FLOWERS, FRUITS AND SEEDS. 



81 



many of the conifers, and especially among the Pines and 

 Cedars, the cones of some of these not opening or allow- 

 ing the seed to escape for several years after maturity. 

 The cone of the Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Libani), is a 

 somewhat remarkable example of this kind, and in one 

 instance it is reported upon trustworthy authority that 

 seeds from a cone that had been kept in a cabinet forty 

 years, germinated quite freely when planted. But it 

 should be noted that seeds enclosed and sealed up in 

 these cones are not only surrounded by the natural 

 balsamic elements, but are also attached to the rhachis or 

 axis of the cone, and it is not improbable that they draw 

 some sustenance therefrom during their long imprison- 

 ment. It is certain that when removed from the cone 

 their vitality decreases rapidly. When seeds of this kind 

 are to be kept for a year or more they should be left in 

 the cones until wanted for use. Of course the seeds of 

 conifers which naturally drop from the cone when mature 

 cannot be preserved in this way. 



Experiments have been, and are still being, made for 

 the purpose or determining the relative duration of life 

 in different kinds of seeds that have been preserved 

 under what are considered favorable conditions, but all 

 show that fresh, new seeds are far preferable to old ones, 

 and these the propagator always endeavors to secure. 



Many years ago Professor Alphonse De Candolle, one of 

 the most eminent botanists of Europe, tested the vitality 

 of 368 species of seeds, fifteen years old, all collected in 

 the same garden, and sowed at the same time and under 

 the same conditions as nearly as possible. The following 

 are the results : 



Malvaceae 5 came up out of 10 species. 



Le^uminosae . 9 ' 45 



Labiate I 30 



Scrophulariaceas 10 



Umbelliferse 10 



Caryophyllacas .0 16 



Gramineae 32 



Crucifera 34 



Composite 45 



