that of an extremely pretty mould, figured by Corda 

 under the name of JJiscophora elegans, which we 

 have had the good fortune to find in some abundance ; 

 the terminal vesicle is subglobose, as in most 

 species of the genus, and traversed by a large pyri- 

 form columella, between which and the walls are 

 seated a large number of oblong or narrowly 

 elliptic sporidia ; towards the base of the vesiculi- 

 ferous stems, tufts of branchlets spring, regularly 

 forked from six to nine times, each ultimate division 

 being surmounted by a minute globular sac, without 

 the slightest trace of columella, and containing from 

 one to four broadly-elliptical sporidia. ^ In this case 

 the terminal vesicle is the normal fruit ; the lateral 

 cysts not agreeing in structure with the character of 

 the genu j but as there is a perfect continuity of 

 th» threads which produce the two kinds of vesicles, 

 there is not a shadow of doubt that these are two 

 kinds of fruit co-existing on the same flocci. 



The other still more remarkable case is that of 



wemosvs, a species unioruinately ol very 



The stem is here terminated by a 



ricus 



rare occu _ 



pileus, with proper gills, as in other species of the 

 genu : but through its whole course it is studded 

 with short branchlets, each of which, instead of 



bearing a pileus, terminates in a little moist ■pori- 

 ferous head, exactly resembling in structure that of 

 a Stilbum. In this case, equally with the former, 

 there is no possible question of parasitism, though 

 the two forms of fruit, both of which are doubtless 

 capable of propagating the species, are as decidedly 

 different as the deciduous spores of the Oidium and 



the sporangia of the Eryripke, And if it should be 

 replied that the structure in the two instances 

 alleged does not present anything so technically 

 different as naked spores and inclosed sporidia on 

 the same plant, it may be replied that in a paper 

 lately presented by M. Tulasne to the Academy, 

 aid in one by Messrs. Berkklky and Broome, read 

 at the last meeting of the British Association, it has 

 been shown that there is great reason to believe that 

 in a multitude of instances asci are capable of trans- 

 forms h>n into naked spores, and that naked spores 

 and fertile asci occur sometimes within the same 

 penthecium. We do not wish to speak by any means 

 dogmatically on a very difficult subject, but merely 

 to show that we have not formed our conclusions 



V* th 2 u * a careful consideration of the premises. 

 3L J. B. 



The gentlemenwho propose to contribute com- 

 munications to the next Number of the Journal of 





ORCHIDS FOR THE 'MILLION.— No. XIV. 



By B. S. Williams, gr. to C. B. Warner, Esq , Hoddesdon. 



Climate hot and damp. — Plants growing on smooth 



Blocks without Moss. 



Saccolabtum miniatum, from Java ; produces orange 

 coloured flowers in March and April, and they last long 

 in bloom. It does well on a bare block, and it should 

 have plenty of heat and moisture during the growing 

 season ; it needs very little repose. 



Vanda Roxburghi, a pretty Indian species, flowers in 

 May and June ; though it will succeed in a basket, it 

 does best on a block suspended from the roof where 

 there is plenty of heat and moisture, during the season of 

 growth ; afterwards it should be kept less moist, but 

 equally warm, as it needs little rest : the flowers remain 

 three or four weeks in perfection. 



Onddivm crispum, from the Brazils, blossoms in Octo- 

 ber and December : the flowers are large, of a rich 

 copper colour, and last in beauty three or four weeks, if 

 kept in a cool place. This is a fine species, but rather 

 difficult to cultivate ; it does best on a block in heat and 

 moisture while growing, afterwards it may be kent cooler 

 and have less moisture. 



Oncidium Cavendishianum. — The flowers of this 

 Mexican species are large and yellow, mottled with 

 brown. It blooms from January to February : it will 

 thrive in a pot with peat, but it succeeds best on a large 

 block suspended from the roof ; it likes plenty of heat 

 and moisture while growing ; afterwards it should be 

 kept much cooler, and have less water. It keeps in 

 perfection six weeks/and is a most useful winter plant. 



Oncidium ct'trtum, blooms in July. It grows well on 

 a block of wood, and requires the same treatment as the 

 last named plant. 



