130 PRESERVATION OF SEEDS. 



that sowing is universally considered a more exci- 

 ting operation than reaping. The greater number 

 of seeds of ornamental herbaceous plants are con- 

 tained in long narrow pods, called siliquez, or 

 sillicles, such as those of the cruciferous plants ; 

 or in leguminous pods, such as those of the Sweet 

 Pea ; or of capsules, such as those of Campanula ; 

 but a number of plants produce their seeds naked in 

 tubes, such as the Scrophularinae ; or receptacles, 

 such as the Composita ; and some in fruits more or 

 less fleshy, such as the Fuchsia. All seeds may 

 be known to be ripe, or nearly so, by the firmness of 

 their texture, and by their changing from a white or 

 greenish color, to a color more or less brown. There 

 are, indeed, some seeds which are whitish when 

 ripe, such as the White Lupine, and of several of 

 the sweet peas ; and other seeds that are quite black, 

 such as those of some Ranunculuses, but in general 

 a brown color is characteristic of ripeness. Seeds 

 should be gathered on a dry day, after the sun has 

 had sufficient time to exhale all the moisture which 

 dews or rains may have left on the seed-vessels. 

 In general, the pods, or capsules, should be cut off* 

 with a small portion of the stalks attached, and the 

 whole should be spread out, each kind by itself, on 

 papers, in an airy room or shed, from which rain 

 and the direct influence of the sun, are both ex- 

 cluded. When the seed-vessels are thoroughly 

 dried, they may be put up in papers without separa- 

 ting the seeds from them ; and kept in a dry place, 

 rather airy than close, till wanted for sowing. 

 Seeds preserved in the seed-vessel no doubt make 

 comparatively clumsy packages, to seeds from 

 which every description of husk or covering has 

 been separated ; but in this clumsy state they are 



