16. “Bouvardias.” A class of autumn and winter blooming house plants in the northern climates. Leaves regular; flowers appear in clusters, and are something like the honeysuckle in form. They vary in color from a pure white to a deep scarlet. 17. “Koran.” The sacred book of the Mohammedans, and their chief authority, also, in political, military, and ethical matters. 18. “Caffeone.” A fragrant, volatile oil contained in coffee. 19. “Sterculiaceæ,” sterˌcu-li-aˈse-ē. Large trees or shrubs, with simple or compound leaves, and flowers like those of the mallow, except that the anthers turn outward. 20. “Mahernia,” usually called _Mahernia odorata_, is an exotic flowering shrub cultivated in conservatories, mostly for its rich fragrance. HOUSEHOLD BEVERAGES. 1. “Made-over tea.” In Chinese tea houses, large jars are kept, into which the dregs of all the tea that has been used are thrown. These exhausted leaves are dried, carefully rolled again, and thrown upon the market for a second sale. It is said this tea is easily detected if coloring matter has been used, but when re-rolled without, only a chemical analysis can disclose the fraud. 2. “Reliable.” Much fault has been found by critics with this word. It is claimed that it has no right to a place in our language. _Able_ or _ible_ is a suffix which, added to the stem of a transitive verb, gives an adjective which may be defined by placing the word _able_ before the passive infinitive of the verb whose stem has been used; for example: tolerable, able to be tolerated; admissable, able to be admitted; deniable, able to be denied, etc. But reliable means able to be relied _upon_. The preposition has to be supplied. The proper form of the adjective would be the awkward word, “relionable,” or “reliuponable.” The word is favored in the dictionaries, but trustworthy is preferable. 3. “Cosey.” A wadded cap made to fit the tea-pot closely, and thus hold in the aroma and the heat. 4. “Café au lait,” cä-fā ō lā. HUXLEY ON SCIENCE. 1. “Aliases.” The plural of alias (āˈle-as). Meaning another name, an assumed name. THE CIRCLE OF THE SCIENCES. 1. “Napier,” naˈpe-er, John. (1550-1617.) An English mathematician. “Logarithms” are numbers so related to natural numbers that the multiplication and division of the latter may be performed by addition and subtraction, and the raising to powers and the extraction of roots by the multiplication and division of the former. They are arranged in tables which can be readily understood and used, and they save enormous calculations and labor. 2. “Kepler,” Johann. A German astronomer.