Fetraary 7, 1839. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
207 
effective as when potted singly—in a mixture of equal parts loam and 
leaf mould, with a dash of sand. The base of the bulb almost rests on 
the crocks, so that it might be buried as much as possible. A few are 
then placed in any house that is being gently forced, and the remainder 
in the greenhouse, so as to prolong their season. Very little water is 
required until the spikes appear, when weak liquid manure occasion¬ 
ally is of service.—M. D. 
- Azorean Tomatoes.—A dish of fruit was exhibited under this 
name in a midland town at a late Chrysanthemum Show, and its merits 
as a “ novelty ” were orally proclaimed in a way that secured for it on 
the part of visitors an interest that must have been gratifying to the 
exhibitor. It differed in appearance from any other Tomato with which 
growers in the locality admitted being familiar, and the opinions ex¬ 
pressed of its merits by those who partook of slices cut from the finest 
specimens, denoted the partiality that exists with some in determining 
the quality of ripe raw fruit. A point conceded in its favour was the 
fact of its being a late-fruiting variety, and moreover its appearance 
suggested the advantage it possessed for bearing carriage well ; being firm 
and free frombruises and altogether of uncommonly pretty appearance, it 
was destined to become a valuable variety for market purposes. So like 
a monster Plum in form, and so evidently^distinct in its colour, it would 
certainly be grown for the sake of prettiness alone. Whether the 
removal of the stalks contributed to the difficulty of their identification 
is uncertain, as is the reason for exhibiting as Tomatoes imported fruit 
of the Egg Plant, well known as Aubergines. 
- Egg Plants. —If for no other purpose the above paragraph 
will serve to call attention to curious and interesting plants that are 
easily though not generally cultivated. In many instances where they 
have been grown, perhaps for want of more considerate treatment, they 
have not attained the perfect growth that would justify them being 
regarded as specimens. Although the edible varieties are grown in con¬ 
siderable quantities on the continent, their value as an article of food 
in this country does not furnish an inducement to grow “ crops ” of 
them ; but fruit-laden well-grown plants cannot fail to be both attrac¬ 
tive and interesting to young and old alike. A season that would be 
favourable to the production of Tomatoes out of doors would in suitable 
situations admit too of Egg Plants being successfully grown, and there 
is a choice of several varieties, none of them at all difficult to raise from 
seed, which, it may be added, should be done saon.—S. P. E. S. 
- Wakefield Paxton Society. —At the ordinary weekly meet¬ 
ing of the members of the above Society, held at the Saw Hotel, Mr. 
W. H. Milnes, the President, was in the chair, and Mr. H. Oxley, one of 
the Vice-Presidents, occupied the vice chair. There was about an 
average attendance. An excellent paper on the Azalea was read by 
Mr. W. Frankland. gardener, Leeds, who also exhibited a collection of 
fine trusses of white and coloured blooms of Azaleas, which were 
greatly admired. Mr. Frankland, who has devoted considerable atten¬ 
tion to the growth and propagation of the Azalea for some years past, 
fully described the mode of treatment which he has adopted, and which 
has resulted most successfully. Besides imparting much valuable infor¬ 
mation in his paper, Mr. Frankland also answered a number of questions 
as to the best means of keeping the plants clear of insect pests, 
preventing the blooms falling, and preserving them for the longest 
possible time in a fresh state. On the motion of Mr. Herbert Chapman, 
seconded by Mr. W. Hudson, and supported by Mr. H. Oxley, a very 
hearty vote of thanks was given to Mr. Frankland, who has previously 
appeared as an essayist at the Paxton Society, aud promised to come 
again. A deputation attended from Rothwell, aDd requested the Society 
to send delegates to Rothwell to assist in the formation of a Paxton 
Society for that district, and to give information with regard to the 
advantages and the best mode of conducting such a society. The 
request was cheerfully complied with, and Councillor Milnes, the 
President, and some other gentlemen, have consented to visit Rothwell 
and address a meeting. 
- The Quarterly Record of the Royal Botanic Society 
contains the report of a lecture by Mr. G. J. Symons on sunshine. 
