_The Plant "Haemony"_ (Vol. ii. p. 88. and p. 141.).--The mystical meaning of "Haemony" is evolved by Coleridge in a passage which occurs in his _Statesman's Manual_, appendix B., and which cannot fail to interest the readers of _Comus_. "It is found in the study of the Old and New Testament, if only it be combined with a spiritual partaking of the Redeemer's blood, of which, mysterious as the symbol may be, the sacramental wine is no mere or arbitrary _memento_. This is the only certain, and this is the universal, preventive of all debasing superstitions; this is the true haemony ([Greek: haima], blood, [Greek: oinos], wine), which our Milton has beautifully allegorised in a passage strangely overlooked by all his commentators. Bear in mind, reader! the character of a militant Christian, and the results (in this life and in the next) of the redemption by the blood of Christ, and so peruse the passage." T.M.B. _Mildew in Books_ (Vol. ii., p. 103.).--Your correspondent B. suggests that "any hints as to the cause or remedy of _mildew in books_ will be most acceptable". I venture therefore an opinion that the cause is to be found in the defective bleaching and manufacture of the rags from which the paper is made and the careless or intentional admixture of linen with cotton rags. The comparatively modern method of bleaching with oxymuriate of lime, or chlorine in substance, with the ad-libitum and unacknowledged admixture of gypsum (to give weight and firmness to the paper) are, I believe, the true causes of the defects in question, which are to be found more in modern books and prints than in those of an earlier date, and do not arise from damp, as the term "_mildew_" might seem to imply, although the same appearance no doubt arises from that cause alone in the older paper. But paper made and bleached by the processes I have mentioned will become covered with brown spots, however dry it may be kept. I have a folio edition of _La Armeria Real de Madrid_, printed at Paris, without date, but subsequently to 1838 by the preface. The paper is very stout and fine, and was free from blemish when I purchased it three years ago, but at present it is covered with brown patches, and the beauty of the work destroyed, although it has been kept in a very dry room. For such defects I should be equally delighted with B. to discover a remedy; but I fear that so long as our paper manufacturers study expedition and economy in preference to quality, the case is hopeless. The ashes left after the combustion of a sheet of paper clearly indicate the amount of modern sophistication, and greatly exceed those of more ancient paper. In fact, some paper may now be classed, with more propriety, among mineral than vegetable productions. Mildew, arising from damp in old books, may be arrested, if not removed, by exposure to light, air, and a dry atmosphere. HENRY WILKINSON.