294 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



The American Azaleas were very beautiful. Those from the 

 gardens of the Baron Rothschild were fine in growth, but had 

 been cut into too regular shapes to be pleasing. Vast and superb 

 collections of Pelargoniums; very rich Pensces (violets), Pansies, 

 and admirable Calceolarias, great for variety and beauty. Very 

 fine, but no tmany, roses. The Orchidese of Messrs. Thebaud and 

 Keteleer, and of M. Leon Le Geray, were brilliant and of admi- 

 rable culture. Among them we noted the Saccolabium guttatum, 

 a grand specimen, bearing five long bunches, thirty centimetres 

 (a foot) long, of beautiful red flowers. Others, with sixteen large 

 white flowers. The admiration of the public was excited by the 

 Bylantium Antharcticum, a fern, from New Zealand. It is a tree 

 fern. We had the Bread tree, (the Garcinia Gutta,) furnishing 

 the gum drop; the Isonandra gutta, (the gutta percha;) theSalac- 

 trodennron utile, (milk tree;) the Ipecac and Quinine; the 

 beautiful Rhododendron Dalusise, from the Himmalaya mountains. 



Among the vegetables, we saw there a beautiful collection of 

 the dioscorea batatas, Chinese yam, from Mr. Remont, of Versail- 

 les, and of M. Courtois Gerard, and of M. Limet, and his bulbous 

 cheroils. From the garden of Mons. De Rothschild, rich, ripe 

 prunes, figs, delicious peaches, Chasselas grapes, strawberries and 

 raspberries. There was also a fine collection of the productions 

 of Algeria, from the Minister of War. 



THE POTATO DISEASE IN THIS COUNTRY. 



1 his having been adopted at the last meeting of the Club as 

 one of the questions for discussion at this meeting, was now 

 called up, and elicited a very spirited and interesting discussion, 

 of which we can only give a few facts. 



Mr. A. Bergen, of Long Island, said that the alarm prevailing 

 two weeks ago about the potato rot is somewhat abating. There 

 is something very mysterious about the spread of this disease. 

 In some fields it is twice as bad as in the next field, with only a 

 fence between, and both fields treated alike. I think the manure 

 aifects the disease; it is lightest in the poorest sandy soil. Grow- 

 ing potatoes is not encouraging. We cannot raise good crops on 

 poor land; and if we make it rich the tubers rot. It is equally 



