1871. ] 
ACANTHOPHCENIX CEINITA. 
221 
amateurs are thoroughly acquainted with. But I .would observe, that to obtain 
flowers or foliage in perfection, attention must be paid to the compost they are 
grown in. I send to Wanstead Flats, and obtain a load of‘ turf off a spot 
where soft greasy yellow loam underlies it; the turf I have cut as if it were for 
the purpose of forming a new lawn. I place these turves grass downwards, packing 
them into a neat square mass, with a concave or basin-like surface ; upon the top 
of this I put a load of green manure (half cow-dung and half stable-manure). This 
should lie for two years, when it can be cut evenly down, the turf part (which 
ought still to be full of fibre), chopped up with a hatchet, and mixed with the 
decayed manure, and a fair proportion of silver-sand; it should not be sifted on 
any account, but be used rough and fibry. By means of the concave surface to 
the loam, all the drainage from the manure is retained by it. 
I am not an advocate for growing the Pelargonium in large pots, especially 
the flowering varieties, as I believe greater abundance of flower is obtained where 
the roots are somewhat confined. When the plant becomes much pot-bound, 
and the soil impoverished, a little feeding by means of liquid manure much 
improves the quality and size of the flower, and the colour of the foliage varieties. 
By the use of good compost, good drainage, careful watering, and a well-ven¬ 
tilated house, where their position is not too far from the glass, shade during 
midday from an excess of the sun’s rays (but not permanently, or by vines), all 
the sections and varieties of the Scarlet Pelargonium will be found to thrive and 
do well.— John Denny, StoZce Newington . 
PICTURES OF PALM TREES. 
ACANTHOPHCENIX CEINITA. 
| OANTHOPHCENIX is the name of a genus of Palms proposed by Mr. 
Hermann Wendland for two species inhabiting the Mascaren Islands, which 
had previously been referred to Areca , from which, however, they are dis¬ 
tinguished by their spiny stems, and the smooth albumen of their seeds, 
—the stems in Areca being smooth, and the albumen being ruminated. The 
spines which have suggested the name of Acanthophcenix occur principally on 
the leaf-stalks and rachides, where they are numerous, and of a long needle- 
shaped form, giving a well-marked character to the plants. The two species 
have long been known in gardens, and are of a highly-ornamental aspect. They 
have columnar stems, swollen at the base, and of moderate stature, and their 
leaves are pectinately-pinnatifid, glaucous beneath, the numerous spines which 
occur, both on the rachis and the petioles, being filiform, and the margins of the 
segments being setose. A. rubra , a beautiful Palm, with the leaves of a reddish 
tint, is the Areca rubra of authors, and the Calamus Verschaffeltii of gardens ; 
while A. crinita , the subject of our present figure, (derived from Messrs. Haage and 
Schmidt’s catalogue, and a copy of the fine-coloured plate given in Van Houtte’s 
Flore des Serves) is another lovely Palm, with the leaves of a yellowish-green hue, 
