146 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 24, 1870. 



adopt the following plan — viz., increase the thickness of the 

 bottom of the pot, and make four or more semicircular grooves 

 across the bottom \ to \ inch in depth, and from I to J inch in 

 width, according to the size of the pot. If such a flower pot 

 were placed upon a shelf, a free current of air would be con- 

 tinually passing between the shelf and the bottom of the pot to 

 the roots of the plant. — W. Miller, Bherborr* . 



[A flower pot nearly similar to that which you suggest was 

 adopted by Mr. Hunt twenty years since, and a drawing of 

 that and several others was republished in vol. xiv. of this 

 Journal. The objection to any intricacy in the form of a 

 flower pot is that it greatly increases their price.— Eds.] 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S MEETINGS. 



The annual meeting of this Society was held on the *24th of Janu- 

 ary, when an address by the President, Mr. W. H. Bates, was read 

 and ordered to be printed. It contains a sketch of the progress of 

 the science daring the past year, together with many interesting re- 

 marks on the geographical distribution of insects, the question of 

 natural boundaries, and of island faunas. As by the laws of this 

 Society the Presidentship can only be held for two years by the same 

 person, and as Mr. Bates's tenure of office had expired, Mr. A. R. 

 Wallace was elected as his successor for the ensuing year. 



The first February meeting was held on the Ttb inst., Mr. Wallace 

 being in the chair. After returning thanks for his election as Presi- 

 dent, and pronouncing a warm eulogium on his predecessor in the 

 chair, the President nominated Messrs. Bates, Pascoe, and Parry to 

 act as Vice-Presidents. The thanks of the Society were especially 

 tendered to William Wilson Saunders, Esq., F.Ii.S., for his liberality 

 in presenting the Society with the twenty-four engraved plates illus- 

 trating Mr. Pascoe's volume of descriptions of the Malayan Longi- 

 corn Beetles, recently completed and published by the Society. 



A new part of the Society's " Transactions " was upon the table, to- 

 gether with a number of new entomological works presented since the 

 last meeting, including the " Transactions " of the Russian and Italian 

 Entomological Societies. A valuable memoir by Messrs. Planchon 

 and Lichtenstein on the now Vine-root and Vine-leaf disease, pro- 

 duced by a species of Phylloxera in the south of France (which has 

 also, unfortunately, made its appearance in this country], was also on 

 the table. The Secretary gave notice that the Council of the Society 

 had resolved to renew the offer of two prizes of five guineas each for 

 the best " Memoir on the Anatomy or Economy of any Insect or group 

 of Insects/' to be sent to the Secretary on or before the 30th of 

 November next. 



A note by Mr. K. Trimen, on the economy of some species of 

 Paussidje, observed in the Natal district, was read. Mr. F. Smith exhi- 

 bited a species of Locust which he considered to be the true Locusta 

 migratoria of Dundas, captured in Scotland; and Mr. Bond exhi- 

 bited some specimens of a nearly allied species, taken near Plymouth 

 and Falmouth. Another distinct species of equal size, but with a 

 different-shaped thorax, had been figured by Curtis, from Ireland, 

 nnder the name of Locusta Christii. 



Mr. Bond exhibited some singular varieties of the common English 

 Grayling Butterfly, in which the wings partake of the markings of both 

 sexes ; also a case of silk cocoons spun by the larvae of Bombyx Yama- 

 Mai, B. Pernyi, and various varieties of B. Mori, sent by Dr. Wallace. 

 Professor Westwood also exhibited drawings of several varieties of 

 Butterflies iPapilio Cardamines, Polyommatns Adonis, and Siderone 

 Isidore), which exhibited portions of the markings of the wings of 

 both sexes in a more or less decided manner, thus two females of the 

 common orangb-tip Butterfly exhibited more or less extensively the 

 orange -coloured marks of the male on one of their fore wings. He 

 also exhibited a drawing of a remarkable new genus of Gall Flies, 

 captured in the Malayan Archipelago by Mr. Wallace. 



Mr. Stainton exhibited a case of minute British Lepidoptera, each 

 specimen carefully labelled with the date and locality of capture, 

 and entered into various details as to the best modes of making ento- 

 mological calendars. 



A revised catalogue of the Lucauidre was presented to the Society 

 by Major Parry, containing not fewer than 357 species of that group, 

 including several new species discovered since the date of his former 

 catalogue, as well as the remarkable American genus, Nicagus ob' 

 scums of Leconte, which had at first been arranged near OchodjEus' 

 among the Lamellicora Beetles. Mr. Crotch exhibited five small 

 species of Beetles new to the British lists, including a Dyschirius, 

 three small water Beetles, and Philonthus cicatricosns. 



The catalogue of British Xeuroptera, prepared for the Society by 

 Messrs. MacLachlan and Eaton, was also presented to the Society, 

 and a memoir by Mr. Butler on the beautiful genus of Butterflies, 

 Charaxes, was also read. 



