August 3, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
771 
THE FRANCOAS. 
Only three species of Francoa are known to science, 
natives of Chili; but several other forms have appeared 
in gardens from time to time under specific names. 
The plants themselves are liable to a little variation, 
dependent a good deal upon the treatment they receive 
and the conditions under which they are placed. Seeds 
are occasionally introduced, and some growers not only 
raise them in heat hut grow them in a stove temper¬ 
ature till they reach the flowering stage. Two out of 
the three species, when so treated, develop greatly 
elongated stems, and are so out of their usual character 
that they appear distinct from the old recognised forms. 
They form a small anomalous group or sub-order of the 
Saxifrage family, from which they were at one time 
regarded as distinct, and they certainly have a very 
distinct habit and different general aspect from the 
Saxifrages proper. 
Francoa appendiculata. —Of the three species this 
is the hardiest and the most widely distributed in 
British gardens, although it may not be grown in the 
greatest quantity, as the others, especially F. ramosa, 
are more popular for indoor cultivation. It is equally 
beautiful, however, as F. sonchifolia, and at the same 
time neater in habit, occupying less space because the 
leaves are all radical, and the stems never become 
elongated. The leaves are oblong or broadly strap¬ 
shaped, and lyrate-pinnatifid, while the flowering stalks 
arising from their axils attain a height of 1J ft. or 2 ft., 
bearing a raceme of pale rose or pink-coloured blooms 
having a deep rose blotch on the base of each petal. It 
was introduced in 1830, and is quite hardy in this 
country, even 200 miles north of the Tweed—a fact 
which does not seem to be recognised by gardeners 
generally, who regard all the species as tender. It may 
be grown either on rockwork or planted out in the open 
border, where it thrives and flowers regularly every 
year, provided the soil is moderately open and well 
drained, under which con litions it requires no protection 
whatever. It is sometimes (though erroneously) grown 
under the names of F. rupestris and F. sonchifolia. 
F. sonchifolia.— The flowers of this species are very 
similar in size and colouring to those of F. appendi¬ 
culata, but they are more loosely or distantly arranged 
on the floral axis. The two may, however, be readily 
distinguished by the bases of the leaves being decurrent 
on the petiole to the base, and by their softer and 
duller appearance, arising from their being more 
decidedly hairy. The elongating character of the stem 
is even a better mark by which to distinguish this 
species. Plants of this are therefore more bulky than 
those of F. appendiculata, and yet the former is more 
frequently grown in pots, though why it should be so 
is not very obvious. F. sonchifolia is not quite so 
hardy as its congener, and is liable to get killed in 
severe winters when grown in the open border. 
F. ramosa. —For indoor culture this is certainly the 
best of the three on account of its pure white flowers, 
which are always appreciable for cutting purposes. Its 
habit of growth is very similar to that of F. sonchifolia, 
the leaves being lyrate-pinnatifid, and decurrent on 
the petiole, while the stout stem also elongates to some 
extent like that of F. sonchifolia. The flower stems 
attain a height of 2 ft. or 3 ft., according to treatment, 
and branch more or less in the lower half, bearing 
racemes of flowers less compact than those of F. 
appendiculata, but none the less depreciated on that 
account. The species is not quite hardy, but sufficiently 
ornamental to merit cultivation in a greenhouse, cool 
conservatory, or hardy plant house. Any good potting 
soil suits them, and if a little peat is added they 
seem to like it. Propagation can easily be effected by 
seeds sown in heat during February and March, also 
by cuttings and division. F. appendiculata is most 
amenable to tbe latter mode of propagation because the 
stems do not rise above ground.— F. 
-- 
otes from Scotland. 
The Botanists’ and Naturalists’ Con¬ 
ference at Alford. —The following papers were 
read at this conference on the 16 th ult. : — 
Ferns and Mosses. 
Mr. McCreadie read a paper on “Ferns and Mosses of 
the Alford district, ” by Mrs. Farquharson, ofHaughton. 
The Ferns of the district, it was stated, included 
nineteen species, exclusive of their varieties and of 
unrepresented species of the forty-two usually regarded 
as the number comprising tbe species proper to Great 
Britain, Ireland, and the Channel Isles. An enumeration 
of the Ferns followed, interesting particulars being 
given of the rarer specimens. Lastrea Filix-mas 
var. cristata (Murray), was discovered at Haughton in 
1866 by Mr. John Murray, forester at that time. It 
had only lately been thoroughly examined by one of 
the greatest pteridetogists of the day, Mr. W. Masten, 
Chislehurst, who pronounced it as quite a new variety, 
and recommended the name of the finder being added. 
