Plate 189. 



CATTLEYA FAUST A. 



Cattleya Fausta is another of those curious and beautiful hybrid Orchids for which the 

 house of Veitch and Sons has been so many years famous. Few hybrids, or indeed species, 

 can exceed the plant here figured in beauty of outline and colour. It was originally 

 described by Professor Eeichenbach in the Gardeners' Chronicle for March 1, 1873, 

 where the Professor exclaims : — 



" Another of these curious Orchid hybrids ! It has neat flowers of a very pretty 

 lilac colour ; the lip is white, with a large yellow disk. In one variety (var. radicans) 

 there are numerous dark purplish veins and streaks over the anterior part.' The plant 

 itself is just intermediate between Cattleya Loddigesii as the female or seed parent, and 

 C. exoniensis as the male or pollen parent. It is the more valuable as it flowers till 

 the end of November, when Orchid flowers begin to be scarce. It was raised at the 

 Royal Exotic Nursery of Messrs. Veitch." 



Plate 190. 

 PELARGONIUM WONDERFUL. 



The very fine new variety of Pelargonium here figured has recently been awarded 

 a first-class certificate by the Eoyal Horticultural Society. It is remarkable for the 

 persistency with which it retains its petals ; the profuse flowers are of great substance 

 and semi-double, borne on unusually large trusses of good form. The colour is of 

 the most intensely bright orange scarlet, and Mr. George Smith, of Tollington Nursery, 

 Hornsey Eise, the raiser, who holds the stock, considers it to be the finest scarlet 

 Pelargonium in the market either for bedding or market purposes. Pelargonium 

 "Wonderful" is a sport from "Vesuvius,'' and it retains the fine habit, freedom of 

 growth, and abundance of bloom of this variety. Mr. George Smith gives it as his 

 opinion that " Wonderful " will ultimately displace all other known varieties. 



As every purchaser will be anxious to increase the stock of P. Wonderful when 

 once obtained, we would advise all who receive young plants next spring to shift them 

 into a pot one size larger. Let the compost be one-third leaf mould or well-decomposed 

 manure, and two-thirds rich loam, with a little sand. If convenient, place them for a 

 short time on a little bottom heat, not too much exposed to the sun, in order to promote rapid 

 growth. This treatment should continue for a fortnight, giving plenty of air the latter part 

 of the time ; the plants will then make fine growth, and be ready for transplanting into the 

 position that has been allotted to them, and they will at once have a splendid effect. To 

 increase the stock for next season, take cuttings early in September, place about ten in a six- 

 inch pot filled with the same compost as before mentioned, then place the pot in a 

 greenhouse, and keep the plants moderately watered. They will be well rooted in a 

 month. Let them now have plenty of air and have the advantage of the sun as much 

 as possible, remove any decayed leaves, and then keep the plants moderately dry. In 

 the months of October and November the damp often destroys the foliage ; therefore 

 avoid watering over the plants as much as possible during this season. 



Early in February the stock will be in fine condition to separate. Pot them then 

 into three-inch pots, and keep in a warm greenhouse. Early in May they will be 

 beautifully in bloom ; then give plenty of water and air. The plants should not stand 

 too close together, and by the end of May they will be handsome plants, in fine condition 

 to plant out. 



