S42 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
fro lit %’ StDorEi 
of Science. 
Supposed Hybrid Hare. —At a meeting of the 
Linnean Society of London, on December 17th. Mr. 
J. E. Harting exhibited a supposed hybrid between 
the Common Brown Hare (Lepus timidus) and the 
Irish Hare (Lepus variabilis) recently obtained in 
Carnarvonshire, where the latter species had been 
introduced in 1878. He compared the specimen in 
question with examples of both the above-named 
species, and contrasted their distinguishing pecu¬ 
liarities, pointing out the intermediate characters 
exhibited by the supposed hybrid. His remarks were 
criticised by the president, who thought that too 
much stress should not be laid upon external appear¬ 
ance and colour; that the question of hybridity 
should rather be determined by comparing the 
relative measurements of the leg-bones ; and that the 
Irish Hare should be compared in detail with the 
Hare of Southern Europe (L. meridionalis or 
mediterraneus). Prof. Howes drew attention to 
Natbusius’s observations upon the Peyer’s patches 
of the Leporines, and pointed to the necessity for 
examination of the viscera Mr. Barrett Hamilton, 
who was present as a visitor, was inclined to regard 
the supposed hybrid as an example of the ordinary 
Brown Hare turning white in winter, hitherto 
unnoticed in this country. 
Mr. Thomas Christy inquired what position the 
so-called Belgian Hare cr Leporine occupied in 
relation to the question of hybridity; and was 
answered that the popular notion of that animal 
being a hybrid between Hare and Rabbit was 
fallacious, since it was nothing more than an over¬ 
grown tame Rabbit coloured like a Hare. 
Ovule of Orobanche. —At the same meeting as 
the above, Mr. W. C. Worsdell gave the chief facts 
of a paper dealing with the " Development of the 
Ovule of Christisonia, a genus of the Orobancbeae.” 
Referring to Prof. Koch’s detailed account of the 
development of the ovule of Orobanche, he remarked 
that Christisonia as a parasitic plant was of such 
interest and differed so much in its vegetative struc¬ 
ture from Orobanche, that it seemed to be worth 
while to record the facts of its embryological develop¬ 
ment. A brief description of the vegetative parts of 
the plant was then given ; these were the rhizome¬ 
like anastomosing network of roots bearing tubers at 
intervals, from which latter the exogenously-formed 
haustoria are produced. The haustoria penetrate 
the roots of the bamboo or Strobilanth upon which 
the plant is parasitic. The lateral roots and the 
stems are deiived endogenously; the latter grow 
rapidly, and after producing the flowers, die at the 
end of the season. The flower resembles, in its main 
features, that of Orobanche. The ovary in one 
species is unilocular throughout, in another species 
it is bilocular below and unilocular above; the 
placentae are two in number. 
By the aid of blackboard drawings the author then 
described the development of the embryo-sac and the 
embryo. This was shown to follow essentially the 
same lines as in Orobanche. Its main features were 
the origin of the archesporium from a hypodermal 
cell; the casual occurrence of a double archesporium ; 
the absence of tapetal cells; the division of the 
archesporium into four cells, the lowest of which 
subsequently grew into the embryo-sac ; an anomaly 
was observed in one ovule in which two of the 
uppermost cells persisted as rudimentary sacs, in one 
of which the nucleus had divided into four ; the large 
size of the synergidae, as compared with that of the 
corresponding cells at the antipodal end; the out¬ 
growth of the embryo from the ovum as an elongated 
unicellular structure ; the fusion of the polar nuclei; 
the early stages in the formation of the endosperm ; 
the sequence of cell-divisions in the developing of 
embryo and the irregularity of these ; the extremely 
rudimentary character of the embryo as compared 
with ordinary Dicotyledonous plants, this being, 
perhaps, even more pronounced than in Orobanche. 
Finally, it was pointed out that in a great many 
plants, the vegetative and the reproductive organs 
have not always, by any means, a parallel develop¬ 
ment. A striking instance of this was to be seen 
in Christisonia. In this plant the vegetative struc¬ 
ture was of a very abnormal and reduced type, and 
remarkably different from all other Phanerogams ; 
while, on the other hand, the strcture and develop¬ 
ment of the embryo sac had remained essentially of 
the same normal type as in the majority of Dicoty¬ 
ledons. The paper was criticised by Dr. D. H. 
Scott, who testified to the importance and interest of 
some of the facts established. 
Mr. C. Harman Payne 
Cultivation of Beet in France. —The United 
States Consul at Havre reports" that the cultivation 
of Beet for the production of sugar in France pays 
the farmer better than any other agricultural crop. 
