December 5, iSSS.] 



Garden and Forest. 



485 



and one-fourth inches long, white, lined with crimson ; 

 the petals are white, blotched and lined with crimson, 

 narrowed towards the apex and about six inches long- ; 

 the pouch is like that of C. S/onei, ivory white, veined and 

 tinted with rose. A thousand plants of this new introduc- 

 tion will be sold by auction on the i6th inst. Phajiis 

 callosus is a recent addition to the Kew collection, and is 

 now in flower. It has the habit of/", grandifolius, but the 

 flowers have yellowish-brown sepals and petals, and a 

 funnel-shaped white labelium, which changes to cream- 

 yellow with age. This species, together with P. Wal/icliii, 

 P. hico/or and P. grandifolius, should be in every collection 

 of tropical Orchids, as they grow and flower very freely 

 under ordinary treatment. Such kinds as P. /uberciilosus 

 are too expensive to pr(_>cure, too diflicult to grow, and 

 too prone to die suddenly for most Orchid growers, all)eit 

 they are exceedingly beautiful when in flower. We have a 

 Cypripedium mania in England — indeed, one might safely 

 say in Europe — and there are evidences of its having 

 spread to America, for a single plant of C. jMarsIialiia- 

 iium was lately purchased at an auction here for an Amer- 

 ican collection, the price paid being 150 guineas. In my 

 opinion this plant has little to recommend it save its 

 hybrid origin, and its being a little less beautiful than one 

 of its parents, C. concolor, and a little more attractive than 

 the other parent, C. venuslum. Hybrids which are ugly to 

 look upon, which none save those affected with the mania 

 would waste a second glance upon, realize ridiculously 

 high prices. The consequence is that every grower of 

 Cypripediums has begun to cross them, and hopes forsome- 

 thing new. In a few years we shall have as many named 

 Cypripediums as we now have of Chrysanthemums, for it 

 appears that every h)'brid is dubbed with a new name. 



In an article on the culture of Phala^nopsis which lately 

 appeared in G.^rden and Forest, it was stated that /-". 

 Loivii was apt to lose its leaves in winter, and that it 

 required a lii.'ht position. This pretty species is grown 

 very well at Kew, last year producing branching spikes 

 nearly three feet long, with over thirty flowers on each. 

 The treatment there for it is as follows : House, a hot, 

 moist, rather shaded one, with the plant suspended near the 

 glass. It IS fastened on a teak raft with a good layer ot 

 living sphagnum about the roots. During summer it is 

 watered daily ; in winter the moss is kept green. The 

 leaves remain on the plant all the year round, and strong 

 spikes of bloom are produced annually. 



Mr. Cannell, of Swanley, has introduced and raised 

 many very useful flowering plants, but it is questionable 

 if he has ever made such a lucky- hit as with his new Be- 

 gonia Octavie, of which he had a magnificent group at 

 the Aquarium show. The flowers are exactly like good 

 blooms oi Gardenia Forluuci, quite as white, as full, and ol 

 as good substance. The plants are scarcely a foot high, 

 freely branched, and the racemes are erect and many flow- 

 ered. It is only Ijy examining the leaves that one is as- 

 sured of the correctness of the name Begonia for this 

 plant. Flowering in November, it becomes doubly valu- 

 .able. 



These new Begonias, which the Messrs. Veitch have 

 obtained by crossing the distinct winter-flowering B. 

 Socoirana with some of the tuberous-rooted kinds, are un- 

 like other Begonias in several important particulars. The 

 most valuable is that of holding their flowers for several 

 weeks, which if cut and placetl in water will last at least 

 three weeks. I have proved this with flowers of ^. Socu- 

 trana, as well as of its progeny. The best of the latter is 

 John Heal, which has rosy-crimson flowers. Winter 

 Gem is another good variety, and I hear there are several 

 new ones of the same race which are described as con- 

 siderable improvements on those named. 



Iporticea Horsfallice, I. ternata and /. Briggsii are three 

 first-class, stove, winter-flowering climbers. The first is 

 an old favorite, its large axillary bunches of brilliant rose- 

 crimson flowers being admirable in every way. The 

 second is sometimes known as /. Thomsoniana or "the 



white Horsfalliae," and was introduced a year or two ago. 

