GENEKAL REMARKS. 113 



peared above ground and were two and a half inches high on 

 February 1st. They remained apparently in statu quo for about 

 a month, but by the end of March the two bright seed-leaves 

 were fully developed. Two months longer are required to thor- 

 oughly establish them, so that, under ordinary circumstances, Libe- 

 rian coifee-plants require about five or six months before they can 

 be safely transplanted; and, when transplanted, too much care 

 cannot be taken in handling the tender young rootlets and pre- 

 serving them from injury. 



" In germinating, it will be noticed that at first there is only a 

 short, pale green stalk, surmounted by the rounded oval form of 

 the parchment bean. The structures of the coffee-seed noticed 

 in the last section have now become greatly altered. Under the 

 stimulating effects of heat and moisture the embryo has pushed 

 forth its radicle and, penetrating the soil, has begun its life's work 

 of absorption : on the other hand, the ascending axis of the em- 

 bryo has grown upward, and, drawing its first nourishment from 

 the albumen enclosed in the parchment and testa, appears as a 

 short stalk with a globose head. It should be here noticed that, 

 in order to nourish the yotmg plant, all the starchy compounds 

 contained in the albumen have become changed, during germina- 

 tion, into sugar — a process analogous to what takes place with 

 regard to starchy compounds in the animal economy. During 

 the apparently stationary period, noticed above, the cotyledonary 

 or seed-leaves are growing larger and larger within the parch- 

 ment case. When they have exhausted their food supply the 

 parchment covering, as well as the silver skin, falls off, and then 

 the two fresh, bright green seed-leaves, being well supplied with 

 moisture by the roots, begin their work of elaborating the juices 

 and supplying the plant with its proper supply of food. 



GENERAL EEMAEKS. 



" The plants of Liberian coffee now in the Botanic Gardens con- 

 sist of several groups planted at different periods since 1873. The 

 largest trees, now nearly ten feet high, were sent from Kew, in 

 Wardian cases, in March, 1874 ; they were transferred into bam- 

 boo pots a few months afterward. Out of twenty-four plants 

 received, four were so severely attacked by leaf disease that they 

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