102 IN A GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN 



trees. Our common elm does not form seed ; but what 

 becomes of the thousands of seeds dropped from our 

 oaks, ashes, limes, chestnuts, etc. ? Here and there we 

 may find a solitary seedling, but that is all. Many are 

 browsed away by sheep and cattle, and many are eaten 

 by birds ; but those are not all destroyed, for in many 

 cases seeds germinate more readily after passing 

 through the birds, but by far the greater number 

 seem to be wasted. Still, I feel sure they are not 

 really wasted, and there are curious instances how 

 they will bide their time upon or under the ground till 

 the fitting opportunity for their germination arrives. 

 This has been often shown by the rapid appearance of 

 young vegetation after forest fires, and there is a well- 

 known experiment of Darwin's showing how full of 

 latent life the earth is, which has been often quoted, 

 but is worth repetition : 



1 1 took in February three tablespoonfuls of mud from three 

 different points, beneath water on the edge of a little pond ; 

 this mud when dry weighed only 6 j oz. I kept it covered 

 in my study for six months, pulling up and counting each 

 plant as it grew ; the plants were of many kinds, and were 

 altogether 537 in number, and yet the viscid mud was all 

 contained in a breakfast cup.' Origin of Species, 386. 



There is one very curious point in seed-life which 

 always seems to me a special puzzle. Plants seem to 



