6 THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 
(Jan. 3, 
gardener, took every care to do them justice. He after- 
wards informed me that most of them had germinated 
but being at a distance from water communication it is 
I am convinced that anybody taking the same care, 
might convey seeds from England to New Zealand with 
certainty of success. They will also carry with equal 
success in canvas bags, hung up in the cabin or other 
airy place (as stated at p. 840) ; and when that can be 
done it is preferable. Such was the way in which one 
of our passengers carried seeds, which were sown by 
myself some weeks after landing, and they germinated 
very well. Such as Acorns and Walnuts will carry 
safest packed in a box or cask, in tolerably dry sand, as 
in the other case they are apt to get too dry, when the 
shell would crack, and consequently the embryo lose its 
vital power. Generally speaking, however, the grand 
point in "preserving seeds, either on sea or land, is to 
keep them dry, {in order to prevent the loss of the 
carbon, which every seed contains more or less.— Alea. 
Burnett, Roby Hall, near Liverpool. 
Harrison’s “ Floricultural Cabinet.’—It is with 
extreme reluctance that I call attention to the piratical 
propensities of this periodical. I feel, however, that in 
self-defence I am bound to do so. On taking up the 
Number for December I saw an article headed “ Trip 
to Paris in search of Autumnal Roses,” and signed W. 
Paul, Cheshunt. I was at first somewhat surprised, 
ing never written anything for that journal, and 
searched closely in expectation of finding it given as an 
extract from theGard.Chronicle, where it appeared some 
15 months ago. No such acknowledgment was made. 
Now, what I complain of is, that the article appearing 
at the present time as an original communication, 
places me in the awkward position of giving and describ- 
ing as new varieties such as are now well known, andin 
-almost every amateur’s collection. As the original ap- 
peared in your columns, I trust you will not object to 
insert this letter. It is written from no hostile feeling ; 
merely to explain what would appear to readers of both 
periodicals trifling and absurd.— W. Paul, Nurseries, 
Cheshunt, Herts. 
Hotieties. 
BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 
Turs Society held its second meeting for the session 
on the 11th instant—Dr. Archibald Inglis in the chair. 
Donations to the Library and Museum were.announced 
from Dr. Diekeuson, Liverpool; W. Brown, Esq., 
R.N.; Philosophical Society of Glasgow ; Literary and 
Philosophical Soeiety of Liverpool; and Professor Koch, 
Erlangen. Ralph Holden, Esq., and John Waller., 
Esq., were elected Resident Fellows of the Society.— 
Mr. J. M‘Nab read a continuation of his journal of a 
tour through part of the United States and the Canadas. 
The last portion communicated to the Society gave an 
account of the botanical rarities observed in the neigh- 
bourhood of Toronto, and concluded with an exeursion 
from Fort Niagara to Queenston, and thence to the 
Falls. The portion of the journal deseribing the re- 
markable distribution of the trees, shrubs, and her-, 
baceous plants in the vicinity of the famous Falls 
having been read before the Society at a previous meet- 
ing, was therefore omitted. In the present notice, em- 
bracing the journey from Niagara to New London, 
Mr. M‘Nab particularly alluded to the excellent state 
of the cultivated grounds through the Hamilton and 
Gore districts, and the suitableness of large tracts of the 
wooded country for emigrants. On some waste land 
round the head of Burlington Bay, many good speci- 
mens of herbaceous plants were picked in flower ; of 
these the Lespedeza hirta, Polygala verticillata, Ge- 
rardia tenuifolia, and G. pedicularia, were abundant, 
with Chrysopsis alba ; the latter plant being noticed for 
the first time as an inhabitant of Canada. Two strong 
herbaged Grasses, Andropogon furcatus and Limnetis 
des, were ioned k ding i 
E 
o 
in tl 
neighbourhood of Hamilton, but neither seemed to 
be relished by cattle. The moorland ground in the 
vieinity of Brantford afforded many interesting bota- 
nical rarities, among which Euphorbia corollata was 
