March 4, 1869. ] 



JOUBNiL OF HOBTIOBLTUHE AND COTTAGE OABDaNEB. : 



I69r"'-' 



boars a hint oa to our »eqnirements. I row add another — Not 

 to send us now red lloaes 1c>br bright in the reverse of their 

 petaU than our old favourite Senateur Vaisse.— Hlnhy (Juuxia, 

 Devon Hoscnj, 'inrqnay. ' '< 



ROYAIi ]r01lTICUr.TURAL SOCIETY. 



JMaUCH ;iND. 



Fnurr Co^iisrtTTM.—t*.''^. "Wilson,' Esq., F.R.S., in thi) chair. 

 Mr. Tbomsou, of DaUioiHi.Bent three hauiloomc bnnchcB of a aeedlinj? 

 Grape, -vfliich has beiu named " Thomsou'.i White Lady Uowno'a," 

 bccanse of its being a 8ecdliu[( from I.iitly I>owno's, crossed with Bo- 

 wood Muscat. Tho parentage of this Grajie ia apparent on examining 

 tho frnit, for in form of tho bunch and berries, and texture of the 

 flesh, it is identical or ijf .irly ho. Mr. Thomson in a communication 

 to the Committoo. states th.at the Vino is. if possible, more vigorous 

 than that of Lady Dowuo's, oi^ tho Sflioo habit, and may be ((town 

 alon^ with that varioty in a house with no more than greenhoase 

 heat to ripen tho fruit. Last year, Mr. Thomson states, he kept tho 

 Grapes in good condition on the Vine till April, but this season the 

 unusual heat of February btimulatcd the sap in the Vines so early that 

 the flavour of the fnrit has in consequence been adversely affected. 

 The Grape was much admired by the Committee, but from the cause 

 jnst stated the flavour was deficient, and not at all equal to what a 

 member of the Committee btatod he had discovered in it at an earlier 

 period of tho seasou. It ia to bo hoped that Mr. Thomson will show 

 it earlier next year. There can be no doubt that it will foim u valuable 

 wlilfe comp.anion irt tho old Lady Downo's. 



Messrs. Stuart .^' Meiu, of Kelso, sent a collection of Variegated 

 Kale in pots, which produced .1 pretty decorative effect on one of the 

 .side tables. 



Messrs. Ban- & Sngdeu submitted a oonimnnication from D. Craw- 

 ford, Esq., of Oporto, on the mode of culture of the large Portugal 

 Onions imported to this couutry. 



Floral Committek.— The Uev. J. Pix in the chair. The wintry 

 and stormy morning prevented many exhibitors from bringing their 

 plants, and although the room was not so well furnished as usual, the 

 Orchids formed a vei"y interesting feature. Messrs. Veitch contributed 

 this class of plants largely, and received a special certificate for their 

 eoUection, also a special certificate for their collection of spring flowers, 

 among -which were some superb Azaleas, CameUias, Roses, Hyacinths, 

 Rhododendrons, ttc. A firr.t-cluss certificate was awarded for Phormium 

 tenax, var. Veitehii. Mr. Berkeley has carefully examined the va- 

 rieties previously showu, and finds that Cookii and Colensoi are the 

 same : it is proposed, therefore, to remove the name of Cookii alto- 

 gether. The distinction between P. tenax and P. Colensoi appears to 

 be that P. teuax has ita loaves bplit or divided at the points, whilst 

 those of the other aro not. Mr. Whorratt, gardener to James Bate- 

 raan, Esq., Knypcraley, seut B]itcimens of cut Orchids. The very 

 beautiful Bletia Sherrattinua received a first-class certificate ; also 

 Ipsea speeio3a,with bright yellow flowers. This is a ven- rare species, 

 and has been only flowered by two Orchid growers. Mr. Forsyth, 

 gardener to Baron Rofhschild, Onnnersbury, sent two very fine speci- 

 mens of Bendrobium macvopbyllura, and a special certificate was 

 awarded them. Mr. Warren, gardener to T. J. Levett, E^q., Bnvton- 

 on-Treat, brought cut specimens of Epidendrum raacrochiluui album, 

 which received a special certificate. A small collection of plants was 

 sent from Chiswick. A collection of Orchids from the garden, South 

 Kensington, received a special certificate. 



