sea Bart eaee Soe 4 554 ° SMM MMMMBMMMMMMK GPO 16—53001-1 PAR SS : THE TECHNOLOGIST, A MONTHLY RECORD OF Science Applied to Art and Manufacture. EDITED BY PETER LUND SIMMONDS. Author of ‘‘ The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom,” ‘‘ A Dictionary of Trade Products,” “‘ The Curiosities of Food,” the Descriptive ‘‘ Catalogues of the Animal Collection in the South Kensington Museum ;’ Editor of the new Editions of “ Ure’'s History of the Cotton Manufacture,” ‘ Ure's Philosophy of Manufactures,” “' Waterston’s Cyclopedia of Commerce; dc. RS ERS : . VoLuUME I. >~- A“ = Pics eae LONDON: BEN Es CO; PATE RNOSTL ER ROW. ned MDCCCLXI, ‘M‘GOWAN AND DANKS, GREAT WINDMILL STREET, § CONTENTS. — THE YELLOW DYE-STUFFS OF CHINA AND INDIA. Wager an ee) BY M. C. Cooke . 9 d THE TRADE IN QUICKSILVER. By the Editor . 10 On THE MANUFACTURE OF DATE SUGAR IN BENGAL. By g. H. Robinson, of Calcutta 6 0 THE SPONGE FISHERY OF THE OTTOMAN ARCHIPELAGO. ‘By the Editor LR, NoTES ON THE PERMANENT EXHIBITION OF ALGERIAN AND OTHER FRENCH CoLoniaL PRoDucTS IN Paris. By Eugene Rimmel 5 a Ol A Good, WHOLESOME, AND CHEAP SUBSTITUTE FOR ConrEn. By Leonard Wray . 0 : é Bok PAG Paper AND Racs IN CHINA. By D:; J: Macgowan, I M.D. 6 : b 9) Care Mastic. By L. Pappe, M.D. : 4 : . 29 YELLOW Poppy SEED OIL . o 6 5 C c . 930 METROPOLITAN TECHNOLOGICAL Museums. 30 OBSERVATIONS ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE VANILLA PLANT IN “BOURBON. By M. David Floris : 33 ON THE COLLECTION AND PREPARATION FOR MARKET OF THE BECHE DE MER OR TRIPANG IN THE PaciFic. By Captain Andrew Cheyne . . 40 ON THE SCIENTIFIC CULTURE OF THE STRAWBERRY. By Leonard Wray . 44 Paper MATERIALS PATENTED SINCE THE YEAR A.D. 1800. By M.C. Cooke. 650 ON THE MANUFACTURE OF BEET-ROOT SUGAR IN PoLAND. By Lieut.-Col. Simmons, R.E., C.B. 4 6 é ‘ " : 6 Ae 10) BALsaM OF PERU E 5 ; 6 0 , 6 ye tae) MANUFACTURE OF PAPER IN TASMANIA : ‘ : Ca A BIE Z ¢ . 64 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH AND THE NEIL MEDAL THE RED DyE-STuUFFS OF INDIA. By M. C. Cooke . : : . 65 Mica anD ITs Uses. By the Editor 5 ; + ME THE PRODUCTION OF AND TRADE IN BEES’ -Wax. By the Editor é eee On NoutMEG CULTURE IN THE BANDA IsLANDS. By Dr Bleeker . : wa 82 THE RIVER AND LAKE FISHERIES OF NORTH AMERICA. By the Editor . ah ots) ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL ART AND OBJECT LESSONS 3 5 : -) 94 THE TIMBER OF TASMANIA—BLUE GuM. By Dr ea : c 5 “7 I9% THE TRADE IN CoPROLITES. By the Editor - i : C - 103 GROWTH OF OPIUM IN CHINA 106 THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF THE Watre F PORPOISE OF THE Sr LAWRENCE. By the Editor : 0 4 : - 107 Paper FRoM INDIAN CoRN LEAVES . 2 : 2 A 4 5 . 109 PROFESSOR SHELLEY ON MANUFACTURING Arr C C . . go) InD! TEA SUBSTITUTES OF Mauritius. By M. Louis Bouton . a 4 4 . 113 THE NITRATE OF SODA AND BoraTE Districts oF Perv. By Wm. Bollaert, F.R.G.S. : : ; sella Tue BLuE Dyes or Cura AND INDIA. By M. C. Cooke 6 : c {M24 PREPARING AND COOKING BREAD FRUIT . 9 : - 129 ON THE FORMATION OF LocaL MusEuUMS. By William Curtis. 6 é . 130 Dye-STuFFS oF InDIA AND CuHiIna. By M. C. Cooke 182 A PROPOSAL FOR THE VOLUNTARY CLASSIFICATION OF MANUFACTURED AND UNMANUFACTURED Propuctions. By Francis Steinitz é A 9 . 138 CryNAMON CULTURE IN CEYLON. By W. C. ONDAATJE x 6 - 141 THE SOURCES oF MusK. By the Hditor . ; : : : 3 - 144 THE GINSENG Root oF ComMERCE. By the Editor : : ; : . 148 ; : é - 150 THE MANUFACTURE OF Mock PEARLS : 3 é iv CONTENTS, vo THE TRADE IN MaDDER. By the Editor : : ‘ ; ; : , “151 PInE-APPLE LEAF FIBRE ; : ; : . F RaTTANS AND THEIR Uses. By ‘Arthur Robottorn ; % A Py 16h On THE NaTuraL History oF THE PEARL OYSTER OF CEYLON. By E. F. Kelaart, M.D., F.L.S. 5 5 . - 5 6 : 6G NEW EpIsLe Roots. By the Editor ‘ 3 : i ays Notes ON GaLis. (With Illustrations.) By M. C. Cooke A 6 : 5 ltt Propucts oF New GranaDa. By William Bollaert, F.R.G.S. 5 5 USK, EVERLASTING FLoweRS. By T. D. Rock 5 . 188 ON THE AMOUNT OF STARCH IN RicE. By Dugald Campbell, ‘F. C. C. ; 5 ah THe NATIVE Farinas OF JAMAICA. By W. W. Anderson : j «LOS On THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE Lac InsEctT (Coccus Lacea)._ By H. J. Carter, F.R.S. 196 Somm REMARKS UPON SHELLAC, WITH AN ESPECIAL REFERENCE ‘To ts PRESENT COMMERCIAL Position. By John Mackay . : F : 3 . 204 BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA : . 209 THE SHEA BUTTER OF AFRICA, AND OF OTHER Bassras. By the Editor . 217 MotTHER OF PEARL AND ITs Usses. By the Editor . 5 j 5 ~ 219 THE SouRCES OF Manna. By the Editor é : : 4 : - 220 PROCEEDINGS OF THE RoyaL Society oF TASMANIA ; 5 ; : . 229 Insect MEDICINES— CANTHARIDES. By the Editor . : A ; , . 231 JAPAN VARNISH ‘ 5 : : . 284 THE SPONGE FISHERY OF THE BAHAMAS. " By the Editor : 237 CULTURE OF BROOM CORN IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THE MANUFACTURE oF Brooms. By the Editor ; 5 ; 3 . 239 THE EaRTH OR ROCK OILS OF AMERICA. | By the Editor é i a . 244 aS PRODUCTS OF THE Tisso (BUTEA FRoNDosA). By M. C. Cooke, E.S é : ; 5 ; ; : ; Z : . 261 THE GUARANA OF BRAZIL ; : : ; F + é 6 5 ee THE LACE BaRK OR GAUZE’ TREE c . : : : . - . 264 VARIETIES OF SuGAR. By the Editor 5 : 4 : : . 3 al Tar Gotp Pen—Irs History aND MANUFACTURE 263 On Prat-Sor IN COMBINATION WITH SEAWEED AND OTHER SUBSTANCES AS Manure. By George Parson . : : x . 268 THE BRITISH TRADE IN SHELLS. By the “Editor s ( s . 270 Hippopotamus TEETH oR Tusks. By Thomas D. Rock. (With an Illus- tration) é : : onal On Poisonous FISHES AND Fis Porsons. By Hon. Richard Hill Pe ZOO) On LicHtHOoUSE ILLUMINATION—THE ELECTRIC LicguHt. By Professor Faraday, DE CaLe ie iase anaes 285 CoMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OF THE ASPHODEL. "By Sir W. J. Hooker, K. ge FE 1a S. 288 Notes oN TANNING SuBsTaNces. By Walter G. Fry ; d Sy Asks) PinE-Woou. By M. C. Cooke, F.8.8. : : Sue THE CoPaAL OF HASTERN AFRICA. By Capt. Richard F. Burton : 0 . 3806 Ducone Orn. By the Editor. (With an img ee : . ot oll: MuReEXIDE. By F. Crace Calvert ; i ‘ : : . 313 Smzk Cortons. By the Editor ; : é 3. OLD, RIMMEL’s PERFUME VAPORIZER. (With an Hustration) : 3 Biebree -Bule} On VEGETABLE WAXES. By M. C. Cooke, F.S.S. ; é : . oal MavvE AND MacEenta. By Robert Hunt, F.R.S. 4 : OZ THE POTATO AND ITS CoMMERCIAL PRODUCTS. By the Editor : - . 331 THE BEAD-TRADE OF EASTERN AFRICA : é 5 . 341 THE ORDEAL Root oF GoumBI. By Paul B. Du Chaillu : 344 Monkey BreaD Nuts, OR FRUIT OF THE BAOBAB. By Thomas D. Rock. (With an Tllustration) 346 Noricr oF Economic PRODUCTS EXHIBITED aT IRONMONGERS’ HALL. By T. D. op Rock THE TussEH SILK Morn. By M. C. Cooke, ESS. (mite am [llustration). . do4 THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF SIAM. By Sir R. H. Schomburgk, K.C.H. . 355 THE MINERAL OILS OF AMERICA 362 ESTIMATION OF TANNIN IN SOME BARKS OF BRITISH GUIANA. ” By “John Mulligan : 5 367 Tue TINCAL OF ASIA, ‘AND its APPLICATIONS. “By Arthur Robottom 7 ONO Tuer TORTOISESHELL OF COMMERCE. By the Editor . é : 5 Be CaouTcHOUC, OR INDIA RUBBER. By Benjamin Nickels c : : . 3882 ANTIMONY. By T. D. Rock s MISCELLANEOUS AND SCIENTIFIC Norices; :—63, 96, 128, 157, 160, 223, 255, 320, 352 RrEviEws, Nrew WORKS ANNOUNCED, Xe. ; 5 31, 64, 128, 158, 256, 320 CORRESPONDENCE ‘ é ; : : ; ae, Abies canddensis . : Abutilon striatum ° Acacia barks . Acacia rugata Ach-root 5 Adansonia digitata. Adenanthera pavonina . Adiantum caudatum Adiantum lanatum ° Adulteration of food Ah-lok-no-ta . Al, or Aal : Alder bark s Alectoria sarmentosa Algarobilla F Algerian cotton . Algerian Exhibition Alligator musk Alliakoo Alnus glutinosa Aloexylon A gallochum Am-ka-chal American earth- oils Amteric . Angraecum fragrans Animal musk . Annato . Antherea Frithi Antherea Helferi . Antherea paphia . Antherea Sivalensis Antimony, description of Aquilaria Agallochum . Arachis hypogea Arrowhead roots . : Arsenical antimony : Artocarpus integrifolia . Ashneh . Asphodel, products ‘of Atiacus mylitta Atlee galls “ Avarai-pu , > é Bailke chal . : , Balati blanco . : Balsam of Peru Bamboo, uses of Bangkolungan 244, Bangwellgetta Baobab fruits . Basella rubra . Bassia butyracea Bassia latifolia Bassia longifolia Bassia Parkti, butter of Bauhinia variegata Baurach, or Borax Bead trade of Eastern Africa . Beche de mer, collecting Bedda nuts Beeswax, trade and “production Beet-root sugar in Poland Beluga catodon Benincasa cerifera . Benjamin, Gum Benkita barrung . Bentley on the Study of Botany Berberis asiatica . Berberis Thunber ge Betel nuts : Betel pepper . Betula alba Betula nana . Beyche seed Birch bark Birch wax Biza orellana . Blasting powder. Blue dyes of India and China. Blue gum-tree of Tasmania Bojekind or Bokhara galls Bollaert’s Researches Bombax cottons Boorada-i-mis . Boracic acid, imports of Borate districts of Peru . Borax, refined, imports of . Botanical Society of Canada . Bottle rubber Bread-fruit, preparing and cooking 1 Bread- fruit. flour British Guiana, tanning substances 299, See Bromelia karatas Bromelia pinguin . Bromelia sagenaria Bromelia variegata . 156 156 156 Broom-corn culture in United States 239 vi Brooms, manufacture of : Buchanania latifolia Bukkum wood : Bulbous-rooted chervil Bunchong balu Burmese dye . : c Burmese orchil : Butcher’s broom for coffee Butcher’s broom for pepe Butea frondosa : Butea superba : é . Cadooca poo Casalpinia publicata Calamus Royleanus Calamus Roxburghit Calamus rudentum. Calamus verus ; ; 7 Cesalpinia Sappan 5 3 Caleauzate . c c Calysaccion longifolium : Canadian cochineal . Candleberry wax Canes and rattans Cantharides Caoutchoue < 6 Cape mastic . : 3 Capillaire Capilla rung Caranja moss . Cardamoms of Siam Carnauba wax. Caroa . Carthamus tinctorius Casan alay : : Caseine cement . : c Cashew bark, tannin in . Cassia auriculata . Cassia tora Casuarina extract Catechu, tannin in Cathartocarpus fistula Cedrela Toona . : Ceriops Roxburghianus . Ceroxylon andicola . Chayroot 5 Chenopodium ambrosioides Cherinji . - China galls : : Chinese paper and rags . Chinese blue dyes . Chinese green dye . Chinese yellow dyes Chinese opium Chirongia sapida Choin-liao : Chulcheleera . - Cinnamon culture i in Ceylon Citronelle tea . Classification of products Coca leaves ; 3 Coccus lucca 5 Cochineal, new species Coffee of Siam : Coffee substitutes . Colocasia, various species Cooke’s Seven Sisters of Sleep INDEX. PAGE PAGE . 239 | Copal of Eastern Africa . : 306 72 | Copernicia cerifera . : 321 72 Coprolites, trade in 5 103 180 | Coratoe . ; , : 157 133 Cork-tree bark : : 293, 370 136 Correspondence 126, 158 136 Cotton of Algeria Ap aazall 138 Cotton of Siam oe 2 Crocus cashmerianus 9, 251 | Cuddapah indigo 125 9 Culeu for tea . 113 Cupla root 135 They Curing meat . ao Curries of the East. oo 1g3 Cymbidium tessaloides . 136 1 Cymbopogon Schenanthus 115 162 . 162 | Dammer 5 359 . 72 | Dandelion coffee 27 Date sugar 5 12 a Dati bi 10, 1385 atisca cannabina . , . 352 | Datura stramonium 361 3992 Dhauri é 74 Diamonds 96 Sele 931 | Diastase . : a 389 Dicalyx tinctoria . 29 Diervilla versicolor . 134 115 | Divi-divi 6 296, 368, 200 5 Dobarah . ; PE aSy Dragon’s blood, Siam : 358 036i Dugong OG 4 i sont Dullooah, or Doloo : a 5 . 156 Dye stuffs of India . . 1, 65, 121, 132 73, 74 ; bl Eagle wood . . 360 Weck oils of America 244, 362 368 9. 296 East India orchella . a . ies 2 East India tanning stuffs. “a Economic products a at Ironmongers’ fe TBleMl) > 3 ° ‘ 9 3 a Edible roots. 177 g | Edible water- weed of China ane Electric light . : : 1s Erythroxylon Coca 255 69 Eucalyptus globosus 97 114 | Eucalyptus manna . : aH Euonymus tingens . allt Euryops multifidus . 29 99 | Everlasting flowers . 188 121 185 | Fahamtea_ 114 1 Farinas of Jamaica . 193 me Fibraurea re a Ficus Australis 122 Ficus cerifera . 326 137 Ficus elastica, Xe. 384 141 | Fish- -poisons and poisonous fish 277, 299 15 Fisheries, river and lake, of Nex 138 America 85 255 Freshwater weed of China 96 196 ‘¢Frett,” definition of 373 oe Fulwa or Phulwara butter 3 247 27, 158 & 179 Galls, notes on 181 31 Galls, Levant . 181 INDEX. PAGE Gambier : 297 Gamboge 358 Gardenva. florida 5 Gardenia glutinosa 135 Gardenia grandifiora 4 Garcinia mangostana 136 Gardenia radicans . 5 Garan chal bark 134 Genoa lace . 157 Getah Lahoe . 326 Getah Podah . 326 Ginseng of commerce 148 Glauberite in Peru . 121 Glaucium luteum 30 Godari 74 Goingamadon . . 327 Gold pen, its histor) y and manufac- ture . : : . 263 Gooljaleel, or Usburg 135 Goolanna, or Goolawna 135 Gool-i- pista galls . 184 Gordeoondy 8 Ground nués in Siam 360 Guarana of Brazil 252 Gum trees of Tasmania . 97 Gurputta date sugar 16 Grislea tomentosa . 74 Gymnemia turgens . 125 Hancornia speciosa . 160 Hangenan 5 . 41 Hawk’s-bill turtle . 376 Hayesine in Peru 121 Hedyotis umbellata . 69 Hemlock bark ; 370 Hemlock spruce bark 290 Hetchia bark, tannin in. 368 Hippopotamus tusks 271 Hoang lou 134 Hoang-ten 2 Hoang-pe-pi Hoang- feohi 4, 74 Hoai-hoa ; 3 Hull's Forty Yearsi in Tasmania 128 Humboldt’s palm wax c 322 Hunsraj . J 135 Hursinghar 9 Tloopei oil 217 Illustrations of industrial arts | 94 India rubber . : 382 Indian corn leaves for paper : 109 Indian dye-stuffs G5; 121, 132 Indigo manufacture F 123 Indigos of China and India 121, 125 Indigofera anit ee AS) Indigofera tinctoria 122, 123 Insect-medicines « 231 Triartea andicola 322 Isatis indigotica 122 Ispruck . 3 125 Tyory of hippopotamus : 270 Jack wood 3 9, 358 Jaffna moss : 2 . . 136 Jamaica farinas : ¢ . 193 vii PAGE Jamaica vervein tea 1h Japan galls 186 Japan varnish . 234 Japan wax 326 Java rubber 384 Jetamashee 137 Kaboung ; Catal ‘ 73 Kadookai : : 9 7 Kadookai flowers . 136 Kakrasinghee galls i 185 Kamala . 5 5 Kanari nut oil ‘ . 84 Kayn-kudrang 133 Kayn Lakah . 133 Kayn Laxka 133 Kayn Oobah 134 Kayn Samuch. 133 Keen-boon thee 125 Keeskeesan 40 Kessaree flowers 252 Khaur . . 15 Hang “hoang 9 1 Kino 296 Kuepbul . . 134 Reeser galls 183, 294 Kohl, use of . 391 Kohal, Arabic name of antimony . 388 Kolisurra silkworm 853 Koosumba 73 Ko-tse 186 Kow toutse . 186 Kulitan, the Chelonia Caretta 377 Kwa-wi . : 5 ‘= Lac insect, natural history 196 Lae, shell, commerce of . 204 Lace bark, or gauze tree . . 254 Lace, Genoa k a lay Lagetta lintearia . 254 Larch bark 291, 369 Larix europea. 5 eA Lan of Canton 121 Lankester’s Uses of Animals 31 Latakia tobacco i 157 Lemon grass tea 115 Lepidolite é ; 76 Lighthouse illumination . 285 Lilaroum . 125 Local museums, formation of 130 Lodh bark a : 134 Lo-kao of China 135 Lopisip bark 134 Lowlowan 41 Mace and nutmegs . 82 Madder trade . 151 Maddi chaka 72 Mafurra wax . 327 Maharanga 126 Mahee galls 187 Maize leaves for paper 109 Maize sugar 262 Majoophul 187 Makleua c 0 . ¢ 136 Malan of China : : ‘ 122 Vill PAGE Malapoo flowers 9 Mangaba : . 160 Mangosteen peel ‘ . 136 Mangrove bark : aes ae ope Manna, sources of . Manna de Briangon 07 Manufacturing art (Prof, Shelley) 1Db| Mauve and Magenta . 27 Mara manjil . ° . - 133 Marsdenia parviflora 125 Marsdenia tinctoria 125 Mastic of Cape of Good Hope 29 Matan . - 41 Meniecylon tinctorium : : f 7 Menispermum fenestratum . : 9 Mica and its uses . 5 2 4 Miel de palma 5 - 262 Mimosa bark 297, 369 Mineral oils of America . 242, 362 Mineral statistics 4 : : Minerals of Algeria . 24 Mining Record Office 5 : 63 Mock pearls, manufacture of . 150 Mohwa oil ; . 217 Monkey bread nuts 5 0 . 3846 Mooshe, Mucha, Muchkee . - 185 Morinda bracteata 5 a , Pea 7 Morinda citrifolia . : 72, 358 Moringa pterygosperma . 126 Morinda tinctoria . 72 Morinda umbellata. 72 Motha roots . 135 Mother-of-pearl and its uses 219 Mora bark, tannin in 368 Mourinhgy wood 126 Mudar floss 317 Muddy chuckay 72 Munang . . 41 Mungkudu : 72 Maject (N eilghery) 65 Manjeet . : . . 66 Munjulde 136 Murexide : . : - 313 Muscovy glass. . : 3 9270 Musk beetles . 145 Musk, odour of 256 Musk plants 144 Musk root 145 Musk, sources of 144 Myrica sapida < 134 Myrica species yielding wax. 323 Myrobaloms 5 : : 370 Myrobolaus : 298 Myrtle wax . : ais 822 Native farinas of Jamaica 193 Neilgherry munjeet . 65 x erzum tinctorium 4 5 125 New Canadian dye . 352 New edible roots 177 New Granada, promuctse of 187 New stimulant : 255 Nimphool 15 Nitrate of soda district of Peru 105 Noona chuckay : ; aa ie North American fisheries 5 =) oD Northern lau of China A 122 Notes on tanning substances . - 289 INDEX. PAGE Nutmeg culture, Banda Islands . 82 Nyctanthes arbortristis . . 9 Oak barks 7 292 Oak bark, tannin i in . : - 3869 Object lessons . 9 94 Ochroma lagopus . ; 6 316 Oil, bassia : < o Sealy Oil, coal : : : . 9829, 364 Oil, dugong 6 : 0 S eoitl Oil, eucalyptus 102 Oil, kanari 84 Oil, olive 23 Oil, porpoise : s : Ome Oil, rock : 5 . 242, 362 Olive oil (Algeria) . 23 Oil, mineral . esi if 242, 362 Oil, whale : . : 0 - 363 Oil, yellow poppy .- é c Be ail) Oldenlandia umbellata . : jo OS) Oobah wood . 134 Opium, growth of, in China 106 Ordeal root of Goumbi . 344 Ou-chi-tse : 186 Oxford Economic Museum 32 Palas indigo . - 125 Palas kino S25 Pallunga murra - 133 Palm sugars : : 261, 356 Palosanto wood. . 224 Panax quinquefolium 148 Pangtarai seeds 5 360 Paper and rags in China . 29 Paper of butcher’s broom 128 Paper neck-ties and collars 224 Paper from maize-leaves . 0 109 Paper materials patented since 1800. 50 Paper manufacture in Tasmania . 61 Para rubber 6 0 383 Paraiba (Brazil), resources of . 160 Parmelia Kamtschadalis 137 Paullinia sorbilis 253 Pearl, mother of . 219 Pearl oyster of Ceylon 161 Pearls, mock, manufacture of 150 Peat soil as a manure Peetha wax Pelachy, or palasy . Perfumery plants of Tasmania Petroleum oil springs Phenix sylvestris : Photinia dubia 3 0° : ands Pine-apple fibre 153 Pina muslins 153 Pine-wool 304 Pinus sylvestris 304 Pistacia galls . - C é 185 Plantain flour . 195 Po-ca-de bark, tannin in 368 Poisonous fishes and fish- poisons 277, ae Polygonum chinense, &e. Pomegranate flowers : : 4 Porpoise (white) of St Lawrence 107 Potato and its products : 331 Potato syrup F ee Priapulus cordatus INDEX. ix PAGE Prickly pear sugar . 5 : a2Gr Prosopis pallida . : 5 . 297 Psoralea glandulosa - 2 . 113 Pterocarpus flavus . : : : 2 Pterocarpus santalinus . 2 5 7183 Puckna cheenee . : . ls Pumpkin sugar : : : . 260 Punica granatum . 186, 74 Pupli chuckay : E ° S Puttinghu bark : : : - 134 Quercus, galls on various species . 181 Quercus, barks of various species . 292 Quicksilver trade : 5 a) Ramalina calicaris é s 5) Leys Rat keria S 5 é =. 188} Rattans and their uses j 5 = lil Ratti-nara . ; : 2 5 ley/ Ratti-pu . ; Y 5. Als Red sanders wood . ; 4 ‘ Spano Regulus of antimony . : . 393 Rerro ; A : 73 Reviews . : 31, 128, 158, S20 Rhamnesia sinensis : Rhamnus chlorophorus and utilis 138 Rhizophora Mangle 73, re Rhus coriaria . c . Rhus suecedanea . F 5 . 326 Rhus vernicifera . 5 . 3826 Rice, amount of starch i in. 5 OM Rice, culture of, in Siam. : . 3855 Rimmel’s perfume vaporizer . . 318 Rinu bark . 134 River and lake fisheries of North America Roccella fuciformis e : 136 Roccella phycopsis . : > o la6 Rock-oils of America . 244, 362 Roots, new esculent 3 f cen Rosewood of Siam C : a BSL Rottlera tinctoria . 5, 135 Roum of Assam . : - 125 Royal Society of Edinburgh . . 64 Rubia munjista . > . 66 Ruliatinctoria . ) 65, 151 Ruellia indigotica . 4 : . 122 Rukta-chandan : te Ruscus aculeatus . 128, 158 Rusot . ° ° 5 . : Safflower ° 73, 74, 358 Saffron of Cashmere : . F Sagittaria sagittifolia . : oe Ue Sakun galls. 7 : - . 186 Salmon breeding . : 4 5 OY) Samak bark . < 0 A . 134 Sapatos China . ; - c gel Sapatos grande : . ° pees Sappan wood . . 5 Pe Si Saracundraputtah bark . . 134 Saturnia mylitta . 3 6 » Oda Schinus molle . , 295 Schomburgk, Sir a ., O0 Siam’ » 805 Scientific culture of strawberry . 44 PAGE Serjacoy . 0 : 4 6 aleyy Sesamum ‘indicum A 3 9 . 360 Seven Sisters of Sleep. d joi Shea butter of Africa . : . 217 Shellac, commerce of . 5 . 204 epelley Cotes or) on Sere “i shells, trade in : : 0 2 20 Shukur-teeghai E : ° . 187 Shumac, tannin in F 5 . 370 Siam, vegetable products of . . 355 Siamese indigo : f . 125 Siamese purple hee : 0 . 136 Siao-pe . : : i 2 Siao-lan . , o ‘4 5 . 122 Silk cottons 315, 362 Silkworm, restor: ation to health . 160 Singapore blue - . : - 126 Sipunculus edulis - 44 Sirada bark, tannin in . 3868 Sirih (Chavica betle) . 3861 Smith’s Diagnostics of Aural Disease 320 Soda (nitrate and borate), prey Sapkel'd Sogah or sagah bark . 134 Sooringee chuckay . 0 : 5 4 Soorma, or Surmeh f : . 93892 Sophora japonica . 3 5 6 3 Souan.kio : . 186 South Kensington Museum . . 82 Sponge fishery of Bahamas . 237 Sponge fishery, Ottoman Archipelago 17 Stachytarpheta eee 0 . 114 Starch in rice . 6 : 5 alt Strawberry culture : 5 E . 44 Sugar (beet) in Poland . 0 SEeOO) Sugar (date) manufacture 6 cj Sugar, manufacture of, in Siam . 355 Sugar of prickly pear fs . 261 Sugar of walnut . : 4 . 261 Sugar, pumpkin. : 5 . 260 sugar, varieties of 2) 5 on) ee 2bu Sumach ; ‘ . 296 Sumatra gardenia fruits 5 135 Sumrut ool usk . e ° . 186 Suringee . 4 f 8 Symplocos racemosa ° ° . 134 Tagarapu 0 0 Pais » 125 Talepan . : . : 40 Tamarisk galls 3 lee Tamarisk manna : : 227 Tanning stuffs of India . | 298 Tanning stuffs of British Guiana. 299, 367 Tanning substances F 289, 369 Tantepu . 0 é . 125 Taroem aroi . ¢ 6 0 7225 Taroum-akkar . : - 125 Tasmania, Royal Society ' . 229 Tchan-tsi 4 ; 6 5 Tea substitutes of Mauritius 3 - 118 Teak flowers . ‘ ; a Ak Teak of Siam A ° » 9806 Technological museums . . - 30 Tectona grandis. - « G4, 356 Terebinth galls : 5 ° . 185 Teree > o . 296 Terminalia belerica 3. 7, 278 x INDEX. PAGE PAGE Terminalia chebula : 7, 186, 298 | Ukkulbeer . : ‘ ‘ Bee kis Terminalia citrina . : 5 : 7 | Urceola elastica . P . - 384 Thanikai . é C : . : 7 | Usburg, or Gooljaleel_ . d eee 355 Thé du Mexique . é : - 114 Usnea barbata, var. florida . - 136 Thedan . : : : : : ae Thit-tet . a . . 5 5 Thit nan wen F : : me 73 Valonia . Berane : : . 294 Thoutien, or ata 7 ig seaetls ue Valonia, tenn ST each an Tien-ching bi Fah alain) 2g ipl2or | pawesectable: waxes am: . Re moet Tien-hoa, or tien- tsing : ; . 122 Ventilago madaraspatana . NO Timber of Tasmania a : a || Tienj-jet, Bae niet. : : SeIeHbS) || wearer f ; ; f rf 3 Tihoang . . : : : Bae Walnut sugar . , 268 Til seed . Sry : * 979 | Warameah bark, tanninin . 368 Tincal or borax of Asia sHiats i g | Wax (bees’), trade and production . 2 add, Tisa 9 : : : ; 9 Waxes (vegetable) . : : . o2l Tissoo flowers . f. " * 5 95; | Water-weed of China. o, Sapo Tissoo, products of. =. - s 28 Wendlandia tinctoria . ; 5 ike Tobacco in Algeria . : : nee Wallow bank 369 Tobacco, Latakia . 4 5 A UbY/ Woo-pei-tze ; : ; ; "186 Toola loodh_ . - + 184 | Wood, PaloSanto: .. . . 224 Tortoiseshell, description of . Be 0s Nearer NG) Gare 97 Trepang inthe Pacific . . . 40 | ee * intantiae Sp aon Truffles, newsourceof . . . 224 | Woo) (Al eria) i : ne =) geod Tueh-esong (ground: nuts) . - 9360 Woniwol> ; ‘ i ; 9 Turmeric. H ‘ cadet ‘ . = ; Turwar . c : 5 . 296 Tusseh silk moth . . 353 | Yellowpoppyseedoil . . . 30 Twickenham Economic Museum . 320 | Yempalum . Bae oi gadis ' THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE YELLOW DYE STUFFS OF CHINA AND INDIA. BY M. C. COOKE. Attention having been called to the dyes of China and India, by several inquiries, from individuals engaged in the art of dyeing silken fabrics, it has been deemed advisable to submit a few observations, with a view, not only to the diffusion of the present information, but to solicit additions thereto, so as to render our knowledge more complete. Some of the dye stuffs, to which allusion will be made, are already known to British commerce, whilst others might readily be obtained, if found, upon experi- ment, to meet the requirements of the home dyer. ‘Those which are enumerated are, doubtless, but a portion of such as are in common use ; but around this enumeration, as a nucleus, can be grouped any further information which may from time to time be collected. The subject itself is not unworthy of the consideration of our dyers at home, or of travellers abroad, who possess facilities for obtaining further details. Accident brought into notice the green dye of China; and inquiry may develope other, and equally important facts. Krane-Hoane.—This dye stuff is the root or rhizome of Curcuma longa, L., known to commerce under the name of Turmeric. It affords the yellow dye most in use in China; it is the cheapest, but is also affirmed to be the least durable. Turmeric is very common in the provinces of Fokien, Houang-toung, Kouang-si, Sse-tchouen, &c. In Canton the fresh roots cost about five dollars per picul (1334lbs.). The Chinese turmeric is of excellent quality, and realises a good price in the English market. In dyeing with this substance it is first reduced to powder, on which boiling water is poured. It is then stirred, and allowed to stand awhile, and the liquor is afterwards poured off. A small glass of citron-juice is added for every catty (or one pound five ounces) of turmeric powder, and about five pounds of powder is required to dye two pounds and a half of silk. Some dyers prefer the VOL. i B 2 THE YELLOW DYE STUFFS OF CHINA AND INDIA. s use of vinegar to citron-juice, whilst others use no acid at all. Hoang-ten is sometimes used, in combination with the Kiang-hoang, to render the colour more permanent. HoANG-TEN is the root or stem of a plant which is said to re- semble the Indian reed. As sold to the dyers, it consists of small twisted vine-like pieces of from a third to half an inch in diameter, of a bitter taste, and with a thin, shrivelled, reddish-brown bark. Inwardly it is of a fine yellow colour. Don J. de Azaola, of Manilla, thought that this substance might be the root of a shrub, known to botanists as Menispermum Cocculus, L. But M. Rondot is more inclined to believe it the stems of Fibraurea tinctoria, Lour. The description of that plant by Loureiro accords very well with the substance used in China. He also states that the stems of that plant yield by boiling a yellow colour, which, though not very brilliant, is fast. In the Account of China this plant is also referred to as yielding a yellow dye stuff. Loureiro affirms that the Chinese name of this substance is tien-sien- tan, whilst that of the Cochin Chinese is cay-vang-dang. The Ghinese characters, which are rendered Hoang-ten, are pronounced in Cochin Chinese vang-dang. Hence, there is every probability that the Hoang-ten of the Chinese is the produce of Fibruurea tinctoria. For dyeing, this substance is either used by itself, or in combination with turmeric powder, for the purpose of fixing the colour of the latter. The Hoang-ten is left to macerate in cold water for three or four days. The cloth is then dipped, without the use of any mordant. Hitherto, we are not aware that this substance has been introduced into Europe. Hoanc-pE-pi is the bark of a tree, called hoang-pé-mou (Pterocarpus flavus, Lour.), a kind of yellow Sanders-wood, or an allied tree, which is found in the province of Sse-tchouen. This bark is in use by the Canton dyers, costs about twopence per pound. It is left to macerate in water for three or four days, is used cold, without any mordant, and it produces a colour of a reddish yellow. This dye stuff is also alluded to by Loureiro and Father Collas. The next substance is sometimes used as a substitute, but is less esteemed. Srao-PE is a kind of Barberry bark, the produce of Berberis Thunbergii, which is used in Canton for dyeing yellow, and probably resembles the Barberry bark of our own country in its tinctorial properties. It is not greatly esteemed in China. Ti-HOANG is another yellow dye stuff, which is obtained from the root of a plant, named by Dr. Hoffman Rhamnesia sinensis.* The leaves are large, rough, and thick; the flowers are striped in red and violet; the seeds are grey, and are contained in a capsule ; “ the root is as yellow as that of a carrot.” This plant grows almost everywhere in China, and its use for dyeing purposes is nearly universal. We cannot at present * With a genus of this name we confess ourselyes unacquainted. It is probably a typographical error.— Editor. THE YELLOW DYE STUFFS OF CHINA AND INDIA. 3 affirm whether it is used both for silk and cotton, or principally for the latter. The roots, which are held in greatest esteem, come from the province of Honan. Hoar-Hoa.—The flowers of this tree are largely used in China. It is known to botanists as the Sophora Japonica, Linn., and was first introduced to the notice of Europeans, as a dye stuff, in 1846. Samples were procured and subjected to examination by Dr. Henon, of Lyons, who was the first to discover that this yellow dye stuff consisted of the undeveloped flower buds of the tree we have named. In 1851 Dr. Th. Martius received this substance from Hamburg, under the name of Wai-fa, by whom it was also examined. This tree is said to be abundant both in the north and south of China. It is cultivated between twenty-three and forty degrees north latitude ; but chiefly in the province of Fokien, and in the northerly provinces of Honan and Shantung. Father Cibot states, ‘‘ The flowers are generally employed ; it is grown everywhere without care, and yields a very fine yellow. When on the point of blowing, they are gathered, separated from the calyx, and dried in the rays ofa hot sun ; or, still better, in an iron pan, whenthey are turned, as if they were to be roasted. They are then moistened with the juice of other flowers, piled ina heap, and strewed with salt. When thoroughly manipulated, they are formed into balls, and set to dry in a northern aspect. Some people, instead of salt, use lime, or content themselves with sprinkling it over their flowers, after reducing it to a fine powder.” According to Messrs. Fortune and Hoffmann, the flower furnishes ayellow dye. Dr. Lindley says the seed vessel affords a yellow or orange. Dr. Th. Martius remarks that the mixture of flower-buds and fragments of stems described by him are used to dye a fine yellow the silken stuffs intended for the vestments of the Mandarins. The mixture alluded to by Dr. Th. Martius consist of dried flower-buds, with about an equal proportion of little stalks and sticks. The buds are mostly very young, one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch long, oval, and pointed at the peduncular extremity; they are of a dark greyish green, and almost devoid of taste, imparting to water a fine yellow colour. In 1853 Professor Stein, of Dresden, experimented on this dye stuff. A dyer, in Canton, thus describes his process of using hoai-hoa: ‘* Take boiling water, put in the hoai-hoa, and leave it for some time. After a while the colour and the odour are both developed. Pour off; the sediment is cf no use. Take this water; add cold water to reduce its temperature; add lime water, and dip the cloth in the bath thus prepared. Let the cloth be well shaken, and then rinsed in pure water. After being rinsed, the cloth will be found dyed a fair yellow. A little alum is required to complete the process. Put the cloth, first of all, in some alum water, for twenty-four hours ; then dip, and the process is complete. The reporters on this dye, to the Agricultural Society of Lyons, state that “‘ the yellow colour is very analogous to that of woad, but it is not so well suited to produce light yellows, as straw coloured, &c., which are poor, and disagreeable to the eye. In orange yellows, as the gold button, this B2 4 THE YELLOW DYE STUFFS OF CHINA AND INDIA. objection becomes an advantage ; and the rich full colour possesses a degree of solidity superior to that obtained from a mixture of woad and annotto. Alkalis redden the tint. Acidsbleach. The bichromate of potash instantly reddens the solution, as well as dyedsilk, giving them a light mahogany tint.” The Board of Trade submitted this substance for examination to Mr. John Mercer, an account of the result being contained in the first report of the Department of Science and Art. This gentleman states that the pure yellow colouring matter greatly resembles that of the Persian berries. The Hoai-hoa or Wai-fa has not yet been imported into Britain for commercial purposes. A specimen, received from Dr. Martius, may be found in the museum of the Pharmaceutical Society, Bloomsbury- square ; and, we doubt not, it would prove advantageous for a small quantity to be obtained from China as an experiment. Hoane-tcut.—This dye stuff consists of the fruits of a species of = Gardenia—most probably Gardenia grandiflora, Lour., and is, with the next article, extensively used as a dye stuff in China. These, or similar fruits of the Gardenia were shown in the Great Exhibition of 1851, and they have since been imported into Germany and Holland under the name of ‘‘wongshy.” During the past year a quantity arrived in london under the name of Gardine; but, hitherto, they have not met with a purchaser. The capsules are from one and a half to two inches long, and half an inch broad, oblong ; ovate, furnished with the dried six-lobed calyx HOANG-TCHI (nat.size). at one end, and tapering to a point at the other. The surface has from six to eight longitudinal ribs. The shell is hard and brittle, with an odour like honey and_ saffron. The interior appears suffused with a yellow colouring matter. Externally they are of a red-brown colour. They yield to water a yellow colour, to alcohol a fiery reddish yellow, and to ether a brownish yellow colour. The extract dyes wool of a beautiful orange, without mordant. Silk, without mordant, becomes of a fiery yellow like gold. Cotton is best dyed in it with the tm mordant. The colours resist the influence of soap. Professor Stein states that, by previously using lime water as amordant, and soaking in the boiling liquid, a beautiful yellow colour is obtained. By the addition of potashes the colour may be modified. Acid baths change these colours to Aurora red. This yellow dye is highly valued in China. the brilliancy and fastness of it being greatly extolled at Canton and Ningpo. It is affirmed to be employed at Pekin for the yellow dresses of the Emperor and his family. To grass cloths and cotton, which are to be dyed scarlet, &e., with safflower, it increases the intensity and fastness of the colour. This scarlet, which is tolerably fast when exposed to the air and the sun, is said to equal that of cochineal, and to be obtained without mordant. Bancroft was surprised to find that it resisted the most powerful acid much THE YELLOW DYE STUFFS OF CHINA AND INDIA. 