxication, followed by a
deep sleep. M. Brandes has discovered the
peculiar active principle of these seeds, and has
termed it daturine.

This plant, or an allied species, was known to
the ancient Greek physicians. In modern times,
it was first tried as a remedy in mania and mel-
ancholy, by Baron Stoerck. Several cases of the
same diseases were also cured or relieved by it,
under the direction of different Swedish physi-
cians. It has also been employed, and some-
times with advantage, in convulsive diseases.
Dr Barton considers it to be a medicine of general
efficacy. He gives it in powder, beginning with
doses of a few grains, gradually increasing to
fifteen and twenty grains, In acase where thirty
grains were given, it dilated the pupil of one
eye, and produced paralysis of the eyelids,
which was removed by a blister. The smoke
of the dried root and stem, has been much
extolled for the cure of asthma. This practice
was derived from the East Indies, where other
species of the plant are employed. For this
purpose the root and lower parts of the stem are
to be dried quickly, and cut into pieces, and
then beat so as to divide the fibres. Part of
them are put into the bulb of a tobacco pipe,
and the smoke is first to be taken into the mouth,
and then inhaled into the lungs. This is said
to excite a heat in the chest, followed by copious
expectoration; sometimes there is giddiness and
drowsiness, but rarely nausea. It frequently
gives relief when a pipe is thus smoked, upon a
paroxysm being threatened, or even after its
commencement. The patient generally falls
asleep, and awakes relieved. In some cases a
perfect cure is effected, but more commonly,
according to the predisposing cause, the relief is
only temporary.

Dr Marcet highly extols an extract prepared
from the seeds, in preference to that from the whole
plant. In doses of from one-eighth of a grain toa
grain, he says, in cases of chronic disease, attended
with acute pain, it produces almost immediate
relief. It also occasions a sort of nervous shock,
which is frequently attended with a momentary
affection of the head and eyes, with a degree
of nausea, and with a feeling of intoxication.
In many instances it excites nervous sensations,
which are referred to the esophagus, or wind-
pipe, causing a feeling of suffocation. It does

not produce direct sleep, but rather ease and free-
4a
554

dom from pain; nor has it a tendency to con-
stipate the bowels, but has rather an opening
effect.

Foxatove (digitalis purpurea). Natural
family solanee; didynamia, ongiospermia, of

218,

 

Digitalis.

Linneus. This plant, well known by its beau-
tiful pyramidal spike of bell-shaped flowers,
grows commonly about road sides, hedges, rocks,
and quarries, in dry gravelly soils. The root is
biennial, the stalk erect, simple, and tapering.
The leaves are large, oval, obtusely serrated on
the edges, downy, and stand on short footstalks.
The flowers grow on a long terminal spike,
chiefly on one side: they are large, monopetalous,
pendulous, and bell-shaped; purple in one variety,
white in another. The capsule is bilocular, and
contains many blackish seeds. The flowers
appear in June and July.

The leaves are the medicinal parts of the plant.
They have little smell, but a bitter, nauseous
taste. In large doses they produce the usual
effects of a poisonous narcotic, as vomiting,
purging, dimness of sight, giddiness, and delirium,
followed by death; in moderate and regulated
doses, their medicinal effects are: to diminish
the frequency of the pulse, and the irritability of
the system; to increase the action of the absor-
bents, and the action of the urinary organs.
Ray, and the earlier English physicians, were
acquainted with many of the effects of this
plant; but Withering first discovered its diuretic
properties. Jor some time digitalis was in great
vogue for the cure of dropsy and consumption;
but being used indiscriminately in all kinds of
these complaints, it of course was found to fail
in very many cases, and thus suffered a diminu-
tion of its high reputation. It is still, however,
reckoned a useful and powerful medicine by the
discriminating physician, and is employed, in
inflammatory affections, to reduce the energy of
the heart; in hemorrhage, proceeding from rup-
tured vessels of the lungs; in aneurism or enlarge-
ment of the arteries; and in dropsical affections
of the chest and abdomen.

Withering directs the leayes to be gathered
after the flowering stem has shot up, and about

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

the time when the blossoms are coming forth;
the leafstalk and midrib are to be rejected, and
the leaves are to be dried in the sun or before a
fire. When dry they are easily reduceable toa
beautiful green powder, the dose of which is
from one grain to three or four, in the course of
the day. The leaves also yield their virtues to
water, forming an infusion; or to spirits, forming
atincture. While using this medicine as a
diuretic, copious draughts of water, or any bland
fluid, should be taken at same time. In many
cases of dropsy, the good effect of digitalis is
only available after bleeding, and other means
of evacuation have been practised.

The beauty of this plant has recommended it
to the notice of the florist, and it is accordingly
often found in the garden parterre. It also forms
an ornamental and conspicuous object in many
mountain and woodland scenes, in Scotland and
Wales. Among the country people it has received
various names. -In the south of Scotland it is
called “bloody fingers;” in the north, “dead
man’s bells.” In Wales it is called “fairies’
gloves.” Fairies were often called “folks ;”
hence no doubt the origin of the common name,
“folks glove,” and not as, misspelt, “fox glove.”

Nux Vomica (strychnos nux vomica). Natural
family solanee; pentandria, monogynia. The

219,

 

Nux Vomica.

tree which bears the vomic nut, is a native of
the East Indies. It is of considerable size, and
sends off numerous strong branches, covered
with dark gray, smooth bark. The young
branches have a knotted, jointed appearance.
The leaves arise at the joints in pairs, upon short
footstalks, and are broad, oval, and pointed, with
from three to five ribs. The flowers terminate
the branches in a kind of umbel. The corolla
is small, bell-shaped, and of a white colour.
The fruit is a round, smooth, large, pulpy berry,
externally yellow, and contains within several
round depressed seeds, covered with downy,
radiated hairs. These seeds afford the substance
known under the name of nux vomica; they are
flat, round, about an inch broad, and a quarter
of an inch thick, with a prominence in the
middle; on both sides of a gray colour, covered
with a kind of woolly matter, and internally
WOLF’S BANE, OR MONKSHOOD.

hard and tough, like a horn; to the taste they
are extremely bitter, but have no smell. They
consist chiefly of a gummy matter, and a resin,
soluble in alcohol, to which it imparts an intensely
bitter taste. Strychnine is the name of that
peculiar active principle contained in the resin
of these seeds.

Nux vomica may be classed among the most
powerful of vegetable narcotics. To man and
most animals, it proves a virulent poison.
Administered to dogs, hares, foxes, wolves, cats,
rats, rabbits, and several kinds of birds, it pro-
duced death in a very short time.

A horse after having taken a dram of the
half roasted seeds, died in the course of four
hours. Its effect upon different animals, even
of the same species, varies, however, greatly, and
does not seem to depend always on the quantity
taken. With some animals its effects are instan-
taneous; with others, not till after several hours,
when laborious respiration, followed by stupor,
tremblings, coma, and convulsions, usually pre-
cede the extinction of life. Its effects on the
human subject are exactly similar; and from no
appearances of inflammation, being visible on
the stomach or intestines after death, it appears
that the poison acts immediately on the nervous
system, and speedily destroys life by the viru-
lence of its narcotic qualities.

The quantity necessary to produce fatal effects
on a strong dog, need not exceed a scruple; a
rabbit was killed by five, and a cat by four
grains; and a girl of ten years of age was poi-
soned by a dose of fifteen grains. It is frequently
employed mixed with meal, to poison rats, and
proves an effectual means of destroying these
vermin.

Although many trials have been made of
exhibiting this substance internally for the cure
of diseases, especially in Germany and Sweden,
yet it has never come into very general use as a
medicine; externally, however, it has been em-
ployed, especially of late, as a powerful and
useful stimulant in local and general affections,
accompanied by a loss of nervous power and
muscular energy.

Wotr’s Bane, or MonxsHoop (aconitum
napellus). Natural family ranunculacee ; poly-
andria, trigynia, of Linneus. This is a peren-
nial plant, with aturnip-shaped root. Thestalk
grows erect, to the height of three or five feet.
The leaves are lobed, deeply laciniated, and stand
alternately upon long footstalks; the upper leaves
being, however, almost sessile; the upper part
dark green, the under whitish. The flowers
terminate the stalk; they are without calyces,
and growinalongraceme. Each flower consists
of five petals, which include two nectaries; the
uppermost petal is arched over the lateral ones,
so as to appear like a helmet or hood; the colour
is purplish blue, or deep violet. This plant is

 

555

a native of the mountainous or woody parts of
Germany and Switzerland, and was introduced
into Britain by Gerard. It is now a common
plant in flower borders.

Every part of the fresh plant is a virulent
poison; but the root is unquestionably the most
powerful, and when first chewed, imparts a slight
sensation of acrimony, but afterwards an insen-
sibility or stupor, to the apex of the tongue;
and a pungent heat of the lips, gums, palate, and
throat, are perceived, followed by a general
tremor, and sensation of chillness. Though the
plant loses much of its power by drying, yet
when a little of the powdered root is put upon
the tongue, it excites a durable sense of heat,
and sharp wandering pains, but without redness
orinflammation. The juice applied to a wound,
affects the whole nervous system; even by keep-
ing it long in the hand, or on the bosom, it is
said to produce unpleasant symptoms. When
taken into the stomach, it causes sickness, vomit-.
ing, convulsions, delirium, violent purging, cold
sweats, and death, Like the other narcotics also,
it seems to act directly on the nervous system,
without causing any visible action on the coats
of the stomach. It proves fatal to all animals
on whom it has been tried. The ancients were
well aware of the baneful qualities of aconite,
and fabled it the invention of Hecate, or the
virulent froth of Cerberus. Ray states it as the
most certain and sudden of all poisons.

The root was administered by way of experi-
ment, to two condemned criminals at Rome, in
the year 1524; and to other two at Prague, in
1561, two of whom quickly died, while the
other two with difficulty recovered. It has fre-
quently been eaten in mistake for other plants,
and proved fatal; a remarkable case is recorded
to have occurred in Sweden. A person having
eaten some of the fresh leaves, became maniacal;
and the surgeon who was called to his assistance
declared that the plant was not the cause of the
disorder. To convince the company that in his
opinion it was perfectly innocent, he ate freely
of the leaves, and soon after died in great agony.

Among the moderns, Stoerck was the first to
introduce it into practice; and it was exhibited
by him and several German physicians, chiefly
in cases of rheumatism, and with very favourable
results. It has also been found an efficacious
remedy in glandular swellings, stiff joints, and
old cases of gout and rheumatism. The usual
preparations of the plant are the dried leaves
powdered, or the expressed juice of the plant
dried to the consistence of an extract. A grain
of either of them may be given at first, and
gradually increased. The strength, however,
varies very much, according to circumstances,
It is always most powerful when recently pre-
pared, and loses its virtues gradually, according
to the time it is kept.
556

Danveuion (leontodon tarazacum). Natural
family composite ; syngenesia, polygamia equalisy
of Linneus. This is perhaps one of the com-
monest weeds, the small seed being furnished
with a downy appendage, which readily carries
it along upon the wind, and diffuses it in all
waste places. The leaves are radical and deeply
indented, in such a way as has been termed
runcinata. The flower stalk is simple, fistulous,
coloured of a pinkish hue, and bears one flower.
The outer calyces are bent downwards. The
seeds, which are numerous, are crowned with a
fine downy feather, and are disposed in a spher-
ical shape.

The young leaves, in a blanched state, have
the taste of endive, and are frequently used in
spring, mixed with other salad plants. In Ger-
many, the roots are roasted and substituted for
coffee by the poorer inhabitants, who say that
an infusion prepared in this way, can hardly be
distinguished from that of real coffee. This
plant yields a milky juice similar to that of the
lettuce and others. It is bitter, and somewhat
acrid; but the juice of the root is still more
powerful. It has been found a general stimu-
lant to the system, but especially to the urinary
organs. Some of the older physicians recom-
mend it in obstructions of the liver, and hypo-
chondriacal diseases. In modern practice, how-
ever, it is superseded by more active medicines,
of a similar tendency.

Yarrow, or Mitrrom. Natural family com-
posite ; syngenesia, polygamia superflua, of Lin-
neus. This is acommon perennial plant, found
in dry pastures on the steep banks of rivers, in
Britain. The stalk is smooth and downy, and
grows to the height of ten or twelveinches. The
leaves stand alternately on the stem, which they
partly embrace, and are subdivided into a double
series of pinne; they are numerous, narrow, and
somewhat pointed. Theflowers are small, white,
or purplish, and terminate the stem in a close
corymb. Both the flowers and leaves have an
aromatic, rather agreeable smell, and a bitter,
rough, and somewhat pungent taste.

Both water and proof spirit extract the virtue
of this plant; and by distillation it yields a pene-
trating, essential oil, possessing the peculiar
flavour of the plant in perfection.

The millfoil was known to the ancient physi-
cians, and was esteemed by them as a cure for
wounds and bleeding vessels; but the modern
art of surgery has now dispensed with all such
applications.

Internally, it has been used in Germany as a
tonic, antispasmodic, and sedative. That it pos-
sesses some narcotic qualities, would appear from
the fact in Sweden, that it is used in making beer,
to which it imparts an additional intoxicating
quality. In modern practice, it is never used
as a medicine,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

CHAP. LI.
GUMS, RESINS, AND BALSAMS.

In a former part of this work,* we described
generally the various vegetable products obtained
from plants; and, amongst others, the gums,
resins, and balsams. We shall now more par-
ticularly describe the trees and plants from which
those substances, as far as known, are obtained.

By gum or mucilage, is understood a substance
soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol. Resins
are, on the contrary, soluble in alcohol and the
essential oils, but insoluble in water. Gum
resins are substances composed both of resin and
gum, or mucilage; and balsams are combinations
of one or both of these, with benzoic acid.

Gum Arazic Trex, or Eeyprian THorn (aca-
cia vera). Natural family leguminose; poly-

220, o

   
  
  

: SETUP : : Na,
Wy qn! j yf Ay

Gum Arabie Tree.

gunia, monecia, of Linneus. ‘This is a stunted,
hard, withered looking tree, with a crooked stem,
covered with smooth, gray coloured bark. The
leaves are bipinnated, and placed alternately;
the partial pinne are opposite, furnished with a
small gland between the outermost pair, and
beset with numerous pairs of narrow, elliptical
leaflets. The spines are long, white, spreading,
and proceed from each side of the base of the
leaves. The flowers are hermaphrodite and
male; they assume a globular shape, and stand
four or five together upon slender peduncles,
which arise from the axille of the leaves. The
calyx is small, and the corolla consists of five
small, narrow segments, of a yellowish colour,
The fruit is a long pod, resembling that of the
lupine, and contains many flat, brown seeds. It
is a native of Arabia, and found in almost every
part of Africa. It flowers in July. This and
all the other species of the same family, are
easily cultivated in our green-houses. The first
plant of acacia, cultivated in England, was by
Evelyn, in 1664.

This tree appears to have been well known to
theancients. Dioscorides not only mentions the

* Chap. xxi.
TRAGACANTH OR GOAT’S TIIORN.

gum which it produces, but also a mucilage
obtained from the immature pods. Alpinus and
others describe the same plant, and its pro-
ducts.

Although this tree grows abundantly over the
vast extent of Africa, yet the gum is procured
chiefly from those plants growing near the equa-
torial parts of that continent; and it is said that
in Lower Egypt, the solar heat is not sufficiently
intense for promoting the exudation of the
gum. This gum exudes in a liquid state from
the hark of the trunk and branches of the tree;
and by a short exposure to the sun and air, gra-
dually hardens into a solid mass. In Senegal the
gum begins to flow when the tree first opens its
flowers, and continues during the rainy season
till the month of December, when it is collected
for the first time. At this period the Moors
encamp on the borders of the forest, and the
harvest lasts six weeks. The gum, which is in
the form of round or oval masses, about the size
of a pigeon’s egg, is packed in very large sacks
of tanned leather, and brought on camels and
bullocks to certain ports, where it is sold to the
French and English merchants. In the year
1787, according to the information of Golberry
the annual quantity purchased by the former
was about 800,000 pounds; and by the latter
400,000.

In Jackson’s account of Morocco, it is stated
that from Mogador they export two sorts of gum,
one the common gum Arabic, the produce of
Morocco, and called Barbary gum; the other
finer, called gum Soudan, or Senegal, brought
from Timbuctoo by the caravans. It is also there
stated, that the gum called Morocco or Barbary
gum, is produced from a thorny tree called atalleh,
having leaves similar to the juniper. It yields
most gum during the parching heat of July and
August; and the hotter the weather, and the
more sickly the tree appears, the more gum it
yields: a wet winter, and a mild summer, being
both unfavourable to its production.

Gum Arabic was originally brought from
Arabia by the way of Egypt, to Marseilles; and
it was not until the beginning of the seventeenth
century, that the Dutch made the gum of Sene-
gal known in Europe.

After the French got possession of that river,
they directed their attention to it as an impor-
tant object of commerce, and ascertained, by
experiments made in the latter half of the seven-
teenth century, that gum Senegal was superior
to the best gum of Arabia; and for about fifty
years it has had the preference.

M. Adanson examined all the gum trees of
West Africa with great care, and has given the
best description of them. They amount to forty
species; but the three great forests which supply
the Senegal market, consists chiefly of two kinds,
one which produces a white gum, called vereck,

 

557

and another called nebuel, which yields a red
gum.

There are two kinds of gum found in the
shops, and often sold promiscuously; but distin-
guished in commerce by the names of gum
Arabic, and East India gum.

Gum Arabic is in round tears, transparent,
colourless, or of a yellowish hue, of a shining
fracture, without smell or taste, and perfectly
soluble in water. The pieces which are most
transparent, and have least colour, are preferred,
and are picked out and sold at a higher price.
The East India gum is darker coloured, and not
so soluble in water as the other. A gum pro-
duced from a species of acacia, in New Holland,
is of a still darker colour, and when suspended
in water, gives off whitish films; and in this and
other respects, resembles the gum of the cherry,
and other trees produced in this country. The
coarsest gum makes the thickest mucilage,
according to the experiments of the late Dr
Duncan.

Gum Arabic is a highly nutritious article of
food. During the whole time of the gum har-
vest in Barbary, the Moors of the desert live
almost entirely upon it; and experience has
proved that six ounces are sufficient for the sup-
port of a man during twenty-four hours. It is
also used for food by the Hottentots of southern
Africa; and Dr Sparrman states, that in the
absence of other provisions, the Bushmen live
on it for days together.

In medicine, it is employed as a demulcent in
coughs and irritable states of the mucous mem-
brane, for which it is well adapted, at the same
time that it does not, like oily substances, load
the stomach. It is also used in combination
with other medicines to correct their acrimony,
or as a means of suspending them in aqueous
mixtures.

In the arts it is also used, especially in calico
printing, to give the proper consistency to the
cloth previous to the application of the mor-
daunts, and to prevent their running and mixing
with eachother. An annual consumpt of upwards
of 12,000 cwt. of this gum is required in Britain,
besides other gums of similar quality.

Gum Senegal is procured from a species of
acacia, a native of Guinea. Its flowers are yel-
low, globular, and fragrant. The pods are brown
coloured, and rounder, and smaller than those
of acacia vera. On incisions being made in the
bark of the tree, the gum exudes, but less plen-
tifully than the gum Arabic. Gum Senegal
resembles gum Arabic in all its qualities, but is
rather inferior.

Tracacantu or Goat’s THorn (astragalus
tragacantha). Natural family leguminose ; dia-
delphia, decandria, of Linneus. This and some
other species, particularly @. verus, yield the
gum tragacanth of commerce,
558

The astragalus tragacanth, is a low, procum-
bent shrub, with a short, thick, branched stem,
clothed with brown, rigid fibres, and beset with
long sharp spines. The leaves are pinnated,
consisting of about eight pairs of small, oblong
leaflets, which are attached to a strong, spinous,
persistent footstalk, or midrib. The flowers are
large, papilionaceous, of a pale yellow colour,
and terminate the branches in close clusters.
The pod is two-celled, containing kidney-shaped
seeds. It is a native of Asiatic Turkey, and the
southern part of Europe, particularly Italy,
Sicily, and Crete; and it flowers from May till
July.

It was introduced into England in the time
of Parkinson, where it thrives well, but does
not produce any gum. Tournefort discovered
it growing plentifully about Mount Ida. Accord-
ing to his observations, the gum exudes spon-
taneously towards the end of June, and in the
following months, during which period the nutri-
tious juice of the plant, thickened by the sum-
mer heat, bursts most of the vessels in which it
is confined. This juice coagulates in threads,
which make their way into the pores of the
bark, through which being pushed forward by
fresh juice they issue forth, and are at length
hardened in the air, either in irregular lumps, or
in leng vermicular pieces bent into a variety of
shapes. The best sort is white and semi-trans-
parent, dry, but somewhat soft to the touch. It
is considerably different in many of its properties
from gum Arabic; one part of this diffused in one
hundred parts of water, affords a fluid of the
same consistency as one part of gum Arabic dis-
solved in ten parts of water. Water is, however,
but an imperfect solvent of it, not forming the
same intimate union with it as with other gums.
When tragacanth is put into water, it slowly
imbibes a great quantity, swells into a large
volume, and forms a soft, but not fluid mucilage.
On the addition of more water, and if the mix-
ture be agitated, the gum will be more generally
diffused throughout the liquor, which will appear
turbid. If left at rest, the mucilage will again
separate and subside; the supernatant water
appearing limpid, and holding only a very small
portion of the gum.

This mucilage differs from that of gum Arabic
in being precipitated by sugar of lead, and the
oxymuriate of tin, and not by silicated potass,
or the oxysulphate of iron.

M. Billardier gives a somewhat different
account from that of Tournefort. He says that
he visited Mount Lebanon in August, the season
when the gum is collected. He then found the
species of astragalus which afforded it to be
different from that figured and described by
Tournefort. According to Billardier, the stem
of the Cretan astragalus is blackish, that of
Lebanon is yellow; the leaves of the first are

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

downy, of the second they are smooth; the flowers
of one are red, of the other of a pale yellow.
From whence he infers, that there are two or
more species of this plant which afford the gum.
He also dissents from the opinion of Tournefort,
who attributes the flowing of the gum to the
contraction of the fibres of the bark, occasioned
by the intensity of the solar heat, observing,
that it is only during the night, or when the
sun is obscured by clouds, that the gum issues
from the plant, and that the same has been
remarked at Crete. .

Astragalus verus is a native of the north of
Persia, and flowers in July and August. It is
ashrub of two or three feet in height, with a
stem about an inch thick, with many branches
closely crowded together, and covered with
imbricated scales and spines, formed from the
petioles of the former year. The leaves, which:
scarcely exceed half an inch in length, are com-
posed of from six to eight pinne, in opposite
pairs, villous, stiff, and pointed. The flowers
are small, yellow, and proceed from the axille
of the leaves, with cottony brackets. The gum
exudes in summer, more or less plentifully in
proportion to the solar heat, in tortuous threads,
which are allowed to dry on the plant before
being collected. A great proportion of the gum
gathered in Persia, is sent to India, Bagdad,
Bassorah, and Russia. That which comes to
Britain, is sent from Aleppo, packed in cases,

Gum tragacanth possesses the same demulcent
qualities as gum Arabic; and from its greater
viscidity, may in some cases be preferable.

It is also used in preparing cloths for receiving
the dye, especially such mordants as are prepared
with nitrousacid. Its use, however, is restricted
in consequence of its high price. The annual
consumpt in Britain is about 30,000 Ibs.

A species of gum designated kuteera, was in
1802, and during a few previous years, imported
in large quantities from India into Europe, under
the mistaken opinion that it was gum tragacanth,
which it so much resembled as to deceive many
dealers. It was, however, at length ascertained
that the kuteera was the product of the sterculia
urens, a tree abounding in several parts of Oude,
and the adjacent countries, but of quite a dif-
ferent species to the thorny bush which yields
tragacanth.

It is found that this substance does not possess
all the characteristics of gum, it being very
imperfectly soluble, and possessing little of a
glutinous nature; it is therefore inapplicable to
the purposes for which tragacanth is used. On
this dissimilarity being discovered, of course
this new gum was supposed to be valueless, and
many tons were for a long time lying at the
East India Company’s warehouse totally unsale-
able. It might, however, be usefully applied to
some other purpose. The natives of India make
BENZOIN, OR BENJAMIN TREE.

many uses of it besides giving it to their horses
as a medicine,

A patent has been recently taken out in Lon-
don, for applying ‘the mucilage extracted from
the seed of the carob tree, commonly called St
John’s bread. This is of so strong a gummy
consistency, that one pound of this is said to
produce an equal effect with eight pounds of
gum Senegal, and nine or ten pounds of gum
Arabic,

The seeds, after being divested of their skins
by the agency of sulphuric acid, are dried, and
then ground in a mill, and the powder thus
obtained is the mucilaginous matter.

Beyzory, or Benzamin TREE (styraw benzoin ).
Natural family ebenacee ; decandria, monogynia,

 

Benzoin

of Linneus. This tree is a native of Sumatra.
It is of quick growth, and attains a considerable
height. The stem sends off many strong, round
branches, which are covered with a whitish,
downy bark. The leaves are oblong, entire,
tapering to a point, smooth on the upper surface,
and downy on the under; and they stand alter-
nately upon short footstalks. The flowers are
produced in bunches, and usually hang all on
the same side, upon short, slender pedicles,
The calyx is short, bell-shaped, and downy.
The corolla is monopetalous, downy, and of a
grayish colour. The fruit is a pulpy pericarp,
containing one or two oval compressed nuts.
The tree begins to afford benzoin in the sixth
year of its age, or when the trunk has acquired
a diameter of seven or eight inches. The bark
is then cut through longitudinally, or somewhat
obliquely at the origin of the principal lower
branches, from which the drug exudes in aliquid
state; and by exposure to the sun and air, soon
concretes, when it is scraped off from the bark
with a knife or chissel. The quantity of benzoin
which one tree affords, never exceeds three
pounds; nor are the trees found to sustain the
effects of these annual incisions, longer than ten
or twelve years. The benzoin which issues first
from the wounded bark, is the purest, being
soft, extremely fragrant, and very white; that
which is less esteemed, is of a brownish colour,

 

559

very hard, and mixed with various impurities,
which it acquires during its long continuance on
the trees. There are three kinds distinguished
according to purity and lightness of colour; the
best being white, and the inferior of a dark or
deep brown colour. In Arabia, Persia, and
other parts of the East, the coarser kinds are
consumed for fumigating and perfuming the
temples, and for destroying insects. The benzoin
found in the shops in this country, is in large
brittle masses, composed partly of white, partly
of yellowish, or light brown, and often also of
darker coloured pieces, ‘Chis resin has very little
taste, impressing on the palate only a slight
sweetness; but its smell, especially when rubbed
or heated, is extremely fragrant and agreeable.
It totally dissolves in rectified spirit of wine, the
impurities excepted, into a deep, yellowish, red
liquor; and in this state discovers a degree of
warmth and pungency, as well as sweetness. It
imparts to water also a considerable share of its
fragrance, and a slight pungency: the filtered
liquor gently exhaled, leaves not a resinous or
mucilaginous extract, but a crystalline matter,
amounting to one-tenth, or one-eighth of the
benzoin. Exposed to the action of heat in a retort,
it yields a quantity of a light semi-crystallized
matter, which is benzoicacid. This has an acid-
ulous taste, and all the peculiar odour of benzoin.
Benzoin is supposed to possess little medicinal
virtues, and is used chiefly to give a flavour to
pectoral mixtures. It is employed in the pre-
paration of perfumes.

Storaz, or Styrax Tree (styrazoficinale). This is
another species of the same genus, and is a native
of Italy and the Levant. It usually attains the
height of twenty feet. The stem sends off many
strong branches, which are covered witha roughish
bark of a gray colour. The leaves are broad,
elliptical, entire, slightly pointed, smooth above,
and underneath covered with a whitish down.
The flowers are large, white, and disposed in
clusters upon short peduncles, terminating the
branches. The corolla is monopetalous, and
divided into five lanceolate segments. The fruit
is a nut, contained in a pulpy pericarp.

This tree was first cultivated in England by
Gerard; and although it is indigenous to many
of the southern parts of Europe, yet the resin
which it produces is only to be obtained in per-
fection from trees of the same species growing in
Asiatic Turkey. The storax issues in a fluid
state from incisions made in the bark of the
trunk, or branches of the tree; and as it was
formerly the custom to collect and export this
gum resin in reeds, it obtained the name of cala-
mite styrax. :

There are two kinds usually kept in the shops,
one is in irregular, compact masses, free from
impurities, of a yellowish, or reddish brown
colour, and interspersed with whitish tears, some-
660

what like gum ammoniac, or benzoin; it is
extremely fragrant, and readily melts with heat.
The other kind is in large masses, very light,
and bears no external resemblance whatever to
the former, as it seems almost wholly composed
of dirty saw dust, merely caked together by the
resinous matter; and though much less esteemed
than the purer kinds of storax, yet when freed
from the woody part, it is said to possess more
fragrance, and is superior to the other. It is
readily dissolved in rectified spirits. It imparts
to water in which it has been infused, a deep,
yellow colour, a slight odour, and balsamic taste;
by distillation it gives out more of its fragrance,
but does not yield an essential oil. The spirit-
uous solution gently distilled off from the filtered,
reddish liquor, brings over with it very little of
the fragrance of the storax, while the remaining
resin is more fragrant than the finest storax in
the tear. The pure resin distilled without addi-
tion yields, along with an empyreumatic oil, a
portion of benzoic acid, similar to the flowers of
benzoin.

Among the ancients storax was a common
medicine, and was generally used in coughs,
colds, asthma, and other affections of the chest.
In modern practice, however, it is seldom em-
ployed, except like benzoin, with which, indeed,
it is almost identical, as a pleasing perfume, and
to give flavour to other medicines.

Cruran Cistus (cistus ereticus). Natural
family e?stinew ; polyandria, monogynia, of Lin-
nzus, This handsome shrub seldom rises to any
considerable height; it is covered with a dark
coloured bark, and sends off several simple
branches. The leaves are oblong, pointed, waved,
rough, viscous, and stand in pairs upon short
footstalks. The flowers are produced in succes-
sion at the extremities of the branches, in June
and July. They are large, of a purplish, red
colour, marked with dark spots at the base of
each petal, and stand on short peduncles. The
corolla is composed of five petals, large, round,
pink coloured, and very evanescent. The seeds
are contained in a round capsule. ‘

This shrub, which is a native of Candia, and
some of the islands of the Archipelago, was first
cultivated in England by Miller, in 1781, and is
now, along with several other species of the same
genus, very generally cultivated as an ornamental
garden shrub.

Almost all the species abound with a glutinous
liquor, which exudes from the leaves in summer;
and from the cistus creticus, the substance known
under the name of Jabdanum, is collected. This
is done in Candia by an instrument called there
ergastirt, made in the form of a rake, to which
several leathern thongs are fixed instead of teeth,
and with which the leaves of the shrub are
lightly brushed backwards and forwards, so that
the fluid labdanum may adhere to the leather,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

from which it is afterwards scraped off with
knives, and formed into regular masses for expor-
tation. As this substance is observed to issue
most copiously during the hottest weather, the
method of collecting must be performed when
the intensity of the sun’s heat renders it a very
laborious and troublesome employment. Three
sorts of labdanum have been described by authors,
but only two are now to be met with in the
shops. The best, which is very rare, is in dark
coloured masses, of the consistence of a soft
plaster, growing still softer on being handled;
the other is in long rolls, coiled up much harder
than the preceding, and not so dark. The first
has commonly a small, and the last a large
admixture of fine sand, which in the labdanum
examined by the French Academy, amounted to
three-fourths of the mass. It is scarcely, indeed,
to be collected pure, independently of designed
abuses, the dust blown on the plant by winds,
from the loose sands among which it grows, being
retained by the tenaceous juice. The soft kind
has an agreeable smell, and a highly pungent,
bitterish taste; the hard is much weaker. Rec-
tified spirit of wine dissolves nearly the whole
of pure labdanum into a golden coloured liquor.
On infusing labdanum in water, it impregnates
the fluid considerably with its smell and taste;
and in distillation with water, there comes over
a fragrant, essential oil.

By the ancients, we are told that the Jabdanon
was collected by combing the beards and thighs
of goats who browsed upon the cistus, and to
whose hair the drug was found to adhere; another
method of gathering it was by throwing cords
over those shrubs which produce it. This sub-
stance was formerly much employed as a medi-
cine in coughs and affections of the chest; now,
however, its use is confined to the composition
of plasters, to be applied externally.

Batsam oF Giteap (amyris Gileadensis ).
Natural family terebintacew; octandria, mono-

 

Balsam of Gilead.

gynta, of Linneus, This tree attains the height
of fourteen feet. Its branches are numerous,
spreading, and crooked. The wood is white,
soft, and covered with a smooth, ash coloured
bark. The leaves are small, few, commonly
consisting of one pair of pinne, with an odd one
ELEMI TREE.

at the top. The pinne are sessile, inversely
ovate, entire, and of a bright green colour. The
flowers are scattered upon the branches, and are
of a white colour; the calyx is permanent; the
corolla consists of four white petals; the fruit is
drupaceous, roundish, oval, opening by four
valves, and containing a smooth nut.

According to Mr Bruce, this tree is a native
of Abyssinia, growing among the myrrh trees
behind Azab, all along the coast to the straits of
Babelmandeb. It is said to have been early
transplanted into the south of Arabia, and into
Judea, one thousand years before the queen of
Saba, who, according to Josephus, gave this
tree among other presents to king Solomon.

Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny, and even
the Arabian physicians, supposed this balsam to
be the produce of Judea only; and hence it
seems to have received the name of balsam of
Judaicum, or balm of Gilead.

There is another species nearly allied in char-
acter, the amyris opobalsamum, which produces
the balsam of Mecca. This species has pinnated
leaves, with sessile leaflets. It grows near
Bederhunin, a village between Mecca and Medina,
in a sandy, rocky soil, confined to a small tract
about a mile in length, and attains the height of
fifteen feet.

The balsamic juice of those trees issues spon-
taneously from fissures in the bark; but it is
generally obtained by artificial incisions. The
balsam now imported into Europe is reported
to be principally collected between Mecca and
Medina. “The bark,” says Mr Bruce, “is cut by
an axe when the juice is in its strongest circu-
lation in July and August, and the beginning of
September. Jt is then received into a small
earthen bottle, and every day’s produce gathered
and poured into a larger, which is kept closely
corked. The juice, when first received into the
bottle or vase, from the wound from which it
issues, is of a light yellow colour, apparently
turbid, in which there is a whitish cast, which,
J apprehend, are the globules of air that pervade
the whole of it in its first state of fermentation;
it then appears very light upon shaking. As it
settles and cools, it turns clear, and loses that
milkiness which it first had when flowing from
the tree into the bottle. It then has the colour
of honey, and appears more fixed and heavy,
than at first. After being kept for years, it
grows of amuch deeper yellow, and of the colour
of gold. I have some of it which I got from
the Cadi of Medina, in 1768, it is now still deeper
in colour, full as much so as the yellowest honey.
It is perfectly fluid, and has lost very little either
of its taste, smell, or weight. The smell at first
is violent, and strongly pungent, giving a sensa-
tion to the brain, like that of volatile salts when
rashly drawn up by an incautious person. This
lasts in proportion to its freshness; for being

 

561

neglected, and the bottle uncorked, it quickly
loses this quality, as it probably will at last by
age, whatever care is taken of it.” The balsam
which one tree yields is very small, and the col-
lection of it is tedious and troublesome; hence,
it is so very scarce, that the genuine balsam is
very rarely, if ever, exported in a commercial
way. The best balsam, according to Alpinus, is
at first turbid, and white, of a very strong pun-
gent smell, like that of turpentine, but much
sweeter, and more fragrant, and of a bitter, acrid,
astringent taste; on being kept for some time, it
becomes thin, limpid, light, of a greenish hue,
and then of a gold yellow, after which it grows
thick, like turpentine, and loses much of its
fragrance. Some compare the smell of this
balsam to that of citrons; others to that of a
mixture of rosemary and sage flowers. The
chief mark of its goodness is said to be founded
on this, that when dropped on water, it spreads
itself all over the surface, forming a thin pellicle,
tough enough to be taken up on the point of a
pin, and at the same time impregnating the
water with its smell and flavour. This last is
not, however, to be depended upon, as several
other resinous fluids and oil of juniper produce
the same appearances.

This article was highly valued even among
the earliest races of mankind. We read in the
scriptures, that balm and myrrh were carried by
the Ishmaelites to Egypt, and this formed one
of the earliest articles of trade among the Eastern
nations. By them it was esteemed not only for
its perfume, but for its supposed medicinal vir-
tues, which latter were estimated very highly.
The sacred prophet exclaims, “Is there no balm
in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why
then is not the health of the daughter of my
people recovered?” Even in the present day,
its medicinal virtues are highly extolled in the
East; and it is in so much request, that the gen-
uine balm is to be procured with great difficulty.

In Turkey, it is not only in high esteem asa
medicine, but also as an odoriferous ingredient,
and a cosmetic for the skin. Lady Mary Wortley
Montague, mentions that she tried its effects as
a cosmetic, and found that it was of so stimulat-
ing a nature, that the day after using it her face
became red and swollen, which affection contin-
ued for three days.

In modern European practice it is, however,
very lightly esteemed, being placed upon a level
with the other turpentine balsams.

Exemt Tree (amyris elemi). This tree
is of the same family as the above, but is a
native of Carolina and South America. In dry
weather, and especially at full moon, incisions
are made in the bark, from which a resinous
juice flows, and is left to harden in the sun. It
comes to this country in long, roundish cakes,
generally wrapped up in flag leaves. The best

4B
562

is softish, somewhat transparent, of a pale,
whitish, yellow colour, inclining a little to green,
of a strong, not unpleasant smell, resembling
somewhat that of fennel. It is readily soluble
in alcohol, and appears to be a composition of a
resin and essential oil. At present it is held in
little estimation in medicine; but it is used some-
times for the composition of varnishes.

Mastic Tree (pistacia lentiscus). Natural
family terebintacee; diccia, pentandria, of Lin-
neus. This tree, which seldom exceeds afoot in
diameter, rises ten or twelve feet in height. It
is covered with a smooth brown bark, and towards
the top sends off numerous branches. The leaves
are regularly pinnated, and consist of several
pairs of narrow, ovate, opposite pinne, closely
attached to the common footstalk, which is
winged, or supplied with a narrow, foliaceous
expansion. The male flowers are placed in an
open catkin, and the female upon the common
peduncle, in alternate order. The flowers appear
in May; and the fruit, which is an oval, smooth
nut, ripens in August.

This tree is a native of the south of Europe,
and the Levant. According to Evelyn, it was
introduced into Britain in 1664; but in this
country it is of slow vegetation, and seldom
healthy enough to give a complete idea of the
plant in its natural situation; nor does it here,
with the diminished solar heat, afford any gum.

Mastic is a resinous substance collected in the
form of tears; it is of a very pale yellow colour,
having but little smell, and scarcely any taste.
It forms the basis of several dyeing varnishes, is
one of the ingredients used in fumigations, and
is considered to be efficacious in promoting a
healthy state of the mouth: for this latter pur-
pose it is held in much esteem by the Turks,
Greeks, and all the people of the Levant, who
constantly chew it. Hence it takes its name;
mastic being derived from masticare, to masti-
cate. The women of Scio, Smyrna, and Con-
stantinople, have almost always a piece of it in
their mouths,

This is the most celebrated production of the
island of Scio, and of so much importance is it
considered there, that the inhabitants of the vil-
lages that furnish it, had, when under their
Turkish masters, many peculiar privileges, They
acknowledged no other chief than the aga, or
lord who farmed that production; they were
exempt from contributing their labour gratui-
tously on public occasions, being obliged only
to convey the mastic to the town, and to furnish
beasts of burden to this aga when he travelled
about the villages in order to collect it. “We
had an opportunity,” says M. Olivier, “of seeing
the aga on his tour, preceded by military music,
followed by several tchocadars, and surrounded
by a great number of villagers, eager to attend
on him. Had we not been previously informed,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

we should much rather have taken him for a
military commander, than a simple farmer otf
taxes.

In order to obtain the mastic, numerous inci-
sions are made in the trunk and principal branches
of the tree, during five days in the middle of
July. A liquid juice gradually exudes from
these incisions; this thickens by exposure to the
air so immediately, as mostly to adhere to the
tree in the form of drops; but when very abun-
dant, it falls to the ground before it becomes a
concrete substance. ‘Ihe former kind is most
esteemed; it is detached from the bark with a
sharp iron instrument: those persons who are
careful in collecting it, spread cloths on the
ground under the trees, that the juice which
falls may not be injured by coming in contact
with the earth. The first gathering lasts during
eight successive days, after which fresh incisions
are made in the tree, and they are untouched
until the 25th of September. ‘Then the second
gathering begins, and it is not allowed to cut
the trees any more that season; but the mastic,
which continues to run, is gathered until the
19th of November, on the Monday and ‘Tuesday
of every week, after which time it is forbidden
to gather this production.

The culture of the lentisk is simple, and
attended with little trouble; it consists much
more in cleansing than in turning the soil. The
cultivators do not prune this tree, but, on the
contrary, endeavour to prevent the stem from
growing in a handsome form, asit has been found
from experience that the lentisks which trail,
yield much more mastic than those the stems of
which are straight and shooting.

It may readily be imagined that all the Greeks
in the island would gladly have become cultiva-
tors of the lentisk, by which they would gain
exemption from the petty and harrassing tyranny
to which others were constantly subjected; but
while it was prohibited under the severest pen-
alties to offer the mastic for sale to any but the
aga who farmed it, the cultivation of the lentisk
was forbidden out of the limits traced by the
government.

A Turk had recourse to an ingenious stratagem
by which he evaded the law, and hoped to obtain
some of the advantages acquired by the cultiva-
tion of mastic. He grafted the lentisk on young
turpentine trees, and had the satisfaction of find-
ing that these grafts succeeded perfectly well.
To his astonishment, however, a few years after-
wards, on making incisions on the trees, a liquid
flowed, which combined with the odour and
other qualities of the mastic the unchanging
fluidity of turpentine.

The quantity of mastic imported into this
country, and retained for home consumption, in
1830, was 13,644 lbs. It is admitted under a
duty of Gs. per ewt.; its present price varying
TURPENTINE TREE.

from 4s. Gd. to 5s. Gd. for the same quan-
tity.

Asmall quantity of inferior mastic is brought
from Egypt.

Mastic, like all other resins, is soluble in alco-
hol and oil of turpentine, and is scarcely acted
upon by water; it becomes by mastication soft
and tough, like India-rubher. A small part of
it does not dissolve in a spirituous menstruum,
and this portion much resembles caoutchoue in
its properties.

TurRPenTINE TREE (pistacia terebinthus ).*
This is another species of the same genus as the
foregoing; but it attains a much larger height,
with numerous spreading branches. The leaves
are pinnated, oval, and lanceolate; the flowers
are essentially the same as the other species. It
is a native of Barbary and the south of Europe,
and has been cultivated in Britain for about a
century; and if planted against a wall, bears our
winters very well. The Cyprus or Chian tur-
pentine is procured by wounding the bark of the
trunk of this tree in several places during the
month of July, leaving a space of about three
inches between each wound; from these the tur-
pentine issues, and is received upon stones which
are placed at the bottom of the tree for this pur-
pose, and upon which it becomes so much con-
densed by the coldness of the night, as to admit
of being scraped off with a knife in the morning,
which is always to be done before the sun rises.
After this, in order to free it of all extraneous
mixture, it is again liquified by the sun’s heat,
and passed through a strainer when it is fit for
use. The best Chian turpentine is generally about
the consistence of thick honey, very tenacious,
clear, and almost transparent; of a white colour,
inclining to yellow, and a fragrant smell; moder-
ately warm to the taste, but free from acrimony
and bitterness. The quantity of this turpen-
tine produced from each tree, is very inconsider-
able, not more than two pounds being procured
from six large trees of sixty years of age. In
consequence of its scarcity, it is not unfrequently
adulterated with other turpentines.

Resin and essential oil of turpentine are, how-
ever, procured abundantly from the pine tribe;
and these trees afford the turpentine of com-
merce, and that also used in medicine.

Oil of turpentine is a powerful stimulant, both
taken internally, and used externally on the
skin. It is employed as a purgative, diuretic,
anthelmintic, and antispasmodic; and externally
for the cure of rheumatism, and local pains and
swellings.

Bazsam or Ton ( Toiuifera balsamum). Na-
tural family lomentacew ; decandria, monogynia,
of Linneus. The tree which yields the balsam

* This tree was shortly alluded to under another
head, p. 388,

 

563

of Tolu is a native of South America, and grows
to a considerable height. It sends off numerous

 

Balsam of Tolu.

large branches, and is covered with a rough,
thick, grayish bark. The leaves are ovate, entire,
pointed, alternate, of a light green colour, and
stand upon short footstalks. The flowers are
numerous in lateral racemes; the calyx bell-
shaped; the corolla five-petalled, and whitish ;
the fruit a round berry. It grows in Tolu, a
province of Spanish America, and the balsam is
exported in little gourd shells. This is obtained
by making incisions in the bark of the tree; as
the gum flows out it is collected in spoons of
black wax, and then deposited in vessels, where
it hardens. This substance is of a reddish yellow
colour, somewhat transparent, and of a thick
consistence. Its smell is fragrant, resembling
that of Jemons; its taste is warm and sweetish,
and on being chewed, it adheres to the teeth.
Thrown into the fire it immediately liquifies,
takes flame, and disperses its agreeable odour.
Tt does not dissolve in water, yet if boiled
in it for two or three hours in a covered
vessel, the water receives its odoriferous smell,
With the assistance of mucilage it unites with
water, so as to form a milky solution. It dis-
solves entirely in spirit of wine, and easily mixes
with distilled oils, but less easily with those of
the expressed kind. Distilled without any addi-
tion, it produces not only an empyreumatic oil,
of a pale dark colour, but sometimes also a small
portion of acidulous flakes, resembling flowers
of benzoin.

In modem practice, this balsam is not employed
for any decided virtues it may possess, but is
chiefly used to impart a flavour, and a slight
stimulating quality to pectoral medicines. It is
used in tincture, as a syrup for these purposes,

Coratva Tree (copaifera oficinalis). Natural
family leguninose; decandria, monogynia, of
564

Linneus. This is an elegant tree, attaining a
considerable height, and dividing into numerous

 

Balsam of Copaiva.

branches. The bark is rough, and of a dark
brown colour; the leaves are pinnated, consisting
of four pair of pinne, large, ovate, pointed,
somewhat narrowed on one side, and placed upon
short footstalks. The flowers are small, of a
whitish hue, and produced in terminal, branched
spikes. The fruit is an oval pod, of two valves,
pointed with part of the remaining style. It
contains one egg-shaped seed, involved in a ber-
vied avillas.

This tree is a native of Brazil, and some of
the neighbouring islands of South America; and
it is said* to have been discovered in TerraFirma,
in large woods, with those trees which afford
several other balsams, as those of Tolu and Peru.
The balsam of copaiba, or copaiva, is the resinous
juice of this tree, obtained by making incisions
near the base of its trunk, extending not only
through the bark, but into the substance of the
wood, whence the balsam immediately issues, and
at the proper season flows in such abundance,
that sometimes in three hours twelve pounds
have been procured. The older trees afford the
best balsam, and yield it two or three times in
the same year. The balsam supplied by the
young and vigorous trees, which abound with
the most juice, is crude and watery, and is there-
fore accounted less valuable. While flowing
from the tree, this balsam is a colourless fluid;
in time, however, it acquires a yellowish tinge,
and the consistence of oil; but though by age
it has been found thick, like honey, yet it never
becomes solid, like other resinous fluids. Some-
times an inferior sort is met with, thick, and not
at all transparent, and generally having a quan-
tity of turbid, watery liquor, at the bottom.
This is probably either adulterated by the mix-
ture of other substances, or has been extracted
by decoction from the bark and branches of the
tree, its smell and taste being much less pleasant
than the genuine resin. The pure balsam has a
moderately agreeable smell, and a bitterish, bit-

* Woodville’s Medical Botany.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ing taste, of considerable duration in the mouth.
It dissolves entirely in rectified spirit, especially
with the addition of a little alkali, which solu-
tion has a very fragrant smell. Distilled with
water it yields nearly half its weight of a lim-
pid, essential oil; and in a strong heat, without
addition, a blue oil.

This, like the other balsams, is nearly allied
to the turpentines. It is reckoned a useful and
powerful medicine in affections of the mucous
and serous membranes in pulmonary complaints,
where there is a cough and copious discharge
from a relaxed state of the membranes, and in
weakness and ulcerations of the urinary organs.
It is also a powerful diuretic, and has been
employed in dropsies. Its effects, however, are
rather irritating and heating, and on this account
its use is less advisable in diseases of an inflam-
matory tendency. It is of a laxative nature,
and has been found useful in certain cases of
piles, and weaknesses of the intestines. The
dose is from one to two, or three tea-spoonfuls.
As it proves nauseous to most palates, it is often
formed into an emulsion with pounded almonds,
or a thick solution of gum Arabic.

Peru Batsam (myrozylonPeruiferum). Decan-
dria, monogynia, of Linneus. ‘This tree is a
native of the warmest parts of South America,
and is remarkable for its elegant appearance.
Every part of it abounds with resinous juice;
even the leaves are full of transparent resinous
points, like those of the orange tree. The bal-
sam, as brought to this country, is commonly

.of the consistence of thin honey, of a reddish

brown colour, inclining to black; an agreeable
aromatic smell, and a very hot, biting taste. It
is said to be obtained by boiling the cuttings of
the twigs in water, and skimming off with a
spoon the balsam which swims on the top. “By
incision the tree yields a much more fragrant
white, or colourless balsam, which, when thick-
ened by the heat of the sun, forms the red or dry
balsam of Peru; but it is very rarely used in
Britain, and almost never is to be met with in the
shops. Peruvian balsam consists of a volatile
oil, resin, and benzoic acid; it is entirely soluble
in alcohol, and in essential oils: water dissolves
part of the benzoic acid, and fixed oil combines
with the resin. It may be suspended in water by
trituration with mucilage, or yolk of egg. It
is a warm, aromatic medicine, considerably hotter,
and more stimulating than copaiva, and is used
in similar complaints. It is also used sometimes
as an external application to foul and indolent
ulcers, and in rheumatic pains.

Opoponax, or Roven Parsyip. Natural family
umbellifere ; pentandria, digynia, of Linneus.
This plant belongs to the parsnip genus. The
root is perennial, thick, fleshy, and tapering like
the garden parsnip. The stalk is strong, branched,
rough towards the bottom, and rises to the height
GALBANUM.

of seven or eight feet. The leaves are pinnated,
consisting of several pairs of pinne, which are
oblong, serrated, and towards the base appear
unformed on the upper side. The flowers are
small, of a yellowish colour, and terminate the
stem and branches in flat umbels. The fruit is
elliptical, compressed, and divided into two parts
containing two flat seeds, encompassed with a
narrow border. It is a native of the south of
Europe, and flowers in June and July. It was
cultivated in this country in 1781, by Miller,
who observes that its roots are large, sweet, and
accounted very nourishing, and recommends it
for cultivation as an esculent vegetable. It bears
the cold of any climate well, and sometimes
matures its seeds, its juice also manifesting some
of those qualities for which it was at one time
so celebrated; but it is only in the warm regions
of the East, and where this plant is a native,
that its juice concretes into the gummy, resinous
drug, called opoponax, which means “all juice,
and a cure for all complaints.”

-This substance is obtained by means of inci-
sions made at the bottom of the stalk of the
plant, from which the juice gradually exudes,
and hardens intoa gum. That which is imported
from Turkey and the East Indies, is in the form
of little round drops or tears; but more com-
monly in irregular lumps, of a reddish yellow
on the outside, with specks of white, internally
of a paler colour, and frequently variegated with
large white pieces,

This gum resin has a strong, disagreeable
smell, and a bitter, acrid, somewhat nauseous
taste. It readily mingles with water, by tritur-
ation into a milky liquor, which, on standing,
deposits a portion of resinous matter, and becomes
yellowish. With rectified spirits it formsa gold
coloured tincture, which tastes and smellsstrongly
of the gum.

Formerly, this substance was much employed
by physicians, and esteemed for its purifying,
cleansing, and aperient virtues; but as it was
commonly prescribed in conjunction with other
medicines, its real effects are not very well ascer-
tained. More modern experience has nearly
altogether discarded it as a medicine of little
power. Dr Cullen classes it with the antispas-
modic or nervous drugs, and prescribed it in
hypochondriacal affections, uterine diseases, and
asthma, connected with a sluggish habit of body.
It still continues a famous medicine in the East,
and is reckoned a cure for all diseases.

Gatpanum (bubon galbanum ). Natural family
umbellifere ; pentandria, digynia, of Linneus.
This is a perennial plant, a native of Africa.
The stem is shining, smooth; the leaflets ovate,
wedge-shaped, acute, and finely serrated on the
edges. The umbels of the flowers are few, the
seeds shining. The whole plant abounds with
a milky juice, which sometimes spontaneously

 

565

exudes from the joints of the old plants; but is
more frequently obtained by cutting them across
some inches above the root. The juice which
flows from the wound soon hardens, and forms
the gum galbanum, which comes to this country
from Syria and the Levant. The best sort con-
sists of pale coloured pieces, about the size of a
hazel nut, which upon being broken, appear to
be composed of clear white tears, of a bitterish,
acrid taste, and a strong peculiar smell. But it
most commonly occurs in agglutinated masses,
composed of yellowish, and reddish, clear, white
tears, which may be easily torn asunder; of the
consistence of firm wax, softening by heat, and
becoming brittle by cold, and mixed with seeds
and leaves.

Galbanum is almost entirely diffusible in
water, but the solution is milky; nor does wine
or vinegar dissolve it perfectly. When distilled
with water, a considerable quantity of essential
oil is obtained, in the proportion of six drams
of oil to one pound of the gum.

The ancients were acquainted with this sub.
stance; and Pliny describes it under the name
of bubonion. It is recommended by the older
physicians in pectoral complaints, and exter-
nally as a cure for swellings of the glands, and
to promote their suppuration.

Inpian Russer Tree (siphonia elastica).
Natural family euphorbiacee ; monoecia, mono-

 

Caoutchouc.

delphia, of Linneus. This is a large, straight
tree, growing to the height of fifty to sixty feet,
at the upper part sending off numerous branches,
covered with rough bark. The leaves are placed
on long footstalks; they are ternate, elliptical,
and somewhat pointed; entire, veined, smooth,
and on the under side whitish. The flowers are
male and female on the same tree, small, and
stand on dividing racemes at the end of the
branches. The capsule is large, woody, three-
celled, and contains oval spotted seeds. This tree
is a native of South America, and grows abun-
dantly in the woods of Guiana, in the province of
Quito, and along the borders of the river Ama-
zon, in the kingdom of Mexico. The juice of
this tree furnishes the well known substance
called Indian rubber, or caoutchouc.
566

This substance is, however, furnished by other
trees, as: exewcaria, agallocho, hippomane, mana-
nella, hura crepitans, sapium aucuparium, plu-
kenetia volubilis, jatrophas mabea, and ompha-
leus.

This substance was little known in Europe
till the voyage of M. Condamine, in 1750, into
the interior of South America, where he exam-
ined the tree; and on his return laid a descrip-
tion of it, and the manner of preparing the gum,
before the French Academy. The mode in which
the juice is obtained by the natives, is by mak-
ing incisions through the bark of the lower part
of the trunk of the tree, from which the fluid
resin issues in great abundance, appearing of a
milky whiteness as it flows into the vessel placed
to receive it, and into which it is conducted by
means of a tube or leaf, fixed in the incisions,
and supported with clay. On exposure to the
air, this milky juice gradually thickens into a
soft, reddish, elastic resin. To suit the different
purposes for which it is employed in South
America, the caoutchouc is shaped into different
torms; but it is commonly brought to Europe
in that of pear-shaped bottles, which are said to
be formed by spreading the juice of the siphonia
over a proper mould of clay, and as soon as one
layer is dry another is added, till the bottle be
of the thickness desired. It is then exposed to
a dense smoke, or to a fire, until it becomes
so dry as not to stick to the fingers, when, by
means of certain instruments of iron or wood,
it is ornamented on the outside with various
figures. This being done, it remains only to
pick out the moulds, which is easily effected on
their being first softened with water.

Caoutchouec is insoluble, and consequently
impervious to water, alcohol, and most fluids.
Some of the essential oils dissolve it; but its
elasticity and other properties are thereby lost.
Two solvents have been discovered for it, ether
and naphtha, or essential oil of tar. The natives
of South America have long been in the habit
of using this juice for a variety of purposes.
They collect it chiefly in the rainy season,
because, though it exudes at all times, it flows
then most abundantly. The inhabitants of
Quito prepare a kind of cloth of it, which they
apply to the same purposes as the Mackintosh
Jabrics, so common now in this country.

They also form it into flambeaux, which give
a beautiful light, and emit an odour which is
not unpleasant to those who are accustomed to
use them; but Europeans are annoyed by the
foetid smell which they diffuse. One of them
an inch and a half in diameter, and two feet
long, will burn during twelve hours.

Though not used directly in medicine, caout-
chouc is found of essential service for the con-
struction of several medical instruments, for
which its softness, pliancy, and its power of

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

resisting the various fluids of the body, renders
it extremely appropriate.

CHAP. LII.
GARDEN FLOWERS—HYACINTH, TULIP, &c.

We have hitherto treated of vegetables useful
to man, it remains to consider those which are
peculiarly adapted for ornament. Almost every
vegetable production has an aspect of beauty,
and no ornaments can exceed those which the
generality of flowering plants possess. Whether
we consider the splendour, variety, and delicacy
of their colour, the symmetry and minute detail
of their proportions ; the gracefulness of single
simple form, or the gorgeous luxuriance of their
grouped masses. If to this we add the delicious
odour which they constantly and spontaneously
diffuse, we need not wonder that flowers should
be universal favourites, and that we should find
them ornamenting the humblest cottage as well
as the proudest palace.

By long and judicious cultivation, garden
flowers undergo as remarkable changes as take
place so strikingly in culinary vegetables. They
increase in size, in depth, and variety of colour,
and even change their forms. One of the
most remarkable changes is that of their becom-
ing what is called double. That is, the number
of petals of the corolla increase many fold, as in
the rose, and anemone, while the stamens and
pistils, or organs of fructification, become almost
or entirely obliterated, or converted into petals.
To many tastes, perhaps, the simple and appro-
priate forms of the native flowers are more
beautiful than this artificial monstrosity, yet it
cannot be denied, but that the tints and lux-
uriant aspect of many flowers are decidedly
improved by cultivation. Hence has arisen an
artificial standard, among florists, of judging of
flowers, which has been called the “canons of
criticism.” As suited for every day domestic
ornaments, flower gardens, or plots, or borders,
should be situated near the house, so as easy
access may be obtained to them, or if not closely
adjoining to the house, they may be placed so
as to be seen from the windows. A south
situation, or one inclining to the south-west,
south-east, or east, is most desirable. When the
space is limited, horizontal or gentle sloping
borders will be found most convenient, while on
the other hand, if the grounds are more exten-
sive, a waved irregular surface will afford the
greatest scope for taste in arrangement. The
surface should be rather elevated, not low,
sufficiently sheltered from the winds, yet open
and free to the sun, not overshadowed or covered
with trees, or other high foliage, A few elegant
THE HYACINTH.

shrubs, and one or two trees, may be scattered
through the scene for the purposes of shelter and
shade, but in general most of either of these two
last are injurious to the proper culture of flowers.
Sometimes the evergreen hedge will produce all
the shelter requisite.

The subsoil should by no means be wet.
Flowers, in general, thrive well in a common
garden soil, a foot to eighteen inches deep, not
either too rich, or too light and gravelly. For
some kinds, however, a deep moist soil, and for
others, alight arenaceous is preferable. Bulbous
flowers, in general, do best in light sandy earth,
though some require a stronger and richer soil.
The primrose tribe (primula) require a loamy
earth, heath plants a mixture of moss earth.
The spaces between the flower beds may either
be of turf, or sandy gravel, or paved with flags
or bricks. The plants are arranged in mingled
flower borders, partly according to their size, and
partly according to colour. The tallest are
planted in the back part, those of middling size
occupy the centre, and those of humble growth
are planted in front. The beauty of a flower
border, when in bloom, depends very much on
the tasteful disposition of the plants with regard
to colour. By intermingling plants which flower
in succession, the beauty of the border may be
prolonged for some weeks; groups of plants of
the same species, all in flower at the same time,
have also a tasteful effect. A supply of water
is essential to an artificial cultivation of flowers;
where a pond or reservoir can be introduced into
the flower garden, it will not only add to the
beauty, but to the facility of cultivation. Many
aquatic plants of great beauty may, by this
means, be also cultivated. Herbaceous flower
plants are put into the ground generally in
spring or autumn, but any perennial plant may
be safely removed after it has done flowering, or
produced seed. Biennials or annuals may be
planted at almost any season, before they
have begun to throw up flower stems, Bien-
nials, however, are generally sown early in
autumn, in the flower garden nursery, and trans-
planted either late in the same season, or early in
the following spring to where they are to flower.
Annuals are commonly sown in spring, where
they are finally to remain, but many species
grow much stronger when sown in autumn.
Some attention is also requisite to manage the
flower garden to perfection. As the stalks of
flowering plants shoot up they generally require
thinning and props for support, and the blossom
both of plants and shrubs no sooner expands
than it begins to wither, and must be cut off
unless as in some instances they are to be left
for the beauty of their fruit. Weeding, water-
ing, stirring the soil, and trimming the grass, and
sorting the gravel walks, are all necessary for
neatness and the proper growth of the plants.

 

567

Every two or three years the perennial flowers
should be taken up and reduced in size, and
the beds or borders trenched, adding short
manure completely rotted. After the lapse of |
several years, if it can be conveniently managed,
the upper soil should be removed, and replaced
by fresh loamy mould. Most flowers thrive
well in fresh common loam without manure;
and to such as require a deep rich soil, manure
may be added at the time of trenching, or chang-
ing the soil, Peat earth, sand, clay, and lime
may also be added to such plants as require par-
ticular soils.

Many tender plants and shrubs growing in the
openair require protection during winter. Alpine
plants require protection from cold dry winds,
and this may be done by covering them with
snow, and thus imitating their natural condition;
or in absence of this, head glasses or frames are
to be put over them in winter, and screens or
shades to keep them from the summer heat.
The roots of many plants require protection
from frost, and this may be done by covering
them several inches thick with ashes, rotten tan
refuse, or litter; mats or portable glass cases will
protect tender plants from rain, high winds, and
hail stones. Great care is necessary to protect
plants placed in pots from frost, and this is done
by plunging them in dry soil, tan, or sand. Climb-
ing plants require to be supported by poles or
rods. All flies, caterpillars, snails, slugs, and such
vermin must be destroyed, and no plan is more
efficacious for this purpose, in the flower garden,
than carefully hand-picking the plants. Among
insects the different species of plant lice
(aphides) are the most insidious and destruc-
tive.

Flowers may be preserved for a considerable
time fresh after they have been cut from the
plant by immersing the cut ends in water, moist
earth, or sand, or moistened moss. They may
also be revived when partially withered, by
sprinkling them with water, and putting them
under a bell glass or inverted flower pot. If this
fails, immerse their ends in water heated to 80°,
or sprinkle them with spirit of wine, or ether ;
flowers, when newly transplanted either into
the ground or into pots, require a large sup-
ply of water, and to be shaded from the sun’s
rays for several days until they fully take root in
their new position.

Besides herbaceous flower plants, there are a
variety of shrubs and trees, both indigenous and
exotic, which are conducive to ornament. We
shall first treat of the herbaceous class.

Tue Hyacinta, hyacinthus orientalis. Natural
family, asphodelew; hexandria, monogynia of Lin-
neus. This plant is a native of the Levant, and
grows in abundance about Aleppo and Bagdad.
It obtained its name from the Grecian youth
Hyacinthus, who was fabled to have been slain
568

by Apollo, and changed to this flower. The
root is a tunicated bulb, the leaves are broad and
green; the flower-stalk rises from the centre, the
corolla is funnel-shaped, and half cleft into six
portions, the flowers point in all directions
around the scape, which is erect. It appears to
have been first cultivated, as a garden flower, by
the Dutch, most probably about the beginning of
the sixteenth century, soon after the revival of
commerce in the west of Europe, when that enter-
prising nation began to trade on the eastern
shores of the Mediterranean and the Archipelago.
In Britain it was cultivated by Gerard in 1596.
The hyacinth is one of the most esteemed of
garden flowers. It is not only graceful in form,
but brilliant, beautiful, and varied in colour, and
possesses an odour little inferior to the carna-
tion. It bears the climate of Britain well, and
is of very easy culture. In its native coun-
try it flowers in February, here in March and
April.

There are innumerable varieties of this flower.
Gerard mentions the single and double blue, the
purple, and the white. In 1629, Parkinson
enumerates eight varieties, while the Haerlem
gardeners distinguish not less than 2,000, and
generally publish catalogues of them from year
to year. As the taste or rage for this flower has
at present abated, the Dutch and English cata-
logues contain only a few hundred varieties with
names. They are arranged as double blues,
whites, reds, and yellows, and single varieties of
the same colour. The blue and red colours are
the most common, the yellow most rare. At
first the single hyacinth only was cultivated, but
about the beginning of the last century attention
was paid to double flowers by Peter Voerhelm,
whose first double flower he called Mary, but
which is now lost; his third flower he called
the king of Gre&t Britain, which is now looked
upon as the oldest double hyacinth. It was
held in such esteein at one time, that the usual
price for a single bulb was 1,000 florins, or £100
sterling. Up to the middle of last century the
greatest attention was paid at Haerlem to rais-
ing new sorts of double flowers, and for a parti-
cular root £200 have not unfrequently been
given. Since that period, however, the taste for
this and other bulbs has considerably declined,
so that at present there are few sorts that exceed
£10; the average price is from one to ten shill-
ings a bulb for the fine sorts, and what are
called the common mixtures are sold from £2
to £3 a hundred. To preserve these varieties
requires much care and management. Under
bad treatment a variety degenerates in two or
three years; in Holland some have been preserved
nearly a century.

The criterion or qualities requisite in a fine
double plant are as follows. The stem should
be strong, tall, and erect, supporting the numer-

 

HISTURY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ous large bells, each supported by a short and
strong peduncle, or foot-stalk in a horizontal
position, so that the whole may have a compact
pyramidal form with the crown or uppermost
flower perfectly erect. The flowers should be
large and perfectly double, that is, well filled
with broad bold petals appearing to the eye,
rather convex than flat or hollow. They should
occupy about one half the length of the stem.
The colour should be clear and bright, whether
plain red, white, or blue, or variously intermixed
and diversified, the latter giving additional lustre
and elegance to this beautiful flower. Strong
bright colours are, in general, preferred to such
as are pale.

Hyacinths are propagated by seed, in order
to obtain new varieties, and by offsets for
continuing approved sorts. The seed should be
selected from the best specimens of plants, such
as have strong straight stems, and a regular well
formed pyramid of bells, not perfectly single,
but rather approaching to double. ‘The seed
should not be gathered till it is perfectly black.
It is to be sown in the latter end of October, ox
the beginning of March, about half an inch
below the surface of the soil, in a deep box filled
with good garden mould mixed with sand.
requires no watering, and nothing but to be kept
clear of weeds and frost till it has remained in
the ground two years. On the approach of
winter it must then have an additional stratum
of the compost placed upon it about half an inch
thick, and in the third year, in the month of
July, the roots may be taken up, dried, and
treated in the same manner as large bulbs or
offsets. Some of the roots will flower the
fourth year, one half of them the fifth, and the
whole in the sixth. The cultivator generally
thinks himself fortunate if one half of the plants
that first appeared are in existence at this
period, and if he can at least find one flower in
five hundred deserving a name or place in a
curious collection, he may rest perfectly content.
Offsets are to be separated from the parent bulb,
and planted out separately in the beginning of
October, in an open space, in rows of about two
inches deep, upon a bed raised about six or eight
inches above the common level. The soil should
be sandy and well pulverized ; it is also advisable
to elevate the bed somewhat in the middle so
as to throw off the rain. The surface of the
bed should be strewed occasionally, and kept free
from weeds, and protected from severe frosts.
The offsets will blossom weakly the second
year, but in the third tolerably strong.

Of the full grown roots, those which have
attained the age of four or five years bloom
stronger in this country than any other. After
this they generally decline, either by dividing
into offsets, or diminishing in size and strength,
but in Holland, perhaps owing to the peculiari-

Tt.
THE HYACINTII.

ties of the soil and climate, the same bulb has
been known to produce blossoms twelve or thir-
teen times, nor is it ever known to die merely
with age. The bed on which they are to be placed
should have a dry and airy sheltered situation;
two feet of the surface soil should be taken
away, and the inferior portion trenched to the
depth of nine inches. The earth above is to be
replaced with a compost of one-third coarse
sea or river sand, one-third fresh earth, and
one-fourth rotten cow dung, at least two
years old, and the remainder earth of decayed
leaves. ‘This compost is to be placed in a
sloping direction towards the sun. The roots
are to be planted from the middle of October
to the middle of November. On planting the
roots, the surface of the bed should be covered
with a little fresh sandy earth about an inch’
thick, raked perfectly smooth, and have the
exact situation for every bulb marked upon it
regularly, mingling the colours of red, and blue,
and white, the yellows being classed with the
latter. On planting the roots they should be
surrounded with a little clean sand to prevent
the earth adhering too closely to them, the
whole are then to be covered with fresh sandy
earth from three to four inches deep, according
to the size of the bulb. The bed is to be pro-
tected from severe frosts or heavy rains by some
covering. The plants begin to show their flowers
about the beginning of April.

Those which thus blow early should be shel-
tered from the influence of the sun, for if too much
sun falls on the flower, it bleaches and tarnishes
the colour, particularly the red and blue varieties.
By judicious shade this is not only prevented,
hut the flower is kept back so that it will be in
full bloom with others which come out later.
It is necessary to afford support to the stems,
and this is done by inserting small sticks or
wires, painted green, immediately behind the
bulbs, either in an erect position, or leaning
a little backwards, to which the stems are to be
rather loosely tied with small pieces of green
worsted as soon as they begin to bend, or are in
danger of breaking with the weight of the bells.
This operation must be repeated as the stems
advance in height. When the greater part of
the bed comes into blow, a covering or awning
should be stretched over the whole, so as to pro-
tect the flowers from the too great influence of
the sun, and the effects of wind and rains.
This awning should, however, be so constructed
as to fold up, or be opened at the top so as to
allow air and the tempered influence of the sun
in slightly clouded weather, and in the morn-
ings and evenings. The bed never requires to
be watered at any period, the natural rain which
falls being sufficient after the time of planting
both for the roots and the flowers. After the
bloom is over, the dryer the plants are kept the

 

569

better. As this sheltering, however, has a ten-
dency to weaken the bulbs, it should not he
continued more than a couple of weeks at most,
and as soon as the full blow begins to decline
the bed should be again exposed to the full
action of the sun and air. In Holland, about
three or four weeks after the bloom, when the
plants begin to assume a yellowish decayed
appearance, they take up the roots, and cut off
the stem and foliage close to or within half an
inch of the bulb, but leave the fibres attached to
it. They then place the bulbs again on the same
bed sidewise, with their points towards the north,
and cover them about half an inch deep with
dry earth or sand in the form of a ridge, or little
cover over each. In this state they remain
about three weeks longer, and dry or ripen
gradually, during which time as much air is
admitted as possible, but the bed is preserved
from heavy rains and too hot a sun. At the
expiration of this period the bulbs are taken up,
and their fibres, which are become nearly dry,
gently rubbed off. They are then placed in a
dry room for a few days, and are afterwards
cleared from any soil that adheres to them; their
loose skins are taken off, with such offsets as
may be easily separated. When this dressing
is finished, the bulbs are wrapped up in separate
pieces of paper, or buried in dry sand, where they
remain till the return of the season of planting.
An easier though not so safe a practice is to
keep the bed airy and rather dry for about two
months, till the stems and foliage appear nearly
dried up, or consumed. The bulbs are then to
be taken up, cleaned from the fibres and soil,
and preserved in sand or papers. The bulbs
should be placed in an airy store-room, and not
suffered to touch each other; they are best aired
when placed in an open movable lattice work.
Hyacinth bulbs are liable to various diseases,
one of the most common is what is known as
the ring sickness. When this occurs the diseased
part must be cut out, and if the disease has not
penetrated beyond the outside coat, the bulb will
survive this operation, but it is now only fit for
producing offsets. This disease is very pre-
valent in Holland, and is attributed to a fun-
gus, the spawn of which comes from the cow
dung used as manure. The hyacinth delights
in a sandy soil, and saline atmosphere, and on
this account it succeeds best near the sea coast, or
situations adjoining the sea. In more inland
parts it will, generally, be found necessary
to procure an annual supply of fresh imported
bulbs, in order to make good the losses. Her-
bert remarks, “my experience enables me to
say, that the nursery man in the neighbourhood
of London may produce hyacinth bulbs equal,
if not superior, to those imported from Holland,
though perhaps with greater loss from disease,
owing to his not being able to procure the dung of
4c
570

cattle fed upon hard food, and free from straw.”
Hyacinths may be forced by planting the roots
in narrow deep pots, filled with sandy loam, in
October. These are to be plunged in old bark
and sand, the bulbs will soon throw down roots,
and a part may in November be plunged into
bottom heat, when they will blow about Christ-
mas. A succession from the original stem, thus
treated will afford a bloom till the spring.

Hyacinths form a beautiful ornament when
grown in glasses. For this purpose blue or any
dark coloured glass is preferable to white, because
too much light is injurious to the bulb. The
bulbs, for this purpose, should be put into earth
in October, in which they push out their fibres
more regularly, and they can be taken up as
wanted, washed from earth, and placed in the
glass, which should be kept in a warm room or
store. Soft water should be used, and the glass
is to be filled up so as to cover a quarter of an
inch of the bulb. As soon as the water becomes
fetid and muddy it should be renewed. When
these bulbs have done flowering, they are to be
removed from the glasses with all their leaves
and roots, and planted in an appropriate soil.
‘When the leaves have completely withered, the
bulbs are to be taken up and preserved dry till
the latter end of October, when they may be
planted in beds in the usual manner.*

Tae Ture (tulipa gesneriana). Natural
family, liliacee ; hexandria, monogynia, of Lin-
neus. This celebrated bulb is a native of the
Levant, and is common in Syria and Persia.
The Persians call it thoulyban, hence the French
tulipan, and the English tulip. This plant
appears to have been brought to Europe from
Persia, by way of Constantinople, in 1559, and
in a century afterwards to have risen into an
object of considerable trade in the Netherlands.
At this period, indeed, and for long afterwards,
a sort of mania for this and other bulbs pre-
vailed among the Dutch; individual bulbs were
not unfrequently sold for £500 and upwards,
and immense sums of money lost and won by
speculations in this favourite flower. In Eng-
land it was first cultivated by Garnett, who,
according to Hakluyt, obtained the roots from
Vienna.

The taste in England was at its height about
the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the
eighteenth century. It afterwards declined, and
gave way to a more extended taste for various
rare plants from foreign countries. The tulip,
however, is still extensively cultivated in Hol-
land, from which all Europe is supplied with
bulbs. It is also still raised to a considerable
extent near large towns in England. It has,
however, lost in a considerable degree that
fashionable patronage which it at one time

* Loudon, Herbert, &c.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

acquired, and of consequence the prices of bulbs
have become much more reasonable.

The natural colour of the petals of the tulip
is generally of a uniform hue, either white, pur-
ple, orred. The object of culture is to diversify
and mix colours to as great an extent as possible,
Hence innumerable varieties have arisen.

Mason’s London catalogue enumerates six
varieties of early blowing tulips; four perroquets
or middle blowers, twenty-two double sorts, and
upwards of 600 single, the last being the only
kind valued by connoisseur florists.

The beau ideal of a first rate tulip is thus
minutely specified. The stem should be strong,
elastic, and erect, and about thirty inches above
the surface of the bed. The flower should he
large, and composed of six petals. These should
proceed a little horizontally at first, and then
turn upwards, forming almost a perfect cup,
with a round bottom, rather widest at the top.
The three exterior petals should be rather larger
than the three inferior ones, and broader at their
base; all the petals should have perfectly entire
edges, free from notch or serrature. The top of each
should be broad, and well rounded; the ground
colour of the flower at the bottom of the cup
should be clear, white, or yellow; and the various
rich coloured stripes, which are the principal
ornament of a fine tulip, should be regular, bold,
and distinct on the margin, and terminate in
fine broken points, elegantly feathered or pen-
cilled.

The centre of each leaf or petal should con-
tain one or more bold blotches or stripes, inter-
mixed with small portions of the original or
breeder colour, abruptly broken into many irre-
gular, obtuse points. Some florists are of opinion
that the central stripes or blotches do not con-
tribute to the beauty and elegance of the tulip,
unless confined to a narrow stripe exactly down
the centre, and that they should be perfectly
free from any remains of the original or breeder
colour. Itiscertain that such appear very beau-
tiful and delicate, especially when they have a
regular, narrow feathering at the edge; but the
greatest connoisseurs in this flower unanimously
agree, that it denotes superior merit when the
tulip abounds with rich colouring, distributed in
a distinct and regular manner throughout the
flower, except in the bottom of the cup, which,
it cannot be disputed, should be a clear, bright,
white or yellow, free from stain or tinge, in
order to constitute a perfect flower. The prin-
cipal varieties are thus arranged and character-
ized.

A bizarre tulip has a yellow ground, marked
with purple or scarlet, of different shades. It
is called flamed when a broad irregular stripe
runs up the middle of the petals, with short,
abrupt, projecting points, branching out on each
side; fine narrow lines, called arched and ribbed,
THE TULIP.

often extend from this broad stripe to the
extremity of the leaves, the colour generally
appearing strongest in the inside petals. A tulip
with this broad coloured stripe, which is some-
times called beamed or splashed, is at the same
time frequently feathered also.

It is catled feathered when it is without this
broad stripe, but yet it may have some narrow
lines joined or detached, running up the centre
of the leaf, sometimes branching out and curved
towards the top, and sometimes without any
spot or line at all; the petals are feathered more
or less round the edges or margin, inside and
out;.the pencilling or feathering is heavy or
broad in some, and light and narrow in others,
sometimes with breaks or gaps, and sometimes
close, and continued all round.

The Bybloemen tulip has a white ground, lined,
marked, striped, or variegated with violet or
purple, only of various shades, and whether
feathered or flamed, is distinguished by the same
characters and marks as the bizarre tulip.

The Rose tulip is variegated with rose, scarlet,
crimson, or cherry colour, on a white ground;
and the feathered rose is to be distinguished
from the flamed by the rules already mentioned;
the rose is very often both feathered and flamed.

The self or plain coloured tulip is either uni-
form white or yellow, admitting of no farther
change.

These last are called breeders, and are procured
from seed. On being cultivated on a dry, poor
soil, they gradually become broken up or varie-
gated, and thus furnish new varieties. The time
that elapses before they break, varies from one
to twenty years, or even more; while, in some
instances, this change never takes place at all.
Various plans have been suggested for promoting
and expediting the breaking up of these selfs or
breeders, but none hitherto tried can be depended
upon. The most likely is the fecundation of one
unbroken by the pollen of a variegated tulip,
having previously removed the stamens of the
former before their anthers have arrived at ma-
turity. Some florists raise seedlings from their
choicest flowers, in the expectation that they
will break up sooner than seedlings from selfs.
This is accordingly found to be the case; but, in
general, the plants are weaker than those raised
from the simple or natural tulip, the varie-
gated colour being undoubtedly a symptom of
disease or morbid action in the plant. Frequent
change of soil and situation is also recommended
as a means of expediting the variegation of
tulips.*

In raising from seed, that from healthy and
strong plants is to be preferred, and it is not to
be gathered till the pericarp assumes a brownish
colour. It is to be sown in the same manner as

* Hogy’s Culture of Florist’s Flowcrs.

 

571
hyacinth seed, and the bulbs similarly treated.
They will bloom by the fourth, fifth, and seventh
years.

Offsets should be planted soon after they are
separated from the parent bulb in beds of fresh,
sandy loam, with a little rotten cow dung placed
from seven to twelve inches below the surface,
in a dry, airy situation, from two to four inches
deep, according to the size of the roots. The
beds should be elevated six or eight inches, rather
convex in the middle, and should be furnished
with mats and hoops, to be put on for occasional
protection from heavy rains and severe frosts.

The best bulbs are those which have not lost
the brown skin, are not mouldy, or soft at the
root end, and are full, solid, and rather pointed
at the other. Immediately before planting, the
brown skin is to be carefully stripped off, so as
to leave the root perfectly bare, meanwhile cau-
tiously avoiding to bruise or wound the root,
especially at the lower end where the fibres are
formed, which is very tender at the season of
planting. The soil of the beds should be a rich
loam, of rather a sandy nature, with a mixture
of cow dung manure. These beds should he
prepared in October, and the planting should
take place from the Ist to the 10th of Novem-
ber. The day selected should be dry, and the
bulbs are to be planted at seven inches distance
each way: from five to seven rows form a splendid
bed, if it have sufficient corresponding length.
Each root should be enveloped with a little clean
sand, and then covered with four inches of mould
for the larger middle roots, decreasing the
depth of those towards the edges to three inches.

By the end of February every healthy plant
will be visible above ground, and some of the
earliest sorts from two to three incheshigh. Any
distemper or canker in the foliage, either above or
a few inches below ground, should be in a dry
day cut out with a knife; the part will soon
close up again. If the surface of the bed is toc
close and stiff, it should be carefully stirred up.
As soonas the earliest flowers appear they should
be shaded from the sun, so as to preserve their
colour, and retard their blowing, as directed with
regard to thehyacinths. ‘The mattings or cover-
ings, should also be applied during winds or
heavy rains. Tulip beds require no watering
from the time of planting till the taking up of
the roots, even in the driest seasons; but moder-
ate showers may be admitted both before and
after their blowing is over. In early spring,
rain is necessary in order to promote the vigour
of the plants.

Tulips will bear to be covered or shaded from
light longer than any other plant, without sus-
taining any injury. Thus they will bear to
be covered up for three weeks with perfect
safety.

About a week or ten days after the full blow
572

of the bed, and when the petals of many
flowers begin to drop off, the awnings should be
taken down and the mats replaced as before, to
throw off heavy rains. As the leaves and petals
fall off from a plant, the seed vessel should be
immediately broken off from the stem; for if
suffered to remain, it will delay the maturity of
it, and weaken the root considerably. The bed
may remain in this state about a fortnight longer,
by which time the grass or foliage will become
of a yellowish brown; and two or three inches
of the top of the stem will wither, dry up,
and become purplish. This denotes the critical
period to take up the roots, because if done
earlier they will be weak and spongy, and if
deferred later, their juices will become gross.
This will be apparent at the succeeding bloom
by too great aredundance of colour in the petals,
and the flowers being what is generally termed
foul.

The early dwarf varieties are best adapted
for forcing in pots and water glasses. The bulbs
are to be treated in the same way as described
for hyacinths; and after blowing, they are to be
recovered by putting them into earth. Tulip
bulbs are liable to few diseases, and are in gen-
eral healthy. If attacked by the grub or wire-
worm, the bulb must be totally removed, and
replaced by a fresh one. A fungus sometimes
attacks the bulb, and in this case transplanta-
tion into a fresh soil is necessary.

Tue Ranvuncunus (r. asiaticus). Natural
family ranunculacee ; polyandria, polygynia, of
Linneus. The wild ranunculus crow foot, or
butter cups, are a well known family of weeds,
of which there are many species. The garden
ranunculus is esteemed as being a double flower,
and as possessed of great beauty, and variety of
colours of the numerous petals. It is a native
of the Levant. The leaves, which are bipartite,
spring from a bunch of tubers. The stem is
erect, branched, and the flowers are terminal.
It was introduced into Britain by Gerard, in
1596, and soon became a favourite in the flower
garden. No flower is so prolific in varieties.
Maddock enumerates not less than eight hundred
sorts; and he states that a variety will last for
twenty-five years.

The necessary qualities of a perfect double
ranunculus are a strong straight stem, from
eight to twelve inches in height, supporting a
large, well formed blossom, at least two inches
in diameter; consisting of numerous petals, the
largest at the outside, and gradually diminishing
in size as they approach the centre, which should
be well filled up with them. The blossom
should be of a hemispherical form; its compon-
ent petals should be laid over each other in such
a manner as neither to be too close and compact,
nor too widely separated, but have rather more
of a perpendicular than horizontal direction,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

to display their colours with better effect. The
petals should be broad, and have perfectly entire,
well rounded edges; their colours should be dark,
clear, rich, or brilliant, either consisting of one
colour throughout, or otherwise variously diver-
sified on an ash white sulphur, or fire coloured
ground, or regularly striped, spotted, or mottled
in:an elegant manner.

The ranunculus is propagated by seed for
obtaining new varieties, and for perpetuating
approved sorts by offsets, or by dividing the
tubers into as many portions as there are eyes.
According to Maddock, the seeds in no instance
ever produce two flowers alike, or the same as
the original stock. He directs it to be saved
from such half double flowers as have tall strong
stems, a considerable number of large, well
formed petals, and rich, good colours, the darker
chiefly to be preferred, though not to the exclu-
sion of a proportion of lighter coloured, if good.
The seed should remain on the plant till it has
lost its verdure, and becomes brown and dry.
It may then be cut off and spread abroad upon
paper, and exposed to the sun, that it may be
thoroughly dried, after which it should be put
into a bag, and preserved in a warm, dry place.
The seed may be sown in October or January,
in beds prepared with frames and glasses. It
should be strewed thickly on the surface of the
prepared soil, and then covered with a sprink-
ling of mould, not exceeding in thickness the
eighth of an inch. ‘he plants usually appear
in about a month. ‘hey are regularly watered,
and air is admitted day and night, except in
severe frosts when they are covered with matting.
In summer the roots are taken up and preserved
till the following February, when they are planted
with the general stock.

The offsets from the tubers of the ranunculus,
unlike those from the hyacinth and tulip, will
flower the same season in which they are removed.
In minutely examining the crown of a tuber,
several small protuberances will be found, from
each of which a shoot will arise, and the root
may therefore be divided by a sharp knife into
as many parts as there are protuberances; but
these sections will not blow till the second
year.

The best soil for the ranunculus is a fresh,
strong loam, with a quantity of rotten cow
dung; the situation of the bed should be open,
but not too much exposed to high winds, or
currents of air. The bed should be about eigh-
teen inches in depth, and raised about four inches
above the walk. The dung should be put five
inches below the surface, the soil above this
being kept perfectly free from manure. Fresh,
full tubers, with prominent buds, are to be
selected; and the time of planting may be either
in the end of autumn, or early inspring. If the
soil and situation be very cold and wet, it will
7

TILE ANEMONE,

be better to defer this operation till February;
in milder situations the planting may take place
in October, or beginning of November. The
surface of the bed should be raked perfectly even
and flat, and the roots planted in rows, at the
distance of five inches from each other. A little
clean sand should be placed in the hole or trench,
and the roots are to be placed with their claws
downwards, Earth is then applied, so as to cover
the roots to the depth of one inch and a half.
When deeper or shallower than this, the plant
will not thrive well, as this seems their natural
position. The roots remain several days in the
ground after planting before they begin to vege-
tate, and during this time they swell very much
by imbibing the moisture of the soil, and are
in this state very susceptible of injury from
frost, which is to be guarded against by covering
the surface of the bed with straw, whenever
indications of a diminished temperature are felt,
and which may be removed when the frost is
gone,

Early in spring when the plants show them-
selves distinctly, the surface of the earth between
each row should be trodden or beaten down, so
as to make it firm and compact; and if the soil is
compressed with the fingers quite close to the
plants, it will keep out cold drying winds, and
prove beneficial. This should be done in a fine
dry day soon after rain, whilst the ground is still
moist; and when completed, a little long straw
should be placed between each row, to preserve
the surface of the soil cool and moist till the
foliage of the plants is sufficiently grown and
expanded, to afford it shade without further
assistance. Natural showers in April and May
are essential to the healthy vigour of the plants;
but if these fail, soft water must be supplied, by
pouring it from a pan between the rows, avoid-
ing as much as may be, wetting the plants, as
the subsequent evaporation is apt to chill and
injure the foliage. If the sun is too strong, the
beds require to be shaded by mats or awnings,
properly adjusted. After the bloom is over,
watering is no longer necessary; but shading
from the hot noonday sun, is still requisite.

By the end of June the plants assume a dry,
brown appearance; vegetation has then ceased,
and it is the proper time to take up the roots;
for, if left till rainy weather comes on, they will
begin to spring again. When the roots are
taken up their stems should be cut close off, and
they should be placed in a shady, airy apart-
ment, so as they may dry gradually, and in
which place they may remain till the season of
planting. Roots can thus be kept in adry place
for three, and even five years, without impairing
their power of vegetating, although the vigour
and beauty of the plant is diminished.

The wild species of ranunculus, common in
this country, especially the budbosus, sceleratus,

 

573

acris, and repens, ave shewy looking meadow
flowers, and are characterised by the extreme
acrimony of their juices. Formerly they were
used in medicine, and sometimes employed for
causing a blister externally. Beggars are said
also to employ them for the purpose of creating
artificial sores and ulcers. The fresh roots are
acrid and poisonous; but whenoldand dry, become
so innocuous as to be eaten. Hogs are fond of
them, and frequently dig them up. Sheep and
goats are also said to browse on the plant, while
cows avoid it.

There is a vulgar notion that these plants give
the rich yellow colour to butter, and hence the
name of butter cups. This, however, is a mis-
take, as the richness of the pasture, and the lux-
uriance of the grasses, are the sole cause of the
superiority of the butter produced. The r. acris,
as well as bulbosus, is sometimes found double.
In this state it forms a common flower in gardens,
under the name of bachelor’s buttons.

The water ranunculus, 7. aqguaticus, has large
flowers, which are very conspicuous on the mar-
gins of ponds and ditches. According to Dr
Pultney, this species is not poisonous; on the
contrary, cattle eat it, and thrive on it. In
the neighbourhood of Ringwood, on the borders
of the Avon, some of the cottagers support their
cows, and even horses, almost wholly by this
plant.

A man collects a quantity every morning, and
brings it in a boat to the edge of the water, from
which the cows eat it with great avidity, inso-
much that they stint them, and allow only about
twenty five or thirty pounds to each cow daily.
One man kept five cows and one horse so much
on this plant, with the little which the heath
afforded, that they had not consumed more than
half a ton of hay throughout the whole year,
none being used except when the river is frozen
over. Hogs also are fed with this plant, and
improve so well on it, that it is not necessary to
give them any other sustenance till they are
put up to fatten. This property of water crow-
foot is the more remarkable, as all the other
species have been esteemed acrimonious, and
some of them even deadly poisons.

Tue Anemone. Natural family ranunculacee;
polyandria, polygynia, of Linneus. The ane-
mones are nearly allied to the ranunculus. There
are a number of species growing wild in this
country; many are common to the south and
north of Europe and America, while others are
found in China and Japan. There are two spe-
cies cultivated as garden flowers. The poppy
anemone (@. coronaria), a native of the Levant,
and introduced into this country in 1596; and
the star or broad-leaved anemone (a. hortensis ),
a native of Italy, and brought to Britain
from Holland about the same time as the other.
Both have been cultivated with the same assid-
574

uity as the tulip. ‘There are a great many var-
ieties, both single and double. Mason enumer-
ates seventy-five, the single and semi-double
flowers being as much prized as the double.

A fine double anemone should have a strong,
elastic, and erect stem, not less than nine inches
high. The flower should be at least two inches
and a half in diameter, consisting of an exterior
row of large, substantial, well rounded petals,
or guard leaves, at first horizontally extended,
and then turning a little upwards, so as to form
a broad shallow cup, the interior part of which
should contain a great number of long small
petals, overlying each other, and rather turning
from the centre outwards. There are a great
number of small, slender, and imperfect stamens,
intermixed with the petals; but they are short,
and not easily discernible. The colour should
be clear and distinct when diversified in the
same flower; or brilliant and striking, if it con-
sists only of one colour, as blue, crimson, or
scarlet, in which case the bottom of the broad
exterior petals is generally white. But the
beauty and contrast is considerably increased,
when both the exterior and interior petals are
regularly marked with alternate blue and white,
or pink and white stripes, which in the broad
petals should not extend quite to the margin.

These flowers are propagated by seed for ob-
taining new varieties, and by dividing the root
for continuing approved sorts. The seed should
be collected from the best flowers, and collected
gradually as it ripens, else it is apt to be blown
away with the wind. It is to be sown and
treated exactly in the same way as described for
the ranunculus, and the seedlings, like them,
will blow strong the second year. There will
be found but few double flowers among the
seedlings; but the greater number of broad petals
the flower of the seed bearer possesses, the greater
is the probability of procuring large double
flowers from its seed.

‘When the root of an approved sort is care-
fully divided, every division will blow the first
year,

The first grown selected roots are to be planted
in the same way as the ranunculus; and as the
anemone is a hardier plant, it may be put into
the ground in autumn. When they come up
they are to be watered and protected from the
weather. After the bloom is over, the plants
are to be shielded from moisture, so as that the
roots, which are very succulent, may dry, and not
spring afresh. They are at the proper time to
be taken up and sorted; and as they are very
brittle, care must be taken in handling them.

The soil best suited for the anemone is a fresh
loam, rather sandy. The roots should be covered
to the depth of three inches.

The roots of the anemone are solid, flattened
masses, not unlike ginger. Those that have been

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

two or three years in the ground, attain a great
size. They are generally sold by weight as one
root, and are divided afterwards at the period
of planting.

Besides the two species just described, the a.
pulsatilla, or pasque flower, is also common in
flower borders,

Tue Crocus (crocus vernus). Natural family
tridee ; triandria, monogynia, of Linneus. This
plant was so named by Theophrastus. In Ovid’s
metamorphoses, a youth so named is fabled to
have been changed into the flower. There are

several species of this genus; and the brilliancy || ,

of their flowers, but, above all, the early period
at which they blow, renders them favourites in
the flower garden.

When these plants are in flower, the germen
or seed vessel is still under ground, almost close
to the bulb; and it is not till some weeks after
the decay of the flower, that it emerges on a
white peduncle, and ripens its seeds above ground.
This peculiarity is very conspicuous in the naked
autumnal crocus, (c. nudiflorus), which flowers
without leaves in autumn, and throws up its
germen the following spring, in a similar way
as already described with the meadow saffron.
It is supposed that the native country of the
crocus is Asia, though several species are natur-
alized in Europe; and three are found wild in
England, the spring crocus, the saffron, and the
autumnal naked crocus.

There are from twelve to twenty leading var-
ieties of the garden crocus, all single. The
colours are yellow, blue, purple, white, and
variegated.

According to Haworth, the seeds should be
sown immediately after they are gathered, in
light earth, in a shady but open situation. Sift
over them half an inch of earth the first autumn,
and take them up the second year, and imme-
diately replant them. Add another half inch
of earth the third autumn, and the following
spring most of the plants will show flowers in
the midst of their fourth crop of leaves. After-
wards they may be treated like old bulbs, and
planted in the open borders or shrubbery, on
patches or rows. The bulbs of the crocus being
renewed every year, and the new bulb formed
on the top of the old one, it follows, that at
whatever depth they have been planted, they
will in a short time rise to the surface; unlike
the tulip, and the bulbous iris, whose new bulbs
being formed under the old ones, soon sink the
plants, unless growing on a hard subsoil. Crocus
bulbs should be taken up every third year after
the leaves decay, dried in the shade, parted, and
replanted three inches deep, and not later than
Michaelmas. The longer they are kept out of
the ground after this period, they become weaker,
and are later of flowering. In this way, and by
preserving them in an ice house, they may be
NARCISSUS.

retarded, so as to flower at midsummer or later;
and they may be also forced by heat, or put into
water glasses, or in fancy pots, with numerous
holes, as is commonly seen in the seed shops.*

The saffron crocus (c. vernus), was at one
time extensively cultivated in Britain, both for
adye and as a medicine. A cheaper foreign
supply has now, however, superseded this cul-
ture. As a medicine, though at one time much
used and esteemed, it is now entirely disre-
garded.

Narcissus. Natural family amarillidee ; hex-

_andria, monogynia, of Linneus. This family
of bulbous-rooted plants, contains upwards of
fifty species. Most of them are natives of the
south of Europe, and the Levant, The common
daffodil, and one or two more species, grow
wild in woods in Britain.

The Greeks called them narecissus on account
of their odour, causing frequently a stupor and
fainting in those who inhaledit. For this reason
too, these flowers were consecrated to the Furies,
who were fabled to have been in the practice of
stupifying those victims whom they wished to
punish, by ordering them to smell them.

The best roots are obtained from Holland; and
from Naples comes the Italian narcissus, which
grows in abundance in the neighbourhood of
that city.

This genus has been divided by florists into
daffodils, white narcissus, jonquils, and polyan-
thus narcissus.

Daffodil (pseudo narcissus). The varieties
of this are the common double, the double with
white petals and a yellow cup; the two-flowered
and two-coloured daffodil, the great yellow
Spanish, and others.

The White Narcissus (n. poeticus ), of which
there are the early flowered, the musk, the yel-
lowish, and large flowered.

The Jonquil (jonquilia).
double flowered, sweet scented.

The Polyanthus Narcissus. The common,
sulphur coloured, single and double, with numer-
ous other varieties.

The tests of fine plants of narcissus are: strong
erect stems, regularity of form and disposition
in the petals and nectaries, distinctness and clear-
ness of colour; and in the many flowered sorts,
the peduncles all of the same length, and coming
into flower at once.

They are propagated by seed for obtaining
new varieties, but most commonly by offsets
from the bulbs. As these offsets seldom flower
the first year, they should be planted in a bed
by themselves, composed of light, loamy soil;
and they should be put into the ground not later
than the end of August, or beginning of Sep-
tember.

The common,

* Encyclopedia of Gardening.

 

575

The seeds collected from the choicest plants
should be sown in flat pans, filled with fresh,
light, sandy earth, about the beginning of August,
or soon after the ripening of the seed. These
pans should be in a shaded place, and only
exposed to the morning sun till October; after
that they are to be exposed to the full sun, but
protected from heavy rains and frosts, until
April. In June the leaves will have decayed,
when some fresh earth is to be sifted over the
surface of the pans.

During the second winter the same treatment
is to be pursued, and in the following summer,
the roots are to be taken up and planted at three
inches asunder, in raised, convex beds; in other
two years they are again to be moved and re-
planted at double the distance in mould, with a
little cow dung. In the fifth year after sowing,
most of the bulbs will come into flower, and the
remainder next year. The flowers frequently
improve in beauty in the second or third year,
so that no bulbs should be finally discarded until
they have had this trial. ‘Those bulbs with a
round base, and full sound tops, are the best.
The best soil is a fresh, light loam, with a little
cow dung, and dug to the depth of three feet;
and an eastern aspect is to be preferred. Stirring
the soil occasionally, and weeding, and watering,
are all the requisites in their culture. In winter
the beds require the protection of tan or litter.
The bulbs should not be taken up oftener than
every third year; for if they are allowed to
remain longer, the plant is weakened by the
numerous offsets. These bulbs may be forced
during winter in pots, or in water glasses, where
they become beautiful and odoriferous ornaments
for apartments.

Tue Ints. Natural family iridew; triandria,
monogynia, of Linneus. This family of plants,
from their varied colours, were called by the
ancients after the name of the rainbow. The
species are distributed over Europe, Asia, and
America. Some are used in medicine, and others
cultivated as ornamental flowers. Of the latter,
the most admired species are:

The Persian Iris (t. Persica). This is a
very long, bulbous rooted plant, with delicate
blue and violet coloured flowers, possessing a
powerful and pleasing odour. As the name
implies, it is a native of Persia, and was first
cultivated in this country by Parkinson, in 1629.
The bulbs are generally imported from Holland;
and as they do not thrive well, or ripen their
seeds in the open air in this country, they are
forced in pots, or in water glasses.

The Snake's Head (i. tuberosa), has long,
narrow, four-cornered leaves, and a dark purple
flower, which appears in April. It is a native
of the Levant, and also grows wild in England,
and Ireland. It is cultivated in warm borders,
in a light loam, ;
576

The Chalcedonia (i. susliana), has finely
striated leaves, a scape a span high, and the
largest and most magnificent corolla of all the
species. Its petals are of a delicate texture,
almost as broad as a hand, purple or black, striped
with white. It flowers in the beginning of June,
is a native of the Levant, and was cultivated by
Gerarde in 1596. It thrives best in a loamy
soil, and sunny, warm situation, protected in
winter from rain and frost.

Bulbous rooted, or Spanish (7. xiphium ), has
channelled’ leaves, convoluted in their whole
length, and awl-shaped at the tip. The flowers
of the wild plant are blue, with emarginate
petals, and appear in June; but cultivation has
produced a great number of varieties, with yel-
low, white, violet, and variegated flowers. It
is a native of the south of Europe, and was
cultivated in Britain by Gerarde, in 1596.

The Great bulbous rooted, or English (4. xiphi-
oides ), is much larger in every respect than the
former, The flower stalk is nearly twice the
height, and the flowers more than double the
size. It runs into numerous varieties.

Both these species are much cultivated and
esteemed by florists. They are raised in a light
sandy loam, with an easternexposure. They are
multiplied abundantly by offsets, and may also be
readily raised from seed. For this purpose the
seed may be sown in drills early in autumn.
With no other care than frequent weeding, they
may remain in the seed bed for three years; for
they are much more hardy than most kinds of
seedling bulbs, and therefore will not even require
protection from the frosts. In the autumn of
the third year, it will be necessary to transplant
them into beds at one foot distance, row from
row, and the bulbs six inches apart; and in two
years from their removal, most of the strongest
will show blossom, and nearly all in the year
following, or the sixth from the seed. The
flowering bulbs should be taken up every third
year, in August, and, if possible, they should be
replanted in September, as those kept out of the
ground till Christmas rarely blossom in the suc-
ceeding summer. These roots are seldom or
never forced.

Fritintary (fritillaria)., Natural family
lilee; hexandria, monogynia, of Linneus. These
are also showy flowers, natives of Asia and of
Europe. Three species are cultivated as garden
flowers.

The Crown Imperial (f. imperialis). This
has a scaly bulb, from which spring strong stems
from two to four feet in height, furnished with
numerous broad, shining, green leaves; and
crowned with a whorl of showy, pendulous
flowers, yellow, red, striped, and variously
coloured, which make their appearance in March
and April. “The singular nectary of this flower,”
says Professor Martin, “cannot but engage the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

attention of the curious observer; it is a white,
glandular cavity at the base of each petal, and
has a drop of limpid nectareous juice standing
in it, where the flower is in vigour. Another
of the wonders of nature may be observed in
the peduncles, which bend down when the plant
is in flower, but become upright as the seed
ripens.” There are several varieties of this flower,
indicated by colour and the disposition of the
stripes.

The Persian Fritillary (f. Persica). This
species has a large round root, the size of an
orange; the stem is three feet high, and the flowers
appear in a loose spike at the top, forming a
pyramid. They are of a dark purple colour,
and appear in May; but seldom produce seeds in
this country, its native climate being Persia.
There is another variety with a shorter stem,
and smaller leaves and flowers. ;

The Common Fritillary, or Chequered Lily
(f. meleagris). This species has a solid tuber,
about the size of a nut; a stem from twelve to
eighteen inches in height, with linear leaves, and
one or more pendulous flowers on the top of the
stem. Itis anative of Britain, and flowers in
April and May, or in mild seasons, as early as
March. There are about twenty varieties, with
white, red, purple, black, striped, and double
flowers, besides an umbellate variety, a mule
between this species and the crown imperial.

