248 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  21,  1901. 
same  disease.  I  have  not  the  Journal  by  me  now,  so  cannot  give  you 
the  page  where  above  is.” 
Mistletoe  in  the  Oxford  Botanic  Gardens. — Inquiries  having  been 
made  as  to  the  origin  of  the  numerous  plants  and  varieties  of  Yiscum 
album  now  on  various  trees  in  these  gardens,  the  following  observations 
have  been  received  from  Mr.  T.  E.  Jefferies,  Oxford  : — “  I  understood 
from  the  late  Mr.  W.  H.  Baxter  that  his  father  established  the  plant  on 
Apple  trees  growing  in  a  slip  of  ground  outside  the  garden  western 
boundary  wall  many  years  ago.  Now  it  is  met  with  in,  or  adjacent  to, 
the  gardens  on  perhaps  a  greater  number  of  different  kinds  of  trees 
than  could  be  seen  in  a  similar  area  anywhere,  and  probably  the 
diversity  of  their  forms  is  equally  exceptional.  On  fresh  specimens  the 
size  of  the  fruits  vary  considerably,  the  largest  fruited  plants  being 
rendered  far  more  striking  as  regards  their  whiteness,  or,  as  may  be 
Baid,  their  effective  translucent  appearance,  more  especially  where  they 
aggregate  in  clusters  and  become  distinguished  by  being  so  prolific.” 
Mr.  Burbidge  records  the  faot  of  Yiscum  growing  on  the  following 
trees  in  the  D.B.  Gardens  : — “  Ostrya  vulgaris,  Horse  Chestnut,  Pavia 
flava,  Lime,  Maple,  Hawthorn,  Apple,  Willow,  Beech,  and  Viburnum  sp., 
but  very  weakly  on  the  last  two.  Outside  the  gardens  it  grows  on  two 
Poplars.” 
Cattleya,  monstrous. — Mr.  Coleman  exhibited  a  form  of  Cattleya, 
which  Dr.  Masters  undertook  to  examine. 
Leopard  Moth. — Mr.  Gordon  referred  to  the  damage  done  by  the 
caterpillars  of  this  moth  in  boring  up  branches  of  the  Spanish  Chestnut, 
Apple  trees,  &o.  He  asked  for  information  as  to  how  long  the  caterpillar 
lived.  Mr.  McLachlan  observed  that  the  general  misconception  as  to 
this  was  that  it  really  bored  upwards  through  the  pith  and  not  down¬ 
wards,  as  is  usually  supposed.  The  only  remedy  was  to  insert  a  wire 
and  kill  it  by  probing.  The  fumes  of  cyanide  of  potassium  was  another 
remedy,  if  it  could  effectually  reach  the  caterpillar.  As  to  the  duration, 
two  seasons  were  required  to  complete  the  transformation,  while  the 
goat  moth  caterpillars  took  three  years. 
■Apple,  rotten. — Mr.  Houston  exhibited  a  remarkable  case  of  deoay,  in 
that  it  had  begun  in  the  centre  and  spread  uniformly  outwards ;  so  that 
the  sound  part  came  away  like  a  hollow  shell,  leaving  the  perfectly 
spherical  decayed  central  mass.  There  was  no  apparent  fungus  or  other 
cause  to  account  for  it. 
Crinum  sp. — Mr.  Worsley  exhibited  some  stolons  of  a  species  of 
Crinum  known  as  jamaicense.  It  is  found  in  Jamaica,  on  the  N.E. 
coast,  near  the  sea,  exposed  to  the  N.E.  Trade  Winds.  It  is  an  unrecorded 
species,  and  since  the  peculiar  method  of  propagation  by  fleshy  stolons 
one  joint  of  which  swells  into  the  bulb,  are  characteristics  of  N.  America. 
It  was  Mr.  Worsley’s  opinion  that  it  was  derived  from  that  country  by 
ocean  currents  floating  the  seeds  or  perhaps  bulbs  to  the  shore  of 
Jamaica. 
