August  6,  18li6, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AKD  COTTAGE  GAROEXER, 
12T 
THE  CULTURE  OF  NEPENTHES. 
Thesu  plants  are  very  ornamental  and  interesting,  and  should 
find  a  place  in  every  garden  where  there  ii  a  stove.  They  will 
do  well  in  either  pots  or  basketi,  but  if  grown  in  the  former  and 
arranged  on  the  stages  they  occupy  space  that  might  be  more 
profitably  devoted  to  other  plants.  If  suspended  from  the  roof 
in  pots  or  pans  constant  labour  is  required  to  keep  them  clean. 
Baskets  are  preferable  ;  they  look  neater  than  pots  hanging  from 
the  roof,  and  cause  less  labour.  A  stove  nowadays  scarcely 
api>ears  finished  without  a  good  number  of  these  plants  suspended, 
which,  when  well  grown  and  bearing  plenty  of  pitchers,  arrest  the 
attention  of  visitors  sooner  than  almost  any  other  occupants. 
When  the  cultivation  of  Nepenthes  is  commenced  healthy 
vigorous  yonng  plants  should  be  selected,  and  placed  after  recovery 
from  their  journey,  if  obtained  from  a  distance,  in  a  warm,  close, 
moist  structure  for  a  time,  and  afterwards  in  baskets.  They 
generally  form  pitchers  freely  in  a  small  state,  in  fact  until  they 
attain  a  height  of  18  inches  or  more,  and  after  this  the  pitchers 
produced  are  few  in  number. 
The  only  method  by  which  they  can  be  induced  to  form 
pitchers  freely  is  to  cut  them  close  back,  leaving  two  or  three 
joints  above  the  surface  of  the  compost  in  the  baskets.  From 
these  eyes  new  shoots  will  be  produced,  and  in  the  course  of  six 
months  they  will  be  growing  vigorously  and  forming  pitchers. 
If  large  specimens  are  required  quickly  the  stem  may  be  left 
longer  and  pegged  upon  the  surface  of  the  basket,  when  a  larger 
number  of  shoots  will  be  produced.  If  they  have  been  cut  down 
several  times  and  are  bare  at  the  base,  they  should,  after  the 
young  shoots  are  a  few  inches  in  length,  be  pegged  on  the  surface 
of  the  baskets  and  layered,  and  in  a  few  months  roots  will  be 
emitted,  and  the  plant  will  be  entirely  independent  of  its  former 
supporters. 
The  plants  are  increased  by  cutting  the  stem  into  lengths) 
which  should  consist  of  two  joints,  leaving  both  leaves  upon  the 
portion  intended  for  the  cutting.  The  cut  at  the  base  should  be 
made  with  a  sharp  knife  and  sufficiently  low  not  to  injure  the 
lower  leaf.  These  cuttings  must  be  inserted  singly  into  2-inch 
or  3-inch  pota  in  sphagnum  moss  and  sand,  placing  a  good  pinch 
of  the  latter  for  the  bate  of  the  stem  to  rest  upon.  The  top  eye 
only  should  be  above  the  sphagnum.  A  good  watering  after 
insertion  may  be  given,  the  pots  being  plunged  in  brisk  bottom 
beat  and  covered  with  hand-lights  made  airtight  to  prevent  any 
evaporation.  Under  these  circumstances  they  will  form  roots 
before  more  water  is  needed  if  kept  shaded  from  strong  sun.  It 
matters  but  little  when  the  cuttings  are  inserted,  for  they  will 
root  equally  well  at  any  season,-  and  nearly  every  one  will  be  found 
to  root  if  treated  as  described. 
After  they  are  rooted  the  greatest  possible  care  is  needed  in 
hardening  them  ;  if  too  much  air  is  admitted  into  the  hand-lights 
they  will  flag  and  perhaps  die.  This  hardening  process  is  the 
most  tedious  operation  connected  with  their  culture,  and  takes  a 
long  time  before  they,  are  capable  of  withstanding  full  exposure 
to  the  drier  atmosphere  of  the  stove.  Air  should,  however,  be 
gradually  admitted  and  increased  from  day  to  day  until  the 
lights  can  be  safely  dispensed  with. 