The area under this crop in 1894 was 1,700,000 
acres, and the weight of roots harvested was some- 
Decoration of the Order Chevalier du 
Merits Agricole. 
thing like 18,500,000 tons, or nearly eleven tons to 
the acre. After the juice has been expressed for 
sugar making, cattle are fed on the pulp. Consider¬ 
ably more than half of the entire weight of the crop 
is utilised in these two ways. It is asserted in some 
quarters that the leaves are utilised for the purpose 
of adulterating tobacco. If this latter fact is well 
founded, then it would cause no surprise that the 
Beet crop should prove a paying one seeing that two 
of the waste or by-products of sugar making are 
utilised. 
January 30, 1897. 
PEOPLE WE HAVE MET. 
Most of our readers will be familiar with the name 
of Mr. Harman Payne in connection with the 
National Chrysanthemum Society, but few, we opine, 
are aware of the extent of his labours in connection 
with his favourite flower, the Chrysanthemum. 
Many an amateur gives his labour or help in connec¬ 
tion with the " Autumn Queen,'' and that willingly, 
but Mr. Harman Payne joined the cause many years 
ago, and has continued unremittingly ever since to 
give it his best attention. A layman from a horti¬ 
cultural point of view, he nevertheless deserves well 
of the profession—more, in fact, than any other 
amateur. At one time he was a grower of the 
popular flower, but as he became known to Chrysan¬ 
themum lovers all over the world, bis duties 
independently of his own profession, increased to 
such an extent that he bad, perforce, to give up his 
cultures, and attend entirely to the literary aspect of 
the question. Such is the price of notoriety in a 
popular cause; but whether it brings an adequate 
reward for unceasing labour and the burning of the 
midnight oil is another question to be considered 
apart, and one which largely depends upon the view 
which the worker himself takes of it ; for 
" Nae treasures, nor pleasures, 
Could make us happy lang ; 
The heart ay’s the part ay 
That makes us right or wrang.” 
He has infinite resources upon which to fall back 
for assistance and reference in his historical and 
other writings concerning the Chrysanthemum. For 
many years he has been collecting books, pamphlets 
and pictures, that describe, tell how to cultivate, or 
illustrate the Golden Flower. Not content with 
books in the English tongue, he has ever been eager 
to acquire foreign works upon the same subject, and 
the more rare or antiquated they were, so much the 
better. His library on Chrysanthemum lore of all 
sorts is quite unique in the kingdom, and, we might 
safely say, anywhere else. The knowledge and 
practical experience of Continental languages at his 
command enable him to peruse foreign works on 
the Chrysanthemum, or to travel amongst the Con¬ 
tinental growers, a large number of whom he counts 
amongst bis personal friends. Many of his pictures 
and paintings of Chrysanthemums are rare and 
valuable. 
We are highly pleased to present our readers with 
the most recent portrait of Mr. Harman Payne, 
more particularly for those at a distance, who may 
not yet have had the pleasure of meeting him in 
person. He is no stranger, however, to many at 
remote centres from London. As a correspondent 
both at home and abroad, he is known both by 
repute and otherwise to a much wider circle of 
friends, admirers and well-wishers for services 
rendered. 
As evidence to com borate the above statements, 
we need only to refer to his numerous titles and 
connections with societies, at the same time referring 
our readers to another column for further informa¬ 
tion. Mr. Harman Payne is a fellow of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, and the foreign corresponding 
secretary of the National Chrysanthemum Society. 
More recently he became an honorary member of 
the French Horticultural Society of London, at the 
annual meeting of which he presided last year. He 
is also the corresponding member of the National 
Horticultural Society of France ; a member of the 
French National Chrysanthemum Society (Lyons); 
corresponding member of the Northern French 
Chrysanthemum Society (Lille); and associated 
member of the Paris Chrysanthemum Committee 
(the only English member on it). He has been the 
editor of all the N.C.S. Catalogues since 1886, and 
also of the Year Book, 1895. It is but reasonable to 
infer that some honour was due to a man who has so 
many honorary duties to perform ; but his most 
recent distinction has come as a surprise to many, 
and from a quarter as unexpected as it has been 
agreeably surprising and acceptable. WeTefer to 
his being made a Chevalier du Mcrite Agncole at the 
instance of the French Government, as announced 
by us recently. Once more this honour bears witness 
to the fact that fraternity amongst lovers of horti¬ 
culture is not limited by nationality. The accom¬ 
panying illustration is a fac-simile reproduction of 
the decoration conferred upon Mr. C. Harman 
Payne, to whom we offer our sincere congratula¬ 
tions. 
