443 
May  14,  1896.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
press  representatives  like  M.  Ed.  Andrd,  M,  Lucien  Chaurd,  M.  Martinet, 
besides  amateurs  and  nurserymen.  Nine  members  form  the  Floral 
Committee,  which  we  should  feel  inclined  to  think  is  hardly  enough. 
The  names  of  its  members  are  MM.  Charles  Albert,  Bonnefond, 
Couillard,  Crozy,  Ddlaux,  Fatzer,  Parent,  Rosette,  and  De  Reydellet. — P. 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
May  5th. 
Scientific  Committee.— Present :  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters  (in  the 
chair)  ;  Mr.  McLachlan,  Mr.  Michael,  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  Mr.  Douglas, 
Dr.  Muller,  Dr.  Russell,  Rev.  G.  H.  Engleheart,  Rev.  G.  Henslow  (Hon. 
Sec.)  ;  and  Prof.  Zacharias,  Director  of  the  Botanic  Garden,  Hamburgh 
(visitor). 
Primula ,  Auricula  x  Alpine. — Dr.  Masters  reported  upon  the  two 
abnormal  specimens  brought  to  the  last  meeting  occurring  among  the 
seedling  hybrids  raised  by  Mr.  Douglas.  One  was  foliaceous,  the  corolla, 
&c.,  being  represented  by  minute  green  leaves.  In  the  other  the  corolla 
was  only  abnormally  bent. 
Bardfield  Oxlip. — With  reference  to  the  statement  by  Mr.  French 
that  this  species  resisted  being  crossed  by  the  Cowslip  or  Primrose,  Mr. 
C.  Wolley  Dod  sent  specimens  from  his  garden  to  show  that  there  was 
reason  to  suppose  that  they  were  the  result  of  the  Bardfield  Oxlip  having 
been  crossed  by  the  Primrose.  The  foliage  sent,  however,  agreed  almost 
entirely  with  that  of  the  Oxlip  type,  and  in  one  kind  only  of  the  flowers 
was  there  a  slight  tendency  to  produce  the  inflated  calyx  tube  and  the 
crest  or  corona  within  the  corolla  tube,  characteristic  of  Primroses  and 
Cowslips,  the  total  absence  of  this  being  a  marked  feature  of  the 
Oxlip. 
Raspberry -stem  Borer. — Mr.  MacLachlan  remarked  on  a  specimen 
sent  by  Mr.  Pearson  of  Chilwell,  that  the  injury  resulted  in  the  de¬ 
struction  of  the  buds,  the  eggs  being  hatched  in  the  flower ;  but  that  it 
was  difficult  to  suggest  a  remedy.  Cart  grease  smeared  round  the  base 
of  the  canes,  or  kerosine  emulsion  washed  round  the  stems  has  been 
suggested  as  preventives.  The  grub  was  that  of  Lampronia  rubiella, 
a  small  moth.  It  formed  the  prey  of  tomtits. 
Primula  Auricula ,  x. — Mr.  Douglas  exhibited  plants  of  crosses 
between  the  pubescent  type  (the  pod  bearer)  and  the  Alpine  ;  and 
remarked  upon  the  perseverance  of  humble  bees  in  visiting  the  Auricula  ; 
within  a  quarter  of  an  hour  he  had  observed  that  a  bee  visited  508 
flowers,  thus  giving  two  seconds,  on  the  average,  to  each. 
Cineraria,  Origin  of. — Mr.  Douglas  also  exhibited  several  sprays  of 
different  shades  of  mauve,  from  seedlings  raised  from  the  plant  at  Kew 
of  Cineraria  cruenta.  He  called  attention  to  the  original  illustration 
of  this  species,  and  of  C.  lanata  in  the  “  Bot.  Mag.,”  and  considered  that 
the  probabilities  were  in  favour  of  C.  lanata,  or  else  a  cross  with  this 
species  bi  ing  the  source  of  the  cultivated  forms. 
