October  24,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
385 
Perhaps  the  berries,  or  some  of  them,  had  become  cracked  at  the 
junction  of  the  footstalk  with  the  berry,  and  the  flesh  thus 
exposed  taken  advantage  of  by  the  Fever  fly  to  deposit  its  eggs 
on,  or  in,  the  flesh  forming  a  favourable  feeding  ground  for  the 
maggots  that  would  hatch  out.  That  the  Grapes  were  infested 
there  is  no  question,  and  they  set  up  a  ferment  (no  bacterial 
bodies  were  found)  on  their  own  account,  speedily  converting 
the  berry,  and  even  the  whole  of  a  cluster  of  Grapes,  into  a 
putrefying  mass,  with,  as  before  quoted,  a  most  sour,  penetrating, 
nauseating  smell.  But  what  Grape-grower  has  not  had  cracked 
berries  without  attack  of  Fever  fly,  and  even  where  the  border 
is  mulched  regularly  with  cow  or  horse  manure?  Is  not  this 
immunity  due  to  there  not  being  any  Fever  flies  about?  Or  if 
they  are  present  (as  Curtis  states  “  every  year  ”),  why  should  the 
phenomenon,  as  configured,  occur  so  seldom  ? 
I  may  say  that  the  flies  are  readily  destroyed  by  fumigation 
with  tobacco  paper,  or,  better  still,  by  vaporisation  with 
nicotine  compound.  The  maggots,  however,  are  very  tenacious 
“MAGGOTY”  GRAPES. 
of  life,  and  are  most  quickly  acted  upon  by  corrosive  substances, 
such  as  lime,  a  well-known  corrective  of  sourness  in  land  and  in 
produce. — G.  Abbey. 
A  Lily  Farm. 
Not  far  from  the  Sussex  station  of  Balcombe,  there  is  a  small 
house  known  as  Kemps,  and  there  is  round  about  it  an  acreage 
of  the  beautiful  Lilium  lancifolium,  which  is  the  floral  stock-in- 
trade  of  the  two  sisters  whose  home  it  is.  The  two  sisters  manage 
the  business  entirely  themselves,  the  only  extraneous  help  coming 
from  a  man  and  a  girl,  the  former  aiding  with  the  growing  of  the 
flowers,  and  the  latter  being  especially  employed  in  denuding  the 
blossoms  of  their  anthers,  which,  if  left  on,  would  soil  the  pure 
white  petals  in  the  packing.  The  packing  is  a  very  important 
and  a  very  heavy  portion  of  the  day’s  work,  and  on  an  average  in 
the  Lily  season  as  many  as  200  dozen  are  sent  off  daily.  The 
boxes  to  hold  this  fragrant  merchandise  are,  of  course,  speci¬ 
ally  prepared  ones,  and  they  are  sent  backwards  and  forwards 
between  Kemps  and  Covent  Garden  with  the  utmost  regularity. 
Societies. 
Royal  Horticultural— Scientific  Committee,  October  15th. 
Present :  Dr.  M.  C.  Cooke  (in  the  chair) ;  Messrs.  Houston, 
Bennett,  Druery,  Saunders,  Holmes,  and  Worsley;  Drs.  Muller  and 
Masters  ;  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  and  Rev.  G.  Henslow,  hon.  sec. 
Hawthorn  shoots,  dead. — Mr.  Saunders  reported  as  follows  upon 
the  specimens  sent  to  the  last  meeting,  exhibited  by  Mr.  Wilks : — 
“  The  bark  of  the  shoots  in  places  was  splitting,  and  had  all  the- 
appearance  of  being  attacked  by  canker,  but  there  was  no  signs  of 
any  fungus  on  examination  with  a  strong  pocket  lens  ;  under  the 
bark  were  several  small  orange  coloured  dipterous  grubs,  belonging  to 
the  family  Cecidomyidse.  They  exactly  resembled  grubs  which  I  have 
found  feeding  on  the  ‘  Rose  rust,’  Phragmidium  subcorticum,  and  the- 
■  Bean  rust,’  Uromyces  fab  a;,  and  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  they 
must  have  fed  on  some  fungoid  matter.  Their  mouths  are  not  suited 
for  feeding  on  any  hard  substance,  such  as  Hawthorn  shoot,  w-liich 
was  practically  dead,  but  what  may  have  caused  the  death  of  the 
shoots  I  cannot  say,  but  I  should  suggest  that  it  was  of  fungoid 
origin.” 
Pelargonium  leaf  striking  root. — Mr.  Houston  also  showed  a  leaf  of 
the  Ivy-leaved  species,  of  which  the  petiole  had  formed  a  callus  with 
numerous  roots.  The  effect  upon  the  blade  was  to  enlarge  the  cells.. 
Mi-.  Henslow  observed  that  he  had  read  of,  but  could  not  recall  the 
reference  to,  a  very  similar  result  occurring  with  a  leaf  of  Ivy,  which, 
however,  became  much  enlarged. 
