professor forbes’s views on the life of a species 
and now it is that the knife is used, and every sprouting 1 shoot pruned hack to the first dormant hud. 
Another fortnight or three weeks must now pass before the incipient buds can commence an effort; hut 
a month or so passes before we again take them in hand; in fact, not until several of the shoots have 
* 
grown two or three inches. On examining such hushes, it will be found that their eyes or buds do not 
sprout equally, not having been coeval in point of formation. Some will have advanced three inches 
before others have fairly sprouted; and now it is that I top or pinch all the more forward ones, merely 
removing the point, which is generally a blossom hud. This mode of procedure is intended to 
strengthen the system of the tree, already severely taxed by a waste of its fluids. By the time these 
matters are carried out it will he nearly the beginning of June, and not a Bose blossomed. From this 
time, all suckers or great shoots are pinched when about six inches long, and the trees receive a 
thorough cleansing with tobacco water the moment they are in full growth; and this is repeated, if 
necessary, in another fortnight. On this cleansing I lay the utmost stress. Thus far as to the branch; 
we will now proceed to root culture. 
I must go so far as to observe, that special root culture is particularly desirable with retarded Moss 
Boses. The drain on their powers by this repetition of late pruning is so severe, as to require more 
assistance than Boses under ordinary circumstances. It is of much importance to establish them in a 
sound, deep, and rich soil; indeed, without these conditions, it is vain to hope for success. If the 
staple of the soil is not good, it should be made so previous to planting. A substratum of half-decayed 
manure may be planted beneath them, and plenty of manure of a more decayed character mingled 
with the soil. I prefer planting them in groups of three, at about one foot apart, forming a triangle. 
They thus produce a more powerful effect than singly, and so bountifully as to justify and reward a 
high course of culture. When planted I form a hollow or basin around them, somewhat deep and bold, 
and this is filled with rich manure, only half decayed generally ; droppings which have had a slight 
fermentation. Watering is the next great essential, and this must be carefully attended to in all dry 
weather, until they have done blossoming ; and, as soon as the blossom buds can be perceived, my 
practice is to use liquid manure, generally guano water, the strength about three ounces to a gallon. 
As before observed, the aphides must be constantly destroyed, the beetles and the caterpillars 
watched for and destroyed. The Bose aphis is, however, their greatest enemy, and no good Boses fit 
for the bouquet can be produced where these are permitted to ravage the plants. Another good point 
in culture, I must repeat, is the constantly pinching all suckers and luxuriant shoots when about six 
inches in length. These divert the sap from the principal shoots ; and, moreover, by subduing their 
rampant propensities betimes, they become most important portions of the bush as to the blossom of 
future years. Every autumn a fresh coating of top-dressing should be added, of some two to three 
inches in thickness, and a little of the old surface-dressing scraped away. 
It may be observed, in conclusion, that like retardation in fruit trees, a later habit is engendered, 
which must facilitate the purpose of the cultivator. As an instance of what this practice will effect, I 
may add, that the retarded Moss Boses here are just commencing to bloom, July 10 , although not one 
yet fit to gather; and I feel assured of having them until the very end of August.— Bobert Erring- 
ton, Oulton Park. 
PBOEESSOB FOBBES’S VIEW'S ON THE LIFE OF A SPECIES. 
T HE subject of the life and duration of a vegetable species, and the analogy between it and the life 
of an animal individual, was recently brought under the consideration of the members of the 
Boyal Institution by Professor E. Forbes; and we shall endeavour in a brief abstract to embody the 
views which were advanced. 
In natural history and geology a clear understanding of the relations of individual, species, and 
genus to geological time, and geographical space, is of essential importance. Among questionable, 
though popular, notions on this subject, is the belief that the term of duration of a species is compar¬ 
able and of the same kind with that of the life of an individual. It is believed by many that a species 
