512 



Garden and Forest. 



[October 23, 1889. 



growth, and is useful for dinner-table decoration or for small 

 ferneries. 



P. heierocarptis, or ornafiis, is a highly ornamental species 

 from the Philippine Islands, where it grows to a large size. It 

 is a vigorovis looking plant, with broad, shining green leaves, 

 which attain a lengtli of live to six feet. It makes a line speci- 

 men where space can be spared to develop it, It will be found 

 to elo best in a stove temperature. 



The soil best suited for the Pandanus is a rather light loam 

 with a fair proportion of sand and some well rotted manure. 

 The pots should be well drained, so that the soil shall not at 

 any time become sodden. With ordinary care in watering 

 during the winter, the successful cultivation of the plants is 

 not difficult. W. H. Taplin. 



Holinesburi^, Pa. 



The Guava in Florida. 



GUA\'AS are seldom, if ever, seen in our nortiiern markets 

 in their natural state, although guava jelly is a very com- 

 mon northern luxiny. In south Florida they are the peaches 

 of the region, and are grown with but little cultivation. The 

 fruits are very healthful, and when the taste for them is once 

 acquired they are relished as much as peaches, and are 

 prepared for the table in the form of jellies, jams, pies, and 

 served raw with cream. Little attention has been given to 

 the manufacture of guava jelly for market in Florida, but it is 

 contidentlv believed that it could be made immensely profit- 

 able in the southern counties. 



Aside fron:i their delicious frujf,- the Guava bushes are 

 of value for their ornamental qualities, with their ever- 

 green leaves, polished stem and pure white flowers. The 

 plants attain the height of small trees, averaging from fifteen 

 to twenty feet in their nati\'e country (Tropical America). 

 They bear short-stalked, egg-shaped or oblong leaves, with 

 strongly marked veins covered with a soft down. The 

 flowers are borne on axillary stalks, and the fruits vary 

 very much in size, shape and color, numerous forms and 

 varieties being cultivated. Cattley's Guava is the best kind 

 for south Florida, as it is more hardy than any other. The 

 fruits are pear-shaped and of a purple or claret color, and 

 somewhat smaller than the common guava, though more pro- 

 lific. The fruits begin to ripen in June or early in July, when 

 not disturbed by cold, and continue blooming and bearing 

 without interruption for months. 



The soil for the Guava should be moist and rich; and the 

 plants should be copiously watered in dry weather. It is 

 better, in Florida, to train the plants to bush form until the 

 roots get established, which will require several years. 

 They should be protected from occasional cold periods. If the 

 soil is kept rich and moist there will be a crop of fruit the latter 

 part of simimer, even though the stems are nipped in the 

 winter. 



The fruit is of much too perishable a nature to allow 

 shipment to any great distance in its natm^al state, and for 

 that reason very little attention has been given to the cultiva- 

 tion of the plants in Florida. A great deal of the low soil in the 

 southern counties is well adapted to the cultivation of this 

 fruit, and at present it cannot be utilized for any other purpose. 

 Land which can be put into first-class condition for the Guava 

 by a little drainage may be had for a few dollars per acre. Low 

 hummock land is especially fitted for the Guava plants. In 

 Monroe, Manatee and De Soto Counties there are several 

 groves of these trees, which annually produce enough fruit for 

 the manufacture of a great quantity of jam and jelly. 



The Guava takes its name from the Mexican Guayaba, and 

 was probably brought to Florida either from Mexico or the 

 West Indies. The white Guava {Pisidiiim Guayava, var. pyri- 

 ferum) is sometimes found here, but it is very rare. The 

 fruits are pear-shaped, about the size of a hen's &^^, covered 

 with a thin, bright yellow or whitish skin filled with soft pulp. 

 P. Guayava is the most common species and it produces most 

 of the Guava fruit. The trees a^'erage from fifteen to twenty 

 feet in height, and the fruits vary very much in size. 



P. Guayava, var. pomiferiim, is sometimes called the red 

 Guava and produces a large globular or apple-shaped fruit. 

 The pi.flp is of a dark hue and not so well flavored as the 

 former. It is seldom eaten except when manufactured into jelly 

 or jam. 



A few plants of Pisidium Cattleyanum make an attractive 

 addition to the shrubbery around the house. The flavor of 

 the fruit is an agreeable acid-sweet, almost like that of the 

 strawberry. The trees produce abundant fruit of a large, 

 spherical shape, and of a fine deep claret color. The rind is 

 pitted, and the pulp is soft and fleshy, purplish near the skin, 

 but nearly white in the centre. George E. Walsh. 



New Yorlc. 



Orchid Notes. 



