■ Hi K 



*1 



Mat 3i. 



1898. 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



331 



different condition of soil from what %.^ d ^^ y 

 |or m occu» - - u s the w iid form grows on cliffs in practically 



K 1° * e merefy midst the piled-up remains of previous years 



^thless ledges, and merely m |» ^ ^ b , e sltn tlon 



"""S &C ; tHnk even in wet weather, in summer, these ledges when it 

 and I do not think « ven m ^ m , ^ j te 



occurs, ^ally get wet. A am u s ^ hundre j s of feet m 



^ aS apj««ce at flowering time in the dry winter season, 



length, Preset a ge « ^ P ^ to be t of when or how the Chinese 

 In connection with tto, ,J ^ ^ g re markable how few 



S rfSfSd forms of many cultivated Chinese decorative plants there 

 speamens of reaj^ wj , japonica are only Japanese in culti- 



m and a 1 o canons now fa ori ^ ft fc ^ remar kable that the 



ra L " on ' S,„h?in cultivation are scarcely the ones which make the best show in 

 ?IZ fate At S that is my opinion. In conclusion, I can see now that 

 Sjiere hundreds of interesting points which I might have noticed earlier in 

 Lnr collecting if I had had the experience or the genius or the teaching. If 

 2&S3n^«cro«abaddiiig collector like what I was when we began 

 Lrre^nSnce some years ago, please insist on his being more than a mere col- 

 lector, and perhaps you will help to develop a naturalist. 



In an August despatch, Dr. Henry writes : I enclose a photograph of a palm 

 taken by Mr. Bons d'Anty in the Upper Shan States south of Szemao. He is the 

 French Consul at Szemao, and is collecting some plants for me, the interesting ones 

 of which you will receive later. He says : " The palm is very common ; it is seen 

 around every temple, and the leaves are used to make paper with, or rather 

 are used as paper, being cut into long strips. In the photograph one can see the 

 way the leaves are cut off for this purpose." I am in doubt as to what the palm is, 

 but doubtless you will be able to identify it at Kew [probably Trachycarpus sp.]. 

 The palms used as paper are Borassus and the Talipot palm, according to 

 Treasury of Botany, but it does not seem to me to fit in with descriptions of these 

 I also enclose for the Museum, if you think it is of sufficient interest, a sample of 

 the palm-strips with writing on it, sent me by Mr. Bons d'Anty. The writing is 

 probably Shan, but Mr. Bons does not say. From a packet of plants sent me by 

 Mr. Bons, collected on a trip south of the Chinese frontier, into the British Shan 

 States, it would seem that the flora changes at once into the Indian type the 

 moment the Vunnan plateau is left, i.e., it loses Chinese looks. We are having a 

 wet summer, much more wet than last year, and it is very unpleasant. The 

 plague goes on apace. I tried to go out yesterday to the mountains, but had to 

 return on account of the heavy rains. I stayed some little time at a Lolo village 

 on the plain, and rested under a magnificent mulberry, the finest I have ever seen. 

 It had the enormous spreading-on-the-surface-of-the-ground roots, which I think is 

 called Table-kind of root. I went in quest of a Lolo Pundit that I heard of, but 

 we found his house and the compound deserted, as there had been three cases of 

 plague, and the Pundit had fled. I hope to secure his services, but the Lolos are 

 very shy, or rather, I think, they are afraid to link themselves with Europeans, as 

 the Chinese suspect them then of ulterior designs. 



Apple Dumelow's Seedling. — I think there must be many who cannot 

 be fully acquainted with the merits of Dumelow's Seedling, one of the most valu- 

 able apples for kitchen use in midwinter, or we should see it cultivated more, 

 especially in private gardens. In my opinion it cannot be surpassed ; it comes 

 into use early in December, just as there is a demand for good solid fruit for 

 mincemeat, and we need no other to furnish the supply till late in the spring. I 

 know of no other cooking apple to equal it for retaining its firmness and solidity 

 after storing, or for producing a white appearance after cooking. I admit it is 

 rather acid, but that difficulty can easily ibe surmounted. Out of a selection of over 

 one hundred varieties here this is the variety grown most, and though, generally 

 speaking, apples were scarce with us last season, we were enabled to store from 

 Mteen to twenty bushels of this variety, which have proved invaluable to us.— 



L. Martin, Cowes. 



Links Between Animal and Plant Life.— In discussing the lowly 



organisms known collectively as Acinetaria, Professor Ray Lankester gave some 

 interesting particulars relating to the organisms that form, as it were, the boundary 

