SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE, OCTOBER 24, 



lxxxvii 



already diseased, and that the conditions under which they had been 

 stored caused the disease to develop rapidly and spread decay. 



Ants Imported with Fruit. — Mr. Holmes, F.L.S., showed some ants 

 which had been imported with bananas. Mr. Saunders, F.L.S., undertook 

 to report on them. 



Green Dahlia. — Mr. Holmes also showed specimens of this, which 

 had a few coloured florets intermixed with the green parts. Dr. Masters, 

 F.R.S., took the specimens to examine further. 



Apple-twig Disease. — Dr. Lewis Jones sent a shoot of 'Cox's Orange 

 Pippin ' attacked by the canker fungus, Nectria ditissima. 



Plants for Naming. — Mr. C. \Yatney, of Watford, sent splendid 

 specimens of the cones of Pinus Coulteri from a tree 60 to 70 feet, 

 having a, girth of 9 feet 6 inches at 5 feet from the ground, the heaviest 

 cone of which weighed 3 lb. Mr. Watney also sent a specimen of 

 Plumeria bicolor (." Botanical Register," t. 480). 



Beech-trees Diseased. — Spscimens of diseased beech bark came from 

 Gerrard's Cross, which Mr. Massee undertook to examine. 



Scientific Committee, October 24, 1905. 

 Dr. M. T. Masters, F.R.S., in the Chair, and ten members present. 



Ants Imported with Fruit. — Shown by Mr. Holmes at the last meet- 

 ing, Mr. Saunders, F.L.S., reported on these. "The ants belong to the 

 genus Camponotus. I do not think that there is any likelihood of their 

 becoming a pest in this country, as probably only a few workers would 

 from time to time be introduced, and even if both sexes, or a pregnant 

 female, which is most unlikely, should reach these shores, it is highly 

 improbable that they would find suitable quarters to breed in, or proper 

 food." 



Green Dahlia. — Dr. Masters, F.R.S., reported that the malformation 

 was due to the growth of the palea?, which had greatly enlarged and had 

 become green, replacing the greater part of the florets. 



Quince-leaves Diseased. — Mr. Massee, V.M.H., reported that these, 

 shown by Mr. \Yorsley, were attacked by Podosphcera Oxyacanthce. 



Diseased Beech Bark. — Mr. Massee also reported that there was no 

 fungus present in the beech bark shown at the last meeting that could 

 be identified as the cause of the exudation which covered the bark. 



Silver-leaf in Apple. — Mr. Spencer Pickering, F.R.S., showed a 

 shoot of apple affected with the silver-leaf disease. The disease appears 

 rarely to attack the apple, but it is too common on the plum, peach, 

 Portugal laurel, &c. Prof. Percival considers the disease is caused by 

 the fungus Stereum purpureum, since branches inoculated by him with 

 that fungus develop silver-leaf beyond the point of attack, and the fruits 

 of that fungus are subsequently developed on trees affected by silver-leaf 

 disease. Mr. Pickering showed a specimen of the fungus that had 

 developed on such a tree. He pointed out that the mycelium of the 

 fungus evidently permeated the whole of the woody part of the tree, since 

 a shoot of plum that had grown from a piece of root left in the ground 



