442 
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
power of adaptation is, that while in Nepenthes the pitcher, 
according to Sir J. D. Hooker, is an outgrowth of a water- 
gland situated at the apex of the blade, in Cephalotus the pitcher 
is constructed out of the blade itself ; as it is also in Sarracenia. 
Hybrid Crab. —Attention was called to a new hybrid, 
raised by Mr. Yeitch, between an ornamental Crab Apple called 
‘ Transcendent ’ and ‘ King of the Pippins.’ The latter Apple 
had greatly ameliorated the acidity and improved the appearance 
of the hybrid as well. 
Begonia ‘ Gloire de Lorraine ’ is an interesting hybrid, 
one of its parents being B. socotrana, and the other B. Dregei. 
Its value resides, firstly, in its being very floriferous and late in 
the season; and secondly, in bearing only male flowers for a 
considerable period; but subsequently it produces female 
flowers ; so that as fertilisation cannot take place early, the 
flowers last much longer than they otherwise would. 
Physalis Franchetti. —This plant is remarkable for 
its very large, brightly coloured, inflated calyx, and is a hand¬ 
some decorative plant. Mr. Henslow referred to a description 
of another species in which the observer discovered a use of the 
bladder-like protection; in that the whole articulated readily, 
and fell to the ground, when the wind rolled it to a distance, as 
it does the Rose of Jericho in the desert of N.E. Africa. And 
so the calyx aids in the dispersal of the plant. 
Inferior Fruits. —The lecturer took some large hips of 
Roses ( Bosa alpina and B. rugosa) as illustrating a hollow 
“axial” receptacle, containing five achenes, or fruits, within it; 
a Strawberry illustrating the converse condition, in that the 
achenes are outside a swollen receptacle. In a Pear, however, 
the internal carpels are reduced to five ; the outer epidermis of 
these and the inner epidermis of the axis being undeveloped, the 
central tissues of both become blended into a solid mass con¬ 
stituting the edible part. The upper part of the Pear, however, 
consists in addition of the fleshy stalks to the sepals. This was 
illustrated by drawings of monstrous and abnormal states of 
Pears, as well as by certain inferior fruits rooting in soil, since 
they were composed externally of an axial or stem structure. 
Such was the case with a Cucumber and a Prickly Pear. 
Ficus repens fruiting. —A fig from this species was 
exhibited, and the lecturer called attention to the dimorphic 
