March 23, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE 
239 
Dr. Muller called attention to the statement in the report that, 
according to Dr. Bailey, the organic matter which forms a large propor¬ 
tion of the greasy deposit left by fog, and which proved so injurious to 
plants, consisted mainly of some form of pyridine. Now, considering 
that pyridine is a rather volatile liquid substance, this is a somewhat 
surprising fact, and the question arises how the pyridine and other 
similar volatile constituents of smoke become thus fixed and precipitated. 
He suggested that this probably is brought about by the agency of the 
particles of solid hydro-carbon and tarry ingredients of the fog, which 
possess great aflSnity for these volatile substances and absorb them. It 
is now well understood that these solid constituents of the smoke, along 
with the mineral dust suspended in the atmosphere, form the primary 
cause of the formation of fog. 
Dr. Masters exhibited sprays of Holly, Skimmia, and Aucuba covered 
with sooty deposit of fog, but yet the foliage was apparently healthy. 
He attributed their capability of resisting the deleterious infiuences by 
the great thickness of the cuticle possessed by these plants. He observed 
that evergreens often possessed in addition two or three rows of palisade 
cells, and were thus enabled by their structure to offer resistance to 
injurious vapours. Dr. Masters also observed that plants with an 
aqueous hypodermal layer, such as was present in certain Orchids, might 
on that account be better able to resist the injurious effects of fogs. 
Mr. Henslow added that E. I. Ehododendrons have much tannin, a 
moderately thick cuticle, and aqueous layers on both sides of their leaves, 
and as they withstood the fogs well these features might corroborate 
Dr. Masters’ suggestion. Dr. Masters also remarked on the observation 
of Prof. Oliver that Monocotyledons appeared to be less liable to injury 
than Dicotyledons. He threw out the suggestion that as so many of 
the former class have a more or less erect phyllodinous foliage, the fog 
deposit would be less likely to accumulate upon it than on the more 
usually horizontal blades of dicotyledonous plants. In addition to this 
morphological feature was the anatomical structure—viz., there being 
two palisade layers and the presence of stomata on both sides, &c. Such 
and other histological differences might prove to account for some of 
the differences mentioned. 
The thanks of the Committee were unanimously tendered to Prof. 
Oliver for his interesting and valuable report. 
GRAPES AT FLOORS CASTLE. 
I WAS very pleased to see Mr. McKelvie’s notes, page 203. He knows 
the writer very well, who regards him aa being both shrewd and 
competent. That the old Vines under his care still flourish is pleasant 
to notice, as there is an interest attached to old stagers. I was wrong 
in my surmise that the photo which you illustrated recently of the 
Floors’ Grapes, but had they been from the original Vines I would 
not have been surprised, as the case in point reminded me of a photo 
which was taken of Grapes on the Vines which were forty years old. 
We know something about Grapes, but a good deal, I fear, we shall 
never know, more particularly the influence of different soils upon the 
produce. I have known in different places Muscats do very unkindly, 
when again with no greater care for a score of years they were never 
known to fail. The keeping of Grapes after they are ripe is a point 
well worthy of a little discussion. If they are ripe early in the year— 
in autumn—and not carefully ventilated, they will soon go or shrivel; 
then if the temperature is kept too low it will soon cause a state of 
matters that no care afterwards, however good, can correct. Not long 
since a first-class salesman showed me some black Grapes, saying, 
“ I don’t know what is the matter with these Grapes, but they wo’n’t 
keep.” I said I thought the grower had been keeping them too long 
without fire heat. When Grapes are cut and bottled, it of course alters 
the case, and they are much easier kept in that way.—M. 
In reference to the controversy on “ Grape Keeping at Floors,” it is 
very evident that before a gardener can keep Grapes well he must grow 
them well. The question is, Who grew the Vines—who took out all the 
stagnant borders and drained them thoroughly, replanting two houses 
over again and absolutely restocking the others ? As I had a fair share of 
the work on the borders I can testify as to the practical manner in 
which the borders were made. Plenty of half-inch bones and Thomson’s 
Vine manure were used, and the Vines are producing what Mr. MacKellar 
anticipated—good Grapes—whether for keeping or present use. Such 
are plain facts, and I do not think the imagination of Mr. Goodacre can 
alter them. Perhaps it may not be out of place for me to ask him to 
give evidence of his own practical genius on Grape keeping (as he 
invited Mr. Barnes to produce his) for the benefit of the readers of the 
Journal of Horticulture. —I. _ 
Mr. Goodacre seems ill-pleased to find that anyone should have 
had the temerity to comment on his remarks on the above subject, 
which he evidently had been at some trouble to sandwich with his 
paragraph on keeping Grapes (page 172) ; but I suppose that anything 
he writes to the public Press on keeping Grapes, or kindred subjects of 
gardening, is as amenable to cemment as other people’s, whether he 
aspires to be specially talented or not. 
I have no inordinate desire to evolve a “ patent ” or to “adopt ” any 
other person’s without due acknowledgment; and much less have I 
that a discussion on the Grapes at Floors should resolve itself into a 
mere passage of arms w'ith Mr. Goodacre, for whatever his qualifications 
may be to write on Grapes generally, there are others as competent as 
himself to speak on those at Floors. 
