114 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGTST. 
[ Auoubt, 
must be by tbe combination of a steady band, 
a clear eye, a delicate instrument, and a know¬ 
ledge of the texture and habit of the flower. 
Unless the “ paste ” be already flat, it will be 
impossible to lay the petals down without fatal 
injmy to the pip. The result of an attempt to 
flatten the flower while the paste is cupped 
will be to split it, for the circle of larger cir¬ 
cumference can only be produced by the crea¬ 
tion of an airy segment—a ruinous gap—while 
if the paste be more than flat, he., reflexed, 
an unevenness corrected there would but be 
transferred to some other portion of the flower. 
All this tends to lessen the room there is for 
at least artificial improvement in the bloom of 
the Auricula; but a helpful touch can be given 
sometimes where two petals, coming down, 
catch each other by the ears or corners, in a 
struggle for a very slight precedence. The best 
material for an instrument wherewith to correct 
irregularities is ivory, the dry, polished surface 
of which can be laid without hurt even to the 
mealed face of an Auricula pip. 
But if I were asked what is the best way to 
flatten these exquisite flowers, I should answer, 
—Work the way clear for the healthy action of 
all their natural forces ; let them receive no 
check whilst coming into bloom.—F. D. 
Horner, Kirklji Malzeard^ Itipon. 
THE ORCHARD-HOUSE.* 
ITHOUT entering on the disputed 
rpiestion whether or not Orchard- 
Houses are desirable structures in 
large private establishments, where a constant 
and abundant supply of dessert fruit has to be 
kept up, we are quite assured that, under cer¬ 
tain conditions, they are desirable for amateur 
gardeners. Those conditions involve a knowledge 
of the general principles of orchard-house treat¬ 
ment on the part of the amateur himself, or of 
those whom he may depute to perform the neces¬ 
sary operations. Before success can be realised, 
there must be proper and judicious manage¬ 
ment, but a knowledge of this may be attained by 
any one having an aptness for gardening pur¬ 
suits, at a very small cost of application and 
attention, and it is the very object of this text¬ 
book to supply the uninformed with the instruc¬ 
tions they require. The numerous editions 
* The Orchard-House (of Thomas Rivera); or, the CuUimlion 
of Fruit Trees under Glass. 16th Edition. Edited and Arranged 
)jy T. Franci.s Rivera. London: Longmans. 1879. 
through which Mr. Elvers’ “ Orchard-House ” 
has passed, show that it has found appreciative 
readers. “ The principles of the practice for 
the cultivation and management of trees in 
an orchard-house were so true wdien laid 
down,” writes the editor, “ that little devia¬ 
tion from them can be made in the 
edition now published ; but the experience 
gained during the progress of sixteen editions 
has enabled me to add something to the rules 
laid down in the earlier editions.” This has 
been very cleverly and completely done, and 
the book may in consequence be recommended 
to all who take an interest in the subject, as 
being fully brought down to the present date 
—not only as to the practice w'hich experience 
has shown to be best adapted to the successful 
culture of the trees themselves, but also as to 
the varieties which it has been found most 
desirable to cultivate. 
The book itself is so widely known, that we 
need not describe its contents further than to 
say that its pages are mainly devoted to a 
description of the various forms of Orchard- 
houses, and an account of the general treat¬ 
ment of the kinds of fruits usually grown in 
them, the special points on -which it is 
necessaiy to be informed for their successful 
management being succinctly laid down, while 
a chapter devoted to the newer and most 
elegible varieties of the several fruits treated 
on will be found useful even to advanced cul¬ 
tivators. We feel assured that no one can 
intelligently take up orchard-house culture, 
without feeling satisfied with the results ; and 
no one can take up this book of instructions, 
without largely benefiting b}' the perusal of it. 
—T. Moore. 
KENTIA MAC ARTHUR!. 
ms fine Palm has been shown during 
the past season by Messrs. Veitch and 
Sons, of Chelsea, who have kindly 
allowed us to reproduce their illustration. They 
thus describe it in their catalogue :— 
“ A veiy elegant Palm, with suberect leaves, 
and graceful semipendulous leaflets, from the 
neighbourhood of the Katau river, in New Guinea. 
It was named by Mr. Wendland after our valued 
correspondent. Sir W. Macarthur, of Camden 
Park, near Sydney, N.S.W., to whom we are 
indebted for its introduction. The stems of 
the leaves are smooth and slender ; the leaflets 
are from four to eight inches in length, and 
