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a lu-chee tree, whose natural size is that of our full-grown mulberry-tree, dwarfed into one of three feet; its trunk had all the appearance of old timber, and the branches tapered similar to those on a natural-sized tree. I have heard of an orange-tree being distorted into the form of a man's hand; but I did not see it. The mode of dwarfing is simple; the branch of a fullgrown tree is covered with mould, which is bound round with cloth or matting, and kept constantly wet; the fibres of the branch thus covered soon shoot into the mould, and then the branch is carefully cut from the tree, the bandage is removed, and it is planted in new earth. The fibres then become roots, and thus that which was previously a branch on the parent tree becomes a trunk, bearing flowers and fruit. The buds at the extremity of the branches which are intended to be dwarfed, are torn off as soon as they appear, and by this means the branches are arrested in their growth, and other buds and branches shoot out. After a certain time, sugar-juice is applied to the trunk of the dwarf-tree, by which means insects are attracted, and thus the bark is injured, and that knotted appearance is produced, peculiar to old trees. When it is proposed to give any particular form to a tree, the branches are bent into shape, and retained in it by means of pieces of bamboo.-China and the Chinese.

LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INTEL

LIGENCE.

PATENT SELF-CLEANSING WATER FILTER. We have been favored by Mr. Higgs, of Lord street, with an opportunity of inspecting a self-cleansing water filter, which has been patented by Mr. Brooke Smith and Mr. R. F. Sturges. The invention appears to be by far the most complete which has yet been introduced, and to afford all the advantages that are required in such an apparatus. It can be attached to the usual water-pipes without difficulty, and without interfering with the supply of unfiltered water. It is brought into action by the mere turning of a tap, can be cleansed by a reversed action, and consequently it may be safely entrusted to the care of any ordinary person. The self-cleansing principle, now, we believe, introduced for the first time, is perhaps the most valuable part of the invention. In most cases the filtration is carried on for some time through the mass of accumulated filth, and the perfect purification of the water is rendered almost impossible. The moderate price of the filter is another and important recommendation.-Liverpool Albion.

GAS FOR ONE.-Mr. Thomas Waugh, of Berry Edge, publican, has got a gasometer all to himself! It has usually been concluded that a man must dispense with the luxury of gas unless his lot be cast in a good-sized town; but Mr. Waugh, thanks to an ingenious pitman of Garesfield colliery, has gas works of his own, which only cost him about £25, and he can brag of having a more brilliant light than the folks of Newcastle. Mr. Waugh, we understand, is not the only person for whom the engineering collier has constructed gas works; others have had him at work illuminating their houses; and we shall be glad if this notice prove an advertisement to him, and get him a few more jobs.-Gateshead Observer.

A paragraph has been going the round of the papers which asserts that a M. Babinet has, by a communication made to the Institute, "to a great extent" convinced M. Leverrier that Neptune is not the planet calculated by him. We recommend our readers to do as we mean to do wait till M. Leverrier himself publishes this admission. But that the account of the meeting of the Institute is very circumstantially given, we should rather incline to believe that this asserted communication is the echo of some of the English or American speculators on the subject of "Neptune no Neptune."-Athenæum.

Messrs. Longman & Co. announce the following important works for publication during the ensuing season:

The History of England, from the Accession of James II. By Thomas Babington Macaulay. Vols. I. and II. 8vo.

The Saxons in England: a History of the English Commonwealth until the Time of the Norman Conquest. By J. M. Kemble, M. A. 2 vols. 8vo.

Letters of William III. and Louis XIV., and of their Ministers. Extracted from the Archives of France and England, and from Family Papers. Edited by P. Grimblot. 2 vols. 8vo.

The Judges of England: with Sketches of their Lives, and Notices connected with the Courts at Westminster from the Time of the Conquest. By E. Foss, Esq., F.S.A. Vols. I. and II. 8vo.

Loyola and Jesuitism. By Isaac Taylor. Post 8vo.

