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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



roads did not make the soil sticky, as the sweepings from granite 

 did. 



Mr. Rowan said this applied also in the case of soil for 

 Verbenas. 



Mr. Smith (the Chairman) asked if there was any ''royal 

 road" by which maggot might be destroyed; and the general 

 opinion was that this could only be achieved by means of the 

 finger and thumb. 



A gentleman asked if anyone could give him any information 

 respecting a certain disease which attacked the stems of Carna- 

 tions just above the ground. This disease appeared suddenly 

 and quickly destroyed plants which twenty-four hours previously 

 were in the best of health. 



Dr. Masters said he believed the gentleman referred to what 

 was known as the "eelworm," and there was no remedy, he 

 feared, for this ruthless destroyer other than the total cremation 

 of the plants attacked. 



At the close of the Conference Dr. Masters said the pleasant 

 duty had been imposed on him of expressing on behalf of the 

 audience their thanks to the readers of papers that afternoon. 

 Before sitting down he said he would like to ask a question, 

 namely, whether Fairchild's "mule " was still in existence. It 

 was a hybrid between Dianthus Caryophyllus and D. barbatus, 

 and was not only the first hybrid Carnation ever raised, as it was 

 produced at the end of the 17th century in the village of Hoxton, 

 but actually the first artificial hybrid of any kind on record. 

 Some of the clerical auditors who were familiar with flower- 

 services would perhaps know something about this plant, as 

 Fairchild, who died in 1G67, left a sum of money to the preacher 

 of his parish that he might set forth the omnipotence of the 

 Creator by means of an annual flower-service in the church. 