conspicuous. Liatris stricta, Aletris farinosa, Lespe- 
deza frutescens, Batschia Gmelini, Arenaria stricta, 
Viola palmata, with many others, were plentiful in 
flower, and proved most attractive objects on the dry 
sandy plains ; while the moister places yielded Tofieldia 
glutinosa, Zigadenus chloranthus, and Glycine Apios in 
profusion, The forests through the inland districts 
were exceedingly rich and varied, many of them con- 
taining large and lofty trees of Oak, Elm, Beech, 
Hickory, Ash, and White Pine. Some of these districts, 
in process of clearing by the recent settlers, presented a 
very kable app m q of large 
oups of stately trees standing dead, many with stems 
m 10 to 14 feet in circumference, and varying from 
80 to 100 feet in height. The mode resorted to by the 
settlers for killing the trees is by cutting, during the 
early part of winter, a notch five or six inches deep 
round the lower part of their stems. The White Pines 
presented a very singular appearance caused by a pecu- 
liar seeming twisting of the decayed trunks in a uniform 
rendered p worthless. Many of the road- 
sides, through the wooded districts for miles together, 
were riehly adorned with the searlet and blue cardinal 
flowers (Lobelia cardinalis and syphilitica), and the 
erimson Monarda (Monarda didyma). e American 
Elderberry (Samt Canadensis) also presented a 
striking feature, being very abundant and densely clothed 
with fruit. The only tree noticed by the party, not 
previously seen in any other district, was the Tamarack 
or Black American Larch (Larix pendula). This tree, of 
which there was an extensive forest on the banks of the 
Thames river, near New London, was generally of 
straggling growth, and never exceeded 3 feet in cir- 
eumference.—Dr. Balfour read an account of a bota- 
nical trip to Ben Voirlich and Ben Nevis, in August 
last. ve an account of the general features of 
the district, and noticed the occurrence of moraines and 
large angular boulders near the upper part of Loch 
Lomond, and the ‘smooth rounded rocks, with distinct 
groovings, which are seen near the waterfall of Glen 
Nevis. Both of these phenomena being probably in- 
dicative of the former existence of glaciers. He the 
gave an account of the Flora, and noticed the occur- 
rence of Carex irrigua near Loch Hoy; of Isoetes 
lacustris, Carex saxatilis, and Poa Balfourii, in large 
quantities on Ben Voirlich ; and of Lysimachia vul- 
b d 
B 
aris, Carex vesicaria, Rubus affinis, 
decay. It is not the habit of the allied species to prey 
on deeayed or decaying matter, but to produce decay— 
a fact which is of the first importance. Though so 
many other species have this habit, these have not. The 
plant then becomes unhealthy in consequence of the 
presence of the mould, which feeds upon its juices and 
prevents the elaboration of nutritive sap in the leaves, 
while it obstructs the admission of air and the emission 
of perspiration. The stem is thus overcharged with 
moisture and eventually rots, while every source of 
nutriment is cut off from the half-ripe tubers. It would 
be as reasonable to say, with our knowledge of the 
nature and habits of the cereal fungi, that bunt, or 
mildew, or the other allied diseases which affeet-corn, 
are the consequence and not the causes of disease. In 
favourable seasons they are not developed ; in unfa- 
vourable seasons they spread like wildfire: in one 
sense, therefore, the atmospherie conditions are the 
cause, but merely as they stimulate into action the 
latent pest. The immediate eause of disease is the 
fungus which preys upon the tissues of the corn. So 
exactly, in the present instance, as far at least as the 
aerial portions of the plant are concerned, the Botrytis 
is the i diate cause of d i In some in- 
stances it may have been aided by unseasonable frost, 
but this has certainly not always been the case. The 
mould, indeed, would not have spread but from peculiar 
t nip" ditions f, » 
y ani 
adula var. foliosus, Bab., near Inverarnon. After 
notieing the varieties of Quereus pedunculata and ses- 
siliflora which oceur in Glen Falloch, he proceeded to 
give a detailed account of the botany of Ben Nevis. 
