January 20, 1S92. 



Garden and Forest. 



31 



Epidendrum Dellense, O'Brien, is a pretty liybrid from 

 E, xanthinum and E. radicans. It originated in the garden 

 of Baron Scliroeder. 



Habenaria carnea, N. E. Brown, lias already been noted 

 and figured in Gardkn and Forest (vol. iv., p. 475, fig. 76). 



Lcelia Arnoldiana, Hort. , is a handsome hybrid between 

 L. purpurata and Cattleya labiata, raised by JMessrs. Sander 

 & Co. The flowers are as large as those of L. purpurata, 

 while the color is that of a richly marked form of the Cat- 

 tleya. There is a good figure of it in Lmdetiia, t. 294. L. 

 grandis, var. tenebrosa, is a distinct and beautiful variety, 

 the sepals and petgls colored a rich terra-cotta. the lip be- 

 ing crimson, with a broad wavy margin of white. It also 

 is represented by a good figure in Zinde/iia, t. 290. 



Masdevallia Rolfeana, Kranzlin, is a large-flowered spe- 

 cies in the way of M. velifera, but colored rich chocolate- 

 brown (Sander & Co.) M. falcata, O'Brien, is a hybrid 

 between I\I. Lindeni and M. Veitchii, which promises to be 

 a good garden-plant. It was raised by an English ama- 

 teur, Mr. D. O. Drewett. M. Mundyana, Hort, is a hybrid 

 between M. Veitchii and M. ignea, var. aurantiaca, which 

 we owe to the skill of Messrs. F. Sander & Co. 



Miltonia vexillaria, var.- Sanderiana, is a beautiful variety 

 which I recently described in Garden and Forest (vol. iv., 



P- 545)- 



Odontoglossum Cookianum, Rolfe, is a supposed natural 

 hybrid between O. triumphans and O. Sanderianum. O. 

 dellense, O'Brien, is another so-called natural hybrid, its 

 supposed parents being O. Pescatorei and O. proenitens ; a 

 third doubtful hybrid is one named O. Godseffianum, which 

 is said to suggest O. Lindleyanum and O. triumphans. It 

 would seem that those who name Orchids are less 

 certain than of yore, if one may judge by the num- 

 ber of introduced plants which are now dubbed natural 

 hybrids. It would simplify matters considerably if such 

 plants were either allowed to rank as distinct species or 

 called varieties of those they are most like. We have a 

 supposed natural hybrid among Oncidiums now, namely, 

 O. Larkinianum, whose characters are thought to be a mix- 

 ture of O. curtum and O. Barclayanum. I should call it 

 simply a bright-colored variety of O. curtum. 



Peristeria aspersa, Rolfe, was described and figured in 

 Zinde-nia, t. 277. It is in the way of P. pendula, the 

 pseudo-bulbs being as large as goose-eggs, and the short 

 pendant raceme crowded with ten flowers, -which are al- 

 most as large as those of P. elata, and colored yellow, 

 thickly speckled with crimson, the lip being blotched with 

 red. It is a fine plant, and was introduced by the Messrs. 

 Linden, from Venezuela. 



Phajus maculato-grandifolius, Hort., Veitch, is a hybrid 

 between the two species, indicated in the name. It has 

 the habit of the latter species, tawny, yellow.flowers, with . 

 a poor lip, a character derived from P. maculatus. 



Renanthera Imschootiana, Rolfe, is a pretty addition 

 to the genus. It is very similar to R. Storeyi. 



Restrepia strata, Rolfe, is a charming little Orchid, ex- 

 actly like R. elegans, but with striped instead of spotted 

 sepals. It was introduced from New Granada by Low & 

 Co. 



Schomburgkia Sanderiana, Rolfe, is similar to the bull's- 

 horn species, S. tibicinus, but with shorter pseudo-bulbs 

 and rosy, carmine flowers. The worst character in the 

 plants of this genus is their shy flowering behavior under 

 cultivation. 



Sobralia macrantha, var. Keinastiana, Hort, is a white- 

 flowered variety, as already noted in Garden and Forest 

 (vol. iv. , p. 305). It is in the collection of Baron Schroeder. 



Spathoglottis Ericsonii is a yellow-flowered species, 

 which has been introduced by Messrs. F. Sander & Co., 

 but I have not seen it Possibly it is a form of S. aurea. 



Stenoglottis longifolia, Hook, f., is a pretty, easily cul- 

 tivated Orchid, for the cool house. It has been intro- 

 duced from Natal to Kew, vi^here it flowered this year, the 

 erect scape, eighteen inches high, bearing its pretty, deep 

 mauve flowers for about three months. 



