The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-21 00:00:00

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD with a fine-rose syringe, taking care to wet the under sides of the leaves. The following day the insects generally seemed weak 'and inactive, and on the third day after dressing the trees very few were to be found alive, and any that may have escaped did no further perceptible damage. Therefore, where foxglove leaves can be obtained, these afford a ready means of getting rid of this troublesome pest. Most fruit trees are growing very freely, owing to the moist state of the -soil, and peaches, &c., must be looked over occasionally. Winter onions should be sown at once, also cauliflowers for the early crop next season, a small bed of pickling cabbage, brown cos, and some hardier sorts of lettuce to stand the winter. The tops of the main crop of -onions had better be laid down if they are inclined to be too rank, going over the bed with a wooden-headed rake, and pressing the tops down sufficiently to check - further growth. Plant out a good breadth of endive -on well-enriched soil of a light dry nature ; also see to providing a good supply of lettuce, &c., for autumn 'use. Attend to celery, keeping it well supplied with water in dry weather, giving it as much manure as .can be spared for it, and keep the early crop rather closely earthed up. Vacant ground, or that which -can be cleared of early crops, may still be planted with winter stuff, first giving it a good dressing of manure -and a good deep digging. Stir the surface of the soil among growing 'crops. Cut box edgings, and keep every corner clean and neat.—Gardener s Chronicle. EUROPEAN VEGETATION IN VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. —Many common English weeds are naturalised about Georgetown, and some are perfect pests. Horehound is everywhere by the roadside, and chamomile covers the fields and paddocks ; in many places to the exclu sion of grasses. Thistles are fast going ahead all through Van Diemen's Land, and no one seems to trouble himself with them, although I have seen, I suppose, some hundreds of acres given over to them, and growing so thick in some places that I have walked over my shoes in the bed of thistle-down which had blown from the withered stems. Sweetbriar, originally introduced as a hedge plant, is completely naturalised, andin places forms impenetrable thickets. It annually produces millions of hips, and if let alone will soon become as great a pest as the thistles. The common furze is also spreading , but not so rapidly in the •western country. The hawthorn grows perfectly, and forms excellent hedges as at home, but keeps within bounds ; though it, too, fruits abundantly. I have seen oaks heavily laden with well-grown acorns ; but there are no trees, as yet, of large size. Elms and ash are occasionally cultivated, but are not common. I do not think I have seen any of the pine tribe in -cultivation, except a few recently introduced to the Botanic Garden at Hobart Town. The great staple in •the garden way of the colony is in apples, pears, and plums, and cherries ; all of which thrive remarkably well, and they have already raised some seedling apples and plums, which are well-deserving of cultivation. There is a large trade in apples to Melbourne. The smaller fruits are made into jams or consumed at home ; and often suffered to rot on the trees, from their abundance. Gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and strawberries grow equally well. But peaches and nectarines are only fit for tarts, and often fall off before they are ripe. Grapes just ripen and no more, and are of small size. I have been here the hottest months of summer without experiencing greater heat than we often have in England. There is less rain, and a beater number of clear days ; but on the whole I scarcely think the summers hotter than those of England. People here complain, as in all the Austra lian colonies), of the rapid changes of temperature ; but with less reason for complaining than in any other country I know of. To me the climate seems as nearly perfect as a sublunary climate can well be.—Harvey in Hooker's Journal of Botany. dip the corner of a white linen kerchief into a solution of common lime, suffer it .to become•dry, and inscribe any characters you may please upon the surface pre pared for the reception of the balu juice. The imprint will prove indelible.—Bell's Weekly Messenger. FIBRES OF THE WILD PINEAPPLE.