18431882] FLOATING SEEDS 417 



on your great kindness, my dear Hooker, than I have any Letter 321 

 claim ; but you offered this, for I never thought of asking you 

 for more than a suggestion. I do not think I could manage 

 more than forty or fifty kinds at a time, for the water, I find, 

 must be renewed every other day, as it gets to smell horribly : 

 and I do not think your plan good of little packets of cambric, 

 as this entangles so much air. I shall keep the great receptacle 

 with salt water with the forty or fifty little bottles, partly open, 

 immersed in it, in the cellar for uniform temperature. I must 

 plant out of doors, as I have no greenhouse. 



I told you I had inserted notice in the Gardeners' Chronicle, 

 and to-day I have heard from Berkeley that he has already 

 sent an assortment of seeds to Margate for some friend to put 

 in salt water ; so I suppose he thinks the experiment worth 

 trying, as he has thus so very promptly taken it into his own 

 hands. 1 



Reading this over, it sounds as if I were offended ! ! ! which 

 I need not say is not so. 2 



I may just mention that the seeds mentioned in my former 

 note have all germinated after fourteen days' immersion, 

 except the cabbages all dead, and the radishes have had their 

 germination delayed and several I think dead ; cress still all 

 most vigorous. French spinach, oats, barley, canary-seed, 

 borage, beet have germinated after seven days' immersion. 



It is quite surprising that the radishes should have grown, 

 for the salt water was putrid to an extent which I could not 

 have thought credible had I not smelt it myself, as was the 

 water with the cabbage -seed. 



To J. D. Hooker, Letter 322 



Down, June loth [1855]. 



If being thoroughly interested with your letters makes me 

 worthy of them, I am very worthy. 



I have raised some seedling Sensitive Plants, but if you 

 can readily spare me a moderately sized plant, I shall be 

 glad of it. 



You encourage me so, that I will slowly go on salting 

 seeds. I have not, I see, explained myself, to let you suppose 



1 Rev. M. J. Berkeley published on the subject in the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, Sept. ist, 1855. 



2 Added afterwards between the lines. 



27 



