352 



JOtJENAL OF HOETICULTUKB AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ November 6, 187S. 



They are all extremely beautiful, and weU deserve a place in 

 eyery fernery. The principal kinds are — 



chterophylla 



Mooreana 



liirsuta 



EXPEKTO CkEDE, 



jmmei'Ra (deciduous) (see 

 parvTiIa engraTing) 



borneuBis 



affinis 

 pulchi-a 



KEW GABDENS.— No. 2. 



l^EAK the old orangery, which stands with such a command- 

 ing presence, an example of the large manner of its constructor, 

 Sir WilUam Chambers, even in small things, are some noble 

 specimens of Oaks, one specimen of which, the Evergreen, or 

 Holm Oak of Southern Europe, should not be overlooked. The 

 tints of some of these trees are lovely in the autumn, and make 

 us regret that the old habit of planting them in our parks has 

 completely gone out. There is a fashion in trees and tree- 

 planting as in most other things. For these last fifty years 

 the deciduous trees which make autumn so glorious in the 

 paiks of Old England, have given way to trees of the evergreen 

 kind to such an extent that they are now scarcely procurable 

 in_ the nurseries of this country. Thus, when it was deter- 

 mined lately to plant some of the vistas radiating from the 

 Great Palm house with the rarer specimens of hardy deciduous 

 trees, it was found necessary to procure them from foreign 

 nurseries ! The last popular fashion is for the Deodar Cedar, 

 which is clothing the pleasure grounds of England with its 

 heautiful drooping foliage. The Araucaria imbricata, or the 

 Puzzle Monkey as it is popularly called, is another Conifer that 

 is making a steady footing in our pleasure grounds, but it is 

 only lately that it has been spread about largely by the nursery, 

 man. In the old arboretum, through which we are still stroll- 

 ing with the reader, is a specimen, which was planted as long 

 ago as 1702. When Sir William Hooker was first appointed 

 Director of the gardens he found this tree sheltered by a small 

 hut-hke structure, the supposition being that it was only half- 

 hardy and could not withstand the rigour of our winters. We 

 may notice here by the way that this testing of plants as re- 

 gards their powers of becoming thoroughly acclimatised, is one 

 of the most important functions of the establishment. Asso- 

 ciated as this botanical establishment is with kindred institu- 

 tions in our colonies throughout the globe, of which, indeed, it 

 is the nursing mother, it follows that plants and seeds are con- 

 stantly arriving, the very nature and habits of which are as yet 

 rmkuown ; but they are here tested, and if found suitable to 

 our cUmate are spread throughout the land through the agency 

 of the nurserymen. By this means enormous sums of money 

 have been thrown into their hands, some single plants have 

 sufficed to make the fortunes of some of the leading firms ; 

 but, as we shall show, they have returned the favour with 

 interest. 



Notwithstanding our desire to see the old fashion revived of 

 planting deciduous trees in preference to the unchangeable 

 evergreens, we cannot help regretting there are so few Cedars 

 of Lebanon in these gardens. These trees were a fashion of 

 our ancestors. They are said to have been introduced to this 

 country by Evelyn in 1691. This being true, it disposes of 

 very many pretty tales connected with this majestic tree. For 

 instance, it is fondly repeated by many a pleasure party that 

 floats past the Duke of Northumberland's grounds at Sion 

 House, on the other side of the Thames, that Lady .Jane Grey 

 received notice of her accession to the throne whilst sitting 

 under one of the fine Cedars in these grounds. Be that as 

 it may, however, there can be little doubt that the Cedar of 

 Lebanon gives an expression of grand repose to a garden which 

 ■we fail to find in any other tree. How much do some of our 

 old hereditary houses owe to their solemn grandeur — a type of 

 the persistent historic life of their possessors ? Of old' there 

 stood a fine avenue of these noble Cedars in this arboretum. 

 They were planted about the year 1700. Of these there only 

 now remains a fine old stump covered with Ivy. It is very 

 much to be regretted that as they decayed some younger Cedars 

 were not replanted. There are many very exaggerated ideas 

 afloat relative to theii- slow growth, the size of many existing 

 trees, which cannot be two hundred years old if it be really true 

 that Evelyn first introduced them, testifying to the contrai-y. 



