48 
POPULAR SOlElsrCE IsTEWS. 
[April, 1891. 
allies and the rest of the genus, they have gone a 
step farther and have produced their coherent 
sepals into a tube, which, as in the pinks, holds 
their petals in a tubular form also. This excludes 
a horde of miscellaneous small flies, and courts 
only those with longer tongues, which are thereby 
enabled to reach to the bottom of the tubes. The 
plant thus narrows its field, but gains more effi- 
cient workers as a compensation for diminished 
numbers. The anthers are erect and exserted, 
and can hardly fail to dust any insect of the above 
description that happens to light on the flower- 
head. At this stage the flowering dogwood and 
the cornel separated, for the latter, as will be seen 
in the figure, has not reached the perfection of 
the former; for, while the flowering dogwood has 
a perfectly compact head, with all the florets 
borne on an expanded and modified apes of the 
stem, — which is thus made to perform the offices 
of a receptacle,- — the cornel still retains decided 
traces of the original cyme, and the florets are 
borne on very short branches. 
So much for the flowers ; now let us glance at 
the berries. In these there is no difference through- 
out the genus, except the comparatively unimpor- 
tant one of color, whicli depends on the selective 
tastes of different birds. Why was there no 
change in the berries? Probably because the 
DWARF COENEL. 
Single flower. Section of fruit. Flower of dwarf cornel, 
magnified to show the branched head. «, bract removed. 
berry of the parent form was good enough with- 
out change. To describe one will be sufficient, as 
they are much alike. The berry is a succulent, 
two-celled, two-seeded drupe, formed by the 
union of the calyx (coats) with the ovary. It 
swells and becomes red on ripening. A fruit in 
wliich this union of parts takes place is in ad- 
vance of one in which the calyx is free. 
Plants that have a drupaceous or succulent fruit 
generally have fewer and larger seeds than those 
without these facilities for dispersal. For each 
seed in a fruit tliat lias fine facilities for dissemi- 
nation stands a better chance of growing and be- 
coming a plant than a dozen seeds that have poor 
means of dispersal ; and the plant that has fewer 
seeds can store those remaining much more effect- 
ively than it could a larger number. How did the 
fruit become drupaceous? Probably by the selec- 
tion of the most succulent ones by birds. Hence, 
those that were hard and dry perished, and the 
juicy ones were eaten by birds and transported 
by them to considerable distances, and so stood a 
better chance of hitting upon a good locality for 
growth and reproduction of vigorous offspring. 
As long as the seed is immature, the fruit remains 
hard, green, and inconspicuous, to escape notice; 
but as soon as it begins to ripen, it advertises that 
fact by assuming a bright red color. And now 
any hungry bird, coming along, will be sure to 
notice it, eat it, and the seeds, which are ex- 
tremely hard and indigestible, will pass through 
the bird's body and be deposited in the best possi- 
ble condition for germinating. 
The red color of the berries was produced in the 
same way as their succulency, viz., by the selec- 
tion of birds. For if any of these fruits showed a 
tendency towards a red color it would greatly in- 
crease its conspicuousness, and thereby more tlian 
double its chances of being seen and devoured by 
birds — with the favorable consequences above 
mentioned. On the other hand, the green fruit 
would be more apt to be passed by, and hence uu- 
disseminated, so that if it grew at all it would be 
under the deleterious shade of the parent tree. 
Thus you see natural selection would tend pretty 
effectually to weed out the hard. Inconspicuous 
fruits, and foster the" attractive ones. This form 
of fruit was probably developed lefore the flower- 
ing dogwood and the dwarf cornel branched off 
from the main group, (for it is retained by them 
in common with the rest of the genus), and after 
the family Cornacece branched off from the allied 
families, because the Cornacece have the drupaceous 
fruit and the allied families have not. The bark 
of this family is quite bitter, and probably in a 
measure secures the young plant from the attacks 
of herbivorous animals. 
All these advantages combined — the bitter bark, 
preserving the tender young plant; the closely 
packed heads of tubular florets; the conspicuous 
bracts, which allure the constant attention of the 
higher insects, and so effect cross-fertilization 
without waste, and also serve as protective caps; 
and finally the attractive drupaceous fruit — al- 
lowed the plaut, undter certain circumstances, to 
spring from a shrubby to an arborescent form. 
