no loss in quality; but the fluid which is drawn out and mixes with the brine consists of the juice of the flesh, and abounds with phosphoric acid, potash, creatine, albumen, and many other substances with, in fact, all those substances which form the constituents of soups or the extract of meat. This brine is thrown away, and hence the more perfectly the process of salting has been effected the more completely the meat is exhausted of its most valuable elements. It is perhaps to the absence of these essential ingredients of nutrition in salt meat that we must attribute the evil consequence of its exclusive use on board ships. The action of alcohol in preserving animal and vegetable substances resembles very much that of a strong brine. Alcohol cannot wet an animal tissue, hence it cannot penetrate it; and if, accordingly, a piece of fresh meat be immersed in strong alcohol, it will be gradually dried by the exosmosis of the juice into it, as in the case of brine above mentioned. Except for the preservation of anatomical preparations, and natural history objects, spirit of wine can never have any practical application. The preservation of fruits, &c. by boiling with sugar and steeping in vinegar, is also dependent upon the same law. Air appears to be quite as indispensable as moisture during the process of putrefaction, and hence, if we could completely shut it out, we would be enabled to preserve meat or other animal and vegetable matter for an indefinite period. This process would have the additional advantage that the substance preserved would retain all its nutritive qualities unimpaired, whilst its natural flavour would be unaltered. In Italy and the south of France, and in Spain, fowls partially boiled are preserved by immersing them in melted goose-grease, which, on cooling, solidifies and effectually prevents all contact of air. Similarly, eggs are greased or immersed for a moment in milk of lime, so as to stop up the pores, and thus keep them fresh by preventing all contact of air. Large quantities of provisions are now also preserved by simple exclusion of air. The vegetables or meats are introduced into tin boxes, and packed as closely as possible and boiled, after which the lid is soldered on, and the boxes again immersed in boiling water for some time. Sometimes the first boiling is effected before the introduction of the meat into the canisters. A small hole is left in the lid for the escape of the air which is driven out by the steam, after which it is then soldered up, and the boiling continued for some time longer, until the oxygen of any traces of air left in the box has been converted into carbonic acid, which has no action whatsoever upon the viands. Some of the meats, soups, and vegetables, preserved in this way by Mr. John H. Gamble of Cork, and left on the beach in Prince Regent's Inlet after the wreck of the "Fury" in 1825, were found in 1833 by Sir John Ross in the most perfect preservation, although annually exposed to a variation of 172° of temperature, namely, from 92° below zero to 80° Fahr. above it! And some boxes of the vegetables and soups were found there after nearly a quarter of a century, in perfect preservation, by Sir James Ross. These preserved meats would be a great boon to the sailor; but unfortunately frauds are easily, and, we regret to say, very frequently committed; and in consequence of the disastrous results which might follow were a ship's crew to be entirely dependent upon them, their use has hitherto been very restricted. No attempt can be made to test the quality of such substances without exposing them to the atmosphere, when decomposition would at once set in. The only other means by which animal and vegetable food may be preserved, which we need mention, is by the agency of antiseptic substances. There are many bodies, such as corrosive sublimate, and to some extent arsenic, &c., which possess the property of preventing the putrefaction of animal substances; but the most remarkable of these is creasote, a peculiar oily liquid which is obtained from wood-tar, and which has derived its name from its preservative qualities (peac, flesh; and oww, I preserve). Meat exposed to the vapours of this substance, or dipped into a solution of it, will gradually dry up and have the appearance of being smoked, and will not putrefy even if exposed to the heat of the summer's sun. From time immemorial, meat has been dried in the smoke of wood fires, by which it acquired a peculiar flavour, and a brown colour, and