140 DR. J. SALTER ON THE VITALITY OF SEEDS 



Ageratum Meccicanum : after 100 days, one seed out of many 

 germinated; at much shorter periods these seeds did not 

 germinate well. 



Leontodon Taraxacum : germinated excellently after 61 days' 

 immersion ; the seeds were fresh. 



Tussilago Farfara : fresh seeds being placed in the salt water, 

 after 9 days, many of them germinated under water. After 

 25 days, I took out some of the young plants and planted 

 them : one grew. The germination of these seeds is the more 

 remarkable, as this is not a sea-side plant. 



■fMbnolopia Calif ornica. 



fOenia turbinata. 



•f Cosmos luteus : did not germinate after a month's immersion. 



ClarJcia pulchella : germinated well after 28 days ; was killed by 

 54 days' immersion. 



f Godetia rubicunda. 



f Lindleyana was killed by a month's immersion. 



Apium graveolens (var. " Cattell's white") : after 137 days only 

 6 seeds out of some hundreds germinated ; after 85 days the 

 seeds germinated excellently; they did not appear to ger- 

 minate quite so well after 82 days in the cold water (f) • 



Daucus carota : a very few germinated after 85 days ; after only 

 56 days ^ grew (t). 



On the Vitality of Seeds after prolonged Submersion in the Sea. 

 By James Salter, Esq., M.D., F.L.S. &c. 



[Read May 6th, 1856.] 



I should not have thought the observations which are the subject 

 of this little communication of sufficient importance to occupy the 

 attention of the Linnean Society, had it not come to my know- 

 ledge that one of our most distinguished British naturalists is at 

 present engaged in investigating experimentally the question of 

 the vitality of seeds after prolonged submersion in sea-water, 

 especially in reference to the influence which that circumstance 

 would have in explaining some of the problems of geographical 

 vegetable distribution. 



The facts which I am about to detail, and which came accident- 

 ally under my notice some years since, bear directly upon this 

 subject, and while, as it seems to me, they establish the doctrine 