Oncidium^ bicolor, from the Spanish main, is a fine 

 species, which blooms in September. The lip is very 

 large, of a deep yellow on the upper side, and almost 



Sep 



T. f 



had scarcely incre^eT^r^r^ 

 alone, whilst the effects of am™^ ^ *" *h«i 

 marked, even when repeat^ ° macal ■*, ni *t 

 same space of ground fro^hiX "** >'<^ 

 and straw-had been removed ! enti * <*o*l* 

 produce had been attained even in fl ***' in t2w* 

 succeeding years of the experiment T * mh ^m&l 

 two-thirds that from the unm2f? edi ^W 

 shown that the mineral TnTtZ/ 0t ' «^ 

 tinned to be in excess, *^***« £ aci, 

 able for them from natural source * **f* •* 

 several plots was then traced down to £* ^ 

 (1850) and it was argued that the statt U *B£ 

 by Liebig, viz., that ammonia was *n T nt8 *3 

 a manure for Wheat, was fully borne C" ***** 

 of agriculture as generally praet d Tn P*^ 

 In other words, that in practice it » G ^SS5 

 nitrogen rather than of the mineral T* * e def **rf 

 fixed the limit to our produce Ti t T ft* «I 

 next called attention to the fact of T' l *■** 

 nitrogen by growing plants, as proved hf*^* < 

 ments of De Saussur-P n n „iL^. P _ °T e S b ? the exi- 



lity 



P 



•nnitrogenousmanuresobservedinthe.rowl 

 The authors suggested that here was ,? ;/ 



field of study, and that we have in the L? c ^ 



-*, «*„ ug CU uerxveu rrom manure Riven* off'!! ^ * 

 growth of cereal grains than by \JnmL^ 7* *• 

 crops ; and hence mieht be eJw,°™ ms * n ' <** 



apart* 



alluded fa 

 a rotation of ^l^TZ^^""** 

 restoration of the balance of the oigari^^ *» 

 crops was attained by its means, raWr C » 

 their mineral constituents, according to the lu *, 

 Liebig ; whilst the means adopted to^e^'Sj 



-white underneath, the sepals" SIS?* ^ I iXr. Sin* StiS ^ft'.,"^ ** 

 spotted with crimson. It grows best on a block sus- rMa^ETi™^* ulf-fe ^°. te< ? tlle P™e*i of 

 pended from the roof. The flowers last long in 

 pefection. 



Oncidium Papilio, the butterfly Orchid, from Trinidad, 

 flowers in succession nearly all the year round ; it 

 requires the same kind of treatment as species already 

 mentioned. 



BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE- 

 MENT OF SCIENCE. 

 Section D. Monday, July 1th (continued from p. 549). 

 — On the Monstrosity of the Co-mmon Wallflower ( Chei- 

 ranthus Cheiri) ; by Professor Allman.— In this plant, 

 which had been gathered at Dublin, the stamens were 

 converted into carpels. The carpels were however not 

 in the form of the ordinary carpels of Crucifem, but 

 presented two stigmas, each of which bad two horns 

 inis the author regarded as the normal form of carpei 

 in the family of Cruciferse. If this was the case then 





TOR HonTicuLTUHAr. Society, are requested to do so 

 without delay. It is not perhaps generally known 

 that the authors of papers which appear in this 

 Journal receive gratis a copy of the whole volume 

 for the year. , , , 



referred to the infrequency of the conversion of 

 stamens int0 camels. From an examination of some 



we could only explain the usual position of the stigmas 

 in Crucifene, by supposing that the two contiguous 

 horns of opposite stigmata had united.-Dr. Lankester 

 referred to 



FLORICULTURE. 



had laid before the 



my floricultural friends, through the paces of the 7oZ A • /• ' 



deners Chronicle, but I ««* it™ ^v^SL* 6 /?* Association, at its two „ 11C uaa 



enter been led to adopt Dr. Lindley's theory of th°e 'structure 



the garden of floral literature, as its curator, with a full 

 knowledge of the varied and important duties wS 

 must of necessity devolve upon me 



Floriculture is, I may say, the only branch of 

 domestic gardening not treated of in the Gardeners' Chrt 

 nulc ; I can bear test.mony to the fact that no distaste 

 for the pursmth* .caused its all but omission ; the cm £n 

 has long been « Who's to do it ? » At length my a„ s V er 



S^lT- i J W ** J must rel ^ on a »d look to m, 

 floral friends for that assistance and support which Vv 



^omt efforts, shall make floriculture^at lea t ' an 



mterestmg feature, if not an important one, n the 'p. J£ 



of the penodical in question. I need hardly state that 



temperate and kindly discussions will alone* be adm! 



wm L^ 0m ~ t0 t "9i n0thin S <> f abusive-mau r 



tSent nnl g i d ^ U \ S and "ciprocity of kindly sen 

 StS or^e End 6 maUife8t thr ° U ^ «-vidth 



valuable to buyer as to^r^S *?, n °7 ltieS ' a,ike 

 attention to them. The « liste of t ?' th *! refore > direct 

 week' mav be increased i lZ '^^ f °f *e ensuing 

 the dates "of th^SS' ti J, *!%!*?■** ^^ {nrn[ ^ 

 shall, as occasion reqdres be Z»t \ T , 0ur Km&v ^ 

 passing evente • the «E, r * t ? Uch comin & and 

 medium through whi" i'lf TIT^f nC f ° ffers <he 

 practical and ^ientlfitand wSl affS £ "" '^ 

 long wanting of holding tl J- . the means s » 



tween distant erowetX ^'.'"^^•""^cation be- 



Jnhghtened. 

