1885.] THE FARTHER NORTH THE BEST SEEDS? 279 



than it did before. If, after some generations, seeds of the plant 

 are sown in its primitive locality, they ripen quicker for a few years 

 than did the first scion in the same place. Further, nearly all the 

 plants growing in high Scandinavian latitudes possess a larger share 

 of aroma and colour than the same species do when cultivated in 

 lower latitudes. The leaves are larger and of a more intense green 

 on such northern seed-plants, provided the transplantation is 

 not too sudden ; and if conditions prevail by which the plants may 

 attain perfect development in the short summer of these regions, 

 they increase up to a certain point in size and weight with the 

 latitude. They have a thinner rind, germinate more quickly and 

 freely, yielding more vigorous and hardier plants, but revert to 

 their original dimensions in the course of a few generations on 

 being removed to their first southern habitat. According to 

 Professor Petermaun of Gemblonx, — we are quoting from his 

 Researches on Original Seeds of the Hi(jh Latitudes, pp. 44—45 

 (Brussels, 1877), — seeds of clover, fir, and pine grown in Sweden 

 between the 55° 20' and the 60° 40' degrees of latitude, rhay be 

 (Ustinguished from those reaped in the more southern countries by 

 their high germinative power, embracing at once a large percentage 

 of fertile seeds, as well as great vigour in the act ; by their high 

 degree of purity ; and by their high average absolute weight. 

 Such Swedish samples of Trifolium pratense (red clover) and of 

 Trifulium hyhridurn (alsike) were free from dodder — that scourge 

 being rare amongst the field-crops of its northern districts. Pro- 

 fessor Pi^termann says that the marked difference in yield and 

 character of these seeds in southern regions is due to their strength 

 in germinating and high absolute weight. In The Intelligence from 

 the Landowners' Club at Berlin {loc. cit. 1881, p. 744), Herr Nobbe 

 makes corroborative observations, when trials were made on inter- 

 national seeds of red clover to test the hardness of the rind. The 

 largest seeds had been grown from material sent from Altona, in 

 the district of Upsala in Sweden, and Aas in ISTorway. Excluding 

 the " hard seeds," while German clover seeds bad only an average 

 germinative power of 60 to 70 per cent., that of Swedish seeds 

 was frequently at 90 per cent., and even higher. And this also 

 applied to cereals and root crops, which had an average germinative 

 power of 90 to 100 per cent. The rapidity of germinating was 

 also remarkable. A German sample of barley, of which 100 

 grains were sown, developed 188 primordial roots in 72 hour.s, 

 while 333 were given off in the same space of time from an equal 

 weight of Swedish seeds. The total length of the German roots 

 was 1192 millimetres, while that of the Swedish portion was not 

 less than 2662 millimetres J the numbers thus stood in the pro- 