 It resembles the first named in habit, but the leaves are 

 thicker in texture, and have three instead of five divisions; 

 the flowers are large and pure white. /. Briggsii is a va- 

 riety of/. HorsfallicB, and is characterized by its smaller 

 flowers, which are deep rose-colored. These three species 

 are now bearing hundreds of flowers in the stoves at Kew. 

 Cacti are not popular in FLnglish gardens. Opuntia 

 Rafinesquii is grown by a few, but most of these plants 

 are practically unknown liere. Probably you have in 

 America other kmds than the Opuntia mentioned, which 

 would be hardy in England. Information on these would 

 be specially interesting to English readers of Garden and 

 Forest. 



November gtli. W. WatSOH. 



Cultural Department. 

 Summer Apples in New England. 



"T^HE planting of Apple trees must have been begun in the 

 i- very earliest years of the settlements at Plymouth and 

 Boston, if we are to believe the statements, taken from old 

 records, of the large quantity of cider made before these set- 

 tlements were ten years old. Doubtless most of these trees, 

 if not all, were grown from seeds brought from their old 

 homes by the settlers. Grafting was but little known or prac- 

 ticed, and even up to the beginning of this century, and in 

 many parts of the country considerably later, seedling orchards, 

 in which only here and there were trees producing fruit of 

 edible quality, were the rule. 



It was, doubtless, a good thing in the end that such a great 

 number of seedling trees was allowed to grow and bear fruit, 

 since among these have been found nearly every popular and 

 profitable Apple now grown in this country. Foreign varieties 

 have never gained any great foothold in New Englaml, and, 

 with the exception of Russian Apples, valued especially for 

 their hardiness against the severe cold of northern New Eng- 

 land winters, they are not likely to do so, because very few 

 of them equal our own best sorts in all that makes these fruits 

 desirable. 



Up to 1840 commercial orchards, except for cider, were al- 

 most unknown, nearly every family, even in tlie cities, grow- 

 ing fruit enough on its own grounds for a home supply. It 

 was the easy intercommunication between tlie residents of 

 the larger places which first popularized and extended the cul- 

 tivation of the best known sorts of fruit. In all villages were 

 sons and daughters of farmers, who rapidly spread the knowl- 

 edge of choice fruits to the homesteads irom which they 

 sprang-, and, as the interest grew, small mu'series were estab- 

 lished near the towns for the propagation of these selected 

 Apples. In this way a lively spirit was awakened, and be- 

 tween 1835 snJ '850 orcharding, as now understood, had a 

 very rapid growth and developn-ient. During this tin-ie and 

 afterwards, the springing up of the Washingtoniau temperance 

 movement led to the tlestruction of large inmd)ers of the old 

 cider-orchards, and, though some such still survive, most of 

 the orchards in New England now mainly consist of grafted 

 trees. 



The Massachusetts Horticultural Society did a most useful 

 work in disseminating a knowledge of good sorts of fruit, and 

 although n-iodern n-ieans of transportation were ind;nown, yet 

 all through the settled region — in every village and hamlet — 

 there were sonie persons who managed to secure, grow and 

 extend the knowledge of the best varieties. During that tinie 

 most of the Apples were selected which still constitute the 

 standard list, both for conin-iercial and liome use. 



The first sunimer Apple that becan-ie widely known was the 

 Early Flarvest, styled by Downing "the finest early Apple 

 yet known." Before its advent the Anierican Summer Pear- 

 inain was considered the best early Apple, though in Maine 

 the English Sops of Wine, known there more generally as 

 Bell's Early, was fountl to be n-iore suited to the climate. 

 Shortly afterwards the William's Favorite, which originated 

 within the present limits of Boston, began to lie known, and it 

 now takes the lead as a choice market variety. I<^very- 

 where tlie Harvest was ])lanted, hut in very few places has it 

 ever grown perfect fruit long. While the trees ;u-e yoimg this 

 Apple is often very fine, hut in a few y.ears the scaliliing and 

 cracking fungus gets a hold upon it which is rarely broken. 

 For this reason tlie Harvest has never been much of a mar- 

 ket Apple in New England. The Pearmain lias ahnost passed 

 out of cultivation, and is rarely seen upon the street- 

 stands, which contain mostly the Red Asti;achan. The 