Mr. B. S. "Williams, Holloway, sent a small plant of Thriuax nobilis, 

 too young to display its merits, a^ well as a varietj of Adiantnm capil- 

 lUB-Veneris, which it was requested should be sent again. Mr. Wil- 

 liams hkewiso exhibited a very beautiful group of Orchids, which 

 deservedly received a special cevtificate. Mr. Stone, gardener to J. 

 Day, Esq., Tottenham, brought Dendrobium Vv'illiam&onii, the plant 

 too young for a decision to be arrived at as to its merit. Messrs. Lee, 

 Hammersmith, sent Thuja LoL'ui aureo-varitgata, a very promising 

 plant, which was awarded a first class eertifleate. Mr. Turner, Slough, 

 bronght a small plant of Coleua Priueoss Koyal, one of tho Society's 

 beet seedlings ; also some fine s];ecimens of Ancuba ben-ies produced 

 in the open air, and which were anusnally large and bright-coloured. 

 Mr. Ware, Tottenham, sent a basket containing three kinds of Primula 

 —viz., denticulata, amoiua, and evosa or Forfuni ; also a basket of 

 spring flowers — among them Orobus vernn^, I>ianthns bybridus stri- 

 atns, Arobis heterophylla, Iris persiea pumila, (ris reticulata, Hopatica 

 triloba cE^rulea, and Auemoue hortensis. A special certificate was 

 awarded for the two collections. 



Mr. Bull sent a specimen of Lycasle Skinncri of dwarf habit, and 

 Ajnorphophailus pinnatus ; tho foliage bad been removed from the 

 plant, and this gave the dark reddish brown spathe a very singular 

 appearance. Messrs. Paul & Son. Cheshunt, sent a superb Rose, Duke 

 of Edinburgh, a finely formed biilliant scarlet flower with fine foliage, 

 and it was awarded a first-class certificate ; also a cut specimen of a 

 sport from Camellia Aulica. Messrs. Standish ,i: Co. exhibited a new 

 Todea which has sprung up in their stove in large quautilies. It was 

 supposed to have come from Todea pellucida, but is of an entirely 

 different character. It wirs named T. pellucida compacta. A first- 

 class certificate was awarded it. 



Mr. Wilson, gardener tj W. Marahall. Esq.. sent some very beauti- 



ful Orchids, amonf; theta name fine OdontoftloBunm trinmphans ; 



two distinct varieties, which received fi^^t■cias8 certificates, were 

 nnmed the one O. triumphans Man.hallii, the other 0. triumpbaus 

 Wilsoni. Mr. Green, gardener to W. W. Saunders, Esq., brought a 

 few very interesting plauts--lwo fine specimens of Amaryllis Aekor- 

 manui pulcberrima, cut specimens of Fuchsia macrantha, an old but 

 beautiful flower, and two pretty specimens of Iiopezia superba. A ' "' 

 special certificate was awarded. Mr. .lames Lorimer, gardener to"'' 

 E. Salt, ];»q , Baildon, Leeds, brought n spike of Odoutoglossnm ■' 

 Hallii, for which a special certificate was awarded. Mr. Masterton, 

 of the firm of Maxlcy and Watson, exhibited their Packington plant- 

 trainer, which is 60 constructed as to bo moveable and fixed on nny- 

 sizeJ flower pot. There arc more disadvantages than advantages in 

 its arrangement, and the Committee did not approve of it. 



General Meetiko.— J. Bateman, Esq., F.E.S., inthcchair. After , 

 the election of fifteen new Fellows, tho Chairmen of tho Fruit aud 

 Floral Committees reported the awards, and the former stated that in 

 accordance with the suggestion of Mr. Wilson Saunders at the last ; ' 

 meeting — that it would be desirable to know how the fruit then ex- 'J 

 hibited had been preserved — circulars hud been sent to the principal '<< 

 exhibitors, and from the replies received, the Committee had found ■ 

 that, as a rale, the frnit had been put on plain boards, and the greatestil .v 

 care had been used to handle it us little as possible. In one or two 

 instances sawdust and cork dust had been employed. Mr. Fortune 

 having then been invited to make some remarks on the Knmquat, said, j 

 he would communicate in writing what ho knew about it before the ^.^^ 

 next meeting. 