Indian* and Australian Floras. — Nature informs us that a 

 now Flora of India, by Dr. Hooker and Dr. Thomson is in pre- 

 paration, the first volume of which is expected in the course of 

 the present season. This will supersede the old " Flora Indica" 



by the same authors, the first volume of which was published in 

 1855. The fifth volumo of Mr. Benthain's u Flora Au=traliensis" 

 is also announced as nearly ready. 



HUNDREDFOLD PEA. 



Although Messrs. Carter & Co. have not directly announced 

 Hundredfold as mine, others have by some means been led into that 

 error, and my name has been somewhat unfairly mixed up with that 

 variety, as the enclosed extracts from the catalogue of a Covent Garden 

 firm, and from a letter to me, describing Handrcdford as Laxton's, will 

 show ; and the admission on behalf of Messrs. Carter & Co. in the 

 CkromcU . that the variety may be a mere selection from 

 an attempted cross, justifies me in disclaiming it. 



As Messrs. Carter it Co. deem it good taste and conducive to offers 

 from other quarters to submit their clients' communications for pub- 

 lication. I have to say. in reply to "G.'s" allegation that Messrs. 

 Carter & Co. declined the Peas because " they were not of sufficient 

 merit to justify offering them to the public," that some of the varie- 

 ties had been especially selected by them as distinct when in growth, 

 that the offer of all was solicited by them, that they had previously 

 endeavoured to purchase part at a much higher proportionate price, 

 and that a member of the firm had made two journeys to Stamford 

 purposely to secure the stocks ! I therefore leave your readers to 

 judge for themselves why the Peas were declined. With regard to the 

 price, I have always found as a purchaser that a good article, and 

 sometimes a bad one, commands a good price ; and there are those of 

 your readers who hnow that hundreds of varieties are yearly grown here 

 to select a few from, and when I add that I have elsewhere for several 

 years grown acres of trial Peas, and have discarded most of the varie- 

 ties as indistinct, I think neither the seedsmen nor the public ought 

 to complain of the price ; indeed, I can safely say I am never likely 

 to be remunerated for the mere outlay, except by the pleasure the 

 experiments afford me. I have only just seen it announced in print 

 that the sample of Hundredfold grown at the Horticultural Gardens; 

 " had all the appearance of being the green variety selected from 

 Laxton's Prolific," and I hope to have the opportunity of proving 

 whether such is the case. — Thomas Laxtox. 



[Here this controversy must cease in our columns. — Eds.] 



PLANTS FLOWERING IN JANUARY. 



Jan. 3. Linum fiavum 



Pyrethrum Parthenium 



plenum 

 RoBe, Monthly China 

 Erinus alpinus 

 Doronicum caucasicttm 

 Statice bellidifolia 

 Anemone hortenBia 

 OmphalodeB vera a 

 Double White Daisy 

 Primula acaulis 

 Calendula officinalis 

 Jasminum nudiflonun 

 Helleborus niger 

 fcetidns 

 „ 8- Antirrhinum mains 



Cheiranthus Iruticulosus 

 Erica carnea 



ramentacea 

 Foraythia viritlissima 

 Pblox verna 

 Viola odorata 

 tricolor 

 cornuta 



Jan. S. Viola lutea 



Asamm europreum 



Rhododendron hirsutum 



Ar.ibifi albida 



Rose, Bourbon Queen 

 Crimson China 



Daphne Mezereum 

 „ 11. Double Red Daisy 

 ., 17. Veronica syriaca 



Ulex europseus 



Eonjga maritiiua 



Calceolaria Aureafloribunda 

 Ruby bicolor 



Sehizostylis coccinea 



Linaria Cymb.ilaria 



Pulmonaria officinalis 

 „ 2G. Eranthis hyemalis 



Cydoma japonica 



Strawberry, Black Prince 



Crocus Sieberi 

 am Tinas 



Daphne Lanreola 



Taxus baccata 



— 31. H., AcJclam Hall, Middlesbrough-on-Tees* 



HOTHOUSE BASKET PLANTS. 



Having read with some interest the remarks of "F. P. L.," 

 under the above heading, I send the following, thinking it may 

 he useful to some of your readers. I consider the plants named 

 are well adapted for baskets, and that they make very pretty 

 objects. 



Panicum variegatum may he pricked in between the wires or 

 wood of the baskets, and the centre filled with Iresine, Coleuses, 

 or any of the dark-coloured fine-foliaged plants. Torenia 

 asiatica, although old, makes a splendid basket plant. Most of 

 the Achimenes are well adapted for baskets, and the annual 

 Thunbergias are excellent showy plants when in bloom, if 

 kept free from red spider. 



Of Ferns, I have found the following very effective and 

 useful:— Adiantum assimile, A. cuneatum, A. capillus-Yeneris, 

 A. pubescens, A. formosum, A. setulosum, and A. Canninghamii. 

 Adiantum assimile. capillus-Veneris, and Cunninghamii, will 

 do without anything else to fill the sides of the baskets, as the 

 fronds soon find their [way out and cover them^ The others 

 are not quite so free, but I have found Selaginella denticulate 

 pricked in the sides of the baskets very useful ; and Isolepis 

 gracilis, if kept well watered, grows very freely in heat, and is 

 very useful for the sides of the baskets, looking like a ball of 