Specimens  from  Botanic  Gardens,  Dublin. — The  following  interesting 
plants,  &c.,  were  received  from  Mr.  Burbidge,  with  the  following 
remarks  : — “  1,  Herewith  I  send  two  or  three  sheets  of  Birch-bark 
paper,  from  Betula  utilis,  D.  Don  (  =  ft  Bhjopattra,  Wall).  It  is 
written  that  paper  was  first  invented  and  made  by  the  Chinese;  but  I 
suppose  the  Birch  trees  of  both  East  and  West  (vide  Longfellow’s  poem 
of  ‘Hiawatha’),  to  say  nothing  of  the  wasps,  made  paper  long  before 
even  the  Chinese  !  Note  how  sensitive  it  is  to  heat  and  moisture.  It 
is  difficult  to  prevent  its  becoming  a  natural  scroll.  Was  it  the  origin 
of  all  scrolls  of  bark,  and  afterwards  of  animal  skins,  used  as  a  writing 
surface  or  paper  ?  We  have  three  trees,  the  largest  20  feet  high,  and 
we  value  them  very  highly,  not  only  for  their  silver-stemmed  beauty, 
especially  during  winter,  but  especially  because  they  were  born  and 
raised  here  from  seeds,  which  Sir  J.  D.  Hooker,  K.C.S.I.,  &c.,  sent  to 
the  gardens  eighteen  years  ago.  In  the  same  packet  came  seeds  of  the 
Himalayan  Bird  Cherry,  Prunus  (Padus)  cornutus,  with  its  old  bronze- 
coloured  bark,  now  25  feet  high,  and  it  flowers  and  fruits  freely  every 
year.  2,  Flowers  of  the  old  greenhouse  plant,  Canarina  campanulata, 
of  the  Canary  Islands  (1696),  vide  ‘Bot.  Mag.,’  t.  441.  3,  Salvinia 
natans.  As  to  this,  note  its  waterproof  coating  of  short  hairs,  which 
carries  down  an  air  film  if  the  plant  be  temporarily  submerged ;  note 
also  its  lifeboat-like  habit  of  ‘  righting’  itself  when  placed  into  a  vessel 
of  water.  Like  ‘  Duckweed  ’  (Lemna),  Azolla,  and  other  aquatics,  it 
robs  all  submerged  plants  of  light,  &c.,  by  its  (and  their)  habit  of 
forming  a  dense  green  mosaic  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  Azolla 
kills  or  crowds  out  Lemna  minor  here  in  sheltered  open-air  tanks ! 
4,  Acacia  sphserocephala  (?  =  A.  oornigera),  ‘  Buffalo-horn  Acacia,’ 
myrmecophilous  (vide  Belt,  T.,  ‘  Naturalist  in  Nicaragua,’  8vo,  London, 
1874).  Note  the  big  hollow  spines,  in  which  ants  live;  and  also  the 
yellow  waxy  secretion  and  exudation  at  tips  or  apices  of  young  leaflets. 
I  do  not  think  this  substance  has  received  auy  chemical  study.  This 
‘ant-manna’  seems  to  be  of  no  actual  or  direct  service  or  relief  to  the 
Acacia,  as  are  some  secretions ;  the  resinous  secretions  that  at  times 
close  the  absorptive  and  secretive  glands  on  the  leaves  of  the  Rosa 
alpina  for  example.  In  any  case  it  would  be  a  step  forward  to  know 
exactly  what  this  yellow  wax-like  leaf  product  really  is.  5,  An  Indian 
‘  Dodder,'  growing  on  Ivy  in  cool  greenhouse  here,  Cusouta  reflexa  : 
Hooker,  in  ‘  Himalayan  Journals,’  Minerva  Library,  1891  edition, 
page  27,  says: — ‘Dodders  (Cuscuta)  covered  even  tall  trees  with  a 
golden  web.’  This  species  is  so  rampant  that  it  might  have  been  one 
of  them.  It  will  grow  on  Ivy,  Pelargonium,  Cotoneaster,  Calceolaria, 
Carex,  Jasmine,  Forsythia,  Cytisus,  Fuchsia — indeed,  nothing  seems  to 
come  amiss,  and  it  is  even  self-parasitic  (like  the  Mistletoe),  this  phase 
of  its  life  history  having  been  discovered  by  Dr.  Henry  H.  Dixon,  of 
the  Physiological  Laboratory,  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  a  few  years  ago, 
and  described  in  the  ‘  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,’  as 
also  in  ‘  Notes  from  the  Botanical  School  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,’ 
No.  4,  January,  1901,  chap,  xvii.,  page  146.  The  plant  flowers  freely 
late  in  summer  or  autumn,  the  flowers  being  white,  and  not  unlike  a 
small  Lily  of  the  Yalley  (Convallaria)  bells,  having  a  honey-like 
perfume,  whioh  is  very  attractive  to  flies  of  many  kinds.  Azolla 
filaculoides,  on  water  in  muddy  outdoor  tanks  here,  is  now  a  lovely 
copper-red  colour.  I  see  Hooker  (loc.  cit.  supra),  page  255,  mentions 
Lake  Catsuperri,  alt.  7160  feet,  bordered  by  a  broad  marsh  of  bog  moss, 
in  whioh  was  abundance  of  Azolla,  colouring  the  waters  red.” 
