AprU 9, 1868. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



273 



passed over Nasonia ciunabarina, -which not only forma tafts of bril- 

 liant vormiliou llowors, but is moreovpr a cool Orchid. A noble V^rd 

 in his own county, Lord Slirewsbui-j', or rather his gardener, had 

 sent a collcrtiou of cut Orchids, some of which were to be presented 

 to Her Royal Hif^hucwa the Princt'ss of Wales, and others were to bo 

 distributed after the mooting. Amuuf:^ them were Bendrobiuni Wardi- 

 annm, which was atoao time confounded with D. Falconeri. Mr. Mar- 

 shall had OdoutogloHSum triumphnus with twelve flowers on a spiko, 

 0. Hallii was floweriii;^ very iintdy with Mr. Rucker, and from his 

 (Mr. Bateman'a) own t^arden there was Blotia Shorrattiana. Messrs. 

 E. G. Henderson had sent a lino exhibition of Trichopilia snavis, 

 h-ym Costa Kica, and Mr. Wilson Saunders a very interesting collec- 

 tion of that peculiar bat very interesting race of Orchids which he 

 delighted to cultivate. Odontoglossum niaernnthum Imstiferum. from 

 Lord Loudesborough'fl gardener, Mr. Richards, was also noticed, Mr. 

 Bateman remarking that this Odontoglossum had been introduced 

 thirty years ago, but had been lost through not being kept cool enongh, 

 but now. through the eutei-prise of Messrs. Veitch it had been re-in- 

 trodncod. Mr. Bateman added that he had seen it with forty or fifty 

 flovers in a spike. 



Mr. Bateman next offered some remarks on Dahlia imperialis. 

 About the beginning of last November he reached Cannes, where the 

 climate is so mild tliat plants from the Cape, Australia, and Mexico 

 may be successfully grown in the open air. On entering Mr. WolfiekVs 

 garden he caught sight of a plunt at a distance of 50 or tiO yards, with 

 large Freach white liowers, which he at first took to be those of a white 

 Lily, but when he reached the plant he found it was a Dahlia. He 

 was told it was Dahlia imperialis, which had been introduced by a col- 

 lector named Roeal. Mr. Bateman, in continuation, said that when 

 at Chatsworth, some yeai-s ago, he was shown by the former Presi- 

 dent of the Society, the late Duke of Devonshire, a Dahlia, which was 

 expected to grow 30 feet high ; but it had never been thought to try it 

 otherw.se than out of doors, and nothing more was heard of it. This 

 was twenty- tive or thirty years ago, and whether the present plant was 

 the same or not he could not fjay. Mr. Salter, of Hammersmith 

 however, had visited the nursery of M. Hubert, at Cannes, had there 

 seen it growing 18 feet high, and had introduced it into this country. 

 When he (Mr. Bateman) had seen it an exceptional frost, such as did 

 not occur at Cannes once in four or tive years, had curtailed its beauty, 

 of which, however, some idea might be formed fi'om the dried specimen 

 before the meeting, and of which the flowers measured nearly a span 

 across, these being produced in branched panicles of great size ; 

 and when in flower this Dahlia was certainly one of the most magnificent 

 out-door plants he had ever seen. Ha%'ing with him a copy of Pritzel's 

 *• Iconum Botanicai'um Index," he found that Dahlia imperialis was 

 figured in " Gartenflora," where there is a very long German account 

 of it, for a translation of which he was indebted to Miss Richards, and 

 a portion of w4iich he would read. 



*' We openly confess that we read our friend Roezl's first .account of 

 this new Dahlia with a somewhat incredulous smile, and perhaps the 

 same may hapi)en to many a reader of the 'Garteuflora' when he casts 

 the first glance at the accompanying plate, which shows him a Dahlia of 

 a very extraordiuary— I might say undreamed-of and surprisingly new 

 appearance ; for a Dahlia with bell-shaped, white, liliaceous flowers, with 

 a pyramidal, hundred-blossomed, candelabra-shaped inflorescence appears 

 to belong, judging from what we have hitherto known of Dahlias, to fairy 

 world. 



