.lannaiy 15, 1874. ) 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE GARDENER. 



67 



of prey " are much more abundant and diliRent than in other 

 years. Mr. Wood tella us, that be first had his attention at- 

 tracted to an Empis by seeing a number of singular compound 

 creatures flying about iu a copse of Oak trees. He says, " A 

 sweep of the net captured four or five, and disclosed the fact 

 that the compound creature was, in fact, a living Empis, clasp- 

 ing in its arms the body of an Oak moth which it had killed, 

 and into whose body its long beak was driven. The grasp of 

 the fly was wonderful, and if the creature had been magnified 

 to the human size, it would have afforded the very type of a 

 remorseless, deadly, unyielding gripe." The Green Oak Moth 

 (Tortrix viridana), is a species which in the larval state does 

 great damage to the foliage of the Oak, and its multiplication 

 is somewhat checked by the diligence of E. tessellata. As we 

 very often discover iu Nature, the Empis, enemy of moths, is 

 itself attacked by a parasite, by means of which it is kept from 

 increasing to an extent that might lead to the extinction of its 

 favourite prey. 



Smaller flies of the same family, though little noticed, do a 

 ijuiet work for the gardener's benefit in the removal of other 



much equality in two stands as to make it difficult to decide, 

 then variety and correct and tasteful setting may justifiably 

 be brought in to decide a doubtful case. — D., Deal. 



Fiff. 3. — Bombylius major.* 



Diptera that are amongst his enemies, and also, probably, 

 winged Aphides and Cocci. Such aretheDoUchapidro, minute 

 but active files, as often to be observed running actively over 

 objects as on the wing, and the larva' of which are presumed 

 to be predatory for the most part. These are abundant. A 

 scarcer insect, near akin to the Empidfc proper, is Rhampo- 

 myia pennata, the male of which has legs densely covered with 

 flattened scab-like hairs. Both sexes are black ; the female's 

 phanks are, however, destitute of this peculiar covering for 

 ornament or defence. Lastly should be mentioned at least 

 the Bee-flies, more common in hot climates than with us, but 

 of which we have some representatives. These could hardly 

 be mistaken for bees by an ignoramus, the contour is so dif- 

 ferent, and the sound they produce is also unlike the brisk 

 hum of most of the be» race. Though frequent in then' visits 

 to flowers, over which they poise themselves and obtain the 

 honey by the help of the proboscis without settUng, they now 

 and then, it is suspected, make bold to seize surreptitiously some 

 near or distant relation. The larvro are in one or two species 

 carnivorous in habit. Bombylius major itUi. 3) is a Bee-fly tole- 

 rably conspicuous, and if startled it glides away with a rapid 

 movement of the wings, though all the while they are at full 

 stretch and seemingly motionless. This is rather more than 

 half an inch in length, black, and clothed with yellow hairs; 

 round the edge of the wings there runs a waved brown line. 

 'We may at once distinguish an Empis from a Bombylius by 

 the long proboscis being bent down in the former, whereas in 

 the latter it is stretched out in front. — J. K. S. C. 



Judging Roses. — I made one omission, thanks to my friend 

 Mr. Charles Turner for reminding me of it. Where there is so 



EOYAL HOKTICULTUBAL SOCIETY. 



Speclu. General Meeiino, Januaey Stu. 



This was called by the Council in conformity with bye-law SO, 

 twelve Fellows of the Society having demanded such a meeting 

 for the purpose of taking into consideration the amendment of 

 the existing bye-laws, by the passing of a new bye-law for 

 enabling all Fellows to vote by proxy at all general meetings of 

 the Society. 



Sir A. Slade, Bart., took the chair, as Viscount Bury, who was 

 to have presided, had not arrived, and said that the Council had 

 received fi'om Mr. Bateman the copy of a resolution which he 

 intended to propose — viz. 



