CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES.—(Continued.)

Curious Plant near the Cape of Good Hope.

The following account of a curious plant is taken from Thunberg’s Travels:—

“The fruit of a species of Mesembryan Thermum, (says the writer,) was sometimes brought to the tavern as a rarity, and was called Rosa de Jericho. When it is put into water, it gradually opens all its seed-vessels, and exactly resembles a sun; and when it becomes dry again, it contracts itself, and closes by degrees. This is a no less necessary than singular property, which points out the admirable institution of an all-wise Creator; inasmuch as this plant, which is found in the most arid plains, keeps its seeds fast locked up in time of drought, but when the rainy season comes, and the seeds can grow, it opens its receptacles, and lets fall the seeds, in order that they may be dispersed abroad. The water in which this fruit has lain, is sometimes given to women that are near their time, and is thought to procure them an easy delivery.”

The Mandrake.—This plant possesses a long taper root resembling the parsnip, running three or four feet into the ground; immediately from the crown of the root arises a circle of leaves, at first standing erect, but when grown to the full size, they spread open and lie upon the ground; these leaves are more than a foot in length, and about five inches broad in the middle, of a dark green colour, and a fetid scent; among these come out the flowers, each on a scape three inches in length; they are five-cornered, of an herbaceous white colour, spreading open at top like a primrose, having five hairy stamens, and a globular germ supporting an awl-shaped style, which becomes a globular soft berry, when full-grown as large as a nutmeg, of a yellowish green colour, and when ripe, full of pulp.

Many singular facts are related of this plant, among which we select the following: the roots have been supposed to bear a resemblance to the human form, and are figured as such in the old herbals, being distinguished into the male with a long beard, and the female with a prolix head of hair. Mountebanks carry about fictitious images, shaped from roots of bryony and other plants, cut into form, or forced to grow through moulds of earthenware, as mandrake-roots. It was fabled to grow under a gallows, where the matter falling from the dead body, gave it the shape of a man; to utter a great shriek, or terrible groans, at the digging up: and it was asserted, that he who would take up a plant of mandrake, should in common prudence tie a dog to it for that purpose, for, if a man should do it himself, he would surely die soon after. To this curious vegetable the poet alludes in the following lines:—

“Mark how that rooted mandrake wears
His human feet, his human hands;
Oft as his shapely form he rears,
Aghast the frighted ploughman stands.”

The Changeable Flower.—“On the island of Lewchew, (says Mr. M‘Leod,) is found a remarkable production, about the size of a cherry-tree, bearing flowers, which, alternately on the same day, assume the tint of the rose or lily, as they are exposed to sunshine or the shade. The bark of this tree is of a dark green, and the flowers bear a resemblance to our common roses. Some of our party, whose powers of vision were strong, (assisted by a vigorous imagination.) fancied that, by attentive watching, the change of hue, from white to red, under the influence of the solar ray, was actually perceptible to the eye: that, however, they altered their colour in the course of a few hours, was very obvious.”

As this is a chapter devoted to miscellaneous articles of this class, it may not be amiss to insert The Chinese Method of Preparing Tea.—Tea grows on a small shrub, the leaves of which are collected twice or thrice every year. Those who collect the leaves three times a year, begin at the new moon which precedes the vernal equinox, whether it falls at the end of February or the beginning of March. At that period most of the leaves are perfectly green, and hardly fully expanded: but these small and tender leaves are accounted the best of all; they are scarce, and exceedingly dear.

The second crop, or the first with those who collect the leaves only twice a year, is gathered about the end of March or beginning of April. Part of the leaves have then attained to maturity; and though the rest have acquired only half their size, they are both collected without any distinction.

The third (or second with some) and last crop, is more abundant, and is collected about the end of April, when the leaves have attained their full growth, both of size and number. Some people neglect the two first crops, and confine themselves entirely to this, the leaves of which are selected with great care, and distributed into classes, according to their size or goodness.—Tea ought to be rejected as of a bad quality, when old, and withered leaves are found amongst it, which may be easily known by infusing a little of it in water, for then the leaves dilate, and return to their natural state.

