March 9, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
439 
other four were of quite a distinct shade, and pale 
canary-yellow, almost white. On the whole they were 
notable for their size, one truss bearing flowers close 
upon 2 ins. in diameter. 
Miconia Hookeriana. 
The species of Miconia, as well as Tococa and other 
members of the same family notable for the dimensions 
and beauty of their foliage, attain their finest propor¬ 
tions in the young state, when they are, of course, more 
vigorous. The species of Miconia number some 300, of 
which only a few have been introduced, and are best 
known in gardens under the name of Cyanophyllum. 
The leaves are elliptic, rugose or wrinkled, and opposite. 
They are five-nerved, the three central ones being most 
prominent, and silvery white. The stem, together 
with the inflorescence, with the exception of the corolla, 
are densely felted with fine rusty-coloured hairs. The 
flowers are produced in terminal panicled cymes, and 
are white, but by no means conspicuous, so that for 
horticultural purposes the foliage alone determines the 
value of the plant. The form here described is men¬ 
tioned in Nicholson’s Dictionary of Gardening, under 
the name of M. H. trifasciata, and the appellation 
is given on account of the three silvery white nerves. 
The typical form is said to have the midrib only of 
this colour. That with three out of the five nerves of 
a silvery white is, however, the most common, and 
perhaps the only form cultivated. 
Narcissi in Water. 
The experiment may not be precisely new, but it may 
be interesting to those who grow plants for window 
decoration, to know that various species of Narcissus 
may be grown in glasses with equal facility as a 
Hyacinth. The trumpet Daffodils, including the largest 
kinds, both yellow and white, are most suitable, first, 
because the bulbs are large, and fit or occupy the mouth 
of the glasses best ; and secondly, because large flowers 
are more conspicuous and better reward the trouble of 
growing them. Produced under these conditions they 
attain their normal size, and the colours are pure, clean, 
and very attractive. They should not, in the proper 
sense of the term, be forced, but merely urged on gently 
by a genial temperature. "When in flower they should 
also be kept cool, in order that the blooms may 
endure longer. Several kinds have been flowered in 
this way in the nursery of Mr. T. S. "Ware, Hale Farm, 
Tottenham. 
Thrinax radiata. 
None of the fan Palms are more graceful in outline 
than are some of the species of Thrinax, particularly 
T. radiata, variously known in gardens under the names 
ofT. elegans and T. gracilis. It is a native of Trini¬ 
dad, from whence it was introduced in 1838. The chief 
elements of beauty reside in the fineness of the leaves, 
their regularly radiating, almost wheel-like shape, and 
the length of the segments, which are so slender that 
they droop elegantly all round the body of the leaf. 
The smooth and refined appearance of the leaf is due, 
in a great measure, to the slender character of the 
principal ribs; while the whole is supported on a slender, 
smooth, not spiny, petiole. It is also a dwarf, slow- 
growing Palm, and the oldest specimen in cultivation 
does not attain any great height. For instance, the 
stem of T. excelsa, as measured below the leaves, may 
be from 6 ft. to 10 ft., whereas that of T. radiata would 
not exceed 2 ft. or 3 ft ; even then a plant takes many 
years to attain this height. Bearing this in mind, it 
may be grown in private establishments for many years 
before it gets too big to be readily accommodated in the 
conservatory or stove, while in the young state it is 
exceedingly graceful. 
Olivia (Imantophyllum) miniata robustum. 
The time is now rapidly approaching when the Olivias 
will be in full season. Some of them have been flower¬ 
ing for many weeks past, according to the temperature 
in which they have been grown. The main batch in 
the nursery of Mr. B. S. Williams, Upper Holloway, 
are rapidly pushing up their spikes, and appearances 
promise a good harvest of flowers. The variety above 
mentioned is in full bloom in the large conservatory, and 
has, as its name implies, very robust spikes bearing 
large umbels of rich orange-scarlet flowers, giving place 
to pale yellow and white in the throat and tube. The 
segments are very broad compared with those of the 
type, or even with some of the darker-coloured and 
named varieties that first appeared amongst seedlings. 
