The Botanist's Companion Part 64

"Cadet de Vaux says, that apple juice does not curdle milk, and that a small quant.i.ty of chalk added to it destroys some part of the saccharine principle. But eight quarts of juice from ripe apples called orange, which was evidently acid, as it curdled milk and reddened infusion of turnsole and that of violet, were treated with four drachms of chalk and the white of an egg: it yielded twenty-two ounces of syrup, between thirty-two and thirty-three degrees of the hydrometer, which did not curdle milk. Another eight quarts of the same juice evaporated to three-fourths of its volume, and strained, yielded twenty-three ounces of clear syrup, which curdled milk, and was browner than that of the neutralized juice, and approached towards treacle in smell and taste.

Perhaps the apple called Jean-hure, used by Mr. Cadet, possesses the valuable properties of furnishing good sugar by mere evaporation. It is necessary to observe, that unless the fire is slackened towards the end the syrup goes brown, and acquires the taste and smell of burnt sugar.

"A hundred weight of apples yield about eighty-four pounds of juice, which produce nearly twelve pounds of liquid sugar. Supposing, therefore, the average price of apples to be one franc twenty cents (tenpence) the hundred-weight, and the charge amounts to forty cents (four-pence), good sugar may be prepared for three or four sols (two- pence) per pound [Footnote: A gramme, fifteen grains English.-A drachm, one-eighth of an ounce.]. The only extra apparatus necessary is a couple of copper evaporating pans."--Retrospect, vol. vi. p. 14.

The distressed state of our orchards in the Cider counties has lately much engaged the attention of all persons who are accustomed to travel through them; and no one can possibly view the miserable condition of the trees, without being forcibly struck with their bad appearance: the princ.i.p.al case of which, I am sorry to say, has arisen from mismanagement [Footnote: Vide Observations on Orchards, lately published by the author of this work.]; and it certainly does in a great measure tarnish the laurels of our boasted agriculturists, when we find such great quant.i.ties of this useful fruit produced in France, that very country which we have been taught to believe so greatly behind us in the general oeconomy of life.

57. SPERGULA arvensis.--This plant has been recommended as a crop for feeding cattle, and is stated to be cultivated for that purpose in some parts of Germany and Flanders: but I believe we have many other plants better calculated for the purpose here.

58. VIOLA odorata.--This is a very useful plant in medicine, affording a syrup which has long been used in the practice. It is however discarded from the London Pharmacopoeia.

59. URTICA canadensis. CANADIAN HEMP NETTLE.--During the late war, when, from unfortunate circ.u.mstances and misunderstandings amongst the potentates of Europe, the commercial intercourse was checked, great speculations were made among the people to discover subst.i.tutes for such articles as were of certain demand; and one of the princ.i.p.al was of course the article Hemp, which, although it can be partially cultivated in this country, is a plant of that nature that we should find the article at a most enormous price were we dependent on our own supply alone. The great growth that supplies all the markets in the world is Russia, where land is not only cheap, but of better quality than here; but with which country we were once unhappily deprived of the advantage of trade. This caused persons to seek for subst.i.tutes: and I once saw one that was made from bean-stalks, not to be despised; but it is probable that none has reached so high in perfection as that produced from the plant above named. A person has grown and manufactured this article in Canada, and has exhibited some samples in London, which it is said have obtained the sanction of government, and that the same person is now engaged in growing in North America a considerable quant.i.ty of this article. As this, therefore, is a subject of great interest to us as a maritime nation, I shall insert the following account that is given of this plant. I am, however, quite unacquainted with its culture or manufacture, and cannot pledge myself for the accuracy of the detail.

"PERENNIAL HEMP. Cultivation.--Affects wet mellow land, but may be cultivated with advantage on upland black mould or loam, if moist and of middling good quality. Manure will a.s.sist the produce. It may be planted from the beginning of October to the latter end of March, in drills about fifteen inches asunder and nine inches distance in the drills.

"Propagation.--Sow the seeds in a bed in the month of March, and transplant the roots next autumn twelvemonth, as above directed; or divide the old roots, which is the quickest way of obtaining a crop.

"Time of Harvesting.--If a fine quality of Hemp is desired, mow the crop when it is in full bloom; but should a greater produce of inferior quality be more desirable, it should stand until the seeds are nearly ripe. It should remain in the field about a week after it is mown, and when sufficiently dry gathered in bundles and stacked as Hemp.

"Separation of Hemp from the Pulps.--Rot it in water, as practised with Hemp.

"The Perennial Hemp grows to the height of from four to six feet.

