August 15, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
801 
FRANCOA RAMOSA. 
The long racemes of white flowers of this species are 
particularly handsome at this season for conservatory 
decoration. They are seen to great advantage in 
association with Fuchsias, Campanula pyramidalis, 
Cannas, Begonias and other subjects, as they are 
used at Gunnersbury House, Acton. The tem¬ 
perature of this house is often down at 40® at night 
during the winter months, yet in addition to the 
above, Roses are grown trained under the roof, while 
large plants of Asparagus plumosus nanus, A. 
tenuissimus, A. deflexus, Begonia metallica, and large 
trees of Seaforthia elegans, all in pots or baskets, 
occupy the body of the house. The latter is now 
very gay, and is rendered particularly attractive by 
reason of the numerous plants of the Francoa placed 
all over the stages. 
FERULA GIGANTEA. 
The foliage of the Giant Fennel is so fine that it is 
almost a pity the plant should flower, for being of the 
character of a biennial it then dies. The plants 
never flower till they attain considerable size, and 
during this time they continue to throw up a fine 
crop of leaves annually. The latter are the finer the 
nearer the plant has attained the flowering stage, so 
that when that occurs the cultivator may calculate 
upon losing the plant, probably in the following year. 
For this reason a number of plants of different ages 
should always be grown, so that some of them would 
always be in fine condition. Seeds should be saved 
from the plants that flower, and the cultivator will 
therefore have a plentiful supply of seedlings coming 
on. There is a fine specimen in the gardens at 
Gunnersbury House, Acton, just ripening its foliage 
for the season, and owing to the pleasant inter¬ 
mixture of green and yellow, it is beautiful even in 
death. Individual leaves measure 6 ft. long by as 
much in breadth, and are, many times divided into 
linear segments. In a properly prepared bit of soil 
this species would make a fine subject for the wild 
or picturesque garden. 
A FLOR1FEROUS ALLAMANDA. 
The plant known in gardens as A. Hendersoni is 
variously spoken of as a species, a variety of A. 
Schottii, or a variety of A. cathartica. The species 
or forms of Allamanda are a difficult lot to dis¬ 
criminate, but for garden purposes there can be no 
question that A. Hendersoni is one of the finest and 
most floriferous, if trained under a roof so as to enjoy 
the full benefit of sunshine and otherwise properly 
treated. Being naturally a moderately tall climber, 
a fair amount of space is necessary for its proper 
development, in order to flower freely. These con¬ 
ditions it enjoys at Gunnersbury Park, Acton, in a 
low span-roofed house, one half of the glass of which 
it profitably occupies. The long stems are trained 
along horinzontal wires, but not too thickly, and 
they have been a mass of flowers from early summer 
till now, and will continue till the light begans to 
fail in autumn. Notwithstanding those that are 
cut from time to time, there are hundreds of flowers 
fully expanded, besides an equal or even greater 
number of buds. The lamina measures 5 ins. to 
6 ins. across ; every part is of thick and wax-like 
texture, and the throat striated with orange. No 
shading is employed, but the whole plant is fully 
exposed to light, and the bronzy-brown tint which 
the buds assume is sometimes striking. The exposed 
parts only are thus coloured, and, when the flower 
expands the segments are often marked with broad 
brown bands along the margin which had been 
exposed in bud. 
LASTHENIA GLABRATA. 
The flower heads of this composite resemble those 
of a small yellow Chrysanthemum. The stems vary 
from 8 ins. to 12 ins. in height, and branch freely 
from the base, but often appear dwarfer, owing to 
their becoming procumbent at the base. Like 
various other Californian annuals, it flowers during 
a great part of the summer, and may be used for 
border decoration as well as for cut flowers. It is 
so hardy that seeds may be sown in sheltered places 
to stand the winter in the open ; and for a summer 
display a sowing should be made in the latter part of 
March, provided the weather and soil are suitable, 
or in April. The seedling should be properly thinned 
out in the early stages, and the growth of the plant, 
as well as its durability, will be all the better for it. 
The species is sometimes grown under the name of 
L. californica. 
BURCHELLIA CAPENSIS. 
