481- Principles of Gardening 



root. In these cases the seeds lie sometimes very long in the 

 ground without germinating ; the absorption of moisture going on, 

 in general, too slowly to effect a quick and strong developement, 

 which is absolutely necessary to burst those firm husks or shells 

 which are bound together, as it were, by sutures. These seeds 

 are often lost when they lie for many years; and, to make sure of 

 them, artificial means should be applied. To cause a rapid 

 germination of the seeds of the acacia, soaking them in boiling 

 water has been applied of late years with success ; but, in general, 

 this is a very unsafe means, and may do more injury than good. 

 The safest and best way is to cut or file the hard shell, when it 

 is only necessary to penetrate at one spot to the albumen, or 

 cotyledons. From this spot the seed imbibes its quantity of 

 moisture, the root is quickly developed, and, with the help 

 of the swollen cotyledons, bursts the sutures of the husk. In this 

 way I have seen many hard-shelled seeds of monocotyledonous 

 and dicotyledonous plants, such as Canna, Pseonia, Acacia, 

 A'brus, Erythrina, Cassia, Schotm, Guilandina, Adenanthera, 

 Bauhinm, and Caesalpinia, germinate in a short time, mostly in 

 from ten to twenty days. If the seeds are old, they should, after 

 cutting, be laid for a few days in lukewarm rain-water, and, 

 if they have any life remaining, it will be stimulated thereby. 



Something similar also takes place with seeds which, besides 

 the testa, or husk, are also enclosed in a pericarpium, or fruit- 

 covering. They lie either in fours, at the bottom of a dry hollo\^ 

 cup, as in the Labiatae and ^oragineae ; or they are single, or 

 several, surrounded with a thick fleshy cup, as in many species 

 of the i?osaceae ; or single, or in twos, covered with a dry cup, 

 which, in general, grows into the pericarpium, as in Compositse, 

 Umbel] iferse, and their allied species. Lastly, in the Gramineae, 

 we find them only surrounded with the pericarpium, as true 

 caryopsi, which often grow into the husky skin of the perian- 

 themum or involucellum. Many of them germinate as easily as 

 naked seeds ; and this depends, also, partly on the capacity or 

 incapacity of the husk to absorb water in a natural state. We 

 find them hard and stony only among the i^osace^, as i?osa, 

 Prunus, Cotoneaster, Mespilus, Cratae^gus, &c., which also re- 

 quire cutting if intended to germinate quickly. The remainder 

 are divided, according to their formation, into two groups ; those 

 possessing albumen, in which the embryo lies, and those that do 

 not. For, as we remarked that the cotyledons always imbibe 

 the water first and easiest, whereas the albumen is less hygro- 

 scopic, the germination of those seeds which have none, but 

 whose interior is entirely filled with the embryo and cotyledons, 

 as in the i3oragineae, Labiatae, Compositae, &c., will be more 

 easily effected. 



The Gramineae and Umbelliferae, on the contrary, possess 



