filter. A cock is turned on, the bag distends with steam, and the two men scrape off the filth from it like so much mud. When all the dirt that can be scraped off has been removed, the bag is detached from the steam-pipe and thrown towards another workman, who thoroughly washes it in hot lime-water. The bags are then taken into another room, where they are dried by a patent centrifugal machine. The product of these washings looks very like mere mud, or dark-coloured clay, but is far from being valueless. This mud or clay is bought by the scum- boilers, who submit it to a somewhat similar process to that which it has already undergone. The saccharine matter obtained is used principally by the blacking-makers, and sometimes by the manufacturers of lollipops and sweet-stuff for children; after which the residue is sold for manure, for which purpose it has sometimes brought fifteen dollars a ton! A glance at the engraving will render our description of the above processes somewhat clearer.

The next object to be attained is the decoloration of the clear transparent reddish liquid which we have seen to leave the filters. This is effected by means of the decolouring cisterns. Now it must be understood that the object of the sugar refiner is to remove the colouring matter from the 'liquor" without either destroying its transparency or injuring its quality. For this purpose there is no agent so good as charcoal, and no charcoal so good as that obtained from the burning of bones. The intimate admixture of carbonate and phosphate of lime with pure carbon thus obtained, is called animal charcoal. To the discovery of the German chemist, Leibnitz, that common wood charcoal possesses the property of removing the colouring matter from many animal and vegetable substances, and to the further discovery, about forty years since, of M. Figuire, that charcoal obtained from calcined bones was of much greater decolouring power, are owing many improvements in manufactures, not the least of which is the superior method of refining raw sugar. At the bottom of the filtering cistern is a false floor formed of laths a little distance apart. On this false bottom is laid a cloth which completely covers it; and on this a layer of powdered animal charcoal or "bone black" of three or four feet in thickness. The saccharine liquor from the filters flows into this cistern by means of pipes leading from one to the others; and in a few hours it percolates entirely through the charcoal bed and the layer of cloth; and, escaping through the false floor beneath, is carried off by means of a syphon pipe, a perfectly clear, transparent, and almost colourless liquid. The opaque heavy impurities were removed in the filters by means of the canvas bags, while the colouring matter has been almost entirely got rid of by this further filtration through the bed of animal charcoal. The perfect decoloration which has taken place fits the saccharine liquor for the next process, the boiling, by which the crystalisation or solidification is formed.

Of course the charcoal, like the canvas bags, becomes, after two or three operations, entirely filled with impurities. This is soon remedied; for in another part of the refiner's premises there are furnaces, iron retorts, etc., for re-burning the charcoal, after which it is as good as ever. Indeed, it may be said that-though it wastes, of course, in a slight degree-the power of the carbon is never destroyed, for some of it has been in use for more than twenty years. Thus, by purifying the charcoal, it may be used over and over and over again, ad infinitum.

The next process is that of boiling in the vacuum pans. The object of this process is two-fold. It has already been said, that in all raw sugars there is a certain quantity of uncrystalisable matter and water driven off in the form of steam. We will endeavour to explain. There are half a dozen circular, domed, air-tight copper vessels, like that represented in the engraving; each furnished with valves, taps, and pipes, for the various purposes of testing the temperature of the liquor, allowing the air drawn off by the air-pump to escape, admitting steam to the boiler, evaporating the steam, etc. etc. In fact, the vacuum boiler may be considered the great heart which sets all the other parts of this factory in motion, and to which all the other processes are subsidiary. Formerly, sugar

was boiled in large pans over an open fire, at a temperature of from 240° to 250° Fahrenheit, under ordinary atmospher pressure. But it was found, notwithstanding the greatest care in boiling, that the sugar was injured by the high temperatur employed, and only partial crystallisation could be obtained The scion of an English noble house, some forty years ag conceived the happy idea of boiling sugar in vacuo; that in removing the pressure of the atmosphere by means of an aspump, so that the operation of boiling-which is only rap evaporation—could be carried on at a very low temperature. At first, of course, as with most improvements in manufactures and the arts, there were great difficulties to be overcome; the experiments on which the plan was based had been carried a with an insufficient apparatus, and the production of sma weak, soft crystals was the only result. At last an accide was the means of clearing away all doubts, as to the practical operation of the new plan. It is said that a sugar-refiner in England had so nearly ruined himself in his efforts to carry out the idea, that his son, a cleverer man than his father i many respects, withdrew from the business, and that the friends of the enthusiast were really thinking of issuing a commission of lunacy to prevent his wasting his substance. One day, however, while the gentleman in question was pondering the matter in his counting-house, one of his workmen, a German, rushed in with the exclamation, "I've found it out, sir; I've found it out." And so he had; for, while tending one of these vacuum pans, the liquor inside happened to get too hot; to remedy which he let in a quantity of cooler sugar, and on withdrawing a portion to examine its effect on the mass, to his astonishment he discovered that large bright crystals of sugar had formed in the pan. Another trial, and he was certain the real secret had been solved. And so i proved; and he who had been deemed a madman by his friends, and was almost ruined by his perseverance, lived to see his ideas prosper, and to become a rich man; and ever since then the plan of boiling sugar in vacuo has been unive:. sally adopted by the refiners.

