fidence to be the most perfect of all the water-closets hitherto invented. We are certain that no one who has seen it will ever adopt any other. It is the only form we have ever seen perfectly adapted for foreign countries, and we would strongly recommend it to our friends and correspondents in the north of Germany and Russia, provided they will always keep the temperature of the place where it is kept above 32° of Fahr. But another excellence of this machine which fits it for cold countries is, that it will operate in frosty weather without the use of water. We could not describe it in such a way as to enable a foreign workman to construct a similar one, without several engravings upon a large scale; but the price, complete, is only seven pounds. Cond.

The Stachys palustris, as an Esculent Vegetable. The Society of Arts have lately voted the silver Ceres medal to Joseph Houlton, Esq. F.L.S. &c., Lecturer on Botany at the Western Hospital, and one of the Editors of the London Medical and Surgical Journal, for the introduction to public notice of this plant. "The Stachys palústris, or Marsh All-heal, is a plant not unfrequently occurring on the sides of ditches, or of moist rich corn fields: it increases rapidly by creeping roots, and forms on these, during the summer, a number of thick, half-tuberous buds, from which the stems of the next year are to arise. From the end of autumn to the close of winter, these tuberous buds abound in a mild, somewhat sweetish, farinaceous matter, and are then fit for domestic use, being crisp, without fibre, and of a peculiar but scarcely perceptible flavour. The plant and roots are figured in Curtis's Flora Londinensis, but Mr. Houlton has the credit of having first suggested its use as an esculent vegetable, and of having made some experiments on the best way of cultivating it. In one respect the subject is interesting to the philosophical botanist, as offering, perhaps, the only known instance of a plant belonging to the natural order of the Labiàtæ producing farinaceous tubers, capable of being applied to human food. In general, the only use derived from plants of this order is as condiments, like sage, mint, thyme, &c.; or as affording essential oil, like origanum, rosemary, peppermint, and lavender." (Pref. to Trans. of the Soc. of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, vol. xlvi. 8vo, 1818.)

The Stalks and Roots of the common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) are very farinaceous: the stalks have been blanched and eaten like those of Angélica, and we have no doubt of the tuberculated roots being at least as good as those of the Stachys palustris. The shoots of Symphytum aspérrimum, as we have seen (p. 442.), are greedily eaten by cows. There are very few plants, indeed, that are poisonous, and there can be no doubt that a great many, by culture, might be increased in the whole, or in certain of their parts, so as to be worth cultivating as esculents. It is good to know every thing that can be done in this way, and Mr. Houlton has been very deservedly honoured for his exertions. Cond..

ART. II. Foreign Notices.
FRANCE.

BOTANY among the common People in the Neighbourhood of Paris. — There are at Paris three courses of Botanique rurale, that is, three botanists make weekly excursions with a number of pupils. Jussieu is the public professor of this branch, and his high reputation induced me to wish to join the party. There is no difficulty in it, the lecture is perfectly open, and no introduction is necessary. On Wednesday, 29th of May, I repaired to the appointed place (of which public notice is always given), at the entrance of the avenue of St. Cloud. I was told that the class sometimes amounted to two hun

dred: on this occasion there were, I suppose, half that number; but it is difficult to judge, as a large portion is always scattered about. It was quite a novelty to botanise in such a crowd, and a very amusing novelty. The party seemed to be taken from all classes; among them were several ladies, and many who had the appearance of gentlemen; but the larger portion, I apprehend, were students in the School of Medicine at Paris, and these are, in a great measure, derived from a lower class in society than that which peoples the English, or even the Scotch, universities. No person can exercise the trade of an apothecary without a certificate of having attended certain courses of botany. Some were evidently mechanics, and one or two private soldiers. It has, I understand, always been the case in France, that, among the private soldiers, there have been some who have attended the different courses. How honourable this is to the French character, and how much more favourable to morals than where the only resource for an idle hour is the alehouse! Nor should I be satisfied with the observation, that they would be better employed in working for their families. Man has a right, occasionally, to relaxation, and to some exciting amusement; nor do I believe that either his moral or physical health can be well preserved without it. In England, a gentleman or lady would not choose to be seen in such an assembly of all classes: why is it that our pride will not permit us to enjoy, without excluding our inferiors? In fact, with all our boast of superior religion and superior charity, there are more of contempt in our manners towards the lower classes, and less of kindness, than in, I believe, any other nation of Europe. It may be merely in manner, and may regard only trifles: but nine tenths of human life is made up of trifles; I am more indebted to him who will make me happy in them, than to him who would relieve me in the other tenth of serious misfortune. (Wood's Letters of an Architect, vol. i.)

