January 16, 1904 THE GARDENING WORLD. 
them proper conditions they are no more difficult to manage 
than other tilings. In the first place, they object to much 
fire-heat, and when fire-heat can be done without none should 
be given. Throughout the winter fire-heat should not be given 
until the temperature indoors drops to 38 deg., and then only 
sufficient to keep it from dropping lower. In times of very 
severe frost it is advisable to let. the temperature down a, degreei 
or two lower rather than keep it up by excessive firing. The 
watering- again is an important, matter, for while a. plant must 
never be allowed to become dust-dry, it. must not be watered 
without it is^ absolutely necessary. It is advisable to grow 
these plants in. low houses with a cool ash stage ; in such a: 
place the plants will dry very slowly, especially in mid-winter ; 
hence the need of careful watering. Abundance of fresh air 
should be. admitted on all favourable occasions, and even in the 
severest weather it. is advisable to leave a. chink of bottom air 
on the house night and day. Most of these Australian, plants 
can be increased by means of cuttings, a few doing better from 
seeds. , 
In many instances it is advisable to renew the plants every 
few years, as young plants, make longer and sturdier wood than 
old ones, and shoots which produce more flowers ; iq other 
cases, though, the same plants will continue to grow and flower 
well for many years. The best soil to use for cuttings is very 
sandy peat, and in all cases the cutting pots should be half 
filled with crocks. The soil in the pots must be made firm and 
be 1 finished off with about one-sixth of an inch of silver sand. 
The potting compost for most of these plants should be com¬ 
posed principally of good fibrous peat with a fair addition of 
silver sand and a little charcoal. For a few things such a.s 
Acacias a mixture of equal parts: loam and peat will answer; 
with, of course, an addition of sand. In all cases it. is a mistake 
to overpot; small shifts only should be- given, and the plants! 
should be fed in preference to- being overpotted. During 
spring—March to May—when growth is active, a little more 
fire-heat may be given, a,nd the: house may be kept closer. 
During this time special attention must be given to the' damp¬ 
ing of paths, walls: and stages, and the plants should be 
syringed overhead twice a. day, morning and early in the after¬ 
noon. 
Some of the best, plants to use for flowering purposes are the 
following: — 
Acacia..—A genus' composed of upwards, of 400 species, over 
100 of which arei known to cultivation, though a. few only are 
met with in gardens. Some of the most useful of the species 
to use in a small state are A. aeinaoea, A. armata, and the 
variety angustifolia, A. cultriformis, A. Drummondii, A. lia.s- 
tulata, A. juniperina, A. leprosa, A. lomgifolia, A. myrtifolia, 
A. obliqua, A. platyptera,, A. pulohella, A. riceana, A. urophylla 
and A. verniciflua. For those people who can afford room to 
plant out in, borders for large specimens the following will be 
useful in addition to, those mentioned : A. baileyana, A. deal- 
bata, A. folcata, A. lineata, A. pubeiscens; and A. verticillata. 
All these Acacias have flowers of various shades of yellow. The 
lightest coloured is A. urophylla, the flowers of which are 
nearly white. 
{To be continued.) 
2,460 New Plants, 
In Western Australia are no less than 5,750 plants, of which 
2,460 are to be found, so far as, is at present known, nowhere 
else. Recollect that, the study and thorough investigation of 
the properties, capabilities, and uses of only a few of these 
2,460 plants is the work of a lifetime for one man. You will 
then form some idea of a, small portion only of the work that 
is in store for West Australians. Among the 5,750 plants are 
twelve species of poison plants. As, unfortunately, live stock 
will insist on eating them, the Government, makes easy grants 
of poisoned lands ” (the lands where these plants grow) on 
condition that, the poison plants- on the land granted are com¬ 
pletely rooted out in a certain term of years. The Karri tree 
grows quite straight, and is two or three cricket pitches long 
to its first branch and 4 ft. thick.—“ The Making of the British 
Colonies.” 
Round the Nurseries. 
