l88 ALPINE FLOWERS. Part II. 



surface of the soil after sowing with a little moss, to ensure 

 uniform dampness, and place them in a sheltered spot out 

 of doors. As soon as the plants begin to appear, which may be 

 in a month or six weeks, the moss should be gradually removed. 

 As soon as the first leaf is tolerably developed, they should 

 be transplanted about an inch apart in seed pans of rich light 

 earth, and encouraged to grow as long as possible, being sheltered 

 in a cold frame, with abundance of air at all times. When the 

 leaves have perished the following summer, the tubers may be 

 planted out or potted, according to their strength. 



From the earliest times there appears to have been great 

 difficulty felt by our best botanists in clearly defining the species 

 of Cyclamen, from the great variation in shape and colouring of 

 the leaves both above and below. Too much dependence on 

 these characters has been the cause of much confusion and an 

 undue multiplication of species. Some of the varieties of this 

 genus become so fixed, and reproduce themselves so truly from 

 seed, as to be regarded as species by some cultivators. 

 The following are some of the more important synonyms — asti- 

 vum. (europceum); anemonoides or radice-anemone (europ(2um)j 

 autumnaU (hederafolium) j Clusii (europceum) ; hyemale 

 (coum)j- littorale (europcsum) ; neapolitanutn (hederafolium) j 

 odoratum (europczum)j Peakeanum (europ(Eum)j. Poll (kede- 

 rmfolium) J repandum (vernuni); •vernum of Sweet ( count, var. 

 zonale)j zonale (vernum of Sweet^. Anemonoides, Clusii, and 

 littorale, are southern varieties of C. europceum, quite distinct 

 from the northern type. 



CYPEIPEDIUM ACAULE.— /foj)/ Ladfs Slipper. 

 A VERY handsome and perfectly hardy dwarf orchid, with a fine 

 large purplish-rose flower, nearly two inches long, with a deep 

 fissure in front which immediately distinguishes it from the other 

 cultivated kinds. It is very common in North America, usually 

 growing in woods under evergreens, and the best position for it 

 in cultivation is in some nicely sheltered and half shaded spot on 

 the lower flanks of rockwork, or among shrubs planted near it in 

 sandy loam, with an abundance of leaf-mould. It also succeeds 

 in sheltered and somewhat shaded and well-drained spots on 

 rockwork, and, being so highly ornamental and distinct, deserves 

 universal cultivation. It is occasionally found with pale and, 

 more rarely, with white flowers. Flowers in summer, and may 



