S9S 



JOUENAI, OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTA&E GAKDENEE. 



[ May 23, 1865. 



one of the most beautiful of tho Scorpion Grasses, of ex- 

 tremely dwarf habit, found on the Teesdale mountains. A 

 letter from Messre. Backhouse informs us that the identical 

 plant exhibited was growing two days previously on a 

 mountain covered with snow. Androsaoe chamffijasme and 

 Andromeda fastigiata likewise came from the same exhibitors. 



Mr. Turner exhibited an extensive and valuable collection 

 of Tulips, which were well ai'ranged and cai'efuUy named. 

 A special certificate was awarded them ; also to a fine col- 

 lection of Azaleas. W. "VV. Saunders, Esq., exhibited an 

 interesting collection of Arads, containing specimens of 

 Amorphophallus. &c. Mr. Thompson, Ipswich, had a fii-st- 

 class certificate for AquUegia cojrulea, a very pretty Colum- 

 bine ; and Messrs. Henderson, Wellington Eoad, received 

 special certificates for a fine collection of half-hai-dy bedding- 

 out plants, Centaureas, &c. ; also for a general collection, 

 including stove and greenhouse plants. J. Bateman, Esq., 

 received a special certificate for a beautiful and well-grown 

 specimen of a Bornean Orchid, Calogyne pandurata; and 

 a similar awai-d was made to Mr. Smith, gardener to H. S. 

 Norris, Esq., for Eenanthera coccinea, an Orchid not often 

 seen in flower. Mr. Culley, gai'dener to W. W. Buller, Esq., 

 received a special certificate for three specimens of Cypripe- 

 diums, among them a very fine specimen of C. caudatum. 

 A special certificate was awarded to J. Day, Esq., for his 

 superb specimen of Dendrobium densiflorum, awarded at 

 the previous meeting but omitted to be signed. 



Fbuit Committee. — J. B. Haig, Esq., in the chair. Mr. 

 Earley, of Digswell, sent a collection of six dishes of dessert 

 Apples in competition for a prize that was ofl'ered for this 

 class, and Mr. Eavley being the only exhibitor, and his col- 

 lection being in admirable condition, he was awarded a fii-st 

 prize. Mr. De Jonghe, of Brussels, sent specimens of Bezi 

 Mai Pear, some of which were soft, they could not be called 

 melting, and the Committee was of opinion that it is not 

 equal to Bergamotte Esperen, which is now in season. He 

 also sent a variety called Basiner, a crisp-fleshed Pear, 

 having some relation to Beurre de Eanco in that respect ; 

 but it waa not .considered a desideratum. Mr. Ingram, 

 gardener to Her Majesty at Frogmore, sent a number of 

 small Pears, the interior of which was quite a nest of small 

 grubs, the larvu? of someinseot, which, Mr. Ingram states, is 

 creatiug great havoc among the Pear crops in the Eoyal 

 garden. 



At the scientific meeting the Duke of Buecleuch, the 

 President of the Society, took the chair. This, like the 

 preceding meetings, was well attended, and, as wiU be seen 

 by the above reports, the collection of plants, &c., exhibited 

 was very interesting. 



The Eev. Mr. Berkeley, in proceeding to point out the 

 most remarkable objects, took occasion to advert to a varie- 

 gated Sedum or Sempervivum which had been exhibited at 

 a previous meeting, and which, not being in flower, had 

 puzzled evei-ybody to determine what it was. He had now 

 found that it was a plant once conimon in cottage windows 

 — the Sedum a/.oides, of De Candolle's " Plantcj Grasses." 

 It wa.s said to be originally introduced into this country 

 from Madeu-a ; but Mr. Lowe, who had studied the flora of 

 that island for twenty years, had not found it there. With 

 reference to tho Nardoo exhibited on the IfSth ult., it was 

 stated that tliero were several species. Marsilea salvatrix, on 

 the spores of which the expedition of Burke and Wills had 

 Buabsisted, was the least common ; and he found that the 

 sporangia of tlio plant sent by Lady Dorothy Nevill diTered 

 materially from tlioso of salvatiix, and belonged to M. Drum- 

 mondi. Passing on to the Orchids exhibited, Mr. Berkeley 

 briefly noticed Odontoglossum cordatum, Coelogyne pandu- 

 rata, Dendrobium Wardianum, (J.ypripedium caudatum, and 

 Orchis fuBca from the South of Europe, difl'eriug, he Haid, 

 slightly from our own form of tlie same species. Orchids, aa 

 their cultivators wore well aw.aro, v/cre liable to be destroyed 

 by fungi, and it was very de«irablo tliat those should be 

 investigated, in order that their attack.s might be prevent i.'d 

 or a remedy found. As an example of the damage which 

 they do ho instanced a leaf shown him by Mr. Pilcher at tho 

 last meeting, and which wao almost entirely destroyed by a 

 parasitic fungus consisting of radiating threads, forming at 

 different points little bundles. These, on being magnified, 

 ha fonnd to he a plexus of threads, which, though no doubt 



reproductive, were not the real fructification. All growers 

 of plants were awai-e how destructive fungi are to the roots 

 of plants ; and he cited two Deodars planted near Sir W. 