By  the  time  the  young  plants  will  bear  safely  the  atmosphere 
of  the  stove  or  any  heated  structure  in  which  they  are  to  be 
grown,  they  will  have  commenced  forming  shoots  from  the  top 
eye  and  may  be  at  once  transferred  to  baskets.  A  layer  of 
crocks  should  be  placed  at  the  base,  and  then  covered  with 
sphagnum  moss,  and  the  space  between  the  ball  of  the  plants 
and  the  sides  of  the  baskets  filled  with  peat  fibre  and  small 
crocks  or  portions  of  charcoal.  They  will  do  well  in  moss  or  a 
mixture  of  both,  but  peat  is  the  more  satisfactory,  as  it  does  not 
decompose  so  quickly.  When  placing  them  in  baskets  the  old 
stem  from  which  the  new  shoot  has  issued  should  be  covered 
with  the  compost,  and  then  the  whole  surfaced  with  a  layer  of 
moss,  which  adds  much  to  their  appearance.  When  in  active 
growth  and  the  roots  are  working  freely  into  the  new  soil  the 
old  leaves  may  be  removed,  and  the  plants  will  soon  commence 
forming  pitchers. 
Nepenthes  do  not  need  large  baskets,  but  when  a  larger 
size  is  required  the  transfer  is  easily  accomplished  in  early 
spring.  In  doing  this  the  wires  that  hold  the  corners  of  tho 
baskets  together  should  be  severed,  and  then  the  plant  can  be 
lifted  out  without  much  trouble.  As  much  of  the  decayed 
material  as  possible  should  be  removed  without  injury  to  the 
roots,  and  fresh  supplied. 
Experience  convinces  me  that  their  tuccessful  cultivation 
does  not  depend  so  much  upon  the  material  or  the  amount  of 
soil  they  have  to  grow  in  as  an  abundant  supply  of  water. 
During  summer  the  baskets  should  be  well  soaked  daily,  and  the 
plants  syringed  liberally  at  least  twice.  During  the  winter  less 
will  suffice,  but  they  should  never  be  allowed  to  approach  dry¬ 
ness.  They  delight  in  heat  and  moisture,  and  the  house  in 
which  they  are  grown  during  the  summer  cannot  well  be  kept 
too  warm  or  too  moist  for  them,  providing  the  heat  ia  derived 
from  a  natural  source.  The  temperature  during  summer  should 
range  at  night  from  70°  to  75®,  with  a  rise  by  day  from  sun  heat 
of  10°  or  15°  ;  the  winter  night  temperature  60°  to  65°,  with  a 
correaponding  rise  of  5°  or  10°  by  day.  They  enjoy  light,  but 
the  strong  rays  of  the  sun  should  be  broken  by  means  of  blinds 
which  can  be  drawn  up  or  down  at  will. 
Nepenthes  are  not  troubled  much  by  insects.  Scale  will 
sometimes  appear,  but  this  is  easily  eradicated  by  means  of  a  sponge 
and  a  weak  solution  of  softsoap  and  water  or  Fir  tree  oil.— 
Grower. 
The  N.R.S.  at  Ulverston. 
It  is  positively  stated  by  some  people  that  when  Mark  Twain  wrote 
his  delightful  “  Tramp  Abroad  ”  that  he  had  never  set  his  foot  in  Europe, 
and  that  all  his  humorous  sketches  of  the  fictitious  characters  that  figured 
in  it,  and  that  his  glowing  descriptions  of  Swiss  scenery,  and  of  the  other 
places  he  was  supposed  to  have  visited,  were  the  result  of  careful  reading 
and  not  of  personal  observation.  Whether  this  be  so  or  not  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  do  know  that  some  years  ago  there  appeared  in  one  of  our 
periodicals  a  serial  story  of  Australian  life,  which  the  colonists  declare 
gave  accurate  descriptions  of  the  scenery  and  of  the  characters  to  be  met 
with  in  those  far  off  regions,  which  I  know  to  have  been  written  by  a 
man  who  had  never  left  England. 
With  these  illustrious  examples  before  me  let  no  one  say  “  What 
business  have  you  to  write  about  Ulverston  when  you  were  not  there  ?  *’ 
There  are  some  things  which  are  noteworthy,  and  which  may  be  gathered 
from  the  accounts  one  reads  of  the  show,  and  I  have  also  gathered 
information  from  unprejudiced  persons  who  were  at  it,  and  there  were  a 
few  things  there  tvhich  are  worth  notice. 
