164 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHL Y 



[June, 



winter mouths are the time to see the Orchids in 

 their full glory. At this time and in early spring 

 it is no infrequent thing to have a thousand Or- 

 chids in bloom at one time. Most of the plants 

 that were suspended from the roof were grown 

 on clay blocks, burnt soft in order to be porous to 

 the moisture. This not only added to their neat 

 appearance, but gave no harbor to insects, which 

 is too often the case with wooden baskets. 

 There were some twenty-six kinds of Cypripe- 

 dium, and at least a dozen varieties of Nepen- 

 thes whose pitchers were very singular and 

 beautiful. But before I leave the Orchids I 

 must not forget the Phalsenopsis Schilleriana, 

 said to be one of the largest specimens in the 

 world. 



The eastern wing is devoted to the growth of 

 the Cactus, of which there are some nine thou- 

 sand plants of about five hundred varieties. Any 

 attempt to enumerate the names would take up 

 too much of the Monthly's valuable space. It 

 is sufficient to say that the collection contained 

 specimens of almost every known kind in the 

 world, many of which had pet names bestowed 

 on them. One prominent and curious specimen 

 is known as Rip Van Winkle, on account of 

 being covered with long white hair. Man}' of 

 the plants were in bloom, and the gorgeous tints 

 of the flowers contrasted strangely with the 

 ugliness of the stems. 



Range number four was originally built at 

 Paris, and was on exhibition at the World's Fair 

 at Vienna, in 1870, where Mr. Hoey purchased 

 it. The building is a very pretty and neat affair, 

 some one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet 

 long, the eastern wing of which is devoted en- 

 tirely to the growth of Dracaenas, and the west- 

 ern wing to the cultivation of Crotons, both of 

 which contain some magnificent plants, whose 

 various colored foliage would require the brush 

 of the artist to describe rather than the rambling 

 pencil of your correspondent. 



House number five is known as the Camellia 

 house, being devoted principally to the cultiva- 

 tion of this magnificent flower, of which there 

 are some three hundred and fifty specimens. 



We next come to the Rose houses, three in 

 number, which cover a space nine hundred feet 

 long and twenty-five feet wide. Part of the 

 houses are built with sash, but the new range of 

 them are fixed roofs. The roses are all planted 

 out in rich and deep beds of soil, and consist 

 principally of Cornelia Cook, Safrano, Bon Si- 

 lene, Douglas, Niphetos, Isabella Sprunt and 



Marechal Neil. The air seems heavy with their 

 perfume, and look which way you will the eye 

 rests on mnumerable buds. In the heighth of 

 their season one thousand to twelve hundred is 

 their average crop. These are sent to Mr.Hoey's 

 personal friends, and distributed among the va- 

 rious hospitals and charitable institutions of 

 New York and Brooklyn. 



Leaving the Rose houses I was next shown 

 two "houses devoted to the cultivation of Smilax ; 

 and a description of Mr. McKay's system of 

 growing it may not be out of place. After the 

 plants are cut down, water is gradually withheld 

 and the roots allowed to become partially dry; 

 they are then taken up and potted in six-inch 

 pots and kept in a dormant state during summer 

 to be again planted out in the fall of the year. 

 The beds for their reception are about eight 

 inches deep, and composed of about equal parts 

 of fresh loam, decayed cow manure and sand. 

 After the plants are all set out in this composi- 

 tion, galvanized wires are stretched over the sur- 

 face of the ground the width of the beds, and 

 from these strings are carried to the roof of the 

 house, the plants being so close to each other as 

 to present the appearance of one solid mass of 

 Smilax. 



I next entered the Palm house, an iron 

 structure of three hundred and fifty feet in 

 length, filled with some of the rarest palms in 

 the world and the finest specimens in the coun- 

 try, whose numerous and diversified forms and 

 colors are beyond description and must be seen 

 to be appreciated. 



All the greenhouses have cement floors, which 

 give them a very neat and clean appearance. 

 They require one thousand to twelve hundred 

 tons of coal annually to heat them. 



My attention was next called to the collection 

 of Azaleas, all grown as standai'ds, and trained 

 umbrella style, of which there were nine hun- 

 dred plants, some of them having two or three 

 varieties grafted on them. Mr. McKay prefers 

 to grow them in a partially shaded position dur- 

 ing the summer, and for that purpose has a 

 building covered on all sides with laths, set 

 about two inches* apart, whic^ l>reak the direct 

 rays of the sun. 



The vegetable garden exhibited the same 

 thoughtful care that everywhere characterises 

 the place. The produce seemed to be of the 

 best and newest kind, grown in a style far sur- 

 passing anything that has been our good fortune 

 to gaze upon. 



