284 THE FLORIST. 



will in a short time be wanted again. Several houses here are at 

 present undergoing alterations or repairs, amongst which are those 

 occupied by the Heaths and Cactuses, which are being repaired and 

 fresh painted. Two lean-to greenhouses are pulled down, and are now 

 in the course of erection again ; it is intended to convert them into hot- 

 houses for tropical plants, and glaze them with small squares tinged 

 with green, as large sheets of glass will in future here be dispensed with, 

 on account of the burning heat produced by them, unless they are 

 mostly always shaded so as to evade the clear bright rays of the sun. 



The ill effects of last winter have here now all but disappeared, 

 except with Taxodium sempervirens, which still continues very brown. 

 The large specimen of Amherstia nobilis, which was removed to 

 Kew from Ealing Park some time ago, suffered but little by the 

 removal, although it was subjected for a week or more to a very low 

 temperature, barely at times exceeding the freezing point, which 

 caused it to soon become deciduous, but it has broken ^ngorously again 

 all over the branches, and is at present well clothed with healthy foliage, 

 and in the course of a few months may be expected to produce its 

 flowers. In the same house is ^chmea miniata in flower, a species 

 resembling JE. fulgens ; it grows about a foot high and has a close head 

 of flowers, which are scarlet and purple; this species has been introduced 

 by way of the Belgian gardens. In some of the smaller hothouses 

 is Passiflora quadrangularis producing flowers and fruit. This is an 

 excellent kind for rafters or trellis work;, the flowers are four to six 

 inches in diameter, and the fruit much resembles that of the Vegetable 

 Marrow ; if only one or two are allowed to remain on the plant they 

 attain a large size. Dictyanthus Pavon, a most singular flowering 

 twiner, from New Spain, is here flowering profusely ; it has slender 

 stems, and flowers not much unhke those of the Stapelia, which are 

 produced from the axil of every leaf. This is a plant well worth 

 cultivating, for the singularity of its flowers ; it may be gro\\m on a small 

 treUis about two feet high, in a mixture of sand and peat, in any 

 ordinary plant stove. It is also knowTi under the name of D. campanu- 

 latus. Another rather interesting hothouse plant is Ceropegia can- 

 delabrum, a new species introduced from Ceylon, and is now in flower ; 

 the habit is similar to C. elegans, but the flowers are smaller ; they 

 are hght and yellow with green lines. 



One of the best things in flower here is Sandersonia aurantiaca, a 

 plant that will be useful for gardens ; it is similar to a Gloriosa, has 

 slender stems about two feet high, with pendulous, bell- shaped, very 

 handsome, orange coloured flowers, produced from the axils of the 

 leaves on the upper part of the stem. It has flowered here in a cool 

 frame, while those in heat are not showing flower. 



The chief things in blossom in the Orchid house now are Stanhopeas, 

 Sobrahas, Phaius albus, Phalsenopsis, Peristeria elata, Paphinia cristata, 

 and several large specimens of Cattleya crispa, which are very gay. 

 This is one of the best of the Cattleyas ; to grow it well it must be 

 mounted high above the rim of the pot, kept in a tolerably good heat, and 

 watered but very sparingly or seldom over-head. One of the large 

 greenhouses, which is used as a show house during summer, is 



