A THISTLE SEED PROBLEM.
Here is a little botanical problem that sounds to me quite absurd, but is vouched for by a good practical botanist. We all know how rapidly thistles may spread. Time seed is carried great distances by the parachute-like attachment—you may see it even in London streets—and where it falls, even on the worst ground, it germinates. Nevertheless, it is a country superstition in some places that you cannot make a thistle seed grow if you try artificially. One Worcestershire farmer; who is also something of a man of science, bet a neighbour five shillings that he would not make the seed sprout ; and won his bet, though a very thorough attempt was made by the challenged neighbour for several years in succession. The thistle in question is the common perennial thistle (not any . of the biennial species). The challenger's latest theory is that the seed must lie on the surface and not be covered. It would be interesting to know whether any scientific botanist has ever discovered any such oddity in the seed.
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