The common method of propagating the fri-
tillaries is by offsets; but they may also be raised
from seed, which ripens readily, and is to be
treated in a similar manner as that of the tulip.

The seedlings of the crown imperial flower in
the fifth or sixth year, and those of the two
other species in the third or fourth year. The
bulbs should be planted in a light soil, not too
wet, or with much dung. It should be dug
deep, the bulbs to be put six inches below the
surface, and from eighteen inches to two feet
distant every way. They, however, look to most
advantage not in beds, but in a mingled flower
border.

The roots require to be taken up only every
third year, and should be again quickly planted.

Tue Lity (lilium). Natural family lidéacee;
hexandria, monogynia, of Linneus. This genus
contains at least twenty species of beautiful
flowers. The name is from the Celtie word i,
signifying whiteness, the lily having been long
considered an emblem of whiteness and purity.
A few of the most interesting species are as
follows:

The White Lily (1. candidum). This has a
large scaly bulb, a leafy stem, from three to four
feet in height, terminating in large, pure, white
flowers, on peduncles. It is a native of the
Levant, and was common in English gardens in
Gerarde’s time. There are above eight varieties
of this species.
AMARILLIS,

The Orange Lily (1. bulbiferum ). This showy
flower has a scaly bulb, a leafy stem, two and a
half feet high, terminating in large orange
coloured flowers. Sometimes the stem produces
small green bulbs in the axille of the leaves.
Of this species there are eight or ten varieties,
the wmbellatum being the most showy. It is
readily propagated by offsets.

The Turk’s Cap (1. martagon.), has a large
scaly bulb, a stalk furnished with narrow leaves,
about three feet high, with terminating pedun-
cles of fine carmine flowers, which blow in July.
There are several varieties, the most remarkable
being, the scarlet Turk’s cap, and the yellow
perianthed Turk’s cap.

The Japan Lily (1. Japonicum), is a noble
flower, with a stem five feet high, and flowers
seven inches broad, of a pure white, with a
streak of blue.

The Tiger Lily (1. tigrinum ), with the upper
leaves cordate, oval, and petals spotted.

All these are most commonly propagated by
offset bulbs; but new varieties may also be
raised from seed. The seedling bulbs flowering
in the fifth or sixth years.

The common sorts will thrive in almost any
situation, even under the shade of trees. The
more tender sorts require protection in the green-
house, or in a garden frame.

The tiger lily is most vigorous when it is
planted in heath mould. None of this species,
nor indeed any bulbous plant, should be moved
after the leaves are pushed out, otherwise they
will be so weakened, as to produce a feeble
flower.

Amanitus. Natural family amaryllidee;
hexandria,monogynia, of Linneus. This splendid
family of plants derive their name from the
Greek word, signifying resplendent. It is also
the name of a nymph, celebrated by the ancient
poets. Most of these species are natives of the
Cape of Good Hope, China, or South America,
and are therefore green-house plants in this
country.

The green-house species of this family thrive
best in a light, loamy soil, and should have but
little water given them after they have done
flowering, so that the bulbs may harden, to pro-
duce more flowers the following season, New
varieties are procured by sowing the seeds; but
the most usual mode of . propagation in this
country is by offsets. A shell taken from the
bulb with a leaf on it, and planted in a pot of
mould, will produce a bulb, as, indeed, will
almost any bulbous-rooted plant.

The stove amaryllises grow best in light loam
and rich soil; and the larger kinds, if placed in
capacious pots, throw up magnificent flowers.
The great art in cultivating these and all other
bulbs, according to Knight, is to procure vigorous
leaves; on these depend the quantity of nutritive

 

577

matter prepared and deposited in the bulb, which
is an essential requisite for its flowering next
season: for bulbous roots increase in size, and
proceed in acquiring powers to produce blossoms
only during the periods in which they have
leaves, and in which such leaves are exposed to
light; and these organs always operate most
efficiently when they are young, and have just
attained their full growth. Thus the bulb of
the Guernsey lily, as it is usually cultivated in
this country, rarely produces leaves till Septem-
ber, or the beginning of October, at which period
the quantity of light afforded by our climate, is
probably quite insufficient for a plant said to bea
native of Japan; and before the return of spring
its leaves are necessarily grown old, and nearly
inefficient, even though protected well from the
winter frosts. It is not extraordinary, then, that
a bulb of this species which has once expended
its energies in producing flowers, should but
very slowly recover the power of again blossom-
ing.

On these premises Mr Knight accordingly
inferred, that nothing more was necessary to
make this lily blossom as freely as it does in
Guernsey, than such a slight degree of artificial
heat applied early in the summer, as would prove
sufficient to make the bulbs vegetate a few weeks
earlier than usual in the autumn. Early in the
summer of 1816, a bulb which had blossomed
in the preceding autumn, was subjected to such
a degreé of artificial heat as occasioned it to
vegetate six weeks earlier than it would other-
wise have done. It did not of course produce
any flowers; but in the following season it blos-
somed early, and strongly, and afforded two
offsets. These were put in the spring of 1818,
into pots containing about one-eighth of asquare
foot of light and rich mould, and were fed with
manured water; and their period of vegetation
was again accelerated by artificial heat. Their
leaves consequently grew yellow from maturity,
early in the next spring, when the pots were
placed in rather a shady situation, and near a
south wall, to afford them an opportunity of
observing to what extent in such a situation the
early production of the leaves in the preceding
season had changed the habit of the plant. I
entertained no doubt but that both the bulbs
would afford blossoms; but I was much gratified
by the appearance of the blossoms in the first
week inJuly. From the success of the preced-
ing experiment, adds Mr Knight, I conclude,
that if the offsets, and probably the bulbs of this
plant which have produced flowers, be placed
ina moderate hot bed in the end of May, to
occasion the early production of their leaves,
blossoms would be constantly afforded in the
following season; but it will be expedient to
habituate the leaves thus produced gradually to
the open air, as soon as they are nearly fully

4D

.
578

grown, and to protect them from frost till the
approach of spring. Various hybrids of great
beauty are readily produced from the species of
this family. :

Tue Hamanruus, or Broop Frower. This is
a genus belonging to the same natural family as
the above, and so called from the brilliant red
colours of the flower. These are chiefly green-
house plants, and thrive best in a sandy loam,
with a little heat.

Hemanthus multiflorus is a tender stove bulb,
which requires a high temperature. They are
to be watered sparingly at first, but require a
frequent supply afterwards, taking care not to
pour the water over the leaves, as it is apt to get
into the heart of the plant and rot it.

Tux Tusrrose (polyanthes tuberosa). Natural
family hemerocallide: ; hexandria, monogynia, of
Linneus. This flower is a native of India. The
root is tuberous, the stem upright, the leaves
linear and lanceolate, the flowers numerous, and
very fragrant. It was introduced into Europe
about the year 1524, and is much esteemed as a
green-house bulb; in warmer situations, it will
also blow in the open air. The tubers are annu-
ally imported from Italy, and the warmer parts
of North America, and sometimes from Guernsey,
although, by proper management, it is believed
they could be easily raised in this country.

The bulbs are planted in pots of sandy loam,
in March or April, and brought forward in a
hot-bed, or hot-house, till the flower buds begin
to appear. The pots are then removed to the
green-house, or open air, or to halls, or churches,
as practised in Italy, where the cooler tempera-
ture procures a prolonged bloom. Or they may
be planted in a warm, open border, in the fol-
lowing manner.

A pit is to be dug two or three feet deep, and
filled with fresh stable dung about the middle
of April; over this is spread a layer of light
sandy earth, and the tubers planted at the dis.
tance of five inches apart, the upper part of the
tuber being just covered with the earth. Little
or no water is to he given at first, but the bed
is to be protected by a covering from frost and
rain; when the leaves are about an inch long, a
little fresh compost is to be added to the surface;
and in June and July, when the leaves are in
full vigour, copious watering is necessary, espe-
cially after warm sunny days. In autumn and
winter, the bed is again protected from rains and
frost. In February the roots are to be taken up,
and packed in the sand till the period of planting
in April. In short, according to Salisbury, the
object is to keep the roots growing as vigorously
as possible from May till October; but in the
winter months, to keep them in a state of com-
plete rest and drought. By this process bulbs
may be produced equal to those imported from
abroad.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Tur Pzrony. Natural family ranunculacee ;
polyandria, digynia, of Linneus. The peony
was so called after the Greek physician Peon,
who is said to have employed it in medicine, and
used it to cure Pluto of a wound inflicted by
Hercules. It is esteemed hy the moderns as a
splendid flowering plant.

There are two principal kinds, the common
(p. officinalis), which is an herbaceous flower,
a native of Switzerland and other parts of
Europe, and also of Asia; and the moutan, or
Chinese tree, which is shrubby, a native of
China and Japan.

Besides these there are several other species,
and a number of varieties, especially of the
herbaceous kinds. The herbaceous peonies are
propagated by seed, selected from the single and
semi-double sorts, in order to procure new varie-
ties; and by dividing the roots for ordinary pur-
poses. The seeds are to be sown in light, fresh
earth immediately after they are ripe, which is
in September, and covered up with half an inch
of earth. They will come up in the following
spring; and may remain in the seed bed two
years before they are transplanted, sifting a little
fresh earth over them when the leaves decay at
the end of the growing season. After two years’
growth in the seed bed, they are to be trans-
planted in September into other well prepared
beds of light fresh earth, and placed six inches
apart, and three inches deep. Here they are to
remain till they flower, which is generally the
fourth or fifth summer after sowing. Full grown
roots are readily propagated by parting, taking
care to preserve a bud on the crown of each off-
set. The plants are very hardy, growing in
almost any soil, and even under the shade of
trees, where, it is said, they continue longest in
beauty. Being large and showy flowers, they
form an appropriate ornament to the parterre or
shrubbery.

The shrubby ponies are usually propagated
by divisions, or layers; but they may be also
grafted on the roots of the herbaceous sorts, or
struck from cuttings. The grafting is done any
time from the beginning of September to the
middle of March. Select some good tubers of
the common or any other sort, and take off cut-
tings of any of the tree kinds to be selected.
Then slit the tuber from the crown downwards
about two inches from the scions, like a wedge,
insert it into the slit of the tuber, and fit the
barks on one side as accurately as possible. Then
bind them well together with good bast, over
which put one turn of brass wire, to prevent
the parts from separating; after the bast is
decayed, put them into pots deep enough to
allow the mould to cover the top of the tuber;
set them into a cold frame or pit, keep them
close, rather dry, and defended from the sun for
the first month, and from frost during winter.
THE DAHLIA. 579

When they have perfected one season’s growth,
plant them out, or treat them like established
plants.*

Although the shrubby peonies will stand this
climate in warm sheltered situations, without
any winter covering, yet, in general, the protec-
tion of a frame is required, especially as the
leaves which come out early in spring, are apt
to be nipt by the frosts. The best sort is a rich
sandy loam. As the growth of these plants is
very slow, they require very little pruning,
and, indeed, not much care in any respect.

The shrubby paonies may also be propagated
by cuttings. For this purpose, in February select
a stem from any of the species, and at the dis-
tance of half an inch from the centre of each
bud, both above and below it, cut out entirely
round the stem a small ring of the bark, rather
more than the sixteenth of an inch wide, as is
done in ringing fruit trees. Thus every bud
will occupy an inch of the stem, where the direct
continuation of its bark is obstructed both above
and below, by the rings which have been cut out
of it. The stems so prepared are then to be laid
horizontally about three inches beneath the soil,
leaving only the leading bud at the end of each
branch above the surface. In six months every
bud will have made a vigorous shoot, and, in
general, will have two radical fibres at its base.
In August, remove the soil from above the lay-
ers, and having raised the newly made roots,
carefully separate each young shoot from the
main layer, by passing a small knife from one
ring to the other, cutting out about one-third
part of the old stem. ‘The young plants should
then be immediately put into pots, there to
remain till they are required for planting out in
their final situations. After thus gathering the
first crop of young plants, the old layers should be
again covered with good soil, and left as before;
and in the following summer asecond and greater
crop of plants will be produced, than in the
first season; and what is more remarkable, they
will issue from various parts of the stem, where
no trace of a bud was previously indicated.

Tur Danuta (Georginia). Natural family
composite; syngenesia, superflua, of Linneus.
This flower was originally named dahiza, after
Dhal, a Swedish botanist; but as it was after-
wards ascertained that another plant had received
the same name, it is now changed to Georginia.
This genus, of which there are two species, with
several varieties, is originally a native of the
sandy meadows of Mexico, in South America, and
was sent to Spain in 1789, and thence to England,
in the same year. These plants, however, were
lost, and seeds were again introduced by Lady
Holland, in 1804; and from these, and other
plants imported after the peace of 1815, the

* Loud, Gard. Mag, vol. 3.

 

present British stock has originated. It is a
hardy plant, enduring our climate well, and
though the leaves are coarse and large, resem~
bling those of the dwarf elder, the great
beauty of the flowers, and the circumstance of
their coming into perfection in the end of autumn,
when most other garden flowers have faded, have
tended to raise the dahlias into estimation asa
fashionable ornament of the garden.

The treatment of this plant is very similar to
that of the potato; it grows freely in any soil;
but the poorer the ground is, the smaller the
size of the plant, and the earlier and more abun-
dant the flowers.

There are two species of Georgiana, the fertile
rayed (g. variabilis), with the rachis of the
leaves winged, leaflets ovate, acuminate, serrated,
shining, and smooth beneath, outer involucrum
inflexed. The barren rayed (g. coccinea), with
the rachis of the leaves naked, leaflets ovate,
acuminate, serrated, roughish beneath, and the
outer involucrum spreading.

The leading varieties of the fertile rayed are
the purple, rose, pale, white, sulphur, yellow,
tawny, copper, brick red, dark red, pomegranate
coloured, dark purple, very dark and lilac
flowered, single, semi-double and double, with
innumerable sub-varieties.

Of the barren rayed species there are the
scarlet, bright scarlet, orange saffron, and yellow
flowered, single, semi-double and double, with
several sub-varieties.

Besides these there are the dwarf, anemone-
flowered, ranunculus-flowered, and globe-flower-
ed.

A fine dahlia should have the flowers fully
double, always filling the centre; the florets
should be entire, or nearly so, pointed or rounded,
reflexed, and so forming a globular kind, regular
in their disposition, each series overlapping the
other backwards; they may be either plain or
quilled, but never distorted. If instead of being
reflexed, the florets are recurved, the flower will
be equally symmetrical. The peduncles ought
to be sufficiently strong to keep the blossoms
erect, and consequently well exposed to view,
and long enough to show the flowers free of the
leaves. If they are a little pendulous in the
latter growing sorts, they will have a more ele-
gant appearance. The plant ought to flower
early and abundantly, and retain its characters
till the end of the season. Bright and deep
velvety colours are those most admired.

Georginias are propagated hy dividing the
roots by grafting, and from seed.

Cuttings are to be taken from the root shoots in
spring, or from the tops of the young shoots early
insummer. In the latter case, cut the lower end
smoothly off, in the middle of a joint retain-
ing the leaves on the top, except such as would
be buried with the stem in the earth, They
580

should be planted in sandy earth with heat
below, and covered with a hand glass, and they
will strike and produce flowers and tubers before
autumn.

Grafting is a mode of propagating rare herba-
ceous vegetables, which has been long practised
on the continent. The cutting, intended for the
graft of the Georginia, should be strong and short-
jointed, having on it two or more joints or buds;
it must be also procured as soon in the season as
possible. Select also a good tuber of a single
sort, taking care that it has no eyes. Cut off a
slice from the upper part of the root with a
sharp edged knife, and make at the bottom of
the cut a ledge whereon to rest the graft. This
is recommended because the graft cannot be
tongued as in a wood shoot, and the ledge is use-
ful in keeping the cutting fixed in its place
whilst it is being tied. Next cut the scion
sloping to fit, and cut it so that a joint may be
at the bottom of it to rest on the ledge of the cut
tuber. Tie the graft, and put a piece of soft clay
around it, then put the root in fine mould, bury-
ing the graft half way in the mould, and place
the pot in a cucumber frame. In about three
weeks the root should be shifted into a larger
pot if yet too early to plant it out into the open
border. In raising from seed, this is to be col-
lected in September from the dwarf plants, and
from semi-double flowers when double varieties
ave desired. Perhaps seeds obtained from those
particular florets of the dise which have altered
their form, may have a greater tendency than
others to produce plants with double flowers.*
Sow in March or earlier, in a heat of about 60°,
and the young plants may be pricked out in
pots, and kept in a moderate temperature till
the end of April. In the end of this month the
whole may be planted out and protected during
the night with a covering. Seedlings thus
treated will blow in July, and continue in per-
fection until autumn, but the first frost takes
the same effect on these flowers as on the potato
or kidney bean. Artificial fecundation of the
flowers may be practised in this manner. The
flowers intended for this process should be
covered two or three days previous to their
expansion, in order to prevent their being fecun-
dated by other flowers through the agency of
bees or the wind. When the flower is suffi-
ciently expanded, a camel hair pencil is saturated
with the pollen of the flower, whose colour or
form is desired, and with this each separate
floret of the parent flower is touched, the pro-
tecting covering being continued for eight days
after this operation. This fecundation requires
to be repeated for two or three days, according
to the weather, as the florets do not all expand
at once.

In general, however, this process is not deemed

* Sabine.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

necessary, as a single flower will produce all the
varieties required if left to nature.

A rich loam is the best soil for those plants,
and a clear open situation, free from the shade
of trees or walls. Like the potato they exhaust
the soil considerably, and do not thrive well
when repeatedly planted on the same spot.
After the flower season is over, the roots may
be preserved through the winter by covering
them over with a sufficient depth of old tan
bark, or what is better, by taking them up and
preserving them in boxes of sand.

CHAP. LITT.
THE PRIMROSE, CARNATION, PANSY, &c.

Tue last chapter contained the account of
bulbous and tuberous-rooted garden flowers of
most general cultivation. In this we shall
enumerate the principal ramose and fibrous-
rooted plants of the flower garden.

Tue Priroser, (primula). Natural family
primulacee; pentandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
The primrose family is eminently distinguished
among flowers as being one of the earliest har-
bingers of the spring. They are no less conspi-
cuous for the simplicity and beauty of their
flowers, and the delightful odour which they
impart. Many of the species grow wild in
Britain, forming the most pleasing ornaments
of our woods and valleys; others are natives of
the warmer parts of Europe and Asia.

Tue Potyantruus (primula vulgaris). This
species is a native of most parts of Europe,
growing in woods and copses in a moist clayey
soil. The leaves are obovate, oblong, toothed,
rugose, and villous beneath. The umbel is radi-
cal, and flower stalks of the length of the leaves,
The flowers are of a sulphur yellow colour
generally and single, occasionally they are of a
white or purple colour, and double. In its wild
state the common primrose produces its flowers
on numerous peduncles, but by cultivation it
throws up a scape bearing an umbel of numerous
flowers, brown, purple, red, and yellow. Lin-
neus, however, found the scape present in some
wild sorts, but so short as to lie concealed
among the leaves. Some botanists reckon the
primrose, cowslip, and oxlip, all as one species.
The polyanthus, at all events, is a very permanent
variety, which does not readily return to the
original type.

The varieties of the common primrose are
numerous, and are generally divided into two
classes. The first contains those whose flowers
are on separate pedicles, rising from the root
upon a common stem, so short as not to be seen
without separating the leaves of the plant, and
THE COWSLIP.

are called primroses. The second includes those
whose flowers are in umbels, on a scape or
flower-stalk rising from three to six inches, or
more, and are called polyanthuses. There are
about a dozen beautiful varieties of the first
in cultivation, and an immense number of the
second,

The tests of a fine polyanthus are, a strong,
erect, and elastic stem, and peduncles or flower-
stalks. The tuber of the corolla above the calyx
should be short, well filled with the anthers or
summits of the stamens, and should terminate
fluted, rather above the eye, or middle circle.
This should be round, of a bright clear yellow,
and distinct from the ground colour. The
ground colour is most admired when shaded
with a light and dark rich crimson, resembling
velvet, with one mark or stripe in the centre of
each division of the limb, bold and distinct from
the edging down to the eye, where it should
terminate in a fine point. The pips should be
large, quite flat and round, as much as is con-
sistent with their peculiar figure, which is cir-
cular, with the exception of those small inden-
tures between each division of the limb, marking
it out into five or six heart-like segments. The
edging should resemble a bright gold lace, bold,
clear, distinct, and so nearly of the same colour
as the eye and stripes as scarcely to be distin-
guished.

The polyanthus is propagated by dividing the
roots, which are perennial, or by slips; and for
procuring new varieties, by sowing the seed of
upproved sorts. For this latter purpose the seed
should be gathered about the last week of June,
and in ten days afterwards it is to be sown in
boxes placed in the open air, with a northern
exposure. In July the plants are to be put out
into open beds, taking care not to disturb the
earth about the young roots when moving them.
They are to be shaded from the sun, and watered
for some time, till they recover their vigour.
Some of these plants will show flowers the same
autumn, and many in the following spring.
They require to be transplanted every two years.

The best soil is a light loam, with a consider-
able proportion of sand, a small quantity of
rotten dung, and a little leaf mould, or peat
earth.

These plants are very hardy, and seldom die
even in the most ungenial seasons. During the
heat of summer they are, however, liable to be
destroyed by snails and slugs, and by a small
red spider.

Tur Cowsuir (p. veris), differs from the
primrose by its shorter leaves, by the flowers
hanging in an umbel or bunch, with a leafy
involucrum, instead of each flower rising on a
separate stalk, as in the primrose; and by the
odour smelling stronger of anise. It is indi-
genous to most parts of Great Britain, and grows

 

58]

in moist pastures, and open situations, flowering
in May. Both double and single varieties are
cultivated in gardens, though not so frequently
as the polyanthus. The most noted variety is
the double cowslip, which has its corolla so mul-
tiplied as to form a full flower, like that of a
double rose.*

Tue Oxuir (p. elatior ). This is distinguished
from the primrose by its many flowered scape,
and from the cowslip by the flat border of the
corolla, It is also a native of this country, and
is found in woods, thickets, and sometimes in
open pastures; but it is not nearly so common
as the other two species; indeed, Sir J. E. Smith
is of opinion that this flower is a hybrid pro-
duction from a primrose, impregnated by a cow-
slip. Its habit, the contraction towards the
middle of the leaf, and the umbellate flower-
stalk, indicating the father; whilst in the form,
colour, and scent of the corolla, it most resembles
the mother. If this should be the case, it would
be a singular instance of the very rare connec-
tion of species in a state of nature.

Tux Auricuta (p.auricula). This beautiful
species is 4 native of the Swiss mountains, as
also of Austria, Syria, and the Caucasus. It
was introduced into England towards the close
of the sixteenth century, and cultivated by
Gerarde under the name of bear’s ear, or moun-
tain cowslip. The leaves are obovate, entire, or
serrated and fleshy, varying, however, in form,
in the numerous varieties. ‘The flowers are borne
on an erect umbel, and central scape, with invo-
lucrum. The original colours of the corolla are
yellow, purple, and variegated, with a mealy
covering. About a century ago the taste for
this flower in England was at its height; and
from our gardeners the Dutch were supplied with
plants till the period of the French revolution,
when we again began to receive our supply from
Holland. So great was the perfection to which
the culture of this plant was brought, that
Henry Stove, a gardener near Colchester, had
some plants with not less than 183 blossoms on
one stem.

Justice was a famous grower of this and othe:
flowers; and Maddock is one of the best modern
cultivators.

The best collections of auriculas are now to
be found among the commercial gardeners near
London, and the operative manufacturers and
artizans near Manchester, Paisley, and other
large towns, who devote their leisure hours to
the delightful amusement of raising fine varie-
ties of this and other flowers.

The varieties of this flower are endless. Hogg
enumerates 200, and Maddock nearly 500, with
names. These consist of plain, one coloured
flowers, or selfs—of double flowers, and painted,

* Gardener’s Mag. vol. 7.
5&2

or variegated. The latter only are esteemed by
florists.

A fine variegated auricula has a strong, erect,
and elastic stem, of sufficient height to carry
the flowers above the leaves. The flower stalk
must also be strong and elastic, and of a propor-
tional length to the size and quantity of the
pips, which should not be less than seven, so as
to form a round, close, and compact bunch. The
pip is composed of the tube, with its stamens
and anthers, the eye, and the exterior circle,
containing the ground colour, with its edge or
margin. These three should be all well propor-
tioned; and for them it is requisite that the
diameter of the tube be one part, the eye three,
and the whole pip six, or nearly so. All the
admirers of this flower agree that the pips ought
to be round, although this is in fact a rare occur-
rence; and we must be content if they are so
nearly round as not to be what is termed starry.
The anthers or summits of the stamens ought
to be large, hold, and fill the tube well, and the
tube should terminate rather above the eye. The
eye should be very white, smooth, and round,
without any cracks, and distinct from the ground
or self colour.

The ground colour should be bold and rich,
and equal on every side of the eye, whether it
be in one uniform circle, or in bright patches;
it should be distinct at the eye, and only broken
at the outward part into the edging: a fine black
purple, or bright coffee colour, contrast best with
the eye. Arich blue or bright pink, is pleasing;
but a glowing scarlet or deep crimson, would be
most desirable, if well edged with a bright
green; but this must seldom be expected. The
green edge or margin is the principal cause of
the variegated appearance in this flower; and it
should be in proportion to the ground colour,
that is, about one half of each. The darker
grounds are generally covered with a white
powder, which seems necessary, as well as the
white eye, to guard the flowers from the scorch-
ing heat of the sun’s rays, which would soon
destroy them if they were exposed to it.

Auriculas are propagated by dividing the root,
or by rooted slips, and by seed for obtaining
new varieties. The best time for taking off slips,
or dividing the root, is after the plant is done
flowering. The operation is therefore generally
performed in July, and the beginning of August.

In order to procure good seed, the healthiest
young plants of the most approved sorts are to
be selected, and put into pots, where they are to
be reared and tended apart from other flowering
plants, until the seeds are perfected. Six seed-
ling plants of different sorts may be put into
each pot, and thus reared apart; or Knight’s
method of impregnating the stigmas of one sort
with the anthers of another, may be resorted to,
The seed generally ripens in June or July, and

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

is to be gathered in single capsules as it ripens,
and kept in these till the sowing season, which
is January, February, or March. Maddock sows
the seed in boxes, covers with very little earth,
and puts them into heat, by which means the
seeds quickly germinate ; while those sown in
the open air, are more dilatory and uncertain.
The earth must be kept constantly moderately
moist, but never very wet. As the spring advances
the boxes may be exposed to the open air, shaded
from all but the morning sun. As soon as any
of the plants appear with six leaves, such are to
be transplanted into other boxes, filled with com-
post; and after a time retransplanted into larger
boxes. When they flower, all the best sorts are
to be marked and reserved, and the useless ones
thrown away. Such weakly plants as do not
blow the first or second year, are nevertheless to
be preserved; for among these, it not unfrequently
happens, that the most valuable flowers are to
be found. A great proportion of the seedlings,
although the seed was saved from the best flowers,
will turn out plain or selfs, which, unless pos-
sessed of excellent properties in other respects,
or being singularly beautiful in their colours,
are of no value, but as common border flowers.
Asa compost, Hogg uses one part rich yellow
loam, or fresh dung earth, one of leaf mould,
one of cow dung two years old, and a small por-
tion of river sand. Maddock recommends one
half rotten cow dung two years old, one-sixth
fresh sound earth, of an open texture, one-eighth
earth of rotten leaves, one-twelfth coarse sea or
river sand, one-twenty-fourth soft decayed wil-
low wood, one-twenty-fourth peaty or moory
earth, and the same quantity ashes of burnt
vegetables. This compost is to be thoroughly
incorporated, and exposed to the air in an open
situation, fora year previous to using it. Accord-
ing to Hogg, the Lancashire growers use horse
dung and cow dung indiscriminately, sometimes
mixed, sometimes apart; the dung of poultry
most frequently, and old decayed willow wood,
when they can get it with the mould cast up
by moles, taking care that the whole be properly
mixed and pulverized. In winter they throw
it up in narrow ridges; and when the top of it
is frozen they take it off, and so continue to do
till the whole of it has been frozen. Paxton
uses bone dust, or a very small portion of lime.

The common sorts of auriculas are grown in
beds, or in mingled borders; but all the fine
flowers are put into pots. The time of trans-
planting them is immediately after the bloom;
and this process should be repeated every year.
The plants should be carefully turned out of the
pot, and the earth shaken from the fibres of the
roots, These should be curtailed if found too
long and numerous, together with the lower end
of the main root. The lower leaves, if they
have turned yellow, should also be cut off, and
THE CARNATION.

the stem examined, especially at its lower part,
in case of any unsound spots. If these are
found they are to be cut out, and the part stopped
up after it has been dried in the sun, with equal
parts of bees’ wax and pitch, softened with
heat.

The new pot is now to be half filled with
compost, having previously put a piece of pitcher
or oxyster shell, with the convex side uppermost,
over the hole in the bottom. The plant is then
to be put into the pot, carefully spreading out
and covering its fibres with the composts.

The proper depth of planting is within about
half an inch of the bottom of the lowest out-
side leaves. For as the new and most valuable
fibres proceed from that part, so they should
immediately meet with earth to strike into, or
otherwise they will perish. It will likewise
encourage the offsets, if there be any, to strike
root sooner than they would do if not in con-
tact with the soil. During the summer blow,
the auriculas must be placed in asituation shaded
from the sun and rains; and in winter, in a situ-
ation protected from the weather. A summer
and winter stage made of wood, with folding
covers, are in use by gardeners. The summer
stage should be placed on coal ashes, to protect
the pots from the common earth worm; or it
may be placed on a layer of open brick work,
in order to afford a free circulation of air.

As auriculas and hyacinths bloom about the
same time, a pleasing variety is afforded by
having their flowers in juxtaposition.

THe Carnation ( dianthus caryophyllus ).
Natural family caryophyllec ; decandria, digynia,
of Linneus. The natural family to which this
species belongs, contains a number of flowers
possessed of considerable beauty, and esteemed
for their fragrant odour, that of the carnation
resembling the odour of cloves, though more
delicate, and not so pungent. The carnation is
indigenous to Britain, but is rare in a wild state;
it is found growing plentifully on the southern
sides of the Swiss Alps. This garden flower
was probably introduced into Britain from Ger-
many or Italy, in which countries it has been
long cultivated and esteemed, although it does
not appear to have been known to the ancients.
In 1597, Gerarde got plants of this flower from
Poland. It is now one of the greatest favourites
of the parterre. “Of all the flowers that adorn
the garden,” says Hogg, “whether they charm
the eye by their beauty, or regale the sense of
smelling by their fragrance, this may justly be
said to hold the first rank. The stateliness of
its growth, the brilliancy and diversity of its
colours, and the sweetness of its perfume, never
fail to attract our regard and admiration. The
tulip, though styled the queen of the garden,
cannot boast of more admirers. They may with
propriety be considered the two masterpieces of

 

583

nature; and though rival beauties, may be said
to share the sovereignty of the garden equally
between them. Yet it must be admitted that
the carnation, independent of its fragrance, has
this advantage over its rival, that it continues
longer in bloom; and that when planted in pots,
it can be removed to decorate the green-house,
the conservatory, or the drawing room.” They
have accordingly found a place in the parterres
of the nobility, as well as in the cottage plot of
the peasant.

The varieties of this flower are very numer-
ous, and have been arranged into the following
classes :

Flakes, having two colours only, and the
stripes large, going quite through the petals.

Bizarres, variegated in irregular spots and
stripes, with not less than three colours.

Picotees, with a white ground, spotted, or
pounced with scarlet, red, purple, or other
colours.

Only double flowers are held in estimation.
There is a variety called the tree carnation, with
suffruticose stems, which may be trained against
a wall or trellis, to the height of five or six feet,
and will live for six years, flowering every year.

In a fine carnation, the stem should be strong,
tall, and straight, not less than thirty, or more
than forty-five inches in height. The footstalks
supporting the flowers should be strong, elastic,
and of a proportionate length. The corolla
should be at least three inches in diameter, con-
sisting of a great number of large, well-formed
petals; but neither so many, as to give it too
full and crowded an appearance; nor so few, as
to make it appear too thin and empty. The
petals should be long, broad, and substantial,
particularly those of the lower or outer circle,
commonly called the guard leaves. These should
rise perpendicularly about half an inch above
the calyx, and then turn off gracefully in a hori-
zontal direction, supporting the interior petals,
and altogether forming a convex, and nearly
hemispherical corolla. The interior petals should
rather decrease in size as they approach the
centre of the flower, which should be well filled
with them. The petals should be regularly dis-
posed alike on every side, folding over each other
in such a manner, as that both their individual
and combined beauties may be obvious at the
same instant. They should be nearly flat,
although a small degree of concavity or inflec-
tion, at the lamina or broad end, is allowable.
But their edges should be perfectly entire, that
is, free from notch, fringe, or indenture. The
calyx should be at least one inch in length, ter-
minating with broad points, sufficiently strong
to hold the narrow bases of the petals in a close
and circular body.

Whatever colours the flower may be possessed
of, they should be perfectly distinct, and disposed
5S4

in long regular stripes, broadest at the edge of
the lamina, and gracefully becoming narrower
as they approach the close of the petal, and there
terminating in a fine point. Each petal should
have one half, or nearly so, of white, which
should be pure, clear, and free of spots. Bizarres,
or such as contain two colours upon a white
ground, are esteemed rather preferable to flakes,
which have but one, especially when their colours
are remarkably rich, and very regularly distri-
buted.

Scarlet, purple, and pink, are the three colours
most predominant in the carnation. The first
two are seldom to be met with in the same
flower; but the last two are very frequently.
When the scarlet predominates, and is united
with a paler colour, or, as it sometimes happens,
with a very deep purple upon a white ground,
it constitutes a scarlet bizarre, of which there
are many shades and varieties, some richer, and
others paler in their colours, as is the case with
all the rest.

Pink bizarres are so called when the pink
abounds, and so of the other colours. When
the pink flake is very high in colour, it is called
rose flake; but there are some so nearly in the
medium between a pink and scarlet, that it can
searcely be defined to which class they belong.
In addition to these varieties, there is another
much esteemed by cultivators, called picotee,
many of which are very beautiful; and being
hardier than the other sorts, are in considerable
request. The colours are principally yellow and
white spotted; their properties are the same as
the other kinds, except that the edges of the
petals are serrated or jagged, and the colour is
disposed in spots while the others are striped.

The carnation is propagated by layers and
pipings, and by seed for procuring new varieties.
The most usual method is by layers. This oper-
ation is performed when the plants are in full
bloom, or as practised by some, when the flowers
are on the decline. The process, by wounding
the stalks, impairs the bloom, and frequently
destroys the parent plant.

A sufficient quantity of hooked pegs, and
of compost, being provided, the pot con-
taining the plant to be layed, is placed on a
table, and the layers prepared by cutting off
their lower leaves; the earth is then stirred, and
the pot filled up with light rich mould, not of
too fine a grain. The incision is made by enter-
ing a quarter of an inch below the joint, and
passing the knife up through the centre of it;
it is then to be pegged down, and buried not
more than half an inch deep. The layers should
be pegged down in a dry state, as they are then
less brittle, and Jess liable to break off, than
when wet and succulent. As soon therefore as
the layers are dressed, the pot should be placed

full in the sun for half'an hour, in order to

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

render them more flaccid and pliant than they
otherwise would be. When the layers are pro-
perly rooted, which will be the case with most
sorts in about three weeks or a month after lay-
ing, provided due care be taken to keep them
regularly moist, and to shade them from the
heat of the meridian sun; they are then to be
cut off from the old plant, with about half an
inch of the stalk which connects them with it,
and immediately planted in small pots, three or
four plants in each, placed round the sides. The
pots are to be placed under an arch of hoops,
where they can be covered with mats, and pro-
tected from heavy rains. In winter they are to
be removed under cover of a frame, to protect
them from the frost.*

Piping is a more precarious mode of propaga-
tion, and the chances of its success depend much
on circumstances. It is resorted to when the
shoots are too short for laying. A slight hot-
bed is to be prepared, and covered with four or
five inches of light mould. The cuttings in-
tended to be piped, are to have two complete
joints. Some also cut off the extremities of the
leaves, as in the case of laying; and the pipings,
which should be from an inch and a half to two
inches long, are thrown into a basin of soft
water for a few minutes. The earth on the hot-
bed should now be moderately moistened, and
rendered rather compact; then take a small hand
glass, and with it make an impression neatly on
the surface of the soil, in order to marl out
where to stick in the pipings. These are to be
taken singly out of the basin, and put into the
earth about half an inch deep, regularly at equal
distances from each other, and about an inch
within the circular mark of the glass. They
are then to be watered gently; and after the
leaves are dry, the glass is to be put carefully
over them, forcing the edge of it a little into
the earth, so as to exclude the external air. The
soil should be kept moderately moist, the plants
exposed to the morning sun, but shaded from
the noon-day by matting; and the glasses are to
be occasionally taken off to admit air. If air
is not occasionally and freely admitted, the sur-
face of the soil, and the plants themselves, will
become mouldy, in consequence of the growth
of parasitic fungi.

Raising the seed is rather a difficult process
in this climate, owing to the dampness of the
autumnal months; it is accordingly generally
procured from Switzerland and Germany; and
if put into well stopped phials, it will keep
sound for years. In raising it in this country,
those plants that have few petals, or nearest
approaching to single, should be selected, only
they should be good of their kind. The pots
containing these should be separated from the

* Maddock.
TIE PINK. 585

rest, and placed in an open situation, and shel-
tered from occasional heavy rains; they should
be moderately watered. When the bloom is
over, and the petals are dry and withered, they
should be carefully drawn out of the pod and
calyx, so as to allow the seeds to dry and iipen
fully. So difficult is it to ripen the seeds, that,
according to Hoge, very often not more than
one in a hundred plants prove fertile. Seedlings
vequire two years to bloom, and, according to
the same florist, the chance of getting one good
new flower is as 1 to 100. Ifa florist raises
six new carnations in his lifetime, he is to be
considered fortunate. Seeds out of the same
flower will be found to produce all the different
varieties. The compost used for the carnation is
one-half rotten horse dung one year old, one-third
fresh loamy earth, and one-sixth coarse sea or
river sand. These ingredients are to be mixed
together in autumn, laid in a heap about two
feet thick in an open exposure, and turned three
or four times during winter, so as that the whole
may be frozen over. In March the whole should
be well mixed and incorporated together, and
passed through a coarse sieve. The common
sorts are planted in beds or borders; but the finer
sorts always in pots. These should be at least
twelve inches in diameter at the top, and ten
inches deep. .

The plants, after being dressed and prepared,
are to be put into the pots about the middle of
March, or first of April. They are then placed
in free, open situations, under an arch of hoops,
where mats may be placed to protect them on
oceasion of heavy rains, or severe weather.
When the flower stems have grown to eight or
ten inches, they require support by tying them
to sticks placed for the purpose. All insects,
especially the green plant louse, are to be care-
fully picked off the stems or leaves, and de-
stroyed. Just previous to the expansion of the
flower, the petals are so large and numerous, in
some plants, as to burst the calyx at one side.
This disfigures the flower, and to prevent this
accident, a slip of bladder is to be tied round the
calyx, so as to give it support till the petals
burst forth at the top. When the first flowers
begin to open and expand, they should be covered
from the sun and rain by small pieces of paper
in the form of an extinguisher, lightly put over
them; and when the greater part are in bloom,
a general covering should be put to protect the
whole.

The petals of the carnation, particularly the
high coloured ones, ave very apt to return from
the striped or variegated, to the original plain;
they are then esteemed of little or no value by
the florist. When they show a tendency to this,
they may frequently be recovered by planting
them in a poor dry soil, that will but just afford
sufficient nourishment for their existence. The

 

winter treatment of the carnation plants resem
bles that described for auriculas,

Tus Pink (dianthus hortensis). Pinks have
only been known as garden flowers from a very
modern date; indeed, the garden pink is sup-
posed by many to be only a sub-species, or, per-
haps, a cross of the carnation, Some have sup-
posed it to have been produced from the British
species, d. deltoides ; and the pheasant eye pink,
from d. plumarius.

The cob pink is a large sort, apparently inter- .
mediate between the pink and picotee carnation.
There are a great number of varieties of the
garden pink. A first rate double pink should
have a strong, elastic, and erect stem, not less
than twelve inches high. The calyx should be
rather smaller and shorter, but nearly similar in
form and proportions to that of the carnation;
while the flower should not be less than two
inches in diameter. The petals should be large,
broad, and substantial, and have very fine fringed
or serrated edges, free from large, coarse, deep
notches, or indentures. In short, they approach
nearest to perfection when the fringe on the edge
is so fine as scarcely to be discernible; and it is
even desirable that they should be perfectly rose-
leaved, that is, without any fringe atall. The
broadest part of the lamina, or broad end of the
petals, should be perfectly white and distinct
from the eye, unless it be a laced pink, that is,
ornamented by a continuation of the colour of
the eye, round, bold, clear, and distinct, leaving
a considerable proportion of white in the centre
perfectly free from any tinge or spot. The eye
should consist of a bright or dark rich crimson,
or purple, resembling velvet; but the nearer it
approaches to black, the more it is esteemed.
Its proportion should be about equal to that of
the white, that it may neither appear too large
or too small.

The general mode of propagating pinks is by
pipings, or by layers to preserve rare sorts, and
by seed to procure new varieties. The proper
time to commence the operation of piping, is
immediately previous to, or during the bloom,
or as soon as the new shoots are grown of a suffi-
cient length for the purpose. The same method
isemployed as that-described for the carnation.
Some gardeners, instead of piping or laying,
half separate the young shoots from the parent
stock; although this process is apt to injure the
latter, and is not to be generally recommended.

There is also a process for procuring new var-
ieties, of impregnating double and semi-double
pinks with single kinds, which is thus described
by a French florist: “Just before sunrise open
carefully the flower to be operated on, and abstract
the anthers with a small pincers. About eight
or nine o’clock place the ripe pollen upon the
stigma of the flower, and repeat this two or three
times in the course of the day. If the act of

4h
556

impregnation has taken place, the flower will
fade in twenty-four or thirty-six hours; but if
not, the flower will remain in full beauty, in
which case the attempt must be repeated. This
should always be done in fine serene weather;
and care should be taken to defend the impreg-
nated flower from rain and mists. Plants raised
from seeds which have been crossed, always bear
the form of the mother, but take the colours of
the male parent. Fewer seeds are produced
by art than by nature alone; and the impreg-
nated flowers are less visited by bees than
others.”

The common sorts of pinks are planted in
borders, and the best qualities in beds; few,
except very rare sorts, are put intu pots, for in
general they thrive best in the npen ground. The
most appropriate soil is a fresh loam, dug about
two feet deep, finely comminuted, and manured
with a stratum of cow dung two years old,
mixed with an equal proportion of earth. As
soon as the pipings are struck, and will bear
removal, they are to be planted on a bed of com-
mon garden mould, where, in a few weeks, it
will easily be discernible which are the strongest
plants to remove to the blooming bed. This
bed should be raised three or four inches above
the surrounding paths; and the plants placed in
it in August, or early in September, about nine
inches apart from each other. During winter,
if the frost is severe, a slight covering will be
necessary; and in the ensuing spring, weeding
and stirring up the surface of the bed, are all
that is necessary. A month before blowing, the
bed may be thinned if necessary, leaving all the
largest and strongest plants. In these plants all
the small lateral buds should be plucked off, in
order to ensure a full blow of the central ones,
and these should not exceed eight or ten in
number, Strong healthy plants, not too large
or bushy, and consisting of a capital leading
stem in the centre, are the most likely to pro-
duce the best flowers. Those buds likely to
burst at the side of the calyx, should be tied
and supported, as described for the carnation;
and sticks should be put into the ground, to
which the large stems are to be tied for support.
Pinks transplanted in spring never show such
a fine blow as those transplanted in September.
They should be moved every two years.

Tue Vioter (viola). Natural family violacew;
pentandria, monogynia, of Linneus. This is a
genus of pretty flowers, of which there are a
number of species, distinguished by their five-
petalled corolla, generally blue, purple,and white,
with these petals disposed somewhat in the
butterfly form. The leaves vary according to
the species, being heart-shaped in some, in others
ovate, sagittate, pedate, &c. Some are annual,
others perennial; and they are natives of Europe,
Asia, and America.

 

IIISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Several species are indigenous in Britain, as
the sweet violet, the hairy, the marsh, the dog’s
violet, and the pansy, or heart’s-ease. Violets
were known to the ancients, and named after
To, fabled to have been turned into a cow by
Jupiter. The ancient physicians employed the
roots and leaves in medicine; but in modern
practice the flower only is occasionally employed
asa test of acids, and for imparting a pleasing
colour to tinctures. As garden flowers, the
violet and pansy are much prized both for their
beauty and the grateful flavour of the odorous
species,

The Sweet Violet (v. odorata). This is a
favourite flower from its delicious fragrance, and
the early period at which it appears. It is a
native of England, and every part of Europe,
growing in a loamy soil in woods and thickets,
and on warm banks. Desfontaines saw it fre-
quently in Barbary, in the palm groves about
Tassa and Cossar, the blue and white growing
promiscuously, and flowering in winter, Has-
selquist found it in Palestine, Thunberg, inJapan,
and Laureiro, in China, near Canton.

It is a perennial creeping plant; the leaves are
cordate and smooth; while the hairy violet (v.
hirsuta), which nearly resembles it, has the leaves
and footstalk hairy; the latter also is inodorous,
The petals of the sweet violet are either blue,
purple, or white. The double kinds most
esteemed are the purple and the Neapolitan
variety, called the single Russian, which com-
mence to flower in autumn in the open air, and
continue so even during the frost of winter.

The sweet violet grows best in a loamy soil,
and may either be planted in beds in warm situ-
ations, in the open ground, or under glass frames.
The Neapolitan is well adapted for forcing in
pots. The violet is frequently alluded to by the
ancient poets as aremedy for the cure of wounds,
and was used for this purpose by the Greeks and
Arabians,

The Pansy, or Heart’s-ease (v. tricolor). This
name was originally confined to the viola tricolur;
but it is now extended to other species, as the
lutea, grandiflora, ameena, and the hybrids, pro-
duced by mingling these species together. The
tricolor is an annual, with stalks from four to
six inches in height; the leaves variously shaped,
being ovate, or elliptical, according to position,
and with compound stipules. The petals are
variously coloured. In the wild species the two
uppermost are generally purple or red, and the
others variegated, with a yellow ground.

The cultivated varieties are at least a hundred.
The prevailing colours are purple and violet,
each with many shades. They are in flower
from the beginning of June till July; the mid-
summer heat interrupts their blooming for some
time; but after the middle of August they com-
mence again, and continue with a perpetual
LOBELIAS.

succession of varied and beautiful flowers, till
checked by the winter frosts, The finest pan-
sies should have large, round petals; the flower
forming nearly a circle, one inch and a quarter
in diameter. The colours should be brilliant,
distinct, and permanent; the eye rather small,
and not deeply pencilled, and the stigma filling
the open part of it. The flower stalk should
be strong and erect.

The propagation of pansies is by cuttings, or
seed, either of which may be accomplished with
the greatest ease in common garden soil. The
seeds may be sown early in spring, under hand
glasses, or in a common frame; and the plants
may be first pricked out under glass, and after-
wards transplanted into beds in the open garden,
or put into pots. The situation should be open
to the east or west; the surface should be rather
below the neighbouring ground, so as to retain
moisture, and be cool; and the soil should be a
sandy loam, well manured.

Loprrras. Natural family campanulacee ;
pentandria, monogynia, of Linneus. ‘his genus
cf splendid plants is called after Lobel, a French
botanist, who came to England in the reign of
James [. There are many species of this family,
some of which are aquatic plants, or grow in
very moist situations, as the water lobelia, dort-
manna, and the long-flowered longiflora. The
leaves are generally oblong, lanceolate, or linear;
the prevailing colour of the corolla is red. Three
beautiful garden species are known under the
name of cardinal flowers.

The Common Cardinal Flower (1. cardinalis ),
isa native of Virginia, where it grows wild in
abundance, by the sides of rivers and ditches.
It was introduced into Britain in the year 1629,
and was then very much admired. Justice
describes it as “a flower of most handsome ap-
pearance, which should not be wanting in curious
gardens, as it excels all other flowers I ever knew,
in the richness of its scarlet colour.”

This plant is propagated in the usual way, by
offsets and cuttings; but those raised from seed,
produce the strongest plants. Soon after the
seed has ripened, it is to be sown in pots of rich
earth, placed under the protection of a frame.
Next spring the. plants make their appearance,
and after they have acquired two or three leaves,
they should be put out into separate pots; and
as they acquire bulk, still farther transplanted
during the season. They should have an eastern
exposure, and a liberal supply of water. In the
second season they will flower, and if protected
from the too great influence of the sun, will
continue a long time in full beauty. The roots
do not last above two or three years, and thus a
constant succession of young plants is neces-
sary.

The Fulgent Cardinal Flower (1. fulgens ).
This species is a native of Mexico, and was

 

587

introduced into England in 1809. It is an
aquatic plant, and will even endure the severity
of our winters, if planted by the side of ponds
or cisterns. It flowers in July and August. It
may be propagated by suckers or cuttings, which
strike with great facility in any shady situation.
It may also be raised from seed, which should
be sown as soon as it ripens, on the surface of
moist earth in earthen pans, taking care not to
cover up the seed with earth.

The plants will come up in spring, and flower
the second year. It is necessary to shelter the
pans during the winter. By a succession of
transplantings into larger pots, magnificent
plants of this species may be obtained, some ot
them attaining the height of five feet, and up-
wards,

The Splendid Cardinal Flower (h. splendens ),
is also a native of Mexico, and was introduced
into Britain in 1814. Itis to be treated in the
same manner as the others.

The Blue Cardinal Flower (1. syphilitica ),
and several other species, are natives of America,
They all require the same mode of treatment,
and may be raised without much difficulty.
The 0. syphilitica was said to be employed as a
medicinal plant by the North American Indians,
in the cure of syphilis. Its virtues, however,
have not been confirmed by the trials of Euro-
pean physicians,

The dwarf varieties of lobelias are of two
kinds, those with blue flowers, and those with
white. They are easily raised in borders, and
have a very showy appearance during the greater
part of the summer. They are propagated by
cuttings taken early in spring, placed below
glasses until they set, and then transplanted into
open borders as soon as the weather admits.

Beit Firowrer (campanula). Natural family
campanulacee; pentandria, monogynia, of Lin-
neus. This is a genus of plants with numerous
species, distinguished by the bell-shape of the
corolla; hence the name derived from campana,
(a bell). Almost all the species have long white
roots, of an esculent quality; that of rampion
c. rapunculus, is used as food in France and Italy.
Many of the species are showy garden flowers,
The common Scottish blue bell, ¢. rotundifolia,
is a well known wild flower.

Pyramidal Bell Flower (c. pyramidalis ).
This splendid species is a native of Istria and
Savoy, and was first cultivated in Britain by
Gerarde. Fora long time it was a fashionable
flower in the halls of the nobility, and was usu-
ally trained in a spreading, fan-shape, so as to
cover the fire place in summer; and for this pur-
pose it is still esteemed in Holland. It has,
however, been greatly superseded as a fashionable
flower in this country, by other more novel
plants, as the lobelia. It is, however, when
trained to a great height, by successive trans-
588

plantations into larger pots, a beautiful ohject,
with its tall pyramidal stem, on which, for at
least two months, appear a succession of blue
bells.

It thrives best in a rich light soil, without
any animal manure; and may be propagated by
seed, by cuttings from the stem, or by division
of the roots, which last affords the strongest
plants in the shortest time. ‘The proper time
for dividing the roots is after the bloom is over,
in September. The sections are then to be
planted in pots, and protected by a frame during
the winter. In spring they are to be trans-
planted into small pots, and gradually changed
into larger ones. According to Miller, the plants
raised from seed are always the best. The stalks
rise more vigorous, and higher, and produce a
greater number of flowers. Good seeds are to
be obtained by placing a strong flowering plant
in a warm situation, against a wall, or under a
glass case. Soon after the seeds are ripe, and
gathered, they are to be sown in pots containing
light earth, and then put under shelter for the
winter. ‘The plants appear in spring, and make
progress during the summer. When the leaves
decay in October, they are to be transplanted
into beds of light loamy earth, without any
mixture of manure. In this bed they are left
for two years, being protected in winter by rotten
tan. They are then to be removed to their final
destination in September or October, and the
following year being the third from sowing, they
willflower. The plants of this, as well as many
other species which have been propagated by
roots, do not so readily bear seed as those which
have been raised directly from seed.

The Canterbury Bells (¢. medium), is a well
known garden flower, with double and single
varieties; blue, red, purple, and white coloured.
It is a biennial, of very easy culture, and may
cither be sown in autumn in beds, where it is
to remain; or in spring, for transplantation.

The Clustered Campanula (¢. glomerosa_), is a
rock or pot plant, and requires a dry poor soil,
in order to bring out the vivid tints of the cor-
olla. It is also of very easy culture.

Tue Douste Rocker. Natural family erwci-
Sere; tetradynamia, of Linneus. This isa bien-
nial, or imperfect annual, a native of Ituly, and
introduced into Britain by Gerarde, in 1597.
There are two vanetices, the white and purple,
both forming a spike of double flowers, about
twelve inches in length. They are beautiful,
fragrant, and durable flowers, and give out their
odour more sweetly in the evening than during
the day. Although it is of easy culture in
country gardens, yet it will not thrive near large
cities, as London and Paris; so that both these
capitals are supplied with it from the provinces.

Jt grows very luxuriantly in a clayey soil,
lal a lighter texture of soil is more favourable

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

for the full development of its fuwers. The
best. mode of propagating these plants is the
following. When the flower is beginning to
fade, cut down the stalks and divide them into
ordinary lengths of cuttings; next cut off the
leaves, and smooth the ends, then make three
slits with a knife in the bark or rind, lengthwise,
so as to separate or raise the bark for half an
inch in length. When the eutting is inserted
in the ground, the loose bark naturally curls up;
and it is from this bark that the young shoots
proceed, The partial separation, and the turning
up of the bark, seems to promote a tendency to
throw out roots. The cuttings may be put into
flower pots, as they may thus be sheltered during
winter with more ease; or they may be placed
in the natural earth, provided the soil is light
and fresh. Covering them with a hand glass,
will forward the rooting of the cuttings; or they
may be put on a hot bed, which will equally
facilitate their growth. The same florist * recom-
mends a similar plan of treatment for stock gel-
ly-flowers, and double wall-flowers.

CurysanrHemum. Natural family composite;
syngenesia, superflua, of Linneus. This genus
is well known as containing some of our most
showy corn weeds, as the ox-cye, daisy, and
corn erysanthemum, as well as our most showy
varieties of garden flowers.

The Chinese Crysanthemum (c. Indicum ), is
the finest of this family. It isa native of India,
and a particular favourite with the Chinese,
from whence we have derived all our varicties.
It was first introduced into this country in1764,
and secon became a favourite in our gardens. It
blows late in autumn, and may be preserved in
the conservatory till the middle of winter, at a
period when few other tlowers are in perfection.

There are at least fifty known varieties of this
flower, which have been classed under the fol-
lowing heads :—

Ranunculus-flowered, yellow, white, brown,
bluish, buff, pink, and light purple.

Incurving ranunculus-flowered, black, bluish,
pink, orange, red, and white.

China aster-flowered, yellow, red, crimson,
pink, black, and white.

Marigold-flowered, golden-yellow, with bron-
zed back, yellow, lotus-flowered, pale, buff, pur-
ple.

Tassil_flowered, yellow, salmon-coloured, lilac,
purple, and white.

This flower is of very easy culture, and is pro-
pagated by dividing the root by suckers, and by
cuttings. In the beginning of April cuttings are
taken from the top shoots of last year’s plants,
and put into pots containing fresh loam, sand,
and bog, or leaf mould. ‘These cuttings should
be about three inches in length, and smoothly

* Robertson

Caledon. Mem. vol. 2.
THE LUPINE.

cut across at a joint. At first the pots are to be
put into artificial heat till the plants root, and
then to be placed in the open air, moving them
into larger pots as the plants advance in growth.
‘They should be watered with liquid manure, and
bout the month of June the tops of the plants
should be nipped off, in order to make them
grow bushy.

Many of the varieties may be raised in the
open border in warm sheltered situations, the
best soil being two-thirds of turfy loam, and one
third of leaf mould.

During winter the roots require protection,
and they need to be renewed about every two
years; for as they increase much in size by
suckers from the roots, the plants, if left for a
long period, become unsightly, and produce
small and imperfect flowers. The early flower-
ing varieties are the hardiest and most suitable
for the open border,

The marygold (calendula officinalis.) This
well known flower, belonging to the same natural
family as the foregoing, has been a denizen of
the garden border from the earliest times.
Though common, and hardy, and prolific as any
weed, its deep orange disk is by no means devoid
of beauty. Formerly it used to be employed in
broths and soups, partly to give these a colour,
and partly to give the peculiar flavour and warm
aromatic taste which belongs to the flower. It
had also many medicinal virtues assigned to it,
which modern opinions have not confirmed.
The flower of the marygold, according to Lin-
nus, is open from nine in the morning till three
in the afternoon. There are double, lemon-col-
oured, and prolific varieties. A distilled water,
a kind of vinegar, and a conserve, are prepared
from the flowers,

A number of species of this genus are indigen-
ous to the Cape of Good [lope; some of which
are showy annuals.

The Daisy (bellis perennis), is also a well
known flower. The garden varieties are double,
trom the stamens being converted into petals of
the corolla. There is also a singular variety
called the Hen and Chicken’s Daisy, where small
additional flowers grow out from the original
central one. The daisy continues many months
in flower, enamelling alike the meadow and the
garden border with its pleasing and familiar
face.

There are other two species, the large Portu-
gal daisy, (0. sylvestris), and the annual.

Asters, This genus, belonging to the natural
family composite, contains a great number of
different species. All the flowers are star-like,
hence the name, and there is a peculiarity in the
style which distinguishes the genus. The col-
ours are various. From the lateness in the sea-
son at which they bloom, they have obtained
the name of Christmas daisy. There are scven

 

589

species commonly cultivated in gardens which
bloom in September, eleven which flower in
October,and three which continue from Novem-
ber till Christmas. They are very easily culti-
vated, and will grow in any kind of soil. The
greater number are natives of America, but some
of the species are found over most regions of the
globe,

The China Aster is a well known annual,
some recent varieties of which have been intro-
duced from Germany, of large size, with quilled
and striped flowers. ‘The seed should be sown
the first week of April, either in pots or seed
pans, and placed in a cold frame. When the
plants come up, and are of a proper size, they
may be transplanted to open beds and bor-
ders,

Tux Luring. The natural family leguminose,
to which this genus belongs, affords. many beau-
tiful species of garden flowers. About twenty
species of the lupine have been cultivated for
this purpose, and afford beautiful border orna-
ments, with a variety of colours, blue, yellow,
rose-coloured, &c, They are all of very early
culture, being reared from seeds the same as the
common pease and beans.

Stock Gitty Frowrr (mathiola.) Natural
family crucifere. This genus was named after
Mathiola, an Italian physician. There are seve-
ral species natives of Europe and of Barbary. Two
species, the common gilly flower (incana), and
sinuata, ave indigenous to Britain. They have
been long favourite ornaments of the flower gar-
den, the double species being esteemed for the
beauty and deep tints of the flower, and for its
delightful odour. Of the common or ten weeks’
stock, and the smooth-leaved, (glabra) there
are not less than one hundred varieties, gener-
ally called German stocks. The simple or Bromp-
ton stock (simplicicaulis) is a biennial, of which
there are also several varieties. The ten week
stock, in order that it may flower the same year,
should be raised in a hot-bed, and transplanted
as early in the spring as the state of the weather
will permit. ‘The Brompton, on the other hand,
should not be encouraged to flower till the second
season, and on this account may be sown in the
open air in April or May, and transplanted in
July to the situation where it is intended to
remain. It is of importance that all the species
of this genus should be transplanted when they
are very young, because, having fusiform roots,
and fine side fibres, they seldom recover from
the check which they receive from being trans-
planted, after they are two or three months old.
‘The chance of double plants is often very pre-
carious. It is said that those seed plants which
have more than the usual number of petals, that
is, six or seven instead of four, generally produce
double flowers when the seed is again sown. It
would be well, therefore, for the florist to mak
590

such plants, and preserve the seed to be sown
separately.

The Wall Flower (cheiranthus cheira.) This
is a genus allied to the former. The delightful
fragrance of the common wall flower has always
rendered it a favourite, although it is possessed
of little beauty. There are several species, and
several double varieties. All are of very easy
culture. The rock wall flower, (scoparius), and
indeed all the species thrive well on rocks and
walls where the soil is poor and arid. On this
account, it becomes a flower well suited to form
an ornament, anil to conceal blemishes in any
part of the garden grounds. It has this advan-
tage also of being a hardy evergreen, standing
out even our severe winters. It has some-
times been planted in pasture lands, its bitter
qualities having been found a preventative of the
rot in sheep.

Batsam (impatiens balsamina.) Natural
family balsaminee ; pentandria, monogynia, of
Linneus. This is one of the most beautiful of
garden annuals. It grows to one or two feet in
height, with a succulent branchy stem, serrated
leaves, and a cone of finely variegated carnation-
like flowers. The prevailing colours of the petals
are red and white, the former extending to every
shade of orange, purple, scarlet, lilac, pink, and
flesh colour. On the slightest touch the seed
capsules, when ripe, burst and scatter the seeds
around. Hence the name impatiens was applied
to the family. It is a native of the East Indies
and Japan, where, according to Thunherg’s
account, the natives use the juice prepared with
alum for dyeing the nails red. It was first cul-
tivated in England by Gerarde, in 1596.

One species, (b. nolitangere), is a native of
Europe. During the day the leaves of this
species are expanded,-but at night they hang
pendent, contrary to what usually takes place in
plants which, from a deficiency of moisture, or
a too great perspiration from heat, commonly
droop the leaves during the day. No animal but
the goat is said to eat this plant. The garden
balsam is exceedingly apt to run into varieties,
the seed from one plant scarcely producing two
alike. Double flowers are those esteemed, and
the most prized are the striped carnation-like
flakes or bizarres. It is generally raised by seed,
though in this way no varieties can be depended
upon being transmitted; sometimes although
rarely, varieties are propagated by cuttings,
which, however, do not readily set. Seed ripens
easily in semi-double plants, and should not be
less than three or four, or even nine years old,
before it is sown, as it has been found that new
seed rarely produces double flowers. The best
soilis a rich loam, and the sowing may take
place at any time from March to the end of
April. The seed is to be sown very thin in
pots, which are then to be placed in a hot

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

bed as near the glass as possible. When the
plants attain a height of five inches, they are to
be transplanted into larger pots, one in the centre
of each. As soon as the roots have filled them,
the plant is to be moved into a larger; and this
process is to be repeated three or four times till
the last pots are eight or more inches in diame-
ter, still keeping the plants in a hot-hed. Bal-
sams so treated will grow to the height of four
feet, and fifteen feet in circumference, with side
branches from top to bottom, all covered with
large double flowers.

The Cocks Comb (celosia cristata). The ama-
ranthus tricolor, the globe amaranth, and most
other tender annuals, may be treated in a similar
manner, and with similar success. In October,
1820, Mr Knight sent to the Horticultural
Society a cock’s comb, the flower of which mea-
sured eighteen inches in width, and seven inches
in height, from the top of the stalk. It was
thick and full, and of an intense purplish red.
This was produced by means of retarding the
growth of the flower stalk. The compost
employed was of the most nutritive and stimu-
lating kind, consisting of one part of unfermented
horse dung fresh from the stable, and without
litter, one part of burnt turf, one of decayed
leaves, and two of green turf, the latter being in
lumps of about an inch thick, in order to keep
the mass so hollow that the water might have
free liberty to escape, and the air to enter. The
seeds were sown in spring rather late, and the
plants put first into pots of four inches diameter,
and then transplanted to others a foot in diame-
ter, the object being not to compress the roots,
as that has a tendency to accelerate the flower-
ing of all vegetables. The plants were placed
within a few inches of the glass, in a heat of from
70° to 100°. They were watered with pigeon-
dung water, and due attention paid to remove
the side branches when very young, so as to pro-
duce one strong head or flower.

Tue Cyctamen. Natural family primulacee ;
pentandria, monogynia, of Linneus. This is a
genus of pretty little annuals, with cordate
or orbicular leaves, twisted flower-stalks, and
beautiful five petalled flowers. ‘The root is a
round flattened bulb the size of a pigeon’s egg,
and in the north of Italy the swine feed on them.
‘When the flowers fade, the pedicles twist up like
a screw, inclosing the germen in the centre, and
Iying close to the ground among the leaves,
remain in that position till the seeds ripen. The
plants, from their neat small size, are pecu-
arly suited for pots for the drawing-room in
spring. The ivy-leaved is very fragrant, but
scarce and delicate. The Persian ripens seeds
freely, and may thus be easily increased. They
should be sown immediately after they are
ripened, and kept in a frame or greenhouse till
the first of May. They may then be transplanted
THE MIGNONETTE.

into a bed of light garden soil, and covered with
a frame till midsummer. By the following
autumn, they will be found strong vigorous
plants, when they may be taken up, potted singly
in very small pots, and placed in the greenhouse,
where they will flower beautifully, producing
from fifty to eighty blossoms from a single bulb.
The round-leaved (coum) ripens its seeds in
May, when they should be immediately sown
in pots, and kept in the greenhouse, where they
will flower in the following season.

Verbena. DidynamiaAngiospermia, Linn. A
family of weedy plants, with the exception of
the rose and Lambert’s vervain. The officinal
or common vervain was held sacred among the
ancients, and used at their sacrifices, and by
ambassadors in making their leagues and national
agreements. ‘The others are pretty half hardy
perennial garden flowers. They are propagated
by cuttings, kept through the winter in small
pots, and then when the frost is over, planted in
the open air, They thrive best in a light rich
soil, and flower during the summer.

MienonetreE (reseda odorata). Natural family
resedacce; dodecandria, trigynia, of Linneus.
The very agreeable odour of this little un-
pretending plant, has rendered it a universal
favourite among all nations and classes. It is a
native of Egypt, but bears this climate perfectly
well, and brings its seeds to maturity. The
inflorescence of this plant, and the family to
which it belongs, is somewhat remarkable; and
is thus described by Professor Lindley.* “The
usual idea of the flower of reseda has been,
that it is furnished with a calyx of a varable
number of divisions, with as many petals, pro-
ducing from their surface certain anomalous
appendages; and with an ovary and stamens,
inserted in a great fleshy body, called nectary
by Linnzan botanists, syuama by others, and
raised to the rank of a distinct organ by Mirbel,
under the name of gynophore. To us, however,
it has always appeared that this could by no
means be the real structure of the plant, and
that by a slight alteration of terms, it not only
might be much more satisfactorily explained,
but its real affinity ascertained with some degree
of probability. For even allowing fora moment
an analogy between the nectary of this plant,
and the discus of others, particularly of some
liliacee, there is still a great difficulty remaining
to be overcome in the anomalous structure of
the supposed petals, of which we can imagine
no possible explanation. We are therefore of
opinion that a much more natural mode of
understanding reseda, is to consider it as having
compound flowers, taking the calyx of anthers
for an involucrum, their petals for neutral florets,
and their nectary for the calyx of a fertile floret

* Collectana Botanica,

 

59]

in the middle. In support of this opinion, we
may observe, in the first place, that there is a
difference in the time of expansion of the neu-
tral florets, and of the stamens of the fertile one,
the former being quite open in very many
capituli before one anther of the latter has
burst in a single flower. Secondly, that there
is an evident analogy between the appendages ot
the neutral florets, and the stamens of the perfect
florets, inasmuch as in the mignonette those of
the upper sterile florets are of nearly the same
number as the real stamens; because, in reseda
alba, and some others in which a union of fila-
ments takes place in the perfect floret, there is
a corresponding, but more complete union of the
sterile appendages, and because occasionally in
the mignonette, stamens are changed into bodies
altogether similar to the sterile appendages; and
in reseda phyteuma, the same appearance is
always assumed by the perfect stamens, after
the anthers have performed their functions.
Thirdly, that there is an equal analogy between

‘| the calyx of the neutral florets, and that of the

perfect floret; because both have a peculiar
glandular margin, the same form, both produce
their stamens from their surface; and because
the upper edge of the calyx in sterile florets, has
the same relation to the axis of each particular
head, as that of the perfect floret has to the axis
of the whole inflorescence. Fourthly, that there
is no instance of the same analogy existing
between the discus and petals of other plants.
We may also observe, that in reseda phyteuma,
there is a campanulate tube to the calyx, into
the upper edge of which the stamens are in-
serted.

There is a sub-biennial shrubby variety of
the reseda odorata, called tree mignonette, rather
more odorous than the common sort, and which
is well suited for the drawing room. If left to
itself, it scarcely can be distinguished as a dis-
tinct variety; but trained against a wall, or toa
stick, it may be made to assume a shrubby
appearance.

Mignonette being so much in demand as a
chamber flower, it is of importance to have a
succession of plants in all seasons. For this
purpose, to obtain a winter supply of fresh, strong
plants, the seed should be sown in the open
ground in the end of July; by the middle of
September, the plants from this sowing will be
strong enough to be removed into pots. For a
week after this removal they must be shaded,
after which they may be freely exposed to the
sun and air, care being taken to protect them
by frames from damage by heavy rains, and
from injury by early frosts, until the beginning
of November, at which time many of them will
show their flowers; and they should then be
removed to a greenhouse or conservatory, or to
a warm window in a dwelling-house, where they
592

will branch out, and continue to blow until the
spring. The crop for March, April, and May,
should be sown in small pots not later than the
25th of August; the plants from this sowing
will not suffer from exposure to rain whilst they
are young, they must, however, be protected
from early frosts; like the winter crop, they are
to be thinned in November, leaving not more
than eight or ten plants in each pot; and at the
same time the pots being sunk about three or
four inches in some old tan or coal ashes, should be
covered with a frame, which it is best to place
fronting the west; for there the lights may be
left open in the evening to catch the sun. The
third or spring crop, should be sown in pots not
later than the 25th of February; these must be
placed on a frame on a gentle heat, and as the
heat declines, the pots must be let down three
or four inches into the dung bed, which will
keep the roots moist, and prevent their leaves
turning brown from the heat of the sun in April
or May. The plants thus obtained will be in
perfection by the end of May, and be ready to
succeed those raised by the autumnal sowing.”

An early and abundant blow of mignonette
may also be obtained by using a common box,
placed in the window sill, in a warm situation
exposed to the sun. In early spring this box
should have a glass frame fitted as a covering,
to be removed in summer, and which can be
obtained at a very moderate expense. About
the middle or end of February fill this box with
fresh light mould, to which add a little sand,
and a sprinkling of lime or pounded chalk, or
whiting. Then sow the seed pretty thick, and
cover it over with a portion of the finely pul-
verized mould. he box should be kept inside
the window until the plants appear, and then
put it outside in March, taking care to cover it up
in severe weather, and in frosty nights. As the
plants advance they are to be thinned out, air
admitted in the sunny part of the day, and a
sufficient supply of water given, so as to keep
the mould moist. The glass frame may be
removed in April or May, at the end of which
latter month the plants will begin to flower;
and if properly tended and watered, the blow
will continue till November. Mignonette requires
the sun and air, in order to produce its full and
perfect odour; and, on this account, even the
pots of this plant should be generally exposed
to the open air.

A few seeds of convolvulus minor, clarkia pul-
chella, or other annuals, interspersed through
the mignonette box, affords a pleasing variety.

The tree mignonette is also propagated by seed,
or it may be increased by cuttings, which will
readily strike root. The young plants should
be put singly into small pots, and brought for-

*TiisLon. Hort. Transac., vol. 2.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ward by heat, that of a gentle hot-bed being
the best. As they advance they must be tied
to a stick, taking care to prevent the growth of
the smaller side shoots by pinching them off, but
allowing the leaves of the main stem to remain
on for a time, to support and strengthen it.
When they have obtained the height of about
ten inches, or more, according to the fancy of
the cultivator, the shoots must be suffered to
extend themselves from the top, but must be
occasionally stopped at the ends, to foree them
to form a bushy head, which, by the autumn,
will be eight or nine inches in diameter, and
covered with bloom. Whilst the plants are
attaining their proper size, they should be shifted
progressively into larger pots, and may ultimately
be left in those of six inches in diameter at the
top.

aay (asperula odorata). Natural
family rubiacee ; tetrandria, monogynia, of Lin-
neus. This is a plant which grows wild in
woods and thickets, and has been admitted into
the garden from {he beauty of its whorled leaves
and simple blossom, but chiefly from the fragrant
odour of the leaves. This odour is only per-
ceptible when the leaves are crushed by the
fingers; but when dried, they give out their
peculiar odour very strongly, and for a long
period. They are used to scent clothes, and alse
to preserve them from the attack of insects.

This plant will grow under the drip of trees,
or in very shaded places, and thus may become
a pleasing ornament in situations where other
flowers will not thrive. It is also frequently
planted in rock works.

Tue Hottynock (althea rosea). Naturat
family malvacee ; monodelphia, polyandria, of
Linneus. Several species of the mallow are
common weeds in Europe. The hollyhock is
originally a native of China; but it thrives per-
fectly in the open air in this country; and forms
a very ornamental autumn flower in shrubberies
and cottage borders. There are nearly twenty
varieties of this species, characterized by the
tints of yellow, red, purple, and dark purple,
approaching to black. They are easily raised
from seed, and will grow in any common garden
soil,

Tur Hypranega. Natural family sazifragee,
or hydrangee ; decandria, digynia, Linneus.
This is a genus of marsh or aquatic plants, and
hence the name is derived from a Greek com-
pound signifying water-vessel. Four of the
known species are natives of America; and one,
the garden hydrangea (h. hortensis), is exten-
sively cultivated in the gardens of China and
Japan, although it has not been hitherto found
in a wild state. It was introduced into the
gardens of Kew, by the late Sir Joseph Banks;
and for a long time was a fashionable and
.favourite plant from the great beauty and size
CALCEOLARIA, OR SLIPPER WORTS.

of its Mowers. It has now somewhat waned in
public esteem, and given place to other novelties,
It is a shrubby, deciduous plant, with elliptical
leaves, narrowed at each end, and toothed. The
flowers are monstrous, and almost always barren;
and the petals have the peculiarity of changing
their colour, according to their age, and the
nature of the soil. It is decidedly an aquatic
plant, and one of large size, will consume in
warm weather ten or twelve gallons of fluid
daily. It has been supposed that certain chemi-
eal agents, especially those of an alkaline and
aluminous nature, when mixed with the soil,
have the effect of changing the colour of the
petals from a pink or rose colour, to a deep
Hue and purple. Accordingly, it has been found
that the yellow loam of Hampstead heath, and
some other places, and some sorts of peat earth,
are found to produce this effect, probably from
containing a portion of sulphate of aluminum.
Dr Daalen of Antwerp found that turf ashes,
and still more effectually the ash of the Norway
spruce, the wood generally used as fuel by him,
applied to the roots of hydrangea, produces the
blue colour of the petals. A Russian gardener
has found that the finest blue is produced by
planting the hydrangea in a mixture of clay,
and a peculiar sort of bog earth, which is found
in the neighbourhood. of St Petersburgh. The
two soils are intimately mixed, and are passed
through a fine seive. Another mode practised
hy the same gardener, is to add one table-spoon-
ful of alum, to as much common garden earth
as will fill a moderate sized pot; but the blue so
produced is never so perfect as that from the
bog earth andclay. Busch also asserts, that the
blue colour can be produced by watering the
young plant the summer before flowering, with
alum water. According to another authority,
by putting the plant into a pot containing a
mixture of sandy loam, and fresh sheep’s dung,
and watering with an infusion of that dung,
the same effect will be produced. A mixture of
oxide of iron in the mould, isalso said to impart
the blue tinge.

The hydrangea is propagated by cuttings; and
in order to have a succession of young plants
each year, in the beginning or middle of July, a
certain number of shoots with three or four
joints, are to be selected, cutting them off close
to the joint, which is at the bottom of the shoot.
These are to be planted in rich earth in a warm
border, and covered with a hand glass; they
should be shaded during the middle of the day,
and sprinkled with water two or three times a
week in the evening, so as to keep them always
moist, the glass being kept close over them at
all times. By the end of August they will be
well rooted, and then, or early in September,
they must be put singly into small pots, and
placed under a frame, which at first must be

 

593

shut up close, and if assisted by a temperate
heat, so much the better. In the frame they
are to be shaded and watered regularly till the
middle of October, when they are to be taken
into the green-house for the winter, where they
should be watered almost once aweek. In May
or June following, they may be planted out into
a bed of rich mould in the open ground, to
remain there till September, when they are again
taken up and potted, and treated as in the pre-
ceding winter. Instead of turning them out
again next spring, they may be retained in pots;
but they must be shifted twice during the sum-
mer. By either method strong plants will be
formed, fit for forcing or turning out in the
succeeding spring. They will thrive in open,
warm borders, and endure the winter if the roots
are protected from frosts. They should be sup-
plied abundantly with water, especially at the
period when they are coming into bloom. The
most approved soil is a compost of loam and
bog earth, or leaf mould, with a little sand well
incorporated together. In this they will pro-
duce red flowers. If blue are desired, a mixture
of Hampstead loam, or wood ashes, or alum, or
oxide of iron, as already mentioned, is to be
used.

This plant may also be propagated by layers,
using the same process as that directed for car-
nations. The oak-leaved hydrangea (h. querci-
folia), is also an elegant plant. It is a native
of Florida.

Caxceonarra, or Surprrr Worts. Natural
family scrophularinee ; diandria, monogynia, ot
Linneus. This genus of pretty green-house
flowers came originally from Chili and Peru,
and have become great favourites with the public.
The corolla is pouched at the lower extremity,
and assumes a form not unlike acommon slipper;
hence their name has been derived. There are
numerous species and varieties.

C. corymbosa and paralia, are herbaceous
plants, of great beauty, but somewhat difficult
to propagate. C7. bicolor, and other branching
shrubby kinds, are of easy culture. These may
be raised from seed sown in spring, or from cut-
tings, first put into a hot-bed early in the season,
and then planted out into warm borders. Some
hardy kinds will stand the winter if protected
by shelter; and others of the shrubby kind may
be trained as standards.

Fucusra. Natural family santalacee; octan-
dria, monogynia, of Linneus. The fuchsia is
so named after Leonard Fuch, a German botanist.
It is a native of Chili and Mexico, and was
recently introduced into this country. The
handsome form of the pendant flowers, their
vivid colours, and the numbers which succes-
sively during the greater part of the season
adorn the branches, render this flower a beautiful
ornament of the conservatory or parlour win-

4p -
594

dow. There are several species, and numcrous
hybrids and varieties. The scarlet fuchsia (f.
coccinea), has the leaves in threes, and serrated;
the peduncles axillary, and one-flowered. F.
gracilis has the branches slightly downy, the
leaves opposite and smooth, the flowers much
longer than the leaves. J. excorticata has the
leaves ovate, and placed alternately. The box-
thorn leaved (f. lyctoides), has ovate, lanceolate
leaves, generally in threes, and the sepals reflexed.
All are easily propagated by cuttings. These
are to be first raised in the green-house, and
then transferred into pots, where they may be
kept for two or three years, till they have
acquired the size of shrubs, when they may be
turned out into the open air at the commence-
ment of summer, and removed again to the
green-house in winter. One of the hardiest
species (f. virgata), will thrive well in the open
air, in a warm sheltered exposure.

When fuchsias attain the height of four or
five feet, they become splendid plants, and afford
a succession of beautiful flowers. The flowers
of the dongiflora are remarkable for their great
length.

GrEraniums, or Petarcontums. Natural family
geraniacee ; monodelphia, decandria, of Linneus.
This genus obtains its name from the Greek
word signifying crane’s bill, the seed capsule, with
its beak, bearing a resemblance to the long bill
of thecrane. Many of the species are European
plants, and are mere weeds; most of the green-
house species are from the Cape of Good Hope.
There is great diversity in the form and habits
of the different species. Some have tuberous
roots; while others are devoid of tubers. Some
are devoid of stem, or have an herbaceous or
half shrubby stem; the leaves are simple, pin-
nate, or decompound in the stemless kinds; or
entire, toothed, lobed, or pubescent in the shrubby
species; and generally odorous, especially when
pressed between the fingers. In the majority
of geraniums the flowers are odourless, especially
those of the more showy kinds; while some of
the simpler, and more unpretending blossoms,
diffuse a grateful odour, especially during night.
The most beautiful flowering geraniums, or
pelargoniums, as they are sometimes called, are
hybrids, which have been obtained by crossing
different species, as first practised by Sweet. The
flowers are of various colours, white, blueish
pink, purple, orange, scarlet, crimson, all of
various shades and depths.

Geraniums are usually propagated by cuttings;
but all the kinds ripen their seeds in this country,
and these, when sown, frequently produce new
varieties.

Most of the plants usually flower in spring, or
early in summer; and if the seed is ripe by mid-
summer, it may be immediately sown in pots
of light rich earth. These pots are to be placed

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

in agentle hot-hed, and shaded. The plants will
soon make their appearance, and should be trans-
planted singly into pots as soon as they show
two proper leaves. If kept under a frame,
several will flower in the following spring and
summer, and the remainder in the following
season.

The shrubby species grow most readily by
cuttings. These should be taken off at a joint
where the wood is beginning to ripen, laid in
the shade for an hour or two till the wound
heals, and then planted in sandy loam, and
placed in a gentle heat. The hardier sorts will,
however, strike freely in the open air in any
shady situation, without being covered with a
glass. Cuttings of the roots of many species
also strike readily; and the fibrous rooted sorts
may be multiplied by simply dividing the roots.
From the latter end of March till the middle or
end of July, cuttings of all the common kinds
may be put into the ground with success.

The soil best suited for geraniums is a rich
light mould, equal parts of sandy loam, and well
rotted dung, in a little leaf mould and sand. As
they are rapid growers, the pots require to be
examined in spring and autumn, and the roots
and top reduced, or the plant shifted into a larger
pot. In general, the shrubby sorts should be
kept low and bushy, by pruning; for when
they are allowed to grow tall and straggling,
they are very unsightly, and besides, do not
throw out so many flowers. Some of the her-
baceous sorts may be considered as frame plants,
but the greater number require the green-house;
and some of the very succulent sorts do best in
the dry stove.

When an extensive collection of geraniums
is kept, it is recommended to have a house
entirely devoted to their culture, with a roof so
constructed as to admit as much light as possible;
the stage over which the plants are placed should
also be near the glass, and there should be ample
means for giving air and heat. Most of the spe-
cies require rather more heat during winter
than evergreen woody exotics from the same
climates; otherwise they are apt to lose their
leaves, and to rot at the points of the shoots.
To prevent this, heat should be given in the day
time, and air admitted; and whenever any leaf
begins to decay, it should be removed. The
hardier plants may be placed in the open air
during the summer, taking care to remove them
during heavy rains, which is apt to destroy their
flowers.

The finer and more delicate sorts should, how-
ever, be kept in the house, allowing them free
air both day and night. In warm and sheltered
situations it is usual to plant out some of the
hardier species into the open borders, in April
and May. These will grow vigorously, and
afford a profusion of flowers until the commence-
AMERICAN ALOE,

ment of winter, when the plants may either be
protected in their situations from the frost by
plenty of litter or mats; or they may be removed
into pots, and placed under cover. It is even
found that if the plants are taken up, cleared of
their stalks and fibrous roots, the wounds made
in doing this healed by exposure in a dry place;
and afterwards the roots deposited in layers in a
mass of sand, and then placed in a cellar, or
otherwise excluded from frost, they will retain
their vegetative power through the winter, and
grow vigorously when replanted in the open air
in spring. Or, according to another method,
astock of rooted cuttings may be thickly planted
in pots, and preserved in the house during the
winter, and in spring planted out separately.
American ALorn* (agave Americana). Natural
family bromeliacew; hexandria, monogynia, of
Linneus, This is a celebrated and splendid
plant, a native of South America, It is a suc-
culent plant, without stem, the leaves being
yadical, spiny, and toothed. The flower rises
to several feet in height, bearing a number of
large and splendid flowers. There is a variety
with striped foliage, and occasionally these stripes
are of different shades, of white, yellow, and
red. It has been completely acclimated in Sicily,
Calabria, Spain, Portugal, and the West India
islands, where it grows wild in abundance, form-
ing hedges. It is also much used in France,
Germany, and Britain, grown in vases to adorn
apartments, or the conservatory. It was at one
time a prevailing idea, that this plant only
flowered once in a hundred years; this is now
found to be a popular error. In cold climates,
and with ordinary culture, there are certainly
long intervals between the times of its inflor-
escence; but when it obtains sufficient heat, and
receives a culture similar to that of the pine
apple, it is found to flower much more frequently.
In Jamaica, the leaves have been used as a sub-
stitute for soap. Jor this purpose they are cut
off and passed through the rollers of a mill, with
their points foremost. The juice which flows
out is conducted into wide shallow receivers,
through a coarse cloth or strainer, and is then
exposed to the sun till the watery part is eva-
porated, and the remainder is reduced to a thick
consistence. It is then made up into balls with
wood ash ley; and in this state will lather with
salt water as well as with fresh. A soap may
also be prepared by pounding the leaves in a
wooden mortar, and then expressing the juice,
which is then to be evaporated to a proper con-
sistence in the sun, or by boiling. One gallon
of juice thus prepared, will yield about one
pound of a soft extract. The juice in both these
ways, must be carefully strained; and the extract
must never be combined with tallow, or other

 

* See Plate XIE.

595

greasy materials, The leaves are also used for
scouring pewter, and other kitchen utensils, and
floors, The inward spongy substance of the
decayed stalk isemployed astinder. The fibres
of the leaves, separated by bruising and maccr-
ating in water, and afterwards beating them,
may be spun into a strong, useful thread. There
are several species of the agave, all of which
very closely resemble each other.

Apam’s Nerpre (yucca ).* Natural family,
liliacee ; hexandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
There are several species of this genus, all re-
markable for the splendour of their flowers; the
most majestic are the y. gloriosa, superba, and
augustifolia. In general appearance, the plants
resemble the aloe tribe. The gloriosa, when in
blossom, presents a flower stalk from six to eight
feet in height, and covered with hundreds of
large white depending flowers, which blow in
succession, affording one of the most splendid
examples of an ornamental plant that can be
conceived. They are natives of America, and
have been acclimated to this country. They
grow slowly, however, in the open air, and do
not flower often. They are, however, of easy
culture in the conservatory, and are propagated
by new shoots, which spring up from the root.

Gtoriosa (Superba and Simplex). These
plants are so named from the splendour of the
flower. They belong to the same natural family
as the yucca, and are natives of the East Indies.
They require great management in order to
flower freely. According to Sweet, when the
stalks and foliage have decayed in the autumn,
and left the tuberous root like a well ripened
potato in a dormant state, the pot containing it
must be removed from the hot-bed to a dry
situation, at some distance from the fire; all the
warmth at this time necessary being merely
what is sufficient to keep the earth in the pot
free from damp, and to prevent the waterings of
the house or other moisture, from falling on the
earth in the pot; it should be covered by invert-
ing upon it another pot of the same size, or if
larger, it will hang over its edges, and more
effectually exclude the wet. If the roots are
small, two or three may be placed together in
the same pot, whilst in their dormant state; bnt
if they are thus shifted, the mould must be well
shaken down in the pot, in order to prevent the
access of air to them. The old mould in which
they grew, must also be used; for fresh earth or
sand, would stimulate them to move too early.
About the second week in March the roots must
be replanted, putting one or two, according to
their size, into pots measuring six inches over.
The best compost for them is fresh loam, mixed
with an equal quantity of peat mould, of good
quality. The roots are to be covered about two

* See Plate XII,
596

inches deep; and care must be taken not to break
them, unless nature has shown where it is prac-
ticabld to divide them easily. The pots, when
filled, must be plunged into the bark bed, where
the heat should be equal to 95°. At first, water
is to be given very sparingly; and though, as
they grow, they will require a more liberal
supply, yet it is necessary at all times to be very
moderate in giving it. he heat must be well
kept up, and as the roots extend they must be
supported. Under such treatment, a plant has
been known to grow ten feet in the course of a
season, with numerous blossoming stems upon
it. The flowers are at first green; and they
afterwards assume those beautiful yellow tints
for which they are so much celebrated. The
plant is readily propagated by dividing the
roots,

Srapetias, Natural family asclepiadee; pen-
tandria, digynia, of Linneus. This family of

226.

 

Wart-Flowered Stapelia.

plants grows at the Cape of Good Hope. They
have diminutive, succulent stems, without leaves,
with proportionally large, curious flowers, whose
odour is frequently very disagreeable. Yet, from
their singular forms, the plants make a curious
variety in the conservatory. There are several
genera, and numerous species, almost all natives
of Africa. They were first introduced into the
gardens at Kew, by Masson, about the end of
last century. Some of the species are used as
articles of food by the native Hottentots, and by
the Dutch settlers at the Cape, in the form of a
pickle. They thrive best in a sandy loam, mixed
with old lime or brick rubbish. If planted in
a richer soil, they will thrive better for a time,
and produce larger flowers; but then they are
very apt to rot off, particularly if watered too
freely. Indecd, they require very little mois-
ture, except when they are in flower, when
water may be given more freely. They are
readily propagated by cuttings. These should
be laid to dry in the stove till they begin to
shrivel, and if planted in this state in pots, they
will root in a very short time. If planted im-
mediately on separation from the stem, and
when full of juice, they are very apt to rot.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Marven of Peru (mirabilis dichotoma, and
jalapa). Natural family nyctaginee; pentandria,
monogynia, of Linneus. ‘This is one of the
most fragrant of flowers, and has the singular
property of expanding during the night. On
these accounts it has received its names; having
been first called by Clusius admérabilis, and by
Van Royen, nyctago, or night-blowing. J. dich-
otoma is called the four o’clock flower in the
West Indies, from the flowers opening regularly
at that time of the afternoon. The common
marvel, (m. jalapa_), of which there are several
varieties, will grow in this country in warm
sheltered borders, and forms a very pleasing and
ornamental flower. In order to have it in per-
fection, it should be sown in pots in the green-
house, and then planted out into a sunny shel-
tered border. The roots are large and tuberous,
and if taken up and treated in a similar way as
directed for dahlias, and planted out in summer,
they will flower perennially. These roots, when
washed and dried, are reduced into powder, form-
ing a substance similar to jalap, and possessing
similar purgative properties.

Tue Rarriesia Arnotpi. This flower, of
which a figure is given at page 170, is one of the
most extraordinary productions of the vegetable
kingdom. It is a parasitic plant, a native of the
island of Sumatra, and was discovered there in
the year 1818, by the late Dr Arnold. He found
it in a jungle or thicket, growing close to the
ground, underneath the bushes, and attached to
the roots of a species of cissas. The plant con-
sists of a flower only, having neither leaves,
branches, or roots, This flower however, is of
gigantic size, measuring a yard across. The
petals, which are roundish, were twelve inches
from the base to the margins, and at their inser-
tions about a foot separate from each other.

These petals are from a quarter to three-fourths
of an inch thick, and the nectarium was calcu-
lated to be of such a capacity as to hold twelve
pints. It appears to take its origin in some
crack or hollow of the stem, and soon shows
itself in the form of a round knob, which when
cut through exhibits the infant flower enveloped
in numerous bracteal sheaths, which successively
open and wither away as the flower enlarges.
A singular change takes place in the vessels of
the root, or stem of the tree on which it grows,
their ramifications are multiplied, and they take
a direction so as to unite with, and accommodate
theirselves to the base of the parasite, to which
they convey nourishment. The general appear-
ance of the flower resembles the stapelias, and
like them its smell is foetid. It is dicecious and
supposed by Brown to belong to the natural
order asarinw. There have since been disco-
vered other species of much smaller dimensions.

Venus Fry Trav. Dionea muscipula; decan-
dria, monogynia, of Linneus. This is a plant
WATER LILY.

more curious than beautiful, a native of Carolina.
The root is scaly, nearly resembling a bulb, and
not prolific in fibres. The leaves have the petiole
winged, like the orange; and the extreme part,
which may be called the proper leaf, is formed
into two halves, which move on a central hinge,

 

Venus Fly Trap.

and fold up and contract on the slightest contact
with any substance. The edges are beset with
spines, and the surface is covered with a glutinous
mucilage. The flowers grow in a corymb,
resembling an umbel. When flies alight on the
extremities of the leaves, the contact of their
feet produces sufficient irritation to make the
two halves contract suddenly and firmly, by
which the fly is crushed and pressed to the
glutinous sides, to which it is fixed until it dies.
Linneus affirms, that when the entrapped insect
‘ceases to struggle, and is quiet, the leaf opens
and permits it to escape; while Ellis, on the
other hand, says, that the lobes never open
again so long as the animal continues there. He
thinks it probable that a sweet liquor discharged
by the red glands, tempts the insect to its de-
struction; and adds, that if a straw or pin be
introduced between the lobes, they will grasp it
as fast as if it were an insect.

This plant is rather difficult to raise. Accord-
ing to Sweet, it thrives best in a pot of sphag-
num, with a little mould at the botiom of the
pot, and placed in a pan of water. In all cases,
it is necessary that the plants be supplied with
fresh cool air.

Warer Lity. Nymphea; polyandria, monogynia,
of Linneus. This genus contains several beau-
tifal species, which are aquatic plants, growing
in ponds and slow running streams. The com-
mon water lily (~. alba), has broad showy
leaves, which float on the surface of the water;
and a large white flower, with numerous petals,
so as almost to appear double. It rises out of
the water and expands about seven o’clock in
the morning, and closes again about four in
the afternoon, reposing on the surface tJ] it

 

597

again expands in the morning. The roots have
an astringent, bitter taste, and are used in the
highlands of Scotland and Ireland to dye cloth
a dark brown or purple.

The Jotus resembles the common water lily,
only the leaves are toothed at the edges. Itisa
native of the hottest parts of India, Africa, and
America; and is abundant in the ponds and rivers
of Jamaica. The banks of the Nile are famous
for this plant, which grows during the time
the country is under the annual floods of the
river.

The Common Yellow Nuphar (n. lutea), is
another aquatic plant, which has a very beauti-
ful appearance in artificial ponds.

All these plants are easily reared either in
ponds or in pots of water, with a few inches of -
soil in the bottom. They are propagated by
dividing the roots, and by offsets from the bul-
bous species.

Tue Sacrep Buan of India is supposed to be
the nelumbium speciosum, a large petalled and
splendid aquatic plant.* It is a native of both
the East and West Indies, China, Japan, and
Persia, and Asiatic Russia. According to Thum-
berg, it is esteemed a sacred plant in Japan, and
pleasing to their deities; the images of their
idols being often represented as sitting on its
large leaves. The long stalks are used by the
natives as an article of diet. Loureiro mentions
that it abounds in muddy marshes in India and
China, and is cultivated in large handsome pots
in the gardens and houses of the mandarins ;
that there is a variety with the flower of a pure
white, and another with a very beautiful lux-
uriant flower, having about one hundred large
petals, white or rose-coloured. Both root and
seeds are esculent, sapid, and wholesome. The
Chinese call it Zien-wha, and the seeds and slices
of the hairy root, with the kernels of apri-
cots and walnuts, and alternate layers of ice, were
frequently presented to the British Ambassador
and his suite at breakfasts given by some of the
principal mandarins. The Chinese have always
held this plant in such high value, that at
length they regarded it as sacred. ‘That charac-
ter, however, has not limited it to merely orna-
mental purposes, for the roots are not only
served up in summer with ice, but they are also
laid up in salt and vinegar for the winter. The
seeds are somewhat of the size and form ot an
acorn, and of a taste more delicate than that of
almonds. ‘The ponds are generally covered with
it, and exhibit a very beautiful appearance when
it is in flower ; and the flowers are no less fra-
grant than handsome. Sir George Staunton
remarks, that the leaf, besides its common uses,
has, from its structure, growing entirely round
the stalk, the advantage of defending the flower

* Shortly alluded to, p. 270.
598

and fruit arising from its centre from contact
with the water which might injure them. He
also remarks, that the stem never fails to ascend
in the water from whatever depth, unless in case
of a sudden inundation, until it attains the sur-
face, where its leaf expands, rests, and swims
upon it, and sometimes rises above it. ‘This
plant bears the rigorous cold of the Pekin win-
ter, though it is reared with difficulty in Euro-
pean stoves. It often grows spontaneously in
China, and is propagated in the open air with
ease, both from seed, and by the root. The
Chinese have many varieties of it. It is said
that from the root of this plant the ancient
Egyptians prepared their colocasia, but the nel-
umbo is no longer found in that country, from
which some naturalists infer that it never was
indigenous there, but cultivated by the inhabi-
tants with extreme care. ‘The ancient Romans
made repeated efforts to raise it among them
from seeds brought out of Egypt; and the
modern attempts to cultivate it in Europe,
though with the assistance of artificial heat, sel-
dom have succeeded. In this country it is gene-
rally grown in large tubs, with a few inches
depth of water over the surface of the mould.

CHAP. LIV.
ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS, HEATHS, &c,

Tix varieties of shrubs and small trees suited
as ornaments for the garden, either from the
beauty of the foliage, or the size and splendour
of the flowers, are nearly as numerous as those
of herbaceous plants. We proceed to describe
some of the most remarkable of these.

Tur Rosse. We have already alluded to the
rose as a medicinal plant, (p. 586), and are now
to consider the several species and varieties, as
the most agreeable ornaments of the flower
garden. From the earliest times the rose has
been celebrated as the chief of flowers, and has
been familiar among all the civilized nations of
Europe and Asia. It is to be seen in all its
varicties, from the cottage garden up to the pre-
cincts of the palace. The name is derived from
the Latin word signifying red. There are various
species, although botanists are not agreed as to
their number. Some have, however, supposed
all the European species to have originated from
one source, while others divide them into numer-
ous species and varieties. Lindley enumerates
not less than one hundred species and varieties;
and Miss Lawrence has published ninety plates
of roses, figured from natural specimens. Several
splendid works have also been published in
France and Italy descriptive of this genus.
Lists of from three to five hundred sorts are to
be found in some of these workss indeed, new

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

varieties are raised both in France and Britain
every year. The usual colours are scarlet, pink,
variegated, white, purple, and yellow.

The most common species are the Chinese, or
monthly rose, the cinnamon, the damask, the
evergreen, or Ayrshire rose, the blush, the
white, the moss, the dog rose, and the common
cabbage rose. The earliest flowering rose is the
monthly, which in mild seasons, and under the
shelter of a wall, will sometimes flower in the
beginning of April; the next is the cinnamon,
which flowers in May; the damask in the end
of May or first of June; the blush, York and
Laneaster, Provence and Dutch hundred-leaved,
in June, July, and August. The Virginia and
musk roses are the latest European sorts; they
flower in September, and in shaded situations,
will sometimes continue in bloom till the middle
of October. But the earliest rose is also the
latest, and generally continues flowering till
interrupted by frost.

The rose may be propagated by seed, by layers,
or cuttings, and by budding. Most of the spe-
cies, in their state of nature, are found growing
on a sandy, and rather poor soil, except those
which are natives of woods, where the soil is
richer, and more moist. But for cultivated
roses, especially the double flowering kinds, a
rich loamy soil inclining to clay is the best.
They also require to be liberally supplied with
water. All the varieties of the cultivated rose
are double or semi-double, that is, their organs
of fructification are converted into additional
petals, or the petals are otherwise greatly mul-
tiplied. The vicinity of large towns, where the
air is confined and vitiated, is very inimical to
the rose; indeed, no species will thrive in such
situations, .

In raising from seed, the hips are to be gathered
in October or November, when they are ripe.
These may be preserved whole during the winter
in a dry situation; or the seeds may be rubbed
out immediately on gathering the hips. The
seeds require to remain one year in the soil before
they vegetate; so that if they are sown in Feb-
ruary or March, they will come up in the fol-
lowing spring. The seed should be put into a
sott. moist soil, composed of equal parts of sand
and vegetable mould, in a shady situation, and
covered with about half an inch of soil. They
shouldafterwardsreceivearegular supply of water
till the plants have come up, and attained a few
inches in height. Early in the second spring
they may be transplanted in rows, a foot apart
every way; and a year afterwards, again trans-
planted to a greater distance asunder. Hence
they may remain till they flower, which varies
in different sorts from the third to the fifth
year; but most commonly during the fourth
summer.

To increase the chance of new varieties, various
THE ROSE.

species should be congregated together, so. that
the seed-bearing plants may have a chance of
crossing with different sorts. Or the method of
Mr Knight, employed in other flowers, might be
practised; that of extracting the stamens from
the flower, and dusting the stigma with pollen
from the anthers of other plants.

The common mode of propagating by layers,
is to lay down the young shoots of the preceding
summer late in autumn, or early in the succeed-
ing spring, when rooted plants will be formed
by the next autumn. It is found, however,
that if the same shoots are laid down when the
plant is beginning to flower in July, they will,
with a few exceptions, produce roots, and be fit
to remove the same autumn, by which a whole
year is gained. It is even found that the tip
of the fixed layer itself may, in some kinds of
rose, be again layed; and this secondary layer
will have roots formed to it in the same season.
Such sorts as do not root in one year, as the
moss rose, and some others, must be left on the
stools till the second autumn. But layers made
when the shoots are in a growing state, and fur-
uished with healthy leaves, root much more freely
than shoots with ripe wood. After the plants
are removed from the stools, they are planted in
nursery rows; and in a year, the blossom buds
having been carefully pinched off from the first
laying down, they will be fit for removal to their
final destination. The stools are then to be
pruned, and the soil dug and manured. An
improved method of laying roses is suggested
in the Gardener’s Magazine. A slit is to be
made with a knife up the centre of the inlaid
portion of the wood of the layer, and a small
piece of stone or wood is introduced to keep the
slit open. In this way the rooting is greatly
facilitated.

Many of the common kinds of roses may be
rapidly multiplied by cutting off the suckers
which spring from the roots, and planting them
out at once: or cuttings of the young wood may
be taken and put into the ground; and in some
species, as the Indian and China roses, they will
strike freely.

Budding is resorted to chiefly for the rarer
sorts, and suchas are of difficult propagation by
layers; for it is found that plants so procured,
even though on hardy enough stocks, are less
durable than those raised otherwise. This pro-
cess has of late become very common in the for-
mation of standard stems, with varieties of roses
growing from them. This is a modern inven-
tion, supposed to have originated in Holland,
from thence copied in Paris; and about the begin-
ning of the last century adopted in Britain.
These may be rendered highly ornamental to
parterres and borders. The stocks are formed
of the tree rose, the dog rose, or any other
strong and tall-stemmed species. These stocks

 

599

may be from three to seven feet from the ground.
One remarkable stock in the Paris garden is
fifteen feet high; and there are others of similar
dimensionsat Malmaison, and thegrand Trianon.*
The stock is procured from a wood or copse, and
may be budded the same season in which it is
transplanted, or in the following spring or sum-
mer,

Generally, two buds are inserted on the
opposite sides of the stock; but sometimes three,
four, or a dozen, in alternate positions, on the
upper six or twelve inches of the stem. Every
stock is supported by a rod, which should reach
a foot or eighteen inches higher than the situa-
tion of the bud; to this rod the stock is tied,
and afterwards the shoots from the inserted bud,
which would otherwise be liable to be injured
by high winds. The buds inserted may be of
all the different varieties; they will grow out
freely, and flower, and thus afford a rare and
interesting assemblage.

