Jnly 17, 18C0.' 1 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
53 
others, new and older standard varieties, at Barkby Hall Gardens, 
Leicester, and the unquestionable verdict was that it was the best 
of them all. It is extremely fruitful on young plants. The fruit 
is large, brightly coloured, and of good flavour, decidedly superior 
in this respect to Noble. The habit of the plant is good, the 
foliage being plentiful, but close and compact. I was surprised 
not to see it mentioned in the published report of Mr. Wright’s 
valuable paper on “ Garden Strawberries,” read at the British Fruit 
Growers’ Conference. [It is “mentioned” there.— Ed.] 
The Captain. 
Amongst the same trial rows of Strawberries is a row of 
il Captain,” which is evidently an excellent variety for light land. 
Mr. Lindsell, the able gardener here, considers it one of his best 
after several years’ experience with it. It is very prolific, and the 
fruit are of good size and colour. The flavour is superior to Noble, 
but not so good as Auguste Nicaise, which is very sugary and brisk, 
and has a suspicion of Pine flavour. Neither is Captain quite 
equal to that variety in the matter of firmness. Both are much 
alike in point of earliness, and are four to six days later than 
Noble.—W. 
Seedling Strawberries. 
In your report of the Trentham Show an error occurs. The 
seedling Strawberries certificated by the Judges (Messrs. Wallis, 
Bannerman, and Selwood) were shown by me. No. 1, a cross 
between British Queen and President, will be an early Queen 
flavoured variety. It is early, robust, and bears freely, colour bright 
red. No. 2 is between British Queen and Countess, good flavour, 
rich dark red colour, and bears abundantly fruit of the largest size. 
I have two other seedlings equally promising, but owing to the 
wet and sunless weather I have not been able to show them in their 
best form. I commenced hybridising Strawberries in 1886, and 
have some 600 plants, the result of fourteen crosses from British 
Queen,, The object I have in view is to raise some highly coloured 
Strawberries with the flavour of British Queen.— Wm, Allan. 
HARDY PLANTS. 
Erodium macradenium. 
This is not only one of the neatest of the alpine section of this 
genus, but it is also one of the most profuse fiowerers. Its flowering 
invariably commences early in June, and is continued far into the 
autumn months ; indeed, I have had it quite as good and as full of 
flower in October and November as at any time of the year. A 
tuft of this plant is one of the prettiest objects that can adorn the 
drier portions of the rockery at this season of the year. The flower§ 
are of a delicate flesh colour, and veined with purplish rose, the 
broader petals having a dark base. Some years ago I was ac¬ 
quainted with a plant bearing the name of E. macradenum 
hybridum, which was an equally beautiful plant, having no dark 
base as in the above, and there is yet another, though I believe very 
rare at present, E. trichomanifolium, which is a sweetly pretty and 
graceful gem for the rockwork. These, with various other dwarf 
Erodiums, enjoy gritty loam in sunny exposures on the rockery, 
and I think their neatness and generally graceful habit should com¬ 
mend them to all lovers of choice alpines. 
Diantiius atro-coccineus. 
A showy dark crimson variety belonging to D. cruentus, which 
this season has attained 2 feet high, the small tufted heads standing 
out conspicuously among many perennials at this time. Fortu¬ 
nately it is easily grown in any ordinary soil, and should be found 
in hardy plant collections more frequently. It is easily raised from 
seed, a source from which improvements in the way of larger 
heads of flowers may yet be forthcoming. 
Lychnis chalcedonica. 
The vermilion scarlet heads of flower produced by this fine old 
perennial have no equal among hardy plants. It is not only the 
showiest of all, but it is also one of the cheapest and most easily 
grown. It grows more freely and produces decidedly finer heads 
of flowers than the double form, while a sixpenny packet of seeds 
will produce more than sufficient for any ordinary garden. It has 
been discarded by many because of its single flowers, but those who 
desire easily grown, showy, and vigorous perennials should not lose 
sight of one of the best. Given a fairly rich soil, for—by the way, 
while easily grown, it should be by no means starved—and it will 
never fail to give every satisfaction annually. 
Lychnis fu^gens. 
The various forms of this Lychnis are likewise excellent showy 
herbaceous perennials. They embrace a much wider range of 
colour, and include shades of flesh, white, scarlet, crimson, ver¬ 
milion, &c., while the size of their flowers individually also vary 
considerably, some of the larger being nearly 2 inches across, of 
neat compact habit, rarely more than 14 to 2 feet high, they con¬ 
stitute highly effective plants for the second row of the border, and 
grow quite freely in any rich loamy soil. Not unfrequently, by 
reason of the small rootstock and the stems dying annually, they are 
taken for dead, and more than once have I been the means of saving 
them from being thrown out, as their place is not marked by any¬ 
thing when the plant is at rest, therefore the necessity of labelling 
in some form or other. The rootstock may be compared to a 
cluster of Dahlia tubers in miniature and equally fleshy and brittle. 
