Chapter 10

A good deal of attention has lately been directed to this plant in consequence of the enormous extent to which it is cultivated in China for the sake of the small seeds which it produces, and which are known as soy beans. These vary considerably in size, shape, and color, according to the variety of the plant which produces them. They are for the most part about the size and shape of an ordinary field pea, and, like the pea, are of a yellow color; some, however, are of a greenish tint. These seeds contain a large quantity of oil, which is expressed from them in China and used for a variety of purposes. The residue is moulded with a considerable amount of pressure into large circular cakes, two feet or more across, and six inches or eight inches thick. This cake is used either for feeding cattle or for manuring the land; indeed, a very large trade is done in China with bean cake (as it is always called) for these purposes. The well-known sauce called soy is also prepared from seeds of this bean. The plant generally known as Soja hispida is by modern botanists referred to Glycine soja. It is an erect, hairy, herbaceous plant. The leaves are three-parted and the papilionaceous flowers are born in axillary racemes. It is too tender for outdoor cultivation in this country, but, has been recommended for extended growth in our colonies as a commercial plant. The plants are readily used from seed.--_J.R.F., in The Garden_.

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ERICA CAVENDISHIANA.

The plant of which the illustration is given is one of those fine specimens which has made the collection of J. Lawless, Esq., The Cottage, Exeter, famous all over the south and west of England. It is only one specimen among a considerable collection of hard-wooded plants which are cultivated and trained in first rate style by Mr. George Cole, the gardener, one of the most successful plant growers of the day. The plant was in the winning collection of Mr. Cole exhibited at the late spring show held at Plymouth.--_The Gardeners' Chronicle_.

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PHILESIA BUXIFOLIA.

We figure this plant, not as a novelty, but for the purpose of showing what a fine thing it is when grown under propitious circumstances. Generally, we see it more or less starved in the greenhouse, and even when planted out in the winter garden its flowers lack the size and richness of color they attain out-of-doors. It comes from the extreme south of South America, which accounts for its hardihood, and is a near ally of the Lapageria: the latter is remarkable for withstanding even the noxious fumes of the copper smelting works in Chili, and as the Philesia has similar tough leaves, it is probable that it would support the vitiated atmosphere of a town better than most evergreens. In any case, there is no reasonable doubt but that, if cultivators would take the necessary pains, they might select perfectly hardy varieties both of the Lapageria and of the Philesia. As it is, we can only call the Philesea half-hardy north of the Thames, while the Lapageria is not even that. The curious Philageria, raised in Messrs. Veitch's nursery and described and figured in our columns in 1872, p. 358, is a hybrid raised between the two genera. For the specimen of Philesia figured we are indebted to Mr. Dartnall.--_The Gardeners' Chronicle_.

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MAHOGANY.

The mahogany tree, says the _Lumber World_, is a native of the West Indies, the Bahamas, and that portion of Central America that lies adjacent to the Bay of Honduras, and has also been found in Florida. It is stated to be of moderately rapid growth, reaching its full maturity in about two hundred years. Full grown, it is one of the monarchs of tropical America. Its trunk, which often exceeds forty feet in length and six in diameter, and massive arms, rising to a lofty height, and spreading with graceful sweep over immense spaces, covered with beautiful foliage, bright, glossy, light, and airy, clinging so long to the spray as to make it almost an evergreen, present a rare combination of loveliness and grandeur. The leaves are small, delicate, and polished like those of the laurel. The flowers are small and white, or greenish yellow. The fruit is a hard, woody capsule, oval, not unlike the head of a turkey in size and shape, and contains five cells, in each of which are inclosed about fifteen seeds.

The mahogany tree was not discovered till the end of the sixteenth century, and was not brought into European use till nearly a century later. The first mention of it is that it was used in the repair of some of Sir Walter Raleigh's ships, at Trinidad, in 1597. Its finely variegated tints were admired, but in that age the dream of El Dorado caused matters of more value to be neglected. The first that was brought to England was about 1724, a few planks having been sent to Dr. Gibbons, of London, by a brother who was a West Indian captain. The doctor was erecting a house, and gave the planks to the workmen, who rejected them as being too hard. The doctor then had a candle-box made of the wood, his cabinet-maker also complaining of the hardness of the timber. But, when finished, the box became an object of general curiosity and admiration. He had one bureau, and her Grace of Buckingham had another, made of this beautiful wood, and the despised mahogany now became a prominent article of luxury, and at the same time raised the fortunes of the cabinet-maker by whom it had been so little regarded. Since that lime it has taken a leading rank among the ornamental woods, having come to be considered indispensable where luxury is intended to be indicated.

