280 
•MYANTHTJS FIMBRIATUS. 
though from a drawing that was a perfect 
portrait, has been so dreadfully tiavestied, 
that nobody could know it ; and others have 
been so completely caricatured as to destroy 
the faith of every floiist, however much he 
may be inclined to patronise it ; therefore we 
say to Mr. Turner, write a paper where it 
will be read by the great number who are 
interested. In the absence of a paper devoted 
to floriculture, write it for tlie Chronicle, — 
the other paper no longer represents florists. 
Three of the largest meetings of florists that 
were ever got together, have decided that 
it is for the general interests of floriculture 
that there should be two garden newspapers, 
but that until there is a second, conducted 
by some one of ordinary intelligence, the 
science must continue to sufler as it has the 
last two years and upwards, much more to the 
injury of the fair dealer than to that of the less 
scrupulous trader. The show of American 
plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Re- 
gent's Park, will be very popular; but we 
are glad that Mr. Waterer of Knap Hill will 
open his private exhibition, as well as contri- 
bute to that at the Gardens, for the price 
virtually excludes thousands who cannot af- 
ford to pay five shillings for a peep at flowers 
liitherto to be seen for one shilling, and the 
exhibitors themselves will find out, that how- 
aver much they may contribute to the income 
of the Society, they will not do much for 
themselves. Mr. Waterer, although he sup- 
J)lies three-fourths of the plants which form 
the exhibition at the Gardens, will open his 
great show at Chelsea, as usual. The Tulips 
have had a most unfavourable season; they 
were by the early fine weather brought too 
forward, and the untoward, gusty, cold days 
of May have checked them altogether ; rag- 
ged blooms — one of the common results of 
sudden checks — are thei'efore pievalent, and 
many beds will suffer. A singular fate has 
fallen upon one old cultivator, who has lost 
his entire bed, with one solitary exception. 
They came up, and rotted down, without any 
apparent cause ; and at the meeting of the 
Society for the Encouragement of Floricul- 
ture, the subject was discussed ; after many 
suggestions and opinions which seemed un- 
tenable, the chairman elicited from the grower 
that his garden was upon an irony, hungry, 
clayey kind of subsoil, and that he had to 
trench low enough to mix this with the top; the 
doubts were thus apparently cleared, as many 
have suffered from the same cause. As the 
loss of a collection of many years' accutnula- 
tion was considered a misfortune, the growers 
present resolved at the taking up time to help 
make up another collection, upon the unerring 
principle that a good many can help one, 
while one cannot help a good many. The 
growers of the dahlia have always fancied 
that we help them along a little by describing 
the seedlings of any consequence from year to 
year, and we have generally had one of each 
sent up to grow near London ; this year, 
because we made earlier and better prepara- 
tion than usual, we have been more behind 
hand. Growers of seedlings hurt the charac- 
ter of their novelties by driving off their de- 
livery so late, and they frequently get blamed 
for sending out a bad variety, when they have 
only sent a bad plant, and that later than it 
ought to be sent. The two rival Societies for 
the encouragement of Floriculture will soon 
settle down into their places. The one which 
demands a pound subscription has shown the 
value of their certificates of merit by the 
fuchsia which they have adopted as a first- 
class flower. Lord Nelson ; hundreds of better 
ones have been flung to the muck heap the 
last few years. It is almost too bad that 
people should meet and give each other certi- 
ficates for subjects not worth cultivating : yet 
the same Society gave thirty in one year, and 
many have ordered the flowers form that fact 
alone. It has been averred too, within the 
last fortnight, that Lord Nelson is one of the 
best fuchsias out ; while we with just as little 
hesitation say, that it is not worth a place 
among even a common collection. The other 
Society, which meets at all four sides of Lon- 
don, with just one-twentieth part of the sub- 
scription, has already withheld certificates 
from half a score subjects that have very im- 
properly obtained them elsewhere. A new 
mode of encouraging amateur cultivators has 
been adopted by Mr. Hamilton of Cheapside. 
He has offered a prize, or rather series of 
prizes, for the best collection of annuals, the 
best melons, and the best cucumbers, that shall 
be brought or forwarded to him on a given 
day ; and many who have hardly confidence 
enough to show in public gardens, are prepar- 
ing 'to exhibit on the occasion. A general 
meeting of gardeners, amateurs, and nursery- 
men is called for the 29th of May, in London, 
and it is expected to be fully attended. The 
object is to adopt measures for the further 
encouragement of floriculture. 
MYANTHUS FIMBRIATUS. 
3Iyanthus fimhriatus^, Morren (fringed 
flowered Myanthus). — Orchidacese § Vandea^- 
Cat.iSctiJse. 
This fine and showy orchid has been intro- 
duced to, and cultivated in Belgium ; and the 
following is the substance of an account of it 
published by Pi'ofessor Morren, in a Belgian 
