MISCELLANEOrS INTELLIGENCE. 119 



leucochilum, the colours of which are darker and brighter contrasting better 

 with the delicate whiteness of the lip ; Epidendrum selligerum, with violet- 

 scented flowers ; Pentlandia miniata, a pretty bulbous plant, with red wax-like 

 flowers; and a dwarf variety of Chorozema varium. covered with a profusion of 

 blossom. 



Gladiolus Cardinalis. — I observe it recommended that the roots of the 

 Gladiolus cardinalis " should, when the leaves have died away, be taken up and 

 separated ; " but I adopt a different system of cultivating this splendid flower. 

 This season I have growing, in a square space of about 12 feet by 7 feet, 500 

 clumps of Gladiolus cardinalis, which are the admiration of all visitors. About 

 the beginning of October, when I wish to propagate them, I take from well- 

 established plants a cluster of corms about one and a half or two feet in circum- 

 ference, and plant them one foot apart, and two or three inches deep, in beds 

 two feet wide, with a little sand at the bottom of the bulbs. In 1839 I planted 

 a bed in this manner, with as little care as I would exert in planting any common 

 herbaceous plant ; they have had no protection since that time ; and in 1840- 

 41 the bed was a mass of strong flowering stems. They will grow here without 

 protection during winter, in any part of the garden, even although the soil is 

 naturallv cold and wet ; and I believe the reason that they grow and flower so 

 freely is that their roots are not divided. I recommend single bulbs to be grown 

 in pots, and protected during winter, especially from damp, until they form a 

 cluster of bulbs; when these have attained sufficient size, they may be planted 

 out with safety. When forced, this plant forms a brilliant ornament for the 

 greenhouse in the beginning of summer. In the month of October I take eight 

 or twelve sized pots, and fill them with as large a mass of the strongest corms as 

 the pots will admit, and protect them till they are required for forcing; this I 

 do every year, and obtain from six to twelve spikes of flower in each pot. — A. 

 Mackenzie, Gardener's Chronicle. 



On the Cultivation of the Neapolitan Violet. — About the beginning of 

 April I collect a quantity of stones one inch in circumference, and look carefully 

 over my frame, laying one stone about an inch from the end of each runner; after 

 which I mix a barrowful of loam and leaf-mould, equal parts, and with a coarse 

 sieve shake it lightly over them an inch thick; afterwards giving them a gentle 

 watering. The lights are put on every night, only exposing them in fine days 

 and during mild showers. The last week in May I take the runners up with a 

 ball, and prepare a piece of ground on a north border, with the same soil as I 

 used in the frame, namely, equal parts of yellow loam, leaf-mould, well-decayed 

 cow-dung, river or road sand, and old lime-rubbish. I plant them in rows 8 

 inches apart each way, watering them in dry weather ; about the beginning of 

 September I prepare my frame, in which my Primulas have grown auring the 

 summer months, by placing at the bottom a layer of bricks, on which coal-ashes 

 are spread within 18 inches of the top. It is then filled up within 5 or 6 inches 

 of the glass, with a fresh supply of the above compost, slightly pressed with a 

 rake. After taking up my plants carefully (but not with too large a ball), 1 

 plant them in rows as above, giving them a good watering, and shading them 

 from the hot sun for about a fortnight with garden mats ; putting the lights on 

 at night. A good thickness of short dung is applied round the outside of the 

 frame, to keep out the frost, which must never be allowed to get to the plants. 

 I generally take up a few with good balls (when in full flower), large enough to 

 fill a 32-sized pot, to stand in the drawing-room. By acting on the above plan, 

 J have a continual supply from November till March. — A.D.M. Gardener's 

 Chronicle. 



stitlt.nt Profbbtibb of an Auricula Flower. — The Tube should lie 

 round, of a yellowish colour, and well filled with anthers. 



The Paile should form a circle of dense, smooth, and pure white. 



Thi; dark or Ground Co/our, whatever it may be, should be rich and bright, 

 circular round the paste, and of a proportionate breadth. 



