good return may also be obtained by cultivating the Salix rùbra for basket twigs, in the interstices of the other trees, until their growth smothers the willow stools. In As we advance from the chalk hills to the north-westward, the calcareous stratum of extent and importance which we next meet with is the great oolite, or Bath freestone rock. The trees upon this stratum do not materially differ from those which invest the chalk. If it usually is covered with a bed of hazel calcareous loam, of greater depth than commonly lies over the chalk, yet the rock, when we come to it, is generally more compact, harder, and more difficult to be trenched, than the chalk. The elm flourishes on this stratum more freely than on the chalk. I have had no opportunity of observing any experiment on the culture of the alder and poplar tribe on this stratum; but, the substance of the stone being less porous than the substance of the chalk, I should be thereby led to expect that these trees would not succeed equally well here as on the chalk. I have seen the abele growing spontaneously and vigorously on this stratum. the valleys which cut this stratum is usually found an extraordinary depth of rich friable loam, in which the Sàlix frágilis, or crack willow, and some others of the large willows, attain a great stature. The next great calcareous stratum, as we pass to the north-westward, is the mountain limestone, carboniferous or metalliferous limestone. This stratum is, in some respects, modified from the two preceding, by portions of a purple ferruginous clay, which, in certain places, are interposed in joints or other cavities of this rock, and also by layers of chert, and others of firestone, i. e. impure siliceous limestone, alternating with the beds of mountain limestone; and these heterogeneous rocks, and their detritus, in some parts materially affect and modify the soil which is spread over this stratum. We find on the mountain limestone (many of the vegetable products of which have been well elucidated by a correspondent in the Magazine of Natural History, vol. iii. p. 410-419.), the sycamore (Acer PseudoPlátanus), the Pyrus hýbrida, and most of the preceding plants which I have mentioned as natives of the chalk. The holly (Flex Aquifolium), too, is found here more frequently than on either of the preceding calcareous strata; fostered, no doubt, by the more abundant silex, which is supplied by the detritus of the interposed beds above mentioned; and, from the same cause, the Ulex europæ`a (whins, or French furze) usually invests in considerable plenty some of the uncultivated portions of this stratum. I remain, Sir, yours, &c. Sept. 20. 1832. (To be continued.) CAUSIDICUS. Sir, ART. VII. A Battering Axe for felling Timber. It has often appeared strange to me that the idea of the battering ram has never, at least to my knowledge, been applied to the felling of timber. When timber is felled for the purpose of clearing, little more than mere strength and endurance are required; and the accumulation of the former, obtainable by means of the battering axe I here present (fig. 84.), would be very great: it could be readily pro cured in places where the saws for this purpose could not be obtained. The figure hardly needs explanation. I use the wooden side frames, of the form represented, because they are very strong, and their toes would dig into the ground, and prevent recession from the blows of the axe. The axis of the battering axe above is long enough to allow the side frames to be approached or withdrawn respectively, to suit any-sized tree: a diagonal stay-bar, dropped upon a pin for the purpose, prevents all from falling sidewise. The blade is made like a large socket, or like the spades called in Ireland 66 fecks," ," and spiked to the wood. Four men can work at the one represented, and raise or lower the edge of the axe as required, those nearest the tree guiding it. Perhaps such a tool as this might be acceptable to many of your readers. I am, Sir, yours, &c. Capel Street, Dublin, Feb. 5. 1833. ROBERT MALLET. ART. VIII. On the Gymnocladus canadensis, or Coffee Tree of North America. By A. P. HART, Esq., Barrister at Law, of Montreal, Lower Canada, F. Mont. Nat. Hist. Soc. &c. Sir, As there seems to be some incorrectness in your conception of the above tree, and as none of your correspondents have materially corrected your account of it, except my friend Dr. Mease of Philadelphia (Vol. VIII. p. 85.), who mentioned its being a large tree instead of a twining plant, I take the liberty of sending you a description of it, which I trust will not prove wholly uninteresting to you and your readers.* Pursh, in his Flora of North America, a very excellent but sometimes incorrect work, describes the Gymnocladus correctly, as follows, under his column of the class Decandria Monogynia (Polypétalæ Regulàres) :— Gymnocladus. Calyx tubulosus, quinquefidus. Petala 5 [I find in the barren trees 4, in the fertile 5], æqualia, tubo inserta. Stamina non exserta. Legumen uni-loculare, intus pulposum. Flores racemosi. Dioicus. "Canadensis 1. G. foliis bipinnatis, foliolis ovalibus acuminatis pubescentibus." Pursh, vol. i. p. 304.; Willd. Sp. Pl. iv. p. 816.; Mich. fl. Amer.; Mich. arb. e. 3.; Lam. illus. 823.; Duham. arb. 1. t. 103. The Gymnocladus is of the Linnæan class Dice'cia Decándria, and of the Jussieuean order Leguminòsæ. It is a tree averaging from 30 ft. to 60 ft., and 10 in. to 13 in. in diameter; and flowers from May to July, with white flowers, succeeded by large brown pods, which contain 6 or 8 seeds of a hard consistence and greyish spotted colour. Leaves from 1 ft. to 3 ft. long, and from 10 in. to 20 in. broad, bipinnate, or doubly compound, and composed of leaflets of a darkish dull green colour, and ovate-acuminate figure. The bark is very rough, and the inner bark so bitter and pungent, that a very small piece will cause violent irritation and inflammation when decocted the extract is aromatic, and highly aperient. The wood is of a fine grain, and very compact and strong; colour rosy: it makes a pretty wood for cabinet-work; and Brownet says, "that, like the locust, it has the valuable property of rapidly converting its sap into perfect wood; so that a trunk 6 in. in diameter has only six lines of sap, and may be employed almost entire." At least one half of the tree is branch This error probably occurred from the accidental transposition of a few lines, in the notes, by the copier of our MS. We knew the tree in Dickson's nursery, at Edinburgh, thirty years ago; and had, for some years before the Encyclopædia of Plants was published, one in our own arboretum at Bayswater. The proofs of the Encyclopædia of Plants received their final correction from Professor Lindley, as stated in the preface, page iv.; and, as the error escaped that gentleman, it is no wonder that it should have been unseen by us. - Cond. + Sylva Americana, by D. J. Browne. 