326 THE GARDENER. [July 



very S}TiimetricalIy ; but its flowers give it a weedy appearance. In this house 

 are also grown a few choice Alpines, and some bulbous plants, as Hocmanthus, 

 Ixias, Lachenalias, and various other old-fashioned though beautiful plants, 

 now sadly too much neglected by amateurs. On leaving this house we are at- 

 tracted by a low tree of Pyrus spectabilis on the law^l. This is flowering very 

 freely, and is a pretty object, bearing rich rosy flowers, and a profusion of crim- 

 son buds admirably set off by its fresh green foliage. The Succulent or Cactus 

 House we always consider one of the most interesting structures in the garden, 

 filled as it is with a collection at once rare and unique. The flrst plants that 

 engage our attention are some of the Australian Liliacepe,'such as the Dianellas 

 and Arthroj^odiums. The Dianellas, at present in flower, are D. strumosa, D. 

 divaricata, D. Tasmanica, and D. longifolia, all having long grassy leaves, and 

 panicles of bright-blue flowers. These flowers will be succeeded by a crop of 

 blue berries about the size of small peas, and last for a long time in beauty, 

 Arthropodium serratum bears lax spikes of G-parted white flowers, having the 

 filaments curiously thickened for half their length, the enlarged portion being 

 of a faint lilac colour, and having two golden-yellow horns at the base, which 

 curl upwards towards the anthers. This species has bright-green sti'ap-shaped 

 leaves, and is very ornamental. A plant somewhat similar in api)earance is 

 Libertia formosa, a member of the Iridacese, bearing white flowers on a spike 

 two feet high, the leaves being bright green, and grasslike. Oldenburgia arbus- 

 cula is a very rare plant, a native of South Africa, and very ornamental. Its 

 young leaves are covered with a dense tomentura, which reminds one forcibly of 

 the Salvia argentea, or Stachys lanata, sometimes used for edging purposes in 

 the outdoor garden. The lower leaves are of a bright and shining green colour. 

 Amongst the grand collection of Agaves, A. densiflora was in flower, bearing a 

 dense spike of lurid flowers about G feet high. In this house two or three spe- 

 cies of Asparagus are grown as climbers, and have a very elegant appearance. 

 One or two species are well worth growing for furnishing elegant sprays of green 

 foliage, very suitable for bouquet-work. One of the rarest plants in this house 

 is the extremely handsome Dyckia argentea (Hart), one of the rarest and hand- 

 somest of Bromeliads. Its epinose leaves are nearly two feet in length, and 

 recurve very gracefully, giving a globular outline to the plant. It flowered in 

 the Kew collection in 1871, but its flowers are by no means showy, still the 

 extreme grace and beauty of the plant itself makes ample amends for this defect. 

 Vellogia (Talbotia) elegans (Oliv), is a very rare and interesting plant, having 

 bright-green foliage six inches long, and nearly one inch in width. The flowers 

 are white with golden anthers, and remind one of those borne by Triteleja uni- 

 flora, though happily they have not its objectionable alliaceous perfume. 

 Several species and varieties of Phyllocactus are in flower, and are very showy, 

 though rather fugitive. Leaving the Succulent-house we enter the greenhouse, 

 gay with spring-flowering plants, bulbs, and some nice pots of Lachenalia 

 tricolor. One of the first objects to attract the visitor's attention, is a plant of 

 the Australian Clianthus jtuniceus, trained up the rafters. The foliage of this 

 is fresh and green, and it bears a profusion of its rich crimson blossoms. Here 

 we notice plants of the old Sjjarmannia Africana, a souvenir of Captain Cook's 

 second voyage round the world. This is a very valuable decorative plant for 

 small pot work, as it can be freely propagated from cuttings of the young wood 

 in the spring, and these cuttings will flower the succeeding winter in forty- 

 eight pots. This plant is also a botanical curiosity, having sensitive stamens, 

 which expand on being touched, this action difiering from that observable- 

 in Berberis, where the stamens are already expanded in the oi^eu flowers,. 



