392 



Garden and Forest. 



[August 14, 1889. 



bear a hla/.e of blossoms all the year rounil. Nevertheless, 

 the plant is not without merit from a gardening' point of \-ie\v, 

 for it is both beautiful and interesting. The three divisions of 

 the tlower which correspond to the "falls" of an Iris are 

 broad except at the base, and bear an orange or yellow spot 

 on a pure white ground. These divisions are nearly flat, but 

 are bent slighth' downward where the broad part begins. The 

 three divisions which alternate with the falls are spoon-shaped, 

 snow-white, and incline somewhat upward. The stigmas, 

 shaped like those of an Iris, are light purple. 



These flowers are about two inches in diameter, and are 

 produced at intervals of a few days nearly all the j^ear ; the 

 same stalk bearing them at the tip and increasing constantly 

 in length though not in thickness, and, after lloweringforyears, 

 producing a new plant at its extremity. A specimen in my 

 possession, whicli has stood on a high shelf for six years, has 

 sent a ilower-stem down to, and along, the ground to a length 

 of about ten feet, but of no greater thickness than an Oat-straw. 



Some of the theorists of the present day believe that every 

 prominent spot of color on the petals of a flower is placed 

 there as an " indicator " to guide the bees, so that in getting 

 the honey they may fertilize the blossom. The orange blotch 

 on a snow-white ground would seem to be admirably adapted 

 to this purpose, but, alas for theory, this plant, so conspicu- 

 ously marked, is perfectly self-fertilizing. Theory often breaks 

 down when put to the test. 



Diplarrhena is one of the fibrous-rooted, evergreen genera 

 of iridaceous plants, and contains only two species, natives of 

 Tasmania. Seed of D. Moraa is sometimes offeretl under the 

 name of Vieiisseiixia alata. 



Canton, Mass. W. E. Endicott. 



Vanda Hookeriana. — This remarkably pretty species was first 

 described in 1856 by Professor Reichenbach in Seemann's 

 Bonplandia from a specimen seen in the herbarium of Sir 

 William Jackson Hooker, who, at that time, was director of 

 the Royal Gardens, Kew, and to vi^hom this plant was then 

 dedicated. Famous accounts of it were heard from travelers 

 who had seen it growing in Borneo on the trunks of trees along 

 the banks of rivers, and fully exposed both to the burning sun 

 and heavy rains. For many years numerous attempts had 

 been made to introduce it alive to England, but, though the 

 plant grew so freely and strongly in its native home, it could 

 not stand a long voyage, and, consequently, when the plants 

 reached Europe they were either all dead or beyond recovery. 

 In this way many hundreds of plants perished, until towards 

 the close of the year 1873 several plants at last reached London 

 alive, and were consigned to the collection of Lord Rothschild, 

 of Tring Park. Here they remained until September, 1882— 

 or about nine years — before one of them flowered. Before 

 this event took place the plants excited little interest, as many 

 believed them to be only slender forms of Vanda teres. But 

 when the flowers appeared, great was the surprise and admi- 

 ration of every one wlio saw them. Unfortunately, this spe- 

 cies seems to be a shy bloomer. Mr. Hill, the gardener at 

 Tring Park, first succeeded in flowering it, and still continues 

 to do so every year. At the present time he has several fine 

 specimens in flower, which present a magnificent sight. 



When not in flower, this Vanda may be described as having 

 the general appearance of V. teres, but may be readily distin- 

 guished from that species by its more slender, quill-shaped 

 stems and leaves, the latter being sharper and glaucous green. 

 The short peduncles, which are produced from the upper por- 

 tion of the stem, usually bear two or three flowers. The upper 

 sepal is erect, obovate, and undulate, pure white, faintly tinged 

 with rose in the centre, and the elliptic-oblong, wavy, lateral 

 sepals are similarly colored. The sub-rhomboidal petals, which 

 are also white, but more heavily washed with rose than the 

 sepals, make a half-twist forward at the base, thus bringing 

 their back surface uppermost, and in a horizontal position. 

 The projecting trilobed lip is quite two and a half inches across, 

 pure white, washed with crimson at the base, and heavily 

 blotched and spotted all over, but especiallv at the base, with 

 deep crimson-purple. Two or three deep-purple lines run 

 down the centre from two pinkish calli, below which are two 

 obliquely triangular crests, with a very large ovate-falcate auri- 

 cle on each side, of a very deep purple, becoming paler at 

 the edges, and obscurely spotted. The short projecfing col- 

 umn is slightly pubescent, deep crimson behind, and pinky 

 white in front. The surface of the entire flower has a peculiar 

 crystalline appearance, the minute particles, as it were, flashing 

 in the sunlight. 



