358 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 2, 1895. 
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
Hand-list of Trees and Shrubs Grown in 
Arboretum. Part I.: Polypetalae. London: 
Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, by 
Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1894. 
As stated in the preface, this is the first of a series 
of hand-lists in which the names of all the living 
plants grown in the Royal Gardens, at Kew, will in 
the course of time be enumerated. The arrangement 
of the names is on the natural system of classifica¬ 
tion, so that the present book of 297 pages gives only 
those trees and shrubs which have free petals, and 
corresponds in fact to the first volume of the " Genera 
Plantarum.” Amongst the purposes which it will 
serve, is an aid in “ establishing an approximate 
standard of nomenclature.” This, indeed, would be 
a great gain to horticulture and arboriculture 
generally, for nothing is more conflicting and 
aggravating, even if not confusing, than the 
heterodox system of nomenclature which prevails 
even in the best and oldest established nurseries, 
both at home and abroad. In each case the names 
are retained which were first known or under which 
they were received, notwithstanding the fact that in 
the next garden or nursery, perhaps only a few 
hundred yards off, the plants may be the same, but 
the names different. The first catalogue of the 
plants at Kew was published in 1768, and contained 
the names of some 3,389 species, of which 488 were 
hardy trees and shrubs. A rough census of the 
distinct forms now in'cultivation brings the number 
up to 20,000, including 3,000 trees and shrubs. 
Previous to this there has been no complete cata¬ 
logue published since 1814. Visitors who are in any 
way interested in the living specimens must be 
thankful for the present instalment and hope that 
the other lists may not long be delayed. 
Besides species and well-marked botanical varieties, 
less important garden varieties and hybrids are given 
in the list together with the synonyms that vex the 
soul of many a practical gardener, but which afford 
the only means of sifting out the true names from 
the erroneously applied mass that often masks the 
identity of the same plant in different gardens. 
Garden hybrids of Magnolias are classed as varieties 
under the parent to which they are evidently most 
closely allied, and at other time separately when 
clearly distinct from both parents. The Rosaceae 
has always given a great amount of trouble to 
botanists on account of the difficulty of defining the 
limits of genera, but particularly in the tribes 
Pruneae and Pomeae. All the stone fruits are 
classed under Prunus, while the old generic terms 
are reserved as headings into which the genus is 
divided with a separate alphabetical arrangement to 
each section. As an indication of the divided state 
of opinion amongst botanists with regard to the 
stone fruits, we may state that the recently imported 
Abbe David’s Almond (Prunus davidiana) has been 
classed amongst the Plums by one author, as a 
Peach by another, as an Almond by a third, and as an 
Apricot by a fourth. We mean that they have used 
as many as four distinct generic names for this one 
tree. Where it is so difficult to see a clear line of 
demarkation between two or more assumed genera, 
the better plan is to merge them into one. The 
sections into which Prunus is divided are Amygdalus 
(Almond, Peach), Armeniaca (Apricot), Prunus 
(Plum), Cerasus (Cherry), Padus (the Bird Cherry), 
and Laurocerasus (the Evergreen Cherries or Cherry 
Laurels). All this is quite clear, but difficulties still 
exist with regard to some of the species of Prunus, 
as the hosts of synonyms clearly testify. 
The ink and brains that have been spilt and spent 
(we shall not say wasted) over such species as 
Prunus pseudo-cerasus and P. serrulata are some¬ 
thing marvellous, and we doubt not will continue. 
Gardeners and botanists have vied with each other 
in the bestowal of names upon them, and in some 
cases it is doubtful to which species the garden name 
refers. When they have had their brief day of popu¬ 
larity these Cherries will sink into obscurity or oblivion 
till some gardener, perhaps, in the course of the next 
hundred years will accidentally discover their merits 
and rescue them from some outlandish corner of the 
land and re-christen them. Then the botanist will 
come to the rescue and the old battle will be renewed 
along the whole line. The names as they now stand in 
the " Hand-list,” with their numerous synonyms,have 
been identified with the originally described and 
therefore type specimens, and should be written with 
indelible ink on imperishable labels. 
