ON PACKING SEEDS FOE, A VOYAGE TO INDIA OR CHINA. 43 



Each of these two modes of packing has its peculiar advan- 

 tages. Seeds, of course, can be packed more securely in tin for 

 a long voyage, but when this mode is adopted they should be 

 carefully dried, as well as the paper in which they are put up, 

 before the box is closed. The method of packing in canvas 

 bags, which are hung in a cabin or other airy part of the vessel, is 

 the best of all, because any moisture which may evaporate from 

 the seeds or paper during the voyage can readily pass into the 

 air. But it is often difficult to induce captains of ships or others 

 to allow packages of this kind to be swinging about in cabins, 

 and unless some one can be got to take charge of them who can 

 be depended upon, I should prefer the mode of drying the seeds 

 well and packing them in a box lined with tin. 



Another matter of equal importance as regards success is the 

 age of the seeds. Old seeds in many instances are almost sure 

 to fail. Even in this country, where seeds can be kept in 

 the most favourable circumstances, many will not vegetate the 

 second year. In sending them to distant countries, therefore, 

 where they will have to pass through many ciianges of tempera- 

 ture, none but those of the last gathering should be sent. The 

 Ilonourable East India Company, with that enlightened libe- 

 rality which does them so much credit, kept up a large establish- 

 ment at Calcutta for the purpose of procuring and sending the 

 natural productions of India to England. For many years 

 scarcely any of the seeds thus sent vould vegetate when they 

 reached this country. At last the reason of this want of success 

 was solved. A young man from the Calcutta garden having 

 been sent over to England for the purposes of improvement, was 

 asked to explain the method of preparing these seeds for ex- 

 portation. It came out that seeds were gathered year after year 

 and stored in the same drawers ; that, in fact, the young seeds 

 were always mixed with the old ones which remained from 

 former gatherings. When parcels were ordered to be made up 

 for Europe these drawers were opened and the seeds taken out 

 of tliem. Of course the packages so made contained a great 

 portion of seeds which had been gathered years before, and whose 

 vitality was much weakened or altogether gone. 



Before seeds are packed for foreign countries, they should 

 always be looked over, and those infested with insects carefully 

 removed. These little animals make sad havoc amongst a 

 packet of seeds during a long voyage. 



From what I have stated it will be observed that the length 

 of the voyage, the dampness of sea-air, the variations of tempera- 

 ture, and the attacks of insects, are the greatest difficulties we 

 have to contend with in the exportations of seeds to distant coun- 

 tries. These, however, may be in a great measure overcome by 



