OPERATIONS FOR MAY. 
95 
Came'llia LoVii. A seedling of Messrs. Low and Co., of Clapton, by whom it has just 
been bloomed. It has very handsome bright-green leaves, and large crimson flowers, which a 
little resemble C. imbricata, but are more cupped and less formal. The petals are peculiarly 
round. It is a distinct and showy variety. 
Dendro x bium ? A noble new Dendrobium flowered last month at Messrs. Loddiges', who 
had obtained it from Manilla, through Mr. Cuming. It has the habit of D- undulatum, only the 
stems are not so swollen near the base. [These last, are four feet or more in height, and produce, 
near the summit, several long upright racemes of elegant flowers.] The sepals of the blossoms 
are of a yellowish-white or cream colour, and are all united into a broad spur behind, which opens 
in the front. The petals are longer, much narrower, slightly curled, and of a purplish tint. The 
lip is large, ovate, folded inwards at the sides, somewhat crumpled towards the extremity, and of 
a pale wine-colour. It remains blooming for seven or eight weeks. 
Ri'bes a'lbidum. After our figure of this beautiful plant appeared, we were favoured with a 
letter from Mr. W, E. Rendle, of the Union-road Nursery, Plymouth, who, having communicated 
with Admiral Sir David Milne, G.C.B., received the following account of its origin. A branch or 
a specimen of the Ribes sanguineum having accidentally bore white flowers, was layered, and, 
when rooted and detached, formed a fine plant, from which others were raised by cuttings ; and 
one of these was presented by the above gentleman to Messrs. Handasyde, by whom it has been 
circulated. 
OPERATIONS FOR MAY. 
This is the month during which, if the weather be at all genial, the flower garden and borders 
are generally stocked with those beautiful half-hardy plants which are to decorate them till the 
occurrence of autumnal frosts. It is therefore important that they be planted appropriately, 
and judiciously tended, in order to obtain the best and most permanent development of blossom 
of which they are capable. 
Before planting anything of this kind into the beds or borders of the pleasure grounds, it is 
necessary that they be dug over afresh, or at least, that they be stirred anew with a fork. Half 
the imperfection of such plants, during the earlier part of the summer, is often due to their being 
placed in soil into which they cannot sufficiently send their roots before the weather is too hot 
and dry to permit them to advance at all, if they are not properly established. In inserting them, 
moreover, the operator should be careful not to tread much on the soil, nor to press in the plants 
more tightly than is just requisite to secure them, nor to rake over the surface after they are 
planted. Trampling the earth must inevitably make it less easily penetrable by the roots of 
plants ; placing the soil too firmly about them will lock them up, for a longer time than is to be 
desired, in the narrow compass they occupy while in the pot ; and raking makes the surface less 
pervious to rain, as well as more likely to become hardened in such a way as to exclude air. 
With regard to the quality of the soil which should be used for half-hardy border plants, much 
discretion is required to adapt it to circumstances. And, although this is not the time for 
re-making or preparing borders, yet they may now be readily modified, to a limited extent. 
Where a flower garden lies high, exposed, and liable to drought, decayed manure may be freely 
introduced, and the soil should be of a rather retentive nature, such as a strong loam. Without 
manure, the plants in a situation of this character would be too stunted, and, should the season 
prove dry, will scarcely grow or flower at all till August or September ; whereas, if it be wet, the 
extra enrichment will not diminish the quantity of bloom. 
But for the beds of a flower-garden, in a low or partially shaded spot, no manure will be 
necessary, and the earth should be rendered, by turning, as open as possible. A rich soil here 
would promote extravagant growth, and, wanting the counteractive of drought and exposure, 
would be detrimental to the production of inflorescence. 
Where the beds are large, again, in either of such positions, it may be well to make the 
compost rather richer, in order to increase the size and height of the plants, and to render them 
