London Horticuliural Society and Garden. 379 



The seeds received are twelve, seven of them having protruded each two 

 radicles of as many embryos; and I now feel certain, from the similarity of the 

 appearance of any of these seven with the seed which germinated upon the haw- 

 thorn in the Botanic Garden, Bmy St. Edmund's (Vol. XI. p. 318.), that the 

 two plants which grew upon that tree were from one seed ; and Mr. Turner 

 has communicated (Vol. XII. p. 217.), that these two plants are of two 

 sexes. The settHng of the question now rests on the ground on avhich he has 

 concluded this : whether from having observed one to bear fniit, and the other 

 not ; or from the inspection of the flowers of each. — John Denson,jun. Bays- 

 water, April 5. 1836. 



Taxodium distichum, — Are you, or any of your readers, aware, that an oil has 

 been extracted from the scales of the cones of the Cupressus disticha [Tax- 

 odium distichum]. It is as transparent as the oil of turpentine, and I feel con- 

 fident that it may be used for the same purposes. I have been making some 

 experiments with it, and will send you an account of the result, together with 

 some of the oil, the first time I have a convenient opportunity; and, in the mean 

 time, I should be very glad to receive any information that you, or any of your 

 readers, could give me on the subject. — Gmsep-pe Manetti. Monza, near Milan, 

 Dec. 1835. 



Coa^s Golden Drop Plum. — We have seen a few fine plum trees, of the 

 kind called " Coe's Golden Drop," in perfect health, on south-east and west 

 walls ; and every spring they are covered with bloom, and set freely ; but I 

 regret to say not one in five hundred swells off, the fruit dropping when about 

 the size of small peas. I should also mention, that the young shoots, in 

 general, terminate in a flower bud ; consequently drop off before the fruit ; 

 but on the spurs, when there is a shoot before the fruit, they fail in the same 

 manner. As it would be most desirable to obtain a crop of so valuable a 

 plum, perhaps some of your numerous correspondents would be so good as 

 to favour me with their opinion how I could remedy the evil I complain of. 

 — A. Stewart. Mount Stewart, May 21. 1836. 



Smooth-leaved and rough-leaved Rajye, or Cole-Seed. — We have in France 

 two principal and very distinct oil-bearing plants belonging to the genus Brks- 

 sica : 1. the Colza, or Colsac (-Brassica campestris Dec.), belonging, by 

 its leaf, to the cabbage or kale tribe. 2. The Navette, or Rabette (JS. Napus 

 oleifera Dec, B. asperifolia Lam.), with a rough turnip-like leaf. The 

 Colza is by much the more extensively cultivated in France, especially in 

 Flanders ; and is, I know, very much grown in England too, under the name 

 of rape, or cole-seed. The Navette is also an object of cultivation with us ; 

 but I have never been able to ascertain, 1. whether it was used in British 

 agriculture ? 2. and, in that case, under what particular name it was distin- 

 guished from the common, or smooth-leaved, sort? These are the two queries 

 I submit. I must observe, there are several subvarieties of both ; but the 

 varieties are not in question here, the present enquiry only relating to the 

 two leading sorts, as mentioned above. — Vilmorin. Paris, May, 1836. 



Art. V. The London Horticultural Society and Garden. 



May 17. 1836. — Read. A Paper on the supposed Absorbent Powers of 

 the Cellular Points, or Spongioles, of the Roots of Trees and other Plants; by 

 T. A. Knight, Esq. 



It was announced, that a Knightian medal had been awarded to Mrs. 

 Lawrence, for her specimens of heath and Kennedy« ; and that a Banksian 

 medal had been awarded to Messrs. Chandler, for the Trillium grandiflorum; 

 and to Mrs. Lawrence, for the J'rbutus procera exhibited by her this day. 



Presented. A pamphlet on the Spikenard of the Ancients; by Charles 

 Hatchett, Esq. 



Exhibited. Plants. Tidipa Gesnenana, Edwardsi'a sp., &c., from the 

 Honourable W. H. F. Strangways. A collection of heaths, heartsease, and 

 green-house plants, from Mrs. Lawrence. Chorozema Henchmannz, Polygala 