lost its susceptibility of putrefying. After the discovery of creasote in tar, it was found that it also existed in smoke, and it is almost certain that the preservative action of the latter is owing to the presence of creasote. Vinegar obtained by the distillation of wood contains creasote, and hence its preservative action upon meat immersed in it. In the preservation of meat by smoke, it is usual to give it a preliminary salting, so as to get rid of a certain portion of water contained in the fresh meat. The quality of the cured meat, especially of bacon, depends to a certain extent upon the amount of this salting, and the mode in which it is effected. In every case salting is injurious to the quality of the meat, by depriving it of its nutritious juices; the less the meat is salted, therefore the better will be the bacon, but the more difficult will be the process of smoke-curing. The nature of the fuel which produces the smoke seems also to exert a considerable influence upon the quality of the meat; the young green wood of the beach, for instance, is said to yield the most delicate hams. It is proper, however, to remark that the breed of the pig, but above all its food, are also among the most important causes influencing the quality of smoked meat. Pigs fed upon acorns, as in Westphalia, and upon acorns, chestnuts, and other nuts, as in the neighbourhood of Bayonne, and allowed the full freedom of the forests, and as they use but little salt, and cure entirely with wood, the choicest hams in the world are produced there. As a general rule, dry nutritious food, such as refuse corn, bran, &c., yields a much better quality of bacon than watery food; in the latter case, too, the lard is not so firm, and is much more liable to become rancid, andi the meat loses more in the salting, and the cured bacon is not at all juicy. A good deal of judgment appears, therefore, to be required in the selection of the pigs and curing of the bacon in these countries: and that a good deal of the success depends upon the skill is proved by the reputation which Limerick, and more recently, Belfast and Cork, have acquired in the production of superior bacon, and which is entirely due to a few individuals. Considering the great importance of the provision trade, and the peculiar relation of Ireland to it, it was but very imperfectly represented in the Exhibition. Mr. Farrell, of Dublin, exhibited some casks of mess pork and beef, the appearance of which could be readily judged of in consequence of one of the heads of each cask having been formed of a plate of glass. At the close of the Exhibition it was in prime condition, and appeared to have been cured in the most skilful manner. Mr. Mac Vey, of Dublin, exhibited a number of hams, middles, &c. of bacon, which were particularly deserving of commendation, as he appears to have un derstood that salt and smoke are only means for preserving the meat, and not simply for flavouring it; and that, consistently with that object, the less of either they receive the better. Mr. Fadeuilhe, of London, exhibited a number of samples of his preserved milk, which is simply that fluid deprived of its water, and seasoned with sugar. Such a preparation would be a great boon to persons going on long voyages in this tea-drinking age; but hitherto all attempts to produce an article which would yield a sweet-flavoured milk on dissolution in water have been very unsuccessful. The product exhibited by Mr. Fadeuilhe laboured under the disadvantage of absorbing moisture from the atmosphere and becoming damp, and, in this state, of getting a cheesey or rancid flavour. The meat biscuits of Mr. Warriner, of Birmingham, deserve special mention in consequence of the singular nature of the preparation. In many countries, especially in South America and Australia, large numbers of cattle and sheep are boiled down for their fat alone. After the removal of the layer of fat from the surface of the broth, and the separation of the fragments of bone and the fibrine of the meat, a rich soup may be obtained, containing the juices of a large quantity of the meat and a certain portion of the solid part of the meat itself rendered soluble by the continued boiling. By the evaporation of this liquid an extract can be obtained, one pound of which contains the rich and nutritive juices of perhaps 30 to 40 lbs. of the fresh meat. Mr. Warriner uses such an extract prepared in Australia as one of the ingredients of his biscuits; and we have no doubt that the articles prepared by him are exceedingly nutritive, and would, unquestionably, be of incalculable service on ship-board, because they supply all those important constituents which salt meat has lost, and thus perhaps would check, to a great extent, scurvy.