140 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[May, 



old-time carnations, though now unfortunately 

 such carnations are seldom seen. 



When I look back on the introduction of the 

 Verbena melindres and V. Tweediana by Mr. 

 Buist, it seems but as yesterday ; but the numer- 

 ous beautiful varieties everywhere about us tell 

 the story of how rapidily the time must have 

 passed away; still with so many evidences of 

 floral progress, it is satisfactory to reflect that 

 the passing time is gaining as it goes. 



Dendobriuin biffiltbiim, var. I Lycaste t^kinneri, var. alba 



CHRISTMAS ORCHIDS. 



BY MR. WM. FALCONER, CAMBRIDGE BOTANI- 

 CAL GARDEN, MASS. 



The increasing taste for Orchids and the higher 

 demand for winter-blooming sorts have induced 

 me to send you a list of those that are now in 

 bloom in some of the gardens near Boston. The 

 list of Mr. Ames' Orchids was kindly compiled 

 (on December 26) for me by Mr. Robinson, Mr. 

 Ames' gardener. I regret that I have not a list 

 of Mr. Paison's (of Watertown) orchids, as he 

 has some extremely fine kinds, and well-grown 

 and handsomely-flowered specimens ; indeed his 

 " cool" orchids are among the most robust and 

 healthiest in the country. 



Orchids in bloom at F. L. Ames', Xorth Eas- 

 ton: 



Angraicum eburneuiu. 



var, vireiis. 

 sesquipedale. 

 Ansellia Africana. 

 Broughtonia sangruinea. 

 Oalantlie Veitchii. 



vestita, var. lutea 

 oculata. 

 var. rubra 

 oculata. 

 Cattleya Chocoensis. 

 Pinelli. 

 Trianiaj. 



var. "Daisy." 

 Cirrhopetalum Medusae. 

 Oypripedium Argus. 



barbatum, var. 



biflorum. 

 insigno. 



var. Mau- 

 lei. 

 longifolium. 

 pardinum. 

 Roezlei. 

 Schlimii. 

 Sedeni. 

 venustum. 



Dendrobiutn ohrysanthum. 

 japonicum. 

 Warilianum. 

 Kpidendrum ciliare. 

 ; Eria stellata. 

 Lselia pra?stans, var. superba. 

 I Lycaste aromatica. 

 Skinneri, 

 Maxillaria picta. 

 Odontoglossum grande. 



Rossii, var. iua.iu.s. 

 Uro-Skinneri. 

 Oncidiuin. 

 1 " oheirophoruni. 



junceum. 

 ornithorhynclunii. 

 pelicanum. 

 j Phalsenopsis amabilis. 



grandiflora aurea. 

 rosea. 

 Pilumna fragrans. 

 Saccolabium giganteuin. 

 violaceuui. 

 Sophronites grandiflora. 

 Stenia fimbriata. 

 Vanda tricolor. 



superbuiu. 

 Epidendruui prisuiatocar- 



puiu. 

 Livlia albida. 



autumnalis, var. 



(lovely). 

 Odontoglossum cordatuui. 



Ebrenbergii. 

 Oncidium crispum, 



obryzatuni. 

 " varicosuui. 



At the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Decem- 

 ber 31st, besides several of the preceding, are — 



Crelogyne cristata. 



sp. 

 Cypripedium narrisianuiu. 

 Dendrobium heterocarpum. 



Maxillaria punetulata. 



variabilis. 

 Octomeria Surinamensis. 

 Odontoglossom Rossii. 



Insleayi. 

 Oncidium Papilio. 



" ■' var. ma.iu>. 



Pilumna laxa. 

 Zygopetalum Mackayi. • 



No doubt the above lists could be largely aug- 

 mented by considering the collections of Albany, 

 New York, South Amboy, Newport and Balti- 

 more. 



tetrogonuui. 

 Epidendrum cochlea tuui. 



Ibaguense. 

 Lajlia superbiens. 

 Liparis pendula. 



Besides many of the above, the following are 

 in blossom in the garden of E. L. Beard, Esq., 

 Cambridge : 



THE VICTORIA RECIA AND TROPICAL 

 NYMPH/EAS IN THE OPEN AIR. 



^Y EDWARD D. STURTEVANT, BORDENTOWN, 



• NEW JERSEY. 



Somewhat late in the spring of 1877 I obtained 

 a young plant of the Victoria Regia. Having 

 never seen this wonderful plant I determined to 

 try the experiment of growing it in the open air. 

 I built in a warm sunny position, on the south 

 side of a viner}^ a tank of bricks and hydraulic 

 cement twenty by thirty feet, and fifteen inches 

 deep. In the centre of this was a pit four feet 

 deep and five feet square. At the top of this 

 pit a curb was built high enough to separate the 

 water within from the water in the main tank. 

 In this central pit was placed a wooden frame 

 four feet square and three feet deep, filled with 

 soil consisting of rich loam and the best manure 

 in equal parts with a little sand. Across the 

 corners of the main tank partitions about ten 

 inches high were made, and the enclosed space 

 filled with soil. In two of these corners I plant- 

 e I Nelumbium luteum, the American lotus, 

 iL another Nymphsea cttrulea, in the other N. 

 alba. A few feet from the tank is the furnace 

 pit of the greenhouse. In this I placed a com- 

 mon upright stove between three and four feet 

 high. Inside of this was placed nine feet of inch 

 iron pipe in a coil. From each end of this coil, 

 a pipe of the same*diameter was carried to the 

 pit in the centre of the lily-tank and left open at 

 the ends. By this means I was able to heat the 

 water in this enclosed space to a temperature of 

 90"^ or more. At the same time a stream of 