Thunia Mastersiana, Kranzlin, is a tall, long-leaved plant, 

 with flowers about half the size of T. alba. It has been 

 introduced from Monlmien by Messrs. F. Sander & Co. 



London. W. WatSOH. 



Cultural Department. 



Seed-sowing. 



JANUARY is a dull month as far as garden operations are 

 concerned. The days are so short that growing plants are 

 almost at a standstill, so there is very little potting that can be 

 done ; but it is an excellent time to sow small seeds like those 

 of Begonias and Gloxinias. It is well known that seeds germi- 

 nate well when kept darkened, and partly owing to this, and 

 because the temperature is under control at this season, 

 small seeds will now germinate evenly and well, and they 

 are not so liable to be washed out by overwatering, because, 

 if they are properly sown, little water is needed until they are 

 above ground. 



To destroy all insects and weed-seeds in the soil intended 

 for use it is a good plan to prepare it, sifted, ready for use, and 

 then place it in a tin vessel and bake it for half an hour in a hot 

 oven. This treatment will forestall all trouble with wornis or 

 weeds. When sowing a lot of Australian seeds sometime ago 

 I tried the solution of copper, which is said to prevent pots 

 from becoming green, and this, with baked soil, seemed to be 

 a good way to reduce the growth of moss on the soil to a mini- 

 mum, as perfectly new pots were used. The pots, however, 

 became as green as if they had not been treated with copper, 

 and I am apprehensive, therefore, that we have not yet found 

 a sure remedy for this trouble. Last year from a twelve-inch 

 pan and one packet of seeds we pricked off over 200 Gloxinias, 

 about half of which flowered in six-inch pots in July — that is, 

 in about six months from the time of sowing — and there is 

 nothing unusual about this if good seed be used and a tempera- 

 ture of sixty degrees be maintained at night. Many amateurs 

 think that it does not matter much what sort of a night tem- 

 perature prevails in their greenhouse so long as frost is ex- 

 cluded, and often, too, on a mild night it may lie ten or fifteen 

 degrees higher than it was the night before, and then they 

 wonder why tender seeds damp off or never come up. It 

 should be made a point to maintain the right heat from the 

 time the seed is sown, or if this cannot be done in the cold- 

 est weather, then no more seed should be sown for another 

 month. In most greenhouses, fortunately, there is a warm 

 corner where a small frame may be placed to put seed-pans in 

 and keep them at a little higher temperature than that of the 

 house itself, just to coax the seed a little at first. After they 

 are up even, and large enough to prick off, lift with a small 

 forked stick and transplant. 



As to soil suitable for seeds, there are two cardinal points to 

 be observed. Enough decayed leaf-mold should be added to 

 the loam to prevent it from caking or becoming hard, and 

 enough sand should be added to guard against its becoming 

 sour or water-soaked. Soil of this quality and texture is suit- 

 able to receive any seed, large or small. Fertilizers are not 

 desirable in the seed-pans or in^ the soil used for pricking off 

 irito boiteS ;but when the time comes to pot the young plants 

 a richer soil will be beneficial, for they need nourishing as 

 they gain strength. Such small seeds need very little cover- 

 ing ; the pans should be filled to within half an inch of the 

 rim, and a little very fine soil should then be sifted over the 

 surface. If the pans are then well watered and allowed to 

 drain for an hour, the seeds can be sowed evenly and a slight 

 sprinkling of sand should be sifted over them. In vv'atering 

 care should be taken not to wash the sand. A fine sieve suit- 

 able for seed-sowing may easily be made with a piece of wire 

 mosquito-netting tacked on to a shallow cigar-box after re- 

 moving the bottom and the lid. This sieve will be found use- 

 ful for cleaning seed, especially if wire-netting of different 

 sizes can be procured. 



South Lancaster, Mass. ^. ^* 



Notes from the Harvard Botanic Garden. 



Aphelandra aurantiaca. — The bright flowers of this plant 

 have a wonderfully enlivening effect in the stove during our 

 dreariest weather. It is a shrub of somewhat dwarf habit, be- 

 longing, like many other good winter-flowering plants, to the 

 Acanthacese. The large opposite ovate leaves, borne on short 

 petioles, are rich dark green on the upper surface, and paler 

 beneath. The flowers are produced in compact terminal 

 spikes from three to six inches long. The corolla consists of 

 a long narrow tube, the greater part of which is hidden by 



