July 17, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



34^ 



o 



Forest Veg-etation in New Zea'and. — See page 339. 



very far, so tliat nearly or quite 

 tirely lost their power to grow. 



In the case of those seeds which hold their 

 t i a 1 1 y unimpaired 

 through a considerable 

 number of years, this 

 mixing of tiie remaind- 

 ers of one year with the 

 fresh stock of the next 

 is unobjectionable. To 

 do otiierwise. would be 

 foolishly wasteful, and, 

 if insisted on by buyers 

 would unnecessarily 

 enhance the price. But 

 to sell dead seeds, or 

 seeds the vitality of 

 which is weakened by 

 keeping, is a dastardly 

 wrong. On this point 

 there can l)e no mistake. 

 I believe that any one 

 who will make astudy 

 of seeds, with a glass 

 of a moderate magnify- 

 ing power, will, in many 

 cases, be able thus to 

 judge very closely of 

 their quality. But every 

 gardener should pro- 

 cure his stock of seeds 

 early enough to be able 

 to test them in good 

 time, although, fortu- 

 nately, there "is now a 



half of some stocks had en- 

 it. ility substan- 



The 

 jointed 

 cept at 



lai'ge an(j increasing number of seedsnren in this 

 country who never wilfully send out inferior seeds. 

 In regard to the keeping of liome-grovvn seeds, 

 so that their vitality shall Ije as well maintained as 

 nature will allow, there are some necessary points 

 to be observed. The first is, that they shall be well 

 ripened. This is a nice point, and one not always 

 easy to secure — in fact, impossible, except by 

 making successive cuttings. That they should be 

 well and promptly dried, cleaned and secured from 

 attacks of vermin is obvious ; but the duration of 

 their continued vitality is very much affected by 

 the after care. They shoidd be kept dry. This is 

 more important than the question of light, tem- 

 peratin-e or ventilation. My own experience of now 

 many years has. not convinced me of any positive 

 disadvantage from exposure to the air or to low 

 degrees of temperature. In fact, many seeds retain 

 their vitality better in open barrels and bojces, or 

 in bags, than in tight packages. Warm this valuable 

 chiefly as a security against dampness. Many times 

 I have found seeds good that had repeatedly en- 

 tlured a cold of 40° below zero ; iiut dampness will 

 very quickly destroy them. Light bleaches or 

 darkens them ; the color of seeds is rarely main- 

 tained unchanged for any considerable time. 



Newport, Vt. T. H. Hoskius. 



Orchid Notes. 



(l Cattleya granulosa. — Several nice strong plants 

 of this striking species are now producing their 

 flowers here with great freedom. One gets so ac- 

 customed to look upon all Cattleyas as being re- 

 presented by the numerous gorgeous-flowered 

 forms of the labiate section that it is quite a relief to 

 meet with such a contrast to them as that presented 

 by the species now imder consideration. 



C. granulosa belongs to a very distinct section of 

 the genus typified by C. giiitata. It has been culti- 

 vated in English gardens now for nearly fifty years, 

 having been introduced, it is believed, from Guate- 

 mala in 1840 by Hartweg, who at that time was 

 collecting in tropical America for the Horticultural 

 Society of London. Notwithstanding the fact that 

 rt has l)een under culture so many years, it is a 

 neglected Orchid in many collections, although 

 well-grown plants when in flower present a type 

 of beauty difficult to match, and one which should 

 entitle this species to more respect, 

 plants are characterized by their slender, terete and 

 stems, nearly of the same thickness throughout, ex- 

 the base, where they are slightly narrower, and clothed 





0f)y7W 





K Group of Staghoni Sumachs 



uu the Bordor of a Lawn. — See page 338 



