SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE, SEPTEMBER 15. 



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as Silver-leaf, and has been proved to be due to the presence of too much 

 nitrogenous food in the soil. Abstain from using farmyard or organic 

 manure of any kind, and sow rape or some quickly growing crop under 

 the trees. Remove the crop when fully grown.' " Much hesitation was 

 shown by the Committee in accepting this conclusion, as Portugal Laurels 

 growing in poor gravelly soil and never manured have been known to be 

 as badly affected as garden fruit trees. 



Asparagus diseased. — Herr Otto Froebel, Zurich, sent the follow- 

 ing communication, with specimens: — "Permit me to send you to-day 

 by post a monstrosity I have observed since last year on my old plant of 

 Asparagus r etr of r actus. We call such form ' Hexenbesen,' which means 

 ' Witch's broom.' They are often observed on different hardy plants, on 

 conifers, trees, and shrubs. However, I have never observed this ano- 

 maly on any one of my various species of Asparagus, and I hope it will be 

 interesting to the readers of the Journ. R.H.S. if you will bring this to 

 their notice." Mr. Michael undertook to examine the specimen. " I 

 intend to send you next spring a flowering branch of the quite new 

 Forsythia europcea (Deegen and Baldacci), introduced by seeds in 1899 

 from Albania. I should feel much satisfied if I could send the first 

 flowering branches of this new shrub, very hardy in my country, and if 

 this novelty could be figured in your very fine and always most interesting 

 Journal." 



Chimonanthus, abnormal foliage. — Mr. Odell showed branches bearing 

 normal as well as bifurcated leaves, arising from a separation of the fibro- 

 vascular bundles of the midrib, ab various distances from the base. In 

 some it commenced even in the short petiole. 



Eelicorm in. Agrostis. — Mr. Chittenden showed examples of the un- 

 usual position of eelworms in the inflorescence of this grass. 



Ceoma in Campanula. — Mr. Chittenden showed examples of this 

 fungus in C. rapunculoides, as well as an apparently new species of fungus 

 attacking the sepals of Clematis. 



Draccena with Aerial Boot. — Mr. Chittenden also exhibited a stem 

 which had been ringed, and had since produced a downward -growing 

 " toe," or adventitious root, more than a foot above the ground. 



Tolmiea Menziesii. — Rev. W. Wilks received a plant in foliage, on 

 every leaf of which a foliaceous bud was developed at the base of the 

 blade on the upper end of the petiole. This peculiarity is mentioned in 

 Bailey's " Cyclopedia of American Horticulture " in the following words : 

 " propagates naturally by adventitious buds, produced at the apex of 

 the petioles of the radical leaves, and rooting when these fall to the 

 ground." This plant has been described under the names of Heuchera 

 Menziesii and Tiarella Menziesii, but the above name is now the correct 

 one. 



Figs drying and falling. — Mr. Worsley drew attention to the fact 

 that certain Figs frequently ceased to mature after a certain time, then 

 dried up and fell off. The general opinion was that nourishment was 

 diverted by some cause or another, as the winter Figs in this country 

 always fall off as soon as foliage appears. 