The Parisian gardener having the advantage
of finer stocks, and a better climate than can be
obtained in England, produces superior and
cheaper plants, which are exported along with
other roses in great profusion into this country.

In rosaries, the usual practice is to introduce
but one plant of each sort; and the varieties
nearest akin to each other are grouped together,
by which their distinctions are made more con-
spicuous. Sometimes compartments are formed
of particular species, as the Scotch, Chinese,
yellow rose, or others, which has a pleasing
effect. An elevated rock work in the centre,
bound with creeping roses, also forms a pleasing
variety; or, hedges of roses may be formed with
standard roses, interspersed at regular distances.

To produce vigorous and beautiful flowers, .
some attention is necessary in the treatment of
roses. The old wood should be annually pruned
off, and the young shoots thinned and shortened,
according to their strength, or according as
number or magnitude of flowers is wanted.
Those plants which throw up numerous suckers,
require to be taken up every three or four years,
the roots reduced, and the offspring planted for
new plants; at the same time, that part of the
old soil about the roots is replaced with fresh
mould. When pruning is performed in early
spring or winter, the points of the shoots of the
more delicate sorts are apt to die. This process
then, should be practised on such sorts in the
month of June. The most usual time of prun-
ing and dressing, is immediately after the blow
is over. When very large roses are wanted, all
the buds but that on the extreme point of each
shoot, should be pinched off as soon as they
make their appearance; while at same time a
liberal supply of water is given.

* Loudon.
600

The rose is peculiarly liable to the attacks of
the plant louse (aphis rose), a small green
insect, which burrows in the leaves, and extracts
the juices of the plant. Sometimes these exist
in such myriads, as to completely destroy the
leaves. They commence with the first buds in
February, and many generations are succes-
sively propagated during the season. They are
very difficult to eradicate. Hand picking early
in spring, and washing the plants with lime
water and tobacco juice, are recommended.
Another insect, the cynips rose, attacks the bark
of many roses, especially the sweet brier and
Scotch rose. ‘Ihese insects, by burrowing in
the bark, cause excrescences, or rose galls,
similar to those found on the oak. These were
formerly employed in medicine, under the name
of bedeguar.

All roses are not odorous. The most fragrant
are the common cabbage rose, the white rose,
and musk rose. ‘The mode of extracting the
oil or attar of roses, has already been mentioned,
(p. 587). The sweet brier rose is remarkable
for the agreeable fragrance of its leaves, which
becomes very perceptible after a shower.

THe Myrrte (myrtus). Natural family
myrtacer ; tcosandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
This is a plant celebrated and esteemed since the
time of the ancient Greeks, who called it murtos,
from the perfume of its leaves. The common
myrtle (m. communis), is a native of the South
of Europe, and has been a popular shrub in
English gardens from a remote period; for even
before the invention of green-houses, it appears
to have been preserved throughout our winters
by covering it up, or removing it within the
shelter of a house. It is an elegant evergreen
shrub, with handsome, deep green, shining leaves,
which, on being pressed by the fingers, emit an
aromatic odour. The flower is white, small, and
handsome. The ancients dedicated the myrtle
to Venus, either on account of its elegance and
fragrance, or that it grew in situations near the
sea, the birth place of that goddess. The blood-
less victors at the Olympic games were crowned
with wreathes of myrtle; and it was the symbol
of authority for magistrates at Athens. Both
the branches and berries were infused in wine;
and the latter were employed in the cookery of
the ancients. It was also a medicinal plant,
although disused in modern practice.

There are several varieties of the common
myrtle; as, the broad-leaved, box-leaved, Italian,
Portugal, orange-leaved, rosemary-leaved.

It is of easy culture in the green-house, or
even in common apartments, and is readily pro-
pagated by slips. In warm sheltered borders,
it will also thrive in the open air, but requires
protection in severe winters.

There are several other species, natives of the
West Indies and China.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

1

THe Sumach-leaved (m. cortacea), a native of
Hispaniola, and sometimes called the wild cin-
namon, is a very elegant tree, with a handsome
ash-coloured straight trunk, and pyramidal
head, It is of slow growth and flowers late,
twice ayear. ‘The bark hasan aromatic quality,
and in old trees it becomes white, and separating
from the trunk hangs down in shreds, ‘The tim-
ber is of a red colour, very hard and fit for mill-
work. The berries, which are about the size of
peas, and possessed of a very agreeable aromatic
taste and odour, are used for culinary purposes.

Jasmine. Natural family jasminew; diandria,
monogynia, of Linneus. This isa genus of pretty
shrubs, famous for the odour of the flower. Sev-
eral species are natives of India, one or two of
the south of Europe. The common jasmine
has been from remotest times a great favourite
in gardens, the modest white starlike flower
contrasting well with the deep green ofthe stem
and Jeaves. The flowers are highly odorous, and
yield by distillation an essential oil, having the
same odour. It isnot known from what country
it originally came, but according to Gerarde, as
far back as 1597 it was in common use as a
wall-shrub, and for covering arbours.

The Single Arabian (j. sambac), is highly
prized in India, where it is a native, for the
exquisite fragrance of the flowers. It grew in
Hampton Court gardens towards the end of the
seventeenth century, but was lost there, and
was known in Europe only in the garden of the
Grand Duke of Tuscany, at Pisa, where, accord-
ing to Evelyn, the plant was placed under guard,
that no cuttings might be purloined. In 1730,
a plant was sent to Miller, and it is now a com-
mon greenhouse shrub in this country. The
Italian jasmine is also very odoriferous, and
plants of it are obtained from Genoa along with
orange trees. The Hairy Indian (j. hirsutum),
attains the height of a tall tree, whose sweet-
smelling flowers open during the night and fade
at sunrise. All the species are easily reared and
propagated from cuttings, which root readily
under a hand-glass. The best soil is a light
loam with an admixture of peat.

Priver (ligustrum). Natural family oleene;
diandria, monogynia, of Linneus. This is a
well known garden hedge plant, for which pur-
pose it is well suited from its plianey under the
shears. In its cultivated state it becomes an
evergreen, although when found growing wild
in woods and hedges, it is generally deciduous.
Like most plants which have heen long culti-
vated, it varies in the form of its leaves, flowers,
and fruit. The berries remain on the branches
during winter, forming elegant purple clusters,
and are not eaten by birds generally, unless in
very severe winters when nothing clse can be
procured. The privet is avery hardy plant, and
will thrive in almost any soil or situation—in
THE BERBERRY.

the smoke of cities, in the shade, or under the
drip of trees ; although in order that it may pro-
duce good flowers, it requires an open situation.
It is browsed on by cows, sheep, and goats, but
horses refuse to eat it. In the varieties, the
leaves sometimes grow by threes, and are
enlarged at the base, and variegated. Sometimes
there are three or four stamens instead of the
natural number, which is two. The colour of
the berries also varies from purple or black to
white and yellow. A rose-coloured dye is pre-
pared from the berries, which with alum imparts
to wool or silk a durable green. Two species of
moths, the privet hawkmoth (sphing ligustri, )
and the phalena syringaria, feed on it in their
larva state, and it is said that the common blis-
tering fly also frequents this shrub. The Chinese
privet or wax-tree produces from its berries a
kind of vegetable wax, somewhat resembling
that from the myrica cerifera.

Tue Bersrrry. Berberis vulgaris ; Hexan-
dria, monogynia. This is also a common and
useful shrub, and when covered with blossom in
spring or fruit in autumn, forms no mean orna-
ment to the garden or lawn. The leaves are
ovate, of a light yellow, or bluish green, and
when chewed afford a pleasing acid taste. The
odour of the flowers is too strong when near, but
pleasant ata little distance. The berries are in
one variety purple, in another white. They are
powerfully acid, and are employed either as a
pickle for garnishing dishes, or boiled with sugar
form a pleasant jelly, which is used as a sweet-
meat, or occasionally in medicine, as a cooling
astringent in febrile diseases. The roots and bark
are employed as a dye, and impart a yellow
colour to linen or leather. Sheep, goats, and
cattle, feed on its leaves, and insects of various
kinds frequent the flowers. One of these, the
ecidium berberidis, its particular inhabitant, is
supposed by some to carry from this flower a
peculiar dust, which falling on growing corn
gives rise to rust. ‘This has been, however,
doubted by others, and the rust assigned to
the growth of a minute fungus. Linneus and
Smith have remarked, that the anthers of the
berberry are so sensitive as to explode when
touched by the feet of the common bee, by which
the pollen is scattered on the stigma. There are
several other species besides the common ber-
berry, all of which are very ornamental shrubs,
such as the clustered, the Nepal, the holly-
leaved.

Crematis, or Vircin’s Bower. Natural family,
ranunculacee ; polyandria, polygynia, of Lin-
neus. This is a very useful and ornamental
genus of climbing shrubs, of rapid growth, free
flowerers, and some of them highly odoriferous.
The favourite species are the large flowered
florida, the purple viticella, the round leaved
_ flammula, and the American verticillaris, They

 

601

are all hardy plants, and will grow freely in any
common soil, and are readily increased by layers
or young cuttings, which if planted under a
common hand glass will root freely. They may
also be raised from seed, which is produced and
ripened in great abundance. These should be
sown in wide-mouthed pots, placed in a shady
situation, and after the plants have come up, they
are to be planted out into the places where they
are required to grow,

Passton Firower. Passiflora; monadelphia,
pentandria, of Linneus. This genus has obtained
its name from a fanciful idea, that the appen-
dages of the flower represent the passion of Jesus
Christ.

They are all climbing plants, partly herbaceous,
and partly shrubby; natives of South America,
the West India islands, and China. There are
many species; some are odoriferous, and others
bear fruits, which are edible, though not of very
rich flavour. The leaves are of various forms,
ovate, round, elliptical, lobed, sub-cordate; some
are entire, and others serrated at the margins,
The flowers are very beautiful, varying from red,
to white, blue, and purple.

The Common Passion Flower (p. cerulea_), is
the tallest and most woody of this family. The
stem attaining almost the thickness of a man’s
arm, from which shoots will spring out to the
length of fifteen feet in one season. The leaves
are palmate, and five lobed, with smooth edges,
and have avery elegant appearance. The flowers
are blue outside, and purple and white within.
They have a faint odour, and are very evanes-
cent, continuing but for a day. The fruit is
egg-shaped, and encloses a sweetish, disagreeable

 

Passion Flower.

pulp, in the centre of which are the seeds, which
are black coloured.

Several of the varieties of this species are very
beautiful, as Milne’s hybrid, (p. cerulea racem-
osa) ; the Tee (angustifolia ), and the

G
602

Chinese. These are all hardy green-house plants,
and thrive well in a mixture of loam and light
rich earth, or peat; and may be propagated by
seeds, or very young cuttings, put into close
moist earth.

The Sweet Calabash, (p. maliformis), a native
of the West Indies; produces large flowers, of a
red, white, and blue colour, but of short dura-
tion. The fruit is round, the size of a large
apple, with a sweetish pulp, in which are lodged
many oblong, black seeds. his fruit is used as
a dessert.

The Granadilla Vine (p. quadrangularis ),
has a square stalk, and leaves five to six inches
in length. The flowers are red within, and
white outside. They are odoriferous, and gen-
erally the plant is covered with fruit and flowers
at the same time. The fruit is very large, being
an oblong, of about six inches in diameter from
the stalk to the eye, and fifteen inches in cir-
cumference, Externally, it is greenish yellow;
when ripe, soft and leathery to the touch, and
quite smooth. The rind is very thick, the pulp
is of a purple colour, and is eaten with wine and
sugar. It has a sweet, slightly acid flavour, and
is very grateful to the taste.

All these species will fruit in large pots, in
hot-houses in this country. The roots are planted
in a compost of very old tan and rich dung, in
which they will strike freely. They require
only a temperate heat of about 70°. As they
grow, the very strong shoots should be cut off,
as these do not bear so well as those which are
less vigorous.

Howery-suckLe, or Woop-nine, (caprifol-
zum.)  Pentandria, monogynia, of Linneus.
This is one of the most beautiful of our native
climbing shrubs, both as respects the foliage,
and the rich and odoriferous flowers. The honey-
suckle is well adopted for arbors, walls, gate-
ways, and indeed any situation in the shrubbery.
In the twisting of its stall it follows the course
of the sun, which is the case with most British
climbing plants. It grows luxuriantly, can be
trained in any direction, and bears pruning
well. Professor Martyn observes that those
plants which in a state of nature cannot ascend
without the assistance of others, are often liable
to lose large branches; they have therefore a
proportionate vigour of growth to restore acci-
dental damages. Against a wall the climbing
kinds are very liable to attacks of aphides; and
the caterpillar of phalona tortrix, and the hawk-
moths, according to Withering, extract the honey
from the very bottom of the tubular flowers
with their long tongues. The common wood-
bine, ¢. periclymenum, of which there are two or
three cultivated varieties, grows abundantly
in woods and coppices in Britain; there are
other species, natives of America, China, and the
south of Europe.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The seeds of honey-suckle should be sown th2
autumn after they are ripe, otherwise they will
not come up the first year.

The plant may also be propagated by cuttings.

Linac (syringia). Natural family oleine,
decandria, monogynia, of Linneus. ‘The lilac is
a beautiful and fragrant flowered shrub, a native
of Persia, though it is now completely acclim-
ated to this country, and thrives well in the open
air.

Of the common lilac, ». vulgaris, there
are two usual varieties, a purple and a white.
There is also the Chinese and Persian lilac. All
the sorts are readily propagated by suckers from
the roots, which grow up in abundance. The
common lilac appears to have been introduced
into Britain before or during the reign of Henry
VIII., for in the inventory taken by order of
Cromwell, of the articles in the gardens of the
palace of Norwich, are numbered “six lilac
trees, which bear no fruit but only a pleasant
smell.”

Cametiia. Monadelphia, polyandria, of Lin-
neus. The natural family camellia includes the
tea plant already described; and several species
of beautiful flowering shrubs, all natives of
China.

The Camellia Japonica, as it grows in the
woods and gardens of Japan and China, is a
lofty tree, of beautiful proportions, and clothed
with a deep green shining foliage, with large
elegant flowers, either single or double, and of a
red or pure white colour. It is much cultivated
among the Chinese and Japanese; and appears a
great favourite, as it is frequently figured in their
plantations along with other two favourite plants,
hibiscus and crysanthemum. There are numerous
varieties of c. Japonica in China, the greater
part of which have found their way to this
country; while other new varieties have been
found here. The double-white, double striped,
and double-waratah, the last so called from the
central petals resembling those of the waratah
plant of New Holland, are considered the finest
varieties, and are also free growers and flowerers;
the peony-flowered and fringed are also much
admired.

The Oil-bearing Camellia (c. oleifera), is
cultivated for its seeds, from which an oil is
expressed, and which is very generally used by
the Chinese in their cookery. Jt thrives best
in a red sandy soil, and attains a height of six
to eight feet, producing a profusion of white
blossoms and seeds. These seeds, and indeed
the seeds of all the other species, when reduced
to acoarse powder, strained in bags, and then
subjected to pressure, vield an oil.

The camellia received its name from a Jesuit,
named Camellus, the author of a work on botany.

The single red camellia is propagated by cut-
tings, layers, and seeds. It forms suitable stocks,
CAMELLIA.

on which the other sorts are either inarched, or
budded and engrafted. The cuttings to be
selected are the ripened shoots of the preceding
summer; these are taken off in August, cutting
them smoothly at a joint or bud; two or three
of the lower leaves are taken off, and the cut-
tings then planted firmly in the soil with a
dibble. The soil used by some is peat earth and
sand; while others use a rich loam, with a little
sand, peat earth,and cow dung. The pans con-
taining the plants are to be kept in a pit or cold
frame, without being covered with glasses, but
they are to be shaded during powerful sun-
shine; and in the following spring, such as are
struck will begin to push, when they are to be
placed in a gentle heat. In the following Sep-
tember or October, the rooted plants will be fit
to pot off; and in the second or third spring
they may be used as stocks. Inarching or
ingrafting is performed early in spring, when
the plants begin to grow. Having accomplished
this process, care is to be taken to fix the pot
containing the stock, so as that it may not be
disturbed during the connection of the scion
with the parent plant The grafting being clayed
over, is then covered with moss to prevent its
cracking. When independent grafting is resorted
to, the mode called side grafting is generally
used, as in the case of orange trees; but the
operation of tongueing is generally omitted, as
tending to weaken the stock. A few seeds are
sometimes obtained from the single red, and
semi-double camellias, and from the single war-
atch. These require two years to come up, but
make the best stocks of any.

The tea camellias are generally propagated by:

layers, but will also succeed by cuttings.

In order to raise and exhibit camellias to the
best advantage, they should have a separate house
assigned them. This house should be of ample
height, as the plants never look so well as when
six or eight feet high, trained in a conical form,
and clothed with branches from the root up-
wards. The plants should be raised near to the
glass by means of a stage, which should be so
contrived, that as they advance in height it may
be lowered in proportion. The best and most
even crown glass should be employed, because it
is found from experience that the least inequa-
lity of surface, or thickness of material, so con-
centrates the sun’s rays as to burn, or produce
blotches on the leaves of the plants.* Every
cultivator must have observed, that the leathery
shining leaves of the orange or myrtle tribes, are
more or less obnoxious to this solar injury ; but
the leaves of the camellia are particularly so.
Some recommend a roof that will not admit
much light; others the substitution of green
glass, or of glass in part only; while others pre-

* London’s Encyclopedia of Gardening.

 

603

fer as much glass and light as possible, taking
care to shelter from the excessive rays of the
sun. Much care is necessary to raise these plants
well. ‘The roots are apt to get matted, and by
the space they occupy, so to compress the ball
of mould, as after a time to render it impervious
to water. Hence attention is requisite to see
that the water poured into the pot moistens all
the mould thoroughly. To prevent this, the
roots should be examined and pruned once every
year. A liberal supply of water is always neces-
sary, but especially when the plants are in
flower. A degree of heat above that given to
ordinary greenhouse plants is also requisite, par-
ticularly in November and December, when the
blossoms are about to expand. In order to form
handsome plants, they should be trained with
single stems to rods, and pruned, so as to make
them throw out side branches from every part
of the stem ; and to encourage them, the plants
should not be placed too close to each other on
the stage. In summer, they may be either
exposed to the open air in a sheltered open situ-
ation, or the glass roof of the house may be taken
off. The hardier sorts, such as the double red,
blush, and peony-flowered, do very well to be
planted in the bed or border of a conservatory,
provided the roof or the entire frame-work can
be removed in summer, so as to admit the full
influence of the air. If this is not practicable,
they are better in portable pots or boxes. The
single and double red camellia will stand the
open air when trained against a south wall, and
protected by mats in winter. According to
Henderson’s directions, the best time for shifting
camellias is the month of February, or the first
of March. After this process, they are to be put
into a vinery or hot-house, where there is a little
heat, or in the warmest part of the greenhouse.
In this situation, they will soon begin to make
new wood; and they are to be liberally supplied
with water, and may remain in this situation
till they have formed their flower buds at the
extremity and sides of the young growth, when
a few of them may be removed to a cold place,
and into the shade during strong sunshine. In
a few weeks afterwards, others may be removed
to a cold place; and this is to be repeated as
often as required, in order to have a regular suc-
cession of flowering plants. Those that are
wanted to flower early, may remain in the warm
house till they are beginning to flower, when
they should be removed to a cold place, such as
the back of the greenhouse, where, if they have
plenty of light, they will continue long in blos-
som. A camellia cannot stand much heat when
in flower; indeed, they are seldom disclosed
well when in heat, and they very quickly fall
off. Those that are kept in the hothouse or
vinery during the whole summer, will flower in
the beginning or middle of October; anda large
604

plant, having from fifty to one hundred flower
buds, will continue in blow till the month of
January. Those that are removed early, will
now be in flower in January, and ready to suc-
ceed the others. Such as have ceased flowering,
are immediately to be removed to the hothouse,
where they will begin to make new wood, and
will be ready to come into succession next sea-
son. By thus attending to shift the plants from
a warm to a cold situation, a regular succession
of flowers may be obtained from October to the
following July. The winter flowers are, how-
ever, superior and longer lived than those of
summer. They flower best when kept in rather
small pots or tubs. The mould should be kept
constantly moist with water, and in the summer
months the leaves may also be occasionally
sprinkled with this fluid. “There are,” adds
Mr Henderson, “ several large camellias at Wood-
hall that have not been shifted these five years,
and they are still in high health, having always
produced above a hundred fine large flowers
every year. Six years ago I shifted a single
camellia from a twelve inch pot into a tub seven-
teen inches wide by seventeen inches deep, and
grafted it with two different sorts of double red,
one double striped, and one double white. It is
still in the same tub, and all the four sorts in
high health. I have had all the four sorts in
flower at once on it, producing a fine contrast of
colours. The plant is large and handsome, being
eight feet six inches high, and six feet nine
inches wide. There is another plant here twelve
feet high, having upon it all the sorts I possess.
They were only grafted last summer, and a num-
ber of the sorts are showing flowers. Grafts of
all of them have been taken, and are growing
well.”*

Japonica ( aucuba japonica). Natural family
loranthee ; monecia, tetrandria, of Linneus.
This is.a well known evergreen shrub, a native
of Japan. The leaves are similar to those of the
laurel, only they are thickly mottled with yel-
lowish spots. Female flowers only have been
produced in this country, but in its native cli-
mate it bears fruit like the laurel berry, a red
oblong drupe, with asweetish pulp, and a kernal
with a bitter taste. It is of very easy culture,
and flourishes in the open air in this country,
enduring our severe winters.

Lavrestinus (viburnum). Pentandria, trigy-
nia, of Linneus, This is a genus of evergreen
garden shrubs of considerable beauty, of which
there are several well known species. The small
dwarf, v. tinus, is a highly ornamental shrub.
The leaves are ovate, oblong, shining; the
flowers white, numerous, and showy. The
gueldor rose, v, opolus, has a large bunch of
white flowers similar to those of the hydrangea,

* Caledon Mem. Vol, III.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and like them abortive. Some of the species are
natives of Europe, and othersof America. They
are of easy culture, and thrive in the open air
in our climate.

Sensitive Puant (Mimosa. Natural family
leguminose ; polyandria, monecia, of Linneus.
This is a family of beautiful and delicate shrubs,
with small pinnatifid leaves, natives of Brazil
and the West India islands.

Several of the species, especially m. sensitiva
and m. pudica, are remarkable for possessing that

229,

 

AM. Sensitiva

M. Pudica.
Sensitive Plants.

degree of irritability, as to shrink and contract
their leaves on being touched. The leaves also
fold up close to each other on the approach of
night, and expand during the day and sunshine.
The cause of this motion has given rise to much
discussion among botanists. We have already
alluded to this subject, and shall here give a sum-
mary of the opinions of Dutrochet, as drawn up
by Professor Lindley. M. Dutrochet states that,
having ascertained hot nitric acid to possess the
property of separating and reducing to its sim-
plest form the whole mass of vegetable tissue,
and that the action of the same acid produced
other effects equally advantageous for the exa-
mination of the most obscure parts of vegetable
structure, he was induced to give his attention
to that of the mimosa pudica, in the hope of
gaining some evidence respecting the cause to
which its sensibility is to be ascribed. Begin-
ning with the pith, he observed a considerable
number of minute globules of a greenish colour
intermingled among the cells, and adhering to
them in an irregular manner. After attempting
to show the probability of these globules having
deceived M. Mirbel in various points of his
Analysis of Vegetation, and especially in regard
to the pores which that botanist supposes to
exist in the cellular tissue of plants, Dutrochet
proceeds to remark, that the application of hot
nitric acid to these globules renders them per-
fectly opaque. Whence he concludes, that
they are in fact minute cells, filled with a
particular fluid, which is subject to become con-
crete by the application of acids. Now, it is
known that such fluids as are thus altered by
RHODODENDRON.

acids, are usually dissolved and liquified again
by the application of alkalies. A few drops,
therefore, of a solution of hydrate of potash
were suffered to fall upon a portion of the pith
on which nitric acid had been acting, and the
mixture was exposed to the heat of a lamp.
Being examined after a few minutes, the glob-
ules were found to have resumed their natural
appearance. This curious fact indicated, in the
opinion of Dutrochet, a strong and unexpected
point of analogy between plants and animals.
According to the microscopical researches of some
modern observers, it has been ascertained that
all the organs of animals are composed of a con-
glomeration of minute corpuscles similar to those
just described; the corpuscles which constitute
the muscular are soluble in acids, but those
which compose the nervous system, are insoluble
in the same acids, and only soluble in alkalies,
Now, as the chemical properties and the external
appearance among the cellular tissue of plants,
and constituting the nervous system of animals,
are the same, the author is induced to infer that
the spherical particles of plants are in fact the
scattered elements of the nervous system. This
hypothesis receives additional strength from the
great similarity which exists between the med-
ullary substance of the brain of mollusca gaster-
opoda, the snail for instance, and the cellular
medullary tissue of plants. In pursuit of this
idea, Dutrochet made a variety of experiments
upon the sensitive plant, the results of which
seem to bethese. “ The principal point of loco-
motion, or of mobility, exists in the little swelling
which is situated at the base of the common
and partial petioles of the leaves, This swelling
is composed of a very delicate cellular tissue, in
which is found an immense number of nervous
corpuscles; the axis of the swelling is formed of
a little fascicle of tubular vessels. It was ascer-
tained by some delicate experiments, that the
power of movement, or of contraction and
expansion, exists in the parynchema and cellular
tissue of the swelling, and that the central fibres
have no specific action connected with its motion.
It also appeared that the energies of this nervous
power of the leaf depended wholly upon an
abundance of sap, and that a diminution of that
fluid occasioned an extreme diminution of the
sensibility of the leaves. Prosecuting his
remarks yet further, the author ascertained that
in the motion of the sensitive plant two distinct
actions take place; the one of locomotion, which
is the consequence of direct violence offered to
the leaves, and which occurs in the swellings
already spoken of; the other of nervimotion,
which depends upon some stimulus applied to
the surface of the leaflets, unaccompanied by
actual violence, such as the solar rays concen-
trated in the focus of a lens. As in all cases the
bending or folding of the leaves evidently takes

 

605

place from one leaf to another with perfect con-
tinuity, it may be safely inferred that the invi-
sible nervous action takes place in a direct line
from the point of original irritation, and that
the cause by which this action of nervimotion
is produced must be some internal uninterrup-
ted agency. This was, after much curious
investigation, determined by the author to exist
neither in the pith, nor in the bark, nor even in
the cellular tissue filled with nervous corpuscles,
and on which he supposes the locomotion of the
swelling at the base of the petioles to depend.
It is in the ligneous part of the central system,
in certain tubes supplied with nervous corpus-
cles, and serving for the transmission of the sap,
that Dutrochet believes he has found the true
seat of nervimotion, which he attributes to the
agency of the sap alone; while he considers the
power of locomotion to depend upon its nervous
corpuscles alone.”

The sensitive plants are easily reared and pro-
pagated; some of the species ripen seed, and
others may be increased by cuttings from the
points of the young shoots.

Ruopopenpron. Natural family rhoduracew;
decandria, monogynia, of Linneus. This is a
genus of highly prized evergreen shrubs, which,
in addition to the beauty of the foliage, bear
large and showy flowers. The name is derived
from the Greek, rodon, a rose; and dendron, a
tree. There are several species, chiefly natives
of the northern parts of Europe, and North
America.

The rusty-leaved (ferrugineum), and hairy-
leaved (hirsutum), grow wild in great abundance
on the mountains of Switzerland, Austria, Savoy,
Piedmont, and Dauphiny. They are found grow-
ing at the greatest elevation at which trees will
vegetate on those alpine ranges; they afford fuel
to the shepherds; grouse are said to feed on them;
the white hares sometimes gnaw the bark in
winter; but in general, animals do not seem to
relish them, probably from their containing dele-
terious juices. The galls of a small cynips, are
found frequently on them.

The Daurian rhododendron is almost solely
confined to the sub-alpine mountains of southern
Asia, the leaves of which are smooth, naked,
and dotted. According to Pallas, it first makes
its appearance at the mouth of the river Jenisea,
and from the river Uda in the pine woods it is
very commonly met with. About Backal it is
most abundant, and continues throughout the
desert tracts of the Mongols, to Thibet and the
North of China; at the Iena it becomes more
rare, and beyond that it decreases in height, has
narrower leaves, and a smaller flower. Another
species is found in Kamchatka, growing in
marshy mountain hollows; and the Caucasian is
a native of the summits of Mount Caucasus,
near the range of perpetual congelation,
606

The Yellow Rhododendron (r. chrysanthum ),
is avery beautiful shrub; itisa mative of Siberia,
but is cultivated in this country with considera-
ble difficulty. The leaves have an austere, bit-
terish taste, and have been sometimes employed
in medicine, especially in rheumatism; their
effect being stimulant and narcotic.

The Common Species (r. ponticum ), is a native
of Gibraltar, and was introduced into Britain
about the year 1763. Its native habitat is
marshy ground, not very elevated. There are
two common varieties, the blunt-leaved, and
myrtle-leaved; both are of easy culture.

All the species thrive best in a peat soil, inter-
mixed with sand, in a moderately shaded, damp
situation, with an eastern or northern exposure.
They may be propagated by seed, by layers, or
by cuttings. The seed is either procured from
America, or saved in this country; it is of very
small size. Early in spring the seed is sown in
pans of peat earth, which are then placed in
the shade, and in winter, put under a cold frame
for protection. As soon as the plants fairly
come up, they must be pricked out into pots or
beds; and after two years, they are to be again
transplanted into wider spaces, where they may
remain till required for their final destination.
They commonly flower from the fourth to the
seventh year of their age.

In raising from layers, the young shoots only
are used, which may be laid down in June and
July, when in full growth, or in the autumn,
By the former plan, a year is gained, as the
shoots will be rooted, and may be removed by
the succeeding winter or spring; although some
kinds require two years to form a sufficient
number of roots. The plants, when removed,
may be put into beds, and protected during the
first winter with mats.

AzaLEa. Pentandria, monogynia, of Linneus,
This beautiful genus belongs to the rhododen-
dron family. The flowers are very abun-
dant, pretty, and odoriferous. There are seve-
ral species, some natives of America, and others
of India.

The Indian azalea is rather delicate in this
climate, but thrives well in pots of sandy peat
earth, in the green-house. Young cuttings
taken off close to the plant, and placed in pots
of sand, will root readily if plunged in a hot-
bed, under a bell glass.

The American species are more hardy, and
thrive well in the open air, in a soil of peat and
sand; or when this cannot be obtained, a mixture
of leaf mould and sand, free from any mixture
of animal manure. Most of the hardy kinds
are well adapted for growing in pots, and for
forcing early in spring. The deciduous varie-
ties flower better than those which are half
evergreens, Of the nudiéflora or naked-flowered,
there are a great many varieties,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Anpromepa. Natural family ericw; decan-
dria, monogynia, of Linneus. ‘This is a genus
of neat little shrubs, with heath-like flowers;
chiefly natives of the marshy grounds of America,
and introduced into this country about the
beginning of the present century.

The moss hypnoides has the appearance of a
moss; is a native of Lapland, where it spreads
over extensive tracts of that country, adorning
them with its beautiful red flowers.

The marsh, or wild rosemary (polifolia ), is
a native of Britain. All the species are of easy
culture from seed, or cuttings. As the seeds are
extremely small, they require to be very slightly
covered with soil.

Arsutus, or Srrawperry TREE (arbutus
unedo). Natural family ericew; decandria, mono-
gynia, of Linneus. This is a hardy and elegant
looking evergreen. The leaves are oblong, lan-
ceolate, and serrated at the edges, the bell-
shaped flowers forming a depending panicle, and
the ripe berries, both of which are in profusion
together, in the end of autumn, render this
shrub very ornamental at that season. It is a
native of the South of Europe; and is also found
in a wild state near Killarney, in Ireland where
it has probably been brought originally from
Spain or Italy. It however flourishes there
in a calcareous soil, in greater luxuriance than
it is often to be met with in the woods of Italy.
In both countries the fruit is eaten; and in Spain,
both a sugar and spirit are extracted from it,
There are three varieties of this species, the
red-flowered, double-flowered, and the entire-
leaved.

Some of the dwarf species of arbutus form
excellent rock plants. The bearberry (a. wva-
ursi_), has already been alluded to as a medi-
cinal plant.

Heatus (Erica). Natural family erica;
octandria, monogynia, of Linneus. This family
consists of a number of species of dry, brittle-
wooded, shrubby plants, generally with tubular
or bell-shaped corollas, coloured white, pale
bluish, pink, and svarlet. The common species,
so universal over the northern parts of Europe,
are in many barren regions most useful plants ;
nor, when examined minutely, are they less beau-
tiful, imparting, when in flower, a rich purple
glow to the surface of the otherwise rugged and
barren mountains and moors. To the poor inha-

bitants of those mountain regions, where other

woody substances are rare, the common ling or
heath affords a strong thatch to their cottages,
which is bound down and retained by ropes of
twisted heath. The walls of those huts are also
constructed of alternate layers of heath and
black earth, or clay. The hardy highlander also
constructs what is to him a luxurious bed, by
placing a quantity of cut heath with the flowers
uppermost. Strong ropes and wattled work are
HEATHS.

also made out of this useful substance, and along
with aried peat it constitutes the sole material
for fuel. In many parts of Scotland, and the
Western islands, a decoction of the green tops
and flowers of the heather is employed for dying
yarn of a yellow colour, and woollen cloth, boiled
first in alum water and afterwards in a strong
decoction of heath tops, comes out of a fine deep
orange colour. Leather is also tanned by a
decoction of this plant; Boethius mentions that
the ancient Picts employed the young heather
shoots and flowers for the manufacture of beer,
and this practice has even come down to the
present time, although it is more rarely used now
than formerly. The flower, however, contains a
large quantity of saccharine matter, so that bees
which are reared in the moors produce an abun-
dance of a highly flavoured honey; cattle are fed
upon the tender shoots of the heath, although it
is said that cows not previously accustomed to
this food are so affected by its stimulating qua-
lity, as to yield at first a bloody milk; but habit
and drinking plentifully of water soon cures
this.

Sheep and goats also feed on heath, but
they are not particularly fond of it; grouse
almost entirely live on the seeds and flowers and
tender tops of the heath, and in order that a
constant supply may be afforded them through-
out the year, the seed vessel is so formed and
protected as to remain in its pericarp for twelve
months, or even longer. Other birds find food
and shelter in the thick covering of the heath,
and the leaves are preyed upon by the great egg
moth, (phalena quercus). 'There are three spe-
cies of heath common in this country; the com-
mon, (¢. vulgaris) the fine leaved, (e. cinerea)
and the crossleaved, (e. tetralix ); both the latter
have ovate bell-shaped corollas, and of the three
there are two varieties, a white and red flow-
ered.

These, with one or two other species found in
other parts of Europe, were all that were known
till within the last fifty or sixty years. But
when the Cape of Good Hope came into the pos-
session of the British, a number of rare and
beautiful species of this genus became known,
and were speedily introduced into Europe. It
may serve as an easily recollected date to say,
that all of them were sent home during the reign
of George III., and that we owe their introduc-
tion to the industry of Mr F. Masson, a zealous
botanist.* The culture of exotic heaths has
been carried to a high degree of perfection in
Britain. It was first practised to any great
extent in the nursery of Hammersmith, and soon
spread among the enterprising gardeners of Eng-
land and Scotland. In the Botanic garden of
Edinburgh, under the judicious management of

* London Encyclopedia of Botany.

 

607

Mr Macnab, is one of the finest collections of
exotic heaths in Britain.

The native soil of the heaths is peat, and this
is to be employed in their artificial culture. If
any substitute can be formed for this, it is leaf
mould sifted very fine, and mixed with sand.
Earth of peat is obtained by collecting peats from
bogs or turf from the surface of peat wastes and
moist places, and laying a layer of peats or turfs
in a heap to rot and moulder into earth. This
they will require several years to do, but in the
meanwhile a portion of mould may be obtained:
whenever it is wanted, by burning the turfs,
and sifting the fragments. Sometimes this peat
is found without any admixture of sand, at other
times when streams have run into the bog or lake
while the peat was forming, it is mixed with fine
sand that had been held suspended in the water.
This last is reckoned the best for heaths, and
therefore where peat is not sandy naturally, fine
white sand, or sand of any colour, provided it be
not deep red, and tinged with oxide of iron,
should be procured and mixed with it. This
sand admits the water to penetrate into the soil
and reach the roots of the plants, and also to
drain away the moisture so as not to rot the
roots. Pots filled with pure peat earth are apt
to be cither hard, dry, and impenetrable to water,
or otherwise as wet as a saturated sponge. The
free growing species should have rather large
pots filled with good black peat, the dwarf and
hardier wooded kinds require a good admixture
of sand, with « smaller pot, well drained with
pieces of broken potsherds and rough bits of turfy
peat. Theyalso require less water than the free
growing kinds, as their native habitat at the Cape
is the summits and sides of the mountains, and in
the crevices of rocks, and a scanty and sandy soil.

Heath plants do not require a warm climate
in winter, nor indeed at any season; if the frost
is excluded, this is all that is necessary. Some
species even will do to have the ground frozen
about the roots without sustaining injury, pro-
vided it is not thawed in the sun, or too sud-
denly, or in avery warm temperature. In gen-
eral the heaths may be kept in the coldest part
of the greenhouse, and those not in flower in
pits well protected by matting during the night,
or with prepared covering of mat or straw. Too
much fire-heat in winter will hurt them as much
as any thing, as they only require to be kept
from the frost; most of the kinds might be pre-
served through the winter in frames, the only
difficulty is to keep them from too much wet.
They all require a great deal of air and light, and
therefore should be placed near the glass, and
near such glass as may be opened to admit air
every mild day in the year. They also require
to be regularly supplied with water, not much
at a time, but so frequently that the earth may
never get dry, or the plant droop. Many kinds
608

of plants, if they have suffered for want of water,
may be recovered by an abundant supply, and
placing them under a bell glass, in a little heat;
but if once the roots of a heath are thoroughly
dried, no art of the gardener will recover the
plant. This is the true reason why so many
heaths are destroyed when introduced into rooms
as chamber plants, and also by gardeners who are
ignorant of their nature.

Heaths are propagated readily by seed, by
cuttings, and a few by layers. In propagating
-by cuttings, the tender tops are taken at what-
ever season of the year they begin to grow,
which with most sorts is about the month of
June. The strong growing kinds require the
cuttings to be rather larger than the other, and
some of the stunted growing kinds should be
kept in the hot-house a little while when they
begin to grow, to draw them to a sufficient length
of young wood, or cuttings cannot be procured.
Then take the extreme points of the shoots, and
with a sharp pen-knife, cut off their lower ends
at right angles, placing the cutting in the nail
of the thumb as in cutting the nib of a pen.
The cutting will be from three quarters to an
inch long, strip off the leaves from the lower end
to nearly half the length of the cutting, and in
order that this may be done without injuring
the shoot, use a sharp pen knife, or a pair of
small scissors, for the least bruise or wound
spoils the cutting. This done, dibble the cut-
tings into pots filled with moistened white sand
from pits, or with any small sand from pits or
rivers, or if neither of these can be procured,
with powdered sand-stone; when they are all
planted, water the whole to fix them properly,
and when the moisture has subsided, cover them
with a small crystal or greenish crystal bell-
glass, fitted within the rim of the pot, and place
them in the shade on a spent hot-bed, keeping
them quite close till rooted. The free striking
sorts will have roots in two months, and the
others at different periods, from three to twelve
months; most of them will be ready for trans-
planting into pots of the smallest size in the
following March. Their rooting is easily known
by their beginning to shoot, and then the bell
should be taken off an hour or two every day.
Many heaths ripen their seeds in this country,
and seeds of the various sorts are regularly sent
home by collectors at the Cape of Good Hope ;
these imported seeds usually arrive in winter,
and they should be sown early in the following
spring, in pots containing equal parts of peat
earth and sand well mixed together; the seeds
should be thinly covered with earth, gently
pressed down, and hell-glasses placed over them
as over the cuttings. The soil must be kept
moderately moist by gentle waterings, and in
about six or seven weeks the seeds, if fresh, will
begin to come up when the glasses may be

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM,

removed by degrees, and the pots kept near the
glass, and shaded from the mid-day sun till
autumn, when they may be transplanted into
pots of the smallest size. Seeds which are
ripened and saved in this country may be sown as
soon as gathered, if this occurs before November;
but if after this month it will then be better to
defer sowing them until the following spring,
when they are to be treated in the same manner
as the imported seed.

Only a few of the more delicate species are
propagated by layers, such as ¢. massont, retorta,
petiolata, and a few others. Even these require
two years to throw out roots, and for the others
the more approved method is to plant cuttings.

Henderson, of Woodhall, has been a successful
cultivator of heaths for upwards of thirty years.
“He says,” regarding their general manage-
ment,* “TI keep them at all times cool and airy,
opening the glasses in winter when there is no
frost and letting the wind blow on them, and
using no fire; but in time of frost, I never shift
any plant till the pot is quite full of roots.
When the plants get large, several of them will
continue in good health for three or four years
without shifting, and flower well. I have
plants of e. retorta here in pots seven inches in
diameter, which are very bushy, being eighteen
inches across, and fourteen inches high above the
pot; e. infundibuliformis, two feet and a half in
diameter, and two feet nine inches high; e. pil-
osa, between five and six feet high, and three
feet across in pots, eleven inches in diameter;
these have not been shifted for five years, and
are in high health, and covered with strong fine
flowers, from the mouth of the pot to the top of
the plant.” The number of ascertained species of
Cape heaths exceeds three hundred, besides
varieties of them arising from cultivation. Not
above twelve species are common to Europe;
while the American continent is entirely desti-
tute of any member of this family.

Heaths are by no means liable to the attacks
of insects, or other vermin, which infest the more
succulent shrubs. On the whole, their culture
is easy, and the beauty and variety of their
flowers well compensate any trouble in rearing
them. Most of the species are short lived, and
require therefore frequent renewals by cuttings.
They do not thrive well in the smoke of the
city, and require a pure and open atmosphere.
They are not well adopted for chamber plants
either, and to have them in perfection a separate
house should be appropriated for them.

We have thus enumerated a few of the most
interesting garden flowers and shrubs, and might
have extended this notice to a greatlength. In
fact, the sorts and varieties are almost unlimited,
and thus a succession of new and pleasing objects

* Caledonian Horticult. Mem, Vol. III.
FLORAL CALENDAR.

are always within the power of the cultivator of
ornamental plants. Every family, too, has its
peculiar period in the year of tlowering, and
thus an annual succession of plants, appearing
and disappearing add to the present gratification
and the excited hope of the florist. No arrange-
ment could have been more judicious than this
successive blossoming of plants, and thus the
diversified beauty of these natural ornaments of
the soil is prolonged from the chill of J. anuary
to the latest glow of receding autumn. We shall
here insert an interesting table drawn up to
illustrate the monthly development of flowers.*

January.—The crocus, tulip,and some alliums
beginning to emerge from the ground; if mild
weather, perhaps some choice plant in flower,
as the Christmas rose, daisy, winter aconite, but
generally no flower is to be seen at this season.

But ever-greens now display their foliage to
much advantage, especially the holly, with its
coral berries, chimonanthis fragrans, and fra-
grans grandifloris, with the laurestinus, are in
flower. The glossy leaves of the Portuguese
laurel glisten in a lively cheerful manner in the
gleams of sunshine with which we are favoured
even in this month ; those of the common laurel
do the same. In the green-house, the camellias
are in full bloom, and some heaths and Austral-
ian plants. In the stove strelitzia, and some
other plants. From the pits and hotbeds in the
reserve garden, forced roses, hyacinths, and other
bulbs, with early mignonette, are ready to adorn
the cabinet or drawing room.

February.—The snow drop, Christmas rose,
and winter aconite, in flower. The crocus,
crown imperial, and other bulbs, fast advancing,
if the weather be favourable. The buds of the
weeping-willow bursting, or about to burst, a
proof that this species has not yet become accli-
mated to Britain. The male flowers of the
hazel, yew, erica carnea, and some other shrubs,
appear. In the green-house, camellias and
heaths are in great beauty, as also some species
of oxalis, protea, &c. In the stove, strelitzia,
and some bulbs and succulents, with forced
flowers from the pits, asin January. The lark
sings about the beginning of the month, and
the thrush about the middle.

March.—Among florist’s flowers, the crocus,
scilla, some hyacinths, and crown imperials, and
also the primrose and polyanthus are in bloom
in the latter half of the month. Saxifraga
oppositifolia, among the alpines; and viola odor-
ata, in a warm border or on rock work. Saxi-
fraga retusa, chrysosplenium oppositifolium, and
alternifolium. Some pines, poplars, and wil-
lows show their catkins; the sloe, cornelian
cherry, mezereon, different varieties, daphne
pontica, and collina, the lonicera nigra, and

* Loudon’s Gardener’s Magazine.

 

609

rosemary in flower. In the green-house, some
camellias still in flower, numerous heaths in
great beauty, also aletris, lachenalia, oxalis, some
geraniums. In the stove, some scitaminee, and
bulbs, solandra grandiflora, eugenia, and justicia,
The ring dove begins to coo ini the first week of
the month.

April.—The hyacinth, narcissus, auricula,
polyanthus, forming the most valued florist’s
flowers, are in perfection in the course of this
month, also the scilla, fritillaria, wall-flower,
daisy, pulmonaria officinalis, omphalodes verna,
various saxifrages, and other alpines. Most of the
wild fruit trees, as crabs, pears, cherries, and
those allied species, are now in flower; most of
the willows, birches, elms, and oaks show their
catkins. Among shrubs, the honey-suckle,
some robinias, andromedas, daphnes, ericas, and
xanthoriza apiifolia, are in flower. In the green-
house, above thirty species of erice, and nearly
as many of the ixie family, with lachenalia,
oxalis, acacia, and various other genera in perfec-
tion. In the stove, dracena, bromelia, kemp-
feria, and stapelias, Abundance of forced arfi-
cles, including annuals, as sweet peas, larkspurs,
&e. in flower. Most of the British summer
birds of passage arrive during this month.

May—tThe auricula stage still a fine object
in the first week, and the polyanthus and nar-
cissus family not yet over. The collections of
tulips, anemones, and peonies in full beauty from
the middle of the month. Many showy herba-
ceous plants, as statice, lychnus, phlox, come
into flower. Among the aquatic, Huttonia pal-
ustris, andranunculusaquatilis, The horse-chest-
nut, hawthorn, sorbus, mespilus, and snow-drop
tree in great beauty. Among the American
shrubs, several species of magnolia, azalea, kal-
mia, andromeda, and many common shrubs; the
lilac, spirea, guelder rose, honey-suckle, the
cinnamon, Scotch, burnet-leaved, and monthly
roses. In the green-house a fine display of
heaths, ixie, and gladioli; also several geran-
niums, salvie, protew. In the stove, passion
flowers, justicia, heliconia, and various other
genera. From the forcing department, pelar-
goniums, and other green-house plants; hydran-
geas, balsams, and tender annuals. Most of the
singing birds are in this month in fall note.

June.—The collection of peonies and anemones
not yet faded. Those of ranuncules, iris,
xiphium, and xiphioides, and of the hardy
gladioli, and ixee, in full beauty; assortments
of pink and sweet-william, in flower towards
the end of the month; also, hemerocallis, aquil-
egia, campanula, veronica, and many showy
herbaceous perennials: some biennials, as agros-
temma and abyssum; annuals, as crepis, silene;
aquatics, as butomus, hydrocharis, potamogeton,
viola, saxifraga, and variousalpines. Heart’sease.
now in greatest beauty.

du
610

The lime, laburnum, and fringe tree, in flower
towards the middle of the month; many sorts
of roses, andromeda, magnolia, rhododendron
maximum, and ponticum, azalea, &c. Of com-
mon shrubs, cistus, helianthemum, erica, dog-
wood, elder, cytisus, spirea, lonicera.

In the green-house, chiefly tender annuals
from the reserve garden, the proper inhabitants
being in the open garden; and there the heaths,
geraniums, citrus tribe, diosme, proter, in great
beauty. In the stove, amaryllis and other
bulbs; also the aloe, pepper, and other succulents;
eugenias, epidendrums, cassia, cistrum, &c.

The goat-sucker, or fern owl (caprimulgus
Europeus_), heard in the evenings of the first
week; it is sometimes heard as early as the
middle of May. Most singing birds leave off
singing about the end of the month.

July.—The flowers of this month are the
pink, and carnation, the white martagon, and
the tiger lilies, the Brompton stock, larkspur,
lupines, and other biennials and annuals. More
herbaceous plants are now in flower than in any
other month, as chelone, delphinum, dictamnus,
gentiana, statice, phlox, silene, salvia, veronica,
saxifraga. The most showy of the aquatics, as
nymphea, nuphar, villarsia, alisma, calla, stra-
tiotes, myosotis, polyganum, amphibium, are
now in flower; several varieties of Georgina,
variabilis, and various alpines. The tulip tree,
magnolia, kalmia, andromeda, azalea, erica, rho-
dodendron, and other American or peat earth
shrubs, in flower. Among the more common
kinds, the roses are now in full splendour, the
white jasmine, honeysuckles, clematis, spar-
tium, gleditschia, triacanthus, cistus, lycium,
and a great variety of others of less note.

The green-house is now filled with tender
annuals, as balsams, globe amaranthus, cox-
combs, ice-plants, sensitive mimosas, and pro-
bably with some of the stove plants. In the
open air, geraniums will be in great beauty, and
ulso heaths, misembryanthemum, melaleuca,
metrosideros, protea, and numerous others.
There are numerous stove plants now in flower,
as canna, poivrea, passiflora, nelumbium, glori-
osa, amaryllis, pancratium, cactus, euphorbia,
myrtus, ipimea, justicia.

Showy butterflies and moths appear in the
beginning, the large dragon fly towards the
end of the month.

August.—The prevailing garden flowers of
this month are the holy-hocks, pyramidal bell-
flowers, lobelias, annual stocks, the poppies,
lilium canadense, and four other American spe-
cies. Numerous herbaceous plants are now in
flower that first appear in July; and various,
species of aster, astrantia, helianthus, narthe-
cium ossifragum, and numerous others, first
bloom in this month. Among the aquatics may
be mentioned lobelia, dortmanna, calla palustris,

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and several species of potamogeton. Scarcely
any trees are now in bloom; but of American
shrubs there are various sorts, as azalea, clethra,
and magnolia, in perfection; and of select com-
mon shrubs, the hibiscus, with its numerous
and beautiful varieties; the rose, the honey-suckle,
yellow jasmine, clematis, spirea, and dwarf
pavia, form a greater show in the shrubbery and
rosary than in any other month.

The green-house the same as last month. In
the open air, the plants growing vigorously; but
except the geraniums and heaths, and some suc-
culents, not many species in flower. In the
stove, asclepias, convolvulus, pancratium, lager-
streemia, passiflora, plumbago, and numerous
other genera, in flower.

The robin red-breast sings about the last
week; and butterflies, moths, and dragon flies,
abound during the whole month.

September.—The florist’s flowers of this month
are the Georginas, which flower also when
excited by artificial heat, previously to planting
in the open ground in July and August; but
planted in the usual way, are now in perfection.
Among the bulbs, there are the acis autumnalis,
narcissus serotinus, and scilla autumnalis; the
China aster, in all its varieties, is now in per-
fection. Among the herbaceous perennials, aster,
solidago, helianthus, gentiana, phlox, and aspho~
delus, are the chief sorts.

Aralia spinosa, some azaleas, and kalmia,
Lord Macartney’s rose, and another rose or two,
are in flower during the greater part of this
month. But the chief ornament of the shrub-
bery is the fruit of the mountain ash, viburnum,
crategi, pyracantha, Siberian crabs, sorb, loni-
cera, apple rose, elder. The green-house plants
are now generally returned to their winter habi-
tation in course of this month; some heaths,
and pelargoniums, and a few other species, in
flower. There are not many stove plants in
flower at this season. Amarillas, passiflora, and
some succulents, may be mentioned. Tender
annuals are supplied from the forcing depart-
ment of the reserve garden, for decorating the
plant cabinet, conservatory, or drawing-room.

October. The garden flowers of this month
are the Chinese chrysanthemums, some of the
hardier of which will now flower in the open
air, and the others under a glass case, or in the
green-house; the colchicum autumnale, crocus,
cyclamen europeum, and sternbergia lutea; the
principal herbaceous plants are aster, solidago,
helianthus, heliopsis, coreopsis actinomeris,
polymnia, gentiana, and some others. Arbutus
unedo is the only beautiful shrub in flower, and
also in fruit at this season; gordonia, rhamnus,
baccharis, clematis, and the common ivy, are
also in flower. Any spare room in the green-
house is how occupied with chrysanthemums, and
some georginas, raised in pots and placed out of
FLORAL CALENDAR.

the reach of frost, to prolong their bloom. A
few heaths, statice, and pelargoniums still in
bloom. In the stove, vinea, stapelia, romanthera,
and a few others. The increasing coolness of
the weather conduces to the retreat of a consi-
derable number of insects.

Flies of various species, and the cristalis
tenax, which much resembles a drone bee, are
very abundant in sunny days upon the flowers
of the autumnal flowering composite.

November and December—The remains of the
plants of last month in greater or less beauty,
according to the weather, and perhaps a few
plants unnaturally in bloom. In mild winters
stocks of several sorts, larkspurs, violets, India
pinks, pot marigolds, polyanthuses, primroses,
gentians, monthly roses, yellow amaryllis, daisies,
and various other plants. In the shrubbery,
clematis calycina, and perhaps a few plants
unnaturally in bloom. In the greenhouse, dry-
andria, erica, lantana, and camellias, about the
middle of December. In the stove, all the spe-
cies of strelitzia; also stapelias, amarillis, aletris,
and one or two other bulbs. From the forcing
department, hyacinths, Persian iris, and other
bulbs, monthly roses, the Provence rose, and
other shrubs and flowers.

The subjoined table, drawn up by Linneus,
shows the diurnal expansion of the corollas of
several species of flowers.

HOROLOGIUM FLORA,
OR A TABLE OF THE HOURS AT WHICH CERTAIN PLANTS
EXPAND AND SHUT, AT UPSAL, IN THE 60th DEGREE
OF NORTH LAT,

 

Hours at
which the
Flowers
open,

Hours at which the

NAMES OF PLANTS. flowers close.

 

A.M.
‘Tragopogon pratense . . 9 to 10
Leontodon tuberosum. . ei 8
Picris hieracioides ‘ & 9 an “
Cichorium Intybus . . . 10 a
Crepis tectorum . . . 10 to 12)...
Picridium tingitanum 10
Sonchus olernceus . . + | 11 to 12)
‘Papaver nudicaule , . . a 7
Hemerocallis fulva sia
8 to 12 is
i sa

gotetet ate”
oscocooy
Quine”

Leontodon taraxacum .
Crepis alpina ar Aye .
Rhagadiolus edulis .. . 10 1
Hypocheris maculata é . ea 4
Hieraciam umbellatum . wa 5
2
3
1

coe
oo5
AAA

Hieracium murorum

Hieracium Pilosella ‘ .
Crepis rubra . . . .
Sonchus arvensis. . >
Alyssum utriculatum . . : oe 4
Leontodon . . . oe 3
Sonchuslapponieus . . 12
Lactuca sativa. .« + . 10
Calendula pluvialis . e a
Nymphzea alba OG oe .

toot

eses0

Comsastsy
oo
n>

ay wire
gs Gs:
———

Anthericum ramosum 3
Mesembryanthemum barbatum
Mesembryanthemum linguiforme
Hieracium auricula . . .

ost
oo
0 00

Anagallis arvensis * a r ale
Dianthus prolifer. . . -
Hieracium chondrilloides .  . a
Calendula arvensis. . é 12
9 to 10) Arenaria i Mie vst Saar a ta
9 to 10|Mesembryanthemum crystallinum
10 to 11/Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum af

OOO W@W DIN TIITTIAARAAMOTIAAUATA Ra ARO,

tet

WN Ome oN woe
i]
a 9,

Nyctagohortensis .  .
Geranium triste . . .
0 10)Silene noctifiora se Se . va
o 10\Cactus grandiflorus % a : 12

 

 

 

 

 

owmonn
tet

 

 

611

CHAP. LV.
NATURAL FAMILIES OF DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS.

In chapter xxv. we gave a summary of the
natural families forming the second great divi-
sion of plants, the monocotyledonous; in this
we shall enumerate the families composing the
third or dicotyledonous division.

This division, as already mentioned, compre-
hends all those plants whose embryo has two
seed-lobes, or cotyledons, and comprehends the
greater number of flowering trees and shrubs, as
well as a great proportion of other flowering
herbaceous plants,

In dicotyledonous plants, the stem is com-
posed internally of concentric layers, or circles;
the veins of the leaves are branched laterally;
there is generally both a calyx and corolla, and
two cotyledons in the embryo. In a single
family—the conifere, these cotyledons exceed
two.

AxistoLocut#, Jussieu. This family is com-
posed of only two genera, aristolochia and
asarum, It consists of herbaceous, or frutescent
and twining plants, bearing alternate, entire
leaves, and axillar flowers. Their calyx is
regular, with three valvar divisions, or irregular,
tubular, and forming a lip of very diversified
figure. The stamina, ten or twelve in number,
are inserted upon the ovary. They are some-
times free and distinct, sometimes intimately
united with the style and stigma, and thus form-
ing a kind of nipple placed at the summit of
the ovary. On its lateral parts this nipple bears
the six stamina, which are bilocular, and at its
summit is terminated by six small lobes, which
may be considered as the stigmas. The fruit is
a capsule, or a berry with three or six cells, each
containing a very large number of seeds, con-
taining a very small embryo, placed in a fleshy
endosperm.

Jussieu united to this family the genus cytinus,
which has become the type of a distinct family,
under the name of cytinew.

The roots of the plants of this family are
generally tonic and stimulant, and have also been
employed in uterine affections. The root of
aristolochia serpentaria, which is aromatic, with
a pungent taste, has been used with success in
typhus. Asarabacca is diuretic, and is employed
as an external application for ophthalmia.

Cytingz, Brown. The flowers are unisexual,
moneecious, or dicecious. The calyx is adherent,
rarely free (mepenthes_). Its limb has four or five
divisions, The stamina vary from eight to sixteen,
sometimes a greater number. They are mona-
delphous. The ovary is inferior, excepting in
nepenthes, with one or four cells. The seeds
are attached to varietal trophosperms, The style
612

is cylindrical, rarely wanting, and is terminated
by a stigma, of which the lobes are equal to that
of the trophosperms. The seeds have an axile
cylindrical embryo, placed in the centre of a
fleshy endosperm.

The genera which compose this small family,
are cytinus, rafflesia, and nepenthes. The first
two are parasitic, and destitute of leaves. The
other is remarkable for having its leaves termin-
ated by a kind of bottle, which shuts by means
of a movable lid; or, according to some views,
this lid is reckoned the true leaf. This
family is distinguished from the aristolochie by
having its seeds attached to parietal tropho-
sperms, by its unisexual flowers, and by the
quaternary or quinary number of the different
parts of the flower.

The active properties of these plants are little
Jknown; nor have they been appropriated to any
useful purpose,

SantTaLacEz, Brown. These are herbaceous,
or frutescent plants, or trees with alternate, rarely
opposite leaves; destitute of stipules, and small
flowers, either solitary, or disposed in a spike or
sertule. Their calyx is superior, with four or
five valvar divisions. The stamina, four or five
in numher, are opposite to the divisions of the
calyx, and inserted at their base. The ovary is
inferior, with a single cell, containing one, two,
or four ovules, which hang from the summit of
a filiform podosperm, springing from the bottom
of the cell. The style is simple, terminated by
a lobed stigma. The fruit is indehiscent, mon-
ospermous, sometimes slightly fleshy. The
seed presents an axile embryo in a fleshy endo-
sperm,

This family was established hy Brown, and is
composed of the genera thessium, guinchamalium,
osyris, and fusanus, placed by Jussieu in the
family of eleagner, and of the genus santalum,
which formed part of the onagrarie. They are
trees, or dwarf shrubs, chiefly natives of the Cape,
New Holland, and India, a few only being found
in Europe and America. Santalum album is
esteemed for its perfume. The others possess
few known virtues.

Exzacnuaz, A. Rich. Trees or shrubs, with
alternate or opposite leaves, which are destitute
of stipules, and entire. Their flowers are dice-
cious or hermaphrodite; the male ones sometimes
disposed in a kind of catkin. The calyx is
monosepalous, and tubular; its limb entire, or
with two or four divisions, The stamina, from
three to eight in number, are introsal, and nearly
sessile on the inner wall of the calyx. In the
female flowers, the tube of the calyx directly
covers the ovary, but without adhering to it.
The entrance of the tube is sometimes partly
closed hy a variously lobed disk. The ovary is
free, unilocular, and contains a single ascending,
pedicellate ovary. The style ts short the stigma

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

simple, elongated, and linguiform. The fruit ig
a crustaceous akenium, covered by the calyx,
which has become fleshy. The seed contains, in
avery thin endosperm, an embryo which has
the same direction.

The genera are eleagnus, hippophe, shepherdia,
and conuleum. They are of little note. The
berries of Aippophe rhamnoides, are used as an
acid sauce in Sweden.

Tuymetes, Jussieu. Shrubs, rarely herba-
ceous plants, with alternate, or opposite, entire
leaves, having the flowers terminal or axillar, in
sertules, spikes, solitary, or several together in
the axils of the leaves. The calyx is generally
coloured, and petaloid, more or less tubular, with
four or five divisions, which are imbricated before
expansion. The stamina, generally eight in
number, disposed in two series, or four, or only
two, are inserted sessile upon the inner wall of
the calyx. The ovary is unilocular, and con-
tains a single pendent ovule. The style is sim-
ple, terminated by an equally simple stigma.
The fruit is a kind of nut, slightly fleshy exter-
nally. The embryo, which is reversed like the
seed, is contained in a fleshy and thin endo-
sperm.

The principal genera of this family are: daphne;
stellera, passerina, pimelia, struthiola, &c.

The bark is extremely acrid, or caustic, blis-
tering the skin. That of daphne mezereon is
employed in medicine. The lace tree, daphne
laghetto, is remarkable for the reticulated appear-
ance of the liber, which may be pulled out in
many successive layers, resembling a piece of
lace.

Prorzacez, Jussieu. The proteacea are all
shrubs or trees, which grow in abundance at the
Cape of Good Hope, and in New Holland. Their
leaves are alternate, sometimes nearly verticel-
late, or imbricate. Their flowers, which are
generally hermaphrodite, rarely unisexual, are
sometimes grouped in the axille of the leaves,
sometimes collected into a kind of cone or cat-
kin. Their calyx consists of four linear sepals,
sometimes united, and forming a tubular calyx,
with four more or less deep and valvar divisions.
The stamina, four in number, are opposite to
the sepals, and almost sessile at the summit of
their inner surface. The ovary is free, with a
single cell, containing a seed attached about the
middle of its height. The style is terminated
by a usually simple stigma. The fruits are
capsules of various forms, unilocular, and mon-
ospermous, opening on one side by a longitu-
dinal suture, and by their aggregation, sometimes
forming a kind of cone. The seed, which is
occasionally winged, consists of a straight embryo
destitute of endosperm.

The genera of this family are numerous. We
shall here mention as examples; protea, petro-
phila, banksia, grevillea, embothriwm, hakea, &c.
LAURINEA.

This family, on account of the form of its calyx,
its stamina sessile at the summit of the sepals,
and especially its general aspect, cannot be con-
founded with any other.

From their beauty, they are esteemed in orna-
mental gardening. They are not known to pos-
sess any other valuable properties. The bark
is astringent, and that of one species yields a
pink dye.

Laurinex, Jussieu. Trees or shrubs with
alternate, rarely opposite, entire or lobed, very
frequently coriaceous, persistent, dotted leaves.
The flowers, sometimes unisexual, are disposed
in panicles or cymes. ‘The calyx is monosepalous,
with four or six deep divisions, imbricated by
their edges previous to expansion. The stamina
are from eight to twelve, inserted at the base of
the calyx. Their filaments have at their base
two pedicellate appendages, of diversified form,
and appearing to be abortive stamina. The
anthers are terminal, opening by means of two
or four valves, which rise from the base to the
summit. The ovary is free, unilocular, con-
taining a single pendent ovule. The style is
more or less elongated, and is terminated by a
simple stigma. The fruit is fleshy, accompanied
at its base by the calyx, which forms a kind of
eapula, The seed contains under its proper
integument a very large embryo, reversed like
the seed, with extremely thick and fleshy coty-
ledons,

The type of this family is formed by the
laurel, and some genera allied to it, as borbonia,
ocotea, and cassytha. The last mentioned genus
is remarkable for being composed of herbaceous
twining and leafless plants. Jussieu united
myristica with the laurinee, but Mr Brown has
justly removed it to form a distinct family under
the name of myristicee. The family of laurinee
is chiefly characterised by its peculiar aspect,
and by its stamina, the anthers of which open
by means of valves. The same character is
observed in the hamamelidee and Berberidee;
but the last mentioned family belongs to the
class of hypogynous polypetalous dicotyle-
dones.

Many of the species are aromatic, pungent,
and stomachic. Cinnamon, cassia, and camphor,
are obtained from various species of Laurus.
The bark of lauwrus benzoin is employed in
America in intermittent fevers.

Myrist1cez, Brown. Tropical trees with alter-
nate, entire leaves, which are not dotted, and
dicecious, axillar, or terminal flowers, variously
disposed. Their monosepalous calyx has four
valvar divisions. In the male flowers there are
from three to twelve monadelphous stamina; the
anthers placed close together, often united, and
opening by a longitudinal groove. In the female
flowers the ovary is free, with a single cell, con-
taining a single erect ovule. The style is very

 

613

short, terminated by a lobed stigma. The fruit
is a kind of capsular berry, opening with two
valves, The seed is covered by a fleshy arillus,
divided into a great number of shreds. The
endosperm is fleshy or very hard, mottled, and
contains towards its base a very small erect
embryo,

The type of this family is the nutmeg tree. It
is very distinct from the laurinee, in having its
calyx with three divisions; its stamina monadel-
phous, and opening by a longitudinal groove;
its seed erect, and furnished with an arillus; and
its embryo very small, and contained in a hard
and marbled endosperm.

Nutmeg and mace, the fruit of myristica mos-
chata, are possessed of aromatic and stimulant
properties.

Potycones, Jussieu. Herbaceous, rarely suf-
frutescent plants, with alternate leaves, sheath-
ing at their base, cr adhering to a membranous
and stipular sheath, rolled downwards upon their
middle nerve when young. Flowers sometimes
unisexual, disposed in cylindrical spikes, or in
terminal clusters. Calyx monosepalous, with
from four to six segments, sometimes disposed
in two rows, and imbricated previous to their
evolution. Stamina from four to nine, free, and
with anthers opening longitudinally. Ovary
free, unilocular, with a single erect ovule; the
fruit, which is pretty frequently triangular, is
dry and indehiscent, sometimes covered by the
persistent calyx. The seed contains, in a farin-
aceous, sometimes very thin endosperm, a re-
versed and often unilateral embryo.

This family is composed of the genera poly-
gonum, rumex, rheum, cocoloba, &c. It is dis-
tinguished from the chenopodee, by the stipular
sheath of its leaves, its erect ovule, and its re-
versed embryo.

The roots of many species are astringent, as
of the rumices generally. Those of rhewm are
well known asacommon purgative. Polygonum
hydropiper is extremely acrid, and blisters the
mouth when tasted. The seeds of polygonum
Sagopyrum, or buck-wheat, which is extensively
cultivated in France, are used as food. The
leaves and young stems of rumez acetosa and
acetosella, are agreeably acid, as are those of
oxyria reniformis.

Arripticzs, Jussieu. Curnoropem, Decan-
dolle. Herbaceous or woody plants, with alter-
nate or-opposite leaves, destitute of stipules.
The flowers are small, sometimes unisexual, dis-
posed in branched clusters, or grouped in the
axilla of the leaves. The calyx is monosepalous,
sometimes tubular at the base, with three, four,
or five, more or less deep, persistent lobes. The
stamina vary from one to five. They are inserted
either at the base of the calyx, or under the
ovary, and are opposite to the lobes of the calyx,
The ovary is free. uniloeular, monospermous,
614

containing a single erect ovule, which is some-
times supported upon a more or less long and
slender podosperm. The style, which is rarely
simple, has two, three, or four divisions, each
terminated by a subulate stigma. The fruit is
an akenium, ora small berry. The seed is com-
posed beneath its proper integument of aslender
cylindrical embryo, curved back upon a farina-
ceous endosperm, or spirally twisted, and some-
times without endosperm.

This family is composed of the genera cheno-
podium, atriplex, salsola, beta, salicornia, &c. It
is closely connected, on the one hand, with the
polygonee, which differ from it in the stipular
sheath of their leaves, their straight embryo, and
their superior radicle; and, on the other, with
the amaranthacee, from which, in fact, they
differ only in their general aspect, and in some
characters of little importance. The chenopo-
deze present examples of genera having a peri-
gynous insertion, such as beta, blitum, spinacia,
and others in greater number, which have the
insertion hypogynous, such as rivinia, salsola,
camphorosma, chenopodium, &c.

‘The maritime species yield soda, and are em-
ployed in the manufacture of barilla. From the
root of beta vulgaris, sugar is obtained. The
roots and herbage of many species are employed
as articles of food. Chenopodium olidum is
remarkable for its disagreeable smell, resembling
that of putrid fish.

AMARANTHACER, Brown. (Part of the Amar-
anthacee of Jussict.) The amaranthacer
are herbaceous, or suffrutescent plants, bearing
alternate or opposite leaves, sometimes furnished
with scariose stipules. The flowers are small,
often hermaphrodite, sometimes unisexual, dis-
posed in spikes, panicles, or capitula, and fur-
nished with scales, hy which they are separated.
The calyx is monosepalous, often persistent,
with four or five very deep divisions. The stamina
vary from three to five. Their filaments are
sometimes free, sometimes monadelphous, and
occasionally form a membranous tube, lobed at
its summit, and bearing the anthers on its inner
surface. The ovary is free, unilocular, contain-
ing a single erect ovule, sometimes borne upon
a very long, recurved podosperm, at the summit
of which they hang. The style is simple or
wanting, and is terminated by two or three
stigmas. The fruit, which is generally sur-
rounded by the calyx, is an akenium ora small
pyxidium, opening by means of a lid. The
embryo is cylindrical, elongated, recurved around
a farinaceous endosperm,

This family is composed of the genera amar-
anthus, celosia, gomphrena, achyranthes, &e., and is
closely allied to the chenopode.

From the amaranthacee are separated certain
genera with perigynous stamina, as ¢lecebrum,
paronychia, &c.. which, together with some

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

others removed from the caryophyller, form a
distinct family under the name of parony-
chiee.

Most of this family are weeds. Several species
are used ag salads, or pot-herbs. Some are cul-
tivated in the flower garden, as the globe amar-
anthus, the love-lies-bleeding, and the cock’s-
combs,

NycracinEs, Jussieu. The nyctaginee are
herbaceous plants, shrubs, or even trees, with
simple, generally opposite, sometimes alternate
leaves. The flowers are axillar, or terminal,
often collected several together in a common,
proper, and calciform involucre. Their calyx
is monosepalous, coloured, often tubular, bulg-
ing at its lower part, which is often thicker, and
persists after the fall of the upper part. The
limb is more or less divided into plaited lobes.
The stamina vary from five to ten, and are
inserted upon the upper edge of a kind of hypo-
gynous disk, often in the form of a capsule.
The ovary is one-celled, and contains an erect
ovule. The style and stigma are simple. The
fruit is a cariopsis, covered by the disk and the
lower part of calyx, which are crustaceous, and
form a kind of accessory pericarp. The true
pericarp is thin, and adheres to the proper tegu-
ment of the seed. The seed is composed of an
embryo, curved upon itself, having its radicle
bent back upon the face of one of the cotyledons,
and thus embracing the endosperm, which is
central.

The genera nyctago, allionia, pisonia, boerha-
via, &c., belong to this family. Some authors,
setting out with the genera whose involucre is
uniflorous, as in nyctago, or the marvel of Peru,
have considered the involucre as a calyx, and the
calyx asa corolla; but analogy, and especially
the genera which have an involucre containing
several flowers, prove the perianth to be really
single. The roots are generally purgative ; most
of the species are mere weeds.

Prantacing, Jussieu. A small family of
plants containing only the genera plantago and
littorella. The flowers are hermaphrodite, uni-
sexual in [ittorella, forming simple, cylindrical,
elongated, or globular spikes; the flowers rarely
solitary. The calyx has four deep, persistent
divisions, or four unequal sepals, in the form of
scales, two of them more external. The corolla
is monopetalous, tubular, with four regular divi-
sions, seldom entire atits summit. In the genus
plantago, the corolla gives attachment to four
protruded stamina, which in Jittore/la spring
from the receptacle. The ovary is free, with
one, two, or very rarely four cells, containing
one or more ovules. The style is capillar, ter-
minated by a simple subulate stigma, rarely
bifid at the tip. The fruit is a small pyxidium,
covered by the persistent corolla. The seeds are
composed of a proper integument, which covers
PLUMBAGIN A.

a fleshy endosperm, at the centre of which is a
cylindrical axile and homotrope embryo.

The plantagine are herbaceous, rarely suffru-
tescent plants, often stemless, and having only
radical peduncles, which bear spikes of very
dense flowers. Their leaves are often radical,
entire toothed, or variously incised. They grow
in all latitudes.

The seeds of plantago ispaghula and psyllium,
form, with water, a mucilage, which, in India,
is employed as a demulcent. The herbage is
bitter, but without remarkable properties.

Prumpacina, Jussieu. A natural family of
dicotyledonous plants, placed by some among
the apetale, and by others among the monope-
tale. They are herbaceous or suffrutescent
plants, with alternate leaves, sometimes all col-
lected at the base of the stem, and sheathing.
The flowers are disposed in spikes, or in branched
and terminal racemes. Their calyx is monose-
palous, tubular, plicate and persistent, generally
with five divisions. The corolla is sometimes
monopetalous, sometimes formed of fire equal
petals, which not unfrequently are united toge-
ther at the base. The stamina, generally five in
number, and opposite to the divisions of the
corolla, are epipetalous, when the corolla is poly-
petalous, and immediately hypogynous when the
corolla is monopetalous (which is the reverse of
the general disposition). The ovary is free,
pretty frequently five-cornered, witha single cell,
containing an ovule hanging to the summit of
a filiform and basilar podosperm. The styles,
from three to five in number, are terminated by
an equal number of subulate stigmas. The fruit
is an akenium enveloped by the calyx. The
seed is composed of a proper integument and a
farinaceous endosperm, in the centre of which is
an embryo having the same direction as the
seed.

This little family is composed of the genera
plumbago, statice, limonium, vogelia of Lamarck,
theta of Loureiro, egialitis of Brown. It differs
from the nyctaginee, which are monoperian-
thous, in having its ovule supported upon a long
podosperm, at the summit of which it hangs, in
having several styles and stigmas, in having the
embryo straight and not bent upon itself. Their
virtues are tonic, astringent, or acrid. The root
of statice caroliniana is powerfully astringent.
Those of several species of plumbagoare extremely

“caustic, and have been employed as rubefacients
and vesicatories, as well as in the treatment of
ulcers.

Primvutaces, Vent. Lystmacurz, Jussieu. The
primulacez are annual or perennial plants, with
opposite or verticillate, very rarely scattered,
leaves. Their flowers are disposed in spikes, or
in axillar or terminal racemes ; sometimes they
are solitary, or variously grouped. The calyx
is monosepalous, with five or four divisions ; the

 

615

corolla monopetalous and regular, sometimes
tubular at the base, sometimes very deeply divi-
ded into five segments. The stamina, five in
number, are either free or monadelphous, and
are inserted at the upper part of the tube of the
corolla, or at the base of its divisions. ‘They are
opposite to the divisions, and their introrsal
anthers open each by a longitudinal groove. The
ovary is free, with a single cell containing a very
great number of ovules attached to a central tro-
phosperm. The style and the stigma are sim-
ple. The fruit is a unilocular, polyspermous
capsule, opening by three or five valves, or an
operculate pyxidium. The seeds present a cyl-
indrical embryo placed transversely to the hilum
in a fleshy endosperm.

The principal genera which compose this
family are: primula, lysimachia, hottonia, ana-
gallis, cyclamen, centunculus, &c. Samolus has
also been united to it, although its ovary is, toa
great extent, adherent to the calyx. In all its
other characters, however, it agrees with this
family.

The primulacee are very well characterized
by their stamina being opposite to the divisions
of the corolla, their unilocular capsule, the seeds
of which are attached to a central trophosperm,
and their embryo placed transversely before the
hilum. In these different characters, they come
very near the myrsinew, which differ in having
the fruit fleshy, and the seeds immersed in pits
of the trophosperm, which is fleshy and very
large.

The root of Cyclamen is acrid, but the family
is not distinguished by any remarkable proper-
ties. The primrose, and many other species, are
beautiful garden flowers. Hollonia is a beauti-
ful aquatic, common in England.

Lentiputariz, Rich. A small family, con-
sisting of only two genera, wtricularia and pin-
guicula, which were formerly placed at the end
of the primulacee. They are small herbaceous
plants, growing among water, or in moist and
inundated places. Their leaves are either clus-
tered in a rosaceous form, at the base of the
stems, or divided into capillar, and often vesi-
cular segments, in the species which grow
immersed in the water. The stem is always
simple, bearing one or several flowers at its
extremity. The calyx is persistent, monose-
palous, and as it were divided into two lips.
The corolla is monopetalous, irregular, spurred,
and also two-lipped. The stamina, two in num-
ber, are included, and are inserted at the very
base of the corolla. The ovary is one-celled, and
contains a great number of ovules attached to a
central trophosperm. The style is simple and
very short; the stigma bilamellate. The fruit
is a unilocular, polyspermous capsule, opening
either transversely, or by a longitudinal slit,
which divides its summit into two valves. The
616

seeds present an embryo immediately covered
by the proper integument.

This small family is distinguished from the
primulacee hy its irregular corolla, its two sta-
mina, and its embryo destitute of endosperm;
and from the antirrhine by its one-celled fruit,
of which the trophosperm is central, and its
embryo destitute of endosperm.

GuosutarrZ, De Cand. The genus globularia,
which was at first placed among the primulacee,
constitutes of itself this little family, of which
the following are the principal characters, The
calyx is monosepalous, tubular, persistent, with
five divisions. The corolla is monopetalous
tubular, irregular, with five narrow, unequal
segments, disposed so as to form two lips.
The stamina, four or five in number, are alter-
nate with the divisions of the corolla, The
ovary is unilocular, containing a single pendent
ovule. The style is slender, and terminated by
a stigma with two tubular and unequal divisions.
At the base of the ovary is a small unilateral
disk. The fruit is an akenium covered by the
calyx. The embryo is nearly cylindrical, axile,
and placed in a fleshy endosperm.

The globulari are herbaceous or suffrutescent
plants, with leaves all radical or alternate, and
small bluish flowers collected into a globular
capitulum, and accompanied with bracteas, They
differ from the primulacee in having their cor-
olla irregular, their stamina alternate, and their
ovary containing a single reversed ovule.

OroBancHEs, Vent. Plants sometimes par-
asitic on the roots of other plants, sometimes
growing in the earth. Their stem is sometimes
destitute of leaves, which are substituted by
scales, The flowers, which are accompanied by
bracteas, are terminal, sometimes solitary, some-
times disposed in a spike. The calyx is mono-
sepalous and tubular, or divided to the base into
distinct sepals. The corolla is monopetalous,
irregular, often two-lipped. The stamina are
generally didynamous. The ovary, which is
applied upon a hypogynous and annular disk,
has only one cell, which contains very numerous
ovules attached to two parietal trophosperms,
bifid on their free side. The style is terminated
by a stigma with two unequal lobes. The fruit
is a unilocular capsule, opening into two valves,
each of which bears a trophosperm on the middle
of its inner face. The seeds, which havea double
integument, present a fleshy endosperm, which
bears a very small embryo, placed in a depres-
sion in its upper and lateral part.

The genera orobanche, phelippea, lathrea, &c.,
form this family, which differs from the scro-
phularine in its unilocular ovary, the position
of the embryo, and especially the general ap-
pearance of the plants of which it is composed.

Astringent, but of little importance in a medi-
cal point of view.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

Scrornurartnaz, Brown. Scrophularie@ and
Pediculares, Jussieu. Herbs or shrubs, with
simple leaves, which are often opposite, some-
times alternate, and flowers disposed in spikes
or terminal racemes. Their calyx is monose-
palous, persistent, with four or five unequal
divisions. The corolla is monopetalous, irregu-
lar, two-lipped, and often personate. The stamina
from two to four in number, are in the latter
case didynamous. The ovary, applied upon a
hypogynous disk, has two polyspermous cells.
The style is simple, terminated by a two-lobed
stigma. The fruit is a bilocular capsule, vary-
ing much in its mode of dehiscence. Sometimes
it opens by holes formed towards the summit,
sometimes by irregular plates, sometimes by two
or four valves, each bearing the half of the dis-
sepiment on the middle of its inner face, or
opposite to the dissepiment which remains entire.
The seeds contain, under their proper integu-
ment, a kernel, composed of a fleshy endosperm,
which encloses a straight cylindrical embryo,
having its radicle directed towards the hilum, or
opposite to that point of attachment.

“We have followed,” says Richard, “the
example of Mr Brown, who unites into one the
two families proposed by Jussieu, under the
names of scrophularie and pediculares. The
principal difference which served to distinguish
these two families, was derived from the mode
of dehiscence of the capsule, which, in the
scrophularie, takes place by holes or valves
opposite to the dissepiment, which remains
untouched; whereas, in the pediculares, each
valve bears, on the middle of its inner surface,
the half of the septum. But these differences,
which appear very decided, present numerous
shades; and, for example, in the genus veronica,
we find almost all modifications of them. But
we have observed another difference between
these two groups, which we have not had an
opportunity of remarking in all the genera, but
which has appeared to us constant in all those
of which we have examined the seed, and which
is, that in the pediculares of Jussieu, the embryo
has always a direction the reverse of that of the
seed, that is, its cotyledons are turned towards
the hilum, whereas the contrary happens in the
scrophularie.

1. Pepicutarss: pedicularis, rhinanthus, me-
lampyrum, veronica, euphrasia, erinus, &c.

2. ScropHuLanr#Z: antirrhinum, linaria, scro-
phularia, digitalis, gratiola, &c.

A great proportion of the didynamia angios-
permia of Linneus, belong to this family; cap-
sular fruit, and didynamous stamens, being
among the most obvious characteristics of the
order. The species are generally herbs, rarely
shrubs, and are found in mountains, valleys,
ditches, and way-sides, in all parts of the world.

Pedicularis, rhinanthu', melampyrum, aud
SOLANEA,

euphrasia, are slightly bitter, but possess no |

remarkable properties, Decoction of veronica
officinalis is recommended as a substitute for tea.
‘The serophularie are generally bitter, acrid, and
nauseating, producing purging and vomiting.
Digitalis diminishes the force of the circulation,
increases the secretion of the saliva and urine,
and may produce vomiting, dejection, vertigo,
and death.

Soranz#, Jussieu. In this family are found
herbaceous plants, shrubs, and even small trees,
sometimes furnished with prickles on several of
their parts, having simple or compound leaves,
which are alternate, or sometimes geminate
towards the upper part of the twigs. Their
flowers, which are often very large, are either
extra-axillar, or form spikes or racemes. Their
monosepalous, persistent calyx, has five shallow
divisions. The corolla, which is monopetalous,
and in most cases regular, presents very diver-
sified forms, with five more or less plicate lobes.
The stamina, which are equal in number to the
lobes of the corolla, have their filaments free,
rarely monadelphous at the base. The ovary is
seated on a hypogynous disk, and has commonly
two, rarely three or four polyspermous cells,
the ovules of which are attached at the inner
angle. The style is simple, terminated by a
two-lobed stigma. The fruit is either a cap-
sule, with two or four polyspermous cells, open-
ing by two or four valves, or a two-celled or
three-celled berry. The seeds, sometimes reni-
form, and having a granulated episperm, have a
more or less curved embryo, in a fleshy endo-
sperm,

The solanex are very intimately allied to the
scrophularine, but differ from them in having
their leaves generally alternate, their corolla
regular, their stamina of the same number as
the lobes of the corolla, and especially in having
their embryo curved upon itself. The last men-
tioned character is sometimes the only one which
equally distinguishes the solanee with irregular
corollas from certain scrophularine. The genera
of this family form two sections, according as
the fruit is fleshy or capsular.

1. Fruit capsular: nicotiana, verbascum, hyoscy-
amus, datura, &c.

2. Fruit fleshy: solanum, atropa, capsicum,
physalis, lycium, &c.

The plants of this family may be considered
generally as narcotic or poisonous. The pro-
perties of tobacco are well known. The leaves
of hyoscyamus, datura, and atropa, produce
nausea and vertigo. Datura stramonium has
been employed in epilepsy and asthma. The juice
of atropa belladonna, besides its general effects,
dilates the pupil. The verbascums, again, are
mucilaginous and mild. Solanum dulcamara,
a poisonous or narcotic plant, belongs to the
same genus as the potato, the root and berry of

 

617

which have no narcotic effect even when eaten
raw, and of which the former is one of our. most
wholesome esculents, ‘The fruits of solanum
esculentum, and other species, are also eaten.

Acanruacem, Jussieu. The acanthacee are
herbs or shrubs, with opposite leaves, flowers
disposed in spikes, and accompanied with brac-
teas at their base. Their calyx is monosepalous,
with four or five divisions, regular or irregular.
The corolla is monopetalous, irregular, commonly
bilabiate. The stamina are two or four, in the
latter case tetradynamous. The ovary has two
cells, which contain two or a greater number of
ovules, and is applied upon an annular hypogy-
nous disk. The style is simple, terminated by
a two-lobed stigma. The fruit isa capsule, with
two cells, which are sometimes monospermous,
and opens elastically into two valves, each of
which carries with it half of the dissepiment.
The seeds are generally supported upon a filiform
podosperm, and their embryo, which is placed
immediately under their proper integument, is
destitute of endosperm, and has its radicle gene-
rally turned towards the hilum.

This family differs from the scrophularinee in
having its seeds supported upon a long pedos-
perm, in having its embryo destitute of endos-
perm, as in justicia, ruellia, thunbergia, &c.
The species are generally bitter and tonic, but
their properties are little known.

JASMINEH, Jussieu. Jasmine and Liliacee
Ventenat. Oleine, Link. This family iscomposed
of shrubs, small trees, or even trees of very large
size, with opposite, rarely alternate, simple, or
pinnate leaves. The flowers are hermaphrodite,
excepting in the genus frazinus, in which they
are alternate. The calyx is monosepalous, tur-
binate in its lower part. The corolla is mono-
petalous, often tubular and irregular, with four
or five lobes, which are sometimes so deep that
the corolla seems polypetalous as in ornus, chio-
nanthus. It is sometimes entirely wanting.
The stamina are only two. The ovary has two
cells, each containing two suspended ovules. The
style is simple, and terminated by a two-lobed
stigma. The fruit is sometimes a two-celled
capsule, indehiscent, or opening by two valves ;
sometimes it is fleshy, and contains an osseous
nucleus. The proper integument of the seed is
thin or fleshy. The endosperm is fleshy or hard,
and contains an embryo having the same direc-
tion as the seed.

The genera of this family may be divided
into two sections.

1, Fruit dry, Linaces: dilas, fontanesia, fraz-
inus, nyctonthes.

2. Fruit fleshy, JasmInEm: jasminum, olea,
ligustrum, philyrea, &c.

Manna is the concrete juice of several species
of fraxinus. The flowers of several species of

jasminum yield a fragrant essential oil used as a
41
618

perfume. Olive-oil is obtained from the peri-
carps of the common olive. The flowers of
olea fragrans are used by the Chinese in flav-
ouring tea.

VERBENACES, Jussieu. The verbenacee are
trees or shrubs, rarely herbaceous plants, usually
with opposite, sometimes compound leaves. The
flowers are disposed in spikes or corymbs : more
rarely they are axillarand solitary. Their calyx
is monosepalous, persistent, and tubular. The
corolla is monopetalous, tubular, commonly
irregular. The stamina are didynamous, some-
times only two in number. The ovary has two
or four cells, containing one or two erect ovules.
The style is terminated by a simple or bifid
stigma. ‘The fruit is a berry or drupe, contain-
ing a nut with two or four cells, which are often
monospermous. The seed iscomposed of a pro-
per integument, and a thin and fleshy endos-
perm, which covers a straight embryo.

This family, which is composed of the genera
verbena, vitex, clerodendrum, zapania, &c., is dis-
tinguished from the preceding by its fruit being
fleshy (excepting in verbena), and by its seeds
being usually solitary in each cell. Many of the
species are mere weeds. Others are esteemed
for their showy flowers. Tectona furnishes the
Indian teak wood so much employed in ship
building.

MyoronivE&, Brown. Shrubs generally gla-
brous, with simple, alternate, or opposite leaves,
and axillar flowers, destitute of bracteas. Their
calyx is persistent, with five deep divisions.
Corolla monopetalous, nearly regular, or slightly
two-lipped. The stamina are didynamous or
sometimes five in number, one occasionally
rudimentary. The ovary is free, applied upon
a hypogynous and annular disk. It has from
two to four cells, containing each one or two
ovules hanging from its summit. The simple
style is terminated by a simple stigma. The
fruit is a drupe, containing a nucleus with two
or four cells, each containing one or two seeds,
composed of a cylindrical embryo, placed in the
centre of a rather dense endosperm.

The myoporinee are allied to verbenacee,
from which they differ, especially in having
their seeds pendent, and furnished with a thick
endosperm. The family consists of the genera
myoporum, bontia, pholidia, stenochilus, and
eremophila, They are all natives of New Hol-
land. The avecennias grow on the shores and
among water, something like the mangrove.

Lantata&, Jussieu. The Labiate form one
of the most natural families in the vegetable
kingdom. They are herbaceous plants, or some-
times shrubs, of which the stem is square, the
leaves simple and opposite, the flowers grouped
in the axille of the leaves, and thus forming
spikes or branched racemes. Their calyx is
monosepalous, tubular and irregular. and is

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

divided into two lips, an upper and a lower.
The stamina are four in number, and didyna-
mous : sometimes the two shorter are abortive.
The ovary, which is applied upon a hypogy-
nous disk, is deeply four-lobed, and much
depressed at its centre, from which springs a
simple style, surmounted by a bifid stigma. A
transverse section of the ovary presents four
cells, containing each an erect ovule. ‘The fruit
is composed of four monospermous akenia,
enclosed by the persistent calyx. The seed con-
tains an erect embryo in the centre of a fleshy
endosperm, which is sometimes very thin.

The very numerous genera of this family may
be divided into two sections, according as they
have two or four stamina,

Sect. I. Two stamina: salvia, rosmarinus,
monarda, lycopus, &c.

Sect. II. Four didynamous stamina: betonica,
leonurus, thymus, ballota, marrubium, phlomis,
satureja, &c.

The plants of this family contain an aromatic
volatile oil, camphor, and a bitter extractive,
which render them stomachic, stimulant, and
tonic. No poisonous or deleterious species has
been found amongst them. The roots of stachys
palustris are eatable. Many species are used as
aromatics in food, such as mint, marjoram, and
basil. From others agreeable perfumes are
extracted, as thyme, lavender, mint, and rose-
mary.

Boracine&, Jussieu. The boraginee are herbs,
shrubs, or even sometimes tall trees, bearing
alternate leaves, often covered, as well as the
stems, with very stiff hairs. Their flowers form
unilateral spikes, rolled in the form of a crosier
at their summit, often aggregated, and forming
a kind of panicle. Their calyx is monosepal-
ous, regular, persistent, and five-lobed. The
corolla is monopetalous, regular, five-lobed, and
in a certain number of genera presents, near the
throat, five projecting appendages, which are
hollow within, and open externally at their base.
The five stamina are inserted at the upper part
of the tube of the calyx, and alternate with the
appendages just mentioned, when these are pre-
sent. The ovary, which is supported upon a
hypogynous, annular and sinuous disk, is deeply
four-lobed, with four monospermous cells, and
deeply depressed at its centre. The style springs
from this depression, and is terminated by a two-
lobed stigma. The fruit is composed of four
monospermous carpels, which are more rarely
united, and form a dry or fleshy fruit, with two
or four cells, which are sometimes osseous, or
with only one cell through abortion. The seeds
have their embryo reversed in a fleshy but
very thin endosperm, which is sometimes want-
ing.

The family of boraginee is related to the
lahiate in the structure of its pistil, which is the
CONVOLVULACEAI,

same, and to the scrophularine. But it is dis-
tinguished from the former by its cylindrical
stem, alternate leaves, regular corolla, stamina
five in number, and from the latter by the struc-
ture of its ovary and fruit.

Among the genera are the following.

Sect. I. Genera without appendages to the
corolla : echium, lithospermum, pulmonaria, onos-
ma, cordia, &c.

Sect. II. Genera furnished with appendages:
symphytum, lycopsis, anchusa, borago, cynoglos-
sum, &e.

Ventenat proposed separating from the bora-
ginee the genus cordéa, on account of its simple
and fleshy fruit, and forming of it a family
under the name of sebestene. Mr Brown thinks
that the genera hydrophyllum, ellisia, and pha-
celia, which have a capsular fruit, a large horny
endosperm, and compound or deeply-lobed leaves,
form a distinct family, which he names hydro-
phylle. Lastly, Professor Schrader, in his excel-
lent memoir on the boraginez, proposes to divide
them into three distinct orders: doragenee,
hydrophyllex, and heliotropicee.

The plants of this family are common in
Europe, and the north of Africa, less abundant
in India, and the equatorial regions, and not
unfrequent in New Holland; they are mucilagi-
nous and emollient, but possess no properties
that qualify them to be of much importance as
food or medicine; many species are mere weeds,
others are beautiful ornamental flowers. The
roots of anchusa tinctoria, lithospermum tinctor-
Zum, anchusa virginica, and some other species,
are used to dye a red colour. Pure nitre has
been found in several species.

ConvoLvuLAcE&, Jussieu. Herbaceous or suf-
frutescent plants, often voluble and climbing,
having alternate leaves, which are simple, or
more or less deeply lobed; axillar or terminal
flowers ; a monosepalous, persistent calyx, with
five divisions ; a monopetalous, regular corolla,
with five plicate lobes; and five stamina inser-
ted into the tube of the corolla, The ovary is
simple and free, supported upon a hypogynous
disk, and has from two to four cells containing
a small number of ovules. The style is simple
or double. The fruit is a capsule having from
one to four cells, usually containing one or two
seeds, attached towards the base of the dissepi-
ments. It opens into two or four valves, the
edges of which are applied upon the dissepi-
ments which remain in place. More rarely the
capsule remains closed, or opens into two super-
imposed valves. The embryo, of which the
cotyledons are flat and plicate, is rolled upon
itself, and placed in the centre of a soft and as it
were mucilaginous endosperm.

The essential character of this family consists
in its capsule, the sutures of which correspond
to the dissepiments. This character being want-

 

619

ing in some genera formerly united with the
convolvulacee, such as Aydrolea, nama, sagonea,
and diapensia, Mr Brown has proposed forming
them into a distinct family under the name of
hydroleacee. The principal genera of the con-
volvulacee are convolvulus, ipomaa, cuscuta,
evoloulus, cressa, &e.

The roots are generally acrid and purgative.
Jalap is obtained from convolvulus jalapa, and
scammony from ¢. scammonia. The root of c.
panduratus is used as a purgative in North
America, and those of many other species pos-
sess the same properties. On the other hand,
those of the sweet potato (c. batatas ) and edulis
are articles of food. Several species are garden
flowers.

Potrmontacez, Jussieu. Herbaceousor woody,
sometimes twining plants, furnished with alter-
nate or opposite-leaves, often divided and pinna-
tifid, and axillar or terminal flowers, forming
branched racemes, Each flower is composed of
a five-lobed, monosepalous calyx; a regular, sel-
dom irregular, monopetalous corolla, with five
more or less deep divisions; five stamina inser-
ted into the corolla; an ovary applied upon a
disk which is often spread out at the bottom of
the flower and lobed. ‘This ovary has three cells,
containing one, or more frequently several
ovules. The style is simple, terminated by a
trifid stigma. The fruit is a three-celled cap-
sule, opening by three valves, which are septi-
ferous on the middle of their inner face, or only
bear the impression of the dissepiment, which
remains untouched at the centre of the capsule.
The seeds have an erect embryo in the centre of
a fleshy endosperm.

This family is in some measure intermediate
between the convolvulacee and bignoniacese. It
differs from the former in having its valves sep-
tiferous in the middle of their inner surface, and
not contiguous at their margins over the disse-
piments, and in its erect embryo; from the lat-
ter, in having the corolla almost always regular,
the ovary three-celled, its valves septiferous, &c.
The genera which compose this family are in
small number: polemonium, phloz, cantua, bon-
plandia, and probably cobea. They are natives
of the mountainous parts of Europe. Some are
showy plants but possess no remarkable pro-
perties.

Bienonracez, Jussieu. Bignoniacew, and
Pedalinee, Brown. ‘Trees, shrubs, or more
rarely herbaceous plants, with the stem often
sarmentose and furnished with cirri. The leaves
are commonly opposite or ternate, rarely alter-
nate, usually compound. The flowers, which
are terminal, or axillar, and variously grouped,
have a monosepalous, often persistent, five-lobed
calyx, a monopetalous corolla, more or less irre-
gular, and with five divisions. The stamina are
commonly four and didynamous, accompanied
620

by a sterile filament, which is the indication of
a fifth abortive stamen. In some genera the
five stamina are equal, or two only are fertile.
The ovary, which is placed upon a hypogynous
disk, presents one or two cells usually containing
several ovules. The style is simple and termi-
nated by a bilamellate stigma. The fruit is a
capsule with one or two cells, opening by two
valves opposite to the dissepiment. In some
rare cases the fruit is fleshy, or hard and inde-
hiscent. The seeds, which are often margined
with a membranous wing all round, contain
beneath their proper integument anerect embryo,
destitute of endosperm.

The principal genera of this family are bigno-
nia, catalpa, jacaranda, tecoma, &c., of which
the seeds are winged; and sesamum, martynia,
and craniolaria, of which the seeds are wing-
less. They are generally tropical plants and
have showy ornamental flowers. Bignonia radi-
cans isa beautiful climbing plant, and the jacar-
andas have large blue and purple flowers, with
elegant leaves. Their wood is said to resist the
attacks of worms.

GeENTIANEE, Jussieu. Nearly all the genti-
ane are herbaceous plants, rarely frutescent,
bearing smooth, entire, opposite leaves. Flowers
solitary, terminal or axillar, or collected into
simple spikes. Calyx monosepalous, often per-
sistent, with five divisions. Corolla monopetal-
ous, regular, commonly with five lobes, which
are imbricated previous to their development.
The stamina are of the same number as the divi-
sions of the corolla, and alternate with them.
The ovary, sometimes contracted and in a man-
ner fusiform at its base, has a single cell, con-
taining a great number of ovules attached to two
parietal and sutural trophosperms, bifid on the
inner side. The style is simple and deeply
bipartite ; each division bearing a stigma. The
fruit is a one-celled capsule, containing a very
great number of seeds. It opens by two valves,
the edges of which are more or less inflected to
meet the trophosperms. The seeds are generally
very small, and their embryo, which is erect, is
contained in the axis ofa fleshy endosperm,

This family is well characterized by its gene-
ral appearance, its opposite entire leaves, and
their glaucous green colour. It is allied, on the
one hand, to the proteacee, from which it dift
fers in its opposite leaves, its two-celled ovaries,
and the peculiar mode of dehiscence of its cap-
sule; and, on the other hand, to the scrophul-
arinee, which, however, are easily distinguished
by their irregular corolla, their four didynamous
stamina, and the dehiscence of their fruit. Of
the genera of this family we may mention gen-
tiana, erythrea, chironia, exacum, villarsia, and
menyanthes. The two last are remarkable for
their alternate leaves, which are ternate in meny-
anthes.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

They are all pretty plants, but are finer in
their wild state than when cultivated. In their
properties they are generally bitter, stomachic,
and tonic. The roots of gentiana lutea, purpu-
rea, rubra, and amarilla, are employed as such.
Menyanthes trifoliata is also intensely bitter, as
is villarsia nymphoides. Erythrea centaurium
and Jatifolia yield an intense bitter, less nau-
seous than that of most others.

Apocynex, Jussieu. Apocynee and Asclepi-
adce, Jussieu. Strychnew, Jussieu. The apo-
cynee are very different in their aspect. They
are herbaceous plants, shrubs, or even tall trees,
and generally lactescent. Their leaves are sim-
ple and opposite. Flowers axillar or terminal,
solitary or variously aggregated. The calyx
monosepalous, with five divisions, sometimes
spreading, sometimes tubular. Corolla mono-
petalous, regular, of very diversified form, some-
times presenting five concave, petaloid appenda-
ges, which spring from the throat of the corolla,
and are in part united to the stamina, which are
five in number, sometimes free and distinct,
sometimes united by the filaments and anthers,
and forming a kind of tube which covers the
pistil, and is often united at its summit to the
stigma. ‘The anthers are two-celled, and the
pollen which they contain is pulverulent in
those whose stamina are free, and in solid masses
of the same form as the interior of the cell in
those in which the stamina are united. Each
pollen-mass is terminated at its summit by a
gland, which is united to that of the pollen-mass
next to it. T'wo free ovaries, applied upon a
hypogynous disk, united together by their inner
side or only by their summit, present each a
cell which contains a great number of ovules
placed at their inner suture. The two styles are
sometimes united into one, and terminate in a
more or less discoid, sometimes cylindrical and
truncate stigma. ‘The fruit isa simple or double
follicle; more rarely it is fleshy and indehiscent.
The seeds, which are attached to a sutural tro-
phosperm, are naked or crowned by a pappus.
They contain in a fleshy or horny endosperm a
straight embryo.

This family has been divided by Mr Brown
into two:

1. The true ArocynE#, which have the corolla
destitute of appendages, and the pollen powdery.
Such are the genera apocynum, vinca, rauwolfia,
arduinia, nerium, &e.

2. The AsctePraDE#, the corolla of which is
furnished with an appendage, and the pollen in
solid masses, as in the orchidee. Such are the
genera asclepias, hoya, cynanchum, &c.

Their properties are acrid, stimulating, or
narcotic, frequently highly poisunous. Nux
vomica is the seed of a species of strychnos of
that name. The seed of cerbera tanghin is a
violent poison, as is that of many other species.
SAPOTE, 621

Many of these plants, however, are employed as
purgatives, diaphoretics, tonics, and febrifuges,
and others as articles of food. It is probable
that when their properties are better known,
they will be found to be of eminent service in
medicine and domestic economy.

