374 



JOUENAIi OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ May 21, 1868 



Sttrrey is a promiBing flower, but the plant was too small to jndge of 

 its merits. Goliath, a larpe-tiowering sort, is very showy, bnt rough in 

 ontline. A special certificate was awarded the collection. 



Mr. H. Shrnbsole, gardener to the Kev. C. Oxenden, Barham, Kent, 

 sent a seedliag Lobelia, called Oxendenii. having small pale blue 

 flowers, not better than many other dwarf seedling varieties ; also a 

 small plant of Silver Variegated Zonal Pelargonium, Bride of Bar- 

 ham. Mr. T. Ware, Tottenham, sent a large pale salmon-coloured 

 clove Carnation, of which the petals were so numerous and confused, 

 that, beyond its powerful and agreeable scent it has no particular 

 merit. Messrs. Lee, Hammersmith, exhibited Asplenium trichomanes 

 Harrovii, and an Oak, named Quercns concordia, with pale yellow 

 foliage ; it was requested that the latter should be sent again later in 

 the season. ]VIr. W. Paul sent cut specimens of Silene pendnla and 

 S. pendola pulcherrima, the Silene pendularnbtnima of continental 

 nurseries. Mr. Paul also sent several Variegated Zonal Pelargoniums 

 and a small cut-leaved Pelargonium Little Gem, with small pale rose* 

 coloured flowers. 



Mr. James Dobson, Isleworth, o-xhibited two or three dozen of 

 Pelargonium Magnet ; it was awarded a first-class certificate as a 

 useful decorative market plant. It is very free-flowering and of com- 

 pact habit, and has dark crimson and black flowers. Mr. Watson 

 also sent a small collection of his Variegated Zonal Pelargoniums. 

 Mr. Green, gardener to W. W. Saunders, Esq., brought fine specimens 

 of^Schizanthuspinnatus splendens, a very ornamental annual ; a first- 

 class certificate was awarded it. In the collection brought by Mr. 

 Green there was a small white Orchid, name and genus unknown ; 

 this was one of the gems of the exhibition ; also, Orchis fnsca, the 

 continental vai-iety, and a collection of alpine plants. A special cer- 

 tificate was awarded the collection. Mr. Bra^, Sloagb, received a 

 special certificate for a collection of Pansies. 



SdENTLFic Committee. — Dr. T. Thomson, F.R.S., in the chair. 

 In connection with the spot in Orchids which was discussed irt last 

 Meeting, and which is still nuder the consideration of a sub -committee, 

 Dr. "Welwitsch exhibited a number of specimens of leaves of tropical 

 plants, all more or less affected with a spot, which Mr. Berkeley pro- 

 nounced in every instance to be the result of fungoid action, and not 

 at all similar to that which produces spot in Orchids. 



Mr. Berkeley exhibited specimens of the larva of Coleophora heme- 

 robieUa, which attacks the leaves of the Pear and the Cheri-y, not as 

 is nBually the case by eating away the whole substance, but by attach- 

 ing themselves by their discoid suctorial mouth, and extracting the 

 sap from the parenchyma for some distance round the point of attack, 

 which, when they have exhausted, they leave, and commence an attack 

 in another part of the leaf, leaving a small hole similar to a leech 

 bite. Finally they enclose themselves in the leaf, which is rolled up 

 into the form of a tiny cigarette. 



Mr. Berkeley then read a long letter from M. De CandoUe on Botani- 

 cal Nomenclature, which gave rise to an interesting conversation on 

 the subject, in which the difficulties to be encountered in dealing with 

 hybrids and cross-breds was principally discussed. Dr. Hogg consi- 

 dered that the first thiug to be ascertained is the point iu the pedigree 

 of plants where botsuists will consider their work to have ceased, and 

 that of the horticulturist to have begun ; because it is quite evident 

 that when a genus or species of plants is so far broken up that the nu- 

 merous progeny cease to be distinguished by characters which botanists 

 acknowledge to be essential to a correct botanical distinction, then 

 they must be individualised by such fancy names as the florists have 

 been in the habit of applying to them. And the next consideration 

 would be how the system of nomenclature which may be decided upon 

 is to be applied in practice. A sub-Committee, consisting of Dr. 

