100 



JOUBNAL OF H0UTICULTU1;E AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



( Fobraary 6, lSfi«. 



by day, aiiJ CO" by night. Tliin was without sun heat ; with the 

 nun the temperature nun allowed to rise several degrees, but 

 then the house only received the moniing and evening sun- 

 light. Durins the spring iiud summer months the house was 

 kept very moist, the saud. pipes, .to., being often watered, but 

 I generally contrive 1 to have the plants nearly, if not quite, 

 dry once in twenty-four hours. If there was too much steam 

 it was let out by the top ventilator, but this wa-s rarely neces- 

 sary. In winter, of course, the case was kejit drier. 



I purpose concluding this pai)er with the names and descrip- 

 tions of a few sorts which I found by experience to thrive well 

 under such circumstances, and which I have myself successfully 

 grown in London. There are, beyond a do«ibt, very many 

 others \^ich will do equally well, but which have yet to be 

 tried. 



Aebidf.s CKisrrii and viukns are both excellent plants for a 

 London Orchid-house, although most of the Aeriiies will thrive 

 there. A. crispum and A. vircns, however, grow and flower 

 well without much air. The blossoms of the former are white, 

 tipped with pink, and are abundantly produced in .July and 

 August. Th >se of the latter iiro of a lovely peach colour, and 

 appear from .\pril to June. They both succeed best grown in 

 pots. 



Ao.vsisu rrLCHELLi. — A dwarf plant with pretty white and 

 yellow flowers, produced at different times of the year. Suc- 

 ceeds best in a pot. 



BiussAvoLA Ac.vn.is. — A Bush-like plant with large white 

 flowers. It generally blossoms in September or October. Ee- 

 quires to be grown on a block. 



Bnoi-GnTONU s.vxcinxEv. — A lovely evergreen Orchid, with 

 beautiful spikes of crimson flowers, produced freely during the 

 summer. It requires to be grown on a block, with a little moss 

 round the roots. 



Calantiie VESTiTA 'nmno-ocrLATA. — Bather a large plant for 

 a case, but one which grows well. It jiroduces its delicate 

 flowers on long sjjikes during the winter months ; they are 

 white, with a blotch of red on the lip. It is best grown in 

 a pot. 



Casiarotis purpurea. — A most lovely Orchid with rose- 

 coloured flowers, freely produced fi'om March till June. It 

 thrives best grown in a basket, and requires plenty of heat 

 and moisture. 



CiELOGYXE CBisTATA. — .\ splendid dwarf Orcliid, with flowers 

 4' inches across. It thrives well in London, and blossoms in 

 the early spring. Pot culture. 



Dexdrobicms. — Many of the I'endrobium tribe thrive well, 

 although some arc rather shy of flowering. D. formosum, 

 I). Lowii, and D. pulcheUum are very good ones for the pur- 

 pose, but D. Jenkinsii is the best. It is a dw.irf plant, with 

 beautiful buff flowers, most freely produced one or two at a time. 

 It requires a small block on which to grow it, without any moss, 

 and the plant should be hung U]i close to the glass. 



HuxTLEVA MAROiN.ATA. — A prcttv evcrgreeu Orchid, flowering 

 constantly ; the blossoms are pink, purple, and white. It 

 should be grown in a pot. 



L.DLiopsis DOMixi.Exsis. — A vBally beautiful little plant, with 

 rose-coloured blossoms produced at different times of the year. 

 Thrives uncommonly well in a confined case. It should be 

 grown on a bare block of cork wood. 



Peristebia ai.ata. — No Orchid thrives better in London 

 than this noble plant ; mifortunately, its size is against it. It 

 flowered with me well, and its beautiful blossoms, bearing such 

 a wonderful resemblance to a dove, were always greatly admired. 

 PHAL.ENOi-sis amaeilis and oKAXDiFLor.A are so well known 

 that any description is unnccossary. Thoy thrive and flowor 

 we'd, particularly P. amabilis. They should be grown on blocks 

 of wood. 



SACCoLABrcM coRviFoLii'M and 3IIXIATCM, both excellent 

 plants for a London Orchid-house. The former is a small 

 plant, with orange-coloured flowers freely produced in May and 

 June : the latter is equally small, with spikes of red flowers 

 produced in February. March, and April. Both should be 

 grown on small blocks without moss. 



SoBBALi.v MACKAXTHA. — A noble Orchid, with large crimson 

 and purple flowers, nearly 7 inches in diameter. Blooms 

 during summer. Pot-culture suits it best. 



