CXXXviii PROCEEDINGS 0¥ THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mushrooms in Coal-cellar. — A Fellow of the Society, present as a 

 visitor, exhibited fine specimens of Agaricus campestris var. villaticus, 

 which was growing abundantly on the walls of his coal- cellar. Salting 

 the walls was recommended as a remedy if the presence of the Mushrooms 

 w^as considered objectionable. 



Crijptococcus fagi. — Specimens of Beech bark were shown in illustration 

 of the abundance of this insect this season ; upon a square inch of bark 

 there were literally hundreds of the insect covered with their white 

 flocculent matter. Unfortunately the attack was so widely spread that 

 anything in the way of cure was impracticable, and in some parts of the 

 country — North-east Surrey for instance^ — it appears as if the Beech as 

 a forest tree was doomed. The Rev. W. Wilks mentioned that in his 

 neighbourhood many of the trees looked exactly as if they had been white- 

 washed. 



Ticin Apple. — Mr. Hudson sent a specimen of syncarpy, in which two 

 Apples were partly fused together at the base, probably from pressure, 

 causing mutual grafting in a young state. 



Ornamental Grasses, dc. — Mr. Worsley exhibited specimens of 

 Pennisetum macrourum from South Africa, and t)f P. Biippelli from 

 Abyssinia. Mr. Worsley also exhibited a Coreopsis, in Avhich the ordinary 

 ray-florets had been replaced by regular tubular ones. 



Acotyledonons " germination in Crinum. — ^Mr. Worsley also stated 

 that since his previous connnunication on this subject he had found that 

 the seedling plants of C. yemense exhibited the same peculiarity. 



Tico-fold Heliantlius. — Dr. Masters exhibited shoots of Helianthibs 

 " Miss Mellish " of two forms, from the same stock, one stout, erect, green, 

 and robust in habit ; the other slender, deep purple, and greatly resembling 

 the shoots of Harpalium rigidmn, exhibited for comparison. 



Scientific Committee, Septembek 10, 1901. 



Dr. M. T. Masters, F.R.S., in the Chair, with eight members present, 



and Mr. Crawshay, visitor. 



Sediim Seedlings. — Mr. Holmes called attention to curious differences 

 in the colouring of the flowers of »S'. maximum. He observes, " The 

 flowers as seen at Kew on the rockery are green. Those of the variety 

 purpurasccns (or atrop2irpureum'>) are purplish, as well as the leaves and 

 stem. In the plant exhibited the colouring appears to follow the 

 development of the flower. The unopened buds have a purplish flush, 

 which seems to disap^Dear when the protandrous stamens emerge ; these 

 then assume a pinkish-purple tinge. Finally, when the flower opens, 

 the ovaries are at first green, but subsequently assume the same purplish 

 tint. This looks as if it were adapted, in the first place, to attract insects 

 to the flower when the anthers are mature, and secondly to the ovaries. 

 The flowers on the corymb show some flowers with green ovaries, and 

 some with purplish ones. 



Fungus Pests of the Carnation Family. — A paper on the diseases of 



