M2 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ March Jff, 1891. 
the Seychcllep, which has been slowly germiratirp^ at. Kew for two 
years, progress so far corsisting of seed leaves each 2h feet long by 
2 feet broad, a noble start for a tree which grows 100 feet high and 
does not produce flowers till thirty years old. The fruits are ten years 
ripenirg. It is to be regretted that the na'ives have so recklessly cut 
down the trees that, unless means be taken to prevent it, they may 
become extinct. I now hear this has been done. 
In the Brazil Nut, which has a very' hard outside shell, the triangular 
nuts are arranged round a central column, with a small hole at the stalk 
end. It is literally the survival of the fittest, for although all may 
start to grow only one can exist. The lucky one fills the space and kills 
the others, and feeds upon them until it can form a root for itself 
outside the shell, which operation possibly the restriction of the hole 
expedites by forming a barrier to the growth and thickening of the 
s'^em. There a'^e many other curious forms of germination, and pretty 
experiments are made of growing Chestnuts and acorns in clear bottles 
of water, where the whole p^’ocess can be watched. If you have ever 
placed Cress seed in your mouth you will find a gelatinous coating soon 
h>rms over its surface, which I take to be the first symptoms of growth. 
This is well illustrated by taking seeds of CoHomia coccinea and placing 
them in water under the microscope, when small spiral threads freely 
rise from its surface, which unfold in the w'ater. Sometimes Melon 
seeds will grow in the fruit, and peas in the pods in w'et weather. 
Mezeic’im berries will also germinate on the tree in damp spots. 
The period of germination is various. A few days will start some 
kinds, while others take a year or more. When Primula japonica was 
first introduced from Japan the seeds wmre a puzzle. In some cases a 
crop was obtained at once, in others a few^ came up and the rest twelve 
months after, and this is vpTy common among many A’phe plants, being 
apparently a provision of Nature to ])rotect the species from extinction. 
H( Pies, Chtrrie.s, Ivosfs, Plums, and Thorns do not germinate the fi'st 
year, but require to lie bedded in the soil a year, and the.y apjiear the 
s'cmd and even the third and fourth year according to the dep‘h eh 
sowin?. Seeds of weeds lie dormant in a remarkable manner. For 
example, a wood may be grubbed up, and the year after will be covered 
with plants, some of which have possibly not been observed in that spot 
f r ye i-.^. Au old man once told me that he grew some Turnips, 
let them seed, and then trenched the ground. Twenty years after he 
trenched the ground again, and the Turnips c ime u]) thickly. I have 
read that St. George’s Hill. Byfleet, was covered with Scotch Fiiv, 
which in places were removed in order to plant shrubs, and in every 
such case the ground came full of Birch seedlings, whereas no one had 
ever seen Birch there previously'. Evidently the remains of a former 
forest was disturbed. The cuttings of raihvays often reveal old beds of 
seeds, and vf gelation appears new' to the locality. The dredgings of 
wells also will pi\ duce plants which are strangers. 
Various are the tim's at which Melons and Cucumbers cease to grow', 
I have known some ten years old grow better than seed of the previous 
summer. Eccremocarpus will often take a y'ear to start. Perilla sown 
in February may not grow, but the same seed in April will germinate 
freely, as if certain sun power was required to promote vitality. Seeds 
w'hich are oi’y keep their vitality best; and, in fact, if it w'ere not for 
this fact many choice strains of vegetables would be lost to commerce 
after two or three consecutive bad frosts and harvests. The case of 
corn is to the point. It is stated in the “Histoiredes Plantes” 
that Wheat from an Egyptian sarcophagus started freely, but these 
cases are dubious. 
