MISCELLANY OF NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE. 189 



curious and handsome ; we have also had several species of Ixias, Sparaxis, 

 Gladiolus, Watsoni.i, &c, bloom splendidly, treated in the above manner. 

 When done flowering', and as soon as the grass or leaves begin to decay, they 

 are placed on shelves, or any other convenient place, to be kept in their arid 

 state until September, when they should again be annually repotted. Treated 

 in the above manner, I have never known any of the Cape bulbs to fail 

 blooming, and I believe the Irideae include all wh ch are technically called Cape 

 bulbs. 1 do not wish to be understood as claiming any originality in my 

 system of treatment, being nothing more than I have seen practised success- 

 fully lor many years, and, consequently, well known tu most practical, and all 

 scientific gardeners. But, being anxious my old acquaintance Antholyza TEthi- 

 opica should not be rejected as worthless, and fearful lest some inexperienced 

 amateur, who may perchance get a few Cape bulbs, may be induced to experi- 

 mentalize on high temperature, &c, in their treatment, I was induced to forward 

 for your consideration the above remarks. — Hovey's Magazine. 



On Promoting the Giuimination of Seuds. — Many plans have been recom 

 mended ar.d adopted for assisting and ensuring the growth of those seeds which 

 are of difficult germination — such as steeping them in solutions of iodine, chlo- 

 rine, &c. — and happily with considerable success. The iact. is, indeed esta- 

 blished, that by certain chemical stimuli, the tardy and latent vital principle of 

 seeds may be excited into action. We must not for a moment, however, con- 

 found and degrade the operation of the vital principle itself into mere chemical 

 action ; the chemical phenomena are developed as soon as the wonderful opera- 

 tions of this principle are observable. 



Of all chemical agents, perhaps none exert a wider and more powerful 

 influence than light. In the vegetable world its effects are manifest and im- 

 portant, the very colour of plants and flowers being dependent on it. When 

 it is withheld, colour is lost, as in the familiar example of blanching celery. I 

 make these general observations respecting thj great influence of light on vege- 

 tation, in order to bespeak attention to the contrivance I now wish to recom- 

 mend fur promoting the germination of seeds — the application of the chemical 

 stimulus of light. It is simply the placing a square of violet-coloured glass over 

 the top of the flower-pot in which the seeds are sown. It will be found that 

 seeds exposed to the influence of this violet-coloured light will vegetate more 

 quickly than when covered with common unstained glass, or with glass of any 

 other colour. Tlie explanation is this: — when a ray of light is transmitted 

 through a prism, it is separated into its seven component colours, viz.— red, 

 orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and vio'.tt. Now it is proved by experiment 

 that the violet-coloured ray possesses by far the greatest power of producing 

 chemical action ; next to it the indigo, then blue, green, and so on, up to the red 

 raj', which possesses no chemically acting power whaever. On the contrary, 

 the red ray has the greatest heat-giving power, while the violet, the opposite 

 end of the spectrum, exhibits scarcely any. As chemical stimuli are known to 

 promote the germination of seed*, this ot the violet-coloured ray of light, as 

 transmitted through a square of stained glass, will be found of the greatest pos- 

 sible efficacy. Mr. Robert Hunt, in his experiments on the elf. cts of different- 

 coloured light (viz., red, yellow, green, and bine) on the vegetation of seeds his 

 manifestly stopped short of the truth. Had be proceeded to the indigo, the 

 quickening effects would have been much greater, and if the violet-coloured ray, 

 they would have been tenfold. For practical purposes it will of course be much 

 more convenient to use squares of violet coloured glass, placed on the top of the 

 flower-pot. th in transmitting the light through a bottle containing a violet- 

 culouied fluid, Ou iti Mr. Hunt's experiments; moreover, the nnre mechanical 

 i Herts of a square of glass so placed are very material in assisting the growth of 

 leeds, by preventing the evapmation of water from the soil, and thus preserving 

 a uniform state of moisture. — F. K. IIoicnkk. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



On dsino Cii.uteoAt. von Pot Plants. — A Practitioner legs to call the at- 

 tention of plant growers to the admixture of pieces of charcoal in the compost. 