The leaves of the tea shrub are oblong, sharp-pointed, indented on the edges, and of a very beautiful green colour. The flower is composed of five white petals, disposed in the form of a rose, and is succeeded by a pod, of the size of a filbert, containing two or three small green seeds, which are wrinkled, and have a disagreeable taste. Its root is fibrous, and spreads itself out near the surface of the ground.

This shrub grows equally well in a rich, as in a poor soil. It is to be found all over China, but there are certain places where the tea is of a better quality than in others. Some people give the preference to the tea of Japan, but we have reason to doubt whether there is any real difference.

The manner of preparing tea is very simple. When the leaves are collected, they are exposed to the steam of boiling water, in order to soften them; and they are then spread out upon metal plates, and placed over a moderate fire, where they acquire that shrivelled appearance which they have when brought to Europe.

In China, there are only two kinds of the tea shrub; but the Chinese, by their industry, have considerably multiplied each of them. If there are, therefore, large quantities of tea in that country which are excessively dear, there is some also very common, and sold at a low rate. The Chinese, however, are very fond of good tea, and take as much pains to procure it of an excellent quality, as the Europeans do to procure excellent wine.

Bohea Tea.—The Chinese name of this tea is vou-y-tcha, that is to say, tea of the third kind, called vou-y. It takes its name from a mountain in the province of Fokien. There are three kinds of this tea: the first of which, called common Bohea, grows at the bottom of the mountain; the second, called cong fou, or camphou, grows at the top; and the third, named saot-chaon, grows in the middle. These names in England are corrupted into congo, and souchong.

Bohea teas in general ought to be dry, and heavy in the hand: this is a sign that the leaves have been full and juicy. When infused, they ought to communicate to the water a yellow colour, inclining a little to green, which indicates that they are fresh, for old tea produces a red colour. Care must be taken above all to avoid red leaves, and to choose such as are large and entire. This is also a sign of freshness; for the longer tea is kept, the more it is shaken, which breaks the leaves, and mixes them with a great deal of dust. It sometimes happens, however, that the tea-dust is owing to the manner in which it is put into the box, as the Chinese tread upon it with their feet, to make the box hold a large quantity. The leaves of the cong-fou and saot-chaon ought to have a beautiful black shining tint, and to communicate to water a very bright yellow and a mild taste.

The Pekoe is a particular kind of tea-shrub, the leaves of which are all black on the one side, and all white on the other. As the real Pekoe tea is very scarce and dear, the Chinese adulterate it, by mixing with it some of the small half-grown leaves, as yet white, which grow on the top of the common Bohea tea. This changes the quality of the Pekoe, for these leaves being scarcely formed, can have very little sap or flavour.

Green Teas.—Green teas do not grow in the same place as the Bohea tea. They are brought from the province of Nankin, and are distinguished into three sorts. The first is known under the name of songlo tea, but oftener under that of green toukay; the second is called bing tea; and the third hayssuen tea, or hyson. There are also some other kinds, but the greater part of them are unknown, or of little importance to foreigners.

The songlo and hayssuen teas come from the same shrub; their only difference is in the manner of their being prepared. Bing tea grows on a different shrub, the leaves of which are thicker and larger than those of other kinds. All teas ought to have a green leaden tint: the older they are, the leaves become more yellow, which is a very great fault. They ought also to have a burnt or scorched smell, not too strong, but agreeable; for when they have been long kept, they have a filthy smell, somewhat like that of pilchards. The French wish to find in green teas, and particularly in songlo and imperial, an odour similar to that of soap. In these several kinds of tea, there is a particular distinction to be made, as they are generally classed into one, two, or three kinds, according to the periods at which they were gathered.

