422 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 4, 1893 
clean pots, at the same depth as formerly, and press 
the soil rather firmly about them. No staking, for 
the present at least, should be necessary, provided 
the plants have previously been grown under favour¬ 
able conditions for giving solid and short-jointed 
wood. After the operation is completed return the 
plants to the greenhouse, standing them on staging 
as near the glass as possible, so that when they com¬ 
mence to grow the shoots may not get drawn. No 
water will be necessary for some time, till the plants 
commence to grow or until the heat of the sun begins 
to dry the soil too much by evaporation. When 
brought on in this way purely by the natural rise of 
temperature, the growth made is more substantial, 
and the duration of the flowering period greatly ex¬ 
tended. When in full growth, or even in flower, 
Fuchsias enjoy an overhead bath from the syringe 
or garden engine immensely in the afternoon just be¬ 
fore reducing the amount of ventilation for the night. 
An abundance of top air should always be left on in 
summer, as it keeps the plants healthy and the wood 
short-jointed. 
-i-.- 
fjARDENING fflSCELLANY. 
THE GARDENING CHARITIES. 
In reference to the insertion in your issue of Jan. 21 
of what local societies can do in aiding gardening 
charities, I should like to mention the fact that in 
addition to the ^136 10s. which the Reigate and 
District Chrysanthemum Society have paid in to the 
Royal Gardeners’Royal Benevolent Institution, they 
have also remitted no less a sum than £80 to the 
Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund, and have thus also 
nominated sixteen of its members as life subscribers 
of that institution. Independent of either of the 
above a sum of ^31 10s. has been handed over to a 
local charity, viz., St. Anne’s School, Redhill. 
There are undoubtedly a good many schemes 
advocated by which one can assist such deserving 
institutions, but what could be more successful than 
the foregoing, as we have realised the splendid sum 
of £248 for the three institutions during the four 
years the society has been established . — Harry Bailey, 
The Briars, Reigate. 
ASPARAGUS TENUISSIMUS. 
The general habit of this plant is very similar to 
that of A. plumosus, inasmuch as it is a slender 
climber, but the difference in minor details and in 
appearance is considerable. The ultimate slender 
twigs or branches, generally termed leaves by gar¬ 
deners, are fewer, but longer and finer than those of 
A. plumosus. The fascicles or clusters are not 
arranged on one plane so as to give the flattened and 
plumose character of A. plumosus. On the other 
hand they are disposed about the main branches in 
the most graceful manner, thus earning the title 
expressed in the specific name. It was introduced 
from South Africa in 1882, or just slightly over ten 
years ago. The same treatment which suits its con¬ 
gener will answer exactly in this case— in fact, both 
may be grown under exactly the same conditions. 
The sprays are also suitable for mixing with cut 
flowers for which their graceful character renders 
them admirably adapted. Numerous plants of it 
may be seen in the collection of Messrs. Hugh Low 
& Co., Clapton. 
RAVENIA HILDEBRANDTI1. 
The above may be regarded as. a provisional name 
for an undescribed Palm, known only in the juvenile 
state from the Comoro Islands, and considered by 
Wendland to be closely related to Hyophorbe. It 
seems strange that the name should have gone so long 
unchallenged, seeing that Ravenia is already appro¬ 
priated by a genus of plants belonging to the Orange 
family, and of which the best known perhaps is R. 
spectabilis. Both of the above plants may be seen 
in the Palm house at Kew, and of course as wide as 
the poles from one another. R. spectabilis has leaves 
consisting of one to three lanceolate leaflets similar 
to those of several others belonging to the same 
family. The Palm has oblong-elliptic leaves, cut 
up into long, linear, accuminate, or long pointed 
pinnse, all gracefully curved and having an elegant, 
plumy appearance. Tothebeautyofthefoliagemay be 
added that of the fruit which is now very handsome. 
