32 EFFECT OF A TROPICAL CLIMATE UPON PLANTS. 



find that, by having several bulbs, some can be started so as to 

 come into bloom earlier than others, while the rest may be kept 

 in a dormant condition for another month. By thus potting 

 them in succession, blooming plants may be had for a very long 

 time. I have grown them from fifteen to twenty inches in height, 

 with flower-spikes from six to nine inches in length, the lip of 

 the blossoms being striped with lilac, and the upper part jet black, 

 like most beautiful silk velvet. The contrast thus produced in 

 the flowers is so striking, and the beautiful black so uncommon, 

 that they form objects of the greatest beauty, vastly superior to 

 all their associates. 



I find this plant very difficult to increase ; the bulbs it forms 

 are about the size of Radish seeds, and unless the soil is sifted 

 through a very fine sieve they escape observation. As regards 

 cultivation, however, follow the advice given above, and such 

 success will follow, that you will have examples of this fine Orchis 

 that will fully bear out the statement made by Dr. Lindley in a 

 recent number of the Gardener s Chronicle, viz. : " that when 

 grown as Mr. Barnes grows it, it is one of the most charming of 

 greenhouse plants." 



VI. — Effect of a Trotical Climate upon Plants of a 

 Temperate Zone. By Sir R. H. Schomburgk. 



(Communicated April 2nd, 1852 ) 



Santo Domingo, the oldest city in the New World, cannot boast 

 of extensive or finely laid-out gardens, but the admiration and love 

 of the Spaniards for flowers seems innate, and few houses, as 

 humble as they may be, are without some Rose-trees, Pinks, and 

 Heliotropes in their patios. 



The thin superstratum of soil in the city rests upon coralline 

 limestone, which the freshets are very apt to carry away. The 

 beds are therefore surrounded with masonry. 



The favourite flowers of the Spanish ladies are Roses, of which 

 the following kinds are principally cultivated : — Rosa damascena, 

 var. bifera (le rosier de tous les mois) ; R. centifolia (of the latter 

 the White variety is rare); R. multiflora, R. Banksite, R. indica. 

 Recently three varieties of Tea-roses have been introduced, R. 

 Devoniensis. General Lamarck, and magnolia. They succeed very 