Sacred and Legendary Art. By Mrs. Jameson. 2 vols. square crown Svo.; with numerous wood cuts and Sixteen Etchings by the Author.

The Fountain of Arethusa. By Robert

Eyres Landor, M. A., author of "The Fawn of Sertorius." 2 vols. post 8 vo.

A Record of the Black Prince, in the Words of the Chroniclers. In Black Letter, with Illuminated Miniatures and other Illustrations. Post 8vo. in carved and pierced covers.

Songs, Madrigals, and Sonnets. The Text set in borders of Colored Ornaments and Vignettes. Square fcap. 8vo. handsomely bound. Ecclesiastes: or, The Preacher. From the Holy Scriptures. Illuminated in the Missal Style, by Owen Jones. Imperial 16mo. in a magnificent carved binding.

The Song of Solomon. From the Holy Scriptures. Illuminated in the Missal Style, by Owen Jones. Imperial 16mo. elegantly

bound in relievo leather.

The History of the Jews of Spain and Portugal, from the Earliest Times to their Final Expulsion from those Kingdoms. By E. H. Lindo. 8vo. Plates and Fac-similes. 12s.

SHORT REVIEWS AND NOTICES.

P. VIRGILII MARONIS CARMINA-With an Introduction and Notes. Chambers' Classical Series, edited by Schmitz and Zumpt. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard.

The names of these distinguished classical scholars is a sufficient guaranty that the work undertaken by them is well done. Whether the plan adopted in the series of which this volume forms a part, of placing the notes at the foot of the page, be a judicious one, is a question which only practical teachers can decide, and on which much difference of opinion exists. The amount of assistance which ought to be afforded to scholars in the notes, is another controverted point; and those who are

in favor of a minimum quantity, will find this edition well calculated to meet their wants. The text is mainly adopted from that of Wagner's edition, "though in certain matters of orthography the mode usually pursued in this country (England) and to which our Dictionaries are adapted, has been employed." We are surprised, that having so far departed from the text of Wagner, the editors have thought proper to retain the very uncommon form of the accusative plural, is for es; e. g. Nos patriæ finis et dulcia linguimus arva; Sic canibus catulos similis, sic matribus haedos norum.

The American reprint which we have before us, is neatly got up, and published at a moderate price.

ALFRED IN INDIA, or Scenes in Hindoostan. Boston: Gould, Kendall & Lincoln. 1848.

There is perhaps no department of literature in which so great an improvement has taken place during the last fifteen or twenty years, as in that of books intended for the young. Children are now regarded as rational beings with minds which require to be improved and developed, and for this end to be supplied with instruction in a form best calculated to excite in them a vivid interest, and to prompt a desire to learn. When we state that the pretty little volume before us was originally published under the auspices of the Messrs. Chambers, our readers may be certain that it is one of the best of this class of works; indeed, although it is perfectly simple and easy of comprehension, a large portion of the contents would, we imagine, be both amusing and instructive to " children of a larger growth."

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FORTUNE'S CHINA: GARDENING.

Wanderings in China. By ROBERT FOR- paratively open. What he saw with his own TUNE. London: 1847.

It was the humor of some philosophers of the last century to be credulous about the virtues, genius, and accomplishments of the Chinese; and, the other day, the Pottinger Treaty appears to have found too many of our countrymen equally ready to be deceived. According to their sanguine anticipations, the opening of the five ports was to be the beginning of a new world.