Major R. Trevor Clarke remarked, with regard to the influence of 

 light on the keeping of fruit, that it is a common notion that darkness 

 is favourable to its keeping, but ho had observed it kept as well in the 

 full light ; also that if fruit were frozen it did not rot if kept in the 

 dark till thawed. 



The Kev. M. J. Berkeley in offering some remarks ou tho plants 

 before the meeting said, in reference to the Solaunm exhibited on the 

 16th ult., that he had found the word "guisadoa" simply means capable 

 of being cooked, the fruit being probably of the same culinary merit as 

 that of the Egg plant. With regard to the different kinds of Phormium, 

 he believed them .all to belong to one species. From an examination 

 of specimens he had found Phormium Cookii was tho same as P. 

 Colensoi. and the former, therefore, would have to be eliminated alto- 

 gether ; further, the only real difference between P. Colensoi and P. 

 tenax appeared to be that the leaves of the former were split at the tips, 

 those of the latter not split; consequently he believed tho kinds ■- 

 exhibited to be merely four forms of the same species. Banks and c,. 

 Solander, who were well acquainted with tho genua, considered that there ,,, 

 was but a single species of Phormium. A singularly knotted truncheon. ,, . 

 from an Elm, seen by Mr. Bateman at Pan, was next referred to, and .. , 

 Mr. Berkeley observed that on a former occasion he had bronght a ■^_.. 

 specimen from a garden in Rutlandshire, with similar kmots at every "' 

 node, and which were attiihutable to the formation of adventitious';,' 

 buds. A sprig of Cupressns Lawsoniana was next brought forward as '•' 

 remarkable for its elegance and the beauty of the male infloroaoonce. 

 It had been snggtsted by some that the branehlet was one of Cupressas. M> 

 fragrans, but he would state that from a large quantity of the seeds o£ \\ 

 C. Lawsoniana which had been bought at a sale, and sown at Chiswick, ,),; 

 many of the plants proved the same as C. fragrans, which, therefore, was ,,^i 

 probably a mere variation from seed, and nut a distinct species. After ,..j, 

 mention had been made of Anemone blanda as being probably only a, , 

 form of A. apennina coming into flower much earUer in the season, '■ 

 Mr. Berkeley, adverting to the Primulas exhibited, said he beUeved tho ; 

 powderless plant to be the true Primula denticulata, and that powdered ■'■■ 

 to be properh named P. erosa or F'ortuni. With regard to the small- '| ■ 

 flowered but 'elegant Lopezia superba, it bad been suspected to be a- ' 

 mere foim of the annual, Lopezia ooronata, but it had maintained its 

 perennial character, and was certainly a very ornamental plant at this 

 time of year. Mr. Berkeley also mentioned that Spinoa Thuubergi, a 

 plant of which was shown at the last meeting, could bo worked on aU 

 sorts of Plum stocks. After brief reference to the Todea and AcUautum 

 noticed in tho Floral Committee report, Mr. Berkeley stated that the 

 next number of the Society's Journal would shortly be in the bauds of 

 the members ; aUo, that it had been determined, notwithstanding tho 

 very efficient manner in which the proceedings at the Society's Com-,; 

 mittecs and meetings are reported iil the horticultural press, to bring 

 out reports of the meetings ia slip, to be afterwards make np in sheets 

 or half sheets along with original papers, and ultimately collected in a 

 number of the Joumal. Arrangements would be made by which 

 Fellows desiring to have the slips as they appeared conld have them' -i 

 sent by post. r 11 ^ 



Mr.' Bateman said, when befonnd the unfavourable character- ol the 

 day had left him fewer plants than usual to comment upon— altliough 

 the Orchids were ivcU represented— he thought he would faU bact_ 

 upon the Elm stick before referred to, but Mr. Berkeley had ap- _ 

 propriated it. He would add, however, to what that gent.lcman ha«' 

 said on the subject, that he saw the tree at Pau, last Christmas-day, 

 aud it was uniformly covered with knots vaijiug in size according to 

 the part of the tree, those on the stem being as large as^one s head, on 

 the major branches as large as a fist, and so ou down to the size ot 

 peaa. Beijig anxious a tree no curious should not bo confined to the 

 neighbourhood, he had obfaiued cuttings of it; so the Fellows might 



