Stevenson.] 5b [>rarch 20, 



species, excepting the interesting experiment made by Dr. Bourlier on his 

 farm near Reghaia, where a few of this species have been successfully 

 grown, conjointly with clivers Acacite and especially with Mimosaj. 



A fine, strong, inexpensive wood, almost uninflamma- 

 Desirabuu.y of ble and resisting decay, fit for barn and ship building, 

 the propagation railway ties, piles, telegraph poles, paving blocks, 

 of sucii tine spe- flood-gates, carpenter's work and even cabinetmaking, 

 cies as Eu. mar- , tt- ., .1 1 i a . t 



„in^f^ such as liu. margmata, the yarrah wood or Australian 



mahogany is claimed to be, would indeed be a boon to 

 Algeria and Tunisia, which have so far not been blessed with any such 

 treasure.* 



It is a pity that, with the exceptions mentioned in 



Alleged blind- , . ' -; . , . , 



ness of the pub- ^'^'® paper, the very many merits claimed years ago, 

 lie and market and Still claimed by some, for eucalypti in general, 

 to the merits of should remain unrecognized in Algeria and Tunisia hy 

 eucalypti in gen- those who have been induced to make the experiment of 

 growing eucalypti for profit. Either the public and the 

 market are blind to the merits of eucalypti, or else the numerous services 

 rendered by these trees are still better rendered by others at present in use 

 for agricultural and industrial purposes, as well as for fuel. It is needless 

 to mention which of these suppositions is the most likely. 



On, the Remains of the, Foreigners Discovered in Egypt by Mr. 



Flinders -Petrie, JS95, now in the Museum of the 



University of Pennsylvania. 



By Mrs. Cornelius Stevenson. 



{Read before the American Philosojjhical Society, March SO, 1S96.) 



Before entering upon my subject, I must explain that what information 

 I have with regard to this remarkable collection is mainly derived from 

 private letters received from Mr. Flinders-Petrie last winter at the time 

 of this most brilliant of all his brilliant discoveries, and at intervals since 

 then. Very little has, as yet, been published concerning them. The 



♦ Like the reed of the fable, Eu. marginata is flexible and bends readily without break- 

 ing. A block of 0.5 metre in length and offering a square section of 0.25 metre bears, 

 before breaking, a weight of 1400 kilogrammes suspended from its middle, POO kilo- 

 grammes being the breaking weight of a ruler of oak of the same dimensions. The resist- 

 ance of Ea. marginata to crushing in the same condition is also greater than that of oak 

 (both woods having the same density), and is 350 kilogrammes to the S(iuare centimetre 

 of bearing surface ; its tensile strength is remarkable, S'JO kilogrammes to the square centi- 

 metre. Its resistance to parasites is very great, even the terrible white ant cannot per- 

 forate its grain, nor does the Teredo navalM cause its prompt destruction, as is the case 

 with other woods used in naval constructions, for Ea. margmata has been known to with- 

 stand the action of the shi]) worm for thirty and forty years (E. Lambert, above 

 quoted). 



