GERMINATION. 



lied for ages deep in the ground, till favourable cir- 

 cumstances cause them to vegetate."* 



The forester who removes from his plains the Pines 

 with which perhaps for ages the}' have been occupied. 

 is surprised soon after, to behold them covered with 

 the barren oak, for he knows not, where or how the 

 germs of such a multitude of shrubs have been preserv- 

 ed. And where other vegetables have been burnt, he 

 sees the Fire weed, which Phoenix-like, springs up and 

 appears to thrive only on the ashes of the dead. The 

 earth which is thrown from cellars and wells is soon 

 covered with thistles and other plants, whose seeds 

 have been deposited in such a situation as to prevent 

 theirgrowth-. during aperiod which no man can estimate. 



These and other examples of the kind, have led to 

 the popular, though erroneous belief, that the vegeta- 

 bles which thus appear, derive their existence from 

 the earth, and not from the germination of seeds. 



" Great degrees of heat, short of boiling, do not im- 

 pair the vegetative power of seeds, nor do we know 

 any degree of cold that has such an effect. Those 

 who convey seeds from distant countries should be in- 

 structed to keep them dry ; for if they receive any 

 damp sufficient to cause an attempt at vegetation, they 

 necessarily die, because the process cannot as they are 

 situated go on. If therefore they are not exposed to 

 so great an artificial heat as might change the nature of 

 their oily juices, they can scarcely according to the ex- 

 perience of Mr. Salisbury, be kept in too warm a place. 

 By the preservation of many seeds so long under ground 

 it seems that long continued moisture is not in itself fa- 

 tal to their living powers, neither does it cause their 

 premature germination unless accompanied with some 

 action of the air. 55 * 



* Smith. 