The whole plant is very robust, with long, leathery, 
thong-shaped, deep green leaves. In the same house 
is a large plant of C. m. splendens in flower— one of 
the earliest, and still a good named variety. It is 
characterised by the richness of the colouring of the 
flowers, and this may be described as of a brilliant 
scarlet, but possessing a tendency, of course, towards 
orange, which is so prevalent in the flower of this 
noble species. Although they may be flowered in the 
greenhouse, the Olivias do best when kept in an inter¬ 
mediate or even stove temperature while throwing up 
their flower-spikes, as the blooms are larger and the 
colours brighter. 
Prunus Pissardii Out of Doors. 
A Cork correspondent writes :—This lovely shrub, 
referred to by “ R. D. ” in your last issue, has been in 
flower at Mr. Hartland’s grounds, Temple Hill, Cork, 
since the middle of January. It is now very beautiful, 
and one mass of bloom, a splendid subject for a 
photograph. What a difference in the climate, and 
what a garden of flowers should the southern portion 
of Ireland be capable of producing ! White Daffodils 
we noticed in full bloom out-of-doors in the middle of 
February. A bed of Narcissus Poeticus is now a 
complete mass of bloom, also out-of-doors (March 1st, 
1889.) 
Thunbergia Harrisii. 
I was much pleased to see this admirable climber 
noticed in your last issue, for I often think it is a 
matter for regret that it and some other splendid stove 
climbers are so seldom met with under circumstances 
favourable to their full development, not many caring 
to devote the space to them which is required to see 
them at their best. The names of several occur to me 
which I think worthy of more extended cultivation than 
they at present meet with. For instance, Beaumontia 
grandiflora, one of the finest stove plants, with large 
white trumpet-shaped flowers, is very seldom seen. 
Thunbergia (Hexacentris) mysorensis is a superb flower. 
Ipomcea Horsfallia? is better known and more widely 
cultivated, and I think that after Stephanotis and 
Allamandas, this should come next when planting 
climbers for the roofs of the stove. It is not so rampant 
a grower as the next one I shall name, viz., Ipomsea 
Learii, which I flowered fairly well in a warm green¬ 
house some years back, but it is well worthy of the best 
position which can be afforded. — W. B. G. 
-- 
THE ORIGIN OF THE FLUKE 
POTATO, 
You have all heard about the Fluke Fotato, and I will 
tell you how it came to be raised. There was a florist 
living at Birch, named John Turner. He and a friend 
were walking through a field! where there were some 
Potatos of the Lapstone Kidney kind. They were 
crabbing very heavily. So he said, “These Potatos 
are crabbing very heavily,” and he got a stem on which 
there was only one large crab, and he pulled it, and 
sowed it. The result was that among the kinds raised 
from that one crab was the Fluke. It was not named 
the “ fluke ” in the sense of the word as applied in the 
game of billiards, but because of its flatness and its 
resemblance to plaice, commonly called “ flukes. ” But, 
however, this was a very small incident, and a verv 
little matter perhaps ; but it did an immense amount 
of good, as we all know, especially to the farmers in 
Thornham, Hopwood, Pilsworth, and neighbourhood. 
It was planted about the year 1851 to 1853 exclusively, 
and the sale of it and the price were something 
enormous. They used to get £1 a load for them, 
which was four times the price of the previous year with 
other kinds, and it gave a great lift to farmers in our 
immediate neighbourhood, and also did great good to 
the country. 
Many people, as I think I have heard our friend Mr. 
Tait say, made large sums of money by the circum¬ 
stance, and it shows how a little thought may be the 
means of doing a benefit to a number of people and 
adding to the national wealth. When this poor fellow 
got old in life, the late Oswald Dickin, of Middleton, 
started a benefit subscription; I was on the committee, 
we collected £120 or so, and bought him an annuity of 
10s. a week ; but he only lived about three months 
after it was bought. In those days to which I refer, 
farmers were rejoicing in the prices and ready reckon¬ 
ings. There were no odd coppers ; twelve loads were 
£12, and on market days they used to get a glass or two 
extra. On one occasion there was one of them named 
Fitton, and another, I think, named Tetlow, who were 
racing home in their milk carts ; Fitton got too near 
the edge of the road, and catching a stone, was toppled 
over the hedge and down an embankment. There were 
three or four carts in company, and it was expected to 
pick the poor fellow up killed or seriously injured, but 
they found him lying at the bottom fairly comfortable 
and uninjured, and when they had shook him up a bit 
he said, “Lads, these flukes at a pound a load’ll either 
kill or lawm some of us afore we’ve done wi’ em.”— 
From a paper on “ Garden Gossip,” by Mr. Samuel 
Barlow. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
--*»- 
Freak of Cypripedium Argus. 