Horticulturists were naturally among the most forward of these expectants. The Chinese glorify their country with the title of the Flowery Empire. Their tea plant lays us under tribute morning and evening; and they have already presented our gardens with the Pæony and Chrysanthemum, with the Azalea, Camellia, and divers other flowers. In addition to which, an obscure belief prevailed at one time (and is not perhaps at present quite exploded) that the English taste in landscape gardening, if not derived from the Chinese, is at all events the same with it. It is not at all surprising, therefore, that in the general rush to China, our gardeners should have wished to be suitably represented. Accordingly, in 1843, the Horticultural Society of London sent out Mr. Fortune as its botanical collector; a judicious choice, as far as we can judge from the present unpretending volume, which is his account of his two years' wanderings among the Chinese Flora. We rejoice to learn that the zeal and ability displayed by Mr. Fortune on this occasion have received an appropriate reward; and that he has been recently appointed by the East India Company to examine more completely the Tea districts of China, with the view, we believe, of afterwards superintending the naturalization of the Thea viridis in the Himalaya, either as a plant or a manufacture, as the case may be.

Mr. Fortune performed, we have no doubt, all that could be reasonably looked for. But, with only the opportunities and qualifications which Europeans possess at present, the question still remains, what this all amounts to? Not allowed to pass into the interior, and ill acquainted with the language, there are few problems concerning China which foreigners can be supposed to be yet in a state for solving on their personal responsibility. For example, the objects of Mr. Fortune's search lie com

VOL. III.

eyes we believe implicitly in. But what did he see? With the exception of a hasty excursion to Soc-chow-foo in a boat and in disguise, his range of observation was confined to the immediate neighborhood of the privileged maritime towns, with the names of which English readers are by this time pretty well familiarized. For all beyond, he could have nothing but the word of a Chinese.

It will be long, we fear, before strangers can observe at their ease, or communicate with confidence in China. Mr. Fortune was stared at in the neighborhood of Amoy as an object of curiosity and alarm.

"When the day was hot, I would sit under the shade of a large banyan tree, generally found growing near the houses; and then the whole village-men, women, and children,— would gather round, gazing at me with curiosity, not unmixed with fear, as if I were a being examine my clothes, another would peep into from another world. Then one would begin to my pockets, while several others were examining my specimens." (P. 37.)

He was robbed at Chinchew:

"A few of the natives began to follow me very closely, and, from their manner, I suspected that their intentions to me were not good; but where I should see some good plants and flowas they pretended to take me to some place ers, I allowed them to accompany me, and tried to keep them all in good humor. We arrived at last in sight of a large mansion, standing in a retired part of the country, and I was proceeding with perfect confidence towards it, when round me; and upon feeling a hand in my the Chinamen began to press more closely pocket, I turned quickly round, and saw the thief running off with a letter which he had abstracted. As soon as he saw he was discovered, he threw it on the ground and made off; but when I put my hand into my pocket, I found that I had lost several things of more value. This incident stopped my progress, and made me look about for my servant, whom I saw at the fellows. They had surrounded him, presentsome distance, attacked by about eight or ten of ing their knives, and threatening to stab him if he offered the least resistance, at the same time endeavoring to rob and strip him of every thing of the slightest value, and my poor plants, collected with so much care, were flying about in all directions." (P. 57.)

He was cheated at Ningpo, Shanghai,-and most probably everywhere else. Among the objects which he was always inquiring after,

was a reported yellow camellia: and he was rash enough at Ningpo to offer the sum of ten dollars to any Chinaman who would bring him

one :

"Any thing can be had in China for dollars! and it was not long before two plants were brought me, one of which was said to be light yellow, and the other as deep a color as the double yellow rose. Both had flower-buds upon them, but neither was in bloom. I felt quite certain that the Chinaman was deceiving me, and it seemed foolish to pay such a sum for plants which I should in all probability have to throw away afterwards; and yet I could not make up my mind to lose the chance, slight as it was, of possessing the yellow camellia. And the rogue did his business so well! He had a written

answer.