Colouring  of  Flowers. — Dr.  Russell  gave  some  details  of  a  preliminary 
experiment  with  white  Hyacinths  treated  with  various  salts  to  test  the 
influence  they  might  have  upon  the  colouring  of  the  flowers.  The  only 
bulbs  obtainable  were,  unfortunately,  very  inferior  in  quality,  as  the 
experiment  was  not  proposed  till  too  late  in  the  season.  On  March  6th 
the  bulbs  were  treated  with  the  following  solutions,  all  being  grown  in 
water  : — Cobalt  nitrate,  copper  sulphate,  ferrous  sulphate,  manganese 
nitrate,  nickel  nitrate,  chromium  acetate,  zinc  nitrate,  ammonium 
nitrate,  urea,  soluble  Prussian  blue,  coli,  and  water  alone,  distilled.  All 
contained  15  grains  to  a  pint  of  distilled  water.  As  the  liquids  evapo¬ 
rated  they  were  made  up  with  a  stronger  solution  of  30  grains  to  the 
pint.  Two  plants  only  indicated  any  colour  in  the  flowers.  The  one 
treated  with  nickel  nitrate  on  March  25th  looked  very  bad,  limp  and 
yellow  ;  the  bud,  which  would  naturally  have  been  green,  showed  a 
distinctly  pink  colour.  The  one  treated  with  ferrous  sulphate  blossomed, 
and  had  also  a  decidedly  pink  tinge.  All  the  rest  were  either  more  or 
less  arrested  in  growth,  sickly  or  dead.  As  a  preliminary  experiment, 
and  that  with  unsatisfactory  materials,  the  result,  so  far  as  the  above 
two  were  concerned,  was  interesting  ;  but  it  was  the  general  opinion 
that  the  solutions  were  too  strong,  and  that  this  would  probably  account 
for  the  injurious  effects  upon  the  growth  of  the  Hyacinths.  It  is 
proposed  to  try  further  experiments  with  white  Pelargoniums. 
Narcissus,  Crosses. — Mr.  Engleheart  in  describing  the  various  results 
of  his  experience  in  crossing  the  Narcissus  during  the  last  fifteen  years 
observed  that  the  main  cross  was  between  the  Trumpet  Narcissi  (as  pod 
bearers)  and  the  Poeticus.  This  gave  rise  to  the  Incomparabilis  section ; 
but  that  among  the  seedlings  of  the  cross  there  would  sometimes  arise 
pure  Poeticus  ;  the  male  was  always  more  or  less  prepotent,  but  some¬ 
times  the  offspring  would  show  no  trace  of  the  female  parent.  Dr. 
Masters  observed  that  the  same  result  sometimes  occurred  in  other 
plants.  Dr.  Zacharias  alluded  to  the  case  of  Strawberries  (“  False 
Crosses,”  “  Gard.  Chron.,”  1894,  p.  568),  and  Mr.  Henslow  mentioned 
that  when  the  Rhododendron  “  Monarch  ”  (which  contained  the  species 
R.  jasminiflorum,  twice,  R.  javanicum,  R.  Lobbii,  and  R.  Brookeanum 
var.  gracile)  was  crossed  with  R.  malayanum  the  result  was  almost  pure 
malayanum. 
Larch  Disease. — Dr.  Masters  exhibited  a  specimen  showing  the 
fungus,  Peziza  Willkommi,  in  the  fruiting  stage.  It  has  attacked  the 
stem  to  such  an  extent  that  the  whole  of  the  wood  has  grown 
excentrically. 
Abies  amabilis. — He  also  exhibited  a  fine  spray  of  this  tree  laden 
with  many  catkins  of  a  brilliant  red  aud  yellow  colour.  This  had  been 
previously  described,  from  imperfect  specimens,  as  bearing  single  catkins 
only. 
Events  of  the  Week. — Horticulturists  both  in  town  and  country 
will  be  busy  during  the  ensuing  week.  On  Saturday,  May  16th,  there 
will  be  a  show  held  at  Olympia,  while  on  the  following  Tuesday  will 
open  the  ninth  exhibition  in  the  Temple  Gardens,  a  reference  to  which 
will  be  found  in  a  paragraph  below. 
-  Weather  in  London. — The  continuance  of  the  dry  weather 
is  beginning  to  cause  anxiety  to  horticulturists  in  and  about  London. 
