1871. ] 
GARDEN LITERATURE. 
139 
into narrow segments like the teeth of a comb, of a pale green colour, and by 
artificial light almost transparent, so that the plant is one of the best of all sub¬ 
jects for the decoration of the dinner-table. It has the great additional advan¬ 
tage of being one of the easiest of all plants to cultivate ; it strikes freely from 
cuttings, and a stock of young plants in succession, adapted for various uses, can 
thus be easily kept up. It should be grown in good soil, so as to keep the foliage 
healthy.—T. M. 
GARDEN LITERATURE. 
[NOTHER, making a fourthedition of the Orchid-Grower’s Manual,* affords 
evidence that here is a book appreciated by orchid-growers; we learn, 
moreover, from the preface that its sphere of usefulness is not confined to 
our own country, but that it also circulates freely in many foreign lands. 
Not professing to deal with Orchids from a scientific point of view, it aims 
at supplying both descriptive notes and cultural hints, such as may be useful 
to those who are interested in growing these extraordinary plants. The 
volume, as before, is partly devoted to chapters on the various general subjects 
connected with orchid-culture, such as the construction, heating, and ventilating 
of orchid-houses, and the materials, such as soils, water, &c., as well as the condi¬ 
tions, rest, growth, &c., required for the well-being of the plants ; and partly to 
a descriptive notice of the most ornamental forms of each genus, any special 
cultural notes which may be required being added. It seems to have been very 
carefully revised, and is nicely printed, and, on the whole, is just such a book as 
a gardener or amateur taking up orchid-culture would be glad to consult. 
Of Alpine Plants (Bell and Daldy), to which we have already referred 
approvingly, Parts 8 and 9 are now before us. The work keeps up its character, 
and will form a tasteful album of hardy plants. Among the most interesting 
figures in these parts are those of Crocus B ory anus, Scutellaria lupulina, and 
Cheiranthus alpinus. 
Dr. Hogg’s Horticultural Directory for 1871 (171 Fleet Street) has just 
appeared. As recording the addresses of the nurserymen, florists, and gardeners 
of the United Kingdom, including post town and railway directory, the principal 
foreign nurserymen on the Continent, the Horticultural Societies in Great Britain 
and Ireland, and other useful lists, it is invaluable as a book of reference on 
these matters. In future it is to be published in the first week of January. 
The planting of summer gardens will now be occupying much attention, and 
the moment is therefore opportune for the issue of Mr. Robinson’s Sub-Tropical 
Garden,I which the author tells us is written with a view to assist the newly 
awakened taste for something more than mere colour in the flower garden. The 
* The Orchid-Grower's Manual; containing brief Descriptions of upwards of Eight Hundred species and 
varieties of Orchidaceous Plants, &c. By B. S. Williams. 4th Edition, enlarged and revised, with Illustra¬ 
tions. London: Published at the Victoria Nursery, Upper Holloway. 1871. 
+ The Sub-Tropical Garden; or, Beauty of Form in the Flower Garden. By W. Robinson, F.L.S. With 
Illustrations. London: John Murray. 
