May 30, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
617 
Seaweeds in the earliest strata to the complex and 
highly differentiated floras at present upon the earth, 
yet all bearing in form or structure links connecting 
them with the remote past, as illustrated for us in the 
plant fragments which sank in the ooze and mud of 
prehistoric river and sea, to be found still unchanged 
in the rocks of to-day. 
Cypripediums and Allied Genera.—A monograph 
of the species of Cypripedium has been prepared by 
Angiolo Pucci, Professor at the School of Pomology 
and of Horticulture at Florence. The allied genera 
refer to Selenipedium and Uropedium, the latter of 
which is considered an anomalous genus, and U. 
Lindeni is rightly referred to Selenipedium caudatum, 
from which it differs merely in the lip not being slipper¬ 
shaped. Altogether 931 species, varieties, hybrids, 
and synonyms are recorded, all of which must have 
entailed a considerable amount of labour on the part of 
the compiler. The work is written in French, in 
which language all the species, most of the hybrids, 
and many of the varieties are described. A large 
number of the latter are not described, but the book or 
journal is referred to from which the names vere taken. 
Thirty-five works have been consulted, besides various 
sale, and nurserymen’s catalogues. We venture 
to state that it is the most complete monograph yet 
prepared of garden and other Cypripediums, brought 
up to date. The descriptions are in no case lengthy, 
and many synonyms are given besides the opinions of 
writers in'the various works quoted as to the distinctness 
of certain varieties. It would be of great importance, 
but at the same time a heavy task, for some one to 
collect, if possible, all the varieties which have received 
names, and compare them, so that all synonyms might 
be determined. Of C. insigne, seventy-five varieties 
and synonyms are recorded ; of C. Spicerianum, seven¬ 
teen ; ofC. Lawrenceanum, thirty ; and of C. barbatum, 
forty-five. C. pubescens is said to resemble C. 
Calceolus so closely that it is “ probably a variety with 
larger flowers” ; and C. parviflorum “ appears to be a 
variety of C. pubescens, with smaller flowers.” With 
regard to the two latter, importers in this country find 
that intermediate forms occur connecting them. 
Gardening Appointment.—Mr. John Wilson, late 
foreman at Leckmelew Gardens, Rossshire, N.B., as 
gardener to Mrs. Shrubb, Boldre Grange, Lymington, 
Hants. 
-- 
CAULIFLOWERS. 
Without doubt the early section of Cauliflowers have 
unusual value this season. We have so little that is 
useful to fill the void created by the general destruction 
of the hardy green stuffs during the winter that it has 
been needful to push on all sorts of expedients, and 
few have been found at a pinch of this sort of more 
value than a good quantity of very early Cauliflowers. 
Gardeners to-day are better off than were older ones. 
We have now in the Snowball, or extra early dwarf 
type, Cauliflowers which head in for cutting with 
exceeding rapidity. 
There is no need to hold over plants through the 
winter as formerly ; indeed, during the past winter it 
was found difficult, either in frames or under hand- 
lights, to keep any Cauliflower plants alive. Now we 
make sowings in a gentle warmth in January, February 
and March. These need not be large sowings. If 
made in a shallow box or a couple of pans plenty of 
plants are obtainable, all that is needful being that 
the plants, so far as large enough to handle, be dibbled 
up into other shallow boxes, or, if found desirable, put 
singly into small pots, and be stood where they can 
have the benefit of ever so little growing warmth, and 
plenty of light. Hand-lights may well prove useful to 
turn out the first-sown batch under on a warm border 
early in April, but later sowings will take no harm 
without hand-lights if put out in a warm, sheltered 
place. 
From the earliest plantings good heads for cutting 
should be ready by the middle of May, and once cutting 
is started, it may go on regularly until the crop is 
exhausted. "Where specially early heads are needed, 
some put into 9-in. pots will head much quicker if 
kept in a warm vinery or Peach house. We could not 
find ’such very precocious advantages in old sorts of 
Cauliflowers, but the newer dwarf early ones have made 
many things possible. A good deal of the old Early 
London—by no means a bad Cauliflower of its type— 
is still grown for later work, and with the fine Autumn 
Giant and that semi-Cauliflower, Veitch’s Protecting, 
we get nearly all we require. Certainly there are some 
other selections, such as King of the Cauliflowers, of 
the robust autumnal type, but the chief thing in 
whatever selection may be grown is to keep up a good 
succession, so that from the first earlies down to the 
finish of the self-protecting at Christmas there may be 
no break, and an abundant supply.— A. D. 
--+X-<-- 
RHODANTHE MANGLESI. 