—For the last six years, since this exotic fruit has been imported into the London markets, we have had occasion, from time to time, to notice and observe that the leaves which constituted the crests of the fruit have been capable of producing, under proper care and manage ment, a course of the most delicate and textile fibres, which have, perhaps, ever been discovered. This year, although the introduction has been by no means limited into our metropolitan markets, the whole of the pines themselves have been deprived of the "long" leaves, which usually constitute the crests of that luxury. Upon inquiry, we have been assured that the fibrous matter has been adopted for the manufacture of paper. As we possess exact specimens of the fibrous samples produced from the leaves of the wild, unculti vated West Indian pine, prepared two years ago, the fact adverted to must speak for itself.-1 - bid. THE SITE OE ANCIENT LONDON.—When Sir Chris topher Wren began to build the new St. Paul's, in dig ging for a foundation, he came to a layer of Saxon graves lined with chalk, some in stone coffins ; and at some distance below, the bodies of the British, only lapped in woollen shrouds, fastened with pins of hard wood, most probably box-wood. In the same row, yet deeper (this was 18 feet and more), were the ashes of the Romans, in urns—Britons and Romans together —the conquerors and the conquered, both vanquished. Lower than those graves stood the foundation of old St. Paul's, resting on very close pot-earth ; and still lower, nothing but dry sand sometimes mixed un equally, but mostly so loose that it would pass through the fingers ; then water and sand mixed with peri winkles and other sea-shells,—this was about the level "of low-water mark. The gradual rise of the site of London by the formation of shoals, &c., will be readily understood by the above account. It grew by natural causes, and at the time of the arrival of the Romans, was probably a rude British stronghold defended by earthworks, and backed by thick woods towards the north, and surrounded on other sides by an immense extent of water, amid which the present course of the Thames could scarcely be defined.—The Builder. THE ANCIENT EMBANKMENT OF THE THAMES..... The embankment of the river, a most gigautic work, was, although we have no particular account, executed, or at least directed, by the Romans. Few of the thou sands who enter the Thames think that the great stream on which vessels of the largest size are afloat, is, in fact, an artificial canal, raised in many places considerably above the level of the surrounding country. It is a wonderful work, and it is singular that we should have no record of its first execution. The artificial bank of river extends, either on one side of the river or the other, almost from the Nore to Richmond in Surrey, and some judgment maybe formed of its magnitude, by the difficulty of repairing a breach made by a high and violent tide at Dagenham, in Essex. On this occasion (1707), a breach was made in this bank of the river of 100 yards wide, and nearly 20 feet deep, by which alarming accident, 1,000 acres of rich land in Dagenham level were overflowed, and nearly 120 acres of rich land washed into the Thames, forming a sandbank nearly a mile in length, that ex tended over one half of the channel. After several un successful attempts, Captain Perry, who had been em ployed in similar works by the Czar Peter, in Russia, at an enormous expense and with much difficulty, com pleted a wall. It is difficult to estimate the advan tages of the Thames embankment. After that was completed, many districts would be gradually gained from the waters ; and Thorney Island (the site of West minster Abbey), a small place, partly covered with ' scrubby bushes, and on which, at an early period, a her mit established his cell, extended in various directions. Southwark also increased ; but then Lambeth, Vaux hall, and Battersea, now occupied by so many thou sands, were under water, as was the greater portion of the land from Wandsworth to Woolwich, to Dartford, to Gravesend, and to Sheerness ; and from the north range, from Poplar to the Isle of Dogs. Scores of miles of that waste are now covered by multitudes, or converted into rich pastures or cornfields • and year after year, in our own days, we see the skill of man in all directions, either making a scene of industry, or a " garden of a desert waste." —Thy VffiWer, FASHIONS o c AMONG the materials now generally elnl 3l- i av e for mourning dresses;may be mentioned black -rave evening, and barege and silk for