But the rare trees we have mentioned are not confined to 

 the small space which formed the old arboretum, and covered 

 only five acres. The adjacent lawns are also jilanted -n-ith 

 them, gome of which have .an unmistakeable foreign appear- 

 ance. For instance, the visitor is immediately struck by the 

 appearance of the United States Palm and the Chusan Palm, i 



comparatively low trees, which meet his view immediately he 

 enters the garden. The Oriental appearance of these makes 

 him for a moment believe that he is in an eastern palace. A 

 very sUght protection is all that is required for them in the 

 winter. Near to these singular trees the Yucca gloriosa sends 

 up its tall spire of white flowers ; they are nearly allied to the 

 Aloes, and the visitor for a moment thinks that he has had the 

 good fortune to see that plant in blossom, which, however, he 

 may have done this very summer by visiting stove house 

 No. 5, where the so-called Century Palm was in bloom for the 

 first time in this country. 



But what is that delicious scent that is wafted to us as we 

 advance ? The Magnolia grandiflora, with its pure white 

 blossoms scattered amid the grand fohageot the beautiful tree, 

 at once strikes the eye mth its beauty, and answers the ques- 

 tion. We may wander for hours amid these fine trees without 

 tiring ourselves ; but as we hear the Cireat Lily is just out, let 

 us make our way to the T-shaped stove house, which is close 

 at hand. WTiat a delicious scent greets us as we enter ! and 

 what a glorious sight this peerless Lily presents, seated amid 

 her green island-like leaves ! Well may the famous botanist 

 Haenke have fallen upon his knees when he discovered it, and 

 expressed his sense of the power and manificenee of the Creator 

 in his works. But grand as the plant is in this humid stove, 

 under the tropic sun and in the noble waters of the Amazon 

 it appears to this one as a giant to a pigmy. There the flower 

 is upwards of a foot in diameter, and the leaves measure as 

 much as 8 feet across, and are capable of bearing half a hun- 

 dredweight. But comparatively dwarfed as it appears under 

 artificial treatment, it is still surprising. The study of the 

 evolution of leaf and flower for a day or two is most interest- 

 ing. The bud, which makes its appearance from beneath the 

 water in a few hours, as rapidly opens when it is clear of it. 

 The bursting of the bud is accompanied by a slight noise, and 

 immediately the house is flooded with a delicious perfume, 

 somewhat like that of the Magnolia, only more delicate. As 

 you watch the petals slowly unfold, at first the flower appears 

 of a creamy white; but in a few hours, as its cup-like form 

 fully opens, the most delicate pink is seen to tinge them ; but 

 the bloom lasts only for a few hours, as they perish the day of 

 their birth, and new blooms come up and repeat the glory. 

 But the evolution of the leaves is scarcely less interesting, if 

 not quite so beautiful. They first appear on the surface of the 

 water curled up, with their deep midribs strongly marked, 

 and here and there armed with long thorn-lLke spikes. Coiled 

 up like a hedgehog they first make their appearance in this 

 world; on their putting off their defensive attitude they slowly 

 unfold their beauty to the sky ; appearing at first with a deep 

 rim, which doubtless induced the natives to call them " water 

 platters ; " aud so they unfold, until at last the circular' leaf 

 Ues flat upon the silver flood, an emblem of perfect repose, 

 moored by its rope-like stem to the central root. Let us hope 

 that a larger tank may be afforded to this beauty to display 

 her ample setting of emerald leaves. As it is, they crowd up 

 aud over the stone margin of then- tank, aud give the spectator 

 a sense of the plant being crushed aud crowded. But we 

 must not, even by the grandeur of the Victoria regia, be pre- 

 vented from noticing the extreme beauty of the under side 

 of the leaves of another Lily close at hand — Enryale ferox. 

 These leaves are not nearly so large as those of the Victoria 

 Lily ; but either by accideut or by design one of them was 

 twisted upon its stalk, so as to show its under side — a perfect 

 marvel of colour. The leaf itself is hke a piece of reddish- 

 purple satin, whilst the prominent midribs are a rich amber. 

 It seems a pity that such a beautiful sight should only meet 

 the human eye by accident. 



Not far from this tank the curious may note several varie- 

 ties of the Pitcher PLant. The bottom of the deep pitchers, 

 which are suspended from this singular tree, is generally 

 filled with water; and as the inside edge of the pitcher is 

 frilled round with a series of fine hairs pointing downward, 

 it would seem as though nature intended it as first a lure to 

 attract insects, aud then as a trap to hold them, as they do not 

 appear to be able to si",rmount the fringe of hairs which pre- 

 vents their exit. The pitchers are therefore full of drowned 

 insects. Some of these receptacles hold two quarts of water, 

 and, notwithstanding the flies, are sought for by the thirsty 

 traveller with avidity. Near this plant is another — Nipa fru- 

 ticans — a low stemless Palm, beai'ing a large head of nuts, that 

 grows in the tidal waters of the Indian Ocean. Dr. Hooker 

 tells us in his Himalayan .Journal that there is a particular 

 interest attaching to this plant iu a geological sense, inasmuch 