 Thomson, Dr. Hogg, and Mr. Moore, was appointed to investigate the 

 subject and report to nest meeting. 



Dr. Welwitsch threw out a valuable hint to horticulturists in regard 

 to the cultivation of some of the most beautiful species of Loran- 

 thacea?, many of which can be cultivated on the Fig and the Orange. 



Generai, Meeting. — J. Russell Reeves, Esq., F.R.S., in the chair. 

 After a list of donations had been rea^, and the election of ten new 

 Fellows, the Rev. Joshua Dix announced the awards of the Floral 

 Committee, and Dr. Hogg those of the Fruit Committee. 



The Rev. M. J. Berkeley then commenced his observations by re- 

 marking that at the last meeting he had called attention to the " break- 

 ing " of some Tulips, which he had grown in his own garden, and said 

 Ihat he bad since had confirmation of the view which he then held — 

 namely, that as "breeders "they had broken in consequence of being 

 planted late — in January instead of in November, as they had been 

 in previous years. Every one knew how difficult it was to break 

 breeder Tulips — indeed, it sometimes took twenty years to do so, and 

 the cause of breaking was a mystery. To induce breaking, recourse 

 was bad to change of soil, to change of locality, and to various com- 

 posts, among which various nostrums had been recommended, parti- 

 cularly smithy dust. Sometimes, also, crossing the flowers had been 

 practised to bring about that result, bnt the cause remained a problem 

 still unsolved. A curious point with regard to his seedling Tulips was 

 that there was a dark brown spot at the base of each petal, and that 

 had vanished in the breaking, giving place to a brilliant scarlet feather, 

 which he had ascribed to the yellow shining through the red. On ex- 

 amining the petnls microscopically he had found that the coloured 

 cells were superficial, in fact, cuticular, and that between two layers of 



these there were intermediate cells, either entirely colourless or yellow 

 which latter produced the brilliant scarlet. The next subject to which 

 he had to allude was canker, which all were aware is very destruc- 

 tive to fruit trees. In his own garden a very peculiar case had oc- 

 curred on a Keswick Codlin Apple tree, a portion of which he pro- 

 duced to the Meeting. Swellings had formed at every division of the 

 tree, and these swelUngs were covered with adventitious buds, and he 

 produced specimens of Rosa arvcnsia and an Elm similarly affected, 

 the whole tree in the latter case being covered with adventitious buds, 

 which acted most injuriously. 



Mr. Berkeley next read a letter from the Rev. A. Rawson, of 

 Bromley, in Kent, with reference to an Orobanche which had oome 

 up en a plant of Madame Vaucher Pelargonium, bedded-ont two yeare 

 a'_;o. The letter stated that the plant had been preserved, and that 

 the Orobanche had this year been very show^- ; also, that this Oro- 

 banche — O. cjernlea — which usually occurs on Hemp, as far as known 

 does not grow naturally in the neighbourhood. Mr. Berkeley added, 

 that he had been informed by Mr. Hally, of Blaekheath, that an 

 Orobanche, not O. c.'erulea, gi'ows there on Pelargoniums. 



