KEW GARDENS. 23 



sonorous Latin name, who can resist the recipe ? ' There is,' says 

 the Museum, ' a plant cahed Ervum Lens — in plain vernacular, 

 lentil^the meal or flour of the seeds was first recommended for 

 use as /a, in- conjunction with Melassede la Cochin- China^ 

 or common treacle ! It met with a great sale at three times its 

 value, till explained by Dr. Pereira. This led to another name 

 being given to it, Revalenta Arabica, from the Revalenta Ms- 

 tates ! ! I — the seeds being much used in Egypt and Arabia. — ■ 

 That again was explained by the same j)harmaceutist, and it now 

 meets with a ready sale, by vendors whose powers of face are not 

 equal to their predecessors, as leyitil medl^ or flour of lentils.'' — 

 The same shelf displays bottles of lentils of various growth, and 

 also bottles of Revalenta Arabica, Ervalenta, lentil powder, and 

 patent flour of lentils for comparison with the purchased packets 

 at hand as witnesses. The permission of this disclosure is rather 

 a cruel piece of demonstration the part of the Director. If a 

 man has genius enough to make his fortune by a rebus or an ana- 

 gram, it is unkind not to let him do so. We should take it un- 

 friendly to be in any way hindered in the accumulation of a plum 

 from the rapid sale of muflins and crumpets at a high premium, 

 after we have given them a run by the application of grandiose 

 titles. 



The cases containing specimens of injury to timber by insects, 

 and from bad pruming, must be inspected to have their importance 

 appreciated ; while the cases of flax and its products are equally 

 interesting to the ladies, who, while they are familiar with the 

 'Irish,' will be pleased and surprised by the coloured velvets man- 

 ufactured from the same fibre. There are m.any beautiful models 

 in wax in various parts of this room — but fruits, flowers, gourds, 

 &c., in spirits show us the real thing. There is the Jack, or Jaca^ 

 the largest known edible fruit — and a portion of the wonderful 

 Rafflesiar Arnoldi^ the largest known flower. 



The series of Papers^ from the untaught productions of the 

 hornet and the v/asp, followed by those prepared from various 

 barks, will be completed by our highly-finished stationery of the 

 present day, as soon as arrangements for its reception can be 

 made. But as to barks, there is no knowing to what purposes 

 they may not be turned. In the gallery are natural sacks, formed 

 of the bark of the Sack-tree, Lepurandra saccidora^ with a sec- 

 tion of the tree left at one end to form the bottom. Another bark, 



