October  12,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
315 
NEPENTHES. 
Notwithstanding  the  pleaB  that  have  time  after  time  appeared  in 
the  pages.of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  in  favour  of  the  wider  cultivation 
of  Nepenthes  in  private  establishments,  they  are  still  not  sufficiently  seen- 
When  we  take  into  consideration  their  highly  ornamental  character  at 
this  period  of  the  year,  when  flowering  plants  are  scarce,  and  the 
comparative  ease  with  which  they 
can  be  grown,  everyone  will  admit 
their  undoubted  value.  Yet  what 
do  we  find  ?  Why,  in  many  estab¬ 
lishments  they  are  conspicuous  by 
their  absence,  while  in  others  they 
are  represented  by  about  a  dozen 
specimens  w  hich,  in  lacking  pitchers, 
lose  in  merit.  True,  in  a  few  gar- 
dens  most  excellent  collections, 
representative  of  proper  methods  of 
management,  as  well  as  of  the  best 
kinds,  are  prized,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  when  such  is  the  case  no 
plant  provokes  more  interest  at  this 
period  of  the  }ear.  '  The  pitchers 
have  a  beauty  that  is  peculiarly 
their  own,  and  which  warrants  their 
inclusion  in  every  stove  house  in 
the  country.  They  are  not  plants 
of  a  day,  or  even  of  a  week,  but 
they  come  to  stay,  in  striking  hand¬ 
someness,  for  week  after  week,  pro¬ 
vided  they  have  necessary  attention. 
As  indigenous  to  warmer  climes 
than  our  own,  Nepenthes  are  not 
plants  that  can  be  placed  in  a  cold 
structure  at  will,  or  be  employed 
for  a  lengthened  period  at  exhibi¬ 
tions  ;  but  they  can  be  usefully 
employed  in  this  direction  if  discre¬ 
tion  is  used.  For  example,  magni¬ 
ficent  groups  have  been  staged  at 
the  Drill  Hall,  Westminster,  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  and  when 
this  is  done  there  is  a  never  failing 
concourse  of  spectators,  whoso 
remarks  are  always  congratulatory 
in  tone.  Then  in  groups  of  plants 
arranged  for  effect,  the  artistic 
manipulator  will  utilise  a  few  well- 
grown  plants  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  materially  strengthen  his  exhibit; 
while  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  what 
plants  Mr.  Lunt  could  have  substi¬ 
tuted  for  the  Nepenthes  in  the 
champion  Grape  at  Shrewsbury. 
On  small  wooden  pedestals  he  had 
placed  evenly  pitchered  Nepenthes, 
and  no  one  can  dispute  the  fact 
that  they  did  their  share  in  setting 
off  the  splendidly  grown  Grapes. 
For  dinner  tables,  again,  we  have 
seen  them  cleverly  used,  and  always 
with  telling  effect  where  their  com¬ 
panion  plants  have  been  judiciously 
chosen.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to 
multiply  instances  of  their  value  in 
various  directions,  as  these  will 
readily  occur  to  readers. 
To  make  a  thoroughly  good  dis¬ 
play,  and  at  the  same  time  to  reap 
the  greatest  possible  value  from  the  stock  grown,  it  is  not  essential  that 
the  number  of  plants  be  large,  as  greater  value  lies  pirhaps  injudicious 
selection.  Not  only  must  there  be  diversity  of  form  and  colour,  as  found 
in  the  several  species,  hybrids  and  varieties,  but  also  various  sizes  of 
plants,  from  the  baby  with  two  or  three  pitchers  to  the  adult  whose  clean 
green  leaves  with  their  handsome  appendages  practically  obscure  the 
receptacle  in  which  the  plant  is  growing.  When  this  is  d<me  the  grower 
has  command  of  material  for  utilisation  in  any  form  he  likes  best,  and  j 
the  greater  the  stock,  of  course,  the  better  chance  has  he  of  making 
striking  combinations.  From  this  aspect  then  of  the  case  alone  the  plants 
are  worthy  of  careful  attention  and  sound  culture,  as  it  is  few  places 
indeed  where  the  gardener  can  provide  too  great  a  variety  for  various 
forms  of  decoration.  No  establishment  containing  a  structure  maintained 
at  what  is  termed  stove  heat  ought  to  lack  a  few  Nepenthes,  and  with 
the  greater  amount  of  space  in  very  large  gardens  the  number  should 
increase,  so  that  justice  may  be 
done  to  what  is  now  a  more  or 
less  neglected  family  of  plants. 
