Apkil_24, 18S9.] 



Garden and Forest. 



201 



room to ocQupy, as single plants the second year after planting 

 will have taken possession of a square yard of ground, giving 

 in return an abundance of bloom in June and July. 

 Passaic, N. J. ' E. 0. Or pet. 



Spring-Flowering Irisas. — I am pleased to observe from a 

 note in your paper that Iris reticulata is now also appreciated 

 in America. - I beg to state that the typical plant will soon be 

 eclipsed by improved varieties having all parts of the Howers 

 much larger. The color, too, begins to become more varied 

 in seedlings, and very soon we shall have this plant in all 

 shades, from blue and blackish-red to wliite. I was successful 

 . last year in producing a splendid novelty in the shape of the 

 closely allied /. Bakeriana ; this has standards and claws of 

 sky-blue ; falls, white, spotted with violet and the lamina of a 

 blue-black color. This makes altogether a lovely combination, 

 quite as hartly and early as /. reticulata, and also fragrant. 

 Iris Rosenbachiana in its striking coloration looks rather 

 Orchid-like, and ranks among the earliest and most valuable 

 spring fiowers. It has a white ground, with shades and 

 blotches of purple-red and slaty-blue. The flowers are rather 

 large, and deliciously sweet-scented. It is a native of central 

 Asia. Max Leichtlin. 



Baden-Baden. 



About Peas. — There is no necessity for planting dwarf Peas 

 now in a home-garden where neatness should prevail, and it 

 is impossible to secure neatness where Pea-vines tumble 

 about as they will. Even when such Peas are planted they 

 should have some support, especially since galvanized wire- 

 netting of any width can be had at three-quarters of a cent 

 for a square foot. A trellis of netted wire is almost invisible 

 when bare, and entirely so when covered with vines, and it is 

 .as good for Sweet Peas to flower upon as it is to support 

 ordinary garden Peas. With this cheap trellis, which can be 

 rolled up and kept for years in good condition the question 

 of the height to which a Pea-vine grows assumes less impor- 

 tance, and since unsighdy brush can be dispensed with it 

 adds much to the neatness of a garden. 



It is too late now for the very earliest planting of Peas, ex- 

 cept in the most northern portions of the country. This should 

 be made just as soon as the ground is in working condition. 

 The early market Pea, sold under a different name by every 

 •dealer, should never be planted in the home-garden. What 

 the market-gardener wants is a Pea which is early and ma- 

 tures its crop all at once, so that he can clear away the ground 

 and prepare for a succession. For the home-table an early 

 Pea is wanted, and one that will continue to supply the table 

 for some time. Fine flavor, too, is essential, and productive- 

 ness of less importance. Of late years wrinkled varieties of 

 the richest quality have been produced, which are scarcely 

 behind the hardy little Daniel O'Rourke in earliness. All 

 things considered, Alpha is as good as any for first crop. 

 Then it is well for a second planting to put in four varieties 

 on the same day — Alpha, Premium Gem, McLean's Advancer 

 or Stratagem and Champion of England. These will be fit for 

 use one after the other, and keep up a succession for three or 

 four weeks. A second and thirtl planting of Champions, at 

 intervals of ten days, will furnish the table with green Peas 

 until their flavor begins to decline in the hot, dry weather. 



A late crop of Peas can be had about the time of early frost 

 by sowing Premium Gems in early September. It is always 

 best to sow these late Peas in deep furrows, cover them lighdy, 

 and gradually draw the earth to them as they grow, if the 

 weather is favorable a fair crop may be had, but mildew is an 

 enemy to autumn Peas, which it is difficult to prevent entirely. 

 Crozet, Va. W. F. Massey. 



Principles of Physiological Botany, as Applied to 

 Horticulture and Forestry. 

 XVII. — The Fruit and Seed. 

 HTHE ovary of the flower contains the ovules, and when 

 -'■ ripened the whole becomes the fruit, enclosing the seeds. 

 For instance, the ripening pea-pod consists of a parchment- 

 like ovary filled with maturing ovules. Each pea-pod remains 

 distinct from all others, and is free from union with any other 

 parts. Many ovaries, on the other hand, are composed of 

 what we may regard as two or more fruit-leaves united. 

 Again, many ovaries during their formation and ripening be- 

 come conjoined to some neighboring parts which undergo 

 processes of change simultaneously with them. The ovary 

 of the apple and pear is compound, and, furthermore, com- 

 prises certain parts of the flower-stalk (or receptacle) and the 

 outer row of modified leaves of the flower, all of which 

 form at maturity the fruit as we know it. But, strictly speak- 

 ing, only the apple-core is the fruit, in the sense of its being 



the ripened ovary with its ripe seeds. The instances of the 

 combinations of neighboring parts with the ovary are innu- 

 merable, and the modifications are extremely diversified. In 

 the ripening of the fruit changes take place in the whole struc- 

 ture and texture; in fact, we may range from tiie most juicy 

 pulp to the most flinty stone. 



