July 23, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



361 



other class of plants, however showy or beautiful. Every 

 grower who has been chastened by the average visitor, who, 

 fearing *' to be dilated with the wrong emotion," notices only 

 the well known flowers and looks coldly on the unknown 

 treasures, should provide a tank for a certain attraction. 

 Elizabeth, n.j. J. N. Gerard. 



" The King of Lilies." 



T AM not aware that the great Himalayan Lily — Lilium 

 gig&nteum — has been previously grown in the open air in 

 this state; it is a stranger to western New York, I have reason 

 to believe, until this season. 



My first experience with this Lily dates back to the autumn 

 of 1885, when several flowering bulbs were sent me from Eng- 

 land. The gigantic conical bulbs were potted and housed in 

 a cool house over winter and planted in the open in the spring, 

 only to be cut down and killed by an unexpected sharp frost 

 during early May. The following autumn a dozen small bulbs 

 were sent me by a friend in North Wales. These, likewise, 

 were potted and housed over winter, with the exception of 

 three, which were planted late in November in the hardy fern- 

 ery. The latter all put forth leaves the following spring, show- 

 ing conclusively that the species is hardy in this climate. The 

 remaining bulbs were also placed in the fernery and the 

 shaded portion of the rock-garden. Of eight of the dozen 

 bulbs which survived, four have just blossomed, the remaining 

 four being strong plants which, unquestionably, will produce 

 flower stalks next season. 



The plants have all received a slight winter protection of 

 leaves; and every spring the early projecting crown has been 

 protected by pots or other covering whenever any danger 

 from frost has appeared, this Lily being one of the Very first 

 plants to show above ground in spring and being extremely 

 sensitive to sudden cold. The stem begins its ascent 

 early in the season, throwing out the large heart-shaped leaves, 

 which diminish in size as they advance upon the stem, the 

 flowers forming in a great raceme at the extremity of the stalk. 

 Even as a foliage plant, independent of its stately flower-stalk, 

 this Lily, with its huge, glossy leaves, is strikingly attractive, 

 and the leaves remain fresh and green until mid-autumn. 



The strange beauty and majesty of the great Himalayan 

 Lily must be seen, however, to be fully realized; and it is to 

 direct the attention of all flower-lovers to one of the grandest of 

 hardy plants that I am prompted to refer to it. Its beauty 

 could only be fully portrayed by a poet. If any flower may be 

 termed regal, this term applies to Lilium giganteum. It looks 

 like the inhabitant of a tropical jungle — a sacred flower of the 

 far east, supreme in its stateliness and its grace. Its suave, 

 haunting odor sets me dreaming. Fragrances as of Jasmines, 

 Japanese Honeysuckles and Gardenias; perfumes as of Cas- 

 carilla and Sandal-wood; spices as of Sassafras and Clove-Car- 

 nation cling to its long, chaste chalice and scent the entire gar- 

 den in the evening. Then the cernuous poise of its great 

 flower cluster, nodding from the tall, tapering stalk above the 

 majestic leaves, and the refinement and beauty of the long, 

 trumpet-shaped blooms ! A distinct feature of the six-petaled 

 blossom is the penciling of the inner petals, these being ex- 

 quisitely shaded with purple merging to deep lake, from the 

 extremity of the flower to the flange of the chalice. 



The height of the Bamboo-like stalk in the four specimens 

 referred to varies from eight feet three inches to nine feet, 

 the diameter of the thickest stalk exceeding two and a quarter 

 inches. The flowers number from ten to twelve, while the 

 individual blooms measure from eight to nine inches in length. 

 After flowering, the stalk dies down and the old bulb shrivels 

 and dies. Each bulb has thrown out from two to four offsets, 

 which will be lifted and placed where desired in the 

 autumn. 



To obtain success with the " King of Lilies," it should have 

 a sheltered and partially shaded position in rich garden soil 

 and leaf mould, and receive abundance of moisture. An ap- 

 plication or two of liquid manure will prove of benefit in 

 developing the flowers. It is seen to advantage placed among 

 the native red and yellow Meadow Lilies, which unfold their 

 gay Turk's caps at the same period. A bed of Lilium gigan- 

 teum, grown by themselves or with L. auratum, where the 

 latter can be successfully grown, would be a novel and mag- 

 nificent feature of any garden, more especially if placed 

 against a background of green. 



The last raceme of the last flowering plant now stands in a 

 vase in the hall, and fills the entire house with its subtle, pene- 

 trating perfume, the odor being exhaled most intensely at 

 night. The garden looks deserted since these giant Lilies 

 have passed, and no blaze of the big Bee Larkspurs nor gay 



rosettes of the ranks of the Hollyhocks serves to take their 

 place. The "King of Lilies" is individual among hardy 

 flowers. 

