imported from Egypt, and -which owe their present unfloiirishing appearance to the delay that 

 • took place in their transmission, on account of the steamer in which they were conveyed having 

 been engaged, on her homeward passage, for the transport of troops. Amongst the different 

 varieties of Palms, the following may be noted, either for their large growth or beautiful foli- 

 age: an immense specimen of the Sabal pahnetla from Florida, and a fine SabaJ Blackburniana; 

 also several fine specimens of the Cocos, among which is the Cocos phnnosa, reaching the height 

 of 35 feet; numerous specimens of the Wax Palm {Ccroxylon andricola), natives of Columbia, 

 and the curious Calamus maximus, which, in the damp forests of Java, grows along the ground 

 to an immense length, and fcrms with its sharp prickles an almost an impenetrable underwood, 

 are also here. Sag^icras saccharifera of India, noted for its saccharine properties, and the ve^'e- 

 table Ivory Palm [Phytdephas macrocarpa), deserves attention. The specimen of Pandanus odor- 

 atissimus, from Tahiti, is also remarkable, on account of its sweet smell. 



" Opposite the Byzantine Court, the garden is filled with different varieties of Palms brought 

 from South America, Australia, and the Isle of Bourbon. Before the Mediaeval Court may be 

 noticed two Norfolk Island Pines, and close to the monument at the entrance of the English 

 Medireval Court, are two Funeral Cypresses, brought from the Yale of Tombs, in North China. 

 Close to the Norfolk Island Pines, on the right, facing the court, is a small specimen of the grace- 

 ful and beautiful Moreton Bay Pine. The garden in front of the Renaissance Court is filled 

 with conservatary plants, consisting of Camellias, Azaleas, ttc. On either side of the entrance 

 to the Italian Court are two very fine American Aloes, the beds here being filled with Olives, 

 and other green-house plants. In the garden in front of the Foreign Industrial Court, wiU be 

 noticed two fine Norfolk Island Pines." — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



Old Londox Doorways and Cartings. — Many of the doorways of Old London, put up about 

 the time of Charles I. and Charles II. and Queen Anne, have remained with but little altera- 

 tion. The old window-frames have been replaced with others of a more modern and convenient 

 description — plastering and other matters have disguised the stjde of the brickwork — cornices 

 and moldings have been removed, and in other ways so much change made, that often the door- 

 way is all that remains to show the antiquity of many London houses. Even the oldest of the 

 doorways of domestic dwellings, which have come imder our notice, do not go back to a very 

 remote period. This, in a great measure, is the effect of increased traffic, and the movement of 

 fivshion rendering it necessary that the basement of hoiises, formerly of a better sort, should be 

 converted into shops or ofiices ; this, together with the ravages of the " Great Fire," seem to 

 have caused the destruction of every London house-door prior to the date of the reign of Queen 

 Elizabetu, with the exception of a few broken fragments. It is curious to notice the decline oi 

 the use of carving in our residences, in proportion to the extent and style of its application in 

 the churches. At the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. the carver's art was applied more 

 or less to every useful article. The ships of war and the spinning wheels, knitting sheaths, 

 handles of knives, and daggers, were alike carefully wrought. — The Builder. 



