570 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  December  is,  1S02. 
Societies. 
R.H.S.  Scientific  Committee,  Iecember  9Ji. 
Present:  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters,  in  the  chair;  Messrs.  Douglas, 
Gordon,  Hudson,  Veitch.  Saunders.  Bowles,  and  Worsdell,  Dr.  Cooke, 
Revs.  W.  Wilks  and  G.  Henslow  (Hon.  See.). 
Dr.  31.  C.  Cooke.  VJJ.H.  T)v.  Masters  rose  and  said  he  had  much 
pleasure,  In  which  he  was  quite  sure  the  Committee  would  join,  in 
handing  the  gold  medal  to  Dr.  Cooke,  to  whom  the  Council  of  the 
Society  had  assigned  it.  Dr.  Cooke  expressed  his  thanks  for  the 
same. 
Carnation  leaves  rooting. — Mr.  Douglas  observed,  with  regard  to  a 
remark  of  Mr.  Massee’s,  that  roots  sometimes  occur  on  the  leaves 
when  the  roots  were  affected.  That  in  the  case  of  these  he  had 
exhibited  the  roots  were  perfectly  sound,  and  he  could  suggest  no 
cause  for  the  appearance  of  the  roots  on  the  leaves. 
Nephrolepis  tuberesa. — Mr.  Saunders  exhibited  some  of  the  tubers 
found  on  the  roots  of  this  plant.  They  did  not  appear  to  have  “  eyes  ” 
or  buds  upon  them,  so  as  to  be  propagative.  It  was  suggested  that 
their  use  may  be  for  water  storage  only. 
Celeriac  disease!. — Specimens  were  sent  by  Mr.  Kitson,  The 
Chantry,  Netherbury.  Dr.  Cooke  undertook  to  examine  and  report 
upon  them. 
Hyacinth  bulbs  diseased. — Mr.  Saunders  gave  the  following  report 
upon  the  bulbs  sent  to  the  last  meeting: — 
“  A  Hyacinth  bulb,  which  was  very  much  decayed,  was  shown  at 
the  last  meeting  of  the  R.H.S.  Scientific  Committee.  The  bulb 
contained  any  number  of  the  bulb  mite,  Rhizoglyphus  echinopus,  and 
these  mites  were  no  doubt  the  cause  of  the  injury  to  the  bulb. 
Besides  the  mites  there  was  a  quantity  of  a  greenish  mould,  which  I 
imagine  only  began  to  grow  on  the  bulb  after  it  had  been  killed  by 
the  mites.  When  bulbs  are  infested  with  these  mites  in  the  manner 
that  this  one  was,  nothing  can  be  done,  as  far  as  I  know,  to  save  them. 
When  only  a  few  mites  are  at  the  base  of  the  bulb — where  the  attack 
generally  commences — they  may  be  killed  by  immersing  the  bulbs  for 
five  minutes  in  water  at  a  temperature  of  115  or  120deg.,  Fahr.  If 
some  sulphide  of  potassium  (6oz.  to  a  pint)  was  added  to  the  water, 
this  remedy  would  be  all  the  more  efficacious  ;  indeed  it  is  said  that 
soaking  the  bulbs  in  this  solution  cold  for  twenty  minutes  will  kill  the 
mites.  It  is  very  essential  that  any  of  the  soil  from  pots  which  has 
contained  bulbs  infested  by  this  pest  should  not  be  allowed  to  get 
mixed  with  fresh  soil  on  the  potting  bench  or  elsewhere.”  Dr.  M.  C. 
Cooke  added  the  following  observations  : — “  Such  a  profuse  crop  of 
saprophytic  moulds,  as  Penicillium,  that  they  effectually  mask  the 
disease,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  there  are  plentiful  Acari  present.” 
[For  figure,  with  life-history  and  preventives  of  the  bulb  mite,  see  the 
Journal  of  Horticulture  for  September  18,  1902.] 
Dictamnus  Fraxinella. — Mr.  Bowles  referred  to  the  germination 
of  the  seeds  of  this  plant,  as  they  were  sown  as  soon  as  ripe,  but  did 
not  germinate.  Mr.  Wilks  observed  that  the  seeds  will  not  germinate 
if  kept  any  time  out  of  the  ground,  so  that  it  was  thought  they 
may  have  been  overwatered.  Mr.  Wilks  added  that  the  best  pro¬ 
cedure  is  to  sow  them  at  once  in  a  pan  with  a  tile  over  it  touching  the 
earth,  till  required  to  be  planted  out. 
