NEILGHERRY PLANTS. 61 
become revolute, and when deprived by partial drying of their moisture, become so shrunk 
as to give the appearance of being loose in the cells of the ovary. 
In its geographical distribution, this family has a wide range, Europe, Asia, Africa, 
America, and Australia all have their species, but though thus widely distributed, their 
aggregate number is not great, amounting only to about 120. The number hitherto 
recorded, of Indian origin, is small, but will, I suspect, as we become better acquainted 
with their discriminating characters, be greatly enlarged. In the Indian Peninsula, they 
most abound in alpine regions under the influence of the south-west monsoon, and where 
they do occur, greatly abound. The one here figured was found among the grass on the 
sides of the road leading from Pycarrah down the Goodaloor Pass, rather sparingly, but 
most abundant in the jungles about Mr. Fowler’s Coffee plantations. Other species occur 
in the “Sholahs” or clumps of jungle on the left of the road leading to Pycarrah, flower- 
ing most profusely during the prevalence of the monsoon. The large rich blue-flowered 
species (Qgenetia pedunculata) which abounds on the hills at the head of the Bolam- 
pully Valley near Coimbatore, and on the Anamullies, I have never met with on the Hills. 
The Orobanche, so common in the Tobacco fields on the plains, seems only to grow 
on that plant, and, judging from the accounts given of it, its seed would appear to lie for 
years in the ground quite inert until Tobacco is planted, when it is almost sure to make its 
appearance on the roots, and doubtless would be productive of vast injury to the crops, 
but for the rapidity of growth of the foster plant which has for the most part nearly 
attained a state approaching to maturity before the parasite has had time to do it much 
injury. Curiously enough, the Natives have an idea that it is a spontaneous production, 
not propagated by seed, and take no steps for its eradication, which might be easily 
accomplished by destroying it as fast as it appears above ground, before it has had time 
to mature its seed. These are produced in such abundance that once, on examining 
under the microscope a very small quantity of soil, I picked out nearly a dozen of these 
minute seed; at which rate, a single handful of the earth of the field from which it was 
taken must have contained, probably, several hundreds. Thus abundant, it is fortunate 
it only attaches itself to one plant, the Tobacco; did it attack all, promiscuously, the 
injury would be incalculable. But that it does not attack others is proved by the fact 
of its never being seen in any but Tobacco fields, whence its native name, “ Tobacco 
fungus.” The Cholum or Jowari, and other crops which are sown in succession, altogether 
escape. : 
The fact of the seed lying dormant, sometimes for years, between the planting of two 
Tobacco crops, is curious, and merits, on the part of those who devote themselves to such 
inquiries, special investigation, as affording a confirmation of a theory which has at dif- 
ferent times been taken up and as often cast aside as being deficient in proof. The theory 
to which I allude is that which attributed the necessity for rotation in Agriculture, to 
the crop poisoning the soil and disqualifying it for producing a succession of crops of the 
same species. This theory, which had its run, was soon cast aside as untenable, the 
true cause, it is now said, being the exhaustion of those particular ingredients on which 
the various crops respectively feed and which a succession of crops of the same species, 
so completely removes as at length to cause the starvation of new ones, This latter 
theory is in the main the more feasible of the two, but the case under consideration seems 
to render it more probable that both contribute to the result. It appears from the fact 
stated, that of this Orobanch only appearing in Tobacco fields, that % seed lie dormant 
