800 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 7, 1888. 
cultivation, their table quality especially being of the 
finest. "When I can put a beautiful seedling out of 
Radstock Beauty, by Prime Minister, before the public, 
I think that will have to take the place of its parent, 
as it is richly coloured with carmine. I do not know 
how far some of our southern-raised kinds are grown in 
the northern kingdom, but climate has much to do 
with success in cultivation. The Dean, happily, is a 
very distinct Potato, and it is not probable that anyone 
will have the courage to give it for their own purposes 
any other appellation.— Alex. Bean, Bedfont. 
Hibbertia dentata. 
The foliage of this very handsome conservatory 
climber is attractive and beautiful even when the 
plant is not in flower, owing to the dark green 
colour, and the metallic-purple hue with which the 
leaves are suffused, especially on the under-surface. The 
stems are twining in habit, and well furnished with 
leathery, evergreen, somewhat wrinkled foliage, that 
never appears to disadvantage at any season. Flower¬ 
ing is intermittent, and although it cannot be described 
as continuous, a rich floral display is produced several 
times a year according to the state of growth, while a 
few scattered blooms frequently prolong the flowering 
periods for a great length of time. The flowers in¬ 
dividually are of considerable size, and produced in 
clusters from the axils of the closely-arranged leaves, 
resembling in no small degree those of a large-flowered 
Hypericum, owing to the profusion of stamens filling 
up the centre. It belongs to the natural order Dilleni- 
acese, a type of which we have very few comparatively 
in cultivation. Dillenia speciosa and a few others are 
cultivated sometimes as ornamental-foliage stove plants, 
from the size and fine appearance of their beautifully 
feather-nerved leaves. Hibbertia Reedii is sometimes 
seen in collections of greenhouse or New Holland plants; 
but it is greatly inferior to the subject of this note, 
both in the size of the flowers, the size and colour of 
the leaves, and in habit, being but a low straggling 
bush with small yellow flowers. 
The Myrtle-leaved Eugenia. 
As a greenhouse or conservatory plant the Eugenia 
myrtifolia is useful and ornamental at various seasons, 
and, judging by its evergreen character, it may 
be said to be in keeping with greenhouse subjects at 
any time. The roundly ovate, leathery leaves are 
shortly pointed somewhatsimilar to those of E. apiculata, 
while the upper surface shines with a lustre resembling 
that of the more popular or apparently better known 
E. Egni, noted for the sweet and edible character of 
the fruit, which becomes brown when mature, and, as 
well as being sweet, possesses a mild but pleasant 
acidity that proves agreeable to the palates of many. 
The fruits of E. myrtifolia are about the size of large 
peas, of a beautiful shining jet-black, and very effective. 
The flowers are also ornamental in summer, from the 
profusion of stamens with which most of the members 
of this family are furnished. Fruiting specimens are 
now to be seen in one of the conservatories at Dropmore, 
the residence of Lady Fortescue, Taplow, Bucks. 
Ripening of Pears. 
Yorr. correspondent, “ X. H. P.” (at p. 280), 
wishes for information on the subject of the ripening 
of the Souvenir du Congres Pear. "We grow it here 
as a standard, and have gathered for the last three 
years fifty to eighty bushels annually. It always 
comes in here after Bon Chretien. I consider it is one 
of the best and most useful Pears grown in its season, 
either for market or private use, as it takes its place 
after Bon Chretien is over until Louise Bonne of Jersey 
comes in. It keeps better than Bon Chretien, as it 
does not rot at the core so quickly, and lasts very 
well here till the first week in October. From the 
commencement of gathering it gives us about a month’s 
use, which, I think, is very good for one kind of Pear 
at that season. I think, if your correspondent were to 
try again, and gather his Bon Chretiens before they 
are ready, he would find them keep much better, with 
an improved flavour. There are a great many grown 
in this neighbourhood for market, and all are gathered 
some time before they are ready. I had the pleasure 
of tasting some of them this season, and they were of 
excellent flavour. I have found all the first-crop 
Pears ripened a week or ten days earlier this season, 
but the Glou Morceau and Winter Nelis have come to 
maturity about the same time as usual. There is one 
other kind I should like to mention that is very rarely 
seen in collections, namely, Bergamotte de Esperen, 
which comes in after Winter Nelis, keeps well till 
March, is of excellent flavour, grows about the size of 
he latter, and is very prolific on a west wall.— 
! . Thompson, The Gardens, Croxby House, Hounslow. 
