October ig, 1S92.] 



Garden and Forest. 



497 



pomologists hold to the correlation of quality with decrease of 

 other characters, they at the same time uniformly recommend 

 that in producing new varieties only seeds from the largest, 

 finest and hardiest varieties should be used. 



It is. evident from our discussion that quality and other 

 characters of cultivated fruits appear independently of each 

 other ; that there is no true correlation between these charac- 

 ters. There is a general increase in all characters as ameliora- 

 tion progresses — at least in all characters which are particularly 

 sought by horticulturists ; and this fact must ever remain the 

 chief inspiration to man in his efforts to ameliorate plants. 



New or Little-known Plants. 



New Orchids. 



Cymbidium Humblotii, Rolfe. — A fine Madagascar species, 

 the second now known from that island, with a large 

 branching panicle of green and black flowers, whicli re- 

 semble these of Coelogyne pandurata. A plant was ex- 

 hibited at a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on 

 June 7th last by C. Ingram, Esq., of Godalming, and was 

 awarded a botanical certificate. Dried specimens were 

 sent home by Monsieur Humblot, and it is highly proba- 

 ble that the living one came from the same source. — Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle, July 2d, p. 8. 



Oncidium Rolfeanum, Sander. — A New Granadan species 

 allied to O. Kienastianum, Rchb. f., and O. trilingue, Lindl. 

 It was introduced by Messrs. F. Sander&Co. , of St. Albans, 

 who exhibited it at the last show held by the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society in the Inner Temple Gardens, when it was 

 awarded a botanical certificate. — Gardeners' Chronicle, July 

 9th, p. 34. 



Phal^nopsis X Artemis, Hort. — A pretty hybrid raised 

 from P. grandiflora crossed with the pollen of P. rosea. It 

 bears some resemblance to P. x intermedia. It was ex- 

 hibited by Messrs. James Veitch' & Sons, of Chelsea, at a 

 meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on July 12th 

 last, and received an award of merit. — Gardeners Chronicle, 

 July 1 6th, p. 75. 



Dendrobium chrysocephalum, Kranzlin. — A species be- 

 longing to the section Pedilonum, with golden-yellow 

 flowers very similar to those of D. viridiroseum, Rchb. f., 

 ill shape. It was introduced by Messrs. F. Sander & Co., 

 of St. Albans, and flowered in the collection of Prince 

 Lichtenstein, of Moravia. — Gardeners' Chronicle, July 30th, 

 p. 122. 



Masdevallia Harryana Gravesice, Rolfe. — A pure white 

 variety of this handsome species, and exceedingly rare. 

 It was introduced by Mr. F. Mau, of Orange, New Jersey, 

 and flowered in the collection of Henry Graves, Esq., of 

 the same place. — Gardeners' Chronicle, July 30th, pp. 122, 

 131, fig. 21. 



Cypripedium X Bryani, Hort. — A very handsome hybrid 

 raised from C. Philippinense crossed with the pollen of C. 

 Argus, in the collection of N. C. Cookson, Esq., of Wylam- 

 on-Tyne. It received an award of merit from the Royal 

 Horticultural Society on July 26th last. — Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, July 30th, p. 138^ ^ ^ ^^^^ 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



New Orchids at the Sale-rooms. — There is an inundation 

 of new or so-called new Orchids in the English market 

 now, chiefly in the London auction-rooms. Collectors 

 display more energy than ever in sending home large 

 quantities of plants, with tempting descriptions of the 

 beauties of their finds and graphic accounts of the terrors 

 and trials they had to undergo to procure them. The old 

 style was quite different. The collector was a secret 

 worker, his movements were unknown to all save his em- 

 ployer, and if he suffered much there was little said about 

 it. Now every importation has a history, an attractive one, 

 and "our collector " tells of the cannibals, venomous ser- 

 pents, ferocious animals, treacherous servants, etc., etc., 



which he had to encounter in his search for the plants 

 which are now offered at any price you like, only please 

 note there are no more because "our collector" says he 

 has gathered every one or an earthquake came and swal- 

 lowed all that he left. The perils of the "Orchid hunter" 

 have already been the subject of a serial story in an 

 English weekly. Meanwhile there is no difficulty in get- 

 ting men to go on these perilous errands, and as a rule they 

 thrive wonderfully well, spite of serpents and cannibals. 



