436 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 16,1896. 
accommodation to bring them to perfection, for either will grow and 
flower profusely during the summer. As the present time is not too late 
to buy plants, readers of this might do worse than invest in a few of 
each.—R. P. R. 
ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY. 
Under favourable weather the first summer show of this Society 
was held at Regent’s Park on Wednesday last. The exhibits, instead of 
being staged in the orthodox style so often seen, were pleasingly dotted 
about on mounds in a large tent. In the competitive portion the exhibits 
were but few, many of the classes being entirely empty. The miscel¬ 
laneous exhibits of nurserymen and others were numerous and varied, 
and added much to the beauty of the show, some of the groups of Roses 
and mixed plants being exceptionally fine. 
Mr. T. S. Ware, Tottenham, was first for a group of hardy herbaceous 
plants, which consisted chiefly of Doronicum Clusi, Primula Sieboldi, 
Saxifraga pyramidalis, Alyssum saxatile compactum, Spiraea japonica 
nana com pacta, Spiraea palmata. Phlox canadensis, Pink Her Majesty, 
Cypripedium calceolus and pubescens, Saracenia flava, and others. 
Messrs. Paul & Sons, Cheshunt, were second with a collection neither so 
fine or varied as the former. 
Mr. T. S. Ware was also first for group of tuberous-rooted Begonias, 
the plants being well grown and crowned with fine flowers. Amongst 
many others were Victory, Rosebud, Princess May, Challenger, Samuel 
Pope, Miss Dora Richards, Mr. John Fowler, Baroda, Bexley Gem, 
Novelty, Leviathan, Viscountess Cranbrook, and Miss Dolly Fell. Mr. 
C. Turner, Slough, was a good first for collection of Pelargoniums, the 
plants being large and thickly bloomed. The chief varieties were 
Sultana, Martial, Maid of Honour, Lady Isabel, Princess Teck, Joe, 
Ellen Beck, Mystery, The Shah, Spotted Beauty, Fanny Gair, Rosetta, 
Purity, Rosy Morn, Symmetry, Magpie, and Fireball. Mr. G. Bond, 
gardener to S. F. Fisher, Esq., Streatham, was first for a group of 
Gloxinias, the second prize falling to Mr. R. Scott, gardener to Miss 
Foster, The Holmes, Regent’s Park. 
Mr. Geo. Cragg, gardener to Walter C. Walker, Eeq., Percy Lodge, 
Winchmore Hill, was first for a group of exotic Orchids, the plants 
being well flowered, and consisting of pleasing varieties of Cattleyas, 
Laelias, Odontoglossums, Oncidiums, and Cypripediums. Mr. C. Turner 
was a good first for a group of Roses, the exhibit consisting of well- 
flowered plants of Crimson Rambler, Charles Lawson, Duchess of Albany, 
Juno, Marchioness of Londonderry, La France, and others. Messrs. 
William Paul <& Son, Waltham Cross, came second with a group of 
little less merit, amongst which were fine plants of Crimson Rambler. 
Mr. C. Turner was first for a group of greenhouse Azaleas (open to 
nurserymen), the plants being thickly covered with bloom. Mr. 
W. Barrett, gardener to Mrs. Thornton, The Hoo, Sydenham Hill, was a 
capital first for a group of the same plants (open to amateurs) with 
large, well-flowered plants. The second prize in this class fell to Mr. 
R. Scott for plants not quite so fine. 
Mr. W. Barrett was also first for a group of Azaleas, any size, the 
second, as in the former case, being gained by Mr. Scott. 
Among the miscellaneous exhibits, Mr. W. Rumsey, Waltham Cross, 
sent a large group of Roses in pots and cut blooms. The former were 
well-grown plants, thickly covered with flowers ; amongst other varieties 
being Albert Page, The Queen, Magna Charta, Spenser, Mrs. J. Laing, 
La France, Mrs. Rumsey, John Stuart Mill, Princess Vera, Duchess of 
Albany, and Madame Isaac Periere ; and among the latter fine fiowers 
of Niphetos, Mar^chal Niel, Marie Van Houtte, and Baroness Rothschild 
were very conspicuous. 