Eucharis amazonica. 
It is a pleasure to meet with good healthy flowering 
specimens of this useful and free-blooming stove 
plant. No doubt, at the present season, many are 
rejoicing that their specimens have retained their usual 
health and vigour, and have produced a good batch of 
flowers, which are likely to be useful during this 
present festive season. It is doubtful if anything is 
likely to be introduced that will supplant this pure 
white flower, for it has about it all the essentials of 
a desirable cut bloom, viz., purity of colour, size, form, 
and good lasting properties ; and when used in vases, 
epergnes, or dinner-table decoration, &e., is most 
acceptable and effective. For bouquet-work, unless 
these are very large, it is better to employ E. Candida, 
which, though a little smaller, is neater and associates 
better with medium-sized flowers. Whilst many are 
glad to find their plants thus repaying the labour spent 
upon them, there will as certainly be some who look 
upon their plants with sorrow and dismay ; they used 
to be good, and for years never failed in bearing 
batches of bloom two or three times in the season. 
But lately all has gone wrong, and do what we can, so 
far the plants have not improved, but are either at a 
stand or are getting worse. In many cases this is 
caused by too much water ; in some by too much sun¬ 
shine in the summer ; in others by continual shade and 
heavy dampness about the plants, all causes bringing 
sickness, the precursor of disease, mites and death. It 
behoves all to see that their plants are not coddled, but 
that free air can get about them, not cold draughts, 
for that is just as injurious as the other causes ; also 
that a fair amount of heat is given when growth is 
taking place ; and on no account to let the foliage suffer 
in the summer season from strong sunshine. I noticed 
a few days ago some nice plants at Mr. Payne’s, 
Fulwood Nursery, Preston. Here, unfortunately, these 
had gone wrong in days past, but now Mr. Payne has 
some healthy and vigorous plants in his stove, where 
the conditions would appear to be just right ; and I 
could not help remarking, that heat, moisture in fair 
proportion, shade, and a calm corner appeared to be 
the best conditions for it. The leaves were stout, 
broad, of good colour, and plenty of them. No doubt 
in time a good show of blooms will appear. — IV. S. 
Otaheite Orange. 
Owing to the small or diminutive size or the fruits 
of the Otaheite Orange, it becomes a useful subject 
for ordinary decorative purposes. The larger fruiting 
sorts are equally ornamental, but when they get 
moved about from place to place are liable to drop 
their fruits ; neither do they produce such numbers as 
occur on the Otaheite variety. When mature they are 
globose iu shape and very pretty, while, from what we 
have seen of plants under this name, there is some 
variation as to size and colour. By encouraging a free 
growth in summer, and keeping the atmosphere of the 
house in a dry condition during the time they are in 
flower, the fruits set freely and last a long time in 
perfection. We recently noted a quantity of this 
miniature Orange in the nurseries of Messrs. J. 
Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. 
Stephanotis floribunda. 
This beautiful subject, introduced by the late Mrs. 
Lawrence, of Ealing Park, nearly fifty years ago, is still 
one of the most universally grown of stove climbers, as 
its claims justly entitle it to be, whether grown as a 
pot specimen—and what looks better than a well- 
flowered plant, with its deep green foliage, in a collec¬ 
tion of stove and greenhouse plants in the exhibition 
tent?—or planted out in a bed and trained to wires 
under the glass in a plant stove, producing its beautiful 
wax-like trusses of bloom in the greatest profusion, and 
its fragrance pervading the whole house. It is a lovely 
subject for bouquets, button-holes, sprays, wreaths, &c., 
adorned with the inevitable Maidenhair Fern. The 
Stephanotis is propagated by cuttings—the short side- 
growths answer best—inserted in sandy soil, and placed 
in a propagating pit with a good bottom-heat. It is a 
subject that requires good soil and thorough drainage, 
whether in a pot or planted in a bed, anything like 
stagnation resulting from the copious waterings it 
requires when in active growth soon causing it to 
assume a sickly appearance. It seems curious that the 
Stephanotis is always, or nearly so, a prey to that 
detested pest, mealy-bug. I remember having seen a 
plant trained under the roof of a stove, on which the 
latter was never seen ; but it was subject to the black 
scale, which involved a lot of labour in sponging to 
keep it clean. The properties of paraffin as an in¬ 
secticide were not then so commonly known ; but a 
wine-glassful of that spirit in a three gallon watering- 
pot of tepid water, kept well stirred, and applied with 
a fine syringe, is the quickest and most effectual way of 
ridding Stephanotis and Gardenias of that dreadful 
pest, mealy-bug.— Geo. Potts, Jun. 
