750 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



blossoms; and a cut specimen of the o ermadici] 



azureurn, a fine autumn-flowering greenhouse plant from 

 the north of India, with pretty bluish-gray flowers. A 

 Knightian Medal was awarded for the four first named 

 plants.— From Mr. Jack, gr. to G. Loraine, Esq., was 

 Pleroma Benthamianum, a Melastoma-Iike plant, with 

 beautiful deep violet blossoms, and a specimen of Onci- 

 dium Lanceanum. A Certificate was awarded for the Ple- 

 roma Benthamianum.— Mr. Cuthill, of Camberwell, sent 

 Leiantbus nigrescens, a plant nearly related to Lisianthus; 

 it was about 7 feet in height, and covered with a multitude 

 of nearly black star-shaped flowers. A Certificate was 

 awarded for it.— From Mr. Tant, gr. to E. Johnston, 

 Esq., was a box containing blooms of Chrysanthemums, 

 all of which were very fine flowers. A Certificate was 



awarded for them Messrs. Chandler and Son, of Vaux- 



hall, also sent a box of Chrysanthemums, containing fine 

 blooms.— From Mr. Jackson, of Kingston, was a well- 

 grown specimen cf Statice macrophylla, which is one of 

 the most handsome of the arborescent kinds. A Certi- 

 ficate was awarded for it.— Mr. W. P. Ayres, gr. to J. 

 Cook, Esq., received a Certificate for a plant of Achi- 

 xnenes picta, in fine bloom : this was stated to have been 

 grown in an intermediate house, the night temperature of 

 Which rarely exceeded 55°, and was frequently below 50°. 

 The general impression among cultivators is, that this 

 plant will not produce flowers sufficient at one time to 

 make a first-rate specimen ; but half-a-dozen plants in 

 one pot, as profusely covered with bloom as the one 

 sent, would present a beautiful appearance. As a plant 

 for winter decoration, or cutting for small bouquets, it is 

 certainly one of the finest things that has been introduced 

 for a number of years. — Messrs. Henderson, of Pine- 

 apple-place, received a Certificate for an exceedingly well 

 grown specimen of JEschynanthus grandiflorus, which 

 was also finely covered with bloom. From the same col- 

 lection were also the sweet-smelling Cestrum viridiflorum ; 

 the larger variety of Rondeletia speciosa, Boronia pin- 

 nata, together with Epiphyllum truncatum, growing on 

 a block like an Epiphyte, by which treatment it is said 

 to flower much better, and to have a very pretty effect. 

 The same group likewise contained four Heaths, viz., 

 Westcottia, exurgens, Sebana viridis, and pyramidalis, 

 the latter profusely covered with small flesh-coloured 



blossoms Of fruit, there was a considerable quantity. 



Mr. G. Maude, gr. to E. C. L. Kay, Esq., sent two Pro- 

 vidence Pine-apples, the largest of which weighed 7 lbs. 

 11 ozs., and measured 9 inches in circumference, and 18 

 inches in height ; the number of pips were 12. They 

 were excellent specimens of good cultivation. A Bank- 

 sian Medal was awarded for them. — From Mr. Fleming, 

 gr. to tbe Duke of Sutherland, vras a beautiful specimen 

 of the famous Cabul Melon, which weighed 5 lbs. 

 13 ozs., and measured 21 inches ia circumference. 

 Mr. Fleming stated that he had cut three of the same 

 kind, weighing together 18| lbs., from plants grown in a 

 vinery, under the shade of Vine-leaves. The Melons he 

 cuts at this season he wraps in paper, and then lays them 

 in a basket, the sides and bottom of which are also 

 covered with paper ; he then lays a sheet of paper over 

 thrr whole, and places the basket in a Pine-stove for a 

 period of 8 or 10 days, by which means the fruit acquires 

 an excellent flavour, and is esteemed a great acquisition 

 to the dessert during November. A Certificate was 

 awarded to the one sent. — Mr. Fish, gr. to H. H. Oddie, 

 Esq., sent a green-fleshed Cassawba Melon weighing 

 3 lbs. It was stated to be the produce of a second crop 

 from the same plant. Mr. Fish also sent specimens of 

 the Beurre Diel Pear, and good bunches of Black Ham- 

 burgh Grapes, which were cut from a house where no 

 fire-heat had been employed. These, although good, 

 were, however, inferior to fine bunches of the same, 

 which were exhibited by G. Crawshay, Esq., of Colney 

 Hatch, who has for some years past grown excellent 

 Grapes without the aid of fire-heat. Slight fires are 

 occasionally lighted about the beginning of November ; 

 not, however, with a "view to ripening the Grapes, 

 but merely for the purpose of keeping out frost 

 and drying up damp. — Mr. Crawshay also sent 

 specimens of an unnamed Plum, apparently the 

 Late Imperatrice, in fine condition. — From Mr. 

