324 GENERAL REVIEW. 



seed to the sun's rays or heat after it has been gathered will 

 render it slow to germinate, and cause disappointment, by the 

 irregular manner in which, and the lengthened period before, 

 it makes its appearance above ground." 



As to the vitality of Pelargonium seed, the ' Cultivateur ' 

 gives an instance of the germination of Pelargonium seeds nine 

 years after they were gathered. In 1866, M. Sisley obtained 

 seeds by cross-fertilisation of the Zonal and Inquinans varieties, 

 some of which were given to Mr Hardy, who sowed a portion 

 in 1867 and kept the rest until the spring of 1875, when they 

 also were sown, considerable care being taken in the operation. 

 Notwithstanding the interval that had elapsed between gather- 

 ing and sowing the seed, a very large proportion germinated, 

 and the plants are said to be doing well. 



Herbert (see 'Am.,' p. 356), speaking of the origin of showy 

 Pelargoniums in 1837, says: "Those who raised Pelar- 

 goniums from seed found amongst the produce of certain 

 species a great disposition to intermix and sport, which was 

 occasioned by the accidental transmission of the pollen from 

 one plant to another by the bees, which occurs perpetually in 

 that genus, because many of its flowers are occasionally with- 

 out anthers, or lose them before the stigma comes to maturity, 

 which causes them to be fertilised by another flower ; and in 

 the year 1812 (taking the date from Sweet's 'Hortus Britan- 

 nicus '), the beautiful cross between P. dtriodorum and P. 

 fulgidum was obtained from seed, and afterwards produced 

 under the name P. ignescens, and being fertile it has become 

 the parent of an innumerable variety of the most beautiful 

 plants that adorn our greenhouses. P. ardens had been 

 raised two years before, between P. fulgidum and P. lobatum, 

 and had first pointed out to cultivators that it was possible, 

 through the pollen of P. fulgidum, to introduce its brilliant 

 tint of scarlet under a variety of modifications in union with 

 the superior qualities of other species in which it was de- 

 ficient ; but a long course of experiments has shown the im- 

 practicability of blending the plants allied to P. zonale (which 

 are properly detached by Mr Sweet under the name Ciconia) 

 with the true Pelargoniums, which are, however, certainly of 

 one genus with the bulbous-rooted sorts that are found to 

 interbreed with them, and have been improperly detached. 

 Such plants as P. fulgidum and P. echinatum, which have a 

 stem of a semi-tuberous nature, and capable of enduring a long 

 period of drought, form a curious link between the tuberous 

 and fibrous rooted species." 



The scarlet zonal section (P. inquinans-zonale), and the 



