ferences to authors and to plates; affinity of the species; affinity of the genus; the culture of the species; and, lastly, a detailed description of the plate, A translation of the work, with the same plates, would be very instructive to the English amateur; but it would not answer, as is evident from the failure of Maund's Botanist, which was conducted very much on the same plan, though not with the same care and knowledge of the subject, and was cheaper than any other botanical periodical.

Abbildung und Beschreibung blühender Cacteen, &c. Figures and Descriptions of Cacti in Flower, &c. By Dr. L. Pfeiffer and Fr. Otto. Parts III, IV. and V. Cassel and Leipzig.

We noticed the first appearance of this work in our Volume for 1839, p. 522., to which we refer for the essence of the prospectus, and for the high opinion which we have expressed of the letterpress and engravings. Part II. we have never received. The parts before us contain :

Tab. 11. Cèreus Curtis Lk. et O., C. Royèni Bot. Mag. t. 3125., C. octagonus Hort. A native of New Granada.-12. Cèreus flagrifórmis Zucc. Mexico. At first this species was thought to be a variety of C. flagellifórmis, but when it came into flower M. Zuccarini gave it the name of flagriformis, which, though a different word, has the same meaning as flagellifórmis (whip-shaped).—13. Mammillària uberifórmis Zucc. Mexico. 14. Echinocactus leucocántha Zucc. Mexico. 15. Cèreus coccineus Salm., C. bifrons Haworth, Suppl. p. 76. Mexico.— 16. Cèreus setàceus Salm., Dec. Prod. iii. p. 469. Brazil.-17. Rhípsalis pentáptera Pfeiff. and R. platycárpa Pfeiff., syn. Epiphyllum platycarpum Zucc.; and Cereus platycarpus Zucc. Brazil. - 18. Opuntia foliosa Salm., Dec. Prod. iii. p. 471., Cactus foliòsa Willd., C. pusilla Haw., Opúntia pusilla Haw. South America.-19. Mammillària uncinàta Zucc., M. adúnca Sheid. Mexico.— 20. Echinocactus acutíssima Lk. et O., Mammiliària floribúnda Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 3647. Chili.-21. Echinocáctus hybocéntra Lehm., E. mammillarioides Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 3558. Brazil.-22. Cèreus erióphorus Lk. et O., C. cubénsis Karw, et Zucc. Cuba.-23. Cèreus undàtus Lk. et O. Native country unknown. -24. Opuntia cochinillífera Mill. Dict. ed. 8. No. 6., Cactus cochinillifera L., C. campechiana Dict. Natur. vi. p. 293. South America. — 25. Mammillària eriacántha Lk. et O., M. cylindràcea Dec. Mexico.

This is a splendid work, every plate being as carefully finished and coloured as if it were an original drawing. It will be hailed with delight by the collectors of Cacti in both hemispheres ; not only for the beauty and fidelity of the representations of their favourite plants, but on account of the number of new species which it portrays.

Sowerby's small Edition of English Botany. In 8vo numbers, every alternate Saturday.

This most excellent work is drawing rapidly to a close; Nos. 429. and 430. containing plates of lichens. We have so often recommended Sowerby's Botany to all persons of leisure living in the country, and to all gardeners who can afford it, that we can only repeat our previous recommendations. In every garden there ought to be a garden library, the property of the proprietor, and this is one of the books that it ought to contain. Young ladies living in the country will find it a source of perpetual interest. At this season, for instance, though there are almost no flowering plants in a growing state, yet there are numerous mosses and lichens which are growing vigorously; and a number of evergreen ferns at the roots of hedges, and on pollard and other trees, that they would find the names of, by gathering a specimen, bringing it home, and turning over the leaves of Mr. Sowerby's book."

Baxter's British Flowering Plants. In monthly numbers, 8vo, plain and coloured.

This is a work of the same nature as Mr. Sowerby's; but, while the latter contains engravings and descriptions of all the species, Mr. Baxter's work is confined to figures and descriptions of the genera, with a bare enumeration of the species. The engravings are also larger and more elaborate in regard to detail, as are also the descriptions. To those who cannot afford Mr. Sowerby's work, Mr. Baxter's will prove an excellent substitute: 125 Nos. have been already published, and three more will complete the work, in six handsome volumes. It is unquestionably the best work of the kind that has yet appeared.

