. The Gardeners' Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette . ommunication of some excellent specimens of theESCULENT Lichen of Pallas, Lecanora esculenta,and the allied species L. affinis from Erzeroum, tocall attention to its very curious history, and topublish some remarks transmitted by our correspon-dent there (Gardeners^ Chronicle, 1849, pp. 612 and581). It was stated, that though these Lichens,especially L. esculenta, are so acceptable in time ofscarcity to mix with head corn, they were quiteunknown to the shepherds who traverse the greatplain which surrounds the city, and that Dr. Heinig,who h
. The Gardeners' Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette . ommunication of some excellent specimens of theESCULENT Lichen of Pallas, Lecanora esculenta,and the allied species L. affinis from Erzeroum, tocall attention to its very curious history, and topublish some remarks transmitted by our correspon-dent there (Gardeners^ Chronicle, 1849, pp. 612 and581). It was stated, that though these Lichens,especially L. esculenta, are so acceptable in time ofscarcity to mix with head corn, they were quiteunknown to the shepherds who traverse the greatplain which surrounds the city, and that Dr. Heinig,who has rambled much about the neighbourhood,had never met with them. Eversmann had in vainsearched for the minutest point of attachment in theallied species L. fruticulosa, though he hadfrequently met with specimens in a very early stageof growth, scarcely exceeding a grain of sandin magnitude. It is manifest that plants ofa spherical form, having no attachment to thesoil, and of small specific gravity, maybe easily blown for miles by the powerful winds. which traverse the wide and open steppes, and thattheir accumulation, as related by Pallas and others,at the base of rocks is the natural consequence oftheir nature and the circumstances under which theyare placed. The witch-balls, consisting of roundcompact rolled masses of dead herbaceous stems,present a similar but even more striking instance ofthe power of the winds in such localities. If theseLichens were known to grow in the country sur-rounding Erzeroum, we should have an easy solutionof the showers of Manna from heaven, of which somuch has been said at different times, and whichpossibly are not more marvellous than the supposeddescent of frogs, shells, seeds, &c., from the clouds, ofwhich our journals occasionally give reports. The power of the wind in lifting up bodies ofsome size from the earth and carrying themto a distance is occasionally very considerable,even in this country. In an early volume ofthe Annual Register,
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