off ANTHROPOLOGY. 
No. 1 contained decaying blades of eel grass quite abundantly ; 
and the remains of several kinds of shells which were much 
decayed and generally mere casts; the first two kinds only have 
the shell solid. Buccinum undatum (two specimens) ; Fusus de- 
cemcostatus (8); Pecten (two species; one P. islandicus) ; Ser- 
ripes Grenlandica (10); numerous specimens of Mya arenaria 
and Mytilus edulis (3) ; Leda, a few small decayed valves, possibly 
of Macoma; also what appeared to be the shell of a small crus- 
tacean, not an inch long. 
In No. 3, the pebbles were conglomerated with oxide of iron in 
one place. 
No. 5, a loose narrow stratum, evidently deposited in shallow 
water, held many broken and worn shells of clam, mussel, Ma- 
coma fusca and Leda Jacksoni. 
o. 6 seems to mark the emergence of the beds, showing a 
change in the water courses produced by the elevation of some 
ey land than at this point, from the water. — Paur SHER- 
ANTHROPOLOGY. 
Preuistoric CULTURE or Frax.— Dr. Oswald Heer, the eminent 
botanist, and one who has devoted so much attention to the struct- 
ure and history of fossil plants, publishes an article upon flax and 
its culture among the ancients, especially the prehistoric races of 
Europe. His memoir may be summarized as follows: First, flax 
has been cultivated in Egypt for five thousand years and that it 
was and is one of the most generally diffused plants of that coun- 
try. It occupied a similar position in ancient Babylonia, in Pales- 
tine, and on the Black Sea. It occurred in Greece during the 
prehistoric period, and at an early date was carried into Italy, 
while its cultivation in Spain was probably originated by the Phe- 
nicians and Carthagenians. Second, it is also met with in the 
oldest Swiss lacustrine villages, while, at the same time no hemp 
nor fabrics manufactured from wool are there to be found. This 
is considered a remarkable fact, since the sheep was one of the 
oldest domestic animals, and was known during the stone period. 
The impossibility of shearing the fleece by means of stone OF 
_ bone implements is supposed to have been the reason why woollen 
fabrics were not used. Itis thought probable that the skin, with 
