350 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. October u, isso. 
of this Pear, indeed on account of its uniform productiveness and 
good quality he esteems it one of the most serviceable Pears in 
cultivation. It is in commerce, but not yet possessed in quantity 
by all nurserymen. The figure represents a fair example of the 
fruit as grown at Chiswick, and the variety is submitted as likely 
to give satisfaction to those who grow it. 
- At 'a General Meeting of the Royal Horticultura l 
Society held .on Tuesday last, Col. R. Trevor Clarke in the chair, 
the following candidates were elected Fellows—viz., Dr. R. Abud, 
George M. Bell, Ebenezer R. Butler, M.D., Henry Cosier, Arthur 
Hibbert, Mrs. Cavendish Taylor. 
CULTURE OF THE PERSIAN CYCLAMEN. 
It is generally recommended to sow Cyclamen seed in the begin¬ 
ning of spring with the view of having flowers the following winter ; 
but with a warm pit, greenhouse, or vinery, in which tbe young 
seedlings will not be exposed to frost, there is no particular reason 
why it may not be sown any time. If you have saved some seed it 
can be sown now. Any pan, shallow box, or flower pot will do, 
employing a compost of loam, sharp sand, and good drainage. 
Those who have but limited time and space, and often have not 
patience to wait a year for nursery seedlings, would do well to 
purchase the flowering corms when they are beginning to grow, 
and they will have flowers from Christmas onward. My plants in 
a rather warm moist plant pit are now a mass of flower buds, and 
the leaves are pushing rapidly. A few days since in Dublin a lady 
showed me a frame full of Cyclamen in various stages of develop¬ 
ment. The older tubers were resting in their pots previous to 
being repotted, and the seedlings of last spring were preparing to 
flower. If a lady thus, ■with only a few yards of a town garden, 
a frame, and a southern parlour window, can have Cyclamens so 
good there surely cannot be any great difficulty in their culture. 
I should remark for the information of those who have no other 
appliances than a frame, that if they could put in some stable 
manure to make a hotbed, which would last, say, three weeks, 
supposing it to be only 6 or 8 inches thick, in that time the seed 
would probably be started if the temperature rose to 70° or 75°, 
and when frost appeared, say six weeks hence in Ireland, the 
seedlings could be removed to a parlour or warm sitting-room, 
kept moist, and transplanted in spring. Last year a friend of 
mine raised as healthy seedlings in this way as ever I saw ; from 
a packet of Suttons’ Giganteum variety he had at least one hun¬ 
dred plants. In transplanting it is important that the little tuber 
be not sunk beneath the soil; if it is, the leaves will be likely to 
damp-off. I once found my tubers scooped out in little hollows here 
and there underneath by what I found to be a small maggot that 
is common in some soils. I think the easiest remedy is to throw 
boiling water over the soil some time before you use it, or if you 
do not fear the dissipation of the moisture or ammonia, place the 
soil into an oven, or in its absence into a close pan or pot. Over¬ 
potting should be strictly avoided ; and if the soil gets hard into 
a firm compact mass, if you cannot readily soften and loose it 
shake out and repot the plants. I never wholly dry-off my plants, 
nor do I put them out to have their perennial rootlets dried up 
and desiccated. Ripen on a moist surface, wdth the plants and 
pots plunged, if in no other material, in common garden soil, and 
the beneficial treatment will be quickly apparent.—W. J. M., 
Clonmel. 
Injuries and Losses Sustained in the Winter 1879-80. 
—The Royal Horticultural Society, being desirous of obtaining 
trustworthy information as to the effects of the late exception¬ 
ally wet summer and severe winter on trees, shrubs, See., would 
be glad to receive reports from gardeners, florists, and others. 
Schedules for recording such injuries as may have occurred will 
be forwarded to anyone who may be willing to assist the Society. 
About twenty-five returns have been received ; but as it is de¬ 
sirable to render the report as complete as possible, it is hoped 
that every county in the British Isles may be represented by at 
least one return. One or at most two reports have been received 
from the following counties, See. : —Arran, Bucks, Cornwall, Derby¬ 
shire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Herts, Rox¬ 
burghshire, Kent, Kilkenney, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Mid¬ 
lothian, Somersetshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Sutherlandshire, 
Warwickshire, Wicklow, Isle of Wight, and Yorks. Address to 
Rev. G. Henslow, G, Titchfield Terrace, Regent’s Park, N.W. 
- We have received from Mr. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth a 
fine example of the Gros Maroc Grape. The berries are very 
large, nearly 'oval in shape, and in colour a bluish black of 
great intensity. In appearance this is an imposing Grape, and 
in quality is particularly sweet and refreshing—not of a nature to 
cloy the palate. The Vine is a good grower and bearer, succeeds 
well in a house with Black Hamburghs, and the fruit keeps for a 
considerable time after it is ripe. Since the above w T as written 
the Fruit Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society have 
awarded a first-class certificate for this Grape. 
- “ Orchid Grower ” writes—" A very fine variety of 
VANDA tricolor is now flowering in the Orchid house at Kew. 
The markings of the sepals and petals are very distinct, whilst the 
lip is a bright rosy lilac. The plant is bearing two fine spikes of 
flowers, which emit a delicious perfume. Dendrobium formosnm 
giganteum is flowering freely in the cool house. Two good spikes 
of flowers proceed from the apex of the pseudo-bulbs. The 
flowers are pure white, with a blotch of lemon yellow at the base 
of the lip. It is growing on a block suspended from the roof, 
and evidently enjoys the treatment it receives by throwing out 
its long white roots in search of moisture. Near the above- 
mentioned plant is Epidendrum purum in flower. The flowers 
are creamy white, and densely packed in a drooping inflorescence 
a foot or so long.” 
- Mr. Iggulden writes as follows on Lopiiospermum 
SCAndens :—“ It forms one of the most attractive climbers imagin¬ 
able for a temperate house, and is now in splendid condition in 
Capt, Jackson’s garden at Meopham. The plants are growing 
in a low span-roofed house, are potted into 8-inch pots, and from 
these the roots are allowed to extend into an old, levelled, and 
well-trodden Melon bed. They are trained directly over the path¬ 
way along three of the topmost wires, and present a most brilliant 
appearance, the branching growth being clothed w'ith innumer¬ 
able crimson trumpet-shaped flowers. Plants are easily raised 
from seed, are useful for cutting from, and can be used very 
effectively in vases.” 
-In the same garden Mr. Phillips grows Tuberous-rooted 
Begonias remarkably well. Some of his seedlings are par¬ 
ticularly fine, although scarcely distinct from many in commerce. 
So well are a number of seedlings growing and flowering that are 
pricked out in the above-mentioned Melon bed, that the question 
arises, Why not plant them out in the conservatory beds? They 
would undoubtedly well repay the little trouble necessary, and 
might easily be lifted and stored away during their resting period. 
Planting appears to intensify their generally bright colours, and 
strong loamy soil especially seems to suit them. 
- “ A beautiful plant” writes “W.R.,” “for the stove is 
A5schynanthus grandiflorus. I have a specimen now bear¬ 
ing two large umbels of bright orange-scarlet flowers, with a 
band of brighter scarlet round the entrance of the tube. The 
flowers are about 3 inches long and of great substance. This is 
really a grand species, and should be in every collection of plants 
however small.” 
- We have received some pods of Carters’ Champion 
Scarlet Runner Bean grown by a Leicestershire cultivator. 
They are very large, fleshy, and crisp, and are excellent-examples 
of this well-known good variety. 
- We are glad to learn that the Shrewsbury Summer 
Show, that was fully reported in our columns, was a great success, 
