OPERATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER. 
191 
' Stanho^pea TiGRf na. Specimens of this superb Orchidaceous plant have bloomed admirably, 
this season, with Messrs. Rollisson, Tooting, and at other places. Messrs. Rollisson have also 
flowered a remarkable variety of it, with much larger flowers, the blotches of which are consider- 
ably paler. The method of treating this genus, adopted at the Tooting nursery, is to fasten three, 
four, or more stout blocks of wood together, or to a short central block, at the base, and let them 
spread out at the top, so as to form a sort of invertedly conical or pyramidal-shaped cup. Some 
large lumps of rough heath-mould are put in the cavity, and the plants are placed on the top of 
this, the whole being, of course, suspended. By such means, no obstruction is off'ered to the 
pendent flower-scapes, which can readily pass downwards between the blocks, and a most thorough 
drainage is likewise obtained. 
Stanho'pea Marti ana, var. Messrs. Rollisson have flowered, besides, what appeared to be a 
new species of Stanhopea, but is now determined to be a variety of S. Martiana ; and is, per- 
haps, the most elegant and lovely yet known. It has flowers with a whiter ground than S. ocuhila 
or S. Martiana, and only the lower part of the sepals and petals is spotted, in a very different 
way. The odour of the blossoms is most powerful and delicious. 
Tilla'ndsja xiphioi^des. Introduced many years back, yet hardly ever cultivated, this de- 
lightful little species highly merits a place in collections of stove plants or Orchidaceee. We saw 
it, three or four months ago, in a cool Orchidaceous house at Messrs. Loddiges, and it was grow- 
ing amidst a mass of small Dendrobise on the lid of an old basket, apparently without any soil, or 
only the merest fragment of heath mould. Its beautiful white flowers, which last several days, 
have a fragrance resembling essence of lemons, though not so strong. It would be a very nice 
object for planting among the pseudo-bulbs of the smaller Orchidacese, where it would thi-ive almost 
as well as an epiphyte as it would with a portion of soil to sustain its roots. 
OPERATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER. 
In almost all country gardens of any extent, where the proprietor has a town residence, there 
is a larger demand for flowers during the late summer and autumnal months than at any other 
period, because the family mostly remains in town till July or August, while the remaining end of 
the year is the country season. Scarcely can you meet an extensive cultivator at this time, 
therefore, without his inquiring what are the best autumnal flowers, especially for greenhouses 
and conservatories. In the open borders, half-hardy herbaceous and sub-shrubby varieties come 
into bloom so well during this period, that hardy plants are not so much in request. But all 
desire good showy specimens for the houses ; and, where the more ephemeral kinds, as annuals, (in- 
cluding Cockscombs, Balsams, &c.,) are considered too common, this is more particularly the case. 
Now, there are two classes of plants which will be found useful for autumnal flowering ; and 
these are, first, those which bloom naturally towards this part of the year ; and, secondly, such as 
may be made to do so, either the second time, or by retarding the development of their blossoms, 
through any unusual course of treatment. With respect to the latter division, it is well known 
that the period of flowering may, in many plants, be materially altered by plucking off* their 
blooms, by stunting them and keeping them dry at unnatural times, by attention to potting, — in 
either giving larger or smaller pots, according to the object,— by placing them in a cooler or 
warmer house than they commonly have at given seasons, by pruning or stopping the shoots, and 
by propagating some tribes at extraordinary parts of the year. Others, again, may often be 
induced to blossom twice in the season through a little artificial management, or, by the careful 
appHcation of known laws, may prolong their period of flowering through the season when their 
blooms are most wanted. We do not intend here to describe any of the processes by which such 
results may be accomplished, nor to specify the plants which would most readily yield to such 
contrivances. We merely seek to awaken inquiry on the subject, and to urge all interested in the 
matter to note, this season, those plants which they find serviceable, whether flowering naturally, 
or made to do so by artificial means, throughout the autumn. The communication of their lists, 