 Jones, gr. to Sir M. Disney, were bunches of Black 

 Hamburgh Grapes, each weighing 1 lb. 5 ozs.; and of 

 what is called "Wilmot's Dutch Hamburgh, each weigh- 

 ing 13 ozs. 

 unnamed 

 have bee 

 just beco 

 large and 

 were said 



Mr. Hammond sent from Jersey single specimens of the 

 following Pears, viz. Chaumontelle, Colraar, Passe 

 Coluaar, Duchesse d'Angoliieme, Supreme (Catillac), 

 Beurre' d'Aremberg (Glout Morceau), Bergamotte de la 

 Pentecote, St. Germain, and Marie Louise. These were 

 all of them excellent fruit, and showed to what perfection 

 such varieties could be brought in so famous a Pear 

 country as Jeney is. Mr. Hammond also sent speci- 

 mens of his Seedling Apple, called Hammond's Pippin, 

 a fine-looking well-tasted variety, concerning which he 

 states that it is fit to be eaten in a short time after it has 

 been gathered, and lasts nearly as long as the Nonpareil. 

 The blossoms are produced very early, and the fruit 

 remains late on the tree, which thrives best in a warm 

 situation well exposed to the sun. A Certificate was 

 awarded for the three first-named Pears.— From Mrs. 

 Waller, Menhail Hall, near Wolverhampton, were 

 ipecimens of a Pear called the Tettenhall, which 



MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 

 . FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



{Concl A from lust uek.) 



Tuesday, Sept. 30. — There were two Papers read in 

 the Section to-day, of which we shall give an abstract, 

 was stated to be one peculiar to that neighbourhood, j The first, which perhaps is one of the most remarkable 

 abounding in the village of Tettenhall. It is some hardy [ that was read before any of the meetings of the Associ- 



ey were exceedingly 

 beautiful, and were made by M. Cros, in the island of 

 Bourbon, with whosedeath,it is said, the mode of preparing 

 them was lost. There are upwards of 4000 specimens 

 in the collection.— Mr. Quekett exhibited, with the mi- 

 croscope of the Society, some fossil animalcules from 

 America.-— The new Part of the Society's Transactions 

 was ready for distribution. Professor E. Forbes read 

 his own paper, and exhibited diagrams on a black board; 

 and the paper was listened to with marked attention. 

 We are glad to find the Council thus disposed to make 

 arrangements to renderthe dull sittings of this Society 

 more attractive. — L. E. 



wilding, unfit to bo e very hard and gritty, li 



was, however, found to be a good baking Pear, and useful 

 for preserving. It is an abundant bearer. This Pear, 

 which is sometimes also called the M Girder," is sent in 

 rge quantities to Manchester, where it is used in dyeing 

 buff; the fruit is said to produce the only buff dye that 

 will bear washing without fading. Mrs. Waller also sent 

 specimens of what is called the English Orange Apple, 

 which has the recommendation of being a good keeper, 

 and likewise of being a good table fruit as well as a good 

 baking Apple. The trees were said to be good bearers. 

 —Mr. Dunsford, gr. to W. Everett, Esq., sent a brace 

 of Cucumbers that had been grown in a M'Phail pit, 

 one of them measuring 19 inches in length. Mr. Duns- 

 ford also sent a single specimen of an improved kind, 

 being a cross between the Syon House and a Black 

 Spine variety. This measured 17 inches in length, and 

 had been grown in a house heated by hot water, for 

 which this sort was said to be well suited, being strong 

 in habit and an abundant bearer.— From the Garden 

 of the Society were Erica cruenta, refulgens, and 

 vernix, Begonia acuminata, Catasetum Claveringii, 

 Oncidium ciliatum, and Phycella obtusa, a greenhouse 

 bulb, which was sent from Peru by Mr. Hartweg, 

 having scarlet and green blossoms, which have consider- 

 able resemblance to those of P. cbloracra, also Hip- 

 peastrum aulicum, Crinum amabile, Cypripedium venus- 

 tum, an oblong scarlet fruit, about 6 inches in length, 

 that was cut from a species of Trichosanthes, sent by 

 Mr. Fortune from the northern parts of China, and a 

 specimen of Lyperia pinnatifida, a plant which everybody 

 can grow, and which would be useful for those who have 

 small greenhouses, as it continues to produce its pretty 

 violet blossoms during the whole year. — The follow- 

 ing fruits were also sent from the garden of the Society, 

 viz Napoleon, and Althorpe Crassane, the latter pos- 

 sessing a rich Crassane flavour, notwithstanding its green 

 appearance, which is against it in the market, where it 

 is not known — it is a hardy and an excellent variety ; 