8vo, pp. 407. Boston, 1832. less, and the rest very regular; the terminal branches of large size, and the branches but few in number. It is a native of Canada (Upper and Lower), the Gennessee country, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and all along the Ohio and Illinois rivers. It is called by the French Gros Févier (bean tree), from the size and shape of its pods; and Chicot (stump tree), from the dead appearance of the tree in winter. It is also called coffee tree, from its seeds being burnt and used as a substitute for coffee; though they form rather a poor one, as the coffee made from them is very rank and bitter. Some trees of the Gymnócladus are barren, and others fertile; and I see that Browne notices a peculiarity which I have ever observed, that of the epidermis, which is entirely rough, detaching itself in small hard transverse strips rolled backwards at the ends, and projecting from the tree, so as easily to distinguish it from other trees. I saw, in July last, on the borders of Lake Ontario, a beautiful specimen of the Gymnócladus canadénsis, measuring 53 ft. high and 16 in. in diameter. It had not a single branch on it up to the height of 19 ft.; but the summit formed a perfect mass of tufted foliage interspersed with the white blossoms, which were then nearly out of bloom. I have now twelve or fourteen young trees, which, in the spring, I shall send to England and Scotland, and am confident that the Gymnócladus will not be thought the least ornamental tree which you could recommend to your friends. -I am, Sir, yours, &c. Montreal, Nov. 1. 1832. A. P. HART. MANY of our gardening friends have seen the leaf of the Gymnocladus canadensis, which, although not especially remarkable in the figure of its leaflets (see the Encyclopædia of Plants, p. 842. fig. 13987.), is so in its triply pinnate structure and bough-like amplitude, as scarcely a yard square would include its extreme points. The legume, of which we possess a specimen, received on August 27. 1832., from Mrs. Seaton of Washington, is 53 in. in length, and nearly 2 in. (12) in breadth: it is of a red brown colour, smooth even to a slight degree of polish, but uneven here and there, from the prominence of nerves, which rise at the under edge of the legume, and pass across to the upper edge, and are branched in their progress: the under edge is straight, the upper curved convexly. The legume, towards its under edge, is compressed flat, but towards the upper edge a little tumid from the seeds within, which are affixed to the upper edge by a white stoutish funiculus of an inch in length, 3 to one valve, 2 to the other. Each seed is circular, nearly of an inch across, and so flattened as to be not more than half an inch thick, of an olive brown colour, and as hard as stone. All the space within the legume, not occupied by the seed, is filled with a tenacious dark brown gummy pulp, which, to the taste, is at first sweet, but is followed by a bitterish slightly acrid flavour. The idea of" stump tree," as applied above, seems identical with that conveyed by botanists in the term Gymnócladus, from gymnos, naked, and klados, a branch. G. canadensis sometimes reaches 80 ft. in height, as stated in Vol. VIII. p. 272. — J. D. ART. IX. A Mode of multiplying, and inducing to healthy Growth, the White double-flowered and Purple double-flowered Rockets. By Mr. WILLIAM WHIDDON, Gardener. Sir, As some of my friends have expressed a desire to become acquainted with my mode of propagating those beautiful ornaments of the flower-garden, white and purple rockets, I have referred them for a description of it to the Gardener's Magazine. My method is as follows:- As soon as the plants have done flowering, I cut the flower stems half-way down by so doing, several small shoots will appear at the uppermost part of the portion of the stem left remaining. I then draw a small quantity of soil round the stools, and, if the weather is dry, I give them water at different times. I then make a bed, under a south wall, of equal parts of loam, leaf soil, and sand. I next take off all the strongest shoots, either at the root, or the upper part of the stalks, and plant them in the prepared bed. In about a month I go over them again, and take away all the strongest shoots, and plant them as before; by so doing the shoots left have a better chance of growing. I continue in the above practice until I have taken all the shoots from the parent plants, which then generally die. Last summer I purchased four plants of the white and two of the purple rockets, and by the above plan I have a bed of between forty and fifty fine plants from them; those which were taken off first are certainly the finest, but those taken off last are fine plants; they have many and strong roots; and, as soon as the weather will permit, I shall plant them in the borders with a portion of the same composition. They are now growing in, and I expect they will greatly improve the appearance of, my flower-garden, next midI am, Sir, yours, &c. summer. Chicheley, Bucks, Jan. 25. 1833. WILLIAM WHIDDON. ART. X. On the Effects of Barbadoes Naphtha on Trees and on Horses. By Dr. C. H. WILKINSON, Bath. MR. CLARK, Mr. Leigh, and many other eminent veterinarians, and private gentlemen as well, have extensively employed the Barbadoes naphtha, with the greatest success, in farcy and other cutaneous affections in the horse; and also, with equal advantage, in all species of chronic coughs, accom. panied with loss of appetite, &c. When naphtha is applied |