" That the Fellows of tlio Royal Horticultural Society, assembled in geueral 

 meeting, rosolve that all Fellows of the Society ought to have a right to vote 

 by proxy at all general meetings of the Society, and caU upon the Council to 

 coulirm the bye-law submitted in March last to that effect." 



On this the Council held a meeting at which their legal adviser 

 attended, and ho was of opinion that as the proposed bye-law 

 had been rejected at the Special General Meeting of March 2t)th, 

 1873, the Council had uo power to submit it. 



After some argument on this point, Mr. Bateman, in proposing 

 his resolution, said, that the circulars to which his name was 

 attached had been largely responded to ; as many as two-fifths 

 of the debenture-holders (iu money), had signified their assent, 

 showing that there was a strong feeUng among an influential 

 portion of the Society that its Fellows should have the right of 

 voting by proxy. Here Mr. Bateman cited a number of names 

 of the nobUity and horticulturists among his supporters. When 

 he joined, forty years ago, the Society cousisted of two classes, 

 the horticulturists ^zi?* saiig, and those who liked the amenities 

 of horticulture, but the situation had entirely changed since 

 the head quarters had been transferred to Kensington — there a 

 new ijiiartier had spruug up, of which the inhabitants liked to 

 promenade in the gardens, and in the regulation of the gardens 

 they had already achieved some ^considerable successes. The 

 preponderance of the Fellows, however, reside in the country, 

 and it was only fitting and proper that these should have the 

 same voice in the management as those near at hand. It the 

 Chairman refused to put the resolution read, he should then 

 propose the following : — 



"That the Fellows assembled iu general meeting hereby instruct Ibe 

 Cotmcil to make forthwith a new bye-law to the following or like effect — viz.: 

 Every FeUow of the Society shall be entitled to appoint, by wa-itten prosy (in 

 form marked D), any gentleman being a Fellow of the Society, to vote for him 

 or her at all or any general meetings of the Society, and to submit the same 

 to the Fellows for confirmation at the expiration of a certain niuuber of days, 

 and that this meeting stand adjourned for the purpose of confirming tiiis 

 bye-law." 



The original resolution was then moved by Mr. Bateman, and 

 seconded by Lord ^Ufred Churchill. 



Sir CouTTS Lindsay, Bart., said that the Council were in no 

 way antagonistic to the meeting, but, on the contrary, were 

 desirous to carry out the views of the majority of the members. 

 Still, in consequence of the opinion of their legal adviser they 

 were unable to accept the resolution just proposed. The Council 

 would, however, adopt every means to enable gentlemen to 

 bring forward or pass the resolution at some future meeting. 

 The proposition had been negatived last March, and it would be 

 preposterous for the Council to submit the same subject to a 

 meeting with not one-third of the number present on that 

 occasion. 



Lord Bdet having an-ived, took the chair at this stage of the 

 proceedings. 



Lord Alfred Churchill contended there was no provision 

 in the Charter to prevent a proposition previously negatived 

 being put fifty or a hundred times over, and that voting by 

 proxy was accorded in joint-stock companies. The resolution 

 was not proposed in a hostile spirit to the Council, but that the 

 whole body of Fellows should have the power of passing an 

 opinion on anything that might be submitted to them. They 

 all knew the present Council were at the Board owing to the 

 absence of proxies last year. The incubus was now thrown on 

 his friends and himself of saying the Council were acting as 

 they did to retain their seats. lie did not say that was their 

 intention — indeed, he believed it was not ; but the matter was 

 one for the opinion of the whole of the Fellows. 



Mr. I'. Leonaeii regretted to find himself at the beginning of 

 1874 in the same predicament as in 1673, when propositions were 

 made which would have deprived the F'ellows of the use of their 

 gardens. On proceeding to remark on some other acts of the 

 old Council, the speaker was recalled to the question by the 

 Chairman, and went on to say that the resolution was part of a 

 scheme emanating from the late Council. First he had a 

 ' circular signed by Sir Daniel Cooper, imploring Her Majesty's 



