January 22 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
71 
joined hands with those dear ones, to see whose faces once again we 
had traversed so many thousands of miles by land and sea. 
[With this interesting description of tropical scenery we have 
pleasure in representing a Burmese village, from a photograph 
taken by the talented traveller.] 
(To be continued.) 
PHYLLOCACTUS. 
( Continued from page 546 ,) 
P. CRENATTJS. —A magnificent species, undoubtedly one of the best 
in the genus, and one that has proved extremely valuable in the hands 
of hybridisers, as with the crimson-flowered species it has yielded a 
number of intermediate tints, such as soft rose, blush, and pale crimson. 
The stems are flat as in the others, but they aie only slightly crenated ; 
the flowers are fragrant, of great size, G to 8 inches in diameter, with 
numerous lance-shaped petals, pure white and spreading. It is a native 
of Honduras, whence it was sent with several other plants by Sir 
Chas. Lemon, Bart., to Mr. G. Ure Skinner, in 1839, and it first flowered 
four years after its receipt. Seven years later—namely, in 1850, Mr. Gordon 
succeeded in raising at the Roy.il Horticultural Society’s Gardens a series 
of remarkably beautiful hybrids between this species and Cereus speciosis- 
simus, which attracted much admiration at the time, and are still found 
in a few collections. The pollen was taken from the Cereus, making 
the Phyllocactus the seed-bearing parent, and the result was that the 
seedlings resembled the latter in form of the stems and flowers, but the 
colours more nearly resembled the Cereus slightly softened and varied. 
All these hybrids proved extremely floriferous and useful garden plants. 
This cross was repeated in 1870 by Col. Charleton of Braddon, Isle of 
Man, but a greater variation in colours resulted, the tints ranging from 
the pure white of the Phyllocactus to brilliant scarlet. Mr. C. M. 
Hovey, Boston, United States, also produced a race of hybrids between 
Phyllocactus crenatus and what he terms Epiphyllum splendidus, but 
which is presumably some scarlet form of Phyllocactus. These were 
raised about the same time as Col. Charleton’s, the flowers of all being 
remarkably large, from 8 to 12 inches in diameter, and very freely 
produced. The best of them are the following—Alice Wilson, orange 
scarlet; Mauve Queen, purplish pink ; Orange Gem, shining orange ; 
Fink Queen, mauve pink ; Sunset, rich crimson, and Refulgence, dark 
scarlet. A fine variety of P. crenatus is grown at Kew under the name 
of Vogeli, which has very large flowers of a rich rosy tint, and probably 
originated from some similar cross to those already named. P. Gor- 
doniana, which has bright rose-coloured handsome flowers, appears to 
have had a similar origin. 
P. Hookeri, Sahn. —In the “ Botanical Magazine,” plate 2692, a 
figure of a fine white-flowered Phyllocactus was given under the name 
of Cactus Phyllanthus, an extremely old inhabitant of English gardens. 
In the opinion of several other writers it is quite distinct from and 
superior to that species, the name given above being consequently 
bestowed upon it. The branches and stem are flat and deeply crenated, 
2 to 3 feet high, producing the flowers on the margin. These have a 
long narrow tube, and tapering white petals 2 to 3 inches long and 
about a quarter of an inch broad. It possesses a most agreeable fra- 
errance, and usually flowers in the summer months from July to 
September. 
P. LATIFRONS (^Cercus oxypctalus, Decandolle).—A very strong¬ 
growing species, quite the giant of its family, producing stout flattened 
etems 4 to 5 inches broad, deeply crenated, and 8 or 10 feet high. A 
fine specimen, with several stems fully 8 feet in height, is grown in the 
Kew collection, and when in flower it has a remarkable appearance. 
