266 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 28, 1899. 
natural production of a highly ornamental character, 
the graceful sprays of the panicle drooping freely on 
all sides in a most elegant way, so that, when used 
for decorations, in vases or otherwise, the plumes 
should be placed perfectly upright, so as to show 
them off to the best advantage. The plumes are 
often dyed in various colours, as well as being stocked 
in the natural colour as dried. 
Melic Grass (Melica).— Our native species of 
Melic are interesting, but by no means ornamental 
grasses. The accompanying illustration (p. 265) 
would correspond to such species as M. ciliata, a 
native of continental Europe, and C. altissima, from 
South Europe. Both are hardy, and may be seen 
in collections where hardy grasses receive due 
attention. The spike-like plumes are narrow, and 
of silvery gray, but M. altissima atropurpurea is 
more ornamental, in the fresh state, at least, owing 
to the purple colour of the glumes. The margins 
of the flowering glumes are densely ciliate with long 
hairs which impart a more or less plumy and 
ornamental effect to the flower spikes. From this 
circumstance, these two grasses are well worth add¬ 
ing to bouquets or vases of dried grasses for the sake 
of the variety they afford. 
Uva Grass (Gynerium saccharoides). —The 
plumes of the South American grass (see p. 265) re¬ 
semble to some extent those of the Pampas, but the 
sprays of the panicle are much longer and 
droop gracefully on one side. When fresh they 
are of a greyish-white hue, but when dried 
for decorative purposes they are also dyed in 
various colours, like those of other grasses 
and everlastings (immortelles). The plant is not 
hardy in this country, though it may be grown and 
flowered in a moist stove. The stems or culms, 
however, attain a great height, and consequently 
take up a deal of space, so that the cultivation of the 
plant for its plumes is impracticable in this country. 
It is one of the boldest of the dried grasses, owing 
to the great length of the panicle, the plume alone 
being several feet in length, with proportionate effect 
when used for decorative purposes. 
Eulalia. —Such is the name given to Miscanthus 
japonicus, better known to gardeners as Eulalia 
japonica. There are several varieties in gardens, 
including the variegated one, which is the most 
common, and usually grown in pots for decorative 
work, and the less common M. j. zebrinus. All are 
perfectly hardy, in the south, at least, and should be 
planted in the open air, where they would surprise 
gardeners, who have never seen them so treated, 
on account of their vigour. The stems and leaves 
of plants grown in the open ground reach a height 
of 4 ft. to 6 ft. The inflorescence (see p. 267) is of 
no great length compared with that of several of the 
above mentioned, but it is very graceful and pretty 
either in the fresh or dried state. When the plant is 
grown in pots it never flowers, but planted out it 
does so regularly. 
Phoenix dactylifera (Date Palm). — The leaves 
of this tree correspond to the “branches of Palm 
trees ” we read of in Scripture. For some years 
psst a considerable growth of trade in them has 
taken place; and, as they come to us from South 
Europe and the East, they must necessarily be dried 
before being packed and shipped to our shores. The 
accompanying illustration (p. 267) shows the form 
in which they reach us for decorative purposes 
about Christmas and other times. They are very 
effective, and endure for a long time. For the 
illustrations of all of the above subjects, which are 
dried and used in house decorations of all sorts, we 
are obliged to Messrs. Osman & Co., 132, & 134, 
Commercial Street, London, E. 
- *»*—— 
Tree Violets.—Gardeners and others who are on 
the out-look for something novel in effect, may 
experiment with Violets so as to obtain standards or 
“Trees.” In American Gardening for December 2nd, 
a block representing four plants so trained, and 
which appeared at the recent French horticultural 
exhibition, is given. The tallest reaches ij ft. and 
is only six months old. The stolon is trained and 
supported vertically, this soon becoming wiry and 
comparatively strong. The terminal bud seems to 
have been secured and to have been made to branch 
out into a fine flowering head, but as we said above, 
the work is a matter for individual experiment. 
Many other plants might be tried as standards. 
BOTANIC GARDENS, GLASGOW. 