The plan is this: the saccharine liquor, after percolating through the charcoal, and being afterwards collected in a cis. tern as a colourless transparent liquid, is brought through an ascending pipe into the pans themselves. From the pans the air has been withdrawn by an air-pump; and the liquid sugar rushes up the pipe to supply its place, as in a common pump. Steam is then admitted to the space below the sugar in the pan, and also through a number of pipes to the interior; and thus the sugar, by means of the nearly perfect vacuum created in the pan, is brought to a boiling state while at a temperature but little higher than that of a warm bath. To assist the more perfect evaporation of the sugar, it is made to flow through a large iron pipe partially filled with tubes, by which means the steam is condensed and the vacuum maintained. As it evaporates, the crystals of sugar are already forming in the pan. To test the state of the granulated sugar, there are attached to each pan a thermometer, a glass test-pipe showing the height of steam inside, an index, and a tap by which the progress of the liquor in the evaporating pipe may be discovered. But the most important instrument of all is the ingenious little brass stick, called the proof rod, which may be regarded as a kind of key which unlocks a valve in the body of the pan, and, after withdrawing a portion of the crystallised sugar, locks the valve again without disturbing the vacuum inside. To test the quality of the sugar, the "boiler," as the workman employed at the pans is called, takes a sample with the proof rod, in the way described; and discovers the degree of tenacity and granulation by taking a little between his finger and thumb. By these means, appa rently so simple, but really requiring a vast deal of experience and natural tact, the sufficiency or insufficiency of the boiling is at once discovered. It is then either subjected to further boiling, or is at once let down through a valve in the pan, to the sugar heaters below. These heaters," into which the sugar flows from the vacuum pans, were formerly called "coolers," and for this reason. The "liquor" was before boiled at a very high temperature, and the granulation took

known scene in the Sierre Neveda. A mozo de mulas, a kind of muleteer, leads the little caravan, or, guides it by his songs. The slope is so rapid, and the path so narrow-we cannot dignify it by the name of a road-that we are surprised and tremble almost to see what liberty the animals are allowed. The bridles hang on their necks; and yet the abyss is therean abyss of some hundred yards in depth, into which the slightest false step would drive them. But in the land of

blankets doubled up, and sometimes of a well-stuffed cushio to disguise the sharp back of the brute. On each side, instead of stirrups, are pieces of wood to rest your feet on. The head of the animal is almost concealed by ornaments. The guide goes before on a mule, or accompanies that animal on foot, his guitar in his hands, his gun on his shoulder, and his powder-horn close at hand. Such a journey is exceedingly amusing.

parasites on the bark of large trees in the forests of intertropical regions. These are called epiphyte orchids; the others, which derive their nourishment from the soil, are called terrestrial orchids.

The epiphyte orchids are the most beautiful ornament of those arches formed by the gigantic trees of the hottest countries in the continents of the Old and New World. The shade and moist warmth are particularly favourable to their mode of growth, In all the cold and temperate climates of the European continent, the oaks and beech-trees of the forests cover their bark with mosses and lichens; in tropical climates, on the contrary, trees of every variety of form and size are covered with orchids, forming, immediately after the rainy season, which takes the place of winter, lovely garlands rich in colour and delicious in perfume. These charms, of which nothing in Europe can give any adequate idea, last unimpaired for several months.