Bowling Greens and Tennis Courts. 
I hasten to rectify an unintentional error which some¬ 
how has crept into my communication on this subject, 
p. 280. In the second column, fourth line, read “an 
imperceptible fall from the centre” ; and again, in the 
third column, devoted to levelling, read also “fall from 
the centre. The centre peg should be raised from 4 ins. 
to 6 ins. according to requirements.” Your corre¬ 
spondent will readily see with this one exception 'and 
I do not know how it came about) that Mr. "Waterman 
and myself somewhat coincide.— Benj. Lockwood. 
-->x<—- 
ORCHID NOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
The Orchid Growers' Calendar. 
It is the rule I always advance, to commence the 
general re-potting of Orchids as early as convenient in 
the present month, commencing with the cold house, 
and doing the work thoroughly with regard to re 
potting, cleaning, &c. I am aware that many good 
growers perform this work at other times during the 
year, and to all who have found the re-potting of cool- 
house plants in summer to answer to their satisfaction, 
I say continue the piactice. For my part I am con¬ 
vinced that the present time is the best. 
Odontoglossums, Masdevallias, and other cool-house 
plants, make roots actively during the cold weather, and 
in my opinion it is of all things desirable that those 
which require potting should have the new stuff 
supplied as soon in the new year as possible, so that 
the roots may get a good hold early in the season. At 
the same time any plants which may not seem to 
require re-potting, or which may be in, or too near, 
flower to render it desirable to remove them, may be 
left until another time ; but even that is of little 
consequence, for if the potting is done in the cold 
weather, plants even potted in full bloom will not 
show any ill effect, either in the flower or growth. 
A good stock of clean pots of all sizes and plenty of 
clean crocks being ready, a good sample of light fibrous 
peat on hand and some living sphagnum moss, and a 
space cleared in the cold house to begin (for it is best 
to pot in the house unless a shed opens into it), the 
Masdevallias should be commenced with, the Odonto¬ 
glossums afterwards, and the odd cool-house plants to 
finish. The best potting material for the general cool- 
house plant is half fibrous peat broken up with the 
hand and half sphagnum moss, both materials being 
kept separate on the bench, and worked in during the 
process of re-potting, according as the subject in hand 
seems to require it. Silver-sand should not be added, 
and charcoal, if known to be pure, may or may not be 
used. 
IVhen re-potting Masdevallias, any of the plants 
which have been grown into too dense a tuft, and, 
therefore, do not give the proportion of flowers they 
ought to, may be unhesitatingly broken up and 
divided out into their pot or pan at this season. If 
this is not done occasionally, Masdevallias sometimes, 
like most of our hardy herbaceous perennials if not 
divided, die from the centre outward. 
Golden Rules for Potting. —The golden rules to 
be observed in potting Orchids are :— 
1 . —Never re-pot a plant which is dry, but rather 
give it water and leave it for a time to moisten the ball 
before turning it out of its pot. 
2. —Never pot in dry material, but let it not be wet, 
but moist in the same degree as living sphagnum moss 
is moist. 
3. —Never pot in new pots, or use crocks of broken 
new pots until they have been soaked in water and 
partially dried again. This is an old-fashioned notion, 
but worthy of all respect. I have found that plants 
potted into thoroughly dry new pots often have the 
ball cake and crack away from the rim of the pot, 
leaving the water to run off without moistening it. 
4. —-Never re-pot a plant with an unbroken ball, but 
roughen it by picking out with a bluntly pointed stick 
as much of the old stuff as can be got away easily. 
5. —Never leave a plant so that it will shake about 
after re-potting, but never use a stick to fasten it if it 
can be secured in the pot with the potting material in 
the usual way. 
6 . —Never use wire or metallic pegs to secure Orchids 
by pegging over the rhizomes or between the bulbs ; it 
is always injurious, and frequently fatal. 