The subject is discussed chiefly from an instrumental point of view, 
under the heads of thermometric solar radiation, sunshine recorders, and 
sunlight recorders. Mr. Symons points out that Newton, in the seven¬ 
teenth century, compared the readings of two thermometers, one in the 
sun and the other in the shade. De Saussure in 1771 was the first to 
make an apparatus for direct observations upon the heat of sunshine, 
and in 1S37 the subject was taken up by Sir John Herschel, M. Pouillet, 
and others. Their researches led to the use of the black bulb ther¬ 
mometer in vacuo, while bright and black-bulb thermometers were used. 1 ' 
by Arago in 1844. This class of instruments was further improved by the 
Rev. F. W. Stow in 1869. The first direct sunshine-recorder was designed 
by the late Mr, J. F. Campbell, and erected by him in Whitehall in ■ 
December, 1854 ; it consisted of a mahogany bowl, with a hollow sphere 
of glass nearly filled with acidulated water to form a lens. In December,, 
1857, a solid glass sphere was substituted ; the observations were dis¬ 
cussed by Profs. Roscoe and Stewart (Proc. Roy. Soc., June, 3875) j; 
finally, towards the end of 1879, after various experiments at Greenwich ■ 
and Kew Observatories, Prof. Stokes designed the card supporter which. • 
is now used by the Meteorological Office and other institutions. The 
observations have been discussed by Mr. Scott for the years 1880-85 
(Quart. Journ. Roy. Met. Soc., July, 1885). Mr. Blanford stated some 
years ago that this instrument would give better results than the ther¬ 
mometric method, which has now been practically discontinued in India, 
Of the photographic sunlight recorders, the principal are those by Mr. 
J. P. Jordan and Prof. McLeod. Another pattern has been designed by 
Dr. Maurer, and illustrated in La Nature for May 19th, 1888, ia which 
it is stated that the paper can be left unchanged for twenty days. Mr. 
Symons concludes his interesting lecture by remarks upon the action, c£ 
light upon vegetation.—( Nature .) 
- At a recent meeting of the Linnean Society" in their rooms 
at Burlington House (Mr. W. Carruthers, F.R.S., President, in the chair) 
Mr. D. Morris exhibited specimens of drift fruit from Jamaica, where 
he had collected no fewer than thirty-five different kinds brought by the 
Gulf Stream from the mouths of the Orinoco and Amazon. Although j 
the species exhibited had not been determined with certainty t it was 
believed to be Humiria balsamifera, the flower of which is figured 
by Eicliler (“ Flora Brasiliensis,” vol. xii. part 2, p. 440, pi. xdi. fig. 3), 
but the fruit undescribed. It was commonly known in French Guiana 
as “ bois rouge,” and from it was obtained a gum used medicinally and 
burnt as incense. Mr. T. Christy exhibited a material felted from 
Manilla hemp, and waterproofed, very strong and light, and particularly 
useful for surgical bandages, for which purpose it was highly recom¬ 
mended by army surgeons. Mr. F. Crisp exhibited some specimens of 
agate so curiously marked as to lead to the erroneous supposition that 
they enclosed fossil insects and Crustacea. A paper was then read by 
Mr. J. G. Tepper on the natural history of the Kangaroo Island Grass - 
Tree, Xanthorrhma Tateana. This tree grows abundantly in Kangaroo 
Island, South Australia, in poor gravelly and sandy soil, internsised with 
ferruginous concretions, and attains a height of from- 6 to 14 feet, with; 
a diameter of 6 to 18 inches, and a floral spike of from 10 to It-'feet. It 
is thus a most conspicuous plant, and lends a peculiarly weird aspect to 
the country it occupies. Its rate of growth is described as very siowy 
old settlers having remarked but little change in individual trees after 
thirty years’ observation. Toe most remarkable feature in toe structure 
of the stem is the formation of a dense ligneous central core immediately 
above and connected with the roots, exhibiting numerous annular zones 
traversed by transverse (medullary) fibres. The flowers are borne in a 
dense spike upon a smooth peduncle. Individually they are incon¬ 
spicuous, of a whitish colour, and develope a strong odour and abundant 
nectar during the warmer part of the day, when they are visited and 
fertilised by Hymenopterous insects, the most remarkable being a large 
meta’lic-green carpenter-bee (Xylocapa), which tunnels out cells in the 
dead flower stalks. 
- The annual report of the Royal Southampton Horti¬ 
cultural Society for 1888 indicates that the season has not been; 
a very favourable one. The Council state “ The very inclement 
and continuously wet season with which the Society had to contend last 
year has resulted in a statement of accounts showing a considerable 
balance on the wrong side. On the occasion of the summer Show, the 
extraordinary cold and damp of both days entirely neutralised the 
extra exertions which had been made to attract a large attendance*. 
The takings on the Bank Holiday were the lowest recorded for many 
years. The Council were equally unfortunate in this respect iin the 
evenings selected for the promenade concerts and sports, and in their 
other efforts to make the Society’s grounds at Westwood Park self- 
supporting. From these adverse causes they had to seriously consider 
whether the Chrysanthemum Show should be abandoned, or whether 
the payment of the prizes should be entirely contingent upon the 
receipts at the door, all other expenses having been first met. At the 
express desire of many exhibitors, who were anxious, in the interest 
the Society, that the Show should be held as usual, the latter conrse 
was adopted. They have great pleasure in drawing attention to the 
action of the exhibitors on that occasion, because the Show was in 
every respect equal to any of its predecessors, and one of which the 