Die Coniferen. By Francis Antoine. Parts IV. and V. 1841.

We noticed Parts II. and III. of this valuable work in our Vol. for 1841, p. 624., and the parts before us are not less excellent than those which have preceded them. The last species described is No. 65. tab. 24. fig. 2. Picea Pindrow. One of the plates in Part V. exhibits a group of cedars on Mount Lebanon, engraved from a sketch by a French artist, and kindly supplied by Baron Hügel. The trunk of one of the cedars in this group, M. Antoine informs us, measures 46 ft. in circumference.

Prince's Annual Catalogue for 1841 and 1842, of Fruit and Ornamental Trees and Plants, cultivated and for Sale at the Linnæan Botanic Garden and Nurseries, Flushing, Long Island, near New York. 32d edition.

As we are collecting American oaks for our own private arboretum, we were surprised, on looking into this catalogue, to find only eight American species named; with the addition, however, of the words " 20 other species." We should be glad to have plants of the whole twenty-eight species; and, if they prove distinct species, we shall pay the catalogue price for them, but not otherwise.

A Catalogue of the Fruits cultivated in the Garden of the Horticultural Society of London. Third edition. 8vo, pp. 182. London, 1842.

Too much cannot be said in praise of this book, which is perhaps one of the best things of the kind in existence. We do not know a single individual who combines a scientific knowledge of gardening generally, with practical skill in fruits, to the same extent as Mr. Thompson; and, as a man, he has a heart as good as his head; both are cultivated; while it too often happens that the former is neglected. In our opinion, Mr. Thompson is a model for young gardeners to form themselves upon.

The Book of the Farm. By Henry Stephens, Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. Parts IX. and X. Edinburgh and London, 1842,

1843.

These parts maintain the high reputation which the work has obtained. The last subject treated of is the threshing-machine and the threshing of corn; both brought to great perfection in Scotland.

The Three Prize Essays on Agriculture and the Corn Law, published by the National Anti-Corn-Law League. Pamph. 8vo, pp. 50. Price 4d. the three. Manchester and London, 1842.

The essay which gained the first prize is by George Hope, tenant-farmer in East Lothian; the second was gained by Arthur Morse of Swaffham in Norfolk; and the third by W. R. Greg of Caton, Lancaster. The essays are well reasoned, and deserve the careful perusal of all who take an interest in the subject of them.

The Builder; a Builder's Newspaper and Magazine. In weekly folio numbers. This journal is intended to be, for the various arts connected with building, what the gardening newspapers are for gardening. The first number promises well. It contains, besides an address, what the editor calls his "Sermon," an article on the Treatment of Workpeople by their Employers, written in an excellent spirit; several reviews, miscellaneous paragraphs, and various notices, together occupying five pages, with the addition of eleven pages of advertisements; in all, sixteen folio pages for 1d., or stamped to go free by post 24d.! The work is every way deserving of success, and we doubt not will obtain it.

Animal Chemistry, or Organic Chemistry, in its Applications to Physiology and Pathology. By Justus Liebig, M. D., Ph. D., F. R. S., M. R. I. A., Professor of Chemistry in the University of Giessen. Edited, from the Author's Manuscript, by William Gregory, M.D., F. R. S. E., &c. 8vo, pp. 354. London, 1842.

There is much in this work to interest the thinking gardener, who, if he can procure the book, will find his mind enlarged by the perusal, It will probably be noticed more at length in an article which Mr. Lymburn is now kindly preparing for us.

Van Voorst's Naturalist's Pocket Almanack for 1843. London. pp. 32. 1s. Mr. Van Voorst is the publisher of a number of works on natural history, such as Yarrell's Birds, Yarrell's Fishes, Bell's Quadrupeds, Jones's Animal Kingdom, and twenty or thirty others, which have contributed greatly to the diffusion and popularity of natural science, and elevated Mr. Van Voorst's name to the first rank among liberal and enlightened publishers. His books are all admirably got up, and very cheap. The little book now before us is original in its plan; the whole of the information which it contains being limited to natural history. At the end there is an account of the different Natural History Societies in London, including the Royal, Linnæan, Horticultural, Geological, Zoological, Entomological, Botanical, Microscopical, and Ornithological. Next follows an account of the metropolitan museums, libraries, and gardens. For every leaf of letter-press there is a leaf of blank paper, ruled with blue lines at the rate of eight to an inch.

