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PAXTON'S
MAGAZINE OF BOTANY,
AND
REGISTER OF FLOWERING PLANTS.
‘Flowers of all hue.” fF - B 6 he ete ya Ry re < SCiat cores
VOLUME THE TWELFTH.
LONDON: PUBLISHED BY W™. 8. ORR & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW.
MDCCCXLVI.
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K.G,, ETC. ETC. ETC.
Chis Twelfth Polume
OF
ALBERT,
THE MAGAZINE OF BOTANY,
IS MOST HUMBLY INSCRIBED
BY
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS’S VERY OBEDIENT AND OBLIGED SERVANT,
JOSHPH PAXTON.
VOL. XII.—NO. CXLIV. 6
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ADVERTISEMENT.
Ir might be expected that, at the end of so long a period as the twelve years, during which the Macazine or Botany has been regularly issued, some steps should be taken for so materially varying its character as to produce a new series, or introduce it with a fresh aspect and arrangement.
This appears to be the usual course.
But after sufficiently considering the reasons which might be urged for following such a plan, we are induced to continue in our old track; because, firstly, we have, by successive improvements, brought our Magazine to a point of excellence, especially in the pictorial department, beyond which much further advancement seems unattainable; and, secondly, we are yet favoured with the same unwavering amount of support which we had several years ago; and we deduce from the latter circumstance the conclusion that the form im which the Magazine now appears, and the manner in which it is conducted, are regarded as at least satisfactory by
those whom it is our aim and pleasure to please.
Possessing these views, therefore, our yearly announcement and salutation to our Subscribers will be limited to an expression of thanks for their prolonged confidence, and the assertion of our annually repeated,
but as often verified, promise, that the style of the work, in all its features,
Vill ADVERTISEMENT
shall be kept up fully to the present standard; while all means that may be suggested to us, or which may occur to our own thoughts, for making it in any way more popular or useful, shall be executed with the utmost
promptitude.
We retain all those peculiar and necessarily augmenting facilities for carrying on the work creditably, and filling it with figures of beautiful
plants, by which we have always been so signally aided.
CHATSWORTH, December 20th, 1845.
LATIN INDEX
TO
THE COLOURED FIGURES OF PLANTS.
Acacia longifolia, 271 Galussacia Pseudo-vaccinium, 101 Achimenes hirsuta, 7 Gloxinia Passinghamii, 267 — picta, 223 Gompholobium versicolor, caulibus purpureis
219 Griffinia hyacinthina, 171
Aerides maculosum, 49 Allamanda grandiflora, 79
Alona ccelestis, 3 Hovea linearis, 75
Aphelandra aurantiaca, 127 Hydrangea japonica, 119
Azaleas, Chinese seedling, 55
Jacaranda tomentosa, 217
Barbacenia purpurea, 27
Begonia ramentacea, 73 Leelia majalis, 1
— Martiana, 151 Brodisea grandiflora, 22] Melastoma sanguinea, 269 Bugainvillea spectabilis, 51 Musseenda macrophylla, 197
Burtonia conferta, 53 a Odontoglossum Cervantesii, 193
Calandrinia umbellata, 265 Ornithogalum aureum, 175
Campanula sylvatica, 245 Chironia floribunda, 123
Cineraria, seedlings, 149
Pleroma Kunthiana, 125
Pronaya elegans, 99
Combretum latifolium, 103 Ribes sanguineum, flore pleno, 121 Correeas, Gaines’ seedling, 77 Ruellia lilacina, 243
Cymbidium giganteum, 241 Salvia azurea, 31
Dendrobium Kingianum, 97 Siphocampylus coccineus, 173 Dipladenia crassinoda, 25 Spireea Douglassii, 195
Styphelia tubiflora, 29 Epacris miniata, 5
Epidendrum radicans, 145 Veronica Lindleyana, 247
Fuchsia serratifolia, 169 | Whitfieldia lateritia, 147
Xi
ENGLISH INDEX
THE COLOURED FIGURES OF PLANTS.
Acacia, long-leaved, 271 Fuchsia, saw-leaved, 169 Achimenes, hairy, 7 —— the painted, 223
Air-plant, spotted, 49
Gaylussac-wort, bilberry-like, 101 Gloxinia, Mr. Passingham’s, 267
Griffinia, hyacinth- i l Allamanda, large-flowered, 79 riffinia, hyacinth-blue flowering, 17
Alona, ceerulean-flowered, 3 Hovea, linear-leaved, 75
Aphelandra, orange-scarlet, 127 Hydrangea, japan, 199 d b)
Barbacenia, purple-flowered, 27 Bell-flower, wood, 245
Bethlehem, golden star of, 175 Brodiza, large-flowering, 221
Jacaranda, tomentose, 217
Lelia, the may-flower, |
Bugainvillea, the remarkable, 51 Melastoma, bloody-veined, 269
Burtonia, crowded-leaved, 53 Musseenda, the broad-leaved, 197
Calandrinia, umbel-flowering, 265
Chiron, abundant-flowering, 123
Club-pod, purple-stemmed changeable, 219 Combretum, broad-leaved, 103
Currant, double bloody-flowered, 121 Cymbidium, gigantic, 241
Dendrobium, Captain King’s, 97 Dipladenia, thick-jointed, 25
Epacris, vermilion, 5 Elephant’s-ear, scaly, 73
— Von Martius’s, 151 Epidendrum, rooting, 145
Pleroma, Mr. Kunth’s, 125 Pronaya, elegant, 99
Ruellia, lilac-flowered, 243
Sage, azure-blue flowering, 3] Siphon-flower, scarlet, 173 Speedwell, Dr. Lindley’s, 247 Spireea, Mr. Douglas’s, 195 Styphelia, tube-flowered, 29
Tooth-tongue, Cervantes’, 193
Whitfieldia, brick-coloured, 14
WOODCUT ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOLUME THE TWELFTH.
Achimenes picta, 224
Aerides maculosum, 50 Aphelandra aurantiaca, 128 Begonia ramentacea, 74
Bryum punctatum, No. 2, 160 Cymbidium giganteum, 242 Epidendrum radicans, 146 Funaria hygrometrica, No. 3, 160 Griffinia hyacinthina, 172
Handglass, new, 208
ee Hookeria lucens, No. 1, 160 Hyacinth-pot, new, 17 Hydrangea japonica, 200 Hypnum proliferum, No. 4, 160
Mussezenda macrophylla, 198
Pleroma Kunthiana, 126 Salvia azurea, 32
Tank for hot water, ground plan of, 253
Veronica Lindleyana, 248
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A
LELIA MAJALIS.
(The May-flower Leelia.}
Class. GYNANDRIA.
Order.
MONANDRIA.
Natural Order.
ORCHIDACE.®.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Sepals explanate, lanceolate, equal. Petals larger, slightly dissimilar in form. Labellum three-parted, lamellate, overwrapping thie column, Column wingless, fleshy, front surface chan- nelled. Anthers eight-celled. Pollen-masses eight. Caudicule four, elastic.
Speciric CHARAcTER.—Plani an epiphyte. Pseudo-
lanceolate, acute. PetaJs more than thrice the width, oblong-lanceolate, waved at the margins, and bent backward. Jip three-lobed; lateral lobes leaning against the sides of the column which they almost encircle, rounded at the extremities, where they spread open ; intermediate lobe much larger than the others, deeply emarginate, unguiculate, and slightly notched
on the margin. Colwmn shorter than the lateral lobes
of the lip. SynonyME.—Cattleya Grahami.
bulbs ovate, or spherical, faintly wrinkled; when young, clothed with whitish membranous scales. Leaves oblong, acute, thick, shorter than the scape. Scape from six inches to a foot long, nodding, round. Sepals
From the figures already published of this charming species, the plant which supplied the subject for our representation appears to differ in having very much larger flowers ; but whether this is a property naturally inherent in it, or merely produced by some peculiarity in its treatment, we are unable to say. The pen- cillings of the lip are also more numerous, whilst in the others dots predominate. It flowered in the nursery of Messrs. Loddiges last May, when our artist took the accompanying delineation.
Mr. Bateman, in his admirable work on the Orchidaceze of Guatemala, repre- sents it as producing three or four flowers on a scape; but hitherto none of the specimens flowered in England, have emitted more than a solitary flower on each stalk.
The same work also informs us, that it is abundant in the more temperate parts of Mexico, and is much esteemed by the natives for the consummate beauty and elegance of its blossoms. Amongst them it is known by the familiar appellation of “ Flor de Mayo,” the signification of which has been preserved in the specific title, The first specimens received in England were transmitted by Dr. Schiede, and liberally distributed by Professor Schlechtendahl. Subsequently it was gathered in Oaxaco by Mr Ross, and forwarded to Mr. Barker ; and large quan- tities collected more recently by Mr. Hartweg, in very elevated districts, in San
VOL. XII.—NO, CXXXIII. B
2 LZELIA MAJALIS.
Bartolo,—where the thermometer occasionally sinks below the freezing point,— have been received by the Horticultural Society. Since then, it has been imported by different individuals, and is now, comparatively, a common species in Orchida- ceous collections.
Speaking of the situation in which Mr. Hartweg discovered it, Mr. Bateman observes :—‘“‘ This habitat, so unusual for an Orchidaceous plant, will go far to explain the ill success that has hitherto attended its cultivation, for while it is comparatively easy to imitate the close and humid atmosphere in which most of the tribe are found, it is infinitely more difficult to provide a substitute for the pure air and frequent changes of temperature in which these mountain epiphytes would seem to delight. Indeed so signal in the case of Lelia majalis has been the failure of even the most experienced cultivators, that although there was scarce a collection that did not contain it, still did it obstinately refuse to flower, except in the solitary instance when it yielded to the skilful treatment of Mr. Dillwyn Llewellyn, of Penllergare.”
The species still continues to manifest a decided unwillingness to flower, and very few of the many who possess plants, have yet been fortunate enough to succeed with it. The routine practised by Mr. Llewellyn is well worth attention, and we therefore subjoin a brief outline, as detailed in the work above quoted. The plants were potted in a rough fibrous peat, and kept almost dry in a low tempera- ture until the buds began to enlarge, when they were supplied with a hot and humid atmosphere, and regularly watered till the buds attained their full size. Moisture was then gradually withdrawn, and the plants again removed to a cool atmosphere.
It may, perhaps, prove beneficial to place the plants in a dry frame, after the season's growth has acquired maturity, and expose them fully to the air during
fine weather.
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ALONA CQGELESTIS.
(Cocerulean-flowered Alona.)
Class. Order.
PENTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA, Natural Order.
NOLANACEZ.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Corolla campanulate. Ovaria slightly upwards, almost teretiform, channelled be- numerous, one to six-celled. Nuts or Drupes one to neath, fascicled. Peduncles nearly twice the length six celled, with fewer seeds; opening at the base. of the calyx, hairy. Calyx five-cleft, segments nearly
SPECIFIC CHARACTER,—Plant a somewhat succulent, equal, and terete at the point. Corolla with pilose branching, evergreen shrub. Leaves sessile, curving plaits. Nuts sometimes many-celled.
REPEATED attempts have been made to introduce some of the fine shrubby plants—till very recently referred to the genus Nolana—which have been known to exist on the shores of the Pacific about Coquimbo and Valparaiso; all these, however, failed in their object, till in the spring of 1843, Mr. Best, gardener to Alexander Park, Esq., of Merton Grove, Surrey, (now of the Abbey Nursery, Reading, Berks,) having procured a packet of seeds collected by Mr. Bridges, was fortunate enough to rear the plant from which we were obligingly furnished with the opportunity of preparing the annexed coloured figure.
Besides the present, Dr. Lindley has enumerated in the new genus, Alona, five other species of a shrubby character from the same neighbourhood, together with two annual and one herbaceous perennial species. It is worthy of remark, that all the shrubby kinds grow erect and have terete leaves, whilst the remainder are prostrate with plain foliage.
The habit of A. celestis is that of a bushy evergreen shrub, emitting numerous lateral shoots, and capable of being kept densely compact. The flowers are large, and always produced near the tip of the shoots, and continue for eight or nine days after expanding before they begin to fade. From the numerous flower-buds in various stages of development which we observed on Mr. Best's plants, it is evidently a free-flowering species; and a large plant in full bloom must be a magnificent object. Mr. B.’s largest specimen is already about two feet high, and proportionately bushy, and having flowered when little more than twelve months from seed, favours the opinion that as it acquires age it will be as prodigal of its
4 ALONA CCiLESTIS.
blossoms as the common Petunia. Young plants not more than a few inches high, raised from cuttings during the last summer, flowered in the autumn.
That it will bear exposure in the summer season has been fully proved by several specimens in pots which have flowered without any protection. It will, doubtless, therefore, be a most useful addition to the flower-garden ; and although the shoots naturally assume an upright posture, they may easily be bent down, and pegged to the ground ; and by thus keeping them in a recumbent position the emission of laterals will be encouraged, and the disposition to bloom increased.
In its pot-culture, Mr. B. finds it indispensable to maintain a uniform humidity about the roots. It grows well in a good friable loam mixed with peat in nearly equal proportions. Fully one-third of the depth of the pot should be filled with potsherds, and a quantity also mixed with the soil, as the roots delight to cling around and run amongst them. Water must be liberally supplied, as the leaves soon turn yellow and fall off, if the soil is permitted to get in the least dry. In the winter season, it is necessary to keep them in an airy part of the green- house, but even then they require the mould to be kept rather moist.
It may be propagated by cuttings prepared in the ordinary way, which take root immediately, when inserted in sand, with a gentle bottom-heat. Mr. B. has already got a tolerable stock of saleable plants at the Reading Nursery.
The generic appellation is merely a transposition of the letters in the primi- tive name, Nolana, which is derived from nolo, a little bell, alluding to the
campanulate form of the flowers.
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EPACRIS MINIATA.
(Vermilion Epactis.)
Class. Order, PENTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA, Natural Order.
EPACRIDACEA.
GrNERIC CHaRACTER.—Calyx coloured, many brac- SPeciFIc CHARACTER.—Plané an erect, branching, teate; bracteas of the same texture as the calyx. Co- evergreen shrub. Branches tomentose. Leaves sessile, rolla tubular, limb beardless. Stamens epipetalous. cordate, mucronate, smooth. Flowers solitary, pedi- Anthers peltate above the middle. Hypogynous scales cellate, pendulous. Calyx lobes and bracteas aristate, five. Capsules having the placentas adnate to the cen- sublanate at the margins. Corolla cylindrical, four tral column.—Don’s Gardening and Botany. times as long as the calyx, with an expanding limb.
AmonG the many fine things which have been produced during the last season, there is perhaps none which appear likely to acquire a more extensive celebrity, than the present fine species of Epacris. It is unquestionably very superior to every other of the numerous members of this delightful genus of greenhouse plants which have hitherto been detected. The nearest approach to it which our collec- tions possess, are the EL. grandiflora, and the several slightly differing varieties comprehended under the name of E. autumnale. But these fall far short of the brilliant hue of EL. maniata.
Dr. Lindley says, “It is very doubtful whether the plant can be regarded in any other light than a beautiful variety of Epacris grandiflora, We are unable, indeed, after a diligent comparison, to discover any distinction beyond the more bristly nature of the sepals and bracts, which are moreover rather more woolly at the edge. In E. grandiflora these parts are sharp-pointed, but in this they termi- nate in a slender bristle. This is too slender a difference on which to found a specific distinction ; but the fruit which we have not seen may be peculiar, and at any rate the point may remain open for further investigation.”
It is a robust free-growing kind, and branches liberally. It seems likely, moreover, that, by a little management, flowering plants may be had for the oreater part, if not for the whole of the year. Messrs. Loddiges have had a succession of specimens in bloom since last May, with scarcely an interruption ; and amore charming plant can scarcely be imagined than one of these, arrayed with its white-tipped vermilion blossoms, extending in lines along the branches for a foot or eighteen inches,
6 EPACRIS MINIATA.
It is found wild on the eastern coast of New South Wales, from whence seeds were forwarded, by a friend of the Messrs. Loddiges, to the Hackney Nursery. The botanist before quoted observes :—“ It has been reported that it is one of the many discoveries made by Mr. Gunn, but we do not see either it or the E. gran- diflora in any of the extensive collections made by that great investigator of the Tasmanian Flora.”
We may here advert to a prevalent source of mischief amongst the delicate- rooted plants of this tribe—permitting a hot summer's sun to shine direct upon the pots. Much of the sickly and stunted appearance which these plants assume, springs from the injury communicated to the roots in this way. A bright burning sun should always be carefully intercepted ; and where the plants are set out of the houses for the summer, means should also be provided for protecting them from long-continued or heavy-dashing rains. Both these ends may be accom- plished by a temporary frame-work furnished with a moveable canvas covering.
Cuttings furnish a ready means of increase; and they may be taken off at almost any season, but usually take root most easily in autumn or early spring.
The entire stock is at present in the hands of Messrs. Loddiges, who, we
understand, intend letting it out about May or June next.
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ACHIMENES HIRSUTA.
(Hairy Achimenes.)
Class. DIDYNAMITA,
Order. ANGIOSPERMIA.
Natural Order. GESNER ACE.
GeENERic CHaracteR.—Calyx with its tube adnate to the ovary ; limb five-parted ; lobes lanceolate. Co- rolla tubularly funnel-shaped, often swollen at the base ; limb five-cleft; lobes sub-equal, sub-rotund. Stamens four, didynamous; anthers not cohering. Ru- diments of the fifth stamen situated below the base of the corolla. Nectary glandulose in a small ring. Style
Speciric CHARACTER.—Plant an herbaceous peren- vial, with tuberous roots. Stem erect, simple, hairy. Panicles bulbiferous. Leaves cordate, serrated on the margin, and hairy on both surfaces, Pedunele solitary, as long as the leaves. Corolla a long, nodding tube, with a flat limb; segments rounded and serru- lated at the edges.
slightly thickened towards the stigma, oblique or with two separate lobes. Capsule nearly two-celled, two- valved; placentas parietal, subsessile.
Few genera are more popular, and deservedly so, at the present day with the inquirers after truly valuable ornamental plants, than Achimenes. The gorgeous specimens of the several recent augmentations of new species comprehended within its pale, which now form such a conspicuous feature in all summer exhibitions of floricultural skill, bear undeniable testimony of the sterling worth of the genus ; and it is with pleasure that we here give prominence to another of its specious members.
British collections are indebted to a sheer accident for the possession of this engaging plant. The seeds or small tubers had been fortuitously scattered amongst the materials which surrounded a collection of Orchidaceous plants received from Guatemala, by Messrs. Henderson, of Pine-apple Place, in the early part of 1843 ; and these having been preserved and placed in a warm atmosphere, young plants were soon discovered springing up amongst them, which at first were thought to be A. pedunculata, but on producing their flowers in the following autumn, proved a distinct and entirely new species.
Its affinities are with A. pedunculata, which it very closely resembles in many respects. The stem, however, is more robust; and the internodes being shorter, and the leaves larger, it has a better furnished appearance. Like its ally it produces many scaly bulbs or tubers from the bosom of the leaves, especially on the upper part of the plant; and these are always most numerous as winter approaches.
Flowering specimens vary in height from one to two feet and a half.
8 ACHIMENES HIRSUTA.
We were kindly supplied with samples for our drawing both by Messrs. Hen- derson and R. G. Loraine, Esq., of Wallington Lodge. In the collection of the latter gentleman we noticed several plants last autumn with flowers of a much brighter tint than usual. This was probably in a large measure the result of a complete exposure to light, as the species has always a dull and clouded appearance when cultivated in frames, or shady situations. But the system of furnishing warmth to the roots in conjunction with atmospheric heat, constantly practised by Mr. Loraine, has undoubtedly a very considerable influence on the colour of flowers.
The prolific sources of multiplication possessed by this plant, enable the propa- gator to increase it to an almost infinite extent. In addition to the facilities of extension afforded by the scaly tubers of the stem, it may be propagated by the leaves like a Gloainia, and also by the underground tubers. The last, however,
produce the strongest plants, and are sufficiently numerous for ordinary wants,
The general hairiness of all its parts has prompted the specific appellation.
S
THEORY OF HEAT AND ITS PRACTICAL APPLICATION.
THE application of heat becomes daily of more importance: we can scarcely look into a paper or a periodical without meeting with some announcement of a new adaptation of the hot-water processes to the heating of horticultural erections.
The philosophy is the same in all; for it is a principle of the law of radiation, established in practice, that fuel, however applied, can afford but a certain quantum of heat. Hence, no one should be deceived, or suffer himself to be misled, either by the assurances of others, or by the flattering suggestions of his own hopes, that more heat can be radiated than the quantity of combustible elements can yield. Whether, therefore, a good brick flue, led all round a house, terminating in a well- adapted shaft; or a series of iron or earthen pipes, or a tank and a tiled channel for the flow of hot water, be the media of conduction, the velume of flame, or incandescent matter, in the primary furnace, can produce no more or no less radiant heat than is equivalent to the quantity of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and sulphur, consumed, and chemically changed.
There are, however, modifications of apparatus, which will economise and duly - distribute the volume of heat produced ; and as economy is of necessity, as well as choice, our governing principle in every branch of practical horticulture, as, more- over, our circle of observation becomes more and more extended, it will be the aim of the present notice to point out some of those modes of appliance, which cannot fail to be useful, and to a certain extent consistent with liberal economy.
In the first place, however, the object to be pursued, and the quality of the heat to be produced, should be maturely considered; for it is anything but wise to employ but one species of machinery for every purpose. If the object be the growth of successive pine-apples, a hot-water tank, and channels constructed of porous materials, must be most propitious, inasmuch as they keep up a degree of atmospheric moisture, which extends nearly to saturation, The Pine revels in vapour, and go, in floriculture, does the Gardenia, and a great variety of some of the most choice and beautiful plants which bear winter forcing. In a house so constructed, we now see Gesnera, Gloxinia, Azalea indica, Euphorbia Jacquini- flora, Plumbago rosea: the last-named plant has, indeed, bloomed for several months, producing two hundred and more blossoms on a single pendulary spike. The moisture of such a house produces neither mouldiness nor decay, provided a temperature of 60” be maintained ; even, during a season of bitter wind, total gloom, and severe frost, like that which was experienced during the whole course of December.
The chief point which ought to be required is the presence of the flue within the house, for by this condition the whole of the heat, be the fuel what it may, is appropriated. The furnace-boilers, that directly claim consideration, are cylindrical, made by a workman, little known, but who has erected a few for
VOL, XII.—NO. CXXXIII. C
10 THEORY OF HEAT AND ITS PRACTICAL APPLICATION.
private gentlemen. They resemble two glass argand-lamp burners of different breadths, the smaller placed within the larger. Thus, supposing the small inner cylinder to be eight inches wide in the clear, and the outer one twelve inches, a space (allowing for the thickness of the metal) of two to three inches remains, and this space contains the water. The two cylinders are united at top and at bottom by rims, either brazed, if of copper, or by process of casting in the mould, if of iron. The bottom of the inner cylinder rests upon a case, into which slides a sort of gridiron grating, on which the fire rests. An exit, or flow-pipe, passes from the outer cylinder, half an inch below its rim, which space is therefore occupied by a thin stratum of air, that, by expanding under the force of heat, propels the water into the pipes or channels, round which it circulates, till it arrives at the return- pipe; ¢his enters the boiler near its bottom by a rapid and steep inclination, thus insuring the flow of the water by the conjoint agency of atmospheric pressure and gravitation.
This simple machinery is excellent in its capabilities, but is susceptible of im- provement, as. we shall now endeavour to prove; but, in justice, it must be under- stood that there are no et ceteras in the charges; a distinct calculation can be made from the first; and a man, therefore, knows, to within a few shillings, what expenditure he must incur: a very important consideration this, since it would be easy to show from evidence that a party who has been induced to purchase a new- fashioned boiler of small dimensions, very specious at first sight, at the cost of five or six pounds, found himself, in the long run, charged above forty pounds, ere all the adjuncts were properly adapted, and in the very first winter an entire crop of grapes was lost in consequence of the utter uncertainty of the fire, which, if minutely attended to, raged on to the temperature of 100° to 120°, or died out at once, if not continually fed, at a loss (during frost) of 80°.
The vice of our cylinder furnaces is, that they require coke as fuel, and this implies undeviating attention. There is, however, a boiler of new construction announced, on which the fire acts within and all round the outside of the case of water. At a future period we may be enabled to notice the machinery more particularly ; but for the present will endeavour to describe a furnace which will work both flue and water channels by the aid of the commonest and least expensive fuel, and it is one that any gentleman or grower for the market can have constructed under his own superintendence, by an iron founder and intelligent labourer who knows how to handle a trowel with precision.
The model was suggested by inspecting two cast iron furnaces, with double doors and grating corresponding in appearance with the common brick ovens used in forcing houses. ‘Their original cost was 10/. each ; but they had already gone through the work of vinery-forcing for twenty years without repair. Now, upon this principle, let the boiler be a cast-iron oven, but instead of being single, let it be cased, or double on the two sides and top, leaving a space in front for the door, and another at the further end for the exit of the smoke.
THEORY OF HEAT AND ITS PRACTICAL APPLICATION. tl]
The further opening should contract so as to form a neck like that of a flue. The flow-water pipe should pass from the upper side of the case. The lower or return-pipe ought to enter at the lowest part of the end, or at one of thesides. The fire will, of course, occupy the centre of the furnace, and may be made to consume coal, cinders, or breeze. Thus, there will be an oblong oven, with a door fitting the external or front orifice, and terminating in a cast-iron neck, passing into a perfectly sound brick flue, to run along the entire course of the back wall, and to enter the chimney-shaft at the further corner.
The dimensions of the furnace, the breadth of the water-case, and, in conse- quence, the volume of water to be employed, must be regulated by the size of the house, and the object which the gardener has in view. In our next article we shall show how much may be effected by varied modifications, all done at home, and without the affectation of minutize which too frequently is paid for at gold price, and to little purpose.
What is now urged, as matters of primary importance, is, first, the absolute necessity of husbanding a// the induced heat,—second, the combustion of cheap, common fuel, which can be kept alight from closing time till eight o'clock the following morning, avoiding the cruelty of night labour, and every common source of anxiety.
Experience has proved to us, by two examples, that coke fire cannot be main- tained during night in cylinders, and thus it becomes troublesome and costly ; and if a flue be led from a coke furnace, it becomes hot to a small distance only, and, therefore, does not possess all the advantages derivable from cheaper fuel.
Hot water, as a system, is beautiful and effective, with stout iron pipes, it also combines the properties of the dry flue, and free from sulphurous vapour ; but then it is very expensive, and, therefore, at the command of the opulent only. With earthen pipes, or cemented brick channels, water produces much vapour, repulsive of the red spider, and, as before stated, very genial to a variety of plants. But it appears less favourable, if not inimical to the vinery at the time when the fruit is becoming mature; and also to every plant which suffers from a vaporous atmosphere.
For all the objects of propagation, water conducted, first, through a good, slated tank, and thence around the house, produces an admirable effect. The equable distribution of heat is a point of primary importance, and herein a flue cannot compete. It obviates the necessity of fermenting materials, and thus gets rid of leaves, tan, &c., with their endless mutations, and broods of insects. Upon the tank, a bed of sand and bruised charcoal becomes a sweet and unchanging medium of bottom heat, and nothing infests an erection so warmed but the green fly, which is easily kept under by tobacco-paper, prepared with, and retaining, a small proportion of the tobacco, and which also consumes without subjecting the gardener to the inconvenience, if not danger, of superintending the fumigation.
12
HINTS FOR PROMOTING THE FERTILITY OF CLIMBERS.
Tur free production of flowers by many species of stove and greenhouse climbers has long been a desideratum with cultivators, and various schemes have been devised to overcome the difficulty, without however, except in a partial degree, attaining any extensively useful results. We still find in a majority of instances that peculiar species, and these by no means a very circumscribed number, manifest a decided unwillingness to disclose their flowers, or to disclose them in sufficient abundance to render them the gorgeous and attractive objects which the loveliness of individual blossoms justifies us in considering them likely to prove, if a more fertile habit could be induced. And, indeed, we are not alone dependent on mere supposition for the truth of this, for the accounts which travellers bring of the profuse inflorescence and magnificent appearance which some of these very plants carry in their native wilds, fully demonstrate that the fault does not entirely he in a naturally unproductive constitution, but rather emanates from our own ignorance of the requisite conditions, or in the partial and erroneous fulfilment of them. This is still further corroborated by particular plants, occasionally, as it were, through purely accidental treatment, becoming unexpectedly adorned with a profuse array of bloom.
By careful observations and inquiries into the circumstances which have once produced such pleasing results, and the manner in which they have acted upon the constitution of the species, nearly all the late advancements in the art of culture have been acquired. And though in some cases these may at first thought appear to be a complete departure from Nature ; if they be scrutinously examined, we may confidently assume, that however opposite they may appear in their character from the modus operandi of Nature, they are really and truly nothing more than a nearer approach to the same proportion of different agencies that exist in the climate of their native home. Thus we are here unable to supply the same amount of solar light, which plants enjoy in tropical countries ; and we can only furnish them with an equal amount of heat or of moisture, in the proportion which these agents naturally bear to each other.
We have offered these preliminary observations by way of preparing the reader for the suggestions we shall presently have to submit, which, being some- what out of the ordinary line of expedients, might, on a superficial examination, be considered fanciful. It must be remembered that in the artificial treatment of plants, 16 is rather the application of these conditions or principles by which certain results are obtained, than an actual and strict adherence to the particular manner in which they are accomplished in a state of nature, that the cultivator should study to observe.
The most frequent, and, indeed, almost the sole reason of the non-production of flowers by many species of climbing plants, is, unquestionably, a state of excessive
HINTS FOR PROMOTING THE FERTILITY OF CLIMBERS. le
exuberance. Thus, we continually meet with plants growing year after year in a vigorous and apparently perfectly healthy state, without ever producing flowers, or the least appearance of a nearer approach to a flowering condition. Some climbers when allowed unlimited space for their roots, will extend themselves to fifty or sixty feet in length without evidencing the slightest disposition to bloom; and as it is necessary in most cases, and desirable in all, to confine them within a far more definite space, unless some means of counteracting such luxuriance and promoting a florescent habit can be provided, these plants are unavoidably discarded from collections—a mode of getting rid of a difficulty, which, it is to be feared, is oftener adopted, than experiments to obviate it.
We have already hinted that an unlimited space for the ramification of roots is one of the primary causes of undue luxuriance. To such an extent is the power of space a cause of the excessive production of branches and leaves, that it has frequently been considered as the only obstacle to the production of flowers; and the benefit derived from cramping the roots in pots is conclusive evidence of the partial efficiency of confinement; though, on the other hand, the frequency of failure, even with a limited range, is enough to show the futility of trusting entirely to it. In conjunction with space, a highly enriched soil tends yet more to augment superfluous growth. In this case, as in the animal kingdom, when nutriment is furnished too liberally for the power of assimilation, a plethoric habit is encouraged, which, instead of being healthy, is a state the most liable to disease, if, indeed, it be not in itself a disease.
It is evident, then, that one of the first operations of the culturist must be aimed at the reduction of the means of acquiring a superfluous amount of food ; but it must not however be expected that this will at once in all cases prove sufficient to obviate the deficiency in the quantity of inflorescence, though it is a direct means of doing so. And it is necessary, moreover, that the supply of nourishment be not withdrawn suddenly, to an excessive degree, or the conse- quences will be equally pernicious to fertility. A certain amount of nutritive matter in some way proportioned to the already acquired vigour of growth, is necessary to the formation of those secretions upon which the ultimate disclosure of blossoms depends.
Bottom-heat is undoubtedly a most important agent in furthering the abundant flowering of tender climbers, and, indeed, it is in some measure an essential to the successful treatment of all plants. Many of the methods of creating it, are inapplicable on a large scale; and it is often wholly impracticable to apply them in the summer season in an ordinary greenhouse, without preducing injurious effects on a majority of its occupants. And even though this objection should be overcome, it is still liable to assist excessive growth, rather than flowers, unless some degree of limitation is placed on the sources of nourishment in conjunction with it.
Much may undoubtedly be effected towards diminishing vigour by imposing a
14 HINTS FOR PROMOTING THE FERTILITY OF CLIMBERS.
check on the ascent of the sap through peculiar modes of bending and training the shoots; but these ought only to be regarded as auxiliaries, and not as a main dependence. The aphorism ‘‘ Prevention is preferable to cure,’ should never be slighted ; for it is better at once to cut off the source, than to attempt to stop a flowing stream.
A few months ago, Mr. Hoare, the well-known writer on the Vine, published a new system of managing the roots of that plant, which if not applicable in its widest sense to many climbing plants, may be applied in a modified degree with a reasonable assurance of success ; and to the consideration of this, we would now direct attention.
Mr. Hoare’s method for the Vine is to construct compartments for each plant of bricks cemented together, and with a flooring of the same material, so as to prevent the roots from penetrating beyond them. These are filled entirely with equal proportions, well mingled together, of broken bricks, charcoal, lumps of mortar and bones, the three former generally in fragments about the size of a hen’s egg, and well soaked in liquid manure for some time previous to use. Smaller or larger pieces may also be added ; this should be in some measure regulated by the size of the compartment ; and it is necessary that the whole be very compactly placed together. When this work is accomplished, they are covered up with bricks as before set in cement, with the exception of a space where they are left loose for the insertion of the plant, and the administration of fluid.
The advantages claimed for this method, are, that it presents a continual source of food which is never in excess, or, at least, is so conditioned that the plants can rarely obtain an overabundant supply. The substances which afford it are always moist, but never wet, a state which necessarily renders them a much warmer medium than ordinary earths ; and whilst the roots of a plant are thus placed in a warmer temperature, they are also less liable to be affected by any occasional depression of the atmospheric temperature.
The extensive absorbent powers, and the capability of retaining moisture possessed by brick and charcoal, must be well known to every scientific cultivator. The same powers are also in a large degree common to old decayed mortar ; hence when those materials have laid in urine, and are mixed together with a proportion of bones—which are in themselves a manure of the most lasting character,—a fund of nourishment is stored up which is almost exhaustless, and is represented to furnish means of nourishment and facilities for growth, beyond that which can be obtained from a much larger bulk of mere soil.
Although this method is expressly intended by Mr. Hoare for the management of the Vine, we entertain little fear of the success of its application to many climbing plants with strong roots, which have hitherto been found very difficult to flower, or to restrain within moderate limits; but we apprehend 1% will be necessary to employ a larger number of smaller fragments than is recommended for the Vine.
HINTS FOR PROMOTING THE FERTILITY OF CLIMBERS. ‘15
Perhaps, however, the utility of these substances may be greater and more general when used in conjunction with a small proportion of loose earth, wood- ashes, rotten wood, and leaves in a partial state of decomposition. And in this respect we can speak more advisedly, as our remarks are not merely speculative, but founded on past experiences. In adopting it, the earth need not be mingled with the entire mass, but merely incorporated with the upper portion of it, to assist the plant in its earliest efforts to establish itself; for it is then that a portion of earth seems most essential, and it will through time by the continual ramifi- cation of roots, and occasional waterings, be carried in small quantities amongst the lower part of the mass. It is better, too, that it should be primarily employed only in the upper stratum, in order that a larger amount of the finer fibres may be encouraged in the vicinity of the surface.
In greenhouses, where from their construction the climbers are often un- avoidably planted beneath the stages, or in other situations beyond the reach of direct solar light, the use of any earth of a retentive character cannot be too highly censured ; and it is in such cases as these, that confined compartments and the use of extremely porous and absorbent substances are the most conspicuously beneficial. We must not, however, be understood to recommend thrusting the roots and lower parts of plants beneath the stages, where they are, by consequence, exposed to all the drip from the pots above, as well as to other injurious influences, but only to recommend the practice above enjoined as an ameliorative, when these conditions are inevitable.
But it is not alone in the greenhouse and stove that these and similar systems operate favourably in the furtherance of a flower-bearing maturity. They are as prominently evinced in the open air; and many plants which in common soils rarely display flowers, are thus brought to disclose them in profusion. The Tropeolum tuberosum, a plant which, especially in the northern and more inland counties, can scarcely in ordinary summers be induced to develop blossoms if planted in an open border, but continues growing with unabated exuberance throughout the season, is an illustration of this fact. Even in loose lime and brick rubbish alone, if unconfined at the roots, it pushes with an excess of vigour. But when the roots are limited to a small space filled with a like material, its luxuri- ance is sufficiently reduced to allow of a liberal emission of bloom. A like result attends the same management of the rampant Cobwa scandens and similar plants, and the benefits are not confined to increasing the quantity of bloom, and circum- scribing the growth of the plant; but the flowers of several attain a brighter colour, and are produced at an earlier season, which is no unimportant thing in the culture of half-hardy plants. In these two latter particulars there is no plant, perhaps, more beneficially altered than the old Scarlet Pelargonium, now so extensively grown in the flower-garden.
For plants like these, however, unless they are continually cultivated in the same place, the yearly formation of confined spaces would present a formidable
16 IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOWER POTS.
obstacle ; the material, nevertheless, might be employed with some advantage, and especially in damp situations. But it is principally beside conservative walls, trellis walks, and other situations where the plants are either permanent, or renewed every year, that it will be completely available in the open garden.
On such plants as Butea frondosa, and B. superba, the beautiful Bugainvillea spectabelis, and the large trumpet-flowered Solandra grandiflora, all of which are handsome stove plants that grow to an amazing length when planted in a border, and are seldom seen to flower, the system appears calculated to exert considerable influence. And in conjunction with a judicious course of pruning and routinal management, we may confidently expect that many of the so-called stove climbers, such as the Stephanotis, several species of Passiflora and Bignonia, may be induced to thrive and blossom freely in a greenhouse. It is an essentially different practice from growing in poor soil in a small pot exposed to the drying and varying action of the atmosphere, and yielding an uncertain and inconstant amount of nourishment. That is a starving system, and is followed by a yellow, sickly appearance ; this, a limitation of growth, without disturbing the health.
IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOWER POTS.
In a former volume we furnished some suggestions for improving flower-pots, and directed attention to an improvement patented by Mr. Hunt. Since then the principles upon which our remarks rested have been more generally acknowledged ; and the benefits accruing from planting in shallow pots, and facilitating a circulation of air through the soil, are now no longer matters for speculation, but the confirmed principles of practice. And it is with pleasure that we find our hints have been carried out by Mr. Hunt, in conjunction with the leading features of his original patented articles; and as these are executed after various handsomely ornamented patterns, as well as in the common material, they are equally available for the green- house or the drawing-room. For such plants as Gloxinias, Achimenes, and Tropzolums, they cannot be too highly esteemed.
But whilst for the cultivation of many exotics, shallow pots are thus highly rated, we must reserve a special exception in the case of truly bulbous plants, which push downwards long fibrous roots without lateral rootlets, such asthe Nar- cissus and Amaryllis tribes. A deep pot is notoriously the most appropriate for these plants. Exclusive of this point, however, the remarks which have been advanced on the patent pot with respect to other plants, are equally applicable to bulbs; and to remedy this exception, they are now manufactured of a greater depth, specially for these plants.
These modifications cannot fail to be useful; but the improvement which we now desire more particularly to notice, is Mr. Hunt's New Hyacinth Pots. These
IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOWER POTS. 17
are of a similar shape to the Hyacinth glasses in common use, and are executed in China-ware after various patterns, forming, by themselves, an elegant ornament.
Bulb-glasses are open to two objections, —they admit light to the roots, which ought to be kept in darkness, and they scarcely allow of any neat support for the foliage and flower-stems. The former of these is partially obviated by darkly-
coloured glass ; but both are effectually removed by Mr. Hunt’s pot. They totally exclude light, and a neat con- veniency for support is provided. The latter consists of three brass wires, which are bent to fit the mouth of the pot, and rise about five or six inches above it. They are fixed to the pot by passing through holes made above the neck, the lower end resting in a socket provided on the exterior, as shown in the accom- panying woodcut.
Another advantage necessarily fol- lows from this arrangement. When bulbous plants are cultivated in water, the bulbs ought never to be in immediate contact with it. But where the care of this matter is intrusted to persons un- acquainted with the nature of plants, it is not unfrequently neglected. The perforation, however, necessary to fix the wires, provides a way of escape, before the water can reach the bulb; at least, when bulbs of a fair size are selected. It might, nevertheless, be still more effectually guarded against by making another perforation immediately below the neck.
Each of these advantages, when viewed disjunctively, may appear some- what trivial to a superficial mind, and incapable of conferring any important benefit. But no one will be disposed to
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despise minor auxiliaries who has been accustomed to think of them in their proper and genuine light, as so many indispensable agents in compassing great things. It is a strict observance of lesser points that fills up the chasm between good and bad cultivation, and we may consider the new Hyacinth-pots as another progressive step-
VOL. XII.—NO. CXXXIII,
18
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
ARN ae . NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR DECEMBER AND JANUARY.
AcnimE'Nes pi’cTa. This splendid plant, introduced from Mexico by the Horticultural Society, is “ amongst the greatest ornaments of our stoves during the autumnal and early winter months. Nothing can exceed the beauty of the foliage, whether we consider the velvety and orange hue of the pubescence, or the rich deep green of the ground-work, Nor are the flowers wanting in charms ; they are copious though solitary, from the axils of all the upper leaves, yellow, gorgeously tinged and spotted with red.” Sir William Hooker thinks it rather referable to Gesnera than to Achimenes; he says, ‘‘In habit it is surely closely allied to Gesnera Zebrina.” (Although the flowers are often solitary, it is but just to add, that under superior management they are generally produced four and five from the axilla of each of the upper leaves, and we have seen as many as seven and eight together on a plant, grown by Mr. Green, gardener to Sir E. Antrobus, at Cheam. It is, in fact, a most profuse blooming plant.) Bot. Mag., 4126.
ANEMONE OBTUSILO'BA. A pretty Indian alpine herbaceous plant with white flowers, identical with the 4. Goveniana, of Dr. Wallich, and nearly allied to A. narcissiflora, from which it differs in its longer flower-stalks, and the less prominent divisions of the leaf. “The native situation of the species is stated by Dr. Royle to be the Choor mountain of the Himalayas, at elevations of from 10,000 to 12,000 feet, flowering in May.’’ It is perfectly hardy, growing about six inches high, and well adapted for pot-culture, or a shady or damp situation on rock-work. It is easily inereased by seeds, and flowers in June and July. The plants in this country were reared at the Horticultural Society’s Garden from seeds presented by the Directors of the East India Company. Bot. Reg., 65.
ANGULO'A CLO'WeEsiI. Collected in Columbia by Linden, in 1842, and first flowered in Europe by the Rev. J. Clowes, of Broughton Hall, Manchester, in March, 1844. The flower scapes support but a single blossom each ; as many, however, as four or five are sometimes emitted from one pseudo-bulb. The main difference between Anguloa and Lycaste consists in this, that in Lyeaste the lateral sepals are placed edge to edge, in the manner of a true Mazillaria, but in Anguloa they overlap each other considerably ; this peculiarity causes a striking difference in the appearance of the flowers of the two genera, and, in fact, gives that of Anguloa the look of a Mormodes.” Bot. Reg., 63.
: ARMERIA CEPHALO'TES. In the plant figured under this name we find the Statice pseudo-
armeria, published in our last year’s volume. It appears that, besides these two names, it has also been enumerated by different botanical writers as 4. latifolia, S. cephalotes, and S. armeria major. Sir W.J. Hooker observes that though, perhaps, long lost to our collections, it was originally introduced to the Kew Gardens in 1775 by Nicholas de Jacquin ; “and was probably, previous to that time, detected at Algarbia, in Portugal, by Masson, while collecting for his Majesty George the Third. It seems to be a native of several parts of the coast of Portugal, and also, according to Des Fontaines, of Barbary also.” Bot. Mag., 4128.
BackHo'USIA MYRTIFO'LIA. ‘' This very pretty greenhouse shrub, its conspicuous petaloid calycine segments giving the idea at first sight of large corollas to the flowers, was found by Mr. James Backhouse in the Illawara district of New South Wales; and not being referable to any myrtaceous genus yet described,” adds Sir W. Hooker, “ Mr. Harvey and myself are anxious to dedicate it to our mutual friend now mentioned, who, amidst his various and arduous labours of love, during a voyage to, and journeyings in, the various parts of Australia and South Africa, still found leisure to collect and to describe in manuscript many interesting plants, which his pre- vious botanical acquirements enabled him to do with judgment. The greater number of these specimens are placed partly in the hands of Mr. Brown, and partly in those of the editor of this work. Less perfect specimens of the same plant were detected by Mr. Allan Cunningham, in a state of bud only, ‘South of the Colony’ of New South Wales, and marked, ‘allied to Eugenia elliptica ;? and what confirms the stability of the genus, is the discovery by Mr. Allan Cunningham of a second species (which exisis in Mr. J. Smith’s Herbarium) on the Hastingsriver. With
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. , 19
regard to the present individual, it has been introduced to our gardens by Mr. Low, of Clapton, to whom the Botanic Gardens of Kew owe the possession of it, and there it forms a small tree-like shrub, six to eight feet high.” According to Mr. Backhouse, it grows to a tree sixteen feet in height ; with slender branches, furnished with smooth ovate acuminate leaves, often ciliated at the margin. The white flowers are borne in corym»s, and are often produced on very small plants, soon after being struck from cuttings. Bot. Mag., 4133.
BarpBaceE Nia SQuaMa'TA. ‘This plant differs from B. tricolor and B. tomentosa, two unintro- duced species published by Martius, which it resembles in the colour of the flowers, and general size of the plant—* in the absence of clothing to its leaves, in the form of the flower, and espe- cially in the nature of the filament of the anther, which is here unusually short and broad, and can hardly be termed bifid.’’ It has a short, dichotomous stem, clothed with the scale-like remains of former leaves (from which it obtains the specific name); the perfect leaves vary from five to eight or nine inches in length, and grow in tufts at the top. The flower-stalks spring from amongst the terminal leaves, and each supports a single six-cleft blossom of an orange-red colour. The plants of this genus inhabit mountainous districis, and are usually found in dry exposed situations amongst micaceous schist, and on rock of other primeval formations, (See Vol. XL, p. 75.) Bot. Mag., 4136.
BEGo'\NIA RUBRICAU‘'LIS. It is a matter of regret that, of the numerous fine things imported to Britain, so many are received without any memoranda of their native countries and the situa- tions they occupy in a wild state. This is the case with the present plant,. which was received at the Birmingham Botanie Garden without name or clue to its origin. ‘The leaves are supported on fine red petioles rising directly from the ground, and are of an obliquely ovate form, undu- lated, sinuately lobed, and closely serrated and ciliated on the margin, of a full bright green, and wrinkled with reticulated veins. ‘The scapes are much longer than the leaves; paniculately branched above, with several large handsome biush-coloured flowers, suffused with a deeper tinge. The peduncles and pedicels, as well as the fruit, are of the same deep red which charac- terises the petioles and flower-scape ; and the tout ensemble bears a remarkably neat, distinct, and enlivening aspect. Bot. Mag., 4131.
EprpE/NpRuUM pDi'pus. “One of those innumerable species inhabiting South American forests to the enumeration of which there seems no end. It was imported by Messrs. Loddiges, from Brazil, and produced its densely clustered panicles of sweet-scented green, brown, and white flowersin January,1844. In many respects it approaches £. nutans, but its panicle is very much more compact, its colour is more that of #. paniculatum, and the form of its lip is different, the two terminal lobes being very narrow, and bowed back like the fore legs of the splay-footed truffle dogs.’’ It is a caulescent species with long flaccid and somewhat acuminate foliages and the many-flowered panicles of blossom assume a nodding direction. It belongs to the section Spathium, and will be more useful for the delicious sweetness which the flowers exhale, than for any showy trait they possess. Boi. Reg., 4,
E’rra vesirta. “ Of the shaggy EHrias this is one of the more remarkable, having so much the habit of a Dendrobiwm that it was so considered by Dr. Wallich ; for at the time of the publication of that indefatigable botanist’s laborious catalogue, it was not known that all the species of Dendrobium are hairless, or nearly so. What is not a little singular is, that these plants have very frequently tawny or reddish brown hairs, if they have any. The history of the production of such a colour would be a gocd subject for examination by some phyto-chemist. The flowers too are reddish brown externally, white inside, and hang down in pendulous spikes, which are longer than the leaves. The species is a native of the Indian Archipelago. Dr. Wallich’s collectors had it from Sincapore, and Mr. Cuming sent it from Manilla (2) to Messrs. Loddiges. It also occurs, in a small flowered state, among Mr. Cuming’s dried plants from the Phillipines, marked ‘ Laguna.’” In an ornamental light, the plant is chiefly remarkable for its neat and well clothed habit, as the blossoms are not favoured with any very attractive feature. It thrives better in a pot or basket than attached to a block of wood, and needs a warm, humid, and shaded atmosphere in summer, and the converse treatment in winter. Bot. Reg., 2.
GaYLussa‘CIA PSE‘UDO-vaccl’NIuM. A fine Andromeda-like plant with secund racemes of neat and showy globular crimson blossoms, imported by Messrs. Loddiges from Brazil. It is a woody stemmed shrub, with smooth elliptical foliage, and altogether constitutes an excellent greenhouse plant. Bot. Reg., 62.
20 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
GLOXI/NIA TUBIFLO'RA. ‘‘ This beautiful thing was raised in the Glasnevin gardens, from seeds received from Mr. Tweedie, of Buenos Ayres. Sir W. Hooker, however, suggests that it is really a native either of South Brazil or Paraguay. It is a charming greenhouse plant ; its lovely snow-white flowers being very agreeably scented.” It is “so unlike the Gloxinias of our gardens (with the exception of G. hirsuta, or indeed the Brazilian G. gracilis, which more resembles it), that it ean hardly be regarded as a genuine species of the genus, to which its naked inflorescence is much opposed.” “It cannot be a Gesnera because its corolla is only protuberant on one side, and because its anthers hold together when old; it cannot be an Achimenes because its anthers are joined together, and it has not a ring round the ovary; therefore it would appear that it must be a Gloxinia. And so Sir W. Hooker has considered it, observing, however, that it ‘seems to have nearly as strong a claim to be considered a Gesnera as a Gloxinia, or rather it appears almost to unite the two genera.’”’ An essential feature in the management of this plant is, to be careful to drain the pots well, and to choose a soil of such a texture that it may neither permit water to pass too quickly through it, nor yet retain it too long, by settling into a solid mass. A fair supply of water is needful to acquire vigour and maintain health, but any impedi- ment to its circulation is destructive of both. Bot. Reg., 3.
TxXioLi/RION MonTA‘NUM. “ This long-desired and very ornamental plant was sent to Spofforth by the kindness of J. Cartwright, Esq. He received it at Constantinople from Colonel Shiek, who with equal kindness exerted himself to discover it, where it was found, on the hills in the neighbourhood of Teheran. The bulbs are very remarkable, looking rather like large nuts with a dark chocolate-coloured smooth coat. When they are ready to vegetate, the fibres prepare to burst out at bottom with the same appearance as those of a tulip. The plants are perfectly hardy ; for having produced leaf in the autumn, and their growth having been encouraged by the unusual mildness of the first portion of the winter, they were not in the least discoloured by the snow and the very severe frosts of February ; and having flowered beautifully in May and June they perfected good seed in July. Whether or not it will be better to take up the bulbs to be dried in summer and reset them in autumn, is not yet ascertained ; but it will probably not be necessary. Its native region extends from Syria to the southern part of Songaria. The flowers are purplish blue, and nearly two inches from the tip of one segment to the tip of the opposite one. It is the Amaryllis montana of Redouté and the A. tatarica of Pallas. Bot. Reg., 66.
LapLa‘CEA SEMI-SERRA'TA. According to Martius, this plant forms a tree thirty or forty feet in height, in Brazil. St. Hilaire speaks of it as a moderate-sized tree, or sometimes a mere branching shrub. ‘‘ Whatever be its size in its native country, it is quite certain that in our stoves it flowers readily in the autumn, when not more than a foot high ; and recommends itself by its handsome tea-like evergreen foliage, even more than by its large, delicate white flowers. Mr. Gardner gathered it at Goyaz.” The name Laplacea was bestowed on the genus by Humboldt, in compliment to Laplace, a distinguished philosopher and mathematician. Bot. Mag., 4129.
Lir‘tium THomsonia‘num, The handsome half-hardy Lily, to which this name has been appropriated, is in the possession of the Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney, ‘“‘ with whom it opened its sweet-scented flowers in a greenhouse, in April, 1844. It is a native of Mussooree, one of the northern provinces of British India. It was first seen by the people employed by Dr. Wallich, who regarded it as a Lily. Professor Royle afterwards referred it to Fritiilaria ; but its floral leaves have not the honey-pore, which is essential to that genus. In fact, it is far too near in structure to the common white Lily to allow of its being distinguished generically. Its delicate rose-coloured flowers offer, however, a very marked feature of distinction.” The representation given of this plant in Dr. Royle’s Illustrations of Himalayan Botany, has the flowers fully twice the size of those produced on Messrs. Loddiges’ specimen. This difference may, perhaps, be reconciled by the latter being grown in a pot, and not perfectly healthy at the time the blossoms expanded. It should be treated on the same plan as the Japan Lilies to realise the extent of its ornamental capabilities. Bot. Reg., 1.
Lucu'tra Prncra'na. Beautiful as the Z. gratissima undoubtedly is, when producing its clusters of fragrant and delicately soft-looking pink blossoms, yet the present species is said to possess each of these powerfully attractive attributes in a far more exalted degree, and to unite with them yet another claim to popular esteem, in the superior magnitude both of the individual
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. oA
blooms and the aggregate mass of inflorescence. Such a plant must be an acquisition of the highest order to the most fastidious collector of floral gems. Sir W. Hooker describes it as a species “ totally distinct from that just mentioned : the only hitherto described one of the genus. In stature and general aspect the two appear to accord ; but the present has broader and shorter leaves, with much more compact (closely placed) nerves, and the limb of the corolla has five pair of prominent tubercles—one pair at the sinus of each lobe.” The flowers are disposed in large compound cymes a foot or more in diameter, at the end of the branches. On the upper side these are pure white, changing, however, with exposure, to a cream-colour, tinged with blush ; the outer surface is deep blush, and the tube red. The beauty of these is enhanced by the ample and rich velvety-green foliage which adorns the stem. It was raised in Mr. Pince’s nursery, Exeter, from seeds obtained from Nepal, and is grown there in the greenhouse. (It is apparently identical with the plant discovered by Mr. Gibson on the summit of the Khoseea hills, near Chirra- pooujee, and introduced to the Chatsworth Collection in 1838. It grows there abundantly on the little table-lands, in a loamy soil mixed with grit-stone sand, amongst other shrubs, such as Thibaudias, Oleas, and Vacciniums, and is so prodigal of its blossoms as to constitute a mass of inflorescence, almost concealing the stem and foliage, and perfuming the whole atmosphere around with its delicious fragrance.) Bot. Mag., 4132.
Onci’pIuM TRi‘coLoR “A very beautiful and entirely new species, with foliage resembling that of Oncidium triquetrum and O. pulchellum, but very different in the flowers, both as to form and colouring, being elegantly varied with white and yellow, and blotched with blood-coloured spots. It was sent to the Royal Gardens of Kew in the autumn of 1843, by the collector, Mr. Purdie, from Jamaica, and blossomed freely attached to a piece of wood, in March and April of the following year.” Bot. Mag., 4130.
Sr'pa GRAVE'OLENS. Concerning the native country of this species, Sir W. Hooker says it is found in the East Indies and in Jamaica ; “ and is probably common to the tropics, both of the Old and New World; for my young friend, M. Planchon, while arranging the two extensive genera, Hibiscus and Sida, in my herbarium, was struck with the great number of species that are common to America and Asia, and even to Africa; more than Botanists, in general, are aware of. The present species, which is undoubtedly the 8. graveolens of Dr. Roxburgh, the S. hirfa of Reichenbach (if not of Lamarck), and probably, as Messrs. Wight and Arnott suggest, also the S. Indica and S. Asiatica of Linnzeus, has been always considered to be exclu- sively a native of the East Indies; but Mr. Purdie detected it growing truly wild in Jamaica : and seeds which he sent to the Royal Gardens produced plants which have blossomed in the autumn of 1844 in the stove.’? It is a downy shrub, four or five feet high, with heart-shaped leaves, toothed on the margin, and approaching velvet on both surfaces. The flowers issue singly from beside the foot of the leaves, and their showy portion consists of five wedge-shaped, half erect, half-spreading petals, of a somewhat obscure orange-yellow colour, but rendered more attractive from the presence of a deep, blood-red spot near the base of each, forming a ring of irregular breadth round the pile of stamens. It is the Abutilon graveolens of Wight and Arnold. Bot. Mag., 4134.
STAPE'LIA CACTIFO’RMis. ‘‘ One of the most remarkable of a very remarkable genus respecting which it is to be regretted that many species, formerly known to our gardens, are lost, and scarcely any new ones have been received to take their place. Among the latter, however, may be reckoned the curious S. Gordoni of Masson (Scytanithera Gordoni, Hook. Ic. pl.) which was detected by Mr. Burke on the Orange River, and other places in South Africa, and sent to his employer, the Eari of Derby, at Knowsley, together with the subject of the present plate, lately received among a collection of plants from Little Namaqua-land, from Mr. Zeyher. It flowered in the Royai Botanic Garden of Kew, in August 1844.” The plant has more the look of a Mammillaria, or some South African Huphorbia. The flowers which are nearly sessile, and very smal', are collected together near the top of the stem, and in their general form, and the structure of their staminal crown, approach those of the sub-genus Podanthes. Bot. Mag., 4127.
STATICE MACROPHYLLA. ‘‘ Far superior to the S. arborea, or Tree Thrift of the Canaries, in the beauty of its flowers: it is understood to have been introduced from the same islands, by Mr. Smith, of the Hull Botanic Garden. In a large pot, with greenhouse culture, it produces its large panicles of purple and white blossoms in April, and the two succeeding months. Mr.
22 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
Forrest, of the Kensington Nursery, exhibited a fine specimen at Chiswick, in April last. The flowers are large for the genus, and handsome, with white petals, and a wide spreading calyx of a rich purple blue colour ; with fine yellow radiating lines. The leaves are larger than those of S. arborea.” Bot. Mag., 4125.
Syri’xca E/mopr. According to Dr. Royle, ‘‘the Himalayan Lilac is found in Kemaon and in Sirmore, on the Suen range, and on the banks of the Giree and Jumna rivers.’’— “ One thing which is peculiar to this plant, and readily distinguishes it, is the property of pro- ducing pale, pustule-like callosities on the branches, which give them a singular appearance. Otherwise it is known from all the Lilacs, except Josikea, by its leaves being very pale on the under side ; and from that by the acuminate hooked lobes of its corolla, to say nothing of the more lucid, flat and wide foliage. It is a hardy dwarf shrub, flowering in April. ‘The blossoms resemble those of the Privet, and are unpleasantly scented.”—* It has been raised at the Horti- cultural Society’s Gardens, from seeds received from Dr. Royle, at different times, under the names of S. Hmodi and S. Indica.” Bot. Reg., 6.
TU’RNERA ULMIFO'LIA. A variety of this plant has been cultivated in gardens, since 1733, as T. ulmifolia angustifolia. The present, which is considered the type of the species, is a much finer thing. Plants raised from seeds sent by Mr. Purdie, from Jamaica, flowered last summer in the stoves at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, and at the Syon Gardens. It is well deserv- ing of cultivation, but, being only of short duration, requires to be renewed from seeds. It is a vigorous plant, with spreading, herbaceous stems, and broad, lanceolately-oblong leaves, deeply wrinkled on the surface, and coarsely serrated at the edges. The flowers are solitary, about the size, colour, and with much of the general appearance of Linwm trigynum. It is common to most parts of South America, and is especially frequent in Brazil. Bot. Mag., 4137.
NEW OR INTERESTING PLANTS RECENTLY FLOWERED IN THE PRINCIPAL SUBURBAN NURSERIES AND GARDENS.
ACANTHOPHI'PPIUM JAVE'NSE. In one of the orchidaceous houses at the Hackney Nursery, a specimen of this species, received by Messrs. Loddiges, from Batavia, in 1842, was flowering beautifully a few months ago. It is a terrestrial species, like the rest of the genus, and approaches A. bicolor in the character of its pseudo-bulbs and foliage. The latter are very large and many-nerved. The inflorescence is clustered together, near the summit of a scape six or seven inches long, issuing from the pseudo-bulbs of the current year, and is not much unlike that of A. striatum, with the exception of being altogether considerably larger. The sepals and petals are a very pale buff colour, streaked and tinged with purple, and cohere together, forming with the lip a kind of distended pouch, having a very small aperture, after which they separate, and are somewhat reflexed at the apex. The lip is small, of a singular form, and furnished with several hooked teeth. The ground colour is pale yellow, and is enlivened with numerous unequal-sized blotches of purple along the margins of the lobes. These plants should always be grown in pots filled with a loose soil, full of fibrous matter, and in the operation of potting, the plants should be elevated in the centre, above the rim of the pot ; and during the growing season they should be placed in a warm house, always remembering that warmth is as necessary to the roots as it is to stem and foliage.
ARU'NDINA DENSA. This is a most magnificent caulescent orchidaceous plant, with slightly flexuose stems, sometimes growing seven or eight feet high, and forming a complete bush, branching at the bottom, and clothed with long tapering pointed leaves down to the very base. Each shoot is terminated by an upright raceme of flowers, which are considerably larger than those of the species described at page 237 of our last year’s Volume, but similar in form and colour, with the exception of the lateral lobes of the lip, which are larger in proportion to the intermediate division. Besides the beauty of the blossoms, they are also interesting in their delicious fragrance ; and the dissimilarity to the generality of orchidaceous plants displayed in the habits of the genus, render the different species highly desirable in a collection.
Barke ria Linpieya‘na. This is a most lovely species, equally as showy as the B. spectabilis, but more diminutive, and perfectly distinct both in outline and colour. It was introduced from Guatemala in 1842, and is yet comparatively scarce. From a weak plant which displayed a small
OPERATIONS FOR FEBRUARY. 23
spike of flowers in Messrs. Loddiges’ establishment at Hackney, in the commencement of the present year, it appears to be highly deserving of extension ; and a larger specimen under favour- able circumstances must be a magnificent object. Drawings prepared from native specimens represent it as an abundant blooming plant. It has a short stem, from the upper part of which the flower-spike proceeds. The blossoms have an oblong obtuse lip of a purplish cast, with a rich violet spot of considerable breadth near the extremity, which gradually merges into the paler hue. It has much of the lively appearance of Epidendrum Skinneri, but the flowers are something larger. It should be cultivated on a log of wood, and suspended from the roof ; or, like Messrs. Loddiges’ plant, it may be grown on a block, with one end cut plane to stand on a shelf, and the other cut ina sloping direction, and covered with a slice of fibrous peat, upon which the plant is secured with a fine wire, and its reots protected with a little Hypnum moss.
ERrca TRANSPA‘RENS, var. BLA/NDA. The principal point of distinction betwixt this variety and the original species, is in the colour of the flowers. Instead of a purple hue, the corolla is of a bright rosy carmine tint at the bottom of the tube, gradually dying away towards the top, and with the small and scarcely expanding segments tinged with green. They have the same semi-transparency of texture which has suggested the trivial name of the primitive species. It is one of the best of Cape Heaths for a limited collection, and may be had of Messrs. Henderson, in whose nursery a fine plant is now blooming.
OPERATIONS FOR FEBRUARY.
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As this month advances, a vast number of operations require to be attended to in the pleasure-ground department ; and it is a good maxim to defer nothing to a later period that can be as well performed before the beginning of March, for by that time the full-tide of spring work will have fairly set in, and what is now neglected will be in danger of being superficially executed, or entirely passed over. All those borders which require pointing over, and the planting and pruning of hardy shrubs, not yet done, may now be proceeded with.
The principal part of the pruning needed by hardy shrubs consists of cutting away dead branches, thinning out spray wood, and shortening back any shoots that have acquired an undue ascendancy over the rest, and the tops of those which, from being insufficiently ripened, have been damaged by frost. All those numerous suckers which are yearly protruded from the roots . of such plants as Lilacs, Spireeas, Symphorias, and Loniceras, should be rooted out and cut off as near the main plant as possible ; and this should not be performed in the ordinary slovenly manner with a spade, which injures the roots of the parent, and thereby engenders the produc- tion of a still more numerous progeny in the ensuing season, but a strong three-pronged fork should be employed, to loosen them, and then they may be detached with a small pruning-hook. Some of the strongest and best formed of these may be useful where new plantations are forming, or old ones require fillmg up; or they may be reserved in the nursery ground for a future oceasion. Climbing plants generally require a more severe application of the knife than stiff- growing shrubs, and for many kinds close spur-pruning will be most appropriate. Roses may now be pruned, with the exception of the Tea, Chinas, and some of the more tender kinds, which will be better deferred till the end of March or beginning of April, and in cold, bleak districts, to a still later period. In all pruning, special observance should be paid to neatness. Always cut near a bud, for whatever remains beyond is certain to die, and has ever an unsightly appearanee. Long, sloping and ragged cuts, too, should be as carefully avoided. Whatever pruning or planting is required amongst shrubs, should always be performed before the soil is stirred ; and for the latter work, a light fork is preferable to a spade.
Throughout the present month a principal aim of the culturist should be directed towards repressing the daily increasing signs of renewed activity, which are exhibited not only by plants in the greenhouses and frames, but also in mild weather by those in the open ground. The difficulty of accomplishing this object increases as the season advances. And here we may give a word of caution on the necessity of uniformity in the treatment of any particular plant at this
24 OPERATIONS FOR FEBRUARY.
seagon. Unless the endeavours of the culturist to retain torpidity are constantly persevered in, till the proper time for using stimulating means, not only will his after efforts be tenfold less sueecessful, but it is more than probable they will be attended with a positive injury to the plants. Throughout the whole period in which there is any benefit accruing from the retention of dor- mancy, it is indispensable to employ every available method of prolonging it, with unvarying constancy ; for any relax in the rigour of his measures will unfailingly curtail the length of time in which a quiescent state can be safely and usefully maintained.
Many objections might be urged against attempts to produce early growths. They are less vigorous from the imperfect means of acquiring and assimilating nutriment ; and the debility which arises from this, frequently entails similar consequences on the growth of succeeding months ; the plants are more susceptible of injury from the occasional returns of severe weather ; and additional care and expenditure is required to maintain a suitable atmosphere for them. As a general practice, then, it is important to prolong the season of rest for at least a month yet.
In the accomplishment of this object, abstaining from fire-heat as far as possible, and pre- serving the requisite temperature by means of some external covering to the glass, is one of the most prominent instruments. The continual creation of heat by fires has always a greater tendency to produce excitement, than the mere preservation of it by preventing radiation ; and this is more perceptible just about the commencement of growth than at any other season, though it is always injurious. The exclusion of frost is all that is required in greenhouses and frames, and whenever this point is far exceeded an injury is inflicted. Where a warmth of 35° can be commanded, no artificial means of producing a higher temperature should be brought into operation. Perhaps the greatest injury which is experienced from fire-heat, arises through its excess during night ; and this is precisely the time when it is most prevalent, for when no exterior protections are employed it is almost unavoidable, as a precaution against a sudden frost.
Another beneficial effect of external coverings, is the privilege it affords of exposing the plants more fully to light by placing them within a shorter distance of the glass than it is safe to do in the absence of such a protection. And this is another thing which is favourable to the continuation of a state of inaction, and ought to be obtained as fully as possible.
On every suitable occasion air must be’given freely in the greenhouse, not only to keep down the temperature, but also to dry up any damp that may arise from watering, &c. Ventilation, however, must be avoided in foggy weather, and in all cases when it would admit a sharp frosty wind or rough blast to strike upon the plants.
It is still more momentous to retain a state of perfect torpor in tender plants in the open ground, than in those supplied with the protection of glass. If mild weather occur, many, such as Tree Pzeonies, delicate Roses, &c., will be very apt to show an inclination to grow ; and especially if the removal of their protections is not diligently resorted to at every chance. By keeping them constantly immured in darkness, with a close, confined, and unavoidably humid atmosphere, they are rendered infinitely more liable to injury from succeeding cold, and the disposition to precocious growth is also increased. The best material for protecting the exposed portion of such plants is spruce branches, which, with a little dried fern“about the roots, constitute a sufficient safeguard from frost, and at the same time admit a play of air around them. In sunny weather considerable advantage is conferred by leaving the plants exposed on the northern side, and placing the spruce branches so as to intercept the solar rays.
Stove and Orchidaceous plants will generally require an increased temperature towards the latter part of the month, as it will be impossible longer to restrain the growing current with safety. The major part may now be potted if needful, and those in baskets and on blocks should be carefully examined.
The forcing-pit must still be supplied with fresh plants as the former are taken away ; and a more extensive variety of suitable species may now be easily obtained. Many greenhouse plants may be slightly forced, and a considerable number of Cape Iridaceze, Gardenias, Hydrangeas and Roses, may be selected. Before forced plants are removed to the greenhouse or conservatory, they should always be permitted to stand for a few days in an intermediate place, or the sudden transition from a close, warm atmosphere, to one so much colder, will probably destroy their beauty. Where there is not a separate show greenhouse, the sashes must not be opened so freely, and it will be well to place all the most tender kinds at the warmest end.
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DIPLADENIA CRASSINODA.
(Thick-jointed Dipladenia.)
Class.
PEANTANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.,
* Natural Order. APOCYNACEA.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx five-cleft, with one or two little glands on the interior on each side at the base of the segments; glands sometimes ligulate, some- times scaly. Corolla salver-shaped, or with the tube cylindrical at the base, and funnel-shaped above, hispid about the origin of the stamens; throat ex- appendiculate ; lobes twisted to the left in estiva- tion. Anthers nearly sessile, inserted in the upper part of the tube, at the middle or below the middle, where the tube widens, sagittate, adhering to the middle of the stigma, acuminate at the apex, or ending in an acute membrane. Glands of the nectary two, alternating with the ovaries, obtuse, single by reason of two being for the most part joined evenly
together. Ovaries two, sometimes longer than the nec- tary. Styleone. Stigma globular, surrounded beneath with a reflexed, umbrella-shaped membrane. Follicles and seeds as in Echites.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER,—Plant a climbing evergreen shrub. Stem branching and nodose. Leaves lanceo- late, acute, or sub-acuminate, coriaceous, and shining on both sides. Racemes axillary and compressed, usually six-flowering, elongating. Calyw lobes lanceo- late, acuminate, with the cylindrical part of the tube a little shorter, and the pedicels two or three times shorter. Corolia tube campanulate below the middle, lobes obovately orbicular.
Synonymses.—Echites crassinoda, E. carassa.
Tue splendour displayed in the rich and delicate hues which beautify the blossoms of this plant, must induce every one to regard it amongst the most magnificent things disclosed during the season of 1844. Specimens have been in the possession of several of the London nurserymen for two or three years, but none have yet produced flowers, with the solitary exception of a specimen procured — from Mr. Low, of Clapton, which yielded to the attentive and skilful treatment practised in the excellent collection of R. G. Loraine, Esq., of Wallington Lodge, to whom we are indebted for our figure, and whose courtesy and attention, on several occasions, we avail ourselves of the opportunity here afforded to acknowledge.
This species is one of twenty which have been separated by M. Alphonse De Candolle from the vast number congregated under the name of Echites, and formed into a new genus, to which he has assigned the name Dipladenia, on account of each bearing a couple of glands at the base of the seed-vessel. Amongst these species we find the E. atropurpurea and E. splendens, (figured in previous volumes of this Magazine,) the latter of which bears a remarkable resemblance, in the prevailing hue and character of its blossoms, to the present species ; but they are much larger, paler coloured, and destitute of the fine orange throat, which adds so much to the beauty of D. crassinoda.
VOL. XII.—-NO, CXXXIY. E
26 DIPLADENIA CRASSINODA.,
The growth of our subject is less exuberant than that of D. splendens, and it also varies considerably in the foliage, which is smaller, perfectly smooth, of a deep glossy green, and acute, instead of heart-shaped, at the base. When the flowers first open, they are almost devoid of colour, and the fine roseate tint is gradually acquired and daily deepening, till they fall off, which is usually in about nine or ten days. On Mr. Loraine’s plant the same raceme had never more than one flower expanded at the same time, and as each decayed, a successor unfolded.
From Sir William Hooker's “ Journal of Botany,” it appears that it was first discovered by Mr. Gardner in the more elevated parts of the Corcovado mountains, in the neighbourhood of Rio Janeiro. We understand the specimens in this country, obtained from the Continent, were also originally procured in South Brazil, by a Danish botanist.
It requires a stove-heat and a moist atmosphere to grow it well; and though a moderate sized pot only is necessary, it should be planted in a well-enriched mould, of which loam and leaf-soil form the principal constituents. Probably an occasional watering with much-diluted liquid manure might be given with good effect. Mr. Loraine attributes his success, and evidently with good reason, to having furnished the plant with a moderate warmth at the roots as well as to the stem and branches. Want of success in flowermg many plants may often be traced to inattention to this point.
Cuttings take root with the greatest readiness, under ordinary management.
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BARBACENIA PURPUREA.
(Purple-flowered Barbacenia.)
Class.
HEXANDRIA.
; Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order, BROMELIACE#.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Perianth adnate to the ovary, funnel-shaped, six-cleft. Filaments two-cleft. Anthers affixed by the base to the back of the filaments. Capsule three-celled. Seeds numerous.
SPEcIFIC CHARACTER,—Stems scarcely any, dichoto- mous, with a few striated brownish scales. Leaves linear, somewhat spirally twisted, carinated, striated,
than the leaves, obtusely trigonal, scabrous upwards, single-flowered. Flowers erect, purple. Petals six, united into a tube at the base, lanceolate ; three outer narrower, reflexed, and much acuminated, obscurely striated ; three inner broader, waved, more erect, acute, veined. Filaments linear and petaloid, purple, opposite the petals. Anthers two-celled. Style oblong,
as high as the anthers, with three white glands below the point.
rigid, with distinct minute marginal teeth pointing upwards, sheathing at the base. Scape much longer
Tuts beautiful little plant was the first of the genus known in this country, and is a worthy companion for the orange-red flowered B. sqguamata, introduced recently by Messrs. Veitch, of Exeter, and figured in our volume for 1844.
The manner in which it was first obtained in England is precisely similar to that recorded last month of the Achimenes hirsuta, and should act as a caution to the importers of foreign plants to be careful in examining the materials amongst which their plants are packed. The seeds were discovered by the Hon. and Rev. W. Herbert, of Spofforth, amongst a quantity of Brazilian Moss; and, being sown, produced the pretty species depicted on the opposite page. Some of the young plants thus raised being sent to the collection of Earl Fitzwilliam, at Wentworth House, Yorkshire, were flowered by his Lordship’s able gardener, Mr. Cooper, and forwarded to Sir W. J. Hooker, by whom the specific name was accorded, and a figure given in the Botanical Magazine; and from the accompanying description we have abstracted the specific characters given above.
It is a product of Brazil; and Mr. Gardner, in his recent exploration of that country, met with it near the foot of the mountains about two miles south of the town of Rio Janeiro. It there grows abundantly in places where a little vegetable mould has accumulated, amongst which it vegetates and blooms with the utmost luxuriance,
All the leaves spring from near the same point, forming a tuft round the base,
which scarcely elongates into a stem. They are of a very rigid nature, and differ
98 BARBACENIA PURPUREA.
from those of B. sguamata in having larger and more distant spinous serratures at their margins. The plant is also distinguished by the flower-stalk being considerably longer than the leaves, and by the colour of the flowers. Several of the species described by Martius in the Plante Brazilienses are much larger plants than either of these, and some are apparently well worth the attention of collectors of showy species.
The situation pointed out by Mr. Gardner as the natural habitat of this plant, sufficiently indicates the kind of treatment most likely to prove congenial. And as far as our experience enables us to judge, this is in strict accordance with the practice of successful cultivators. A warm, moist atmosphere, and a proportionate and uniform degree of heat about the roots in the growing season, together with a porous soil, partly composed of well-rotted leaves, through which water can easily pass and any excess drain away, seem to be the essential elements in the main- tenance of a high state of cultural perfection.
It is increased by division of the roots.
( / Holden, del & Lith ee
STYPHELIA TUBIFLORA.
(Tube-flowered Sty phelia.)
Class. Order. PENTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. Natural Order. EPACRIDACEA. GENERIC CHARACTER. — Calyx girded by four or SpeciFIC CHARACTER.— Plant an evergreen shrub. more bracteas. Corolla elongated, tubular; tube fur- Leaves linear, obovate, mucronate, rather scabrous nished with five fascicles of villi near the base inside 3; above, with revolute edges. Pedunciles single-flowered,
segments of the limb revolute, bearded. Filaments axillary. Flowers drooping, scarlet. exserted. Ovariwm five-celled. Drupe nearly dry,
containing a solid bony putamen.—Don’s Gardening
and Botany.
Lone as this elegant plant has been known in British collections, it is rarely seen so luxuriant and vigorous as the specimen from which we were courteously permitted to prepare the accompanying drawing, twelve months since, at Ealing Park, the seat of Mrs. Lawrence.
As with the Heath tribe some years ago, it appears to be the misfortune of this plant to suffer under an impression of its intractability to ordinary manage- ment, and instead of redoubled efforts to surmount the seeming difficulty, it is usually thrust into a corner as a plant unworthy of attention; and the real wonder is, not that it fails to grow strong and healthy, but rather that it continues to live. With a view to dispel this erroneous idea, and to show that it is really a very beautiful thing, and by no means so stubborn to manage as has been imagined, we have not allowed the mere nominal want of novelty to deter us from bringing it forward, satisfied that an object of unequivocal beauty must be as acceptable as that which bears its only recommendation in the short-lived merit of being a recent acquisition.
In addition to the intrinsic ornament of the species, it possesses another important claim to a favourable reception in its season of flowering ; the blossoms being disclosed during the gloomy months of winter and early spring, when the majority of plants are in a state of torpor, and present a less inviting exterior. The general aspect of the plant is not strikingly dissimilar from many species of the kindred genus Epacris. The stems are furnished with small leaves, which are sometimes linear-obovate, and sometimes somewhat heart-shaped at base. - The flowers are borne all along the shoots of the previous season, and spring
30 ’ STYPHELIA TUBIFLORA.
from the bosom of the leaves. They are remarkable for their handsome pendulous tube and the delicacy of its colouring, and also for the rolled back segments of the limb being furnished with a fringe of numerous crimson hairs.
The species is found growing plentifully about Port Jackson, in New South Wales, where its flowers are disclosed at a much later period than with us— usually between May and August. It was originally brought into cultivation in 1802.
The tenuity of its thread-like roots, combined with the desiccated appearance of the hard-wooded brittle stems, unquestionably render it more liable to receive harm from a saturated soil ; for a plant incapable of absorbing and assimilating or exhaling a large amount of aqueous matter, is proportionately exposed to suffer from the lack of effective drainage. To enable water to pass off, an open soil should be selected, through which it may percolate freely, and whilst it supplies the needful quantity of nourishment to the roots, may not remain to stagnate around them. ‘Two-thirds heath-mould, with a small addition of thoroughly decayed leaf-soil, and the remainder loam and sand, constitute an excellent compost.
Yearly pruning, and a provision for maintaining the ordinary atmospherical conditions essential for the encouragement of vigorous growth during spring, with the timely adoption of those alterations which have been so often reiterated in our pages as indispensable for the procurance of fully matured wood before winter, and to prevent a premature inducement to grow, are points to which the culturist must give undeviating attention, if his aim be to produce superior specimens.
The usual mode of increasing the species of Epacris, by cuttings planted in sand in spring or autumn, will be equally successful and easy with those of the present genus.
The family name Styphelia is obtained from the Greek styphelos, harsh, or rough, and applies to the harsh or rigid constitution of the stem and branches.
le
BY
isin
a
: G 7 §. Holden, del & Lith. eee Cittem
SALVIA AZUREA.
(Azure-blue Flowering Sage.)
Class. DIANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order.
LABIATA,
GENERIC CHARACTER, — Calyx ovate, tubular, or campanulate, bilabiate; upper lip entire, or tridentate ; lower one bifid; throat naked inside. Corolla with an inclosed or exserted tube, which is equal, ventri- cose or widened, sometimes furnished with a ring of hairs inside, sometimes naked, or furnished with two teeth or processes on the lower side at the base ; limb bilabiate ; upper lip erect, rarely spreading, straight or falcate, entire or emarginate ; lower lip spreading, shorter or longer, with the lateral lobes oblong or roundish, spreading, reflexed, or twisted erectly, the middle lobe usually the broadest, entire or emarginate. Rudiments of superior stamens wanting, or small and club-shaped ; lower two always fertile, inserted near the throat of the tube; filaments short, horizontal, rarely erect, articulated with the anther at top, and usually drawn out beneath the articulation, rarely almost continuous. Anthers dimidiate ; connective elongated, linear, articulated transversely with the filament, ascending under the upper lip of the corolla, and bearing at the topa linear, adnate, or versatile fertile cell, and deflexed or erect behind, and some- times bearing another smaller cell, which is either fertile or difformed, and empty; free, but usually combined together, or connate in various ways. Disk
of ovarium glanduliferous in front. Style ascending, bifid at top; lobes sometimes subulate, equal, or the superior one the longest, and sometimes the lower one or both are rounded, dilated, and flattened. Stigmas for the most part minute, terminal, or in the larger part running along the lobes of the style. Achenia ovoid-triquetrous, dry, glabrous, usually very smooth. —Don’s Gard. and Botany.
Specific CHARACTER.—Plant a tall perennial. Stem herbaceous, erect, glabrous. Leaves petiolate, long, ob- long-lanceolate, or linear, bluntish, narrowed a long way at the base, entire or few-toothed, green on both surfaces, and glabrous ; floral leaves lanceolate and linear, deciduous. Racemes simple, elongated. Whorls distant, subsecund, generally six-flowered. Calyxes nearly sessile, tubular, striated, nearly glabrous, with the upper lip entire, and the teeth of the lower lip broad, acutish. Corolla more than twice as long as the calyx, pubescent outside; tube ventricose, and half as long again as the calyx. Style bifariously bearded.
SynonyME.—S, elata ; S- acuminata; S. longifolia ; S. mexicana; and S. angustifolia of some. S. acu- minatissima.
WHEN we consider the vast extent of this genus, nearly three hundred species
being described in botanical works, it is not surprising that we occasionally find the same kind described by different writers under various names, and sometimes the same appellation applied to two or more different species. Thus, the present plant has received the title of S. mexicana—(Walter, in Fl. Car.)—a name previously occupied by another blue-flowering, but very distinct species ; and in the North American Flora of Michaux it is called S. angustifolia, a name also appropriated to another and a well-known species. As our gardens possess both the kinds which are commonly received by these names, we have judged it proper to give the above explanation, to prevent the occurrence of any mistake through confounding the present with them.
S. azurea is by no means a new thing to the collections of this country, having been imported as long ago as the commencement of the present century. We are not aware whether any of the importations of that period still exist ; but believe it had been lost, or nearly so, till lately re-introduced from a continental collection, by Messrs. Knight and Perry, of Chelsea, in whose nursery we had the annexed representation taken last November.
It has been met with in its wild state generally throughout most of the southern
parts of North America. It grows plentifully in Georgia, Carolina, Hastern
32 SALVIA AZUREA.
Florida, Jacksonville, Arkansas, and several other states ; and in the more northern parts its great beauty has secured it a rank amongst cultivated flowers.
In habit it is much superior to S. angustifolia, which it resembles in the form of its blossoms, and in having long narrow foliage. It is an herbaceous species, varying in height from three to five feet, and in its native localities frequently attaining six or seven feet. The foliage, however, is more ample, and the stems are not weak and straggling like those of its ally, but strong enough to preserve a perfectly erect habit. And, though the flowers separately are small, they are pro- duced densely in lengthened clusters, and are valuable for the exquisite delicacy of their celestial hue, and the vast quantity of inflorescence usually expanded at the same time. It appears to be sufficiently hardy to exist through the winter in the open air, at least when planted in soil that is not too adhesive, or otherwise liable to an accumulation of wet.
But, notwithstanding the large propor- tions it acquires when grown in borders in the open air under encouraging circum- stances, it may easily be rendered more dwarf, and hence made available for the beds of the flower-garden, by continuing to layer the shoots as they exceed the pre-
LS is os
scribed height, and thereby producing a : 6 é; lateral expansion of the sap, in the form of additional flowering branches; or it may also be cultivated in a pot, and flowered when not beyond eighteen inches or two feet high, when it constitutes a useful ac- quisition to the greenhouse, not only for the quantity and beauty of its blossoms, but also for its capacity for late-blooming.
It admits ofan extensive multiplication =
by cuttings and division of the roots, and probably also by seeds.
The woodcut represents the habit of the plant, growing in one of Mr. Beck's slate-boxes, He
33
HEAT AND ITS APPLICATION.
To resume the subject of heat as applied to forcing-houses, it must be again impressed, that any combustible body, be the material what it may, can only cause the diffusion of heat in a volume of air, to an extent proportionate to the chemical energy exerted between the elements of water and carbon, when they combine by mutual attraction ; but that the heat so induced may, nevertheless, be squandered or economised by the machinery applied.
There is perhaps nothing more wonderful in nature than the extrication of light and heat. We daily, hourly, throughout our lives, become witnesses of phenomena perfectly miraculous ; and pass them by as mere matters of course ;— yet in the ignition of a common lucifer-match there is a power revealed equally mysterious as that which causes a flash of lightning to dart from the East to the West.
But we must not, in a notice purely practical, attempt to enter upon an inquiry concerning causes: it is well, however, when a mind accustomed to scan the mysteries of nature with stolid indifference, becomes aroused in a degree to some appreciation of their beauty and truth.
In our last, an attempt was made to describe a simple machinery by which a portion of coke, kept at a state of moderate red-heat in a cylindrical vessel, was enabled to communicate its heating power to a body of water, so as to effect all the objects of forcing hitherto attempted by the means of fermenting beds of dung, leaves, tan ; and by fire-flues, whether employed separately, or in conjunction ; but till within the few past weeks we were not aware of the great extent to which the principle might be applied ;—and now, in order to direct the amateur or professed gardener, who contemplates an erection, either as a propagation-house, flower-stove, or pinery, wherein any degree of heat from 55° to 75° can be at absolute command, we will describe a water-flue or channel, which is actually at work, and can at any time be efficiently regulated.
The objections to the coke furnace, before urged, remain in their full force ; but as to the water-channels now alluded to, they appear to be almost perfect. For example :—suppose a hot-house twenty-five feet long from east to west, and nine or ten feet wide from back to front; the boiler, capable to contain five gallons, may be erected at any convenient part outside of the back wall, so that its flow and return pipes shall pass through that wall, where they may communicate with the water-flues or channels ; at this place they are on a perfect level, the fall being provided for by the rapid descent of the return-pipe. A platform of earth is then raised all round the house, secured by brick facing-walls ; and herein some care is required to obtain a correct and solid foundation, at about two feet above the ground level.
