Aagnst SO, 1868. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOKTICaLTUKE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



131 



Pelargoniums — namely, Lady Northbrook ami Grand Master. Mr. 

 G. Smith, HoruBcy, brought his suporh hybrid Nosegay Mastcrpiceo. 

 This plant was oxhibitod at lieicestcr with only one truss of llowerw. 

 On this occasion three specimens wero sent, and it proved itself ono 

 of the best varieties yet seen. A first-class certificate was ^iven it. 

 The size of the truss and shaded rosy jmrplo flowers cannot ho sur- 

 passed. It is a ilowcr of ^-reat merit. Mr. Green, gardener to W. W. 

 Saunders, Ksq.. brought three interesting plants— viz, Agavo dealbata 

 latifolia, or pendula, which received a first-class certificate ; Pour- 

 retia argentoa, a very curious plant — first-class certificate ; and 

 Trichocentrnui coccineum, a small but beautiful Orchid — second-class 

 certificate. Mr. Walsh, gardener to J. Ilawkshaw. Esq., received a 

 first-class certificate for a scciUing Ilabrothamuus elegans, with beauti- 

 ful white -variegated foliage, and named Hawkshawii. Mr. Tauton, of 

 Epsom, again brought AUamanda Wardleana. The Committee was 

 of opinion that thi^ was identical with AUamanda Heudersonii, which 

 in 1866 received a first-class certificate, and could not recognise it by 

 its present name. Tlio various and conflicting opinions on this 

 plant led to the following result. The Rev. M. J. Berkeley and 

 Mr. T. Moore were reijnested to examine this and other AUamandas 

 botauically. and to report thereon. Mr. Tanton, at the suggestion 

 of the Committee, kindly pi-rmitted three cuttings to bo taken from 

 his specimou Wanlleana, and Mr. Standish three cuttings of his 

 plants of A. Schottii, exhibited at the same time. These were 

 handed over to Mr. Uarron, the Superintendent of the Chiswick 

 Gardens, and were directed to ho cultivated and subjected to the 

 same treatment and temperature. This, with the report of the 

 botanical referees, will, we trust, finally settle this much-vexed 

 question, and we shall soon learn whether A. Hendersonii ever did 

 exist, and if it did we shall hope to discover what has been done with 

 it. Nothing can be fairer than the present proposed settlement 

 of the question. Time and patience will unravel the mystery. It is 

 most desii-able to discover how and where the confusion first arose, 

 and why A, Wardleana has been shown under three different 

 names. 



A fine collection of seedling Caladiuras was sent from the Chiswick 

 gardens. Two of them. No. 1 and No. 2, were of great merit, and 

 first-class certificates were awarded them. 



Messrs. Paul, Cheshuut, sent specimens of a new Tea Hose of 

 bronzy hue. Queen of Portugal, a very j>retty fiower, and a first-class 

 certificate was awarded. A special certificate was also awarded to 

 Messrs. Paul for two boxes of very fine Koses, among which Mareclial 

 Niel was very conspicuous. Mr. Parker, Tooting, was awarded a first- 

 class certificate for a hybrid seedling Kcheveria — glauca metallica, a 

 very promising and useful variety. Messrs. Lee, Hammersmith, sent 

 Coleus Carteri, very similar to C. aureo-marginatus. Messrs. Smith, 

 Dnlwich, received a special certificate for their fine collection of Bal- 

 sams ; good as these were, they were not at all equal to the specimens 

 asnally grown by this firm. Messrs. Downie, Laird, & Laiug received 

 a fi.rst-clas3 certificate for seedling Hollyhock Sovereign, a rich crimson 

 flower, compact, and perfect in outline. 



There were five collections of Gladioli. Mr. Kelway received a first- 

 class certificate for three seedlings : Julia, a magnificent flower; Lord 

 Napier, vei-y fine, and Formosa, very beautiful. Ulysses, one of 

 M. Souchet's varieties of ISGS, received a first-class also; these were 

 shown in the stand of twelve, which received the first prize. J. Slad- 

 den, Esq., of Ash, Kent, was awarded the second prize, and the Ilev. 