5 more effectually than some colours considered more durable. Concentrated sulphuric acid hardly affects it; strong chlorhydric acid changes it to orange, azotic acid to yellow. ‘This colouring matter has recently been the subject of experiment by M. Von Orth and Professor Rochleder. TcHan-ts1.—These are also the fruits of a species of Gardenia (Gardenia florida). They are ovoid, and not so large as the preceding. This kind comes chiefly from Ningpo and Shanghae, and is more esteemed than the other, which is plentiful about Canton. Kwa-w1.—A third kind, probably the fruits of Gardenia radicans, appears to be in use for asimilar purpose in Japan, and perhaps in some parts of the Chinese empire. The fruit of this species is smaller, and nearly round. There is still some uncertainty as to whether the botanical species are correctly assigned to these local names. The colouring matter obtained by Professor Rochleder from the fruits he calls Crocine. In its decomposition by muriatic or sulphuric acid, a body is obtained, to which he gives the name of Crocetine. ‘Thisisatrue dye stuff. Tissues, mordanted with tin salt, are dyed dingy greenish yellow by it; but when treated with water containing ammonia, acquire a brilliant golden yellow colour, which resists exposure to light and air. More minute particulars of these results may be found translated in the Pharmaceutical Journal, Vol. XVIL., p. 626, Tue YELLOw Dyes or INpraA. Those now to be enumerated must not be considered as a complete list of the yellow dye stuffs of India, but only such as are of primary importance, and best known. CAPILLA-RUNG.—The pubescence covering the Lee of a large tree (Rottlera tinctoria), is collected for sale in Mysore, where itis used for dyeing silk of an orange colour. The tree is widely spread over the Madras Presidency, and large supplies might easily be obtained. The colouring matter does not require amordant, all thatis necessary being to mix it with water containing about half its weight of carbonate of soda. ‘‘ On silk the colour is a rich flame or orange tint of great beauty and extreme stability.” The material, as supplied, contains between seventy and eighty per cent. of colouring matter. Professor Anderson, of Glasgow, examined and reported on this dye in 1855.* To dye orange, the following method is adopted at Madras: ‘‘Make a mixture of Fuller’s earth and Cupla powder (Capilla rung); add a small quantity of alum, and boil the silk (which has been previously bleached and dyed red) for two hours; when cold, squeeze and dry, an orange colour will be produced.” The Capilla rung may be obtained in London, it being used medicinally under the name of Kamala, under which name it is fully described by Daniel Hanbury, Esq., in the Pharmaceutical Journal, with especial refer- ence to its medicinal properties. * ‘‘ Kamala, as found in the Indian bazaars, % “ Hdinburgh Philosophical Journal,” April, 1855. + Messrs. Brown & Co., Chemists, of Liverpool-street, City, have, we understand, a large quantity of this drug in stock in the docks.—Editor. 6 THE YELLOW DYE STUFFS OF CHINA AND INDIA. has the aspect of a brick-red powder, possessing, from its structure, that peculiar mobile character which we notice in Lycopodium and Lupuline. It also agrees with Lycopodium in the difficulty with which it is mixed with water, and in the manner in which it ignites when thrown into the air over the flame of a candle. Examined with a lens, or still better with the com- pound microscope, it is seen to consist of garnet red, semi-transparent, roundish granules, more or less mixed with minute stellate hairs, and the remains of stalks, leaves, &e. The latter substances are easily removed by careful sifting, the Grae thereby acquiring a brighter red colour and more uniform appearance.” Kamala is insoluble in cold The and nearly so in boiling water. It is soluble in a solution of an alkaline carbonate, and still more so in one of caustic alkali, a deep red solution being in either case produced. Professor Anderson found the chemical composition to be as follows :— Resinous colouring matters ... ... «6 .. «. 8°19 Albuminous matters esac meats 7 Secstii sicay Hp See ieee eve Wellalose Qi. oi 5) ex! wne Uaesey arses.) speck: Seed eee OVVLET hehe ts crt res cee sar Matory > wheats cecil velar Ue ceeeeameearay Emo Ash . Pie ee Renmark nergy pumas Bh 2h Tn t GSM Volatile oil ane side Sooo meets a One ase ee GRACE Volatile colouring eter ae eee oa a ? 100-00 ‘“‘ Kamala is used throughout India as a dye for silk, its colour being extracted by boiling it in a solution of carbonate of soda. The root of the tree is said to be also used in dyeing.” The best Kamala in the Madras market comes from the Jivadi hills, between South Arcot and Salem. Puri1 Cuucxay.—The bark of the Pupli root is used in Mysore and elsewhere, as yielding an orange dye. Itis treated with alum, Myrabolans, &e. It is produced by a Rhamnaceous plant, (Ventilago Maderaspatana), - many of which furnish a yellow dye. This dye stuffis in very common use in India, and we think it deserves a trial at home. Hitherto it has never been imported. The roots are collected by the Yanadis, arude tribe who live in the jungles of the Nellore district, and subsist by collecting honey, wax, drugs, dyes, and other natural products. The Pupli is seldom used alone, but generally as an adjunct, with chay root, to produce a rich chocolate colour, or, if with galls, a black. ANNATTO.—This material is also used in India for dyeing orange. The method adopted at Madras is thus described: ‘‘ Tie a quantity of Annatto seeds in a piece of cloth, soak it in water for twelve hours, squeeze the colouring matter out in a basin of fresh water; add cocoa-nut water, lime juice, and alum powder ; steep the yarn in the mixture for four hours, and then boil it for half-an-hour ; squeeze, and let it dry, when a deep orange colour will be produced.” This material is used extensively by washer- THE YELLOW DYE STUFFS OF CHINA AND INDIA. 7 men in the Northern Circars for giving the reddish tinge to the dhotees, or men’s waist cloth, worn by all classes of the population. The orange-coloured garments of Jangams, Fakirs, Byragis, and other religious mendicants, ‘are dyed with this substance. ALtAKoo, or Casan alay.—A small tree, common in the jungles of the Carnatic, Memecylon tinctorium, the wood of which is used for firewood, and the leaves brought into the markets in large quantities for dyeing pur- poses. , United States.......... daaneee VAT MGI esate G53 Oneneeite 5,475 4 Wyo) 1 WE Ces Seer A559 Gileeencee BO, 002) en LOS 2 Assuming 12 bundles to the picul, this would give an aggregate of 551,532, 463,944, and 226,704 bundles respectively. ‘ihree qualities of rattans are quoted in the Singapore prices current, and the following were the prices by the last advices, Oct., 1860:—Loontie, 4 dols. 10 cents. to 4 30; Cotie, 3 to 33 dols. per picul; and Straits, 13 to 23 dollars. 166 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF The following shows the number of rattans imported into the United Kingdom in the last six years :— FROM THE 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 Hans TOWNS «.-.-.-.c.-ccceesenesess ise 176,030 | 176,030 | 272,450 | 619,090 see PROliam Gers cts cer cee cesteerst ents 2,456,130 | 2,072,410 | 255,125 | 3,790,405 | 4,246,425 | 898,241 Sm abralecurcoce sevens tecsscsceesetes te te os tee 275,822 | 462,160 RV ae ercctneccsccceucecccusesossosese 1,680,356 | 1,780,547 | 1,265,299 | 127,017 | 838,056 | 587,877 IBOLD EO Bet ts actees ceecceces cuettennoss ote te ss se se 413,653 British East Indies ..........0.... 6,499,843 | 8,784,830 | 6,160,281 | 3,588,769 | 4,082,019 | 15,482,893 @iherpartsserccse tee rece ee 71,925 | 209,340 58,426 62,060 | 302,346 | 780,544 (0,708,254 113,023,157 | 7,915,161 | 7,840,701 |10,363,758 {18,625,368 The computed real value is thus given in the Board of Trade returns :— ues bs aagaoteocanano%b £15,736 US /Sobcsoe odooadco0s" £28,501 ISBN oessondoscddnesood 9,616 IeiRtS}ooagoncdsucboonos 38,960 IUSINXG)o.s06060n0000500000 15,681 In 1857 they were estimated to be worth 5s. 6d. per 100; in 1858, 4s. to 4s. 6d. per 100. In 1854 they were only worth 2s. 5d. Birmingham. ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PHARL OYSTER OF CEYLON. BY E. F. KELAART, M.D., F.L.S. The Condatchy Bank, which was reported to contain in 1857_large quantities of oysters in shallow water (three fathoms), does not at present contain many matured oysters. A few only of a middle size are found there. But in deeper water, near the former bed, oysters of various sizes are found in small clusters on stones, and a few large ones attached to sea-weeds. This looks as if the oysters are spreading into deep parts of the sea. There not being a sufficient quantity of large oysters in this bank, I have not been able to determine what quantities of pearls these oysters yield. One out of about twelve opened, contained a few small pearls. A few small oysters are found scattered in various parts of the sea, in all depths, but it will be years before large beds can be formed from these scattered ones. The Cheval Paar Bank, fished this year, has, in my opinion, oysters of two different ages, but so intermixed one with the other, that it is impossible to fish for the larger, without bringing up also the smaller ones. The pro- portion of small to large ones is, in some parts of the banks, one to three ; in other parts, as one to two. I totally differ in opinion from the Adigar of Manaar, as to this number of small oysters being of the same age as the larger ones. His comparison of them to ‘‘ small men and women, and large men and women, though of the same ages,” may hold good in a few cases. But when we find so large a proportion of oysters, whose shells and internal parts positively demonstrate their youth, I am certainly disposed to place more confidence in my own opinion, and that of the Maniagar of Jaffna, and natives who are purchasers of the oysters; viz., that the oysters THE PEARL OYSTER OF CEYLON. - 167 _found in this bed are of more than one age. ‘The oysters whose growth has been stunted have very different characters ; their shells are thick, and there is not the same length of pliable edge which young oysters have ; the adductor muscle and other parts of the oyster bear also the marks of age. The muscle is hard and stouter, in the adult, and further removed from the hinge ; the foot is firmer and more speckled, and the groove under the foot is irregular; the liver cuts firmer, and the nacreous part of the shell has a thick edge in the adult oyster. The fact that good pearls are also found in these second-sized oysters, does not show that they are as old as the larger ones. ‘There are other cases which doubtless come into operation here, part of which only can, in this second stage of my inquiry, be demonstrated. The presence of a worm (a species of filaria) found in the oysters, has, I am positive, much to do with the formation of pearls. I would rather reserve this part of my investigation for longer experience- But this much I can say at present, with perfect safety, that whenever I found good pearls in a batch of oysters, I found this worm and its eggs in large numbers in the liver, ovary, mantle, and other parts of the oyster. My researches here have quite proved to me, and will also prove to others, who will carefully and without prejudice examine for themselves, that the ova of oysters and the ova of worms form the nuclei of many pearls found imsthe soft parts of the animal, and that sand, portions of sea-weed, larva of insects, &c., form the nuclei of the shell pearls, or pearls attached to the shell. I have specimens demonstrating this even to the naked eye. It was the celebrated Sir Everard Home who, I believe, first started the doctrine of eggs being the nuclei of pearls. But this theory has been con- tradicted by other writers. I have, however, in my report of last year, stated how escaped ova could readily form such nuclei; and now I have the pleasure of announcing to the scientific world, that I found the ovaries of a pearl oyster filled with pearls of various size and shape. I have pre- served the specimen for transmission to Professor Owen, to be by him placed on the shelves of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, as a procf of the accuracy of the late Sir Everard Home’s doctrine, which has for many years been exploded. I obtained from one of the ovaries as many as thirty-two pearls, and the other egg bag, still unopened, seems to con- tain as many more. It will now, indeed, be a curious question, where the pearly matter forming the pearl found in the ovaries was derived from. Sections of these pearls show the same form of nuclei as pearls found in some parts of the mantle; and the large irregular ones have more than one such nucleus, The mantle was found adhering to the ovaries as if it was the result of adhesive inflammation. And, as the mantle is acknowledged to be the secreting organ of pearly matter, could this matter have been introduced into the ovation ? or is it likely that other parts of the oysters, such as the walls of the ovaries, occasionally secrete pearly matter under abnormal circumstances? It will be premature now to decide upon this interesting physiological subject. 168 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF The Modregam Bank, which is intended for fishing next year (1859) con- tains oysters in clusters of three, four, or five, attached to each other. In most parts of the bank the clusters are formed of oysters of the same size, but, in other parts, oysters of various sizes are clustered together. In one or two places, very small oysters adhere to larger ones ; some of these small oysters could not be more than a few months old. ‘This is a very favour- able sign. Very rarely, indeed, was a young oyster fished up this year in the Cheval Paar Bank. This difference leads us to an inquiry of a very practical nature, which may, perhaps, require years for its solution ; viz., why there are so few young oysters in the old banks? What became of the spawn, which even middle-sized or young oysters certainly have? Are the spawn of young oysters of speedy decay? Analogy leads me to think that the progeny of the old oysters are more likely to reach maturity. This, indeed, will form the subject of further inquiry, particularly as in banks, in shallow water, cysters of all ages are found together. It is reported to me that, some years since, the clusters found in the Modregam Bank were formed of more oysters; if so, it is natural to conclude that, as oysters grow large, they detach themselves and form clusters. ‘heir faculty of doing this, I have proved, by my investigation in Trincomalie, which is recorded in my report of last year. The larger oysters of the Modregam Bank are at the present moment of about the same size as those. fished this year from the Cheval Paar, but there are other marke difference of age about them, which make me inclined to believe that they are younger than the larger sized oysters found in the Cheval Paar. ‘The shells of the generality of them, although broad and long, are very thin. These oysters also have the worm above mentioned. But I have not been able, as there is no fishery of this bank, to open a sufficient number, to ascertain what is the relative proportion of pearls to the worms found. The pearls I have found in these oysters are in general small, less irregular shaped, of a whiter and more brilliant lustre than the pearls found in the Cheval Paar oysters. The superintendent of the pearl banks has washed five or six thousand of these oysters, but I have not yet ascertained the result of this washing. Had there been inspections by the inspectors, of other parts of the sea during my stay here, I could perhans have ascertained many other facts. But as the inspector has neither time, nor can I, single handed, without boats, find out other banks with oysters, I must hope for other opportuni- ties. It would have been more satisfactory to have extended my researches to large banks with smaller oysters than at present found in the Cheval Paar and Modregam ; but as there are no such banks known, even to the inspectors or native headman, my observations have been so far limited. But as I hope that Capt. Higgs and his assistants will bring to light other banks before next year’s fishery, | may have the opportunity then of com- pleting my researches, and bringing them to a conclusion.* * Mr. Vane has inspected the banks in October last and found extensive beds of young oysters. These young oysters are not likely to be fit for fishing for the next THE PEARL OYSTER OF CEYLON. 169 Suggestions for the better Preservation of Pearl Oysters.— Being convinced from what I have seen, heard, and read on the subject of pearl banks, that the method of fishing them from one end to the other, and only leaving small patches, or detached masses behind, is not the most likely one of keeping up the breed of oysters, or rather of encouraging the formation of banks worth fishing, or from whence even a moderate revenue could be derived; I have therefore advised Mr. Vane, the superintendent of the pearl banks, to reserve a portion of the bank, say alone half a day’s fishing, for breeding purposes ; in fact, to do that as a rule which he, to use his own words, “unwillingly” did last year. Owing to bad weather and other causes, the fishing was brought to a conclusion sooner than intended, and, consequently, a tolerably large part of the bank was left unfinished. As Mr. Vane and Capt. Higgs, the inspector, while agreeing to do what I recommended, have thought proper to rl i ei r dissent from my opinion on this subject, I shall briefly give, in writing, my reasons for making this proposal, as I have already done verbally to the superintendent and inspector, I regret to say, without convincing them. — It is my opinion, and that also of abler men, that while oysters have no sexual differences, the ovaria of some secrete a seminal fluid, and that this fluid is the fertilising fluid; or, to use a popular phrase, there are male and female oysters; and as I have found the former bear a very small proportion to the latter, having frequently examined fifty oysters without finding a single one with the seminal fluid, I believe, therefore, that the chances of females reaching the influence of males, will be far greater in a large portion of oysters than in small ones. Supposing even that fertilised ova are formed in small clusters of oysters, such as those which Capt. Higgs and others allow to remain in the banks after fishing for the season, these eggs, comparatively small in number, are likely to be drifted about in various directions, their contiguity destroyed, and they are likely to settle down in small numbers in various parts of the sea; but it may take many years, till the patience of Govern- ment is exhausted, before, by the aggregation of small clusters, a large bank be formed out of these small original elements. The contrary is observed, when the ova proceed from a large area—the spawn is seen floating in hundreds of yards, and wherever it settles large banks must be formed ; and the history of the banks now being fished, and the one to be fished next year, show that they were formed by large deposits of oyster spawn, and not by the gradual introduction of small quantities. When the condition of the small banks of Trincomalie is compared with that of the larger banks of Arripo, the cause of the difference is very evident. There have been for years no deposits of spawn in large masses in these waters; and why? SBecause for years these banks have been fished on the old plan, a plan older than the period when Cleopatra obtained the famous pearl, and under which plan and regime the banks of the Red Sea, four or five years. It is therefore to be hoped that older beds will soon be dis- covered. 170 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF North America, and India failed, and are now mere matters of history. And I must add, that under this plan the Negombo, Chilaw, and Calpentyn Banks were lost to the Ceylon Government, and this plan, long pursued by Capt. Steuart, terminated in the failure of the fisheries at Arripo for nearly twenty years. Would it do now, when science has thrown some new light on the subject, to persist in what is objectionable? Capt. Higgs may say, he leaves a sufficient number of oysters, perhaps even a larger number that that which can be found in the patch which he has reluctantly spared for this year; but in what condition will he leave the small clusters ? Jn a condition anything but natural. Itis true, that the oysters I have shown him were in spawn, but he did not wait until I could explain to him under what conditions the oyster spawn could come to maturity, or become fertilised. I have reason to believe, that the injury done to the bank by the divers, and the anchors of their boats, has a fatal effect from which it does not recover for years. In my former report, I stated that the oysters will die, if the water is impure. Now, let us examine what takes place, when the divers have kicked, splashed, and torn everything before them while in the water. Not only do some oysters left behind die immediately, but other molluscs, Zoophytes, and sea-weeds die, and must necessarily stagnate the water at the bottom of the sea. The result ofall this must be, the gradual dying off, not only of the oysters left on the bank, but also of the young. I have seen sufficient numbers of fresh dead oysters brought up, from that portion of this year’s bank already fished, to show what the higher rate of mortality must be in a very short time. Capt. Higgs, in his letter to the superin- tendent, states that the oysters I thought had died since the fishery began, looked as if they had been recently opened. 'The matter is too serious to remain uncommented on, and I take this opportunity of giving the post mortem appearances of gradual decay of oysters, and those dead from death caused by the divers or other men in the boat, killing an oyster with the hope of obtaining pearls. When an oyster dies, the two valves of the shell remain for months united at the hinge. When an oyster is opened, the valves are disunited. The so-called recently opened shells, brought up from the fished part of the pearl banks, had all the shells with the valves united at the hinge ; a few were separated by me after they were brought into the boat. I have recently gone through most part of the bank fished last year, in company with the Maniagar of Jaffna, and was not surprised to {find grounds of oyster shells of all sizes, and dead shells of so young oysters as to be considered of one or two year’s growth. From amid this wreck and ruin, the divers brought up occasionally a large live oyster, but not small ones. But on coming to that part of the bank which was “ unwillingly” left untished last year, the oysters were alive and in good condition, and very rarely was a dead shell brought up. I have also gone through many of the parts of this year’s banks, and found, wherever the divers have been, there were many dead shells, and only a few dead ones were obtained from those parts which have not yet been fished. THE PEARL OYSTER OF CEYLON. 171 When we examine the old method pursued in pearl fisheries, we must acknowledge it to be sadly defective, as too much is left to the divers and the interests of native headmen. Sixty or more boats, manned by ten divers each, are sent on a bank to dive for oysters. The divers go on, from day to day, fishing up oysters from one end of the bank to the other, and, after the whole bank is gone through, a large number of boats are employed for two or more days to go over the bank again; and it is only when the boats do not bring up a remunerative quantity that the fishery is closed. By this method the quantity of oysters left cannot be regulated. It ail depends on the diver’s exertion. In some fisheries, a large number may in the aggregate be left in small patches, or single ones widely scattered. But it will happen, sometimes, that very few are left. The quantity cannot be well regulated by the inspector or his assistants, for all the information is got from the divers, who are interested in giving a false impression. Whereas, by buoying out a portion of the bank at the commencement of . the fishery, the inspector can calculate, almost to a nicety, the quantity he reserves for reproductive purposes. Surely it is not too much to claim for this wise purpose 1-40th portion of the bank. For the sake of meeting the objection of some to my plan, on the score that I cannot be sure of the spawn proceeding from one bank being deposited on the banks of Arripo, I would ask them where did the spawn which formed the oyster banks of Arripo come from? ‘The answer given is, I believe, that they came from a distance—from banks unknown. Sup- posing this to be really the case, are we not to reciprocate the benefit ? How are other banks from whence Ceylon derived the spawn to be kept re-forming, if we do not preserve our banks on reciprocal principles. My opinion is, that while some of the spawn is carried to some distance, other portions find prepared beds in the neighbourhood of the old banks. To no other conclusion can we come, if even we only consult Capt. Steuart’s maps, on which are inserted the dates of fishing, and the distance of one fished bank from another. Arripo, March, 1858. The oysters fished this year (1859) at the Cheval Paar Bank, and the oysters fished on other parts of the Cheval in the years 1857 and 1858, appear to me to have been the product of the same brood of oysters, though deposited in various seasons of the same year ; i.e., that they were derived from the spawn of the same year, and that the general difference of size in the oysters is no more than what may be expected in oysters developed in various periods of the year, or within one twelve» months. The oysters formed from the spawn deposited in the months of January or February, will, ceteris paribus, be of larger dimensions than the oysters developed from spawn deposited in the months of Nov. or Dec. following. This is very evident in the great difference observed in the various large masses of young oysters found this year in the Cheval Paar Bank, and which doubtless have been deposited since the fishery of 1858, when, if 172 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF these extensive beds of young oysters had existed, the numerous native divers employed could not have failed to have seen them. These beds were first observed by Mr. Vane, and Capt. Duncan, of the colonial steamer ‘* Pearl,” in Oct., 1858, when none of the young oysters (judging from the shells Mr. Vane sent to me for examination) could have been more than six or seven months old; most of them under six months. The observations made on the shells of the fisheries of 1857, 1858, and 1859, lead me to infer that the fishery of 1857 was premature. The same series of observations led me to conclude that the last fishery of the Cheval Paar oysters, in March, 1859, was the latest safe period that oysters could have been left unfished in this bank, and that these oysters could not have been less than seven years old. The general appearance of the shells, their weight, and the characters of the internal soft parts of the oyster, showed very distinctly to one who has carefully observed the oysters fished in 1858, that the oysters of 1859 were older, and near the termination of their life. These external and internal characters will serve for guidance hereafter to all employed in the pearl fisheries of Ceylon, and will be faith- fully detailed in my final report, or treatise, on the natural history of the pearl oyster. In the meantime, I can assure those sceptical of the possi- bility of the zoologist determining the age of the oyster, as the veterinary surgeon does the age of the horse, by looking into its mouth, that the age of the pearl oyster can only be determined satisfactorily by looking into the contents of its two valves, and remarking the characters of the internal parts, and their relative position in different periods of their life. Iam only waiting for some more information on this head, before full particulars are laid before Government. In such an important matter, a zoologist cannot be too cautious in giving an opinion, which, if found hereafter to be erroneous, may not only affect his reputation, but likewise make the Ceylon Government a pecuniary loser. It is my object and wish to give, at the conclusion of my labours, such rules for the guidance of future inspectors of pearl banks (who, I hope, will be intelligent persons, with even a little taste for natural history), that the pearl banks of Ceylon will have, in future, less chance of being prematurely or over-fished. From information conveyed to me by Mr. Worsley (the late inspector), and the English divers employed under him, I find that I was quite correct in stating, in my former reports, that the rude and rough process of native diving caused the destruction of the old oysters. No old oyster was found in that part of the Cheval Paar Bank fished in 1857 and 1858, and, as there were many oysters left there at the end of those fisheries (though not in aggregate masses), it is natural to infer that, had they not been disturbed, some of them would have lived as long as oysters brought up this year from unfished portions of the same Paar, which, doubtless, were of the same ages. It follows, therefore, that my proposal to leave portions of banks unfished, for breeding purposes, is a justifiable one, and of great practical importance. From the prevalence of cholera, the fishery of 1858 was abruptly stopped, consequently large masses of oysters were left un- THE PEARL OYSTER OF CEYLON. 