November  18,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
47T 
in  small  aquai’ia,  a  few  gold  fish  are  an  embellishment,  but  fowls  have  no 
))usiness  in  such  a  place. 
Water  plants  are  propagated  by  division  of  the  roots  and  from  seeds. 
Division  is  simply  ])arting  an  old  root,  or  taking  off  the  offsets.  Such 
species  as  emit  roots  from  the  stem  or  have  stems  floating  beneath  the 
water  may  be  increased  by  inserting  cuttings  of  the  stems.  An  e.vcellent 
plan  for  striking  aquatic  cuttings  and  raising  from  seed  is  to  have  a 
shallow  stone  basin,  any  size,  about  a  foot  deep,  with  a  hole  to  let  off  the 
water,  and  a  tap  to  fill  it ;  the  bottom  fo  be  covered  with  3  inches  thick¬ 
ness  of  stones  and  about  3  inches  of  soil— t.e.,  p6at  and  loam  in  equal 
parts  laid  on  the  stones  ;  it  is  then  filled  with  soft  or  rain  water.  In  this 
trough  cuttings  of  the  creeping  kinds  are  planted,  and  seeds  of  the 
floating  species  are  dropped  into  it.  In  this  they  can  remain  until  of 
sufficient  size  to  plant  in  their  final  quarters,  when  the  water  can  be  let 
off,  and  a  fresh  planting  take  place.  Cuttings  are  best  inserted  in  March, 
and  seeds  sown  as  soon  as  they  are  ripe. 
For  the  kinds  growing  on  the  margin,  or  what  are,  properly  speaking, 
marsh  plants,  the  trough  will  require  to  be  filled  with  soil  to  within  an 
inch  or  so  of  the  brim,  covering  the  surface  with  a  thin  layer  of  moss. 
Saturate  with  water  and  keep  the  whole  well  saturated  afterwards.  Off¬ 
sets  can  be  planted  in  March,  putting  them  with  their  roots  just  beneath 
the  moss,  and  seeds  may  be  sown  on  the  surface  immediately  after  they 
are  ripe.  The  seeds  will  vegetate  more  freely  when  the  moss  becomes 
decayed.  IVhen  the  plants  are  large  enough  to  transplant  they  may  be 
transferred  to  where  they  are  to  remain,  moving  them  with  a  ball  of 
earth  adhering  to  the  I'oots  ;  for  although  placed  in  the  water  a  ball  of 
earth  is  of  as  much  moment  to  them  as  in  planting  any  other  plant, 
success  being  more  certain  with  a  ball  than  without.  For  small  basins 
the  plants  are  handier  in  pots,'especially  the  smaller  kinds,  potting  them 
in  the  com])Ost  already  mentioned  like  any  other  plant,  and  placing  a  stone 
on  the  surface  of  the  mould  to  prevent  the  plant  being  displaced.  The 
tender  kinds  are  best  in  pots,  for  then  they  can  be  readily  removed  to 
shelter  on  the  approach  of  severe  weather. 
Though  we  do  not  now  propose  to  give  lists  of  varieties  of  aquatic 
plants,  we  cannot  refrain  from  seizing  the  opportunity  to  pay  a  tribute 
to  the  beauty  of  Marliac’s  hybrid  Nymphseas.  At  several  shows  this 
season  Mr.  .1.  Hudson,  (lunnersbury  House,  has  staged  collections  of  the 
flowers,  and  they  are  surprisingly  beautiful.  The  colours  are  varied,  and 
(lie  size  of  the  flowers  excellent. — A. 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
November  9th. 
Scientific  Committee. — Present  :  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters  (in  the 
chair)  ;  Mr.  Michael,  llev.  W.  Wilks,  Dr.  Muller,  Prof.  Church,  and  Kev. 
G.  Henslow  (Hon.  Sec.). 
Cattleya  labiata,  Sport. — Dr.  Masters  observed  that  sports  similar  to 
those  produced  at  the  last  meeting,  in  which  two  sepals  were  more  or 
less  resembling  the  labellum,  had  been  sent  to  him  from  numerous 
localities  this  year.  The  species  was  introduced  some  fifty  years  ago, 
and  subsequently  lost ;  but  it  has  been  lately  rediscovered  in  and  intro¬ 
duced  from  Pernambuco. 
Carnation  Leaves  with  Horn-like  Marginal  Outgrowths. — Mr.  ^Michael 
reported  that  no  trace  of  acari  could  be  seen,  as  suggested  as  a  possible 
cause.  Dr.  Miiller  observed  that  a  plant  of  Solanum  jasminoides  was 
covered  all  over  with  horn-like  excrescences.  Dr.  Masters  suggested  that 
they  were  probably  spongy  outgrowths  from  the  epidermis. 