A few facts will furnish a tolerably distinct idea of the size of this splendid tree. The mahogany lumbermen, having selected a tree, surround it with a platform about twelve feet above the ground, and cut it above the platform. Some twelve or fifteen feet of the largest part of the trunk are thus lost. Yet a single log not unfrequently weighs from six or seven to fifteen tons, and sometimes measures as much as seventeen feet in length and four and a half to five and a half feet in diameter, one tree furnishing two, three, or four such logs. Some trees have yielded 12,000 superficial feet, and at average price pieces have sold for $15,000. Messrs. Broadwood London, pianoforte manufacturers, paid £3,000 for three logs, all cut from one tree, and each about fifteen feet long and more than three feet square. The tree is cut at two seasons of the year--in the autumn and about Christmas time. The trunk, of course, furnishes timber of the largest dimensions, but that from the branches is preferred for ornamental purposes, owing to its closer grain and more variegated color.

In low and damp soil its growth is rapid; but the most valuable trees grow slowly among rocks on sterile soil, and seem to gather compactness and beauty from the very struggle which they make for an existence. In the Bahamas, in the most desolate regions, once flourished that curiously veined and much esteemed variety once known in Europe as "Madeira wood," but which has long since been exterminated. Jamaica, also, which used to be a fruitful source of mahogany, and whence in 1753 not less than 521,000 feet were shipped, is now almost depleted. That which is now furnished from there is very inferior, pale, and porous, and is less esteemed than that of Cuba, San Domingo, or Honduras.

In a dry state mahogany Is very durable, and not liable to the attack of worms, but, when exposed to the weather it does not last long. It would therefore make excellent material for floors, roofs, etc., but its costliness limits its utility in this direction, and it is chiefly employed for furniture, doors, and a few other articles of joinery, for which it is among the best materials known. It has been used for sashes and window frames, but is not desirable for this purpose on account of the ease with which it is affected by the weather. It has also been used in England to some extent for the framing of machinery in cotton-mills. Its color is a reddish brown of different shades and luster, sometimes becoming a yellowish brown, and often much veined and mottled with darker shades of the same color. Its texture is uniform, and the rings indicating its annual growth are not very distinct. The larger medullary rays are absent, but the smaller ones are often very distinct, with pores between them. In the Jamaica woods these pores are often filled with a white substance, but in that brought from Central America they are generally empty. It has neither taste nor odor, shrinks very slightly, and warps, it is said, less than any other wood.

The variety called Spanish mahogany comes from the West Indies, and is in smaller logs than the Honduras mahogany, being generally about two feet square and ten feet long. It is close grained and hard, generally darker than the Honduras, free from black specks, and sometimes strongly marked; the pores appear as though chalk had been rubbed into them.

The Honduras mahogany comes in logs from two to four feet square and twelve to fourteen long; planks have been obtained seven feet wide. Its grain is very open and often irregular, with black or gray specks. The veins and figures are often very distinct and handsome, and that of a fine golden color and free from gray specks is considered the best. It holds the glue better than any other wood. The weight of a cubic foot of mahogany varies from thirty-five to fifty-three pounds. Its strength is between sixty-seven and ninety-six, stiffness seventy-three to ninety-three, and toughness sixty-one to ninety-nine--oak being considered as one hundred in each case.

There are three other species of the genus _Swietania_ besides the mahogany tree, two of them natives of the East Indies. One is a very large tree, growing in the mountainous parts of central Hindostan, and rises to a great height, throwing out many branches toward the top. The head is spreading and the leaves bear some resemblance to those of the American species. The wood is a dull red, not so beautiful as that known to commerce, but harder, heavier, and more durable. The natives of India consider it the most durable timber which their forests afford, and consequently use it, when it can be procured, wherever strength and durability are particularly desired. The other East Indian species is found in the mountains of Sircars, which run parallel to the Bay of Bengal. The tree is not so large as any of the other species described, and the wood is of much different appearance, being of a deep yellow, considerably resembling box. The grain is close, and the wood both heavy and durable. The third species, known as African mahogany, is brought from Sierra Leone. It is hard and durable, and used for purposes requiring these properties in an eminent degree. If, however, the heart of the tree be exposed or crossed in cutting or trimming the timber, it is very liable to premature and rapid decay.

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ANIMALS AND THE ARTS.

