November 28, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
197 
no rain fell to resist nine months of intense heat; 
they had to keep all the water they could get and 
prevent it being lost; and the methods by which 
they did that were very remarkable. First of all 
there was the peculiarity of an abnormal length of 
root, to which he had already referred ; secondly, 
heavy dews fell at various times through the sum¬ 
mer, and the plants absorbed those dews. 
Many of the plants, again, developed tubers, and 
others little root-knobs, which acted as and were 
simply storehouses of water for the sustenance of 
the plant during the dry season. The stems were 
often spinescent, as the poverty of water would not 
allow cellular tissue to be formed : the absence of water 
compelled the plants to become hardy and spiny, and 
the leaves were, as a consequence of the same cause, 
reduced in size. Other contrivances by which the 
plants resisted the heat and retained water consisted 
of a water-storage in the tissue of the leaves. A thick 
cuticle, which prevented 
the water escaping, was a 
very common attribute in 
the foliage of these desert 
plants; and a hairy ar¬ 
rangement on the leaves— 
the hairs sometimes inter¬ 
laced, and formed a kind 
of felt; the leaves of 
many of the plants were 
clothed with a dense felt¬ 
like hair; or the hairs 
might lie flat on the 
surface, forming a kind of 
fur—this hairy provision 
retained the dew, which 
did not evaporate so 
quickly as it would do on 
a smooth surface. A 
coating of wax on the 
leaves was also common. 
In short, the anatomical 
peculiarities of these de¬ 
sert plants (which pecu¬ 
liarities were used to aid 
the plant in sustaining its 
life against the adverse 
condition it had to en¬ 
counter, enabling it to 
overcome those conditions 
by the retention of moist¬ 
ure during the dry season) 
consisted of densely hairy 
and waxy epidermis; 
“ palisade ” (green) tissue 
being on both sides of the 
leaves, instead of on the 
upper only, there was 
a water-storage tissue, 
which might be formed 
by the epidermis, the 
mesophyl, the cork, or the 
pith. 
Some plants, especially 
Reaumuria hirtella, se¬ 
creted calcium chloride, 
which acted as an absor¬ 
bent, taking up at night 
the dew, which moisture 
the tissues then absorbed. 
The President, in his 
further remarks, alluded 
to the comparative ab¬ 
sence of flowers on the 
desert plants, and to the self-fertilising properties 
of those plants; he then gave an exposition 
of the plants of the Nile Valley and of those 
grown in other cultivated parts of the country, 
making special reference to plants specimens of 
which are to be found flourishing alike in Egypt and 
England, and which plants he said had possibly been 
introduced with corn and other things ; he pointed 
out, however, certain details in which Egyptian 
plants differed from those of the same species found 
in England—for instance, the Chickweed, which 
abounded in Egypt, was in that country without the 
little white flower with which we were familiar 
in England. Professor Henslow proceeded to again 
deny that a genuine instance of "true ” mummy 
Wheat having germinated had been substantiated 
(this " mummy ” Wheat, the lecturer explained, con¬ 
sisted of Wheat offered to their dead by the ancient 
Egyptians)—whatever his audience might hear about 
Wheat from the tombs of the Egyptians having ger¬ 
minated, he said, let them be assured that they would 
be quite safe in flatly denying any assertion that an 
effort to grow such Wheat had been successful. 
There had often been cultivated in this country 
what was called the " mummy ” Pea — a peculiar 
form of the Pea, a form which was, however, known 
perfectly well on the Continent some twenty or thirty 
years ago. The origin of that form of Pea was a 
little doubtful, but in regard to it people again 
declared that it was grown from a Pea taken from the 
hands of an Egyptian mummy, and which had been 
offered to the dead. When that assertion was in¬ 
vestigated, it would be found that at the time the 
offerings to the dead in question (of which offerings 
this supposed mummy Pea was alleged to have 
formed a part) were made, the Egyptians had no 
Peas at all among their vegetable products; there 
was in the Egyptian language no word corresponding 
Mdlle. Terra Cotta on the Rockery at Lamport. 
to our word "Pea;” the Pea was not known in 
ancient Egypt, and it had therefore never been 
offered to the dead there. The Egyptians now cul¬ 
tivated two kinds of Pea, and he suspected that the 
Pea which was represented as a “ mummy ” Pea was 
a hybrid between those two modern forms. He had 
taken steps to ascertain whether such was the case; 
at all events, his hearers might be quite sure that the 
ascribed " mummy ” origin of this Pea was quite as 
false as the reputed " mummy ” origin of the Egyp¬ 
tian wheat. 
