534 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE, 



[NoVEJlBEK l(i, 188§ 



servatory culture in pots, and those of bushy and 

 floriferous habit, which lend themselves perfectly to 

 various phases of open-air culture as planted out in 

 beds and borders. 



The work really begins with a well written intro- 

 ductory chapter, followed by one containing a brief 

 sketch of the order or family to which these plants 

 naturally belong, in which, however, we find no 

 reference to the investigation of the nature of the 

 tuber by M. Duchartre, nor to the monograph of the 

 late M. Fournier in the Journal of the National 

 Horticultural Society of France, and which contains 

 much the fullest and best account of the botany of 

 the subject. The history and morphology of the 

 plants was also treated at length in these columns, 

 with illustrations, on August 26, 18S2. The history 

 of the tuberous Begonia is sketched, and chapters 

 provided dealing with propagation from seed or 

 cuttings, cultivation in pots ; on double-flowered 

 kinds, and on Begonias for exhibition and for late 

 autumnal flowering. The chapter on the new race 

 of winter flowering Begonias will be read with 

 interest, and as being both suggestive and prophetic 

 of better things to come. Then we have a dis- 

 sertation on Begonias for beds during the summer 

 season, and valuable chapters on hybridisation and 

 seed saving; the best form of Begonia-house, and, 

 finally, a select list or catalogue of the very finest 

 varieties at present in cultivation, both single and 

 double-flowered. 



The book is tolerably well illustrated with wood- 

 cuts of some of the species and varieties described, 

 and there are good portraits of Mr. Laing, Mr. 

 Cannell, and last, but by no means least, one of the 

 late Mr. Richard Pearce, the Veitchian traveller and 

 collector in Bolivia and Peru, to whose courage and 

 ability the introduction of most of the original types 

 was due, and whose name will be ever green in the 

 memory of all who grow such other of his introduc- 

 tions Lapageria alba, Hippeastrum Leopoldi, and 

 H. pardinum. The sudden death of Mr. Pearce was 

 a loss to British horticulture, and one more addition 

 to that army of martyrs to science and duty, who 

 have sprung from the ranks of the gardening frater- 

 nity. It is most interesting to know that all these 

 varieties of hybrid and cross-bred Begonias, now 

 so numerous, so varied and so beautiful, are the 

 descendants of six wild species, all introduced in the 

 following order from Peru and Bolivia, where they 

 grow at a considerable elevation above the sea. 



1. B. boliviensis was the first of the whole group 

 discovered by the late Richard Pearce in Bolivia, 

 and sent to Chelsea by him in 1864. In 1867 it was 

 figured and described in the Botanical Magazine, 

 t. 5657, as "a tuberous-rooted deciduous kind, 

 attaining an average height of 2 feet." Its stems 

 were fleshy, but rather slender, the leaves rather 

 small and deflected, with serrate margins, and its 

 vermilion-red flowers were pendulous from the axils 

 of the ascending stem. Our illustration (fig. 75, 

 p. 536), shows the natural size of leaf and flowers. 

 Curiously enough the plant seems to have dis- 

 appeared from cultivation. 



2. B. Pearcci was introduced in 1865, having pre- 

 viously been collected at La Paz in Bolivia by its 

 discoverer, after whom it is most appropriately 

 named. It is a plant of dwarf habit, having dark 

 blotched leaves of a rich velvet-like green tint, and 

 pure yellow flowers about an inch or more across, 

 It is figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 5545, and 

 its marked characters of leafage and colour of flower 

 are as a rule very easily detected in its progeny of 

 to-day. 



3. B. Veitchii, a bold and distinct plant, also found 

 by Mr. Pearce, was introduced in 1867, and it was 

 figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 5663, where its 

 habit is said to be that of " Saxifraga ciliata, and 

 immense flowers of a vivid cinnabar-red that no 

 colonrist can produce." This plant was found grow- 

 ing near Cuzco in Peru, at an elevation of 12,500 

 feet. It is a bold and effective plant, even in its 

 original state, being moreover quite hardy in many 

 localities in England and Ireland, and although now 

 surpassed by some of its seminal descendants one can 



never forget that it is to this species that most of 

 their superior qualities are due. Our illustration 

 (fig. 76, p. 536), shows a male and a female flowers 

 of B. Veitch of the natural size. 