Mr. J. Perry, gardener to J. C. Tasker, Esq., Middleton Hall, Brent¬ 
wood, sent a group of Cannas, amongst which were Progression, Paul 
Bryant, Alphonse Bouvier, and Madame Crozy. A very creditable bank 
of Roses in pots was also exhibited by Mr. Perry, the finest plants being 
Turner’s Crimson Rambler, Innocente Pirola, Cleopatra, Ella Gordon, 
Ernest Metz, The Bride, and La France. Mr. R. Scott added to 
the beauty of the show by exhibiting an interesting group of plants 
arranged effectively, and composed chiefly of Azalea mollis. White 
Marguerites, Cannas, Lilium Harrisi, Caladiums, Asparagus plumosus, 
with Palms and Ferns. Mr. T. S. Ware sent a collection of Tulip 
flowers consisting of all the sections, the blooms being large, substantial, 
and varied in colour. This same firm also staged plants of Pseofiies in 
bloom. 
Messrs. T. Rivers & Sons, Sawbridgeworth, Herts, sent a group of 
Peaches and Nectarines in pots. The plants were thickly studded with 
fruits, which were of a delightfully rich colour, testifying to the fact 
that the plants had been highly cultivated. Messrs. B, S. Williams 
and Son, Holloway, sent a fine exhibit of mixed foliage and flowering 
plants, which were arranged with taste, and consisted mainly of 
Dracaenas Lord Wolseley, pendula, Madame F. Bergman and Lindeni ; 
Crotons Bachi, Disraeli, and others ; Caladiums Leopold Robert, Alice 
Van Geert, candidum, and Baron James de Rothschild, together with 
Amaryllis, Anthuriums, Palms, and plants of Ficus elastica. The same 
firm also exhibited floral designs in the form of wreaths, bouquets, and 
baskets of flowers, which in the tastefulness and elegance of construc¬ 
tion produced a pleasing effect. Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest 
Hill, exhibited a very creditable group of mixed flower and foliage 
plants, which were tastefully arranged on a mound. Particularly notice¬ 
able were fine well-grown plants of Gloxinias, amongst others being 
Majestic, Mrs. Laing, John Laing, and Leopard ; Begonias Duke of Fife, 
Duchess of Teck, Laing’s Triumph, and Earl of Cranbrooki; Caladiums 
Baron de Mamore, Rose Laing, and Pauline Guichard, 
Orchids were represented with Dendrobium thyrsiflorum, Oncidium 
Barcodes, and Cymbidium Lowianum. Several fine Crotons were also 
included—namely, Thompson!, Countess, Burtoni, and Reidi, as also 
were plants of Azalea mollis, Cannas, Nepenthes Mastersiana, Anthuriums, 
Dracaena Sanderiana, and Erica Cavendishiana. 
Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, sent a fine display of Tulip^ 
blooms and other hardy flowers. Amongst the former being Coffee 
Colour, Crimson Beauty, Striped Beauty, flava. Yellow Queen, Goldflake, 
together with many rectified and breeder blooms of distinctive form and 
variety. Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, staged Tulip flowers in fine 
form and excellent variety, composed of Isabella, Cramoise brilliant, 
perfecta, Constantinople, Coffee Colour, lutea major, Golden Eagle, 
Czar Nicholas, Prima Donna, Aster, Anna, Osman Pacha, and many 
others. 
Messrs. Dobbie & Co., Rothesay, staged a fine collection of cut Viola 
blooms, the colours being varied, and many of the sorts very distinct. 
