82 
[ January 31, 1884. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
being large in autumn did not winter well, as flower trusses were shown 
in early winter, which in a temperature of 45° to 40° at night and 50° by 
day did not advance. 
The plants are very impatient of a wet sodden so 1, and equally so of 
a cold damp atmosphere, but they flourish in a brisk moist heat if venti¬ 
lated freely and not shaded. Sown the middle of August in a hotbed in 
4-inch pots, removed to a house with a temperature in winter of 45° to 50°, 
given 7-inch pots the end of September, 9 or 11-inch in February, we have 
plants that flower in June through the summer. 
As to training, let its shoots come out naturally, for it is ill-suited for 
twisting round stakes; but if stakes must be used employ as few as 
possible, not distorting by seeking to make it climb, which is contrary to 
its nature. The annexed figure of a spray of ibis plant will enable those 
who are not yet acquainted with it to judge of its appearance. Although 
very old the plant has not yet been seen by everyone. 
[Messrs. Carter & Co. have been very successful in growing this plant 
in their nurseries at Perry Hill. • The plants were, as Mr. Abbey suggests, 
grown on a “ knoll or raised bed ; ” but the mounds were formed in a low 
span-roofed house, and the shoots were secui’ed to the lower part of the 
roof. The rich pendent flowers were thus seen to great advantage, and 
some of them exhibited at a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 
secured for the growers a cultural commendation. We have never seen 
such a fine example of culture in a pot as on the knoll referred in the 
light greenhouse at Perry Hill.] 
Chatsworth. — The following announcement, “We understand 
that Mr. Thomas Bannerman, gardener to Lord Bagot, Blithfield ( 
Rugeley, has been engaged by the Duke of Devonshire to succeed 
the late Mr. Speed as gardener at Chatsworth ” appeared in the 
Gardeners' Chronicle last week, and brought us telegrams and letters 
controverting its accuracy. We are in a position to say that the 
statement is incorrect. Mr. Bannerman, in a letter before us, him¬ 
self denies its truth ; and the Duke of Devonshire’s agent informs 
us “ that a gardener has not been appointed for Chatsworth, and 
it is not expected that the appointment will be made for some little 
time." 
-Mr. J. Douglas writes :—“ ‘ D., Deal,' writing at page 58, states 
that £243 was given for a plant of Vanda Sanderiana. This is incorrect; 
it was for a plant of Aerides Lawrence®, quite a unique specimen, 
of which it was presumed none like it would ever be introduced. The 
trade in Orchids is now becoming so extensive that nurserymen and 
amateurs are getting sadly mixed. I do not allude to this particular 
plant. Of its destination I know nothing. But it seems to me that 
where a person can go into a garden and purchase plants at the usual 
retail or wholesale price that garden cannot be considered other than a 
nursery. Amateurs purchase in many cases with the intention of selling 
again. I do not know whether all this is fair to the heavily taxed nur¬ 
seryman. I believe the sale of that plant cost Mr. Sanders a special 
visit of the tax-gatherer, and a grievous addition to his already heavily 
taxed business." 
- The same correspondent also observes with regard to prices 
of Tulips : —“At page GG it is stated that certain Tulips were sold in 
1854 at one hundred guineas each. This statement is also made in 
my book on ‘ Hardy Florists’ Flowers,’ but I am not sure whether it 
is quite correct, and in another edition of the book it would be modified. 
The reason I arrive at such a conclusion is this : In 1854 Mr. Groom 
catalogued show Tulips at the prices given in my book, and quoted 
correctly by Mr. Robinson. We have no positive proof that he sold any 
of them. And I am the more confirmed in this belief because on the 
30th of October, 1855, Mr. Groom’s Tulips were put under the hammer 
of Messrs. Protheroe & Morris, and the highest price obtained for one row 
of seven roots was 60$., not 9$. each.” 
- Mr. W. Bardney writes as follows concerning Read’s New 
Hearting Borecole —“It is dwarf, the leaves are beautifully curled, 
and I would recommend those who grow Borecoles to give this variety 
a trial. It is said to be perfectly hardy, and I should say such is the 
case judging from the quantities that I have seen in the Liverpool market 
late in the season during the past five or six years. It is also said to 
remain in good condition after all other Borecoles have commenced 
running to seed. This I believe will prove the case, for those alluded to 
have come to the market in good condition long after the varieties of 
dwarf curled have been running freely to seed with me. I have tried 
several times to obtain the seed of the variety sent to the market, but 
failed to do so. Are there two varieties under this name ? If so, can 
anyone point out the difference between them ? 
