Transactio7is of the London Horticultural Society. 475 



others, but also by perfecting Its seed pod, and that without any artificial 

 impregnation. As this may be a novelty, I have much pleasure In sending it 

 to you ; possibly its produce may be even hardier than the parent bulb. 



" The border in which these plants have grown is particularly calculated 

 for the culture of tender bulbs. Brunsvigia Josephine flowered there last 

 autumn, with a stem nearly as large as my wrist, and a head of thirty-six 

 flowers, seeding abundantly. Ismene calathina, Vallota purpurea, and many 

 others flower annually, Haemanthus toxicarius flourishes there, but has not 

 blossomed." 



36."iVofe upon a newly introduced Half-hardy Species of Salvia called Salvia 

 patens. By George Bentham, Esq., Secretary. 



" It will excite some surprise, that this plant, growing plentifully In the 

 same districts from whence we have received the S. fulgens, should never till 

 now have been transmitted to this country, and it will be readily believed that 

 there are yet many which would amply reward the exertions of future col- 

 lectors. We know for instance of a Salvia longiflora among the Peruvian 

 mountains, with a corolla above five inches long, a S. speciosa in the same 

 country with long dense spikes of a rich purple, a white -flowered S. leuco- 

 cephala, said far to exceed the beauty of S. leucantha, and in the Mexican 

 mining districts the S. Regla, Sessei, and pubescens, with their inflated scarlet 

 calyxes, S. phoenicea, covered with a profusion of flowers of the same colour, 

 are stated to be fully equal to the S. fulgens In their general appearance, and 

 even in South Brazil it Is probable that S. persielfolia, or some others allied 

 to It, may fairly enter Into competition with S. splendens. Others are known 

 to have orange or yellow flowers of different shades. Indeed out of near two 

 hundred species of American salvias, there seems reason to believe that three 

 fourths of them may be worthy of cultivation. 



" We may hope, however, that in the S. patens, we have now secured one 

 of the most desirable of the group, more especially as there seems reason to 

 believe that It is not more tender than S. fulgens. It is a perennial, growing 

 to the height of two, three, or four feet, erect and hairy. The leaves are large, 

 ovate, or deltoid, broadly hastate, or somewhat heart-shaped at the base, or 

 the upper ones rounded, green and hairy on both sides. The corolla is of a 

 rich blue, between two and three Inches long. Is remarkable for Its broad 

 gaping mouth ; the upper lip being long, falcate, and erect, inclosing the 

 stamens and pistil, the lower hp hanging with two lateral oblong reflexed 

 lobes, and the middle one very broad and emarginate. 



" The S. patens will probably thrive best under the same treatment as that 

 which succeeds with S. fulgens, and like that plant it will be found to vary 

 much in the size, the brilliancy, and the number of flowers, according to the 

 temperature and light in which it is grown. Particular care should be taken 

 not to weaken the plant or suffer it to become etiolated, in order that the 

 raceme may not lengthen too much and Increase the distance between the 

 flowers. 



" We owe this splendid addition to our gardens to the exertions of John 

 Parkinson, Esq., her Majesty's consul at Mexico, who transmitted seeds to 

 this country early In the present year ; and It was rtiised and first flowered In 

 August, 1838, by Mr. W. B. Page, nurseryman, at Southampton." 



37. Observations upon the Effects produced on Plants hy the Frost which occurred 

 in England in the Winter of 1837-8. By John Lindley, Ph. D. F.R.S. &c. 

 &c.. Vice- Secretary. Read December 4. 1838. 



" The winter of 1837-8 was in England more injurious to vegetation than 

 any which has occurred in modern times, and It must be many years before its 

 disastrous effects can be repaired under the most favourable circumstances. 

 We may have had winters In which the temperature was as low, and the dura- 



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