Botanically the correct name of this plant is 
considered to be Helipterum Manglesii. It is best 
known, however, in gardens under the name given 
Rhodantiie Maxglesi maculata. 
above. The dry and scarious bracts of the involucre of 
this plant constitute its decorative value, particularly 
the inner ones, which are broad, and in the type of a 
beautiful pink or rosy hue. In the variety of R. M. 
maculata, the bracts deepen to purple, with a much 
darker colour at the base, forming a zone round the 
Rhodantiie Manglesi maculata. 
central yellow disc. Accompanying this is an illus¬ 
tration of a flower-head of the natural size, and also a 
bunch of flower-heads reduced in size. The dark zone 
characteristic of the variety is shown in both cases. 
There is a variety in which all the bracts are of a 
silvery white. Seeds sown in the open should now be 
well above the soil. "We allude to the plant at the 
present time particularly on account of its value for 
conservatory decoration. Sown in pots under glass in 
the autumn, the seedlings come into bloom in May, and 
seem even more beautiful when so grown than when 
reared in the open air, unless the summer be a fine one ; 
otherwise the flower-heads get soiled and disfigured by 
wind and rain which washes up the soil about them. 
Seeds should be sown in the pots in which they are to 
bloom, and the seedlings thinned to the proper 
distance apart. The heads are also useful cut and dried 
as Everlastings. 
-- 
NEPHROLEPIS. 
The Nephrolepis, or “Sword Ferns,” as they are 
sometimes called, comprise a very handsome group and 
also a very useful one, their long, graceful fronds 
mingling very happily with those of different habit. 
The members of this family are of easy growth and 
also easy to multiply, as some of the species may be 
readily procured from spores, while all may be readily 
increased by planting out on a bench in the Fern 
house in order to allow the rapidly growing rhizomes 
or creeping stems to develop. In fact some species may 
be planted outdoors in a shaded place during the 
summer with good results, both N. exaltata and N. 
pectinata doing well under such treatment, and the 
plants so grown make admirable specimens for decora¬ 
tive work during the following winter. 
As noted above, these plants make long wiry 
rhizomes, which travel either on or just beneath the 
surface of the soil, and on these at short intervals are 
produced the young plants. 
Regarding temperature during the winter, it may be 
stated that any of the Nephrolepis may be grown in a 
house that ranges from 55° to 60°, while N. exaltata 
and N. cordifolia (or N. tuberosa) will thrive in a much 
lower temperature. 
In cultivation there is one very essential point to be 
remembered, and that is, never to allow any of the 
Nephrolepis to get very dry, as the pinme are articulated 
or jointed to the mid-rib, and the consequence is that 
if allowed to become very dry they will drop much of 
their pinnae. 
Amongst the finest species should be included N. 
davallioides furcans, a very strong grower and an 
elegant exhibition plant, or may be used with good 
effect in a decoration by placing the specimen on a 
pedestal so that its fountain-like growth of long, 
graceful fronds may be displayed to advantage. The 
fronds are light green and glossy, and from 3 ft. to 
5 ft. in length, the tip of each pinnule being divided 
into from two to five segments or forks, this giving 
the fronds a crested appearance. In order that this 
Fern should be in condition for decorating, it should 
be grown in a moderately light house and well venti¬ 
lated, as by this means the fronds will be hard and of 
good substance. 
Another excellent species, and one of the hardiest, is 
N. exaltata, also a strong grower, and produces long 
arching pinnate fronds of dark green, and attaining a 
length of 3 ft. to 4 ft. This is a well-known species, 
and makes a first-rate window Fern, or may be used 
as a vase plant during the summer, provided it is not 
placed in the full sun ; and in addition to these 
advantages, the fronds stand well when cut, so, taking 
all things into consideration, this is one of the most 
useful species in the genus. 
N. pectinata is of much more dwarf habit than the 
preceding, and consequently makes a more useful small 
plant for table ferneries and other work of similar 
nature. It has slender fronds from 1 ft. to 2 ft. long, 
and closely clothed with dark green pinme, and as it is 
evergreen (as are most of this genus) and grows freely 
during the winter, it has already proved its value as a 
florists’ Fern. 
N. cordifolia, better known as N. tuberosa from its 
habit of forming small tubers on its rhizomes, is still 
another good species, being easy to grow and nearly as 
hardy as N. exaltata, and to which it bears some 
resemblance. It spreads rapidly, and in common with 
most of the Nephrolepis, makes a good basket plant. 
It bears long stout fronds of light green, and is a useful 
one for cutting from for large work. 
N. Duffii is quite a dwarf grower, and also very 
pretty when well grown. It is of tufted habit, the 
fronds being comparatively upright and dark green in 
colour, more or less clothed with brown tomentum, 
and the tips of the fronds several times forked or 
divided. This species makes a very pretty plant in 
either 3-in. or 4-in. pots, and presents a very distinct 
appearance. 
One of the latest additions to this genus is found 
under the somewhat unwieldy cognomen of N. rufescens 
tripinnatifida, and was introduced about four or five 
years ago. It is unquestionably one of the handsomest 
of the genus, but unfortunately it is nearly deciduous 
in the winter, this fact, of course, detracting from its 
value for florists’ use, though in a well-grown specimen 
it is remarkably attractive during the summer and fall, 