Upon this platform courses of two bricks are laid flat, end to end, and securely
VOL, XII.—NO, CXXXIV. F
34 HEAT AND ITS APPLICATION.
bedded in mortar, at distances to allow of a flooring to be laid with the best twelve- inch paving tiles, jointed with Parker’s cement. This floor will form the base of the water-course, and upon it three ranks of nine-inch regular paving tiles are placed on their edges, jointed and rendered perfectly water-tight with the same cement, These tiles are so arranged as to form a double channel, each eight and a half inches wide, the two outer ranks resting over the edges of the foundation flooring, and the centre rank dividing the channel into two equal courses, one communicating with the entering flow-pipe, the other with that of the exit. The upper surface is simply covered with slates, two feet long, which extend across the whole flue ; and these are also bedded with cement, except at certain intervals, equally divided according to the dimensions of the house ; and in each of these one slate is made to slide in a zinc frame, correctly grooved.
The utmost accuracy of manipulation, with materials of first-rate quality, are the essential requisites ; and they who can employ their own workmen, superin- tending, and even assisting at the work themselves, are most likely to derive satisfaction from the machinery.
The chimney rises from the fire, but at several inches above it, from a cylinder of brickwork built upon, and raised a few courses above the upper rim of the boiler ; it passes through and along the back-wall at a rising slope to the most convenient corner of the house, where it is made to enter a shaft, or wide metal pipe, furnished with a damper, on the outside of the house. Six inches in the clear is space sufficient for the flue; but in order to economise every active particle of the heat, it ought to run in that direction in which its radiating power will have the greatest scope.
A well-acting, water-tight, pair of channels, such as we have described, filled, and kept full, to within one inch, or one inch and a half of the covering slates, cannot contain less than from two hundred and fifty to three hundred gallons, and this volume of water is made without difficulty very hot, by the interflow of the five gallons contained in the boiler. This great effect, however, depends upon the rapid combustion, by day, of small quantities of coke not more than sufficient to occupy half the depth of the fire-cylinder. Attention and frequent renewals are necessary ; and with these, the temperature may be regulated according to that of the open air, and the absence or power of the sun. As every cubic foot contains 1728 cubic inches, and every gallon occupies about 2771 inches ; as also the water- channels just described, being 9 inches deep, and 84 wide, both in the clear; it follows, that every foot, internal measure, is capable of containing 918 cubic inches, or three gallons and one-third of water, very nearly. It therefore must be evident that a double course of such channels, round any house, must radiate a very great volume of heat, provided the furnace be capable of raising the tem- perature of the fluid to nearly scalding heat, z.e. about 130° to 140° of Fahrenheit.
The vapour excited by a new range of flues, while green and damp, is very oreat ; but we have discovered that this abates after a time, when the tiles are of
HEAT AND ITS APPLICATION. 39
first-rate quality, and the adaptation by cement perfectly correct: this 1s a circum- stance of great moment, as a predominance of moisture, though at command, is readily avoided.
To persons with whom economy of fuel is a first consideration, some modifica- tion of the furnace becomes essential ; for, although by filling the cylinder with coke, curtailing the draught at the ash-pit opening, and nearly closing the chimney- damper, the high temperature then existing can be sufficiently supported by radiating surfaces so extensive during the longest winter nights; yet great assiduity is required, throughout the day, to raise a full temperature by the rapid combustion of the coke. We therefore urge the necessity of a new modification of furnace, giving greater capacity upon the principle of the oven, wherein fuel of more durable and less costly materials can be constantly burnt, and always kept alight, without that unremitting attention which the small cylinder coke-boilers require. .
Upon accurately investigating a house, 25 feet by 9, and of proportionate average height, we found a temperature of 69°—70°, with brisk wind at N.N.W., and 3° of frost at 9 p.m. The upper surface of the slates measured 86 square feet, and the internal contents of the two channels were estimated at very nearly 286 gallons. The heat of the water, at its entrance into the channel, was 129°, that at the termination of the exit-channel, close to the descending return-pipe, 125° ; while at 20 feet distance, and not remote from the centre of the course, the index marked about 127°; so regular and equable were the communication and distri- bution of heat evolved from about a peck of ignited coke.
We submit these facts as a standard of calculation; observing, that if 280 gallons of water can thus be heated to 130°, a proportionate increase of combustible matter would diffuse heat in proportion to a house of much greater dimensions.
The agency of heat is peculiarly influential, but it requires the presence of pure solar light to render it a safe application to growing plants: in that radiance there is a combination of principles which, though not clearly comprehensible, manifestly includes electro-magnetism, and heat. The latter principle has been usually restricted by philosophers to what they term the prismatic red ray, while pure magnetism, the principle of cold, is referred to the blue and violet rays, seen at the opposite side of the spectrum.
Electricity,—the great agent of all attractions, and that ethereal essence which retains the elemental material substances in their natural state of union,—appears to demand the presence of all the rays, united in the form of white light: hence, the sunbeam becomes the vitaliser of vegetative nature ; hence, the flow of the sap, the peculiarities of movement during day and night, the transpiration and imbibi- tion through the “ stomates” of the foliage, and all the various and variable changes of tint in leaves and flowers.
The great Thomas Andrew Knight pointed out, many years ago, not only the uselessness, but the danger, of keeping up strong, moist temperature during the
a6 SLATE FOR HORTICULTURAL PURPOSES.
night ; and modern practice appears, at length, to conform to his precepts: thus, in the ‘Calendar of Operations” (Gardeners’ Chronicle), we find weekly, cautionary hints to that effect—as, for instance, in the floral department :-—“ Let the temperature by night be kept as near as possible at 60°, increasing it by day 15° or 20° ;” and in those of the pines and vinery,—“‘ day-heat, 75°, allowing the glass to reach 85° in sunshine, and to fall to 65° at night.” We err greatly in practice and opinion, when we insist upon the necessity of retaining high excite- ment during darkness ; for, in the first place, the physical condition of a plant is not the same as when it is under the attractive and elaborating stimuli of the rays, nor does cold affect a plant very materially during the night. On the 26th Jan. 1842, during a violent gale of wind, a chimney-shaft was blown over, and many bricks broke through two large lights of a hothouse, then under forcing ; fifty squares were destroyed, besides wood-work: the fire would not act: cold came on after the storm ceased, and yet, a reduction of heat to 50, or less, did not cause the slightest injury to the tender shoots of a vine !
Still, it is not advisable to encourage great transitions, although it is yet more erroneous to maintain 70° or 75° at a time when weak and _ useless elongation of the cellular, moist parts of a plant, must be the only natural result.
SLATE FOR HORTICULTURAL PURPOSES.
In the management of a garden every thing that tends to produce a greater degree of neatness than has been previously displayed, or economises expenditure, is sure to be hailed as an acquisition equally important with the discovery of an improved method of treating any individual species, or tribe of plants. For as the chief end of all gardening is to bring together, and dispose tastefully, an assemblage of beautiful objects, it is essential that all the minor accompaniments be such as will most harmonise with, and enhance the character of the more prominent features; and the desirability of effecting this at the least possible expense is a consideration that, we may confidently assume, none will be disposed to underrate.
It should be borne in mind, however, that it is not that which may be had, or can be done, at the lowest primary cost, which always ultimately proves the least expensive ; but that which unites present efficacy, and the capability of con- tinuing it, at the least outlay. The material, to the consideration of which the present paper is devoted, in some of the different forms in which it has been applied to horticultural purposes, we are willing to believe, possesses a capacity for furthering both these points.
The application of slate, by Mr. Beck, of Isleworth, to the manufacture of boxes for the reception and growth of conservatory plants of large size, which
SLATE FOR HORTICULTURAL PURPOSES. 37
have hitherto been cultivated almost exclusively in wooden boxes, is undoubtedly deserving of the first place in treating upon the material; especially as these have been successfully used by the gentleman just named, and have already undergone considerable improvement, as the defects of those first made became obvious, and increased practice in their construction revealed means of rendering them lighter and neater. In their present state they combine most of the advantages which have been obtained in wood, without some of the disadvantages of that substance.
These boxes are square, and may be taken to pieces for the convenience of carriage, or to lay by when not in use. The pieces of which the sides consist are Jointed into each other, and secured by a screw running into an iron nut imbedded in the slate. The bottom is let into a groove, at about an inch, or an inch and a half from the base of the sides, according to the size, and is perforated by one, or several holes, to permit water to pass through. The bottom being thus raised frorn the ground is obviously favourable to drainage, and a means of deterring snails and worms from entering through the holes; and these advantages are increased, and a circulation of air at the roots of the plant promoted, by the box standing on four small castors screwed to the bottom, which also facilitate their removal from place to place. The sides are likewise provided with small inverted iron hooks, so that with the aid of two shafts, cut of a convenient size and form (like the shafts of a common hand-barrow), and with an iron loop in the middle to fix them to the hooks, they may be shifted to a distance with the utmost ease.
Perhaps the greatest recommendation of this materia! for boxes is its durability. Those who have many large trees in wooden boxes well know that the continued exposure of the inner surface to the action of water and damp soil, is progressively effecting a decay, and a speedy one, unless some very durable, and, consequently, more expensive wood is employed, which will bring the cost of the respective articles much on a par. When painted they are fully as neat as wooden ones.
An objection may probably here be urged by some, who, knowing the unsuit- ableness of the slate in their own vicinity, or that with which they may chance to be acquainted, doubt the applicability of such a substance to the manufacture of plant-boxes, or its durableness when so applied. The texture and quality of slate, however, varies exceedingly, and that found in many districts is undoubtedly useless for boxes, inasmuch as it is easily broken and cannot be worked to the degree of neatness required for a green-house or conservatory. That employed by Mr. Beck is obtained from Bangor, in Wales, and possesses a hardness and cohesive strength that admits of being divested of all clumsiness without endanger- ing it.
Although we have only spoken of slate-boxes as serviceable for large plants, such as Orange-trees, Rhododendrons, Palms, &c., yet they may also be employed for any stove or greenhouse plant of a smaller size, not even excepting Heaths. The roots of Orchidaceze, moreover, cling to slate with as much tenacity as to the most porous brick. Mr. Beck has employed them very largely in the cultivation
38 SLATE FOR HORTICULTURAL PURPOSES.
of Roses and Gesneraceous plants, with what success must be yet fresh in the memory of all who had the opportunity of viewing the very superior specimens exhibited by him at the great metropolitan exhibitions, and is amply testified by — the prizes they bore away. It is at least convincing that it is possible to grow plants well in slate-boxes. We do not, however, anticipate that they will ever become general for small plants; a few, by way of variety, may be used for windows or balconies, or dispersed amongst others in the plant-houses.
Besides the manufacture of boxes, slate is adapted for many other garden purposes, such as the construction of cisterns for supplying plant-houses with water, and for the culture of stove and greenhouse aquatics; long boxes for mignonette, or other small fragrant or showy plants, for the sill of a window; for the stages and shelves of a greenhouse or stove ; as a covering for hot water- tanks, or air-chambers; for the sides of low pits, or rather fixed frames, intended for raising seeds, young plants, and propagational purposes generally, or for preserving summer border plants through the winter ; for ventilators in the back and front of brick-pits or small houses; and Mr. Beck has also substituted this material for wood in his brick pits, as a bed for the lights to run in. For the two last purposes slate has an advantage over wood, as it neither swells nor contracts so much with the fluctuations of temperature, and it is also free from warping, all which are often productive of considerable inconvenience and annoyance to the culturist. The hard quality of slate renders it a desirable substance for pit rafters on another account :—the grooves at each side necessary for preventing water entering the pit are less liable to be broken, or to become defective, as sometimes happens when wood is employed, from warping.
Slabs of slate may be serviceable in a variety of other ways in a garden ;—for edgings (especially in a kitchen-garden) ; for standing plants on during the summer season, and as a flooring for frames in winter. For these latter purposes it is of great benefit in keeping out slugs and worms. Moisture, too, is well known to be the greatest bane of plants in pits and frames during winter ; and ashes, which are the most common flooring, are a continual source of damp. Slate, on the contrary, keeps all perfectly dry, as it allows any water that may be given to drain away. It might be an improvement to have the bottom elevated about a foot from the ground, resting the slate on brick-work. By using a little cement round the edges of the frame, which should fit close upon the slate, worms, snails, and mice, will be effectually kept out. Some such flooring as this confers a further benefit, by preserving wooden frames, which are too often thoughtlessly placed on the ground in immediate contact with a damp earth, and are consequently completely rotten in less than half the period they ought to last. Slate slabs may also be used for drains and conduits.
In the reserve ground slabs of slate, six or eight inches deep, placed parallel to each other at about as many inches asunder, will be useful in keeping together the roots of small border plants, which itis intended to remove to the flower-garden ; or
DIFFERENT METHODS OF TREATING PASSION-FLOWERS. 39
for dwarf evergreens to fill the beds in winter. By this means they may be trans- planted with nearly as slight apprehensions of harm as if they had been grown in pots. In broader pieces slate may also be employed to form compartments in a greenhouse border, for confining the rovts of strong-growing plants. This will restrain them more effectually, and occupy a smaller space than brick-work. And, besides these purposes, the material may probably be made available for a variety of other objects connected with horticulture.
DIFFERENT METHODS OF TREATING PASSION- FLOWERS.
— ~—-
SEVERAL species of Passiflora have been long and deservedly great favourites amongst greenhouse and stove climbers, especially where ample space has permitted them a liberal extension, and something of the gracility of nature has escaped the barbarous use of the knife, and that still more effectual depressor of beauty—the rigid adherence to a formal system of training. Not that we dispute the utility of pruning and training under every circumstance and mode of culture: each of these operations have their use, but they ought also to have a more circumscribed limit than is usually allowed them ; and by the observance of a few simple points, much of those evils they are intended to correct may be prevented.
In most structures, and particularly in large conservatories where room is less an object, we meet with some of the species, hanging in graceful festoons from the roof, or climbing loosely round pillars, and forming flowery garlands from one to the other; and in such situations they are eminently appropriate and pleasing. But in smaller buildings, so much latitude cannot be awarded, for it gives an undue and unseemly prominence to one thing, and interferes with the manage - ment of others. It is natural, then, to inquire by what means a smaller habit can be induced.
It is a very general practice in the cultivation of climbers to turn the plants out of their pots into a border, where the roots have liberty to ramble and spread uncurbed for a considerable distance. These borders, moreover, are often com- posed of rich materials to a considerable depth, consequently the shoots grow with amazing vigour, and frequently acquire a luxuriance and redundancy which is exceedingly troublesome, and at the same time a preventive of abundant flowering. And in order to confine the growths, which are thus induced and encouraged, to the limits allotted for them, pruning and training become indispensable.
But, why encourage the formation of that which it is never intended to retain, and the retention of which is, indeed, impracticable ? and more especially when the process by which the superfluity is got rid of, is an actual disfigurement of the plant, and, so long as the ability to renew the excess of vigour remains, is but
40 DIEFERENT METHODS OF TREATING PASSION-FLOWERS.
slightly, if at all, conducive to the increase of florescence? It is a worthy desire to seek after the greatest excellence in the appearance of a plant ; and in many instances this can only be acquired by bringing into the field the highest stimula- tives to growth and vigour ; but it is evident that this is not a rule of universal utility, and that a restriction of growth is more favourable to the preservation of the balance which ought to exist between the extension of shoots and the quantity of blossom ; if, as we presume none will seek to gainsay, the swmmum bonum of cultivation consists in the production of an amount of flower proportionate to the space occupied, without interfering with the health or diminishing the elegance of the plant.
A more circumscribed space for the roots is plainly the most proper appliance as a preventive of redundant growth ; and for this purpose, some cultivators have prepared confined places of from one to three or four feet square, and with about a foot or eighteen inches in depth of good soil well drained, adjusting the space according to the robust or slender character of the species to be grown. This, unques- tionably, confers a great advantage, and ought to be more generally adopted with climbers, and indeed in all promiscuously planted conservatory borders ; for when a stout and vigorous growing plant and a weak and delicate one fill proximate stations, the strong roots of the former rob the latter of their due nourishment. These spaces, or pits, may easily be concealed so as not to be offensive to the eye, by a thin layer of earth spread over the surface. Another advantage is experi- enced in these compartments in borders, when it is necessary to remove a plant and replace it by another. ©When—as will sometimes occur with the best culturist—a plant dies, or it becomes desirable for other reasons to remove it, or when the roots of an unhealthy one need examination, the operation cannot be performed without more or less affecting those plants on either side, particularly if this be necessary during summer. But if the roots be kept separate no such evil can exist, and a plant may be removed with almost the same facility, and as little risk, as if it were cultivated in a pot.
The best material to construct the sides of these compartments is slate, both because it occupies little space in the borders, and is also more easily and perfectly covered, so that the existence of it may not be suspected.
A further advantage will be gained in the case of stove species of Passiflora if a slight bottom heat can be communicated, by passing a tank or double gutter beneath the compartments ; and as the most usual way is to carry the shoots of climbers under the rafters of a house, this matter will be easily contrived by constructing a raised border all along the front of the house in place of a shelf, devoting the needful space to the roots of the climbers, and filling up the inter- vening room for the reception of plants in pots. The stiff edge which a naked slate front would present, may be taken off, and a liveliness imparted, by planting Lycopodiums beside it, and allowing them to hang over, and form a kind of coping to it. It must, however, be clearly understood that a dry bottom-heat, such as is
DIFFERENT METHODS OF TREATING PASSION-FLOWERS. 4i
communicated by flues, should never be employed ; and if the suggestion here thrown out be acted upon, the heating apparatus must be so contrived that the water may be turned off, to flow through other channels, when bottom-heat is not needed. If this precaution be not complied with, a difficulty will be experienced in winter that will ‘“‘ render the cure worse than the disease ; ” for at the very time when the plants require to be at rest, and, therefore, ought to be exempted from the stimulating influence of bottom-heat, it will be indispensable to maintain constant heat to warm the atmosphere. The apparatus, then, for supplying warmth to the air, must not be the same as that for conveying bottom-heat, though they may nevertheless be in connection, and worked by the same boiler. Considerable judgment and care will of course be necessary in the management ; and when to apply it, and when to leave it off, can only be decided by the state of the plant— the most active bottom-heat being required in spring.
On the two principles involved in the preceding remarks—limited extension and bottom-heat to the roots—the copiousness of flowers in Passifloras is greatly dependent, and it is principally to these that we must look to bring about a diarf habit in conjunction with a showy appearance, without impairing the healthy aspect of the plant. And, although we have spoken more especially of Passion-flowers, the practice inculcated is applicable to a large number of other climbers, the ordinary luxuriance of which has precluded from a more extensive cultivation, and is analogous to that mooted with a similar view in a recent article.
Having thus shown the most obvious means by which the necessity of much prun- ing may be avoided, the next point which obtrudes on our notice is training. As we shall have again to advert tothis before we conclude, and as so much has already been given on the subject in former pages, we may here dismiss it with mentioning one or two of the most palpable absurdities. We cannot fix on a greater to find, at the same time, exemplifications so prevalent, as that of spreading out the shoots, and training them regularly under the glass. The gracility of the plant is entirely destroyed, and the blossoms are placed in the most unfavourable view imaginable. Another common practice is to tie the shoots all together, to their extremities, under the rafter, a method scarcely preferable to the other, except that it is sooner remedied by merely loosing the ends, and allowing them to hang down negligently. Little more would then be necessary than to keep them from becoming too crowded, and either to cut them away as they get too long, or tie up the portion that has done flowering. By this mede the flowers will always be in the most conspicuous position.
Hitherto our observations have been limited to plants grown in confined borders; we now turn to their cultivation in pots. It may be said that the treat- ment enjoined in the preceding paragraphs is equivalent to pot culture: and in some respects it certainly is a close approximation, but, of necessity, only applies to those specimens intended to be permanent features ; and it may still be desirable to have a few plants capable of being shifted from place to place as convenience or
VOL. X1I.——NO. CXXXIV. G
42 DIFFERENT METHODS OF TREATING PASSION-FLOWERS.
advantage may dictate. The portability which pots afford entails the capacity for a varied system of treatment, by which some may be had in flower for the greater part of the year ; and specimens grown in this way, with their shoots fastened to wire trellises and in full flower, with hardly an unproductive branch, are as ornamental as any of the leguminose green-house plants commonly treated in the same way. ‘They are thus, moreover, brought, by their increased dwarfness, within the sphere of those who have not space for them in a larger state, and who, nevertheless, would rejoice to grow a specimen or two of this curious and universally admired genus.
Besides the kinds which require to be kept constantly in the stove, there are many amongst the hybrids of latter years, that will flower well in the green-house if previously assisted in their growth by a higher temperature. Of this description we may instance P. Lambertiana, a kind which will even flower tolerably well without any additional warmth, but is very much improved and prolonged by it. P. Loudoni and P. kermesina are both species which ought to have a somewhat warmer temperature, although when grown in pots they flower pretty well in a greenhouse. The latter appears to grow and flower alternately, for whilst the shoots are growing freely the fiowers rarely expand, and when they do open, and so long as they continue to be freely unfolded, the further growth is considerably checked. This peculiarity brings the flowers nearer together, and enables them to make a finer appearance. Whilst in flower it may be kept in the greenhouse, and as the number of blooms diminish, by removing it to a warmer place, the formation of other shoots will be encouraged to flower in their turn. P. Princeps and P. racemosa, though much stronger-growing plants, may also be grown well in pots, and from the quantity of flowers they produce in close proximity, and their rich colour, are valuable species: both, however, require a constant stove- heat. By placing a few specimens of some of the preceding kinds in the forcing-houses late in autumn, a constant succession of flowers may be had nearly all the winter.
When cultivated in pots, the shoots should be secured to a trellis as they increase in length, always allowing a portion of the extremity to remain loose. They have perhaps the most elegant appearance trained to an umbrella-formed trellis, twining the shoots rather closely up the central pillar, and carrying them over the wire skeleton, so as to cover it neatly, and then permitting the ends of the shoots to descend from the margins. When they grow too long, some may be cut back to furnish fresh shoots, and others taken up and carried once more round the top, still permitting the extremities to fall over the edges. Another appropriate kind of basket is that with an expanding top, turning over like the upper outline of a vase, so that the same plan of leaving the end of the shoots flowing loosely may still be practised.
To form a specimen of this: kind, a healthy young plant should be selected and kept growing vigorously throughout the first season without allowing it to flower,
eee
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 43
and ocasionally assisting it by watering with liquid manure, and stopping the shoots to increase their numbers. Once formed, they may be continued ina healthy state for several years by renewing the soil and occasionally administering liquid manure, but the most productive plants are usually those about four or five years old. A soil consisting of loam and peat, in the proportion of two of the former to one of the lattcr, is most suitable.
a
FLORICULTURAL NOTICKES.
vue NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR FEBRUARY.
ACHIME'NES GRANDIFLO'RA. It appears from the Linnea, that this fine stove plant was first found by Messrs. Dieppe and Schiede in Mexico, growing upon shady rocks of the Barranca de Tioselos, near the Hacienda de la Laguna, and was described by them as “a most beautiful little plant, attracting attention by its large violet purple flowers and green leaves, stained with purple on the underside.” There is another fine species known, but not yet imported, with flowers similar to those of A. longiflora, but having a long spur attached to the base of the corolla tube. It was discovered by Mr. Hartweg between Zitaquara and the Hacienda de Laureles ; and, like the present one, also growing in shady places. It is called 4. patens. (See Vol. X. 149.) Bot. Reg., 11.
AE'RIDES oDoRA'tuM. This now well-known orchidaceous plant, was primarily discovered by Loureiro in China and Cochinchina, and forms the type of the genus. It was received from China at the Kew Gardens in 1800, through Sir Joseph Banks, and subsequently Drs. Roxburgh and Wallich forwarded specimens from Dacca and Sylhet in the East Indies. The drooping spikes are particularly interesting for their numerous delicate and gratefully fragrant blossoms. Bot. Mag., 4139.:
BE/RBERIS TRIFOLIA'TA. This very rare and beautiful species was found in Mexico by Mr. Hartweg, near the Hacienda del Espiritu Santo, on the road from Zacatecas to San Luis de Potosi, an immense plain occupied chiefly by Opuntias, stunted plants of Prosopis dulcis, and Yuceas. It covered large tracts of country ; the people call it Acrito, and the fruit was much eaten by children. Mr. Hartweg did not see it in flower. Its sessile ternate holly-like leaflets, beautifully marbled with pale blue and dull green, are entirely different from anything among the pinnated Berberries hitherto discovered ; and, it may be added, are much more handsome. In the Garden of the Horticultural Society, it forms a dwarf spreading evergreen shrub, growing freely in a rich sandy loam, and rather dry situation. It has stood two winters planted against a south wail, and seems to be about as hardy as Berberis fascicularis. It may be increased in various ways: by layering, by cuttings, or by seeds ; but when the kind is rare, like the present, grafting is the most certain and safest way ; the grafting may be performed in the ordinary way in March or April, and the bes tstock for working it upon is B. aguifoliwm. When grafted, it should be placed in a cold pit or frame, kept close and rather damp. It flowers freely in April and May.”—Bot. Reg., 10.
CRYPTADENIA UNIFLO'RA. ‘ Among the handsomest of the Linnzean genus Passerina, were three species, the present, P. grandiflora, and P. ciliata, which, in habit, as well as in essential character, differed considerably from the others. These, Professor Meisner has wisely separated from Passerina, and named Cryptadenia, from the presence of eight glands concealed within the tube of the floral envelope, and alternating with the eight stamens. All are natives of the Cape. The present species, though sufficiently known in Herbaria, is probably rare in gardens, though weil- deserving of a place on account of the beauty of its copious blossoms, and the long time the plant con- tinues inblow. It has, however, been cultivated at Kew since 1759. It flowers there in the early summer months, in an airy part of the greenhouse.” It is a small plant, with twiggy branches and linear leaves, bearing considerable resemblance to the heath or Epacris tribe. The flowers, however, are very different, not unlike the aspect of some of the Boronias, but consisting of a tube
44 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
sunk in the floral leaves, and a large spreading limb of four segmenis, with a beautiful lilac colour, ‘They appear singly at the end of the numerous and closely packed fastigiate twigs which terminate the branches. Altogether it is really a pretty shrub when well managed ; but amid the mass of more novel acquisitions it has fallen into unmerited neglect. It deserves more attention. Bod. Mag., 4143.
CYMBI'DIUM OCHROLEU'cuM. This plant was formerly figured in the Bot. Mag. as Ornithidium album, under which name, the present, and that of Camaridium ochroleucum, it has been known in our stoves for several years. It is a product of Demerara, “and has a very singular mode of growth, producing its distichous flowers in a leafy spike, quite distinct from the pseudo-bulbs, which themselves originate from the axils of leafy branches.”’ The flowers of the leafy spike open in succession, and are of a creamy-white colour, with a spotted yellow lip, and highly fragrant ; but, as they are seldom developed in any considerable quantity at one time—only two expanding at once on the same spike, they do not create any remarkably showy effect : nevertheless, it is worth cultivation, and on account of its spreading and much branched habit, it should always be fixed to a block, or planted in a basket of rough turf, rotten wood, charcoal, and moss, or a mixture of similar materials, and suspended from the roof, It has a fine and copious foliage. Bot. Mag., 4141.
Disx/MMA AURA’NTIA. With the same specific title here applied, this somewhat showy twining shrub, has also been referred by other botanists to Murucuja and Passifiora. Sir William Hooker says, ‘“ The genus Disemma (from dis, double, and semma, a crown,) was established by Labillar- diere in his Sertum Austro-Caledonicum, upon this very plant, a native of New Caledonia, and is readily distinguished, on the one hand from Passiflora by the presence of the membranous, truncated crown of Murucuja, and from the latter by the outer filamentous crown of Passiflora. The species are all of Australian origin, and include, besides the present, D. Herbertiana, D. coccinea, and D. adiantifolia ; the latter from Norfolk Island.” A specimen supplied to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, by T. Bidwell, Esq., and there cultivated in a greenhouse, flowered in July, 1844. “It is easily cultivated in a pot, with wire trellis, and is remarkable, like D. adianéi- folia, for the flowers being nearly white in bud, and on first expanding gradually assuming a yellow or tawny tint, and finally becoming a brick red. The sepals have a singularly broad keel, or deep wing at the back.” Itisa perfectly smooth plant, with the habit of the common Passiflora cerulea. The leaves are broad and deeply three-cleft, supported on petioles which have two rounded glands on their under surface at the junction with the Jamina. Bot. Mag., 4140.
Disoca’/ctus BiFo’RMIs. In the miscellaneous matter of the Botanical Register of 1843, the singular plant to which Dr. Lindley now gives the preceding appellative was provisionally referred to the genus Cereus. From that family it is readily distinguished by the number of sepals being constantly four, and that of the petals the same,—a peculiarity which has been taken as the distinctive character of the genus, and in allusion to which the name has been formed from dis, twice ; isos, equal; and caciéos. It “ connects the tribes of Phyllanthidse and Rhipsalide, resembling the former in its general habit, large showy flowers, and many-seeded fruit ; and claiming kindred with the latter by virtue of its equal parted flowers, definite stamens, and permanent flowers, which shrivel up and cling to the end of the fruit when ripe.” Mr. Booth, of Carclew, gives the following account of it :— It formed part of a collection transmitted by George Ure Skinner, Esq., from Honduras, in 1839, to Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., M.P. It forms a graceful bush, from two to three feet high, but will no doubt attain a much larger size if trained against a trellis, and sufficient room allowed for it tospread.’”’? The main stems are round, and about the thickness of a large quill ; the others are winged and crenate, those carrying the flowers being more lengthened, and having a drooping character. Only one flower is produced at the extremity of each branch, and these are of a deep pink colour, and of short duration, but open in succession for a considerable time. They are succeeded by beautiful little blood-coloured berries, shaped like an egg (but scarcely so large as the common slvoe), which ripen in September, and contribute as much ornament as the blossoms do in spring. These have a rather pleasant, sweetish, sub-acid flavour, and are free from the small spines on the surface, with which the fruit of most cactaceous plants are beset. A turfy loam mixed with river sand and leaf mould to keep it open, forms an excellent compost ; and during the growing season the plant should be supplied rather copiously with water, and kept in a low-house or pit, with a moist atmosphere, and well
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 45
exposed to light, but as the fruit swells off, it should be removed to a drier and more airy place, and kept dry through the winter. Young plants may be obtained either from cuttings or seeds. — Bot. Reg., 9.
Mitto'nia cunEA‘TA. A handsome epiphyte allied to M. candida, with flowers nearly four inches in diameter ; the sepals and petals are rich brown tipped with green (a primrose colour). The lip is pure white, with a tinge of pink near the base, in form quite different from M. candida, for it is scarcely at all curled at the edge, is very much narrowed to the base, and has only one pair of plates instead of two anda half, The wings of the column too are scarcely divided, or at all events not at ail notched.” It is a Brazilian species, and was introduced lately by Messrs. Rollisson to the Tooting Nursery, where it flowered last March. Bot. Reg.,8. (See Vol. XI. p.70).
PLEUROTHA/LLIS BicARINA‘TA. ‘South America, but especially the western side of the Cordillera, and the mountains of Peru and Columbia, abound in species of the curious genus Pleurothaliis, The present, however, is a native of Brazil, and has thence been received by Mr, Loddiges ; and Mr. Gardner sent living plants of it from Rio to Woburn, which have through that source reached the Royal Gardens of Kew, where they produced their orange-coloured flowers from the bosom of the solitary elliptical leaf, in December, 1843. The species is well- named by Dr. Lindley from the sharp keel on each side of the lateral sepals.” It forms tufts of jointed angular stems from two to five inches long, clothed at the joints with sheathing scales, having numerous rich chocolate-coloured spots ona yellow ground. Each stem is surmounted by a fine elliptical leathery leaf faintly striated on the surface. From a hollow at the base of this leaf a stalk bearing a spike of orange-red flowers proceeds. Bot. Mag., 4142.
Soua‘nuM macra’NtHUM. “ A native of Brazil,and has been long cultivated in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, where, planted in the border, it has attained to the height of the roof. In such asituation it really makes a handsome appearance, with its ample foliage and its large pale lilac coloured flowers, which, drooping as they do from the upper branches, are seen to great advantage from below. To those cultivators who have not space to allow its growing thus freely, cuttings may be recommended, which strike freely, and flower almost as soon as struck.’’ In the Kew gardens it forms a tree twelve or fourteen feet high, and in its native country probably attains a much greater height. The branches spread, and are covered with rusty-green wool, and copiously armed with stiff thorns. The leaves are somewhat egg-shaped and sinuate at the margins, the surface strongly reticulate, downy above, and almost woolly beneath. The flowers are in racemose clusters, springing from the base of the leaves, but not extending far from the stem. Like the rest of the plant, both the flower-stalks and the tube of the calyx are beset with thorns, and clothed densely with wool. It is a strong and rather coarse-looking plant, scarcely requiring a stove heat. Bot. Mag., 4138.
NEW OR INTERESTING PLANTS RECENTLY FLOWERED IN THE PRINCIPAL SUBURBAN NURSERIES AND GARDENS.
ANGR&cUM BILO‘BUM. ‘This neat orchidaceous plant developed a raceme of glistening white flowers in the stove of Mrs. Lawrence at Ealing Park, about the end of January. The peculiar arrangement and form of the sepals, petals, and lip, confer a stellar appearance on the blossoms ; which are rendered additionally interesting by the graceful drooping curvature of the stalk that carries them, and the deep green of the foliage behind. It isa rather diminutive plant, a native of the Cape coast, and has been some years in the collections of this country.
BEAUFO/RTIA SPLE/NDENS. Mr. Knight has a fine species of Beaufortia under this name flowering beautifully in one of the greenhouses at the Exotic Nursery, Chelsea. The general habit of the plant is not strikingly different from that of B. decussata, but the inflorescence, instead of being of a purplish-crimson hue, is of a fine glowing scarlet. The flowers of these plants owe their attractiveness to the bundles of stamens, and their long claws, which in the present species are above an inch in length. The calyx and corolla are very minute and pale yellowish green, their segments having the appearance of small scales ; and from their position— being quite sessile and very closely arranged all round the stem—are entirely concealed by the more specious filaments. It is a greenhouse shrub, and likely to be very useful, from its winter- flowering capacity.
46 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
CENTROPO'GON FAsTUO'suM. An extremely handsome Lobeliaceous plant has been received, with this title, at the nursery of Messrs. Rollisson, Tooting, from a continental establishment. It has been kept in a house with a temperature ranging between the stove and greenhouse, but will doubtless be found to endure the latter without detracting from its ornamental aspect, and may probably acquire additional vigour from it. When full-grown it appears to attain a height varying from a foot and a half to two feet and a half, the stems assuming a slightly flexuose cha- racter. The whole of the plant has a smooth shining appearance, if we except a trifling pubes- cence which is found on the petioles and extreme young shoots. The leaves are usually about five or six inches long, of a lengthened ovate form, with a rounded base and an acute apex, and remotely toothed on the margins. Their fine green colour and lucid appearance are high recom- mendations. ‘The flowers issue from the axils of the leaves, but are confined to the upper portion of the stem ; and through their superior size, fine rose-colour, and immediate proximity to each other, they contribute a considerable amount of show. The corolla is tubular, curved, and somewhat flattened at the sides, with a two-lipped limb, the upper lip consisting of two con- volutely reflexed segments, and the lower of three, two of which are faleate with their points approaching the intermediate one. It is a perennial plant, of an herbaceous or suffruticose habit, and as a large bush will be a conspicuous object.
Denpro‘pium Kine1a‘num. Several specimens of this neat little plant have been flowering for some time at the Hackney Nursery. The pseudo-bulbous stems are about four or five inches in length, closely clustered together in large masses, and have a broad base gradually tapering towards the top, which is surmounted by two or three fine dark green oblong leaves. The flower- stalk springs from amongst the foliage, and supports a few small loosely arranged blossoms with pale purplish sepals and petals, and a lip beautifully marked with a sanguineous hue. Itisa recent acquisition, and though not equal in size or beauty to many of its congeners, is, never- theless, invested with considerable interest.
EpipHy’Ltum Ru/ckert. This appellation has been given to a plant in the possession of Messrs. Rollisson, of Tooting. It is, undoubtedly, nothing more than an improved variety of E. iruncatum, and exactly accords with that species in every respect except the colour of the flowers, which display a combination similar to those of Cereus speciosissimus—a rich violet merging into a fine crimson. We understand it has been in private collections for ten or twelve years, but not having come into the London market till lately, has only had a limited -circulation. It has probably been obtained by fertilizing with some such species as Cereus repians.
E‘ria PRoFuU'sa. We cannot claim a very showy character for this species, but there is a peculiar neatness and elegance about it, that is scarcely less interesting. The stem is in the form of a lengthened sphere, prettily striated, and on the upper part furnished with ample foliage of a pleasing order. The blossoms are borne in racemes nine or ten inches long, and are exceedingly numerous, but minute, and yield a very agreeable fragrance. It is a product of Manilla, and has been flowering recently in the collection of S. Rucker, Esq., at Wandsworth.
HABROTHA’MNUS PURPU‘REUS. This plant does not appear to answer expectation. In every instance that has come under our notice where flowers have been obtained at all, they have been insignificant in comparison with other organs,—a fault that meets with no compensation either in their quantity or colour. The latter is a pale, watery purple. A possibility remains, however, that it may eventually be somewhat improved, but we can hardly hope to see it attain a mediocrity of attractiveness. It has bloomed at Messrs. Rollisson’s, and Messrs. Knight and Perry’s establishments.
PuysiA/NTHUS AURICO'MUS. ‘The flowers of this beautiful stove-climber are so much like those of the Stephanotis floribunda, both in general contour and colour, that at first sight, if viewed apart from the plant, they might easily be mistaken for them. They are collected into tolerably large clusters, supported on short peduncles which spring from the axils of the leaves. The diameter is about an inch and a half from the tip of one segment to the tip of the opposite one, but as these are considerably reflexed, they appear somewhat less. They yield a grateful fragrance, which is usually more powerful in the evening. When well managed it grows quickly, producing fine healthy stems clothed with leaves of an obovate form with an acute termination. The flowers are most profusely displayed during the autumn months, and individually last for a considerable period. At Mr. Knight’s Nursery, a plant flowered a Short time ago.
OPERATIONS FOR MARCH. 47
RONDELE'TIA SPECIO'SA MaA‘soR. Messrs. Henderson of Pine-apple Place have bloomed several plants of this superior variety. Its peculiarities are, larger flowers, with the segments broader and flatter, and produced in finer clusters. It possesses the same colour and freedom of blooming for which the primitive kind is so much admired. As an autumn and winter-flowering plant, it will be valuable.
OPERATIONS FOR MARCH.
DD
Last month the efforts of the culturist were directed principally towards repressing the returning tendency manifested amongst house plants to resume an active state: in the present the general tenor of necessary operations denotes an essentially different aim. March is a month of preparation for growth, of gradually returning activity and vigour, and demands all the energies of the cultivator : consideration, promptitude, and perseverance, are alike indispensable, for without the full exercise of each and all, the whole after labours of the year may be nullified, and will certainly be deprived of a portion of their effect.
In illustration of these remarks, we need only adduce the fact that many plants require a full season to form and mature their growth, before any flowers are developed; and, if growth is delayed or checked after the proper period for excitation, or contracted through negligence in affording a sufficient proportion of nutriment, the inflorescence must be abridged in amount, or entirely prevented by the conclusion of the season, before the plants arrive at a condition capable of producing Sowers ; and plants that bloom in a much shorter period will rarely produce an equal quantity without a decrease in individual excellence, at any other than their legiti- mate time.
These preliminary observations bear directly on two of the great operations of March, potting and propagating. Before a plant receives any artificial stimulus, it is an axiom in culture that it be placed in a condition to support it vigorously. During the period of growth, moreover, a plant should ever be in a gradually progressive state; but when it has commenced to grow, and after- wards receives a check, in order to supply it with the means of continuing, a retrogression is made, and it is placed in a similar condition, if not worse, than at first. Now most deciduous pot plants are benefited by an extensive renovation of earth in spring, and the same proceeding, but in a much more limited sense, is profitable to pot-evergreens. It must hence be obvious that a serious repression will be imposed on the development of shoots, if this work be postponed till long after the arousal of the plant from a state of quiescence. Potting, then, must be one of the first considerations ; but as ail the plants will not be in an equally forward state, it is neither advantageous nor economical to go through this work promiscuously. Some plants will require it immediately, others may be safely deferred till near the end of the month ; consequently, a con- siderate cultivator will look over his collection from time to time, and select those which appear in the most immediate want.
The perusal of the pages of a former Volume, which contain a detailed account of the theory and practice of potting, and embrace all the modern improvements, may be beneficial at this time. We may here, also, repeat an oft-reiterated advice in the preparation of soil. That which includes a large proportion of stringy vegetable matter is invariably the most appropriate ; and to make it fit for the purpose, it should be cut with the spade into pieces of a few inches square, and after- wards reduced to the desired state by tearing it with the hand. This last is less material in the case of large plants than with small ones ; but it should always be adopted for heaths, the finer New Holland Leguminosze, and other things with very tenuous, delicate roots.
As a general rule, young healthy plants are by far the most suitable to choose for making handsome specimens. Special circumspection should be bestowed on securing efficient drainage, and a regular circulation of fluid through the soil. This state can only be effectually attained by a particular attention to the texture of the soil used, which must, in all cases, be such as is free from the liability to run into a solid mass. Weakly or unhealthy plants will generally be benefited
48 OPERATIONS FOR MARCH.
by transplanting to a pot of smaller size; and large shifts must never be given to any except healthy specimens beginning to grow, and with good roots.
All those tender perennials, which were raised from cuttings in autumn, and have remained through the winter in the propagating-pans, should be potted off singly, or two or three in a pot, as circumstances dictate, in order that strong, healthy plants, may be furnished for the flower- garden in May. We know that this matter is often necessarily deferred till April for want of room, and sometimes even altogether dispensed with ; but no one who has the ornamental condition of his garden in view through the summer months, will omit to avail himself of the advantages conferred by an early encouragement to grow. Plants preserved in the cutting-beds till they are required for the flower-garden seldom fiower till August or September, and must be planted much closer, to enable them to cover the beds completely.
For the same reason, wherever an adequate stock of plants was not provided in autumn, or has been diminished by the casualties of winter, immediate resort must be had to propagation by cuttings to supply the deficiency. And if this is needful to a large extent, a frame or pit with a gentle bottom-heat should be set apart for the purpose. It is not, however, by any means a desirable plan to defer making a sufficient provision for the flower garden till spring, for the plants now reared are unable to attain the strength and hardihood of the autumn supply before they are wanted for the beds.
The neglect of stopping the shoots of plants intended for the parterre is a very popular error. The chief object now ought to be to procure compact bushy plants, rather than long straggling ones. By this means a number of shoots will be ready to push forth immediately the plants take root in the soil, and it will ensure well covered beds, and a copious bloom, all other circumstances being favourable. The same practice must also be observed in the early spring with those pot plants that betray a rambling nature, or are too little inclined to branch laterally. And we may here insist on the necessity for pruning away many of the twiggy growths of the preceding season at the time of the first spring potting, especially with deciduous species, If this is passed over, the shoots of the current year will be slender and imperfect, and if they produce flowers at all, they will be inferior to what might be obtained under more auspicious treatment.
This is a proper time for sowing the seeds of greenhouse and hardy perennials. Such things as Gloxinias, Thunbergias, Chinese Azaleas, &c., which are very liable to “damp off” imme- diately after germination, should be eyed with a scrupulous watchfulness, and drying measures must be directly employed whenever an excess of humidity is thus pointed out. This proceeding needs to be performed with caution, for a too rapid transition from wet to dry will act as banefully as the evil itself. Annuals, moreover, may be sown, both for flowering early in the greenhouse, and for turning out into the beds. Balsams, Cockscombs, and similar things, may be sown in a stronger heat, and should be potted off very early, and kept in a warm pit or frame with a good bottom heat.
In the management of plant-houses and frames, moisture must still be cautiously awarded. If the weather be very dry and sunny, a slight syringing may be occasionally practised in the greenhouse, and will be necessary still oftener in the stove and orchidaceous house. In the greenhouse it should always, however, be done in the early part of the day ; and both here and in the pits and frames any watering that may be required at the roots should also be given in the morning. The practice of continuing to throw wide the ventilators cannot be approved of now, as the plants are beginning to grow and require more protection ; less air must consequently be given, especially in keen windy weather. Indeed, we believe, that to the generality of New Holland plants a little extra warmth would be beneficial: in the case of many species it undoubtedly confers an improved appearance.
Continue to employ every devisable means for the effectual subversion of insects, for they will now multiply by myriads, and derogate the effect of the best system of culture, unless strenuous exertions are constantly made to preserve the mastery over them. Clear away all decayed leaves and weeds as they make their appearance ; and when the weather is unfavourable for out-door work, let the outer surface of those pots that require it, be washed perfectly clean. Nothing enhances the effect of a collection of well-grown plants more than the maintenance of neatness, cleanliness, and order around them.
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AERIDES MACULOSUM.
(Spotted Air-plant.)
Class. GYNANDRIA.
Order. MONANDRIA.
Natural Order. ORCHIDACE A.
GENERIC CHaRActeR.—Perianth spreading or closed. Sepais lateral, often oblique at the base, having a claw connate with the column. Lip with a claw jointed to the column, saceate or spurred, three-lobed; lateral lobes short; middle one cucullate or awl-shaped, or shortly tumid, or partially arched. Column reclining on the ovary, short, winged. Anthers two-celled. Pollen-masses two, furrowed at the back. Caudicule broad or filiform ; gland peltate, subrotund.
SpeciFiIc CHARACTER.—Plant an epiphyte. Leaves distichous, channelled, very broad and thick, obso-
letely notched, obtuse and very obliquely terminated, spotted with brown at the edge of the under surface near the base; very densely set. Flowers fragrant, rose-coloured, spotted with purple. Sepals ovate- oblong, somewhat recurved at the margin, spotted. Petals rather smaller, less fleshy, more acute and oblique, and more numerously spotted. Lip large, ovate; laterallobes very small, falcate; intermediate one very much larger, long, deflexed at the margins, undulated, deeper coloured ; spur curved beneath it, greenish yellow at the point.
TuE specimen of this novel species of Air-plant which supplied the means of executing the attached plate, flowered in the choice collection of C. Horsfall, Esq., of Liverpool, and was courteously forwarded to us by that gentleman, in July, 1844. About the same period we observed flowering specimens at the extensive nursery establishments of Messrs. Loddiges, and Messrs. Rollissons.
The character of the plant, as regards the peculiarities of stem and foliage, exhibits a close approximation to the same features of A. rubrum, but the leaves of that plant are not nearly so broad as in A. maculosum: indeed, we find differences sufficiently discernible to admit of an easy recognition amongst its From A. affine, to which it bears considerable analogy in the lineaments and arrangement of the flowers, it differs in having much thicker roots, and leaves not more than two-thirds as long, but fully a third broader, and instead of the notched extremity they have an obtuse and very oblique termination. In addition to these distinctions, the manner in which the leaves of A. maculosum are crowded together on the stem is a very prominent variation; and it is rendered sufficiently apparent by this character amongst most other species. A. crispum (or A. Brookii) another kind akin to this, is distinctly removed in habit; that plant has both broader and shorter leaves than A. maculosum, and they are also much wider apart, whilst the stems
evince far greater vigour: and besides these differences, the proportion of the parts
nearer congeners, upon a very cursory inspection.
composing the flower is something varied.
Our subject is a comparatively scarce species, and had not flowered in this country prior to the instances above mentioned. It is an East Indian species, and was imported from Bombay two or three years ago.
The flowers are arranged in racemes, which have usually two or three lateral
VOL. XII.—-NO. CXXXV. Hl
50 AERIDES MACULOSUM.
clusters of inferior length issuing from the side of the main one near its foot. The graceful, half nodding, half drooping position of these aggregations of blossom, their soft, delicate tints, and above all, the exquisite fragrance which proceeds from them, constitute a most pleasing and acceptable combination. The individual size of the flowers is intermediate between A. crispum and A. affine, but more nearly approaching the former.
These plants inhabit hot and humid forests, clinging to the trunks and branches of trees, by the dense foliage of which they are sheltered from the blaze of a burning sun. Along the stem they protrude numerous thick roots, sometimes extending to a vast length, and usually considerably more vigorous and more brittle than those by which they are attached to the trees ; and it is evident that the plants derive a large proportion of their nourishment from the moisture floating in the atmosphere, through their instrumentality. Cultivators have seized on this peculiarity to determine the proper mode of procedure in managing them ; and we constantly find the species thriving most favourably where the principles which the foregoing facts involve are most completely adhered to, and adjusted to each other.
A block of wood to attach the plant to, is always prefer- able to planting it in a basket or pot; but it will be advisable to envelope the lower part of the stem and a few of the roots in moss. And a thin screen should be interposed in summer to subdue the inten- sity of the sun’s light, and prevent it from affecting the uniformity of atmospheric
ITT
e ° ° is a. aK eB £5 LS Uy ngs Li moisture. This section (Van- Ae S\N Gf ” Bn an
dee) require a higher tem- perature than the majority of other Orchidaceze, and should be frequently syringed during the season of growth. In winter the removal of the
screen, a depression of tempe-
rature, and a more arid atmo- phere, are the obvious means
of preserving a quiescent state. The wood engraving shows the habit of the plant.
ies
BUGAINVILLEA SPECTABILIS.
(The remarkable Bugainvillea.)
_ Class.
OCTANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order. NYCTAGINACER.
GENERIC CHARACTER. —JInvolucrum three-leaved, coloured, with a flower springing from near the base of the mid-rib of each leaf, three-flowered. Perianth tubular, with a narrow throat ; limb folded, obsoletely five or ten toothed, persistent. Stamens seven or eight, hypogynous, free, enclosed in the perianth. Ovary one-celled ; Ovules solitary, erect; Stylesimple. Stigma undivided. Acheniuman angular hardened tube, within the perianth, free, shut in by the persistent inyolucrum.
SpeciIFIC CHARACTER. — Plant a spinous, evergreen shrub. Branches alternate, nearly terete, beset with crooked spines, and when young covered with nu- merous short brownish hairs. Leaves alternate, ovate, obtuse, covered with soft hairs, those on the upper surface being much shorter than the under. Peduncles axillary ; pedicels united to the mid-rib of the bracts. Bracts oval, purple. Perianth shorter than the bracts, swollen at the base, contracted and twisted above the middle; limb five-toothed.
Seeds erect; endocarp testaceous, connate. Embryo | enwrapped in amylaceous albumen. Cotyledons con- duplicate ; radicle outward, inferior.
Cuimpine plants at the present day occupy a considerable share of attention ; but of the numerous species which possess this interesting habit, there are not a few that show a reluctance to develope their flowers, and often retain their sterility for many years.
Of this class is the subject to which we now invite attention. unknown to British cultivators, except through wild specimens from its native country, and by flowers sent over from continental gardens, till the specimen growing in the large conservatory at Chatsworth disclosed its singular and beautiful inflorescence about two years ago, and again in still greater profusion throughout the greater part of last summer. Judging that a plant which has so long disappointed cultivators, cannot fail to be interesting, we had the accom- panying representation taken from blooms that expanded in July.
The showiness of the inflorescence is entirely vested in the large, gaily-coloured bracts, of which a pretty accurate idea may be gained from our figure, though they possess a silky softness which no touch of the pencil can imitate. Combined with their beautiful appearance, they carry with them the additional recommendation of
In fact they possess a property similar to that common We have now before
Its merits were
enduring for a long time. amongst Composite, and familiarly termed “everlasting.” us the specimen from which our drawing was prepared, the bracts of which (although their preservation has been entirely accidental and unregarded,) still retain their position, form, and colour, almost as perfect, fresh, and fair as ever.
52 BUGAINVILL/A SPECTABILIS.
We understand it has been grown many years in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, where it is planted in the border of a stove, and trained against the back wall; and in this situation has spread over a considerable space, and flowered copiously, for at least the last ten years. From all we can learn, it has never flowered till the specimens have acquired age and considerable size ; nevertheless, we are far from believing it impossible to obtain blossoms from much younger and dwarfer plants. Many plants usually received as shy bloomers, have been induced to disclose flowers in profusion, by subjecting them to bottom-heat. The plan suggested in a recent number for promoting the fertility of climbers will most probably be found beneficial here. And, moreover, the state of the parent plant from which the cuttings are procured, exercises a far more extensive influence on the progeny, than is generally thought of. Cuttings of a moderate strength taken from a plant in a free-flowering condition, bloom much earlier than those raised from the vigorous shoots of a young specimen ; and fertility is still further hastened by choosing the lateral growths of flowering branches.
It was originally introduced to this country from Peru, in 1829, and seems to require the temperature of the stove.
The genus commemorates the celebrated De Bugainville, one of the most suc- cessful of French circumnavigators, to whose expedition the well known and indefatigable botanist, Commerson, was attached from 1766 to 1769.
ae
5. Holden. del. XLith
Pa , LIMA ONAM ccfe LW
BURTONIA CONFERTA.
(Crowded-leaved Burtonia.)
Class. Order. DECANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. Natural Order. LEGUMINOS#. GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx profoundly five-cleft. SpeciFic CHARACTER.—Plant a smooth evergreen
Petals five, deciduous, about equal in length, two ef shrub. Stem ascending, angular. Leaves simple, awl- which are eoncrete into a keel on the back. Ovary shaped, with sub-recurved ends, pallid base, and revo- two-seeded. Style subulate, dilated at the base. Stigma lute margins. Corymb terminal, many-flowered. Calyx obtuse, bearded. Legume roundish, ventricose. Seeds green, glaucous, covered with a smooth pubescence. without a strophiola.—Don’s System of Gardening and Petals violet.
Botany.
Tuts charming little plant is a native of New Holland, where it was discovered on the Seuth Western coast, by Mr. Baxter, and transmitted to England about 1830. It is remarkable for its neat and elegant growth, and is at the present time met with rather extensively in most of the principal nursery establishments around London, The specimen from which our figure was made was kindly supplied by Messrs. Henderson, of Pine-apple Place.
From the dwarfness of its habit, and the great profusion with which the flowers are borne, it is admirably adapted for a choice and limited collection. But it demands considerable attention to enable it to develope its qualities in perfection, and is not a little altered under the different degrees of skill and watch- fulness bestowed on its culture. Much like a heath in outward appearance when destitute of flowers, it also requires a treatment in many respects analogous, and will always be most successfully managed apart from the soft-wooded and succulent tribes. The flowers appear in the most prominent station—at the very extremity of the shoots, and are arranged in dense clusters ; and when the plants are kept in a healthy vigorous state, the shoots occasionally shortened back to favour the increase of laterals, and spread out to form a neat bush, they carry a somewhat imposing aspect.
One of the most important features in its cultivation is to provide a sufficient drainage, and adopting measures to prevent it from becoming defective ; for if a superabundance of water remain in the vicinity of the roots, these organs, which are of an extremely tenuous and delicate structure, will incur serious injury. The texture of the soil employed in potting should also be open and full of fibrous
54 BURTONIA CONFERTA.
matter, to prevent the particles from running close, and adhering together. It may, however, be rendered too open, and thus subject the plant to great inequality of moisture ; this must be guarded against. A soil of a fine grain is objectionable on account of the difficulty of getting it thoroughly moistened, if at any time it chance to become too dry. A rough heath-mould, a portion of decayed leaves, and river- sand, make an excellent composition. Much depends on regular attention to watering, as either extreme wet, or drought, is sufficient to produce death in a very short time. :
During the latter part of summer, it may be set out of doors in some place where it will not be much exposed to the mid-day or afternoon sun, observing also to defend it from violent winds and dashing showers.
It is propagated with great facility by cuttings taken from plants in a free growing state, inserted in sand, with a bell-glass, and subjected to a gentle bottom- heat. They should be potted out separately, immediately after roots have formed, or they are apt to “‘ damp off.”
The generic name was given by Dr. Brown, to commemorate the services of Mr. David Burton, a zealous, active collector for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew ; who after having sent home a considerable number of plants, died in New Holland. The close and somewhat crowded arrangement, both of leaves and flowers, appears to have prompted the specific name.
ee
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LG A MAD (1. Bs Cp ViPn ) A LOUg VAOVAL. Ye, Yn
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SEEDLING CHINESE AZALEAS.
(1, Exquisita. 2, Optima. 3, Broughtonii.)
Class. Order.
PENTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. Natural Order.
FRICACEA. GARDEN VARIETIES.
Tue popularity already attached to the numerous superb varieties of the Chinese Azalea in common cultivation, is likely to be considerably increased by the recent addition of a number of seedlings, of a decidedly improved character. An extensive assortment of these flowered last spring in the exotic nursery of Messrs. Knight and Perry, at Chelsea, and a selected few were noticed at that time in our last volume, and figures executed of the three splendid kinds which constitute the accompanying group.
Considering the important feature which the family now contribute to the great metropolitan floricultural shows, and indeed generally to similar exhibitions throughout the provincial districts also, we have reason to believe that the present embellishment will be favourably received by the mass of our readers, and the exertions of the hybridists, so signally successful, will meet with a corre- sponding encouragement. We can only give our selection as a specimen, chosen rather for their relative distinctness, than for any superiority they possess over several of the others noticed last season, some of which are undoubtedly as deserving the attention of the culturist as the three now depicted. We do not, therefore, wish to exalt them above the varieties in question, but merely to show how much they are in advance of those which have already elicited, by the flaunting gaiety of their flowers, such a copious amount of public patronage.
The habit of all these plants presenting scarcely any variation, and our representation conveying a very correct notion of the flowers, it would hardly appear necessary to allude individually to any of the varieties depicted, were it not for an approximation in the flowers of ecaxquisita to those of an older acquaintance (A. ind. variegata), which might lead some to regard it as the same thing. It differs from that variety in the spots, and the edges of the pink colouring being more distinctly defined, and in the blossoms usually appearing
56 SEEDLING CHINESE AZALEAS.
in large clusters, and is decidedly a much superior kind. It was produced at the nursery of Messrs. Knight and Perry, a few years ago, together with Broughtonii, and many others, from a quantity of seeds, gathered almost pro- miscuously from most of the principal sorts in general cultivation. The latter was named in compliment to Sir John Broughton, in whose collection the family exhibits manifest marks of the attention and excellent management bestowed upon it. Optima is also an English seedling, obtained, we believe, in a private collection, and purchased exclusively by the same establishment.
To manage these plants well, they ought to be potted in rougher materials than the fine, sandy heath-soil they commonly obtain, and a portion of leaf-soil assists vastly in improving their general appearance, especially in the deepened verdure of their leaves. They require copious supplies of water in spring ; and old plants, whilst growing, receive visible benefit from well-diluted liquid manure, given about every third watering. A frame, or pit, where a moist, shaded atmosphere can be preserved, is the best place at that time; but later in the season, they should be gradually brought to a full exposure in the sun, and a free play of air, to mature their shoots and enable them to make provision for next season's bloom. Further directions will be found in detail at page 160 of our last year’s volume.
o7
CONSIDERATION OF LIGHT.
—_@-——__
SEVERAL years ago we offered a few remarks upon the Philosophy of this beauti- ful emanation, which we shall not again repeat; but, as connected with the subject of heat, we propose to follow it up, so as to render theory practically useful, either by direct inference, or by deduction from observed facts.
It is probable that we may never attain to a knowledge of the precise nature of light, because we cannot determine that of its assured source—the Sun. Still there are many phenomena which lead to a shrewd conjecture of its elements, and to these we may safely refer.
There are three distinct series of phenomena, traceable to solar influence, to which we invite the attention of the inquiring cultivator ; namely, Ist, those of attraction—2nd, those of temperature—and, 3rd, those of colouration.
The principle of attraction is manifested in the position assumed by leaves under the several angles of sunlight at different hours of the day. Thus, in Erythrina, we see the leaflets brought into first the horizontal, and then the upright position, at about eight or nine o’clock of the forenoon, and thence to mid-day—declining in proportion asthe sun advances tothe west. Attraction, whatever be its medium, is demonstrative of electric agency ; this, at all events, will not be disputed when it is attended with luminous appearances.
But then, it may be contended, that the phenomena of magnetism and of che- mical attraction do not generally, or of necessity, develope light. This is true, but as respects magnetism,—which is induced by the electric current, and, therefore, dependent upon it ; so much so, as all but to prove that electricity and magnetism are one in essence. And as to the latter, when chemical attraction takes place, as between acids and alkalies, the combining powers unite, and thus neutralise each other. In conformity with these chemical phenomena, light may be considered as exerting an invisible attraction upon the points and foliage of vegetables, which induces the flow of the sap in an wpward direction, and also the /ateral courses of the fluids through the tissue of the cells, and that of .the medullary processes, thus producing the laboration and concoction of the proper specific juices of each indi- vidual plant.
There must be a governing agent,—and therefore we repudiate that maudlin language which ascribes volition and choice to inanimate structures.
2. Temperature, its rise and fall, are discerned as measured by our very im- perfect instruments. In nine cases of ten, temperature is only a result of excited chemical action, of which combustion is one form; but as referred to the Sun, the manifestation of direct heat is generally ascribed to the red rays, while those of magnetism are found in the blue and violet. Still the entire solar, or white ray, diffuses heat and light, without communicating heat to the transparent medium
VOL. XII.—NO, CXXXV. I
58 CONSIDERATION OF LIGHT.
through which it passes, unless that medium be susceptible of electro-chemical changes.
This leads us to the consideration of that substitute for glass which was announced some time since, under the title of Whitney’s composition. It is now perhaps fortunate, that Drake’s sheet-glass may soon be obtained at comparatively small cost; but still, the varnished canvas was a great acquisition, because the direct light of the full solar rays might thus be diffused throughout a house, or pit, communicating its softened, genial temperature, without danger of scalding by lenticular action. Bus the cloth decays, cracks, perishes; and not only so, it becomes patchy, discoloured, and offensive to the eye. What are the causes of these disagreeable concomitants, which threaten to deprive the forcing gardener of one of his best appliances ?
It will be found, that if a frame of varnished linen, or calico, be kept in a dwelling, unexposed to the evaporation of the soil underneath, and to the action of moisture from above, the decay will rarely occur. Whereas when employed as a horticultural covering, it will speedily become blotched or stained all over with fungus, lichen, or some such cryptogamous vegetation. Here then we perceive the agents of decay, and hence, if some ingenious person could incorporate with the varnish, or superpose upon it, when applied, a certain antidote, or repellant of the invader, the varnished screen might last for years, sound and in a decent condition. We have thought of creasote, and bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate), both inimical to mouldiness ; but it does not as yet appear how either of them could be satisfactorily applied, because the former, if blended with the bulk of varnish, might be so masked as to lose its protective qualities ; and the sublimate, if merely laid over the varnish as a wash, would be carried away by rain from the upper surface, and by watery vapour from the under surface. Perhaps a thin varnish of caoutchouc (Indian rubber) dissolved in pale naphtha would be found to act effi- ciently in every way.
We have said that the sun does not heat the glass through which it passes— and glass is an electric ; but it does heat the linen screen: hence, chemical action is induced, and, strange to say, under these circumstances cryptogamous vegetation preys upon the tissue: we have much to learn in circumstances of every-day occurrence.
The late President, Mr. Knight, was exceedingly curious in his endeavours to discover the causes of particular phenomena. He thought that gravitation had a very important infiuence on the growth of plants; and Professor Davy, with whom he was intimate, recounts one of Mr. Knight's experiments which led him to presume that they owe the peculiar direction of their roots and branches entirely to this force. We refer to Davy’s Second Agricultural Lecture for the following particulars :—
Mr. Knight “ fixed some seeds of the garden-bean on the circumference of a wheel, which in one instance was placed vertically, and in the other horizontally,
‘CONSIDERATION OF LIGHT. 59
and made to revolve by means of another wheel worked by water, in such a manner, that the number of the revolutions could be regulated; the beans were supplied with moisture, and were placed under circumstances favourable to germination. The beans all grew, notwithstanding the violence of the revolution, which was sometimes as much as 250 revolutions a minute on the vertical wheel— which always revolved rapidly-—and with little variation of velocity ; the radicles, or roots, pointed precisely in the direction of radi in whatever direction they were placed. The germs took precisely the opposite direction, and pointed to the centre of the wheel, where they soon met each other. Upon the horizontal wheel the conflicting operation of gravitation and centrifugal force, occasioned the germs to form a cone more or less obtuse, according to the velocity of the wheel, the radicles always taking a course diametrically opposite to that taken by the germs, and, consequently, pointing as much below as the germs pointed above the plane of the wheel’s motion.”
Mr. Knight, by this ingenious experiment, failed to prove the agency of gravitation, for, to say nothing of the effects of mere mechanical force upon the germinating beans, by a velocity so great, he overlooked the presence of excited electricity. The attempt, at best, was very artificial, and would tend to no natural conclusions ; but as to gravitation in the abstract, what is it? and what does the term express? A body gravitates, when it falls to the earth; but when we consider that the earth is a globe, and that all bodies above its surface fall towards that surface, and therefore at every angle converging towards a central point which the globular figure admits of, it becomes plain that the act which we call descent, or falling, must be produced by attraction ; and thus we are inevitably led to the exciting cause, the light of the sun, which by its beams electrifies or magnetizes all the revolving worlds belonging to its system, and renders them mutually co-attractive.
Thus, also, we interpret the phenomena of vegetable developments, as the direct solar light appears to effect the induction of those electrical currents which regulate the flow of the sap, the laboration of the proper juice and compound secretions, and the separation and fixation of the colouring principle.
Colour is the ornamental dress of the vegetable kingdom.— Whence is it derived—what its source? We know that in the dark some plants acquire rich and deep tints: thus, the red giant Rhubarb, if placed in a warmish, close cellar, developes leaves, the stalks being of a most brilliant crimson, while the plate is of arich lemon-colour. In the light, growing naturally, the stalk would be a dark ochreous red, and the leaf-plate a full green. Light therefore, influences, by inducing chemical action in peculiar juices.
The solar ray is decomposable into four defined colours, and into three degrees of blue. By combination, these tints may be rendered productive of every shade of colour. It becomes, therefore, an inquiry of lively interest whether each ray fixes or deposits its own simple tints, or whether it acts electro-chemically upon
60 HYPERICUM CALYCINUM, FOR SHRUBBERIES, &c.
certain fluids, which are destined to be the colouring media. In the absence of proof, we may still appeal to a few facts adduced by several authorities.
Influence upon leaves—developing Chlorophyll.—lt frequently happens in America that clouds and rain obscure the atmosphere for several days together, and that, during this time, buds of entire forests expand themselves into leaves. ‘‘ These leaves assume a pallid hue, till the Sun appears, when, within the short period of six hours of a clear sky and bright sun, their colour is changed to a beautiful green.”
In Silliman’s Journal, a circumstance of this kind is recorded, whereby it appears that in six hours the tinting of several miles of a forest went through all the grades, from that of a greenish-white to full spring verdure.
Every gardener is conversant with the variations of colour which flowers assume under artificial treatment: thus, Andromeda polifolia, and Kalmia latifolia, are purple or pink when growing in the open air, but become nearly white when made to flower under glass. Now, it is not the heat altogether that influences the flower, but light, modified by passing through glass. Hence, we should study the effects of all those degrees of heat in which any tender or half-hardy plant can thrive, and adapt them to the actual volume of clear sunlight, because a heated atmosphere is not a substitute,—or, at least, a very defective one—for the clear ray, inasmuch as it (heat) produces no chemical effect upon the fluids of either leaf or flower.
Light acts beneficially upon the upper surface of the leaves, and hence great caution is indicated in allowing space sufficient for full play and action; it also pro- motes the transpiration of superfluous moisture and gases; and these appear to transude chiefly through the stomates of the under surfaces.
We begin to acquire fresh evidence of electric action in the new experiments upon corn-growing when exposed to the agency of electric circuits. All nature, air, water, earth, are replete with masked light, and this can be derived only from the Sun: if then it become a well established fact, that the growth of plants can be doubly stimulated by electricity derived from the atmosphere, we establish that most important point—the electrizing principle of the Sun’s rays. In afew months we hope to collect, and be enabled to adduce, facts in proof of the theory thus cursorily hinted at.
HYPERICUM CALYCINUM, FOR SHRUBBERIES, &c. bal ses
‘THERE is no part of an extensive garden—nor indeed of a small one—however remote its position, or however insignificant a feature it may form of the whole, that can properly be deemed unworthy of some attention and exertion to invest it with an ornamental appearance. The rudest and most uncultivated portions require, in fact, as much skill and consideration in their adornment as the most finished and elaborate parterre ; and it is in the selection and chaste fitting of
HYPERICUM CALYCINUM, FOR SHRUBBERIES, &c. 61
objects appropriate to these parts, that the taste of the manager is most aptly displayed. There is a medium to hit upon between a redundant puerile piling of frivolous and misplaced ornament, and an aspect betraying slovenliness and neglect.
By carefully keeping in mind that those things which have hitherto sufficed are not always the best state of things that it is possible to produce by an attentive observation, encouraging inquiry after fresh means of improvement, and a cautious execution, a gradual advancement will be still going on, and the least interesting nook in time will be clothed with something to allure the eye and excite admiration.
Perhaps there are few spots in pleasure-grounds generally, upon which these observations are more suited to bear, than the line where the ruggedness of the grove or plantation and the smoothness of the lawn meet together. A connecting link is often wanting. There needs something as an undergrowth to shed verdancy beneath the trees where grass will only grow partially, and few other plants can exist. There needs something to lead the eye more gradually and imperceptibly from the one to the other. The nakedness of these places, moreover, is a defect which must have been observed by every one, since we rarely meet with a pleasure-ground that is entirely exempt from it.
Some time ago the capacity which ivy possesses of flourishing beneath the shade and drip of trees, and its consequent adaptability as a carpeting for planta- tions instead of grass, was made the subject of comment in the pages of a former volume. Without seeking to detract from the merits of ivy for that purpose, we now bring another plant under review, which, from its commonness, must be almost as familiar to most of our readers—the Hypericum calycinum, or large flowering St. John’s Wort.
The main point which we here seek to enforce, is not so much its utility as a general covering, as was proposed, and has in some places been successfully adopted with ivy, but its applicability for planting in broad masses near the outskirts of plantations and shrubberies, and in the vicinity of the principal walks passing through them. It is by no means a novel proposition, but it is one deserving of a far more extensive adoption than it receives. We have seen it admirably exemplified in several instances, especially and on a large scale at the Deepdene, near Dorking. The plant rarely grows much above a foot high, and has a hand- some appearance, being furnished with ample evergreen foliage and large yellow flowers, which are copiously produced for the greater part of summer and autumn, and contribute a considerable amount of show. The density of a mass once planted will be continuously increased by the vast number of suckers, which are constantly pushing from the root. From this rapid and easy source of extension, there can be little trouble or expense incurred in obtaining a sufficient number of plants, and there is no risk of losing them with the most ordinary attention in planting. When they are intended to grow under trees, it is, however, advisable to plant in
62 CONSERVATIVE WALL AT CHATSWORTH.
autumn, in order that the soil may get well washed to the roots, before the leaves cover the trees in spring ; but in other situations there is scarcely a hazard at any season.
Another recommendation to the plant is its ability to exist and flourish in almost any kind of soil and situation. In gravelly places, where the generality of other plants can hardly derive a sufficiency of nourishment to maintain a healthy growth, and a very large number will not even live, it will thrive and spread vigorously ; and it exhibits little repugnance to the most adhesive clay. A bushy and somewhat shady spot is most consonant with its habits, but it is not difficult to manage in exposed sunny places; indeed, few plants are more accommodating.
Where the walks through shrubberies and plantations are diversified with natural banks, artificial slopes, or rocky places, this Hypericum will be found an exceedingly appropriate ornament. It should, however, be planted in extended patches, and not scattered here and there in small isolated groups. It is frequently a difficult matter to find plants otherwise suitable that will exist on steep, gravelly banks, where it is impossible to fix any large quantity of soil so long as they remain naked. For such places this shrub is admirably suited, and when the bank is once covered, should the plants not grow with a satisfactory vigour, a small quantity of soil or decaying leaves may be thrown in amongst them from time to time. This will prove of great assistance, and the number of stems will prevent it from falling or being washed to the bottom, as would invariably occur with a steep naked bank. But any aid of this kind will be almost rendered unnecessary when they are overhung with trees, by the falling leaves becoming entangled with their shoots, and settling down and rotting about their roots, and eventually acting as a manure.
Besides these situations, it will be found an excellent plant for covering open spaces amongst rockwork extending into a plantation, or similar places running down to the margin of an artificial lake. In such places, amongst rocks (but no doubt planted), we have seen it in considerable quantities in the vicinity of some of our northern lakes, where its large yellow blossoms have a gay appearance.
CONSERVATIVE WALL AT CHATSWORTH.
Tue following list, which is furnished at the request of a subscriber, enumerates some of the more conspicuous plants which are found to succeed well on the Con- servative Wall at Chatsworth. There are many others of less import, which it is not considered necessary to insert in this list ; it being offered more for those who may wish to possess a select than an extensive collection of such plants. Again there are others, which, although they grow well in this situation, and flower in great perfection during the summer and autumn months, are too fugitive to be admitted
CONSERVATIVE WALL AT CHATSWORTH. 63
into the catalogue. They however should not be discarded, as they are found most useful decoratives, and are planted at Chatsworth in the spring to fill up any vacancies or naked portions at the bottom of the wall, and are so arranged as to produce a good contrast when in flower with the permanent plants; and thus a blaze of flowers is kept up from the top to the bottom of the wall during the whole summer and autumn. These latter consist of Salvias, Tropzwolums, Petunias, Maurandya, &c.
The notes attached to some of the plants enumerated in the list will show how luxuriantly they grow, and what magnificent specimens they have attained to ; from which circumstance it may be inferred how truly beautiful they are when in flower, the blossoms being produced in many instances in the most gorgeous pro- fusion, literally hiding the foliage and stems of the plants which bear them.
A list of plants is added, which are intended to be planted against this wall, and which it is presumed should share a place in the most select arrangement of this kind ; most of them being species of sterling worth and beauty, and therefore
we recommend a trial of them by all who possess the luxury of a Conservative Wall.
PLANTS ON THE CONSERVATIVE WALL AT CHATSWORTH, Fes, 1845.
ACACIA DECURRENS : . This is a magnificent plant, with handsome foliage, occupying half of a panei.
———— LANCEOLATA.
———— ANGUSTIFOLIA.
ABUTILON STRIATUM = : A fine plant, blooming profusely: it should be well pruned in spring.
BRUGMANSIA SANGUINEA : Searcely anything can exceed the beauty of this plant when in
bloom. It covers the wall from bottom to top for a breadth of nearly twelve feet, and flowers for many months in sum- mer and autumn.
BRACHYSEMA UNDULATUM.
BILLARDIERA LONGIFLORA . A handsome climber, producing abundance of flowers, and a pretty blue berry. BIGNONIA CAPREOLATA . A fine species of this splendid genus, with scarlet flowers, which are borne in great profusion. It is a large plant. CEANOTHUS AZUREUS. : A pretty shrub, with azure blue flowers. CLEMATIS SIEBOLDI . ; These are most beautiful climbers, and although tolerably hardy AZUREA aay should not be omitted from the Conservative wall, where
they flower in higher perfection, and considerably earlier than where exposed.
DIPLACUS PUNICEUS.
ERYTHRINA CRISTA-GALLI.
EDWARDSIA MICROPHYLLA.
—GRANDIFLORA . This has attained a large size, and flowers profusely. GREVILLEA ROSMARINIFOLIA. HIBBERTIA VOLUBILIS . 3 A fine twiner and free bloomer. JASMINUM GRANDIFLORUM, UMBELLATUM,
LINUM TRIGYNUM. MALVA CREEANA,
64 HINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.
MANETTIA BICOLOR. OLEA FRAGRANS. PUNICA GRANATUM.
PLUMBAGO CAPENSIS). , A lovely plant, with pale azure blue flowers. PASSIFLORA MAYANA : ‘ CERULEA . : fea produce abundance of bloom, and the latter of fruit — —__— RACEMOSA also. ALATA . POLYGALA GRANDIFLORA . . This isa pretty old greenhouse plant, and has attained a large
size, with plenty of flowers. SCHINUS MOLLE. SWAINSONA CORONILLEFOLIA. SIPHOCAMFYLLUS BICOLOR. RHODOCHITON VOLUBILE . . A fine climber—flowers abundantly all summer. CAMELLIA JAPONICA : In variety.
LIST OF PLANTS RECOMMENDED, IN ADDITION, FOR CONSERVATIVE WALLS.
LAGERSTREMIA INDICA. POLYGALA CORDIFOLIA. CERATONIA SILIQUA. CorrEA HaARRISII. Buppieya LINDLEYANA. | LINDLEYANA. TACSONIA PINNATISTIPULA. = SEU CHE iA. MOLLISSIMA. BICOLOR.
MIMOSA PROSTRATA. SOLLYA LINIARIS.
ACACIA LONGISSIMA. HETEROPHYLLA. CULTRIFORMIS. EUTAXIA MYRTIFOLIA. DEALBATA. | BRACHYSEMA HYBRIDUM. SUNIPERINA. KKENNEDYA OVATA.
ARMATA. LONGIRACEMOSA. ———— LUNATA. LILACINA. ——— MUCRONATA. MARIANTHUS CHRULEO-PUNCTATUS. BRUGMANSIA SUAVEOLENS. Bossl#A LINIFOLIA,. BIGNONIA GRANDIFLORA. —_———SCOLOPENDRIUM. oo TWEEDIANA.
HINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.
Rapip as the advance of late years has been in the knowledge and appreciation of scientific principles in the culture of flowers, there is still a seeming reluctance, in a great many instances, to enforce their application. And perhaps this is in a great measure attributable to the comprehensive nature of the considerations that are involved in the application of theoretical systems to attain practical ends with any degree of certainty and benefit. Ignorance of the nature of particular species or classes of plants, and of the varying character of the conditions in which they are respectively met with in a wild state, present a formidable barrier to those who have had little practical experience or opportunity for observation. All first principles are necessarily too general, and the peculiarities of plants too diversified
HINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS. 65
to admit of a very extensive application without considerable modification to adapt them to the requirements of each. Thus, light is universally recognised as an essential agent to the well-being of a plant; but the degree of light beneficial to different species, or even which they can bear with impunity, varies as greatly as their respective botanical characters or general aspect. The same is true of other agencies; and on this account, therefore, directions for the management of particular species, or families corresponding in habits, will always be desirable. The detail of different plans of treatment, will likewise furnish a means of creating additional variety in the several stations for which each is respectively fitted.
Considerable interest being at the present time manifested with regard to the Juanulloa parasitica, so long cultivated in gardens as Brugmansia floribiinda, we are induced to pen a few observations upon it, assured that in so doing we shall be complying with the desire of many of our subscribers.
With the knowledge of the primitive name, we gain some facts relative to its natural habits and climate, which may possibly be turned to advantage in its cultivation. It is described by Ruiz and Pavon, its original discoverers, as a parasitical plant growing on the trunks of trees in forests, and assuming a pendent direction. Coupling this fact, then, with the prevalence of a clouded atmosphere in Peru, we have at once the best evidence for assuming shade to be a necessary condition to ensure success in its management. Eiffectual drainage, and to be effectual it must be extensive, so that the roots may never be surrounded by an excess of moisture, is another axiom plainly established by the natural situation being upon trees.
But even to set aside these inductions, as derived from the natural circum- stances which attend the plant in a wild state, the conclusions drawn from repeated practice and observation come in support of the same theory ; and we can have no hesitation in affirming that the frequent failures in its cultivation may generally be traced to the neglect of one or other of these conditions. We do not, however, mean to assert that success is solely and exclusively dependent on them, for the health of plants must ever be influenced by a variety of causes.
To carry out these hints, instead of using a loamy and retentive soil, one of a more open character and more permeable to fluids should be chosen. That degree of humidity in the soil most beneficial to this, and indeed to a very large number of all cultivated plants, is that which merely moistens all the particles, without. producing saturation ; and this condition will be best preserved by a looser arrangement, and materials of a coarse mechanical texture. The Juanulloa thrives admirably in a mixture of rough pieces of rotten wood and decayed leaves; and from the fact of the plant locating upon trees in its native state, we may safely conclude that this is the natural medium for its roots.
A degree of bottom-heat to the roots is another important point, and effects a most astonishing improvement in the growth and flowering ; and more especially when the plants are provided with it from the earliest stage of their existence, for
_ VOL, XI,-—NO. CXXXV. K
66 HINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.
when they have once become diseased and unhealthful through the want of this or - other proper appliances, they are commonly a long time in regaining a flourishing aspect. Indeed, it generally proves more satisfactory in the end, at once to set about rearing young specimens, than to attempt the renovation of an old mis- managed one; and it is likewise of equal moment to select the most promising shoots for cuttings.
Beyond this we have little to add, except that a moist atmosphere is indis- _ pensable to enable it to grow in a luxuriant way, and produce fine clusters of blossoms. With this and the foregoing facts in mind, then, we cannot but conclude that an orchidaceous house is the most suitable place to grow it in; and as there is something remarkable, and dissimilar from ordinary stove-plants, in its general figure, it is not an unworthy companion for the Aischynanthus and some of the Columnea species, which are commonly associated with Orchidaceze. We are fully persuaded that a greenhouse is unsuited to the Juanulloa, and where the acme of cultural excellence is striven for, it will be necessary to furnish a greater degree of heat and of moisture.
From this plant, which can only be had in perfection by those who have all the advantages of warm stoves, we pass to one of still more recent introduction, but already equally popular, both on account of its excellent appearance, and its ability to flourish in a lower temperature. The plant to which we refer is one of the most showy which New Zealand has furnished to our gardens—the Veronica speci0sa, imported a year or two ago by Messrs. Knight and Perry, of Chelsea. The vast facilities for propagation possessed by this plant, both by seed and by cuttings, has already permitted it an extensive circulation, which we have no doubt will be greatly increased, when its value as an ornamental species becomes more widely known. It has naturally a bushy and vigorous character, and large and somewhat succulent leaves of a fine glossy green. The beautiful spikes of flower are usually much superior in magnitude to any of the published figures of it, and are occasionally branched at the base. In addition to this, the species may be had in bloom for seven or eight months in the year, and it is highly probable that it may ultimately be found to flower at all seasons. Those who saw the beautiful specimen exhibited at the Chiswick Gardens last summer, by Mr. Ingram, of the Royal Gardens, Windsor, will be able to form a pretty correct idea of its capabilities.
The plant just alluded to had been grown in an intermediate house; but although, by the application of a little extra heat, the period of flowering is capable of being considerably hastened, a high temperature is not by any means essential to the general welfare or plenteous blooming of the species. A common frame is quite sufficient protection for it in winter, and we have even had it exposed to two or three degrees of frost for several successive days without any visible injury, although the plant was in a free growing state at the time. In the summer season it is quite at home in the open air, and grows luxuriantly in the borders.
HINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS. 67
Tow far it may be useful to turn young plants into the flower-beds in summer, appears to be questionable. We have never yet seen specimens bloom till they had acquired considerable size. But even though they do not flower, they may be planted in the same bed with free-flowering plants that are deficient in foliage ; and if kept low, they will form an excellent verdant covering. The great space which large plants require during winter, is a matter of some moment in most collections, and must prevent such from being extensively used for the parterre. There can be no doubt, however, that the large plants which have adorned the greenhouse during the previous summer and winter may be planted out with advantage, and their place replenished with younger specimens. Three or four of these large plants may be made to extend over a moderately capacious bed, by carefully bending down and fastening the shoots to the ground with hooked pegs—a plan which is of further benefit in conferring a more dwarf appearance, and promoting the development of side growth; and the same method, though in a more limited extent, is useful with plants intended to remain in pots. When an inclination is manifested to run up with only one or two stems, instead of applying the usual corrective of pruning, it is preferable to divert the current of sap into the side buds, by bending the shoots downwards; and any degree of bushiness that may be thought desirable is easily obtained, by resorting to this expedient from time to time as the plant proceeds in growth. The utility of the practice is exhibited in an earlier bloom than would have been produced, had each bud been shortened every time an increase of shoots became necessary to maintain the symmetry of the bush ; and the flexures thus formed in the branches will always be sufficiently obscured by the quantity of foliage.
Being of a succulent nature (though capable of enduring a great degree of humidity at the roots), much water is not essential to it, and only tends to retard the disclosure of bloom ; and as the unrestricted extension of roots, when trans- planted into the borders, has a similar tendency, the selection of a shallow soil in a dry and well-drained situation is a highly politic measure; and if possible, it should be a place well favoured with sunshine.
We have yet another feature to point to, and that is, the facility which attends its Management as a window plant for the cottager. In this respect it is almost unrivalled ; for, with a trifling amount of care, it will retain the beautiful green of its leaves, even in the smoky atmosphere of the metropolis. In such a station it is imperative to supply water to the roots during winter with a very niggardly hand, and to check as much as possible the propensity which the plant usually displays to elongate its branches ; and the sponge must also be frequently employed to keep the leaves clear of dust and dirt.
A remarkable fact in connection with vegetable colours, and one which the culturist may apply to a practical advantage, is that displayed by several green- house plants—and which we have especially observed in some of those with flowers varying from an orange-red to scarlet—of acquiring a deeper and more brilliant
68 HINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.
_tint when exposed to the weather without the intervention of glass. An instance of this which must be familiar to many of our readers, is exhibited in the Aguilegia Skinneri, a native of Guatemala,which though a hardy plant or nearly so in the southern counties, must be regarded as a greenhouse species in the northern and elevated midland districts. The same tendency to acquire brilliancy in the open air is also witnessed in the common scarlet Verbena, in the Lychnis Bungeana and LL. coronata, in several of the Zichyas, and other New Holland Leguminosz, in the Cuphea strigulosa recently figured, and by several other plants in a more or less conspicuous degree, amongst which, flowers of other hues might also be adduced. It is not, however, an unvarying rule with all plants; for results exactly the converse are daily witnessed, probably in a large measure produced by the induction of too much aqueous fluid into the system. But this is not the place to enter into any abstruse speculations—we are now dealing with facts; and to show the relation of these premises to practical purposes, we have yet to bring forward a still more obvious instance, than any of those just advanced. We allude to the Brugmansia sanguinea (or B. bicolor, as it is sometimes called), when planted out of doors.
The deficiency of colour, together with the inveterate attacks of the red-spider and thrip on the leaves of this plant when grown in stoves or greenhouses, have | almost accomplished its exclusion from collections. Ina few instances, we meet with plants in the open air, but these are by no means so frequent as the orna- mental capabilities of the species are entitled to. In a dry, sheltered, sunny place on a lawn, it grows vigorously and expands flowers abundantly, but in such situ- ations, unless very carefully protected, it will be destroyed in an ordinarily severe winter.
At Chatsworth, we have grown it for several years trained against the ‘€conservative wall,” where its long, trumpet-formed flowers constitute a truly splendid feature throughout the latter part of summer, and notwithstanding the usual severity of the seasons in Derbyshire—continuing till near the close of the year ; and it is remarkable, that the depth and brilliancy of the colours increase as the autumn advances. During the months of August, October, and in milder seasons December, they are most abundant, presenting almost an unbroken mass of inflorescence. The number of flowers disclosed on one plant at the same time, in each of these months, exceeds an average of two hundred.