Conspicuous in the collection were Ceres, Miss Gibson, Gem, Neptune, 
Archibald Grant, Lemon Queen, J. B. Riding, Lucy Ashton, Cherry 
Park, Gipsy Queen, Ariel, Rob Roy, and White Flag. Messrs. W. Paul 
and Son exhibited a very large and magnificent group of Roses in pots, 
the flowers and foliage being almost perfect. Amongst many others 
were noticed Mar^chal Niel, Victor Verdier, Spenser, Harrison Weir, 
Duke of Teck, and A. K. Williams. Mr. George Mount sent fine 
stands of cut Roses, consisting chiefly of Catherine Mermet, Ulrich 
Brunner, Marichal Niel, Mrs John Laing, and Lady Fitzwilliam. Mr. 
Arthur Knowles, Woking, Surrey, sent specimen flowers of Daphne 
cneorum major. 
THE VITALITY OF SEEDS. 
The duration of the vitality of seeds is perhaps the most important 
of the various phenomena of plant life, especially when considered in 
connection with the introduction into a country of the economic plants 
of other countries. It is a subject that has engaged attention from very 
early times, and the literature relating thereto is considerable. Much 
of this, however, is of traditional and unpractical character ; but even 
if we confine ourselves to the demonstrable, or demonstrated, the subject 
is almost inexhaustible. There is such an infinity of variety in the 
behaviour of seeds under different conditions, that it is impossible in 
a short account, such as this must be, to do more than convey a general 
idea of the subject. 
Perhaps the best way to treat the question, apart from technicalities, 
is to consider the vitality of seeds under ordinary and extraordinary 
conditions. In the development and germination of seeds there is, 
in a sense, usually a period of gestation and a period of incubation, 
as in oviparous organisms of the animal kingdom ; and the duration 
of these periods is within definable limits, under ordinary conditions, 
though seeds do not exhibit the same fixity of time in regard tO' 
development and vitality as eggs. The embryo of a seed is the result 
of the impregnation of the female ovum in the ovary or young seed 
vessel, by the male element, generated in the anthers ; and in the mature 
state this embryo may fill the whole space within the skin, or testa, 
of the seed, as in the Bean and acorn ; or it may be a comparatively 
minute body, as in Wheat, Maize, and other cereals ; the rest of the 
seed being filled with matter not incorporated in the embryo. The 
difference is one of degree in development. In the one case, the 
growing embryo has absorbed into its own system, as it were, before 
germination or the beginning of the growth of the embryo into a new 
plant, the whole of the nutrient material provided in the seed for 
reproduction ; whereas, in the latter case, the process of absorption and 
utilisation of the “albumen,” or nutrient matter, takes place after the 
seed is detached from the parent plant, and during the earliest stage of 
growth of the new plant; so that the plant is nourished until it haa 
formed organs capable of assimilating the food obtainable from the 
atmosphere and earth. 
Between these two extremes of development of the embryo, or future 
plant, before organic connection with the parent ceases, there is every 
conceivable degree and variety ; and, as will presently be explained 
with examples, some plants are viviparous, in the sense that the 
embryo commences active life before being severed from the parent, 
so that when this occurs the plant is in a position to draw its sustenance 
from uuassimilated or inorganic materials. Now it is a curious and 
unexplainable fact that certain seeds exhibiting the extremes of 
embryonal development, instanced in the Bean and Wheat, are equally 
retentive of their germinative power. The longevity, if it may be so 
called, of seeds is exemplified in “ exalbuminous ” seeds as well as in 
“albuminous ” seeds of every degree. It should be mentioned, however, 
that the difference is not so much one of assimilation or development 
as of the earlier or later transfer of the nutrient matter of the seed to 
the embryo or plantlet. 
Assuming the perfect maturation of a seed, certain conditions are 
necessary to quicken its dormant vitality ; and the two principal factors 
are heat and moisture, varying enormously in amount for different 
plants, and acting much more rapidly on some seeds than on others, 
even when the amount required is much the same. Neither under 
natural nor artificial conditions will some seeds retain their vitality 
more than one season ; and all tbe resources of the accumulated 
experience of seed importers from distant countries are insufficient in 
some cases to maintain their vitality. It is not altogether because 
the interval between the dispersal and the germination of the seed, 
under ordinary conditions, is necessarily longer; but rather because 
in the one case the conditions under which a seed will germinate are 