Slugs are rather fond of the young shoots as they appear through 
the ground in spring, and on some heavy soils these play sad havoc 
with the plants if the latter are not attended to in time.—J. H. E. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
July 8th. 
Scientific Committee. —Present : Mr. McLachlan (in the chair) 
Mr. Blandford, Dr. Muller, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Morris, and Rev. G. Henslow 
(Hon. Sec.). 
Acacia Seyal, stipules. —Mr. Henslow showed a specimen of the 
stipules of this Central and North African species, having globular bases, 
about the size of large cob-nuts, terminating with slender points, 2 inches 
in length. They had been perforated and inhabited in all probability 
by ants. A discussion arose as to the possibly hereditary character of 
the abnormal size of the stipules of this and other species— e.g., of A. 
sphrerocephala, the “Bull’s horn” Thorn (as compared with the needle¬ 
like stipules of some Australian species) even when cultivated in Eng¬ 
land and in the absence of ants. It is well known that the presence of 
the ants causes an increase of the growth of the stipules, akhough they 
hollow them out and consume the pith as food. It is, however, the 
opinion of Dr. Beccari and M. Treub, who have studied many “ ant- 
plants,” that the comparatively large size of the stipules, even before 
they are attacked by ants, is due to the hereditary effects of the irri¬ 
tations set up in previous generations of trees (“ Malesia ” ii., and “ Ann. 
Jard. Bot. Buit.” iii., p. 129). An interesting description of A. 
sphserocephala, &c., is given in Belt’s “ Naturalist in Nicaragua,” p. 21S. 
Lilium Martagonffasciated. —Mr. Elwes sent a large fasciated stem 
of this species, in which this abnormality had not been previously 
observed. It is not uncommon in other species. It bore at least 100 
flowers on the flattened stem, which was about 2 inches across. 
Oak-staves, perforated. —Mr. Morris exhibited portions of staves of 
beer barrels, made in England in 1889, and shipped to Aden in March, 
1890, from the Indian store department. Of a hundred barrels nearly 
every one was found to leak, holes having been bored into the wood by 
the grub of some beetle. It was referred to Mr. Blandford for examina¬ 
tion ; but in the absence of all specimens of the creature, and any details 
in the history of the case, as— e.g ., whence the beetles could be derived, 
it is somewhat difficult to suggest a remedy. 
Carnations attacked ly Wireworm (. ? ). — Samples of plants and 
grubs were received from R.H.S. gardens at Chiswick. It was 
suggested by Mr. Barron that the creature might have been introduced 
in the “peat moss” (employed as bedding for horses) used as manure. 
It appeared to be a species of Tipula. Mr. Blandford undertook to 
make a further examination. Mr. Morris and Mr. Wilks remarked that 
Carnations were much destroyed in a similar manner both at Kew and 
Shirley. Mr. Henslow remarked upon the wonderfully efficacious effect 
of gas lime in destroying wireworms. Thinly spread over the ground 
and dug-in, a plot where previously not a Cabbage could be grown in his 
garden has borne excellent crops for several years since. 
Gladiolus with Vasymmetrical Flowers. —Mr. Henslow showed a 
spray in which the two uppermost flowers were normal, the two lower 
reversed in position, having the stamens and style declinate, while one 
flower had them situated laterally. The streaked petals corresponded 
with the positions of the stamens in each case. The tubes did not 
appear to be twisted in any way. As the style and stigmas were altered 
in correlation to the stamens, it would probably not affect the fertilisa¬ 
tion by insects, the latter being simply dusted with pollen in a different 
part of the body from usual. Mr. Morris remarked that he had observed 
similar alterations in the flowers of the Gladiolus at Kew. 
Foliage with Foliaceous Appendages. —Mr. Henslow exhibited speci¬ 
mens (1) of leaves of Acalypha eremurus with narrow wing-like 
excrescence on the ribs and veins of the upper surface. Dr. Muller 
has described this peculiarity as a true specific character in this plant. 
2, Aristolochia sipho, with apparent outgrowths on the lower surface. 
These appeared to be due to cracks in the leaf when young ; a portion 
of the leaf then protrudes below, when adhesion again takes place. 
3, Arum maculatum with a foliaceous appendage at the base of the 
blade. 4, Several specimens of Cabbage leaves with wing-like append¬ 
ages to the ribs, as well as tubular and funnel-like appendages. Mr. 
Henslow pointed out the similarity between these foliar excrescences 
and many which occur on petals, especially Gloxinias (exhibited), Prim¬ 
roses, Orchids, and in the “crested” Cyclamen. In all cases they 
appear to be due to hypertrophy, and are a means of disposing of 
excess of nutriment, the foliar excrescences being correlated to the 
chorisis or branching of the fibro-vascular cords. In a monstrous form 
of Mignonette, described by the late Professor J. S. Henslow in 1833, 
