CCXxiv PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



regarded by botanists who had seen only collected plants as specifically 

 distinct. Other characters in plants which had been used by herbarium 

 botanists as a basis of classification were frequently variations of 

 adaptation as seen in the field. 



Linaria hybrid. — Mr. Bowles showed a Linaria which had appeared 

 in his garden, and was possibly a hybrid ^between L. vulgaris and 

 L. purpurea. 



Abnormal Gloxinias. — Mr. J. W. Odell sent the following note 

 concerning the abnormal Gloxinias exhibited by him at the last 

 meeting (p. ccxxi). " The series of flowers shown was selected to show 

 the effect of peloria on other parts of the flower than the corolla. The 

 flowers were all peloric, that is erect and regular, and in a batch of 

 about fifty plants showed a large percentage of flowers with six sepals, 

 a six-partite corolla, and six stamens of equal length with united 

 anthers, thus differing in filaments and number from the typical 

 didynamous type of Gesneraceae. 



" In a few flowers the stamens were in two groups, a four with united 

 anthers, and a three with the same. Some flowers had five stamens 

 of equal length with the anthers united and one odd one. The style 

 appeared to be a very uncertain organ, the length varied, and several 

 were considerably thickened." 



Scientific Committee, October 21, 1913. 



Mr. E. A. Bowles, M.A., F.L.S., F.E.S., in the Chair, with six members 

 present, and R. Farrer, visitor. 



Pelargonium hybrids. — Mr. J. Fraser, F.L.S., continued his observa- 

 tions upon the origin of the garden varieties of scented-leaved 

 Pelargoniums, dealing mainly with the varieties of P. citriodorum 

 nearly allied to P. crispum. His full report will appear in the Journal 

 of the Society. 



Pears proliferous. — Mr. A. E. Bunyard sent a Pear, evidently 

 from a summer flower, from the apex of which a stem proceeded bearing 

 in its turn an apical fruit. Mr. Chittenden also showed somewhat 

 similar fruits from Wisley,in one case bearing three buds at the distal 

 end. Mr. Chittenden remarked that many but not all Pears produced 

 from summer flowers, which were particularly numerous in the past 

 season, were seedless, and showed examples in support of his state- 

 ments. He had found, too, that the fruits borne when foreign pollen 

 was prevented from reaching the stigmas were as a rule seedless, and 

 in a few cases when the seeds had begun to form they had reached 

 but a small size and were infertile. He showed fruits of the variety 

 1 Conference,' and these, like ' Durondeau ' and 1 Hacon's Incomparable,' 

 were seedless and had no developed core. 



Phaseolus Caracalla. — Mr. Chittenden showed the flowers of this 



