30 POPULAR ERRORS. 



ago as to what truth there might be in the popular 

 belief, according to which this ancient wheat will 

 not only germinate after Lhe lapse of three thou- 

 sand years, but produce ears of extraordinary size 

 and beauty. The question was left undecided; but 

 Figari Bey's paper, addressed to the Egyptian 

 Institute of Alexandria, contains some facts which 

 appear much in favor of a negative solution. One 

 kind of wheat which Figari Bey employed for his 

 experiments had been found in upper Egypt at the 

 bottom of a tomb at Medinet Aboo, by Mr Schnepp, 

 Secretary in the Egyptian Institute. There were 

 two varieties of it, both pertaining to those still cul- 

 tivated in Egypt. The form of the grains had not 

 changed; but their color, both within and without, 

 had become reddish, as if they had been exposed to 

 smoke. The specific weight was also the same, viz., 

 twenty-five grains to a gramme. On being ground 

 they yield a good deal of Hour; but are harder than 

 common wheat, and not very friable ; the colour of 

 the flour is somewhat lighter than that of the 

 outer envelope. Its taste is bitter and bituminous; 

 and when thrown into the fire it emits a slight but 



o 



pungent smell. On being sown in moist ground, 

 under the usual pressure of the atmosphere, and at 

 a temperature of 25 (Reaumer), the grains became 

 soft, and swelled a little during the first four days; 

 on the seventh day their tumefaction became more 



