September 25.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
399 
ning of June, with no more trouble than cutting away 
the exhausted spikes, and giving several surface-dress¬ 
ings with old cow-dung, &c. But those in beds have 
completely disappointed me, though, heretofore, they 
have always constituted a good and prominent feature. 
Day by day they have continued to wither and dry, or 
shrivel up, though from no want of moisiture. Old 
j plants and young plants have gone just alike, and, what 
I is very tantalising, only one or two at a time. A plant 
would be flourishing one day, the next its flowers all 
drooping, its leaves all yellow, and yet nothing seemed 
the matter at the roots. The plants have been treated 
in every respect as formerly, and they are planted in 
similar soil, though not in the same place, as last year. 
There is only one thing I can think of. In July they 
were watered with black water from a farm, but so were 
Salvia fulgens, Calceolarias, &c., near them, without any 
prejudicial effect. Much as I like this Salvia, I am 
somewhat doubtful of placing it again in such a con¬ 
spicuous place, without being certified that no one else 
has suffered in a similar manner. 
Again, Double Feverfew has several times been recom¬ 
mended for boxes and beds. It is very pure white, very 
double, the flowers almost the size of half-crowns, and 
produced in great abundance. For several seasons I 
have had it splendid from towards the end of June to 
the end of October; but this season a majority of 
the flowers were browned before the end of August, 
and so simultaneous was the change, that thinning out 
the discoloured flowers was like washing a blackamoor 
white. They are now scarcely passable after consider¬ 
able patchwork. Now I mention this failure, because 1 
think I can prescribe the remedy. I formerly used 
young plants —this season a great proportion were old 
plants divided. It generally stands the winter with little 
or no protection; when a splendid bed, therefore, is 
desired, cuttings should be placed in a gentle heat in 
the end of March or the beginning of April. They 
strike fast, and when pricked out and hardened off may 
be planted out in the beginning of May; previous 
experience would lead me to say that such plants would 
keep on until at least the middle of October. In the 
neighbourhood of London, where a white flower is 
desirable, old plants divided should be used, and they 
will bloom brilliantly until the middle of August, or 
thereabouts. If it were wished to continue the bed, 
young plants should be struck in the middle or end of 
April, planted out into fairish soil, and lifted and trans¬ 
planted when the older plants were removed. From its 
fibrous roots it may be lifted at almost any time. 
S. N. V. —I am so much obliged to this 1'eilow-labourer’s 
remarks, that I gladly add the following:— Blue Anagallis 
has grown and flowered well with me; the dry, sunny 
autumn has just suited it. It is improved by being 
mixed with the Lobelia gracilis, which firms it and keeps 
it up. For a vase or basket this is beautiful. 
Heliotropes have bloomed very well, but the growth 
has not been so vigorous. Senecio elegans jlore-pleno 
should be treated like a marsh plant, in a dry autumn. 
Ageratum, with us, instead of not flowering until the 
middle of August, blooms freely in June. It is a com¬ 
pact dwarf grower, propagated by cuttings—a capital 
thing to move about, and may be lifted and planted at 
almost any time. Kentish Hero Calceolaria —to pre¬ 
vent the flowers getting down among the leaves, of 
which, by the by, there are generally very few—should 
be planted thick enough to keep themselves up, or the 
bed be stuck over with brush-wood. For summer pur¬ 
poses, this is still king for vases, baskets, and beds, but 
of this and several other Calceolarias, I may have some 
notes, “ some other day.” Some Calceolarias that stood 
the winter were magnificent in early summer; but, as a 
general rule, those that bloom profusely at an early 
period require considerable trouble in removing flowers, 
rich top-dressing, and plenty of water, to keep them at 
all fine through the autumn. R. Fish, 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCHID ACEiE. 
plants that thrive well in pots—( Continued from 
page 358). 
Schombergta crispa (Curled-flowered S.); Demerara. 
This genus of orchids is a remarkable one. The plants 
have much the appearance of some giant species of 
Cattleya, but this particular species resembles the noble 
Lcelia superbiens, and when not in flower it requires a 
well-practiced eye to detect the difference. When in 
flower, the veriest tyro in orchid-culture would perceive 
they were two distinct species. We have long, however, 
suspected that the Lcelia is a sort of stepping-stone 
between the two genera, and might, without any far¬ 
fetched or deeply-studied character, be transferred to the 
family now under notice. The flowers of the Lcelia are 
produced on very long flower-stems, and are arranged 
in a close panicle at the end, exactly in a similar way 
to those of S. crispa. 
S. crispa has large pseudo-bulbs, with two, or some¬ 
times three, long, rather thin, leaves on the summit. 
The flowers are produced on stems frequently five or 
six feet long, on a short panicle; they are of a brownish- 
yellow, much crisped or curled at the edges; the lip is 
white, striped with pink, and edged witli pale yellow. 
Each flower is large, measuring two-and-a-half inches 
across. It has a slight perfume. Desirable. 42s. 
S. marginata (Margined S.); Surinam. The pseudo¬ 
bulbs of this species are shorter and thicker than the 
preceding. The flowers are of a deep orange, shaded 
with red; the lip is pale lilac; the whole flower is 
margined or bordered with brownish-red,—hence its spe¬ 
cific name. This is a truly fine plant. It is sold in 
the markets of the "West India Islands under tire name 
of the “ Spread Eagle,” from a fanciful miniature-resem¬ 
blance of the flower to that noble bird. The flowers 
are handsome, and produced on somewhat shorter stems 
than S. crispa. This plant is well deserving of cultiva¬ 
tion in medium-sized or large collections. 42s. 
S. tibicinis (Cow-liorn S.); Honduras. The pseudo¬ 
bulbs of this species are rather remarkable; they are 
hollow when old, and blunt at the apex. The natives 
cut them off, and form them so as to be able to blow 
through them, and produce a noise like the horns of a 
cow when blown through; hence they call it the cow- 
horn orchis. This species has the longest flower-stems, 
frequently from eight to nine feet; they are of a deep 
pink colour, spotted witli white on the outside, and with 
rich brown-red inside. The lip is white in the centre, 
rose-colour at the sides. It has a lobe in the middle, of 
a fine bronzy-red colour. Like all the genus, the flower 
springs from the top of the last-formed pseudo-bulb, and 
generally flowers about the month of June. Equally 
handsome, and worthy of cultivation with the rest of the 
genus. Good strong plants will cost 42s. 
S. undulata (Wavy S.); La Guayra. — This, very 
possibly, is but a variety of S. crispa. It is sometimes 
named S. violacea, from the deep colour of the flowers. 
Sepals and petals of a light purple, waved or curled at 
the edges; lip violet-coloured; flowers much larger than 
those of S. crispa. Flower-stems eight or nine feet long. 
Mr. Mylam, gardener to S. Rucker, Esq., flowered and 
exhibited this new and rare species or variety, at the 
June show at Chiswick. It was beautiful, and much 
admired. Very rare. 84s. 
Culture. —While these plants are young, or newly im¬ 
ported, or in a sickly state, they should be grown on 
blocks of wood; but when they produce plenty of roots 