Physiological  experiment. — Mr.  Henslow  described  an  experiment 
he  had  carried  out  with  two  objects  in  view.  The  first  was  to 
ascertain  if  darkness  had  any  effect  upon  the  direction  of  growth  of 
roots.  He  grew  some  Mustard  on  a  perforated  tin  over  a  glass  of 
water,  the  latter  having  black  paper  pasted  all  over  it,  excepting  a 
narrow  strip  facing  the  light,  which  could  fall  upon  the  roots  in  the 
water.  They,  however,  grew  vertically  downwards  uninfluenced 
under  these  conditions  by  either  light  or  darkness.  The  second 
object  was  to  see  if  water  arrested  the  growth  of  the  primary  root, 
as  in  a  paper  on  '‘A  Theoretical  Origin  of  Monocotyledons  from 
Aquatic  Dicotyledons”  (Journ.  Linn.  Soc.,  vol.  xxix.,  page  486),  he  had 
inferred  from  the  great  number  of  coincidences,  both  in  morphology 
and  anatomy,  that  such  must  have  been  the  case.  One  such  agree¬ 
ment  was  the  total  arrest  of  the  axial  root  in  all  Monocotyledons 
and  also  in  aquatic  Dicotyledons,  as  Ranunculus  aquatilis,  Tripa, 
Ceratophyllum,  Victoria  regia,  &c.  Such  proved  to  be  the  case  with 
Mustard.  The  conical  extremity  of  the  tap-root  became  brown  and 
died,  while  strong  secondary  roots  with  root-hairs  arose  from  the 
pericycle  of  the  point  just  above  the  dead  apex.  This  experimental 
verification  thus  corroborated  the  above  induction. 
Fruit  and  Vegetable  Committee. 
A  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Fruit  and  Vegetable  Com¬ 
mittee  was  held  at  Chiswick  on  the  5th  inst.  to  test  the  cooked 
merits  of  several  late  or  main  crop  new  varieties  of  Potatoes 
that  were,  at  the  September  meeting,  when  lifted,  found  to  be 
great  croppers,  but  when  cooked  proved  .to  he.  immature.  In 
snite  of  the  inclement  weather,  eleven  members  attended — Mr. 
II.  Balderson  (chairman),  Messrs.  O.  Thomas,  J.  Willard,  H.  J. 
Wright,  S.  Mortimer,  W.  Bates,  G.  Keif,  G.  Wythes,  G.  Rey¬ 
nolds,  G.  T.  Miles,  and  A.  Dean.  Ten  varieties  of  Potatoes 
were  cooked,  all  being  admirably  presented  quite  hot.  Of  these 
only  one,  Victoria  Improved  (Sharpe),  a  fine  white  round, 
obtained  an  Award  of  Merit,  the  voting  being  unanimous.  For 
Alderman  (Sharpe),  voting  for  and  against  an  award  were  five 
each  way,  the  tubers  proving  to  be  of  unequal  quality  when 
tasted.  Sprayfield  (Dobbie),  votes  six  against  and  four  for,  was 
similarly  defective.  The  season  is  to  be  credited  with  this 
difference,  some  tubers  being  younger  than  others.  It  was  re¬ 
solved  that  these  two,  with  Dalmeny  Beauty  (Smith),  a  very 
heavy  cropper,  Favourite  (Dobbie),  Marfield  (Bristowe),  and 
Lord  Roberts  (also  a  heavy  cropper)  be  grown  again  next  year 
under,  it  is  hoped,  more  favourable  conditions.  The  committee 
desired  that  a  commendation  of  the  way  the  tubers  were  cooked 
and  put  on  the  table  be  entered  on  the  minutes.  It  was  stated 
on  inquiry  (reports  The  Garden  ”)  that  the  trials  conducted 
for  the  committee  next  year  would  include  Potatoes,  Peas,  and 
Tomatoes,  as  usual,  and  specially  comprehensive  ones  of  Vege¬ 
table  Marrows  and  dwarf  and  climbing  Kidney  Beans,  a  full 
representation  of  all  good  old  and  new  varieties  being  desired 
and  invited. 
Beading  Gardeners’  Association. 
At  the  last  fortnightly  meeting  of  the  above  association  Mr. 
W.  Tribbick,  of  Brook  Gardens,  Isle  of  Wight,  read  a  most  inter¬ 
esting  and  practical  paper  on  “  The  Cultivation  of  Peaches  and 
Nectarines.”  The  opening  portion  treated  with  the  origin,  his¬ 
tory,  and  most  prominent  characteristics  of  the  fruits,  and  this 
was  followed  by  cultural  details  under  the  following  headings:- — 
Position,  soil,  time  of  planting,  disbudding,  watering,  ventila¬ 
tion,  bud  dropping,  winter  work  in  houses,  manures,  diseases, 
and  varieties.  A  good  discussion  followed,  in  which  Messrs. 
