January 23. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
293 
but tlie odour of these flowers is delicious. It does best 
when divided after flowering, kept in rather small pots, 
! and not too much of the plant in them, grown in a high 
; temperature, and with plenty of moisture in summer, 
and kept cooler and drier in autumn and winter, iintil 
you wish the flower-stalk to appear, when more heat 
and moisture must be given. Peat and loam, with 
pieces of cliarcoal and rotten wood, will grow it well, 
j Drainage must be attended to. 
Cyrrii'EDIum insigne. —This ground Orchid is still 
' more easily grown ; requiring, for most of its period of 
growth, a temperature between the greenhouse and 
stove; in fact, many manage it in a warm greenhouse, j 
It likes fibry-loam and peat, and dressings of old cow- j 
dung, and is generally in bloom, showing off its singular 
slipper-like flowers, in December and January. It is 
propagated by division. 
DrcHoiusANDRA THYRSiFLORA.—Tliis splciidid plant is 
worthy of great attention. When done flowering, and i 
allowed to rest a few weeks, as soon as fresh growth is 
commencing it should be divided, or repotted, into fibry- 
peat and loam, receive a moist temperature of from (30° 
to 8 . 0 °, and manure-waterings to give strength to the ; 
shoots. As the autumn aj^proaches, the temperature j 
may be gradually lowered from 10° to 15°, and less ; j 
water, and all the light possible being given. A slight | 
rise in the temperature will bring the flower-stalks; and 
when partly e.xpanded they will bloom well in a warm 
greenhouse. 
Gardenia radtcans. —A plant or two, well set with 
buds, and placed in bottom heat, in a forcing pit, in 
December, would yield fragrant flowers now. 
Eranctscea unielora, latieolta, and acuminata. — 
This genus is frequently joined to Brunsfelsia. Unijlora 
is also called Hopeana, and it and the large-flowered 
latifolia are very sweet-scented. They bloom freely in 
bushes from eighteen inches to six feet in heiglit. They i 
grow freely in peat and loam, and bloom most profusely 
on the well-ripened wood of the previous season. Prune 
when done flowering, but not very closely, merely to give ! 
shape. Keep the plants, at first, in a hothouse; by June 
they will do admirably in a cold pit, kept close at first, 
and with more air afterwards. In the early part of 
winter, and before you wish to bring them into bloom, 
they will keep very well at 45°; 10° to 15° more will 
be necessary to bloom them. R. Eisii. 
(To he conluiucd.) 
ORCHIDS REARING COOL TREATMENT. ; 
(Continuedfrom 'pege. 280.) | 
L.elta MA.iALis (May-flowered).—A lovely species from j 
Central America, where it grows on the top of trees, ex- ' 
posed, at times, to a very low temperature. The flower- j 
stem is short, the flowers large, frequently six inches ( 
across, beautifully spotted and netted. This plant, like 
many others, has been found difficult to grow in a sus¬ 
tained high temperature, saturated with atmospheric 
moisture. The late G. Walker, Esq., of Eastwood, near | 
Nottingham, was the first to point out its true cultivation. J 
He says, “ When the spring growth was completed, I re- | 
moved the plant into a greenhouse well ventilated, the i 
door of which was always open, winter and summer; | 
j the night temperature was about 45°.” Here he allowed 1 
! it to remain till it began to grow, when it was placed on 
! a block, and then kept in the very coolest part of a 
I cool orchid house (not needful in- my opinion); the 
heat in summer, by day, never exceeding 75°; by night 
(55°; the door of this house leads into the greenhouse, 
which stands half open daily. Here, in this draught, 
the plant hung, and produced a bulb thrice the size 
I as the two previous; when completed, the plant was 
1 again placed in the greenhouse until the shoot broke 
forth in January, when it was again removed into its 
former airy situation in the cool orchid-house, and 
very soon the flower-stem burst from the centre of 
tlie new shoot, and the flower expanded on the 20th, 
5J inches across each way. He adds, “ if the above 
treatment is followed, I am certain any one may succeed.” 
I differ from this very excellent mode in one or two 
particulars. I do not think it was necessary to remove 
the plant out of the greenhouse at all. By keejung it 
there the only difference would have been the rest would 
have been prolonged, and the bloom would have ap¬ 
peared at the true season, namely. May, and would have 
been, I would not say larger, but much more highly 
coloured, and would have lasted longer in bloom. I would, 
also, place the block amongst crocks, as recommended for 
E. vitellinum. If suspended from the roof the crocks might 
be placed in a basket, and the block laid in amongst 
them. Again, Mr. Walker says he hung the plant up 
in a greenhouse, the door of which was always ojien, 
winter and summer. This, I have no doubt, was a slip 
of the pen. He could not mean that the door stood 
open in very severe frosty weather in winter. If it had, 
I opine the frost would have done for his favourite plant. 
L.Er.iA sdperbiens (Stately).—This noble plant is 
well known to all the visitors of the Horticultural Gardens 
at Chiswick. It was the glory of the plants there; but 
now, alas! the glory has departed. There may be some 
readers of 'J’he Cottage Gardener that have never seen 
this plant, therefore I will briefly describe it. The pseudo¬ 
bulbs are from a foot to eighteen inches long; the leaves 
are a long egg-shape, large and stout; the flowers are 
produced on stems from six to eight feet long, each stem 
bearing from eighteen to twenty large flowers. Tliey are 
rosy-pink, striped with a darker colour; the lip is of a 
rich crimson and yellow, striped with maroon. This is a 
brief description of this truly grand plant. The one 
alluded to at Chiswick had frequently five, six, or seven 
stems on it. It hung in the air of the cool stove, had 
neither moss nor peat near it, and yet grew exceedingly 
well, increasing in size every year. I really think it mea¬ 
sured five feet across, and as much high, and besides 
that, was a dense mass of pseudo-bulbs and foliage, so 
that you could not see through it. It was purchased 
by E. Fairrie, Esq , of Liverpool, for a very high 
figure (sixty guineas, I believe), and very cheap, too, at 
that price. 
Now this magnificent species, I venture to assert, 
will thrive best in a cool house, little warmer than a 
common greenhouse. I see it in various places, but in 
very few thriving well; and for this reason, simidy, it is 
kept too hot both summer and winter. Mr, Skinner 
says, its native habitat is very cold.” Surely, that is 
authority sufficient for me to place this fine plant 
amongst those that will bear a cool treatment. 
T. Appleby. 
(To he continued.) 
ECONOMIC USE OF HEATING MATERIALS.— 
USES OF VINERIES. 
There are few things in gardening of more con¬ 
sequence than duly economizing the various heating 
materials at command, for, however amply a place may 
be supplied with these useful appendages, it is only fair 
to expect that they should be made to perform a corres¬ 
ponding amount of duty; or, in other words, heating 
substances, be they fermenting articles or fire-heat, 
applied in one shape or other, ought to be so well 
worked as to produce tlie greatest possible results. 
Houses that are heated in winter ought to be pretty 
well filled with the different things wanted, be they 
flowers, fruits, or vegetables; taking care that disease 
I 