In these changes during ripening there is a remarkable ac- 

 cumulation of food materials such as starch, sugar, oil and the 

 like in the fruit and seed, and between the two parts there ex- 

 ists an interesting compensatory relation. Thus, in the peach, 

 the greatest accumulation of food is found in the pulp sur- 

 rounding the peach-stone, while in its nearest of kin, the 

 almond, the food is collected in largest amount in the seed 

 itself. The two well-known allied fruits of the Tropics, the 

 Cocoanut and the Date, furnish another case of the same sort. 



The treasuring up of food in the fruit and seed is accompa- 

 nied by more or less oxidation. This is to be expected, for we 

 have here a case of rajjid growth, and as we have seen, oxida- 

 tion is one of the principal phenomena of growth in general. 

 Now the rate at which the process of growth proceeds in the 

 fruit and seed is measurably under our control. If we detach a 

 fruit from the parent plant when yet unripe, and keep it under 

 conditions where it can obtain a moderate amount of oxygen 

 sufficient for its needs, it will continue to ripen. There is one 

 well-known condition necessary to this continuance of the 

 process— the surroundings must reach a certain temperature, 

 if there is not sufficient warmth, the process is arrested, and 

 the fruit can be kept for a long time without marked change. 

 This is the principle on which the cold-storage warehouses 

 are now conducted with success. Another important advan- 

 tage is gained by keeping the fruits in a cold place — they are 

 far less liable to be attacked by the organisms which cause 

 decay. 



The seed contains a ready-formed plant in miniature, with 

 an adequate supply of food for its earliest period of germina- 

 tion. The parts of this miniature plant are: (i) Root, fore- 

 shadowed by the cone at the extremity of the stem. (2) The 

 stemlet. (3) Seed-leaves. (4) First bud. During the process of 

 germination, to be described in the next paper of this series, 

 these parts increase in size at the expense of the food stored 

 within the seed, the supply being- siif^ejent to help the plantlet 

 through -its early days until its expanding green leaves have 

 the opportunity of manufacturing food out of the inorganic 

 materials taken from the air and the soil. The food is gener- 

 ally an admixture of oils with other matters, but there" are a 

 good many seeds in which the amount of starch far exceeds 

 the amount of oil. If the food is plainly distinct from the 

 germ it is known as the albumen; if the whole store of food is 

 in the embryo itself, the seed is said to be ex-albimiinous. 



Perhaps the most comprehensive view of the food in a seed, 

 can, for our purpose, be gained by a brief exannnation of that 

 wliich is treasured in a grain of wheat, (i) The presence of 

 mineral matters in the seed is shown by the ash left after com- 

 bustion in the open air; this ash consists essentially of the in- 

 organic constituents shown in a former paper to be absolutelv 

 necessary to the healthy growth of the plant. (2) Starch, sugar 

 and oil in the seed are easily demonstralile by simple pro- 

 cesses of separation. (3) Nitrogenous substances, forming the 

 viscid mass left when moistened flour is washed with water. 

 These latter matters are complex, but, as we have seen before, 

 they may be roughly classified together as the substances which 

 are akin to the flesh of animals, namely, the albuminoids of 

 various kinds. Part of the latter represents, of course, the 

 very flesh of the plantlet itself, to wit: the protoplasm of liv- 

 ing matter in which its activities are manifested. 



The length of time which can elapse beforea seed loses its 

 vitality is very different for different plants. The periods have 

 been determined with great accuracy by Vilmorin for a good 

 many of our cultivated ])lants, especially those of our vegeta- 

 bles, a few of which data, including also weights and num- 

 bers are given in the table below. It must be understood that 

 these figures represent only the average of merchantable seeds. 



Name of Plant. 



Wciiji.t, 

 in i^ranimes. 

 of one Litre 



Nnnilit-1- of 



seeds in 



one Ki-.iinmo 



Duration of 

 germinative power. 





Averas^e. 



Extreme. 



Beet, .... 



250 



SO 



6 vears. 



10 N'ears. 



Carrot, .... 

 Celery, .... 

 Cucumber, . . 

 Beans, . . . . 



240 

 480 

 500 



625 to 850 



700 

 2,500 



35 

 75 to 800 



4 to 5 " 

 8 

 10 



1 < ( 



10 



10 

 10 

 8 " 



Maize (Sugar-corn) 

 Peas, .... 

 Turnip, . . . 



640 



700 to 800 



670 



4 or 5 



2 to 5 



450 



2 * ' 



3 

 5 



4 '• 

 8 " 

 10 



