244 



Garden and Forest. 



[July i8, iS 



says: "The flowers, humble and simple enough, breathed 

 whispers of strange histories. Some were reared in furtive 

 hours in crowded slums ; some came from the work-house, 

 and many from the parochial, national, infant, Sunday and 

 ragged schools ; some from the kitchens of domestic servants 

 and the quiet homes of working people. The advantages of 

 these flower shows in a social aspect were many. They pro- 

 vided a source of simple recreation, and gave a new interest 

 in home by adding unwonted cheerfulness to the comfortless 

 rooms of the poor. They became the means of drawing at- 

 tention to some of the social wants of the working classes, 

 such as the need of fresh air, ventilation and more space. 

 They taught them simple habits of forethought and prudence, 

 for if they would win the prizes they must purchase their plants 

 long beforehand, and expend money and time on what might 

 only be a probability of success. Their chief good waS that 

 in watching the growth and progress of the flowers under 

 their care the children and their parents were brought into 

 close CQjitact with something pure and innocent and beautiful; 

 something that should speak to the better part of their natures 

 and tell them of Him who has madethe earth beautiful and fair." 



Lord Shaftesbury believed there was nothing among the 

 secondary means of instruction for the people to surpass win- 

 dow gardening and flower culture. 



The love of plants and flowers on the continent of Europe 

 is perhaps more universal than in England even. Hurst, in 

 his "Life in the Fatherland," says: "But while the universal 

 pains bestowed by the affluent on plants of the rarest and most 

 beautiful variety is admiralile, the almost paternal care lav- 

 ished by the poorest and humblest on such ffowers as they can 

 have is touching. The family that is crowded into a single 

 story of a small house is sure to have each window, however 

 small, occupied by flowers. They are healthy plants, too, for 

 they seem to be always in blossom and the leaves are of the 

 freshest verdure, hi the narrowest streets and lanes, in town 

 as well as country, there is a love of flowers and a skill in 

 training them into thrift and beauty, confined to no class or 

 condition, and exhibited alike by small children and very aged 

 persons," 



Many of these foreigners who come to this country bring 

 this love of plant life with them. I have in mind a German 

 woman in this city, whose plants are always the envy of the 

 neighborhood. I asked her once how it was she succeeded so 

 well when others tailed under nearly the same surroundings. 

 She said : " She did not know ; only she thought she must 

 love the plants better." I think this German woman was right 

 iii-her conjecture. No one can expect to be a really success- 

 ful grower of plants unless he really loves them. Who can 

 read that charming story of " Picciola," by Saintine, without 

 believing that a plant reciprocates the love bestowed upon it ! 

 This plant, prison grown and cared, became almost a human 

 being in its power for good. Among the well-to-do classes in 

 America the love of flowers is undoubtedly increasing year by 

 year, and as a proof of this notice the large sale of flowers in 

 the stores and on the street, and the flo\ver-beds so carefully 

 planted and watered by the occupants of the country house. 



There is, however, need of an effort to spread a greater love 

 of plants and flowers among the poorer classes. Largely it 

 must be done through the children by example and education. 

 The public and the Sunday school should do what it can in 

 this direction. Something has already been done, notably in 

 Boston, where many of the churches give pot plants to the 

 children at Easter, and this custom is increasing. This 

 seems far preferable to the old plan of giving only flowers, 

 which so soon wither and decay. The plants also look very 

 pretty as a decoration to the church. In one Sunday-school at 

 least prizes have been offered for the best plants brought back 

 the next Easter, thus encoiu'agingthe children to care tor them 

 during the year. 



The Massachusetts Horticultural Society has for several 

 years offered prizes for window gardening to children eighteen 

 years old and under. The value of these prizes has ranged 

 from 50 cts. to $1.50. The eftbrt of this Society to popularize 

 the cultivation of flowers by encouraging children in the love 

 and care of plants deserves high praise. 



I am not aware that any other society has made any similar 

 attempt. Something more, however, shovfld, I think, be done 

 by our Horticultural Society when the prizes are awarded. 

