CXVlll rROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



^^ilen it was first sent out, was marked with lavender and red on a 

 white ground. It had this year sported in two or three places to a 

 lavender-ground flower. He remarked upon the frequency with which 

 sudden colour sports appeared in more than one locality in the same 

 plant at the same time. Several other instances were remarked upon 

 hy other members of the Committee. 



Salices. — Mr. Fraser, F.L.S., showed specimens of Salix alba (the 

 Bat Willow) and called attention to the form of the serration of the 

 leaves; though the latter vary in size, the serrations are always of 

 similar form. He showed also S. fragilis hritannica, which has irregular, 

 serrations to the leaves, and the hybrid, S. viridis, in which the foliage 

 is intermediate between the other two. In the hybrid the leaves are 

 dark green above, and their under surfaces are whiter than those of 

 S. fragilis ; the serrations are intermediate in form and more regular 

 than in /ra^iZfs. 



Spotting of Calanthe foliage. — Plants of Calanthe vars. were shown 

 badly attacked by a spot disease. So far as has yet been definitely ascer- 

 tained, the spotting is not caused by a fungus or other organism, and 

 appears not to be infectious. It seems rather to be due to some cultural 

 defect, perhaps to spraying with cold water. 



. Scientific Committee, August 30, 1910. 



Mr. E. A. Bowles, M.A., F.L.S., F.E.S., in the Chair, and eight 



members present. 



Garden Warblers attacking Plums. — Mr. Worsley said that garden 

 warblers were this year attacking the ripening Plums on the trees, 

 contrary to their usual habit. Mr. Gordon, V.M.H., suggested that 

 this may be due to lack of insects — their usual food — this season, and 

 instanced an experiment with hawks whose tastes he had trained till 

 they preferred fruit as a food. 



Aberrant Branching in Mentha. — Mr. Fraser, F.L.S., showed a 

 plant of Mentha gentilis variegata bearing one pair of leaves united by 

 their petioles and half the edges of the lamina. The axillary branches 

 were also on one side, following the leaves. The main axis formed a 

 right-angle to its base, flattened above and convex beneath like a petiole. 

 Then it bore one leaf with an axillary shoot, and then the axis resumed 

 its upright position with opposite, decussate leaves. Three nodes below 

 also had a single or twin-leaf on one side, and one lateral branch behaved 

 in the same way. 



Petaloid Calyx in Rose. — A specimen of Eose ' Eugenie Lamesch ' 

 was also submitted by Mr. Fraser to show phylloid sepals and median 

 proliferation of the flower. The axis in the centre of the flower was 

 prolonged, bearing another flower-bud. 



Oncidioda x Charlesworthii. — The first cross of an Oncidium with 

 Gochlioda (0. incurvum x G. Noezliana) was shown by Messrs. 

 Charlesworth, of Hay wards Heath. The specimen submitted was one 