Antiquity of Sugar.—From the few remains of the Grecian and Roman authors which have survived the ravages of time, we can find no proof that the juice of the sugar-cane was known at a very early period. There can be no doubt, however, that in those countries where it was indigenous, its value was not long concealed. It is not improbable that it was known to the ancient Jews; for there is some reason to suppose, that the Hebrew word, which occurs frequently in the Old Testament, and which is by our translators rendered sometimes calamus, and sometimes sweet-cane, does in fact mean the sugar-cane. The sugar-cane was first made known to the western parts of the world, by the conquest of Alexander the Great. Strabo relates, that Nearchus’s admiral found it in the East Indies, A. C. 325. It is evidently alluded to in a fragment of Theophrastus, preserved in Photius. Varro, who lived A. C. 68. describes it in a fragment quoted by Isidorus, as a fluid pressed from reeds of a large size, which was sweeter than honey. Dioscorides, about A. C. 35, says, “that there is a kind of honey called saccharon, which is found in India and Arabia Felix. It has the appearance of salt, and is brittle when chewed. If dissolved in water, it is beneficial to the bowels and stomach, is useful in diseases of the bladder and kidneys, and, when sprinkled on the eye, removes those substances that obscure the sight.” This is the first account we have of its medicinal qualities. Galen often prescribed it as a medicine. Lucan relates, that an Oriental nation in alliance with Pompey used the juice of the cane as a common drink. Pliny says it was produced in Arabia and India, but that the best came from the latter country. It is also mentioned by Arrian, in his Petiplus of the Red Sea, by the name of Sa?a? (sachar) as an article of commerce from India to the Red Sea. Ælian, Tertullian, and Alexander AphrodisÆus, mention it as a species of honey procured from canes.

Curious Effects of Cinchona, or Peruvian Bark.—An account has been published in the Journal de Pharmacie, for May 1819, of some curious effects produced by Peruvian Bark. A French merchant, M. Delpech, residing at Guayra, in the Caraccas, had stored up a large quantity of fresh cinchona, in apartments which were afterwards required for the reception of some travellers as guests. These apartments contained each eight or ten thousand pounds of bark; and in consequence of its fermentation, the heat was much greater here than in the other parts of the house, rendering the place somewhat disagreeable. One of the beds placed in these rooms, was occupied by a traveller, ill of a malignant fever: after the first day he found himself much better, though he had taken no medicine; in a few days he felt himself quite recovered, without any medical treatment whatsoever. This unexpected success induced M. Delpech to make some other trials: several persons ill of fever, were placed successively in his magazine of cinchona, and they were all speedily cured, simply by the effluvia of the bark.

It happened that a bale of coffee, and some common French brandy, were kept in the same place for some months: one of the brandy bottles happened to be uncorked, and, on examination, was found to possess a slight aromatic taste, to be more tonic, and very superior to common brandy. The coffee was also much altered; when roasted, it was more bitter than common coffee, and left in the mouth a taste similar to that of an infusion of bark.

It is to be observed, that the bark which produced all these effects was fresh; and the question whether that of commerce would produce the same effects can only be answered by experiment.

Curious Particulars of a Pound Weight of Cotton-wool.—The wool came from the East Indies to London; from London it went to Manchester, where it was manufactured into yarn; from Manchester it was sent to Paisley, where it was woven; it was then sent to Ayrshire, where it was tamboured; it came back to Paisley, and was there veined; afterwards it was sent to Dumbarton, where it was hand-sewed, and again brought to Paisley, whence it was sent to Renfrew to be bleached; and was returned to Paisley, whence it went to Glasgow and was finished; and from Glasgow was sent per coach to London. The time taken to bring this article to market was three years, from the time it was packed in India, till the time it arrived in cloth at the merchant’s warehouse in London; when it must have been conveyed 5000 miles by sea, and 920 by land, and contributed to support no less than 150 people, by which the value had been increased 2000 per cent.—Thus, from materials of little value in their native state, do arts and manufactures administer to individual comfort and national revenue.We shall close this chapter with an account of two curious articles, not strictly vegetable, denominated the animated stalk, and the animal flower.

