May 13, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
391 
elevation or otherwise, and the rainfall must all be taken 
into consideration, and can only be arrived at by the person in 
charge. Give the young shoots a tie to the old wood when 
about four inches in length, as the younger they are trained 
the easier they fit themselves to their position and lie closer to 
the face of the wall, and pinch at the third or fourth leaf 
any shoots that have fruit on, and have reached their limit, 
fruitless ones being cut out altogether. James Mayne. 
Bicton Gardens, Devonshire. 
The Flower Garden. 
Spring-flowering plants are now about at their best, and 
the display generally is quite as good as last year, although 
the weather this season has not. been quite so propitious. 
Among the many fine things now in bloom, Euphorbia epithy- 
moides is conspicuous. This is probably the finest of the 
hardy herbaceous Spurges, and makes a distinct and welcome 
feature in the flower-garden. As in other members of the 
genus, the beauty of the plant lies in the floral bracts, which 
are a beautiful pale yellow in colour. The plant when in 
flower is about 15 in. high, and when massed in a bed is a 
very fine sight indeed. It is also an admirable subject for 
planting by the side of a lake or stream. If necessary, the 
plants may be removed to> the reserve garden for the summer, 
where, if well watered occasionally, they will make up and 
may be used for bedding again in autumn. Permanent plants 
should be well thinned in early spring, if necessary using the 
young shoots as cuttings. 
Viola Jame3 Grieve —This is one of the best bedding Violas 
we have; it is one of the earliest to come into flower, blooming 
while still quite small, and continuing to grow and flower 
freely throughout the summer. In colour, the flowers are pale 
yellow, and though not so> large as in some varieties, this is 
more than atoned for by the profusion in which they are borne. 
Those who wish for a good bedder which flowers continuously 
without any attention should give James Grieve a trial. 
Auhrietia Pritchard’s Al. —This appears to be one of the 
finest Aubrietias yet produced. In habit the plant is vigorous, 
and the flowers are probably the largest of any of the Aubrie¬ 
tias : in colour they are darker than Dr. Mule’s Aubrietia, and 
the flowering shoots rise well above the stem leaves, rendering 
this variety highly ornamental. Throughout this month large 
quantities of single and double Arabis albida, Aubrietias, 
spring-flowering Phloxes, Iberis, etc., may be rooted from cut¬ 
tings. These will root freely in a cold frame if kept close 
and shaded for a week or two, when they may be planted in 
nursery beds, or, if convenient, placed in permanent positions 
where they will flower next spring. 
Any time from now till the end of the month seeds may be 
sown of Myosotis, Wallflowers, Double Daisies, Canterbury 
Bells, Alyssum saxatile, etc. These may all be sown in broad, 
shallow drills out of doors, and if sown thinly will not suffer 
till ‘ bedding out ” is done. The plants for the latter purpose 
are now in process of hardening off to be ready for transfer¬ 
ence to their summer quarters early in June. B. W. J. 
Among the Orchids. 
Cool-house Oncidiums. — There are several species of 
Oucidiums which are suitable for cool-house cultivation and 
that thrive well under the same conditions as those required 
for the successful cultivation of Odontoglossum erispum. These 
rower at different seasons of the year and are always attractive 
subjects while in bloom. It is to the large-growing and 
summer-flowering section that I would particularly draw atten¬ 
tion at the present moment. This class is generally referred 
to as. the 0. superbiens section, and includes such attractive 
and desirable kinds as 0. maeranthum, 0. serratum, 0. lamelli- 
gerum, etc. The whole of these produce very long flower- 
scapes, which if carefully treated produce breaks at various 
distances along the scape from which flowers are derived. 0. 
maeranthum is undoubtedly the most beautiful of the section ; 
in fact, it is difficult to mention a more attractive plant among 
Orchids than a well-flowered specimen of this variety. It is 
an exceedingly useful plant for exhibition purposes, flowering 
at the season when most of the summer flower-shows are in 
evidence. I find the plants do best at the cool and moist end 
of the Odontoglossum house. 
The best time to attend to repotting requirements is at the 
season when the new roots make their appearance at the base 
of the developing growth. The compost should consist of 
equal portions of fibrous peat, leaf-soil and sphagnum moss, 
with sufficient sand or broken crocks added to render the com¬ 
post in a porous state. The plants are strong-rooting subject.-:, 
and should be afforded ample pot room. The pots should be 
filled to one-half their depth with chopped bracken roots, in¬ 
stead of broken crocks, as drainage. The potting compost 
should be pressed moderately firm about the base and roots of 
the plants, the surface of the potting compost being covered 
with a layer of chopped living sphagnum moss. The compost 
should be watered as soon as potting is completed, thoroughly 
wetting the material. After this, only sufficient water should 
be given to keep the surface moss in a. growing state. Shade 
from the direct rays of the sun, and retain as much moisture 
as possible about the plants until the roots get well hold of the 
compost, after which normal conditions may be afforded. 
The flower-scapes make their appearance several months 
before the flowering period. If there is ample space at dis¬ 
posal, the scapes may be allowed to extend, but about the 
months of March and April the scapes should be trained around 
a trellis, or by placing three or four sticks around the sides of 
the pots and tying them in position the scapes may be care¬ 
fully wrapped around the sticks, and tied in desirable position. 
It will be found that by thus training the flower-bracts are 
more liberally produced along the whole length of the main 
flower-scape, and the flowers are thus better displayed after 
they have become expanded. 
The whole of this section retain their flowers in perfection 
for several weeks, and are most attractive as well as interest¬ 
ing. These remarks apply to the whole of the species belong¬ 
ing to this section. Of course, under varied circumstances 
c . , 
there will be found slightly different periods of flowering, and 
therefore no particular hard and fast rules can be applied, but 
the observant cultivator will use due discretion in applying his 
methods of treatment to meet the requirements of the plants 
under these particular circumstances. One thing I would par¬ 
ticularly impress ; that is, never to turn the plants out of their 
pots for the sake of annual repotting; resort to top-dressing 
wherever practical. H. J. Chapmax. 
A New Black Fritillary. 
Fritillaria tuntasia. 
The stems of this species vary from 9 in. to 2 ft. in height, 
according to the strength of the bulbs. The stem is fairly 
well furnished with leaves, the lower ones being lanceolate and 
all the rest linear, turned upon their edges or more or less 
twisted and glaucous. The flowers are produced in a short, 
leafy raceme at the top, and do not seem to be numerous— 
about one to three—but it would yet be premature to say what 
the plant is capable of doing. At first, they are bell-shaped, 
but ultimately expand until they are practically saucer-shaped 
and nodding with their faces downwards. Individuals vary in 
depth of colour, the flowers in some instances being nearly 
black, and covered with glaucous bloom. In other cases the 
flowers are of an intense coppery-brown on the back, somewhat 
paler on the inner face, with green spots at the base where the 
nectaries are situated, but not chequered, as in the more 
common species of Frit illary. In the description of the flowers, 
the above would recall the so-called Black Lily, Fritillaria 
camschatcensis, from Kamtschatka, and in a measure they do. 
The plant, however, is entirely distinct, as the leaves are 
scattered, not whorled, as in the other plant mentioned, and 
they are deep glaucous-green and of different shape. 
