THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 6, 1900. 
295 
in bloom perennially. Odontoglossums contributing 
to the display were O. grande, O. bictonense and O. 
crispum, of which over i,ooo imported plants were 
established or semi-established. Showy, pretty or 
otherwise interesting were Oncidium varicosum, O. 
omithorhynchum, Epidendrum vitellinum, Steno- 
glottis fimbriata, Maxillaria sanderiana and M. 
grandifiora, all of which were flowering even at that 
period. A collection of insectivorous plants included 
Sarracenia Chelsoni, S. Courti, S. Drummondi, S. 
pnrpurea, &c. Here also we noted the beautiful 
Polystichum angulare plumosum Grimmondi, raised 
at Carbet Castle, Broughty Ferry, 30 years ago, and 
still one of the choicest. 
Fine foliaged plants elsewhere included Coleuses 
in quantity and variety ; also Begonia heracleifolia, 
the showy-flowered B. haageana, and the sweet- 
scented Rogiera gratissima superba with pink 
flowers. A cool house contained a fine lot of Indian 
Azaleas, Hydrangea paniculata grandifiora, early 
flowering Chrysanthemums, Rhododendron Countess 
of Haddington, R. Maddeni, R. Williamsii, R. 
aureum, and many other hybrids and species, some 
of which were specimens of huge size. The pretty 
Agapanthus umbellatus minor carried a fine lot of 
dark blue flowers just going past their best. 
Several cool houses were next encountered, in 
which were collections of popular as well as curious 
and uncommon subjects in which the public take 
interest. Amongst the former were Lilium auratum, 
L. speciosum, L. s. Kratzeri, and L. s. Melpomene. 
The leaves of the rare Senecio Fosteri are white 
underneath. Large plants in tubs were Veronica 
anomala and Eurybia erubescens, having the flowers 
of a pale fawn colour beneath. Zonal Pelargoniums 
were plentiful and good. Testudinaria elephantipes 
carrying sweet-scented yellow flowers, must other¬ 
wise be reckoned amongst the curiosities. Near by 
was a fine Encephalartus with smooth, dark pinnae. 
The next house contained Dracaenas, Streptocarpus, 
Fuchsia parviflora and Humulus japonica variegata, 
amongst other things. 
During the summer months an intermediate house 
is used for the accommodation of flowering Orchids. 
Even on this occasion a good many were flowering, 
including Dendrobium Phalaenopsis schroderianum 
in pans, a large plant of Maxillaria sanderiana in a 
basket, Laelia pumila dayana, Masdevallia bella, 
with its curiously truncate lip, Oncidium Papilio, 
Brassia lawrenceana, Odonloglossum hastilabium 
and a fine plant of Stanhopea oculata in a basket. 
Davallia pixidata, in a No. 1 pot was yellow with 
spores and very striking. The Dragon Tree 
(Dracaena Draco) had found a home here; and 
flowering plants included a fine batch of Cleroden- 
dron fallax, with its scarlet blossoms. Elsewhere 
were tuberous Begonias making a display in pots. 
The broad, finger-like leaves and golden stems of 
Dendrocalamus sikkimensis make this a bold and 
handsome Bamboo for indoor culture. 
The greenhouse was gay with blue Hydrangeas, 
Cannas, Vallotas, highly coloured Acalyphas, Lilies, 
Fuchsias, zonal Pelargoniums, and other useful 
plants. A large plant of Beaucarnea recurvata was 
an antiquated looking chap seldom met with in plant 
houses nowadays. Its other name is Pincinictitia 
tuberculata, and not very inviting either. It 
belongs to the Lily family, and resembles a huge, 
long-necked Onion. The Grass Tree of Australia is 
a suitable companion for the foregoing. Some huge 
specimens of Musa Ensete in tubs were very 
conspicuous. 
Chrysanthemums were being grown by hundreds, 
and flowered well, but as they have been noted in 
these pages we need not further refer to them. The 
above are but a small fraction of the subjects got 
together from all quarters by the diligence and un¬ 
tiring perseverance of the superintendent, who likes 
plants of all classes, and caters for those things 
which please or interest the general public, which 
has access to several of the houses. 