 Between the animal and vegetable kingdom. In his description of the Acinetaria 

 1 roiessor Lankester said they had a simple nucleated • body with one or usually 

 ,T y P™ extending from it. These processes were not purely protoplasmic 

 enahUl ♦! ° st ™ cture ' and were either pointed or ended in suckers which 

 simnl! « • 01 &™ m . to suck j«ices from other creatures. Besides dividing by 

 SL t? and u c ° n J u gating, they also broke up into buds each having a bit of 

 foe 7r*L«Z Kj e Uds ^P^ated, and, remaining for a time in a cuplike hollow of 

 of tC cl^ y ' W red a girdle of cilia, which were regarded as evidence 



living Zat f° n ,° f ^ netaria with the Ciliata - Xt was ?*o\»ble that the first 

 the t mt Fk ^ ped , from albuminous matters were animals, subsisting on much 



growth of fc 1 !- 48 ^ ° f Which the y were com P<*ed. At some time in the 

 as had it tn a «- w g thl 1 gS chlor °P h y» c ame into existence, and enabled such 

 The in L-nLT 1 mi i ate c * rbon from carbonic acid and nitrogen from ammonia. 



elaborated substances 

 mode of nutrition. 1 

 Kinds whi^Vi 



e rorms tnat required albumen were 

 :s containing sugar and less highly 

 i and lichens had this saprophytic 

 ts was shown by those carnivorous 

 became "ve™ 3^ ammal . lood b y means of a ferment. In such the roots 

 g'oup of similes nL? assimilat j. on h Y * e le aves very slight. There was no 

 <he plant seri£ « - ^ cor . res P ondin g to the Protozoa, and there was no break in 



"niplest cSS wn ?M t ^ m& }- But if a division of P ,ants were attempted, the 

 *e£ P lateHk? n r « L ^ f^onfervoidea, Conjugata, and Schizophyta. The first 



forming zZslZ* fi J*? 10 * 1 . foms ' which se Pa'ated into biflagellate individuals, 

 ^lony ar o?e Tf t K ^Wted to produce a single mass, whence the new 

 form would be nhtl'A ,ma S ined to unite in a straight line, a confervoid 

 •enes could bt~t ™ • I , th f. true filamentous conferva; each member of the 

 Flagellata TW> P ™ ° " le blts which J ust Kke the zoospores of the 



^Pores ' In tUcT 1 * L Wefe fi lamentous or single cells, but never formed 

 means of reorrvW* bcmz ,°P n yta, continued division of the cells was the only 



fr esh or sea W aW n °a\ J here Were tw0 series ' The p hycochromace* lived in 

 "^eir physiolocrv™ Peculiar colouring matters, often without chlorophyll. 



*ere httle remov JT not . ^j 1 und erstood. The second series— Bacteriaceae — 

 food on nr Z *.: otn the _ first > though they were smaller and more dependent 



roke 



up 



Q organic matter, 

 into separate ele 



The simplest for 



bacteria 



cases 



Work for the Week. 



germinating 



WARM ORCHIDS. 



The results of our labours will, to a large extent, be seen now in the fine display 

 of flowers of different kinds which will be found in the orchid houses ; in almost 

 every collection Cattleya Mossiae and its varieties, C. Mendeli in variety, C. 

 Skmnen, and C. Schroderse, will be flowering freely. The latter is one of the 

 gems of the cattleya family, there being such variation of form and colour, in 

 addition to the beautiful odour arising from it ; every lover of cattleyas should 

 grow plenty of this, as it is always welcome, and flowers after the earlier forms of 

 C. Tnanoe. When in flower C. Schroderse ought to be kept in a dryer 

 atmosphere than usual, it being very sensitive to damp ; it can also be kept back 

 to flower later if required by affording it a cool and dry house. Retarding, how- 

 ever, is not a wise practice, and it is much better for the welfare of the plant to 

 treat it as naturally as we can, allowing it to flower in its proper course, and rest- 

 ing it in the same way. The repotting of the cattleyas mentioned may be done 

 after the flowering season is over, the pots crocked as before advised, using a 

 mixture of fibrous peat and sphagnum intermixed with a few fine crocks. After 

 repotting little water is necessary if syringing is done over and between the pots 

 twice a day ; this will suffice until active growth takes place, then plenty of water 

 must be afforded. 



Lselia purpurata will also be giving a good display now, and few species are 

 better worth growing, for it is both attractive and bold. L. purpurata Schroder^ 

 is quite distinct, the labellum being beautifully veined ; L. Russellianum is in the 

 same style, but not so good ; L. p. Backhousiana is another very distinct form, the 

 petals being beautifully feathered and quite different from the ordinary type. 

