March 2 , 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
423 
purple flowers, with a deeper colour round the mouth ; 
but there are several distinct varieties now in culti¬ 
vation, one of which, with deep reddish purple flowers, 
is very choice. Those having a frame or cold green¬ 
house would find this Cyclamen a charming little gem 
for pot culture. It is propagated by seeds. 
The Azure-blue Hyacinth. 
The earliest of all Hyacinths to flower under natural 
conditions is Hyacinthus azureus, a little beauty 
amongst hardy bulbs, now blooming alongside of the 
Snowdrops and Crocuses. The small campanulate 
clear azure-blue flowers are collected in dense ovate 
heads, bearing a close resemblance to a species of 
Muscari, and the plant is in fact known under the 
name of Muscari linguatum. Forrockwork this is really 
charming, and should be planted in a somewhat 
sheltered position to prevent it from being driven 
about by the rude cold winds of February. It has been 
flowering for some time in the nursery of Mr. T. S. 
Ware, Hale Farm, Tottenham. On close inspection 
the individual flowers are much wider at the mouth 
than those of Muscari proper, which have globular, 
oblong, or cylindrical blooms with a more or less 
contracted mouth. The leaves are broad but somewhat 
inrolled at the sides like those of Chionodoxa Lucilise in 
the young state. It is a native of the mountains of 
Greece. 
Cyclamen Coum and C. Atkinsii. 
The first mentioned is one of the parents of the latter, 
while C. ibericum is the other parent. C. Coum 
flowers in winter and spring, while C. ibericum 
is much later. C. Atkinsii is intermediate 
between the parents as to the time of flowering. 
C. Coum has light pink or rosy purple flowers, with a 
much darker purple mouth. Its leaves are almost as 
round or orbicular as a penny piece, and uniformly 
deep green above. C. Atkinsii is very variable with 
regard to the colour of the flowers, having white, rose, 
purple or crimson corollas always several times in¬ 
tensified round the mouth of the short tube. The 
foliage is always distinguishable from that of C. Coum, 
by being marbled with grey on the upper surface. 
Those in possession of a frame or greenhouse would do 
well to secure the above Cyclamens or their varieties, 
as they are extremely pretty and easily managed. 
Some pans of them have been flowering in a cool pit 
since December in Mr. T. S. Ware’s nursery at the 
Hale Farm, Tottenham. At present they are extremely 
floriferous. They are also flowering on the rockery 
there. —*— 
Prunus Pissardii. 
A specimen of this in a pot in my cold house is now 
getting finely into bloom. It makes an excellent cool 
conservatory plant when grown in this way, and as it 
is naturally early not much forcing is required. The 
blossoms, as in the case of Plums, generally comes 
first, and then follows the pretty and striking red- 
coloured foliage. The flowers are pure white, with 
orange-coloured points to the stamens. It is so early 
in the year, and there is such an absence of sunlight 
and insects, that I can hardly expect the blossoms to 
set fruit, and I am not sure if the plants have done so 
in this country. But it has the twin merits of being 
highly valuable both as a flowering and a foliage 
plant, and the foliage retains its colour to the very 
last. As late as the first week in November some leafy 
sprays of it were cut in Gunnersbury Park. When 
planted in the open, this charming Prunus should have 
a warm sheltered spot, where it can be protected from 
frost and cold cutting winds. It is so pretty, useful, 
and has such a high decorative value that it deserves 
to find a place in every garden, large or small.— R. D. 
Chionodoxa sardensis. 
This species is now getting plentiful in gardens, and 
is equally suitable for cultivation in pots as in the 
open. None of the species probably like to be forced; 
but if potted up with other bulbs in autumn, and stood 
in a cold frame or one where a gentle heat is maintained, 
the flowers are produced much earlier than when grown 
in the open ground fully exposed to all kinds of 
weather. C. sardensis, moreover, flowers much sooner 
than C. Luciliee under natural conditions, and may be 
seen at present in Mr. Thomas S. Ware’s nursery 
at Tottenham. It is rather dwarfer in habit than 
its congener mentioned above, and has smaller, deeper 
blue flowers, with a small white eye. The colour is 
more intense even than in the well-known Seilla 
sibirica, whilst good bulbs produce a greater number of 
flowers on a scape. It was introduced from Smyrna. 
