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JOURNAL OF HOBTIOULTURE AND OOTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 26, 1874. 



Mahonia, green Holly, Golden Queen Holly, BerberisDarwinii, 

 B. stenophylla, Aucuba japonica, Cotoneaster Simmonsii, Eu- 

 onyiiius latifolius, E. ovatua aureus, E. radicans, and the com- 

 mon Box, with YucoarecurTa, Y.filamentosa, andY. glorioea. If 

 ornamental climbers are required for the walls take Cotoneaster 

 microphylla, Berberidopsis corallina, Escallonia macrantha, 

 E. pteroeladon, Garrya elliptica, Crataegus Pyraoantha, Jas- 

 minum nudiflorum, J. oEficinale, Lonicera flexuosa,and Ampe- 

 lopsis Veitchii. 



Vegetable culture should be confined to salads, as Eadishes, 

 Mustard and Cress, Lettuce, Endive, Chervil, Tarragon, with 

 such herbs as Mint, Sage, Thyme, Savory, Chives, and Parsley. 

 Two or three roots of Rhubarb might also be added. — Edwaed 



LnCKHUEST. 



NOVELTIES IN THE EOYAL GARDENS, KEW. 



Entering the Orchid house from the new porch, an improve- 

 ment recently erected, we first notice a fine plant of Odonto- 

 glosaum biotoniense, sending-up several vigorous flower stems 

 that will bloom for months. Underneath are some good 

 masBea of Cypripedium insigne, which, though common, is 

 one of the best for general cultivation. Lycaste Skinneri is 

 represented by good varieties, and is one of the best and finest 

 Orchids for winter-blooming. Oacidium bracteatum is curious 

 from its large, dry, and thin bracts ; it has yellow and blackish 

 brown flowers. Liparis pendula is very graceful from its tail- 

 like racemes of small green flowers. Next is a good variety 

 of Oncidium crispum, with 0. exoavatum and 0. obryzatum. 

 Odontoglossums are represented by 0. grande, 0. cordatum, 

 0. Uro-Skinneri, and 0. bictoniense before mentioned. Meso- 

 spinidium vulcanicum is very pretty, with flowers in colour 

 like Broughtonia sanguinea. The latter is often found to 

 dwindle from the time of importation ; it should be grown on 

 a block where there is plenty of heat and moisture. Maxil- 

 laria setigera is pretty from its orange flowers ; as a rule the 

 genus is not ornamental, though several are worth growing. 

 There are a few interesting Cypripediums : the new C. EoezUi, 

 named after the energetic collector ; C. pardinum, C. barbatum 

 superbum, and two hybrids, C. Dominianum (C. caudatum 

 X C. Pearcei), and C. Harrisiauum (C. villosnm x C. barbatum), 

 both obtained by the enterprise of Mr. Dominy. Calanthe 

 Veitchii is another hybrid between C. vestita and Limatodes 

 rosea, also effected by Mr. Dominy, which, with other kinds of 

 Calanthe, is very effective. Of Phala-nopsis in flower are 

 flourishing plants of P. amabilis, P. graudiflora, and P. rosea. 

 Dpndrobium aqueum has pure white flowers, but is not very 

 free in blooming. Eulophia guiueensis is very ornamental, 

 and not at all common. The flower stems are erect ; the lip is 

 rosy pink, from which the beauty of the plant, and then the 

 upturned sepals and petals afford a distinct character. Of 

 several Epidendrums, the most worthy is the ever-in-flower 

 cochleatum. It was among the first epiphytal Orchids intro- 

 duced, and is not yet to be despised, though few cultivators 

 think it of much value. There are two forms, the one much 

 larger than the other. Brassavola cordata is ornamental, 

 though, excepting the white lip, its flowers are green. Many 

 others less conspicuous are also in flower. 



Dombeya Burgessfe is very pretty, flowering in the Palm 

 house, it is allied to Astrapasa. The blooms are white, with 

 crimson at the base of the petals. The branches sometimes 

 require eutting-in to induce a bushy growth. A stove or inter- 

 mediate-house temperature is requisite. Cuttings are easOy 

 rooted under a bell-glass. Loam and peat in equal parts, 

 with a portion of sand, form a good compost. It is a genus 

 but little known in gardens, several of the species are worth 

 cultivation. 



Salvia lantanifolia is used with good effect in No. 4, and 

 being little known we have to recommend it for oonservatoi-y 

 decoration, not as surpassing the species already in general 

 use, but as worthy of cultivation for the sake of variety. It 

 has a dense freely branching habit ; the leaves are ovate, finely 

 serrated, dark green, and about 3 inches long. The flowers 

 are of a rosy tint, quite different from the scarlet of the three 

 more oommonly-growu kinds — S. Ileeri, S. gesner.Tjflora, and 

 S. splendens. These and Chrysanthemums may be planted 

 out of doors in summer. The cuttings should be struck in 

 spring, so that good plants may be had for planting-out as 

 soon as frost is over. Select a moderately rich piece of ground, 

 if in the full sun so much the better, and let the plants be bo 

 wide apart as to allow sufficient room for the watering and 

 staking required to be done. Stopping the shoots must be 



attended to. The Salvias must be taken up before they can be 

 injured by frost, and the Chrysanthemums about the time 

 when the flower buds are forming. Care is necessary, so as to 

 obtain good balls, and injure the roots as little as possible. 