 Lselia Boothiana is an old orchid, and not much cultivated, owing to its shyness of 

 flowering ; yet this plant thrives well if grown with L. purpurata, and the roots 

 allowed to run over the rim of the pot ; in fact, we scarcely see it in flower when 

 kept within bounds— it loves to be free, and enjoys moisture. Laslia Latona, a 

 hybrid resulting from L. purpurata crossed with L. cinnabarina, is a grand 

 addition to our hybrids ; this may be grown successfully among the cattleyas and 

 leelias. Some vanda of the V. tricolor and V. suavis section will be in flower, 

 and care must be taken to keep the flowers dry ; neat stakes will also be necessary 

 to support their weight. Vanda teres will also be flowering, and great care must 

 be taken of the flowers, for bruises soon appear if they are handled roughly. 

 Sobralia macrantha, and S. m. alba— the latter, with the exception of the lemon 

 at the top of the throat, being as pure a white as can possibly be seen — are now ' 

 flowering. The type is not much sought after, the flowers lasting such a short ti me- 

 an occasional dose of weak liquid manure will be beneficial to sobralias. Thunias, 

 being of quick growth, will already be showing flower buds ; the syringe must be 

 used freely to prevent red spider and thrips, as these orchids are very subject to 

 both pests. Peristeria elata, perhaps, will be found in the collections of amateurs, 

 and if repotting is necessary, this may be done now ; if not, do not pot for the 

 sake of doing so. Fires must now be checked early in the morning, and plenty 

 of air be afforded in a proper manner ; watering and syringing must be done with 

 discretion yet. — T. Stafford, Tynttsfield Gardens. 



CONSERVATORY AND GREENHOUSE 



For the most part chrysanthemums will now be occupying six-inch pots, and as 

 it is not usual to give the plants the final shift until the end of the months they 

 should be attended to at least twice a day during bright weather to see that they 

 do not suffer from want of water. It is also necessary to allow the plants plenty 

 of room in order that they may retain the lower leaves and make sturdy growth. 

 Where a large quantity is grown suitable pits and frames are not always at 

 command to afford the protection the plants still require at night, therefore 

 temporary ones have to be provided until it is safe to fully expose them. A 

 sheltered nook should be selected, and the plants arranged on a bed of ashes, 

 round which place sheephurdles, or boards, to break the wind and to support the 

 night covering. 



The plants should be twisted round at least once a week to prevent them 

 rooting into the ashes, and see that greenfly does not gain a foothold, to dislodge 

 which we find it best to dip the tops of the plants in a weak solution of soft soap 

 and water, or a little tobacco powder may be dusted where they are located. Some 

 varieties have a tendency to produce flower buds, which must be pinched out as 

 soon as they can be seen, and the plants encouraged to make clean growth. _ In the 

 meantime a good heap of compost should be prepared in readiness for placing the 

 plants in their flowering pots. By mixing this now, and turning it oyer once or 

 twice a week in an open shed it will be in a grand condition when required, as the 

 soot and horse-droppings would heat somewhat, and free the turf of wireworm and 



other insects. 



We are now potting on our main batch of cyclamen raised from seed sown last 

 August. The compost used consists of good fibrous loam two parts, one part of leaf- 

 mould, one-seventh of decayed manure, and a liberal quantity of coarse sand. 

 The plants are being placed in five-inch pots, and by growing them on briskly 

 many of them will be strong enough for pots two inches larger later on. After 

 potting afford a light shad*, maintain a humid atmosphere, and avoid sudden 

 inrushes of cold air. Give liberal supplies of water as soon as it is seen they are 

 growing freely. If once allowed to become thoroughly dry weeks elapse before 

 they are induced to grow freely again. All plants that have passed out of flower 

 should be hardened off in a cold frame. Salvias in variety are useful wmter- 

 flowering plants, and where a batch have been rooted pot them on as they 

 require it, pinching the shoots from time to time to make them bushy. They 

 should now be placed in cold frames, giving full axposure whenever the weather 

 permits, and so be sufficiently hardy for plunging in the open the first week m 

 June. Many of the most forward plants of kalosanthes will be showing their 

 flower trusses, and as the plants generally are grown in small pots, it will be almost 

 impossible to overwater them, while weak liquid manure occasionally will greatly 

 assist in securing fine trusses of bloom, and give the foliage a deep green 

 colour. Weak soot water is also recommended for the same purpose. 

 Place "those intended for succession in cold frames to gradually harden them, 

 where they may be stood in the open later on. Those intended for flowering next 

 year must not be pinched back in any way, as the shoots require a full year's 

 growth before they produce bloom. Pot them on, or if large specimens are 

 required any number of even size plants may be grouped in large pots or pans, 

 and they make bold objects in the conservatory when in flower. Bouvardias that 

 have been kept in cold frames at rest are now starting naturally, and the shoots 

 are very short-jointed and hardy, very different to those produced when the plants 

 are started in a forcing-pit. We are now partially shaking them out, and replacing 

 them in smaller pots. They will be kept close and shaded for a few days, after- 

 wards giving them full exposure, and many of them will be planted out on a south 

 border. In colder localities, however, it would be safer to grow them in cold 