The flowers seem to share the large dimensions of the plant, for they 
are 7 to 8 inches long and about 6 inches in diameter, the petals of a 
delicate clear creamy white, the sepals and tube of a reddish hue. It 
is a native of Mexico and some districts to the south of that country, 
and has been in cultivation for a considerable time, though the date 
of its introduction is uncertain, 
P. Phyllanthus, Saint. —As the oldest cultivated Phyllanthus this 
possesses a certain degree of historical interest, but it is not particularly 
beautiful, and is far surpassed by P. crenatus, P. Ackermani, and the 
handsome hybrids that have been mentioned. Its branches are flattened 
and crenated, bearing long tubular flowers in the style of P. Hookeri, 
but not so broad at the mouth ; creamy or greenish white, opening at 
night, and possessing a peculiar odour. According to the “ Hortus 
Kewensis ” the plant was cultivated by Phillip Miller in 1710, and a 
very good figure was given in Dillenius’s “Hortus Elthamensis” in 
1732, with a long description of the plant under the name of Cereus 
Scolopendrii folio brachita. It is the Spleenwort-leaved Indian Fig of 
Miller, and is said to have been originally obtained from Brazil. 
P. PHYLLANTHOIDES, Salm QCactvs sgyeciosvs, Bonpland).—An ex¬ 
tremely beautiful species, and, like P. Ackermanni, one of the most 
floriferous of the family, continuing in bloom during the greater part 
of the summer. With such an important character it is suprising that 
hybridisers have not employed the species more frequently in crossing 
with others, but it has no doubt contributed a few to the series of 
•garden forms, and some of those with rose-coloured flowers can be 
traced to it. In the typical form the stem is flat, the margin crenated, 
and the centre reddish. The flowers are about 2 to 3 inches long and 
2 to 4 inches across at the mouth, the petals being ovate or lance-shaped, 
and coloured rose and white in irregular streaks, very delicate and 
hindsome. As Cactus speciosus it w'as mentioned by Bonpland, who, 
with Humboldt in 1801, found it growing on trunks of trees at Turbaco, 
south of Carthagena. Plants or seeds were introduced to Europe by 
those travellers, and the first flowers were produced at Malmaison in 
May, 1811, plants also flowering about the same time in the Montpelier 
Botanic Garden.—L. C. 
(To be continued.) 
ASTER WHITE QUEEN. 
The accompanying illustration (fig. 14) kindly supplied by Messrs. 
E. Webb & Sons, Wordsley, Stourbridge, represents an excellent type 
of dwarf Aster, admirably adapted for culture in beds or pots. Webb’s 
White Queen forms a compact bushy little plant about 8 inches high, 
bearing large, well formed, pure white blooms, borne quite clear of the 
FIG. 14.— ASTER white QUEEN. 
foliage, so that they are seen to great advantage. This is an important 
character, for sometimes in dwarf Asters the blooms are so buried in 
the foliage that much of their beauty is lost. A capital companion for 
this is Scarlet King, which is exactly similar in habit, but possessing 
very bright red blooms, a sufficiently near approach to scarlet to justify 
the name as applied to florists’ flowers. 
A VISIT TO WOODSEAT. 
This North Staffordshire seat of J. F. Campbell, Esq., has for many 
years been famous for its Grapes especially, besides Pines, Peaches, &:c. 
It was at Woodseat that Mr. Rabone (now at Alton Towers) grew his 
noted Grapes, and coming to more recent times the cultural skill of 
Mr. Hollingworth has been well established ; the greater portion of the 
Grapes so successfully exhibited by him have been cut from old Vines. 
At the time of my visit, the end of December, the earliest Vines had 
started regularly and strong, giving promise of a fine crop of fruit. 
The next division may be termed midseason, and is filled with old Vines 
in splendid order, wood being moderately strong, short jointed, with 
fine bold buds. In the latest compartment some Grapes were still 
hanging, consisting of the usual late varieties, all being very fine, Lady 
Downe’s exceptionally good, the bunches being about 3 to 4 lbs. each, a 
weight seldom reached with that variety. I noticed that the Vines are 
pruned very close, seldom leaving more than one eye to a spur, and the 
spurs are sufficiently wide apart to allow plenty of light to each lateral, 
which probably accounts for the large bunches produced. The borders 
are inside and out, the vineries being built on arches. Peaches were 
in fine order, wood well ripened and studded with fruit buds, from 
which fine fruit may as usual be expected. Pines have recently been 
done away with, and the space they occupied is filled by extremely 
fine Eucharises ; the foliage is large, and the spikes of flowers proper- 
