41 MR. WILLIAMS OX THE CULTIVATION OF MELOxXS. 



of the arch and the upper surface of tlie brick floor, where it sinks 

 into the ground and tends to keep up the heat. 



The melon plants grew rapidly. at about 82° of bottom heat ; 

 but in the warm weather in June, finding it rising too high, I 

 omitted boiling the water fi-om Saturday evening till Monday 

 evening ; this gave me a variable heat between 78° and 82°, the 

 non-supply of heat for twenty-four hours on the Sunday giving 

 the internal heat of the vault time to become reduced. My ap- 

 paratus was rather too late in setting to work, and this, added to 

 the unfavourable weather after the month of June, prevented my 

 melons ripening properljs. 1 had, however, one or two of the 

 Cabul melons after being kept in a warm room for eight or ten 

 days after they were gathered, which were melting and good ; 

 and had the season been such as the sunmier of 1844, I have no 

 doubt but they would have proved excellent. 



V. — Local Hdbitation and Wants of Plants. By tiie lion, and 

 Very Rev. William Herbert, F.H.S., Dean of Manchester. 



(Communicated November 1", 1845.) 



Cephalanthera rubra (otherwise called Serapias rubra) is said 

 to grow in the woods of Ingleborough, in Yorkshire, and I 

 once saw a weak specimen of it without flower in the neighbour- 

 hood of Hampton Common, in Gloucestershire. While I was 

 in the neighbourhood of Thuu I learnt that this plant, of which 

 I had as yet seen nothing in my rambles amongst the woods in the 

 mountains near tlie lake, inhabited a large wood further from the 

 town. ■ I was desirous of seeing it in its native place, with a view 

 to observe what the circumstances were that caused it to be so 

 rare and confined to peculiar localities. I therefore proceeded 

 along the edge of the beautiful lake till I found myself opposite 

 to the commencement of the wood that had been pointed out to 

 ine. It was very extensive, densely timbered, and exceedingly 

 steep, the lower part of the declivity being occupied bj^ meads 

 and vineyards. It was evident that without some clue to disco- 

 'ver the precise habitation of the plant I wished to find, I might, 

 after a long scramble through a wood that was nearly precipi- 

 tous, return home without having seen it. Looking therefore to 

 the nature of the ground, it occurred to me that, if it grew under 

 such thick shade in so steep a position, it would probably prefer 

 the neighbourhood of some channel along which the rain-water 

 rushed down from the mountain. I determined therefore to 

 attack the wood at that point, and, entering the dry and stony 



