May 27, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



245 



** Cattleya Pinelli marginata " is affixed), the latter being the 

 pollen parent. It flowered for the first time in November, 

 1889, from seeds sown in 1883. The flower is ten centimetres 

 in diameter across the petals, light rose-purple, flaked with a 

 slightly darker shade, the lip nearly entire, undulate, the front 

 lobe crimson-purple, with a paler margin, the side lobes 

 margined with light rose-purple, and the disc rather pallid 

 with some purple veins. — Orchidophile, February, 1891, p. 48, 

 with colored plate. „ „ _, ., 



Kevv. R.A.Rolfe. 



Recent Plant Portraits. 



THE Botanical Magazine for May contains a figure (t. 7172) 

 of the trunkless Yucca rupicola, a native of western Texas, 

 where it was first discovered by Lindheimer, and of northern 

 Mexico as far south and west, at least, as Chihuahua. It'is one 

 of a group in which the leaf is margined with minutely horned 

 teeth, and is a showy plant in flower, although, unfortunately, 

 it has not proved hardy in northern gardens. It is interesting 

 to note that it has now flowered in England in the open air — 

 in the garden of Canon Ellacombe, at Bitton. 



There is a figure of Hermannia cristata (t. 7173), a native of 

 southern Africa, and rather a weedy-looking subject, although 

 it is said to deserve a place in any conservatory, but which, 

 however, is rather botanically curious than horticulturally 

 beautiful. It is interesting in that it differs from all the other 

 species of southern Africa, where the genus is very largely 

 represented, and in approaching an American species, Her- 

 mannia Texana, in the broad crest of the capsule. 



Wahlenbergia undulata appears on t. 7174. This is a 

 widely diffused species from the Transvaal to the Orange Free 

 State and southward to Plettenburg Bay, ascending an eleva- 

 tion of 6,000 feet on the mountains of Natal. Our correspon- 

 dent, Mr. Watson, who visited southern Africa a few years ago 

 and who brought home seeds with him, speaks of it as "grow- 

 ing in masses in marsh-lands, the stems supporting one an- 

 other, and the whole forming a beautiful picture, suggestive 

 of a group of Campanulas." It is said to be well adapted for 

 pot culture as a hanging plant, as the branches descend on all 

 sides, with ascending tips loaded with bright blue flowers. 



There are figures also of Pitcairnia Roezlii (t. 7175), one of 

 a large number of Pitcairnias with red flowers, which resemble 

 one another closely in habit and structure. The species here 

 figured is said to be one of the finest of them all ; it is distin- 

 guished by distinctly petioled and comparatively broad leaves 

 and long simple racemes of bright scarlet flowers, remaining 

 in perfection for a long time. It is a native of South America. 



Ccelogyne Rossiana is figured on t. 7176. This is a native of 

 Burma, and a not very showy species, although, as the editor 

 points out, of considerable botanical interest. 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



L' Horticulture Internationale, Brussels. 



THIS powerful nursery company was founded four years ago 

 on the nurseries of Monsieur John Linden, who had built 

 tip for himself a great reputation in Ghent, where during the 

 greater part of half a century he occupied himself with the 

 introduction and cultivation of beautiful exotic plants of all 

 kinds. What Veitch, Low and several others were to English, 

 Linden was to Belgian horticulture. ButGhent is provincial, and 

 Monsieur Linden felt that Brussels could afford much greater 

 opportunities for the success of his enterprise. His anticipa- 

 tions have been more than realized, for not only does his 

 " Socie"te" Anonyme " include some of the most influential and 

 the richest of Belgian amateurs, but the result of his venture 

 has been to create among the wealthy residents in Brussels, as 

 well as in Belgium generally, a love for Orchids which now 

 bids fair to become at least as far-reaching as it is in England. 



The director of the company is Monsieur Lucien Linden, his 

 father retaining control only over the collecting and introducing 

 of new plants. The nursery is very extensive ; it is almost en- 

 tirely devoted to the cultivation of in-door plants, and is planned 

 in such a manner as to afford the best possible conditions for 

 the healthy growth of the plants and at the same time the most 

 enjoyable "show-room" for visitors. From the entrance to the 

 stoke-holes everything in the establishment is in most admira- 

 ble order, so that whether the visitor is inspecting the gigantic 

 Palms and Tree Ferns in the corridors, the tropical Orchids or 

 the admirably fitted workshop in which packing, cleaning, pot- 

 ting, etc., are performed, he cannot help being struck by the 



excellent orderand cleanliness which prevail everywhere in this 

 well-organized establishment. The nursery is a gigantic draw- 

 ing-room, for it teems with beautiful objects which may be 

 inspected with perfect ease and enjoyment. In my opinion, 

 this nursery is one of the very best of the many attractions 

 which the beautiful town of Brussels offers to visitors. 



