230 
THR FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
Fraxinus dimorfha dumosa. — M. Car¬ 
riere gives an account in the “ Bevue Ilorti- 
cole ” of this extraordinary variety. It forms 
so dense a bush that even when the leaves are 
off one can hardly see through it. This 
arises in a great measure from the spine-like 
shoots being generally without a terminal 
hud, in consequence of which numerous bi¬ 
furcations are produced, forming a complicated 
network of ramifications. Each bush is a 
thicket which increases in all directions. The 
species from which this variety has sprung is 
a native of Algeria, and, singularly enough, 
produces an upright leader of rapid growth, 
whilst its branches are on the contrary almost 
horizontal. If this dense-growing variety 
could be rapidly propagated, adds M. Carriere, 
it might be used as a hedge plant, but unfor¬ 
tunately this is not the case, for it has to be 
increased by grafting, a means which is not 
sufficiently expeditious for the purpose. 
New Conifers. —In the same publication, 
M. Carriere asks what are Abies regime 
Ainalhe, panaichaica, Monte-Draco, Nova- 
Draco, &c., recently offered to the public ? 
and answers, Nothing else but an old acquaint¬ 
ance, Abies cephalomca, which is synonymous 
with A. Appoilinis, sometimes also sold as 
A. Luscombeana. 
LiliuiU auratum. —At the July meeting of 
the French Imperial and General Horticul¬ 
tural Society a plant of this was exhibited, 
in which the fiowers showed a tendency to 
become double, three inner petals having 
been formed; but the number of stamens 
remained unaltered. The bulb was bought 
in London about eighteen months previously, 
and was one of a lot imported direct from 
J apan. M. Malet states in a memoir in the 
Journal of the same Society, that he has been 
successful in fertilising JLilium speciosum 
(iancifolium of gardens) with L. auratum. 
He gathered the pollen of four fiowers of the 
latter on the 20th of JuLy, 1864, kept it in a 
paper bag in a dry place, and on the 17th of 
August applied it to fiowers of speciosum, 
from widen the anthers had been removed. 
The seeds were sown in pans in a greenhouse 
on the 21st of October, and about tairty of 
them vegetated. What the fiowers wid be 
like time alone will show. 
Flowering of an American Aloe at the 
Botanic Harden at Louvain. —A large plant 
of this Aloe, the last survivor of four (three of 
which flowered previous to dying), having in 
the middle of April exhibited signs of flower¬ 
ing, the head gardener, M. Sterckmans, had 
it planted out in the open‘ground; the re¬ 
sult was a fiower-stem 26 feet in height, 
resembling a gigantic candelabrum, on the 
branches of wmich were not less than a 
thousand fiowers. The present is believed 
to be the eleventh case of the American Aloe 
flowering in Belgium; a plant flowered in 
the same garden auout ten years ago. 
Identity of JEcidium cancellatum and 
Podisoma Sabina. —M. (Ersted, professor of 
Botany at Copenhagen, has communicated a 
paper recently to the French Imperial and 
Central Horticultural Society on the identity 
of these funguses; and from which it would 
appear that the JEcidium above named (also 
known as ftoestelia cancellata), which attacks 
the leaves of the Pear tree, and the Podisoma 
of the Savin (Juniperus Sabinae), are merely 
different forms of one species. Having 
noticed some imported plants of the Savin 
severely attacked with the Podisoma, and 
finding that the JEcidium made its appearance 
during the same summer on Pear trees planted 
near them, he was led to suspect that the two 
parasites had some connection with each 
other. Accordingly he planted some of the 
infested Savins in the Botanic Gardens as an 
experiment. In the following season the 
JEcidium, which had never before been seen 
there, made its appearance, and only on the 
Pear trees in immediate proximity to the 
Savins. This aroused his suspicions, and on 
the 18th of May he took sporidia of the 
Podisoma which were ready to grow, and 
placed them on the leaves of young Pear 
trees, covering them with bell-glasses to keep 
the air about them constantly moist. By the 
2oth, yellow spots had formed on the leaves 
where the mycelium had begun to run; and, two 
or three days later, the first traces of sperma¬ 
togonia were observed in the shape of trans¬ 
parent vesicles. The number of these went 
on increasing for several days, and at the 
time he wro e his paper they had nearly all 
discharged the mucilaginous contents of their 
spermatia. 
It is a popular notion that the neighbour¬ 
hood of the Berberry causes the rust in 
Wheat, and, although authorities were long 
divided on the subject, this idea was set 
down as erroneous, but M. (Ersted states 
that he has come to the conclusion that JEci¬ 
dium berberidis, or the Berberry blight, and 
Puccinia gram nis, or the rust, are only two 
forms of the same fungus; and hence (hat 
the popular belief is founded on fact. M. de 
Bary, adds the writer of the above paper, has 
succeeded in producing the JEcidium of the 
Berberry from the Puccinia. Some interest¬ 
ing experiments by M. Decaisne, for which 
we have not space at present, are strongly con¬ 
firmatory of the correctness of M. (Ersted’s 
views with regard to the JEcidium of the 
Pear tree. 
Truffles in France. —This is to be a 
prodigious year for Truffles. A few have al¬ 
ready been* brought to market, much sooner 
than is usually the case ; but the harvest has 
not yet begun, and the precious subterranean 
Mushroom is still acquiring size and fragrance 
in the ground. Not only will the crop be un¬ 
usually large, but the quality will be some¬ 
thing very remarkable. The hot sun, which 
came after some rains in August, has been 
