366 



FIRST FRUITS. 



Notes from England — The Royal Horticitlliiral 

 Society. — After struggling through a long period of 

 adversity this old society is now giving every indication 

 of renewed vigor, and everything points to a revival of 

 the glory of its early days. Not only is its constituency 

 being widely extended, but its finances are in a more 

 satisfactory state than they have been in for many years, 

 the report for 1890 showing a very fair surplus. The 

 fortnightly exhibitions held at Westminster are usually 

 of great interest and are consequently well attended. 

 At the one held on February 10 there was a very fine 

 display of orchids, Chinese primulas and cyclamens. 

 Messrs. Pitcher A- Manda, of the Hextable nurseries, 

 Swanley, exhibited a collection of about sixty kinds 

 of cypripediums in flower, consisting of new and rare 

 species, varieties and hybrids. Amongst the more note- 

 worthy were C. Ar/hztiiaiiiitii, regale, Sa/Zieri var. hy- 

 caniiin, a very pretty var. of Spicerianum named revolii- 

 fiiDi, GodseJJianinn, and Klotzschiamim (a rare species 

 from the Roraima Mountain, British Guiana). Exhibits 

 like this are of the greatest value from the educational 

 standpoint. Messrs. Sander & Co. showed the rare and 

 beautiful Oncidium BninUenamint , a fine example of the 

 white Lycnste Skinneri, still a rather expensive orchid. 

 Messrs. Veitch sent a new hybrid cypripedium named 

 " Creon," a cross between the best forms of C. Harrisi- 

 anum and C. a'nantltiiin . The flower is chiefly of a rich 

 reddish-brown, the dorsal sepal being very dark, with a 

 white margin. It was awarded a first-class certificate 

 by the orchid committee. A splendid collection of Chi- 

 nese primulas was staged by Messrs. Cannell, all the 

 plants being remarkable for their strong growth, large 

 flowers and richness of color. Of the white varieties, 

 one named White Perfection was perhaps the best, whilst 

 Kentish Purple and Kentish Fire stood first among 

 the colored ones, both being of the richest rosy crim- 

 son. 



Tlie recent winter. — The winter of 1890-gi will long 

 be remembered as one of the severest on record. At 

 such an establishment as that of Kew, where experi- 

 ments, testing the hardiness of both new and old intro- 

 ductions, are continually being made, the fatalities in 

 plant-life are necessarily numerous. These are all the 

 more apparent because of the long run of mild winters 

 that preceded the last, many plants that had crept out- 

 side during that time having come to be regarded as 

 hardy. Horticulturally, however, such winters are not 

 without their value, those plants that survive being indub- 

 itably stamped as perfectly hardy. Perhaps the most 

 unwelcome fact that has been made apparent is the ten- 

 derness of the Indian deodar [Cedrus Deodara). There 

 is an avenue of them at Kew extending three-fourths of 

 the whole length of the garden, and except where shel- 

 tered by larger trees they have suffered severely — the 

 younger branches being almost denuded of leaves. In 

 a young state this cedar, C. atlantica and C. Lihani are 

 so alike as to be indistinguishable, and Sir Joseph 

 Hooker has expressed the opinion that they are forms of 

 one species. However this may be, the two last are 



evidently of hardier constitution than the deodar, 

 neither having suffered. 



Cool Palms. — Owing to the large increase of the palm 

 collection at Kew, which now numbers considerably 

 over 400 species, it has become a difficult matter to find 

 room for all the larger representatives of the family in 

 the palm house. Extensive trials have therefore been 

 made with a view to ascertaining the possibility of grow- 

 ing species from less purely tropical regions in the large 

 temperate house, the only other structure of sufficient 

 size to allow of their full development. The results 

 have hitherto been very gratifying. Not only has the 

 list of greenhouse palms been considerably lengthened, 

 but it is found that many species thrive even better 

 here than they do in a warm house. The temperatures 

 of this house may be briefly stated. From April to the 

 end of September no fire heat is used, a large portion of 

 the roof is left open and the temperature is practically 

 the same as that out-of-doors. During winter the aver- 

 age temperature is 45° Fahr., but it is very frequently 

 below 40°, and several times during last December and 

 January the glass fell to within four or five degrees of 

 freezing point. Plants that succeed in this house could 

 undoubtedly be grown out-of-doors in the southern 

 United States, or in any locality which has a bright sum- 

 mer and where the winter temperature does not fall 

 below freezing point, or at most one or two degrees 

 beyond. To some of your southern readers the follow- 

 ing list, which comprises the palms grown in the tem- 

 perate house at Kew, may be useful : Areca Baueri 

 and A. sapida ; Brahea dulcis ; Caryota ochlandra ; 

 Chamcedorea elatior ; Cliannvrops Forlunei, Humilis 

 hvstri.x, Khasyana and C. Martiana : Cocos capitata, 

 corcnata, Jlexuosa, iiisigni.^ and C. Yatai ; Erythrea 

 armata and E. edulis (both from Southern California) ; 

 Jiibcea spectal'ilis ; Livtstona australis, Chinensis and 

 L. iiierniis ; Pka nix acaiilis, canariettsis, dactylifera, 

 humilis var. Hanceaiia, reclinata, spinosa and P. sylves- 

 tris ; Rkapis Jlabelliformis and. P. humilis; Sabal Black- 

 hitrniana, Adansoni and S. Palmetto ; Seaforthia elegans ; 

 Seronoa serriilata ; Washingtonia fihfera, robtista and 

 \V. Senorce. The last three are natives of Southern 

 California and are better known under the name Pritch- 

 ardia . 



In the autumn of i88g I paid a visit to the French 

 Riviera, the narrow strip of territory lying between the 

 Maritime Alps and the northern shore of the Mediter- 

 ranean. I was astonished at the number of palms cul- 

 tivated in the open, and at their splendid development. 

 Not only are the gardens freely planted with them, but 

 they are the commonest of street trees. The climatic 

 conditions, so far as they concern vegetation, are pro- 

 bably identical with those of a large portion of your 

 southern states. The following palms, besides nearly 

 all those given in the above list, are grown there : 

 Brahea hicida, nitida and j9. nobilis ; Chamcedorea scan- 

 dens; Cocos Blnmenarii : Thrinax Chiico. 



Manure for Orchids. — The feeding of orchids by means 

 of different kinds of manure has long been a moot- 