 Rochester, N. Y. George H. Ellwanger. 



Orchid Notes. 



_ Catasetum atratum is an old but not very well known spe- 

 cies, which has been in cultivation since '1838, when it was 

 introduced from Brazil by Loddiges, of Hackney, with whom 

 it appears to have flowered for the first time in cultivation. It 

 is met with here and there in collections nowadays, and quite 

 recently a splendid specimen of it was exhibited at a meeting 

 of the Royal Horticultural Society, as a proof of what a hand- 

 some plant it might be made by good cultivation. Fully de- 

 veloped pseudo-bulbs are from nine to twelve inches long, 

 oblong-conical in shape and covered with silvery ribbed 

 sheaths. The young pseudo-bulbs are green, and bear at the 

 summit from four to six broadly-lanceolate deep green leaves 

 twelve to sixteen inches long, which are traversed lengthwise 

 by three conspicuous ribs or veins, and are more or less 

 plaited. The stout glaucous-green, arching scape springs from 

 the base of the young pseudo-bulb and reaches a length of two 

 feet or more, the upper half being furnished with as many as 

 thirty flowers, each of which is about two and a half or three 

 inches across, if fully extended. The sepals and petals are 

 broadly lanceolate-acute, deep green, and thickly covered with 

 blackish purple spots, which are much more numerous on the 

 sepals than on the petals. The thick, fleshy lip is ovate-acute 

 when spread out, sharply recurved at the apex, and having a 

 deep cavity at the base, the sides of which are colored green, 

 with blackish purple spots, while the anterior portion becomes 

 pale creamy yellow. The margin is furnished with a jagged, 

 bristle-like fringe, which is longer and stiffer at the base. The 

 column is green, speckled on each side at the base with pur- 

 ple-brown, and having two pale horns or antennae passing 

 from the sides in front into the cup of the lip. 



C. atratum is apparently an easy species to grow, requirino- 

 the same treatment as others of the genus. Pots or baskets^ 

 with a compost of rough peat and sphagnum, placed over 

 clean crocks, are equally suitable receptacles for it. When the 

 new growth makes its appearance then watering must be regu- 

 larly attended to, and the frequency of the supplies should^be 

 increased according to the rapidity of growth. A tolerably warm 

 and moist house, which can be well ventilated without caus- 

 ing draughts, is well adapted for growing purposes, and al- 

 though direct sunlight on the plants cannot be recommended 

 with safety for more than a short time in the morning, never- 

 theless as lightsome a position as possible will be found best 

 for ripening the growths, thus enabling them to store up 

 abundant material for the resting period during the winter 

 months. 



London. Jolin Weal tiers. 



Odontoglossum Schliperianum. — This is one of the most use- 

 ful and at the same time prettiest of this large genus now in 

 flower, and it deserves special mention, as the present is a very 

 dull time of year for Odontoglossums, and, in fact, for any 

 Orchids. 0. Sch/iperianum belongs to the section containing 

 O. grande and 0. Insleyi, and it is difficult to distinguish one 

 from the other when not in flower. 0. Schliperianum pro- 

 duces its flowers on stout spikes from fifteen to thirty inches 

 in length, and bears from five to fifteen or sometimes more 

 flowers, which are about three inches in diameter. The sepals 

 and petals are bright golden yellow, barred on the basal half 

 with bright chestnut-brown ; the lip is lighter in color and 

 barred with lighter bands ; the apical half of the sepals and 

 petals are clear yellow, making a flower very much admired. 



If flowering with O. grande this species might easily be 

 taken for a smaller form of the latter, so much alike are they. 



O. Schliperianum should be grown on the side-benches of 

 the Cattleya-house, where it will be close to the glass and re- 

 ceive a good amount of sun and air. In watering, care must 

 be taken not to wet the foliage, as this causes tlie objection- 

 able black spots so often seen on the three species named 

 above. Water given about once a week will amply suffice 

 while the plants are growing, and it should be withheld almost 

 entirely aftergrowth is completed, in which respect they differ 

 from most of the other cool Odontoglossums. 

 Easton, Pa. Henry Clinkaberry. 



Rose Gloire de Dijon.— With this I send you a few sprays of 

 the old Gloire de Dijon Rose to show what* fine buds one can 

 have from this favorite plant all the season. The first flush of 

 bloom in June is so abundant that unless the plants are well 

 cared for and in very good soil many buds fail to develop fully. 



