THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
109 
their leaves are seldom in good condition. They are 
tempting and cheap, but we do not knowhow they have 
been brought up, and after we have bought them they 
go off and get shabby, and we wonder why, and jump 
to the conclusion that Palms do not answer without a 
greenhouse. 
I have only seven tropical Palms because I want to 
give these, my first batch, a thoroughly long trial 
before attempting more ; but I do not hesitate to say 
that there is no Palm in cultivation that I should be 
afraid to try in the way that I am now doing. 
On the table before me as I am writing are the fallow¬ 
ing : 
Guilielma speciosa, the celebrated Peach Palm of the 
Amazons, described and named by Humboldt, praised 
by Mx*. Bates in his “Naturalist on the Amazons,” and 
looked for in vain in the West Indies by Kingsley. 
This is my most ornamental plant. The stem is thorny, 
and the large dark-green leaves are covered with little 
hairy spines. 
Areca madagascariensis. —This is only a small speci¬ 
men, and though a fine healthy little tree is not suffi¬ 
ciently developed to look of much importance. In a 
more mature state this is the most graceful Palm 
imaginable. It is rather scarce, but in the cool palm- 
house in the Botanical Gardens in the Regent’s Park, 
London, there is one ten feet high, which is, without 
exception, the most exquisite Palm I have ever seen. 
Ptychosperma gracilis bids fair to live to a green old 
age, being the sturdiest of the set. It is a pleasure to 
see it in such rude health. 
Martinezia caryotcefolia is another of the thorny 
Palms which are supposed to require so much heat, and 
yet the broad leaves are like green satin, and the leaf- 
bud is growing well. 
Cocos Weddelliana is more admired than any, and I 
was told before I tried it that this was one of the best of 
all Palms for growing in a house, as the leaves actually 
develop better in a cool temperature. I heard of a 
gentleman who had one in his room for two years. 
Glaziova. insignis and Areca lutescens are satisfactory 
Palms, too well known to need to be described. 
The foregoing are all I have at present. I am looking 
about for a seedling of my favorite Phoenicophorium 
Sechellarum (syn. Stevensonia grandifolia), which is 
supposed to require more heat than any other Palm, 
but I have not succeeded in finding one young enough 
to begin upon. 
In my palmy days when I was the happy possessor of 
a tropical house of my own, I had a magnificent speci¬ 
men of this noble tree seven feet high, and I should 
like to try it again in a young state under different 
conditions. 
“Who loves a garden loves a greenhouse too,” is a 
line familiar to all gardeners—(by the way, it is easy to 
NOTES ON 
Editor of the Cabinet: 
It is now about twelve years since I began to divide 
my special attention, both from a botanical as well as 
horticultural point of view, among the two orders, 
“ Liliacece ” and “ Amaryllida’cece .” Among the former 
see from the context that what Cowper meant was a 
stove). In humble imitation of the Quaker’s advice to 
his son—“Get money, my son; honestly, if thou canst, 
but get money ”—I would say “ Grow Palms, my 
friends; in a greenhouse, if you can, but grow Palms.” 
In the opinion of all who understand them they are 
better worth growing than any other plants, and-if we 
cannot have any glass but the windows at our com¬ 
mand why, as I now find, that misfortune need not 
deter as the least in the world. I cannot help thinking 
that if it were generally known how easily an interest¬ 
ing collection of Palms may be made, and how readily 
the dwelling-house may be converted into a green-house, 
Palms would be more widely cultivated than they are. 
Those who feel timid might begin with species known 
to be hardy enough to stand a low temperature. First 
and foremost of these come the Chusan Palm, Cliamce- 
rops fortunei; then comes the Seaforthias, Corypha 
australis, Areca sapida, and Baueri, the Kentias, and 
the date, Phoenix dactylifera. All the species of Phoenix 
may be said to be cool-house Palms, and that pretty 
little Japanese tree Rhapis flabelliformis comes into our 
useful category. 
Strange to say, the only Palm I should feel any hesi¬ 
tation in trying on my new system is one generally con¬ 
sidered particularly hardy, namely, the well-known 
Latania. Whenever I see this plant in the drawing¬ 
rooms of my friends I notice that it is in very bad con¬ 
dition. The new leaf is apt to open too low down, with 
little or no stem (the effect of cold), and the other 
leaves are generally shabby and scorched. Brick walls 
afford better protection against frost than panes of 
glass, and on cold winter nights I feel that my horticul¬ 
tural treasures are safer in the house than they would 
be shut up in a glass case. Then there are certain insect 
plagues to which plants in the stove are subject, such as 
ants, red spider and scale; and these they are altogether 
free from in a drawing-room. I am gratified to find, 
too, that the leaves last longer and do not get scorched 
or turn yellow in a room ; whereas in a greenhouse 
shading is a matter of constant difficulty, so that in 
some respects plants thrive actually better in a room 
than in a house constructed especially for them. 
I am aware that the theory of acclimatization does 
not find favor in the eyes of gardeners, especially those 
of the old school. The late Mr. George Glenny would 
not hear of it, and strongly opposed such an idea in his 
writings as that a plant could change its constitution, 
however gradually. His explanation was that its na¬ 
ture must have been misunderstood in the first instance. 
However this may be, I believe all tropical Palms are 
much more accommodating than has been hitherto sup¬ 
posed, and that with care and attention they may one 
and all be grown to perfection on a drawing-room 
table. G. Layard. 
AMARYLLIS. 
the genus Lilium has been very exhaustively studied, 
and for that purpose every known species and variety, 
with the exception of, perhaps, two or three species of 
a later introduction, have all been successfully grown 
and flowered either in the garden or the conservatory. 