label stuck in each pot, and apparently the writing and labels had been there for some years. I fancied I was as cunning as he was, and requested him to leave the plants, and return on the following morning, when he should have an In the mean time I asked a respectable Chinese merchant to read the writing upon the labels. All was correct; the writing agreed with what the man had told me: namely, that one of the plants produced light yellow blooms, and the other deep yellow. Did you ever see a camellia with yellow flowers?' I enquired of my friend the merchant. No,' said he, in his broken English; 'My never have seen he; my thinkie no have got.' On the following morning the owner of the plants presented himself, and asked me if I had made my mind upon the subject. I told him that I would take the plants to Hong Kong, where I was going at the time; that they would soon flower there; and that if they proved yellow he should have his money. This, however, he would not consent to; and at last we compromised the matter, I agreeing to pay half the money down, and the other half when the plants flowered, providing they were true. On these conditions I got the camellias, and took them with me to Hong Kong. It is almost needless to say that when they flowered there was nothing yellow about them but the stamens, for they were both semidouble worthless kinds." (P. 94.)

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With the same absence of good faith, a Shanghai nurseryman charged him an exorbitant price for some pæonies, because they could only be procured at a great distance; though in fact he brought them, with the earth upon their roots scarcely dry, from a nursery garden hard by. These vexations, however, were lightly treated by Mr. Fortune, who, whether robbed or defrauded, pursued his vocation with uniform temper and perse

verance.

The province of Che-kiang, in which the town of Ningpo is situated, excites our collector to unusual raptures by its abundant flowers. Festoons of the beautiful Glycine sinensis adorn the hedges:

"Most people have seen and admired the beautiful Azaleas which are brought to the Chiswick fètes, and which, as individual specimens. surpass in most instances those which grow and bloom on their native hills. But few can form any idea of the gorgeous and striking beauty of these azalea-clad mountains, where, on every side as far as our vision extends, the eye rests on masses of flowers of dazzling brightness and surpassing beauty. Nor is it the azalea alone which claims our admiration; clematises, wild roses, honeysuckles, the glycine noticed above, and a hundred others, make us confess that China is indeed the central flowery land." (P. 67.)

So much for the wild flowers of China. Their artificial state is not so captivating. When at Ningpo Mr. Fortune visited the gardens of several mandarins. They are fanci fully laid out with ornamental shrubs, and generally contain many specimens of dwarf trees-some trained to represent larger trees, others, to imitate animals or pagodas. The process by which these vegetable toys are created will be read with curiosity, and be probably attempted by many a schoolboy in his holidays. A description of one of the gardens, which strangers are taken to to admire, is sufficiently characteristic. Its owner having accumulated an independent fortune by trade, is amusing his old age after the following fashion :

"This old gentleman has the different parts of his house joined together by rude-looking caverns, and what at first sight appears to be a subterraneous passage, leading from room to room, through which the visitor passes to the garden, which is behind the house. The small courts, of which a glimpse is caught in passing through, are fitted up with this rock-work; dwarf trees are planted here and there in various places, and creepers hang down naturally and gracefully until their ends touch the little ponds of water which are always placed in front of the rockwork. These small places being passed, we are again led through passages like those already noticed, when the garden, with its dwarf trees, vases, rockwork, ornamental windows, and beautiful flowering shrubs, is suddenly opened to the view.” (P. 99.)

This description will apply apparently, more or less, to all the private gardens which were gardens may be considered to be favorably seen by Mr. Fortune; while their nursery represented by the celebrated Fa-tee gardens, within three miles of Canton.

"The plants are principally kept in large pots arranged in rows along the sides of narrow paved walks, with the houses of the gardeners at the entrance, through which the visitors pass Fa-tee gardens possess the greatest attractions. to the gardens." It is in the spring that "the They are then gay with the tree pæony, azaleas,

camellias, roses, and various other plants. The azaleas are splendid, and reminded me of the exhibitions of the Horticultural Society at Chiswick; but the Fa-tee exhibitions were on a much larger scale. Every garden was one mass of bloom, and the different colors of red, white, and purple, blended together, had a most beautiful and imposing effect." (P. 153.)

Shanghai is the most northern of the five ports at which foreigners are permitted to trade. Mr. Fortune passed some time here, from its being a favorable field for his botanical pursuits; and it was from hence he started on his great adventure to Soo-chow-foo.