173 fished, in portions which divers had not worked. How large this quan- tity, so fortunately reserved, must have been, can be imagined, when it afforded a revenue the following year of upwards of £1,900. I have no doubt in my own mind, that the myriads of young oysters now found in the Cheval Paar, were formed from the spawn of these reserved oysters. He would, indeed, be a bold naturalist, who, in order to establish a favourite theory, would maintain that the spawn floating about the sea and derived from banks far off, found a resting place last year on the Cheval Paar, when he finds, contrary to former observations, that the majority of the old oysters were covered this year with young ones of from four to twelve months’ growth, and that few of the old oysters examined con- tained eggs in their ovaries or genital glands. At the end of the fishery of 1858, the oysters on all the banks were in a most favourable condition for the multiplication of species and replenishing the seas. The ovaries of all the thousands of oysters examined by me were full of spawn, or spermatozoa. Owing to the reappearance of cholera this year also, a very large quan- tity of matured oysters, full of eggs, were left unfished in the Modregam Bank, and it is to be hoped that no unforeseen or untoward circumstance will prevent the spawn of these oysters being deposited in or near the already known banks. Whether the divers detect this expected new brood or not, the Ceylon Government may feel assured that the product of the spawn will not be very far off the present Modregam ; at all events, it will be a very satisfactory result if these oysters, too, after performing their natural functions, yield next year a revenue of £20,000. Had cholera not prevailed, this amount would probably have been added to the already col- lected revenue; but then the millions of young oysters which the old ones are likely to have produced would have been lost. Now, there is a very fair prospect of not only securing the value of the old oysters, but a new generation of the species for future years, when this colony may be more in want of money than at. present. The future prospects of the Pearl Oyster Banks are very brilliant indeed, although the fisheries (after the probable one of next year) are not likely to be resumed before the year 1864. It does not appear on record that such numerous and extensive deposits of young oysters were ever known to exist, in almost one continuous layer, as the two intelligent and skilful English divers have discovered this year on the banks of Arripo. There were few oysters fished this year on the Cheval Paar that had noi from ten to twenty or more young oysters attached to their upper shells. On one pinna (fan shell) I counted as many as sixty, and on one piece of coral, about two feet in circumference, there were at least 300 one-year old oysters. At the lowest calculation, the quantity of young oysters now on the Cheval and Modregam Banks, according to the reports made by the divers, cannot be less than fifty times as many as were fished during the last three fisheries. If, then, even half this number arrive ai maturity, and reach the age of six or seven years, the revenue that will be derived from this source (if present prices are maintained) will be more than sufficient to 174 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF pay the cost of the Ceylon Railway. But I shall not be performing my duty as naturalist if I do not also place before the Ceylon Government the dark side of this bright future. The mortality among oysters from natural and violent causes is very great, as has been observed in small banks in Trincomalie harbour. Scarcely half of them reach the third year. The ratio of mortality decreases after that, and among older oysters it is pro- bably not more than five or six per cent. per annum, until they arrive at the last year of their existence, when they die off very rapidly; so that it cannot be expected that more than a fourth or fifth of the young oysters discovered this year on the banks of the Arripo, will live to maturity or to the age fit for fishing. Even this is a good prospect for the future, but there are other causes which may operate in diminishing this number. Oysters, particularly the young, are likely to be smothered by sand. Although the divers report that there is scarcely any ground current on the bank, there is reason to believe that at some seasons the force of water is increased, and that oyster banks may be partially covered over by sand or sea mud. Ihave no doubt in my own mind that the sudden disappear- ance of young oysters from banks is owing, sometimes, to these sand or mud deposits. I have seen the fatal effects of even a few inches of sand on my artificial beds in shallow water; and that such deposits will kill even old oysters is evident, as I have ascertained that they cannot live for more than a day or two when thus covered. That such sudden deaths do occur on the Pearl Banks ef Arripo is more than probable, from the fact that the divers frequently bring up large quantities of dead oyster shells of all sizes from parts of the sea where no living ones were found the year before ; and sometimes, when I have asked for sand or mud, they brought up oyster-shells with it. The natural inference follows, that living oysters were at one time buried under the sand, and that, subsequently, the sand being washed away, the shells were left exposed. This I have observed in the harbour of Trincomalie, where some clusters of oysters that I translated had disappeared, but in a few months their shells were discovered on the spot where they had lived. Recent observations corroborate the statement I had previously made, that Pearl oysters exert their locomotive powers frequently, and that in the act of doing so they may be washed away to some distance, while their progress is only arrested by meeting with impediments, such as a stony surface or shell, and that there, after a time, they refix themselves by forming new beards. One of the reasons of the oyster casting off its beard is, doubtless, that it may form a longer one more suited to its enlarged body. If we consider that the beard (fibres so called), when once formed, does not grow longer or thicker, the fact is of importance to the naturalist who first maintained that oysters change their position by casting off their old beards, or cables, and forming new ones. In old oysters a young beard is not found. A deficiency of hard substances, on which the oyster can reattach itself, must sometimes occur, from either a natural scarcity of coral, stones, or THE PEARL OYSTER OF CEYLON. 175 shells ; or from these substances being covered over for a time with sand. This, probably, is also a temporary hindrance to the formation of new banks. Taking all these well ascertained circumstances, and also the pro- bable ones, into consideration, I have to propose to the Ceylon Government not only the adoption of M. Coste’s plan of placing fascines on oyster-beds, for the collection of the spawn, but that a barrier be placed round each bank, in order to prevent the oysters from being forced away by currents or other causes, to regions unknown. That young oysters will attach themselves to any hard substances placed in the sea, cannot be doubted. An iron boat anchor accidentally dropped over-board during the fishery of 1857 was brought up this year by one of the English divers, covered with young oysters, and in my experiments at Trincomalie, I found that even very old oysters will reform their beards and refix themselves to old shells, wood, iron, coir matting, zinc plates, cocoa nut shells, chatties, &. The piles supporting the piers in the harbour are covered with young edible oysters. We have thus every encouragement for the adoption of the method I beg to suggest, for the future conservation of the pearl banks of Ceylon and India. The plan proposed, is, to girdle or barricade the oyster banks with coir matting supported on iron frames, and placed round each bank about ten yards beyond the edge of the oyster bed; fascines, dead oyster shells, corals, &c., being deposited between the barricade and the edge of the bank. The interspace will allow of sufficient room for the roaming disposition of the oysters; and the impediments thrown in their way will give new surfaces for their attachment, while at the same time they will form a suffi- cient barrier to prevent the oysters escaping to distant parts of the sea, where they would not readily, if ever, be found again. This barricade of coir and iron, with the fascines, will also attract and fix any spawn that may be floating about. I placed, last year, with the aid of the English divers, a few wicker work and coir fascines, or rather cages, on both banks, and I shall be very glad to have their condition examined and reported upon by the divers, after their next inspection of the banks. It will be of little value to carry on any experiments of the above kind, in Trincomalie harbour, for the nature of the Arripo banks is very different, and the influences of the sea on the two banks are not the same; I have, therefore, to propose, that before Government decides upon any plan, a fair trial of it be made in one of the Arripo banks; say, even on one of those large scattered masses of young oysters near the large banks—a trial of six or twelve months will, perhaps, be sufficient to test its value. Before concluding this report, I have another proposal to submit for the better preservation of oyster beds. It is now quite established, that young oysters will live after being once removed from the sea. I had the pleasure of exhibiting to his Excellency the Governor, when he visited Arripo during the last fishery, a quantity of young oysters living attached to a glass vivariam. These I had picked up at the Coottoos, after they had been out of water for more than four or 176 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PEARL OYSTER OF CEYLON. five hours. It is therefore more than probable, that young oysters detached from the old ones during a fishery, if properly cared for and translated to some favourable parts of the sea, will live and grow to perfection. But to do this satisfactorily, there must be some well organised system adopted in future. It was lamentable to see the myriads of young oysters committed to almost certain destruction by the divers throwing them overboard immediately under the boats, and in the very places where the diving stones were crushing and bruising the delicate creatures. On my representing the matter to his Excellency the Governor and to Mr. Tane, the divers were ordered to desist from this cruel and destructive practice, and to collect the young oysters (of which I should say that there were more than two millions brought up daily from the Cheval Paar banks), and after the day’s fishing to deposit them in a part of the sea (previously buoyed out by the inspector), as the boats were leaving the banks. From the want of proper officers to see this order carried out, I fear many hundreds of young oysters met with an untimely end. To avoid this in future, I would suggest, that every preparation be made beforehand, for the safe removal of the young oysters, whenever they are found to be attached to old ones brought up by the divers. Let each diving boat be provided with a large basket suspended in the sea from the side or stern of the boat, and let strict injunctions be given, and the divers compelled, care- fully to remove the young oysters from the old, and place them in these baskets, which can be emptied into any part of the sea previously selected by the inspector. Or let boats be employed during the diving to collect the oysters for deposit elsewhere. For the better security of these young oysters let the part selected for the formation of a new bed be surrounded with coir matted fascines, and let the part so selected be ascertained to have a large quantity of coral and dead shells, that the young oysters may not be forced away from the spot owing to the want of holding ground. In conclusion, I beg to observe, that although my plans may appear chimerical, especially the one of girdling or barricading banks in six or seven fathoms of water, it will not appear to be so impracticable, if the service of the English divers now in the island are made available for the purpose. Nothing of this kind should seem impossible to a nation that can lay down wire cables across the Atlantic or in the beds of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. The expense likely to be incurred is very trifling, compared with the value of the oysters that may be preserved. The present market value of a bed of pearl oysters, two milesin circumstance is, say, from £30,000 to £40,000 and the expense of fencing a bed of this size cannot be more than £200, or say £300. If, then, the experiment I have proposed should prove successful, such an outlay is too small to deter any Government from undertaking the work on a greater scale. I hope that the presence of young oysters in such large quantities on the pearl banks of Arripo will not make the Government less anxious about the better conservation of the banks. Who can tell what may happen during the next four or five NEW EDIBLE ROOTS. 177 years ?— that many of the oysters will die a natural death, and that many more will be used as food by thousands of voracious marine animals in the interim, is a certainty ; but we should not forget that there is a probability of whele masses being carried away from other causes. What may now appear likely to yield a revenue of many hundred thousands, may not produce more than a few thousands at the end of five or six years. It is time, now that the Emperor of France has acted upon the suggestion of a French naturalist, and thereby increased the production of the edible oysters of France, that the Ceylon Government should treat the pearl oysters with more care and consideration than it has hitherto done, so that the profit derived from this source may become a permanent or less fluctu- ating revenue, and that the plan proposed by their naturalists should be at least fairly tried, even on a smail scale, before any decision adverse to it be adopted. ; I have not in this paper detailed some very interesting discoveries made since my last report on the anatomy and physiology of the pearl oysters, believing that they are better fitted for a treatise on the subject, than to be embodied in a report to the Ceylon Government, which must necessarily be written in a popular form. However, as this report may, like the preceding ones, fall in the hands of scientific men, I shall merely mention here, that Mensieur Humbert, a Swiss zoologist, has, by his own micros- copic observations at the last pearl fishery, corroborated all I have stated about the ovaria or genital glands and their contents; and that he has discovered in addition to the filaria and circaria, three other parasitical worms infesting the viscera and other parts of the pearl oyster. We both agree that these worms play an important part in the formation of pearls ; and it may yet be found possible to infect oysters in other beds with these gems. ‘The nucleus of an American pearl drawn by Mobius, is nearly of the same form as the circaria found in the pearl oysters of Ceylon. It will be curious to ascertain if the oysters in the Tinnevelly banks have the same species of worms as those found in the oysters on the banks at Arrippo. Trincomalie, Ceylon, 1859. NEW EDIBLE ROOTS. BY THE EDITOR. it is surprising how little we have experimentalised in this country upon new edible roots, which might come in as useful aids to the potato for food purposes. But two or three attempts are all that we can call to mind; and yet the field of research is a wide and a promising one, especially now that our trade with foreign countries, and quick steam navigation, places so many tuberous-rooted plants within our reach for trial and cultivation. The attempt to introduce some one that might prove suitable to our climate, N 178 NEW EDIBLE ROOTS. and enlarged by cultivation, is surely a patriotic one, and within the means of any enterprising cultivator who chooses to give himself to the task. The introduction and success of the common potato is an example worth following. Two centuries and a half ago this root was recommended by old Gerarde, in his ‘‘ Herbal,” to be eaten as a ‘‘ delicate dish,” but not as a common food ; and within little more than a century, its culture has been so extended over the United Kingdom, Europe, and America, that it has not only become a common food, but the various economic uses to which itis applied are almost infinite. And yet, if we trace it to Chile and Peru, we shall find that in its indigenous condition it bears but a poor resemblance to the magnificent tubers resulting from continued careful cultivation. Protracted nursing has alone produced such effects on wild vegetable productions as to render them our commonly cultivated plants. The large and juicy Altringham carrot is only the woody spinal root of the wild carrot, luxuriously fed. Our cabbages, cauliflowers, kohl-rabis, and turnips in all their varieties, spring from one or more species of Brassica, which in their natural state have poor woody bitter stems and leaves, and useless spindle- shaped roots. Our cultivated potato, with all its varieties, comes from the tiny and bitter root of the wild potato, which has its native home on the sea-shores of Chile; and our apples, plums, grapes, strawberries, and other prized fruits, from well-known wild and little-esteemed progenitors. Our gardens are full of such vegetable transformations. It is so also with our corn plants. It is the new chemical conditions in which the plants are placed which cause the more abundant introduction of certain forms of food into their circulation; and the more full development, in consequence, either of the whole plant or of some of its more useful parts. It has been well observed that if a new plant has a chance of becoming useful in rural economy, it must fulfil certain conditions, in the absence of which its cultivation cannot be profitable. In the first place, it must have been domesticated in some measure, and must suit the climate ; moreover, it must in a few months go through all the stages of development, so as not to interfere with the ordinary and regular course of cropping; and, finally, its produce must have a market value in one form or another. If the plant is intended for the good of man, it is also indispensable that it shall not offend the tastes or the culinary habits of the persons among whom it is introduced. To this may be added, that almost all the old perennial plants of the kitchen garden have been abandoned in favour of annuals, wherever the latter could be found with similar properties. Thus Lathyrus tuberosus, Ledum telephium, &c., have given way before potatoes, spinach, and the like. Let us glance at some of the roots and tubers eaten in different countries which are worth notice. We need not specify the sweet potato, the cassava or mandioe root, the yam, and other tropical tubers which can scarcely be acclimatised here ; although some may be so modified, as we have seen in the Chinese yam, as to be raised with care here. It is a curious investi- gation to run over the different roots that are eaten as food by various tribes NEW EDIBLE ROOTS. 179 and people, many of which would not be very acceptable to the dainty palates of Englishmen. Very few of the coarse fibrous yams, for instance, would find favour with those used to the mealy potato. The root of the common carraway plant, when improved by culture, resembles the parsnip, and is used as food by the inhabitants of the North of Europe. Many of the water-plantain tribe have a fleshy rooting stem which is eatable. At the root-stock of the arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia) there is a tuber composed almost entirely of starch. The fecula of these tubercles Martius compares to arrowroot. The Calmucks, the Chinese, and the Japanese eat these as articles of wholesome food. By tke two latter the plant is cultivated for these tubercles. From the bulbous roots of the caco- mite, a species of Tigridia, a good flour is prepared in Mexico. The roots of several species of Caladium are nutritious, and fur- nish an abundance of food. The very large roots of C. esculentum and C. arbores cens especially furnish a great quantity of fecula. Several species of Arum, the same family which furnishes the indigenous Portland arrowroot, formerly held in some repute, are eaten in different countries. A. indicum is much cultivated in Brazil, about the huts of the natives, for its esculent stem and pendulous tuber. The roots of Arisarum vulgare are boiled and eaten in the South of Europe. Amorphophallus campanulatus is extensively cultivated in the Northern Circars, India, for its roots, which are highly nutritious. The roots of Colocasia microrhiza, a native of the Moluccas and the South Sea Islands, are very large, and when washed to deprive them of their acid principle, are eaten in Tahiti. Colocasia esculenta grows in Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, and particularly in Egypt, where it has been cultivated from time immemorial for its roots,-which serve as an article of food. They contain an immense quantity of fecula, and are eaten by the inhabitants of Egypt and some parts of India as potatoes, forming the principal food of the inhabitants; their flavour is like that of potatoes. The roots of C. himalensis form the principal part of the food of the hill people of the Himalayas. The bay root, which grows about the out-islands of the Bahamas group, was found of great use as a food plant to the inhabitants of Long Island during a scarcity of food occasioned by the drought of 1843. The root grows in the form of a large beet, and is from twelve to sixteen inches in length. It is entirely farinaceous, and when properly ground and prepared makes excellent bread. The bulbous roots of Ornithogalum umbellatum have been commonly eaten in Italy, in Syria, and theneighbouring countries. Dioscorides says that it was some- times dried, pulverised, and mixed with corn flour; and that it was also eaten both raw and washed. Lamerteus, in his ‘‘ Essay on Bulbous and Tuberous Roots,” states that in his time the peasants of Italy and the neighbouring countries often roasted the roots of the Ornithogalum, and eat them like chestnuts, or lightly boiled them, and peeled and used them as salad, with oil, vinegar, and pepper. The French have been much more zealous than we have in this inquiry N 2 180 NEW EDIBLE ROOTS. for new edible roots. Among others brought under the notice of the Academy of Sciences have been the bulbous-rooted cicely (Cherophyllum bulbosum), an European plant of the most easy culture, which will grow in any soil. It yields an abundance of tubers about an ounce each, very wholesome, containing 21 per cent. of starch. The turnip-formed tubers, when taken up early in the spring, are eaten in France and Germany, boiled with oil and vinegar. The roots only contain 63 per cent. of water, while the potato consists of 74 per cent. and more. We are not told, however, whether the roct can be presented at table in its native form, like the potato, or without any other cooking than simple boiling. Comparative analyses made by M. Payen show that it contains less water, more starch, albumen, and other nitrogenous substances than the potato, and a small proportion of cane sugar. Another plant brought under the notice of the Academy was introduced from New Granada, under its native name of Shicarra only, which has white, juicy, and sweet tubers, that can be eaten raw. It is an annual shrub, growing to the height of about three feet, and as it stands cold well, it was thought it might prove a rival to the beet- root in Europe, being richer in sugar. The roots of Apics tuberosa are eatable, and are sold in some of the German markets. Professor Eaton, in his ‘‘ Manual of Botany for North America,” remarks that this nutritive root ought to be generally cultivated. The tubers are, however, not larger than cherries, but very farinaceous, with a large per centage of starch. The roots of Claytonia tuberosa are eaten in Eastern Siberia: and an American species, C. acutiflora, has been recommended for experimental culture. The tuberous roots of Bunium bulbocastanum in Europe, like those of our British species, B. denudatum, contain well-known nutritious qualities. When boiled they are very sweet and delicious. In Holland, the Alps, and in some parts of England, they are used in soup, and also roasted under the embers, when they eat like roasted chesnuts. The tubers of B. ferulacewm are used the same way in Greece. The Apios (Arracacha esculenta), a perennial, is -exten- sively cultivated for culinary purposes in the temperate mountain regions about Santa Fe de Bogota. The large roots are cooked and eaten like parsnips, but considered better and easier of digestion. It has been intro- duced into the South of Europe. A very promising tuber seemed to be the Ocas of South America, various species of Oxalis, but they have not been persevered in long enough to ascertain whether the roots could be enlarged by continued culture. O. crenata was introduced a few years ago from Peru, as an object of cultivation in this country for its tubers. These, however, are rarely more than two ounces in weight; and although they are of a mealy consistency, and by some considered, if not equal, at least a good substitute for the potato, it has not been found profitable to devote any attention to their culture as an esculent, since the average produce of a plant did not exceed half a pound. Hence the experiment was dropped. O. tuberosa is extensively cultivated in Bolivia for its numerous tubers, which are like small potatoes, and about aninch in diameter. They havea slightly NOTES ON GALLS. 181 acid flavour, which is disagreeable to most persons ; this is lost by exposing them to the sun, the acidity being thus converted into saccharine matter, and the tubers become as floury as the best varieties of potatoes. The tubers are exposed in Bolivia for ten days in woollen bags, which appear to facilitate the conversion of the acid. If the action of the sun is continued for several months, the Ocas become of the sweetness and consistency of dried figs; they are then called Carri. Bryant describes a root, which he met with on the great prairies of Cali- fornia, and which ke called the prairie potato. He considers it in many respects superior to the common potato, and that it might be useful to intro- duce into cultivation. As no scientific description of the plant is given, it is difficult to determine what it is; for prairie turnip and prairie potato are terms for a very large number of esculent roots in North America, and include some species of Psoralea. A little town called Stowe, in Vermont, uses some 20,000 bushels of a peculiar kind of coarse potato, called the California potato, which yields eight pounds of starch to the bushel. Whether there is any relationship between these potatoes, we cannot state. At least, this subject of new esculent tubers is well worth looking into and testing practically, systematically, and perseveringly. NOTES ON GALLS. BY M. C. COOKE. These excrescences are of so much importance in the arts, that an enumeration of the chief varieties known to commerce may not be altogether devoid of interest to your readers. The papers on dye-stuffs, which have already appeared in these pages, will be hereby augmented by the enume- ration of the galls of Southern Asia, which were purposely excluded from those communications. No attempt has been made at classifying those galls, which are the habitation of a single insect, and are generally of a more or less ligneous character, separately from such as are the home of a colony, and which are commonly hollow and of a horny texture. This paper makes no further pretence than its name indicates, leaving still an opportunity for more precise scientific details. Levant GAuis.—These are the ordinary galls of commerce, and are produced by the punctures of Cynips galle tinctorie on the gall oak (Quercus infectoria). ‘They are too well known to need any description. The varie- ties of these galls most recognised are: Mosul galls, named from the place of production, Mosul on the Tigris; these are the most esteemed. The Bokhara galls are similar, but must not be confounded with another Bokhara gall, produced on a Pistacia. Aleppo galls are not equal to those of the Tigris, for which they are often sold. Tarablous galls are from Tripoli, or Taraplus, and are considered inferior to the Aleppo galls, but are now rarely met with in commerce. Turkey galls are the produce of 182 NOTES ON GALLS. Anatolia, and are usually received from Constantinople. Smyrna galls contain a larger admixture of white galls than those of Aleppo; they are not so heavy, and are lighter coloured. CORIANDER GaALLS.—-These are a small variety of galls sometimes im- ported from Aleppo. ‘There is also another kind called the Small Crowned Aleppo, about the size of a pea, and crowned by a circle of tubercles like the fruit of the myrtle. Although small, their perforations show them to have completed their full size. Turkish Dramonps.—Another variety of galls has received this name. They are rather larger than the Small Crowned Aleppo, and possess a speckled surface. Istria AND ABRUzzI GaALis.—These galls are, in size, rather inferior to the common Turkey gall, but larger than the small blue Aleppo gall. They are described as ‘‘ somewhat turbinate or pear-shaped, wrinkled, and usually with a short peduncle. They are mostly used by the silk dyers of France.” Morea Gauis.—These are rather smaller than the ordinary Levant galls, and differ from them still more in appearance by being “‘ crowned.” This kind of gall is chiefly employed on the Rhine. Frencu Gatis.—These are spherical, light, and smooth or polished ; occasionally, slightly wrinkled. Marmorine Gattis are the produce of Capitanata, in the kingdom of Naples. They are the Galles marmorines of French writers, and are of the size of blue galls, but without tubercles or warts. The surface is dull and rough, resembling orange berries. ‘Trieste is the principal market for these galls, whence they are transmitted to Germany. HunGartan Gatis.—The galls of Quercus cerris are of a brown colour, prickly on the surface, and irregular in shape. They are used chiefly for tanning in Hungary, Dalmatia, and the southern provinces of the Austrian States, where they abound. Oax AppLes are the largest species of gall produced on the oak in Great Britain, and are caused by Cynips quercus terminalis. Oak apples are astringent, like other galls, and have been employed in tanning and dyeing, though not generally collected for that purpose. DEVONSHIRE GALLS.—For some years past these galls have been an- nually increasing in number on the oaks of Britain. They are produced by Cynips quercus petioli, in such quantities that the trees thus infested have somewhat the appearance of being covered with a crop of green Portugal grapes, though the seeming fruit is more generally distributed over the branches than that of the vine, seldom appearing in clusters of more than three or four. These galls are as spherical and smooth as marbles, as a substitute for which they are employed by schoolboys in the south-western counties. Chemical analysis has pronounced them unfit to compete commercially with the Levant galls, through deficiency in gallic and tannic acids. East Iypra Gais.—These are principally shipped from Bombay. They NOTES ON GALLS. 183 are heavy, but not so sightly as those of the Levant. The bloom generally seen on the Levant galls is lost from the Indian in their transit. Dr. Pereira considers this kind to be the produce of Persia and the neighbour- ing parts. Assam Gatts.—Galls have been received from Assam of a very dark brown, almost black colour. The size and shape is that of large white Turkish galls, each containing a hole through which the insect has escaped. This orifice is larger than those of the Turkish galls. AppLeE Gatis.—The large galls called indiscriminately Mecca, Bus- sorah, or Apple galls, are produced by Cynips insana on the Quercus infectoria. The Hon. R. Curzon states that the tree which produces them grows in abundance on the mountains in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea. These are believed to be the far-famed mad apples (Mala insana), or apples of Sodom (Poma Sodomitica), mentioned by Josephus and other authors. These galls are pear-shaped, sometimes round. Their size varies from that of a large hazel nut to that of a small apple. Towards the middle or upper part of the gall are one or more circles of small protruberances. In each of the larger galls there is an aperture through which the insect escaped, and in the centre there is a small round hole or nidus where it has lodged. The substance of the interior is soft, spongy, and friable. To the taste it is somewhat astringent, and scarcely bitter. The colour is of a rich or warm brown, shining as if varnished. These galls are alone used in the countries where they are produced for dyeing, and are more esteemed there than common galls. The contain about 28 or 30 per cent. of tannin. ALGERIAN GALLS.—Galls are abundant in Algeria, on the evergreen oak Quercus ilex, and serve to dye black. France had a consumption of this article, in 1853, to the value of between 600,000 and 700,000 franes, and Algeria could well supply it all. Kyorpern.—These galls are produced by Cynips quercus calcycis, on the cups of Quercus pedunculata and Quercus pubescens, in some parts of Europe. They abound more in certain seasons than in others, and an abundant harvest of Knoppern yields an immense revenue to the proprietor of the forest thus affected. These galls were exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1855, and the exhibitor states that ‘‘they are found on a variety of the oak called Quercus stagnosa, which in- habits valleys and damp marshy places. Even on this tree they only appear when the nights are warm and rainy, and towards the end of July and beginning of August. It is then that the outer coat of the acorn is softened and punctured by the insect, and the heat of the sun KNOPPERN. draws out the sap, which forms the curious excrescence shown in the wood cut. The hotter the weather is, the larger are the Knoppern, and the more easily do they drop to the ground, where they are regularly 184 NOTES ON GALLS. gathered up with the least possible delay, as the damp earth would spoil their quality and colour; for which reason the Knoppern should be dried for five or six days in the sun, and then turned over many times in the day for some weeks, to prevent their becoming mouldy. Thus dried, they sell for various purposes, and chiefly for tanning leather. In a favourable season, these galls are so abundant that a single large oak will produce as many as fetch 250 francs on an average; but the price varies from ten to forty frances the kilogramme (23 lbs.), ac- cording as it is a good or bad season for them. They are chiefly exported to Germany and other parts of Austria, and the trade is now in the hands of the Jews. It is stated by Martigny that these galls are produced in Hungary, Moravia, Sclavonia, Styria, &c., and that the towns of Pesth, Oldenburg, and Trieste are the places where the trade in them is chiefly carried on. They appear to be identical with the Galles de Hongriec ou du Piemont of M. Guibourt. An extract is made from these galls which re- sembles kino in appearance, and is used for dyeing silk. One firm in Ratisbon manufactures this extract to the extent of about 250,060 lbs. per annum. A similar gall is said to be sometimes found mixed with these, called by M. Guibourt, ‘‘ horned galls.” Vazronta Gatis.—A kind of gall is found on the Valonia oak, Quercus Zfigilops, somewhat similar to that on Quercus infectoria, and which is employed for the same purposes. These galls are rugose, of an angular form, and are either the fruit itself disturbed by the puncture of an insect, or merely the scaly cup which is enlarged into a gall. Mexican Gatis.