 Figue de Naples, a great bearer ; Forelle or Trout Pear, 

 which is beautiful beyond all others, and its flesh is delicate 

 and free from grit. Beurre Diel : this is rendered melting 

 and much improved in flavour by being kept in a tempe- 

 rature of about 60°, for a fortnight previously to its 

 being used ; Pomme (Poire) ; Belmont, one of Mr. 

 Knight's hardy varieties ; and Duchesse d'Angouleme, 

 which from a standard, although smaller, is better fla- 

 voured than from a wall. Of Apples there were Court 

 of Wick and Claygate Pearmain ; the latter partakes of 

 the flavour of the Ribston Pippin ; Golden Reinette — this 

 cankers in some situations, but, nevertheless, deserves a 

 place in every collection ; Blenheim Pippin ; Stagg's 

 Nonpareil, Waltham Abbey seedling ; Gloria Mundi, 

 Alfriston, Rymer, and Dumelows seedling ; the latter is 

 a very valuable kitchen sort. 



LINNEAN SOCIETY. 



Nov. 5. — E. Forster, Esq., in the chair. — A paper 

 was read by Professor E. Forbes, on the Medusa pro- 

 boscidialis of Forskal. He had found this animal in his 

 1 ite voyage up the Mediterranean, off the coast of Lycia. 

 He went into a detailed account of the anatomy of this 

 animal, in which he differed from previous authors in 

 assigning to a remarkable proboscidian process developed 

 from the concave under surface of the animal, the func- 

 tion of a stomach. The author had also observed that 

 this animal had the power of lengthening or shortening its 

 tentacles, thus rendering the length of these organs quite 

 inconclusive for specific characters, or for indicating age. 

 -—Several presents were announced by the Secretary ; 

 among others, a collection of Dried Plants from South 

 Africa, by Dr. Wallich ; a collection of Plants from 

 New South Wales, and of Seeds from the Cape of Good 

 Hope, by T. W. Mann, Esq. ; a collection of Dried 

 Fruits from India, by T. S. llalph, Esq., containing 

 specimens of Feronia elephantum, Anona reticulata, 

 Butea frondosa, Adansonia digitals, &c. ; a section of the 

 trunk of the Cabbage Palm, and specimens of Dried 

 Fruits, by Dr. Frederick Farre ; cones of Pinus macro- 

 carpa, by Messrs. Knight ; the Fruit of Marty nia 

 fragrans (Lindlcy), by J. Janson, Esq. ; speci- 

 mens of Equisctum Tremondii and Spergula stricta, 

 by Messrs. Backhouse and Gibson, from whom also 

 letters were received descriptive of the localities in Great 



[Nov. 9, 



ation, was by Professor E. Forbes, on the Mrmi i 

 of the Reproductive System of Scrtulari ffij* 

 and its Analogy with that of Flowering Hints t?' 

 Sertularian Zoophytes are those animals lo^,u n \w 

 Zoological sc le, and which have a plant-like forrr ?*H 

 were at one time supposed to be sea-weeds. TW 

 animals are composed of numerous nutritive indVjn?* 

 which, beside the life of each, share in the common ] 

 the whole : there appear, on the axes or branches, vario 

 formed bodies, in some species urn-shaped, i n qV. 

 pod-shaped, very dissimilar from the other parts of S 

 whole, in which, after a time, the ova are formed. TW 

 bodies, Professor E. Forbes maintains, are brancheitf 

 many individuals, which have undergone an ideal meta- 

 morphosis exactly comparable to that which Linnaw 

 first, and Goethe afterwards, demonstrated inthefhwe 

 of vegetables. The following is the statement of this 

 theory :— The vesicle is formed from a branch or pin w 

 through an arrest of individual development, by 

 shortening of the spiral axis, and by a transformatioa 

 of the stomachs (individuals) into egg-producing mem. 

 branes, the dermato-skeletons (or cells) uniting to form 

 the capsule or germen ; which metamorphosis is exactly 

 comparable to that which we found in the reproduce 

 organs of flowering plants, in which the floral bod 

 (normally a branch clothed with spirally arranged 

 leaves — an assemblage of respiratory individuals) 

 is constituted through the contraction of the axis 

 and the whorling of the individuals borne on that 

 axis, and by their transformation into several parts of 

 the flower. In order to prove this theory, the author 

 submitted the several forms of ovigerous vesicle in the 

 family of Sertulariadoe to a searching anah , taking the 

 pod-like vesicle of most Plumularise, usually regarded as 

 the most complex, but in reality the simplest, as a type. 

