291 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Eebuttaby 8, 1859. 
plants, in a pot 18 inches in diameter, four feet through— 
some of the leaves are three feet long; Croton varie- 
g at urn, one of the next best; Draccena tcrminalis, ditto ; 
Roy a carnosa variegata; Cissus discolors all the fine¬ 
leaved Begonias ; Tradescantia discolor vittaias Maranta 
regalis; M. lineata alba; M. lineata rosea ; M.zebrina, 
five to six feet through; Eranthemum leuconervum, a 
true basket suspension plant. These are all fine, variegated 
stove plants; but a general list of what they here con¬ 
sider the best, in all classes of variegated plants, will be 
given next week, in aid of Mr. Appleby’s list, recently 
given. I asked for it purposely, as they know all the 
moves about exhibitions and setting off plants to the best 
advantage. 
The Orchids are particularly well managed here. 
The Cattleya - house is twenty - two yards long, and 
holds seven rows of plants on one side and two rows on 
the other, all fine-grown plants, which were at rest since 
November, in GO 0 of heat. They are now beginning to pot 
them, as they are starting into fresh and early growth. 
All kinds of Orchids they pot just as they show signs of 
new growth, and at no other period. I noted a few of 
the finest plants and kinds— such as Cattleya lobata, two 
feet across ; several C. Mossice, ditto ; C. Skinneri; C. 
Wag neri; C. crispa; C. superha; and C. guttata (shoots 
of the latter made a growth of twenty-six inches last 
summer); C. elegans; C. bulhosa, new; and C. mar- 
ginata. These were all very fine kinds. 
All the South American Ltelias are under the same 
roof and treatment as the Cattleyas, and do better that 
way, as any one might see by the vigour of L.purpurata, 
and L. Brysiana, two of the very best; L. cinnabarina, 
I. grandis, L. Perrinii, L. intermedia, and such like. 
But, recollect, this is very different from the treatment 
of the Mexican Ltelias — such as L. anceps, which has 
been in bloom all the winter; L. autumnalis, and L. 
superbiens. They are kept much cooler, and with more 
moisture. 
The India, or Calcutta-house, which is sixteen yards 
long, and span-roofed, lias three rows on the side stages, 
and seven on the centre stage, which is slate, over a 
tank of rain water, eight yards long, four feet deep, and 
six feet wide. This tank being mostly above ground, 
holds at the same temperature as the house, and the 
water is, therefore, always fit to use. Here are the 
Vandas, iErides, Baccolabiums, Phahenopses, and Mil- 
tonias, as green as possible. Here, also, is Cattleya 
Aclandice, Sophronitis grandiflora, Brassavola Digbiana, 
Dendrobium Cambridgeanum and formosum. The latter 
made shoots twenty inches long, just double the length 
of the imported growth. Oncidium papilio is also here. 
The winter treatment is not quite so dry as most people 
adopt, but the heat is up to 70°, and never below 60° at 
night; and, with it all, no such plants ever looked better, 
or made more healthy growth. The very curious Ataccia 
cristata is in that house, and in the hottest part of it. The 
two Ouvirandras also : the newest of them, Bernieriana, 
has twelve leaves, some of them sixteen inches long, and 
two inches wide, all lace-like, but not quite so open as 
those of fenestralis. The latter has just been divided for 
another crop, and planted in two parts loam and one of 
peat, with ten inches of water over, and broken oysters 
on the mould. The Platycerium stemmaria, one of the 
Elk’s-horn Ferns, does make real suckers from the roots, 
as I thought and said, of the same kind at the Clapton 
Nursery. It is really a fine thing of its kind. 
