1028 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 12, 1903. 
The Best Flowering Plants at Kew. 
“ There are more plants in the garden that ye wot of." 
Epidendrum elegans. 
A useful and showy plant, which, as a basket plant', is very 
effective, as then it can be suspended so that the beauty of its 
flowers ban. be seen. As Barkeria -eleg-ans it was first intro¬ 
duced by Mr. Barker, Birmingham, in 1837. Its linear- 
lanceolate leaves are 3 in. to 4 in. long, and the flower.scape, 
which is fully ia,s long again, is pendent, and five to seven 
flowered ; each flower lj in. across, of equal sepals and petals of 
a, lilac-purple colour, suffused with white. Tire lip, which has 
its lateral margins defle-xe-d, is white, with a rosy-purple blotch 
near the apex. Mexico. 
Coelogyne massangeana. 
This is one of the easiest cultivated and most florife-rous 
forms of this useful genus, and as its long, loose, drooping 
racemes are produced at various seasons', it forms a desirable 
addition to even the most meagre collection. The individual 
flowers are 2 in. to 3 in, in diameter, of buff-coloured segments, 
and oval lip of a brown colour, obliquely streaked with yellow 
on the interior. 
Cypripedium (Selenipedium) Schlimii. 
This small flowered species is so distinct in the form of its 
flowers, which are of a delicate rosy-pink colour, that for that 
reason alone it should be in all collections. In addition, it 
has the merit of being onei of the most potent of hybridising 
agents. As such, when it is the male parent, its influence pre¬ 
dominates ; also it is a rare example of an Orchid which is 
self-fertilised. Taking all those points into consideration, it 
may safely be said “ that few plants will be found at once so- 
interesting and useful ”—an ideal plant for an amateur to 
experiment with. The variety albiflorum is more delicate in 
colour and fully as robust. New Granada, 
Epacris longiflora superba. 
Described as E. grandiflora and E. miniata. This forms a 
useful -specimen plant, which, in, full vigour, yields a mass of 
white-tipped, crimson flowers 1 in, long. As it is of a strag¬ 
gling habit-, with drooping flowers-, it- is seen to the best ad¬ 
vantage when trained on a wire frame. Australia, 
Epiphyllum truncation. 
The varieties of this species form very useful winter-flower¬ 
ing greenhouse plants, which, having brightly-coloured flowers, 
are very conspicuous in the dull days. The flowers of the t-ype 
are 3 in. l-ong, bright red, with white stamens, the corolla being 
re-flexed and ringemt. 
Calceolaria Burbidgei. 
This handsome hybrid, derived from C. amplexi'eaulis x 
Pavonii, is a most desirable, winter-flowering greenhouse plant, 
when its large lemon-coloured flowers are acceptable. If cut- 
tings are struck at intervals'of a- month, the resultant plants 
will flower in succession, thus giving -a, longer season. 
Begonia Credneri. 
Derived from B. haageana x B. incarnata. meta-llica, this, 
forms a handsome, bushy plant some 3 ft. high, with rich 
bronzy-purple leaves. It produces flowers freely in long- 
stalked corymbs, the flowers being of medium size, white echi- 
na-te, with numerous red bristles. 
Jasminum gracillimum. 
This is one of the best of the species, requiring the protec¬ 
tion of glass. Grown in a stove as a standard it is very effec¬ 
tive, its long, graceful, semi-drooping branches each terminat¬ 
ing in a globose, many-flowered -cyme. The individual flowers 
are pure white, of nine elliptic petals, a-nd sweetly scented. N. 
Borneo. 
Jacobinia coccinea (syn. Justicia coccinea). 
A dwarf, erect plant, suitable for flowering in an inter¬ 
mediate house. Grown from spring-struck cuttings, it forms 
a single-stemmed plant about 10 in. high, clothed with green 
leaves, and terminating in a spike of crimson flowers 1 , which are 
arranged in six rows, intervened by rows of greenish ovate 
brapts. 
