252 



Garden and Forest. 



[May 21, 1890. 



is well known that Poppies die down in summer, and this sug- 

 gests that some desirable annual be sown near them, such as 

 Mignonette, to occupy the space. 



The old-fashioned hardy Pinks are delightful border plants. 

 There are perhaps only two kinds that are really hardy — that 

 is, the pink and white. The florists' named kinds are more 

 beautiful, but are not always able to survive the winters out- 

 of-doors, although easily wintered in a cold frame, and they 

 are well worth this little trouble. The easiest method of in- 

 creasing the hardy Pinks is by layering in September, and 

 these, when rooted and potted up, make nice stock for plant- 

 ing out in spring. 



The Iris family is a numerous one, and to mention all that 

 would be useful for cutting would be a difficult task. Iris 

 Sibirica hamatophylla is now covered with dark violet flow- 

 ers, and is one of the earliest to bloom, and certainly is the 

 best of the Sibirica group. The leaves, while young, are 

 blood-red, but afterward turn green, and the plant often pro- 

 duces flowers three times during the summer and autumn. 

 No garden should be without the true Iris Florentina, with its 

 exquisite pale lavender, fragrant flowers. It belongs to and 

 is one of the best of the Germanica section, and is the plant 

 from which the Orris-root of commerce is obtained. The va- 

 rieties of Iris lavigata are so numerous that one cannot say 

 more with regard to them than that they last well when cut, 

 the unopened buds expand in water, and that the more one 

 grows of the better kinds the more the inclination to try others 

 of the same section. 

 Passaic, n.j. E. 0. Or pet. 



Stove Plants. 



A MONG the many old-fashioned stove plants that are 

 ■**- worthy of more general cultivation are some of the 

 Sanchezias, a very effective group belonging to the Acan- 

 thacece. They are easily managed and of strong and rapid 

 growth, and might be described in a general way as having 

 somewhat the appearance of very strong-growing Aphelan- 

 dras, the latter belonging to the same order. The Sanchezias 

 here noted are natives of Ecuador, and should be grown in a 

 warm house, tolerably shaded. They are propagated by 

 means of cuttings, which root readily if given a brisk bottom- 

 heat, and should be potted on from time to time as it be- 

 comes necessary, as when starved they are liable to lose their 

 lower leaves. The flowers are tubular in shape, light yellow 

 in color and produced in a terminal panicle. Their effect is 

 heightened by their being partially enveloped by crimson 

 bracts. The species to which special attention is called are, 

 however, grown more for their foliage than for their flowers, 

 though valuable for either. Sanchezia nobilis variegata is 

 probably the most widely known species, and has large, oppo- 

 site, single leaves, variegated with bright yellow, the variega- 

 tion following the venation of the leaves. S. glaucophylla is 

 another excellent species, and is distinct from the first-men- 

 tioned in various particulars, one noticeable point being found 

 in the shape of the stem ; that of S. glaucophylla being round, 

 while the stem of 5. nobilis is more or less winged. S. glau- 

 cophylla is also handsomely variegated with yellow, with the 

 addition that the midrib of this species is bright red or crim- 

 son. The leaves of these Sanchezias, when well grown, 

 attain a length of from twelve to fifteen inches and a breadth 

 of four to five inches, and they possess much decorative 

 value ; but it should be remembered that to grow them well 

 they need to be kept clean, both mealy-bug and aphis being 

 very partial to them. 



Duranta Baumgartii variegata is a pretty little shrub of 

 South American origin, and though frequently found in a 

 warm house, need not necessarily be grown in a high tem- 

 perature, as it may be used for out-door work in summer. It 

 has opposite leaves of fair size and marked with bright yel- 

 low. This Duranta is easily grown in light loam, but should 

 not be allowed to become very dry or it will be attacked by 

 red spider. Cuttings of soft wood root readily, and the young 

 plants should be pinched back occasionally to keep them in 

 shape, as the natural habit of the plant is somewhat straggling. 



Aiussanda frondosa is a charming stove flowering plant 

 from Ceylon, and, though in cultivation for many years, it is 

 very seldom seen. It belongs to the Rubiacece, and would 

 prove a valuable addition to many collections on account of 

 the striking combination of colors in its flowers. The flowers 

 are produced in racemes, and bear some resemblance to a 

 yellow Jasmine ; but they are surrounded with pure white 

 bracts, the latter being formed by the enlargement of one 

 segment or division of the calyx. M. frondosa is also in- 

 creased by cuttings, which may be put in at almost any time, 

 providing the shoots thus used be moderately soft, though as 



this plant usually flowers in the late summer or in autumn, it 

 is well to root the cuttings early in the spring, so that the 

 plants may be grown on rapidly for fall use in the conserva- 

 tory. The Mussaendas should be potted in a light mixture, 

 equal portions of loam and peat, or leaf-mould, with some 

 sand, making a satisfactory compost. The pots should be 

 well drained, as the plants enjoy liberal watering during the 

 growing season, and a moist atmosphere with some shade 

 will be found beneficial. There are other species of 

 Mussasnda besides the one referred to, some of which are 

 but little known except to botanists. 



