54 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
January  20,  1898. 
In  the  latter  category  may  be  mentioned  the  deciduous  section  of 
Dendrobiums,  Oncidium  tigrinum,  and  others,  many  of  the  New 
Grenadan  Odontoglossums,  Alasdevallias,  and,  in  fact,  the  majority  of 
pseudo-hulbous  Orchids.  But  in  most  cases  these  will  differ  from  the 
last  mentioned  in  that  they  nearly  all  like  a  good  per-centage  of  fibry 
peat  mixed  with  the  sphagnum  moss.  This  must  be  cut  some  time  in 
advance,  well  dried,  and  all  earth  and  sand  shaken  or  beaten  out  of  it. 
The  largest  of  the  bracken  roots  must  also  be  taken  out,  as  they  gro-w 
freely  in  the  moist  heat  of  the  Orchid  house.  Orchids  that  like  a 
proportion  of  loam  as  well  as  the  above  ingredients  are  many,  and 
include  the  majority  of  Cymbidiums,  Sobralias,  Lycastes,  and  a  few 
Zygopetalums.  _ 
These,  as  a  rule,  like  large  roomy  pots,  good  drainage,  and  a  very 
rough  open  compost.  Lycastes,  it  is  true,  do  with  less  room  than  the 
others,  so  do  Anguloas,  but  the  quality  of  the  compost  does  not  differ 
materially  in  any.  In  addition  to  those  already  mentioned  there  are 
Orchids  naturally  terrestrial,  as  many  of  the  Indian  Cypripediums, 
others  that  are  naturally  epiphytal,  or  partly  so,  but  thrive  under 
cultivation  in  a  terrestrial  compost.  Pleiones,  Thunias,  Calanthes  all 
belong  to  the  latter,  and  should  be  potted  in  peat,  loam,  and  chopped 
moss  in  varied  proportions,  according  to  the  liking  of  the  individual 
kinds.  Some  of  these  have  recently  been  treated  on  in  these  pages, 
and  others  will  as  occasion  arises. — H.  R.  R. 
SIMILARITY  OF  LIFE  IN  THE  VEGETABLE 
AND  ANIMAL  KINGDOMS. 
(^Continued  from  page  26.; 
Life  in  the  Watery  Element. 
Aquatic  plants,  marine  or  fresh  water,  appear  to  occupy  the  same 
relative  position  as  the  countless  forms  of  animal  life  existing  under 
similar  conditions.  Here  may  be  remarked  plants  which  pass  a  sub¬ 
merged  existence,  and  others — the  Nymphseas,  for  instance — which, 
like  the  Amphibia,  seek  for  air  at  the  surface.  With  these  the  resting 
period  is,  of  course,  one  of  total  submergence  ;  but  we  have  again  a 
connecting  link  between  aquatic  and  terrestrial  plant  life  in  those 
members  of  it  which,  perforce  of  circumstances,  rest  during  normal 
periods  of  drought.  This  is  in  no  way  remarkable,  only  inasmuch  as 
is  to  be  found  a  kind  of  mimicry  by  animals  possessed  of  voluntary 
motion  (which  all  are  not)  in  a  lively  degree. 
A  notable  example  is  that  of  a  certain  species  of  fish  which  pass 
a  period  of  suspended  animation  imbedded  in  the  hard-baked  mud  of 
a  river  bed  until  awakened  by  a  return  of  the  normal  element.  The 
cause  of  this,  however,  may  be  easier  to  trace  than  in  the  case  of  the 
alligator,  an  example  of  which  is  detailed  by  Humboldt,  who  speaks  of 
a  Spanish  gentleman,  one  who  had  entertained  him  during  his  South 
American  travels,  having  witnessed  an  extraordinary  scene.  He  and 
a  companion,  whilst  sleeping  in  a  temporary  building  erected  on  the 
bank  of  a  river  which  had  been  unconsciously  built  over  a  buried 
specimen  of  the  obnoxious  saurian,  were  rudely  awakened  in  the 
night  by  its  struggles  for  freedom,  which  eventually  having  obtained, 
it  snapped  viciously  at  a  dog  as  it  decamped  to  the  river. 
With  terrestrial  plants,  as  with  terrestrial  animals,  death  by  drown¬ 
ing  can  take  place  in  a  comparatively  limited  period,  many  when 
submerged  for  a  certain  time  becoming  blackened  and  decomposed. 