Camphill Nursery Gardens. 
These are situated at the foot of the hill on which 
the winter garden stands, and were at one 
time the gardens belonging to a private estate. As 
the name indicates, the grounds are used for the pur¬ 
pose of growing trees, shrubs, and many hardy or 
half-hardy subjects, mostly of a perennial character, 
for planting in the various parks as they may be re¬ 
quired. Here might be seen Magnolia soulangeana, 
M. Lennei, M. Alexandrina, green and purple 
Hazels, White Poplars, Golden Box, Golden Privet, 
and many others of a similar character. The 
London Plane (Plantanus acerifolia) is being tried to 
ascertain how it will behave in the smoky atmosphere 
of Glasgow, of whose deleterious influence we had 
visible evidence in various quarters. 
Early-flowering Chrysanthemums were flowering 
freely and very showy, as only really good sorts are 
grown. Hardy herbaceous plants of kinds suitable 
for park embellishment were grown in considerable 
quantity, including Helianthus decapetalus, H. 
Golden Bouquet, a large bed of H. multiflorus, and 
the beautiful new H. rigidus Daniel Dewar, which 
has been termed the Cactus Sunflower, on account 
of the revolute and twisting character of its ray 
florets, a feature not seen in any other of the Sun¬ 
flower tribe. Allied to the Sunflowers were Rud- 
beckia laciDiala flore pleno (or Golden Glow), 6 ft. 
to 8 ft. high ; Helenium autumnale, flowering at 3J 
ft. high ; and the crimson striped H. striatum grandi- 
cepbalum. Phloxes, Gladioli, and other autumn 
flowers were blooming away freely in spite of the 
heavy rain. 
Interesting was a tree of the rare Aralia spinosa, 
standing 10 ft. high, and regarded with satisfaction 
by the superintendent. Some Apple trees still 
occupy the nursery as they were left in the garden 
by the previous owner. 
TIE PUNT HOUSES. 
Nerium or Oleander. —These pretty flowering 
plants are subjected to various modes of treatment, 
and so unfastidious are they that under all condi¬ 
tions they seem to flourish. It is true that they do 
not hanker after any special strain of compost. A 
peaty soil or a loamy soil, both are acceptable, yet 
not one more than the other. The fact of a differ¬ 
ence of compost is, however, seen in a variation of 
the foliage and style of growth, for with much peat 
in the mixture a vigorous growth of shoots may be 
observed. It would rather then seem to be an ad¬ 
vantage to pot them in a loamy soil, as then harder 
growth is followed by a more abundant supply of 
blooms. The Oleanders like a fairly warm house 
for their growth, such as a temperate house affords. 
I am aware that during our summer there are 
growers who place their plants out of doors. This 
we may refer to later. 
Propagation may confine our attention in the 
meantime. And this is as easy and as simple to 
perform, and generally as certain in its results, as 
the after growth of the plants proves to be. About 
the end of March take out the points of the shoots, 
say to a few inches down and prepare these cleanly. 
Insert the cuttings in 3-inch pots using, as is pro¬ 
verbial, a light compost. A position in a glass case 
should be given such as has been previously des¬ 
cribed, in which they should be kept close and 
moist. In three weeks’ time or raiher more, they 
will have rooted. Bottom heat is, of course, a very 
important factor for the rooting process. 
After Treatment. —It once again behoves the 
cultivator to have care and to shift the little plants 
very tenderly from their cutting pots to those which 
are next to contain them. If one or two have been 
struck in the same pot, even greater attention is 
demanded. But having separated them from the 
baby pots, their cradles, and having potted them 
fairly firm into 4-inch pots, giving them an open rich 
compost, place them for yet another few days into 
the propagating frame or pit. Nothing so surely 
makes for fast success as to treat newly-potted 
plants such as these tc “ a warm bath ” and a still, 
moist atmosphere after such disturbance as a 
“shift on." By June they will be fit for a 6-inch 
pot, the plants themselves having developed a few 
fine shoots. They may or may not blossom during 
the late autumn; it is better that they do not. At 
this season they should rather be kept cooler and 
certainly drier at the root. During growth, after the 
pots are well filled with roots, they can scarcely have 
too much water. Another point to regard is their 
great liking for plenty of light. We always shade 
our own plants because they are not placed out in 
the open, but have to take their chance side by side 
with softer plants which necessitate shading. 
