386 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 15, 18B6. 
added to the list. C winnianum is rarely induced 
to bloom anywhere. On the contrary, C. chamber- 
lainianum blooms from January to December. Most 
curiou'ly striped is C. Dauthieri marmoratum. 
Something must be very congenial to Phalaenopsis 
schilleriana grown upon a block of wood, for it bears 
a branching flower stem about 3 ft. long, and two 
smaller ones from the same crown. Angraecum 
sanderianum is developing two or three scapes on 
each plant. The Pescatoreas are exceedingly well 
done here, for the specimens in baskets grow like 
weeds, and include P. klabochorum, P. Roezli rosea, 
P. R. alba and the charming P. Lehmanni with a 
curiously hirsute lip, and the other segments marbled 
and lined with purple. The plants are kept moist aU 
the year round and get the benefit of moisture from a 
tank beneath them. A fine batch of Vanda teres, in 
60-sized pots, is well done in another house. 
The collection of Dendrobiums is replete with good 
things, many of which are in bloom and hosts of 
others preparing to do so. The purple-throated 
D. Cassiope is otherwise pure white. Recent 
hybrids include a grand form of D. Juno, D. burford- 
iense and others raised in the establishment of Sir 
Trevor Lawrence. Standard sorts are D. leechianum, 
D. 1 . roseum, D. Ainsworthi, D. nobile Cooksoni and 
many other choice forms of D. nobile. Several 
Dendrobiums are also flowering in the Vanda house, 
and close by is a batch of Calanthe Williamsi, with 
a crimson centre to its white flowers. 
Cattleyas are showing numerous spathes in the 
house devoted to them, and the choice C. Trianaei 
Russell’s variety is already in full bloom. By the 
side of it is the little-known Brassavola cretacea with 
creamy-white segments. The charming little 
Pleione humilis with its bearded, fringed and purple- 
spotted lip, can hardly escape notice. The ever- 
popular Coelogyne cristata has been flowering for 
some time, and the chaste white C. c. alba has 
begun. It is grown in quantity. The cinnabar 
flowers of Laelia harpophylla always find numerous 
admirers. Lycaste fulvescens bears evidence of 
good cultivation, by pushing up fourteen flower 
scapes from one pseudobulb, and L. Deppei bears 
nine in like manner. 
Other Flowering Plants. 
A large batch of Eucharis in a very healthy condi¬ 
tion has been flowering freely since Christmas. 
Billbergia nutans represents a class of plants not 
much grown in this country, but the greenish 
flowers edged with blue, and the nodding spikes 
sheathed with rosy bracts in this case are very 
pretty. The brilliant spathes of Anthurium andre- 
anum sanguineum and A. Goliath are very striking ; 
those of the latter are of huge size. Chinese 
Primulas, with rose and white flowers, and Cycla¬ 
mens of various colours are in season and attractive. 
The Roman Hyacinths are now out of season, but 
their place is taken by large-flowering kinds, which 
render the atmosphere of a cool house fragrant. 
Various kinds of Tulips are being brought forward in 
batches, and the same may be said of Lily of the 
Valley, of which there is a great quantity in different 
stages of development and intended for cut flowers. 
The sweetly-scented sprays are of great size and 
purity. -2: 
Fine Foliage Plants. 
The firm has long been well known for its extensive 
collection of fine foliage plants, which must always 
find honourable place in every establishment where 
house decorations are of every-day or only occasional 
necessity. A foremost place must be given to the 
exceedingly graceful and ever-beautiful Aralia 
gracillima, which no gardener would omit from his 
list where plants of this class are cultivated at all. 
Scarcely less useful is A. Veitchii, with slightly 
wider leaflets. Verily the Aralias are not neglected 
here, judging from the number of species and the 
care they receive. Another beautiful subject is A. 
Reginae, of infinite grace; yet how comparatively 
seldom one meets with it. The slender leaflets are 
arranged in a circular fashion, like those of the types 
already mentioned. It holds the same relation to 
A. leptophylla as A. gracillima does to A. Veitchii, 
in having slightly broader leaflets. A. osayana has 
long finger-like leaflets, which are, however, of a 
sombre green compared with those of the sym¬ 
metrically-built A. kerchoveana, whose leaflets are 
bright green and deeply serrate at the edges. The 
gracefully-drooping A. Chabrieri, for which the 
botanists have another name, still finds favour with 
6 large number of growers, 
Calatheas and Marantas are grown in considerable 
numbers including M.vittata, beautifully striped with 
silvery-grey, the bands being in pairs. The 
Anthuriums belonging to the same family are well 
represented by A. Veitchi, with leaves a yard in 
length or more; also by the well-known A. crystal- 
linum, A. warocqueanum, and the less-known A. 
