786 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Its companion, the Lagerstroemia, the author calls the lilac of the 

 tropics, being a worthy substitute for our Syringa, blooming more 

 profusely, lacking only the fragrance. Both trees are propagated 

 from cuttings, 6 feet in length, about the thickness of a thumb, 

 inserted in winter in the open ground. Of the cuttings thus treated, 

 at least 40 per cent. grow. As the author quaintly says, a passer-by 

 coveting one of these splendid trees has only to break off a twig of 

 the same and insert it in the ground, and within six months he has 

 a tree in a perfect state of development. — G. R. 



Jute, Inheritance of Red Colour, and Regularity of Self- 

 Fertilization in. By R. S. Finlow and I. H. Burkill (Mem. Dep. 

 Agr., India, Bot. ser., vol. iv. pp. 73-92 ; March 1912). — The authors 

 show that the red colour of jute stems is dominant over green and that 

 various intermediates in tint occur in the F 2 generation. The jute 

 is practically always self -fertile. — F. J. C. 



Ladybird, Food of (U.S.A. St. Com. Hort. Cal, Bull. vol. i., 

 No. 13, Dec. 1912 ; 6 figs.). — The larvae of the ladybird (Chilocorus 

 similis Rossi, of Japan) feed on the scale insects, and each larva during 

 its total larval period will eat from seven to eight hundred scales, 

 while the adult ladybird eats from eight to nine hundred, averaging 

 from twenty to forty scales daily. It would seem that this insect is 

 worth encouraging. — V. G. J. 



Longevity of Seeds (Kew Bull. No. 2, 1912, p. no). — Quotations 

 are given from letters addressed to Kew by Sir William Herschel, 

 Bart., who has been successful in raising a number of plants of 

 Albizzia lophantha from seeds which had been lying dormant for 

 sixty-eight years. — A. S. 



Mandevallia muscosa. By E. Miethe (Orchis, vol. vii. pt. vii. 

 pp. 104-106; 1 fig.). — This orchid bears small flowers on a hairy 

 stem 6 inches in length. The most interesting feature of the plant 

 is a yellow spot in the centre of the flower which, when gently touched, 

 causes the triangular lip to fold over, forming an enclosed space round 

 the reproductive organs. — S. E. W. 



Meadow Saffron, Eradication of (Gard. Mag. No. 3105, p. 310 ; 

 May 3, 1913). — Two implements have recently been described in the 

 German journals designed to eradicate the Colchicum autumnale. 



One consists of a digging-iron fitted with cutting cross-blades 

 which chop the corms to pieces, when they quickly decay ; the other 

 is fitted with prongs and a hinge, and the corm is clasped beneath 

 and pulled out of the ground ; so far, however, it has not proved possible 

 to clear ground in less than two or three years. It may be mentioned, 

 therefore, that by the use of a heavily-weighted bush-harrow, drawn 

 over the ground in autumn a sufficient number of times to destroy 

 the flowers, seeding is prevented and meadows can be cleared in a 

 similar time. — E. B. 