The Mexican-house was gay all this winter, as I had 
often seen it; and, to save my book, I asked for a list of 
all they bloomed from November to the end of March, 
which is given below, and may be useful for those who 
want a winter display. The following were in bloom at 
the beginning of January: — Oncidium augment alum, 
fine, large, yellow, and brown flowers, on long, branching 
spikes, something in the way of oblongatum, but finer; 
it was then two months in full flower: it is as easy to 
manage as Tom Thumb, in a moderate temperature of 
about 50° to 50°. 0. bicadosim, a fine, large yd low; and 
a new Oncid, with the flowers all yellow and crisp, on 
branching stems a yard high, and four blooms on every 
branch, all over the spike. There were also in bloom- 
two kinds of Calanthe vestita, more kinds of lycaste 
Skinneri, Lcclia anceps and autumnalis, Odontoglossum 
pulchellum, Tricopilium tortile, Leptotes bicolor, on a 
block ; fine masses of Cypripedium insigne and venustum, 
and Barlceria Skinneri. Here the little lovely Cattleya 
citrina grows up or down, close to the glass, at the coldest 
end; and also its match, Oncidium bifolium, in a pot! 
They are two of the hardiest of the race, but give a world 
of trouble to some gardeners, who give them stove heat. 
With fine masses of Galeandra Devoniana, I shall merely 
state, that all the Indian Dendrobiums that I have not 
mentioned are at rest in this Mexican-house. 
The next house is the new one, on the trussed system, 
thirty-four feet by twenty-two feet, and filled with Rho¬ 
dodendrons from Sikkim and Bhootan, China Azaleas, 
Berberis, Cupressus, Wellingtonias, Thujas, Cephalo- 
taxus, and a distinct new Juniper, to me, called pomi- 
fera. All these are of the finest sorts, and merely 
housed, without heat, to be ready at hand for packing 
off. 
In pits, I saw a novelty—quantities of seedlings of 
Pinus Sabiniana, from English cones ; also of Abies 
bracteata; and immense quantities of Lilies, just potted 
off. And for beds and spring flowers, I noted Arabis 
rosea, a pot gem; Diantlms pumila, a very rare thing, 
a kind like Sweet William, not more than six inches 
high, of a rich rose colour—I have not heard of it for 
years; variegated golden-leaf Daisy ; Arabis albida varie¬ 
gata, a fine rock Alpine; Alyssum MarschaUianum, yellow, 
with flowers like a rocket, up the stems, over a foot high; 
Pentstemon Wrightii, from Mexico; P. Nicholsii, in the 
way of Chelone barbata ; 2,000 seedlings of Berberis 
Bealei, and 800 B. japonica, both having ripened the 
seed here last summer, and both having come up in 
fourteen days after sowing, while other kinds will not 
sprout for months. Aoel reuteri a paniculata has also 
ripened seeds here. 
The Heath-houses and pit are brimful of heather, and 
such bushes in the specimen-house as I never saw on 
sale. Elegans and depressa, in pots nineteen inches in 
diameter; four dozen of pots, fifteen inches ditto; so 
many in 13-inch pots ; one hundred in 9-inch pots ; and 
the great bulk of the more saleable kinds in 48-pots ; and 
among them, or rather on an upper shelf, where the top 
air is given, scores of Pleroma elegans, as healthy as the 
very Heaths. 
The blue and tricolor Tropseolums are still in good 
demaud, and they grow lots of them. The pretty Primula, 
denticulata was just coming into bloom, and is in active 
demand. 
Laurustinus is grafted standard high on Viburnum, 
molle, a deciduous kind. Thuja aurea grafted high on 
T. occidentalis. Eriostcmons are grafted on E. cuspidatus 
and on Correa alba and C. rufa. Acacia argyrophyl/a is 
as good as silver trees, and is here in plenty. It is the 
best telling white-leafed plant at the Crystal Palace. 
Larix Griffithii, the Himalayan Larch, grafted on the 
common Larch, succeeds well. But there is no end to 
these larger specimens of the finer hardy trees and 
shrubs,—such as Araucarias, Irish Yews, and one Taxus 
pyramidalis, half-way between the common and Irish 
Yews; tall standards of variegated Hollies; and the 
finest Holly of all the true Weeping Hollies, which 
“weeps” just as much as the Weeping Ash, sweeping 
the ground with wreaths of coral—no plant is more 
beautiful than this. Also, Weeping Larch, Weeping 
Variegated Oak, and Variegated Maple, Acer negundo. 
Stauntonia latifolia was killed to the ground by the long 
winter; but the shoots shot forth from the roots, and 
110w Stauntonia is as much in demand as before that 
