334 



F A R M E R S' R E G I S T E R, 



[No. 



Tournefort, where they had remained for more 

 than 100 years, gcnninateil quite Ireeiy. 



The circumstances winch seem most fiivorahie 

 to the preservaiion of seed, are; Isl, uniform tem- 

 perature; 2ik1, moderate dryness; and 3rd, exclu- 

 sion oT Hght; and the success wiili wliicii seeds 

 are preserved for any len<illi of time will lie fnund 

 to depend very much, upon the attention wliich is 

 paid to these iliree thinujs. Seeds brought from 

 India to England around the Cape of Good 

 Hope, rarely vegetate well ; in this case, their 

 double exposure lo the heat of die equator, and 

 their subsequent arrival in a cold climate, are pro- 

 bably the cause of their (h'ath; for seeds brought 

 over land from India, and iheretbre not exposed to 

 aucii fluctuations of temperature, generally suc- 

 ceed well. Others again, which cannot be con- 

 veyed alive if exposed to the air, will travel 

 in safety for many months, if buried in masses 

 of clay, and rammed tight in boxes. Seeds bu- 

 ried deep in the soil, being removed fiorn llie 

 influence of air and light, and subjected to the 

 uniform temperature of the earth, often preserve 

 their vitality for many years. Hence it comes, 

 th.at when a waste field is cultivated, plants often 

 spring up, which have not been known to grow 

 in that siiualion, within the memory of man; and 

 species, for niany years lost to florists, occasionally 

 spring up on the sites ol' old botanic gardens. 



Immediately after the fertilization of the young 

 seed, the ovary or pericarp undergoes a chanire. 

 In some cases, it at first enlarges, then becomes 

 cartilaginous and dry, and gradually changes from 

 green to brown, or white, formini,^ what is com- 

 monly called the pod or seed vessel. In other in- 

 stances it increases in volume, becomes succulent, 

 instead of drying up, olicn acquires the gayest co- 

 lors, and becomes what we commonly term the 

 fruit, that is, "a body which may be eaten, or 

 which looks as if it minhi." The term li'uit has 

 a more extensive signilicalion in botanical tiian in 

 common language. It is applied to the full-grown 

 ovary, whatever may be its size, form or texture, 

 and whether it be edible or not. So long as the 

 fruit retains its green color, it seems to act in a 

 manner precisely sinnlar to that ofjhe leaf; and 

 lience, those fruits which become fleshy or juicy, 

 may be supposed to become so, in the same man- 

 ner as the leaves of the prickly pear (^cactus opun- 

 tia) do ; i. e. from the accumulation of sap in their 

 tissues. The various colors the surfiice of fruits 

 assume during their growth, are probably owing to 

 certain changes ol' the cliromule, analogous to 

 those which take place in leaves, lUEt be(()re their 

 fall.^ 



The process of maiuration,or ripening, consists in 

 certain chemical cliangcs, lo which the acciiusu- 

 lated juices are subject, under the action of air, 

 light, and a proper iemperature. That it is noi 

 owing to the acquisition of new materials from the 

 stem, is evident from the well ki^own fact, that 

 nearly all llill-grown li'uiis are capable of ripening 

 when separated from the stem. "This was also 

 demonstrated in the most striking manner, by M. 

 Tshudy, who succeeded in grafiing young melons 

 upon gourds, and the lluii of the tomato upon the 

 stem of a potato; the fruits grew and ripened, 

 prcservinjr their own peculiar flavor, unaficcicd by 

 the stock." When ripening commences, the acid 

 of the fruit usually nicreases in quantity ; and in 

 some instances, as in the current, the cherry, &c., 



continues to increase until the fruit is matured. 

 In other edible fruits, the aciil after a time dimin- 

 isjies, and the quantity of sugar rapidly increases, 

 as will be evident from inspecting tlie following 

 table. 



Apricots, wlicii giccu contain 6.64 of snijar ; wlicn ripe 16.48 

 Duke cl)errics " ].l:2 " " 19.12 



Green gage plums " 17.71 " " 24.81 



Melting peaches " .63 " " 11.61 



Jargonelle pears " CiA'.i " " 11.52 



This sugar is probably produced by the action 

 of the vegetable acids, upon the gummy, mucila- 

 frinous, and gelatinous matter contained in the 

 li-uit. "JVl. Couverchel has found, that if we treat 

 apple jelly with a vegetable acid dissolved in water, 

 we obtain a sugar, analogous to that of the grape; 

 that the gum of peas, il treated with oxalic acid, 

 and exposed to a high temperature, clm;ige3 to 

 sugar; and that tartaric aciil, if mixed with the 

 juice of green grapes, renders the latter saccha- 

 rine." The change which fruits undergo during 

 the process of cooking, and which renders them 

 sweet, is probably produced in the same way. 

 Tfie alterations which fruits undergo after ripen- 

 ing, in most cases decaying, in others blighting, 

 seem to depend principally upon the presence of 

 oxygen gas. Berard succeeded in preserving lor 

 several months, with little ahcralion, the fleshy 

 liuits of several plants, by placing thcni in hydro- 

 gen or nitrogen gases. 



C To be continued.') 



OF i.iaiE. 



From the EcHiiljurgli Encyclopaedia. 



Lime has been regarded by some as a m;mure,by 

 others as a stimulus, which can oidy be profitably 

 api)lied where the soil possesses some dormant 

 [)rinciple of fertility that needs to be roused into 

 action. In liict, the modus operandi of lime is im- 

 perfectly understood, though the greater part of 

 agriculturists seem pretty well acquainted with its 

 effects. It is sufficiently understood, that land 

 which has been long in grass, contains much ve- 

 getable matter, and that the trouble and expense 

 of liming it will be amply repaid to the cultivator; 

 but the propriety of applying lime on old arable 

 lands lias been questioned, and with much justice, 

 by the most part of practical agriculturists, and 

 their doubts on that head are confirmed by the full- 

 est experience. If hme wore a manure, then it 

 would be a noble substance lor enriching and restor- 

 ing fertility to lands that were worn out by a suc- 

 cession of corn crops ; but as worn out land is not 

 restored to fertility by the application of lime, we 

 are warranted to rank it in a diflerent class, or, lo 

 speak more correctly, as an article calculated to 

 bring certain principles into action, which were 

 ; reviously possessed by the soil. This conclusion 

 is sanctioned by experience ; and experieui'e is a 

 far better guide than the most plausible theory. 



Lime has been used with very great success in 

 every part of Great Bri'ain, though it is evident 

 that the grossest errors have been committed in the 

 after management of land lo which lime has been 

 applied ; and, what is worse, that the extent of 

 these errors was in direct proportion to the effect 

 produced upon the soil by the application. This 

 remark applies more to the former state of hus- 

 bandry than to the present practice, because the 

 former rule was to crop so long as the earth would 