Acacia  armata,  seedling. — Mr.  Holmes  exhibited  a  specimen  having 
all  the  leaflets  well  developed.  At  a  subsequent  stage  only  phyllodes 
are  borne  by  the  tree. 
Galls  on  Beech  leaves. — He  also  showed  specimens  remarkable  for 
their  hairiness,  while  the  leaf  of  the  Beech  is  perfectly  hairless.  Mr. 
Henslow  observed  that  this  was  a  common  result  in  galls  on  many 
plants.  He  had  observed  it  on  the  smooth-leaved  Erica  scoparia, 
which  bore  hairy  galls.  Woolly  terminal  buds  are  common  on  Veronica 
Chamsedrys,  the  excess  of  hair  being  due  to  an  insect.  M.  Mer,  who 
studied  the  subject,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  such  hairs,  as  well  as- 
those  especially  on  ribs  and  veins  in  a  normal  state,  are  due  to  a 
localised  extra  nourishment  and  a  compensatory  distribution  of  sap. — 
(“  Origin  of  Plant  Structures,”  page  59.) 
Fo7ir-spiked  Typha. — Dr.  Masters  showed  a  specimen  in  which  the 
stem  bore  four  free  terminal  inflorescences,  but  it  was  not  clear 
whether  it  was  due  to  cohesion  or  fasciation. 
Boot  galls. — He  also  exhibited  some  globular  galls  received  from* 
Mr.  Smith  of  Newry.  Mr.  Saunders  undertook  to  examine  them. 
Fig  leaf  ascidiform. — He  also  showed  a  leaf  of  some  species  of 
Ficus  growing  in  the  Botanic  Garden  of  Calcutta,  in  which  the  basal 
part  formed  a  hollow  cone  or  funnel-shaped  structure.  It  was 
exceptional  in  that  it  was  borne  on  the  under  side,  and  not  the  upper. 
Every  leaf  of  the  tree  was  said  to  be  so  affected. 
Stropharia  ceruginosa. — Mr.  Bunyard  sent  a  specimen  of  this 
fungus,  which  he  described  as  having  almost  a  peacock  blue  colour 
when  fresh.  It  was  found  at  Boxley,  Kent. 
British  dye  plants. — A  communication  was  also  received  from  Dr. 
Plowright  on  this  subject,  with  numerous  specimens  of  dyed  wool.. 
The  former  will  appear  in  the  Journal  of  the  Society. 
Abies  Douglasi  seedlings. — Mr.  Elwes  sent  specimens  of  young 
trees  of  this  genus,  and  also  of  Larix  leptolepis,  about  2  feet  high, 
in  a  dying  state.  He  observes  :  “  They  show  a  disease  which  I  cannot 
account  for,  but  is  very  prevalent  in  my  nursery.  The  Larches  are 
believed  to  be  raised  from  Japanese  seed.  I  received  plants  of  the- 
same  species  from  Tortworth  Court,  Gloucestershire ;  Hildersley, 
Yorks;  and  Dunkeld,  Pex-th  ;  all  of  which  are  perfectly  healthy  in 
the  same  soil,  situation,  and  season.”  The  opinion  of  Mr.  Worsley 
and  others  was  that  the  death  of  the  plants  was  due  to  inferior 
vigour  in  the  Japanese  seeds,  and  that  of  Dr.  M.  C.  Cooke  was  that 
no  fungus  was  present  to  account  for  it. 
Yew  diseased. — Mr.  R.  W.  Dean  of  Wainsford,  Lymington,  sent 
boughs  of  Yew  attacked  by  Sphaerella  taxi.  It  is  a  fungus  which  does 
but  little  harm  to  the  trees,  as  it  does  not  affect  the  branch,  only  the 
green  leaves.  Lime  is  probably  deficient  in  the  soil. 
Horticultural  Club, 
The  usual  monthly  conversazione  and  dinner  took  place  on- 
Tuesday  last,  the  15th  inst.,  at  the  rooms  of  the  club,  Hotel 
Windsor,  and  the  chair  was  occupied  by  the  Rev.  W.  Wilks. 
There  was  a  good  attendance  of  members,  including  the  Rev.  W. 
Wilks,  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Pemberton,  the  Rev.  F.  R.  Burnside, 
Messrs.  Cook,  J.  Veitch,  Geo.  Bunyard,  C.  E.  Shea,  A.  Rivers,  J. 
Walker,  G.  Pinches,  A.  H.  Pearson,  C.  E.  Pearson,  J.  Assbee,  and 
H.  B.  May.  The  after  dinner  discussion  was  on  the  fruit  crop  of 
1901 ;  it  was  opened  by  Mr.  G.  Bunyard,  who  said  :  In  review¬ 
ing  the  fruit  crop  of  1901,  I  have  again  to  record  an  unusually  dry 
season,  which  has  considerably  lessened  the  crop  of  soft  fruit,  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  has  tended  to  perfect  the  finest  crop  of  Pears 
of  recent  years. 
Strawberries  at  first  promised  a  short  yield,  but  an  opportune 
rain  caused  the  crop  to  swell  out,  and  they  finished  well,  but  the 
