112 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND C0T1AGE GARDENER. 
[ Februar 5, 1885. 
vicinity of Mount Wilson, where the summit of the ridge is largely 
covered with a dense growth of Eucalypti, the mere trunks of which 
almost obscure the horizon, and in the undergrowth it is no exaggeration 
to say that thousands of Tree Ferns, ranging up to 30 feet in height, are 
visible in every direction. It is on the southern slopes that the Sassafras 
jungle is found, in which Mosses and Orchids luxuriate, and festoons of 
Lianes hang from the topmost branches. There are two peculiarities in 
this vegetation which are worthy of notice; first, that the Tree Ferns 
(Alsophila australis) frequently bifurcate at a short distance from the 
ground, and in many cases divide into three or four, and sometimes into 
five and six stems, from one root; second, that Tree Ferns (which must be 
of very ancient date) are frequently almost entirely absorbed by the 
growth of forest trees (Quintinia Sieberii) which germinating in the axils 
of their fronds, send down suckers to the ground, and enclose within 
their solid timber the Fern stems from which they derived their first 
support. In some cases are seen Ferns which, having attained a growth 
of 20 feet in height, have been laid low by the wind, and where some 
portions of their heads have touched the ground a second growth of 
equal altitude has succeeded, which, in its turn, has been subsequently 
enclosed by a Quintinia of large diameter, while the roots of the original 
Tree Fern still retain their vitality. 
-The first volume of the “ Illustrated Dictionary of 
Gardening” (L. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand) is issued, and forms a hand¬ 
some Jvolume, comprising 544 pages (from A to E) of closely printed 
matter. It is edited by Mr. George Nicholson, assisted by Messrs. W. 
Watson and J. Garrett, the former contributing articles on special sub¬ 
jects, and the latter on fruits, vegetables, and general garden work. Mr. 
S. C. Mosley, F.Z.S., has revised the entomological portion, the Rev. 
Percy M. Myles, M.A., having determined the derivation of many of the 
generic names. The work is liberally illustrated, the nomenclature accurate, 
the cultural instruction reliable, and altogether it is a very useful book. 
BEET AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 
I noticed in a recent issue of the Journal that Mr. Iggulden depreciates 
Pragnell’s Exhibition and Yeitch’s Improved Black Beets because of the 
great size to which they grow, and adds that these should not be sown 
earlier than the beginning of May. I am unacquainted with the first- 
named, but the other we have has beautiful medium-sized roots, colour 
first-rate, and flavour excellent. Instead of sowing in the beginning of 
May this and another large-growing sort were not sown until the 18th of 
June. I imagine if Mr. Iggulden adopts a later date to sow these that 
he will not be disappointed with the produce. I may add that Dell’s 
Crimson with us requires to be sown about the end of April. 
I should esteem it a great favour if some of your readers would suggest 
a plan whereby we could be sure of small bullet-like Brussels Sprouts. I 
have tried poor soil without effect, and the various varieties offered in seed 
catalogues all have the tendency to come too “ cabbagy ” for the dining 
table. Aigburth is one of the worst in that respect.—R. P. Brotherston. 
“ NATURALLY ” GROWN CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
Mr. Molyneux may rest assured that perfectly good blooms of Elaine 
and other Chrysanthemums may be grown for home purposes without 
disbudding the plants. We do not obtain such large flowers, but, what is 
of more importance, we get a greater number of them. I quite agree 
with your correspondent that some sorts, such as Elaine. Peter the Great, 
and other good Japanese varieties, will not form bushy plants without 
some form of stopping; the system that on the whole gives the best 
results being that of cutting back to firm growth in June, when several 
strong shoots are produced. At the same time “ naturally” grown plants 
with single stems producing several breaks late in summer, and with 
foliage to the rim of the pot, need not be so uncommon an occurrence. 
Anyone growing plants under cool conditions employing a strong loam 
and manure, with attention to watering, will have no cause to be dis¬ 
appointed with naturally grown plants. At least, that has been my 
experience. The fact is that a system of striking the cuttings in heat, and 
growing the plants throughout the spring months in houses, appears 
to be the failing with many country gardeners in their treatment of 
Chrysanthemums. No after treatment can ever undo the mischief thus 
caused.—B. 
A Parramatta Orangery. —With the exception of Sydney, Parra¬ 
matta is the oldest town in Australia, and was, in the early days of New 
South Wales, the principal residence of the Governor. It is now princi¬ 
pally famous for its orchards and orangeries, the origin of the latter 
being due in some measure to chance, the dried pips of an Orange having 
been sown during the early days of the township, thus making known 
the exceptional suitability of the district for the growth of this valuable 
fruit. Perhaps many of the largest trees in the world are here, some 
more than fifty years old, in the most perfect health and luxuriance of 
growth. Some idea may be formed of their productiveness when it is 
mentioned that from several of these trees a crop of more than four 
hundred dozens of marketable fruit has been gathered in a single season. 
