JuLy 28, 1899.] 
lantern, Mr. Webber said that the true hy- 
brid plants had been found very much more 
vigorous than the common sweet orange. 
His department had also made experiments 
with the view of combining the character 
of the tangerine with the common orange 
in order to secure, if possible, the loose 
skin of the tangerine with the common va- 
riety. The sweet orange was of much bet- 
ter quality and more desirable than the 
tangerine, but if by hybridizing they could 
produce a fruit to combine the characters 
of the two he thought that such a fruit 
would take the market; and they were 
working on those lines. They were fur- 
ther endeavoring to improve the quality of 
the orange by crossing the _ bitter-sweet 
pomelo with the sweet orange. He gave 
illustrations of the different foliage and de- 
velopments of the plants brought about by 
hybridizing. The United States Agricul- 
tural Department had, he said, also been 
working more or less with pineapples ; and 
he pointed out that it had been ascertained 
that by the crossing of fruits which were 
commonly seedless they could frequently 
produce seeds, and that the plants so dealt 
with were more vigorous and better able to 
resist disease. Another branch of their 
work was with cotton plants, the main 
point being to hybridize between the Up- 
land cotton and the so-called Sea Island 
cotton. The improvements obtained Mr. 
Webber illustrated by means of the lantern 
slides, and said that by this hybridization 
they hoped to extend the cotton industry 
considerably. The last experiment dealt 
with by the lecturer was the hybridization 
of corn (maize) by introducing the wild 
species into the cultivated strain. They were 
endeavoring to cross the common maize 
with the wild Mexican grass Theosinth, 
which was supposed to be the progenitor of 
maize ; but, of course, there must be numer- 
ous generations before they could bring out 
the character of the corn to any great effect. 
_ SCIENCE. 
115 
The following papers were also read: 
‘The Structure of certain New Hybrids 
(Passiflora, Albuca, Ribes, Begonia, &c.),’ 
with lantern demonstration, by Dr. J. H. 
Wilson,, St. Andrews; ‘ Hybridization 
viewed from the standpoint of Systematic 
Botany,’ by Mr. R. Allen Rolfe, Kew; 
‘Hybrid Poppies,’ by M. Henry de Vil- 
morin, Verrieres; ‘Self-Fertilization of 
Plants,’ by M. Lemoine, Nancy; ‘ Hybrid 
and Cross-bred Fruits,’ by Mr. Luther Bur- 
bank, San Rosa, California, U.S. A.; and 
Mr. T. Francis Rivers, Sawbridgeworth. 
The festival dinner of the Conference 
was held at the Whitehall Rooms, Sir 
Trevor Lawrence presiding. The toast of 
‘The Queen, Patron of the Society,’ hav- 
ing been honored, the Rev. Professor 
Henslow proposed ‘ Horticulture,’ and Mr. 
H. J. Webber, in responding, said he 
brought with him the friendly greeting of 
the United States Secretary of Agriculture. 
He added that he hoped to see the time 
when the originator of a new fruit or flower, 
in addition to the satisfaction he might feel 
in conferring a benefit on humanity, would 
receive the just and practical recompense 
to which he was entitled. Professor Hugo 
de Vries (Amsterdam University) and M. 
Henry de Vilmorin also responded. Mr. 
Bateson proposed the toast of ‘ Hybridists,’ 
Mr. W. T. Swingle (Washington) respond- 
ing. The Master of the Rolls gave ‘The 
Royal Horticultural Society,’ and referred 
to the early work of the Society in sending 
out investigators into various parts of the 
world. The Chairman, in reply, said it 
was owing to the work of Robert Fortune, 
who was sent by the Society into China, 
that the cultivation of the tea plant was 
introduced into India and Ceylon and an 
immense trade was thus almost wholly 
transferred from China. The Society, which 
was founded in 1804, would soon have to 
consider how it was to celebrate its century. 
Of late years the Society had been progress- 