out -door rv'entd Some of the crape dresses have been richly 000 with trimmings of jet bugles. A dress of black silk, just completed, hss, flounces, each edged with a triple row o f 0 91 1 bugle trimming. The corsage of this dress 01 the sleeves short, and with it will be worn of black crape trimmed like the flounces, wull crape headed by bugle trimming. This e ljoir fastened up the front by seven small e ties foile,.oi one being placed at the point in the centre of tP: ii t,st l the sides of the basque, which meet at the ` c , i , e lost gradually sloped off so as to pa 0 are Ba th g widen apart leelTero, st o f v end, and the corners are rounded. The s 1 canezou are of the goda form, and co 0.! in front of the arm by a jet tie. In out- 4 1 1 A a mantilla of black crape will b e worn wi th ;t 'i l it is trimmed with three deep frills edgedl v " o leo of floss silk, and the frills are surmountea it), 4 of crape with a bugle heading , correspencl; T g z trimming on the flounces of t he dress. , o fs edge of the mantilla is finished by a deep r° " io of the same kind as that on the edge oF the , .0 ,ev bonnet is' . of black straw guipure , and is tr t each side with a bouquet of pinks in differeo lop of violet, streaked with black. The sa i l with white and black blonde intermingl blab ployed for the inside trimming. Gloves °' trimmed with quilling of lace. tS d tet n A mourning dress, just completed, 641° aQ '3C 1Y watered silk, and with it is to be woo Pei richly worked muslin. The jacket is fas t h e , ll o .. front by bows of black sarsenet ribbon ;',;014. same loop up the sleeves. We may et Od! dress of plain black silk, intended for sligr, a eliV, The skirt is flounced, and the lower half b 9 ~be is covered with a chequered pattern forint velvet and tulle. At the edge the flounces' C f so, by narrow, light fringe in chenille. Ladies' equestrian costume does nekoec e ,';cle ta considerable change. The riding-habit 0705,,,x always a long skirt, and the corsage is ''',. s lo; fit close to the figure. The most fade at e Q` g er habits which have recently appeareciZeolV A either black or of some dark colour. bU d r a long basque, and is ornamented in fr' 3 ', bourgs and fancy buttons. The slee'4",' 9 1 . , very wide, descend only midway betwee.,44ll4 and the wrist, and are finished by 0,t0 13 V4 which is slit down on the outside of the each side of the slit are brandebourg s rows. The under-sleeves consist of 0 1 1 4 10 1 7,, cambric, covered with very narrow L: r ovi longitudinally, and having on each sicle' e a stitch. The collar is of cambric, vanar t mented with hem-stitch. The riding'''. a c AO ) grey felt has rather a broad brim , and I:l„lteiliii,i what over the forehead. It is ornall',6o6 feather of the same colour as the felt, 0 1 , — to wave towards the back of the Ile e „" t . I' " ' frequently consists of black tulle eit' e l plain, and edged with a broad he m. Of the various silk dresses made in afo f the week we may mention one intendeThe, costume. It is of rich lilac glace. s trimmed with four flounces , edged s cl " t pinked silk. The corsage, which is front, is low and plain, and has a bertiie 01 f t ; ; r t t i at the back and with ends crossing in ft-00,14' is trimmed with a pinked ruche , and tu i‘ ,o in front of the waist by a bow o f rihrb . icAri, ends. The sleeves are very short nito e ")? has been made for this dress, to be sil„%bs t ,'ltt low one as occasion may require. W e ' c l e Y) to the throat, and has a basque ecT hr eer,tl' ruche. The sleeves are trimmed with with the same trimming. A dress e'kti A lv e tended for evening costume, has thre e , mented with a pattern in black velae" Newspaper. rr LIVERPOOL; gol, ' ll , A l Printed mut Published every TiresDA,lo:t, ~eft Proprietor, ROBERT PEARSON E'sgtv Percy-street, at tke STANDARD 9 E ,,,,c0r 41 ' OFFICE, No. Si. .GIIQIMiIFa-• V P. "' Tuesday, A.uVitt 21, 1855. SCIENCE AND ART. THE BALU TBEE.—There is a robust-growing tree in Bengal, known by the name of balu. It throws forth a purple flower, which degenerates into a sill - quose sac, the latter being filled, when the fruitis ripe, with leguminous seeds, resembling tic beans. These ..beans, when pressed, yield a very acrid fluid, which is converted by the natives to economical uses. It forms, under chemical application, an indelible black dye. It constitutes the most permament marking ink for linens and calicoes yet discovered. It is only to AuorusT 21, 1855. N T will 1 1e° Dts. , r e 44144' A ►iu~b pR t 1 ~k ~p E iii 1 11 114 !NI 1 , LI ty