1G8 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ July, 
formed part of the show:—Caractacus a rich purplish crimson, with splendid truss, foliage, 
and habit; H. H. Hunnewell, a dark rich crimson, splendid truss; H. W. Sargent, a mag¬ 
nificent crimson, an enormous trusser, with the catawbiense habit; James Bateman, a clear 
rosy scarlet, of the most perfect shape and habit; Mrs. John Clutton, of most exquisite shape, 
and one of the most beautiful hardy white Rhododendrons in cultivation ; Mrs. Milner, a rich 
crimson, a first-rate kind; Purity, a handsome white, with faint yellow eye; Sir Thos. 
Sebright, a very distinct rich purple, with large bronze blotch, and one which remains a long 
time in flower; and Stella, a pale rose, with an intense chocolate blotch on the upper petal, a 
free bloomer. These are all seedlings raised at Knaphill, and, like the other varieties bred 
in that establishment for many years past, are remarkable for their free habit, fine bold endur¬ 
ing foliage, and close flower trusses. 
- Che new Amaryllis Imperatrice du Brezil, lias recently bloomed 
in the collection of Mr. Russel, of Mayfield. The flowers have a long 
tube with the perianth expanding abruptly, as in the case in all the solandrae- 
flora section; the colour is a rich shade of lavender, the expanded portion being brightest in 
hue; the long stamens have the peculiarity of arching backwards, showing abundance of 
pollen, and the flowers even on this specimen, which has not yet attained the highest point of 
culture, stand well above the foliage. It is a delightful acquisition, the colour being very 
scarce among flowers in general, and Hippeastrums in particular. Mr. Sorley has found it 
a difficult subject, and as an experiment placed it oflt-of-doors during the summer of 1867, 
and wintered it afterwards in an intermediate house, and it has rewarded him not only with 
a spadix, but a promise of a good healthy constitution. 
- Che Trustees of tlie Bindley Library—an abiding souvenir of a 
great horticulturist and botanist, and of an eminently successful Exhibition 
and Congress—having now attained their legal status, are desirous of calling 
the attention of horticulturists and botanists to the excellent nucleus they 
already possess, and to solicit assistance in the way of funds or presents of books to increase 
the value of the Library, and to perfect the necessary arrangements for making it available 
as a free library to all students of Horticulture, Botany, and collateral subjects. Her Majesty 
the Queen has been graciously pleased to present to the Library a botanical work of the 
value of twenty-five guineas. 
Cbttuarg. 
- Nathaniel B. Ward, F.R.S., of The Ferns, Clapham Rise, 
died on the 4tli ult., at St. Leonards-on-Sea, in his 77tli year. Mr. Ward 
will be best known to our readers as the inventor of the Wardian Case, 
an invention which was thus brought about:—In the summer of 1829 he had 
placed the chrysalis of a moth in some mould in a glass bottle covered with a lid, in order to 
obtain a perfect specimen of the insect. After a time a speck or two of vegetation appeared 
on the surface of the mould, and turned out to be a Fern, and a Grass. The bottle was 
placed in a favourable situation, and the plants continued to grow and maintain a healthy 
appearance. On reflecting upon the matter, he found that in the bottle the conditions neces¬ 
sary to the life of the plants, as air, light, moisture, were maintained, and the deleterious in¬ 
fluences to a great extent excluded, This “Case” gave birth to others ; the plan was tested, 
and after a few years Mr. Ward had the satisfaction of knowing that, through his invention, he 
had been the means of introducing Nature into the crowded city, and of facilitating the trans¬ 
port of valuable plants to and from different parts of the world. Through the greater part 
of his life Mr. Ward was associated with the Apothecaries’ Society of London, first in connec¬ 
tion with its Garden at Chelsea; then as Examiner for the prizes in Botany; then as 
Master, when he endeavoured to bring the scientific element of the Society into prominence 
by giving two microscopical soirees , which have not since, there or elsewhere, been surpassed; 
and ultimately as Treasurer. In the memory of those that knew him, Mr. Ward will live as 
a type of a genial, upright, and most amiable man, an accomplished practitioner, and an 
enthusiastic lover of nature in all its aspects. 
-- #3*:. Walker-Arnott, for many years Regius Professor of Botany 
in tlie University of Glasgow, and the well-known coadjutor of the late Sir 
W. J. Hooker, and of Dr. Wight, died on the 17tli ult., in his 70th year. 