Lastrea cristata var. Spinulosa was also found. Few 
Ferns had caused so much controversy as this one, 
which commonly ranked as a variety of the Lastrea 
cristata, chiefly on account of its upright growth ; but 
the great rarity of the species made it very improbable 
that it had ever been related to it. Many pteridetogists 
were of opinion that its constant and marked characters 
fully entitled Spinulosa to rank as a species. Having 
watched various plants of it for upwards of twenty 
years the writer could state he had never seen the 
smallest symptom of a return to its supposed species, 
nor of its varying materially from its own distinctive 
characters. Excepting the upright growth, this Fern 
in general habit resembled somewhat the Lastrea 
dilatata ; it was found at Haughton, Whitehaugh, &c. 
The hope was expressed that the excursions in connec¬ 
tion with the conference might be fruitful in extending 
the list of the Ferns of the district. The writer felt 
confident that one at least should be added, if only it 
could be hunted up—the Polypodium alpestre of Heppe, 
regarded as common to the highlands of Scotland. 
Then followed a long list of mosses found in the 
district, no fewer than 140 being named. 
The Flowering Plants, the Birds, and the 
Antiquities of Donside. 
The Rev. Mr. Bell, Keig, read a paper titled as above. 
The district embraced was Donside, beginning at 
Monymusk and extending to the source of the river 
Don in Corgarff, some forty or fifty miles in length, 
and from six to eight miles in breadth, and ranging 
from 400 ft. to 2,000 ft. (the Buck of the Cabrach) 
above sea-level. He laid on the table a list of all the 
plants found in the district, and he compared these 
with the list in Dr. Dickie’s Botanists' Guide as 
follows :— 
Monymusk to Corgarff. Botanists' Guide. 
1 
Plants to Carices... 
344 . 
2 
17 . 
. 46 
3 
Grasses. 
42 . 
Introduced plants. 24 
This, Mr. Bell thought, showed that as regarded 
numbers Donside had a very fair proportion of flowering 
plants. Very specially would they admit this when 
they bore in mind two thiugs—(1) that their list of 
403 natives included no sea-coast plants, and none of 
those found at altitudes above 2,000 ft., whereas Dr. 
Dickie’s list of 650 included a very long sea coast— 
namely, all round the coast from Elginshire to Forfar¬ 
shire, about 100 miles in length, and also a large 
number of really Alpine plants, only got at 2,500 ft. 
and upwards. Their district was only a strip of country 
some fifty miles long and (eight broad, while Dr. 
Dickie’s embraced the three counties of Aberdeen, 
Banff, and Kincardine. There was no plant peculiar to 
the district. Amongst the rare plants were Ranunculus 
auricomus (Goldielocks).and CEnanthe crocata (Hemlock 
Water Dropwort). Both these were rare plants, and c i 1 
not extend farther north than Morayshire. The former 
he had found in Keig and Glenbuck, the latter was 
found in the Den of Kildrummy. As to birds, he 
divided them into three classes—(1) permanently 
resident, 49 ; (2) summer visitors, 21 ; (3) winter 
visitors, 5; (4) occasional visitors, 15—total, 90. 
Then, as to antiquities, beginning at Monymusk and 
keeping to the basin of the Don, they had the church 
of Monymusk, which was very old. There was a 
reliquary in Monymusk House, of which a very inti r* 
esting account was given by Dr. Joseph Anderson in his 
Rhind Lectures in Archaeology. Dr. Anderson thought 
that this might have been the Breckbannock of 
Columba :—“ It is a small wooden box, cut out of the 
solid, and plated with plates of bronze and silver. Its 
ornamentation is very fine, which shows its antiquity, 
and has that peculiarly Celtic form seen on the Celtic 
MSS. and memorial stones of the early Christian 
Church.” Nothing was known of its history except 
that it had been in the house of Monymusk time out 
of mind. There was a sculptured stone there which 
figured in Stewart’s Sculptured Stones of Scotland. 
It stood long at the farm of Nether Mains, east of the 
village of Monymusk, and was removed about two years 
ago and placed in the wall in one of the rooms in 
Monymusk House. The stone was about 5 ft. 6 ins. 
high above ground, and contained a cross, a figure of 
which was shown. Going up the Den to the Yale of 
Alford they had several of the so-called Druidical 
circles. In Tough there was one called the Auld Kirk o’ 
Tough, but curiously enough it was not in what was now 
Tough parish. In Keig there were two very good speci¬ 
mens of these circles. They had also what was called 
the Barmekyn—a large circle of loose stones, about 
156 ft. in diameter within. It resembled the Bar- 
mekyns of Echt and of the Caterthum of Forfarshire. 