A writer, alluding to this feature of the district, says :—“To those who 
have not seen the Orange growing in a congenial home, or who may but 
have seen it under the rude culture of some of the continental growers, a 
visit to the celebrated estate of Mr. Pye, of Rocky Hall, is not likely to 
be soon forgotten. Here may be seen growing every variety of the 
Orange and Lemon, and the other members of the Citrus family, from 
the tiny Cumquat to the gigantic Shaddock; and, as illustrative of the 
capability of the climate and the vast range of fruit-yielding trees that 
may be grown to advantage hereabouts, we may mention that in close 
proximity to the Orange may be seen the Apple, Pear, and Plum of 
northern latitudes; the Peach, Apricot, and Nectarine of the east; the 
Loquat of Japan, and almost every fruit-yielding shrub or tree, growing 
in the wildest luxuriance. It is a great treat to catch Mr. Pye on some 
leisure day, and in a pleasant stroll hear from him the life history of 
some of the special trees in his grove—how this one tree yielded several 
hundred dozens of fruit in a season ; how that group of trees were planted 
fifty years ago, and still, like their proprietor, seem ruddy with health. 
It must be glorious to be the owner of an orchard which, as a lad, one 
has helped to plant, and grown old in tending. And then there is the 
supreme satisfaction of knowing that the industry has grown to be one of 
vast commercial importance, for one has only to look at the piles of cases 
of this fruit awaiting transit at the Sydney wharves to realise how great 
an element of wealth this product has become.” 
CALANTHE VEITCHII, RANGEMORE VARIETY. 
One of the most successful and useful of the numerous hybrid Orchids 
raised by Mr. Dominy is that which bears the name of the firm for whom 
he produced such striking results. Calanthe Veitchii has long since taken 
its place amongst the few Orchids that have found general favour in 
gardens, and with its relative, C. vestita, it is now much esteemed for 
decorative purposes in the stove or Orchid houses. Regarding it simply 
in a utilitarian point of view, it is a plant of much importance, but when 
its history and characters are considered it is found to be one of the most 
remarkable and interesting Orchids that have originated in cultivation. 
The two species of Orchids, Calanthe vestita and Limatodes rosea, 
each possess attractions of no mean value, but it was a happy idea that 
induced Mr. J. Dominy to endeavour to obtain a cross between them, and 
the result proved the correctness of his views that a handsome useful 
plant could be produced by a union of their respective characters. It was 
remarked last week, when describing Cypripedium Leeanum superbum, 
that this showed in a strange manner the influence of the two parents, 
but in the case of Calanthe Veitchii this is perhaps still more marked. 
Here we have two genera concerned in the production of the hybrid, and 
bigeneric hybrids always possess exceptional interest to the student of 
fertilisation. There is, however, a great difference in the value of generic 
characters, and it sometimes happens that there is less essential difference 
between species of two distinct genera than between some species in one 
large or greatly varying genus. It generally happens that the nearer 
allied are the plants to be crossed the more likely are the efforts of the 
hybridiser to be successful, which could be exemplified in many families 
of plants, but it can be seen in the Orchids as well as any other. Few 
bigeneric hybrids have been obtained amongst them, and these few have 
chiefly been between Laelias and Cattleyas, which it is well known differ 
very slightly from each other, the number of pollen-masses determining 
to which genus a particular species belongs, though that is sometimes 
rendered difficult by the variability of even this character. So it is with 
the Limatodes rosea and Calanthe vestita, which were employed in the 
production of the hybrid under notice. The difference in structure is slight, 
though the two plants are readily distinguished. C. vestita has short 
conical pseudo-bulbs, a long loose raceme of flowers, in which the lip is 
four-lobed and adherent to the rather long column, the colour being 
white with a yellow or red ring in the centre of the lip, the flower stems 
being densely covered with long soft hairs. Limadotes rosea, on the 
other hand, has long fusiform or spindle-shaped pseudo-bulbs, which are 
partly contracted near the apex, giving them a bottle-like appearance ; the 
racemes are similar to C. vestita, but the flowers differ in two or three 
points. For instance, the lip is not lobed, but entire and of an oval form; 
it is not united to the column, but is folded round it at the base, this 
organ being also much shorter than it is in C. vestita, the colour being a 
uniform rose tint. These are the leading features of the two species, and 
will be seen at a glance that though amply sufficient to separate them, 
they are not of that marked structural character which would be likely 
to render crossing between them at all difficult. The pollen was taken 
from C. vestita, Limatodes being made the seed-bearing parent, and when 
after som ecareful nursing the resultant hybrid flowered in 1859, it was at 
once seen that a most curious intermixing of the distinguishing characters 
had been effected. C. Veitchii possesses the p3eudo-bulbs of the Calanthe 
slightly enlarged, an imperfectly bilobed lip, which partly clasps the 
short column, as in the Limotodes, and the colour is a bright rose hue, 
like the last-named species. There is thus a slight preponderance of 
characters in favour of the seed-bearing plant, but the cross is undoubted. 
These facts have been referred to at some length to render clearer an 
explanation of the beautiful variety represented in the woodcut, fig. 19, 
which was sketched from a raceme sent to this office by Mr. W. Bennett, 
Rangemore Gardens, Burton-on-Treffi. It shows in a remarkable degree 
a partial reversion to the Limatodes and at the same time there is in the 
lip more traces of the Calanthe parentage than in the ordinary form. The 
sepals and petals are similar to the Limatodes in form and colour, being 
