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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
and barley — he found Teff (. Eragrostis Abyssinica), the Field-pea ( Pisum 
arvense ), the common Flax (. Linum usitatissimum ), — the latter having, in all 
probability, been cultivated as an article of food, as well as for spinning. The 
weeds are of the familiar kinds : wild Badish (Raphanus Raphanistrum), Corn 
Chrysanthemum ( Chrysanthemum segetum ), Wartwort (Euphorbia helioscopia), 
1ST ettle-leaved Goosefoot ( Chenopodium murale) , bearded Hare’s-ear (. Bupleurum 
aristatum), and the common Yetch (Vicia sativa). The relics of manufactur- 
ing art consist of fragments of burnt tiles, of pottery, and a small piece of 
twine, spun of flax and sheep’s wool, significant of the advance which civiliza- 
tion had made more than five thousand years ago. The presence of the 
chopped straw confirms the account of brickmaking as given in Exodus and 
by Herodotus. 
The Foliicolous Sphcerice have been well described by Mr. M. C. Cooke in 
a recent paper. He thinks that the classification of these fungi should properly 
be based upon characters of the fructification. But he thinks it doubtful that 
“ any new arrangement in which no regard is given to the fruit will supersede 
the Friesian system.” Mr. Cooke and Dr. E. Capron have been lately investi- 
gating the forms of leaf-sphaerise, and they have discovered some new species. 
How Plants get Introduced. — In the Gardeners' Chronicle an interesting 
account is given by “ W. M.” of the circumstances attending the introduction 
into Britain of Lepidium draba, a plant which gives much annoyance to the 
agriculturist. This plant appears to have been one of the many disastrous results 
of the Walcheren expedition. “When our troops returned to England, many 
disembarked at Kamsgate ; the poor fellows were suffering under malarious 
fever, and their beds were ripped up, and the straw, &c., was placed in an 
old chalk-pit belonging to a Mr. Thompson. Time passed on, and this heap 
of refuse was mixed with seaweed and manure, and finally employed to 
fertilize the fields. Wherever this was done, a plentiful crop of the new 
weed was produced, and which to distinguish it was called Thompson’s weed. 
We have traced its introduction and its spread over many parts of the Isle 
of Thanet ; it now remains to show its future progress. It seems to take 
to the edges of ditches, the edges of footpaths, &c., in preference to the open 
fields, and may be traced through Canterbury, Chatham, and to Sittingbourne, 
Gravesend, Deptford, and Peckham.” 
An Orchid Tea. — The leaves of an epiphytal orchid of the island Bourbon 
have been recently introduced into Paris, and have been used in decoction 
as a substitute for ordinary tea. Those who have tasted the new beverage 
do not speak very highly of its agreeable qualities. The leaves are merely 
dried, and not half burnt, as is the case with tea. The technical name of 
the plant is Angrcecium fragrans. 
The Development of (Edogonium. — A very able Swedish paper, in which 
the development of (Edogonium is minutely detailed, is translated into 
the last number of the Microscopical Journal. The development of the spores 
is thus described : — Previous to germination, the spore has an egg-shaped 
figure ; the cell-contents are densely crowded, and composed of minute 
brownish-green granules, closely surrounded by a distinct cell-membrane. 
Outside this membrane there is found, besides, a quite distinct cell-membrane. 
Upon germination there are formed in both membranes slit-like openings, 
whereupon the cell-contents emerge, surrounded by an extremely delicate 