The splendid flowering of the orchid tribe is an object of admiration even to the savage tribes of our land. When the Spaniards penetrated for the first time into the thinlypeopled districts of Central America, they were struck to see the huts in the villages covered with magnificent orchids, prin cipally belonging to the genius Lalia, the flowers of which are very much elongated; and this kind of decoration subsists at the present day. Many orchids are provided with particular organs which are neither branches nor roots, but are called aerial roots, because they strike out into the air in all directions and derive part of the nourishment of the plant from the atmosphere. The long duration of the flowering of orchids arises from the tardy action of the reproductive organs. Fertilisation is carried on very slowly; indeed it is often not fully accomplished at all. The corolla, which constitutes what is generally the coloured part of the flower, does not fade until fertilisation has been completed, and when this is not done the corolla may last two or three times the length of the ordinary time. Thus in European green-houses it is sometimes rather difficult to get orchids to flower; but when this is effected, all efforts are amply repaid by the extraordinary duration of their flowering time, When cultivated in hothouses under the influence of a very warm and at the same time moist atmosphere, orchids rarely produce fertile seeds; yet instances of multiplication by seeds produced under such circumstances have occurred within a few years both in England and in Ireland. The greater part of orchids can only be propagated by the separation of their rhizomes, which are bulbous stems rooting into the ground and each capable of producing a a complete plant. When we consider the numerous difficulties and dangers involved in penetrating wild forests and unhealthy regions to obtain new orchids, it is not surprising that these beautiful plants should always fetch a high price in Europe. There are some wealthy amateurs who pay enormous sums for them.

A year or two ago, Mr. Henderson, a horticulturist, succeeded in getting an orchid, of the genus Cattleya, to flower

for the first time in Europe. A wealthy English duke wat according to custom, to inspect his conservatories, accom panied by a young lady of his family, who was passionater fond of flowers, and whose admiration was riveted by the new Cattleya, which surpassed anything of the kind she ha ever seen. The duke, going to Mr. Henderson, pointed to the flower, and asked the price. In vain did Mr. Henders protest that he did not wish to sell it at any price, that it wa the only thing of the sort in Europe, and that he was unwär ing to part with it to anybody till he had first propagated The imperturbable duke, holding out a pocket-book full a bank-notes, replied to all his protestations by simply asking the price. At length the horticulturist, weary of the contest consented to accept a large sum and allow the duke's far companion to carry off the plant. We do not feel at liberty to state the exact amount; suffice it to say, it was as much s it would take a clever workman several years to earn.

Though travellers had for many years spoken highly of the singular organisation, beauty, and fragrance of epiphyte orchids, it was not till thirty years ago that horticulturists in England knew how to cultivate and propagate them with success. One of the first to overcome the difficulties in the way was the late Mr. Cattley, from whom the plant just mentioned derived its name. British skill and perseverance soon met with their due reward, and orchids are now raised by cultivation to a degree of perfection altogether surpassing that which belongs to their natural condition. While befor 1820 scarcely any English garden could produce twenty distinct species of this tribe, some of the nurserymen near London can now exhibit more than a thousand. What cultivation has done for roses, dahlias, tulips, and other flowen has been accomplished with equal success in the case of the remarkable and beautiful tribe, They have been rendered much more productive, so as to contain twenty or thirty blossoms on a cluster, while in their natural state they bor only two or three. They have also been made to assume much larger proportions, a richer fragrance, more glowing colours, and a more beautiful aspect altogether.

The plant represented in our engraving (p. 69) is, as the reader will see, an Acinetum, an orchid only lately introduced into Europe, and still rare even in the finest collections, Like many of the genera Dandrobium, Stanhopea, and the derids, the flower-stalk of the Acinetum does not spring upwards from below, but in the contrary direction. In its native region its flowers hang in garlands all along the trunk of the tree on which the plant lives as a parasite.

One advantage of cultivating orchids is, that, as they flower at various seasons, the possessor of a moderate collection may expect always to have some in flower, no matter what is the time of the year. Hence it is not mere caprice that render them objects of so much favour among opulent amateurs. They are worthy to be prized on several accounts, especially the care and skill required to preserve them in a flourishing condition.

THE hours of night wore slowly and wearily onward for the principal inmates of the Palazzo Polani. The count paced to and fro in the great salone, for he was too agitated to seek the repose of his chamber. He had struggled to the last against the fate that seemed about to bear him down and to crush him; and now he looked up at the portraits of his ancestors that hung from the walls, and felt that the glory was about to depart from his house. True it was, there was still one mode left of averting ruin, but from this he shrank with the instinct of his aristocratic nature; and even when he had

at times subdued his pride, and schooled himself to look with tolerable tranquillity upon the alliance for his ward, the memory of his dearest and truest friend would cross his spirit, and the features of the dead would appear to his mind's vision, looking with reproachful sadness upon him, and asking him how he could betray a solemn trust, and outrage the feelings of the child committed to his care. Then, too, the horror with which Bianca heard the proposition came upon him, and wrung his heart with a pang of remorse and shame. And so his feelings alternated and swayed him to and fro, till at one