Saportra, Jussieu. Trees or shrubs all extra-
European and for the most part inter-tropical.
Their leaves are alternate, entire, persistent, and
coriaceous; their flowers hermaphrodite and
axillar. Calyx persistent, monosepalous. Cor-
olla monopetalous, regular, with lobes equal in
number to those of the calyx, double or triple.
The stamina are in definite number: some of
them, of the same number as the lobes of the
calyx, and opposite to the petals, are fertile; the
rest, alternate with the others, sterile. The
ovary has several cells, containing each an erect
ovule. The style is terminated by a generally
simple, sometimes lobed stigma. The fruit is
fleshy, with one or several monospermous, some-
times bony cells. The embryo is erect, and is
contained in a fleshy endosperm, which is rarely
wanting.

The genera of this family are achras, mimu-
sops, syderozylon, imbricaria, lacuma, &c. It is
closely allied to the ebenaceze, which differ from
it in having their flowers generally unisexual,
their stamina disposed in two series, their style
divided, and their seeds pendent.

The fruits of some species contain a thick oil
used for domestic purposes. Those of others are
sweet and used as food. To this family the
famous cow-tree of India is supposed to
belong.

Myrsineu, Brown. Ardisiacee, Jussieu.
Ophiospermie, Ventenat. The myrsinez are trees
or shrubs, with alternate, very rarely opposite
or ternate leaves, which are glabrous, coriaceous,
entire or toothed, and destitute of stipules. The
flowers are disposed in racemes or a kind of
umbels, or are simply grouped in the axilla of
the leaves, or at the summit of the twigs. They
are hermaphrodite, rarely unisexual. Their
calyx is generally persistent, with four or five
deep divisions. Their corolla is monopetalous,
regular, with four or five lobes. The stamina,
equal in number to the lobes of the corolla, and
sometimes monadelphous, are attached to the
base of the lobes, and are opposite to them.
The filaments are short, the anthers sagittate.
The ovary is free, unilocular, containing a vari-
able number of ovules inserted upon a central
trophosperm, in which they are sometimes more
or less deeply immersed. The style is simple,
terminated by a simple or lobed stigma. The
fruit is a kind of dry drupe, or a berry contain-
ing from one to four seeds. ‘The seeds are pel-
tate, with their hilum concave; their simple
integument covering a fleshy or horny endo-
sperm, in which iscontaineda cylindricalembryo,

 

little curved, and placed transversely to the
hilum.

This family is closely related to the sapotem
and ebenacee, in its general aspect, and in seve~
ral of its characters. On the other hand, the
structure of its ovary, and the circumstance of
the stamina being opposite to the lobes of the
corolla, give it some affinity to the primulacee.
The genera which compose the family of myr-
sinee are the following: myrsine, ardisia, jac-
quinia, samara, wallenia, and egicera. These
species are natives of tropical climates, and are
showy plants in the greenhouse and stove.

Exrnacem, Rich. Guyacanee, Jussieu. This
family is composed of trees or shrubs, which are
not lactescent, and of which the wood is very
hard, and often of a dark colour in the centre.
Their leaves are alternate, entire, often ceriace-
ous, and shining. The flowers are generally
axillar, rarely hermaphrodite, most commonly
polygamous. Their calyx is monosepalous, with
three or six equal and persistent divisions. The
corolla is regular, monopetalous, its limb with
three or six imbricated divisions. The stamina
are in definite number, sometimes inserted upon
the corolla, sometimes immediately hypogynous.
They are in double or quadruple the number of
the divisions of the corolla, very rarely in equal
number, and then alternating with them. Most
commonly the stamina are disposed in two rows,
and have their anthers linear-lanceolate, and two-
celled. The ovary is free, sessile, with several
cells containing each one or two pendent ovules.
The style is divided, more rarely simple; the
stigmas are simple or bifid. The fruit is a glo-
bular berry, sometimes opening in a nearly regu-
lar manner, and containing a small number of
compressed seeds. Their tegument covers a car-
tilaginous endosperm, in which is an embryo
having the same direction as the seed.

As now limited, the family of ebenacee is
composed of the genera diospyros, royena, para-
lea, &c. Itis related to the sapotez, but these
have their stamina of the same number as the
divisions of the corolla, to which they are oppo-
site, and besides, present several other distinc-
tive characters.

Diospyros virginiana affords fruits which are
eatable when perfectly ripe; but the family, in
general, is remarkable only for the hardness of
the wood which it affords.

Srrracex, Rich. Symplocee, Jussieu. This
little family contains trees or shrubs with alter-
nate leaves, destitute of stipules, and axillar,
sometimes terminal flowers. The calyx is free,
or adherent to the inferior ovary, its limb entire
or divided. The corolla is monopetalous and
regular. The stamina, which vary from six to
sixteen, are free or monadelphous at their base.
The ovary is sometimes superior, sometimes
inferior, commonly with four cells, separated by
622

very thin, membranous dissepiments. Each of
these cells commonly contains four ovules
attached to the inner angle of the cell, and of
which two are erect, two reversed. The style
is simple, terminated by a very small simple
stigma. The fruit is slightly fleshy. It con-
tains from one to four bony and more or less
irregular nucules. The seed is formed of a pro-
per integument, and a fleshy endosperm, which
contains a cylindrical embryo, having the same
direction as the seed.

This family is composed of only a few genera,
halesia, symplocos, styrax, alstonia, and ciponima.
It differs from the ebenacez in having a perigy-
nous insertion, a quadrilocular ovary with four
ovules, two erect and two reversed, and a simple
style.

The gum resins storax and benzoinare obtained
from styrax officinalis and benzoin.

Ericinex. This family consists of shrubs
and small trees, of elegant forms, having in gene-
ral simple, alternate leaves, rarely opposite, ver-
ticillate or very small, and in the form of imbri-
cated scales. Their inflorescence is very varia-
ble. The monosepalous calyx is sometimes free,
sometimes adherent to the ovary, which is then
inferior, with five divisions, which are some-
times so deep, that it appears formed of distinct
sepals. The corolla is monopetalous, regular,
with four or five lobes, sometimes with four or
five distinct petals. The stamina, which are
generally double the number of the divisions of
the corolla, have their filaments free, rarely con-
nected at their base. The anthers are introrse,
one-celled or two-celled, sometimes terminated
by two horn-shaped appendages at their summit
or base, and generally opening bya hole near their
summit. These stamina are generally attached
to the corolla; but sometimes they are immedi-
ately hypogynous. The ovary is inferior or
free; in the latter case, it is sessile at the bottom
of the flower, or applied upon a hypogynous
disk, which is more or less prominent, and
sometimes has the form of lobes or scales. It
has from three to five cells, each containing a
considerable number of ovules attached at their
inner angle. The style is simple, terminated by
a stigma having as many lobes as the ovary has
cells, ‘The fruit is a berry, or more commonly
a capsule, sometimes crowned by the limb of the
calyx, and opening by as many valves as there
are cells. Sometimes each of these valves car-
ries with it one of the dissepiments on the mid-
dle of itsinncr face and sometimes the dehis-
cence takes place opposite each disscpiment.
The seeds are composed of a fleshy endosperm,
in the middle of which is an axile, cylindrical
embryo, having the same direction as the seed.

The rhodoraceee of Jussieu differ from the
ericinea only in their capsule, the valves of which
carry with them the dissepiments on the middle

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

of their inner surface, whereas in the ericinez in
general the dehiscence takes place opposite ‘the
dissepiments. This family is divided into

1. Vaccinra: ovary inferior.  Vacciniwn,
escallonia, gaylussaccia, &c.

2. EricinE&: ovary free, disk hypogynous,
anthers bilocular. rica, rhododendron, rho-
dora, ledum, clethra, arbutus, andromeda, &c.

3. EpacripE#: ovary free, disk in the form of
five hypogynous scales, anthers unilocular.
Epacris, styphelia, leucopogon, &c.

The berries of the vaccinie are generally
eatable. The bark and leaves are slightly astrin-
gent. The ericse are astringent and diuretic.
The rhododendra and azalee are acrid and poi-
sonous, All the species are ornamental plants.

GEssNERIACES, Rich. These are herbaceous
plants, rarely shrubby at their base, bearing
opposite or alternate leaves, and axillar or ter-
minal flowers. The calyx is monosepalous, per-
sistent, with five divisions, adhering by its base
to the ovary, which is generally inferior. The
corolla is monopetalous, irregular, with five
unequal lobes sometimes forming two lips. The
stamina are two or four, inserted upon the cor-
olla, The ovary is either inferior or free: in the
former case, it is crowned by an epigynous often
lobed disk; in the latter case, the disk is hypo-
gynous and often lateral. The style is simple,
terminated by a simple stigma, concave in its
centre. The ovary has a single cell in which
the numerous ovules are attached to two parietal
trophosperms, branched on the side of the cell.
The fruit is either fleshy or dry, and forms a
unilocular capsule opening by two valves.

CampsnuLaces, Jussieu. ‘The Campanulaces
are commonly herbaceous or shrubby plants,
generally abounding in a white and bitter juice.
Their leaves are alternate and entire, rarely
opposite. Their flowers form spikes, thyrsi, or
capitula. They have a monosepalous calyx,
with four, five, or eight persistent divisions, and
a regular or irregular monopetalous bell-shaped
corolla, having its limb divided into as many
lobes as there are divisions to the calyx, some-
times as if two-lipped. The stamina, five in
number, are alternate with the lobes of the cor-
olla. Their anthers are free, or brought toge-
ther in the form of a tube. The ovary is infe-
rior or semi-inferior, with two or more poly-
spermous cells, The style issimple, terminated
by a lobed stigma, sometimes surrounded by
hairs or a kind of cupuliform cavity. The fruit
is a capsule crowned hy the limb of the calyx,
with two or more cells, opening either by means
of holes which are formed near the upper part,
or by incomplete valves, which carry along with
them part of the dissepiments on the middle of
their inner surface. The seeds, which are very
small and very numerous, contain an axile and
crect embryo in a fleshy endosperm.
SYNANTHERE &.

This family is divided into—

1, Camranvutacr.8.—Corolla regular, stamina
distinct, capsule with two polyspermous cells, as
ia phyteuma, prismatocarpus, jasione,
we.

2. Lopetiacr®, Rich.—Corolla irregular, sta-
mina united by the anthers, stigma surrounded
by hairs, as lobelia, lysipomia, &e.

8. GoopENovir&, Brown.—Corolla irregular,
stamina free or united by the anthers, stigma
surrounded by a kind of cup, a bilocular cap-
sule, or a monospermous nut, as goodenovia,
euthales, lechenaultia, &e.

4. Srytipre£, Brown.—Corolla irregular ; two
stamina, of which the filaments are confounded
with the style, and form a kind of central
column; stigma situated between the two
anthers; capsule bilocular, bivalve, as stylidium,
leuwenhoekia, &c.

The roots and young shoots of campanula
rapunculus and phyteuma spicata, are eaten,
The lobeliacee are acrid and frequently poison-
ous. Lobelia inflata is a powerful emetic and
diaphoretic, but produces great debility. Lobelia
longiflora is extremely violent in its operation.
The properties of many are unknown. Several
of the genera are ornamental flowers.

SyNANTHERE®, Rich. Cichoracew, corymbi-
fere, and cynarocephale, Jussieu. Composite
of Authors. This great family is one of the best
defined and best characterized in the vegetable
kingdom. It comprehends herbaceous plants,
shrubs, or even small trees. Their leaves are
commonly alternate, rarely opposite. Their
flowers, which are generally small, form capitula
or calathidia, which are hemispherical, globular,
or more or less elongated. Each capitulum is.
composed: Ist, Of a common receptacle, thick
and sometimes fleshy, convex or concave, which
has received the names of phoranthium and cli-
nanthium; 2dly, Of a common involucre which
surrounds the capitulum, and is composed of
scales, the form, number, and disposition of
which vary in the different genera; 8dly, Of
small scales or hairs, which are frequently found
on the receptacle at the base of each flower.
The flowers which form the capitula are of two
kinds: some present a regular, monopetalous
funnel-shaped corolla, generally with five regu-
lar lobes, and are named florets, flosculi; others
have an irregular corolla, thrown to one side in
the form of a strap, and are named semiflorets,
semiflosculi. Sometimes the capitula are com-
posed exclusively of florets, sometimes exclu-
sively of semiflorets, and sometimes their centre
is occupied by florets, and their circumference by
semiflorets. Each flower presents the following
organization: The calyx, which is adherent to
the ovary, has its limb entire, membranous,
toothed, and formed of scales or hairs; the cor-
olla monopetalous, regular or irregular; five

 

623

stamina with distinct filaments, but with the
anthers united, and forming a tube through
which passes a simple style, terminated by a
bifid stigma. The fruit is an akenium, naked at
its summit, or crowned by 2 membranous mar-
gin, small scales, or a tuft of simple or feathery
hairs, which is sessile or stipitate. he seed is
erect, containing a homotrope embryo, without
endosperm.

This family, which has much engaged the
attention of botanists, may be divided into three
principal tribes.

1. The Cynarocepyate, of which all the
flowers are flosculi, and which have their recep.
tacle furnished with numerous hairs or alveole,
the style enlarged, and furnished with hairs
under the stigma. Such are the genera cartha-
mus, carduus, cynara, centaurea, onopordum, &c.

2. The Cicuoracz.®, of which all the flowers
are seméflosculi. Such are the genera lactuca,
cichorium, sonchus, hicracium, prenanthes, &c.

3. The Corympirer£, of which the capitula
are generally composed of flosculi at the centre,
and semifloscult at the circumference, as helian-
thus, chrysanthemum, anthemis, matricaria, &e.

The synantheree are generally bitter, and more
or less stimulant and tonic. The cinarocephale
abound in bitter extractive, and many of them
have consequently been used as stomachics and
tonics; such as carduus benedictus, v. marianus,
&c. Arctium lappa is diaphoretic and diuretic.
The young leaves possess little bitterness, and
may be used as salad. The seeds are oily and
aperient. The cichoracez have a milky, bitter,
narcotic juice, which, when inspissated, resem-
bles opium in its action. Lactuca vitosa and
sylvestris, and cichorium intybus, are more espe-
cially remarkable for this narcotic juice. Cul-
tivation deprives these plants of their bitter
quality, and renders them eatable, as is the case
with the common lettuce. Others, by being
blanched, are rendered palatable, and are com-
mon articles of food. The corymbiferze resem-
ble the cynarocephalz in their properties. Tus-
silago farfara, eupatorium perfoliatum, inula
helenium, and common chamomile, are stom-
achic, stimulant, and tonic. They contain a
resinous principle combined with bitter extrac-
tive. Others, in which the resinous matter pre-
dominates, are used as anthelmintics and eme-
nagogues, as ariemisia, tanacetum, and santolina.

CatycerE#&, Rich. Herbaceous plants, bear-
ing a considerable resemblance to the scabiosse
in their general aspect. Their stem bears alter-
nate leaves, often divided and pinnatifid. . The
flowers are small, and form globular capitula,
surrounded by acommoninvolucre. ‘The recep-
tacle which bears the flowers is furnished with
foliaceous scales, which are sometimes united to
the flowers, so as not to be distinct from them.
The calyx is.adherent to the inferior ovary, and
624

the divisions of its limb are sometimes rigid and
spinous. The corolla is monopetalous, tubular,
infundibuliform, and regular; beneath the five
stamina are five nectariferous glands. These
stamina are connected both by their filaments
and anthers, and form a cylindrical tube, each
anther opening by its inner surface. The infe-
rior ovary has a single cell, from the summit of
which hangs a reversed ovule. The summit of
the ovary presents an epigynous disk, and asim-
ple style terminated by a hemispherical stigma.
In the genus acicarpha, all the flowers are united
together by their ovaries. The fruit is an ake-
nium crowned by the spinous teeth of the calyx.
The seed presents beneath its proper integument
an endosperm, containing an embryo which is
reversed like the seed.

Dipsace&, De Candolle. Stem herbaceous; leaves
opposite, without stipules ; flowers collected into
hemispherical or globular capitula, accompanied
at their base by an involucre of several leaflets.
The calyx is double; the outer monopetalous,
free, entire or divided into narrow, setaceous
segments ; the inner adherent to the ovary, and
terminated by an entire or divided limb. The
corolla is monopetalous, tubular, with four or
five unequal divisions. The stamina are of the
same number as the divisions, and alternate with
them. The ovary is inferior, with a single cell,
containing a single pendent ovule. The style
and stigma aresimple. The fruit isan akenium
crowned by the limb of the calyx, and enveloped
in the outer calyx. The seed is pendent, and its
embryo, which has the same direction, is placed
in a rather thin fleshy endosperm.

De Candolle has removed from this family
such as Jussieu left it, the genus valeriana, and
some others, to form of them the family of val-
erianex, which differs from the true dipsacee, in
not having the flowers collected into capitula, in
its simple calyx, its lobed stigma, &c.

In their general aspect, and especially in their
inflorescence, the dipsaceze have some resem-
blance to the synantherez, but they differ from
them in having the calyx double, the anthers
free, and the seed reversed. The principal gen-
era of this family are: dipsacus, scabiosa, and
knautia,

The root of scabiosa succisa is astringent.

VALERIANES, De Candolle. Herbaceous plants,
with opposite, simple, or more or less deeply
incised leaves, and flowers destitute of a calycu-
lus, usually disposed in terminal clusters or
panicles. Their calyx is simple, adherent to the
ovary, and having its limb toothed or involute,
and forming an entire margin. The corolla is
monopetalous, more or less irregular, and some-
times spurred at its base, and five-lobed. The
stamina vary from one to five, and are alternate
with the lobes of the corolla. The ovary is one-
celled: sometimes there are two other empty

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

cavities or false cells, su that the ovary secms
trilocular. ‘The cell contains a single pendent
ovule. The style is simple, commonly termi-
nated by a trifid stigma. The fruit is an ake-
nium, crowned by the teeth of the calyx, or by
a feathery pappus, formed by the unrolling of
the limb. The seed contains an embryo desti-
tute of endosperm.

This family is compose? of the genera valeri-
ana, centranthus, fedia, patrinia, and others.

The root of valeriana officinalis is bitter, aro-
matic, and antispasmodic, as are those of some
other species. ‘he leaves of fedia are eaten as
salad.

Runrace#, Jussieu. OPERcuLARIEa, Jussieu.
Herbaceous plants, shrubs, and large trees.
Their leaves are either opposite or verticillate:
in the first case, they have on each side an intra-
petiolar stipule, which is often united to the
sides of the petiole, and forms a kind of sheath.
The flowers are axillar or terminal, sometimes
collected into a capitulum. The calyx, which
adheres by its base to the inferior ovary, has its
limb entire or divided into four or five more or
less deep and persistent lobes. The corolla is
monopetalous, regular, epigynous, with four or
five lobes. The stamina are of the same num-
ber as the lobes of the corolla, and alternate with
them. The ovary is inferior, surmounted by a
simple or bifid style. It has two, four, five, or
a greater number of cells, containing each one or
more ovules, which are erect or attached to the
inner angle of thecell. The fruit varies greatly.
Sometimes it is composed of two small mono-
spermous and indehiscent cocca; sometimes it is
fleshy, and contains two monospermous nuclei ;
in certain genera it is a capsule, with two or a
greater number of cells, opening by as many
valves; or a fleshy and indehiscent fruit. The
fruit is always crowned at its summit by the
limb ofthecalyx. The seeds, sometimes winged
and membranous on their margin, contain, in a
hard and horny endosperm, an axile embryo,
which is erect, or sometimes placed transversely
with respect to the hilum.

This family is divided into two principal sec-
tions. In one are placed all the genera with
verticillate leaves, such as galium, asperula,
rubia, sherardia, cructanella, &c.; in the other
the much more numerous genera, which have
the leaves opposite and the stipules intermediate,
as cinchona, coffea, cephaelis, psychotria, &c.

The roots of rubia tinctorum, galium verum,
and other species, afford a red dye. The seeds
of galium aparine have been recommended as a
substitute for coffee. The plants of the second
section are remarkable for their powerful tonic
or emetic qualities. The tonic and febrifuge
properties of the bark of the cinchone, depend
upon the presence of two alkalies, cinchonia and
quinin, which are combined with kinie acid.
CAPRIFOLIACE.

Ipecacuan is the root of cephaelis ipecacuanha.
Several species of psychotria possess similar pro-
perties. Coffee is the seed of coffea arabica.

Capriroriacn®, Rich, Shrubs with opposite,
rarely alternate, generally simple, more rarely
imparipinnate leaves, without stipules. The
flowers are axillar, solitary, or often geminate,
and in part united together by their calyx, dis-
posed in cymes, or collected into a kind of capi-
tulum. The calyx is always monosepalous, and
is adherent by its lower part to the ovary, which
is inferior. The limb has five persistent teeth.
The corolla is monopetalous, commonly irregu-
lar; sometimes it is formed of five distinct
petals. The stamina are five in number, alter-
nating with the divisions of the corolla. The
ovary has from one to five cells, each containing
either a single pendent ovule, or several ovules
attached at its inner angle. The style is sim-
ple, terminated by a very small and scarcely
lobed stigma. The fruit is sometimes geminate,
that is, formed by the union of two ovaries. It
is fleshy, with one or two sometimes osseous
cells, each containing one or more seeds. The
seeds have a proper integument, sometimes
covered by a nucleus and a fleshy endosperm,
which contains an axile embryo, having the same
direction as the seed.

This family may easily be divided into two
natural tribes, according as the cells of its ovary
are monospermous, or polyspermous.

1. Hepreracez#: cells of the ovary monosper-
mous. Hedera, cornus, sambucus, viburnum.

2. Lonicernz: cells of the ovary polysper-
mous. Lonicera, zylosteum, symphoricarpos, &c.

This family, which is allied to the rubiacee,
differs from them especially in its irregular cor-
olla, and the absence of stipules between the
leaves.

The leaves of sambucus nigra are emetic and
purgative. Some fruits of the genera cornus,
sambucus, and viburnum, are eatable. The bark
of cornus florida has been used in intermittent
fevers. Many of the genera are ornamental
shrubs, or useful as wood.

LorantHes, Rich. The loranthee are mostly
perennial-herbaceous, and generally parasitic
plants. Their stem is woody and branched ;
theirleavessimpleand opposite, entire or toothed,
coriaceous, persistent, and destitute of stipules.
The flowers are variously disposed, sometimes
solitary, sometimes in axillar or terminal spikes,
racemes, or panicles. The flowers are generally
hermaphrodite, sometimes dicecious. The calyx
is adherent to the inferior ovary; its limb is
entire or slightly toothed. It is accompanied
externally by two bracteas, or by a second cup-
shaped calyx, sometimes entirely enveloping the
true one. The corolla is composed of from four
to eight petals, inserted towards the summit of
the ovary. These petals are aceasionally united,

 

625

so as to represent a monopetalous corolla. The
stamina are of the same number as the petals,
and opposite to them ; the anthers sessile, or sup-
ported upon filaments varying in length. The
ovary is one-celled, and contains a reversed
ovule. It is crowned by an epigynous and anu-
lar disk. The style is often long and slender,
sometimes entirely wanting; the stigma often
simple. The fruit is generally fleshy, contain-
ing a single reversed seed, adherent to the pulp
of the pericarp, which is thick and viscous. The
seed contains a fleshy endosperm, in which is
placed a cylindrical embryo, having the radicle
directed towards the hilum.

The principal genera are loranthus, viscum,
aucuba, &e.

The bark is usually astringent.
toe is a well known parasitic plant.

RuizopHore#, Brown. Extra-European trees,
with opposite, simple leaves, and interpetiolar
stipules, asin therubiacee. Their calyx, which
is adherent to the ovary, has four or five valvar
divisions to its limb, which is persistent. The
corolla is composed of four or five petals. The
stamina vary from eight to fifteen. The ovary,
which sometimes is only semi-inferior, has
always two cells, each of which contains two or
a great number of pendent ovules. The style is
simple, the stigma bipartite. The fruit, which
is crowned at its summit by the calyx, is unilo-
cular, monospermous, and indehiscent. The
seed which it contains is composed of a large
embryo destitute of endosperm. The embryo
sometimes germinates and is developed within
the fruit, which it perforates at its summit.

The genera rhizophora, bruguiera, and car-
allia, are all that compose this family, which
differs from the caprifoliacee, to which these
genera were formerly referred, in having the
corolla polypetalous, the fruit coriaceous, and
the embryo without endosperm; and from the
loranthee, in having the embryo destitute of
endosperm.

Umpetuirera, Jussieu. The Umbellifere,
which form one of the most natural families in
the vegetable kingdom, are herbaceous plants, of
which the stem is often internally hollow ; the
leaves are alternate, sheathing at their base, gene-
rally decompounded into numerous segments or
leaflets. The flowers, which are always very
small, white, or yellow, are disposed in umbels.
Sometimes there are seen, at the base of the
umbel, small leaflets, which collectively consti-
tute the involucre ; and, at the base of the um-
bellules, others which constitute the involucels.
Each flower is composed of a calyx, which is
adherent to the inferior ovary, and of which the
limb is entire, or scarcely toothed ; a corolla,
formed of five more or less spreading petals; five
epigynousstamina, alternating with the petals; an
ovary with two cells, each containing a reversed

4k

The missel-
626

ovule, and crowned at its summit by an epi-
gynous and two-lobed disk ; and two styles, ter-
minated each by a small simple stigma. The
fruit is a diakenium of very diversified form,
separating, at maturity, into two monospermous
akenia, connected by a small filiform columella.
The seed is reversed, and contains, in a pretty
large endosperm, a very small axile embryo.

The genera of this family are extremely num-
erous, as daucus, carwm, amni, scandix, apium,
pastinaca, and many others.

The roots of the wild carrot (daucus carota),
are aromatic and rather pungent, but eatable.
Those of the cultivated carrot, skirret, and par-
snip, are used as articles of food. The root of
bunium bulbocastanum is also eatable ; as are the
stems of the celery, and heracleum, sphondyllium,
and the leaves of the parsley. But, in general,
the stems and leaves of the plants of this order
are nauseous, and often poisonous. Those of
cenanthe crocata, conium maculatum, cicuta virosa,
and athusa cynapium, are of the latter character.
The fruits are often agreeably aromatic, as in
carum carut, cortandrum sativum, &c. Opopo-
nax and asafcetida, are procured from plants of
this order, as are galbanum and gum ammoniac.
The species which produce aromatic seeds gene-
rally grow in dry soil, and those which are most
virulent in their properties usually in watery,
damp, or shady places.

ARALIACcEEZ, Jussieu. The araliacee form a
group scarcely distinct from the umbellifere.
They are herbaceous plants, or sometimes very
tall trees. Their flowers, which are also very
small, are disposed in simple or paniculate um-
bels. Their calyx is adherent and toothed, asin
the umbellifere. Their corolla is formed of five
or six petals. Their ovary has from two to six
monospermous cells, and is surmounted by as
many styles, terminated by simple stigmas. The
fruit is sometimes fleshy and indehiscent, some-
times dry, and separating into as many mono-
spermous cocca, as the ovary has cells.

This family is very closely allied to the um-
belliferee, from which it differs in having a
greater number of cells and styles, or in having
the fruit fleshy, asin aralia, panax, gastonia, &e.

Ginseng, a tonic much used by the Chinese,
is the root of panaa quinquefolia.

Rayuncutaces, Jussieu. This great family
is composed of herbaceous plants, bearing alter-
nate leaves, amplexicaul at their base, most
commonly divided into numerous segments.
The leaves are opposite in the genus clematis
only. The flowers vary much in their disposi-
tion; sometimes they are accompanied with an
involucre formed of three leaves, which may be
distant from the flower, or placed near it and
calyciform. The calyx is polysepalous, often
coloured and petaloid, rarely persistent. The
corolla is polypetalous, sometimes wanting. The

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

petals are sometimes simple, with a small hollow
or a glandular lamina at their inner base; more
commonly diversiform, or irregularly hollowed
in the shape of a horn, and abruptly unguicul-
ate at their base. The stamina, which are gene-
rally numerous, are free, with anthers continu-
ous with the filaments. ‘The pistils are some-
times monospermous, and aggregated into a kind
of capitulum, or polyspermous and circularly
grouped, and sometimes more or less intimately
united. The style is very short, commonly
lateral; the stigma simple. The fruits are
monospermous, indehiscent, disposed in capitula
or spikes: or they are aggregated capsules, which
are distinct or united, sometimes solitary, uni-
locular, polyspermous, opening by their internal
suture, which bears the seeds ; very rarely the
fruit is a polyspermous berry. The seeds are
not arillate; the embryo is very small, has the
same direction as the seed, and is contained in
the base of a fleshy or hard endosperm.

The numerous genera of this family may be
divided into two great sections, according as the
ovaries are monospermious or polyspermous.

Among the first are, ranunculus, ficaria, cera-
tocephalus, myosurus, adonis, anemone, clematis,
thalictrum.

And among the second, peonia, caltha, trol-
lius, eranthis, helleborus, nigella, garidella,
aquilegia, delphinium, aconilum, actea.

These plants are generally acrid and poisonous,
and their properties are supposed to depend upon
a volatile principle, removed by the application
of heat or by drying. The fresh leaves and
stems of ranunculus sceleratus and flammula pro-
duce blisters on theskin. The root of aconitum
napellus, and peonia officinalis, ave acrid and
bitter. That of several species of Aelleborus is
purgative. Anemone nemorosa is supposed to
produce the disease called red-water in cattle.
With the exception of clematis, and xanthoriza
which have shrubby stems, all the others are
herbaceous. The anemone, ranunculus, and
others are esteemed garden flowers.

Ditteniacez, De Candolle. This family con-
sists of trees, or shrubs, chiefly natives of tropi-
cal countries, having alternate, very rarely oppo-
site leaves, without stipules, often amplexicaul
at their base, and solitary or clustered flowers,
sometimes opposite to the leaves. Their calyx
is persistent, monosepalous, with five deep divi-
sions, laterally imbricated. Their corolla is
commonly of five petals. Their stamina are very
numerous, free, disposed in several rows, some-
times unilateral and disposed in several bundles.
The carpels, which vary from two to twelve,
are generally distinct, but sometimes united.
Their ovary is unilocular, containing two or
more ovules, attached to the lower part of their
inner angle, and erect. The styles are simple,
and terminated each by a simple stigma. The
MAGNOLIACEAE,

fruits are distinct or united, fleshy or dry and
dehiscent. ‘The seeds have a crustaceous tegu-
ment, covering a fleshy endosperm, in which is
a very small erect embryo, placed towards its
base. ;

To this family belong the genera tetracera,
davilla, delima, pachynema, pleurandra, dillenia,
hibbertia, &c. It is distinguished from the mag-
noliacee and anonacee by the quinary number
of the parts of its flower.

They are generally astringent, but their pro-
perties are not much known. Dillenia spearsa
is an elegant tree of India, with large yellow
flowers, not inferior tothe magnolia. Hibbertia
volubilis has also beautiful flowers, which have
a foetid smell.

Maenouiace&, Jussieu. This family is com-
posed of large trees, or elegant shrubs, adorned
with beautiful alternate leaves, often coriaceous
and persistent, and furnished at their base with
foliaceous stipules. The flowers, which are
often very large, and diffuse a sweet scent, are
generally axillar. The calyx is composed of
from three to six caducous sepals. The petals
vary from three to twenty-seven, and are dis-
posed in several series. The stamina, which are
very numerous and free, are disposed in several
series, and attached to the receptacle which bears
the petals. The pistils are numerous, sometimes
collected in a circular form and in a single series
in the centre of the flower, sometimes forming a
more or less elongated capitulum. These pistils
are composed of an unilocular ovary, containing
one or more ovules, of a hardly distinct style,
and a simple stigma. The fruits are composed
of dry or fleshy carpels, aggregated circularly
and ina stellate form, or disposed in capitula,
and sometimes all united together. Each carpel
is indehiscent, or opens by a longitudinal suture;
and the seed is sometimes supported upon a
sutural filiform trophosperm, which hangs at the
exterior when the fruit opens. These seeds have
their embryo erect in a fleshy endosperm.

The family is subdivided into—

Iruiciex: carpels verticillate, rarely _soli-
tary, through abortion: leaves marked with
transparent dots, as éllicium, drimys, tasmannia.

Maenortace#: carpels disposed in capitula;
leaves not dotted, as magnolia, michelia, talauma,
liriodendron, &e.

This family is very nearly allied to the ano-
nacee, from which it differs especially in its sti-
pules and the continuous structure of its endo-
sperm. It is also allied to the dilleniacew, which
differ from it in the quinary number of the parts
of the flower.

The bark of magnolia, liriodendron, and indeed
of all the genus, is bitter and tonic. The flowers
of the former are fragrant, but produce sickness
and headache. All the species are exclusively
natives of America or Asia.

 

627

Anonace#&, Jussieu. The anonacee are trees
or shrubs having simple, alternate leaves, desti-
tute of stipules, by which character they are dis-
tinguished from the magnoliacee. Their flowers
are commonly axillar, sometimes terminal. The
calyx is persistent, with three deep divisions.
The corolla is formed of six petals, disposed in
two series. The stamina are very numerous,
forming several series; their filaments short,
their anthers almost sessile. The carpels, which
are generally aggregated in great number in the
centre of the flower, are sometimes distinct,
sometimes connected ; each of them has a single
cell, which contains one or more ovules attached
to their inner suture, and often forming as many
distinct fruits (rarely one only in consequence
of abortion); sometimes they are united toge-
ther, and form a kind of fleshy and scaly cone.
The seeds have their integument formed of two
laminee. Their horny endosperm is deeply
grooved, and contains a very small embryo situ-
ated near the point of attachment of the seed.

This family, in which are placed the genera
anona, kadsura, asimina, uvaria, &c., is very
closely allied to the magnoliacez, from which it
differs especially in the absence of stipules, in
the petals, the number of which never exceeds
six, and in having the endosperm deeply and
irregularly grooved.

They are generally aromatic. The fruit of
several species is saccharine and mucilaginous.
That of the cherimonyer is esteemed next
to the mangostan. The hard fruits of the wva-
ria are highly aromatic, that of one species
furnishes the piper ethiopicum of the shops.
‘They are all tropical plants.

Berseriwe, Jussieu. These consist of herbs
or shrubs, with alternate, simple, or compound
leaves, accompanied at their base by stipules,
which are often persistent and spinous. Their
flowers are generally yellow, and disposed in
spikes or racemes. They have a calyx of from
four to six sepals, rarely of a greater or of a less
number, accompanied externally with several
scales. The petals are of the same number as
the sepals, flat or concave and irregular, but
always opposite to the sepals, They are often
furnished at their inner base with small glands
or glandular scales. The stamina are equal in
number to the petals and opposite to them. The
anthers, which are sessile or supported by a fila-
ment of variable length, have two cells, each of
which opens by a kind of valve, similar to those
in the family of laurinee. The ovary has a
single cell, which contains from two to twelve
ovules, which are erect or laterally attached to
the inner wall, there forming one or two
tows. The style, which is sometimes lateral, is
short, thick, or wanting. The stigma is gene-
rally concave. The fruit is dry or fleshy, unilo-
cular and indchiscent. The sceds are composed
628

of a proper integument, covering a fleshy or
horny endosperm, which contains an axile and
homotrope embryo.

This family, from which have been removed
several of the genera placed in it by Jussieu, is
composed of the following: berberis, mahonia,
wandinia, lcontice, caulophyllum, epimedium, and
diphylleta,

The berries of berberis vulgaris are acid, and
used as a preserve, but the other species are of
little interest.

Mentsrrrmez, Jussieu. This family is com-
posed of sarmentaceous and climbing shrubs, of
which the alternate leaves are generally simple,
rarely compound. The flowers are small, uni-
sexual, and most commonly dicecious. The
calyx is composed of several sepals, arranged by
threes, and forming several series. This is also
the case with the corolla, which, however, is
sometimes wanting. The stamina are monadel-
phous or free, of the same number as the petals,
or of double or triple the number. The pistils,
which are often very numerous, are free or
united at their inner side, and are one-celled,
containing one or more ovules. The fruits are
small, compressed, oblique, somewhat reniform,
monospermous drupes. The seed which they
contain is composed of an embryo bent upon
itself, and generally destitute of endosperm.

The genera are menispermum, cocculus, cissam-
pelos, abuta, lardizabala, &c.

Cohunbo, menispermum palmatum, is astrin-
gent and tonic, and several species of cocculus are
employed as tonics in Brazil. Cocculus Indicus,
the seed of menispermum cocculus, is used in
India for poisoning fishes. They are all natives
of the tropical parts of America and Asia.

Ocnnacrx, De Candolle. Woody plants, very
smooth in all their parts, having alternate leaves,
furnished with two stipules at their base, pedun-
culate flowers, very rarely solitary, or more com-
monly disposed in branched racemes. Their
peduncles are articulated towards the middle of
their length. They have a calyx with five deep
divisions, which are laterally imbricated previ-
ous to their expansion ; and a corolla of from five
to ten spreading petals, imbricated during pre-
floration. The stamina vary from five to ten,
and even more, having their filaments free, and
inserted like the petals beneath a very promi-
nent hypogynous disk, on which the ovary is
inserted. The ovary is depressed at its centre,
and appears formed of several distinct pistils
ranged around a central style, which seems to
arise immediately from the disk. The style is
simple, and bears at its summit a variable num-
ber of stigmatiferous divisions. The fruit is
composed of the cells of the ovary, which are
separated from each other, and form so many
drupaceous carpels, supported upon the disk or
gynobasis, which has become enlarged. These

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

carpels, of which several are sometimes abortive,
are unilocular, monospermous, and indehiscent.
Their seed contains a large erect embryo desti-
tute of endosperm.

To this family are referred the genera ochne,
gomphia, walkera, meesia, &e.

They are ornamental yellow flowered shrubs.
The root and leaves of walkera serrata are tonic
and stomachic.

Ruracer, Adr. de Jussieu. Zygophyllee and
diosmee, Brown. Simarubew, Rich. A large
family, composed of trees, shrubs, or herbaceous
or frutescent plants, having opposite or alternate
leaves, very frequently marked with transparent
dots, with or without stipules. Flowers gene-
rally hermaphrodite, very rarely unisexual.
Calyx of from three to five sepals, united at the
base. Corolla of five petals, sometimes united
together and forming a pseudo-monopetalous
corolla, more rarely wanting. Stamina five or
six, some of them occasionally abortive, and of
various forms. The ovary is composed of from
three to five carpels, more or less intimately
united, and forming so many more or less pro-
minent ribs. Each cell contains frequently two,
more rarely one, or a considerable number of
ovules, inserted at their inner angle, and there
forming two rows. The styles are free or
united. The fruit is sometimes simple, forming
a capsule, opening into as many septiferoug
valves as there are cells; sometimes and more
commonly it separates into as many cocca or
carpels, which are usually monospermous and
indehiscent, sometimes slightly fleshy, or dry
and opening into two incomplete valves.

The numerous and rather heterogeneous spe-
cies, have been divided into five tribes :-—

1. ZyGoruyLuze.£: flowers hermaphrodite, cells
of the ovary containing two or more ovules; as
tribulus, fagonia, guaiacum, eygophyllum, Sc.

2. Ruracz#: flowers hermaphrodite; two or
more ovules in each cell; leaves alternate, is
ruta, peganum, &c.

8. Diosmpa: flowers hermaphrodite ; two or
more ovules; as déctamnus, diosma, boronia,
ticorea, galipea, & 9.

4, SimaruBE ; flowers hermaphrodite or uni-
sexual; cells with a single ovule; carpels dis-
tinct, indehiscent ; as simaruba, quassia, simaba,
&e,

5. XaNTHOXYLEZ: flowers unisexual; cells
containing from two to four ovules; embryo
placed at the centre of a fleshy endosperm, as
galvezia, aylanthus, brucea, xanthoxzylum, todda-
lia, ptelea, &c.

The plants of this family are generally char-
acterized by being intensely bitter, as rue; angus-
tura, quassia, and others are acrid, or aromatic.
The guiacums are stimulating and tonic.

Pirrosrore#, Brown. Shrubs sometimes sar-
mentaceous and twining, with simple and alter-
GERANIACEA,

nate leaves, destitute of stipules, I lowers soli-
tary, fasciculate, or disposed in terminal clusters,
Their calyx is monosepalous, with five deep
divisions. The corolla is composed of five equal
petals, united at the base, so as to form a regular
monopetalous corolla, which is tubular, or spread
out ina rosaceous manner. The five stamina are
erect, hypogynous, as is the corolla. The ovary
is free, supported upon a kind of hypogynous
disk. It has one or two cells, separated by
incomplete dissepiments, which frequently do
not join at the centre of the ovary, rendering
that organ unilocular, The ovules are numer-
ous, attached in two longitudinal and distinct
series towards the middle of the dissepiment.
The style is sometimes very short, terminated
by a small two-lobed stigma. The fruit is a
capsule, with one or two polyspermous cells,
opening by two valves, or a fleshy indehiscent
fruit. The seeds are composed of a somewhat
crustaceous proper integument, a white and
fleshy endosperm, and an extremely small em-
bryo, situated towards the hilum, and having
its radicle turned towards it.

The genera which compose this family, were
formerly placed among the rhamner; but their
hypogynous insertion removes them to a wide
distance. M. Decandolle places the pittosporee
between the polygalee and the Frankeniacer.
The following are the principal genera of this
family: pittosporum, billardéera, bursaria, sena-
cia. They are handsome, and rather ornamental
shrubs, of tropical countries.

Grrantacez. Herbaceous or suffrutescent
plants, with simple, or rarely compound, alter-
nate leaves, with or without stipules at their
base. The flowers are axillar or terminal. Their
calyx is formed of five sepals, often unequal, and
united together at their base, sometimes pro-
longed into a spur. The corolla is composed of
five equal or unequal petals, free or slightly
coherent, generally spirally twisted previous to
their expansion. ‘The stamina are from five to
ten, rarely seven; they are free, or more fre-
quently monadelphous by the base of their fila-
ments. ‘Their anthers are two-celled. The car-
pels are from three to five, more or less intimately
united together. They have each a single cell,
containing one, two, or a greater number of
ovules, attached at its inner angle. ‘The styles,
which spring from the summit of each ovary,
remain distinct, or are united together, and are
each terminated by a simple stigma. The fruit
is composed of from three to five cocca, contain-
ing one or two seeds, remaining indehiscent, or
opening by their inner side; or it is a capsule,
with five polyspermous cells, opening with five
valves, sometimes elastically. The seeds, of
which the proper integument is sometimes ex-
ternally fleshy or crustaceous, is composed of a
straight or more or less curved embryo, imme-

 

629

diately covered by the proper integument, or
placed in a fleshy endosperm.

‘Lhe family is thus divided.

1, OxaLiDEs; leaves usually compound, with-
out stipules; flowers axillar, capsule with five
polyspermous cells, styles distinct, embryo
straight, in a fleshy endosperm, as ozalis.

2. Tropaotrm; leavessimple, without stipules;
flowers axillar, three indehiscent, monospermous

cocca; embryo destitute of endosperm. Trope-
olum.

3. Batsaminusm; leavessimple, withoutstipules;
flowers irregular; no style; capsule with five
polyspermous cells, opening elastically; embryo
without endosperm. Balsamina.

4, Linacex; leaves simple, without stipules;
flowers terminal, regular; three or five distinct
styles; capsule with five two-seeded cells; endo-
sperm thin. Linwn.

5. Grrantaces; leaves simple, furnished with
stipules; flowers opposite to the leaves; styles
united; cocca indehiscent; embryo generally
without endosperm. Geranium erodium, pelar-
gonium, monsonia.

Some botanists constitute each of these divi-
sions a distinct natural family. :

The pelargoniums or geraniums, are highly
esteemed as ornamental flowers.

The leaves and stems of the oxalidee are
usually acid. The troporwolee are acrid, and
possess the properties of the crucifere. Linum
catharticum is purgative. The seeds of Linum
usitatissimum are mucilaginous, oleaginous, and
emollient. The fibrous bark forms linen.

Matvacez, Kunth. Part of the malvacee cf
Jussieu. This family contains herbaceous plants,
shrubs, and even trees, with alternate, simple, or
lobed leaves, furnished with two stipules at their
base. The flowers are axillar, solitary, or vari-
ously grouped, and forming a kind of spikes,
‘Lhe calyx is often accompanied externally with
another, formed of leaflets, varying in number,
and variously united. It is monosepalous, with
three or five divisions, placed close together in
the form of valves, previous to expansion. The
corolla is generally composed of five petals,
alternate with the lobes of the calyx, spirally
twisted at first, often united together at their
base, by means of the filaments of the stamina,
so that the corolla falls off entire. The stamina
are generally very numerous, rarely of the same
number as the petals, or double their number.
Their filaments are united, and form a tube, and
their anthers are reniform and always unilocular.
The pistil is composed of several carpels, which
are sometimes verticillate around a central axis,
and more or less united together, sometimes col-
lected into a kind of capitulum. These carpels
are unilocular, containing one, two, or a greater
number of ovules attached at their inner angle.
The styles are distinct, or more or less united,
630

and bear each a simple stigma at their summit.
The fruit presents the same modifications as the
carpels, that is, the latter are sometimes united,
in a circular manner, around an axis, sometimes
collected into a head, or form, by their union, a
many-celled capsule, which opens into as many
valves as there are monospermous or polysperm-
ous cells. At other times, the carpels open only
by their inner side. The seeds, of which the
proper integument is sometimes covered with
cottony hairs, are composed of a straight embryo,
generally without endosperm, having the coty-
ledons foliaceous, and folded upon themselves.

Mr Brown considers the malvacee, not as a
family, but as a great tribe or class, composed of
the malvacee of Jussieu, the sterculiaceer of
Ventenat, the chlenacere of Du-Petit-Thouars,
the tiliacee of Jussieu, and a new family which
he names byttneriacew.

The following are among the genera of which
it is composed: malope, malva, althea, lavatera,
hibiscus, gossypium, palava, lagunea, &c.

The malvacee abound in mucilage, and are
consequently demulcent. ‘The marsh mallow
(althea officinalis) has long been employed as
such, but any of the other European species may
be used with equal advantage. No plant belong-
ing to this family is known to possess unwhole-
some qualities. The hairy covering of the seeds
of several species of gossypium, is the cotton of
commerce.

Bompacex, Kunth. Large trees or shrubs,
natives of intertropical countries, having alter-
nate, simple, or digitate leaves, furnished at their
base with two persistent stipules. The calyx,
which is sometimes accompanied externally with
some bracteas, is monosepalous, with five divi-
sions, which are imbricated previous to their
expansion, sometimes entire. The corolla, which
is sometimes wanting, is composed of five regular
petals. The stamina, five, ten, fifteen, or more,
are monadelphous at their base, and form five
bundles abore, each bearing one or more uni-
locular anthers. The ovary is formed of five
carpels, which are sometimes distinct, sometimes
united together, and terminated each by a style
and a stigma, which are sometimes united into
one. The fruits are generally five-celled, poly-
spermous capsules, opening by five valves, or
they are coriaceous, internally fleshy, and inde-
hiscent. The seeds, which are often surrounded
by hairs or down, sometimes have a fleshy en-
dosperm, covering an embryo, of which the
cotyledons are even or puckered. The endosperm
is sometimes wanting.

The genera are: bombax, helicteres, matisia,
cavanillesia, adansonia, &c.

They are mucilaginous, like the malvacee,
The baobab or adansonia, is the largest known
tree, its diameter being from twenty to thirty
feet at the base. ‘The seeds of many species are

 

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

enveloped in cottony hairs, which are used for
various purposes, although they cannot be man-
ufactured into thread.

ByrrnertacEz, Brown. (Some genera of mai-
vacec, and the hermannic of Jussieu. Sterculia-
cee, Ventenat.) Trees or shrubs with simple,
alternate leaves, furnished with opposite stipules.
Flowers disposed in more or less branched clus-
ters, which are axillar, or opposite to the leaves.
The calyx, which is naked, or accompanied with
a calyculus, is formed of five petals, more or less
united at their base, and valvar. The corolla is
of five flat petals, spirally twisted before expan-
sion, or more or less concave and irregular. The
petals are sometimes wanting. The stamina,

‘which are of the same number ag the petals,

double or multiple, are in general monadelphous,
and the tube which they form by their union
often presents petaloid appendages, placed be-
tween the antheriferous stamina, and which are
so many abortive stamina. The anthers are
always two-celled. The carpels, from three to
five in number, are more or less completely
united. Each cell contains two or three ascend-
ing ovules, or a greater number, attached to the
inner angle of each cell. The styles remain free,
or are more or less united together. The fruit
is generally a globular capsule, accompanied by
the calyx, with three or five cells opening into
so many valves, which often bear the dissepi-
ment on the middle of their inner face. he
seeds have an erect embryo ina fleshy endosperm.

This family, which is distinguished from the
malvacez by its two-celled anthers, and by the
circumstance that its seeds are generally furnished
with a fleshy endosperm, has been divided into
six sections, or natural tribes:

1, SvercutiacEz: flowers often unisexual;
calyx naked, no corolla; ovary pedicellate,
formed of five distinct carpels; endosperm some-
times wanting, as: sterculia, triphaca, heritiera.

2. Byrrneriacez: petals irregular, concave,
often terminated at their summit by a kind of
ligule; stamina monadelphous; ovary with five
cells, generally containing two erect ovules:
theobroma, abroma, guazuma, buttneria, ayenia.

8. LasloPETaLE#: calyx petaloid; petals very
small, in the form of scales, or wanting; ovary
with three or five cells, containing each from
two to eight ovules. Seringia, thomasia, kerau-
drenia.

4, HermManniez: flowers hermaphrodite, calyx
tubular; corolla of five flat petals, spirally rolled
before expansion; five monodelphous or free
stamina, opposite to the petals; cells polysperm-
ous. Melochia, hermannia, mahernia.

5. DompeyacEsz: calyx monosepalous; corolla
of five flat petals, stamina equal, numerous, and
monadelphous; ovary with three or five cells,
containing two or more ovules. Rutcia, dom-
beya, pentapetes.
WALLICHIE.

6. Watuicutzz: calyx surrounded by an
involucre of from three to five leaflets; petals
flat; stamina very numerous, monadelphous,
unequal, and forming a column similar to that
of the malvacew, erivlena, wallichia, gethea.

Many of the sterculias are noble trees, with
large edible seeds. Those of the famous kola,
are said, when chewed, to render bad water
sweet. The genus astropwa, ave reckoned the
most beautiful plants in the world: all the spe-
cies are remarkable for the mucilage which they
contain. Cocoa is prepared from the seeds of
theobroma cacao.

Cutenacez, Du-Petit-Thuuars. This little
family is composed of small shrubs, all natives
of the island of Madagascar. Their leaves are
alternate, furnished with stipules, entire and
caducous. The flowers form branched racemes.
They are furnished with persistent involucres,
which contain one or two flowers.. Their calyx
is small, formed of three sepals. The petals
vary from five to six: they are sessile, and some-
times united at their base. The stamina, which
are ten, or an indeterminate number, are united
by their filaments, and sometimes adhere to each
other by their anthers. The ovary has three cells,
surmounted by a simple style, and a trifid stigma.
The fruit is a capsule, with three cells, rarely
with only one, through abortion, containing each
one or more seeds, inserted at their inner angle,
and pendant. These seeds contain an axile
embryo, in a fleshy or horny endosperm.

Tintacer, Jussieu. ( Tilliacee and elaocar-
pee, Jussieu.) Almost all the tiliacee are trees
or shrubs, a small number only being herba-
ceous plants, They bear alternate, simple leaves,
accompanied at their base by two caducous
stipules. Their flowers are axillar, peduncu-
late, solitary, or variously grouped. They have
a simple calyx, formed of four or five sepals,
placed close together in the form of valves, pre-
vious to the expansion of the flower; a corolla
having the same number of petals, which are
rarely wanting, and are often glandular at their
base. The stamina are numerous, free, with
bilocular anthers. A pedicellate gland is often
seen on the face of each petal. The ovary has
from two to ten cells, containing cach several
ovules attached, in two rows, to the inner angle.
The style is simple, terminated by a lobed stigma.
The fruit is a capsule, with several cells, con-
taining several seeds, and sometimes indehiscent,
or a monospermous drupe, through abortion.
The seeds contain a straight or slightly curved
embryo, in a fleshy endosperm.

The family is thus divided into two sections :

1. The true Tin1acez, comprehending the
genera tilia, sparmannia, heliocarpus, corchorus,
triumfetta, apeiba, &e.

2. The Etzocarpem, to which belong the
genera eleocarpus, vallea, decadia, &c.

 

631

The tilliacem are allied to the malvacee, from
which they differ in having the stamina free,
and the embryo placed at the centre of a fleshy
endosperm; and to the byttneriacee, from which
they are distinguished by their stamina being free
and numerous, their style simple, &c.

Thetilliacee are mucilaginous, like the families
to which they are allied. The properties of the
elwocarpex are unknown.

TerRnsTREMIACER; Camrtiina. ( Ternstroemi-
acee and theacee, Mirbel.) Trees or shrubs,
with alternate leaves, destitute of stipules, often
coriaceous and persistent. Flowers sometimes
very large, axillar, and terminal, having a calyx
formed of five concave, unequal, and imbricated
sepals, and a corolla composed of five petals,
sometimes united at their base, and forming a
monopetalous corolla. The stamina are numer-
ous, often connected by the base of their fila-
ments, and united to the corolla. The ovary is
free, sessile, generally applied upon a hypogyn-
ous disk, divided into from two to five cells, each
containing two, or a greater number of pendant
ovules, inserted at the inner angle. The num-
ber of styles is the same as that of the cells;
each of them is terminated by a simple stigma,
The fruit has from two to five cells. It is some-
times coriaceous, indehiscent, a little fleshy inter-
nally; at other times dry, capsular, and opening
by as many valves. The seeds, which are often
only two in each cell, have their embryo naked,
or covered with a fleshy, often very thin endu-
sperm.

This family now contains the genera ternstre-
mia, thea, camellia, fraziera, &c.

The camellias are highly ornamental trees.
The tea plant belongs to this family.

Otacine®, Mirbel. This little family, which
has been formed of part of the aurantiacee, is
composed of woody plants, bearing simple, alter-
nate, petiolate leaves, without stipules, and very
small axillar flowers. The flowers are composed
of a very small, monosepalous, persistent, entire,
or tocthed calyx, often attaining a large size, and
becoming fleshy. ‘Ihe corolla is formed of from
three to six petals, which are coriaceous, sessile,
valvar, free, or united at the base. These petals,
which sometimes bear the stamina, are often
united two and two, and only separated at their
summit. The stamina are generally ten in
number, several of them being sometimes abor-.
tive, and existing under the form of sterile fila-
ments. They are immediately hypogynous, or
are borne upon the petals. The ovary is free,
one-celled, generally containing three ovules,
which are pendant at the summit of a central,
erect trophosperm. The style is simple, ter-
minated by a very small, three-lobed stigma,
The fruit is drupaceous, indehiscent, often
covered by the calyx, which has become fleshy,
and one-seeded. The seed is composed of a
632

large fleshy endosperm, in which is contained a
small basilar and homotrope embryo.

This little family, which is composed of the
genera olaz, fisilia, &c., is very distinct from the
aurantiacee, in having its leaves without dots,
its stamina definite, its ovary always unilocular,
and its embryo contained in a very large endo-
sperm,

According to Mr Brown, the genus olaz is
apetalous; in other words, its flower is a calyci-
form involucre, and a calyx formed of three
sepals; and, on account of the internal structure
of its ovary, it approaches the santalaces.

Manceraviace&, Choisy. Shrubs very fre-
quently sarmentaceous and climbing, parasitic
in the manner of the ivy, having the leaves
alternate, simple, entire, coriaceous and persis-
tent; the flowers generally disposed in a short
spike, resembling a cyme. The flowers are
sometimes oblique at the summit of their long
peduncle, which pretty generally bears an irreg-
ular bractea, hollow and cowl-shaped, or like a
horn. They are hermaphrodite, with a calyx
of from four to six or seven short, imbricated,
and generally persistent sepals. The corolla is
monopetalous, entire, rising like a kind of hood,
or formed of five sessile petals. The stamina,
which are usually numerous (five only in sou-
roubea), have their filaments free. The ovary is
globular, surmounted by a sessile stigma, lobed
in a steilate form, which is rarely supported upon
a style. It has a single cell, which has from
four to twelve parietal trophosperms, projecting
in the form of half dissepiments, divided at their
free edge into two or three variously contorted
Jamine and all covered with very small ovules,
The fruit is globular, coriaceous, internally
fleshy, indehiscent, or bursting irregularly into
a certain number of valves, the dehiscence of
which takes place towards the summit, and
which beara trophosperm on the middle of their
inner face. The seeds are very small, and con-
tain immediately under their proper integument
a homotrope embryo.

The genera of which this family is composed
are: marcgravia, antholoma, noranthea, and sou-
voubea. This group is related to the guttifere;
but it is also very intimately allied to the bixi-
new and flacourtianer, which have also a poly-
petalous corolla, and indefinite stamina, a unilo-
cular fruit, and parietal trophosperms. But, in
these two families, the leaves are accompanied
with stipules, and the embryo is covered by an
endosperm.

Some of them bear large and showy flowers,
among which are hollow, pitcher-like appen-
dages.

Gurtirer2£, Jussieu. This family is com-
posed of trees or shrubs, sometimes parasitic,
and all abounding in yellow and resinous proper
juices. Their leaves, which are opposite, or

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

more rarely alternate, are coriaceous and persis-
tent. Their flowers, which are disposed in axil-
lar racemes, or terminal panicles, are herma-
phrodite, or unisexual and polygamous. Their
calyx is persistent, formed of from two to six
rounded, often coloured sepals. The corolla is
composed of from four to ten petals. The
stamina, which are very numerous, rarely in
definite number, are free. The ovary is simple,
and surmounted by a short style, which is some-
times wanting, and which bears a peltate, radiate,
or lobed stigma. The fruit is sometimes capsu-
lar, sometimes fleshy or drupaceous, and some-
times opens by several valves, of which the gen-
erally inflicted margins are fixed to a single pla-
centum, or to several thick placentas. The seeds
are composed of a homotrope embryo destitute
of endosperm. The guttifere comprehend a
considerable number of genera, all extra-Euro-
pean, such as clusia, godoya, mahurea, garcinia,
calophyllum, &c. They differ from the hyperi-
cinee in having their stamina entirely free, in
being furnished with a milky juice, in the
absence of transparent dots, &c.

The yellow juice in which these plants abound,
is acrid and purgative. Gamboge, which is a
drastic purgative, and affords a yellow paint, is
the concrete juice of a plant of this family.
The fruit of garcinia mangostana, is highly
esteemed,

Hypericinez, Jussieu. Herbaceous plants,
shrubs, or even trees, often resinous, and sprinkled
with transparent glands. Leaves opposite, very
rarely alternate, simple. Flowers axillar or ter-
minal, variously disposed. The calyx has four
or five very deep, somewhat unequal divisions.
The corolla is composed of four or five petals,
spirally twisted previous to their evolution.
The stamina are very numerous, united into
several fasciculi by the base of their filaments,
sometimes monadelphous or free. ‘The ovary is
free, globular, surmounted by several styles,
which are sometimes united into one. It has
as many polyspermous cells as there are styles.
The fruit is a capsule, or a berry with several
polyspermous cells. In the former case it opens
by as many valves as there are cells, the margins
of the valves being continuous with the dissepi-
ments. The seeds, which are very numerous
and very small, contain a homotrope embryo,
destitute of endosperm.

This family is composed of a small number
of genera: hypericum, androseemum, ascyrum,
vismia, &c. Most of the species have, in the
substance of their leaves, transparent miliary
glands, which, on being held between the eye
and the light, look like so many little holes.
This character, together with the very numerous
stamina, and the polyspermous cells of the fruit,
perfectly distinguish the hypericiner from the
families that are allied to it.
AURANTIACE A.

Avraytiacr.a, Correa. Some of the genera
ot aurantia of Jussieu. Very smooth, some-
times spinous trees or shrubs, bearing alternate
and articulated leaves, which are simple, or
more frequently pinnate, and furnished with
vesicular glands, filled with a transparent vola-
tile oil. The flowers are fragrant, and generally
terminal. The calyx is monosepalous, persis-
tent, with three or five more or less deep divi-
sions. The corolla is of from three to five
sessile petals, which are free or slightly united.
The stamina, sometimes of the same number as
the petals, or double that number, or a multiple
of it, are free, or variously united by their fila-
ments, and are attached beneath to a hypogynous
disk, on which the ovary is applied. The ovary
is globular, with several cells containing a single
suspended ovule, or several ovules attached to
the inner angle of the cell. The style, which is
sometimes very short and thick, is always sim-
ple, and terminated by a simple or lobed discoid
stigma. ‘The fruit is generally fleshy internally,
separated into several cells by very thin membran-
ous dissepiments, containing one or more seeds
inserted at their inner angle, and generally
pendant. Externally, the pericarp is thick and
indehiscent, studded with vesicles filled with
volatile oil. The seeds contain one, sometimes
two embryos, without endosperm.

The genera of which this family is composed
are especially distinguished by their articulate,
often compound leaves, furnished with vesicular
glands, which exist also in the substance of their
petals and pericarp, by their simple style, and
the absence of endosperm in the seeds, as citrus,
limonia, murraya, &c.

The orange, the lemon, the citron, and the
lime, are the fruits of different species of citrus.

AmMPELIDES, Rich. (Viétes, Jussieu). Shrubs
or small trees, which are twining, sarmenta-
ceous, and furnished with tendrils opposite
to the leaves, which are alternate, petiolate,
simple or digitate, with two stipules at their
base. The flowers are disposed in racemes,
which are opposite to the leaves. The calyx
is very short, often entire and nearly flat.
The corolla is of five petals, which are some-
times coherent at their upper part, and rise all
together in the form of a hood. The stamina,
five in number, are erect, free, and opposite to
the petals. The ovary is applied upon a hypo-
gynous annular disk, lobed at its circumference.
It has always two cells, each containing two
erect ovules. The style, which is thick and
very short, is terminated by a stigma which is
slightly two-lobed. The fruit is a globular
berry, containing from one to four erect seeds,
having their episperm thick, their endosperm
horny, and containing near their base a very
small erect embryo.

This little family is composed of the genera

 

633

vitis, cissus, and ampelopsis. The grape vine,
vitis vinifera, is the most important of this
family.

Hirrocraticem, (Jussieu, Aippocrateacee,
Kunth, De Candolle). Shrubs or small trees,
generally glabrous and sarmentaceous, bearing
opposite, simple, coriaceous, entire or toothed
leaves, and small, axillar, fasciculate or corym-
bose flowers. The calyx is persistent, with five
divisions. The corolla is composed of five equal
petals. The stamina are generally three in num-
ber, rarely four or five, having their filaments
united at the base, and forming a tubular andro-
phorum. The ovary is trigonal, with three
cells, each containing four ovules attached to
their inner angle. The style is simple, ter-
minated by one or three stigmas. The fruit is
sometimes capsular, with three membranous
angles, sometimes fleshy; each cell generally
contains four seeds. ‘The seed has an erect
embryo, without endosperm.

This family, which is composed of the genera
hippocratea, anthodon, raddisia, salacia, &c., is
allied to the acerinee and malpighiacee. Very
little is known of their properties.

AcerinE&, De Candolle. This family is
composed of the genus acer alone, and presents
the following characters: flowers hermaphrodite,
or unisexual. Calyx with five more or less deep
divisions, or entire. Corolla of five petals. Sta-
mina double the number of the petals, inserted
upon a hypogynous disk, which occupies the
whole bottom of the flower. Ovary didymous
and compressed, with two cells, each containing
two ovules, attached at its inner angle. Style
simple, sometimes very short, terminated by
two subulate stigmas. The fruit consists of two
indehiscent samaras, which are each prolonged
into a wing on one side. The seeds present a
spirally twisted embryo beneath their proper
integument.

This family contains several valuable timber
trees. Sugar is obtained from the juice of
several American species of the maple.

Matrrcntace#, Jussieu. Trees or shrubs, with
opposite, simple, or compound leaves, often furn-
ished with napiform hairs, and frequently accom-
panied at their base with two stipules. Flowers
yellow or white, forming racemes, corymbs, or
sertules, which are axillar or terminal. The pedi-
cels which support the flowersare often articulated
and furnished with two small bracteas near their
middle. The calyx is monosepalous, often per-
sistent, with four or five deep divisions. The co-
rolla, which is sometimes wanting, is composed
of five petals with long claws. The stamina,
six in number, seldom fewer, are free or slightly
united at the base. The pistil is sometimes
simple, sometimes formed of three carpels, more
or less united. Each carpel or cell contains

either a single ovule suspended at the upper part,
4.
634

of the inner angle, or two ovules attached to the
angle. The styles, three in number, are some~
timesunited. The fruit, which is dry or fleshy,
is composed of three distinct carpels, or forms a
capsula or anuculanium, with three, rarely with
two or a single cell. The capsule is usually
marked with very prominent membranous wings,
or spinous points. The nuculanium sometimes
contains three unilocular nucules, sometimes a
nucleus, with three monospermous cells. Each
seed is composed of a proper integument of no
great thickness, immediately covering a some-
what curved embryo.

The genera are: malpighia, brysonima, hy-
plage, gaudichaudia, banisteria, &c., M. De Can-
dolle.

The properties of the malpighiacee are little
known. The hairs of some species are pungent.
The fruit of several is eaten in the West Indies.
The bark of the horse-chestnut is bitter and
astringent.

EryturoxyLtez, Kunth. ‘Trees or shrubs
with alternate or opposite, generally glabrous
leaves, furnished with axillar stipules. The
flowers are small, pedicellate, having a persistent
calyx, with five deep divisions, and 4 corolla of
five petals, which are destitute of claws, and
furnished internally with a small scale. The
stamina, ten in number, are monadelphous. The
ovary is unilocular, containing a single pendant
ovule, or it has three cells, of which two are
empty. From the ovary spring three styles,
which are sometimes distinct, sometimes united
nearly to their sammit. The fruit is a mono-
spermous drupe, containing an angular seed, of
which the hard and horny endosperm contains
an axile and homotrope embryo.

This little family is composed of the genus
erythrozylum, under the name of sethia.

Metracez, (De Candolle, cedrelee, Brown).
Trees or shrubs with alternate, simple or com-
pound leaves destitute of stipules. Flowers
sometimes solitary and axillar, sometimes vari-
ously grouped in spikes or racemes. Calyx
monosepalous, with four or five more or less
deep divisions. Corolla with four or five valvar
petals. Stamina generally double the number of
the petals, rarely of the same or a greater number.
They are always monadelphous, and their fila-
ments form a tube, which bears the anthers some-
times at its summit, sometimes at its inner surface.
The ovary is supported upon a hypogynous an-
nular disk. It has four or five cells, generally con-
taining two collateral and super-imposed ovules.
The style is simple, terminated by a stigma,
which is more or less deeply divided into four
or five lobes. The fruit is sometimes dry, cap-
sular, opening by four or five septiferous valves ;
sometimes fleshy and drupaceous, and occasion-
ally unilocular through abortion. The seeds are
composed of an embryo, sometimes enveloped in

 

IISTURY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

a thin or fleshy endosperm, which is wanting in
other genera,

This family is divided into two natural
tribes :

1. True Metiacz.t : cells of the fruit contain-
ing one or two seeds without wings or endo-
sperm ; embryo reversed ; cotyledons flat and
leafy, or thick and fleshy, as: geruma, humiria,
turrea, quivisia, strigilia, sandoricum, melia,
trichilia, guarea, &c.

2. CepRELE® : cells of the fruit polyspermous,
seeds generally winged, furnished with a- fleshy
endosperm, embryo erect, cotyledons leafy, as:
cedrela swietenia, &e.

The bark of canella alba is aromatic and
tonic. The root of mela azedarach is anthel-
mintic. Mahogany is the wood of swietenia
mahogani, the barlc of which, and of S. febrifuga,
istonic. The pulpy pericarp of melia azedarachta,
like that of the olive, yields oil. The fruits of
some Indian species are eaten.

Sapinpaceaz, Jussieu. This family is com-
posed of large trees or shrubs, sometimes of her-
baceous and twining plants, bearing alternate
and generally imparipinnate leaves, sometimes
furnished with tendrils. Their calyx is composed
of four or five sepals, which are free, or slightly
united at the base. The corolla, which is some-
times wanting, is generally formed of four 01
five petals, which are sometimes naked, some-
times glandular near their middle, where they
occasionally bear a petaloid lamina. The stamina,
which are double the number of the petals, are
free, and applied upon a flat, lobed, hypogynous
disk, which fills all the bottom of the flower.
The ovary is three-celled, each cell generally
containing two super-imposed ovules attached
to its inner angle. ‘The style is simple at the
base, trifid at the summit, which is terminated
by three stigmas. The fruit is a capsule, some-
times vesicular, with one, two, or three cells,
each containing a single seed. The seeds are
composed of a large embryo, having its radicle
curved over the cotyledons, and destitute of endo-
sperm.

This family has been divided into three tribes :

1. Pattinia: petals appendiculate ; disk
formed of distinct glands, placed between the
petals and stamina; ovary with three mono-
spermous cells; twining herbs or shrubs, fur-
nished with tendrils, as: cardiospermum, urvillea,
sergania, paullinia.

2. Sapinpacr#: petals not appendiculate, but
glandular or bearded, rarely naked ; disk annular,
or sometimes glands united together ; ovary with
two or three monospermous cells; trees or
shrubs not twining, as: sapindus, talisia, schmi-
delia, euphoria, thoninia, cupania, &e.

3. Doponaace#: petals furnished with a scale
at their base ; ovary with two or three cells, con-
taining two ovules ; pericarp vesicular or winged ;
POLYGALEA.

embryo having its cotyledons spirally twisted,
as: kolreuteria, dodonaa, &e,

The fruits of several species are eaten; but
the leaves of many are poisonons, The fruit of
sapindus saponaria is soapy, as its name implies,
and used for washing linen.

Potyeatzea, Jussieu. This” family consists
of herbaceous plants or shrubs, with alternate,
simple, entire leaves, and sclitary, axillar, or
spiked flowers, The flowers are composed of a
calyx of four or five sepals laterally imbricated
previous to their expansion, and of which two,
sometimes more internal, are petaloid and
coloured. The corolla is formed of from two
to five petals, sometimes distinct, sometimes
united together by means of the filaments of the
stamina, which form a tube split on one side.
The stamina, which are generally eight in num-
ber, are monadelphous. heir androphorum is
divided above into two pblanages, each bearing
four unilocular anthers, generally opening at the
tip. More rarely, the stamina are from two to
four, and free. The ovary is sometimes accom-
panied, at its base, by a hypogynous and unila-
teral disk, or formed of two lateral and lamellar
appendages, It has two, more rarely one or
three cells, each containing one or two ovules.
The style is long, usually curved, and bearing a
hollow, two-lobed, or unilateral stigma. The
fruit is a capsule or a drupe. In the former
case, it has two one-seeded cells, and opens into
two septiferous valves. In the latter case, it is uni-
locular, one-seeded, and indehiseent. The seeds
are pendant, generally accompanied by a kind
of caruncle or arillus of diversified form. Their
embryo is sometimes placed in a fleshy endo-
sperm, and sometimes destitute of endosperm.

The genera are, polygala, salomonia, com-
sperma, badiera, soulamea, krameria, &e.

The root of polygala senega is stimulant,
diuretic, diaphoretic, and purgative. Extract of
ratanhia, the root of krameria, is used to adul-
terate or improve port wine. The roots of the
plants of this family are generally bitter and
more or less astringent.

TrREMANDREZ, Brown. ‘This little family,
which is formed of the two genera tremandra
and tetratheca, is composed of shrubs having the
general appearance of heaths, all natives of New
Holland, bearing alternate or verticillate leaves,
without stipules, simple or toothed, and often
furnished with glandular hairs. The flowers are
axillar and solitary. The calyx is composed of
four or five unequal sepals, placed close together
in the form of valves, previous to the expansion
of the flower, and caducous. The corolla is com-
posed of four or five equal petals, alternate with
the sepals, and longer than the stamina. The
stamina, eight or ten in number, are placed in
pairs opposite the petals. Their anthers, which
have two or four cells open at their summit by

 

635

asmall hole or a kind of tube. The ovary ia
ovoidal, compressed, with two cells, each con-
taining two or three pendant ovules. The style
is terminated by one or two stigmas; and the
fruit is a compressed bilocular capsule, opening
by two valves, which are septiferous in the
middle. The seeds, which are inserted at the
upper part of the dissepiment, are terminated
by a carunculate appendage. The embryo is
erect in a fleshy endosperm.

There are only seven species natives of New
Holland.

Fomartacea, De Candolle. The fumariacee
are all herbaceous plants, destitute of milky
juice, and furnished with alternate compound
leaves, having a great number of narrow seg-
ments. The flowers are rather small, and gene-
rally disposed in terminal spikes. Their calyx is
composed of two very small, opposite, flat, and
caducous sepals. The corolla is irregular, tu-
bular, formed of four unequal petals, sometimes
slightly united together at their base. The
upper petal, which is the largest, is terminated,
at its lower part, by a short, curved spur. The
stamina, six in number, are diadelphous, or form
two androphora, each of which carries at its
summit three anthers, the middle anther two-
celled, the others one-celled. The ovary is uni-
locular, and contains four or a great number of
ovules attached to two longitudinal tropho-
sperms, corresponding to each suture. The
style is short, surmounted by a depressed stig-
ma, The fruit is sometimes a globular akenium,
monospermous through abortion, sometimes a
many-seeded, two valved, occasionally vesicular
capsule. ‘The seeds are globular, furnished with
a caruncula, and containing, in a fleshy endo-
sperm, a small, somewhat lateral, sometimes
curved and transverse embryo.

This family, composed of the genus fumaria
and the genera formed of its different species, as
corydalis, diclytra, cysticapnos, is distinguished
from the papaveracee by the absence of milky
juice, the irregular corolla,.and the six diadel-
phous stamina.

This family does not contain any noxious
plants, but otherwise they are of little impor-
tance,

PapaveracE&. Herbaceous, or more rarely
suffrutescent plants, with alternate leaves, which
are simple or more or less deeply cut, generally
abounding in a white or yellowish milky juice.
The flowers are solitary, or disposed in cymes
or branched racemes. ‘lhe calyx is formed of two,
very rarely three concave, very caducous sepals,
The corolla, which is sometimes wanting, is
composed of four, very rarely of six flat petals,
which are plaited and puckered previous to their
expansion. The stamina, which are very numer-
ous, are free. The ovary is ovoidal or globular,
or narrow and approaching to linear, one-celled,
636

containing very numerous ovules attached to
trosphosperms, which project in the form of
lamine or false dissepiments. ‘The style, which
is very short or scarcely distinct, is terminated
by as many stigmas as there are trophosperms.
The fruit is an ovoidal capsule, crowned by the
stigma, indehiscent, or opening by pores under
the stigma; or it is elongated in the form of a
pod, opening by two valves, or breaking across
by articulations. The seeds, which are usually
very small, dre composed of a proper integument,
sometimes bearing a kind of small fleshy carun-
cula, and of a fleshy endosperm, in which is
placed a very small cylindrical embryo.

Jussieu united with the papaveracva the
genus fumaria, which is now considered a dis-
tinet family. ‘The genera of the papaveracer
are papaver, argemone, meconopsis, sanguinaria,
pocconia, remeria, gloucium, chelidonium, and
Aypecoum.

Many of the poppies are possessed of a nar-
otic property. Opium is the concrete milky
juice of paparcr album. The seeds of the pop-
pies, however, yield an oil which is perfectly free
of deleterious properties, and is used im food,
Other species of this family are purgative,
emetic, and diaphoretic, as sanguinaria cana-
densis.

Many of this species are mere weeds.

Crucirrrs, Jussieu. This is one of the
largest, most natural, and important families of
the vegetable kingdom, composed of herbaceous
or sometimes suffrutescent plants, most of which
grow in Europe. Their leaves are alternate,
simple, or more or less deeply incised; their
flowers disposed in spikes, or in simple or pani-
culate racemes. The calyx is formed of four
caducous sepals, two of which are sometimes
swelled out at the base. The corolla consists of
four unguiculate petals placed opposite each
other in pairs, so as to represent a cross (whence
the name of the family). The stamina, six in
number, are tetradynamous, that is, there are
four larger placed close to each other in pairs,
and two smaller, opposite to cach other. At
the base of the stamina there are seen upon the
receptacle two or four glands, one between each
pair of large stamina, and a larger one under
each of the small stamina.

The ovary is more or less elongated, with two
cells separated by a false dissepiment. Each
cell contains one or more ovules attached to the
outer edge of the membranous dissepiment,
which is mercly a prolongation of the two
sutural trophosperms, The style is short or
almost none, and seems a continuation of the
dissepiment: it is terminated by a two-lobed
stigma, ‘The fruit is a siliqua or a silicula, of
variable form, indehiscent, or opening by two
valves. The seeds are attached on cach side of
the dissepiment. Their embryo is immediately

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

covercd by the proper integument, and is more
or less bent upon itself.

The genera which compose this family are
exceedingly numerous, and there are upwards
of 900 species. Linnewus divided them into two
orders, according as the fruit is a silicula or a
siliqua. In the first of these orders we find
among others the genera lapidium, thlasp7, isatis,
myagrum, cochlearia, iberis, lunaria, &c.; in the
other the genera cheiranthus, sisymbrium, hes-
pers, brassica, eruca, sinapis, &«.

The properties of the crucifera are more or
less acrid and stimulant, and are considered as
antiscorbutic. Mustard, the seed of sinapis
nigra, is extremely acrid, and is applied exter-
nully as a rubefacient or blister. The horse-
radish, the cress, the root of raphanus maritimus,
and many other species, are equally pungent; the
seeds contain fixed oil, which is extracted from
those of some species. When the acrid principle
is corrected by an abundant mucilage, the plants
become useful as food, as is the case with the
water-cress, the sea-kale, the field-mustard.
Cultivation diminishes the acrimony, so as to
render some species almost destitute of it, as in
the numerousvarieties of the cabbage and turnip.

Some of the species are lcautiful and fragrant
garden flowers, as the stock gelly flower, candy
tuft, &e.

Carparripes. Herbaceous or woody plants,
bearing alternate, simple or digitate leaves, ac-
companicd at their base by two foliaceous sti-
pules. Their flowers are terminal, spiked or
racemed, or axillar and solitary. The calyx is
composed of four caducous sepals, very rarely
united togetherat their base. The corollais formed
of four or five equal or unequal petals. ‘The
stamina are sometimes definite, more frequently
indefinite. The ovary is simple, often raised
upon a more or less elongated support, which
bears the name of podogynum, at the base of
which are inserted the stamina and petals. It
has a single cell containing several trophosperms
projecting in the form of plates or false dissepi-
ments, bearing a great number of ovules. The
fruit is dry or fleshy. In the former case, it is
a kind of more or less elongated pod, opening by
two valves, as in most of the crucifere. In the
latter case, it is a unilocular, many-seeded berry,
of which the seeds are either parietal, or are
scattered in the pulp of which the fruit is com-
posed. These seeds are generally reniform,
composed of a dry, crustaceous episperm, which
immediately covers a somewhat curved embryo,
destitute of endosperm.

The principal genera of this family are: cap-
paris, crateva, morisonia, Boscia, cleome, &c.

The family is nearly allied to the crucifere,
but differs from them in having their leaves
furnished with stipules, their numcrous stamina,
and the structure of their fruit.
RESEDACEE.

Their properties are similar to those of the
crucifere. he caper plant belongs to this
family, and the cleome rosea, as well as the
species of cratwra are pretty garden flowers.

Resrpacez, De Candolle. Plants generally
herbaceous, rarely suffrutescent, with alternate
leaves, destitute of stipules, and often having two
glands at their base. The flowers form simple
and terminal spikes. The calyx has from four
to six deep and persistent divisions. ‘The corolla
is composed of the same number of petals alter-
nating with the sepals. The petals are generally
composed of two parts, a lower entire part, and
an upper, divided into a greater or less number
of segments. The stamina are generally in
indeterminate number ({rom fourteen to twenty-
six); their filaments free and hypogynous, their
anthers two-celled, each cell opening by a longi-
tudinal groove. Between the stamina and the
petals, is a kind of annular, glandular mass, more
elevated on the upper side, and thus forming a
hypogynous disk of a peculiar kind. The pistil,
which is slightly stipitate at its base, appears
formed by the intimate union of three carpels,
and is terminated above by three horns, each
bearing a stigma at its summit, The ovary has
a single cell, open at the top, containing a great
number of ovules, attached to three parietal tro-
phosperms, which are remarkable for not corres-
ponding to the stigmas, but alternate with them.
The fruit, which is very rarely fleshy, is com-
monly a more or less elongated capsule, natu-
rally open at the summit, which is terminated
by three angles ; it is one-celled, and the seeds
are arranged upon three parietal trophosperms,
The seeds, which are very frequently kidney-
shaped, are composed of a rather thick integu-
ment, a very thin fleshy endosperm, and an
embryo bent in the form of a horse’s shoe.

This family contains only the two genera
reseda and ochradenus.

The species are generally weeds; reseda lut_ola
affords a yellow dye, and r. odorata is the com-
mon mignonette, the peculiarities of whose
inflorescence have already been described.

Friacourtianez, Rich. Bivinee, Kunth.
This family consists of shrubs with alternate,
simple, entire, often coriaceous, persistent leaves,
destitute of stipules, and pedunculate, axillar,
often unisexual and dicecious, at other times
with hermaphrodite flowers. Their calyx is
formed of from three to seven sepals, which are
distinct, or slightly connected at the base. The
corolla, which is sometimes wanting, is com-
posed of five or seven petals alternating with the
sepals, The stamina, which are determinate or
indeterminate in number, and inserted at the
circumference of a hypogynous annular disk,
which is rarely wanting, have their filaments
free, and their anthers two-celled. The ovary
is sessile or stipitate, globular, one-celled in all

 

637

the genera of the family excepting flacourtia, in
which it has from six to nine cells. In the
former case, it contains a considerable number
of ovules attached to parietal trophosperms, the
number of which is the same as that of the stig-
mas, or of the lobes of the stigma. The fruit is
unilocular, except in flacourtia. It is indehis-
cent, or dehiscent, and each of the valves bears
a trophosperm on the middle of its inner face.
In general the proper tegument of the seed is
fleshy, and the embryo, which is homotrope and
straight, is placed in the centre of the fleshy
endosperm.

The principal genera which compose the
flacourtianee are flacourtia, roumea, kiggellaria,
erythrospermum, &c. This family is related to
the capparidee, from which it differs chiefly in
having the embryo destitute of a fleshy endo-
sperm, and the seeds inserted on the middle and
not on the edge of the valves. It has also some
affinity to the cistee and tiliacee. Little is
known of the properties of the species, all of
which are tropical.

Cistrm, De Candolle. Annular or perennial
herbaceous plants, or shrubs, bearing entire,
often opposite leaves, sometimes furnished with
stipules, The flowers are axillar or terminal,
solitary or spiked, in racemes or in sertules.
Their calyx has three or five very deep divisions,
sometimes equal, sometimes unequal, with two
more external, The corolla has five puckered,
very caducous petals, spread out in a rosaceous
form, and sessile. The stamina are very numer-
ous and free; the ovary globular, rarely unilo-
cular, more commonly with five or ten cells,
containing several ovules inserted at the inner
edge of the dissepiments. In the unilocular
ovary, the ovules are attached to parietal tro-
phosperms. The style and stigma are simple.
The fruit is a globular capsule enveloped in the
calyx, which is persistent, with one, three, five,
or even ten cells, and opening by three, five, or
ten valves, each bearing one of the dissepiments
and one of the trophosperms on the middle of
its inner surface. The seeds, which are pretty
numerous in each cell, contain an embryo, which
is more or less curved, or spirally twisted, in u
fleshy endosperm.

This small family contains only the genera
cistus and helianthemum.

The cistus or rock roses are ornamental plants.
The resinous substance called labdanum, used as
an article of perfumery, is collected from céstus
creticus.

Droseracea, De Candolle. Composed of
herbaceous, annual or perennial, rarely suffru-
tescent plants, having alternate leaves, often fur-
nished with glandular and pedicellate hairs, and
rolled in the form of a crosier previous to their
development. ‘The calyx is monosepalous, with
five deep divisions, or with five distinct sepals.
638

The corolla is composed of five flat and regular
petals. ‘The stamina, five in number, sometimes
ten, alternate with the petals, and are free.
Sometimes there are appendages of various forms
on the face of each petal. The stamina are gene-
rally perigynous, and not hypogynous. The
ovary is one-celled, rarely two or three-celled.
In the former case, it contains a great number
of ovules attached to three or five simple or bifid
parietal truphosperms. In the other, the disse-
piments appear formed by the trophosperms
projecting in the form of plates, which meet and
unite in the centre of the ovary. The stigmas,
generally of the same number as the tropho-
sperms or the cells, are sessile and radiating.
The fruit is a capsule, with one or more cells,
opening by its upper half only, into three, four,
or five valves, bearing one of the trophosperms
on the middle of their inner surface. ‘I'he seeds,
which are often covered with a loose tissue, con-
tain an erect, nearly cylindrical embryo, in the
interior of a thin endosperm, which is some-
times wanting.

The family of droseracee differs from the
violariee, to which it comes very near, by its
perigynous insertion, the absence of stipules,
and the constant regularity of the flower. ‘The
species are marsh plants, and natives of temper-
ate climates.

The drosere or sundews, which are somewhat
acrid, are said to be poisonous to cattle.

Viorarie.®, Decandolle. Consisting of herbs
or shrubs, with alternate, very rarely opposite
leaves, furnished with two persistent stipules.
The flowers are axillar and pedunculate. The
calyx is composed of five sepals, which are equal
or unequal, free, or slightly connected at the
base, which is sometimes prolonged beneath their
point of attachment. The corolla is composed
of five unequal petals, of which the lower is
prolonged at its base into a more or less elon-
gated spur; very rarely the corolla is formed of
five regular petals. The stamina, five in num-
her, are almost sessile, placed close together, and
in contact by the sides, with two introrsal cells.
The two which are situated towards the lower
petal, pretty frequently present an appendage
in the form of a recurved horn, which arises
from their dorsal part, and is prolonged into the
spur. The ovary is globular, unilocular, and
contains numerous ovules attached to three
parietal trophosperms. The style is simple, a
little geniculate at the hase, enlarged towards its
upper part, which is terminated hy a somewhat
lateral stigma, presenting a small semicircular
pit. The fruit is a unilateral capsule, opening
by three valves, each bearing a trophosperm on
the middle of its inner surface. The seeds con-
tain an erect embryo in a fleshy endosperm.

The violariee, which are composed of the

geneva viola, tunidinm hybanthus, noisettia, con-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

horia, alsodeia, ave distinguished from the cistee
by their irregular corolla, their five stamina,
their enlarged and concave stigma, &c. They
are also allied to the polygalee, and droseracee.

Violets are favourite garden flowers. Part of
the ipecacuan of commerce is derived from South
American species of viola. The roots of several
European species, as the carina and odorata, pos-
sess similar properties, although ina less degree.

Frankentace&, Auguste de St Hillaire. The
frankeniacew are herbaceous or frutescent. Their
leavesare alternate or verticellate, entire orserrate,
with close lateral nerves, and furnished at their
base with two stipules, which are wanting
only in the genus frankenia. The flowers are
axillar, disposed in simple or compound racemes,
or in panicles. They are hermaphrodite: their
calyx is formed of five sepals, slightly united at
the base; the corolla of five equal or unequal
petals. In the genus sauvagesia, there is observed
moreover, a verticil of club-shaped filaments,
and an internal corolla, which also exists in the
genus luxemburgia, ‘The stamina are five, eight,
or indefinite in number; they are free, with two-
celled extrorsal anthers, opening by a longitu-
dinal slit or a pore. The ovary is elongated,
ovoidal, or trigonal, often placed upon a hypo:
gynous disk. It has a single cell, containing
three parietal trophosperms, each bearing a con-
siderable number of ovules. The style is slender
terminated by an extremely small stigma. The
fruit is a capsule, covered by the calyx, or by
the inner corolla, with a single cell, which opens
by three valves, the edges of which are slightly
inflected, and form three incomplete valves, bear-
ing the seeds, which, at the centre of a fleshy
endosperm, contain a small cylindrical, homo-
trope, axile embryo.

This little family is composed of the genera
frankenia, lavradia, sauvagesia, and luxemburgia.

Sauvagesia erecta is mucilaginous and diuretic.
The properties of this family, however, are little
known; and they have not much external
beauty.

CaryornyttE&, Jussieu. The Caryophyllee
are herbaceous, rarely suffrutescent at their base.
Yheir stems are often knotty and articulated.
Yheir leaves simple, opposite, or verticillate.
Their flowers, which are generally hermaphro-
dite, are terminal or axillar, Their calyx is
composed of four or five sepals, which are dis-
tinct or united together, and form a cylindrical
or vesicular tube, merely toothed at its summit.
The corolla, wliich is of five petals, commonly
unguiculate at their base, is very rarely wanting.
The number of stamina is generally equal to,
or double, that of the petals. In the latter case,
five ave alternate with the petals, and five are
opposite to them, and are united beneath with
the claws. They are all inserted upon a hypo-
gynous disk, which supports the ovary. The
PARONYCHIEE.

latter has from one to five cells, or is unilocular.
The ovules, which are numerous, are attached
to a central trophosperm. When it is many-
celled, they are attached to the inner angle of
each cell. The styles vary from two to five,
and terminate each in a subulate stigma. The
fruit is a capsule, very rarely a berry, having
from one to five polyspermous cells. The capsule
opens, either at its summit, by means of small
teeth which separate from each other, or by
complete valves. The seeds are sometimes flat
and membranous, sometimes rounded. The
embryo is curved, or as if rolled round the far-
inaceous endosperm.

The genera of this family form two divisions:

1, The DiantHEe#, which have a tubular mono-
sepalous calyx, and petals with elongated claws.
Dianihus, silence, lychnis, agrostemma, cucubalus,
&e.

2. The Atstnem, of which the calyx is spread-
ing, and the petals without claws. Arenaria,
alsine, spergula, cerastium, mollugo, &c.

Many of the species are weeds; the erenaria,
stlene, and especially the carnations, are orna-
mental flowers.

Paronycute.£, Auguste de St Hillaire. Herba-
ceous or suffrutescent plants, bearing opposite
leaves, often connate at their base, with or without
stipules, and small, axillar, or terminal flowers,
which are naked, or accompanied with scariose
bracteas. Their calyx, which is monosepalous,
often persistent, has five more or less deep divi-
sions, and not unfrequently forms a tube at its
lower part, which is often thickened by aglandu-
lar prominence, The petals, five in number,
very small and squamiform, or even wanting,
are inserted at the upper part of the tube of the
calyx. The stamina, also five, but of which
some are occasionally abortive, are alternate with
the petals, and have their anthers introrse. The
ovary is free, with a single cell containing a
single ovule placed at the summit of a basal
podosperm, sometimes very long, in which case
the ovule is reversed; at other times, several
ovules are attached to a very short central tro-
phosperm. The stigma is sometimes sessile and
simple, sometimes bifid, and supported upon a
rather short style. The fruit is a capsule, which
opens by valves or slits, or remains closed. The
seeds are composed of a proper integument, a
cylindrical embryo applied upon one of the
sides, or rolled around a farinaceous endosperm.
The radicle is always directed towards the
hilum.

This family, which was established by St
Hillaire, is composed of genera taken from the
amaranthacese, portulacee, and caryophyllez,
from which they differ, especially in having the
insertion perigynous, whereas it is hypogynous
in the other two.

These plants are slightly astringent, hut are

 

639

not known to possess any remarkable proper-
ties. Some of the species are ornamental.

Porrunace#, Jussieu. These are herbaceous,
rarely frutescent plants, with opposite, sometimes
alternate, thick, and fleshy leaves, destitute of
stipules, The flowers are generally terminal.
Their calyx is commonly formed of two sepals,
more or less connected, and often tubulate at
the base. The corolla is composed of five petals,
which are free, or slightly connected, so as to
form a monopetalous corolla. The stamina are
of the same number as the petals, inserted at
their base, and opposite to them: more rarely
they are more numerous. The ovary is free, or
almost semi-inferior, with a single cell contain-
ing a variable number of ovules, arising imme-
diately from the bottom of the cell, or attached
to acentral trophosperm. The style is simple,
terminated by three or five filiform stigmas.
The fruit is a unilocular capsule, containing
three or more seeds, and opening either by three
valves, or by two superimposed valves. The
frequently crustaceous proper integument of the
seed, covers a cylindrical embryo, which is
wrapped over a farinaceous endosperm.

The principal genera are portulaca, talinum,
montia, &c. They are all insignificant weeds.

Ficowra, Jussieu. ‘The ficoideze are gener-
ally succulent plants, like the crassulacez, with
alternate or opposite leaves, and axillar or ter-
minal, often very large flowers. ‘The calyx is
monosepalous, often campanulate and persistent,
its limb sometimes coloured, and four or five
lobed. Corolla polypetalous, the petals some-
times indeterminate in number, sometimes united
into a monopetalous corolla: more rarely the
corolla is wanting. The stamina are gener-
ally pretty numerous, free and distinct. ‘The
ovary is sometimes entirely free, sometimes
adherent at its base to the calyx: it has from
three to five cells, each containing several ovules
attached to a trophosperm, which springs from
the inner angle of each cell. Jt is surmounted
by from three to five styles, each terminated by
a simple stigma. The fruit is sometimes a berry,
sometimes a capsule surrounded by the calyx,
with from three te five polyspermous cells,
The seeds have an embryo rolled around a farin-
aceous endosperm.

The principal genera of the family of ficoidee
are: reaumuria, mesembryanthemum, nitraria,
tetragonia.

They are chiefly Cape plants, growing in arid
situations, and form beautiful stove exotics,

Saxirracr#, Jussieu. The saxifrageze are
herbaceous plants, rarely shrubs or trees, of
which the leaves are alternate or opposite, sim-
ple, and sometimes compound, with or without
stipules. The flowers, which are sometimes
solitary, sometimes variously grouped into spikes,
racemes, &c., have a monosepalous calyx, tubu-
640

lar beneath, where it is united to the ovary, and
terminated above by three or five divisions.
The corolla, which is very rarely wanting, is
formed of four or five petals, sometimes united
at their base. The stamina are generally double
the number of the petals, sometimes indetermi-
nate. The ovary has two, more rarely four or
five cells, It is soietimes entirely free, some-
times semi-inferior or almost inferior, terminated
at its summit by as many styles as there are
cells. The cells usually contain several ovules,
very rarely only one. The ovules are attached
to a trophosperm placed along the dissepiment.
The fruit, which is rarely fleshy, is generally a
capsule, terminated above by two more or less
elongated horns, and usually opening by two
septiferous valves, The seeds have beneath
their proper integument a fleshy endosperm,
which contains an axile, homotrope embryo,
sometimes a little bent.

This family, with the cunoniacee of Brown,
contains saxifraga, heuchera, tiarella, cunonia,
weinnmannia, &c.

The saxifragee are neat and pretty ornamental
flowers; they are more or less astringent, but are
not in general known to possess any remarkable
properties. The roots of saxifraga granulata
have been employed as a diuretic. That ot
heuchera americana, and the bark of the weinn-
manniz, are powerfully astringent.

Hamanetipesz, Brown. Shrubs with alter-
nate, simple leaves, often furnished with two
caducous stipules, The flowers are axillar, hav-
ing a calyx composed of four sepals, sometimes
united into a tube at their lower part, and
attached to the ovary, which is semi-inferior.
The corolla is composed of four elongated, linear,
valvar petals, a little twisted previous to the
expansion of the flowers. ‘The stamina are four,
alternate with the petals, having their anthers
introrse, and two-celled, opening by a valvule,
which is sometimes common to the two cells,
and which occupies their inner face. Before
each petal there is often a scale of diversified
form, which appears to be an abortive stamen.
The ovary is semi-inferior, or entirely free, with
two cells, each containing a suspended ovule.
From the summit of the ovary spring two
styles, each terminated by a simplestigma. The
fruit, which is enveloped by the calyx, is dry,
with two monospermous cells, generally opening
with two septiferous valves. The seeds are
composed of a homotrope embryo, covered by a
fleshy endosperm.

They are hardy American shrubs, with no
marked properties.

Bruntacez, Brown. The plants which form
this family are shrubs, which in habit greatly

resemble the heaths and the phylice or Cape |

heaths. They are all natives of the Cape of
Govuu Hope. Their leaves are very small, stiff,

 

' the centre of the flower.

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

entire, sometimes imbricated. ‘The flowers are
small, disposed in capitula, more yarely in pani-
cles. The calyx is monosepalous, with five
divisions, generally adherent at its base to the
ovary, which is inferior or semi-inferior (free in
the genus raspalia alone) : the five divisions are
imbricated, as is the corolla, previous to expan-
sion. The petals are five, and alternate. The
five stamina alternate with the petals, and their
filaments adhere laterally to the base of each of
the petals, which has led some authors to con-
sider them as opposite to the petals. ‘The ovary
is semi-inferior, or inferior, or free, with one or
three cells, containing each one or two collateral
suspended ovules. he style is simple or bifid,
or the two styles are distinct and terminated
each by a very small stigma. The fruit is dry,
crowned by the calyx, corolla, and stamina,
which are persistent. It is indehiscent, or sepa-
rates into two generally monospermous cocca,
opening by alongitudinal and internal slit. The
seeds are suspended, and contain a very small
homotrope embryo, placed near the base of a
fleshy endosperm.

The genera are lerzelia, brunia, raspalia,
staavia, berardia, linconia, audoninia, tittmannia,
and tamnea. The plants are ornamental but
possess no known properties of importance.

CrassuLaceE&, De Candolle. Sempervivee,
Jussieu. This family is composed of herbaceous
plants or shrubs, the leaves, stem, and in gene-
ral all the herbaceous parts of which are thick
and fleshy. The leaves are alternate or opposite.
The flowers, which are sometimes very finely
coloured, present various modes of inflorescence.
Their calyx is deeply divided into a great num-
ber of segments. The corolla is composed of a
variable, sometimes very great number of regu-
lar petals, which are distinct, or united into a
monopetalous corolla. The number of stamina
is the same as that of the petals, or of the lobes
of the monopetalous corolla, or more rarely
double their number. At the bottom of the
flower are always several distinct pistils, varying
from three to twelve, or even more. Each is
composed of a more or less elongated ovary,
having a single cell, containing several ovules
attached to a sutural and internal trophosperm.
The style and stigma are simple. The fruits
are unilocular, polyspermous capsules, open-
ing by their longitudinal and internal suture.
Their seeds have a more or less curved em-
bryo, in some degree enveloping a mealy endo-
sperm.

This family, which is composed of succulent
plants, is related to the ranunculacee, by its
polyspermous unilocular capsules opening by a
single longitudinal suture. But it approaches
more to the saxifragee and ficoidee, from which
it differs especially in having distinct pistils at
The principal genera
NOPALEAG,

are: tillea, buliardia, crassula, cotyledon, bryo-
phyllum, sedum, and sempervivum,

‘The flowers are beautiful and ornamental ; but

otherwise these plants are not distinguished by
any remarkable properties, They are insipid,
or slightly acid, sometimes acrid,

Nopatzs, Ventenat, Cactus, Jussieu. This
family is composed exclusively of the genus
cactus of Linneus, and the divisions which have
been made in it. They are perennial, often
arborescent plants, of a very peculiar aspect,
different from that of any other plants, except-
ing some euphorbie. Their stems are either
cylindrical, branched, channelled, angular, or
composed of articulated pieces, which have been
considered as leaves. The leaves are almost
always wanting, and are substituted by spines
collected into fasciculi. The flowers, which are
sometimes very large, and brilliantly coloured,
are generally solitary, and placed ‘in the axilla
of one of the bundles of spines. The calyx is
monosepalous, adherent to the inferior ovary,
sometimes scaly externally, terminated at its
summit by a limb composed of a great number
of unequal lobes, which are confounded with
the petals. The petals are generally very num-
erous, and disposed in several series. The
stamina, which are also very numerous, have
their filaments slender and capillar. The ovary
is inferior, with a single cell, containing a great
number of ovules, attached to parietal tropho-
sperms, the number of which is very variable,
and commonly in relation to that of the stigmas.
The style is simple, terminated by three or a
greater number of rayed stigmas. The fruit is
fleshy, umbilicate at itssummit. Its seeds have
a double integument, and contain a straight or
curved embryo, destitute of endosperm.

They are natives of dry tropical climates. The
fruits are generally mucilaginous and insipid,
though some of them are eaten.

Risesia2, Rich. Grossularie, Decandolle.
Bushy, sometimes spinous shrubs, having alter-
nate leaves, without stipules. The flowers are
axillar, solitary, geminate, or disposed in spikes
or simple racemes. The calyx is monosepa-
lous, tubular inferiorly where it adheres to the
ovary, having its limb bell-shaped, with five
spreading or reflected divisions. The corolla is
formed of five petals, which are sometimes very
small. .The stamina, which are of the same
number as the petals, and alternate with them,
are inserted about the middle of the limb of the
calyx. The ovary is inferior, with a single cell,
containing a great number of ovules, attached
in several series to two parietal trophosperms,
The two styles are more or less united together,
and terminate each ina simple stigma. The fruit
is a globular, umbilicate, polyspermous berry,
and its seeds are composed of a thick embryo,
immediately covered by the proper integument,

 

641

This family is allied to the nopalew, from
which it differs, especially in the very different
habit of the plants of which it is composed, in
the circumstance of the petals and stamina being
always five, and not in indeterminate number,
as in the cacti, in their two trophosperms and
their two styles. Richard proposed dividing
the numerous species of this genus into three
sections or sub-genera, of which the types are
ribes, uva-crispa, ribes, nigrum and ribes rubrum.
He names the first grossularia, the second rides,
the third botryocarpum,

The numerous varieties of gooseberries and
currants belong to this family, of which the
fruits are generally eatable, although some are
insipid, and others extremely acid.

Cucurniracza, Jussieu. Large herbaceous
plants, often twining, covered with short and
very stiff hairs. Their leaves are alternate, peti-
olate, more or less lobed. Their tendrils, which
are simple or branched, arise beside the petioles.
The flowers are generally unisexual and mone-
cious, very rarely hermaphrodite. ‘lhe calyx is
monosepalous: in the female flowers it presents
a globular tube adherent to the inferior ovary.
Its limb, which is more or less campanulate and
five-lobed, is confounded and intimately united
with the corolla, having only the tips of its lobes
distinct. The corolla is formed of five petals,
united together by means of the limb of the
calyx, and thus representing a monopetalous
corolla, The stamina, five in number, have
their filaments monadelphous or united into
three fasciculi, two formed each of two stamina,
and the third of a single stamen. The anthers:
are unilocular, linear, bent upon themselves, in
the form of the letter S placed horizontally, and
with its branches very close. In the female
flowers, the summit of the ovary, which is
inferior, is crowned by an epigynous disk. The
style is thick, short, terminated by three thick
and often two-lobed stigmas. The ovary is one-
celled in two genera, (sicyos and gronovia). It
contains a single pendent ovule; but, in general,
it presents three triangular, very thick parietal
trophosperms, in contact with each other at their
sides, and thus filling the whole cavity of the
ovary, and giving attachment to the ovules at
their point of origin upon the walls of the ovary.
The fruit is fleshy, umbilicate at its summit: it
isa peponida, The seeds, when the fruit is ripe,
seem scattered in the midst of a filamentous or
fleshy cellular tissue. The proper integument
is rather thick, and immediately covers a thick
homotrope embryo, destitute of endosperm.

The principal genera of this family are:
cucumis, cucurbita, pepo, ecballium, momordica,
bryonia, gronovia, &c., containing the melon,
cucumber, pumpkin, and various gourds, which
are articles of food. Colocynth,’a strong pur-
gative. is. prepared from the pulp of cucumis

4M
642

colocynthis. The roots of bryonia alba and
momordica elaterium are also of a purgative
quality.