Besides the usual alpine plants, he pieked Saxifraga 
rivularis, Stellaria cerastoides, Poa alpina vivipara, Poa 
laxa, and Poa montana, Cornus ‘suecica, Cistopteris 
dentata, Carex saxatilis, and various alpine forms of 
Hieracia. Specimens of the plants were exhibited to 
the meeting. At this meeting the election of office- 
bearers for the ensuing year took place, when Pro- 
fessor Balfour was chosen President ; and Drs. Gr 
ville, Seller, Archibald Inglis, and Douglas Maclagan, 
Vice-Presidents, 
9 
Mebiews. 
The Journal of ‘the Horticultural Society. 
art I. 8vo. Longmans, 
In consequence of the desire of the Council of the 
Horticultural Society to supply the members gratui- 
tously, and at a stated period, with a work which 
should present at short intervals of time an account of 
Vol. I. 
ip toits growth. What 
these are it may be impossible to say, but it is a fact 
well known to every student of the extensive tribe of 
fungi, that their growth, and especially their numbers, 
depend more than all other vegetables on atmospherieal 
conditions, or what Fries has happily called ‘cosmica 
momenta.’ Even the peasant knows this to be the 
case with Mushrooms. Dry and wet summers oceur, 
and both are equally barren ; while in other seasons, 
apparently but little dissimilar, they oceur in the utmost 
profusion. A species will be most abundant for a year 
or two, and then for a period vanish entirely. It is 
notorious that this is the case in other parts ‘of the 
creation, especially amongst insects, peculiar species of 
which sometimes swarm to such an extent as to’ baffle 
the naturalist. In the summer of 1826, for instance, 
Vanessa cardui existed in the greatest profusion in 
England, and it was traced by Mr. A. Way from Eng- 
land to Nice. The species of late years has been com- 
paratively rare. There is nothing surprising, then, in 
the fact of the immense prevalence of a parasitie mould. 
o one wonders when the Hop-grounds are ravaged by 
their peculiar mildew, because the cultivation of Hops 
is so limited ; but if it were as universal and of as much 
the proceedings of the Society, of the exp tried 
in the garden, of the new plants introduced, and of such 
recent inventions, observations, or discoveries as most 
directly bear upon the pursuit of Horticulture, it has 
been determined to substitute a quarterly 8vo “Journal” 
for the 4to “ Transactions” hitherto published, and now 
to be brought to a close after the appearance of one 
more Number. The work before us is the first Part of 
this periodical. Tt contains four lithographed plates, 
exhibiting the parasites and morbid appearances con- 
nected with the Potato murrain. An interior view of 
p as Potatoes, its ravages would equally ex- 
cite attention. It is by these instruments, contemptible 
in the sight of man, that the Almighty is pleased some- 
times to accomplish his ends. Instances, like that 
of the Hessian fly, will readily occur of the im- 
mense disproportion between the means and the end. 
The peculiar habit of the species, as said above, 
contradicts the notion of its appearance being the con- 
sequence of decay. I have in vain tried to make the 
spores vegetate, as is so easily done with other species, 
The spores of Botrytis Bassiana, which destroys the 
Mr. Dillwyn Llewelyn’s curious O house, the 
end of which is a waterfall, and the floor a basin, forms 
the frontispiece. Various woodcuts, explaining the 
structure of this house, or representing new plants, 
complete the illustrations. The contents of the Part will 
be in our advertising columns. The papers 
which will attract most attention are doubtless the 
account of Mr. Llewelyn’s house, and the very full 
reports on the Potato disease, in a botanical and phy- 
siological point of view, by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, the 
great mycologist, and chemically by Mr. Solly. 
