186 THE FLORIST. 



interesting on account of its handsome leaves. Achimenes Beck- 

 mani, one of the best of the genus : where three kinds are cultivated 

 this should be one ; the flowers are large, and of a rich reddish- 

 purple ; it has the habit of A. longiflora. Episcia melisssefolia, a 

 new plant with pretty reddish-purple flowers; but its habit is against 

 its becoming very popular. 



In the Cactus house the plants have been recently re-arranged, 

 and many of them are now in flower ; some of the most interesting 

 are Cereus peruvianus monstrosus, which is about ten feet high, and 

 has the appearance of a ragged rock ; C. repandus, C. Tweedi, and 

 several of the night-blooming kinds are now flowering ; C. gemmatus 

 and C. geometrizans are very handsome sorts, and w T ell worthy the 

 attention of those who cultivate this tribe of plants. 



In the aquatic house the Victoria regia, Nelumbium speciosum, 

 Nymphsea devoniana, N. dentata, N. caerulea, and others, are all 

 flowering ; Euryale ferox we may expect to flower shortly, as several 

 bloom-buds are fast progressing. 



In the Orchid house may be noticed Cattleya crispa, the Dove 

 Orchis (Peristeriaelata), the East and West India Butterfly plants, So- 

 bralias, and others that are at present flowering, with the great variety 

 of Stanhopeas, which are now in the height of beauty. The Rice- 

 paper plant of the Chinese (Aralia papyracea) is now well established 

 and growing vigorously ; it is two feet high, rather handsome-look- 

 ing, with large soft woolly leaves, white underneath ; it was intro- 

 duced a short time back from the island of Formosa. 



Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. J. Houlston. 



THE PANSY. 



Th e bloom being now over, let us examine what has been doing with 

 the Pansy in 1853. From the unusual lateness of the spring, it may 

 be said there has been no out-door bloom, at least no good flowers 

 have been produced. Those which have been fine were grown in pots 

 under glass, i. e. in cold frames, with lights to run over them in bad 

 weather, as recommended in the pages of the Florist as long back as 

 1848, and which is the only certain method of getting fine flowers, 

 growing some in beds for stock. It is not only for cut blooms that 

 we recommend pot- culture, but for making a beautiful plant to be 

 exhibited, as those who saw the first collection at the shows this 

 spring can testify, and also for the great display they make for 

 months at home. 



As regards new varieties, we readily confess that but few good 

 seedlings have presented themselves of late. The best new white 

 ground sort we have is Beauty (Downie and Laird), which is a first- 

 class flower. In yellow grounds, Hales' Monarch is a decided im- 

 provement on all of the Duke of Norfolk class, and is the richest 

 flower we know early in the season. In justice to our Scottish 



