May 7, 18G8. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND OOTTAUE GARDENElX 



8d9 



to be caasoil by an excesa of moistnre combined witli an insafticiency of 

 liptbt and air. The other paper on the same snbject waa from Mr. 

 James HoBaelt. 



Mr. Berkeley showed some specimens of Orchid leaves from Mr. 

 Anderson, on which he considered three distinct forms of spots could 

 bo detected, the chlorotic spots, the black spots, and the putrid spots. 

 Mr. Marshall brou*^bt under the notice of the Committee a number 

 of leaves taken from varioaa species of Orchids, and in which nearly 

 every form of this disease was visible ; he considered this result to bo 

 deptmdant ou the plants ^ettinj^ a sudden check when they were in full 

 Kvowtb. as several specimens which were sent to the International 

 Horticaltnral Exhibition in perfect health became affected, and ne\er 

 i-ecovered from the effects. Mr. Blenkins stated that he had examined 

 the leaves from three species of Orchids — viz., Vanda pigantea. 

 Oeudrobium raacnlatum. and a species of Onoidium which he laid 

 before the Committee, and which had been sent to him for micro- 

 scopical investigation. In two of the specimens lie did not consider 

 the appearnnco was fairly to be attributed to this disease, but it seemed 

 to him to be more like the erosion of a species of thrips or other 

 insect. He found the cells of the leaf-tissue blackened as from decay, 

 but in the Vanda, which was acknowledged by the Committee to be 

 affected by the disease, he detected even there an enlarf^ed and dis- 

 coloured nucleus of the cell, and the renifonn cells forming the margins 

 of the stomates seemed to be particularly affected. He suggested it 

 would be advisable to appoint a sub-committee who should visit the 

 houses of the principal Ore hid -growers for the puqiose of acquainting 

 themselves with the different forms of that disease and the conditions 

 under which they occurred, and report the result of their inquiries to 

 the general Committee. Mr. 'VN'^ilson Saunders approved of the appoint- 

 ment of a sub-committee. Mr. Berkeley informed the meeting that it 

 was the putrescent form of that disease that affect-ed Mr. Rucker's 

 plaats. Mr. Bateman had some plants in which the disease resembled 

 the action of thrips. He thought one fact was determined — that there 

 were various causes for this disease. Mr. Marshall stated distinctly 

 that he had removed thrips from the leaves of Orchids so affected. 

 Mr. W. Saunders was of opinion that a sub-committee would be of 

 great advantage to visit different houses, and thoroughly examine into 

 the question. IVIr. Bateman thought the sab-comraittee might make 

 it a part of their labours to ascertain whether the disease was con- 

 tagious or not. 



Ultimately a sub-committee was appointed, and the following gentle- 

 men were nominated members: — Dr. T. Thomson, Mr. Marshall, Dr. 

 Masters, Mr. A. Murray, Mr. Bleukins, and the Secretary. 



At the next Meeting " The iSomcnclature of Plants " wUl be brought 

 finder the consideration of the Committee. 



Gexeral Meeting. — W. Wilson Saunders, Esq.. F.R.S., in the 

 chair. After a list of donations had been read, fourteen new Fellows 

 elected, and the Daventry Floral Society admitted into union, the 

 awards of the Committees were reported, and in doing so the Rev. J, 

 Dix directed attention to a cheap wooden tally which, having a square 

 €ad section, admits of four names being written on the four sides. 

 The opposite extremity, that intended for insertion in the soil, is 

 ■formed into a wedge by one diagonal cut, dividing each tally from the 

 other made out of the same bar of wood, and is coated with anti- 

 corrosion paint. 



