222 



JOUENAIi OP HORTICULTtJKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Marcli 13, 1873. 



fine Beedliugs, which have gained first-class certificates ; and 

 my excellent friend Mr. Banks, of Sholden, well-known as the 

 raiser of the finest Fuchsias in cirltivatiou, has also produced 

 some fine seedlings, of which I hope to know more anon. 



A CENTUEY OF ORCHIDS FOR AMATEUR 

 GROWERS.— No. .5. 



MAXELLARIA. 



This genus, although now relieved of many of the species 

 that formerly swelled its ranks, is still a large one as regards 

 both the number of the species and of the varieties. Unfortu- 

 nately the majority produce 

 only small flowers, and con- 

 sequently cannot be recom- 

 mended to the notice of an 

 amateur in such a limited 

 number as here selected. 

 Some, nevertheless, deserve 

 to be in every collection ; and 

 when the fine kinds which 

 are still unknown in our 

 plant houses shall have been 

 brought home in a living 

 state, the genus will, I am 

 sure, become much more pop- 

 ular amongst Orchid-gi-owers 

 than it has hitherto been. 



Maxillarias are extremely 

 easy to grow. They should 

 be potted in fibrous peat and 

 sphagnum moss, in about 

 equal parts, and require an 

 abundant supply of moisture 

 both to the roots and in the 

 atmosphere during the grow- 

 ing season, but less wDl be 

 required afterwards. They 

 should not, however, be sub- 

 jected to a severe period of 

 drought. 



M. vExnsTA. — "Who does 

 not love white flowers during 

 the winter ? None of my 

 fair readers will answer in the 

 negative, I am sure. Well, 

 in this plant you have a 

 perfect gem. The flowers 

 are borne singly upon long 

 scapes ; they are very large, 

 pure snowy white, bearing 

 two blotches of crimson on 

 the lip. The flowers ap- 

 pear about November, and 

 continue to grow up from the 

 base of the psendobulbs for 

 about two months ; and as 

 they last in their full beauty 

 either upon the plant or 

 when placed in a vase in the 

 drawing-room, they cannot 

 fail to please even the most fastidious. 

 of New Grenada. 



M. LUTEo-ALBA. — A fine, handsome, evergreen plant, with 

 stout pseudobulbs and broad dark green leaves. The flowers 

 in the best variety are veiy large ; they stand erect upon short 

 scapes, the ground colour being creamy white suffused with 

 blotches of tawny orange. Its flowers are produced in great 

 abundance during spring and early in summer, and frequently 

 again towards autumn. — Expekto Crede. 



Mn, \ill ai-ia venusta. — {Bot, Mag., 



The plant is a native 



VERBENA CULTURE. 

 It is much to be regretted that] of late years the Verbena 

 has almost entirely lost the proud position which it once held 

 amongst bedding plants ; in this neighbourhood it has all but 

 disappeared. Notwithstanding the many arguments against 

 its culture as a useful bedder, I stUl think Purple King worthy 

 of a prominent place in our flower gardens. It is an old pro- 

 verb, and no doubt a true one, that a burned chUd dreads the 

 fire, but until Purple King deceive me I will always advocate 

 its causD, and will not even discard it for a season's failure, 



should such occur. I am aware that a great many gardeners 

 discarded the Verbena a few years ago, when what is well 

 known as the Verbena disease was so prevalent all over the 

 country. I am equally well aware that many more people 

 have discarded it when the whole fault rested with their own 

 inattention or improper treatment. The remark of an old 

 gardener a short time ago strikes me at the present moment^ 

 " that people get tu'ed even of a good thing." 



I will endeavour in the first place to point out what I think 

 to be the principal cause of failure, and in the next place I 

 shall describe my own mode of treatment, by which any 

 number of plants may be raised with very humble means. 



I shall begin with autumn 

 propagation, say September, 

 which is a favourite time 

 with most people. A hotbed 

 is made for the purpose of 

 striking the required number 

 of cuttings. The pots or 

 pans are drained, and a soil 

 consisting of leaf mould and 

 sand, very often two parts 

 of the latter to one of the 

 former, is used. The cuttings 

 are inserted and strike freely 

 enough, and are rapidly hard- 

 ened off and placed on the 

 cool shelf of a greenhouse for 

 their winter quarters. Such 

 treatment seldom turns out 

 well. The cuttings have too 

 short a time to establish 

 themselves in their pots be- 

 fore winter ; they have hun- 

 gry soil to live in ; their wood 

 has no chauee of being ma- 

 tured owing to late jsropaga- 

 tion, and consequently they 

 are liable to be attacked by 

 mildew, green fly, &c., before 

 the following spring. If they 

 even do outlive the winter, 

 we cannot expect a healthy 

 offspring from an unhealthy 

 parent. 



I will now describe my own 

 system, which is as foUows.- 

 Not later than the first or 

 second week of August have 

 a slight hotbed prepared, and 

 in it place the pots or pans 

 containing the cuttings : in 

 eight or ten days the latter 

 wUl be struck. I then have 

 a number of earthenware 

 pans properly drained, and 

 a good strong compost con- 

 sisting of loam, a little leaf 

 mould and sand, and some 

 horse droppings (a spent 

 Mushroom bed is capital), 

 thoroughly mixed together, and of the same heat as tho bed 

 in which the plants have been growing ; the rooted cuttings 

 are transplanted into those earthenware pane, the soil pressed 

 rather firmly, and they are returned to the bed from which 

 they were taken. A slight sprinkling of water, and shade in 

 case of sun, will be all that is necessary ; and in a few days the 

 plants will be found to be growing weU, and may be gradually 

 hardened off and placed full in the sun to benefit by exposure 

 to light and air. When housing time arrives they will be 

 found to be sturdy little fellows, hard as nails, and capable of 

 standing any winter in a Peach house or greenhouse. Thfr 

 advantage of ])lauts so treated will be evident enough to anyone 

 having the slightest notion of raising a few plants for their 

 flower garden. 



About the middle of February it will be time to re-introduce 

 the plants to heat, say an early vinery. When the plants 

 begin ti> make fresh growth give manure water twice a-week,. 

 it will greatly invigorate them. Pots or pans, and material 

 for propagating, should be put in heat at the same time, so 

 that the cuttings may receive no check. I always grow my 

 Verbenas in boxes, and find I can manage to keep clean plants- 



