662 The yoJirnal of Forestry. 



are announced, and occasionally details are given of the prices realized at 

 sales of the latter, and we trust that this department may be farther deve- 

 loped until it gives the results of all the leading sales of home-grown 

 timber in Britain. 



The Journal, which is now in the fifth year of its existence, has by excel- 

 lent management, and the expeditious supply of correct information upon 

 all matters connected with the timber trade, quite gained the confidence of 

 the public, and is widely read, both at home and abroad, amongst all those 

 who are in any way interested in the sale of timber and its manufacture. 

 To those of our readers who have timber to dispose of, it offers a most 

 valuable medium for bringing their goods directly under the notice of the 

 principal buyers in the United Kingdom, while a perusal of its contents 

 will afford much instruction and matter for study as to where the 

 best market can be found for their ready disposal ; to such and all others 

 interested in the timber trade we can confidently recommend this Journal. 



Influence op Temperature on the Germination of Pine Seeds. — Some 

 experiments were recently made by M. Velten, of the Vienna Acadenay, with a 

 view to determine the influence of a previous warming on the development of 

 pine seeds. The latter were kept in darkness and sown in shallow glass 

 vessels, the bottoms of which were covered with wide-meshed nets. The seeds 

 were heated four hours to 40°, 45°, 50°, 55', . . . 100° C', and then left to 

 germinate. Seeds gathered in 1872 in a locality in which the fir thrives well 

 first showed that the greatest number capable of germination occurs in the 

 case of unheated seeds— that, with raising the temperature the germinating 

 power gradually diminishes, and that through one hour's heating' to 80° C", the 

 nil point of germinating capacity is almost reached. The heated seeds nearly 

 always germinated more slowly than the unheated ; but a quarter of an hour's 

 heating had hardly any influence. The germinating force also showed a 

 decrease with rise of temperature, and gradually approached the zero point. 

 In a second series of experiments seeds of pine comes colleoted in another 

 region, in the autumn of 1875, showed that a heating to 40° had hardly an in- 

 fluence on the germinating power. On raising the temperature to 70°, how- 

 ever, the germinating number was observed repeatedly to rise, but without reach 

 ing that of the unheated seeds. The germinating force, on the other hand, pre- 

 sented, as in the former case, a gradual decrease, with raising of the tempera- 

 ture. Further experiments were made, in which the previous heating of the 

 seeds was continued longer, the lower the temperature; and, lastly, experi- 

 ments were also made with like seeds at different times after they had been 

 gathered. The following deductions were arrived at :—(l) The germinating 

 per centage, as well as the velocity of germination, gives no certain indication as 

 to the germinating force of the seeds ; and the converse also holds good. (2) 

 The heating of the seeds may have a favourable or an unfavourable influence 

 on the germinating capacity and the germinating force, according to the physio- 

 logical condition in which the seed is. (3) The duration of heating of the 

 seed is of essential influence on its development, inasmuch as long heating at 

 lower temperatures can produce the same effect as short heating at higher 

 temperatures. — Garden. 



