Plate 1. 



VRIESIA BRACHYSTACHYS. 



Considerable attention has been given of late years to the family (Bromeliacea) to 

 which the plant now figured belongs, and amongst the lamentable results of the civil war 

 in Paris we have to deplore the loss of the very complete collection preserved in the gardens 

 of the Luxembourg, under the care of the able and intelligent Curator, M. Auguste Riviere, 

 and which perished, as so many collections did, when, for want of fuel, all such luxuries 

 had to be given up. 



The Vriesice are epiphytal plants, and are sent home on pieces of wood ; it therefore 

 becomes necessary to consult, as far as possible, their natural condition, giving them but little 

 soil, so that, we are informed by Messrs. Veitch, they grow them in as small pots as they 

 possibly can, or rather in very shallow pans or baskets, using a very little soil, or moss 

 mingled with broken pots ; being stove plants, they require a high temperature. 



Vriesia brachystachys is a neat growing plant, bearing some analogy in appearance to 

 the pineapple, to which the family is allied. The colour of the foliage is a pale yellowish 

 green, the scape is produced on a long stalk marked with crimson, and is flat, the 

 base of the individual flowers and the bracts being of the same colour, the remaining portion 

 orange with a black tip. It was exhibited by Messrs. Veitch and Son, of Chelsea (to whom 

 we are indebted for the opportunity of figuring it), at the Royal Horticultural Society, and 

 obtained a first-class certificate. 



Plate 2. 



BICOLOR PELARGONIUM— MA RESCHAL M'M ALTON. 



There are distinct types in the very striking and effective class of Bicolor Pelargonium : one 

 in which the yellow margin most largely predominates, and the zone occupies comparatively 

 a small portion of the leaf ; and another in which the margin is smaller and the zone not only 

 larger but of a more deep and intense colour. Of the former class we may instance such 

 flowers as Imperatrice Eugenie and Heine Victoria ; and of the latter, Earl Rossi yn and Black 

 Douglas. It is to the latter class that the very fine variety we now figure belongs, and we 

 may without hesitation say, it is the finest that has as yet been produced. 



Messrs. Downie, Laird, and Laing have long been noted for the position they have 

 taken in reference to these flowers, and to them we are indebted for the opportunity of 

 figuring this fine plant. Being one of their newest seedlings, it has been largely exhibited 

 during the past season, and has been awarded certificates both at the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society's Exhibition, South Kensington, and at the Metropolitan Floral Society's 

 Show, at the Crystal Palace. The leaf is, as will be seen from the figure, very circular, with 

 but slight indentations, while the zone is very broad and of a deep ruddy brown ; the habit 

 of the plant is excellent and the foliage ample. 



We are informed by Mr. Laing that there is a very great demand for the seed of this 

 section of pelargonium for the Continent, where they seem to be greatly valued for decorative 

 purposes. 



