ABOUT FRUITS, FLOWERS AND FARMING. 169 



state, and it is easily ruptured by the expansion of the 

 seed. 



The shell of peach, plum, and other stone-fruit seeds 

 would form, if left to dry and harden, a yet more hopeless 

 prison. If kept for two years, the most stone-fruit pips, 

 it is to be- presumed, would not germinate. Some, how 

 ever, would have vigor enough to grow even then. We 

 have forgotten who it was, but believe it to have been 

 a. reliable person, recently mentioned the fact, that a peach 

 or apricot stone was for several years kept as a child s pia v 

 thing ; but upon being planted, grew, and is now a healtny 

 tree. Such cases are, however, rare. 



The intercourse between Great Britain and her distant 

 colonies, and the various expeditions fitted out from her 

 shores for purposes of botanical research and for the acquisi 

 tion of new plants from distant regions, have made the sub 

 ject of seed-saving at sea a matter of much experiment. 



In general, the conditions of preservation are three ; a 

 low temperature, dryness, and exclusion of air. But it 

 often happens, that all these cannot be had, and then a 

 choice must be made between them. Heat and moisture 

 will either germinate the seeds or corrupt them. In long 

 voyages, and in warm regions, moisture contained in the 

 seed, if in a close bottle, is sufficient to destroy the seed. 

 Glass bottles have therefore been rejected. Seeds for long 

 voyages, or for long preservation, are thoroughly ripened 

 and thoroughly dried ; but dried without raising the tempe 

 rature of the air, as this would impair their vitality. They 

 are then wrapped in coarse paper, and put, loosely, in a 

 coarse canvas bag, and hung up in a cool and airy place. 

 In this way seeds will be as nearly secure from heat and 

 moisture their two worst enemies as may be. It is pro 

 bable that some seeds have but a short period of vitality 

 under any circumstances of preservation. Seeds contain 

 ing much oil, are peculiarly liable to spoil. Lindley sug 

 gests that the oil becomes rancid. 



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