The Snowball Tree for Forcing. 
The sterile form of the Guelder Rose, namely, Viburnum 
opulus sterilis, may be kept in the form of small bushes, 
grown either in pots or planted in the open ground. 
In the latter case it requires only to be lifted with a 
good ball of soil, and transferred to a forcing pit or 
other house where a high temperature is maintained, 
such as a vinery or warm plant house. So treated it 
will afford some useful trusses of white flowers for cutting. 
If the plants are required for conservatory work, it will 
be necessary to pot them up when removed from the 
ground, or to grow them in pots for the purpose. 
When forced, however, the trusses never assume the 
same compact globular shape which we see in bushes 
flowered in the usual way, nor do the individual blooms 
attain the same size ; but white flowers at this season 
of the year are always in demand, both in the market 
and in private families. 
Salpiglossis. 
In order to do full justice to these beautiful half-hardy 
annuals, the seed should be sown as early as possible in 
spring on a gentle hot-bed, and grown on so as to make 
good-sized plants by bedding time. They are rather 
late in blooming as it is, but this period will be con¬ 
siderably hastened by early sowing. They delight in 
a warm sunny position, and will stand drought better 
than many other annuals. Last year the summer was 
rather too wet for them, but they improved consider¬ 
ably in the warm sunny days of September. During 
the hot dry summer of 1887 they were all in their 
glory, flowering splendidly. They are very useful as 
cut flowers, lasting a fairly long time in water. The 
blooms are rather quaint-looking, as many of the 
Scrophularia family are ; but the colours of most are 
very rich, some being beautifully veined and marbled. 
Altogether it is very useful in a collection of border 
flowers .—Alfred Gaut. 
Apple3 from Cuttings. 
I have seen in The Gardening World of February 
9th an article on Apples from cuttings. Our gardener 
has been in the habit of taking cuttings in the form of 
small branches, and inserting them in the ordinary 
garden soil. Those which are planted in spring bear 
fruit the following year, and the Apples are a good 
size and excellent for eating. A little tree planted as 
a cutting three years before, had more than forty fine 
good-sized Apples on it last autumn, and almost every 
cutting the gardener has taken in this way has been 
most successful. I do not know the name of the Apple, 
but it is rather flat at the ends, and of a pale yellow 
colour. The local (Galway) name is “White Flats.”— 
A Subscriber. [The variety is doubtless the Burr- 
Knott—the only one that can be so easily propagated 
in this way.— Ed.] 
TabernsBmontana. 
This is one of the most serviceable and highly prized of 
stove-flowering plants, yielding waxy white flowers in 
great abundance, the blooms being very fragrant. It 
is an easily-cultivated'plant, and should have all the 
encouragement possible to grow it rapidly. It delights 
in a free open loamy soil, and revels in a moist atmos¬ 
phere, generally requiring a period of rest or quiet 
during the winter. In the case of large plants they 
will stand in a greenhouse during the winter season, 
provided they are not too wet at the roots. It roots 
very freely from cuttings, and will flower in quite a 
small state, but it is from large plants that an abun¬ 
dant yield of flowers must be looked for. 
Thyrsacanthus rutilans. 
This is a showy winter-flowering plant, requiring a 
rich loamy soil to cause it to grow rapidly. When 
well grown it will yield a large quantity of its pendulous 
scarlet racemes of tubular flowers, that are very attrac¬ 
tive objects to the eye during the winter months, and 
a few plants stood about in a large stove would have a 
very telling effect amongst other things. Though an old 
plant, it should not be despised for stove decoration 
during the winter. 
Toxicophlsea. 
A fine subject for producing quantities of large trusses 
of white flowers. It roots freely from cuttings, and 
requires growing on sharp, pinching the growths till 
about July, after which the shoots should be allowed 
to grow, the strongest of them invariably terminating 
with a truss of flowers. I have seen it growing and 
flowering well trained to trellis-work, on the back wall 
of a lean-to stove, the roots being allowed to work 
through the bottom of the pot and ramble in a border 
that was prepared for other climbing plants. The rich 
dark green of the leathery foliage fully showed that 
the plant was at home in this position. — W. G. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
The Orchid Growers’ Calendar. 
