THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— June 17,1850. 
200 
habitat will be found to bo nearly or quite free from all 
vegetable moulds, and which may be quite dispensed 
with in pot or artificial culture. Although we have 
seen it grown very well in equal parts peat and silver- 
sand, yet we have always found it thrive best under the 
following treatment. 
If to be grown as a pot plant, procure as many 
shallow pots or deep pans as may be required (from 
eight to twelve inches wide will be as convenient a size 
as any, and will grow a nice mass), fill the pot or pan to 
within an iuch-and-a-half to two inches of the rim with 
small crocks, upon this place half-an-inch of white moss 
(sphagnum), which press down tight; the pot is then to 
be filled quite full with powdered sandstone, which is 
also to be pressed down very firm ; upon this a little 
silver sand is to be sprinkled, then turn the Fern root 
upwards, damp the roots, and sprinkle a little sand upon 
or between them ; after that turn the whole over upon 
the surface prepared for its reception, sprinkle a little 
more dry sand over the surface, press it all down to¬ 
gether, give it a good watering, and leave it to settle. 
This is when the Fern is procured in cakes (which may 
be found several yards square), just like a sheet of wad¬ 
ding. If only a few small pieces can be got, then they must 
be very carefully spread over the same prepared surface, 
and imbedded in the sand, pressed down and watered as 
before. When this is done, a bell-glass must be placed 
over the whole, so as to fit just within the rim of the 
pot, and the pot to stand in another pan of water, so 
that two-thirds of the depth of crocks at the bottom of 
the pot may be immersed in water; but the level of the 
water must be below the bottom of the moss. 
The June Meeting of the Entomological Society was 
held on the 2nd inst., the President, W. W. Saunders, 
Esq., F.R.S., being in the chair. Donations of books 
and publications to the library were announced from the 
Royal Society, Society of Arts, M. Guerin Meneville, 
Messrs. Wollaston, Dallas, Newman, Lovell, Reeve, 
Staunton, and Walker. Tho President announced that 
Mr. Douglas, who bad performed the duties of joint 
Secretary for the space of seven years, had tendered his 
resignation to the Council, which had been accepted. 
The President expressed the regrets of the Society at 
the loss of so efficient an officer, and announced that 
the Council had proposed to nominate Mr. Jansen as 
joint Secretary in the place of Mr. Douglas, the election 
to take place at the next meeting. 
Mr. Frederick Bond exhibited a remarkable monstro¬ 
sity, occurring in a specimen of the common Bsiton 
hirtarius, the body and wings of which were those of 
the female, but tho antennaj, instead of being quite 
simple as in that sex, were pectinated as in the male, 
the pectinations, however, being much reduced in size, 
especially in the left-hand antenute. It had been taken 
in the Regent’s Park. 
i Mr. Samuel Stevens exhibited several very rare Moths 
recently captured, namely, Pelaria nuleculosa, Notodonta 
Carmelitas, A r . diolccoides, the two latter from Addington 
Wood, together with young larvm hatched from eggs 
deposited by the females of those insects since their 
capture. Mr. S. Stevens had found the best plan was 
to place the larvae within closely-stopped wide-necked 
bottles, with some leaves for their food. He also exhi¬ 
bited some beautiful Lepidoptera and Coleoptera from 
the Amazons, being a selection of the rare species for¬ 
warded to this country by that indefatigable collector, 
Mr. Bates, from Ega. He also exhibited a drawing of 
the Caterpillar and chrysalis of the rare and curious 
Moth Agdistes Bennetii, found on Statice limonium on 
the Essex coast. 
Mr. Douglas exhibited the case of a new species of 
Coleophora, found by Mr. Wailes upon Genista Anglica, 
also Gryptocephalus Coryli, from West Wickham; Lebra 
crux minor, from the neighbourhood of Brighton; Pla- 
tyrhinus latirostris, Endomyclius coccineus, &c. 
Captain Cox communicated a notice of the discovery 
of a chrysalis of the Lime Hawk Moth ( Smerinthus 
tilia;) under the bark of a Plane-tree, inclosed in a 
cocoon of silk, interwoven with particles of wood, the 
usual habit of the insect being to undergo its chrysalis 
state in the earth without any cocoon being previously 
formed. The skin of the animal was not so rugose 
as usual. 
Mr. Armitage exhibited a number of rare Coleoptera 
from the south of France. 
Mr. Saunders read a notice of the transformations of 
various Lepidopterous insects observed in Natal by 
Mr. Plant, who had forwarded coloured drawings of 
them to this country. 
Mr. Westwood read a paper on the wing veins of in¬ 
sects. These organs had been termed wing-bones and 
nervures, but the recent researches of physiologists hav¬ 
ing clearly proved, notwithstanding their horny cover¬ 
ing, that they were the organs of circulation, the term 
wing-veins had been applied to them by Messrs. Halli- 
day, Westwood and others. Mr. Newman had, however, 
recently published a memoir denying their function, and 
considering them simply as organs of the wing of a bat, 
but, nevertheless, applying to them the term of wing- 
rays. In the paper read at this meeting, Mr. Westwood 
communicated extracts from the works of Owen, New¬ 
port, &c, proving them to be veins, which, from their 
position in a thin expanded membrane, it was necessary 
to enclose in a firm case. A paper by Mr. White con¬ 
taining descriptions of some new and beautiful Home- 
optera from Borneo, Celebes, &c., was read. 
The annual excursion of the Society was fixed for 
the 21st inst. at Reigate. 
SUCCULENT VEGETABLES. 
I have been tempted to leap over the bounds of the 
fruit-garden through taking an half-hour’s peep into 
“The Complete Gardener” of Monsieur de la Quintinye, 
the London and Wise’s edition of 1710. Speaking of the 
succulence of vegetables, or that property which averts 
the title of “Drumstick” from Asparagus, and the 
character called “Blue” from Cabbages, he forsooth 
recommends what our country friends, who care little 
about chemistry, call muck. For my own part, I have 