4. B. rosmjlora. — Another Andean species, found 

 at an altitude of 12,000 feet, introduced by Messrs. 

 Veitch to Chelsea, where it bloomed in 1867. It 

 has orbicular fleshy leaves, similar to those of B. 

 Veitchii, and two to three-flowered scapes of pale 

 rosy flowers about 2 inches in diameter. It has been 

 of far less moment than its ally, B. Veitchii, as a 

 parent, but to its paler flowered varieties we are 

 indebted for the Queen of Whites of 1878, and for 

 rosea superba, a variety sent out in 1880. B. rosaj- 

 flora is figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 5680. 



5. B. Davisii (fig. 74). — Another remarkable 

 Veitchian introduction from Peru discovered by 

 Mr. Walter Davis, near Chupe, at an elevation of 

 10,000 feet. It first flowered at Chelsea in 1876, and 

 was distributed in 1S79. This is a distinct species of 

 d.varf and compact habit, its leaves being tufted, and 

 from among them its erect scapes rise to a height of 

 6 to 9 inches, each bearing three flowers of a brilliant 

 orange-scarlet colour. By crossing the progeny of 

 B Veitchii and B. boliviensis with B. Davisii, some 

 remarkably brilliant tinted forms have been derived 

 of both the single and the double blossomed types. 

 B. Davisii is figured in the Botanical Magazine, at 

 t. 6252. 



6- B. Clarkci. — This plant somewhat resembles 

 B. Veitchii, and, like it, is supposed to have come 

 from Peru, but it is very much less hardy — a fact 

 which suggests the possibility of its naturally growing 

 at a lower altitude. It first flowered with Colonel 

 Trevor Clarke, at Welton Place, Daventry, he having 

 previously received it from Messrs. E. G. Henderson 

 & Sons. Growing 2 feet in height, it bears flowers 

 of a bright rosy-red colour 2 inches or more in 

 diameter, and its leaves are 6 or 8 inches across, and 

 of a dull green colour. Like B. rosseflora it has been 

 but very slightly employed by the hybridisers. It is 

 figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 5675. There 

 are two other species, both with great potentialities 

 as winter bloomers, viz., B. Procbelii and B. 

 socotrana, and as such deserving of notice. Messrs. 

 Veitch have a series of hybrids from B. Frcebelii, 

 whilst Mr. John Heal has succeeded in rearing a 

 variety of considerable merit which bears his name, 

 by crossing the female flow«rs of B. socotrana (a 

 species introduced from Socotra by Professor 

 Balfour), see fig. 77, with the pollen of a hyhrid 

 named Viscountess Doneraile. This (John Heal) 

 is one of the most remarkable of all the hybrids 

 produced since Mr. Seden raised the original hybrid 

 B. Sedeni in 1869 or 1870. Viscountess Doneraile 

 was raised between B. Monarch (= B. Sedeni X B. 

 intermedia) and B. Sedeni (= B. boliviensis X 

 species?) so that John Heal contains within itself 

 the characteristic of B. socotrana (section Augustia), 

 B. Sedeni (section Barya), and Monarch (section 

 Huszia). It is a dwarf habited plant, and botanically 

 interesting as its paniculate inflorescence produces 

 rosy crimson male flowers only. Since John Heal 

 was raised Messrs. Veitch have brought forward 

 two other hybrids, viz., Adonis with rose-coloured 

 flowers, and Winter Gem, and as these begin 

 blooming in October and November, and continue 

 during a great part of the winter it is now possible 

 to enjoy the flowers of one or other of the sections 

 of the tuberous Begonia all the year round. 



One might say much more as to the peculiar merits, 

 and especially as to the botanical peculiarities of 

 these flowers, as developed by their prime intro- 

 ducers, Messrs. Veitch, and by such noted raisers as 

 Messrs. Laing and Cannell, but for the present we 

 must refer our readers to the book itself, as the most 

 complete and reliable epitome of all that is practi- 

 cally known to-day of the now popular tuberous- 

 rooted section of the genus Begonia. 



MELONS. — Alphonse Karr owns to a weakness 

 for Melons, but has not yet experienced the fate of 

 Pope Paul, who died one morning after having eaten 

 two large Melons for supper the night before. The 

 Emperor Albert of Austria in 1459, according to the 

 same authority, died from eating too freely of 

 Melon, 



Orchid Notes and Gleanings. 



