124 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
is a delicate green, richly barred across with cho- 
colate colour, about an inch apart, from the base to 
the point of the leaf. The flower-scape is about 
eighteen inches long, round at the base, and gra- 
dually assuming a flat appearance ; it is green for 
three or four inches, barred with chocolate as the 
leaves ; it then becomes a rich scarlet, forming the 
flat bracts out of which the simple flowers are pro- 
duced, of a yellowish white colour. We have since 
seen it several times in bloom, and recently in the 
nursery of Messrs. Henderson, Pineapple-Place, 
Edgware Road. We are informed that there is 
another variety, possessing great beauty in the 
flower as well as in habit : we shall take the earliest 
opportunity of noticing it when in bloom. 
Renanthera coccinea. Chinese Air Plant. 
For a successive production of flowers, this fine 
scarlet-flowering Orchid can scarcely he surpassed ; 
with the exception of a short period of torpidity 
in mid-winter, it is rarely deficient of bloom. In 
the large Conservatory at Chatsworth, it grows 
attached to a large block of wood, inserted in the 
border on the west side of the house, where it is 
exposed to a considerable portion of sun-light 
during the after part of the day. The roots are 
not covered with moss, but grow vigorously upon 
the naked wood without any shelter. Whilst the 
shoots are in a state of vigorous growth, the leaves 
assume a rich vivid green ; but as the shoots become 
ripened, and the plant approaches a condition for 
flowering, the whole acquires a yellow tint ; and 
shortly afterwards the panicles of flowers make 
their appearance. “ Perhaps no Orchid requires less 
care or attention than this ; and few surpass it in 
beauty. The temperature requisite for its growth 
should be moderate, the humidity not greater than 
that given to Cattleyas. Ordinary shade is quite 
sufficient, and even that afforded by other plants 
will in most cases be all that is required, — moss 
and soil are unnecessary; a block of wood sus- 
pended from the roof, or placed in a large pot or in 
the ground, and the plant firmly attached by fine 
wire until its roots have fixed themselves, — syringing 
with tepid water when growing, and complete 
drought when at rest, may be considered all this 
plant’s requisites. It is a native of China and 
Cochin-China, where it grows abundantly on trees. 
Yegetation at Paras-Nath, in Sikkim-Hima- 
layah. There are a good many tanks at the base 
of the hills here ; their existence so near a lofty 
mountain, from whose sides water-courses innu- 
merable descend, indicates the great natural dry- 
ness of the country during one season of the year. 
Two species of Clusia abound, with a Potamogeton, 
and Utricularia, besides Mazus, Lindenbergia, 
and a few dwarf Leguminosee on the banks. The 
hills and the valleys though rich, are far from lux- 
uriant. A fine Nauclea (eordifolia) is a common 
tree ; a small Bignonia, and a handsome Combretum, 
with white and red floral leaves, abound ; also 
Conocarpus latifolius, and a large-leaved Smilax 
and Dioscorea. The Ferns consist of Lygodium, 
C'heilanthes (silvery underneath), Adiantum and 
Selaginetta, with abundance of Marsilea and Azolla 
in wet places. Bamboo is a prevalent plant, pro- 
bably B. Stricta. Acanthaceaz are the prevalent 
Natural Order; they consist of gay flowered 
Buellias, Barlerias , and such like, sometimes large 
shrubs ; Bauhinia (scandens or racemosa) is very 
frequent, and an erect smaller species. Other 
plants very typical of the flora of this dry region 
are Linum trigynum, Feronia elephantum, iEgle 
Marmelos, Helicteres Asoca, Abrus precatorius, 
Flemingia, various Desmodia, Rhynchosiae, Glycine, 
and Grislea tomentosa, very abundant. Conocarpus 
latifolius, Loranthus longiflorus, and another spe- 
cies ; Exacum tetragonum, Erythrsea centaurioides, 
Canscora pusilla, Phyllanthus Emblica, various 
Convolvuli, Argyreia, Ipomaea and Evolvulus, 
Cuscuta, and several herbaceous Compositae, as 
Sphaeranthus, Emilia, Conyza, Wollastonia, Yicoa 
Indica, Blainvillea, &c. — Dr. HooJcer’s Botanical 
Mission to India, Jour. Bot., 4. 
Astrap^ea Wallichii. This beautiful plant is 
now too well known in our stoves to require any 
description. It is a native of Madagascar, and 
planted out inthe border of the large Conservatory 
at Chatsworth, it forms a noble plant ; its fine large 
cordate leaves and long hairy petioles, with the 
broad stipules at their base, all of a pale green, 
render it at all seasons a striking object. The 
habit is to grow very rapidly and strong ; it there- 
fore requires plenty of room for its roots, and the 
soil should be of rather a strong texture, and he 
pretty rich. For some time past the flowers have 
been successively produced at Chatsworth, and 
have a splendid effect, being pendulous, of a bright 
scarlet, and being clustered together into large 
bunches. The plant is of the easiest growth, 
requiring a rich soil, plenty of root-room, a good 
supply of water both at the roots and overhead 
whilst in a state of growth, a damp stove atmos- 
phere, partial drought when in a state of rest, and 
keeping free from insects and dirt. 
The Alpine or Boursault Roses are very dis- 
tinct from all others. The shoots are long, flexible, 
very smooth, in some instances entirely free from 
thorns ; the one side often of a pale green, the other 
of a reddish tinge; the eyes are formed further 
apart than common. The flowers are produced 
in large clusters. By these features the varieties 
of this group are readily distinguished. The Bour- 
sault Roses, though of vigorous growth, are not 
of a sufficiently pendulous habit to make perfect 
“ Weeping Roses” without assistance from the 
cultivator. AYhen desired to be formed into such, 
the branches should be drawn to the ground with 
tar-twine, or twisted bast, when the immense 
trusses of flowers they bring forth give to the tree 
an appearance truly gorgeous. One inducement 
to grow them in this manner is, that most roses 
of a pendulous growth produce pale-coloured flowers, 
and these introduce a charming variety among 
Weeping Roses ; for the Boursault are mostly purple 
or crimson. Besides forming good Weeping Roses, 
they are fine grown either on pillars or on fences, 
with a northerly aspect ; a situation where few 
other kinds succeed well. They are very hardy, 
and will bloom well in situations where they scarcely 
obtain a gleam of sunshine. Boursault Roses should 
be well thinned out in pruning ; but the shoots 
that are left for flowering should be shortened-in 
very little. 
The Scotch Roses all form compact bushes, and 
