The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-20 00:00:00

CALENDAR OPERATIONS.
KITCHEN-GARDEN—FORCING-HOUSES.
PlNERY.—Carefully watch the heating of the tan-
beds lately renewed ; those that have taken fresh
root-hold must be liberally supplied with water at
the root; and one of the most important points in
pine culture—namely, atmospheric moisture, must be
duly attended to.
VlNERY.—Retain only a moderate crop of fruit on
the vines in the late houses ; attention to this point
will ensure a larger quantity of good fruit, than if a
heavy crop is allowed to remain. Keep the laterals
stopped, and the main shoots that are left to grow their
full length, tied in regularly.
PEACH-HOUSE.—Admit air freely where the fruit
is ripening ; and expose the fruit as much as pos-
sible, to give it colour ; avoid taking off the leaves,
if it can be done without. Watering at the roots
must be dispensed with at the time of the ripening of
the fruit.

CHERRY-MOUSE.—The trees in pots should be fully
exposed to the sun and air for a time, when they
may be placed on the north side of a wall, and be
kept rather dry.
MELONS.-It is a a frequent complaint that this
fruit is without flavour; this we think, in many
cases, arises from its being allowed to remain on the
vine too long; it should be cut immediately there is
any indication of its ripening, and this is easily de-
tected by the very powerful odour emitted by them at
this stage of the growth.
WALL-TREES demand attention in pruning and
nailing ; the very gross-growing shoots may be
stopped, to cause them to throw out laterals ; if there
are any large shoots to remove, this is the best time
to remove them. Keep all the newly-planted fruit-
trees watered and mulched ; and if the dry weather
continues, all wall-trees would be benefited by a
thorough watering. It will be necessary, if the
weather continues dry, to water strawberries copiously;
afterwards lay straw or short grass between the rows,
to preserve the fruit from dirt, and to retain moisture;
lay the early runners into pots for forcing. Net
cherry-trees and strawberries to preserve them from
birds.

FLOWER GARDEN.

STOVE.—Many of the plants will require potting
throughout the summer; young seedling exotics should
be potted as soon as they are sufficiently large : a hot-
bed would be the best place for them until they make
fresh roots, in the absence of which they should be
placed in the warmest part of the house, and covered
with a hand-glass.
GREENUOUSE AND CONSERNATORY.—If the roof of
the latter department is moveable, it may now be taken
away, but previously to doing so, it should have
been left open night and day for some time past.
A canvass awning removable at pleasure, to use
during bright sunshine, and on cold nights,
would preserve the plants from etoilation. Give the
plants in the greenhouse a due portion of air, which
should be regulated according to the class of plants it
contains. Many of the mesembryanthemums and
cacti plants may be now planted on rock work, where
they will be found to flourish exceedingly well, and
will make a beautiful show during the autumnal
months.

PITS AND FRAMES.—As we have before observed,
the frames for propagation will, at this season, be
better adapted for the purpose if placed facing the
north ; the bottom heat should be kept up, and the
cuttings and young seedling plants duly supplied
with moisture.

' All the half-hardy plants and annuals lately planted
in the beds and borders must be supplied with water,
while the weather remains so excessively dry, as must
also the dahlias ; but these latter may be mulched,
which will obviate the necessity of frequent waterings.
Put in pipings of pinks, and propagate such
herbaceous plants as are difficult of propagation by the
division of the root, by the flower stem. Newly
planted shrubs and 'trees will require watering and
mulching. If little besides daisies is growing on the
lawn, they should be mown in the middle of the day,
when they are fully expanded. Keep climbing plants
properly trained.
I LORAL NOVELTIES.—Edward's Botanical Re-
gister contains several novelties.
ERIA POLYURA.—An orchidaceous species, sent
home last year by Mr. Cuming to Messrs. Loddiges,
from Manilla, thus described :—" Of the now very
numerous species of eria, this is one of the most
graceful, producing from the sides of long, leafy,
fleshy stems a profusion of delicate tails of
flowers, each nearly six inches long. The
flowers resemble little semi-transparent bells, just
tinged with pink, and having a rich purple
and yellow centre. The latter appearance
arises from the labellum, which is ovate, heart-
shaped, and a rich port-wine purple, with a
bright yellow trip. Eria floribunda, to which it
nearly approaches, differs in having smaller flowers,
erect racemes, and a narrow, wedge-shaped lip, with
a solitary tooth on each side. It is a plant of the
easiest cultivation, but requires a hot, damp, atmo-
sphere, such as that of an orchidaceous house, where
dendrobiums and such plants flourish. The general
treatment ought to be the same as is given generally
to the extensive race to which it belongs."
MIMOSA URIJGUENSIS (THE URUGUAY MIMOSA.)—
"A pretty greenhouse shrub, very nearly hardy,
which would no doubt improve much in appearwc
under the hands of a good cultivator, and lt would
reward his pains. It is a native of the province of
Buenos Ayres, whence seeds were received by the
Hon. W. P. gtfangways, and given to the Horti-
cultural Society. It flowered at Chiswich in June
1841. It requires such protection in this 'country as
is given to verbenas, acacias, and things of that des-
cription. It grows well in A, mixture of light loam
and leaf mould, and may be readily propagated by
cuttings in the usual manner."