For those who wish to grow specimen plants 
another shift onward may be made in March of the 
following year. A 10-inch pot should be used, and 
perhaps later on a still larger pot. Very little of the 
old soil need be removed, but before restarting 
them, cut back any UDgainly shoots, or those whose 
vigour gives them too strong a lead. If room is re¬ 
quired for other plants from the end of June till 
September it certainly is a wise enough practice, 
and good for them too, as proved by successful men, 
to place them in a sheltered sunny part. If ashes 
can be mounded around the pots so much the better 
for the health of the multitudinous and tender roots 
lining them. A constant and heavy supply of water 
is necessary, besides which a daily or double daily 
syringing with tepid water is very much to be ad¬ 
vised. In September the plants may be brought in 
to a cool house with a temperature of 45 0 to 50°. 
By beiDg kept cool all autumn, they will flower 
freely from the well-ripened terminal points of the 
shoots on their introduction to a higher temperature. 
For larger specimens still, the same role of treat¬ 
ment may be repeated. The Neriums can be grown 
as small plants quite as well as large specimens can 
be, the only difference being to retain a yearly 
furnishing of young wood until such time as fresh 
plants might be absolutely necessary. N. album and 
N. a. grandiflorum are delicious varieties when in 
flower; they are both pure white; N. splendens is a 
pinkish-red variety, not so lovely.— J. H. D. 
-—s-- 
Tlie Orctiifl Grower’s Calendar. 
We think that orchidists will agree with us that 
judging by the general health of the plants the past 
season has been most favourable to the culture of 
this famous class of plants ; for although we have 
been compelled to use an unusually large quantity of 
hard water, the amount of sunlight and tropical heat 
have been the means of helping to make the leaves 
and pseudobulbs of wonderful texture, so much so 
that when the flowering season commences we shall 
be able to realise what light and air do for the 
plants. 
Why do we fail with some species ? From ex¬ 
perience and general observation we are inclined to 
think that most of the species may be successfully 
cultivated for years, and that under anything like 
rational treatment they do not deteriorate or die out 
The chief cause of failure is most likely due to 
attempting to grow them in structures totally un¬ 
suited to their requirements. Let me explain what 
I mean. Just take a twenty-five mile radius around 
London and you will easily grasp my meaning. At 
one place you will find East Indian plants growing 
to perfection, whilst the cooler kinds fare badly ; in 
another, Cattleyas and Laelias are grand. In the 
next place perhaps Dendrobiums are done best. 
Then again, some will hit the right treatment for 
the difficult Epidendrum bicornutum, or the beauti¬ 
ful Phaius tuberculosus. Yet again with others 
Odontoglossums and Oncidiums are done best to the 
exclusion of the warmer species. I, therefore, 
firmly believe that were it possible to provide them 
with similar structures in one place that every 
species may be cultivated to perfection with ordinary 
intelligence. 
Locality. —Yes, I know this is supposed to make 
a vast difference. So it does if you happen to be in 
or near London; but twenty miles out either way 
makes but little difference, providing your houses 
are not stuck down in a hole, and that due attention 
is paid to detail when they are erected. The more 
simple the structure the better ; elaborate looking 
houses with complicated gear work for regulating 
the ventilators are all very well in a way, but often 
useless for the purpose intended. 
The greatest difference in locality is, we think, the 
water. In places where the water from the water¬ 
works is known to be unsuitable to plants, means 
should be adopted to save all the rain water possible; 
this should be used for watering the plants only, the 
damping down between the pots being done with the 
hard water. 
The object of this article is to point out that it is 
as useless to attempt to grow Orchids successfully in 
badly-constructed houses, as it is for a man to do 
any other kind of work without the proper tools to 
do it with as much as you may try.—S. C. 
-«♦ «.-- — 
Tomatos.—The special poiot in favour of dwarf 
Tomatos is their earliness. 
