SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE, MAY 17. 



xxxi 



Basal Bot. — Mr. Michael reported on this subject as follows: 

 " I have examined the Narcissus bulbs sent up by Mr. W. Dod, 

 and affected with ' basal rot.' The bulbs looked rather gnawed, 

 and I found one or two Ehizoglyphus echinopus on one of them ; 

 but, in spite of the destructive character of this mite, it hardly 

 seemed to me that there were enough to have done the damage. 

 The bulbs were decayed just at the base, and nowhere else. There 

 was fungus there, and they looked to me rather as if from some 

 cause water had collected just round the base of the bulb, and 

 had caused a sodden and unhealthy condition. I also examined 

 some ' rusty ' Narcissus bulbs, sent by Mr. Haydon, of Hatfield 

 Vicarage, Doncaster, and received by me from Mr. Morris, of 

 Kew. These bulbs were swarming with the same Acarus 

 (Ehizoglyphus echinopus), which is quite capable of originating 

 the destruction seen in the bulbs, and of carrying it out, with the 

 assistance of the decay which naturally sets in on the wounded 

 surfaces where the mites have been eating. The bulbs also con- 

 tained Anguillulse. I believe some species of these are originators, 

 some followers of decay. The Ehizoglyphus, however, is quite 

 sufficient to have done the damage, whether the worms assisted 

 or not." Mr. Morris observed that, in the case of the " rusty '' 

 bulbs forwarded to Mr. Michael by him, they were carefully ex- 

 amined by fungologists at Kew, and no fungus was present, as in 

 those sent by Mr. Dod. Mr. Haydon mentions in his letter to 

 Mr. Morris that three were seedlings from Cambricus ; the others 

 were a variety called Miriam Barton. The rusted cernuus had 

 been all burnt. Mr. W. Dod had written to observe that there 

 was a mistake in the report of the last meeting, in that Troilus 

 is not a variety which is subject to basal rot. His words were : 

 " I enclose specimens belonging, in this case, to the variety 

 Troilus, which show how thousands go off with me every year." 

 He now writes : "I meant to say that thousands of Trumpet 

 Daffodils of different varieties die in my garden every year, 

 showing the symptoms, of which I sent bulbs of Troilus as an 

 illustration." 



China Silk, — Mr. Morris exhibited a specimen of this so- 

 called material having the appearance of fine catgut, and read a 

 report from the Foreign Office as follows : "A very strong ' silk ' 

 is made fromfthe grub called the ' celestial silkworm ' (t'yn ts'am), 

 or locally ' paddy insect ' (din t'ang). This grub is found on a 