n tribe are now
IleaEuoacs ORIVNTALIS.—A species of hellebore
found on the Bithynian Olympus, awl sent to the
Horticultural Society. This is supposed to be the
black hellibore of the ancients, having purplish
flowers as described by Dioscorides, unlike those of
H. niger, or Christmas rose of the moderns, which
are white. " In the greenhouse it flowers in February
and March, and requires rather a damp shady situa-
tion, with peaty soil to grow in. It is easily in-
creased, either by dividing the old plants when suffi-
ciently large, or by seeds, which should be sown di-
rectly they are ripe."
HAtataxprus PRATENSIS—A Chilian species, of a
very brilliant appearance, having petals of a rich yel-
low at the bottom, and bright crimson above. 64 It
seems to like a loamy soil to grow in, and sends up
the flower-stems and leaves early in spring. After
the flower fades, the plant, ought to be grown in a
light situation and freely watered, in order that it may
be able to perfect its leaves. 'When these are fully
formed and die off, it aught to be removed to a dry
shelf, and kept there until the period of growth oomes
round, when it can be watered and treated as before.
Young bulbs are formed round the old one every sea-
son, by which it can be propagated."
CCELIA BAUERANA.— ' The West Indies and
Mexico produce this little epiphyte, which although
white and inconspicuous, is, like our own lily of the
o
valley, so sweet that it must take precedence
o more
of wood.
cre
fragrantof most
Oo
hot temperature block
from
saw this plant
tohfanitsarabceed.
oNf othihsawotcehloiran. bledg eever s
growingso well as when cultivated in a cool stove, and
suspenAlmostdedtl
hl
ofNsrveohmo whichgt hroe w
rr
e9uaamf tenirryse
hnf a
others which grow best in a cooler place. Amongst
the latter, therefore, this should be placed . and it
will grow and flourish with little care. it grows
fast and is easily multiplied.
PAXTON'S MAGAZINE OP BOTANY contains figures
and descriptions of epidendrumltPwhceilnl,ictiflaho.eurreilfsonhrec,woenbie-1
con-
nexion with an engraving of the handsome and well-
known fuchsia cordifolia, we find the following re-
marks :—" It was met with by Mr. llartweg, at
Ketuch, a volcano in Guatemala, at the height of
been found to
10,000 feet above the sea.
almost capable of enduring the open air in the southern
conservatory,tbrouhou
pthe greater
with com-
m arts of Britain, and has
in the borders during summer. IVO
are not aware
that its hardihood has yet been further tested. Cul-
tivated
onsoil, i
then
a speciesgreenhouse,
part of the year, and is especially useful for coming
into bloom in March or April, when the ordinary
members of the genus are but just beginning to grow.
b blooms
o o
mr s
Planted in the open ground, however,
about the pre-
sent time, it acquires, by the autumn, a luxuriance,
and yet a dwarfiness and bushiness, which are not seen
in the greenhouse, while the profusion and splendour
of its blossoms are greatly increased, We should
strongly advise that a few plants of it be treated thus,
as well for ornamenting the open borders as for pre-
paring handsome specimens to be removed to the
greenhouse in October. Increase is readily obtained
by cuttings, and perhaps by seeds.. It may probably
prove of some service to the hybridist in improving
the colour of the crimson-flowered kinds,'l - • -c.
CIRRAIOPE TALUAI Ciffsmst•-----Chinese Cirrhope.
talum. Orchidacere, G-ynAndri4 Meandria. (Store
Zpiphyte).—Thero is no longer any Qgq4sigla for spa.
cuiatiVe minds to occupy themselves vth al, ;--
.nport-