—Dr. Farre exhibited specimens of these galls to the Linnean Society in 1840. They are formed on the leaves of a species of oak in Mexico. The galls consist of an aggregation of hollow cylindrical tubes, nearly an inch in length, and furnished with a fringed orifice. The tubes are remarkable for their elegance and uniformity ; their colour is white, suffused with red, especially towards the apex. Goot-t-Pista.—Dr. Royle states—‘‘ From Cabool, or, as I was informed, from Bokhara, the almond, as well as its pericarp, is imported into India, together with a kind of gall called Gool-i-pista, stated to be found on the pistachio tree. The pistachio nut,” he adds, ‘‘is yearly brought down to India, and I was told by people who well knew the tree, that tne Gool-i- pista, literally ‘ Flowers of the Pistachio,’ were produced by this tree.” It is, moreover, mentioned in Persian works as Bar-durakhl-pista; that is, “fruit of the pistachio tree,” and they give as the Arabic name, Buzghurig. The largest galls are nearly equal in size to a small cherry. They are brownish externally, hollow, and greatly resemble abortive germens. Some of them are lobed or doubled. BosEKIND.—Under this name the galls of Pistacia vera have been received from Cabool, with the sole information that they are employed for dyeing silk green. A specimen of galls from Scinde, under the name of Boojkund, is shown in the museum of Kew Gardens, which are evidently the same, although labelled Pistacia terebinthus. NOTES ON GALLS. 185 BoxHarA Gatis.—This species of Pistacia gall has been imported, specimens are exhibited in the museum of Kew Gardens. ‘They pre- sent no difference in appearance to the Bojekind, or the drawing of Gool-i-pista accompanying Dr. Royle’s account. The three kinds are without doubt identical, and the produce of Pistacia vera. With the above- named sample of Bokhara galls, a quantity of Pistacio nuts are shown, which were found mixed with the galls. Fistuk and Kuimsue are local names in parts of India for Pistacia galls, which are doubtless identical with Gool-i-pista. TEREBINTH Gatis.—The galls produced on Pistacia terebinthus by Cephis pistacie are collected by the peasants of Thrace and Macedonia about the end of June, under the leaves or at the foot of the branches which bear the fruit, and there they findasmall gall the size of a hazel nut, which, if allowed to grow, would become long like a small horn ; but they gather it while very small, and sell it at a high price to dye fine silks in the town of Brusa. They use annually above 6,000 pounds of these galls. They are hollow within, of the size of small Roman galls, growing on the leaves of the male teberinth. When they are not gathered they grow half a foot long, and horn-shaped. AFRICAN GALLS.—These galls, produced on Pistacia atlantica, resemble the Bokhara galls, or Gool-i-pista described by Dr. Royle. They are of a reddish colour—a brighter red than those of Pistacia vera, hollow, and vary in size from that of a pea toa filbert. Internally, they are occupied by the remains of the insects causing them. ‘Their shape is very irregular, and their substance horny. They are produced in the northern countries of Africa bordering on the Mediterranean, where they are used as a dyeing material. Hitherto they have not, to our knowledge, been introduced into European commerce. NarBoNNE Garrs.—Galls are produced also on another species of Pis- tacia (Pistacia narbonensis), of two kinds: one in the form of a spindle, nearly straight, and lengthened to a point at the extremity; the other, short, angular, rounded, and double. The spindle-shaped galls are from four to six centimetres in length, and from eight to fifteen millimetres in breadth, more or less bent, and terminated by a sharp point. They are tortuous, covered with a dark grey epidermis, and sometimes have on the surface small flat and circular glands, from which a yellow resin exudes. The substance of the gall is quite black, light, fragile, and from one-third to one-half a millimetre thick. The taste is simply mucilaginous, with an aromatic flavour. This gall is entirely without as- tringency. KAKRASINGHEE GaLis.—These are produced on a species of Rhus, which Dr. Royle names Rhus kakrasinghee, and Sir William Hooker Rhus semia- lata. ‘he galls are elongated, contorted, hollow excrescences, attaining to three or four inches in length, and from a quarter to half an inch in diameter, tapering to a point at one extremity and open at the other. They are very thin and brittle, of a dark, dirty brownish colour, and slightly 186 NOTES ON GALLS. astringent taste. The Kakrasinghee galls are found in Scinde, where they find employment in the arts. Woo-PEI-TZSE OR CuINA GALLS.—Concerning the tree upon which these galls are produced there has been much discussion, and some uncer- tainty still remains. It is, however, extremely probable that they are the leaf galls of Rhus semialata, caused by a little insect described as Pemphegus sinensis. 'The China galls are now an established article of commerce, and are imported in considerable quantities. They are hollow vesicles, pre- senting great varieties in shape and size. Most of them are tuberculated, some are rounded, others branched. Externally, they are smooth and occasionally velvety, of a fawn grey colour, and brittle, with a resinous fracture. Internally, they are occupied by a white powdery substance, and insect remains. In the half year ending June, 1860, 203,600 ewts. of China and Japan galls were exported from the port of Shanghai. JAPAN GALLS present much of the external appearance of the Woo- pei-tzse, with which some botanists consider them identical. There are, however, some points of difference worthy of note. The Japan galls are more tuberculated and vel- vety than those of China, and smaller in size. They are also often clustered together in a manner not yet observed in the other variety. On the other hand, it must be conceded that, upon microscopic examination, no specific dif- ference can be detected in the insects pro- ducing the two galls. There is just sufficient difference in them to warrant a doubt as to their being produced upon the same plant, although not sufficient to render such a circumstance improbable. Sovan-K10.—The Souan-kio—literally, ‘Sour Horns”—are a kind of gall very common at Sin-quan-fou, in Sunan. These galls are said to have the qualities of the best vinegar. Ou-cu1-TsE.—These Chinese galls are said to be produced on a tall tree, JAPAN GALL. with a white flower tinged with red in the centre. The trees are often covered with round galls, known in China by the above name. Kow-rou-1sE.—These galls, called also You-sou-no-mi or; Ko-to-si, are found on the leaves of a tree abundant in the islands of Sikok and Kion-sion, and believed to be the tree known as Distylium racemosum. These galls are known and used in China and Japan. Ko-tse.—These are a species of round gall, which are in frequent use in Canton for dyeing black. Sumrut oot Usx.—The galls of a species of tamarisk are used in ‘teal in Lahore, under the above name. They have been referred both to Tamarix articulata and T. Indica. SAKUN GaLLs is a local name for the tamarisk galls of Scinde. Sir W. Hooker refers to Tamarix articulata as the species upon which they are found. a: PRODUCTS OF NEW GRANADA. 187 Mauee Gattis are produced upon Zamariz indica, in the Bengal Presi- dency of India, and are there employed for tanning. One or two instances have occurred of their importation into England; but tamarisk galls are not commonly met with in British commerce. They are very small, seldom exceeding the size of a pea, and many being as small as a coriander seed. ATLEE.—Sonnini says that ‘‘the tamarisks (Tamarix orientalis) are in general covered with gall nuts adhering to the branches. These nuts are filled with a liquor of a very beautiful deep scarlet, from which the arts may perhaps be able to derive considerable benefit; for the galls are extremely numerous, and the trees that bear them grow all over both Upper and Lower Egypt.” This species of tamarisk is called Adlé by the Egyptians. AmrTeric.—The substance shown under this name at the Great Exhi- bition of 1851, from Tripoli, consisted of small tamarisk galls, greatly resembling those obtained from Tamarix indica, in Bengal. Tamarisk GALLS.—Dr. Lindley states that galls are also produced on other species of tamarisk, as Tamarix dioica and Furaz. Masoopnut.—tThe gall nuts of Ficus infectoria are used for tanning in the Chota, Nagpore, and Rohilcund districts. Capooca-poo, or ‘‘ Flowers of the Kadookai,” are the galls of Terminalia chebula. Roxburgh says that they are powerfully astringent, as fit for making ink as oak galls. They yield the chintz painters on the coast of Coromandel their best and most durable yellow. With a ferruginous mud, they strike an excellent black. When dyeing with Morinda tinctoria in the Circars, the native dyers first prepare the cloth or yarn by immersing it in a cold infusion of these powdered galls in milk and water. Sersacoy.—These are gall-like excrescences, produced in India appa- rently on a species of Terminalia. They resemble in form, structure, and qualities the Cadooca-pvo, but are much larger. Their uses are identical. SHUKUR-TEEGHAL.— We are informed that these galls, produced upon Asclepias gigantea, are astringent, and are employed in India for tanning leather. PRODUCTS OF NEW GRANADA. BY WILLIAM BOLLAERT. New Granada produces cocoa, tobacco, cotton, indigo, rice, and sugar in its fruitful valleys or savannas; also timber, dye-woods, and cinchonas. There are pearl fisheries on its coasts. Its mountains and streams yield gold, silver, platina, and other metals: the mines of rock salt, coal, and emeralds are important. In the Magdalena the magnificent Victoria Regia is found in such abundance as to be a troublesome weed. Farther south it is also abundant ; for Lieut. Page, of the United States Navy, states that down the Panama drift camilotes, or large water-lilies, and in the lagoons are anchored islands of the Victoria Regia, or Maiz del Agua (corn of the 188 EVERLASTING FLOWERS. water). Its seeds are pounded into meal, from which is made excellent and nutritious bread. The natives cultivate maize and other plants, includ- ing the potato and batata (sweet potato). The potato grows wild in the mountains of Palitera. In the Chibcha language the potato is Yomi; in Peru this root is known as Papa. The batata is called camote in Peru, but its Quichna name is Apichu. With respect to the cultivation of the quinoa (Chenopodium Quinoa), now abandoned, we have no particulars. The seed of the plant is very nutritious, and it is probable it was eaten in the form of a porridge, such as they made with maize, seasoning it with salt, red pepper, and savoury herbs. In the hot valleys they had the yucca (Jatropha Manihot), the arracacha (Ozalis crenata) in the temperate region, and some vegetables; but we do not know if they used the fecula of the Choco blanco (Lupinus), as they did in Quito. We are ignorant if they, as the Mexicans, extracted sugar from the maize cane, not having the sugar cane, which was brought from the Old World; or if they only used honey, found abundantly amongst the declivities of the Cordillera. The plantain —now so abundant in New Granada, that it may be said to form half the food of the population—was not cultivated in olden times, or known, ex- cepting in the province of Choco. It is calculated that ground, yielding wheat for the sustenance of one man, would grow plantains for twenty- five men. The eastern and western slopes of the Cordilleras are densely covered with every species of timber, including a large mahogany, out of which the Indian scoops his canoe. The cotton and India rubber plants grow wild, as also cocoa, canella (called by some cinnamon), coffee, the guayusa or tea plant, vanilla, tobacco, indigo, orchella, wax palm, copal, storax, spices, dyes, sugar cane, rice, maize, cinchona bark, cedron, &c.—indeed, a paradise for the botanist. In the more temperate parts, there are large grazing and arable farms. The mean temperature of the cinchona region ‘is about 62° F.; from 4,000 to 10,000 feet above the level of the sea; and the region extends from 10° N. to 19° S. lat. As to mineral productions, they are in abundance. » The entire range of the Cordilleras abound with gold, silver, and copper. Gold is also found on the banks and in the channel of every river which has its source. It is often stated that Peru is rich in emeralds: it should rather be said, the coast of Equador. I have never heard of this gem having been found in Peru. At the Museum of Practical Geology in London, there is an instructive collection of emeralds, and rocks in which they are found. EVERLASTING FLOWERS. BY T. D. ROCK. Amongst the rich variety of natural objects with which a bountiful Providence regales the sense of vision, few rank higher in the estimation of mankind than flowers. We love these bright gems of the vegetable world EVERLASTING FLOWERS. 189 with a sort of intuitive affection; and, whether savage or civilised, become spell-bound, as it were, under their magic influence. Profuse as nature is in the distribution of her choicest gifts, there are yet places on the face of the wide earth where flowers are rare and scanty. In some cases it is a barrenness of soil; in others, rigidity of climate ; whilst in not a few instances, it is the confined and poisoned atmosphere surrounding the habitations of men that checks and prevents the growth of flowers. By a sort of natural law, flowers are most appreciated where they are most difficult to obtain. In all large cities, where the atmosphere is i- mical to vegetable life, continual efforts are made to supply the demand for flowers by artificial means; the trade both in plants and bouquets, especially in a place like London, being enormous. Great progress has, indeed, been made of late, in supplying the floral requirements of the metropolis. Costermongers, and other itinerant vendors, have their flower season now, as well as their fish and fruit season; and bedding plants can be pur- chased late in the spring at most moderate prices. The result of all this is visibly apparent in the increased number of neat little gardens, ornamented windows and verandahs, imparting an air of cheerfulness and contentment to our otherwise dingy city ; and in this way exercising a moral influence which can scarcely be over-estimated. Yet in spite of the growing demand and increasing supply, the wants of London, in respect of flowers, are not by any means adequately supplied. The rich can always obtain them, but not so the middle classes and the poor, whose taste and desire for flowers is equally great with their more favoured brethren. The flower season over, and the price of bouquets rising from 3d. to 5s., or of potted plants from 4d. to 2s. 6d., the great bulk of the population then fall back upon the artificial substitutes. Cambric, wax, paper, shells, feathers, vegetables, &c., are the materials which, worked up with more or less skill, vie with each other in their resemblance to nature’s own productions. It is surprising that, amidst this universal taste for flowers, and the enormous traffic in the artificial, so little attention has been hitherto be- stowed upon those flowers commonly known as Everlasting, and which are so well adapted for purposes of decoration. The general idea seems to be that everlasting flowers are confined to that small yellow variety (Gnaphalium arenarium) known as Immortelles, and occasionally dyed blue and red for the sake of contrast. But, as we shall presently prove, the choice of these flowers is confined within no such narrow limits. Everlasting flowers are chiefly, if not entirely, produced by plants be- longing to the natural order Asteracew; but although approximating in form, they vary considerably as to size, and in colour there is almost an unlimited choice, as the following enumeration of a few of them wil illustrate. 190 EVERLASTING FLOWERS. NATURAL ORDER—Asteracec. NAME. Locairy. CoLouR OF FLOWER. Acroclinium roseum ......... S.W. Australia......... Rosy. Ammobium alatum............ INES EVollamd ee cecsnesen White. Gnaphalium foetidum......... Cape of Good Hope...| Light yellow. Helychrysum bracteatum ...| N. Holland ............ Yellow and white. iy roOseumi)s....< Mec auineuiss asec BRS Wale ciate einem Rose colour. PMU AMGLAG UMD. cce tenis) eeciee Rg et wa eesen aes | Orange. 5, brunneo rubrum «......... eine. say aitataeremtaoe Brownish red. a (COOSA ceagocosooodspob0s Aud MAR CNM ARS ce Scarlet. pemll aA arene see inreceiansievelses Fyi% bebeenibaceeene Yellow. 55 JOWUAOUURSIIOY “Gbadcononod000s of) | Sob 9en900008 Purple. pppMACKAME MUM cceeeeeoceas Wan shovels sceeeeseccke Large flowered. »» SPeciOsissiMUM ............ Cape of Good Hope...| Most showy. IMornayeleganses: se ctcc.s cece Swan River ............ Yellow. Stehelina dubia ............... South Europe ......... Pink. The property possessed by these flowers of resisting decay, may be attri- buted to the presence of large quantities of silica in the juices of the plants ; and this appears the more certain from the fact, that at whatever stage of their development the flowers are gathered, they are still everlasting, and resist all change after the little sap that remains in the stem attached is exhausted. Although these plants are many of them natives of warm climates, yet they are easily cultivated in this country, and most of them will thrive in the open air, and flower profusely. A quiet trade in these imperishable flowers already exists. On the Con- tinent as well as in this country, wreaths made of the small yellow variety (Gnaphalium arenarium) are sold in large quantities for adorning the graves and monuments of the departed. The railings which surround the column of Napoleon, in the Place Vendome at Paris, are literally covered with these wreaths, producing a singular effect. Im Germany, baskets and bouquets of everlasting flowers and wreaths are sold in the bazaars for decorative purposes; and within the last few weeks, a quantity of these elegant posies, &c., have been imported into this country, and readily realise from 1s. to 7s. 6d. each, according to size and quality, whilst they certainly surpass, both in form and colour, anything ever produced of an artificial kind. Mixed with the everlasting flowers in these German nosegays appear several of the beautiful grasses, recently in high favour with horti- culturists, as well as a sprinkling of flowers not naturally everlasting, but which our ingenious friends profess to have preserved by a peculiar process. Wreaths of a yellow variety of everlasting flowers, about the size of a farthing, and strung together transversely, are worn by the natives of the Sandwich Islands as a kind of head ornament. It only remains for us to suggest the extensive cultivation of all the varieties of everlasting flowers in this country, for the formation of winter ON THE AMOUNT OF STARCH IN RICE. 191 decorations ; and the artistic grouping of them with grasses, &c., would furnish another branch of employment to our large surplus female popu- lation, who ought to be encouraged and educated in the manufacture of many little elegancies, for which we are now entirely dependent upon the foreigner. ON THE AMOUNT OF STARCH IN RICE. BY DUGALD CAMPBELL, ANALYTICAL CHEMIST TO THE BROMPTON HOSPITAL, ETC. A few weeks ago, I was called upon, professionally, to examine some Pinky Madras rice, in order to ascertain what per-centage of starch it con- tained ; and as there appears to be considerable obscurity upon this point generally, and even among persons who use rice for manufacturing pur- poses, it occurred to me that the result of my experiments, together with a few remarks upon the subject generally, might not be judged valueless by the readers of the TECHNOLOGIST. There were four specimens, representing four qualities, of this rice examined. These I procured from a broker of the highest respectability in the City. The first specimen examined was of a very superior quality ; the fourth was of a low, but still of a good low quality ; the other two were intermediate between these. The process I followed for obtaining the starch was based upon the first of two processes described in the specification of a patent granted to the late Mr. Orlando Jones in 1840. Only I steeped the rice, whilst whole, with an additional solution of caustic soda; and I likewise drew off the water, holding the starch in suspension “‘from the other matters which deposit much quicker than the starch,” without allowing it to stand for more than one-eighth of the time stated by him; but this decanting I repeat several times. I also ascertained the per-centage of water contained in each of the specimens. It was, on the whole, uniform, considering that there was a very apparent difference in their quality, and was as follows :— Gap a BITS EIQUANILY, vasnss0- 2.50 cor asicencore tes e 13.64 per cent. WO SOCOM Giro ea erapin acs sjaicuiels cies sapmianeementenes NB on ING sap UIT gio fos calesied scloeiie sus eeetanemee tae «ce MB 5, Pi ee eB oct so eases sate ioc a:csaicesiesatou ee denw se WBA Average per-centage on the four samples... 13.57 Hitherto I had only been familiar with the results of the analyses of rice by Braconnot, which are quoted in most books, and which in one case gives 5, and in the other 7, as the per-centage of water. I was, therefore, some- what surprised on obtaining the large amount which I did; but on looking further into the subject, I found that the late Professor Johnston, in his “Lectures upon Agricultural Chemistry and Geology,” published in 1847, 192 ON THE AMOUNT OF STARCH IN RICE. page 891, gives the quantities of water, which he found in five varieties of rice freed from the husks, as my specimens were, as follows :— IMadragitice... cua cntcnaecaesone: Com eeee eRe nen carer isiewhestsarieeene 13.5 Bengal Mice u.csecce scene skeet eee eRe oC a Bodassecossacestons 13.1 Patna TICE. sole dace nds Cou ec ase neRe tee Ue eae er eee. DEST Eee 13.1 Carolina mice=essco ce aGiehs oie SEO See oem eee ee 13.0 Carolina rice Hour. 5.00 cee eee ee REE SBE SE sOs6 14.6 These results of Johnston’s so closely come up to my own, that I am induced to think the rice examined. by Braconnot must have undergone some drying process before examination. I was somewhat further confirmed in this by obtaining a much less per- centage of starch than he had obtained. I didnot in any way pick or prepare the specimens for analysis, but endeavoured, as far as I could, to take an average of each asI received it. And, perhaps, in this way I might have obtained a somewhat less per-centage of starch than he did, operating pro- bably upon a perfectly clean specimen; but any difference in this way would not account for the much larger per-centage of starch which he got beyond me. My results were as follows :— INGOs EMTs te Quality, «a. 0c +a secmeonsen ssc see secacteee mementos 76.6 IN O22 Se CONG Ser, nol es ck Oem carers Oca sane Ra ai 73.0 NOs Mr) pet See arcs cs Or iccaw uth ey aera 70.2 Nos sMourth~ iio cvavasmeteentsteeeet oh carc come ne sarees 69.1 Average percentage on the four specimens............... 72.2 Whereas Braconnot’s results are in the one case 85.07, and in the other 83.8; but from the results of Boussingault, Horsford, and Payen, obtained since Braconnot’s analysis, no doubt exists that some of the nitrogen and protein compounds in the rice were set down by the latter analyst as starch, and Payen has made an analysis of dry rice, showing 86.9 per cent. of starch. If I deduct from this the water found either by Johnston or myself, this would reduce the per-centage to rather more than 73 per cent., a result closely approximating to my own, and which I had obtained without knowing of these results. T endeavoured to check my per-centages of starch by boiling the rice with dilute acids, without and also with pressure, neutralising the acid, and fermenting and distilling to obtain the alcohol, from the amount of which I endeavoured to calculate the per-centage of starch. But the results which I obtained I found to vary very much, and in no case did I get anything like the per-centage of starch I got by the first process; showing that a considerable loss of starch is occasioned in its conversion into sugar by the processes now in use for so doing. If some means were devised whereby little loss were occasioned in this process of conversion, rice would become, taking my per-centage of starch even to be the true one, a very cheap source of spirit, especially applicable for manufacturing purposes. THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE NATIVE FARINAS OF JAMAICA. Ihave given some attention to the varieties of food which are available from our own soil; and I am convinced that we may, if we please, be very independent of other countries as respects farinaceous substaaces, besides being able to add items of food now imported to our list of staple exports. ist. The Flour of the Bread Fruit.—In the parish of Portland, in which I have a residence, the bread-fruit tree abounds, and is very productive of fruit. It requires no care, and bears in about five years after being planted. The parish is healthy, and abounds in water; and there is, throughout the year, muchrain. The soil, generally, is excellent, and its productive power remarkable; but of all of its products none appear to me more deserving of notice than the bread-fruit. The fruit begins to ripen about July or August; and the tree continues more or less productive until Christmas ; but in other parishes trees may be found in bearing throughout the spring and in early summer. Indeed, I believe there is not a month of the year in which ripe bread-fruit might not be had in some quarter or another of the island. But after becoming ripe, it quickly perishes; consequently an enormous amount of it is lost or wasted. It is a beautiful substance, and of a delicate and agreeable taste ; and it occurred to me that, could it be sliced and dried, and made into flour—and if that flour would be kept good for any length of time—that a great additional value could be imparted to the product. Accordingly I had it cut into thin slices, and dried in the sun for a couple of days, and then made it pass through a corn-mill, which easily reduced it to meal of a beautiful very pale yellow colour. By passing this meal through a fine sieve, we got a beautiful flour fit for baking. I have a large barrel of the meal of the crop of last year, which is still very good. It has not been assailed by insects, nor has it fermented. It is sweet and good, and retains its pleasant delicate flavour. 0 194 THE NATIVE FARINAS OF JAMAICA. I have had it baked with yeast and a proportion of wheat flour, say from one-half to one-third of wheat flour to one-half or two-thirds of bread-fruit ‘flour, and the result is an exceedingly pleasant tasted brown bread, which would be acceptable at the table of the most fastidious. Again, one-third wheaten flour being mixed with the bread-fruit and made into breakfast cakes with an egg, the result is equally satisfactory. The cakes so made are remarkable for delicacy of taste. Mixed with a like proportion of flour, it makes excellent puddings and dumplings. In all these things not only have we the advantage of a substitute, to a consider- able extent of an article of our own, for the expensive imported one, but we have what, in several respects, is really more valuable, from its superior lightness and delicacy of flavour. For confectionary cakes, I think it would be peculiarly suitable. It is also excellent when made into pap or pottage, Scotice porridge. It should be made with a little sugar, and eaten with milk; though Scotch people, I dare say, would prefer it with salt. As a food for children and invalids, or generally for those who seek agreeable food easy of digestion, the flour of the bread-fruit will be esteemed a valuable acquisition to the dietary. In the course of reading, lately, I saw it stated that there never had been an analysis of the bread-fruit. I shall be glad if this notice of it should lead to one. However, I can in the meantime say that it produces a beau- tiful starch in great abundance ; and that the residue, after the starch is drawn off, is a pure white substance, capable of being easily reduced into a meal or flour, which is very similar in taste or appearance to ground rice ; and I am sure it might be available for various kinds of food, and be kept for years perfectly good. For the sake of distinction I call this ‘‘ Bread- Fruit Tapioca.” I have thus given my testimony on this interesting subject, and would only further remind my readers of the Rev. Mr. Wharton’s important experiment in biscuits of the bread-fruit. He boiled or baked the fruit, and then sliced and dried, and packed it in tin cases. In this form it may be kept for a very long time; and, when toasted and buttered, eats admir- ably. It would be an excellent article of cabin stores for large passenger steamers. In the parish of Portland, where, as already stated, we have much damp and rainy weather, I found it necessary, on many occasions, to dry the slices in anoven. The erection of drying-houses, therefore, would be a great advantage to the former in such a parish, especially to those whose lands are far in the interior, where the soil is eminently fruitful; but the . carrying of such heavy commodities as bread-fruit, or plantains in their green state, over bad roads to market, incurs an expense and trouble so. disproportioned to their value, that they would be almost valueless to the raisers. But if the weight be lightened by paring off skins and stalks and drying, and their valuable parts manufactured into flour, starch, or biscuit, the value would amply afford the carriage. Indeed, it would be found that THE NATIVE FARINAS OF JAMAICA. 195 to carry out these suggestions there will be value given to entire districts which are now almost abandoned, or the inhabitants sunk in deep poverty, and sources of wealth opened that will certainly alter the character of pro- perty and people. How often have I seen poor women carrying a load on their heads a distance of ten miles to market, which, when sold, would not yield above one shilling or one sixpence! It was of the green fruits, or roots, and therefore heavy, and of small value; while, in its prepared state, they could carry a burden of six times its value, and thus introduce wealth and many comforts into these now poor interior districts. It is important to inquire the value of the starch of the bread-fruit, as a starch for the manufacturer? As an edible it is quite equal, I believe, to arrowroot. But what will Manchester or Glasgow manufacturers give for it? Who knows but itmay equal the far-famed Glenfield starch ! 2nd. The Flour of the Plantain.—This is well known in many parts of the West Indies under the name of Conquintay, and is highly esteemed, and extensively used as a food for invalids and children. It is decidedly superior in these respects to arrowroot, in consequence of its nourishing and strengthening qualities. It may also be stated that it is curative of diarrhoea and similar bowel complaints, in consequence of the tannin which it contains. Hitherto it has been little known here ; and it is hardly known at all in Europe, where, however, we believe it would be greatly prized, and would supersede the patent groats and patent barley, and similar preparations. The plantain for flour must be cut not only before it is ripe, but a little before it is what is called ‘‘full.” It must not, in any of the processes to which it is to be subject, come in contact with iron or steel, which instantly impart to it an inky black colour. It must be sliced with nickel, or silver plate, or even ivory or hardwood knives, and dried, and in all other respects treated like the bread-fruit, as above stated, and it is available for the same uses, only it must be manufactured by stamping in a wooden mill or mortar, and cooked in tin or an enamelled vessel. There is a pleasant soft fulness in the taste of cake or pottage of the plantain flour, which will always recommend it, in whichever of the forms above recommended it is used, except baking it into bread. It is capable of being combined with flour, so as to make a tolerable coarse baker’s bread; but it is not, so far as my experiments have gone, likely to be in request for that object. But for all the others above enumerated it will be found (the one precaution as to iron being attended to) a most valuable addition to articles of diet. Plan- tains, from their bulk, cannot be transported from interior places in the green state, but when made into flour the value will bear the charges of transportation, aye, and of exportation, too. The starch drawn off from the green grated plantain appeared to me unusually thick and clammy. I wish that some one better acquainted with the qualities, on which the commercial value of the article to the manufac- turer depends, would examine and report on it. The residue, after the starch is separated, which I call ‘‘ Plantain Tapioca,” 02 196 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LAC INSECT. is a pink coloured substance, which crumbles easily, and when cooked (always avoiding iron vessels) by boiling, as is done with arrowroot and tapioca, and seasoned with sugar, it forms, when eaten with milk, a pleasant food, of a delicate and agreeable flavour. But, besides being a good strengthening food for children, and persons of sedentary habits, from its lightness and easiness of digestion, it would, I think, be a substantial food for labourers, especially European. The substances to which I have sought attention by this paper are:— ist. The bread-fruit flour and meal; 2nd. Bread-fruit biscuits; 3rd. Bread- fruit starch ; 4th. Bread-fruit tapioca (that is, the residuum, after separation from the starch); 5th. Plantain flour and meal; 6th. Plantain starch ; 7th. Plantain tapioca. Should any of my readers, especially intelligent ladies, be induced to try the qualities and uses of some of these articles in any of the ways I have suggested, the results will be a communication of much importance to the domestic well-being of the community, especially to the inhabitants of interior districts, and I hope they may be persuaded to communicate these to the public. I cannot help suggesting for consideration how much these facts show the value of the interior, cool, healthy lands of this island to intending Euro- pean emigrants. I have observed farm and emigrant life in America and Canada, and I feel certain that there is no country on earth where, with so little labour, the “‘gushing abundance” of the farmer’s table could so quickly, and with so small a cost of labour, be established, as in the cool, seasonable districts of this island. It is a low, a very low estimate, to say that one-third of the labour which is expended on agriculture in Canada on a farm would, if expended on a settlement in this island, accomplish a far larger return in comfort and substantial profit to the cultivator. Farinas— roots, pulse, fruits, and oils, without end, and the indispensable groceries of civilised life—coffee and sugar—can be had growing at the door, to all of which add our infinite variety of fibres, the cultivation of which cost almost nothing, and the prepartion might be rendered easy and inexpensive. Kingston. Wi Weeds ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LAC INSECT (COCCUS LACCA).