Scott has given a clear account of the Mango-growing 
at Sir George Staunton’s. A very useful communica- 
tion by Mr. Williams, of Pitmaston, on Melon-growing, 
contains some capital hints for the small gardener ; 
while Mr. Gordon’s aecount of Cryptomeria japonica 
will be read with interest by all who care for hardy 
evergreen trees ; and a very interesting communica- 
tion by the Dean of Manchester on the habits of plants, 
is full of matter for reflection. 
Mr. Berkeley attributes the Potato disease to fungi, as 
our readers are aware. Mr. Edward Solly entertains 
the opposite opinion, and, with us, refers it to at- 
mospherie conditions. Wé must leave our readers to 
study the arguments of these two able observers, and 
to form their own conclusions if they can. For the 
present we shall merely quote what Mr. Berkeley says 
about the fungus itself :— 
* We come now to the theory which has been so 
much canvassed, and which is now peculiar almost to 
r. Morren, unless M. Payen is to be reckoned also as 
its advocate. Of this opinion, notwithstanding the op- 
position, and in some instances the ridicule almost, with 
which it has been assailed, I must, as said above, pro- 
fess myself at present. I do not mean to say that there 
are no difficulties in the case, or that weighty objec- 
tions may not be raised, but I think that these dificul- 
ties have been exaggerated, while in other instances 
the exact question has not been understood. It is 
agreed that the disease commences in the leaves; and 
in those instances where the mould has not been ob- 
served, it is probable that the decayed foliage was exa- 
mined too late. In a few hours the fungus*has run its 
course, and in a week or so the greater portion of a 
field is laid waste so as to make it difficult to get speci- 
mens for examination, The decay is the consequence 
, and certainly is not the consequence, buf 
the eause of decay, because the disease is readily com- 
municated to the most healthy caterpillars even of other 
species, vegetate readily upon various substances. I do 
not assert that others may not have better success ; but 
at present, in whatever way I have tried them, I have 
not been able to get a single spore to sprout, much less 
to propagate them upon foreign bodies. I do not know 
of any single instance in which any of the nearly allied 
species have been found in any other situation than 
Mr, | £rowing from the tissues of plants ; were this ever the 
case, they could not have been overlooked, as their 
spores are so much larger than those of other species of 
the genus, Botrytis cana is the only species which ap- 
proaches them in this respect, but it is distinguished at 
once by its cinereous flocci and its evident relationship 
to D. vulgaris, The species are, in fact, as peculiar to 
the living tissues of plants as are the several species of 
Puccinia and Uredo, which could not exist, or at any 
rate be perfected, elsewhere. The mycelium of the 
cereal fungi is known to exist from the earliest period 
in corn, and is perfected only under favourable cireum- 
stances ; and there is every reason to believe that the 
case is the same with these essential parasites, which 
certainly do not thrive on putrescent matter, but cause 
the decay of the matter on which they thrive. The 
direct observations of Bauer, Corda, and Léveillé, prove 
merely what a thousand facts indicate, unless, indeed, 
we have recourse to the notions entertained by many of 
spontaneous or equivocal generation from languid or 
diseased tissues ; for the question at last reduces itself 
to this, which is indeed one involved in mystery, but 
which, as far as I can judge, wherever the veil is par- 
tially lifted up, seems after all to point to the same 
general laws by which the higher portions of the crea- 
tion are governed. To my own apprehension, then, it 
appears clear at least that the cause of the premature 
decay and putrefaction of the haulm is to be found in 
the parasitic fungus, in consequence of whose attacks 
the tubers are unripe, and in a bad condition for pre- 
servation.’ 
As it may be interesting to some of our readers to 
see what sort of plants these species of Botrytis are, we 
add the figure of that which attacks silkworms, along 
with a few notes by Mr. Berkeley on other species, 
Speaking of the Botrytis infestans, which he regards 
as the destroyer of the Potato crop, he observes that— 