Notwithstanding the fact that this plant comes 
from the Cape of Good Hope, it is generally treated 
as a stove shrub in this country. Mr. J. Hudson, 
gardener to the Messrs, de Rothschild, Gunnersbury 
House, Acton, has had it in a cool conservatory for 
the last two winters, when the temperature of the 
house often fell to 40° at night. Becoming too tall for 
accommodation in the stove, it was planted out in a 
bed in the middle of the house and trained to a 
trellis, and is now about 6 ft. high. In its native 
country, the Forests of Swellendam, George, 
Caffraria, &c., it attains a height of 12 ft. or 14 ft., 
and must be fine when covered with its tubular 
bright scarlet flowers in umbels terminating the 
shoots. The natives call it Buffeldoorn, and accord¬ 
ingly we find it named B. bubalina, that is Buffalo, 
in the Botanical Magazine, t. 2339. Thunberg, in his 
Flora Capensis, even made the mistake in calling it 
Lonicera bubalina, or Buffalo Honeysuckle, and 
Linnaeus, the younger, also made the same error. It 
has much the appearance of a Honeysuckle, but is 
really a member of the Madder family. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS, 
Monmodes Rolflanum. 
In this we have a new species from Peru with flowers 
as large as those of M. luxatum, but of different 
shape and colour. It is the third which has appeared 
in the houses of L’ Horticulture Internationale, 
and is figured in the Lindenia (English edition) pi. 
289. The sepals and petals are suffused with brown 
on a greenish ground, and are traversed with dark- 
green veins. The petals are broader than the sepals 
and erect, whereas the latter are reflexed. The 
elliptic, fleshy lip is brownish-crimson, and reflexed 
at the sides, but lies up against the column in the 
same curious fashion is in other species of this genus. 
The pseudobulbs and foliage are similar to those of 
the older and better known species. The cultural 
treatment suitable for this plant is similar to that of 
other Mormodes and Catasetums. A sunny position 
is the best for it, except perhaps, when the foliage is 
young. 
Lselia grandis tenebrosa 
The dull flowered and comparatively uninteresting 
Laslia grandis is now giving place to varieties of 
greater merit appearing amongst the more recent 
introductions. That under notice is characterised 
by the rich coppery-bronze hue of the sepals and 
petals, and the rich purple hue of the lamina, deeper 
in the throat, and pale, almost white, round the margin, 
judging from the coloured illustration in th e Lindenia 
pi. 290. The exterior of the tube is pale, while 
internally it is beautifully lined with purple. The 
type was described by Lindley as having nankeen- 
yellow flowers, and a white lip washed with rose at 
the base, inside, and veined with purple. It is stated 
in Lindenia that the Tring Park variety certificated 
at the Drill Hall on June 23rd. last, is the same as 
the plant here described, but our original description 
gives the petals as being darkest along the centre. 
Denrobium MacCarthiae. 
Hitherto this Orchid has been far from common 
in this country, and is not likely to increase, owing 
to the restrictions that are said to be put upon 
collectors in its native habitats, especially on estates 
which happen to be private property. A newly 
imported piece is about to flower in the gardens 
at Gunnersbury House, Acton. The species is 
generally considered difficult to manage, but it is 
probable that if the plant were more common, some 
cultivator or other would find a method of dealing 
with it satisfactorily even under cultivation. It is a 
native of the forests of Ceylon, and likes a moist but 
airy atmosphere when making its growth, and then 
to be rested in a dry one, where the temperature does 
not fall below 50° at night. The flowers are 3 ms. 
or more in length, and as much in breadth upon 
fairly strong plants, and both the racemes and the 
flowers, but especially the latter, assume a strikingly 
drooping habit. The sepals and petals may be 
described as cerise-blue, while the lip is paler, some¬ 
times almost white, with the exception of a large, 
purple blotch in the basal part, which is convolute 
round the column. It is, therefore, a showy and 
interesting species, which, it is highly desirable 
should become established in the hot-houses of this 
country before it becomes extinct in its native country 
or its importation becomes prohibited. 
Dendrobium longicornu. 
The Long- spurred Dendrobium belongs to the same 
affinity as D. formosum, D. Jamesianum, D. infundi¬ 
bulum, and others of that type. The stems are 
rather slender, covered with black hairs, and usually 
18 ins. to 20 ins. high, but the newly completed 
stems of a specimen at Clare Lawn, East Sheen, are 
30 ins. high, testifying to good culture. The flowers 
are produced in clusters from the nodes near the 
apex of the two or three years’ old wood. The 
ovate sepals are strongly keeled and pure white, but 
the petals are elliptic and white. The lip is also 
white, with a long pinkish spur, while the upper 
end is deeply and irregularly jagged and almost 
fringed ; the fringes are orange, while there are 
numerous fringes and lines of hairs of the same 
colour running from the apex down into the tube. 
