At the monthly meeting held in 5 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on the 5tb ult., Mr Dunn, president, occupied the chair. After the admission and Domination of new members, the secretary read a communication from Mr John "Webster, Gordon Castle, on "Raising of Roots of Fruit-trees as a means of inducing Fertility." After adverting to the importance of using every possible means of maintaining the health and vigour of fruit-trees, so as to secure the utmost productiveness, and at the same time the finest quality and flavour, he pointed out that a very frequent cause of sickly trees and poor crops was to be found in the roots penetrating into the cold clayey subsoil, where they were away from the influences of solar heat and the more fertile soil near the surface. As a remedy for this, he recommended the forking up again of the roots towards the surface, the removal of as much of the poor soil as was consistent with the safety of the tree, and the filling in of the necessary quantity of fresh, rich, loamy compost. Several of the members took part in the discussion which followed - the unanimous opinion being in favour of the principles advocated by Mr Webster, which, it was shown, might in many cases be acted upon by practical arboriculturists, and others interested in trees and shrubs.

Mr William Pirrie, Leith, next read a paper on "Mushroom-culture," confining his remarks to the common species, "Agaricus campestris," which, he showed, could be successfully grown under a greater variety of circumstances, and these within the reach of most gardeners, than was generally supposed. He strongly advocated their more extended cultivation, not only for private use, but for the market; and suggested that the now disused Scotland Street tunnel in Edinburgh would prove as suitable for the purpose as the celebrated underground caves of Paris. He mentioned that the simplest test to distinguish the edible from the poisonous species was to put salt upon the "gills," which would cause the former immediately to turn black, but would have no such effect upon the latter. In the course of a long and very interesting discussion, one of the speakers alluded to the enormous quantities of Mushrooms annually sent to this country from Paris; that an increased supply at reasonable prices would doubtless create a still greater demand, and that he was assured, from his knowledge of the trade in Edinburgh, there was no more profitable field open for market-gardeners than their culture.

Mr John Cowe next read the conclusion of his paper on " The Hyacinth," the first part of which he brought forward at last meeting. He dealt chiefly with the treatment of the plants after removal from the shed in which they had been plunged among leaf-mould, sand, or ashes, after potting: this he recommended should be done so soon as the crowns were about half an inch high; and in this operation great care should be taken to avoid damaging the tips, as the foliage was sure ever afterwards to bear the marks of such damage, seriously affecting their prospects as competition plants. In a few remarks upon the selecting of bulbs most likely to produce fine bloom, Mr Cowe cautioned beginners against laying too much stress upon mere size, - medium-sized solid bulbs, with firm crowns, and not too wide at the base, were, as a general rule, to be preferred.

The customary votes of thanks were unanimously accorded to the authors of the several papers. There was as usual a large number of plants and cut flowers on the table, including trusses of a new fancy Pelargonium of a dark colour, but striped and spotted in a peculiar manner with pure white, from Mr William Pirrie, Leith. Mr L. Dow, Saughton, had a fine specimen of the now little-known "Geranium anemonefolia," a species introduced many years ago from Maderia, with elegant palmate leaves, and a profusion of small but beautiful pink flowers. And two plants of new seedling Tropaeolums, both of considerable merit, one named "Cetywayo," having very dark flowers, and light, almost golden foliage, will doubtless "come to the front " among bedding-plants. Messrs Dicksons & Co. had a small collection of cut blooms of seedling Phloxes; Matricaria chamomila plena, a pretty double form of the old-fashioned herb "Chamomile;" Liliums longiflorum and Humboldtii and Bravoa geminiflora, a beautiful liliaceous plant from Mexico, with red Pent-stemon-like flowers.

The plant from which this spike was taken has been growing in the open air during the last two winters without protection.