Oct. 4th, 1884. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
69 
EUCHARIS CANDIDA. 
DECORATIVE PLANTS. 
A run through the nursery since then has enabled me 
to give you a list of some of the leading plants grown in 
quantities for this kind of work. Palms are cultivated 
extensively, many of the plants, especially Latanias 
and Seaforthias, being large specimens ; and quantities 
of Phcenix reclinata of medium size are used, as 
this Palm bears a lot of knocking about. Mr. Spinks 
regards Phoenix rupicola as a grand decorative 
Palm. Ferns are extensively grown—Maiden-hairs 
in great quantity—and much attention is paid to 
Pteris serrulata cristata major, a truly fine variety for 
decorative work. Amongst newer Ferns grown in 
quantity are the new Adiantums, Lathomi, Victoria?, 
and A. Pacottii, a dwarf dense-growing kind. 
Another fern, Onycliium auratum, is a very beautiful 
fern which will be in great request when more known. 
What charming decorative plants the 
climbing Asparaguses are ! A. plu- 
mosum nanum is well known, and 
a great acquisition is to be found 
in A. tenuisissimus, a distinct and 
beautiful kind of easy propagation. 
Caladiums are much in demand, and 
Baroness James de Bothschild is the 
finest variety yet sent out, in habit 
resembling Perle des Jardins, but 
more brilliant in colour, with rich car¬ 
mine veins and colouring. Dracaenas 
are also extensively grown, so also 
are Arums, Poincettias (grown to 
perfection), and double-flowered Zonal 
Pelargoniums. For decorative work, 
Eulalia japonica vari'egata and E. 
japonica zebrina are two invaluable 
plants, as they fill in so well amongst 
stiffer habited subjects. 
Tuberoses, especially Pearl, are eulti* 
vated in large quantities, so also are 
Bouvardias, and they are done well. 
Canna Ehemanni, with its large rich 
rosy crimson flowers, is a favourite, 
and Cyclamens, Double Chinese Prim¬ 
ulas, and Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissus, 
and many other bulbs, are all grown 
in large quantities. Eucharises of 
course are much used, E. amazonica 
being largely in demand, while E. 
Candida and E. Sanderiana are also 
in much favour. Medeola asparagoides 
is a lovely and most useful trailing 
plant for festooning and falling down 
amongst other plants. Cocos Wed- 
deliana is much used by Mr. Spinks 
in conjunction with the Medeola and 
Asparagus for delicate decorative work. 
Amongst the Begonias grown in this 
establishment, B. Knowsleyana is the 
most valuable, it being an all-summer 
and early winter bloomer. The im¬ 
mense demand for wreaths, crosses, 
and wedding orders, necessitates the 
cultivation of a great lot of chiefly 
White Chrysanthemums, the earliest 
blooms obtained being Souvenir d’un 
Ami and Le Petite Marie ; and for 
mid-season blooming, Madame Des- 
grange and Lady Selborne are the 
favourites. For the latest bloom, Mr. 
Spinks grows Elaine, Mrs. George 
Bundle, Mrs. Dixon, George Glenny, 
Peter the Great, Princess Teck, and 
Ethel, the latest of all. 
Out-door decorative plants, especially 
for cut - flower work, also receive 
attention, notably Single and other Dahlias. Cannell’s 
Glare of the Garden is very showy, so also is the 
Parrot Dahlia, an orange and scarlet single variety. 
The Single Dahlias here are very brilliant, and a 
few of the best are Vivid, lutea grandiflora, Crimson 
Beauty, White Queen, Paragon, Novelty, Mauve 
Queen Improved, Lucy Ireland, Orangeman, Brutus, 
Negress, Asculon, aurantia superba, Mrs. Bowman, 
and Cetewayo, a rich velvety crimson and purple- 
coloured variety; Evening Star, Fire King, Magni¬ 
ficence, Defiance, Acquisition, Aurata, and Beauty 
of Cambridge. A long row of Constance (the 
so-called White Cactus Dahlia) is very showy, and 
it is an excellent decorative variety.— Rambler, 
EUCHARIS CANDIDA. 