Little attention is required beyond occasional syringing in dry weather, and thinning out the superfluity of young shoots, in summer. Independent of other benefits conferred by these operations, they are both essential to the perfect sub- jugation of insects. When the young growths are left in a too crowded state, they become completely covered with green-fly and the leaves are constantly falling off; and unless they are syringed during the continuance of a dry atmosphere, they are apt, even in the open air, to be overrun with the red-spider. Thinning out the summer growths is further beneficial in increasing the size of the blossoms and the
1
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 69
neat appearance of the trees, and the flowering period is likewise prolonged by it. In fact the trees should be managed with the same regularity that would be prac- tised in the summer management of a peach-tree, always pinching out the buds that are not wanted, before they have grown more than an inch or two in length. But although they should be left equally over the whole tree, they must not be formally trained. On the contrary, they should be allowed to project a short distance from the wall, tying them back whenever they exceed a safe or tidy limit. At the approach of spring, all the branches will need spur-pruning to keep them from straggling far from the wall, and clogging the plant with an accumulation of old wood, that serves no other purpose than as a harbour for insects.
The mode of affording protection in winter is by covering the roots with dry fern, and drawing before the branches a tightly stretched curtain of strong canvas, which being attached at the top to a temporary projecting coping, and secured to a frame at the bottom, encloses an area of warmer air around them. For the most part, the curtain may be drawn back for a few hours in the middle of the day ; and in mild weather it should not even be closed during the night. Of course, it is necessary to have a border sufliciently well drained to prevent the soil from becoming overcharged with water. By a similar proceeding, many greenhouse plants will acquire a considerable improvement on the character they present when grown ina greenhouse; and the coping, curtains, and every vestige of protection, may be entirely removed in summer.
FLORICULTURAL NOTICHS.
———___ @—__—
NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR MARCH.
Anerz cum Dr'sticuum. This is not a very showy plant, nor yet very new, having been in the possession of the Messrs. Loddiges; of Hackney, for twelve or thirteen years, but it is nevertheless a plant full of interest, whether we regard the form and arrangement of the foliage, or the structure of its minute pellucid blossoms. It consists of a tuft of stems a few inches long, occasionally branching, and furnished from the base to the point with closely set, oblong-faleate, distichous leaves of a fleshy texture, from the axils of which the blossoms protrude singly. Diminutive as these flowers are, they are said to be identical in structure with those of the fine A. eburneum of Thouars. Speaking of the genus Angrecum, Sir William Hooker says, “ it is peculiar to the Old World, if we except the A. filiforme, a native of Hispaniola, but which will prove to belong to a different genus. It was founded by Du Petit Thouars, and the name derived from a barbarous word, ‘ Angurek,’ of the Malays.” The present species was imported from Sierra Leone by the Messrs. Loddiges, who presented specimens to the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, where it flowered in October.—Bot. Mag., 4145.
Ao'rus Graci’Luima. A very elegant Swan River species of Aotus, introduced to the Royal Gardens of Kew by Mr. James Drummond. “ We have also received it,” writes the Editor of Curtis’s Magazine, “from Baron Hugel, imported from the same country, to which it seems peculiar. Mr, Preiss and Mr, Drummond have both sent dried specimens. Besides its glabrous branches and foliage, it may at once be known from the old 4.-villosa by the very copious flowers, so abundant on the branches as to conceal the leaves of a great portion of the branches : thus its beauty will recommend it to every greenhouse. Only two species were known to Professor De
70 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
Candolle, and both natives of Eastern Australia ; now, six others are described in the ‘ Plante Preissianz,’ as inhabitants of the Swan River settlement.’’ The species here more immediately under notice, is a tall and rather loose-growing heath-like shrub, with slender branches full of twigs towards the point of each. The flowers are of a lively yellow colour spotted with red, and spring from the axils of the leaves, very densely arranged, and completely encircling the stem with an unbroken mass for several inches in length. With proper management whilst the plant is young, to render it bushy, the species will make a very attractive shrub. Bot. Mag., 4146.
CaLaTHEA ViLLo'sa. “A native of Demerara, whence it was sent by the Chevalier Schom- burgk to Messrs. Loddiges, with whom it flowered in July, 1843. It is not possible, in the present state of the Marantaceous order, to say much about its affinity, without a very careful examination of all the species to be found in books; but we presume that it is nearly related to Roscoe’s Phrynium Cylindricum. Its very shaggy leaves and fiower-spikes, taken along with the lengthened cylindrical form of the latter, offer discriminating marks that are not to be mistaken.” It has oblong petiolate leaves of considerable size, and the stem extends into a long scape, at the summit of which is a cylindrical spike of -yellow flowers. Before they expand, the flowers are concealed in large greenish bracts. The species needs a high stove temperature, and should be liberally watered whilst it continues in a growing state. Sandy loam and peat is recommended as a suitable soil for it. It is increased by offsets.—Bot. Reg., 14.
Ev'stoma Exatra‘tum. This plant is known in botanical works by no less than five other names besides the present. ‘It appears ” writes Dr. Lindley, ‘‘ from the researches of Dr. Grisebach, that Lisianthus Russellianus, this plant, and another or two like them, constitute a peculiar genus which Mr. Bentham called Urananthus, but which had been previously named Eustoma by the late Professor Don. It is therefore necessary to cancel the common name of this plant in favour of that which is now given. Under the designation of Lisianthus glaucifolius the species is circulating among gardeners as something new; but it is, in truth, a species respectable for its antiquity, having been described years ago by Lamarck, under the name of Lisianthus exaltatus, and by Jacquin as LL. glaucifolius. Itis the celebrity of L. Russellianus that has again brought it into notice.” Besides the foregoing synonymes, it has received the names of Chlora exaltata, and Eustoma silenifolium. “Itis a native of various parts of North America: the warm parts of Mexico on the coast of the Pacific, Vera Cruz, Tampico, Cuba, St. Domingo, the Havannah, and the Arkansas, are all set down as stations from whence it has been brought.” Dr. Lindley suspects that all the plants thus collected may not prove to be the same species, as the style is considerably longer in specimens from the North of Mexico, than in those which flowered last summer at the establishment of Mr. Glendinning, at Turnham Green. In point of beauty it is inferior to E. Russellianum, having smaller flowers, but is, nevertheless, a very pretty and interesting greenhouse plant. It has rather a stiff habit, with glaucous, elliptic, oblong leaves, and flowers when not more than a foot high. The seeds “should be sown about midsummer. The plants will naturally come weak at first, but to retard their flowering till the following season, as well as to strengthen them, they should be stopped at every other joint, until they have produced a sufficient number of lateral shoots. The soil which seems most suitable is sandy peat. Water and heat should be liberally given during the growing season.” It is naturally only of annual duration. Bot. Reg., 13.
Ly'cium Fucusio'1pEs. “ Introduced to the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, and raised from seeds sent by Dr. Jameson, from Azoques, in the Quitinian Andes, where it is used by the natives for fences.” It appears from dried specimens procured from the same locality, that both fruit and flowers are witnessed on one branch at the same time ; the former, of course, appearing on the lower part from the flowers of the previous season, and the latter adorning the more extreme portion. A good representation is given in the ‘ Plante: Aiquinoctiales,’ from specimens obtained, at neighbouring stations—the somewhat cold, elevated region near Delay, Cumbe, and Cuenca, in the province of Quito ; but the intermediate lesser teeth of the limb of the corolla are omitted, which, indeed, are not easily seen in the dried specimens ; and the fruit is given as a small globose berry. In the Nov. Gen. Amer., however, the berry of the same plant is, on the authority of Humboldt, described as ‘ ovate ” so that I cannot doubt,” adds Sir W. Hooker, & of our plant being identical with it.” This species of Box-thorn is one of the unarmed section, and is a handsome showy plant, everywhere perfectly smooth, and well furnished with blunt leaves,
OPERATIONS FOR APRIL. 71
approaching an oval form. The flowers, of which several appear together at the axil of the leaves, are supported singly on peduncles of nearly their own length ; the corolla is a lengthened tube, spreading a little at the top, of an orange scarlet colour. In the Kew Gardens it grows about five feet high, and continues flowering for a good part of the summer. It needs a warm greenhouse. Bot. Mag., 4149.
OPERATIONS FOR APRIL.
——
Ir is a natural thing to feel pleasure in any circumstance that awakens within us a sense of the returning kindliness of summer, and an early spring is consequently rapturously hailed by many. But how often, nevertheless, have a few short days of mild and genial weather been succeeded by aseverity and inclemency that speedily blasted the expectations of the too sanguine ! Experience teaches that a premature warmth at this season is, in fact, to be regarded with a most suspicious cautiousness, particularly in the northern and inland localities ; and the observing culturist of tender flowers soon learns that a precocious heat and moisture is more frequently alike an enemy to his ease and his efforts, than a matter of gratulation and delight.
We throw out this introductory caution to awaken those who are too apt to be lulled into forgetfulness of the past, and suffer themselves to be deceived by the fair promises of the present hour, to a recollection of the sudden and sometimes severe frosts which rarely fail to visit us in some part of this month, and occasionally in May ; and which are then proportionately destructive to the degree of previous excitement to grow, which the more delicate plants in the open air have sustained. Should the severe frost experienced in March, be succeeded by a mild, showery April, there must be no hurry to plant out tender things, or to dispense with the pro- tections of winter. Shelter is, in truth, never more plainly indispensable to success than during spring frosts, which succeed an unseasonable mildness. Indeed, it isa fact which we believe none will be temerarious enough to gainsay, that plants which actually needed no protection whatever during the depth of a winter’s cold, become invested with a tenderness by the fickleness of our climate in spring, that renders them susceptible of damage from what are apparently very insignificant subsequent depressions of temperature. Therefore, we reiterate the advice not to be rash and premature in removing the emblems of winter.
We must not, however, be misunderstood. We do not recommend plants to be cased up during fine weather, nor yet that the materials with which they are protected should be left staring in conspicuous places, when there is a conveniency near enough at hand for concealing them, without materially affecting the needful dispatch in their reapplication on a succeeding emergency. Every thing should be done to create and continue neatness, that can be done without endangering the success of the plant in its after progress. Neither do we include in the foregoing directions a recommendation to keep those plants in pits and frames, intended for the flower-garden, in a close confined atmosphere. Besides mere protection from frost, however, it is essential that these be kept growing somewhat freely ; but it will now also be equally necessary to prepare them for the cpen ground by a gradual inurement to a more exposed condition. The medium to be hit upon, is to manage this without starving and weakening them. If they are kept too close and warm, they will become too sensitive to cold to admit of removal to the open air without danger, till a late period ; and if they are subjected to a temperature very much depressed, or exposed to keen winds, vegetation will be paralysed, and it will be long before the plants effectually recover. Turf-pits carefully covered at night, and protected also in the day- time on the windy side, and from cold showers, afford a suitable shelter for many of the robust species, if ordinary precautions are observed in their construction, against damp. The employ- ment of a number of these at this season will likewise make room in other receptacles for providing a more ample stock of plants, both for the parterre and show-houses in summer.
To assist the plants in acquiring vigour previous to being transplanted to the flower-garden, it is a profitable plan to repot those free-growing kinds that have filled their pots with roots, and begin to be cramped for want of space to extend further. With Calceolarias and similar things, this is indispensable to ensure fine display ; many of the plants which are neglected being liable to die from the decay of roots which ensues from confining them, and all suiforing harm from the want of a suitable material to push new roots amongst.
72 OPERATIONS FOR APRIL.
It is now fully time to hasten the completion of all ground-work still in progress. The accumulating weight of unavoidable operations in maintaining and providing for the attractiveness of the grounds and houses, will require the full attention of the culturist to superintend and have executed at the appropriate time. And, besides, the confusion which is created by leaving these unfinished till a late period, they are commonly an eyesore in the scene throughout the season. Whatever turf remains to be laid down should be done at once, that it may acquire a verdurous face before the heats of summer. Walks should now be turned, and additional gravel supplied wherever it may be wanted, in order to impart a fresh appearance, and get rid of the moss and weeds that usually abound on the surface. This is a work often passed over as unnecessary, and in some degree it may be so where the gravel is of an extremely firm-binding nature ; but in other cases it will eventually prove a great saving of labour, owing to the comparatively little trouble that will be required to destroy the weeds during summer. It will be necessary to have them well and frequently rolled for some time after, with a rather heavy roller ; and this will be most effectively performed in showery weather. Similar opportunities should also be seized upon for rolling the lawns ; it will add much to their good appearance, and the benefit will be fully appreciated when it becomes necessary to use the scythe. In fine weather, any preparations needed in the flower-beds, for the reception of plants next month, may be proceeded with.
Amongst stove and greenhouse plants this month will be a season of great activity, and if the needful conditions are furnished, of vigorous development. Now is the time to supply an increased bottom heat; and for those who are yet sceptical], to test the utility of the principle. It must, however, be remembered that, a proportionate increase is at the same time necessary both in the heat and humidity of the atmosphere ; and the degree of warmth supplied to the roots should also be nearly the same as that maintained in the air, for a wide variation on either hand would be alike disastrous. A copious quantity of moisture will be required in the atmo- sphere to induce a healthy growth, and frequent syringing may now be indulged in. This will not only be a great means of keeping down insects, and preserving the leaves free from dust and dirt, and capable of performing these functions perfectly, but will also supply them with no in- considerable amount of nourishment. The occasional fierceness of the sun, moreover, should be softened by interposing a thin screen. But little air is necessary to the stove at this season, except occasionally for the purpose of lowering the temperature. By more strictly following these directions than is frequently done, there will be a good prospect of obtaining mature wood, and a consequent copious inflorescence ; and when in conjunction with other particulars lately furnished, we hope to see a more profuse bloom on many of the yet almost sterile species of climbers.
The same observations will apply to the orchidaceous houses, without other modification than a somewhat more plentiful moisture. A few specimens of Achimenes, ischynanthes, Epiphyl- lum truncatum, &e., planted in baskets amongst moderately loose materials, may be suspended here. Be careful that no water finds its way through the roof to drip upon the tender young growths.
The greenhouse should be kept closer than those structures usually are, and especially when a cold wind prevails. Nothing is more injurious now, whilst the shoots are young and soft, than a rush of cold air. Give the plants room to grow without their shoots becoming entangled with one another, and keep the pots clear of the weeds, which will now be making their appearance plenti- fully in the new soil. Be very particular not to use water at a lower temperature than that of the house ; and, if possible, let it be exposed to the sun, to further oxygenation.
Should the weather prove favourable, a portion of the early part of the month should be em- ployed in committing to the ground seeds of hardy shrubs, perennials, and annuals, and in pre- paring slight hot-beds for those that require a little warmth. Seeds of greenhouse and stove plants should also be sown in pots without delay, and furnished with a gentle bottom heat.
CuRYSANTHEMUM Suckers should be potted off, and protected from frosty winds and cold rain, in a turf pit with canvas covering. Dahlias should be encouraged. Cuttings of the Hydrangea may be planted in peat and small charcoal—many will thus produce blue flowers. Rose-trees which have been allowed to grow a few inches may be pruned to below where the buds have pushed, to flower late. All climbers not already attended to, should be pruned and regulated. Where a showy flower-garden in spring is prized, Mr. Edmonds’ method of employing Pansies, (described last year) may now be adopted.
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BEGONIA RAMENTACEA.
(Scaly Elephant’s-ear.)
Class. Order. MONCGCIA. POLYANDRIA, Natural Order.
BEGONIACE A.
GENERIC CHARACTER.— Male flowers—Calyx wanting. nerved, entire, bright green and smooth above; be- Corolla polypetalous; petals commonly four, unequal. neath sanguineous, and studded over with numerous Female flowers—Calyx wanting. Corolia with from fascicles of seta. Petiole as long as the leaf, or nearly four to nine petals, generally unequal. Styles three, so, tapering upwards, covered with fringed depressed bifid. Capsule triquetrous, winged, three-celled, many- scales. Stipule ovate, concave, dry and membranous seeded. at the margin; exterior surface beset with seta.
Speciric CHARACTER.—Plané an evergreen perennial. Peduncles longer than the petiole, clothed with Stem short, thick, short-jointed, somewhat tortuous. similar scales. Flowers pale blush. Capsule san- Leaves obliquely ovate, with a short acumen, many- guineous.
Tue genus Begonia appears to have been established by Linnzeus, and commemorates a French patron of Botany, M. Michael Begon. The species are common to both the Old and New World; but by far the larger number of those already discovered belong to the latter, and, amongst them, the handsome and somewhat singular species before us, which was imported some years ago from Brazil, to the nursery of Messrs. Young at Epsom. A specimen which flowered there in 1840 furnished the subject of our representation.
Since then, specimens which have flowered at different Nursery establishments in the vicinity of London, and especially one exhibited at a meeting of the Horti- cultural Society last November, by Mr. Jackson of Kingston, have fully confirmed its worth as an ornamental species. It is decidedly one of the finest of its class ; but, as it only admits of a limited propagation, it is far from being a common plant.
Perhaps its nearest ally is the B. Barkerii. That species, however, is sufficiently distinguished by its coarser habit, less numerous scales, and the absence of the fine sanguineous hue on the under side of the leaf, which adds so much to the beauty of the present. B. stigmosa, a species with large dark spots on the leaf, appearing like decayed portions, and B. heracleifolia, both assimilate in possessing scaly appendages on the petioles and under surface of their leaves, but admit of no comparison in point of excellence.
B. ramentacea is a dwarf plant with very close-jointed stems, almost hidden with its beautiful foliage, above which the flower-stalks rise a few inches, and
74 BEGONIA RAMENTACEA.
terminate in a spreading eymose cluster of whitish blossoms delicately tinged with blush. As the flowers decay, the large winged seed-vessels assume a rich crimson hue, and are hardly less attractive. |
It needs stove treatment, and flourishes in an atmosphere charged with moisture. A somewhat drier station should be given whilst the flowers are open ; and it needs to be exposed to all the light that can be commanded, to enable the fruit to acquire its glowing colour. During the cessation of growth it may be placed on an airy shelf where it can be kept free from wet, until it displays symptoms of renewed activity. Loam, peat, and sand, grow it favourably. The mode of increase is by offsets which spring from about the base of the stem.
The specific name has been appropriated in reference to the scales on the leaf, petiole, and peduncle.
The vignette below is a reduced representation of the entire plant from which the coloured plate was obtained.
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HOVEA LINEARIS.
(Linear-leaved Hovea.)
Class. Order. DIADELPHIA. DECANDRIA. Natural Order. LEGUMINOS&.
GENERIC CHARACTER. — Calyx bilabiate; upper lip with slender, slightly fiexuose branches. Leaves © semi-bifid, broad and retuse; lower one three-parted. lanceolately-linear, minutely wrinkled, depressed at Keel obtuse. Stamens all connected, tenth or upper the margins, mucronate, rather pilose beneath. one only more or less free. Legume sessile, roundish, Petiole very short, and furnished on each side with a ventricose, two-seeded, Seeds strophiolate. — Don’s small stipule. Peduncles axillary, racemose on the Gardening and Botany. branches. Flowers purplish violet. Legumes smooth.
SPEcIFIC CHARACTER.—Plant an evergreen shrub, SyvnonyMe.—Poiretia linearis. Smith.
Prruaps amongst all the fine things that have been wrested from that fertile source of Leguminose—New Holland, there are few families that surpass the genus Hovea in plants of a really ornamental character. Instead of the orange- yellow blossoms, so very numerous amongst papilionaceous plants, they display flowers with more popular hues, being in all the species of a blue or violaceous tint ; and they appear, moreover, in copious quantities.
The speeies which forms the subject of the present embellishment, inhabits the district bordering on the eastern shores of New Hoiland, whence seeds were first imported about fifty years since.
Cultivation effects so considerable a variation in its appearance, that the weak growths, small leaves, and paucity of blossom exhibited by neglected specimens, would scarcely be identified as the same species with those that have received a more genial treatment. When rightly treated it forms a handsome bush, and is rather lavish of its blossoms. :
It is an excellent plan to place all the young plants, and indeed the older specimens also wherever practicable, in a pit or frame where they may be kept rather closer and warmer in spring than in an ordinary greenhouse. A sickly condition is not uncommonly engendered by too low a temperature, or the play of keen winds, whilst the shoots are young and tender.
Among the errors in its management, one of the most prevalent is the too hasty endeavour to obtain tall flowering specimens, and the consequent neglect of shortening back the shoots to encourage lateral development. A bushy compact-
76 HOVEA LINEARIS.
ness, without a confused crowding of shoots to the obstruction of the proper exposure of the leaves, is the character which ought to be aimed at; and as the plants have a tendency to grow thin of shoots, this standard cannot be reached without frequent pruning.
Another fruitful source of failure is the continuance of watering with the same liberality whilst growth is suspended, as when the shoots are in course of rapid extension. Excess is as injurious as starvation; and in this case it operates by souring the soil, and spreading disease and decay amongst the roots.
A good black heath mould, rich in fibre, with a trifle of loam and sand, makes a suitable compost.
Our figure was procured in March, 1843, from a plant at the exotic nursery of Messrs. Knight and Perry, Chelsea.
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GAINES’ SEEDLING CORRAZAS. (1, Picta. 2, Rubéscens. 3, Delicata. 4, Ferruginea. 5, PAllida.)
Class. Order.
OCTANDRIA. ; MONOGYNIA. Natural Order.
RUTACEA. GARDEN VARIETIES.
Ir a neat habit, and abundance of flowers with a moderate amount of attrac- tiveness, are to be received as criteria upon which to estimate the value of a plant, we may certainly claim a favourable standing for Correeas amongst the denizens of the greenhouse. Although they are never such gorgeous figures as the Chinese Azaleas, and other plants which bloom at most but for a few weeks in the year, they have a redeeming property in the long protracted period during which they continue to be studded over with their less gaudy, but not less numerous, hanging blossoms.
To the florist this family recommends itself no legs by its submissive yielding to the exercise of his art, and flattering his manipulations with novel and improved combinations. Our gardens exhibit convincing assurances in almost endless profusion of the meliorating influence of cross-fertilization ; and among the number, the beautiful varieties of Correa depicted in our plate, are well worth the attention of those who seek after choice flowering shrubs. But we trust we are not seeking too much, if we regard these only as an earnest of future advancement in the scale of showiness.
They are selected from a very extensive assortment in the possession of Mr. Gaines, of Battersea, comprising varieties almost insensibly graduating both in the form and colour of the flowers, and in their respective habits, from the old C. Harrisit to the C. alba and C. virens. The characters of these three kinds, with those of C. speciosa, rufa, and Grevillit, are variously amalgamated ; and those who wish for more than five, may find many scarcely inferior to the specimens here given.
The first, Picta, was raised between vivens and speciosa, and possesses a strong graceful habit and good foliage: in its flowers it partakes considerably of the
78 GAINES’ SEEDLING CORRAS,
appearance of the latter. Rubescens originated betwixt speciosa and Lindleyana, and has very bright-coloured large flowers, with an upright habit, and shining foliage. Delicata is perhaps the most decided novelty, and certainly the most beautiful amongst them; it combines the form of alba with much of the delicate colouring of its other parent vosea. The inner surface of its spreading limb is of the richest bright silky texture, and the flower being upright instead of pendulous, this portion is exposed to view. It has a more elegant and lively appearance than the others. Ferrugiea sprung from alba and Grevillit, and is a free bloomer. Pailida is a fine long creamy flower, with an excellent character of growth. It was produced from rufa and alba, and flowers very copiously.
By grafting or inarching, all these varieties might easily be had on one plant, something after the manner in which our artist has shown them in the plate. Or a number of the new kinds that approach each other in character might be thus grown in the same space that would be required for one, using a good-sized plant
of some of the common sorts as a stock.
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ALLAMANDA GRANDIFLORA.
(Large-flowered Allamanda.)
Class.
PENTANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNTA.
Natural Order. APOCYNACE®.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx five-parted; segments lanceolate-oblong, acute. Corolia funnel-shaped, with a narrow tube; and a swollen, large, inflated limb, which is five-cleft at the apex ; furnished with five scales in the throat of the tube, which cover the
Speciric CHARACTER, — Plant shrubby evergreen. Stem erect, or spreading, not scandent, covered with very short downy hairs when young. Leaves three in a whorl, nearly sessile, oblong-lance-shaped, acute, attenuated at the base, pilose both on the mid-rib and
anthers. Anthers five, almost sessile, converging. Style one. Stigma capitate, contracted in the middle, adhering to the anthers. Capsuie echinated, roundish- elliptic, one-celled, two-valved, many-seeded. Seeds surrounded by a membranous edge, fixed to the edge of the valves. Albumen wanting.
lateral veins beneath. Flowers very large, lemon- coloured, in clusters, usually of four or five, at the end of the young shoots.
For the opportunity of preparing the accompanying figure of this showy plant, we are indebted to the kindness of one of our most successful cultivators, Mr. Dodds, gardener to Colonel Baker, at Salisbury, who favoured us with specimens in September, 1844.
We learn by a communication from Mr. Cunningham, of Edinburgh, that it was first discovered by Mr. Gardner whilst exploring the Brazils ; and from seeds supplied by him, in 1836, it was reared in the Comely Bank Nursery, Edinburgh. From this source the plants now in the London and large provincial nursery establishments were primarily obtained. At this time fine specimens are in several of the metropolitan gardens; and although yellow flowers are seldom so much prized as those of other colours, the extraordinary size and great abundance of those of this plant invest it with so much conspicuousness, that it can scarcely fail to attract its merited quota of regard.
It seems doubtful whether it can be regarded as a distinct species, and we are more disposed to consider it in the light of a strongly marked variety of A. cathartica. The most prominent distinguishing traits which it presents are the larger size of the blossoms—usually between four and four inches and a half in diameter, their paler colour, and the absence of a climbing character. The leaves, moreover, are smaller, more closely nerved, and commonly only three in a whorl, A healthy plant under good management will form a compact bush, two or three feet high, and nearly as
whilst the complement in A. cathartica is generally four.
80 ALLAMANDA GRANDIFLORA.
much across, in the course of a season. The blossoms are disclosed during the latter part of summer, and continue to open till late in October.
A similar process of culture to that bestowed on 4. cathartica, will be equally favourable to this. The leading feature of Mr. Dodd’s plan 1s to subject the plant yearly to a severe pruning, seeking rather to obtain the summer's growth from the base of the old stem, than to preserve much of the previous season’s shoots; and to provide them early in spring with a suitable warmth and moisture, as well at the root as in the atmosphere. Independently of the facility which this system affords of avoiding the acquirement of a straggling and naked appearance, its utility is most obvious in the superior vigour and robustness of the shoots, and the greater abundance and enlarged dimensions of the inflorescence.
To realise the perfection of the plant, it must moreover be potted in a strong soil. This is an essential accompaniment of the foregoing plan, and if not observed will certainly detract from the success of it. The sward from a pasture field mixed with dead leaves and laid in a heap to rot for twelve months, will supply a compost of the highest order. When it is used it should be broken with the hand in preference to chopping with a spade.
Young plants are easily procured from cuttings struck in sand in an ordinary
propagating pit.
8l
RETROSPECT OF THE LATE WINTER.
Our title may not appear apposite, yet it will be found perfectly so, and in keeping with the objects of a floricultural periodical, When we retrace the four entire months which have elapsed since the first advent of severe frost, and take into consideration that in Britain, as well as in France, there have been three distinct periods of winter, each of a character so rigid as to challenge competition, we feel called upon to solicit the notice of our readers, in order to lead to inquiries concerning the effects that must have been produced in. gardens, and glazed erections of every description. These will prove instructive, inasmuch as they point to improved management in seasons to come. We shall retrace a few leading phenomena.
Every one will recollect the peculiar aridity of the spring and early summer of 1844, Some autumnal rains followed; but to no great amount, at least in the South of England. After the middle of November, when rain ceased, several severe frosty nights occurred, and a steadfast gloom prevailed: this continued throughout December, with scarcely any interval of sun, the wind searching, and often violent from east to north; there were three weeks of such black, cold weather ; and while it became essential to cover up every forcing-house or pit, it was proportionally difficult to retain the coverings against the force of the wind.
We have lately said a good deal upon the subjects of heat and light, and, there- fore, are the more inclined to seck information concerning the availability of the several methods of excitation which have been called into action during a season of peculiar character and unwonted severity.
The Gardeners’ Chronicle has taken notice of the extreme absence of solar light, and lamented the hard lot and difficult task of those gardeners whose only appliance during the shortest days, and most bitter nights, was the old-fashioned smoke flue. The subject of a moist atmosphere has been assumed with more than ordinary solicitude, and great importance has been attached to the theory of the late Mr. Daniell, of King’s College, who wrote a scientific paper “ On Climate con- sidered with regard to Horticulture ;” and prepared an hygrometer, by which the actual degree of moisture, connected with variations of temperature, might be accurately determined. We extract the following paragraph from the first volume of Loudon’s Gardeners’ Magazine, where the article in question is reviewed :—
“‘ The inhabitants of the hothouse are all natives of the torrid zone, a climate distinguished by an unvarying high degree of heat, and a very vaporous atmo- sphere. In a hothouse, when all the paths and walls are in a dry state, exhalation to an extraordinary degree takes place from the only sources of moisture— the leaves of plants, and the earth in their pots. This prodigious evaporation is injurious to plants, first, by chilling their roots, on the same principle that water is
VOL, XII.—NO. CXXXVI. M
82 - RETROSPECT OF THE LATE WINTER.
cooled in Spain and India by being put into porous earthen vessels ; and, secondly, by exhausting the vegetative powers of the plant. Vegetables also have the power of absorbing moisture from the atmosphere, and must consequently suffer in propor- tion as this is in an arid state. Those three considerations show the great import- ance of a vaporous atmosphere in hothouses raised by keeping the floor of the house and surface of the flues continually wet.”
Mr. Knight was also a great advocate for an absolutely saturated state of vaporisation, that is, when high temperature was kept up; and now, having appealed to the authority of past years, we may with more propriety cite the _ evidence of recent facts accruing under a much improved method of heating, and during a winter unusually sombre and of protracted severity.
We have said that some writers have lately expressed their opinions of the risk that must have been incurred by those gardeners who had to depend on fire-flues only during the late black winter. A very few years have elapsed since there were no other appliances of heat than such flues; and winters of equal rigour have repeatedly occurred without producing any disastrous results. We happen to possess opportunities of comparing the progress and effects of the two methods of heating, carried on pretty extensively, and can therefore assert that we never saw a large greenhouse, filled with the finest specimens of Camellia, Hpacris, Acacia, and other hard-wooded species, with a liberal admission of Cyclamens, Mimulus, Cinerarias, and the more succulent tribes, in a higher state of health, perfect foliage, and brilliant flowers ; and this greenhouse was heated by a fire-flue only, running abreast of the front wall, though not quite in contact with it. The aspect is east- by-north, and, therefore, without sun from November to mid February. These facts may tend to calm the anxiety of those who are over-solicitous concerning the absence of the direct solar ray.
Again, we see a beautiful crop of grapes, with noble foliage, in a stove, heated by broad, expansive, water channels, the clusters stoned and nearly ready to acquire colour in the second week of April.
A flower-house is in two compartments ; the one excited by a gutter-tank, from which are continued a double course of six inch by four channels, the other, by a single course of the same, admitted from, and returning to, the former, through openings made in the partition wall. Now, in all these houses, wherein of course there has existed a great difference in temperature, from 50° to 73°, every plant has prospered.
The moisture has been considerable, in the tank department particularly, wherein a great number of Gardenias are, and have been, in rich verdure, while almost every cutting of this plant has taken root, and is growing after transplantation into small pots.
Darkness—fog of dense character—absence of sun for weeks, may have retarded, but they have done no injury. Even Hibiscus rosa sinensis, young plants of spring cuttings, have not lost a leaf: thus we have ample evidence, that
RETROSPECT OF THE LATE WINTER. : 83
by a vaporous atmosphere, even while in the external air the thermometer showed 25° of frost, no mischief was occasioned.
Having seen that one of the most cold and sombre winters upon record has been passed in security, we begin to think of shade as well as of light. A south sun is doubtless of great utility to plants under certain circumstances ; it stimulates vegetation, attracts the ascending fluids, promotes laboration and secretion; but on the other hand the direct ray frequently burns, etiolates the petals of flowers, and scalds fruit. We require therefore a certain semitransparent medium, which shall produce a twofold effect ; first, that of a softened diffusion of the direct ray; and second, that of protection from the cold of frosty nights. Close, but clear cloth, whether of linen or cotton, strained tight upon accurately made deal frames would answer the purpose well. These should be made to slide over the common glazed sashes, and be guarded from the force of wind by strips of wood fastened to the midribs of the rafters, also by a pin or two to fix the frame at top and bottom. Two advantages would attend the use of the screens, which cannot be obtained by a covering of mats on rollers :—security of position, avoiding those troublesome and injurious nailings and fixings, which so perplex the gardener in windy weather; and above all, the increased temperature of the house, occa- sioned by the intervention of a stratum of air between the glass and the fabric of the screen, which weuld tend much to prevent that radiation which rapidly cools a house. Trouble and expense attend all the labours of man; but when we reflect upon the great decrease of cost in glass, the super-excellence and strength of the new sheet glass, and the security from breakage conferred by sliding screens, persons who can afford good erections should not hesitate at a trifle to obtain immense advantages.
We next require a good varnish for the fabric, one which will rather aid its transparency without rendering it liable to crack. If some preparation of Indian rubber could be employed, it might effect every object ; if not, common soft oil (not linseed) would preserve the fabric for a year; and calico will soon be so cheap, that a renewal will be a mere trifle. The addition of a small quantity of white bleached wax to the droppings of olive oil, laid on while warm with a soft flat brush, would give texture to the covering.
Having seen the destruction of numbers of beautifully made screens, which when new gave every promise to supersede glass, we must come back to glazed sashes, and fortunately the price is reduced just at the time when the quality is of first-rate excellence. A year or two since we had only the quarrées of wretched crown glass, which snapped by dozens under the influence of a night’s frost; now, with large pieces six inches by nine, it is a rare circumstance to sce a broken pane, and so true are the edges that a sash may be glazed without a single lap. The accuracy of the fittings, and the solidity of the glass, will secure at least 3° of temperature in excess; and when, in addition, we cover with a calico-prepared screen, so fitted as not to be disturbed by any force of wind, a forcing-house may
84 ON MANETTIA BICOLOR AND CORDIFOLIA.
cease to be a subject of much anxiety. We shall be much disappointed if grapes continue subject to shanking, or flowers be rendered unsightly. when grown in a house warmed by an available tank and channels, and protected by coverings which will leave the entire regulation of solar light at the control of an intelligent gardener.
ON MANETTIA BICOLOR AND CORDIFOLIA.
——o-——
Amone the numerous fine things introduced by the Messrs. Veitch and Sons, of Exeter, the pretty Maneétia bicolor is one of peculiar interest on account of the profusion of its blossoms, their pleasing colours, and the lengthened period of their development. And, when well managed, the old M. cordifolia is equally beautiful, if not more so: its larger flowers, at least, render it a more conspicuous object.
Both the species are rapid-growing plants, and, under proper appliances, soon produce flowers. We do not generally, however, see them flowering with that freedom of which they are capable, nor so much attention bestowed on their winter condition, and the production of flowers at that period, as seems desirable. The fact is, they will both grow and flower like many other plants, without much special care ; but to show what they really are—to draw out that ornate aspect for which many have so justly praised them—some additional care, and what is more important, a proper guidance of it, must be lavished on them. We will therefore embody, with our own observations on their treatment, the remarks of some of our most successful friends. )
The reason why the advantage of their blossoms is so frequently lost to the greenhouse for the greater part of the summer, seems to be mainly owing to the desire to obtain large specimens ; and, perhaps, a little mismanagement, or oftener rather the want of suitable convenience for keeping them through the winter. For instance, supposing a plant is reared from a cutting in February—or, in the case of M. cordifolia, during the previous autumn—as soon as it has filled a small pot with roots, it is removed to one many times larger, and kept growing rapidly with the aid of stimulants, till the latter part of summer. During this period it does not of course form many flowers, and they are only beginning to be disclosed plentifully as the winter approaches. If left in the greenhouse, it soon becomes sickly and unsightly ; and it is only a few places that can afford room for many extra large plants in the stove through the winter.
Where there is ample room, however, we would by no means discourage the practice of growing specimens to a large size. If the flowering of the plants be delayed till the autumn by keeping them in rapid growth, and they are then removed to the stove, stationing them in an airy part, they will be in the most favourable spot and condition for blossoming through the winter; and by a little management in spring, in pruning and partially renewing the soil, to induce them
ON MANETTIA BICOLOR AND CORDIFOLIA. 85
to put forth fresh lateral shoots all over the plants, they may be removed to flower in the greenhouse by the middle of May. By this method they will bloom copiously for the whole summer.
But as a more generally useful system, we should prefer confining the roots within smaller pots, to promote a flowering state at an earlier date with moderate- sized plants. By aiming to have the pots filled with roots before the first mid- summer, they will soon after disclose blossoms freely ; and they may be continued in vigorous health by the occasional application of liquid manure. A weak solution of guano supplied from time to time, after the plants have pushed an abundance of roots, greatly improves the colour of their leaves, and enables them to bloom more copiously by keeping up a healthy, but slow and steady state of advancement. If, instead of this, fresh soil and more pot-room should be given, they will be pushed into an exuberant growing condition that will stop the development of flowers till it has again spent its force. And, besides being more useful for a small greenhouse, moderate-sized plants, when covered with flowers, might be removed to the drawing-room, if they can be set in a situation where they may enjoy sufficient light.
The reason why M. cordifolia so seldom succeeds planted out as a greenhouse climber may most commonly be traced to some error or carelessness in the management of its roots. They are either allowed too much room to spread, or are placed in some dark cold spot, perhaps under the shelves or stages, or they receive more water than accords with their constitution under the lower tempera- ture they are subjected to. <A slate or brick compartment about twelve or fourteen inches square, and about the same depth, is quite ample extent for the largest plant ; and even this space must be well provided with porous substances to aid the diffusion of water. Further, in winter water must be most abstemiously supplied ; indeed, scarcely any will be required then. It is necessary, likewise, gradually to abate the quantity furnished during the latter part of summer . otherwise coarse luxuriant shoots distended with water are generally formed, such as will neither flower, nor stand uninjured through a dark cloudy winter.
Whenever these plants, and others of similar nature, are continued in a greenhouse throughout the winter, whether in pots or planted out, they should always be as fully exposed to light as circumstances will permit, and a circulation of the air promoted on every favourable occasion. Those in pots had better be set near the glass, and in a station by themselves, to prevent any accidental over- supply of water. Damp and a deficiency of light are, in fact, the only serious influences to counteract. If a dry air and a light situation can be commanded, the ordinary low temperature of a greenhouse will have little effect on those plants to which some attention to maturing the summer’s growth has been devoted.
The most favourable course of summer culture runs much with that of the vine, as far as regards the changes beneficial in the state of the atmosphere. Indeed no place agrees better with them than a vinery commenced about the end
86 ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS.
of February. Young plants placed there with a little attention to stopping the strong shoots for the encouragement of laterals, will thus be in a complete flowering state by midsummer, or a little later. They may then either be allowed to remain, or be removed to the greenhouse. Perhaps the latter may be most — advisable, if for no other reason than to protect them from the red-spider and green-fly which would be apt to prove serious pests in the dry atmosphere, essential after that period for the perfection of the grapes; but when they can be saved from the attacks of these insects,—they flower more abundantly if allowed to stay, than they do in the greenhouse.
With respect to training the shoots, most people adopt trellises of some description. For large plants something of the kind is almost indispensable, especially with M. bicolor. Much of the effect of plants on trellises, however, depends on the taste displayed by the culturist in training. It will not do to train rigidly, and confine all the shoots to their very points; they should always be left somewhat loose and flowing. But for the smaller specimens there is not the slightest need for trellises; they will look infinitely better without them if tastefully managed, using nothing but a single stick for a support, assisted perhaps by a little wire near the top. By frequently stopping back after they. have once reached the summit, they are deprived of much of their rambling character, and soon make graceful bushy specimens, throwing out lateral flowering sprigs in plenty.
As to soil, they are not bad to suit, provided it is not heavy or retentive. Loam and peat, or leaf-mould and loam with a portion of river-sand, answer very well. Where small plants are wanted, the first ingredients are most appropriate ; whilst the latter best promote a vigorous condition. When planted out, or potted in large pots, pieces of charcoal, or charred turf, may be used with advantage.
Since the paper on the Conservative Wall-plants at Chatsworth was written, the MM. bicolor has been destroyed. Possibly it might survive through a less severe winter than the last; but it will doubtless always prove better to renew the plants yearly, planting out such, in May, as have already made considerable progress. A prepared soil, and a dry sunny situation, are indispensable matters to induce them to thrive here.
ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS.
WHEN rockeries are introduced to a garden scene, their formation is influenced by one of two very different intentions. They are either designed as imitations of the natural features of a wild and rugged scene, or they are contrived for the pur- pose of furnishing a suitable situation for the cultivation of such plants as are naturally adapted for, or more successfully grown under the conditions they afford, or have a more interesting effect on rock than when cultivated in any other way.
ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS. 87
It is to the consideration of the principles and conditions which ought to govern the formation of the latter class, together with a few remarks on some of those plants which are naturally more pleasing when placed upon them, that we purpose most especially to devote the present paper. With this view, then, let us first inquire what are the chief points in which the two descriptions of rock- work differ from each other.
The professed aim of rockeries of the former kind being to copy the most picturesque assemblages of natural rocks, or by a tasteful and discriminate selection of the most interesting, to compile a structure that shall be both striking and free from those portions which, even in a natural scene, frequently destroy unity of character, it is necessary that it should be both at some distance from the mansion, and also that the fragments employed be large and massive. For, where a great thing is attempted—and a great thing it is to copy well the wild forms of natural rock—unless the means and material employed be perfectly adequate to, and in harmony with, the object attempted, the result must be puerile, and an effectual display of the impotence of the contriver. All the vegetation, moreover, which accompanies an extensive rockery should be subordinate to it; and instead of constituting a prominent and leading feature, should be merely sufficient, and so disposed as to give relief and diversity to it.
In the other description of rockwork, the construction must be ruled by very different, and in some respects opposite considerations, Here it is the plants, and not the rocks, which are mainly expected to contribute ornament ; consequently, so far from the smaller fragments of rock being objectionable, they are here rather to be sought after as furnishing a more extended number of crevices and suitable places for inserting plants. It is, moreover, necessary that the plants be more copiously distributed, to preclude the possibility of the real object ever being mis- taken. And, with regard to the situation, it is not by any means necessary that these should be confined to the wilder and more remote scenery of the grounds ; but on the contrary, they may be admitted to the more highly finished portions with propriety and advantage.
But whilst the ruggedness and massive character of the more legitimate rockery must not be affected when the chief aim is to provide a proper site for the display of particular plants, it is equally inadmissible to fall into the opposite extreme, by adopting an even unvarying uniformity of surface and arrangement. In carrying out this observation, it is needful to indulge in considerable latitude to preserve harmony with the leading characteristics of surrounding objects ; and if so be that circumstances demand, let it lead from perfect ruggedness till it sinks into the polished border, forming an insensible bond of union between them.
The vicinity of the flower-garden or plant-houses beside an arbour, or any much frequented spot, especially where there is a bank backed with a shrubbery, generally present an abundance of situations possessing an eminent suitability for a work of this kind. The margin of a basin of water may often be much improved
&8 ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS.
by such an appendage ; and in numerous instances where it is necessary, or at all events, extremely useful and convenient to have cisterns or small reservoirs in various parts of the grounds, they may be rendered very interesting by surrounding them with an irregular sloping bank of rock, adorned with showy trailing species of plants.
. We have before alluded to the propriety of selecting smaller pieces of stone, - and it is quite as desirable to make choice of various sizes. Such also as present a rough uneven surface, and differ most widely from each other in general outline, are to be preferred before those with a, plain surface. The chinks and crannies between them, and every favourable recess which they afford, should be partially filled with soil for the plants to take root in, adapted to the predilections of the species intended to occupy the several stations. In this manner fragments of rock may be piled up to a considerable height against steep banks, or employed to hide a wall, with propriety ; and the special adaptability of such a spot for the display of trailing plants is by no means of trifling moment. Steep banks of this kind, or formed entirely of rough stones run together, will frequently be beneficial, if thrown up, with a view to shut out some unseemly object, or to check a current of wind in some exposed locality.
But beyond the benefit conferred of supplying a place when the elegance of prostrate species is more apparent, it is also the means of imparting a more mature and flowery state with greater certainty than can be gained in some delicate plants by other means. Many species, which are constitutionally too tender for the ordinary climate of this country, are induced to grow here with singular prosperity, even although in the common flower-beds they will scarcely retain life. It will be naturally asked, how is this? In a great measure it is evidently to be ascribed to the greater uniformity of moisture. Ina dry season a plant in a bed of common earth is liable to suffer from a deficiency of moisture, whilst in a wet season it is equally subject’ to be injured by a contrary excess. But planted on rocks it enjoys a happy medium: the superabundance of fluid percolates amongst, and drains away between the stones; and if a time of drought follow, the stones prevent that rapid evaporation which inevitably takes place when the soil has no such protection. Any one may convince himself of the truth of the latter, and of its profit to vegetation, by noticing the herbage round a stone in a pasturage or corn-field in a dry summer, like that of 1844.
A redundancy of moisture in the soil, particularly under a still aimrospheiet is undoubtedly the main cause to which the sudden loss of many species of annuals and delicate-rooted half-hardy perennials, is truly referable. We allude princi- pally to such plants as Brachycome, Leptosiphon, Zinnia, Salpiglossis, Phloa Drummondi and Ipomopsis picta, amongst annuals and biennials; and to some of the small Lobelias and Nierembergias amongst perennials ; and even the herbaceous Calceolarias and the rampant-growing Petunias are not entirely exempt from ‘damping off” under the same influence. In winter it is destructive to a still greater
ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS,. 89
number, even amongst plants that are quite hardy enough to endure several degrees of frost; and to some of our native species, which, when favourably situated at the roots, will brave the sternest winters in the most exposed localities; of which the rock-rose (Helianthemum) is a familiar example. And here we may remark, en passant, that in all cases where this family are cultivated in common flower-beds, they must not only be well drained at the roots, but the surface should be covered with small pebbles, shells, or pieces of brick, to prevent the shoots from resting directly on the damp earth. Of course, on the side of a hill where they are exposed to brisk winds, and more in their natural circumstances, they are not so liable to harm without the pebbles, as in low or level situations. Decided succulents, such as Sedums, Sempervivums, and the hardier species of Cacti in summer, together with the whole race of alpines, are rarely so successfully managed in the open garden in any other way, as in situations similar to that we are now advocating.
We have occasionally seen very engaging effects created by masses of the common scarlet Pelargonium planted on a pile of rough stones, having the inter- stices filled with mould, Under these circumstances, the excessive luxuriance of the species is held in check, and a more speedy and copious bloom unfolded. Petunia, Nolana, Salvia, Amphicome arguta acquire an earlier and a more floriferous habit. The Mesembryanthemum tricolor (or M. pyropeum, as it is also called) is a delightful object when cultivated thus, in extensive patches; and the contrast of tint which stones afford in a natural state—that is, worn with time, and not presenting any recent clefis—is a great enhancement; through lending a more decided character to the colours and appearance of the flowers and foliage, without being, in the smallest sense, destructive of harmony.
We might multiply instances almost beyond number of beautiful things that _are benefitted by the kind of situation here broached ; but our object is rather to draw attention to its influence generally than to individualise farther than is necessary to the explanation of the subject, and to indicate the kind of plants which are capable of a more exalted character, or extensive culture beneath its working.
We have yet to invite deliberation specifically to its adoption in the narrow borders attached to the front of those plant-houses having a low parapet wall, with
a view to their amelioration and increased adaptability for the reception of stove and the more tender greenhouse exotics. Few, we imagine, will attempt to gainsay the desirableness of extending the cultivation of such plants as the Achimenes coccinea, the delicate Thunbergias, Alstrcemerias, and similar attractive things, amongst which we may include a vast number of species belonging to the Amaryllis and Iris tribes; and these can be made to grow and flower favourably in similarly protected places to those we have just alluded to.
In addition to what has been already advanced as influential in augmenting the power of a delicate exotic to exist and flourish in the open air, we must.now
VOL. XII.—NO. CXXXVI. N
90 CURSORY REMARKS.—PALMS.
advert to the direct communication of warmth to the earth. A higher tempe- rature is undoubtedly indirectly engendered by the diminution of moisture; but in the situation here described, another source is provided by its communication with the walls of the heated building. This will be still further modified by the sheltered nooks which the irregularities of the rock-work afford. It might be inferred that such a combination of auspicious influences would constitute a state well calculated to accomplish the result in view; and we find this supposition to be practically supported to the full, except in those cases where local disadvantages (chiefly atmospheric) interfere with its utility. Autumn-sown annuals, and spring- flowering bulbs would render it gay at an early time of the year; a well chosen collection of plants might continue the charm to a late season; and a partial intermixture of hardy trailing and low-growing evergreens, either permanently or temporarily planted, would in some degree atone for the deficiency of other things in winter; and surely this is to be preferred to the glare and stiffness of a brick wall.
It can hardly be thought out of place to say a few words in conclusion on the introduction of a small rockery to the petty garden plots which front so many suburban residences—we mean against the division walls. In_ these places» however, very tender plants should be avoided, as they seldom bear the vitiated atmosphere. Such plants as ivy, periwinkles, and similar hardy spreading things, should be most prominent; and flowering plants, like the Honeysuckle and Ayrshire roses, with other smaller things of a more flowery nature, might be suffered to ramble amongst them. The country cottager might also have his rockery, and be thus enabled to cultivate many things with ease, that he finds difficult to manage without it.
CURSORY REMARKS.—PALMES.
—_
Tue Palmaceous tribe is one in which almost every one feels himself interested, furnishing as it does the principal feature in the vegetation of a vast tract of the globe, and many of the species ministering largely to the wants and conveniences of mankind ; and, what comes more within our immediate sphere, possessing characters at once beautiful and magnificent.
A visit to the noble collection at Messrs. Loddiges’ will amply remunerate any one who can avail himself of the opportunity there afforded of viewing such kinds as have been introduced to this country; and especially at the present time, that some of them are displaying their florescence and fructification. The latter are certainly principally those of less gigantic growth ; and there is nothing in the floral parts in anywise showy or gaudy-coloured, such as we find in plants of humbler dimensions ; the fruit also in some is obviously very imperfect. Nevertheless, the interest which necessarily attaches to the tribe, renders the circumstance worthy of attention.
Both male and female specimens of the Chamedorea elatior—tall reed-like trees, with a tuft of fronds having broadish pinnate leaflets at the summit of the stem—have developed florescence $ and near to them a plant of C. Schiediana, another species, with a slender knotty stem, eight or nine feet high, is bearing a branched chandelier-like amber-coloured spike, adorned with small black fruit, to appearance much like the berries of the Fuchsia microphylla.
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 91
Geonoma Schottiana, another elegant palm, of somewhat slender growth; the stem marked with nodular rings, indicating the places where leaves have fallen away, and adorned on the top with gracefully-curved fronds, has also developed large pendulous panicled clusters of small round greenish fruit, The seeds of this kind have been frequently matured in the Hackney Palm-house ; and specimens now exist there which were reared from some that ripened a few years ago. Besides these, there is a small plant, about four or five feet high, of the Gnocdrpus excelsa, a kind approximating to the last in habit, with a few panicles of florescence. In its native localities, in South America, this species shoots up to an immense height. Its generic name is acquired from the vinous qualities of the fruit.
Among the more lofty species, there is a noble specimen of the rare Aréca montana (one of the Cabbage Palms), which, from around its stem immediately beneath the plumy crown of foliage, has emitted several branched flower-spikes. This plant is a most graceful production and one of the finest of the collection, being nearly forty feet high. We understand it has been fruited in England ; but so far, none have set on the specimen under notice.
We abstain from particularising any farther, and pass on to another interesting feature, involving something of a cultural nature. We refer to the numerous Orchidaceze which have been fastened on the stems of some of the stouter Palms, and stuck in the projections which the remains of the old leaves furnish. The kinds principally employed are Oncidiums and Leelias, part of an importation received last summer. A few have been treated thus for a longer period. They look perfectly healthy, but as yet, the plan has not been sufficiently tested to show how far it may affect the production of flowers. A few of the commoner kinds have been similarly fixed on some of the trees of the jungle in the large conservatory at Chatsworth.
As it is now a matter of experience that many orchidaceous planis thrive better in a cooler atmosphere than that to which they were formerly subjected, there is at least the likelihood of obtaining a moderate share of success ; and if such plants as Oncidium altissimum and Lelia anceps will thrust out their long flower-stalks when placed on the trunks of Palms, their charac- teristic situation will atone in some measure for a slight deficiency of individual excellence.
In a Palm-house or stove-conservatory, sufficiently well-glazed to be waterproof, a pleasing effect might be created in the latter part of summer, and through the autumn, by removing there a few of the least delicate species brought into flower in the orchidaceous house, and suspending them from the leaf-stalks of the Palms, or the boughs of other trees. The overhanging foliage would form a natural shade, and the more airy situation would help to prolong the duration of the blossoms. It would scarcely be prudent to attempt the plan in spring, as the moist atmo- sphere and syringing then required would soon spoil the flowers. Possibly some of those orchidaceze from more elevated regions may be wintered in the position here described.
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
——@——.
NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR MARCH AND APRIL.
BianpFo’RpIA MARGINA'TA. Till lately, the only two species generally recognised as belonging to this fine New Holland genus were @. nobilis and B. grandiflora. About two or three years ago, the present appeared in the nursery of Messrs. Osborne and Co., of Fulham, and was called B. marginata by the Dean of Manchester. It is much handsomer than B. grandiflora, and differs from it, in having deep copper-coloured flowers, instead of half red and half yellow ones. The blossoms, too, form a nearly regular cone, whilst those of the other are contracted near the base, and swollen in the upper part. It is abundant in Van Diemen’s Land, and seems to be the Aletris punicea of Labillardiere. Mr. Gunn found it plentifully in a poor quartz sand, generally in rather wet places, on Rocky Cape, in 1837. That botanist proposed to name it in commemo- ration of Mr. Backhouse, who was well versed in the Tasmanian Flora ; but the present name having been published, another species sent home by Mr. Gunn, from the banks of the river Mersey, about fifty miles from Launceston, has been called B. Backhousii. It is a plant with
92 FLORICULTURAL NOTICKS.
leaves similar to B. grandifiora, and flowers disposed in a corymbose order, of a form similar to those of B. murginata. It is said to be a splendid, free-blooming kind. Still another species has been added under the name of B. Cunninghamii, with deep rich red flowers, twice the size of B. marginata. It was found by Allan Cunningham, but no locality is mentioned.—Bot. Reg., 18.
CALCEOLA'RIA FLORIBUNDA. Found by Mr. Lobb, in the American Tropics, and sent to Messrs. Veitch’s nursery at Exeter, in 1843, where it flowered last September. It was discovered at an elevation of 11,000 feet above the sea, in the environs of Quito, and hence will probably prove a greenhouse plant, and perhaps thrive in the open air in summer. It is a sub-shrubby plant with narrow leaves, and many-flowered corymbs of pale-yellow blossoms, apparently some- thing like those of C. thyrsiflora.—Bot. Mag., 4154. .
Cr/stTRUM AURANTHAcuUM. Most of this family have flowers of a greenish or some dingy colour, and only recommend themselves by their occasional sweetness. The large, and clear orange- coloured blossoms of the present, invest it with more gaiety. It forms a handsome greenhouse shrub, and may probably prove useful for the open border in summer. It has dark green, shining oval leaves, and is ornamented in winter with numerous snow-white, pear-shaped, berries. The flowers come in spikes on the top of the branches, and have a scent of orange-peel. Mr. Skinner sent it from Chimalapa, in Guatemala, to the Chiswick garden, where it flowered in August, 1844. It is a deciduous plant.— Bot. Reg., 22.
Dysopny’Lua steLua‘ta. Till Dr. Blume corrected the error, the Dysophylls were regarded as Mints ; they are common in the warmer parts of India. The Starry Dysophyll is a “ delicate little light green plant, looking something like a Bedstraw, but more erect, and bearing spikes of the prettiest little purple blossoms, which remind the observer of the spikes of a Mimosa, or some such plant. The long tender filaments are directed downwards, and being covered with delicate hairs, produce the appearance of plumes of purple silk.’’ [tis mentioned by botanists as inhabiting Malabar and Mysore, 'A specimen flowered last October, in the Earl of Auckland’s garden. It must be managed in a warm greenhouse, and looks like a plant that would thrive well, where its roots could run amongst damp pebbles.— Bot. Reg., 23.
Gesne‘Ra Scuiepia‘na. A very pretty species, flowered last November by Mr. Forbes, at Woburn Abbey, where it was received from Mexico. “It quite agrees with the G. spicata, B, of De Candolle (also from Mexico), and seems different, as that author suspected, from the original New Grenada G. spicata of Humboldt, in which the inflorescence is more truly spicate, the flowers smaller, and the corollas much less hairy. Our species is remarkable for its richly- coloured blossoms, clothed with long shaggy hairs; their colour a bright golden scarlet ; the limb variegated with red and yellow, the red arranged in broken lines. It is an erect-growing plant, with soft downy oblong leaves, generally three in a whorl, and sends out a number of flowers from each node. [It has also flowered in the Kew collection.] Bot. Mag., 4152.
Gove'n1a urricuta’Ta. This singular terrestrial orchidaceous plant, “remarkable for the large transparent, bladdery sheath surrounding its scape and the lower part of its leaves, was only known for a long time through the description of Swartz, who gathered it in Jamaica and Hispaniola.” With the same specific name still retained, it has been severally referred by botanists to Cymbidium and Limodorum. A plant sent to Kew from Jamaica by Mr. Purdie, and grown amongst earth in a pot, blossomed in September, 1844. “ The bladdery sheath seems destined to contain water for the nutriment of the plant.” It has eream-coloured flowers arranged in a spike, six or eight inches long.—Bot. Mag., 4157.
ITocHROMA TUBULO'SA. ‘This is the plant noticed at p. 213, vol. xi., as Habrothamnus cyaneus and together with two others, J. calycina from the woods of Guayana, and J. grandiflora, from the mountains of Saragura, both discoveries of Mr. Hartweg’s—has been separated to form a new genus. Mr. Hartweg found this plant in the form of a shrub, from four to six feet high, growing on the mountains of Yongana, near Loxa, It flowered in the garden of the Horticultural Society in August, 1844. Bot. Reg., 20.
LoBE/LIA THAPSO'IDEA. This species so far excels even the most stately and showy plants in the genus, as to have obtained from De Candolle the epithet of Lobeliarum princeps. Pohl gives the height as six feet. Mr. Gardner, to whom our stoves owe the possession of this fine plant, gathered specimens measuring eight feet. The collections at the Kew, Glasgow, and Dublin Botanic Gardens, contain plants of it. The stem is herbaceous and leafy, something like
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 93
our Verbascum Thapsus, and ends in a very large pyramidal raceme densely set with rosy purple-coloured flowers. Bot. Mag. 4150.
Myo/porum seRRA‘TIUM. A very close-growing bush, attaining, in its own country, from six to eight feet in height, and clothed with light green broadly lanceolate leaves, serrated at the edges. “In cultivation in ‘lasmania it becomes a very pretty round-headed shrub, whose flowers are succeeded by blue fruit. In our gardens it forms a neat bush, loaded with a profusion of white flowers, as large as those of hawthorn, and spotted with purple.” It bloomed in one of the green- houses of the Horticultural Society’s Gardens last May, and is there grown in a sandy peat soil, and copiously watered whilst developing new shoots. “ Mr. Gunn says that the plant is called in the colony ‘ Mangrove,’ and is very common in the sand close to the sea, where it grows in com- pany with Acacia Sophoraand Leucopogon Richei.”” Bot. Reg. 15.
ONCi’DIUM BICALLO'suM. Introduced by Mr. Skinner from Guatemala, to the collections at Woburn Abbey and at Knypersley. It has been described by Dr. Lindley as a species distinct from, but bearing a close relationship to O. Cavendishianum. Sir W. Hooker considers “ the two as forms of ove and the same kind, and that the species is liable to considerable variation; the more especially as our O. pachyphylium, Bot. Mag., 307, is considered by Dr. Lindley a state of O. Cavendishianum. To me,’’ he adds, “our present plant seems to correspond better with Mr. Bateman’s original figure of O. Cavendishianum, than our O. pachyphyllum does.” (There hardly appears more difference in the three, than may be seen in many other species of Orchi- daceze. In an ornamental view, one of them is quite sufficient in an ordinary collection; the present, however, is the best.) Bot. Mag., 4148.
ORNITHO’GALUM MARGINA‘TUM. Approaching O. refractum and exscapum, but both those species have a white stripe in the middle of their leaves, which do not appear to be white-edged as in this. It was given to the Horticultural Society by the Dean of Manchester, who had the bulb from a correspondent. It was gathered on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. Ina dry situation it will probably he hardy. The flowers appear in March and April, and the plant searcely reaches a foot high. Bot. Reg. 21.
PENTSTE'MON GENTIANO/IDES var. DIA/PHANUM. From the original P. gentianoides the present variety differs in bearing flowers of a rather larger size, “and almost colourless on the under side of the tube, which is moreover so thin as to be semi-transparent, and to allow the filaments to be perceived through it. The calyx, too, is much more covered with glands than in the true gentianoides. The latter has by some dealers been called suffruticosum, a preposterous name, and calculated to mislead ; for it is not more suffruticose than half the common herbaceous plants in cultivation.” It is also found under the name of P. grandiflorum, which is quite a different species, “ This is a very handsome and nearly hardy perennial, growing two or three feet high in any good rich garden soil, and becoming rather woody next the ground. It flowers freely from July to September, and, like most of the Mexican species, is easily increased, either by seeds, or cuttings of the half-ripened shoots. It is no garden variety, but was raised from seeds received from G. F. Dickson, marked from the Tierra Fria of Mexico.” (In the notice from which the above is abstracted, the variety isalso called ¢ransparens, perhaps inadvertently.) Bot. Reg. 16.
PHEDRANASSA CHLORACRA. “One of the curious bulbs met with by Mr. Hartweg in Peru. It occurred on rocks at the village of Saragura, near Loxa, at an elevation of about 9000 feet above the sea, and was supposed to be the long-sought Hemanthus dubius of Humboldt and Kunth, It was removed from Hemanthus and stationed in Phycellasty the Dean of Manchester. The examination of fresh flowers has, however, showed that it constitutes a peculiar genus, to which Dr, Herbert has given the name of Phedranassa (it is to be presumed from phaidros gay, and anassa queen). He regards it as an approach to Stenomesson and Pentlandia.” The Phycedla obtusa is another species of Phedranassa, also discovered by Mr. Hartweg, “on the arid banks of the river Guallabainba, in the valley of San Antonio, in the province of Quito, at an elevation of about 7000 feet above the level of the sea. As this was the place where Humboldt and Bon- pland found their Hemanthus dubius, it is not improbable that it is of P. obtusa rather than of chloracra that this plant is a synonym.’ Both species are greenhouse bulbs, flowering in winter and spring before the leaves appear. The flowers are between two and three inches long, of a reddish hue tipped with green, and have a drooping direction: they form an umbel at the top of a tolerably stout scape. Bot. Reg., 17.
94 7 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
RUELLIA LILACINA. Presented by Mr. Glendinning to the Botanic Gardens at Kew, where it receives stove culture. Nothing is known of its native country. “Its fine dark and glossy foliage, with large full lilac flowers, which are produced from time to time during the greater part of the summer months, renders it well worthy of a place in the hot-house.” At Kewit forms a branching shrub between two and three feet high, with ovate, bluntly acuminate leaves, and axillary flowers, consisting of a long curved funnel-shaped tube, and a spreading five-cleft limb of a purple lilae colour, and traversed with veins. Bot. Mag., 4147.
SpaTHoGcLoitis F'ortuni. “ One of the first plants which Mr. Fortune met with, on the granitic mountains of Hong Kong, was this pretty little Bletia-like plant. Some corms which he sent home in his first despatch to the Chiswick Garden, produced flowers, which lasted for upwards of a month.” Like the Bletias, it has thin plaited leaves, and fleshy tubers or corms, which lie dormant for some months after the foliage has disappeared. The genus, indeed, differs from Bletia principally in having the middle lobe of the lip stalked, with some deep plates at the base, and in its anther having but two cells instead of eight. The flowers are produced near the summit of a scape, about a foot or eighteen inches long, and are of a pretty yellow colour, the interior portion of the side lobes of the lip being spotted with brownish crimson. The sepals and petals are broad, and spread out equally, forming with the lipa very compact fiower. It appears that the genus contains three other species very similar to this in their general appearance and yellow flowers—S. pubescens from the Sylhet mountains, at Prome, and on the Avan mountain called Tong Dong ; another from the Khoseea-hills, which Dr. Lindley calls 8. parviflora, and the third, called §. tomentosa by the same botanist, was gathered by Mr. Cuming on Mindanao, in the province of Miscamis, with as many as twenty flowers ina raceme. “If any are possessors of a Manilla Spathoglottis resembling S. plicata or Paxtonia rosea in herbage, they would do well to take care of it, for it may be this §. tomentosa, which seems to be really a fine thing.” Bot. Reg., 19.
WHITPFIE‘LDIA LATERI'TIA, A fine Acanth, with brick-coloured flowers opening in the winter months. It has copious evergreen foliage, and makes a desirable stove plant. Blossoms have been produced abundantly on plants at Knowsley and Kew. Bot. Mag., 4155.
NEW OR INTERESTING PLANTS RECENTLY FLOWERED IN THE PRINCIPAL METROPOLITAN NURSERIES AND GARDENS.
CaME'LLIA JAPO'NICA, var. Low’s JUBILEE. We notice this new seedling chiefly on account of the enormous size of the flowers—in this respect they rival those of C. reticulata (being,full five inches in diameter), and excel it in the form, arrangement, and number of the petals, which are tinted with a fine, delicate blush-pink,and, for the most part, have a small streak of a deeper hue down the middle. It was raised and flowered in Mr. Low’s nursery at Clapton. Among other seedlings flowering in the same collection, there is one of considerable merit, remarkable for its broad leaves, and their very prominent venations. It is called “ centifolia” (Low’s), in allusion to the resemblance of its rosy-crimson flowers to the cabbage-rose.
ERIOSTE'MON INTERME'DIUM. Messrs. Henderson have a small plant flowering ina green- house at the Pine-apple Place Nursery, which was received some time ago from the Continent with the name here applied. It is a stout-growing plant, with handsome, oblong, lance-shaped foliage, and large pale blush-coloured blossoms. The habit is intermediate between E. cuspidatum and E. buxifolium, inclining more to the latter.
Fu'cusia SERRATIFO'LIA. A newly introduced species of great beauty, with long, tubular flowers, of a shaded carmine hue, the points of the calyx divisions of a very bright grass green, and the corolla consisting of rich scarlet petals. The blossoms are axillary. In habit it appears to be a rather stout plant; the leaves are large, obovate, with a drawn out point, and a satiny- looking surface. Messrs. Veitch and Sons received it from their collector at Muna in Peru.
PorrHyRoco'ms LanceoLa‘ta, At the first April meeting of the Horticultural Society, a new plant, sent from the Kew Gardens, was exhibited under this title. It is evidently closely related to Aphelandra, and is a very pretty stove shrub, with long, drooping leaves, and pale violet blossoms emerging from a terminal spicate cluster of crisped reddish-coloured bracts.
95
OPERATIONS FOR MAY.
as Sanaa
Again the cheerful month of May is ushered in, and the gardens and fields begin to teem with all the verdancy and glowing tints of their floral treasures. The occasional returns of frost, which so frequently intercept and obstruct the stream of vegetable activity, are now once more on the eve of final departure for the season, and gradually abating in the force of their attacks. But though their severity is tempered, and less frequently experienced through the increasing power of the sun, the susceptibility of plants to receive harm from them is at the same time so much greater, that they are really more to be feared and more strenuously to be warded off now than the fiercer frosts of former months,
Another thing by which a hurtful depression of temperature becomes more truly the enemy of the culturist at the present advanced season, is the necessity which now exists for removing so many of the plants hitherto protected in glass-houses and frames to the open air, in order to afford room for carrying on successfully the ordinary operations of summer. It will therefore be a matter of absolute necessity for him to provide himself with some convenient portable fabric, such as mats or canvas, to throw over them when a likelihood of such recurrence appears, Fur- nished with these, he may at once proceed to transplant to their summer quarters many of the more hardy amongst the plants for the flower-garden. They will thus be obtaining root-hold in the soil, and hence will more speedily cover the beds and expand flowers ; whilst they may easily be protected from the slight casual spring frosts by the means just alluded to. Perhaps, where there is an amplitude of room in frames and low houses, healthy strong plants, and an earlier bloom may be induced by allowing them to enjoy these receptacles till the end of the month or commencement of June, observing in the meanwhile to furnish them with sufficient pot-room for the roots to extend, and encourage to the full their respective growing capacities ; but it must be remembered that this plan will entail an enormous increase of labour and attention, both in potting and repotting, watering and daily care, and also in the operation of transplanting, when the period at last arrives. This extralabour will bear no comparison with the little required for the occasional covering and uncovering of the beds; and therefore, unless the culturist has ample leisure and convenience, we would advise the less delicate things to be immediately trans- ferred to the parterre. This must not be considered discrepant with the recommendations of last month: it is essential to pot off and encourage young plants in April; but to continue the practice much longer would demand more space and time than can generally be afforded.
If any of the arrangements or preparatory operations for planting out are yet incomplete, no further procrastination must be indulged in; for it is now high time to have everything in readiness. We may here advert to a current mistake in the preparation of flower-beds for exotics, most disastrous in its consequences, which cultivators nevertheless adhere to very extensively : we allude to the practice of gorging them indiscriminately with dung, as though it were an unfailing panacea for every species of weakness or sickliness. The very contrary is often the real result of the case ; and instead of dung improving the aspect, it is the very parent by which an unhealthy habit is engendered. In other instances it cherishes a plethoric disposition, and is hence inimical to the production of flowers. The character of the plant, and the constitu- tion of the soil, must both be taken into consideration. As a general rule, we would propose a less depth of soil than commonly exists, and the securance of a permeable subsoil, especially the latter, when dung isemployed. The soil must neither be too open, nor yet very adhesive ; and wherever such extremes exist, unless some remedial measures are applied, success can only result under a corresponding extreme in the state of the weather during the season. Manure may usually be applied successfully to those plants which are ordinarily most prodigal of their blossoms, with a continued development of them. When the reverse appears, or the flowers are generally not shown till late in the season, it should be avoided.
Besides attention to these considerations, there is the disposal of the different kinds of plants to their several stations, so as to realise the most effective mingling of colours ; and in doing this, beyond the arrangement of colours, the planter should contrive, as much as possible, to select for each kind of plant the situation most favourable to its success: for instance, some plants, as the Nemophila, love a shady place ; others, as the scarlet Pelargonium, revel in the brightest beams of light ; some are so tender or brittle as to wither, or be snapped asunder by a moderate blast ;
96 OPERATIONS FOR MAY.
whilst others again are little scathed by a fiercer storm: hence the sheltered and the more exposed places should be apportioned according to the constitution of the individual.
Considerable protection is afforded to tender exotics, when first planted out in spring, by Mr. Edmonds’ system of planting the beds in March or April with Pansies (common sorts, see p. 157, vol. xi.) leaving room for the insertion of the former in May, and as they advance in growth, gradually removing the Pansies. In such a season as the spring of 1844, or during the casual occurrence of keen drying winds, so fatal to tender border-plants, the utility of this practice is very sensibly apparent ; and if the borders are properly drained, no evil will result from it in a wet season. Towards the end of the month, the Pansies will need reducing and trimming, to keep them from overspreading and choking up the after-occupants.
In planting Dahlias, and other tuberous-rooted plants, a place should be provided for the future reception of stakes, by inserting a peg of a similar thickness, and about a foot long, beside the plant. By this means the injury resulting from the splitting of the tubers in staking, which so frequently occurs when no precaution of the kind is taken, is entirely prevented.
A source of much after trouble and vexation is often thoughtlessly suffered to arise by allowing rank weeds to remain and flower in retired parts of the grounds, amongst the shrubberies and other back places, from whence they diffuse their seeds around on every side, and create tenfold more labour in removing their offspring, than a timely eradication of the first would have demanded. Economy is always better studied in preventing, than by first permitting and then removing ; and weeding can never be said to be more than half done, if it be confined to the flower-beds, instead of extending to the contiguous sources from which their seeds are supplied.
A very injudicious system obtains largely of emptying the greenhouses of the chief part of their occupants towards the latter part of this month, under au impression that the plants are benefited by it. Nothing can be more erroneous ; and we think a little reflection and careful obser- vation, will speedily convince those who are not too much wedded by prejudice to the practice, that it is opposed to the very nature of things. It may not be so apparent in some of the more robust species ; but when we come to deal so with the more delicate kinds, we find the injury in an inconfutable and undisguised form. At this time plants are making new shoots, which are hence immature and tender, and need a corresponding share of protection from adverse influences, to enable them to continue in health and vigorous extension. But if they are removed to the open air they have to combat all the vicissitudes of our varying clime; and hence it depends on the hardihood of their constitution, or the occasional favourableness of the season, whether they retain the garb of health or not. It will be more judicious, therefore, to defer their removal till a later period, when the tide of growth will be somewhat abated and the shoots progressing towards a mature state.
Whilst, however, we would keep those plants in the houses for some time yet, that are designed for specimens, it should be borne in mind that the houses ought not to be crowded up with more plants than they can conveniently contain. Each plant should stand free from its neighbour. And now that they are growing fast, although it may be advisable to be more sparing of ventilation during the day than is commonly practised ; yet it is equally beneficial to step aside from the common way, and keep the house cool during the night, by allowing the sashes to remain partially unclosed till a late hour ; and, if it can be done without danger of frost, wind, or heavy rain, they need not be entirely closed throughout the night. Shutting up early in the afternoon with a view to economising heat, is acting the miser’s part, and defeats its purpose by causing an unnatural attenuation of the shoots. It increases their length but not their strength.
Greenhouse plants, as well as stove-plants, should now be syringed daily in bright weather, and a damp atmosphere created by dashing water on the paths. Neither of these practices should be performed late in the day. The general directions last month relating to the stove and orchidaceous house will apply with equal propriety to this. In both structures, and also in the greenhouse, shade will be requisite in sunny weather. Cleanliness and order must prevail throughout ; dead leaves and flowers immediately removed; measures employed to suppress insects ; plants staked and tied as they require it, and a bushy habit preserved by stopping back the shoots of those plants that display a disposition to straggle. Bulbs and annuals that have done flowering or are growing shabby, should be discarded. Repot Chrysanthemums as they want it.
ead as
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CGA) .
DENDROBIUM KINGIANUM.
(Captain King’s Dendrobium.)
Class.
GYNANDRIA.
Order. MONANDRIA.
Natural Order: ORCHIDACE ZA.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—S2pals membranaceous, erect, or spreading ; lateral ones largest, connate with the column at the base. Petais often much larger than the sepals, sometimes smaller, always membranaceous. Labellum jointed or connate with the foot of the column, always sessile, undivided or three-lobed, com- monly membranaceous, sometimes appendiculate. Column semi-cylindrical, much prolonged at the base, Anthers two-celled. Pollen-masses four.
SPEcIFIc CHARACTER.—Plané an epiphyte. Pseudo-
bulbs ovate at base, extending into a long neck, with two or three leaves at theapex. Leaves elliptic-oblong, emarginate. Peduncles terminal, four or five-flowered, rather longer than the leaves. Sepals ovate, acute. Petals obovate, acute, smaller than the sepals. Lip three-lobed, pubescent; lateral segments acute; in- termediate one a little longer, with an acute point at the end, and two lateral angles somewhat rounded ; surface with three elevated lines along the middle.
Brsipes the large flowering species of Dendrobia, which we have chiefly selected for our previous illustrations of the genus, there remain a vast number of species with much smaller blossoms, and which are hence less gorgeous and striking
Many of these, nevertheless, are scarcely less charming than From
in their appearance. their more gaudy congeners, and will bear an equally attentive inspection. among them we have chosen the present, partly on account of the interest which is invariably attached to anything novel, but more for its own intrinsic loveliness.
For its introduction we are indebted to Mr. Bidwill, who obtained specimens two or three years ago in New Holland. A large mass of the pseudo-bulbs were purchased at the sale of that gentleman’s collection, by the Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney, in whose nursery a few flowers were produced in 1844, In February of the present year, the character and beauty of the species were more fully revealed, by a copious display of blossom, and through the additional vigour and health which the plants had acquired since the former period; and being favoured with the permission of Messrs. Loddiges, we accordingly had the accompanying figure prepared.
In this species we are presented with the same character which has been pre- viously noticed in other New Holland kinds, of a pseudo-bulbous stem, crowned with a few leathery leaves, and elongating in the form of a spike of flowers; a familiar instance of which is afforded in D. speciosum. Our plant, however, is by no means possessed of the huge size and stoutness for which D. speciosum is
VOL. XII,——NO. CKXXVII. Oo
98 DENDROBIUM KINGIANUM.
remarkable ; on the contrary, it is comparatively rather diminutive,—the pseudo- bulbs seldom exceeding a few inches in length. On Messrs. Loddiges’ plants they form an extremely crowded mass, and appear as if they had been squeezed together. This enables the flowers, which are rather loosely arranged, and only a few on each spike, to make a more showy appearance than might be imagined from an individual pseudo-bulb. The lively markings of the lip are particularly engaging.
~The New Holland Dendrobia flourish in less heat than is demanded by the major part of other species, and this renders them more suitable for transferring to the drawing-room whilst the flowers are expanded. The present, moreover, is especially adapted for the purpose, from its size and appropriateness for basket or pot culture; but, if suspended, it should be in a low situation, where it may be readily viewed. It will probably succeed ina greenhouse ; till this be ascertained, however, it will be advisable to consider it as a denizen of the intermediate house.
The specific name was bestowed in compliment to Captain King, R. N., who
commanded the expedition for the survey of the Straits of Magalhaens, &c., in 1826.
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PRONAYA ELEGANS.
(Elegant Pronaya.)
Class.
Order.
PENTANDRIA, MONOGYNIA. Natural Order. PITTOSPORACEA. GENERIC CHARACTER. — Calyx five-leaved; leaflets nearly globose, or angular. Embryo placed near the
subulate, equal. Corolla of five petals, hypogynous, alternating with the leaflets of the calyx, ovate or obovate, sub-sessile, or with a short claw, connivent below,subrotately spreading. Stamens five, hypogynous, alternating with the petals, erectly spreading. JF ila- ments subulately thread-shaped. Anthers turned in- wards, two-celled, oblong; apex revolute, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary elliptically-cylindrical, two- celled. QOvules several in each cell, in two rows on
umbilicus, in a hardened albumen, orthotropous. SprciFic CHaracter, — Plant a suffruticose ever- green. Branches slender, climbing, somewhat woody, smooth. Leaves nearly sessile, alternate, oblong-linear, entire, or with two or three deep indentures on each side, somewhat reticulately veined ; margins revolute, glabrous above, covered with very short and closely adpressed hairs on the under surface. Pedunecles short, at the top of the shoots, solitary. Cymes di-
trichotomous, Flowers numerous, blue. SynonymEs.—Spiranthéra Fraseri ; Campylanthéra Fraseri ; Billardiéera rosmarinifolia.
each side of the dissepiments, anatropous. Style short, straight. Stigma obsoletely emarginate. Berry coria- ceously fleshy, cylindrical, muticate, two-celled. Seeds numerous in each cell, imbedded in a resinous pulp,
Tuts elegant little greenhouse plant bears some resemblance in its general aspect to the Marianthus cweruleo-punctatus. It is a smooth twining plant, but of a less tenuous and less rambling growth, producing its leaves at shorter intervals, and having the flowers more compactly aggregated. In healthy plants, the latter are plenteously developed, and have a peculiarly neat and attractive mien. this dwarfness of habit, and the pleasing and long-lasting inflorescence, it makes one of the most desirable of plants for a small greenhouse.
Speaking of it under the name of the Campylanthera Fraseri, Sir William J.
says, “This is noticed by Mr. Fraser as a
From
Hooker, in his ‘ Icones Plantarum,” beautiful creeper, as indeed it: may well be with its copious corymbs of azure flowers. It will be at once seen that it bears a close affinity to Billardiera, Sollya, and Cheiranthera, among the Pittospora, differing from the first in its inflorescence, spreading petals, and spirally curved anthers; from the second, in its last-mentioned character, and in having anthers not opening by pores; and from the third in the different direction of the stamens, and fleshy or pulpy fruit.” The name we have adopted is that bestowed by Hugel, and under which alone, we believe, it is known in the gardens of this country. It isa product of the western coast of New Holland, and was first discovered by Mr. Fraser, growing
plentifully about the Swan River settlement, from whence it was originally
100 PRONAYA ELEGANS.
forwarded to England in 1837. At Messrs. Knight and Perry’s nursery, Chelsea, where our drawing was executed last August, it was received from the establish- ment of M. Makoy, at Liege.
To treat it in a manner suitable to its habit, and at the same time to produce the best effect from its clustered blossoms, it should be trained spirally round a pyramidal trellis, or one partially contracting towards the top; observing to adopt one of proportionate dimensions to its scanty growth, and not to attach the branches with that rigorous formality too commonly persevered in ; and, especially towards the upper part of the plant, the shoots should be allowed greater liberty. Cuttings planted in sand, and placed in a gentle heat, with a confined atmosphere, are the ordinary means of propagation. Young plants flourish well in frames, potted in the usual mixture of peat, loam, and leaf-mould. Care must be taken that they are not over-potted, as a very circumscribed space is sufficient for the roots.
Baron Segismund Pronay, a Hungarian nobleman, and a patron of horti- culture, at Hetzendorf, near Vienna, and afterwards at Frankfort-on-the-Mayn, is commemorated in the generic appellation.
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CHA yladd ACL
fused MOCAPLELTI CL.
GAYLUSSACIA PSEUDO-VACCINIUM:
(Bilberry-like Gaylussac-wort.)
Class. PENTANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order. VACCINACE A.
GENERIC CHARACTER. — Limb of Calyx five-cleft. Corolla tubular, ventricose at the base; limb five- toothed. Stamens ten, inserted in the limb of the calyx, inclosed ; anthers mutic, drawn out from the top into two little tubes. Style erect. Stigma depres- sedly capitate. Drupe nearly globose, clothed by the calyx, ten-celled. Celis one-seeded. Seeds lenticular, smooth.—Don’s Gardening and Botany.
downy or smooth. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, obso- letely serrated towards the top, with a few cilie at the base of the younger leaves. Racemes axillary, erect, secund, bracteate, of a fine crimson colour. Corolla cylindrically urceolate, crimson. Calyx teeth roundish, acuminated. Ovarium glabrous.
SYNONYMES. — Andromeda coccinea ; brasiliense.
Vaccinium
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. — Plant an evergreen shrub,
Unoer the above generic title, twenty-six species of Vaccinium—or Andromeda- like shrubs are enumerated by Steudel in his excellent ‘‘ Nomenclator Botanicus,” many of which, yet unintroduced, if we may judge from description would be valuable acquisitions to our collections of ornamental plants. ‘‘ The genus,” says Dr. Lindley, “ differs from Vaccinium in the same way as Arctostaphylos from Arbutus—it has but a single seed in each cell. The species are chiefly found in Thibaudia,
another nearly-allied genus, is distinguished by its five-celled berry, each cell con-
Brazil, where they are common, Peru, and the North of India.”
taining many seeds.
G. pseudo-vaccinium is one of those hard-wooded greenhouse plants with fine glossy green foliage, which contribute so much to the maintenance of interest in plant-houses during winter. Between April and June, it produces copious quan- tities of somewhat globular bright crimson blossoms, disposed in racemes nestled amongst the leaves, but protruding beyond them, and all turned to one side. In its native localities, it forms a spreading shrub, varying in height from one to two feet and a half; so that, in this country, we may at least expect it to reach from eighteen inches to two feet. A handsome specimen, which flowered with Messrs. Loddiges last year, and from which we were kindly permitted to make the annexed representation, was exhibited at the May meeting in the gardens of the Horti- cultural Society, at Chiswick.
It is a native of Brazil within the tropics, where it grows in open sandy
plains. It was discovered by Auguste de St. Hilaire, near the town of Caravellos,
102 _ . -GAYLUSSACIA PSEUDO-VACCINIUM.
in the province of Espirito Santo, and extending along the coast as far as the island of Santa Catharina. In England, it was first produced at the Hackney Nursery, by the Messrs. Loddiges, from seeds gathered in Brazil, and forwarded to them three or four years ago by Mr. Russell, a friend residing there. It has since been received by Messrs. Knight and Perry from the Belgian Gardens.
The plant prefers a soil of a peaty nature, which should, if possible, be selected of a medium texture—neither very close, nor very porous. These _ extremes may be partly corrected by adding either leaf-mould, to keep it loose, or a portion of loam, to render it more adhesive. A rather liberal quantity of water - is necessary to keep it in health whilst forming fresh growths ; and the earth must never be permitted to become very dry.
It is readily multiplied by layering the branches immediately before the new shoots begin to form. |
The genus. was named by Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth, in honour of M. L. Gay Lussac, a celebrated French philosopher and chemist, and a member of the Academy of Sciences, at Paris.
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§ Holden, dal & Lith.
YA d s ? Wh 4 O ee Wl Ve tif CULM
COMBRETUM LATIFOLIUM.
(Broad-leaved Combretum.)
Class. OCTO-DECANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order.
COMBRETACEA.
GENERIC CHARACTER. — Calyx with a four or five- toothed deciduous limb. Petals four or five, inserted at the top of the calyx. Stamens eight or ten, exserted. Ovaries from two to five, ovulate. Style filiform. Fruit four or five-winged. Seed one, pendulous. — Don’s Gardening and Botany.
Stems climbing, glabrous. Leaves ample, coriaceous,
oblong, acuminated, sometimes rounded. Spikes short,
crowded with flowers. Flowers small, red. Calyxes
pubescent. Petals five, obovate, obtuse. Stamens ten,
twice the length of the calyx. SYNONYME.—C, macrophyllum.
SpeciFic CHARACTER.—Plant an evergreen shrub.
Combretum is an extensive genus of climbing plants, the species of which are described by botanists as ‘among the most splendid of the climbing plants of the tropics, adorning the trees from which they hang with garlands of white, crimson, and yellow flowers.” Few plants, indeed, surpass those already introduced in the elegance and brilliancy of their blossoms; and yet, some of those that remain are said to be far superior in splendour. Undoubtedly, many of them would prove of eminent service in our stoves; and we hope that ere long some botanical traveller will be fortunate enough to transmit a few of the most deserving to this country.
We are not aware of the existence of a previous figure of the present fine species, which has flowered most abundantly at Messrs. Henderson’s Nursery, Pineapple-place, and in the magnificent collection of Mrs. Lawrence, at Ealing Park. It is evidently identical with the C. Jatifoliwm of Don in the “ Linnzan Transactions,’ and the C. macrophyllum of Roxburgh in the “ Hortus Bengalensis.” It is an Kast Indian species, but at what precise period it was introduced to England we are not informed. son’s plant in May, 1844.
