Foreign Notices. — France. 9 ] 



changed ; so that each seed appears to contain a germ for the developement 

 of either sex. The developement of male plants is favoured by a soil dry 

 and sandy, with little manure, by covering the seed lightly, and by the more 

 free influence of the light of the sun on the plants developed ; the form- 

 ation of females, on the contrary, is favoured by a fresh soil well manured, 

 by a thicker covering on the seed, and by the more feeble influence of the 

 light. This experiment has been made in sowing hemp, spinach, and an- 

 nual mercury, and in observing the situation of dioecious plants in a wild 

 state. The weather and the season of the year also naturally concur in 

 influencing materially this different developement. Drs. Autenrieth and 

 Maux raised hermaphrodite plants of hemp, by sowing heavy or male seeds 

 in a dry soil, light, and little manured, and only exposing the plants to a 

 moderate degree of light and humidity. These hermaphrodites, in size and 

 appearance, hold a middle place between male and female plants. Female 

 plants change often into hermaphrodites, by transplanting them into a dry 

 soil more exposed to the light ; wounds, on the contrary, and repeated 

 pruning, easily change a male plant into a hermaphrodite one; for in- 

 stance in hemp, the nettle, spinach, and in .Lychnis dioica. These herma- 

 phrodite flowers often produce good seeds. In general, male plants change 

 more easily into females, than females into males. Female plants support 

 wounds and cutting much better than males. In monoecious plants, the 

 separation of the sexes, and their stronger or weaker developement, depend 

 very much on circumstances. A melon, in a pot, for example, little wa- 

 tered, much exposed to the sun, and several times pruned, will not form 

 female flowers, but several hermaphrodite and some male ones ; another 

 melon in a larger pot, watered a great deal and never pruned, will carry 

 some perfect female flowers. Even in plants commonly hermaphrodite, 

 exterior accidents, especially the season, greatly influence the preeminent 

 developement of the one or the other sex. The .Malvaceae and Caryophyl- 

 leae afford numerous examples. 



With respect to the influence of the seasons on the developement of the 

 different sexes in plants, Drs. Autenrieth and Maux observe that 



1. The middle of winter is favourable to the pre-eminence of the feminine 

 sex in dioecious plants j 



2. The commencement of spring favours the formation of hermaphro- 

 dites, with the more early developement of the male sex ; 



•3. The beginning of summer favours the perfect formation of herma- 

 phrodites ; 



4. The middle of summer is favourable to the predominance of the male 

 sex in dioecious plants ; 



5. The end of winter still favours the perfect formation of hermaphro- 

 dites ; 



6. The end of autumn favours the formation of hermaphrodites, with a 

 more early developement of the feminine sex. {Bui. Un., 1826.) 



The liquorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is cultivated inBourguel in France, 

 in a manner somewhat analogous to Mr. Judd's method of growing horse- 

 radish. (Enci/c. of Gard., § 4114.) Trenches as deep as the soil will per- 

 mit, and about two feet wide, are opened three feet from each other ; the 

 bottom of the trench is dunged and dug,and two rows of cuttings of the roots 

 are planted as close as possible to its sides; these are covered a few inches, 

 by sliding down a little earth from the ridglet; as the plants grow, more 

 earth is slid down, till, at the end of the first summer, the whole field is 

 level. In the second summer, every pair of rows are earthed up, from the 

 wide interval between ; during the third summer, nothing is done ; but, in 

 the October or November following, the crop is dug up, and, while the 

 ground is being trenched for that purpose, it is sometimes planted as before 

 for a repetition of the crop. In other cases, a crop of barley, and two sue- 