Weber’s experiments demonstra'e that germination is quickest under 
dark coloured glass, and Pauchon found that black Beans germinate 
more quickly than w'hite. Plants under the electric liglit ac night grow 
much faster than w'ithout it, but electric force retards growth and ger¬ 
mination in seeds. Trials at Baden-Baden show that when seeds are 
thoroughly ripened and dried they can endure 248° of heat without 
injury, but that after this desiccation they lose vitality w'hen moisture is 
added in excess, and this is traceable to the same cause (rupture of cells) 
W'hich kills plants in a severe frost. In the tropics the native seeds 
keep for a long time because they are thoroughly ripened and their 
tissues firmly set by the solar heat. European seeds soon lose vitality 
there; in fact tropicahseeds keep as many' years in Europe as European 
ones do months in the tropics. Ripeness is essential to vitality', as in a 
bad harvest y'ear Peas, Beans, &c., often fail to grow'—and one year, a 
very hot one, we grew a great crop of Kidney Beans, w'hich frem some 
cause only' grew about .50 per cent. Poinciana regia seeds sown from the 
same pod have germinated at once, and others took a year. Orange?, 
Lemons, &c.. are said to germinate best in their pulp. 
Haricot Beans from Tournefort’s herbarium germinated af'er the 
lapse of 100 years. Pouchet states that Heliotrope, Lucerne, and C over 
s eds taken fiom a CTallo-Roman tomb germinated after the lapse of 
1500 years (?). Lindley is stated to have raised the Raspberry from 
seeds taken from a Celtic burial ground 1700 years old. On the other 
hand, many seeds lo.se vitality quickly, such as Hollyhock, Polyanthus, 
Marigolds, Myosotis, Digitalis, &;c. TUe Coffee berry is said to lose its 
germinating pow'er in a few' days in its native land. When Linum 
grandiflorum w'as new it w'ss found slow to germinate, and experts 
recommendei soaking it in mi k or warm water. In like manner la'-e crops 
or catch crops (w'here the first hare failed) may be forwarded by soaking 
them and drenching the trenches before sowing the seeds. 
I now pass to .seeds assisted in germination by various agencies. Some 
seeds are very hard, as the Canna or Indian Shot, also some tree seeds of 
the Leguminosae. I imagine many of tbe=e are aided in germination by 
pas ing through the gizzards of b.rds which, to some extent, remove the 
outer cufcle. The Sacred Lily of the Nile (Nelumbium) was a long time 
before it could be grow'n from seed, and 1 am told by Mr. John Lee that- 
for two y'ears they remained dormant in a close stove till some w'ere 
filed and notched, W'hen they'started intr grow'tb. Many'tree seeds are 
draw'n by worms Ircneath the soil and terminate there. You must have 
seen the frequent w’. rmcasts beneath the Sycamore and the A.dr trees 
on law'ns ; them seeds have wings which help to distribute them through 
the winds, and those of the Ash and Maide are also conspicuous. IJnnteus 
ascribes the introduction to Europe of Conyza coerulea from Canada to 
the action of the Atlantic winds. It i-r now a troub'esome weed in the 
north of France ; and it is said that the .soil of Spain after an Atlantic 
hurricane is often strew'n w'ith se^ds from America. The w'ind is said to 
lift up an edible Lichen fiom the mountains of Central Asia, which 
at first is only the size of a pin’s head, but on reaching vapoury- 
clouds grow's to the size of a Walnut, and often fall in de.sert spots to the 
great joy of the inhabitants. Possibly the Manna of old may be referred 
to a storm of this kind. 
Among the most active agencies are those of birds, which devour fruit 
and cast out the seeds in the hedgerows w'here they roost; quite a 
collection may be found in the hedges near fruit grounds, and many 
good kinds have thus oiiginated as w'ell as by the fruits being stored 
by mice. The Diamond Plum of Kent and the Farleigh D.imson are 
examples. It is related that the Dutch in former times destroyed the 
Nutmegs in several of the East Indian Isles in order to create a 
monopoly in Bahama. This clever trade speculation w'as frustrated by 
the pigeons coming in flocks to devour them in Bahama, and, flying 
home with their crops full, they soon replenished the islands, as only 
the mace served for food, the kernel resisting their gizzards. I fancy 
in this case the pigeons must have been very large, or the Nutmegs 
rather small, but Mr. D. Morris states that they cast up the Nutmegs.. 
