THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 
flowers. Its leaves are like those of a strong-growing 
Funkia, being ovate-cordate, and of a bright green 
colour. The specimens shown were flowering very 
profusely, and the plant deserves notice as one well- 
adapted for supplying cut flowers as well as for general 
decorative purposes. It was figured by the late Dean 
Herbert in his “ Amaryllidacese ” some thirty years 
ago, and also in the "Botanical Register/’ vol. ix. 
t. 715. 
CUTTINGS BY POST. 
What are known as soft-wooded cuttings, that is, 
cuttings of such plants as Fuchsias, Verbenas, Pelar¬ 
goniums, Dahlias, and other popular florists’ flowers, 
are often sent through the post in spring at a few 
hours’ notice, and the best mode of packing for such 
journeys may be worth attention, in order that the 
cuttings may arrive fresh and ready for inserting in 
sandy soil or in a bed or pot of moist heated sawdust, 
surfaced with sand, at once with a sure knowledge 
that they will strike root and grow. There are several 
ways of packing cuttings for carriage by post. In 
this case the newly-cut slips or branches are laid on a 
bit of fresh living Moss, moistened in water and 
squeezed partially dry; the whole is then encased 
neatly in a piece of sheet lead or tinfoil, which retains 
its position without tying, and prevents the Moss from 
becoming dry through evaporation. For packing in 
large boxes, only the lower half of the cuttings need 
be enveloped ; but if only one little bundle is to be 
sent, use more Moss and envelope the cuttings en¬ 
tirely, both in that and the tinfoil. A small tin or 
lightly-made wooden box is admirably adapted for 
“ mailing ” cuttings. Such boxes are generally suffi¬ 
ciently strong to resist crushing or jamming on the 
journey. Bundles of cuttings packed in damp Moss, 
enveloped in sheet india-rubber, and finally wrapped 
in two or three folds of stout brown paper, also travel 
safely. In cases where a few cuttings have to be 
carried home in the hand, nothing beats Moss and 
brown paper as packing material. 
REVIEW. 
Orchid Culture. By Ed. Sprague Rand. 
London : 1876. Triibner and Co. 
Mr. Edward Sprague Rand, of Boston, U.S.A., has 
sent us a most interesting and well-printed work on 
“ Orchid Culture,” comprising upwards of 400 pages. 
The book is avowedly written for American culti¬ 
vators, who have to contend with a far more variable 
climate than even our own, their summers being hotter 
and their winters much colder than ours; neverthe¬ 
less, there are a great many cultural ideas in this 
work which may be turned to good account by our 
intelligent cultivators here at home. The book, more¬ 
over, will be especially valuable for occasional refer¬ 
ence as to nomenclature, or as an index to the best 
coloured Plates of the different plants described, of 
which a concise and trustworthy list is given under 
each species. A very useful glossary of technical 
terms employed throughout the work will be of much 
service to amateurs, especially as it also is made to 
convey much pleasant information as to the correct 
termination of the generic and specific names, in 
addition to a tolerably complete list of collectors and 
amateurs or botanists to whom either genera or 
species have been dedicated from time to time. There 
can be no doubt but that this popular handbook is 
the most comprehensive hitherto published on the 
subject, and it is one, moreover, which no English 
cultivator can well afford to be without, although so 
far as orchid culture in this country is concerned, we 
have no better or more trustworthy guide than Mr. B. 
S. Williams’ standard work, a fact attested by the 
fact that a fifth edition is now approaching comple¬ 
tion. Mr. Rand, in his preface, candidly confesses 
that his book is a compilation, but much of the matter 
is original and derived from his own experience as an 
amateur orchid grower, his private collection having 
been, as we know, one of the most complete in 
America. 
TRADE LISTS. 
Among the catalogues now on our table the follow¬ 
ing are especially noticeable as containing descriptions 
of desirable new plants and other useful information. 
In Messrs. E. G. Henderson and Son’s list we note 
that seeds and plants of the new Roumeya Coulteri 
(see plate) are offered. Mr. H. Cannell’s illustrated 
“ Floral Guide ”is always welcome, and contains wood- 
cuts of some of the best new Fuchsias and Zonal 
Pelargoniums. Another " Floral Guide,” the neat 
and well-illustrated one of Messrs. James Yick and 
Co., of Rochester, [New York, contains a coloured 
plate of summer annuals and other flowers, and a 
profusion of information likely to be of interest to 
amateurs and others. 
Messrs. Radclyffe and Co., 129, High Holborn, again 
send us their list of seeds and garden requisites. 
Messrs. Hooper and Co., of the Central Avenue, 
Covent Garden, have also published a well printed 
catalogue, which, apart from trade questions altogether, 
contains information interesting to all gardener's, 
whether amateur or professional. 
