98 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ July 30, 1074 



doubtless be managed so as to be of considerable value. It 

 was imported from India, where it is largely used for table 

 decoration. The leaves are broadly ovate with a wavy margin, 

 sometimes inroUed ; the larger proportion of the leaf is creamy 

 white; the green part is irregularly disposed in the centre, or, 

 as frequently happens, on one half only. The plants should 

 be grown in well-drained loam. They may be cut back so as 

 to produce branches. It is also a useful practice to pot a 

 few rooted pieces together, and thus make a good specimen. 

 Cuttings of any convenient length strike easily. The ends 

 should be allowed to dry before insertion ; each one should 

 have a small pot, be placed on a shelf near the glass, and 

 receive but little water until roots are produced. Pedilanthus 

 is closely allied to Euphorbia. It is chiefly distinguished by 

 the involucre assuming the form of a shoe : hence the generic 

 name. At the cool end of this house a plant of Arundo coe- 

 spicua, " the largest Grass of New Zealand," is extremely 

 handsome (see page 78 last week). It is in a 16-ineh pot, and 

 has sixteen panicles. It is more graceful and delicate than the 

 Pampas Grass, and may be considered to take its place in the 

 conservatory, for the decoration of which it must not be 

 forgotten. It lasts many months in beautiful condition. 

 Potted in rich turfy loam it does well. When growing it 

 should stand in a pan of water. 



In the Cape house in flower is the new and curious 

 Gladiolus dracocephalus. The perianth measures about 2 inches 

 across ; it is yellow, and very thickly covered with small reddish 

 purple spots ; the three lower and smaller segments are green 

 towards the base. The scape is about ten-flowered. Ornitho- 

 gidum thyrsoides is a good species for conservatory decoration. 

 It bears a fine thyrsoid raceme of large white flowers, with 

 dark ovaries. One bulb only should be grown in a pot. The 

 soil should consist chiefly of loam. Ixia retusa is very neat 

 and pretty. It bears numerous small flowers on slender 

 branching stems. They are pale pink, with a ring of darker 

 colour in the centre. Sparaxis pulcherrima bears pretty white 

 and pink bell-shaped flowers, pendulous from a tall stem. 



In the Orchid collection the beautiful Dendrobium sanguineo- 

 lentum is flowering freely ; one of the clusters is composed of 

 fifteen open flowers. They are light yellow. Each segment is 

 tipped with deep rose, forming an elegant contrast ; in a few 

 days the yellow changes to pure white. It flowers almost con- 

 tinuously, and should be more cultivated than at preseLt. 

 Mesospiuidium vulcanicum reminds one of Odontoglossum 

 roseum ; it is very similar in habit and colour. There are 

 three representatives of the beautiful and extraordinary genus 

 Stanhopea:— S. inodora, with yellowish-white flowers, except- 

 ing the orange-coloured base of the labellum ; S. tigrina 

 superba, which is larger and finer-coloured than the species ; 

 and S. Bucephalus, with large richly-coloured flowers, orange 

 with dark wine-coloured spots. lonopsis paniculata has r. 

 graceful panicle of bluith flowers, with rose-coloured lines on 

 the labellum. Promena^a xanthina superba is very pretty. II. 

 is about 4 inches high. The leaves are greyish, and the flower 

 similar in colour to Cattleya citrina. It is about 2 inche.^ 

 across. Sarcanthns rostratus is interesting, with pendulous 

 spikes of small prettily-marked flowers. Ihe buds resemble 

 the head of a bird having a large broad bill. 



At the Rockwork the South African Berkleya (Stobi'ca) 

 purpurea is very striking. It is a handsome composite 3 feet 

 high, with a single stem bearing several pale lilac or purple 

 capitula 4 inches across. The leaves are narrow, with numerous 

 prickles on the sinuose margin, decurrent, covering the stem 

 with longitudinal wavy plates, also prickly. It is, perhaps, not 

 quite hardy, but will do well with frame protection. Seeds 

 offer the only ready means of propagation. Campanula Raineri 

 is a rare and beautiful species from Italy. It is about S iuches 

 high, bearing large dark blue flowers, one on each stem. They 

 are similar in size and form to those of C. carpatica. The 

 Himalayan Androsace lanuginosa, considered by many difficult 

 to grow, is here flowering freely. From its long trailing stems 

 and silky leaves it is quite distinct from the other species in 

 cultivation. The inflorescence, both in colour and form, much 

 resembles that of Primula farinosa. It perhaps does best so 

 planted that the stems trail over stones, and not in contact 

 with soil. Xiphion filifolium is a rare species from Spain. In 

 this instance the colour is a beautiful blue, like some of the 

 tropical Njmphreas. 



faction that since the May meeting no less than thirty-three 

 new Fellows have been added to the Society's roll of members. 



RoTAi, Houticulturai, Society. — Now that the London 

 season is rapidly approaching a close, we record with satis- 



FLOWERS FOR OUR BORDERS.— No. 37. 



SKIIIMIA JAPONICA.— Japanese Skitsiuia. 

 Skimmia japonica was first discovered by Thunberg in 

 Japan, but it ia found also in China and the Himalaya. 

 According to 11. M. Siebold and Zuccarini, it grows throughout 

 Japan among the mountain forests, but always in scattered 

 specimens ; from which circumstance it is comparatively rare. 

 It was found by Siebold near the port of Nangasaki, about 

 1200 feet above the level of the sea. lu the wild state it 

 scarcely exceeds 4 feet, but the cultivated plants are said to 

 attain a greater height. It is of very compact growth, the 

 lower branches being somewhat procumbent. The foliage is 

 thick and fleshy, of a rich deep green colour, 5 or (i inches 

 long by lA broad, pointed and tapering at both ends, smooth 

 on both sides, and disposed in tufts of three or four each. 

 They are said to remain attached to the plant three or four 

 years, and their age may be distinguished by the length of the 

 interval between the different groups. 



Fig. SI. — Skimmia japonica. 



The flowers, which appear in April and May, are of a pale 

 greenish yellow tint, and are disposed in dense terminal 

 panicles ; occasionally the buds have a pale tinge of rose just 

 before expansion. They are deliciously fragrant, especially in 

 the evening, the odour resembling that of the Daphne indica. 

 The same plant produces both perfect and imperfect flowers — 

 that is to say, flowers containing both stamens and pistil ; 

 others producing stamens only ; and a few in which these are 

 abortive, the pistil alone being perfect. The berry is at first 

 fleshy, but afterwards becomes a dry four-celled fruit, with 

 cartilaginous cells, each containing one pendulous seed. The 

 berries are ripened in October, and remain attached to the 

 plant during the greater part of the winter, rendering it a 

 highly ornamental object, whether cultivated in the open 

 ground or in pots for the orchard house and conservatory, jgn? 



It may be increased without difficulty by cuttings under a 

 hand-light, as well as by seeds, which should be sown as soon 

 as gathered. It flourishes best in a mixture of peat and loam 

 but does not refuse to grow in ordinary garden soil. 