In Borneo, V. Hookeriana is subject to great heat— the mean 

 annual temperature there being about 82° Fahr.— and abun- 

 dance of moisture. It, therefore, requires to be grown in a 



warm and damp atmosphere, and may be fixed on rafts or 

 blocks of wood, which should be placed in pots or pans, filled 

 with crocks and charcoal, covered with a layer of fresh sphag- 

 num moss. During the summer months a liberal supply of 

 water and frequent syringings must be given, and also a 

 moderate amoimt of air, so as to ripen the growths and induce 

 the flowers to appear. The plants require as lightsome a po- 

 sition as possible, and much less water, for a month or more, 

 after the flowers have been produced. 

 St. Albans, July 3d, 1889. Johii Weathers. 



Named Hollyhocks. — For two years past we have been grow- 

 ing and flowering all the named Hollyhocks it has been possible 

 to obtain of the famous Chafer strain, numbering, in all, some 

 twenty-five sorts, all of which are distinct, and some for per- 

 fect form and rich color well deserving the epithet beautiful. 

 For the guidance of those who wish to grow these fine, old- 

 fashioned garden-flowers, I would recommend among white 

 varieties Virginalis as the best, it being pure white and of 

 •good form. Royal White has a tinge of yellow in the centre ; 

 Enchantress is a pretty, delicate blush ; Lady Paxton is pink, 

 with a large flower and very wide guard-petals ; Constance is 

 pink, large, and very double ; Fairest of the Fair is a bright 

 rose, large, and very pure in color ; Fanny Chater is a dark 

 rose ; Reverend Dix is crimson, and a first-rate kind ; George 

 Eyles is dark crimson ; Theresa is crimson and pink, prettily 

 fringed ; Warrior is salmon-red ; Royal Scarlet is orange-red ; 

 Imperator is dark-red; Plurimus Dulcis, a beautiful buft' ; 

 Joshua Clarke, sulphur-yellow ; Gem of the Yellows, an in- 

 tensely bright yellow ; Royal Purple, a dark purple, and a line 

 flower. Every one of those named is distinct and worthy of 

 cultivation. If seeds are sown as soon as gathered, and 

 the plants carefully potted off and protected during winter, 

 most of them will flower during the following summer. Our 

 plants were raised from seed sown early in spring and planted 

 out in the open, where they flowered the following year. This 

 is the best way to get strong, large, flowering stems ; many of 

 ours were eight feet high and flowered five feet of their length. 

 We find it necessary here in New Jersey to protect the plants 

 in winter when left in the open ground, and place a covering 

 of leaves or salt hay around them just after the ground freezes 

 and before snow. It would be better still to pot them and 

 place in a cool house, or frame and plant out again early in 

 spring. We do not anticipate any such evil results in this 

 climate from the Hollyhock disease as have occurred in Eng- 

 land, where the culture of this flower has been almost given 

 up. Here, in wet seasons, we have had plants slightly affected, 

 but they have invariably grown out of it and been none the 

 worse. Hollyhocks may always be relied upon to come true 

 from seed. Of the thousands we raised, not one showed signs 

 of variation from the description given of them. 



Viola pedata — The pretty Bird's-foot Violet, when planted 

 in quantity, is one of the finest of its genus for the decoration 

 of the garden, not only on account of its unique form, both of 

 flowers and foliage, but on account of its free flowering quali- 

 ties. The varieties of this plant, V. p. alba and V. p. bicolor 

 (the Pansy Violet), are prettier than the type. This Violet seems 

 to vary considerably in size of flower and shape of leaves ; the 

 best that have ever come under my notice are a quantity re- 

 ceived last spring froni Tennessee. These were planted in a 

 bed and have become thoroughly established, having flowered 

 for some time, and, in spite of recent heavy rains, remain as 

 bright as ever. Many of tlie blooms measure one and three- 

 fourths inches in diameter, eclipsing any we have ever seen 

 that were collected in the eastern states. Many are under the 

 impression that this plant is difficidt to cultivate, and our own 

 experience was not satisfactory imtil v^^e tried planting in sandy 

 soil well enriched with decayed vegetable-mould, when the 

 results proved all that could be desired. All the varieties of 

 V. pedata come from true seed, but seed is very liable to be 

 scattered by the plant itself, owing to the propelling power of 

 the divisions of the capsule when ripening, so that these must 

 be picked as soon as ever they show signs of maturity and 

 the seed sown at once and allowed to freeze during winter ; 

 germination will then take place the following spring. Viola 

 pedata should be taken up every third year, the crowns sepa- 

 rated and replanted ; and this is best done early in the fall, so 

 that the spring crop of flowers may not be diminished, as 

 would be the case if this operation were deferred until spring. 



Passaic, N.J. E. O. Or pet. 



Insects and Manure. — Many kinds of insects breed in decay- 

 ing organic matter, and the soil of land heavily enriched with 

 animal excrement becomes the home for increasing myriads 

 of these. It is not necessary to suppose that all of them prey 



