THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
217 
December 22. 
of the flower is that of 0 . ampliation major, the colour 
of the lip the same as in ampliation, but the form dif¬ 
ferent, and more rounded; the back parts are brown, 
and barred across with yellow, zebra fashion. It was 
called after the late Mr. Barker, of Birmingham, and is 
a very rare plant yet. Odontoglossum Insleayi, not so 
good as 0 . grande , being a much darker flower in that 
way. lnsleay was gardener to Mr. Barker, and it was 
often my good luck to call on them, and hear each 
of them speak so well and so feelingly of each other, 
and it seems to do one good to write about their 
namesakes. Cymbidium giganteum on a par with 
that from the Society’s garden, but with a yellow 
ground colour iu the lip—an excellent early winter 
plant. Three kinds of Galanthe —the two varieties ot 
Vestita, both with large, white, sweet-scented flowers; 
one having a purple blotch in the lip, and the other a 
yellow blotch ; the new rose-coloured one from Mr. 
Veitch, last spring, belong to this section, all of them 
being ground Orchids, and not air plants. The third, 
Curouligoides, is more curious than showy; a dense 
cluster of small yellowish flowers, on the top of a short 
stalk, after the manner of Tritoma, and a beautiful new 
kind of Ancectocltilus called albo-marginatus, a sight of 
which would be a good luncheon to Mr. Appleby ; it is 
very near to setaceus, but rounder in the leaf, which is 
of a darker and better purple, and a small silver edge to 
the leaf all round, besides the vein marks. I was pro¬ 
mised a paper on the cultivation of these beauties, from 
the young men who atteud to them at Mr. Jackson’s; a 
collection of twelve kinds, better grown than I ever saw 
them in any other nursery. The queen of all the 
variegated plants has been in flower these six weeks 
past with Mr. Jackson, who sent cut branches of it to 
this meeting, to show that the flowers are no better than 
those of the Grape vine, and much like them—this is 
the Cissus discolor. 
Messrs. Standish and Noble sent a flue new hardy Gen¬ 
tian from the north of China, a plant not unlike a stiff 
Pentstemon gentianoides, with large flowers in pairs at 
the joints, which, in the bud, you might take for .some 
large Campanula, but the inside is as blue as indigo. 
This will probably be an early spring-flowering plant, 
for this was one said to have been forced. 
Chrysanthemums. —There were some old ones shown, 
which made the very hair of my head stand on end; in 
the whole course of my experience I never did see such 
frights before. Imagine a four-feet-nigh plant in a large 
pot, with as many white sticks as could be stuck into tbe 
mould, and to these the branches were tied so as to keep 
the flowers as far apart as between here and Loudon. 
But there was an old kind, from Mr. Spary, of Brighton, 
so managed as to be a triumph of skill; this kind, in 
the usual way, would reach four feet high, but as we 
saw it, the highest flower was scarcely ten iuclies above 
the rim of the pot, the plant being trained on the coiling 
system, and most of tbe flowers coming from side-shoots, 
it was a circle of thirty inches, or nearly a yard through, 
and as regular as a fancy Geranium, in wood, leaf, and 
flower. 
Mr. Robinson, the great Geranium prize-getter, of 
Thames Bank, had two collections of Pompones, just as 
dwarf, compact, and full of bloom as any of his Pelar¬ 
goniums over were; he took the shine off from all the 
growers I ever saw. Mr. Chandler, and Mr. Henderson, 
of the Wellington Road Nursery, and others, had quan¬ 
tities of Pompones there, making our room quite spicy. 
The names of the best, and the other best sorts that I 
can get, I shall give altogether early in the spring; 
and then I shall put people in mind to begin them 
earlier than they would the old kinds, with some other 
improvements that I have heard of, but which I have 
not yet been able to see myself. D. Beaton. 
FRANCISCEA. 
This genus has already received attention in these | 
pages. These notes are penned chiefly to suit the in¬ 
quiries of those who would gladly patronize such sweet- 
flowering plauts, and yet are destitute of the convenience 
of a regular plant-stove, though able, at certain seasons, 
by means of pits and other houses, to obtain a higher 
temperature than generally is necessary in the green¬ 
house. Being natives of Rio Janeiro, and of elevated, 
somewhat shaded positions in Brazil, they, on the 
whole, enjoy the temperature of an intermediate house. 
All when growing and coming into bloom would re¬ 
quire a temperature of from 55° to 00°; when in bloom 
in early spring, a lower temperature would do; while 
some, when at rest, would enjoy a temperature of 45°, ; 
and others would be miserable if much below 50° at tbe { 
coldest. The whole genus is looked upon by tbe ablest 
botanists as belonging to the family of Brunsfelsia, but j 
Franciscea is the title by which they are now commonly 
known. I shall now mention a few of the most inter¬ 
esting. with a few running notes upon each, as respects j 
the different treatment they require. 
FRANCISCEA ACUMINATA. 
This naturally blooms about Midsummer, on wood of 
that season’s growth. The habit is good, and the leaves 
neat and pointed, like a Willow. When in bloom, it 
will rejoice in a greenhouse not over airy. When tbe 
bloom is over, the consolidating of the shoots, by expo¬ 
sure to sun, becomes an object. In winter, it should i 
descend little in temperature below 48°; it would bo i 
better in spirits at 53°. One thing very much against j 
it is that its purple flowers have no sweet scent; and ; 
though the foliage is interesting, it bears no comparison 
with that of liydrangafomds or macrophylla ; though in ; 
these last I never saw much beside the foliage to 
admire. 
FRANCISCEA CONFERTIFLORA. 
This is a beautiful species, producing its clusters, or j 
trusses, of deep lilac flowers, from March to May, at 
the points of the shoots. The strength and ripeness 
of these shoots will, therefore, yield a corresponding 
number of flowers. This must be kept in view, in 
pruning and growing, after the flowering is over. A 
thicket of shoots would be so weak that the trusses of 
bloom would be small. Were they in a largish pot 
confined to a dozen, well trained out, many fine trusses j 
might be expected. Coming into bloom rather early, 
this species should not be below 50° after Christmas, 
but be gradually raised 15° more by the middle of 
March. " It would stand a few degrees lower, after 
having a good growth in summer. The temperature 
all along named is artificial heat, without making allow- | 
ance for sunshine. Of course, without a plant-stove, j 
but with a heated pit or frame, shortly after the new 
year the plant could receive its accession of tempera¬ 
ture then; and after being comparatively dormant, there 
is nothing the whole family like so much as the sweet 
heat that arises from decomposing dung and leaves. 
Boast of all our improvements in heating as wo may, 
there are no possible modifications of hot-water, that 
for some purposes will equal the good old-fashioned 
hotbeds. Of course, it is better to have both than one ' 
alone, where conveniences will suit. Many, who, in 
their eagerness for hot-water pipes, as good as told , 
old stable-muck to “ go hang,” may now pine and , 
whine, and call and whistle in vain, when they want 
his help for a Cauliflower break. 
FRANCISCEA EXIMIA. 
This I have not yet had the pleasure of growing, 
though it is a beautiful thing to look at, with its large j 
