454 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [January i, 1886, 



VITALITY OF SEEDS. 

 ■\Vit.h very few exceptions all seerls retain their 

 geimiuating jjower for at least a year under ordinary 

 conditions; and, when placed in eircuuistances sjiecially 

 favourable, they remain fresh for a very lengthened 

 period. Several remarkable instances of this have 

 already been mentioned, but cases even more remark- 

 able tliau these are recorded. In the ground, when 

 buried deeply, the length of time seeds will retain 

 life is indefiuite — according to some authorities, even 

 luiliinited. The accounts of seeds which had^ been 

 taken from ancient Egyptian tombs germinating on 

 being placed under favourabli^ conditions, and other 

 similar cases of an astonishing nature, might be men- 

 tioned. These are, however, of little or no jiractical 

 moment, beyond showing us how wonderfully tena- 

 cious of life is the tiny germ which lies enclosed in 

 its often thin and delicate wrappers. How long a 

 seed will remain good when placed umler the con- 

 ditions sujjplied in the seed-house, or when sown and 

 treated for gei-raination, is a question to which we 

 may turn for more u.seful information. A seed, when 

 properly matured and kept dry in an even and suit- 

 able temperature, will remain healthy for a n\ore or 

 less lengthened period, according to whether it is oilj' 

 or starchy, or whether it belongs to the exalbumin- 

 ous or tlie albuminous kinds. Oily seeds usually perish 

 in a comparatively short time, so that it becomes 

 necessary to sow them as soon as possible after they 

 are ripe ; such seeds are those of Tea, t'offee, Oamelia, 

 Theobroma, Acorus, Brazil-nuts, AValnuts, &c. Seeds 

 of a starchy nature are generally much longer-lived. 

 It is, however, impossible to draw a hard-and-fast line 

 between long-lived and short-lived seeds, as there are 

 so many conditions other than those we perceive, and 

 often aUogcther beyoud our control, which affect the 

 vitality of seeds. Lindley says :— " Seeds are probably 

 possessed of different powers of life, some preserving 

 their vital principle through centuries of time, while 

 others hai-e but an eijhemeral existence under any 

 circumstances. Tlie reasons for this difference are 

 unknown to us." In the case of many of our mo.st 

 popular and long-cultivated plants, however, we have 

 data sufficient to enable us to perceive how long their 

 seeds may be expected to remain capable of germin- 

 ating. The following list was prepared by the well- 

 known seed merchants, Vilmorin-Audrieux & Co., of 

 Paris, and with it is incorporated a portion of a list 

 printed in I'.urbridge's Propagation and Improvement 

 of ritints:— 



AvEIlA(iK DlIR.\Tl0N OI- THE GERMINATING 

 rOWER OF THE SEEDS OF SOME CULTIVATED pLANTS. 



Years. Years. 



Acacia many Lentil 3 



Alder ... 1 Lettuce 5 



Amaranth ... 



Angelica ... 



Anise 



Artichoke ... 



Aster, China 



Asparagus ... 



Balsam 



Basil 



Beans, Broad 



Beans, Kidney 



Beetroot 



Borage 



Burnet 



Cabliage ... 



Capsicum . . . 



Caraway 



Cardoou 



Carrot 



Chervil 



,, Tuberous 

 (Uiicory 

 (■orn Salad... 

 ('ress 



(_*ucumber ... 

 Egg I'lant ... 

 Endive 

 Leek 



5 

 5 

 5 

 2 

 3 

 2 

 .4—5 

 4 

 S 

 5 

 5 

 3 

 2 

 4 

 3 

 2 

 3 

 3 

 2 

 5 



2-3 

 . 5 

 . 5 



The above table docs, not prufe.ss to give in every 

 case the longest time possible for the seeds to re- 

 main good, but only the average time during which, 

 mjder the conditions supplied in an ordinary st-ed-room, 

 they might be expected to retain their ]>ower to 

 vegetate. Cabbage seeds have been known to germin- 

 ate after being kept for ten years, and Kidney 

 Beans after five years. As above stated, the conditions 

 which affect the «luration of life in seeds are too 

 often beyond control, or altogether liidden from us. 



