NURSEET CALLS. 
slender upright nearly cyKndrical stems. Mr. Lee 
considers the common plan of cultivating the various 
Cacti, in nearly pm-e loam, to he erroneous, and main- 
tains that they should have a miieh richer, though 
perfectly porous soil. The collection of Heaths here 
is extensive ; and a fine healthy stock of most of the 
leading kinds was hcing hrought forward. In the 
propagating house wc noticed a veiy useful contrivance 
for aiding the estahlishment of newly potted plants. 
Wide shelves were fitted up with a deep front ledge, 
and covered with small glass sashes hung at the hack, 
and fitting closely, thus forming a series of close glazed 
boxes, which were found very useful for the piu'pose 
just mentioned, and much more convenient than ordi- 
naiy hand-glasses which are commonly used for the 
same pm-pose. In one of the houses was a plant or 
two of a beautiful Lycopodium of small growth, called 
L. dendroideum, a Canadian species, with running 
underground stems, the portion above ground having a 
tree-like drooping character, simUating a miniatui'e 
Araucaria. A nice young stock of the Flower of the Day 
Pelargonium (see p. 25) was in course of propagation. 
It is a very handsome foKaged jilant, and with flowers 
more cherry-coloured than our plate indicates. — M. 
Messrs. CJiandlci; Tauxhall. — March iS. — This esta- 
blishment has long been celebrated for its magnificent 
collection of Camellias. We foimd the plants in splendid 
condition, but, owing to the very cold weather which had 
prevaQed, some of the choicer kinds were not quite suf- 
ficiently expanded. They are gro'mi in an unusually 
long lean-to house, the back being covered with plants 
growing in the open ground. Some of the specimen 
plants, also, are planted out. Among the more remark- 
able or showy kinds, we noted Coronata, rose colour, 
very pretty and late ; Albicans, pure white, small, but 
very pretty, and tolerable in form ; King, in the way of 
Colvillii, of fine habit, pure in colour, and distinct in 
the markings; Fimbriata, and Old A^Tiite, remarkable 
for their unusually large and beautifid flowers. In 
addition to these we also noticed Floyii, desirable for 
the richness of its large bold foliage ; Albertus, a fin e 
plant in very superior condition, and very showy ; Teu- 
tonia, a variety sometimes producing, upon the same 
plant, flowers all white, and, at other times, all pink ; 
Reine de Flem-, a deep red flower of the Donklaerii 
breed, but much flner and of good form ; Yandesii Su- 
perb, an old showy kind, r.arely seen in bloom, but 
producing some prodigiously large flowers ; Elegans, a 
noble plant, clothed with immense flowers of a pale red 
colour, blotched with pra'c white — this vaiiety, though 
coarse and deficient in form, is, as grown at Messrs. 
Chandler's, one of the finest, and deserving a place in 
any conservatory ; Tricolor, a plant of fine habit, and 
very showy ; and Traversii, a deep red of very nice form. 
Henri Favi-e is a late kind of pretty good form ; and 
Triumphans is a desirable large rose kind. Fine bushes 
of Imbricata and Corallina, covered with flowers, were 
very conspicuous ; as were also Eximia, Donklaerii, 
Reticulata, Woodsii, and Sanguinea, the last named 
showing a very full centre of yellow anthers. The 
young plants, as is generally the case, were not this 
season very full of bloom. The other houses, in addition 
to the general stock, were gay with forced American 
plants and bulbs, among which the white Pyrus japoniea, 
and Persian LUae, mth yeUow, piulc, and red Azaleas, 
were very conspicuous. We also noticed Daphne For- 
tunii, blooming profusely ; and TropEEolum Lobbianum, 
in small pots, producing a greater abimdance of brilliant 
orange scarlet flowers than we have ever before seen ; 
this proves an excellent plant for winter blooming, and 
is a good substitute in bouquets for scarlet Geraniirm. 
A fine Rhododendron was showing colour in the open 
grormd ; and, upon the wall, we noticed some splendid 
plants of Camellias, and Magnolia conspieua a mass of 
flower buds. — A. 
Messrs. E. G. Henderson. — March 19. — We here 
saw a beautiful dwarf Gesnera, called macrantha pur- 
purea, said to be a cross between G. macrantha and 
Cooperi ; it is a most beautiful variety, and is said to 
have the very desirable property of producing a new 
crop of blossoms in about six weeks after cutting away 
the remains of the first set of flowers. Messrs. Hender- 
son have also bloomed the Conochnium ianthinum, 
which appears to be a free-growing and easily flowered 
soft- wooded warm greenhouse plant, producing corymbs 
of bluish-lilac flower-heads in the way of an Ageratum. 
A Gloxinia called argyrostigma, in the yoimg state 
promises to have very ornamental foliage of moderate 
size ; it has the veins marked by a broad clear white 
streak, and a velvety smface, here and there tinted 
with brown, something in the way of the leaves of 
Achimenes picta, with which, from its tendency to form 
a stem, it is not improbable that the parent of this 
variety had been fertilized. Pimelea Nebergiania (not 
Weippergiana) was coming into flower. jVmong other 
novelties were Heintzia tigrina, a conspicuous gesnera- 
ceous plant, with crowded axillary C)Tnes of cui'iously 
spotted flowers from the axUs of the ample leaves; 
Aristolochia picta, whose flowers have a blue limb, ■ 
chequered with golden veins; and a handsome Pan- 
danus called variegatus. — M. 
Messrs. J. and A. Henderson. — March 19. — Here many 
very beautifid varieties of Amaryllis were in flower. A 
successfid display of these gaudy subjects is kept up 
throughout the winter, for which purpose they are foimd 
to be invaluable. One of the most remarkable was A. re- 
ticulata, Avithbeautiful light pink flowers, prettily veined 
Avith deeper red. Some plants of the double white and 
pm-ple varieties of Primrda sinensis were remarkable 
for their size and vigom, and the profuse mass of blos- 
soms they were producing. A house filled Avith finely 
grown specimens of grceiihouse plants contained some 
Eriostemons, and an Acacia diffusa beautifully bloomed. 
An Epacris called hyacinthiflora candidissima, is one 
of the finest of the white varieties, and was, we beHeve, 
raised by Mr. Storey ; it has the habit of the Impressas, 
"with flowers of twice the size. Boronia ti-iphylla, one 
of the prettiest of all the species, was flowering very 
freely, its bright rose-pink blossoms contrasting to 
much advantage with a species of similar habit — B. 
anemontefolia, whose flowers were both fewer and smaller, 
Avith a dingy foliage, A now old plant, not much seen 
Chorozema platylobioides, or Mirbelia grandiflora, was 
prettily in flower, and is rather showy. — M. 
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