156 Short Papers and Notes. 
sulphate of copper in coarse crystals are placed and plugged in. 
The chemical is gradually absorbed by the wood until its whole 
outer surface turns of a greenish hue. ‘The sulphate requires an 
occasional renewal, and is said to be a perfect preservative. 
Languages. 
The Chinese language is spoken by four hundred million 
persons; Hindostani by upwards of one hundred million; 
English by more than one hundred million; Russian by more 
than seventy million; German by fifty-eight million; Spanish by 
forty-eight million ; and French by forty million. 
The Desser Spearwort. 
Several horses and other animals in Bedfordshire have been 
poisoned by eating, it is supposed, the Lesser Spearwort (Ranun- 
culus flammula), a very poisonous variety of the Crowfoot. This 
plant is usually uncommon, but the excessive wet season seems to 
have been favourable to its development. 
Drying Plants tn their fatural Colours. 
Dr. Schonland gives in an Indian paper the details of his 
system of drying flowers :—‘ Take two pints of a saturated solu- 
tion of sulphurous acid in water (which can be had at any 
chemist’s and is very cheap if bought in large quantities) ; add to 
this one pint of methylated spirit. Keep this mixture in a wide- 
mouthed bottle, which should be so tightly closed that the con- 
tents do not evaporate when not in use. Leave ordinary flowers 
in this mixture for about ten to twenty minutes ; inflorescences of 
Bromeliacee and Avoidee must be left in it about an hour. In 
most cases the colour will completely disappear, but it will gra- 
dually return during the process of drying, or even after the 
plants have become apparently quite dry. Having treated the 
specimens with the mixture for a short time, as stated above, take 
them out and shake off the adhering drops of fluid. Leave the 
plants in a dry, warm place in order to dry them superficially 
(they must not be allowed to shrivel), and then dry them in the 
usual way between blotting-paper. If artificial heat is used in the 
latter part of the process, excellent results are obtained, and it is 
not even necessary to change the drying-paper. If hot-water 
pipes are available, it is very convenient to place on them the 
bundle containing the plant to be dried, which need not be sub- 
jected to very great pressure. As it is sometimes difficult to 
prevent flowers from collapsing when using this method of preser- 
vation, and as often it is almost impossible to spread out the 