Cattleya Bowringiana. — We learn from The 
American Florist that a plant of this species in Mr. 
Gilmore’s collection at North Easton, Mass., has a 
spike carrying twenty-one blooms. When we re¬ 
member that seven and eight blooms is about the 
average, the spike in question is a wonder. 
THE LAMPORT ROCKERY. 
The presiding Lady of the Lamport Rockery, Mdlle. 
Terra Cotta, to whom allusion was made in our issue 
for October 24th last, page 116, is here reproduced 
from an exquisite photograph, in which the beautiful 
surroundings come out in a manner which has 
probably never been surpassed. The dress is 
primrose, the ribbon which ties the hair and is in¬ 
variably supposed to be real, is turquoise blue. The 
hat is dark chocolate, stockings dark, shoes lawn- 
tennis colour. 
The vegetation is chiefly Aubretia deltoides, as is the 
tuft beneath her seat. The plant emerging from it 
is but little known. A specimen from this Rockery 
was presented some years since to Colonel Trevor 
Clarke, of horticultural celebrity. He submitted it 
to the botanical lights at a meeting of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, but no one knew its name. It 
was discovered to be 
Purettia flexilis [?J. It is 
most accommodating in 
its nature, thriving equally 
well whether plunged into 
the miniature lake or 
planted in parts where it 
gets no moisture what¬ 
ever. It remains intact 
in the caves throughout 
the winter. The Fern 
low down is Polypodium 
cambricum, where it is 
probably much more 
extensively grown than 
in any other locality. 
Being a barren variety, 
it has to be divided and 
the roots spread slowly. 
It has been established 
at Lamport forty-five 
years. The plant at the 
right corner is the Alpine 
Ladies’ Mantle, Alchem- 
illa alpina. The two 
minute stars on the lower 
edge are Campanula 
garganica. 
The young lady has 
occupied her present posi¬ 
tion for three years, 
excepting the winter 
months, when butterfly¬ 
like she retires into hyber¬ 
nation. There are, as 
amongst most things, 
various opinions regard¬ 
ing the propriety of the 
location of Mdlle. Terra 
Cotta. Some either are, 
or appear to be, indiffer¬ 
ent to her charms; 
others are greatly smitten. 
Some think her horrid 
in the extreme; others 
extremely beautiful. One 
lady of taste found her 
so prepossessing as to 
pronounce her the most 
fascinating creature she 
had ever beheld, far be, 
yond any of her friends. 
Although her powers of 
fascination do not affect 
all, she has the power of deceiving all. 
A person who happened to observe her from a 
window when she made her first debut, went 
hurriedly and gave notice: " There is a girl sitting 
on the rockery! She mustn’t be there.” Another 
on entering retired, fearing she was intruding on the 
privacy of the family. It may be added that 
should there be any who are fascinated with this 
representation they will find themselves more so, and 
to a much higher degree, if they will send six stamps 
to Mr. Garrett, 32, Wellingborough Road, North¬ 
ampton, for a Woodburytype of this marvellous 
photograph, in all respects equal to the original, 
which can be obtained for one shilling. If there is 
any fault to be found with it, it is more beautiful 
than the original. This is on account of the lens 
giving more minute details, which can be seen under 
closer inspection than the eye is capable of, however 
perfect the sight, and for this reason an opera glass 
is of the greatest assistance in rendering the Lam¬ 
port Rockery in every sense of the expression, A 
Complete Fairy Land. 
