1878.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



43 



of 0. Alexandra and O. Bluntii, is one of the gems 

 ■of the cool Orchid house, since by a little man- 

 agement its charming flowers ma}' be had all the 

 year round. It is a plant which varies to an 

 almost endless extent, no two of the many 

 thousands imported being perhaps exactl}' alike, 

 ■and very considerable differences in size, color- 

 ing, or crispness in the flowers constantly occur- 

 Ting. In typical forms the sepals and petals 

 are white, ovate or ovate lanceolate, the petals 

 being much undulated, and often fimbriately 

 toothed. The lip is oblong-acuminate, yellow 

 and crested toward the base, beautifully crisped 

 at the margin, and more or less spotted towards 

 the front with blotches of reddish brown. It has 

 Taeen very largely imported from Colombia, and 

 in some of its forms is flushed with a lovely tint 

 of rose." We note by Mr. Bull's catalogue that 

 this is not among the very expensive Orchids. 

 <TOod plants being obtainable in England for i 

 about 85. 



CrLTiVATiKG Old Plants. — Fine specimens, i 

 -•showing great skill in culture, can be as well 

 shown by growing old things as new ones. It 

 is said that the common candy tuft makes won- 

 derfully beautiful specimens when well grown. 



Plant Culture ik the West. — An im- 

 pression prevails that the culture of plants, 

 amidst the prevailing rage for mere cut flowers, 

 •and perhaps the prevailing depression, is declin- 

 ing, l)ut a correspondent tells us that L. B. Case, 

 of Richmond, Ind., has done a very satisfactor}- 

 Ijusiness in them the past season. 



Beautiful Australian Plants.— It is a 

 matter of astonishment that the beautiful Aus- 

 tralian plants, general!}- winter-flowering, are 

 not more generally grown in our greenhouses. 

 Some of them with delicate hair-like roots, suf- 

 fer from our dry summer heats, but those with I 

 heavier ones do well. At a recent Germantown 

 Horticultural Society meeting, Mr. Lonsdale j 

 exhibited a plant of Grevillea robusta, which, 

 l)esides the beautiful and curious flowers it will 

 have, as it grows older, has pretty fern-like foliage. 

 It ought make a good room plant as well as a 

 desirable one for the greenhouse. 



Double Chinese Primroses. — Since the dis- 1 

 -covery that double Chinese Pnmroses could be 

 obtained readily from seed, groat improvements 

 Iiave been made therein. The Florist and 

 Pomoloi^ist gives a colored plate of a beautiful 

 peach blossom variety called Miss Eva Fish, the 

 flowers of which are an inch and three-quarters 



across. In our own country, there is much im- 

 provement goinu on, notably by Mr. John Saul, 

 of Washington, and Mr. Edwin Lonsdale, of 

 Germanto\\ai. In England there are long lists 

 of named kinds as of Dahlias and Geraniums. 



Winter De( orations.— Mr. W. T. Bell, of 

 Fz'anklin, Pa., contributes an excellent paper on 

 "Decorative Plants," to the Franklin Spectator. 

 The great value of the Holly in English decora- 

 tions is from its bright scarlet berries. We can- 

 not always have these; but we can mix other 

 berried plants with evergreen with good eftect. 

 Prinos verticillata, Celastrus scandens, and 

 Mitchella repens among others that could be 

 usefully employed, as Mr. B. observes. 



A^Blf' OR RARE PLANTS. 



Dwarf Crested Japanese Cockscomb. — 

 We note with pleasure the eftbrts of our own 

 florists to improve garden flowers. Messrs. Xanz 

 & Xeuner, of Louisville, have very much im- 

 proved the Japan Cockscomb, by developing a 

 regular row of small ones under the main head, 

 as per illustration annexed. 



The stock is in the hands of Messrs. D. M. 

 Ferry & Co., of Detroit, Mich. It grows about 

 15 inches high, with a collar of leaves under the 

 crimson head, and small collars under the 

 smaller heads. It ought to make a capital sub- 

 ject for plant growers to try superior skill on. 



President Degraw Carnation. — A West- 

 ern correspondent writes that this variet}' has 

 degenerated in that section this season, and asks 

 is it general ? 



CoLEUs PiCTUS. — While in Mr. Bull's green- 

 houses, near London, recentl}', the new and very 



