November 22, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



401 



neighbouring heights, and that some 26 additional acres are 

 about to be added. "Siberia" waB at length reached, and 

 there I found on a most exposed spot 30 acres of excellent 

 peat land, and covered with Bhododendrons, Heaths, Men- 

 aiesias, Andromedas, Ledums, Azaleas, Kalmias, and Conifers 

 — all in robust health, for puny plants would never stand 

 wintering in such an exposed and elevated situation. From 

 this nursery we went to another and another — in all nine or 

 ten, each being the home of plants happy and thriving in the 

 appropriate variety of soil, climate, and local ciroumstances. 



What struck me most at Siberia after the immense breadths 

 of Bhododendrons was the enormous quantity of hardy 

 Heaths. I do not exaggerate when I say there are many acres 

 of them. Nor let it be supposed that there are only some 

 half-dozen sorts ; there are at least fifty, many being most 

 distinct and ornamental. Thus, of Erica tetralix there are 

 ten kinds — the cross-leaved white, the woolly-leaved, Mackay's 

 crimson, the Cornish, the ordinary white form, the large- 

 flowered, and the red. But Erica vulgaris outnumbers this 

 kind considerably, there being twenty sorts grown, of which 

 Hammond's white, the rigid, Allport's (crimsoD), the golden- 

 leaved, and Foxii, a very pigmy among Heaths, most interested 

 me. There, too, in vast quantities is Erica carnea, and a white 

 form shortly to be distributed, and which seems to be as useful 

 and ornamental as the well-known flesh-coloured variety. 

 From what I saw I am convinced that hardy Heaths are not 

 known half as much as they deserve to be. 



The Rhododendrons, from tiny seedlings scarcely visible up 

 to grand well-grown specimens, including a magnificent assort- 

 ment of the best named varieties, were something to remember, 

 and I was informed the stock of these plants numbered over 

 five millions ! also that of hardy Azaleas there were 200,000, 

 and of Heaths 150,000. These numbers are not guesses, but 

 are actual figures from the stock books of the business. A 

 very curious and interesting piece of information is afforded 

 by the same books as to the popularity or demand for certain 

 plants. Thus, I found there was a stock of 10,000 Picea 

 nobilis, while of the handsome, varied, cheap, and useful 

 Cupressus Lawsoniana the numbers run up to 50,000. Of 

 Laurels there are 100,000, of B ->x trees 20,000, of Limes 10,000, 

 and of Mountain Ashes 200,000. These statistics might be 

 indefinitely added to, but enough has been given to illustrate 

 the varying demand and the vigorous efforts made to meet it 

 in what to me is the sweetest of the Derbyshire dales. 



I saw some very pretty forms of Cotoneastere. Simmondsii 

 is, of course, in abundance, but C. rupestris is to my thinking 

 •vastly superior; while one variety, the name of which I forget, 

 seems an admirable substitute forthe richly-berried Pyraoantha. 



Of berried plants, of which most of us are fond, why are 

 not Pernettyas more generally grown? At Darley Dale I saw 

 plants roBy pink in hue from the masses of fruit borne by 

 them. They are dwarf, evergreen, profusely covered with 

 •berries, and handsome in the extreme when in flower. A 

 plant which I always thought to be P. muoronata Mr. Smith 

 told me was P. speciosa. Then, again, for those who deBire 

 a most useful berried plant for cover, what is there better than 

 Gaultheria Shallon ? It is most fruitful, very cheap, and hand- 

 some withal. 



I find I have exhausted my space and left no room to 

 dilate on many other subjects of interest. I should like to 

 tell of the glorious collection of hardy Ferns, which is a pet 

 speciality of Mr. Smith, and could fill a column with brief 

 references to noteworthy Conifera? which I saw in prime 

 'Condition. I could also explain a phenomenon of the cottage 

 gardens of the district, in which I saw superior vegetables, 

 handsome shrubs, and pretty flowers. I may, perhaps, on a 

 future occasion, if the Editors will allow me, have something 

 more to say about what I saw in end about Darley Dale.— 

 Phtt.anthes. 



[By all means say more. — Eds.] 



SCOTTISH HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 



The ordinary monthly meeting of this Association was held 

 in 5, St. Andrew Square, on Tuesday evening, the 6th of Novem- 

 ber. There were about ninety members present. The Presi- 

 dent occupied the chair. After the reading of the minutes 

 fifteen new members were duly elected, which makes the mem- 

 bership now over two hundred. 



Mr. Robertson Mnnro, Abercrn Nursery, Edinburgh, read 

 an able and interesting paper on " Hybridisation," being a con- 

 tinuation of a former paper on the same subject. He gave de- 

 tails of his own experience in hybridising and cross-breeding, 



and also referred in general terms to Mr. Darwin's views on the 

 subject. An animated discussion followed on the opinions 

 advanced by the essayist. In illustration of his paper Mr. Munro 

 exhibited specimens of various hybrids, especially PasBifloraB, 

 the result of his own manipulation. The thanks of the meeting 

 were awarded to him for his paper. 