Now that we are having a spell of cold drying winds, 
it is necessary to be particularly careful in the matter 
of ventilation, so as to avoid direct draughts, and 
ventilating should be principally carried out at the bottom 
of the house near the hot-water pipes, but taking every 
advantage of mild warm days to ventilate more 
thoroughly. These drying winds in the early days of 
spring generally seem to greatly favour the increase of 
green-fly and thrips, and it is hardly necessary to say 
that we must carry on perpetual warfare with them, if 
we wish the plants to thrive. Many a crippled spike of 
Odontoglossum owes its deformity to being attacked by 
yellow thrip at the time when the buds were small, and 
now that the flower spikes are pushing along rapidly, 
such enemies must be held in check. These remarks 
apply with double force to Miltonia vexillaria and 
Odontoglossum Harryanum, two subjects well worth a 
little extra trouble to have them in perfection. We 
find that they grow and thrive together much better 
since we adopted the plan of dipping them in weak 
tobacco water once a fortnight all the year round, 
excepting, of course, the time they are in bloom. One 
ounce of shag tobacco to a gallon of water is a very 
safe quantity. 
Now that the plants are being cleaned and attended 
to in the matter of re-potting or re-basketing, it is as 
well to take note of particular positions which certain 
plants, or batches of them, have occupied, for it is a 
well-known fact that by a change of position from the 
sunny to the shady side, or from the warm to the cold 
end of the house, plants may be greatly benefited, or 
otherwise. 
The shades have been required occasionally lately on 
the East Indian house, mainly for Phalamopsids ; and 
it is as well to see that the others are in readiness, for 
in many places it is necessary to shade a house because 
of the great variety of subjects it contains, many of 
which can stand but very little sun. Cattleyas need 
no shading at present, except to protect such as are in 
bloom, the extra light being very beneficial to such as 
C. Warnerii, which is thereby induced to flower more 
freely, as its growths are just now well advanced. 
Where Odontoglossums are grown in span-roofed houses 
running north and south, a little shade during the 
sunniest part of the day will be necessary ; but avoid 
over-shading, and aim at making firm bronzy bulbs and 
leaves, which produce stout spikes and flowers firm in 
texture. 
During the past week we have been cleaning through 
the Cattleyas in the growing house (the Triame section 
having been transferred previously into the flowering 
house), and thoroughly washing woodwork, glass, 
shingle, and stages, which all tends to sweeten the 
house, and make it more congenial to the occupants.- 
C. gigas and its varieties are now pushing, and should 
be afforded a very light position to ensure sheathing. 
C. Dowiana aurea is also on the move, and does best at 
the warmest end of the house ; while C. Gaskelliana is 
not by any means so particular, as it seems to in¬ 
variably produce sheaths in almost any position. — IF. P. 
Orchids from Priorwood, Melrose. 
Some Odontoglossums and Cattleya Triame alba have 
reached us from Alexr. Curie, Esq., Priorwood, 
Melrose. The Cattleya is an unusually fine form of the 
variety, judging from the specimen sent. It was pure 
white, with the exception of a large golden yellow 
blotch in the throat. Now, C. Trianre alba is described 
as having a small rosy purple or pale lilac blotch in 
front of the yellow blotch on the lip : but in the speci¬ 
men under notice we failed to detect any blotch of this 
shade whatever. Amongst the Odontoglossums was a 
specially fine form of 0. crispum, with very broadly 
ovate sepals flushed with rosy lilac externally, and 
shining through ; the petals were roundly triangular, 
strongly toothed, and pure white ; the lip also lobed 
and undulated, pure white, with a few brownish purple 
blotches. There was also a good creamy white 0. 
crispum Andersonianum, with the usual chestnut-brown 
streaks and blotches. What may be described as a 
variety of 0. Wilckeanum accompanied the others, 
This Odontoglot is supposed to be a natural hybrid 
between 0. crispum and 0. luteo-purpureum, but differs 
from the typical form in there being very few teeth on 
the petals. (See Yeitch’s Manual of Orchidaceous 
Plants, Part I., p. 78, where a figure is given.) 0. 
Wilckeanum is a variable plant at best, and the 
specimen sent has a greater number of blotches than 
the figure mentioned. The ground colour is sulphur- 
