SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE. 



xlix 



Committee unanimously desired that their sincere condolences be sent to Mrs. 

 Pearson and her daughter. 



(The Committee's Jubilee. — Mr. Bowles referred to the fact that fifty years had 

 now elapsed since the formation of the Scientific Committee, the first meeting 

 of which was held on April 20, 1868, and he brought a message of congratulation 

 and thanks from the Council for the work done in the past, and their good wishes 

 for the future. Of the original Committee only one member, Mr. J. G. Baker, 

 F.R.S., remains alive. 



Aberrant Habenaria. — Dr. A. B. Rendle, F.R.S., reported upon a plant of 

 Habenaria chlorantha collected by Mr. Percy Bunyard at Woldingham as follows : 

 In the flowers sent the peculiarity is the multiplication of the fertile anthers. A 

 number of pairs of pollen sacs are produced on the column successively inside the 

 normal one. These all contain pollen, even the smallest ones having a few grains. 



Silver Leaf in Apple. — Sir Harry Veitch, F.L.S., sent branches of Apple ' New- 

 ton Wonder ' from East Burnham Park, the entire foliage of which showed the 

 silvery appearance characteristic of the attack of Stereum purpureum. 



Double Potentilla reptans. — Mrs. Colville sent a plant of Potentilla reptans 

 with double flowers which she had found growing wild in Oxfordshire. Mr. 

 Allard mentioned the occurrence of another double plant of the same species at 

 Southwold. 



Pollination of Mistletoe. — Mr. Bowles referred to the absence of knowledge 

 concerning the flies which pollinate Mistletoe, and said that he had captured several 

 species at the flowers which had not all yet been named. Diptera appear to be 

 the chief agents. 



Change of Colour at Base of Tulip. — A letter drawing attention to a change in 

 the colour of the base of the Tulip ' Eclipse ' was read from Messrs. Barr. When 

 shown last year, the base of those grown under glass was much less defined than 

 in those grown in the open, and the Tulips were considered distinct. This year, 

 when bulbs from the two sources were grown side by side, the bases in both were 

 alike, thus showing that the basal colour is not invariable, or independent of 

 external conditions. , 



Lily from Salonika. — Mr. Bowles showed flowers of a very dark form of 

 Lilium Martagon from Salonika, not of so dark a colour, however, as dalmaticum. 



Mint. — Shoots of a Mint were sent from the Devon Medical Herb Industry. 

 Plants were grown last year as Mentha viridis, some were transplanted, and this 

 year shoots with very hairy foliage had appeared. Mr. J. Fraser, F.L.S., recog- 

 nized the shoots as those of Mentha sylvestris. 



Scientific Committee, July 2, 1918. 

 Mr. E. A Bowles, M.A., V.M.H., in the Chair, and ten members present. 



Poppy Roots invaded by Grubs. — Mr. J. Fraser, F.L.S., showed roots of 

 Papaver orientalis invaded by the larvae of a burrowing beetle, probably a 

 species of Otiorrhynchus, which had caused the death of the plants. Eel worms 

 were also present, but they were of a non-parasitic nature. 



Coloration of Leaves. — Col. Rawson showed leaves of Virginia Creeper 

 brilliantly coloured at the edges where sunlight had passed other leaves and 

 fallen upon them. He also showed a Poppy of the ' Mikado ' type which had 

 appeared in his garden apparently from seed of the common white form of 

 the opium Poppy. This change he attributed to the incidence of certain rays 

 of light. 



Caterpillar Attack on Aconite. — Mr. J. W. Odell showed the cocoons of the 

 moth Plusia moncta, which attacks Aconite. The insect was apparently intro- 

 duced about ^fifteen years ago, and has spread widely since. 



Thalictrum Chelidonii. — Mr. E. J. Allard showed a plant of Thalictrum 

 Chelidonii, a large-flowered species from Asia, not at all common in gardens. 



Various Plants. — Mr. Bowles showed plants of Liliurr candidum from Salonika 

 with more leathery leaves than is common, and more crateriform flowers. He 

 also showed Centranthus angustifolius which he had collected at Modane, and 

 a hybrid between it and C. ruber. 



Insects on Mistletoe Flowers. — Dr. A. B. Rendle, F.R.S., brought a list of insects 

 caught by Mr. Bowles on Mistletoe flowers this spring. The insects, as determined 

 • by Mr. K. G. Blair, were as follows : Diptera : Simulium reptans, 2 <? ; Musca 

 corvina, $ ; Scatophaga stercoraria, 2^,3$; Limnophora septemnotata, 1 3 , 

 4 °. ; Leptis nigripes, 2 £ ; Chloropisca notata, 4 ; Phora, sp. 2 ; Hymenoptera : 

 Ichneumonidae, 1 ; Rhynchota : Capsidae, 1. 



vol. xliv. d 



