566         Conservation  and  Cultivation  of  Plants.  {ADecembe£Sf 
EXPERIENCE  IN  SEED  GERMINATION. 
This  brings  me  to  say  a  word  regarding  the  nurseryman's  stock 
of  plants  and  seeds.  They  may  or  may  not  be  labeled  correctly. 
In  one  of  the  principal  botanical  gardens  of  Europe  I  saw  during 
the  flowering  period  another  species  of  cornus  (C.  stoloniferd) 
which  was  labeled  Cotnus  florida,  evidently  due  to  some  accident 
while  labeling.  Several  years  ago  I  received  a  young  plant  which 
had  been  raised  from  seed — supposed  to  be  of  Digitalis  purpurea.  It 
did  not  flower  in  the  second  year,  but  the  third  year  I  set  it  out 
and  it  produced  the  characteristic  inflorescence  ot  the  mammoth  fox- 
glove (Digitalis  monstrosd)  which  has  the  large  flower  with  separate 
petals  at  the  apex  of  the  large  spikes.  It  is  very  apparent  in  the 
latter  case  how  dangerous  it  is  to  take  the  seedman's  word  for  the 
plant,  particularly  as  the  leaves  would  be  collected  from  plants  of 
the  second  year's  growth  prior  to  the  flowering  of  the  plant.  Of 
course,  if  one  allowed  a  number  of  plants  to  mature — as  they  natur- 
ally would  do — for  seed  for  succeeding  years'  work  the  mistake 
would  be  seen.  But  too  much  care  cannot  be  exercised  in  the 
selection  of  seed.  The  best  houses  only  should  be  patronized  and 
fair  prices  should  be  willingly  paid  in  order  to  secure  seed  true  to 
name  and  of  excellent  quality. 
Of  the  following  plants  seeds  are  easily  obtain  ible:  Aconite 
(Aconitum  napellus) ;  mangold  {Calendula  officinalis) ;  foxglove  {Di- 
gitalis purpurea)  ;  lavender  {Lavandula  vera)',  flaxseed  {Linum  usi- 
tassimum) ;  passion  flower  {Passiflora  incarnata) ;  castor- oil  plant 
(Ricinus  communis) ;  sunflower  (Helianthus  annuus) ;  pumpkin 
(Cucurbita  Pepo)\  watermelon  (Cucurbita  Citrullus);  celery  (Apium 
graveolens);  and  all  of  the  annuals  given  on  page  557. 
In  growing  medicinal  plants  from  seeds  it  will  usually  pay  to 
germinate  them  under  glass  or  in  seed  boxes  and  not  attempt  to 
propagate  them  in  open  soil.  I  was  surprised  a  few  years  ago 
when  I  collected  a  large  quantity  of  mature  fruits  of  Podophyllum 
peltatum  to  find  upon  distributing  them  in  my  yard  that  not  a  plant 
came  up.  Many  of  us  have  had  similar  experiences  with  Aconitum 
napetlus,  Digitalis  purpurea,  etc.,  when  by  germinating  the  seeds 
first  in  small  boxes  and  then  transplanting  the  young  plants  we 
would  have  been  more  success  ul. 
In  the  growing  of  plants  from  seeds  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind 
that  the  germination  period  of  the  seeds  of  different  plants  and  of 