The Chairman announced that Mr. John Downie, of Messrs. 

 Downie & Laird, had placed at the disposal of the Association 

 the sum of £5 to be divided into four prizes for competition by 

 journeymen gardenerp, members of the Association, for the best 

 original plan of a flower garden. The meeting awarded a hearty 

 vote of thanks to Mr. Downie for bio handsome donation, and 

 remitted the matter to the Council, who have arranged that all 

 plans be sent to the Secretary, under motto, by the 1st of Feb- 

 ruary, 1878, each accompanied by a sealed envelope containing 

 the competitor's name and address. 



PORTRAITS of PLANTS, FLOWERS, and FRUITS. 



Dkacena reflexa. Nat. ord., Liliaceaa. Linn., Hexandria 

 Monogynia. — " This is the typical form of the Bois de Chan- 

 delle of Mauritius. The plant is spread widely through 

 tropical Africa and runs into numerous varieties. It has long 

 been known in cultivation. It may be known from the other 

 cultivated Dracaenas with lanceolate sessile leaves by the looser 

 disposition of its leaves upon the stem and by its solitary 

 flowers, with a very short perianth tube. D. cernua o"f Jaequin 

 is a variety of the same plant, with a drooping panicle, longer 

 pedicels, and leaves edged with red. Our specimen flowered 

 some time ago in the Palm house at Kew. It is an erect shrub, 

 with slender branches, reaching a height of from 6 to 20 feet." 

 —{Bot. Mag., t. 6327.) 



Vanda ciERULEscE^s var. Boxallii. Nat. ord., Orchidacea;. 

 Linn., Gynandria Monandria. — " This lovely form of Vanda 

 cfflrulescens was figured from a specimen flowered by Messrs. 

 Low of Clapton last June. It is merely a horticultural form 

 of the tjpe species, presenting no tangible botanical difference 

 entitling it to rank as a variety. Those specimens in which 

 the outer perianth becomes pure white must be especially 

 charming. In the flowers figured they are a verv pale violet." 

 — {Ibid., t. 6328.) 



jEchhea (Chevallieea) Veitchii. Nat. ord., Bromeliacea?. 

 Linn., Hexandria Monogynia. — " This is a very fine new Bro- 

 meliad, discovered by Gustave Wallis in New Grenada in 1874, 

 and introduced this present year into cultivation by Messrs. 

 Veitch. It is closely allied to the Costa-rican JEchmea Maria? 

 reginaa of Wendland, and belongB to the section Chevalliera, 

 which was proposed as a genus by Gaudiohaud (Atlas, Voy. de 

 la Bonite, tab. 61-62), and has been maintained as such by 

 Grisebach and Morren."— (Ibid., t. 6329.) 



Calceolakia loeata. Nat. ord., Scrophulariacese. Linn., 

 Diandria Monogynia. — " We are indebted to MesErs. Veitch 

 for this very interesting addition to our cultivated species of 

 Calceolaria. It is a denEe-growing herb from 7 or 8 inches to 

 a foot or more in height, flowering profusely in the autumn. 

 The corolla is pale yellow with deep brown-purple spots towards 

 the base of the lower lip, which is remarkably long and folded 

 back upon itself about the middle." — (Ibid., t. 6330.) 



Bollea Lalindei. Nat. ord., Orchidacese. Linn., Gynan- 

 dria Monandria. — " For the discovery of this beautiful species 

 we are indebted to Mr. Lilinde of Medellin. A freEh flower 

 was furnished to Dr. Beichenbach by MeEsrs. Veitch in 1874. 

 Our figure is from a specimen flowered by Messrs. Williams of 

 Holloway last August, which differs materially in colour from 

 the plant described by Beiohenbach. In the latter the flower 

 is of a beautiful bright violet with the tip of the upper sepal 

 green, the lower half of the lower sepals brownish purple ; 

 the lip deep orange and the column deep purplish. Notwith- 

 standing these great differences in colouration, there is no doubt 

 as to the agreement of the specimen here figured with Beichen- 

 bach's specific description in the diagnostic characters taken 

 from the peculiar form of the lip, and the great breadth of 

 the column which completely arches over the plaited palate." 

 -(Ibid.,t. 6331.) 



ROSES IN NOVEMBER. 

 It is many years since we have had Buch a fine autumn as 

 we have had this year. Bobos were beautiful here until No- 

 vember 7th, when I cut a bouquet of flowers which were equal 

 to summer blooms, the following being the finest : — Dapuy- 

 Jamain, Victor Verdier, Duke of Edinburgh, Baronne de 

 Rothschild, Charles Lefebvre, Niphetos, and last — that best of 