The  ground  is  now  rapidly  becoming  dry  beneath,  and  a  steady  fall  of 
warm  rain  would  do  inestimable  good  to  all  kinds  of  crops. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — May  5th-12th.  A  week  of 
intensely  warm  weather,  the  days  of  bright  almost  unbroken  sunshine, 
the  heat  over  70°  in  the  shade,  tempered  occasionally  by  light  easterly 
breezes,  and  rather  low  temperature  on  some  evenings.  Tuesday 
morning  showed  no  appearance  whatever  of  the  rain  now  beginning  to 
be  much  desired. — B.  D. ,  8.  Perthshire. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society.— The  Royal  Horticultural 
Society’s  ninth  great  annual  flower  show  in  the  Inner  Temple  Gardens 
will  open  on  Tuesday,  May  19th,  and  promises  to  be  up  to  the  usual 
standard  of  excellence.  On  Wednesday,  May  20th,  the  Great  Western 
Railway  will  run  cheap  trains  from  Cardiff,  Newport,  Chepstow, 
Lydney,  Newnham,  and  Stroud,  to  London,  and  gardeners  may  prolong 
their  stay  in  London  if  they  wish  until  as  late  as  the  25th  of  May.  The 
London,  Brighton,  and  South  Coast  Railway  are  also  running  cheap 
trains  to  London  Bridge  and  Victoria  on  the  same  date.  At  10.30  A.M., 
May  19th,  the  appointed  judges  will  meet  at  the  Secretary’s  tent,  and  at 
11  A.M.  the  Fruit,  Floral,  and  Orchid  Committees  will  also  assemble. 
Owing  to  the  great  pressure  upon  the  Society’s  officials,  plants  for 
certificate  cannot  be  entered  on  the  morning  of  the  show. 
- An  Extraordinary  Specimen  of  Berberis  stenophylla. 
— It  may  be  interesting  to  remark  that  a  very  fine  example  of  this 
beautiful  spring  flowering  shrub  is  growing  in  the  pleasure  grounds  at 
Harborne  Hall,  the  spacious  seat  of  Walter  Chamberlain,  Esq.  At  the 
present  time  it  is  in  a  state  of  glorious  inflorescence,  and  some  idea  of 
its  effect  may  be  formed  when  it  is  stated  that  the  specimen,  which  was 
planted  about  ten  years  ago,  measures  21  feet  across  its  branches  in  one 
direction,  15  feet  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  about  10  feet  high.  Its 
gracefully  disposed,  elegant,  and  arched  slender  branches,  sweeping 
from  the  turf  upwards,  present  a  fountain-like  effect,  or,  as  the  intel¬ 
ligent  and  enthusiastic  head  gardener  (Mr.  C.  R.  Bick),  by  whom  it  was 
planted,  remarked,  “it  was  highly  suggestive  of  some  pyrotechnical 
display.”  That  it  is  one  of  the  most  elegant  and  desirable  of  our 
ornamental  shrubs  there  can  be  no  question.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
learn  if  there  are  any  other  specimens  of  the  species  in  question  else¬ 
where  equal  to,  or  superior  in  size  ;  at  least,  I  believe  there  is  none  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Birmingham  of  the  magnitude  indicated.  — 
Visitor. 
-  Complimentary  Supper. — A  complimentary  supper  was 
given  recently  in  Rothesay  to  Mr.  James  Grieve,  jun.,and  Mr.  Alexander 
Jack,  who  have  been  for  some  years  in  the  employment  of  Messrs. 
Dobbie  &  Co.,  and  who  are  leaving  to  take  up  other  positions.  Mr. 
Grieve  goes  to  Edinburgh  to  join  the  firm  of  Messrs.  James  Grieve  and 
Sons,  of  which  his  father  is  principal,  and  Mr.  Jack  to  take  up  a  position 
in  connection  with  the  Prudential  Assurance  Co.  in  Rothesay.  Mr. 
William  Cuthbertson  occupied  the  chair,  and  was  supported  by  the 
guests  of  the  evening,  Mr.  James  Dobbie  (the  founder  of  the  firm), 
Mr.  James  Grieve  (Edinburgh),  and  Mr.  Burnie,  and  the  company  con¬ 
sisted  of  about  fifty  of  the  employes.  The  Chairman  in  his  remarks  said  that 
during  this  spring  a  staff  of  over  a  hundred  had  been  constantly  employed, 
and  among  such  a  number  there  were  frequent  changes.  This  was  an 
occasion  which  was  pleasant  for  all  concerned,  because  their  two 
friends  were  leaving  the  firm’s  employment  to  better  themselves,  and 
they  had  in  the  most  considerate  manner  consulted  the  firm’s  con¬ 
venience  by  delaying  their  departure  until  the  great  rush  of  spring 
work  was  well  over.  He  hoped  that  in  their  new  sphere  both  would 
meet  with  abundant  success.  A  presentation  of  several  horticultural 
works  was  made  to  Mr.  Grieve,  and  of  a  stylographic  pen  to  Mr.  Jack, 
which  were  suitably  acknowledged. 
