1878.] 



AND HORTICUL TURIS T. 



thorities there given are equal to Mr. W. Fal- 

 coner's experience, or the Editor would not give 

 them his unqualified approval by publishing 

 without comment. One writer says : " No one 

 who has not seen these most beautiful and in- 

 valuable plants, either bedded out in masses in 

 circular beds slightly raised in the center, or as 

 single specimens, each in the center of a small 

 round bed, can form any adequate idea of what 

 a brilliant and continuous display of color they 

 provide during the whole of the three summer 

 months, from the middle of June to the middle 

 of September. Also, that even when hi full 

 bloom they are almost insensible of the heaviest 

 rain, as torrents which would knock every blos- 

 som off a bed of Zonale Pelargoniums (Gerani- 

 ums are so called in England) do not cause a 

 single bloom to drop before its time, merely 

 making the pliant foot-stalks bend their heads 

 to the storm, raising their lovely blossoms in all 

 their brilliancy and beauty on the reappearance 

 of the sun, when the storm has passed." And 

 much more in the same strain is said by Mr. W. 

 E. Gumbleton, for whom Van Houtte, of Ghent, 

 the foremost and most successful raiser of the 

 best varieties, has seen fit to name one of his 

 two (only) new ones the past season. Could 

 more be said for the famous " General Grant" 

 itself? Anothercorrespondent on the same page 

 begins a short notice, equally laudatory, by say- 

 ing : " We have no plant the equal of the Fuch- 

 sia for in-door and out-door decorative purposes, 

 unless it be the new race of Tuberose-rooted Be- 

 gonias," and goes on to describe those of Messrs. 

 Veitch's collection at Chelsea, and closes by say- 

 ing : When grown out of doors, one great advan- 

 tage they possess over most other plants is that 

 no amount of wet appears to have the slightest 

 influence in damaging their flowers, which they 

 go on producing until cut off" by frost." In 

 favored localities the tubers will sometimes sur- 

 vive the Winter ; and when lifted, they can be 

 made to bloom in the greenhouse till after 

 Christmas, as they have done at Norfolk this 

 season. He further saj's, "For planting on rock- 

 work, these Begonias have few equals." 



I call this " practical experience " of tlie i-igh( 

 sort, and it must ha borne in mind tliat it is only 

 since 1874 that they have been grown, even in 

 England, to any great extent. 



Xow for'what they will do here in America, 

 and this I can testify to from personal knowl- 

 edge. They stood the blaze of a Virginia sun in 

 the open air unprotected by an}' shade whatever. 



both planted out and in pots, all last Summer, 

 till frost cut them down, and were a perfect mass 

 of continuous bloom. The severe storms and 

 showers (and any soldier who has campaigned 

 in Virginia knows what thunder-storms are here, 

 as well as blazing suns) have always left them 

 uninjured, fully corroborating the above quoted 

 testimony. 



If your correspondent will visit Norfolk we 

 will convince him with regard to this matter. 

 One thing I ought to add for the information 

 of amateurs who, like myself, will try to 

 raise them from seed and will fail four times 

 out of five, that they require unusual care 

 and attention, the seed being as fine as a 

 mere powder; but when fairly up and trans- 

 planted, it is wonderful how rapidly they push 

 forward and begin to throw out their rich and 

 charming blossoms. I may be too hasty, but I 

 predict for this lovely species a success far sur- 

 passing any plant of recent introduction for sim- 

 ilar purposes. 



ANTHURIUWI SCHERTZERIANUM. 



BY MANSFIELD >[ILTOX, CLEVELAND, <>. 



This fine plant is a native of Costa Rica, and 

 consequently requires a good warm temperature 

 to insure success in its culture. There are several, 

 varieties of this plant in cultivation, some of 

 which, especially the small-leaved ones, are not 

 wf)rth growing ; the varieties are the best having 

 large leaves and large flowers or spathes,as it is 

 in the bright color of the spathe where the 

 beauty of the plant is. As I consider a plant 

 which we have here a- good variety I shall give 

 the size of the leaves and flowers. The leaves 

 are of a bright green color, about sixteen inches 

 long, the leaf starts about a foot high ; above 

 this rise the flower spikes, the spathes being 

 two inches wide and fully three inches long, of 

 the lirightest scarlet. The spathe is twisted and 

 also l)right scarlet, therefore forming a beautiful 

 and very attractive object. The plant has been 

 in flower since last April, having only now 

 (Novenibi'r) two flowers. A mixture of 

 spliagnum moss, charcoal and pieces of fibrous 

 1 eat is what I grow it in, with abundance of 

 water in its growing season ■, plenty of drainage 

 is necessary to allow the water to pass freely off". 

 A cooler temperature and less water when in 

 flower than when growing makes it retain its 

 beauty longer. The insects which attack the 

 foliage of this plant most are the white and 

 l)r()wn scale, which can be easily kept under by 



