74 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
pores, if we allow the dust to gather upon them until 
these pores are clogged, the health of the plant is 
greatly injured; it may struggle on indifferently, but it 
will not delight the eye, for dirty, sickly plants, are not 
things of beauty. 
While I would caution amateurs about using water 
at thej roots of their plants, I would in the same breath 
say,“use it freely externally. Give the foliage a faith¬ 
ful showering every week, the effect will be magical. 
The free use of water externally is a potent weapou 
in the hand of the cultivator against the attacks of the 
enemy. We seldom find insects upon a healthy, clean 
plant; it is the dirty, sickly ones that are besieged, for 
these invite the attack of vermin. Without cleanliness, 
there cannot be thorough cultivation; and this brings 
me to my starting-point, that thorough cultivation is 
the best insect preventive. 
There are a few plants that should be exempt from 
the shower-bath. I will mention them in another chap¬ 
ter. Mrs. G. W. Flanders. 
THE PRITCHARD I A. 
This is a small genus of very handsome palm of small 
or medium growth, native of the Feejees, the Indian 
Archipelago and Borneo. The best known species is 
P. pacifica. The leaves of this palm are used as fans 
and umbrellas for the chiefs, who alone are permitted 
to make use of them. In a shower of rain the leaves 
are so worn on the back of the head, as to send the 
water behind the wearer. The fruit is described as 
almost exactly like a Dlack-heart cherry. 
P. Grandis, the subject of our illustration, is a native 
of J Borneo, and quite recently introduced by Messrs. 
Veitch & Son, of London. It is thus described by a 
writer in the Garden: 
. “This Palm is well named Grandis, being un¬ 
doubtedly one of the noblest fan-leaved Palms yet 
introduced. It comes from the South Sea Islands, 
and consequently will require a high temperature 
in order to grow it satisfactorily. Its leaves, which 
are of a deep, shining green, are massive yet elegant 
in their arrangement on the plant. It would be 
difficult to imagine a better contrast than his plant 
makes growing in close proximity to the slender Cocos 
Weddeliana. It is a species that will evidently be in gen¬ 
eral request as soon as there is stock enough of it in the 
country to admit of its distribution. It is one of those 
plants to which no illustration can do justice, as re¬ 
gards conveying a full idea of its beauty. Being ap¬ 
parently a slow grower, it will be years before it gets 
too large for even a comparatively small house. Its 
cultivation will, no doubt, be similar to that of other 
heat-requiring Palms. It will need efficient drainage, 
plenty of water, and attentive shading in order to 
prevent the leaves from being scorched in bright 
sunshine.” 