This, without doubt, takes high rank among the few 
first-class white flowers that are to be had by judicious 
management at all seasons of the year if only a suffi¬ 
cient stock of it is kept, and the necessary heat is at 
command ; under other circumstances than these 
it is better not to attempt its culture. Like its allied 
species, E. grandiflora, it can be had in flower at any 
date for which it may be wanted, by resting the roots 
for a time after growth is completed in a cooler tem¬ 
perature than that in which they were grown, and at 
the same time reducing the water supply to a minimum, 
though not to such an extent as to cause them to lose 
their leaves, a practice that some cultivators still 
adopt. I never allow the leaves to flag for any length 
of time, say an hour or two at the 
farthest. After a rest they should 
be subjected to the same heat as that 
in which they were grown, when they 
will speedily push up their flower- 
spikes. Unless required for excep¬ 
tional purposes, however, I doubt if 
anything is gained by the resting 
system, as I have proved beyond 
question that as many flowers can be 
obtained from the plants by always 
keeping them in the stove as by the 
other system. I am not going to say 
that so many spikes will be produced 
at a time as when the plants have 
been rested, but I am sure that in the 
aggregate there are quite as many 
or more produced, and for ordinary 
purposes it is more useful to have a 
few spikes only at a tune and to have 
them often. 
The compost I use, and find the 
plants do well in, is composed of two 
parts of fibry loam to one of peat, 
with a liberal allowance of sand and 
either broken crocks or pounded char¬ 
coal mixed with it to keep it open 
and sweet, for anything approaching 
to sourness will soon cause them to go 
wrong. If, however, the loam should 
be of a clayey nature, I use more 
peat, but on no account would I have 
peat form the larger proportion. 
The plant from which the singular 
spike here illustrated was cut is one 
that flowered at Easter, producing 
several spikes. It has been kept in 
the stove without any special prepara¬ 
tion, and lately produced thirteen 
other spikes, none of them, however, 
showing any signs of fasciation. It is 
grown in an 8-in. pot, and is one of 
a batch of imported bulbs received 
here hi May, 1883. When received 
they were in a much-shrivelled state, 
and, being busy, I thought a few days 
on a gravel stage would do them no 
harm. They were put under the shade 
of some ferns, and in that position 
they remained for two or three weeks, 
which caused them to plump up, and 
on being transferred to the 8-in. pots, 
about eight bulbs in each, they at 
once commenced to grow freely. 
Many object to this Eucharis on the 
score of its being a shy-flowerer, but I 
cannot agree that such is the case, as 
when properly grown it is very free. 
I have, however, met with a plant bearing the name 
of Candida, which, except in colour, is more like a 
Phadrsenassa than anything I know, and which must 
in no way be confounded with the true E. Candida, 
which is really a first-class plant, the flowers being 
invaluable for button-hole or other bouquets. — 
E. Dumper, Gardener to J. Fitz-Gcrald Bannatyne, 
Esq., Somerville, Limerick. 
Mb. Thisxleton Dyer, F.B.S., Assistant-Director of 
the Boyal Gardens, Kew, delivered the inaugural 
sessional address at the meeting of the Pharmaceutical 
Society on Wednesday evening. 
It is surprising how the demand for in-door decora¬ 
tive plants increase, and if we need evidence of the 
fact, it is only necessary to visit Covent Garden Market 
occasionally, and under the guidance of some one who 
knows, take a run round amongst the great growers 
of these things. London does not absorb all, for a 
large number of these plants are sent off to various 
parts of the country, especially to the larger towns. 
Birmingham is a town that takes the lead in many 
things, and it is a question if there is any other town 
in the provinces where there is a greater demand for 
cut flowers in various forms, or where there is so great 
a demand for in-door decorative plants and decorations 
on a large scale. There are several large nurseries 
where great attention is paid to this particular branch 
of the business, and the Market Hall is always Yvell 
supplied with decorative plants and flowers. One 
nurseryman in particular, Mr. Hans Niemand, is 
doing a very large business in the cut-flower trade, 
and is taking the lead entirely in floral decorations on 
a large scale. On two occasions recently I had the 
opportunity of seeing the completed arrangement of 
about 2,000 plants each time in the magnificent 
municipal buildings in Birmingham, and the grand 
staircase and windows, corridors, and reception rooms 
were very tastefully arranged under the superinten¬ 
dence of Mr. William Spinks, the manager of the 
nursery. 
