xxviii 
KOYAL HORTICULTiniAL SOCTETY. 
by him, and a branchlet of Oak, severed by the natural 
process of ** cladoptosis," or, as it is called in the vernacular, 
** spolching." 
Judge Crease, of British Columbia, sent specimens closely resem- 
bling in outward appearance, as also in internal markings, a peeled 
"Willow. The substance in question consists almost entirely of 
carbonate of lime, and was stated to be the core of a species of Sea 
Pen ( Osteocella septentrional is). 
A question then arose as to whether pollen-eating beetles were 
serviceable to flowers or not ; the general impression was that the 
beetles in question did as much good as harm. 
Professor Thiselton Dyer exhibited specimens of the ash and 
scoriae from the recent eruption of Vesuvius. The ash is known to 
have powerful fertilising properties, owing to its being rich in 
alkalies and containing phosphates. The fertility of the soil so 
induced affords one reason for the return of the population to 
such dangerous localities after an eruption. 
Mr. A. W. Bennett alluded to a paper of Professor Pasquale's, 
in which the injury to vegetation after the eruption of a volcano 
was stated to be the result of the chloride of sodium deposited on 
the leaves. 
Professor Thiselton Dyer showed Ehubarb leaves from Mr. 
Schofield's garden at Mosely, near Birmingham, riddled with 
large holes made by hailstones in the recent storm. 
Mr. G. P. Wilson showed a box useful whilst on a journey for 
collecting living plants, and further alluded to at the General 
Meeting. 
GENERAL MEETING. 
James Bateman, Esq., F.R.S., in the Chair. 
Mr. Berkeley alluded to a new but very simple form of collecting- 
box, designed by Mr. James Atkins, of Painswick, for collecting 
plants in Switzerland, and exhibited by Mr. Wilson. The box 
before the meeting contained roots of several different plants, 
including the Holly Pern, collected on a high hill in Perthshire, 
June 14, and which were now in excellent condition. The storm at 
Birmingham of Tuesday, June 18, continued for four hours, 
during which the rainfall was 2'5 inches, two inches at least 
coming down in forty-five minutes. Some ashes gathered alter the 
recent explosion of Vesuvius were shown, which are said to be the 