The Rev. M. J. Berkeley then observed that at the last meeting he 

 had called attention to a form of Gesnera which exactly corresponds 

 with (lesnera macrantha purpurea, figured in the " Gardeners' Maga- 

 zine of Botany;" and Mr. Tanton. who sent it, had since informed 

 him that the bulb had been collected in New Grenada, and had brought 

 to the Meeting a cutting in Hower ; but though the plant exhibited on 

 the'former occasion exactly accorded with the figure in the work re- 

 ferred to. the cutting differed in the tlower being of a lighter crim- 

 son, and in the colour and pubescence of the calyx — differences, how- 

 ever, which might be ascribed to its having been subjected to forcing. 

 The only difference between it and the true macrantha from Messrs. 

 Veitch was a spot on the lip of the one, which was absent in the other. 



Mr. Berkeley then directed attention to two Tulip tlowers, produced 

 by plants raised in his own garden from seed, which had been sent 

 him fifteen years ago, or more, by Dr. Welwitsch, from Portugal. 

 Until last year :U1 the Ilowers were rather dull in colour, with a dark 

 blotch at the base of each petal, then one of them '* broke," but he 

 lost the bulb ; this year, however, a great proportion of the flowers 

 had done so, the dark blotch had vanished, and had given place to a 

 scarlet feather, a number of the scarlet cells had changed into yellow, 

 and this colour shining through the scarlet rendered the latter more 

 Tirid. As a fact bearing on the cause of " brealdng," as it is termed 

 by florists, he would mention tbat the bulbs last year, instead of being 

 planted in November as usual, had been kept out of the ground till 

 January. 



Mr. Berkeley passing to the subject of edible Fungi, remarked that 

 a dish of Agaricns gambosua, or St. George's Mushroom, had been 

 shown, although the specimens were very far from being of so large a 

 size as that species was known to attain. This was one of the best of 

 the edible Agarics, differed from the common Mushroom in having 

 white gills, and was commonly to be found in grass fields about the 

 20th of April, coming up after rain. This year it did not appear till 

 after the heavy rains of last week. It was nearly allied to the Mon- 

 ceron, much esteemed by the French, and which they preserve for 



winter use. After referring to a passage in a letter from Dr. Living' 

 stone to Sir Roderick Murchison as to the value of Fungi as food, M&. 

 Berkeley said he had just received a letter froin Profossor Fries, one 

 of the greatest authorities on the subject, who bad sent him a pro- 

 spectus of a new work on Hynienomycctes. a class of Fungi which 

 afford excellent nourishment. In Swedfm and Norway they were used 

 along with flour in bread, and must certainly bo better than the inner 

 bark of trees, which was used there for the same purpose. In con- 

 nection with this, Mr. Berkeley observed tbat at the time the Potato 

 disease broke out Silesian Beet had been recommended for mixing 

 with tlour for bread, and it answered the pni-poso very well, only the 

 bread made with it contained little lines of treacle, which were pro- 

 duced in the process of panification. As an article of food ho hoped 

 the Mushroom tribe would not be so much neglected as it had been- 

 After stating that four dishes of Mnshrooms^two from natural and 

 two from artificial spawn — sent by Mr. W. Ingram, of Belvoir Castle 

 Gardens, exhibited hardly any difference, Mr. Berkeley added that 

 he had received a. letter from Mr. Harry Cbcster, of which the pur- 

 port was a hope that the Royal Horticultural Society would tabs 

 up the subject of Fungi as food, and get analyses of them ; and Mr. 

 Berkeley said that in addition to the prize which had been already 

 offered by a friend for edible Funguses in September, a second prize 

 would be given by another party ; and it might therefore be hoped 

 tliat there would then be an excellent display, not only of esculent but 

 of poisonous Fungi. 



A Fungus belonging really to the genus Uredo. to which a great 

 many Fungi had been improperly referred by botanists, was then 

 noticed, and a drawing of it exhibited, in which it was seen to form 

 little bushes consisting of vertical cells with mycelium below. 