In the general appearance of the inflorescence, there is a striking resemblance between this species and C. grandiflorum ; but a comparison of the two reveals several essential distinctions. The flower-spikes of the present kind are shorter, and broader in proportion to their length; the stamens, moreover, are not so long. The plant is altogether of a much stouter habit, and is remarkable for the large dimensions of the foliage.
Our drawing was procured from Messrs. Hender-
We were at first inclined to regard it as a shy
104 COMBRETUM LATIFOLIUM.
flowering plant ; but further acquaintance with it has fully shown us, that such is only the case when it is imperfectly supplied with the means of growth.
For covering a trellis in the back of a stove, or training round a pillar, it appears to be peculiarly well adapted, from the amplitude and beauty of its foliage, which will show to much greater advantage in such a situation than if the branches are trained under a rafter. To realise the true character of the species, it should be planted in a warm border, or roomy compartment, where the roots can ramble more freely than in a pot. When the roots are cramped and confined within a small space, flowers are only scantily developed. A rich loamy earth, prepared from the surface of a pasture-field, mixed with a portion of decaying leaves, to prevent the particles from running too closely together, makes a favour- able compost. It may or may not have an addition of peat earth.
Cuttings planted in sand, with a moist bottom-heat, take root with tolerable freedom.
105
BOTTOM HEAT.
Havine devoted some of the previous pages to the subjects of Heat and Light within the area of glass erections, we find it necessary to solicit the attention of our readers to other important subjects which have been brought within our notice since the publication of the last number.
Bottom-heat has been considered as essential ever since the introduction of tender exotics to our gardens; at one time, that is about the beginning of the present century, every hothouse plant, excepting those of the succulent tribes, was not only propagated, but kept plunged to the rim of its pot in a deep bed of tanner’s bark ; and there it certainly prospered. But the cause, the philosophy of the luxuriant effects produced did not then enter into the speculation of the cultivator: at length, however, certain inconveniences became manifest; roots were rapidly formed, which, after filling and meandering in the pot, found a passage through the drainage hole at its bottom, and passed into the tan bed. Frequent removals and shiftings were required, and these tended to disturb and give a check, which neutralized the good effects of the previous treatment. Bottom-heat was therefore abandoned as an appliance of general hothouse culture, and the gardener, by substituting simple atmospheric heat and moisture, ran into the opposite extreme.
Whatever may be said, pro or con, for the practice of plunging a rooted plant, (we say nothing here of propagation,) the admission must be claimed, that a vast deal is gained by surrounding a pot with some moist material; because it is quite certain that tender roots are seriously injured by aridity of soil; and many a plant, confined within a pot which has been thoroughly heated and dried by a parching sun, is seen to perish without chance of recovery. There are inconveniences in all things, and trouble attaches to all operations; but we shall never bring flori- culture to anything like perfection, till we can safely provide our potted plants with some substitute for a bed of earth. The fact is proved by the luxuriance which invariably is produced by transferring to borders and parterres those plants that decorate our summer gardens.
We now come to the subject which has dictated the present article. Since the wide adoption of the hot-water tank system, we had flattered ourselves that bottom-heat, of the safest and most genial character, was absolutely at command ; that not only might we propagate, by cuttings, with assured success, but supply a degree of atmospheric moisture so regulated as to obviate injurious aridity of soil. But within a very short period doubts have been raised concerning the salubrity of the tank, and we are now credibly informed by those who should know the fact, (namely, the tanners themselves,) that gardeners, some at least, are recurring to the tan bed as a medium of heat, a substitute for the water-tank
As yet we have not been able to collect materials of sufficient extent to leave
VOL, XII.—NO, CXXXVII. P
106 BOTTOM HEAT.
no doubt on the subject ; but we have read and observed enough to authorise a few inquiries and suggestions. A good and efficient tank ought to comprise an expansive pair of water-channels, one of which is connected with the “ flow,” the other with the ‘‘return-pipe” of the furnace. These channels should be enclosed in a deep, oblong chamber of brick-work, so constructed as to contain an air- chamber, heated by radiation from the surfaces of slates laid sloping from the edges of the water-channels, and expanding to the top course of the sides of the brick walls, where they are joined by a broad, covering-slab of thick slate, upon the four flat edges of which a brim or border of bricks is placed. By this arrangement a space, the entire breadth of the slab, is obtained, capable of containing a body of materials wherein to plunge pots of various dimensions, either to their rims, or to any extent which may suit the object of the gardener. Beside the heated dry air obtained from the outer surface of the slates, and which can pass through pigeon- holes in the sides of the brick chamber into the air of the house, a body of vapour can be conveyed from the hot-water channels through orifices made at the two ends of the brick case, which can be closed wholly or partially, according to circumstances.
We have thus all the appliances of a well-regulated source of bottom-heat ; but what are the materials which should constitute the plunging medium ; and is heat or temperature the sole object worthy of consideration ¢
It has been stated that some gardeners who have tried the tank, are recurring to tan, or other fermenting sources of heat! Is this true in the abstract—and if it be, why is a medium ever subject to sudden mutations, substituted for another that is comparatively permanent and certain in its effects? Again, let us consider the inconveniences of tan, or of a bed of leaves covered with a layer of tan, or a compound of stable-dung and leaves. All of these are, in the first instance, liable to heat violently ; insomuch that whole collections of most valuable plants have been irremediably destroyed in a few hours. This degree of temperature declines, but not always regularly ; it is influenced by atmospheric conditions ; it fluctuates, becomes irregular—is lost ; and even under the most propitious course, the bed subsides, requires renewal, is changed in its texture, and favours the production of worms, grubs, and myriads of devouring millepedes. On the contrary, if we superpose upon the slab of the water-tank a stratum of sand and powdered charcoal, to the depth of from five or six to seven or nine inches, and bring these materials to the moist condition of tan, or of vegetative mould, we acquire a plunging medium perfectly at command with respect to temperature, ever clean, scarcely, if at all, liable to change; and by no means favourable to the introduction of predatory vermin.
The question now presents itself at once ; is this clean and convenient medium equal in every respect to that of the old fermenting bed ; or does the latter surpass in some qualities which give it essential pre-eminence ?
Experience must decide, for the subject is quite new. In the mean time it is
BOTTOM HEAT. 107
certain that, during every process of decay—(the result of fermentation)— agencies of prodigious power are exerted : water is decomposed, a galvanic energy is displayed in the progressive development of the elements oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and in new combinations, forming hydro-carbons, carbonic acid, ammonia, &c., all essential to vegetation ; and these facts, which now are placed beyond reasonable doubt, tend to repudiate the opinion that the efficiency of bottom-heat is dependent solely upon increase of temperature. In a word, we may safely infer that the process of radification is the result of electro-chemical attraction, while that depends upon elemental disturbance.
So far, it will be evident that we are constrained to favour the old fermenting medium ; but, alive as we must be to its inconveniences, we inquire whether the new and cleanly bed resting over the tank would not suffice for all the processes of propagation, and also to maintain the ample verdure and health of such rooted plants—as for instance, the Gardenias—which demand the appliance of moist and warm substances to the surface of their pots? Were charcoal-powder always employed, with sand sufficient to give it texture and firmness, we have little doubt that the roots would emerge, and revel in the bed; and no scalding or burning would result from the violent extrication of ammoniacal gases. And although in the event of protruded roots, the luxuriance of vegetation might not equal that produced by the tan or leaf bed, yet not only do gardeners object to this rooting for the reasons before assigned, but they ought on every account to prefer cleanness and security, provided they are not purchased at the expense of a positive injury.
A tank alone will not be sufficient for hothouse or even pit culture; we must have atmospheric moisture and heat; therefore from the returning channel or gutter of the tank a connected pair must be continued in front, by the end, and generally at the back of the erection, so as to convey the flow-water; and a cor- stream, till the latter terminate in the receiving pipe of the boiler ; and then, if these channels be regulated by sluices across the watercourse, and by sliders at the top, both correctly adapted and moveable, any degree of moisture may be commanded and regulated.
We now invite our intelligent readers to observe, and decide for themselves, for such are the conveniences of the hot-water tank-plunging system, that we should regret extremely to see it abandoned for one which, for years, has been productive of nuisances of the most serious character. A further remark, and that a painful one, remains to be made ; the vapour of a tank-house is not found to bear out the assertion that it will afford ample protection against the Acarus, or plant- spider. We have very lately seen an entire collection of Gardenias the prey to thousands of this pest ; and now, as sulphur also is found utterly valueless, we fear that there is no remedial application, and that the gardener must trust to vigilance alone.
2
responding “ return’
108
ON PLANTS IN DRAWING-ROOMS AND PLANT-CASES, &e.
THE removal of plants during the period of blooming, and especially many of the grotesque yet beautiful tribe of orchidaceze, to the drawing-room, has now become almost as fashionable as collecting a brilliant display of blossom in a green-~ house. Proprietors are thus enabled at any time to enjoy their favourites leisurely and: pleasantly, unattended by the inconveniences arising from bad weather, and the detached and often distant situation of the plant-houses ; and also from the sometimes confined atmosphere, excessive heat, and insalubrious humidity maintained in them.
There is, however, some unpleasantness connected with it which it would be desirable to remove. That volatile matter yielded by many flowering plants, and particularly orchidaceze, which constitutes an agreeable fragance during the day, is poured out from some species in such excessive streams at night, and when confined in a close room proves not only disagreeable and inconvenient, but acts powerfully and banefully upon persons of delicate constitution. In fact it is recorded on the authority of De Candolle, that even the little violet, so universally esteemed for its grateful odour, carries a noxious influence with it, which is so overpowering that he has known ladies to faint from the mere circumstance of carrying too many about their persons. The aroma emitted from some plants has been known to produce death ; and there. are few persons but can testify to the - oppression or languor experienced under the influence of odours that are agreeable when not too highly concentrated. With these facts, then, before us, further argument scarcely need be adduced to convince of the expediency of some mode of mitigating or removing the baneful power ; especially if it can be done without affecting, but only modifying, the continuance of the present practice.
But even were other arguments needing, they are not wanting. There is a disproportion between the atmosphere of the plant-houses and that of an ordinary sitting-room, which acts as injuriously on the constitution of the plant, as the plant acts on the nerves of a delicate person. Supposing a plant at the time of its introduction to be in a free-growing state, the transition from the warm moist atmosphere of a stove to the comparatively dry air of a sitting-room, will be apt to impose a check that may require some time to recover from. But we will not insist much upon this, as we are persuaded that much of it may be obviated by a proper selection of plants, and by a preparatory treatment.
With a view to the better preservation of plants in a sitting-room, several individuals have modified the construction of the Wardian cases into portable miniature greenhouses or plant cases, adapted for rooms. The original Wardian case is hermetically closed; those we allude to are provided with the means of ventilation on the top, and with small side-doors for the same purpose, and to allow the plants to be examined or removed at any time. Similar contrivances
ON PLANTS IN DRAWING-ROOMS AND PLANT-CASES, &c. 109
have been in use for some years on the Continent, but it is only recently that they have been much employed in this country. To those who are fond of having a few plants constantly accessible to inspection, they will be an interesting and useful article, especially in towns. The plants will be preserved from any deposit of dust on their leaves or flowers, the whole may be easily shifted about if necessary, their strong exhalations may be confined, or partially released at pleasure, and the humidity proper to the plants will be more under com- mand.
From the simplicity of their construction, and the reduction in the price of glass, they will doubtless, ere long, be obtained at a trifling cost. Many of those, however, which have come before us, are too plain to accord with a costly furnished drawing-room : nevertheless, those exhibited last year at Chiswick, by Mr. Potts, of Birmingham, seem to have left nothing to wish for further in that respect ;— they are really elegant, and elaborately finished.
In their formation small hooks or eyelets should be fastened in the top bars, so that orchidaceze may be suspended. As it will also sometimes be needful to water the plants, a moveable bottom should be made for any excess to drain into, so that it may be easily removed.
Some little taste will be requisite in the choice and arrangement of plants, so as to blend the more slender and graceful growing kinds with those of stouter and more erect habit ; and to show their flowers to advantage. To aid in this, and at the same time to contribute more variety, a few Lycopodiums and some of the more airy-looking ferns, may be mixed amongst those placed in the lower part.
There is little doubt but a small collection of the dwarfer species of Cape Heaths—a tribe which perhaps suffers as much as any other in a dry room— might be successfully grown in this way by those who cannot purchase the luxury of a greenhouse ; at least, when we find that without such aid they will retain a tolerable appearance, despite the heat of the room, we may reasonably expect that they will exist and experience less injury, when they are no longer exposed to a dry air in conjunction with it.
But there are many plants which flower abundantly, that it will not be practicable to remove from the houses, but which would nevertheless furnish a good supply of cut flowers for the drawing-room; and by proper care, and a few simple contrivances, these may be preserved perfect in beauty for a considerable length of time. The same atmospherical agencies which assist in lengthening the duration of blossoms on a growing plant, are essential to their preservation when cut and placed in the drawing-room, and vice versé. Too much aridity soon destroys them, so does the opposite extreme. An agitated air, especially if a dry one, such as we commonly have in a sitting-room, extracts moisture from them too rapidly.
The remarks of Mrs. Loudon in her “Gardening for Ladies,” recently published, are much to the purpose, and worth knowing. This lady says, “The
110 REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.
most simple rules are, not to put too many flowers together in a glass, to change the water every morning, and to remove every decayed leaf as soon as it appears, cutting off the end of the stem occasionally as soon as it shows any symptoms of decay. A more efficacious way, however, is to put nitrate of soda in the water ; about as much as can be easily taken up between the forefinger and thumb, put into the glass every time the water is changed, will preserve cut flowers in all their beauty for above a fortnight. Nitrate of potash (that is, common saltpetre) in powder, has nearly the same effects, but it is not quite so efficacious.”
Whilst, however, the observations quoted embrace some of the principal points for the preservation of cut flowers, the exclusion of a dry or disturbed air acting upon the flowers themselves, is perhaps more effectual in prolonging their beauty. It is preferable to retard the loss of fluid matter through insensible perspiration, © than to trust entirely to supplying that loss. For this purpose the Hopean stand and glass cover is a useful contrivance. These stands are now manufactured in ornamented stone and china wares (similar to that employed for the new Hyacinth pots) instead of japanned metal; and are not only equally effectual for the
object intended, but more elegant ornaments in themselves. In conjunction with the directions of Mrs. Loudon, this mode of excluding air will be found capable of retaining flowers perfect for a much longer period than above stated ;—a considera- tion of some importance, where flowers are scarce, (especially during winter,) or to keep blossoms of a rare kind as long as possible.
REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS. | si Pa
In estimating the value of different plants in an ornamental light, we naturally enough follow their mere appearance as, they are oftenest found, without taking into consideration the ease or the difficulty of making them what they are; and whether there may or may not be a likelihood of benefiting them by supplying common omissions in their routinal tendance; or varying some feature in their culture for one that would appear more feasible. Thus, if a grower supply himself with a miscellaneous collection of plants, comprising species of rapid growth with soft shoots, and others of harder and more woody stems and increasing slowly in size, and makes no difference in the way of treating them, he will rarely attain any excellence either with the one or the other ; or it will be in proportion as his practice leans to the requirements of either of the two classes. And, moreover, it demands less skill to manage a soft-wooded plant well, than it does to unfold the capabilities of a hard wooded, slow-growing kind; hence, we are more apt to condemn the latter, when the fault really rests only in our own ignorance or mismanagement,
REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS. ill
From amongst many other plants of this kind, thus undeservedly depreciated, we sélect the Templetonia glauca and T’. retusa,—two spring flowering shrubs, rarely cultivated in a satisfactory manner. In most places these plants have an unhealthy and stunted aspect, seldom advancing into vigorous growth, and their lower parts becoming divested of foliage; whilst if flowers are produced at all, their numbers are too scanty to contribute much show. Now and then, however, we meet with specimens exactly the converse in appearance, which fully redeem the claim of the plants to be regarded as shrubs of a showy character.
Examination will generally show that the specimens which appear so un- promising and sickly, are deficient of roots. Instead, therefore, of allowing such a one to continue in the greenhouse in the hope of improvement, it is better at once to shake away the old soil from the roots, cut off all decayed extremities, and then return it to a smaller pot, observing to pay special regard to drainage, and the quality of the earth. It may then be placed in a close frame ; and when it begins to grow, a portion of the old branches should be removed to assist the fresh growths in acquiring strength. Occasional syringing will be useful, and perhaps shading for an hour or two in the middle of sunny days. When the roots have filled the pots, and the shoots are pushing well, the plant should be transferred to a larger pot, unless the season is too far advanced to mature the wood before winter. They may be taken back to the greenhouse to winter, and the following spring they will flower abundantly.
The necessity of careful potting is clearly shown in these plants. Once any- thing obstructs the circulation of fluids through the ball, the roots begin to suffer, Hence, although it is proper to elevate slightly the collar of the plant, yet it is as injurious to raise it so preposterously as many do. As a rule of general applica- bility, the highest portion of soil should be beneath the level of the rim of the pot, so that at every watering the whole may be submersed. Otherwise all the roots in the central portion of the pot will be left dry and useless. In the choice of soil, many err in employing finely dressed peat. A good friable loam, with an equal quantity of coarse peat, answers far better. With care in potting, and in watering afterwards, a healthy state may be maintained constantly in a green- house: a little heat in spring, however, effects considerable improvement in their appearance.
But whilst they make very handsome bushes when kept in pots, they acquire a far more excellent character when grown in a conservatory border; and from their bushiness, and the total absence of anything like a tendency to grow feebly or straggling, they are highly appropriate subjects for the situation. If through maltreatment they have lost anything of the needed density and foliage in the lower parts, there is usually a number of latent buds in the heart of the plants that are easily started into growth by merely bending over the main shoots to prevent them from receiving all the sap supplied from the roots.
Though by no means rapid growing plants, good specimens may be formed
112 REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.
from cuttings in a few years by growing them through the summer in pits. Hither the young shoots taken off in spring as soon as they have acquired a little firmness, or the fully matured wood in autumn, strike root with tolerable readiness. If it is intended to employ the former, the plants from which they are to be taken should be early put into an extra warmth, in order to elongate the shoots; such cuttings soon take root with bottom heat. Ripened wood requires more time to form roots, and should be planted in a cooler spot in autumn: the first is the most certain and least troublesome method.
The genus Hardenbergia contains species which are decidedly amongst the finest of all our rambling greenhouse plants when well cultivated. Like many others, however, they are often more than half deprived of their beauty through untasteful capricious ways of pruning and training. They are mosily fastened under the rafters of houses; and if the shoots are allowed plenty of liberty, such species as Hl. monophylla, lilacina, digitata, and macrophylla, make a magnificent appearance whilst they are in bloom.
One of the most appropriate plans of cultivating these plants, however, but one rarely practised, is to turn them into the border of a conservatory, amongst a rough peat and loam, where they will be encouraged to make fresh growths rapidly. ‘Then insert beside each a stout post or pole, eight or ten feet high, and conduct the shoots round it until they reach the top, when they may be allowed to hang down, and interwreath one with another. In this way they will soon form a graceful pillar of shoots, two or three feet in diameter, and completely concealing the pole from the base to the summit. Nothing can be more elegant ; and the amazing profusion of blossoms in spring and summer render such plants more than ordinarily attractive. They will require to be cut back in autumn, in order that they may send out a fresh supply of vigorous flowering shoots; and throughout the summer months they will occasionally need a little trimming with the knife, to keep them from spreading tco far, or becoming untidy. Some fine examples of this kind may be seen at the garden of the Horticultural Society, Chiswick, in the large conservatory.
All who are in the habit of visiting the great metropolitan exhibitions must have been struck with the magnificence of the noble specimens of Clerodendrum sguamatum, and two or three other species equally gorgeous. Before offering any remarks on the plans of culture resorted to for their production, we must premise that there is perhaps as much due to assiduous superintendence and untiring exertions as to any peculiarity of system. It is true, that in the rearing of some of these plants, all the aids have been employed that can be supplied by well- constructed houses, great extent of accommodation, and improved modes of heating, ventilating, &c.; but it is enough, at the same time, to know that many scarcely inferior specimens have been grown by cultivators, who have had numerous and disheartening difficulties to contend with: in fact, nothing short of an enthusiastic love of flowers could have set these at defiance. Necessity is truly styled the
REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF A FEW ORNAMENTAL PLANTS. 113
parent of invention: the want of convenience to pursue the beaten track often leads to the discovery of superior ways of culture. But let us not be misconstrued : we would not depreciate the advantages which may be commanded by well- arranged apparatus and ample conveniences, nor undervalue a special order of management for different plants ; nevertheless, with all these, cultivation is still a mere experiment without indefatigable attention, and some ingenuity.
Many people are deterred from growing the Cleredendrums through the common belief that they will only succeed in a stove. Fine plants, however, may be had with nothing but a greenhouse and a common pit or frame. Undoubtedly - they may be grown larger, and are more easily preserved through the winter in a stove; but, in small places, dwarf specimens, with a good cluster of blossoms, are usually more desirable than large ones.
As they are plants which send out their flowers from the top of the current season’s shoots, it is essential to the production of fine trusses to give every encou- ragement to the perfect development of stem and leaves early in spring. With this view, the wood of the previous season should be cut away to within two or three buds of the base ; this will induce the eyes left to push with greater vigour. They may be left dry for a week or two after pruning; they are then to be planted in smaller-sized pots, and set in a pit or frame heated either with fer- menting materials, or by a tank, observing to have the pots plunged nearly to the rim. Here they may remain until the flowers are formed, shifting them into larger pots as soon as they get to grow rapidly.
A strong fibrous loam, in a rough state, kept open by adding a portion of leaf- mould, constitutes an appropriate soil. Well-rotted cow-dung may be added, if large specimens are desired ; but the exuberance of the plant will be more under control if, in lieu of it, liquid manure be applied frequently after the plant has begun to grow freely. Where a large quantity of rotten dung is incorporated with the soil, and the roots have once penetrated it, should it stimulate to excessive vigour, there is no means of avoiding it without repotting the plant. Growth might be checked by placing in a lower temperature, or in a drier atmo- sphere ; but it is more than probable that the one would induce a sickly aspect, and the other would be likely to encourage insects, especially as the plants are at all times very liable to their attacks. Liquid manure admits of being applied or withheld at pleasure, as the exigencies of the plants suggest. Besides, smaller pots will suffice; because the same bulk of loam, fed from time to time with liquid manure, will afford as much nutriment, or nearly so, as if the dung itself were incorporated with it. Soil that contains much dung is, moreover, sooner exhausted ; and by the time the plants are in bloom, it will be so far spent as to be scarcely able to maintain the leaves in a healthy deep green colour. It must be remembered, however, that the liquid should be clear, such as usually drains to the tank of a farm-yard, and not the thick muddy substance obtained by mixing dung and water together, and stirring up, as many do, before it is used.
VOL. XII.—NO, CXXXVIL. Q
14 ON GRAFTING LESCHENAULTIAS.
When the flowers appear, (which will be about the middle of June, or a little later,) the plants may be removed to a greenhouse ; observing to place them where they will not be exposed to strong draughts of air, until they are a little inured to their situation. - With ordinary care, they will continue to flower for the most part of the season. When large specimens, that have been flowering for some time, begin to suffer from the want of fresh soil, instead of shifting them to a more roomy pot, it is better to pare off some of the top soil, drench the roots well with manure-water, and afterwards dress the surface over with a strong fresh earth. If practicable, they should be placed for a week or ten days after this in a closer and more humid atmosphere ; if not, they must be well syringed, and shaded from the sun.
The very large plants of the London gardens are mostly either kept con- stantly in the stove, or removed there from the pits at the time of flowering. Through this means, they will sometimes disclose enormous heads of blossom, but the colour is inferior to that of the same kind in a cooler atmosphere ; and the petiole of the leaf is often elongated, so as to detract from their beauty.
Old plants which have been excited into growth, as we have described, make magnificent objects planted out in a conservatory border, where they are not too much shaded by other things. If these are kept dry through the winter, they will mostly survive; but it is advisable always to keep a stock in pots on a dry airy shelf. All the plants should be partially headed over in autumn, when they have ceased to bloom. :
In conclusion, we would suggest to those interested in raising hybrid varieties, to endeavour to combine the sweetness of C. fragrans with the rich scarlet hue of other species. Perhaps the climbing C. splendens would be most suitable for the attempt, as it would be likely to secure a smaller foliage, as well as a richer colour.
ON GRAFTING LESCHENAULTIAS.
—»—
Amonest the dwarfer class of greenhouse plants, we shall hardly find a more engaging bush than the slender twiggy Leschenaultia formosa. As far as regards density and abundant flowering, there is little left to wish for in its cultivation ; but in general, the plants scarcely acquire a proportionate height. A short time ago, we saw some specimens produced by Mr. Duncan, gardener to — Malcolm, Esq., at Lamb Abbey Park, Kent, in which the objection was completely obviated.
The manner in which this was effected, was by working it upon the large variety of L. biloba. Free-growing plants, divided near the base into three or four strong shoots, were selected, and headed over at the height fixed upon. A cleft was then made in each in the way usually called crown-grafting, into which the
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES, 115
scion—a healthy shoot, several inches long—was inserted, and bound up in the usual manner. As soon as the operation was performed, the plants were placed in a close heat in a propagating pit, and shaded for a few weeks. By this means, a perfect amalgamation was effected, every scion having succeeded.
Another plant was inarched in the ordinary way, at different heights, and has been equally successful. The only other difference in treatment was, that, instead of being removed to a close pit, it was suffered to remain in the greenhouse. Grafting, however, produces the neatest plants ; and it would no doubt be fully as effectual by some of the less objectionable modes of procedure, such as whip or saddle grafting.
From the appearance of the specimens at the time of our visit, we should be inclined to attribute an extra degree of luxuriance to this plan; and there is little doubt, from the more vigorous character both of the stem and roots of the stock, that good-sized plants will be more speedily formed than when upon its own roots ; and there seems but slight fear of their durableness.
Every one acquainted with the L. formosa, under circumstances favourable to its growth, is cognisant of the tendency of its branches to droop over the edges of the pot. Hence, when the scions inserted at heights varying from a foot to eighteen inches, have reached something of a dense character, besides the upward direction of some of the shoots, the undermost ones will be forced into a pendent position, and eventually almost conceal the stem of the stock.
Besides, by placing scions of the L. biloba nana on the inferior branches, and allowing the shoots from them to mix with those of ZL. formosa, we might have the curious blending of blue and crimson flowers on the same plant. This kind is nearer the same rate of strength as L. formosa than the large variety, and would be less likely to overpower it. Should any of the shoots of the blue one overtop the other, they might either be shortened back, or bent downwards.
The beauty of these plants depends largely on the compactness of the top ; hence it becomes needful to seek to produce and preserve this in every stage of the plant’s growth, but especially whilst it is in a young state. It is sometimes difficult to recover a once-neglected specimen to a passable appearance. Young plants are always best grown in pits or frames.
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
mare NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR MAY.
ANGR2&‘cuM apPicuLa‘tum. A small species of Orchidaceze, with a stem from three to five inches long, throwing out roots, and clothed with spreading distichous leaves of an obovate lance- olate form. The racemes spring from the side of the foot of the leaves, are nearly a foot long, and hang down. The flowers are nearly all white, the points only being tipped with purple. It was discovered in Sierra Leone, and introduced by Mr. Whitfield, in 1844, Six William Heoker says,
116 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
he “ was at first disposed to consider it the same with 4. bilobum, Lindl., Bot. Reg., 1844, t. 355 but that has semi-pellucid, reticulated leaves, distinctly and deeply two-lobed at the extremity, (whence the specific name,) the rachis of the raceme and peduncle are warty, and the spur is dilated and emarginate at the apex. Im other respects the two plants seem almost entirely to agree.”’—Bot. Mag., 4159.
CaLcrona‘riA a/LBA. This is a suffruticose plant, of erect growth, with narrow serrated leaves much like those of C. thyrsifiora. It flowers in long terminal leafy panicles, each peduncle of which bears a corymb of white flowers. The corolla consists of two very unequal lips; the upper one very minute, the lower one much larger, both are compressed, and meet together, so that the throat is quite closed. It is “a native of Chili; but probably of rare occurrence, at least, it has not, till now, been introduced to our gardens. Mr. Veitch received seeds from his collector, Mr. William Lobb, and planis raised from them flowered in his nursery in September, 1844. It is singular in the very pale, nearly white, colour of the flowers. The foliage, though narrow, is copious, and the plant has an erect and graceful mode of growth. Ruiz and Pavon’s figure represents the corolla with the lips spreading ; but this is probably owing to its being taken from a dried specimen. The species will perhaps bear our mild winters.”—Bot. Mag., 4157.
DENDRO'BIUM FIMBRIA‘TUM, var. ocuULA‘TUM. ‘The species is “a native of Nepal, whence plants have from time to time been sent to our stoves by Dr. Wallich [see vol. II., p. 172]. It first blossomed in the Liverpool Botanic Garden, as stated in the ‘ Exotic Flora,’ and the flowers were of a uniform golden yellow. Our present plant, in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, has a dark blood-coloured eye-like spot in the centre of the labellum, which adds greatly to the beauty of this otherwise charming plant. This state of it, Dr. Lindley considers that of the native specimens. It flowered with us in September, 1843.” [Those who wish to know what may be done with orchidaceous plants, should see the enormous specimen of D. fimbriatum now flowering at Messrs. Rollison’s nursery, Tooting.|—Bot. Mag., 4160.
Ecueve'r1a Scus‘erit. “ Although this is by no means so handsome a species as some of those already published, it is far from being unworthy of cultivation. Its leaves are large and glaucous, and its flowers, notwithstanding their dingy colour, are abundant, tolerably large, and gracefully arranged :” the latter appear in nodding, racemose panicles at the end of the shoots. “For its introduction the public is indebted to Frederick Scheer, Esq., of Kew, a zealous collector of succulent plants, and whose name it will henceforward bear. It is a native of Mexico, whence seeds were received by that gentleman, and presented to the Horticultural Society in September, 1842. It flowers in the winter. _ Like the rest of the genus it is a green- house plant, which should be potted in peat, loam, and silver sand, in equal proportions.” Being of a succulent nature it requires but little water, especially in winter. “It is easily propagated either from seeds sown in the usual way, or from leaves laid on the surface of the soil,’’— Bot. Reg., 27.
GOODE'NIA GRANDIFLO‘RA. “ This plant was raised in the garden of the Horticultural Society, from among a parcel of seeds presented by Mr. Bidwill, and the packet was labelled in that gentleman’s hand-writing, ‘ New Zealand.’ It is, however, beyond all doubt, the sameas the Port Jackson plant, which was long since introduced to this country, but which seems to have been generally lost again. Are we then to conclude that G. grandiflora is common to both New Holland and New Zealand ? or are we to suspect some error in the ticketing? Be that as it may, it is certain that we have recovered a very pretty greenhouse perennial (not annual or biennial) well worth cultivating for the sake both of the gay appearance of the flowers and of their fragrance, which is that of orange bloom, only much less powerful.” It is a plant of rapid growth and easy cultivation, readily increased from cuttings, which, if struck early in autumn, will make fine specimens for the greenhouse the following summer, when the hard-wooded plants are set out of doors.—Bot. Reg., 29.
Jasmi'NuM aFFi'NE. Dr. Lindley suspects this to be the wild officinal Jasmine (J. officinale). “ Tt differs in very little, and would under ordinary circumstances be looked on as a mere variety with pink-tubed flowers, somewhat larger than usual. But it isa wild plant, having been raised in the garden of the Horticultural Society from seeds sent from the north of India by Dr. Royle, under the name here adopted. This much is certain, that it is quite capable of braving the climate of an English winter. The native country. of the common Jasmine is said to be the foot
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 117
of the Caucasus, whence it is supposed to have spread eastward ; but the latter point is conjec- tural, unless this plant should establish its truth.” The following is an extract from Dr. Royle’s Iilustrations of the Himalayahs :—“ J. officinale has become so naturalized in the gardens of England, that we cannot believe it, as generally supposed to be, a native of India; as we know no other instance where a shrub from the plains or southern parts of that country has become acclimated so far north; but the common name of the Jasmine in the languages of Europe indicates its origin from the Arabic name Yasmeen. J. grandifiora is the most nearly allied species, and this flourishes in the hottest parts of India. Dr. Wallich has, however, obtained specimens from the mountains of Kemaon, which he has referred to this species, and which are very similar to some I have gathered in such mountains as Dhunoultee, Suen, Acharanda, Kedar- Kanta, and Urrukta. These I have been in the habit of considering as J. officinale, as it is not usual to find the same-shrub common in the plains and at 7000 and 8000 feet of elevation in 30° of N. latitude.” Bot. Reg., 26.
Lupinus RaMosi'ssimus. Thisname has been accorded by Mr. Bentham, in a yet unpublished manuscript of the Plante Hartwegiane, to a species “ raised in the garden of the Horticultural Society, from seeds collected by Mr. Hartweg on Chimborazo, at an elevation of 13,000 feet above the level of the sea. The flowers smell like those of the Sweet Pea.” It “is a pretty half- hardy shrubby species, growing three or four feet high in any good garden soil, and well suited for cultivation in the open border, if treated as a summer annual. The seeds should be sown early in February, and afterwards potted singly ; and when the danger of late spring frost is over, they should be planted out, where they will bloom freely from June to October.” [Doubtless this species, as well as Z. arboreus and L. mutabilis, would strike root from cuttings taken off in autumn, and make dwarf specimens to flower in the greenhouse till after Christmas. ]— Bot. Reg., 25.
Periste'‘RIA Humpo/Lpti, var. Fv’Lva. This variety flowered in the collection of Mr. Barker, near Birmingham, in June 1843. The colour is considerably different from that given by Dr. Lindley in the Botanical Register, on which account it is here indicated as a variety. Its native country is Venezuela, where it was first detected by Humboldt ; for Dr. Lindley has clearly determined that the Anguloa superba of that author is in reality this plant, represented in an imperfect state. It is one of the most striking among Orchidaceous plants, and few are more worthy of cultivation. The true Anguloa of Ruiz and Pavon is ascertained by Dr. Lindley to be a very different genus. The present kind bears pendent racemes from eighteen inches to two feet long, numerously furnished with large fleshy flowers of a tawny yellow colour, dashed almost all over with spots of purplish brown.—Bot. Mag., 4156.
Potysta/CHYA BRACTEO'SA. Communicated from Sierra Leone by- Mr. Whitfield. The pseudo-bulbs are about an inch in diameter, almost orbicular, and singularly compressed ; from their summit arises a stout petiole, bearing a solitary oblong-obovate leaf. The peduncle issues from a cleft at the top of the petiole, and bears a large leafy bract at its origin, and several smaller ones above it. The flowers are dull orange-yellow, and arranged in a many-flowered, drooping raceme. Dr. Lindley observes, “ it is well distinguished by its downy flowers and taper- ing squarrose bracts, which extend down the peduncle, the lowermost one being very large and leaf-like.”—Bot. Mag., 4161.
SaLprxa’nTHA cocci’/NEA. “ This curious plant, which has at first sight, indeed, little apparent affinity with the Acanthaceze (sect, Ruellize), was discovered by Mr. Purdie, botanical collector for the Royal Gardens, in the island of Jamaica, whence it was sent to the Royal Gardens. It blossomed freely in the stove during the autumn of the same year, and in the early winter of 1844-5, and made a very pretty appearance with its gracefully pendent, scarlet blossoms, and its well-formed dark green foliage.” It is a low, branching shrub, perfectly smooth all over, with opposite, ovate, somewhat waved, dark green leaves. It bears its blossoms decussately arranged in a spike on the upper part of a peduncle, either terminal or proceeding from the axil of the leaves. The flowers have a tube about an inch long, and an almost equal, spreading, five-cleft lmb.—Bot. Mag., 4158.
StanHo'pea Bucr'pHALus. This species has received the names of Epidendrum grandifiorum and Anguloa grandifiora in the works of Humboldt and Bonpland. It “is one of the rarest and finest of the Stanhopeas, in some measure resembling S. eculata, especially in the long, narrow
118 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
hypochil. Its flowers are deliciously scented, and their bright golden colour produces a very rich
effect. At first sight it might be taken for a mere variety of S. oculate, but Messrs. Loddiges
long since pointed cut the shortness of its ovary as a decisive mark of distinction. The effect of
this shortness is to make the inflorescence of S. Bucephalus very narrow, while in S. oculata it
is broad and straggling. The species is a native of the woods of Paccha, a small village in the
Andes, on the ascent from Guayaquil to Loxa, at an elevation of 6000 feet above the level of the
sea, where it wasfound by Mr. Hartweg. It first flowered in the garden of the Horticultural Society in August, 1843. Its stem is spotted as well as its blossoms.”— Bot. Reg., 24.
Wa’rrea cya‘Nea. The genus Warrea was established by Dr. Lindley in 1843, upon the old Mazillaria Warreana. Since then, two new and quite distinct species (of which this is one) have been added to it. “In the beginning of 1844 this beautiful species blossomed with Messrs. Loddiges, and a few months since another (W. bidentata) appeared in the collection of Mr. Rucker. Both the latter are from the Spanish Main, and it is not improbable that others may lurk in the unexamined forests of that vast region. Warrea cyanea is remarkable for the intense porcelain-blue colour of its lip, to which it is not easy to find a parallel in the order; for pure blue is searcely known among Orchids. The plant has quite the habit of Warrea tricolor, but is very much smaller in all its parts. Its most distinctive character is found in the form of its lip, which has a distinct point, and five ribs, not three, near the base. Messrs. Loddiges imported it from Colombia, and it is No. 860 of their last catalogue. Being a terrestrial species it requires treatment very similar to Phaius maculatus.” [Not the least reeommendatory property of this plant is the long time during which it continues to send out successional racemes of flowers. We observed it flowering during the spring and summer months of 1844, at Messrs. Rollisson’s nursery, Tooting, under the name of Warrea cerulea.]— Bot. Reg., 28.
NEW OR INTERESTING PLANTS RECENTLY FLOWERED IN THE PRINCIPAL METROPOLITAN NURSERIES AND GARDENS.
BLE'TIA CATENULA‘TA.—This is the species upon which the genus Bletia was first established by Ruiz and Pavon, although it has only very lately appeared in this country, and is, we believe, at the present time only in the hands of Messrs. Veitch and Sons, of the Mount Radford Nursery, Exeter, who introduced it through their collector, Mr. William Lobb. It was discovered by that successful collector, occupying dry sandy situations upon the hills near Muna, in Peru. A specimen has recently flowered, and was exhibited at the rooms of the Horticultural Society, in Regent Street, in the beginning of the month. It is apparently similar in habit to the now common B. fiorida. The flower-stem rises erectly nearly a foot and a half ; the blossoms, which are loosely arranged on the upper half, are large, and of a fine purple colour. Like the other species, it will require to be grown in a pot.
GESNE’RA MaCULA‘TA. A very showy variety, growing about two feet high, and terminating in immense clusters of purple flowers, spotted with white at the throat, about the size and shape of those in G. Cooperii. It sprung from seed of G. Douglasii, fertilized with some of the scarlet flowering kinds from Brazil, and is now blooming in Messrs. Henderson’s nursery, Pine-apple Place.
HaBROTHA’MNUS FascicuLa‘tus. This plant has at length flowered in the Horticultural Society's garden at Chiswick, and proves to be really a very fine thing. The tubular flowers are of a very rich orange crimson, and appear in clusters at the top of the branches. The specimen in question is little more than a yard high, and has been kept in a greenhouse. By some mis- take, the Céstrum roseum, a plant very much resembling it in habit and foliage, but inferior in the flowers, has been sold rather extensively for it.
ODONTOGLO’SSUM, NEW SPECIES. Two new species have flowered lately in Messrs. Loddiges’ extensive collection. One is almost white, and the other has a delicate pinkish purple tint : both have a circular collection of irregularly-shaped long dark spots in the centre portion of the flower. That with the paler ground colour is the larger flower, and has more distinct, and a greater number of the transverse streaks in the middle. They are allied to O. Rossii, but the blossoms are considerably larger,
119
OPERATIONS FOR JUNE.
—_@——.
By this time the most important part of planting in the flower-garden ought to be completed. Where from any cause this work has been postponed till the present month—a position that is only justifiable when owing to the protracted recurrence of night-frosts, extreme aridity in the soil and atmosphere, or when a blaze of flower in Autumn is preferred to an earlier display—it should now receive the chief attention until it is fully accomplished. Of course, in those places where flowers are not to be dispensed with throughout the whole season, it will be necessary to remove many of the annuals, bulbs, and other things that have spent their beauty, and to fill up their places from time to time with a fresh stock, ready to expand blossoms almost as soon as they are planted.
It sometimes occurs, as in last Summer, that the progress of these plants is marred for a considerable period, by the incidence of prolonged drought. Should this state of weather exist during the present month, or any time before the plants have entirely spread a carpet of leaves and stems over the beds, it will be preferable to use some means of checking evaporation, than to have recourse to repeated waterings. With a dry air and a scorching sun, waterings, however abundant, can do little good ; and they act banefully, by diminishing the temperature of the soil. It is a far wiser plan to retain moisture about the plants by the application of some covering ; and for this purpose, where it can be procured easily, there is nothing more effectual, or that looks neater than moss, stripped from the rocks in large flakes, so that the winds may not scatter it about. It is infinitely more eligible than short grass, or any of the mulchings more generally resorted to, on account of the more untidy appearance of the latter. A lot of oyster-shells placed round the plants is also a convenient and useful means of keeping the soil moist.
But, although the continuance of a daily system of watering out-door plants in dry weather is at least useless, it is nevertheless essential to apply a copious watering immediately after planting, except during a showery time, in order that the earth may be well settled about their roots, so as to enable them to extend further with facility. And before laying on anything to intercept evaporation, the whole border should be rendered moist. This is the more necessary when the plants are transplanted from a bed, or have not been kept in separate pots. The more tender kinds of plants which have been treated thus, will require to be shaded, if bright weather succeed before they have got good root-hold of the soil.
We would recommend those who have convenience for experiment to look over their collections of greenhouse and stove plants now ; and from those which can be spared, select what are likely to prove useful, to test their ability to endure and contribute ornament in the open air during summer. It may also be advisable to plant others under the protection of a south wall, in a border prepared for the purpose ; climbers may be trained against the wall; and with the shelter it affords, many tender things thrive more prosperously than they do in the house. Manettia, Achimenes, Tropeolum tricolorum, and similar species, Thunbergia, various sorts of Cacti, and other things of like nature, will probably succeed in most localities that are in any way favourable.
Among the many provisions now making for future show, the stock of Chrysanthemums must not be lost sight of. They are very frequently much neglected at this season, through the more pressing nature of the schemes in hand in the pleasure-ground, for a more immediate decoration. Particular attention should be exercised in stopping them as they advance in growth, to obtain bushy specimens, at the same time fostering a vigorous increase by giving them room; and a strong rough loam, with a trifling quantity of leaf-mould mixed amongst it. Instead of incorporating much dung with the soil used in potting, it is far better to depend on the application of a clear liquid manure : by this means you will have more command over the development of the plant, through supplying a greater or smaller quantity, accordingly as it may be judged desirable. In choosing a station for them, many people select a spot beside a wall: this is not judicious, as it makes them grow one-sided. Let them be sheltered, but with a free and nearly equal accession of light on all sides. To gain a quantity of dwarf specimens for smaller pots, any old stools yet unseparated may be planted in a border of the reserve garden, so that the stems may hereafter be layered into pots. All these plants under pot-culture require very copious watering ; and it is
120 OPERATIONS FOR JUNE.
highly beneficial to have a framework of laths over them, upon which a mat can be thrown in sunny weather.
Many greenhouse plants, and we may say especially Indian Azaleas, are managed better at this time in pits and frames,—at least those that have finished flowering. They make better growth, and also show the propriety of the treatment in the beautiful deep green which the leaves attain. The same may be said of several soft-wooded stove-plants, only they need to be less freely ventilated.
Conservatories and greenhouses will require a greater admission of external air now, or the plants will be drawn out too much. The practice of shutting them up entirely whilst the sun shines upon them, is decidedly bad. A little air may now be left on all night safely. With regard to the humidity of the atmosphere, it should be constantly maintained, by throwing water on the paths and shelves two or three times daily, and by syringing towards the evening of every clear day. Water the borders inside the houses copiously, whenever they require it ; when they are only scantily supplied, it does not sink deep enough to be serviceable to the principal roots of the plants. Shade is quite essential at this season to prevent the tender young plants from being scorched.
During this and the three succeeding months, the cooler houses may be made the receptacles for a large number of orchidaceous plants in flower. Most of the showy Dendrobiums, Maxil- larias, and Oncidiums, will be benefited by it: some of them acquire a deeper tint in their flowers, and all last for a longer period. It must be remembered, however, that strict care must be taken in syringing the house that no water falls upon their flowers, otherwise their beauty is defaced directly ; neither can they bear to be watered at the root with the liberality they demand in a higher temperature.
In the stove and general orchidaceous house, most of the plants will be forming their fresh growths rapidly ; but as these will be in various stages of development, they must not all be treated exactly alike, or indiscriminately. One end of most houses is a little warmer than the other ; and it is easy, by adjusting the shades, to admit more light where it is wanted. Hence by repeatedly examining the specimens, and removing those furthest advanced to a place where they may enjoy more light and a cooler atmosphere, the additional formations will be better and more gradually matured. Besides this, some species naturally require more heat, and some bear more light than others. Plants on blocks require water oftener than those in pots and baskets. They may be syringed twice a day when there is a drying external air.
The operations of potting and re-potting will be continually becoming necessary amongst a large collection of plants ; but with a great number of those that are excessively disposed to luxuriance, and ought to bloom in the after-part of summer, it will scarcely be prudent to shift after the present month: at the same time, the culturist who does not desire bloom till the autumn, may delay its development by giving more pot-room to promote growth.
Now, is a good time to propagate many kinds of greenhouse and stove plants, in order to procure tolerable-sized plants before winter. Cuttings of the common kinds of Pansies may be put in towards the end of the month to provide plants for the flower-beds next spring. These, as well as several greenhouse plants, merely require to be planted in a fine sandy peat-soil, and covered with hand-glasses, observing to obtain a site behind a north wall, or otherwise protected from the sun. Anemones and other tubers, and bulbs that have done flowering, should he removed from the flower-garden ; and if not sufficiently ripened, they ought to be carefully taken up with all the earth that will adhere to their fibres, and transplanted to a shady spot in the reserve-ground, or kitchen-garden ; by this means they will be little injured, and the beds may be refilled with other plants.
Too much attention cannot be devoted to all those little things upon the observance of which so much of the success and good keeping of the whole depends. Under this head we include weeding, hoeing, raking, sweeping walks, clipping grass-edgings, staking and training all kinds of plants that need support, spreading the new shoots of plants equally over the flower-beds and pegging them down, removing dead leaves and decayed flower-stalks and petals, destroying insects, keeping the exterior surface of pots clean, and the top of the soil clear of moss and dirt, together with many other minor jobs essential to neatness.
S Holden. del & Lith
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RIBES SANGUINEUM FLORE PLENO.
(Double Bloody-flowered Currant.)
Class.
PENTANDRIA.
Natural Grder- GROSSULACE.%.
GENERIC CHaRAcTER.—Calyx superior ; limb four or five-parted, regular, coloured. Fetals five, inserted in the throat of the calyx, and alternating with its seg- ments, equal. Stamens four or five, very rarely six, very short, alternating with the petals, equal; filaments conical or cylindrical, distinct ; anthers two- celled, opening lengthwise. Ovariwm one-celled, with two opposite parietal placentas; ovula numerous. Style one, three or four cleft. Fruit succulent, nearly globose, umbilicate at the apex from the permanent calyx, one-celled, many-seeded. Seeds avillate, sus- pended by a long filiform podosperm; outer integu- ment gelatinous or juicy, and membranous; under one a very thin membrane, adhering closely to the
Order. MONOGYNIA. hilum. Albumen horny, conforming to the seed, white. Embryo minute, at the sharpest end of the
seed, excentral, with a blunt radicle, which is placed next the hiium.
Speciric CHARACTER.—Plant a bushy shrub. Leaves cordate, somewhat five-lobed,serrated,veiny, smoothish above, but clothed with villous tomentum beneath. Racemes drooping, pubescent, twice the length of the leaves. Calyx tubulary, campanulate, with oblong obtuse spreading segments, exceeding the petals, which are red, and quite entire. Bracteas obovate-spatulate. Berries turbinate, hairy, brownish-black and bitter, destitute of pulp.
VarieEty.—A seedling with double flowers.
albumen; bluntish at the extremity opposite the
For specimens of this interesting variety of a popular shrub we are indebted to the kind attention of Mr. James M‘Nab, curator of the Caledonian Horticul- tural Society; and we extract the following account from the statement which accompanied them :—
“Tt has flowered for the second season in the garden of the Caledonian Horticultural Society, both as a standard and on a wall. Last year the plants were comparatively weak, and it was not until this spring that it fairly proved itself,
scarlet flowering currant, the standard variety being in bud when the single
It is considerably later in blooming than the ordinary varieties of the
variety was passing out of flower; and on the wall the double variety is in per- fection when the others similarly placed are long gone by. Its racemes vary from three to six inches in length ; and possess sufficient strength to support its com- It also
remains much longer in a state of perfection than any of the single varieties.
paratively heavier flowers, and cause them to stand clear of the foliage.
When forced, it assumes a still more monstrous form, the flowers resembling the Hen and Chicken Daisy * (Bellis perennis prolifera). Its growth is every bit as free, and it flowers just as profusely as the ordinary single variety, and, like it, is
easily propagated by cuttings and layers, and requires the same treatment.”
* We received specimens of it in this state, which perfectly corroborate the description,
VOL. XII.-—NO. CXXXVIII. R
122 RIBES SANGUINEUM FLORE PLENO.
It appears that the merit of putting cultivators in possession of this valuable addition to our hardy spring-flowering shrubs is due to Mr. David Dick, gardener to the Right Honourable the Earl of Selkirk, at St. Mary’s Isle, Kircudbright, who discovered it in a collection of seedlings raised in the Isle Garden. Mr. M‘Nab has favoured us with the annexed remarks on its origin, taken from a letter addressed to him by Mr. Dick, last April :—
‘“¢ The seed I have no doubt was ripened in the Isle Garden, where they fruit abundantly, and was sown by some one of my predecessors. When I came here, _ I found about one hundred seedling plants standing close together, none appearing to have flowered. During 1839 I had them planted out, and, on their flowering, the double variety was detected. I did not observe any approach to a double flower on any other individual of that stock; nor even the least tendency to a multiplication of parts on any of the numerous seedlings since raised. Amongst those obtained at the same time with the double one, several distinct shades occur; many have also a tendency to produce larger racemes than the original species. I have generally found the double variety three weeks later in flowering than the common varieties cultivated here.”
Blooming as it does at the very time when flowers are so much wanted, especially in metropolitan gardens, and the parent species being so well known, it needs no eulogium of ours to gain it a favourable reception : every one can imagine how much more showy the double flower must be than the single. To the list of
forcing flowers, it will also be an addition of some importance.
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CHIRONIA FLORIBUNDA.
(Abundant-flowering Chiron.)
Class. Order. _PENTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. Natural Order. GENTIANACER. GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx five-parted. Corolla Speciric CHARACTER.—Plant an evergreen sub-shrub.
salver-shaped, with a narrow tube, and a spreading limb, which is longer than the tube. Stamens five ; filaments broad, short, rising from the top of the tube; anthers oblong, erect, connivent, at length spirally twisted. Style declinate, a little longer than the stamens. Stigma capitate, assurgent, Pericarp one-
celled, two valved. Seeds numerous.—Don’s Gardening |
Stem smooth, much branched: branches somewhat
succulent. Leaves linear, or oblong-ovate, smooth,
shining, acute, thick, spreading, sessile. Pedwnecles
solitary, above an inch long. Calyx segments elliptic-
oblong, acute, one-nerved. Corolla red, lucid ; segments
obovate, obtuse, twice the length of the tube, SYNONYME.—C. Fischeri.
and Botany.
Respectine the native country of the pretty bright-flowering little plant before us we have no direct evidence; but, like the rest of the family, it has doubtless been obtained from the Cape of Good Hope. It was introduced to this country from the continent last year by Messrs. Jackson, of the Kingston Nursery ; and is identical with the C. Fischeri of Messrs. Rollisson’s establishment, obtained abcut the same time from a similar source.
In character it is a low-growing plant, dividing into numerous branches, which spread out in a lateral direction, and speedily form a neat compact specimen, If the shoots are not produced thickly enough to preserve the density of the bush, their numbers may be readily increased by occasionally pinching out the point of It is important to keep the plant well filled with side growths, as Each shoot produces
the strongest. its beauty and abundant flowering depends largely upon it. flowers near its extremity, and, if encouraged to grow, will be putting forth fresh Being thus studded
over the entire surface with flowers, which possess a lovely glittering colour, and
blossoms as the shoots lengthen throughout the summer.
are elevated on peduncles so as to appear more prominently, it constitutes a most lively object, well worthy of the culturist’s attention.
The main things essential to maintain the species in good health and rapid growth, are allowing the roots sufficient room to extend, and preserving a regular, but not over-abundant quantity of humidity in the soil and atmosphere. It
makes numerous roots, and thrives well in a sandy soil, containing a considerable
lea CHIRONIA FLORIBUNDA.
portion of peat-earth. It is necessary to observe at the time of potting to place above an average quantity of finely broken crocks or pieces of charcoal in the bottom of the pot, covering them with moss or other substance to prevent the soil from washing down amongst them.
An airy place in the greenhouse should be selected, where it may enjoy a strong light. If kept in a frame, it will be advisable to stand the pot on a shelf or stage: in winter it will require very little water.
Probably it may be found sufficiently hardy to stand the flower-garden in summer, if any pains are taken to provide it with a properly prepared station, such as a warm border in front of a greenhouse, or in a well-drained sheltered nook amongst rocks and stones.
Cuttings afford the readiest means of propagation. These strike easily with a gentle bottom-heat, if planted in sand, and protected by a bell-glass. They will ‘require to be kept close, and shaded for some time after they are potted off. It is also increased by seeds.
The specific name is accorded in reference to the extreme prodigality of blossom.
oy
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CCOVICM
PLEROMA KUNTHIANUM.
(M. Kunth’s Pleroma. )
Class. Order. DECANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. Natural Order.
MELASTOMACEZ.
GENERIC CHaracreR.—Calyx with an ovate tube; acute, five-nerved, quite entire, scabrous above from when young, involved in two deciduous bracts ; lobes little bristles, but white from adpressed silky hairs be- five, deciduous, Petals obcordate. Stamens ten. neath. Pedicels hispid, axillary, one-flowered, and ter- Filaments pilose or glabrous. Anthers elongated, minal. Tube of calyx campanulate, beset with stiff arched at the base. Ovary adhering to the calyx, bristles, but with the lobes deciduous. Petals very blunt. apex bristly. Capsule baccate, rather dry, five-celled. Filaments and style hispid. Ovarium bristly at the Seeds cochleate. apex, rather Ionger than the tube of the calyx.
SpEcIFIC CHARACTER.—Plant an evergreen shrub. Bracteas large, deciduous,
Branches tetragonal, and are, as well as the petioles, SynonymeEs.—Pleroma Benthamianum ; Lasiandra clothed with adpressed hairs. Leaves petiolate, oblong, | Kunthiana.
Like the P. petiolatum, figured at the close of last year’s volume, this magni- ficent plant belongs to the sub-genus Lasiandra, having hairy genitals, and a dry eapsular fruit ; whilst the true Pleromas have a berry-like fruit, and the genitals perfectly smooth. We find it has been enumerated and described by De Candolle as L. Kunthiana ; and more recently, accompanied by a figure, in the “ Botanical Magazine,” as P. Benthamianum. The latter specific name was applied to it by Mr. Gardner ; but the present having the claim of priority, we have accordingly adopted it.
It is a Brazilian production, for the possession of which cultivators are indebted to the exertions of Mr. Gardner. It was discovered by that gentleman in situations partaking of a boggy character on the Organ Mountains, at an alti- tude of more than 3000 feet above the level of the ocean, and by him transferred to the Botanic Gardens at Glasgow, where it first produced flowers in the latter part of 1842. Our illustration was taken in the garden of R. G. Loraine, Esq., at Wallington Lodge, where a vigorous specimen flowered in one of the stoves in October, 1844.
With the rest of the genus, it is a shrubby plant, having robust four-sided branches, bearing ample foliage of a neat outline, remarkable for its velvety softness, and the beautiful arrangement and prominency of the veins on the under surface. The flowers are disposed in large thyrsoid panicles at the top of the shoots, and possess a richness of tint unequalled by those of any of its congeners.
196 ’ * PLEROMA KUNTHIANUM.
The petals are of good texture, and fit very compactly together, which, with their large size, and the white speck at the base of each, enable them to form a blossom of a very superior order.
The species has been represented as one of tardy growth. This, however, is by no means the truth, under proper management; for with genial culture, it grows vigorously and flowers freely. Several cultivators, nevertheless, have failed to obtain blossoms even from strong healthy specimens,—a disappointment which seems to be owing chiefly to the neglect of encouragement to grow early in the season, and of proper steps to mature the wood in autumn. This opinion receives strength from the facts, that the flowers are only produced at the extreme point of the summer’s shoots, and that the latter will grow as much as four or five feet before they bloom.
This rapidity of growth points out the necessity of pruning very closely after flowering, in order to preserve the lower part of the plant clothed with foliage, and also with a view to obtain an equally stout growth in the suc- ceeding season. Very fine bushes may thus be produced in a few years; but it is not requisite to have old specimens to obtain flowers. Mr. lLoraine’s plant was reared from a cutting the previous autumn, and headed down to three or four eyes in the spring.
A similar specimen was flowered
about the same time by Mr.
¢ tip Moor, gardener to R. Handbury,
: \fei SIA l i: ZION \) . Zi
ee Esq., of Stamford-hill. NF \s . LS 9 6 : ~~ NENTS RN The specific name was given 1n ae Oi ipa Se Pe compliment to M. Kunth, the cele- ers isa ae i 5 brated Prussian botanist, and co-
= —_—— IIA MQ INP. iY SAS
adjutor of Humboldt and Bonpland in the publication of the plants discovered by those distinguished travellers during their well-known journey through Tropical America.
ALY AN PAR ng
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OLUawSCM AM
4
APHELANDRA AURANTIACA.
(Orange-scarlet Aphelandra.)
Class. Order. DIDYNAMIA, ANGIOSPERMIA. Natural Order. ACANTHACER. GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx# five-parted, unequal, Speciric CHARACTER.— Plant a dwarfevergreen shrub.
Corolla hypogynous, ringent; upper lip somewhat Leaves oblong-acuminate, deflexed, glabrous, undulated arched, bidentate; lower-lip three-cleft, the lateral at the base, decurrent on the short petiole. Spike segments many times smaller. Stamens four, inserted simple, tetragonal. Bracts ovate, acuminated, serrated. in the tube of the corolla, included, didynamous. Flowers orange-scarlet. Corolla segments ovate, very Anthers one-celled, awnless. Ovary two.-celled ; cells acute; lateral ones twice shorter than the inter- each containing two ovules. Style simple. Stigma mediate one.
two-cleft. Capsule nearly terete, two-celled, four- SYNONYME.—Hemisandra aurantiaca.
seeded, loculicido-two-valved. Seeds compressed, sub- | tended by hooks.
Our stoves are largely indebted for their adornment during winter to the beautiful blossoms of the many superb species of Acanths, now so commonly dis- tributed. Among them, the old 4. cristata has long been eminent for its noble appearance, when well cultivated and in full flower; but notwithstanding its high character, it is quite eclipsed by the transcendent beauty of its more recently introduced congener.
Judging from the specimens we have seen in bloom, the A. aurantiaca would appear to be a plant possessing a much dwarfer habit. None of these plants exceeded a foot in height, and some scarcely reached six inches before the deve- lopment of flower-spikes. The stems were remarkably stout, each carrying on the summit from one to three heads of blossom. It is possible, however, that this may, in some measure, be the result of treatment; for we know that it is easy to get flowers of A. cristata from specimens not much taller. When the flowers first open, they are almost yellow; but they soon deepen to an intensely vivid orange scarlet, far beyond the reach of artificial colouring. Besides this, they differ from those of A. cristata in the middle segment of the lower lip being flat, shorter, and broader ; and the two side divisions much larger, in proportion to the intermediate one.
We learn, through a letter from M. de Jonghe, of Brussels, published in the April Number of the ‘“‘ Botanical Register,” that this magnificent shrub was dis- covered in Mexico by Messrs. Linden and Funcke, collectors for the Belgian
Government ; and the only living specimen transmitted, was presented to King
128 APHELANDRA AURANTIACA.,
Leopold, and placed in the hothouse at the Royal Gardens of-Lacken, near Brussels. It flowered there, for the first time, in the month of July, 1843, and was exhibited at the floral exhibition of the Linnean Society of Brussels, when it received the first prize as a remarkable novelty. Young plants having been given in exchange to M. Jacob Makoy, it was transmitted by him to Mr. Low, of Clapton, and other English nurserymen. It has flowered in the establishments of Messrs. Henderson and Messrs. Rollisson; and we had the annexed coloured delineation, and the woodcut, taken after a plant which flowered last December and January at Pineapple-place.
rs WS)
It has been described under ; the name of Hemisandraauran- Ve tiaca, by Professor Scheid- weiler ; and is known in some collections in this country by that title, with which it was first received.
The freedom with which
such diminutive plants have
produced blossoms, the time at which they appear, and their splendid character, augur well for the speedy popularity of the species; since these are qualifications of the first im-
portance to those who can only cultivate a limited number.
It will doubtless require similar treatment to that bestowed on the other species ; namely, a moist steve heat, and copious supplies of water during summer; a loamy soil enriched with leaf-mould, or well rotted cow-dung, to which a portion of peat and sand may be added; and the yearly reduction of the shoots to within two or three eyes of their origin.
It may be propagated by cuttings in the usual way; or by single eyes, taken from the part of the branches cut away after the flowers are decayed.
Aphelandra is a compound from Apheles, simple, and aner, andros, a male ; and is applied in allusion to the one-celled anther. The other name, Hemisandra
from hemi, half, aner, a male, appears to refer to the same peculiarity.
129
ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS.
——_ ——-
In treating of this subject in a recent paper, we confined our observations solely to the advantages of rockwork in the culture of plants in the open air. As a supplement to the remarks then offered, we now proceed to suggest the propriety and utility of introducing a similar feature to the conservatory and stove.
We know the idea has been scouted by some of those who are wedded to the stiff, formal, and monotonous arrangement of plants which prevailed some years ago, and still exists to a partial extent; urging as their plea, that the adoption of any such plan would be totally at variance with a formal building. From this view of the matter we entirely dissent ; and, happily, the principle upon which it rests, is quite at variance with the practice in other points of most of the best cultivators of the present day. In the decoration of houses, and the treatment of plants individually, there is a very general reversion of the old system; and the aim is now—not to render the plants of a character with the regular architectural symmetry of the house, by training with harsh regularity, and tying in all the shoots with even exactitude ; but just the converse—to divest the structure as far as possible of its stiffness, by permitting its inmates to retain more of the loose and flowing elegance of nature.
Under this treatment, more of the real character of a species is developed ; plants are awarded to the peculiar situations and purposes for which they are best fitted by their respective habits; a more extensive variety is furnished, and they are exempted from that restrained, tortured appearance, which so largely diminishes the pleasure of viewing even what are in themselves most beautiful things. In fine, the original design of conservatories and greenhouses has undergone an extensive alteration,—from being merely places devoted to the. preservation of tender plants, they are now expected to afford a combination of good cultivation and tasteful arrangement.
Embracing this idea then, of the internal arrangement of floricultural erections, we can see nothing objectional in the proposal to add a species of rockery that may enable plants to appear more at home, and enjoy a nearer approximation to the stations in which nature has fitted them to flourish, and display themselves in the most attractive light. It is, in fact, the dictation of the same principle.
It is almost needless to observe, that rockeries will be most practicable and appropriate in the larger class of buildings, particularly in conservatories where there are no plants grown in pots, or they are only admitted to a subordinate extent. Their construction in small houses, must always be in some measure governed by local circumstances, and the particular plan of other arrangements ; the utmost extent to which they can be consistently carried, is, in surrounding a
VOL, XII.—NO. CXXXVIII. S
130 ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS.
tank of water ; in the concealment of some unavoidable and unsightly feature ; forming an irregular slope against the back of a house with a lean-to roof; or in a span-roofed house to conceal the parapet-wall in the place of a shelf. As, in the last case, it would occupy the place commonly allotted to the heating apparatus, the floor should be constructed of slabs of wood about four inches broad, and a space left beneath for the pipes. By this arrangement the latter would be hidden from the eye; and they would communicate a degree of bottom-heat to the rockery, if a little care were employed in its formation. So conditioned, we entertain little doubt that it would be favourable to the cultivation of many of those orchidaceous plants, which in their native haunts cling to rocks and stones.
Cisterns for water are necessary appendages to all erections for the manage- ment of plants; but they are often awkward and disagreeable objects. This seems to have been so far considered as to lead to the adoption of various modes of hiding them; such as, placing them in a back shed, communicating with the house by means of a pipe and tap, and fixing them in the wall and covering in different ways. All these, however, are open to objection. Water that has been exposed to the influence of the sun is more favourable to vegetation than that which has been kept from it. Professors Morren have stated that this is owing to the greater quantity of oxygen which it holds in solution; and that this oxygenation is determined by the action of solar light on the respiration of plants and animalcules: hence, one reason also why it is better to water in the afternoon of a sunny day, than in the morning. Now, by shelving off the upper part of the sides of a cistern, and forming a small rockery round the margin, of some kind of stone possessing a rough uneven surface, to be planted with suitable species, we should have an object that would be interesting in the most conspicuous station.
For small piles of this nature, the stone called ¢ufa, obtained in various parts of Derbyshire, especially about Matlock, is perhaps the most suitable that can be selected, both from its peculiar irregular surface and comparative freedom from harsh angles, and because most plants seem to delight in growing uponit. This material has been employed largely for rockwork in the pleasure-grounds at Elvaston Castle, in Derbyshire, the seat of the Earl of Harrington; and, though too expensive to procure to be employed commonly in extensive works, is decidedly of a nature most fitting for the purpose in conservatories and other glass-houses. Any limestone, or other stone with a similar surface, may be employed.
We would caution our readers, however, against the absurd practice of mingling together many different kinds of stone, with the view of thus con- tributing something conspicuous. As we have said before, the rock ought to be the subordinate feature ; the plants which grow upon it are to be looked to for the principal ornament.
In the larger description of horticultural buildings, rockeries may be constructed on a more extensive scale, and independently of the restrictions to which it is necessary to confine them in small houses: to a piece of water they are almost a
ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS. 13]
necessary adjunct. In the great conservatory at Chatsworth, a large mass of rock- work has been formed to conceal the staircase which leads up through the middle of it to the gallery ; at one end it extends, gradually running out along the margin of a small lake. This immense pile affords admirable sites for various kinds of plants, both shrubs and rambling species. The northern side is almost exclusively devoted to the fern-tribe and Lycopodiums, which have a peculiarly happy and pleasing effect, jutting out their diversified and many-cleft fronds from the chinks and recesses that abound throughout: and of these none are more remarkably _ engaging than the elegant airy-looking species of Adiantum. In some parts, where, from the nature of the work designed, larger rocks have necessarily been employed, the surface of which supplied no situation capable of admitting the roots of other plants, the Ficus repens planted at the base has completely overspread and clothed the surface with its copious smooth green leaves; the stems clinging to the rock by numerous roots with still firmer tenacity than our own wild ivy ; whilst from the greater tenuity of its shoots, and the comparative smallness of other parts, it is more manageable and neat. It produces no conspicuous flower, but this property of attaching itself to stone, together with its rapid extension and handsome evergreen character, constitute it one of the most appropriate subjects that can be selected for mingling amongst other and more gaudy plants; and especially for garnishing those rocks which dip to the borders of the water and are partiaily submersed, as it delights in a damp station.
Many cactaceous plants, especially such as the Epiphyllums and Cereus
Jflagelliformis, seem to require a place of this kind to exhibit themselves to the best advantage. Hanging over a projecting piece of rock is just the situation to display the beauty of E. splendidum and speciosum. 'To these may be added the Stephanotis, various Convolvulacez, Combretums and Passifloras; besides small- growing things, such as the species of Achimenes, Gesneria, and Gloxinia; and amongst them a few low, bushy, erect-growing shrubs, should be planted on the broader flats for relief. In the greenhouse and cool conservatory, Mesembryan- themums and Thunbergias, several Tropceolums, especially JZ. tricolorum and Lobbianum, Clhanthus puniceus, and Manettia, will rank among the chief adorn- ments: and masses of Lycopodium denticulatum, and Owalis floribunda, may be here and there introduced.
Much of the effect of rockwork of this kind hinges on a judicious selection and grouping of the plants: this is a work requiring deliberation and study to accomplish rightly on a large scale, and must necessarily be left almost entirely to the judgment and good taste of the operator. It must, however, be carried in mind, that here, as well as in the pleasure-ground, the plants being intended to constitute the chief object, they should be planted somewhat closely, so that vegetation of some kind may cover the most part of the surface.
In the construction of a large extent of rockery, the general outline should be first formed ; it will be easy afterwards to adapt any site specially for the growth
192 ON MANURE.
of a particular species, by employing a quantity of earth (such as the plant delights in), in the different crannies and crevices; and, as in the case of various terrestrial orchidaceze, which naturally choose limestone in preference to any other stone, wherever any partiality is displayed, it should be humoured, observing only, that but one description of rock shall meet the eye. Thus chips of Bath stone, or common sandstone, which imbibe a considerable quantity of moisture, and part with it slowly, forming a reservoir from which an even and constant amount of moisture is supplied, may be used with advantage in places not exposed to view ; and indeed any porous stone, though differing from that principally employed, may be used beneath the surface. Rough arms of decayed wood may appear here and there for epiphytal orchidaceze, without impropriety. Hence, whilst the eye observes nothing unnatural or inconsistent in the groundwork, all the varied vegetation that clothes it, may severally meet with their peculiar wants.
It must be evident that on the irregular, convex, or sloping surface of rockery, there will be room for a greater number of plants than can be cultivated on a flat surface. We would therefore suggest for large conservatories that, independent of the main rockwork, at least a portion of the borders should be raised in the middle, and partly covered with rock ; upon which, beneath the partial shade of taller plants, ferns and a few rapid-growing trailing things might be planted.
As large houses are likely soon to become much more frequent than they have hitherto been, greater facilities will be opened for the formation of glass-house rockeries. We therefore leave the subject for the present, in the hope that the propriety and ornamental advancement of cultivating tender exotics on rockwork, will be more fully appreciated and practically adopted.
ON MANURE. aia tye
We have been in the habit of considering as manure every decomposable or putrescent material which exists naturally in, or is artificially added to, the earths. Thus, the fibrous masses left in the ground, green vegetable subtances chopped to pieces and dug in, and the black vegetable portions of heath or moor-soil are in reality, manures. Earths proper, namely—alumine and clay, silex or sand, chalk, phosphate of lime, and metallic oxides are themselves almost insoluble; and can act only, or chiefly, as the bed, or fundamental support, of plants: or, to speak more philosophically,—the laboratory——wherein the interchange between the laborated products of decomposition and the roots of the plant is carried on. These general truths are equally applicable to garden and pot-culture—there is no distinction so far, between the processes of the florist, the amateur, the nursery- man, and market-gardener—all are included therein. |
Our present remarks will not apply to solid manures ; the subject which claims
ON MANURE. 133
immediate attention being the application of liquid manure ; a practice which appears to extend with great rapidity. In looking over the weekly publications on horticulture, we cannot but be struck with the earnest recommendations of fluid manures; and as it is more than probable that they who look for correct information in such publications, will attach faith to the advice they there meet with, it becomes a duty to investigate the principles upon which this practice is founded.
Mr. Knight, of Downton, was perhaps the first person of authority to whose advocacy we may ascribe the introduction of liquid manure: he employed pigeons’ dung steeped in water till the fluid acquired a brown tint nearly as deep as that of porter; and he remained firmly of opinion, that pines, melons, and grapes, were much assisted by a copious use of this aliment. Being prepared from recent dung of the dovecote, he obtained at once a solution of the bile, the urea, and all the saline ingredients of the excreta. Gardeners in general may be presumed to have recourse, of necessity, to the brown drainage of old dunghills; but here the result is a widely different affair, because the mass having undergone fermentation the gaseous and fluid products have been interchangeably attracted and re-formed into new chemical combinations: thus, the urea has developed ammonia during the first active stage of heat, the chief part of which passed into the air; a portion however, as the mass cools, would sink into the lower parts of the heap or be carried down by rain, and become united with the black, carbonised substance which is termed humic acid, and gradually ooze through the bulk, forming that brown fluid which is seen in the waste drains and puddles of farm-yards.
The chemical elements disturbed during the fermentation of a manure-heap are numerous: the oxygen and hydrogen combine to produce water ; other portions uniting with carbon yield acetic acid; and certain saline and hydro- carbonaceous substances filtrate away; leaving a cold, blackened mass, which constitutes the spit-dung of the gardener ; a substance composed chiefly of carbon and humus, in a condition fitted to evolve a considerable quantity of carbonic acid.
The liquid drainage is then a weak compound of salts of potash, soda, and ammonia; the last being united with so much of the humus as to give a deep brown tint to the whole. To appreciate the operation of this liquid, the chemical reader should test a variety of decayed vegetable matters; such, for instance, as old leaf-mould, very black humous manure, and the brown peat of moors and bogs, by adding a little alkali to each of them. If an ounce of peat-bog or black manure be digested in boiling rain-water more than sufficient to cover the material, little colour will, in general, be extracted; but upon adding, drop by drop, some strong caustic ammonia, stirring with a strip of glass after each addition, the fluid will gradually become of a deep full brown; the pungent odour of the ammonia being destroyed till it be added to saturation.
Again, a very little of the brown heath-soil from some parts of Surrey, being so treated, will give intense colour to an ounce or two of water. Pearl-ash and
134 ON MANURE.
soda will produce similar effects, but ammonia is to be preferred. Persons are apt to conclude, that to this brown colouring matter we must ascribe the nutritive qualities of liquid manures; whereas, in fact, it is quite certain that not one particle of the colour can enter the spongiolee of sound, wndisturbed roots.
Now, if manure-water be weighed, and then gradually evaporated at a gentle heat, to dryness, the weight of colouring matter will be found to be very trifling ; and yet, gardeners are in the habit of adding much water to this liquid, considering it too strong for plants growing in pots. Having thus, by dilution, reduced the tint to that of pale malt liquor, what activity can be expected from it? Or if such liquid manure be of any avail at all, to what material can we refer its nutritive effects, since it is admitted that the particles of colour, minute as they must be, are still too gross to enter the pores of the roots ?
To answer these queries by farther experiment, and thus gain a little more light upon the subject,—let a few grains of powdered quicklime be stirred into the coloured fluid and suffered to subside ; after a few minutes it will be seen that the colour of the liquid is lost ; that it has become quite pale ; while the sediment itself has acquired a dingy brown tinge, and a flocculent texture. As a converse of this experiment, let brown peat or black manure be worked up with one-third the quantity of quicklime, and diluted with hot water sufficient to allow of free subsidence. After stirring from time to time, the compound matter will subside, leaving the super-natant liquor nearly devoid of colour:—and now caustic ammonia may be added to excess, without effecting any change of tint, the lime acting by more powerful affinity, and fixing the humic extractive in the form of an insoluble humate of lime.
In this way it is that lime acts as the specific reclaimer of waste and barren peat-bogs, rendering them fertile by the abstraction and fivation of that inert and deleterious vegetable matter which is an antagonist to vegetation. And thus, by an induction from undeniable chemical facts, we begin to perceive that we have long been misled by crude theories and empirical practice.
Liquid manures, therefore, act by the salts which they contain, not by the colouring solution of humus; and thus, also, we may be permitted to sanction the cautious application of artificially prepared fluids, as for instance “‘ Potter's Liquid Guano,” ‘Humphreys’ Inodorous Compound,” and other fertilizers, which are neither more nor less than solutions of chemical salts; among the safest, and most effectual of which, are the sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of potassa (salt-petre), and sulphate of soda.
Lime is the interpreter of this new and most intelligible theory ; for, by it the important fact has been ascertained, that, for all the poisonous vegetable extract in peat-bogs, in old pastures, in gardens and soils over-glutted with manure, it exerts the most powerful affinity, attracting the humic acid, not only from alkaline solutions, but from the body of the soil itself, fixing it in a condition of absolute insolubility, and thereby rendering the poison quite innocuous.
CULTURAL HINTS. 133
Let us not be misunderstood, however; for when pure turfy loam without dry manure is used in pot-culture, the slight tinge of colour in the liquid superadded cannot be productive of injury. What we wish to combat, is the false notion, that the colouring matter is the manure. ‘The truth must prevail, in proportion as science and faithful analysis extend their influence ;.yet, while we assert that the chemical salts of steeped manures are the fertilisers, and that if the colourmg matter of drainage from the mixen were perfectly discharged by lime not used in excess, the clear fluid would retain its efficiency, we still give the preference to these agents, the products of natural fermentation, over any salts prepared by art in the laboratory.
As an analogy, we would cite the well-authenticated facts of the rapid germi- nation of seeds which have passed through the viscera of birds. The Pimento trees which furnish the allspice of commerce, are quickly raised by berries, thus impregnated by animal juices. Nature presents numerous similar examples, which art cannot imitate; and therefore we arrive at the inference, that as the naturally prepared liquid manures are the products of a species of slow combustion by which vegetable and animal matters are resolved into their elements, they must be most congenial to plants, as in fact they derive their origin from them.
While thus sanctioning the use of animal liquid manure, we must protest against a dirty and injurious method which we have seen freely practised; namely, by applying fresh cow-dung, stirred up in a tub of water, till it can be poured through the nozzle of a water-pot. The water passes down and conveys to the soil the dissolved salts, and liquefied gall of the manure; but a cake of dry, effete matter is deposited on the surface, which prevents the ingress of air and of water. The reason assigned is, that the manure keeps the plant cool! This is a vulgar error which may lead to much mischief.
CULTURAL HINTS.
——@—
Tuines in themselves apparently very insignificant are often found upon investigation to exert a powerful influence on the welfare of plants under artificial treatment, even when viewed abstractedly from other conditions, and no more ascribed to their action than can be legitimately and directly proved to spring from them. And though many of the operations of the cultivator may, separately considered, seem scarcely to affect his charge, yet it is a number of these working together, either for an advancing or a detrimental end, that forms the chasm between the best and the worst of culture. The more, therefore, that we can multiply the former and diminish the latter, the more completely shall we develope the capabilities of plants.
However trivial a thing may appear when viewed singly, or however circum-
136 CULTURAL HINTS.
scribed the limits of its operation, so long as it can be discovered to exert an ameliorating influence, it will be recognised and practised by the intelligent cultivator who determines to be satisfied with nothing short of the highest standard of excellence attainable, as a step on the way to his promised goal. He must ever be as ready to snatch at the little helps, as to seize on the greater.
Without further preface, we shall now proceed to give a tangible turn to these observations by considering a condition connected with the management of plants in pots, which is certainly hostile to their prosperity, and, we believe, more frequently the result of thoughtlessness than ignorance. We allude to the exposure of the pots in which plants are grown, to the direct action of a bright sun.
No cultivator of the most moderate experience can have failed to observe the dessicating effects which it produces on the soil which the pot contains. This result is the first and most apparent, and may, perhaps, appear to be easily remedied by the application of water, and of no further moment ; but it is not the only consequence, for it brings in its train a series of evils, which frequently accomplish the partial or entire defoliation of the stem, and even the very destruction of the vital principle itself. We more than suspect it to be the hinge upon which many a healthy specimen has suddenly turned, with a few days of sunny weather, to a state fit only for the compost yard. The present supply of fluid from the roots is not only cut off, through those which are usually the most active being thus deprived of moisture, but the delicate rootlets themselves are also injured—withered, and rendered incapable of fulfilling their office; or, as it is technically expressed, “‘ they are burnt.” Besides, the mechanical arrangement of the soil is disturbed, by the excessive waterings rendered necessary to keep it moist washing the particles closer together.
And yet, when we look at many instances of the practice even of our best cultivators, how often do we find the admonition conveyed by repeated injuries and disease engendered by the thoughtless exposure of pots to the sun, either slighted or entirely disregarded! We acknowledge that in many cases it is not an easy matter to shelter them; but this is no reason why it should be neglected whenever it is practicable to obviate it. There is no genuine obstacle to interfere with those pots being immured from the sun’s rays, which contain the plants commonly set out of the greenhouse in the summer season. Plants so situated are more completely laid open to injury from this source, than those retained in the houses or frames. The latter are partially protected by the sash-bars; by the refraction and diffusion of light in passing through glass; and by the shades which are now almost universally interposed. The former are without these lenitives, except here and. there the last ; and they are at the same time open to another evil, which materially increases the disparity : there are the variations which are so constantly taking place in the state of the soil—its temperature and moisture, as the weather varies from wet to windy, or clear and sunny; and this frequent and sometimes excessive inconstancy, renders the roots far more susceptible of harm, both from excessive
CULTURAL HINTS. 137
heat, and excessive wet. The labour of plunging is far from adequate to that required for extra watering ; neither is the loss of those roots which sometimes push through the bottom commensurate with the injury which the mass receive from exposure, and its concomitant, additional watering.
The means for protecting the pots of plants kept in houses, however, is not quite so manifest; but, we are persuaded, far more might be done than has yet been attempted expressly with a view to the mitigation of this evil. Much might be effected in the way of arrangement, by the judicious intermixture of prostrate species, amongst those which leave their pots naked and exposed ; others may be shielded by early prevailing upon the branches to spread so as to project beyond the pot; and the shoots of many may be bent and trained downwards so as almost to conceal the pots from view, as we now and then see practised with Chinese Azaleas, leguminose climbers, and a few other things. And these latter methods would have a far more extensive influence on the health and copious flowering of the plants, than that derived immediately from the pots being covered. Exuberant growth would be prevented, and maturity promoted ; the check on the upward current of the sap would cause it to expand more liberally in lateral developments ; and we believe, also, that in the autumn much of the shading practised in plant-houses might be safely and beneficially dispensed with, provided they were sufficiently defended. Plants from lower latitudes which occupy exposed stations in their native locality, must evidently experience a far more intense light than in England ; hence it appears irrational to diminish it still further. Those plants which are naturally found in situations where they are screened from the direct action of the sun, will of course demand some amount of shade; but others, such as Cape Heaths for instance, will thrive as well in the full blaze of a midsummer’s sun, if precautions are taken to ward off its beams from the pots, as though the whole plant were shaded ; and their shoots will be far more completely ripened, and thereby less liable to suffer in winter. If the pots however are not shaded, the leaves sicken and fall off, and growth is impeded and weakened or entirely stopped.
The natural shade which the stems and foliage of plants afford to. the roots, is often most untastefully prevented by training those of a prostrate habit in an upright position, with the avowed intention of showing them to greater advantage. In some plants this end may be partly answered, but a contrary result is far more general; they are robbed of that free-waving elegance of growth with which nature had invested them, and which so much enhances the effect of their floral beauty.
Orchidaceous plants, which from the secluded atmosphere of the houses devoted to them, can hardly demand it for the sake of shade, have frequently the material that envelopes the roots surrounded with and forming a site for the growth of Ferns and Lycopodiums. If this serves no other purpose than that of ornament, it is worthy of imitation. And a modification to circumstances of the same
VOL. XIT.—NO. CXXXVIII. T
138 REVIEWS.
system may be made subservient to the shelter of the roots of ordinary greenhouse and stove-plants cultivated in pots. We have seen some contrivances of this nature in the neighbourhood of London. The pot holding the plant to be shaded, is set in a saucer or shallow flat pan, having a hole in the bottom immediately beneath that of the pot, so as not to interfere with drainage. The saucer employed must be sufficiently large to leave a space round the pot to be filled with earth. In this the Lycopodiums are to be planted, and will soon envelope the sides of the pot, and effectually shield it from the sun; and, moreover, when all the pots on a shelf are treated so, these plants will spread from one to another, and constitute a living carpet of the most enlivening green.
In some instances the same end is answered by having about two inches of soil spread on the shelf itself before the pots are placed, and the Lycopodiums planted init. In this way they grow still more luxuriantly, and soon spread to fill up any vacancy caused by the removal of a plant, or any alteration in the position of the pots. And besides affording shade to the pots, it helps to maintain a greater regularity in the moisture of the atmosphere.
We have no doubt that many other methods of shading pots might be resorted to with propriety and success. That it is beneficial to do so, every one who has inserted a plant with its pot in a vase, filling up the vacuity between the two with moss, or plunged it in a bed of ashes. must be convinced: the soil would be kept more evenly moist, without saturation—a condition always to be aimed at. Plants rarely succeed well when they are exposed to sudden extremes of drought and humidity during their growing time; and the excessive watering which the copious evaporation constantly proceeding demands, contributes also to wash together the particles of earth, deprive it of its nutritive properties, and impede the needful circulation of fluids throughout its bulk.
REVIEWS.
eeeeeerd eee
The Lady’s Country Companion; or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally. By Mrs. Loudon, With an Engraving on Steel, and Illustrations on Wood. Longman & Co.
Persons who have been long accustomed to a town life are wont to complain of the dulness of the country—its inconveniences, and the want of society and amusement. ‘This work, from the pen of the widow of the late well-known Mr. Loudon, is written expressly for the purpose of showing how enjoyment and pleasure may be experienced by observing nature, and occupying the mind with rural pursuits ; and how inconveniences may be lessened or prevented through a little forethought and management. It forms a handsome thick duodecimo volume, divided into six books, containing letters on the House, the Garden, Domestic Animals, Rural Walks, Country Amusements, and Country Duties ; and “is intended principally for the use of ladies who have been brought up in town, but who, from circumstances, have been induced to reside in the country.” From the extent and variety of information which the volume exhibits, we may safely recommend it to the perusal of all—satisfied that no lady, however well versed in the matters it treats upon, can read it without finding much useful instruction pleasantly conveyed.
REVIEWS. 139
it is not filled with the visionary ideas of a mere theorist, but the experience of one who has realised what she teaches.
A considerable portion of the work is devoted to the Garden, and abounds with general prac- tical hints for the culture of flowers, many ef which will meet the wants of those amateurs who merely cultivate a small plot, and a few plants in a window. Our space forbids us to indulge in many extracts. The following will serve to give some idea of the manner in which each subject is handled; and for further information, we must refer our readers to the work itself :—
“T would advise you to have a few plants in pots in the east window. Remember though, you must have only a few plants, as more than five or six would give the window the appearance of being a substitute for a greenhouse—a most unpleasant idea at any time, and particularly so in the country. They should be in large handsome pots, standing in saucers, for the sake of cleanliness ; and care should be taken not to fill the pots with earth higher than to within an inch from the brim, so as to leave plenty of room for watering. The space left should be filled with water every morning, and the water suffered to run through the pots into the saucers, which, after waiting about ten minutes, or more if necessary, so as to allow as much water as possible to drain through the earth in the pots, should be emptied, as nothing can be more injurious to most kinds of plants in pots than to let water stand in their saucers. If a constant fire be kept in the room, so that the air is always hot and dry, the pots in which the plants are kept should be set within other pots, and the space between the two filled with moss. This is also a good plan with plants in balconies, to prevent the roots of the plants becoming dry and withered. Plants in rooms always require a great deal more water than plants in a greenhouse, to coun- teract the dry atmosphere of a living room ; and, when practicable, they should be set out in the rain, or syringed over head, to wash off the dust, which, from sweeping the room, and other causes, will inevitably rest on the leaves, and choke up their pores, thus impeding the action of those very important organs. Air also is as essential to the health of plants as it is to that of human beings, and both live by decomposing it.”