Hibbertia dentata. 
A very useful climbing plant for the greenhouse, producing 
freely and almost continuously its rich yellow flowers, which 
are nearly 2 in. in diameter, and contrast strongly with the 
reddish stems and bronzy leafage. It is best adapted for train¬ 
ing along the rafters on the roof of a small house, from which 
its branches can hang, a-s it rarely attains to a length of 15 ft. 
Australia. 
Correa speciosa. 
This species has given rise to a varied assortment of varieties- 
which are amongst the most beautiful of hard-wooded plants 
flo'wering at present. They give the best results when grafted 
on to C. alba-. Pulchella, is a rose-coloured variety, with cor¬ 
date leaves, beset with a -stellate pubescence of whitish hairs. 
Ve-ntricosa has green, pointed leaves, and long, tubular crimson 
flowers. The flowers of magnifica only differ from those of 
pulchella- by their colour, which is greenish-yellow. Australia, 
Fruit Growing in Queensland. 
The Minister for Agriculture in Queensland, desirous of 
assisting fruit-growers in his State by establishing new 
markets, has bought up the whole of the season’s cro-p of “ Cape 
Gooseberries,” a- fruit which makes a- delicious preserve, for 
pulping, and inquiries are being made in Great- Britain as to- 
the feasibility of establishing an export trade in this article on- 
payable teams. C-ape Gooseberry jam can be purchased in 
London, and a-s a table delicacy it would, were it generally 
known, be greatly appreciated. 
The Queensland Agricultural Department is a-ls-o thinking 
of trying an experimental shipment of Pineapples to London, in 
order to test the transit question thoroughly. Pineapples are 
produced in Queensland as freely a-s Apples are here ; in the 
Brisbane district alone close on 200,000 dozen are grown 
yearly, and all over the State these delicious fruits are culti¬ 
vated, and are an ordinary item of dietary. If shipped to this 
country, it would be on a commercial basis, and the fruit would 
be sold cheaply. 
Bananas are produced in Queensland in enormous numbers; 
the average annual crop may be put at about 2,000,000 
bunches, and taking, say, 120 “ fingers ” to -a. bunch, we get 
the estimated yield of single banana-s in Queensland for a year 
a-si 240,000,000 ! Bananas flourish everywhere on the coast 
lands, and many settlers make a decent living by taking up 
virgin scrub at £1 an -acre and growing Bananas thereon after 
clearing. The Banana lias the virtue of bearing all the year 
round in congenial conditions. 
Mangoes are .grown in Queensland with such ease that- ill 
good seaso-nsi the local demand is unable to deal with the out* 
turn; 1902 was a bad year for Mangoes, but in 1901 some 
350,000 dozen. Mangoes were grown in the State. After* some 
hesitation in taking to this fine fruit when it was introduced 
about t-wenty years a,go, Queenslanders now regard it as a 
commonplace, and, raw and preserved, it is eaten all over the 
State. 
Oranges suffered from k-st year’s drought, but their cultiva¬ 
tion in normal -seasons is an important section of the fruit- 
department; about 20,000,000 Oranges were grown in 1901. 
There is a large export trade- in all these fruits mentioned to 
the southern States -of Australia, Queensland being the supplier 
of all the tropical and sub-tropical fruit-s to Australasia. The 
area of Queensland is so extensive (669,000 square miles), and 
the climate so varied, that in one part or another every known 
fruit flourishes. Cocoa-nuts are grown on the islands which 
fringe the northern coasts in great numbers. 
To Destroy Brackens. —The directors of the Highland Agri¬ 
cultural Society lia-d under consideration some months ago the 
question of damage to hill grazing by the increase of the 
Bracken. With the object of lessening the plague, the society 
offers premiums of £20 for a horse-power machine, and £10 for 
a- hand implement for cutting the Bracken. The trial will be 
held early next summer. 
