542 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 25, 1891. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN, 
Gloxinias and Tuberous Begonias.—Attend 
to the pricking off of late batches of these subjects as 
soon as they are fit to handle. Those seedlings which 
germinate later than the others, and are consequently 
small, need not be thrown away, as they often prove to 
be much finer varieties than those which grow away 
rampantly. They may be kept some time yet in a 
moist, warm atmosphere, to urge them on. Stand 
them near the glass so that they may receive plenty of 
light. The Begonias, after they are potted off separ¬ 
ately and again established, may be transferred to a 
cooler atmosphere. 
Fine-foliaged Begonias.—The old plants are 
now commencing to grow, and should be divided 
where convenient or desirable and re-potted. They 
will require comparatively little water for a time, but 
when growing freely they delight in a plentiful supply. 
Syringe overhead with clean water so as to avoid 
spotting the foliage. 
Azaleas.—Plants intended for flowering as late as 
possible should be retarded by placing them in a cool, 
well-ventilated house, and, if possible, with a northern 
aspect, where little or no sun can get at them. 
Bouvardias.—Old plants intended to be grown on 
again should be cut hard back to the older wood 
and placed in a stove or pit to start them. Be very- 
sparing with water till growth is proceeding freely. As 
the season advances they may be hardened off and 
finally planted in the open ground or in open frames, 
where the shelter thus afforded will enable them to 
make good growth and be ready to commence flowering 
early in autumn. 
Chrysanthemums.— As the plants are now filling 
their pots with roots, more attention will be required 
in the way of watering. Harden off the plants by 
removing the sashes during the day-time, and then 
stand the plants out-of-doors if the weather is at all 
suitable. Before doing so, they may be fumigated if 
at all infested with green-fly or thrip. 
Hollyhocks. — Old plants and autumn-struck 
cuttings should all have been planted out by this time, 
and those that were propagated in spring should be 
gradually inured to the temperature out-of-doors, and 
planted in the open ground as soon as they are in a fit 
condition. 
Pentstemons and Phloxes.—Plants in pots 
will now begin to require a considerable amount of 
water. Those in the open ground should have the soil 
stirred about them, both to loosen the soil and keep 
down weeds. The plants will be benefited, especially 
the Phloxes, by a mulching of good farm-yard manure, 
as their numerous hungry roots keep near the surface, 
and would consequently suffer in droughty weather 
unless so protected. 
Strawberries in Pots—The later varieties may 
now be urged forward under the favourable influences 
of more light and sun-heat. The plants should be 
placed as near the glass as possible without touching 
it, and it is all important that the foliage be not over¬ 
crowded, otherwise it will get drawn, and so render the 
plants weakly. 
Peaches on the Open "Wall.—Hitherto we 
have escaped anything like a damaging frost, but where 
it has been hitherto overlooked, it may be well to 
have something in readiness .to protect the walls on 
the appearance of a frosty night. Should aphides 
make their appearance it would be well to give the 
trees a good washing by means of the garden engine. 
This could be done early in the day, so that the super¬ 
fluous moisture might be dried up before nightfall. 
Liquid Manure for Fruit Trees.—Copious 
supplies of the drainings of the stables may now be 
given to all trees in a fruit-bearing state. Where this 
cannot be applied to all the trees in the garden, those 
on the walls should have the preference. 
Kitchen Garden.—As soon as all the Brussels 
Sprouts have been gathered, the old stems should be 
pulled up and conveyed to the rubbish heap, as they 
tend to impoverish the ground. The planting of Jeru¬ 
salem Artichokes should now no longer be delayed. 
Make successive sowings of Peas and French Beans. 
Annuals.—Extensive sowings may now be made of 
all hardy annuals in the open ground, such as Nemo- 
phila, Mignonette, Lavatera, Linum, Larkspurs, 
Clarkias, Godetias, Nasturtiums, Sweet Peas, &c. 
SEEDS: THEIR GERMINATION, 
VITALITY, AND DISTRIBUTION. 
(Concludedfrom,p. 526). 
Among the mo3t active agencies are those of birds, who 
devour fruit and cast out the seeds in the hedgerows 
where they roost; quite a collection may be found in 
the hedges near fruit grounds, and many good kinds 
have thus originated as well as by the fruits being 
stored by mice. The Diamond Plum of Kent and the 
Farleigh Damson 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 
was frustrated by 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 the 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 whom 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 through¬ 
out Southern Europe up to the Pyrenees. 
In Ceylon the magpie is protected, as it is the sole 
agent in propagating the Cinnamon tree. Birds often 
carry to Iceland from Greenland and Northern Europe 
numerous plants native in the latter countries ; again, 
seeds of grasses and weeds are widely distributed by 
the soil which balls on birds’ feet in wet and frosty 
weather. It is also well known that many seeds pass 
through animals uninjured, and thus they in a wild 
state scatter many species far and wide. I have seen 
enumerated by Darwin, but cannot now recall them, a 
vast number of species raised from a ball on a par¬ 
tridge’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 bloom in the Delta of the Ganges. 
Other seeds attach themselves to the coats of animals. 