It consists of upright shoots, bearing numerous short 
wavy ones, thickly studded with bright coral red 
berries about the size of peas. Seeing that is has 
flowered and fruited it cannot now be said to be 
known only in the juvenile state. It is evidently a 
small or dwarf Palm at the best. 
CALLIANDRA TWEEDIEI. 
As is the case with so many of the Leguminous 
plants, the stamens and not the petals of this 
Brazilian shrub, constitute the ornamental part. 
The flowers appear during February, March, and 
sometimes April, and are arranged in dense, oblong 
or rounded heads like a painted or highly-coloured 
bottle brush. The buds containing these dense 
clusters arise at the apex of short shoots and expand 
in succession, hence the length of time during which 
the plant keeps in bloom. The filaments of the 
stamens are ijin. to ijin. long, and crimson. 
Their beauty is therefore of a different kind from 
that produced by broad petalled flowers. The 
foliage is equally graceful, the leaves being bi- 
pinnate, with the leaflets very small and crowded to¬ 
gether like those of Acacia lophantha and A. deal- 
bata, but even finer. The plant requires stove 
temperature, but only of a moderate kind, and would 
be a highly suitable and ornamental subject for those 
who have large, warm conservatories to fill. A 
bushy plant about 3 ft. high may be seen in the Palm 
house at Kew. 
OCHNA MULTIFLORA. 
Notwithstanding the many peculiarities and 
strange beauty of this plant, it does not seem to take 
the fancy of horticulturists in general. It was 
originally introduced from Sierre Leone in 1820, but 
has probably been several times reintroduced since 
then. The flowers are of appreciable size, and 
yellow, but though not striking in appearance, are 
possessed of a strong yet not disagreeable odour 
The plant becomes more interesting when in fruit. 
The calyx changes to crimson or red and the 
receptacle enlarges finally changing to the same 
bright red colour as the calyx. At the same time 
the carpels or portions of the fruit become globular 
and black resembling seeds of a shining black stuck 
all over the receptacle. Young plants may be raised 
from seeds or from cuttings of the half-ripened wood 
in summer. 
LEUCOJUM VERNUM. 
One of the most interesting of our early spring 
flowers is that under notice. It comes into bloom 
much in advance of the earliest of the Daffodils and 
almost contemporaneously with the Snowdrop, to 
which it is most nearly allied. Each scape bears a 
single drooping or pendent, bell-shaped flower, larger 
than any of the Snowdrops, and differing in form 
chiefly by the perianth segments being all of the 
same length, colour and shape. The young buds are 
erect, bluntly trigonous, and white, tipped with 
green ; and as they assume the pendent position and 
expand, each of the six segments is seen to be tipped 
with green, giving place, however, to yellow with 
age. The plant is perfectly hardy, and ought to be 
more extensively planted in such positions where 
their advent will be noticed in spring. Like Snow¬ 
drops and Winter Aconite the spring-flowering 
Leucojum appears to spring up very rapidly after the 
disappearance of frost or snow. 
ALPINIA MUTICA. 
The habit of this plant is similar to that of a Hedy- 
chium, which is perhaps the most familar type of 
the Ginger family to gardeners, to which we may re¬ 
fer the same. To those who have only small houses 
the plant grows too tall to be easily accomodated, but 
those who can grow Hedychium coronarium or H. 
flavescens could easily manage the plant under notice, 
and which grows to a height of 5 ft or 6 ft.,but flowers 
freely enough at a less height. The flowers are pro¬ 
duced in racemes at the apex of the stems, and as 
the latter assume an arching habit the raceme 
assumes an erect position, almost at right angles to 
the stem bearing it. The numerous outer segments 
of the flower are white, and all the colouring is con¬ 
centrated in the lip which resembles that of an 
Orchid. In fact we may compare it to some of the 
forms of Cattleya aurea. The lip is yellow, closely 
lined with purple internally, and having larger 
branching veins towards the top, and a broad yellow 
margin, The bracts enclosing the individual flower- 
buds are rose at the base and pink upwards, A 
flowering plant may be seen planted out in one of 
the beds in the Palm-house at Kew. 
