June re, lS9fl. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
603 
of guano, or any of the many other excellent patent manures 
advertised in the gardening papers every week, laid on before 
giving water and covered with a mulch will prove very beneficial to 
the plants in swelling and ripening their crops. 
Apart from fruit trees, it goes without saying that in addition 
to increasing the weight and quality of the Pea, Dwarf and Runner 
Bean, and Broad Bean crops considerably by laying on a few inches 
thick of short or half-decayed dung on each side of the rows, their 
producing powers are also greatly extended during a spell of dry 
weather. — H. W. "Wakd, Longford Castle. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
JtJXE 10 th. 
SciEXTiFiC Committee. —Present: Mr. Morris in the chair ; Mr. 
Pascoe, Professor M. Ward, Mr. Sandford, Professor Church, Dr. Mliller, 
Mr. McLachlan, and Eev. G. Henslow, Hon. Secretary. 
J)elj}kiniwn, Injured Foliage of. —Professor M. Ward reported upon 
the specimens sent to the last meeting. The damage appeared to have 
occurred in the bud, and was probably due to the low temperature of 
the night of May 31st. There was no fungus, and he had met with a 
similar case elsewhere. With regard to the lowness of temperature, it 
was remarked by Professor Church that at Twickenham 10 per cent, of 
Tomatoes were destroyed on that night, Mr. Morris observing that the 
thermometer on the grass at Kew registered 27° Fahr., or 5° of frost. 
Ceramhyx miles, L. —On a further examination of the caterpillars 
of boring beetles, brought to the last meeting by the Rev. G. Henslow 
from Malta, Mr. McLachlan noticed three specimens of the Cerambyx, 
and two of a Lamellicorn, or Stag-beetle, as well as one of the Wood- 
leopard moth, which had perforated the stem of a Cassia (though it was 
usually found in Pear trees) from Mr. Harry’s garden at St. Julian’s, 
Malta. Another remedy, in addition to that of “ spearing,” was sug¬ 
gested by Mr. Sandford—viz., to blow tobacco-smoke down the hole, 
when the beetle would attempt to escape, and could be easily caught. 
It is very important to observe where the beetles lay their eggs, and to 
catch them on the wing at the time. The name was wrongly reported 
in the account published in the Gardeners' Chronicle of the proceedings 
of the last meeting ; and the name of the plant-bug should also have 
been inserted, Lygus pabulinus, L. 
Icertja Purchasi (Maskell).—Mr. Morris exhibited some mounted 
«pecimens received from Mr. Lewis of Ealing of this so-called “cottony 
-cushion ” scale insect from Australia, prepared for the Kew museum ; 
they included adult females with ovisacs and the ladybird, Rodolia 
Iceryse, as well as remains of the Icerya, which had been destroyed by 
the Rodolia. 
The Fog Report. —Mr. Jlorris called attencion to the fact that the 
Royal Society had assigned £100, “on the recommendation of the 
■Government Grant Committee, for an inquiry into the composition of 
London fog, with special regard to the constituents of fog injurious to 
plant life.” An informal conversation followed with reference to 
chemical investigations to be undertaken at the laboratory of Univer¬ 
sity College under the superintendence of Dr. Oliver. 
Cynoinormm coccineum. —Mr. Henslow exhibited specimens of this 
parasitic flowering plant from Malta. It was formerly supposed to 
grow only in “ The Generals’ Rock,” a small Island close to Gozo ; but 
is now found at Mnaidra, on the south side of Malta, and in Sicily and 
Algiers. It is popularly known as Fungus melitensis, and formerly in 
great repute as a styptic remedy for hmmorrhage, &c. It is parasitic 
upon Inula crithmoides, a shrubby yellow-flowered Composite, which 
aboundi on the rocks of Malta, giving the appearance of Furze bushes 
-at a distance. 
Lemon S eds Germinating. — Mr. Henslow showed specimens of 
^embryos which had begun to germinate while within the fruit. 
OnOKTOOI.OS.SUM R.VMOSISSIMU.M. 
Amongst the treasures in Mr. A. II. Smee’s collection of 
Orchids at The Grange, Wallington, an excellent variety of the 
above named Odontoglossum flowered earlier in the season, and was 
exhibited at one of the Royal Horticultural Society’s meetings. It 
is too seldom seen, for the plant possesses many attractions and is 
very distinct. The following description and particulars are given 
in Part I. of ^Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons’ “ Manual of Orchidaceous 
Plants,” devoted to Odontoglossums :— 
“ O. ramosissimum.—Pseudo-bulbs oval-oblong, compressed, 
ancipitous, bearing a single linear-lanceolate leaf 12-15 inehes 
long. Scapes erect, branched, 2 feet high and upwards. Flowers 
2 inches in diameter, white spotted with mauve-purple ; sepals and 
petals nearly equal, narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, with undulate 
margin and reflexed tips; lip elongated, deltoid, acuminate, re¬ 
flexed ; crest bilamellate, many-toothed in front. Column winged, 
white stained with mauve-purple. 
“ Tar. liliiflorum —IVIost robust in all its parts. Flowers larger, 
pale rose-purple with some white ocellated spots on the basal half 
of the sepals and petals, the margins of which are less undulate 
than in the type. 
“First discovered by Linden, in 1843, ‘in the thiek forests in 
the neighbourhood of Jlerida, at the height of 0500 feet.’ [In 
M. Godefroy’s Orchidophile for May, 1883, M. Roezl states that he 
FIG. 76.—ODONTOGLOSSUM RAMOSISSIMUM. 
found this Odontoglot on the central Cordillera, near Manizal (?), at 
12,000-14,000 elevation, where the temperature at night sinks to a 
few degrees below the freezing point, while in the daytime it 
aseends to 1 r and 12'’ C. (52°-54° F.)]. But not introduced till 
1871, in which year Gustav Wallis sent plants to M. Linden’s 
establishment at Ghent. It has always been a rare species in 
gardens, and has occasionally been confounded with 0. angustatum, 
a Peruvian species discovered earlier in the century by Col. Hall; it 
is also a variable one as regards the colour and spotting of the 
flowers. The variety liliiflorum, a very distinct and, at the same 
time, a very rare plant, was first introduced from New Granada 
many years ago by Messrs. Rollisson of Tooting. There is also a 
sub-variety called xanthinum in Sir Trevor Lawrence’s collection 
at Burford Lodge, in which the white of the flower is replaced by 
canary-yellow. Although the individual flowers of 0. ramosissimum 
are not striking, the ensemble of the inflorescence, which is usually 
produced in March and April, is very attractive.” 
Hall and Fraser Fund. 
It will be in the recollection of our readers that a fund was 
opened some time since for the benefit of the widows and Lamilies 
of Mr. Hall and Mr. Fraser, who by a most unfortunate accii 
dent were drowned in the Clyde in September last. The total 
amount collected was .£400 lIs. Od., the expenses for printing 
appeals, postage, &c., £0 17s. Gd., thus leaving a balance of 
£454, which has been equally divided between the two families, 
and the amounts invested in Grand Trunk Railway of Canada 
4 per cent, debenture stock. Mr. Wm. Thomson, jun., of Cloven¬ 
fords, N.B., has consented to act as joint Trustee with Mrs. Fraser 
