152 



Garden and Forest. 



[March 27, iS 



better results are obtained by letting them bloom where 

 planted from seedling-boxes, especially if they are so arranged 

 as to have the protection of a few sashes from the niiddle of 

 March onwards. 



The true Primrose does not mature seed very freely, but it 

 is easily increased by division. It is not easy to keep it, how- 

 ever, during the hottest months. A cool soil and shade during 

 the brightest part of the day are necessary to success. 



When fall comes we plant our Primroses along with the 

 Violets, and get abundance of bloom during the winter. Prim- 

 roses make up very nicely in bouquets of twenty-five to thirty 

 llowers, with a few of their own leaves. 



Alpine Ariculas can be grown from seed and treated in the 



same way as recommended for the h^'brids. They can be 



used for bedding in the same way. They do not ripen seed, 



but continue blooming, though sparingly, throughout the 



summer. u ,^ , . 



Wellesley, Mass. • -^ ■ J-)- Hatfield. 



Orchid Notes. 



Dendrobium Far»ierii is a lovely Orchid, especially adapted 

 for basket-culture, belonging to the evergreen section of the 

 genus, with quadrangular stems, about a foot high, producing 

 near the top pendulous racemes or bunches of straw-colored 

 flowers, delicately tinged with pink, and having a rich golden 

 lip. It is a native of the Khasya Hills, and is easily grown, 

 requiring a warm house during active growth, after which it 

 may be placed in a cool-house and kept fairly dry. There are 

 two rare and choice varieties of tliis species — one with golden- 

 yellow flowers, while in the other they are pure white. 



Dendrobium splendidissimum is the best of a series of hybrids 

 resulting from the crossing of D. nobile and D. aureiiin. It is 

 a grand Orchid, combining the best qualities of both parents, 

 and retaining the Primrose fragrance of D. aureiim. The 

 flowers are nearly four inches across, white, suffused wdth 

 rosy-purple, the lip having a large blotch of deep purple, sur- 

 rounded with a zone of creamy-white. This plant should 

 have a long rest in a cool-house in order to flower properly. 



Dendrobium primulintcm is a fragrant Orchid, deciduous, 

 producing pendulous l;ulbs about one foot long, from the 

 sides of which come solitary, pale mauve flowers, with large 

 spreading lips, which are white, tipped with rose. The variety 

 Giganteum has much longer and very slender stems. The 

 flowers are much larger, with a very much developed lip, 

 often two inches across, pure white, and veined with purple. 

 It was introduced in 1857 from Nepaul. It requires the same 

 treatment as D. primitlinum, and should be grown in a basket 

 or on a block. 



Phalcenopsis Veitchii. — This rare species, now in flower with 

 us, is presumed to be a natural hybrid between P. rosea and 

 P. Schilleriana. The habit of the plant is like that of P. Schil- 

 leriana, but is not nearly so robust. The scape is that of P. 

 rosea, and Ijears about a dozen pretty pinkish flowers, which 

 in shape and markings strongly indicate the parentage. The 

 two plants we have are, I believe, the only ones that have yet 

 been foimd. The pale variety, Brachyodon, is much more at- 

 tractive than the type. In it the flowers are somewhat larger, 

 and the plant more robust. This variety is represented by a 

 unique specimen. 



P. Stiiarfiajta is a somewhat recent addition to this lovely 

 genus, and proves to be a great acquisition. It is now pretty 

 plentiful, very easily grown and an abundant bloomer. It may 

 best be described by calling it a white P. Schilleriana, though 

 in many respects it is abundantly distinct from it. There is a 

 great variation in the foliage. In some plants the leaves are 

 deep green, with only the faintest marbling, while others can 

 scarcely be distinguished from P. Schilleriana. The flowers 

 are usually cream-colored or pure white, the inferior halves of 

 the lateral sepals yellowish, copiously spotted with dark cinna- 

 mon. Sometimes the whole flower is speckled with purple, as 

 in P. picnctutissima. The flowers are very closely set on the 

 raceme, which is usually much branched, even on small 

 plants. This species is interesting for its propensity to form 

 root-buds, which quickly develop into flowering plants. It re- 

 quires the usual Phalaenopsis treatment, and now is a good 

 time to overhaul the plants and remove the old decayed moss 

 and roots, replacing them with new compost of fibrous peat and 

 clean sphagnum. Baskets or cylinders of wood or clay will be 

 found most suitable for this class of plants. 



Odontoglossum niveiim is a slender, low-growing Orchid, 

 with ovoid, compressed bulbs, and linear, lanceolate leaves 

 about one foot long. The slender racemes bear about a 

 dozen very pretty flowers, about three inches across, white, 

 waxy, copiously spotted with reddish-purple. The narrow 

 segments are reflexed at the points, and the lip is beautifully 



ornamented with a golden crest. This species was introduced 

 nearly half a century since from Pamplona, where it was found 

 at an elevation of 6,000 to 8,000 feet, and until recently was 

 very rare. A fine plant is in bloom with us, and grows freely 

 with the other Odontoglossums. F. Goldring. 