* HONEY. Although no honey was exhibited as such, a few observations upon the nature of that substance may not be out of place in connexion with the various forms of hives exhibited, especially as some of these contained swarms of bees engaged in the production of the article.† The preservation of meat and vegetables first attracted public attention in the very laudable inquiries as to how the wants of navigators to distant regions could be best ministered to, when without access to fresh supplies. The measures adopted for the discovery of a north-west passage gave a practical value to what had hitherto been regarded as little more than matters of curiosity, and the Admiralty, accordingly, stimulated the manufacturers to great perfection in the art. But the value of this process was soon found to be of much greater extent than that it should be confined to the crews of vessels on distant voyages. In new countries, so little is the flesh of sheep and cattle sometimes in demand, that they have not been unfrequently destroyed for the skin and fat, allowing the flesh to go to waste from inability to preserve it: and in such cases large curing establishments would add greatly to the produce. In our own country, too, at the various fishing stations, it becomes an object to be able to preserve a portion of the stock of fish taken, for which there may not be an adequate immediate demand. The regulations of the Exhibition of 1851, so far as regarded the awards of prizes for meritorious articles, enabled an opinion to be pronounced on their quality, for which there was no opportunity at our Exhibition; and the Report of the Jurors of that department was highly complimentary to the character of the goods brought under their notice. From that Report we learn that "several hundred canisters of meat were exhibited from various countries, and some of these try many different persons. Their merits were tested by a selection from each; the cases were opened in the preBence of the Jury and tasted by themselves; and when advisable, by associates. The majority were of English manufacture, especially the more substantial viands; France and Germany exhibiting chiefly made dishes, game and delicadies of meat, fish, soups, and vegetables." And the reporter of the department further observed that although "the contents of all the cases of whatever kind have lost much of the freshness, taste, and flavour peculiar to newly killed meat-they are soft, and as it were, overdone-yet the nutritions principles are perfectly preserved. As nutriment, they are unexceptionable; they are wholesome and agreeatie, and often pleasantly flavoured. Vouchers were given for some of the samples tasted by the Jurors having been proserved for twenty-five years and upwards: these were in a perfectly sound state, and did not perceptibly differ from the contents of canisters only a few months old. So long as the sealing remains sound, the viands appear to undergo De charge. Any difference between the contents of the properly preserved cases was to be attributed to the state of the food before preparation, or to the cooking, and not to the method employed for preserving, which is simple, and universally applicable." In reference to the preserved vegetables exhibited on the same occasion, we find from the authority just quoted, that vegetables preserved in a similar manner have been considered by the Jury with the animal food. Generally speaking, their flavour was fresher than that of the meats, especially in the case of those abounding in the saccharine principle, as beet, carrots, parsnips, salsafy, which preserve to advantage. The more farinaceous do not preserve so well, such as green peas, &c., whilst those abounding in volatile oils are hardly worth preservation at all (especially cabbages, turnips, and celery), except as antiscorbutics.