388 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
[ November 5,1891, 
blackened Dahlias and other plants. Rain fell upon twenty-one days 
during past month. Maximum in any twenty-four hours, O'GO inch on 
the Gth; minimum, OOl on the 17th. Total for the month, 5-07 ; 
against 1-87 of 1890.—E. Wallis, Ilamels Parle Gardens , Buntingford, 
Herts. 
- Excessive Rainfall in Hampshire. —The year of 1891 
appeared in September likely to end with amount of rain below the 
average. Now after such a drenching October that is a thing of the 
past, and we have already, had for this part more than the average. 
Rain fell here on twenty days ; most rain fell on October 6th, when D25 
inch was registered as having fallen in tw r elve hours. The next 
heaviest was on the night of October 19th, when 0 - 83 inch fell. The 
total amount for the month was 1030 inches. We had no frost here 
until the night of October 28th, when we had 2°. Until that date 
such tender bedding plants as Coleus and Define were looking as well 
as in August, a rather unusual occurrence. I may state our garden is 
on a hill, and sheltered by trees.—A. J. L., near Stochb ridge. 
- Rainfall in Hampshire,—S ince writing my last note on 
the rainfall here sixteen days ago we have had sufficient rain to exceed 
last year's whole total by l - 35 inch, having registered 5'72 inches, 
making in all for the present month 7 98 inches, which, as far as my 
memory carries me, is quite unprecedented for any month, and espe¬ 
cially October. Up to the present date, 26th, we have had but four 
dry days as compared with eighteen last year. Last year’s rainfall for 
the first twenty-six days of October was but 089 inch. What a 
difference between the two seasons. Our total now for the year up to 
date is 28-52 inches, which is really not in excess of our average rainfall. 
On Thursday we had twenty-four hours’ continuous rain.—E. M. 
- The Floods in Somersetshire. — It is widely known 
(writes Mr. R. Harty Dunn, Street, Somerset) that some 80,000 acres of 
Somersetshire moorland are under water owing to the heavy rains, the 
recent high tide, and the breaking away of the embankments of the 
Rivers Parrott and Brue. But it is not so well known that in consc. 
quence of this deluge (the like of which has not been witnessed in this 
generation) a large number of labourers and small farmers are on the 
brink of utter destitution, and not a few have had to appeal already to 
the local poor law unions. The Wheat crop, the Potato crop, and in 
fact everything, including the peat or “ turf ” industry, upon which 
these poor people were relying for subsistence now and during the 
coming winter, have suffered to such an extent as to create quite a local 
famine. Men can go by water in boats right over the crops which were 
their sole dependence. 
- Rainfall at Dartmouth.— Mr. T. Gard, The Gardens, The 
Beacon, Kingswear, Dartmouth, writes :—“I send you a few notes with 
respect to the rainfall during the past six months, thinking perhaps it 
may be interesting to you from this locality. I commenced registering 
the rainfall on the 1st of May last, and the following are the results :— 
In May 3-04 inches fell on eleven days, in June 3 83 inches fell on ten 
days, in July 3'72 inches fell on twelve days, in August 7-07 inches fell 
on fifteen days, in September 2-46 inches fell on twelve days, in October 
10 41 inches fell on twenty-four days ; the total was 30-53 inches on 
eighty-four days. The heaviest falls on one day were as follows :—On 
the 18th August 1-02 inch, on the 21st August D98 inch, on the 
1st September 1-02 inch, on the 6th October 1 30 inch, 7th October 
1'27 inch, and the 19th October 125 inch. For this hilly locality the 
summer has been very beneficial to the growth of all vegetable crops, 
but I am afraid the lack of sunshine will tell on the rather soft and 
overgrown wood of the fruit trees. 1 gathered a good crop of Peaches 
and fair crop of Plums, but these cracked badly. Apples were a good 
crop ; Pears scarce. October has been a month long to be remembered, 
as nothing could be done on the ground ; but the weather is now much 
improvtd—dry, but very cold easterly wind.” 