The Cultivation of Maize is likely to become general in France. At the sitting of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, on the 31st ult., it was proposed to give a prize of 1500 francs value to the author of the best essay on the cultivation of Indian corn in the four departments surrounding Paris, with a view to render this grain useful for the nourishment of the human species. Hitherto it has been grown chiefly in the south of France, as food for cattle and fowls. It is a singular fact, that fowls fed exclusively upon this food have a yellow appearance. (Lit. Gaz., April 11. 1829.)

Superior Salubrity of high and dry Situations.— In the French Annuaire, or Almanack, for 1829, various statements respecting population are given. Among 855,658 deaths in 1826, 158 had reached or exceeded their hundredth year; and, what is remarkable, and shows the superior salubrity of high and dry countries, by far the greatest proportion of these centenarians was in the two departments of the Upper and Lower Pyrenees. (Scotsman, March, 1829.)

DENMARK.

Royal Gardens, Rosenburgh. Aug. 20. 1829.-If the weather do not change, we shall have no harvest at all. No gardener living remembers such a season. Grass and cabbages, and the like, thrive luxuriantly; but grapes, peaches, and the late sorts of pears, on the open wall, will not ripen, this season. For several nights the thermometer has been down at the freezing point, and, one day, it was only 4° above it at 12 o'clock. Even the grapes in the vineries do not ripen. I am told, by one of our principal nurserymen, that Campanula pyramidàlis will stand our most severe winters in the open ground, provided it be not covered; if covered, it rots. I shall try it this winter. Professor Schouw's Geography of Plants is an excellent work which you should translate from the German, and publish in your Magazine of Natural History. Rothe (a young gardener of education) has published his horticultural tour in Germany, Holland, France, and Upper Italy, in

Danish; I shall send you a translation of it, with remarks. I am, Sir, yours, &c. - Jens Peter Petersen.

Garden Library. M. Petersen, C.M.C.H.S., has lately been appointed successor to the celebrated Danish court-gardener, Lindegaard, and has commenced forming a garden library. We have sent him our Encyclopædia of Plants, and one or two other volumes; and if any society or gardener has any duplicates, and feels disposed to assist M. Petersen, they may be addressed to him, to be left at Mr. Bérgström's, 10. Tottenham Court Road, London. Cond.

SWEDEN.

Maritime Schools are established in Sweden in all the sea-ports, and a law passed, by which, from the 1st of January, 1829, no captain of a ship shall enjoy the rights of a Swedish citizen who has not previously receivedfrom the superintendant of the said schools, or from a naval officer duly authorised, a certificate of his having been examined and found in every respect duly qualified. (Unit. Serv. Jour.)

SWITZERLAND.