This  I  have  experienced  with  Chrysanthemum  cuttings  totally 
submerged  in  a  tank  from  twenty-four  to  forty-eight  hours,  when 
death  has  resulted,  they  having,  in  fact,  been  asphyxiated.  In  spite 
of  this,  it  appears  quite  reasonable  to  suppose  that  both  plants  and 
animals  are  prompted  ly  Nature  to  make  more  or  less  effort  to 
accommodate  themselves  to  circumstances  foreign  to  what  may  be 
regarded  as  an  essential  condition  of  life.  An  interesting  experiment 
w’as  made  by  Mr.  Burbidge  with  a  plant  of  Pistia  stratiotes  in  the 
College  Botanic  Gardens,  Dublin.  This  when  potted  and  treated  as 
a  terrestrial  plant  showed  under  these  abnormal  conditions  a  consider¬ 
able  reduction  of  the  bladder-like  construction,  and  every  ajipearance 
of  this  part  becoming  metamorposed  into  Avoody  stems. 
Evolution  in  both  kingdoms  is  acknowledged  to  be  distinctly 
traceable  in  fossil  remains,  which,  like  steps  in  a  ladder,  bring  us  up  to, 
not  the  highest  possible,  but  practically  the  best  possible,  to  the 
particular  age.  This  may  be  termed  natural  accommodation,  or  better 
still,  perhaps,  adaptability  to  the  circumstances  of  life.  Darwin,  in 
his  attempts  to  fathom  the  vast  abyss  of  ages,  concluded,  one  might 
rightly  infer,  I  think,  that  he,  at  least  in  his  own  opinion,  had 
unravelled  the  two  strands  of  life  till  they  were  no  longer  divisable, 
and  but  one  unit  of  creative  force  remained  to  represent  a  common 
origin.  However  we  may  regard  this,  or  whether  from  the  depths  of 
primeval  shadow  it  is  too  obscure  for  present  purposes  to  be  regarded 
at  all,  the  dual  aspect  of  life  in  the  watery  element  presents  in  the 
lower  forms  of  each  a  similar  mysterious  convergence. 
The  Greek  designation.  Zoophyte,  signifying  animal-plant,  ilhis- 
trates  this,  and  going  even  further  into  the  very  abyss  of  obscure  life 
contemporaneously  existing  we  find  in  Dr.  Wright’s  edition  of  “  The 
Ocean  World,”  by  Louis  Figuier,  the  question  asked  anent  the  Protozoa 
(literally  first  animal).  “  Has  the  Protozoon  sentiment,  feeling, 
perception  ?  Has  it  consciousness,  sense,  sensibility  ?  ....  do 
they  know  what  takes  place  at  the  three-thousandth  part  of  an  inch 
from  their  microscopic  bodies  ?  To  the  Creator  alone  does  the  know¬ 
ledge  of  this  mystery  belong.”  The  similarity  of  life  in  the  two 
kingdoms  under  this  phase  may,  I  think,  be  admitted,  but  mure 
pertinent  things  claim  our  attention. 
Similarity  in  Susceptibility. 
Apart  from  sensibility  brief  attention  may  be  given  to  the 
susceptibility  of  plants  to  injury  from  causes  similarly  affecting  animal 
life.  The  action  of  various  poisons  exemplifies  this  in  a  remarkable 
degree.  Dr.  Lindley  treats  of  this  very  conclusively  in  his  “  Intro¬ 
duction  to  Botany,”  commencing  this  particular  study  by  saying,  “  The 
vitality  of  plants  seems  to  depend  upon  the  existence  of  an  irritability 
which,  although  far  inferior  to  that  of  animals,  is,  nevertheless,  of  an 
analogous  character.”  The  late  doctor  seeined  to  be  perfectly  in 
accord  with  the  opinion  of  M.  Marcet  derived  from  a  series  of  experi¬ 
ments,  who  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  “metallic  poisons  act  upon 
vegetables  nearly  as  they  do  upon  animals ;  they  appear  to  be  absorbed 
and  carried  into  different  parts  of  a  plant,  altering  and  destroying  the 
vessels  by  corrosive  power.”  Also  “  That  vegetable  poisons,  especially 
those  that  have  been  proved  to  destroy  animals  by  their  action  upon 
the  nervous  system,  also  cause  the  death  of  plants,  whence  it  is 
inferred  that  there  exists  in  the  latter  a  system  of  organs  which  is 
affected  by  poisons,  nearly  as  the  nervous  system  of  animals.”  These 
results  were  confirmed  by  the  further  experiments  of  Macaire,  the 
importance  of  which  is  duly  recognised  by  Dr.  Lindley. 
