222 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 220. 



plants, and known as the only habitat of the Australian 

 insectiverous plant, Cephalotus follicularis. It has been 

 known in cultivation for half a century, although, like 

 many other plants of its class, it is now much less fre- 

 quently seen in gardens than it deserves. 



Foreign Correspondence. 

 London Letter. 



New Cattleyas. — On March 4th last Messrs. F. Sander & 

 Co. offered for sale a Cattleya which they had named C. 

 Victoria Regina, and described in the sale catalogue as a 

 new species, with flowers five inches across and as many 

 as eight or nine on each spike. Their color was said to be 

 glossy deep rosy red, with blotches of crimson and purple, 

 paler on the margins', which were wavy ; the lip crimson, 

 with a white tube. The pseudo-bulbs, foliage and general 

 appearance of the plants in the sale-rooms strongly sug- 

 gested C. amethystoglossa, now called a varietj^ of C. 

 guttata, but Messrs. Sander & Co. say there are good 

 differences between their new one and any of the known 

 forms of C. guttata, and, also, that the plant is found wild 

 in a locality far removed from that where C. amethysto- 

 glossa comes from. The plants have not yet flowered, 

 but, judging by a specimen in the Kew collection, the}' 

 ought to prove easy to manage. A considerable number 

 of plants were sold at the sale. This week the Messrs. 

 Linden, of Brussels, advertise the sale of another new Cat- 

 tleya for April 29th, which they have called C. Alexandrse. 

 A description of the plant by Mr. Rolfe is published in this 

 week's Gardeners Chronicle, from which it would seem that 

 this also is a near ally of C. amethystoglossa, pseudo-bulbs 

 and leaves resembling that plant very closely. Its most 

 remarkable character, however, is the length of the pe- 

 duncle or flower-stalk, which is from fifteen to eighteen 

 inches long and bears from six to ten fiowers. The color 

 of the flowers is described as being similar to those of 

 Laelia grandis tenebrosa. I shall not be surprised if, when 

 this and Messrs. Sander k Co.'s plant flower, they prove to 

 be one and the same. 



Cypripedium Exul. — This plant was described in the 

 Garde?iers Chronicle last year by Mr. H. Ridley, Director 

 of the Botanical Department in the Straits Settlements, 

 from specimens collected in Assam. It was, he said, a 

 very distinct variety, both in form and coloring, of C. in- 

 signe. Plants of it were sent to England, and one of them 

 was exhibited in flower last Tuesday by Mr. R. I. Measures. 

 This differed so markedly from what we know as C. insigne 

 that it was considered expedient to elevate the plant to the 

 rank of a species, which has been accordingly done by Mr. 

 O'Brien, whose description, with a drawing of the flower, 

 has been published in the last Gardeners' Chronicle. Mr. 

 O'Brien points out the resemblance in the leaves and form 

 of the flowers of C. Exul to C. Druryi, which, however, has 

 yellow flowers, while those of C. Exul are colored like C. 

 insigne, van Maulei. The plant was imported in large 

 quantities into England in 1891 and sold as the Siam form 

 of C. insigne. It is distinct, but not attractive in color, and 

 is not likely to become a favorite except, perhaps, with 

 those who have the Cypripedium mania. 



Odontoglossum Wendlandianum.- — This is a new Sanderian 

 introduction, of which a plant in flower received a first- 

 class certificate from the Royal Horticultural Society on 

 Tuesday last. It is in the way of O. niveum or O. blan- 

 dum, some suggesting that it is a cross between the latter 

 and 0. Andersonianum. The sepals and petals are narrow, 

 elegant, creamy white with chestnut blotches, the lip white 

 spotted with rose-purple. It is a pretty little Orchid, quite 

 equal to the best forms of O. blandum. 



Cattleya Bvrberryana, a cross between C. intricata and 

 C. superba, received an award of merit, as also did a hy- 

 brid Cattleya from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, named C. 

 Philo, a hybrid between C. iricolor and C. Mossi«. 