The colour thus shading the interior of the lip 
reminds one of what occurs in D. Williamsoni, only 
the flowers are larger, the lip different in shape, and 
the plant altogether taller. May and June are con¬ 
sidered the usual months in which this plant flowers, 
but it remains in bloom a long time. The unusually 
cold and sunless summer may be accountable for its 
lateness, for every bloom was in fine condition 
during the second week of this month. It is a 
native of India. 
SOCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural, August nth. —Special interest 
was centred in the meeting on Tuesday, on account 
of the postponed competition for Mr. Martin Smith’s 
prizes for border-grown Carnations, of which a 
goodly number were shown in bunches, and without 
any attempt at dressing. For a bunch of twelve 
blooms of any Self-coloured variety, Mr. Diver’s 
gardener, KettonHall, Stamford, was first; Mr. Blick, 
gardener Martin J. Smith, Esq., The Warren, 
Hayes, Kent, second ; and Mr. W. A. Searing, The 
Gardens, Oak Lodge, Sevenoaks, third. Mr. Blick 
was more successful in the competition for twelve 
varieties (Selfs), coming in first, with Mr. A. Herring¬ 
ton, Shrubland Park Gardens, Needham Market, a 
good secon and Mr. J. Walker, Thame, third. Mr. 
Blick was also successful with eighteen varieties of 
Bizzare, flake and fancy Carnations ; Mr. J. Douglas, 
Great Gearies, being second. Mr. Charles Turner 
made an admirable display of Fancy, Self, and 
bedding Carnations in pots, and a charming display 
of florists' varieties shown in bunches, and a number 
of new varieties, nine of which received certificates. 
A Silver Banksian Medal was awarded for the group. 
Miscellaneous subjects of a varied and interesting 
character helped to make up a capital little ex¬ 
hibition, and the following awards were made: — To 
Messrs. Veitch & Sons, a Silver-Gilt Banksian 
Medal, for a showy group of small decorative 
plants ; a Silver Gilt Flora Medal to Mr. H. B. 
May, Edmonton, for an extensive group of Ferns, 
well-bloomed Bourardias, etc. ; a Silver Banksian 
Medal to Messrs. Dobbie and Co., Rothsay, for a 
gay collection of Violas, Marigolds, etc.; a Silver- 
Gilt Banksian Medal to Mr. C. F. Bause, Morland 
Nursery, South Norwood, for a superbly grown col¬ 
lection of new Caladiums ; and a Silver Banksian 
Medal to Mr. G. Wythes, Syon House, for a capital 
group of Campanula pyramidalis and C. carpatica, 
including distinct varieties of both kinds. Other 
contributions of a noteworthy character included a 
beautiful display of Gloxinia blooms from Messrs. 
J. Peed and Sons, Roupell Park Nurseries, Norwood 
Road : a distinct strain of double varieties of Chry¬ 
santhemum carinatum from Messrs. Hurst and Son, 
152, Houndsditch; beautiful show Dahlias from 
Mr. A. Rawlings, Old Church, Romford; and Cactus 
Dahlias from Messrs. Cannell; flowers of a large 
double form of Achillea Ptarmica, named The Pearl, 
a useful plant to grow for cutting, from Messrs. 
Pitcher & Manda, Hextable, Swanley ; a well-grown 
group of Disa grandiflora, from Chatsworth, and 
orchids from Messrs. Veitch & Sons, Messrs. 
Charlesworth & Shuttleworth, Messrs. Seegar & 
Tropp, Mr. T. Statter, and others. 
At the meeting of the Fruit Committee, Messrs 
Veitch & Sons staged a large collection of Goose¬ 
berries, Apples, Pears, Plums, &c., and Mr. G. 
Chadwick, Gardener, Hanger Hill House, Ealing, 
had also a fine collection of Gooseberries for which 
he received a Bronze Banskian Medal. Messrs. J. 
Burton & Sons, Bexley Heath, received a Silver 