The Farmer's Calendar and Diary of Agriculture and Gardening for the Year 1843. London: printed for the Company of Stationers. 12mo, pp. 95. Price 1s.

The agricultural calendar is by a friend of ours, of the Scotch school, who has the management of three extensive farms in Wales, and we can recommend it as one of the best things of the kind. The other parts of the Farmer's Calendar are good and useful, and the work may be considered as among the best of the rural almanacks.

The Literary and Scientific Register and Almanack for 1843. By J. W. G. Gutch, M.R.C.S.L. London. pp. 187.

Besides an almanack, and a number of ruled blank pages for memorandums, there are a great number of useful facts on almost every subject connected with literature, science, and every-day life; and the price, bound, is only 3s. 6d.

The British Almanack of the Society for the Diffusion of useful Knowledge for 1843. Small 8vo, pp. 96. London, 1843. Is.

Companion to the Almanack, or Year-Book of General Information for 1843. Small 8vo, pp. 260, several woodcuts. London, 1843. 2s. 6d.

The first article in the Companion is on the recent applications of electricity

to the arts: it treats of lightning conductors, copper sheathing, submarine operations, electric moving power (in lieu of steam, &c.), electro-locomotive power, electrical telegraph, electro-metallurgy, electro-gilding and plating, electrotype, and electrotint. Such are the wonders of electricity! Passing over a number of articles, we come to Art. xv., Public Improvements, in which the new churches and other public buildings erected throughout the country are noticed, and beautiful engravings given of Wilton Church, near Salisbury, in the Lombardic style, Messrs. Wyatt and Brandon, architects, a strikingly original edifice; Christ church, Broadway, Westminster, in the latter period of early English, Ambrose Poynter, architect; Wesleyan Theological Institution, Richmond, A. Trimen, architect; Cambridge County Courts, in the Palladian style, Messrs. Wyatt and Brandon, architects; and Brunswick Buildings, Liverpool, A. and G. Williams, architects, a building in the Italian Palazzo style, intended to be let out as offices to different occupiers. As heretofore, we strongly recommend the Companion to every gardener who can afford it.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

ART. I. General Notices.

USE of Sulphate of Ammonia in Agriculture. — For the full developement of the capacity of the soil, and to afford a greater amount of nitrogen than what is afforded either by the ordinary manures, or the ammonia, &c., of the atmosphere, sulphate of ammonia has been introduced, and found to be a most valuable auxiliary, as a top dressing, to the farmer. It has been found to impart a greater degree of fructification to grass, wheat, and other grain, than any other dressing yet discovered, and at a less cost by 50 per cent.

The mode of application, as adopted by Mr. C. Hall, of Havering-atteBower, Essex, is as follows:

Having selected several fields of grass, peas, turnips, and wheat, he had sown broadcast on parts of these fields in quantities, at the cost of 5s. 3d., 11s. 4d., and 21s. per acre; the sulphate having cost him 178. per cwt.

The produce was kept and threshed separately, when the increase from the wheat-land was found to be as follows:

The part that was sown at the rate of 5s. 3d. per acre gave an increase of three bushels; 11s. 4d. gave six bushels; and 21s, upwards of nine bushels; besides a considerable increase of straw. (Phil. Mag. for December, 1842, p. 489.)