The Animated Stalk.—This very remarkable animal was found by Mr. Ives, at Cuddalore, and he mentions several kinds of it: some appearing like dry straws tied together, others like grass; some have bodies much larger than others, with the addition of two scaly imperfect wings; their neck is no bigger than a pin, but twice as long as their body; their heads are like those of a hare, and their eyes vertical and very brisk. They live upon flies, and catch these insects very dexterously with the two fore feet, which they keep doubled up in three parts, close to their head, and dart out very quick on the approach of their prey; and when they have caught it, they eat it very voraciously, holding it in the same manner as a squirrel does its food. On the outer joints of the fore feet are several very sharp hooks, for the easier catching and holding of their prey; while, with the other feet, which are four in number, they take hold of trees, or any other thing, the better to surprise whatever they lie in wait for. They drink like a horse, putting their mouths into the water. Their excrements, which are very white, are almost as large as the body of the animal, and, as the natives say, dangerous to the eyes.

The Animal Flower.—Animal flower, in zoology, is a name given to several species of animals belonging to the genus of Actinia of LinnÆus. They have likewise been distinguished by the names of Urtica marina, or Sea-nettle, and Sea-anemone, from their claws or tentacles being disposed in regular circles, and tinged with a variety of bright lively colours, resembling the petals of some of our most beautiful flowers. As to one species particularly, mentioned by AbbÉ Diequemarre, in the Phil. Trans. for 1773, article 37, the purest white, carmine, and ultramarine, are said to be scarcely sufficient to express their brilliancy. The bodies of some of them are hemispherical, of others cylindrical, and others are shaped like a fig. Their substance likewise differs: some are stiff and gelatinous, others fleshy and muscular; but all of them are capable of altering their figure, when they extend their bodies and claws in search of food. They are found in many of the rocky coasts of the West India Islands, and likewise on some parts of the coast of England. They have only one opening, which is the centre of the uppermost part of the animal; round this are placed rows of fleshy claws; this opening is the mouth of the animal, and is capable of great extension. The animals themselves, though exceedingly voracious, will bear long fasting. They may be preserved alive a whole year, or perhaps longer, in a vessel of sea water, without any visible food; but, when food is presented, one of them will successively devour two muscles in their shells, or even swallow a whole crab as large as a hen’s egg. In a day or two the crab-shell is voided at the mouth, perfectly cleared of all the meat. The muscle-shells are likewise discharged whole, with the two shells joined together, but entirely empty, so that not the least particle of fish is to be perceived on opening them. An anemone of one species, will even swallow an individual of another species; but, after retaining it ten or twelve hours, will throw it up alive and uninjured. Through this opening also, it produces its young ones alive, already furnished with little claws, which, as soon as they fix themselves, they begin to extend in search of food.