* BY H. J. CARTER, F.R.S. [Reliable scientific information respecting the Natural History of the lac insect has hitherto been much wanted. ‘The only details we have previ- ously met with were contained in a paper communicated to the Royal Society so far back as May 24, 1781, by Mr. James Kerr, of Patna. ]— EDITOR. * From the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LAC INSECT. 197 Having had an opportunity of examining the lac insect just previous to the evolution of its young, and of watching the latter part from this period up to the time at which they become incarcerated in the resinous substance which they secrete around themselves, known in commerce by the name of “lac,” and finding that a description of the changes which the insect undergoes still remains unpublished, so far as I am aware, while that which has been stated on the subject is more or less incorrect, I am not without hope that the following observations may prove both new and acceptable. Thus much is known—that the substance called ‘‘ lac” consists of a resinous incrustation, partly encircling or scattered over the small branches of several trees and shrubs of different kinds in India; that the incrustation is cellular, and that each cell indicates the position of one of the insects which secreted it; that the insect contains a red colouring matter, called “‘ lac-dye,” which is also an article of commerce, and is allied to cochineal; and that, at a certain period of the year, vast numbers of young animals leave these cells, and, spreading themselves over the neighbouring branches, fix themselves to the bark, which they pierce with their beaks, and begin to pour forth from their bodies the resinous sub- stance above mentioned. On the 25th of June last (1860), my attention was drawn to the subject, more particularly by a fresh branch of the custard-apple tree (Anona squamosa), bearing portions of the lac, having been presented to me by my friend Major Burke. The branch was taken from a tree growing in the enclosure of the Bombay Mint, within a few yards of the sea, and in the midst of the smoke of steam-engines, smelting-furnaces, and the atmo- sphere of a crowded population; while the resinous incrustation and the red colouring matter, both in quality and quantity, did not appear to me to be less than that which is produced by the insect in localities widely separated, as well from the sea as from all human habitations. On receiving this branch, and observing that it was fresh, and that the insects in the incrus- tation were also_living, my curiosity was directed to ascertaining the form and organology of the latter. Meanwhile the young began to pour fourth —that is, on or about the 1st of July, and by the middle of that month the whole branch had become covered by them; but, for want of nourishment, as they became stationary, so they died, without, apparently, secreting any of the resinous substance around them; and thus I was obliged to visit the custard-apple tree itself, for the purpose of examining the subsequent changes the insect undergoes, which changes, together with a description of the form and organology of the full-grown insect, so far as I have been able to ascertain them, will now be related. The first feature that strikes the eye on looking at the surface of the incrustation, when the insects which are within it are alive, is the presence of a kind of ‘white powder, like that observed about the cochineal insects ; this is concentrated here and there into little spots, and, on being more closely examined, will be seen to be chiefly confined to three branches of curly, hair-like filaments, which radiate from three small holes in each 198 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LAC INSECT. spot. The holes are situated triangularly with respect to each other, two being closer together than the third, which is the largest, and which, by and by, will be found to be the anal, while the other two will be found to be spiracular apertures: all three are continuous, with corresponding aper- tures in the insect, from which the white filaments originally proceed, which filaments we shall hereafter observe to be the attenuated extremities of the trachee. If we now examine the contents of the interior, which we may easily obtain entire by dissolving off the lac in spirits of wine (for, from their tenderness, they can hardly ever be extricated without rupture by simply breaking the incrustation), it will be observed that each cell is filled with a single insect, which is now almost as much unlike one as any object can well be unlike another—consisting of a pyriform sac of a dark red colour, smooth, shining, and presenting at its elongated end one, and at its obtuse end three papillary processes; the former, which is a continuation of the elongated end, is fixed to the bark; and the three latter, which pro- ject from the middle of the obtuse end, are respectively continuous with the three holes in the lac above noticed. As with these holes so with the three processes: one is much longer and larger than the other two, which latter are of the same size; the former is also further distinguished by having several hairs round the margin of the aperture which exists at its extremity—a point which it is desirable to remember, as it will serve by and by to identify it with the anal extremity of the animal when in its insect form. So far, the spirit of wine assists; but when we come to the contents of the body, it is not only necessary to avoid using spirit of wine, from the dis- figuration which it occasions by causing the tissues to contract, but also to extricate the body by fracturing the lac, and dissect its contents as quickly as possible on account of the rapidity with which they pass into dissolution after death: this is probably the reason why this part of the history of the insect has remained unpublished up to the present time. Directing our attention to the interior, after the rupture of the insect, which takes place more or less with that of the lac, we are at once struck with the volumi- nousness of the organ containing the red colouring matter, which organ thus obscures everything else; and it is not before a quantity of it is removed by gentle edulcoration, that we can (still under water, for the anatomy of this insect can be studied in no other way) arrive at a view of the other organs of the body, when it will be observed that there is an alimentary canal, liver, trachez, and, last of all, the organ containing the red colouring matter, which we shall presently find to be the ovary. ‘To each of these organs, then separately and briefly, we will now give our attention. The alimentary canal commences with an attenuated shapeless oesophagus at the elongated end of the body, which is thus seen to be the oral extremity, and after passing upwards for about two-thirds of the abdominal cavity, where it becomes enlarged and convoluted, turns back to make a single revolution, in the course of which it soon becomes diminished in calibre, and receiving the hepatic duct at this point, terminates at length in the rectum, which opens at the great papillary process. The ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LAC INSECT. 199 liver consists of a single straight sacculated tube, of the same size through- out, presenting a yellow colour, and giving off the hepatic duct a little nearer one end than the other, while the trachez are amassed into bundles, apparently without order, and send forth many of their extremities through the two small, as well as through the large anal apertures to terminate on the surface of the lac in the way above mentioned. Lastly, we come to the ovary, which consists of a voluminous tree of tubes, apparently branched dichotomously, with each branch, large and small, bearing long elliptical pouches, in each of which, again, is a correspondingly shaped ovum—the whole nearly filling the bedy, and terminating in a single oviduct, which opens (probably through the rectum) at the anal aperture. The ovum, on the other hand, consists of an elliptical transparent envelope filled with little cells, each of which contains oil(?) globules, and globules filled with the red colouring matter. The oil-globules are spherical, uniform in size, and much larger than the red globules, which are also spherical, but distinctly separated from the oil-globules and from each other. Whether these bodies respectively have delicate cell-walls or not, I am ignorant ; but, while they are both distinctly defined in the ovum when the insect is first opened under water, both soon burst by imbibition, and become lost to view by dispersion of their contents. Thus, the red colouring matter exists originally in the form of distinct globules, or in cells in the ovum. The further changes in the ovum, preparatory to the full development of the embryo, I have not followed; but about the beginning of July the young ones are perfectly formed, and, issuing through the anal aperture in the incrustation, they creep on to the neighbouring parts of the branch, and, soon fixing themselves by inserting their beaks into the bark, as before stated, commence secreting the lac or resinous substance, in which they soon become incarcerated. Myriads issue in this way, as may well be conceived, when, at a guess, I should think, each insect contained a thousand ; but by far the greater number die; for, although the branches become quite red with them, it is only here and there that a few, scattered or in groups, live; the rest still remain attached to the bark, but dried up and dead, which may arise, perhaps, from not having been sufficiently developed, or not being strong enough at their delivery to pierce the bark for sustenance. On leaving the parent the young coccus is of a minium-red colour, about one-fourtieth of an inch long, elliptical, obtuse anteriorly, without any division between the head and body, possessing six legs, two antenne, two small eyes, marginal and lateral, and two long hairs, growing from the penultimate segment of the abdomen; the body segmented regularly ; the oral aperture ventral, and placed at some distance from the anterior extremity ; two tufts of white, powdery, hair-like filaments budding from the sides of the thorax respectively, in the place of wings, and a tuft of the same kind, bifurcated, and curling outwards on each side, projecting from the anal orifice. Anal orifice surrounded by a row of short, strong hairs. At this period the insect is almost too small for examination organologically ; but after it has crept off the incrustation and 200 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LAC INSECT. on to the bark of the branch, it soon becomes stationary, and enlarging as the resinous secretion exudes from the surface of the body so as to surround all parts except the oral orifice and the three apertures from which the three white tufts issue, at the expiration of a month (that is, by the middle of August) it measures in length almost the eighteenth part of an inch. If we now examine it minutely, it will be observed that the legs, antennz, and the whole of the chitinous parts of the body have become almost undistinguishably incorporated with the resinous secretion, which, when dissolved from the insect by spirit of wine, leaves the body almost in a larval or caterpillar form, but without eyes or any other appen- dages, save the three white tufts of hair-like filaments, and the proboscis, which is now fully developed. The proboscis consists of a fleshy projection, situated at a little distance from the head, ventrally, presenting a depression in the centre, from which issue four long hairs of sete, based internally upon as many pyramidal inflations, situated almost at right angles to each other, and supported by other horny elements, which also appear to belong to the machinery of the proboscis. These hairs together form the penetrating organ through which the juice of the tree is extracted ; but whether they are hollow, and do this individually, or forma single tube by combination for this purpose, I have not been able to determine. On the other hand, the three apertures from which the white tufts proceed, and which are now seen to open through the incrustation, are observed to be situated in the thorax and at the tail respectively—thus identifying the latter, which still presents the circle of hairs round the anal orifice, with the large papilla or anal orifice of the full-grown insect, and the former or thoracic apertures with the two other papille, which appear to replace the wings. The white projecting from these we have already seen to consist of the extremities of the trachez, covered with a white powder. Thus we sce that the increase of size, which takes place in the female insect, from its locomotive form to its ultimate development in the fixed state, is chiefly effected by an enlargement and elongation of the body between the mouth, on the one hand, and the parts from which the three white tufts project, on the other; for the oral extremity simply becomes elongated, and the three other openings of the body remain as near together, in the resinous incrustation, at the end as they were at the commencement. Of what the white powder on the trachee consists, I am ignorant, further than that it does not dissolve in spirits of wine like the lac, which, on the other hand, appears to be a secretion from the skin generally, analagous to the chitinous one which would be required nuder other circumstances. Male Insect.—On the 8th of September I visited the custard-apple tree again, to see how the incrusted young were progressing; and on close examination of the parts where they were most congregated, observed, here and there, little red insects actively crawling over them, which insects appeared so like the original young ones, that I thought they must be a few stragglers of a later evolution; but on inspecting them more particu- ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LAC INSECT. 201 larly, they were observed to possess much longer antenne ; and therefore it was concluded that they were males, which afterwards proved to be the ease. Several of them were collected for description, and a small portion of one of the branches, more or less covered by the incrusted young, brought away, to show how the secretion of the lac was progressing. The male is a little larger than the young ones at their exit from the parent ; it has larger antennez, which are hairy-plumose, and consist of seven articula- tions, not including the two basal ones; four eyes, two lateral and two underneath the head; two long hair-like appendages; covered with white powder, proceeding from the penultimate segment above; and a beak-like horny extension from the last segment, which is curved a little downwards, and composed of two members, an upper and a lower one, both grooved, and forming together a cylindrical channel, through which the semen is conveyed into the female. Thus the changes which the larva undergoes during incarceration, to produce the male, consist in an enlargement and alteration in form of the antennz; in the differentiation of the head, and the addition of two large eyes underneath it, which appear to be for the purpose of enabling the male, as he crawls over the lac covering the females, to find out the apertures in it that lead to the vulve; in the addition of the male organ, and in the replacing of the two hairs growing from the penultimate segment on either side of the tail by two delicate white twisted cords, composed of the attenuated extremities of the trachez. There are further differences between the sexes at this period, in the female having lost all traces of eyes, antenne, and legs; whilst, no differentiation having taken place between the head and body, the female is reduced to a mere elliptical sac, with but faint traces of the original segmentation. From the thorax, however, project the two white tufts of trachea, which are absent in the male, and also a tuft from the anal extremity, the two hairs before alluded to having disappeared altogether; but the row of hairs round the anus, which are now absent in the male, still remain in the female, and appear to serve the purpose chiefly of preventing the secretion of lac from covering up the anal aperture. At this period only, the bodies of both male and female are about the same size (viz., about 1-27th of an inch long) ; but while the former has become more highly developed and eliminated, for the performance of his special function, the latter has become retrograde and permanently incarcerated for hers. So un- sparingly does nature deal with her forms for the development of the new being. Impregnation.—After having taken home the small portion of the branch above mentioned, which was covered more or less with the newly incrusted brood, on which there were no free males, I was astonished, on taking it up an hour or two later, to observe that two had made their appearance, and were actively engaged in impregnating the females. This they do by drawing the organ before described downwards and a little forwards, just over the hole in the lac which leads to the anal orifice of the female, and then inserting it; after which the male sits on the hole, as it were, for a 202 ' ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LAC INSECT. few moments, and then, withdrawing the penis, goes to another female, and so on till his office is fulfilled. I now watched the process for some time ; and having sufficiently satisfied myself of the fact as just stated, the two males were removed for microscopical examination, and the branch left as before without any. Next morning, to my astonishment, I again found two more males on it, actively engaged in performing their duty like the former ones; and then it struck me that they must come from some of the incrustations; so I examined the latter, and soon saw that there were two distinct kinds of incrustations on the bark—one circular, slightly larger than the other, and, when isolated from the rest (which for the most part are agglomerated), presenting twelve notches or teeth symetrically arranged round the base, six on each side, with the three holes above, and the white tufts projecting from them as before described: this, of course, was the female. The other form of incrustation was narrower and elliptical, like that of the young insect at evolution, but without serrated base, holes, or white hair-like ap- pendages. Finally, it was observed that the latter were frequently empty, and open at their unfixed and elevated end, while from others the tail of the male insect itself was projecting. Thus the origin of the male and the process of impregnation as to time and act were easily determined; while it was also observed that in some parts there were almost, if not quite, as many male as female incrustations present, in others not so many. On the evolution of the young, therefore, all at first would appear to attach them- selves to the bark, and pierce it for nutriment—at least, all that live— preparatory to undergoing further general and generative development (for all are alike, apparently, when first hatched), and that then they respec- tively become changed for the fulfilment of their ultimate functions—the males for impregnating the females, and the females for secreting the lac and developing the new brood; but the latter, as before shown, does not appear till the month of July of the following year. Thus we see that the young Coccus, as we have termed it, merits rather the term of “‘ larva” (from the metamorphosis which it subsequently under- goes to pass into the matured forms of male and female respectively) than that of ‘‘ young insect.” Again, all begin to secrete from their bodies the resinous substance, even before they have fixed themselves to the bark ; for those had it which were hatched from the lac on the branch that was first presented to me, after the latter was dry and dead; so that no doubt can exist of the lac being produced by the insect itself, and that it is not a mere exudation from the tree, which follows the insertion of its proboscis into the bark, as has been stated. But while those which are to become males are entirely, though but temporarily, shut in by the lac, which they subsequently elaborate from the juices of the tree on which they may be located, those which are to become females preserve throughout the three apertures before mentioned, from which project the white tufts of trachee. ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LAC INSECT. 203 These tufts, which, previous to impregnation, consisted of but a few fila- ments from each aperture, and thus in no way impeded the functions of the male, had so increased immediately after impregnation (that is, by the 20th of September), that every part of the branch covered with new lac was rendered white by it; and although there were still a few females which were not enveloped by it (and probably, therefore, were not impreg- nated), yet, for the most part, they were thickly covered by this cottony substance; and the few remaining males that were present were so inex- tricably entangled in it, and prevented from coming into contact with the females by it, that, together with the presence of dead ones, also entangled in the mass, it may be inferred that this rapid evolution of the cotton-like substance at once indicates the death-season of the males, and that impreg- nation has been fully performed. One other observation I would add, which is more practical than scientific—viz., that, to obtain as much resin and as much colouring matter as possible, the gathering of lac should take place towards the end of May, or the beginning of June, just before the evolution of the young, which, as will have been seen above, carry away with them the greater part of the colouring matter. In Ure’s “ Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures,” which contains by far the best and least incorrect account of this insect that I have met with, it is stated that the evolution of the young takes place in ‘‘ November or December,” and afterwards in “‘ October or November,” while the lac is gathered twice a year, in ‘‘ March and Octo- ber.” It is also stated in the same article that the male insect has “‘ four wings,” and that there is one to every 5,000 females ; while we are nota little surprised to see in P. Gervais and Van Beneden’s ‘‘ Zoologie Médicale” (1859), p. 374, that lac ‘‘ exudes from certain trees through the punctures which have been made by the females.” It was this and sundry other state- ments, together with seeing that the insect could be examined successfully only in the country where it lives, which induced me to avail myself of the opportunities presented to me of obtaining as much of its history as I could for publication. On the 25th of June I received the branch of the custard- apple tree with the living matured lac insect on it, in its incrustation. About the 5th of July, the young or larve, about 1-40th of an inch long, began to issue. On the 14th of August all were fixed to, and progressively enlarging in, incrustation, on the custard-apple tree. On the 8th of Septem- ber the males were leaving their incrustations and impregnating the females, each sex being now about 1-27th of an inch long; and on the 20th of Sep- tember the females were almost all concealed under an exuberant evolution of the white cottony substance (which we now know to be the attenuated extremities of the trachez, covered with a white powder), with a single male insect here and there alive, and many dead ones entangled in it. 204 SOME REMARKS UPON SHELLAC, WITH AN ESPECIAL RE- FERENCE TO ITS PRESENT COMMERCIAL POSITION.* BY JOHN MACKAY. We have now and then rapid and unexpected changes in the drug market. At times there are certain premonitory symptoms of such changes, of which those resident in London and Liverpool, and even some ata distance, not unfrequently take advantage. Immediate purchases are made, or contracts for forward delivery entered into, which very often result in large gains to the successful buyer. Or, again, there have been instances of a millionnaire stepping into the market and purchasing all that could be had of a certain article, holding the same, and only selling at an advanced price. Such instances are comparatively rare, because there is in all trans- actions of this kind, not only an almost unlimited command of capital required, but such a course is necessarily accompanied by considerable risk. A very successful and notable instance of such a case occurred some years ago, when a well-known banking firm bought up all the mercury that could be got, either at home or abroad, stored it up, and held until the price advanced so considerably, as to yield a very large and handsome profit, at the expense, of course, of those who were in the habit of using this valuable metal in medicine or in the arts. More recently a house abroad gathered together all the fine Vanilla pods which could be obtained, and in like manner kept this market so bare, that most extravagant prices were paid for the article. So thoroughly was this game played, that at times large tins of Vanilla were consigned to certain parties in London, and if these individuals failed in realising an-increased price, their \instructions were quite definite—to return the whole to Paris, there to be stored up, or sold at a limit previously determined upon. At other times a real scarcity may be cited as the cause of an advance, and this frequently owing to circum- stances over which no one can exercise any control; such as ungenial and unfavourable weather during the season of vegetation, of which we have at the present time very good examples in the scarcity and consequent high price of belladonna, peppermint, and lavender, or in the cream of tartar market, where the continued high price is owing to the effects of the oidium or vine disease interfering with the production of wine, and thus reducing the quantity of deposit from which this article is procured. But to go still further from home, and to come more especially to speak of the article it is my intention now to introduce to your notice, I may at once refer to the extraordinary position which shellac holds at the present time in the commercial world. This substance is known to us all, for although not used in medicine, it is extensively employed in the arts. Thus, it is the principal ingredient in our finer kinds of sealing-wax, while in that very important manufacture, hat-making, it is not only largely employed, but * From the Pharmaceutical Journal. SOME REMARKS UPON SHELLAC. 205 no substitute can be found. For wood polish it is a necessary ingredient, and our pianos and other pieces of beautifully polished furniture would be less pleasing to the eye were we deprived of shellac. In varnishes used by the upholsterer and others, its presence cannot be dispensed with ; while the dye, which forms an integral part of this gum resin, is so much used by the woollen manufacturer, that even the gay clothing of our soldiers would be dull and dim without the aid of the permanent and beautiful lac dye. Before speaking of its commercial relations, it may not be uninteresting to refer more particularly to the manner and places of production. Our supplies are obtained chiefly from the East Indies, the districts most noted being Assam, Pegu, Bengal, and Malabar, and along the course of the Ganges. The shipments are, however, made principally from Calcutta. In the districts above named there are two or three very large establishments at which they employ more than a thousand hands. Besides these factories, there are numerous makers on the small scale. A feeling of secrecy pervades the establishments, and strangers are refused admittance. On the twigs of certain trees, known as the Ficus religiosa, Ficus indica, Rhamnus jujuba, Croton lacciferum, and the Butea frondosa, found in the jungle and forests of India, a small insect called the Coccus lacca fixes, and there deposits a certain quantity of a dark coloured resinous matter. ‘This, on careful examination, has been found to be the stomachs of those insects left there after death as food for their larvez, the outer or specially resin coating being intended for the shelter and protection of the young. It is about the months of November or December that the brood make their escape from their previously protected habitations, and fasten themselves in their turn upon the small branches. As these increase (which they do very rapidly) the twigs or stems become completely covered, and ata particular season of the year are collected, placed in sacks, and carried to the manufactory. These encrusted twigs are first ground in a mill to rough powder, and then carried away to what is called the dye work of the establishment. Here troughs are ready for their reception, and after being immersed in water, the natives commence to tread upon the material, so as to remove the dye from the resin, &c., and as this colouring matter is soluble, it is in a short time taken up by the water, run off into other suitable vessels, water again added, and the process continued, with the addition of fresh quantities of water, until the whole is completely exhausted. The remains are then collected, the woody fibre, &c., got quit of, and the little particles which remain freed almost entirely from colour, called and recognised in our market as seed lac. The different waters which have thus taken up in solution the colouring matter of the stick lac, is run into cisterns or vats, where the deposition in course of time takes place, and then the powder in the form of paste is partially dried, put into square cases, stamped, and thoroughly dried, forming the regular lac dye of commerce. It is sent home to this country in those small square blocks, and reduced to powder for the purpose of trade. I may as well dismiss this part of my subject by stating, 206 SOME REMARKS UPON SHELLAC. that the dye is used very largely and very extensively in dyeing woollen goods. Struck with a perchloride of tin, it becomes a fine and very beauti- ful scarlet. This preparation is well known, being made by boiling tin in hydrochloric and nitric acids, and from its general use for the above purpose has commercially received the name of lac spirits. The great commercial importance of this article may be better understood when I mention that from Calcutta alone the annual export is supposed to be very nearly four millions of pounds’ weight. The different kinds of shellac may be named as follows :—Stick lac, shell lac, button lac, seed lac, lump lac, white lac. Various shades of some of the above receive the names of garnet, liver, and orange. These are dependent upon the quantity of natural dye left in the seed lac before it is prepared, as will be immediately noticed. The five kinds first enumerated are imported; the last is prepared in this country. Stick and seed lac require little notice. The former is the natural produc- tion of the insect already described, and the latter is the remains after the extraction of the colouring matter to form the lacdye. The small granular pieces of gum resin left are collected as free from extraneous matter as possible, and dried in the sun, Button and shell lac are the two descriptions most employed in this country, and are both prepared from the seed lac as follows :—The grains are placed in long sausage-shaped bags and heated before fires, until the liquid resin exuding slowly through the interstices of the cloth is scraped off, and immediately transferred to the highly polished surface of earthenware cylinders, heated by being filled with hot water. The melted lac is spread over these cylinders by men, women, or boys, who use for this purpose a palm leaf, and thus produce cakes about twenty inches square. It is then, when cool, thrown into chests, and by the transit becomes much broken ere it arrives in this country. The finest bright orange shellac is believed to be coloured artificially, and I think correctly, having had occasion more than once to reject samples from their peculiar light yellow shade. Orpiment is thought to be the colouring matter employed. Button, block, garnet, and liver lac, are all produced more or less care- fully from different qualities of seed lac, the colour and appearance depend- ing entirely upon the districts from whence the seed lac has been obtained, and the completeness of the removal of the lac dye. Nothing more need be added as to the preparation of these lacs—and, indeed, I believe no further particulars are known. White lac is prepared in this country from ordinary shellac, by being first boiled in a solution of carbonate of potash, through which a stream of chlorine is then to be passed. Hydrochloric acid is added, and last of all red lead. The white pulpy mass is then collected, washed, and pulled into sticks of different lengths. This descrip- tion of lac is not much employed, being chiefly consumed in manufacturing the different light shades of fancy sealing-wax. Before proceeding to the closing part of these remarks—viz., the present commercial relations of this article—it may be stated that good shellac should contain from 84 to 90 per SOME REMARKS UPON SHELLAC. 