"The root inclines horizontally with numerous fleshy fibres at the extremity.

"The buds many, and resembling the buds of the Lily of the Valley.

"It is the Urtica canadensis of Kalm, one of which was brought over and planted by the side of this plant, and we could not find any difference."

60. LAPSANA communis. NIPPLE-WORT.--This plant is considered by the country people as a sovereign remedy for the piles. The plant is immersed in boiling water, and the cure is effected by applying the steam arising therefrom to the seat of the disease; and this, with cooling medicine and proper regimen, is seldom known to fail in curing this troublesome disease.

61. DAPHNE laureola. WOOD LAUREL.--The leaves of this plant have little or no smell but a very durable nauseous acrid taste. If taken internally in small doses, as ten or twelve grains, they are said to operate with violence by stool and sometimes by vomit, so as not to be ventured on with safety, unless their virulence be previously abated by long boiling, and even then they are much to precarious to be trusted to. The flowers are of a different nature, being in taste little other than mucilaginous and sweetish, and of a light pleasant smell. The pulpy part of the berries appears also to be harmless. The bark macerated in water has of late been much employed in France as a topical application to the skin for the purpose of excoriating and exciting a discharge.

62. RUMEX acutus. SHARP-POINTED DOCK.--The root of this plant has long been used in medicine, and considered as useful in habitual costiveness, obstructions of the viscera, and in s...o...b..tic and cutaneous maladies; in which case both external and internal applications have been made of it.

A decoction of half or a whole drachm of the dry roots has been considered a dose.--Lewis's Mat. Medica.

63. ELYMUS arenarius. ELYMUS geniculatus. LIME GRa.s.s.--The foliage of these gra.s.ses make excellent mats and baskets; and where they grow in quant.i.ty afford a livelihood to many industrious persons who manufacture these articles.

64. SALSOLA Kali. GLa.s.s-WORT, or KELP. Soda and Barilla are yielded by this plant. The ashes of this vegetable yield an alkaline salt, which is of considerable use for making gla.s.s, soap, &c. The small quant.i.ty grown in this country is by no means equal to the demand, and Spain has the advantage of trade in this article, where the plant grows wild in the greatest abundance. An impure alkali similar to these is obtained from the combustion of other marine plants, as the Fuci, &c. by the people in Scotland.

65. BORAGO officinalis. BORAGE--A fine cooling beverage is made from this herb, called Cool Tankard. It is merely an infusion of the leaves and flowers put into water, with the addition of wine, nutmeg, &c. &c.

OBSERVATIONS on the BLEEDING TREES, and procuring the Sap for making Wine, and brewing Ale.

In the article BIRCH TREE, (p. 34, No. 107, of this volume,) we have mentioned the abstracting the sap for the purpose of making wine; and as this is practicable, and may be obtained in some places at little expense and trouble, I shall take the liberty of transcribing the following curious paper on the subject.

"To obtain the greatest store of sap in the shortest time from the body of a tree, bore it quite through the pith, and the very inner rind on the other side, leaving only the bark unpierced on the north-east side.

This hole to be made sloping upwards with a large auger, and that under a large arm near the ground. This way the tree will in a short time afford liquor enough to brew with; and with some of these sweet saps, one bushel of malt will make as good ale as four bushels with ordinary water. The Sycamore yields the best brewing sap.

"The change of weather has a great effect on the bleeding of plants.

When the weather changes from warm to cold, Birch ceases to bleed, and upon the next warmth begins again: but the contrary obtains in the Walnut-tree, and frequently in the Sycamore, which upon a fit of cold will bleed plentifully, and, as that remits, stop. A morning sun after frost will make the whole bleeding tribe bleed afresh.

"From the latter end of January to the middle of May trees will bleed.

Those that run first, are the Poplar, Asp, Abele, Maple, Sycamore. Some, as Willows and the Birch, are best to tap about the middle of the season, and the Walnut towards the latter end of March.

"When a large Walnut will bleed no longer in the body or branches, it will run at the root, and longer on the south or sunny side than on the north or shady side.

"A culinary fire will have the same or greater effect than the sun, and immediately set trees a-bleeding in the severest weather. Branches of Maple or Willow cut off at both ends, will bleed and cease at pleasure again and again as you approach them to or withdraw them from the fire, provided you balance them in your hand, and often invert them to prevent the falling and expence of the sap; but at length they cease.

"A Birch will not bleed however deeply the bark only may be wounded: it is necessary to pierce into the substance of the wood."--Dr. Tonge in Phil. Trans. No. 43.

THE END