Liquid Manure. The farmers of German Switzerland give the name of gülle, in French lizier, to the liquid manure obtained from their stalls and stables, and collected into underground pits or reservoirs, in which it is allowed to ferment in a mucous or slimy state. The manner of collecting it, adopted by the agriculturists of Zurich, is as follows:-The floor on which the cattle are stalled is formed of boards, with an inclination of 4 in. from the head to the hinder part of the animal, whose excrements fall into a gutter behind, in the manner usual in English cow-houses. The depth of this gutter is 15 in., its width 10 in.; it should be so formed as to be capable of receiving at pleasure water to be supplied by a reservoir near it; it communicates with five pits by holes, which are opened for the passage of the slime, or closed, as occasion requires. The pits, or reservoirs of manure, are covered over with a floor of boarding, placed a little below that on which the animals stand. This tovering is important, as facilitating the fermentation. The pits, or reservoirs, are made in masonry, well cemented, and should be bottomed in clay, well beaten, in order to avoid infiltration. They should be five, in order that the liquid may not be disturbed during the fermentation, which lasts about four weeks. Their dimensions should be calculated according to the number of animals the stable holds, so that each may be filled in a week: but whether full or not, the pit must be closed at the week's end, in order to maintain the regularity of the system of emptying. The reservoirs are emptied by means of portable pumps. In the evening the keeper of the stables lets a proper quantity of water into the gutter; and on returning to the stable in the morning, he carefully mixes with the water the excrement that has fallen into it, breaking up the more compact parts, so as to form of the whole an equal and flowing liquid. On the perfect manner in which this process is performed, the quality of the manure mainly depends. The liquid ought neither to be thick, for then the fermentation would be difficult, nor too thin, for in that case it would not contain sufficient nutritive matter. When the mixture is made, it is allowed to run off into the pit beneath, and the stable-keeper again lets water into the trench. During the day, whenever he comes into the stable, he sweeps whatever excrement may be found under the cattle into the trench, which may be emptied as often as the liquid it contains is found to be of a due thickness. The best proportion of the mixture is three fourths of water to one fourth of excrement, if the cattle be fed on corn: if in a course of

fattening, one fifth of excrement to four fifths of water will be sufficient. (Bull. du Comité d'Agri. de la Soc. des Arts de Genève.)

This mode of increasing the manure produced by stalled cattle and cows is in general use in Holland and the Netherlands, and we have seen it practised in France, at Trappe and Grignion, near Versailles; at Roville, near Nancy; at Ebersberg and Schleissheim, near Munich; and at Hohenheim and Weil, near Stuttgard. We would strongly recommend the practice to the British farmer, and not to the farmer only, but to every cottager who keeps a cow or pig; nay, to the cottager who is without these comforts, but who has a garden, in which he could turn the great accession of manure so acquired to due account. Let him sink five tubs or large earthen vessels in the ground, and let the contents of the portable receiver of his water-closet, all the water used for washing in the house, soap-suds, slops, and fermentable offal of every description, during a week, be carried and poured into one of these tubs; and if not full on the Saturday night, let it be filled up with water of any kind, well stirred up, the lid replaced, and the whole left for a week. Begin on the Monday morning with another tub; and when, after five weeks, the whole five tubs are filled, empty the first at the roots of a growing crop, and refill; or use two larger tubs, and continue filling one for a month; then begin the other, and at the end of a month empty the first; and so on.— Cond.

GREECE.

Lancasterian Schools in the Ionian Islands.—Sir F.A. spoke to me about establishing Lancasterian schools at Corfu and in the other Ionian Islands. It would be very desirable, because these islands would form a point from which education might be extended over the adjacent continent; and it would probably much forward it in Italy, where superstition and bad governments will oppose it. I should not despair of making the Turks adopt it in time, if it were introduced without any attempts at proselytism, and the lessons consequently adapted to their religion. (Wood's Letters of an Architect, vol. ii. p. 386.)

INDIA.

Of the State of the Schools and of Education in India, Bishop Heber, in his Journal, speaks rather favourably; and is very desirous that, without any direct attempt at conversion, the youth should be generally exposed to the humanising influence of the New Testament morality, by the general introduction of that venerated book, as a lesson book in the schools; a matter to which he states positively that the natives, and even their Brahminical pastors, have no sort of objection. (Ed. Rev., Dec. 1820, p. 335.)

MADAGASCAR.

