The Hieracettm plumbeum of Fries has been ascertained to be a native of Britain, by Mr. J. Backhouse, jr., of York. It grows on Falcon Clints, in Tees-dale. Mr. Backhouse, who has had an opportunity, during the past summer, of examining specimens of the Norwegian Hieracia, describes it as nearly allied to H. atrium, but differing strongly in having more truncate involucres, with broad band acuminate apiculate scales, of a dark color, margined with green; also, in the involucres and peduncles being almost or entirely destitute of stellate pubescent. H. casium from the same place, and from Cronk-ley Scar, has narrow, acute, involncral scales, and usually a large amount of stellate down on the peduncles and involucres. H. plumbeum flowers very early (about July,) while H. est-sium is in perfection, or nearly so, in September. In cultivation the plants become still more dissimilar. - Report of Edinburgh Botanical Society.

Professor Simpson recently communicated to the Botanical Society Of Edinburgh the results of some experiments relative to the growth of Alpine plants. after having been kept artificially covered with snow in an ice-house for many months. Seed and plants, when kept in this way during winter, and then brought into the warm air of summer, were found to germinate and grow with great rapidity. In Arctic regions the rapid growth of the plants during the short summer is well known; and the importance of similar experiments being made on the different kinds of grain was suggested. The rapidity of the harvest in Canada and other countries, where the cold lasts for many months, seems to indicate that if grain was kept in an ice-bonse during winter, and sown in spring, there might be an acceleration of the harvest. The subject is certainly deserving the attention of cultivators. - Ibid. [A writer in the Sc ttish Gardener recommends to try this plan with the Rhododendron, nivale of the snowy summits of the Sikkim Himalaya].

The Pe4a, or Insect-wax of China, has been largely used in China since the thirteenth century, and has been occasionally imported into France and Britain for many years past, but its natural history is still very imperfectly known. Its chemical properties were investigated in 1848. by Mr. B. C. Brodie, of London, who allowed that, even as it is met with in commerce, it is nearly in a state of chemical purity, and that it most closely resembles cerin, the base of beeswax . The Pe-la is perfectly white, translucent, shining, not unctuous to the touch, inodorous, and insipid. It melts at 100° Fahrenheit. It is found adhering to the branches of certain shrubs, whence it is collected yearly in June. It seems to be produced by myriads of minute insects, which either excrete, or are changed Into, the wax. Dr. Mcgowan, Medical Missionary at Ningpo. is inclined to believe that the insect undergoes what may be called aceraceous degeneration, its whole body being permeated by the peculiar product, in the same manner as the Coccue cacti is by carmine. - Report of Royal Physical Society.

In the village of Gries, four leagues from Strasburgh, stands a tree of aesculue Hippocas-tanum, one of the oldest in the country, certainly dating farther back than the year 1680. At a foot above the ground it measures twelve feet in circumference. The peculiarity of this tree is, that from an unknown period it has annually blossomed on one side alone, one year on the west side, the next only on the east. The bare half does, indeed, present a bunch of flowers here and there, though seven-eighths of the branches are without blossom; but the leaves exhibit a more vivid green hue, while those on the flowering half of the tree are of a dull, unpleasant color. - Flora.

Those who have paid little attention to the Mosses, can hardly imagine the great variety of beautiful forms they present to the inquiring eye; and indeed, excepting the Ferns, there is, perhaps, no tribe of plants which look prettier than a collection of these in a dried state, and neatly fastened to small sheets of paper. We mention this just now, because a very nice series of specimens of the British Mosses, are in course of publication, by Mr. F. Y. Brocas, of Basingstoke; and these would form an excellent ground-work for those who might wish to begin to collect and study these interesting low. ly forms of vegetation, and would also furnish materials for those who could only find leisure to study - not to gather for themselves. The two fasciculi published, containing each fifty species, consist of excellently preserved specimens, and. as far as we have observed, very correctly named. - M.

It appears that the flowers of the Victoria regia evolve a considerable amount of latent heat during the period of their development, similar to what has been observed to occur in Ca-ladium and other Araceous plants. M. Otto, of Hamburgh, has observed that a thermometer plunged into the Victoria flower at the moment of expanding its anthers, (7h. 11m. p.m.) rose to 21 1/4° R., the temperature of the house being 17 1/2° R., and that of the tank 164° R. Upon being sunk below the anthers, a gradual decrease took place. On another occasion, the temperature of the air being 18° R.,that of the water 16 3/4 and the thermometer at 16 1/2° R., in the course of fifteen minutes the latter rose, in the flower, to 32 1/4° R. These experiments were made at the suggestion of Prof. Lehmann, who thought he had formerly noticed an increase of temperature to occur in the flowers of Nymphaea alba during their development. - Hooker's Journal of Botany.