ant investigation of the cause that may have led the
Chinese to invent strange figures of men and women,
with their chins in perpetual motion, for here is the
explanation of it. We have here a plant from China,
one of whose lobes is exactly like a tongue and chin,
and so unstable as to be in a state of coutinual oscil-
lation. The flowers are very large for the genus, in
general appearance like those of C. maculatum. The
petals and upper sepal are purple, the lateral sepals
are yellowish green. The flowers are arranged in a
circle, and all look outwards, so that on whatever side
the umbel is regarded, it still presents to the eye the
same row of grinning faces and wagging chins.
Messts. Loddiges imported it from China.
It may be in the recollection of some of our
readers that the Affghan clover and lucern, of which
seeds were received from India a year or two ago,
appeared, from a few experiments, to be well deserv-
ing of cultivation in this country. In pursuance of
that admirable system which is acted upon at the
India House, of endeavouring in every possible way
to render the productions of Great Britain and India
mutually advantageous, the Court of Directors sent
out immediate orders for a further supply of both
these seeds. The clover Sir A. Burnes had pro-
mised to send, but the despatch probably never left
Caubul, or, at least, never reached India. A quan-
tity of Khelat lucern has, however, been sent home,
and is supposed to be the same as the lucern sent two
years ago. This was the same species as what we
-already have, that is to say, as medicago sativa, but
it was more prolific, and possessed the invaluable
property of coming in as green food much earlier in
the season than anything known here. This was first
ascertained by Mr. Groom, of Walworth, and his
evidence has been confirmed by that of others.
We understand that a large quantity of this seed
is at the India House, and we have no doubt that
gentlemen wishing to try it may obtain a portion by
application to the Secretary, or to any of the Di-
rectors of the East India Company.—Gardeners
Chronicle.

THE 4, LAND AND CITIES OF

CAUBU L."

GIVEN BY SOLOMON TO HIRAM, KING OF TYRE

" The whole is very darkly expressed. ".—Adam Clarke's
Commentar3.

12. And Hit am came out from Tyre to see the cities which
Solomon had given him, and they pleazed him not.
13. And he said, What cities are these which thou hast
given me, my brother ? And he called them the land of Caubul
unto this day.-1 Kings, chap. ix.

That the " Land of Caubul " mentioned in the
book of Kings, was probably identical with that
which at the present day is called indifferently
Caubul and Affghanistan, has already been half.
avowed and half-denied by some contemporary prints.
The following observations collected from some of
the best Biblical critics, will, however, show the
affirmative belief to be one of some strength and validity.
In the verses of the Book of Kings alluded to, it
appears that the " Cities of Caubul" in question were
situated in the " land of Galilee." To ascertain the
precise signification of this latter phrase, or what were
the 'boundaries of such a locale, appears to be the
point for notice. Now, Galilee, even in its common
acceptation as a portion of Palestine, has with great
difficulty had its limits settled, even by so eminent a
topographer as Roland. The boundaries of Lower
Galilee, assuredly, have been more easily determined ;
but to this day every Scripture-writer is at loss to
fix, by any incontrovertible rule, the limits of the
Upper Galilee.
From Reland it appears, that " Galilee," extend-
ing beyond Jordan, had for its borders the Trachonitis,
Libanus, and Batana2a, the last being more familiarly
known by its Scripture title, Bashan. This last city,
then, was the ultimate stretch of the provinces of
Galilee. But where was Bashan ? There was a
city of that name in quite a different direction to that
which is now under consideration, but with this
we have nothing to do. Ileland confessed himsfAi at
fault as to this second Bashan ; but had this learned
scholar turned his attention to the etymology of the
word, its site would have been somewhat more clearly
known. "Bashan" signifies in the original Hebrew
" tooth or ivory," and had undoubtedly its name,
like most oriental regions and cities, from the• most
prominent peculiarity which characterised it. This
signification at once stamps it as an Indian city, and
the inference we shall shortly arrive at will be pre-
sently seen,
Having ascertained that " Galilee" extended as flu.
as Basilan, and that Bashan, from the internal evi-
dence of the word, was an oriental tract of
country, we shall now proceed to show that the
phrase " land of Galilee," as applied in this particular
instance—far from being bound down to the strict
meaning in which it is generally used—is here to be
interpreted, like the preceding word, by its internal
meaning. Galilee, in the Hebrew, is a derivative
from the radical Galalai, which signifies neither more
nor less than a frontier. This is precisely its deter-
minate meaning in the present case. The cities
" Caubul," as it will be immediately seen, were
" frontier" cities, and, indeed, the Septuagint iden-
tifying "Bashan " with " Galilee" itself in their
translation of Isaiah xxxiii. 9, --translate " Bashan "
as" Galilee," acknowledging them to be one and the
saw! FTAITI this, then, the conclusion is arrived at,
that " Galilee" was the frontier of King Solomon's
empire ; that it was the same as Bashan, and that
Bashan was an Indian department of territory.
Caubul, next we have to observe, like the two fore-
going words means like them " a border or boun-
dary." Crudon, Parkhurst, and others, we are aware,
assert that it signifies "displeasing or dirty," and Dr.
Wells, on this supposition, in common with the
learned, is doubtful as to whether this epithet was
given to the land by Hiram, as a mark of disappro-
bation, or what otherwise it should mean. The Seventy
however transiateit by the Greek word for boundary,
supposing that the 20 cities composing it were
" border-ones."