Other instances of disparity of opinion might be 
given in the genus Prunus, but we now turn to Pyrus, 
which has also had a conflicting history. In the 
■' Hand-list ” it is divided into seven sections, and 
consistently with the “ Genera Plantarum ” includes 
the species formerly classed under Cydonia (Quince) 
and Mespilus (Medlar). We could have wished 
Mespilus to be retained as a distinct genus on 
account of the bony endocarp, which seems to show 
more affinity with Crataegus than Pyrus. Contrary 
to the opinion of the ” Genera Plantarum,” 
Eriobotrya japonica has been separated from 
Photinia. As there was a species of Pyrus named 
P. sinensis and P. chinensis, and another named P. 
sinaica, it has been necessary to make a new name 
for Cydonia sinensis, and to obviate the confusion it 
has been named Pyrus cathayensis. P. spuria, a 
tree of hybrid origin has had no less than six generic 
and five specific names bestowed upon it, so that we 
cannot be too thankful for an authoritative and 
reliable list like the present. 
Amongst the general features of the book to be 
noticed is that the names are printed entirely on the 
right hand page, and the left hand one left blank, so 
that any gardener or other who may use the list can 
mark the species in his collection, and write any 
additions he may make upon the blank page. In 
the naming of species capital letters are used in the 
case of old generic names, native names, and proper 
names in the genitive case. Prunus Amygdalus (the 
Almond), Prunus Mume and P. Simonii (Simon's 
Peach) are instances of all three respectively. But 
when an adjective is formed from the name of a 
place or even a proper name, small letters are used 
such as P. japonica (the Japan Cherry) and P. 
grayana (the Grayian Cherry). We had hoped that 
the “ Hand-list ” had followed the reformed method 
of uncoupling the letters of diphthongs, such as ae 
instead of se. Prunus graeca, P. Chamaecerasus, 
Paeonia, Holboelia, Rubus Idaeus, Hedera Helix 
Roegneriana, and Spiraea are set free, why not 
iEgle, Ilicineae, .Esculus, Euonymus europasus, E. 
europaeus aucubaefolius, and others ? The cases are 
so equally divided that we can hardly exculpate the 
printer except in the terminations of the names of 
the orders. 
-.*>--- 
LISIANTHUS RUSSELIANUS. 
This must, I think, be an almost forgotten plant in most 
gardens, though quite as beautiful, to say the least, as 
Pleroma elegans, which is better known, and the intro¬ 
duction of which may have had some influence upon 
the fortunes of the Lisianthus. Being easily managed 
and having flowers of a similar colour, the Pleroma 
rapidly became a general favourite with growers, 
whether exhibitors or not, and since then the Lisi¬ 
anthus has rarely been seen so well done as it can 
be. My first acquaintance with it dates back a long 
way, when I had the pleasure of seeing a plant in 
full flower fit to grace any exhibition table, and if 
a similar one should by any chance again find its 
way to any of our great flower shows, I believe it 
would be among the most admired things exhibited. 
One very general mistake has been in regarding 
it as an annual, for it cannot be grown to full perfec¬ 
tion as such. Sow in April or .Mayina tempera¬ 
ture of 70 l? , by the end of June pot singly into 
thumbs, still keeping them close and warm. During 
August shift them into large sixties, and when 
established in these, give plenty of air to harden them 
off so that they will go through the winter better. 
From October to January keep them on an airy 
shelf in thej greenhouse ; then select some of the 
strongest plants and put them into a moderately 
warm house or pit, and when growth is fairly com¬ 
menced, shift into 48’s, using a compost of one 
half of fibrous yellow loam, a fourth of peat and 
equal parts of leaf soil and sharp sand. Early in 
March they should be ready for another shift, and 
by the end of April another to 24-sized pots. Never 
give too large a shift; small shifts, so that the 
roots get well interwoven in the soil, are better for 
this subject than large ones, because the fibres run 
so quickly to the sides of the pot. I have called 
attention to old favourites, hoping that someone will 
be led to deliver a worthy plant from the neglect into 
which it has fallen owing to the multiplicity of 
aspirants to popular favour.— W. B. G. 