Hinton,  Neve,  Woolford,  Blake,  Powell,  Clinch,  Stanton,  Alex¬ 
ander,  Fry,  and  Bright  took  part.  The  exhibits  were  not  nume¬ 
rous,  but  one  was  of  exceptional  interest- — viz.,  a  punnet  of 
Red  Currants  shown  by  Mr.  F.  Bright,  of  Whiteknights  Park, 
picked  on  the  same  day  from  the  open.  The  fruits  were  in 
splendid  condition,  of  good  size,  and  equal  to  those  usually 
gathered  in  July.  Mr.  Hinton,  of  Walmer  Gardens,  exhibited 
several  vases  of  single  Chrysanthemums. 
Chester  Paxton  Society. 
The  annual  general  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  in  the 
Grosvenor  Museum  on  Saturday,  under  the  presidency  of  Mr. 
John  Weaver,  Christleton.  Mr.  G.  P.  Miln,  the  hon.  sec.,  sub¬ 
mitted  his  annual  report,  which  showed  that  the  society  had 
enjoyed  a.  greater  measure  of  prosperity  during  the  past  year 
than  in  any  other  year  since  it  was  instituted  in  1889.  The 
number  of  members  and  subscribers  on  the  society’s  books  now 
reaches  close  upon  500,  with  a  credit  balance  in  hand  of  over 
£50.  Captain  MacGillycuddy,  Baclie  Hall,  who  takes  a,  keen 
interest  in  the  society,  was  unanimously  elected  president  for 
the  year,  with  Mr.  N.  F.  Barnes,  Eaton,  as  chairman  of  com¬ 
mittee,  and  the  following  executive: — Messrs.  A.  Armstrong, 
J.  Clack,  Jno.  Dutton,  A.  Ellams,  A.  E.  Goodman,  T.  Gilbert, 
J.  Jackson,  H.  G.  Little,  G.  Lyon,  S.  May,  W.  Pringle,  Jos. 
Ryder,  E.  Stubbs,  J.  D.  Siddall,  Robert  Wakefield,  and  Jno. 
Weaver,  with  R.  Newstead  as  consulting  naturalist  and  G.  P. 
Miln  hon.  sec.  It  was  decided  to  hold  the  next  exhibition  of 
fruits  and  Chrysanthemums  in  the  Town  Hall  on  Wednesday 
and  Thursday,  November  11  and  12,  1903. 
Wargrave  Gardeners’  Association. 
On  Wednesday,  November  19,  the  members  of  the  above 
saciety  held  a  show  of  Chrysanthemums,  fruit,  and  vegetables 
in  the  Woodcliffe  Hall,  in  aid  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent 
Institution.  Considering  that  there  was  only  a  fortnight’s  grace 
given  from  the  time  of  the  proposal  to  hold  a.  show,  it  must  be 
a  great  success  fo£  the  small  number  of  gardeners  in  a  district 
like  Wargrave  to  have  put  up  such  an  exhibit  of  Chrysanthemums, 
&c.,  as  was  there,  and  to  collect  a  sum  of  £11  19s.  6d.,  which  has 
been  sent  to  the  secretary  of  the  above  deserving  institution. 
All  the  more  credit  is  due  to  the  members  for  the  interest  they 
took  in  it,  and  there  were  no  prizes  whatever  given.  Those  who 
could  firing  plants  brought  them  with  the  sole  idea  of  providing 
pleasure  for  the  visitors  and  to  assist  the  cause.  I  am  certain 
the  wish  of  all  was  that  it  might  be  an  annual  exhibition. 
Among  the  exhibits  were  four  well-arranged  groups  of  Chrysan¬ 
themums  and  foliage  plants  that  would  have  done  justice  to 
any  show.  From  Park  Place  came  an  exhibit  of  forty-eight 
dishes  of  Apples  and  twenty  dishes  of  Pears,  all  named,  with  a 
basket  of  Oranges,  Citrons,  and  Diospyros  Kaki,  together  with 
beautifully  worked  lyre  done  with  Bougainvillea  flowers  and 
Cypripedium  insigne  ;  also  a  basket  of  autumn  foliage  and  berries, 
two  wire  stands  of  Heliotrope  and  Tropeeolum.  The  basket  of 
