December 27, 1864.] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



513 



itself, or even before tlien, the plants have become of a 

 pretty golden yellow, quite as much so as Thuja aurea in its 

 best state in spring or early summer, and the appearance is 

 certainly more handsome than the Golden Tew is at any 

 time. I now ask if this is the usual character of the species, 

 and if not, whether this feature is likely to become perma- 

 nent ? If so, the tree will be a great acquisition to our 

 shrubberies and elsewhere. 



. I may add, that Retinospora pisifera is growing by the 

 side of the plant above mentioned, but shows no symptoms 

 of turning yellow ; and one plant of R. obtusa also retains 

 its green colour. The soil they are growing in is a sandy 

 one, such as is occasionally used for cuttings, and plants 

 only partially rooted. I do not perceive any disposition on 

 the part of other plants in the pit to change colour, there 

 being some of Cupressus, Juniperus, Wellingtonia, &c, and 

 to the best of my memory the plants of Retinospora here 

 alluded to showed no symptoms of turning yellow at the 

 time they were planted, which was at the end of October. 

 If others of your readers have plants of Retinosporas that 

 have changed in like manner, they may, perhaps, be able to 

 throw some light on the matter. — J. Robson. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S MEETING-. 



The Entomological Society's meeting for December was 

 held on the 5th inst., the President, E. Pascoe, Esq., P.L.S., 

 being in the chair. A numerous collection of entomological 

 publications presented to or purchased by the Society since 

 the last 'meeting were laid on the table, including Dr. 

 Haagen's recently published memoirs on the invertebrated 

 animals of Prussia and on the Odonata of the Holy Land; 

 MM. Saussure & Sichel's new work on the Scoliidas, Dr. 

 Candeze on new Elateridae, the Baron Lelys Longchamps on 

 Agrionides, &c. 



Mr. Jenner Weir exhibited a series of carefully prepared 

 microscopical slides containing specimens of the spiral 

 tongues of numerous species of British Butterflies, and ex- 

 hibiting great variation in the striation of these organs, 

 and in the form, arrangement, and number of the minute 

 papillae at their extremity. Even in closely allied species, as 

 Vanessa C. album and Io, these variations were found to be 

 very strong. 



Mr. Frederick Bond exhibited a photograph of a strange 

 variety of the common Magpie Moth, Abraxis grossulariata, 

 the fore wings of which were nearly suimsed with black 

 markings -, also a drawing of the larva of Acronycta strigosa. 



The Rev. Hamlet Clark exhibited a collection of minute 

 Beetles collected in Egypt by the Rev. P. Cambridge, as 

 well as a number of Ants of different species collected in 

 Syria by Mr. Lowne. 



Mr. F. Smith exhibited, on the part of Mr. Stone of Bright- 

 hampton, a remarkable Wasps' nest, variegated in the co- 

 lours of its outer covering, having been formed jointly by 

 two distinct colonies of Vespa vulgaris and V. germanica, 

 one of which was placed in a box in a bedroom window, 

 and the other in the window immediately beneath it ; and 

 Mr. Stone observed that when any individual of the upper 

 colony flew low on returning home, it mistook the nest and 

 entered the lower one instead of its own, and thus a diffe- 

 rent colour was caused from the two species differing in the 

 nature of the wood of which the covering was made, one 

 species selecting hard, sound wood, and the other such as 

 was decayed. Mr. Stone also exhibited the larva? of Ripi- 

 phorus, parasitic in Wasps' nests, one of which still remained 

 attached to the body of its victim, the grub of the Wasp. 



Mr. W. F. Evans exhibited a number of specimens of a small 

 green species of Cockchafer (Pyronota eestiva), from New 

 Zealand wool, in some bales of which thousands of specimens 

 could have been procured. It was supposed that in flying 

 about the sheep they had become entangled in the fleece. 



The President exhibited some small globular nests of a 

 species of Spider from South Australia, collected by Mr. 

 Audubon, closely resembling the seeds of Lophospermum, 

 the Tea plant of Australia, whilst the Spiders themselves 

 resembled small lumps of birds' excrements ; and as they 

 kept watch near the nests, insects on which they fed were 

 easily deceived. 



Mr. Stevens exhibited a number of insects forwarded from 



tropical Western Africa, Fernand-vaz River, by M. Dn 

 Chaillu. He also read a letter from the same gentleman, 

 stating that he had dispatched a living Gorilla to Europe ; 

 but it had unfortunately been killed in the boat which was 

 conveying it to the vessel, in which it got loose. Mr. Stevens 

 also^ exhibited some specimens of the rare African Beetle 

 Cheirobasia Barkei, one of the males of which was remark- 

 able as wanting the brush of hairs on the fore tarsi, which 

 is one of the distinguishing characters of the male of this 

 species. These insects had been sent by Mr. Layard from 

 South Africa. 