- “ M. S.” considers that Iris stylosa or unguicularis should 
be grown in all gardens. No doubt the exceedingly mild weather has 
had something to do with its earliness in flowering this season, but in 
ordinary winters unprotected in the open border it is seldom a fortnight 
later than this. It is much like I. fimbriata and I. Robinsoniana in 
general appearance. 
- In the note on Potato Trials at Chiswick, which appeared 
at page 62 of our last issue, a clerical error (for which we are not respon¬ 
sible) occurred. Instead of “ six fair samples of each," the reading should 
be “twenty fair samples,’’ and not more than eight varieties. 
- An unusually fine display of Orchids in flower was provided 
at Messrs. Protheroe & Morris’s monthly sale in their rooms, 67 and 68, 
Cheapside, on Tuesday last. It was indeed quite an exhibition, and 
attracted a large number of buyers and admirers of Orchids. Odonto- 
glossums, Ccelogynes, Cypripediums, Dendrobiums, Lselias, Lycastes, 
Sophronitises, and many others were represented by scores of plants> 
mostly flowering very freely. The principal prices realised were the 
following :—Odontoglossum nobile casrulescens, 8 guineas ; O. Ander- 
sonianum, 9£ guineas ; Lselia anceps, good variety, 10 guineas ; Oncidium 
superbiens var. Enoi, 18 guineas; Lycaste Skinneri alba, 21 guineas ; 
Odontoglossum crispum var. Dormanianum, 8£ guineas; Epidendrum 
Wallisi, 19 guineas ; Odontoglossum Alexandra, very fine variety, 
15 guineas ; Dendrobium Ainsworthi, £6 and £5 10$.; Coelogyne cristata, 
£8 10$., very large, over 3 feet in diameter, and in fine condition; and 
Cypripedium villosum, a very large specimen, 3^ feet in diameter, with 
thirty-five flowers, £5. 
- We are informed that the dates for the Brighton and Hove 
Chrysanthemum Society’s Show for this year are fixed for the 11th 
and 12th of November next. The Secretary is Mr. Mark Longhurst, 
87, Western Road, Brighton. 
- The fortnightly meeting of the Manchester Horticultural 
Mutual Improvement Society was held at the old Town Hall, King Street, 
on Thursday evening, when Mr. Bruce Findlay read a paper on the 
Diseases and Casualties of Vegetable Life. Mr. Frank Robin¬ 
son presided, and there was a large attendance of members. Mr. Findlay 
said that he had been induced to turn his attention to the subject by the 
quack advertisements which promised to cure all manner of diseases to 
which animal and vegetable life were subject. It behoved them to be on 
their guard against quacks. He did not mean to insinuate that all the 
advertised curatives did no good, for he knew that the contrary was the 
case with many of them. He divided casualities under three heads—namely, 
wounds, diseases, and natural decay. Touching upon the felling of trees, 
which seemed to be a favourite occupation and pastime of many eminent 
men, he remarked that the practice was to be deprecated unless it was 
necessary. Looking around Manchester, a man who had known it for 
half a century could not fail to see the powerful pestilential agencies at 
work which had killed trees by thousands, but seldom did we see any 
planting done. Our municipal authority lavished a great deal of money 
upon art galleries and in other ways, against which he had nothing to say, 
but it would be thought suicidal to spend £4000 or £5000 upon the planting 
of trees. He contended that a man who caused a tree to grow in a town 
raised the most beautiful monument possible. We should, therefore, do 
what we could to put a stop to the practice of cutting down trees for mere 
pastime. The most frequent diseases of vegetable life were the following 
—Blight, smut, mildew, honeydew, dropsy, flux of juices, gangrene, 
suffocation, contortion, and consumption. He explained the nature of 
each complaint, and then spoke of natural decay, which formed the last 
section of the paper. Mr. Williamson of Whalley House afterwards 
exhibited some splendid blooms of Japanese varieties of Chrysanthemums. 
- In reference to flower farming in New York the following 
recently appeared in the New Yorh Times: —“ The sale room is that of 
one of the largest commission dealers in flowers in New York. ‘ I want 
fifty Jacs,’ said an elderly gentleman with a capacious basket who had 
come for his daily supply, ‘ a dozen Mermets, 100 sprays of Mignonette, 