The Principles of Practical Gardening. By George W. Johnson, Esq. R. Baldwin.
AttHoucH we do not hold ourselves to subscribe to all the contents of this book, we can truly say that it contains a fund of useful information on the subjects most essential to those who embark in the culture of plants. It consists of nine chapters, following a plant through all its stages, from the germination of ihe seed to its final decay ; and exhibiting the main facts in vegetable physiology and chemistry applied to the ordinary operations of gardening, and written in a perspicuous and popular style. We may instance the following paragraph (from p. 327, where the writer is speaking of chemical affinities) as a specimen :—
‘‘ So long as a plant lives, it triumphs over those affinities. Its roots overcome the affinity of the soil, and take from it its moisture; its leaves overcome the affinity of the atmosphere, and deprive it of the watery vapour it has in solution. The internal vessels overcome numerous affinities; and, by the decomposition of carbonic acid and water, perform within their simple tube that which can only be effected by the chemist’s most powerful agents. These triumphs over chemical affinities—and that most characteristic of triumphs, its avoidance of putrefaction —endure in the same individual, often for centuries of years ; it is the most marked of the triumphs of vitality ; its prime distinction as a creature capable, for a time, of defying the laws which doom all organic matters to return to the dust from which they were created ; for no sooner does that vitality cease, than the heat, the moisture, and the gases which vitality com- pelled to minister to the plant’s luxuriance and health, now triumph in their turn, and serve to destroy that form which they had aided to sustain.”
Here we have an epitome of the life of a plant; besides its amplification, the author shows how the affinities here spoken of are affected by extraneous powers ; in other words, he deduces the theory of gardening from the results of its practical operations examined by the lights of science. It isa work which every young gardener ought to possess.
140
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
meee NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR JUNE.
ARCTOSTA‘PHYLOS NI'TIDA. This name (Anglicised “Shining-leaved Bearberry”) is given to a plant raised in the Garden of the Horticultural Society from seeds obtained by G. F, Dickson, Esq., in Mexico. Mr. Hartweg also found it on the Mexican mountains, ealled Carmen. It usually flowers both in spring and autumn. “It forms a handsome evergreen shrub, five or six feet high, growing readily in any good loamy soil, and capable of enduring a mild winter in the open border. It would be a fine plant for the climate of Devonshire or Corn- wall.” From 4. argiuta it is distinguished principally by its branched hispid racemes.—Bot. Reg. 32.
BouzorpHy/tLuM Carnya‘num. This is a native of Nepal and Martaban, and has been ten or twelve years in this country. “It is more curious than showy.” It has a rather large pseudo- bulb, with a solitary leaf on the top, and a dense short head of yellow flowers, mottled with red springing from the bottum.— Bot. Mag. 4166.
Caga‘nus Br'cotor. “ The Pigeon-pea, or Doll, as it is called in the Kast Indies, is said to be so named because its seeds are the favourite food of wild pigeons. It is, however, extensively used by man, being cultivated very generally in both the East and West Indies. In the opinion of some botanists, only one species exists, of which there are two varieties—the one with flowers entirely yellow, and two or three seeds in each pod, which is never spotted ; the other (the present one) with flowers streaked externally with crimson, and having four or five seeds in a pod, which is marbled with dark streaks. Others regard them as distinct species. The first is called the No-eye Pea in the West Indies, and the latter the Congo Pea. It was reared in the Horticultural Society’s Garden from seeds collected near the town of Jellalabad, and presented by Sir Henry Fletcher. Ii grows about eighteen inches high, flowers from June to August, and appears to be a half-hardy annual or biennial. In the Flora of Jamaica, by Dr. Macfadyen, p. 297, are the following remarks :—“ The general appearance of both is very much alike ; and they can scarcely, previous to flowering, be distinguished from one another, except that the leaves of C. flavus are rather smaller and finer to the touch.” The No-eye Pea is the more deli cate, and is nearly equal to the English Pea; the other species is coarser, and chiefly used by the negroes. Hybrid varieties sometimes appear, from the two being planted close together. They stand for several years, shedding their leaves annually, and reproducing them with flowers early in summer. The crop is gathered in autumn. They are among the most valuable of tro- pical plants, require no particular care or trouble, and thrive in the poorest soil. “ They are to be found round every cottage in the island, growing luxuriantly in the parched savannah and mountain declivity, as well as in the more fertile and seasonable districts.’’ (It is less valuable in a floricultural light.)— Bot. Reg. 31.
Ecurnocac’rus oxyeonus. ‘ Searcely any plant possesses more noble or more lovely blos- soms than the present ; and they are the more striking from the circumstance of their being produced from so graceless and small a trunk. It is, moreover, a free flowering plant in the month of May. The duration of the blossoms is, in cloudy weather at least, of two days. The species is said to be a native of Brazil.” The plant is sub-globose, rather longer than broad, and usually from six inches to a foot high. The flowers are produced upon the top, and consist of an upright trumpet-formed tube several inches long, and spreading segments of a fine rose colour, the interior being filled up with straw-coloured stamens. [This is one of a class of plants we should like to see more commonly cultivated : some of them, like this, have exceedingly attractive blossoms ; and there is much of prejudice in the current idea that they are difficult to flower. Bot. Mag., 4162.
Epripe/NDRUM LONGICO/LLE. This is a slender caulescent species, with linear-lanceolate leaves, and a terminal cluster of white flowers, the fragrance of which constitutes the most interesting quality the species possesses. Itis a native of Demerara. Bot. Mag., 4165.
E'ria Dinuwy’nu. A new species, named in compliment to Dillwyn Llewelyn, Esq., of Pennleegar, in whose collection specimens, received through Mr. Cuming from the Philippine
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 14]
Islands, flowered in March, 1843. Mr. Llewelyn says, “It is valuable from the great facility with which it submits to cultivation, and the profusion with which it bears its flowers. It blos- somed in my stove last year; and this season it is a beautiful object, with seven or eight bulbs, each bearing two spikes of flowers.”” It has oblong pseudo-bulbs, with about four leaves, six to eight inches long on the top. The flowers are white, or cream-coloured, arranged moderately close upon an erect raceme, of about the same length as the leaves. Bot. Mag., 4163. [The same species is now flowering at S. Rucker, Esq.’s, Wandsworth. ]
Lyca/stE GIGANTE'A. Although the colours of this species are not gay, yet its large size, and the great height to which its flowering stem rises (full two feet), are remarkable features; besides which, its flowers are among the largest in the race of Orchids. Mr. Hartweg found it in Guayaquil, flowering in the month of August, at a place called the Quebrada de las Juntas ; and from his dried specimens it was described in 1843.’’ The species has also been introduced from La Guayra to Belgium, and named Mazillaria Heynderycxii by Professor Morren, (after Senator Heynderycx, V. P. of the Royal Agric. and Bot. Soc. of Ghent,) who was apparently unacquainted with the earlier name. Bot. Reg., 34.
Maspeva’LLIA FENESTRA'TA. A curious orchid, received from Brazil several years ago by Messrs. Loddiges, and lately at Kew from Jamaica. The species grows in clusters, each plant consisting of a stem or petiole, terminated by a solitary (rarely two) oblong-elliptical leaf. The flowers proceed from the base of the leaf, and are “ not only singular in colour, being externally of a deep blackish blood-colour, but still more singular in form, with the sepals united below and at the apex, which is open and window-like ; the whole representing the head of a bird, with a perforation where the eyes should be.” Bot. Mag., 4164.
ScHOMBUR’GKIA TIBI'CINIS Var. GRANDIFLO'RA. A noble specimen of this variety flowered in May, 1844, in the collection of R. Hanbury, Esq., “the pseudo-bulbs being fifteen inches long, and the flowering stem five feet high.” “It is certainly the same species as that named by Mr. Bateman $ tibicinis,’ because the hollow pseudo-bulbs are used as trumpets by the Indian children of Honduras.’’ ‘The present variety has, however, larger flowers, which are “far paler on the outside, and have a broader lip, whose middle lobe is not rich violet, but yellow, with a white or purple border. In this instance the plant realises the expectations that had been formed of it : in other cases, it has disappointed them.” Bot. Reg., 30.
Sprrza LInDLEYANA. Plants of this species raised from seeds, presented to the Horticul- tural Society by the Directors of the East India Company, produce flowers abundantly between July and September. It bears a near resemblance to the Sorb-leaved Spirzea, “ differing chiefly in its greater stature and more numerous leaflets, which have a long taper point, and a distinctly ovate outline ; whilst those of S. Sorbifolia are nearly oval. It isa native of the Himalayas. Dr. Wallich’s collectors found it in Kemaon and Sirmore ; and Dr. Royle also mentions it as inha- biting those countries.” It has stood three winters at Chiswick without suffering. Last winter, however, it was killed as far as the ground, but is again shooting up. Sot. Reg., 33.
NEW OR INTERESTING PLANTS RECENTLY FLOWERED IN THE PRINCIPAL METROPOLITAN NURSERIES AND GARDENS.
ANGULO'A UNIFLORA var. A Superior variety was exhibited by Messrs. Veitch, of Exeter, at the Regent’s Park. It differs from other specimens in having flowers of a delicate pink hue, instead of cream-coloured.
BuRTO'NIA BRUNIOIDES. Recently introduced from New Holland, and exhibited by Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, & Co., of Exeter. It is a small villous shrub with short linear leaves, and rather flat terminal heads of yellow flowers. It apparently possesses a more vigorous habit than B. conferta.
CHZNO’STOMA POLYa’NTHUM. Specimens of this interesting little greenhouse plant are now flowering at Messrs. Henderson’s Nursery. It is a product of South Africa, about Algoa Bay, and the Zwartkops river, from whence it was first transferred to the continental nurseries, and through them has reached England. From its dwarf habit, and numerous loose racemes of small, labiate, lavender-blue flowers, with orange throat, it promises to be a useful species. We saw it in flower last autumn at Mr. Knight's and Mr. Lowe’s, from which it would appear to blossom
142 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES,
at any season, if kept growing. It may be increased by cuttings, or seeds, which are matured freely. Any common garden soil will suit it.
DENDROBIUM AMa‘NUM. A pretty species in the way of, but inferior to, D. Devonianum. It blooms on the denuded stems, which are long and slender, with rather distant nodes. The flowers are of a delicate blush tint,.with an eye or spot of rich purple near the tip of each sepal and petal: the lip is pale yellow at the foot, and blush coloured with a broad spot of purple towards the top. It is flowering with S. Rucker, Esq., Wandsworth.
DENDROBIUM ANoSMUM. Dr. Lindley has given this name to a Dendrobium greatly resembling D. macrophyllum, which has recently been in bloom in the princely collection of Messrs. Loddiges, at the Hackney Nursery. It was introduced by those gentlemen in 1840, from the Phillippine Tslands, All the parts of the flower being shorter and more obtuse than those of D. maero- phyllum, free from the undulating surface, and the powerful and somewhat unpleasant rhubarb scent, whilst the colours are precisely similar, we consider it a superior kind for the cultivator. Besides these prominent distinctions, it differs in the column being stouter and more exposed to view—the sides of the lip scarcely meeting over it, whilst in macrophyllum they inclose it, and wrap over each other. The petals also are less strongly reticulated. In Dr. Lindley’s notice, he expresses a doubt upon the propriety of considering it as a distinct species—of course this’ cannot be decided now, until another year’s flowers afford the opportunity for further examination. It ought to be grown ina basket, or fastened to a block, and suspended.
GOMPHOLO BIUM ? A new species of this genus was contributed by Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, & Co., of Exeter, to the exhibition in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Regent’s Park. It possesses a vigorous habit, of a trailing character, and will hence need some support. It is a much stronger plant than G. polymorphum, and flowers quite as profusely. The blossoms resemble that species considerably, both in size and colour. It will be a desirable species for exhibition.
Hi'NDSIA LONGIFLO'RA aLBA. Instead of the blue tint of the original species, the flowers of this are of a delicate pure white : they are pleasantly scented and produced in large clusters at the top of the shoots. It is at Messrs. Henderson’s Nursery.
HypRo'LEA SPINO'SA. In the Kew Gardens we noticed a fine plant of this old stove shrub, which certainly merits a place in every collection. Imagine a plant with small, ovate, lance- shaped leaves, sending up strong stems, two or three feet high, and throwing out numerous twigs from every side upon all its length, every one of which, from the foot of the plant to its utmost height, are appropriately furnished with foliage, and profusely adorned with small, brilliant-blue, convolvulus-like flowers. Plants of this character, and especially those with flowers of a colour so universally admired, are just what the cultivator wants; and as it grows vigorously, and with much rapidity, we hope soon to see its merits more generally recognised. It is a native of South America, where it is found inhabiting stations bordering on rivulets; from which we may infer that considerable humidity will be necessary, both in the atmosphere and at the roots, to bring it to its most perfect state.
Hypocy’rta pi’scotor. This name has been applied by Dr. Lindley to the plant noticed at p- 273 of vol. xi. and known in gardens as Columnea Zebrina. It is “ closely allied to H. aggregata, from which it differs in its smooth long-stalked leaves, large calyx, and smaller solitary flowers.” ‘The foliage is handsome, but the flowers are not very showy, and, indeed, are partly concealed by their situation.
Mormo'pes Luxa‘tum. A strong-growing plant, with the habit of the large Cataséta. The cream-coloured flowers are large, fragrant, and showy, and remarkable for the singular contor- tion of their parts. They are almost globular, with an aperture on one side, through which a dark checolate-coloured patch or streak may be seen down the centre of the hp. Mr. Rucker has a flowering specimen.
Muss’NDA MACROPHY’LLA. A fine Cinchonaceous shrub, introduced from Nepal, of excel- lent habit, with large handsome foliage and terminal heads of orange flowers surrounded by white floral leaves. It is blooming in a greenhouse at Messrs. Knight and Perry’s, Clielsea.
Putox DrumMonpil ALBA. This isa variety with white flowers, apparently well suited for beds in the flower-garden, though not so pretty as the parent species. It may be seen flowering at Mr. Groom’s Nursery, Clapham Rise.
OPERATIONS FOR JULY. 143
PROSTRANTHE'RA LASTA’NTHOS. It seems strange that so fine a plant as this would be for exhibitors should scarcely be seen in collections. A specimen, nearly ten feet high, is now literally covered with blossoms in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. It is a shrubby plant, with fine oblong lance-shaped toothed foliage, and produces its large red and white flowers in panicled racemes. From the appearance of the species, we have no hesitation in saying that plants a foot high will flower profusely. Several other species of this New Holland genus, described in botanical works, but yet unintroduced, are said to be equally fine.
OPERATIONS FOR JULY.
eg
In a general way, we experience more dry and warm weather in July than in any other month of the year ; and when this proves extreme, it tells prejudicially on those summer garden exotics which have not yet grown sufficiently to constitute a cover to the bed that holds them, and shade it from the scorching and drying influence of the sun. We spoke last month of the utility of some interposing substance to check evaporation from the soil when the plants are newly placed in the borders of the flower-garden, and before they have sent out fresh roots, and become suffi- ciently established. The difficulty of managing this in a tidy and unobtrusive way, is an objection to its continuance longer than it is absolutely indispensable.
As a means of retaining moisture in the soil, as well as of improving the appearance to the eye, the practice of hoeing is rarely so repeatedly resorted to in the course of the season as it ought to be. The insufficiency of hands to accomplish the multifarious operations of a garden at the proper time, and in a neat tasteful style, through the summer months, is too often a just excuse for passing over those that are least pressing ; but we have also met with cultivators, and very lately, who neglect hoeing from an idea that it assists in extracting any little moisture that remains in the soil. On a superficial glance such would appear to be really the truth, but a slight investigation alone is sufficient to convince to the contrary. Where the surface of the soil is kept loose, the bulk beneath continues longer in a humid state. Besides, a loose surface would seem to attract moisture ; for, if we examine a plot of ground where the soil has been lately stirred, and another in a hard crusted state, we shall find a more abundant deposit of dew upon the former than upon the latter. This must be invigorating to the plants during the bright summer months : in fact, experience incontestably proves that, the more hoeing is attended to, the more flourishing is the growth of the plants, other requisites being equal. Hoeing is also a better means of eradi- cating weeds, if repeatedly and timely performed, than hand-weeding ; but whether weeds exist or not, the opportunity of dry weather after rain, should always be seized upon to hoe the surface, especially of stiff clayey soils. There is less occasion for it in light sandy earth which continues open and crumbling ; nevertheless, it is the province of the culturist to combine to the utmost, appearance with utility, in the management of his charge, and there are few instances among his operations in which we find those two ends more faithfully answered by the same work. In fact the hoe must never lie idle whilst summer lasts: it keeps the ground in a favourable state for the growth of the plants, is the best safeguard from a weedy flower-plot, and imparts a freshness to the appearance of the ground.
Most of the several attentions which are now becoming more especially essential in the pleasure-ground to render it worthy of the name, may in themselves appear somewhat insig- nificant ; without them, however, we must not expect to realise anything beyond a commonplace effect. And yet how many of them are constantly neglected! There cannot be a doubt but the removal of the rudimentary seed-pods of the Rhododendron when the flowers cease to be orna- mental], not only improves the appearance of the plant for the remainder of the year, but confers a direct benefit upon it, in preventing its energies being wasted in the formation of parts that contribute no ornament, and reserving them to promote vigour and future floweriness ; yet these pods are suffered to remain and ripen in almost every garden. Again, there is the petals of the rose shed over the borders and the lawn, or hanging still upon the plant in brown withered clusters, impairing the effect of those in full-blown perfection, and looking not a little untidy. Many plants, moreover, which flower on the current season’s shoots are induced to flower longer
144 OPERATIONS FOR JULY.
and more abundantly, by merely nipping off the earlier blossoms as their beauty becomes defaced. Among numbers of greenhouse shrubs, which flower from month to month, and in which the opening blossoms are increased in size when the dead and the dying are abstracted, we may instance the Pimelea decussata, which almost doubles the magnitude of its heads with this attention. We need not say more ; a short trial will best convince of the extent of its influence.
An improvement may be effected in the flowering of China Roses, by continually cutting back those shoots which have done flowering: a more regular and plentiful succession will be thus maintained. The length of shoot left must be regulated by the season: during the present month they may be cut low, as the most vigorous-flowering shoots will always be obtained from near the base; but in after months they must be more sparingly pruned, because the growths produced from the buds higher on the former shoot, will sooner reach a HOUTEN state than those which issue from the vicinity of its base.
Whatever spring-flowering bulbs yet remain in any of the flower-beds, may, for the most part, be removed safely in the course of the present month. If the ground is to be planied, and any are not sufficiently ripened, they may be taken with what soil will adhere to them, to the reserve garden. Others must be stored up till the period for re-planting. Bulbs in pots that have finished blooming, should be placed by themselves to ripen ; where they will be kept dry, and fully exposed to the sun. The tubers of Tropceolums which are sufficiently matured, may be taken out of the pots and packed in bags of sand till they begin to sprout again. It is a good plan before repotting, to lay them in boxes of dry sand in a warm place, till the shoots have grown two or three inches in length.
Greenhouse plants in pots, such as Pelargoniums that have done flowering, should be cut down, the balls of earth reduced, the roots dressed, and then replaced with fresh soil in smaller pots, and committed to a frame to renew their growth. Cuttings may be prepared from the parts cut away, and encouraged to grow, so that they may make strong plants before winter.
Roses may be increased during the present month both by budding and layering. Layers formed at this season root more readily than those done in spring. This is the proper time also for layering Carnations, &c, and putting in pipings of pinks. An extensive stock of Pansies of the commoner kinds should be raised this month to fill the flower-beds in spring.
Greenhouse plants set out in the open air in pots, should be as much as possible secured from strong winds, and carefully supplied with water if the weather prove dry. A copious syringing overhead will be beneficial in the evening of sunny days, and will help to keep the foliage clear of dust, and free from the inroads of insects.
It will be quite necessary to have the greenhouse shaded for at least four or five hours in the after part of clear days. The material employed for this purpose should be thin and light, merely sufficient to mellow the sunlight. Shade will be required the greater part of the day in the orchidaceous house ; but here, also, it would be advisable to adopt some lighter substance than what we generally find in use. The advantages of span-roofed houses with regard to shading, are very perspicuous ; one side only requiring to be shaded in the morning and the other in the afternoon.
As the new shoots and pseudo-bulbs of most orchidaceous plants will now be far advanced in growth, and about the maximum of their vigour, they will require a larger supply of humidity in the atmosphere and at the roots, than at any other season of the year. Nevertheless, here, as well as in all other plant structures, syringing the plants, and damping the floors, must be partly regulated by the external weather.
Pits and frames will be very useful now for bringing forward a supply of soft-wooded, quick- growing plants to maintain a good show of flowers in the greenhouse. For this purpose Balsams and other tender annuals should not be despised for their commonness.
Where there is an Arboretum, this, and the following months of summer, are the best for examining the correctness of the names attached to the plants. As loose tallies are apt to get misplaced through the inadvertency of workmen, it is advisable, in private collections, to have also others stamped with numbers fastened to the trees and shrubs, with reference to a catalogue, to avoid confusion.
Erratum.—At p. 109, second line from the bottom, instead of “‘ Gardening for Ladies,” read “ Ladies’ Country Companion.” ;
5, Holden det & Lith.
VDPOAML Va Ltt dre: Ata. AL CAMA,
EPIDENDRUM RADICANS.
(Rooting Epidendrum.)
Class. Order.
GYNANDRIA, MONANDRIA. Natural Order.
ORCHIDACE.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx wanting. Corolla with lengthening. Flowers bright orange-scarlet. . Sepals five oblong spreading petals. Zabellwm without a horn and petals lanceolate, acute, spreading. Lip with two at the base, tubular, embracing the column, with a erect compressed calli at the base, from between broad erect plate. Column terete, placed below the which an elevated ridge proceeds down the centre, germen, gibbous. Anthers concave. Capsule oblong, three-lobed; lateral lobes broad, rounded, toothletted three-sided, one-celled, three-valved. Seeds numerous, at the margin; intermediate lobe cuneate, fimbriated,
extremely minute, roundish. and deeply emarginate at the apex, entire on both SpEcIFIC CHARACTER.—Stem simple, leafy, throwing sides. out a long greenish-white root opposite each leaf. SYNONYME.—FE. rhizophorum,
Leaves distichous, subcordately ovate, obtuse. Racemes
Tuis elegant species belongs to that section of Epidendrum named Amphiglot- tum, distinguished by “ the long leafy stem with distichous leaves, the want of every tendency to form pseudo-bulbs, a terminal peduncle covered with close sheaths, and a labellum entirely united to the column.” In the recent considera- tion of this group, by Dr. Lindley, four species besides the present are included in the same division of the sub-section with racemose flowers. Two of these approach our subject so narrowly in the general form, jagged edges, and colour of the flowers ; in possessing the two tubercular protuberances at the base of the lip, and an elevated plate passing between them down the centre; that the unpractised eye might fail to detect their distinctions. |
It is only when we descend to the minutia of botanical points, that the dissimilarity of their several parts becomes evident. Dr. Lindley has pointed out the following distinctions :—‘ E. radicans has the lateral lobes of the labellum rounded and toothletted only, not lacerated, and it produces coarse pale green roots from its stems; E. cinnabarinum has the lateral lobes of the labellum deeply lacerated, while the central lobe is contracted in the middle, and then suddenly wedge-shaped, with its angles prolonged into one or two fine teeth. E. Schomburgkii has the lateral lobes only toothed, with the centre lobe gradually widened to the point, and there toothletted without being at all truncate ; the lobes of the lip are confluent in what I take to be a variety of that species.” To these we may add, that E. radicans produces a root upon the stem opposite each leaf; whilst
VOL. XII.—NO, CXXXIX. U
146 eae EPIDENDRUM RADICANS.
- whatever roots issue from the stem of either of the other species, are confined to the lower portion, and come without any regard to the order of the foliage.
The first plants were received in England from Guatemala, in 1839. In the summer of 1844 we saw a specimen blooming in the superb collection of Mrs, Lawrence, at Ealing Park, which, so far as we can learn, was the first that dis- played its flowers in this. country. Since then we have been favoured with specimens by Mr. Brewster, gardener to Mrs. Wray, at Oakfield, Cheltenham, who has also kindly furnished us with the following remarks :—
‘¢ Mr. Skinner sent the plant to Oakfield in 1842. It commenced flowering in the beginning of 1845, and has now covered a wire basket with its long stems, each crowned with a head of flowers. Mr. Skin- ner says its habit is ‘ terrestrial, growing among long grass and dried leaves. It flowers in October, November, December, and January. It is a lovely plant; and particu- larly if growing in masses, forms an object of attraction difficult to pass, when seen on mountain sides, and in the deep valleys.
The head of flowers sent us
2 99
contained twenty-three expanded blossoms, much more rich and bril- liant in colour than those of either of its two allies; hence, we may readily imagine what a delightful object it must constitute in its native haunts where it grows in any considerable quantity, peeping with its flaming vermilion flower-
heads from among the green herbage; and thrusting out its thickened roots from almost every inch of the stem, to suck in sustenance from the humid
atmosphere, and drink the dew that settles upon them.
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WHITFIELDIA LATERITIA.
(Brick-coloured Whitfieldia.)
Class. DIDYNAMIA.
Order. ANGIOSPERMIA.
Naiural Order. ACANTHACER.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx ample, coloured, sub- infundibuliform, with two bracts at the base, deeply four or five cleft; segments lanceolate, acute, erect, coneave, nerved; bracts mostly coloured, opposite, obovate, acute, three-nerved, appressed. Corolla be- tween campanulate and funnel-shaped, twice the length of the calyx ; tube with fifteen elevated ridges; limb two-lipped, spreading ; upper lip smaller, two- cleft; lower lip three-cleft, all the segments ovate, acute. Stamens four, didynamous, almost included, with an obsolete rudiment of afifth, Filaments smooth. Anthers oblong-linear, two-celled; cells opposite, de- hiscing longitudinally. Ovary compressed, ovate, gla- brous, two-celled; cells bi-ovulate; ovules ascending. Disk hypogynous, large, fleshy, cup-shaped. Style
scarcely exceeding the stamens, thread-shaped. Stigma small, capitate. Fruit unknown.
SpeciFic CHARACTER.—Plani a smooth low-branching evergreen shrub. Branches spreading, terete, rather tortuous. Leaves opposite, entire, ovate or oblong- ovate, somewhat leathery, waved, penninerved. Petioles short, flat or slightly grooved above. Racemes terminal, somewhat one-sided, deflexed. Pedicels opposite (bra- chiate or cruciate), drooping, bracteated at the base. Bracteas lanceolate, partially membranaceous, the lowest pair leaf-like: two other large, ovate, acute, opposite bracteas at the base of the calyx, appressed toit. Flowers slightly pubescent ; calyx, corolla, and calycine bracts all brick-coloured. Stamens and style shorter than the corolla.
Axovt the middle of last November we were favoured with specimens of this handsome stove shrub, by Mr. Jennings, the Earl of Derby’s gardener at Knowsley
Hall, Lancashire, and from these our figure was prepared.
Mr. Jennings informs
us, that it was received there, in 1841, from Sierra Leone, and has proved an excellent thing, flowering through most of the winter months. Towards the close of last year, and for two or three months after, we observed specimens from the same source, flowering in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.
On bestowing the above appellation, Sir William Hooker observes, * As a genus of Acanthacee, I can refer it to no described one, though its affinity (yet not very close) is probably with Geissomeria, Lindl. ; and I have dedicated it to Thomas Whitfield, Esq., who at the risk of his life, and as we have reason to know, with much injury to his constitution, has made several voyages to, and journeys into, the interior of Western-tropical Africa, and formed extensive collec- tions of living plants and animals. The majority of these have been sent to the Right Hon. the Earl of Derby ; and the Royal Gardens of Kew have not failed to benefit by that distinguished nobleman’s love and patronage of science.”
The species is a shrubby evergreen of good appearance, and will no doubt prove a useful thing in collections where it is essential to keep up a good display of blossom during the duller months. The blossoms are not remarkably bright-
148 WHITFIELDIA LATERITIA.
_ coloured, but they are plentifully produced in racemes which stand out well above the foliage ; most of the flowers on a raceme, moreover, point one way. js
As it admits of réady increase by cuttings taken off during the growing season, and placed in a damp heat to strike root, it will doubtless soon become plentiful. For those who have not space to keep large specimens, the best plan will be to renew them from cuttings every or every other year, and discard the old ones. Young plants thus formed early in summer, and favourably treated, will make neat dwarf flowering bushes against winter.
By pruning back rather closely in spring, reducing the ball of earth, and then planting in a smaller-sized pot, the old plants will break vigorously. Their strength must be supported afterwards with more pot-room and liberal watering, to produce large-sized specimens. As the quantity of flower depends in a great measure on the number of branches, it will be proper to facilitate the protrusion of side-growths by shortening the earlier summer shoots. Those who possess a stove conservatory will find this a suitable shrub for planting in a border.
It may be grown ina loamy soil, mixed with about a third part of peat, or the same proportion of leaf mould and dung, accordingly as the aim is to form small
or large plants.
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CINERARIA SEEDLINGS.
1, Lady Prudhoe; 2, Countess of Zetland; 3, Emperor of Russia; 4, Fairy Queen; 5, Sapphire; 6, Criterion; 7, Surrey Hero; 8, Desirable.
GARDEN VARIETIES.
Ir is not many years since the old Cinerdria cruénta and one or two others, were nearly the only plants of this class cultivated in gardens: at the present day, through the industry and skill of the florist, the varieties are become almost innumerable, and are so much improved in all the qualities usually esteemed in plants, that no one now thinks of retaining the original species, except merely as botanical curiosities. The straggling panicles of the primitive kinds are succeeded by evenly-arranged flower-heads ; their star-like circles of ray-florets by others of much greater breadth ; and in nothing is the advancement more apparent than in the increased brilliancy and variety of tint.
In the attached plate our artist has tastefully grouped eight varieties which we have chosen from the many that offer on every hand. These exhibit the principal classes of colour into which Cinerarias may now be divided—white, crimson, and blue selfs, and crimson and blue-tipped. They are all superior flowers, and sufficiently distinct from each other to be admitted into any collection ; and those who desire a larger assortment may easily find many excellent intermediate varieties.
The two first were produced by Messrs. Jackson and Co. of the Cross Lanes Nursery, Bedale, Yorkshire, who kindly obliged us with specimens last May. Both varieties are remarkable for breadth of petal, and their intensely brilliant colours. With regard to the latter point, it is but just to state that art produces nothing that can nearly equal the natural flower, especially the crimson one. We could scarcely desire anything more perfect than the dwarf habit and immense compact masses of blossom which they displayed at the May exhibition in Regent's Park, where they attracted much notice and were awarded extra prizes.
For the remaining varieties, which are by no means less worthy of notice, our thanks are due to Mr. Ivery, of Peckham, a gentleman well known in the flori- cultural world for his successful productions. It is scarcely necessary to allude individually to them; we must, however, observe that the hght czrulean variety,
. 150 : CINERARIA SEEDLINGS.
(Sapphire), is perhaps the most decided blue yet obtained amongst Cinerarias. There is, moreover, an agreeable contrast afforded to the celestial hue of the ray-florets, by the numerous yellow anthers which just peep beyond the florets of the disk.
From March to May—the time when these flowers are in their greatest perfection—we have nothing more gorgeous and various in hue to place in the greenhouse or conservatory: all summer long they will continue to send forth a profusion of blossoms, if planted in beds on the lawn; and by removing them on the approach of autumn frosts, and replacing them in pots capacious enough to hold their roots without much mutilation, their flower-bearing season may be prolonged till far into the winter. Few plants thrive or flower better in the open air during summer; and as they are also easily propagated, it seems strange that they are not more extensively devoted to the parterre.
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BEGONIA MARTIANA.
(Yon Martius’ Elephant’s Ear.)
Class. MONC:CIA.
Order. POLYANDRIA.
Natural Order. BEGONIACE.
GENERIC CHARACTER.— Male flowers—Calyx wanting. Corolla polypetalous. Petals commonly four, unequal. emale Flowers—Calyx wanting. Coroila with from four to nine petals, generally unequal. Styles three, bifid. Capsule triquetrous, winged, three-celled, many- seeded.
SpEciFic CHARACTER. — Plant a perennial. Stem
smooth, striated, semi-translucent, covered with a thin glaucous bloom. Leaves obliquely ovate, deeply and unequally indented at the margins, smooth, shining green. Petioles longer than the leaves. Pe- duncles usually two-flowered, more than twice as long as the pedicel. Flowers large, rich crimson purple. Petals serrated at the edges.
Wirtn the exception of B. coccinea, and one mentioned by Mr. Hartweg, there is perhaps no species of Begonia yet known that produces flowers of a finer colour than the present. Most of the members of the genus have blossoms vary- ing from a pure white to a pale blush; but in the species before us, we have a rich and delicate crimson pink.
It is a plant of perennial duration, with tuberous roots, which demand con- siderable care and watchfulness to preserve their vitality through the winter. The stems are beautifully striated and transparent, like those of the Balsam, and are clothed with neat foliage of a rather diminutive size.. The blossoms are large, and sufficiently abundant to impart a most inviting aspect ; and the smallness of the leaves only becomes a fault when the plant is kept in a dry atmosphere, or otherwise mismanaged during the growing season.
We have little to communicate respecting its native country. It is said to be a production of Brazil ; from whence, according to our Botanical Catalogues, it was transmitted to England in 1829.
Our acknowledgments are due to R. G. Loraine, Esq., of Wallington Lodge, for the plant from which our figure was drawn. The superiority of this spe- cimen to the ordinary appearance of the species is a sufficient testimony of the benefits conferred by attentive and appropriate management. Superior specimens were also produced last summer in the stoves at Pineapple-place, and at the Exotic Nursery, Chelsea.
Like many of its congeners it soon betrays the effects of injudicious or careless treatment. We point to this, more especially, because its attractiveness is so
152 BEGONIA MARTIANA.
intimately connected with, and dependent upon, a highly cultivated state, that it elicits little admiration in a converse condition. Under unfavourable circumstances, the branches become straggling and attenuated, the internodes lengthen without acquiring a corresponding vigour, and if flowers are formed at all, they are scanty both in numbers and magnitude.
To enable it to form a compact spreading specimen, three or four principal —
stems should be allowed in a pot; these, under genial culture, will reach nearly eighteen inches in height, and to make a good specimen, they should measure nearly as much across. It is necessary to be circumspect in the application of water at the commencement of growth, for the young shoots are then extremely susceptible of injury from a surplus of moisture ; but as the plant acquires the full renewal of its vegetative activity, copious supplies will be required almost daily. A stove or warm pit with bottom-heat, screened from the glare of the mid-day sun, will be the fittest place till the flowers begin to form, when it may be removed to an intermediate house, where more light is admitted.
153
STUDY OF BOTANY.
—_+—_—-
Ir is long since any notice has been taken of this subject ; and we cannot help thinking that the science itself is gradually—but progressively—losing ground. We hear not of it: no mention of it is made among gardeners or amateurs, and therefore, it becomes an affair of some interest to inquire ‘‘ why is it thus ?”
We may labour under a mistake, perhaps, but cannot help thinking, that since the introduction of prizes for florists’ flowers, and the emulation to excel has been thereby so highly exalted, floriculture has superseded the science upon which it is founded. Nor perhaps is this to be wondered at, inasmuch as the beauties which have been of late displayed—exciting new efforts, and tasking all the energies of rival florists—are so surpassing, that no opportunity is left for the mere calm investigation of natural structure.
Floriculture, as now pursued, is a system of excitement; beauty, form, and grace, are its objects: it has nothing in common with scientific classification. Entertaining these views, we should not have contemplated the present article, had not a paper in the Gardeners’ Chronicle of June 28 arrested immediate attention. It is entitled “‘ Botanical Nomenclature,” and the following is its first paragraph.
‘No one who has had experience in the progress of Botany, as a science, can doubt that it has been more impeded in this country by the repulsive appearance of the names which it employs, than by any other cause whatsoever ; and that, in fact, this circumstance has proved an invincible obstacle to its becoming the serious occupation of those who are unacquainted with the learned languages, or who, being acquainted with them, are fastidious about euphony, and Greek or Latin purity.”
This is excellent ; it is the “breaking ground” for an attempt to reconstruct the nomenclature of that which, whether it be agreeable or not to the ear, obscures, at any rate, the true meaning of terms, and teaches him who ‘“‘ occupies the place of the unlearned,” to give utterance to mere sounds, not one of which he is able to understand or appreciate. As examples of these—to some extent outlandish terms—which are continually recurring in the so-called natural system of Botany, we extract the following from the notice referred to :—
‘‘ The names by which the great groups of plants are known, are few in number, and very often in use. There is no reason why we should not at once English them ; the practice, indeed, is already adopted to some extent by the substitution of the words Monocotyledons, Dicotyledons, Exogens, Endogens, . Cryptogams, Phenogams, &c., for Monocotyledones, Dicotyledones, Exogene, Endogene, Cryptogame, Phenogame, &c. It is even carried farther, by speaking of Rosaceous plants instead of Rosacew,” &e.
VOL, XII.—NO. CXKXIX. x
154 STUDY OF BOTANY.
When Dr. Withering published his “ Botanical Arrangement,” he employed English names—not only for individual plants, but for the parés of fructification— calling the stamens chives, and the pistils poimtals: but, as is observed in the Chronicle,—“‘ Many Latin names have, from custom, been adopted into the English language, and no wisdom would be shown in attempting to alter such words as Dahlia, Crocus, Ixia, or even Orchis. Others again are so easily sounded and so much in harmony with the English tongue, that nothing could be gained by interfering with them ; such are Penea, Hugonia, Parkia, &c.”
We go farther than this, and assert that much would be lost were the Latin terminations abandoned in the case of any names derived from persons who have introduced or raised new plants, as for instance, Clarkia, Linnea, Adansonia. Each of these words is elegant, and perfectly simple and comprehensible ; it would be a barbarism to substitute solely the proper names without the referential affix. But, as suggested, the substitution of the terms water-lilies for Nympheacee, of crowfoots for Ranunculaces, &c.; and those of mallow-wworts for Malvacez ; citron- worts for Aurantiaceze ; nettle-worts for Urticacese, &c., must tend to uniformity.
There is a farther confusion in the classic words, which might well be avoided, and to great advantage. Thus, in Ranunculacee, which includes the Clematidez, the Anemones, the Helleborez, the Peoniz, we have also to distinguish more minutely the Ranunculee or true crowfoots,—confusion worse confounded! We owe much to Dr. Lindley for thus announcing a new, but unpublished work, called the Vegetable Kingdom, and hope that ere long the student of Botany will be enabled to profit by its perusal.
But it is not the Nomenclature alone, to which is to be ascribed the difficulty of acquiring botanical knowledge. So long as the Linnzean System was the object of study, there was a something tangible which the understanding could grasp. The arrangement was, in the main, artificial, and so the author avowed it to be ; but when attempts were made to erect a system founded upon a natural relation- ship or accordance of structure, it was perceived that immense difficulties were to be surmounted ; and that, after all which could be hoped for under existing cir- cumstances was accomplished, there would remain no purely natural system at all.
Let us not be mistaken for opposers of science or improvement: far from it ; we desire, and welcome its steady advances. At present, owing to the perplexity of the natural systems, whether of Jussieu, De Candolle, or our own Lindley, Borany, physiological and structural, is now exclusively the science of the learned ; the gardener, the amateur, the industrious man, cannot attain to it. And so com- plicated is its machinery, so vast, so intense must be the compass of memory to grasp and retain the myriads of its subjects, that we despair of ever witnessing its general application.
To revive the science of Botany is the object of our solicitude: if we cannot refine, let us simplify ; and, therefore, sooner than permit its lapse into desuetude, let us recur to Linneus, and gain such instruction as we may—pleasurably—
STUDY OF BOTANY. 155
rather than be constrained to give all up, through the hopelessness of effort. To assist our young readers—to offer some inducement for their exertions—we earnestly recommend two, not expensive works, for their perusal and study ; these are Sir W. Jackson Hooker’s last edition of Sir James Edward Smith's Introduction to Botany, and the English Botany of the last-named writer himself. As an encouragement for the student, we extract from the “ Introduc- tion,’ Chap. xxv., part of Sir W. Hooker's own Illustration of the Natural System, as follows :—
‘“‘ A more admirable illustration of the Linnean or artificial arrangement, than that given by Sir J. E. Smith in the last chapter, it is perhaps impossible to expect from the pen of any botanist. It may truly be called the perfection of the system. Tis merits are faithfully portrayed; its defects candidly stated ; and, notwith- standing the many exceptions to the general rules, which the reader cannot fail to discover, it must be allowed to be of infinite service to the beginner, in consequence of the great facility with which he is enabled, by its means, and by acquaintance with the nomenclature of Botany, to arrive at the name of any given species of plant. But this is not enough. The philosophical inquirer will be anxious to make himself familiar with the natural affinities of plants; the physician with the properties of vegetables,” &c., &c.; but “this can only be accomplished by the aid of another system, another method, but which is happily becoming more and more popular in this country, and which is almost the only arrangement used in many parts of the Continent, especially in France.”
There is enough of matter contained in the two sterling works recommended, _ to discover to the reader himself whether he have any genius and internal calling for the study of Botany. The simple and captivating introduction of Dr. Smith will pave the way to the new system advocated by Dr. Hooker. In the latter he will be fairly introduced, first, to the natural arrangement contemplated by Jussieu, which divides all plants into three great groups, determined by the structure of the seeds ;—namely, first, Acotyledons; second, Monocotyledons; and, third, Dicotyledons; then subdivides these groups into fifteen classes, and the classes into one hundred orders; and, secondly, into the Elementary Theory. of the Naturalist of Geneva, De Candolle, in which all plants are arranged under two leading groups, 1, vascular, 2, cellular; and these into one hundred and sixty-one orders. This work it was that marshalled the way for the celebrated Prodromus, and which, as Sir W. Hooker states, “so far as it goes, is not only the most popular and important of botanical writings, but the only one that gives an arrangement of all the species according to a natural method.” Sir W. Hooker justly concludes that if farther changes be required, none but such as are imperiously called for, in consequence of striking inaccuracy, should be attempted ; otherwise, confusion must be the consequence.
It is this confusion, this Babel of words, that we dread. The memory, unless peculiarly endowed, must be for ever on the stretch, and that without remission
156 LICHEN AND MOSS GARDENS.
or relaxation. However, we wait for Dr. Lindley’s work, and trust that it may bring with it the dawn of luminous intelligence.
With the two works named as prime instructors, we would suggest, as a com- panion, one of Ross’s best single, mounted microscopes ; for with this abundance of specimens may be very easily examined, and the particulars noted down. Thus, a habit of research will be obtained, and its effects registered. 5
Attendance at. a course of good lectures on Physiology and Botany would much assist: but it is not indispensable, for experience has confirmed the fact, that, with a few books, a good instrument, and some natural specimens, obtainable even in the: neighbourhood of large towns, a very competent knowledge of plants may be obtained without the aid of lecture or teacher.
Let a taste for Botany be seen to increase, let persons be determined to know a little of those beauties which they now only look at, and then we shall have every one become his own Botanist, the founder of his own system, one who instructs himself without trammel or restraint.
LICHEN AND MOSS GARDENS.
Ir may be questionable whether the various flowers that lend their polished lustre to enamel the parterre, or the minute forms of vegetable life that flourish on the time-worn rock and aged tree, or spread their verdant forms beneath the more luxuriant herbage, are really more capable of affording pleasure to a mind finely strung for the perception of the beautiful in nature. The former are certainly more obtrusive, thrusting their charms more prominently and attractively before the eye of the passing observer; but the wonderful variety, the microscopic minuteness, and beautiful proportion or wayward singularity, of the latter, are assuredly qualities of no mean or contemptible order, and can hardly fail to interest those who once stop to consider and examine them.
Diminutive and insignificant as they may appear, they are far from being a cipher in the utility of the vegetable world. They rise and perish, forming in their decay a soil for the growth of vegetation of a higher order; or, as in the Sphagnum palustre and a few others, contributing to the formation of vast morasses, which eventually furnish fuel to many districts. Their production only, or their more flourishing condition, on the northern aspect of the trunks of trees, long answered the purpose of a compass, to the wild untutored Indian, in threading his way through the trackless forests of America: the Cladonia rangiferina, or Reindeer Moss, is the sole support for months of the rein-deer in the snow-clad regions of Lapland; and as that animal furnishes the main dependence for food to the inhabitants, this little plant, which bears its name, may thus be said to preserve the lives of thousands of our fellow-creatures. Others, again, as the
LICHEN AND MOSS GARDENS. 157
Cetraria islandica, or Iceland Moss, are useful for their medicinal properties ; or in the arts and manufactures, as the Roccella tinctoria, or Canary-weed, which yields the dye known as Orchill, employed to give the purple tint to blue broad- cloth ; and why should not the culturist also claim an interest in them, and bring them beneath the play of his art? There is no class of the vegetable race—
“From giant Oaks that wave their branches dark, To the dwarf Moss that clings upon their bark,”
and the grey Lichens that spread * Round the dark roots, rent bark, and shattered boughs,”
but is capable of lending a heightening touch to a garden scene, or improving the interest of some retired nook.
By far the larger number of the Mosses and Lichens yet discovered will exist in our- own climate: hence an extensive-and varied collection might easily be brought together. Mosses are, perhaps, the most beautiful and varied of all the cryptogamic race of plants; yet there are few places where these have been deemed significant enough for any other purpose in a garden than for packing, for affording protection to other plants from frost or drought, for concealing pots within a vase, or similar uses. Now, if they are sufficiently beautiful, (and who will say they are not?) for surfacing over the pots sunk in vases in the pleasure-ground, and even for the flower-stand in the drawing-room, why should they not also be separately cultivated in other places in the garden, that are denuded of ornament ? Most people who take any pleasure at all in the vegetable creation, will be delighted with the green verdure of a mossy carpet in a moist plantation, or when enveloping the arms of some fading forest-tree, or spreading over the rocks and stones beneath it; and we can readily conceive it possible to transfer the same features to the garden, preserving each kind in masses with its proper name. ‘The crea- tion of such plots would give an impetus to the study of these really elegant plants, which we believe are only neglected from their escaping observation amid the pro- fusion of more luxuriant forms, whilst the preservation of their names would lead to a more careful investigation, and an easy recognition of their distinguishing traits.
Something of this kind we have attempted in the pleasure-grounds at Chats- worth, with success, in the vicinity, and partly upon a portion, of the extensive artificial rockeries lately formed near the great stove conservatory. This station affords sites of various character, admitting of some adaptation in the disposal of the species to the natural localities which each delight in. A small lake, which occupies the hollow inclosed amongst the rocky mounds, increases the suitableness of the place, and creates a more extensive diversity of situation. Here the Mosses are planted in broad patches of from one to two feet across, each patch being entirely composed of one species only. We have not attempted any botanical arrangement of the different families or species ; but have sought rather to produce
158 LICHEN AND MOSS GARDENS.
the most pleasing effect consistent with the necessary provision for securing a locale according with that in which each species is found flourishing most luxu- riantly in its wild state.
It must not be imagined from this that we contemn the idea of forming a botanically arranged garden of Mosses and Lichens : such a scheme would be highly commendable. It would place in immediate proximity those species that most nearly approach each other in essential character, and greatly facilitate the acquire- ment of a knowledge of them, and of their several and relative distinctions. But we can only suggest the plan,—we must leave it to the consideration of those who have the management of botanic gardens.
Besides observing the peculiar kind of situation which Mosses and Lichens usually occupy, the substance upon which they grow best should be attended to. Some of the Mosses and Liverworts, and many of the Lichens, are naturally para- sitical, or, at least, epiphytal ; others grow amongst gravel and upon stones. This is a point of some moment. In forming the collection at Chatsworth, immediate effect was aimed at ; hence we have in all cases brought as much of the substance (whether wood, stone, or earth) upon which the plants originally grew, as was thought necessary to ensure their success. Many of the Lichens we have pro- cured are growing on the arms of decaying trees, some of which are eight or ten feet long, whilst the rocks upon which other species flourish have been split into pieces, with from one to four square feet of surface.
Most of the Mosses being shade-loving plants, we have favoured them with a station on the face of a bank having a northern exposure, where the rocks and overshadowing trees protect them still more fully from the rays of the sun. The Lichens being less completely plants of shade, are set in more expesod places. The advantages of shade to those species that need it most, might be yet more perfectly secured, by planting a few of the small-growing Ferns upon the rocks, disposing them in such a manner that whilst they assist in subduing the light, they may not conceal or otherwise interfere with the Mosses and Lichens. Such species as Adiantum capillus veneris, (maidenhair), Trichomanes brevisetum, (bristle-fern), Woodsia hyberborea, and W. ilvensis, and any of the Aspleniums, (spleenworts), would be eminently appropriate. The Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense and H. Wilsoni, (filmy ferns), Ophioglossum vulgatum, (adder’s tongue), Botrychium lunaria, (moonwort), and the Lycopodiums, (club-mosses), might also be admitted.
The following list comprises most of the species which have already succeeded, with the kind of situation they usually inhabit. Those marked with an asterisk are considered the most handsome.
Muscr. Mosses. Bryum rostratum, mountains in moist places. Bryum argenteum, on walls, and on the ground. » turbinatum, wet stony places. » ligulatum,* moist banks. Dicranum heteromallum,* sandy banks. » punctatum,* boggy places, and rocky Me scoparium,* woods and banks.
streams. Didymodon purpureus, moist rocks.
LICHEN AND MOSS GARDENS.
Grimmia pulvinatum, walls and housetops. Hypnum alopecurum,* woods and shady banks. cupressiforme, trunks of trees. cuspidatum, bogs.
dendroides, woods and bogs.
loreum. woods and heaths, molluscum, among stones. polymorphum, limestone rocks. proliferum, woods and banks.
159
Licuenes. Lichens.
Borrera furfuracea, decaying trunks of trees. Cetraria glauca, ground, rocks, and trees. Cladonia rangiferina, moors and heaths.
9 uncialis, do. Evernia prunastri, trunks of trees. Gyrophora polyphylla, mountain rocks. Isidium paradoxum, do. Lecanora ventosum, do.
purum, do.
sericeum, trees and rocks. serpens, trees and moist ground. splendens,* heaths and banks.
5 Parella, do. Lecidea confluens, do. »» geographica, do. Parmelia olivacea, rocks and trees.
55 squarrosum, woods and heaths. 4 parietina, walls and trees. A! triquetrum, woods and banks. . physodes, stones and trees. 27 * eye Neckera crispa,* trees and rocks. » _-Saxatilis, do.
Ss pumila, woods.
: J Ramalina fastigiata, trunks of trees. Orthotrichum crispum, trees and stones.
»» fraxinea, old trees, oak and ash.
»” rupicola, rocks and walls. Scyphophorus cocciferus, moors and heaths. ” striatum, trees. 5 fimbriatus, do.
Polytrichum aloides, moist sandy banks. S filiformis, woods and heaths. ss commune,* heaths and woods. i radiatus, ground. PD undulatum, moist banks. Sphzerophoron coralloides, rocks. 9 piliferum,* heathy places. Usnea florida, old trees.
Trichostomum canescens, heaths.
ALG.
Conferva cegagropila,* a singular production, of a globular form, found loose in lakes, commonly called Moor or Moss-balls ; very rare.
Hepaticz. Liverworts. Jungermannia asplenioides, moist woods. 5: bidentata, moist places, p platyphylla, old walls. Marchantia hemispheerica, moist banks
Besides these we have several others yet unnamed, or in small quantity.
We subjoin the names of a few of the more handsome species, some of which, however, can only be met with m highland districts; but as parties are engaged in collecting, they will doubtless be as easily procured as any other plant :— Bartramia fontinalis, ithyphylla ; Dicranum Starkii ; Didymodon Bruntoni, flexifolius ; Fontinalis antipyretica; Hypnum cordifolium, crista castrensis, denticulatum, fluitans, nitens, palustre, rugulosum, stellatum ; Jungermannia albicans, ciliaris, emarginata, juniperina, nemorosa, trilobata ; Marchantia conica ; Peltidea canina ; Scyphophorus gracilis ; Sticta scrobiculata.
We might swell out this list with many more beautiful things, but these are sufficient for the present. Those kinds which are not easily obtained in quantity might possibly be reared by shedding the sporules (seeds) in situations similar to those which they naturally occupy. Some species, however, would require a long time to arrive at perfection in this way; and few of the rare species produce capsules freely.
A very small space would be sufficient for the management of a numerous collection, and most gardens possess a suitable shady nook. All that would be required, would be merely a few yards of a bank having a northern aspect, pro-
Conostomum boreale ;
160 LICHEN AND MOSS GARDENS.
vided with bog, binding gravel, shale, a few decaying logs, and branches of trees, some rough pieces of limestone, tufa, freestone, and other stone convenient to the place, the more time-worn the better ; and a ditch, or large cistern of water, so that a portion of the plot might be half inundated and the rest readily supplied with moisture. If a small stream of water could be conveyed from a sufficient elevation in pipes to the top of the bank, and allowed to play through a fan-rose, it would be still more suitable. Ferns, heaths, and native orchidacezee would serve to connect such a spot with the flower-garden.
Perhaps some of the finest and rarer species might be suitably accommo- dated in a moderately capacious Wardian or other plant-case, with orchidaceze suspended in the upper portion. They would thus be capable of ministering to the enjoyment of townspeople, who have no other convenience for managing
vegetable forms.
=>
AW QD
a RY SS ed
Wty Ne ay
The species represented in the wood-cut are, No. 1. Hookeria lucens, a pretty bright-green Moss, inhabiting damp places: 2. Brywm punctatum, a Moss with handsome broad foliage, usually found by the side of rills and in other moist situa- tions, or decaying wood ; 3. Funaria hygrometrica, a common plant, remarkable on account of the gyrating faculty of the seta, when touched with a drop of water—in dry weather the seta becomes twisted ; 4. Hypnum proliferum, one of the hand- somest of the Feather Mosses, either viewed singly, or as it grows in large patches, and found in almost every part of the world.
161
ON SEPARATE STRUCTURES FOR DIFFERENT PLANTS.
Some years have elapsed since we published a few remarks on the propriety of cultivating plants which differ in their necessities, in separate structures. The remarks then offered related solely to plant-houses, and the chief topic discussed was the various amount of solar influence to which different plants, from their par- ticular organisation, can bear to be exposed. Besides this, however, there are many other points upon which a departure from a course of sameness is advisable.
We cannot close our eyes to the great improvement that has arisen latterly, in the growth of plants; and much of it may be rightly attributed to the attention which the adoption of distinct systems, according severally with the nature of different plants, has received. Much more, however, yet remains to be done; and now that a barrier which had long opposed the march of improvement in this point, has been broken down, by the recent abolition of the duty on glass, a field opens before us fertile in the means of progression, at a reasonable cost.
Because a thing is cheap, is no reason for indulging immoderately in it—we mean in defiance of utility and reasonable economy. Viewing the matter before us, then, in this light, we do not recommend the erection of many stoves and greenhouses, although there is nothing objectionable to such a course, if they can be properly upheld. Our object is to show the more humble amateur how the advantages of the system may be had at a trifling expense; and it must be remembered, that it is not only the first erection of glass-houses that proves expen- sive—there is attention, labour, and fuel, to provide for their support.
During the time that plants are in flower, most of those from temperate loca- lities are at home together in a greenhouse, and there is then an advantage in mixing them ; indeed, it is only by a miscellaneous collection of specimens in bloom that the interest of a house can be preserved. There is generally too much monotony in a house filled exclusively with one family, or even one natural order ; a few only contribute extensive variation of form and character. Considering that a similar treatment accords with the greater part whilst they are blooming, and that the disagreements are greatest at other periods, we would rather employ the houses principally for the purposes of show, keeping them constantly supplied with flowers ; and provide a quantity of pits and frames, where the plants might be kept at other times, and separated into classes requiring analogous treatment, each class occupying a separate compartment.
The same practice applies to plants from warmer countries ; so that with the aid of pits and frames, a stove, a greenhouse, and an intermediate house, a vast number and variety of the most beautiful exotics may be successfully cultivated ; and a constant succession of the gayest may be mingled together, without the detraction from their effect, which the intermixture of specimens in an unsightly state always produces.
VOL. XII.—NO. CXXXIX. ¥
162 ON SEPARATE STRUCTURES FOR DIFFERENT PLANTS.
One of the best pleas for separating dissimilar plants during growth is found in the application of water. Plants nearly of an equal ratio of growth, possessing roots equivalent in strength and foliage, of a similar size and texture, will require much about the same amount of fluid, both at the roots and overhead. Hence, when set together, there will be little trouble in watering, and small risk of giving to any, either too little or too much.
Soft-wooded plants, like the Pelargonium, with strong roots, and large broad foliage that transpires freely, require considerably more water at the root, than the hard-wooded Heath, with its delicate fibrils and narrow leaves. The former, moreover, through the medium of its leaves, imbibes a larger proportion of its nourishment from the atmosphere, than can be absorbed by the small foliage of the Heath; hence, greater benefit will be received by the first from frequent syringings.
It will require some experience to arrive at a suitable classification even of greenhouse plants. Evergreens, with smooth coriaceous leaves, seldom need so much water as plants with rough coarse ones. There is often, moreover, consider- able disparity in the amount of water required by different members of the same genus—Heaths, for instance; the strongest species, therefore, or those which require most watering, should be brought together, proceeding gradually to the weakest, or those which demand least.
Besides this, to keep up a constant succession of flowers, it is necessary to have plants in different stages of growth—to push some early into bloom, and to hold others back. Some species, again, will thrive best under a good circula- tion of air: and various degrees of light and shade, and of heat and moisture, must be produced to suit others.
It is, therefore, in multiplying the number of pits and frames, that the repeal of the glass duties will be of the most signal service in floriculture. Large houses will no doubt become more frequent, but they must still be confined to the few: whilst these structures will facilitate the operations of the many, and are, in fact, the best calculated to realise perfection in the cultivation of most shrubs and other plants of low growth. But we must give large houses their due; and may remark in passing, that they will afford scope to the culture of Banksias, and other Proteaceous shrubs and trees, which have hitherto been so much more neglected in England than on the Continent. The noble forms of the Palm-tribe will also, we trust, be more commonly met with.
But to return: economy may also be studied in the formation of pits. For stove-plants, a brick pit will doubtless prove best, on account of the necessity of fitting up with a heating apparatus; but most greenhouse plants will be warm enough within walls of turf, with a wooden framework for the lights to run in, on _the top. To preserve the wood from decay, it will be well to place a slate slab between it and the turf, cementing them together, and securing the whole in a steady position. Or a frame might be made with a few upright posts, and rough,
. ,
KLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 163
well-tarred slabs, the interior with a plaster and lath facing, and the outside packed up with reeds, heath, or rough stones; after which soil or gravel should be thrown up against it, so as effectually to keep out frost. Rough boards nailed to corner-posts in like manner would make a convenient box ; and by fastening a few slabs horizontally to posts set up along the outside, so as to leave a space of two or three inches between them and the board, to be filled up with reeds, heath, or wheat-straw, in winter, they will be as warm and as dry asa brick pit. In summer, the outside covering may be dispensed with, and the ventilation improved by having some of the boards on each side swung on hinges, or furnished with sliding ventilators.
It is advisable in the erection of brick-pits to leave small spaces in the back ‘and front for slate ventilators, to run in grooves of the same material. These will enable the culturist to keep his pits drier in winter, and they will also be useful in summer, when unpropitious weather renders it imprudent to remove the
top-lights.
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
ebitca <a NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR JULY.
ABU'TILON PHONI#ZFLO‘RUM. This plant is one of the discoveries of Mr. Lobb, in the Organ mountains of Brazil. It fiowered in a stove at the nursery of Messrs. Veitch and Sons, Exeter, last January. It is a tall shrub or small tree, with downy branches, and ovate pointed leaves from four to six inches long. The flowers are large, and of a rosy red colour. It will rank with A. striatum and A. Bedfordianum. Bot. Mag. 4170.
Brco'nta avpo-cocci’NEA. “ One of the most lovely of this beautiful genus, which we cannot too much recommend for cultivation to all admirers of hot-house plants, blooming throughout the spring and summer months; the flowers numerous, white and coral-red. Our plants were raised in the Royal Gardens of Kew, from seeds sent from India by — Strachan, Esq., of Twickenham, Surrey.” It has no perceptible stem; the stout red coloured leaf-stalks spring from a short, thick column, and are from two to six inches long. The leaves vary as much in length ; they are peltate and obliquely ovate, with a very obtuse extremity ; their texture is between fleshy and coriaceous. The flower-scape is of the same bright red colour as the petiole, and rises about a foot or eighteen inches, branching above into a loose panicle of numerous beautiful blossoms, internally pale-blush coloured, almost white, and externally a rich scarlet. Bot. Mag. 4172.
Cro'crt aurumna‘Les. We have here a group of eight Autumnal Crocuses. Crocus Damascenus is a greyish flower, with blue feathery stripes, found on arid caleareous mountains near Damascus —the most southern habitation of Croci yet ascertained. “ CO. Byzantinus flowers without leaves in September and October, in the woods of Bannat, and the neighbourhood of Crajova in Wallachia. It was cultivated in England 200 years ago by Parkinson.” The most remarkable feature it possesses is the smallness of the petals compared with the sepals. C. Towrnefortianus is a pale flower, rendered remarkable by its milk-white anthers. It is allied to C. Ionicus, and has similar bulb-coats. C. Cambessedianus is a singular little autumnal Crocus, with white flowers, peculiar to Majorca. “C. Medius grows in the mountain meadows near Varese in Liguria, and some parts of the Riviera of Genoa. It forms a link between C. Byzantinus and C. Pyreneus. C. Cartwrightianus, and C. Cartwrightianus var. Creticus, are both pretty small flowered plants—the former with purple and the latter with straw-coloured flowers. C. Clusianus is a plant similar in size, with a pale yellow tube, and a violet limb.” Bot. Reg., 37.
164 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
GOMPHOLO'BIUM BARBI/GERUM. A beautiful New Holland plant, introduced by Messrs. Lucombe and Pince, with whom it produced its large yellow pea-formed flowers last April. It is apparently a moderate sized shrub, with twiggy, erect, angular branches, and rather broadly linear, pointed, ternate leaves. Bot. Mag., 4171.
I'ris ruprica‘ta. “ This is a very showy perennial, which, most probably, will prove quite hardy in the open border, if planted in a rich sandy loam and warm situation. It is increased by dividing the old plants any time from October to March, and flowers about the end of May.” It has bloomed with the Hon. and Very Rev. the Dean of Manchester, in the gardens at Spofforth. “It is probably a mere variety of J. squalens; from which it differs in its pure lemon-coloured flowers, and in the imbricated short blunt convex bracts which invest their base.” Sot. Reg., 35. ‘
Leta’NtHUS LoNGIFO'LIUs. “A rare plant in our gardens. It was introduced, however, to Kew, as early as 1793, by Capt. Bligh, of H. M. S. Providence, and then lost to our collections till 1825.” Again it seems to have been wanting till 1844, when plants, reared from seeds trans- mitted by Mr. Purdie, flowered in the Duke of Northumberland’s collection at Syon. Itisa suffruticose stove plant, growing two or three feet high, with downy lanceolate leaves and pendent funnel-shaped yellow flowers. Taschia longifolia isa synonyme. Bot. Mag. 4169.
ODONTOGLO’SSUM CERVANTE'SII. One of the most lovely of Orchids, imported from Oaxaca, and recently flowered by the Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney. “It is No. 1613 of their catalogue, and in the way of the well-known O. Rossii; but its large thin delicately-pink flowers, banded with crimson near the centre, are in all respects much handsomer.’”’ Bot. Reg. 36. [This is one of the new species noticed at p. 118 ; the other mentioned at the same place is O. membranacea. |
ONCI’DIUM SPILO’/PTERUM. This name was given some time ago by Dr. Lindley, and the plant has since been figured in the Ghent Annals by Prof. Morren of Liége, who states that it comes from Mexico. Messrs. Loddiges’ statement of Brazil being its habitat was made on the authority of a correspondent. It is a handsome species, “naturally standing near O. refleewm and the Mexican species allied to it. Its fiowers are large and yellow, with small brownish purple sepals and petals ; the base of the labellum is the same colour; while the wings of the column are clear yellow, spotted with crimson.” The flowers grow in an erect spike longer than the leaves. Bot. Reg. 40. [This plant was noticed as a new species at vol. xi., p. 190. It is again flowering in the Hackney coilection. ]
ORNITHO’GaLUM Na‘nuM. Dr. Lindley says this is not, as Bieberstein suggests, an early variety of O. umbellatum, but “ really very distinct from any of the genus otherwise in cultivation 3; its stiff narrow leaves, and short-stalked dwarf corymbs, offering characters not to be mistaken.” Tt has flowered at Spofforth, “ and is said to have been gathered in marshy meadows at Berbeck, near Constantinople. According to Sibthorp, it occurs in dry hills in Arcadia, and about Abydos.” It is a hardy bulb, flowering in March. Bot. Reg. 39.
PHYLLA’RTHRON BOJERIA‘NUM. “ A remarkable genus of Madagascar, and some neighbouring islands, allied to Colea, and named Arthrophyllum (from arthros, a joint, and phyllon, a leaf) by Bojer, under a belief that the leaves themselves were jointed, or at least that the solitary leaflet was articulated upon the leaf-stalk.” De Candolle is disposed to consider it an articulated petiole without any leaf. Blume having previously bestowed the name Arthrophyllum upon another plant, De Candolle applied the present, which is merely a transposition of the same roots. It was imported to Kew from Mauritius, and flowered there last August. It is a small shrub, with compressed branches, and bi-articulate leaf-like petioles, the upper joint of which is elliptical, and the lower wedge-shaped. The flowers are funnel-shaped, rose-coloured, and few in number, disposed in a compound axillary raceme. Bot. Mag., 4173.
Ruv’s Diversino'Ba. A deciduous Californian shrub, introduced by R. B. Hinds, Esq., and allied to the common Poison Oak, R. Tovicodendron. It is called “ Yeara” by the country people, who say that it poisons by contact, or even through the air. Mr. Hinds says that the bush was common everywhere in California, but that he never witnessed any bad effects from it. It flowers in June, and seems to be perfectly hardy. Bot. Reg., 38.
STRsu/tz1a aueu’sta. A stove plant from South Africa. Anteniqua Land, about the neigh- bourhood of the Pisang River, is the station given for it by Thunberg. It was introduced to Kew in 1791, by Mr. F. Masson, but is still a rare plant, on account, chiefly, of requiring so much heat and space. Thunberg describes the native caudex, or trunk, as eighteen feet long.
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. , 165
Including the leaves, it stands about twenty-three feet high at Kew. It flowers during the whole of the summer and autumn months. The general structure of the flowers is similar to that of §. Regine, but they are larger and quite white. Bot. Mug., 4167-8.
NEW OR INTERESTING PLANTS RECENTLY FLOWERED IN THE METROPOLITAN GARDENS AND NURSERIES.
AE‘RIDES 2 Two new species of this singular and showy family of Orchids, possess- ing considerable merit, were exhibited by Mr. Eyles, gardener to Sir George Larpent, Roehampton, at the June féte in the Horticultural Society’s Garden at Chiswick. One of them, a beautiful species with a long drooping raceme of purple flowers in the way of A. affine, is the same as the A. roseum of Messrs. Loddiges’ collection. The other is a plant of similar growth to A. crispum, which it also much reseinbles in its flowers, It is, however, sufficiently distinct from that species, both in the leaves and in the proportion of the different parts of the blossom.
BaRKERIA SPECTA’BILIS, var.—Messrs. Loddiges of Hackney have flowered a very handsome variety of this splendid Orchid, which differs from the original in having a flat, nearly oval lip, without the contraction or undulation in the middle. With the exception of the dark spots seat- tered over the surface, and the purple tint near the extremity, it is of a very pale colour—almost white.
Bo.poriy’/LLUM UMBELLATUM ? A novel species, and decidedly one of the handsomest of its class has just flowered for the second time at Messrs. Loddiges. It is one of the discoveries of Mr. Gibson, the botanical collector sent out from Chatsworth to the East Indies some years ago. It has spheroid yellowish green pseudo-bulbs, leaves similar to those of B. Careyanum, but not notched at the end. The scape issues from the bottom of the pseudo-bulb and rises about six inches, bearing on its summit a number of flowers of a tolerably compact form and considerable size. The sepals and petals are yellowish, speckled with dull crimson ; the lip small, whitish, and marked with a rich violet purple. It is a very desirable species.
CALANDRI/NIA UMBELLA‘TA. Another of Messrs. Veitch’s recent importations from Chili. It is a neat alpine plant, with prostrate determinate stems, the new growths covered with narrow hairy leaves. It appears to be a very free flowering plant, but unfortunately the blossoms only open in sunny weather; they come in clusters elevated upon a long peduncle, and are of a rich purple colour. It is expected to be hardy. A plant was brought to the meeting at the Horti- cultural rooms in the beginning of the month, and was again shown in the Gardens on the 12th ult.
CLEIso’sroma Ro'sEuM. A curious plant, of considerable beauty, with long pendent stems, furnished with handsome ovate lance-shaped leaves, of a thick leathery texture, and producing clusters of rather small but pretty flowers on every joint throughout its length. It has a rosy lip and whitish sepals, and petals marked with light brown. Some good plants are now blooming at the Hackney Nursery.
CRoTALA‘RIA ? A pretty species, with roundish ovate leaves, and somewhat herbaceous branches, discovered by Mr. Whitfield at Sierra Leone, where it is said to form a most beautiful bush, is now producing its spikes of greyish blue, pea-shaped blossoms, in a stove at Messrs. Knight and Perry’s Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, It seems likely to prove a useful, free-flowering plant.
Fe'DIa GRACILIFLO‘RA. This is a new annual, imported from Algiers, through the French seedsmen to the garden of the London Horticultural Society, where it has been flowering for the last six or seven weeks in the open air. It makes a good plant for a moderate-sized bed, and is valuable for its long lasting succession of flowers. It will form an admirable plant for a very sandy situation, or for covering rockwork: indeed, when the branches are not kept off the soil by rocks or stones, it may be advisable to place oyster-shells beneath them. The stems are very succulent, and of quick growth, soon forming an entangled mass. It has large heads, of rather small but prettily-marked pink flowers.
Ho'ya trine’rvis, This plant is inferior in beauty to the H. carnosa; it has been several years in the country, but does not appear to be much known. The leaves are more pointed than those of the old species, and are traversed by three prominent veins. The flowers appear in
166 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
cymes, and are of a creamy yellow colour. A specimen lately imported was exhibited at the great metropolitan floral meetings, by Messrs. Veitch and Son.
LYPE‘RIA PINNATI'FIDA. We have repeatedly remarked the beauty of this elegant plant on our visits to the garden of the Horticultural Society at Chiswick, the only place where we have found it. It is said to have been in the country several years ; we cannot, however, find that it has been mentioned in the botanical catalogues of introduced plants. It flowers almost continually, and has been several times exhibited at the Regent-street meetings. The blossoms are never in very great profusion, but are sufficiently numerous to impart a pleasing appearance, and stand conspicuously near the end of the shoots, scattered like so many stars over the whole surface of the bush. In form they very nearly resemble those of the pretty little Hrinus alpinuss but they are considerably larger ; the principal colour is purple, with a spot of crimson near the base of each segment, forming a deepened rim round the yellow orifice of the tube, insensibly graduating and blending with the purple. It is of a suffruticose habit, very much branched, forming a compact bush, furnished with pinnatifid or deeply-toothed and somewhat crisped leaves ; and it is said to vary considerably in appearance. It is a product of southern Africa, inhabiting the Karroo desert. In this country it needs the shelter of a greenhouse in winter. It was called Manulea pinnatifida by Linnezeus, and altered to the present by Bentham.
ODOoNTOGLO’ssUM ciTRO’sMuM. Like most of the species included in this family, the present is a most lovely and magnificent flower, and as yet has seldom been brought to blossom. The scape proceeds from the growth of the current season, and begins to show itself almost as soon as the latter commences. By the time the flowers expand, it will have extended to nearly eighteen inches in length, taking a drooping direction. Ona plant lately flowered at Messrs. Loddiges, we counted seventeen or eighteen blossoms collected together in a raceme at the end of the scape, and notwithstanding their large size, all contained on a rachis of from six to eight inches long. The sepals and petals are of a soft pale blush tint, the latter having a few scattered spots on the lower half. The claw of the lip is bright yellow, and the expanding kidney-shaped portion of a softened purplish lilac colour. Not the least interesting quality of the species is, that it is one of those—
“ That keep Their odour to themselves all day ; But when the sun-light dies away, Let the delicious secret out To every breeze that roams about.’’— Moore.
ONcI'DIUM IRIDIFO'LIUM. This unique little species was first received at the Hackney Nursery from La Guayra, in 1834. From some cause, however, it did not succeed, and consequently it still continues to be scarce in British collections. In its own natural locality it is found growing plentifully on coffee-trees, firmly attached to the twigs and smaller branches. Messrs. Loddiges have lately received a fresh importation, some of which have flowered since their arrival. The leaves of this species are short, thick, and arranged distichously in a fan-like manner. Altogether the plant is barely larger and at first sight not unlike the Ornithocephalus ciliatus. None of the flower-scapes are more than two or three inches long, and enly bear a single blossom, which is rather large for the plant, and of the ordinary yellow colour, spotted about the crest. It should be fastened to a strip of cork, with a little moss about it, and requires care in watering.
Puto‘mis Casumeria‘NA. This fine herbaceous plant from the valley of Cashmere has been flowering for some time in the Chiswick Gardens. It grows one and a half or two feet high, and has very woolly leaves and stems. The flowers are flesh-coloured and large. We are not aware that it is quite hardy : probably, however, it might stand the winter under a south wall.
Pime‘LEA AFFI'NIS. Received from a continental nursery by Messrs. Knight and Perry, of Chelsea. It resembles P. Hendersonii very closely, if it is not indeed the same thing. The Specimen was passing out of flower when we noticed it in the early part of the month.
Puysta‘NTHus auRico'‘mus. This plant is again flowering at Messrs. Knight and Perry’s Nursery, and with much increased freedom. It is a fine stove twining shrub, bearing clusters of cream-coloured flowers, like those of the Stephanotis floribinda. It requires a moist atmosphere — and encouraging treatment.
SALPICHRO'A GLANDULO'SA. A new shrubby plant, with small hairy leaves between heart-shaped
OPERATIONS FOR AUGUST. 167
and ovate, on long petioles, and with a slender graceful habit of growth. It has long bell-shaped flowers of a greenish yellow colour, springing out singly on lengthened footstalks from beside the origin of the leaves, and taking a drooping direction. It was imported from Chili by Messrs. Veitch and Son, of Exeter, and received a silver Banksian medal as a new production, at the late floral exhibition in the Chiswick Garden.
SIPHOCA’/MPYLUS cocci’NEUs. A species of low growth, with bright scarlet-crimson flowers upwards of two inches long, and produced very plentifully. It is another of the superb novelties introduced by Messrs. Veitch and Son, of Exeter, and has been exhibited by them at most of the great metropolitan fétes. It is decidedly the handsomest species in cultivation.
Sta/tTIcE —————? Mr. Glendinning, of the Chiswick Nursery, has flowering specimens of a novel species of Sea Lavender, with white and yellow blossoms. It was obtained in China, by Mr. Fortune, the botanical collector for the Horticultural Society, and is an interesting, but not a very showy plant.
SrepHAno'ris THova’rst1. This plant, which has been in nurseries for some time, proves to be nothing more than a slightly differing variety of 8. floribunda. It has flowered at Messrs. Knight and Perry’s Nursery. It possesses a little colouring towards the bottom of the tube on the interior ; in other respects, the flowers are like those of the old kind.
OPERATIONS FOR AUGUST.
——
During the month of August it will be proper to observe a somewhat different course of treatment in plant-houses to that recommended for the earlier months of summer. The main object hitherto has been to produce growth ; now it will be proper to aim more at obtaining the perfect maturity of the summer’s shoots, than to attempt to push development still further. In putting this principle in practice, however, it must be distinctly understood, that no sudden alter- ation is to be resorted to ; the transition must be made gradually, and not in a day or a week. Growth must not be stopped, but only limited, and that, too, with a due regard to the respective habit and constitution of the plants. Some plants will have already finished growing for the season ; from such all excitation should be withheld: they may be kept cooler, exposed to light, and less copiously watered than those which are still in the full tide of vigorous exten- sion. The latter must be slowly, and by degrees, brought to the same state. Those which usually flower in winter on the wood of the current season, may be left to grow till a later period than such as flower in spring and summer from buds formed in the previous year.
These observations are, of necessity, very general. The various exceptions and modifications in practice to meet the peculiarities of different species, can only be learned through experience, or separate detail, accompanied by a turn for close observation. The remark we set out with, however, must be borne in mind : it will not only be beneficial to the plants to have their wood ripened early, but it will also be a saving of expense in the winter management ; for a plant full of juicy matter requires a warmer temperature in winter to secure its preservation, than one with perfectly matured shoots, and is also more apt to suffer injury from a continued period of damp, dull weather.
Hence, in the management of the stove and orchidaceous house, ventilation must be more freely given during the day; shades must be removed except on very clear days, or during bright bursts of sunshine after protracted dull weather ; and there will be less occasion for throwing down water to create a damp atmosphere, or for applying it so freely to the roots. Plants which are not sufficiently advanced in growth to admit of this treatment should be stationed by themselves, and managed, as far as possible, as before.
All the ventilation and light possible should be afforded to the greenhouse. Most of the plants will now be improved by standing out of doors, where their roots cannot penetrate beyond the pots: but if the roots advance into fresh earth, a renewed growth wiil be induced, and instead of the shoots ripening faster, the result will be reversed. Pits and frames will be the most suitable places for keeping plants in, that it is desired to keep growing.
168 OPERATIONS FOR AUGUST.
Camellias frequently lose many of their flower-buds in spring, owing to a larger number having been formed than the plants can possibly support. This may be prevented by examining each plant as soonas the flower-buds ean be easily recognised, and removing all beyond what the plant is likely to bring to perfection. The strength of the plant will thereby be thrown to the develop- ment of those that remain, which will hence prove much finer, and not weaken the tree for another season. Pelargoniums that have been cut down should be placed in a rather confined moist atmosphere, till they have pushed fresh shoots. More air may then be given to keep them from becoming drawn, and every encouragement to form robust vigorous growth. The flower stems of choice herbaceous Calceolarias should be cut away, and no more suffered to form during the present season. This will materially assist them in acquiring strength to stand through the winter.
Those who have their pits and frames for keeping plants through the winter, occupied during summer with Melons and Cucumbers, may strike cuttings of many border plants, such as Verbenas, Scarlet, and other Pelargoniums, Petunias, Heliotropes, &c., by merely inserting them in a fine sandy earth in a shaded spot. It is always advisable to have the propagation of these things hastened as much as possible, in order that young plants may be thoroughly esta- blished before the winter sets in. Hence in places that have the convenience, it will always be best to place a small frame on a gentle hot-bed, and to insert cuttings from time to time as they can be obtained, till a sufficient stock (making allowance for ordinary losses in winter) has been obtained. If no frame is vacant, a hot-bed covered with Russian mats or canvas will be better than the open ground.
Seeds of the more valuable annuals used for bedding, or growing in pots, should be gathered separately as they ripen: it causes a little more trouble than cutting off, and drying whole clusters at once, but is well worth it, from the greater certainty of properly matured seeds vegetating. When the whole are gathered at once, it usually happens that the larger portion are ' imperfect, and will not grow at all. The commoner kinds which seed abundantly may generally be procured good from the seedsmen, but there is a risk in obtaining plants from those sorts which produce seed more sparingly. We have no doubt that many of our ordinary annuals are susceptible of considerable improvement through cross fecundation. The present is a proper time for those who take an interest in raising novelties to make the attempt.
In the flower garden little will be necessary beyond the ordinary routine. The highest keeping ought to prevail throughout all its departments: the walks, the lawn, the flower-beds and the shrubbery, should all bear evidence of a scrutinising superintendence. The scythe, the broom, and the roller should be continually plied on the grass, and all the edgings kept neat ; the walks and the flower-beds should be clear of weeds, and every sinking blossom and spent flower-stem immediately cut off, and conveyed away.
Herbaceous plants which are too feeble to support themselves, should be tidily attached with threads of matting to neat props, to show them more favourably, and to guard them from being snapped asunder by a blast of wind. We say fidily, for this work is often passed over in a slovenly manner, and the stems bundled together, so as to rob them of more than half their charms. The shreds of matting should be neatly rolled, and the stems left loose enough to allow play to the foliage of each.
Climbing plants, which have hitherto been somewhat fete trained round pillars, and to trellises or baskets, may now he allowed to grow unfettered at the points, to take away any harsh- ness of outline : they will require no fanihee care than to prevent them from acquiring too much wildness. The conservative-wall should be managed ina similar style. Instead of tying back all the shoots which project forward or hang loosely, they should merely be kept from rambling too far, and thinned out whenever they become too crowded.
Roses may still be budded, and layered. Many other shrubs may also be propagated by layers. Herbaceous plants may be transplanted from the seed beds ; and old established plants may be propagated from, by removing slips. Alpine plants, in pots, may be divided and repotted. A few Ranunculuses and Anemones may be planted in pots to flower towards Christmas. Seeds of a few choice annuals should be sown to stand through the winter in an airy greenhouse, and flower in spring.
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FUCHSIA SERRATIFOLIA.
(Saw-leaved Fuchsia.)
Class.
OCTANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Netural Order. ONAGRACES.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx tube adhering to the ovarium at the base, and drawn out at the apex into a cylindrical four-cleft tube, whoselobes soon fall off. Petals four, alternating with the lobes of the calyx, and inserted in the upper part of the tube, very rarely wanting. Stamens eight. Ovariuwm crowned by an urceolate gland. Style filiform, crowned by a capitate stigma. Berry oblong, or ovate-globose, four-valved, four-celled, many-seeded.
three or four in a whorl, rarely opposite, oblong- lanceolate, acute, serrated, petiolate. Peduncles solitary, axillary, single-flowered, Flowers nodding or drooping. Calyx with a long tube, and spreading lanceolate acuminate segments, Petals obovate, waved, shorter than the segments of the calyx. Stamens unequal. Style rather longer than the stamens. Stigma thick, club-shaped. Ovary oblong, glabrous.
SpeciFIc CHARACTER. — Plant a tall shrub. Leaves
It has been long known to botanists that several species of this elegant family still exist in various parts of South America, but chiefly in Peru, which have never yet been imported to this country except as dried specimens. Some of them, if we may judge from description and the figures given in the “‘ Flora Peruviana et Chilensis” of Ruiz and Pavon, are quite as desirable, in a floricultural light, as any of those we possess. Amongst those which collectors ought to look for, we may mention F. apétala, so named from the absence of a corolla, and F. simplici- caulis, both of which are natives of the same locality as F. serratifolia. There is also another, perhaps still more beautiful, the F. denticulata, found amongst rocks at Huassa-huassa and Cheuchin, in Peru, where the inhabitants entitle it the ** Mollo-Cantu” or ‘ beautiful plant.”
The present species is one which has only lately been wrested from its native woods. A specimen brought during the past season to the exhibitions of the London Horticultural and Royal Botanical Societies, by Messrs. Veitch and Son, of Exeter, was the first which has ever disclosed flowers in a European collection : and such is the beautiful and distinct character of the species, that notwithstanding the vast profusion of charming varieties of Fuchsia already in circulation, it has perhaps elicited more admiration than any other novelty of the season.
It was originally described by Ruiz and Pavon, who discovered it in somewhat humid and umbrageous situations at Mina in Peru, where it forms a shrub six or eight feet high, and flowers from June to September. Mr. William Lobb found
VOL. XII.—-NO. CXL, Z
170 FUCHSIA SERRATIFOLIA.
it in his recent travels through that country, and transmitted specimens to his employers, Messrs. Veitch and Son, of Exeter, to whose kindness we are indebted for the specimen depicted.
It is a magnificent-looking plant, with a stout erect stem and spreading branches, amply clothed with whorls of large, oblong, rich green leaves, with a satiny gloss on the upper surface and a tinge of red beneath. The flowers have a very gay and elegant appearance, and although there is only one from each axil, yet as they all droop and hang below the branches, and consist of a long rosy tube tipped with yellowish green, and petals of a rich vermilion hue, they are very conspicuous and interesting.
It will require similar treatment to that bestowed upon F. fulgens and F, corymbiflora, and will doubtless be as readily increased from cuttings.
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GRIFFINIA HYACINTHINA.
(Hyacinth-blue flowering Griffinia.)
Class. HEXANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order AMARYLLIDACEA.
GENERIC CHARACTER. — Spathe two-valved, shorter than the many-flowered umbel. Corolla funnel-shaped, nodding; tube short; limb six-parted, unequal, bila- biately campanulate. Filaments inserted at the top of the tube, alternately longer, one rising, the others declinate. Anthers incumbent. Germen three-celled. Stigma simple. Capsule pedunculate, membranous. Seeds solitary, obovate, ventricose, shining, whitish ochre-coloured.
SpeciFic CHARACTER.—Plant a bulbous perennial.
Bulb tunicate, ovate. Leaves two or three, recumbent, petiolate, ovate-oblong, abruptly pointed, latticed by veins crossing the vertical nerves; midrib prominent beneath. Scape cylindrical, longer than the leaves. Umbel nearly sessile, sub-capitate. Flowers with intervening bracts. Corolla ringent, funnel-shaped, unequal; tube several times shorter than the limb, bent forward, cylindrical ; throat naked, sub-ventri- cose; segments lanceolate, more or less undulated, upper ones erect and conniving.
In the tribe of Amaryllids—those “lilies of the field,” there are many fair flowers that deserve all the care of the culturist who aims at the production of a gorgeous mass of bloom. The present is one of them, and one which, although it It is on this account, and because—unlike the majority of the species enrolled with it in this
has been many years known in Britain, is far from being common.
extensive natural order—the prevailing hue of the flower is a beautiful ultramarine blue of the richest description, that we have been induced to give it a place in our Magazine.
A figure was given some years since in the ‘‘ Botanical Magazine,” and the accompanying letter-press states that it was discovered in Brazil by Mr. E. Nordford, during his residence in that country, and imported to England about the year 1815, by Mr. Griffin, of South Lambeth.
