336 0)'c?iid Mouse at Ilillfleld, near (Reigate, JSngland. 



and small. The very great difference between this and all other varieties of rasp- 

 berries, with which all small fruit growers that have examined it and reported to me 

 are acquainted, induces me, in the midst of pressing professional and other cares, to 

 bring it to your notice. 



Adams, N. Y. E. E. Maxson, A.M., M.D., LL.D. 



Orchid House at HillfLeld, near Heigate, England. 



THE illustration which graces our frontispiece this month, represents an interior 

 view of one of the most famous Orchid Houses in England. It is situated at 

 Hillfield, near Reigate, and is part of the establishment of Mr. William Saunders- 

 As stated by a correspondent of the Gardener'' s Chronicle, who visited it, the entire 

 place is certainly one of the most interesting gardens that one can set foot in. 



In this garden, which, among other curiosities, compels Fuchsia to do duty as bed- 

 ding plants, there are at least 20,000 species of plants grown in the garden, in some 

 form or another. Every nook and corner, every house, every pit, every rockery, - 

 every border, teems with interesting plants of some sort or other. 



Of Orchids, the number grown here is legion, and several houses are assigned to them. 



" Mr. Saunders does not confine his attention to the large flowered showy sections, 

 but includes in his collections a veritable host of the smaller flowering kinds, whose 

 blossoms yield in nothing but size to their larger compeers. Their beauty is, when 

 looked for, quite as striking, often more so ; while their conformation is very gene- 

 rally more interesting and extraordinary. Orchid growers, enamoured of the more 

 garish flowers, have sportively denominated the house in which these little gems are 

 grown as The Refugium, a name which the owner has accepted, and made the title 

 of an illustrated work descriptive of these and other treasures. And the Refugium 

 is well filled ; the refuge Orchids swarm everywhere ; above, below, on each side ; 

 and to make room for more, an ingenious device is adopted, viz : that of erecting 

 curved or bowed wire trellises, along the sides of the houses near the glass ; on 

 these bows the tiny Orchids cluster. Too thick, we hear some one say; not a bit of 

 it. The Orchids are in the finest health and vigor; the plants are not large, but 

 they are in perfect health ; and the roots they make ! 



If we were to describe literally a Catasetum of no great size, we saw hanging in 

 a basket from the roof, we should scarcely be believed. Equally remarkable is the 

 manner in which the roots in other cases cover the pots with a perfect net-work, 

 creepinor from pot to pot ; more as "Creeping Jenny " would do, than like an ordi- 

 nary Orchid. The secret of this unusually luxuriant root growth, Mr. Saunders 

 believes, lies in the due aeration of the roots. He is a great advocate for the free 

 access of air to the roots ; and when the peculiar habit of orchids is considered, and 

 the special structure of their roots borne in mind, there can be no doubt as to the 

 soundness of Mr. Saunders' physiology." 



In another direction is a Cattleya House, elsewhere a cool Orchid House, facing the 

 North, constructed of boarding only, with provision for keeping the frost out and 

 nothing beyond. The air here is still cool and moist, the light tempered, and the plants 

 seem as healthy, firm and green as so many cabbage plants. Nothing could be better 

 for the particular kinds of Orchids, and the particular uses for which it is intended. 



One house is devoted to Cape Pelargoniums, of the old stamp, with their knotted 

 stems, bright flowers and sweetly scented foliage. Among the species in bloom at 

 the time of our visit, was a very remarkable one — P. ohlo?igalum, with a thick flecky 

 root-stock, and a truss of sulphur-yellow flowers. 



