224 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 15, 183 . 
MISCELLANEOUS ORCHIDS. 
Many of the good but old-fashioned Orchids are well repre¬ 
sented. Ccelogyne cristata, C. ocellata, C. corrugata, and C. spe- 
ciosa, Cypripedium insigne, C. hirsutissimum, are in quantity, and 
the plants large. The useful Dendrobium nobile and its variety 
coerulescens, D. densiflorum, D. fimbriatum, and D. thyrsiflorum, 
are all well grown, with Oncidium Harrisoni, 0. tigrinum, and 
^ygopetalum Mackayi. Pleiones, like Calanthes, are well culti¬ 
vated, and are in various stages ; the earliest are just showing 
flower spikes. There are not many Orchids in bloom, but among 
others are. Odontoglossum bictoniense, with twenty flowers on a 
spike, Oncidium Lanceanum, Miltonia spectabilis. Cypripedium 
i earcei (caricinum) in a large pan is very singular, having narrow 
grass-like leaves, and the spikes rising we'l above the foliage, pro¬ 
ducing six flowers on each of a pale green colour. C. longifolium 
has been blooming a long time, Sobralia macrantha, and Zygo- 
petalum maxillare. The gardens are very interesting, and much 
might be written of the well-managed occupants in each depart¬ 
ment.—G. W. C. 
MELON NOTES. 
It is not general for Melons to be grown without being provided 
with heat, either from hot-water pipes or fermenting material, as 
generally the disease to which Melons are subject is more quickly 
engendered in a low temperature than when a good warmth is 
maintained. The present season has been one that would naturally 
favour the culture of Melons on this principle, but few are prepared 
to venture on so uncertain a speculation. In the gardens of 
Draycot House, Chippenham, there has been an excellent though 
not extensive crop of this indispensable fruit, which has been grown 
without the aid of either fermenting manure or hot water, the 
plants having been most vigorous, clean, and healthy. The house 
in which this crop was grown is a small lean-to, 20 feet by 7 feet, 
and from this small roof space nearly thirty fruits have been cut, 
averaging lbs. each, ad of one variety, Sutton’s Imperial Green- 
flesh. This sort, Mr. Gibson, the able gardener, ha 3 formed a high 
opinion of. The fruits become beautifully netted, are perfect in 
shape, and is very deep in the flesh, there being no cavity between 
the seeds and flesh, as is common with many varieties. 
Rich soil Mr. Gibson is careful to avoid for these crops, as from 
this cause alone canker is very apt to occur when grown on the 
restricted methods. Medium clay, or the second spit from a pasture, 
is what is employed at Draycot, this being stacked some few months 
before required for use, to cause it to become mellow, nothing 
whatever being added to this beyond a sprinkling of lime until 
after the fruits are set, when a small quantity of fish guano is 
applied. . It is surprising what vigorous plants may be grown in 
such a soil. Several leaves measured exceeded 14 inches in diameter, 
and proportionately stout; the plants retaining their full vigour 
until the fruits were cut, no drying olf being practised. Air was 
not given until after mid-day, but a slight shade was given to 
prevent burning. A little air was admitted after the sun had lost 
its influence for about two hours, this plan being adopted to allow 
of the leaves and house becoming dry before nightfall, as the paths, 
walls, and bed were kept constantly moist during the early part of 
the day. Altogether this instance of Melon culture maybe termed 
a success, the method of procedure practised being quite economical 
and satisfactory in principle.—W. 
HANGING BASKETS FOR THE WARM FERNERY. 
If hanging baskets are useful accessories to the ornamentation 
of the cool fernery, they are just as much needed in the warm 
house devoted to the cultivation of Ferns and other foliage plants ; 
but in this we have less difficulty to contend with, as there is a far 
larger quantity of plants from which a varied selection can be 
made ; and on account of the great diversity found among stove 
Ferns, both as regards colour and form, a much greater variation 
may be obtained through the planting of these hanging baskets in 
various sizes. Exceedingly pretty little miniature ones can be 
made exclusively with the Adiantums Edgeworthi, dolabriforme, 
and caudatum, all three evergreen East Indian species of small and 
rampant growth. Their being proliferous at the apex of the 
fronds is a great recommendation for the purpose which we have in 
view, as these species frequently show three, and even four genera¬ 
tions of plants hanging from the original or mother fronds. The 
general appearance of A. Edgeworthi or ciliatum, as it is sometimes 
called, is as distinct as it is pleasing, on account of the lovely soft 
green tint of its pubescent foliage, as also because of the elegant 
way in which the pinnae, pink in their young stage, are divided. 
