SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE, APRIL 7. 



XXXV 



Scientific Committee, April 7, 1896. 



J. T. Bennett-Poe, Esq., in the Chair, and three members 

 present. 



Potato perforated by a Subterranean Stem. — With reference 

 to the specimen brought to the last meeting, it is said that the 

 penetration was effected by the secretion of a solvent substance 

 or ferment. This was the conclusion drawn by M. Prunet 

 (" Eev. Gen. de Bofc.," vol. ii., p. 166, 1891). On the other hand, 

 G. J. Peirce would attribute the penetration to mechanical 

 pressure, and not to the action of a diastatic ferment (" Bot. 

 Zeit." lii. 169). 



Bitter and Bergamot Oranges from La Mortola. — Mr. Hens- 

 low exhibited specimens from the Marchese Hanbury. The 

 former was raised by him from a pip of an Orange from a tree 

 at Eome, said to have been planted by St. Dominic about a.d. 

 1200, which still exists at the monastery of St. Sabina. It is 

 supposed to have been one of the earliest trees introduced into 

 Europe. The Bitter Seville or Bigarade Orange (Citrus vulgaris, 

 Bisso) is believed to have been the first to be cultivated. Mr. 

 Henslow observed that the so-called "wild Orange" used for 

 stocks in Malta bears a quite uneatable fruit of a similar kind. 

 The Bergamot is a small Orange (2^ to 3 inches in diameter). 

 The peel is smooth and thin, abounding in essential oil of a 

 peculiar fragrance, strongly suggestive of eau de Cologne. It is 

 cultivated at Reggio in Calabria, and is unknown wild. It first 

 appeared in the latter part of the seventeenth century. — 

 (" Pharmacographia," p. 121.) 



Violets. — Mr. Henslow also showed some Violets from Mentone 

 remarkable for their large size. When dried they were If inch 

 in diameter. They are commonly sold in the Riviera, but are 

 mostly very deficient in scent. They may be the source of the 

 Violet Princess of Wales, which is of French origin. 



Fasciated Brussels Sprouts. — Mr. Smee sent a very remark- 

 able specimen. The stem was cylindrical at the base, but 

 widened out into a broad paddle-shaped and flattened extremity, 

 covered with minute buds. He also exhibited excellent photo- 

 graphs of the same. 