Dickii, whose lance-shaped, leathery leaves, 2 ft. to 
3 ft., are arranged ia the form of a vase. Akin to the 
above are the Alocasias, of which such splendid 
examples used to be seen at shows. Amongst these 
we noted A. metallica, with its metallic-looking 
leaves, the olive-green A. Bachii, with silvery veins, 
and the beautiful A. Putsyi with arrow-shaped 
leaves and silvery venation. They are amongst the 
most noble of stove plants. Though belonging to 
the Orchid family, Anoectochilus petola, with netting 
like golden filigree, and A. setaceus, with red vena¬ 
tion, are universally classed amongst the choicest 
gems of fine-leaved plants. 
Quite of another type are the Pitcher plants 
(Nepenthes), of which there is an extensive collection 
here. The plants have been cut down, re-basketed, 
and are commencing to push up their young shoots, 
so that we may expect a fine display of Pitchers 
when the leaves are fully developed. Independently 
of their beauty much interest will cling to this class 
of plants. Akin to these are the Sarracenias, of 
which a large number of hybrids are cultivated here, 
in a cooler house than that devoted to the Nepenthes. 
Other insectivorous plants here are Ptnguicula 
caudata, in a resting condition, and a fine lot of Venus' 
Fly-trap (Dionaea) just making their young leaves. 
Messrs. Williams are also noted for their narrow- 
leaved, gracefully and beautifully coloured Dracaenas, 
all of garden origin, and admirably adapted for table 
decoration. D. marginata has green leaves with 
narrow red edges, and the beautiful D. gracilis differs 
chiefly in its thinner and more drooping foliage. In 
speaking of the narrow-leaved sorts we refer more 
particularly to D. Alexander Laing, which may be 
taken as a type. The lower leaves are of a bronzy- 
olive, and the upper ones of a bright red. D. Princess 
May was new last year, and is handsome with its 
bronzy leaves with broad red edges. D. Miss 
Glendinning is notable for its dwarf habit as well as 
bronzy-olive leaves with red edges. It attains 
maturity when 18 in. high, and becomes very red or 
may flower, so that young plants must again be 
raised. All of the above are invaluable for decoration 
in 48-sized pots. Altogether different and handsome 
is the new D. Coulingii, with deep green leaves and 
broad white edges. A large collection of Crotons of 
all sizes and in great variety are grown for various 
purposes. One large plant we noted- consisted of 
several sorts grafted on the same bush. Charming 
is a new variety named C. Heathi elegans, the leaves 
of which are interrupted in the middle with the 
midrib only connecting the two halves, the lower of 
which is yellow, changing to red with age, while the 
upper is olive-green. A rare and distinct plant is 
Paulinia oceana, with bipinnate leaves, at once 
curious and graceful in habit. 
Palms. 
Though decidedly fine foliage plants the Palms are 
so distinct from everything else that we may well 
class them separately. The Victoria and Paradise 
Nurseries have for many years been celebrated for 
their large and varied collection of Palms of all sizes. 
They are more extensively used than ever for decora¬ 
tive purposes, and raised in greater quantities to 
meet the requirements of the present day. The 
Kentias are at once the most useful and the most 
often called into requisition for decoration of all 
kinds. The two leading species for this work are 
K. belmoreana and K. fosteriana, of which there are 
well-furnished plants, ranging from small seedlings 
in thumb pots to specimens 10 ft. or 12 ft. high. 
The graceful Cocos weddeliana is almost equally 
popular, and in fine condition here. Closely similar 
to the last, but less useful, is Geonoma gracilis. 