Were  anything  wanting  here  to  further  establish  the  identity  of 
the  two  kingdoms,  so  far  as  this  phenomena  is  concerned,  Lindley’s 
practical  proofs  provide  it  in  the  ascertained  fact  that  “  those  mineral 
substances,  which  are  innocuous  to  animals,  are  harmless  to  vegetables 
also.”  Further,  it  is  adduced  that  Marcet’s  observations  “  proved  that 
narcotic  and  irritating  poisons  produce  an  effect  upon  vegetables 
altogether  analogous  to  that  which  they  produce  upon  animals  ;”  and 
lastly,  in  connection  with  this,  “  The  veiy  valuable  experiments  with 
gases  by  Turner  and  Christison  .  .  .  lead  to  the  same  conclusion.” 
The  inherent  powers  possessed  by  plants  in  reparation  of  injury 
need  scarcely  be  dwelt  upon,  but  where  these  natural  efforts  are 
afforded  aid  unexpected  results  are  often  obtained.  In  the  case  of  a 
noble  Beech,  which  had  far  up  its  trunk  a  large  elliptical  cavity,  and 
by  which,  owing  to  the  lodgment  of  water,  its  life  threatened  to  be 
considerably  foreshortened,  this  power  of  reparation  was  curiously 
displayed,  and  but  a  few  years  elapsed  after  the  face  of  the  cavity 
being  closed  up  with  bricks  and  cement  ere  the  skin,  if  we  may  so 
term  it,  had  entirely  closed  over  the  gaping  wound,  and  to  all  outward 
appearance  our  Beech  was  as  sound  a  specimen  as  it  was  grand  in  its 
proportions. — Invicta. 
(To  be  continued.) 
CULTURE  OF  LAPAGERIAS. 
The  Lapageria  is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  ornamental  of  all 
greenhouse  climbers,  and  may  be  as  easily  and  successfully  cultivated 
by  the  amateur  as  the  professional  gardener  in  toAvn  or  country. 
That  it  will  succeed  well  in  smoky  town  gardens  I  have  had 
abundant  proof  from  numerous  healthy  specimens  I  am  familiar  with 
growing  in  some  of  the  blackest  parts  of  smoky  London.  Anyone 
having  a  greenhouse  containing  hot- water  pipes  sufficient  to  keep  out 
frost  during  the  winter  months  may  with  confidence  enter  upon  the 
cultivation  of  this  beautiful  plant.  From  April  until  November  no 
artificial  heat  whatever  is  required,  and  from  November  to  April  no 
more  than  is  sufficient  to  exclude  from  the  house  the  tAVo  great  enemies 
to  plant  growth  during  winter — viz.,  damp  and  frost. 
1  have  studied  the  plant  and  its  requirements  closely  for  a  great 
number  of  years,  and  have  witnessed  many  cases  of  success,  and  also 
many  failures  in  its  cultivation ;  and  almost  invariably  1  have  found 
that  the  main  cause  of  the  latter  was  that  the  roots  of  the  plant  had 
been  kept  too  cold  and  AA^et  during  Avinter.  During  summer  the  plant, 
if  healthy,  forms  abundance  of  Avhite  fleshy  roots,  in  some  cases 
nearly  as  thick  as  a  pencil,  which  decay  quickly,  perish,  and  almost 
entirely  disappear  during  winter  if  the  compost  in  which  they  are 
growing  becomes  wet  and  cold,  and  approaches  being  what  is  called 
“  sour.”  The  same  sort  of  thing  is  frequently  experienced  by  Grape 
growers,  when  the  roots  of  the  ^^ine  have  mostly  found  their  Avay  to 
the  bottom  of  the  border,  and  the  same  is  cold  and  wet. 
What  is  especially  required  for  the  well  doing  of  the  plant  is  that 
these  roots,  produced  in  such  profusion  during  summer,  shall  be 
preserved  through  the  Avinter,  and  this  is  most  readily  done  by  planting 
it  in  such  a  position  that  they  may  be  slightly  Avarmed  by  the  hot- 