The commonly.received acceptation of " Caubul" as
meaning in the vernacular "displeasing or dirty," will,
however, no less favourably aid our position. Hiram we
read, was displeased with the cities, and by 2 Chiron.
NFU 2, we find that he afterwards restored them. An
eminent critic has observed hereon that Hiram's
people were more especially given to merchandise,
than agriculture : Caubul, therefore, being a fat,
deep, and dirty soil, and consequently not pleasant to
live in, they farmed to him but an unacceptable
present at best. But the word by which " Caubul"
was designated by the Tyrian king was, indeed,
truly that which distinguishes the Caubul of Shah
Soojah at the present day. Sir Alexander Burnes's
descriptions are precisely such as bespeak " the fat,
deep, and dirty soil" of the sacred writer, luxurious
and productive to a degree beyond precedent, under
the auspices of any one who knew better than King
Hiram, the use of the plough and harrow.
That the " Caubul,' then, of Scripture—Solomon's
Caubul, was that which at the present day is indiffer-
ently called Caubul or Afghanistan, so far from being
implausible, is an hypothesis absolutely certain ; but
one or two other reasons which we have to adduce
will render the point somewhat more devoid of doubt
still.

It may be set forth as an objection, that Hiram
would never have travelled so great a space as from
Tyre to Caubul, as situated by us, for the mere in-
spection of cities, which in the sequel turn out so un-
important as to be returned to the giver; but that the
two kings, with their respective sailors and arma-
ments, did travel that and even greater distances, is
proved by the end of the chapter which speaks of
these cities. It there appears that they visited ports
as far distant as Ophir, for those " wedges of gold"
which lent splendour to their palaces at home—Ophir,
not that which borders on Arabia, but, says a learned
annotator, that " Ophir which lies in India," and of
which he further says, to show the distance of the
spot and the length of the voyage, " Ophir, situated so
as to require a voyage of three years long to go out,
load, and return." _ _

But as further proof that Solomon did travel to
these remote parts, an incidental remark made amonif
the notes of a traveller in last month's " Blackwood,
lends us a striking affirmation. The paper in ques-
tion is entitled "Narrative of a Journey from Heraut
to Ourenbourg ;" and the traveller, Sir R. Shakespear,
on the high road to Khyva, comes on six miles to the
much-talked-of " Tuhkt." "This," he says on arrival,
"is rather a large sand-hill, nothing else. The Tur-
comans believe that Solomon paid it a visit." The river
Oxus is said in former years to have flowed near this
spot. Traditions are the unwritten truths of history,
and where a corroborative statement, such as the above,
comes to the assistance and support of an hypothesit,
a statement caught straying over the wilds ei Turce_,.
mania, and handed down from barbarian to bari"arian,
from Solomon's time to the present, it 7, ay well be
believed that the fact Is true and
actual, , and con-
firraatiVe a a thing which " on- "
ihrther eircumstant— ..ce came to pass.
the above facts iP a strongly in corroboration of
cities Of -J this : On the return of the land and
~aubul into the hands of Solomon, that king,
says the Sacred Writ, introduced " Israelites" to dwell
in them, there to abide. This, perhaps, from traditions