Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1872-09-19
Spread Of Seeds.

In communication lately made
to the PARIS Academy, NJ. V:bray.
states the fact Of certain exotic tor
age plants having appeared in consid
cradle numbers in the central part,
of France, after the stay OF the armie,
in these localities. He gives the fol
lowing account of these plants
Their appearance, no doubt, results
from forage supplied from abroad
the seeds Of which had fallen into
the ground. AT the present time
several Mediterranean plants (chiefly
Algerian), having braved the cold O.
one exceptionally severe winter, are
being largely propagated, forming
extensive meadows, and changing
soil that was formerly ard, and pro
duced no vegetation OF Importance
to veritable cases. This may prob
ably lead to the definite introduction
of a large number OF plants into 9
more Northern region than tina,
which they appear naturally to occu
ny aHO w ptSASi.
The first notion Of the possibility
OF such plants being brought into
French soil, through the fodder con
sumption of the army, arose in 1870
a botanist Of Strasburg, NJ. Buch
niger, wrote to NJ. Franchet icon
servator OF my collections) some
days before tho investment Of the
place, that, OH examining the fodder
which was being given to the horses
he had found in it forty four species
OF plants belonging to the Mediter'
ranean region, and most of which
we're Algerian. lie suggested 70 NJ
Franchet to make observations, and
see whether some of these plants
would not appear IN the soil. The
prediction was verified; in April
1871, NJ. Franchct found two exotic
centauries, and communicated the
fact to NJ. Nouel, the director of the
Orleans Museum. Since then these
two bctanists. have made minute re-
searches on the subject, and have
discovered many more such plants
This is, briefly, the history OF the dis
covery. The places where the phe
nomencn has been best observed are
in the Department Of the Loire.et
Cher: (l) on the right bank of the
Loire, near the railway; (2) on the
lett bank, the country about Blois.-
Then, too, in the Communes OF CouI
and more especially Of Cheverny
which districts were SUCCESSFULLY oc
cupled. Observations have also beer
made at Orleans, on the Boulevard
Saint Jean, and the Isle OF Arrault
/ shall best recount these observa
tons by giving them as they wer'
written down in the order OF date.
On the 18th Of March, 1879, Ger
tam new plants, observed the pre-
vious year at Blois and Orleans, hat
increased considerably on arid soil
which formerly bore only some poo
and stunted herbs. Each OF the DIS
tricts furnished about 80 to 10'
species. But the species we're no
the same in each district, and the to
tai number Of species met with wa
l57, belonging to twenty one fami
lies.
On the 9th of April my attentio,
was called to the large number Q
ANIMALS and biennials disseminated
The annual plants, which De Can
dole call monocarpian, because the.
| terminated their existence by per
feet and unique qualification, are in
variab!y reproduced by the dissem1
nation OF their seeds when they hav
come to maturity; the individu,
dies, while the species becomes pc
rehhial; which duration, on the othe
hand, is temporarily acquired by tn
individual, when a scythe, OF tn
grazing OF cattle, retards the last an,
indispensable phase OF the plants ex
istence.
At this date, April q, trefoil ant
lucenne promised to be very abund
ant in the Blois district. BY the Is
OF May an incessant appearance o
new species was noticed, and j
aemed Beyond q doubt that befor,
the end Of the season the tour local.
ties of Blois, Cheverny, Vendome
and Orleans, would furnish not lea
than two hundred species, of which
one hundred and seventy at leas
were peculiar to meadows and pas
ture lands.
On the I'd of May q new fact pre-
scented itself. During the war tor
age depot had stood at the side Of
the market place OF Cour Cheverny
but last year no appearance of any
new plant had been discovered there
not withstanding careful search. On
the Sd some twelve species of for
eign forage plants made their ap
pearance, and others were expected
This shows that the seeds had re-
NAMED in the soil for sixteen months
without alteration ol their germinat.
ing properties. This is an interest
ing tact, and a corollary OF law oil
rotation observed in all natural
meadows, VIZ, the temporary dlsap.
pearance Of dominant species, yield
ing for an indetcrminate period to
new types, which they byand.by
come to displacc, when they meet
with certain iavoring atmospheric in
fiuenccs, not very fully understood.
The Algerian plants withst5od
successfully the frost OF the 18th OF
May, which did much damage to our
vines and tue shoots Of certain trees,
especially ind,g. nous coniiers.
M Vibrayc, in closing his note,