March 4, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



105 



pea, almost white and sprinkled with minute red dots. They 

 are of the bulb-like appearance noticeable in those of Nerine 

 and Amaryllis Belladonna, and, like those, are best sown on 

 the surface of the soil. Those I have tried have germinated 

 readily, but I threw them away as soon as my curiosity on that 

 point was satisfied, for I do not believe that seedlings would 

 attain a blossoming size in less than forty or fifty years. 

 Burchell, in his account of the nearly allied Ammocharis co- 

 ranica, which he found in thousands in Caffraria, declares that 

 from a careful dissection of bulbs eight inches in diameter he 

 does not believe that that size was attained in less than two 

 hundred or three hundred years. B. Josephines first flowered 

 in cultivation in the gardens of the Malmaison.and was named 

 in honor of the Empress Josephine. 



All that has been said of the cultivation of B. Josephitice is 

 applicable to B. gigantea. The bulbs of the latter species are 

 almost spherical and light yellowish brown in color; the outer 

 coats are very hard and stone-like and very brittle. The foliage 

 is peculiar, each leaf being about fifteen inches long, very 

 broad, and rounded at the end ; shaped, indeed, much like a 

 beaver's tail. The flowers resemble those of B. Josephine? in 

 form, and are produced every year ; they are less numerous, 

 and though much brighter in color, are less effective because 

 they are greenish at the base. ._, -,-,,... 



Canton, Mass. W- E - EtldtCOtt. 



Snowdrops. 



Galanthus Fosteri.— So prevalent is the idea that size is 

 necessarily an element of beauty in a flower that the first view 

 of this new Snowdrop is a disappointment. Herr Max Leichtlin 

 considers this the King of Snowdrops, and thinks that under 

 cultivation it will prove the finest of the family. The fine bulbs 

 with which I was favored last fall were collected ones, and, of 

 course, do not do the variety justice, but, from present appear- 

 ances, they must improve very materially before they produce 

 flowers to equal those of G. Elwesi in mere size. "However, 

 this is a beautiful variety of G. latifolius, with firm Scilla-like 

 foliage, and sepals which seem scarcely as broad as those of 

 good specimens of G. Elwesi. The perianth-segments are 

 pure white, with a slight line of green under the notched edges 

 and a dot of green at the base of each petal — a most charming 

 interior. 



Galanthus Elwesi. — This Snowdrop commenced bloom- 

 ing on a south border late in January, and its large but 

 dainty flowers again proved the earliest harbingers of a new 

 garden season. There is a special charm attached to this deli- 

 cate flower which weather of the wildest does not discourage. 

 The fiercest storms simply toss their beautiful blooms grace- 

 fully about, and they cheer one in this gloomy season with 

 their look of contentment under most disheartening surround- 

 ings. I have noticed that this Asia Minor variety has been said 

 to be sometimes of a rather delicate constitution, but I can see 

 no indication of this in my border, which contains a few hun- 

 dred bulbs collected in 1889. They are now in good condition, 

 with flowers large and sepals mostly wide and of good, firm 

 texture. Like most collected bulbs they vary somewhat in 

 form and in bud — I notice some quite spherical, while others 

 approach the long dainty form of G. nivalis, though in all 

 cases very much larger. 



One cannot have too many Snowdrops. Either in the bor- 

 ders, in the grass, or for naturalizing they are never out of 

 place and never too abundant, and as the heralds of spring 

 one welcomes them year after year with increasing interest. 

 White flowers are never very showy in the garden, and while 

 G. nivalis is a gem, G. Elwesi is so much larger (yet without 

 a trace of coarseness) that it should always be planted in prefer- 

 ence where the greatest effect is desired. These bulbs have 

 been collected in such quantities that there is no reason why 

 the dealers should not reduce the price and give every one a 

 chance to plant them largely. 



Elizabeth, N.J. J.N.Gerard. 



Iris Bakeriana came into bloom in the open border on the 

 23d of February. This beautiful little Iris, with its blue stand- 

 ards and tigered falls, has been several times described in the 

 columns of Garden and Forest, but its perfect hardiness and 

 natural season of flowering in this latitude do not seem to 

 have been noted. Planted in August, 1890, in a group with 

 several others of the type of /. reticulata, this Iris (as well as 

 the others) has been entirely without protection. The garden 

 was continuously frozen from December 1st till some time early 

 in January, and part of this time the bed had a slight covering 

 of snow. Shortly after the change to mild weather the foliage 

 commenced to spear up, and has not been damaged by any of 

 the constant vagaries of the temperature. When showing 



color a pane of glass was fastened over blooms to protect them 

 from moisture, and at this writing it is doing duty as a snow- 

 shed. One hesitates to speak confidently of any plant on a 

 single test, but, judging from the trial of this Iris during the 

 rather hard winter just past, I think there can be little doubt of 

 its perfect hardiness. 