THE IRON-TREE. 
Parrotia persica is best known for the fine colora¬ 
tion of its leaves in autumn, and which assume 
brown, yellow, and red hues while changing in the 
autumn before falling. During the course of the 
summer the tree bears a more or less striking 
resemblance to a Beech, both in habit and in the 
form of the leaves, which are deciduous. Now the 
tree is in bloom, and presses itself more or less 
conspicuously upon the attention of the observer at' 
this early period of the year. It belongs to the same 
family as the Witch Hazels, which have mostly 
finished flowering. The flowers are clustered 
together and surrounded by an involucre of large 
brown bracts, much in the same way as those of 
Hamamelis. The long red or crimson anthers are 
mostly all that can be seen, but being produced 
while the tree is yet leafless they command more 
attention. The tree is a native of Northern Persia, 
and is anything but common in this country. It 
appears to be perfectly hardy, and might more 
frequently be planted for the sake of its foliage in 
autumn. 
SPIRAEA MEDIA. 
Judging from the success attending the forcing of 
this species, a number of the shrubby species of 
Spiraea might reward the efforts of the cultivator in 
his attempts to keep up a display of flowering plants 
at this period of the year. The leaves are of a deep 
glaucous green, and clean in appearance, thus setting 
off the corymbs of pure white flowers to advantage. 
The stems vary in height from 2 ft. to 4 ft., but as a 
rule preserve a medium. When out of flower it can 
be turned out of doors after it has been gradually 
inured to a lower temperature. Though perfectly 
hardy, the effect of forcing at an unnatural season 
makes it tender for the time being ; but the careful 
cultivator will lake care to harden it off gradually 
before subjecting it to the cold winds that prevail in 
spring. It is a native of Northern Asia, and has 
several synonyms, of which S. crafusa is the most 
common, and that by which the plant is best known 
in gardens. 
HELLEBORUS ODORUS PURPURASCENS. 
When at its best the variety under notice is by no 
means devoid of beauty when seen in the open 
ground during the months of February and the early 
part of March. The leaves are deciduous, so that 
when the stems appear they are merely furnished with 
leafy bracts, but are unaccompanied by true leaves, 
which do not appear till spring gives place to early 
summer. The flowers are produced one, two or 
three on a stem, and are drooping so that the green¬ 
ish interior is hidden. The outer surface is coppery 
purple and somewhat lurid compared with those of 
other early plants now in bloom. A good tuft of the 
plant is not devoid of interest, as competitors are 
still few, and the finest types will not be in bloom for 
some time to come. The type is a native of 
Eastern Europe, but the variety is confined to Hun¬ 
gary, from whence it was introduced in 1817. 
SYNTHYRIS RENIFORVilS. 
The species of this genus are closely allied to 
Veronica, yet the only species introduced, namely, S. 
reniformis, is very unlike any of the Veronicas in 
cultivation. The leaves are reniform-orbicular, 
doubly and sharply toothed, and of a bright green 
The flowers are blue and borne upon scapes arising 
from amongst the tuft of leaves, and supported with 
more or less leafy bracts. The species of Synthyris 
are herbaceous plants.natives of north-west America, 
and are hardy in this country. The species under 
notice flowers naturally in April, but by keeping it 
in pots and forcing it gently, it may be had in flower 
in February, as might have been seen some time ago 
in the hardy plant house at Kew. The leaves have a 
clean and fresh appearance, which they could hardly 
be expected to possess later on in the open air, and 
the flowers are moreover doubly acceptable at a 
season when flowers are comparativeiy scarce, 
especially blue ones. 
VARIATION OF GALANTHUS ELWESI. 
The three inner segments of this Snowdrop are 
characterised by having a large oblong blotch at the 
base of the outer face, but covering a great part of 
the latter, and a horse-shoe shaped blotch near the 
apex. Occasionally we find individual flowers with 
the blotches run into one, forked at the apex and 
