The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-21 00:00:00

LITE RATURE

Cu.:co and Lima. By Clements R. Markham,

Chaprniin and
A highly interesting work, abounding in curious
information, amusing anecdote, and picturesque
description. Under the first heading (Cuzco) we
have a pleasing narrative of a jqurney to the an-
cient capital of Peru, with an account of the his-
tory, literature, and antiquities of the Incas.
Under the second, the record of a visit to. Lima
(the modern capital of modern Peru) and the pro-
vinces, with a sketch of the Viceregal Govern-
ment, a history of the Republic, and a review of
the literature and society of Pegu—the whole
illustrated by beautifully-executed lithographs
and a useful map. The author, already known
to a portion of the reading world by a
work entitled " Franklin's Footsteps," has cer-
tainly made a step in advance—the graphic manner
in which ho has delineated the character, govern-
ment, and lineage of the Incas, and the present
physical, social, and political aspect of Peru, being
well calculated to introduce him to a wider circle
of readers. In his account of the state of literature
in Peru we are told that " the unsettled state of
the country has to a great extent prevented the
finishing touch being given to the education of the
people of Peru by European travel, and their in-
formation is principally derived from translations
of English and French works. At Arequipa," be
goes on to say, "I saw a young lady reading a
translation of " Uncle Tom" (El tio Torn) with the
deepest interest. Since the Independence Mr.
Ackermann has shown great enterprise in the pub-
lication of a series of illustrated works full of gene-
ral information, for the Use of the South American
Republics."

The Franklin Expedition, from First to Last. By

Dr. King, M.D. John Churchill.
Dr. King, whose suggestions and intelligent
conjectures, in connection with the fate of the
missing expedition, have entitled him to much
praise, has, it would appear, volunteered his ser-
vices to command an expedition by land down the
Great Fish River to Montreal Island in search of
traces of the above expedition, and had his offer
rejected by the Lords Commissioners of the Admi-
ralty, who do not deem such an expedition advisable.
In the work before us, reviewing all the conjectures
and proceedings in relation to the Franklin Expe-
dition, the adventurous doctor pretty clearly makes
out a title to the confidence of the public, and main•
tains that, "in all human probability, the histury
of the Franklin Expedition still lies buried in. my
Cache (a hiding-place constructed by Dr. King in
his visit to Montreal Island in 1834, subsequently
'visited and opened by Simpson in 1839, and, known
to Franklin) beneath the rocky shore of Montreal
Island, and that it is within the bounds of possibi-
lity that this record may be recovered, and that
the discoveries of the ill-fated expedition may yet
be published for the advancement of science, and
the narrative of their probably unexampled suffer-
ings be made known to the world." The reader
will probably remember that some slight traces of
the lost expedition have been &mind on the banks
of the Great Fish River and on Montreal Island,
and will doubtless 'concur with us in thinking it a
great pity that Dr. King was not permitted to lead
an expedition to the spot in 1847 or 1848, what-
ever may be thooght of the rejection of his pro-
posal in January last. Had permission been
granted to him in either of these years there is
valid reason to believe the lives of a portion of the
members of the expedition might have been saved.

A TV uk at BrUge of Allan,. By Charles Roger,
LL.D., F.S.A. Edinburgh : Adam and Charles
Black.

A fifth and improved edition of this very inte-
resting descriptive work—which comprises an
account of the Spa and a series of six excursions to
the picturesque and romantic scenery within a
radius of twenty miles round it. In this central
district are to be found Stirling, the Windsor c f
Old Scotland, Dunblane, the seat of an episcopal
see, Doune Castle, once a royal residence, the
battlefields of Stirling, Milton, Falkirk, Bannock-
burn, and Sheriffmuir, the Roman Camp of Ardoch,
Drummond Castle and its gardens, the Trossachs
and the neighbouring lakes, and the Cascades, and
Rumbling-bridge of the Devon, buildings and
localities suggestive of memorable and deeply in-
teresting events, and scenery of the moat pictu-
resque and magnificent descriptions. Intending
tourists cannot do better than purchase this work,
and resign themselves to the direction of so intel-
ligent and communicative a guide as Dr. Roger,
who, to a fine appreciation of natural beauty, adds
a thorough knowledge of the history and peculiari-
ties of the localities he describes. The work is illus-
trated with numerous well-executed engravings.

THE ORIGIN OF WHEAT.