The  foregoing  remarks  found 
their  birth  in  the  splendid  group 
of  Nepenthes  that  Messrs.  J.  Veitch 
and  Bons  arranged  at  the  Drill 
Hall  several  weeks  ago.  Never  has 
this  eminent  firm  shown  these 
plants  to  better  advantage,  both  in 
the  plainly  perceptible  excellent 
methods  ot  cultivation  that  must 
have  been  adopted  to  produce 
pitchers  of  such  striking  excellence, 
and  in  the  bold  effectiveness  of 
the  arrangement.  My  interest  in 
the  plants  was  so  great  that  the 
time  was  not  long  ere  I  found  the 
way  to  the  Royal  Exotic  Nursery 
at  Chelsea,  where  under  the  ‘guid¬ 
ance  of  Mr.  G.  Tivey  my  acquaint¬ 
ance  with  and  admiration  for 
Nepenthes  increased  materially. 
The  lofty  span-roofed  structure, 
with  its  central  and  side  stages,  was 
a  sea  of  hanging,  swaying  pitchers, 
some  an  inch  in  length,  and  others 
approaching  to  a  foot,  and  with 
accommodation  for  upwards  of  a 
pint  of  liquid.  Here  was  one  almost 
green,  there  a  crimson,  and  yonder 
a  mottled  or  splashed,  but  all  alike 
in  the  best  of  health  and  condition, 
and  consequently  a  credit  to  the 
firm  and  the  grower,  whose  long 
experience  with  Nepenthes  makes 
him  one  of  the  foremost  authorities 
on  their  culture  and  on  the  value 
of  any  new  ones  that  may  be 
brought  forward. 
It  is  of  course  only  natural  that 
the  excellence  of  the  display  should 
be  largely  governed  by  the  diver¬ 
sity  of  form,  size  and  colour  that 
is  found  in  the  collection  grown. 
The  culture  of  the  handsome  Mas- 
tersiana  in  considerable  numbers 
would  result  in  a  very  interesting 
spectacle,  but  it  would  not  equal 
the  sight  that  would  be  the  product 
of  a  similar  number  of  plants  com¬ 
prising  a  dozen  kinds.  As  with 
other  plants,  flowers  and  fruits  the 
greater  the  variety  the  greater  the 
interest  and  the  higher  the  educa¬ 
tional  value.  That  everyone  who 
grows  Nepenthes  has  Mastersiana 
goes  without  saying,  for  though  it 
has  been  known  and  appreciated 
for  many  years  it  is  still  in  van 
for  general  excellence.  The  newer 
mixta  has  only  to  be  seen  to  be 
admired  for  its  noble  appearance,  which  is  equalled,  and  perhaps  in  the 
eyes  of  some  observers  excelled,  by  the  form  named  sanguines,  from 
its  deeper  colouration.  They  form  a  trio  of  the  best  quality.  Differing 
in  the  formation  of  the  pitchers  is  Iiookeriana,  which  is  6tout  and  squat, 
where  the  others  are  thinner  and  considerably  longer.  It  is  one  of  the 
best  for  keeping,  as  the  pitchers  remain  sound  over  many  months.  Then 
there  are  Northiana,  Chelsoni,  Raffleaiana  (very  large),  Amesiana,  and 
Dicksoniana,  all  of  which  are  worthy  of  inclusion. 
