xxiv Proceedings of the Botanical Society 



down hy oiio of the sudden Hoods of last autumn near ClK-ltonham. 

 At 3 feet from the ground it was 18 feet in girth, wliile thr; annual 

 rings, taken by the method of De Condolle, pointed to an age of not 

 less than 500 years. In conclusion, Sir llobert exhibited specimens 

 from the Woods of Craigiehall near Edinburgh, showing great 

 devastation to oaks by insect ravages. This woodman's plague, as 

 subsequent speakers confirmed, was widely prevalent in the Edin- 

 burgh district, and had been known in some localities for three 

 years. 



V. Report on the effects of last winter on Vegetation in different 

 parts of Scotland, and on the progress of Open-Air 

 Vegetation at the Royal Botanic Garden from the, 

 heginning of June. By Mr John Sadler, Curator. 



MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS. 



1. The President exhibited two first and second year's plants of 

 Raphanus marltirmis, showing that it is at least of biennial duration. 

 It is said by some to last for three years, although it has been 

 questioned if it is really distinct from the strictly annual Raphamis 

 Rhaph ani strum. 



In Withering's " Botany " it is stated that the late Dr Walker, 

 Professor of Natural History at Edinburgh so long ago as 1753, 

 deemed it jH-eferable to Horse Radish for the table, and foiind that 

 cattle were fond of its herbage. When the young roots are cut into 

 very small pieces and sparingly mixed with green salad, such as 

 Lettuce, Mr Gorrie obtains a very decided and agreeable radish 

 flavour. These roots are obtainable in perfection at periods when the 

 common garden radish is not in season. One of the specimens was 

 fully 4 feet high, and had not had room to spread. The original stock 

 had been brought from the coast of Bute and Wemyss Bay in 1877. 

 One of the specimens in Mr Gorrie's garden measured on August 24, 

 1878, 4 feet 2 inches high, while the si)read of its lower branches 

 was 8 feet 5 inches in diameter. This plant might profitably be 

 cultivated for cattle feeding on exposed sandy coasts. 



2. W. B. Boyd, Esq., of Ormiston House, exhibited a specimen 

 of Campanula ptdchdla, tlisplaying the change from a Gamopetalous 

 to a Polypetalous corolla ; a large braneh more than a foot long of 

 an etiolated form of the white Pelargonium, also a Campanula, 

 showing on some of the corollas the hosc-and-hose modification of 

 structure a double headed Dandelion, and three flowers of a 

 Calceolaria on one peduncle. 



