5i4 



Garden and Forest. 



[October 22, 1890. 



the lateral sepals, the color resembling- the pollen parent, 

 while the other tloral characters, and also the leaves, 

 more nearly resemble those of the mother plant. It is a dis- 

 tinct and elegant little hybrid. — Gardeners' Chronicle, Septem- 

 ber 20th, p. 325. 



L.ki.ia x Juvenilis, A. Bleu, is a handsome hybrid, raised 

 from Lcelia Perrinii fertilized with the pollen of L. pumila, in 

 the collection of Mr. Alfred Bleu, of Paris. It is quite inter- 

 mediate in character, both in the organs of vegetation and in 

 the flower, though in this latter particular the descent from L. 

 Perrinii is the most clearly marked. The sepals and petals 

 are of a rosy lilac shade, as are also the side lobes of the lip, 

 while the throat is white and the front lobe of a deep carmine 

 shade. The peduncle bears a- single flower. — Orchidophile, 

 August, 1890, p. 240, with plate. 



L^elio-Caltieva Proserpine, Rolfe, is a pretty little 

 hybrid raised in the establishment of Messrs. James Veitch & 

 Sons, of Chelsea, by Mr. Seden by crossing Lcelia pumila 

 Dayana with the pollen of Cattleya velutina. The flower is 

 over three inches in diameter, decidedly approaching the pol- 

 len parent in shape, though with the color, also the habit of 

 the plant, more like the seed parent. It received an Award 

 of Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society on August 26th 

 last. — Gardeners' Chronicle, September 27th, p. 352. 



Cattleya Gaskelliana picta, Rolfe, is a striking variety in 

 the collection of the Right Hon. J. Chamberlain, of Birming- 

 ham, in which the petals have a broad central band, with a 

 few radiating branches of light purple on a lilac ground. The 

 sepals are less distinctly variegated with the same colors. — 

 Gardeners' Chronicle, September 27th, p. 352. 



Kew. A'. A. Rolfe. 



The Coco-de-Mer. 



'THE successful germination of several nuts of the Coco-de- 

 *• Mer or Double Cocoanut {Lodoicea Seychellarum) deserves 

 to be recorded as an event of more than ordinary interest. 

 These nuts have been known to germinate at Kew and else- 

 where before now, but they have invariably perished before the 

 first stage of germination was passed. At Kew, however, 

 there is now a plant with a leaf three feet long and nearly as 

 wide, and having a mass of healthy roots, whilst two other 

 seedlings are in a most promising condition. 



The Coco-de-Mer is perhaps the most remarkable member 

 of the Palm family. In every character, from its seeds to its 

 gigantic crown of leaves, it is Titanic. For centuries its his- 

 tory was involved in mystery. Its enormous seeds found 

 floating on the Indian Ocean were supposed to be the product 

 of a tree which sailors declared they had seen growing beneath 

 the sea. They were claimed as royal property whenever 

 found, and sold for enormous prices, a ship laden with mer- 

 chandise having been given for a single nut. 



The discovery of the Seychelle Islands in 1743 revealed the 

 true source of these mysterious nuts. Even this, however, 

 did not entirely divest the tree of its supernatural character, 

 for only a few years before his death General Gordon declared 

 his belief that this Palm was the Tree of Knowledge of Good 

 and Evil which stood in the Garden of Eden. The General 

 united an ardent love of plants and considerable botanical 

 knowledge with his military duties, and during several years' 

 residence in the Seychelles, about ten years ago, he made 

 numerous drawings of the Coco-de-Mer, and elaborated his 

 theory that the small island of Praslin, where this Palm 

 is native, was the site of the Garden of Eden. His drawings 

 and notes are now at Kew. 



Putting aside all fabulous stories relative to the Coco-de- 

 Mer, and viewing it in its purely botanical character as a Palm, 

 it yet remains a vegetable wonder. Its restriction to two or 

 three very small islands in the Seychelles group, when consid- 

 ered along with its wide difference from all other Palms, gives 

 it a position of the highest importance in geographical botany. 

 The value of its nuts for museums and as ornaments, with the 

 use of its young leaves in basket-making by the natives, threat- 

 ened its extermination, and it was only when the Linnsean 

 Society made a strong appeal to the Colonial authorities that 

 the danger of its becoming extinct was averted. 