We noticed a singular curiosity the other day in the 
nursery of Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton. 
Amongst other kinds there is always a large number 
or quantity of this Orchid in the nursery, and a 
wonderful amount of variation also presents itself 
amongst the flowers with regard to the number, size, 
and depth of colouring of the blotches. Amongst the 
rest a monstrous form presented itself, in which the 
standard was reduced to a narrow white stripe with 
four longitudinal deep green veins running through it. 
On each side of this the petals had become completely 
united by their edges, thus transferring the blotches to 
the standard. The specific name was suggested by 
these blotches, Argus being a deity of Greek mythology 
surnamed Panoptis, or the All-seeing, because he was 
reputed to have a hundred eyes. The lateral sepals, 
normally united, were split down some considerable 
way, and the staminode was divided longitudinally 
into two, giving the whole flower a singular appear¬ 
ance. 
ANGR/ECUM CITRATUM. 
A charming appearance is now presented in the 
Angraecum house of Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, 
by a bank of A. citratum, occupying nearly the whole 
of one side of the house. There are from 2,000 to 
2,500 spikes of bloom, of which about one-third was 
fully expanded at the time of our visit. The flowers 
are pale lemon, with a lilac-tinted patch on the lip just 
beneath the column. The curiously bent spur offers 
another curious illustration of the effects of insect 
agency in moulding the form of the flowers. It is first 
directed backwards, then perpendicularly, and lastly 
directed forward again, so that it forms two knees and 
almost three sides of a square. Individually the 
flowers are not large, but they are closely arranged in 
two ranks upon the same level, and the spikes are 
arching, giving the whole a very graceful appearance. 
There is a wonderful variation, however, with regard to 
the size of the flowers on different plants, some having 
blooms twice the size of others. The plants are all 
grown in baskets, and are very suitable for suspending 
near the glass. 
Cypripedium Schlimii at Home. 
As an indication of the nature of the situation which 
this Slipperwort occupies in its native home, it may be 
stated that Mr. Shuttleworth, while out collecting, had 
sometimes to wade knee-deep in water to get at it. 
This does not necessarily imply that the plant is sub¬ 
merged to that depth all the year round, but we infer 
from it that the soil is wet, spongy, and liable to be 
inundated during certain periods of the year. It also 
grows at an elevation of 4,000 ft. on the Cordillera of 
New Granada, so that under cultivation it requires to 
be kept tolerably cool and moist all the year round. 
The white variety, C. S. album, is flowering at present 
with Messrs. Shuttleworth, Carder & Co., at 191, Park 
Road, Clapham. The flowers are white, with the 
exception of a rosy purple ring surrounding the mouth 
of the pouch, and a yellow staminode. Thesj organs 
of the flower are the last to part with the colour they 
possess, and no variety of C. Schlimii has yet been 
found with pure white flowers. 
Odontoglossum Cervantesii decorum. 
At Wray Park, Reigate, the residence of J. Simpson, 
Esq., a really splendid variety of Odontoglossum 
Cervantesii decorum is now in full -bloom. It carries 
three very fine flower spikes, one with seven fully 
expanded flowers, one with three, and another with 
two blooms. The individual flowers are of extra¬ 
ordinary size, many of them measuring 3J ins. across. 
The sepals, petals, and lip are very broad, making a 
complete circle ; the lip is beautifully decorated with 
numerous spots. — J. McNab. 
Cattleyas from Arddarroch. 
Some fine samples of Cattleya blooms, varieties of C. 
Trian®, have been sent us by Mr. R, C. Fraser, gardener 
to R. B. White, Esq., Arddarroch, Garelochead, 
Dumbarton. There was a spike of C. T. alba bearing 
two flowers. Both sepals and petals were white, the 
latter being the purest, and the difference distinctly 
discernible. The lip had the usual yellow blotch, with 
a faint tint of blush in it, which, however, may not 
always be constant. Amongst the number was a 
splendid form of T. delicata, of grand dimensions. 
The sepals and petals were of a pale blush-purple, the 
latter measuring individually 4 ins. in length. The lip 
was rather darker in colour, with a large pale yellow 