Rhododendron racemosum. — An exhibit of more than or- 

 dinary interest at the last meeting of the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society was a basket filled with plants in flower of a 

 charming little Rhododendron with the name at the head 

 of this paragraph. The plants did not exceed six inches in 

 height, and they were not unlike ordinar}- Box in habit 

 and foliage. The flowers, which were arranged in loose 

 heads four inches across, were three-fourths of an inch 

 across, shallowl)' campanulate, colored pale rose, with a 

 deeper margin. They were slightly fragrant and altogether 

 delightful little bouquets. The plants were from the 

 Coombe Wood nurseries of Messrs. J. ^'eitch & Sons, where 

 they had been growing in the open ground all winter, and 

 had been lifted only a few days before they were shown in 

 flower. From this it would appear that this tiny Rhodo- 

 dendron is hardy near London, and a most promising little 

 plant for the garden. The name, however, may possibly 

 be wrong. R. racemosum was described by Franchet 

 from specimens collected by Delavay in Yun-nan. There 

 is a type specimen of it in the Kew herbarium, and this 

 difters in several important points from the plant called R. 

 racemosum by Veitch, the scales on the stem being differ- 

 ent, the flowers smaller, the pedicels shorter and the leaves 

 larger and thicker than those of the plants shown in flower. 

 Furthermore, there are specimens at Kew of R. parvifolium 

 which agree very well with Messrs. Veitchs' plant, and 

 which are of Chinese origin. But we have also in cultiva- 

 tion a plant called R. parvifolium which is poor in com- 

 parison with Messrs. Veitchs' new introduction ; in fact, is 

 scarcely worth a place in the garden. R. parvifolium is, 

 however, found in Siberia as well as in China, and it may 

 vary considerably, as do many of the Rhododendrons. We 

 have at Kew a plant called R. racemosum which was cer- 

 tainly raised from seeds collected by Delavay, and this 

 looks like that of Messrs. Veitch. But, whatever its name 

 may be, Messrs. Veitch & Sons are to be congratulated on 

 having a new Rhododendron distinct in character, pretty, 

 and full of promise as a hardy plant. This is the second 

 to flower in England of the new Chinese Rhododendrons. 

 Of course, it obtained a first-class certificate. 



Hyacinths. — The monopoly of the bulb trade by the 

 Dutch is probabh' due to cheap labor as well as to the 

 natural advantages which the peculiar character of the 

 soil and lowness of the country afford. Custom, too, has, 

 no doubt, much to do with it. We buy bulbs from Holland 

 for the same reason as we buy knives from Sheffield. But 

 first-rate bulbs, equal to the best Dutch, can be grown in 

 England. We know this with respect to Daffodils and 

 Tulips, and we may now add Hyacinths. For the last five 

 years Kew has made the experiment of raising Hyacinths 

 from bulbils, growing them on in nursery-beds, lifting 

 them and storing them in a dr)- shed for the winter and 

 removing the flower-spikes as soon as they open until the 

 bulbs are full size, when they are planted in the flower- 

 beds for spring effect. At the present time the whole of 

 the large geometrical flower-garden in front of the great 

 Palm-house is filled with about 10,000 Hyacinths, all in full 

 blow, every one of which has been raised at Kew in from 

 three to five years from bulbils. Samples of the spikes 

 were exhibited before the Royal Horticultural Society last 

 Tuesday, and they were generall}' admitted to be equal to 

 those of Dutch origin. Of course, I do not mean by this to 

 suggest anything beyond the fact that many people might 

 find pleasure and satisfaction in growing for themselves 

 bulbs which are now purchased annually and thrown 

 away after they have flowered. From, the commercial 

 standpoint I question if it would ever be possible to pro- 

 duce in England bulbs equal to those grown in Holland, 

 and at the same time as cheap. 



Australian Plants. — The greenhouses at Kew owe not 

 a little of their charm at this time of year (April) to the 

 various Australian hard-wooded plants, so called, which 

 have received special attention at Kew during the last few 

 years. The most noteworthy are the Acacias, to which I 



