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in the ground. In the natural state the seeds are shot out of the 
capsule when it explores so violently that they are often embed- 
ded fully half in tin mud if sufficiently soft, and they then begin 
to germinate. It is therefore not natural to cover them deeply 
with soil. They should be placed on the ground the flat surface 
downwards and presses into the mud for about half their depth, 
ora little more. If covered, this should be done very lightly so 
that the mice which ofe n eat them may not easily find them. 
One planter reports that snails attack and devour the shoots as 
the seeds germinate. Snails are not, as a rule, very common in 
the Peninsula, but in localities where they are abundant the 
seedlings should be protected against them. 
Seeds vary very much in size and colour, and naturally when 
it is possible to select, large and dark coloured seeds should be 
taken. The reason for the difference in size and colouring is not 
clear. Some trees produce pale unhealthy looking seed which, 
however, germinate well and seem to be quite sound. Possibly 
this may be due to the trees being young, as large and old trees 
generally seem to bear large and dark coloured seed. 
In packing seed for sending to a distance it is found best to 
pack in fine soil, or leaf mould, the seeds being placed in layers 
with mould beneath. Rotten leaves, with a little sand is also a 
good packing material. Coco-nut fibre dust or charcoal or any 
dry dusty substance are inadvisable as the seed suffers more from 
dryness than from damp. Recently some seeds were sent in a 
wooden box filled with a coco-nut fibre dust and rotten leaves. 
At the end of the voyage, about a fortnight, these were found to 
be nearly all germinating but the plumule was hardly showing in 
any of them. At the same time some of the seed was sent in 
Wardian cases planted in the earth of the pots inside the cases. 
In these cases it was found that the seed had far outstripped the 
others in growth having stems from four to six inches long, and 
showing the great superiority of this method of packing. In- 
deed this would be the best method for shipping seed for con- 
siderable distances except that it is very expensive as only one 
layer could be put in a Wardian case. 
There seems to be a great diversity of opinion as to the du- 
ration of the germinating power of the seeds. It has been stat- 
ed that after two or three days a large proportion oj the seed 
may be expected to be dead, while after ten days none will ger- 
minate. This is certainly an error. Seed has been successiui- 
ly sent from South America via England, though usually with 
much loss, and seed has been sent from Ceylon merely in gunny 
bags without any packing whatever, almost every one of which 
germinated. The fine trees in the Botanic Gardens in Singa- 
pore were nearly all sent in this way. Of course loose packing 
in gunnv bags is not at all to be recommended, as in hot weather 
they would suffer much if accidentally put in the sun on the 
voyage, but this shows that the germinating power is not so soon 
lost as is often supposed. 
