April 29, lb99. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
551 
two were grown in 48-size pots and showing a grand 
crop of bloom. 
Campanula garganica, is being taken in hand for 
pots and very promising it looked, as did the large 
stock of Gloxinias. 
During the last two or three years we have heard 
much about the newer types of Cineraria stellata. Not 
having seen them grown in quantity before I had not 
formed a correct idea of their decorative value. When 
I stood and looked at a mass in one of the houses I 
exclaimed in their favour for house embellishment; 
and evidently they will be sought after for this 
purpose, for their beauty grows upon one the more 
they are seen. 
Many other things here were worthy of note had 
I the time ; but I must not close this note without 
remarking on the grand structures that have been 
erected here to grow them. Having seen many 
plant growing establishments both in the neighbour¬ 
hood of London and elsewhere, I consider these 
about perfect for the use for which they are 
wanted. 
Every little detail has been studied, such as vend- 
ation which is of the best. Floors are made to 
retain water to supply moisture when needed, or 
they can be kept quite dry—as wished. An important 
item often overlooked in house construction is 
the angle of elevation. This has been well con¬ 
sidered here, which is of much consideration during 
the dull winter months 
The stages have been arranged in the best manner 
to give the plants every bit of light, which adds 
vigour to the stock. 
Many of us who have to grow our plants in houses 
of the worst construction can appreciate such 
structures as are to be seen in this nursery. It is 
clear the little details have been carefully studied, 
which is of the first importance in raising seed stock 
of the highest order. I must conclude this hurried 
visit, having promised to see my friend Mr. Townsend, 
at Sandhurst Lodge.— J. C., Chard. 
FREESIAS. 
I was much interested in the article on p. 523, on the 
above subject. Being specially fond of these flowers 
we cultivate a good batch, and from observations 
feel rather inclined to differ from the statement that 
“ the vigour of the plants in the suburbs of London 
does not influence the colour of the flowers.” I 
sowed seeds of F. refract a four years ago, and each 
year since have grown the best bulbs. They have 
never been so fine, both in foliage and flower, as this 
year; and both my man, who has charge, and my¬ 
self have noted that the colours are deeper and more 
pronounced than we have ever noticed them before. 
From bulbs selected we have pure white (a few), 
many with yellow blotch, and some deep yellow with 
purple markings. I believe, with careful selection, 
we shall in time obtain a variety in colour varying 
from pure white, through varying shades of lilac, to 
purple ; also deep yellow flowers with pronounced 
purple markings. The form and substance of the 
flowers vary considerably ; some are almost of the 
size and substance of Gladiolus Colvillei with foliage 
of corresponding strength. I am seeding some of 
the most decided colours, and hope thereby in time 
to obtain brighter coloured and more variable 
flowers. 
Failure to flower these well sometimes arises from 
attempts to force them; they require at all times cool 
treatment and plenty of air. After flowering, the 
foliage should be gradually ripened off, and then the 
bulbs cannot be dried and baked in the sun too 
much — A. P. 
[The flowers accompanying the above were very 
varied, indeed, some of them being pure white, 
others creamy, and having a deep yellow blotch in 
the throat; but none of them had so much yellow as 
the variety F. r. Leichtlini. Some of them were tinted 
with a rosy-purple in a charming way on the outside of 
the tube and segments. The plants themselves 
speak of good cultivation, for the stems and foliage 
were vigorous. The fragrance, too, was so powerful 
that we thought of another house for the specimens 
till we got accustomed to the same, for the olfactory 
nerves, like other organs, get accustomed to anything 
by frequent use. The odour was delicious, but a 
little of it went a long way. What was said at p. 523 
concerning the vigour of the plants not influencing 
the colour of the flowers in the neigbourhood of 
London, was meant to apply to bulbs that had been 
selected according to the colour of the flowers, and 
not those raised directly from seeds.— Ed.] 
FLOWERS IN SEASON AT CHELSEA. 
On Saturday, April 22nd, we paid another of our 
periodical visits to the firm with the world-wide 
reputation, viz., Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Ltd., 
Chelsea. It seems to us that at every fresh visit 
something can be shown which eclipses the records 
of the former time, and with signs of this sort the 
far-reaching fame and power and influence of the 
Messrs. Veitchs’ establishment on general horticul¬ 
ture and even botanical science will not soon be 
forgotten. 