SoruRosms op.axi)ifloi:a. — One of the best, if not the vei-y 

 best, for a London Orchid-house. The blossoms are of a lovely 

 scarlet colour, produced during the winter months, and lasting 

 long in beauty. It should be grown on a block. 



SlAXnoPEAS. — Many of these curious and beautiful flowers 

 thrive very well in a case, particularly S. aurea, S. iusignis, 



and S. tigrina. They should be grown in shallow baskets, as 

 the blossoms generally push their way out through the bottom. 

 They are very curious-looking, and make a good variety. 



Vaxda suavis. — A noble plant, grows well and flowers pro- 

 fusely in a case. The blossoms are large, of a beautiful white, 

 spotted with crimson. Either basket or pot-cultui-e will suit 

 it.— J. H. 



M.VNGOSTEEN CULTURE. 



Havixo been applied to for advice and further instructions, 

 by several persons who happen to possess small plants of the 

 Mangostcen, but who complain that they have no house of a 

 sufficiently high temperature in which to grow them, I thought 

 it might be as well to say a few words on the subject through 

 the niidium of your valuable Journal. 



All who are fortunate enough to possess well-established 

 plants should at once commence starting them into growth. 

 For this ])urp()se, if there is no stove where they can be kept 

 very hot and close, a hotbed may be made up of good stable 

 dung, and the plants put under a frame, keeping them close to 

 the glass. It is important that the dung should have been 

 thoroughly turned and mixed, and it should have lain in a 

 heap for some time ]>revious to being used. The bed should 

 be made 5 feet high, first taking the precaution of having it 

 well drained underneath, and, when it is a little settled, the 

 frame may be put on, and the dung covered C inches deep with 

 sand. As soon as the furious heat is over, the Mangosteen 

 trees may be put in, taking care to ventilate freely at first ; if 

 the heat is too much the pots should not be plunged until all 

 fear of burning is over. The top temperature may range from 

 80" to 9(»', and the bottom heat from 5' to 10' higher. The 

 trees mnst be kept moist and close, giving little air, and keep- 

 ing up the heat by linings. They will soon begin to grow 

 freely, and they must be kept growing trithout a cluck all the 

 summer, for if once checked, though but for a few hours, the 

 chances are ten to one against their restarting, and thus a 

 season may be lost. Should flower-buds appear the first 

 summer they must be carefully picked oS; this wiU materially 

 strengthen the trees, and cause them to throw out fine strong 

 shoots. 



The grand secret in growing the Mangosteen is to keep the 

 trees growing vigorously, and, if this is done, sooner or later 

 they will flower and fruit — it is only a question of time ; 

 whereas, if they are grown in an ordinary stove temperature, 

 they will live, and even grow slowly, but never bloom. This I 

 have repeatedly proved by experiment, and I am certain that 

 all the failures one hears of arise from this one cause. I do 

 not hesitate to say that the Mangosteen may be fruited as 

 easily as any other tropical fruit, but then it must have eveiy 

 ray of light oiu" skies afford. It must be grown rajjidly under 

 a high temperature, have plenty of water and weak liquid 

 manure, and not too much air. 



Unless the Mangosteen is in a very vigorous state of growth 

 it will never show bloom. — J. H. 



We think it due to our readers, a? well as to " J. H.," to 

 state that he cannot send plants to any one of the Mangosteen, 

 which he has received from Java and Madras — they are very 

 expensive. See advertisement. — Ens.j 



POIXSETTIA rULCHERRBIA CULTURE. 



.\t page 4f)l) of your last Volume I note some excellent re- 

 marks on the cultivation of the Poinsettia from your correspon- 

 dent Mr. Edwards, and to which I wish to add a few observa- 

 tions derived from my own experience. This interesting and 

 important winter-flowering plant is capable of a much greater 

 degree of perfection than is generally known. My mode of 

 treatment differs somewhat from that recommended by Mr. 

 Edwards, and is as follows : — 



After the plants have had six weeks' or two months" rest by 

 withholding moisture, I cut them back to within half an inch 

 of the old wood, keeping them in the stove until they have 

 started into growth. About the beginning of May they are 

 shaken out, potted into smaller pots, and placed in a cold 

 frame as near the glass as possible, keeping them dose for a 

 few days, when air is gradually and cautiously admitted. After 

 they have filled the (lots with roots they are repotted into their 

 flowering-pots, whidi are from G to 8 inches in diameter, and 

 as the warni davs advance the frame is slightly raised by a 

 brick under each" corner, keeping the hghts off excepting when 



