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 vet 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 Zaxap (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, resid.ng 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 cf 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 ex periment

CURIOUS PARTICULARS OF A POUND WEIGHT OF COTTONWOOL.-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, 18 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 openng 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