ORCHIDS AT GHYLLBANK, ST. HELENS. 



Whether the ecclesiastical looking edifice devoted 

 to the manufacture of Beecham's pills has a benign 

 influence on and acts as an antidote to the poison 

 ejected into the air of St. Helens from hundreds of 

 tall chimnies of copper, glass, and other factories 

 which abound in the neighbourhood is not yet 

 proved, but certain is it that the collection of 

 Orchids which W. J. Thomson, Esq., has got 

 together in that smoke-laden district does not seem 

 in the least to resent the unpleasant state of things 

 in the atmosphere around them. Assiduous care on 

 the part of the enthusiastic owner and his careful 

 gardener may have doubtless much to do with 

 the good condition of the plants, but still no more 

 pointed instance could be found anywhere of the 

 adaptability of these plants for growing in un- 

 wholesome surroundings, such as are found at 

 St. Helens. Good showy things are appreciated 

 at Ghyllbank, and in its houses handsome re- 

 presentatives of the showy Cattleyas, Ladias, 

 Odontoglossums, &c, are to be found, but here 

 also find a home a large number of interesting 

 things, such as Cirrhopetalums, Sarcanthus, Epiden- 

 drum, and others usually denominated botanical 

 curiosities, bat which somehow or other never fail to 

 attract a large amount of attention when in bloom. 

 A glance at the plants now in bloom will serve as a 

 sample of the constantly changing display to be 

 found here. We may notice, first, a giant plant of the 

 graceful Cymbidium elegans, with ten flower-spikes ; 

 then a C. Lowianum to match, sending up its 

 spikes beside it ; beside these were some pans of 

 Pleione lagenaria and P. maculata, with over fifty 

 expanded flowers on each ; some fine Ljelia proe- 

 stans, a magnificent Swan Orchid (Cycnoches 

 chlorochilon), the pretty Catastum roseo-album, and 

 overhead the pretty Ionopsis utricularioides, with its 

 graceful sprays of lilac and white flowers ; and the 

 neat little Leptotes bicolor. Some rare and curious 

 Polystachyas, too, were in bloom, some well flowered 

 Oncidium nnguiculatum, a noble example of Odon- 

 toglossum Uro-Skinneri, and the singular Epiden- 

 drum umbellatum, with its large greenish-white 

 flowers and fleshy leaves arranged like a large green 

 Nanodes. 



The collection contains many rare Angracums, 

 and in the East Indian-house a plant of the hand- 

 some ivory-white A. Chailluianum had three fine 

 sprays often flowers each; and the pretty A. pes- 

 tusum, and the curious A. ichnenmoneum were in 

 bloom. In the same house were Phakenopsis San- 

 deriana, P. Lowi, P. cornu-cervi, and P. Schroderiana, 

 and a magnificently bloomed lot of Eucharis ama- 

 zouica, which arranged well with the Orchids. 



The Cattleyas and Lrelias are very stout, healthy, 

 and well sheathed for bloom. Some nice plants of 

 the pretty and fragrant C. luteola were in flower, and 

 also good examples of C. Eldorado, a species which 

 when grown well forms a handsome plant. 



The Odontoglossum-house contained representa- 

 tives of most of the good things called cold-house 

 plants, and some were in bloom ; while in flower in 

 other houses were the true Paphinia grandis with 

 disproportionately large crimson and white flowers, 

 considering the small size of the plant ; Vanda 

 coorulea, Galeandra Baueri, Dendrobium sanguino- 

 lentum, Restrepia antennifera, Miltonia Moreliana, 

 M. Candida, Epidendrum vitellinum, &c. 



Among the collection of choice Cypripediums in 

 flower were large plants of C. Sedeni, C. S. candidti- 

 lum, C. Spicerianuin, C. Leeanum, C. cahirum, C. 

 Argus, C. Pearcei, &c. 



In a district devoted almost solely to business, 

 Ghyllbank and its Orchids make a bright spot, the 

 pleasure of which can only be known to their genial 

 owner and his friends. 



Cattleya Bowmngiana. 



This lovely Orchid will no doubt in the near future 



be extensively grown, flowering as it does when 