After some experience with /. reticulata, however, I am 

 inclined to make the reservation that, as with most natu- 

 rally eariy-blooming plants, care should be taken in selecting 

 a suitable location. Snowdrops, Squills and some Anemones 

 may be planted anywhere, as the most trying weather affects 

 them little, if at all ; but it seems better to plant such things as 

 these little Irises in a position where they will not start much 

 before their natural season even if the weather should happen 

 to be mild earlier. A good position, I find, is on a border 

 which is slightly shaded from the winter sun by a low picket- 

 fence till late in January. In such a location the earth remains, 

 as a rule, continuously frozen till late in the winter, and when 

 the sun rises to soften the bed the plants are ready to spring 

 into bloom with little danger to fear from sudden changes. 

 But, aside from the interest of flowering these little gems in the 

 open ground, perhaps, until one has some surplus stock, more 

 enjoyment could be had from them if planted in a cold-house, 

 where one could study their dainty beauty with no fear of 



pneumonia. 



Elizabeth, N. J. 



J. N. G. 



Phalaenopsis Staartiana. — In the gardens of Mr. H. II. Hun- 

 newell, at Wellesley, Massachusetts, there are several plants 

 of this species now in flower, one of them having an arching 

 scape thirty-one inches long, and bearing fifty-eight flowers. 

 It has five leaves about twelve inches long and three inches 

 across. Some five years ago I cut from the root of one of 

 these plants a piece on which two small leaves were growing, 

 and, placing it carefully in a small saucer with four or five bits 

 of potshreds with charcoal and sphagnum, it has now grown 

 into the plant above described. It was permitted to flower for 

 the first time last year ; the scape then had nineteen flowers. 



South Natick, Mass. F Gould. 



Correspondence. 



Orchids at North Easton, Massachusetts. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — At the gardens of F. L. Ames, Esq., the cool Orchid- 

 houses are particularly gay, even thus early in the season. 

 During a recent visit I noted in particular some exceptionally 

 good varieties of Lcelia anceps, among them a form of Virgi- 

 nalis called Alba, which is very nearly pure white, there being 

 only a faint yellow blotch in the throat. The variety Wil- 

 liamsii has very large white flowers, with a yellow blotch in 

 the throat, and violet-colored lines radiating therefrom. San- 

 deriana is often confounded with this plant, but its flowers are 

 smaller, and the throat and tip of the labellum are shaded with 

 violet-purple, with an intermediate bar of white. The whole 

 flower of the variety Winniana is of a deep violet color, the 

 lip being a shade darker than the sepals and petals, while Per- 

 ci valiana is the very opposite of this, being a very light mauve. 



It is still rather early for Dendrobiums, but some rare and 

 beautiful specimens are in flower. In comparison with the 

 flowers of D. nobile, those of its variety Elegans are more 

 regular. The sepals and petals and lower part of the labellum 

 are a soft creamy white, in striking contrast with the deep wine 

 color of the interior of the labellum. The variety Nobilius of 

 the same species is a most striking one. The entire flower is 

 a deep maroon-purple, excepting only a small part of the lip. 

 D. infundibulum, var. Jamesianum, is noticeable for the large 

 size of its flowers, the purity of its white sepals and petals, and 

 its deep yellow tubular throat. D. Schneiderianum (D. Find- 

 layanum x aureum) is the most beautiful of the many hybrids 

 now in bloom. The lobes of the labellum reflex gracefully, 

 with chocolate and orange markings in the throat. The sepals 

 and petals are pale pink, the latter wavy. In the size and color 

 of its flowers and slight fragrance it resembles the seed parent, 

 D. aureum, but»in length of pedicels, which gives the plant 

 additional grace, it inherits the good qualities of its pollen 

 parent. This is a well-bloomed specimen, bearing forty-five 

 flowers on two stems. D. micans (D. Wardianum x litui- 

 fiorum) is another handsome hybrid, in which the flowers are 

 more nearly like those of D. Wardianum in shape, the trum- 

 pet-shaped labellum peculiar to the seed parent being very 

 slightly developed. In reference to the variety of D. Wardi- 

 anum known as Schrcederi, Mr. Robinson, the head-gardener 

 of the establishment, aptly says that it bears to the type the 

 same relation that the variety Nobilius does to D. nobile. 