Kenwood, N. V. 



Galanthus Elwesii. — Last fall we planted several hundred 

 bulbs of this pretty Snowdrop in a cold-frame. As the result, 

 probably, of the abnormal mildness of the winter season, the 

 first week in February found all of them in full bloom, and 

 they are still in good condition, although the soil is frozen 

 solid. The sashes ser^re to keep off snow and rain, enabling 

 them to maintain their snow-white purity. G. Elwesii is Cjuite 

 distinct from G. nivalis and its varieties, the petals being dis- 

 tended and narrowed at flie base, the inner perianth-segments 

 smaller, and constricted above their middle. Planted with 

 Chionodoxa Liicilice, this Snowdrop makes a pleasing sight in 

 the early spring months. Both are perfectly hardy. 



Ornamental Grasses.— The Eulalias, especially E. Japonica 

 and its varieties, Zebrina and Variegata, are well known as 

 ornamental plants, and deservedly so. The Eidalia gracillima 

 univittata, however, is not as widely known as it should be. 

 It is dwarfer than those named above, and is of a graceful 

 habit, its distinctive feature being a pure white mid-rib run- 

 ning through each leaf. Last year this plant fully established 

 its value and reliability as a decorative plant. 



Scirpus Tabermoniani zebrina, or Porcupine-grass, as it is 

 sometimes called, is well worth growing, too. Being of 

 doubtful hardiness, for assured safety it should be wintered 

 in a cool green-house. When first introduced into cultivation 

 it was grown as a warm green-house plant, but has since 

 proved nearly hardy. Any little trouble taken with jt will be 

 amply rewarded by its tufts of leaves, two to three feet long, 

 resembling bunches of porcupine-quills, except in color, 

 which in the grass is green and white in alternate bands. The 

 younger leaves are suffused with rose. Anotlier species, 

 equally pretty, is S. Holoschceniis variegatiis, a grass with leaves 

 banded in the same way. This is quite hardy, and grows a foot 

 higli. These grasses do best in soils that are moist and rich. 



Astilbe Japonica aureo reticulata. — This is a more valuable 

 plant, if possible, than the species, l.)€;ing quite as useful for 

 flowers, while the leaves are veined with rich yellow. The 

 leaf-stalks, too, are noticeable for their crimson hue, giving the 

 plant a distinct and attracfive appearance when grown as a pot- 

 plant. This variety is of strong constitution, and promises to 



become popular. ■ E. 0. Orpet. 



Passaic, N.J. 



Plant Notes. 



Berberis Lycium.* 



WHEN this Barberry comes to be better known — and a 

 figure whicfi has been prepared for the Botanical Mag- 

 azine will do much, when published, to further a knowledge 

 of and create an interest in the plant — it will surely become a 

 favorite. Hitherto, I believe, there has been no figure of B. 

 Lycittm published, and I do not find any record of the plant 

 being culdvated. It has been growing at Kew for several 

 years under the name of B. elegans, and this name occurs in 

 the lists of several continental botanical gardens. No one 

 hitherto appears, however, to have identified the species un- 

 der its garden name with the wild type, which occurs in sunny 

 places and elevafions fron 3,000 to 9,000 feet above sea-level 

 in the western Himalaya, from Garwhal to Hazara. In the 

 Kew collection are individuals Avhich are undoubtedly refer- 

 able to B. Lycittm, and, indeed, identical with it, /.. <?., they can- 

 not be separated even as varieties from a nurseryman's stand- 

 point — B. glaiicescens, B. arihiiacensis, B. aristata (under the 

 latter name widely different plants— belonging, perhaps, to 

 three distinct species — are culdvated in English gardens). 



B. Lycium, as far as Kew experience allows me to judge, 

 seems as hardy as our native B. vulgaris or the North Ameri- 

 can B. Canadensis, and produces its wealth of golden race- 

 mes after all the allies of B. vulgaris and the very numerous 

 forms of that species have passed out of flower. On the other 

 hand, however, it appears not to blossom in a young state, 

 but cedes to none in beauty and floriferousness when once 

 the bush has reached the flowering stage. 



It forms an erect bush about a couple of yards in height, 

 with whitish bark and subsessile, subpersistent, lanceolate or 

 narrow, obovate leaves, of a light greyish-green above and 

 very glaucous beneath. As a rule the leaves are entire, but 



*Bkrijkfis Lycium, Royle, Botany of the Hi7nalayan Mountains, d^; Transactions 

 0/ the Linneajt Society of London, xvii., 94. 