I  am  afraid  the  character  of  the  flowers  was  in  accord  with  what  we 
have  seen  throughout  the  season — viz.,  that  they  were  all  of  very 
moderate  quality  ;  for  instance,  there  was  not  a  single  Hybrid  Perpetual, 
I  believe,  exhibited  from  the  metropolis  of  Rose  growing  Colchester, 
The  two  firms  of  Cant  and  other  southern  growers,  such  as  Paul  and 
Turner,  did  not  exhibit,  while  of  our  best  Tea  growers  Mr.  Foster 
Melliar,  Rev.  H.  A.  Berners,  Mr.  Orpen,  and  Mr.  Hill-Grey  were  also 
absent.  This  of  course  gave  a  better  opportunity  to  the  northern 
growers,  and  as  might  have  been  expected  both  amateurs  and 
professionals  north  of  the  Trent  came  out  in  strong  force,  and  amongst 
the  successful  exhibitors  were  Messrs.  Merryweather  of  Southwell,  Croll 
of  Dundee,  Mack  of  Ketterick,  Cocker  of  Aberdeen,  Dickson  of  New- 
townards,  and  Harkness  of  Bedale. 
Amongst  amateurs  the  names  of  Messrs.  Whitton  of  Bedale,  Machin 
of  Worksop,  and  Boyes  of  Derby  were  conspicuous,  and  yet,  withal,  the 
chief  amateur  prize  came  to  the  South,  the  Jubilee  trophy  having  been 
gained  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Pemberton  ;  thus  both  he  and  the  Messrs, 
Harkness  have  this  year  obtained  double  firsts,  winning  both  the  chal¬ 
lenge  trophies  at  the  C.P.  and  the  Jubilee  trophies  at  Ulverston.  It 
will  have  also  been  seen  that  the  Messrs.  Dickson  of  Newtownards 
availed  themselves  of  their  comparative  nearness  to  the  place  of  exhi¬ 
bition  to  carry  off  many  of  the  principal  prizes.  As  it  has  happened  at 
the  previous  shows  of  the  Society  this  year,  there  were  no  sensational 
blooms,  and  even  the  medal  Roses  were  not  up’ to  the  quality  which  had 
been  obtained  by  the  flowers  so  decorated  in  previous  years  ;  in  fact,  the 
most  noticeable  stands  were  those  of  twelve  of  any  one  kind.  Twelve 
Mrs,  J,  Laings  exhibited  by  Mr.  George  Mount,  only  confirmed  the 
estimation  in  which  this  flower  is  now  held  as  being  the  very  best 
that  the  late  Mr.  Bennet  ever  raised.  A  writer  in  a  contemporary  states 
that  at  the  Crystal  Palace  show  300  blooms  of  it  were  exhibited,  while 
Alfred  Colomb,  which  came  next  to  it,  was  exhibited  180  times.  It  is 
certainly  a  remarkable  Rose,  being  good  at  all  times,  most  free  and 
constant,  and  equally  adapted  for  growing  in  pots  and  in  the  open  air. 
Noticeable  also  was  the  stand  of  Mrs.  W,  J.  Grant,  exhibited  by  the 
raisers,  Messrs.  A.  Dickson  &  Sons,  and  also  a  box  of  Comtesse  de  Ludre, 
exhibited  by  Messrs.  Mack  &  Son.  This  Rose,  which  was  comparatively 
unknown  until  it  was  awarded  the  prize  for  the  best  H.P.  in  the  nursery¬ 
man’s  class  at  Derby,  seems  now  likely  to  be  popular  amongst  growers 
for  sale  ;  I  limit  it  thus,  because  I  have  been  told  that  it  ii  neither  very 
free  flowering  nor  constant, 
There  was  nothing  remarkable  amongst  the  new  Roses  of  foreign 
origin,  although  Maman  Cochet  was  again  well  shown,  obtaining  also 
the  medal  for  the  best  Tea  Rose,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  is  the  Tea 
Rose  of  the  season.  It  may  have  been  that  the  season  has  especially 
suited  it,  but  it  has  certainly  won  all  hearts  this  year.  Messrs.  Alex. 
Dickson  &  Rons  were  again  successful  in  carrying  off  the  gold  medal  for 
a  new  Rose  with  Muriel  Grahame,  of  which  I  have  already  said  some¬ 
thing  in  my  notes  on  the  Crystal  Palace  show  ;  it  is  not  a  seedling,  but 