In Java a species of civet disseminates the Coffee plant in the same 
way. Pouchet, to w'hom I am indebted for several interesting facts, 
states that the Indian Poke plant (Phytolacca') was introduced as a 
garden plant to Bordeaux for the purpose of colouring wine, whence the 
soft-billed birds scattered it throughout Southern Europe up to the^ 
Pyrenees. 
In Ceylon the magpie is protected, as it is the sole agent in propa¬ 
gating the Cinnamon tree. Birds often carry to Iceland from Greenland 
and Northern Europe numerous plants native in the latter corrntries 
again, seels of grasses and weeds are widely distributed by the soil 
which balls on birds’ feet in w'et ami frosty weather. It is also w'ell 
known that many seeds pass through animals uninjured, and thus they 
in a wild state scatter many species far and wide. I have seen enurne— 
rated by Darwin, but cannot now' recall them, a vast number of species 
raised from a ball on a partridge’s foot. I need here only allude to 
tropical seeds brought even to Norway by the Gulf stream, and by those 
distributed by floating on rivers and streams. The Cocoa-nuts of the 
Seychelles before alluded to, protected by their massive coverings, travel 
400 leagues to the coast of Malabar, lending colour to a local legend 
that they are formed and grown in the depth of the ocean, “ the Coco 
de Mer.” Himalayan plants are thus transported and blooi-u in the. 
Delta of the Ganges. Oiher seeds attach themselves to the coats of 
animals. Wool imported from South America has also been the means- 
of introducing several Mexican plants to Montpellier in France. The 
w iiid is a great agent in scattering such noxious w'eeds as Thistles, Colts¬ 
foot, and Dandelions. In fact, I think the law ought to compel the 
ow'ners of railway banks and w'aste spaces to burn the weed-flying seeds.. 
I have a spot in my native town in view where there are enough Thistles 
to stock the country. 
The seeds of the Water Lily are enclosed in a transparent sac, and 
when the seed pod is ripi it bursts, they float on the suiface, and scatter- 
themselves in all directions, As illustrating the distributive agency of 
birds and mice any ancient building or garden wall will give numerous 
examples of trees and plants sown by birds, as Gooseberries, Currants, 
Raspberries, Blackberries, and nuts, and frequently Yews and Pincs_ 
At the ancient seat of the Frewen family in Sussex there used to be ai 
Scotch Pine at the top of the topiary garden w'all on the left side of 
a dooiw'ay, which had by capillary attraction forced its roots down 
betw'een the door frame and the brickwork, so that it had an aerial root 
of 7 feet long, displacing the door frame. In old orchards it is commonly 
the case to find Elder, Gooseberries, and Currants grow'ing in decayed 
trunks. A friend sent me a cutting of an Irish paper w'ith such an 
example, and said w'e could not beat three kinds of fruit on one stem^ 
even in the “ Garden of Eng'and.” 
At Gordon Castle the late Mr. Webster notes that a large Ash had a- 
bole some height above the ground, and w'hen the tree was taken down 
eight Hollies, a Gean, two Whitethorns, and an Elder had rooted, and 
found a home in the aperture. Church tow'ers and buttresses often show 
quite an herbarium on their older portions, and sometimes these get so- 
large that they have to be removed. This I am told w'as the case at 
OoW'estiy, where, after hewing off the branches, it started again from the- 
roots, which had possibly become established in the nibble which our fore¬ 
fathers W'ere wont to build in their tow'ers. An Italian author, 
“ Sebastian,” states that 261 distinct plants may be found growing upom 
the ruins of the Coliseum at Rome. Mistletoe is well known to be 
attached by birds, which plant it on the boughs in their endeavour to 
get rid of the viscous matter which sticks to their beaks when eating the 
seels. The mistle thrush on being disturbed (like the fieldfare) makes 
for the tallest trees, thus we more often find Mistletoe upon the Italian. 
Poplar than any other. 
I have alluded to the atmosphere as a means of distribution. Wei 
