35 
/' 
ico. The tubers of the later species are, however, very small, not 
much larger than a hazel-nut. The remaining species are but little 
known, and probably are of no economic value. 
Mummy Garlands. — In Nature^ Dr. G. Schweinfurth gives an ac- 
count of some n^\^ botanical discoveries made by him in connection 
with the mummies of the twenty-first Egyptian dynasty, found at 
Deri-cl-liahan, In the floral wreath on the mummy of the Princess 
Ugi-Khouni were found folded leaves of a willow, Salix Safsaf^ per- 
fect flowers of the ^oxn-^o-^\rj {^Papaver Rha^as^ y^x. geniiind). flower- 
heads of Centattrea deprcssa and of Picris coronopifolia. The flowers 
of P. Rhceas appear to have been gathered in an unopened condition 
to prevent the petals from falling, and are in so good condition that 
Dn Schweinfurth remarks that so perfect and well-preserved speci- 
mens of this fragile flower are rarely to be met with in herbaria. It 
is worthy of note, too, that the character of this variety of the poppy, 
var. genuina^ although gathered more than three thousand years ago, 
are identical with those of the same variety known at the present 
day. 
\falia 
a single peculiarity is apparent by which it might be distinguished 
from the recent small form with low spreading branches now so com- 
mon on the outskirts of the desert. From the occurrence of this 
flower in the wreaths it is possible to conjecture that the burial of the 
princess took place in March or April, since there would have been 
considerable difficulty in obtaining the flowers after the latter month. 
It has also been determined by capsules of the linseed plant found in 
a Theban tomb of the twelfth dynasty, 2,200-2,400 B.C., that the flax 
used by the ancient Egyptians was derived from Linumhumile, Mill, 
and that the mustard oil used by them was derived from one of the 
two varieties of Sinapis arvensis, viz., S. AUionii, Jacq., or 6*. turgida, 
Del., both of >Yhich are still common in Egypt. 
Solid Pigments in Cell- sap. — The petals of flowers are far more 
often colored by a pigment soluble in the cell-sap than by one in a 
sohd, granular form. Of 200 species examined by P. Fritsch, only 
30 contained solid pigments in the cells either of the petals or of the 
fruits. 
Far the most common of these solid pigments is yellow, much the 
greater number of yellow flow^ers, including nearly all the yellow 
Compositcie, being indebted for their color to substances of this na- 
^^re. Exceptional instances of soluble yellow pigments occur in the 
petals of Dahlia vanabilis, Alth(Ba Sieberi ^nd Tagetes^ and in the 
hairs of many species. Solid yellow pigments are described in Im- 
patiens longicormi^ where they vary greatly in size and form, in Tro- 
Prelum viajus, where the various shades of color in the flower are 
Qtie to a substance of this description in a brown cell-sap, in (Enolhcra 
biennis, Cerinthe aspera, Calendula officinalis, Tagetes glandulifera, 
Viola tricolor, Rudbeckia laciniata. Digitalis ambigua and Salpiglossis 
^'artabilis. The particles of the pigment are often in a state of active 
rnolecular movement; they are always colored green by iodine and 
are soluble in concentrated sulphuric acid with a deep blue color, 
in some other chemical reactions they vary. The pigment appears 
