816 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
September 26, 1903. 
seed Lad undoubtedly been wasting its life away slowly during 
all this long period. 
Various magazines and papers from time to time give a 
marvellous account of seeds or spore® which have germinated 
after a lapse, it may be, of 2,000 to 3,000 years*. One of these 
we mentioned a few years ago in The Gardening World— 
namely, the germination of Poppy seeds at the silver mines 
in Greece. The Poppy had, it is said, become extinct in the 
locality, but after the minesi had been cleared out. again after 
the lapse of twenty centuries the Poppies sprang up. abundantly 
and flowered profusely without the aid of fresh air or water. 
That we regard as purely a. myth, even if the seeds had been, 
alive, because air and water are two* of the. essentials to ger¬ 
mination, leaving out. all accounts of the fine growth they made 
afterwards. It isi well known to physiological botanists, that 
oily seeds preserve their germination, but a, short period com¬ 
pared with those that are filled with starch. The Poppies 
belong to the oily class 1 . This fact, will also explain, the short 
life of the seeds of such garden plants as Carrots, Parsnips', 
and Parsley, with which gardeners have made many failures 
when they relied upon old seeds. 
The mummy Pea is another plant that is frequently brought 
into the discussion of the longevity of seeds. Now, this belongs, 
to the same family as the Locust, above mentioned, and we 
believe that many s.pecies of this same order are capable of re¬ 
taining their vitality for long periods of time. This is ex¬ 
plainable from the fact, that the embryo* occupiesl the whole of 
the seed, and contains the reserve material stored up, in itself. 
The cotyledons are usually veiy firm or fat, and are, indeed, 
functionally and entirely storehouses, of food for the young 
plant. When this is the case the cotyledon,si do not come 
above the ground, but, remain beneath the soil solely that 
they may supply the young plantlet with nourishment until it, 
has become well established. Even in this case, however, we 
do not, believe that it is capable of retaining its vitality for 
anything like the period which is often stated. 
Writers overlook the fact that even a, seed or, more properly 
speaking, the embryo within it must, live and respire all this 
time that it is supposed to be resting, and in order to live it, 
must waste a part ot it® substance. The name of the mummy 
Pea is Pisum elatius, but it, has got, many synonyms. It grows 
to variable height® in, this country, according a,s the conditions 
are favourable or otherwise, and produces clusters of rose and 
purple flowers on the top of the stem in a slightly fascia,ted 
manner, and these flowers are followed by pods* of moderate 
size filled with gray speckled Peas, not, unlike those of the 
common. Field Pea,. This, Peai is cultivated at the present day 
round the shores of the Mediterranean, and it, is doubtful 
whether it had been cultivated by the ancient Egyptians', but, 
even, if it had, that isi no solution to the question. 
Travellers are always in quest, of something ancient when 
on holiday tours, and we believe the Egyptians, are hi no way 
loth to, supply them with the desired article for a, small con¬ 
sideration. Even if seeds of this Pea are found in, the hands 
of a, mummy, they may have been put, there the- day before 1 , so 
as to keep the supply regular. It isi more than likely that, the 
supply of mummy Peas would have failed long ago if it had 
not been for this fresh supply. 
Cnoyi Boys as Gardeners.— An interesting institution exists 
at Upper Sydenham, S.E., namely, the Sunday Schools Horti¬ 
cultural Society. It is a very flourishing body, and has a large 
membership, embracing nearly the whole of the scholars at¬ 
tached to the Sunday schools of the three Established Churches 
in the district—St. Bartholomew’s, St. Matthew’s, and St. 
Philip’s. Special instruction in gardening is given to the chil¬ 
dren, and a number of the choir boys have been presented with 
a small plot of land, which they are allowed to cultivate, and 
at the annual show held in September prizes are given to those 
whose garden presents the best appearance. 
Conservatory at Cotham House, Bristol. 
(See Supplement.) 