207 cent. of resin alone, with varying quantities of colouring matter. When not carefully prepared, a quantity of sand is often present, which deteriorates the lac, and depreciates its value when used for varnishes, &c. For about two years there has been a steady, but most unaccountable, rise in the price of all descriptions of lac. Thus, in October, 1858, the price in the London market, as well as in Liverpool, was 82s. per cwt- During the same month in 1859 it reached 123s. per cwt., and in October, 1860, it sold in the same market at 260s. per cwt.; while in both the enormous price of £14 was obtained in December. At first sight, one is very apt to consider such extreme prices the result of specula- tion, but I have ascertained the last quotation from Calcutta—I mean in the market there—to be 57 rupees per maund. There are, I understand, 3 maunds to every 2 cwt., or a maund and a half to each 112 lbs.*; so, allowing each rupee to be worth 2s. of British currency, we have the cost in India before shipment as £8 11s. The estimated expense of freight, &c., may be roughly stated as £2, which brings up the price on landing to £10 11s. This appears a very good margin for the importers. But it is said on pretty good authority that there are not at present fifty chests of really good, fine, orange shellac to be got in London. [If this be correct, then the difference given above, between the net value as imported and the price realised here, is not to be wondered at, nor can it be called excessive. It might, however, very naturally be asked, what is really the cause of such high prices and such scarcity? The most feasible reason, and I believe the true one, is, that the native forests where lac has hitherto been found in such abundance, have suffered so dreadfully from the ravages and devasta- tion of war, that the native collectors have failed entirely in obtaining supplies of the raw material. Now this is highly probable, for we know that some of the largest lac factories are on the banks of the Ganges; but then in more peaceful districts this reason cannot be considered tenable. I am somewhat inclined to suppose that there is really a natural scarcity in the jungle of the little lac-producing insect, and that these two causes, operating together, have brought about the present state of matters. One very incomprehensible thing is, that the prices of lac dye have not risen, and that there is a plentiful supply of this article in the market. This, of course, can only be accounted for in two ways—either, that the supply meets the demand, or that very large quantities have been stored up before the scarcity of lac began. The quantity of all kinds of gum lac exported from Calcutta annually about eight years ago was supposed to be about 1,800 tons, while, in 1858, it fell to about 700 tons, in 1859 about a fourth less, while during the present year the quantity has considerably increased. But in November, 1858, the stocks on hand in London and Liverpool were 3,959 chests and bags; same month in 1859, 1,316, and in November, 1860, 1,345. Of these * The factory maund of India is about 74 Ibs. 10 oz., and the bazaar maund 82 Ibs. — EDITOR. 208 SOME REMARKS UPON SHELLAC. I cannot tell the relative proportions of orange, garnet, or liver coloured. Of course, all descriptions are included. There are vessels, however, now afloat and expected to reach England in due course, having on board no _ less than 3,192 chests and 363 bags of shellac, which, doubtless, if they do not sink to the bottom of the sea, ought to raise our home stocks, and tend to reduce prices; but we are told, on the other hand, that there is a large demand for the American and foreign market, while all our drug and other merchants at home are so bare of stock, that they will be ready to buy whenever the price moderates. I dare say it must have occurred to more than one to inquire why, with such extravagant prices, some other substance or compound has never been thought of and introduced instead of shellac. This has been done, but most unsuccessfully. When in London, about eight months ago, I was shown an article which a company just established were about to make and sell instead of shellac. The price was £3 per cwt. cheaper, and those about to engage in its manufacture were sanguine as to the ultimate results. I was told, whenever it was ready to send out in quantity, a sample would be sent. Accordingly, about a month afterwards, a parcel arrived, regard- ing which my opinion was requested. After carefully trying the article I gave a report condemnatory of its use in any of the arts or manufactures in which the regular lac had hitherto been used. Although I was little thanked for this opinion at the time, I do not think the stuff I now show continued long to be made. Indeed, it really appears to be little else than a mixture of shellac and some aloetic resin, very probable Cape aloes. Be that as it may, I am satisfied from experiment that it could never come into competition with even inferior kinds of shellac. In closing these few remarks, I may be allowed to express a hope, that lac has seen its highest price, and that during 1861 it will be considerably reduced. Jam very unwilling to believe, that native supplies have really become extinct; while the enormous comparative prices still existing, cannot but tend to increase that activity and energy in searching for fresh supplies, which will, I trust, result in sending more raw material to the native lac manufactories, and thus, by increasing stocks at home, gradually reduce the market price to something more moderate, and approximating the steady prices at which shellac has until lately stood on the price list. [Lac is a staple produce of the wild tract of country to the eastward of the Godavery river. Within around of twenty miles of Mahadcopore alone, some thousands of rupees’ worth is yearly produced. By making advances to the Goands, a correspondent says he has collected large quantities of it for the Hyderabad market, and a great deal more for the same place was carried away by others. Ifit was an object to encourage the supply of this article, which grows wild in every part of the vast tract, without any arti- ficial aid whatever, very considerable quantities might be collected annually. The native process of preparing it is very crude, and, in consequence, per- haps much of its value is deteriorated. Under European superintendence that would be soon rectified. The lac insect, according to Crawfurd, BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. 209 exists in most of the forests of the Indian islands, but especially in those of Sumatra and the Malayan Peninsula. Its produce is, however, inferior to that of Bengal, and especially of Pegu, which countries chiefly supply the large consumption of the market of China, while the lac of the Indian - islands is principally confined to home consumption. The Coccus lacca is found chiefiy on the hilly parts of Hindostan, on both sides of the Ganges. A white wax kind of lac has lately been found near Madras. ]|—Epiror. BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. A meeting was held in Queen’s College, Kingston, on Dee. 7, to consider the propriety of organising a Botanical Society. There was a large attend- ance of gentlemen. The Rev. Principal Leitch, D.D., was called to the chair, and announced that the object of the meeting was to consider the propriety of originating a Botanical Society, having for its object the inves- tigation of the Canadian Flora. Universities (he said) do not discharge all their functions by merely teaching the acknowledged truths of literature and science: it is a part of their duty to organise and instigate original inquiry in the different departments of knowledge. Systematic research must not only be directed, but to a large extent carried out, by the personal labour of those who are connected with universities. This is especially the case in a comparatively new country, where amateur labourers are few, and scientific appliances not generally available. In a new country the prose- cution of scientific research is needful, for various reasons: we have here commenced at the right point. Industrial production and commerce are all important to a new country; and botany, as now pursued, yields to no other science in its bearings on field industry and other useful arts of life. The country, too, is comparatively unexplored. The shores of the St. Lawrence, along which settlements have existed from an early period, have no doubt yielded up most of their botanical treasures to travellers and residents; but we have still an extensive back country that is compara- tively unexplored. There is ground, therefore, for the establishment of a Botanical Society, for we have here the great stimulus of being able to add to existing knowledge. In old countries a botanist may long pursue his studies, not, indeed, without great benefit to science, but without having ‘his labours rewarded by meeting with anything new, with plants that had not been collected and described by his predecessors in the science. But here there is room for new discovery : the student may go forth to the woods, and hope, sooner or later, to set eyes upon a plant which no human eye has seen before. His name, it may be, will become associated with it, and thus a permanent record of his discovery will be inscribed in the book of science. All sciences have not such advantages: some have not the same direct appeal to commerce ; some may be as well pursued in other 1 210 BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. countries as in Canada, and thus do not present the same attraction to the Canadian resident, who desires to extend the sphere of knowledge. An As- tronomical Society, for example, would not have the peculiar advantages of a Botanical Society in a country like this. It may be said that nowis scarcely the time to commence a Botanical Society, that the country is not yet far enough advanced, that botany is not sufficiently studied, to warrant the establishment of a Botanical Society. It is true that botany has been neglected in this country. While this is a reproach to Canada, it affords’ no reason why a society should not be established. On the contrary, it is a strong reason why an attempt should be made to form one. There is a patriotic feeling rising up in Canada which is especially strong in the youth of the province, and every well-wisher of Canada must be delighted to see it. Here then is an opportunity, by the establishment of this society, to wipe off a reproach that has long hung over the country, by prosecuting a path of research that has been neglected. The proper method, then, is to begin early to engage in the work, and the society will progress, increasing not only our botanical knowledge, but fostering the taste for its study. Thus, as the science progresses among us, the society will extend, so that we may hope in time to see the germ which we this evening cast into the soil grow up into a goodly tree, spreading its branches over the length and breadth of Canada, which is yet destined to be a great country. Professor Lawson pointed out the peculiar sphere in which the botanist is called to labour, the range of his studies, and the means required for their pursuit. It was of great importance that at the outset the real object of the proposed society should be understood. The establishment of a Botanical Garden and other appliances must be regarded as secondary to the great object of the society, the prosecution of scientific botany. Botany -is at a low ebb in Canada, at a lower ebb than in most civilised or half civilised countries on the face of the earth. At the close of the eighteenth century only five dissertations on botanical subjects had been published by the whole medical graduates of the great continent of America. Since then the indefatigable labours of such men as Michaux, Torrey, Harvey, Curtis, Boott, Engelmann, Tuckermann, Sullivant, Lesquereux, and especially of one whose name and fame rise above all the rest, Asa Gray, have brought our knowledge of the botany of the United States on a level with that of the best botanised countries of Europe. The Flora of Canada has also been elaborated since then by one who still presides over the destinies of botanical science, not in England alone, for his authority is recognised wherever the science is pursued. But during a period of nearly thirty years very little has been added to our published knowledge of Canadian botany. Information respecting our indigenous plants must still be sought in the work of Sir William Hooker, issued from the Colonial-office in Eng- land, in 1833. That work, founded as it necessarily was on dried speci- mens carried home by passing travellers, afforded to the botanical world an admirable example of how much could be made out of slender material when in good hands. Unimpeachable as a work of science, unsurpassed in BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. 211 the whole range of botanical literature in the accuracy and beauty of its illustrations, the Flora Boreali-Americana afforded the means of developing still more fully a knowledge of the Canadian Flora. The North American Flora of Torrey and Gray, and the Manual of the Botany of the Northern States, offered additional temptations to the pursuit; but advances have not been made commensurate with the advantages that were offered. We have still, therefore, the singular anomaly of a country distinguished by its liberal patronage to science, dependent for its information respecting its native plants on the descriptions of specimens culled by early travellers. What was thirty years ago, and is now, of the highest value can only in a partial manner meet the wants of the country in these days, when new manufactures and new forms of industry, seeking new products to work upon, are daily springing up around us. We desire to place the science of botany on a more satisfactory footing in Canada than that which it now holds ; we desire to increase the existing stock of knowledge ; we desire to diffuse a taste for the study, so as to add to the number of labourers now in the field; and we desire to place on record new observations and discoveries as they arise. The Botanical Society is, therefore, de- signed as a means of carrying out purposes such as these. Canada must follow the salutary example of other old established British colonies, and conduct for herself investigations into the nature and distri- bution of her indigenous productions. We already possess in Canada several important scientific societies in active operation. While the Cana- dian Institute is of a comprehensive character, embracing all branches of science, literature, and philosophy, the special department of geology is amply cultivated by the Natural History Society of Montreal, which has also, however, made valuable contributions to zoology and botany. In addition to such institutions as these, we have, of still more special character, the Government Geological Survey, which has been instrumental in carrying out investigations of the greatest importance to the country, whether their results be viewed as intellectual achievements or as contri- butions to material industry. It is proposed that our society shall have for its object the advancement of botanical science in all its departments— structural, physiological, systematic, and geographical ; and the application of botany to the useful and ornamental arts of life. The means by which this object may be accomplished are various, and will come before us for discussion from time to time. In the meantime, it is proposed that there shall be monthly evening meetings in Kingston during the winter for the reading of papers, receiving botanical intelligence, examining specimens, and discussing matters of scientific interest in relation to the science ; also that there shall be field meetings during the summer in distant localities in Canada, as well as in the other British Provinces of North America, and occasionally also in the adjoining States, whereby our members may have an opportunity of investigating the botany of districts that have been imperfectly examined. By the above, and similar means, much important information may be brought together. Such facts and results, new to Bp 2 ~ 212 BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. science, as are laid before the society, from time to time, will afford materials for the publication of ‘‘ Transactions,” whereby our stores may be rendered available to the public in Canada, and to botanists in other parts of the world. In addition to such means, the society may greatly promote its objects by correspondence with botanists in other countries, and especially with those who are located beside the extensive public herbaria, botanical libraries, and gardens, in various parts of the United States and Europe. By correspondence with such persons, many doubtful points in nomenclature may be set at rest, while the existence of information relating to Canadian botany may be ascertained that might otherwise remain unknown. Botanists distinguished in certain branches of the science may be called upon to furnish reports on their special subjects, for which materials may be brought together by the members. Such aid will be of the greatest value to the society, and I have therefore gratification in informing you that communications have already been received from some of the most active botanists in the United States, England, Scotland, and Prussia, promising cordial co-operation. Sosoon as preliminary operations enable us to proceed to the discussion of scientific business, you will alse have an opportunity of ascertaining that we already have observers through- out the length and breadth of Canada, as well as in the other North Ameri- can provinces, from the Red River in the far west to the island of Prince Edward in the east. In common with the botanists of other countries, we must necessarily take cognisance of those discoveries in structural and physiological botany which are daily challenging a careful examination. But our position in a comparatively new country points out to us a special path of research which it will be our duty to follow—that which has for its object the investigation of the species botany of Canada, the geographical and local distribution of the plants. The indigenous plants, whose pro- ducts are now used or are capable of being applied to the useful arts, will deserve a large share of attention, and no doubt regard will also be had to those that are suited to our climate, but have not yet been introduced. Strewed around our path in the woods and on the shores of our lakes are many plants capable of yielding food and physic, dyeing and tanning materials, oils, bres for spinning and paper-making, &c. Even in the midst of the city"of Kingston, growing on vacant lots, and in court yards, there are drug-plants enough to stock a Liverpool warehouse. Such will no doubt be brought into use when better known, and thus an increase will be effected in the production of the country. Two things are necessary for the successful prosecution of such researches—a good botanical library and a good herbarium. During the past year botanical works of great value have been added to the library of Queen’s College, and these, together with others in private hands, which will be accessible to members of the society, embrace almost all the works that have a direct bearing on the Canadian flora. There is thus laid in Kingston the basis of a botanical library, which it will be the object of this society to foster, by additions obtained by purchase or exchange with other scientific bodies, provided a suitable BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. 213 arrangement is made with the university authorities. With respect to a herbarium, or collection of dried plants, this is justly regarded by every Botanical Society as absolutely necessary to enable members to refer specimens correctly to their species. It will therefore be satisfactory to know that arrangements are now in progress, whereby the herbarium, presently attached to the Natural History Chair of Queen’s College, will be re-arranged in a convenient room, so as to become available for this purpose. The herbarium embraces a fair representation of the floras of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, and is especially rich in American species ; it has been named with great care, under favourable circumstances, many of the specimens, in difficult and obscure families, having passed through the hands of such botanists as Balfour, Greville, Gray, Babington, Heldreich, Hooker, Lindley, Bruch, and Schimper, Syme, Wilson, Berkeley, Moore, Mitten, Tuckermann, Carrington, Watson, Lowe, Lindsay, Harvey, Leigh- ton, and other authorities in nomenclature. In addition to such means as the above, there is now an abundant supply of excellent microscopes in Queen’s College, with all needful apparatus for the prosecution of minute researches and microscopical analysis. It will be observed that we propose to occupy a new field of research, to cut a new sod that has hitherto been walked over by Canadians in comparative neglect. And, as before culti- vation can take place, a clearance must be made, so I have endeavoured to answer some of the objections that might be started to the formation of such a society, and to point out the nature of the ground which it proposes to occupy. While leaving to other societies the discussion of the more general questions of science, and to special societies their peculiar topics,’ we propose to employ the Botanical Society as an instrument for the collection of facts and the working out of details, which are of immediate interest to the botanist alone, but of the greatest importance in leading to correct results in general science. Scientific societies on a broader basis have too often degenerated into popular institutions, calculated rather for the amusement of the many, than for the encouragement and aid of the few who are engaged in the prosecution of the original discovery. We shall be guarded against such a result, in a great measure, by the special object of our institution, but it will be needful, also, while we attempt to spread a taste for botany, and to diffuse correct information as to its objects, its discoveries, and its useful applications, that we should seek rather to bring our members and the public into scientific modes of thought and expression, than to allow our society to yield up its scientific character to suit the popular taste. There is much reason to believe that the want of an organisation of this kind, whose duty it is to collect and record facts and discoveries, has been the means of losing to science materials of great value. ‘There have been casual residents in Canada, at different times, who have made collections of greater or less extent, and who have, in some cases, carried out special investigations in botany, without leaving any printed record of their labours. Some of these may still be rescued from oblivion; but there are also other observations and discoveries made by 214 BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. present residents in the country which, we may confidently hope, will be made available to the society’s purposes. Professor Williamson’s long residence in Kingston has enabled him to make an extensive series of observations on our local flora, which are of the greatest interest, and other professors of Queen’s College have followed his example. Some of our graduates and students have also, of late years, made collections of greater or less extent, during their vacation residence in different parts of the country. The neighbourhood of Kingston and the adjoining islands have been investigated by Mr. Andrew T. Drummond, B.A., who obtained a prize for his valuable collection, in the Natural History Class, two years ago. Dr. Dupuis has collected the plants of the rear of Frontenac and Ernestown, while Newboro’, Perth, the Ottawa country, have each their collectors. Dr. Giles has, I believe, been devoting special attention to Lichens. Mr. Schultz has had an opportunity, during the past season, of botanising the Red River Settlement, and I have received notices of collections, formed by our students in other distant localities, that may prove of great interest. Circumstances such as these give us reason to hope that our efforts to raise up a Botanical Society will be attended with success, and that its labours will be beneficial in leading to a more extended knowledge of the indige- nous productions of Canada. ‘The objects sought by the establishment of a Botanical Society in this country are of great importance, both in a scientific and economical point of view. The field is broad, and the soil is rich. The extent to which we can cultivate it will depend entirely upon the number of the labourers, and the zeal and industry which they display. Let us, therefore, be not disappointed with our first results. Let us lay a foundation, and persevere in the work, and workers will gather around us as they have done before in the Botanical Societies of other countries. To organisations of this kind, more than to any other means, are we indebted for the advanced state of botanical science at this day ; and in a country such as this, it is especially needful to have a wide-spread organisation in order to elicit satisfactory results. In an attempt to organise a society such as this, we may confidently appeal to many classes of the community. The theologian and moralist see in the vegetable kingdom a display of the power, and wisdom, and goodness of our Creator, and beautiful types of spiritual teaching ; the medical man recognises in it the source of his most potent drugs ; the sanitary reformer knows that the simpler forms of vegetation are often the cause, and more frequently the index, of widely-spread diseases ; the lawyer finds, in the microscopical structure of vegetable products, a ready means of detecting frauds, adulterations, and poisonings ; the com- mercial man recognises the value of a science having such bearings, and directly devoted to the extension of the sphere of industry; the spinner and paper-maker must here obtain their knowledge of the mechanical con- dition of vegetable fibres; the farmer, the gardener, the orchardist, the vine-grower, the brewer, the dyer, the tanner, and the lumberman, must all apply to botany for an explanation of matters that daily come before them in their various ayocations. As an utilitarian institution, then, our BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. 215 society is worthy, and will no doubt receive warm support; but it is to be hoped that many zealous labourers will enter the field from higher motives —a desire to promote the cause of science. PROFESSOR LITCHFIELD’S NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS. Dr. Litchfield aided in the formation of the London Botanical Society, and will do all in his power to aid a similar society here. Canada is interested in diffusing a knowledge of her botanical productions, and equally so in acquiring productions from other countries suited to her soil and climate. The University of Queen’s College is interested in the formation of a Botanical Society and Garden, botany being taught in the College. The piece of land in front of Queen’s College has a fine aspect and excellent drainage. It is well situated as a site for glass hot-houses. If the College land is found insufficient in quantity for a botanical garden, other lands might be obtained for extending the garden. ‘The new garden of the London Horticultural Society will. be small in extent, but promises to be all the more perfect in its arrangements, partly perhaps in consequence of its circumscribed area. The gardens of the Apothecaries’ Society at Chelsea, and of the Botanical Society in Regent’s Park, London, are of comparatively small extent. A garden of small size, with space for subse- quent extension, involves less outlay, and is more easy of accomplishment. Half an acre of hot-house on the new and economical plan invented by Sir Joseph Paxton could be conveniently and cheaply placed on the ground referred to in front of the main building of Queen’s College. I append sketches of the plan. The cost would be small, the frames being made by machinery of Canadian wood, and the glass procured from Birmingham, St. Helens, or Neweastle. The glass houses are portable, as well as cheap, when constructed upon this plan. Ifa terrace walk was constructed to run parallel to the broad balcony in front of the College building, and beneath this terrace was placed a Paxton or Ormson glass house, it would afford good space for delicate or exotic productions during the Canadian winter, and admirable exhibition buildings during the summer and autumn. From the balcony, in fine weather and during exhibitions, addresses and announce- ments might be made to members and visitors on the terrace beneath. In the College class-rooms lectures might be delivered, and scientific meetings and conversaziones held. The balcony would serve the purpose of a music stand when music is deemed desirable. To establish a Botanical Garden as well as a Botanical Society in connection with the College it would be necessary, first, to obtain the sanction and assistance of the College authorities ; second, the cordial concurrence and co-operation of the public, and more especially of those who take an interest in horticultural pursuits. The equivalent to the College would be that the Botanical Garden would render its organisation more complete, and would furnish the Professors of Botany and Materia Medica with specimens to illustrate their lectures and teachings. ‘The interest excited in a scientific subject taught in the College would add to the number of pupils in the classes. The public would find 16 BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. an equivalent in having, in the very centre of the city, and of easy access, a Botanical Garden furnished with all that is needed for horticultural and floricultural displays—a place of high intellectual resort, to which they may hereafter proudly point as one of the first institutions formed in Canada for the advancement of botanical science. The Electoral Division Society for promoting horticulture, agriculture, &c., and the City of Kingston Horticul- tural Society, which this year united to render their exhibitions more complete, would doubtless come frankly forward to aid a society whose objects are in a great measure identical with their own. These two societies collected in the locality in 1860, with the addition of a Government grant for the furtherance of the objects, a sum of nearly 1,500 dols. One-half this amount would be sufficient, on the simple and economical plan of Sir Joseph Paxton, for the construction of a glass house 100 feet long with twelve feet lights. I quote these figures to show that the object is not unattainable if there is a desire to accomplish it. The proposed Bota- nical Society would materially strengthen itself by opening communication and exchanging courtesies with older societies in other parts of the world. Contributions to the gardens might be procured from London and Paris, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other places. Such men as Professor Lindley, Sir W. J. Hooker, Dr. Balfour, and others connected with Botanical So- cieties and Gardens, should be invited to take an interest by being nomi- nated associates of the society. * ™ * After all, however, the success of the proposed Botanical Society must depend upon the intelligence, ear- nestness, and activity of its members. Botany is a science that may be taught in a popular, as well as scientific, form to the young as well as to the old, and to one sex as well as to the other. The botanical garden has charms which can be appreciated by all. The country around is rich in specimens of interest to the botanising student, and the formation and labours of the society may alike tend to develope latent talent, improve our knowledge of the North American Flora, and extend the area of scien- tific knowledge and research. The Rey. Principal reviewed some of the leading points brought forward in the addresses, and referred briefly to some of the more important advan - tages that might accrue to the country from an institution such as the one that had been proposed, alluding especially to the inducements which it would give to botanical research. Dr. Lawson, he said, when enumerating the grounds for the establishment of a Botanical Society, omitted the weightiest of all—viz., that we can count upon his services. Without his large and valuable experience in the management of such societies, I fear we would have little heart to carry out the scheme. He for a long period acted as the secretary of the Edinburgh Botanical Society—one of the most active in the world; and, from his accurate knowledge of the details of management, and his well-merited distinction in botanical science, he is qualified, in no ordinary measure, for organising such a society as the one we contemplate. The labour will fall chiefiy upon his shoulders, but we must pledge ourselves to lend him every assistance in our power. 