HORTICULTURAL CHRONICLE. 



— The squaee Bamboo. — Mr. Ed. Renard recently 

 brought before the French Acclimatisation Society a notice 

 of a new Bamboo, discovered by him on some shooting 

 excursions in the neighbourhood of the town of Osaka, 

 Japan, the peculiar character of which is to have square 

 stems. Mr. Renard never met with it elsewhere in his travels 

 from Canton to Shang-hae, Han-Keou and Pekin even, 

 although he tried in every way to procure it ; but he was 

 assured by Chinese merchants that it existed in the pro- 

 vinces of Ho-nan and Su-tchuen. 



Mr. Renard's statement has been questioned ; but we can 

 confirm it from ocular demonstration. It attains a height 

 of thirty feet, or more, and has perfectly square stems with 

 slightly rounded angles. Mr. Renard sent some plants of it 

 to Europe, but they arrived at Bordeaux during the war 

 and were lost. However, exertions are being made to re- 

 introduce this singular plant, which will probably prove 

 hardy. 



— Feuit show in London. — A grand International 

 Exhibition of Fruits is announced to take place in the 

 Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill. It will be open from the 

 second to the fourth of September. 



— English expedition in the east of China. — We 

 learn that the expedition for the scientific exploration of 

 south-east China has terminated disastrously, Mr. Margary 

 having been killed, and Mr. John Anderson, the naturalist 

 to the expedition, narrowly escaped from the natives with 

 his life, after abandoning all his collections and instruments. 

 He went thither to Calcutta, and has since arrived in London. 

 Distant scientific expeditions are by no means all pleasure ! 



— Hoeticulttjeal congeess at Beussels. — At the 

 proposed congress at Brussels in 1876 , an important motion 

 will be made by Mr. Morren, namely, the publication of a 

 Hortus Europaeus, or systematic and descriptive catalogue 

 of all the plants cultivated in the gardens of Europe. Such 

 a work would be invaluable if properly carried out, and 

 we invite our confreres to be prepared with their suggestions. 



— A new Potato disease. — A new, and, we fear, 

 formidable disease threatens the Potato crop in England. It 

 appears to have been first observed in the trial grounds of 

 the Horticultural Society, at Chiswick , where it is reported 

 to have destroyed the entire crop of American varieties. 

 It has also shown itself in various other parts of the King- 

 dom. The Rev. M. J. Berkeley, the eminent fungologist, is 

 investigating the nature of the disease, which is either caused 

 by fungus growth or the decaying haulm becomes the seat 

 of these insidious organisms. Writ* rs disagree in their re- 

 ports of the origin and progress of the disease. One asserts 

 that it proceeds from the tubers upwards, whilst another 

 affirms that the sets or parent tubers of diseased plants 

 examined did not present the slightest trace of disease , and 

 could not possibly have been the channel of communication. 

 So far, it appears that the American varieties have been 



the chief suffe; 

 are not exempl 

 that this will n 



apprehensions. 

 - dots OP 



and i 



Mr. 



Heritte more particularly calls attention. Il would be pos- 

 sible to fix this beautiful colour, and as the plant will thrive 

 on rocky barren soil, it might become a remunerative crop 

 where ab-nlutoly nothing else will grow. 



— Prize or Honoue to Messes. Baltet Bbotdbs. 



It is with pleasure we hear that the well Imown nurserymen, 

 Baltet Brothers, of Troycs, have received a high mark of 

 distinction from the Minister of Agriculture of France. In 



for their nurseries. Never was reward more justly merited, 

 and all who are aware of the zeal with which these gentlemen 

 have promoted arboriculture and pomology, and are acquain- 

 ted with the numerous publications of Mr. Ch. Baltet. will 

 join us incongratulating them on their well-deserved success. 



— The Anemones. — In the number of The Garden for 

 May 22, Mr. W. Robinson has done for the Anemones what 

 he so successfully tried for the Lilies, namely, a descriptive 

 and cultural review of all the species cultivated in our 

 gardens. This article is illustrated by beautiful wood-cuts 

 representing on a reduced scale the 2ii species described, and 

 will prove of great service to the amateur, whom we would 

 advise to peruse it. 



— Me. Thiselton Dtee at Kew. — We hear that this 

 learned professor of botany has been appointed assistant 

 Director of Kew Gardens. This choice will have the approval 

 of all those who are aware of the profound erudition of 

 Mr. Thiselton Dyer, and his great success as a lecturer on 

 botany. 



— Masdevallia poltsticta. — The Gardeners Chronicle 

 of May 22 contains a beautiful figure of this remarkable 

 species from the pencil of Mr. W. G. Smith, representing 

 a fine plant, ornamented with three spikes of flowers, grown 

 by Mr. B. S. Williams. It is undoubtedly the same species 

 as that pourtrayed by us in March last, but the labellum is 

 broader, and the tail-like appendages obtuse, differences too 

 slight to be of any moment. A charming plant. 



Robenia sempeeflokexs. — In a recent number of 



the Revue Horticole Mr. Carriere describes a curious per- 