Mr. Hewitson sent a monograph of the genus Yptheniia 

 belonging to the Satyroid Butterflies, together with de- 

 scriptions and figures of two new allied genera. 



Mr. Kirby read some notes on the synonymy of various 

 British species of Butterflies, insisting that their names 

 required changing by the rule of priority in favour of other 

 names bestowed on them by previous writers. 

 _ Mr. F. Mocre exhibited an extensive series of silk and 

 silk-producing insects ; and communicated the completion 

 of Captain Button's remarkable Memoir on the reversion 

 and restoration of the Silkworm in India, containing de- 

 scriptions and figures of the caterpillars of various kinds of 

 Silkworms cultivated in that country. 



POETEAITS OF PLANTS, FLOWEES, AND 

 EEUITS. 



Acmena floribtjnda (Copious -flowered Acinena).— Nat. 

 ord., MyrtaceEe. Linn., Icosandria Monogynia. Native of 

 New South Wales. Flowers inconspicuous, but its clusters 

 of bright purple berries are very showy. Tree 20 feet high, 

 like a gigantic large-leaved Myrtle, would be highly orna- 

 mental in the conservatory. — (Botanical Mag., t. 5480.) 



Arattja angtjstifolia (Narrow-leaved Arauja). — Nat. ord., 

 Aselepiadacea?. Linn., Gy nandria Pentandria. Native of the 

 forests of Uruguay. Stove climber with yellowish white, not 

 conspicuous flowers. — (Ibid., t. 54S1.) 



Dendrobium japonicum (Japanese Dendrobium). — Nat. 

 ord., Orchidacea?. Linn., Gynandria Monandria. Common 

 in Japan. Flowers white, not showy. — (Ibid., t. 5482.) 



Bartonia nuda (Naked (Bractless) Bartonia). — Nat. ord., 

 Loasacese. Linn., Icosandria Monogynia. Native of Missouri, 

 introduced by Mr. Thompson, of Ipswich. Flowers yellow, 

 but, as Mr. Thompson fairly points out, " It cannot be looked 

 upon as a hardy ornamental plant, the flowering taking 

 place only late in the evening, and at a season (October), 

 when it is too late for the ripening of the seeds." — (Ibid., 

 t. 5483.) 



Veronica Htjlkeana (Hulke's New Zealand Speedwell). 

 — Nat. ord., ScrophulariaceaD. Linn., Diandria Monogynia. 

 " Quite a new form of Veronica." Native of the mountains 

 in the middle island of New Zealand. In a cool greenhouse 

 it flowered in May, but from growing at 2000 feet elevation 

 in its native island, it may be expected to be hardy .here. 

 Flowers lilac, and in a thyrse like those of the common Lilac 

 shrub.— (Ibid., t. 54S4.) 



Epistephittm WiLLiAMSii(Mr. Williams's Epistephium). — 

 Nat. ord , Orchidacese. Linn., Gynandria Monogynia. Native 

 of tropical South America. Flowers of a fine, light, red- 

 purple colour. — (Ibid., t. 5485.) 



Saxifraga Fortuni. — One of the numerous variegated 

 plants of Japan. The leaves are of the dark green usual in 

 the genus, but variously blotched on the upper surface with 

 white and pink. — (Floral Mag., pi. 221.) 



Gladiolus, Eleanor Norman. — Raised by Mr. Standish, 

 Royal Nursery, Ascot. Flowers white tinged with pink, and 

 flaked with dark pink stripes. — (Ibid., pi. 222.) 



Disa grandiflora var. superba. — We noticed this 

 recently in Messrs. Warner and Williams's " Orchidaceous 

 Plants."— (Ibid., pi. 223.) 



Pentstemons. — Princess of Wales, white, with lips broadly 

 bordered with pink. Attraction, white, tinged with pink. 

 Both raised by Mr. Salter, Versailles Nursery, Hammer- 

 smith.— (I bid., pi. 224.) 



Clematis rubbo-violacea. — Raised by Mr. G. Jackman, 

 Woking, by crossing C. lanuginosa with O. viticella. It is 

 quite hardy, and, as its name indicates, the colour of the 

 flowers is reddish purple. — (Florist and Pomologist, iii., 265.) 