217 THE SHEA BUTTER OF AFRICA. Small quantities of this soft solid oil, mentioned by Mungo Park in his Travels, have recently come into commerce from the West Coast of Africa ; and, as comparatively little is known of its origin, the following particulars may prove of interest. This oil or butter is obtained from the fruits of Bassia Parkii, by boiling them in water. It is called by the natives in some parts ori, and is now exported from Abbeokuta. Like the butter of Bassia butyracca and other allied species in the East, it has a medicinal repute, being esteemed_in rheu- matism and contraction of the limbs. In India Bassia butter is used by natives of rank, perfumed, as an unction. Before describing the African shea butter, we may allude to the Indian fats. 1. That obtained from the fruits of Bassia longifolia by expression is ealled Illoopei oil. It is used for burning in lamps, and for making soap, and is a common substitute for ghee and cocoa-nut oil in the curries and dishes of the common people. 2. The seeds of B. latifolia also yield a large quantity of oil by expres- sion, which is only used by the common people for burning. It has been | imported into this country under the name of Mohwa oil, and recently under the name of vegetable oil, from Calcutta. It is usually of a greenish white colour, having hardly any taste or smell, and of the consistence of common butter. It melts at 97° Fahr., and is composed of 56 parts solid and 44 of duid oil. The Bassia latifolia is produced plentifully in Bengal. 3. Bassia butyracea produces a fine vegetable butter, which bears the name of Fulwa or Phulwara butter in Nepal and Almora, and is a soft solid at 95°. The kernels of the fruit are bruised to the consistence of cream, which is then put into a cloth bag, with a moderate weight upon it, and left to stand till the oil or fat is expressed ; it becomes immediately of the consistence of hog’s lard, and is of a delicate white colour. Dr. Adams, in the ‘“‘ Voyage of the Samarang,” says a concrete oil is obtained in Borneo from the expressed boiled fruit of either Bassia longifolia of Linneeus, or B. butyracea of Roxburgh, It is made up into large round flattened cakes of the consistence and colour of cheese, and also in cylindrical masses, which have assumed the form of the bamboo-joints, into which it had been poured when in a liquid state. Judging from some cotydelons which were imported not long since, as the source of the Borneo vegetable tallow, that concrete oil must be referred to another, at present undefined, tree. . 4, Shea butter (Bassia Parkii). The following extract from ‘‘ De Caille’s Travels,” vol. i. p. 311, furnishes the most full details we have met with :-— ‘“ The butter tree or cé is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Timé. It grows spontaneously, and in height and appearance resembles the pear tree. The leaves grow in tufts, supported by a very short foot stalk. They are round at the top, and, when the tree is young, they are six inches long. 218 THE SHEA BUTTER OF AFRICA. When the tree grows old the leaves become smaller, and resemble those of the Saint Jean pear tree. It blossoms at the extremity of its branches, and the flowers, which are small, grow in clusters, and are supported by a very strong pedicle. The petals are white, and the stamins are numerous and scarcely perceptible to the naked eye. The fruit, when mature, is as large as a guinea hen’s egg, of oval shape, and equal at both ends. It is covered with a pale green pellicle, beneath which is a green farinaceous pulp, three lines thick, of an extremely agreeable flavour. The negroes are very fond of it, and I liked it myself. Under this pulp there is a second pellicle, very thin, and resembling the white skin which lines the inside of an egg-shell ; this covers the kernel, which is of a pale coffee colour. The fruit being disengaged from the two pellicles and the pulp, is inclosed in a shell as thick as that of an egg, and the kernel is of the size of a pigeon’s egg. The fruit is exposed several days to the sun, in order to dry it, then pounded in a mortar, and reduced to flour, which is of the colour of wheat bran. After being pounded, it is placed in a large calabash; lukewarm water is thrown over it, and it is kneaded with the hand until it attains the consistency of dough. To ascertain whether it is sufficiently manipulated, warm water is thrown over it, and if greasy particles are detached from the dough and float, the warm water is repeated several times until the butter is com- pletely separated, and rises to the surface. The butter is collected with a wooden spoon and placed inacalabash. It is then boiled on a strong fire, being well skimmed, to remove any pulp that remains with it. When sufficiently boiled it is poured into a calabash, with a little water at the bottom to make it turn out easily. Thus prepared it is wrapped in the leaves of the tree, and will keep two years without spoiling. The butter is of an ash-grey colour, and as hard as tallow. It is an article of trade with the negroes, who use it both for food and for anointing their bodies. ‘They also employ it to burn for light ; and they told me that it was an excellent remedy for pains and sores. ‘The fruit of the cé is much larger in Baleya and Amana than in Timé. There is at Timé a fruit called taman, which also produces an unctuous substance, very good for eating, and more pure than the cé. It might be advantageously employed in Europe for burning. The grease or fat, called by the natives tamantoulon, is extracted by the same process as that em- ployed with the cé. The tree which produces the taman grows on the banks of rivulets, and is very common in the south. The kernel of the taman is of the size of a horse chestnut, somewhat elongated, of a beautiful pink colour, deepening a little towards the outside. It is exceedingly hard, and the women, after setting it on the fire in earthen pots, crush it between two flints, previously to pounding it ina mortar. The butter of the taman is of a light yellow colour. It is purer than that of the cé, and has no smell. I preferred this to the other (the cé).” Shea butter is now being brought down by the natives in considerable quantity from the interior of Africa, particularly from the southern banks of the river Niger, where the trees bearing the fruit from which the oil is MOTHER OF PEARL AND ITS USES. 219 extracted, grow in great numbers, forming miles of forests. ‘The value of this tree and its product have been pointed out to the natives by the officers © attached to the Niger Expedition, some of whom have made frequent journeys between Lagos and their encampment, near Rabba. Hitherto only very small quantities of shea butter have been brought down to the coast. MOTHER OF PEARL AND ITS USES. BY THE EDITOR. Mother of pearl is that beautiful white enamel, or nacreous lining, which forms the greater part of the substance of most oyster shells, but especially the larger ones found in the seas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In 1845 it was admitted duty free, but it was only in 1853 that mother of pearl shells were deemed of sufficient importance to appear in the Board of Trade * returns. ‘The imports since then have been as follows :— Aico eterla sehenfimasl enue A SASOp Ue! 2a) eal USE nlerte tril obi ts lyr oaeyin Beledae | Sh Lense £88,305 Obs Ramen bialna tdi, DOI LW: 34,634 NGG, Meee eon a. ADS ohwew Weenie 76,544 HORT IER esi Meadlaciy, Aue ob nell aay 57,819 ASSO Ay La ade D5 OSM wea tee 60,448 HB Ou ne aie ath 2h AVOOB MES LA 67,859 The imports of 1859 were drawn from the following sources :— Quantity. Declared value. Cwts. £ lamar ses cecniee cseelo sete s DOG wpie seat lone 1,500 tollanid yx acter ice deee UBIO pone. Samer. 4,212 mance yas shies. meer saa CBS Gere Re 1,510 Bey pls: ost sd. kasessesass Silane ese eese 1,570 Pinlippine tislestizies.2. tise GAO E Mariesectlicties 2,017 South Sea Islands............ SAQA | wavde vast 9,000 New) Granadas 22.05.2000 LOETD ON SR Ie 15,658 Chile. Sart. Gate. eeadik es PDO GUS stead 11,478 Hastiliidies::% 22 eis: Lease SOO2GI wee RO 15,107 Australtatsasiaca. ah oh ieee DUO Di Wes i050 3,065 Other parts ine... bees DAUSAMWAB eee cee 2,742 40,003 67,859 220 MOTHER OF PEARL AND ITS USES. The places from whence we import them are no guide as to the sources of supply—for instance, large quantities reach us from Holland, the United States, Cuba, Australia, and Chile, which are chiefly brought there for transhipment. There are about six commercial varieties of these, usually designated as the white edge, brought from China and Singapore, worth now £140 to £150 a ton; the yellow edge, from Manila, £110 to £120; from Bombay, £28 to £56; pure white, from Egypt, £18 to £36; and from South America, £15 to £21 per ton; and the black shell, from the South Sea Islands, worth £50 to £70 per ton. These shells are again sub- divided into size and quality, and it may not be inappropriate to mention the average weight of the different shells. Thus, the smallest are the South American, weighing about half a pound per shell—that is, one valve, for they never come in in pairs. The Bombay and Egyptian weigh about three-quarters of a pound; the South Sea black shells, one pound; while the largest are the Singapore and Manila shells, weighing on an average 1: lb. The prices for these shells have much advanced of late years —thus resembling ivory ; inasmuch as the imports have at the same time so largely increased, but not in proportion to the extent of the consumption. The advance has been from 40 to 50 per cent. all round, and in some cases more. Thus, the black or South Sea shell, which was formerly little valued, since the change of fashion which has brought the large dark pearl buttons into use for ladies’ paletots, for gentlemen’s waistcoats, shooting coats, &c., have risen 100 per cent., being double the price they were five or six years ago. These buttons are called smoked pearl by some dealers, but from the same shells white buttons are also made, when the part nearest the “‘ knot” isused. The extreme edge or skirt serves to form the black or dark buttons. Even the small true pearl oyster shell from the fisheries of Ceylon, which were deemed worthless, have now come into use for the nacreous substance which they furnish, for, although thin, it serves for inlaying and other purposes. The only nacreous shells possessing sufficient thickness.for Sheffield purposes, are those received from Manila and Sin- gapore. The smaller shells from Bombay, Panama, and other places are used chiefly in Birmingham, and are there worked into buttons and counters, and paper knives, or else used for inlaying purposes in papier- maché work, ladies’ portmonnaies, card cases and working implemenis, book covers, and such like. Small fancy devices for inlaying are punched out of the shell. Button blanks are drilled out of the shell. One firm alone, at Birmingham, makes nearly half a million gross of pearl buttons annually. Mother of pearl shells were formerly more extensively used than at present in the manufacture of “ scales,” as they are termed, for the handles of penknives, dessert and fancy knives and forks. ‘These scales are the two flat pieces riveted to a central plate of the haft or handle, as in penknives. There is now a great dearth of material for knife and fork handles, and any new substance adapted to the purpose, and coming in to the aid of bone and ivory, would be hailed as a great boon by the cutlery trade. , a MOTHER OF PEARL AND ITS USES. 221 Pearl shells will average about six inches in diameter, and are so ex- tremely hard, that they have to be wetted, while being cut with a circular saw, to prevent the saw being softened by the heat. This is a dirty occu- pation, and is accompanied by a ‘“‘very ancient’ and fish-like smell,” elicited by the heat from the shell itself. The pieces have afterwards to be ground down on stones singly, and by hand, toa level surface and a required thickness. This tedious process aids in making shell a costly covering for cutlery ; and, as the substance is both hard and brittle, when the handles’ or scales are fluted or carved, the price is, of course, still more enhanced. The beautiful iridescent appearance of the pearl shells is attributed to their laminated structure, which disposes their surfaces, in minute furrows, that decompose and reflect the light, and, owing to this lamellar structure, admit of being split into leaves, for handles of knives, counters, the pur- poses of inlaying, &c.; but they are very apt to follow, and even to exceed the curvature of the surface, and therefore splitting is not much resorted to ; but the different parts of the shell are selected to suit the several purposes as nearly as possible, and the excess of thickness is removed upon the grindstone, in preference to risking the loss of both parts, in the attempt to splitthem. The usual course in preparing the rough pearl shell for the arts is, to cut out the square and angular pieces with the ordinary brass- back saw, and the circular pieces, such as those for buttons, &c., with the annular or crown saw fixed upon a lathe mandrel. The sides of the pieces are then ground flat upon a wet grindstone (running in soap and water), the edge of which is turned with several grooves, as the ridges are con- sidered to cut more quickly than the entire surface, from becoming less clogged with the particles ground off. The pieces are finished upon the flat side of the stone, and are then ready for inlaying, engraving, polishing, &c., according to the purposes for which they are intended. Cylindrical pieces are cut out of the thick part of the shell, near the joint, or hinge, and they are rounded upon the grindstone, ready for the lathe, in which they may be turned with the ordinary tools used for ivory and the hard woods. The articles made from this shell are comparatively expensive, in consequence of the large amount of labour spent in reducing or grinding the shell to any given size or shape, a process which even- tually will, no doubt, be rendered more facile by the introduction of machinery. In the process of polishing, which is simple and inexpensive, the shell articles are first smoothed with Trent sand or pumice-stone and water, or a bufi-wheel or hand-polisher, and then finished off with rotten-stone. The latter powder, although sometimes used with oil or water, is more frequently moistened with a little sulphuric acid, nearly or quite undiluted; this pro- duces a far more brilliant polish, which may possibly arise from the partial destruction of the surface, thus developing in a more decided manner the striated formation of the pearl shell, and to which peculiarity of structure its variegated lustre is ascribed. 222 MOTHER OF PEARL AND ITS USES. The exports of mother of pearl shells from Bombay have been as follows :— Cywts. Value. Cwts. Value. IS Hyily eaueaeeeesaes ISOS Saad ERO) || IUGINS! Gasusdooboos Sa i oloreicle £1,406 NS Domes spice stois TSI Gaa8ee TeAbSHl || IUSINO Sesecagueosce ao weenie 1,861 AES Hmm cocentines 2,244 ...... TGS Ga BBUS Silameancececess SB COECS 1,658 1 (G}5y2 DReaaBesodecee rea iLsiaisiatcie TS HUO) |} IUSHNS” Saadeabesod = saesesios 3,063 Pearl shells shipped from Tahiti, chiefly to Valparaiso and Sydney, and thence to Europe :— Tons. Value. Tons. Value. ASAD ANE aoe SLA Serie BSI olla’ tl dusu le beeincobodoos 840 4.200 £2,593 LSA Gy cess DAD Rt ee TELA Gal AS13974) Bosachnocccsooo HSOm eeeee 7,524 A SAGs ye te tuealty GOR aes IRD OOM MSDS eeaee sence 649 ...... 15,460 ISAS ateneaeceen QUO ks TIO OM | LG HAME LER ae tocneee 266 estan 5,503 WAG rest geasiess DS) onacag OF SAEs Ib JUSS Yo) SoanausaaGoooss JOON seeeee 3,752 AYSIU) aan nannosepeen Siz eteees HPO COLSS Om eeeeattecseenee 204s 4,080 In China there is a good demand for mother of pearl shells. They are used for inlaying, and also manufactured into beads, fish-counters, spoons, &e., but they do not seem to be used for buttons, asin Europe. ‘Three sorts of beads are made in China from these shells, one perfectly round, the second not quite round, and the other cut. The fish-counters are cut of various shapes, round, oval, and oblong, and figured or engraved. They are put up for sale in sets of 140 pieces. Mother of pearl shells imported into Great Britain from China :— Cwts. Value. Cwts. Value. ISIE Sac: Beanies PANO BIS) aoadcs SII OGAG | ASQIS See. Reece SS YON Aac500 £30,005 WS eS hss odes SSIS) 140500 DIGTAR |) NSD DAEs 2. Ola Werccccs 17,346 TESS) | Raageaansoee GR) Secon SPSS) he TUSIS)» acaansocuone 964 0.8.5 7,848 MS: Be ease 3 SLIDOWeeees SSZOMBISZAN Ve eees PES YTIY sc 0b 8,910 SUG RES. VIZ OMA DOR IPA OURO |) TESPAD) “aoa osesoadoc IO SQ Rene 5,967 TSH. Sobeecaoonacee yo my easter UPON | aISPAG Kogcaoooaden LS ees 774 LS Grae «ti iess Bez oabee ALS DAG MUSIS Reewackitetes 296 Site. 1,783 ISHS): Se aananeceso 1E508 eeecles ISS 7st ON | ASPAS). 635 ocoocaGas ISS GMa se 7,001 S20 ssescsse «sea. OVA we ocses ZOSO Iss el SSONS Se seek LAS S583 6,257 The receipt of mother of pearl shells from Panaina has been largely on the increase of late years. In 1855 four vessels with 650 tons of pearl shells collected at the islands in the Bay of Panama, sailed for Great Britain. Of these Victor Plisé, Esq., loaded three at his islands. The shells from the island of St. Joseph, one of the group known as the Pearl Islands, are said to be the largest, purest, and best in the bay. In 1859 we received 907 tons of pearl shells from Panama. . Worthy of note is the cathedral and some of the churches of Panama ; the upper portions are studded with pearl shells, giving them a quaint and sparkling appearance. Mr. Mac Micking, in his “‘ Recollections of Manilla SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 223 and the Philippines,” states that in many of the houses in the capital the outer side of the verandah or corridor is composed of coarse and dark- coloured mother of pearl shells of little value, set in a wooden frame-work of small squares forming windows, which move on slides. Although the light admitted through this sort of window is much inferior to what glass would give, it has the advantage of being strong, and is not very liable to be damaged by the severe weather to which it is occasionally exposed during some months of the year. Many of the Dyaks of Borneo have a large polished pearl shell appended in front to their corslet, and their shields are ornamented with shells. All that extensive range from Cape Unsing, passing by the Tawi Tawi Islands and Sulo as far as Baselan, is one vast continued bed of pearl oysters, principally of the mother of pearl shell species; these are called by the natives tipi. There is likewise an extensive bed of the Ceylon oyster, called by the Malays Kapis; the principal banks of the latter are found in Maludu Bay. The Sulo pearls have from time immemorial been the most celebrated, and praised as the most valuable of any in the known world. Pigofitta, the companion of Magalhaens, mentions having seen in 1520 two Sulo pearls in the possession of the Rajah of Borneo as large as pullets’ eggs. Very large.ones, from 100 to 200 chow weight, are at all times to be purchased at Sulo, and there are altogether sold here to the China junks, the Spaniards, &c., more than two laks. of dollars annually. The quantity of mother of.pearl shells sold there is 2,000 piculs at six dollars a picul. he fishery is partly carried on by the Malays and partly by the Chinese ; the large pearls they endeavour to conceal as much as possible, from a law that all pearls above a certain size, of right belong to the Sultan.* Scientific Notes, Caseine Cement.—Dr. Wagner recommends using a cold saturated solution of borax or alkaline silicate for dissolving caseine, instead of alkaline carbo- nate, as recommended by Bracconot. The solution of caseine with borax is a clear viscous liquid, exceeding gum in adhesiveness, and applicable to many purposes as a substitute for glue. Woollen and cotton fabrics saturated with the solution may be tanned with tannic acid or acetate of alumina, and rendered waterproof. Marsden, in his “‘ History of Sumatra,” states that the chief cement used there is made of the curd of the buffalo milk called prackee. It is to be observed that butter is made (for the use of Europeans only) not as with us, by churning, but by letting the milk stand till the butter forms of itself on the top. It is then taken off with a spoon, stirred about with the same in a flat vessel, and well washed in two or three waters. The thick sour milk left at the bottom when the butter or cream is moved * Sketch of Borneo. 224 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. is what is termed the curd. This must be well squeezed, formed into cakes, and left to dry, when it will grow as hard as flint. For use you must scrape some of it off, mix it with quick lime, and moisten it with milk. I think that there is no stronger cement in the world, and it is found to hold, particularly in a hot and damp climate, much better than glue, proving also effectual in mending China ware. Paper Neck-Ties and Collars.—Messrs. Smith and Brower, of New York, have taken out a patent for paper neck-ties. They are printed in imitation of gingham, silk, &c., and counterfeit the textile fabrics with wonderful exactness. The wholesale price is from 1s. to 2s..2d. per dozen! This firm sold last season of one single style of cloth neck-ties 17,000 dozen. The introduction of paper neck-ties, as a new article of manufacture, goes considerably ahead of paper collars, which have been so extensively sold for the past two or three years, and are sold for about the same price. Who will go in future without a clean collar and handsome neck-tie of the latest style when he can purchase both for threepence ?—Scientific American. - [In India and the colonies, and at sea, where washing is so dear, these paper substitutes may perhaps prove useful. ] Palo Santo Wood.—A letter from Buenos Ayres says :—‘‘A few days since there arrived at Parana a small vessel built at Oran, which is within about thirty miles of the south central Bolivian frontier, upon the river Vermejo. According to the account of the captain, his vessel (named the Esperanza) is of fifty tons capacity, built of cedar of the best quality, and draws but five anda half feet water when loaded. Her cargo consisted of cedar, ‘ palo santo,’ hides, cheese, and grease—articles abundant in the province of Oran. The wood called ‘palo santo’ is very rare, and similar in appearance to the ‘‘caoba” of Central America, with which it might be confounded when once worked. It takes a magnificent polish, is of a green colour, very solid and elastic, and moreover has a fine odour, which it never loses. It may be used for furniture, wind instruments, and would make magnificent pianos. One log brought by the Esperanza measured twenty-seven feet in length, with a section of seventeen inches square. The voyage of the Esperanza may be said to open at least 40,000 square miles of new country. The first made, it will be, doubtless, the cause of opening a large trade with almost the centre of South America.” New source of Trufjles—After the depression occasioned in the minds of the gourmands by the announcement of the failure of the truffle crop in France, it is but just to raise their spirits by the account of the discovery of the luscious production in such large quantities in Africa that several of the great trufile growers of Perigord—armed with their knowledge, which is power, and their experience, which is wealth—have set out to this promised land, and have sent back the most flaming reports, backed by the most splendid proof of the existence ofa magnificent species of truffle, pro- duced in great abundance beneath the pine trees and cedars in the brakes of some Algerian forests, more delicate in flavour and more powerful in perfume than those belonging to the oak and hazel bush of Perigord. THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE SOURCES OF MANNA. The Manna of commerce is the concrete juice of the flowering ash Ornus Huropea and O. rotundifolia, which flows out after incisions or insect punctures. Manna is also procured from Fraxinus excelsior and parvifolia. It is im- ported into this country under the name of flake manna, principally from Palermo, Messina, and other ports of Sicily, and we obtain some through Trieste and Leghorn. In 1842, 2,565 cwts. of manna, valued at £70,584, were exported from Sicily. The mannais collected in August and September, and terminates when the rainy season sets in. Incisions, about two inches long, are made with a hooked knife, first in the lower part of the stem, and are repeated daily, extending them perpendicularly upwards. In the dis- tricts of Capace, Cinesi, and Fabarotto, where the best manna is obtained, the manna ash does not form woods, as is commonly supposed, but is culti- vated in separate plantations. These plantations generally present regular squares, hedged in with Cactus Opuntia. The trees are planted in rows, and are from two to eight inches in diameter, with stems from. ten to twenty-five feet high, which, from the first shoot, are kept smooth and clean. The soil is carefully loosened, and kept free from weeds. After the eighth year the trees yield manna, which they continue to do from ten to twelve years, when they are cut down, and young shoots from the roots trained ; one root-stalk frequently yields from six to eight new trees and more. For the production of the manna young and strong shoots are requisite ; but they are not tapped till the tree ceases to push forth any more leaves, and the sap consequently collects in the stem. ‘This period is recognised by the cultivators from the appearance of the leaves; sometimes it occurs earlier than at others, and the collection of the manna takes place either at the beginning of July or only in August. Close to the soil cross sections are made in the stem, and in the lowermost sections small leaves are inserted, which conduct the sap into a receptacle formed by a cactus leaf. This is the way the manna in sortie is obtained. ‘The incisions are repeated daily in dry weather, and the longer they continue the more manna is obtained. The stems are left uninjured on one side, so that the Q 226 THE SOURCES OF MANNA. manna runs down the smooth bark more easily. The next year the unin- jured side is cut. The Manna cannelata is obtained from the upper inci- sions, more than forty of which may be counted on one tree. The sap there is not so fat as below, and consequently dries more easily into tubes and flat pieces. After the manna has been removed from the trees it has further to be dried on shelves before being packed in cases. The masses left adhering to the stems, after removing the inserted leaves, are scraped off, and consti- tute the Manna cannelata in fragmentis. Cannelata, can. in fragm. and Capace are collected at the same time from one stem—the more Cannelate from the younger, and the more Capace or Gerace from the older part of the stem. In Sicily the latter is designated in sortie, and is probably the most active. Dry and warm weather is essentially requisite for a good harvest. Manna is a gentle tonic, usually operating mildly, but in some cases pro- duces flatulence and pain. Mannite is white, inodorous, crystallisable, in semi-transparent needles, of a sweetish taste, soluble in five parts of cold water, scarcely soluble in cold alcohol, but readily dissolved by that liquid when hot, and deposited when cool. Unlike sugar, it is incapable of pro- ducing the vinous fermentation. Manna sugar, or Mannite, differs from the other sugars in not being fermentescible. Its composition is C°H70®, while that of cane sugar is C12H°O° x 2HO. It is the chief ingredient of manna. The imports of manna into the United Kingdom are very variable. In 1855 as much as 94,274 lbs. were imported, and in 1856, 30,917 lbs. In the subsequent three years the imports were smaller. Imports. Computed Ibs. value. Ti ONE 15 SOD pee Acer £3,329 fete) Goocesnonoag DONC 2 uieocwaasedanes 6,308 TRO chess 23 Oylee ae 5,110 M. A. Leuchtweiss (Annalen der Chemie) has examined the three varieties most commonly met with in the market, and the following are the results of his analyses :— Manna Manna Manna Cannelata. cai a Calabrina. VAEET SITES. Os asc oee es saute eeee APG DY sees Ne Be osane a bea Insoluble substance ...........+6+ OAs te 0 99Gseme 32 SSHISAE ME ge ocnee vase sceke less sceneandane SPIES enccon HOYS) h- de 15-0 Mian fete Sh ak ie. 2h ease ADOT da veise GEG Miers ars 32°0 Substances similar to vegetable mucus with mannite, resinous and acid substance, with a small quantity of nitrogenous AN AGUCIME Ec wc cceccccstesacegseseerces A) teenecs LADS) « decians 42-1 PUSITC Meee and rece conssececsaennaate i es Vienna TD eeceictgcici 1.38) THE SOURCES OF MANNA. 