September 25 , 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
53 
HALSTEAD PLACE, SEVENOAKS. 
Having occasion to visit this beautiful place, the 
seat of J. F. Burnaby Atkins, Esq., near the famous 
Kaockholt Beeches, I was struck with the admirable 
order in which everything is kept by the gardener, Mr. 
Gibson, who kindly conducted me through the well- 
kept flower garden and pleasure grounds, which are 
still looking in their best. Conifers and Shrubs, &c., 
planted by Mr. Gibson some years ago, have done 
themselves justice, and are now adding much to the 
natural beauty of the situation. 
The conservatory, adjacent to the mansion (which is 
a large square pile), was very gay with flowers. Rhyn- 
cospermuras, utilised as pillar climbers, are very fine. 
Wending our way through the Shrubberies, we came to 
the kitchen garden (which is well cropped) and the 
glass structures. The specimen stove and greenhouse 
plants, for which Mr. Gibson has been, again this 
season, awarded leading prizes at several shows, are 
still in prime order. The large specimen Dipladenias 
and Allamandas appear to be done especially well, and 
there are also clean and healthy plants of Statices, An- 
thuriums, Bougainvilleas, Steplianotis, Heaths, Lapa- 
gerias, &c., testifying to Mr. Gibson’s skill and ability 
as a plant grower and exhibitor. A better variety of 
Lapageria alba, just now flowering well on the roof, is 
seldom seen. 
Odontoglossum 
The fruit houses and vineries are bearing capital crops 
of fruit, all in very fine condition. The Grapes and 
Peaches would rank well in any show. Solanum jas- 
minoides, planted inside a greenhouse, has been in¬ 
geniously permitted to grow through, and to be trained 
on an outside wall, where it is flowering profusely ; and 
a more useful flower for cutting could not be wished for 
or obtained.— J. H. L. 
-- 
ODONTOGLOSSUM WILCKE- 
ANUM. 
In this Odontoglot we have one of the showiest of 
the natural hybrids, as well as one of the most variable, 
its different varieties running in all grades, between 
the spotted forms of Odontoglossum crispum, which is 
doubtless one of its parents, and 0. luteo-purpureum 
the other. The assigned parentage is evidently correct, 
by the exactly intermediate form of its column, crest, 
labellum, and other botanical features. In the variety 
albens, we have the nearest approach to crispum 
guttatum, its flowers being milk-white with heavy 
cinnamon blotches ; but in the type and a greater 
number of the varieties, the ground colour is bright 
yellow and the blotches reddish brown. 0. Wilcke- 
anum is essentially a cold-house plant, growing under 
precisely the same conditions as 0. crispum and others 
of the genus. Our illustration was taken from a very 
good variety in Mr. H. M. Pollett’s collection. 
NOTES ON LILIUMS.—V. 
The concluding remarks of my last chapter had refer¬ 
ence to what may justly be termed the most useful of the 
longiflorum section, i.e., L. longiflorum Harrisii, on 
account of its profuse flowering, and which must 
eventually render it extremely popular among those 
whose desire it is to have pure white and highly fragrant, 
as well as noble flowers, early in the year. I omitted 
the mention of one point which will assist those at 
present unacquainted with it in recognizing it from the 
other members of this section. In the first place the 
bulb is more conical in shape, though the great dis¬ 
tinction is in its height. In this respect it is very 
nearly allied to the variety Wilsoni, and of which it is 
not improbable that it may be a geographical variety ; 
the flowers are of similar length in both forms, but 
the arrangement of them on the stem are widely 
different and apart. For these reasons L. longi¬ 
florum Harrisii is better adapted for forcing than any 
of this section. 
L. longiflorum PijiLiPPiXEXSE. —The only other 
variety of this section to which I shall make allusion 
now, is comparatively 'new and little known ; it is, 
however, no less beautiful than the rest, and is admired 
always. It is known as L. longiflorum Philippinense, 
it having taken its specific name from the locality from 
whence it was introduced. It is very distinct and 
beautiful, and must not be regarded as hardy; it does 
well under greenhouse treatment, and should be grown 
in peat and loam in equal parts, made rather sandy. 
Altogether it is a slender though elegant plant, the 
flowers are long, pure white, and trumpet-shaped, and 
the leaves are also longer and narrower than any other 
of this section. With so many really good and 
beautiful species and varieties in this section, it is re¬ 
markable that two so beautiful, and at the same time 
so valuable, should have made their appearance in the 
commercial world at almost one and the same moment, 
and particularly so when I add that both these are 
benefited by being grown under glass. The last of the 
longiflorum section carries the flowering season of the 
Lily to the end of July, and even later than this, and 
it is no common occurrence to have their flowers in 
plenty up to the middle of August. From these, however, 
I will turn, for there are many beautiful Lilies flowering 
in company with them, and we will just take a glance 
at the magnificent and stately forms of 
Lilium auratum.— Among Liliums, the specific 
name of this plant has long since become a household 
word ; it is a favourite everywhere, and universally 
admired by all, whether they possess gardens or not. 