The genus is closely related to Amaryilis ; and, indeed, when this species was introduced, it was not considered to be sufficiently distinct from that family to warrant the establishment of a new genus. It was not till the addition of a second plant (G. parviflora) presenting the same anomaly to the primitive characters of Amaryllis, that a separation was made under the title of Griffénia. Our subject is by far the most handsome and largest-flowering of the three species now in the country ; and there is a peculiar softness in the tint of the corolla— such as Nature alone can lend, that contributes much to the interest it excites. There are several varieties of it, differing chiefly in the length and comparative
172 GRIFFINIA HYACINTHINA.
breadth of the segmental divisions of the corolla. That represented in our figure, which flowered at the nursery of Mr. Jackson, of Kingston, last October, is the best we have seen; the limb is shorter and more compact than usual. An excellent variety, but inferior to the present, bloomed about the same time with Messrs. Rollisson, of Tooting.
Whilst the leaves are forming, the roots require to be well watered, and kept in a moderate bottom-heat. They may be shifted to a warm greenhouse when in flower, observing to place them where they will be secure from strong currents of air, and from having water dashed over the blossom, either of which would soon destroy their beauty. The leaves remain for a long time after the flowers have fallen ; hence, a little moisture should be kept in the soil for some weeks, gradually however, bringing on a state of rest, when they may be set upon a shelf till another season.
The genus was named to commemorate Mr. Griffin, whose praiseworthy exertions in collecting had at that time secured to him the reputation of possessing the finest collection of the tribe in Europe. The specific title is a Latin term
denoting a violet or a purple colour.
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SIPHOCAMPYLUS COCCINEUS.
(Scarlet Siphon-flower.)
Class.
PENTANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order. LOBELIACE.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx adnate to the ovarium ; limb five-parted, having the segments shorter than the tube of the corolla. Corolla irregular, tubular ; tube entire, declinate, rather ventricose in the middle, and rather contracted at the base; limb five-parted, bila- biate ; upper lip of two straight or spreading segments ; the two lateral segments of the lower lip diverging, and the middle one more profound. Stamens and anthers combined, the latter bearded. Capsule ovate, two-celled, two-valved, dehiscing at the apex.—Don’s Gard. and Botany.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.—Plani suffruticose, glabrous.
Stem erect, branching, filled with pith. Leaves with a short petiole, ovate, acute, sometimes slightly lobed, doubly serrated. Peduncles axillary, solitary, single- fiowered, longer than the leaves. Flowers nodding. Ovary oblong turbinate, furrowed. Calyx segments lanceolate, spreading, serrated, longer than the ovary. Corolla bright crimson-scarlet, curved; tube con- stricted at the base below the insertion of the stamens, then gradually dilated upwards, and again contracted at the mouth; limb scarcely two-lipped; segments oblong, ovate, acute, nearly equal, incurved. Stamens and style included.
Botanica works contain descriptions, some of which are accompanied with figures, of a great many species of Siphocdmpylus, a large proportion of which are said to be the productions of Brazil or New Grenada. A few handsome species are already under cultivation; none of them, however, are nearly equal to the present in an ornamental light.
This beautiful species adds another to the many charming plants for the possession of which cultivators are indebted to the noble enterprise of Messrs. Veitch and Son, of Exeter. In the “‘ Botanical Magazine” it is stated to have been ‘sent from the Organ Mountains, Brazil, by Mr. William Lobb ;” but the memoranda since kindly supplied to us by Messrs. Veitch and Son, represent it as having been discovered by that industrious and discriminating collector, in shady places on the banks of the River Chagres, in New Grenada.
It has been in flower since last May, and has obtained prizes as a new plant at the Chiswick and Regent’s Park exhibitions. The habit of the species appears to be considerably more dwarf and compact than that of any of its cultivated congeners ; and the specimen exhibited in July at Chiswick was amply adorned with crimson-scarlet blossoms, which rise above the foliage and appear very conspicuously. They are upwards of two inches long, with the usual curved tubular form, and somewhat swollen in the middle. The specimens exhibited at an
earlier period were evidently not sufficiently grown to admit of a correct opinion
A SIPHOCAMPYLUS COCCINEUS.
being formed of the flowering capacity of the species. It has stems well furnished with broad ovate foliage; and though a much superior plant, it is evidently nearly allied to S. duploserratus.
In the Exeter Nursery it has been grown in a warm greenhouse; and from the latitude in which it was detected, we suspect a little heat will always prove necessary in the early part of the growing season, for the production of fine specimens. It is not, however, improbable that it may flower well in an ordinary greenhouse or even in the open air, in the latter part of a favourable summer; and perhaps it may prove a suitable temporary plant for the lower part of a conservative wall, though we much doubt whether it will exist there through the winter.
It thrives well in a mixture of peat, loam, and sand, and requires to be kept moderately moist. Cuttings treated in the usual way for tender, soft-wooded plants, strike root with the greatest facility.
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ORNITHOGALUM AUREUM.
(Golden Star of Bethlehem.)
Class. HEXANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order.
LILIACEA.
GENERIC CHaRACTER.—Perianth six-petalled ; petals spreading. Stamens six, hypogynous ; filaments awl- shaped. Ovary three-celled ; ovules numerous in each cell, in two ranks, anatropal. Style three-cornered, erect. Stigma obtuse, three-angled. Capsule mem- branaceous, obtuse, three-angled, three-celled, dehis- cing at the ‘apex. Seeds few in each cell, subglobose,
Speciric CHARACTER.—Plant a bulbous perennial. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, edged with white, somewhat fleshy, smooth, dark green. Racemes erect, densely flowered ; the stalk 8—12 inches high. Bracts large, concave, pointed. Flowers large, golden-coloured. Filaments all dilated at the base, or rather sitting on a white glandular nectary, emarginate on the inside.
or angular ; testa dark, wrinkled.
Turoveu the kindness of Mr. Brewster, gardener to Mrs. Wray, at Oakfield, near Cheltenham, we are enabled to furnish a figure of this beautiful species, which, although more than half a century has now passed away since it first appeared among the cultivated plants of this country, is yet by no means a common species. Most of the specimens now existing in collections, we believe, have been imported within the last few years, along with other ‘Stars of Bethlehem,” and a host of the Iridaceous species which throng the terraced lands of the Cape of Good Hope.
These plants constitute a prominent feature in the Flora of that district. During the dry season the foliage gradually matures and dies, and the bulbs sink to rest till the heavy rains again moisten the earth, and awake them to renewed activity. They grow rapidly, and immediately the rains have ceased, they are ready to unfold Most of the Irids are fugitive flowers, but the Ornitho-
galums are more lasting in their beauty.
their lovely blossoms.
The length and breadth of the foliage of O. aurewm are somewhat variable ; so also is the colour of the flowers, which runs through several grades of yellow. The flowers, moreover, of some specimens expand widely, whilst in others they partake more of a cup-like form. As the interior portion of the flower is the most brightly coloured, it is almost superfluous to add, that the former are by much the most handsome.
Some of the racemes sent us were ultimately from twelve to eighteen inches long. The flowers are not all evolved at once ; but the raceme continues to That from which our drawing was made, with several others, was kept in water in a
elongate, and the blossoms to expand, during a period of several weeks.
176 ORNITHOGALUM AUREUM.
sitting-room for upwards of two months; and those flowers open at the end of that time were as bright and beautiful as the first. Individually, they last many days ; consequently there is always about as many open at once as we have shown in the figure. The specimens were received early in April.
It may be grown in a light sandy earth in the greenhouse, or in a warm border beside a conservative wall. If the latter plan is adopted, the bulbs should be taken up in autumn, and kept in a dry situation. It is increased by offsets.
Ornithogalum is a name adopted by Linnzeus, and is derived from two Greek
words, ornis a bird, and gala milk.
177
BUDDING.
Se
WE regret much that we overlooked this article in the last published Number, because the first week of August, especially in weather so propitious as it then was, is most favourable to the operation. Our object is not to instruct the scientific gardener, or nurseryman, skilful in his art; but to correct false impres~ sions, and to prevent amateurs, and those who are desirous to exercise their own ingenuity, from being misled by instructions given in print, which it is evident were never derived from personal observation.
The Budding of Roses—now that fashion has laid claim to store so ample of new and beautiful varieties—is one of the most interesting experiments that the garden affords; but before we attempt to enter into practical minutia, it is desirable to inquire somewhat critically into the physiology of the process, in order that we may act upon established principles, and not be led by the dictum of any book authority. It is always advisable to search for causes, to know upon what ground, and by what means, an operation may be expected to succeed ; and why, as commonly directed to be performed, it but too frequently fails.
A bud, in proper condition, is a single eye protruded above the angle of the footstalk (axil) of a leaf, attached to a healthy shoot of spring-formed, juicy, and somewhat ripened wood. It is attached to the surrounding bark, which is firm, stout, and of good texture, but not hard or rigid. The natural position of such a bud indicates the one to which it ought to be removed: it rests upon a portion of fresh, sappy alburnum, to which it is attached by fibres of a similar texture. From this position it is to be separated by the knife; and therefore it is vain to hope that it can be transferred with success to any new stock, unless the quality and temperament of that stock be similar to those of the shrub from which it is to be severed.
The first required condition is the secretion of the proper juice, termed Cam- bium, to such an extent as to insure the free rising or separation of the tender bark from the new wood below it, and that equally in both stock and scion.
The second condition is this, that as the bud was seated on the juicy alburnum, where it was attached by a system of vessels constituting what is termed ‘its root,” and which includes pith and a conducting vascular, embryo tissue, so it must, when removed, be made to rest and repose upon a surface in absolute juxta- position, so nearly allied to, and closely resembling that from which it was removed, as to permit, first, its close adhesion, and, second, its actual union, by attractive agency, producing an ultimate blending of parts, incapable of removal, except by actual force.
This condition, which is indispensable, shows us the error of those writers who insist upon the removal of every particle of wood from beneath the bark of
VOL, XII.—=NO. CXL. AA
178 BUDDING.
the “shield’—a term given to that portion of bark which surrounds the bud. Now, let any one detach a bud with a piece of the bark, as described in the follow- ing lines, taken from Loudon’s “ Encyclopedia of Gardening,” 1826, No. 2057, and see what would be the almost inevitable result: it presumes that a shoot containing the buds required is in the hand. ‘“* Holding the cutting, or scion, in one hand, with the thickest end outward, and with the knife in the other hand, enter it about half an inch or more below a bud, cutting near half-way into the wood of the shoot, continuing it with one clean slanting cut about one inch or more above the bud, so as to take off part of the wood along with it, the whole about an inch and a half long ; then directly with the thumb and finger, or point of the knife, slip off the woody part remaining to the bud; which done, observe whether the eye or gem of the bud remains perfect ; if not, and a little hole appears in that part, it is improper, or, as gardeners express it, the bud has lost its root, and another must be prepared.”
This “ voot” is that part of the woody matter which connected the bud with the alburnum of its native stock. Now, whether on tearing off the little strip of wood cut away, a hole in the eye appear, or not, certain it is that one of the essential, vital components of the bud has been removed in nine cases out of ten, and thus it has lost its fibro-ligneous, and central, medullary portions ; and so far at least is imperfect. It is, moreover, left hollow, with a cavity in the axis of its centre, which precludes the possibility of bringing it in close contact with the juicy alburnous surface of the stock. It is true, that in some few instances a fibre or two of ligneous matter may adhere so pertinaciously to the eye as to tear away, and separate itself from the strip of wood cut off with the bark, whence we find such buds succeed, while numbers perish, and never shoot, although the shield of bark let into the stock may live for months, in consequence of having adhered, as true liber, to the alburnum, against which, by the compression of the ligature, the contact has been rendered perfect.
It becomes plain then, that the eye must have perished in consequence of being hollow beneath, so as never to have touched the wood below it; and as that con- tact is indispensable, the system which implies the total removal of the wood must be delusive.
To insure success therefore,—the relative condition of the stock and scion being ascertained by the facility with which the bark rises from the green wood, and the moisture of both surfaces,—a free and even portion of the stock to be budded should be chosen, round which the ligature can pass without interruption. A twig being ready, furnished with three or four plump, but not far advanced eyes, the operator is to make the regular incisions with a very keen budding-knife, quite home to the wood of the stock, and then raise the edges of the bark clearly, and wide enough to insure the certain admission and passing of the strip of bark to its full length, allowing, also, from one-sixth to one-third of an inch clear space of bark to remain between the bud and the cross cut on the stock, in order to
BUDDING. 179
admit the passing of the ligature between and above both. This completed, detach a bud, not cutting, as directed, to the depth of half the wood, but by passing the knife from an inch or more below the eye to half an inch above it, just so deep as to insure the raising of so much of the wood, particularly under the eye, as shall cause that part to be at least level with, if not rather prominent, above the parts above and below it. Then—always bearing in mind the necessity of a complete con- tact of the part below the eye, and the wood of the stock—pare away the lower edges of the shield, removing any protruding wood at either extremities, and, indeed, everywhere else, excepting that portion of it which attaches to the eye, about its base. In budding roses, it is prudent to detach the whole of the leaf from its stalk, because the shield and bud being small, and little juicy, a transpiring surface, as is that of the leaf, may carry off moisture too rapidly ; but with larger and more juicy subjects, like those of the pear, apple, and cherry, practical men leave one-third of the leaf.
The bud being ready, it is to be slipped tenderly into the stock, guiding, and easing its course by the finger, and the haft of the knife, so that it slide centrally under the lips of the long cut, and be equally lapped over and guarded by them. The shield is to be passed down till the eye itself be below the cross cut, and then, holding it at the stalk, the little projecting bit of bark at the upper part is to be cut quite level across, and made to rest accurately against the edge of the rind of the stock ; the bark of the scion and that of the stock thus touching each other. As it is of great consequence that the bud with its bark pass glibly down the slit rind of the stock, many persons moisten its inner surface, by drawing it over their tongue, and as, in fact, the first principle of success is pressure, like that of the moistened leather of a boy’s sucker, this application of saliva will be of some service.
As to the ligature, we know of nothing better, upon the whole, than a soft, but very strong and pliable strip of wetted garden-mat. Such a strip, one quarter of an inch wide, being ready, and the bud duly inserted, the bark at the top of the slit should be closely pressed against and over the bud, just where the two edges join ; and then, holding the tyer by its two ends,—the loop being under the stock and exactly below the bud,—bring it up towards the edges of the slit, so as to grasp and draw them towards each other, thus closing in the bud and binding it down. Cross the strip, pull firmly right and left, carry the ends towards the back, lacing and crossing it at every movement till it pass below the slit ; then work upwards, and tie in front. Three precautions are required : first, to see that the strip entirely covers the cross cut, and a little space above it; then, that the eye be not bound down, but have freedom to swell; and, lastly, that the pressure be firm and equal from top to bottom, sufficiently so to make every part of the shield touch the sap-wood of the stock without wounding the tissues or forcing juice to ooze from them.
If a bud so prepared and inserted fail, there must be some error in judging
180 CONSERVATIVE WALLS.
of the appropriate condition of one or both of the members, or some want of adroitness in the manipulation. But it must be plain to every rational observer, that no success can result from any mode of operating which leaves a cavity under the eye; and as the binding ligature cannot be made to pass over that, so as to press it down, the part immediately below, in lieu of being hollow, ought rather to pro- ject, so as even to touch the alburnum without strong pressure, and this it never can do unless that point of the alburnum called the root, with a thin slice of fibre adhering, be permitted to remain undisturbed. |
The vital union of parts first is induced by the steady pressure which brings two surfaces, moist with cambium, together, and expels air from between them. A blending of the fluids of each next follows, with a progressive development of inspissated matter, and of radiating medullary tissue. The bud swells, enlarges, and, in roses, frequently protrudes leaves before autumn: then the head of the stock should be cut back to within a joint or two, and the shoot, for security, should be lightly tied towards it.
Many fine plants are thus early obtained; but in other cases, perhaps, with greater safety, the buds remain silent till the spring.
We recommend our country readers to watch the operation as it is peetoemed by some of those well-practised budders, who make it a business to go about the neighbouring gardens and bud at a very low price. It would be a lesson purchased on reasonable terms, and prove exceedingly instructive as a most valuable physiological study.
CONSERVATIVE WALLS.
——_@—_—
SIncE the publication, in the present volume, of the paper on the plants which endured the last hard winter against the Conservative Wall at Chatsworth, some of our subscribers have again called our attention to the subject ; and as this mode of protection is one of much utility in the cultivation of a large class of plants, both as regards success and economy, and constitutes, besides, a very attractive and interesting feature in a garden, we are readily induced to add to former observations, (vol. ix. p. 60,) a few instructions for their management.
The conditions which govern the prosperity of flowering plants are much the same as those required to produce fine crops of fruit, and to maintain fruit-trees in a healthly vigorous state ; yet they seldom receive so much attention ; and we not unfrequently find the same person, who is most studious to prepare a suitable border for his peach-trees, quite regardless of the same point for flowering plants, even though floriculture is professedly his principal aim, and good crops of fruit (nominally) a secondary consideration. Surely, this is but want of reflection ! It is true that many of the finest flower-garden exotics, natives, too, of more genial climes than Britain, will grow like weeds in the summer season, seeming
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even to thrive in spite of all deterring circumstances: but see them when the autumn frosts and the cold damps of winter follow—they are cut down, and perish. It is one thing to grow a tender plant in the open air in summer, and another to preserve it alive and healthy through a dark cold winter.
In selecting a site for a conservative wall, considering the point entirely in a cultural light, (it has been before viewed as a matter of taste,) a low situation exposed to fogs and damp should be rejected ; for it is a well-ascertained fact, that plants so situated suffer injury and die in a winter that leaves the same species perfectly unharmed in a more elevated spot. And again, it is not advisable that walls built with this intent should be in anywise shaded by trees, or even have large trees in their immediate vicinity, as, independent of other injury, the plants in such places are more liable to be attacked by mildew.
The borders, moreover, should be as carefully constructed as for a forcing vinery ; well-chosen materials, and ample facility for getting rid of superfluous _ water must be provided, and efficient steps taken to prevent the roots of one plant from piercing the soil and pilfering the nourishment intended for a less robust neighbour. The soil of course must be varied to suit the species planted ; it will be enough to say here, that all clayey earth of a tenacious quality, and light sandy soils that part too freely with their moisture, should be refused; the first is especially hostile to the culturist, through the quantity of water which it holds keeping the roots at a lower temperature, and rotting them; and also because it offers a repulsion to the delicate fibrils in their efforts to penetrate it: the latter is obviously incapable of affording sufficient sustenance to the generality of plants in a moderately dry summer, <A great depth of soil is quite superfluous, and even injurious, as it draws the roots away from the surface; two feet will be found quite sufficient, and this should be laid dry, by placing a quantity of draining materials below it. The bottom, too, should have a gentle slope from the wall, and be flagged, or laid with some asphalte mixture, so that it may be quite impervious to the roots, and thereby restrain those organs from pushing too deep, and sucking up matter to be spent in producing a redundant luxuriance, and continuing growth longer in the season than the sun has power to mature it. The breadth need not exceed three feet.
Further, as many of the plants usually placed against a conservative wall, will vary from each other very much in their relative strength, the border should always be divided into compartments, so that the roots of one plant may never infringe on the supply of food designed for another. This is a point worth looking to, wherever promiscuous planting is intended; for, without such a curb, the stronger invariably overpower the weaker. Slate is perhaps the most eligible substance for the purpose, as it occupies little space, and is easily concealed at the surface.
Besides one plant to remain permanently, each of these divisions of the border may hold one or two dwarf plants of rapid growth, intended only to remain during
182 CONSERVATIVE WALLS.
the summer, to cover and adorn with flowers any vacancy in the lower portion of the wall. This proves a convenient spot for cultivating many beautiful tender plants, such as Achimenes, Alstreemeria, Tropeolum tricolorum, and other slender free-flowering species, that can hardly be kept completely healthy in the ordinary flower-pot.
The planting should take place as early in the season as security from frost can be depended upon. By this means there will be a longer summer to grow in, and perfect growth ; whilst, if deferred, it is more than probable that at the close of the summer the new shoots will be too watery and tender to stand through winter without much additional trouble and expense, as well as injury and loss.
A trellis in front of the wall, to tie the shoots to as they form, is an essential appanage ; and it is a matter of some moment to have the young wood regularly secured as it extends ; for when left to be blown about by the wind, the sap is prevented from flowing so freely, and the progress of the shoots is retarded. It is chiefly required before the plants have covered the space allotted to them ; afterwards, they may be permitted to grow more loosely, to take off any appear- ance of stiffness and uniformity ; only observing to prevent them from pushing out too far from the wall, and acquiring a negligent and untidy wildness. Most shrubs of anything like a bushy character in their ordinary form, push out far too much breast-wood when trained against a wall, and once established ; hence, it will be necessary to go over them occasionally in the summer time, and remove a few wherever they appear crowded and incapable of gaining a complete exposure to air and light. This is a feature which considerably affects the proper ripening of the wood,—an all-important point in the management of tender plants in the open air. Much pruning, however, may be in some measure prevented, and with benefit, by disbudding in spring, as gardeners commonly do with Peach-trees ; nevertheless, some degree of thinning will always be needful in autumn, to allow the sun to act more fully upon those shoots which remain. Some time in October, or November if the season continue mild, the plants should receive their final dressing preparatory to passing the winter. The shoots which were before allowed to grow unrestrained, must then be fastened as close to the trellis as possible, in — order to give them a better prospect of existing uninjured till spring; and if this be neatly performed, it will not detract much from their beauty.
Whatever be the mode of winter protection, whether by canvass, screens, or glass lights, there will be no occasion for it to be set up till frosty nights com- mence in autumn, and even then it will not be requisite, nor yet judicious, to cover the plants, except on nights when frost is likely to occur. During the day, and on mild nights, it is preferable to leave them exposed ; and that not only at the commencement of winter, but throughout its duration. No favourable chance must ever be neglected for exposing them ; neither should fires ever be kindled, except when other means are insufficient to keep the temperature above freezing. The reason for this is obvious: if plants during their cessation from growth are
CONSERVATIVE WALLS. 183
kept in a warmer temperature than just what is sufficient to preserve them from injury, they progressively become more and more susceptible of harm ; thus, if covered up too much from the ordinary atmosphere in the early part of winter, they will be far more liable to be destroyed towards spring by a low temperature, than they would have been had a contrary course been pursued. We are the more urgent in enforcing this point, because it is one of vital moment in the culture of tender exotics on a conservative wall. Many plants which had existed through the depths of winter, have been lost on the approach of spring, owing to that precocity of growth which too much protection fosters.
Winter management, then, is merely to consist in guarding the plants from frost, and at the same time endeavouring, by frequent well-timed exposure to the air, to delay as long as possible the increasing tendency to renew growth. But the growing principle once re-excited, the capacity of the plant to endure cold is diminished—the new parts being exceedingly tender, require more warmth to enable them to go on extending with vigour. A frost which before would have left no traces of injurious action behind it, will now be fraught with danger. This is a rock on which many split, after having carried their charge through the most intense cold in perfect safety : as soon as mild weather appears, they at once set about removing the means of protection, forgetting the delicate organs that it encourages to form, and the spring frosts, which are still to be apprehended and guarded against ; hence the shoots are destroyed, or starved into an imbecile diseased growth, and much time is lost before the plant recovers a healthy condition. It is no wonder that many plants fail to thrive and flower well under such treatment ; for the shoots cannot reach maturity before they are overtaken by another winter.
At Chatsworth the plants on the conservative wall are protected in winter with canvass curtains suspended from an iron rod placed beneath a moveable wooden coping, and fastened at the bottom at short distances by means of rings and hooks. The hooks are fixed to a board about ten inches broad, which runs along the bottom, and is attached by hinges to a frame-work firmly set in the ground : when the curtains are drawn back, the board lays partly over the border, with the hooks towards the earth, and makes a convenient path to stand upon whilst dressing the trees. The curtains are opened and closed by cords moving on pulleys; in the day-time they are neatly drawn up and secured to the projecting buttresses. There are two to each compartment; hence, to cover the wall these meet in the middle; and as one curtain is provided with eyelet-holes, and the other with rings to pass through them, they are readily fastened together by running a cord through each of the rings from the top to the bottom of the wall. The whole, except the board into which the hooks are driven, can be entirely removed in summer. In severe weather a quantity of dried fern is thrown up against the bottom of the curtains, and the flued walls are warmed by gentle fires.
It must be remembered, however, that this is in a cold elevated district, where
184 CULTURAL HINTS.
the atmosphere is rendered moist by the exhalations from an adjacent river, and other extensive bodies of water; and that the same plants which require all this . attention here, may be managed with much less in more genial places. Hence, other plants also, which would not exist through the winter upon a wall in Derbyshire, may stand and flourish in warmer localities. |
Several plants, moreover, which are usually considered insufficiently hardy, have been found to stand here, without other protection than that of a wall. In conclusion, therefore, we would suggest to those who have not convenience for erecting a wall expressly for the conservation of exotics, to appropriate the walls of any naked building to the purpose. The walls of a dwelling-house will be a sufficient shield for many beautiful things that are too delicate to endure the open garden. Thus the cottager as well as the peer may have his conservative wall, and cultivate a number of plants that would otherwise be placed without his reach.
CULTURAL HINTS.
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In resuming our remarks under this head we fasten on another circumstance, which, like the last, appears to be ranked amongst the matters which are usually denominated “ trifles” by careless cultivators.
When speaking of the disadvantages accruing to plants through exposing the pots to the sun, we made a passing allusion to the injury inflicted on greenhouse plants that have been plunged amongst ashes to protect them, by the roots passing through the aperture in the bottom of the pot, establishing themselves in the ashes or earth beneath, and thereby causing the necessity for a considerable disrooting at the period of removal to their winter quarters. As this evil exists to a degree productive of much debilitation and loss of beauty, we now return to the subject, with the view of pointing out the best means of preventing its recurrence, or at least to diminish largely the chances of pernicious effects resulting.
The mode in which the potting of plants is executed, exercises an influence on the protrusion of roots through the bottom of the pot into the substance beneath. It is clear that when a large quantity of roots are left near the bottom at the time of potting, their extrusion will be accelerated, especially as the lower roots are always the most vigorous; and in those plants that naturally make strong roots with few lateral ramifications, the evil will be still more obvious. Deep planting and deep potting are indeed generally recognised amongst the evidences of an ignorant or thoughtless cultivator; but even those who acknow- ledge their impropriety frequently content themselves with merely raising the ball, or observing not to bury more of the stem than was covered at the previous potting or planting. Now this is but a very partial way of adhering to the maxim of shallow planting; for the intention of planting high is to keep the roots near the
CULTURAL HINTS. 185
surface, but unless some care be taken to give a horizontal direction to them, as well as not to sink the ball, this end will not be accomplished. At the spring potting, then, whilst the plant is still in a sub-dormant state, as many of the roots as can be disentangled should be loosened and spread near the surface, pruning back some of the most vigorous lower ones to cause the extrusion of fresh rootlets. If the mass is permitted to retain the form in which it has been moulded in the former pot, the most vigorous will push at once to the bottom, and penetrate beyond it, whilst the upper portion of the soil is thereby left devoid of roots, and consequently in no wise contributes to the nourishment of the plant. Thus the principle acquires a far greater degree of importance than could attach to it merely from the circumstance which has provoked its consideration; for it is intimately interwoven with one of the most essential conditions in pot culture. :
It is true there are some seeming exceptions: the Primula sinensis and the herbaceous Calceolarias require to have the stem sunk deeper at each succeeding potting. These plants, however, gradually lose the lower part of the underground stem, together with the roots which proceed from it, as the oldest leaves decay ; whilst fresh roots are progressively emitted from the portion of the stem next above, as new leaves are developed at the top. Hence there is a constant decay and extension going forward simultaneously ; which would lead us to suppose (in the case of the Primrose at least) that the decaying roots have their origin in those leaves which die about the same time. To promote the development of leaves we must encourage new roots to protrude from the higher parts of the stem by sinking it to the base of the remaining leaves, and cutting away the old inert and lifeless part at the bottom. This will keep the plant steady in its place, and constantly furnished with vigorous active roots near the surface as well as in the bottom of the pot. <A better supply of healthy roots near the top of the pot will also be produced in the Garden Balsam, by burying a portion of the stem whenever it requires a larger pot. The effect, therefore, is the same with such plants as the contrary procedure is with the majority of shrubs.
Another means of preventing the roots from exceeding the limits allotted to them, will be found in a properly prepared flooring for placing the pots upon. This is, in fact, the principal means of obviating the evil; for in spite of all the precautions that can be taken in potting, it is evident that, when a multitude of roots have been formed, and fill the pot, they will extend beyond it in search of other aliment, in proportion to the suitableness of the material into which they plunge on emerging from it. If, as is frequently the case, a light earth, ashes, or any substance into which roots can easily penetrate and derive nourishment from, lies immediately beneath the pot, a degree of luxuriant growth will be induced, that to the unpractised culturist may appear to be symptomatic of health and good management, but which in reality is an evidence of the converse, and a forerunner of disease and unfruitfulness. The mischief, moreover, is more extensive in hard- wooded plants than in those of softer parts, although the latter appear to acquire
VOL, XII.——-NO, CXL, BB
186 CULTURAL HINTS.
a greater additional present vigour than the former. All, however, are injuriously affected, inasmuch as the season of growth is prolonged, and so much crude matter conveyed into the system, that it is impossible by any after management to get the wood sufficiently indurated and matured before winter. And there is another evil to contend with: to ripen wood properly there must be no sudden stoppage of the nourishment needful to continue and support growth, but only a gradual abate- ment ; for mature wood cannot be obtained through violence. Here, however, those roots by the agency of which a redundant development has been produced and supported, must be removed before any check can be placed on further extension ; and as the roots within the pot will be inadequate to meet the suddenly increased demand upon them, defoliation will succeed at the very time when the leaves are most needful to the ripening of the shoots; and in no very limited number of hard-wooded species it is either the cause of death, or of a mutilation by the succeeding loss of large branches, which is almost equivalent to death, since it renders the plant of no value as a specimen.
If the legitimate object of exposing greenhouse plants i in summer be adhered to, then the necessity of providing a proper floor to place them upon is most markedly evident. By the legitimate object of exposure we mean, turning out those plants which have formed their growth in the greenhouse about the latter end of July, to assist in ripening their wood. It is obvious that this design would be entirely frustrated by setting the pots upon any floor that would tempt the roots to push into its substance, as a second growth would be encouraged. Nor is the pre- caution less needful for hardy plants in pots, and especially for those plants which are intended for forcing. Ifthey are to be exposed to the frosts of winter, the sooner and more completely the wood is ripened the less injury will they be likely to sustain; and if they are wanted for forcing, they will be better prepared for making an early growth.
The preparation of a suitable floor, then, is as much a matter of necessity for pot-plants in the open air, as it is for those kept in houses. The place devoted to them should display perfect neatness, and some pretensions to arrangement. <A good floor may be formed of asphalte or some concrete, slate or tiles. There should be a slight inclination between the rows or beds of plants, to enable water to pass away readily. A very little slope is sufficient for this purpose ; and more than enough would throw the pots too much off the level to admit of effectual waterings.
We have seen very neatly arranged reserve gardens for exposing greenhouse plants in summer at several places, divided into compartments with wood, slate, and in some cases brick sides, the depth being proportioned to the size of the pots they are intended for, and the floor formed of some of the materials just recom- mended. None of these compartments should be broader than a man can con- veniently reach to the middle from each side; and paths of sufficient breadth must be left between them, to admit of watering and other work, without endangering
CURSORY REMARKS. 7 187 --
the plants. Where there are more compartments than are occupied with the pot- plants, if a layer of clean cinders is placed in the bottom for drainage, and the remainder filled up with a good soil, they will form excellent places for encouraging choicé plants for propagational purposes. In spring they will be useful for hardening off the plants required for the flower-beds, and may be provided with light moveable frame-work and coverings for the purpose.
In the choice of a situation, a free play of air and full exposure to the sun should be secured. It is necessary also to have protection on all points from which strong or cutting winds are prevalent. The foot of an eminence and the neighbourhood of a stream or large surface of water, should be as much avoided as circumstances will admit, as plants in such places are more liable to be injured by mildew and frost. If they are screened from the violence of the storm, they will never be injured by exposure to a slight agitation of the atmosphere.
These remarks may appear unseasonable at first sight, as it is now too late for their application during the present season. Nevertheless, we have judged it better to lay them before our readers now, whilst the evils we speak of are most apparent, and whilst there is yet time to make an effectual provision for avoiding. their recurrence another year.
CURSORY REMARKS.
Botanic GaRDENS.—Interesting accounts have lately been published in the Appendix to the “ Botanical Magazine,’ of the Royal Botanic Garden of Kew, and the Imperial Botanic Garden at St. Petersburgh ; and a “ notice respecting the present state of Botany and Botanic Gardens in Portugal,” has been commenced. It is also proposed to furnish similar notices of other Botanico-Horticultural establishments,
In furtherance of this proposal, Sir William Hooker writes, in the last Number of the work just mentioned :—“ Weshould be glad to receive communications of this kind from the gentle- men under whose care they may be at present. We can hardly expect that accounts consuming much time and labour should be furnished, and our purpose would in fact be best served by enabling us to publish, in a short form, brief sketches of the principal botanic gardens in and out of Europe: a kind of synopsis of the history of botanical Horticulture. The details we should like to have furnished might, perhaps, be—1. Date of first establishment. 2. Extent of ground. 3. Number and kind of houses. 4. Annual expenditure, and source from whence derived. 5. Names of eminent men connected at any time with the establishment. 6. Remarkable plants first cultivated, introduced, named, or now particularly conspicuous—and any other notice of striking importance. Such information, we hope, will be readily furnished, and we would have pleasure in publishing it.
“It is satisfactory to state, that gentlemen connected with embassies and consulates are everywhere willing to forward papers concerning such matters, free of expense, which, as in days of yore, so even now, fair science can ill afford to defray.’’
As, from Sir William Hooker’s position in the botanical world, there is little doubt that this request will be ably responded to, when it becomes known, we may hope to see a vast accumu- lation of matter connected with these establishments, which will be mutually advantageous to all the parties concerned, severally, in conducting them, and also prove highly interesting to the general botanical reader, in exhibiting the relative state of the science in different parts of Europe, and other quarters of the globe.
188 ;
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
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NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR AUGUST, F
ACHIME'NES aRGYROsTI’eMa. Sent from the Sierra Nivada de Sta. Marta in New Grenada, amongst other novelties, by one of the collectors for Kew Gardens. Like A. picta it is remark- able for its peculiar and highly-interesting leaves, which are large, of an obtuse elliptic form, with saw edges, the upper surface of a rich deep velvety-green colour, marked with scattered white spots, like Begonia argyrostigma, and the under surface tinged with purple. Great expectations were entertained regarding the beauty of the blossoms, partly through the con- sciousness that it belonged to a genus comprising so many magnificent flowers. Hence, it occasioned considerable disappointment when they appeared small, scattered, and nearly white ; ‘‘but as the racemes increased in length and more blossoms expanded, the plant became a general favourite, and is likely to continue so, for the flowers bid fair to continue the whole summer months.’””? The racemes are somewhat slender and elegant, rising in considerable numbers from the axils of the upper leaves, which they far exceed in length, being frequently as much as a foot long, and covered with flowers down almost to the very base. The corolla has a rather short hairy tube, and an oblique two-lipped limb: the upper lip with two lobes beautifully mottled with red, and the lower one divided into three parts, rounded, fimbriated, and white, with a spot of yellow in the throat. At Kew, it has received similar treatment to the rest of the family ; encouraged at first in a moist and hot stove, and afterwards removed to a cooler place, in order to prolong the beauty of its foliage and blossoms. Doubtless it will be easily multiplied, like other species, by its scaly caterpillar-like tubers. Bot. Mag. 4175.
BoLBoPHy’LLUM UMBELLA‘TUM. Mentioned with doubt in our notices of last month (p. 165), to which the reader is referred. Dr. Lindley says it was first found in Nepal in 182], by Dr. Wallich’s collectors. ‘ The column has two long horns, which have had a single tooth on the upper side in all the specimens examined. The pollen-masses are, as is customary in the genus, of very unequal size, the front pair almost concealing that behind; and in this case are held together by some soft mucus, which resembles the gland of the Vandeous Orchids, but is destitute of its firmness and permanency.” It will thrive potted in turfy heath-mould, and suspended to the rafters. Bot. Reg. 44.
CALLIPSY‘CHE EUCROSIOI'DES. A curious bulb, described by the Dean of Manchester as a plant producing but few leaves, of a green colour, with a blade a foot long and about four inches wide, and a good deal tessellated and pitted. The flower-scape is of a glaucous hue, about twenty- eight inches long, tapering upwards, and carrying about ten radiating flowers, with a green tube curved downwards, and a somewhat scarlet limb with obtuse petals ; the whole, including the ovary, about one inch and a half long. The most remarkable feature of the flower is the curved filaments, which are nearly four and a half inches in length. Dr. Lindley observes that the same authority also states that “it is a plant with a roundish bulb, which was brought from St. Blas or S. Felipe, on the west coast of Mexico, and that a similar plant from Guatemala is in his collection. It seems to like shade and heat, and flowered without leaves in the month of March.” “The genus is regarded as an ally of Eucrosia, because of the tubercles in its orifice.’”’ The English title given to it by Dr. Lindley is the “ two-coloured Fairy-bloom.” It belongs to the Amaryllids. Bot. Reg. 45.
Ecainoca’ctus Myriosti’GmMa. ‘ One of the most singular of the singular family of Cactacece, and still considered a rarity in collections ; first described by Lemaire in 1839, but from very imperfect specimens, of which even the native country was not known, but which presented such remarkable characters, independent of flower and fruit, that he ventured to constitute of it a genus, under the appropriate name of Astrophytum. The flowers, however,’’ continues Sir William Hooker, “ (for we are still ignorant of the fruit) seem to present no characteristic marks to distinguish it from Echinocdctus, and I venture to follow the Prince de Salm-Dyck, in considering it to form a section of that extensive genus, which he has called Asteroidei. The transyerse section not inaptly resembles a star-fish. We owe the possession of our specimens in
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 189
the Reyal Gardens to F. Staines, Esq., of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, who sent us, in the first instance, specimens a foot long ; but coming in contact, as it would appear, with a ‘ monster species’ inclosed in the same case, they were bruised and eventually perished. Others were afterwards forwarded of a smaller size, and one of them here figured threw out its pretty starry straw- coloured flowers from the depression at the top of the plant in July, 1845.” The plant is at first somewhat round, but afterwards becomes oblong, the sides consisting of five or six deep furrows and as many projecting angles ; the whole surface covered with white scale-like dots ; the keel of the angles is flattened, as if cut off with a knife, and this is occupied with closely placed areolee, but bearing no spines. Bot. Mag. 4177.
PorRPHYROCO'MA LANCEOLA‘TA. A remarkable and very beautiful Acanth, sent to the Kew Gardens by Mr. Forkel, gardener to his Majesty the King of the Belgians, at Brussels ; “ but unfortunately without any history, so as to leave us in the dark as to its native country, or the author of its very appropriate name (poryhyra purple, and kome head of hair), given in allusion to the singularly richly-coloured spikes of deep purple, from the scales of which the scarcely less brightly-coloured (but more inclining to blue) flowers appear. It was exhibited in the Horticultural Society’s Rooms, and excited admiration from the beauty of the blossoms; which consists in the dark purple comb-like parts half covering the Lamium-like violet flowers, It is a stove plant, and continues flowering during the spring and summer months,”” The specimen mentioned is about a foot high, with large drooping lanceolate leaves tapering at both ends, and of a dark-green colour. The flower-spikes are terminal, and deeply four-angled ; the corolla protrudes considerably beyond the bracts. Bot. Mag. 4176.
SEta‘eo pi/stans. Dr. Lindley believes that a plant in the nursery of Mr. Glendinning, of Turnham Green, is identical with the S. distans of E. Meyer ; but adds, that “in the absence of authentic specimens, it is difficult to acquire a certainty upon the point in a genus like Selago, of which scarcely any species have been figured. Walpers enumerates sixty-eight of them, and they are very much like each other. The great peculiarity of this is its loose spikes of flowers, and small slender downy leaves, which are solitary on the young branches and fascicled on the old ones.” The flowers are rather sweet-scented, but the foliage has an unpleasant odour, It is a greenhouse plant easily cultivated, thriving well in a sandy peat, if freely supplied with water at the roots, and syringed over-head night and morning, during hot weather. “It is a desirable species in consequence of its early and long continuance in flower. To enable it to exercise this valuable quality, it is necessary to repot it about the beginning of August, so as to have it well established before winter ; for if repotted in spring, its flowering will be either retarded or prevented.” It is increased from cuttings. Bot. Reg. 46.
Tasma’NNIA aROMA‘TICA. This plant was first made known in De Candolle’s “ System,” where it was described from specimens gathered on the mountains of Van Diemens Land, by Brown, and in the country round D’Entrecasteaux’ channel by Leschenault, a French traveller. But at that time nothing was known of the flowers, except that they were dicecious. The characters more recently furnished by Endlicher do not exactly coincide with this species, but possibly belong to 7, dipétala. This species “is a handsome evergreen bush, with dull purple branches, and light green leaves, distinctly marked with transparent dots; they are of a dead green, and veinless on the under side. Mr, Gunn informs us that it is very abundant in Van Diemens Land. Between Burghley (at the Surrey Hills) and May Day Plain, the Van Diemens Land Company’s track, commonly called road, to Launceston, is cut through a thicket of it for upwards of a mile; at that place its usual height is from nine to twelve feet. It always grows in the richest humid soil ; in the neighbourhood of Launceston usually on the margins of rivers or small streams in umbrageous ravines. Every part of the plant is highly aromatic and pungent to the taste. The fruit is occasionally used as pepper.” It is an evergreen shrub, merely requiring to be sheltered in a greenhouse from frost. The flowers are produced in April. Cuttings root freely in sand, if covered with a bell-glass and placed in bottom-heat. It was presented to the Horticultural Society of London, by Mr. Low, of Clapton. Bot. Reg. 43. [It would doubtless flourish, in most places, against a conservative wall. j
190 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
NEW OR INTERESTING PLANTS RECENTLY FLOWERED IN THE PRINCIPAL METROPOLITAN NURSERIES AND GARDENS.
TETRANE MA MEXICA'NA. There can hardly be a more profuse blooming plant than the present : it is in fact almost perpetually in flower. During the winter and spring months, if kept in a stove, it makes a very engaging object ; and ought to be in the possession of every one who has the conveniency for it. From its dwarf habit it requires little room, and may be managed like a Gloxinia, except that it scarcely needs a season of repose. It possesses a close affinity with the Pentstemons ; and the flowers, though smaller, are not unlike those of P. arguta, either in form or colour.
RvSsE'LIA FLORIBU'NDA. A shrubby plant with ovate crenate leaves, and producing axillary pendent Pentstemon-like flowers near the end of the shoots. Each flower is about an inch and a half long, and ofa fine purple colour. It has flowered at the Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, and at some of the provincial establishments. It is said to be nearly hardy. By some nurseryman’s blunder this plant has acquired the name of Vassalia.
ACHIME'NES ARGYROSTI'GMA. We have given a notice of this novelty ina previous page, from the * Botanical Magazine,” and only wish to suggest here, that although certainly far inferior to any other member of the family it belongs to, yet nevertheless, it is not improbable that it might become the parent of some highly interesting varieties, by fertilising its seeds with the pollen of some more showy species. We hope some of those who possess the plant will make the attempt. If the habit with the foliage of this, and the flowers even of the small A. coccinea, could be combined, it would be a valuable achievement. A specimen far past its prime was exhibited at the Horticultural Society’s Rooms in Regent Street, from the Kew Gardens, where we noticed plants of it a short time before, in a more perfect and much prettier state. When well-cultivated in large patches in pans, it will at least be interesting for its handsome silvery dotted foliage.
4ECHME'A FU’LGENS. A specimen of this handsome Bromeliaceous plant is flowering at Messrs. Rollisson’s Nursery, Tooting. The substance, form, and arrangement of the foliage, gives the plant something of the aspect of a miniature pine-apple. But the florescence is the most remarkable, The flowers appear on a stem which issues from the centre of the tuft of leaves, and are arranged in a spicate form, the whole appearing of a brilliant coral red with violet points. It is a magnificent, and by no means a common plant yet, although it has been in the country between two and three years.
BaRLERIA 2 A pretty upright-growing Acanth with erect branches slightly swollen at the nodes, clothed with oblong leaves on long footstalks, and with terminal spikes of handsome violet-blue flowers of considerable size, and mostly turning in the same direction. It is an East Indian plant obtained by Messrs. Henderson of Pine-apple Place, who exhibited a specimen at the Regent Street meeting in the beginning of August. It seems likely to flower in succession for a considerable time.
BESLE'RIA PULCHELLA. A prettily-marked, but not very showy flower. It is a Gesneriaceous plant, with strong thick stems, and large ovate foliage much wrinkled on the surface, and of a lively green. We have noticed it in flower for some months at the Pine-apple Place Nursery. The flowers are rather small for the plant, and only peve oped a few at atime: their colour is an orange-yellow, streaked with red.
Bu’ppiea Linpieya‘na. The plant lately issued from the Garden of the Horticultural Society under this name, has recently flowered in the large conservatory there, and proves a very pretty thing, though the blossoms are not large. It is one of the products of Mr. Fortune’s Botanical Mission to China. Grown in pots it hasa rather loose habit, but it loses much of this when planted out of doors in a border. The flowers are arranged in secund racemes from four to six inches long, and perhaps longer. The corolla consists of a long curved tube, with a rich violet four-cleft spreading border. Specimens left in a border through the last winter, were killed down to the root ; but have made strong shoots since the spring.
Da‘ts coTINIFO'LIA. One of those old plants now almost confined to Botanic or old established Gardens, but which well deserves to rank amongst showy greenhouse productions. It is a shrub from the Cape of Good Hope, with much of the general aspect of a Pimelea. A specimen at Kew was lately covered with its fine showy heads of rich pink flowers.
OPERATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER. ae |
Leia‘NTHUS LONGIFO'LIUS. This is a plant of a rather loose but elegant habit, and seems to flower freely. The blossoms hang down from the lateral shoots like those of the axillary flowered Fuchsias, and are yellow, with a slight tinge of green. It is very like the L. nigrescens in habit, and makes a good contrast with it in the colour of the flowers.
Puio’x Drummonpu, varieties. The varieties of this beautiful half-hardy annual are amongst the gayest ornaments of the pleasure-ground in the summer season. From their rapid spreading growth they are well suited for adorning the raised mounds upon which Coniferze and other trees are planted in the arboretum, or for the small circles round standard shrubs on a lawn. Mr. Cole, of Blackheath Park, exhibited some handsome varieties at the meeting in Regent Street; amongst them was a streaked or mottled one, which if constantly so, well deserves notice, and a variety with flowers almost white, with a rose-coloured eye in the centre, in which respect it is superior to the white one noticed last month at Mr. Grooms’. Mr. Grooms’ flower, however, is a more decided white, produces itself from seed with certainty, and has broader foliage. At Messrs. Knight and Perry’s Nursery there is a profuse variety of these flowers raised from American seeds.
OPERATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER.
—-o———
ALTHOUGH the garden has yet scarcely reached the zenith of its autumnal beauty, the season is fast approaching, especially in the northern and colder districts, when its chief ornaments will be destroyed by frost. Even this month, in some localities, is not exempt from the liability ; hence, not only must every exertion be put forth to keep the utmost neatness whilst the flowers last, but active preparations must be made for securing an abundant supply of plants for a succeeding season. All those numerous species of tender plants with which our borders are now principally adorned must be propagated without delay, for the earlier cuttings are procured and rooted, the more likely they will be to stand the winter well. In places where the number required is very extensive, a decaying hotbed with about two or three inches of sand or fine sandy earth laid on the top, and covered with a frame and glass lights, will perhaps be better than pots, and will certainly prove a great saving both of time and room. Some of the metro- politan cultivators manage to keep their whole stock of Calceolarias, Verbenas, Petunias, &c., in this way through the winter without potting ; but there is less risk of losing them when they are planted by threes, in pots of a suitable size, to allow the roots to fill them before November. In order to produce a sufficiency of roots it is of course necessary to keep the young stock in a growing state for some time after they are potted out; and it is important that this growth should cease or nearly so, and the shoots be somewhat hardened whilst the sun has power.to do it, so that they may require less protection from cold, and less attendance in the winter months. The formation of many roots is more to be desired and promoted now, so far as art ean do so, than the production of an increased stem and foliage. To this end, therefore, the young plants should be potted in a poor soil, such as peat and sand, which will cause them to protrude a great number of fibrils, without causing much development of stem. A rich soil, on the contrary, produces great luxuriance in the leaves and shoots, without the emanation of a corresponding multiplicity of rootlets—a state the very opposite of that we ought to strive for.
Scarlet Pelargoniums and other things of a like swcculent nature that are employed in large quantity for the flower-garden, on account of their liability to rot, should never be left in frames or pits through the winter, unless there is some heating apparatus which, in conjunction with a judicious ventilation, is capable of preserving a dry atmosphere. Consequently, it will be advisable to plant cuttings of these plants at once in pots or in large flat pans, so that they may require no re-potting, and be easily removed when rooted to some dry shelf in a greenhouse. If there is no other convenience for their conservation than common frames, the pots should be set on raised stages, instead of being plunged in ashes: the frames, moreover, should be stationed in Some dry, airy spot.
In taking cuttings, too much care cannot be bestowed on keeping the different coloured
192 OPERATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER.
varieties of any of the favourite border-flowers by themselves, and fixing the name or equivalent mark to each lot. For when the varieties of such plants as Verbenas for instance, get mixed together, it is impossible to make anything of planting a garden in spring. Two or three strong plants here and there in a bed otherwise planted with one colour, betrays much negligence, and when often repeated, diminishes the effect of a parterre. All the labels should be examined, as it is the best time now, whilst the flowers are present, to correct any misnomers that may have occurred.
It will also be well to sow a few seeds of some choice annuals now, to flower early next spring in the greenhouse, or to be then turned out into some warm sheltered border. Towards the end of the month some of the hardier kinds may be sown in the open air ; they will soon appear above ground, and if the winter is not very severe, they will exist through it, and flower early. They rarely succeed in wet, retentive soils. On rockwork, or any well-drained piece of ground in an airy situation, they will generally do well.
Means should be got in readiness for protecting any favourite flower, and the plots near the mansion, from the sudden slight frosts which sometimes occur at this season, and merely last for a night or two. Protection for a single night will sometimes prolong the beauty of the garden for a month or six weeks. There is a greater probability of preserving from frost in this way when the garden is upon arising ground, than in one upon a level low site—the early frosts always being less frequent and less injurious on the former. Oiled calico or canvass, stretched upon slight framework, will be as convenient and economical as anything.
Plants which have been turned out into the reserve-beds for the summer season, to hasten growth and form good specimens, should be taken up some time in the course of this month and potted: also any from the flower-garden which may be considered worth preserving. They should be shifted with as little injury to the roots as possible, instead of shearing off the points, as some do. It is not necessary, however, to retain all the earth about them ; on the contrary, it is better to shake it away from the extreme roots, so that the plants can be placed in pots of a size proportioned to the extent of the branches, and have an inch and a half or two inches of good fresh earth all round for the roots to strike into. When potted, they should be placed in a close shaded frame, and gently damped over the foliage every morning with a fine syringe, till the roots have taken fresh hold, and are capable of obtaining fluid enough to make good the increased transpiration from the leaves, which the removal of the shade and more exposure to fresh air would occasion. With this treatment they will experience little harm by the transplantation. To harden their growth they should then be kept cool and exposed to all the air and light that can be commanded. Syringing, however, must be continued, to prevent the foliage from drooping.
When the first frost has struck the Scarlet Pelargoniums and spoiled their beauty, they should be taken up, all the shoots cut away to within an inch of the base, and the roots reduced till they will go into a five-inch pot. If they are then placed in a late vinery where the atmosphere is kept partially dry, they will soon begin to push out new shoots, and will make better plants in spring than those reared from cuttings.
Much injury to specimen plants results from gardeners at this season crowding too many plants into the houses, and thereby preventing a perfect circulation of air amongst their branches and foliage. Every specimen should stand clear of its neighbours. The creepers on the roof should be trimmed now, to admit as much light as possible to the plants below them.
The greenhouse, stove, and orchidaceous house, should be well ventilated, and freed from all shade. The plants may still be syringed in a morning, taking care not to wet the flowers. Decaying leaves will now be becoming plentiful, and should be daily removed, together with all flowers that are past their beauty.
The tops of Chrysanthemums may still be taken off in the early part of the month to obtain dwarf plants to flower late. They should be taken from the plants growing in the open garden, planted singly in pots of light earth, and placed in a gentle bottom-heat. Large plants may be taken up from the borders, and treated as recommended for greenhouse specimen plants till they recover. Bulbs of the Japan and other lilies should be potted now, to flower at midsummer. Cape bulbs may be planted in pots, and set in a cool frame till they have formed roots. Insects must be kept down; and all alterations in the houses completed at once, and made ready for the reception of the specimens in the reserve-ground.
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(Cervantes’ Toeth-tongue. )
Class. Order. GYNANDRIA. MONANDRIA.
Natural Order,
ORCHIDACEA,
GeneERIC CHARACTER.—Perianth showy, equal; sepals | bulbs ovate, angular. Leaves solitary, oblong, with a and petals narrow, acuminate, free. Labellum undi- narrow channelled petiole. Scape few flowered. Bracts vided, destitute of a spur, furnished with a short claw, sheathing, membranous, very acute, equitant, elon- which is continuous with the base of the column, gated. Sepals membranous, oblong-lanceolate, acute. having a crested spreading plate at the base. Column Petals broader, subunguiculate, acute. Lip subcor- erect, membranous at the margin, winged on each side dately ovate, acute, unguiculate; unguis fleshy,
of the apex. Anthers two-celled. Pollen-masses two, cyathiform, pubescent, bidentate in front, tubercled, solid, with a linear caudicule, and a crooked gland. and with two pilose processes before the cup. Column Spsciric Cuaracter. — Plant epiphytal. Pseudo- | pubescent, with rounded ears.
Dr. Linpiey, in his recent enumeration of the tooth-tongue Orchids, has arranged the species under three sections. In the one, he observes, ‘ the anther- bed is surrounded by a deep fringe, or membranous border ; the two others are without that fringe. The first constitutes the sub-genus (?) Trymenium ; the second and third are Odontoglossum proper. Of the second the lip is always white, and generally broad and flat. Of the third, the lip is generally yellow, never white, and most commonly narrow.” O., citresmum and O. pulchellum are examples of the first ; the magnificent O. grande of the third; and the beautiful species represented in our figure is an illustration of the second.
The vast amassment of imported Orchids in the Hackney Nursery has not furnished a more valuable species for some time. The plant is small and neat, the flowers of a pleasing delicate hue, beautifully marked, and elegantly arranged. <A specimen, which Messrs. Loddiges received from Oaxaca, flowered last March ; and about the same time another species, O. membranacea, displayed blossoms of an equally handsome and very similar character. That plant, however, as Dr. Lindley remarks in the ‘‘ Botanical Register,” ‘has perfectly white flowers, with the exception of concentric broken crimson bands, which occupy the lower part of all the segments of the flower; its petals and lip are very blunt, and the latter is very deeply heart-shaped ; while in O. Cervantesii, on the other hand, the lip is scarcely heart-shaped, and has no band-like markings ; it, and the petals are particularly acute, and the ground-tint of the flower is a delicate flesh-colour. The teeth, too, which stand in front of the saucer-shaped stalk of the lip, are longer in the latter species.”
VOL. XII.—-NO. CXLI. cc
194 ODONTOGLOSSUM CERVANTESITI.
These plants may either be grown in pots or baskets, or fastened to a block of wood. ‘To produce vigorous pseudo-bulbs, they require to be placed in a warm, moist, and shaded atmosphere, during the period of growth; and to promote flowering, they should be exposed to converse influences in their winter season. The transition from the one to the other must be gradual; as the plants show evidence of returning activity, warmth and humidity must be slowly augmented ; and as soon as the new growths are fully developed, these agents must be with- drawn by degrees, and more light admitted. The plants should never be kept in a warm or moist place while the flowers are open, as these conditions would hasten their decay.
An increase may be effected by detaching the old pseudo-bulbs, and placing them on coarse, moist sand, over some source of bottom-heat, till buds are developed, after which they may be treated as other plants.
The specific name was accorded by La Llave, in compliment to Vincente
Cervantes, a Spanish Botanist.
SPIREA DOUGLASIL
(Mr. Dougias’s Spirzea.)
Class. ICOSANDRIA.
Order. DI-PENTAGYNIA,
Natural Order. SPIR HACE.
GENERIC CHARACTER.— Calyx five-cleft, permanent. Stamens ten to fifty, inserted in the torus, lining the calyx along with the petals. Carpels solitary, or several together, rarely connected at the base, ending in short
Branches and peduncles pubescent. Leaves elliptic, coarsely and unequally serrated towards the apex, clothed with hoary tomentum beneath. Panicle crowded with flowers, oblong, obtuse. Flowers small,
rosy-lilac. Stamens twice the length of the corolla. Calycine lobes triangular, reflexed. Carpels five, gla- pbrous, shining.
points, sessile, rarely stipitate. Seeds two to six, fixed to the inner suture of the carpel. Embryo inverted. Cotyledons thickish.
Speciric CHARACTER: — Plant a shrub, deciduous,
A.tHoueH late importations of plants have greatly enriched our stoves and greenhouses, they have contained few things capable of existing in the open garden Hence, a novelty with the fine characters of our subject, It is a novelty interesting to all parties,
except during summer. will be the more highly appreciated. whether possessed of a greenhouse or not ; since it will brave our severest winters, and demands little attention or skill in its culture.
It was first discovered by the lamented and indefatigable Douglas, in his explorations of the north-west coast of America, about the Columbia and the Straits of Fuca; but was not introduced to this country by him. Within the last five years a few plants were reared in the Glasgow Botanic Garden, from seeds sent to the Curator, Mr. Stewart Murray, by Dr. Tolmie, who gathered them at
Fort Vancouver. Blossoms were produced by these plants, for the first time,
about two years ago.
Not the least interesting quality of the species is the long period during which it continues to produce flowers. Our drawing was made at Messrs. Low and Co.'s nursery, Clapton, from a specimen which flowered last July; and we have since received specimens from Mr. Murray, who, in a letter addressed to us some time since, states that ‘‘ one of its recommendations is, that after the flowers of all other shrubs have passed, it is found in perfection. Last year it was fine even when the frost came on in October.”
It makes a handsome bush, much like the S. tomentosa, ultimately reaching a
height of four or five feet; but it blooms at a much smaller size, and by layering
196 SPIRAA DOUGLASIIL.
the old shoots, very dwarf-flowering specimens may be obtained. The flowers are — of a rosy lilac colour, and are most numerously produced in dense, compound, terminal racemes.
Many of the Spireas make handsome shrubs for a lawn, but on account of © their deciduous character they should not be very largely introduced. A few choice species, however, may be planted with good effect. In the wilder parts of the garden, masses of them, with their white or red flowers, have a rich appearance. They will grow in almost any kind of soil.
In common with other species, the present may he multiplied to a great extent by cuttings, which soon take root. It is also increased by Jayers.
The specific title was bestowed by Sir William Hooker in his “ Flora Boreali-
Americana,” in commemoration of Mr. David Douglas.
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MUSS/ENDA-MACROPHYLLA.
(The broad-leaved Mussznda.)
Ciass. PENTANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order. CINCHONACE.
GENERIC CHARACTER,.—Calyx with an oblong turbi- nate tube, a five-parted limb, and deciduous, erect, acute lobes, one of which is usually drawn out into a large petiolate, reticulately nerved, coloured leaf. Corolla funnel-shaped, with a five-parted limb, and a villous throat. Anthers five, sessile within the tube, linear, inclosed, and sOmetimes a little exserted. Stigma bifid. Fruit ovoid, fleshy, naked at the apex, from the limb of the calyx being deciduous, inde- hiscent, two-celled; cells many-seeded. Placentas pedunculate, bifid at the apex, rising from the dis- sepiment, and appearing like a Burgundian cross. Seeds very numerous, small, lenticularly compressed, scabrous. Embryo in fleshy albumen, with the radicle
thick, and turned towards the hilum.—Don’s Gard. and Botany.
Speciric CHARACTER.—Plant a handsome evergreen shrub. Branches tetragonal, brown; branchlets beset with soft silky hairs. Leaves ovate, acuminated, pubes- cent, green above, and pale villous beneath. Stipules broad, ovate, bifid, acuminated and recurved at the apex, nearly twice as long as the petioles. Corymbs terminal, trichotomous, shorter than the uppermost pair of leaves, very pilose,:on short peduncles. Calycine segments foliaceous, broad, oblong-lanceolate. Bracteas large, very hairy under each division of the inflores- cence. Flowers large, orange-coloured, hairy outside. Berries ovate, dark purple, hairy.
Tuis fine Cinchonaceous plant, first described by Dr. Wallich, in the second volume of Roxburgh’s “ Flora Indica,” above twenty years ago, and since figured in Wallich’s ‘‘ Plante Asiatice rariores,” (vol. ii. t. 180), has been introduced within the last few years to the Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, by Messrs. Knight and Perry, and flowered there for the first time in the summer of 1844. It blossomed again in June, 1845, when the annexed embellishment was prepared, with the kind permission of those gentlemen.
It is an upright spreading shrub, of a noble aspect; the branches amply adorned with a most luxuriant foliage, and terminating in fine corymbs of orange blossoms, which have an increasedly rich appearance from the three broad, almost snow-white floral leaves that stand around them. In its native country, according to Dr. Wallich, it sometimes acquires a tendency to ramble, when growing in places where the roots spread amongst an over-rich soil; and it is not unlikely
that plants under cultivation in our stoves might do the same, if subjected to a At the Exotic Nursery it forms a bush about
close, much heated atmosphere. If planted out in the border of a
three feet high, of the most perfect symmetry. conservatory, it would probably grow to five or six feet ; and the magnificence of
its foliage would render it an object of particular interest at all times. It was discovered by Dr. Wallich’s collectors, “on the mountains of Chundra-
198 MUSSZENDA MACROPHYLLA.
giri and Majarjoon, in Nepal, in blossom during the rainy season, in fruit during
the winter.” It does not appear to require a temperature much exceeding that of an ordi-
nary greenhouse. In the stove its growth is more rapid, but less vigorous; the leaves are thin, and of a pallid green, and the flowers soon fall off. In the summer months, whilst it is flowering and ripening its shoots, a greenhouse will be quite warm enough. A very trifling attention will be sufficient to preserve it clothed with branches and foliage to the bottom of the stem. It may be planted in a loamy soil, or in a compost similar to that recently recommended for the Luculia gratissima.
It is a species of rapid growth ; hence, handsome bushes may soon be obtained from cuttings of the young wood, which strike root with facility, planted in sand, or a sandy soil, and placed in a close, moist heat.
The family name Mussenda, is the vernacular title of M. frondosa. The
specific appellation refers to the magnitude of the foliage.
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HYDRANGEA JAPONICA.
(Japan Hydrangea.)
Class. Order. DECANDRIA. DI-TRIGYNIA.
Natural Order.
SAXIFRAGACEA.
GENERIC CHARACTER.— Flowers usually of more forms fiattish at the top, opening by a hole between the styles.
than one, some of them being fertile and hermaphro- Seeds reticulated, numerous. dite. Tube of Calyx hemispherical, ten-ribbed, rather Speciric CHARACTER.—Plané an elegant, evergreen, truncate, adnate to the ovarium ; limb permanent, branching shrub. Leaves ovate-oblong, acuminated,
five-toothed. Petals five, regular. Stamens ten. Styles finely and glandularly serrated, quite glabrous on both two, distinct. Capsule two-celled, with introflexed surfaces. Cymes crowded. Flowers of two forms. valves, crowned by the teeth of the calyx and styles, Corolline segments six to ten, unequal, ovate-rhomboid.
We have been so long accustomed to see the old Hydrangea hortensis produce its immense flower-heads of a bluish, or a rosy hue, either upon the same or separate specimens, that we almost cease to regard the matter as anything singular or wonderful. Of late years another species has been introduced, which also displays both colours, but whether they are produced by different varieties, or by the same plant under different circumstances, seems to be yet a matter of dispute. All that we know is that a specimen at Messrs. Low’s nursery, Clapton, bears none but blue flowers ; and it is said that those which have been reared from it are characterised by the same peculiarity. Moreover, specimens that we have known for some time in other collections have been invariably of a rosy colour.
According to Siebold, who discovered the plant and transmitted specimens to Europe, its vernacular title is Kakoosa; and there are two varieties of it, which the natives distinguish as Benkaku and Konkaku, the first with red and the second with greyish-blue flowers. From this it would seem that the variation is permanently vested in particular plants; nevertheless we cannot but strongly suspect that it will prove the contrary.
The plant has an excellent free habit, emittmg branches from every part, and seldom exceeding eighteen inches or two feet in height. The foliage is large and bold, but not quite so closely arranged as in the old kind. The flower-heads, though possessing considerable beauty, are flat, and by no means so magnificent as the enormous clusters of its congener: the blue-coloured ones are decidedly the
prettiest.
200 HYDRANGEA JAPONICA.
Our drawing was prepared from the specimen already spoken of at Messrs. Low’s nursery. As the specific name indicates, it is a native of Japan, where it was detected by Siebold, growing wild in mountainous situations. It is also cultivated in gardens there by the natives, along with other species. Mr. Low, we believe, was the first who imported specimens to this country.
It proves to be about as hardy as the other, and requires similar treatment. The finest trusses of flower are always borne by single-stemmed plants newly raised from cuttings. But this species does not look so well in that style, as when forming a moderate-sized bush with a number of flower-heads. The old wood must be cut out yearly to avoid a straggling character, and to keep the plant clothed with foliage down to the very base.
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201
GUANO, IN CONNECTION WITH FLORICULTURE.
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It might appear irrelevant to introduce the subject of Guano—the most poten- tial of all the so-called artificial manures of agriculture—in a work exclusively devoted to ornamental gardening ; but as we hope shortly to make it evident that this wonderful substance contains all the elements of vegetable nutriment, and as, also, we find that gardeners and florists begin to bend their attention to it, we hope that farther apology will not be needed for our present attempt.
Little more will be required than a faithful detail of the constituents of this substance to prove, beyond a doubt, that it must possess a power and energy exceeding those of common manures; a fact which also points out the necessity of employing the utmost caution in its use.
Analyses of various samples have been effected, and the results printed, since 1804, when MM. de Fourcroy and Vauquelin examined the specimen introduced by Baron Von Humboldt ; but it has been found that they all differ. At length, in 1843, Dr. Ure undertook an elaborate series of experiments, which appear to have demonstrated that the only species to be relied upon for perfection of quality are those of Peru and Bolivia. Assiduous researches have confirmed, to our own judgment, not only the general accuracy of the Doctor’s analyses, but the com- parative worthlessness of samples obtained from other places; therefore, we shall at once proceed to enumerate the chemical constituents of what we are assured are genuine samples of the Guano of Peru, undisturbed by that slow but progressive decomposition which inevitably results from exposure to air, moisture, and light.
True Guano is of a palish drab-brown, tinted with a faint shade of red. It is heavier than water, bulk for bulk, and, to speak more correctly, its comparative specific gravity—water being 1.0—is about 1.70, little more or less. Some specimens are interspersed with granular, whitish particles, which are evidently concretions of certain neutral salts ; and this circumstance leads to the first essential remark, namely, that the components of Guano can be arranged under two distinct heads: the soluble, or those which can readily be abstracted by pure water ; and the imsoluble—that is, the substances which resist the solvent power of water, warm or cold.
Guanos, in the condition in which they are imported, contain more or less water ; by drying at a heat not greater than that of boiling water, some samples lose eight or nine, others from fourteen to eighteen per cent.; the latter may be said to be damp, a state which is, at the least, suspicious; for if it have not induced chemical action, it at least implies the presence of common salt in excess. The loss by heat being ascertained must be allowed for, in process 1, which consists of subjecting from one to two hundred grains (for the sake of a “ per- centage “ calculation) previously triturated in a wedgwood mortar, to the action
VOL, XIl.—NO. CXLI. DD
902 GUANO, IN CONNECTION WITH FLORICULTURE.
of pure water for several hours, then pouring the fluid upon a weighed paper filter, and washing the substance with more water till the liquid pass free of colour and saline taste. This liquid will be of a pale brown, and pungently salt ; and, being tested by litmus-paper, ought to produce the red tint to some extent, indicating the presence of a little free acid. By the converse of this experiment, substituting yellow turmeric paper for the former, if no change of tint to reddish-brown be: discoverable, the Guano may be pronounced sound, and free from the alkaline. reaction of ammonia.
It is not our object to trespass on the'reader’s patience, by any particular detail of the analytic processes: so far we have proceeded in order to show that Guano contains soluble salts, and these to the extent of about two-fifths of the whole weight, including that of the combined water separable by heat. The other three-fifths consist of dry substances not soluble in water. These proportions are, assumed only as an approximation, for it rarely happens that two samples are precisely similar in their constituents. |
The soluble salis, determined by the re-agency of alcohol, nitrate, or acetate of baryta, nitrate of silver, nitrate or acetate of iron, and by ammonia, are, first, Urea—that peculiar product which gives to urinous excretions their specific qualities,—sulphates of potassa and ammonia, muriate of soda (common salt), phos- phate of ammonia, and, occasionally, oxalate of ammonia, and a little muriate of ammonia. This comprehensive list, subject to multifarious interchanges and modifications, under the agency of the electric vital principle of plants, offers not a single ingredient which is foreign to the vegetable organisation. In it are contained all the elements of those liquid manures which have been of late years advertised, and recommended as nutrimental appliances. Guano has furnished the type of all: experimental chemists have easily detected the neutral salts therein abounding, and some persons have passed off solutions of such salts, prepared in the laboratory, as efficient substitutes. But where shall we trace the wrea—the animalised organic matters which float in and give colour to the true solution 2
This question leads to a cursory notice of the second great process in the analysis of Guano, or rather of that series of operations by which are detected and fully exposed to view, first, a very considerable proportion—say eighteen per cent. — of uric acid, (which in itself combines oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen,) united with its small, definite equivalent of ammonia. Secondly, a greater proportion of undefined, azotised, solid matter, resolvable by heat, and a very powerful re-agent, into a considerable volume of caustic ammoniacal gas, and some hydro-carbonous gases. Thirdly, another great proportion of bone-phosphate, in a state of much finer division than that to which any process of grinding could reduce animal bones ; and, therefore, prepared, with the azotised matter of No. 2, to fertilise the soil fully and durably. ?
When we consider attentively what a substance true Guano really is, and bring the mind to realise its constitution; taking also into the account that it is
GUANO; IN CONNECTION WITH FLORICULTURE. 203
the fecal deposit of cormorants, gulls, and sea-fowl, that feed entirely upon fish ; the work of countless centuries, still going on, though slowly progressing, we cannot fail to be struck with wonder and astonishment. There is not, perhaps in the whole world, a substance which comprises in a volume so small and compact, all the decomposable appliances of all vegetables. Can it, then, be matter of surprise that men, greedy of gain and reckless of principle, should attempt, first to imitate—but failing in that, then to palm off spurious succedanea, resembling the true material in nothing but the colour, and barely in that ?
Setting aside the question of purity or fraudulent adulteration, which involves much of doubt and perplexity, it must be evident, after what has been written, and all but proved, especially by the late disclosures made in the Gardeners’ Chronicle, that no certainty can be attained by any other means than a rigid analysis of every individual specimen. Such an analysis cannot be at present undertaken by practical gardeners; but any man of sense can determine one point of importance which, if established, will go far to prove the excellence or worth- lessness of a sample. This is done by simply mixing as much guano as will lie upon a four-penny piece with half as much quick-lime, fresh from the kiln, or a few grains of potash, and so much boiling water as will reduce the whole to the consistence of thin paste. Being rubbed together in a small mortar, or on a piece of glass, a very pungent odour of pure smelling salts will be immediately extricated, if the Guano be genuine and well preserved. If, on the contrary, the smell be feeble, the article is spurious, or damaged ; for if the ammonia really exist, and become revealed, it affords evidence, almost amounting to demonstration, of the real quality of the manure.
From all that has been stated above, and in the communications of high chemical authorities, it must be evident that the floral gardener ought to employ the utmost caution in using an article which abounds in salts of most active and stimulating quality. Such salts are produced in nature ; ail of them have their specific uses, but then they are strictly specific, and the earth yields them in very modified forms, and to an extent which cannot be injurious.
Plants growing in beds and borders select aliment suitable to their individual temperament ; but, in pot culture, we limit their range of pasture, and arbitrate the supply of what we still manure. Great errors may thus be committed, and conduce to much mischief and disease ; therefore in applying Guano, the quantity used experimentally, whether in bulk among the soil, as top-dress, or in solution, should be almost inappreciably small till experience sanction a more liberal supply.
What we want, above all things, is a rigid and faithful system of organic analyses. Liebig first impressed this great truth, and we believe he is now engaged in a course of demonstrative experiments. Till we know the salts which every plant, or, at least, every tribe contains, we act in the dark, and apply our artificial combinations empirically. It fortunately happens, thanks to the stimulus which has been given to a spirit of inquiry, that an apparatus for organic investigation
204 MANAGEMENT OF TROPAZSOLUM POLYPHYLLUM.
can now be purchased for a very trifling sum. We have catalogues before us, which show that for three or four pounds, a person may furnish himself with appliances, mechanical and chemical, that will force Nature to answer, as it were, every reasonable question put to her in the form of a faithful analysis. What excuse can there be found, if any influential Horticultural Society remain without means of instruction, so cheaply attainable ?
The ashes of plants, as Liebig was the first to impress, furnish the reply to every inquiry concerning the application of any sort of aliment which is specifically essential ; and now, with this remark, we offer to the reader a few lines extracted from a prize-essay, by an American writer, which at this moment only has met our eye. ‘This essay claims the serious attention of every tyro in the art of manuring, and we refer him to it, commencing at p. 246, of the ‘* Farmers’ Magazine,” for September instant. In section 12, p. 258, there are most perti- nent remarks on ashes, which, however, our limits constrain us to abbreviate.
‘We have in ashes a great variety of substances; they come from the soil ; they form a part of plants. The dead plant returns them again to their mother earth ; or we, losing the volatile parts of a plant, its mould and ammonia, by burning, collect its salt as ashes. Let us see what these salts are—
THE BASES ARE= THE ACIDS ARE— Potash and soda. Carbonic, or carbon united to oxygen. Lime. Phosphoric, or phosphorus united to oxygen. Magnesia. Sulphuric, or sulphur united to oxygen: Clay. Muriatic, essentially composed of chlorine.” Tron. Manganese.
Silex, or the earth of flints.
In Guano we possess all these acids, and the greater number of the bases ; in it, therefore, we possess the means of restoring old effete manures, and of conferring qualities on poor soils. But we require faithful analyses, to instruct us how to apply it with specific good effect ; and these are in a state of rapid progress.
MANAGEMENT OF TROPHOLUM POLYPHYLLUM.
—_—+—— At the time our figure of this plant was published, (Vol. x., p. 175,) appear- ances seemed to indicate that it would prove a shy-blooming plant. It is, however, with pleasure that we now find ourselves enabled to record, what indeed was then suggested, that the deficiency and rapid passing away of the blossoms only resulted from an unsuitable course of treatment. On its first introduction, the species, being a native of Peru, was naturally considered a somewhat tender plant, and cultivated accordingly, in a pot, under
MANAGEMENT OF TROP/EOLUM POLYPHYLLUM. 205
glass. Afterwards, however, it was, for the sake of trial, planted in the open air in a border with a western aspect, and it has stood there two winters without protection. One of these being, of course, that of 1844-5—a winter almost unparalleled for its length and severity—there can now be no reasonable doubt of its complete hardihood.
It is a plant which forms large underground tubers of considerable length, by which it may be propagated with facility. These are divested of their stems and foliage early in autumn, remain through the winter in a quiescent state, and protrude fresh shoots with increased profusion in spring. The species may be increased by dividing the tubers; each part containing a bud, will soon produce a flourishing plant.
Perhaps the early maturation of the stems, and the consequent profound state of torpidity at which the tubers arrive before winter, may be in some measure conducive to their hardiness. Hence it would be unwise to attempt to prolong the season of growth and vigour to any considerable degree. At Messrs. Knight and Perry’s it has been grown in a somewhat dry situation, in a border, the soil of which is a light sandy loam. Probably greater vigour might be elicited by employing a soil of a more retentive and a more nutritive quality ; but such a change would be likely to affect the hardihood of the plant in two ways: first, by retarding the season of rest; and secondly, by retaining more moisture in the vicinity of the tuber during winter. Nevertheless, such a change may possibly be adopted to some extent with benefit to the summer aspect of the plant, and without much endangering its existence through the frosty months.
The utility of burying the tubers of Tropzolums has been adverted to in former volumes: in this species they should be full four inches deep, in order to increase their safety from excessive cold. No hurtful consequences need be apprehended from doing so, if the ground is properly drained ; on the contrary, the plants will grow with greater luxuriance. We conceive, also, that it will always be better to leave the tubers in the ground undisturbed, than to remove them every year after the stems are withered: they will commence growing earlier and also more vigorously. A portion of the soil may be removed occa- sionally as it becomes impoverished, and a quantity of fresh earth added in its place.
The shoots generally appear rather early in spring, and reach a flowering state about the end of May or beginning of June, lasting till the latter part of July. They should be trained over a sloping trellis, to show the flowers to the best advantage. These stand erect and are closely arranged, appearing perfectly clear of the handsome glaucous foliage. Ifa sufficient number of shoots are not sent up from the tuber, the strongest may be pinched back to within a short space of their origin ; this will insure other buds to break, and thus produce stems in plenty. No other pruning will be necessary. Managed in this way, it makes a very attractive and pleasing object. Perhaps the protrusion of flowers might be
206 ZINC FOR HORTICULTURAL PURPOSES.
hastened by planting the tubers beside a conservative wall, where the young shoots would be protected from frosts, and encouraged to spring sooner, and grow somewhat more rapidly than in the exposed border.
It produces seed, though not so freely as some of the species; sufficiently so, however, to render it highly probable that varieties of an improved character, perhaps double ones, might be reared from it. Crimson streaks, or a richer ground colour might probably be obtained by cross-fertilising with such as the atrosanguinea variety of T. majus, or the brilliant scarlet 7’. Lobbianum recently introduced by Messrs. Veitch and Sons, of Exeter. This is a process we like to keep attention fixed upon; for, magnificent as some of its results have already proved, we believe that a vast deal more may be effected by perseverance with a judicious selection of subjects, than anything which its influence has yet produced.
ZINC FOR HORTICULTURAL PURPOSES.
In conjunction with a good system of treating plants, there are some other points to which it is at times useful to draw attention ; amongst which we at present fasten upon that of perfecting economy, neatness, and general efficiency of the different apparatus employed in a garden. Many substances have of late years been made available for a variety of purposes in gardening, by which the opera- tions of the culturist have been much facilitated, and the general aspect of the garden improved. We have before spoken of slate, and now bring forward another substance—zince, which has been found useful in several ways, and appears to be possessed of sufficient merit to warrant a short notice.
The material being light and free from corrosion, it is more eligible for many purposes than either iron, lead, or tin-plate. It appears to be well suited for the manufacture of watering-pots, and similar utensils in every-day requisition. It is of course somewhat heavier than tin-plate, but this is so trifling in an ordinary- sized watering-pot, as to be a matter of little consequence. The primitive cost also is greater; this, however, is more than balanced by the greater length of time it will last, and by there being no necessity to use paint, which is quite indispensable with tin. Besides, even when every precaution has been observed against it, it is almost impossible to keep a tin watering-pot from corroding, and hence requiring frequent repairs. Roses to fit them may also be made of zinc, as they are now usually made of tin; but we prefer having the perforated part of a rose of copper or brass, and made loose, to screw into a socket of the same material fastened upon a zinc or tin shank. With this contrivance, whatever impurities exist in the water may be prevented from materially obstructing its passage through the perfo- rations, by occasionally unscrewing the end and cleaning it out. It is of some importance in economising time, for it would occupy more time to force water
ZINC FOR HORTICULTURAL PURPOSES. 907
through a clogged-up rose than would be spent in unscrewing and screwing on the top when it might require it.
Another purpose for which zinc is eligible is as a substitute for lead in the construction or lining of cisterns. It is not only a less expensive article, but has a much neater appearance. In the same way small tanks of various forms might be made for the cultivation of aquatics ; and, for the sake of neatness, inclosed in a frame of wickerwork, upon which many small species of Orchidaceze and Lycopo- diums might find a home.
Again, zinc forms an admirable material for gutters, to receive and convey away the water from a glass house or other building. When employed in this way, it should always be braced up well with iron supports made to fit close to the under surface of the gutter, otherwise in heavy rains the weight of water might depress it from the level, between the supports, and thus render it incapable of conveying off the water. Zinc gutters have a much neater and lighter appearance than wooden ones; in fact, wooden ones ought never to be employed, as they give the front of a house a clumsy aspect, and cause a greater obstruction of light than zinc ones.
Zinc gutters, or troughs of different lengths, are sometimes formed so as to fit on the top of round hot-water pipes for heating houses. In this way they are useful in houses where a considerable degree of humidity is required at certain seasons ; and more or less moisture might be furnished by covering either the whole or only a part of the pipes. The troughs, moreover, may be emptied at any time when the external weather renders it imprudent to keep a very moist atmosphere within ; and when they are no longer necessary, they may be entirely taken away, and set by, in some dry shed, till they are again required. Hence they possess some advantages of no little moment over troughs fixed to the pipes.
In an admirably arranged Orchidacez house not long ago erected at the Messrs. Henderson’s Nursery, Pine-apple Place, fitted up with slate shelves over the hot- water apparatus, a semi-cylindrical piece of perforated zinc plate is inserted between each length of slate, to facilitate the passage of heated air. A layer of sandy soil is placed upon the slate, and kept damp during the growing season. By this means the roots of the plants set there are provided with a genial bottom-heat, and there is a constant circulation of warm air through the perforated plate.
Many gardeners are partial to labels of this metal. When cut out with a punch or chisel of an oval form, leaving a short leg to fix them in a pot, and either painted and lettered, or written upon with a prepared ink, they look very neat with the head bent down over the edge of the pot. Of a larger size, they are sometimes used for water-plants in ponds, the oval head attached to a rod of iron firmly fixed at the bottom of the water, and sufficiently long to raise the label a few inches above the surface of the water. :
Zinc is also moulded into handsome vases and stand-bottoms for placing plants upon in @ room, so as to catch all the water that drains from the pots. These are
908 ZINC FOR HORTICULTURAL PURPOSES.
highly ornamental when well painted of a stone or marble colour, or whatever other colour may accord best with the apartment. Of course such stands should be immediately emptied after every watering, by a small ornamental tap, unless the plants are in Hunt’s patent pots, or elevated so that the hole in the bottom may stand clear above the water.
But perhaps the best application of zinc which has yet been made, is in the manufacture of hand-glasses. Our woodcut represents one of an improved form, which Messrs. Rollisson had constructed three or four years ago for propagational purposes, and, as it gave the greatest satisfaction, the plan has since been very extensively employed in their nursery at Tooting. The framework is formed entirely of zinc, and divided into squares’ by zinc bars, with a ledge for the glass
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painted with a lead colour. On the top of the framework there is a wire handle attached to two small upright pieces of zinc, for convenience in shifting the glass from place to place; and imme- diately beneath the handle are two small lids of zinc, hinged upon a wire in the middle, running from one of the raised pieces of zinc to the other. These lids together cover an aperture about four inches square. The upright plate of zine at each end is intended to keep the lids or ventilators open; and they are set so close as to be capable of holding them up at any angle, without other support. These hand-glasses are lighter than those constructed with leaden frames ; and as zinc is less pliable than lead, they are not so apt to be put out of form by an accidental blow ; hence they economise glass. The ventilators at the top are obviously for the purpose of allowing the admission of air to cuttings after they are struck, and thus preparing them for the entire removal of the hand-glass. As glass is now much cheaper, larger panes may be employed, and some of the cross- bars dispensed with. Miniature greenhouses, for growing plants in rooms, may be constructed of the same materials, and after a variety of ornamental designs. Before quitting the subject, we may observe that galvanised iron, (which is iron coated with zinc by a particular process,) has also been used in several ways con- nected with Horticulture ; but until the merits of the material have been more fully tested, it would be premature to offer an opinion. _Watering-pots, however, have been in use for the last twelve months, and are so far satisfactory ; at the Hammer- smith Nursery, Messrs. Lee have employed it for open hot-water gutters to heat pits; at Brooklands, it has been formed into hot-water pipes for a vinery ; and it has been used largely for roofing sheds in various places.
209
CULTURE OF BEGONIAS.
pean ree
Wirain the last few years this genus of plants has risen much in the estima- tion of the floral public, partly through the introduction of a few highly interesting varieties, and partly owing to the progressive improvement which their culture has undergone. Still we believe they are not yet such universal favourites as they must eventually become, when their merits have been more extensively elicited and made known.
We hardly know a genus of plants which may be rendered more acceptable in a collection where floral beauty and handsome growth are desired ; and there are few that display more strikingly the evidences of an appropriate and attentive, or a mistaken, careless treatment. The singular form of the leaves, and in some species their satiny upper surface, and in others their blood-red under surface ; the pleasing and conspicuous arrangement of the inflorescence, the delicate white or bluish-tinted petals and yellow stamens of one kind, and the scarlet or coral-like hue of another; the long endurance of the blossoms, and in some species their fragrance—these are all features which are universally esteemed and admired; and we may add, that there is scarcely a month of the year in which some one or other of the species may not be seen in the perfection of flowering.
Popular notions have long prescribed stove culture; hence many have been deterred from attempting their cultivation, who would otherwise have delighted in them. Such, however, is by no means indispensable in the management of several species, though all are certainly benefited by the application of considerable warmth in the earlier stages of their growth.
The station most congenial to their nature, and most incitative of a speedy development, is one where they can be supplied with an atmosphere uniformly moist, and the roots exposed to a gentle bottom-heat. And in no place can this be better managed than in a common frame placed on a hotbed, or in an ordinary brick-pit, heated either by fermenting materials, or by a tank of hot water. Whichever mode of heating be adopted, the degree of warmth furnished should be suffered to lessen gradually as the plants advance in growth, till they commence developing their blossoms, when (in the summer season at least) it may be entirely suspended. By this gradual reduction of artificial heat, the plants will not only be more robust and capable of enduring greater hardships, but the flowers will last longer and acquire a finer tint.
During growth, moreover, it is essential to supply water with a liberal hand, and to shelter them from the mid-day sun-light; for they are generally found in their natural haunts, occupying a humid soil in some sheltered shady place. The only danger which can arise from this, lies in using a soil of an unsuitable texture, or the want of effective drainage. If water can pass away quickly from the soil, just leaving it moist, without rendering it sodden, there need be no fear of evil
VOL. XII.—NO. CXLI. E E
210 CULTURE OF BEGONIAS.
- resulting from copious applications. It must be remembered, however, that we are now only speaking of plants which are actually growing freely: before the plants have recommenced vegetating, they should receive no water, or very little, and for some time after, it must be dealt out in a sparing though gradually in- creasing quantity. Plants with a diseased or feeble growth cannot bear so much water as those which are growing luxuriantly, and of course consuming more for their support. The species, moreover, with small leaves and tenuous stems, demand less than those of a coarser habit. <A healthy plant in full vigour of B. heraclet- folia will require at least five times more water than it would be proper to apply to a similar plant of B. Martiana.