Quite recently a, fine, new conservatory was* erected at 
Cotham House, Bristol, the residence: of George White, Esq., 
J.P., and we are now in a position to give internal and external 
photographs of, the same*, and refer our readers to the Supple¬ 
ment for this week to give them a, general idea of the whole. 
The structure stands in a prominent position on the top of a 
piece, of sloping ground overlooking the garden. 
The span-roofed principle has been adopted, and every pan 
of it is of neat and ornamental design, as well as being tho¬ 
roughly substantial. The main body of it is 40 ft. long by 
22 ft. wide, and on the centre of one side there is a projection 
measuring 16 ft. by 8 ft., with a pair of folding doors, which 
form the main entrance. One end of the conservatory has also 
double doors. The basement is formed of box ground free¬ 
stone* and panels are, formed in this. The height to* the eaves 
is 9^ ft., and to the ridge 17 ft. 9 in. The sashes have rounded 
ends, and the transom sheets are formed of small squares and 
diamonds, the centres of which are pink with green cathedral 
glass round them. At the apex of each triangle forming the 
ends of the roof is a triangular curved panel which adds 
greatly to the appearance of the* structure. The floor is highly 
ornamental, being formed of Terrazzo Marble Mosaic, forming 
an attractive feature of the interior. The steps at the entrance 
are of rouge* Royal marble. The iron columns supporting the 
roof are also of ornamental design, while on the eaves and 
ridges are various brackets of ornamental appearance, as well 
as adding to the solidity of the structure. On the ridge ex¬ 
ternally is a four-way finial at each end. 
Ventilation is provided for by continuous ventilators open¬ 
ing with improved machinery, actuated by lever gearing con¬ 
structed by Messrs, James Crispin (F.R.H.S.) and Sons, Nelson 
Street, and St. Philip’s, Bristol, who were, indeed, responsible 
for 1 the erection of this artistically constructed conservatory. 
They were also the designers of it. 
The plant staging is formed of wood-framing, on which are 
laid corrugated iron sheets to receive, se*a shingle for the re¬ 
tention, of moisture about the plants*. This staging is fixed 
all round the conservatory, and the whole supported with cast- 
iron legs. There isi also, a, large, bed in the centre, with a free¬ 
stone kerb. The heating of the conservatory is provided foi 
by means of one of Messrs. Crispin’s improved saddle, tubulai 
boilers of the Rockford type, which also heats a, long range o 
greenhouses and another conservatory. The hot-water pipe 
are fixed under the plant-stages, and the proper degree of tern 
perature can, easily be maintained in the most severe weathe 
likely to, be experienced in that, part of the country. Provisioi 
is also made for jhe storage of rain-water in a large tank unde 
the floor, and the water is raised by means of a rotary punr 
when required. The whole building is an admirable exampl 
of the good work done by this; firm in hot-house construction. 
The centre bed at the present, time is filled with specime 
Palms, such as* Kentia fosteriana,, Phoenix rupicola, Arec* 
lutescen®, and a splendid piece of Alocasia, metal lie a, such a: 
used to be frequent a,t, summer exhibitions. Other fine foliar: 
plants employed are Pandanus Veitchi, Begonia, Rex, and Fen' 
in variety. Celosia, pyramidalis, Coleus in numerous varietie 
and highly coloured Dracaenas in numerous varieties are free! 
used. A very fine eff ect is also produred by interspersing tin 
graceful grass, Eulalia, japonica variegata, with Adiantu 
cuneatum, A. farleyen.se, and other Maidenhair Ferns. A fii 
batch of Salvia, splemdens is now rapidly advancing to tl 
flowering stage, a,nd will be veiy effective during the autun 
and winter months. Mr. George Price, the gardener, is high 
enthusiastic in his work, and keeps everything as clean as 
new pin. 
A Big Potato.— Mr. F. Ricketts, of Huisli Gardens, lias ju 
dug out a monster Potato. It weighs 3g lbs., and is 22 in. l r 
13 in. It is called Up-to-date, an appropriate name. Two otli' 
Potatos, weighing together 3^ lbs., were also under the sai 
stalk. 