-ED. There are few more interesting subjects of inquiry or objects of regard than the study of the economy and management of bees; affording at once a source of recreation, especially to the young, in being acquainted with the habits of these curious creatures, and adding to the comforts of the bee-keeper's household without involving almost any corresponding outlay. The attention which has been received in a utilitarian point of view has enabled much to be learned of their peculiarities, information on which is now readily available in a great variety of publications-in fact there is almost no work on rural economy without something on what is termed bee culture. A swarm of bees may be had for 15s. or 20s., and with this as a parent stock a large colony may soon be had if placed under circumstances favourable to their operations. To enter at length into the details of bee culture would be out of place here. Almost any warm corner with a southern aspect will do for the apiary; as a general rule richly cultivated agricultural districts are the best suited for bees; and they thrive but in the vicinity of extensive gardens, or woody or heathy countries abounding in natural flowers. We may observe, however, that the climate of this country is in general too wet for the successful management of these creatures; some seasons, indeed, are so unfavourable that the entire stock is destroyed. In such cases the bees are unable to collect their wonted supplies of honey during the summer, and hence deficiency of winter food follows. Feeding bees is an important department of their management; but when the natural food is not to be had it becomes difficult to maintain the stock in health. The glass hive, or we should rather say, the small glass case containing a swarm of bees, which was exhibited by J. Edmundson & Co., of this city, formed one of the most. attractive objects in this department. Several kinds of beehive were exhibited, but the experience of the most successful apiarians is in favour of the common cottage hive, which is both inexpensive and effective.-ED. Y A honeycomb consists of three distinct substances the membranous tissues forming the cells, composed of cellulose, the substance which forms the walls of the cells of plants; a coating of wax with which the membrane is lined, and which gives solidity to the cells; and the thick saccharine liquid known as honey. If a piece of fresh honeycomb with its cells full of honey be inverted on a dish, the pure honey will flow out, constituting virgin honey. If this be allowed to rest for some time, it will divide itself into two parts, the one consisting of a number of sphericles of a pale yellowish or almost whitish colour, and formed of a number of crystals radiating from the centre; and the other a thick syrup. The crystalline sphericles are a true sugar, and in every sense identical with grape or fruit sugar; whilst the syrup contains the same sugar with a certain portion of wax, and very often and perhaps, indeed, always, a quantity of a sugar having the same composition as cane sugar, but in an uncrystallizable form. Gum and mannite, or manna sugar, have also been obtained, especially in the turpentine-like honey; but it is probable that they are products of decomposition, for they are not present in good fresh honey; and moreover, we know that under certain circumstances cane sugar is decomposed into mannite, gum, and lactic acid (the acid of sour milk), which is also usually present in honey whenever mannite has been noticed in it. The tendency of some honeys to a turpentine consistence, that is, to decompose, and give rise to the production of mannite, lactic acid, and gum, appears to be intimately connected with the system of management of the bees, with the plants upon which they feed, and upon many other little understood causes. When we also recollect that there is very considerable differences in the composition of the wax of one season compared with that of another, it will be seen that there is much room for investigation in this branch of rural economy. It is not yet known whether bees are capable of elaborating sugar from their ordinary food; for the parts of plants such as the nectaries, the anthers, &c., upon which bees settle and collect food, abound in ready-formed sugar. They are, however, undoubtedly capable of transforming cane sugar into grape sugar; for, independent of the fact that the pollen of some plants and the entire sap of others contain only cane-sugar, bees fed on the common sugar produce abundance of honey. Bees appear to possess the power also of transforming sugar into wax, a change which the chemist has never yet been able to effect artificially, but which the progress of science may yet place within our power. Although the conversion of sugar into wax is a far more difficult chemical problem than the transformation of sugar into cellulose, with which it is so intimately related, as may