16-i THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. [July, 



the Feltliam Nursery. English- grown bulbs are used, a clump of twelve bemg 



put into a 32-pot in the autumn, and the pots placed in a cold pit. As soon as the shoots 

 appear, the plants are placed in a gentle heat, and brought on slowly. The treatment is very 

 similar to that used in the case of Lily of the Valley. The success in blooming depends on 

 gentle forcing and a thorough ripening of the bulbs ; the roots, moreover, flower better and 

 more freely the second year of forcing. 



®HE Gardeners^ Chronicle states that one of the finest specimens of the 



Red Cedar ^ Jimiperus virginiaiia^ to be seen in this country is growing at Bearwood, 

 Wokingham, Berks, the seat of John Walter, Esq., M.P. This example is growing 

 on one of the most elevated positions in the fine grounds of Bearwood, and is over 

 50 ft. in height, and of a dense symmetrical growth and handsome proportions. 



^ NEW Fruit Fork has been patented in New York. It is designed to 



afford a means of conveniently holding ripe fruit, so that in eating it the juice 

 will not soil the fingers, or come in contact with clothes or carpet. It consists of 

 a fork having a suitable number of prongs, of proper length and shape, which pi'oject from 

 the middle of a bowl in which the liquid flowing from the fruit is caught. A handle is con- 

 nected with the lower side or, if desired, with one edge of the cup. The fork may be 

 made of silver plate of any tasteful pattern, and will form a very convenient and handsome 

 article of table ware. The patentee is Mrs. Isbella C. Draper, corner of lOGth Street, Third 

 Avenue, New York. 



i^R. James Mitchell, of the Piltdown Nurseries, Maresfield, near 



Uckfield, Sussex, died suddenly on May 10, aged 65 years. Mr. Mitchell was a 

 well-known rosarian, and was for many years a successful exhibitor at the leading 

 metropolitan and local shows. 



DENDROBIUM BIGIBBUM. 



jLTHOUGH introduced to our gardens nearly twenty years ago, this distinct 

 and beautiful orchid is still but rarely met with in even our best collections. 

 Perhaps the finest example in cultivation is that of Dr. Ainsworth, of 

 Lower Broughton, a most distinguished exhibitor of select orchid- 

 aceous plants, in which labour of love he finds a worthy assistant in his en- 

 thusiastic gardener, Mr. Mitchell. The accompanying illustration, taken from 

 the plant in question, gives a correct idea of its habit and inflorescence, rendering 

 description unnecessary. I will therefore pass on to glance at those climatic 

 conditions under which it flourishes in its native habitats, and those found by 

 experience to be the best for its vigorous development under cultivation. 



The plant is a native of the north-east coast of New Holland ; that is to say, 

 it enjoys a tropical temperature, and not a temperate one, as some, who forget 

 that the northern parts of countries or islands south of the equator are neces- 

 sarily the warmest, might erroneously suppose. The plant in question is found 

 near the coast, and consequently enjoys a more equable temperature, together 

 with more atmospheric moisture, than is generally experienced by plants growing 

 further inland. 



Here in our orchid-houses it should be planted in a small wooden basket, and 

 suspended near the glass, for if any one Dendrobe succeeds better than another 



