PROCEEDINGS. XIU 



rich purple or purplish-black colour, though, owing to neglect 

 in the proper thinning of them, and to the want of water, the 

 berries are small. I gathered the first ripe bunch on November 

 1st, and was pleased in finding it of so sweet and nice a flavour. 

 This caused me some surprise, because the autumn in that part 

 of England, thougli dry and sunny, was not hot, and east wind 

 much prevailed. This being the case also in the soutli of 

 England, and particularly about London, grapes, as I have been 

 informed, did not ripen well out of doors, but were sour and poor. 

 I am now desirous of investigating, during each succeeding year, 

 whether this ' hot-house educated' vine will continue to bear 

 fruit in the open air, and bring it to maturity, or not ; and if it 

 shall continue to ripen its berries, whether or not they will retain 

 their sweetness of flavour. As the grapes now exhibited were 

 cut nearly a month ago, they of course have become dry and 

 shrivelled." 



Mr. Middlemiss, Gardener to A. Pott, Esq., F.H.S., Bentham 

 Hill, Tonbridge Wells, sent a fruit of the Dampsha Melon. He 

 writes, " This variety is not so well known as its merits deserve. 

 I do not send it with the idea of its being considered first -rate 

 flavoured, but for its excellent property of keeping long after 

 being cut. The fruit shown was cut on the 8th of September, 

 and though it is now beginning to decay, it will show the length 

 of time the variety will keep. It is a first-rate sort for every 

 one, as it will even grow out of doors and ripen well. The 

 plant from which the fruit sent was cut was planted in a cold 

 frame after potatoes, and produced a splendid crop of well fla- 

 voured fruit." 



Mr. Cameron, of Uckfield, furnished a dish of Mannington's 

 Pearmain Apple, a good keeping sort, possessing a brisk flavour, 

 and a great bearer. The specimens shown were stated to have 

 fci;rown on nursery trees, two years from the graft. 



Potatoes, the produce of New Zealand seed which was dis- 

 tributed by the Society in April, 1849, were communicated by 

 J. Gaskell, Esq., F.H.S., St. Nicholas. " The seed," that 

 gentleman stated, " was sown in a shallow box, and placed in a 

 forcing house. It came up the third day, was pricked out in 

 small pots on the fifteenth, planted out in good soil (but without 

 manure) in the first week of June, and dug up at Michaelmas. 

 The plague-spot appeared on many. They were put away in a 

 cool dry place. The following spring they were looked over, 

 and with little exception they were diseased. The whole of 

 them were planted, and about five-sixths grew ; they were duo- 

 up at Michaelmas. The produce was one bushel, witli scarcely 

 four tubers bad. The present spring one row was planted ; it 

 was dug up at Michaelmas ; three tubers were bad. The rest 



