Wittmack — Our Present Knowledge of Ancient Plants. 3 
We have now a large number of such prehistoric relics from 
Egypt, Western Asia, especially from Troy and Anatolia, 
from different places in Greece and Italy. We have further 
prehistoric seeds from the tombs of the ancient tribes of 
nearly the whole of Europe. 
In America we have the mounds of the Indians in Ohio, and 
about St. Louis, the burial places of the Apache, the cliff- 
dwellers and other Indian tribes in the southwestern border 
states. Above all, America is rich in the sepulchres of the 
ancient Peruvians, the Incas and their subjects. 
In Switzerland as well as in Northern Italy and other 
regions have been uncovered the so-called Lake-Settle- 
ments or wooden pile buildings (‘* Pfahlbauten ’’ in German), 
similar to those still existing in Borneo and the South Sea. In 
these settlements the inhabitants lived in houses raised on piles 
driven into the lakes, near the shore, lest the enemy surprise: 
them unaware. All waste products were thrown into the 
lake and thus produced a valuable source of modern study. 
It is nearly the same in the inland of Denmark where the 
so-called ‘* Kjékkenmédding ’’ (kitchen refuse) are found. 
These are heaps of refuse. Similar piles of such refuse are 
also to be encountered in Brazil. The archaeologists search 
through these waste products like a rag-man picking our 
modern rubbish, and they reach many valuable results regard- 
ing the history of the ancient peoples. 
Leading now directly into my theme, I must first remark 
that we possess to date no vegetable relics of India and 
Eastern Asia, although it would be of the greatest interest if 
~ such were to be obtained. : 
The oldest source is Egypt with its pyramids and temples.. 
What has been discovered there? Chiefly wheat and barley.. 
You probably are aware of the story that the wheat: 
grains are said to have germinated. What truth is there in: 
this? None whatever. If you plant such Egyptian grains: 
of wheat or subject them to germinating conditions they wilk 
sooner or later dissolve like clay in water but never germinate. 
And yet, such is the report published in an earnest botanical 
journal, the ‘* Flora’’ of 1835, p. 3, which report was made- 
