290 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 



Narcissus and other bulbs were dispatched in the same way, and have suc- 

 ceeded equally well. But I should particularly advise S. not to wait till the 

 Spring, but send them when in a state of rest. I sent at the same time a box 

 of' plants packed by a Nurseryman in dry moss, which he expected certainly 

 to succeed, but they arrived a mass of rottenness; I should be glad to know 

 from any experienced exporter, if he has succeeded in any way besides that 

 of sending them in those small greenhouses now used bv Messrs Loddiges, 

 &c. J.G. 



REMARKS. 



On the Transmission op Seeds from Remote Countries. &c — London 

 Horticultural Meeting, September 18. 1838. Extracts were read from a let- 

 ter, addressed to the Vice Secretary, by Dr. Hugh Falconer, Superitendant 

 of the Botanical Garden of Saharunpur, and dated Cashmeer, January 2-1. 

 1838. 



" I have been gratified to find that the Himalayan seeds, sent by me, suc- 

 ceeded so well with the Horticultural Society. 



" As the result seems to have interested you, I may mention the mode in 

 which the collection and package were managed. The seeds are collected 

 generally on a march along an extensive tract of country ; as a general rule, 

 the pericarps are not detached, but the fruit and seed immediately packed up 

 in paper ; the closed paper packets, especially those containing baccate or 

 juicy fruits, are daily exposed, freely to the sun ! and, to increase the 

 heating eil'ect of the solar rays, the packets are spread out on a black blan- 

 ket, and kept so till the paper of the packets feels dry, a man being em- 

 ployed in turning them occasionally : the paper inbibes moisture during the 

 night, and the process is repeated till all moisture is thoroughly dissipated. 

 In the rains, which embrace about half the seed season in the Himalayas, the 

 sun is not available, and the packets are daily dried before a gentle fire, till 

 the same effect is produced ; but the result is much more uncertain as regards 

 subsequent germination. In packing up the packages for transmission to 

 Europe, the little packets are folded up loosely in a couple of envelopes of 

 paper ; and an invariable caution is given along with them, never to let the 

 packages get into a box or trunk, much less into the ship's hold ; but to sus- 

 pend them loosely from an airy corner of the cabin, free from the risk of 

 moisture and spray. 



" Ou a march, where yon move daily under canvass from place to place, 

 the amount or duration of shade required for drying seeds, or their fleshy 

 coverings, is not unavailable, or I should certainly never torrefy the packets 

 in the sun ; all that can be said of the method is, that it speedily dries the 

 seeds without killing them. The management on board ship appears to me 

 to be every thing ; loose wrappers, free exposure to the air in shade, and 

 exemption from boxes, trunks, or the hold. 



" The exposure to the sun, with the augmented heating effect produced 

 by radiation on a black blanket, is perhaps interesting with reference to the 

 conditions mentioned by you at p. 304. of your Introduction to Botany, 2d 

 edition ; but the effect is probably merely a heating one, as the opacity of 

 the paper, and the reflecting purity of the light colour, must prevent the 

 luminous rays being transmitted to the seeds. I should certainly expect a 

 different result in the end, with reference to germination, if the seeds were 

 directly exposed. 



" On one occasion, I received from England a large investment of garden 

 vegetable seeds from a London seedsman. They were parked in the thick 

 dark brown paper which is generally used by grocers and seedsmen, and 

 which, for the facility of folding, is usually in a somewhat damp state. The 

 packages were nailed up iu a large wooden box, with numerous folds of this 

 paper, and the box then hermetically sealed in a tin case ; it then found its 

 way into the ship's hold. The damp paper, which, in the temperature of 