In many of the museums efforts are made to perfect economic collections of animals, so as to show how they can be applied to advantage in the arts and sciences. The collection and preparation of the corals, for example, form an important industry. The fossil corals are richly polished and set in studs and sleeve-buttons, forming rich and ornamental objects. The fossil coral that resembles a delicate chain has been often copied by designers, while the red and black corals have long been used. The best fisheries are along the coasts of Tunis, Algeria, and Morocco, from 2 to 10 miles from shore, in from 30 to 150 fathoms. Good coral is also common at Naples, near Leghorn and Genoa, and on various parts of the sea, as Sardinia, Corsica, Catalonia, Provence, etc. It ranges in color from pure white through all the shades of pink, red, and crimson. The rose pink is most valued. For a long time Marseilles was the market, but now Italy is the great center of the trade, the greater number of boats hailing from Torre del Greco, while outside persons are forced to pay a heavy tax. The vessels are schooners, lateen-rigged, from three to fourteen tons. Large nets are used, which, during the months between March and October, are dragged, dredge-like, over the rocks. A large crew will haul in a season from 600 to 900 pounds. To prevent the destruction of the industry, the reef is divided into ten parts, only one being worked a year, and by the time the tenth is reached the first is overgrown again with a new growth. In 1873 the Algerian fisheries alone, employing 3,150 men, realized half a million of dollars. The choice grades are always valuable, the finest tints bringing over $5 per ounce, while the small pieces, used for necklaces, and called collette, are worth only $1.50 per ounce. The large oval pieces are sent to China, where they are used as buttons of office by the mandarins.

THE CONCH-SHELL.

Somewhat similar in appearance to coral is the conch jewelry, sets of which have been sold for $300. The tint is exquisite, but liable to fade when exposed to the sun. It is made from the great conch, common in Southern Florida and the West Indies. The shells are imported into Europe by thousands, and cut up into studs, sleeve-buttons, and various articles of ornament. These conches are supposed to be the producers of pink pearls, but I have opened hundreds of them and failed to find a single pearl. The conch shell is used by the cameo cutter. Rome and Paris are the principal seats of the trade, and immense numbers of shell cameos are imported by England and America, and mounted in rings, brooches, etc. The one showing a pale salmon-color upon an orange ground is much used. In 1847, 300 persons worked upon these shells in Paris alone, the number of shells used being immense. In Paris 300,000 helmet-shells were used in one year, valued at $40,000 of the bull's mouth, 80,000, averaging a little over a shilling apiece, equal to $34,000. Eight thousand black helmets were used, valued at $9,000. The value of the large cameos produced in Paris in the year 1847 was about $160,000, and the small ones $40,000. In the Wolfe collection of shells at the Museum of Natural History, Central Park, is a fine specimen of the queen conch from the Florida reef, with a fine head cut into the outer surface, showing how it is done. The tools of the worker in cameos are of the most delicate description. Fine files, knitting-needle like implements, triangular-shaped steel cutters, are arranged in a seemingly endless confusion before the worker. The shell or piece of shell to be cut is either lashed or glued to a heavy block or held in the hand, and the face, animal, or other object outlined first with a delicate lead; having thus laid the foundation, the lines are gone over with a delicate needle first, then various kinds, the work gradually growing before the eye, reminding one of the work of the engraver on wood.

LIVING BEETLES, ETC.

Insects have always been used more or less in decoration, especially in Brazil, where the richly-colored beetles of the country are affected as articles of personal adornment. Recently in a Union Square jewelry store a monster beetle was on exhibition, having been sent there for repairs. It was alive, and about its body was a delicate gold band, locked with a minute padlock; a gold chain attached it to the shawl of the owner. Sometimes they are worn upon the headgear, their slow, cumbersome movements preventing them from attracting great attention. They are valued at from $50 to $100 apiece. Snakes, the rich green variety so common in New England, are worn by some ladies as bracelets, while the gorgeous reptiles are often imitated in gold and silver, with eyes of diamonds, rubies, or black pearls. Gold bears are the proper thing now for pins. In the East the chameleon is often worn as a head ornament, the animal rarely moving, and forming at least a picturesque decoration, with its odd shape and sculptured outlines. Various other reptiles, as small turtles, alligators, etc., are pressed into service. The curious soldier-crab has been used as a pin. Placed in a box with a rich pearly shell prepared for the purpose, it will change houses, and then, secured by a gold or silver chain, roams about the wearer, waving its red and blue claws in a warlike manner. Birds are, perhaps, more commonly used as natural ornaments than any other, and a cloak of the skins of humming birds is one of the most magnificent objects to be imagined. One, of a rare species, was once sold in Europe for $5,000. Single birds are often worth $700 or $800. A cloak of the skin of the great auk would bring $8,000 or $10,000. Some of the most beautiful pheasants are extremely valuable--worth their weight in gold. Tiger claws are used in the decoration of hats, and are extremely valuable and hard to obtain.

