May 14, 18C8. 1 



JOUBNAXi OF HOBTICULT0RE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



361 



extensively grown than has yet been the case, and for one I 

 shonid like to try it. — J. Eodson-. 



[In the kitchen garden at 'Wollaton Hall, near Nottingham, 

 there were last year borders of Dell's Beet, which, when we saw 

 them in September, were very effective, and, aa Mr. Kobson 

 remarks, their produce was useful as well.] 



VERBENAS. 



As an admirer and grower of the Verbena I beg to tender 

 my best thanks to Mr. W. Dean for his notes on Mr. Perry's 

 new varieties to be sent out during the present spring, and for 

 his excellent list of older sorts. I can fully endorse the high 

 character which lie gives them. 



It is didicult to imagine anything finer than such superb 

 varieties as Miss Turner, Hercules, Mrs. Mole, iS;o. ; the first- 

 named variety especially, with its large, bold, and handsome 

 truss of finely-formed flowers, must, I think, be regarded as the 

 very best light variety ever offered. 



I wish Mr. Perry would kindly give us through the pages of 

 the Journal his mode of growing the Verbena for exhibition ; 1 

 am sure he would have the best thank's of all growers of this 

 fine flower if ho would give us a thoroughly detailed account, 

 and also his mode of raising seedlings. I have found some 

 difficulty in inducing the seed to germinate when sown in heat, 

 and have this year sown a small quantity saved from such 

 finely-shaped flowers as Snowball, Villiam Dean, Mrs. Turner, 

 &c., and placed it in a cool greenhouse, with what results re- 

 mains yet to be seen. 



It has been stated that the seed is more certain of germi- 

 nating when sown in the open ground, but I fear by this 

 system the seedlings would bloom very late, and it would be 

 (fifficnlf, perhaps, to judge what were worth proving in the 

 following year. 



It is a matter of regret that this fine flower does not receive 

 more encouragement at our leading exhibitions, for, with the 

 exception of the Crj'stal Palace Autumn Show and a few others, 

 the prizes offered are very small ; framers of schedules would do 

 well to look to this, for few cut flowers, or indeed any flowers, 

 have a finer appearance than a good stand of twelve or twenty- 

 four varieties in three or five trusses each. In my opinion it is 

 quite absurd to give £5 or £10 for a collection of, perhaps, half 

 a dozen greenhouse plants and as many shillings for a stand of 

 Verbenas, as is done at a groat many of our autumn shows ; 

 for I have noticed that where really good cut flowers, such as 

 Roses, Gladioluses, 'Verbenas, &c., are shown they have crowds 

 of admirers where the plants receive but small attention, 

 although exhibited by some of the best growers, and I think it 

 is quite time we had a fairer division of prizes in our sche- 

 dules.— B. 



AURICULAS. 

 I SEE that your reporter takes exception to my statement as 

 to the time of showing these plants. May I be permitted to 

 justify my statement by saying that no argument can be 

 adduced from last season, as I never recollect such a season 

 since I have been an Auricula grower? and I think I can 

 appeal to any Auricula fancier in the south of England as to 

 whether the general time of their being in perfection is not 

 from the 15th to the 30th of April. — D., Deal. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S MEETINGS. 



The April MeetiDg o£ tliis Society was held at Burlington House, 

 H. Vf. Bates, Esq., the President, being in the chair. 



Mr. Stainton exhibited some leaves of Euphorbia dendroides, just 

 received from Mr. Moggridge from Meutone, which were mined by 

 larvEe of a minute moth (Xepticula enphorbiella), specimens of which 

 had been recently reared from lan'fe collected in the early part of last 

 summer at the same place. Mr. Stevens exhibited the insect which 

 had served Mr. Stainton in 18.54 for the description of his new species 

 Nemophora Carter! (formerly in the collection of Mr. Carter, of Man- 

 chester). A recent examination of the individual had proved it to 

 have been fabricated, the hind wings of a Cerostoma having been at- 

 tached to the fore wings of a Nemophora. Mr. Boyd exhibited a 

 strongly-marlicd dark variety of Stenopteryx hybridalis from Hert- 

 fordshire. Mr. Druce exhibited a collection of Butterflies obtained 

 by Mr. Pearson in Bolivia, including tlie yen- rare Papilio zagreus, 

 &c. Mr. Weir exhibited a Polvommatus, captured at Lewes, which 

 .he regarded as a hybrid between P. .\doni3 and Alexis also P. Corydou 



and P. Alexis, with the spots on the under aide of the wings confluent 

 and a male-like female of P. Alexis. 



Mr. Smith stated tliat in the collection of insect productioiw in tko 

 British Museum was a portion of a pollard Oak, sent there three 

 years since by Mr. Kidd, exhibiting a great number of the gall nuts. 

