THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, January C, 1887. 
234 
Jackson’s system of keeping it more dry than any of the ; 
rest. Last of all, Oattleya lobata is a fit match for 
Laelia superbiens itself. 
East India House. —There are two rules for taking 
a party over a garden, which, if violated in any one 
instance, will do infinite harm in respect to the best 
effect. The first is never, never to take strangers over 
your garden against the sun. It is worse than throwing 
dust iu their eyes if there is an “ eye ” amongst them ; 
and the second rule is, to be sure not to let strangers 
see the best parts of the garden first. Take them to 
moderado first, then let each turn reveal a better scene 
than the last, and let the last itself be the grand 
climax. As long as they live, if they are worthy to 
live on gardening, they will never forget the good 
impression. That was the way I was brought to the 
East India house, and, if ever I shall forget that first 
impression, I shall forget my ancient lineage, on which 
I pride myself so much. This house is seventy feet 
1 long, and from twenty to twenty-five wide, with a flat 
front stage all round, and a flat stage all down the 
middle. Every pot in the side row is exactly of the 
■ same size and shape, and there are five rows of pots on 
J the centre stage, the centre row being of the largest 
I specimens, rising in regular gradations from either end 
] to the centre, and the side rows follow them from both 
ends, and also up the side slopes. The whole is perfect. 
On one side there hangs from each rafter a moderate 
plant of Phalsenopsis on a block. All the blocks and 
I plants are as much of a size as if the whole went through 
the same mould, and they stand as true in the line as 
| an “ eye” could tell, and on the other side of the house 
! various kinds make up nearly a similar line. With the 
! exception of this fraction of various kinds, the whole 
space is filled with Vandas, Aerides, Saccolabiums, and 
Phalsenopsis, all as dry as the last two houses, and 
standing at 75° of fire heat, be the weather ever so cold. 
The representatives of the Rajah of Sarawak (Brookii), 
of Lady Larpent (Larpentse), of Mr. Schroeder, Dr. 
Lindley, Mr. Lobb, and Mr. Veitch, the good man of 
the house, are conspicuous objects in the first genus 
which meets the eye here, namely, Aerides; and you 
\ might think they are all hot from the chase, for there 
! is the “Fox-brush” to attest the fact, and such a 
( “Brush!” This species of Aerides came originally 
from the Loddiges’ collection, and, I believe, will be 
called Fieldingi some day or other. The newest plant 
i in this house is a noble kind of'Vanda, recently received 
from Mr. Lobb, and called Gigantea. The dried flower- 
shoots were from fifteen to twenty inches long, and small 
pieces of it have been sold already for twenty guineas. 
There are several large specimens of it growing away from 
! the centre vigorously. Aerides maculosum, Lobbi, and 
| Veitchi are all noble plants, as are Scbroederi, quinque- 
( vnlnerum, with eighteen flower-spikes, four and a half 
feet high, and three feet across; Virens, four feet by four 
i feet; Larpentae, equally fine ; and Orispum, magnificent; 
i Lindleyana, with very dark purple stems, and flowers 
i in the way of Schroederi; Suavissima, affine, three 
feet by three feet; Purpurascens, like Odoratum major, 
with long spikes of purple flowers; Saccolabium 
Blumei, four feet high, with twenty-eight flower-spikes ; 
and Blumei major, with guttatum, praemorsum, furca- 
j turn, retusum, ampullaeeum, miniatum, with nine- 
inch spikes of orange scarlet flowers; Curvifolium, 
equally fine ; Vanda suavis, vera, tricolor, and its many 
| varieties; Batemanni, Lowei, with long wavy leaves; 
| caerulescens, cristata, teres, Roxburghii, and R. caerulea; 
Angraecum sesquipedalis, from Madagascar, very rare 
and very distinct, with broad wavy leaves, and 
just then showing for bloom. It produced one 
large white blossom last year finer than any of the 
rest of them; it was introduced by the Rev. Mr. 
Ellis, with the Water Yam, Ouvirandra fenestralis. A 
i magnificent specimen of Angraecum eburneum and can- 
datum, and apiculatum was in full bloom on a block 
hanging from the rafters; Phalaenopsis amabilis, graudi- 
florum, and roseum in great numbers ; but why follow 
the list, when the whole were specimens only a few years 
back? Such arc the Ferns and such the Orchids at 
the Exotic Nursery; such, also, the new contrivance 
for Wardian cases, and the uniform mode of heating 
Orchids from long voyages in a low, steady temperature ; 
and, lastly, such is the fact, that those Orchids which are 
fully established may be kept over the winter quite as 
dry as any other stove plants. All the pots for Orchids 
have their sides pierced ail round with holes about an 
inch in diameter, and as close together as they could be 
made; enormous drainage is put in, but the plants are 
not fmuch above the surface of the pots. When the 
plants have advanced well into growth in the spring 
the heat is gradually raised, and more moisture is kept 
up, till, at last, the heat and moisture are enormous to 
think of, when the houses are shut up on an afternoon 
in May, June, and July. D. Beaton. 
WINDOW GARDENING FOR THE WINTER. 
(Continued from page 218 .) 
In speaking of the importance of cleanliness I omitted 
to state how important it is to prevent the leaves being 
crusted with the fine dust which will accumulate in 
sitting and living rooms, even though the boots and 
shoes of the possessors do not come so much in contact 
with mud and earth as those of gardeners generally do. 
The most effectual mode of preserving the leaves of 
plants from this almost impalpable dust, sure to be 
raised at every cleaning process, is either to move the 
plants out of the room before it commences, or to cover 
them over with a cloth, through which the dust will not 
penetrate. If the plants are kept on a stand, a hoop 
or a couple of hoops over it would render this preventive 
an easy matter. Eor want of such means to prevent the 
leaves being encrusted with fine dust many a window 
plant is a silent reproach to its possessor, speaking 
alike of ignorance and carelessness. 
6. Position. —I have already alluded to aspect. Un¬ 
less in sudden changes from cloud to sunshine, or when 
it may be desirable to keep a plant a little longer in 
bloom, when a shadier place for a short time would do, 
it is necessary to keep the plants during the day as near 
to the glass and light as convenient. When the plants 
are low in stature the stand may extend from four to 
six feet into the room, and yet the rays of light will fall 
upon them rather directly. The taller the plants, there¬ 
fore, the fewer of them can be well accommodated 
in sitting rooms. That, of course, will partly depend 
upon the height and the Width of the windows. I have 
seen hundreds of small plants, from six to nine inches 
in height, doing well on a large table opposite a window 
six feet by four, and with an eastern aspect. Six or 
eight plants, from two feet and a half to four feet in 
height, would have been as many as that window could 
have done justice to. I am sometimes privileged to 
see beautiful plants standing on a lady’s work¬ 
table in the centre of the parlour, and sometimes the 
question is asked, Why such plants thrive so badly? A j 
young lady once drew a comparison between such 
miserable table-plants and the poor Cretins in the 
Swiss Valleys, and I believe she was pretty near the 
mark, the want of direct sunshine having something to 
do with both. Plants that are grown merely to bloom, 
and then to be thrown away, may be placed on such 
tables, and even on chimney-pieces, as some of out- 
friends do, and any plant may be placed iu the centre 
of a room by day for a short period; but, as a general 