The old order of things which used to prevail in the 
Botanic Gardens, has entirely disappeared since the 
Corpor ation of Glasgow took over the control and 
keeping of them. The gates stand open to the general 
public, entering from the great highway leading in a 
north-westerly direction out of the city ; and visitors 
give the gardens a lively appearance, especially dur¬ 
ing the summer and autumn months. There are 
also more young men in the gardens, six of whom 
live in the bothies close by the principal range of 
houses. The bothies are well looked after. The 
old lecture room has been turned into a dormitory,- 
furnished with baths, hot and cold water, &c. Each 
gardener has a separate bedroom for his own private 
use, and these are all comfortably furnished. The 
gardens run to 21$ acres, and were acquired by the 
Corporation in 1891 at a cost of ^59,531. This area was 
augmented by i8£ acres when the banks of the 
Kelvin were acquired in 1892-96, at a cost of ^9,360. 
The banks of the river Kelvin are very steep, richly 
wooded and add greatly to the natural beauty of the 
place. Mr. D. Dewar, the curator, is much pleased 
with this beautiful addition, and we believe he wil 
add considerably to the arboreal features on the 
banks of the river. 
The Houses. 
We had a run through the place in September 
last, but owing to a break down of the previous fine 
weather we confined our attention chiefly to the 
houses. Entering the principal range we first visi¬ 
ted the fernery where we noted splendid specimens 
of Gleichenia rupestris and G. flabellata, Ferns that 
have mostly retreated to botanic gardens, owing to 
the changes of fashion with regard to large specimen 
plants of all kinds. Here also was the interesting 
Adiantu m reniforme, well named from the shape of 
the leaf. There were nice young plants of Asplen- 
ium Hemionitis, and large ones of Ceterach aureum, 
both very choice in their way. Other special things 
were Nephrodium lepidum, Pteris scaberula, 
Athyrium Filix-foemina clarissima and Asplenium 
obtusatum. 
Although it was decidedly the quiet season for 
Orchids, numbers of them were in bloom, including 
the ubiquitous and useful Dendrobium Phalaenopsis, 
Pbolidota imbricata, Coelogyne massangeana; Cypri- 
pedium Charlesworthii, Odontoglossum harryanum, 
Oncidium incurvum, and the beautiful O. jonesia- 
num having its sepals and petals blotched with 
brown, and the lip white. A variety of Cypriped- 
ium chamberlainianum was characterised by the 
dorsal sepal being green with a paler margin, 
Coelogyne speciosa may also be looked upon as a pet 
Orchid which flowers almost at any season. A cool 
house contains the largest specimen of Witsenia 
corymbosa we have seen for many a day. 
The succulent house is different from what one 
usually sees. Rockeries have been made on the 
benches on either side of the house, and into these 
the collection of Cereus, Mamillaria and similar 
things have been planted. Cereus rigidissimus was 
at once curious and pretty, owing to the tufts of 
spines being white, tipped with red. A curious 
gouty-looking chap was Jatropha podagrica, having 
dumpy and swollen stems, and trusses of scarlet 
flowers. A fruiting stem of Furcraea cubensis in 
fruit stood 12 ft. high. A huge specimen of Agave 
americana in a tub was also noteworthy, and should 
flower in the course of a few years. There was also 
a large bush of Euphorbia splendens, from the 
Isle of France ; its scarlet flowers are pretty, but 
the spiny stems formidable and of forbidding aspect. 
Surely the Hybrid forms and varieties of Phyllocac- 
tus are becoming popular. Anyway the curator 
here has got together 215 varieties. 
The Palm house contained a fine tree of Sabal 
blackburnianum, carrying large bunches of green 
and black fruits, according to their stage of maturity. 
The silvery glaucous leaves of Astrocaryum argent- 
eum contrast beautifully with the green ones of 
A. mexicanum. Hedychium coronarium was still 
supporting its sweetly fragrant, white flowers. The 
long, cord-like red and yellow roots of Vitis ptero 
phora, from Brazil, trailed down to the ground from 
a great height, and they, with the winged stems, had 
a sub-tropical appearance, reminding one of the 
lianes such as may be met with in the tangled 
forests of South America. Pancratium fragrans 
was flowering freely 
Another Fern house contained a high bank of 
Ferns in great variety on the central stage. Very 
fine was a huge mass of Adiantum decorum, 
suspended in a basket. The tree Fern Alsophila 
atrovirens was notable for the dark green and crisped 
character of its fronds. Arches over the pathways 
in this house are covered with Ferns, Ficus repens, 
Begonia Rex, and other subjects. 