Having shown the passport we were conducted to 
the charge of robust and genial Mr. Heal. He 
piloted us to where a batch of his seedling Amaryllis 
(Hippeastrums) were in flower. The real show of 
these lauded plants, which Messrs. Veitch, Ltd., are 
rightly credited for having improved, had just gone 
out of flower. Yet we did see some handsome 
younger members. From the batch, we selected 
Ovid, a large dazzling scarlet representative, and 
Cythera, a bright vermilion with more open flowers 
than the generality. Eldorado, a very deep vermilion, 
greatly pleased us. Eclipse was a bicolor with more 
white than red. Very fine also were Frausina, a 
light scarlet; Tala us, with broadly streaked veins ; 
Vigil and Ira, the latter a beautiful white; and 
Cameo, blood-red with green-based petals. 
The batch was from seeds sown three years ago, 
and all of them, whether grown in pots or without, 
are plunged in tan. This saves much in the way of 
watering and furnishes an equable rooting medium. 
Hot water pipes run below the beds and thus bottom 
heat is under the cultivator’s control. 
Stepping along next to the house allotted to the 
Javanese Rhododendrons, Mr. Heal pointed out five 
varieties of the Balsam-flowered section, in five 
distinct colours, all of which came up in the one 
seed pan—truly a lucky sowing. They were R. 
balsamiflorum album, white; R. b. aureum, deep 
yellow ; R. b. roseum, rose coloured ; R. b. Rajah, 
salmon ; and R. b. carneum, flesh coloured. This 
section of the Rhododendron tribe we expect to see 
more largely grown in the near future, for the plants 
are sweet and dwarf. R. Little Beauty, red, is a 
sweet, wee thing, the result of a cross between the 
Malay and Javanese sections. The house is kept 
very moist. 
We next had a peep at a batch of between six 
and seven hundred Phyllocactus, of which we shall 
hear more when the Temple show is reported. 
Taking a snap-shot at one or two things, in passing a 
dozen or two of the other houses, we noted the very 
showy Epiphyllum Gaertneri, Boronia serrulata, 
handsome and ever fresh; densely flowered examples 
of B. heterophylla, and the popular B. megastigma. 
Amongst greenhouse Rhododendrons, we noted R. 
Veitchii, R. Countess of Haddington; R. fragrant- 
issima, &c. 
In the show greenhouse we beheld a sight which 
we have seldom seen equalled and never surpassed 
in the wealth of variety of all sorts of plants suitable 
for greenhouse or conservatory decoration. Azalea 
mollis and Ghent Azaleas ; red and white Lilacs, 
Cerasus Watererii, H. P.Roses,Mignonette, Spiraeas, 
Guelder Roses, Philadelphus, Lilium Harrisii, and 
the double-pink flowered Crataegus, were some 
of the things in bloom. Marguerites, Dimorph- 
otheca Eckloni, just opening, and having flowers 
of a lavender colour on the back and a black disc, 
and Spiraea confusa were also sweet. 
A neighbouring show plant stove was fresh with 
many Ferns and foliage plants. Helliconia illustris 
rubricau’is is a nicely veined, Canna-foliaged plant. 
Medinilla magnifica was particularly showy with its 
long, pinky,drooping racemes ; and Petrea volubilis is 
a plant not often seen in flower. In a small degree 
the colour and appearance of the flowers resemble 
Wistaria sinensis. Another feature was the houses of 
Nephenthes, all of them according to their several 
forms being literally crowded with a large number 
of finely formed and coloured pitchers. A select lot 
were there, ready to be transported to Russia for 
the show at St. Petersburg, in the middle of 
May. 
But now we were among the Orchids, and had a 
busy time of it, for turn where we list, there some¬ 
thing of interest was staged. 
We wished “ Good-day ” to Mr. Heal, and were 
put under Mr. Harris's care. It would take a great 
deal too much space to note all we saw. To genera¬ 
lise our opinions and impressions let us state now, 
that in every oDe of the many houses we entered, 
the cleanliness of the plants and their surround¬ 
ings, their general evenness and healthy vigour 
were well demonstrated and deserved the encom¬ 
ium of first-class. Our first note was of the 
large and sweet-flowered Dendrobium infundi¬ 
bulum, and near it D. Euterpe, a handsome hybrid 
from D. wardianum and D nobile ; alsoD. Alcippe, 
a form resulting from D. Freemannii and D. ward¬ 
ianum, and partaking more the resemblance of the 
latter species. D. Boxalli, and D. Victoriae-Reginae 
made each a show. The latter species was a novelty 
and of great beauty. The petals, sepals, and lip are 
of a deep blue or lavender colour, with a white base, 
which thus forms a starry centre. 