The height of the mature trees is from 60 to 150 feet. The 

 trunk is smooth, marked with rings, and about a foot in 

 diameter, except at the extreme base, where it is swollen, 

 onion-like, and surrounded by a hard shell-like covering like 

 an immense socket. The leaves form an enormous crown, 

 each one being twenty feet long by ten feet wide in the blade, 

 and the pole-like petiole proportionately large and strong. The 

 male and female flowers are borne by different plants". The 

 male -inflorescence is in the form of a gigantic willow catkin, 



six feet long by four inches in diameter. The females are four 

 feet long, and each spike bears from six to ten fruits. These 

 are in the form of huge acorns, and when mature weigh from 

 twenty-five to thirty pounds each. The seed is about a foot 

 long by two and a half feet in circumference. It is deeply two- 

 lobed at both ends and channeled down the middle, so that it 

 looks like two oblong nuts joined by their sides. The nuts are 

 seven years in ripening and about two years in germinating. 

 The trees begin to bear when about forty years old and are 

 said to reach maturity in 120 years. 



The germination of the nuts is very remarkable. From be- 

 tween the lower lobes a stout radicle is pushed to a length of 

 about four feet (General Gordon says twelve feet). This thickens 

 to a circumference of a foot or so near the end, where it finally 

 splits to allow the growth of the plumule, which is on the same 

 large scale as everything else in this Palm. 



If Kew succeeds in growing plants from these promising 

 seedlings it will be an achievement beside which the flowering 

 of the Giant Amorphophallus and the cultivation of the Wel- 

 witschia will count for very little. 



The Palms of the Seychelles are amongst the choicest of 

 those cultivated in gardens. The Stevensonia, Verschaffeltia 

 and the Latanias (not Livistonas) are unequaled for nobleness 

 of character. There are large specimens of all the Palms 

 known in the Seychelles at Kew, except, of course, the 

 Lodoicea. 

 Kew. vy- 



Cultural Department. 



Autumn Work in the Hardy-Flower Garden. 



"\^HTH the closing up of out-door work no time should be 

 * * lost in preparing, as far as possible, for next year's dis- 

 play. Those who intend making borders of hardy perennials, 

 or even planting in a limited way, should bear in mind that a 

 border of this description is not for a season only, but that this 

 class of plants are planted to stay and that the preparation 

 must be better than that made for annuals. If the soil be uni- 

 formly heavy and retentive, part of the border should be made 

 drier by the liberal application of coarse sand and lime rubbish. 

 Many plants thrive admirably in a dry soil which would not 

 grow in that of a moist nature, and vice versa. The right 

 kind of soil is, therefore, the first consideration. Another 

 point worth remembering is that an herbaceous border, when 

 once planted, should never be disturbed with a spade, except 

 to make changes in it ; for even to one understanding border- 

 plants it would be impossible to use a spade among them 

 without injury. It is generally best, in soils of a retentive 

 nature, to stir the surface of the beds in spring, but the use of 

 the fork had better be deferred until the ground is in good 

 condition, and then many of the plants will have started into 

 growth, and may easily be seen and injury avoided. Where 

 plants are to be procured or replanted it should be done at 

 once, before the soil loses more of its warmth, so that the 

 plants may become well rooted before cold weather. At this 

 time the soil is often warmer than the air above it, and it is 

 surprising how newly planted things take hold and establish 

 themselves — much more readily than in spring, when the soil 

 is cold for some time after the air has become warm enough 

 to start into growth plants which are already established. 

 Perennial plants require good soil, as they cannot be dug over 

 in spring for the purpose of working in a fertilizer. The best 

 way to keep them well nourished is to apply a good top-dress- 

 ing of manure in the fall as soon as growth ceases ; a uniform 

 covering of four or five inches will not be too much, as, if the 

 manure is well decayed, so that it may be cut with a spade, 

 there will remain very little to be raked off in spring. When 

 bulbs are planted it is best to have them as nearly as possible 

 together, as these need somewhat different treatmentfrom her- 

 baceous rooted plants. For instance, such bulbs as Iris re- 

 ticulata, I. Anglica, the tuberous rooted Anemones, Spanish 

 Iris, Californian Lilies, many Japanese and European kinds, 

 and in fact any rare or tender bulbs, will be the better for a 

 good coat of dry leaves ; they should be covered with a spare 

 sash or shutter, taking care to guard against the ingress of 

 mice, which are very liable to make snug homes in such 

 warm quarters. We have found that the best way to get rid 

 of field mice is to soak wheat or corn in a solution of strych- 

 nine, the poison killing them at the first taste. In passing, it 

 may be remarked that this has been found the best way to 

 keep mice away from seeds. When first sown in pans we had 

 endless trouble and vexation until strychnine was used. 



A short time since it was advised to plant Narcissus nine 

 inches deep. I had in mind soil of a sandy nature ; but on ex- 

 amining the garden of a friend recently I quite agreed with 



