December  22,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
479 
THE  BIRMINGHAM  BOTANIC  GARDEN. 
Horticultural  visitors  to  the  busy  Midland  city  can  always  spend 
an  hour  or  two,  both  pleasantly  and  profitably,  in  the  Botanic  Gardens 
at  Edgbaston.  If  the  traveller  be  so  fortunate  as  to  be  conducted  round 
the  establishment  by  the  genial  Curator,  Mr.  W.  B.  Latham,  the 
satisfaction  is  still  further  increased,  for  he  has  the  history  of  every 
interesting  and  useful  plant  in  the  collection  at  his  command,  and  his 
long  experience  has  furnished  him  with  abundant  stores  of  information. 
One  point  must  always  impress  a  visitor  alter  a  careful  inspection, 
and  that  is  the  excellent  cultivation  prevailing  in  every  department, 
a  condition  that  is  too  rare  in  such  ^collections,  especially  on  the 
Continent.  When  a  large  number  of  plants  from  different  climates, 
and  with  greatly  varying  requirements  in  other  respects,  have  to  be 
associated  in  one  house  under  uniform  conditions,  it  is  obviously 
difficult  to  insure  the  equal  health  of  all  the  occupants.  It  can  only 
be  secured  by  an  intimate  knowledge  of  each  plant’s  special 
peculiarities,  and  providing  for  these  as  far  as  possible,  and  this  is 
evidently  what  is  done 
at  Birmingham. 
its  flowers  in  profusion.  Younger  plants  of  the  Nash  Court  variety 
and  alba  are  flourishing  in  a  similarly  satisfactory  manner. 
Bougainvilleas  are  favourites,  the  old  B.  glabra  succeeeding 
admirably.  B.  spectabilis  also  was  tried  for  ten  years,  but  though 
Mr.  Latham  has  been  very  successful  in  flowering  some  other  plants 
which  are  consilered  difficult  to  manage,  he  has  shared  the  fate  of 
many  other  growers  with  this  Bougainvillea,  and  never  obtained  a 
single  flower.  The  late  Mr.  Thomas  Baines  always  maintained  that 
this  species  could  be  flowered  under  the  same  treatment  as  B.  glabra, 
but  with  the  difference  that  it  should  be  cut  hard  “  after  flowering,” 
and  not  before,  as  is  usually  done  with  B.  glabra.  This  simply  means 
that  the  growth  must  be  allowed  to  extend  freely,  cutting  out  the 
weakest  or  crowded  shoots  until  flowers  are  produced  ;  but  ten  years 
is  a  good  trial  of  patience,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  Mr.  Latham,  as 
well  as  others,  has  discarded  the  plant. 
In  past  times  there 
seemed  to  be  in  botanic 
gardens  generally  a  re¬ 
luctance  to  grow  plants 
healthily  and  vigor¬ 
ously,  lest  they  should 
lose  their  natural  charac¬ 
ters,  and  it  would  ap¬ 
pear  that  it  was  thought 
preferable  to  have  them 
in  the  starved  or  stunted 
condition,  that  they  are 
sometimes  found  in  a 
wild  state  when  strug¬ 
gling  for  existence  under 
adverse  circumstances, 
or  with  hosts  of  stronger 
competitors.  blappily 
such  views  have 
changed,  an  I  cultivation 
is  now  honoured,  where 
it  was  at  one  time 
ignored  or  disgraced. 
In  our  great  national 
collection  at  Ivew,  which 
must  be  the  pride  of 
every  horticultural 
Briton  who  knows  it 
well',  an  excellent  ex¬ 
ample  has  long  been  set 
in  this  respect,  the 
endeavour  being  to 
develop  the  whole  at¬ 
tractions  and  characters 
of  the  plants  repre¬ 
sented.  At  Birming¬ 
ham  also  good  cultivation  has  been  the  great  object,  and  during  the 
twenty  years  I  have  known  the  garden  there  has  been  a  steady  but 
marked  advance  in  this  matter. 
Fig.  82. — Fruit  op  Akebia  quinata. 
Orchids  are  numerous  and  healthy,  the  handsome  Dendrobium 
formosum  giganteum  being  a  favourite,  and  several  vigorous  specimens 
on  blocks  suspended 
from  the  roof  of  one  of 
the  houses  produce  an 
annual  display  of  large 
flowers.  Several  hybrid 
Cypripediums  have 
been  raised,  these  in¬ 
cluding  C.  Lathami, 
which  is  now  well 
known  as  a  freely 
flowering  useful  plant. 