Holmesburg, Pa. W 7 - H. Taplin. 



Orchid Notes. 



Dendrobium superbum. — This is a very handsome spe- 

 cies of a pendulous habit, almost always becoming deciduous 

 just as the flower-buds begin to grow ; it has ovate-oblong 

 obtuse leaves, which give the stems a very pretty effect after 

 the growth is finished. The stems grow from two to three 

 feet long, and from each side of these the flowers proceed in 

 rows, each measuring three to four inches in diameter. They 

 are of a beautiful rose-purple color, with a fringed, rich purple 

 lip, marked with a pair of sanguineous spots at the base. 

 They last in perfection three weeks, if kept in a cool, dry at- 

 mosphere. The flowers have a peculiar Rhubarb-like odor, 

 particularly sweet early in the morning, when the sun shines 

 on the house and before the ventilators have been opened. 

 The plants here are in baskets suspended from the roof, in a 

 light, airy place in the summer-flowering Cattleya-house. 

 They enjoy a compost of fibre and sphagnum moss, with a 

 little charcoal to keep it sweet. The plant likes a good supply 

 of water when growing. It is most generally known under 

 the name of D. macrophyllum, the name formerly applied to 

 D. Veitchianum. 



Dendrobium Farmeri. — This is an evergreen, compact- 

 growing species, with delicately beautiful blooms and a habit 

 similar to that of D. densiflorum. The stems are clavate, 

 from a small knob-like base, and are deeply furrowed, so as to 

 become quadrangular. At the point of the stems are three or 

 four ovate, leathery leaves, and from them grow the beautiful, 

 loose-drooping racemes of numerous flowers, which have 

 ovate-obtuse sepals, the larger petals being yellowish white 

 flushed with pink. The lip is straw colored, with a rich yel- 

 low centre, and is denticulate at the margin. It expands its 

 flowers in April, and lasts several weeks in beauty when kept 

 in a cool, dry place. We grow this species in baskets sus- 

 pended from the roof, in the same way that we treat D. su- 

 perbum. It likes a fair quantity of moisture when growing, 

 otherwise it will become covered with thrips ; it should be 

 kept comparatively dry when at rest, or it will not bloom 

 freeiy. We grow this in sphagnum moss, which appears to 

 suit it admirably. . 



Staatsburg-on-the-Hudson. -**. At RMS. 



Cypripedium Rothschildianum. — A plant of this beautiful 

 Cypripedium is now "in flower in the collection of Orchids 

 owned by Hicks Arnold, Esq., in New York City. It is en- 

 tirely distinct and a noteworthy acquisition. It is a vigorous 

 plant, having stout, very broad leaves, from the base of which 

 is produced a scape bearing several flowers. The dorsal 

 sepal on first opening was white, heavily marked with broad 

 lines of a dark purple ; after five or six days the ground color 

 turned to a light yellow. The petals, which measure from 

 four and a half to five inches in length, stand boldly outward, 

 and are striped and spotted with dark purple, the edges being 

 furnished with numerous hairs. The staminode is a distinct- 

 ive feature in this variety, being covered with bluish hairs. 

 The lip is very similar to that of C. Stonei in shape ; the color, 

 however, is somewhat darker. The plant requires a tempera- 

 ture slightly warmer than the majority of Cypripediums, and 

 dislikes being in a large pot. Peat, moss and turfy loam, in 

 equal proportions, make a good compost. With a tempera- 

 ture of sixty-five to seventy degrees it will be found an easy 

 plant to cultivate. . , 



Summit, n. j.. A. Dimmock. 



Fritillaria armaena. — This is a small sized species, about four 

 inches high, from Asia Minor. The stems, are clothed with 

 pale green lanceolate leaves, and the dark purple, bell-shaped 

 flowers, borne on pedicels an inch and a half long, appear 

 singly or in pairs at the top. The pedicels turn downward at 

 their extremities and thus the flowers assume the nodding po- 

 sition characteristic of the genus. At the Bussey Institute (a 

 department of Harvard University), I noticed, during the lat- 

 ter part of April, a group of a yellow-flowered variety of F. 



