90 J. H. MAIDEN. 
laria); there is, however, a very handsome scarlet-flowered pros- 
trate Hibiscus, quite new and peculiar from the Pine River.” 
August 18, 1847.—“I returned here about a week since, from 
Wellington and Molong.” 
September 27, 1847.—“ There is a new Dendrobium at the 
Gardens (he was now in charge of the Sydney Botanic Gardens) 
from the Friendly Islands I believe, rather handsome in the style 
of speciosum, but greenish. Plant very pretty, and rather curious 
to us here, being neither after the manner of speciosum, &c., or of 
another family such as linguaeforme, canaliculatum, &c., but with 
a thin stem and alternate oval thinnish leaves. I began at the 
Gardens (Sydney Botanic) yesterday, but have not yet received 
my official instructions. Mr. (Deas) Thomson has so much to do 
that he has been obliged to put off making them out from time to 
time. I am inclined to think that your Pzttosporum is only the 
female plant of P. undulatum. They are sometimes hermaphrodite, 
sometimes male and sometimes female by abortion of the stamens ; 
if you examine further I think you will find this to be the case.” 
December 26, 1847.—‘ I received your note last evening, and 
thank you for the seeds, part of which I will give to W. Mc.A. 
(Macarthur) as you desire. I was at Camden on Tuesday and 
Wednesday, in order to see the new Gladioluses, and choose those 
which were best worth nursing to send to England; several of 
them were superb ; there were also a good many handsome hybrid 
Crinums. Ihave a much handsomer variety of Gladiolus oppo- 
sitiflorus than the Camden one which I gave you, and will send 
you some seed of it if you like; it is not, however, a good seed 
bearer, in fact very bad. I have not one good pod out of all the 
flowers which I impregnated, and it has set seed if nothing else; 
on the contrary a very inferior variety has set seed at every flower, 
and the pods are all fat and large. I shall have a root for you of 
a rather handsome one, which I raised from seed of Mr. Herbert’s 
oppositiflorus, by oppositiflorus cardinalis. It is not so handsome 
as my fine oppositiflorus, but T think must be better than ramosus. 
I was amazingly disgusted to-day with a new species which I have ~ 