be gathered from our observations upon starch, and which, indeed, has been already to a great extent effected artificially, it will, we have no doubt, appear much more strange to our readers to find that bees possess the power of elaborating woody matter. Yet such is the case, for there can be no doubt that the material of their cell walls is secreted by the bees in the same manner as the honey and wax. The singularity of this fact does not end here, for recent researches show that many cells exist in animals composed of true cellulose, or, in other words, of true vegetable matter! This curious discovery, which was first established with reference to the mantle of the oyster, has been since much extended, and it is now fully proved that it exists in the bee, and in many other insects, and even in the brains of some of the higher animals being perhaps formed from sugar, which we now know to exist almost as universally in the animal organism as in that of the vegetable.-W. K. S. 1. ALLMAN & Co., Bandon, Co. Cork, Manufacturers.— Specimen of whisky. 2. ANDREWS, W., Brazilian Consul, Castle-street, Dublin. Specimens of Brazilian produce, comprising coffee and coffee plants; sugar canes, sugar. 3. ASPREY, JAMES, Sandleford, near Newbury, Berks, Producer. Specimens of malt and pease. 4. BLACKNEY, Hugh, Bally Ellen, Goresbridge-Beehives, of various constructions. 5. BROWN & POLSON, Paisley.-Granulated starch, made from wheat; powder starch, from sago flour; pulverized farina, from diseased potatoes; gluten, from wheat. 6. BURGESS, E., Pill-lane, Dublin, Manufacturer. Snuff, made solely from pure Virginia tobacco-stalks; roll tobacco, made of pure Virginia leaf. 7. COONEY, C., Back-lane, Dublin, Manufacturer.— Starch, manufactured from wheat; sago flour, and potato flour. 8. DALY, J. & Co., Cork, Manufacturers.-Whisky, in wooden and glass casks; specimens of Irish manufactured pearl barleys. 9. DRUMMOND, W., & SON, Dawson-street, Dublin, and Stirling, N. B.-290 dried specimens of grains, grasses, and other plants used in agriculture; samples of the seeds of the grains and grasses, &c., generally cultivated in Ireland; coloured drawings, in full size, of 40 varieties of garden and farm vegetables and roots. 10. FADEUILHE, V. B., Newington Crescent, London, Inventor and Manufacturer.-Patent solidified milk, and the grated substance of solidified milk. 11. FARRELL, F., Capel-street, Dublin.-Specimens of hay, clover, and other seeds; a selected assortment of agricultural grasses, suited for the improvement of pasture and meadow lands. 12. FARRELL, J., Leinster-market, Dublin.-Specimens of mess beef and pork, in casks. 13. FOOT, LUNDY, & Co., Essex-bridge, Dublin, Manufacturers.-Lundy Foot's snuff of three kinds, viz. :— - Hightoast, Scotch, and stalk, made solely from the leaf and stalks of Virginia tobacco; Virginia leaf tobacco and stalks; same fermented previous to roasting; same roasted ready for grinding; cavendish, nailrod, negrohead, pigtail, roll tobacco, and various cut tobaccos. 14. FORDHAM, T., Snelsmore-hill, East Newbury, Berks, Producer.-Samples of agricultural produce, viz., wheat, Fordham's improved white, red lammas, and Australian white; Fordham's prolific white-eye, and haricot and horse beans chevalier, black and skinless barley; ears of maize; a few dried pods; dried specimen of [maize] Indian corn, with three ears, grown in Berkshire, in 1852, from acclimatized seed. 15. FRY & SONS, Bristol, Importers and Manufacturers.Specimens of pods, leaves, flowers, wood, &c., of the theobroma cacao tree; cocoa-nuts as imported; manufactured chocolate, and cocoa; paintings of views in Trinidad, &c. 16. GOODBODY, R., Tullamore, King's Co., Manufac turer. Snuffs and tobaccos. 17. IRISH BEET SUGAR COMPANY, per W. HIRSCH, Mountmellick, Queen's Co., Manufacturers-Specimens illustrating the beet-root sugar manufacture: beet-root seed, beet-roots, beet-root pulp; juice of beet-root defecated and concentrated; syrup of the beet-root crystallized; samples of soft sugar from first, second, and third crystallizations; treacle from first and second crystallizations; the same, boiled: molasses; soft sugar-loaves and lumps; pressed scum from defecating-pans; animal charcoal for filtering; five views of the different processes carried on in the factory at Mountmellick. 18. JENNINGS, T., Brown-street, Cork, Manufacturer. Wheaten starch; crystal white wine and brown vinegar. 19. KIBBLE, T., Grentres, Hadlow, Kent, Producer.Hops. 20. LEA & PERRIN, Broad-street, Worcester.