There were examples of hill forts in Tullynessle, Alford, 
Leochel, and the other parishes in the Yale. There 
were also the remains of stone circles in Leochel, one 
of them having a good example of the cup-marked 
stone. Still following the Don, they had many objects 
of interest to the antiquary, as the yeird houses at 
Kildrummy and Glenkendy ; cup-marked stone at 
Leys, Towie ; the peel there ; the crosses at Kild¬ 
rummy Castle and in Kildrummy Churchyard ; 
Kildrummy and Towie Castles, etc. Many objects of 
interest had been found in the locality, such as flints, 
arrowheads, and other stone implements, of which 
their president had a good collection. 
Report on Fungi. 
Dr. James W. H. Trail, Professor of Botany, Aberdeen 
University, contributed a report for 1889, on tbe Fungi 
o f the east of Scotland. He was glad to be able to submit 
a larger number of additions than usual in the pro¬ 
vince of Dee, amounting in all to eighty-eight new 
records, of which sixty-four were new to Scotch lists. 
Several had not been put on record for Great Britain, 
some of the latter being new species. For the pro¬ 
vince of Tay he had seven new records, all from the 
neighbourhood of St. Cyrus, which, in truth, could 
hardly be reckoned as a part of Tay. One of these was 
also a new record for Scotland. A list of the names 
of the Fungi followed. 
A Rare Plant. 
Mr. McCreadie read a short paper, by Dr. Roy, 
Aberdeen, on Sciadium Arbuscnla, Bnun. This very 
rare, interesting, and minute plant, Dr. Roy stated, 
was collected in the Curling Pond, Haughton, by Mrs. 
Farquharson, in the beginning of last winter. This, as 
far as he could make out, was the first time it had been 
found in Britain. True, Dr. Cooke, in his British 
Fresh-water Algae, figured it ; but in the text he had no 
reference to the locality, and hence the inference that he 
knew of none, and that he inserted it as a plant likely 
enough to be found in this country. It was originally 
discovered in Germany, and more recently in Sweden 
and in the United States of America. It was usually 
found among the leaves of Myriophyllum and similar 
plants. It was picked up this spring in a pool between 
Loch Ivinnord and Cambus o’ May, in a fragmentary 
condition, and no doubt it would be found in other 
localities. 
The Antiquities of Davan and Kinnord. 
Mr. Alexander Hogg, road surveyor, Alford, read a 
paper on the above subject. After a reference to 
the geological formation of the district, and a brief 
sketch of the early inhabitants, Mr. Hogg went on to 
state that the small island in Loch Kinnord was the 
most perfect crannog in Scotland. It was situated in 
the deepest part of the loch, was 60 yards in circum¬ 
ference—the highest parts being about 6 ft. above the 
present water level—and had been artificially con¬ 
structed. This rude structure afforded one of the most 
substantial proofs of the antiquity and particular 
importance of the district to the early inhabitants of the 
country. Allusion was made to the discovery of ancient 
canoes in the loch, and to the remains of old houses in 
its vicinity, as many as 200 of which could be pointed 
out along the northern slopes of Loch Kinnord—stray 
portions of what was formerly a great centre of 
population. Reference was then made at some length 
to the remains of extensive fortifications in the district, 
which was followed by a historical record and traditionary 
lore. The paper concluded with an account of the 
diatomite beds in Loch Kinnord, it being stated that 
Mr. Wilson, the present proprietor, was now proceeding 
with its excavation for commercial purposes. 
Reed Canary Grass. 
Mr. William Wilson, Jun., sent a paper on “Reed 
Canary Grass.” This grass grew on the wet soil at the 
borders of rivers, ponds, and ditches. On 5th May he 
sowed some of the grass, and it came above ground on 
24th May. About 22nd June it began to fall behind 
other grasses sown at the same time, and by-and-bye it 
was seen to be struggling for existence. After a time 
it gradually went on advancing, and this year it reached 
a height of about 5 ft. and flowered, showing that this 
grass required four seasons to flower in dry soil. Mr. 
Wilson proceeded to give some interesting remarks 
regarding the value of such observations to field 
botanic inquiry. 