Loasza, Jussieu. Herbaceous, branched
plants, often covered with hispid hairs, the
stinging of which burns like that of a nettle.
Their leaves are alternate or opposite, entire or
variously lobed. Their flowers, which are
pretty frequently yellow and large, are some-
times solitary, sometimes variously grouped.
The calyx is monosepalous, tubular, free or
adherent to the inferior ovary, having its limb
with five divisions. The corolla is of five regu-
lar, flat or concave petals. The throat of the
calyx is sometimes furnished with five appen-
dages, or a divided border. The stamina, which
are generally very numerous, are sometimes of
the same number as the petals, The ovary is
free or inferior, with a single cell, presenting
internally three parietal trophosperms, some-
times projecting in the form of dissepiments,
and bearing several ovules. The ovary is sur-
mounted by three long, slender styles, some-
times united into one, and terminated each by
a simple or penicillate stigma. The fruit is a
capsule, crowned by the lobes of the calyx, or
naked, opening at its summit only into three
valves, which bear one of the trophosperms on
the middle of their inner face, excepting in the
genus loasea, in which the trophosperms corres-
pond to the sutures. The seeds, which are some-
times arillate, present a homotrope embryo in a
fleshy endosperm.

This family is composed of the genera loasa,
menitzelia, klaprothia, turnera and piriqueta.

PasstFLornx, Jussieu. Herbaceous plants,
or shrubs with sarmentaceous stems, furnished
with extra-axillar tendrils, and alternate, simple
or lobed leaves, accompanied with two stipules
at their base. More rarely they are trees desti-
tute of tendrils. Their flowers are generally
large and solitary ; more rarely they form a kind
of raceme. They are hermaphrodite, with a
monosepalous, turbinate, or long and tubular
calyx, with five more or less deep, sometimes
coloured divisions, and a corolla of five petals,
inserted at the upper part of the tube of the
ealyx. The stamina are five, monadelphous at
their base, and forming a tube which covers the
support of the ovary, and is united with it. The
anthers are versatile, and two-celled. Exter-
nally of the stamina, are appendages of very
diversified form, sometimes filamentous, some-
times in the form of scales or of pedicellate
glands, united aircularly, and forming from one
to three crowns, which arise at the orifice and
upon the walls of the tube of the calyx. Some-
times these appendages, and even the corolla, are
entirely wanting. The ovary is free, with a long
stalk and a single cell, presenting from three to
five longitudinal trophosperms, which sometimes

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

project in the form of false dissepiments, and
give attachment to a great number of ovules.
It is surmounted by three or four styles, termin-
ated by as many simple stigmas. In some rare
cases the stigmas are sessile. The fruit is fleshy
internally, containing a very great number of
seeds; more rarely it is dry, but always indehis-
cent. The seeds have a fleshy endosperm, in
which is a homotrope and axile embryo.

This family is composed of the genera passi-
flora, tacsonia, murucuja, malesherbia, detdamia,
kolbia, and probably carica, which is also placed
among the cucurbitaceer.

The sweetish, fragrant, and cooling pulp of
the fruits of several species is eaten. The fruit
of the papaw, carica papaya, is eaten when ripes
and in the immature state is vermifuge.

The passion flowers are handsome twining
greenhouse plants.

Hycronres, Rich. Cercodianee, Jussieu.
Haloragee, Brown. A small family, composed
generally of aquatic plants, often bearing verti-
cillate leaves. The flowers are very small, axil-
lar, sometimes unisexual, with a monosepalous
calyx adhering to the inferior ovary, and ter-
minated above by a limb with three or four
lobes. The corolla, which is sometimes want-
ing, is composed of three or four petals alternate
with the lobes of the calyx. The stamina are
of the same or double the number of the petals,
to which they are opposite in the former case.
The ovary has from three to four cells, each con-
taining a single reversed ovule. From thesum-
mit of the ovary spring three or four filiform,
glandular, or downy stigmas. The fruit is a
berry or a capsule, crowned by the lobes of the
calyx, with several monospermous cells. The
seeds are reversed, and contain a cylindrical,
homotrope embryo in a fleshy endosperm.

The genera are myriophyllum, haloragis, cer-
codia, proserpinaca, trixis, and are all uninter-
esting weeds.

Onacraria, Jussieu. Herbaceous, rarely
frutescent plants, with simple, opposite, or scat-
tered leaves, and terminal or axillar flowers.
The calyx is adherent to the inferior ovary ; its
limb, four or five lobed. The corolla is formed
of four or five petals, laterally incumbent and
spirally twisted previous to expansion. It is
rarely wanting. The stamina are of the same
number as the petals, or double their number,
sometimes fewer. The ovary is inferior, and
has four or five cells, containing a considerable
number of ovules, attached to their inner angle.
The style is simple, and the stigma is sometimes
simple, sometimes four or five-lobed. The fruit
is a berry or a capsule, with four or five cells,
each often containing only a small number of
seeds, and opening by as many valves, bearing
the dissepiments on the middle of their inner
surface. The seeds have a proper integument,
COMBRETACEZL.

generally formed of two lamine, and immedi-
ately covering a homotrope embryo destitute of
endosperm.

Jussieu’s family of onagre contained several
genera which have been successively removed
from it. Thus the genus mocancra appears to
us to belong to the family of ternstroemiacea ;
cercodia forms the type of the family of hygro-
bier ; the genera cacoucia, and combretum, belong
to the combretacer ; santalum forms the type of
the santalacer ; the genera mourira and petaloma
appear to us to belong to the melastomacee ;
and, lastly, the genera loasa and mentzelia con-
stitute the family of loases.

This family is composed, among others, of
the genera epilobium, cenothera, lopesia, circa,
jussica, fuchsia.

Epilobium, cenothera, and fuchsia, are beauti-
ful ornamental gencra.

The roots of enothera biennis are eaten, but
the properties of this family are little known.

Compreraces, Brown. Genera eleagni and
terminalie of Jussieu. Trees or shrubs, with
opposite or alternate leaves, which are entire
and without stipules. Flowers hermaphrodite
or polygamous, variously disposed in axillar or
terminal spikes. The calyx is adherent by its
base to the ovary, which is inferior ; its limb,
which is often tubular, has four or five divi-
sions, and is articulated to the summit of the
ovary. Thecorollais wanting in several genera,
or is composed of four or five petals inserted
between the lobes of the calyx. The number
of stamina is generally double that of the divi-
sions of the calyx, but the number is not strictly
determined. The ovary has a single cell, con-
taining from two to four ovules hanging from
its summit. The style varies in length, and is
terminated by a simple stigma. The fruit is
always unilocular, monospermous through abor-
tion, and indehiscent. The seed, which is pen-
dent, is composed of an endosperm, which imme-
diately covers the embryo.

Among the genera are the ducida, terminalia,
conocarpus, guisqualis, combretum, &c.

In their properties they are generally astrin-
gent and tonic. The bark of several species is
used for tanning.

Myrracea, Jussieu. This interesting family
is composed of trees or shrubs of an elegant
habit, and abounding in a resinous and fragrant
juice. The leaves are opposite, entire, often
persistent, and marked with translucid dots.
The flowers are variously disposed, either in the
axilla of the leaves, or at the summits of the
twigs. Their calyx is monosepalous, adherent
by its base with the inferior ovary, having its
limb with five, six, or only four divisions. The
corolla, which is rarely wanting, is formed of as
many petals as the calyx has lobes. The sta-
mina, which are generally very numerous,

 

643

rarely in determinate number, have their fila-
ments free, or variously united, their anthers
terminal and generally rather small. The ovary,
which is inferior, has from two to six cells,
which contain a variable number of ovules
attached at their inner angle. The style is gene-
rally simple and the stigma is lobed. The fruit
presents numerous modifications. It is some-
times dry, opening into as many valves as there
are cells, sometimes indehiscent or fleshy. The
seeds, which are generally destitute of endo-
sperm, have an embryo the cotyledons of which
are never cither convolute, or rolled in a spiral
form one upon the other.

De Candolle has divided the myrtacee into
five natural tribes,

1. The Cuamzzaucizz: fruit dry, unilocu-
lar ; seeds basilar, calyx five-lobed, corolla of five
petals, sometimes wanting ; stamina free or poly-
adelphous. The genera which form this tribe
are all natives of New Holland: calytriz, cham-
alaucium, pileanthus, &e.

2. LeprospErME#: fruit dry, dehiscent, with
several cells; seeds attached to the inner angle,
destitute of arillus, and endosperm ; leaves oppo-
site or alternate. Shrubs all natives of New
Holland : beaufortia, calotamnus, tristania, mela-
leuca, eudesmia, eucalyptus, metrosyderos, lepto-
spermum, &e.

3. Myrtez: fruit fleshy, generally with seve-
ral cells; seeds without arillus or endosperm ;
stamina free; leaves opposite. Shrubs almost
all natives of the tropics: eugenia, jambosa, ca-
lyptranthes, caryophyllus, myrtus, campomanesia,
&e.

4. Barrineronre#: fruit dry or fleshy;
always indehiscent, with several cells; stamina
monadelphous at their base; leaves alternate,
not dotted. Trees of the equinoctial regions of
the Old and New Continents: dicalyz, strave-
dium, barringtonia, gustavia.

6. Lecyruipez: fruit dry, opening by an
operculum (pyxidium) ; stamina very numer-
ous, monadelphous ; leaves alternate, not dotted.
Large trees of equinoctial America: Jecythis,
couratari, couroupita, bertholletia.

The myrtacee form a very distinct family
among the dicotyledones with inferior ovary.
It is allied to the melastomacer, which differ
from it in the very remarkable and constant
disposition of the nerves of their leaves, and in
the number and structure of their stamina; to
the onagrarie, which differ in having their sta-
mens determinate; to the rosaceew, which are
distinguished by their alternate leaves and mul-
tiple styles ; and to the combretacee, in which
the lobes of the embryo are convolute.

These plants generally contain a pungent or
fragrant volatile oil, together with tannin and
gallic acid. Cloves are the flowers of caryo-
phyllus aromaticus. Pimento is obtained from a
644

species of myrtus. Cujeput oil is procured from
the leaves of melaleuca leucadendron. The root
of eugenia racemosa is employed in India as an
aperient. The bark of the root of the pome-
granate is astringent, and has been employed in
diarrhoea, as well as a remedy for tape-worm.
Eucalyptus resinifera yields a kind of gum ; and
the bark of several species is used for tanning.
The fruits of the eugenie are eaten, as are those
of several other species of this family. The
myrtle is an ornamental evergreen.

Metastomacez, Jussieu. The melastomacere
are large trees, trees of small size, shrubs or her-
baceous plants, with opposite, simple leaves,
generally furnished with from three to five or
even eleven longitudinal nerves, from which pro-
ceed numerous other transverse, parallel, very
close nerves. The flowers, which are sometimes
very large, have in a manner every mode of
inflorescence. The calyx is monosepalous, more
or less adherent to the ovary, which is inferior,
or semi-inferior : its limb is sometimes entire or
toothed, or, lastly, has four or five more or less
deep divisions. More rarely it forms akind of
hood or operculum. The corolla is composed of
four or five petals. The stamina are double the
number of the petals: their anthers present the
most diversified and the most singular forms,
and open at their summit by a hole or pore
common to the two cells. The ovary is some-
times free, more commonly adherent to the
calyx. It has from three to eight cells, each
containing very numerousovules. The summit
of the ovary is often covered by an epigynous
disk. The style and stigma are simple. The
fruit is sometimes dry, sometimes fleshy, and has
the same number of cells as the ovary. It
remains indehiscent, or opens into so many sep-
tiferous valves. The seeds are frequently reni-
form: they contain an erect or slightly curved
embryo, destitute of endosperm.

The species of this family are very numerous,
and have been grouped into several genera, such
as melastoma, rhexia, miconia, tristemma, topobea,
&c. It is so distinct in the disposition of the
nerves of its leaves, that it cannot be confounded
with any of the families which approach nearest
to it, as the onagrarie, myrtacex, and rosacee,

They are all handsome tropical shrubs, or
trees, with large flowers, either purple or white.
The fruit of true melastoma is a juicy insipid
berry, eatable, but staining the teeth and mouth
of a deep black.

Saticaria, Jussieu. Herbs or shrubs with
opposite or alternate leaves, bearing axillar or
terminal flowers; a monosepalous, tubular, or
urceolate calyx, toothed atits summit; a corolla
of from four to six petals, which alternate with
the divisions of the calyx, and are inserted at the
upper part of its tube. The corolla is wanting
in some genera. The stamina are equal to the

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

petals in number, or double, or more rarely in
indefinite number. The ovary is free, simple,
with several cells, each containing a considerable
number of ovules. The style is simple, termi-
nated by a usually capitate stigma. The fruit
is a capsule covered by the calyx, which is per-
sistent, and has one or more cells, containing
seeds attached at their inner angle. The seeds
are composed of an embryo destitute of endo-
sperm.

Among the genera which compose this family,
are lythrum, cuphea, ginoria, lagerstremia, am-
mania. Itis allied to the onagrarie, from which
it differs in having its ovary free, and to the
rosacee, which have always stipules, and possess
many other characters which distinguish them
from the salicarie.

Lythrum salicaria is astringent, and has been
used in diarrhcea. The henne of the East is
obtained from lawsonia inermis.

TamanisciInE®, Desvaux. Shrubs or small
trees, generally with very small, squamiform
and sheathing leaves, and small flowers, furnished
with bracteas, and disposed in simple spikes,
which are sometimes collected into a panicle.
The calyx has four or five deep divisions, which
are laterally imbricated : sometimes it forms a
tube at its lower part. The corolla is composed
of four or five persistent petals. The stamina,
from five to ten, rarely four, are monadelphous
at their base. The ovary is triangular, some-
times surrounded at its base by a perigynous
disk. The style is simple or tripartite. The
fruit is a triangular capsule, with a single cell,
containing a pretty large number of seeds
attached about the middle of the inner surface
of the three valves which form the capsule. The
embryo is erect, destitute of endosperm.

The ashes of tamariz gallica and africana
contain a large quantity of sulphate of soda.
The bark is generally bitter and astringent.

Rosacrez, Jussieu. A large family composed
of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees attaining
very large dimensions. Their leaves are alter-
nate, simple or compound, accompanied at their
base by two persistent stipules, sometimes united
to the petiole. The flowers present various
modes of inflorescence. They have a monose-
palous calyx, with four or five divisions, some-
times accompanied externally with a kind of
involucre which is incorporated with the calyx,
so that the latter appcars to have eight or ten
lobes. The corolla, which is rarely wanting, is
composed of four or five regularly spreading
petals. The stamina are generally very numer-
ous and distinct. The pistil presents various
modifications. Sometimes it is formed of one
or several carpels, entirely free and distinct, and
placed in a tubular calyx. Sometimes these
carpels adhere by their outer side to the calyx;
sometimes they are not only united to the calyx,
HOMALINES.

but to each other; sometimes they are collected
into a kind of capitulum, upon a receptacle or
gynophorum. Each of these carpels is unilo-
cular, and contains one, two, or a greater num-
ber of ovules, the position of which varies
greatly. The style is always more or less late-
ral, and the stigma simple. The fruit. is ex-
tremely diversified: sometimes it is a true drupe,
sometimes a melonida or an apple ; sometimes
one or more akenia, or one or more dehiscent
capsules ; or, ‘lastly, an aggregation of small
akenia or drupes, forming a capitulum upon a
gynophorum which becomes fleshy. The seeds
have their embryo monotrope and destitute of
endosperm,

This extensive family has been divided into
tribes, some of which have been considered as
distinct families,

1. CurysopaLanrs, Brown: ovary single, free,
containing two erect ovules; style filiform,
arising nearly from the base of the ovary ;
flowers more or less irregular; fruit drupaceous,
as chrysobalanus, parinarium, moquilea, &e.

2. Druracrm, De Candolle: ovary single, free,
containing two collateral ovules; style filiform,
terminal ; flowers regular ; fruit drupaceous, as
prunus, amygdalus, cerasus, &c.

3. Sprraacem, Rich: several ovaries, which
are free or slightly attached to each other by
their inner side, containing two or four collate-
ral ovules; style terminal; capsules distinct,
unilocular; or a single polyspermous capsule,
as, spirea, herria.

4. Fracarraces, Rich: calyx spreading, often
furnished with an external calyculus ; several
monospermous, indehiscent carpels, sometimes
collected upona fleshy gynophorum ; style more
or less lateral, as, potentilla, fragaria, geum,
rubus, dryas, comarum, &c.

5. Saneuisorzex, Jussieu: flowers usually
polygamous and sometimes destitute of corolla ;
one or two carpels, sometimes adherent to the
calyx, terminated by a style and a styliform or
penicillate stigma, as, poterium, cliffortia, alche-
milla, &e.

6. Rosa, Jussieu: calyx tubular, urceolate,
containing a variable number of monospermous
carpels attached to the inner wall of the calyx,
which becomes fleshy and covers them, as, rosa.

7. Pomacez, Rich : several unilocular carpels,
each containing two ascending ovules, rarely a
great number attached to the inner side, united
together and with the calyx, and forming a
fleshy fruit, known by the name of melonida or
apple, as malus, pyrus, crategus, sorbus, cydonia,
&e.

The plants of this family are generally astrin-
gent. The fruits of several chrysobalanee,
which are chiefly tropical, are eaten. Those of
the drupace, such as the cherry, peach, necta-
rine, plum, &c., are well known, The leaves

 

645

and kernels of this tribe yield prussic acid, and
some of them are, for this reason, dangerous,
The leaves of the sloe and the bird-cherry have
been employed as asubstitute for tea. ‘The root
of spirea ulmaria, which is highly astringent,
has been used asa tonic, and for dyeing black.
The fruits of many fragariacee, as the straw-
berry, rasp, and brambles, are in common use.
The root of rubus villosus affords an astringent
decoction. Brayera anthelminthicum, isa remedy
for tape-worm. Agrimonia and poterium are
astringent. The fruit of rosa canina, and the
petals of rosa gallica, are astringent, and have
been employed in chronic diarrhoea and cases of
debility. ‘The fruits of most of the pomacez, as
the apple, the pear, the quince, the medlar, are
in common use, ‘The numerous varieties of the
rose afford highly prized garden flowers.

Homauines, Brown. The homalinee are
handsome evergreen shrubs or small trees, all
natives of warm countries. Their leaves are
alternate, petiolate, simple, furnished with cadu-
cous stipules. Their flowers are hermaphrodite,
disposed in spikes, racemes, or panicles. Their
calyx is monosepalous, having the tube short,
conical, and adherent to the ovary, the limb
divided into from ten to thirty lobes, of which
the outer are larger and valvar, and the inner
smaller and petalliform. The corolla is want-
ing. At the inner face, and most commonly
towards the base of the inner sepals, are situ-
ated glandular and sessile appendages. The
number of stamina varies : it is sometimes equal
‘to that of the outer lobes of the calyx, and the
stamina are opposite to them ; at other times the
stamina are more numerous and collected into
bundles. The ovary is generally semi-inferior,
with a single cell containing a great number of
ovules attached to three or five parietal tropho-
sperms. The styles, which are of the same
number as the trophosperms, terminate each in
a simple stigma, The fruit is sometimes dry,
sometimes fleshy. The seeds have their embryo
placed in a fleshy endosperm.

The genera are homalium, napimoga, pineda,
blackwellia, astranthus, nisa, myriantheia, aster-
opeia, and aristotelia. Little is known of their
properties.

SamyDE#, Ventenat. This family consists of
exotic shrubs, growing in the warmest regions
of the globe, and bearing alternate, distichous,
simple, persistent leaves, commonly marked
with translucid dots, and furnished with two
stipules at their base. The flowers are axillar,
solitary, or grouped. They havea calyx formed
of five, more rarely of three or seven sepals,
united together at their base, and sometimes
forming a more or less elongated tube. The
limb has more or less deep divisions, coloured
on their inner surface. The corolla is always
wanting. The stamina are of the same number
646

as the divisions of the calyx, or double, triple,
or quadruple, and are inserted at their base.
They are monadelphous, and some of them are
occasionally sterile, and reduced to their fila-
ment, which becomes flat and downy. The
ovary is free, with a single cell, containing a
great number of ovules inserted on three or five
parietal trophosperms. The style is simple,
terminated by a capitulate or lobed stigma. The
fruit isa unilocular capsule, opening by three
or five valves, which bear upon the middle of
their inner surface the seeds, enveloped in a
more or less abundant coloured pulp. The
seeds have a fleshy endosperm, in which is a
very small heterotrope embryo; in other words,
having its radicle opposite to the hilum or point
" of attachment of the seed.

This family is composed of the genera samyda,
anauringa, casearia, to which may be added the
genus piparea of Aublet.

Lrcumrinos, Jussieu. This isa very natural
family, in which are contained herbaceous plants,
shrubs, or small trees, and trees often of colossal
dimensions, natives of all parts of the world.
Their leaves are alternate, compound or decom-
pound, sometimes simple. Rarely the leaflets
are abortive, and there only remains the petiole,
which widens and forms a kind of simple leaf.
At the base of each leaf are two persistent sti-
pules. The flowers present a very diversified
inflorescence. They are generally hermaphro-
dite. Their calyx is sometimes tubular, with
five unequal teeth, sometimes with five more or
less deep and unequal divisions. At the outside
of the calyx, there are one or more bracteas, or
sometimes a calyciform involucre. The corolla,
which is sometimes wanting, is composed of five
generally unequal petals, of which one, named
the standard, is larger and superior ; two named
wings are lateral ; and two inferior, and more or
less coherent or united, forming the keel. Some-
times the corolla is formed of five equal petals.
The stamina are generally ten in number, some-
times more numerous. Their filaments are usu-
ally diadelphous, rarely monadelphous, or en-
tirely free, perigynous or hypogynous. The
ovary is more or less stipitate at its base. It is
generally elongated, inequilateral, with a single
cell, containing one or more ovules attached to
the inner suture. The style is somewhat lateral,
often bent or curved, and terminated by a simple
stigma. The fruit is always a legume, The
seeds are generally destitute of endosperm.

This extensive family is composed of very
numerous genera, which may be divided into
three natural tribes.:

1. PapinionaceE#: corolla formed of five
unequal petals, constituting the irregular corolla
named papilionaceous ; ten stamina generally
diadelphous, as phaseolus, faba, lathyrus, robinia,
glycine, astragalus, phaca, &c.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

2. Casstzm: corolla generally formed of five
regular petals; the ten stamina usually free, as
cassia, bauhinia, geoffraa, 8c.

8. MimosEz : containing the apetalous genera,
furnished with a calyciform involucre ; stamina
very numerous and free, as mimosa, acacia, inga,
&e.

The family of leguminose is very nearly allied
to the rosacew, and, although at first sight it
appears very easy to distinguish them, there are
genera which form a kind of transition from the
one family to the other.

The papilionacee are possessed of very diver-
sified properties. The seeds of many species are
used as food, such as the bean, the pea, &c.,
while those of others are purgative, emetic, or
poisonous. Of the latter kind are those of the
laburnum., The pulp of the tamarind, ceratonia,
siliqua, mimosa fagifolia, and cassia jistula, is
more or less purgative. Senna consists of the
leaves of several species of cassia. Catechu is
obtained from acacia catechu. Gum arabic is
yielded by acacia senegalensis and other species ;
gum tragacanth by astragalus creticus and verus.
Myroxylon balsamiferum affords the balsam of
tolu; copaifera officinalis, copaiba balsam.
Indigo is obtained from several species of indi-
gofera; logwood is the wood of hematozylon
campechianum; sanders-wood that of pterocarpus
santalinus. The tonkay-bean is the seed of
coumarouma odorata, which owes its fragrance to
a peculiar principle found also in the flowers of
melilotus officinalis.

TerepintHaccx, Jussieu. Consists of trees
or shrubs, often lactescent or resinous, having
alternate, generally compound leaves, destitute
of stipules, and small hermaphrodite or unisex-
ual flowers, usually disposed in racemes. Each
of the flowers has a calyx of from three to five
sepals, sometimes connected at their base, and
united to the ovary, which is inferior, and a
corolla, which is sometimes wanting, but is usu-
ally composed of a number of petals equal to the
lobes of the calyx, and regular. The stamina
are generally of the same number as the petals,
more rarely double or quadruple : in the former
case they alternate with the petals. The pistil
is composed of from three to five carpels, some-
times distinct, sometimes more or less united,
and surrounded at their base by a perigynous,
annular disk. Sometimes some of the earpels
are abortive, and there remains only one, from
which spring several styles. ach carpel has a
single cell, containing sometimes an ovule, sup-
ported upon the top of a filiform podosperm,
which arises from the bottom of the cell, some-
times a reversed ovule, sometimes two reversed
or collateral ovules. The fruits are dry or drv-
paceous, generally containing a single seed.
The seed contains an embryo destitute of endo-
sperm,
RHAMNEZ.

1, Anacarpiem or Cassuvina, containing the
genera anacardium, mangifera, pistacia, &c.

2.umacuines, to which belong the genera
rhus, mauria, davana, &c.

3. Sronprace#, which comprehend the genera
spondias and poupartia.

4, Bursrracr, containing the genera Scica,
boswellia, bursera, canarium, &e.

5. AMYRIDEA, amyris.
sf 6. ConnaracE, connarus omphalobium, enestis,

uC.

7. JUGLANDEA, juglans, carya, &e.

This family is very closely related to the
leguminose, from which it is distinguished,
more especially by the absence of stipules. It
is also allied to the Rhamnez, which differ from
it in having the ovary always inferior, and the
stamina opposite to the petals.

The anacardiee and sumachines abound ina
resinous juice, which is often poisonous; but
the fruit of several species, as well as of the
spondiacez, is eatable. The burseracex, con-
naraceze, and amyridee, are equally resiniferous.
The walnut is the fruit of a species of juglans.
Several fruits belonging to the same genus, are
eaten in America,

Raamye#, Brown. (Part of the rhamni of
Jussieu.) Trees or shrubs with simple, alter-
nate, very rarely opposite leaves, furnished with
two very small caducous, or persistent and spin-
ous stipules. The flowers are small, herma-
phrodite, or unisexual, axillar, solitary, or col-
lected into sertules, fasciculi, &c., sometimes
forming racemes or terminal sertules. The calyx
is monosepalous, more or less tubular at its
Jower part, where it adheres to the ovary, which
is inferior, having its limb dilated, with four or
five valvar lobes. The corolla is composed of
four or five very small, unguiculate petals, often
involute and concave. The stamina, which are
of the same number as the petals, are placed
opposite to them, and are often embraced by
them. The ovary is sometimes free, sometimes
semi-inferior, or completely adherent, with two,
three or four cells, containing each a single erect
ovule. From the summit of the ovary generally
proceed as many styles as it hascells. The base
of the tube of the calyx, when the ovary is
free, or the summit of the ovary when it is
inferior, presents a glandular disk varying in
thickness. The fruit is fleshy and indehiscent,
or dry and opening into three cocca. The seed
is erect, and contains in a fleshy, sometimes very
thin endosperm, a homotrope embryo, having
the cotyledons very broad and thin.

The principal genera are: rhamnus, paliurus,
ceanothus, and colletia. The berries of several
species are strong purgatives.

CruastrInE®, Brown. (Part of the rhamni
of Jussieu) This family is composed of shrubs
or trees with alternate or sometimes opposite

 

647

leaves, and axillar flowers aisposed in cymes.
The calyx, which is slightly tubular at its base,
has a limb with four or five spreading divisions,
which are imbricated previous to expansion.
The corolla is composed of four or five flat,
slightly fleshy petals, destitute of claws, and
inserted beneath the disk. The stamina alter-
nate with the petals, and are inserted either upon
the edge of the disk, or upon its upper surface.
The disk is perigynal and parietal, surrounding
the ovary. The ovary is free, with three or four
cells, containing each one or more ovules, at-
tached by a filiform podosperm to the inner
angle of each cell, and ascending. The fruit,
which is sometimes a dry drupe, is more com-
monly a capsule with three or four cells opening
into three or four valves, each bearing a dissepi-
ment upon the middle of its inner surface. The
seeds, which are sometimes covered by a fleshy
arillus, contain a fleshy endosperm in which is
an axile and homotrope embryo.

Many of the species are ornamental shrubs;
and the fruit and bark of others are purgative
and emetic.

Aquiroitace®, De Candolle. (Ilicinew, Ad.
Brong.) Composed of shrubs with alternate or
opposite, persistent, coriaceous, glabrous leaves,
which are toothed, the teeth being sometimes
spinous. The flowers are solitary, or variously
grouped in the axille of the leaves. Each of
them has a calyx with from four to six small
and imbricated petals, and a corolla of an equal
number of alternate petals, united at their base,
and forming a monopetalous corolla, with deep
and hypogynous divisions, The stamina, which
are alternate with the lobes of the corolla, are
inserted at its base. There is no appearance of
a disk. The ovary is free, thick, truncate, with
from two to six cells, each containing a single
ovule suspended from the summit of the cell,
and supported by a cup-shaped podosperm. The
stigma is generally sessile and lobed. The fruit
is always fleshy, containing from two to six
indehiscent, woody or fibrous, and monosperm-
ous nucules. The embryo is small, homotrope,
and placed towards the base of-a fleshy endo-
sperm.

Among the genera are ¢/lex, cassine, myginda,
&e.

Prinos verticillatus is astringent and tonic.
The leaves of a species of ilex afford the famous
Paraguay tea.

Evrnorsiace®, Jussieu. The euphorbiacee
are herbaceous plants, shrubs, or very large trees, .
which occur in all regions of the globe. Most
of them contain a milky acrid juice. The leaves
are usually alternate, sometimes opposite, accom-
panied with stipules, which are sometimes want-
ing. The flowers are unisexual, generally small,
and are very diversified in their mode of inflor-
escence, The calyx is monosepalous, with three,.
648

four, five, or six deep divisions, furnished inter-
nally with scaly and glandular appendages. ‘he
corolla is wanting in most genera, or is com-
posed of petals sometimes distinct, sometimes
united into a monopetalous corolla. It appears
to be formed of abortive and sterile stamina.
In the male flowers, there is a considerable num-
ber of stamina. More rarely the number is
limited, or each stamen may be considered as a
flower (as is admitted to be the case in the genus
euphorbia ). The stamina are free or monadel-
phous. The female flowers are composed of a
free, sessile, or stipitate ovary, sometimes accom-
panied by a hypogynous disk. The ovary has
usually three cells, each containing one or two
suspended ovules. From the summit of the
ovary arise three stigmas, which are generally
sessile and elongated. The fruit is dry or slightly
fleshy, and is composed of as many cocca, con-
taining one or two seeds, as the fruit has cells.
The cocca, which are internally bony, open
elastically at their inner angle into two valves.
They rest by their inner angle upon a central
columella, which often continues after their dis-
persion. The seeds, which are externally crus-
taceous, and present a small fleshy caruncle, in
the vicinity of their point of attachment, have
a fleshy endosperm, in which is contained an
axile and homotrope embryo.

Among the genera are the following: euphor-
bia, mercurialis, ricinus, croton, jatropha, hura,
buxus, and acalypha.

All the plants of this family contain a milky
juice which is acrid or poisonous. They abound
in caoutchouc. Castor oil is obtained from the
seeds of ricinus communis. The roots of several
species are emetic, of others purgative. Croton
tiglium affords an oil, which is a drastie purga-
tive. In general, the family is characterised by
acrid, narcotic, and poisonous qualities, residing
in a volatile principle, which may be dissipated
by heat.

Urricez, Kunth. (Urticee, Jussieu; and
celtidee, Rich). This family consists of her-
baceous plants, shrubs, or large trees, sometimes
lactescent, with alternate leaves, generally fur-
nished with stipules. Flowers unisexual, very
rarely hermaphrodite, solitary, or variously
grouped, and forming catkins, or collected in a
fleshy involucre, which is flat, spreading, or
pyriform and closed. In the male flowers there
are a calyx formed of four or five sepals, which
are distinct or united, and forming a tube, and
four or five stamina, which are alternate, or very
rarely opposite to the sepals. The female flowers

have a calyx formed of from two to four sepals,

or merely a scale, in the axilla of which they
are placed. The ovary is free, with a single cell,
containing a single pendent ovule, and sur-
mounted, either by two long sessile stigmas, or
by a single stigma, sometimes supported upon

 

HISIORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

astyle of variable length. The fruit is always
composed of a crustaceous akenium, enveloped
by the calyx, which sometimes becomes fi@hy :
at other times the involucre, which contains the
female flowers, enlarges, as is remarked in the
genera ficus, dorstenia, &c. The seed, besides
its proper integument, is composed of a gener-
ally curved embryo, often contained within a
more or less thin endosperm.

The family may be divided into three tribes:

1. Cetripe#£: flowers hermaphrodite; embryo
without endosperm, as wlmus, celtis.

2. Urnticez£: flowers unisexual; fruits distinct;
embryo enclosed in a thin endosperm, as urtica,
parictaria, humulus, cannabis, morus.

8. ArrocaRrPE®: flowers unisexual; fruits
collected in a flat or pyriform fleshy involucre;
embryo furnished with an endosperm, as dor-
stenia, ficus, &c. ;

The bark of the elms is bitter and astringent.
The uses of hemp are well known. Its leaves
are narcotic. The urticee or nettles, are remark-
able for their stinging propensities. The com-
mon hop contains a bitter and narcotic principle,
which is used in the manufacture of ale and
porter. The artocarpee are extremely hetero-
genous as to their properties, the bread-fruit, the
mulberry, and the fig, being the products of
certain species, while others yield the most
deadly poisons, Caoutchouc is also yielded by
several species of this family.

Monumia, Jussieu. (Atherospermee, Brown)
Composed of trees or shrubs, natives of Amer-
ica and New Holland, with opposite leaves, des-
titute of stipules and unisexual flowers. The
flowers present a globular or calyciform involu-
cre, the divisions of which are disposed in two
series. In the former case, the involucre has
only some small teeth at its summit; and, in the
male flowers, bursts and opens into four deep
and pretty regular lobes, the whole upper sur-
face of which is covered with stamina, having
short filaments, and each forming a male flower.
In the second case (ruizia_), the stamina line
only the lower and tubular part of the involucre;
the filaments are longer; and, towards their
lower part, bear on each side a pedicellate tu-
bercle, similar to that which is observed in the
same place in the Laurinee. The female flowers
are composed of an involucre precisely similar
to that of the male flowers. In the genera
monimia, and ruizia, there are at the bottom of
this involucre, eight or ten erect pistils, perfectly
distinct from each other, and intermixed with
hairs. In ambora, these pistils are very numer-
ous, entirely immersed in the substance of the
walls of the involucre, the only part that is
free and visible being their summit, which is a
small conical mammilla, and forms the real
stigma. Each of these pistils is unilocular, and
contains a single ovule suspended from its sum~
SALICINEAE.

mit. In the genera ambora and monimia, the
involucre is persistent; it even enlarges preatly,
and becomes fleshy in the first of these genera.
The fruits, which in ambora are contained in
the substance of the walls of the involucre, are
s0 many small unilocular one-seeded drupes.
The seed is composed of a rather thin proper
integument, covering a very thick fleshy endo-
sperm, in the upper part of which is placed an
embryo which has the same direction as the
seed. ,

The genera have been divided into two tribes:

1. AmMBorE#: anthers opening by a longitu-
dinal groove; seeds reversed. Ambora, monimia,
ruizia.

2. ATHEROSPERME#: anthers opening from

the base to the summit, by means of a valve ;.

seeds erect. Pavonia, atherosperma, citrosma.

The monimie are much allied to the urticex,
with which several of their genera were formerly
united; but they differ from them especially in
having their seeds furnished with a very large
endosperm, and in having their ovule pendent
and not erect. The same character also separ-
ates them from the laurinew, which they approach
in the structure of their stamina in the tribe of
atherospermer. The properties of the species
ave little known.

SaticineE#, Rich. This family is composed
of the genera saliz and populus, and contains
large trees, with alternate, simple leaves, fur-
nished with caducous stipules. The flowers are
unisexual, and disposed in cylindrical or egg-
shaped catkins. The male flowers are composed
of from two to twenty stamina, placed in the
axilla of a scale, or upon its upper surface. The
female flowers consist of a fusiform pistil, ter-
minated by two bipartite stigmas, situated in
the axilla of a scale, and sometimes accompanied
at their base by acup-shaped calyx. The ovary
has one or two cells containing a considerable
number of erect ovules, attached to the bottom
of the cell, and the base of two parietal tropho-
sperms. The fruit is a small, elongated capsule,
with one or two cells, containing several seeds
surrounded by long silky hairs, and opening by
two valves. The embryo is erect, homotrope,
destitute of endosperm.

The saliciner, a dismemberment of the amen-
tacee, form a group which is very distinct in the
form of their fruit.

This family affords some useful and ornamental
trees. The bark is generally astringent and
tonic. It is employed in tanning, and that of
some species, especially of salix helix, has of late
acquired some celebrity as a substitute for Per-
uvian bark in fevers,

Myricea, Rich. (Causuarinee, Mirbel.)
With the exception of the genus causuarina,
which, in its general aspect, resembles a gigantic
equisetum, the myricee are trees or shrubs, with

 

649

alternate or sparse leaves, with or without stipules,
Their flowers are always unisexual, and most
commonly dicecious. The male flowers, dis-
posed in catkins, are composed of one or more
stamina, often collected upon a branched andro-
phorum, and placed in the axilla of a bractea,
The female flowers, which are also in catkins,
are solitary and sessile in the axilla of a bractea
longer than themselves. Each flower is com-
posed of a lenticular ovary, containing a single
erect ovule. The style is very short, and sur-
mounted by two long subulate, glandular stig-
mas. Externally of the ovary are two, three,
or a greater number of hypogynous, persistent
scales, which are sometimes united to the fruit.
The fruit is a kind of small monospermous,
indehiscent nut, sometimes membranous, and
winged upon its margins. The seed which it
contains is erect; its integument immediately
covers a large embryo, having a direction en-
tirely the reverse of that of the seed.

This family, which is formed of genera that
are sometimes placed in the family of amentacex,

is allied to the celtidex and betulinee, but differs

from the former in its flowers being in catkins,
and always unisexual, and its erect ovule, and
from the latter in its unilocular ovary, and its
embryo destitute of endosperm.

Their properties are generally aromatic and
resinous. A wax is obtained from the berries
of myrica cerifera.

Berurinex, Rich. Composed of trees with
simple, alternate leaves, accompanied at their
base by two stipules. Flowers unisexual, dis-
posed in scaly catkins. In the male catkins,
each scale, which is sometimes formed of several
scales united, bears two or three flowers which
are naked, or have a calyx with three or four
deep divisions. The number of stamina is very
yariable in each flower. The female catkins are
egg-shaped, or cylindrical, and scaly. At the
inner base of each scale are from one to three
naked, sessile flowers, presenting a free, com-
pressed ovary, with two cells, containing each a
single ovule attached towards the upper part of
the dissepiment, and surmounted by two elon-
gated, cylindrical and glandular stigmas. The
fruit is a scaly cone, the woody or merely car-
tilaginous scales, bear at their base one or two
small unilocularakenia, which are monospermous,
through abortion, and membranous on the edges.
The seed is composed of a large embryo without
endosperm, having the radicle superior.

The two genera alnus and betula constitute this
family, which differs from the salicinee in having
its ovary furnished with two monospermous
cells, its indehiscent fruits, and its seeds, desti-
tute of the long hairs which cover those of the
salicinese. The myracez are also closely allied
to the betulinee, but their ovary is always uni-

locular, and their ovule erect. This family, like
4n
650

the last, is frequently included in the amen-
tacee.

The birch and alder are well known winter
trees. Their bark is astringent; that of the
birch (betula alba) and others is used for tan-
ning. The juice of the same plant is sweet-
ish, flows in considerable abundance from a cut
in the bark, and is made into a kind of wine.

CuputiFEerR#&, Rich. (Part of the amentacee
of Jussieu.) Containing trees with alternate,
simple leaves, furnished with caducous stipules
at their base. The flowers are always unisexual,
and almost always monecious. The male
flowers form cylindrical, scaly catkins. Each
flower presents a simple, trilobate, or calyciform
scale, on the upper face of which are attached
from six to a greater number of stamina, without
any appearance of pistil. The female flowers
are generally axillar, sometimes solitary, some-
times grouped into capitula or catkins. In all
cases, each of them is covered, in part or in
whole, by a scaly cupula, and presents an inferior
ovary, having its limb not very prominent, and
forming a small irregularly toothed rim. From
the summit of the ovary rises a short style,
which is terminated by two or three subulate or
flat stigmas. This ovary has two, three, or a
greater number of cells, each containing one or
two suspended ovules. The fruit is always an
acorn, generally unilocular, often monospermous
by abortion, always accompanied by 4 cupule,
which sometimes covers the fruit entirely like a
pericarp, as in the chestnut and beech. The
seed is composed of a very large embryo, desti-
tute of endosperm.

This family, which is composed of genera fre-
quently placed in the family of amentacee, com-
prehends the genera guercus, corylus, carpinus,
castanea, and fagus. It has some affinity to the
conifere and betulinex; but the former are suffi-
ciently distinguished by their general aspect, the
structure of their female flowers, and the endo-
sperm of their embryo, and the latter by their
female flowers being disposed in cones, their
simple ovary, &c. The other families which
have also been formed of the amentaces, such
as the salicinese and myracez, are more particu-
larly distinguished from the cupuliferze by hav-
ing the ovary free.

The species consist of some of our most useful
timber trees; and the properties are generally
astringent, stomachic, and tonic. The bark of
quercus robur is used for tanning in this country,
and of q. tinctoria in America, The seeds abound
in fixed oil, and are used as food. Galls, which
are employed in making ink, are excrescences
of a species of oak. Cork is the bark of another
species, g. suber.

Conrrrr#, J. Rich. This useful family is
composed of trees of the pine and fir kind.
Their leaves, which are coriaceous and stiff, are

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

persistent in all the species, excepting the larch
and gingo, They are sometimes linear, subu-
late, aggregated in bundles of from two to five,
and accompanied at the base by a small scariose
sheath; or they are in the form of imbricated
or lanceolate scales. The flowers are always
unisexual, and generally disposed in cones or
catkins. The male flowers consist essentially
each of a stamen, sometimes naked, sometimes
accompanied by a scale in the axilla, or on the
lower surface of which it is placed. Not unfre-
quently several stamina are united together by
their filaments, and their anthers, which are uni-
locular, remain distinct, or unite together. The
inflorescence of the female flowers is very varia-
ble, although they generally form cones or scaly
catkins. Thus they are sometimes solitary, ter-
minal or axillar, or they are collected in a fleshy
or dry involucre. Each of these flowers has a
monosepalous calyx, adherent to the ovary, which
is in part, or entirely inferior. Its limb, which
is sometimes tubular, is entire, or has two divari-
cate lobes, glandular at their inner surface, and
which have been generally considered as two
stigmas. The ovary is one-celled, and contains
a single ovule. At its summit it commonly
presents a small cicatrix, which is the true
stigma. Sometimes the female flowers are erect
in the axilla of the scales, or in the involucre
in which they are placed; sometimes they are
reversed and united two and two, by one of
their sides, to the inner surface, and towards the
base of the scales which form the cone. The
fruit is generally a scaly cone ora galbule of
which the scales are sometimes fleshy, unite and
represent a kind of berry, as in the junipers.
Each particular fruit, that is, each fecundated
pistil, has a pericarp which is frequently crus-
taceous, sometimes furnished with a membran-
ous, marginal wing. The proper tegument of
the seed is adherent to the pericarp, and covers
a kernel composed of a fleshy endosperm, con-
taining an axile and cylindrical embryo, of
which the radicle is united to the endosperm,
and its cotyledonary extremity divided into
two, three, four, and even as many as ten coty-
ledons.

The elder Richard, in his splendid work on
the conifere, divides the family into three orders
thus :

1. Taxinz.z: female flowers distinct from each
other, attached to a scale, or in a cupula; fruit
simple, as podocarpus, dacrydium, tazus, salis-
buria, phyllocladus, ephedra.

2. CupressinE&: female flowers erect, col-
lected several together in the axilla of scales
which are not numerous, forming a galbule,
which is sometimes fleshy, as juniperus, thuya,
callitrix, cupressus, taxodium.

3. AnreTinE&., To this order belong all the
genera in which the female flowers are reversed,
FOSSIL PLANTS.

and which have for their fruit a true scaly cone,
as pinus, abies, cunninghamia, araucaria, &c.

The conifer are found in large forests, in the
north of Europe, and America, and are most
important as timber trees, for all purposes.
Some species, as dammara australis and pinus
lambertiana, are said to attain a height of 200
feet or more. Oil of turpentine, resin, and pitch
are obtained from pinus sylvestris, abies pectin-
ata, and other species. Spruce-beer is made from
an extract of the branches of abies canadensis.
The bark of the larch is said to equal that of
the oak for tanning. Juniperus sabina is sti-
mulant and diuretic. The berries of juntperus
communis, which are also diuretic, are employed
in the manufacture of gin. The berries of the
yew are said to be poisonous, and its leaves are
dangerous to cattle.

CyrcapEx£, Rich. The cycadee, which are
composed of only two genera, eycas and zamia,
are extra-~European plants, having the habit of
palms. Their leaves, which are collected at the
top of the stipe, are pinnate and rolled up in the
form of a crosier previous to their development,
as in the ferns. The flowers are always diceci-
ous. The male flowers form catkins or cones,
which are sometimes very large, and which are
composed of spathulate scales, covered at their
lower surface by very numerous stamina, which
must be considered as so many male flowers,
The inflorescence of the female flowers is differ-
ent in the two genera cycas and zamia. In the
former, a long, acute, spathulate spadix, toothed
on the edges, bears at each tooth a female flower,
immersed in a small cavity. Zamia has its
female flowers also in a cone, and its scales,
which are thick and peltate, bear each at their
lower surface two reversed female flowers.
These flowers are composed of a globular calyx,
perforated by a very small aperture at its sum-
mit, and applied upon the ovary, which is in
part adherent at its base. The ovary is unilo-
cular and contains a single ovule ; it is termina-
ted at its summit by a nipple-like stigma. The
fruit is a kind of nut formed by the calyx, which
sometimes is slightly fleshy. The pericarp is
generally thin, crustaceous and indehiscent,
and adheres to the proper integument of the
seed. The kernel is composed of a fleshy endo-
sperm, containing an embryo with two unequal
cotyledons, sometimes’ adhering together, and
with the radicle united to the endosperm.

However superficially one may compare the
structure of the male flowers, and especially of
the female flowers, of the cycadee with that of
the conifere, he will be struck with the very
great similarity that exists between the two
families, and cannot fail to adopt the opinion of
the elder Richard, who places them beside each
other. Jn fact, in both, the male flowers con-
sist each of a monospermous perianth, and a

 

651

semi-inferior ovary, with a single cell and a
single ovule. The fruit and the seed have the
same organization. It is true that the habit or
general aspect is entirely different in the two
families, the cycadew resembling the palms, and
the internal structure of the stem being that of
the monocotyledons. But this character ought
not to be sacrificed to the important resemblan-
ces which exist in the organization of the flowers
of the cycadee and conifere, whereby their
true place is evidently beside each other.

A kind of sago is prepared from the central
parenchyma of cycas circinalis.

CHAP. LVI.
FOSSIL PLANTS.

'T'sx history of those plants found imbedded in
the earth’s strata, and which formerly flourished
on its surface, forms an interesting link in the
chain of vegetable being. Unfortunately, from
the mode in which the remains of these vegeta-
ble productions have been preserved, it in most
cases happens that only conjectures can be formed
regarding their peculiar characters. Most com-
monly, only pieces of the trunks and branches,
or fragments of the bark, or the leaves, and
fruits, or pieces of the stems and roots, and rarely
or never the delicate inflorescence being pre-
served for our inspection. Yet, from these frag-
ments, it is wonderful how much has already
been ascertained of the form, and even minute
structure of many of those ornaments of a for-
mer state of things on the earth’s surface.

The number of fossil plants as yet known does
not much exceed five hundred. Like the cor-
responding fossil animals, these plants generally
are found to belong to existing classes and fami-
lies of plants, yet the species and even genera
are specifically different ; while in not a few
cases, totally new orders and genera have been
discovered, serving, from their structure, to fill
up blanks and chasms in the chain of existing
vegetable forms. Of this description are the Le-
pidodendrons, Stigmarie, Sigillarie, and others.
Vegetable remains, like animal, begin to make
their appearance in the lower beds of the secon-
dary series of rocks, and as these rocks have
decidedly been accumulated and formed in the
bed of the ocean, we accordingly find that marine
fuci are more or less plentifully scattered among
their successive layers; while in other situations
of the same strata, where the original deposit
has been formed by rivers or lakes, land plants
are accumulated in abundance. One great and
important deposit of ancient vegetation has
formed the various coal-fields found in different
parts of the world ; and it is important to remark,
652

that in whatever latitude or region of the globe
such coal deposits exist, the vegetables entering
into their composition have, so far as investiga-
tion into the subject has gone, been found identical
in character. Thus, in America, New Holland,
India, and Europe, the genera, and for the most
part the species of fossiliferous plants of the car-
bonaceous series, have been found thesame. This
circumstance, so different from what occurs with
regard to the existing vegetation, would lead to
the conclusion, that in certain remote periods of
the earth’s history a more uniform distribution
of plants, and consequently of temperature,
existed. ;

As the study of fossil botany is yet almost in
its infancy, and as every year is disclosing new
species, it may be expected that the numerical
amount of plants of the ancient strata may yet
greatly increase. Yet it must be borne in mind,
that the fragile nature of innumerable species,
must have entirely prevented their coming down
to our times in any degree of preservation, and
thus, that we are not hastily to conclude that
the ancient flora was less numerous than the
modern, From some interesting experiments of
Professor Lindley, it would appear also, that
certain kinds of plants resist decay and destruc-
tion much more effectually than others. This
botanist, having immersed in a tank of fresh
water upwards of 170 different species of plants,
including representations of all those which are
cither constantly present in the coal measures,
or not at all to be found there, ascertained, after
an interval of two years:

Ist. That during this period the leaves and
bark of most dicotyledonous plants are wholly
decomposed, and that of those which do resist
decomposition, the greater part are conifere and
cycadee.

2d. That monocotyledons are more ‘capable of
resisting the action of water, particularly palms
and scitamineous plants, but that grasses and
reeds perish.

8d. That fungi, mosses, and all the lowest
forms of vegetation, disappear.

4th. That ferns have a great power of resist-
ing water, if gathered in a green state, all those
submitted to experiment retaining their form
distinctly, while their fructification was com-
pletely obliterated.

These results must materially influence all
speculations regarding the probable distribution
of the extinct flora, and accordingly in enumer-
ating those plants which are found chiefly to
characterise the successive geological formations,
it must be borne in mind that we find those
only which have from their nature resisted the
destructive agencies in the respective strata,
while many others, their cotemporaries, must be
presumed to be entirely lost to us. From our
present knowledge, it would appear, that in the

 

IJISYORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

lowermost fossiliferous strata, marine fuci are
most common. ‘hat in the next formation,
ferns, equisetacer, conifere, and plants inter-
mediate between them and the lycopodiacese
prevail, and that in the succeeding strata, ferns,
cycades, and conifer, with a few liliacee, are
common ; while in the tertiary beds, species of
dicotyledonous plants, bearing a close relation to
existing species, make their appearance.

Of the trees which pervade all the fossiliferous
strata, the conifere and palm tribes are by far
the most common.

The following table exhibits a classified view
of the present state of fossil botany.”

DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS.

NATURAL FAMILY.—NYMPH ACES,

Genus 1. Nymphea. One species in the upper fresh

water formation.
LAURINEE.

Genus 2. Cinnamomum. One species in the tertiary

fresh water formation of Aix.
LEGUMINOSA.

Genus 2. a. Phaseolites. Leaves compound, unequally
pinnate, leaflets entire, disarticulating, with
nearly equal reticulated veins.

One species in the tertiary fresh water
formation of Aix.

ULMACER.
Genus 3. Ulmus. One species in tertiary formations.
CAPULIFERA,

Genus 4. Carpinus. One species in lignite of tertiary
beds.

Genus 5. Custanee. One species in tertiary forma-
tions.

BETULINES.

Genus 6. Betula. One species in the lignite of ter-

tiary beds.
SALICINES.

Genus 7. Saliz. One species in tertiary formation.

Genus 8. Populus. One or two species in tertiary for-
mation.

MYRICEZ.

Genus’ 9. Comptonia. One species in the lignite of
tertiary formations, and probably one in the
lower fresh water formations,

SUGLANDES.

Genus 10. Juglans. Three species in the tertiary strata,

one in upper bed of new red sandstone.
EUPHORBIACES.
Genus 1]. Stigmaria, ( Variolaria of Stemmberg, Mamil-

laria of Ad. Brogniart, Ficoiditis, Artis.)
Stem originally succulent, marked exter-
nally by roundish tubercles, surrounded by
a hollow, and arranged in a direction more
or less spiral, having internally a distinct
woody axis, which communicates with the
tubercles by woody processes. Leaves aris-
ing from the tubercles succulent, entire, and
veinless, except in the centre, where there
is some trace of a midrib.

Five or six species in the coal formation,
and one in the oolitic formation.

* Lindley and Hutton, Brongniart, &«
Genus 12,

Genus 13.

Genus 14,

FOSSIL PLANTS.

ACERINEE,
Acer, One or two species in the tertiary
beds,

CONIFERS,

The wood only known.

Pinites. Axis composed of pith wood in
concentric circles, bark and medullary rays,
but with no vessels, walls of the woody fibre
reticulated.

Three species in coal formation.
Araucaria, Axis composed of pith wood in
concentric circles, bark and medullary rays.

One or two species in coal measures; one
in lias,

Fruit or branches, and leaves, only known.

Genus 15.

Genus 16.

Genus 17.

Genus 18.

Genus 19,

Genus 20.

Genus 21.

Genus 22,

Genus 23.

Genus 24,

Pinus, Leaves growing two, three, or five
in the same sheath; cones composed of im-
bricated scales, which are enlarged at their
apex into a rhomboidal disk.

Nine species in the tertiary strata.

Abies. Leaves solitary, inserted in eight rows
in a double spine, often unequal in length
and distichous; cones composed of scales,
without a rhomboidal disk.

One species.

Taxites. Leaves solitary, supported on a
short petiole, articulated and inserted ina
single spine, not very dense, distichous.

Five species in tertiary beds.

One species in oolitic formation.
Podocarpus. Leaves solitary, much larger
than in the Jast genus, sharp, pointed, flat,
with a distinct midrib.

One species in the tertiary formation of

Aix.
Voltiza. Branches pinnated, leaves inserted
all round the branches, sessile, slightly de-
current or dilated at the base, and almost
conical, often distichous. Fruit forming
spikes or loose cones composed of distant
imbricated scales, which are more or less
deeply three-lobed.

Four species in the new red sandstone.
Juniperites. Branches arranged irregularly,
leaves short, obtuse, inserted by a broad base,
opposite, decussate, and arranged in four
rows.

Three species in the tertiary beds.
Cupressites. Branches arranged irregularly;
leaves inserted spirally in six or seven rows,
sessile, enlarged at their base; fruit consist-
ing of peltate scales, marked with a conical
protuberance in the centre.

One species in the new red sandstone.
Thuja. Branches alternate, regularly arranged
upon the same plane; leaves opposite, decus-
sate in four rows; fruit composed of a small
number of imbricated scales, terminated by
a disk, which has near its upper end a more
or less acute and sometimes recurved point.

Three or four species in the tertiary for-
mations.
Thuytes.
known.

Several species in oolite.

Doubtful Conifere.
Brachyphyllum. Branches pinnated, disposed
on the same plane without regularity; leaves
very short, conical, almost like tubercles,
arranged spirally.

One species in the lower oolite,

Branches as in thuja; fruit un-

 

Genus 25.

Genus 26,

Genus 27,

Genus 28,

Genus 29,

Genus 30.

653

Sphenophyllum. Branches deeply furrowed
leaves verticillate, wedge-shaped with dicho-
tomous veins.

Eight species in the coal formation.

CYCADEX.
Leaves only known.

Cycadites. Leaves pinnated, leaflets linear,
entire, adhering by their whole base, having
a single thick midrib, no secondary veins.

One species in the grey chalk.

Zamia, Leaves pinnated, leaflets entire or
toothed at the extremity, pointed, some-
times enlarged, and encircled as it were at
their base, attached only by the midrib,
which is often thickened; veins fine, equal,
all parallel, or scarcely diverging.

Fifteen species in the lias and oolite.’
Pterophyllum. Leaves pinnated; leaflets al-
most equally broad each way, inserted by
the whole of their base, truncated at the
summit; veins fine, equal, simple, but little
marked, all parallel.

Three species in the variegated marle of
the lias; three species in the sandstone of
the lias; one species in the quader sandstcin;
one species in the lower oolitic beds.
Nilsonia, Leaves pinnated; leaflets approxi-
mated, oblong, more or less clongated,rounded
at the summit, adhering to the rachis by the
whole of their base, with parallel veins, some
of which are much more strongly marked
than others.

Two species in the sandstone of the lias.

Stems only known.
Cycadesdee. Buckland (Mantellia, Brong.)
Stem roundish or oblong, covered with
densely imbricated scales, which are scored
at their apex.

Two species in the Portland stone,

DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS OF DOUBTFUL AFFINITY.

Genus 31.

Genus 82.

Genus 33.

Phyllotheca. Stem simple, straight, articu-
lated, surrounded at equal distances by
sheaths, having long linear leaves, which have
no distinct midrib.

One species in the coal formation.
Annularia. (Bornia, Sternberg.) Stem slen-
der, articulated, with opposite branches
springing from above its leaves; leaves ver-
ticillate, flat, usually obtuse, with a single
midrib united at the base, of unequal length,

Six or seven species in the coal formation.
Asterophyllites. (Bornia and Bruckmannia,
Sternberg.) Stem scarcely tumid at the
articulations, branched; leaves verticillate,
linear, acute, with a single midrib, quite dis-
tinct at the base; fruit, a one-seeded ovate,
compressed, nucule, bordered by a mem-
branous wing, and emarginate at the apex.

Twelve species in the coal formation; one
species in the transition beds.

This is probably an extremely heterogeneous assem-
blage, comprehending nearly all fossils, with narrow
veinless verticillate leaves that are not united in a cup
at their base.

Genus 34.

Bechira. Stem branched, jointed, tumid at
the articulations, deeply and widely furrow
ed; leaves verticillate, very narrow, acute,
ribless.

One species in the coal formation.
HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS.

Genus 35.

Genus 36.

Genus 37.

Genus 38.

Genus 89,

Genus 40,

Genus 41.

Genus 42.

Genus 43.

Genus 44.

Genus 45.

Gennes 46.

MARANTACER.
Cannophyllites. Leaves simple, entire, tra-
versed by a very strong midrib; veins oblique,
simple, parallel, all of equal size.

One species in a bed of coal supposed of
more recent origin than the old coal forma-
tion.

ASPHODELEA,
Stems only known.
Bucklandia. Stem covered by reticulated
fibres, giving rise to imbricated leaves which
are not amplexicaul, and the petioles of
which are distinct to their base.

One species in Stonesfield slate. Dr Buck-
land suggests the possibility of this being
the omentum of a cycadeous plant.
Clathraria, Stem composed of an axis, the
surface of which is covered by reticulated
fibres, and of a bark formed by the complete
union of the bases of petioles, whose inser-
tion is rhomboidal.

One species in the green sand.

Leaves only known,
Convallarites. Leaves verticillate, linear, with
parallel slightly marked veins; stem straight
or curved.

Two species in the variegated sandstone.

Flowers only known,
Antholithes. One species in the tertiary beds.
SMILACE.
Smilacites, Leaves heart-shaped or hastate,
with a well defined midrib, and two or three
secondary ribs on each side, parallel to the
edge of the leaf; veins reticulated.

One species in the lower fresh water for-

mation,
PALME.
Stems only known.
Palmacites, Stems cylindrical, simple, co-
vered by the bases of petiolated leaves,
petioles dilated and amplexicaul.

One species in the lower beds of the Lon-

don clay formation.
Leaves only known.
Flabellaria. Leaves petiolated, flabelliform,
divided into linear lobes, plaited at their base.

One species in the plastic clay formation.

One in the lower fresh water formation.

One in the London clay.

One in the coal formation.

Phenicites. Leaves petiolated, pinnated;
leaflets linear, united by pairs at the base,
their veins fine, and little marked.

One species in the tertiary formations.
Neggerathia. Leaves petiolated, pinnated;
leaflets obovate, nearly cuneiform, applied
against the edges of the petiole, toothed
towards their apex with fine diverging veins.

Two species in the coal measures.
Zeugophyllites. Leaves petiolated, pinnated ;
leaflets opposite, oblong, or oval, entire, with
a few strongly marked ribs, confluent at the
base and summit, all of equal thickness.

One species in the coal formation.

Fruit only known.
Cocos. Fruit ovate, slightly three-cornered,
marked with three orifices near the base.

Three species in the tertiary formation.

 

Genus 47,

Genus 48.

FLUVIALIS,

Zosterites. Leaves oblong or linear, marked
with a small number of equal veins, which
are at a marked distance from each other,
and are not connected by transverse veins.

Four species in the lower greensand for-
mation.

One in the lias.

Two species in the upper fresh water for-
mation.
Caulinites. (Amphytoites, Desm.) Stem
branched, bearing semi-annular, or neariy
annular scars of leaves, alternate in two oppo-
site rows, marked with little equal dots.

One species in the London clay.

MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS OF DOUBTFUL

Genus 49,

Genus 50.

Genus 51.

Genus 52,

Genus 53.

Genus 54,

Genus 55.
Genus 56.
Genus 57.

AFFINITY.
Stems only known.
Endogenites. This comprehends all fossil

endogenous stems that do not belong to any
of the genera characterised separately. It
is a mere ‘provisional assemblage of objects
to be further investigated.

Several species from the tertiary strata.
Culmites. Stems articulated with two or
more scars at the joints.

Three species in the tertiary beds.
Sternbergia, (Columnaria, Sternberg.) Stem
taper, slender, naked, cylindrical, terminat-
ing in a cone marked by transverse furrows,
but with no articulations; slight remains cf
a fleshy cortical integument.

Three species in the coal formation.

Leaves only known.
Poacites. All monocotyledonous leaves, the
veins of which are parallel, simple, of equal
thickness, and not connected by transverse
bars.

Several species in the coal formation.
Phyllites. (Potamophyllites, Brong.) All
monocotyledonous leaves, the veins of which
are confluent at the base and apex, and con-
nected by transverse Iuirs or secondary veins.

One species in the lower fresh water for-
mation.

Fruits only known.
Trigonocarpum, Two species in coal forma-
tion.
Amomocarpum. One speciesin tertiary beds.
Musocarpum. Two species in coal formation.
Pandanocarpum. One species in the tertiary
strata,

FLOWERING PLANTS OF UNCERTAIN

Genus 58.

Genus 59.

Genus 60.

CLASSES.

Gthophyllum. Stem simple; leaves alter-
nate, linear, ribless, not sheathing, having
at the base two smaller linear leaflets, or,
perhaps, stipules; inflorescencespiked ; spikes
ovate; flowers numerous, with a subcylin-
drical tube or inferior ovarium, and a bilabi-
ate perianthium, with subulate segments.
One species in the new red sandstone. M,
Brongniart refers this to the monocotyle-
dons. ‘
Echinostachys. Inflorescence an oblong spike,
beset on all sides with sessile, contiguous,
subconical flowers or fruits. :
One species in the new red sandstone.
Paleoxyris. Inflorescence, aterminal fusiform
spike, with appressed closely imbricated
Genus 61.

Genus 62.

Genus 63.

Genus 64.

Genus 65

Genus 66.

Genus 67.

Genus 68.

FOSSIL

scales. Its external portion, when it is not
covered by scales, rhomboidal, concave in
the middle.

One species in the new red sandstone.

CRYPTOGAMIC PLANTS.

EQUISETACE,

Equisetum. Stems articulated, surrounded
by cylindrical sheaths, which are regularly
tooth-letted, and pressed close to the stem.

One species in the London clay.

One in the variegated marls of the lias.

One in the lower oolite and lias.

Two in the coal formation.

Calamites. Stems jointed regularly and
closely furrowed, hollow, divided internally
at the articulations by a transverse dia-
phragm, covered with a thick cortical inte-
gument; leaves verticillate, very narrow,
numerous, and simple.

Two species in the transition beds.

Several species in the coal formation.

Two species in the new red sandstone.

Two in the new red sandstone and coal

formation.
Pachypteris. Leaves pinnated or bipinnated ;
leaflets entire, coriaceous, ribless, or one
ribbed, contracted at the base, but not adhe-
rent to the midrib.

Two species in the inferior oolite.
Sphenopteris. Leaves bi-tripinnatifid; leaf-
lets contracted at the base, not adherent to
the rachis, lobed, the lower lobes largest,
diverging, somewlat palmate; veins bipin-
nate, radiating as it were from the base.

One species in the sand below the chalk.

Two species in the new red sandstone.

Five species in the oolite.

Twenty-eight species in the coal forma-

tion.
Cyclopteris. Leaves simple, entire, some-
what orbicular; veins numerous, radiating
from the base, dichotomous, equal, midrib
wanting.

Four species in the coal formation.

One species in the transition rocks.

One in the oolite.

Glossopieris. Leaves simple, entire, some-
what lanceolate, narrowing gradually to the
base, with a thick vanishing midrib; veins
oblique, curved, equal, frequently dichoto-
mous, or sometimes anastomosing and reti-
culated at the base.

Two species in the coal formation.

One in the oolite.

One in the lias.

Neuropteris. Leaves bipinnate or rarely
pinnate; leaflets usually somewhat cordate
at the base, neither adhering to each other,
nor to the rachis by the whole base, only
by the middle portion of it; midrib vanish-
ing at the apex; veins oblique, curved, very
fine, dichotomous; /ructification, sori-lanceo-
late, even, covered with an indusium, arising
from the veins of the apex of the leaflets, and
often placed in the bifurcations.

Twenty-four species in the coal formation.

Three in the new red sandstone.

One in the anthracite of Savoy.

One in the Muschel kalk.

Odontopteris. Leaves bipinnated; leaflet
membranous, very thin, adhering by all their

PLANTS.

Genus 69.

Genus 70.

Genus 71.

Genus 72.

Genus 73.

Genus 74.

Genus 75.

Genus 76,

Genus 77.

Genus 78.

 

655

base to the rachis, with almost no midrib;
veins equal, simple, or forked, very fine, most
of them springing from the rachis.

Five species in the coal formation.
Anomopteris, Leaves pinnated; leaflets li-
near, entire, somewhat plaited transversely
at the veins, having a midrib; veins simple,
perpendicular, curved ; /ructification arising
from the veins uncertain as to form, perhaps,
dot-like, and inserted in the middle of the
veins, or perhaps, linear, attached to the
whole of a vein, naked, as in meniscia, or
covered by an indusium, opening inwardly.

One species in the new red sandstone.
Teniopteris, Leaves simple, entire, with a
stiff thick midrib; veins perpendicular, sim-
ple or forked at the base; /ructification dot-
like.

Three species in the lias and oolite.
Pecopteris, Leaf once, twice, or thrice pin-
nate; leaflets adhering by their base to the
rachis, or occasionally distinct; midrib run-
ning quite through the leaflet; veins almost
perpendicular to the midrib, simple, or once
or twice dichotomous.

Sixty species in the coal formation.

Ten in the oolite.

Two in the lias.

One in the beds above the chalk.
Lonchopteris. Leaf many times pinnatifid;
leaflets more or less connate at the base,
having a midrib; veins reticulated.

Two species in the coal formation.,

‘One in the greensand.

Clathropteris, Leaf deeply pinnatifid; leaf-
lets having a very strong complete midrib;
veins numerous and simple, parallel, almost
perpendicular to the midrib, united by trans-
verse veins, which form a net work of square
meshes upon the leaf.

One species in the lias.

Schizopteris. Leaf linear plane, without
midrib, finely striated, almost flabelliform,
dividing into several lobes which are linear
and dichotomous, or rather irregularly pin-
nated and erect; lobes dilated, and roundcd
towards the extremity.

One species in the coal formation.
Felicites. This comprehends all that are not
referable to the preceding genera.

One species in the new red sandstone.

Two species in the variegated marl of the

lias.
Caulopteris. Stem cylindrical, closely mark-
ed by large, oblong, convex, uneven scars,
wider than the tortuous depressed spaces
that separate them.

Two species in the coal formation.

One in the new red sandstone.

Otopteris. Leaf pinnated; leaflets originat-
ing obliquely from the side of the leaf stalk,
auricled, attached by about half their base,
destitute of all trace of midrib; veins of
equal size, very closely arranged, diverging
from their point of origin, and dividing
dichotomously at a very acute angle.

Three or four species from lias, oolite, and

new red sandstone. *
LYCOPODIACE.
Lycopodites. Branches pinnated; leaves in-

serted all round the stem in two opposite
656

Genus 79.

Genus 80.

Genus 81,

Genus 82,

Genus 83.

Genus 84,

Genus 85,

Genus 86,

Genus 87.

Genus 88.

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

rows, not leaving clear and well defined
scars,

‘Ten species in the coal formation.

One in the inferior oolite.

One in the lias sandstone.

One in the mar] below the chalk.
Selaginites. Stems dichotomous, not present-
ing regular elevations at the base of the
leaves, even near the lower end of the stems;
leaves often persistent, enlarged at their
base,

Two specics in the coal formation.
Lepidodendron. Stems dichotomous, covered
near their extremities by simple linear or
lanceolate leaves, inserted upon rhomboid
areole, lower part of the stems leafless, are-
ole longer than broad, marked near their
upper part by a minute scar, which is
broader than long, and has three angles, of
which the two lateral are acute, the lower
obtuse, the latter sometimes wanting.

Several species in the coal formation.
Ulodendron. Stem covered with rhomboidal
areole, which are broader than long, scars
large, few, placed over above the other, cir-
cular, composed of broad cuneate scales,
radiating from « common centre, and indi-
cating the former presence of organs that
were, perhaps, analogous to the cones of
conifere.

Two species in the coal measures, with,
perhaps, another genus Bothrodendron.
Lepidophyllum. Stem unknown; leaves ses-
sile, simple, entire, lanceolate or linear, tra-
versed by a single midrib, or by three paral-
lel ribs; no veins.

Five species in the coal formation.
Lepidostrobus. Cones ovate or cylindrical,
composed of imbricated scales, inserted by
a narrow base, around a cylindrical woody
axis, their points sometimes dilated and
recurved in the form of rhomboidal disks;
seed solitary, oblong, not winged, nearly as
long as the scales.

Five species in the coal formation.
Cardiocarpon. Fruit compressed, lenticular,
heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, terminated
by a sharpish point.

Five species in coal formation.

MUSCI.
Muscites. Stem simple or branched, fili-
form with membranous leaves, having scarce-
ly any midrib, and being sessile or amplexi-
caul, imbricated or somewhat spreading.

Two species in beds above the chalk.

CHARACER,
Chara. (Gyrogenites,ZLamk.) Fruit oval or
spheroidal, consisting of five valves twisted
spirally, a small opening at each extremity;
stems friable, jointed, composed of straight
tubes arranged in a cylinder.

Five species in beds above the chalk.

ALG,
Confervites. Filaments simple or branched,
divided by internal partitions.

Two species in the chalk marl.

Fucoides. Frond continuous, never articu-
lated, usually not symmetrical or subeylin-
drical, simple or oftener branched, naked, or
more commonly leafly, or membranous, en-
tire, or more or less lobed, with no ribs, or

 

imperfectly marked ones, which branch in an
irregular manner, and never anastomose.
Four species in the transition rocks.
Seven in the bitumenous strata.
Three in the oolite.
Eleven in the chalk.
Eleven in the London clay.

PLANTS, THE AFFINITY OF WHICH IS
ALTOGETHER UNCERTAIN.

Sigillaria, (Rhytidolepis, alveolaria, favu-
laria, calenaria, &c., Sternberg.) Stem coni-
eal, deeply furrowed, not jointed, scars
placed between the furrows in rows, not
arranged in a distinctly spiral manner,
smooth, much narrower than the intervals
that separate them,

About forty species in the coal formation.
Volkmannia, Stem striated, articulated ;
leaves collected in approximated dense
whorls.

Three species in coal.

These are possibly the leaves of calamites.
Carpolithes. Under this name are arranged
all the fossil fruits to which no other place
is assigned. :

Genus 89.

Genus 90.

Genus 91.

FosstL PLANTS FORMING coaL. There can be
no doubt but that the valuable and important
mineral, coal, has owed its origin to vegetable
bodies. On examining a seam of coal, the
upper layer of shale which forms the roof
will be found to contain innumerable im-
pressions of vegetable stems and leaves, most
beautifully and faithfully preserved. Sometimes
large portions of the trunks of trees are found
traversing the centres of the coal seam; but in
general, the central mass has been so compressed,
and has undergone such a chemical change, as to
obliterate almost all marks of its vegetable ori-
gin, and a mass of semi-crystallized bituminous
matter alone remains. Yet, even in this bitu-
minous mass, traces are occasionally to be found
of organized structure. In thin slices of the
three varieties of Neweastle coal, Mr Hutton
thus describes the appearances of organization.
“ Each of these three kinds of coal, besides the
fine distinct reticulation of the original vegeta-
ble texture, exhibits other cells, which are filled
with a light wine-yellow coloured matter, appa-
rently of a bituminous nature, and which is so
volatile, as to be entirely expelled by heat before
any change is effected in the other constituents
of the coal. The number and appearance of
these cells vary with each variety of coal.
In caking coal, the cells are comparatively few,
and are highly elongated. In the finest por-
tions of this coal, where the crystalline struc-
ture, as indicated by the rhomboidal form of
its fragments, is most developed, the cells
are completely obliterated. The slate coal
contains two kinds of cells, both of which are
filled with yellow bituminous matter. One kind
is that already noticed in caking coal, while
the other kind constitute groups of smaller
cells of an elongated circular figure. In those
FOSSIL PLANTS.

varieties which go under the name of cannel,
parrot, and splint coal, the crystalline structure,
so conspicuous in fine caking coal, is wholly
wanting. The first kind of cells are rarely seen,
and the whole surface displays an almost uni-
form series of the second class of cells, filled
with bituminous matter, and separated from
each other by their fibrous divisions; and it seems
probable, that these cells are derived from the
reticular texture of the parent plant, rounded
and confined by the enormous pressure to which
the vegetable matter has been subject.” In the
more perfectly preserved specimens of fossil coal
called jet, the ligneous structure is very apparent;
so much so, as to indicate the kind of plant to
which the coal owed its formation. The great
extent and thickness of the coal fields in various
parts of the world, show the vast quantities of
vegetable matter which must have gone to the
formation of them. Nearly one half of the sur-
face of the west and north west part of Eng-
land is composed of coal strata ; and the coal
fields of Newcastle cover an area of about 200
square miles, Besides these, there are extensive
coal districts in Wales, in the southern part of
Scotland, and in Ireland. Coal fields are also
found on various parts of the continent of Eu-
rope, in North America, in New Holland, and
within the arctic circles, as well as in the tropi-
cal parts of India.

These coal deposits are usually formed in
hollow troughs, in successive layers varying in
thickness from a few inches, to 10 and 20 feet,
and alternating at various intervals with strata
of sandstone and clay shale. The lowermost
layer of the coal seam is generally composed of
a hard clay ironstone, with a considerable ad-
mixture of earthy matters, while the upper
layers or roof of the seam is formed of a clay
strata rich in impressions of ferns and other coal
plants. From the entire state of preservation
in which these delicately formed plants are thus
found, the conclusion has been drawn, that the
greater number of the vegetable bodies have
grown on the spot, or at least very near to

where they are now found deposited; while on |”

the other hand, the large rounded, branchless, and
imperfect trunks of trees which are not unfre-
quently found irregularly interspersed among

the coal strata, would as distinctly point out that |

many trees and vegetables had been drifted from
other localities into the troughs which they now
occupy.

Perhaps, if we suppose wide and extended
tracts of level marshy ground, interspersed with
lakes, through which large rivers flowed, in
occasionally accelerated and flooded courses into
the neighbouring ocean, we shall have a pretty
good idea of the state of the country during the
period when the carboniferous strata were form-
ed. We must also suppose, that various changes

 

657

of level had taken place curing this period, by
which the waters of the ocean sometimes en-
croached, and at other times retreated from the
flat level shores; and that finally, by volcanic
agencies, the whole had been broken up, and
elevated into the positions which the coal fields
at the present day present to our view.

The principal families of plants composing the
coal strata, are ferns, calamites, lycopodiacee,
sigillarie, stigmarie, and trees of the conifers
and palm tribes. ‘The same fossil plants, as al-
ready mentioned, are found throughout the
whole known coal fields in every region of the
globe; so that if we suppose these coal fields to
be nearly of contemporaneous origin—and of this
too there is strong proof, from their similar rela-
tive position with regard to other strata—we have
strong reasons for supposing that a similar tem-
perature, and a uniform distribution of the same
vegetable products, existed at that period on the
earth’s surface. That this temperature was ap-
proaching to tropical, we have also reason to
suppose, from the nature of the vegetables, most
of which are allied to families which are now
intertropical, or natives of climates with a higher
temperature than that of Britain at the present
day.

We shall now shortly describe some of the
most remarkable plants of the coal series.

Leprpopenpron, (Sternbergii.) This is one
of the most common fossil plants of the coal fields.

230.

 

b ¢ Lepidostrobus

Sternber gii.
d@ Lepidophyllum.

a Lepidodendron,
variabilis.

The figure represents only a portion or upper
branch of the plant. The rhomboidal spaces
with which the whole is regularly marked, were
the base of the leaves, which appear to have becn
linear, lanceolate, and slightly incurved. The de-
pression seen a little above thecentre of the spaces,
was the point where the leaves were attached ;
and the dark line which runs from this point
downwards, was probably an original depression,
unconnected with the union of the leaf. ‘The

general structure of the lepidodendron appears
4o
658

to have been intermediate between the conifers
and the lycopodiacee. They are very common
both in the coal seams, and in the accompanying
sandstones of tlie coal measures, and stems, from
20 to 45 feet in length, are frequently met with
in the north of England. “In conifere,” says
Professor Lindley, “ the leaves are arranged upon
the stem in two very different ways: First, in the
species having what botanists denominate fasci-
cled foliage, such as the Scotch fir, the pinaster,
and Weymouth pine; the first leaves that are
developed, are brown and membranous, ro]l back,
and wither away, almost immediately after the
young branch has acquired its firstgrowth. From
the axilla of each of these sprouts forth a bud,
which never or rarely elongates, but which pro-
duces several leaves, the outermost of which are
membranous, and perishable like the first ; but
the innermost, narrow and rigid, forming the
permanent green foliage of the species; in those
where the foliage has fallen away, the stem is
covered with numerous narrow projections,
thickest at the upper end, where the remains of
withered leaves are visible, arranged spirally with
great symmetry, and separated by intervals usu-
ally equal at least to twice the breadth of the
projections. Secondly, in the species in which
the leaves are solitary, as in the spruce, fir, and
ayaucaria, the leaves that arc originally developed
when the young shoot forms, never undergo any
material alteration, but are those which subse-
quently become the green foliage of the plant;
none, or few apparent axillary buds are develop-
ed; and finally, the leaves either separate by a
clean scar of a rhomboidal or a roundish figure,
with a depressed point in its middle, where the
vascular bundle connecting the stem and leaf was
broken through, or separate imperfectly, leaving
behind an irregular mark upon a rhomboidal
areola. The yew is an instance of the former,
the araucaria of the latter. In all cases, the
scars on the rhomboidal areole are disposed ina
spiral manner, with the most exact symmetry.
With coniferous plants of the latter kind, lyco-
podiacee accord so much in the arrangement of
their leaves, and consequently in the appearance
of the surface of the stems after the leaves have
fallen, that it would be difficult to point out any
difference, except that they are often, as in Zyco-
podium clavatum, rigidum, divaricatum, a less
spiral, having a tendency to become verticillate.
Lepidodendron accord equally with coniferw and
lycopodiacem, in the arrangement of the scars of
the leaves,

The foliage of certain conifers, such as arau-
caria and of lycopodiacee, is so similar, that
their casts would Je scarcely distinguishable,
except by the larger size of the former. Lepido-
dendra accord better with conifere than with
lycopodiacee in this respect. The ramifications
of coniferze and lyeopodiacez are essentially dif-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

ferent. In the former, the branches arise from
the same place, on opposite sides of the main
stem, often assuming a verticillate arrangement.
In the latter, the branches bifurcate whenever
a new bud is brought into action, so that the
whole of the divisions are dichotomous, and the
same takes place in the inflorescence whenever
the latter is composed, as in DL. phlegmaria.
Hence, lepidodendra are more related to lycopo-
diaceze than to coniferee in their manner of
branching; and as dichotomous ramifications are
extremely rare in recent plants, this cireum-
stance, taken together with their other charac-
ters, strengthens M. Brongniart’s opinion of their
strong analogy with lycopodiacee. The tex-
ture and size of lycopodiacee and coniferze are
very dissimilar. The former are soft cellular
plants, with small, creeping, or erect stems, no
bark, and an imperfect formation of a woody
axis; the latter are large trees with a thick bark,
and a hard woody centre, which is incapable of
compression by any ordinary force. With nei-
ther tribe do lepidodendra agree in these points;
they resemble ly copodiacee in their soft stem; for
specimens some inches in diameter are found so
compressed, as to be nothing more than a thin
plate; but they agree with conifer in the size
they seem to have attained, and in the presence
of bark, although that part is thin compared
with the bark of recent conifer,

There are several species of lepidodendron hay-
ing distinct characters.

Lepidodendron selaginoides has circular scars,
and short compactly imbricated leaves.

LE. obovatum, with obovate areole, with a
rounded apex, a tapering base, the central ridge
even and undivided, and the scar at the apex of
the areole bounded by a nearly circular outline.
Large specimens are found on the continent and
in Britain, in the coal seams, some 45 feet long,
and 43 feet in diameter.

L. elegans, scars similar to L, Sternbergii, but
the leaves much smaller and more delicate, and
the branches more slender and delicate.

 

- L
a Cardiocarpum acutum. 6 Lepidostrobus pinaster.
o Lepidostrobus ornatus.
Carpiocarrum acutum. (Fig. a, cut 231,)
found in groups in the shale from the Jarrow
colliery, Newcastle. ach grain is lenticular,
FOSSIL PLANTS.

acute at one end, and obtuse at the other; an
elevated line runs through the axis, and there is
in many an inner circle, with marks of a scar.
Their seeds, which are small, probably grew in
heads or clusters, and in pairs, not adherent to
the calyx. They were probably seeds of a dico-
tyledonous plant, but of what kind it is impos-
sible to form a conjecture.

Leprposrronus. Oblong bodies (8, ¢, cut 230, )
are of frequent occurrencealong with the fragments
of the lepidodendron and ulodendron. They are
evidently seed vessels, somewhat similar to the
cones of the conifere, and have been conjectured
to be the cones of the lepidodendrons and ulo-
dendrons. Altheugh found plentifully associ-
ated with the stems of these fossils, no specimen
has occurred where they were actually attached.
‘Two or three species have been distinguished.
L. ornatus, l. variabilis, and 1. comosus. They
consist of a conical axis, around which a quan-
tity of scales are compactly imbricated, and
pointing from the base upwards, (cut 280, fig.
c.) Sometimes, however, in specimens, (cut
231, fig. c,) they are apparently turned down-
wards, which is perhaps owing to their having
been forcibly compressed from above downwards.
The specimens vary much according to their
age. ‘
Lepidophylium, (Fig. d, cut 230.) These lance-
clate figures appear to be the leaflets of the lepi-
dodendron.

 

Ulodendron.

Uxopenpron. ‘The plants to which the fossil
fragments so frequently found in the coal strata
must have belonged, and to which the name of
ulodendron has been given, must have borne a
near resemblance to the lepidodendron ; indeed,
by some, the former are supposed to be only
older specimens of the latter, with their areole
altered by age and the lateral expansion of the
bark. There are grounds for supposing, how-
ever, that the ulodendrons are distinct plants,
and that they may have formed a family allied

 

659

to the lepidodendrons. The general markings of
the bark will be seen from the figure to be some-
what different in shape from the areole of the
lepidodendron; and interspersed over the surface
of the bark at irregular intervals are larger
scars, which may have been the points of at-
tachment of branches or masses of inflorescence.
“ They are,” says Mr Lindley, “ connected with
these scars, two considerations of much impor-
tance. Ist. That the supposed masses of inflo-
rescence were not only neither terminal, nor dis-
posed spirally upon the stem, but were also pro-
duced upon the old trunks, and not upon the
young branches, circumstances at variance with
any thing we know of recent conifers or lyco-
podiacee; and, 2dly. That the scars are placed
one beneath the other, and not spirally, or alter-
nately upon the stem. The stems were most
likely cylindrical, though the fossils have been
rendered flat by pressure. Two species have
been enumerated, uw. majus, and w. minus, but
the latter may only be a younger specimen of
the former.

Boruropenpron Pounctatrum, Lindley. Two
specimens were found in the Newcastle coal seam.
“ Upon the surface of the stem are discoverable
a considerable number of minute dots, arranged
in a quincuncial manner, something less than
half an inch apart, and it is probable that these
may be the scars of leaves, at intervals of ten or
twelve inches; the stem is marked with deep
circular concavities four or five inches across,
at the bottom of each of which is a distinct,
fracture, indicating that something has been
broken out, while the sides of the concavities
have concentric marks, as if from the pressure
upon the rounded scales. Fragments were
found in these cavities, which show that they
are the points of attachment of very large cones,
consisting, as far as can be made out from what
is left of rounded polished scales, three-tenths of
an inch thick, attached to acentral axis, and fit-
ting accurately to each other. Upon the whole,
they have so completely the appearance of the
base of such a strobilus as that of Pinus Lam-
bertiana, that we cannot doubt that the plant
belonged to the natural order conifere, In re-
cent plants, however, we have nothing at all
like this in the manner in which the cones ap-
pear, for it seems as if they grew from the old
trunk, unless, indeed, we are to suppose, of which
there is no proof, that the plant knew no seasons,
but grew with such rapidity that its branches
had acquired by the second year a diameter of
seven or eight inches.”*

Siettzaria. This is a genus of which there
are several species, very commonly found in the
coal fields. The stem is conical, deeply marked
at intervals with furrows, but not jointed. Nu-

* Vossil Flora, Vol. IL
660

merous scars are situated between the furrows,
arranged in rows. ‘The specimens are generally
found in two states: Ist. With the bark entire,
in which case the scars are clean, broad, and well
defined ; 2d. Where the bark has been destroyed,
and nothing is seen but the passage through
which the vessels of the leaf communicated with
the stem. In these latter, the scars are narrow,
small, indistinct, and often double.

Large portions of these stems are frequently
found lying across the strata, having escaped
compression, with roots proceeding from them
on all sides. They are generally surrounded by
a coating of coal about an inch in thickness.
The longitudinal flutings with the scars are often
awanting, or very indistinct, on the lower or
root portions of the larger stems. The stem has
heen originally hollow, and in the fossil state
is filled with sandstone, very generally of a dif-
ferent kind from that of the enveloping strata,
a proof that these plants have been drifted from

233.

Shale

 

a Sigillana pachyderma. b Branched fragment of root.

a different locality. The wood cut represents
one of these fossils found immediately above
the coal in Killingworth colliery, near New-
castle.* The lower part was two feet in dia-
meter, coated with coal, and indistinctly fluted;
the roots were imbedded in shale, and could be
traced four feet or more from the stem, branch-
ing, and gradually growing less. Fig. & repre-
sents one of the larger roots. These roots, as
well as the whole of the stem, were composed
of fine grained white sandstone, totally different
from the rock in which the lower portion of the
fossil was enveloped, but agreeing perfectly with
a bed surrounding the higher part. At the
height of about ten feet, the stem was partially
broken and bent over, so as to become horizon-
tal; and here it was considerably distended late-
rally, and not more than an inch thick, having
the flutings comparatively distinct. This stem
formed one of a considerable group, not less than
thirty being visible within an area of fifty yards

* Lindley and Hutton’s Fossil Flora, Vol. I.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

square, some of them larger than this individual,
all presenting the same general characters ; and
the perpendicular trunks of this fossil are often
the cause of serious accidents to the colliers, as
the coally envelope weakens the cohesion of
the strata, causes them to detach themselves,
and suddenly slip out of the roof after the seam
of coal has been removed from below, when they
leave large circular holes, sometimes four to five
feet in diameter. M. Brongniart describes a
stem which he traced in the strata of the coal
mines of Kunzwerk, near Essen, as extending
along the line of the strata for forty feet, its dia-
meter gradually decreasing towards the top, when
it branched out into two, each branch being about
four inches in diameter. Some have associated
the sigillarie with the tree ferns, others with
the cactee. From the sigillaria having a true
and distinct bark, they are in all probability
dicotyledonous.

There are several species; sigillaria pachyder-
ma. WS. alternans, with a double row of approxi-
mated oval scars, each with a smaller scar in the
centre. S. reniformis, with roundish kidney-
shaped er double approximated scars, with a
point in the centre. &. catenulata, with oval
scars, united at the ends, forming a sort of chain.
S. oculata, with large oval scars, and an eye in
the centre.

Catamites. Theses which are also abundant
in the coal strata, appear to have been branch-
ing plants, with hollow stems, and a distinctly
separated wood and bark, often many feet in
length, and readily separating at their joints, The
whole substance appears to have been very soft
and reed-like, so as to be easily compressed, the
internal cavities at the joints most probably sup-
ported by horizontal partitions. The surface of
the stems was marked with numerous parallel
furrows, converging in pairs towards the joints,

234

 

a Calamites mugeotii. b Partition of # joint.

and then turning abruptly inwards. They were
branching plants, as the figure above shows,
FOSSIL

These branches proceed from the joint, gradually
thicken towards the middle, and taper again to-
wards the extremities, the one of these branches
divides into two at the top. In this specimen,
which was found in the Edinburgh carbonifer-
ous sandstone, by H. Witham, Esq., there is no
trace of leaves. It appears identical with the
c. mungeotiz, found by Brongniart in the new
red sandstone of the Vosges, Fig. }, is one of
the internal partitions of the joints, and such are
frequently found in iron nodules. ‘The stems of
calamites were hollow, and readily yielded to
pressure, without being much altered. They
often contain in the interior fragments of ferns
and other plants. They probably had a distinct
wood and bark; at least, such is the opinion of
Brongniart. From this circumstance, they may
belong to the dicotyledonous plants, although
they have been compared to the equisetacee.
Young branches have been discovered, not, how-
ever, attached to the trunks, with small whorled
leaves. ‘here are several species not by any
means distinctly identified.

ASTEROPHYLLITES. Only fragments have hi-
therto been obtained of this genus, which consist
of cylindrical stems, with short joints, about
near as broad as they are long, with small verti-
cillate leaves. They bear a close resemblance to
the calamites, only the longitudinal furrows are
not present on the stem. -They were probably
dicotyledons. They are found occasionally in
the coal strata.

Sriemarra Ficorpes, This is, perhaps, the most
common and abundant plant composing the coal
seams, and has been early taken notice of, and
described by many writers on the subject. It
appears, also, to differ so much from all known
vegetable productions of the present era, as to
merit the distinction of an entirely new class
of plants. From the numerous quantities of
this plant, which are found scattered among
the coal, shale, and accompanying sandstones
of the carboniferous series, there can be no

‘doubt that it was one of those vegetables
which have mainly contributed to the forma-
tion of coal, and on this account also, its struc-
ture and supposed habits merit particular at-
tention. The usual form in which the frag-
ments of this fossil are met with, is that of a
cylinder, more or less compressed, and generally
flatter on one side than the other; not unfre-
quently the flattened side turns in, so as to
form a groove. The surface is marked in quin-
cuncial order, with spots, or rather depressed
circles or areole, with a rising in the middle, in
the centre of which rising a minute speck is
often observable. From different modes and
degrees of compression, and probably from dif-
ferent states of the original vegetable, these
areol# assume very different appearances; some-
times running into indistinct rime, like the bark

PLANTS. 661
of an aged willow ; sometimes as in the shale,
impressions exhibiting little more than a neat
sketch of the concentric circles. It is supposed
that these circles are the marks of the attach-
ment of the peduncles of leaves; these leaves or
spines also appear to have been cylindrical, and
often of considerable length. Woodward long
ago remarked, that along the flattened or grooved
side of the cylinder, there frequently ran an in-
cluded cylinder, which at one extremity of the
specimen would approach the outside, so as al-
most to leave the trunk, while at the other it
seemed nearly central. These internal cylinders
were frequently flattened from pressure. Occa-
sionally the specimens are found forked or
branched, and in one or two instances, a termi-
nal portion has been discovered when the point
was obtuse, “closing from a thickness of three
inches, to an obtuse point.”

We have said that fragments only of the plant
are generally found, but several more entire and
perfect specimens have been discovered in the
Newcastle coal seams, by which the original
structure can be more accurately determined.
From these, it appears that the stigmaria, instead
of growing upwards and spreading out its arms
from a vertical trunk, was a prostrate plant, and
sent out its succulent cylindrical branches, which
were sometimes forked, from a central convex
cup or trunk,

235.

 

Stigmaria Ficoides.

The wood cut, which is an attempted restora-
tion of the original form of the plant, from the
various fragmentary views given of it, will point
out the mode of its growth.

In one specimen obtained from the Jarrow
colliery, Newcastle, the central trunk measures
three feet in diameter; fifteen arms, four of which
are distinctly branched, were counted on another
specimen, the lengths of the fragments of which
varied from four feet downwards. Steinham
calculates that these arms may have exceeded
twenty feet in length. To show the multitude of
these fossil plants, no less than fourteen stems
were discovered in Jarrow colliery, within a space
of 600 yards square. Huge masses of shalely
sandstone, dug out of the upper beds of the Craig-
leith quarries, near Edinburgh, have also exhi-
bited innumerable fragments of the stigmaria ;
and one block of several tons’ weight examined
by us, appeared to contain a large plant with
its long arms and massy central cup several feet

 

in diameter. From a fragment of stigmaria
662

preserved in the ironstone of Colebrookdale, the
following structure was apparent on sliced sec-
tions being made. The transverse section exhi-
bited a meshing, something like that of the coni-
fere, but with no concentric circles, and with the
medullary rays consisting rather of open spaces
petween the other tissue, than of the common
muriform tissue found in such places. The longi-
tudinal sections presented an assemblage of spi-
ral vessels of a very tortuous and unequal figure,
without any woody or cellular matter intermix-
ed. These formed a cylinder, which was sur-
rounded externally by a mass of organic mineral
matter, upon whose surface the peculiar mark-
ings of stigmaria were preserved, and which
enclosed a hollow cavity, altogether destitute of
mineral deposit. It would, therefore, appear,
that the stigmaria was a plant with a very thick
cellular coating or bark surrounding a hollow
cylinder, composed exclusively of spiral vessels,
and containing a rather thick pith ; and that the
plates of cellular tissue which preserved the com-
munication between the bark and the pith, were
of so delicate an organization, that they disap-
peared under the mineralizing process which
fixed the organic character of the woods. On
the whole, then, it appears that this curious and
unique specimen of ancient vegetation was a
prostrate horizontally spreading plant, with suc-
culent cylindrical branches, and, perhaps, leaves,
and that it belonged to the dicotyledonous divi-
sion, and, perhaps, was allied to the cactew or
euphorbiacee. The stapelias of the Cape of Good
Hope, and the carallumas of India, have a branch-
ing habit similar to that of stigmaria, but other-
wise their structure is different. Of rapid growth,
and frequenting probably a level, flat, and muddy
soil, with an elevated temperature, and abun-
dance of moisture, this plant appears admirably
adapted for forming those accumulations of car-
bonaceous matter, of which we find the coal
beds exclusively composed. From the state of
preservation in which the originally soft and suc-
culent portions of this plant are found, it appears
pretty evident that it must have grown in the
situations, or very nearly adjoining to where it
now exists; or at all events, could not have been
far transported with any great agitation or vio-
lence. M. Steinhaur thus endeavours to explain
the probable manner in which these fossils have
been preserved. “ Annual decay, or an accumu-
lation of incumbent mud, having deprived the
trunks of the vegetating principle, the clay would
be condensed by superior pressure around the
dead plant, so as to form a species of matrix. If
this took place so rapidly, that the mould had
obtained a considerable degree of consistency
before the texture of the vegetable was destroyed
by putrefaction, the reliquium was cylindrical;
if, on the contrary, the new formed stratum con-
tinued to subside, while the decomposition was

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

going on, it became flattened, and the inferior
part might even be raised up towards the yield-
ing substance in the inside, so as to produce the
groove or crest on the under side, in the same
manner as the floor in coal works is apt to rise
when the measures are soft, and the roof and sides
have been secured. While the principal mass of
the plant was reduced to a soft state and gradu-
ally carried away or assimilated with mineral
infiltrated matter, the central pith being unsup-
ported, would sink towards the under side, and
this the more sensibly, when its texture was
most distinct, while its anterior extremity would
probably go into putrefaction with, and be lost
in, the more tender part of the plant. The mi-
neral matter introduced would now form an
envelope round the pith where this resisted
decomposition for a sufficient length of time ;
and when it was ultimately removed, if the sur-
rounding mass was still sufficiently pervious, be
also filled with argillaceous matter; or if it was
too much indurated, be left empty, which is the
case occasionally. The epidermis or external
integument of the vegetable appears to have
resisted decomposition the longest, as in many
cases it has been preserved from putrefaction in
the manner necessary to change it into coal; its
place more frequently, however, is occupied by
a ferrugineous micaceous film. It therefore ap-
pears that the original plants must have under-
gone a destruction by putrefaction, and the va-
cuities thus occasioned been very rapidly filled
up with mineral matter. rom this, several
interesting conclusions may be drawn. The for-
mation of these strata from the deposit of water
is clearly ascertained; also, that the argillaceous
strata in question must have been, when origin-
ally deposited, of nearly the same thickness as they
now are, as appears from the undisturbed position
of the vegetables, of which they were once the bed
and are now the tomb. On the other hand, the
strata of coal or slate clay, appear to have origin-
ated froma great number of successive depositions,
which must have been of a very diluted consis-
tence when vegetation became extinct in the
plants, of which they now bear the impressions.
All these strata must be supposed to have been
successively at no great depth from the surface
of the water resting upon them, that these plants
might be supplied with air; and the situation
in which they are found precludes the possibi-
lity of any motion of that sea sufficiently vio-
lent to disturb the bottom. The general diffu-
sion of this, and several of the following species,
strongly suggests the belief, that all the coal
strata. through which they are dispersed owe
their existence to a similar origin.”

Favutarra Tessetata. This fossil was found
in a bed of sandstone overlying the coal strata at
Garthen colliery, Denbighshire. One or two
other specimens have been found in other loca-
FOSSIL PLANTS,

lities, but the plant is comparatively rare. This
fossil is a mould of fine grained sandstone, and

 

Favularia Tessclata,

was about three feet long. It retains, on one
side, some of the carbonized vegetable substance
which also fills the cavities of many of the scars;
it is clearly and beautifully detached from the
enveloping sandstone on three sides, and some-
what flattened, so that a transverse section would
be an oval. The rows of scars run longitudin-
ally or parallel with the axis of the stem, with
perfect regularity, each row being separated by
@ groove; the rows are narrower and more strong-
ly marked on the side, which, from its shape,
would appear to have been subjected to the least
pressure. The scars in the middle of the area
are somewhat club-shaped, the central lobe much
elongated, and very various in width, and not so
deeply sunk as the shorter lateral ones. There
is no indication of a central woody axis; and it
appears to have been the stem of some plant, the
leaves of which were placed so close together,
that their bases, which were square, were in con-
tact. It was probably dicotyledonous, and per-
haps allied to sigillaria. ’

Frnns. There are numerous species of ferns
found in the carboniferous strata, most com-
monly in the shale forming the roofs of the coal
seams; but also frequently in the sandstone and
fresh water limestone underlying the sandstone.
These ferns are often beautifully preserved, yet
asin the recent species, it is often difficult to
arrange and classify them. Like the other vege-
table fossils of the lower strata, they differ consi-
derably from recent genera and species, to which
they are naturally allied.

In the known numbers of existing plants, ferns
bear a very considerable proportion. Thus we
have about 1500 known ferns, and 45,000 phan-
erogamic plants, being in the proportion of 1 to
80. In Europe, this proportion varies from 1°35,
to 1:80. In the tropics, the numbers are 1°36,
and 1-20. The circumstances most favourable
to the growth of these plants are humidity,
heat, and shade, and thus they find favourable
habitats in small wooded tropical islands, where
the surrounding ocean affords a constant supply
of moisture.

 

663

In the coal strata, ferns greatly predominate
over all other vegetables. The present ascer-
tained number is about 120 species, forming
nearly a half of the fossil flora. These species
for the most part belong to the tribe of polypo-
diacese. In the table already given, we have
inserted the genera, and the following figures
will give a sufficient idea of a few of the species,

2376

 

Neuroptcris
loshii.

Neuroptoris
gigantea.

Neuropters
accuminata.

 

Sphenopteris
affinis.

Pecopteris
heterophyllum.

Sphenopteris
dilatata.

In general, these ferns are most beautifully pre-
served in the shale, and especially in some kinds
of fresh water limestone, as that of Burdiehouse,
near Edinburgh. In the bituminous shale at
Wardie, near Edinburgh, some specimens of the
sphenoteris affinis are so perfectly preserved, as to
admit of portions of the plant being taken up
entire, and pasted on paper like a recent fern.
Several fragments of the larger stems of arbor-
escent ferns are occasionally met with in the coal
strata.

Lycopopires WILLIAMsonts, (see cut 288, fig.a.)
This fossil plant is very common in the oolite of
Scarborough. It appears to have been a creeping
plant, like the recent /ycopodium clavatum. The
stem is frequently branched, and concealed by the
base of the leaves, which are sessile, and of an
acute filiform shape; one or two strongly marked
ridges run up the centre of each leaf, which ap-
pear to be the edges of angles. The leaves are
opposite, with frequently smaller ones interme-
diate. The surface of the stem is covered with
scales, apparently the base of leaves which have
lost their points. The stems are terminated by
a large oval head or cone, which is covered with
small hook-like processes, similar in form to the
leaflets, but smaller. When the bituminous
664

substance is destroyed, there are strongly marked
rhomboidal spaces looking like scars. These
heads are rare, though the fragments of the plant
are in abundance. The fossils are much larger
in size than any recent allied species. In the
specimen figured in the cut, the come is upon
the main stem, but cones are also found in the
lateral branches. These cones very much resem-
ble those described under the name of lepidos-
trobus, and the plants may have been similar.
CoxirEr&. A considerable number of fossil
species of coniferee have been discovered, both
in the secondary and tertiary strata. It is only
within the last few years, however, that species
of the true conifere, analogous to existing pines
and araucarias, have been identified in the coal
measures. Large trunks of trees have been
found in the sandstone strata, near Edinburgh,
as well as in the Newcastle coal fields, which,
from the pecularity of their internal struc-
ture, leave no doubt of their having been of the
pine tribe. The peculiar structure of the coni-
feree, has already been alluded to and illustrated
by the figure in Plate I. By these it will be
seen that the transverse sections of such woods,
in addition to the usual medullary rays and
concentric lines of annual growth, exhibit under
the microscope a system of reticulations, by
which they are distinguishable from all other
plants. In longitudinal sections again, a system
of vessels called dises, with central areole, are
also visible, and these vary in the different ge-
nera, so as to afford data for the discrimination
of the araucarias from the other conifere. This
discovery is due to the ingenuity and perseve-
rance of William Nicol, Esq. of Edinburgh.* In
some conifere, the discs are in single, and in
others in double and triple rows. Throughout
the whole family of existing pines, where double
rows of discs occur, the discs of both rows are
placed side by side, and never alternate, and the
number of rows of discs is never more than two.
In the araucarias, the groups of discs are arranged
in single, double, triple, and sometimes quadru-
ple rows. They are general]y smaller than those
in the true pines, about half their size, and in
the double rows, they always alternate with each
other, and are sometimes circular, but mostly
polygonal. Mr Nicol has counted a row of not
less than fifty discs in a length of the twentieth
part of an inch, the diameter of each disc net
exceeding the thousandth part of an inch; but
even the smallest of these are of great size, when
compared with the fibres of the partitions bound-
ing the vessels in which they occur. A fossil
trunk of an araucaria was found in Craigleith
quarry, near Edinburgh, in 1830. Another
mass twenty-four feet long, and three feet in dia-
meter, was partially exposed in the same quar-

* Edin, Phil. Journal.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

rics, in 1888, and a third in the Wardie quar-
ries in 1839. The longitudinal sections of these
trees exhibit a structure exactly similar to the
sections of the recent araucaria excellsa, that is,
there are small polygonal dises arranged in dou-
ble, triple, and quadruple rows, with the longi-
tudinal vessels.