So much for L'Horticulture Internationale as an exhibition. 

 The attractions for cultivators of exotic plants are, at least, as 

 great as those of any other nursery known to me. The col- 

 lection of Orchids is very extensive. All the best garden kinds 

 are grown in enormous numbers and grown wonderfully well. 

 Odontoglossums, Masdevallias, Caftleyas, Lselias, Vandas, 

 Aerides, Dendrobiums — these are represented by thousands 

 of plants, and all so full of vigor that one can scarcely refrain 

 from purchasing. The houses, of which there are about thirty, 

 are all very large, some exceptionally so. They are lightly 

 built, with stages running close to and parallel with the roof- 

 glass ; the floor is of fluted tiles, and beneath the stages there 

 are open tanks of soft water. The material used for shading 

 is thin lath-blinds, so constructed as to allow the rays of sun- 

 shine to reach the plants directly, but never to shine on any 

 one point long enough to burn. The compost used for almost 

 every one of the Orchids is a mixture of finely chopped sphag- 

 num, and chopped peat formed of the roots of Polypodium, 

 not the Brake Fern commonly used in England. Water is 

 supplied much more liberally than one usually sees, even for 

 Orchids, some of the plants, such as Odontoglossums and 

 Vandas, being liberally syringed overhead several times a 

 day, even in spring. These are the conditions and material, 

 so far as I could discover, which produce such marvelous re- 

 sults in this nursery. There remain still the skill and judgment 

 of the cultivator. Monsieur Linden is his own grower, but he 

 knows the wisdom of having a large staff of permanent assist- 

 ants. Very few of the men employed by him are what are 

 termed journeymen. 



I must not overlook one very important item in the cultural 

 arrangements of Monsieur Linden, namely, the use of tobacco to 

 keep down insect pests, the curse and ruin of the large 

 majority of Orchid collections. Tobacco is an old insecticide, 

 but it is not often applied as Monsieur Linden applies it. In every 

 house, resting upon the hot-water pipes and held in position 

 by means of wire netting, is a layer of the refuse stalks and 

 midribs of tobacco leaves, which, in Belgium, can be obtained 

 at about seven francs the hundred kilos. This is wetted once 

 or twice a day and the vapor which arises is consequently 

 impregnated with nicotine, which permeates the whole atmos- 

 phere in the house and is inimical to insects. It does no 

 harm to the most delicate plants, but it keeps down insects so 

 well that Monsieur Linden finds it scarcely ever necessary to 

 clean his plants. In this manner much labor is saved and the 

 plants are kept clean. Moreover, the injury which is the almost 

 inevitable result of scraping and sponging the leaves of delicate 

 Orchids, is altogether avoided. In England tobacco is too ex- 

 pensive to be used in this way, but it would not be difficult to 

 devise some means for obtaining the nicotine cheaply and in 

 such a form as would satisfy the excise authorities. These 

 are small details, perhaps, but upon them a great deal more 

 depends than many growers imagine. 



There is a house with about five thousand magnificent 

 plants of Angrcccum sesquipedale, only a few months imported, 

 but as healthy in foliage and vigorous in root-action as though 

 they had been there for years. Then a huge houseful of 

 Lcelia purpurata, many of them grand specimens. A large 

 batch of healthy plants of Saccolabium cosleste, one of the 

 most beautiful of blue-flowered Orchids, was pointed out as 

 "all that remained " of a very large and successful importation 

 of that very bad traveler. Of Odontoglossums I saw some of 

 the most beautiful species and varieties that it has ever been 

 my privilege to see. Their names were legion, their value, in 

 many cases, almost fabulous ; about their exquisite beauty 

 there could be no question. It was abundantly evident from 

 what I saw that Monsieur Linden had "struck a particularly 

 rich vein " of Odontoglossum crispum. His recent great suc- 

 cess, Cattleya Warocqueana, which he insists is the autumn 

 flowering C. labiata, is revealed in an astonishing range of 

 richness of variety, both in habit. of plant, form of flower and 

 in color. As a garden Orchid it is of the very highest merit, 

 being a vigorous grower, and flowering with great freedom 

 even for a Cattleya. Monsieur Linden pointed to the few plants 

 which remained of the thousands he began with as a proof 

 that Orchid fanciers had discovered the beauty and value of 

 this Cattleya. 



A house containing several thousand plants of Dendrobiums 

 from northern Australia, all in splendid health and most of 

 them coming into flower, was pointed to with pride by both 