 H. H. Dombrain the third prize, Messrs. Bunyard, of Ashford, 

 Kent, sent a stand, also Messrs. Paul, of Cheshunt. The weather 

 has completely baffled all skill in producing fine spikes, and with the 

 exception of Mr. Kelway's, which were truly grand, the spikes of 

 flowers exhibited were not equal to the average. Notwithstanding 

 this, they were specimens of first-rate varieties. Mr. Sladden had 

 some fine seedlings. In his collection we noticed seedlings Aphro- 

 dite, Champion, and the Kev. M. J. Berkeley as good; Norma, 

 Princess Clotilde, and Etendard were very fine. In Messrs. Paul's 

 collection Thunberg, Milton, and Raphael were good. The collec- 

 tion from Messrs. Bnnyard contained some excellent flowers, but 

 out of condition ; Fulton, Titiens, Janire, Flora, Belle Gabrielle, 

 Jenny Lind, and Mozart were good. In Mr. Kelway's collection we 

 admired James Veitch, Felicien David, Etendard, Leonora, Norma, 

 and Madame Basseville. 



Messrs. Do\vnie, Laird, & Laing received the silver Flora medal for 

 the best twelve Hollyhocks, which were grown in Edinburgh, and were 

 of first-rate quality. Mr. Chater also exhibited a very select and good 

 collection. In Messrs. Downie & Co.'s collection we noticed Mr. An- 

 derson, Mrs. Thorn, James Taylor, R. G. Ross, Mrs. Hastie, The 

 Prince, Princeps, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Downie, and the seedling Sove- 

 reign. In Mr. Chater's collection were Willingham Defiance, Lady 

 of the Lake, Gloria Mumli, Walden Queen, Lord Napier, Scarlet 

 Gem, and King, all flowers of first-rato quality, but hearmg evidence 

 of the season. Two better collections as to varieties were never exhi- 

 bited. 



plants to bo submitted to the decision of the Floral Committee as a 

 very good testimony of the high estimation in which the Society's 

 awards are held abroad. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Tnr. July meeting of this Society was, according to the new regn- 

 lations, the last of the present season, and was lield at Burlington 

 Honse, the J*resident, Mr. IL \V. Bates, hciug in the chair. 



Mr. McLachian exhibited somo fine bred Bpecimens of the rare 

 Hypcrcallia Christiemaua; and Mr. F. Bond two singular varieties of 

 the Moths Setiua irrorella and Arctia villica, in the latter of which. 

 nearly all the black markings are wanting. It had been reared from 

 the caterpillar. He also exhibited a specimen of the large unwieldy 

 female of Drilns flaveseens, captured by Mr. Rogers in the Isle of 

 Wight, togother with two males , and mentioned that Dr. Knaggs had 

 seen two males of different species of Moths, Tortrix viridana and 

 T. hoperana, untler similar circumstances with T. viridana. 



Mr. F. Smith exhibited specimens of the very large Ichneumon- 

 parasite, Opliiou macrurus, a North American sjiecies which infested 

 the fine Moth, Satumia cecropia, but which had been reared from 

 cocoons of the Chinese S. cynthia, sent from New York, the eggs of 

 which had been introduced from Europe for experiments of silk growth, 

 the latter being the species which feeds upon the Ailanthus. The 

 Ichneumon had severely stung Mr. Smith. Mr. Moore stated that it 

 had also been reared from the fine Satumia Polyphemus. 



Mr. Jenner Weir exhibited a large exotic species of Longicora 

 Beetle, which had been caught flying into the Custom House of Lon- 

 don, most probably imported in foreign timber. 