General Education in Madagascar seems to be making very considerable progress. From the second report of the Madagascar Missionary School Society, it appears that there are 38 schools and 2,309 scholars, and that what is called the king of the country is very favourable to these schools; and from a note in the Evangelical Magazine, it appears that the schools have been increased, since the report was published, from 38 to upwards of 90. (Evangel. Mag., March, 1829.)

NORTH AMERICA.

The Aracacha Plant of Bogota and New Grenada in Colombia "has not, that I know, been as yet cultivated with any promising results. From the failure to propagate it in maritime and northern regions, I despair of obtaining any benefit from its abundant and nutritious roots. The late Baron de Shack wrote me, that, although it vegetated in Trinidad Island,

there was an expenditure of the whole vegetative effort in producing herbage and upper growth; while there was not a single tuber, but only fibrous roots, under ground. Under this view of the case, I am inclined to the belief that, whether it be an Apium, as commonly supposed, or a Cònium, as others say, it is a native of very elevated tracts, and will, in all likelihood, require a long and patient course of experiments to reconcile it to low lands and places near the sea; if, indeed, that object can be effected at all." (S. L. Mitchell, in New York Farmer, Nov. 1828.)

Agricultural Societies. - Addresses to the Charleston, South Carolina, and St. John's Agricultural Societies, by Messieurs Horry, Seabrook, and Townsend have been sent us. It is gratifying thus to mark the spread of agricultural science and industrious pursuits. An infant state of things is precisely that state in which societies can be of real use to the public: in a more mature state they become monopolies, and while they do good on the one hand, do harm on the other. The Horticultural Society of London is as much a monopoly as the East India Company: both monopolies did good at first, and both are now, to a certain extent, oppressive to the free industry of individuals. The three addresses alluded to are written with very considerable ability and knowledge of the subject; and we speak with the utmost impartiality when we say, that, during the rage for agricultural societies which existed in this country some years ago, no one address appeared, not even those of Sir John Sinclair or Arthur Young, at all to be compared with them, either for extensive knowledge of the subject, or sound general views on agricultural legislation.— Cond.

A Quantity of Rhubarb and Sea-kale Seeds has been sent us by Mr. Hale Jessop of Cheltenham, and by Messrs. Noble and Co. of Fleet Street, in compliance with our invitation (Vol. IV. p. 501.), for the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania. We forwarded these seeds in February last, through Mr. Charlwood of Russel Street, to Messrs. Thorburn of NewYork, to be sent by them to Dr. Mease of Philadelphia. We have also more recently sent Messrs. Thorburn a few of our pamphlets on Education (p. 70. note), to be forwarded by them to some of our friends in America, to which we request their particular attention. — Cond.

are.

AUSTRALIA.

Sydney, May, 1829. - I have now been here eight months. Notwithstanding all the care I took to acquire a knowledge of this colony and country before I left Scotland, you can hardly conceive how little I knew about them on my arrival. First, as to the feelings of the people, and the tendency of public opinion, I am sure that very few people in Britain know what these Would you believe it possible that the majority of persons in this country are thirsting after independence and a government of their own; and that, instead of having any desire to return to the mother country, they view it with indifference, or even hatred? Such, however, is the case. We are here in two parties, far more violently opposed than Whigs and Tories, or Catholics and Protestants, are in Britain. One party, by far the more powerful, but forming not a hundredth part of the population, consists of those government officers and commercial speculators who think of making fortunes, and returning home again; the other is composed of the settlers, who think of remaining, and forming a country and government of their There is no regular chance of making money in this country; nor can I conceive that there will be, for generations to come. The principal article of export at present is wool; but that will never afford much profit, because it can be produced here to an unlimited extent, at almost no expense. I have no doubt the Australians will, in a few years, attain their grand object, that of underselling all Europe in this article. The climate and the pasture are formed for sheep; and the wool is superior to that of Saxony or Spain. The great thing which we want here is labourers; and I should think your government might contrive some means of sending out the super

own.