34 Report of Meetings for 1879, by James Hardy. 



Son's) but tbey are too numerous to specify ; but I may give the 

 numbers as classified, although he assures me that he has several 

 more not indicated. 1. Hybrids of Chinese, Bourbon and 

 Noisette Eoses ; ten varieties. 2. Austrian Eoses ; one viz., 

 Persian yellow. 3. Perpetual Moss Eoses, one Perpetual white, 

 4. Hybrid Perpetual Eoses, resembling the Hybrids of the 

 Chinese; eighty-seven varieties. 5. Bourbon and Noisette Per- 

 petual ; four varieties. 6. Eose de Eosomane, one var. 7. 

 Bourbon Eoses {R. Indica Bourhoniana), one var. 8. Noisette 

 Eoses {H. moscJiata Noisettiana), one var. 9. Tea-scented Eoses 

 ( JS. Indica odorata), three var. Mr Smith seldom loses one in the 

 severest winters, but not much hoar frost lies in his vicinity. 

 Nothing he says suits them better than a stiff loam on a red 

 clay. He seldom sees finer foliage than they make with him. 



The garden used to be a great resort of thrushes, but only a 

 single bird had been visible this season. Blackbirds, previously 

 an annoyance, were now scarce. I understand that on this as 

 well as on other adjacent coast farms, seaweed can be obtained 

 in quantity on the coast, in what is called the " May-drift," and 

 again in autumn ; and is applied to the grass on the surface, or 

 is mixed up with manure heaps. Dr Paxton and I were here 

 shewn a gold finger ring, which had been found in a gravel pit 

 near Swarland (Northumberland;, which had a small dark blue 

 sapphire, closely resembling the modern quartz-amethyst, simply 

 rounded and not cut, in the bezel. On the outside of the ring 

 were incised cinquefoils and olive branches. Dr Paxton had 

 seen two similar rings, which had been found at Norham Castle, 

 during the recent repairs ; both contained sapphires of this tint, 

 nearly in their natural state. . One of these was presented to Mrs 

 Jerningham. The kind of violet blue sapphire, with which these 

 rings were set, is called the oriental amethyst.* They are pro- 

 bably of considerable antiquity, when the art of gem-cutting was 

 not practised to any perfection. The violet-sapphire it is next to 

 impossible to engrave. We have other instances of its use in 

 rings. '' In 1822, in digging the foundation of a dyke on the 

 north side of the hill opposite to Garchory (in the parish of 

 Strathdon, Aberdeenshire), were found two gold rings and 

 several hundred silver coins. One of the rings is gold, with a 

 small dark sapphire. A ring precisely similar was discovered 

 * Jameson's Mineralogy, i., p. 56. 



