FOREIGN NOTICES. 



with ; a frioiid of mine hod been married to his wife 50 years ; there was a gathering of sons and 

 dan^liters and gramlcliiUlron, and each one aasi:-ted to plant an Oak in such a manner that the 

 wliolo t^liouKl iilliniuti'ly form a striking group in after ycai-s. Each of the>e trees were known 

 ii pei-sons on tlie estnte by tlie names of tlic persons wlio assisted to jilnnt them. It has oeeiirred 

 to me ti)at persons having gardens miglit make tliem of deeper interest by the power of associa- 

 tion, and, by way of illustration, I will lelatc what has occurred to myself. Some years ago I 

 was conversing with the late Sir William Garrow upon the delight I felt in possessing any plant 

 that was mentioned by Virgil ; ho said he could add to my collection by giving me a ]iliiiit of 

 Bay that was taken from his tomb. I possess the plant yet, and it slightly differs from that in 

 common cultivation. Napoleon Willows will become in fashion again if the President maintains 

 his friendly position with England ; for everything relating to his uncle is with a large j'arty in 

 France at present in higli cstimution. The late poet laureate W'ordsworth, the author of that no- 

 ble poem, "The Excursion," and the "Prelude," not enough known — the author of the lyrical 

 ballads — sent me a Laurel from Rydal Mount, which I need not say I cherish. More recently 

 Sir Robert Inglis, with great kindness, gave me plants brought from the Holy Land — indeed from 

 the garden at Nazareth. I mention these as proofs of the additional interest a garden may be 

 made to afford, and how it may be made conducive to all that is ennobling and good. — WUliam 

 blasters, Canterbury, in Gardener's Chronicle 



Kri.\si.\ Orchids. — Dr. Hooker, in his travels in the Khasia mountain.?, mentions Eria, Coelo- 

 gj'ne (Wallichi, maculata, and data), Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Siiiii])ia, and other beautiful air 

 plants, as growing at the top of the Kolleng rock, flowering profusely ; and though freelj' ex- 

 posed to the sun and wind, dews and frosts, rains and droughts, they were all fresh, bright 

 green, and strong, under very difl'erent treatment from that which they are exposed to in the 

 damp, unhealthy, steamy Orchid houses of our English gardens. Vol. ii, 294. "Vanda cicrulea 

 grows in profusion, waving its panicles of azure flowers in the wind. As this beautiful Orchid 

 is at present attracting great attention, from its high price, beauty, and difficultj' of culture, I 

 shall point out how totally at variance with its native habits is the cultivation thought necessary 

 for it in England.* Tlie dry grassy hills which it inhabits are elevated 3,000 to 4,000 feet; the 

 trees are small, gnarled, and very sparingly leafy, so that the Vanda which grows on their limbs 

 is fully exposed to sun, rain, and wind. There is no moss or lichen on the branches with the 

 Vanda, whose roots sprawl over the rough bark. The atmosphere is, on the whole, humid, and 

 extremely so during the rains; but there is no damp heat or stagnation of the air, and at the 

 flowering season the temperature ranges between GO" and 80"; there is much sunshine, and 

 both air and bark are dry during the day ; in July and August, during the rains, the tempera- 

 ture is a little higher than above, but in winter it fiills much lower, and hoar-frost forms on the 

 ground. Now this winter's cold, summer's heat, and autumn's drought, and above all, the con- 

 stant free exposure to fresh air and the winds of heaven, are what, of all things, we avoid 

 exposing our Oichids to in England. It is under these conditions, however, that all the finer 

 Indian OrehideaB grow, of which we found Dendrobium Farmeri, Dalhousianum, Devonianum, 

 <tc., with Vanda crerulea ; whilst the most beautiful species of Crelogyne, Cj'mbidium, Bolbo- 

 phyllum and Cypripedium iidiabit cool climates, at elevations above 4,000 feet in Khasia, and as 

 high as 6,000 to 7,000 in Sikkim." — Bodman, in the Gardener's Chronicle. 



♦We collected seven men's Icids of this superb plant for the Royal Gardens, at Kew, but owing to unavoiilable 

 accidents and difficulties, few specimens reached England alive. A gentleman who sent his gardener with us to be 

 shown the locality, was more successful ; he sent one man's load to England on commission, and though it arrived in 

 a very poor state, it sold for 30'J^., the individual plants fetching prices varying from SI. to 10^. Had all arrived alive 

 they would have cleared 1000^. An active collector, wilh the facilities I possessed, might easily clear from 2,0001. to 

 Z,0001., in one season, by the sale of Khasia Orchids. 