Mr. Butler exhibited a variety of Geometra Vanaria and its para- 

 sitic Ichneumon ; Mr. Pryer a monstrous specimen of Halias quer- 

 caua ; Mr. Davis a series of the skins of caterpillars of Lepidop- 

 terous insects carefully preserved and dined ; and Mr. Dunning, the 

 nest of one of the Solitary Wasps, probably an Odynerus, placed in a 

 cavity formed by the limbs of a wooden spring letter-clip found in an 

 open box on a writing tabl-i in Hampshire. 



Mr. Wood exhibited a series of drawings of exotic Saturniie made 

 from living specimens, showing the different modes in which the insects 

 hold their wings in repose, some keeping them flat, whilst in others 

 they are more or less elevated. He also pointed out a carious comb- 

 like apparatus attached to the fore leg of some of the species, which 

 is used for cleaning the antenme. Mr. Blackmore exhibited a large 

 miscellaneous collection of the insects of different orders made at 

 Tangiers, including many fine and beautiful species. The neighbour- 

 hood is rich in entomology, as many as *27UU species of Coleoptera 

 having been captured by Mr. Rolfe. 



Professor Westwood exhibited specimens and drawings of various 

 exotic species of Chalcidida; of largo size and singular structure, of 

 which he gave a verbal description. The species were mostly unique 

 in the Oxford Museum. 



A paper by Sir John Lubbock, Bart., was read, containing a descrip- 

 tion of the singular larva of the genus Miropeplus, which was thereby 

 proved to belong to the Necrophaga. and not to the Staphylinidie, with 

 which it has hitherto been placed. Also, " Descriptions of a new 

 genera and species of Heteromerous insects, chiefly from New 

 Holland," by Mr. F. Bates; " Reports of the Commissioner for in- 

 vestigating tiie ravages of the Borer Beetle (Xylotrechus quadriceps), in 

 the Coffee Plantaflous of Mysore and Coorg," by Dr. G. Bidie. " A 

 Comparison of some representative species of Diurnal Lepidoptera in 

 Europe, India, and North America," by Mr. W. F. Kirby; and *' On 

 some points in the anatomy of the immature Ccenis macrura," one of 

 the Ephemerida>, by Mr. A. E. Eaton, who exhibited a carefully pre- 

 pared series of preparations iinder the microscope. 



The meetings, which during t)ie past season have been eminently 

 successful, were then adjourned till the beginning of November. 



BATTERSEA PAHK. 



General Meeting. — W. Wilson Saunders, Esq., in the chair. 

 The business of the Meeting was confined to the announcement of the 

 awards of the Committees. The Rev. J. Dix directed attentiou to a 

 terra-cotta plant label forty years old, and which would, if improved 

 in shape, be very useful on account of its great durability. The Chair- 

 man then referred to the fact of foreign nurserymen h&viog sent theii- 



However splendid the display of beddiug plants ban been in 

 previous years, however magnificent the subjects grown in the 

 subtropical department, never has Eattersea Park in all its 

 features presented such a degree of perfection as in the pre- 

 sent season. The great attraction of the place, of course, is 

 the subtropical department, in which Mr. Gibson, the talented 

 Superintendent, has, by simple means skilfully applied, been 

 successful in achieving results which have rendered it famous. 

 There, just now, may be seen noble-leaved Bananas and Palms, 

 Indiarubber plants and Indian Shots in profusion, Coral 

 plants, DracKuas, Caladiums, and gi'oups of handsome Tree 

 Ferns, whose thick black trunks offer a unique feature in an 

 out-door garden in this country. Then there are rich masses 

 of the different kinds of Coleus ; Aralias, Castor-oil plants, 

 and Wigandias, forming a variety of beautiful combinations in 

 conjunction with ordinary bedding plants. The luxuriance of 

 growth which the more tender exotic plants exhibit this year is 

 remarkable ; they are no starvelings, but tall specimens, some 

 of them, the Eananas for instance, with leaves 8 or 10 feet 



