MAY. 
Ill 
buted among the ladies. Two species of Cal- 
lixene were then noticed as charming plants 
for cool greenhouses, where they will not only 
carpet the ground, but clothe the naked stems 
of plants. At the two meetings twenty-eight 
new members were elected, and. three societies 
admitted into union. 
Royal Botanic Society. —During the past 
month two Shows have taken place at the 
Regent’s Park. That of April 7th was very 
gay, for it was then that the fine Azaleas of 
Mr. Turner and Messrs. Lane first made their 
appearance, and there was besides a plentiful 
display of stove and greenhouse plants, and 
Ferns, Begonias, and other fine-foliaged plants, 
enlivened by Cinerarias, Cyclamens, &c. A 
new Cineraria, exhibited by Messrs. F. & A. 
Smith, and called Perfection, gained a first- 
class certificate. It is large and showy, violet 
purple, with a narrow ring of crimson towards 
the base of the ray florets, with a narrow ring 
of white round the disc. The second Show 
during the month, and the last of the spring 
Shows, was held on the 21st; but with the 
exception of the Roses from Mr. Turner and 
Messrs. Paul & Son, which were very fine, and 
Pelargoniums-in excellent bloom shown by Mr. 
Wiggins, gardener to Mr. Beck, of Isleworth, 
it did not present any remarkable feature. 
Dioscorea batatas. —M. D’Auvers stated 
in a recent Number of the “ Revue Kcrticole,” 
that he had been very successful in the cul¬ 
ture of this Dioscorea, having obtained roots 
about a yard in length, a result which he as¬ 
cribed to the use of phosphate of lime. He 
then recommended Dioscorea roots eaten raw 
as a preventive and cure for scurvy; but in 
the last Number of the same publication ap¬ 
pears another letter from him, stating that he 
has found that the roots contain an acrid 
principle, which might cause bad results. He 
says that last year in preparing Dioscorea 
flour for his own use, on agitating the water 
in which ihe roots had been grated, he and 
his assistant experienced in their hands and 
arms a sensation similar to that produced by 
the sting of a nettle, accompanied by redness 
of the skin. The same thing occurred every 
time he stirred the fresh-grated pulp, and he 
attributes this result to the presence of some 
acrid principle which disappears in cooking. 
Dioscorea flour, if better known, would, he 
believes, become an important article of food. 
Trueeles. —Some notion may be obtained 
of the extent to which the trade in Truffles is 
carried in France, when we read that in the 
market of Apt alone 1600 kilogrammes (about 
3500 lbs.) are exposed for sale every week in 
the height of the season, and that the lowest 
estimate of the quantity sold during the win¬ 
ter amounts to 15,000 kilogrammes (nearly 
33,000 lbs. weight). According to another 
account, the Department of Vaucluse yields 
from 29,500 to 30,009 kilogrammes (57,100 to 
66,158 lbs.) annually. The vast quantity 
that must therefore be procured and sold in 
all the French provinces where they grow, 
and the large revenue arising therefrom, should 
be a great inducement to the proprietors of 
suitable localities to attempt their cultivation 
in England.—C. E. Broome, Journal of Royal 
Horticultural Society. 
CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 
STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSES. 
Orchids. — These superb plants are now 
making active growth; keep the air of the 
house humid by damping the interior fre¬ 
quently each day; shade must be given. Ex¬ 
amine plants growing on blocks and in 
baskets, and soak them every two or three 
days; syringe them daily in the interval. 
Plants requiring to be re-dressed or potted 
should be attended to. Remove plants in bloom 
to a cooler house, to prolong their beauty. 
GREENHOUSE. 
To make room for choice plants in bloom, 
as Geraniums, Calceolarias, Cinerarias, &c., 
several comparatively hardy plants may now 
be transferred to a temporary shelter. Myrtles, 
many Acacias, Rhododendrons, Aloes, &c., 
may be trusted to frames, or any odd house 
or shed for a few weeks, to make room for 
the above more showy plants. Heaths and 
hardwooded plants must now have abundance 
of air; small plants will grow nicely now in 
frames. Shade on bright days. Camellias 
are now forming wood; more heat will be re¬ 
quisite, which may be obtained by closing the 
house earlier in the day. Shade and syringe 
daily; water plants not potted this spring 
with soot or clear manure water. When the 
young shoots are full-grown give less shade 
by degrees, and more air, to aid the formation 
of bloom-buds. Cinerarias , when on the de¬ 
cline should be placed in frames or pits facing 
the north. When seed is not required, the 
sooner they are cut down the better, that goo d^ 
early cuttings may be procured. Pelar¬ 
goniums .—The shading should now be gene¬ 
rally up, and used according to the brightness 
of the weather; there should be no green fly 
to keep under. The bees must be kept out 
of the house with netting. The closest atten¬ 
tion must be observed in watering. Plants, 
for July-blooming should now be tied out ; 
give them plenty of room, and keep them as 
cool as possible. 
’ CONSERVATORY. 
Chinese Azaleas, Cinerarias, and Pelar¬ 
goniums slightly forced, will make a great 
display just now, assisted by forced Roses and 
