57 



Estates, I strongly recommend the use of a " steep" for the 

 seed. Blue stone and water or lime water are used gener- 

 ally for such purposes by English Farmers. A weak mix- 

 ture of Condy's Fluid and water might also be experimented 

 with for this purpose. 



Every mortal is prone to err and I feel sure I shall be 

 only doing right, and shall be excused, if I venture to draw 

 attention to a paragraph in Mr. Hull's book on coffee, page 

 67 of the old edition, and which has unfortunately been re- 

 produced in the more recent publication of the same author. 



The germination of the seed is thus described. "Let the 

 " seed with its parchment be laid only upon a wet soil. A 

 (c pedicle peeps out, an extremity of which leans towards 

 " the ground. Here two radicals are seeking and soon 

 " grasp their nurse. The other extremity rears itself up 

 ' ( loaded with the whole seed. In a short time two Follicles 

 " almost round and of a thin yellow colour unfold themselves 

 "from the very substance of the seed and shake off the 

 " parchment. The stigrna or fissure seemed to mark their 

 " separation on the flat side of the beam ; and on the round 

 " side they seemed to be perfectly blended together and now 

 <: they part of themselves. Thus it is the seed itself 

 " which spreads out into those two follicles which turn 

 " green by contact with the air/' 



This I may say is erroneous throughout, and is render- 

 ed all the more puzzling by the use of the words pedicle, 

 radicals, follicles and Stigma each of which botanically 

 speaking is misapplied. .Recently I had a most interesting 

 conversation witk a brother planter of the Cudoor District 

 and I am not ashamed to say that I was found wanting in 

 the knowledge of some of the stages connected with the 

 germination of seed. As the subject is one of great interest 

 in connection with the use of " Steeps" for the prevention 

 of Leaf Disease and other hereditary complaints I venture 

 to correct what I am led to believe is a prevailing niiscon* 



H 



