September 26, 1903. 
The Gardening World 
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MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
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The following Coloured 
Plates have appeared :— 
March 14.— NEW CHINESE PRIMULAS. 
March 28.— TEA ROSE “ CHAMELEON.” 
April 4— COLEUS THYRSOIDEUS. 
April 18.— CESTRUM SMITHII. 
April 25 — JAPANESE PIGMY TREE. 
May 23 — SAXIFRAGA GRISEBACHII 
and A GROUP OF ALOCASIAS. 
May 30. — DENDROBIUM NOBILE 
ROTUNDIFLORUM and D.n. NOBILIUS. 
June 6—CALADIUMS. 
June 20— ZENOBIA SPECIOSA PUL- 
VERULENTA. 
July 4. —APHELANDRA AURANTIACA 
ROEZLII. 
July u. _ AUSTRALIAN PITCHER 
PLANT. 
August 1— BORONIA HETEROPHYLLA. 
September 12.-SIX NEW DAFFODILS. 
Lack numbers may be obtained from the 
publishers, price 21,-d. post free. 
With the PRESENT ISSUE we present 
Plate of THE NEW CON 
BR*STOL> RY at C0THAM h0USE ’ 
W EEIv we shall give a Coloured 
PHvi ,°,„H LIUM auratum PLATY 
PHYLLUM SHIRLEY VAR 
Views and Reviews. 
Vitality of Seeds. 
Notwithstanding all that has been said 
concerning the vitality of seeds, the subject 
is still in its infancy as far as our knowledge 
of the subject is concerned. What applies 
to seeds also applies, to spores, of which, for 
the sake of distinction, we may say that there 
are two kinds—namely, spores that must ger¬ 
minate soon after they are ripe or die, and 
resting spores, which are capable of lasting 
through our winter at least and germinating 
in spring, or when the conditions are favour¬ 
able. Some of them may, however, endure 
for longer periods of time if we are to. believe 
all that is said concerning their development 
into plants after long periods of time. Our 
knowledge concerning this, however, is in the 
same position as in the case of seeds proper. 
On this occasion our remarks will be con¬ 
fined to seeds which consist essentially of an 
embryo with a certain amount of reserve 
food to give the young plant a start in life, 
and generally, if not always, a protective 
covering of some sort. To the covering of the 
seeds is greatly due the length of time during 
which the embryo can retain its vitality, but. 
there are several side issues to be taken into 
account in discussing the matter. Some 
seeds, such as the stones of Cherries, Peaches, 
and Plums, have a very hard covering indeed, 
but that is merely to prevent the embryo 
from being destroyed when the fruits are 
eaten by animals, and does not in any way 
refer to the possible longevity of the embryo. 
A large proportion of seeds will bear a low 
temperature, provided they are kept dry. 
They will also bear a very high temperature 
for varying periods of time if placed in dry 
sand, but if immersed in water they very 
soon lose their germinating- powers. 
The mummy- Wheat almost inevitably 
crops up when thinking of the vitality of 
seeds, but possibly veiy few writers on the 
subject bear in mind the fact that the embryo 
of the Wheat has very little protection, and 
is very quickly affected by external circum¬ 
stances. It lies at the lower end of the seed, 
covered merely by a very thin skin, and the 
great mass of starch and other food matters 
reserved for the use of the embryo lies quite 
outside it. When quite fresh the embryo 
lies in close contact with this store of reserve 
food material, but after some years, and, we 
believe, very few, it shrinks away from its 
reserve food, and then is no longer able to 
germinate. The store of reserve food is en¬ 
tirely passive, and cannot help the embryo, in 
any way. The latter when fresh, and placed 
under conditions favourable to germination, 
sets up a condition of fermentation that 
renders the food material soluble, and then 
helps itself to the matter thus placed for its 
'sustenance by the mother plant. The food 
material may remain in good condition for 
many years, but if the embryo has passed 
that stage at which it can help itself, it lias 
no longer the power to germinate. 
Some seeds will only live for a very short 
time—say from a few days to a year or so— 
after which they are incapable of growing. 
Tiie botanist, Fries, of Upsala, is said to have 
germinated the seeds of a Hawkweed after 
they had remained in his herbarium for a 
period of fifty years. If this is correct, it 
simply implies that the embryo itself was 
possessed of a great amount of vitality, for 
it has no store of reserve material outside 
itself. A very good case of longevity 
cropped up a few years ago at Banff, where 
Mr. P. Rose, Sheriff-clerk, had locked up 
some seeds of the Locust in a chest along 
with books, and papers. After a period of 
forty-nine years, orders were given by a rela¬ 
tive that the box should be unlocked, when 
the Locust seeds iu question were discovered. 
Some of these were given to Mr. J. Fraser 
Smith, of Cullen House, Cullen, who sowed 
the seeds, and got one of them to germinate. 
This was Ceratonia Siliqua, a member of the 
Pea family, which has veiy hard seeds. Their 
period of incarceration tried them very 
greatly, however, for this one seedling was 
able only to make half an inch of growth, 
after which it withered away. No doubt its 
reserve material had been impaired, and the 
embryo itself had no doubt lost considerably 
in weight before being sown, as seeds require 
a certain amount of oxygen in the process of 
respiration to keep them alive. The Locust 