" In truth. Dahlia imperialis appears to be new to the scientific world, 

 for we cultivated several specimens last year in the botanical garden at 

 Zurich, and brought them into blossom, and convinced ourselves that it 

 did not belong to either of the species described in ' Prodromus,' and in 

 * Walper's Repositorium.' 



"RoezPs short and convincing information read somewhat like the 

 following :—' This new Dahlia, which is imposing even as a leaf plant, 

 wiU make as great a sensation as the first sinple Dahlia did. It blossoms 

 on pj-ramidal flow^er stems, with from 150 to 200 larqc, white, bell-shaped, 

 nodding flowers, like a Yucca or a giant white Lily. I consider it the 

 most Iteautiful and valuable of my importations. It will, I hope, com- 

 pletely justify its proud name of the Emperor Dahlia, even in European 

 gardens ;' and as we (Messrs. Roezl and Besserer), place our entire confi- 

 dence in it, wo try, by representing it at its first blossoming, to make it 

 known. At the same time as thi» information, which excited our curi- 

 osity and expectation in the highest degree, we received at the end of 

 May of last year (18(5-2), a larj^'e chest with about two hundred tubers, 

 pretty mucli like the ordinary Dahlia tubers, but of a longer, more 

 stretched-out shape. As the season was already pretty well advanced, 

 they were all immediately planted in the open gi-ound, in groups and bed^: 

 in the garden, andi a large number, on nccornt of want of space, in a 

 poor nnmanured Potato field. AM the tubers threw out well, several 

 three or four tubers, which even to tbo strongest were immediately 

 broken off, and took root more quickly and with greater certainty than 

 tubers of the ordinary Dahlia planted at the same time for comparison, 

 which sufficiently convinced us that the D. imperialis would support 

 itself and spread rapidly, even if it did nut ripen seed. The specimens 

 planted in the garden soon reached the height of 5 to 6 feet, while those 

 in the poorer ground were from 3 to 4 feet. The stately growth, the large, 

 elegantly double, almost triple pinnate, gladsome green leaves make at 

 least as beautiful a leaf-plant as the most beautiful of the Wigandias. 

 Solanums, and Nicotianas at present so highly prized. Singly, in the 

 grass, with well-manured ground, the D imperialis will figure in the 

 first rank as a leaf plant even before its flowering time commences, as 

 it does not lose its lower leaves. As soon, however, as it unfolds its 

 flower panicles, richly covered with lar^e white LUy-liells, it will far sur- 

 pass the mo^-t beautiful of the oi-namental flowers which are at present 

 30 much liked. We ought not to, ueitlier will we keep silent, that last year 

 (for our impatience can be well understood), we had to wait long, but 

 too long before we discovered the first buds. Not before the middle of 

 October did the longed-for buds show themselves; but now, as if by 



enchantment, several fipocimons, tho most luxuriant as well as the 

 poorer, were covered with buds ; tho top as well as tho side branches 

 produced Whole bunches of budw. There was no lon^'er any doubt that 

 Roozl did not exagnorate when he spoko of IGl) to '2iM flowers on a panicle, 

 for on our strongest specimen wo could show a still larger number of 

 buds." 



As to Dahlia imperialis ever taking its place as an out-door plant, 

 continued Mr. Bateman, tho idea was absolutely preposterous. It 

 must, therefore, be grown out of doors in summer, and moved int» 

 the conservator)' in September. He hoped that the tubers which he 

 had shown the meeting would, under Mr. Kyles'a or Mr. Barron's 

 care, produce flowers before the end of tho year. 



Major Trevor Clarke said that two years ago ho had purchased a 

 packet of seed, said to be that of Dahlia imperialis, and whether tho 

 continental nurserymen had " done " the Kuglish, or the Knglish had 

 " done " him ho did not know ; but the produce was a common Dahlia 

 of- the most abominable description, and he could only say, Coveal 

 emptor. 



Tho proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to the Chairman, and 

 the announcement that the next meeting would be held on the 2l3t 

 instant. 



THE GREAT INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 

 AT GHENT. 



(Continued from page 256.) 



A VERY large number of new and very rare plants was sent 

 by Messrs. Veitch & Son, Messrs. Lindou, Van Houtte, Am- 

 broise Verschaffelt, Jeau Verschaffelt, and a host of other 

 eminent cultivators. These were exhibited in a very long, 

 heated, conservatory-like building, commanding a view of the 

 great hall beneath, and in it were plants enough to fill two 

 such huildiDgs. 



