220 
THE COTTAGE GARDENEK. 
December 23. 
death in the most affectionate manner. “ Save me from 
! my friends; I can manage my enemies.” 
; Well, then, to remove the midden is to get rid of the 
; mushrooms, but it is not always convenient to remove 
I this midden, or, in other words, to change the whole 
' character of a costly border. What then? Why, trans- 
j plant by all means, adopting instantly our platform 
mode, or station-making. Those who have not back 
numbers of 'The Cott.\ge Gardener to refer to will do 
well to get our e.Kcellent little Cottage Oardeners Dic¬ 
tionary, which should be in the hands of every one who, 
not being complete in gardening matters, and with 
I whom time is precious, wants merely five minutes 
; advice, such as he can rely upon; there he will find 
these and other matters so highly simplified that “ he 
who runs may read.” - 
And thus we take leave of a subject about which 
much obscurity bas existed in by-gone days; but winch 
the advancing spirit of the age has scattered to the 
winds, or soon will do. Gardeners, however, must not 
only have reasons “ plentiful as blackberries,” but be 
prejiared to offer them in a cheerful way, not as a mere 
accommodation, but as a duty. 
Is it necessary to add, tha.t this time of year is most 
propitious for laying down plans of renovation, and 
also for carrying them out in at least their first stages ? 
Tt. Errington. 
MEETING OF THE HOETICELTUEAL 
SOCIETY.— December 7, 1802. 
After the lecture on the discovery of the origin of 
Wheat, the next object which seemed to command 
most attention was that about cutting-off the leaves of 
root-crops before tbe roots arrived at maturity, without 
prejudice to the weight of the crop, or to the quality of 
the root, as far as it has been yet practicable to ascer¬ 
tain ; but this subject will be discussed more fully next 
week. 
Among orchids e.xhibited there was, first, a splendid 
specimen of the true Vanda siiaris, from the Messrs. 
Veitch, of Exeter, bearing about fifty full-blown flowers, 
showing how different and much better the true species 
is than the variety of it called tricolor, which has usurped 
its place in some of the best collections round London. 
Then Limatodes rosea, a beautiful new terrestrial species, 
exhibited in public for the first time. This genus is the 
nearest in affinity with Calantlie: the species exhibited is 
deciduous, and flowers, after resting, from the bottom 
of the pseudo-bulbs before the new leaves appear; the 
flower-stalks are from six to nine or ten inches high, 
covered with a short soft down, which extends along the 
footstalks of the individual flowers; the flowers are 
numerous, in terminal spikes, and opening first from 
below, as in the Calantlie; they are much about the 
size, or hardly so long, as the flowers oi Calantlie vera- 
trifolia, and are of the most delicate light rose-colour; 
altogether a charming plant. The pseudo-bidbs are 
clustered round and round, from two to three inches 
long, and closely furrowed with sbarj) angles like an 
Echinocactus without the spines, so that yon could pick 
it out of a thousand species, at first sight, without 
seeing a flower or leaf; the leaves I did not see, but 
they are curiously set on the top of tbe bulbs by a joint, 
so that they all fall off at once when they are ripe, 
leaving a flat top to the bulb. The best way to manage 
it w'as read to us from a letter sent up with it. That 
letter recommends a generous, open comjrost, as for 
Pliaius, Calantlie, and other ground orchids, encouraging 
a vigorous growth after the leaves are fully expanded; 
to cease watering as soon as they turn yellow; and to 
rest it like a stove bulb in a hot, dry place—or say, by 
turning the pot on one side on a high shelf in the orchid 
house, there to remain until you see it move of its own 
accord, like an Amaryllis, it was sent from Moulmein, 
by Mr. Thomas Lohb. The genus was named by 
Blume, and the price is C3s. to .bO.bs. according to size. 
Cut flowers of Zygopetalum Mackayi, in varieties, 
and of a fine spike of Cattleya guttata, which made my 
heart ache to see it go without a handsome prize ; but 
such is not awarded to cut flowers, and very properly 
too. Nothing of the gaudiness of the Cattleyas is in¬ 
herited by this species; the lip is like that in C. For- 
hesii, and the rest greenish, with brown spots thickly 
dispersed all over the inside. Yet the specimen had a 
noble appearance, from the large number of flowers, 
twenty to thirty, set close on tbe top, exactly like the 
flower-head of a horse-chesnut. Tlie next ]ilant was Ihe 
newest and the oldest plant in the room, Malva nmhel- 
lata, a native of New Grenada, and growing there so 
high up in the mountains as to enable it to live out- 
of-doors with us through the summer. It was here 
once before, and lost; the last we heard of it was in 
1822, when the lecturer had a beautiful specimen of 
it from the late Mr. Lambert, from the open air at 
Boyton, near Salisbury, where it flowered “ all over ” for 
a long time in the summer ; it makes a dense spreading 
bush, and throw's out its be.autiful purplish flowers 
from the top of the branches like a Geranium. Very 
likely it cannot he bought before this time twelve- 
months; but it is well worth while making a memo¬ 
randum of it When it will come out, it will not run 
the circle of a new Geranium—be sold to-day at five 
titnes its worth, and the next at not one-third of its 
real value—as it is in the bands of the Horticultural 
Society, who w'ill give it to all tbe nurserymen who are 
Fellows, when tlicre is a stock of it. 
Skimmia Japonica. —The same plant as I mentioned 
before, and, as I then said, it will be a standing dish 
with us till late in tbe spring; or, perhaps, I ought to 
say Standish’s dish, for I think he will not be able to 
treat us to a better this winter. There is another 
Skimmia in the country, from the north of India, which 
is very like Japonica indeed; it is named laureola 
(laurel-like), because the leaves smell very strong, and 
like the sweet bay (Laurus nobilis). They have been 
raising a dust about these two beautiful plants, so to 
be certain, I went to Mr. Jackson’s nursery, the evening 
before this meeting, to see Skimmia laureola, for 1 can 
almost always see anything new there at ray leisure, 
and I find it is as strongly scented as possible, the leaf 
is also thinner than in Japonica. When i got to Regent- 
street, I tried Japonica, and there is no smell in the leaf, 
for I spoiled one of them by squeezing to make sure; 
and now Mr. Standish rvill know his plant was not hurt 
by carelessness, and I shall make up the damage. 
Tropceolum LohUanum. —There were three beautiful 
nosegays, of three forms, of this useful winter-flowering 
]flant, guarded with leaves of the rose-scented Geranium, 
sent by Mr. Ayres, of Blackheath. Two of the forms 
are quite new, and far sujierior to the species; one of 
them, called Triomphe de Gand, is three times larger 
than Loblnanum, and of a much better and brighter 
colour (crimson); the other is called Hockerianum, is 
as large as the last, a bi'ight orange with a large 
crimson dash at tbe bottom of each of the five petals. 
He asks 2s. (id. a plant for it, and it is well worth the 
money; every one who bas a nice warm gi-eenhouse 
should grow the three—no plants can be easier grown, 
and they flower profusely all through the winter, and 
run about like a hop all up the rafters, or trained against 
the back wall. Cuttings, rooted in the spring, and grown 
kindly through the summer, will come into bloom in 
November, and that is the best way to keep on with 
them; they hold on a long time as cut flowers in a 
room, and show as bright by candle-light as in the 
daytime. 