Wool imported from South America has also been the 
means of introducing several Mexican plants to Mont¬ 
pellier in France. The wind is a great agent in 
scattering such noxious seeds as Thistles, Coltsfoot, 
and Dandelions. In fact, I think the law ought to 
compel the owners of railway banks and waste spaces 
to burn the weed-flving 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 trans¬ 
parent sac, and when the seed pod is ripe it bursts, 
they float on the surface, 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 
Pines. At the ancient seat of the Frewen family in 
Sussex there used to be a Scotch Pine at the top of the 
topiary garden wall on the left-hand side of a doorway, 
which had by capillary attraction forced its roots down 
between the door frame and the brickwork, so that it 
had an aerial root of 7 ft. long, displacing the door 
frame. In old orchards it is commonly the case to find 
Elder, Gooseberries, and Currants growing in decayed 
trunks. A friend sent me a cutting of an Irish paper 
with such an example, and said we could not beat 
three kinds of fruit on one stem even in the “ Garden 
of England.” 
At Gordon Castle the late Mr. Webster notes that a 
large Ash had a hole some height above the ground, 
and when the tree was taken down, eight Hollies, a 
Gean, two Whitethorns, and an Elder had rooted, and 
found a home in the aperture. Church towers and 
buttresses often show quite an herbarium on their older 
portions, and sometimes these get so large that they 
have to be removed. This 1 am told was the case at 
Oswestry, where, after hewing off the branches, it 
started again from the roots, which had possibly become 
established in the rubble which our forefathers were 
wont to build in their towers. An Italian author, 
“Sebastian,” states that 261 distinct plants may be 
found growing upon the ruins of the Coliseum at Rome. 
Mistleto 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 seeds. The mistle thrush on being disturbed 
(like the fieldfare) makes for the tallest trees, thus we 
more often find Mistleto upon the Italian Poplar than 
any other. 
I have alluded to the atmosphere as a means of 
distribution. We are scarcely aware of the millions of 
germs of Fungi, Lichens, and Fern spores which fill 
the air at all times, but only germinate on finding a 
suitable home. For example, in a chalk district 
where Ferns are rare I once saw a well which was 
clothed a few feet down with innumerable small 
seedlings of the Hart s Tongue Fern, and from my 
knowledge of the locality none grew near for miles, at 
least in a wild state. We are all sensible of a dusty 
smell on entering a fernery or greenhouse. This arises 
from the presence of spores in the air, and is in conse¬ 
quence more noticeable in the summer months. These 
spores travel unnoticed, and soon cover any damp 
spots with their lovely, if miniature and sometimes 
microscopic, vegetable forms. 
As showing how aspect affects vegetation, the stone 
walls which abound in Devonshire will be covered on 
the sunny side with Asplenium Ruta-muraria (Wall 
Rue) and Adiantum nigrum (Spleenwort), while the 
shady side is beautified by the Scolopendrium and 
Lady Fern. The germination of the spores of Ferns is 
very interesting. At first a small, filmy green spot 
appears (called a prothallus), from which in due time 
at the edge a future Fern starts on its humble life. It 
is said that lime is absolutely essential to the growth 
of certain seeds,’and that in its absence they fail to 
grow, while others are killed by it. The application 
of certain manures will sometimes give extraordinary 
stimulus to hidden seeds, as when wood ashes are put 
on grass Trefoil and Clover appear as if by magic ; 
possibly they need alkaline properties to make them 
germinate. In reference to the presence of seeds in 
the soil, Mr. Maries recently stated that Primula 
obconica was obtained by chance in some earth he 
collected beneath Primula stems in Japan, which he 
brought home and exposed in a greenhouse. 
I must now conclude this paper, and if I have in any 
way excited interest in this, matter my hearers are 
assured that I have barely touched the fringe of my 
subject, and that in this (as in all the open books of 
Nature), further search and inquiry will lead all 
humbly to acknowledge that, “He doeth all things 
well,” and carry them back to the book of Genesis, 
where it is recorded that the Creator’s fiat went forth 
for the virgin earth to bring forth the “ herb bearing 
seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit,” and the same 
regular cycle of growth, maturity, and reproduction 
obtains at the present day. 
A very interesting discussion followed. Mr. Cousens 
exhibited a curious flat-clawed seed pod like a crab, 
about 5 inches across, with seed vessels in the centre, 
which had been taken from Australian wool. Mr. D. 
Morris referred to the successful shipment of Gambier 
he had just accomplished, and considered that the 
electric light at night had assisted the plants to retain 
their foliage. He also gave the modus operandi in 
forming new plantations of Pimento. The landowner 
clears a space of the larger trees and allows the scrub 
to grow up unchecked, and in about two or three years 
there is cover for the birds, which, after eating the 
fruit, pass the seeds through their bodies. They soon 
take root, and the owner then thins the seedlings out to 
the proper distance, when a plantation is established in 
about five years, some process of fermentation being 
necessary for the starting of the seed. It was generally 
agreed that the supposed growth of mummy Wheat 
had been fully exploded, and M. Vilmorin’s experiments 
were considered to have finally settled the question. It 
was also stated that the Opuntia had been distributed 
all over St. Helena in the town refuse by which the 
land was manured. It was also noted that the Foxglove 
(Digitalis) invariably came up where forest had been 
fired ; but it was an open question whether the potash 
in the ashes or the letting in of light and air brought 
this about. It was stated that in some old hill 
pastures Charlock came up freely where it had never 
been seen before, and this obtains on the chalk hills of 
Kent. --- 
The Orchard . House. —The plants in the early 
house will now have passed the stoning period, and will 
submit to more forcing by the application of more heat, 
and plenty of moisture in the atmosphere. Trees in 
pots will require a copious supply of water to keep up 
the amount lost by transpiration. Trees planted out 
do not require so constant attention in the matter of 
watering. 