 | notices of 

 mportance, 



prove unacceptable* to the ' pre'senr^ "* W L" not 

 Gardeners' Chronicle. K t . t \*JV?*JP .readers of the 



British 

 previous meetings, he had | 



. ley's theo 



of Cruciferje, as the most correct. The tendency to 

 form horns to the stigma in abnormal cases was no proof 

 that the ord.nary stigma of Crucifem was formed bv 

 he union of two horns.-Mr. Babington referred to 

 he researches of Mr. Howell, on the structure of the 

 tru.t of Papaveraceaj, and also the view taken of the 

 structure of the fruit of Crueller^, by Mr. Brown 

 which was that now maintained by Professor AUn an ' 

 Section C. Tuesday, July 8 : 9n Agricultural Che- 



BaZ' 7T UU l \: dat T t0 the A '™™1 Theory of 

 Baron Liebig; by Mr. J. B. Lawes and Dr J H 



GiLBERT.-ln a recent article 



Journal, Mr • Pusey hal qn^rth^x^rim^^r 1 

 cated by an ana y sis of the ashes of the pla, tJ Xte 

 hat the statements of the authors could on y be made 



chemistry of the Wdin" a 10tat,0 . n ' as well as on the 



?S2^^ ** ^ JK 



consistent with the views of Mr. Lawes and Dr.GiK 

 but these gentlemen considered that the experiment 

 Mulder and of Mr. Way on the properties of soils 1 

 tihed them in supposing that the processes of fallow! 

 and Inning owed their efficacy more to the accumulatij 

 of nitrogen in the soil from natural sources, than to 

 that ot available mineral constituents j the latter dii 

 however, undoubtedly thus accumulate by those pr£ 

 cesses, and this fact should give us more confidence in 

 yiews which, on independent evidence, supposed that they 

 were not so easily liable to be found in defect in relation 

 to other necessary supplies. It was next shown, by re- 

 ference to what happens in actual practice as general!/ 

 followed in Great Britain, where corn and meat constitute 

 almost the exclusive exports of the farm, that the mineral 

 constituents of the crops, taken collectively, -that a, 

 as shown by the analysis of their ashes, could not be 

 considered as exhausted : of these, however, phosphoric 

 acid was lost to the farm in much larger proportion thin 

 the alkalies ; whilst the latter would generally, by the 

 combined agencies of disintegration of the native soil, 

 and import in cattle food, be liable to diminution in but 

 a very insignificant degree, if not in some cases to accu- 

 mulation. Practical agriculture had, indeed, decided 

 that phosphoric acid must be returned to the land froa 

 sources external to the farm itself, — viz., by bono, 

 guano, or other means. But, on the other hand, artifi- 

 cial alkaline manures had generally been found to fail in 

 effect. Indeed, taking into careful consideration the 

 tendency of all experience in practical agriculture, is 

 well as the collective results of a most laborious experi- 

 mental investigation of the subject, both in the field and 

 in the laboratory, it was the authors' deliberate opinion 

 that the analysis of the crop is no direct guide whatever 

 as to the nature of the manure required to be provided 

 in the ordinary course of agriculture, from sources 

 extraneous to the home manures of the farm,— that is to 

 say, by artificial manures. Reviewing, then, the actual 



facts of practical agriculture, the authors could not agr» 

 with Baron Liebier when he asserted that our gr*M 



"iw* uaivu. ijieDig wnen ne assertea mat uiu B — 

 object should be to attain an artificial mixture to substi- 

 tute for farm -yard manure, which he admitted to be the 

 universal food of plants. The very practice of agricm- 

 itself, as followed in this country, necessitates the 

 production of farm-yard manure, and all our calculate 

 should be made on the supposition of its use. 



BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 



No. XLIV. 



rjeutlv 



(Cage Bikds, No. 28.) 



We are now gradually and gW 

 gliding from the intense heat of summer, into tAe 

 lightful, refreshing coolness of autumn. Never was ;m 

 month of September heralded in more gladly than no^ 

 for the weather has been oppressively sultry, the 

 of mortality have been heavily swollen, and the s^ 



t_- . .i ''ii. j. «„ and beast. 



M 



prove unacceptable^ .k . ' ™ 8 ' we "? *, will not ment* J w.,^. ^ those of the field «n*rf_ 



tore) will be civen 



nswers to CaL^Tl ^urably ! 



Edwards, Wace Cottage, Hollway. 



**«* to demand 



John 



season, by means of many chem leal n, ' " d '? each 



continuously by farm 



gram 



- ttUlcu w f re "lustrated by a dia- 

 appeared that mineral manures 





scorching rays overpowering both to man and beas. 



This is just the season for enjoying the f^J 8 ^ 

 peculiar to our climate at this particular time o ^ 

 year. Every temptation is now before us to 

 break of day, and view the glories of the rising sun . 



" Arise thou child of nature, rise ! 

 Arouse thy slumbering spirit now - 

 The autumn sheaves are on the hil , 

 And solemn are the woods and f tlll » „ 

 With clustering fruits on every bougn. ^ 



Nor are there any inducements wanting to c ^ 

 forth at the cool of evening, to watch the r»F ' ^ 

 creasing orb of the lovely, bright " harvest ni ^ 

 within a few days of her attractions being at tne^ ^ 



The autumnal crops, too, are now nearly li ^ ^ 

 the fields are beginning to show new sign* oi 



call 