This "romancing" does no harm, indeed it is often 

 interesting. One wonders how far the collector will go in 

 his desire to spin a yarn, which is meant, we suppose, to 

 inspire rival collectors with fear. Mr. Grant Allen recom- 

 mends anyone who has thoughts of taking up literature as 

 a profession to buy a broom and sweep crossings instead. 

 The plant collector now talks in the same strain. Mean- 

 while thousands of pounds are spent on Orchids now 

 where tens were spent before. There is certainly no sign 

 of abatement in the Orchid fever. 



Cycads.— The collection of Cycads at Kew is the richest 

 known. It comprises many very large specimens, some 

 of which frequently produce very fine cones. There are 

 more cones than usual just now, the following being spe- 

 cially noteworthy : Dioon pectinatum, a newish species, 

 previously called D. spinulosum. It differs from D. edule 

 in having broader, thicker pinna;, toothed near the apex. 

 The cone, a male, is one and a half feet long by four inches 

 in diameter. D. edule is also in fruit, the cone, a female in 

 this case, being as large as a man's head. Encephalartos 

 villosus has two beautiful cones rising from the centre of 

 a grand rosette of arched leaves eight feet long. Each 

 cone is one and a half feet long, half a foot in diameter, 

 and built up of regular angular fleshy scales colored soft 

 orange, not unlike a huge pine-apple. When the scales 

 open and partly show the rich scarlet seeds the effect is 

 particularly attractive. E. Altenstinii, the giant of the 

 genus, has a head of leaves fifteen feet through. It is a 

 grand plant for a large house, grand as any plant I know ; 

 moreover it is as good-natured as a Dicksonia. There are 

 several very large specimens of it, one or other of which 

 is always in cone. There are a pair of male cones eighteen 

 inches long on one of them now. Macrozamia spiralis has 

 a short conical stem two feet in diameter and long flaccid 

 leaves of a rich green color. The one in cone now has no 

 less than six fine male cones, each nine inches long and 

 colored pale greenish yellow. There is not much differ- 

 ence in habit between this and M. Fraseri and M. Moorei. 

 Another of the same stamp, named M. Dyeri, has recently 

 been added to the Kew collection. 



These large sturdy Cycads are most valuable plants for 

 furnishing large houses. They are always good to look at, 

 magnificent in every sense, and they are, as a rule, among 

 the easiest of plants to cultivate. Large stems of them 

 may be sent long distances without suffering, most of the 

 big specimens at Kew having been obtained from Australia 

 or Africa by means of stems dug up and sent without any 

 soil in dry boxes. Some years ago a large stem, ten feet 

 long, of M. Moorei, which had been sent from Australia by 

 Sir F. von Mueller, showed signs of decay at the base of 

 the stem. To save it the stem was cut in two and the 

 upper half planted as a cutting. It rooted in time, and is 

 now a fine healthy specimen. The South African Cycads, 

 such as Encephalartos villosus, E. Caffer and E. Altenstei- 

 nii, ought to thrive in the open air in such states as Cali- 

 fornia. 



Stevensonia grandifolia.^ — This is a Palm of more than 

 ordinary interest. It is a native of the Seychelle Islands, 

 where it is said to be common, but, as is the case with 

 several other genera found in those islands, it does not 

 occur in any other part of the world. It is monotypic. 

 It grows to a height of fifty feet, and has a slender, annu- 

 lated, unarmed, dark brown stem, the upper part of which 

 is clothed with the hard sheathing bases of the leaves. 

 Young plants have numerous black spines an inch long 

 on the leaf-stalks, but as the plant increases in size these 