Agricultural Implements. — The improvements which are constantly making in agricultural implements are still greater than those which are taking place in the culture of corn and green crops. The Scotch swing plough is no longer considered the best implement of the kind, but one has been found requiring considerably less draught. For measuring the power required to draw any implement, we have Cottam's Draught-Gauge, allowed by Mr. Pusey to be the best machine of the kind. We have also Cottam's Grubber, which is a great improvement on Finlayson's Harrow; Cottam's Revolving Dibble, for dibbling wheat or beans; Cottam's One-Row Drill, for mauure and seed ; and Cottam's Apparatus for hatching and rearing Game and Poultry. But, perhaps, the most remarkable agricultural machine of the present time is one imported from France, and to be seen in operation on the premises of Messrs. Graham and Co., Malin's Wharf, Fore Street, Lambeth, which completely cleanses damaged wheat, and also renders wheat that has been injured by the weevil, not only perfectly free from that insect, but weevilproof for the future. The process would be too tedious to describe here; but it is completely effective, and of immense importance with reference to the preservation of corn in granaries. Whoever wishes to know all that is

newest and best respecting agricultural implements and machines cannot do better than consult Messrs. Cottam and Hallen of London, or Messrs. Slight and Co., Edinburgh.

The oropholithe (orophe, a roof, and lithos, a stone), a composition used as a substitute for zinc, lead, tile, or slate, and apparently well adapted for covering garden and agricultural buildings, is now attracting a good deal of attention among architects. It appears to be a peculiarly hard cement, spread thinly over a surface of canvass, which may be cut up into squares of any convenient size. "The oropholithe, as applied to buildings, will be found to recommend itself to attention by its cheapness and durability, as well as by the absence of all qualities capable of attracting electric matter, and which are more or less resident in all metallic substances. This cannot fail to render it safer than either of the metals now used on the tops of houses; while, not being liable to oxidation, and entirely impenetrable to water, it must, on both these accounts, recommend itself to the attention of builders with additional force. Independently of its durable qualities, for cheapness the oropholithe will be found unrivalled. It can be laid down at about half the price of zinc, at one quarter of that of lead, and, from the immense saving in the expenditure of time and money, at considerably less than slates and tiles. Then, its weight being so much less than that of any of these materials, the saving of timber in rafters will not be the least important consideration with the architect; as, while the new-invented material effectually resists the action of the elements, when the amount of pressure taken from the roof is considered, the whole under-structure may be much lighter. The oropholithe being laid down on large surfaces, and its joints united by the cement of which it is made, the whole superfice of the roof appears covered with one solid sheet of the material; and this compactness gives it such an extraordinary power of resistance that no wind storm, how violent soever, could by any possibility remove it, while the building itself continued firm in its position. As a medium preventive of damp, as fatally injurious to buildings as to the health of their inhabitants, the oropholithe is likely to supersede the custom of stuccoing walls as at present. Lined with oropholithe, the rooms will be instantaneously fit for habitation, free from damp, and the tainted reek so disagreeable in newly built and unseasoned houses; that is to say, for this purpose one side is covered with the material which is placed against the wall, the other, or exterior side, presents a dry surface which may be papered inmediately. The resistive qualities of the oropholithe are so great, that after years of exposure to the action of those universal solvents, air and water, no visible alteration in its structure has taken place. Hence its applicability in lining baths, tanks, cisterns, fishponds, &c., becomes manifest." Such are the uses of this article, as stated in the prospectus. Cond.

Wirework is now being applied to a great many purposes in gardening, and to some in agriculture, and we expect shortly to be able to announce a mode of coating over wire with zinc by the galvanic process, which, without adding much to its expense, will add greatly to its durability. We have lately found, in various parts of the country, that a strained wire fence 4 ft. high can be put up cheaper, all expenses included, than a wooden fence of the same height, even without reckoning any thing for the wood. Land-owners, who have plenty of young larches and Scotch pines that might be used in making such fences, find that the labour of cutting down the trees and forming them into fences is more than the entire cost of the strained wire fence. Almost every ironmonger deals in such articles. We have before us a great many designs, by Mr. Porter of Thames Street, and Messrs. Cottam and Hallen of Winsley Street, London; Messrs. Young of High Street, Edinburgh; and Mr. Samuel Taylor of Stoke Ferry, Norfolk. Mr. Taylor confines himself to the manufacture of a cheap and effective fence against hares and rabbits, which is, at the same time, an excellent substitute for hurdles or cords, as sheep-folds, and for sticks for peas, trailers in general, and other garden purposes. Mr. Porter exhibits a great variety of designs for fences and useful ornamental ob