Specimens of the conifer are not uncommon
in the las and oolite formations; and Brong-
niart has enumerated twenty species in the
tertiary strata. Branches of the araucaria, with
the leaves still adhering to them, have been found
in the lias of Lyme Regis.

A portion of the araucaria peregrina wasfound
in the lias of Lyme, Dorsetshire. It is a very
perfect specimen of a branch with the imbricated
leaves, which are larger and blunter than the a.
excelsa of Norfolk island, but in other respects re-
markablysimilar. My Nicol remarks, that in fos-
sil woods from the Whitby lias, where concentric
layers are distinctly marked on their transverse
section, the longitudinal sections have also the
structure of pines; but when the transverse sec-
tion exhibits no distinct annual layers, or has
them but slightly indicated, the longitudinal sec-
tion has the characters of araucarias. So also
those conifere of the coal formation of Edin-
burgh and Newcastle, which exhibit the struc-
ture of araucaria in their longitudinal section
have no distinct concentric layers, whilst in the
fossil coniferee from the New Holland and Nova
Scotia coal field, both longitudinal and transverse
sections agree with those of the recent tribe of
pines.

238

 

a Lycopodites. williamsonis.
¢ Trigonocarpum noggerathii.
ee Carpolithes conica.

g Lepidodendron oocephala.

bv Pinus primeva.
d Pinus cinariensis.
f Zamia ovata.

hh Carpolithes.

Fig. dis a cone of pinus canariensis, found in
tertiary strata in Spain, and apparently analo-
cous to pines at present growing in the Canary
islands.

Pars. Evident traces of the branches of palm
trees have been found in the coal formations, and
some fossil fruits, which bear a strong resem-
blance to the cocoa-nut and date, though of a
diminutive size, have been obtained in good pre-
servation from the Newcastle coal fields, (Fig.
c cut 288,) represents one of these fruits in
FOSSIL PLANTS.

our possession. Several similar are also figured
im Lindley and Hutton’s work from the same
locality, and are there designated trigonocarpum
noggerathit. Palm leaves and stems are found
in great abundance, and in good preservation, in
the upper, secondary, and tertiary beds; and in
the island of Sheppey, immense numbers of
palm fruits and others of tropical climates are
found associated with marine shells and fragments
of various woods. Fig. 4 is a cone bearing a
close analogy to that of the Scotch fir, only
smaller, and found in the oolite. Figs. ¢e and
hh, ave also fruits resembling those of the palm
tribe.

CycapEx. There are only two existing genera
of this family, cycas and zamia, natives of South
America, India, China, and New Holland, where-
as five fossil genera have been discovered, con-
taining about thirty species. These occur chiefly
in the secondary strata of the lias, oolite, and
chalk, and occasionally, though more rarely, in
the tertiary series. These plants seem to have
been the chief materials whence the partial beds
of lignite or brown coal have been formed. Of
this description is the coal of Cleveland Moor-
land, near Whitby ; of Brora in Sutherlandshire;
of Buckeberg, near Minden, in Westphalia.
The Bovey coal and lignite of Giningen are found
in the tertiary strata. The amber which is
found on the eastern shores of England, and on
the coasts of Prussia and Sicily, is supposed to
be a resinous exudation from the beds of lignite,
found in the tertiary strata. Fragments of fossil
gum were found near London, in digging the
tunnel through the London clay at Highgate.

The cycadee form a beautiful family of
plants, and from their structure, assimilate in
many respects with palms, conifere, and ferns.
he trunk of the cycadee has no true bark,
but is surrounded by a dense case, composed of
persistent scales, which have formed the bases
of fallen leaves; these, together with other
abortive scales, constitute a compact covering
that supplants the place of bark. The leaves
rise around a single cone like the pine apple, and
are pinnatifid; the fossil species appear to agree
with the recent in the following particulars of
structure: 1. By the internal structure of the
runk, containing a radiating circle or circles of
woody fibre, embedded in cellular tissue. 2. By
the structure of their outer casc, composed of
persistent bases of petioles in place of a bark,
and by all the minute details in the internal
organization of each petiole. 38. By their mode
of increase, by buds protruding from germs in
the axille of the petioles.

A number of silicified fossil trunks of eyca-
deze are found in the isle of Portland, immedi-
ately above the surface of the Portland stone, and
below the Purbeck stone. They are lodged in
the same beds of black mould in which they

 

665

grew, and ave accompanied by prostrate trunks
of large coniferous trees converted into flint, and
by stumps of these trees standing erect with
their roots still fixed in their native soil.*

   

7,
Frond of pterophyllum.

This cut represents a portion of a frond,
either of a zamia or pterophyllum, found in the
lias beds at Cromarty, in the north of Scotland.

The structure of the leaflets, which are of the

same breadth throughout, would indicate its
belonging to the species pterophyllum. (See
p. 653).

Fig. f cut 288, represents a cone of the zamia,
as figured by Lindley and Hutton, from the
greensand formations of England.

In a tertiary fresh water formation at CEnin-
gen, Professor Braun has enumerated thirty-six
species, chiefly dicotyledons, about two-thirds of
which belong to genera which still grow in that
neighbourhood, but their species differ and cor-
respond more nearly with those now existing in
North America, than with any other European
species. On the other hand, there are some ge-
nera which do not exist in the present flora of
Germany, and others not in Europe. Judging
from the proportions in which their remains
occur, poplars, willows, and maples, were the
predominating trees in the former flora of Génin-~
gen. Of two very abundant fossil species, one,
the populus latior, resembles the modern Cana-
dian poplar; the other the populus ovalis, re-
sembles the balsam popular of North America.
The determination of the species of fossil willows
is more difficult. One of these, the salix angus-
tifolia, may have resembled our present salix
viminalis,

Of the genus acer, one species may be com-
pared with acer campestre, another with acer
pseudoplatanus ; but the most frequent species,
acer protensum, appears to correspond most
nearly with the acer dasycarpon of North Ame-
rica. To another species, related to acer negundo,
Mr Braun gives the name of acer trifoliatum. A
fossil species, liquidambar europeum, differs from
the existing 1. styracifluum of America, in hav-
ing the narrower lobes of its leaf terminated by

* Buckland Geol. Trausact.
4p
666

longer points, and was the former representative
of this genusin Europe. ‘The fruit of this liquid-
ambar is preserved, and also that of two species
of acer, and one salix,

The fossil linden tree of Giningen, resembled
the modern large-leaved linden, t. grandiflora.
‘Phe fossil elm resembled a small-leaved form of
ulmus campestris.

Of two species of juglans, one may be com-
pared with the American j. nigra, the other with
j. alba, and like it, probably belonged to the
division of nuts with bursting external shells.
Among the scarcer plants, is a species of diospy-
ros; a remarkable calyx of this plant is pre-
served, and shows in its centre the place where
the fruit separated itself; it is distinguished from
the living diospyros lotus of the south of Europe,
by blunter and shorter sections. Among the
fossil shrubs are two species of rhamnus, one of
which resembles the r. alpinus, in the costation
of its leaf. The second and most frequent spe-
cies, r. terminalis, may, with regard to the
position and costation of its leaves, be compared
in some degree with r. catharticus, but differs
from all living species, in having the flowers
placed at the tips of the plant.

Among the fossil leguminous plants, is a leaf
more like that of a fruticose cytisus than of any
herbaceous trefoil.

Of a gleditchia, there are fossil pinnated leaves
and many pods; the latter seem, like the g. mona-
sperma of North America, to have been single-
seeded, and are small and short, with a long stalk
contracting the base of the pod.

With these numerous species of foliaceous
woods, are found also a few species of conifers.
One species of abies is still undetermined;
branches and small cones of another tree of this
family resemble the cypress of Japan.

Among the remains of aquatic plants are a
narrow-leaved potamogeton, and an isoctes, si-
milar to the i. lacustris now found in small lakes
of the black forest, but not in the lakes of Con-
stance.

The existence of grasses at the period when
this formation was deposited, is shown by a well
preserved impression of a leaf similar to that of
a triticum, turning to the right, and on which
the costation is plainly expressed. Fragments
of fossil ferns occur here, having a resemblance
to pteris aquilina and aspidium filix mas. The
remains of an equisetum, indicate a species re-
sembling e. palustre. Among the few undeter-
mined remains, are the five-cleft, and beautiful
veined impressions of the calyx of a blossom,
which are by no means rare at Giningen. No
remains of any rosacee have yet been disco-
vered,*

* Buekland’s Geology, p. 514,

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

CiTAP. LYIL
PRACTICAL CULTURE OY PLANTS.

As soon as nations begin to emerge from the
rudest states of society, in which condition they
have lived by the chase, and the precarious sup-
ply of the natural productions of the earth, they
turn their attention to the cultivation of vegeta-
ble substances in fields and gardens. We accor-
dingly find, that the artificial culture of the
cerealia has been of such early invention, that
not only all historical traces of its origin are lost
in remote antiquity, but even the specific kinds
of grains thus changed by cultivation, or the
countries where they were really indigenous are
at the present day impenetrable mysteries. To
agriculture, horticulture in due time succeeded.
In warm climates, where fruits are produced in
a perfect state by the liberal hand of nature,
gardening, as a means of subsistence, was of minor
importance; whereas, in colder regions, the trans-
portation of useful fruits and vegetables, and their
careful culture by artificial means, have afforded
incalculable advantages to mankind.

We very early begin to read of gardens con-
structed both for pleasure and utility. The
hanging gardens of Babylon have been repre-
sented as romantic in point of situation, and
magnificent not only for their extent, but also
for the natural difficulties which were sur-
mounted in their construction. The useful had,
however, but little part in their design; and of
the less aspiring spots, which were made to mini-
ster to the wants of the people of that city by
the production of esculent vegetables, it has not
been thought necessary to say one word.

We have abundant reason for believing that
the Jews, during their existence as an indepen-
dent nation, were accustomed to cultivate fruits
in abundance, but no mention can be found of
the particular herbs and plants which they
without doubt produced for their daily con-
sumption.

Our knowledge of the mode of gardening prac-
tised in the Chinese empire has been obtained at
periods of recent date; yet, from what we know
of the inveterate pertinacity wherewith its inha-
bitants adhere to the customs of their ancestors,
we are warranted in believing that the practice
of this art has been without any material altera-
tion for many centuries. The learned Jesuits
Du Walde and Le Comte, who resided as mis-
sionaries in China, speak in commendation of
the manner in which the cultivation of culinary
vegetables is managed in that country, where,
indeed, the practice of horticulture appears to
have reached to considerable perfection, although
| the scientific principles upon which it should be
; founded are wholly unknown.

 
PRACTICAL CULTURE OF PLANTS.

1t is said that the lower orders of people in
some parts of China, draw a chief part of their
nourishment from the produce of their gardens,
and that they ave in possession of some garden
esculents which are peculiar to themselves. We
are indebted to China for several valuable addi-
tions to our flower-gardens, and among the rest
for various species of the Camellia, Poeonia, and
Rose; and it is reasonable to suppose that the
same care would have been taken for the trans-
mission of seeds of new descriptions of esculents
had any such presented themselves.

In an empire comprehending so great a varicty
of climate, the natural productions must doubt-
less be extremely varied, and the Chinese are
said to be in the enjoyment of most of the fruits
and vegetables that are reared throughout Europe.
There is little that is worthy of remark in what
has been stated with regard to the methods em-
ployed for the cultivation of their vegetable gar-
dens. Recent travellers have endeavoured to
throw an air of discredit upon the relations of
the learned men whose accounts have been al-
ready noticed. It is indeed, not impossible that
these reverend fathers may have endeavoured
to draw a little upon the credulity of their read-
ers; but, on the other hand, it must be consi-
ered, that while our own intelligent country-
men who have been admitted within the borders
of the celestial empire have had their opportuni-
ties for observation limited to the time em-
ployed in the performance of a rapid journey,
during which they were always watched by a
government escort, their precursors remained for
a considerable time in the country, and could
consequently examine things at their leisure and
in comparative freedom.

From the earliest times the Persians have been
great gardeners; but historians and travellers
have only thought deserving of their notice gar-
dens which have been constructed for the plea-
sure of monarchs, or as proofs of their wealth
and power.

That the Greeks also took pleasure in horti-
cultural pursuits we have the direct testimony
of Theophrastus and Aristophanes. Flowers were
always in great request among them. At con-
vivial meetings, at public festivals, and in reli-
gious ceremonies, the presence of these was always
required. ‘To so great an extent was this use of
flowers carried, that artists were established in
Athens, whose sole occupation it was to compose
wreaths and crowns with flowers of different spe-
cies, each of which was understood to convey some
particular mythological idea.

The Romans, amid all their conquests, never
forgot to forward the useful arts of life, but car-
ried with them into other countries such as they
already possessed, while they showed themselves
to be willing learners of others which they found
established and which were new to themselves,

 

667

It is fortunate for the interests of humanity that
the benefits which they thus became the means
of disseminating, were in their nature such as
would soften and repair the miseries occasioned
by the sword ; and that these benefits have re-
mained to bless the countries which their armies
overran.

It may be supposed, that an art which was
capable of ministering so greatly to their per-
sonal gratification as that of vegetable gardening,
would not be neglected by the Romans. Colu-
mella has given a very considerable list of culi-
nary plants which they possessed, and some of
these must have been both excellent and plentiful,
since he speaks of them as being esteemed both
by slaves and kings,

The more luxurious among the Romans were
accustomed to force vegetables, and the emperor
Tiberius is said to have been so fond of cucum-
bers, that he secured by that means a supply for
his table throughout the year.

The kitchen-gardens of the modern Italians
contain nearly every vegetable that we possess;
but their methods of cultivation are not such as
to afford them in that degree of perfection in
which we are accustomed to enjoy them, and to
which the climate would seem qualified to bring
them. The gardens of the peasants throughout
the Italian states are but scantily supplied, gourds
and Indian corn comprising nearly al] which they
are made to contain. It is only in the gardens
attached to religious houses that horticulture is
pursued with any skill. In the labours of these
the friars themselves are accustomed to assist,
while in other situations in that country the
office of a gardener is commonly filled by one
who has had little or no instruction to fit him
for the employment.

Gardens are found universally throughout the
Netherlands, so that, to use the words of Sir W.
Temple, “gardening has been the common fa-
vourite of public and private men ;—a pleasure
of the greatest, and a care of the meanest, and
indeed an employment and a possession for which
no man there is too high nor too low.” There
is not a cottage to be seen which has not a gar-
den attached to it; and although this is some-
times exceedingly small, the high degree of cul-
ture which is bestowed upon it renders the spot
available for the comfort of the cottager’s family,
Towards this desirable object every particle of
matter capable of ameliorating the soil is care-
fully collected and applied. From these circum-
stances, it may be readily supposed that. the
Dutch are possessed of every fruit and escu-
lent vegetable that their climate is capable of
maturing.

In France, although gardens are not nearly so
universal as in Holland, they are still very gene-
rally met with, their characteristic quality being
that of neatness, This statement refers, however,
668

more correctly to the northern than to the south-
ern division of the kingdom, where the cottagers’
gardens resemble much those of the Italian pea-
sants, as well in their careless mode of culture as
in the paucity of their contents. Nothing can
be objected against the system pursued by the
market gardeners who supply the French metro-
polis, and by whose skill and industry many
vegetables are brought to a very luxuriant
growth.

In the north of Europe gardening isin general
a favourite pursuit, and the cottages of the pea-
sants are for the most part provided with a spot
of ground sufficient in extent to answer the
demands of their inmates. This is not so much
the case, however, in the Prussian dominions.
Cabbages and potatoes form the greater part of
the produce there obtained by the cottagers.
The gardens of the higher classes are very dif-
ferently managed, so as to produce vegetables in
great variety and abundance.

The art of gardening in Russia, in common
with many other useful pursuits, owes its origin
to Peter the Great. Previous to the reign of
this monarch, there was scarcely such a thing
known throughout the empire as a garden, and
the only culinary vegetables grown in the coun-
try were a few species of stunted kale. Even
now the use of gardens in that country is con-
fined to the great and wealthy of the land, and
their choice of culinary vegetables is but small.
A considerable improvement in this respect is,
however, visible of late years, during which time
many additions have been made to their kitchen-
gardens by different travellers,

Potatoes are now cultivated to some extent in
Russia, but they are of recent introduction, and
it was for some time difficult to induce the pea-
santry either to cultivate or to eat them, for the
simple reason that they came recommended by
their lords, who were not unnaturally perhaps
suspected of some selfish or sinister motive in
that recommendation. Horticulture has attained
to a high degree of perfection in Russia under
the auspices of its princes and nobles, and it is
a curious fact that more pine-apples are grown
in the immediate vicinity of St Petersburgh,
than in all the other countries of continental
Europe.

In Poland, gardening was practised earlier than
in Russia, considerable progress having been
made in the art at the end of the seventeenth
century, during the reign of Stanislaus Augus-
tus. There is a very remarkable garden at War-
saw, known by the name of Lazenki. This was
formed, and the palace to which it was attached
was built, by the last king of Poland. Among
other curious and some very magnificent objects
in these gardens, are numerous pedestals ranged
in various situations, and upon these, instead of
eculptured statues, living httman figures of both

 

HiSTORY Ol TIE VEGETABLE KINGLOM.

sexes were placed on festal occasions. These
persons were dressed in classical costume, and
were taught to assume and maintain certain atti-
tudes in keeping with the characters they were
intended to represent.

It is to Spain that the rest of Europe is in-
debted for the introduction of many plants from
Mexico, Chili, and Peru. Seeds were brought
from these regions, in the reign of Ferdinand the
Sixth, for the royal garden of Madrid, whence
their produce has been distributed. Spain is very
rich in cultivated fruits, so that some species are
made to form articles of external commerce; but
the same pre-eminence in garden cultivation does
not now appear which was claimed for her hy
Columella in the time of the Roman republic,
and which was probably as well deserved during
the dominion of the Moors. The oldest and
most extensive gardens now to be found in Spain
are of Moorish origin, and have once been ap-
pendages to the palaces of their Arabian kings.

The Chinampas, or floating gardens of Mexicc,
are justly considered objects of the greatest
curiosity. The invention of these gardens is said
to have arisen out of the extraordinary situation
in which the Aztecs were placed on the conquest
of their country by the Tepanecan nation, when
they were confined in great numbers to the small
islands on the lake, and were driven to exercise
all manner of ingenuity in order to provide a
sufficiency of food for their sustenance. Hum-
boldt conjectures that the first idea of these float-
ing gardens may have been suggested by nature
herself, seeing that, “on the marshy banks of
the lakes of Xochimileo and Chalco the agitated
waters, in the time of the great floods, carry away
pieces of earth covered with herbs and bound
together with roots. ‘The first Chinampas were
mostly fragments of ground artificially joined
together and cultivated.” Following up this sug-
gestion, it would not be difficult, by means of
wicker-work formed with marine plants and a
substratum of bushes combined with tenacious
earth or clay, to construct similar gardens of
adequate dimensions. Upon these was placed
fine black mould sufficiently deep for the sus-
tenance of the plants which it was desired to
raise. The form usually given to these Chin-
ampas was quadrangular, and their size varied
from one hundred and fifty to three hundred
feet in length, with a breadth of from twenty to
seventy feet.

At first the use of these floating gardens was
confined to the growth of maize and other objects
of absolute necessity; but in the progress of
time, and when the Mexicans had shaken off
the yoke which rendered this restricted appro-
priation necessary, the owners of the Chinampas
applied themselves to the production of vegeta-
ble luxuries, and grew fruits, and flowers, and
odoriferous plants, which were used for the
PRACTICAL CULTURE OF PLANTS.

embellishment of their temples and the recrea-
tion of their nobles. Daily at sun-rise, according
to the Abbe Clavigero, were seen to arrive at the
city of Mexico, innumerable boats loaded with
various kinds of flowers and herbs, the produce
of these floating islands. The garden is some-
times seen to contain the cottage of the Indian
who is employed to guard a contiguous group of
gardens ; and on each one there is commonly
erected a small hut, under which the cultivator
can shelter himself from storms or from the
intense heat of the sun. If it is wished to place
the garden in a different place, this is easily
effected by means of long poles, or by rowers
placed in a boat to which the garden is fastened.
In the driest seasons the Chinampas are always
productive, and it is not difficult to renew the
powers of the soil by means of mud taken from
the bottom of the lake, and which is highly fer-
tilizing. One of the most agreeable recreations
afforded to the citizens of Mexico, is that of pro-
ceeding in small boats in the evening among
these gardens, the vegetation upon which is al-
ways in a state of luxuriance.

Floating gardens are maintained also on some
of the rivers and canals in China, where an ex-
cessive population produces the same effect as
that just mentioned as having resulted from the
oppression exercised upon the Aztecs by their
Tepanecan conquerors; and the inhabitants are
obliged to have recourse to every expedient for
increasing the means of subsistence.

Of those emigrants who under ordinary cir-
cumstances take up their permanent residence in
distant colonies, a large proportion is drawn from
the agricultural classes. It is natural that these
people should provide for their future comfort
by conveying with them seeds of various plants,
to the cultivation and use of which they have
been accustomed in their native land. Accord-
ingly we find, that in almost all places which
have been colonized from Europe, the introduc-
tion of such vegetables has been attempted, and
in this respect the condition of colonies frequently
presents a fair evidence of the progress of horti-
culture in the parent state.

The Dutch, who found at the Cape of Good
Hope no other fruits than the chestnut, a nut
like the wild almond and the wild plum, and no
culinary plants but a sort of vetch,* have ren-
dered that colony, as regards its vegetable pro-
ductions, one of the most interesting spots with
which we are acquainted. Here are to be seen
fruits and flowers, beautiful shrubs, and the most
magnificent trees, all collected together from
every climate and quarter of the globe, and all
flourishing in the greatest perfection.

Our colonists in New South Wales have natu-
ralized in that delightful climate nearly all the

* Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Gardening, p. 108.

 

669

culinary vegetables which are to be found in this
country, and in the market at Sydney some of
these are to be seen in a state of greater perfec-
tion than can be given to them in this climate
The fruits of the South of Europe are likewise
successfully cultivated, and pine-apples, toge-
ther with many other productions of the tro-
pics, are raised with as little trouble as attends
the rearing of cucumbers and melons in this
country.

There are good reasons for believing that dur-
ing the time of their ascendancy in Britain the
Romans introduced various vegetable produc-
tions, together with the practice of their mode
of gardening. This art never, however, attained
to any degree of perfection in this country until
the latter end of the seventeenth century, and it
is probable that the greatest impetus which it
ever received was given by the establishment of
the Horticultural Society in 1805. By the exer-
tions of this association, full advantage has been
gained from the researches of travellers, and
powerful incentives offered for the experiments
of ingenious and scientific men.

At present, with the exception perhaps of
Holland, there is no country where the use of
gardens is so general as in our own. The hum-
blest cottage is frequently seen to be surrounded
by a small spot, whence may be drawn a whole-
some and agreeable variety for the frugal board
of the inhabitants; and even in towns, where
the power of vegetation is scarcely able to with-
stand the effects of the confined and noxious
atmosphere, a few yards of soil are often appro-

‘priated to the same purpose.

“The laborious journeyman mechanic,” says

Mr Loudon, “ whose residence in large cities is
often in the air rather than on the earth, decorates
his garret window with a garden of pots. The
debtor deprived of personal liberty, and the pau-
per in the work-house, divested of all property
in external things, and without any fixed object
on which to place their affections, sometimes
resort to this symbol of territorial appropriation
and enjoyment. So natural it is for all to fancy
they have an inherent right in the soil, and so
necessary to happiness to exercise the affections
by having some object on which to place them.”

The practical objects of the cultivator of vege-
table substances, are—

1. To collect useful and ornamental plants
from the domains of nature, and from all quar-
ters of the world.

2. To adapt the soil, moisture, heat, and gene-
ral culture suitable to such plants, so that they
may vegetate to the full extent of their powers.

3. By artificial means, such as blanching and
other processes, to change the nature and juices
of plants, whereby they are rendered more escu-
lent. :

+. To produce new sorts or varieties of natural
670

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

species, by engrafling, budding, and other pro-! there is a due admixture of sand, clay, and lime,

cesses,

Som. The soil which covers the surface of
the earth, is composed of the pulverized matter
of the different rocks, the primary ingredients
of which are silex, alumina, lime, magnesia, iron,
and a few other salts. ‘his is called the pri-
mary soil, and according as either of the com-
ponent ingredients preponderates, it may be
sandy, clayey, calcareous, ferruginous, saline.
The soil also contains a greater or less proportion
of vegetable remains, such as the decomposed
leaves and trunks of trees, or the peaty remains
of cryptogamic and other marsh plants. Some
soils, indeed, are almost entirely composed of
vegetable remains, and constitute the rich dark
mould, which, duly diluted, is esteemed the most
fertile for the growth of vegetables. Some
plants, however, thrive best in one kind of soil,
and some in another. The object of the eulti-
vator then, and especially of the horticulturist,
is to adapt his soil for the particular kinds of
plants he wishes to rear in perfection. Hence,
the preparation of artificial soils. It is doubted
by many, whether the pure earths afford any
nourishment to plants; at all events, they enter
but very sparingly into their composition. They
serve, however, as a medium by which water,
carbon, and some of the gases, are conveyed into
their juices, and also as a convenient means hy
which the fibrous or bulbous roots are attached
to, and held firm and stationary in, the ground.
The true nourishment of plants is water and
decomposing organic matter, whether vegetable
or animal. The constituent parts of the soil
which give tenacity and coherence, are the
minutely divided particles, and they possess this
power in the greatest degree if they be alumin-
ous.

If the silicious or sandy particles are in excess,
however, sterility is the consequence. Neither
must the soil be too much comminuted; a cer-
tain proportion of coarser particles seems to be
requisite. No one ingredient should be in excess
in any fertile soil, not even an excess of organic
matters: so that the best soil for general pur-
poses is that where an equable admixture of the
general ingredients is present, with a portion of
the particles in a state of minute comminution.

Much of the fertility of soils depends upon
their power of absorbing moisture from the air.
When this power is great, the plant is supplied
with moisture in dry seasons, and the effects of
evaporation during the sunshine is compensated
by the absorption of moisture at night. Stiff
clayey soils which absorb a great proportion of
rain-water are not, however, the best suited for
absorbing it in dry weather, as the surface he-
comes hard and separates into deep fissures, which
assist the evaporating effects from the interior.
The best absorbing soils are those in which

 

with animal or vegetable matter, and of a loose
and light texture, freely permeable to the air
and moisture.

Carbonate of lime, and animal and vegetable
matter, are highly useful in this respect to soils:
they impart an absorbent power without giving
the soil too great tenacity. The absorbent
power of soils ought to be adapted to the cli-
mate. In moist climates, a sandy light soil will
be more productive than a deep clayey one, and
the contrary. The subsoil also has a consider-
able effect in modifying the quantity of mois-
ture. Shallow soils, situated on rocky ground,
soon lose their moisture, while deep clay subsoils
retain it for a long time.

Some soils absorb heat much more quickly
and copiously than others, and also retain their
heat longer. Black and brown mould has this
property, while lighter clays and chalky soils
are less absorbent of heat, the former giving it
out again sooner than the latter.

Marshy soils, exposed to inundations and to
continual evaporation, are colder and more un-
genial than dry lands. The elevation above the
sea level has also a very great effect on the tem-
perature and on the growth of plants.

Digging, ploughing, and pulverizing the soil,
and exposing the surface to the action of the
summer sun and the winter’s frost, are highly
useful operations, by which the tenacity of stiff
soils are overcome, weeds and insects are destroy-
ed, and a quantity of air is admitted into its par-
ticles.

The rotation of crops is a well known prac-
tice among all vegetable cultivators. In order
that vegetables may thrive vigorously, and be-
come productive, it is necessary that their locali-
ties should be changed every other year. This
is the case with the grains and many other plants,
but does not take place with all vegetables, nor
trees which are long lived. At one time it was
supposed that vegetables exhausted the nutritive
particles of the soil, if grown too long on one
spot, and thus required a change; but as other
vegetables requiring precisely the same kind of
nutrition, are found to grow perfectly well if
planted in succession to their predecessors of
another kind, this theory was not deemed tena-
ble. ‘The prevailing theory now is, that plants
give out from their roots an excrementitious
matter, which, though noxious to individuals of
the same species, may not be so to other fami-
lies of plants. The experiments of M. Macaire
demonstrate that plants do excrete noxious mat-
ters from their roots, perhaps analogous to the
excrementitious matter of animals.*

Manure. The use of manure is to afford a
supply of nutritive matter to plants. It has

* Edin. Philosoph. Journal, No. 28, p. 215.
PRACTICAL CULTURE OF PLANTS.

been previously stated, that the clementary con-
stituents of all vegetable bodies consist of oxy-
gen, hydrogen, and nitrogen gases, with carbon,
and a few of the earthy salts, and it must be
evident that substances furnishing these ele-
mentary matters, and in a condition best suited
for absorption by the organs of plants, are those
best adapted as manures.

Animal and vegetable substances in a state of
decomposition, and some earthy and saline mat-
ters, constitute the different kinds of manure.
According to the experiments of Sir H. Davy,*
all substances entering into the composition of
vegetable manure or food, must be in a state of
fluidity, or in the form of gas or air. The
great object, therefore, in the application of
manure, should be to make it afford as much solu-
ble matter as possible to the roots of the plant,
and that in a slow and gradual manner, so that
it may be entirely consumed in forming its soft
and organized parts,

Mucilaginous, gelatinous, saccharine, oily and
extractive fluids, carbonic acid, and water, are
substances that, in their unchanged state, con-
tain almost all the principles necessary for the
life of plants; but there are few cases in which
they can be applied as manure in the pure form,
and vegetable manures in general contain a great
excess of fibrous and insoluble matter, which
must undergo chemical change before it can be-
come the food of plants. The nature of the che-
mical changes in these substances may thus be
briefly stated. If any fresh vegetable matter
which contains sugar, mucilage, starch, or other
of the vegetable compounds soluble in water,
be moistened and exposed to air, at a tempera-
ture from 55° to 80°, oxygen will soon be ab-
sorbed, and carbonic acid formed, heat will be
produced, and elastic fluids, principally carbonic
acid, gaseous oxide of carbon, and hydro-car-
bonate, will be evolved; a dark-coloured liquid,
of a slightly sour or bitter taste, will likewise be
formed; and if the process be suffered to con-
tinue for a time sufficiently long, nothing solid
will remain, except earthy and saline matter,
coloured black by charcoal. ‘The dark coloured
fluid formed in the fermentation always contains
acetic acid, and when albumen or gluten exists
in the vegetable substance, it likewise contains
volatile alkali. In proportion as there is more
gluten, albumen, or matters soluble in water in
the vegetable substances exposed to fermenta-
tion, so in proportion, all other circumstances
being equal, will the process be more rapid.
Pure woody fibre alone undergoes a change very
slowly, but its texture is broken down, and it
is easily resolved into new aliments, when mixed
with substances more liable to change, contain-
ing more oxygen and hydrogen. Volatile and

* Aprioultural Chemistry.

 

671

fixed oils, resins, and wax, are more susceptible
of change than woody fibre, when exposed to
air and water, but much less liable than the
other vegetable compounds ; and even the most
inflammable substances, by the absorption of
oxygen, become gradually soluble in water.
Animal matters in general are more liable to
decompose than vegetable substances, oxygen is
absorbed, and carbonic acid and ammonia formed
in the process of their putrefaction. They pro-
duce foetid compound elastic fluids, and likewise
azote; they afford dark coloured acid and oily
fluids, and leave a residuum of salts and earths,
mixed with carbonaceous matter.

The principal substances which constitute the
different parts of animals, or which are found
in their blood, their secretions, or their excre-
ments, are gelatine, fibrin, mucus, fatty, or oily
matter, albumen, urea, uric acid, and other
acid, saline, and earthy matters.

Whenever manures consist principally of mat-
ter soluble in water, it is evident that their fer-
mentation or putrefaction should be prevented
as much as possible, and the only cases in which
these processes can be useful, are when the man-
ure consists principally of vegetable or animal
fibre. The circumstances necessary for the pu-
trefaction of animal substances, are similar to
those required for the fermentation of vegetable
matters—a temperature above the freezing point,
the presence of water, and of oxygen, at least in
the first stage of the process. To prevent man-
ures from decomposing, they should be pre-
served dry, defended from the contact of air,
and kept as cool as possible. Salt and alcohol
appear to owe their power of preserving animal
and vegetable substances to their attraction for
water, by which they prevent its decomposing
action, and likewise to their excluding air.

We shall here enumerate a few of the different
kinds of manures. All green succulent plants
contain saccharine or mucilaginous matter, with
woody fibre, and readily ferment. Such should
therefore, if intended for manure, be used as soon
as possible after their death. Hence the advan-
tage of digging in green crops, whether natural
or sown on purpose; they must not, however, be
turned in too deep, otherwise fermentation will
be prevented by compression and exclusion of
air. Green crops should be dug in, if it be pos-
sible, when in flower, or at the time the flower
is beginning to appear; for it is at this period
that they contain the largest quantity of easily
soluble matter, and that their leaves are most
active in forming nutritive matter. Green crops,
-bind weeds, or the parings of hedges or ditches,
require no preparation to fit them for manure,
nor does any kind of fresh vegetable matter,
The decomposition slowly proceeds beneath the
soil, the soluble matters are gradually dissolved,
and the slight fermentation which goes on,
G72

checked by the want of a free communication of
air, tends to render the woody fibre soluble,
without occasioning the rapid dissipation of
elastic matter. When old pastures are broken
up and turned into garden ground, not only has
the soil been enriched by the death and slow
decay of the plants which have left soluble mat-
ters in the soil, but the leaves and roots of the
grasses living at the time, and occupying so large
a part of the surface, afford saccharine, mucila-
ginous, and extractive matters, which become
immediately the food of the crop, and from their
gradual decomposition afford a supply for suc-
cessive years.

Rape cake and lintseed cake contain a large
quantity of mucilage, some albuminous matter,
and oil. This kind of manure should be used
recent, and kept as dry as possible before it is
applied.

Malt dust consists chiefly of the incipient
germ which is separated from the grain, in the
process of turning and drying the malt. It is
a strong manure, probably from containing a
portion of saccharine matter, and, like the last,
should be used in its recent and dry state.

Sea weeds. The different kinds of fuct, alge,
and conifere are largely employed as manures
on the sea coasts of Britain and Ireland. In the
north of Scotland and Orkney islands, the sea
tang (fucus digitatus,) is generally used on
account of its greater substance. When driven
on shore by the winter storms or gales of spring,
it is collected and laid on the land, and then
ploughed down. It is a powerful manure, but
its benefits do not extend beyond one, or at most
two seasons. By dilution in water, the fuci
yield a Jarge proportion of mucilage and by dis-
tillation water, but no ammonia; the residue
contains carbonaceous matter, with sea salt and
carbonate of soda. Sea weed is sometimes suf-
fered to ferment before it is used, but this pro-
cess seems wholly unnecessary, for there is no
fibrous matter rendered soluble in the process,
and a part of the manure is lost. The best me-
thod is to use it as fresh as it can be procured.
Some sea weed which had been fermented, so as
to have lost about half its weight, afforded less
than one-twelfth of mucilaginous matter; from
which it may be fairly concluded, that some of
this substance is destroyed in fermentation.

Peat earth. This substance remains for years
exposed to water and air without undergoing
change, and in this inert state yields little or no
nourishment to plants. Mere woody fibre will
not decompose, unless some substances are mixed
with it, which act, the same part as the muci~
Jage, sugar, and extractive or albuminous mat-
ters with which it is usually associated in herbs
and succulent vegetables. Thus, a mixture of
common farm-yard dung and peat earth will
ferment readily, or any other species of putres-

 

HISTORY OF THE, VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

cible substance will answer the same purpose.
One part of dung is thus found to promote the
fermentation of three parts of peat. In cases in
which living vegetables are mixed with the peat,
the fermentation will be more readily effected.

Tanners’ spent bark, wood shavings, or other
vegetable fibre, will probably require as much
dung to bring them into fermentation as the
worst kinds of peat. Woody fibre may also be
prepared so as to become a manure by the action
of lime. ;

Wood ashes imperfectly formed, that is, con-
taining much charcoal, are said to have been used
with success asamanure. A part of their effects
may be owing to the slow and gradual consump-
tion of the charcoal, which seems capable under
other circumstances than those of actual combus-
tion, of absorbing oxygen so as to become carbonic
acid. Yeast is one of the most powerful and
durable of manures, but from its expense can of
course be little used in this way. It imparts a
very vivid green to auriculas.*

Animal manures. These substances in gene-
ral require no chemical preparation to fit them
for the soil, The great object is to blend them
with the earthy constituents in a proper state of
division, and to prevent their too rapid decom-
position. Horses, dogs, or other large animals
that have died, should be covered up with five or
six times their bulk of soil, mixed with one part
of lime, and allowed to decompose in this way
for a few months, till the soil is impregnated
with fertilizing juices. At the time of digging
up this dunghill, the addition of a little quick-
lime will destroy the nauseous smell.

Fish, These also afford a rich manure, and
should be applied to the ground as soon as _pos-
sible, as their decomposition is more rapid than
that of land animals. The quantity, however,
should be limited.

A. Young records an experiment, in which
herrings spread over a field and ploughed in for
wheat, produced so rank a crop, that it was en-
tirely laid before harvest. The refuse of pil-
cherds are used in Cornwall, mixed with sand
and soil; and in Lincolnshire and other marshy
counties of England, the common stickleback,
found in abundance in the shallow waters, is
used for a similar purpose.

Bones of animals are now much used as a
manure both in England and Scotland, and their
use is spreading rapidly over the continent.
They are ground in a mill, and reduced to a
coarse powder, and then strewed on the soil.
This substance is best adapted for a dry soil.

Horn, hair, and the refuse of skin and leather
manufactures, are all useful manures.

Urine, blood, and other liquid animal matters,
if preserved in pits or boxes, also prove highly

* Loudon.
PRACTICAL CULTURE OF PLANTS.

stimulating food for vegetables. To this may be
added, the excrements of animals. Horse and
cow dung is usually allowed by practical agri-
culturists to ferment and rot before it is applied
to the land; though Sir H. Davy, on chemical
principles, recommends all such to be used in a
recent state. The dung of birds, especially of
those that feed on animal matter, is reckoned
highly stimulating manure.

Lime, Calcareous and saline matters are much
employed in vegetable culture.

“Some inquirers,” says Sir H. Davy, “ adopt-
ing that sublime generalization of the ancient
philosophers, that matter is the same in essence,
and that the different substances considered as
elements by chemists, are merely different
arrangements of the same indestructible particles,
have endeavoured to prove, that all the varieties
of the principles found in plants may be formed
from the substances in the atmosphere, and that
vegetable life is a process in which bodies, that
the analytical philosopher is unable to change
or to form, are constantly composed and decom-
posed. But the general result of experiments
are very much opposed to the idea of the com-
position of the earths, by plants from any of the
elements found in the atmosphere or in water,
and there are various facts contradictory to the
idea.” Jacquin states, that the ashes of glass-
wort, (salsola soda,) when it grows in inland
situations, afford the vegetable alkali; when it
grows on the sea-shore, where compounds which
afford soda are more abundant, it yields this
alkali. Duhamel found that plants which usu-
ally grow on the sea-shore, made small progress
when planted in soils containing little common
salt. The sun-flower, when growing in lands
containing no nitre, does not afford that sub-
stance, though, when watered by a solution of
nitre, it yields nitre abundantly. The table of
De Saussure shows that the ashes of plants are.
similar in constitution to the soils in which they
have vegetated. This philosopher made plants
grow in solutions of different salts, and he ascer-
tained, that in all cases certain portions of the
salts were absorbed by the plants, and found
unaltered in their organs. Even animals do not
appear to possess the power of forming the alka-
lies and earthy substances. Dr Fordyce found
that when canary birds, at the time they were
laying eggs, were deprived of access to carbonate
of lime, their eggs had soft shells. Yet, accord-
ing to the chemical analysis of Dr Marcet, the
quantity of phosphate and carbonate of lime
found in the bones of the chick, is much more
than that previously existing in the contents of
the ege, or the loss sustained by the shell.

Lime, from its strong attraction for carbonic
acid and moisture, may thus also be beneficial,
hy affording a supply of both these to plants.
Lime exists in nature, and in the soil, in a state

 

673

of combination with carbonic acid. Limestone,
however, before it can be rendered friable, must
first be burnt and reduced to a quick or caustic
lime. In this state, on the addition of water,
it readily pulverizes, and greedily absorbs car-
bonic acid from the atmosphere. Very few
limestones or chalks, however, are pure, the
primary marbles and calcareous spars being the
exception. Clay, flint, magnesia, iron, and other
salts, are in greater or less quantity found mixed
in limestones. Slacked lime is a combination
of lime with about athird of its weight of water,
and is called a hydrate of lime, and when this
hydrate becomes, by exposure to air, a carbon-
ate, the excess of water is expelled. When
freshly burned or slacked lime is mixed with
any moist fibrous vegetable matter, there is a
strong action between the lime and the vegetable
matter, and they form a kind of compost toge-
ther, of which a part is usually soluble in water.
By this kind of operation, lime renders matter,
which was before comparatively inert, nutritive;
and as charcoal and oxygen abound in all vege-
table matters, it becomes, at the same time,
converted into carbonate of lime. Mild lime,
powdered limestone, marls, and chalk, have no
action of this kind upon vegetable matter ; they
destroy worms and other tender-skinned vermin,
and they prevent the too rapid decomposition ot
substances already dissolved, but in other re-
spects their operations are different from that of
quick lime. Lime, marls, and even shell-sand,
produce wonderful effects on peat soils, by
absorbing the gallic acid which they contain,
and promoting the decomposition of the woody
matters.

All soils having a deficiency of calcareous
earth, and which do not effervesce with acids,
are improved by lime, either mild or quicklime.
Sandy soils are improved more than clay. When
a soil deficient in calcareous matter contains
much soluble vegetable manure, the application
of quick lime should always be avoided, as it
either tends to decompose the soluble matters,
by uniting to them carbon and oxygen, so as to
become mild lime, or it combines with the
soluble matters, and forms compounds, having
less attraction for water than the pure vegetable
substance. The case is the same with regard to
most animal manures, but the operation of the
lime is different in different cases, and depends
upon the nature of the animal matter. Lime
forms a kind of insoluble soap with oily matters,
and then gradually decomposes them, by sepa-
rating from these oxygen and carbon. It com-
bines likewise with the animal acids, and proba-
bly assists their decomposition, by extracting
carbonaceous matter from them, combined with
oxygen, and consequently it must render them
less nutritive. It tends to diminish likewise
the nutritive powers of albumen from the same

+e
674

causes, and always destroys, to a certain extent,
the efficacy of animal manures, either by com-
bining with certain of their elements, or by
giving to them newarrangements. Lime should
never be applied with animal manures, unless
they are too rich, or for the purpose of prevent-
ing noxious effluvia. It is injurious when mixed
with common dung, and tends to render the
extractive matter insoluble; and with almost
all soft animal and vegetable substances, lime
forms insoluble composts, and thus destroys their
fermentative properties. Such compounds, how-
ever, exposed to the continued action of the air,
alter in course of time, the lime becomes a car-
bonate, and the animal and vegetable matter
enter by degrees into new compounds suited for
vegetable nourishment. In this view, lime pre-
sents two great advantages for the nutrition of
plants; the first, that of disposing certain inso-
luble bodies to form soluble compounds; the
second, that of prolonging the action and nutri-
tive qualities of substances beyond the term,
during which they would be retained, if these
substances were not made to enter into combina-
tion with lime.

Impure lime, where the mixture is clay or
silex, is less efficacious in proportion to theadmix-
ture, but these substances are not deleterious.

Magnesia, on the other hand, has been deemed
hurtful to corn crops, although it may be found
advantageous in mixing with peat soils. Car-

bonate of magnesia is deemed a useful constitu-
ent of soils.

Gypsum, or sulphate of lime, has been sometimes
applied as a manure, but the exact nature of its
effects has been a subject of controversy. Ithas
been supposed by some persons to act by its
power of attracting moisture from the air; but
this agency must be apparently insignificant.
When combined with water, it retains that fluid
too powerfully to yield it to the roots of the
plant, and its adhesive attraction for moisture is
inconsiderable ; the small quantity in which it is
used is also a circumstance hostile to this idea.
It has been erroneously said, that gypsum assists
the putrefaction of animal substances and the
decomposition of manure. The ashes of saint-
foin, clover, and ryegrass yield considerable quan-
tities of gypsum, and for such crops it is well
suited. The reason why gypsum is not generally
efficacious, is probably because most cultivated
soils contain it in sufficient quantities for the use
of the grasses. In the common course of culti-
vation, gypsum is furnished in the manure, for
it is contained in stable dung, and in the dung
of all cattle fed on grass, and it is not taken up
in corn crops, or crops of peas and beans, and in
very small quantities in turnip crops; but where
lands are exclusively devoted to pasturage and
hay, it will be continually consumed.

Phosphate of lime is a compound part of ani-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

mal and vegetable bodies; it isinsoluble in pure
water, but is soluble in water containing any
acids. It constitutes the greater part of calcined
bones. It exists in most excrementitious sub-
stances, and is found both in the straw and grain
of wheat, barley, oats, and rye, and likewise
in beans, peas, and tares. Phosphate of lime is
generally conveyed to the land in the composi-
tion of other manure, and it is probably neces-
sary to corn and other crops.

Wood ashes consist chiefly of potass united to
carbonic acid; and as this is found in almost all
plants, its efficacy as an ingredient of the soil
is obvious.

Common salt, which is a chloride of soda, is also
occasionally used as a manure. According to
Sir John Pringle, salt in small quantities assists
the decomposition of animal and vegetable mat-
ter.

Soot contains ammonia, an empyreumatic oil,
and carbon or charcoal; it thus affords a power-
ful manure. On the whole, Sir H. Davy is of
opinion, that except the ammoniacal compounds,
or the compounds containing nitric, acetic, and
carbonic acid, none of the saline substances can
afford, by decomposition, any of the common
principles of vegetation. The alkaline sulphates,
and the earthy muriates, are so seldom found in
plants, or are found in such minute quantities,
that it never can be an object to apply them to
the soil. The earthy and alkaline substances
seem never to be formed in vegetation, and there
is every reason to believe, that they are never
decomposed ; for after being absorbed, they are
found in the ashes. The metallic bases of these
cannot exist in contact with aqueous fluids, and
these metallic bases, like other metals, have not
as yet been resolved into any other forms of
matter by artificial processes. They combine
readily with other elements, but they remain

-indestructible, and can be traced undiminished

in quality through their diversified combina-
tions,

The fermenting substances used in forming
hot beds are, stable litter or dung in a recent or
fresh state, tanner’s bark, leaves of trees, grass,
and the herbaceous parts of plants generally,
Stable dung is in the most general use for form-
ing hot beds, which are square masses of this
dung after it has undergone violent fermentation.
Tanners’ bark is only preferred to dung, because
the substance which undergoes the process of
putrid fermentation requires longer time to
decay. Hence it is found useful in the baik
pits of hot houses, as requiring to be seldomer
removed or renewed than dung, or any other
known fermentable substance that can be pro-
cured in equal quantity. Leaves, and especially
oak leaves, come the nearest to bark, and have
the additional advantage, that when perfectly
rotten like dung, they form a rich mould or
PRACTICAL CULTURE OF PLANTS.

excellent manure, whereas rotten tanners’ bark
is found rather injurious than useful to vegeta-
tion, unless well mixed with lime and earth,

In preparing manures for hot beds, the object
is to modify the excessive heat generated in the
first process of fermentation. For this purpose,
acertain degree of moisture and air in the fer-
menting bodies are requisite; and hence, they
require to be turned over frequently, and a sup-
ply of water given when the process appears
retarded for want of it, or water and rain
excluded when the fermentation is too languid,
in consequence of a chill state of the mass. Re-
cent stable dung generally requires to lie a month
in ridges or beds, and to be turned over in that
time thrice before it is fit for cucumber beds of

the common construction; but for common beds, |

three weeks, a fortnight, or less, will suffice, or
no time at, all need be given, but the dung formed
at once into linings. Tan and leaves require in
general a month, but much depends on the state
of the weather and the season of the year. Fer-
mentation is always most rapid in summer, and
if the materials are spread abroad during’ frost,
it is totally impeded. In winter, the process of
preparation generally goes on under cover from
the weather in the back shades, which situation
is also the best in summer, as full exposure to
the sun and wind dries too much the exterior
surfacs ; but when sheds cannot be had, it will
go on very well in the open air. <A great deal
of heat is undoubtedly lost in the process of fer-
mentation, and some cultivators have recently
devised plans to turn it to some account, by fer-
menting dung in vineries which are just begin-
ning to be forced, or in vaults under pine pits
or plant stores.

Sowing seeds. After the soil is properly dry
and pulverized the seeds are deposited, and this
should always be done in dry weather, for a dry
soil is especially requisite for covering in theseeds.
Small seeds are sown in greater or less quantity,
according tothe kind. Some are planted singly,
as beans, potatoes; and the depth at which they
are covered in, much depends upon the kinds of
plants. Some seeds require a mere sprinkling
of earth, others have to be covered up with one,
two, or three inches of mould, especially if
planted at times when frost occurs. In general,
however, as germination requires air and heat,
the seeds should not be more than covered with
the soil.

Watering. This process is often necessary,
especially in horticulture, as a means of nourish-
ment to growing plants, especially as a support
to newly transplanted vegetables, and for clean-
ing the leaves and destroying insects. Water
should never be thrown over the leaves of
plants when the sun shines. Indeed, watering

* Loudon’s Ency. of Gardening.

 

675

should always be practised either in the evening
or the morning, as during sunny days, the sud-
den evaporation of water causes a chill which
is fatal to vegetation.

North and east winds, which are generally chill
and dry, are most inimical to vegetation, and
during such times, plants in the open air should
be watered with cireumspection. The process
should be done in the evening, and shelter or
matting put over tender plants. While south
and westerly winds prevail, even although no
rain should fall, vegetables are not in such need
of water, as the air at those times is full of mois-
ture, and the soil readily absorbs this fluid from
the air. In transplanting vegetables, a liberal
supply of water is necessary, and they should be
shaded from the sun; a glass bell or a close
frame put over such plants, serves to prevent
too great an evaporation from their leaves, and
gives time for the roots to resume their action.
In large rooted and hardy plants, the superflu-
ous and bulky parts, and even portions of the
small rootlets, may be dressed away; but in
transplanting smaller and more delicately rooted
plants, the minute fibres should be carefully
preserved, and placed in a natural position
among the soft mould. It is in the action of
these rootlets chiefly, that the vigorous growth
of the plant depends. In transplanting into
pots, the general practice is, to begin with the
smallest-sized pot, and gradually to transplant
into others larger, as the plant advances, and as
the object may be to produce a large or a small
plant. In the case of balsams and tender annuals
this may require to be done three or four times
a month, till the plant has attained its full size;
in the case of heaths, not more than once a year
or seldomer.

Pruning is the amputation of branches of trees,
in order to repress too great growth, and to
direct the sap to other branches. Of two adjoin-
ing and equal sized branches of the same tree, if
the one be cut off, that remaining will profit by
the sap which would have nourished the other,
and both the leaves and the fruits which it may
produce, will exceed their natural size. If part
of a branch be cut off which would have car-
vied a number of fruits, those which remain will
sit or fix better, and become larger. The objects
of pruning them may be the promotion of
growth and bulk, lessening bulk, modifying
form, promoting the formation of blossom buds,
enlarging fruit, adjusting the stem and branches
to the roots, renewal of decayed plants or trees,
and removal cr cure of diseases.

Grafting. This is a process applicable to all
trees and shrubs, and even smaller plants, and
consists in inoculating or joining one branch of
a species to another, and thus producing a variety
different from either. A grafted tree consists of
two parts, the scion and the stock. The scion
676

is a part of the living vegetable, which united
or inserted in a stock identifies itself with it,
and grows then as on its natural stem and roots.
The scion and stock must be either of identical
species, or of the same genera, or genera of the
same natural family, otherwise the graft will
not succeed. It was formerly a popular opinion
that any scion would succeed on any stock.
Thus Pliny, Varro, and Columella, speak of
apples and vines grafted on elms and poplars ;
and Evelyn mentions, that he saw a rose grafted
on an orange tree in Holland. The ancients
acknowledge, however, that such grafts were of
very short duration; and Professor Thouin re-
marks, that the result of numerous experiments
made by him, proves that if any one of these
grafts seems at first to succeed, they all perish
in a very short period.

The periods of the movement of the sap in
different species of trees, the permanence, or time
of falling of their leaves, and the periods of
maturation and qualities of the fruits, are cir-
cumstances to be taken into consideration in
making grafts.

Grafting may be performed on all herbaceous
vegetables with solid stems. Georgina roots
are frequently grafted in this country; and in
France, melons have been grafted on cucumbers,
love apples on potatoes, and cauliflowers on cab-
bages.

Grafting may be performed with scions of the
current year’s shoots, or with those of several
years growth. The stock does not change the
character of the species of the scion which may
be grafted on it, although it materially affects
the quality of the fruit. Some kinds of stocks
are more adapted for grafting than others. The
great art of grafting is to unite exactly the inner
bark of the scion with the inner bark of the
stock, and thus to keep them in contact, till a
union takes place.

Whip or tongue grafting. To effect this pro-
cess in the most perfect manner, it is desirable
that the top of the stock and the extremity of
the scion should be of equal diameter. Hence,
this kind of grafting can be performed on smaller
stocks than any other. The scion and stock
being cut off obliquely at corresponding angles,
as near as the operator can guess them, cut off
the tip of the stock obliquely or nearly hori-
zontally, a slit is now to be made nearly in the
centre of the sloped face of the stock down-
wards, and a similar one in the scion upwards.
The tongue or wedge-like process, forming the
upper part of the sloping face of the scion, is then
inserted downwards in the cleft of the stock,
the inner barks of both being brought closely to
unite on one side, so as not to be displaced in
tying, which ought to be done immediately with
a ribbond of bast brought in a neat manner
several times round the stock, and which is gene-

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

rally done from right to left when the scion is
placed with the right hand, but from left to
right, when itis placed with the left hand. The
next operation is to clay the whole over an inch
thick on every side, from about half an inch
or more below the bottom of the graft, to an
inch over the top of the stock, finishing the whole
coat of clay in a kind of oval globular form,
closing it effectually about the scion and every
part, so as the weather or light may not pene-
trate, to prevent which is the whole intention
of claying. The French method of grafting dif-
fers from the English, in their never paring
more off the stock, however large, than the width
of the scion. In both modes, the stock is some-
times not shortened down to the graft, but a few

|inches left to serve as a prop to tie the shoots

proceeding from the scion, or even to admit of
fastening the ligatures used in the operation
more securely.

In cleft grafting, the head of the stock or
branch, which may be two or three inches in
diameter, is first cut off obliquely, anc then the
sloped part is cut over horizontally near the
middle of the slope; a cleft nearly two inches
long is made with a stout knife or chisel in the
crown downwards, at right angles to the sloped
part, taking care not to divide the pith. This
cleft is kept open by the knife. The scion has
its extremity for about an inch and a half cut
into the form of a wedge; it is left about the
eighth of an inch thicker on the outer or bark
side, and brought to a fine edge on the inside;
it is then inserted into the opening prepared for
it, and the knife being withdrawn, the stock
closes firmly upon it. Two or more scions may
be thus grafted into the same stock.

Crown grafting is practised chiefly in thick
stocks, shortened branches, or headed down trees.
In this operation the scion is inserted between
the bark and the wood, and it is most successful
when performed later than the others. First,
cut or saw off the head of the stock or branch
horizontally or level, and pair the stock smooth.
Then cut one side of each scion flat and some-
what sloping, an inch and a half long, forming
a sort of shoulder at the top of the slope to rest
upon the crown of the stock ; then raise the
rind of the stock with the ivory wedge, forming
the handle of the budding knife, so as to admit
the scion between it and the wood two inches
down; which done, place the scion with the cut
side next the wood, thrusting it down far.enough
for the shoulder to rest upon the top of the stock,
and in this manner may be put three, four, five,
or more scions in one large stock or branch.

Side grafting differs from whip grafting, in
being performed on the side of the stock without
bending down. It is practised on wall trees to
fill up vacancies, and sometimes in order to have
a variety of fruits upon the same tree. Having
PRACTICAL CULTURE OF PLANTS.

fixed upon those parts of the branches where
wood is wanting to furnish the head or any part
of the trees, slope off the bark and a little of
the wood, and cut the lower end of the scions to
fit the part as near as possible ; then join them
to the branch, tie them with bark, and clay
them over.

Ina month after any of the operations of graft-
ing, it may be ascertained whether the scion has
united with the stock, by observing the progress
of its buds; but in general, it is not safe to re-
move the clay for three months or more, till the
graft be completely cicatrised. The clay may
generally be taken off in July or August, and
at the same time the ligatures loosened, when
the scion seems to require more room to expand;
a few weeks afterwards, when the parts have
been thus partially inured to the air, and when
there is no danger of the scion being blown off
by winds, the whole of the ligatures may be
removed.

If the stock was not shortened down close to
the graft or junction of the scion with the stock
at the time of performing the operation, it may
be done now, or as soon as the ligatures can be
entirely dispensed with.

In particular cases, a ligature round the graft,
or a stake or other prop for the shoots of the
scion, may be necessary for a year to come, to
protect against winds, or a bandage of moss may
be kept over the graft to preserve moisture, and
encourage the expansion of the parts and com-
plete filling up of the wound.

Scions are generally taken’ from the young
shoots of last summer’s growth, and from the
outside lateral branches. They should be ga-
thered several weeks before the season for gratft-
ing arrives, as experience has shown that grafting
may most successfully be performed by allowing
the stock to have some advantage over the graft
in forwardness of vegetation. Itis desirable that
the sap of the stock should be in brisk motion
at the time of grafting.

Grafting clay is prepared either from stiff yel-
low or blue clay, or from clayey loam, well beat
up with a fourth of horse dung and a little chop-
ped hay. The French and Dutch use one half
fresh cow dung free from litter, and one half
fresh loam.

Budding or grafting by gems. This is per-
formed by taking an eye or bud of a liqueous
plant attached to a portion of the bark, and in-
serting it into the bark of another stem. This
process may also be performed with herbaceous
plants, but not so successfully. Budding is per-
formed any time from the beginning of July to
the middle of August, regulated by the time at
which the bud is formed on the axille of the leaf
of the current year. The buds are known to be
ready by the shield or portion of bark to which
they are attached easily parting with the wood.

 

677

They should be gathered in a cloudy day, or in
the evening, and used as soon as possible, although
they may be sent to a considerable distance, pre-
served in moist moss.

In cutting off the bud, insert the knife half
an inch below it, and cut upwards a slice of the
wood along with the bark, to half an inch above
the bud. The bud being thus disengaged, the
woody part is to be carefully separated from the
bark, and the bud examined, to ascertain that it
is sound and perfect. A horizontal slit is next
to be made in the tree or stock where the bud is
to be inserted, and then another slit perpendicu-
lar, cutting in both cases through the bark into
the wood, and forming an incision in shape of the
letter T. The bark in the perpendicular slit is
to be gently raised a little from the wood on
each side, and the lower portion of the bark of
the bud slipped into the opening; the upper
portion of the bark is next to be cut across hori-
zontally, corresponding to the horizontal cut or
upper portion of the T, so as that the incised
edge of both barks may come into exact contact.
The wound is now bound round with a piece of
wetted bast. This operation is sometimes prac-
tised by reversing the incision, thus J.

Scallop budding is performed by paring a thin
tongue-shaped portion of bark from the stock,
and applying the bud, without divesting it of its
portion of wood, so as that the barks of both
may exactly fit, and tying it in the usual way.
These buds generally adhere in a fortnight or
three weeks, and may be known to have done
so, by their fresh growing appearance.

Propagation by cuttings. This process is ex-
ceedingly simple and easy in the case of many
trees, as the willows and poplars; but requires
some management in the heaths, myrtles, and
other shrubs. Cuttings are to be chosen from
the side shoots of plants, especially those which
show a tendency to droop towards the ground,
and the proper time for doing this is when the
sap is in full motion. The cuttings should con-
tain a portion of last year’s wood, or of wood so
far formed, and after it has assumed its proper
brown colour. Cuttings from herbaceous plants
are chiefly taken from the low growths, but they
will also succeed occasionally from the flower
stems. The cuttings should be prepared, so as
that the lower end terminates in a joint or bud
when the leaves spring out, and the upper leaves
should be left on the branch.

In plants difficult to strike, it is a general
practice before cutting them off from the parent
plant, to cut a ring round the bark, and after
remaining on the parent branch for a short time,
till a callus is formed, they are cut off below the
ring and inserted into earth. Tender cuttings,
when planted in pots, should be placed near
the sides, not in the middle, with their lower
ends touching the bottom of the pot, or resting
678

in sand or gravel. In this way they readily
strike, whereas, if planted in the loam in the
middle, they will fails

The cuttings should not be inserted to a great
depth, and a moderate degree of heat, moisture,
and light is preferable to any excess. A glass
frame or handbell cover promotes their striking
very considerably, by tending to promote an equi-
librium of atmosphere and temperature. ‘The
degree of heat necessary, depends upon the
nature of the plants. In general, cuttings dur-
ing the process of striking require less heat than
the vigorous parent plant. Cuttings of decidu-
ous hardy trees taken off in autumn, should not
be put into heat until spring, but should be kept
dormant like the parent trees.

Piping isa mode of propagating used with
herbaceous plants having jointed tubular stems,
and has been already described when treating of
the Dianthus and other garden flowers.

CHAP. LVIII.

DRYING AND PRESERVING PLANTS AND VEGETABLE
SPECIMENS—WARD’S PORTABLE CONSERVATORY.

Tus formation of an herbarium of dried plants
is an almost essential requisite for the botanist,
and forms an interesting and highly useful re-
ference to the student and the practical cultiva-
tor of plants.

The following directions are the results of the
experience of an eminent botanist, Dr Greville.

Plants are preserved by placing them between
sheets of absorbent paper, and then submitting
them to pressure until they are quite dry. To
dry plants is a very simple operation; and there
are collectors who seem to think that, if all
moisture is expelled, nothing more can reason-
ably be expected. This, however, is not suffi-
cient for the purposes of science. The botanist
must aim not only at retaining as much as pos-
sible the character, but the original beauty, of
the plants he wishes to preserve. Continental
botanists, especially the Germans, are celebrated
for the beauty and completeness of their speci-
mens; and the black, curtailed, and carelessly
arranged vegetable remains which in this coun-
try are often dignified with the name of botani-
cal specimens, are justly regarded by them as
utterly worthless, and would equally be rejected
by every one anxious to form a valuable collec-
tion,

Specimens should be taken (when practicable)
in fine weather, and free from external moisture.

They should be in a perfect. state of growth,
their leaves and other parts uninjured. When,

* Knight.

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

as is the case in some plants, the lower stem-
leaves differ in shape from the upper ones, and
the plant is too large to preserve entire, portions
of the lower parts of the stem with the leaves,
should be taken separately: if the root-leaves
also differ, they, too, should be preserved. In
some cases, it is important to have the young
shoot with its fully developed leaves, as in the
genus saliz, where the stipules are deciduous ;
and also in the genus rubus, where the leaves,
&c. of the barren surculi are most characteris-
tic. In short, it should always be borne in
mind, that a perfect specimen of any plant in-
cludes every characteristic part. Bad specimens
are always to be rejected, unless the plant is
of great rarity. Varieties are always interest-
ing, as well as remarkable states and monstrosi-
ties, or deviations from the ordinary arrange-
ment of any of the parts. In regard to the size
of specimens, the best guide is the paper most
generally used in good herbaria: this is about
seventeen by ten and a half inches. No speci-
mens should therefore exceed sixteen inches in
length by nine and a half inches in breadth.
Plants under this size should invariably have
the root attached. It may be laid down asa
general rule, that the entire plant should be
taken, if, by a little management, it can be
brought within the above-mentioned limits.
Grasses, carices, and plants of a slender habit,
may be folded once or twice backwards and for-
wards, if necessary; and long slender ferns, &c.,
may in this manner be preserved without muti-
lation. When it is inconvenient to obtain the
root, the stem should be separated below the
insertion of the root-leaves. The young collec-
tor is reminded, that specimens in fruit are to
be selected as well as those in flower.

The apparatus requisite for collecting and pre-
serving plants are,

The Digger. ‘This isa sort of trowel seven or
eight inches long ; the spud two and a half inches
long, two and a half inches wide at the top, nar-
rowing gradually to two inches at the bottom,
the lower angles slightly rounded. It should be
made sufficiently strong, to resist considerable
force in digging out plants from the crevices of
rocks, &c.

The Vasculum or botanical box. The diligent
collector will find it convenient to have his boxcs
of two or three sizes. One of them should be
small enough for the pocket, and is very useful
for the reception of small and delicate plants,
and such objects as demand peculiar care. The
principal vasculum, for distinction’s sake, we
call the magnum. It should not be less than
twenty inches long, eight or nine inches wide,
and five inches deep, having a strong handle at
oneend, The form most strongly recommended
isa flattened oblong, convex on both the upper and
under side, the curve of the lid being similar to that
DRYING AND PRESERVING PLANTS, ETC.

of the under surface. The magnum is, of course,
only required on excursions when a considerable
number of specimens are desired. On such occa-
sions, it is indispensable, if the collector wishes
to bring home his plants in a satisfactory state.
In boxes intended for the pocket, and in them
only, the common concave form of the lid may
be retained with advantage.

The Field-book. This may be carried or not,
according to circumstances. It may be made of
any size, from that of a large pocket-book to a
folio, and is in fact nothing more than a port-
folio, containing a quantity of absorbent paper,
temporary pressure being given by a couple of
straps. To the inner edge of one side is attached
a piece of oiled silk, as well as to each end,
which serves to keep the paper dry in case of
rain. If the field-book is of a quarto or folio
size, it may be slung over the shoulder by a
strap, on the side unoccupied by the vasculum.
‘The great use of such a book is, that plants hav-
ing very deciduous flowers, the Veronica saxatilis
for example, may be at once exposed to some
degree of pressure. Some plants also, whose
corollas close almost immediately after being
gathered, such as those of the different species
of erythrea, can only be preserved in their beauty
by being placed in paper on the spot. In along
day’s excursion, where the harvest is likely to
be abundant, the field-book will be found ex-
tremely useful.

Paper. The best paper for the process of
drying plants is a kind known by the name of
demy grey, with a tolerably smooth surface,
eighteen inches long by eleven inches broad,
which is the size found by experience to be most
convenient, not only for the resident but the
travelling botanist. It may be purchased for
seven or eight shillings per ream, and is prefer-
able to common blotting paper, in being very
much cheaper, far more durable, and in drying
more rapidly after having heen used—a point of
considerable importance, especially on botanical
excursions, when large quantities have to be
dried daily, and sometimes under very disadvan-
tageous circumstances. A limited quantity of
very thin white paper, of the same size as that
described above, will be found useful in pre-
serving some plants, which become soft and flac-
cid during the process of drying, and which can-
not be transferred from one sheet of paper to
another without injury. The corolla of viola
lutea, for example, collapses, if removed in the
ordinary way, after a day’s pressure. By plac-
ing such plants at first within the sheet of thin
paper, the whole sheet, plants and all, can be
moved when the drying paper requires to be
changed, without their being disturbed.

Boards. Two kinds of boards must be pro-
cured, both of which should be exactly the size
of the paper, or, at most, a quarter of an inch

 

€79

larger each way. Two of the boards should be
double ones, half or three-quarters of an inch
thick; each double board being composed of two
thin ones, the grain of the one crossing that of
the other, firmly glued together, and further
secured by small screws along the edge, at inter-
vals of three inches: the rest of the boards, say
eight in number, should be three-eighths of an
inch thick. These ten boards form a set, and
will serve for a couple of reams of paper. If
the collector is active, he will require several
sets of boards, and paper in proportion. *

Press. Some botanists employ screw or other
presses. A preferable and simpler plan is to use
common iron weights, or a squared stone hav-
ing an iron ring fixed in the centre. By this
means, the pressure is never relaxed, as is the
case with the screw-press. In preserving bulky
plants, it is sometimes difficult to equalize the
pressure. Paper folded to the required thick-
ness, and placed on each side of the stem, is fre-
quently sufficient for the purpose. In more
difficult cases, a sand-bag or two, of the size of
the paper, may be used with advantage. In
travelling, each parcel of paper containing plants
must be secured by three strong straps, a double
board being placed above and below, and inthis
way a considerable degree of pressure may be
obtained. When the botanist is stationary for
several days on an excursion, or even resting for
asingle night, no better resource can be desired
than a few heavy stones. A weight of 100 lbs.
will not be too much to place upon each parcel.

A pair of common surgeon’s forceps are very
useful in removing small plants from one sheet
of paper to another. A second pair, as well
as an extra knife, will be provided by the
experienced traveller, in case of accidents. If
an excursion of some days is contemplated, a
good supply of strong cord, and several spare
straps, should not be omitted; and every parcel
of paper should be completely enveloped in oil-
cloth (before the boards are strapped on,) to
prevent the paper or its contents from being
injured by wet.

The botanist being now provided with his
materiél, I shall suppose him to have commenced
aramble of a few days. He has already been
tempted to deposit some fine specimens of very
common plants in his vasculum; but let not this
provoke a smile, for it is not a bad rule to take
even a very common plant, when a remarkably
fine or beautiful specimen presents itself. But
as our botanist has commenced operations, I shall
now address myself to him, and offer a few hints
for his guidance. Be very particular in the
first place, in the choice of specimens: put no-
thing into your box that is not good of its kind.
Let the specimens be the proper size for preserv-
ing, and dispose them carefully, so as not to in-
jure each other. Clean the roots before you
680

place them in the box, and wash those which
have been gathered in muddy places. If you
have been very successful, and your box begins
to show symptoms of repletion, sit down and
revise its contents; throw away the inferior
things, and retain nothing but what is really
worth preserving. You will thus bring home
your collection in a good state, although you
may have, perchance, (no uncommon thing in
the Scottish Highlands,) to wall a dozen miles
to your quarters. If the sun is very powerful,
cover your specimens with a few large leaves, or
even a little grass, and sprinkle a few drops of
water over them. Having returned with your
treasures, you will be anxious to commit them
to paper. Provide yourself with a number of
slips of paper, two inches long by one inch
broad, with a slit half an inch in length cut in
the centre, and have your knife and forceps at
hand. Place now half a dozen sheets of paper
upon one of the double boards, and proceed to
lay out your specimens; one or more on the
same sheet, according to their size. It is not
desirable that the branches, leaves, &c., should
be artificially displayed : separate them slightly,
if they require it, and take care that the parts
are not unnaturally bent or folded. Long slen-
der plants, however, that require to be folded,
must have the folded extremity passed through
the slit of one of the paper slips, which will
keep the parts in their proper position. Lay
down your specimens (as a general rule) with
their roots towards you, and as you place five
or six sheets of paper upon them, arrange the
leaves, &c., with your hand or the forceps, and
then proceed with other specimens, until you
have a dozen or more sheets of them arranged.
Cover them, then, with one of the thin boards,
and begin another series, and so on until all your
plants are secured. Place the other double board
upon the top, and submit the whole to pressure.
The above directions are sufficient for the pre-
servation of most plants: there are some, how-
ever, which demand particular treatment. If
the specimens are woody, or very thick in the
stem, a slice can often be taken from the back
without affecting the character of the plant: a
portion of the plant may be removed if it is
densely tufted; and some of the branches of the
back in such plants as A¢ppophiie rhamnoides,
prunus spinosa, &c. Robust plants that yield
but slightly to pressure, statice armeria for exam-
ple, and others which do not yield at first to
pressure, require a thin board to be placed be-
tiveen every sheet of specimens. The stone-crop
tribe must be plunged for some minutes into
boiling-hot water, and then pressed between
coarse napkins until the external moisture
be removed, before they are committed to
paper: unless this be done, the plants will live
jor a month under pressure, and the leaves die

 

IIISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and fall off by degrees, Aquatic plants should
also be freed from external moisture by means
of napkins, and the same plan may be advanta-
geously resorted to when specimens are collected
in wet weather, which is sometimes inevitable.
Orchideous plants must be subjected to great
pressure, and ought to be dried very rapidly:
scarify the back of the stem, and the midrib on
the back of each leaf with a knife, in order that
the juice of the plant may have an outlet by
which to escape: separate the flowers also, hy
inserting small pieces of paper between them.
When plants have large and delicate corollas,
place a piece of thin paper, somewhat larger than
the corolla, above and below it, to remain until
the specimens are dry. The quantity of paper
to be placed between each sheet of specimens
will vary according to circumstances. For plants
of a thin texture, and containing little moisture,
five or six sheets are sufficient; but more is
necessary for succulent kinds, for aquatic plants,
and for plants in general, when gathered in wet
weather; likewise for woody and robust speci-
mens.

In regard to the frequency with which the
paper ought to be changed, this, for ordinary
plants, is a daily operation, and ought on nu
account to be omitted, until they are very nearly
dry. Aquatic and very succulent plants should
be transferred to dry paper twice a-day; and the
species of sedum, &c., which have been plunged
into hot water, several times during the first and
second days, as the moisture is given out very
rapidly. Change the paper in which orchideous
plants are drying twice a-day, and let it also be
well heated. If you are stationary, and have
plenty of paper, slender plants, like many of the
grasses, &c., and others containing very little
moisture, like myosotés collina and versicolor, &e.
may be allowed to remain in the paper after
having received a single change, until they are
dry, two or three extra sheets being placed be-
tween the specimens. In giving your specimens
their first change of paper, you will not omit to
rectify any mistake in their disposition, and
place those leaves right that have been acci-
dentally folded, &e.

On the second day of your excursion, you will
have a quantity of damp paper on your hands.
In some places it is easy enough to get it dried,
but in the little inns of mountainous districts,
the difficulty of getting several reams of damp
paper dried daily, at first sight appears insur-
mountable. Nothing, however, is more readily
effected, provided you wait upon yourself. Hay-
ing brought a roll of thick cord (and a score of
strong nails in case they should be wanted,) fix
one end of the cord to the roof of the kitchen,
and carry it backwards and forwards along the
roof as many turns as you require. Hang your
paper on these ropes in parcels of a few sheets
DRYING AND PRESERVING PLANTS, ETC.

before you leave your quarters in the morning,
and by the time you want them in the evening
they will be thoroughly dry. Another set may
be dried during the night.

As the plants become dry, they may be ar-
ranged close together, but so as not to touch
each other, on single sheets of perfectly dry
paper, and kept in parcels by themselves. When
a considerable number of plants are in process of
drying, those in the different stages of the pro-
cess should he kept apart from each other, in
order that the desiccation of the more advanced
specimens may not be retarded by the juxtaposi-
tion of those more recently collected.

Invariably attach labels to your specimens,
mentioning the particular station, the date of
collection, elevation above the sea, (as nearly as
it can be estimated,) the geological formation of
the locality, and any additional information that
may be interesting.

Many cryptogamous plants do not necessarily
require the same care when first collected as
those about which I have been speaking, as they
can be relaxed by moisture and prepared at any
subsequent period. They will, perhaps, lose
somewhat of their original bright colour; but
this is of trifling importance, if the great saving
of time to the collector, especially in foreign
countries, be considered.

Mosses and hepatice may be gathered in tufts,
or masses of considerable size, always selecting
such as are in fructification. If the stems or
roots are loaded with mud or soil, they should
be well washed. The tufts are then to be placed
between sheets of coarse paper, and dried under
a moderate pressure, after which they may be
packed like other plants. In subsequently pre-
paring specimens for the herbarium, a greater
pressure will be required.

Lichens may be treated like mosses, at least
such kinds as admit of pressure. Those species
which form a close crust on rocks, trunks of
trees, &c., and which can only be obtained along
with a portion of the substance on which they
grow, should be wrapped separately in paper,
like minerals, and packed into a box.

Alge or sea-weeds are preserved in a rough
state with much facility, and, on account of the
increasing interest which attaches to them, should
be assiduously collected in foreign countries,
especially in the southern hemisphere. They
should be taken, if possible, with the root, and
will often be found in the highest state of per-
fection thrown on shore by the tide. All kinds
should be taken, from the smallest, to the largest
manageable size; avoiding those specimens which
are battered, or in a state of decomposition.
Spread them on the ground, or in an outhouse
to dry, without washing them in fresh water, in
fact, just as they are gathered ; and when they
are quite dry, pack them without pressure into

 

681

a box, mixing a few small branches with them,
to prevent them from being pressed too much
together, in case of damp on the voyage.

For the preservation of fruits and other bota-
nical specimens in the moist state, Professor
Christison says, that after numerous experi-
ments made for a series of years with various
fluids, he finds none which serve so well to pre-
serve both the consistence and colour of fruits,
leaves, and flowers, as a concentrated solution of
common salt. ‘The solution should be made with
the aid of a boiling heat, otherwise it can with
difficulty be obtained sufficiently concentrated.
When articles are to be sent to a distance, as
when specimens are transmitted from hot cli-
mates to this country, the best mode of putting
them up is to preserve those which are of small
size in green glass bottles, such as are used for
pickles, to fill the bottles with the solution, and
to secure the corks, previously well dried, with
a thick covering of some resinous substance, and
cloth tied over all. But the cheapest and most
effectual mode for larger articles, and indeed for
botanical specimens generally, is to sew up each
in cloth of any kind, with a wooden label at-
tached to it, and numbered by branding, and to
put the whole in a barrel, containing the solu-
tion of salt, and of such size that the specimens
are loosely packed, and yet cannot easily change
their position. He has frequently feceived spe-
cimens sent in this way, ina state of complete
preservation, from Ceylon, the Isle of France,
and the West Indies, although four or six months
elapsed before they reached their destination.

Specimens which are to be preserved for demon-
stration should be immersed for a month or
upwards in the saline solution before they are
finally put up. The solution should then be
changed, partly because it is: usually somewhat
coloured, but partly also because it is rendered
too diluted in consequence of the juices of the
vegetable passing out by exosmosis. ‘The last
solution should be filtered. It is often found
difficult to confine the salt in the preparation
jar. The most effectual method, where the
mouth of the jar does not exceed two inches or
two inches and a half in diameter, is to leave a
space of half an inch or more at the top with-
out fluid, to clean and dry the lip of the jar
thoroughly, to drop melted sealing-wax on the
upper surface of the lip, so as to form a uniform
ring over it, to place over the mouth a watch-
glass of such size as to cover the whole lip, or
even to overhang it a little, to press this gently
down with one finger, and to fuse the wax be-
tween the lip of the jar and the watch-glass, by
moving a large-spirit lamp flame around the
edge. After the whole ring of wax is thoroughly
melted, the pressure must be kept up till the
glass cools and the wax concretes. ‘The glass

never cracks in this operation, if carefully per-
4n
682

formed ; but occasionally the watch-glass cracks
on cooling. Sometimes the watch-glass becomes
displaced after a time; but this inconvenience is
of little moment, as an adroit person may easily
restore it in two minutes. Where the mouth of
the jar is larger, the most effectual plan, and at
the same time the easiest, is to tie one layer of
sheet caoutchoue over it in the usual way for
anatomical preparations. ‘The caoutchouc should
be stretched over the jar, but not strongly, by
one, or still better by two persons, while another
secures round the neck two or three folds of stout
twine as a temporary ligature. A thinner twine
is then drawn steadily and tightly round three
or four times above the former, care being taken
not to cut the caoutchoue.,

Solution of salt is comparatively inapplicable,
however, where the fruit is very pulpy,—in such
fruits, for example, as solanwm lycopersicum, or
lemons and oranges; because the fruit shrivels
by exosmosis of its fluids. Diluted pyroligne-
ous acetic acid, diluted to the density of 1008,
sometimes answers well in such circumstances;
but after a few years the texture of the speci-
mens becomes so pulpy and brittle, as not to
admit of their being handled, and most colours
are in no long time more or lessaltered. Spirit,
which is most generally used, speedily renders
all colours alike brown ; but is probably better
for delicate specimens which may be subjected
to minute dissection.

PLANT CASE FOR GROWING PLANTS
IN AN ISOLATED ATMOSPHERE.

Tus apparatus was originally invented by Mr
Ward of Wellclose Square, London, and pro-
mises to be a useful and elegant portable con-
servatory to the lovers of plants residing in a
crowded city.

In consequence of the vitiated atmosphere of
large cities, even the most common plants and
flowers wither and die away within a very short
period. Drs Turner and Christison have ascer-
tained, that it is not simply to the diffusion of
smoke through the air, but to the presence of
sulphurous acid gas generated in the combustion
of coal, that the mischief is to be ascribed. When
added to common air, even in the proportion of
one ten-thousandth part, this gas was found sensi-
bly to affect the leaves of growing plants in ten
or twelve hours, and killed them in forty-eight
hours orless. The effects of hydrochlori or muri-
atic acid gas were still more powerful, it being
found that the tenth part of a cubic inch in
20,000 volumes of air manifested its action in a
few hours, and entirely destroyed the plant in
two days. Both these gases acted on the leaves,
affecting more or less their colour, and withering

 

NISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

and crisping their texture, so that a gentle touch
caused their separation from the foot stalk, and
both exerted this injurious operation when pre-
sent in such minute proportions as to be wholly
inappreciable by the animal senses. In this way
vegetation isaffected in the vicinity of some manu-
factories, around acircumference of fully one-third
of a mile, After having suffered considerable
injury from these acid gases, the plants, if re-
moved in time, will recover, but with the loss
of the foliage. Jlence, in vegetation carried on
in a vitiated atmosphere, the plants are rarely
instantaneously destroyed, but only blighted for
the season. In the following spring, vegetation
again commences with its accustomed luxuri-
ance; and as in many situations there is at
that season, and throughout the summer, a dimi-
nution in the number of coal fires, there will be
a proportionate decrease in the quantity of dele-
terious gases, and consequently less injury will
be done to plants. In winter too, when the
atmosphere is at its worst, deciduous plants are
protected from its noxious operation, by a sus-
pension of their vegetative powers while ever-
greens are, on the other hand, constantly exposed
to its action. Accordingly, in London and other
large towns, especially in manufacturing cities,
vegetation is almost entirely destroyed. It was
in order to protect his favourite flowers from the
baneful influence of the city atmosphere, that
Mr Ward contrived to inclose them in a limited
atmosphere, and he found that plants continued
to grow in this confined condition as vigorously
and as freshly as in the free air of the country.
The late Mr Ellis of Edinburgh thus describes
a plant case constructed for him after the model
of Mr Ward’s:

It is composed of three parts; the stand, the
box, and the glass roof or cover. The stand is
one foot ten inches in height, the box eight and
a half inches, and the cover one foot seven and
a half inches, making the total height four feet
two inches. The stand on which the box rests
is made of mahogany, and supported on four
legs furnished with movable castors. The box
contains the soil, and is made of well seasonea
mahogany, previously steeped for a fortnight in
Kyan’s preservative coinposition. It is a paral-
lelogram, three feet long, and one and a half feet
broad ; its sides are one and a half inches thick,
mitred and dove-tailed at the corners; the bot-
tom of the box is of Honduras mahogany, one
inch thick, and is formed of numerous small
pieces, framed and flush pannelled, and so ar-
ranged as best to resist the yielding of the wood
in consequence of the mass of moist earth which
it has to bear. To give it greater strength, two
cross or tie pieces stretch from side to side, and
are dove-tailed into the sides. They are placed
at equal distances from the two ends, and thus
divide the box into three compartments, but as
PLANT CASE FOR GROWING PLANTS.

they have large open spaces at the bottom and
through their centres, they permit the moisture
to percolate freely through the whole of the soil.
The bottom being properly fitted, is fixed to
the sides by brass screws, and other brass bands
at the corners and bottom are fixed on with
brass nails, no iron being used in any part.
Along the upper edge of the box a groove is sunk
to receive the lower edge of the glass roof, which
rests securely init. This groove is lined with
load, its inner lip is one-sixteenth of an inch
lower than the outer, and at each end is a notch
one-eighth of an inch only above the bottom of
the groove, to allow the condensed moisture
which trickles down the inside of the glass to
flow back to the soil, Instead of lead, the lining
of this groove should be of brass, which would
prevent the galvanic action which arises from
the contact of the two different metals. The
glass cover which fits on to this box is framed
of brass, into which common or plate glass is
accurately fitted. It is furnished with a door
on one side, also fitted close, but admitting of
being easily opened when required. Along the
top of the roof inside, two brass rods extend,
from which small pots containing plants may be
suspended. The whole of the frame work is
well fitted and nicely put together, so as to pre-
clude, as far as could well be done, all interchange
between the air in the case and that in the room.
The conservatory being thus prepared, its bottom
was covered with broken potsherds to the depth
of two inches, over which was spread an inch of
very turfy loam. The remaining space in the
box was filled with soil, composed of equal
parts of peat and loam, with which a portion of
rough white sand, amounting to about one-twen-
tieth part, and free from iron, was mixed. After
being planted, between three and four gallons
of water were freely showered over the tops of the
plants from a fine rosed watering pot. This was
continued till the water ran freely from two holes
made in the bottom of the box for that purpose.
After draining for twenty-four hours, the holes
were tightly fitted with corks, and the glass roof
or cover was then put on. The plants were
chiefly exotics, from various regions of the globe,
among which were the dwarf palm, aloe,
rhododendron, cycas, pitcher plant, gentian,
primrose, lycopodinm stoliniferum, saracenia,
&e. The case with its plants was then placed
at the window allotted for it, which had a
southern aspect, with the morning sun for seve-
ral hours daily. During the sunny part of the
day, the temperature within the case was several
degrees higher than that in the room, while in
the absence of sunshine, or when a fire was kept
up, the temperature of the room was highest.
At other times, when neither sun nor fire pre-
vailed, the temperature within and without the
case rose and fell simultaneously. Atno period

 

683

of the winter did the temperature of the room
fall to the freezing point, nor, it is believed, rise
in summer higher than to about 80°. No fresh
water was given during the whole period of trial
(twelve months,) nor was the door of the case
opened, but to remove a dead leaf or plant that
had damped off. Once only was the case taken
off, in order to check the lycopodium stolinife-
rum, which had grown so luxuriantly as to shade
and injure the other plants. At the end of the
year, all the plants were, with a very few ex-
ceptions, in full vigour. The primroses had
flowered, and the other plants had increased
more or less in size. The tropical plants were
as healthy and luxuriant as the others, though
the mean temperature was comparatively low.
From this interesting experiment, it appears
that a confined atmosphere, by retaining the
moisture of the soil and preventing evaporation,
and consequent dissipation of moisture, precludes
the necessity of a periodical supply of water.
That from the still and undisturbed state of the
air, and from the limited extent of the evapora-
tion, less heat is necessary even for tropical
plants, and that by the two vegetative functions
somewhat analogous to respiration and digestion,
an equilibrium of oxygen and carbonic acid gas
is preserved in the atmosphere surrounding the
growing plants. This circumstance will be better
understood by a reference to the experiments of
De Saussure, which were communicated to the
public in 1797. This distinguished chemist
found that when garden peas, which had attained
to the height of between three inches and four
inches, were placed in a recipient of atmospheric
air, inverted in a saucer filled with water, and
then set aside in aroom well lighted, but which
did not receive the direct rays of the sun, they
grew well. At the end of ten days, the volume
of air was considerably diminished, its purity
greatly impaired, and it still retained 75 of car-
bonic acid. Plants of méntha aquatica effected
similar changes in the air, whilst they continued
to grow in the shade: whence it is inferred that
plants, like animals, continually deteriorate the
air, by converting its oxygen into carbonic acid
gas, when they vegetate in the shade; a result
confirmed by many experiments made by Mr
Ellis, and given to the public in the years 1807
and 1811.

In prosecuting his experiments on vegetation
under the direct influence of light, M. De Saus-
sure was led, with others, to the conclusion, that,
if the air which may have been deteriorated by
the growth of plants in the shade be exposed for
a short time to the sun’s rays, it recovers its
former purity. In his Recherches Chimiques sur
la Végétation, published in 1804, he has esta-
blished this position by numerous experiments
on various plants, as méntha aquatica, lythrum
salicaria, pinus sylvéstris, genevénsis, and cdctus.
684

optntia. These plants were confined in glass
vessels of atmospheric air, and kept for eighteen
or twenty hours in the shade, or in perfect dark-
ness; but, early in the morning, the vessels were
taken out and exposed for four or five hours to
a bright sunshine ; after such exposure, the air
was examined, and was then found to have suf-
fered no change whatever, either in purity or in
volume.

By other experiments, tne autnor next pro-
ceeds to show that, though the air, when thus
exposed to light, had recovered its original com-
position, it must, during the experiments, have
undergone successive changes of deterioration
and renewal. Ifasubstance, as moistened quick-
lime, which strongly attracts carbonic acid,
were placed in the vessel with the growing
plants, the volume of air was observed to dimi-
nish, even although the apparatus were placed
in sunshine: the air, too, when analysed on the
fifth or sixth day of the experiment, afforded
only ry, or had lost five per cent of oxygen gas;
whilst similar plants, confined in another vessel,
but without lime, produced no change, either in
the purity or volume of their atmosphere. Now,
the diminution of volume, in the experiment
with lime, shows that there had been an attrac-
tion, and consequently a formation of carbonic
acid gas; for the lime which produced the dimi-
nution, acted only on that gas. The experi-
ment, it is added, shows farther, that the forma-
tion of carbonic acid gas is necessary to vegeta-
tion, even in sunshine, and that the reason why
we do not perceive its production by the plants
which vegetate without lime in common air, is,
necause they then decompose it in proportion as
they form it with the surrounding oxygen.

This inference, respecting the simultancous
formation and decomposition of carbonic acid,
derived from experiments made with common
air, is supported by others, in which an artificial
atmosphere, containing about seven per cent of
carbonic acid was employed. Plants of the same
species as those before mentioned were made use
of, the same periods of alternate exposure in the
shade and in sunshine were observed, and the
same times allotted for the duration of the expe-
riments. The total volume of air, at the end of
the experiments, had undergone little variation,
but its composition was greatly changed. The
carbonic acid gas which was added to the atmos-
phere had more or less completely disappeared,
and its place was supplied by an increase of oxy-
gen gas, so as to raise its proportion from twenty-
one to twenty-four or twenty-six per cent. In
these experiments, therefore, not only was the
carbonic acid naturally formed by the vegeta-
tion of the plants decomposed, but the excess
of that gas which was added to the atmosphere
underwent the same change; and the proportion
of oxygen gas was consequently increased by

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

five or six per cent beyond that which oceurred
in the experiments with common air.

From the results of these experiments, we
learn that plants, like seeds, require the presence
of oxygen gas in the atmosphere in which they
grow, and like them, also, convert a portion of it
into an equal volume of carbonic acid gas. This
conversion is alike effected by their growth in
the shade and sunshine. In the former case,
however, the presence of this acid gas may be
readily detected in the residual air by the usual
tests; but, in the latter, it escapes detection,
because it is then decomposed as soon as formed,
by the joint agency of the plants and solar
light. Under a bright sunshine, therefore, the
two processes, by which carbonic acid is alter-
nately formed and decomposed, go on simul-
taneously ; and their necessary operation, in as
far as regards the condition of the air, is that of
counteracting each other. Hence, though both
may be continually exercised in favourable cir-
cumstances, the effects of neither on the atmos-
phere can be ascertained by ordinary means; and,
consequently, though in the experiments of De
Saussure with common air, the production and
decomposition of carbonic acid by plants in sun-
shine must have been continually going on, yet,
in all the analyses which he made, the air was
found unchanged, either in purity or in volume;
in other words, the processes of formation and
decomposition of this acid gas exactly counter-
balanced each other.

Of the two processes which have been now
described, each may be considered as in its
nature and purpose quite distinct from the other;
hence, their effects may be readily distinguished;
neither do they necessarily interfere, when
actually working together. ‘The first, or detevi-
orating, process, in which oxygen gas is con-
sumed, goes on at all times and in all circum-
stances, when vegetation is active. It requires
always a suitable temperature in which to dis-
play itself; and when that temperature falls
below a ccrtain point, which is very variable in
regard to different plants, the process is more or
less completely suspended, again to be renewed
when the temperature shall again return. This
conversion of oxygen into carbonic acid is as
necessary to the evolution of the seed as to the
growth of the plant, and is all that is required
for germination ; but the plant requires some-
thing more, for, if light be excluded, vegetation
proceeds imperfectly, and the plant does not
then acquire its proper colour, and other active
properties which it ought to have. ‘The chief
organs by which the consumption of oxygen
gas is effected are the leaves, and its purpose, in
great part at least, seems to be that of producing
some necessary change in the sap during its
transmission through those organs, on its way
from the vessels of the wood to those of the
PLANT CASE FOR GROWING PLANTS.

‘inner bark, whereby it may be rendered fit for
the purposes of nutritionand growth. In itsnature
and object, therefore, as well as in the specific
change which it produces in the air, this pro-
cess closely resembles the function of respira-
tion in animals, and may thus with propriety be
deemed a physiological process.

The second, or purifying, process, in which
oxyen gas is evolved, differs, in all respects, from
that which has just been described. It is, in a
great measure, independent of temperature ; at
least it proceeds in temperatures too low to sup-
port vegetation, provided light be present, an
agent not required for germination, nor essen-
tial to vegetable development. The organs by
which this process acts on the air are, as before,
the leaves ; not, however, by changing the qua-
lities of the sap in the vessels of those organs,
but by producing changes in the chromule, or
colourable matter, in their cells, to which it
imparts colour and other active properties. In
doing this, it does not convert the oxygen gas of
the air into carbonic acid; but, by decomposing
that acid gas, restores to the air the identical
portion of oxygen of which the former process
had deprived it. The former process, carried on
by the agency of the oxygen gas of the air,
was essential to living action, and affected the
well-being of the whole plant; that exercised
by the agency of light is not necessary to life;
is local, not general in its operation; and is cap-
able of proceeding in circumstances and under
conditions incompatible with living action. By
withdrawing the air altogether, or depriving it
of oxygen gas, vegetation soon ceases through
the whole plant; but ‘the exclusion of light from
any part of the plant affects that part only; and
even the total exclusion of that agent only
deprives the plant of certain properties neces-
sary to its perfection, but not essential to its life.
These differences in the processes by which
oxygen gas is alternately consumed and evolved,
during the vegetation of plants in sunshine, are
so manifest, both in their nature and effects, as
to justify the ascription of a name to the latter
process distinct from that given to the former.

Applying these views to the subject under
consideration, we see no difficulty in compre-
hending how the same identical volume of air
in the plant cases of Mr. Ward should, for so
long a period, serve the purposes of vegetation,
without becoming foul from within, or receiving
or requiring renewal from without. The expe-
riments of De Saussure furnish, as we have seen,
examples of a similar kind; and supply, at the
same time, the desired explanation. The daily
depravation and subsequent purification which
the air underwent in the glass vessels of that
eminent chemist, must be equally accomplished,
under similar circumstances, in the glass cases of
Mr. Ward, that is, when their plants are simi-

 

685

larly exposed to vegetate alternately in sunshire
and in shade. And as the former found the air
to continue for many days together unchanged,
either in purity or in volume, when so treated ;
so must the air, in the plant cases of the latter,
preserve, under similar treatment, its original
composition and purity; not, however, by con-
tinuing always the same, but by simultaneously
undergoing opposite changes in sunshine, or
successive changes by alternate exposure to light
and shade, which mutually counterbalance each
other. Thus the deterioration of the air, occa-
sioned by vegetable growth, is counteracted by
another process, necessary to the perfection of
the plant; and, amidst the vicissitudes of per-
petual change, the atmosphere of these cases is
maintained in a state of nearly uniform compo-
sition and purity. In this way, the same air by
changes of composition, like the same water by
changes in its state or condition, may be made
to serve over and over again the purposes of
vegetation.

There is one circumstance of difference in the
experiments of De Saussure, as compared with
those of Mr. Ward, which it may be proper to
notice. In the experiments of the former no
soil was used, but only a thin stratum of water,
in which the roots of the plants were immersed,
covered the surface of the mercury, over which
the vessels were inverted. In the cases of Mr.
Ward, the plants were. set in earth. Now,
vegetable soil is known to deteriorate the air, hy
forming carbonic acid with its oxygen, in the
same manner as plants do; but the acid gas,
which may thus be produced, was found by De
Saussure to be decomposed by the joint agency
of the plants and light, like that produced by
ordinary vegetation; and, consequently, the air
suffered no permanent injury. Indeed, an ex-
cess of carbonic acid, not exceeding one-twelfth of
the atmosphere in which plants were confined,
accelerated their vegetation in sunshine, by in-
creasing the proportion of oxygen; whilst the
smallest doses of this gas proved injurious to that
process in the shade.

The foregoing facts demonstrate the power of
light to decompose carbonic acid gas in plants.
This decomposition, however, can be effected
only by the concurring agency of the light and
the plant; and, whilst the acid gas is decom-
posed, the plant itself acquires a tint of green;
so that the evolution of oxygen gas by the plant,
and the formation of its green colour, always
proceed together. Now, as the chromule, which
imparts colour to the leaf, is lodged in the cells
of the parenchyme, it is in those cells that we
must suppose the decomposition of the acid gas
to be effected, and from them also the oxygen
gas must proceed. The mode in which this
coloration is probably accomplished may receive
illustration from the facts which follow. The
686

“colourable principle,” or chromogen of Dr.
Tope, is readily extracted by water, and the
colourless infusion which is thus formed becomes
red on the addition of an acid, and green on the
addition of an alkali. If a neutral salt be dis-
solved in this infusion it still remains colour-
less; but, if this salt be decomposed by electri-
cal agency, then the acid and alkaline ingredi-
ents, being separated, at once produce their red
and green colours. Now, if we suppose the
carbonic acid gas, which enters the parenchyme
of the leaves, to be attracted ly, and to combine
with, the alkaline matter which is so abundant
in those organs, it may there form a neutral salt,
and whilst this neutral state continues, the leaf
will remain colourless; but if the chemical rays
of light, acting like electricity in the example
before given, decompose this carbonate, and
cause the expulsion of its acid ingredient, then
the alkali, becoming predominant, will produce
its usual effect on the xanthogen of the leaf,
and its chromule will in consequence be ren-
dered green. In order to maintain this green
colour in the leaf, the action of light on its
saline ingredients must be regarded as in con-
tinual operation; and hence its exclusion, by
suspending that action, is followed by a gradual
loss of colour; and, as the carbonic acid gas is
no longer decomposed, the leaf at the same time
ceases to afford oxygen gas. The colouration of
the leaf, therefore, is not immediately due to the
evolution of oxygen, nor even to the subtrac-
tion of carbonic acid, but to the predominance
of alkaline matter which that subtraction of
acid occasions; consequently, the verdure suc-
ceeds to the decomposition of the acid, the evi-
dence of which is afforded by the expulsion of
oxygen gas. Hence, to speak correctly, we can-
not so properly say that the green leaf affords
oxygen, as that it becomes green when that gas
is expelled; and thus it is, that the decomposi-
tion of carbonic acid by the agency of light gives
rise, at once, to the evolution of oxygen gas,
and the formation of the green colour in plants.

The invention of Mr Ward is practicable on
the simplest scale, and may be adopted, at a
trifling expense, hy any person. A bell glass or
crystal bottle, with the bottom cut away, and
fitted over a wooden box, or placed over a com-
mon flower pot, will answer perfectly well.
And thus delicate plants may be preserved in
perfection. Succulent plants, or those that
delight in a moist atmosphere, will sueceed best,
while those plants which flourish in a dry soil
and air are apt to deteriorate. The growth of
minute fungi, too, from the close damp atmo-
sphere, also affects the health of the plants.
Boxes of common wood, with glass ahove, have
been constructed, for the transportation of living
plants from distant countries. This plan, there-
fore, may be practised to any extent, or adapted

 

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

to any scale of expense, which the individual
may find it either convenient or desirable to
employ. When once fitted up, the apparatus,
be it either small or large, requires scarcely any
farther care or attendance. No fresh watering
or airing is at any time required; nor is any
inconvenience experienced from dust and litter,
which often render the ordinary mode of keeping
plants in well-furnished apartments objectionable
and troublesome. Farther, as the plants in this
apparatus are shut off from all communication
with the external air, no apprehension of their
injuring the atmosphere, even of close rooms,
can be reasonably entertained. The only con-
dition, in regard to attendance, that claims
observance, is an occasional exposure to light,
perhaps for a short period only on days of sun-
shine, and for a longer one when the light is
more feeble. These are advantages which render
the method easily practicable by persons of
every class; and will enable those who are con-
demned to live in asmoky atmosphere to refresh
their sight with specimens of healthy vegetation
within their own abodes, although the district.
around them should exhibit only the sickly and
stunted forms of vegetable existence.

The celebrated Franklin, who looked at every
thing with the eye of a philosopher, and sought
to turn to some useful purpose every observation
which he made, in recording the reviviscence of
some common flies which had made a voyage
from Virginia to England in a bottle of Madeira
wine, goes on to state that a plant with its
flowers fades and dies if exposed to the air with-
out having its roots plunged in a humid soil,
from which it may draw moisture to supply the
waste of that which it exhales, and which is
continually carried off by the air. Perhaps, he
adds, if it were buried in quicksilver it might
preserve for a considerable time its vegetable
life ; and, if this be the case, it might prove a
commodious method of transporting from distant
countries those delicate plants which are unable
to sustain the inclemency of the weather at sea.