My remarks on page 79, which Mr. Goodacre characterises as an 
“ undisguised piece of sarcasm,” contain a brief statement on the history 
of the Grape room at Floors, which was figured on page 31, without in 
any way raising the question whether Grapes had been successfully kept 
there before it was made or not; therefore, what Mr. Goodacre’s “ facts ” 
really went to “ prove ” does not appear to be very clear. 
I should not have troubled to notice his remarks on keeping Grapes 
(page 172) had he not fallen into the same error as “ M.” in supposing 
the Vines were “ between thirty and forty years old,” and that “ all the 
important work was done for them years ago.” Without inquiring 
what in Mr. Goodacre’s opinion is “ important work,” I may inform him 
I have read Mr. McKelvie’s letter, with the result that I consider it 
ample proof (if proof was needed) of my statement on the same page, 
and at the same time sufficient correction for what Mr. Goodacre had 
rashly assumed to be facts—namely, that there were Vines at Floors 
between thirty and forty years old. “ M.” will likewise see from Mr. 
McKelvie’s letter that the early vinery he speaks of on page 117 was 
planted again during Mr. Knight’s time, and the fact of it being found 
so unsatisfactory when Mr. MacKellar took charge sufficiently accentuates 
my remarks on the cause of the premature breaking of the Vines 
being due to the heated border.— N. F. Barnes, Eaton Gardens. 
EURYA LATIFOLIA VARIEGATA. 
For grouping in large conservatories or cool houses where plants are 
a distance from the glass and receive very little light, this is one of the 
best variegated plants that can be grown. It is as effective in these 
positions as Crotons are in the stove, and I am surprised it is not more 
generally employed for this purpose. It certainly possesses an advantage 
over Crotons ; it retains its colour in shady places, which Crotons do 
not. 
Not only is this plant useful in pots, but it makes a handsome 
pyramidal specimen for the conservatory when planted out. Once a 
plant attains a fair size pruning will do it no harm, and numbers of 
well-coloured ends can be removed for various decorative purposes. 
Highly coloured foliage during the winter may be used in many 
positions with advantage, and prove as effective as flowers. Plants 
in a young state grows slowly, but once they attain a height of 12 to 
18 inches they appear to make much more rapid growth. This plant in 
a young state needs no stopping, it branches freely, and naturally 
assumes a pyramidal shape. 
Cuttings root freely if inserted in sandy soil and covered with a bell- 
glass or stood in a close-fitting handlight in a cool house. The shoots 
selected should be the young growths of the current season’s wood. If 
inserted earlier in the season they may occupy a position outside, only 
being removed at the approach of frost where they will be safe for the 
winter. The young plants by spring will be rooted and ready for potting. 
In the early stages they grow quicker when given intermediate treat¬ 
ment.—W. Bardney. 
ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
At the monthly meeting of this Society, held on the 15th instant, 
Dr. C. Theodore Williams (President) in the chair, Mr. Shelford Bidwell, 
F.E.S., delivered a lecture on “ Some Meteorological Problems,” which 
was illustrated with numerous photographs and experiments. The 
lecturer said that one of the oldest and still unsolved problems of 
meteorology relates to the origin of atmospheric electricity. Many 
possible sources have been suggested, among them being the evaporation 
of water and the friction of dust-laden air against the earth’s surface. 
Having granted some sufficient source of electrification, Mr. Bidwell 
said that it is not difficult to account for the ordinary phenomena of 
thunderstorms. 
Photography has shown that the lightning flash of the artists, formed 
of a number of perfectly straight lines arranged in a zig-zag, has no 
resemblance to anything in Nature. The normal or typical flash is like 
the ordinary spark discharge of an electrical machine ; it follows a 
sinuous course, striking similarly to that of a river as shown upon a 
map. The several variations from the normal type all have their 
counterparts in the forms taken by the machine spark under different 
conditions, and the known properties of these artificial discharges may 
be assumed to afford some indication as to the nature of the correspond¬ 
ing natural flashes. Thus, for example, the ramified or branched flash, 
from which no doubt the dreaded “forked lightning” derives it^ name, 
is probably one of the most harmless forms of discharge. Ever since the 
time of Franklin it has been customary to employ lightning rods for 
the protection of important buildings. According to Dr. Oliver Lodge 
these are of no use in the case of an “ impulsive rush ” discharge, which, 
however, is of comparatively rare occurrence. Lightni ng conductors, 
however well constructed, cannot therefore be depended upon to afford 
perfect immunity from risk. 
Mr. Preece is of opinion that the “ impulsive rush,” though easily 
producible in the laboratory, never occurs in Nature. Mr. Bidwell made 
some remarks as to the duration of a lightning flash, and the causes of 
its proverbial quiver, and suggested an explanation of the characteristic 
darkness of thunder clouds, and of the large rain drops which fall 
during a thunder shower. The lecturer concluded with some observa¬ 
tions concerning the probable cause of sunset colours, which he attri¬ 
buted to the presence of minute particles of dust in the air. 