Preparation for Winter. — To insure a good display of 

 bloom from the present time until March and April next, 

 some Orchids will need more than usual attention. Dtn-ing 

 this period a number of the deciduous Dendrobiums con- 

 tribute their lovely flowers. They have now completed their 

 new growths, and should be removed to a temperature much 

 cooler and drier, with an abimdance of air to ripen and 

 strengthen them before they commence to bloom. Avoid Iceep- 

 ing the atmosphere moist, or new growth will again start, and 

 this means few or no flowers. Tliey should occupy this posi- 

 tion until the nodes show signs of swelling, when they may be 

 returned to their former situation until the flowers are well 

 expanded, and these will remain several weeks in good condi- 

 tion if brought again into the coolest end of the house. Den- 

 drobiiiin IVai'dianum, D. crassinode, D. Falconerii, D. Leechia- 

 jiiiin, D. Ainsiuo7-thii and D. nobile are plants which succeed 

 under this treatment. There are also among the Cattleyas 

 some handsome winter-blooming species. The most popu- 

 lar among them is undoubtedly the beautiful Cattleya Triance, 

 an Orchid now largely grown, both for private and commer- 

 cial purposes, on account of the ease with which it can be 

 flowered, its free habit of growth, and the great variation of its 

 l)lossoms, which are from the purest white to a fine rosy-pur- 

 ple. The plants of this species have just completed their 

 growth, and in a month hence will begin to enrich our houses 

 with their flowers. From the present time less water should' 

 be given until the buds make their appearance in the sheaths, 

 when the supply should be increased. Tliree to five flowers 

 are produced on a stem, and when cut they keep several days 

 in good condition, and can be had continuously until March 

 and April if a sufficient number of plants are grown. This 

 Cattleya is followed by C. Percivaliana, together with C. Mossier 

 and its varieties, all very showy plants, and requiring similar 

 treatment. 



A few very showy Lielias lend to the display at this season, 

 and among them are the beautififl L. atitiiinnalis, L. aticeps, 

 L. albida and others, which all do well if exposed to the light 

 until the flowers are well developed, which thus attain greater 

 size and a richer color. In many collections we find Cypripedi- 

 ums pushing up their spikes, and the old favorite, C. insigne, is 

 crowded with buds, as are C. villosum and C. Harrisianum, 

 though not so abundantly. These varieties are now largely 

 grown for cutting, because the flowers are stout and dura- 

 ble, and remain several weeks in good condition. 



Comparatively few Oncidiums appear at this season, O. 

 tigrinuin and O. splendidum being, perhaps, the most promi- 

 nent among them. Both are bright yellow flowering species. 

 0. varicosiim is also a showy species, with blossoms produced a 

 litfle earlier than the two varieties above noted. Calanthes, 

 when well grown, are aniong our finest Orchids. Most of 

 them have completed growth, and will now require less water 

 until the spikes present themselves from the base of the bulbs. 

 Where Phalsenopsis are grown, they will be found pushing 

 their spikes rapidly. They should be protected from drip as 

 well as direct sunlight ; and should be carefully examined 

 for slugs, which do them much harm. Ccslogyne cristata will 

 soon develop its lovely white blossoms. Plants with newly- 

 made bulbs will not need much water until the spikes are 

 seen breaking from their base. This is a charming Orchid 

 both for cutting and decorative purposes. 



Summit, N. J. 



A. Dimmock. 



Oncidium Lanceanum. — This very distinct and handsome 

 species was first discovered on the banks of the Surinam 

 River, in Dutch Guiana, in 1834, by Mr. John Henry Lance, to 

 whom it was dedicated by Dr. Lindley, who, in his Folia 

 Orchidacea, remarks that " this beautiful plant seems confined 

 to Surinam." Such, however, is not the case ; for it has been 

 imported of late years from near the Roraima Mountains in 

 British Guiana, and also from northern Brazil, near Manaos, a 

 town situate at the juncture of the Rio Negro with the waters 

 of the mighty Amazon. There are several plants now in 

 flower here, and they form one of the chief attractions of .the 

 Orchid-houses. O. Lanceanum, like 0. bicallosum, O. luriduni, 

 0. Caveiidiskianum and a few others, is remarkable for the ab- 

 sence of pseudo-bulbs. The broadly oblong-acute, leathery 

 leaves, which spring from knotty rhizomes, are a foot or more 

 long, four to six inches broad, and of a dull green, covered 

 with dark spots, and occasionally suffused with a bronzy tint. 

 At one time these spots were supposed to indicate ill-health, 

 but experience has proved their appearance to be quite nat- 

 ural. The stout, slightly-branched erect peduncle is produced 

 a little below the base of the leaf, and attains a length of one 

 or two feet, bearing, in many cases, from twelve to twenty-four 