 He showed that all the classes of forms, six in number, 

 may be explained by his proposed view of their nature, 

 which is further borne out by certain monstrosities 

 which have occurred among the zoophytes. The Paper 

 concluded with an application of these principles to the 

 systematic arrangement of the various groups of 

 zoophytes. — This Paper was followed by a discussion, ia 

 which Mr. Owen, Dr. R. Latham, and Dr. \Y. B. 

 Carpenter took part. Mr. Owen pointed out the 

 importance of applying the principles of transcendental 

 anatomy. This working out the analysis and relations of 

 parts by the idea of resemblance, gave a new handle to 

 science, and was a method which in every department of 

 natural history was producing great results. In this 

 Paper of Mr. Forbes's, by one single thought the whole 

 of those laborious researches of Ellis were reduced to 

 order ; and harmony and arrangement appeared where 

 confusion and wearisome detail existed before.— Dr. \V. 

 B. Carpenter observed on the close analogy between 

 the reproductive capsules in the Campanularice and the 

 thecse of Mosses, and referred to the abnormal form cf 

 Moss observed by Mr. Edwin Quekett as confirmatory 

 of the theoretical structure of the reproductive organs of 

 that family. The second Paper was on the Forest- 

 trees of British Guiana, and their Use in Naval and 

 Civil Architecture, by the Chevalikr Schomburgk. 

 The author drew attention to the noble forests of i 

 colony which most appropriately has been styled " the 

 magnificent,'' and especially dwelt upon the superiority 

 of the timber which is obtained from the Mora (Mora 

 excelsa), and the Greenheart (Nectandra Rodisei). IBe 

 wood of these trees is already extensively employed ia 

 ship-building ; and large cargoes, chiefly of the Green- 

 heart, are exported from the colony to Liverpool and the 



Clyde. This Paper was accompanied by upwards or w 

 specimensofwoodfiomBritishGuiana,manydistinguisnea 



by great beauty, and qualified to add materially to tneii« 

 of ornamental woods now imported in England. Among 

 them were chiefly the following :— Cartornyen, &«»- 

 badani, Ducaballi, or Guiana Mahogany wood ; uucai- 

 liballi, Haiawaballi, Hubaballi, &c. The beautiful 

 Letter-wood (Piratiuera Guianensis), which is Wumin 

 known under the name of Snake-wood, P artlculan L hlp 

 serves to be mentioned. One of the most re ^ arK ^ 

 among the specimens exhibited was a section ot tneu 

 of a forest-tree of Guiana (the Jspidosperma ***»%* 

 Benth.) the trunk of which has entirely the aPP ea ™~ 

 of a fluted column, and is so curious that it otters \ j\ 

 rently the only instance of such a curious s . truc 

 among dicotyledonous trees. The author Iikcwws 

 attention to the nest of that beautiful bird tae 

 manikin, or cock of the rock {Rupkolaekgann^^ 

 and to the head of the largest ^esh-water ti s n 

 the Sudis gigas of Cuvier, both of which he exu £ 

 reserving some observations for another period.- 



STOKE- 



CLAPTON, AND *^ 

 DENERS' ASSOCIATION 



STAMFORD-HILL, 



NEWINGTON GARDENERS «*«~- ■.--- ^ 

 Oct. 28. — The Treasurer in the chair, a* '^ 

 second half-yearly general meeting or this a* ^ 

 the Report of the Committee on the nnanc ^ 

 of the Society was read by the secretary, i • ^ 

 wood. It showed that the total amount otj ^ 

 Iected during the whole year was 43/. 10*. iv«-i JQ 

 the year's expenditure was 39/. lb i^f'\^ bd T* 

 favour of the Society, a balance of 3/. !«• ' ^0* 

 following remarks, explanatory of the objects, *rj At thc 

 and prospects of the institution were also reaa . #& 

 termination of one year's labour, a review oi o i ^ 

 ings must, we think, afford to all both engage ^ 

 delight. We commenced this Society twelve " tio0 i; 

 depending for success entirely upon our o* -n ^^ 

 but no sooner had we begun to work than * td pr e- 



pecuniary assistance was rendered by ° ur e * . 

 sident, R. Hanbury, Esq., F.H.S., whose exa*I 



wi* 