Within ten years the alligator has become an important factor to the artistic manufacturer. The hide, by a new process, is tanned to an agreeable softness and used in innumerable ways. The most costly bags and trunks are made from it; pocket-books, card-cases, dining-room chairs are covered with it, and it has been used as a dado on the library wall of a well-known naturalist. It makes an excellent binding for certain books. Among fishes the shark provides a skin used in a variety of ways. The shagreen of the shark's ray is of great value. Canes are made of the shark's backbone, the interstices being filled with silver or shell plates. Shark's teeth are used to decorate the weapons of various nations. The magnificent scales, nearly four inches across and tipped with seemingly solid silver, of the giant herring, are used, while scales of many of the tribe have long been used in the manufacture of artificial pearls.

PEARLS.

The latter are perhaps the most valuable of all the offerings of animate nature, and are the results of the efforts of the bivalve to protect itself from injury. A parasite bores into the shell of the pearl bearer, and when felt by the animal it immediately fortifies itself by covering up the spot with its pearly secretion; the parasite pushes on, the oyster piling up until an imperfect pearl attached to the shell is the result. The clear oval pearls are formed in a similar way, only in this case a bit of sand has become lodged in the folds of the creature, and in its efforts to protect itself from the sharp edges, the bit becomes covered, layer by layer, and assumes naturally an oval shape. This growth of the pearl, as it is incorrectly termed, can be seen by breaking open a $500 gem, when the nacre will be seen in layers, resembling the section of an onion. The Romans were particularly fond of pearls, and, according to Pliny, the wife of Caius Caligula possessed a collection valued at over $8,000,000 of our money. Julius Caesar presented a jewel to the mother of Brutus valued at $250,000, while the pearl drank by Cleopatra was estimated at $400,000. Tavernier, the famous traveler, sold a pearl to the Shah of Persia for $550,000. A twenty-thousand-dollar pearl was taken from American waters in the time of Philip II. It was pear-shaped, and as large as a pigeon's egg. Another, taken from the same locality, is now owned by a lady in Madrid who values it at $30,000.

Fresh water pearls are often of great value. The streams of St. Clair County. Ill., and Rutherford County, Tenn., produce large quantities, but the largest one was found near Salem, N. J. It was about an inch across, and brought $2,000 in Paris. The pearls from the Tay, Doon, and Isla rivers, in Scotland, are preferred by many to the Oriental, and in one summer $50,000 worth of pearls have been taken from these localities by men and children. Mother-of-pearl used in the arts is sold by the ton, from $50 to $700 being average prices. The last year's pearl fisheries in Ceylon alone realized $80,000, to obtain which more than 7,000,000 pearl oysters were brought up.

SEPIA AND SILK.

The sepia of the artist comes from a mollusk, and is the fossil or extant ink-bag of a cephalopod or squid, while the cuttle-fish bone is used for a variety of purposes. In the islands of the Pacific the young of the pearly nautilus are strung upon strings and sold for $25 and $20 as necklaces. The tritons are in fair demand, and many tons of cowries are sent to Europe yearly, while the shipment of a thick-lipped strombus in one year to Liverpool amounted to 300,000. The rich coloring of the haliotis is used for inlaying art furniture. From the pinna, silk of a peculiar quality is obtained. It is the byssus or cable of the animal. The threads are extremely fine, and equal in diameter throughout their entire length. It is first cleaned with soap and water, and dried by rubbing through the hands, and finally passed through combs of bone, iron, or wood, of different sizes, so that a pound of the material in the rough gives only about three ounces of pure thread. It is mixed with a third of real silk and spun into gloves, stockings, etc., having a beautiful yellow hue. The articles made from it are, however, not in general use. A pair of gloves from pinna silk would cost $1.50, and stockings about $3. Fine specimens of such work can be seen in the British Museum.

Though not of animal origin, amber is one of the choicest vegetable productions used in the arts. It is the fossil gum of pines. Great beds of it occur at various points in Europe. On the Prussian seaboard it is mined, and often washes ashore. In 1576 a piece of amber was found that weighed thirteen pounds, and for which $5,000 was refused. In the cabinet of the Berlin Museum there is a piece weighing eighteen pounds. Ambergris, from which perfumery is made, is a secretion taken from the intestines of the whale, and a piece purchased from the King of Tydore by the East India Company is reported to have cost $18,000. Whales' teeth, the tusks of elephants, and those of the walrus and narwhal, are all used. Elephants' feet are cut off at a convenient length, richly upholstered, and used as seats; the great toe-nails, when finely polished, giving the novel article of furniture an attractive and unique appearance.

It is probably not generally known that the web of certain spiders has been used. Over 150 years ago, Le Bon, of France, succeeded in weaving the web material into delicate gloves. Prof. B.G. Wilder investigated the question thoroughly, and was a firm believer that the web of the spider had a commercial value, but as yet this has not been realized. It would be difficult to find an animal that does not in some way contribute to the useful or decorative arts.--_C.F.H., in N.Y. Post_.

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