THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 



considered as the intermediate link between the last- 

 named species and the brighter yellow O. Marshalli- 

 anum. Mr. Bull also sent a choice collection of new 

 decorative plants, including Hibiscus Collerii (figured 

 by us in the June number of this magazine), and a very 

 showy new Ixora, named I. Regina, which has stout 

 glossy leaves and large heads of orange flowers. It 

 promises to become one of the most popular of all the 

 kinds for exhibition. Mr. J. Laing, of Stanstead Park 

 Nurseries, Forest Hill, sent; a distinct and robust- 

 habited hybrid Fuchsia, raised from the seed of the old 

 tuberous-rooted F. fulgens, which had been fertilised 

 by pollen from one of the more modern varieties. The 

 plant is bushy in habit, branching at every joint, and 

 its large, bright-red, long-tubed flowers are freely pro- 

 duced ; apart from its nature as a floriferous decorative 

 variety of good habit, it will prove an excellent plant 

 from which to raise other and improved kinds. One 

 of the most noticeable features in this exhibition was 

 the Orchids, an excellent collection having been sent 

 from Lord Londesborough's collection ; and Mr. B. 

 S. Williams also had a well-flowered group. 



EMBOTHRIUM COCCLNEUM. 



This is certainly one of the most beautiful of all hardy 

 shrubs, cut branches of which in bloom were recently 

 exhibited by Mrs. Lloyd Wynne at South Kensington. 

 It is a South American Proteaceous plant, and is 

 successfully grown in Devon and Cornwall, as well as 

 in the more sheltered parts of Ireland, its brilliant tufts 

 of slender scarlet flowers being borne among its glossy 

 Honeysuckle-like leaves in April and May ; and when it 

 is associated with the pearly white-flowered Spiraea 

 (Exochorda) grandiflora, its vivid beauty is much j 

 enhanced. We know of no shrub more worthy of 

 careful culture in good gardens ; and even in cold or 

 exposed localities where it may not be expected to 

 succeed in the open air, it is worth a place planted out 

 in a cool greenhouse or conservatory. A Camellia- 

 house, where it would be protected from frost, would 

 suit it admirably, and its blossoms would look fresher 

 there than when more exposed to the elements. Some 

 difficulties in its propagation may account for its rarity 

 in even our best gardens ; but the most successful way 

 of increasing it is to graft pieces of the younger 

 branches on thick bits of its own roots, choosing clean 

 pieces well furnished with fibres at the lower 

 extremity. 



ODONTQGLOSSUM VEXILLARIUM. 

 In the June number of the Floral Magazine some 

 allusion was made as to the extremely free blooming 

 habit of this plant. At the first Summer Exhibition of 



the Royal Horticultural Society, held on the 7th ult., 

 Mr. Richards, gardener to Baron Rothschild, of 

 Gunnersbury, exhibited two of the healthiest and most 

 floriferous specimens of this plant hitherto seen. One 

 of these, a pale variety of great beauty, bore forty- 

 two flowers, and the other, a bright rosy form, pro- 

 duced thirty-six larger flowers on four stout and hand- 

 some spikes, all of which had sprung from the base of a 

 single bulb. The extremely vigorous condition of these 

 specimens, after having produced nearly their own 

 weight of flowers, was very noticeable, and called forth 

 the admiration of many professional plant-growers ; 

 indeed this plant had never created more interest 

 among Orchid-growers, if we except the memorable 

 occasion when Messrs. Veitch and Son (to whom is due 

 the honour of first introducing this gorgeous plant to 

 our gardens), exhibited it in bloom in the same place 

 two or three years ago for the first time. 



REVIEWS. 



Villa Gardening, By William Paul, F.L.S., 



F.R.H.S. Third Edition. Warne and Co. 

 A Plain Guide to Good Gardening. By Samuel 



Wood. Second Edition. Crosby, Lockwood, and 



Co. 



Books on gardening multiply rapidly, and the fact that 

 many, travelling over the same ground, or nearly so, 

 reach second and third editions, is a gratifying evidence 

 of the growing interest of the public in horticulture, 

 and their desire to obtain information. The first book 

 on our list is by a well-known practical and skilful 

 hand, and the information it affords may there- 

 fore be relied upon as correct. Although the 

 author admits at the outset that gardening cannot be 

 learnt from books, but requires practical experience, 

 the beginner will find this little manual an excellent 

 guide. It will put him on the right tack, and he will 

 get many useful hints in a more pleasant and easy 

 manner than from a larger treatise. 



The second work, also by an experienced practical 

 gardener, goes more deeply and minutely into the 

 various operations of the kitchen, fruit, and flower garden, 

 and will be found an excellent and trustworthy guide 

 to those who aspire to something more than making 

 gardening an agreeable pastime for leisure hours. 



F.L.S. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 

 John Laing (Forest Hill). Stove and Greenhouse 

 Plants. 



Ant. Roozen and Son, Overveen, near Haarlem, 

 Holland. Dutch and Cape Bulbs, &c. 



