438 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



eludes the sjiores (the analogues of seeds in the higher plants), that 

 cause the disease and the bunch is saved. For scientific purposes 

 the names desired for these different fungus organisms, are of little 

 use for <hose who ask for them. It is now well-known that copper 

 solutions in the form of spraying is destructive of all this class of 

 organic life, and the names of the species does not in the least help 

 the fruit growers in the task of destruction. 



Some curious questions have come to the botanist in regard to the 

 appearance of plants in localities where the ground had oot been 

 disturbed for long periods, and in the belief that the seed had been 

 in the ground for long periods, and was not newly introduced to the 

 newly turned up earth. Though cultivators have long had the be- 

 lief that the seeds had been, for an indefinite time in the ground, 

 men of science have not generally accepted this as an undoubted 

 fact. During recent years, however, more exact knowledge has been 

 obtained on the subject, and your botanist has had to answer the 

 inquiries in the afifirmative, that is to say there is no reasoii why 

 the newh' appearing plants may not be from seed that has been in 

 the ground under conditions unfavorable for revelation for an in- 

 definite period. 



It is interesting to note that when once a question that seems 

 difficult is clearh' solved, the evidence every where seem so abund- 

 ant as to excite w^onder that there should ever have been any ques- 

 tion raised. For instance, fruit seeds will not germinate unless 

 at a temperature above 55 degrees. Nurserymen have to freeze 

 them, that is keep ihem for a while in a low temperature before they 

 will sprout. If kept dry till the warm weather comes they remain 

 in the earth without growing till the year following. Cherry seeds 

 uoder a tree will sprout before the frost is barely gone, but those 

 not sown till the temp(?rature is higher, do not sprout. Cherry seeds 

 kept in a room at a temperature over 55 degrees will retain their 

 power to grow for many years, starting at once when placed for a 

 little time under a snow heap, other seeds will only sprout when 

 over 55 degrees. Each kind has its own requirements, and in the 

 absence of these the communicating power is indefinite. 



It is pleasant to note the increasing interest in that department of 

 botany that deals with plant life. The mere names of plants, the 

 countries they come from, and their place in a system of classifica- 

 tion as herbarium specimens are essential matter in the progress 

 of the science, but studies connected with the behaviour of plants 

 is of more value to the cultivators of the soil. 



