GARDENING FOR WOMEN 157 



HORTICULTURE 



The syllabus of the Royal Horticultural Society will be 



taken 



Elementary principles on which horticultural practice is 

 based. — Soils, good and bad ; their mineral composition ; 

 chemical nature of fertilisers and their respective values. 

 The physiological values of water, heat, and air in plant 

 growth. The structure of seeds and their modes of germin- 

 ation ; the chemical phenomena of germination ; the 

 movements of seedlings and the uses of them. The func- 

 tions of roots ; their anatomical structure ; hindrances to 

 healthy root-action and their remedies. The uses of stems 

 and branches ; the anatomical structure of ordinary 

 dicotyledonous and of a monocotyledonous stem. The 

 physiological functions of leaves, and the action of light 

 upon them. The structure of tubers and other subterranean 

 stems ; the structure of bulbs and buds ; the general 

 phenomena of vegetative multiplication. The physiological 

 processes undergone in growth and development ; the 

 structure of an active cell, and the process of cell-division 

 and the formation of tissues. The structure of flower-buds 

 and of flowers ; the methods of pollination, natural and 

 artificial. The process of impregnation of the ovule, and 

 the formation of embryo and endosperm. The classifica- 

 tion and description of fruits ; the changes and develop- 

 ment during ripening. The general characters of the 

 commoner families of plants in cultivation. The origin of 

 species. 



Horticultural operations and practice. — Elements of 