In Hughes’s Natural History of Barbadoes, an account is also given of several species of animal flowers. They are described as only found in a bason in one particular cave; and of the most remarkable species mentioned by him, we have the following description:—“In the middle of the bason, there is a fixed stone or rock, which is always under water. Round its sides, at different depths, seldom exceeding eighteen inches, are seen at all times of the year, issuing out of little holes, certain substances that have the appearance of fine radiated flowers, of a pale yellow or a bright straw colour, slightly tinged with green, having a circular border of thick-set petals, about the size of, and much resembling those of a single garden marigold, except that this seeming flower is narrower at the discus, or setting on of the leaves, than any flower of that kind. I have attempted to pluck one of these from the rock, to which they are always fixed, but never could effect it; for as soon as my fingers came within two or three inches of it, it would immediately contract close together its yellow border, and shrink back into the hole of the rock; but, if left undisturbed for about four minutes, it would come gradually in sight, expanding, though at first very cautiously, its seeming leaves, till at last it appeared in its former bloom. However, it would again recoil with a surprising quickness, when my hand came within a small distance of it. Having tried the same experiment by attempting to touch it with my cane, and a small slender rod, the effect was the same. Though I could not by any means contrive to take or pluck from the rock one of these animals entire, yet I once cut off (with a knife, which I had held for a long time out of sight, near the mouth of a hole out of which one of these animals appeared) two of these seeming leaves. These, when out of the water, retained their shape and colour, but, being composed of a membrane-like substance surprisingly thin, it soon shrivelled up and decayed.”The AbbÉ Diequemarre, by many curious, though cruel experiments, related in the Phil. Trans. for 1773, has shewn, that these animals possess, in a most extraordinary degree, the power of reproduction, so that scarce any thing more is necessary to produce as many sea anemones as we please, than to cut a single one into as many pieces. A sea anemone being cut in two by a section through the body, that part where the limbs and mouth are placed, ate a piece of a muscle, offered to it soon after the operation, and continued to feed and grow daily for three months after. The food sometimes passed through the animal, but was generally thrown up again, considerably changed, as in the perfect sea anemone. In about two months, two rows of limbs were perceived growing out of the part where the incision was made. On offering food to this new mouth, it was laid hold of, eaten, and, the limbs continually increasing, the animal gradually became as perfect as those which had never been cut. In some instances, however, he found that when one of these creatures was cut through, new limbs would be produced from the cut place, those at the mouth remaining as before; so that a monstrous animal was the consequence, having two mouths, and feeding at both ends.

Having put some of them into a pan of water, set over a slow fire, he found that they lost their life at fifty degrees of Reaumur’s thermometer. To avoid the imputation of cruelty in these experiments, the author argues the favourable consequences that have attended his operations on the sea anemones, which have been so fortunate as to fall into his hands: as he has not only multiplied their existence, but also renewed their youth, “which last,” he adds, “is surely no small advantage.” The reproductive power of the Barbadoes animal flower is prodigious. Many people coming to see these strange creatures, and occasioning some inconvenience to a person through whose grounds they were obliged to pass, he resolved to destroy the objects of their curiosity; and, that he might do so effectually, he caused all the holes out of which they appeared, to be carefully bored and drilled with an iron instrument, so that we cannot suppose but their bodies must have been entirely crushed to a pulp: nevertheless, they again appeared in a few weeks, from the very same places.

Animal flowers are found in as great beauty and variety on the coast of Galloway, as any where in the West Indies. They are repeatedly taken notice of in Sir J. Sinclair’s Statistical Account of Scotland. Mr. Little, minister of Colvend, mentions the polypus, or sea anemone, among the productions of that coast. Mr. Muirhead, minister of Urr, gives the following particular description of them:—“About five years ago, I discovered in the parish of Colvend, the animal flower, in as great perfection and variety as it is in Jamaica. The lively colours, and the various and elegant forms of the polypus on this coast, are truly equal to any thing related by natural historians, respecting the sea-flowers of any other country. To see a flower of purple, of green, blue, yellow, &c. striving to catch a worm, is really amusing.” And Mr. Marshall, minister of Brittle, has allotted a section of his Statistical Account of his parish, to animal flowers; wherein he says, “Till of late perhaps it has not been much adverted to, that the animal flower, or water polypus, is even common along the shores of Brittle, Colvend, and very likely round the whole coast of the stewartry of Galloway. The form of these polypi is elegant, and pleasantly diversified. Some are found resembling the sunflower, some the hundred-leaved rose, but the greater number bear the likeness of the poppy. The colours differ as much as the form. Sometimes the animal flower is of a deep purple, frequently of a rose colour, but mostly of a light red or fleshy hue. The most beautiful of them, that could be picked up, have often been carried from the shore of Colvend, twelve or fifteen miles up into the country, where they have lived, fed on worms, and even bred for several weeks, and might have existed much longer, if they could have been supplied with sea-water.”