-Worcestershire sauce. 21. LUGTON, G., Leinster-street, Dublin, Manufacturer.— Rounds of spiced beef. 22. LYTLE, Belfast. Specimens of wheaten starch. 23. M'ARTHUR, J., Capel-street, Dublin.-Roots, in various stages of growth, showing the effect of deep tillage on vegetation. 24. M'CANN, J., Drogheda, Manufacturer.-Samples of oatmeal, coarse and fine, as used for stirabout, gruel, and bread. 25. M GARRY & SONS, Palmerstown and Ashtown Mills, Dublin, Manufacturers.-Irish mustard and oil-cake. 26. M'VEY, E., James's-street, Dublin, Manufacturer.— A whole preserved pig; hams, middles, and joles of bacon; mess pork; refined lard, in kegs, rings, and bladders; mutton hams, and ox-tongues, dried and smoked. 27. MONTEIRO, L. A., Phillimore-place, Kensington, London, Manufacturer.-Specimens of chocolate, sweetened without any admixture of colouring matter whatever, made of Curacao cocoa, Curacao and British West India cocoas combined, and of British West India cocoa; and chocolate lozenges, of pure Curacao cocoa; all roasted by the new process. 28. NEIGHBOUR, G., & Sons, High Holborn, London.— Neighbour's unicomb glass bee-hive, stocked with living bees; the ladies' observatory glass bee-hive, stocked with living bees; improved cottage hive, with thermometer, 3 bell glasses, &c.; single box hive; Nutt's collateral beehive; Taylor's amateur 8-box hive; 8-bar straw hive, protected from the weather by a case of the same material, with zine roof; Neighbour's cottage hive; improved beefeeder; implements for removing honey from the boxes; bee glasses, of various patterns and sizes. 29. OXLEY, W. & Co., Manchester.-Improved cottage bee-hive. 30. PIM, THOMAS & SAMUEL, Mountmellick, Queen's Co., Manufacturers.-Specimens of starch. 31. REILLY & SONS, Westmoreland-street, Dublin, Manufacturers.-Pickled and smoked ox-tongues; potted meats; vin au lait, or milk-punch; restoration jelly; bottled fruits; fancy jars of pickles; and various sauces, preserves, &c. 32. ROE, WILLIAM, Mountrath Mills, Queen's County. -Flour, bran, wheaten-meal, &c. 33. RUSSELL, G., Wilmington, Kent, Producer.-Hops. 34. SMITH, J., Rye, Sussex, Producer.-Hops. 35. SMITH, M., Copper-alley, Dublin, Manufacturer.— Model of a pig, cast in rendered lard, with other ornamental devices of same material. 36. STYLES, T., Upper Thames-street, London, Manufacturer.-Samples of and illustrations of the mode of packing Ashby's prepared groats, barley, and pea-flour, for the production of gruel, &c., in a few minutes. 37. SULLIVAN, WILLIAM K., Stephen's-green, Dublin.Series of specimens illustrative of the manufacture of beet sugar, obtained in carrying out the experiments for the Government Report at the Museum of Irish Industry in Stephen's-green. 38. TAYLOR, J. & W., Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire. -Specimens of malt,-white, for making pale ale; coloured, for beer and porter; amber, for giving colour and flavour; and brown or blown, used for making porter. 39. TOOLE & MACKEY, Westmoreland-street, Dublin.— Collection of agricultural seeds. 40. TUCKER, E., Belfast.-Specimens of wheaten starch and crown glue. 41. WARRINER, GEORGE, Snow-street, Birmingham.— Biscuits made of essence of meat. 42. WATERS, G. & Co., Green Distillery, Cork, Manufacturers. Specimens of whisky, of different ages, in two glass barrels, and one of polished oak, with brass hoops and glass heads, exhibited as a beautiful specimen of coopering; samples of Scotch and pearl barley, manufactured at the Green Distillery Mills. 43. WEEKES, T., Great Britain-street, Dublin, Manufacturer.-Roll of manufactured tobacco. 44. WOTHERSPOON, R., Glenfield Starch Works, Paisley, Manufacturer.-Specimens of starch, made of East India sago, by a peculiar process, and solely by manual la bour. CLASS IV. THE VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL SUBSTANCES USED IN MANUFACTURES. HE substances comprehended in this class conclude the department of Raw Materials; and the list now remaining to be disposed of in this section of the Exhibition is far from being an extensive one. As a whole, this department was by no means so amply represented as might have been expected, or could have been desired, particularly in a country whose raw materials constitute the chief source of her wealth, and whose manufacturing industry, in many branches, may be said to be only in embryo. But so little have industrial pursuits been attended to in times past, and so small is the amount of special knowledge generally available on such matters, that