Then there were hundreds of hybrid Cypripediums 
soon to be showing their particular characteristics, 
and all very robust. 
Cypripedium rothscbildianum with its strikingly 
long petals and the chocolate veins is a striking 
species. Calanthe gigas is lovely, and a late bloomer. 
Angraecum fastuosum with its long starry racemes, 
and the large waxy-white A. sesquipedale in a differ¬ 
ent house added more to the show. 
The little Epiphronites Veitchii, the hybrid cross 
from Epipdendrum radicans and Sophronites grandi- 
flora, and Epipdendrum bicornutum with its white 
flowers, were also gay. AmoDg the Oncidiums and 
Miltonias a further display was showing. Oncidium 
sarcodes had spikes of several feet in length ; and O. 
ampliatum had strong spikes with over thirty flowers 
each. O. divaricatum of an old gold colour, makes 
a promise for a monster show. O. pulvinatum is 
lighter in colour of bloom, but its vigour is equal to 
O. divaricatum. Miltonia Roezlii, with its white 
petals and lip and their chocolate and yellow blotch 
respectively at the base, and R. alba, the same in 
likeness, only minus the chocolate colour of M, 
Roezlii, were to us very sweet flowers. 
The show house is not a large, but most certainly 
a very artistically arranged and charming place. 
One does not find stiff, straight, wooden stages here, 
but a naturally arranged scene of lichen-covered 
rockwork, from among which grow fresh green 
Ferns and foliage plants. Stag's Horn Ferns are 
attached to the walls and odd corners. Here we 
found Oncidium marshallianum, Cymbidium ebur- 
neum, C. lowianum, Epidendrum o'brienianum, E. 
xanthinum, E. dellense.and Lycaste Skinnerii dotted 
in the lower strata. Many other handsome speci¬ 
mens were placed about, and all bespoke the care 
devoted to them. A Vanda tricolor had spikes with 
thirty blooms apiece. Dendrobiums were repre¬ 
sented by D. thrysiflorum, D. subclausum, &c. 
In a Cattleya house a side stage held an array 
amounting to some 500 blooms of C. Schroderae. 
This lot has made a show for some six weeks past, 
and is still very fine. Then there were C. Lawre- 
Mossiae, a hybrid from the two whose names are 
joined; also C. intermedia, C. Mendelii, C. schilleri- 
ana, the lovely Tulip-like C. citrina, aad Schom- 
burgkia tibicinis, a form not often seen in bloom. 
Laeliocattleya Pallas, a cross from L. crispum and 
and C. dowiana, and L. Latooa, together with 
hundreds of fresh C. aurea, C. labiata, C. Trianaei, 
C. gigas, showing sheaths, go to fill the body of the 
large Cattleya house. 
We also passed through the house where imported 
stuff is being established, and other houses where 
unflowered hybrid Cypripediums and Odontoglos- 
sums were flourishing in various stages of growth. 
Regarding all the sections in which was young stock 
we say everything was clean and healthy. 
In our concluding note we would yet make mention 
of Anguloa Clowesii, a grand plant with twenty-one 
spikes; Coelogyne tomentosa, and C. dayana, the 
former in flower, the latter having sixteen spikes yet 
to open. DeDdrobium glomeratum is a bright 
mauve-coloured species. In the Odontoglossum 
flowering house was O. cirrhosum, with wavy and 
maculated petals ; O. Insleayi leopardiaum, O. His- 
trix, and O. gloriosum, a graceful and light-coloured 
bloomer, and, of course, spikes of O. Pescatorei and 
O. crispum were not lacking. The Masdevallias in¬ 
cluded the red M. ignea and M. Veitchii grandiflora, 
with the orange-coloured M. Heathii. 
It was now close upon the closing hour, and with 
a kind " Good afternoon ! ” we went our way well 
pleased. 