"Every one who has been in China, or who is at all acquainted with Chinese history, has heard of the city of Soo-chow-foo. If a stranger enters a shop in Hong Kong, in Canton, or in any other of the towns of the south, he is sure to be told when he inquires the price of any curiosity out of the common way, that it has been brought from this celebrated place: let him order anything superb, and it must be sent for from Soo-chow; fine pictures, fine carved work, fine silks, and fine ladies, all come from Soo-chow. It is the Chinaman's earthly paradise, and it would be hard indeed to convince him that it had its equal in any town on earth." (P. 250.)

In the neighborhood of the city there were likewise reported to be a number of excellent gardens and nurseries; Mr. Fortune, therefore, determined at once, if he could obtain a conveyance, to defy the celestial laws, and, if possible, to visit this far-famed city. At length he procured a boat, and set off in the proper direction without telling the boatman where he wished to go. His servant repressed curiosity, and allayed the customary jealousy, by informing all inquirers that his master was "perfectly harmless"-that he would do no mischief, and get nobody into trouble—that he was only a man in search of plants. Sooner or later, however, the object of his journey must be communicated to his travelling companions. So having reached a spot thirty miles distant from Shanghai, he thought the time was come for making his intentions known to his servant, who was more able than any other person to assist him in his scheme. The promise of five dollars to this person, and double pay (Mr. Fortune had bought his experience) to be paid on their return, to his boatmen, induced them to proceed. The difficulties of dress and appearance were now to be overcome; and our author had to be metamorphosed in various ways among others, to cut off his hair, and wear a Chinese wig and tail. He was evidently a little nervous about the success of his disguise. The people in the large towns are not easily

deceived; still less their dogs, which are very averse to strangers. Men, however, and dogs passed him without notice. And when he was crossing the bridge near the city walls-the first Englishman, as far as he knew, that had ever done so for Lord Macartney's embassy is not said to have quitted their boats as they went by-it was no little triumph to him to find that he passed without being remarked by a single individual of the throng that was around him. The city, seen in the only way that he could see it, seems scarcely worthy of the pains that were taken to reach it. It has the merit, however, of prosperity: for it is connected with the central provinces of China by a hundred ramifying canals of various sizes; and being thus a chief mart for their produce, has an important and increasing trade both with Europe and America.

"In its general features, it is much the same as the other cities in the north, but is evidently the seat of luxury and wealth, and has none of those signs of dilapidation and decay which one sees in such towns as Ningpo. A noble canal, as wide as the river Thames at Richmond, runs parallel with the city walls, and acts as a moat, as well as for commercial purposes. Here, as at Cading and Ta-tsong-tseu, a large number of invalided junks are moored, and doubtless make excellent Chinese dwelling-houses, particularly to a people so fond of living on the water. This same canal is carried through arches into the city, where it ramities in all directions, sometimes narrow and dirty, and at other places expanding into lakes of considerable beauty; thus enabling the inhabitants to convey their merchandise to their houses from the most distant parts of the country. Junks and boats of all sizes are plying on this wide and beautiful canal, and the whole place has a cheerful and flourishing aspect, which one does not often see in the other towns in China, if we except Canton and Shanghai. The walls and ramparts are high, semblance to those in Ningpo, but in much betand in excellent repair, having considerable reter order. The city gates seem to be well guarded with Chinese soldiers, and all the streets and lanes inside are intersected at intervals with gates, which are closed at nine or ten at night. The governor-general of the province resides here, and keeps those under his control in excellent order.

"The number of nursery gardens in this city had been exaggerated by my Chinese friends at Shanghai, but nevertheless there were several of considerable extent, out of which I was able to procure some new and valuable plants. Among these I may notice in passing a white Glycine, a fine new double yellow rose, and a Gardenia, with large white blossoms like a Camellia. These plants are now in England, and will soon be met with in every garden in the country. The Soo-chow nurseries abounded in dwarf trees, many of which were very curious and old, two properties to which the Chinese

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