Very pretty was the small leaved Ficus falcata 
covering tree Fern stems in the stove. The great 
elliptic leaves of Tococa latifolia were very hand¬ 
some. Baskets of the red-berried Rivina humilis 
were highly ornamental. A huge basket of the 
weeping Fern, Polypodium subauriculatum, also 
attracted attention. 
The Aroid house contained many well grawn, fine 
foliage plants, including large pieces of Anthurium 
crystallinum and A. andreanum. Species of 
Calathea were particularly fine, having large leaves 
for each respective kind. Those of C. lindeniana 
had a gray midrib, and were bronzy-violet beneath. 
C. Sanderi was lined with rose and pink above, but 
wholly purple beneath. The silvery and beautifully 
fine lines of C. makoyana, arranged in masses or 
blotches, showed this specie to be quite distinct 
from the former. The plant, or rather the leaves, 
were 2 ft. high, indicating first-class cultural treat¬ 
ment. Strikingly distinct were the small, oval 
peltate leaves of Caladium jenmani, marked with 
wedge-shaped and radiating black blotches. A rare 
plant also is Aglaonema acaulis, with oval leaves, 
irregularly blotched with yellow. Cypripedium 
Sedeni and C. longifolium were also located here, 
finding suitable associates. 
In the Water Lily house the Wax Gourd on the 
roof was notable for the white powder covering the 
fruits. Nymphaea amazonica was still flowering, 
being distinguished from allied kinds by the sepals 
being striped with green. The white and blue fruits 
of Job’s Tears (Coix Lachryma-Jobi) were peculiar 
and interesting. The floating Eichornia crassipes 
grows well in the tank. Some fine Pitcher Plants 
were suspended from the roof, including Nepenthes 
mastersiana (one of the very best), N. Morganiae, N. 
intermedia, N. cylindrica, andN. dicksoniana, all of 
which do well here. 
The Economic house generally contains something 
interesting; and on this occasion Passiflora quad- 
rangularis carried a fine crop of large fruits, which 
are edible. Vanilla planifolia, fruited last summer. 
V. pompona was notable for the vigour of its growth 
and large leaves, the stems being as thick as the 
thumb. 
Just outside this great range of houses we noted a 
collection of 4,000 Chrysanthemums in grand form, 
with the buds well formed ; but, as one of our co¬ 
respondents has shown, they have already given a 
good account of themselves, so that we need say no 
more about them. The Moss house is still kept up, 
and contained some healthy plants of Todea, 
Hymenophyllum, Trichomanes, mosses, and other 
subjects. A houseful of Chinese Primulas, in fine 
condition, must now have reached the flowering 
stage. 
Kibble Palace. 
This imposing building practically corresponds 
to the temperate house at Kew, though entirely 
different in form. It is a huge, circular building, 
with a large dome on the top. One part of it was 
gay with early flowering Chrysanthemums, such as 
Marie Masse, G. Wermig, and Madame C. Des- 
granges. One of the wings was gay with a great 
variety of conservatory stuff, such as zonal Pelar¬ 
goniums, Lilium speciosum, L. Harrisi, L. auratum, 
Fuchsias, Hydrangea hortensis, with blue, and H. 
paniculata grandiflora with white flowers. Around 
fhe circumferential walk many evergreen subjects 
are planted out, including huge bushes of Camellias, 
Pittosporum undulatum, Rhododendron argenteu.n, 
Tibouchina macrantha, Acacias, and many others. 
Many large plants of Arundinaria Falconeri have 
reached their natural size and term of life, for four 
plants in succession have developed their flowers, 
and died. This is rather to be regretted considering 
the fine effect they produced when hanging over the 
cross pathways of the house. The central portion 
of the house under the dome is planted out with a 
magnificent group of stately Tree Ferns, amongst 
which Cyathea dealbata may be recognised on 
account of the white or silvery undersurface of the 
huge fronds. 
A heavy downpour of rain at frequent intervals 
impeded progress and, as we had several other 
journeys to get over in various parts of the city, 