A. caudatum is easily distinguished from the above by the greyish 
and dull colour of its fronds, and also by the peculiar shape of its 
pinnae, which are much more cuneiform ; while in A. dolabriforme 
we have a plant entirely distinct from the other two ; and, although 
it appears as only a variety of the lovely A. lunulatum, it is much 
to be valued on account of its evergreen character, which does not 
belong to the species. This A. dolabriforme was sent out only a 
few years ago by Mr. B. S. Williams (to whom we are indebted for 
the illustration), with the idea that it would prove a plant of great 
value for basket culture, and the anticipation has been fully 
realised, for it forms a dense yet elegant mass of a particularly 
bright green foliage, and has been the means of making some of the 
prettiest small baskets that we ever had the good fortune to see. 
A. lunulatum, although naturally deciduous, is well worthy of 
cultivation for basket purposes ; and, although it is an old species, 
I well remember the sensation which a few years ago a huge 
basket of it created at one of the quinquennial Belgian exhibitions. 
The plant in that memorable occasion had been grown in London 
by its exhibitors ; and, while in February there were no signs of 
life, by the time of the exhibition, in June or July, the basket was 
in such perfection that it riveted the admiration of all beholders. 
This distinct and handsome species, of slender pendulous habit, has 
foliage of a peculiar shape, its alternate pinnae being lunulate and 1 
of a particularly bright green colour, which forms a pleasing con¬ 
trast with the shining black colour of the rachis and stalks, which 
are very conspicuous. Its foliage remains in good condition until 
about the middle of October, when it dies down naturally ; and if 
the plant is properly treated during the winter and not allowed to- 
pet dust dry it usually starts into growth about the middle of 
February, or at the latest the beginning of March, and rapidly 
forms a most interesting mass of verdure. Very pretty small 
baskets are also made with Asplenium elegantulum, an evergreeni 
dwarf species from the Fiji Islands, which, like the above-named 
Adiantums, is proliferous at the apex and of a dark shining green 
colour ; and the uncommon New Holland species called flabel- 
lifolium, which on account of its extremely slender growing 
nature, is particularly well adapted for that purpose. Its fronds, 
generally from 12 to 15 inches long, are formed of two parallel rows 
of small and curiously fan-shaped pinna;, of a bright dark green 
colour, and thoroughly distinct aspect; the apex of its fronds is- 
also proliferous, and it is easily propagated. 
The Ferns which may with advantage be used for the formation 
of baskets of a larger or medium size are much more numerous 
than those adapted for small ones, and for that purpose almost any 
Ferns of a drooping habit can be utilised ; but the genus which 
supplies us with the greatest number is undoubtedly that of 
Davallia. The majority of these plants are provided with creeping 
rhizomes, which render them most valuable for such a use, as in 
course of time they entirely clothe the outer surface of the baskets 
in which they are planted and make handsome objects. Their 
foliage, elegant and finely cut generally, looks particularly hand 
some when seen from below, and being very tenacious remains a 
long time on the plants. In Davallia bullata we have one of the 
most attractive of the genus, with fronds about 10 inches long,, 
nearly triangular in shape, and of a rich dark shining green colour, 
produced on creeping rhizomes, which are covered with minute 
scales of a bright reddish hue, accounting for the popular appella¬ 
tion of the Squirrel’s Foot Fern. Davallia elegans and its variety 
dissecta from Java are also included among the most useful Ferns 
for basket purposes ; the fronds of both species and variety are 
more finely cut than those of D. bullata, and produced on rhizomes 
of a much lighter colour. They average from 15 inches to 
24 inches in length, and are quite 8 inches in width at their base. 
In the same way also is D. solida, whose fronds, however, are more 
plumose and of a brighter green colour, smooth and shining. 
Although several more, such as D. fijiensis, ornata, Mooreana, and' 
the beautiful and new tenuifolia Veitehiana, of which an illustration 
was given in the Journal of August 11th, page 111, and others may 
be grown in hanging baskets, the above named are the most useful 
among the Davallias grown for baskets of medium size. 
For the same purpose most of the Gold and Silver Ferns may 
also be used with great effect, the more so since the farinaceous 
powder, which is peculiar to them, and which is their princi al 
ornament, is seen to a greater advantage in that position than when 
the same plants are grown in pots. There is nothing more effective 
than a good plant well established in a suspended basket of the 
West Indies species Gymnogramma tartarea, with massive fronds 
fully 2 feet long and quite 8 inches wide, dark green above, but of 
a beautiful and very even whiteness underneath. G. pulchella, 
from Venezuela, is equally interesting when grown in that way, as 
the lemon colour which is peculiar to the inferior surface of its 
long, handsome, and more finely divided fronds is then shown to- 
perfection. GymnogrammaLaucheana gigantea is the strongest of 
all the Golden Ferns, its fronds, of an intense yellow on their under 
side, being long and more gracefully arching than those of any other 