Like most other plants of free growth, Begonias delight in a good share of liquid manure. Guano in small quantities well diluted with water is a beneficial substance. But the same rule which applies to the administration of water, ought also to regulate the application of a solution of guano or other liquid manure ; as the quality and strength in which they may be given with benefit to the robust growing kind, would act injuriously upon those of a more delicate character.
Soils of various descriptions are advocated by different cultivators, some pre- ferring a light sandy earth, others peat, and a third loam. Each of these may suit particular species, but none of them, we are persuaded, can be used generally with so much advantage, as a rich soil composed of about equal quantities of a stringy peat, thoroughly decayed leaves, and moderately tenacious loam, consisting of the rotted turves from a pasture. A large amount of vegetable matter will be beneficial to the stronger-feeding species, whilst those of finer growth will thrive better in a compost containing a greater portion of peat.
The present system of allowing plants larger pots has produced a great im- provement in the culture of plants generally ; and we may say, particularly in this genus, and others of rapid growth. Most of the Begonias grow with great freedom, if they are encouraged to do so, by giving the roots good soil and plenty of pot- room. On the other hand, if the roots are confined, the plants are prevented from growing well, and forming handsome foliage of good colour; and of course the number of flowers also is very greatly diminished. It is right to observe, however, that it is not a good plan to remove a plant late in its growing season from a small pot to one much larger: if more soil becomes indispensable to maintain the plant in health and vigour, it should only be shifted to a pot a size bigger. Large shifts are only proper when the plants are just aroused from a quiescent state and commencing their growth; if, at that time, the roots have plenty of space filled with good earth to ramify amongst, the plants will acquire both a larger size and handsomer appearance than under a starving, stinting treatment. They must have branches or they will not be good specimens, and these must be pro- duced naturally in the course of the main stem’s growth, and not by any forced pinching-back system. Now plants that are not supplied with abundance of nourishment at the roots, are exceedingly liable to run up with a single stem, and
CULTURE OF BEGONIAS. 211
seldom disposed to emit many side-growths. Such species also that, like B. ra- mentacea, have hardly any real stem, and are mainly dependent on their remark- able foliage for winning esteem, are completely spoiled when the roots are cramped. The leaves, instead of developing fully, turn down at the margin with a crumpled look, when little more than half-grown. Yet we find people condemn these plants as unworthy of cultivation ; whilst the real and simple truth is, that they have never tried what cultivation would do for them. Any other plant would cease to be beautiful if placed under circumstances as much the opposite of those which are most congenial to it.
We are surprised that so few people ever think of planting these charming things in a border, which is decidedly the best method of bringing out their capa- bilities. Many of them will thus do well in a house intermediate between the greenhouse and the stove, and make handsome bushes two or three feet high. Several, we have little fear, might also be made to flourish in a greenhouse border, as for instance, the B. Evansiana, sometimes seen thriving even in cottage windows. The most effective way of carrying this out would be to have a border or division of a border expressly appropriated to them. It would be necessary to take them up, and renew the soil, at least to a partial extent, every other year at the farthest, as they soon exhaust it. The old shoots, also, of the caulescent kinds, should be cut away yearly, to encourage the strong stems that push up from the root. Those with tuberose roots ought to be replanted every year, as many of them increase to a great extent by means of the small tubers usually found beneath the main ones.
Plants, which would otherwise make fine specimens, are very often spoiled through nothing else than the want of pruning. Some cultivators would seem to have acquired a strange notion that these plants will not bear the knife: the fact is, they will hardly acquire any excellence without it. In some of the large collections about London, we have sometimes noticed an old stem of some such species as B. digitata, towering up seven or eight feet in solitary grandeur, without a leaf to adorn it till within a few inches of the summit. It would be folly to expect such plants to look healthy or to flower well. None of the caulescent kinds should be suffered to retain any stem more than two years, and the generality only one. The noblest specimens are always formed by those which consist alone of the strong suckers which are annually thrown up from the roots. By leaving the old stems upon an occasional specimen, the species may be had in flower at different seasons ; but if the stems are retained longer than the second year, both leaves and flowers dwindle to a very inferior size. It is true suckers will not be well developed unless the roots have plenty of room to spread, and a good soil and atmosphere to grow in; but if they receive liberal encouragement they are capable of forming by far the finest specimens.
A collection of species, embracing only those which are most handsome and showy, would require more space than can generally be spared for one family in an ordinary
212 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
stove; that is, to grow each species as it ought to be grown. The decreasing price of glass, however, will eventually render the erection of more houses a much less expensive undertaking. We would therefore suggest a separate house to be devoted to this family conjointly with the tribe of Gesneraceous plants, which is also already too extensive to allow even the choice species and varieties alone to be cultivated properly in the miscellaneous stove. And, let it always be remembered, that a few specimens well grown are ever infinitely more beautiful and pleasing than the myriads of half-starved plants, almost destitute of flowers and of foliage, which disgrace the collections of those who grasp at more than their means can accomplish.
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
—_—_@—_—__
NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR SEPTEMBER.
ANIGOZA/NTHUS PULCHER/RIMUS. “One of the most beautiful of this fine genus from its copious and richly coloured flowers and flowering branches; the former being bright yellow, the latter clothed with scarlet hairs, curiously branched on a yellow ground. It is a native,” continues Sir William J. Hooker, ‘‘ of the Swan River settlement, where it was detected by our indefatigable friend, Mr. James Drummond. From seeds sent by him, it has been raised by Mr. Low, of the Clapton Nursery, to whom the Royal Botanic Garden owes the possession of a fine plant. It has not yet, as far as I am aware, bloomed in this country, and our figure is taken from a dried native specimen sent by Mr. Drummond, in which, from the nature of the plant, and peculiarity of its vestiture, the form and colours are as well preserved as if seen in a living state. Perhaps in the general structure of the blossoms it comes nearest to A. flavidus ; but the flowers are much shorter, and the panicle, and leaves, and clothing, are all very different in the two species. It loves a light sandy soil, and the protection of a good green- house, and will prove a highly ornamental plant to our gardens.” When in flower the plant stands two or three feet high. The leaves are of a linear falcate form, with an acuminate termination, and are clothed with a dense hoariness. They are most abundant, though smaller, towards the bottom of the stem, gradually becoming more remote and longer upwards. Upon the flowering-stem the leaves again decrease in size, till it becomes a large flowering panicle, with lanceolate bracteas at the origin of the branchlets. There are several flowers on each branchlet, which, with their large size and rich yellow colour, cannot fail to prove highly attractive. Bot. Mag. 4180.
AzA LEA Lati’t1az, A handsome and fragrant garden hybrid, reared by the Hon. and Rev. the Dean of Manchester, in his garden at Spofforth, who gives the following account respecting it. It “ was obtained, with others, from seed of a common Rhododendrum Ponticum, impreg- nated in the greenhouse at Spofforth by pollen of Azalea. Several seedlings raised there perished, as well as others, by the pollen of an orange Azalea, and a multitude of the stock of seedlings from Rhodora Canadensis, by Azalea Pontica, of which one of the survivors, under the name Az. Seymouri, has been figured ; and also of Rhododendron arboreum, by the variety of Azalea called mirabilis. From the difficulty of finding any soil in the neighbourhood that would suit these hybrid plants, which are delicate before they have acquired strength, the soil at Highclere was more congenial to their growth, and some from this seed by Azalea Pontica were preserved there. I have one yellower than this, of which the leaves are rather more durable, and one of which the colour is tinged with a coppery purple. The leaves are rather more durable, broader, and blunter, than the leaves of Azalea Pontica; but in this, as in almost all hybrid plants, the male type greatly preponderates. It is difficult to conjecture why, in expelling the purple of the female flower, the yellow of the male should have substituted white. The mode in which colours act in
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 213
hybrid crosses is singular. When the bright yellow flower of the white turnip is crossed with the dull golden of the Swede, an intermediate colour is not obtained, but some of the mules (as to the colour of the flower) follow one parent, and some the other. When a blue Anagallis is crossed with the orange coloured, the effect is to discharge the yellow from the orange, and leave the dull red which was combined with it, while the blue remains in abeyance. One plant sometimes retains the ten stamens of the female, and sometimes they are reduced to nine, or eight, or even nearer ~ to the quota of Azalea. In order to obtain a cross with the leaves more permanent, and like those of Rhododendron, the pollen of the fine white cross between R. Ponticum and maximum, or of Caucasicum, should be applied to Azalea Pontica, Sinensis, or Calendulacea. The yellow and coppery mules of the late Mr. Smith, of Norbiton, were obtained from that white Rhodo- dendron by the pollen of Sinense, and their leaves are not more durable than those of Rhododendron (Azalea) Letitie. It being desirable that no garden varieties should have adjective names, and be thereby confounded with species, this plant is named Letitic, after the Christian name of the Hon. Mrs. Herbert.” Bot. Reg. 51.
Currrta Zeyia’nica. “Of the family of Cyrtandracee,” writes Sir W. J. Hooker, “lately so admirably illustrated by Mr. Brown, and more fully described by De Candolle, father and son, very few species indeed have been in cultivation, and two of those that are at this moment blossoming in the Royal Gardens of Kew, do not appear to be anywhere described. Our knowledge of those we have will lead us to seek for more; since, like their affinities, the Gesneracece (of which, indeed, Mr. Brown considers them a group or section), they are of great beauty and easy cultivation ; and they seem to abound in the East Indies, as the true Gesneracee do in the tropical parts of the New World. The generic Chirita of Hamilton (written Chirata in Don’s ‘ System of Gard. and Botany’), is said to be altered from the vernacular name of one of the species, and of course of Indian origin. Our present species is a native of Ceylon, and was raised from seeds sent from that island to Mr. Henderson, the scientific gardener to Lord Fitzwilliam, late at Milton, now at Wentworth.” It is a beautiful plant, standing about a foot high, clothed with ovate-acute leaves, showing the veins prominently. The flowers are of a rich purple colour, funnel-shaped with a spreading border, and are carried in a panicle considerably longer than the leaves. It flowers, also, through most of the summer months ; and is, indeed, one of the most desirable and engaging stove-plants in the country. Specimens have been blos- soming for some time in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew. Bot. Mag., 4182.
CHLOR'#A VIRESCENS. Dr. Lindley says this is “one of those beautiful terrestrial Orchids which, under the names of Pichiguen, Gavilu, Azuzena, Pica de Loro, &c., are most charming ornaments of the subalpine pastures of the Cordilleras of Chili. The present, which is one of the finest, has been reared by Mr. Cameron, the intelligent and skilful curator of the Botanic Garden, Birmingham, by whom it was exhibited at the last May exhibition in the garden of the Horticul- tural Society. Mr. Cameron regarded it as the Chlorea chrysantha of Poppig, in which he is probably correct ; but it is also the C. virescens, so called on account of the green veins which are drawn over the orange ground colour of the gaudy flowers, and the latter name being the oldest must be retained.’”’ It is to be hoped that some pains wiil be taken to procure the roots of these plants, now that the possibility of cultivating them has been shown. ‘‘ They are as common over all the subalpine country between Conception and Valparaiso, as the meadow orchises here. It will be necessary, however, to mark their stations when in flower, and to take them up only when the stem and leaves are withered.’’ Bot. Reg., 49.
Cympi’p1um Master’su. Obtained from the East Indies in 1841, by Messrs. Loddiges, and flowered in their collection last December. “It is a very distinct species, with snow-white flowers, sweet-scented, with the fragrance of almonds, Its erect flower-stalk, closely covered with long green sharp-pointed equitant imbricated sheaths, is quite unlike that of any other species. It was, we understand, named by the late Mr. Griffith after Mr. Masters, one of the principal assistants in the Botanic Garden, Calcutta.’’ Bot. Reg., 50.
Ecuinoca’ctus Leza'nus. This is a small species, but not the less beautiful on that account, for the handsome cream-coloured flowers are large compared with its size. It was “raised by Messrs. Lee, of the Hammersmith Nursery, from seeds sent from the Argentine provinces by Mr. Tweedie, of Buenos Ayres, in 1840.” A specimen flowered in the Cactus-house of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, last May. It may rank near F. multiforus. Bot. Mag., 4184.
214 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
EcHINOCA’CTUS MULTIFLO RUS. A larger species in every respect, and remarkable for its prodigality of blossom. The flowers are nearly white, and bear much the same proportion to the size of the plant as those of the preceding. The tubercles, however, and the spines, are larger. It is “from the rich collection of Cactuses in the possession of Mr. Palmer, of Stockwell, near London, who obligingly sent a specimen to Kew on the eve of its blossoming.” Its native country appears to be unknown. Bot. Mag., 4181.
Eremosta’cuys Lacinia‘ta. The English name given to this showy herbaceous plant is the “ Jag-leaved Desert-rod.’’ It‘‘is a common inhabitant of the eastern side of Caucasus and the adjoining countries, where it is found on dry hills. Its great fleshy roots are evidently adapted to such situations only.”” Under cultivation it grows to twice the size it attains in a wild state, and the leaves are more than as broad again. What it gains in luxuriance, however, it loses in attractiveness, for the flowers are smaller and more hidden. “This seems to indicate that the plant had been grown in too damp an atmosphere. It appears to be intended by nature to resist even a Persian summer.” Bot. Reg., 52.
GARDENIA STANLEY‘ANA. A noble plant, with erect trumpet-formed flowers eight or nine inches long, and nearly five broad, standing on the outside of the plant. They are of a pale colour, with the exception of the markings about the throat, which bear some resemblance to the Japan Lilies, though not so brilliant. The species is also remarkable for its elegant habit and fine foliage. It isa native of Sierra Leone, and may be procured of Mr. Glendinning, of Turnham Green. Another species from the same quarter, which Dr.'Lindley believes to be amongst the unknown plants now in some of the stoves of this country, has somewhat smaller flowers, of a leathery texture, and covered over with a close fur. To this plant he has given the title G. Whit- fieldii, after the gentleman who discovered it. Bot. Reg. 47.
GOMPHO'LOBIUM VERSICO'LOR ; var. caulibus purpureis. A pretty greenhouse plant from the Swan River, raised at the nursery of Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, and Co., Exeter. It is a plant of an upright shrubby habit, with large richly-coloured flowers. Bot. Mag. 4179.
Lasi’sta potHor'Na. ‘This very singular plant flowered last year in the garden of the Horti- cultural Society. It had been received from Penang, without a name, in a collection of curious things liberally ‘presented to the Society by T. Lewis, Esq. It was considered a Pothos, or some such plant, before it flowered, and no one suspected its being an Exogen. It proves, how- ever, to be a new form of Ardisiads, remarkable for its singular way of growth, and because * each lobe of the corolla resembles the bowl of a small spoon, in the hollow of which lies a stamen. From the appearance of Mr, Griffith’s specimens, we apprehend that the plant occupies very damp shady situations.” It seems disposed to ripen seed, and this will probably be the only means of multiplication, as the stems offer no means for the purpose. It requires a stove heat, and is grown in loam and peat. Bot. Reg. 48.
NEW OR INTERESTING PLANTS RECENTLY FLOWERED IN THE PRINCIPAL METROPOLITAN GARDENS.
ANEMO'NE JAPo'NIcA. A gigantic species, growing as much as three or four feet high, and considerably branched at the upper part. The flowers are very showy, being about three inches in diameter, and of a beautiful rich crimson-pink colour. It was sent from the north of China to Chiswick, by Mr. Fortune, and was lately exhibited at the rooms in Regent Street. It is expected to prove hardy, or nearly so.
Cxr/stRUM auRANTIA‘cuM. This plant, as cultivated in the Chiswick Gardens, is decidedly one of the finest of autumnal-flowering greenhouse shrubs. It possesses a good habit and fine foliage, with clusters of orange-yellow blossoms. The fruit consists of a roundish white berry.
HELIoTRO'PIUM INcA‘NUM. A species lately imported from Peru by Messrs. Veitch, of Exeter. The flowers are white, and emit a fainter and less pleasing odour than the common Species ; indeed, it is altogether an inferior plant.
INDIGO'FERA DECO‘RA. A fine plant with handsome pinnate foliage, and delicate pink flowers in spikes. It was sent from China, by Mr. Fortune, and has bloomed in the collection at the Horticultural Society’s Garden.
OPERATIONS FOR OCTOBER. 215
Litium, varieties. Amongst an extensive collection of seedling Liliums reared by Mr. Groom, of Clapham Rise, from seed of ZL. atrosanguineum fertilized with L. bulbiferum, we noticed some time ago many very handsome flowers of a rich crimson fleckered with large dark blotches. The height of the plants varies from about six to eighteen inches. We were particularly struck with their magnificent appearance growing in beds of considerable extent, and planted rather closely. Their richly-coloured flowers and dwarf habit, render them well suited for planting in large masses on rockwork, or here and there upon the outskirts of a shrubbery.
OPERATIONS FOR OCTOBER.
—
THE general aspect of the garden now begins to indicate the near approach of winter. Most of the splendid flowers that have spread out their beauties through the summer months, if not already disfigured by frost, will be beginning to fade. The leaves of the forest trees are never more lovely in their brightest green than now that they are fading, and each assuming tints peculiar to itself.
The present time, therefore, will be the most appropriate for observing the effects of planta- tions already formed, and acquiring ideas for the formation of new ones. Each kind of tree must be noticed, and how the tints of its foliage harmonise or contrast with the foliage of those around it. This method will be found eminently serviceable, and will prove in the end much more satisfactory, than planting without any previous examination of the effect produced by certain intermixtures.
A similar examination should also be extended to the flower-plots, if that work was not attended to in September. It is now somewhat late ; nevertheless, some idea may yet be formed from the remnants of summer beauty which still exist. The best way is to have a plan of the flower-beds sketched upon paper, and to make all the arrangements for planting each bed the succeeding season, whilst the effect created by last year’s arrangements are still visible. Hence it will be easier to correct anything that appears objectionable, and to judge what would be the effect of any alterations that may suggest themselves, than if the revision be delayed till spring.
Contemplated alterations in any part of the garden should also be determined upon now, and exactly noted down ; and they may be proceeded with as soon as leisure permits. Works of this kind should never be passed over till the spring months, when so many operations are crowding upon the attention. Besides, if completed early, the marks of them will be so much the sooner obliterated.
All the beds should be cleared that contain tender plants, which are now either quite destroyed, or so far decayed as to be no longer objects of beauty ; unless, as in the case of the Dahlia, where the tubers are unripe, when the tops, if at all living, may be suffered to stand at least another month, to assist in their maturation.
But although it is time to clear the beds of those plants which have been their ornament in summer and autumn, we by no means intend that the beds should be left unadorned through the winter. Immediately after they are cleared, and the soil has been newly pointed over, fresh plants should be brought from the reserve ground to lend some attraction through the winter. These must of course be dwarf-growing, and very hardy evergreen shrubs, such as the Vaccinium vitis idea, Berberis aquifolium, Minorea Box, and dwarf Heaths. For a more copious list and other information upon the winter decoration of the flower-garden, the reader is referred to Vol. xi. p. 252.
It is frequently difficult to procure stakes for tying up plants, in sufficient abundance. Hence it is the more needful to be careful to prevent them from decaying. As soon as they are no longer wanted in the ground they should be taken up, cleaned, and carefully laid by in some dry shed. It is a good plan to char the bottoms before they are stuck into the ground—it will pre- serve them from rotting.
216 OPERATIONS FOR OCTOBER.
The lawn should be cleared of falling leaves, either every day, or at least two or three times every week. Some people leave this till all the leaves have dropped, which, besides being a slovenly practice, is highly injurious to the appearance of a lawn. The leaves are beaten in amongst the grass by every shower that falls, and so render it yellow, tender, and unsightly.
Whatever tender plants intended to be preserved, are yet left in the out-door department, should be immediately transferred to some place of protection, for we must expect frosts to increase in severity as the season advances. Those plants also which have been merely arranged under temporary security, should now be arranged as they are to remain through the winter. Such plants as Petunias, Verbenas, &c., that require a moderate degree of moisture in the soil during the dull months, will be benefited by being plunged to the rim of the pot in ashes or saw-dust, to reduce the extent of evaporation from the soil, and the consequent necessity for frequent waterings. Plants of a more succulent nature should, on the contrary, be set upon a wooden stage or floor, and will generally be most economically preserved in a greenhouse or vinery, upon some dry shelf within a short distance of the glass.
Plants which lose part, or the whole, of their branches through the severity of the frost, and shoot up again from the bottom in spring, should have their roots carefully covered with some pro- tective substance, such as dried ferns, well fastened down, dry peat-mould in places where it can be procured, decayed leaves, or the husks and spears of barley. The last-mentioned materials become so closely matted together after the first smart rain, as to be capable of throwing off succeeding showers, and thus keep the roots of the plants dry, and uninjured by cold. There is little chance of preserving delicate plants through winter, in an open border, unless the ground be well drained, and the soil open enough to allow any overabundance of moisture to filter away. Any not quite hardy plant that it may be desirable to preserve entirely, may be covered with canvas or matting, stretched upon some lightly-constructed framework, observing that the pro- tection should be kept off at all times when the temperature is not absolutely at, or below, the freezing point. It will be useful as a shade on a sunny morning succeeding a frosty night.
A general re-arrangement of the plants in the greenhouse will be indispensable, in order to have each placed in the most favourable station for standing the winter. All the hard-wooded plants, such as Cape Heaths, and the generality of New Holland plants, should be placed by themselves, apart from those of a softer and more succulent nature. This will be found of con- siderable advantage to the waterer ; and the plants will be less liable to receive too much or too little. Deciduous plants, moreover, may be set apart in some corner, or upon a shelf, as they will scarcely be ornamental, or at least, appropriate, where everything is designed to speak as much as possible of summer gaiety ; and as they will not require much water, they are best by themselves. And by doing so, it will give more room for those which really need it. Each plant ought to have sufficient room for its branches, without interfering with those of its neigh- bour, so that it may enjoy light and air freely. The maturity of all growing shoots must be hastened by ventilating the house with some freedom, at all favourable opportunities. Instead of closing very early in the afternoon, a little air should always be admitted till the evening.
The stove should undergo a similar examination and arrangement ; and as the plants in the lower part, both of this house and the greenhouse, should be as much exposed to light as possible, all shades may be thrown aside, and the climbers on the roof trimmed, so that they may not darken the interior.
Many of the most showy Orchidaceous plants will now be in flower. Those that are quite at rest should be kept by themselves, and all should receive a diminished supply of water ; shade may also be dispensed with here till another season.
In mild weather, trees, both evergreen and deciduous, may be planted ; so also beds of her- baceous plants may be formed, by transplanting from seed beds, or by dividing old roots that are grown too large. Some of the best Hyacinth bulbs should be selected now to flower in pots and glasses: the Hyacinth pot made by Mr. Hunt is an excellent article for this purpose. Most kinds of bulbs may now be planted in beds in the open air. Chrysanthemums should be covered. Mignonette may be sown in boxes, and a few other annuals to flower in spring. Everything must be kept perfectly clean in the houses.
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JACARANDA TOMENTOSA.
(Tomentose Jacaranda.)
Class.
DIDYNAMIA.
Order. ANGIOSPERMIA.
Natural Order.
BIGNONIACE®.
GENERIC CHARACTER. — Calyx campanulate, five- toothed; rarely tubular, truncate, entire. Corolla tubular at the base, very much dilated above, campa- nulate, ventricose beneath, limb bilabiate, five-lobed.
Specrric.CHARACTER.—Plant, a tree, sometimes grow- ing several feet in height. Bark grey. Leaves a span long, bipinnate, with three to five pairs of pinne, and an odd one; leaflets ovate or elliptic, acute or acumin-
ated, unequal, tomentose in the young state, and beneath in the adult state. Panicles small, terminal, tomentose. Peduncles one to three-flowered. Calyx with ovate, acute teeth. Corolla silky, violaceous, with a widened throat. Anthers two-lobed, lobes equal. Capsule oval-orbicular.
SYNONYME.—J. pubescens.
Stamens four, didynamous, with a fifth longer sterile filament, which is villously bearded at top. Anthers one-lobed in most of the species, with an obsolete rudi- ment of another lobe, rarely two-lobed, with the lobes equal and diverging. Stigma bilamellate. Capsule broad, compressed, two-celled ; valves thick, ligneous, dissepiment contrary to the valves, placentiferous on both sides. Seeds flat, transverse, with foliaceously- winged edges, outer testa coriaceous, rugosely plicate.
THE genus Jacaranda is composed of a few species, valuable for their handsome foliage and splendid flowers. They all originate in South America, where they form trees, sometimes of large size—most of them occasionally acquiring an altitude of from twenty to forty feet. In our stoves they are more diminutive ; and, with a little extra attention and suitable course of treatment, specimens not exceeding the dimensions of an ordinary Pelargonium are induced to develope copious panicles of their trumpet-formed flowers.
From the rest of the family the present is distinguished immediately by its very dissimilar leaves. Other species resemble the fine pinnate-leaved Mimosas in the form and elegance of their foliage ; but this approaches more nearly to some of the Tecomas (7. capensis). Beyond this, it is recognised by the botanist, when in flower, from the less prominent though not less important departure from the form of its associates, discovered in the anthers; the rest having but one lobe and the rudiments of a second, whilst the present has two lobes equally perfect.
It was imported afew years ago by Messrs. Knight and Perry, under the specific title of Bignonia Mauritiensis. This would indicate an African extraction; but it is most evidently an inadvertent error, as the species had previously been received in this country from Brazil. We learn, moreover, from the ‘‘ Botanical Register,” that a specimen reared from seeds, gathered in Mexico by Sir Thomas Hardy, flowered at Messrs. Whitley and Osborne’s nursery in the summer of 1827.
VOL. XII.——NO. CXLII. FF
218 JACARANDA TOMENTOSA.
Our embellishment represents a cluster of flowers produced on a small plant at Mr. Knight's exotic nursery, in September, 1842.
It appears somewhat strange that an impression should exist that this, and a host of other really splendid plants nearly allied to it, although occasionally exhibiting their magnificent character with seeming freedom, are difficult to manage, and that they should be seldom seen investing our stoves and greenhouses with their flowery treasures. The mere idea of difficulty itself should be incentive sufficient to promote their more general cultivation, with the view of overcoming it ; and in the present improved state of floriculture we cannot doubt but, like the Heath tribe, they will be found to grow well and blossom profusely, and with certainty.
Flowering specimens of the present kind may be had in a dwarf state, by propagating from the upper shoots of an aged tree, and submitting the young plants to a moderate bottom-heat in a low house or pit, during the spring months; supplying them at the same time with a moist atmosphere, sufficient pot-room, and nutritive soil, to support growth of medium strength. Specimens that have once flowered require to be severely pruned before they are again incited to grow.
In the specific name we have an allusion to the downy appearance of the foliage and young growths.
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GOMPHOLOBIUM VERSICOLOR, caulibus purpurets.
(Purple-ste mmed changeable club-pod)
Class. Order. DIADELPHIA. DECANDRIA. Natural Order.
LEGUMINOSZ.
GENERIC CHARACTER. — Calyx five-parted, nearly the plant, acute, almost apiculate at the extremity, equal. Carina of two concrete petals. Vexillum broad. margins slightly recurved, costate, but with no evident Stigma simple. Legume many-seeded, nearly spherical, nerves or veins. Racemes loose, few (two and three) very blunt.—Don’s “ Gardening and Botany.” flowered. Pedicels furnished with minute bracteoles.
SpEecIFIc CHARACTER. — Plant an upright, rather Flowers large, handsome. Calyx of five deep oblong- twiggy, small shrub, with sub-angular stems and acute segments. Keel glabrous. branches, glabrous. Leaves nearly sessile, trifoliate ; VaARietTy.—Stem purple.
leaflets linear, rather broadly so in the older parts of
Tose who are accustomed to view the many beautiful specimens of horti- cultural skill which grace the summer exhibitions near the metropolis, must have observed frequently amongst them plants of several species of this handsome genus of greenhouse exotics, and especially the G. polymorphum. ‘That species is now a well-known favourite, on account of its elegant slender shoots and plenteous blooming. The present, however, is a much more vigorous plant, and appears to have equal claims upon our attention in its large and handsome blossoms.
The G. versicolor, figured in the ‘‘ Botanical Register,’ is a stout, strong- growing plant, from which our variety only differs in having a purple stem. We understand, however, that a slender-growing plant, similar in habit to the G. polymorphum, with yellowish flowers mottled with red, has crept into the nurseries under the name of G. versicolor, and is now circulating as such.
Our drawing was taken from a specimen obligingly sent to us from Exeter by Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, and Co., who imported it from New Holland.
One recommendation, which most cultivators will appreciate, is its rapid growth compared with that of other species, It is well known that slow-growing plants are more difficult to preserve in health than those which lengthen with
greater rapidity. Sometimes, however, it occurs that the former flower more
copiously in proportion to the space they occupy. But the present plant developes
flowers with as much freedom as its branches extend ; and it is consequently one of the most appropriate kinds for those who are obliged to cultivate New Holland plants with a miscellaneous greenhouse collection.
290 _ GOMPHOLOBIUM VERSICOLOR.
It is easily cultivated in the ordinary mixture of turfy heath-mould, silver sand, and a small addition of loam. The best mode of supporting it is upon a cylindrical trellis; the shoots must be trained down sufficiently to cover the lower part of the trellis and the edge of the pot; and they ought to be allowed to hang more loosely than we generally find them upon the upper portion. Close training never looks well upon a pot-plant. Cuttings take root without much difficulty under a bell-glass, in sand.
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BRODIZA GRANDIFLORA.
(Large-flowering Brodizea. )
Class. TRIANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order.
LILIACE.
GENERIC CHARACTER.— Perianth complanate, six- cleft, persistent; with three scales at the throat, oppo- site the exterior segments, sometimes anther-bearing. Scales three, fleshy, hypogynous. Stamens three, in- serted in the throat, alternate with the scales. Anthers two-lobed at base. Style continuous, with the ovary awl-shaped. Stigma three-lobed. Capsule clothed, with the perianth, obovate, pedicellate, three-celled; cells three-valved. Seeds four or five in a cell, black, obovate,
SpPEciFicC CHARACTER.—Rool small, bulbous. Leaves radical, spreading, linear, acuminate, channelled. Scape erect, terete, slender, about afoot high. Flowers umbellate, corymbose, pedunculate; scales short, few, scarious. Peduncies usually in six or seven pairs. Perianth a delicate blue; tube six-streaked; limb spreading, longer ; segments oblong-linear, somewhat obtuse, the outer ones narrower. Scales ligulate.
SyNONYME.--Hookeria coronaria.
striated,peltate; testamembranous. Chalaza depressed.
To many of our readers we have no doubt that the present is a very familiar plant : nevertheless, it is one of many of its class that we could point to, which receive much less attention than their merits deserve, and which are perhaps less favoured, because they are suffered to blossom singly, instead of in extensive and rather dense masses. An individual plant of brodiea grandiflora would certainly have a somewhat meagre appearance on a lawn, with its narrow, scarce leaves and long flower-stems ; but plant a number of bulbs closely in a bed, and they will form in their flowering time (July and August) a sheet of the most delicate blue. Another plant adapted for the same kind of treatment, and not much unlike the present in general appearance, is the Titelcia laxa, a very beautiful bulb, but not so easily procured as our subject. The appearance of the species might also be improved by planting some small, quick-growing creeper in the same bed, to cover the soil with green foliage.
Bulbous plants of this description are admirable subjects for ornamenting the open patches amongst rockwork. These places might easily be rendered more gay with such flowers, and without, as we conceive, any offence to taste, if only judiciously and not too lavishly disposed.
The B. grandiflora appears to have been first introduced about the close of the last century ; but perhaps the greater portion of the plants now in the country have proceeded from later importations. It was detected by Mr. Douglas during
his botanical travels in North-West America, and transmitted to the Horticultural
999 | BRODIAA GRANDIFLORA.
Society in 1826. The specimen represented in our plate-was kindly supplied lasc summer by Mr. Groom, of Clapham Rise, in whose nursery the species is exten- sively cultivated.
Its cultivation is very simple, as the bulbs are perfectly hardy in a moderately dry soil: hence they may either be taken up in autumn to replant in spring, or left to winter in the open ground, at pleasure. A wet springy soil, however, is apt to rot them when dormant, and during summer they prefer a warm and light earth. They will likewise receive benefit from the slight shade afforded by planting amongst rocks.
The genus was established by Smith, and named in compliment to James Brodie, of Brodie, in Scotland, a gentleman attached to scientific pursuits.
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ACHIMENES PICTA.
(The Painted Achimenes.)
Class. Order.
DIDYNAMIA. ANGIOSPERMIA. Natural Order.
GESNERACEA.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx with its tube adnate to covered, as also is every part of the plant, with rather the ovary; limb five-parted; lobes lanceolate. Corolla long hairs, herbaceous, succulent. Leaves opposite, tubularly funnel-shaped, often swollen at the base; and ternately verticillate; petioles ovate-cordate, ser- limb five-cleft ; lobes sub-equal, sub-rotund. Stamens rate, rich velvetty green, mottled and reticulated with four, didynamous ; anthers not cohering. Rudiments white. Flowers on peduncles longer than the leaves, of the fifth stamen situated below the base of the drooping, moderately large. Calyx almost entirely corolla. Nectary glandular, in a small ring. Style free: tube obconical, or turbinate : segments oblong- slightly thickened towards the stigma, oblique, or with ovate, spreading. Corolla full yellow, with red above, two separate lobes. Capsule nearly two-celled, two- within streaked and dotted with red; tube funnel- valved: placentas parietal, sub-sessile. shaped above: limb spreading, two upper lobes the
SPEcIFIC CHARACTER.—RAoots consisting of numerous smallest. Ovary ovate, hairy, with five oblong, fleshy elongated scaly tubers. Séems erect, not much branched, glands at the base.
NotuHIne can be more appropriate than the specific title of this truly charming plant. The rich velvetty green foliage traversed with its reticulations and mottlings of pale greenish white, or the beautifully streaked and spotted flowers, would each be a sufficient ground for naming it ‘‘ the painted Achimenes.” It is certainly one of the finest of this magnificent family.
Mexico is its native country, and it is one amongst the many superb things introduced from that country by the Horticultural Society, through their active and zealous collector, Mr. Hartweg. That gentleman discovered it in his rambles on the wooded heights to the east of Guaduas, and gives the following account of it in the “ Horticultural Transactions : ”—“ In its native habitat this Achimenes prefers dry rocky ground, in places not much shaded, where it scarcely attains more than five inches in height, seldom producing above two or three of its finely mottled bright orange flowers upon a stem.”
From this account it appears that our garden specimens far exceed the wild ones both in vigour and abundance of flowers. It is no uncommon thing to see handsome plants two or three feet high, which, instead of merely a solitary blossom, have frequently from five to seven or eight from the axil of each leaf. In such cases a short peduncle usually springs from the axil, and after reaching to half an inch or an inch in length, branches off at the top into several pedicels, which are nearly erect, each carrying a single blossom. Last spring we measured a stem from which several vigorous branches had issued at a short distance from the foot, which extended upwards of four feet and a half from the surface of the soil to the
294 ACHIMENES PICTA.
top of the plant, and with upwards of forty expanded flowers upon it. This was produced by Mr. Duncan, gardener to — Campbell, Esq., Lamb Abbey, Kent. Several magnificent specimens have also been grown at Brooklands, the seat of J. Cook, Esq., by Mr. W. P. Ayres, from one of which our embellishment was sketched.
According to Mr. Hartweg’s account in the ‘“ Horticultural Transactions,” this is not the only species of Achimenes upon which cultivation has produced an improved appearance. The flowers of A. longiflora and A. pedunculata are said to be more abundant and nearly double the size in our plant-houses. The latter grows in its native haunts with a slender stem about one foot high, having a few leaves at the top, and seldom bearing more than two flowers.
The most successful cultivators start the tubers in a little bottom-heat, and during their growth place them in a warm greenhouse or pit, where a moist and partially shaded atmosphere is preserved. In their torpid state they only require to be kept dry.
We must not conclude our remarks without mentioning the facility with which this species may be had in bloom at every season of the year, by delaying or forcing the growth of the tubers, or rearing plants from leaves at different
periods.
INVESTIGATION OF SOILS.
As the period of torpor and repose is now established, and plants, with few exceptions, should be in a state of rest, it will not be irrelevant to the objects of floriculture to devote a few pages to the consideration of those discoveries which give promise of great improvement in that art. In our late notice of Guano, some idea was conveyed of the extreme caution required to avoid danger from the application of an agent so comprehensive and powerful. We are thus led further to insist upon the necessity which exists of becoming experimentally acquainted with all the media that gardeners employ in their several operations of culture: for to the present hour, as in agriculture, so in the floral departments, men act upon mere empirical routine, ignorant of principles, of the causes producing effects, and of the mode of correcting errors of misapplication.
_ Asa qualifier of what we assert, it must be avowed that plants, like animals, are liable to disease,—they are subjects of mortality, and, at the best, can only vegetate on, and progress to the close of their existence. We see an unhealthy subject, and wonder at the cause ; recourse is had to change of soil and modifica- tion of treatment; but without effect; it is weak—it cannot be nourished—- languishes, and dies. Thus disease may prevail without the fault of the gardener ; and soit will ever be. But this unhealthy condition is not at all connected with the inquiry which claims present attention.
A very few years have elapsed since it became apparent that to understand the proper treatment of any vegetable, the substances which enter into its organic structure ought to be discovered ; and some progress has already been made in this important branch of physiology.
Pending the course of experiments which will, at least, detect those inorganic elements that withstand the action of fire, and therefore are traceable to the soil in which the plant grows, we must be content to ascertain the constituents of the soil itself, and this we can effect with a degree of accuracy that could scarcely have been anticipated, by the ablest chemist, even at the period when Sir Humphrey Davy detailed his process of analysis before the Board of Agriculture.
If by tracing, and assuring himself of this fact the gardener acquire something like a correct knowledge of the earths he employs, and which experience has shown to produce the highest condition, he gains a great deal, and thereby converts mere conjecture into certainty.
Every gardener and florist of large practice is quite aware that, besides the multifarious varietiesof loam, there are the earths called mould, which have their origin in vegetable matter ; and also a considerable number of soils, vaguely styled peat, all adapted to the habits of the hair-rooted plants, but differing materially in quality and texture. Now, by the processes of analytic chemistry, the compo-
VOL, XII.—-NO. CXLII. GG
226 INVESTIGATION OF SOILS.
nents of all these soils can be eliminated and fairly exposed to view with a minute- ness of precision which must ultimately lead to certain and fixed principles. It would, however, be too much to expect a practical gardener to attempt to operate for himself ; he must take much upon trust ;—but, nevertheless, it would be always advantageous to become acquainted with the theory of the analyets and with the absolute facts which he can adduce. Formerly, in analysing a loam, the chemist was contented to determine its general earthy constituents, to search for and declare the amount of the rough sand, fine silex, alumina, carbonate of lime, and oxide of iron, which it might contain ; he sometimesalluded tothe gypsum and phosphate of lime which were occasionally trace- able, and he could ascertain the weight of the organic substances that were com- bined with the earthy matters. But now, we are required to enter into an accuracy of detail concerning the neutral salts, and soluble extractive acids that are produced by simple boiling in pure distilled water. A perfect loam, like the one described by Dr. Ure, in his article on Analysis of soil, (vol. v. part ii., of the Royal Agricultural Journal,) and which ‘‘ produced every variety of crop most. abund- antly,” and with only one manuring for fifty years, 1s not generally at command ; but every gardener may so modify his stores of turfy loam, (and these are notoriously required, ) as to become representatives of such a soil, provided he comprehend the nature of the elements named, and the operation of tests by which they are to be detected. The table given by Dr. Ure is the following. It is capable of being imitated without much difficulty ; and if a large mass were properly prepared, it would furnish a store of loam that, for pot-culture, might last for many years.
ou
NOorFaococoeowene &
1 Silica, or fine flinty earth 0 per cent. 2 Alumina
3 Oxide of Iron
4 Carbonate of lime (chalk) ° :
5 Sub-phosphate of lime (bone earth)
6 Carbonate of Magnesia
7 Organic matter, chiefly vegetable Gacule 8 Moisture separable by steam heat
9 Do. separable at red-heat .
fond NWOnaanrh © ©&
— S i=) i=)
besides traces of muriate of soda, (common salt,) muriate of lime, and ammonia zoo Of a part, equivalent to 1 grain in 600 of the soil. This ammonia was obtained from the azotised organic matter of the loam, in which Guano, when pure, is so exceedingly rich.
The tests required are caustic alkali, and nitric, or muriatic acid, to separate the silica; caustic ammonia for the alumina, oxide of iron, and phosphate of lime; oxalate of ammonia for the carbonate of lime; and carbonate of soda, or phosphate of soda, for the magnesia.
INVESTIGATION OF SOILS. 227
The muriates of soda and of lime are detected by nitrate of silver, which carries down the muriatic acid: and the ammonia is developed by a separate process, upon a fresh portion of soil, by means of caustic soda and quick lime.
All soils contain iron; but in some it exists in the lower state of oxidation, called protoxide, and then the tint of the loam is of a pale or greyish-drab ; in others, the red, purple, or rich brown hue indicates its saturation with oxygen.
These conditions can be ascertained by the test commonly termed prussiate of potassa, added to a solution of the soil in muriatic acid. When the iron exists as a protoxide, it appears as a pale bluish precipitate; but the peroxide yields the deep tint of Prussian blue, which, in fact, is produced by the action of the Prussiate.
This test is most delicate, and may be relied on as an indicator of iron when in acid or neutral solutions of soil; but it is not now used as the precipitant in analysis.
Peat—that is, properly speaking, heath or moor-soil—contains some iron, generally in the lowest state of combination with oxygen; and this is readily accounted for by the presence of black vegetable matter as one of the chief components of such earths. It may not be required to analyse these soils by chemical tests, because combustion at a red heat in an open capsule or evaporating basin will suffice to carry off the vegetable organic matter, leaving the bulk of white sand—so abundant in such soils—remaining in the vessel, combined with the oxide of iron, But the investigation by fire should always be made, as thereby the proportions of the sand and organic substances that exist in different samples will be determined. A curious and instructive series of experiments can be made with heath-soils, by digesting an ounce of each in half a pint of boiling rain-water, adding to one sample a few grains of salt of tartar, or soda; to another, a few drops of caustic ammonia: a deepening of tint will immediately take place, owing to the action of the alkalies upon the humic extractive of the soils, The infusion being strained off through a piece of coarse muslin, will be found, in some instances, of the colour of porter ; but by the addition of a little quick lime, or even of strong lime-water, this tint will disappear, the humic matter being most strongly attracted by the lime, uniting with it as humate of lime, and falling as an insoluble precipitate. These experiments teach us the true use of lime in land over glutted with vegetable matter; it acts as a specific corrective, by combining with thie redundant matters which poison the soil of a garden, and render bog and peat- lands quite barren.
Leaf-mould—always rejecting that of the laurel—is a good substitute for heath-soil, provided it be mixed with abundance of pure white, siliciows sand. Tested chemically by alkalies, it will yield colouring matter, which is acted upon and precipitated by lime, as in the case above alluded to. But there is one circumstance which must not be overlooked. Leaves of trees that grow in loams contain definite proportions of lime, alkalies, iron, and other of the earths soluble
298 INVESTIGATION OF SOILS.
in water. Now, heath-mould contains little else than sand and vegetable matter reduced from the plants which itself produces ; and therefore leaf-mould becomes inappropriate to the heath-tribes, which cannot generally flourish in richer soils.
In analysing heath and leaf-moulds, the latter will be found far the more complicated, but both are richer in humic substances than loams; while the inorganic constituents of the latter, existing in the ashes after ignition, are very different from the simple white sand of the former; and this circumstance, when fairly proved by experiment, will satisfy the inquiring gardener that he cannot in all cases substitute the one for the other; though practice will clearly point out which of the two must be applicable to individual plants.
There is one substance that cannot be deemed either earth or manure, but which offers many advantages to pot-culture, and now begins to be appreciated. Charcoal is this substance : it is quite insoluble ; it changes not, and is not liable to decay or putrefactive fermentation ; but it absorbs ammoniacal and other gases to the extent of many times its own bulk, becomes also saturated with water, and retains moisture pertinaciously ; hence, it forms the best sort of drainage, supplying the root with aqueous and gaseous matter, suitable to their habits, yet never producing change or decay. It is at once the most innocuous and useful of negative appliances, and may doubtless be added to soils in small fragments, as a preventive of aridity.
It is decomposed by ignition, and then is converted into carbonic acid gas; this gas is also developed constantly during the slow decay of vegetable remains, and thus becomes a fertile source of nutriment to the roots, and perhaps to the whole piant through the pores of the leaves.
From what has been stated, we hope that some idea will be formed of the compound nature of soils, and of the necessity which exists for the rigid investi- gation of every species of plant in order to obtain correct views of cultivation.
It is now known, that, besides the earthy matters, soils contain four, if not five species of vegetable organic substances soluble in water, and the three alkalies ; these are with certainty derived naturally from vegetable decaying matter, though in varying quantities ; they are termed by chemists, crenic, and apocrenic, humic, geic, and ulmic acids: but if there be a deficiency of inorganic elements, the material wanting must be confined by art, otherwise a plant which requires chalk, cannot thrive in earth destitute of or ill-supplied with that earth; another which thrives in soil containing phosphate of lime or soda will languish under OPP CHES circumstances.
These facts are decisive of the utility of chemical appliances, and they also account for the constant complaint which we hear of loam, and of the difficulty which one gardener meets with in cultivating some tribes that his neighbour or acquaintance raises in luxuriant perfection ; there are causes for all things, and some of these chemistry has discovered, and continues still to discover.
_ We dwell more particularly upon the necessity of unremitting, strict researches,
THE OLEANDER. 929
inasmuch as pending experiments have proved the entire absence of some common and most essential ingredients in earths, apparently of very rich quality ; and so it happens everywhere; for appearances, especially of texture and colour, go for very little, when success may depend upon the presence or absence of a two hundredth part of a phosphate, muriate, or oxalate, which cannot be traced by the most delicate mechanic investigation, Man cannot command the seasons, the absence or presence of solar light or heat: but he can detect and regulate the condition of inorganic elements.
While we are upon this subject, we wish to make known that our respected friend, Mr. Towers, of Maidenhead, Berks, having had considerable experience in the processes of chemical analysis, will undertake the operation for any gentleman or culturist who seeks to proceed with certainty in a matter of such moment. His charges will only be such as will fairly compensate the expense of apparatus, and chemical tests, and time and labour bestowed.
THE OLEANDER.
—_o——
WE cannot but regret to see, in the present day of floricultural improvement, so many of the most beautiful gems of Flora’s kingdom permitted to share the fate of those whose blossoms are deficient in attractive features; if they are not, like the latter, quite discarded, they are often left, without any solicitude for their welfare, to linger through a starving existence. We know not why it is that such noble flowers as those of the Neriums, interesting as much for their exquisite fragrance as for the plenitude and lovely hue of their blossoms, are so slightingly regarded. Under good management, indeed, these plants may vie with the Rose—the Queen of flowers—in interesting qualities.
Members of this genus have been found in various parts of the world. Loureiro speaks of the Oleander as growing in China, Cochin-China, and many other places in Asia. The “ Hortus Malabaricus” mentions one, as the Tsjovanna-Areli, which is considered to be identical with the double-flowered splendens, now common in collections. They have been discovered in the South of Europe, on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, in the West Indian Islands, and on the coasts of Africa, thus adorning with their stately forms and specious blossoms some district in each of the four quarters of the globe.
Whilst writing thus, we may observe, that a variety with Carnation-like flowers (in the way of Mr. Lane’s Rayanot, see vol. xi. p. 53), is by no means a novelty in the family. We find mention made of a Nerium jfloribus ex albo et roseo variegatis, in ‘ Miller's Gardener's Dictionary,” which was discovered by Dr. Tournefort, in the Levant, and was considered a scarce plant in Europe a century ago, when Miller wrote. As that plant is said to produce a white flower
230 THE OLEANDER.
striped with red, it may not, however, be the same variety as the one introduced by Mr. Lane, in which the sanguineous hue preponderates. It may be worth inquiring, therefore, whether such a plant as that described by Miller still exists either in the country denoted as producing it, or in European collections.
The opinions of botanists regarding the different Neriums which have been imported to this country are much at variance, as to whether they ought to be considered species or merely varieties; and the confusion of synonymes which has arisen through this has tended much to increase the difficulty of discovering which kind an author really intends by any of them.
It matters little, in a cultural point of view, whether they are strictly varieties or species: they have gained the popular name of Oleander in common, and it would be difficult now to limit its signification to any one of them. They are all beautiful plants, inhabiting similar stations, and requiring the same kind of treat- ment. Even in their natural haunts they are remarkable for their magnificence. A writer on the plants which inhabit the coast of Africa says, “ In the summer season, when all the more delicate plants have been dried up beneath the scorching sun, there is still the OLEANDER, with its brilliant bunches of rosy flowers, by which are traced from afar the courses of the rivers, on the banks of which it loves to dwell, and those humid spots which, from accidental circumstances, being never dried up, are then a kind of vegetable Oases.”
The conclusions which a cultivator must unavoidably deduce from these observations upon its natural habitat are palpable, and well confirmed in practice. We usually find a rich soil in the vicinity of rivers—and a rich loamy earth proves the best for the culture of the Nerium. But it is chiefly because it delights in, and in fact demands, a degree of moisture that would be pernicious to many other individuals, that it is met with in its most flourishing state upon the banks of streams, where its vigorous roots can penetrate ooze and mire to the water’s edge, and find a copious fund of fluid constantly flowing gently around them; and it is this fondness or necessity of the plant for an abundant provision of water, that has induced the grower to place beneath the pots capacious feeders full of water, or the drainings from the dunghill, so soon as the roots have passed throughout the soil in the pot in which it is intended the plant should bloom.
Again, they are found fully exposed to a scorching sun; and under artificial management there is no point more important than a good command of light. An abundant supply of water without strong light would be as ruinous as a blazing sun with an inefficient supply of moisture. It is true we cannot rule the sky and chase away the clouds, but we may prevent other things from obscuring the light of the sun; we may do away with the shade of trees, walls, and canvass, and keep the glass perfectly clean. Those plants constantly immured in a gloomy, shady situation, produce flowers that are deficient in colour, less redolent with their pleasant cinnamon odour, and more fugacious than those disclosed under a bright sun. We find also that a temperature gradually reduced from that of a moderately
THE OLEANDER. 231
heated stove to the warmth of an ordinary greenhouse, as the flowers advance towards maturity, enhances their colour, and prolongs the period of their duration ; but a sudden transition from the one to the other imposes a check, which prevents them from expanding, or if expanded at the time, hastens their decay.
Specimens, however, planted in a border where a greenhouse temperature is maintained, will flower beautifully, if the roots are nearly deluged with water in the hot summer months; or, at least, so abundantly furnished with it as to prevent any of the soil in the vicinity of the roots from becoming dry. Many people content themselves with bestowing a very superficial sprinkling, which is entirely taken up by the soil within two inches of the surface, whilst that beneath becomes completely void of moisture, and hence the roots which ramble amongst it are comparatively in a state of inaction and uselessness, being incapable of drawing nutrition for the support of the plant. One frequent consequence of the soil reaching this state in the course of the plant’s growth is, that the upper branches are apt to wither up suddenly, as if blasted ;—in the morning they may be quite healthy, and at night sapless, and no after-treatment can recover them. The branches of old trees, moreover, are liable to decay in the greenhouse during the winter months, when they should be at rest, if there is much dampness either at the root or upon the foliage. This decay or canker commences in a small speck on the bark, and gradually extends along the surface, and penetrates in depth, till further circulation of sap is stayed.
Old specimens frequently thrive and flower tolerably well in pots in a green- house or conservatory, when they are not exposed to a cold air, especially in the play of a current. In this case it will be necessary to give them frequent and copious draughts of liquid manure in a clear state, during the growing and flowering seasons.
Another feature in the management of the Oleander is the production of dwarf blooming specimens. These are easily procured by making cuttings (especially in Autumn) from the upper shoots; such cuttings, when rooted and encouraged in the forcing-house in Spring, will develope large trusses of flower when not more than a foot or eighteen inches high, and thus form pretty objects for the green- house or drawing-room. A collection of such plants of the white, variegated, and double-red flowered kinds, would make a pleasing variety, even in the absence of other things to mix amongst them.
Before we quit the subject, we must view the Oleander in another light— we mean as a plant for exhibition.
We believe it has seldom or never made its appearance at any of the great London Floral Exhibitions. It is true these exhibitions take place at a some- what early period for the flowers of the Oleander generally ; but there is nothing extraordinary in having them to flower by the middle of July: and when we look at the many proofs of skill and untiring assiduity which one of these fétes presents, the idea of difficulty vanishes. On such occasions a few specimens of
232 HINTS FOR THE FLOWER-GARDEN.
these “ plants of the stream” would make a gorgeous spectacle ; but the naturally upright, tree-like form of at least some of them, should be converted into that of a somewhat spreading bush. To do this, it will be necessary to use the knife with more freedom than it commonly is on this family. An old specimen, headed down to near the bottom of the stem, will soon push out a sufficient number of shoots for the purpose ; and old plants, in their ordinary state, are far from being the ornamental objects they might and would be if better provided with shoots, foliage, and flowers, in the lower parts. In general, they exhibit only a long naked stem with a few branches, and imperfectly grown, and yellow-coloured leaves at the summit; so that it is utterly impossible that they can flower, or, at least, that they acquire sufficient organizable matter to bring a large truss of flowers to perfection, and continue to present a healthy aspect. Besides the superior look which the bushy specimen has, the long stem being entirely got rid of, the sap has no longer to pass through and support such a long channel of wood before it reaches and contributes to the enlargement of leaves and flowers. But perhaps, for exhibition, a young plant would produce the best specimen. The lower branches must of course be bent outwards, and the upper ones stopped back now and then, as they are developed, to keep them from growing too high, to encourage the protrusion of more shoots, and to throw additional vigour into those beneath, which are necessarily placed in a more recumbent position.
Perhaps the best situation for plants intended for this purpose would be a pit, where they might be stationed near the glass, with perfect command over heat, moisture, and ventilation. By this plan the wood would be much shorter jointed, than if the plants were set in a stove on an ordinary stage or platform, and the cultivator would more easily regulate the period of blossoming.
The splendid appearance of these plants, and the degree of neglect with which they are often regarded, must be our plea for the length to which this paper is extended. Our principal aim has been to draw attention to them: nevertheless, there is sufficient in the general observations embodied to point out the nature of the cultivation they ought to receive.
HINTS FOR THE FLOWER-GARDEN.
MeO :
WueEn we reflect that the Flower-Garden is one of the principal sources of attraction in the pleasure-ground during the summer months, and the most prominent and chief feature in all grounds of limited extent, we cannot but feel surprise at the very prevalent neglect of some of those things most essential to its perfect appearance, which are so conspicuously observable both in the formation and management.
In the formation of flower-gardens people are too apt to be led away by the
HINTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN, 933
mere contemplation of the general effect and arrangement, from bestowing the proper consideration and attention on adapting them for the objects intended to be cultivated in them ; forgetting that on this depends in a large measure the capacity to accomplish the general design of the whole. Yet such is actually the case. It would be thought egregious folly in a mechanic contriving a piece of machinery for a definite purpose, were he to attend only to the construction of its parts of the required size and proportion, and to its outward adornment ; and to pay no regard to the materials of which it was formed, their suitability and durableness, or to providing the springs and other minutize by which alone it could be set in motion, and made capable of accomplishing the proposed end: and so it is with the flower- garden,—unless the minor and individual arrangements are based upon the principles of cultivation, however specious and perfect the general design may be, it is certain to be defeated or defective in its result.
In laying out a flower-garden, then, beyond the consideration and judgment required to preserve harmony with the general garden scene, and to render the ground most eligible for displaying its floral garnishments to the utmost advantage, it is in an equal degree essential to provide those conditions which most contribute to the health and fertility of the plants. It ought not to be expected, though it commonly is, that the gardener who has all the evils of previous mismanagement in the construction of the flower-garden to contend with, should be able to compete in the culture of plants with those to whom every facility is furnished to remedy the natural defects of the situation. The question then naturally arises, —what are the points to which attention is principally requisite? And in order to answer this we must first glance at a few circumstances connected with the subject and essential to its elucidation,
And first, by far the largest number of the plants used for the parterre at the present day are natives of a much warmer and more equable climate than we have in this country, and are correspondingly more liable to suffer injury from the sudden variations to which they are exposed in the open garden.
Keeping this before us, it will be evident that the first thing to which it is necessary to direct attention is the nature of the ground and _ locality in reference to warmth and humidity. It is well-known that a wet soil is always a cold one; and on this account we should prefer (when choice is given), a gentle declivity, rather than a dead level, as a site for the flower-garden, because of the greater facility which it affords for draining completely. This, however, cannot always be had; nevertheless, it is an indispensable point to secure a situation sufficiently elevated to enable water to escape readily during long-continued rains. Unless this can be done it is useless to attempt growing even the most ordinary half-hardy border plants, as no dependence whatever can be placed on realising any success.
But supposing a situation sufficiently elevated has been selected, it is essential also, to prevent the garden from receiving moisture from the springs in higher
VOL. X1I.—NO. CXLII. i
934 HINTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.
grounds. Such cases often exist ; they are, however, easily remedied by passing a drain along the upper side to intercept the flow. Now, this is a matter of much importance, especially in a wet season ; although it is one seldom looked to. Other drains may carry the water away freely, but the water in its passage robs the ground of a portion of its heat. A drain on the upper side prevents more wet from entering the soil than what falls immediately upon it ; and must therefore assist largely in keeping up its temperature.
The necessity for forming other drains will of course depend on the nature of the soil and subsoil. In a clayey ground they will be indispensable, and it will likewise be needful to adopt some means of ameliorating the mechanical texture of the earth, so as to render it sufficiently pervious to air and moisture, to enable it to carry a healthy vegetation. Sand, or the scrapings from a flint road, vegetable and coal ashes, are amongst the best substances that can be used. And where they can be obtained in sufficient plenty, light loamy earth, decaying leaves, and heath-soil, or the refuse from charring stacks will be found highly beneficial.
To promote the utility of these preparatives in the general improvement of the soil, particular care should be employed in forming the beds severally. At least a foot of loose stones, covered with brick and lime rubbish, or other sub- stance capable of furthering drainage, should be laid in the bottom of each bed. The advantage of this is greater than most people imagine. Nothing can be more injurious to tender plants in the open border than an accumulation of water about their roots: it produces a coldness in the soil, which, in spring especially, is so far mischievous that it frequently effects the destruction of the plant, and generally causes an inertness, which is not recovered from for some time. More- over, although, as the season advances, and the soil gains a little warmth, the plants may recover, yet they will then imbibe so much ichorous matter that they will be forced into crude growth, producing nothing but gross stems and leaves, which, on the recurrence of a long period of rainy weather, often assume a yellow aspect. These are, perhaps, extreme cases ; but all who have had much experience in the outdoor culture of tender plants, are well aware that degrees of the same evil are constantly witnessed in retentive soils and confined humid places. As familiar instances, we need only mention the gross plethoric growths of the common varieties of Petunia and Pelargonium, particularly the scarlet kinds. It is, indeed, as necessary to provide a quantity of broken porous materials to carry off superabundant water from the beds of a flower-garden, as it is to employ drainage in the bottoms of flower-pots; or, if possible, it is more so, for we may regulate the supply of water to the pots, but we cannot cover our flower- beds from the rain.
There is less danger of greenhouse plants suffering from drought in the borders in summer, than through an excess of humidity. The only period at which even ai excessive dryness proves injurious to any considerable extent is in
HINTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 935
spring, before the roots have taken good hold of the soil, or the stems cover the surface. Well-foliaged shoots are a great means of preventing evaporation after they have once covered the soil, and hence they render an excess of moisture still more hurtful. In our climate, moreover, the occurrence of long-protracted aridity is less prevalent than wet and cloudy weather. We are rarely visited with such seasons as the spring of 1844; and when they do occur, it is an easier matter to shade our choice things, or employ some means of preventing eva- poration (which is always preferable to repeated waterings) during their con- tinuance, than it is to be ready with a protection to ward off every shower. Some cultivators lessen evaporation by mulching their borders, others by covering the soil immediately about the plants with small pieces of slate; we have also seen shallow beds of scarlet Pelargoniums, and similar strong-growing plants, covered for the season with small round whitish pebbles from the sea-shore, for the same purpose; and others again, cover the whole bed with mats for a few hours in the middle of clear sunny days, and during dry winds, till the plants are firmly established. Upon the whole, then, we have little to fear from a dry soil, compared with the evils that arise from one surcharged with moisture.
We are fully persuaded, too, that the borders of the flower-garden are generally made both too deep and of richer materials than the plants demand. The proneness of half-hardy plants to assume a redundancy of vigour in the open garden rather requires some reduction of the means by which it is engen- dered, than to increase stimulatives to further it. Flowers are the main thing looked for, and we only want a sufficient growth to promote their development, and to cover the bed with shoots and foliage. The effects of a deep soil are merely to allure the roots away from the surface, and gorge the entire system with water, which cannot be assimilated, and is hence opposed to the furtherance of a floriferous state. Some plants, as the Zropeolum tuberosum, Nierembergia linearis, Scarlet Pelargoniums, Lobelia gracilis and other small-growing species, Mesembryanthemum tricolor, and the hardy dwarf Gentians, require but. a very slight covering of soil, if a strata of lime-rubbish, charcoal, coal-ashes, broken bricks, and similar bodies is laid beneath. At Chatsworth many plants have existed throughout the winter in the raised architectural beds in the Italian garden, whilst the same kinds have perished in the adjacent borders.
Another thing which ought to be studied is the contrivance of screens on the most exposed sides, particularly when the situation is subject to rough winds. By recommending shelter, however, we must not be interpreted to include shade, nor yet to advise a confined situation. Few conditions can be less favourable than a close stagnant atmosphere in a low place. The only shelter necessary is merely sufficient to break the force of the strong sweeping winds which mutilate tender things so excessively. In a moist place, in the bottom of a valley, a considerable play of air is useful in carrying off the noxious vapours and moisture
236 | REVIEW.
which there accumulate in the atmosphere ; whilst if the garden be situated on high or sloping ground, a screen of greater density will be essential.
To promote a healthy vegetation, and abundance of bloom, a flower-garden should decidedly have an aspect laying well towards the sun. Most border plants, when not confined at the root, require as much light as possible, especially as the autumn approaches. But there are some exceptions: for instance, the lovely little Nemophila insignis revels in a partially shaded spot. With regard to the exposure to the light, there are some particulars in the after-management of the plants in the open air which deserve attention. We allude chiefly to the usually crowded state of the shoots of many kinds, during the latter months of summer, whereby the leaves are prevented from receiving their full share of solar influ- ence ; as, for example, the whole race of Pelargonia. If a little timely pruning, and occasional thinning out were adopted, not only would the appearance of the bed be improved, but the quantity of flowers would be increased, and their colour improved. Other plants, again, require stopping back, to keep them from struggling too far, and to further the development of lateral shoots; and with others, as the Phloxes and some species of Salvia, the same ends will be answered by fastening the shoots to the ground with small pegs.
It will be seen, that throughout the present article we have expressly had in view that portion of the pleasure-ground especially styled the flower-garden, and devoted almost entirely to the culture of half-hardy plants in beds, each containing a single kind. Many of the points inculcated are applicable, either wholly, or to a partial extent, to other departments ; and some of the plants which unavoidably come under the general description here given, may require some modification in the management ; but these are comparatively few in number, and do not affect the general question.
REVIEW.
Practical hints on the culture and general management of Alpine or Rock plants. By JamEs Loruian. W.H. Lizars, Edinburgh.
Nor long ago we endeavoured to draw the attention of our readers to a little-valued, but very interesting, class of plants—Lichens and Mosses. The minuteness of the majority, and the singularity of many (such as the Nidularia campanulata), of these plants, together with the rich appearance of some of them when growing in large patches, render them well worth care and culture, wherever there is an appropriate situation for them. But they have no richly coloured flowers to allure and dazzle the eye. The little book before us treats upon another set of generally minute plants, exhibiting flowers of all hues, and various forms. Perhaps some of our readers will find such plants more interesting. Certainly there is something extremely pleasing in their dwarf habit and diminutive proportions ; and the elegance and delicacy of their several parts will well repay the closest scrutiny. These properties suit them for some detached plot, where planted by themselves, they may forma kind of fairy garden. From the greater number being naturally found growing in mountainous or alpine situations, they receive the
common name of Alpines. Many of them are indigenous to our own island, but as they are |
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 237
only to be seen in places seldom traversed, and from the’ smallness of their parts perhaps, often _ escape observation amongst vegetable forms of greater magnitude, there can be no objection to mingling them amongst those imported from other countries.
From the rocky and elevated stations which these plants naturally occupy, they have long been a troublesome tribe to the culturist, and even now many collections betray the lack of some essential to their well-being. Various remarks have been published from time to time in the gardening newspapers and other periodicals, but we believe Mr. Lothian is the first who has attempted a separate treatise upon them, His work contains copious directions for their treatment, both in pots and when planted out upon rock-work; and with this guide in their hands, few people, who can command a situation at all favourable, can fail to manage them successfully.
We make the following extract from the author’s remarks upon autumn treatment, partly as a specimen, and partly because it points chiefly to one of the principal mistakes generally com- mitted in the management of Alpines :—“ Towards the close of September, any of the more rare and delicate Alpines may be placed within the frame, as the weather will now be coming cold and boisterous. Avoid, however, putting the sashes on, as this would only tend to cause damp, and, perhaps, induce the plants to make additional soft growths, which would promote decay and cause damp, so much to be guarded against in winter.
« About the middle of October, according to the weather, the whole may be gone over, cleaned thoroughly of weeds and any decayed leaves, and the soil stirred a little about the plants, which are then to be placed in the frame, and plunged in coal ashes as before alluded to. But the sashes need not yet be put on until there is an appearance of frost, when this may be done, taking them off every good day at noon, for the greater part of the day.”
The culturist who imagines that these plants must be hardy enough to need no protection in winter, simply because in their wild state they inhabit elevated situations where the atmosphere is keen and cold evenin summer, commits a great error. Though the temperature of the air in winter may be constantly much below 32°, yet it must be remembered that these little plants are protected from it by the hand of Nature. They lie beneath a covering of snow, that prevents them from being exposed to a temperature low enough to harm them, and not only this, but they are also shielded from the fury of the mountain storm. It cannot, then, be reasonably ex- pected that such plants can bear with impunity to be exposed to wind, and hail, and rain, and all the rigour and changes of an ordinary winter. Mr. Lothian’s observations on this point will be read with profit.
Another point which we consider a very general cause of failure, is the neglect of a timely and sufficient potting. To make fine specimens they require to be repotted early, in order to give them as long a season as possible to grow in. If this is put off, till growth has proceeded some way, the further progress of the plant is retarded, whilst, if done at the commence- ment, it proceeds steadily without anything to interrupt it, and the specimen consequently attains greater vigour and perfection. Copious directions on this head will be found in the work under notice.
We must refer our readers to the work itself for further intelligence. We may just mention that there is a list of Alpine plants appended, which will be useful to those desirous of forming a collection ; and we trust that such collections will become more general.
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES,
—__- @ ——_
NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR OCTOBER.
Be/RBERIS acTinaca’NTHA. A small hardy evergreen bush, adapted for rockwork, growing three or four feet in height, and blossoming plenteously in May and June. It is “apparently common in the neighbourhood of Valparaiso, whence it has been brought by all collectors of Chilian plants, It is not, however, 2 plant of the coast, but inhabits the first range of the Cordil-
238 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
leras. It derives its name from the broad ray-like divisions of the spines, which are sometimes very remarkable. But in this respect it varies according to the circumstances under which it grows. The leaves, too, vary in form from roundish-ovate to ovate, and even subcordate. They always have a hard, dry, curled appearance, as if the species were accustomed to a rigorous climate.” It is cultivated in the garden of the Horticultural Society. The English name is the Ray-spined Berbery. Bot. Reg., 55.
Boipo'a FRA‘GRANS. A small greenhouse tree or shrub, yielding a highly aromatic odour. “ It has round, grey, slightly downy branches, and roundish ovate evergreen opposite leaves, placed on short stalks, and studded with hard points, which give them a very rough surface. The flowers are dicecious, pale greenish-white, in little terminal panicles, each branch of which is rather regu- larly three-parted. In this country the male only is known. The fruit, which is only known in a dried state, is a little drupe, about as large as a haw, apparently black, and extremely fragrant. It contains a single seed, suspended from near the apex of the cell. In Chili the plant is much valued ; its wood forms a charcoal preferred by smiths to all others, and the aromatic fruit is eaten by the natives.”’ It is said to grow from fifteen to twenty-five feet high. It succeeds in sandy loam and peat with ordinary greenhouse treatment. The leaves are apt to be scorched if exposed to the sun. Bot. Reg., 57.
Cattia‘NDRA Twe'EpIEI. “ An elegant shrub belonging to a genus of Mimosece, distinguished by the great length and frequently rich red colour of the stamens, whence the appropriate Calliandra of Bentham (callos, beautiful, and aner-andros, the stamen). Sixty species are enumerated by Mr. Bentham in the London Journal of Botany, all inhabitants of the American continent. They have, Mr. Bentham observes, the corolla of Albizzia, the stamens of an Inga, and a pod different from that of any other genus; the valves of the pod rolling back elastically in a very remarkable manner. The present species is a native of Rio Grande, and Rio Jaqury, in South Brazil, where it was detected by the indefatigable botanist whose name it bears ; found also by Mr. Sellow.” Plants raised by Mr. Jennings from seeds sent to Lord Derby, at Knowsley, produced flowers last March: since then the species has also flowered in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew. It requires a stove heat, and to be kept pretty moist. According to Tweedie, it is a small tree, or in mountainous places a low shrub ; the plants at Kew seem disposed to trail with their branches. Bot. Mag., 4188. [Possibly the branches would have a less attenuated growth, if the plants were placed in a somewhat lower temperature, and kept near the glass roof. The Inga pulcherrima figured by us some time ago, ranks under this genus. |
EXOsTE’/MA LONGIFLO‘RUM. This plant was received at Kew from Mr. Makoy, of Liege, under the name here adopted. It is evidently the same plant with the Cinchona longifiora figured by Lambert, although some trifling discrepancies exist. ‘ In Mr. Lambert’s representa- tion the leaves are narrower, the flowers rather smaller, and the segments of the calyx and corolla are too short, probably occasioned by being drawn from an imperfect specimen in the Herbarium of Aublet. Lambert gives Guiana as the native country of the species ; while De Candolle, on the authority of Richards, says it is indigenous to St. Domingo. Be that as it may, it constitutes a very pretty shrub, flowering freely and copiously, and the blossoms are fragrant and remarkable, not only for their great length, but for their change of colour, at first pure white, gradually becoming red. Ezostema is a genus separated from Cinchona, chiefly on account of its exserted stamens, whence the name exo, without, beyond, and stemma, a crown. E. longifiorum blossoms in June, and continues for some weeks in beauty.” It is a low much branched shrub, about a foot and a half high, with lanceolate sharply acuminated leaves, tapering into a very short footstalk, and of a texture between coriaceous and membranaceéous. The flowers with their long slender corolla-tube, are more singular than showy. Bot. Mag., 4186. [This plant has been long cultivated in the London nurseries under the erroneous title of Oxyanthus longifiorus. ]
Ecuinoca’ctus PECTINI‘FERUS. “It is the case,” writes Sir W. J. Hooker, “ with this small, but showy, Echinocactus, as with too many others in our collection ; descriptions can give no adequate idea of the varied forms of these plants, especially as regards the nature of the costee, the spines, and their arrangement in the areolze, of the flowers, &e. The present species flowered in the Royal Gardens of Kew in April, 1845, and was received from San Luis, Mexico, among many fine Cacteze sent by Mr. Staines. So uncouth a looking trunk would hardly be expected
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 239
to give birth to such large and handsome flowers.’’ The only previous description of this curious species is by Professor Lemaire, and he was ignorant of the blossoms. The plants at Kew are about four inches high, of an ovate form, rather suddenly contracted above the middle, and depressed at the top, “ deeply costate, with about twenty prominent costee, which are obtuse and somewhat mammillose at the margins ; in the centre of each mammilla is an oblong, white, woolly, close-packed areola, with numerous rather short spines, or aculei, whose arrangement is very peculiar. They are of two kinds ; the greater number, twenty and more, are about three lines long, and spread out almost horizontally in two rows, closely placed in a pectinated manner, whitish or yellowish-white, tipped with red or brown, almost united at their base, the middle ones the longest, between these two rows are a few smaller ones.” Two or three flowers spring from near the top of the same crown; their size is rather large for the plant, and the colour of the petals is of a sulphury hue at the bottom, and a delicate rose-colour in the upper part. Bot. Mag., 4190.
Franci’scEa acumina‘ta. This handsome Brazilian shrub is well known in nurseries and gardens under the title of F . Pohliana—a name not known in botanical works. It is a desirable stove species, of a much branched habit, with rather small, oblong, acuminate foliage, and bearing its flowers freely, even on very small plants, in conspicuous clusters. Bot Mag. 4189.
Goneo'Ra TRUNCA‘TA. Whatever opinion,” Dr. Lindley observes, “may be entertained respecting the specific distinction of other Gongoras, no one can doubt that this is very different from all that have been previously discovered. It isa Mexican species, introduced from Mexico by Mr. Rucker, who received it from Mr. Linden, in 1840. We do not find anything peculiar in the pseudo-bulbs or foliage ; the characters of the species reside exclusively in the flowers, which are pale straw-colour, with some brownish-purple speckles, and a yellow lip. Before expansion they are almost of the form of a bean, which is owing to their sepals being so blunt, that when flattened, they are nearly half-oblong. The lip has no speckles at all, and looks as if varnished. We do not admire the scent, which is quite peculiar.”” Bot. Reg. 56.
Hasra’NTHUS COo’'NCOLOR. The main difference between Zephyranths and Habranths, which are nearly related, “is found in the interior of the flower, where the Habranths have on the out- side of the stamens a small cup, composed of a membrane or of certain toothings or scales, which are deficient in the Zephyranths, or at least hardly discoverable. In habit, the one-flowered Habranths are the same as the Zephyranths. In the present species the cup consists of a membranous ring cut into irregular toothings or lacerations, and here and there slit down to the base. The flowers, although {pale green, are very pretty, and form a lively ornament of the greenhouse or cold frame, in the early spring. Mr. Hartweg found it in pastures near the city of Leon, in Mexico, whence he sent its bulbs to the Horticultural Society,” where it flowered last April. Bot. Reg. 54.
ScHOMBU’RGKIA UNDULA‘TA. A year ago Dr. Lindley regarded this as the finest of the Schom- burgkias, but is now obliged to change his opinion in favour of S. rosea, a new discovery by Linden, and said to be far beyond this in beauty. S§. undulata was found by Linden “in December, 1842, in New Grenada, at the height of 2,400 feet above the sea, on the rocks near Pandi, a place which, in his herbarium, he calls—‘ The natural bridge of Icononzo.’ The wild specimens have about twenty flowers in a head, and the plant will therefore become much more beautiful as the cultivated specimens get into better health. Their colour alone distinguishes them from both S. crispa and marginata, and the form of the lip from S. tibicinis.’” Concerning S. rosea, Mr. Linden writes, “ This magnificent species is found on rocks, on the northern slope of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Martha. Bracts, peduncles, and lip, are all of a bright rose- colour ; the petals are deep red. It was met with 5,000 feet above the sea, between the villages of S. Antonio and S. Miguel, on the territory of the Auruhuacos Indians.” Bot. Reg. 53.
Tacso'NIA MOLLI’ssima. A greenhouse plant from New Grenada, allied to 7’. tripartita. It is said that the flowers drop off before they expand if planted in the stove. The blossoms are large, and of a handsome rose-colour. Bot. Mag. 4187.
240
OPERATIONS FOR NOVEMBER.
es teks
THE extreme dulness of the late summer and autumn having, to some extent, incapacitated tender plants for bearing a gloomy winter, it is more than usually essential that the cultivator should do all in his power to guard against the ordinary dampness of November ; especially with those plants that have newly-formed shoots, such as the half-hardy things lately multiplied, and the tribes whose branches or leaves are at all disposed to be succulent. Mildew, in its various forms, will, as an almost necessary consequence of the wet weather, be beginning to appear on many descriptions of plants ; and the parts thus affected must be immediately cut away, or, where this is impracticable, the spots should be carefully rubbed or brushed away. The house or pit, too, in which such indications appear, should be aired as much as possible whenever even an hour's dryness in the outer atmosphere occurs, and a little fire heat must be cautiously applied in the event of such opportunities not arising.
But, as we have often before enjoined, precautionary measures which prevent the accumulation of dampness are of more value than any remedy which can be applied when the evil already exists, The utmost attention must, therefore, be given to see that the glazing of the roof is perfectly water-tight, that there are no dead leaves or other materials lying about the house, or under the stages, so as to collect or create moisture, and that the plants get only just water enough to supply their necessities, without leaving them the chance of becoming injured by excess. It will be of great service also to remove all decaying matter about the plants, and keep dying leaves plucked away, directly these begin to appear.
Light and air must now be the first points for consideration in plant-houses. They should be furnished with the fullest possible copiousness, when the state of the atmosphere without admits. Fires should by no means be lighted unless they become actually necessary ; repose being now chiefly to be sought, and heat only being of use to preserve a due amount of dryness, or to arrest frost. Chrysanthemums, Chinese Primroses, and all those flowering plants which demand a good quantity of water at the present time, had better be kept in a house by themselves, where there is convenience for it.
As this is the great month for planting bulbs, the operation should be at once attended to. It should be borne in mind that most kinds of bulbs require an enriched soil, and that either leaf- mould or decayed and well-pulverised manure is an excellent ingredient for their compost. Thisis particularly the case with Hyacinths, which, when planted in a tolerably rich soil, make a splendid bed for the flower-garden. Gladioluses also flourish far better when they are planted in a bed or border of nicely prepared compost ; and Lilies will not succeed except in an enriched earth. In speaking of planting bulbs and corms, out of doors, we may mention also that Crocuses, Snowdrops, the dwarfer kinds of Narcissus, and many other things of this class, which are con- sidered almost too common for such purposes, make beautiful masses in the flower-garden during the early spring, if planted in beds.
November is likewise the best month for beginning to plant forest-trees, shrubs, &c., and particularly those which are larger than the common-sized nursery plants: for, by planting them now, they are enabled to get a fair hold of the soil before spring, and are thus better prepared to begin their young growths vigorously and at the proper time. In planting, one of the principal things is to preserve and spread out carefully all the roots, and not to tread them into the ground until after they have been well covered with soil; nor, even then, to trample about them beyond what is absolutely needful to fix them properly in their places. A very considerable retardment of the plant’s progress results from inattention to these trifling circumstances. And no plant can reasonably be expected to flourish which has its roots much mutilated, or cramped into a kind of impervious cell by treading.
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CYMBIDIUM GIGANTEUM.
(Gigantic Cymbidium.)
Class.
GYNANDRIA.
Order. MONANDRIA.
Natural Order. ORCHIDACE A.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Perianth coloured. Sepals and petals nearly equal, free. Lip sessile, free, without a spur, concave, sometimes articulated with the base of the column, sometimes slightly connate, undivided or three-lobed. Column erect, semi-cylindrical. Anthers two-celled. Pollen-masses two, often two-lobed at the back.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.—Leaves narrow, strap-shaped, seven-nerved, thick and tough, distichous, Scape nod- ding, closely covered at the base with loose imbricated striated scales. Bructs short, ovate, acute, scaly. Flowers rather closed, tesselated, very large. Sepals
linear-lanceolate, acute, spreading, rather shorter than the sepals. Lip oblong, tapering at the base, where it adheres to the column, folded up, three-lobed; lateral lobes entire, fiat, and narrow ; intermediate lobe crisp, ciliated ; disk with two converging ciliated lamelle, ending in a line of hairs reaching to the point of the lip, and bordered by two distant hairy lines on each side, Column clavate, thin-edged, smooth, with a terminal anther, which adheres firmly to the back and . opens in front.
SynonyME.—Limodorum longifolium; C. iridioides (?); not C. giganteum of Sweet.
oblong, acute, erect, many-nerved, nearly equal. Petals
TREATING of the plant which forms the subject of the accompanying delinea- tion, Dr. Lindley, in his valuable ‘‘ Sertum Orchidaceum,” writes as follows :-— “This is one of the most striking of Cymbidiums, and was well named the gigantic, when compared with other known species. It is a native of Nepal and Kamaon, where it was discovered by Dr. Wallich, in the year 1821.”
Mr. Gibson, the collector sent out to India some years ago by his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, met with it in great abundance in the thick umbrageous forests at the foot of the Khoseea hills, growing on the trunks of trees, and especially upon those which had begun to evince tokens of decay ; the specimens which occupied the hollows of old trees partially filled up with decomposing vegetable matter, always presenting the most luxuriant and healthy appearance. In the same locality, and flourishing under similar conditions, Mr. Gibson also found another species, now cultivated in many collections as C. gigantewm, with much broader and shorter leaves, and a perfectly erect flowers-pike ; and in all its parts inferior to the true C. gigantewm. The plant named C. giganteum by Sweet is the Cyrtopera gigantea of Dr. Lindley, and is quite a different thing.
Our plants at Chatsworth were received in 1837, and produced fine nodding spikes of flowers about two feet in length, each supporting about sixteen or eighteen blossoms, in the beginning of November, 1844, from which the drawing
was executed. In their wild state they frequently grow somewhat longer, and
VOL. XIIT.—NO. CXLIII. Lr
242 CYMBIDIUM GIGANTEUM.
have always a nodding inclination, and not perfectly erect, as has been represented. The species approaches most nearly in habit to C. elegans and C. Mastersit ; but is much more robust than either of them. The leaves frequently measure upwards ‘of three feet in length, and are more gracefully disposed than those of its two allies. The flowers are well portrayed in the figure, and we have only to add that they constantly exhale a very powerful, but not very agreeable fragrance, resembling that of the common Daffodil.
This, and all other Cymbidia of like character, appear to flourish with the greatest vigour planted in pots, in a porous peaty earth, full of fibrous matter ; or where peat of a sufficiently open texture cannot be conveniently obtained, it must be rendered so by intermingling with it pieces of decayed wood, charcoal, pot- sherds, and hypnum moss ; for it is the most essential requisite in the soil or other material employed for Cymbidia, and indeed all Orchidaceze, to admit a free cir- culation of fluids. Frequent shiftings seem to be hostile to their nature, as we have always found those specimens to succeed most satisfactorily which have been
undisturbed at the root for two or three years. The pots should be plunged in a
tan-bed, or otherwise supplied with bottom-heat. Kymbe, a boat, is the origin of the generic appellation, and applies to the form of the lip. The woodcut represents an entire plant.
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RUELLIA LILACINA.
(Lilac-flowered Ruellia.)
Order. ANGIOSPERMIA.
Class.
DIDYNAMIA.
‘Natural Order.
ACANTHACER.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyw five-parted ; lobes equal Branches herbaceous when young, glabrous. Leaves
or sub-equal. Corolla hypogynous, funnel-shaped; limb five-parted ; lobes equal, spreading, obtuse. Stamens four, inserted in the tube of the corolla, didynamous. Anthers oblong, two-celled ; cells parallel, equal. Ovary two-celled. Style simple. Stigma oval-shaped, chan- nelled at the back. Capsule oblong-quadrangular, two-celled, six to eight-seeded ; cells two-valved; valves seed-bearing, Seeds adhering by a thread.
Specific CHARACTER.—Plant an evergreen shrub.
ovate, bluntly acuminate, many-nerved, entire at the margin. Flowsrs axillary, generally two from each axil, sessile. Calyx less than two-thirds the length of the corolla, five-cleft ; segments subulate, erect, un- equal. Corolla—tube veiny, slender, very long, funnel- shaped, curved; limb spreading, segments rounded, very obtuse, nearly equal, veined. Seeds orbicular, compressed, margined, and ciliated. SYNONYME.—Justicia glabrata,
Our subject is not the first of which we have had to record that, of its native country we have no direct evidence. It is one of the many plants introduced from the Continent without any memorande to indicate its original clime.
It has been very generally known, and as generally distributed by Nursery- men, as Justicia glabrata: the appearance of its leaves will at once account for its having been specified: by such a title.
As it has at present come under our observation, we have found it growing from eighteen inches to two feet high; the foliage of moderate size, and of a handsome shining dark-green hue. |
Hitherto we have scarcely seen a well-crown specimen, and we doubt not that if the plant were subjected to a liberal mode of treatment, it would attain to much greater dimensions than those before mentioned. Wherever any degree of atten- tion has been bestowed upon it, the improvement in the aspect of the plant, and the increased abundance of blossoms, fully justify the conclusions we have come to, and give us some reason to suppose that it may prove freer-flowering than many have imagined from merely observing it in a stunted condition.
From its winter-flowering capacity it is likely to be useful to those who wish to have a display at that season; and the appearance of its leaves is such as to render it-a desirable object, even without the aid of blossoms to enhance its
QA oe RUELLIA LILACINA.
value. In cultivating it, a soil composed of equal portions of loam, peat, and leaf-mould should be employed, allowing plenty of pot-room.
Cuttings are easily induced to strike root when placed in gentle bottom-heat.
The Messrs. Rollisson, with their usual kindness, allowed our drawing to be taken at their Nursery, in the spring of 1844.
The name Ruellia is given in compliment to John Ruelle, a French botanist and M.D. s
Campanula dytvalice
CAMPANULA SYLVATICA.
(Wood Bel)l-flower.)
Class. Order. PENTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. Natural Order,
CAMPANULACER,
GENERIC CHARACTER.— Calyx five-cleft, having the SprctFic CHARACTER. — Plant an annual, scabrous sinuses usually covered by appendages. Corolla five- from short stiff hairs. Stem erect, straight, few- lobed or five-cleft at the apex, usually bell-shaped. flowered. Radical leaves oblong, obovate, tapering Stamens five, free; filaments broad at the base, and downwards. Cauline leaves linear, narrow, nearly membranous. Styles covered by fascicles of hairs, entire. Flowers terminal, on long peduncles, erect. except at the base; stigmas three to five, filiform. Calyx-segmentserect, subulate. Corolla campanulate,
Ovarium wholly inferior, three to five-celled. Capsule downy, twice the length of the calycine segments, three to five-valved, dehiscing laterally. Seeds usually blue.
ovate, flattened, sometimes ovoid; and small.—Don’s Synonvmzs.—C. stricta ; C. integerrima. Gardening and Botany.
Everypopy knows the Campanula rotundifolia, or common Hare-bell, with its elegant drooping violet-blue blossoms, the loveliness of which has been the burden of the poet’s song, not only in England, but in most of those continental countries which number it amongst their wild flowers. With that species the interesting little plant, faithfully reflected on the annexed sheet, possesses many marks in common, and is well entitled to occupy a place in the good opinion of cultivators.