Thereis a splendid batchof plants of Rhaphis humilis, 
ranging from 6 in. to 2 ft. high, than which we have 
never seen a finer lot. The Palms are distributed 
through several houses, independently of the Palm- 
house and the large cool conservatory used for 
hardening off and keeping plants preparatory to 
using them for decorative purposes. In the former 
house we noted some very tall Cocos plumosa so 
much used for this work ; also Rhaphis flabelliformis, 
Phoenix rupicola, Latania borbonica, Areca sapida, 
of great height, and many others which a large staff 
of men were cleaning and keeping in readiness for 
every emergency. Along with Palms in one house 
was a fine lot of variegated Aspidistras. Besides the 
tall Palms and tree Ferns in the large conservatory, 
we noted a tall plant of Dracaena lentiginosa with 
bronzy-red leaves of a distinct character. 
-■*>- 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS. 
By the Editor. 
Orchids at Chardwar.—When calling at Chard- 
war I was pleased to find such a good display of 
Orchids in bloom. On entering the range of houses 
I found a grand bank of Coelogyne cristata in some 
8 in. paos, having 108 expanded blooms ; also hang¬ 
ing near was a grand plant of Dendrobium Ains- 
worthii in a 5-ia. basket, with 343 splendid blooms ; 
also D. nobile Cooksonii, with seventy blooms; 
D. Dominii, 160 blooms ; two splendid D. Cassiope 
with 100 blooms each; also several D. nobile, D. 
rubens, D. leechianum, D. luteolum, and others, alto¬ 
gether making a grand show. In the next house are 
many grand spikes of Phalaenopsis. P. stewartiana 
had forty-five blooms expanded, and P. schilleriana 
with fifty expanded blooms, and many others, P. ama- 
bilis and P. grandiflora included. In the same house 
are several spikes of Saccolabium Harrisonae, a 
splendid Cypripedium nitens superbum, and many 
other Cypripediums, including a grand form of C. 
bellatulum. In the cool house are some nice 
spikes of Odontoglossum crispum, O. Rossii, two 
good Pilumna nobilis, and several good varieties of 
Lycaste Skinneri. The Cattleya house contains 
some very fair varieties of C. Trianaei, and a.lovely 
form of Cattleya walkeriana with eight expanded 
blooms ; also at one end is a good batch of Laelia 
anceps, over 100 blooms being now open, February 
5th. I also noted a good form of Cymbidium 
eburneum in the same house, and a good form of Cym¬ 
bidium lowianum. The next house contains the fine 
plants of Dendrobium Phalaenopsis schroderianum, 
a few of which are still in bloom ; and also one fine 
plant of a good variety of D. superbiens, which has 
been in bloom many weeks .—J .G 
Cymbidium lowianum.—This Orchid has many 
excellent qualities, being easy of culture and will 
grow and flower with the greatest profusion in the 
intermediate house; the long, arching, graceful 
spikes are admirably adapted for room decoration. 
When visiting The Beeches, St. John's Wood (the 
residence of H. Druce, Esq.), I saw a splendid 
display of Cymbidium lowianum arranged on the 
froDt stage carrying forty-one huge spikes of bloom, 
which made a most magnificent display, a sight well 
worth seeing. Many seedling Cypripediums are 
now coming into bloom at The Beeches, mostly of 
the C. leeanum section. Some of the varieties are 
very distinct and pretty. I noticed one whose dorsal 
sepal was heavily spotted with a lovely white margin 
and of a beautiful light green at the base. There 
are many Cypripedium seedlings at The Beeches 
that will bloom during the next twelve months, they 
are now being watched very closely by Mr. Druce 
and his gardener, both of whonj are devotedly fond 
of Orchids.— J. McNab. 
Lycaste smeeana,—Many of the species of 
Lycaste have a considerable amount of green and 
brown shading in their flowers. That under notice 
is exceptionally clear and softly coloured in all its 
parts. The sepals are pure white, but the petals are 
beautifully and finely mottled with crimson-purple 
except a small portion of the apex. The lip has fine 
purple lines and soft purple spots all over the apical 
lobe and the edges are purple. It is a native of 
Guatemala, but was supposed by the late Professor 
Reichenbach to be a natural hybrid between Lycaste 
Skinneri and L. Deppei, taking its soft and beautiful 
colour, from the former. It first flowered in the 
rich collection of A. H. Smee, Esq., The Grange, 
Carshalton, after whom it was named in 1883. 
There is a beautiful illustration of it in the Orchid 
Album, pi. 516. 
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