SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE, MAECH 10. 



XXXI 



which I procured a primary crossed hybrid from seed. Nearly ten 

 years ago I crossed C. Leeanum (a very fine form of it), and the result 

 brought its parent, with no more variation than constitutional or cultural 

 conditions are capable of bringing about. With such clear results as 

 these I at least cannot see where the application of Mendel's Laws 

 comes in." 



Trees in Park Lane. — Mr. Saunders showed photographs of 

 some trees the trunks of which exhibited a knotted appearance. 

 Mr. Elwes, F.R.S., observed that Oaks frequently showed the same 

 feature up to ten or more feet in height. The general opinion was that 

 it was the result of numerous embryo buds, aud that there was no fungus 

 causing it, though similar excrescences often result from insect punctures. 



Placea lutea. — Mr. Worsley showed germinating seeds of this plant, 

 and described how the radicular end of the embryo first rises upwards 

 and then turns downwards, producing a (probably temporary) axial root. 

 The cotyledon rises in a loop, like that of an Onion, the tip being retained 

 in the endosperm till it is exhausted. Mr. Elwes noticed that the seeds 

 would only germinate at such time as the adult plant would throw up its 

 foliage. 



Hippeastrum Hybrid. — Mr. Worsley showed a cross between H. vit- 

 tatum and H. subbarbatum, the red colour of the male being replaced by 

 pink in the hybrid. He observed that this illustrated the prepotency of 

 the " erraticism " of the female parent, in that the offspring bore the 

 "red tips and feathering " of the female, instead of being strictly inter- 

 mediate in character. 



Hymenocallis Hybrid. — Mr. Worsley showed flowers of a hybrid 

 between H. Augustina (female) and H. Moritziana (male) in which the 

 flowers agreed with the former, and the foliage with the latter. A curious 

 feature was a correlation between an increase in the number of ovules, 

 and the flower having more perianth leaves than normally. 



Euojiymus and Caterpillars. — Mr. Carter, Pelham Crescent, inquired 

 as to the best method of dealing with the caterpillar which attacks the 

 Euonymus. Mr. Saunders replied : — " The caterpillars on Euonymus 

 are those of the ' magpie ' or ' Gooseberry and Currant moth ' {Abraxas 

 grossulariata), a very common insect, which may often be seen fluttering 

 about during the daytime. It flies very badly. The general colour of the 

 insect is creamy-white ornamented with black spots ; but they vary 

 much in colour, some nearly white specimens having been found, and 

 others which were almost black. The insect measures in. to 1J in. 

 across the open wings. The chrysalides are not made in the ground, but 

 in dead leaves, which they spin together, or in some similar kind of 

 shelter. Any leaves which do not fall with the others should always be 

 examined, as it will be often found that the caterpillar has spun the 

 edges together, and attached it to the bush, and has undergone its trans- 

 formations within it. Picking the caterpillars off by hand is no doubt 

 one of the most effectual ways of dealing with this insect, but it is tedious ; 

 spraying the bushes with a solution of paraffin emulsion would probably 

 kill a large number. In the winter all the dead leaves beneath the 

 bushes should be collected and burnt. The moths may be caught very 

 easily in a butterfly net." Mr. Druery, V.M.H., observed that he had 



