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Fine Orchids. — We take great pleasure in an occasional visit to the grounds 

 of Gardiner G. Hubbard, Esq., in Cambridge, where, under the skilful manage- 

 ment of our correspondent, John G. Barker, is grown the largest collection of 

 those curious and beautiful plants, the orchids, to be found in this part of the 

 country. A few days ago Mr. Barker invited us to see a remarkably fine speci- 

 men of Bletia Tankervillia^ which had produced nearly a hundred and fifty 

 flowers. There were on it ten spikes of flowers, some of them more than three 

 feet high, and the chestnut-brown color of the inside of the petals contrasted 

 with the perfect white of their outsid^, and the fine white nectarium, shaded 

 and streaked with crimson, give the flower a striking and beautiful appearance. 

 A young plant of Dendrobiiini iiobile was also in flower. Its petals of deli- 

 cate pink or flesh color, darker at the tips, and lip of straw color, with a rich 

 purple centre, and shaded with pink around the edge, enabled us to form some 

 idea of the magnificence of the plant mentioned in our last number. 



A plant of Oncidium cornigerufn, with ten of its gracefully drooping spikes, 

 covered with small yellow flowers, spotted with rich brown, was nearly in full 

 bloom. Besides these, we may mention Onciditnn amictum, with flowers re- 

 sembling O. comigenim, but much larger, Lcelia anceps, with petals of beautiful 

 lilac and purple lip, and though last not least, a fine plant of Cattleya MossicB, 

 which we saw last summer. This is one of the most magnificent of all orchi- 

 daceous plants, with very large flowers, having purple petals, and the inside of the 

 lip golden yellow, with blotches of deep crimson, and possessing a most powerful 

 fragrance. We might enumerate many more of these singular plants had we time 

 and space ; but we hope to give what will be much better, — a series of practical 

 articles on the cultivation of orchids from Mr. Barker, which will be of much 

 interest and value to all lovers of these plants. 



VOL. IX. 10 14s 



