These bacteria appear almost as numerously, yet more slowly, in urine, either upon exposure to air or when freshly evacuated, when the general health of the individual is declining, or any tendency to decomposition. A diagnosis can be aided very greatly by a study of these bacteria, as they indicate or determine the vitality, vigor, and purity of the system, whether more or less subject to disease, even before any signs of disease appear. They seem to preindicate the hold of the life force on the material, and always appear when that force is broken. Their relative quantity found in feces is as a barometric indication of the general health or some particular disturbance, and it is surprising how very fast they multiply while simply passing the intestines under circumstances favorable for their growth. These forms, so small, are important, because so very numerous, and their study has been, perhaps, avoided by many; yet they certainly mean something and effect something, even the non-malignant varieties as mentioned above, and it is certainly worth while to continue to study their meaning, even beyond what has already been written by others on the subject.--_J.M. Adams, in The Microscope_. * * * * * THE SOY BEAN (_Soja hispida_.) A good deal of attention has lately been directed to this plant in consequence of the enormous extent to which it is cultivated in China for the sake of the small seeds which it produces, and which are known as soy beans. These vary considerably in size, shape, and color, according to the variety of the plant which produces them. They are for the most part about the size and shape of an ordinary field pea, and, like the pea, are of a yellow color; some, however, are of a greenish tint. These seeds contain a large quantity of oil, which is expressed from them in China and used for a variety of purposes. The residue is moulded with a considerable amount of pressure into large circular cakes, two feet or more across, and six inches or eight inches thick. This cake is used either for feeding cattle or for manuring the land; indeed, a very large trade is done in China with bean cake (as it is always called) for these purposes. The well-known sauce called soy is also prepared from seeds of this bean. The plant generally known as Soja hispida is by modern botanists referred to Glycine soja. It is an erect, hairy, herbaceous plant. The leaves are three-parted and the papilionaceous flowers are born in axillary racemes. It is too tender for outdoor cultivation in this country, but, has been recommended for extended growth in our colonies as a commercial plant. The plants are readily used from seed.--_J.R.F., in The Garden_. [Illustration: THE SOY BEAN. _(Soja Lispida)_] * * * * * ERICA CAVENDISHIANA.