Stocks,  4'c.,  Attacked  by  Beetles. — Mr.  Michael  observed  that  Stocks, 
Virginia  Stocks,  and  Nasturtiums  in  his  garden  were  attacked  and 
utterly  spoilt  in  a  fortnight  by  thousands  of  beetles  eating  the 
flowers  of  the  two  former  plants,  but  the  leaves  as  well  of  the  last- 
named.  They  do  not  entirely  kill  the  plants,  which  renew  both  leaves 
and  flowers  after  the  beetles  have  disappeared.  A  partial  remedy  was 
found  in  shaking  the  plants  over  a  basin  of  hot  water.  It  appears  to 
be  Phyllotreta  atra,  one  of  the  numerous  “  flea  beetles.”  Miss  Ormerod, 
to  whom  they  were  sent,  suggests  “  trying  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of 
fresh  gas  lime  and  quicklime,  with  a  much  smaller  proportion  of  soot, 
and  about  half  as  much  sulphur  as  of  soot.  These  should  be  powdered 
up  together  very  finely,  well  mixed,  and  dusted  on  to  the  foliage  when 
the  dew  is  on  it,  morning  or  evening.  .1  ust  a  sprinkling  is  enough.  It 
usually  acts  well  if  applied  as  above,  so  as  to  adhere  to  the  beetles  and 
foliage.”  She  was  under  the  impression,  however,  “  that  lime  similarly 
applied  would  do  equally  well.” 
Ivy  Attacked  by  Dodder. — Mr.  Chas.  Herrin  of  Dropmore  sent  speci¬ 
mens  of  Ivy  badly  attacked  by  a  Cuscuta.  He  remarks,  “  This  parasite 
has  established  itself  on  the  west  wall  of  our  church,  destroying  the  Ivy 
with  which  it  is  covered.  It  has  been  thoroughly  destroyed,  Ivy  and  all, 
once,  a  few  years  ago ;  but  now  that  the  Ivy  has  begun  to  grow  nicely 
again,  half  covering  the  wall,  it  has  again  appeared,  and  is  destroying  it.” 
As  the  seeds  must  germinate  in  the  ground,  or  perhaps  in  the  chinks  in 
the  wall  as  well,  the  aim  must  be  to  kill  them  before  germinating.  If  the 
ground  by  the  wall  receive  a  good  .dressing-  of  slaked  lime,  such  might 
prove  effective. 
Co.v’s  Orange  Apple  Striped.  —Mr.  G.  Svvailes  of  Beverley  sent  an  Apple, 
mostly  red,  but  striped  with  green  on  one  side,  the  latter  colour  being 
on  the  most  exposed  side.  The  cause  was  unknown.  Dr.  Masters 
suggested  the  possibility  of  accidental  crossing  having  been  the  cause,  for 
Darwin  had  described  similar  results  in  an  Orange  pollinated  by  a  Lemon 
(“An.  and  PI.  under  Dom.”  I.,  p.  399).  Mr.  Wilks  mentioned  that  a  Beurre 
d’Amanlis  Pear  in  his  garden  had  thrown  out  a  green  striped  sport, 
also  a  bough  bearing  golden  foliage, 
Gallon  Jessamine. — Mr.  Henslow  exhibited  a  large  globular  gall  which 
he  had  taken  from  the  stem  of  this  plant.  As  no  fungus  was  present,  it 
was  sent  to  Mr.  MacLachlan  for  examination. 
Composition  of  Potatoes. — Prof.  Church  gave  some  account  of  the  late 
recent  researches  of  MM.  Coudon  and  Bussard  on  the  distribution  of  the 
constituents  in  Potatoe.:.  They  found  that  a  slice  of  a  Potato  revealed 
three  zones  ;  the  external  one  beneath  the  epidermis  contained  73  per 
cent,  of  water,  the  central  holding  about  80  to  84  per  cent.;  that  the 
central  part  contained  the  greater  amount  of  nitrogen,  the  exterior  the 
greater  quantity  of  starch.  This  accounted  for  the  “  bursting  ”  in  a 
floury  Potato,  which  is  relatively  more  free  from  albuminoid  matters. 
The  cause  of  the  interior  portion  being  more  consistent  is  that  the  starch 
cells  though  bursting  are  held  together  by  the  curdling  of  the  albuminoid 
matters  during  cooking.  The  same  peculiarities  appear  in  the  thirty-four 
varieties  examined.  The  intermediate  zone  was  also  of  an  intermediate 
character  with  regard  to  its  structure  and  cell  contents.  It  was  to  be 
regretted  that  the  authors  did  not  distinguish  between  the  true  albuminoids 
and  the  amides  in  estimating  their  pcr-centage  of  nitrogenous  matter. 
