130 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ June, 
clition as when sent away. Either system is good, and ought to be more 
generally adopted, more particularly now, with the facilities afforded by the Post 
Office for transmission from abroad. 
With pulpy or berried seeds, the above methods are by no means satisfactory. 
I have found from experience that all pulpy seeds succeed best when rubbed out 
in dry white sand. After being spread out in the sun or wind for a day or two 
to dry, the mass should be collected and packed firmly in stone jars, and when 
they reach their destination, the contents of the jars should be taken out and 
covered with soil according to the size of the seeds. By this method, I have 
frequently sent to Australia, Canada, and other distant parts of the world the 
seeds of Strawberries, Gooseberries, Raspberries, Brambles, Currants, Blackberries, 
Laurels, Elderberries, Thorns, Hollies, Yews, &c. Any portion of the pulp 
remaining with the seeds seems less liable to decay when mixed with dry white 
sand, than with soil or sphagnum. 
For a long series of years it has been customary to send home seeds packed in 
charcoal, and I regret to see it still recommended. Such a practice, however, 
ought to be entirely abolished, as it tends to destroy the vitality of the seed. 
Unless in the case of seeds with very fleshy cotyledons, few others packed in this 
way ever grow. It is not necessary that seeds should always be sent home in 
comparatively dry soil in earthenware bottles. About 18 years ago, I had some 
seeds of the Akee fruit {Blighici sapida) sent from the West Indies. The seeds 
had been put into a large old blacking-bottle (after being thoroughly cleaned in¬ 
side), in a mixture of soil and water, firmly closed with a clean bung-cork and 
thickly sealed over. When they reached me, I broke the bottle, and found every 
seed in a growing state. Each seed was put in a pot and set in a dark place for a 
time, light being admitted gradually ; they soon lost their pale hue, and are now 
fine thriving trees. This simple method is also worthy of imitation with many 
hard tropical seeds. 
Wide-mouthed glass bottles are also extremely useful to botanical collectors 
and amateur horticultural travellers. During my annual autumn peregrinations, 
both in this country and abroad, I have kept cuttings of rare stove and greenhouse 
plants in clean old pickle-bottles, in excellent preservation for a fortnight, with 
a little moss and water, and have always found them to succeed well after reaching 
home, if placed in an ordinary propagating pit or frame, in a pot of fine sand 
covered with a bell-glass. During a visit to the forest of Fontainebleau, I picked 
up a number of two-years old seedling Oaks, Elms, and other trees, and put them 
all in a glass bottle, among clean moss and water. After ten days’ confinement, I 
broke the bottle, put the young trees into pots, and placed them for a time in a 
shady situation ; they are now fine healthy trees. I mention this circumstance 
for the information of parties wishing to bring home from some remote, celebrated, 
or interesting spot a memorial of their visit, as was the case with myself. Such 
seedlings will succeed equally well if lifted any time during the spring, summer, 
or autumn months. The chief risk is the sudden exposure to air and light. 