Mr. Berkeley next referred to Scilla campanulata. of which a speci- 

 men double the 8ii:e he had ever seen before was sent by Mr. Cox, of 

 Redleaf, who informed him that the causes of its presenting such an 

 unusual degree of development appeared to be its being grown in 

 verj' rich loam, and the roots never having been disturbed. An 

 Auopterus exhibited was then said to remind one very much of a 

 Clethra, and to be nearly allied to Escallonia glandulosa ; and in con- 

 clusion Mr. Berkeley pointed out a case in which Auricula stamens 

 had become developed into leaves and the ovules were entirely naked. 

 Attempts had been made to raise plants from the latter, but had 

 entirely failed. 



Mr. Bateman said, that before offering his promised remarks on the 

 Loquat, he would call attention to some very beautiful Clematises 

 raised by Mr. Noble of Snnningdale, but which were nnnamed ; also, 

 to two remarkable species of Gum trees (Eucalyptus), from the beauti- 

 ful gardens of C. J. Woolfield, Esq., at Cannes, on the shores of the 

 Mediterranean, where no trees seemed to have such a rapid growth, 

 this amounting to 8 or 10 feet in a single year, and some of them 

 were .^lO or 60 feet high. Not only did they produce tlowers but seeds 

 as well, the fruit being like an acorn, but with this exception, that 

 instead of the cup being at the bottom it is at the top of the fruit. 



With regard to the Orchids shown, his (Mr. Bateman's) remarks 

 would on this occasion be brief. The first he would refer to was a 

 very pretty species of Epidendrum from Mr. Rueker, which, though it 

 had neither been figured nor exhibited before, had been named 

 E. inversum by Dr. Lindley many years ago. It possessed pretty 

 rose tints, was agreeably fragrant, and being, moreover, a cool 

 Orchid it would, no doubt, become a favourite. Next, there was the 

 Trichopilia suavis, from Mr. ^Voodwa^d, of F-well, and which was, 

 perhaps, the most ])erfect specimen of that plant shown at any meet- 

 ing. In a nice collection from Messrs. E. G. Henderson, there was 

 Dendrobium iufundibulum, which now vindicated its character as 

 being distinct from the D. formosum shown by Messrs. Veitch. It, 

 too, was a cool Orchid, flowering beautifully with his friend, Mr. Went- 

 worth Buller, under that mode of treatment. Attention was also 

 drawn to a remarkable Oncidium from Mr. Salt, of Leeds, sent under 

 the name of O. coucolor, but of which the clear pale yellow flowers 

 were certainly not those of the species commonly called ty that name ; 

 to Saccolabium ampullaceum, from Messrs. RoUisson ; and to cnt 

 spikes of an accidental variety of Cattleya citrina. exhibiting a rich 

 orange tint instead of the ordinary lemon colour, and which was more 

 beautiful than the common form. Turning next to Messrs. Veitch's 

 collection, there were in it Ltelia grandis. a fine kind of easy culture 

 and having buff flowers ; the Ceylon Dendrobium MacCarthia*, which 

 had formed the subject of one of his lecturets last year, and of which 

 not a word too much had been said in its praise ; but fine as Messrs. 

 Veitch's specimen was on the present occasion, the plant in time would 

 be found still more beautiful. As regards Epidendrum panicnlatnm 

 from the same firm, it was still flowering weakly, but when stronger 

 the spike would be something like a bunch of Lilacs, only the flowers 

 would be richer in colour. A pretty new white Dendrobium was 

 shown by Mr. Williams, and it possessed the additional merit of being 

 sweet-scented ; and in a collection which should be nameless, there 

 was a Gypripedium, called biflorum, which exemplified the folly o£ 

 naming as distinct species plants in which accidental deviations from 

 the normal state had taken place, for not a single stem was two- 

 flowered. Dr. Lindley made a similar error by giving to an Oncidium 

 the name of uniflorum, whereas the plant now never condescends to 

 produce less than three blossoms on a spike. The last Orchid to 

 which he would direct attention ras Dendrobium thyrsiflorum, of 

 which Mr. Marshall had brought a beautiful cut spike. 