 After potting the plants must be placed in a shady position, 

 and be syringed occasionally ; pots must be used as small as 

 the balls will allow. This part of the treatment requires care, 

 or the leaves will drop so as to disfigure the specimens. The 

 practice of planting-out is not perhaps to be recommended 

 as the best system of cultivation, but, when little time and 

 trouble can be given, it will certainly produce the best results. 

 The objection is that the leaves fall after the plants are potted, 

 but with care so few will drop as not to disfigure the plants. 

 Circumstances, however, must always decide the best method 

 of cultivation. 



The Victoria regia still continues to flower, and is likely to 

 last- longer than usual, which may be attributed to mild 

 weather ; when cold so much moisture is condensed as to 

 cause excessive drip. In this tank is a specimen of the remark- 

 able and interesting Nipa fruticans. It has the foliage of a 

 Palm, and horticulturally may be considered as such ; but the 

 fruit is more like that of a Pandanus, and to the order of 

 which it is usually referred. In Dr. Hooker's " Le Maont and 

 Decaisne " it is constituted a separate order, which is doubt- 

 less correct, as it does not accord well either with Paudanacete 

 or Palmse, though possessing some of the characters of both. 

 It may be considered as a link between the two. It is of much 

 interest from the circumstance that a similar plant abounds in 

 the tertiary formations at the mouth of the Thames, " where 

 the nuts floated about in as great profusion as here (mouth of 

 the Ganges), till buried deep in the silt and sand that now 

 form the island of Sheppey" (Dr. Hooker's "Himalayan 

 Journal "). According to the theory of evolution, if not quite 

 the same as Nipa, we may presume it to be the origin of that 

 plant, perhaps contemporary with the monkey stage of man's 

 development ! The leaves are trinnatisect, and often more 

 than 20 feet long. Its cultivation is attended with some 

 difficulty. The pot should stand in water at a temperature of 

 85° to about half way up, and that appears to be the most 

 important point, provided that it has a position in the warmest 

 stove. The soU should consist of good loam without enriching 

 material. The nuts if sent dry in the usual way are most 

 likely to arrive dead, but if placed in the soil of a Ward's 

 case will germinate on the way, and every* one may make a 

 plant. They will first require large CO or 48-sized pots, and 

 must be shifted on as necessary, preferring to perform the 

 operation not later than early summer. It appears to be of 

 much economic value. The leaves are used as thatch, when 

 pounded are applied to cure the bites of centipedes, and a 

 decoction is good for wounds ; when burnt they afford a supply 

 of salt. Toddy is extracted from the spathe, and used in 

 various ways. The interior of the fruit also is edible before it 

 is quite ripe. It inhabits the swampy estuaries of the large 

 rivers of India and the Moluccas. 



SOUTH ESSEX CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY. 



Tee sixteenth Exhibition of this Society was held in the 

 Town Hall, Stratford, on the 14th and ICth iust. As usual, the 

 specimen plants were a marked feature in the Show, but were 

 confined principally to three exhibitors — viz., Mr. D. Donald, 

 gardener to F. G. Barclay, Esq., of Leyton; Mr. Simmonds, 

 gardener to Alderman Finnie, of Wanstead; and Mr. J. Douglas, 

 gardener to F. Whitbourn, Esq., Loxford Hall, Ilford. The 

 best large-flowered specimens were sent by Mr. Donald. Mr. 

 Simmonds had some very neatly-trained examples, and his 

 foliage was very healthy. Those from Mr. Douglas had flowers 

 of rather better quality, but the training and the foliage were not 

 so perfect, so that the Judges after much deliberation placed 

 the collections equal. 



The Pompon section was well represented. Mr. Douglas was 

 placed first here, Mr. Simmonds second, and Mr. Donald third. 



Decorative plants from Messrs. Donald and Douglas, and 

 fruit from Mr. Douglas, helped to give variety to the Exhibition, 

 which was weak in one point this year — viz., cut flowers ; all the 

 growers complained that their blooms were over. C. Sannder- 

 Bon, Esq., of Victoria Terrace, had the best blooms, and these 

 were remarkably fresh and of large size. Mention must also be 

 made of the neatly-trained well-flowered standards, both of the 

 large-flowered and Pompon section, sent by Mr. Rainbow, of 

 Clapton, and to which first prizes were in each case awarded. 



Mildness of the Season. — I have now ripe Strawberries in 

 my garden without the slightest protection; the plants are 