A pretty golden-leaved Oak called Quercns concordia, exhibited by 

 Messrs. Lee, was then noticed : and it was stated tliat at Sir Hugh 

 Williams's at Bodelwyddan there is a large tree of Quercns seasili- 

 flora, which prest?nts a similar appearance, and forms a prominent 

 feature in a lovely view. Attention was next directed to hybrid Pelar- 

 goniums between the Scarlet and Ivy-leaved kinds, and it was stated that 

 Mr. Wills had endeavoured to produce such for sixteen years without 

 result, bnt at last he had succeeded in raising hybrids. One of them, 

 between an Ivy-leaved Pelargoniam aud Mrs. Pollock, had a leaf like 

 the foi-mer, bnt spangled like a diseased Oak. An extremely curious 

 specimen of a Sweet WUliam sent by Mr. Wilson Saunders, with the 

 leaves forming a cup roiiud the bud, which was blanched in conse- 

 quence, and a Pelargonium, proliferous from the centre of the trusses, 

 having been pointed out as examples of abnonnalgi-owth, Mr. Berkeley 

 lead a letter from Mr. D. Wooster on the subject of the exhibition ot 

 Fungi in the autumn. In this letter Mr. Wooster expressed his opinion 

 that Fungi are of great importance as an article of food, aud that not 

 only have the public much to learn on the subject, bnt many prejudices 

 to get rid of. As an instance of the latter, he related that when on a 

 visit to a large landed proprietor a few years ago, be found in that 

 gentleman's woods a large group of the beautifully tinted and elegant 

 Agaricus fimetarius, and much astonishment and alarm were cansed 

 bj' his proposing that these Mushrooms should be cooked. It was 

 only on his giving the assurance that he had often eaten the species 

 vnth perfect safety that they were prepared, and all who tasted thezn 

 pronounced them most excellent aud delicate in flavour. Mr. Wooster 

 added that he had received a letter from a gentleman, an escell^t 

 authority on the subject, in which reference was made to Mr. Beiie- 

 ley's very interesting discourse on Fungi at the meeting of the Society 

 of Arts on the previous Wednesday ; and the wi'iter remarked that he 

 considered two species not mentioned by Mr. Berkeley were among 

 the best as food — namely, Agaricns atramentarius aud A. comatns. 



Exhibitors' Meeting. — The Council having invited exhibitors to 

 meet them at half-past 1 p.m. for the purpose of discussing the ap* 

 pointment of judges at the Society's Shows, a number of the leading 

 exhibitors attended. The chair was taken by J. Clutton, Esq., and 

 Colonel Scott attended as Secretary. Among those present were 

 Messrs. W. Paul, Turner, Keynes, Lane, Cr. Paul, Wills, T. Osborn, 

 Barr, C. Lee, Williams, Dobson, Bull, V\^atson, Waterer, Cutbush, 

 Spary, &c. A desire was expressed by Mr. Turner, Mr. Bull, and the 

 exhibitors generally, to afford every assistance aud support to the 

 Council. Mr. Keynes objected to the same Judges being appointed 

 every year ; Mr. Lane to their being appointed by exhibitors. Mr. 

 Barr thought that the Judges ought in all cases to be men who had 

 been either successful exhibitors or cultivators. Mr. Wills did not 

 agree in this ; he considered that exhibitors might have friends, and 

 that the Council should select whatever men they might think best. 

 Mr. W. Paul, who stated his views on the subject at some length, said 

 that it was impossible for awards to give universal satisfaction. The 

 competition for prizes in many cases was very close, and not erery 

 prize was won in a canter. Exhibitors watch narro^vly the develop- 

 ment of points of beanty in their own plants, and endeavour to anni- 

 hilate defects, and in consequence they know all tlie points of their 

 own plants, but not those of other exhibitors. Hence they are natu- 

 rally inclined to consider theii- own best. Neither exhibitors nor by- 

 standers were such good judges as the Judges who have leisure to 

 exaaiue. The Judges should be honest, efficient, cultivating men — 

 men who did not do rigbt for appearance sake, but for its own. Errors 

 of judgment might occur, but he had never seen but on one occasion 

 a case of dishonesty at au exhibition. 



After some desultory conversation it was ultimately resolved that 

 each exhibitor should send in, on or before the 2f>tli iust.. the names cf 

 five florists or horticulturists whom he wonld wish to be Judges in the 

 classes he intended to show in at the forthcoming exhibitions of thiR 

 year. _^ 



THE POLYANTHUS. 



A GLAKCE at such flowers as Hufton's Lord Lincoln, Saun- 

 ders' Cheshire Favourite, or Adis's Kingfisher, will not fail to 

 convince any admirer of " Nature's sweetest smiles " that such 