The ingenious suggestion of the American
philosopher has been happily realised in practice
by Mr Ward, in a way much more simple and
efficient than that which Franklin proposed.
Ly its means, the rarest and most delicate plants
have been transported to and from the most
distant countries, with little or no trouble in
regard to attendance, and scarcely any risk of
suffering from the inclemency of the weather at
sea. He has thereby conferred on the botanist
and horticulturist benefits which no researches
of travellers, however successful, nor expenditure
of money, however great, could have enabled
them otherwise to procure. Instead of simple
descriptions, or dried specimens, or fine pictures
of foreign plants, they can now fix their eyes on
living specimens retaining their native freshness
DIRECTIONS FOR PRESERVING SEEDS, ETC.

and beauty, and possessing all their natural and
characteristic properties. Already have exchanges
of plants between distant countries been carried
on tu a great extent; and the public conserva-
tories, as well as those of private individuals,
been enriched with specimens of many rare
plants, which could scarcely have reached them
by any other means,

687

conditions with regard to climate, and the
renovating processes in relation to water and air
which we have attempted to illustrate, the
botanist and horticulturist may be said to have
entered on new and unexplored fields of vegetable
research, and to have acquired the means of
transporting to their own soil the varied and

Thus, under the modified | most delicate plants of every region of the earth.

DIRECTIONS FOR PRESERVING SEEDS, ROOTS, BULBS, &c.

Szeps of all kinds should be gathered in dry
weather, and kept in dry airy situations.

Various plans lave been proposed for pre-
serving and sending home seeds from foreign
countries, especially from moist and hot cli-
mates, such as packing them in sugar, salt, tal-
low, cotton, saw-dust, sand, clay, or paper. The
first object is to have the seeds perfectly dried.
In very moist climates, the larger seeds may be
dried by exposing them in Leslie’s vacuum along
with sulphuric acid, when they will become
quite dry in a week, and smaller seeds in two
days. These seeds thus dried, may afterwards
be preserved for a great length of time, by put-
ting them in small parcels in common gray
paper and airing them occasionally. Very small
seeds, berries, and oleaginous seeds may be kept
in sugar, or among currants or raisins. Seeds
may also be preserved and sent to a distance, if
after full maturation and perfect drying, they
are enveloped in a large ball of loam and then
baked in the sun, or they may be enveloped in
charcoal or any other dry substance.

Roots, cuttings, grafts, and perennial plants
in general, may be kept in earth or moss moder-
ately moist and shaded from the sun. When
they are to be sent to a distance, the roots or
root ends are to be stuck into balls of clay or
loam, wrapped round with moist moss, or they
may be stuck into potatoes or apples. In this
way, orange trees are sent from Italy to any part
of Europe and North America in perfect preser-
vation; and cuttings will thus live for eight
months or upwards. Packing and transporting
roots of plants, or entire plants in a dormant
state, for short journeys, ismanaged by the enve-
loping them in twisted straw covered with mats.
If for a longer journey, the roots are covered

 

with moist mould and moss, but very moist
moss is not desirable, as it occasions mouldiness,
and rots off the bark of the roots when it begins
to dry.

Air plants, or parasitical orchidee, may be
transported safely to any distance by being packed
loosely in moss, and put into boxes so con-
structed that the plants may be exposed to a free
admission of air, but protected from the sea-
water.

Bulbs are best preserved and transported if
packed in common brown paper or canvass bags,
having been previously freed of all their super-
fluous moisture. Dry sand is « good medium
for placing those bulbs in, which have not previ-
ously been dried in the sun. Minute bulbs, such
as those of ixias, gladiolas, &c., only require to
be folded in separate parcels without any previous
preparation. Terrestrial orchidese should be
transported when in flower, and not when their
roots are in a state of rest.

Woody seeds or capsules, or any of those seeds,
the juices of which are liable to become rancid
soon after gathering, should be buried in common
mould in pots, at the commencement of the voy-
age, and they will thus vegetate before its ter-
mination. Thus, too, camellia seeds are best
transported by planting them in pots on leaving
China, when they will have become seedling
plants on reaching this country. Acorns, and
walnuts, and palms, may also be treated in this
manner.

Ripe fruits, such as apples and pears, if put
into stone pipkins, closely covered up, and placed
in cellars where the temperature never falls be-
low 32°, nor rises above 42°, will frequently
keep in good preservation for twelve months.

All esculent roots, such as potatoes, turnips,
688

carrots, and parsnips, which it is desired to pre-
serve through the winter, are put into pits in a
dry soil and covered over with three or four feet
of mould. In this way also, apples and grain
in some countries are covered up in a dry sandy
soil, and are found to keep for a year. Roots,
brocoli, celery, and other vegetables, may also
be preserved in an ice house during the win-
ter, by placing them in baskets with a little
straw between them and the ice. Before using

HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

them they should be slowly thawed in cold
water.

Some fruits are best preserved by pulling them
off the tree before they are quite ripe. This is-
the case with oranges imported into this coun-
try, but in this way the flavour of the fruit is
greatly lost.

Grapes and other fruits have been preserved
ever winter in mild climates, by allowing then
to hang on the trees in their ripe state.

VICTORIA REGIA, THE ROYAL WATER-LILY.

Tas Victoria Regia, or Great Water-Lily, has been
with equal taste and propriety dedicated to the Queen.
Sir Robert Schomburgk found the plant in British
Guiana, when travelling for the Royal Geographical
Society of London, and his narrative of the discovery
is lively and interesting:—‘“‘It was on the Ist of
January, 1837, while contending with the difficulties
that nature interposed in different forms, to stem our
progress up the river Berbice (lat. 4° 30’ N., lon.
52° W.), that we arrived at a part where the river
expanded and formed a currentless basin. Some
object. on the southern extremity of this basin at-
tracted my attention, and I was unable to form an
idea what it could be; but, animating the crew to
increase the rate of their paddling, we soon came
opposite the object which had raised my curiosity,
and, behold, a vegetable wonder! All calamities
were forgotten; 1 was a botanist, and felt myself
rewarded! There were gigantic leaves, five to six
feet across, flat, with a broad rim, light green above

 

and vivid crimson below, floating upon the water;
while, in character with the wonderful foliage, I saw
luxuriant flowers, each consisting of numerous petals,
passing in alternate tints from pure white to rose
and pink, The smooth water was covered with the
blossoms; and as I rowed from one to the other, I
always found something new to admire. The flower-
stalk is an inch thick near the calyx, and studded
with elastic prickles, about three-quarters of an inch
long. When expanded, the four-leaved calyx mea-
sures a foot in diameter, but is concealed by the ex-
pansion of the hundred-petalled corolla. This beauti-
ful flower, when it first unfolds, is white, with a pink
centre; the colours spread as the bloom increases in
age; and, at a day old, the whole is rose-coloured.
As if to add to the charm of this noble water-lily, it
diffuses a sweet scent.”

The plant was first flowered in this country at
Chatsworth, by Mr. (now Sir Joseph) Paxton.

 

Victoria Regia, The Royal Water-Lily.
APPENDIX.

Tus following pages contain descriptions of the figures in those new plates added to this edition,
in so far as not already described in the previous portion of the work. By a reference to the
Index, or List of Plates, the descriptions of the remaining figures will readily be found :—

PLATE XIIi,
TrEE Ferns.

Fig. 1.—Alsophylla excelsa, one of the most mag-
nificent of the tree ferns, It is a native of Norfolk
Island, where it abounds in moist places, and attains
the height of from fifty to eighty feet, with a trunk
scarcely a foot in diameter, and crowned at the sum-
mit with numerous long graceful fronds, which give
it somewhat the appearance of a palm. The fronds
are twice pinnate, and from seven to twelve feet long.

Fig. 2.—Dicksonia arborescens, a native of St.
Helena, growing near the summit of Diana’s Peak.
It is remarkable that this species has not yet been
detected in any other part of the world. Its stem
attains the height of fifteen or more feet, bearing at
its summit a tuft of dark rusty-green thick or coria-
eeous fronds, which are from ten to twelve feet long,
and twice, or sometimes thrice pinnated.

Fig. 3.—Cyathea elegans (variety of arborea), a
native of Jamaica, and grows to about twenty-five
feet high, with an erect stem, about six inches in
diameter, and covered with the oblong cicatrices or
scars left by the fallen fronds, which give it a tes-
selated appearance. The numerous glabrous bipin-
nate lanceolate fronds are produced from the top of
the stem, and are about ten feet long, with a spiny
stipes, three feet in length, thickly covered upon the
upper surface with light, fawn-coloured, deciduous
scales. The pinnz are two feet long.

Fig. 4.—Cyathea arborea, » very fine tree fern,
growing in most of the West Indian islands in woody
shaded places. It has a hard stem or caudex, which
attains the height of twenty feet or more, and is co-
vered with the spiny bases of the stipes of old fronds,
intermixed with black wiry roots, and furnished at
the summit with numerous long, lanceolate, bipin-
nate, stiff, coriaceous fronds, which are ten or more
feet in length, and of a dull green colour. The stipes
of the fronds are densely armed with short, stiff,
blackish spines, and the rachis is clothed with rusty-
brown hairs, mixed with a few chaff-like scales. Both
the stipes and rachis are of a dark brownish-black
colour.

Fig. 5.—Hemitelia speciosa, a native of Brazil,
Caraccas, &e., first discovered at Caripé by Hum-
boldt, who says that it attains the height of from
thirty-two to thirty-seven feet. It has numerous
broad lanceolate, pinnate, glabrous fronds, which are
from five to ten feet long, and of a deep green colour.

Fig. 6.—Drynaria coronans is a native of the
eastern parts of India, growing principally on trees,
with w thick, scaly, creeping rhizome, from which
arise numerous deeply pinnatifid fronds, which are

 

about four feet long and one foot wide, attenuated
towards and cordate at the base. They are arranged
in a circular manner, having somewhat the appear-
ance of a large crown. Hence the specific name co-~
ronans, which is applied to it.

Fig. 7.—Platycerium grande, a remarkable epi-~
phytal fern, native of New Holland and some of the
Malayan islands, where it grows on trees to a large
size. It has two kinds of fronds, barren and fertile,
both proceeding from the same axis of growth. The
barren fronds are sessile, ascending, round, or some-
what elongated, and divided towards the top into
numerous broad lobes, or segments, which are blunt
at the apex. Each succeeding barren frond grows
completely over the old ones, which latter in time
lose their vitality, but still remain attached to the
axis of growth, and, by the successive development
of new fronds over them, ultimately form a dense,
round, spongy mass, with the growing barren fronds
at the outside. In very old plants these masses are
upwards of three feet in diameter, and sometimes
become so heavy, from the quantity of water, &c.,
which collects in them, that they are detached from
the tree upon which they were growing, and fall to
the ground. The fertile fronds are pendulous from
the axis of growth, and have a short footstalk or
stipes. They are narrow at the base, but gradually
get wider, until, at about a foot from the stipes, they
divide into two parts, or fork, each part being again
repeatedly forked, and often attain the length of six
feet. Both the barren and fertile fronds are of «
bluish green colour, and are covered with white stel-
late pubescence.

Fig. 8.—Neottopteris vulgaris (Bird’s-nest Fern).
This curious fern is a native of New Holland, India,
the Malayan and Pacific islands, Mauritius, and nu-
merous other places, where it grows on moist trunks
of trees. It is commonly known by the name of
“‘The Bird’s-nest Fern,” from the circumstance of
the fronds being spreading, arrayed in a circular form,
and having somewhat the appearance of a gigantic
bird’s nest. ‘The generic name, Neottopteris, is de-
rived from neottia, a bird’s nest, and pteris, a fern.
The roots of this plant are congregated into a dense
mass, or tuft, from which arise numerous simple,
lanceolate, acute, rather stiff, coriaceous, spreading
fronds, from two to four feet long, and four to six
inches wide in the middle, but somewhat attenuated
towards both ends. They are smooth, of a shining
green colour, and have very short footstalks, or stipes,
with a dark green angular rachis, or midrib.

Fig. 9.—Asplenium lucidum, a spleenwort from
New Zealand, with shining, bright green, pinnate

4s
699

fronds, about two feet long and onc foot broad, having
a round stipes, or footstalk, with a channel or groove
along the upper sido. The pinne are nearly opposite,
shortly petiolate, and oblong acuminate, with a ser-
rated margin and simply forked veins.

 

PLATE XIV.
Cacti.

Fig. 1.—Opuntia Brasiliensis, a native of Brazil,
belongs to a group of Cacti to which the name of
«« Prickly pear” has been given, from their fruit being
pear-shaped, and having small tufts of short spines
upon their surface. This species has a straight, round,
woody stem, which attains to the height of thirty or
forty feet and upwards, becoming gradually atte-
nuated towards the top, and armed with numerous
fascicles of long spines, which are very strong, sharp,
and ash-coloured. It is furnished with a number of
almost horizontal branches, which gradually become
shorter towards the top, giving it a pyramidal ap-
pearance. The flowers are produced in great abun-
dance, chiefly from the prominent parts of the mar-
gins of joints. When fully expanded, they are about
an inch and a half in diameter, and of a bright le-
mon colour. The fruit is oval or pear-shaped, about
an inch and a half in diameter, and slightly hollow
at the apex. Its skin is thin, smooth, of a shining
pale yellow colour. It is almost impossible to handle
the fruit without getting the skin full of bristles,
which break off and leave a fragment behind. Ow-
ing to the bristles with which the skin is armed, it
is seldom used as a dessert fruit; although the fruit
of Opuntia vulgaris, a closely allied species, which is
cultivated in the south of Europe, is much esteemed
as a dessert fruit, and large quantities of it are con-
sumed, especially in some parts of Spain.

Fig. 2.—Cereus senilis, the “Old mah Cactus,” is
a native of the hottest parts of Mexico; it grows to
about twenty or twenty-five feet high, and nine or
ten inches in diameter at the broadest part. Its
stem contains an extraordinary quantity of oxalate
of lime in small sand-like grains, which renders it
very heavy and brittle ; portions of the dried tissue
have been analyzed and found to contain from sixty
to eighty per cent. of this substance. The surface of
the stem is of a grayish green colour, and is divided
into thirty or forty narrow furrows, which are about
half an inch deep, and have very acute sinuses ; the
ridges are obtuse, rounded, and furnished with elon-
gated areoles, seated on small tubercles, from which
proceed three or four long white spines, surrounded
by a thick mass of very long, wiry, white or gray hair,
from which circumstance the plant is commonly called
the ‘Old man Cactus.” The flowers of this plant
have never, to our knowledge, been produced in
Europe.

Figs. 3 and 10.—Opuntia cochinillifera (the Cochi-
neal-insect Cactus) is a native of Mexico, but it is
cultivated in the West Indian islands and other
places. (See p. 565.)

Two kinds of cochineal are distinguished in com-
merce, One sort is called Grana jina by the Spa-
niards, the other Grana sylvestre. ‘The colouring

 

APPENDIX.

matter of the first sort is of a finer quality and in
greater abundance than in the latter; and the sub-
stance which envelopes the insect is pulverulent or
powdery in the former, whilst in the latter it is floc-
culent or cottony ; but it has not yet been determined
whether they are different species of Coccus, or whe-
ther the differences do not depend upon the species
of Opuntia used, or the method of culture adopted.

Fig. 4.—Echinocactus Stainesit, a native of Mexico,
growing abundantly at San Luis Potosi. The stem
is somewhat elliptical, and about five or six feet high,
and one to two feet in diameter ; it is slightly woolly
at the top, of a deep green colour, and has from seven-
teen to twenty furrows. The flowers are produced
on the top of the plant.

Fig. 5.—Cercus cerulescens is a native of Brazil,
and has an angular glaucous blue coloured stem, ris-
ing perpendicularly to the height of fifteen or twenty
feet, with a diameter of three or four inches in the
broadest part, slightly attenuated towards the base.
It is divided into eight or ten furrows, with a corre-
sponding number of obtuse, wavy ridges. The flowers
of this plant grow from one of the areoles towards
the top of the plant, and are very nearly as large and
beautiful as those of Cereus grandiflorus, the ‘‘ Night-

flowering Cereus.”

Fig. 6.—Echinocactus visnaga grows to a large
size; two gigantic specimens of it were sent to the
Royal Botanic Garden at Kew some years ago, from
San Luis Potosi, but both have since died; one of
them weighed 713 pounds, and measured four feet
and a half in height, and about two feet nine inches
in diameter; the other was still larger, weighing one
ton, and being nine feet in height, with a diameter of
more than three feet; but these are said to have been
small plants in comparison with others growing in
their native country. In shape this species is some-
what elliptical, and has forty or fifty deep, narrow
furrows, with the same number of wavy, sharp-edged
ridges; the furrows are of a glaucous green colour,
becoming lighter towards the top of the ridges, and
the centre of its summit is covered with a dense mass
of a short, tawny, wool-like substance. The flowers
are produced singly, from amongst the dense woolly
substance at the top of the plant; they have nume-
rous serrated petals of an oblong or spathulate form,
and a shining yellow colour.

The specific name of visnaga has been given to
this plant, in allusion to the use to which the Mexi-
cans apply the spines, viz., for making toothpicks,
visnaga or viznaga signifying in Spanish toothpick.
It has been calculated that the number of spines on
the largest plant of this species sent to Kew Gardens,
could not have been less than 51,000!

Fig. 7.—Cereus hexagonus, a native of Surinam
and other hot parts of South America, where it at-
tains the height of forty feet and upwards, seldom
having any branches; its stem has usually six angles,
or sometimes more, with very wide furrows. The
flowers are produced from the angles of the stem near
the top of the plant, and have a tube about six inches
long, with imbricated greenish sepals, and petals
which are reddish outside and white within ; the
APPENDIX.

stamens are numerous, and slightly tinged with green.
Its fruit is a round or oval berry of a dark purple
colour,

Fig. 8.—Cereus Peruvianus, var. monstrosus. This
curious monstrous variety of Cereus Perwrianus is a
native of Peru and other hot parts of South America;
it grows to the height of ten or twenty feet, with an
erect, fleshy, branched, and irregularly furrowed stem.
The flowers are like those of Cereus Perwrianus, but
larger and more spreading.

Fig. 9.—Cereus grandiflorus, the “Night-flowering
Cereus.” (See p. 364.)

Fig. 11.—Zchinocactus oxyyonus.—This species is
a native of South Brazil; it has a fleshy, round, or
oval stem, about six inches or a foot in diameter.
The flowers spring from the areoles of some of the
upper fascicles of spines ; the tube of the calyx is very
long, narrow at the base, but widening out towards
the apex, and becoming trumpet-shaped ; its segments
are narrow, sharp-pointed, and of a deep rose colour;
the petals are white, tinged with rose colour at the
tips, and their segments are much broader than those
of the calyx.

Fig. 12.—Echinocactus myriostigma is a native of
San Luis Potosi. It differs from all the other species
of the genus, in not being furnished with spines. In
its native country it sometimes grows to the height
of fifteen or sixteen inches, but the specimens in
European gardens are only about five or six inches
high, rather oblong, and depressed at the top. The
flowers are produced from areoles at the top of the
plant; they are about two inches in diameter.

Fig. 13.—£chinocactus helophorus, a native of the
south of Mexico, about San Luis Potosi; its stem is
nearly spherical, somewhat depressed at the top,
about eighteen inches in diameter, and of a light green
colour. The summit of the plant is covered in the
centre with a light brown wool-like substance, from
amongst which the shining yellow flowers are pro-
duced.

Fig. 14.—Melocactus communis. This plant is a
native of the West Indian Islands, growing in dry,
barren places near the sea, and upon porous rocks,
into which its roots penetrate, but from which it seems
almost impossible that they can derive any nourish-
ment; indeed, it has been asserted by some persons
that this and other species of cacti derive the greater
part of their nourishment from the atmosphere; but it
has been proved, by careful analysis, that this opinion
is erroneous. Its stem attains the height of from
one to two feet, is either round or somewhat ovate,
and has twelve to eighteen furrows; the ridges are
armed with spines, arranged in stellate fascicles, or
bundles, at certain regular distances from each other;
each bundle contains from five to ten pale or dusky-
brown coloured spines of unequal size, the lower ones
being largest. Upon the top of the stem there is a
cylindrical cap, or crown, about one-third the dia-
meter of the stem, and from this the flowers are pro-
duced; this crown, or top, is generally known by the
name of ‘‘ Turk’s cap” or “‘ Turk’s head;” hence the
vernacular name of the plant is ‘‘ Turk’s cap Cactus.”
In some places they are called ‘‘ Englishmen’s heads”

 

691

and ‘‘ Popes’ heads,” It is composed of numerous
reddish-brown coloured spines, imbedded in a white
wool-like substance; the flowers are imbedded in
this mass of spines and wool, and protrude only a,
short distance beyond the spines; they are very
small, tubular, and of a red colour; the calyx and
corolla are combined into a single perianth, which is
divided into many segments; the anthers are sessile,
and inserted into the throat of the perianth. Its
fruit is a small, ovate, oblong, wedge-shaped berry,
which, like the flower, is also imbedded amongst the
spines and wool, constituting the “‘Turk’s cap;” but
when perfectly ripe they are gradually ejected from
it; the seeds are numerous, small, black, and shining,

 

PLATE XV,
FRUIT AND ORNAMENTAL TREES.

Fig. 2.—Chamerops excels, the hemp palm, a na+
tive of Nepaul. Fig. 3.—Cupressus funebris, funeral
cypress. Mr, Fortune, in his work on the Tea Coun-
tries of China, including Sunglo and the Bohea Hills,
describes this weeping cypress as the most beautiful
tree found in that district, growing to the height of
about sixty feet, with a stem as straight as the Nor-
folk Island pine, and weeping branches like the wil-
low of St. Helena. Its branches grow at first at
right angles to the main stem, then describe a grace-
ful curve upwards, and bend again at their points.
From these main branches others, long and slender,
hang down perpendicularly, and give the whole tree
a weeping and graceful form. It reminded the tra-
veller of some of the large and gorgeous chandeliers
seen in theatres and public halls in Europe.—For
other figures, see Index or List of Plates.

 

PLATE XVI.
PALMS, PINES, &c.

Fig. 1—Araucaria imbricata, the Chili pine,
which was brought to this country in 1792, by Mr.
Menzies, the surgeon in Captain Vancouver’s voyage.
The figure in the plate is a portrait of a fine specimen
of this tree in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. The
plant grows naturally in dense forests, similar to our
woods of Scotch fir. The Chilians eat the seeds of
the plant as the Italians do the seeds of the stone
pine. The Araucaria is becoming a favourite orna-
mental plant in all parts of the United Kingdom,
being sufficiently hardy to withstand our winters.
Fig. 7.—Cycas revoluta; its stem, like that of C. cir-
cinalis, p. 261, produces sago. C. revoluta is a na-
tiveof Japan. The Cycas is allied to the conifers, —
For other figures, see Index or List of Plates.

 

PLATE XVII.
PINE TREES.

Fig. 2.—Pinus Sabiniana, or Sabine’s pine, a na-
tive of California, and along the western flanks of the
Cordilleras of New Albion, at an altitude reaching to
within 1600 feet of the line of perpetual snow, where
it was first discovered by the late lamented Mr. David
Douglas, in 1826, and again in 1831, when he sent ripe
seeds of it home to the London Horticultural Society,
from which plants were abundantly raised and liberally
692

distributed over the country. Mr. Douglas described
it as a magnificent tree, attaining the height of 140
feet, and four feet in diameter. Its prickly cones are
large ; so are the seeds, which are eaten by the natives
of those countries, and are pleasant to the taste. The
tree is perfectly hardy, and well endures our severest
winters. The wood is whitish, and rather soft, espe-
cially in situations where its growth is rapid. Fig. 4.
—Pinus pinca, the stone-pine, p. 464. This is the
pine of Claude Lorraine’s Italian landscapes. Fig. 5.
— Cedrus deodara, the deodar, from the mountains of
northern India, equal, if not superior in beauty to the
cedar of Lebanon, of which some eminent botanists
now consider it to be a variety. The wood is com-
pact and durable. The gates of the celebrated temple
of Somnauth are constructed of deodar; as those of
Solomon’s temple were, and those of St. Peter’s at

tome are, of the cedar of Lebanon. Fig. 6.—A dies ex-
celsa or Clanbrassiliana, Lord Clanbrassil’s spruce-fir,
very generally considered only as a variety, although
by some ranked as a species, which certainly its ap-
pearance and growth would warrant as very different
rom any other spruce, being a low compact bush, of
from three to four feet high, with short, numerous
branches, closely covered with leaves, which are sel-
dom more than one-fourth of an inch long. Intro-
duced to Britain by Lord Clanbrassil; the date and
locality uncertain, but supposed to be from the Le-
vant. Fig. 7.—Pinus Coultert, or Dr. Coulter’s pine,
a native of the western coast of North America, ex-
tending from 40° to 48° north; also on a range of
low hills from the Rocky Mountains towards the sea
at Cape Orford, of Vancouver, where it was dis-
covered by the late distinguished botanical collector,
Mr. David Douglas, in 1826, when he sent home
seeds to the London Horticultural Society, where it
was raised and distributed to the various collections.
It was met with more recently by Dr. Coulter on the
mountains of St. Lucia, at an elevation of nearly
4000 feet above the level of thesea. That gentleman
likewise sent home fresh seeds of it to various gardens,
where it has been raised. It is perfectly hardy, and
is said to attain a height of 100 feet, with a circum-
ference of 12 feet. From its rapid growth, the wood
is not expected to be valuable; but the tree is highly
ornamental, either in the pinetum or singly on the
lawn or park.—For other figures, see Index or List
of Plates,

 

PLATE XVIII
A BRAZILIAN FOREST.

Meyen and Von Martius state that a characteristic
feature in Brazilian forests is the variety and profu-
sion of climbing plants. By the commingling of
their branches, they bind themselves closely to the
wood of the tree which supports them. In this pro-
cess the strength of the original root of the parasite
becomes weakened, and as a counterpoise, the stem
sends down air-roots, and thus this tenacious and
vigorous race continually acquire fresh strength and
freedom, ‘‘In proportion (says Meyen) to the ma-
jestic beauty of a primeval forest, is its fearful gran-
deur when in conflict with the wild elements. To

 

APPENDIX.

be in such a forest during a violent hurricane, is
described as more fearful than to struggle with the
raging waves in the open sea. ‘When the boisterous
wind catches hold of the tops of the gigantic trees of
these natural forests, and shakes the branches and
trunks against each other, the air is filled with a fear-
ful rushing, thundering, rattling, and crashing. Even
the strong lianas (climbing plants) are torn asunder,
and the broken branches and stems fall to the ground.
The rain, at first warded off by the thick canopy of
foliage, now falls in torrents ; almost all the inbabi-
tants of the forest betray their fear by mournful howl-
ing and crying; the apes, the large bats, and the
whole host of birds call loudly together, and the
croaking of the tree-frogs and others of this family,
sometimes like the sound of a drum, discloses the
misery of the moment.”

The forms of the palm, the musa, the arborescent
grasses, fig-trees, orchids, and other parasites and
climbing plants, determine the character of the vege-
tation of this as of other portions of the equatorial
zone.

Dr. Von Martius describes the bush-ropes of the
Brazilian forests on the Organ Mountains, as clinging
round the trees, and hanging down from them in
graceful festoons. These ropes yield a milky or yel-
lowish juice when wounded, and probably belong to
the dogbanes or asclepiads. The twining plants,
decorated with beautiful green leaves, consist of spe-
cies of banisteria, smilax, serjania, and bignonia,
voluptuously interlaced and entangled.

 

PLATES XIX.—XXI.
MEDICINAL PLANTS,
For page of description, see Index or List of Plates.

 

PLATE XXII.
MEDICINAL PLANTS,

Ipzcacuan (Cepheelis tpecacuanha), a plant of the
cinchona tribe, with an annulated root, which is the
ipecacuan of the pharmacopceias. It is emetic and
diaphoretic.— For other figures, see Index or List of
Plates.

 

PLATES XXIII, XXIV.
SPICE PLANTS.
For page of description, see Index or List of Plates.

 

PLATES XXV., XXVI.
GUM PLANTS.

Gum Oxr1BanuM, the product of Boswellia serrata,
a native of India, called also Libanus thurifera. Oli-
banum is chiefly used as a grateful incense ; but it
possesses also stimulant, astringent, and diaphoretic
properties. Arabian frankincense has also been said
to be the produce of the same tree, but this is uncer-
tain, Gurra PERCHA is the produce of Jsonandra
gutta, a native of Singapore, Borneo, and other Malay
islands. It is a large tree, with spongy wood, and
leaves of a leathery texture, green on the upper, and
orange-yellow on the lower surface. The Malays
destroy the trees in order to get at the juice, instead
of collecting it from incisions made in the growing
APPENDIX.

tree, as in the case of the plants producing caout-
chouc. A single tree yields about 20 or 30 Ibs, of
gutta percha, The substance was made known only
in 1845 ; its uses are already innumerable. The an-
nual imports into Great Britain are about 1000 tons

a-year.—I'or other figures, see Index or List of
Plates,

 

PLATES XXVII.—XXX.
PLANTS USED AS FOOD,
For page of description, see Index or List of Plates.

 

PLATES XXXI., XXXII.
PLANTS USED IN DYEING.
For page of description, see Index or List of Plates.

 

PLATES XXXIII., XXXIV.
PLANTS USED IN CLOTHING AND CORDAGR.

GomMMUTI-PALM (Arenga saccharifera). The sub-
stance named gommuti, used for cordage, canvas,
and other economical purposes, is a fibre produced
by the splitting or decay of the leaf-stalks of this
palm. The fibres are stiff aud deficient in elasticity,
preventing it from being much in request for cordage
in this country, where only small quantities of them
are received. P1Iassava-PaLM (Attalea funifera),
piassava, piagaba, monkey-grass, or para-grass, is a
fibre produced by this palm in a similar manner to
the gommuti, namely, by the separation of the leaf-
stalks or petioles, which are of great length, often
nearly twenty feet. The fibres are about the thick-
ness of a rush, round, and not very flexible, so that
they are neither woven nor spun in this country,
but are much used in making brushes and brooms.
The coquilla-nut is the fruit of the same palm.—Sun,
shunum, taag, or Bengal hemp, is the fibre of Crota-
laria juncea (p. 420), a leguminous plant of India,
resembling our broom. JvreE (Corchorus capsulazis),
p. 420. The fibre of this plant, which belongs to
the Linden tribe, has of late years become so gener-
ally used, that it now rivals flax and hemp in its im-
portance as a commercial product.—For other figures,
see Index or List of Plates.

 

PLATE XXXV.
VEGETABLE POISONS.

Aithusium cynapium, fool’s-parsley ; leaves poi-
sonous. Arun maculatum, cuckoo-pint, or wake-
robin; tubers amylaceous, stimulant, diaphoretic, and
expectorant ; juice acrid, poisonous ; produces Port-
land sago when freed from the acrid juice. Bryonia
alba, white bryony ; root acrid and purgative ; cath-
artic. Chelidonium majus, greater or common celan-
dine; juice acrid, stimulating, aperient, diuretic,
and sudorific.

 

PLATE XXXVI.
VEGETABLE POISONS.

Aconitum napellus, wolf’s-bane, or monk’s-hood ;
nareotico-acrid ; a spirituous infusion of the root has
proved fatal to human life. <Atropa belladonna,
deadly nightshade or dwale; a dangerous narcotic.
Solanum dulcamara, woody nightshade or bitter-

 

693

sweet; berries bitter and poisonous ; plant narcotic
and diaphoietic. Datura Stramonium, common
thorn-apple ; violent narcotic poison.

 

PLATE XXXVII.
VEGETABLE POISONS.

Conium maculatum, hemlock; powerfully narcoticos
acrid, Hyoscyamus niger, black henbane; strongly
narcotic, Lactuca virosa, poisonous lettuce ; narco-
tic. Colchicum autumnale, autumnal meadow-
saffron ; a narcotico-acrid poison ; used as an anthel-
mintic.

PLATE XXXVIII.
VEGETABLE POISONS.

Ranunculus alpestris, alpine white crowfoot;
acrid. Agaricus muscarius, fly-blown mushroom
(named also Amanita muscaria), one of the most
poisonous of our fungi. It is narcotic and intoxi-
cating, and in Kamschatka is used in the same man-
ner as ardent spirits. Digitalis purpurea, pwrple
foxglove ; diuretic, narcotic. Helleborus niger, black
hellebore, or Christmas rose, same natural order as
Ranunculus; characterized generally by acridity, caus-
ticity, and poison.

 

PLATE XXXIX., XL.
FRUITS AND NUTS.

Fig. 6.—Sapucaya, Sapucaia, or Zabucajo nut (the
produce of Lecythis ollaria), and known by the name
of monkey-pot, the seeds being much relished by these
animals, Fig, 7,—Brazil, Juvia, Castanha, or Para
nut (the fruit of Bertholetia excels), of which also
the monkey is very fond, and will hammer the capsule
for hours together with a stone, in order to get at the
inclosed nuts.—For other figures, see Index or List
of Plates.

 

PLATE XLI.
AUSTRALIAN TREES AND SHRUBS.

Australian trees as well as shrubs are perennial
evergreens. Hence the forests of that vast island are
verdant with foliage all the year round. ‘There is
no autumnal fall of the leaf; consequently there is
scarcely any soil formed in the woods by decayed
leaves. As there is no general denudation of leaves
from the branches in winter, so, when spring comes
round, no universal budding takes place, to renew the
charms of that season, as in European forests. ‘The
well-known American expression, “‘ fall of the year,”
which is derived from its deciduous vegetation, is in
this southern region inapplicable. There is a stereo-
typed aspect, if we may so term it, about Australian
forest scenery, so that its general effect upon the
mind is that of monotony. This impression is like-
wise assisted by the sombre green colour of the fo-
liage, caused by the dark tint of the chlorophyll that
constitutes the colouring matter of the leaves. Al-
though the country is open and grassy, and the cli-
mate clear and sunny, yet there are no warm green
hues in the forest landscape in spring, nor the rich
glowing tints of autumn. A universal sombrencss
would thus prevail, were these effects not consider-
694

ably modified by the unusual structure of the leaves
and bark of the trees belonging to the genus Luca-
lyptus, which form, on an average, four-fifths of the
forests in the temperate regions of Australia,

It is well known that, in forests of deciduous trees,
the leaves project horizontally from the leaf-stalk,
showing a distinct upper and under side in the struc-
ture of their veins, parenchyma, and epidermis. This
position of the leaves gives that umbrageous charac-
ter to our forest trees which is well marked in the
sycamore and chestnut. In Australia, on the con-
trary, gum-trees and their congeners have their leaves
placed vertically upon the leaf-stalk, both sides being
of the same structure, like the mistleto leaf. Con-
sequently there is abundance of light from above
piercing these forests, rendering more cheerful what
would otherwise be gloomy in the Australian land-
scape, and permitting the sun’s rays to penetrate
through the foliage, so as to fall upon the brilliant-
coloured flowers and green-sward which cover the
open forest iands, as it were, with a beautiful carpet.
Moreover, the leaves of this class of trees are rarely
more than an inch wide and five inches long, being
simple, acute, and scimitar-shaped, the branches but
thinly covered with foliage, and the trees wide apart ;
so that, excepting their monotonous character, the
open forests of Australia are cheerful to the traveller,
salubrious to the settler, and are always weil lighted
up by the sun and swept by the breeze. The au-
tumnal fall of the leaf is likewise in some measure
represented by the annual stripping of the bark from
the trunks and branches of the gum trees, which is
seen in the accompanying plate, fig. 1.

Of an opposite character is the general appearance
of the brushwoods, formed by shrubs and the class
of smaller trees in Australia. These thickets, termed
“scrubs” by the colonists, are dark, dank, and
dreary, and the plants so closely interwoven and
thorny that in many instances they are impenetrable
by man or beast. The contrast between them and
the neighbouring open forest land is remarkably de-
fined. While in the latter, as we have remarked, all
nature is dry, light, and cheerful, in the former the
traveller scarcely proceeds twenty steps when he is
enveloped in gloom, even at mid-day, while a hollow,
resounding canopy of foliage, formed of broad-leaved
climbers, fig-trees, laurels, and the like, echoes to his
progress, as he forces his way through the crackling
Lrushwood, whilst 4 damp chill seizes his frame.
Here the botanist finds many of the rarest and most
beautiful Australian shrubs and trees, and, what is
remarkable, rarely of the same species as those which
grow outside its boundary. That indefatigable ex-
plorer and botanist, the lost and lamented Leich-
hardt, informed the writer of this article that in the
Moreton Bay district he counted seventy species of
shrubs and trees, within the area of a square mile, in
one of these scrubs, not one of which was found in
the adjacent forest.

This remarkable feature is partly accounted for
frora the tenacity with which these scrubs keep to
soils formed by certain rocks. In one locality they
grow upon the trap-dikes which intersect the sand-

 

APPENDIX.

stone formation, forming narrow belts of vegetation,
not more than one or two miles wide, and continuing
dense and unbroken for five, ten, fifteen, and fre-
quently twenty miles. So that if the direction of
one lies across the path of the settler, between his
homestead and the settlement, he has either to skirt
it, making a circuitous route, or to cut a road through
it. In other localities the nature of the soils is re-
versed, as shown by Leichhardt, during his journey
from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, ‘It was in-
teresting,” he writes, “‘to observe how strictly the
scrub kept to the sandstone and stiff loam lying upon
it, whilst the mild black whinstone was without trees,
but covered with luxuriant grasses and herbs; and
this fact struck me as remarkable, because, during
my travels in the Bunya country of Moreton Bay, I
found it to be exactly the reverse; the sandstone
spurs of the range being there covered with an open
well-grassed forest, whilst a dense vine brush extended
over the basaltic rock.” The greatest known jungle
of this kind lies between Melbourne and Gipps’ Land,
in Victoria, which is estimated to be nearly 200 miles
long and about 50 broad; and although a track has
been found across it, so difficult is the journey through
its rocky region, that it takes the intrepid bushman
three days to cross it.

Wuirs Guu-Tree (Eucalyptus obliqua), Fig. 1.—
The genus Eucalyptus derives its name from the
well-marked connection of the calyx with its lid or
calyptra, which is forced off by the pistils and
stamens, when blossoming. The gum trees of Aus-
tralia are the monarchs of the forest in that
country, and attain the height frequently of 150
feet, with a girth of 24 feet about a yard from the
ground. In Van Diemen’s Land this may be con-
sidered the average dimensions of. the trees in the
southern and western parts of the island, where we
have measured a fallen giant of the forest 260 feet in
length and 16 feet in diameter, However, the buts
of such enormous trees are not solid. At the same
time, some idea of their size may be entertained,
when from two to four men on horseback can find
room in their hollow trunks. The appearance of
a white-gum tree forest has no counterpart in the
northern hemisphere. From the base of the trunk
up to the minutest branches, the bark of the tree is
perfectly white, and the leaves of a leek-green colour.
lis general aspect is that which a forest of ash trees
would have, if their stems and branches were white-
washed. Their trunks, also, are generally naked for
about two-thirds of the way up; and the branches
above that project at nearly right angles from them,
while the smaller branches frequently shoot up verti-
cally. The leaves show the specific character of the
foliage alluded to, particularly their leathery struc-
ture. On being crushed in the hand, an essential oil
is expressed from them, which is contained in cavi-
ties, to preserve them during their perennial exist-
ence, and to enable them to withstand the aridity
and heat of the climate. As the name denotes, trees
of this genus exude gum from their trunks. This
gum, however, is not a true gum, like that which is
yielded by the Acacias. It is, properly speaking, a
APPENDIX.

gum-resin, of a highly stringent quality, possessing
similar properties to gum-kino, and as such is a va-
luable corrective in dysenteric complaints, which are
often fatal amongst the colonists.

Srriney-Bark (2. pulverulentus), Fig. 2.—The
timber of the white and blue gums, as well as their
ally the stringy-bark, is of the most serviceable de-
scription to the colonists. Though all are equally
useful for the same purposes, yet the white gum is espe-
cially valued in house-building, while blue gum excels
it for ship-building. Ships built of this timber are
classed at Lloyd's A 1 for fourteen years. Stringy-
bark is a more straight-grained timber than either of
the others, and hence it is sought after for splitting
into paling, laths, and shingles; the latter being used
for roofing houses instead of slates. On the other
hand, there are cross-grained gum trees of so tough a
nature, that ships’ knees may be cut by the saw out
of a plank, and have all the strength of a naturally-
bent knee. It is remarkable, also, that the best tim-
ber from the gum trees is the outside part, the inside
often being hollow and decayed ; and it is no unusual
circumstance for the ship-builders at Hobart Town to
lay down the keel of a ship 120 feet long, composed
-entirely of a single slab from the outer portion of a
gum tree.

THe WartLe Tren (Acacia dealbata), Fig. 3.—
There are about forty species of acacia in Australia,
all ornamental trees, but none exceed the wattle tree
in beauty, nor approach it in point of utility. It
forms umbrageous and delightfully scented groves
near the banks of streams and lakes. It is a hand-
some tree, from fifteen to thirty feet high, with mi-
nutely pinnate leaves, like the mimosa plant, from
which circumstance its bark is called the mimosa
bark, and forms an article of export from Australia
to Britain; which, before the gold discovery, amply
remunerated the exporter, notwithstanding the great
distance, from the fact of its containing a greater
percentage of the principle tannin than any other
bark. It ig most abundant in Van Diemen’s Land,
Port-Philip, and Twofold Bay, and other parts of
the south coast, between the parallels of 34° and 38°
south latitude. The flower is a ball of yellow sta-
mens and pistils, from which insects derive much
nourishment. When the acacia groves are in full
blossom, they send forth a fragrance which may be
detected at the distance of several miles; and on ap-
proaching them they present one of the most pic-
turesque features in Australian forest scenery. This
plant yields a gelatinous gum of no value for the
purposes of commerce ; but its congener, A. ¢mplexa,

furnishes a soluble gum, little inferior to gum Arabic, '

and formerly was an article of export from South
Australia to this country.

AUSTRALIAN VIRGIN Bower (Clematis Mossmana),
Fig. 4.—This beautiful climbing plant was discovered
by Mr. Mossman amongst the scrub forests of the
Australian Alps. It has a four-leaved white waxy
calyx, two to three inches in diameter, inclosing a
profusion of yellow stamens and styles, which give
forth a delicious orange perfume. ‘The flowers blos-
som from October until January. Towards March

 

695

and April its beauty is scarcely diminished, although
the flowers are gone; for these are succeeded by fas-
cicule of long feathery awns, depending from the
pericarp, like bundles of floss silk. In the locality
above named, it climbs up the trunks and through
the branches of casuarina and araucaria trees, hang-
ing in festoons from tree to tree, its climbing stem,
sometimes fifty feet long, with trifoliate leaves, and
serrated cordato-ovate leaflets. Nothing can exceed
the delicacy of contrast between the form and colour
of this climber amongst the foliage of these darkest
of the dark-hued Australian trees, Even the abori-
gines of the country are not insensible to its beauty,
particularly at seed-time, when it waves its silky
hair. These dusky children of nature at that time
adorn their heads with the stems, entwining them
several times round, thereby forming a silvery wreath
round their jet-black hair, which upon the young
women of the tribes has a most pleasing effect.

Grass Tree (Xanthorrhea hastilis), Fig. 5.—
Amongst the many curious forms of the vegetable
kingdom in the antipodean world, the grass tree ranks
not the least interesting. In general its presence is
indicative of a poor soil, therefore it is one of those
plants which give life to the sterility of a great por-
tion of Australia. It is an endogenoyg plant, and
attains its height from the annual decay of its long
grass-like leaves, from the centre of which proceeds
the flower-stalk, in every way having the form and
structure of the bulrush. From the bush-fires which
sweep through the country, the crooked stems of
these plants are almost always scorched black, so
that in the distance they have very much the appear-
ance of an aborigine crouching down, That they
themselves know this to be the case has been shown,
in instances where they have been pursued by the
mounted police and squatters, after some murder or
depredation. In order to avoid pursuit, the more
cunning amongst them would twist their bodies in a
contorted manner, and stand immovable until their
pursuers had passed, unless the hounds used upon
these occasions would scent them out, and prove
them to be other than grass trees. Again, the ex-
plorer, in passing through a country inhabited by
hostile natives, frequently takes these trees, in the
distance, to be groups of black men. When torn up
by the root after these frequent burnings, a quantity
of a resinous gum, called gum acaroides, is gathered
in nodules, which has been found useful in manufac-
turing varnish. The natives use this gum for fasten-
ing on the barbs of their spears, made from fishes’
teeth or broken pieces of glass.

EVERLASTING FLOWERS (Helichrysum elatum and
bracteatwm), Figs. 6 and 7.—An arid region like
Australia is necessarily rich in specimens of dry
everlasting flowers, white and yellow. These gaudy
flowers form a great contrast with the surrounding
brushwood, where they grow, or at other times in the
clefts of rocks on the summits of mountains. For it
would appear that their hardy nature is proof against
sun and wind at the highest altitudes of Australian
vegetation, while the barren mountain-ridges furnish
sufficient soil fur their nourishment where other
696

plants would perish. They are favourites with the
aboriginal women in decorating their hair.

Suu-Oak (Casuarina pendula), Fig. 8, is one of
those arborescent plants, typical of extinct European
vegetation, of which there are so many examples in
the Australian flora. It bears the anomalous name
of she-oak amongst the colonists, which is a corrup-
tion of the native name sheack. Although an exogen
in the structure of its branches and trunk, which dis-
plays an unusually large development of the medul-
lary vays, the casuarina possesses no true leaves. The
pendulous articulations which serve for that purpose,
are formed in the same manner as the whorls of
Hippuris vulgaris, the common mare’s tail, and
these are analogous in structure to the lepidodendra
of the transition epoch, as seen in their fossil remains,
so that the casuarine of Australia may be considered
existing types of the extinct arborescent equisctacece,
which flourished during the carboniferous era, and
assisted greatly in forming the strata of the coal-
measures. Their average height is from fifteen to
twenty feet, the trunks disproportionately thick com-
pared to their size, and spreading out- at the but
with thick, firmly imbedded roots. The colour of
its scanty foliage is of the darkest green, which, to-
gether withthe dark hue of its rough bark, renders a
clump of those trees like a black patch in the land-
scape. Its usual habitat is by the borders of running
streams, and hence it is regarded especially by the
settlers in that arid country. But its most charac-
teristic location is by the sea-side, where it flourishes
in dense groves. Here, upon the poorest soil, and
at the utmost verge of the land, these hardy trees
brave the salt spray, which showers upon them from
the surf. While we have designated the gum tree
forests as cheerful, though monotonous, and the vine
serubs as dense and gloomy, these casuarina groves
may with equal propriety be called melancholy.
Seated under the dark canopy of thread-like foliage,
the winds sigh overhead as they create a stridulous
murmur amongst the leaves, producing a mournful
sound, which is heightened by the distant surge of
the ocean. The leaves are nourishing, and relished
by horses and cattle, while, on the ground where
they fall, they prevent the vegetation of grasses and
herbs, and are slow in decomposition. The timber is
of a bard and tough kind, and is much prized by the
aborigines, who cut their boomerangs and clubs from
portions of the but, while the tree is growing.

CaBBAGE-PaLm (Corypha Australis), Fig. 9.—As
acontrast to the foregoing in pleasing beauty and ha-
bitat, we may class the cabbage-palm. Their graceful
stems and light green leaves shun the bleak hillside,
and seek for shelter in the warm fertile meadow-lands.
In clearing these rich patches of alluvial soil, the
farmer rarely cuts down the cabbage-palm, particu-
larly as it is not abundant throughout the colony.
Moreover, the leaves, when dried, are highly valued
for making men’s sailor-brimmed hats. For this pur-
pose they are cut up into strips about the width of a
straw, and plaited zigzag fashion, which are sewn
strongly together to the required shape; and few hats
stand the climate more serviceably than an Australian

 

APPENDIX.

cabbage-palm hat. The name of cabbage is given to
it in consequence of the young leaves, before emerg-
ing from their sheath, furnishing a vegetable mass not
unlike a cabbage, and which, upon emergencies, the
traveller has found a nutritious farinaceous kind of
food. Otherwise, this tree is the same as its great
congeners found in tropical climates, and attains an
average height of fifty feet.

Captain Coon’s TEa-TREE (Leptospermum scopa-
viwm), Fig. 10.—When our distinguished country-
man and navigator, Captain Cook, arrived in these
distant southern regions, after long and harassing
voyages thither, it was amongst his first duties, for
preserving the health of his crews, to look for some
wholesome herbs on shore, as a corrective to the
fatal effects of scurvy. The plant, known through-
out Australasia as Captain Cook’s tea-tree, was
found by him to contain a curative principle in
addition to this. A decoction of its leaves drank
like tea—hence the name—proved a most efficient
medicine. Its leaves are much smaller than those of
the tea-plant, but the seed-vessels are very similar.
It bears rosaceous white blossoms eight months in
the year, and grows most luxuriantly on marshy
ground, from six to twenty feet high. What are
termed tea-tree scrubs among the settlers, are dense
thickets of this plant along the swampy margins of
streams, where the stems grow as straight and supple
as willow-wands, which are useful in ‘‘ wattling” the
sides of huts, ¢.e., forming a kind of basket-work
upon upright posts, to be covered with mortar. In
Van Diemen’s Land and New Zealand, where it
grows abundantly, the settlers make a palatable and
wholesome beer from it; and in Port-Philip, in 1841,
when tea rose from £3 to £15 per chest, many of the
poorer class of settlers used it as a substitute.

Tae Borrie-Brusa Puiant (Banksia marginata),
Fig. 11.—This genus of plants numbers about thirty
known species, and is peculiar to Australia. Except-
ing for firewood, they are of no utility to the settler;
yet, in the economy of nature, they form a binding
root for the sandy shores of bays and inlets on the
coast. They generally present a stunted appearance,
with dry rigid leaves, producing the compound flower
which gives them their familiar name. This species
rarely exceeds six feet in height, but the Banksia
serratifolia attains sometimes twenty feet.

Dwarr Native CuErry (Lcocarpus humifusus),
Fig. 12.—As contrasting with its dry nature, the
dwarf native cherry is distinguished by its succu-
lent properties, and growing in swamps. This spe-
cies and Z, strictus bear a small drupe, with the stone
at the base outside, which ig called the native cherry
by the colonists, and possesses a sweet flavour.

GREAT-FLOWERED AUSTRALIAN Hrata (E£pacris
grandiflora), Fig. 13.—This beautiful heath is now a
favourite ornamental hot-house plant. Although the
Enacridacee are, strictly speaking, not true heaths,
yet plants of that order resemble the Ericacee in al-
most every character, excepting that the anthers are
one-celled, and opening longitudinally, whereas the
others are two-celled, and dehiscing by a pore. In
other respects they serve the same economy in nature,
APPENDIX.

and inhabit similar localities and soils. In the arid,
sandy districts of Australia, along the east coast, the
different species of epacris are as abundant as the
ericas are at the Cape of Good Hope. Their dry, rigid
leaves, brilliantly coloured petals, devoid of scent,
and hard wocdy stems, accord with the bright sunny
climate, and the unmarked character of the seasons.
The adaptation of these plants to a region where more
succulent herbs would soon wither and perish, is
beautifully illustrative of the provision of nature in
clothing the Australian wilderness with vegetation ;
while the facts that they flower in our winter gar-
dens, when all European flowers are dead, and fade
in summer, when indigenous plants are in full bloom,
show that, although transplanted to the northern
hemisphere, where the seasons occur in opposite rota-
tion, they retain the wondrous principles of vegetable
physiology unaltered, which regulate the nature of
vegetation in the southern hemisphere; a proof that
there is another and a higher principle controlling the
vitality of plants than heat, and its alternations of cold.
Nothing can surpass their beauty when seen growing
in the greatest luxuriance, amongst the rocky clefts
around the shores of Port Jackson. The traveller
who sees them for the first time would imagine that
he was trespassing upon some horticulturist’s garden,
and had entered a choice collection of cultivated
flowers, when he had suddenly penetrated into one of
those flowery dells.

Native Rose oF AUSTRALIA (Boronia serrulata),
Fig. 14.—For want of a better representative of the
“queen of flowers,” the Australian colonists have
chosen this pretty little plant, which bears but a very
distant affinity to the true rose. In like manner,
Oorrea speciosa, fig. 15, is named the AUSTRALIAN
Fuseuia, with perhaps a little closer resemblance to
its assumed prototype. This desire of giving familiar

 

697

names to the flowers of his adopted country, recalls
pleasing reminiscences to the colonist; but at the
same time it gives the inhabitants of the mother
country erroneous impressions of the character of
that exotic flora. Not only are the trees and shrubs
very different in their nature from those of Europe,
but the specific characters of the herbs and grasses are
unlike any that are described in the British flora ;
and we question if there are more than twenty known
species of plants common to Australia, which are in-
digenous in Europe. This statement will convey the
extent of its meaning more fully, when we add, that
at present there is little short of 10,000 species known
to botanists, although not all botanically described.
The first botanist of repute who visited the shores of
Australia, and gave some account of its extraordinary
vegetation, was the late Sir Joseph Banks, who was
afterwards followed in his researches by the indefa-
tigable Robert Brown, at present chief botanical
curator in the British Museum. This gentleman
gave the result of his discoveries in a purely technical
work, published in Latin, as far back as 1810, wherein
he describes upwards of 4500 species, and which, from
the umbrage taken by its author at the severe criti-
cisms passed on his new views, and style of Latin,
never passed into a second edition, and may be con-
sidered a sealed book to the public at large. Since
that period very little has been done in describing
and illustrating the botany of that most interesting
region. Few genera have been added to the list given
by that eminent botanist, although Cunningham,
Labillardiere, and others, have more than doubled
the list of speeies. There is still a vast field open for
botanical discoveries in Australia, and a popular and
interesting history of its vegetation has yet to be
given to the world.
8s. M.

AT
GLOSSARY

us

BOTANICAL TERMS.

A

A, in composition, signifies without, as Aphyllus, with-
out leaves; Acaulis, without stem.

Abbreviate (abbreviare, to shorten). Used in compara-
tive descriptions, to indicate that one part is shorter
than another.

Aberrant, deviating from the natural or direct way;
applied in Natural History to species or genera that
deviate from the usual characters of their neighbours.

Abortion signifies an imperfect developement of any
given organ.

Abraded, rubbed or worn off.

Abstergent, cleansing, having a cleansing quality.

Accessory, something added to the usual number of
organs, or their parts.

Aceretion, the growing of one thing to another.

Accumbent, lying on, prostrate, supine; this term is
employed in Crucifere, to signify a radicle, which
lies upon the edge of the Cotyledons.

Acerose, ncedle-pointed; fine and slender, with a sharp

oint.

ee sour, tart, acid.

Acetarious, any thing belonging to the salad tribes of
vegetables.

Acetous, something that produces acidity.

Acicular, needle-shaped.

Acinaciform, scimitar-shaped.

Acint, the small stones in grapes, strawberries, &c.

Aculeate, being furnished with aculei or prickles, as
distinguished from spines.

Aculei, prickles, sharp hard processes of the epidermis
falling off when old; by which character they are
distinguished from spines, which do not fall off.

Acuminate, taper-pointed.

Acutangular, having sharp angles.

Adnate, adhering to a thing. Anthers are called adnate
when they are attached to the filament by their
whole length.

Adult, the full-grown of any thing: full-grown Ivaves
are adult leaves.

4G ruginous, having a colour like that of srugo or ver-
digris.

Agglomerated, collected in a heap or head.

Aggregate, gathered together; usually applied to a dense
sort of inflorescence.

Akenium, a hard pericarpium, containing a single seed,
which does not adhere to it; it is the same as the
Linnean nux.

Albumen, the substance under the inner coat of the testa,
surrounding the embryo; it is sometimes absent.

Alcxipharmic, that which counteracts poisons, antidotal.

Alkaleseent, having the properties or effects of alkali.

Alwveolate, resembling a honeycomb,

Amentum, a catkin; mode of inflorescence.

Amplexicaul, stem-clasping; the base of the leaf sur-
rounding the stem.

Amylaceous, having the properties of starch.

Anastomosing, uniting, or inosculation, of vessels.

Androgynous, producing both male and female sexcs on
the same root, or in the same flower.

Anfractuose, full of turnings and winding passages,

 

Angular, composed of, or furnished with, angles.

Angulo-dentate, angularly toothed, or angular and
toothed.

Annulations, rings or circles.

Anterior, growing in front of some other thing.

Anthelmintic, capable of killing worms.

Antheriferous, bearing anthers.

Anti-scrophiulous, antiscorbutic ;
scurvy.

Antiseptic, efficacious against putrefaction.

Aperient, having a slight purgative quality.

Apetaloys, being without petals,

Apex, the summit; generally applied to any thing ter-
minating in a point.

APES, resembling something covered with little
ulcers. :

Apiculate, terminating in an apiculous or little point.

Apiculous, a small point. This term is generally used
when the midrib projects beyond the leaf, furming a
little point, or when a small point is very suddenly
and abruptly formed.

Apophysis, a swelling beneath the theca of a moss.

Appendix, that which is attached.

Appressed, placed close upon something else: when
hairs lie flat upon the surface of a plant, they are
said to be appressed.

Approximated, near together.

Apterous, without wings, or the membranous margins
which botanists call wings.

Aquatics, growing in or belonging to water.

Arboreous, being a tree, as distinguished from frutes-
eent or shrubby.

Arborescent, having a tendency to become a tree.

Arcuate, curved or bent like a bow.

Arcola, little spaces or areas on the surface of a thing:
the surface of crustaceous lichens is often cracked in
every direction; the spaces between the eracks are
the areola.

Areolated, the adjective of the last term.

Aridity, dryness.

Arillate, having that peculiar appendage called the
Arillus. The term is only applied to seeds.

Arillus, a process of the placenta adhering to the hilum
of seeds, and sometimes enveloping them.
Aristate, bearded, as the glumes of barley.

grasses,

Aroma, the spicy quality of a thing.

Articulation, the place where one thing is joined with
another, another word for joint.

Asci, small tubes in which the sporules of Cryptogamic
plants are placed.

al scigerous, bearing asci.

A ssurgent, rising upward.

Atlenuate, made thin or slender.

Auriculated, having an ear-like base.

Awns, the beard or arista of corn.

Axil-flowering, flowering in the axilla.

Auwilla, literally the armpit; in plants applied to the
angle formed by tlie union of the leaf and stem.

Agillury, placed in the axilla.

Ais, the line, real or imaginary, that passes through
any thing.

efficacious against

Many
GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

B

Buccate, bertied, having a fleshy coat or covering.

Bu ed, resembling a ae or ots ee

Ball, the round central part of the flower of the Stapélia.

Bands, or vitte, are tho spaces between the elevated
lines or ribs of the fruit of umbelliferous plants.

oes crossed by a paler colour in spaces resembling

rs,

Beak, any thing which resembles the beak of a bird;
hard short points.

Bearded, having long hair like a beard.

Beardletted, having small awns,

Bicuspidute, twice pointed.

Bidentate, double-toothed, or having two tecth.

Biennial, a plant is said to he biennial which requires
two seasons to mature its fruit, and then dics.

Bifarious, placed in two rows.

Bifid, half divided in two; two cleft.

Biglandulur, double-glanded.

Bilabiate, having two lips.

Bilobed, divided into two lobes.

Binate, growing two together.

Bipartible, capable of being parted in two.

Bi innate, a mode of foliation; twice pinnate.

Bipinnatifid, twice pinnatifid, a mode of foliation.

Bisaccate, having two little sacks, bags, or pouchcs

Biseutate, resembling two bucklers (scula) placed side
hy side.

Biternute, divided in three twice over.

Li-tri-crenate, crenate twice or thrice.

Bi-tri-pinnatifid, pinnatifid twice or thrice over.

Bi-tri-terndte, growing in threes twice or thrice over.

Bivalved, two-valved.

Blanching, made white by being grown in a dark place.

Bland, fair, beautiful.

Blight, a vague term, signifying a pestilence among
plants caused by the attack of insects or of para-
sitical fungi, or by some endemical affection of the
atmosphere,

Blistered, having the surface raised as the skin is when
blistered.

Bole, trunk of a tree.

Boragineous, of or belonging to the natural order Bora-
ginea,

Brachiate, having arms or branches usually placed
opposite to each other, nearly at right angles with
the main stem, and crossing each other alternately.

Bracteate, furnished with bractes.

Bracteole, little bractes.

Bractew, small leaves placed near the ealyx.

Brancehlets, small branches.

Bristles, rigid hairs.

Bulbiferous, bulb-bearing.

Bulbous, having bulbs.

Bulbs, underground buds resembling roots, and con-
sisting of numerous fleshy scales placed one over the
other.

Burry, covered with hooked stiff hairs, like the heads
of Bur or Burdock.

Byssoid, having the appearance of Byssi.

Caducous, falling off soon.

Casious, gray.

Cespitose, growing in little tufts.

Culcarate, spurred, or spur-shaped.

Caleareous, chalky, or growing on chalk.

Calceiform, formed like a little shoe.

Calli, small callosities, or rough protuberances.

Callous, hardened.

Calycine, of or belonging to a calyx.

Calyculated, having bracteole resembling an external
or additional calyx.

Calyptra, literally an extinguisher: applicd to the body
which tips the theca of a moss, and the like. —

Calyptrate, having a covering resembling an extinguisher.

Calyptriformis, shaped like a calyptra.

Campanulate, bell-shaped.

Canaliculate, channelled or furrowed.

Cancellate, latticed; resembling lattice-work.

Canescent, hoary, approaching to white. —

Capillary, very slender; resembling a hair.

Cupitate, growing in a head.

Capitular, growing in small heads.

Cupitul’, small heads.

 

699

Capitutiform, formed like a small head.

Carbonised, burned to a, coal.

Carina, a keel like that of a boat; also the two lower
petals of papilionaceous flowers.

Carinate, keel-shaped,

Cariopsis, a one-cclled, small, indehiscent pericarpium
adhering to the seed which it contains, as the grain
of grasses.

Carious, decayed.

Carminative, medicines which promote perspiration,

Carnose, fleshy.

Carpella, the small parts out of which compound fruit
are formed.

Carpology, the science which treats of the structure of
fruits and seeds,

Cartilage, gristle.

Cartilaginous, pristly.

Cataplasm, a plaster, or more properly a poultice.

Catarrhal, of or belonging to a cold.

Cathartic, purgative.

Catkin, inflorescence of the natural order Amentacea.

Caudate, tailed, being like a tail.

Caudew, the trunk or stem.

Caudicula, a small membranous process on which the
pollen of orchideous plants is fixed.

Caulescent, acquiring a stem.

Cauline, produced on a stem.

Causticity, having a burning quality.

Cautery, that which burns.

Cellular, composed of cells.

Centimetre is a French measure equal ta 4 lincs 483,
or near 44 lines.

Centurig, hundreds.

Cephalic, medicinal to the head.

Ceraceous, wax-like. .

Cernuous, nodding, drooping, or pendulous.

Chagfy, bearing processes resembling chaff.

Chalaza, a spot on the seed, indicating where the ves-
sels of the raphe terminate.

Channel-leaved, folded together so as to rescmble a
channel for conducting water.

Charring, blackening by fire.

Cilia, hairs like those of the eyelash.

Ciliary processes, like eyelash hairs.

Ciliated, cyclash-haired.

Ciliuto-dentute, toothed and fringed with hairs like cye-
lashes,

Cinereous, ash-coloured, pray.

Cireinately, curled round like a sharp crook.

Cirrhiferous, bearing tendrils.

Cirrhose or Cirrhous, tendrilled.

Clammy, viscid, sticky.

Clathrate, latticed, divided like latticework.-

Clawate, elub-shaped.

Clavellose, clubbed, or having club-like processes.

Clawus, a name for the ergot, a disease in corn.

Claws, the taper base of a petal.

Chinandrium, that part uf the column of orchideous

Jants in which the anther lies.
lypeate, shaped like a Roman buckler.

Cobwebbed, covered with loose hairs, as if with a cobweb.

Cochleate, resembling the shell of a snail.

Cohering, connected.

Collapsion, the act of closing or falling together.

Columella, the axis of the fruit. of inosses.

Columnar, formed like oolumns.

Comminuled, pulverised or pounded.

Comose, this term is used to express a kind of inflo-
rescence, which is terrninated hy sterile bractex.

Compact, close, solid.

Complicate, folded together.

Complicato-carinate, folded together go as to form a sort
of keel.

Compound, used in botany to express the union of seve-
ral things in one: thus, a compound umbel is formed
by several simple umbels, 2 compound flower by
several simple flowers, &e.

Compressed, pressed together.

Concave, hollow.

Coneentric, points or lines at equa! distances from a
common centre.

Concrete, hardened or formed into one mass.

Cone, a particular kind of compound fruit.

Conferruminate, united together so us to be undistin-
guishable
700

Confervoid, like confervee.

Confluent, running into one another.

Conglobated, collected into a spherical form.

Conical, resembling a cone.

Conico-hemispherical, between conical and round.

Conico-ovate, between conical and ovate.

Conjugate, jomed in pairs: a term chiefly applied to
leaves.

Connate, joined together at the base.

Connivent, converging.

Conoid, cone-like.

Constricted, tightened or contracted in some particular

lace.

Gasagee, approaching together.

Convew, rising in a circular form.

Convexo-plane, plane on one side, conyex on the other.

Convolute, rolled together.

Coralloid, Vike coral.

Cordate, heart-shaped.

Coriaceous, leathery.

Corneous, horny, of the consistence of horn.

Corniculate, having processes like small horns.

Cornute, horned.

Corona, literally a crown: applied in botany to the
erown-like cup which is found at the orifice of the
tube of the corolla in Narcissus, Pancratium, and
others,

Corpusele, a small body; a particle of any thing.

Corroborant, strengthening, having the power to give
strength.

Corrosive, having the power of wearing away.

Corrugated, wrinkled or shrivelled.

Cortical, of or belonging to the bark.

Corymb, a raceme or panicle in which the stalks of the
lower flowers are longer than those of the upper, so
that the flowers themselves are all on the same level.

Corymbose, formed or arranged after the manner of a
corymb,

Corymbulose, formed or arranged in many small corymbs.

Cosmetic, beautifying.

Costa, literally ribs: applied by botanists sometimes to
the midrib of a leaf, and sometimes to any projecting

* round elevations having the same direction as the
axis of the fruit.

Costate, ribbed.

Cotyledons, seed lobes or leaves.

Cowled-leaved, a thing is said to be cowled or cucullate
when its end is curved inwards in such a manner as
to represent the cow! or hood of a monk,

Crene, notches.

Crenate, notched.

Crenature, the notching.

Crenulate, full of notches.

Crest, applied to some elevated appendage terminating
a particular organ: a stamen is crested when the
filament projects beyond the anther, and becomes
dilated.

Cribriform, riddled with holes like a sieve.

Cribrose, perforated like a sieve.

Crisp, when leaves are very much undulated at the
margin, they are called crisp or curled.

Cruciate, shaped like a Maltese cross: a flower is said
to be eruciate when four equal petals are placed
opposite each other at right angles.

Crucyferous, the name of a particular family of plants
bearing cruciate flowers.

Crustaceous, having a hard brittle shell.

Crystalline, consisting of, or resembling, crystals.

Cucullate, hooded, cowled; see Cowled.

wh the stem of grasses, scitamineous plants, and the

ike.

Culmiferous, producing culms.

Cultrate, shaped like a pruning-knife.

Cuneate, wedge-shaped.

Cup, the same as corona; see that word.

Chee, the cup of an acorn, and of all amentaceous
plants.

Cupuliform or Cupulate, shaped like a reversed bell.

Cuspidate, like the point of a spear, a leaf is cuspidate,
when it is suddenly tapered to a point.

Cutaneous, relating to the skin.

Cuticle, the scarf skin, or epidermis.

Cut-toothed, cut and toothed at the same time

Cyathiform, cup-shaped, coneave.

Cylimtracous, having the form of a cylinder,

 

GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

Cylindrical, cylinder-shaped.

Cylindrico-campanulate, cylindrically bell-shaped.

Cy mbiform, boat-shaped.

foe a mode of inflorescence, resembling a flattened
panicle.

Cymose, flowering in cymes.

D

Decandrous, having ten stamens.

Deciduous, talling off. Leaves which are shed annually
are said tu be deciduous: as are also trees that annu-
ally lose their leaves.

Declinate, curved downwards. ea

Decoction, a preparation or digest by boiling water. _

Decompound, a leaf is said to be decompound when it
is twice pinnated; a panicle when its branches are
also panicled.

Decorticated, disbarked.

Decumbent, lying down.

Decurrent, running down.

Decursive, having a tendency to ran down.

Decussated, when two right lines cross each other at
right angles they are said to decussate; leaves are
often placed in this position.

Deflexed, turned downwards.

Dehiscent, gaping; an expression applied to the mode
in which the anthers or the fruit burst open aud
discharge their contents.

Deliquescent, melting away upon exposure to air.

Delta-leaved, Deltoid, shaped like the Greek A.

Demulcent, having the property of softening any thing.

Dentate, having the margins divided into incisions
resembling teeth.

Dentato-ciliate, having the margin dentate and tipped
with cilie.

Dentato-sinuate, scolloped and toothed.

Denticulate, being finely dentate.

Denticulations, small toothings.

Dentiform, tooth-shaped.

Deobstruent, having the power of removing obstructions,
a term of medicine.

Dependent, hanging down.

Depressed, pressed downward,

Depurated, purified, cleansed.

Despumate, to throw off in froth or sewm.

Detergent, Detersive, having the power of cleansing

Diandrous, having two stamens. ~

Diaphanous, transparent.

Diaphoretic, promoting perspiration.

Dichotomous, a stem that ramifies in pairs,

Dicoccous, having two cocci.

Didymous, two united,

Didynamous, having two long stamens and two short
ones in the same flower, each pair being collateral.

Difform, two forms; used to express irregularity.

Diffuse, scattered, widely spread.

Diffusible, such as may be spread.

Digitated, fingered, shaped like the hand spread open.

Diyitiform, formed like fingers.

Digynous, two styles or female organs.

Dimidiate, halved, divided into two parts.

Diewcious, when a plant bears female flowers on one in-
dividual, and males on another, it is called diccious,

Diseoid, When in Compésite the florets are all tubn-
lar, the head of flowers is said to be discoid. In
other cases, when the florets of the centre of a head
of flowers are more perfect than the rest, they are
called discoid. Finally, when any thing is dilated
into something which may be compared to a disk,
the term discoid is also made use of.

Discus or Disk, the fleshy annular process that sur-
rounds the ovarium of many flowers: also the sur-
face of a leaf; also the centre of a head of flowers
of Compésite.

Discutient, having the power to scatter the matter of
tumours.

Dissepiment, the partitions by which a sced vessel is
divided internally. ;

Distichous, two-rowed: producing leaves or flowers in
two opposite rows

Ditrichotomous, divided in twos or threes; a stem con-
tinually dividing into double or treble ramifications.

Diuretic, having the power of promoting the flow of nrine,

Divaricate, growing in a strageling mannez,

Dodecandyrous haying twelve stamens.
GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS. 701

Dolabriform, axe-shaped.

Dorsal, growing on the back.

Drastic, applied to medicines wnich act violently.
rupe, a kind of fruit consisting of a fleshy succulent
rind, and containing a hard stone in the middle.

RE

Echinated, covered with prickles like an echinus or
hedgehog.

Ledible, eatable.

Liffuse, literally poured forth; applied to inflorescence,
it means a kind of panicle with a very loose one-
sided arrangement.

Electuaries, a medicine of conserves and powders in the
consistence of honey.

Ellipsoid, like an ellipsis.

Hs lanceolate, a form between elliptical and lanceo-

late.

Elongated, lengthened.

Emarginate, having a small notch in the end.

Embossed, projecting in the centre like the boss or
umbo of a round shield or target.

Embracing, a leaf is said to embrace a stem when it
clasps it round with its base.

Fimoltient, softening.

Emulsions, medicines made of bruised oily seeds and
water.

yee or Ensiform, shaped like a sword with a straight

ade.

tpidermis, the outer skin of the bark.

piphyllous, growing upon a leaf.

piphytes, plants which grow upon other plants with-

out deriving any nutriment from them.

[quidistant, equally distant.

Lquilateral, having equal sides,

Equitant, a mode of vernation, or of arrangement of
eaves with respect to each other, in which the sides
or edges alternately overlap each other.

ae between erect and spreading.

Eroded, gnawed, bitten; a term used to express 2 par-
ticular kind of irregular denticulation.

Uroso-dentate, the toothing being eroded.

Lrrhine, promoting a discharge of mucus from the
nostrils.

scharotic, having the power to scar or burn the skin.

Esculent, good for food.

Etiolated, whitened by being kept from air and light.

Evanescent, quickly vanishing.

Evolved, unfolded.

Excavated, hollowed out,

Excentrical, flying off from the centre.

Jsxcoriate, stripped of the bark or skin.

Lxeurrent, projecting or running beyond the edge or
point of any thing.

Exotic, foreign.

Expectorant, any thing that promotes the discharge of
mucus from the chest.

Iiaserted, projecting beyond something else.

Fxsiccated, dried up. .

Extra-axillary, above or on the outside of the axils. —

Eatra-foliaceous, away from the leaves, or inserted in
a different place from them. :

Exuvie, whatever is cast off by plants or animals.

SS

 

F

Fecula, the nutritious powder of wheat or of other
things.

Paleata or Falcifor'm, bent like a sickle.

Furinaceous, full of flour.

Fascicles, parcels or bundles.

Fasciculate, arranged in bundles or parcels. ,

Fustigiate, tapering to a narrow point like a pyramid.

Fauces, the jaws; the gaping part or orifice of a mono-
petalous flower. ;

Favose, pitted or excavated like the cells of a honey-
comb,

Feathery, resembling a feather. —

Febrifuge, efficacious in moderating fever.

Feeulent, niuddy, thick with sediment.

Fecundution, the act of making fruitful.

Feroces, thickly set with spines.

Fe inous, iron-coloured, rusty.

Fibvillose, covered with little strings or fibres.

Fibrous, heing composed of fibres.

Glaucescent or G

 

ee saa having a lip resembling the figure of a

ddle.

Filiform, shaped like a thread,

Fimbriate, fringed.

Pinger parted, divided into lobes having a fanciful resem-
blance to the five fingers of a human hand,

Fistular or Fistulous, hollow like a pipe.

Flaceid, feeble, weak.

ais capable of being bent in different directions,

iable.

Flexuose, having a bent or undulating direction.

Fleauose-recurved, bent backward in a flexuose or undr-
lated manner.

Flocei, little tufts like wool.

Flore horologice, flowers which expand at particular
hours, whence they are a sort of timekeepers.

Floral envelopes, the calyx, bractee, and corolla, which
envelope the inner parts of the flower are all so called.

Florets, little flowers; chiefly applied to those which
constitute what were formerly called compound
flowers.

Floriferous, that which bears flowers.

Flosculous, compound flowers, consisting of many tubu-
lose monopetalous florets.

Foliaceous, having the form of leaves.

Follicle, a particular kind of seed-vessel.

Foutstalks, the stalks of either flowers or leaves.

Fornicate, arched.

Fragmentary, composed of fragments.

Fringed, having a border like a fringe.

Frond, the leaves of palms.

Frontal, that which is in front. ;

Frosted, covered with glittering particles, as if fine dew
had been congealed upon it.

Fructification, all those parts composing the flower :nd
fruit of plants.

Frutescent or Fruticose, shrubby.

Fugacious, that which lasts but for a short time.

Fulvous, tawny yellow or fox-coloured.

Fungous, having the substance of fungi or mushrooms.

Funiele, the little stalk by which a sced is attached to
the placenta.

Furcate, forked.

Furfuraceous, scaly, mealy, scurfy.

Fuscous, blackish-brown.

Fusiform, spindle-shaped.

Galeate, helmeted; eee eee lip of a ringent corolla is
the galea of that corolla.

Gelatine, jelly; a term of chemistry.

Gelatinous, consisting of jelly.

Geminate, doubled.

Gemma, \eafy buds as distinguished from alabastra or
flower buds.

Geoponic, relating to agriculture.

Germ or Germen, the old name of the ovarium.

Germen inferior, fruit below Ue flower.

Germination, the first act of vegetation in a sced.

Gibbous, protuberant.

Glabrous, smooth.

Gladiate, shaped like a short straight sword.

Glandular, having glands.

aaiiia, having something of a bluish

hoary appearance.

Glaucous, having a decided hoary gray surface.

Globose or Globulur, round or spherical.

Glomerate, gathered into a round heap or head.

Glumaccous, plants are said to be glumaccous when
their flowers are like those of grasses.

Glume, a part of the floral envelopes of a grass.

Gluten, a chemical principle.

Glutinous, adhesive.

Grained, the segments of the flowers of Rumex have
tubercles which are called graius.

Graniform, formed like grains of corn.

Granular, covered as if with grains.

Gregarious, herding together.

Grooved, furrowed, channelled, marked with grooves.

Grumous, clubbed, knotted, contracted at intervals inte
knots.

| Gynandrous, having the stamens and style combined in

one body.

| Gyrose, turned round like a erook.
702

H

Tfabit, features or general appearance of a plant.

Lustate, formed like the head of a halbert.

Egniilenestote, between halbert-shaped and lancco-
ate.

Le between halbert-shaped and arrow-
shaped.

FTaulm, dead stems of herbs.

fTclmet, the same as Galea; see Galeate.

TTerbaceous, a plant the stem of which perishes annually.

IIrmaphrodite, consisting of two sexes.

TTexagonal, six-sided.

Hexandrous, having six stamens.

FTexangular, six-angled.

Ferapetalous, having six petals. ‘

Hilum, the sear or mark on a seed which indicates the
place by which it adhered to the placenta.

irsute, rough with soft hairs.

Hispid, rough with stiff hairs.

FToary, covered with white down.

Homogencous, having a uniform nature, or principle, or
composition.

Honey-pore, the pore in flowers which secretes honey.

fToney-scales, the scales in flowers which secrete honey.

LToney-spots, the spots in flowers which secrete honcy.

Hooded, being curved or hollowed at the end into the
form of a hood.

TTorn, any long subulate process in a flower is called a
horn.

Husks, the dry envelopes of either flowers or fruits.

FTyaline, erystalline, transparent.

Iybrid, mule; partaking of the nature of two specics.

LTygrometrical, indicating the approach of moisture.

TTypocrateriform, salver-shaped.

Flypogymous, situated below the ovarium.

Hypophyllous, under the leaf.

Teed, covered with particlus like icicles.

Tce-drops, transparent processes resembling icicles.

Imbricate, laid one over another like tiles.

Tneised, cut, separated by incisions.

Tncrassated, becoming thicker by degrees.

Incurved, bending inward.

Incurve-recurved, bending inwards and then backwards.

Tndchiscent, not dchiscing.

Tnligenous, native of a country.

Indurated, hardened.

Jndusium, the membrane that cneloses the theea of ferns.

Inflated, blown up.

Inflered, bending inward.

Tuflorescence, disposition of flowers.

Infundibuliform, fannel-shaped.

Tnnocuous, harmless.

Inspissated, thickened; spoken of sap or other liquor.

Entencrating, having the power of making tender or
softening.

Internodes, the space between the joints of plants.

Tnterpetiolar, between the petioles or leafstalks.

Interstices, spaces hetwéen one thing and another.

Intramarginal, within the margin.

Inverse, inverted.

Tnvolucels, the partial involucra of umbelliferous plants.

Juvolucral, having an involucre.

Involucrated, covered with an involucre.

Fnvolucre or Involucrum, the bractes which surround
the flowers of Umbelliferx: in a whorl.

Trvolute, rolled inwards.

Joints, the places at which the pieces of the stem are
articulated with each other.
Juliform, formed like an amentum or catkin.

K
Kaliform, formed like Salsola kali. a sca-coast plant.
Keel, when the midrib of a leaf or petal is sharp and
elevated externally it is called a keel.
Kneed or Knec-jointed, bent like the knee-joint.

Labellum, the front segment of an orehidcous or other
flower.

Lacini«, segments of any thing.

Liciniate, eat vr divided into segments.

 

GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

Laetescent, yielding milky juice.

Lucana, liltle pits or depressions.

Lacunose, covercd with little pits or depressicns.

Leviyated, smoothed.

Lamelluted, divided by plates internally.

Lumina, literally a plate; it is mostly applied to the
leaf of a plant considered witlout its petiole.

Lanceolate, lance or spear shaped.

Lanceolato-subulate, between lanceolate and subulate.

Lateral, on one side.

Laz, loose, not compact.

Leaflets, small parts of compound leaves. .

Legume or Legumen, a pod; the fruit of legumincus
plants.

Levauminons, plants which hear legumes, such as the
pea, the bean, the kidneyhcan.

Lenticular, shaped like a Jens.

Lentiform, in form like a lens.

Leprous, covered with spots or scales. :

Lid, the calyx which falls off from the flower in a single

rece,

inoue, the membrane at the top of the pctiole of
grasses and other plants.

Lingulate, strap-shaped.

Limbate, having a coloured or dilated surface.

Linear, when the two sides are parallel.

Lincur-ensate, long sword-shaped.

Linguiform or Linqulate, tongue-shaped.

Lipped, having a distinct lip or labellum.

Lobelets, small lobes.

Locomotion, motion from place to place.

Loculaments, partitions or cclis of a seed vessel.

Loculur, a fruit is called unilocular if it contains but
one ecll (@), bilocular if two cells (2), trilocular if
three (c), and so on.

Loment, a kind of legume falling in pieces when ripe.

Lomentaceous, bearing pericarpia. called lomenta.

Lorate, shaped like a thong or strap.

Lubricate, to make slippery.

Lueid, bright, shining.

Lunate or Lunulate, shaped like a half moon.

Lurid, a colour between purple, yellow, and gray.

Lymphatio, of or belonging to lymph or sap.

Lyrate, \yre-shaped,

M

Macrrate, to decompose by steeping in water or other
liquid.

Marginal, relating to the margin.

Masticutory, grinding or chewing with the tecth.

Auth, an old term for crop.

Matrix, a place where any thing is generated or formed.

Medulla, the pith of a plant.

Medullary, relating to the pith of plants.

Afelastomaceous, partaking of the nature or appearance
of Melastoma. ‘

Melliferous, honey-bearing.

Membranaceous or Membranous, having the texture of a
membrane.

Menstrnum, a liquor used as a dissolvent.

Meshes, the openings in any tissue.

Alicucious, glittering, shining.

Afidrib, the large vein which passcs from the pctiole to
the apex of a leaf.

Miliary, granulate resembling many seeds.

Afitriform, formed like a mitre.

Motility, the power of motion.

Monadelphous, vaving the filaments cohering in a tube,

iMfonandrous, having one stamen.

Moniliform, formed like a necklace, that is to say, with
alternate swellings resembling beads and contrae-
tions.

Monocotyledons, having one seed lobe or leaf,

Monecious, having the ene sex in one flower, and this
other in another.

Afonopetalous, having one petal.

Monosepalous, having onc sepil or division of the calyx.

Mordant, that which enaliles vegetable matter or tissue
to receive dyes or colouring matter, and to retain
them.

Afoilled, marked with blotches of colour of unequal
intensity passing insensilly into each other,

Auciluge, a turbid slimy fluid.

AMfucronate, pointed sharp.

Afucronulate, having a little hard puint.
GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

Mulch, a gardcner’s term for the placing manure about
the roots of trees on the surface of the ground.

ah ultifarious, very numerous; or arranged in many rows.

Multpartite, much divided.

Multiplex, much multiplied.

Muricated, covered with short sharp points.

Muricato-hispid, covered with short sharp points and
rigid hairs or bristles,

N

Naiades, nymphs of the springs and fountains; a par-
ticular order of Monocotyledonous plants.

Narcotic, producing sleep or torpor.

Navicular, boat-shaped.

Neck, the upper tapcring end of bulbs is called the neck,

Nectariferous, bearing honey.

Nectary or Nectarium, that part of a flower which pro-
duces honey.

Nerves, the strong veins upon leaves or flowers,

Nervimotion, the power of motion in leaves.

Nervose or Nervine, composed of nerves.

Neuter, neither male or female.

Nidulant, nestling; lying among any thing as a bird in
its nest.

Nidus, the nest of any thing.

Nodding, having a drooping position.

Nodi, the articulations of plants: the place where one
joint is articulated with another.

Nodose, having many nodi or knots.

Nodules, small hard knots.

Notch-flowered, having the flower notched at the margin.

Nucamentaceous, producing nuts.

Nucleus, the kernel.

Ob is used in the composition of Latin technical terms,
to indicate that a thing is inverted; for instance,
obovate is inversely ovate, obcordate inversely cor-
date, and so on.

Occidental, coming from the west.

Ochraceous, having the colour of clay or yellow ochre.

Octandrous, having eight stamens.

Octogynous, having eight styles.

Officinal, any thing that is, or has been, used in the shops.

Oleaginous, having the qualities of oil.

Oleraceous, esculent, eatable.

Olivaceous, having the qualities of olives,

Opercular, covered with a lid.

Operculiform, having the figure and position of a round
lid of something.

Operculum, alid.  -

Opiate, having the power of opium.

Orbicular or Orbiculate, a plane surface circumscribed
by a circle.

Orchideous, of or belonging to the natural order of Or-
chidez.

Orifice, an opening.

Ossified, become like bone.

Ova, the eggs of any thing.

Oval, having the figure of an ellipse.

Ovarium or Ovary, the part of the flower in which the
young seeds are contained.

Ovate, egg-shaped. .

Ovato-acuminate, egg-shaped, and tapering to a point.

Ovato-cylindraceous, egg-shaped, with a convolute cylin-
drical figure.

Ovato-deltoid, triangularly egg-shaped.

Ovato-rotundate, roundly egg-shaped. : :

Overlapping, when the margin of one thing lies upon

that of another, it is said to overlap. :

Ovoid, egg-like. : :

Ovules, the young seeds of plants contained in the
ovarium.

Palate, the mouth of a ringent flower.

Pualeaceous, abounding with chaffy scales.

Palmated or Palmatifid, divided so as to resemble a
hand.

Panduriform, having the figure of a fiddle.

Panicled, loose-spiked.

Pannary, useful for making bread.

Papilionaceous, butterfly-shaped flowers. ‘

Papillose, producing small glandular excreseences like
nipples,

 

O38

Pappus, the crown of the fruit of Compésitee, and simi-
lar plants.

Papulose, producing small glands like pimples.

Parabolically, in form like a parabola. :

Parenchyma, all the parts of plants which consist of
cellular tissue only. ;

Parietal, being attached’ to the sides of an oyarium in-
stead of its axis,

Patent, spread out or expanded,

Patulous, slightly spreading.

Pectinate, resembling the teeth of a comb.

Pectoral, relating to the breast.

Pedatifid, cut into lobes, the lateral ones of which do
not radiate from the petiole like the rest.

Pedicillate, slightly stalked.

Pedicels, small footstalks of flowers.

Peduncle, the common footstalk of flowers.

Pellicle, a thin skin.

Peliucid, bright, transparent.

Peltate, when the petiole is fixed in the disk instcad of
the margin,

Pencilled; marked in lines as if with a pencil.

Pendulous, drooping, hanging down.

Pentagonal, having tive angles,

Pentagynous, having five styles.

Pentandrous, having five stamens.

Pentapetalous, having five petals.

Perennial, lasting many years without perishing.

Perfoliate, when the stem passes through the base of
the leaf.

Perianthium, the envelope that surrounds the flower;
this term is applicd when the calyx cannot be dis-
tinguished from the corolla.

Pericarp, the seed vessel.

Perichetial, leaves which in mosses surround the base
of the stalk of the theca.

Perigynous, inserted into the calyx.

Peristome, the rim which surrounds the orifice of the
theca of a moss.

Perithecium, Peridium, or Perisporium, different kinds
of envelopes of the reproductive orgaus of Fungi.

Persistent, remaining, not falling off.

Pervious, having a passage through which anything can
be transmitted.

Petaloid, like a petal.

Petals, divisions of the corolla,

Petiolate, having footstalks,

Petioles, footstalks of leaves.

Petiolules, little petioles.

Pezizoid, like a Peziza; a kind of fungus resembling a
cup in figure.

Phenogamous, such plants as are visibly furnished with
sexual organs.

Pharmaceutical, relating to the art of pharmacy.

Pileate, having a cap or lid like the cap of a mush-
room,

Pileus, the cap of a mushroom.

Piliferous, bearing hairs.

Piliform, formed like down or hairs,

Pilose, slightly hairy. :

Pimpled, covered with minute pustules resembling
pimples. ‘

Pinne or Pinnule, the segments of a pinnated leaf,

Pinnate, a leaf is so called when it is divided into nume-~
rous smaller leaves or leaflets. ,

Pinnatifid, a leaf is so called when it is divided into
lobes from the margin nearly to the midrib.

Piquancy, sharpness, pungency.

Pisiform, formed like peas.

Pistillum or Pistil, the columnar body situate in the
centre of a flower, consisting commonly of three
parts, viz. the ovarium, style, and stigma.

Pitchers, hollow leaves so called.

Pith, medulla occupying the centre of a stem or shoot,

Pituitous, discharging mucus.

Plane, flat. :

Plano-compressed, compressed down to a flattish surface,

Plethoric, having a full habit.

Plicate, plaited.

Plumose, feathery, resembling feathers,

Plumula, the young leaves in the embryo.

Plurilocular, naving many cells.

Pod, a kind of seed vessel such as that of the pea tribe.

Polyandrous, having more stamens than twenty.

Polygamous, a plant is said to be polygamous when
704

some flowers are male, others female, and others
hermaphrodite.

Polygynous, having numerous styles.

Pohweuions, having many separate pctals.

Polyspermous, having many seeds.

Pome, an apple.

Pores, apertures in the cuticle through which trans-
piration takes place. .

Porrect, extended forward,

Pouch, a little sack or bag at the base of some petals
and sepals.

Prenomen, the first name of several; in plants it is
the same as the generic name.

Precocity, tipe before the usual time.

Prismatic, formed as a prism.

Processes, protrusions either natural or monstrous.

Proliferous, a plant is said to Le proliferous when it
forms young plants in abundance about its roots.

Prommences, protuberant risings from the surface.

Propendent, hanging forward and downward.

Prurient, stinging.

Pubescence, down closely pressed to the surface.

Pullulating, budding.

Pulverised, reduced to powder.

Pulvinate, become cushion-shaped.

Pulvinuli, little cushions.

Puntiform, formed like points,

Pungent, stinging or prieking.

Pustular or Pustulate, covered with glandular excres-
cences like pustules.

Pustules, pimples or little blisters.

Pyriform, shaped like the fruit of a pear.

Quadrangular, four-angled.

Quadrifarious, arranged in four rows or ranks.

Quadrifid, divided four times.

Quadriglandular, having four glands.

Quaternary, succeeding by fours.

Quaternate-pinnate, piunate; the pinne being arranged
in fours.

Quinate, in fives.

Quinquefid, divided into five.

Quintuple, five times multiplied.

R

Racemes, a particular arrangement of flowers, when
they are arranged around a filiform simple axis,
each particular flower being stalked.

Racemose, flowering in racemes,

Rachis, that part of a culm which runs up through the
ear of corn, and consequently the part that bears the
flowers in other plants.

Radiant or Radiate, a flower is said to be radiant, when,
in a cluster or head of florets, those of the circum-
ference or ray are long and spreading, and unlike
those of the disk.

Radical, proceeding from the root. \

Radicant, producing roots from the stem.

Radicule, that end of the embryo which is opposite to
the cotyledons.

Radius, the ray of compound flowers.

Ramenta, little brown withered scales with which the
stems of some plants, especially ferns, are covered.

Ramentaceous, covered with ramenta.

Ramifications, subdivisions of roots or branches.

Raumose, branchy.

Ramuli, twigs or small branches.

Raphe, in seeds this is the channel of vessels which
connects the chalaza with the hilum; in umbellife-
rous plants it is the line of junction of the two halves
of which their fruit is composed.

Receptacle, that part of the fructification which sup-
ports the other parts.

Recesses, the bays or sinuses of lobed leaves.

Reeurved, bent backward.

Recurvo-patent, bent back and spreading.

Reflexed, bent backward.

Reflcxed recesses, sinuses of leaves which are bent back-
vee from the ordinary direction of the surface of a

eaf,

Reniform, kidney-shaped.

Repand, a leaf having a margin undulated and un-
equally dilated is said to be repand,.

Repando-dentate, repand and toothed.

 

GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

Replicate, folded back. 7

Resolutive or Resolvative, having the power to dissolve.

Resolvent, having the power of dissolving.

Restringent, astringent. .

Resupinate, inverted in position, so that that which was
in front becomes at Back.

Reticulated, resembling a net.

Retuse, abruptly blunt.

Revolute, rolled back.

Rhomboidal, like a rhombus.

Rhomboid-ovate, rhomboidally egg-shaped.

Rib, the projecting vein of any thing.

Rigid, stiff.

Ringent, gaping. L :

Ringing, making an incision resembling a ring all round
a branch. 2 re

Rotate, a monopetalous corolla, the limb of which is
flat and the tube very short, is called rotate.

Rotundo-ovate, roundly egg-shaped. . :

Rubefacient, any thing which reddens the skin, or raises
slight cutaneous inflammation.

Rudiment, when an organ is imperfe¢tly developed,
botanists call such developement a rudiment.

Rufous, reddish, orange-coloured, or rusty.

Rugose, rough or coarsely wrinkled.

Rugulose, finely wriukled.

Runcinate, hooked back, applied to the lobes of leaves.

Runcinato-dentate, hooked. back and toothed.

Runners, proeumbent shoots which root at their extre-
mity.

Rusty, rust-coloured.

Saccate, bagged; having a bag or pouch; as many petals,

Sugittate, shaped like an arrow-head.

Samara, a kind of winged seed vessel; the same as what
the English call key.

Sapid, agreeable to the palate.

Saponaceous, soapy.

Sarmentose, producing sarmenta or runners,

Sawed, resembling the teeth of a saw.

Scabrous, rough with little asperities.

Scales, any small processes resembling minute leaves;
also the leaves of the involucrum of Compésite.

Scandent, climbing. ; ;

Scupe, a stem rising from the root and bearing nothing
but flowers.

Scariose or Scarious, membranous and dry.

Schistous, rocky, formed of the rock called schist.

Scion, a shoot intended for a graft.

Scorie, cinders.

Scroticulate, excavated into little pits or hollows,

Scrotiform, formed like a double bag.

Scurfy, covered with scales resembling scurf.

Scutaute, formed like an ancient round buckler.

Secund, arranged on one side only: the same as uni-
lateral, which is better.

Sedges, a tribe of marsh plants so called.

Segments, parts of any thing.

Semi-, hall.

Seminal, belonging to the seed.

Semination, seeding.

Sepals, the seements of the calyx.

Septa, the partitions that divide the interior of the fruit.

Septiferous, bearing septa.

Serrated, like the teeth of a saw.

Serrulations, notchings like those of a sa.v,

Sessile, without footstalks.

Setaceo-rostrate, having a beak with the figure of a
bristle.

Setaccous, resembling a bristle in shape.

Sete, bristles.

Setiform, formed like a bristle.

Setegerous ov Setose, covered with bristles.

Sheath, the lower part of the leaf that surrounds the

stem.

Sherds, the fragments of potting employed by gardeners
to drain their flower-pots.

Shield, a broad table-like process in the flower of Sta-
pélia and its allies.

Sialagogue, having the power of exciting saliva,

Silicated, coated or mixed with flint.

Stiliceous, flinty.

Silicle, the small round pod of Crucifere.

Stlique, the long taper pod of Cruciferae,
GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

.

Simple, the roverse of compound.
Sinuate or Stnuose, bending in and out.
Sinuato-dentate, sinuate and toothed.
Sinus, the bays or recesses formed by the lobes of leaves
is nan Pee ; ;
joboliferous, producing young plants
Soddened, sialced: ae Hon Chenees,
Somniferous, causing sleep.
Soporific, causing sleep,
Sori, the patches of fructification on the back of the
fronds of ferns.
eas a spike proteacted from a spatha.
ypatha, a broad sheathing leaf enclosing flowers ar-
ranged upon a spadix.
furnished with a spatha.
shaped like a spatula, a knife so called.
withered or dead.
round like a sphere.
almost like a sphere.
minute spheres,
flowers sessile upon a long rachis.
indurated branches or processes formed of
woody fibre, and not falling off from the part that
bears them.
formed like a spine.
full of spines.
having a tendency to produce small spines.
covered with small spines.
circularly involved.
that part in Cryptogamous plants which an-
swers to the seeds of other plants.
Sporuliferous, bearing sporules.
Spurious, counterfeit.
Spurs, long processes resembling horns produced by
various parts of the flower.
Squamiform, like scales.
Squarrose, spreading rigidly at right angles, or in a
greater degree.
Stamen, the male organ of a flower.
Staminiferous, producing stamina.
Standard, the upper segment of the flower of Legu-
mindése.
Stellate, in the manner of a star.
Stellulate, resembling little stars.
Sterile, barren.
Sternutatory, qualities which provoke sneezing.
Stigma, the female organ of a flower.
Stimulating, exciting.
Stimuli, stinging hairs.
the stalk of Fangi.
having a short stalk.
having appendages called stipule.
occupying the place of stipule.
small seales at the base of the petiole of cer-
leaves.
Stoloniferous, having creeping roots.
Stolons, root shoots.
Stomachic, relating or agreeable to the stomach. __
Strangury, a disease, and produced on plants by tight
ligatures.
Strata, layers, beds.
Strig, small streaks, channels, or furrows.
Striated, having striz. ;
Striga, little, rigid, unequal, irregular hairs.
Strigose, having strigz.
Strophiolate, surrounded by protuberances.
Struma, a wen or protuberance.
Strumose or Strumous, covered with struma. p
Style, the stall which intervenes between the ovarium
and stigma, bearing the latter.

Styptic, having the power to staunch blood.
Sub, in equspattions; signifies subordinate, or some-

  
 
  
    

 
 
   
    

 

 
  
  
 

what.

Succulent, fleshy and filled with juice. sa
Sudorific, having the power of producing perspiration.
Suffruticose, shrubby in a slight degree.
Suleate, furrowed. id
Supernutant, floating on the surface of any thing.
Suppurate, to generate matter. .
Supra-decompound, aoubly compounded.

, shoots.
eae formed by the cohesion of two parts.
Syngenesious, belonging to the nineteenth class of the

sexual system.

Synthetical, combining; opposed to analytical.

 

Tails, the long feathery or hairy terminations of certain
fruits.

Tap-root, a root which penetrates deep and perpendi-
cularly into the ground without dividing.

Teated, resembling the figure of the teat of animals.

Tendrils, the curling twining organs by which somo
plants lay hold of others.

Terebinthinate, consisting of turpentine.

Terete, taper, round and long.

Terminal, ending, or at the top.

Ternary, consisting of threes.

Ternate, growing together in threes.

Tessellated, variegated by squares.

Testa, the skin or integument of the seed.

Testuceous, having « pale brown colour.

Tetrachotomous, a stem that ramifies in fours,

Tetrandrous, having four stamens.

Tetrvapetalous, having four petals.

Tetrasepalous, having four sepals.

Thalamus, that part of a flower which rises from below
+p ovarium and sometimes supports the outer enve-
opes.

Thallus, that part which bears the fructification of
Lichens.

Thece, the cases that contain the sporules of Crypto-
ganic plants.

Threads, long delicate hairs.

Throat, the orifice of a flower.

Thyrse, a kind of dense panicle like that of the lilac.

Thyrsoid, resembling a particular kind of panicle called
a thyrsus.

Tomentose, densely and closely hairy.

Tomentum, dense close hair.

Tonic, bracing, strengthening.

Toothed, divided so as to resemble teeth.

Toothletted, furnished with little teeth.

Topical, local, confined to some particular place.

Torose, uneven; alternately elevated and depressed.

Tortuose, twisted.

Torulose, slightly torose.

Torus, the same as thalamus, which sec.

Trapeziform, in the shape of a trapezium.

Trapezoid, like a trapezium.

Triandrous, having three stamens.

Trichotomous, branches divided in threes.

Tricuspidate, having three points.

Trifarious, arranged in triple rank.

Trifid, divided in three.

Trilocular, having three cells.

Tripetaloid, appearing as if furnished with three petils,

Tripetalous, having three petals.

Triquetrous, having three sides or angles.

Triturated, reduced to powder by pounding.

Tropical, belonging to the torrid zone.

Truncate, blunt, as if cut off.

Tuberculate, covered with knobs or tubercles.

Tuberous, bearing solid fleshy roundish roots like the
potato.

Tubers, roots so called.

Tumid, swelling.

Tunic, a coat.

Tunicated, having a coat.

Turbinate, having the figure of a top.

Turgid, swollen, puffed up.

Umibellules, divisions of an umbel. '

Umbels, the round tuft of flowers produced by the
carrot, &e.

Umbilicus, the cord which attaches the seed to the
receptacle.

Umbonate, having a top in the centre like that of the
ancient shield.

Unarmed, destitute of prickles or spines, which are the
arms of plants.

Uncinate, hooked.

OUnctuous, fat, oily.

Undulate, waved.

Undulato-rugose, rugose or rugged and waved.

Unguiculated, furnished with a short unguis.

Unguis, the taper base of a petal.

Unilateral, one-sided.

Unilocular, one-celled.

Unisexual, being of one sex,

4u
706

Urceolate, pitcher-shaped.

Uterine, belonging to the womb.

Uterus, the womb.

Utricle or Utriculus, a little bottle or bladder.

Valvular or Valecd, consisting of valves or seed cells.

Vuricose, swollen here and there.

Vuseular, consisting of tissue in a very succulent en-
larged state.

Vaulted, formed or placed like the roof of a vault.

Veneering, the art of covering one kind of wood with
thin plates of another kind.

Ventricose, inflated.

Veratrine, the active principle of Veratrum.

Vermifuge, that which expels worms.

Vernacular, native.

Vernal, belonging to the spring.

Versatile, swinging lightly on a stalk so as to be con-
tinually changing direction.

Vertex, the uppermost point.

Vertical, perpendicular.

Vertically compressed, that is depressed.

Vertilinear, the same as rectilinear; in a straight line.

 

GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS,

Vesicatories, blistering plasters.

Vesicles, hollow exerescenees resembling bladders.

Vexillum, a standard; the upper petal of a papilioua-
ceous flower.

Villous, shaggy, with long loose hair.

Virescent, green, flourishing.

Virgate, twiggy.

Viscid or Viscous, adhesive, clammy.

Vivacious, lively.

Viviparous, bearing young plants in the place of flowers
and seed.

Vulnerary, useful in the cure of wounds.

Vulviform, like a cleft with projecting edges.

Watiled, having processes like the wattles of a cock.

Welted, flaccid, drooping.

IWihorts, leaves inserted round a stem.

Wing, in botany, signifies a membranous border, where-
with many seeds are supported in the air when float-
ing from place to place.

Z
Zones, stripes or belts,
Page
Abernethy, Dr., his receipt for

the use of cucumbers, " 378
Abies, “ . 633
Abietina, 650
Abroma Augusta, 7 88
Absorbing power of leaves, 40-41
Acacia, -  4d6
Acarus, . 330
Aeer, . 653
Aceriner, 633
Achras, 375—Achras Sapota,

ib.—Achras Mammosa, 375
Acids, Vegetable, 143—Oxalic,

ib.—Acetic, ib.—Citric, ib.