In Mr. Ambroise VerschaiTelt'a collection were Dioscorea nobilia, 

 with rich velvety foliage dusted with lemon spots, with a large, broad, 

 irregular, -lemon stripe in the centre of each leaf. Cordyline Guilfoylei, 

 which is a variegated Dractena with pale yellowish white and green 

 leaves. These are two valuable plants. In the same collection was a 

 very pretty and distinct dwarf-growing Dieffenbachia named princepa. 

 Ml-. Linden had a very iuteresting group, amongst them Iresine sp. 

 nova, a narrow-leaved Idjud with beetroot-coloured foliage and bright 

 red midrib ; Maranta virginalis and Maranta virginalis macrophyUa, 

 the former good, the latter particularly so, and a welcome acquisition. 

 Both partake of the habit of M. fasciata, and are very similar to 

 M. Veitchiiin marking, but lighter in colour. Cochhostema Jacobianum 

 is a very curious plant with Medinella-like flowers thrown out from 

 the base of the leaf. Lasiandra macrantha is a Melastomaceous 

 plant, blooming freely in a small state with rich-coloured Pleroma- 

 like flowers. Messrs. Veitch it Son sent a valuable lot of plants. 

 Amongst these were some fine new Dracaenas, especially Deunisoni, 

 Chelsoni, Moorei, and Gibsoni, the latter richly coloured and a fine 

 thing ; Alocasia Jenniugsii. a small-growing species with the foliage 

 distinctly marked with dark velvet and bright green stripes, a lovely 

 plant; the pretty Primula cortusoides alba; some handsome Retino- 

 sporas ; Lomaria ciliata, a beautiful Fern ; Clematis John Gould Veitch, 

 double, pale lilac colour, quite hardy aud a fine kind ; Dieffenbachias 

 Weirii and Pearcei ; Pandanus Veitchii, an extremely fine thing, 

 beautifully striped with white; Cinchona species; some new Crotons, 

 Philodendrou Pearcei; Hippeastrum pardinum in flower; a very pro- 

 mising Aphelandra, and other things. In other collections we observed 

 CurcuUgo sumatrana fol. var., a handsome variegated plant, some- 

 what resembling an Aspidistra ; several new I'alms, particularly 

 Geouoma Seemanni, which promises to be as fine as Verschafl'eltia 

 splendida and is distinct. M. Jacob Makoy, of Liege, had some very 

 interesting new plants, amongst them Panicum phcatum foliis niveo- 

 yittatis. with woolly green leaves striped with white. Cocos Weddeliana 

 is a most beautiful small-growing Palm with delicate graceful foliage ; 

 and Clerodendrou Bungeana variegata, of which several plants were 

 shown, will, if the variegation comes whiter, be valuable, but as 

 exhibited its colours were not clear enough. There was a batch of 

 beautiful Acers in pots, particularly multifidum, multifidum pur- 

 pureum, oruatum, Frederick William, aud polymorphum sauguinenm, 

 all varieties of palmatum. These are all small-growing, cut-leaved 

 kinds, varying in form and colour, and are most valuable for deco- 

 rative plants, especially for table decoration. A new species of 

 Pandanus precisely like P. elegantissimus in form, with a strongly- 

 marked glaucous base, promises well, and we noticed two or three 

 forms of this j.lant in M. Van Houtte's nursei-y. Drosera sp. nova, 

 is a very iuteresting form of the Sundew ; and Gloxinia hj-pocyrti- 

 flora. a new plant from Ecuador, is much more curious than pretty, 

 (iymnogramma ramosa cristata aurea is a crested form of the Gold 

 Fern, which, also, is more curious and pretty. We have noticed what 

 we consider the best of the new plamts. There were many other 

 things, but as they are not likely to be popular in England, we pass 

 them by. Some seedhng Begonias were exhibited, but only one, a 

 seedling of M. Vandenhecke's, which appeared to bo a sportive and 

 curious form of B.smaragdina, arrested our attention. Two variegated 

 hardy plants but little known, but most valuable. Hemerocallis Kwanso 

 variegata and the silver variegated form of Deutzia gracilis, deserve 



