196 Oranges and Lemons of India. 



coverings is certainly no mean advantage in the stru^ 

 for existence in certain plants. 



As the seed germ is often stimulated into vitality by 

 foreign pollen, the mature seed becomes a most im- 

 portant instrument in bringing about breaks, or distinct 

 varieties. The seed is then a portion of its own mother 

 plant, with frequently something superadded from 

 another plant by means of foreign pollen. The seed 

 of some plants are so well suited to struggling into 

 existence, and competing with others, that they are 

 enabled to float from one shore of an ocean to another. 

 When stranded, they germinate in due course, and 

 commence a new colony such as the cocoanut. All 

 the fruits of the large citrus float well, and the larger 

 the fruit, and the thicker its skin, the better it will float. 

 I believe it probable that many forms of citrus have 

 become disseminated by the fruit floating down rivers 

 during floods ; stranding on their banks and islands 

 beyond the river mouths, and liberating their seeds 

 by the decay of the fruit. The seeds then germinate, 

 and eventually found new colonies. 



The seeds of some plants can lie dormant for many 

 years, and when the proper conditions come, they start 

 into life, and begin new colonies, where perhaps their 

 species had never been before. I do not know how 

 long citrus seeds can remain viable, after having been 

 taken out of the fruit. In the ground, in winter, they 

 remain viable for months. Irrespective of inheritance, 

 there is something which we do not sufficiently under- 

 stand. I mean the "jumps" or breaks, which occur 

 through the seed. For instance, two distinct plants of 

 the same species are crossed, and the resulting seeds 

 sown. Some of the plants will be more like the male 

 parent ; some like the female parent ; others will par- 

 take of both ; and perhaps a few, or only one out of 