—Malic, ib. — Gallic, ib. —

Tartaric, ib.—Benzoin, 144—

Prussic, 144
Acorns used as food for men,

422—and swine, 422
Acotyledonous, ioe Acotyle-

dones, Jussieu’s first division

of the animal kin gdom, 184

Adam’s Needle, 55—Vaeties,
how propagated, . 595

Adansonia Digitata, 368
Adjoue, iz . 256
Aerial Roots, 40
Aethophyllum, 654
Africa, Products of, 165
Aga, a Turkish officer, 562
Agaricus, 81—Agaricus praten-
sis, a fungus, 195—Agaricus
Comatus, or tall cylindrical
agaric, 196
ane Vessels, 10—Different opi-
nions regarding, 10,106—com-
position of air, é Hl
Akee, 367
Albumen, 139
Alburnum, 20,23
Alder, . 441
Alecost, or Costmary, 493
Alge, or sea-weeds, 681—Their
fructification, 80, 184—uses
of, 186—different localities
of, 189
Alismaceze, 202
Aljabarota, anecdote ‘of Battle
of, ‘i 474
Alkalies, ‘ . » 154
Alkanet, or Bugloss, ‘ 513
Alligator aeple: 375—Alligator
Pear, 374
Allium Ascalonium, 266 — Al-
lium Cepa, 265, 267—Allium
Fistulosum, 267 — Allium
Porrum, 268—Allium Sati-
vum, 265—Allium Schoeno-
prasum,267—Allium Scorodo-
per 269—Allium Ursi-
265
gamontt 331—a native of Asia,
ib.—how cultivated, 332—
cultivated in En ngland for the
beauty of the flowers, ib.—
quantity of Almonds import-
ed annually into Great Bri-
tain, ib.—the produce of Al-
mond trees in England infe-
rior, ib. — bitter eee
poisonous, 332
Almond Oil, ib.

 

INDEX.

en ee

Page
Almond, large fruited 332
Aloes, 149, 166, 167— sy species
of the, which ‘ial the gum
aloes, the hepatic, and so-
cotrine, 537, 588, — the
Horse Aloe, ib. — American
Aloe, * 595
Alsiner, . 639
Altitude, 137
Alumina, 155
Amanita Musearia, or Fly. Ama-
nita, %
Amaranthacee, - 614
Amarillis, 577—its name deriv-
ed, varieties of, treatment of,
577—formosissima, a 2
Amber, « 665
Amborezx, 649

America, Nor th, Vegetable pro-
167

ductions of,

America, South, Vegetable pro-
168

ductions of,

American ‘Aloe, 593—period of

flowering, its leaves convert-

ed into soap, 95
American Cress, 300
— El, . » 4382
—  Hornbeam, 435
— Lime, 442
Amici, * 86
Amomez, 203
Amomocarpum, 654
Amoniac, 148
Ampelidee, 633
Amplexicaul Leaves, 38
Ampulle, . : ll
Amygdalus, 328—Communis,
331—Amarus,ib.—Macrocar-
pa, 332. —Persica, 329
Amyridee, 647
Amyris Opobalsamum, 561—
Balm of, its qualities, and the
manner of procuring, ib.—
Lady ATES 's remarks
upon it, ri 561
Anacardie, ; 647
Anchovy Pear, . 374
Andes, Vegetation of the, 170
‘Andromeda, 606
Anemone, 573—when introdue-
ed here, ib.—qualities of a
fine flower, how propagated,
its culture and varieties, 574
Anethum Graveolens, 291—Fo-
niculum, 291
Angelica, 309—Archangelica, 309
Animalcules, Theory of the 83
Animals and Vegetables, points
of resemblance between them,
4—Animals, Bones of, 672
Anime, ‘ . 148
Annularia, - 653
Annacardium Occidentale, 387
Annual Roots, 14
Anomopteris, 655
Anona Gherimoli, 375—Palus-
tris, ib.—Muricata, ib. ue
mosa, . 375
Anonacee, + 627
Antherospermee, 649
Anthers, 12, 67, 68
Antholithes, 654

 

ae 330—Black, 3]4—Lani-

era,

Agent Graveotens, 290-—Petro-
selinum,

Apocynee, .

Apple, 162, 321—Tree, age of, tb.
where found, ib. 322—Graft-
ing, origin of, ib.—where in-
troduced, ib.—varieties of,
ib. 323—limited duration of,
323—cause of their deteriora-
tion, 323—Apples for the Ta-
ble, 324—for the Kitchen, ib.
—for Cider, ib.—for Cottage
Gardens, ib.—Pr opagation of
apples, ib.—by Seed, ib.—by
Cuttings, ib .—Grafting, ib.—
Inoculation, ib.—Soil for, 325
Pruning, ib.—Tree attacked
by insects, ib.—Blight,

Apple, Alligator,
ove,

Malay,

Mould, its Structure,

the Custard,

ae

Pill

Sta
Apricot, 33: 3_Localities of, ib.,
333—Varieties,
Aquifoliaces, . é
Araliacee, .
‘Araucaria, 653 —Peregrina, 664—
Excelsa, ib.—Extraordinary
height of, 34—Sir J. Banks’s, 476

Arbor Vite, 475

Arbutus, 167, 530, 606

Areca Oleracea, Groe- Groe, 262

Areolar Tissue, . 7

Aristolochia, él 1—Clematitis, 88

Aristotle, first founder of Bo-
tanical Science, 2

Arnatto, 517

Aroidex, 202

Arrack, 345—Distillation of, 247
—Exports of, ib. ,—Batavian,
248—Process of Making, 248

Arrack Pariah, ‘ ib.

Arrow root, }70—Indian, 264

Artichoke, 168, 305—Antiquity
of, ib. —Propagation of, 306

Artocarper, 648—Artocarpus
Incisa, 371—Integrifolia, B71

Articulated Leaves, 38—Roots, 15

Arum or Wake-Robin, 532

Arum, Common, 264-—Coloca-
size, ib—Egyptian, ib.—Es-
culentum, es Sees 82—
Maculatum, 264

Asafeetida, 149, 166, BH

Asclepiader,

Ash, a native of Britain, ii
its Varieties, 435—its general
Usefulness,—436 — Thickness
of the Tree, ib—Flowering
Ash, ib—White Ash, ib.—
Black Ash, 437—Red Ash, ib.
—Blue Ash, ib. 1— Carolinian
Ash, . A et

Ashes, 154

Asia, Products of, 165, 166

Asparagineze, 202

Asparagus, 304—Cultiyation of, 305
444
Aster ophyllites, : 653, 661
Asters, 589-—Varieties, 589

Astragalus Tragacantha and

Verus, y 557, 558
Atmosphere, its Effect on

Flowers, 7 74
Atriplices, 613
Attar, or Oil of Roses, 537
‘Aurantiaces, 347, 633
Auricula, 581—When intro,

duced into England, ib.—Vast

varicty, ib.—Tests of Quality.

Propagation, Seeds of, Metho nd

of Culture, - 582, 583
Avena Sativa (Oats), » 218
Azalea, 606—Indica, 389

Badderlochs, a sea-tangle, 186, Bae
Bag,

Baking, Process of Baking
Wheat-flour, 211, aM

Balanophores,

Balm, 165, 493, B28

Balsam, 149, 166, 590—its varie-
ties, how cultivated, 590

Balsam of Gilead, 560, 561

of Judaicum, 561—of
Mecca, ib.—of Tolu, 150, 563
—of Copaiva, 564—of Peru,
150, 564—Poplar,

Balsaminez,

Banana,

629

260

Fruit preserved, ib.

ramet 169—Deseription of
the

Bany an Tree, 166, 477—its im-
4

mense magnitude, 78
Baobab Tree, Roots of, 13
Barbadoes Cotton, 408
Barbarea Preecon, . 300

_— Vulgaris, 300
Barbary, manner of entertain-

ment in, : 247
Barberry, 346
Bark of Lime 442

Barley, Arm of, 98—Observa-
tions on, 125— Geographical
distribution of, 161,

Spring Barley, ib. Winter or
Square Barley, called also
Bear or Bigg, 2]5—Long-ear-
ed Barley, ib.—Produce of
Barley, 216—chiefly used in
this country for Brewing and

Distilling, ib.—Process of

Malting Barley, 217
Barringtonice, 643
Base, 70
Basil, 493

Beaded Vessels. their ‘structure, 8
Bean, 313—where cultivated,

ib.—Cultivation of, 314—

Kidney, 314
Bear or Bigg, (Winter or square

Barley,) 215
Be earberry or Arbutus, 530
Bechira, 653

Beech, a native of. Britain, 161,
433—its Structure and Varie-
ty, 433—Purple Beech, Com-
mon Beech, White Beech,
Red Beech, 434—Renring of
the Beech, Beech Nuts, their
Oil, yi ‘ z 435
Beet, 30]—Nutritive qualitics
of, ib—-White Bect, ib.—
Sugar manufactured from,

302—History of, 302
Bell Flower, 887—its Varietics

and Cultivation, ‘
Belladona, 55]

Page |
168

 

INDEX.
Benzoin or Benjamin T ines 149,
Berberidez, .
Berberis Vulgaris,
Berberry, f
Bergmann, .

Berlin Academy’ 3 Prize Ques-
tion,

Seat Cedar Wood,
e

Berries French or Avi gnon ,used
as a dye,

Bertholletia Exeelsa,

Beta Cicla,

Betula,

Betulines,

Biennial Roots,

Big Laurel, 45)—remarkable
for majesty of form,

Bigg or Bear, eee or ee
Barley,) .

Bignoniaceze
Bilberry, : 161,
Birch, 410—Common Birch,

Canoe Birch, Black Birch, ib.
Weeping Birch, Alder, 441—
other Varieties,

Birth Wort, Snake Root, 536—
the Long- ’Rooted Birth Wort,

Bizarre Carnation,

Tulip,

Black Ash,

Poplar,

Blaeberry,

Blastus, ri

Bligh, Lieutenant, commanded
the Bounty,

Blight, 128—kinds of,

Blighia Sapida,

ieee,

Flower,

Bloom,

Blossoms,

Blue Ash, ¥

Cardinal Flower,

Mould on Bead, &e.,
structure,

Boabob,

Boards,

Bogs, é

Bohea,

Bombacee,

Bombyx Ceevaleocephalus,

Bonnet,

Bonnet’ and Haller,

Boraginee,

Borassus Sechellensis,

Borecole, z

Boring the Trunks of Trees,

Botany, Derivation of the Name,
1—its Several Divisions, ib.—
History of Botanical Science,
ib.—Solomon’s ‘Treatise on
Vegetables, 2—Writings of
the Greeks, ib.—the Grecian
Rhizotome devoted them-
selves to Medical Botany, ib.—

its

in ‘

rao
627
346

60)
112

Ig
476
95

387
801
652
649

14

451
215

619
346

"35

also the Pharmacopole, ib.— *

Aristotle First Founder of Bo-
tanical Science, ib.—Romans
direct attention to Botany, ib.
a number of Plants named by
Virgil, ib.—Dioscorides and
Pliny, ib.—Arabians studied
Medicinal Plants, 3—Europe
received its first inewtedea
from them, ib.— Germans cul-
tivate the Science,ib.— — Gesner
attempts a Classification of
Plants, ib. —Botanical Science
extended by the Microscope,
ib.—Grew’s Anatomy of
Plants, ib.—Various Obser-
vers, ib.—Kay establishes the

 

Page
Sexes of Plants, ib —Linnaus
introduces Order into the Sci-
ence, ib.—it is extended by
Jussieu, Decandolle, and
others, ib.—Systems of Bota-
nical Classification, ‘ al
Botany, Fossil, » Bae

_ Resin, ‘4 148
Bothredendron Punetatum, 659
Bounty, the, fitted out, 372—

the Voyage of, 372, 373—Mu-

tiny on Board, 373

Box, 455—Uses to which appli
Bal 1
« dl

pene: ‘ eo
Bradley,
Bramble, 337—Localities of, ait

— Arctic,

— Dark Crimson, | i
Branched Stem, 20
Branches, their Manner of In-

crease and Peculiarities, 25, 26
Brassica Oleracea Capitata, 295
—Rubra, ib.—Sabanda, ib.
296—Sabellica, ib. —Botry tis,
ib. 298—Rapa, 292, 299
Brazilletto, 498
Brazilwood, 497
Bread. Account of the differ-
ent kinds of Bread used in
England in ancient and mo-
dern times, 219, 220
Bread Fruit’ Tree, 170, 371—
Productiveness of, 373Tim-
ber of, ib History of, o72
Brewing. Account of the Pro-
cess of Malting and Brewing
Barley, 217, 218
Britain, Vegetation of, 170, 71
ae Oak, Common, 421—its
422

Brocglt. ‘o96, 298—Varieties of, 298
Bromelia, 865—Various specics, 306
ib.

—  Pinguin,
—  Karata, ib.
-—  Ananas, ib,
Bromeliacez, 202
Brown, 86
Brumiacez, 646
Brussels Sprouts, 296
Brydone’s Description of the
Etna Chestnut, 384
Bubonion, Gum of the Galba-
TUM 4 565
Buck Bean, or Water ‘ Trefoil, 525
Bucklandia, ‘ e 654
Buckthorn, 540

Bu ck-wheat, 319—Cultivation
of, 320—Used for Various
Purposes, 320

Buds, their Nature and Varie-
ties, 36—at certain times
called Lyes,ib.—cither Naked
or Sealy, ib.—Buds variously
named, ib.—-Turio, or Subter-
ranean Bud, ib.—Bulb, ib.—
its Tubercle, ib.—Coated or
Tunicated Bulbs, 37—Simple
or Multiple, ib.—Bulbils, ib.
—Uses of Buds and Bulbs, 37

Bugloss or Alkanet, 513
Bulb, 36—its Tubercle, ib.—
Coated or Tunicated, 37—
Simple or Multiple, ib, - Uses
of, . 37
Bulbils, their Variety, » ib,
Bulbous Roots, ‘ 15
Bulbous rooted Iris, « 4576
Bunium bubocastanum, 285

Burchel the Tray sie Ancedote
of, ‘ 330
Burseracer, : 617
Page |
BH
630

Bybloemen Tulip,
Byttneriacez, . .

Cabbage, 295—Varieties of, ib.
When introduced, 296—Used
in“ kale brose,’ ib. ’—How pro-

papsted, 297—White Cab-
age, 295—Red pelbeee: 295
Cabbage Cow, . 297.
Cabbage Palm, . 262
Cabbage tree Worms, ib.
Cabomber, . 202
Cacao, 396--Cacao Seeds used
for Money, 397—Cacao cakes,
method of preparing, 397
Cactus family, 168, 363—Cochi-
nellifera, 365—Flagelliformis,
364—Grandiflorus, ib.—Melo-
cactus, 363—the Night-
flowering, 364—Opuntia, ib.
115—Peruvianus, Roots of, 16
—Repandus, 364—Triangu-
laris,ib——Tuna, -. 365
Caducous Leaves, 38
Cesalpinus, an early Botanist, 172
Caffea Arabica, 92
Cajeput Tree, . 489

Calamites, 655, 660—Mungeotii, 661
Caleeolaria, 593—its ne
how treated, . 593

Calendar of Flora, 126
Calycereze, 623
Calyx, 12, fs
Cambium,
Camellia, 602 2—Varieties, meth-
od of raising, 602, 604 4—Ja-
ponica, 602—Sasanqua, 389
Camomile, Common, 526—
Spanish Camomile, or Pelli-
tory, ‘ é - 526
Campanulacere, 3 622
Camphor, . 127, 150, 170
Camphor Tree, ‘ 484
Cam-wood, . é - 498
Canary Birds, 673
Cane, Indian, account of the, 239
Canella,- W hite, s 529
Cannophyllites, 654
Canoe Birch, 440
Canterbury Bells, 588
Canticle, . O04
Gaoutchoue, 150, 170, 505—Fur-
nished by various trees, 566—
When introduced into En-
rope, ib.—How obtained and
Prepared, ib.—Qualities and
Uses, ‘ 566
Caper Plant, | 491
Capillary Roots, é a 15
Capparride, : 636
Caprifoliacee, ‘ » 625
Capsicum Plant, 490
Capsule z 95
Caraway, 291
Caraway Plant, . 489
Carbon, Effects of, 121—Car-
bonie Acid on Plants, 122—
Carbon, Hassinfratz on, ib.—
Carbonic Acid, Thomson on,
ib.—Carbonic Acid Gas, 113
Carbonie Oxide, % » 116
Cardamon Plant, 489
Cardinal Flower, . - 587
Cardiocarpum, . ‘i 656
Carex, * ‘ 88
Carica Papaya, 379
Carium Carui, 291
Carl, 280
Carmine Peziza, i Fungus, 196

Carnation, 583—indigenous to
Britain, its Varieties, most

 

esteemed flowers, Tests of
Quality, 683, 584—Varions

INDEX.

Page

Colours, Propagation, and
Method of Culture, 584, 585
Carnauba Palm, : - 262
Carob Tree, ‘i 5 386
Carolinian Ash, 437
Carpinus, 652
Carpolithes, 656

Carrot, 285——Called Staphylinos
by the Greeks, 286—Intro-
duced into England by the
Flemings, ib.—The Leaves of,
used as an ornament for
ladies’ head-dresses, ib.—
Varietics of, ib.—Soil for, ib.
—Best Mode of Cultivating,
286, 287—Preservation _ of,
during winter, 267—Seed to
Procure, ib.—Attacked by
Grubs, &c., ib.—Used in
Cookery, ib. ? Nutritive qua-
lities of, ib.— Used as a Medi-
cine for Horses, ib.—Opinions
respecting its Nutritive Pro-
perties, 288—Sugar attempted

to be made from, 288
Caryophyllee, i - 638
Caryota Uren, é 241,249
Cashew, . ‘ * 387
Cassava, 283
Cassia, or Bastard Cinnamon,
ts 5 166, ie

assia, Purging, .

Gases, 310, ah
Castaneae, 652
319

Castanospermum Australe,
SHALE Oil, 648 — Castor Oil
Plan 54]
ice extract, 140—Catechu, 531
Catkin, 73
Cauliflow er, 996, 298—brought
from Cyprus,” 298—supplied
from England to the conti-
nent, ib.— method of preserv-
in, 2 ib,
Cauline Leaf,

389
Caulinites, 654
Caulopteris, fl ae

Cayanne Pepper,
Cedar of Lebanon, 83, 165, an, ire
167

Ceuar, Ked, .

Cedrelez, 6384
Celastrinex, 6417
Celery, 290

Cellular Tissue, 6, 7—Ats varie-
ties, 6— Malpigh?’ 's opinion of,
G6— confirmed by Sprengel, é
—investigated by Dutrochet
and Amici, 6 — Medullary

rays, 7—the Lacunxz, 7—use
of the Cellular Theiss 7

Celtidee, . 648
Centaury, ¥ 525
Central System of Stems, . 380
Ceratonia Siliqua, 886

Cerealia,orCorn Plants, descrip -
tion of the, 203—different
countries where cultivated,

204, 208

Cereus, Creeping, , 168

Ceroxylon Andicola, 263
Chalaza, Internal, 102
Chalcedonia, 576
Chamelauciex, 643
Chameerops Humilis, « 259
Champadak, 7 371
Chara, 8 656
Characee, < . 201
Charcoal, » 162
Chemical Action of Leaves, 41

Chenopodium, Bonus Henricus, 303

Cherimoyer, . 375

Cherry, 165, 334— Localities of,
ib.—History of, ib. —Liquors

 

709

Page
manufactured from, 335—
Varieties of, ' 335

Cherry, Chinese, ib.
Cherry, Bird, ib.
Chervil, 291

Chestnut Plant, 87, 14 383
—where native of, 383—de-
scribed by Brydone, 384—
Chestnut Trees in England,
ib.—Durability of, compared
with Oak, ib.; 385—Mode of

Propagatin ' ‘ - 385
Chestnut Bent, . 319
— Oak, 429
—, Sp anish, 164,165
Chick Pea 315—used ny tra-
vellers, 315
Chicory, 308
China, Products of, 166
China Aster, 58S
China Grass, 420
Chinese Chrysanthemum, 588
— Date-Plum, . » 871
— Hemp, . . 420
Chive, . . 267
Chlenacee, 631
Chocolate, 396

Chrysanthemum, 166, 588—its
varieties and ‘their Cultiva-

tion, - 588,599
Chrysobalaner, * 328) 645
Chrysophyllum Cainito, . 875
Cicer Arietinum, : . 315

— Frictum, ‘ ib.
Cichoraceze, . j « 623
Cichorium Intybus, 308

Cider, 323—Manufactory of,
Cinnamomum, %
Cinnamon, "0 Cinnamon

325
652

Tree, 482—Bastard Cinna-

mon, . . 7 483
Cistez, . . 637
Citrie Acid, 349

Citron Family, 347, : 353—Citrus,
how propagated, 354 —
Acida, 353—Aurantium, 348

—Limonum, 353—Mcdiea, 353
Citysus, . 318
Clary, 493
Claspers, a 45
Classification, Systems of Bo-

tanical, . 17)
Clathropteris, i 655
Clathraria, - 654

Clematis Vitalba, Stem of, 32—
Clematis, 601—Different Spe-
cies, how raised, . 601

Climate, Continental, » 160

Cloud-Berry, 837—an Article of
Commerce in Sweden and
Norway, 338—Noticed by Dr
Clarke, 338—Dr Clarke oe

of Fever by, 338
Clover, 318—Best Kinds, | 318
Cloves, 2 170

— ‘Oi of, ¥ - 485
Clove Tree, . - 484-486

Clustered Campanula, . 588
Coals, the Residuum of Ancient
Vegetation, < *
Coal Strata, 659—Newcastle
Coal, . - . 661
Coccus, é . 95
Cochineal Fig, 365

Cochlearia Trnctevie, “300—
Officinalis, 300

peer Comb, 590—How man-
5901

Cocoa Saat, 170—Tree, 240—the
King’s, 241—Maldive, ib.—
Sea, ib.—Double, ib.—at
Lucknow,242—Habitation,ib.
Localitics of, ib—Trees Tax-
710

Page
ed, 243—Reticulated Cloth,
244—Buds, ib.—Fronds or
Leaves, ib.—Leaves employed
as Thatch, ib.—Leaves used
for preserving fish, ib.—
Leaves employed to show
marks of respect, ib—Used
to write upon, ib.—Baskets
for catching fish made from
them, 245—Houses made of,
ib.—Used for Oars, ib. —Harps
made of, ib. —Flower and
Fruit, ib. —Arrack made from,
ib,—Names of, 243—-Uses of,
ib.-—Root, ib.—Wood, ib.—
Maldive, Medicinal virtues i in,
242—Sold at high prices, ib.
Cups made of, ib—Injured
by insects, ib —Flower, sweet
juice extracted from, 246—
Husk of, 250—Oil, 251—Du-
ties on, ’252—Double Cocoa

Nut Palms, 253—Articles

manufactured from, 252-253
Cocoa Plum, 328
Coses, 054
oe Arabica, - 393—Occiden-
Coffee’ Tree, 166, 170, "393—

where Native, 394—Intro-

duced into Europe by the
Dutch, ib.—Sale of Coffee
prohibited in Syria, ib.—Cof-
fee-houses in Turkey ordered
to be shut, ib.—Coffee- houses
when established in Paris and
London, 395—mode of culti-
vating Coffee, 395, 396—Cof-
ae Sarin of, ib.—Qualities

of, e 396
Coir, * 1 250

— Cordage, ‘ «ib.
Coix, he ‘ 83
Colehicacez:, 202
Colchicum, or Meadow Saffron, 546
Colebrookdale TRSRSOHES 662
Coleoptile, 105
Coleorhiza, 31, 103
Colocynth, fi 538
Colouring Matter, 140
Columella, the, 92
Combretaceee, 643
Commelinee, 202
Conse Roots, . 5 15
Compound Leaves, 39
Comptonia, » 652
Cone of Long- Leaved a 465
Confervites, 5 656
Conical Roots, 15

Conifere, 45: 5—-Families of, 4 36,
650, 658—Leaves Fascicled,

ib,—-Leaves Solitary, ib—

Leaves Similar, ib. . 664
Connaraceze, G47
Consumption, & ‘ 133
Contorted Roots, r . 15
Contortion, - J32
Convallarites, : » 654
Convolvulacex, 619
Copal, 148

CopaivaTrce, 147, 563—itsstrac-
ture, its balsamic j juices, how
ebtained, 564—ita qualitics

and uses, 7 564
Cardiocarpum Acutum, 658
Cork, 15i—Tree, 164—Oak, 428

Corn} Geographical distribution
of,

161
Comel Cherry, a ~ 447
Coroila, 12, 66

Cortical Pores, 21—Glands, ib.
—Layers, 20, 22—System of
Stems, és ’

 

INDEX.

Pa

Corylus Avellena, 385—Ameri-
cana, 885—Columna,

Corymb, é

Corymbifera,

Corypha Cerifera,

Costard-monger,

Costmary or Alecost,

Cotton, 168—Plant, 405—its va-
rieties, early history of its cul-
tivation and use, ib.—grows
in Upper Egypt, 406—culti-
vated at present in the Le-
vant, ib.—and in various other
countries, ib.— Bengal a great
cotton market, 407—importa-
tion of raw cotton from East
Indies,ib.—cultivated in Italy,
ib.—Cotton Trade, ib.—Cot-
ton Plant, Herbaceous, 408—
Cotton, Barbadoes, Indian,
Tree, ib.—Vine-leaved, Hairy,
Spotted-barked, Silk, 409—
Cotton Plant, general descrip-
tion of its culture and -pre-
paration, ib. 412—consump-
tion of the article,

Cotyledonary Body,

Cotyledons, Epigeal,

Hypogeal, - ib.

413
103
104

Cowslip, 581—indigenous to
Britain, the Double Cowslip, et
Craigleith quarries, .
Crambe Maritima, 599
Cranberry, 161—Red, 347—
American, 367—culture of, 347
Crassulacese, 640
Crecy, ‘Anecdote of battle of, 473
Creeping Stem, 20

Cress, localities of, 300—culti-

vation of, ib. —Winter ee 300
Cretan Cistus, 560
Criobotrya Japonica, 328

Croeus, 574—whence its name
derived, peculiarities of this
flower, its culture, ib.—Saffron
Crocus used as a dye, and
formerly as a medicine,

Crops, Rotation, .

Croton, 542—Cascarilla Croton,
ib.—Oil, . . .

Crowberry,

Crown Imperial Fritillary,

Cruciferss, 292—localities of, ib.
—usefui qualities of, ib.

Cryptogamic Plants, 12—Fruc-
tification, 74—Ferns, exten-
sive observations regarding,
ib. et seq.—Mosses, 76—an-
cient opinions and modern
discoveries relating to them,
ib. 77—description of the
flowers of Mosses, ib.—fertile
flowers, _ ib. — Cryptogamus
flowers destitute of sexual
organs, 78, 79—Hepaticee,
their reproduction, ib.
Alge, their fructification, ib.
=Lichens, ib.—propage of,
ib.—-fuci, ib.—Fungi, repro-
duction of,

80

Cucumber, 378— Receipts for
the use of, by Dr. Sane
378—Tree, 7 452
Cucumis Melo, . . 376
— Sativa 7 378
Cucurbita, 378—Pepo, ib. —Ci-
trullus, 379—Aurantia, ib.—
Melopepo, ib.—Succada, 379
Cucurbitacee, 76,641

Cud-bear, (Lichen ‘Tartareus,) 198
Culm or Straw, its nature and
structure,

19
Culmites, 654

 

Page
Cultivation, Improvement of, 343
Cup, of the Nepenthes Distilla-
toria, # 45
Cupressineze, ‘650, 653
Cupulifere, . . 650
Curdistan, Products of, 165
Currants of Commerce, what
they are, 341, pte Elba B44
3 au ir 2 : 344
Curry, 250
Custard Apple, 5 375
Cuticle, 20—its Structure, 20
Cycadez, : 651,665
Cycadesdex, 5 653
Cycadites, 3 . 653
Cycas Circinalis, . 24,261
Cyclamen, . ‘ . 690
Cyelopteris, 655
Cydenia Chinensis, 328
Cyme, @ 72
Cynara Scolymus, 305
Cynarocephale, 623
Cynips, 381
Cyperaceze, 202
Cypress, 475
Cysticercus, an Animal Hydat-
ed, 4—its Structure,
Cytinex, ¥ * « 6ll
Dahlia, 168—whence named,
its Varieties, &c. 579, 580
Daisy, . « 589
Dandelion, 556
Darkness, effects of, 123
Dates, an article of foo’, 955
—Various Uses, 255-257
Date Palm, 253,—Manner of
impregnating, 054, 255,—
where found, 957--an_ em-
blem of majesty, 258
Date Plum, Chinese, 371
Daucus Carota, 285
Daum Palm, 258
vee. Sea Fruit, fables concern-
ing, 381
Decandolle advances Botanical
Knowledge, 3
Decay, Natural, 133
Dianther, . $ - 639
Dichotomous Stem, 20
Dicotyledonous Plants 12, 103,
271—Divisions of, 27 —Fami-
lies of, 3 x
Didynamia, : 3 87
Digger, the, . » 678
Digitalis, i 554
Digitate Roots, : » 15
Dill, ‘ 291
Dilleniaces, 626
Dimocarpus Lichti, 370
Diecia Female, # % 85
Dioscoreee, 202—Dioscorea Ala-
ta, 263—Satiy a, 263
Dioscorides, his Work on “Medi-
cal Botany, ‘
Diosmeze, % 628
Diospyrus Kaki, | 371
Dipsacee, 2 624
Discs, - 664
Disk of aT. eat, 38—Epigynous,
89_—Hypogenous,b. oSERn Ey
nous, . 89
Dissemination, : z 97
Diumal Flowers, ‘ 73
Dodoneeaceze, s . 634
Dogwood, i 447
Dombeyacer, 630
Double Rocket, 588—how Cul-
tivated, . - 588
Douglas Pine, ‘ 470
Dragon’s Blood Tree, 147, 479
Dropsy, . 130
Droscray or Sun Dew, jar
Page

Droseracer, . - 637
rupaces, 645
Drupe, ‘ . 96
Du Hamel, . . ll
Dulse, asea-weed, . 186
Duration of Flowers, 74
Durion, - 869
Durio Zibethinus, ib.
Dutch Elm, . - 432
Dwarf Palm, 259

Dyeing, Trees and Plants u used in, 494
Dyer’s oy 619-—Oak, 430—
Weed, 7 - 514

Earths in Plants, 118—Lampa-
dius on, ib.—Ruckert on, ib.
Combination of, | 19—Absorp-
tion of, ib. —Effects of, ib.—

Produce of fj . 119, 154
Earth Nut, i a 285
Ebenacee,. 3 621
Echinostachys, 654
Egg Plant, . 380
Egg, Vegetable, Gaertner om, 83

Egypt, Products of, 166

Eleagnes, a “ 612
Eleocarpee, 631
Elder, Healing properties of, a

— Berry, .

Elecampang, or Inula, . B33
Electricity, 127
Elementary ingredients of ‘Vege-

tables, ‘ 4
Elemi,  . 147, 561
Elm, a. ‘native of Britain, 161, 432

—Wych Elm, 432— Smooth

Elm, ib —Dutch Elm, ib.—
American Elm, ib.—Propaga-
tion of the Elm—its size—a
Tree most easily rennet: 433

Elesis Guinansis, . 263

Embryo, its four Parts, 103

Embryo, or Endosperm, ib.

Endive, 166, 308—Wild, 308

Endogenites, 654

Endorhizous, 103

Endosperm, use of, 107—Carti-
laginous, 103—Coriaceous, ib.
—Dry, ib.—Farinaceous, ib.
—Fleshy, ib.—Horny, ib.—
Oleaginous, ib.—Thin, 103

Engrafting, theoty of, 32

Epacridee, . # 622

Epidermic Glands, 21

Epidermis, 20—its ‘Structure, ib.
—Various opinions regarding
it, ib.—Amicis’s microscopic
observations, a , 21

Epigenists, theory of, . 84

Epipodium, 89

Episperm, 101—Single, 102—

Use of, ]
Equiseta, or Mare’s Tail, 200, 655
Ericinez, . . - 622
Ervum, . 315
Eryngium Maritimum, 291
Erythroxylee, 634
Etiolation, . 132
Etna, Mount, Chestnut T. ree, 884
Eugenia Jambos, 370—Malac-

censls,

Euonymus Europeus, 92 Lati-
folius, ib.—Verrucosus, ib.—
Lenticular glands of, 21

Euphorbiacez, 647—-Euphor-
bia, Simple tubes of, 7—Eu-
phorbium, 149

Europe receives the knowledge
of Botany from the Arabians,
3—Products of, fi 160-164

Evergreen Oak, 428
verted 43, 44
Preitability of vegel ables, 122

 

INDEX.

Page
Excrction, i 53
Exorhizous, ‘ 103
Exostoses, 14

Expiration, its nature explained
and illustrated, .

Extract, . 140
Fagus Castanea, 3383
Fairy Rings, description of, 193
Fall of the Leaves, 43, 44
Farina, or Starch, . 138
Favularia Tesselata, - 662
Fecundation, 81—Mechanism
of, ib. —Feeundation of Plants,
ib-—of Vegetables,ib.—recent
theories on, 86—Phenomena
of, 87—Influence of, 88—Ar-
tificial Fecundation, f 88
Felicites, ‘ * 655
Fennel, .. : 291
Fenugreeck, - 534
Ferns, 5—their Fructifications,
74—South American, 169—
Description of Ferns, 300, 663
—six Figures of, : 663
Fibrine, 140
Fibrous Roots, 14
Ficoider, 639
Ficus Carica, “ 355
Field Book, . 679
Fig, 164, 165, 355—Caprifica-
tion of the, 355, 356—History
of the, 386— Various Cere-
monies in which it was used,
ib.—Locality of, ib. —Fig Tree
brought to England in 1525,
357—Cultivated in various
parts of England, ib.—Fig
Tree, Pocock, ib.—Propaga-
tion of, 358—Indian, 364—
Manner of Cultivating, 365
Filament, 67, 68
Filbert, 162, 385—Etymology of
the name, 385—Impregnation
of Filberts, 386
Fir, Wood of, 25—Firs, 469—
Norway Spruce Fir, ib.—Sil-
ver Fir, ib—Douglas Pine,
470— Lambert eine, 470
Fish, 672
Fistulous Stem, ‘ 20
Flabellaria, . . 654
Flacourtianes, . 4 637
Flake Carnation, . 583
Flax, cultivation of, 402—the
steeping of, 403-—water-ret-
ting for, 403, ’404.—preparation
of, 404—heckling and bleach-
ing, 405—Berthollet’s experi-
ments, ib.—produce of flax,
quantity of seed, ib. EN
Zealand flax, 42]
Fleshy root, 15
Flora in Keeling islands, 100
Flora’s Timepiece, 124
Floral Calendar, 609, 611
— Leaf, ° 39
Flower Buds, Observations on, 83
Flowering Ash, . 436
Flowers, 2— Geographical Dis-
tribution of, 164, 165—Her-
maphrodite Flowers, 8l—
Moneecious Flowers, . 87
Fly-trap, Motions of its Leaves, 42
Forcing Houses known to the
Romans, . 376
Forests, Russian, * 160
Forests of Pines on fire, 469
Fossil Plants forming coal, 656
Fossil Preservation, 662
Foxglove, 554
Fragariacer, 618
Frankeniacee, 635

 

v1
Page
Frankincense, . . 165
Franklinia, —. * 453
eas Common, . ;

Fruetifontion; *12—Organs of, 65
—Calyx, 66—Glume, ib.—
Corolla, ib.—Stamen, 67—
Anther, 67, 68—Pollen, 67, 68
Filament, ib. — Particular
Observations regarding the
Pollen, 69, 70—Pistil, 70—
Base and summit, ib. —Ovary. 5
its Cells and Ovules or seeds,
ib,—Style, 71—Stigma, ib—
its Varieties, ib. 72—Inflore-
scence, ib.—Spiked, ib.—
Thyrsus, ib.—Paniculate, ib.
Corymbose, ib.—Cymose, ib.
Umbellate, ib —Whorled, 73
—Spadix, ‘tb. —Catkin, ib.—
Amentaceous, ib. — Seasons
of Flowers, ib.—Diurnal and
Nocturnal Flowers, ib.—Sen-
sibility of Flowers to changes
of Atmosphere, 74—Dura-
tion of Flowers, ib.—Necta-
ries, ib.—the Term ill defin-
ed, ib.—Cryptogamie Fructi-
fication, ib.—Progress of,

Fruit and Envelopes, 89— “Con-
nection of Fruit and Flower,
ib.—Size of Frnit, 90—Con-
sistence of, ib.— —Covering of, ib.
—Surface of, ib.—Colour of, ib,
Numberof, ib. —Compound,ib.
—Constituent Parts of, ib.—
Epicarp of, ib.— Endocarp of,
91—Complete Partitions, ib.—
Incomplete Partitions, ib. —
True Partitions, ib.—-False
Partitions, ib—Pappus of,
93—Names of, 94—Uses of
Fruits and Seeds, 100—Peri-
carps of Fruits, ib. --Compo-

89

sition of, 101—Seed part of,
ib.— —Geographical istribu-
tion of, 162, 165
Fuchsia, 168, "593— whence
name derived, its beauty,
593—Varieties, ‘how raised, 594
Fuci, their reproduetion, 9 80
Fucoides, 656
Fucus Giganteus, 185
Fucus Tenax, a Chinese sea-
weed, used as a oe and var-
nish, . 186
Full-Beard 385
Fumariaceze, 635

Fungi, Reproduction’ of, 80, “81
—Bulliard’s opinion of, ib—
Gaertner’s opinion of, ib.—
their general characteristics,

Mode of growth, &c., 191, 196
Fusiform Roots, - 165
Fustic, 168,516

Galbanum, 148—its gum, qua-
lities and uses, 565
Gallipoli, 361—Caverns at for
storing olive oil, 361—advan-
tages of peace to, 362
Gamboge, ” 149, a
Gangrane, . 13]

Gaps in Plants, ll—their_na-

ture, ib.—transverse Gaps, _ ih,
Garcinia, . . 3 369
Garden Cress, 299

Garden F Flowers, 566, et seq. —
their delicacy of texture and
odour, ib.—their cultivation,
ib. 567—instructions repard-
ing, ib.—Hyacinth, ib.—Tu-

lip, 570—-Ranunculus, 572
712

Psge

Garden Flowers,—-
Anemone, 573 — Pasque
Flower, 574—Crocus  ib.—
Narcissus, 575—TIris, ib.—
Fritillary, 576— Lily, ib.—
Amarillis, 577—Hemanthus,
578—Blood Flower, ib.—Tu-
berose, ib.— Peony, ib.—
Dahlia, 579-—Primrose, 580—
Polyanthus, ib.—Cowslip, 581
Oxlip, ib—Auricula, ib.—
Carnation, 583—Pink, 585—
Violet, 586—Pansy, _ib.—
Heart’s-Ease, 585—Lobelias,
587—Cardinal Flower, ib.—
Bell Flower, ib.—Canterbury
Bells, 588—Clustered Campz-
nula, ib.—Double Rocket, ib.
—Chrysanthemum,ib—Mary-
gold, 589—Daisy, ib.—Asters,
ib.—China Aster, ib.— Lupine,
ib.—Stock Gilly Flower, ib.
—Wall Flower, 590 — Bal-
sam, ib.—Cock’s-Comb, ib,
Cyclamen, ib.—Vervain, Mi-
gnonette, 591—Hollyhock, 592
Wood Roof, ib.—H ydrangea,
ib.—Geranium, 594—Adam’s
Needle, 595—Gloriosa, ib.—
Stapelias, 596 — Marvel of
Peru, ib.—Venus Fly Trap,
ib.—Water Lily, 597—Lotus,
ib. — Rose, _ 598 — Passion
Flower, 601—Honeysuckle,

Gardening, Chinese, 666—Per-
sian, 667 — Roman, ib.—in
Prussia, 668—in Russia, ib.—
in Poland, ib.—in Spain, ib.
—of the Cape of Good Hope,
669—in New South Wales,
ib.—in Britain, ib.—of Towns,
ib.—Gardening, its objects,

Gardens, hanging, of Babylon,
666—Gardens of Italy, 667—
of the Netherlands, ib. — of
France, ib.—floating, of Mexi-
co, 668—floating, e amie

Garlic,

Gases, essential,

Gean,

Gemmule,

Gentian, 524Purple Gentian,

Gentianeex, a

Georgiana, (see Dahlia,)

Geraniacee,

Geranium, 594—name, varie-
ties, cultivation, 594,

Germans cultivate Botany, 3
illustrate their works with
wood-cuts of plants,

Germination, 105—its effects,

Gessner, an early botanist, at-
tempts a classification c
plants,

Gessneriacex,

Ginger, .

Ginger Plant,

Ginseng, .

Girdling Trees,

Gladiolus,

Glands of plants, 11—Milliary,
Vesicular, Globular, Utriew-
lar, ib. ae. Lenticu-
lar, Sessile,

Glasswort,

Gleditchia,

Gleichen,

Gleichnie, .

Globular Glands,

Globulariz,

Gloriosa, 695—management of,

Glossopteris, .

Glume, . $ ‘

489,

669

669
265
113
335
104
525

620
579
629

595

3
106

3, 172
” 622
170
490
528

35
166

616
595
655

66

 

INDEX.
Page
Gluten, 139
Glycyriza Glabra, 319
Good King Harry, 303
Goodenovice, 623

Gooseberry ,344—Curvant, black,
jelly made from, ib.—various
names of, ib.— where best
cultivated, 345—age and size
of bush sometimes attained,
ib.—varieties of Gooseberry,
ib—manner of propagation,
346—attacked by the sand
fly, ib.—preventative against
the flies,

Gourds, .

Grafting, 33—by “approach, ib,
—by scions, ib.—Cleft Graft-
ing, 34—Crown Grafting, 33—
Wimble, on peg Grafting,
34—Side Grafting, ib.—Graft-
ing by buds, ib.—of herba-
ceous parts of vegetable, ib.
675— Whip or Tongue
Grafting, 676 — Grafting in
cleft, ib —Crown Grafting,677

356
348

—Side Grafting, ib —Clay

Grafting, ib. ae by

gems, 677
Graminez, ” 100, 202
Granulated roots, Is
Granules, Link on, 86—Sperma-

tic Granules, 86

Grape Vine, 339—early cultiva-
tion, 340 — Grapes imported
into London, &e., 341—Wine
made from in England, ib.—
varieties of Grapes, .

Grasses. Account of various
kinds of, 230—Meadow fox-
tail Grass, ib.—Sweet-scent-
ed vernal Grass, 231 —
Smooth-stalked Meadow
Grass, ib. — Rough-stalked
Meadow Grass, ib.—Crested
Dog’s-tail Grass, ib.—Mead-
ow fescue Grass, ib.—Kay or
Rye Grass, ib. Water Mead-
ow Grass, 232—Dwarf Mead-
ow Grass, ib.—Creeping bent

342

Grass or Fiorin Grass, 232
Great Bulbous rooted Iris, 576
Great Maple, 437

Greeks, their ‘notions and writ-
ings concerning vegetables, 2
Green Resin, 14

Grenadillas, ‘i B15
Grew’s Anatomy of Plants, 3
Grias Cauliflora, ‘ . oid

Grugru,. co é 242
Guava, 367—White Guava, ib.
Red Guava, ‘ 367
Guiac, 147, 535
Gum, 187...Fossil Gum, > 668
Gum Resins, 148
Gum ‘Arabic, 137, 165—Ty ee,
556...method of procuring the
Gum, 557

Gum Cherry Tree, 137
Gum Olibanum, 47
Gum Senegal, 557
Gum ‘Tragacanth, 137, 558
Gundira, ‘ 241
Guttifere, 632
Gunpowder Tea, 393
Gypsum, . . 674

Hair, 672—Hairs of Vegetables,

ll—thceir structure, &e,
Hairy Cotton, n 409
Hakel Nut, 385
Hamamelidee, 640
Haricots, 315
Hassenfratz, 12

 

Page
Haubois, 334
Hawthorn, é a 447
Hazel, Soil for, » 886
Heart’s- -CASe, 586

Heat, 105—Degrees of, ‘125--
Influence of, ib.—on plants,
ib.—on energy, 126—on fruits,
ib.—on functions, 1:

Heath, Geographical distribu-
tion of, 16]—Ornamental
Heaths, 598—usefulness of
Heaths, their soil, cultiva-
tion, and propagation, 606—608

Hederaceze, 625

Hedysarum Gyrans, singular
motions of its leaves, 2

Hesperidee, 347

Heliotrope, ‘ 124, 168

Hellebore. White Hellebore,
545—Black Hellebore, 546—
Feetid Hellebore,

Hemlock, 549— Water Hemlock,
ib.—Hemlock Water- drop-
wort, - ib. 550

Hemodoraceze, 202

Hemp, Cultivation of, 402, 403,

—Hemp and Flax” impart a
poisonous quality to water,
403—deseription of the plant,
413—its cultivation, 414, et
seq.—indigenous to Europe,
414—its uses in various coun-
tries, ib—cultivated in king-
dom’ of Naples, 415—forms a
prominent article of Russian
commerce, ib.—its cultivation
encouraged in Canada, ib.—
exports, 416—gathering and
preparation of the plant, ib.
et seq—Hemp admitted at
anominal duty, 419—Indian

ww
aw

546

Hemp, 420— Chinese Hemp, 420
Henbane, 550
Henna or Egyptian Privet, 520

Hepatic, intermediate plants
between lichens and mosses,
reproduction of, 79, 80, 198, 681

Herbaceous Cotton Plant, 408
ae cultivated and prepar-

js ib

Hartueeous Envelope, 20—its
structure, 2)
Herbaceous Stem, 19

Hermanniee, F
Hermaphrodites, impregnation

of, 8]
Herrings, ‘ 67:
Hibiscus Syriacus, ‘ 8
Hickory, » BBE

Hilum or Umbilicus, 91—its
appearance, &c. :

Hippocraticez, 63:

Hoemanthus, 378—Multiflorus,
how treated, 5

37
Holly, 454—Common Holly, 45:
Hollyhock, 59%
Homalinez, 64:
Honey Dew, 131

made from ‘Lime flowers, 4

Suckle, 602 — various
kinds, how cultivated,

Hop Plant, 398—varieties of, ib.
—soil for, ib.—method of cul-
tivation, ib. —gathering and
drying of, ib.—Hop crop, 399
—duration of Hop SU

Hop Trefoil, .
Horizontal Root, : 1
Horn, 67
Hornbeam, American a 43
Horologium Flore, 2, 61
Horse Chestnut, 442—well

adapted for ornament, 44
Page

Horticultural Society, » 669
ot Beds, : : 674
Huber, 110
Humboldt, 109

Hume, his argument for the in-
fancy of the world from the
transplantation of fruit trees, aa

Humulus Lapulus, 398

Hyacinth, 567—a native of the
Levant, whence its name de-
rived, when introduced into
Europe, its varieties, 567, 568
—its value, criterions of qua-
lity, how propagated, and di-
rections for its culture, 568,
569—diseases of this flower,
ib.—Hyacinths, a beautiful
ornament in glasses, and how

managed, 570
gtansen, 166, ‘592 cmicthodl
of cultivating, . 592, 593
Hydrocharidez:, 203
Hydrogen Gas on Plants, 115
Hygrobiex, 642
Hypericinex, 632
Hypoxylez, a group of fungi, 192
Hyson, . 393
Hyssop, 527
Iceland Moss, a Lichen ue as
food, 197
Mliciex, 627
Impregnation ‘of Flowers, 59,
et seq.—Artificial Impregna-
tion, 86—Impregnation by
insects, c 88
Incision necessary to the health
of trees, . 35
Indian Corn, (American, 2 Va
riety of maize, account of its
cultivation and uses, 225—228
Indian Cotton, . 408
Indian Cress or Nasturtium, 491
Indian Hemp, 420—its cultiva-
tion and uses, 420
Indian Rubber Tree , description
of, (see Caoutchoue,) 565
Indigo, 170—different species of
the Indigo Plant, 498—culti-
vation of the plant,and manu-
facture of Indigo, 499, 506
Inflorescence, 72—Spiked, Thyr-
ae Paniculate, Corymbose,
Cymose, Umbellate, ib.—
Whorled, Spadix, Catkin,
Amentaceous, 73—Seasons of
flowers, ib.—diurnal and noc-
turnal flowers, ib.—sensibility
of flowers to change of at-
mosphere, 74—duration of
flowers, * * " 74
Ingenhoutz, : 115
Inner Medula, ‘ 22, 23
Inoculation, 28

Insertion, Epigynous, 89__Hy-
pogynous, ib.—Perigynous, ib.
Insertions of the Pith,

Inula or Elecampane, . 533

Jodine obtained from sea- fee ee

Ipecacuan, .

Tridez, 302

Iris, 575—its varieties, method
of cultivation, 575, 576

Krrigation, admirable system of,
practised in Italy, 163

Iron Wood, 435—its extreme

hardness, 435
Irritability ‘of Leaves, 41—Cases

of Irritability, x 128
Island Climate, ‘ 159
Italian Maple, 440

— Oak, 427
Ix'a, 166

 

INDEX.

Page
Jaca, : . 371
Jack, ib.
J agery, 248—J agery Cem ent, 249
Jala 539
J alappa Mirabilis, : - 83
Jamlee, ‘ 370
Japan Lily, . 7 » 87
Japonica, . 604
Jarrow Colliery, 661
Jasmine 617
Jasmine, 600—its v varieties, 600

J on Manikot, 283—species
2

Jerusalem Artichoke, 283
Jewish Culture, 666
Juea, how eaten, 371
Juglandes, 647
Juglans, 652—species of, ‘666—
Alba, 383—Oinerea, ib.—Ni-
gra, ib.—Regia, 382
Jujube, ‘ . 3871
Julus, “ 287
Jumrosade, 370
Junceze, 202
Junci, or Rushes, account of va-
rious kinds of, 234
Juniper, ‘ - 476
Juniperites, 653
Jussieu extends the Science of
Botany, 3—his system of Bo-
tanical Classification, 173, 181
—184—adopted with modifi-
cations in the arrangement of
the present work, Cs 181
Jute, 420—its meth » 420
Juvia, A 387
Kale or Colewort, =
Kalmia,
Kauri Pines, height of, 34, 35
Kelp, extensive beds of, on the
shores of Terra del Fuego, 185
—obtained from sea-weeds,
187—account of its manufac-
ture, ib.—used in i agrinultiires 188
Kerkedan, 316
Kermes Oak, a 428
Kernel, 101—composition of, 102
Kidney-bean, 108, ‘166, 4
Knight, .
Knotty Roots, 5 i fe
Kebreuter, : - 84
eae 7 ‘ . 147
abiatee, 491, 618
Laburnum, 446
Lac, 148
Lactuea Sativa, 07—Virosa, 307
Lambert Pine, 470
Lambert’s Vervain, 591
Laminarie, 190—Bucinalis, 185
—Bulbosa, ib. re my
—Esculenta, 191
Lancewood, 447
Lanseh, 370
Larch, 470— Black Larch, 47)
Lathyrus, Pie Odoratus, ib.
—Sativu 317
Laurel, 164, 336, ” 453—Portu-
guese Laurel, 336
Laurestinus, 7 604
Laurinez, 613
Laurus Persea, 374
Lavender, 493
Lavoisier, . .» 109
Layers, propagating by, 32
Leafless stem, 20

Leaves of Plants, ‘12, 37—their
nature and structure, ib. 38—
sessile 38—petiole, ib.—disk,
ib.—upper surface and lower
surface, ib.—nerves, ib.—mid-
rib, ib.—venules, ib.—articu-

 

713

Page
lated ib.—caducous, ib.—
semi-amplexicaul, ib,—am-
plexicaul, ib.—sheathing, 39
—neck, ib.—seminal leaves,
ib. —radical, ib.—cauline, ib.
floral, ib _—verticillate, ib.—
frond, ib.—tripartite and qua-
dripartite, ib.—oboval, acute,
hastate, sagittal, pinnatifid,
laciniate, retuse, emarginate,
cordate, tripoliate, lanceolate,
linear, orbicular, trilobate, ib.
—entire, dentate, serrate, “dou
bly serrate, spinous ciliated, ib.
—eompound Leaves, ib. —de-
compound and doubly com--
pound, ib.—supra decom-

ound, ib.—constitution of
weaves, 40—Stomata, ib.—
Leaves named aérial roots, ib.
—transpiration, ib.—absorp-
tion of Leaves, 40, 41—chem-
ical action of Leaves, 41—irri-
tability of Leaves, ib, —sleep
of Plants, 42—Hedysarum
Gyrans, motion of its Leaves,
ib. —Fly- -trap, motion of its
Leaves, ib.—observations re-
garding the motions of Leaves,
43-—fall of the Leaves, 43, 44
—Evergreens, ib.—size of
Leaves, 44—various uses to
man, ib.—primordial Leaves,
104—seminal Leaves, O+
Lebanon, Cedar of, 35, in, at

Lecythides,

Leek, fi ‘ 363
Legume, ‘ 96
Leguminose:, 31 0, 646

Lemna Gibba, or Duck-weed, 4, §
Lemon, its cultivation in Eu
rope, ]64—a native of India,
353—introduced into Enrope
by the Caliphs, 355

Lentibulariz, = » 615
Lenticular Glands, ; 21
Lentil, « olf
Lentisk, its cultivation, 562

Lepidodendron, 656—Elegans,
658—Obovatum, ib.—Selagi-
noides, ib.—_Sternbergii, 657

Lepidophyllum, ‘ 656, 659

Lepidostrobus, i ib.

Lepidum Sativum, 299
Leptospermez, 643
Lessonia Fuscescens, 185

Lettuce, 307, 548—narcotie ex-
tract from, 30

Leuwenhoeck examines minute
Plants, .

Liber, or Bark, * 90; 22

Lichens, 5—their reproduction,
and propage of, 80—descrip-
tion of, . - 196-198, 681

Light, on motion, 123—on
leaves, ib.—on plants, ib.—
on blossoms, ¥ « 124
Lignum ey 167
Lilac, ~ 602
Lilacez, 617

Lily, 576—derivation of the
name, varieties, how propa-
gated, 3 - 76, 577

Lily, Egyptian water, . 270

Lime, (in Botany), 118, 353, 441
—wood valuab le, bark an
article of commerce, honey
made from its flowers, 442—
American Lime,

Lime, (in Chemistry), 673—
phosphate of, 674—existence
of, 073—hydrate of, al
action of,

4x

442

14
71k

Lime, advantages of,
Bene Lime, ib.—carbonate
i
den tree, ‘small- leaved, grows
wildin Britain, .

Linacez, 629
Linen Fabrics, their origin, 401
Linneeus publishes his botanical
works, and introduces order
into the science, 3—his system
of botanical classification,
173, 175-180—its imperfec-
tions, . 181
Lint, 41—description of, “when
introduced into Britain, 401
Lintseed Cake, 672
Liquorice, 319
Litchi, 370
Live Oak, 429
Loasee, 642
Lobeliaceze, 623
Lobelias, 587 —varieties, how
raised, . 587
Loblolly Bay, 452
Locust Tree of Scripture, 386, 446
Logwood, ‘ « 166
Logwood Tree, . + 494-197
Lombardy Poplar, 444—exuda-
tion iis celebrated
by Ovid,
Lonchopteris, 655
Longan, 370
Long-leaved Pine, 465—Cone of, 465
Longiflora, 83
Loniceree, 625
Loquat, 328
Loranthez, 625
Lotus, 166 where found, 597
Love Apple, 3880
Lucern,  . 318
Lumbering Pines, 7, et seq.

46
Lupine, 316, 589—varieties of, 589
Lupinus, 316
Lycoperdacez, a pr oup of fungi, 191
Lycopodites, 655— Williamsonis, 663
Lycopodiums, intermediate
Plants between mosses and
ferns, . #
Lymphatics,
Lysimachiz,

10
615

Macrocystes, the longest of
known sea-weeds, 186
Madder, 508—cultivation of the
Plant, 509—manufacture of
Madder, and its uses, 510, 511
Magnesia, 19, 155, 674
Magnolia, 451—Small Magnolia,

452—Magnolia Grandiflora, 167
Magnoliacee, - 627
Mahogany, 168—Birch, 441—

Tree, 448—its varieties, 448,

449—first discovery of its

value, 448
Maize, or Indian Com, 170, 225
Malay Apple, . 370
Mallow Family, ‘ 170
Malpighi investigates minute

vegetable structures, . 38,86
Malpighiacee, 633
Malt, account of the process of

malting Barley,

Malt Dust, ‘ ‘ 672
Malte Brun, description of

Melons, . : - 377
Malus Medica, 353
Malvacee, — . 629
Mammee, 374—Americana, ib.

—Sapota, 375—Vegetable, 107
Mandrake, . 552
Mangifera’ Indica, 368
Mango, 368—where found, ib.

-- Varieties of, 368

 

INDEX.

Poze

Mangrove, 478

Manures, eifects of, 120—pro-

ortions of, ib. —necessity of,

21—yicld ‘carbon, 121, 670—

kinds of, 671—Animal, 672—
for hot- beds,

Maple, a native of Britain, 161
—its varieties, 437— Great
Maple, or Syeamore, ib.—
Common Maple, ib—Norway
Maple, 438—Sugar Maple,
167, 438—Red Higweria
Maple, 439—Striped manne
Maple, 440—Italian Maple, 440

Maranta Arundinacea, . 26-4

Maratties, 5 200

Marcgraviacee, 632

Marjoram, 493—Winter Marjo-
ram, ib.—Sweet een
ib.—Pot Marjoram,

Marvel of Peru, 82, 596—its sin-
ae properties, colar

Masyodltt,. 589

Mastic, 147—its nature, the use
made of it by the women of
Scio, &c., 562—how obtained, 562

Matulla, . 241
Mauritia Palm, 261
May Wort, ‘i 527
Mecca, Balsam of, . 561

Medicago Arborea, 318—Fal-

cata, AEE ib.—

Sativa, ‘ 318
Medicinal Plants, | 520
Medick Tree, 313
Medlar, 162, 328
Medullary prolongations of the

Pith, 24
Medullary Rays, 24—Tube, 23
Meliacez, 634
Melilot, 2 i . 318
Melilotus, ib.

Melon, 376—account of, by Nie-
buhr, 377—Liquor from, ib.—
varieties of, ib.—Cantaloupe,
ib.—African Melon, ib.—Sa-
lonica Melon, ib.— Portugal
Melon, ib.—Thistle eee

363—locality of, 364
Melon, Water, 376, 379
Menispermez, . 628
Mercury, English, 303
Mespilus Germanica, 328
Mezereon, . . 631
Microscope extends “Botanical

knowledge, 3
Micropyle, . 102
Midrib of a leaf, 38
Mignonette, 591 — deseription

of, its varieties, how cultivat-

ed, é 591, 592
Milastomacem, . . Gl
Mildew. 130
Millet, a ralioa: 228" Millet pan-

nic’ led, 229--Yellow-seeded

Millet, : . 2380
Millfoil, or Yarrow, 556

Milliary Glands, their structure, 11
Milton quoted, é a
Mimosa, 166, 310, 646
Mimulus, stigma of, . 82
Mint, 492—Peppermint, ib.—
Spearmint, ib.—Pennyroyal
mint, 492
Misletoe, 431—description of,
how used by the Druids, ib.
——formerly esteemed in medi-

cine, . * é 432
Mixed Vessels, their structure,

and opinions ies ding,
Moisture, 158
Monimie, 648

 

Page
368

Monkey’s Bread,
556

Monkshood or Wolf” 8 ‘Bane,
Monocotyledonous Plants, 12,
103, 201—stems, 24—their pe-
culiarity,
motes a fungus, deseription of
he, ‘

Morland, 84
Morus Niera, 343
Mosses, 5—their fructification,
76, 77—description of, 198, 681
Mountain Ash, 445—description :
of and culture, 445, 446
Moxa, 527
Mucedines, a group of fungi, 192
Mucilage, 1
Mulberry, 164, 165, 343—early
cultivated in Kurope, ib.—
Trees in England, ib.—man-
ner of propagating, 344
Musa Paradisiaca, 260—Sapi-
entum, - 260
Musacee, 203
Muscites, ‘ é 656
Mushrooms, a group of fung1,
191—deseription of the edible
mushroom, 194—Mushroom
Spawn, 194
Musocarpum, 654
Mustard, 299
Myoporinee, 618
Myriceze, 649
Myristicec, 13
Myroxylon Perniferum, its bal-
on qualities and uses of the
latter,
Myrrh, 149, 165
Myrsineze, 621
Myrtace, 643
Myrteee, ib.

Myrtle,’ 600—its varieties and
culture, 600

Neggerathia, 654
Nagadex, 201
N apiform Roots, 15
Narcissece, » 202
Narcissus, 375—traditions con-
nected with the name, ib.—
varieties, tests of quality, how
propagated, directions for cul-
ture, : . . 575
Nareotie Plants, 546—Narcotic
principle,
Nasturtium or Indian ‘Cress,
168, 491—Officinale,
Neck of Leaf, ‘ 39
Necturies, the term ill defined, 74
Nectarine, ooo)
Needham, 84
Negro Peach, 368.
Nematus Ribesii, 346

Nepenthes distillatoria, cup of,
its singular structure,
Nerves of Leaves, 38
Nettle, 419—its structure, cloth
manufactured from the fibres, 420
Neuropteris, 655
New Forest, the acorns of the
Oaks feed vast herds of swine, 422
New Zealand Flax, 420—de-
scription of, ib.—Mr Salis-
bury’s ee on its eul-

tivation, ‘i
Nicaragua Wood, . 498
Nicotiana Paniculata, 84—Rus-

tica, ib,—Tobacum, 399

Nightshade, Deadly, 551—Gar-
den Nightshade, 052—Woody
Nightshade, 552

Nilsonia, 654
aie en, experiments with, 115
effects of on Plants, z
Page

Nocturnal Flowers, 73
Nopalex, : 2 641
Norfolk Island Pine, 476
Norway Maple, r 438
— Spruce Fir, 469
Nucifera Thebaica, + 258

Nutrition of Vegetables, 45—
how nutriment is conveyed to
the plant, 46—Hales’ experi-
ments, ib. 47—course of the
sap, ib.—Amici’s experi-
ments, 48—Observations and
experiments of others, 48 et seq.

Nutmeg, 92, 170—Nutmeg Tree, 487

Nutshell, ¥ r % 96

Nux Medica,

Nux Vomica,

Nymphea, 652—Lotus

Nympheacese

241
554
270
203

Oak, Wood of, 25—Oak,a native
of Britain, 161—held sacred
by some nations, 42]—three
kinds indigenous to Britain,
ib.—common British Oak, ib.
its wood, 422—acorns used as
food, ib.—swine fed upon
them by the Saxons, ib—
New Forest filled with swine,
ib.—importance of the Oak,
423—extract from writer in
Quarterly Review regarding
the species, ib.—celebrated
Oaks, ib. 424—raising of Oaks,
transplanting of, 425, 426, 427
—Turkey Oak, 427—Italian
Oak, ib.—Velonian Oak, ib.—
Evergreen Oak, 428—Kermes
Oak, ib.—Cork Oak, ib,—
White Oak, 429—Red Oak,
ib.—Chestnut Oak, ib.—Live
Oak, ib.— Willow Oak, 430—
Dyers’ Oak, ib.—Misletoe 431
Oak Leaves, ‘ ‘5

Outer Medulla, 22—produces

to
to

cork, : 3 5

Oats and Plants, seeds of, 98—
Oats, 218—different varieties
of, ib.—the potatoe oat, ib.—
uses of, ib.—the wild oat,

Oblique Root, ‘ é

Ochnacez, 3

Odontopteris, ‘

Officinal Croton, P

Oils, 144—Almond, ib,—Behen,
145—Drying, ib.—Olive, 144
—Rapeseed, 145—Volatile, ib.

Oil of Beech, .

Oil of Turpentine, its applica-
tion to medical purposes,

Oil-bearing Camellia,

Olacinez, n

Olea Europea, : 558

Olea Fragrans, 362, 389, 393

Oleum de Citrangula, 349—Ole-
um de Citrangulorum Semi-
nibus, ‘ s

Olibanum,  . Bee hae

Olive, bounds of its cultivation,
163, 164—use of its oil, 164,
358,359—a native of Syria, 359
—localities of, ib.—time for
gathering it, ib.—in ancient
times held in great estima-
tion, ib.—curious account of
its introduction into Morocco,
360—manner of planting Olive
in Morocco, ib.—varieties of
Olive—Olive trade, ib.—Olive
groves, ib.—time in which
Olive flourishes, 361—Olive
Oil, the great depot for, 361
—brought to the magazine in

219
15

655
513

145
435

563
602
631

349
149

628 |.

 

INDEA.

skins, ib.—shipping of, 362—
price of, ib.—Olives never ga-
thered, i
Onagrarie, * .
Onion, 265—history of, 266—
varieties of, ib.—method of
improving, ib.—Onion, Welsh,
267—Onion ground or pota-
toe, ib.—Onion Tree,
Operculariex,
Ophioglossesx, : 7
Opium, 547—Turkey Opium,
548—East India Opium,
Opobalsamum, . .
Opononax, or Rough Parsnip,
149, 564—its juice, how ob-
tained, and for what use,
Orange, its cultivation in Eu-
rope, 164—Tree, 166—Fami-
ly, 347—when introduced into
England, 348— Preservation of
Orange Trees, ib. 349—culti-
vation in Devonshire, 349—
Crusaders’ idea of the Orange,
ib.—fable concerning, ib.—
history of the, ib.—varieties
of the, 350—Bitter Orange,
ib. — localities, 349—351 —
Beauty of the Orange Tree,
351—Tuscany not fitted for
growing Oranges, ib.—Tem-
perature, &c., most conducive
to its perfection, ib.—Soil of
Malta unfavourable to, ib,—
Orange of the islands, 352—
Oranges gathered in a green
state, ib.—Orange Trees cul-
tivated in England and Scot-
land, . .
Orange Lily,
Orchidez, z A
Orchis Tribe, 87, 269—Orchis
Mascula, 7 r
Organs of Plants, 12—roots, ib.
—1]6—stem, ib.--19--branches,
25, 26—leaves, 37—39—repro-
ductive organs, 55 et seq.—
fructification, 7 ,
Organs of Reproduction, history
of their discovery, 55—com-
pared with those of animals,
ib.—sexual organs, 56—on the
sexuality of vegetables, 56, 57,
58—established by Linneeus,
ib.—impregnation of flowers,
59, 60—peculiarity in the
plant, valisneria spiralis, 61—
experiments on the fecunda-
tion of female flowers, 62—
objections to the sexual sys-
tem, 3 : 63 et
Orkney, manufacture of kelp

in. - .
Ornamental Shrubs and H
Orobanchee, i; *
Orobus, 316—Luteus, ib.—Tu-

berosus, c ‘ 3
Orris Root, Florentine,

Osier, .

Osmundarcee, ‘

Otaheite Hog Plum,

Otopteris, ‘ *

Ovarist, Theory of the,

Ovary, enlargement of, 88—its
cells and ovules or seeds

Oxalidee, ‘ ‘

Oxlip, 581—singularity of,

Oxydes Metallic, 4

Oxygen, operation of, 109—ef-
fects of, 114—on germination,
ib.—on vegetation, ib.—on
flower and fruit, ib,—on

plants, .

aths,

187,

Page

362
642

267
624
200

548
147

565

353
577
208

269

65

seq.

188
598
616

316
534
444
200
374
655

83

88
629
581
155

114

 

716

@
Oxymuriatic Acid Gas, 127
Paat, 420—its uses, 420
Pachypteris, z » 655
Padina Pavonia, 191
Paleoxyris, 654
Pallinee, ij . 634
Palmacites, 654
Palme, or Palms, 202
Palmate Roots, . 15

Palms, ]63—various species ‘of,
170, 202—family of, 240, 664

—Palmyra Palm, . 259
Pandanocarpum, é - 654
Pandanus, 479—grecn-spined, 479
Panicle, . ‘ » 72
Pansy, 586
Papaw, 379
Papaveracese, 635
Paper, 679

Papilionaces, 310, 646
Papillary Glands, . Fi jl
Pappus, simple hairs of, 93—
feathery hairs of, ib.—Pappus
Sessile, ‘ a :
Papyrus, 166—an aquatic plant,
32—deseription of the, 233
Paronychies, 639
Parsley, 290—varieties of, 290
Parsnip, 288—varicties of, ib.—
soil requisite for, 1b.—used as
potatoes, P .
Partitions, Longitudinal, 92—
Transverse, ib.—Fulse,
Parynchema, .
Pasque Flower, j
Passiflora, 375—Edulis, 376—
. Quadrangularis, ib.—Lauri-
flora, ib. —Incamata, ib. —
Passiflorese, ei ‘ 642
Passion-Flower, 168, 60] —
whence the name, variety of
species, how reared, 601, 602
Pastinaea Sativa, 288
Pea, Experiments on the, 85—
Analysis of the, 94—Com-
mon Pea, 31l—when intro-
dueed into this country, ib.
—varieties of, 312—cultiva-
tion of, ib.—Sweet Pea, 317
effect of gas on Peas, .
Peach, 165—mentioned by Co-
lumella, 329—when introduc-
ed into England, ib.—varie-
ties of, ib.—localities of, ib.—
how cultivated in the United
States, ib.—much cultivated
in France, 330—general diffu-
sion of, ib.—manner of pro-
pagating, ib.—difference be-
tween it and the Almond,
curious circumstance regard-
ing, 831—flat Peach of China,
ib.—the negro Peach, 368—
edible Peach, . f
Pear, 162, 325—ancient history
of the Pear-Tree, 326, names
of the, ib,—cultivated in
China, ib.—wood of the Pear-
Tree, ib.—varieties of Pears,
ib.—327—propagation of, 327
—Grafting of, ib.—pruning of, 327
Pear, Alligator, 374

92
lu
574

113

Pear, Prickly, or Indian fig, 168
Peat, 161—Peat-Moss, account

of, and of the formation of

Peat, 198, 199—Peat earth 672
Pecopteris, ‘ : 655
Pediculares, ‘ « 6
Pelargoniums, see Geranium, 594
Pennyroyal Mint, » 492
Pentandria, . 87
Pepo Macrocarpus, 86
716

Pepper, 170— Pimento, or
Jamaica Pepper Tree, 486—
Black Pepper Plant, 488—
Long Pepper Plant, 489—
Guinea Pepper Plant, 490—
Cherry Pepper, ib.—Bell Pep-
per, 491—Cayanne i 491

Peppermint, “ 492

Percival, Dr... x 113

Perennial Roots, * 14

Pericarp, 12—Pericarp and
seed, 90—limits of, 91—cavity
of, ib.—cells of, ib.—Multilo-
cular,92—Axillus of,ib.—base
of, ib.— summit of, ib.—axis of,
ib.—dehiscence of,ib.—-ruptile,
ib.—holes of, ib.—teeth of, 93
—valves of,ib.—bivalve, ib.—

. trivalve, ib.—quadrivalve, ib.

| —quinquevalye, ib. — multi-
valve, ib.—wings of, ib.—
Richard’s views, 94— form

and structure, . : 95

Perry, . , 327

Poreani Fritillary, . i 576

Persian Iris, ‘ 575

Perspiration, Perceptible, 53, 54

Peruvian Bark, different’ spe-
cies of, 520—Common, or Of-
ficinal Bark, ib.—Pale Bark,
522—yellow Bark, ib.—red
Barks . 4 522

Petiole of a leaf, js . 38

Phanerogamic Plants, their
structure, 12

Pharmacopole, Greek eultiva-
tors of Botanical science,

Phaseolites, 65

Phaseolus, 314—vulgaris, ib.—

toe

multiflorus, ib.—caracalla, 315
Phoenicites, 654
Phenix dactylifera, 2538—fer-

inifera, ‘ 7 257
Phyllites, 654
Phyllotheca, F 4 653
Pia, . 285
Picotee Carnation, 583
Pilcherds, 672
Pimento, or Jamaica Pepper-

Tree, 486
Pines, wood of, 24—Pine Tribe,

455 — varieties of Pine,

Pine forests of England, 456,

457—Wild, or Scotch Pine,

457—red Pine, 465—yellow

Pine, ib.—long-leaved Pine,

ib.—piteh Pine, white Pinc,

466—Pine trade, 467, et scq.

Pine forests on fire, 469
Pine Apple, 170, 365—where a

native of, 365—large specimen

of, 366—large size of in China,

&e, - 366
Pine, Weymouth, 167
Piney Tree, 481—vegetable tal-

low produced from it, . 48)
Pinites, . 653
Pink, 585— qualities of a fine

flower, ib.—propagation and

cultivation, 3 585, 586
Pinus, 653—Pinus Canariensis ° 664
Piping, « é . 678
Pippins, A 822
Pisum Sativum, 31]

Pistacia Nut, ’387—Officinalis,
387 —Terabinthus, 888

Pistil, 12. 70—base, summit,
ovary, style, stigma,

Pisum, 31]—Americanum, 313°

Maritimum, : . 3818
Pitch Pine, é 466
Pitcher Plant, . 481
Pith, : : 23

 

INDEX.
Page
Pithy Stem, ’ ‘ 20
Pittosporee, 628
Placenta, or Trophosperm, 12, 91
Plantagine, , 6]

Plantain, or Banana, 170, 260
Plants, Grew’s ‘Anatomy of, 3,
83—Leuwenhoeck’s observa-
tions, 3—Ray establishes the
sexes of plants, ib.—nature
and uses of plants, 4—where-
in they differ from animals,
ib—plants of mouldiness, 5
—structure of plants, 6—
vessels of plants, 9, 10—pores,
stomata, gaps, glands, 10,1] ,—
organs and functions of plants,
12---roots, stems, leaves,
flowers, 12—roots of, 13—
their structure and varieties,
13, ld—sleep of, 42—Herma-
phrodism in, af—temale or-
gans of, 82—aquatic flower
buds, ib.—Brongniart on, 86—
hot-house Plants, 88—feeun-
dity of Plants, 98,—effects of
heat on, 105,—water, on ib.—
light on, 106—air on, ib.—di-
cotyledonous, 108 — mono-
cotyledonous, ib. — ingredi-
ents of Plants, 111—fed by
gases, 1]3—atmosphere on,
ib.—absorption of, 114—ex-
periments on, 115—flower-
ing time, 125—irritability of,
127—Plants generate heat,
ib.—distribution of, 156—ori-
gin of, ib.—extension of, ib.—
dispersion of, ib.—arctie cir-
ele Plants, 158 — Swedish
Plants, ib.— Norway, ib.—
Lapland Plants, ib.—Plants
used for clothing, &c. 401—
fossil Plants, 651—practical
culture of Plants, 666—ashes
of, 673—drying and presery-
ing of, 678—choice speci-
mens of, 679—packing of, 681

—jars for, 4 . 681
Pleurogynum r an)
Pliny advances Botanical

science, . 2

Plum, 333—var ieties of, ib. =
manner of pr opagating, 334—
wild Plums, ao aE ae

Plumbagine, é 615

Poacites, 3 é 654

Podocarpus, . « 653
Podogynum, 7 . 89
Po 265

Poony, 578—whence its name,
its varieties, propagation as

cultivation, . +5 879
Pohak, ‘ » 3 2 : :
Poisonous Trees, 7

Poitiers, anecdote of battle of, i

Polemoniacez,

Pollen, 12, 67—70, 8 ia
son’s opinion of, 63— grains of,
86—conveyed by b ees,

Polyanthus, 580—its tests, and
how propagated and culti-

vated, : a 518
Polygala vulgaris, ‘ » 92
Polygalez, 7 635
Polygonee, 6] 3— Polygonum

Fagopyrum, 319—Tartari-

eum, ‘ » 820
Poly podiacere, . 200
Pomacez, * . . 645
Pome, 95

Pomegranate, 164, 354——when
introduced into this country,

of

ib.—historieal notices of, 855

 

Page
—an omament in arehitcc-
ture, &c., ‘ - Sb
Pontederiaces, . 202
Poplar, 443—its species, tremb-
ling Poplar, or Aspen, Lom-
bardy Poplar, timber of, ib.
Balsam Poplar, 444
Poppy, ee cultivation of
the, . » 547
Populus, 652

Pores of Vegetables, 10—Hea-
wig and Mirbel’s observa-
tions, ib.—some eo
minute, . .

Portulacer, . . .

Potass, ‘ “ 154

Potatoe, 14, 168—history of,
271, &e. —localities of, 271,
272’_when introduced into
England, 272—story of the,
ib.—general introduction of,
promoted by the Royal Soci-
ety, 273—how noticed by
various authors, 273, 274—
anecdote of the, 274—intro-
duction of into Ireland and
Scotland, ib.—introduced into
Scotland by whom, 275--cul-
tivation of in the Continent,
276—do. in India, ib.—varie-
ties of the, 277—best soils for
the, ib-—Scotch Highlands
favourable for the, 278—pro-
pagation of the,ib.—managing
sets, ib._setting whole, 279
—sprouts, ib.—disease in the
Potatoe, 280, 281—Chemical
composition of the, 282—
sweet, ib.—introduced into
this country by whom,

Potentilla Anserina, 290

Press, ‘ ‘ 2 679

Prickles, s : 45

Prickly Pear, 363.

Priestly, Dr., 113, 115

Primrose, r 580

Primulacee, » 615

Privet, 600—its varicties, a
uses, 600, 601

Propagations by Cuttings, 617

Prostrate Stem, . . 20

Proteacee, 612

Providence, the “vessel fitted
out, 373—reaches Oee
ib.—voyageof, . 374

639

283

Pruning, 675
Prunus, 332—gum yielded by,
335— ” Armeniaca, 332—Arium,

335—Domestica, 333—Cera-
sus, 334—Lauro-cerasus, 336
—Lusitania, ib—Padus, 335
—Pseudo-cerasus, ib ee
nosa, 336
Psidium, 367 _ Cattley anum,

ib.—Pomiferum, ib.—Pyri it

ferum, : . 367
Pterophyllum, : 653
Puff-balls, a species of fungi, 196
Pulses, 310
Punctuated essels, their struc-

ture, p .
Punica Granatum, a‘ 354
Purple Beech, ‘ » 434

Pyramidal Bell Flower, 587
Pyrus Communis, 325—Cydonia,
327—Domestica, 328—Malus, 321

Quadripartite leaf, 3g
Quassia, 523—Simaruba or
Winged-leaved Quassia, 524

Queen Mary’s Yew at Crook-
stone, ; 5 . 47
Quercitron Oak Bark, . 51(
Page

Quickbeam, 445
Quince, 162, 327—introduced to
Europe ‘from Crete, 327—
much cultivated in France,

ib.—varieties of, 328—how

used, 328
Quinine, 3 42
Quinquina Extract, » 140
Radical Leaf, 39
Radicle Pedunele, 19
Radicular, 103

Radish, 166, 300—Horse Radish, 300
Rafflesia Arnoldi, 170, 596
Raisins imported ‘into England,

341—method of drying, 34]
Raki, 5, 871
Ranunculacez, 626

Ranunculus, 572—when ‘intro-
duced into Britain, qualities
of aperfect flower, how pro-
pagated, suitable ‘soil, ib.—
general directions for its cul-

ture, . : 573
Ranunenlus Aquatilis, ee
Rape, 299—Rape Cake, 672
Raphanus Sativus, . - 300
Raphe, 102

Raspberry, 336—flavour of, fleet-
ing, ib.— mode of propagating,

ib.—soil for, 337—American
Raspberry, 337
Ray establishes the sexes “of
Plants, . qi 3
Red Ash, 437
— Bay, 454
— Beech, . 434
_ Flowering Maple, 439
— Oak, 7 . 429
— Pine, 465
— Saunders Wood, 508
Reindeer Moss, 198
Reproduction, organs of, 55
Resedaceze, 637
Resemblance of Animals and
Vegetables,
Resins, 146—Resin and Tur pen-
tine procured from Pines, 563

Restiacer, 202
Rheum, 368—Hybridum, "309—
pe aa ap cain
um, 309
Rivicoria; 19_its structure, 19
Rhizotome amongst the Greeks
aevote themselves to Medical
Botany,
Rhododendron, 60 5—varieties,
PRCDREs Hes; and cultiva-
605, 606
plabarh, 166, 308—Hybrid
Rhubarb, 309—Monk Rhu-
barb, ib.—different species of
the plant, 542—Chinese and
Turkey Rhubarb,
Rhus Typhina, medullary layers

of, 32
Ries, B44 —Nigra, ib. —Rubra, Bad
Ribes 641
Rice, 168, 170, 221_its eultiva-
tion in ‘Italy, 162—one of the
chief productions of Egypt,
221—method of cultivating
and manufacturing it, 221,
223, 224—introduction into
America, 221, 222—Common
Rice, 222 Mountain Rice,
ib. — Clammy Rice, 223—
the Chinese method of Sane

543

Rice, a 224
Rocambole, 269
lo, - 109

Romans directed their atten-
tion to Botany,

 

INDEX

Page

Roots of Plants, 12-14—fibrous,
potatoe, tuberous, 14—bul-
bous, fleshy, simple, oblique,
15—horizontal. , furciform, na-
piform, conical, ib.—rounded,
testiculate, palmate, digitate,
ib .—knotty, granulated, arti-
culated, contorted, capillary,
comose, ib.—character and
variety of roots, their uses,
and observations and experi-
ments on their nature and
structure, 16-18—difference
between Roots and Stems,
25 — Roots of Dicotyledo-
nous trees, ib.—Root trans-

ortation, 157 — Rosacezx,

320 — medicinal _ properties

of, 321 — various extracts
from,

Rosacer, 320,

Rose, 164, 598—uses of the, in
medicine, 536, 537—its varie-
ties, how propagated, how
new varieties may be pro-
duced, 598, 599—to produce
beautiful flowers, ib. — dis-
eases of the flower, 600—all
roses not odorous, ‘

Rose Apple,

Rose Tulip,

Rosex,

Rough Parsnip,

Rounded Roots,

Rowan Tree,

Royal Bay,

Royal Society advanced the
science of Botany,

Rubiacee,

Rubus, 336—Articus, 337——cha-

memonis, ib.—Corylifolius,
ib.— ee 336 — FEE
talis,

Rue,

Rumex Acetosa, 369—Seutatus, 31

Rushes, account of several kinds
of, . .

Rutacee,

Ruteb,

Rye, its cultivation and use, 212

—poisonous quality of horned
9

or diseased Rye,

Sacred Beau, 597—how esti-
mated, 597—how propagated,

Safflower, the, 5{1—cultivation
of the Plant, ib—its uses as a
dye,

Saffron, Meadow, or Colchicum,

Saffron Crocus,
Sagapenum,
age, .
Sago, 170, 261—manafactory
of, 241,
Sago Palm, ‘ " ‘

Sagus Farinifera,

Saint- eg 317—-advantage of 4

sowin

Salep, 966—method of manufac-
turing, ib.—nourishment i od

Salicance,

Salicinex,

Salix, ‘

Salt fatal to most vegetables,
165—Common, 674—solution

of, -« 4 . :

Salts, Du Hamel and Keith on,
117—found in ns ib—
utility of,

Salvator Rosa,

Samara, .

32]
644

512
546

575
149
492

a
261

270
644
649
652

118
885
95

 

“17

Page
Sambucus Nigra, 346
Samphire, : 404
Samydex, 645
Sandarac, 147
Sanguisorbeze, 645
Santalacee, 612

Sap Vessels, 10—ascent of Sa i
45—course of, 47—Amici’s
experiments and observations,
48—Grew’s and those of
others, 48, et seq.—Dutro-
chet’s experiments, 49, 50, 51
—Transpiration in the ‘leaves,
51—Hales’ experiments, 52—
results of these and other ex-
periments, 53—Expiration,
its nature explained and illus-
trated, ib.—Excretion, ib.—
perceptible perspiration, 53,
54—from the Lombardy Pop-
lar, 54—descending Sap, its
nature and peculiarities, ib.—

general remarks, 55, 152
Sapan-wood, . « 498
Sapindacer, . 634
Sapoter, 621
Sappodilla Plum, 375
Sarcocarp, or Mesocarp, 91
Sarmentaceous Brey is 20
Sarsaparilla, 535
Sasiopetalee, 630
Sassafras, 535
Sauerkraut, 297-—preparation of, EA
Saugur island,

Saururee, .

Saussure, ‘i 1 09, i ie
Savin, Common, . 407
Savoy, 295
Saw-wort, Common, 519
Saxifragez, # 639
Scallop budding, 677
Scaly Stem, ‘ 3 20
Scammony, . ‘ 149, 539
Scandix’ Cerefolium, 291
Scape, ; 19
Schizopteris, c 655
Scorzonera, 306—medical pro-

perties of, ib. ee a 306
Scotch Fir,” 457
Scotch Pine, ib.
Scrophularie, » 616
Scrophularine, 3 ib.
Scurvy Grass, 300, 532
Sea on Climate, 159
Sea-catgut, . 184, 185
Sea Holly, 291
Sea Kale, 208
Sea Pea, ' é 31s
Sea-tangle, 185—uscd for

food, 186, 190, 191
Sea-weed, or ” Aluee, 184-ac-

count of those used as food,

in medicine, and the arts,

186—the different localities

of, “ - 189,672
Seeds, podosperm of, 92—Seed

and pericarp, distinction, 93

—conveyauce of Seeds, 98—

dispersion, 99—deposition, ib.

fituess, ib.—Seeds on streams,
rivers, Bes, ib.—form of Seeds,
10i—compressed Seeds, ib,—
depressed, ib.—erect, ib.—
reversed, ib.—base, ib.—oil

of, ib. —nutriments of, ib.—

character of, ib,—formation

of, ib.—oxygen on, 108—

changes of, ib.—experiments

on, 109—Seed transportation,

157—sowiug of, - 675
Selaginites, ‘ 650
Semiamplexicaul Leaves, | Bt
Semiligneous Stem, . Ig
718

Page

Beminal Leaves, 39

—_ Principles, 84

Scnebier, 110

Senna, 540—the common blad-
der Senna, 541

Sensibility of flowers to change
of atmosphere,

Sensitive Plant, 127—different
species, extreme sensibility,
cause of, how to rear the
Plant, < ‘ 604, 605

Sessile Glands, 11

Sexual System, 56, et | seq. —ob-
jections to, 63, et seq.

Shaddock, a ‘native of China, 34

Shallot, Fi . 268

Sheathing of Leaves, “39

Shrubs and Heaths, ornamental
Rose, 598—Myrtle, 600—Jas-
mine, ib.—Privet, ib.—Ber-
berry, 601—Clematis, or Vir-
gin’s Bower, ib. — Passion
Flower, ib. —Honeysuckle, or
Woodbine, 602—Lilac, ib.—
Camellia, 603—J aponica, 604
—Laurestinus, ib.—Sensitive
Plant, ib.—Rhododendron,
605—Heaths, i 606

Bickler, a German naturalist,
labours of, 331

Bigtlaria, 656, 65 :9—Alternans,

660—Catenulata, ib —Ocu-
lata, ib. oo ib.—
Reniformis, - 660

Siliacez, 202

Silica, 119

Silique, or Pod, 96

Silk Cotton Tree, 409—where
cultivated, varieties, 409

Silver Weed, 290

Simaruba, or Ww inges leaved
Quassia, » dt

Simaruber, 628

Simple Roots, 15
— Stem, ‘ ‘ 20

Sinapis Alba, 299—Nigra, 299

Sitaria Italica, (Italian Millet,) 228

Sium Sisarum, 289

Sium nodiflorum, 300

Size of Trees, 34

Skirret, 289-_change of | taste
for, 289

Sleep of Plants, 42

Slipper Worts, 593

oe propagating by, 33
Slit Vessels, or False Spirals
ts structure, 8

; 336

Small Magnolia, 452

Smilacites, 654

Smith, 86

Smith, Sir J, E, 128

Smooth Elm, 432

Smut, ‘ 130

Snail Flower, 315

Snake’s Head, 575

Snake Root, Birth Wort,” 536

Snakewood, : 479

Soda, 154

Soft Stem, 20

Soil formed by the continual
decay of vegetables, 6, 158,
670—composition of, me
water on Soils, 120—Siliea on,
ib.—sand on, ib.—analysis of,
ib.— draining, ib. —exhans-
tion, ib.—repose on, 121—re-
storation of, ib. — primary
Soils, 670— artificial, ib.—
parts of, ib. —qualities of, ib.
—fertility of, ib. —absorption
of, 670

Solanes, 617

 

INDEX.

Page

Solanum Tuberosum, 27]—Bel-
ladonna, 271—)ulcamara, ib.
Hyosciamus, ib.—Lycopersi-
cum, 380—Melongena, 380,
381—Ethiopicum, 380—So-
domeum, 381—fables concern-

ing, ib. ” accounts of, by
Genry Teonge and Pocock, 381
Solid Stem, 20
Solomon, his treatise on vege-
tables, + 2
Soot, O74
Sorghum Vulgare, (panicled
millet,) é 229
Sorrel, 309
Sour Sop, 375
Southern Wood, 526
Sowing Time, Heathen, 126
Sparmannia Africana, 82
Spallanzani, 83
Spartium Junceum, ib.
Spadix, 73
Spearmint, 492
Spines, i 45
Sphenopteris, 655
Sphenophyllum, 653
Spheeria nidula, F 314
Bbice ‘Trees and Plants, 482
Spike, 72
Spinach, 303—localities of—ib.
varieties of, ib.—wild Spin-
ach, ib. —New Zealand epee
ach, 804
Spinacia oleracea, 303
Spireacee, 645
Spiral stem, 20
Spiral Vessels, ‘their structure,
8—-Grew and Malpighi’s opi-
nions regarding them, ib.—
Du Hamel’s idea of their
form, ib.— Dr Thomson’, illus-
tration, ib.—other opinions,
ib, 9—Spiral Vessels of gar-
den lettuce, 9— Artichoke,
&e., ib. — Decandolle’s opi-
nion, . 9
Splendid Cardinal Flow os 587
Spondiace, 647
Spondias eythorea, é ord
Spongiolcs, 16—as seen by the
microscope, 16
Spotted- Barked Cotton, 409
Spregnel, 87
Spruces, 469—White, ‘Black,

i 4 469
Squash, 379
Squill, i Ad4
Stable Dung, 674
Stamens, }2—Anther, Pollen,

Filament, 67-68
Stapelias, 596—its cultivation, 596
Star Apple 375

Stem, 12, }9—of fungi, 19—of
flowering vegetables, ib.—her-
baceous, semiligneous, woody,
solid, 20—fistulous, pithy,
soft, sarmentaceous, simple,
branched, ib.—dichotomous,
trichotomous, vertical, pros-
trate, creeping, tortuous, ib.
—spiral, leaf-bearing, leafless,
scaly, ib.—internal form of
stems, ib—liber, epidermis,
cuticle, ib, 22—outer and in-
ner medulla, ib. 23—cam-
bium, 22—wood medullary
tube, pith, 23 — medullary
rays, 24—monocotyledonous
stems, ib.—variety of woods,
ib. 25—roots and stems, their
difference, ib.—growth of the
stem, 26-35—its different de-
velopments, 26—growth in

 

Page
height, 29— stem of mono-
cotyledonous trees, 30—cen-
tral system of stems, ib.—

s Regier system, ib, — inci- 5
sion, boring, girdlin 3
Sterrplaceae” e 630
Sternbergia, 654
Stigma, 71, 72—utricles of the, 86
Stigmaria, 652—ficoides, 661

Stipe, its structure and charac-
ter, a i 19
Stipules, their structure, 44—
their varieties, ib. 45—con-
nate,axillar, foliaceous, mem-
branous, or spinescent, ib.—
their uses, ib.—tendrils, their
structure and variety, ib.—
claspers, and suckers, ib.—
spines and prickles, ib.—their
nature and peculiarities, ib.—
cup of the nepenthes distilla-
toria, its singular structure, 45
St John’s Bread, 386
— _ Wort, 513
Stock, ]9—its structure, 19
Stock Gilly Flower, 589—nu-
merous species pied culti-
vated, 589, 590
Stomata, ‘ 10, 21
Storax, or Sty rax Tree, 150, 559
Strammonium, or Thorn Apple, 553
Strawberry, 338—historical no-
tices of, ib.—varieties of 339—
Alpine, ib.—manner of, culti-
vation, ib.—soil requisite
for, . - 3089
Strawberry Pear, 364
Tre é 606
Striped Barked isola, 440
Strobile, or Cone, 97
Strychnina, 142
Style, 71
Stylidies, . 623
Styracer, 621
Styrax, 150, 559
Succory, . 308
Suckers, . 45
Suffocation, ‘ 122
Superfetation examples of, 85
Suri, 246 — Suri pots, 247 —
manufacture of Suri, . 248
Sugar, 137 — account of the
manufacture of, 238, 239—
Sugar of the ancients, 249

Sugar cane, 24,170—description
of, 235—History of its culti-
vation, and the manufacture
of sugar,

Sugar Maple, 4

Sumach, 519—Samach, Vene-
tian, :

Sumachinezx,

Summit,

Sun- Flower, 168,

Sunn, 420—Sce Indian ae

Sutures Longitudinal,

Sweet-Flag,
ea,

Sop,

Violet,

Swayne, Rev. plantation’ of
filberts,

Sycamore, « native: of ay

Sychee Tea,
Synantherex,
Synorhizous, .

Tabernemontana,
‘Tacambae, .
Tacia pinnatifida,
Teeniopteris,

Taliera palm, '

235-

239
428

es
6; 3

437
392

624
103

o8
14]
288
654
25!
Page

T. aliput, . ‘ 259
Tallow, vegetable, produced

from the piney tree, 481

Tallow Sinn, 477

480

Tuifictad $63—prera ar uations of

Tamarinds, ‘ 363
Tamarindus Indica, * ib,
T ‘amariscinee, : 644
‘Tanner’s Bark, 4 2, 674
Tannin, ‘ ]41
Tansy, 494
Tapioca, i 285
1 ‘ar, distillation of, 466

Taro, 264
Taxinese, 650
Taxites, . 653
Tea Tree, 166, 388—species of

controversy ‘regarding, 389—

where native, ib.—Tea pe-

koe, ib.—Tea Teaves whlien
gathered, ib—manner of pre-
paring the leaves, 390—names

of Tea, ib.—kinds of Tea, ib.

—green Tea, ib.—Tea as used

by the Chinese, ib.—when

introduced into Europe, 391

—experiments of Dr Smith

upon, ib.—Tea tracts, ib.—lo-

calities of,ib.—mode of manu-

facturing” black Tea, 392—

mode of manufacturing green

Tea, 392—gathering of Tea,

393—cultivation of, in Assam,

ib.—method of planting, 393
Teak Tree, ‘ 6, re
Temperature, 157
Tendrils, their structure and

variety, s 4h
Terebinthacese, GAG
‘Terustreemiacez, 631
Terra del Fuego, extensive beds

of the kelp plant at, 185
Testiculate Roots, 15
Tetragonia SaPaneH 804
Thea, 388
Theobroma cacao, 396
Theophrastus cultivates the

science of Botany, 553
Thorn Apple, or Strammonium, 553
Thuytes, 53
Thuja, ib.
Thyme, 492
Thymelee, 612
Thyrsus, ie
Ticks, 814
Tiger Lily, 577
Tiliaccee, 631
Timber Trees, , 421
Tipula pennicornis, 88
Tissue of plants, cellular, 6 7x

- vascular, ib., i0—Areolar, 7
Tobacco, 168—species of, 899—

qualities of, 400—number of

works written against the use

of, ib.—the use of forbidden

by various parties, ib.—whcre

cultivated, ib.— manner of
cultivating, ib.—manufacture

of, ib.—use and abuse of, 401
Toddy, 246—derivation of, ib.

Toddy drawer, ib. —manner

of operating, 246
Toddy Tope, 243
To-kien, , . 889
Tolu, Balsam. of, 563—Tree

which yields it, its qualities

and uses, 563
Tormentil, =. 530
Torypha Caliera, . 259
Tournefort, the first successful

classifier of plants, 172—ac-

count of his system, 174, 175

 

INDEX,

Page

Tragacanth or Goat’s Horn, 537

Transpiration, 40—in the leaves
of plants, 4

Transplanting, ‘

Tree, its wondrous aOR 1—
stem, 12-19—leaves, 12-37 et
seq. ~monocotyledonoustrees,
12—dicotyledonous, ib.—aco-
tyledonous, ib.—baobob-tree,
13—trunk, 19, 20—stems, in-
ternal form of, 20—wood, 23
—pith, ib. —medullary rays,
24—wood of various trees, &c.
24,'25—branches, 25—central
system, cortical system, 30—
grafting, 33—size of trees, 34
—the araucaria, ib. —Kauwri
pines, cedars of Lebanon, 35
—ineision, boring, girdling,
ib.—ascent of sap, 45—trans-
piration, and expiration, 51-53
—Trees of north and east, 160
—Timber Trees, 421—Trees
shelter the soil, 433 Cotton
Tree, 408—Medick eee,

Trefoil, 318—hop,

Tremandree,

Trembling Poplar,

Trichotomous sera

Trifolium, .

Trigonocarpum,

Tripartite Leaf,

Tripe de Roche, a species of li-
chen, ]

675

Tropzoler, 629
True Service, 328
ne a fungus, description of
‘nmnl; 19—its structure, ib.—
peculiar to dicotyledonous
trees, 19
Tubercle, 36—simple, multiple,
compound, 37
Tuberose, 578—when introduc-
ed into England, how culti-
vated, 578
Tuberous Roots, 14

Tubes, Simple, 7—their struc-
ture,

Tucuma or Grugra, 242—es-
teemed a delicacy, fe 242

Tulip, Stigma of, 82—when
brought into Europe, extra-
vagant value affixed to cer-
tain kinds, its varieties, the
beau ideal of this flower, 570
—cultivation of the Tulip, 571, 572

Tulip Tree, 167, 453—its great,
beauty and majestic oe

ance, 53
Turio or Subterranean Bud, 36
Turkey Oak, 427
Turk’s Cap, 363
Turk’s Cap Lily, 577
Turmeric, 518

Turnip, 292—known to the Ro-
mans, 293—Roman method of
cultivation supposed superior
to that practised in modern
times, ib.—cultivated in vari-
ous countries, 293, 294—how

used, 295—French. Turnip, 294
Turpentine, its varieties a
how obtained,
Turpentine Tree, 388, 33
Typha, ‘
Typhinee, apn
Uimus, 652
Ulodendron,

mbel, F ‘
Umbelliferze, 24, 285, 625...poi-

 

719

Page
sonous, 285—poisonous qua-
lity en uy culliva-
tion, 285

Umbilicus. 10]

Umbrella Tree, . 478

United States, vegetation of
the, 16'

Uredinee, a group of fungi, 192
Uredo faba, 314
Urine, « 672
Urticeee, 82, 648
Uruq, «245
Utricular Glands, ll
Vaccina, 622
Vaccinium Myrtillas, . 346
Valerian, 534
Valerianese 624
Valerians, Pappus ‘of, 93
Valisneria spiralis, peculiarity

in the plant, 61
Valves, opening of, 93
Van Helmont, i
Vanilla, 397—Aromatica, 897

Vascular Vessels or Tissues, 7—
what they include,

Vasculum or Botanical Box, 678

Vegetables, their importance
and variety, 1—Solomon’s
Treatise concerning them, ib.
—knowledge of, amongst the
Grecians, 2—Malpighi’s exa-
minations of minute vegeta-
bles, 83—wherein vegetables
differ from minerals, 4—their
vitality, ib.—matter of vege-
tables and animals essentially
the same, ib.—resemblance
between animals and vegeta-
bles, ib.—variety of vegeta-
bles, 5—some only found in a
fossil state, ib.—variety of size,
ib. —mouldiness, ib.—uses of
vegetable products to man,
ib.—purify the atmosphere,
ib.—convert inorganic matter
into animal food, 6—coals, the
remnant of ancient vegetation,
ib.—soil formed by continual
decay of vegetables, ib.—em-
bryo of vegetables, 84—food

of, 110—fed by water, 111—

Vegetable extract experi-
ments, 1]6—principles, 142—
juice, 153--decomposition,155
—distribution, 158—marrow,

379—specimens, &e. 678
Velonian Oak, 427
Venetian Sumach, 517
Venules, 3
Venus Fy-trap, 127, 596—its

singular structure, . 597
Verbenaceze, 618
Vertical Roots, 14

— __ Stem, 20
Verticillate Leaf, 39
Vervain, 591
Vesicular Glands, 11
Vessels, vascular, 7—bearded, 8

—punctuated, ib.—slit ves-

sels, ib.—spiral, 8, 9—mixed,

9—sap vessels, 10—lympha-

ties, ib.—air vessels, 10
ae Bitter, 316—the chick- a

i

viene "Paba, 313—sylvatica, 3l4
eracca, ib.—sativa, 314

Vine, geographical limits of its
cultivation, 162, 339—now
cultivated does not belong to
Europe, 340—by whom intro-
duced into England, ib.—long

lived, ib, localities of, 841
 

 

Page

Winter Cherry, 88
Woad, 506—cultivation of the
plant and manufacture :

woad, » 508

Wolf’s Bane or ¢ Monkshood, ” 555

Wood, 23—its varieties, § 23
Wood, 23—of the sugar cane, of

pines, 24—of oak, fir, ‘ 25
‘Wood Ashes, . 672, 674
Woodbine, . 602
Woodroof, 592
Woody Roots, 14

_ tem, 19

— Fibre, 15k
Wormwood, 527
Wort, the name applied to malt

liquors before fermentation, 217
Wych E 432
ihe . 628
Yam, 263—winged, 263
Yarrow or Millfoil, 556
Yeast, ‘ : 672
Yellow Nuphar, 597

— Pine, 465

— Willow, A 444
Yew Tree, 473 its name de-

rived, various uses, 473
Zamia, 653
Zea Mayz, (Maize 9 or Indian

Corn,) . Q24
Zeugophyllites, 654
Zizyphus Jujuba, 371
Zosterites, 654
Zygophyliesr, 62i

720 INDEX,
Pag Page
Vine, soil for the, 342—Vine at Water Trefoil or Buck se £25
Harnpton Court, 343—Vine Eide 675
at Valentines, ‘ 343 145
Vine-leaved Cotton, 409 Weather Glass, Poor Man’ 3, 124
Vineyards, description of, 342 | Weeping Birch, * . 441
Violariez, ‘ 638 | Weeping Willow, 444
Violet, 586—its varieties and Weld or Dyer’s Weed, "Bld
their cultivation, 6, 587 cultivation of the plant, ib.—
Virgil, a number of plants nam- its uses as a dye, 515
ed by } him, é Wheat, germination of, ‘108—
Virgin’s Bower, « 60T geographical distribution of,
Viridis, 389 208—winter Wheat, ib.
Vitality, vegetable, 122—theo- —spring Wheat, ib. —Egyp-
ries of, ib. ee of, 122 tian or many-spiked Wheat,
Vitis Vinifera, . 339 209—spelt Wheat, ib.—one-
Viviparous Plants, 37 seeded Wheat, ib.—produce
Volkmannia, 656 of Wheat, 210~modes of cul-
Voltiza, 653 tivating Wheat, ib.—process
of baking wheat flour, 211
Wake Robin, 264 | White Ash, x 4 436
Wall Flower, 590 _ Bay, 452
Wallichiez, 631 — Beech, 434
Walnut, 162, 16 5, 382—locali- — Cedar, 475
ties of, ib._when introduced — Lily, 566
into England, ib—used in — Oak, 429
cooking by the Spaniards, ib. — Pine, 466
—used by the Gypsies, ib.— — Poplar, 444
manner of propagating, ib.— Willow, ib.
ied Co 383—Penn- Whortleberry,” 16]
sylvai 383 | Willow, 444—numerous  varie-
Ward’ 3 Portable Conservatory, 682 ties, a native of Europe, cul-
Water, 105 tivation of, and its uses, 444,
_ Cress, ; 209 445—used’in manufacture of
— Lily, 597...its varieties, 597 charcoal,
— Melon, 6, 879 Willow, Weeping, 166
— Ranunculus, 573 — uses 430
to which applied, 578 | Winter, Effects ot, 126 |
GLASGOW : W. G, BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS, VILLAFICLD.