REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PLANTS AND FLOWERS. 71 



From "William Edgar the following fine plants of British Ferns : 



Atliyrium corymhiferum. Athyrium Pritchardii. 

 " Craigii. " tortile. 



" Fnzellm. " VictoricB. 



" pinnatxcmmultifidum. Lastrea cristata. 



" plumosum. 



Tree Ferns. — A very handsome pair, consisting of Dicksonia 

 antarctica and AlsopMla australis, were exhibited by J. Warren 

 Merrill. The former is a magnificent fern from Australia, and in 

 its native country attains a height of thirty feet or more, and bears 

 at its summit a magnificent crown of dark green, lance-shaped 

 fronds, from six to twenty feet long, beautifully arched, and 

 becoming pendulous with age. The crown itself is frequently ten 

 or twelve feet across, and is evergreen. 



The AlsopMla anstralis is also a magnificent fern, and one of 

 the finest of the genus, rising on a stem twenty-five to thirty feet 

 high, the fronds being from five to ten feet in length ; it is a native 

 of South Australia. 



James Comley also sent a good plant of Alsophila australis. 



Dracaenas. — The splendid specimens shown by H. H. Hunne- 

 well and James Comley, are worthy of more than a mere mention 

 that such plants were on exhibition, there being few, if any plants 

 shown, that surpassed them for beauty and usefulness. They are 

 invaluable for the decoration of indoor apartments, the conserva- 

 tory, or garden, their habit being peculiarly elegant, combined 

 with rich coloured leafage. The plants exhibited were not bare 

 stems with a few leaves on the top, but were splendid specimens, 

 well furnished with luxuriant foliage. The varieties shown by 

 Mr. Hunnewell were Mooreana, magnifica, amabilis, porphyro- 

 phylla, regina, and Youngii. 



Palms. — The only pair on exhibition were from Hovey & Co., 

 who showed very good specimens of Geonoma pumila and PritcJi- 

 ardia sp. ; the former a desirable species, and highly recommended 

 for dinner table decoration ; a native of tropical America. 

 Pritchardia is a small genus of palms, which are very orna- 

 mental. 



Agaves. — Of late years considerable attention has been paid to 

 this class of plants, so useful and ornamental, whether for the 

 garden, conservatory, or hall. Two very fine collections were 



