BOTANY. 385 



twelve years ; Tiliacece, twenty-seven years ; Malvaceae, twenty-seven years ; 

 Leguminosae, forty-three years ; Rhamnacete, twenty-one years ; Boragnia- 

 ccce, eight years ; Convolvulaceaj, fourteen years ; Composite, eight years ; 

 MyrtaceaB, eighteen years ; Umbellifera;, eight years ; Cruciferaj, eight years. 

 It would appear that the seeds which retained their vitality longest were 

 those which had least albumen surrounding their embryos, as the Legumino- 

 Se ; while those which had large quantities of albumen, as the Graminaccoi, 

 lost their vitality soonest. Dr. Steel stated that he had planted many seeds 

 obtained from Egyptian mummies, but always failed to obtain any indications 

 of their vitality. Mr. Moore, of the Dublin Botanic Garden, related an 

 instance in which he had succeeded in producing a new species of leguminous 

 plant from seeds obtained by Mr. John Ball from a vase discovered in an 

 Egyptian tomb. He also stated that he had picked from out of the wood of 

 a decayed elm, at least fifty years old, seeds of laburnum, many of which 

 had germinated when planted, and produced young trees. He had once 

 grown a crop of young barberry trees, by planting a quantity of barberry 

 jam, which proved that the process of preparing the jam did not injure the 

 seed. Many seeds grew the better for being placed in boiling water before 

 they were set. Dr. Daubeny stated that seeds did not retain their vitality 

 whilst entirely excluded from the air ; that, in order to keep them well, they 

 should be wrapped up in brown paper, or some other porous material. Mr. 

 Archer stated that the seeds sent from China in air-tight vessels always 

 failed to germinate. Some seeds kept much better than others. Mr. Ogilby 

 stated that some seeds germinated the better for being kept. Mr. Kevins 

 and Mr. Moore both confirmed this statement, and said that gardeners were 

 in the habit of keeping cucumber and melon seeds in their pockets, in order 

 to insure their more efficient germination. 



MAMMOTH TREES OF CALIFORNIA 



During the past year two new localities of the mammoth trees of Califor- 

 nia seguoia gijantca, have been discovered in Maraposa County, those 

 formerly known and described being situated in Calavcras County. 



The valley in which one group of these trees occurs is nearly half way 

 between the town of Mariposaand the falls of the Yosamitc. Here, accord- 

 in to the editor of the California Fanner, more than 150 trees are growing, 

 no one of which measures less than fifty feet in circumference. One tree 

 measured 102 feet in circumference, at the ground, and ninety feet at a point 

 three feet and a half above the ground. Its height was upwards of 300 

 feet. The circumference and height of a large number of other trees, grow- 

 ing contiguous, were also found to be but little inferior to the one specified. 



33 