Apple  Lamb  Abbey  Pearmain. 
Messrs.  J.  Yeitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  Chelsea,  staged  a  splendid 
dish  of  this  dessert  variety  of  Apple  (see  illustration),  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  on  the  12th  inst.,  when  it  received  an 
award  of  merit  from  the  Fruit  Committee.  It  has  been  known  for 
nearly  one  hundred  years.  The  wife  of  a  certain  Neil  Malcolm,  Esq., 
of  Lamb  Abbey, 
near  Dartford,  in 
Kent,  raised  it  in 
the  year  1804  from 
the  pip  of  an  im¬ 
ported  fruit  of 
Newtown  Pippin. 
The  late  Dr.  Hogg 
mentions  these 
interesting  facts 
in  “  The  Fruit 
Manual.”  His  de¬ 
scription  of  this 
Apple  is  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  —  “Fruit 
small,  2£  inches 
wide  and  2  inches 
high,  roundish  or 
oblato.oblong, regu¬ 
larly  and  hand¬ 
somely  shaped. 
Skin  smooth,  greenish  yellow  on  the  shaded  side,  but  becoming 
dear  when  at  maturity  On  the  side  next  the  sun  it  is  dull  orange, 
streaked  and  striped  with  red,  which  becomes  more  faint  as  it  extends 
to  the  shaded  side,  and  dotted  all  over  with  minute,  punctured,  russety 
dots.  Eye  rather  large  and  open,  with  long,  broad,  divergent  segments, 
reflexed  at  the  tips,  and  set  in  a  wide,  deep,  and  plaited  basin.  Stalk 
from  |  to  1  an  inch  long,  slender,  deeply  inserted  in  a  russety  cavity. 
Flesh  yellowish  white,  firm,  crisp,  very  juicy  and  sugary,  with  a  brisk 
and  rich  vinous  flavour.  A  dessert  Apple  of  first-rate  quality,  and  very 
valuable  both  as  regards  the  richness  of  its  flavour  and  the  long  period 
in  which  it  remains  in  perfection  ;  it  is  in  use  from  January  till  April. 
The  tree  is  healthy,  a  free-grower  and  good  bearer.” 
Fresh  Fruit  Imports.  —  We  have  frequent  opportunity  of 
showing  how  large  are  the  quantities  of  fresh,  or  as  it  is  called  “  green 
fruit,”  imported  into  this  country  from  abroad.  The  following  little 
list,  however,  which  we  extract  from  “  The  Grooer  ”  newspaper, 
shows  the  offioial  account  of  what  was  imported  in  the  week  ended 
Maroh  2nd:  —  Raw  Apples,  34,663  cwts. ;  Bananas,  14,445  bnohs. ; 
Grapes,  208  cwts. ;  Lemons,  18,048  cwts. ;  Oranges,  76,927  cwts. ;  Pears, 
229  owts.  ;  Plums,  34  cwts. ;  Tomatoes,  11,082  cwts.  The  stock  of 
dried  fruits  in  London  alone  on  February  28th  was : — Currants, 
9610  tons;  Valencia  and  Denia  raisins,  2225  tons;  Greek  Sultanas, 
224  tons ;  Smyrna  Sultanas,  2945  tons;  Muscatels,  79  tons;  Turkey 
Figs,  2825  pkgs. ;  Faro,  Greek,  and  Malaga  Figs,  3135  pkgs. ;  Jordan 
Almonds,  3260  boxes  ;  Valencia  Almonds,  6240  pkgs.  ;  Sioily,  Bari, 
Oporto,  Persian  Almonds,  4370  pkgs. ;  Barbary  Almonds,  6190  pkgs. ; 
Canary  Almonds,  2655  pkgs. ;  shell  Almonds,  1515  pkgs. ;  Bussorah, 
Tafilat,  and  Egyptian  Dates,  253,985  pkgs. ;  Plums  and  Prunes, 
47,220  pkgs.;  Imperials — Frenoh,  275  cases;  Apples  (evaporated), 
9380  pkgs. ;  dried  Apricots,  16,450  pkgs. ;  dried  Pears,  1325  pkgs. 
Apple  Lamb  Abbey  Pearmain. 
