THE FLORIST. 



the flues if the weather is open. The steam excites the plants to 

 make growth. Increase this as the season advances. Tie out the 

 slioots singly, so as to admit light and air to every part of the plant. 

 Water more freely ; but care must be observed not to make them too 

 wet, and so induce a weak, sappy growth ; give air on all possible 

 opj)ortunities, but avoid cold draughts. 



The general stock and specimen plants intended to flower in June 

 and July should not be excited at present ; they should have received 

 their final shift, and should be growing gently on ; use heat only on 

 special occasions, as, for instance, to exclude frost and dry the house, 

 giving air at the same time. These plants may now be tied into shape, 

 as the old wood, as well as young, can at this stage be twisted with 

 less danger than later in the season, when it is full of sap. As I have 

 before stated, great care must be taken not to water too freely, as it 

 is not quick growth that is wanted, so much as short strong shoots, 

 which will ensure fine flowers, as well as a good head of bloom. 



Royal Nursery, Slough. Wm. Frost. 



NOTES FROM THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW, 



AND OF NEW OR RARE PLANTS 

 FIGURED IN CONTEMPORARY PERIODICALS. 



Platvcodon chinense. a large flowering half-hardy perennial herbaceous 

 plant, belonging to the order of Bellworts, and growing about two or three feet 

 high. The stems are erect, glaucous, with a purplish tint ; leaves ovate, nearly 

 sessile, deep green above, glaucous beneath, finely serrated, and edged with 

 purple. The flowers are few, racemose, produced in succession, varying from one 

 and a half to near three inches in diameter, and of a deep rich violet blue. This 

 species requires a rather shady place in summer, and a compost of peat and sand, 

 with a little loam in it ; it should be kept rather dry during winter. It was in- 

 troduced to the Horticultural Society from China, through Mr. Fortune. 



Oncidium trilingue. This is a rather pretty Orchid, with the habit of O. 

 macranthum. The flowers are produced sparingly, in a long half-climbing pa- 

 nicle, and they are cinnamon-brown in colour ; the lip is dagger-shaped, with 

 a yellow crest, consisting of three flat yellow tongues, terminating in a thin winged 

 plate. Native country Peru. These two are figured in Paxton's Flower-Gardeyi 

 for November. 



Cypripedium insigne. This species is an old inhabitant of our hothouses ; 

 it was introduced from Nepal in 1819, yet one rarely sees it cultivated to the 

 extent it deserves, though it is usually found in most collections. Being a winter 

 flowering plant, with large gay blossoms, it is valuable for decorative purposes at 

 this dull season. It is rather a low-growing terrestrial Orchid, and is most 

 suitable for cultivating in pans about four or five inches deep, and a foot or 

 more in diameter ; each pan may contain from eight to ten plants, which will 

 soon form a tolerably compact mass, and when in flower they have a charming 

 eflect. A compost consisting of good rich mellow loam, with one-half fibry peat, 

 a little gritty sand, and potsherds broken small, is most suitable to pot them 

 with, always being careful to ensure good drainage. There are several pans in 

 one of the stoves at Kew treated as above, and the plants are flowering pro- 

 fusely, some of the flower-stems being eighteen inches high, and the flowers 

 nearly six inches across. 



^scHVNAMHUs SPLENDiDUs. This is One of the most beautiful of the genus. 

 U is an erect-growing free-flowering branching evergreen stove shrub, having 