227 In Styria the common larch exudes from its leaves and branches a honied juice, which, becoming hard, forms a kind of manna, called Manna of Briancon. A kind of manna is found in small quantities on the branches of the cedar of Lebanon, in the form of transparent resinous drops, indubitably the result of the punctures of an insect. The monks collect it, and prepare with it various electuaries and ointments, which are sold to strangers visit- ing the monasteries. This cedar manna enjoys a considerable reputation in Syria as a remedy in phthisis. Burchardt states that a species of manna which exudes from a variety of the tamarisk (7. mannifera) is used by the Bedouin Arabs of the neighbour- hood of Mount Sinai with their food; it does not, however, contain any mannite, but consists wholly of mucilaginous sugar. The tamarisk manna is produced through the puncture of Coccus manni- parus, an insect inhabiting the tamarisk trees which grow abundantly in the neighbourhood of Mount Sinai. The monks from the monasteries of the district collect the saccharine secretions which exudes as a thick, trans- parent syrup, covering the smaller branches from which it flows. The collection of the manna takes place in August ; it requires to be performed very early in the morning, at which time, owing to the coolness of the night, the saccharine juice has become to some extent congealed. Later in the day the solar heat causes it to drop upon the ground. When collected it is usually stored away in large earthen vessels, which are preserved in cellars during the entire year. To strangers the tamarisk manna is sold in little vessels of tinned iron. Dr. Landerer says that he purchased one of these of a pilgrim who had been in Palestine. The manna was a yellowish granular syrupy mass, very sweet, and intermixed with the little leaves of the tamarisk. It dissolved in water or in alcohol, and the aqueous solution readily fermented; the alcohol obtained by distillation had a peculiar odour, resembling that derived from the fruits of Ceratonia siliqua, which contains butyric acid. ‘The manna is eaten in Palestine and in the neighbour- hood of Sinai as a delicacy, and is reputed efficacious in diseases of the chest. Manna of the desert is the exudation of the camel’s thorn (Alhagi mauro- rum, Dec. ; Hedysarum Alhagi, Linn.), an erect thorny shrub, belonging to the natural order Leguminosae. Extensive plains are entirely covered with the plant in Arabia and Palestine, and especially in Egypt and Syria. It appears to afford the manna chiefly through the wounds occasioned by the browsing of the sheep, goats, &c. It is collected by the leaders of the caravans, and by the Arabs who cross the deserts, and who avail themselves of this manna as nutriment. This substance occurs in small, round, unequal grains, the size of coriander seed, of yellowish-white or greenish-yellow colour, caking together and forming an opaque mass, in which are found portions of the thorns and fruits of the plant. This manna is inodorous, its flavour is sweetly saccharine, followed by slight acidity. A good analysis of it is still a desideratum. As a medicine its effects correspond to those of the ash manna. The inhabitants collect these exudations and make them Q 2 228 THE SOURCES OF MANNA. into loaves or cakes. These soon become of a black colour, owing to a kind of fermentation produced by the influence of the air aad moisture. Little care is bestowed upon the collection of the manna, and hence it is always mixed with a large proportion of broken leaves and branches, by which its value is diminished. The odour of these manna loaves or cakes resembles that of senna; in taste also they resemble senna, combined with sweetness. These two characters would lead us to suppose that this manna is more purgative than nutritive. The manna should be collected, according to the statements of travellers, in the morning, as the rays of the sun cause its liquefaction. In many parts of the East it is used as a substitute for sugar. Tournefort states that it is common on the Alhagis, in the environs of Taurus, in Persia. At Bussorah the manna is collected on a small thorny bush, also common in Khorasan, and called el hadsji. The Nepal alhagi is also stated to afford this secretion. Some authors, as Hallé and Guillemin, supposed that this manna of the Alhagi maurorum was that which constituted the manna of the Hebrews; but at the present day it is more generally supposed that the Lecanora affinis, Everem, was the substance upon which the Israelites fed in the wilderness. A species of Australian Hucalyptus, named by Mr. ANan Cunningham the E. mannifera, is met with in the cool regions of Argyle and Bathurst, New South Wales, which produces the finest manna, and that in very con- siderable abundance. It is found in flakes upon the grass, and also adhering to the branches and trunks, and several pounds may often be collected ina very short space of time. It must be looked for in the morning, as, should the sun shine out strong, it gradually dissolves. Mannais one of the safest and almost the only pleasant purgative we possess; and it is only its scarcity and high price that have prevented its coming into more general use. The average price of manna is above 4s. per pound. It once was as high as 10s. 6d. Here, then, is an excellent remunerating price for both the collector and shipper; and if these trees are found to produce it in sufficient quantity, I see nothing likely to answer better than making plantations thereof at some future period. Supposing each tree to produce half a pound of manna, worth but 3s. per pound to the producer, there would be, with 160 trees to the acre, a clear revenue of £12 per acre, at the expense of a few days annual labour, besides having the benefit still of this acre throughout the year for grazing. This Australian manna has been shown to contain a saccharine matter, different from mannite, and, though similar to glucose, differing from it, as well as from other varieties of sugar, in properties. Another manna found in Australia is produced by exudation from the leaves of E. dumosa when very small; it sometimes appears spread over large districts of country, like a kind of snow, and is used by the natives as food. In Tasmania manna is obtained in small quantities from the Eucalyptus Acervula, Seib., after punctures by some insect. 229 ROYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA. At a meeting of this society at Hobart Town, in Dec. 1860, the secretary, Mr. W. Archer, read a valuable paper ‘‘ On the Indigenous Plants of Tas- mania which may possibly be available for the Manufacture of Perfumery,” pointing out a variety of plants which possessed a pleasant odour either in the flowers, leaves, wood, or roots, and some grasses which yielded an agreeable perfume. After alluding to the export of perfumery from England and France, he proceeded to enumerate some of the plants referred to, expressing a hope that the initiation of the subject would give rise to a general interest in it, and that such information might be imparted to the Society as might prove not only interesting but valuable. He arranged the plants enumerated under five heads; namely, the flower series, the leaf series, the wood series, the root series, and the grass series. Under the flower series he mentioned the sassafras, Hooker’s whitebeard, the crowberry-leaved Monotaca, three species of an Orchid called Praso- phyllum, and a variety of the spider orchis, as possessing an odour belonging to the same class as the jasmine; the native lily and the fragrant hounds- tongue, of the tuberose class; also the almond-scented Arthropodium, the musky Caladenia, and the various species of Acacia. He said that Mr. Rimmel spoke of the flowers of the silver wattle (Acacia dealbata) as ex- haling a similar odour to that of the French Cassie (Acacia Farnesiana), from which an essential oil is extracted, worth £64 per lb., the dried flowers selling at 6s. per lb. The Secretary thought that the flowers of the common honeysuckle tree (Banksia Australis) might be employed in per- fumery also. Their abundance throughout the greater part of the island afforded ample opportunity of testing their qualities in a variety of ways. Under the leaf series he spoke of Gunn’s Boronia, and the lemon-scented Boronia, as possessing ‘‘a delicious smell of lemons,” to use Mr. Gunn’s words. ‘The leaves of many myrtaceous plants abounded with-essential oil, ' more or less aromatic. He mentioned the musk tree also, and spoke of some of the genera of the mint tribe as possessing an essential oil of agreeable quality. Under the wood series, he alluded to the native box, and the box-leaved Alyxia, the latter of which has the same odour as the Tonka bean, and the bark of the sassafras, which yields an essential oil similar to that of the laurel. Under the root series he spoke of the shep- herd’s wreath (Comesperma volubilis), the roots of which, when freshly taken up, diffuse an agreeable though fleeting smell, of a very peculiar character. Under the grass series he mentioned the fragrant holy-grass which is found in alpine or sub-alpine situations. Of the substances named he thought that the following might be obtained in sufficient quantities to constitute them articles of commerce; viz., the flowers of the sassafras, different species of acacia, the honeysuckle tree, the native lily, and the fragrant houndstongue; the leaves of rutaceous 230 ROYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA. shrubs, of plants of the myrtle tribe, of the musk tree (Zurybia argophylla), and of several plants of the mint tribe; the wood of the native box, and of the box-leaved Alyxia, and the bark of the sassafras. He thought that, when the Society was fortunate enough to obtain a new museum, a case might be with great advantage appropriated to perfumery, and con- cluded his paper with the remark that he should rejoice to perceive a com- mencement made in the disclosure of all the hidden treasures of natural history in the colony, which the want of a larger population, and therefore of a sufficient amount of labour, had hitherto left undiscovered. A conversation ensued on the subject of the paper read by the Secretary, in which the meeting appeared to be much interested; and Dr. Agnew suggested that a few pounds of the silver wattle flowers, still in bloom about Oatlands, should be forwarded to Mr. Rimmel for the purpose of experiment, and with a view to obtain his opinion as to their value. Dr. Butler said that the flowers of the silver wattle were highly prized in Paris, where it was grown in the winter gardens. It was unanimously agreed that it would be highly desirable to send specimens of our perfume-bearing plants to the Exhibition of 1862. Dr. Agnew remarked that cajeput oil of a superior kind had been obtained by Dr. Officer from different kinds of Kucalyptus—chiefly, he believed, from the leaves and capsules of the blue gum (E. piperiia). Scarciry or Frsrous SUBSTANCES. Mr. Archer then read a letter from the Colonial Secretary enclosing a despatch from Sir G. C. Lewis, Secretary of State for the Home De- partment, on ‘‘the extreme want felt by the manufacturing interest of Great Britain, of raw material for the production of textile fabrics, which has induced an application to the Committee of the General Association for the Australian Colonies, for the purpose of discovering the existence Gf any) of some fibrous product in the Australian Continent which might tend to remove the difficulty, and at the same time prove a sufficiently valuable article of commerce to insure its being successfully and profitably cul- tivated.” The Secretary said that he hoped to receive communications on this subject, especially from the Fellows of the Royal Society, so that he might be in a position to make a full report to the governor before the departure of the December mail. Scarcity oF Oak TIMBer. The Secretary also read the following extract from a letter addressed to him by Sir W. J. Hooker, Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, under date Sept. 18, 1860 :— ‘“‘ The scarcity of good oak for nayal timber is almost alarming, and the cost of it beyond all bounds. The Admiralty are satisfied that they must go elsewhere for timber, and that they must be more economical with their best timber. Itis the same in France and in America. And what they INSECT MEDICINES—CANTHARIDES. 231 say is this—‘ We must procure a large quantity of the next best timber to oak, and only use oak where nothing else does so well.’ Your blue gum has been strongly recommended to the Admiralty ; and Sir William Denison and others have written to me most strongly in its favour. Now I am truly glad te hear this, as I believe that, if once extensively introduced into the country, there would be a great and continued demand. But I should not like the Admiralty to estimate the value of the blue gum beyond its real merits. Ibelieve it has great merits, without having some of the rare qualities of the oak. Is it not so? ‘“* So great is the demand for timber that the Admiralty are now, at con- siderable expense, making search by means of competent persons. 1. In North China and Japan. 2. On the West Coast of Africa, and in Fer- nando Po. 3. In British Guiana, and far up the rivers there.” INSECT MEDICINES—CANTHARIDES. From insects we derive articles of commerce of no mean importance, especially the products of the silk-worm, the honey-bee, the lac insect, and the cochineal insect. Wax and Lac have already been noticed in the pages of the TecHNoLoGIsT, and we shall now advert to some other products. Insects once formed a class of medicines which were considered highly effective in certain cases; and there was a time when three gnats were taken as a dose just as three grains of calomel might be taken now; while three drops of ladybird milk were formerly prescribed as seriously as a small dose of some fashionable medicine of the present day. Wood lice and ants were used, and many beetles prescribed, for relieving toothache. It is alleged that the little insect, known as the golden cetonia, found in con- siderable numbers on rose trees, when pounded to a powder and admini- stered internally, produces in the person a sound sleep, which lasts some- times thirty-six hours, and which has the effect in many cases of nullifying the hydrophobia affection. The oil beetle (Weloe proscarabeus) exudes a deep yellow oil from the joints of the legs, which is esteemed diuretic, and is used in rheumatic complaints. It has also been recommended in hydro- phobia. A sour liquor which ants eject when irritated, termed formic acid, was formerly obtained by bruising the red ants and distilling them mixed with water; a peculiar volatile acid passed over. Thisacid decomposes the salts of a few metals. Silver is readily thrown out in the state of bright metal on glass surfaces by means of formic acid. An analogous acid is artificially obtained by distilling tartaric and sulphuric acid with peroxide of manganese and water. The Deekamalli resin (Canarese), Teekamullya (Tamil) of India, is said to be formed like lac by the punctures of insects on the branches of Gardenia lucida, Roxburgh, a tree found in the Coorg jungles and other places. It has a most disagreeable odour. Powdered, or made into an ointment, with 232 INSECT MEDICINES—CANTHARIDES. country calomel and ghee (butter), it is extensively used as a dressing for slight wounds or putrid sores, either in man or beast. Capt. W. F. W. Owen, R.N., in his “Narrative of Voyages” on the Eastern coast of Africa, relates that a kind of paste made from the cockroach (Blatta orientalis), administered internally, was found one of the most powerful anti-spasmodics known, and particularly useful when diluted with water in the case of lock-jaw (vol. 2, p. 238). Blaps sulcata is eaten by the Turkish women cooked with butter, in order to make themselves fat. It is also believed to act as an antidote against the ear-ache and the sting of the scorpion. The food uses of msects we shall not touch in this article. The only important medicinal insect of the present day is the vesicatory beetle, of which several species are employed exter- nally for blistering purposes, and occasionally internal, although highly dangerous. The Cantharis vesicatoria-belongs to the class Coleoptera or beetle tribe, and is obtained largely from Spain (whence its popular name of Spanish fly) and the southern parts of Europe. They are mostly found upon the ash-trees, the leaves of which are their favourite food. The poplar and the rose are also frequented by them. When touched, all the cantharides have the peculiarity of feigning death, so that they are called by children ‘‘ pretenders.” A great variety of species possess the blistering property, and we receive commercially supplies from the Medi- terranean ports, from Germany, the South of France, and from China. These insects are so light that fifty of them will scarcely weigh a drachm, and yet in some years twelve tons of them have been shipped from the island of Sicily alone. The average exports thence in the three years end- ing 1857 were 185 cwts. annually. Swarms of cantharides, like bees, sometimes darken the air. Their disagreeable smell may be perceived even before they are seen, and this serves as a guide to those who catch them. They are collected in Sicily, mostly in the southern part of the island. The quantity produced each year is very uncertain. Some years they are found in abundance, and in others scarcely any are to be collected. Cantharides are collected in May, June, and July, in consequence of their wings being then wet with dew: the tree is shaken, and the dead- like insects are carefully gathered up, killed by the fumes of vinegar, and dried in the sun. But this is not the only insect that possesses the active principle cantharidin: there is the genus Mylabris, which consists of fifty- one species, of which twenty-eight are found in Africa. There is a large occasional importation of cantharides from Russia. The Russian insects are larger than those of other countries. Cantharidin is obtained from an alcoholic tincture of the powdered insect, and possesses in an intense degree the blistering properties of the powdered cantharides. The amount of cantharidin in 500 parts of each of the undermentioned insects is as follows :— Cantharis vesicatoria... .... s+. sdagesessos9" speedo ss eee 2°03 Cantharis vittata ...... Ses oy das 3430586550 Tassos sssassios ig) Mylabris ctchorit ........ec008: Sven bone seinteanodoneee eens Zs INSECT MEDICINES—CANTHARIDES. 233 The remedial as well as the poisonous qualities of the cantharides were well known to the ancients. Hippocrates prescribed them internally in dropsy, jaundice, and amenorrheea ; and Galen held the opinion that the virus existed only in the body of the insect, and that the head, feet, and wings contained its antidote. The ancient physicians attributed to the Carabi qualities scarcely inferior to those of the cantharides. The late Dr. Duncan, in speaking of the adulteration of cantharides, says: “The Melolontha vitis is sometimes found mixed in considerable numbers with the cantharides. They are easily distinguished by their almost square body and black feet ; and, as they do not stimulate the skin, should be picked out before the cantharides are powdered.” Emmel detected fifteen per cent. of Chrysomela fatuosa in cantharides obtained from a com- mercial house on the Continent, and he had no doubt that the admixture was intentional. In Germany the golden beetle, Cetonia aurata, of Fabri- cius, or Scarabeus auratus, of Linneus, is sometimes mixed with it; but this insect may be known by its greater proportional breadth and flat belly. An instance of adulteration with glass beads came under the notice of Mr. John Mackay, chemist, of Edinburgh, in 1842, but whether accidental or intentional (to add to the weight) was not clear. The blistering flies of India are chiefly the Meloe (Mylabris cichorit), the Cantharis gigas, and the Cantharis violacea, but others are also used. The Mylabris cichorii is common in the neighbourhood of Dacca, in the Hydra- bad country, and numerous other localities. Dr. Hunter has published a good account of it in the fifth volume of the ‘‘ Transactions of the Asiatic Society,” p. 216. The insect is about an inch long and a third broad. The colour of the body and head is dark brown; the elytra or wing coverts are marked with six cross stripes of deep blue and russet brown. Parcels of it frequently come now into the commercial sales of London. The Buprestis of ancient writers is met with in the Indian bazaars, under the name of the golden fly (Sunamuki). 'The Cantharis violacea is often mixed with speci- mens of Meloe in the bazaars. The Mylabris cichorii, if procured before the mites have commenced its destruction, yields, according to Dr. O’Shaughnessy (Bengal Dispensatory), one-third more of cantharidin than the Spanish fly of the European shops. ‘The blue fly is of uncertain strength ; the Buprestis he found quite inert. A species of Meloe, called the M. trianthema, from its being usually found on the plant named Trian- thema decandra, is described by Dr. Fleming. Specimens of the Indian blistering beetles, Mylabris pustulata and M. puncium, a smaller species, were shown at the Madras Exhibition in 1855 by Dr. Collas, of Pondicherry, accompanied by a full and interesting report on their blistering properties and careful researches into their natural history, which he published in the ‘ Moniteur Official,” at Pondicherry, on the 2nd March, 1854. Both insects are found in large quantities at certain seasons all over Southern India. In various parts of the world other blistering insects are used—as C.’ vitiata and Lytta cinerea, in the United States; C. atamoria, in Brazil; and C. syriaca, in China. 234 JAPAN VARNISH. At a meeting of the Medical Society of Graham’s'Town, Cape of Good Hope, Dr. Armstrong produced species of Cantharis which he had found in the neighbourhood, and which, he observed, was one of the most destruc- tive little insects the gardener has to contend with. He had seen potato fields completely destroyed by them; but their favourite food appeared to be the blossoms of leguminous plants, and every variety of the rose. His attention was attracted to them by a friend in the district of Cradock, about three years ago, who lamented the ravages that the insect had committed on his crops; and who also mentioned, as a curious fact, that he had bruised one on his leg, which caused a blister. This induced him to examine the insect, which he found to belong to the family Cantharides. He collected a quantity of them, on which he poured boiling vinegar, and, after twenty- four hours, used the vesicatory with complete success ; in fact, it was much better and stronger than the common Spanish fly. He imagined it would pay the gardeners to collect them for sale, by doing which they would get rid of one of their worst enemies. It has been remarked that they are more abundant some years than others; and it is presumed they are in larger numbers in the districts of Cradock, Colesberg, and Graaff-Reinet than in Albany. It has often been observed by medical men, that some samples of can- tharides have been almost useless, and this has been usually attributed to their being too old. Dr. Paris states, however, that flies do not lose their virtue by being kept; and from observations which Dr. Armstrong made with regard to the insect under notice, he supposes that their usefulness depends in a great measure upon the food they eat. For instance, those he had in Cradock were procured from the potato and beans; those subse- quently shown were collected from roses; and the acetate (a bottle of which was produced) was of a deep rose colour, and had not been found so active. The imports of cantharides into the United Kingdom in the last few years have been as follows :—1855, 21,513 Ibs. ; 1856, 35,922 lbs. ; 1857, 23,670 Ibs. ; 1859, 37,578 Ibs.—valued at £5,409. 1 Rani DBS JAPAN VARNISH. The well-known lacquered ware of the East owes its lustrous colouring to a composition of lamp-black, and the clarified sap obtained from a species of sumach called Rhus vernix, or vernicia. Wood oils are obtained from other plants of the same family, and the different qualities of lacquered ware are owing to the use of these inferior ingredients. The real varnish tree is described by De Guignes as resembling the ash in its foliage and bark; it is about fifteen feet in height, and furnishes the sap when seven years old, which is carefully collected from incisions in the trunk, opened in the summer nights. The body of the ware is wood partially smoothed, JAPAN VARNISH. 235 or pasteboard upon which two or three coats of a composition of lime, paper, and gum are first laid, and thoroughly dried and rubbed. The surface of the wood is also hardened by rubbing coarse clay upon it, and afterwards scraping it off when dry. ‘Two coatings of lamp-black and wood oil, or in the finer articles of lamp-black and varnish, are laid upon the pre- pared wood, and, after drying, the clear varnish is brushed on, one coating after another, with the utmost care in close and darkened rooms, allowing it to dry well between the several coats. The articles are then laid by to be painted and gilded according to the fancy of the customers, after which a last coating is given them. The varnish is brought to market in brown- ish cakes, and reduced to its proper fluidity by boiling; it is applied to many purposes of both a varnish and paint, when it is commonly mixed with a red or brown colour. A beautiful fabric of lacquered ware is made by inlaying the nacre of fresh and salt water shells in a rough mosaic of flowers, minerals, &c., into the composition, and then varnishing it. Another kind highly prized by the Chinese is made by covering the wood with a coating of red varnish three or four lines in thickness, and then carving figures upon it in relief. The great labour necessary to produce this ware renders it expensive. A common substitute for the true varnish is the oil of the Dryandria, Jatropha, Croton, and other members of the Euphorbiaceous family, expressed from their seeds by a variety of simple machines, consisting for the most part of different applications of power to cylinders and pestles by which the seeds are pressed or pounded. The oil, after pressing, according to De Guignes, is boiled with Spanish white, in the proportion of one ounce to half a pound of oil; as it begins to thicken, it is taken off and poured into close vessels. It dissolves in turpentine, and is used as a varnish, either clear, or mixed with different colours; it defends woodwork from injury for a long time, and forms a good painter’s oil. Boiled with iron rust, it forms a reddish brown varnish.* The lacquered or japanned ware of China is formed of a succession of as many as fifty coats of varnish, formed of an extremely poisonous vegetable gum, which exude from the plant, and differs as well in its mode of being produced, as in the character of its subsequent ornamentation. The Indian lacquered work is formed of a thin coating of shell lac, laid upon the surface of the article to be ornamented, and upon this the native artist proceeds to fashion and colour those exquisite designs which are to be seen in the works from Lahore and Cashmere. Mr. W. Lockhart, in his recent work ‘‘ The Medical Missionary in China,” thus speaks of the varnish and the japanning process :—‘‘ The juice, at first, is of a yellowish-gray colour, which turns black on exposure to the air. It is very irritating to the skin, producing troublesome sores on the hands of those who gather it, if they allow it to come in contact with them. It retains this quality even after the paint is dry, and has been for along * Williams’s “ Middle Kingdom.” 236 JAPAN VARNISH. time exposed to the air. Some foreigners are very susceptible to the action of the varnish poison. A visit to the lacquer-shop, or the varnish~ ing of some article of furniture in the house, has been followed by an attack of severe nettle-rash, or even of erysipelas of the face. A patient suffering an attack of this kind once sent for me. He had frequently experienced the effect of the varnish before, but I could not account for the present attack. He said he had not bought or used any lacquer-ware ; no new | furniture had been brought in; but at last it was remembered that a car- penter had been repairing a door which had slightly warped, and it was found that on finishing his work he had rubbed a little varnish over the new surface caused by his plane. This was quite sufficient to affect the susceptible patient. Several of these varnish trees grow in the gardens of the London Mission at Shanghai, and it was found that the varnish flowed readily from slight wounds in the bark, and dried in black stains on the stem. ‘The chief districts where the article is produced are in the province of Nganhwui, which are also the green tea districts. Hence it is generally found in the warehouses of the native wholesale tea-brokers. The varnish is gathered in the heat of summer ; it is scraped from the trees and carried home in bamboo cups, and emptied from them into wooden tubs lined with a stiff paper, and is then sent to market. All the articles used in the stor- ing of the varnish acquire a beautifully hard, black, and polished surface, which even resists the action of boiling water. The articles to be lacquered are of wood or pasteboard. When a large surface has to be covered, it is daubed with a combination of the pig’s blood and lime, with some tow and hemp; at other times the surface is covered with moist clay, which is rubbed into the grain of the wood and then scraped off, the wood being allowed to dry. After this a mixture is laid on of Tung-yew, or wood-oil (the oil of the Tung tree, a species of Dryandria), and lamp-black for coarser articles ; but for those which are more delicate, a mixture of lamp black and varnish. The surface is again allowed to dry; the varnish is applied with a hard brush in a thin layer, which, after drying, is rubbed smooth with Dutch rush and tutty powder. Another thin layer of varnish follows, care being taken that each layer successively is rubbed properly smooth. For the finer tables and cabinets, this process of rubbing down and laying on the varnish is repeated ten or a dozen times, as the object is to produce a surface very hard and clear, which retains its polish for a long time. Various colours are added to the varnish, according to the use made of the article. Cups formed of very thin wooden strips are carefully lacquered, and serve for tea-cups or rice-bowls without shrinking from boil- ing water, or being liable to fracture like porcelain. These are often of beautiful pattern, and finished with much artistic skill. One kind of lacquered ware, of the reign of Keen-hung, who gave the fashion for it, in boxes, vases, cabinets, pictures, &c., is made by covering wood or card- board with coatings of red lacquer to the thickness of a third or half of an inch. Upon this various figures, or fruits, or landscapes are beautifully carved in high relief, when the whole is finished by the application of a THE SPONGE FISHERY OF THE BAHAMAS, 237 very thin layer of varnish over the whole surface. Many of these articles are perfect gems of art and finished carving, and are much prized by the Chinese. The better specimens are often copied by ordinary workmen, but they have a coarse appearance, and are far from equal to the ‘superior pro- ductions of the reign of the Emperor above named, who had so great a fancy for this branch of workmanship. The varnish which is generally used in house-work is a mixture of the pure juice and the Tung-yew boiled together. It is laid on with a stiff brush, giving a hard polished surface of a bright coffee colour, which is very ornamental. When it is wished to show the vein of hard wood, as in rosewood, Chinese mahogany, or elm, the pure juice or varnish is used; it is rubbed into the wood and allowed to dry. After looking very dull and heavy for some months, it becomes bright, and, when wholly absorbed by the wood, presents a hard and transparent surface. The polish will retain its brilliancy for many years, and, whenever it may become dull, may be restored by means of warm water. The Tung-yew, besides being mixed with varnish for an ornamental paint, is also used alone or with linseed and other oils as a yarnish for outside wood-work, where it resists the action of the weather very effectually. Mixed with linseed oil, it is largely used on board ship ; rubbed over the masts after they have been scraped clean, and on all the wood-work inside and out, the oil sets off the vein, and gives an enduring surface. It is applied with a handful of hemp well saturated, which con- veys the mixture to all cracks and crevices, and the work is finished with a hard brush. This varnish will mix with any colour; the finer pigments are used for lacquer, and the coarser are mixed with the oil. The most common colour used with the latter is black, or a dull red colour consisting of levigated iron rust. When the Tung-yew is not intended to sink into the wood, the surface is prepared with blood and lime-paste, as in the pre- paration for lacquering.” THE SPONGE FISHERY OF THE BAHAMAS. BY P. L. SIMMONDS. In our first number, at page 17, we gave an account of the sponge fishery of the Ottoman Archipelago, from which the finer descriptions of sponge are obtained. The coarser descriptions entering into commerce are pro- cured about the Bahama banks and the coast of Florida. From 1,000 to 1,500 bales of sponge of 300 Ibs. are shipped from Nassau, New Provi- dence, annually. Sponge fishing is said to haye become a very profitable business in the neighbourhood of Key West, Florida. About 100,000 Ibs. are reported to have been gathered during last year, and the sales amounted to 25,000 dols. The article is mostly procured by the natives of the Bahamas. This is a 238 THE SPONGE FISHERY OF THE BAHAMAS. new branch of business for Key West, and was formerly confined to the Mediterranean. The finer quality of sponge is not found on the American coasts, although the coarse description is abundant all about the coast of Florida and the Bahama banks. The principal supply of West India sponge comes from the Bahama Islands. The rapid strides made in sponging within this group since 1847 appears almost incredible. Although the trade has been carried on for years, a Mr. Hayman was, I am informed, the first who gave it an impetus. About the streets and outskirts of Nassau, New Providence, vast quantities of sponge may be seen covering fences, yards, and house-tops, where it is left to dry, after having been previously buried (in order to kill the zoophyte which inhabits it) and washed. It is afterwards divested of the fragments of rock which adhere to it, pressed, and packed in bales, averag- ing 300 Ibs. weight each, for the London market, where it is manufactured into cloth, hats, &c., and converted to many useful purposes. The value of sponge in surgery and for domestic uses is well known. Spongiopiline has recently become the medium for applying poultices to wounds, instead of cloth. To show the importance of the sponge trade in the Bahamas I may add the following statistics, with which I have been favoured by a gentleman engaged in shipping large quantities. ‘‘ From Jan. 1 to June 30, 1850, there were exported from Nassau nearly 1,000 bales of sponge, of the value of at least £5 per bale = £5,000. On Jan. 1 a very small stock of sponge was on hand, while on June 30 every dealer in this article had a large stock ; therefore, as it is a cash article, there must have been paid to the crews employed in this trade at least £8,000.” The value of the sponge exported from the Bahamas in 1852 was about £12,000. The sponge trade of the Bahamas is in a very flourishing condition. The total value exported in 1849 was but £2,217; in 1850, £5,700; in 1851, £14,000 ; in 1852, £11,257. In later years the quantity of sponge exported from the Bahamas has been :— Cwts. Value ABH Zoho Seastenecot ees DESO Ou Mroctessuiaseslenoscae 9,615 S56 asa veowuseeus eae A SOO Es, awe tccmece conte 6,723 ARStW fs ecaanececaoae ont ZOOM dcsleecscsessecss 11,025 LBD Sif Seviceisasaparsc ae