 Hooker's house at Kew, one of which grew well, and the 

 other would not gi'ow at all, and on the latter being dug up 

 it was found that it had been planted where an old CheiTy 

 tree had been cut down ; and in his own garden several 

 plants had died suddenly from fungi attacking the roots. 

 Now, it was generally considered that one fruit tree would 

 not grow where another had been, and this was attributed 

 to the exhaustion of the soil by its former occupant ; but 

 the true explanation of the cause he beUeved to be the fxingi 

 existing on the old roots attacking those of the newly- 

 planted tree. Among the variegated plants exhibited par- 

 ticularly worthy of notice were a beautiful variety of Arundo 

 donax, and Ilex Fortuni, which, he had been informed by 

 Mr. Fortune, is very beautiful in its own country where it is 

 much used for hedges. In speaking of a Podocarpus ex- 

 hibited at the last meeting, he had mentioned that the 

 white shoots might; give off green ones, but that plants 

 could not be propaijated from those which were entirely 

 white. There was, however, a remarkable exception to this 

 rule, which he gave on the authority of M. Bai-raJ, of the 

 Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, who stated that the variegated 

 Ground Ivy though perfectly white struck root, but the 

 plant ultimately lost its variegation altogether, becoming 

 quite green. Some plants, howevei-, produced parts perfectly 

 colourless, as instances of which, two plants in the room, 

 Mussa3nda frondosa and the beautiful Clerodendron Thom- 

 soncE were adduced. Among plants remarkable for their 

 beautiful foliage, were "Dioscorea anajctochilus" (?) and 

 Bertolonia guttata, the leaves of which were set with little 

 jewels formed at the base of the hairs. Some hybrids raised 

 by Mr. Dominy, and shown by Mr. Veitch, were remark- 

 .able as having been effected between what were considered 

 two very distinct genera — namely, Goodyera and Ansec- 

 tochUus, and the habit was far more hardy than that of 

 the Antectochili in general. AVith regard to Ehododen- 

 drons, a curious fact was stated by Mr. McNab — namely, 

 that he obtained totally different varieties by fertilising 

 with the shorter stamens instead of the longer. He (Mi-. 

 Berkeley) had mentioned on a previous occasion the poison- 

 ous properties of Ehododendron cinnabarinum, and by way 

 of contrast he woiild now add, that in India the flowers of 

 E. arboreum v/ere boiled down and the juice made a good 

 jelly. This, however, was not the only instance of parts of 

 the flower being employed for such a pui-pose, for one of the 

 best of jellies, the EozeUe, was made from the fleshy calyxes 

 of Hibiscus subdariffa. Mr. Berkeley then commented on 

 the Alpines exhibited by Messrs. Backhouse. Pew things 

 were more lovely than the Myosotis, which though it came 

 from the Teesdale Mountains was also to be found on Ben 

 Lawers. Another gem was .\jidromeda fastigiata, nearly 

 related to, but not the same as, Andromeda hypnoides. Of 

 Itetinospora obtnsa aurea Mr. Veitch stated in a letter 

 that it was the finest variegated plant in Japan, not even 

 surpassed by Thuja aurea itself. 



Among other plants noticed were Calonyction sanguineum, 

 a climbing plant with large bronzy leaves, several Ai'ums, and 

 Ficus Porteana, which though a stove plant, bears a good 

 deal of exposure, from its leaves-being excessively coriaceous. 

 A Begonia leaf from Mr. Earley, Digswell, producing a mtil- 

 titude of young plants from the petiole, was also exhibited 

 as a cui'iosity. 



The awards of the Floral Committee were then read by 

 tlio liev. J. Dix, and the objects submitted to the Fruit 

 Committee commented on by Dr. Hogg; after which tho 

 Duko of Buecleuch, in proposing the usual votes of thanks, 

 said that ho believed these meetings were of very great 

 service to the Society, and the public at largo, for not only 

 were the things seen, but their advantages and peculiarities 

 were pointed out, and, aa in tlie case of the fruit, tho best 

 vai-ictii's were made known. From tho number present the 

 scientific meetings must Ikj of very great interest, and the 

 Saturday meetings had Ijcun very acceptable to numbers of 

 per.sons who could noi. attend on Tuesday. In conclusion, 

 ho congratulated the Society on its improved financial con- 

 dition. 



A ballot for plants then took place. Fifteen new membeia 

 were elected^ 