 It had been placed in a box witli a large lump of camplior, yet each 

 succeeding spring there hud been reared from it a number of indi- 

 viduals of Clytus Ariotis, on which, whilst in the preparatory state, 

 the camphor' had had no effect. Mr. lanson said that camphor, 

 though useful in preventing the entry of insects, was powerless to 

 destroy them ; at the same time he doubted whether the Clytus had 

 been reproduced by breeding in the Museum, considering that the 

 larvit of the beetle were in a more or less advanced state when the 

 block was received at the Museum, and that the successive broods of 

 ISUB. 18G7, and 1868 (for one specimen bad been produced on the 

 morning of the Meeting), had been hatched from eggs deposited in 

 18G5 or in previous years. 



The May Meeting was held on the Ith iust., presided over by H. J. 

 Stainton, Esq., Vice-President. AmougBt the donations received since 

 the last meeting were the publications of the Linufean, Royal, and 

 PLOyal Agricultural Societies, the Royal Society of Brussels, the Im- 

 perial Society of Moscow, Messrs. Vollenhoven, Hewitson, and Sir 

 John Lubbock, &c. The most important of these works was the first 

 part of the Catalogue of Scieutiho Papers (arranged alphabetically), 

 )iublished by the Royal Society, which, when complete, will extend to 

 from twelve to twenty quarto volumes. 



Mr. Boyd exliibited a number of carefully-preserved caterpillars of 

 different British species of Butterflies and Moths, and Mr. Trimen a 

 specimen of the Emperor Moth (Bombyx pavonia minor), which 

 had died in attempting to escape backwards out of its cocoon. Mr. 

 McLachlan exhibited specimens of the fine Dragon Fly, Anax medi- 

 teiTanea, which had appeared in largo swarms in Italy, received from 

 Signer Ghili:ini, of Turin. Mr. F. Smith exhibited a caterpillar of 

 one of the Staphyliniibe, found underground by Mr. lanson, jun., 

 which had been destroyed by several parasitic larvie of a species of 

 Proctohmpes, the pupai of several of which still remained in an un- 

 developed state attached to the ventral surface of several of the alter- 

 nate rings of the body of the victim. 



Mr. Stainton called attention to a well-executed plate contained in 

 the first volume of the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, 

 published in 1750, in which were represented the transformation of a 

 small but curious Lepidopterous iusect, which feeds on the Vines in 

 France, belonging evidently to the genus Autispila. The caterpillar 

 was remarkable for being entirely destitute of legs, but no further in- 

 formation beyond the plate in question had ever been obtained or 

 published. 



Mr- F. Smith exhibited specimens of three lands of insects injuri- 

 ous to timber trees in India — namely. Cerostena gladiator, a Longi- 

 com Beetle, which attacks the bark ; a large Acheta or Cricket, which 

 makes its appearance in large numbers in September after the rains, 

 and gnaws off the young shoots of Casnarina trees when they are two 

 or three lines thick ; also specimens of the Borer Beetle, Clytus quad- 

 ripes, the larvK of which bore into the trnnk of Coffee trees. Mr. 

 Trimen stated that a large species of Cricket at the Cape of Good 

 Hope also eats off the young shoots of the Sdver trees. Dr. "Wellan 

 sent for distribution a number of eggs of the Bombyx Yama-Mai or 

 Oak Silkworm of Japan. A note %Yas read from Mr. Hewitson on the 

 synonymy of a species of Pieridan Butterlly from New Caledonia. 



A paper by Mr. Desborongb on the duration of life of the different 

 members of the hive was read. The author had succeeded in ascer- 

 taining that in certain cases the queen bee wUl surrive and deposit 

 eggs during not fewer than six seasons, whereas the worker bees only 

 live about eight montlis. A single queen had produced as many as 

 103,000 eggs, which would be about 20,000 a-year ; but the greatest 

 amount of eggs was deposited during the first two years of her life, 

 only about 15,000 being laid during each of the last three years. 



Mr. F. Smith read descriptions of a number of new species of Hy- 

 menopterous insects, sent from Champion Bay, Australia, by Mr. De 

 Boulay. more than half the specimens collected by that gentleman 

 having proved to be undescribed. He observed that it was remark- 

 able that whilst the leaf-cutter bees were numerous in New Holland, 

 he had never seen one of their usual parasites belonging to the genus 

 Ctelioxys from that country. 



Lieut. -Col. Taylor sent for exhibition a number of specimens of 

 seven different kinds of insects and larvie which attacit the Coffee 

 plant in Upper India. Capt. Taylor, who was present, gave an ac- 

 count of the ravages of these insects in Koorg and Ceylon. The sub- 

 ject led to an extended discussion, and was ultimately referred to a 

 committee to draw up a report on the subject. Two new parts of the 

 Societj-'s Transactions were upon the table. 



FLOWER POTS. 



Inquiry is often made as to the best form for garden pots, 

 and in reply I wish to tell that I brought a few from Dieppe 

 some time ago, which I like better than any other which I 

 have seen, yet, I think, they may be improved on. This is 



