JANUARY. 
21 
that fertilisation could hardly fail to take 
place without artificial assistance: hut this is 
not the fact. They are found to afford only a 
small opening through which the pollen can 
be introduced; and Mr. Smith, the gardener, 
finding that the embryo fruit dropped off one 
after the other without swelling, determined 
to try the effect of artificial fertilisation, such 
as is probably effected by insects in the 
countries to which the plant is indigenous, 
and his pains have been amply rewarded by 
the production of a fine nut. It was at Syon 
that the Mangosteen, under Mr. Iveson, was 
first fruited some years ago. There, too, the 
Cocoa-nut has been first produced; and we 
look forward with pleasure to the prospect, that 
in such hands as Mr. Smith’s others of the 
magnificent collection of tropical fruits will, 
in future years, add to the triumph of the 
horticultural art. 
Horticultural Society. —The last meet¬ 
ing for the year of the Committees of the 
Royal Horticultural Society was held on the 
8th, but it was too late in the season to expect 
many novelties. In the Floral Committee, 
Messrs. Yeitch exhibited some more hybrid. 
Orchids obtained by Mr. Dominy, who has led 
the way in this direction, and no one can pre¬ 
dict what results further experiments with 
this class of plants may afford. The varieties 
in question were raised between Calanthe 
vestita and Limatod.es rosea; and one called 
Calanthe superba had beautiful deep rose- 
coloured flowers with a dark spot. The 
Japanese Saxifrage, introduced by Mr. For¬ 
tune, with dark green leaves variegated with 
bright rose and creamy white, was shown by 
Mr. Bull, and was considered likely to prove 
highly decorative as a basket plant. At the 
Fruit Committee, held on the same day, there 
was a large and very good exhibition of 
dessert Apples and Pears. The best of the 
former came from Mr. Ruffett, gardener to 
Lord Palmerston, and Mr. Simpson, of Stoke 
Farm, Slough. Prizes were offered for 
Huyshe’s Bergamot and Huyshe’s Victoria 
Pear, two remarkably fine varieties raised by 
the Rev. Mr. Huyshe of Clisthydon, near 
Cullompton. The former, not possessing 
either the Bergamot shape or flavour, is 
in future to be called The Prince of Wales, 
and to prevent confusion it will be well that 
in all lists this change should be adhered to. 
Mr. Meredith of Garston, Liverpool, sent a 
seedling Grape, Child of Hale, which is large 
in bunch and berry; the latter round, amber- 
coloured, thin-skinned, firm-fleshed, juicy, 
sweet, and rich, but in the specimens exhi¬ 
bited having an astringency in the skin. 
It hangs well and late, and if the above fault 
can be got rid of will prove a great acquisi¬ 
tion. 
The Banana. —In the conservatory of the 
Royal Horticultural Society at South Ken¬ 
sington, there has been for the last fortnight 
a splendid specimen of the fruit of the Banana 
exhibited. It was grown by Mr. J. Carr, 
gardener to P. L. Hinds, Esq., Byfleet Lodge, 
Weybridge, and weighs upwards of 86 lbs. 
The plant producing it is Musa Cavendishii, 
and is not more than 4 feet 6 inches high. 
The spike of fruit is 3 feet 6 inches long ; 
4 feet 6 inches round. The single fruits are 
9 inches long and 6 inches in circumference. 
We shall shortly furnish some information on 
the different species of Banana, and their 
mode of cultivation. 
Vines on Different Stocks. —Through 
the kindness of Mr. Hill, of Keele Hall, we 
have been enabled to make some notes on the 
results of Vines grafted on different stocks. 
It is well known that Mr. Hill has given 
great attention to this subject, and he has been 
good enough to send us a bunch of each of the 
following, from which we learn some interest¬ 
ing facts. 
Lady Downes' Grape on its own roots pro¬ 
duces berries, roundish oval, of a beautiful 
black colour; the flesh firm, and of an exqui¬ 
sitely rich flavour. On Gromier du Cantal the 
berries are large and rather more oval, but 
they colour badly, having that reddish hue 
next the stalk that is often found in the 
Morocco, and the flavour is not so rich. Mr. 
Hill says, “ This produces fine bunches and 
berries, but there is not the finish.” On 
Barbarossa the berries are large, but very 
deficient in colour, being much redder towards 
the stalk than in the preceding, and the 
flavour is coarse and inferior. On Chasselas 
Napoleon the fruit is smaller than on any 
of the preceding, but equally delicious and 
finely-flavoured as when grown on its own 
roots. On Black Eagle a small Black Grape, 
the Lady Downes’ comes much smaller than 
in any of the preceding, and acquires a distinct 
character, the flesh being quite firm and crisp 
as a hard-fleshed Apple, the flavour rich, 
relevant and delicious. The colour, too, is 
very fine. On Frankenthal it is full-sized and 
of an excellent colour; the flesh, in this in¬ 
stance, is quite tender, and the flavour we 
thought not so rich as in those fruits from 
Vines grown on their own roots and on 
Chasselas Napoleon and Black Eagle. Mr. 
Hill considers the Frankenthal “ the best 
wet-nurse ” for any Vine. West’s St. Peter’s 
we had from Vines grafted on Barbarossa, 
Grizzly Frontignan and Reeves’ Muscadine ; 
and we thought that in the two former in¬ 
stances the flavour was inferior and of equal 
merit, but on the last it was decidedly 
superior. 
China Grass and Japan Flax.— These are 
two fibrous substances that have been sub¬ 
mitted to our notice as a new tying material 
for tying up plants, for budding and grafting, 
and for other horticultural purposes to which 
Russia and Cuba bast have hitherto been 
applied. The Japan Flax is a fibre of great 