The Exotic Nurseries, Cheltenham. 
It, is a pity that there are not more spas in this count,ly, for 
wherever there, is "a popular mined® water there seems to he 
an extra, attention given to gardening. There is some rivahy 
between Cheltenham and Leamington, for both, I believe lay 
claim to the title of The Garden Town.” It took me so long 
to go round the well-known nurseries of Messrs,. James Cypher 
and Son that I had little time for anything but a cursory 
glance through the public gardens and open spaces of Chelten¬ 
ham. I have a, particular fancy for Cypripediums, and, at. the 
time of my visit, to Messrs. Cypher—during the late •autumn-—• 
they were just coming into, their best, so, I had a feast indeed, 
foi I believe they have: one of the best, if not the largest col¬ 
lection of these fascinating flowers in the country. House after 
bouse I wandered through, all filled with well-grown plants in 
all stages of development, from tiny seedlings to. huge specimen 
plants (what an establishment, this is for specimen plants!) 
To describe all the rare species to be found here would need 
the whole paper, so I paid little heed to description, but I 
could not- help, noticing a few for special mention, not because 
they are particularly rare, but, because they are so eminently 
suited for the all-round decorative work of large private 
establishments. 
Cypripedium insigne and its varieties are given a prominent 
place in these nurseries, and they well deserve their distinction, 
for even the common type is handsome beyond description. 
The best form m this group is undoubtedly C. i. cobbianum, 
which I can only describe a.s a dark and greatly improved form 
of Sanderae. There are many yellow varieties ranging in 
colour from pale lemon-white to- very full yellow. I noticed 
fine plants of two other handsome and expensive varieties, 
Balia© and Dorothy, but they were not then in bloom. The 
varieties of insigne that, appealed to me most, judging from a 
decorative point of view, were cobbianum, Ernestii, magnifi- 
cuiu, Sanderae, sanderianum, and statterianum. 
Cypripedium leeianum seems to rank next in importance toi 
the insign.es, and is grown in thousands and in all the best 
varieties. I always especially admire the standard in the 
Keanum varieties. Those who wish for a really handsome 
variety of this species should select buriordien.se a.s the colour¬ 
ing of the standard, and the, whole aspect of the flower is 
magnificent. A variety labelled Cypher's Variety is a giant! 
form of the type, and not only does it seem to have greater 
size', but also a, more vigorous constitution. C. 1. virginale, the 
white form, is attractive and always shows out conspicuously, 
but, I am not particularly fond of albinos in such delicately- 
coloured flowers as these. Cypripedium Prosper-©, the result I 
believe of a cross between leeanum and insigne Sanderae, is a 
form worthy of special attention, as are also the following, 
which I noted as specially useful for those whose space is 
limited, for they are: not merely botanical freaks, but handsome: 
decorative forms, and as, such should commend themselves to 
every gardener who has to keep his stoves bright at this dull 
season:—C. arthurianum, Leoniae, Memoria Moensii, Mrs. 
Canharn, nitens superbum, pitcherianum, and Maudiae, which 
I believe is one of the rare gems 1 . Cypripedium Niobe is not. 
seen nearly so frequently as it should be; it is not large, but 
it hasi characteristic's which should recommend it to eveiyone, 
a vigorous constitution, great beauty, and extreme floriferous- 
r.ess. 
I was too early for the display of Laelia anceps and its 
varieties, but from what I could see of the flower-sheaths throw¬ 
ing up, the exhibition, of bloom will be well up to tlie standard 
of previous years’. The anceps varieties are greatly favoured 
here, and are grown in great, quantities, especially sanderiana, 
schroderiana, scottiana, Stella,, and williamsiana. That graces 
ful plant Dendroehilum cobbianum was flowering well. Too 
seldom -does one see this in, Orchid collections. Epiendrum 
vitellinum majus, (the autumn variety) was making a bright 
show, and is another bright and easily grown Orchid that is 
much neglected. Amongst the large and curious collection of 