the importance of an adequate illustration of the resources of the country in this respect was not duly appreciated. We have already seen in the foregoing pages that the extent of the raw materials available as the basis of successful manufacturing industry is much smaller than has been commonly supposed, and that the boasted treasures of Ireland in this department were simple exaggerations, inconsiderately indulged in by those who did not know better; but this only formed an additional reason why the materials that are unquestionably available should have been carefully represented. We may also remark, that many of the deficiencies which the Exhibition presented arose from an imperfect acquaintance with the real objects of such a display. Many parties who could have effectively contributed were deterred from doing so, under the impression that they should not come forward unless with articles entirely out of the common course, either as specimens of extraordinary natural objects, or gems of manufacturing skill; forgetting that the Exhibition was designed to show the existing condition of manufacturing industry, and the character and, as far as possible, the extent of raw materials available for it, more particularly with reference to Ireland. For the same reason there was little trouble taken by the producers of the common articles of every-day life to enter the lists of competition unless with extraordinary things; overlooking the circumstance that excellence in common things, taking quality and price together, is of much greater national importance than the display of surpassing skill in producing articles of luxury, the demand for which must ever be limited and capricious. Of many of the substances belonging to this class there were no illustrations in the Exhibition; and by the arrangement which has been adopted in treating of the two preceding classes, several matters have already been disposed of which might come in for some consideration here. Cotton, flax, silk, wool, and oils and fats, are, therefore, the matters to which we still find it necessary to refer: arranging these as products of the vegetable and animal kingdom, oils and fats being common to both. I. THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. COTTON. Although there were but few samples of cotton exhibited, the very great importance of the manufactures founded upon that material demands a few brief observations upon its nature and the sources whence it is obtained. The vascular tissue of all plants consists of a number of tubes composed of cellulose, upon which is deposited a sort of incrustation of another woody substance. Where these vessels are arranged so as to form a stem, and the incrusting matter is deposited in considerable quantity, wood is formed. In other cases, the vascular tissue, although arranged in parallel bundles, so as to constitute a stem, is intermingled with a considerable quantity of cellular matter, and is, comparatively speaking, but little crusted over. This is the case in the flax plant, the hemp, the nettle, and in most herbaceous plants; and hence, by getting rid of the cellular tissue, we are enabled to isolate the vascular tissue, which is obtained in the condition of a number of long threads or fibres, as is familiar to most persons in the case of the flax and hemp. In some plants we are presented with analogous fibrous matter in an isolated state, as a sort of appendage to the seed, apparently for the purpose of enabling them to be borne through the air. Thus the seeds of the common dandelion have a number of hair-like appendages, formed of a kind of fibrous tissue; but it is in the seeds of the willow and of the cotton grass, or Eriophorum vaginatum, the silk plant, Asclepias Syriaca, &c., that this fibrous appendage becomes so developed as to resemble the fibre of flax. Various attempts have been made to utilize these fibrous matters, but hitherto unsuccessfully, in consequence of their shortness, comparative coarseness, and the difficulty of procuring a supply. Amongst the curiosities of the Exhibition was, however, a piece of cloth contributed by Mrs. Veevers, composed of a mixture of cotton and the down of the Eriophorum. In most tropical and sub-tropical regions several allied genera of plants are found, the seeds of which are enclosed in capsules filled with a fine downy fibrous matter, which, unlike the plants just mentioned, consist of fibres sufficiently long to admit of being spun into thread, and can be obtained in large |