As  a  rule  the  former  amount  to  1-3  in  Potatoes,  but  they  had  estimated 
them  from  the  total  nitrogen  as  from  1-8  to  2-5.  Dr.  Masters  remarked 
that  these  obseryations  corresponded  with  the  stem-structure  of  the 
Potato,  which  would  have  the  cortex  as  a  starch  reservoir  as  it  is  in  trees, 
while  the  deeper  layers  would  correspond  with  the  phloem  or  proteid- 
holding  sieve  tubes. 
Events  op  the  Week.— On  Tuesday  next  the  Committees  of  the 
Bojml  Horticultural  Society  will  meet  at  the  Drill  Hall,  Westminster.  It 
is  hoped  the  display  will  be  much  superior  to  the  last  one.  For  other 
fixtures,  readers  will  do  well  to  consult  the  list  of  shows  on  page  479. 
-  Weather  in  London. — From  Wednesday  last  until  Sunday 
night  the  weather  was  wonderfully  mild  for  the  early  part  of  November 
Overcoats  were  discarded  by  many  persons,  and  one  might  easily  have 
thought«it  the  month  of  May  but  for  the  falling  leaves.  Flowers  that 
are  usually  over  long  before  this  are  blooming  profusely  in  the  London 
gardens.  During  the  early  hours  of  Monday  morning  rain  fell  heavily, 
bu’  the  day  was  dry,  and  a  cold  wind  blew  for  some  hours.  Tuesday 
was  milder,  rain  falling  in  the  evening  and  through  the  night.  At  the 
time  of  going  to  press  on  Wednesday  it  was  drizzling  slightly. 
-  Weather  in  the  North.— The  first  two  weeks  of  November 
brought  weather  dull  and  foggy  generally,  with  an  occasional  drizzly 
shower,  and  a  rare  gleam  of  sunshine.  During  the  night  of  the  13th  a 
great  deal  of  rain  fell,  but  Saturday  was  fine.  Sleety  showers  occurred 
throughout  Sunday  ;  on  Monday  morning  the  higher  hills  were 
whitened  with  snow,  and  5°  frost  were  registered.  Tuesday  morning  was 
dull,  with  cold  N.  wind,  and  90°  frost  during  the  night. — B.  D.,  S.  Perth¬ 
shire. 
-  Euphorbia  Cyp.vrissias. — This  European  plant  deserves  a 
few  words  of  praise  because  of  its  autumn  colouring.  Were  it  not  for 
its  inveterate  habit  of  straying  beyond  its  bounds  it  would  be  more 
appreciated  even  in  summer  because  of  its  elegant-looking  habit  alone. 
The  greenish  yellow  flowers  are  scarcely  bright  enough  ;  but  at  times 
they  look  pleasing  even  though  the  green  tinge  detracts  from  their  effect 
It  is  in  autumn,  however,  that  the  Cypress  Spurge  looks  its  brightest 
when  it  assumes  a  colouring  of  saffron  and  gold.  A  nice  plant  on  the  top 
of  a  rockery  here  has  been  much  admired  since  it  began  to  colour  in  the 
beginning  of  October. — S.  Arnott. 
-  Horticultural  Cluil  —  The  usual  monthly  dinner  and 
conversazione  took  place  at  the  Club  Booms,  Hotel  Windsor,  on  Tuesday 
last,  and  notwithstanding  the  counter  attractions  of  the  Chrysanthemums, 
there  was  a  good  attendance  of  the  members.  The  chair  was  taken  by 
the  Kev.  W.  Wilks,  and  there  were  present  Messrs.  Shea,  Selfe  Leonard, 
Chas.  E.  Pearsqn,  Alfred  Pearson,  George  Bunyard,  James^H.  Veiteh, 
Geo.  Nicholson,  G.  Massee,  and  the  Secretary.  The  subject  for  discussion 
was  Lilies  and  their  diseases,  which  was  inti’oduced  by  Mr.  Massee, 
President  of  the  Mycological  Society,  who  gave  a  most  interesting  and 
scientific  description  of  the  disease  which  has  attacked  two  at  least  of  the 
families  of  Lilies  which  we  receive  from  .Japan— Auratum  and  Speciosum 
— and  of  the  experiments  which  have  been  carried  out  at  Kew  for  the 
p  irpose  of  ascertaining  the  best  way  of  fighting  the  disease.  A  cordial 
vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  Mr,  IMassee  for  his  most  interesting 
address. 