The tens of thousands of its bulbs which annually come 
to this country to be disposed of, and which invariably 
find buyers, bear sufficient evidence of its well-earned 
popularity. It is justly spoken of as the “Queen of 
Lilies,” for it is without doubt of queenly bearing. 
Nothing that will compare with it for hardiness can 
excel it for its almost overpowering fragrance, or its 
adaptability generally for outdoor culture, as well as 
for pot culture under glass ; it is best suited, perhaps, 
out-of-doors in the Rhododendron bed, and for asso¬ 
ciating with American plants, more particularly as 
these afford the needful shelter by their branches in 
spring from the late nipping frosts, which do so much 
harm to them when left unprotected. But let not the 
absence of either Rhododendrons in beds, or American 
shrubs debar any from attempting their culture in any 
partially shaded spot, for the protection they require 
is so slight, and of so simple a nature, that it may be 
afforded them even by a few boughs being placed about 
them—anything, in fact, that will give the requisite 
shelter, and at the same time not tend to weaken them 
by being too closely placed. 
For isolating in clumps, either on the lawn or in 
shrubberies, or for naturalising in woodlands, there 
is none to equal this, the Golden-rayed Lily of Japan. 
It is reputedly a lover of peat, and certainly does very 
well in it ; it is, however, not found in peat in its 
native habitat, nor is that particular an essential in 
its culture in this country. An experience of years after 
having planted some thousands of its bulbs, both in 
peaty and sandy loamy soils, has taught me that it 
succeeds well in both, provided the bulbs themselves 
are sound in the first instance ; this is, in fact, the 
primary point—given these you may plant them in any 
light fairly rich loam with successful results. During 
the present season I received a late consignment of its 
bulbs, and for want of a more suitable position at the 
time, I was obliged to plant them in the open, in 
light loamy soil, and fully exposed to the sun. 
I never manure new importations of this bulb, and 
consequently these were planted without it as usual ; 
a little sand was placed about the bulbs, and if 
memory serves me correctly, a handful of sandy peat to 
each. The majority of these flowered during August, 
and among them some extremely handsome forms, richly 
banded and spotted, and about 2 ft. high ; others of 
the same consignment attained to more than double 
that height, and, as is generally the case, the taller 
growers are the bearers of inferior blossoms ; this is 
not without exceptions, however, for many very hand¬ 
some kinds may be found among the tall varieties. 
My reasons for preferring the dwarf growers, is that 
they are invariably self-supporting, growing more 
sturdy, the flowers having greater substance and 
produced in more compact heads. I have to-day 
(September 20th) had occasion to lift some of this late- 
planted batch of bulbs, and I was pleased to find some 
very fine ones as the result, and in excellent condition ; 
were I planting these bulbs again, which, by the way, 
I now consider fairly acclimatised, I should not fear 
employing a fair dressing of well-rotted manure, placed 
at a distance of 2 ins. below the bulbs. For pot culture 
this favourite Lily is well suited ; it is easily grown 
when fairly started into growth, for then the critical 
time with it has passed. 
Newly imported bulbs require careful management, 
or failure may ensue, and as this is generally followed 
by disappointment, it is advisable to avoid both by all 
means in our power ; fresh imported bulbs I prefer to 
place in shallow boxes and cover with 2 ins. of cocoa- 
nut fibre, examining them once a week and removing 
all decayed portions of the scales, which originate either 
from bruises or from the bulbs sweating during transit, 
or from being lifted and harvested in an immature 
state in Japan, and which is accelerated by the fact 
that they are divested of roots and stem at the same 
moment; any thus decaying should be dusted with 
charcoal or sulphur, and kept by themselves so that 
the infection may not spread ; they will need no water 
for weeks to come as there will be sufficient moisture in 
the cocoa-nut fibre. They may remain thus till they 
have fairly commenced root action, or at least till all 
signs of decay are gone, when they may be potted safely. 
"When potted, they should be covered over after the 
manner of Hyacinths and such like things, with 4 ins. 
or 6 ins. of cocoa-nut fibre or fine ashes, and kept 
without water till they have made fully 6 ins. of 
growth above the soil. If these particulars be adhered 
to in the starting of Lilium auratum, the success 
attending their culture will be greater, and the losses 
in starting them at all fewer than they are at the 
present time ; bulbs failing to start, point, as a rule, 
to the introduction of water at a time when tl.e bulb is 
comparatively inactive, by being minus of roots to 