The National Chrysanthemum Society's Year Book 
for 1895 .—Edited by Mr. Harman Payne, F.R.H.S. Price, is. 
post free, is. ijd., from the Publisher of the Gardening 
World, i, Clement's Inn, Strand, W.C. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
By John Fraser, F.L.S., Kew. 
Odontoglossum cordatum aureum. —The 
typical form of this species has reddish-brown sepals 
tinted with yellow at the base and apex and a few 
transverse lines of the same hue. The petals, on the 
contrary, are yellow and enlivened with reddish- 
brown spots, while the lip is white or pale yellow 
frequently marked with brown at the base and tip. 
The variety under notice is much paler owing to the 
brown having been washed out, so to speak, leaving 
a pale sulphur ground, and in the cases of the petals 
spotted with pale olive. The lip is mostly white. 
Similar cases occur in O. Insleayi Imschootianum, O. 
Schlieperianum xanthinum, O. triumphans var., and 
O. luteo-purpureum Vuylstekeanum. O. cordatum 
aureum is represented by a coloured plate in the 
Lindenia PI. 430. It becomes more interesting by 
contrast with the type. Both should be grown in 
a somewhat higher temperature than the allied O. 
maculatum, owing to the different degrees of warmth 
of the countries from which the two species come. 
Odontoglossum crispum ocellatum. —This 
beautiful variety of O. crispum appeared in the 
collection of W. Thompson, Esq., Walton Grange, 
Stone, Staffs, about the end of 1893. Novelties are still 
looked for amongst importations of this popular and 
remarkable species. That under notice departs 
from the usual run of varieties in the matter of 
markings. Instead of large blotches mostly arranged 
one way or another in the central portion of the 
segments, there are small and very numerous spots 
crowded towards the margin on each side, but within 
the white margin. The rosy ground colour of the 
same region recalls O. c. Ruckerianum, but the 
variety differs from that in the broader and more or 
less overlapping segments. There is a figure of it in 
tha Lindenia PI. 429. 
Aerides quinquevulnerum. —The flowers of 
this species are similar in size and form to those of 
the well known A. odoratum. The specific name 
refers to a blotch on the tip of each sepal and petal, 
making five in number, so that the name means five 
wounds. These blotches are purple, but vary 
greatly in depth of colour according to the variety. 
In fine forms the white sepals and petals are more 
or less spotted all over with fine purple markings. 
The lip is similar, but the middle lobe is purple. The 
species is a native of the Island of Luzon, and in 
this country flowers, as a rule, during July and 
August, lasting in perfection for a considerable time. 
It may be relied upon to flower freely every year 
provided it is kept in a moist, warm atmosphere 
while making its growth. There is a closely allied 
spceies, whose flowers have similar blotches, namely 
A. Lawrenceanum, and the blooms being larger, it is 
looked upon with more favour than the older A. 
quinquevulnerum, but it flowers less freely as a rule, 
probably owing to the small pieces in cultivation. 
There is a plate of the species under notice in the 
Orchid Album, Pl. 495 
Dendrobium Dalhousieanum at Hernewood, 
Sevenoaks. —This fine old Orchid is doing wonder¬ 
fully well in the stove house at the above place, 
under the able management of Mr. Talmage, the 
gardener. One plant in an 8-in. pot has six new 
growths ranging from 2 ft. up to over 3 ft. in height, 
whilst others in smaller pots are doing equally well, 
and will at the proper season, produce plenty of its 
beautiful flowers, as the old bulbs look very promis¬ 
ing for bloom. It flowers in April and lasts in good 
condition about a week.— S. 
THE PLANT HOUSES, 
The Stove. 
The turn of the year has at last arrived, and the 
days are beginning to lengthen perceptibly. While 
it was neither safe nor advisable to excite the plants 
any more than could be helped during the season 
when the great stimulator of plant life, " light,” 
only condescended to stay with us for a very brief 
space, now that the season has advanced so far this 
fear need not be entertained to any extent. In the 
warmest stove the usual temperature during the night 
has been about 6o° Fahr. This may now be kept 
slightly on the increase, the atmosphere being 
moister in proportion to the increase in heat. In all 
