420 Transactions of the Horticultural Society. 



50. On the Cultivation of the Species and Varieties of Hedychium. 

 By Mr. Joseph Cooper, C.M.H.S. Botanic Gardener at Went- 

 worth House, Yorkshire. 



The Hedychiums are a beautiful and fragrant family of 

 reed-like plants from India. They are cultivated to great 

 perfection at Wentworth House, and excite the admiration of 

 botanists and others who call at this magnificent establish- 

 ment. Mr. Cooper is very properly not altogether indifferent 

 to the applause which will always be bestowed on distinguished 

 merit, and very properly remarks, that " cultivators of plants 

 ought not to be insensible to the observations of those who 

 are competent to judge of their labours ; seeing, that what- 

 ever is calculated to excite them to excel or to improve, must 

 be very beneficial to them, and perhaps ultimately to the public 

 at large." We visited these gardens in October 1826, and shall 

 not repeat compliments to which Mr. Cooper must be familiar- 

 ised, but only mention that we were agreeably surprised to find 

 him as much aufait as to what was going on in the botanical 

 world, as if he lived in the neighbourhood of London, a con- 

 sequence resulting from his regular perusal of the principal 

 botanical periodicals. We have also to thank Mr. Cooper 

 for the suggestion of an improvement in the arrangement of 

 the botanical department of this Magazine. 



The Hedychiums are done flowering in the month of Oc- 

 tober, from which time till the month of March Mr. Cooper 

 keeps them in the hot-house, but gives them no water : — in the 

 latter month, he shifts them into fresh pots, with a compost 

 formed of rich strong loam, three parts, and one part of peat 

 and rotten dung well mixed. The drainings in the bottom of 

 the pots are covered with good dung ; the roots are parted, 

 and those chosen which are the strongest and fittest for 

 flowering. Only a <f %, \ J 121 



little water is given 

 at first, but after- 

 wards, when they' 

 are advanced in 

 growth, they can| 

 hardly have tool 

 much. The seven- 

 teen different sorts| 

 which are in this! 

 collection have a| 

 division of a stove 

 for themselves ; — 

 they are placed on the surface of the pit, and in this situation 

 some of them rise to the height of twelve feet, flowering mag- 