 Why not distribute the prizes on an appointed day when the 

 officers of the Society might be present ; and why not select 

 some competent person to address the children and present 

 the prizes to each child personally ? This, I think, would have 

 an encouraging effect and stimulate them to greater efforts in 

 the future. 



Boston. y. D. ]V. French. 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



THE fortnightly exhibition of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society held yesterday was an unusually full one. 

 and the number of new and rare plants was larger than it 

 has been for several meetings. This being now just the 

 height of the Orchid season, there were many good things 

 exhibited and not a few were submitted to the committee 

 for certificates. Perhaps the loveliest of all the Orchids 

 shown, certain!)' the rarest and most valuable, was Cattleya 

 Wagenerii sHperbii, which may behest described as a white 

 form of C. Jl/ossiiF, a large bold flower, with broad sepals 

 and petals and a wide shallow lip. The whole flower is 

 pure white, excepting the large blotch of citron-yellow on 

 the labelhim, which, however, does not mar the chaste 

 beauty of the blossom. This particular plant represented 

 a much finer form of Wegener's Cattleya than has yet been 

 seen, the flower being larger and of better form, and fully 

 justifies the additional name, superba. The specimen came 

 from the unrivaled collection of Baron Schroeder and 

 bore over a dozen flowers. Another Orchid that excited 

 some interest and received a first-class certificate, was a 

 new Phala^nopsis, recently named P. glon'osahy Professor 

 Rcichenbach. It is, however, so much like P. amabilis, 

 that one might easily mistake one for the other. In both 

 the foliage is tinted with a purplish hue, and both have 

 large white flowers, with the lip stained with vinous 

 purple. It was exhibited by Messrs. Low, of Clapton, 

 and their manager, Mr. Casey, tells me that it is a 

 freer growing plant than the old P. amahilis and a much 

 freer flowerer, and if this turns out to be the case every- 

 where, it is an acquisition, undoubtedly. Messrs. Low 

 also showed a form of the new Cypripedium bellatulum, 

 for which they received a certificate at the last meet- 

 ing. The variety is called roseum, because the flowers 

 are distinctly washed or stained with claret purple on 

 their exteriors. Though I do not agree with the principle 

 of certificating mere varieties that exhibit only a slight 

 deviation from the types, I think that if this coloring in 

 the flowers of this Cypripedium is constant, it will be a 

 beautiful Orchid. The intimate relationship between C. 

 bellatulum and C. Godefroyte is as apparent as that lietvi'een 

 Phakvnopsis aiiiabilis and P. gloriosa, and many are of the 

 opinion that the points of distinction, from a cultivator's 

 standpoint, are weak. A fourth Orchid, certificated on 

 this occasion, was an extremely fine form of Odon/oglossum 

 nebulosum, called excellens, exhibited by Messrs. Sander & 

 Co., St. Albans. I have never before seen such a fine 

 variety, the only approach being that named pardinum, 

 which I remember seeing in splendid bloom in Messrs. 

 Backhouse's nursery at York some time ago. The excel- 

 lens variety has flowers fully a third larger than the type, 

 with the broad sepals copiously marked with large spots 

 of purple, which, not being confluent, makes the flower 

 very pretty. The typical O. nebulosum is one of the finest 

 of Mexican Orchids, and, in our moist climate, it can be 

 grown to perfection. A remarkably fine form of Odoti/o- 

 glossuni Hallii named magnificum won a certificate. The 

 flowers are much above the usual size, and with broad sepals 

 and petals and an extraordinarily wide labellum, while the 

 colors, pale-yellow ground and coffee-brown markings, are 

 richer than in ordinary 0. Hallii. It was shown by Mr. 

 Pollett an amateur, who owns a choice collection of 

 Orchids near London. 



A very beautiful new Japanese shrub was shown by 

 Messrs. Veitch of Chelsea, to whom a first-class certificate 

 was worthily awarded. This was Styrax Obassia. a 

 dwarf shrub, having leaves of rounded outline as large as 

 those of Catalpa, and bearing drooping racemes, six inches 

 or more in length, of pure white flowers, resembling 

 those of a Philadelphus or Mock Orange. Judging by the 

 number of flowering branches exhibited, it must be a free 

 flowerer, and it is certainly one of the most beautiful 



