A work on this subject from the pen of M. de Candolle has recently appeared. It treats of 247 species. The author has utilized evidence from Swiss lake dwellings, from ancient Egyptian monuments, and from Chinese works, - better interpreted by Dr. Bret-schneider than by his predecessors. He has examined many herbaria, consulted travelers, etc. Of. all the 247 species, except three, he has been able to say whether they come from the old or the new world, and to specify with certainty of high probability the country of their origin. The exceptions are two species of the genus Cucurbita and the ordinary kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). There are many species, however, that have not yet been certainly found in a wild state. Where the country of origin has been little visited by botanists this is not surprising; but the case is sometimes otherwise. Certain species very long cultivated seem to be in course of extinction or extinct; they have not been found wild or have been met with only once, perhaps, in a single locality in their native region, though the latter has been well explored. Probably, too, their ancient home has been more or less of wide extent, considering the extension of their cultivation among people that had little connection with each other.

M. de Candolle counts 44 species of the old world which appear to have been cultivated more than 4,000 years, and 5 of the new, probably cultivated as long. Of these 49, six or seven seem to be extinct or in course of extinction. Maize has never been found in the wild state. The bean and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) have been found only once; the chick pea, the lentil (Ervum lens and Ervum ervillia), and wheat have only been found very rarely and under conditions doubtful as to the spontaneous quality. Most of these species present the character of seeds filled with starch, without any protection against rodents and insects, who seek them eagerly; and it is not wonderful that they should perish in the struggle for existence. With tobacco (which has been found with certainty in the wild state only at one point of the Republic of Ecuador by M. Andre) the case is different. Since the natives smoked or chewed tobacco from Peru to the United States, it is probable that the habitat of the plant was once much wider. - Gardeners' Magazine.