172 THE FLORIST. 



and re-erecting of plant-houses, for the better and more suitable 

 accommodation of some of the tribes of j^lants grown here ; from the 

 immense number of exotic species now in cultivation, their increasing 

 growth, and the continual addition to their numbers, it is obvious that 

 to have anything approaching a moderate sized specimen of each, so 

 that one could see its real character, would require a far larger area of 

 house-room than is here at present occupied. In a national institution 

 like the one at Kew, which is subservient to the whole community, 

 every species of plant that could be easily or compatibly introduced 

 should be cultivated ; of all those that are of an insignificant description 

 small specimens may suffice, and the greater portion of room devoted to 

 those which are best appreciated by the pubUc taste, such as those that 

 are of practical utihty in the arts, manufactures, or sciences ; and those 

 which are either striking for their foliage, or have gay showy flowers. 



An old lean-to house used as a greenhouse chiefly for New Zealand 

 plants is just pulled down, and another, 200 feet long by 27 feet 6 inches 

 wide, is in the course of erection ; it is intended for succulents, such as 

 Aloes, Fourcroyas, Haworthias, Gasterias, Mesembryanthemums, &c., 

 and is to be heated by hot water, and divided into compartments so as to 

 better accommodate the different species wherewith it is to be furnished. 

 Another small one, about 80 feet long by 12 feet wide, is likewise 

 being erected, which is to be used chiefly for the accommodation of young 

 stove plants, or as an auxiliary to the propagating department ; this is 

 to be heated by hot water. In the great Palm house things are looking 

 far better than could be anticipated, considering the severity of the 

 late winter ; many of them are now becoming very large and begin to 

 assume something of their natural character, particularly the Musas, 

 Zamias, Encephalartos, Pandanus, Uranias, Bamboo, and many of the 

 Palms, which are now admirable specimens. To convey any adequate 

 idea of the grandeur of these princes of the vegetable kingdom, when on 

 a large scale, the reader should make a visit to them and see them in a 

 living state ; a few of the more conspicuous are the Cocoa-nut Palm 

 (Cocos plumosa), near 60 feet high, and C. coronata of equal height; 

 the Wine Palm of the East Indies (Caryota urens), 60 feet high ; 

 the Sago Palm from the East Indies (Areng saccharifera) 40 feet high ; 

 this is a magnificent specimen, one of the most beautiful of the tribe, the 

 leaves are white on the under surface ; the Wax Palm (Ceroxylon 

 andicola) from New Grenada, with the under surface of its leaves white ; 

 the great Fan Palm of the West Indies (Sabal umbrae ulifera), 30 feet 

 high, with a trunk of near 2 feet in diameter at the base. There are also 

 the Australian Cabbage Palm (Seaforthia elegans), 30 feet high ; the 

 Australian Fan Palm (Corypha australis), near 30 feet high ; the Ivory 

 Nut Palm (Phytelephasmacrocarpa), 20 feet high; Livistonia borbonica, 

 a splendid Fan Palm from the Mauritius, and many others equally 

 meriting attention, but cannot be admitted into this concise notice. In 

 one of the small stoves is a new species of Streptocarpus from Natal ; 

 it is the largest of the genus in cultivation, and will prove useful for 

 decorative purposes, as it has panicles of flowers more than a foot long, 

 of a light blue colour. A new species of Heliconia from Jamaica is 

 just coming into flower here ; this will be a desirable plant for cultiva- 



