122 SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



centuries. Dr. Lindley mentions a remarkable instance of the 

 longevity of raspberry seeds, which, as proven by circum- 

 stances, must have been 1,600 years old, and were found 

 thirty feet below the surface of the earth. Oily seeds are 

 more liable to putrify and lose their vitality than others. 



The blooming of flowers was thought, during the dark and 

 middle ages, when the human mind was blinded by the 

 grossest superstition, to be emblematical of something con- 

 nected with religion: thus when the time of the blossoming 

 of a flower fell on the birthday of a saint, or on the day of a 

 martyrdom, that flower was consecrated or dedicated to such 

 saint or martyr. 



Plants exhibit many phenomena which seem to be connec- 

 ted with atmospheric conditions and changes : thus it is said 

 a storm may be predicted by the folding or opening of certain 

 flowers ; also that a clear sky, thunder, wind, &c, may be fore- 

 told by the various other phenomena observed to take place 

 in the different organs of plants. Some plants are capable of 

 enduring a high degree of heat: those of the tropics sustain 

 a temperature which would be intolerable to animals for a 

 great length of time : others are found immersed in the waters 

 of boiling springs, and in a state of thrifty vegetation. 



Every country exhibits a flora, or botanical character, pecu- 

 liar to itself. The influence of light and heat on the growth 

 of plants is seen to be powerful and important. In the polar 

 regions, where almost perpetual winter reigns, the vegetation 

 is rigid, scanty and stinted : the centre of the frigid zone, in 

 fact, is totally destitute of vegetable life. After passing the 

 arctic circle, we find a few species of mosses, lichens and ferns, 

 and a few shrubs. The only country in this zone where the 

 grains can be successfully cultivated, is Lapland. The tem- 

 perate zone produces most species of useful nutrient plants, 

 such as the grains, berries, fruits and grasses, as well as valu- 

 able timber trees. The torrid zone produces every variety of 