- Mr. Albert Benz divides Garden Pansies into six classes, 
according to the manner in which they are coloured. The first class 
comprises self-coloured flowers—that is, those which have an even 
shade spread over the whole surface of each of the petals. They may 
be white, yellow, bronze, mahogany, brown, purple, lavender, violet 
and nearly all intermediate shades. They can be depended on more 
largely than the other varieties to come true from seed. Shaded 
Pansies constitute the second class, in which the flowers have the 
darkest shade of a given colour at the upper end of the upper petals 
gradually graded down to a lighter shade toward the bottom end of 
the lower petal. Others of this class are darkest in the centre and 
shade gradually into a lighter tint toward the edge of all the petals. 
The Three-spotted or Face Pansies include the flowers which show a 
distinct mask, or face, in their centre—'that is, a dark spot on each 
side of the side petals, and a broad and larger one on the lower petal. 
This includes most of the English Pansies and the new French Tri- 
mardeau, a remarkable sort for the size of its flowers, which are. 
however, somewhat deficient in substance and richness of colour. The 
Odier or Five-spotted Pansies have a white, yellow, blue, crimson, or 
brown colour and a large dark spot on each one of the five petals. To 
be perfect, these spots, starting from the centre of the flower, should 
cover two-thirds or three-fourths of its surface, and be of equal, 
dimensions on each petal with a well-defined outline. Cassier and 
Bougnot have succeeded in improving this class materially in size of 
flowers and growth of foliage. Edged or Border Pansies have flowers 
with a narrow, but distinct, edging around the outside of each petal of 
a colour which contrasts well with the ground colour of the flower. 
The colour of the border is generally white or gold when on blue, 
purple, or bronze flowers, and blue or pinkish on white and yellow 
flowers. The sixth and last class, called Fancy Pansies, have the 
marble-striped and flaked flowers, which are distinguished by great 
oddity and beauty in their colouring and marking .—(American Garden 
and Forest.') 
The Autumn Flowering Cattleyas. 
A large company of buyers and on-lookers assembled on 
Friday last at Messrs. Protheroe & Morris’s Rooms, Cheapside, to 
see the consignments of autumn flowering Cattleyas from Brussels, 
and a beautiful display was provided. Rarely indeed can an 
exhibition of Cattleyas in flower be seen at the end of October, and 
all present were agreed as to the value of plants that yield such 
richly coloured flowers so abundantly. There was a keen com¬ 
petition for some of the finest specimens, and the total amount 
realised must have been considerable. 
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, also announce a sale for 
next Friday, November 6th, in the same Rooms, of 1000 grand plants 
of “ the old labiata.” Some examples of these were shown at the 
recent meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, fine vigorous- 
specimens with large pseudo-bulbs and leaves. It is said that some 
of the masses are 6 feet in diameter. 
There can be no question that, under whatever name these 
autumn flowering Cattleyas are known, they are certain to become 
extremely popular. If a supply of flowers can be had from now 
until Christmas—and there seems to be every probability that this 
will be this case—it is easy to imagine how useful they will prove 
to many who have large demands for cut flowers to meet during 
these months. Easily cultivated, freely flowering, and presenting 
a great range of variation in form and colouring, they have 
much to recommend them to the attention, not of Orchid 
growers alone, but also of all who are concerned in plant culture 
generally. 
I have much more to say upon this subject, but space will not 
permit this week ; and a review of the Cattleya labiata varieties 
with especial reference to those which flower in autumn must be 
reserved for another issue.—L. C. 
STREPTOCARPUS GALPINI, Hook, f. (MS). 
During the past week a handsome new Streptocarpus has been 
flowering in the Royal Gardens, Kew, and we are pleased to be able 
to give the appended woodcut (fig. 76), prepared from an excellent 
sketch of the plant natural size. We learn that the seeds of this 
Streptocarpus were received last summer from Mr. E. E. Galpin of 
Barberton, Transvaal, but only one plant has flowered up to the 
present, though there are many others advancing which are 
expected to prove larger in the leaf, and to be even more floriferous 
than the one represented in our engraving. The leaf is very fleshy, 
the veins are thick, and the whole is covered with a soft sitky 
pubescence, making surface appear quite silvery. The flowers are 