In the size of the plant, and the general proportion which the florescence bears
to other organs, as well as in the diminishing breadth of the foliage, from the base of the stem upwards, it approaches the character of the popular favourite, though by no means so narrowly as to admit a chance of mistake, even when destitute of blossoms. The latter, however, are most markedly distinct from those of its congener ; they expand more widely, are supported in an erect position, and instead of a porcelain hue, are of a brilliant light ccerulean blue. s: We owe our first acquaintance with it to specimens which flowered in the gardens of Allcard, Esq., at Stratford Green, Essex, and from these we were kindly permitted to prepare the figure. It was grown there as a border plant, in extensive masses, and was in full bloom in the month of June. :
It is a native of Nepal, where it inhabits moist and somewhat shaded places. On account of its erect habit it was first named C. stricta by Dr. Wallich ; but
246 CAMPANULA SYLVATICA.
that title having been previously bestowed on another species by Linneus, he afterwards altered it to C. sylvatica.
Young plants reared from autumn-sown seeds, and kept in an airy and cool part of the greenhouse through the winter, will flower early in spring. On this account, and the conspicuousness which the upright position and fine colour of the blossoms impart, together with their copious numbers, it constitutes an acceptable
subject. When put in pots, however, two or three plants should always be : grown together in each, using a loamy soil, with a little peat. It is algo essential during the progress of the plants to keep them near the glass, and to avoid a high temperature, particularly at night; otherwise they are apt to grow loose and untidy, and to send out weak and lengthened flower-stalks.
It is an excellent little plant for the parterre, and this qualification perhaps forms its best recommendation. It flowers early, and continues to bloom for a considerable period. Seeds ripen in abundance.
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VERONICA LINDLEYANA.
(Dy. Lindley’s Speedwell.)
Class. DIANDRIA.
Order. MONOGYNIA.,
Natural Order. SCROPHULARIACES.
GENERIC CHARACTER,—Ca/lyw four, rarely five, parted, eampanulate or compressed. Corolia rotate, with a very short tube, and a four-parted spreading limb; segments all entire, upper one the broadest. Stamens two, situated at the sides of the upper segment of the
Stigma hardly thickened. Valves of capsule septiferous in the middle, or bipartible. Seeds naked.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. — Plant an evergreen under- shrub. Leaves opposite, oblong-lanceolate, acute, sessile, entire, glabrous. Racemes numerous, peduncled, spring-
corolla, diverging, without any vestige of the lower ones. Anthers two-celled; cells confluent at the top.
ing from the axils of the leaves. Flowers white.
Tuis, as an elegant ally of V. speciosa, does not aspire to the magnificence of The habit of V. speciosa is of a stiff and robust nature; this, on the contrary, is free, and
that species ; but in other respects it has more interesting features.
elegant ; its flower-spikes are produced in the greatest profusion ; and these, covered with innumerable delicate white flowers, contrasting with their light purple anthers, produce a charming effect.
Our illustration is prepared by the kind permission of Mr. Glendinning, of the Chiswick Nursery, from an excellent specimen grown by him.
That gentleman writes—“ Veronica Lindleyana was raised from seeds sent from New Zealand in October, 1843, by Mr. Thomas Cleghorn, formerly a Nurseryman of Edinburgh. It was presented to me by my esteemed friend, Mr. James McNab, Curator of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society’s Garden, Edinburgh. first time in Europe, at least as far as 1 am aware; and when shown to the
It flowered in one of my greenhouses this autumn, for the
distinguished botanist whose name it bears, he pronounced it to be perhaps a new species. It was exhibited by me in September last before the Horticultural Society of London, and obtained the Banksian Medal. It was then loaded with innumerable spikes of its elegant white flowers, which sometimes produce as many as twelve spikes upon one short branch.
‘‘ Mr. McNab informs me that numerous seedlings were raised from the imported seed, by Mr. McIntosh, gardener to His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, at Dalkeith, and also by Mr. John Purdie, Nurseryman, Edinburgh. Considerable
248 : 3 VERONICA LINDLEY ANA.
variety was observed in the appearance of the seedlings, but chiefly as regards robust or weak habit: to the former class does our present subject belong; and being of the easiest possible culture, and a perfectly hardy greenhouse plant, it is likely to be extensively cultivated.”
It should be grown in a moderately rich soil, composed of three parts sandy loam, and one part leaf-mould, and allowed plenty of pot-room.
The specific title is given in honour of Dr. Lindley. The species approaches very near to V. salicifolia, and is very similar to it in foliage and habit. The leaves are, however, somewhat broader. Its appearance is better shown in the
woodcut.
249
PHENOMENA OF WINTER.
——_ @--—_——_
As the year approaches to its close, and we cannot meet our readers again for some little time, it will be of some moment to claim their attention to inquiries, retrospective and prospective, that may tend to correct misconceptions in science, and remove obstacles that retard improvement.
We have formerly adverted to the instrumentality of the electric element in all the phenomena of vegetable life; and the period is not remote since we announced the theory that the sun was a luminous body, containing in itself the elements or principles of light, magnetism, electricity, and heat ; that the beams contain electrizing and calorific principles, which, when brought into action in a proper medium, produce and develop electricity and heat.
Arguing upon these mental inductions, it was maintained that the doctrine of caloric and latent heat were delusions, by which effects were mistaken for, and assigned as, causes,
Gradually, truth has dawned, clear and more clearly from time to time; and now, if the announcement in the Times newspaper of Nov. 5 be literally correct, discovery appears to confirm, what theory pointed to as more than probable. A letter addressed to the Editor on the 4th, by Sir James South, states that, “in addition to other scientific discoveries of the highest order, made during the last forty years in the laboratory of the Royal Institution, Mr. Faraday, its Fullerian Professor of Chemistry, yesterday announced to the members present that, in the prosecution of his researches in electricity and magnetism, he had succeeded in obtaining experimentally, what he had long sought for—namely, the direct relation of electricity and magnetism to Light. The details of his experiments, which exhibit the magnetization of light, the illumination of the lines of magnetic forces, and a 2ew magnetic condition of matter, will be presented to the Royal Society immediately,” &c., &c.
Thus far only are we for the present informed of the position of this important confirmation of those views that, above fifteen years ago, were offered to the public as a Theory of Light,—which defined it as a material fiuid,—in its nature the most subtile, penetrating, and energetic, the source of all the phenomena of heat, electricity and magnetism,—-in itself subject to decomposition, or exerting an inductive energy, by which it effects the most astonishing electro-chemical changes.”
It is thus that the scientific gardener ought to contemplate and study the phenomena of vegetable developments; he should not be content to admit light by means of glazed sashes into his horticultural erections, and to think that by so doing he permits the rays of the sun to stimulate his plants. To do so, without further reflection, would be to yield servile admission to a bald fact. It 1s true
VOL, XIl.—NO, CXLIHI. KK
230 PHENOMENA OF WINTER.
that a workman of uncultivated mind cannot be far in advance of the mere mechanism of his art; but the genuine amateur, whose intellect soars far higher, and searches into causes, has attained already ample reason to discover that there are, in every ray of light, agencies which are susceptible of numerous modifications. Even the small projections upon a pane of common crown glass have long been known to exert a lenticular action resembling that of a burning-glass; and more recent discoveries have shown that colouring materials, incorporated with glass, produce definite and sensible effects upon foliage and flowers.
With these simple facts before us, pending inquiries of far higher moment, we have cause sufficient to pay the utmost attention to the effects of various kinds of glass when employed in different aspects.
During the course of the present year, and a month or more of its predecessor (1844), the condition of natural light has been most peculiar. The gardener was perplexed by the long and continuous gloom which commenced at the latter end of the autumn of that year. December was little better than a blank ; clouds entirely obscured the sun, and thus permitted little else than the weakest diffusion of light; and hence the radiation of heat from surfaces artificially heated, either by fire or hot water, produced extension of parts, but no healthy organic action. With this gloom there existed frost and wind of most penetrating character.
January became warmer, and more sunny. Contrary to its usual and proper character, it proved the only mild month of the winter, and four of its weeks were isolated among fifteen others of unwonted severity. This mild interlude did much injury to a few of the most beautiful subjects of our winter gardens, because it induced some activity in the fluids, which subsequently became at once arrested by the extreme frost of February: thus Laurustinus, Sweet Bay, and above all, the Arbutus, were cut up, and in many places entirely destroyed.
February was comparatively dry as to rain. Some snows fell, but the ground lacked that store of moisture which is seasonable, and then generally expected. On the contrary, the first fortnight was bright and frosty, the intensity falling on the 12th, when at sunrise, the night thermometer marked 27 degrees (@. ¢. 5 of Fahr.,) and in some gardens the mercury fell to zero. The average of the whole month was below freezing, and when March came in there was no prospect of a change. Thus it may safely be registered, that from the end of November to the 10th of April, with the exception of the four mild weeks of January, the forcing gardener had to struggle against absolute frost ; while, in the open air, the surface of water was never free from ice, and icicles hung suspended from the fronts of all the sashes.
It is highly probable that a season of so much asperity will not speedily recur ; but it is always desirable to be provided with resources against such a calamity. One of these we fortunately possess in the strong and thick “ sheet glass” of modern introduction; a medium that not only defends by its substance, but in a great degree prevents the escape of warm air from beneath, by the truth of its
PHENOMENA OF WINTER. 251
level form. With the abatement of duty, and the freedom from breakage, this sheet-glass becomes an article of real economy. It is also much more free from blemishes than was the old crown; and thereby permits the passage of the rays more freely, and with less irregularity of refraction.
Where a moist atmosphere is to be kept up, it is a question of some doubt whether a powerful, but diffused light is not preferable to a direct ray ; for by accumulation of drops of water myriads of lenses are formed, which act focally, and sometimes must be productive of injury; as is the case almost beyond doubt when a crop of grapes, just in the process of stoning, become scalded. And as fruit may be, and is injured, flowers, doubtless, are equally exposed to accident.
Expense must be always an important item in horticultural erections; other- wise, sheet-glass, ground on one side to take off the polish, would be an admirable medium for the equable diffusion of a full glare of sun. Sliding screens of oiled muslin form a capital substitute, either by day or night. They should be made to run under fillets, so as never to be moved by wind; and with this extra defence much fire by night would be spared, because the heat within being retained, the action of the flues or watercourses would be much reduced. By night, we require protection, not active heat: hence more is done, and with far less injury, by effectual coverings, than by fire.
Nevertheless, as artificial heat 1s required, a furnace should always be employed, which will consume everything that is in any degree combustible.
We have before alluded to this subject, and become more and more convinced of the extravagant waste that attends coke fires ; and consequently of the erroneous construction of the cylinder-boilers which are fed with such fuel at the top.
A furnace, with double doors, bars, and other appurtenances, which would admit of a large mass of cinders, small, smouldering coal, (that termed the Moira, from Leicestershire, is the best) is to be preferred, whether water be employed or not ; and forcing will never be rendered safe or economical till such a hot-water furnace be constructed, and brought into complete and certain action. There are so many forms of hot-water boilers offered by advertisement, that it is difficult to decide upon their several merits ; however, there is one material point which ought to be considered of great moment, and that is, the avoidance or combustion of smoke. Coke and charcoal yield no black smoke, but both are too expensive ; small cinders, and lumps of Moira coal, yield it in diminished quantity ; but it is above all desirable to cause the distillation and combustion of the inflammable coal-gas. This can be promoted in two ways—the first is, to bring the body of fire most remote from the door, and nearest the flue-neck, to a state of bright red heat; and then to feed the fire by additions laid in body ‘upon a heated iron plate cast in front of the bars, upon which the coal becomes hot, parts with its hydro-carbon, . which is therefore carried over the red-hot coal, and thereby is ignited. During this process of distillation, the coal in front is partially coked; and being pushed forward when it becomes needful to feed the fire, it inflames immediately on
952 PHENOMENA OF WINTER.
coming into contact with the red-hot mass. Mr. Loudon suggested this method’ of economising coals many years ago. : ,
A second method is to introduce a small tube with a fan-like orifice, through which a volume of the waste steam of a boiler might be impelled upon the gene- rated smoke. On this principle the locomotive steam-engines are constructed; and by the decomposition of watery vapour, oxygen and hydrogen gases are liberated, and come in aid of the fire; the one acting as a supporter or exciter of combustion, the other as an actual combustible.
Wheresoever we can conveniently apply such true principles of Chemistry, and bring them to bear on practice, we do the utmost service to Science and Art, by justifying the former in removing the blind prejudices of its opponents, and establishing the latter upon a base far more satisfactory than that of empirical routine.
The operation of hot water in warming houses by means of a tank and water- channels becomes daily more satisfactory, and for the following reasons :—
1, The heat produced is more natural, in so far as it approaches to the moist exhalations produced by solar power upon damp soil in hot countries.
2. It is entirely free from sulphurous gas and vapour of carbon diffused from the common brick flue, and—
3. It is more equable, and maintains a corresponding temperature in every part of an erection.
At the same time, it should appear, that, as a medium of bottom-heat, it can by no means compete with that produced by dung, tan, or leaves, in fruit-growing ; though it may answer perfectly well in the propagation-house.
There are those who adhere to the old brick flue; and certainly there is a method of building by which every purpose may be effected, combining great and efficient power with considerable equability of radiation and diffusion of heat. This we shall attempt to describe from inspection of a house wherein there is one that was erected a few months since.
A common oven-furnace was built outside of, and close to, one corner of the back wall: if this oven were of cast iron, as once before recommended in a former article, it would never require rebuilding or repair. From the furnace the flue enters by a neck, which takes a diagonal direction for about a yard-and-a-half ; it then turns short to the right or left, nearly two yards within tlie wall of one end, running in a corresponding direction with it. The entire flue is shown in the following ground plan, where F is the furnace and its steps, (em) is the diagonal entering flue, with its neck; the bent arrows indicate the course of the flue throughout its four courses—the last terminating in a diagonal length, which enters the chimney built over the furnace; this course (ex) is parallel with that of the entrance. The space within the flue courses is divided by a flue also, governable by three dampers, that drop in at the three places marked, 0, and are raised by
PHENOMENA OF WINTER. 253
hooked iron rods; so that the smoke may be permitted to pass the central flue, or be made to pass along the whole range. DD are two entrance doors.
All the flues are built of pigeon-holed bricks on edge, upon which rest 9-inch paving-tiles. Upon these are courses of three bricks on edge, pargeted within, and securely covered with other’ 9-inch square paving-tiles.
GROUND PLAN,
ne aR RR RR ARR RR RESET RM EE RRR SSR UE Tn EE EL
|
— aif
From what we have stated, and by inspection of the plan, it will be evident that a flue so erected, (if by a judicious management of the neck it draws well,) must radiate its heat very regularly, so as to produce an equability of temperature rarely to be met with in houses warmed only by fire-flues.
The construction also forms a very excellent pit, which may be filled with stable-dung, tree-leaves, tan, sawdust, or sand. The oniy objection which suggests itself, is the dryness at the sides, created by contact of the materials with a heated surface of brick. However, moisture may always be maintained by introducing a rain-water tank in, or under, the house; and here we may allude to a new range of houses which we inspected, where the front walls being built upon arches, a very large recipient was excavated under them which contained all the water that fell upon the sashes, from whence it was laded out with great facility by an opening covered with a trap-door, made to fit close and move upon hinges.
The covering of the flues might consist of tiles prepared to contain water; and then, by watering the two surfaces of the flued pit, a copious vapour would be
raised without, and aridity obviated within the pit.
A house of the description now indicated—18 or 20 feet long, by 10 or 12 wide, would form a very efficient pine-stove, grapery, and plant-house : we find no deficiency in it; and further, if it be fitted up with semi-transparent, moveable
254 THE PLANTING SEASON.
screens, made of some light, oiled fabric, secured, as we have hinted, by fillets and small bolts, the heat would be supported by night far more effectually than by the wretched appliance of garden mats, which require nailing and boarding, at the imminent risk of damage to the glasses, and disfigurement to the woodwork. Mats may do pretty well in the front, but even there sliding-screens are in every way preferable, and are fitted up at lighter cost in the long-run.
Mats require renewal every season, and many pounds are expended yearly upon them in large establishments : they, moreover, admit of no congenial light by day, the colour they impart being a dingy buff, inimical to vegetation ; whereas, by screens, the white light is diffused, softened, but not changed in its character or agency.
Some persons would object to screens, on the ground of decay, occasioned by advertised fluids. We believe that common, pale, linseed oil, laid evenly upon canvass or linen, would preserve the fabric for three seasons, and cost a mere trifle ; at all events, the principle now advocated is sound, and requires only the sanction of practice.
Tt will be evident from all that is above stated, that our plan refers only to forcing-houses. Many, however, of the choicest plants require no artificial heat ; and for such, low-built brick pits are the most effectual. These should be deeply excavated, so as to admit a plant three feet high at the back. The ground on which pits are erected should always be perfectly drained, otherwise (as we once saw) water may rise during a wet winter, flood, and destroy everything. Dry sawdust is a capital plunging material in such pits, as it prevents the freezing of the soil ; and for coverings, correctly made straw mats are exceedingly trustworthy : being an inch and a half thick, frost can find no entrance, particularly if they are kept dry by a few deal boards.
THE PLANTING SEASON.
le Se
In forming plantations, or decorating a new garden with shrubs and trees, or supplying vacancies in the shrubberies of a pleasure ground, or making any alterations in gardens already planted, or in shifting particular specimens to a more suitable or desirable position, nothing can be more important than for the operator clearly to understand the principles on which success will be dependent, the periods best adapted for the removal, and the various little niceties required in the execu- tion of the process. Everybody who has a garden, also, being to a greater or less extent a planter, it may be assumed that there is a kind of universal demand for information which shall both facilitate the proceeding and render it in some degree certain.
To supply a variety of hints, therefore, which shall be tangible to all, and
THE PLANTING SEASON. 955
which shall—as all such suggestions should—deal rather with the more necessary points of practice than with those abstract propositions which take such a much wider range, is our purpose in now adverting to the matter. The time, too, at which we write is likewise favourable for drawing due attention to the subject, as most persons will be actively engaged in the operation we are to discuss.
If we consult the best writers on the subject, especially the more recent corre- spondents of gardening periodicals, we shall soon discover that the widest possible latitude is taken as to the season recommended for planting; some advocating spring, others early autumn, many the winter, and a few asserting that the begin- ning of the summer is best for evergreens,—which are of course the most difficult and dangerous class to transplant,—while there are those who declare that it is of no consequence what period is chosen, if the thing be done in a proper manner. Not- withstanding this variation, however, in the views of practical men, and the easily observable fact that whereas some cultivators scarcely succeed when their planting is done at the fittest season, others obtain success when they perform theirs at what appears the least suitable period, there is undoubtedly a time at which, of all others, it is most proper to move at least deciduous shrubs and trees, and this time is the whole of the month of November. Without going into the philosophy of the case, most practitioners will agree that the plants of this description which are moved about that period far more invariably live and flourish than those which are kept till a later season ; particularly when a hot and dry summer ensues.
But with regard to evergreens, there is much more room for diversity of views; and the climate of a locality has a great deal to do with determining the question satisfactorily. On certain parts of the coast, for example, where violent winds from the sea prevail towards the end of winter, and even into the earliest spring months, it is quite essential that evergreens be not transplanted till April or May, or even later, according to the aspect and promise of the season.
And besides the nature of the climate in many localities, there is another reason why evergreens should not be planted till the period just referred to; this being that they are just commencing their growth at that time; and if they can once get established in the ground after their yearly developments have begun, they will seldom get injured subsequently, and may usually be considered safe.
Still, it must not be disguised that there is considerable risk in planting ever- greens at this late period, from the liability that a dry summer may follow, and the difficulty, as well as expense, of keeping them duly supplied with water in such a case. This is but one of the contingencies necessary to gardening processes, however, and as the choice must inevitably be between two evils or classes of evils, we should prefer the spring planting as the least ; except in those districts where the climate is so genial, and the winter and very early spring winds are so gentle, as to admit of autumnal planting with perfect security, when it is doubtless most desirable.
Of far greater moment to the successfulness of the process than the period
356 THE PLANTING SEASON.
chosen for performing it, is the preparation of the ground, the selection of the plants, and the mode of conducting their transplantation. We shall speak of each of these separately.
It has been too customary to regard any trouble expended in preparing a plot for planting, as labour thrown away, or, at any rate,as by no means of that practical use which theoretical writers represent it to be. And muchas this delusion has lately shrunk away before the clear light of experience, its influences — are yet prevailingly felt and acted upon. Yet there cannot be a more radical error, The most elaborate preparation is always more than repaid. Draining, trenching, manuring, the admixture of lighter or more adhesive ingredients, and the attending to all this a sufficient length of time before the planting takes place to allow of due incorporation, pulverisation, the decay of weeds dug in, and so forth, are, as it were, the very elements of the plants’ future well-being.
That is a very contracted and ill-judging policy which carefully adapts the mere pit in which each plant is to be placed, and leaves the rest of the ground undisturbed, or only partially worked. Every portion of the plot should be thoroughly stirred, and the whole rendered equally suitable, or, in a few years after planting, many of the specimens will be seen making but miserable and imperfect growths at the points of their shoots. Every cultivator who has travelled at all will have noticed, in many places that have passed under his observation, the newly-planted things, and such as have only been growing on the. place a few years, look healthy and well, while those which are of longer standing begin to get stunted and weakly at the top, and to relapse into premature decay. This is a striking illustration of the effects from undue preparation for planting, and should act as a powerful caution as well as stimulus.
The bad consequences we have just described, occurring as they do, in general, from want of proper preparation of the soil, arise, in particular, from the neglect of two processes in that preparation, viz., draining and meliorating, or mellowing. A deficiency of adequate draining is, perhaps, the greatest evil, and its effects are soonest manifest. But we have seen instances in which ground was nearly as dry as it is required to be towards the surface, while it was perfectly saturated in wet weather at from nine to fifteen or eighteen inches below the top. Plants have thriven in this, as a matter of course, till their roots reached the wet part, and then they have suddenly gone back. Hence we deduce that the superficial aspect and dryness of ground should not be depended upon, but that it ought to be drained to a reasonable depth,—say thirty inches or three feet.
Nor is the absence of right preparation, in regard to the amelioration of a soil’s texture and quality, a thing of so much lighter influence that it can be incurred with impunity. We have in our recollection an estate having been planted, where the soil was clayey, by the addition of a small quantity of lighter earth to just the limited spot on which each plant was put; and though the result was for a short time satisfactory, directly the plants pushed their roots beyond the
THE PLANTING SEASON. 257
little circle which had been improved for them, they began to degenerate, and afterwards became visibly more and more impoverished.
The advice that we would inculcate, then, from these statements of facts is, —and we hope every planter will feel induced to adopt it—that, as a question of sound economy and policy, it is always best to see that a thorough basis is laid for a thriving plantation, by rendering the drainage perfect and the soil sufficiently pulverised, enriched, or strengthened ; allowing time, in the effectuation of this, for the decomposition of all crude matters that may naturally be present, or may necessarily be applied, prior to the actual insertion of the plants.
When we allude to the usefulness of exercising a wise discretion in selecting plants for removal, we include several things. First, if they are to be obtained from a nursery, it is of the highest consequence that the soil of that nursery should be studied before fixing upon it as the source of supply. Some nurseries are situated where the soil is a deep rich loam, and, consequently, the plants send down long centre roots, called tap roots, without spreading abroad near the surface those fine fibrous rootlets which constitute the chief resource of a freshly- planted specimen, and which enable it so much sooner to form a mature plant, besides imparting to it a symmetrical and ornamental bushiness. The mischief is increased in such places where the ground is also damp, inclining to wetness, for then an undue luxuriance is further engendered.
There are other nurseries, the soil of which is of such a comparatively dry and shallow nature, sandy matter being pretty abundantly present, that all the roots which plants form in it extend horizontally, and branch out into numberless little fibres. This is more conspicuously the fact when the substratum is a rocky one.
The difference in the value and usefulness of plants procured from two nurseries answering to each of the above descriptions, is really inconceivable, except to those who have experienced it. Having had occasion to test 1t within the last few years, we can speak most confidently as to the advisableness of choosing plants from that which has the kind of earth last mentioned.
Nevertheless, soil is not the only thing which has to be thought of in buying nursery plants. The adaptation of the climate should be looked to. It is preposterous to expect things brought from a warm, sheltered, genial spot, where no kind of rough and prejudicial winds are experienced, to do well in a district which is greatly elevated or exposed to the sea, and subject to the most violent and detrimental gales. For plants to thrive, therefore, they should be had from a nursery which is at least as cold and open as the place in which they are to be planted. ;
The same conditions will apply, in reference to similar matters, to any removals which may be effected in private gardens. The shallower and more open the soil may be, the better will the plant be furnished with those roots which are essential to its establishing itself speedily after itis transplanted. It may be laid down also as a rule, that there is a chance of failure when a plant is taken
VOL. XII.—NO. CXLIII. LL
258 THE PLANTING SEASON,
from a crowded and quiet place into one which is a good deal exposed, though the opposite practice is not merely perfectly safe, but extremely beneficial.
On no kind of plant, however, is it requisite to bestow so much forethought and care in the selection for planting, as upon trees varying from twenty to fifty feet in height, and on very large specimens of shrubs. These are, in the first place, more valuable and important, and would be more missed if they died, or cause real disfigurement if they became sickly ; and, in the second place, their removal, to ensure success, is more difficult; while, thirdly, they are, from their size, more liable to be harmed by those adverse atmospheric agents which would hardly strike—or would act less forcibly—on smaller and more compact objects.
Independently, then, of the advantage of noting that a specimen tree which has to be moved is growing in a light and not a very deep soil, and that there is, if possible, a hard substratum, so that the roots lie, as much as may be, over the surface instead of striking much downwards, it is proper to observe the position in which the tree is placed. If it be entirely detached, it will be most completely suitable ; whereas, the more its situation approaches to a confined or crowded one, or to one peculiarly sheltered, it becomes less and less fitted for transplanting, and the more so when it has to stand alone as a specimen, or to tower above others for breaking the sky outline of a plantation. This view likewise includes, with the chances of the tree’s success after removal, its appearance in an ornamental light.
We come, at length, to the last point which we proposed adverting to, and which is probably of more moment than all the rest. It relates to the numerous small matters involved in carrying out the actual operation of removal. Suitable weather, extreme attention to the roots in taking up the plants, care in keeping the roots from drying while they are out of the ground, the utmost minuteness of patience in spreading them out properly and covering them gradually and gently with well-pulverized earth, with efficient staking and watering when requisite, are some of the means which demand the most thorough and practised skill. Persons of the smallest observation know how far more rapidly a wound on any of their own limbs would heal, and the member become fit for fulfilling its usual functions healthily, when such a wound is bound up immediately, and kept from the action of the air. Yet this fact is forgotten in the analogous case of a plant with wounded roots, which is often left mercilessly exposed to all kinds of hurtful influences for a period which renders its recovery quite a subject for wonder, and which shows how much plants will endure and yet live.
It is not easy to estimate correctly the extent of injury a plant undergoes by being treated as a lifeless stick ; nor to determine what is the large amount of advantage it gains from having a treatment accordant with its nature as a living thing. In the former case it continues to exist solely in consequence of a super- abundant energy in its vital power. In the latter, it scarcely feels the removal, and at once proceeds to draw sustenance from the new condition in which it is fixed.
THE PLANTING SEASON. 259
A moist day is the best for planting, because any kind of drought to which the roots may be exposed, robs them of a proportionate quantity of what may appropriately be called their vital blood. Want of care in preserving all the small roots is injurious for the same reason, and also as it deprives the plant of so many means of drawing nourishment after it is planted. The demand on the leaves and other exposed portions by the atmosphere becomes greater than the resources which can be taken up by the roots will compensate. Sufficient covering for the roots, while the plants necessarily lie out of the ground, is also useful to prevent the undue evaporation and loss of essential moisture.
To spread out the roots of a plant with an adequate minuteness of attention while fixing it in its new position, is, moreover, an essential step ; for if the roots get crushed and broken in this process, or if they be not so disposed as to have each a clear space left for extension and for imbibing food, all the previous caution will be of no avail. And in this direction is included the covering of them softly and thoroughly with finely-broken light earth, which should be interposed nicely between the several layers of them, placing and covering each root individually. At the same time, all broken or damaged ends of the roots should be cleanly cut away with a sharp knife.
As to watering, the amount of that must be determined by the state of the atmosphere, both at the period of planting, and throughout the subsequent season. As a general hint, evergreens require most, and all sorts of plants should be sup- plied with it before they are likely to want it. If the other points of which we have spoken be, however, duly regarded, waterings will not be so needful as where less attention is bestowed. What is called puddling, which is practised by some planters under special circumstances of drought or lateness in the season, is a highly injudicious proceeding. It tends to seal up the roots against both air and moisture for a very long period afterwards, .
With respect, lastly, to staking, this is of the utmost utility to all plants which are liable to be blown about by winds ; for winds, by shaking the plants, break off the small fibrous roots, and thus throw the specimens back a considerable time. We may here remark, as a sort of sequence to this observation, that when stakes cannot be given, or when merely forest planting is in question, it is much more prudent to use only plants of low stature, and such as will not present a mark for the winds to drive at.
We have thus gone over a deal of ground, which, we are aware, has frequently been travelled before ; and we are less anxious to bring forward new truths than to enforce old ones, the latter being more likely to be forgotten. Many things we have no doubt omitted; amongst which is the indispensableness of having balls of earth to all specimens which are transplanted, after they grow to any size. But we have collected a number of prominent points together, and look rather for the partial and gradual issue of our efforts, than for that complete revolution in practice which the writer of a more comprehensive or extended essay would be supposed to expect.
2606
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
es
NEW OR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS FIGURED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL PERIODICALS FOR NOVEMBER,
Az\‘LEA Lupovi'ciz, Nothing can be prettier than the delicately-coloured flowers of this plant. Instead of a pale yellow or straw-colour being the prevailing colour, we have a gay, rosy tint superadded.
‘“¢ No one would have believed,” writes Dr. Lindley, “ upon slighter evidence than that of the Dean of Manchester, that such plants as have thus been figured were seedlings from the Pontic Rhododendron, to which they bear no manner of resemblance ; and they teach us a lesson in possibilities, which persons unacquainted with such facts will do well to recollect. If the common Pontic Rhododendron can by art, however applied, be compelled to bring forth a Pontic Azalea, there remains no ground for regarding as impossible even such results as the production of Rye by Wheat or Barley, or of Plums from Pear trees.” Bot. Reg. 60.
Ca’TTLEYA GRANULO'SA $3 var. RussEttia‘na. Some fatality seems to have attended this beautiful plant in our gardens. It was sent to Sir W. J. Hooker, from Woburn, as a Brazilian Orchid; but we can find no evidence to show that it is a native of even the Southern hemisphere. At Syon, whence, by permission of His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, our specimen was supplied, it is said to have been received from Dr. Wallick, in 1839, which is probably another mistake. There can be no doubt at least about its being in reality a very fine variety of the Guatemala C. granulosa, and its introduction may with good reason be referred to one of Mr. Skinner’s numerous importations.
“Tt is not surprising that it should have been referred to C. guttata; for the old specific character of the latter fits it very well. But if the figure of that species in the Horticultural Transactions, vol. ii. t. vili., second series, be consulted, the difference between the two will be manifest.
“ We suspect this plant to be mcre common in collections than is generally supposed, and that it stands in many places as a representative of C.guttata.” Bot. Reg. 59.
(Many beautiful varieties of C. granulosa have recently flowered in the Exotic Nursery.—See our Notices of “ New or interesting Plants recently flowered,”) &c.
Denpro'Bium KINGIA/NuM. This curious epiphyte was bought by the Messrs. Loddiges at the sale of Mr. Bidwill’s New Holland plants, two or three years since. It has pseudo-bulbs between four and five inches long, tapered from an ovate base into a very long and narrow neck, on the top of which stand two oblong, emarginate, dark-green, rather wavy leaves. Between these is a flower-stalk having two or three pink flowers gaily spotted with crimson in the inside. On some of the offsets the number of leaves is four, but the prevailing number is two.”— Bot. Reg. 61.
Genr’sta ( Teline) Spacuia'na. “ This is a pleasing addition to the many-flowered and sweet- scented group of Canarian Genisie, which in early spring enliven the conservatory and green- house. Though‘a native of the Canaries, the present species was not taken up in the ‘ Phytographia Canariensis,’ forming part of the ‘ Hist. Nat. des Iles Canaries,’ the author of that portion of the work not being able to decide on the specific value of the plant, owing to the incomplete specimens in fruit, but without flowers, which alone existed in his herbarium. It has now flowered from seeds sent by him formerly to Europe, both at Mr. Young’s nursery, at Milford, near Godalming, and at the Jardin du Roi, at Paris. It has been named in honour of Mr. Edward Spach, assistant naturalist in the latter establishment, whose learning and acute observation have so much advanced the ‘ aimable science.’
“The G. (Teline) Spachiana, indigenous to the high mountains of the N. W. of Teneriffe, will probably prove hardy in the climate of England. It existed for several years at Paris in the open ground, and was only destroyed by the cold of the late severe winter.” Bot. Mag. 4195. There is a great similarity between all the members of this family, and the present species does not form ali exception.
Hrsecia‘pus BirLo\Rus. “ A very pretty Solanaceous plant, with graceful drooping two- coloured blossoms; a native of the Andes of Peru, about Tarma, Canta, Culluay, &c., according to
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 261
Ruiz and Pavon, and collected in the same countries by Mr. Mathews, but only recently introduced in a living state by Mr. Veitch, of Exeter, through Mr. William Lobb. It flowered in Mr. Veitch’s Nursery in August, 1845, and from a fine specimen, kindly communicated by him, the accompany- ing figure is taken. It only requires a good greenhouse, and may easily be increased by cuttings, and probably by seed. The generic name is derived by Mr. Miers from 76y down, and KAddos a slender stem, in allusion to the character of some of the species. The genus includes a very natural group of Solanee, mostly natives of Peru and New Grenada, and all from South America.” — Bot. Mag. 4192. This is an interesting plant ; its pretty flowers, which seem to be produced in great profusion, have a charming effect.
Ixo’ra opoRA‘TA. Sir W. J. Hooker writes : “ We have been much gratified by the sight of a noble specimen of this splendid and highly odoriferous shrub. The leaves vie in size and almost in firmness of texture with those of the Indian Caoutchoue Tree (Ficus Elastica), while the numerous flowers, of the most delicious odour, form a spreading panicle, a foot or more in diameter, with deep-red-purple branches, each blossom four to five inches in length, the tube red below, white above, the white buds tipped with rose colour, the spreading segments of the limb white, soon twisted, and then changing to buff. The plant is in the possession of Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, and Co., of the Exeter Nursery, who received it from the Continent, under the incorrect name of Jrvora Brunonis, and without auy indication of its locality. Fortunately I have a fine native specimen from Madagascar, showing that to be its native country. Few persons who visited the last floral exhibition of the year 1845, at the Chiswick Gardens, will fail to remember the extreme beauty and fragrance of this truly desirable plant.” Bot. Mag. 4191.
Lyca’ste FULVE’scens. Sir W. J. Hooker received this species from the Rev. John Clowes, of Broughton Hall, Manchester, who sent it as a species distinct from L. gigantea, of Dr. Lindley. Bot. Reg. 1845, tab. 34. The Rev. J. C. observes respecting it :—“I received it, along with LL. gigantea and other Orchideze, from the province of Coro, in Columbia, of Linden’s collecting.” “ And now, continues Sir W. J. Hooker, “that Dr. Lindley has figured the L. gigantea, we are the better able to point out the distinguishing characters, which may be found in the much smaller size of the flowers, and especially of the bractea, and the beautifully-fringed margin of the middle lobe of the labellum, to say nothing of the different colour,—here a rather pale tawny, with an orange-coloured lip, in L. gigantea a greenish-brown, with a red-purple lip.”
“ Lycaste is 2 name recently given by Dr. Lindley to a group of Mavilluridee, of which Mavxillaria aromatica, Hook. Ex. Fl. t. 219, and M. macrophylla, Popp. Nov. Gen. pl. 1 to 64, may be considered the types, and of which he has now described ten species, all natives of Peru, Columbia, Mexico, and Guatemala.”’ Bot. Mag. 4193.
Onci’DIuM INcU’rvuM. This is a remarkably pretty and interesting species, nearly always in flower ; no sooner have the blossoms of one panicle faded than those of another are ready to supply their places. Dr. Lindley states that “ Mr. Barker gave it the name of incuryum, in consequence of the petals having a great tendency to turn inwards when the flowers first open ; that tendency is, however, eventually lost, and the parts assume the position customary in the genus.
‘¢ In some respects it resembles the Bird’s-bill Oncid, but it bears its flowers in a long, erect, and even- branched panicle, and it has neither the long rostel, nor the great column-wings of that species. Its colours are, moreover, very different, for its petals and sepals are regularly and neatly banded with red on a white ground, instead of being of one uniform rosy tint. Bot. Reg. 64.”
Porentr’LLa Bi’cotor, A pretty herbaceous plant from Nepal. “ In general appearance it looks like a hybrid between P. atrosanguinea, or nepalensis, and insignis. In some respects it approaches Potentilla insignis itself ; it may also be compared to P. villosa, which is found in Nepal, butit is five-leaved and long-haired. The appearance of the petals is most delicate and beautitul—far more so than our colourers can represent. Their ground colour is a clear yellow, over which, at the base, is drawn a series of long hexagonal red meshes, which form towards the circumference of the flower other meshes of a finer and closer fabric, till at last they melt as it were into each other, and form a clear red border to each petal.’’ Bot. Reg. 62.
Sta’ticE Forru'nr. ‘A yellow sea-lavender is a rarity. This, which is a very interesting species, is a perennial, and will probably prove quite hardy. Its seeds were sent from China by Mr, Fortune in 1844, and were said to have been gathered at a place called Chin Chin, growing in sandy soil near the sea.” The last circumstance, it is presumed, will be a useful guide in its cultivation. Bot. Reg. 63.
962 FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.
SMpATHMA/NNIA L&VIGA‘TA. “A rare and remarkable genus, consisting of upright (not climbing) shrubs, with white scentless flowers, nearly allied to Passiflora; first made known by Mr. Brown, who described three species: S. pubescens, (Sol.), distinguished by its downy branches and its broad leaves, which are very obtuse at the base, and scarcely acute at the summit ; our present species ; and §. media, which our learned friend remarks may perhaps be a variety of the present. Our specimens, both cultivated and native, gathered by the Miss Turners, daughters of the late Governor-General Turner, and by Mr. Whitfield, do not entirely agree with the character of S. /evigata, for the branchlets, as well as the flower-buds, are evidently silky, and the urceolus of the flower is both fringed at the margin, and beset with hairs on the inside. The name was . given by Dr. Solander, in compliment to Mr. Smeathman, an African naturalist and traveller, who detected the three species defined by Mr. Brown.
“‘ This shrub constitutes a very desirable stove-plant, with glossy evergreen, almost distichous leaves and white flowers, growing downwards, and best seen on the underside of the branches. It requires the constant heat of the stove, and flowers freely, especially in July.” Bot. Mag. 4194.
Scavo'La attenuata. “A shrubby plant, a native of South-west Australia, first detected and described by Mr. Brown, possessing little beauty in its mode of growth or foliage, but in June and July bearing rather copious spikes of bright, but light-blue flowers, which then give it a very pretty appearance. Our plant wasreared from seeds sent by Mr. Drummond fromSwan River, and probably gathered to the southward of that colony, towards King George’s Sound. It is cultivated in good loam, and treated as a greenhouse plant, fully exposed to the open air and the rains in the summer, and housed in a cool greenhouse during winter. It may be increased by cuttings.” Bot. Mag. 4196.
NEW OR INTERESTING PLANTS RECENTLY FLOWERED IN THE PRINCIPAL METROPOLITAN NURSERIES AND GARDENS.
A’sTER BI’'coLoR.—This hardy little plant has long been introduced to the country ; it is very interesting from its miniature proportions. In the Messrs. Henderson’s Nursery, plants, a few inches high only, are profusely flowering ; and, undoubtedly, will continue to do so, till prevented by severe weather. It is well adapted for rock-work, especially if on a small scale; also the fore- ground of a flower-border ; and at this season it would form a charming object as an edging. We believe it is somewhat scarce.
Ca’ITLEYA GRANULO'SA, vars.—In the nursery of Messrs. Knight and Perry, several plants of this genus have been flowering, all varieties of the above species ; their general habit is that of C. Forbesii, with the sepals and petals of some also resembling that species, in point of size and colour. In others, the flowers are large, with sepals and petals of a dark green; some have these parts of the flower pale-yellow, and covered with brown spots and blotches, as in C. Aclandie. But in the several varieties, the lip is the most remarkable feature ; it is large, and for Cattleyas peculiarly marked, resembling Zygopetalum crinitum, Mackayii, &c.; it is of various forms, and the marking, for the most part, is a pale and dark red upon a whitish ground.
Ca@Locy’NE ————— ?—In the Orchidaceous House, at the Messrs. Henderson’s, one of this genus has been flowering for the first time. In general character, it resembles the lovely C.
Wallichiana; its pseudo-bulbs are similar, as also are the size of its flowers, the petals of which are delicate lilac; its lip is beautifully fringed, and spotted with several spots of a yellowish-brown colour. We consider it C. precox, or, possibly, a variety of that species.
CYANO'TIS AXILLA‘RIS.—A pretty little Tradescantia-like plant, producing innumerable bright blue flowers, at the axils of its dark-green linear leaves. With a little care it can be rendered an interesting object ; it can easily be made to form a dense bush of any shape. The Messrs. Henderson, at whose establishment we have seen it, find young plants the most serviceable for flowering ; old plants are very subject to damp off, and they do not flower so well from being less vigorous.
CaTasETUM sacca‘tuM.—This genus is remarkable for the curious, but for the most part uninteresting, nature of its numerous species. The present is, however, a noble exception. Its pseudo-bulbs are about nine inches long, the old ones becoming shrivelled after they have once flowered ; the matured annual growth produces the flower-spike, which is about a foot in length ;
FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 2635
two-thirds of it is covered with its remarkable, but very beautiful flowers; the most conspicuous feature of these is their labellum, from which it derives its specific name, saccatum, alluding to its pouch-like shape ; it is an inch in depth, and half an inch in diameter, of a bright orange-colour inside, outside mottled brown and orange; on the lower edge of its mouth is a black velvety marking ; the column rises half an inch, yellowish-brown ; the sepals and petals are of similar dimensions and colour ; they appear to shrivel quickly after becoming perfect : their shape is oval. The leaves are eighteen inches to two feet long, pale-green and flag-like. A small specimen has recently flowered in a stove at the Hackney Nursery.
Da’PHNE iNDICA RU'BRA.—A valuable autumn-flowering plant. In one of the greenhouses of the Messrs. Henderson, several plants are producing their flowers, with all the luxuriance of spring vegetation. We have seldom seen plants of this genus occupy that attention their merits deserve ; this is the more to be wondered at, as that attention would be so amply repaid. The highly fragrant qualities of most of the species are well known, and, in addition to this, several of them help to dispel the dulness of the winter months, by expanding their flowers at that season both in the greenhouse and in the garden.
Era’NTHEMUM VARIA’BILE.—A_ very desirable stove-plant from its flowering at this season, and we doubt not through the winter also. Its dwarf bushy habit, and dark-green silvery marked foliage, with spikes of light-blue flowers, render it an interesting object. From the small specimens we saw at the Exotic Nursery, King’s Road, it seems as if it would be a profuse bloomer. I¢ is not of recent introduction to the country.
Hoirz1a coccinea.—A fine mass of this old plant, in one of the stoves of the Messrs. Hender- son, on a recent occasion attracted our attention by its bright scarlet blossoms. It forms a bush two to three feet high, with its long slender branches thickly studded with small, soft, oval, pale- green leaves, from the axils of which it produces very profusely its long trumpet-shaped flowers, which, at this season, create a very lively effect. To manage it properly, some attention is required ; young plants will be found most serviceable, as the leaves in old specimens, being of slight texture, soon become brown from decay, and consequently unsightly. It is easily increased by cuttings.
IsocHiLUS CARNOSIFLO‘RUS.—In the Orchidaceous House of the Messrs. Loddiges, this species is flowering ; among Orchids it has a very lively effect. The plant is composed of numerous slender stems, a foot to eighteen inches high, thickly studded with narrow oblong leaves, which at the ends are deeply notched ; the flowers hang in terminal racemes at the end of the stems; the racemes are two to three inches in length ; flowers bright-rose colour.
Justi’cta Macponr/iiuiz. A fine yellow-flowered species, with the general character and habit of J. coccinea ; it is very valuable from flowering at this time of the year, and not less so on account of the colour of its flowers.
J usti’cla 2 With the leaves and individual flowers resembling J. speciosa, its growth is much more robust, and the flowers are arranged in heavy clusters. This and the above species have very recently flowered in the collection of the Messrs. Henderson, at their nursery, Pine-apple Place.
Mvra’tt1a Heiste'ria. This is a very old genus, but, like too many others, neglected on account of its age. It is well deserving any attention or care that may be bestowed upon it. This is especially the case with the present species, which in general appearance is a Furze-like plant, with beautiful little bright purple and white flowers, which are produced in the greatest profusion amongst the rough-looking foliage. We have never seen any particular attention paid to the training of this genus ; we have no doubt they would well repay any trouble that might be taken with them in this respect. The present species flowers freely at this season of the year : at the Messrs. Henderson’s nursery, Pine-apple Place, we have observed fine healthy plants in flower.
OtpENLa’NDIA DEppEA‘NA. At the Messrs. Henderson’s, many interesting specimens of this beautiful little old plant have a striking effect, from the situation in which they have been placed, as well as from their individual worth: they are disposed through the greenhouses, elevated above the other plants. The habit of the plant is that of a close-growing shrub, with ovate-lan- ceolate leaves an inch long; the flowers are disposed in loose panicles at the ends of the branches, white, and immensely profuse: undoubtedly the treatment they have been subjected to renders them the interesting objects they are.
264
OPERATIONS FOR DECEMBER.
one
Tuts having been a remarkably fine season for planting, on account of its continued openness, and the dampness which has prevailed in the atmosphere, it may be supposed that a good deal of it has now been completed. It is always desirable to forward this process as much as possible ; for, when frost actually sets in, there are sometimes, as in last winter, left no favourable intervals of mild weather, for getting the planting done before spring. But as, from the ground not having been early enough prepared, or from any other circumstance, much of the planting may yet be unaccomplished, we would suggest that it is a bad plan to attempt it immediately after a heavy rain or a thaw, since the earth is then apt to be so much affected by treading on it as to become sodden.
In removing large specimens, which require to have balls got up with them, the operator cannot be too strongly enjoined to take a very wide circuit in digging about the roots, and gradually drawing in nearer to the stem as the outer roots are disengaged from the soil. A fork should by all means be used instead of a spade, in the first instance ; and afterwards a pointed stick can be employed to loosen the soil from the outside of the ball, taking a spade to shovel out the earth thus liberated. The ball and roots must be well covered up with mats as soon as the plant is fairly lifted, and kept covered till it is set in its new position. It is of the last consequence to keep plants out of the ground as short a time as possible.
When the whole of the leaves have fallen from the trees, and all the transplanting is done, the leaves can then be raked off the beds, borders, and shrubberies, and these be roughly pointed over, and left to mellow during the winter. Or, the leaves may be left lying on them, and dug in where they have fallen. It would be impolitic to dig over these parts before the last of the leaves have been shed ; for, in many places, where this is done too early, the garden has a slovenly appearance all the winter, from the latest leaves lying about along the margins of the borders, and around the stems of the plants.
Just before digging over the borders, &c., all pruning must be attended to, and any manure applied that may be wanted, and everything be properly staked and fastened, and those shrubs layered that require layering. At the same time, herbaceous plants can be divided, layers taken from plants which were put down the previous winter, and every other such matter looked after, as it will not do to have to tread over the ground after it has been dug. Cuttings taken from any particular shrub while pruning, may now also be put in, if the kind is desired to be increased. A place in the kitchen or reserve-garden should always be set apart for this purpose, for it is very useful to be able to get a specimen of any sort when it is wanted. Any evergreens, too, that have become ragged and straggling, can be pruned back at the top, and have their lower branches layered. This is a good way to form bushy, broad, and spreading specimens.
A few bulbs should be put every week into a small hot-bed-frame, or pit, and thus a succession of flowering plants will be kept up for the greenhouse, conservatory, or drawing-room. Let the pots be plunged in old bark, about one or two inches above the rim, and the growth of the bulbs will be commenced in a much more satisfactory manner than if this were neglected.
Heat and dampness are as much the enemies of plants in houses at this season, as frost. And hence, all dry air that can be given will be of the utmost value. Very little watering will of course be needed. Numbers of the hard-wooded greenhouse plants which shed their leaves may be cut down, and put away in the corner of a shed or cellar. They will prove extremely useful in filling up the flower-garden and borders next season. Everything that would occasion dampness, or harbour it should it otherwise abound, must be instantly cleared away, in houses, pits, and frames.
Preparations should constantly be kept ready for sheltering any tender things that may have to remain in the open air. It must be borne in mind, however, that many plants are more injured by protection than by exposure, and it should be the business of the cultivator to ascertain which these are, and act accordingly. Others, again, would not be hurt by frost, but are greatly damaged by winds. For these, a different sort of shelter should be provided, and one that only screens them at the sides, without covering them in at the top. In all instances, the covering ought to be opened as frequently as practicable, for plants are apt to be made
too tender, and become blanched, and be otherwise prejudiced, by a too constant or too dense protection.
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/ ! MELASTOMA SANGUINEA. (Bloody-veined Melastoma.)
Class. Order. DECANDRIA. MONOGYNITA., Natural Order.
MELASTOMACE A.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx with an ovate tube adhering to the ovarium, densely covered with scales or bristles; limb five, rarely six-cleft; the segments alternating with the appendages, both deciduous. Petals five or six. Stamens twice the number of the petals. Anthers oblong-linear, a little arched, open- ing by a pore at the apex, each furnished with a stipe-
a pruinose dot. Capsule baccate, five or six-celled, opening irregularly. Seeds cochleate.—Don’s Gard. and Botany.
Speciric CHARACTER.—Plant an evergreen shrub. Branches terete, very rough from red bristles. Leaves on short petioles, ovate-lanceolate, acuminated, five- nerved, green above and shining, but red at the nerves
beneath, and on the petiole. Pedicels bi-bracteate. Flowers few, large, rose-coloured, terminal. Calyx covered with very long incurved bristles. Petals six, large. Fruit bracteate,
formed connective, which is in some species elongated, and in others short, but always bi-auriculate or emar- ginate in front. Ovarium free, part conical and bristly. Style filiform, somewhat thickened at the apex, Stigma
Tuis beautiful shrub, so seldom seen in our stoves, although it has been twenty years in the country, is a native of the Sunda Islands, where it grows to a large bush five or six feet high.
In cultivation it seldom reaches a greater altitude than three feet, unless planted out ina border. The branches are well clothed with leaves, and termi- nate in a cluster of very large delicately-soft pink or rose-coloured flowers, the ephemeral character and successive expansion of which, however, prevent them from appearing at any one time in excessive quantity ; and it is, therefore, rather a plant which presents a moderately attractive aspect for a considerable period, than a gorgeous blaze of beauty lasting only for a few days.
A tendency to grow perfectly upright is commonly displayed not only by this species, but by most of its congeners, and in order to obtain bushy specimens it is consequently necessary to tie down the outmost shoots, and shorten back the inner ones, that laterals may be formed to fill up the middle of the bush. Pruning, indeed, is absolutely necessary, every year, to prevent a loose diffusive growth, and to secure vigour and the free development of blossoms.
In the general characters of the plant there is a striking affinity with M. ma- erocarpum. It is, however, easily known from that species by the blood-coloured petioles and nerves of the leaf, and the crimson bristles which clothe the stem. These features, whilst they thus serve to distinguish it, and have been selected as the foundation of the specific title, impart an additional interest to its appearance.
VOL, XII.-—-NO,. CXLIV. MM
266 MELASTOMA SANGUINEA.
The extreme humidity of the atmosphere in those islands which produce it, affords a valuable hint to the culturist in its management. A warm moist air and the same conditions preserved about the roots during the period of growth are amongst the most important particulars in the treatment of the genus. They will thrive in any peaty soil, but are much improved by the addition of a portion of leaf-mould.
Propagation is easily effected by planting cuttings of the young wood in sand mixed with a little finely-sifted peat-soil, assisted by a gentle bottom-heat, and a bell-glass. Young plants a few inches high frequently produce flowers.
Our artist was obligingly permitted to prepare the drawing from which the accompanying plate was executed, from a handsome specimen which flourished last September in the stove of R. G. Loraine, Esq., Wallington Lodge, Carshalton.
The generic appellation, derived from the Greek melas, black, and stoma, a mouth, originated in the staining properties possessed by the berries of some of the earliest known species, which being frequently eaten by children, dye their mouths black.
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GLOXINIA PASSINGHAMIL.
(Mr. Passingham’s Gloxinia.)
Class.
DIDYNAMIA.
Order. ANGIOSPERMIA.
Natural Order.
GESNERACEZ.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx adnate to the ovarium, by the middle; limb five-parted, free. Corolla semi- superior, oblique, funnel-shaped, or campanulately subringent, gibbose behind at the base; tube ventri- cose; limb spreading ; upper lip two-lobed, lower cone three-lobed. Stamens four, didynamous, with the ru-
Speciric CHARACcTER.—Plant a tuberous perennial. Stem short, and as well as the leaves, petioles, and peduncles, covered with villous hairs, Leaves ovate, wrinkled, bluntly and rather closely crenated, some- what acute, glaucous beneath. Calyw spreading. Flowers very large, deep rich violet.
. diment of a fifth behind. Glands five, perigynous. Capsule one-celled, two-valved; placentas two, parietal, two-lobed. Seeds numerous, oblong.
Numerous and beautiful as are the many varieties of different species of plants, the production of which we may trace to the practice of hybridising, still there is not that genuine interest attached to their origin which surrounds that of a subject like our present.
In the instance of a novelty procured by means of the practice in question, however much we may esteem it for its individual exceilence, our regard for its merits is not unaccompanied by a reflection, that it is in the power of many, by the employment of similar agency to that which has originated the object of our solicitude, to obtain that which may equal, perhaps eclipse, what we would fain consider unsurpassable.
But to revert to the origination of the subject of our present notice as recounted by Mr. Passingham of Trew, in the county of Cornwall, in compliment to whom the plant has received its specific title.
Mr. P. writes :—-‘‘ The Gloxinia was discovered by a friend who is a great florist as well as botanist, in the province of Rio Janeiro; it was found in a deep ravine, much shaded, and in a very damp situation, high up the Corcovado moun- tain. It was in a situation very difficult to get at, but its extremely rich purple colour induced the gentleman to procure the root, as the flower was so distinct from any other he had before met with.”
In tracing the history, and contemplating the native wilds from whence so
engaging an object has been wrested, we find encircling its origin an enduring
268 GLOXINIA PASSINGHAMII.
interest that the appearance of rivals, though possessing superior claims upon our attention, cannot destroy. |
Apart, however, from these considerations, G. Passinghami possesses in a vigorous habit, very prolific bloom, and large highly-coloured flowers, all the properties that can render one of its interesting family valuable.
The present genuine importation, kindly sent to us last Autumn by Messrs. Rendle of Plymouth, although differing greatly in its superior appearance, does not appear to be specifically distinct from G. speciosa; nevertheless, we give it the name under which it is now passing.
Planted in a rich fresh compost, allowing plenty of pot-room, and placed in brisk bottom-heat, being liberally supplied with water during the period of its growth, and an occasional watering with liquid manure, were the main features in the treatment the original bulb was subjected to before disclosing its superb flowers.
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3.
ACACIA LONGIFOLIA.
(Long-leaved Acacia.)
Class. Order. POLYGAMIA. MONGECIA. Natural Order. LEGUMINOSZ.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx four or five-toothed. nuated at both ends, two or three-nerved at the base Petals four or five, sometimes free and sometimes and quite entire, the rest many-nerved. Spikes axillary, joined together into a four or five-clefé corolla. Sta- twin, on short peduncles. Calyx four-cleft. mens variable in number, from 100 to 200 in each SynonymMEs.— Mimosa longifolia, M. macrostachya, flower. Legume continuous, dry, two-valved. Acacia floribunda.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. — Phyllodia lanceolate, atte-
Ir is a fact respecting this wonderfully extensive genus, to which we render an unwilling admission, that the well-known uniformity in the colour of the flowers of its extensive family divests it of a portion of that interest, that the merits of its numerous species aS a whole otherwise deserve. But while we are compelled to acknowledge this defect in respect to the inflorescence of the family, we are happily able to point to a feature in its general character that, ina great measure atones for that defect : we allude to the great diversity of forms that characterise the foliage in the different species.
The existence to a certain extent of this variation might also be referred to the ‘manner in which the flowers are produced.
Our present species is a native of New South Wales, but nearly half a century has elapsed since it was introduced to the country: it is one of the stronger- growing kinds, approaching a tree-like dimensions ; and under cultivation, perhaps, it would be more in its proper position if planted against a conservative wall, or in the border of the conservatory ; undoubtedly in these situations it would be seen to the greatest advantage, but that does not preclude it from being induced to wear an engaging aspect under other circumstances : it rather points it out to the culti- vator as an object on which to exercise his skill.
The main point to attend to in its management as a plant cultivated in pots, would be a constant endeavour to obtain age in the plants, at the same time not permitting their growth to extend beyond certain limits. A liberal use of the pruning-knife would be quite requisite in order to further the object just men- tioned; and in training, it should be the principal care to maintain a proper
270 ACACIA LONGIFOLIA.
proportion in the several parts of the plant, in conjunction with a uniform growth.
Many of the family produce seeds freely, and those who wish to have vigorous plants, should employ seeds to obtain them. But if small flowering specimens are required, cuttings taken from old plants should be chosen ; such would easily be induced to grow, by bestowing upon them the usual attention. The proper soil to ensure a healthy vigorous growth would be a sandy loam, with equal proportions of peat and leaf-mould.
Our drawing was prepared from a specimen in the superb collection of New Holland plants, possessed by the Messrs. Henderson, of Pine Apple-Place.
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CALANDRINIA UMBELLATA.
(Umbel-flowering Calandrine.)
Class.
DODECANDRIA.,
Order. MONOGYNIA.
Natural Order. PORTULACACER.
GENERIC CHARACTER.—Calyx permanent, bi-partite ; sepals roundish-ovate. Petals three to five, hypogy- nous, or inserted in the bottom of the calyx, distinct or connected together at the very base, equal. Stamens four to fifteen, inserted in the torus or base of the petals, distinct, generally alternating with the petals. Style one, very short, tri-partite at the apex ; lobes collected into a clavyately-capitate stigma. Capsule oblong-elliptic, one-celled, three-valved, many-seeded. Seeds adhering by capillary funicles to the central
SpeciFic CHARACTER. — Plant suffruticose. Stems procumbent, determinate. Leaves crowded, linear, acutish, pilose. Flower-stems terminal, wiry, tumid at the base, purplish, bearing a few distant small leaves. Corymb cymose, terminal, many-flowered. Bracteas ciliated. Sepals nearly orbicular, permanent. Stamens ten to fifteen. Ovarium prismatically conical, tapering a long way.
SYNONYMES.—Portulaca prostrata, Talinum umbel- latum,
placenta.
THE enterprising zeal in the cause of botany and floriculture displayed by the Messrs. Veitch and Son, of Exeter, has now become pretty generally known, through the numerous magnificent plants which have been introduced to this country by their means, and deserves the thanks of every lover of cultivated flowers. The elegant little plant portrayed in the annexed plate, is another instance of their success ; and though by no means likely to acquire the popularity which some of the importations of those gentlemen have attained, it is, never- theless, one which every one who sees it with its blooms expanded must pronounce beautiful.
It is a small sub-shrub, of a prostrate habit, with little crowded linear leaves. The flower-stems, which are very wiry, spring from the termination of the preceding summer's shoots, and rise about six inches, in their progress forming a bottle-shaped swelling at the foot, from immediately beneath which five or six Thus the plant goes on extending year by year, still retaining its procumbent habit, and multiply-
fresh shoots push, to flower in their turn the succeeding season. ing the number of flowering branches. The flowers are disclosed in clusters at the top of the almost leafless flower-stem, and though they are not so large as those of some of its allies, they ensure esteem for their numbers and rich purple colouring. They are by no means fugacious, but unfortunately, like other
Calandrinias, they never expand except whilst the sun shines brightly upon
272 CALANDRINTA UMBELLATA.
them ; the moment its rays are intercepted, the petals fold together again. By what organic contrivance, and for. what end these flowers have been endowed with so much sensibility to light, is a subject we may wonder at, but perhaps never penetrate. Whilst, however, we lament the fact as detracting from the value of the plant as an object of beauty, it may be interesting to those who are fond of abstruse inquiry and speculation.
In its wild state it inhabits dry rocky places about Conception, in Chili, where it was first discovered by Ruiz and Pavon, and described in the ‘‘ Mora Peru- viana” as Talinum umbellatum. The natives call it the Flor dela Mistela; and the flowers are employed by the females to paint their faces. The plants sent to Messrs. Veitch’s were met with by their collector, Mr. Lobb, in his exploration of that district. |
It is expected to prove quite hardy. Tull this is better determined, however, it will be the safer plan to preserve it in pots in a frame, or on a dry shelf of the greenhouse, during the winter months. In summer it may be planted on rock- work, amongst a collection of Alpine plants.
It may be multiplied by cuttings ; but, as seeds appear to be freely produced, they will probably form the readiest means of acquiring a good stock of plants.
273
OPERATIONS FOR JANUARY.
—_e———-
So great has been the fall of rain in many parts of the country up to the present period, (the middle of December), and so much has vegetation been kept in a growing or excited state in consequence, that the advice we gave last month relative to preserving plants from injurious dampness, acquires twofold force, and becomes applicable, not merely to greenhouse and half tender kinds, but also to those nearly hardy shrubs and other descriptions of exotics which happen to have a permanent position in the open ground. Although, therefore, protection from frost has scarcely yet been necessary for plants of this class, shelter from exeessive wet is quite as indispensable, because it is wetness which chiefly gives to frost its injurious power.
Hither by screens of oiled canvass or calico, then, or by garden-mats so placed as to throw off the rain, or by any other almost impervious covering, tender exotics should always be sheltered in extremely rainy autumnal or winter weather, so that the soil about the roots, and consequently the entire specimen does not get saturated with moisture. This is particularly needful in the case of borders containing exotic bulbs or other tender herbaceous plants, and likewise on borders which are filled with the roots of delicate climbers trained to an adjoining wall or trellis. Ifa covering of some description is hung in autumn, and kept during winter from the top of the wall, so as to shelter the whole border without materially shading the plants or depriving them of air, they will require scarcely any protection from frost.
But there is another thing in addition to both wet and frost, which hurts many plants greatly, especially in particular localities, and which affects species that are generally undamaged by frost. This isa cold or violent gale of wind. Many places throughout the kingdom are peculiarly liable to strong gales of wind from some one or more quarters; and these gales destroy the tissue of evergreens in winter to a most lamentable degree. There is therefore a species of protection demanded in such positions for the specific purpose of guarding against winds ; and the best kind of thing for this object is open wooden hurdles, which can be moved round to any side of the plant from which the wind happens to be blowing, and which should have branches of any common fir, pine, or furze, drawn through them, so as to form an efficient sereen. These branches ought not, however, to be placed too closely together ; for it is a principle which should always be observed in carrying out any plan that has shelter from wind for its object, that an open, meshy screen, provided it be not too open, is more effective than a close and solid one, since the wind is broken by the former, while it is merely diverted and comes over the screen with accelerated power by the latter.
In endeavouring to prevent plants in houses or frames from deriving harm through the wetness of the season, the precautions we have before suggested should be continued with increasing vigilance. In this department, the culturist has the state of the atmosphere and the fluid supplies of the plant almost wholly under_his control; so that he may at any time alter the one by attention to the other. A stinted supply of water will do much towards maintaining a compara- tively dry atmosphere ; and a little fire heat now and then, when this remedy fails, will render the plants perfectly safe. Only, where fires are necessarily employed, there should be the utmost rigour in regard to not using or increasing them heedlessly ; for they will do the greatest harm when put on to any excess, and can, indeed, be admitted at all, merely to expel a worse evil.
All those plants which have been taken up from the flower-beds because not quite hardy, and stored away in cellars or sheds, should be examined occasionally, to see that they are not getting mildewed, or too damp, or are beginning to grow. Mildew may he easily rubbed off, or the parts affected may be cut away; while the cure for dampness is exposure to the air if it be mild enough, or being put in a dry room, where there is a fire, for a short time. Any growing parts, too, can be carefully cut off, near the base.
In the forcing house, pit, or frame, the principal thing is to preserve a comfortable degree of atmospheric moisture ; which can be done either by steam, by troughs of hot water, or by using moist materials for bottom-heat. The last is, perhaps, the best plan; moist fermenting manure, or bark, or leaves, being very congenial to the growth of plants.
The out-door routine in the pleasure-grounds this month will be almost confined to the work
VOL, XIIV.—NO. CXLI. NN
274 : OPERATIONS FOR JANUARY.
of pruning, digging the borders, &c. But it will not be proper to neglect sweeping the lawns, walks, and so forth ; for if leaves or rubbish are allowed to accumulate or lie on grass, they cause it to decay, or to become patchy and imperfect ; while the existence of worm-casts or any kind of dirt on walks not only injures their appearance but spoils the gravel. Besides, as the walks are scarcely ever dry and comfortable to walk upon in winter, they should be kept as clean as possible, so that the evil may be mitigated rather than increased.
Operations which involve much carting or wheeling are generally prosecuted vigorously this month during frosts. Ground-work, too, where there is any bulk of earth to remove, is one of the few things which can be best carried on in frosty weather. By undermining the earth to be taken away, and getting into the unfrozen part, the whole can easily be shifted.
Any wild intervals between this time and the beginning of March should be seized for putting in all deciduous shrubs or trees which may not have been planted earlier, in cases where planting is desired. It is highly injudicious to defer this kind of work too late, as the plants are thrown back nearly a year in consequence, and often lose some of their principal branches, or die altogether.
In the case of any fine evergreens, which may have been transplanted in the autumn, the heavy rains will render them peculiarly likely to be injured by frost; and it will therefore be advisable to have the soil about their roots mulched thickly with leaves or any kind of loose litter. This will act as a protection to them, and prevent them from being so vitally damaged. It will be much better than any covering that might be put round the branches.
Tulips in beds are sometimes apt to have their leaves cut by severe frost, and oftener so by cold winds.. A covering of canvass in wet weather, to keep them from getting too moist, will generally guard them sufficiently in the former instance ; but they should be sheltered on the windy side with those movable hurdles, having pine-branches drawn through them, which we have already recommended for tender shrubs, when injurious winds occur. The same sort of protection will also be useful for Japan Lilies, or other tender bulbs.
Advantage should be taken of wet or frosty weather to examine all kinds of implements, and see that they are in proper order, getting them prepared when requisite, and arranging them in suitable places. All sorts of seeds should likewise now be looked to, and cleaned, or otherwise regulated. They must be properly dried before a slow fire if found to be in the slightest degree damp.
Compost and manure heaps should be well turned over this month, after the first frosts, that they may have the full benefit of the weather in mellowing and pulverising them. Any species of soil that may have been much used, and of which there is but a small stock, should now be replenished. Where loam, or other soil obtainable from a meadow or pasture is to be collected, the turf should never be cut away from it; as it is the fibre from the decaying or decayed vegetable matter in this which is so excellent a mechanical agent in draining soils used for potting.
GENERAL INDEX.
A.
ABUTILON pzeoniefiorum, 163 Abutilon graveolens, 21 Acacia longifolia, 269 — long-leaved, 269 Acanthophippium javanense, 22 Achimenes grandiflora, 43 _ argyrostigma, 188, 190 — hairy, 7 — the painted, 223 — hirsuta, 7; its covery, 7 — picta, 18, 223; the most successful cultivation of, 224 ; to have in flower at any season, 224 4Xichmea fulgens, 190 Aerides ¢ 165 — odoratum, 43 — maculosum, 49; the most preferable method of growing, 50 Air-plant, spotted, 49 Allamanda, large-flowered, 79 _- grandiflora, 79 ; how to manage, 80 Aletris punicea, 91 Alona, czerulean-fiowered, 3 — ccelestis, 3; useful as a flower-garden plant, 4; attention to moisture for, neces- sary, 4 Amaryllis montana, 20 — tatarica, 20 Andromeda coccinea, 101 Anemone obtusiloba, 18 — japonica, 214 Anemone Goveniana, 18 Angreecum bilobum, 45 — distichum, 69 — apiculatum, 115 Angrecum eburneum, 69 Anguloa uniflora, 141 — Clowesii, 18 Anguloa superba, 117 — grandiflora, 117
accidental dis-
Aotus gracillimus, 69
Aphelandra, orange-searlet, 127 — aurantiaca, 127 ; how to treat, 128
Arctostaphylos nitida, 140
Armeria cephalotes, 18
Armeria latifolia, 18
Arundina densa, 22
Aster bicolor, 262
Azaleas, seedling Chinese, 55
Azalea exquisita, 55
optima, 55
— Broughtonii, 55
— Leetitize, 212
— Ludoviciee, 260
B.
Backuovsia myrtifolia, 18 Barbacenia squamata, 19 — purple-flowered, 27 —~ purpurea, 27; to cultivate suc- cessfully ,28 Barkeria Lindleyana, 22 spectabilis, var., 165 Barkeria ?190 Beaufortia splendens, 45 Begonia rubricaulis, 19 — albo-coccinea, 163 — ramentacea, 73 ; suitable situation for when flowering, 74 — Martiana, 151; advantageous method of treating, 152 Begonias, culture of, 209; their interesting nature, 209 ; soil proper for, 210 ; the neces- sity of pruning, 211 Bell-flower, wood, 245 Berberis trifoliata, 43 — actinacantha, 237 Besleria pulchella, 190 Bethlehem, golden star of, 175 Billardiera rosmarinifolia, 99 Blandfordia marginata, 91 Bletia catenulata, 118
276
Bolbophyllum Careyanum, 140 — umbellatum, 165, 188 Boldoa fragrans, 238 Botany, the study of, 153; reason why not generally studied, some account of, 155; encouragement to the study of, 155 Bottom-heat, 105 Brodizea, large-flowering, 221 — grandiflora, 221 ; suitable for rock- work, 221 ; soil most suitable for, 222 Brugmansia sanguinea, interesting account of,
Brugmansia floribunda, 65 _ bicolor, 68 Bryum punciatum, ]60 Budding, theory of, 177 ; the practice described, 178
Buddleya Lindleyana, 190 Bugainvilleea, the remarkable, 51 oo spectabilis, 51 ; method by which to make flower, 16 Bulbs, the planting of, 240 ; suitable soil for, 240 Burtonia Brunioides, 141 — crowded-leaved, 53 — conferta, 53 ; point in the cultivation of necessary to attend to, 53
C. Cagsanus bicolor, 140 Calandrinia umbellata, 165, 265 ; to preserve, 266 — umbel-flowering, 265 Calathea villosa, 70 Calceolaria floribunda, 92 _ alba, 116 Calliandra Tweediei, 238 Caillipsyche eucrosioides, 188 Camaridiwm ochroleucum, 44 Camellia japonica, var. Low’s jubilee, 94 Camellias, their flower-buds, to thin, 168 Campanula sylvatica, 245 ; to rear from seed, 246 Campanula stricta, 245 — integerrima, 245 Campylanthera Fraseri, 99 Catasetum saccatum, 262 . Cattleya granulosa; var. Russelliana, 260 — —— Vars., 262 Cattleya Grahami, 1 Centropogon fastuosum, 46 Cestrum aurantiacum, 92, 214 Cestrum rosewm, 118 Cheenostoma polyantha, 141 Channels for hot water, erection of described, 33; the effectual nature of, 34 Charcoal, value of in pot-culture, 228 Chirita zeylanica, 213 Chiron, abundant-flowering, 123 Chironia Fischert, 123 Chironia floribunda, 123 ; its management, 123 Chlora exaltata, 70 Chloreea virescens, 213 Chlorea chrysantha, 213 Chrysanthemums, to treat properly, 119; dwarf plants, to obtain, 192
GENERAL INDEX.
Cinchona longiflora, 238 Cineraria Lady Prudhoe, 149 — Countess of Zetland, 149 — Emperor of Russia, 149 — Fairy Queen, 149 — sapphire, 149 — eriterion, 149 — Surrey Hero, 149 — desirable, 149 — seedlings, 149 ; their flowering season, to prolong, 150 Cleisostoma roseum, 165 Clerodendrums, treatment of, 113 Climbers, hints for promoting the fertility of, 12 ; grounds for consideration of the subject, 123; excessive exuberance preventive of fertility, 12; Mr. Hoare’s method for the vine adaptable to, 14 Club-pod, purple-stemmed changeable, 219 Cobzea scandens, to make flower, 15 Coelogyne ?262 Columnea zebrina, 142 Combretum, broad-leaved, 103 — latifolium, 103; situation suitable for, 104 Combretum macrophylium, 163 Conservative walls, 180 ; proper site for, 181 ; formation of border for, 181 ; proper time to plant, to train plants upon, &c., 182; protec- tion and winter management, 183; suitable situation for tender plants, 184 Corrzeas, Gaines’ seedlings, 77 Corrzea rubescens, 77 — delicata, 77 — picta, 77 — ferruginea, 77 — pallida, 77
Croci autumnales, 163
| Crocus damascenus, 163
— Byzaniinus, 163 — Touwrnefortianus, 163 — Cambessedianus, 163 — medius, 163 — Pyreneus, 163 — Cariwrightianus, 163 — — var. Creticus, 163 — Clusianus, 163 Crotalaria 2165 Cryptadenia uniflora, 43 Cultural hints, 135, 184 ; protrusion of roots through the bottom of pots, 184; to prevent at the time of potting, 184; proper floor to place plants upon in the open air, 185 ; choice of situation for, 187 Currant, double bloody-flowered, 121 Cut flowers, to preserve, 109 Cuttings, where to strike, 168 Cyanotis axillaris, 262 Cymbidium Mastersii, 213 — gigantic, 241 — giganteum, 241 ; the way to treat, 242 — ochroleucum, 44 Cymbidium gigantewm, 241 — iridiordes, 24] Cyrtopera gigantea, 241
GENERAL INDEX.
D.
Dats cotinifolia, 190
Daphne indica rubra, 263
Dendrobium anosmum, 142
amoenum, 142
fimbriatum var. oculatum, 116
Captain King’s, 97
Kingianum, 46, 97, 260; suitable temperature for, 98
Dipladenia, thick-jointed, 25
crassinoda, 25 ; how to treat, 26
Disocactus biformis, 44
Dissemma aurantia, 44
Dysophyila stellata, 92
EK.
EcHEVERIA Scheerii, 116 Echinocactus oxygonus, 140 myriostigma, 188 Leeanus, 213 multiflorus, 214 pectiniferus, 238 LEchites carassa, 25 crassinoda, 25 Hlephant’s-ear, scaly, 73 Von Martius, 151 Epacris miniata, 5 prevalent source of mischief amongst tribe of, 6 _ vermilion, 5 Epidendrum dipus, 19 radicans, 145 rooting, 145 longicolle, 140 Epidendrum grandiflorum, 117 rhizophorum, 145 Epiphyllum Ruckeri, 46 Eranthemum variabile, 263 Eremostachys laciniata, 214 Eria vestita, 19
— profusa, 46
— Dillwynii, 140 Erica transparens, var. blanda, 23 Eriostemon intermedium, 94 Eustoma exaltatum, 70 Lustoma silenifolium, 70 Exostema longiflorum, 238
tt
F,
Fepra graciliflora, 165 Floricultural notices, 22, 45, 94, 118, 141, 165,
190, 214, 262 for January, 18 February, 43 March, 69, 91 April, 91 May, 115 June, 140 July, 163 August, 188 September, 212 October, 237 November, 260 — December, 18
|
277
Flower-beds, dung, cautious use of, for, 95; moss, aS a covering to prevent evaporation from, 119
Flower-garden, hints for the, 232; conditions suitable for the health and fertility of the plants, necessary to provide, 233 ; the proper formation of beds, 234; deep borders injuri- ous, 235; proper aspect for, 236
Flower-plots, the effect of, to observe, 215
pots, improvement in, 16
Flowers, influence on colour of, 8
Franciscea acuminata, 239
Franciscea Pohliana, 239
Fuchsia serratifolia, 94, 169
saw-leaved, 169
Funaria hygrometrica, 169
G.
Gaytussacia Pseudo-vaccinium, 19, 101 Gaylussac-wort, bilberry-like, 101 Gardenia Stanleyana, 214 Genista (Seline) Spachiana, 260 Gesnera Schiediana, 92 maculata, 118 Glass, consideration of substitute for, 58 Gloxinia Passinghamii, 267 tubiflora, 20 Mr. Passingham’s 267 Gompholobium 2142 barbigerum, 164
_— versicolor var. caulibus purpureis, 219, 214 ; the best method to train, 220 Gongora truncata, 239 Goodenia grandiflora, 116 Govenia utriculata, 92 Griffinia, hyacinth-blue flowering, 171 hyacinthina, 171; to manage suitably,
172
Guano, in connection with floriculture, 201 ; description of true, 201 ; condition of, as im- ported, 201 ; anaiysis of, 202; all decomposa- ble appliances of all vegetables contain, 203; to employ, great caution required, 203
H.
Haprantuus concolor, 239
Habrothamnus purpureus, 46
fasciculatus, 116
Habrothamnus cyaneus, 92
Handglass, description of improved, 208
Hardenbergias, appropriate situations for, 112
Heat, its theory and practical application, 9 ; application of, 33
Heating apparatus, description of, 10
Hebecladus biflorus, 260
Heliotropium incanum, 214
Hemisandra aurantiaca, 127
Hindsia longifiora alba, 142
Hoeing, assists to retain moisture in the soil, 143
Hoitzia coccinea, 263. See Leselia coccinea, vol. xi., 238
Hookeria lucens, 160
coronaria, 221
Flot-water tank, reasons for employing, to heat houses, 252 ; plan of, 253
278
Hovea, linear-leaved, 75
linearis, 75 ; point in the cultivation of requiring attention, 75.
Hoya trinervis, 165
Hyacinth-pot, new, 17; new method of fastening connected with, 17
Hydrangea japonica, 119
japan, 119
Hydrolea spinosa, 142
Hypericum calycinum, suitable for shrubberies, 60 ; for covering banks, well adapted, 62
Hypnum proliferum, 160
Hypoceyrta discolor, 142
eed
I,
INDIGOFERA decora, 214 Tochroma tubulosa, 92
Tris imbricata, 164 Isochilus carnosiflorus, 263 Txiolirion montanum, 20 Ixora odorata, 261
fLxora Brunonis, 261
J.
JACARANDA tomentosa, 217 tomentosa, 217 ; flowering specimens, 218 Jacaranda pubescens, 217 Jasminum affine, 116 Juanulloa parasitica, observations upon, 65 Justicia ? 263
— Macdonellize, 263 . Justicia glabrata, 243
to obtain dwarf-
L.
Lasisia pothoina, 214
Leelia, the May-flower, 1
majalis, 1; native habitat of, 1; difficult to cultivate, 2; probable explanation of cause, 2; method of treatment deserving atten- tion, 2
Laplacea semiserrata, 20
Lasiandra Kunthiana, 125
Leaf-mould, description of, 227
Lechenaultia formosa, improved by grafting, 114
on the grafting of, 114
Leianthus lo longifolius, 164, 191
Lichen and Moss gardens, 156; some account of, 157
Lichens and Mosses, their interesting nature, 156; list of where found, &c., 158 ; suitable situation for the growth of, 159
Light, consideration of, 57, 249; its influence upon plants, 57 ; upon the colour of flowers, 60
Lilium Thompsonianum, 20
varieties, 215
Limodium longifolium, 241
Lnsianthus glaucifolius, 70
exaltatus, 70
Loam, description of perfect, 226
Lobelia thapsoidea, 92
Luculia Pinceana, 20
Lupinus ramosissumus, 117
GENERAL
INDEX.
Lycaste gigantea, 141 fulvescens, 261 Lycium fuchsioides, 70 Lyperia pinnatifida, 166
M.
Manertia bicolor and cordifolia, their cultiva- tion, 84
Manulea pinnatifida, 166
Manure, on the nature of, 132; liquid, 133 ; experiment upon, 134 ; liquid, what consisting of, 134
Masdevallia fenestrata, 141
Maxillaria Heynderycau, 141
Melastoma sanguinea, 269
bloody-veined, 269
Miltonia cuneata, 45
Mormodes luxatum, 142
Muraltia Heisteria, 263
Murucuja aurantia, 44
Musseenda, the broad-leaved, 197
—- macrophylla, 142, 197; suitable treatment of, 198 Myoporum serratum, 93 0. ODONTOGLOSSUM, new species, 118 — Cervantesii, 164, 193; to
grow, 194 — citrosmum, 166
Oldenlandia Deppeana, 263
Oleander, the, 229 ; natural situation of, 229 ; its treatment, 230 ; to procure dwarf plants, 231 ; as a plant for exhibition, 231
Oncidium tricolor, 21
bicallosum, 93
spilopterum, 164
incurvum, 2, 6
iridifolium, 166
Operations for January, 273
February, 23
March, 47
April, 71
May, 95
June, 119
July, 143
August, 167
September, 191
October, 215
November, 240
December, 264
Ornamental plants, remarks on the cultivation of, 64, 110
Ornithidium album, 44
Ornithogalum marginatum, 9
nanum, 164
aureum, 175
Ox wins longiflorus, 238
P.
Pa.ms, cursory remarks on, 90
Passerina grandifiora, 43
ciliata, 43
Passion-flowers, different methods of treating,
GENERAL INDEX.
39 ; to confine their roots in compartments, 40 ; bottom-heat to the roots of, 40; to cul- tivate in pots, 41
Passiflora awrantia, 44
Peat, description of, 227
Pentstemon gentianoides, var. diaphanum, 93
Peristeria Humboldtii, vaz. fulva, 117
Pheedranassa chloracra, 93
Phlomis cashmeriana, 116
Phlox Drummondii alba, 142
— varieties, 191
Phyllarthron bojerianum, 164
Physianthus auricomus, 46, 166
Pimelea affinis, 166
Plantations, the effect of, to observe, 215
Planting, points necessary to attend to in, 264
Plant-houses, heat and dampness to avoid in, 264, 240; light and air to admit to, the ad- vantage of, 240
Plants, in drawing-rooms and plant-cases, 108 ; suitable for rockwork in stoves, &c,, 131 ; in what the ashes of consist, 204 ; injured from their pots being exposed to bright sun, 136 ; to obviate, 137 ; value of moist atmosphere for, 81 — separate structures for different, 161 ; utility of, 162 ; greenhouse, description of pit for, 162 — growing on the conservative wall at Chatsworth, list of, 63; additional recom- mended, 64
Pleroma, Mr. Kunth’s, 125
— Kunthiana, 125; kind of treatment
required for, 126
Pleroma Benthamiana, 125
Pleurothallis bicarimata, 45
Potretia linearis, 75
Polystachya bracteosa, 117
Porphyrocome lanceolata, 94, 189
Potentilla bicolor, 261
Pronaya, elegant, 99 — elegans, 99 ; to treat suitably, 100
Propagation, hot water to produce bottom-heat for, 11
Prostanthera lasianthos, 143
R.
Reviews of Mrs. Loudon’s “ Lady’s Country Companion, or How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally,” 138 ; of George H. John- son’s, Esq., “ The Principles of Practical Gardening,’ 139 ; of James Lothian’s “ Prac- tical Hints on the Culture and General Management of Alpine or Rock Plants,” 236
Rhus diversiloba, 164
Ribes sanguineum flore-pleno, 121; valuable properties of, 122
Rockeries, the formation of, 87 ; their suitable- ness for many plants to grow upon, 88
Rocks and rock-plants, 86, 129 — on introducing into the conservatory and stove, 129 ; most suitable material for form- ing, 130
Rondeletia speciosa major, 47
Ruellia lilacina, 94, 243 ; its cultivation, 244
279
Ruellia lilac-flowered, 243 Russelia floribunda, 190
S.
SacE, azure-blue flowering, 31 Salpichroa glandulosa, 166 Salpixantha coccinea, 117 Salvia azurea, 31; to increase the usefulness of, 32 Salvia elata, 31 — acuminata, 31 — longifolia, 31 — mexicana, 31 — angustifolia, 31 — acuminatissima, 31 Sceevola attenuata, 262 Schomburgkia undulata, 239 — tibicinis, va. grandiflora, 141 Selago distans, 189 Sida graveolens, 21 Sida asiatica, 21 — hirta, 21 — graveolens, 21 — indica, 21 Siphocampylus coccineus, 167, 173 ; favourable situation for, 174 Siphon-flower, scarlet, 173 Slate, for horticultural purposes, 36 ; as plant- boxes, 36 ; for various other purposes, 38 Smeathmannia leevigata, 262 Soils, investigation of, 225 Solanum macranthum, 45 Spathoglottis Fortuni, 94 Speedwell, Dr. Lindley’s, 247 Spireea Lindleyana, 141 — Mr. Douglas’s, 195 — Douglassii, 195; valuable as a late flowering plant, 195 Spiranthera Fraseri, 99 Stanhopea Bucephalus, 117 Stapelia cactiformis, 21 Statice 2 167 — Fortuni, 261 — macrophylla, 21 Statice cephalotes, 18 — armeria major, 18 Stephanotis Thouarsii, 167 Strelitzia augusta, 164 Styphelia, tube-flowered, 29 — tubiflora, 29 ; valuable as a winter flowering plant, 29; proper management of, 30 Syringa Emodi, 22
T.
TacsONIA mollissima, 239
Tank for bottom-heat, efficient one described, 106
Tachia longifolia, 164
Tasmannia aromatica, 189
Temperature, high night, injurious to plants, 106
Templetonia glauca and retusa, their manage- ment, 111
Tetranema mexicana, 190
The Planting season, 254 ; when to plant, 255 ;
280
preparation of ground for planting, 256 ; con- siderations in choosing plants, 257 ; removal of plants and replanting, importance of atten- tion to, 258
Tooth-tongue, Cervantes’, 193
Tropzeolum tuberosum, how to flower, 15
—- polyphyllum, 204 ; the hardy nature
of, 205 ; the utility of burying the tubers of, 205
Turnera ulmifolia, 22
Ni:
Vaceinwwm brasiliense, 101 Veronica Lindleyana, 247 ; to grow, 248 — speciosa, remarks upon the treatment of, 66
GENERAL INDEX.
Ww.
W aRREA cyanea, 118
Warrea ceerulea, 118
Whitfieldia lateritia, 94, manage properly, 148
puss brick-coloured, 147
Winter, retrospect of the late, 81 ; phenomena of, 249; preparatives to prevent injury from, 250
147 ; the way to
Z.
Zinc for horticultural purposes, 206 ; various purposes suitable for, 206 ; as vases, flower- stands, &c., 207 ; hand-glasses, the frame to form, 208
LONDON :
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS,
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