THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
415 
day through all the phases of life, but by a singu- 
lar contradistinction some plants of the same class 
grow with inexplicable slowness, and Vaucher 
watched a yellow lichen on a housetop for forty 
years without noticing a perceptible increase, 
leading De Candolle to declare that the lichens 
which cover our rocks possibly go back to the 
times of the cataclysms that laid the rock bare. 
The form and size of plants show vast contrasts. 
Beginning with organisms visible only through a 
powerful microscope, we pass many gradations, 
finally reaching sea-weeds 1000, and in one spe- 
cies more than 1500 , feet in length. Other 
extremes are found in the germination and repro- 
duction of plants. The Algae class furnishes 
species of but a single cell, but in a large mush- 
room, weighing 4 | pounds, the cells were found 
to number 106 , 596 , 000 , 000 , 000 . Some plants die 
immediately on being removed from their peculiar 
habitat, while others retain their vitality after 
half a century in a herbarium. 
Egyptian Horses. 
Referring to the present condition of the breed 
of Egyptian horses, Mr. Alban, our Vice-Consul 
at Alexandria, in his last report, says that an at- 
tempt has recently been made to improve it, and 
for this purpose a Government Commission was 
appointed last year. Pure breed Arab stallions have 
been purchased and stationed in various districts. 
Horse shows have been held in these districts, 
and a large number of certificates have been deli- 
vered to the owners of such mares as were consi- 
dered by the commissioners to be sufficiently sound 
and promising, entitling them to the use of the 
Government stallion stationed in their district. 
Almost all horses in Egpyt are of Syrian origin, 
and Egypt is dependent for her supplies on Syria. 
The exportation of horses from Syria is frequent- 
ly prohibited for varying periods by the Turkish 
authorities, which results in an inconvenient scar- 
city and dearness. Mr. Alban hopes that continued 
efforts will be made to encourage horse-breeding 
in Egypt. 
Notes sur la geologie de 1’Etbai nord 
ou desert Est egyptien. 
PAR 
Ernest Oysgoghe Floyer. 
“ Nos qui seqimur probahilia 
nee ultra qua/m id quod veri simi- 
le occur rit progredi possumus, et 
refeller e sine pertinendia, et re- 
feilisine iracundid parati tumus) 
Cic. II, Miscel. 2 
L’interieur de FEtbai nord ffiayant pas encore 
ete v-isitS, fat pendant quelques annees, pour les 
geologues anglais, ce que la planete Mars a ete 
pour les astronomes. D’apres des traductions plus 
ou moms fideles de Eussegger, sur le Nil, de Sch- 
weinfurth, sur la cote de la mer Rouge, et de 
Fraas, sur la route de Kena-Kosair, on a fait la 
carte du pays en la couvrant de mers eocenes et 
d’oceans cretaces; 1’age du gres, qui forme une 
grande partie de sa surface, a ete discute avec 
une chaleur qui remplace mal l’examen de ce gres 
sur les lieux 
Nous avons voulu preparer la voie aux geolo- 
gues futurs en indiquant approximativement les 
limites des principales formations que nous avons 
effectivetnent rencontrees, les endroits ou tout n ; est 
que gres, et ceux oil Ton peut observer des com- 
plications interessantes. Les sections ideales : ue 
nous presentons repondent aux indications de la 
surface. Les altitudes et les angles des strates 
sont corrects, mais la direction souterraine de ces 
strates est en tout cas purement hypothetique. 
Les roches de ce desert presentent une carac- 
teristique curieuse: Fabsence de terre et de verdu- 
re ferait supposerque cette solitude est un paradis 
pour les geologues. Mais c'est un fait curieux, 
remarque toutd’abord par M. Brindley, que toutes 
ces roches etalenfc une couleur brune uniforme. 
Ainsi, pour identifier une roche, il est presque 
toujours neeessaire de descendre de sa monture 
et de casser un fragment de pierre. Nous avons 
de cette fagon, recueilli plus de mille specimens 
choisis sur 68 points environ. 
Les cartes et les sections annexees a ce chapi- 
tre donnent une idee generate de la configuration 
du pays. Elies sont accompagnees de quelques 
explications et de quelques faits dont la verifica- 
tion et le developpement pourront constituer une 
tache interessante pour les visiteurs a venir. 
