296 VITALITY OF SEEDS ITS DURATION. 



foreign countries, they should be put into dry papers, and exposed to 

 free ventilation in a cool place ; as, for instance, in a coarse bag sus- 

 pended in a cabin. Oily seeds and those containing much tannin, as 

 beech-mast, acorns, and nuts, must not only be ripe and dry, but also 

 must be excluded from the air. When transported, they are often put 

 into dry earth and sand, and pressed hard, or preserved in charcoal 

 powder, the whole being covered with tin, and put into a stout box. 

 Some have suggested their preservation in hermetically-sealed bottles 

 full of carbonic acid gas. Seeds enveloped in wax sent from India 

 germinated well. They had been kept for three months, and were 

 quite firm and fresh. They did not sprout for a month, but afterwards 

 grew strong and healthy. Seeds sent in cotton and brown paper had 

 grown considerably in their transit, and, when potted, grew fast, but 

 soon displayed symptoms of debility. Spanish chestnuts and filberts 

 have been sent enveloped in wax to the Himalayahs, and are now 

 growing there. Cuttings of fruit trees, with their ends enveloped in 

 wax, were also sent, and arrived in a living state. In this way also, 

 apples, pears, and plums have been sent. 



619. M. Alphonse Decandolle made experiments on the vitality of 

 seeds. He took 368 species of seed, fifteen years old, collected in the 

 same garden, and sowed them at the same time, and in the same 

 circumstances as nearly as possible. Of the 368, only seventeen ger- 

 minated, and comparatively few of the species came up. The following 

 are the results : 



Percent 



Malvaceae 5 came up out of. 10 species - 50 



Leguminosse 9 45 0'20 



Labiatse 1 30 0'OS 



Scrophulariaceae 10 O'OO 



Umbelliferse 10 O'OO 



Caryophyllaceas 16 O'OO 



Graminese 32 0-00 



Cruciferas 34 O'OO 



Composite 45 O'OO 



In 357 species, of which the duration of life was known, the results were: 



Per cent. 



Annuals 9 came up out of. 180 species 5'0 



Biennials 28 O'O 



Perennials 4 105 3'8 



Ligneous 3 44 6'7 



16 357 4-4 



or it may be thus given 



Per cent 



Monocarpic 9 came up out of. 208 species 4'3 



Polycarpic* 7 149 4-7 



16 357 4-4 



* For an explanation of these terms, see ^f 634. 



