ae, Short Papers and Notes. 
handed men of the Bronze Period. One such handle, found in 
1872, was the first example of a complete hafted instrument ; and, 
as Dr. Wilson remarks, is carefully fashioned, so as to adapt it to 
the grasp of a very small hand, and as incapable of use by a left- 
handed shearer as a mower’s scythe.— From “ Science for All.” 
Blackberries. 
Perhaps one of the most interesting problems is the inquiry 
into the reasons why certain plants and animals have been chosen 
for cultivation by man, and others, apparently quite as suitable, 
rejected. The blackberry has not found favour. Attempts are at 
present being made to introduce varieties of this fruit, which, 
both by appearance and flavour, seem suitable for cultivation. 
Unfortunately, the blackberry, though dear as a remembrance of 
cur youth, when all things were more or less digestable, does not 
commend itself to our riper years, from its tendency, either raw or 
cooked, to produce intestinal irritation. An examination of the 
numerous seeds in a ripe blackberry shows them to be not, as 
in currants, gooseberries, etc., smooth and polished, but covered 
all over with curved arabesque patterns with sharp edges, forming 
a very pretty common object for the microscope with a low 
power, but in masses in the intestines undoubtedly out of place. 
Until, therefore, our gardeners can give us a smooth-seeded black- 
berry, it is wise to use the blackberry only for the preparation of 
jelly, after the manner of red currant jelly, or as blackberry 
vinegar. In these, the seeds being rejected, the delicious flavour 
of the fruit can be enjoyed without fear of colic or dysentery. 
Eggs and LEgg-Collecting. 
To a casual observer there may be nothing remarkable or in- 
teresting, perhaps, in the shape, size, or colour of birds’ eggs ; yet 
to the warm admirer of Nature and her works what wonders of 
design are manifested in the construction of a common egg! 
These traces of design afford the best possible evidence that there 
is a supreme agency at work, even if they had been brought to 
their present state of perfection by the process of evolution. How 
long would it have taken some of the world’s great philosophers to 
discover the best shape of a bird’s egg, in order to prevent it 
rolling off a flat surface, such as a ledge of rock, when moved by 
the terrible gusts of wind that sweep over high latitudes, or perhaps 
roughly moved by the parent-bird suddenly fluttering off to save 
her life in the presence of danger? Take, for example, the egg 
of the Guillemot. This is so wonderfully constructed, that if 
moved it will not roll away, like a marble or billiard-ball, but 
simply spin round on its axis, the same as a screw or top, showing 
~ 