It has been already pointed out that imder cert- 

 ain conditions some seeds will remain dormant iu 

 the ground for along time without lo.>-ing their \itality ; 

 in like manner seeds will sometinu-s lie for years 

 without commencing to grow, e\en when the con- 

 ditions under which tlu\v are placed are what we 

 consider favourable to germination. Lindley mentions 

 various instances of this, all tending to show how 

 necessary it is to have i)atience in the management 

 of seeds, and more especially when the age of the seeds 

 is miknown. O'd setnls always germin.-ite more slowly 

 than young ones ; the hardeuing of the testa or .seed- 

 coats through long exposure, no doubt, accounting to 

 some extent for their tardiness iu starting. ]iy steep- 

 ing in warm water or by removing the outer shell 

 from seeds, germination, as shown above, is much 

 forwarded. Fruits of Hawthorns, Hollies, Birch, and 

 other hardy berry-bearing trees are generally subjected 

 to a softening piocf'ss before their seeds are sown. 

 This proces is what is termed the '■ rot-heap," and 

 is managed as follows: — The fruits are gathered in 

 the autumn as soon as ripe, .and are thrown in heaps, 

 a ipiantity of .sand, ashes, or light soil is mixed- up 

 with them by frequently turning them ; they are 

 I then buried in a pit, or placed in heaps and covered 

 with turf, where they remain till the following spring. 

 The whole is thi'u prepared for sowing by partly dry- 

 ing and then sifting. In this manner the scads are 

 sepaiatcd, whilst the warmth and moisture in which 

 thi-y were stored through the winter has softened 

 the liaril shell of the .seeds, and, no doubt, has excited 

 the germinative process. 



Seeds of plants belonging to the Ranunculus and 

 Primrose families sometimes remain in the ground 

 for several years without moving. Mr. Anderson- 

 Henry states that some seeds of Ranuncidus Lyalli, 

 the Shepherd's Lily, sown by him in lt^78, did not 

 germinate till 1S81 ; and in the ease of seeds of a .second 

 species of Ranunculus, germination took place four 

 years-and-a-half afterwards. The same extraordinary 

 slowness has often been observed in seeds sown at 

 Kew. How far this slowness to vegetate may be 

 considered as natural to the plants, or whether it is 

 due to some untoward influence to which the seeds 

 had been subjected, is not clear. Seeds of Hanunculus 

 Lyalli vegetated in about eleven months at Kew. I 

 suspect that with most of those plants the seeds of 

 which usually remain in the soil a long time before 

 growing, it would be better to sow the .seeds immedi- 

 ately on their becoming ripe. Mr. A. Henry found 

 Primula japonica and (Gentians slow to germinate, but 

 when the seeds of these plants are gathered and 

 sown as soon as ripe, they generally germinate in a 

 few weeks. It is saiil that Colchicum-seeds generally 

 take over two years to start into growth. It is always 

 best to select the largest and heaviest seeils in all 

 cases where robustness of growth is the first aim ; 

 .smaller seeds being slower to get away, and contain- 

 ing less vital t'orci; than lar^jer ones of the same kind. 

 It is also supposed that large seeds retain life for a 

 longer tinui than smaller ones do.— W. \\'atsi).n, in 

 " Cassell's Popular Cardeiuug."- (>'iic((i»er.<' Chronicle. 



Tb)> Kino of the Pvmpkins.— The heaviest Pump- 

 kin (acconlin^ to M. de Vosl. presented at the Paris 

 market in 1^84 weighed KtD kilogrannnnus. Translated 

 into Engli.sh, this means that the (Jourd in iiuestion 

 weighed abo\it the same as twenty-eight legs of mutton 

 of 10 lb. each.— GiD'Awfrs' Chronicle. 