(Prom the Utica Examiner )

Wheat may be deemed the food of western civilisation
as rice is of the semi-civilised nations of the east ;—no
doubt the annual consumption of rice over the whole
whole globe is much greater than that of wheat ; yet,
considering the superiority of the people it nourishes,
its higher nutritive properties, and its present and future
commercial value, wheat standa facile princeps among
the cereals. It can he successfully cultivated under a
cr-ater variety of soil and climate than any other grain.
It flourishes under the cold of Northern Russia, under
the fogs of England, and even the burning heat of the
tropics. It is an article of regular exportation from
Archangel ; and African travellers inform us that it is
extensively raised f r the subsistence of the nobility in
the kingdom of Burson, near the western shores of Lake
Tt:had, some S deg. to 10 deg. north of the Equator.
Of its origin, nothing is certainly known. It has been
cultivated since the earliest records of authentic history' •
in all probability at a far earlier period it was developed
by cultivation out of some wild cereal grass. Recent in-
vestigasions and experiments show almost conclusively
that it may be thus originated anywhere. Tne experi-
ments in question were made upon the .iE.iilops ovata, a
grass which grows wild in Sicily ; a brief account of
them we extract from Chambers' Journal. This grass
produces a small sect', sad when tips it is frequently
gathered in bundles by the passaittry, and the heads
scorched in flame, which _consumes the husk and beard,
and leaves the see is slightly roasted. In this state they
are eaten with relish by those who can get nothing
better. There are three or four species of it graving all
around the Mediterranean. In the year 1838, M.
Fabre, an enlightened agriculturist of Agde, in the
South of France, considering these grasses to belong
to the cerclia, began a series cf careful experi-
ments on the ..Egilops ovata, with a view to ascertain
what effect would te produced upon it by cultivation.
A. plot of ground, sheltered by high walls, and sulk-
ciently distant from fields of other gramine, was prepared,
and in this he sowed a few seeds in IVB. The plants
grew from 20 to 24 inches high, and ripened by the mid-
dle of July, in the followins. Near, and though with but
few fertile spikelets, the yield was is the proportion of
five to one. Here was already a marked difference—in
its wild state, the sEzilopa seldom grows higher than
from six to nine inches, with curved stalks, bearing a
small, flat, rudimentary ear, containing one or two
grams. The stalks are extremely brittle, and whew
fully ripe the ears turn black and fall off, like the
leaves from a tree. In these latter respects, M.
Fabre's crop of 1839 retained its original habit, for
the ears were deciduous, and the stalk broke off easily,
but there was a marked difference in height, and in
amount of produce. The seeds were again sown, and in
1840 the spikelets were more numerous ; scarcely an ear
without two seeds, and these more floury than before,
approaching the character of wheat.
In 1841, the resemblance to wheat was still more ob-
servable ; the ears, which were less flat, had from two
to three grains, and the beard had almost disappeared.
The next year the plants stood still, being slightly at-
tacked by rust ; the number of grains, however, was
not diminished. But, in 1843, the delay was made up ;
the stalks grew three feet high, and stronger, than in
any previous season ; the ears could not be easily broken
off ; the grains were plumper ; one of the plants yielded
380 to one, and another 450 to one. In 1844, iveri-iii
was full, and the grains not so densely coated as before.
In 1845, the transformation into wheat was complete ;
all the plants were true representatives of cultivated
wheat. Since 1845, M. Fabre has sown the seed ob-
tained with so much care, in an open field, among vine-
yards, and by the roadside, with a return from six to
eightfold. The stems are straight and strong, the ears
are round and beardless, the grains very floury, and in
no single instance has there' been any return to the form
of the original "Egilops ovata.
bel ,
HreelrieedthoentLiwnesehvaevn:,
repeatedly said that ourcupeiry . effected by artificial
yaeacrstLigfethese statements are to
regarded as one of the most extra-
ordinarylt'ated wheat once grew wild
means,whpihcheninomayenbae roef- cultivation. Botanists have
in Sicily, Babylonia, and and here we have the
Persia,
havegiven of the
show
history of these experiments by what a gradual
explanation. The brief account weg
progress a wild and comparatively useless grass was con-
verted into our most valuable cereal. The first scientific
agriculturists have come to the conclusion that the cul-
tivated wheats are only racos of the Zplops, and assum-
ing the facts in the above instance to be correctly given,
itwould seem that the question of the origin of wheat
may now be considered settled. Its production in this
manner gives us reason to suppose that it never was in-
digenous to any particular country—a supposition which
its existence in so many different varieties, and the con-
tradictory accounts of its origin, only serve to confirm.

ARTISTS' BENEVOLENT FUND.—Yesterday, the annual
general meeting of this corporation was held at the Free-
masons' Tavern—Mr. Henry Twining in the chair. A
report was presented, showing that the balance in band
on the Ist of January, 1855, was 1381. BP. 9d., received
during the year (including a seventeenth donation of
100 guineas from her Majesty), 1,1361. 11a. ; total 1,2741.
19N. 93. The sum paid to fifty-two widows had been
813/. 18s. ; to twenty-six orphans, 123/. 15s. ; total,
9371.13+. ; expenses of management, 187/. 17s. Sd. ;
balance in hand, December 31, 149/. 9p. id. The report
having been adopted and the officers re-elected, the
meeting adjourned.