These are only a few of the facts and sugges- 
tions concerning the lite-history of this plant, and 
are brought togetlier principally as suggestions 
for further research. Among other things it 
would be iuteresting to find out which situations 
are preferred by the pink-bracted forms and which 
by the white, and also the insects found most fre- 
quently in those places. Also to notice what in- 
sects visit this plant, both habitually and acci- 
dentally; to see if there is as yet any difference in 
the relative number or in the species which visit 
the tw o colors ; to see if they exhibit sleep move- 
ments. I observed no honey, (my specimens were 
slightly wilted), but think some must be secreted 
by the glandular perigynous disk of the flower, as 
it tasted sweet. 
These are only some of the questions that sug- 
gest themselves just now ; ther^ are many more 
awaiting the close observer. 
There is really but one place in the world 
where violins are made extensively. That place 
is Markneukli'chen, with its surrounding villages. 
There are altogether about 15,000 people living 
there who do nothing els(! but make violins. The 
inhabitants, from the little urchin to the old gr.ay- 
headed man, the small girl, and the old grand- 
mother, all are engaged in making some part of a 
fiddle. 
[Original in Popular Science News.] 
IIIEROGLYPIIIC INSCBIPTIONS OF EGYPT 
AXD PALESTINE— HOW READ, AND BY 
WHOM DISCOVERED AND DECIPHERED. 
BY JOSEPH WALLACE. 
As we have been requested to contribute our 
knowledge of hieroglyphic inscriptions to the 
Popular Science News, we do so with pleasure, 
and hope the intelligent readers of this leading 
and worthily popular publication will be pleased 
with the choice of such interesting subjects. 
Not long ago there was a general belief at home 
as well as abroad that the ancient Egyptians and 
Assyrians had no literature, no schools, and no 
means of cultivating the mind or hand. Tliis 
judgment was based on the present condition of 
these countries, seeing that they have made no 
progress in literature, art, commerce, or home in- 
dustry. Oriental scholars, however, knew that 
this belief was erroneous. The recent discoveries 
in Egypt, Palestine, and Western Asia prove that 
literature was highly prized, and its cultivation 
carried on with zeal and industry in these coun- 
tries for thousands of years ; schools, colleges, 
and libraries were established for the foreign as 
well as the native student when the European was 
a painted savage. 
The monumental history of Egypt has been an 
enigma to the learned of all countries for thou- 
sands of years. It was the great campaign of 
Napoleon I. in Egypt, 1798-1800, which gave the 
first impulse to Egyptian studies. The most dis- 
tinguished members of the French Institute ac- 
companied him, to study on the spot the ancient 
land of the Pharoahs, their ancient monuments 
now in ruins, and the numerous wrecks of a for- 
mer civilization. The work which they executed 
was consideralile ; they studied ancient and mod- 
ern Egypt under all its phases, and in time the 
result of their labors was given to the public 
under the patronage of the French government. 
However, the most interesting and most in- 
structive inscriptions which the Pharoahs have 
left us, and which alone could clear up and ex- 
plain their labors and the events of their lives, 
remained illegible riddles, so to speak. It was 
reserved for a Frenchman. Jean F. Champollion, 
to reve.'il to us by an effort of his genius tlie secret 
of their mysterious writing, which is called hiero- 
glyphic. 
Nothing is positively known of the origin and 
chronology of the old Egyptian language. Though 
very distinct, it indicates some affinity to the Se- 
mitic, but not so gre.at a relationship as that 
which exists between it and Hebrew, Aramaic. 
Arabic, and Assyrian. Besides the analogy in 
tlie mode of writing — which omits vowels and 
gives the words only in skeleton — there are nu- 
merous coincidences in the vocabulary. The 
Berber, Saho, and (Jalla languages — which are 
considered one in origin with the Semitic — have 
also an unmistakable affinity to the EgyptiaiL 
The Semitic character of the langixages is espe- 
cially mentioned by Benefey, E. Meir, K. Lottner, 
Lepsius, F. Jliiller, De Rouge, Ebers, and Brugsch. 
Some words, however, are Indo-European, and 
Pott, Ewald, and Renan have placed Egyptian in 
that family of languages. Ewald and Renan, 
since then, have been less positive, and internal 
evidence seems sufficient to establish some re- 
lationship between the Semitic and Egyptian. 
The history of the development and decay of 
the language has not yet been traced ; only the 
four distinct graphic systems — hieroglyphic, hi- 
eratic, demotic, and Coptic — can safely be con- 
fined within chronological limits. The time of 
