16 



seeds when gathered before they are quite ripe, germinate sooner, 

 it does not follow that they will produce the best plants. 



GLUTEN is that part of the paste formed from the flour of 

 wheat that remains unaffected by the water after all the starch 

 contained in it has been washed off. This is a tough and elastic 

 substance, of a dark white colour, without taste, but of a very 

 peculiar smell : it is found in fruits and grain such as Peas, 

 Beans, Barley, Acorns, Chesnuts, Apples, Quinces ; also in leaves, 

 such as Cabbage, Cresses, Saffron, &c. ; and also in the petals of 

 the Rose; and is the most important of all vegetable substances. 



GRAFTING. The most common method, and in general use 

 in the Deccan, is by approach, although crown and stock-graft- 

 ing are both practised by the gardeners in Bombay and Salsette : 

 the latter is done by making a hole in the bark of a stock and 

 inserting the scions therein while the tree is growing, but nine 

 out of ten generally fail. 



HAUM OR HAULMN. The lower part of the straw after the 

 ears are cut off ; in gardening the term is generally applied to 

 leguminous vegetables after their produce has been gathered. 



HEADING. The growing of the leaves of a plant into a 

 roundish head or loaf. 



HEAT is essentially necessary for the growth of plants, as it 

 is obvious that no plant could take up frozen liquids. The 

 process of fermentation and putrefaction, by which are pro- 

 duced the supply of Carbonic Acid Gas, Humic Acid,* and Azote, 

 is indispensable to vegetation, as it cannot go on without it. 



HERBARIUM. The dried plants for surpass either drawings or 

 descriptions, in giving complete ideas of their appearance. When 

 plants are well dried, the original forms and positions of even 

 their minutest parts (though not their colours) may at any time 

 be restored by immersion in hot water. The mode or state in 

 which the plants are preservedis general desiccation, accompanied 

 by pressing. The greater part of plants dry with facility between 

 the leaves of books or blotting paper, the smoother the better. 

 If there be plenty of paper, they often dry without shifting, but 

 * Humic acid the principal ingredient of all manures. 