C.  Deesmanianum  is  also 
interesting  as  the  result 
’  of  a  cross  between 
C.  Spicerianum  and 
C.  Chamberlainianum. 
The  dorsal  sepal  re¬ 
sembles  that  of  the 
former  species,  while 
the  lip  is  large,  of  a 
bright  purplish  tint, 
an,;  the  petals  regularly 
undulated.  C.  Charles- 
worthi  was  also  repre¬ 
sented  by  a  fine  and 
highly  coloured  form. 
Trained  to  the  side 
and  roof  of  one  of  the 
houses  is  a  variety  of 
Aristolochia  gigas, 
which  has  had  during 
the  season  upwards  of 
thirty  enormous  flowers. 
One  of  the  largest  was 
21 2  inches  in  breadth 
one  way,  18  inches 
across  another  way,  and 
bore  “  tails  ”  3£  feet 
long.  With  several 
extraordinary  appearance  of  the 
flowers  open  at  one  time  the 
plant  can  be  readily  imagined. 
The  spacious  conservatory  is  always  a  source  of  attraction,  and  at 
the  present  time  is  bright  with  nearly  1000  well-grown  Chrysanthe¬ 
mums,  which  are  arranged  in  effective  groups.  Occasionally  it  is  used 
for  special  displays  of  plants,  for  which  it  is  well  adapted.  For 
instance,  remarkable  exhibitions  of  Orchids,  spring  flowers,  Daffodils, 
with  Violas  and  Pansies,  have  been  provided  at  different  times.  The 
permanent  occupants,  such  as  the  Camellias,  are  notable,  especially 
one  huge  specimen  of  C.  indica  alba,  which  is  an  extremely  old  plant, 
being  fully  16  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  same  in  height.  It  occupies 
a  tub  6  feet  square,  and  is  kept  in  perfect  health  by  means  of  liberal 
root  treatment  and  thorough  cleanliness,  producing  large  numbers  of 
its  pure,  regularly  formed  flowers.  These  plants  are  not  the  popular 
favourites  they  were  some  years  ago,  but  it  is  difficult  to  find  any¬ 
thing  more  stately  and  handsome  than  a  large  specimen  Camellia  in 
fine  condition. 
Lapagerias  are  well  grown  in  this  conservatory,  and  one  large 
example  proves  for  what  a  length  of  time  the  plant  can  be  maintained 
in  health  under  good  management.  This  is  the  ordinary  red 
variety  of  L.  rosea,  which  has  occupied  the  same  position  for  twenty- 
five  years,  and  is  now  covering  considerable  roof  space,  and  producing 
Odontadenia  speciosa,  better  known  perhaps  as  Dipladenia  Harnsi, 
is  another  interesting  plant  which  is  trained  along  the  roof  and  over 
the  path  of  a  stove.  This  beautiful  climber  is  a  member  of  the 
Apocynacese  family,  and  was  introduced  from  Trinidad  in  1854,  when, 
I  believe,  Messrs.  Yeitch  &  Sons  distributed  it  under  the  second  name 
given  above.  It  has  been  grown  at  Birmingham  tor  thirty  years,  and  for 
about  a  third  of  that  time  failed  to  produce  any  flowers.  After  trying 
several  expedients,  Mr.  Latham  discovered  exactly  what  was  required, 
and  has  never  failed  once  since.  The  plant  grows  freely,  and  makes 
shoots  from  20  to  30  feet  long  in  a  season.  The  method  adopted  is  to 
cut  this  hard  back  every  year,  and  when  it  has  produced  about  10  feet 
of  fresh  growth  the  next  season  this  is  stopped,  and  the  check  thus 
given  apparently  causes  the  production  of  the  flowers,  for  they  10  ,w 
with  great  regularity  shortly  after  the  operation,  and  are  borne  in 
succession  throughout  the  summer.  It  is  a  handsome  plant,  with  large 
deep  green  lanceolate  leaves;  the  flowers  tubular,  bright  yellow,  with 
brilliant  red  streaks  in  the  throat,  the  corolla  lobes  being  also  tinged 
with  red.  Mr.  George  Nicholson,  the  Curator  at  Kew,  says  of  this 
plant,  that  it  “  does  best  when  planted  out  in  a  prepared  border  in  the 
stove,  and  the  long  shoots  trained  along  the  rafters.  If  in  pots,  a 
fairly  liberal  amount  of  roof  room  must  be  accorded,  and  thorough 
drainage  is  always  essential.  Good  turfy  loam,  pieces  of  charcoal,  or 
