November  6,  1896, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
437 
and  from  this  impress  the  moral  that  no  man  lives,  or  can  live,  to 
himself.  As  gardeners  our  young  journeymen  are  dutifully 
copying  our  methods  ;  as  men  our  manners.  In  our  footprints 
there  should  be  safety.  Many  a  man  who  feels  indifferent  to 
particular  observances,  so  far  as  he  himself  is  concerned,  will,  if  he 
has  children,  be  anxious  that  no  stumbling-block  should  remain  in 
their  way  until,  at  least,  they  have  keener  sight  and  more  ripened 
judgment.  “What  my  father  does  is  right,”  so  to  more  or  less 
extent  what  the  “  head  ”  does  is  right  in  the  eyes  of  young 
bothy  dom.  I  do  not  speak  of  particular  observances  lightly  ;  'tis 
one  of  those  tbinga  too  delicate  for  a  gardener’s  pen,  but  not  for 
his  thoughts.  Think  over  it.  Is  there  any  head  gardener  of  to-day 
who  does  not  wear  some  garments  of  character  borrowed  from 
former  masters,  which  modified  or  enlarged  will  be  again  trans¬ 
mitted  ?  I  have  seen  plenty,  for  in  life  “  men  oftener  follow 
models  than  rules.” — An  Old  Boy. 
(To  b  !  continued. 
Miltonias. 
The  genus  Miltonia,  exclusive  of  the  lovely  M.  vexillaria, 
M.  Eoezli,  and  one  or  two  others  therein  placed  by  botanists, 
contains  quite  a  number  of  really  good  and  useful  Orchids  that  no 
representative  collection  ought  to  lack.  The  genus  was  founded 
by  Lindley,  and  named,  as  so  many  genera  of  Orchids  are,  in 
compliment  to  an  orchidist  of  the  period — viz..  Viscount  Milton. 
It  is  practically  a  Brazilian  genus,  though  one  or  two  species  and 
varieties  inhabit  the  Peruvian  and  New  Grenadan  forests.  All  are 
pseudo-bulbous  epiphytes,  and  every  one  in  the  genus  is  worth 
cultivating  on  account  of  their  distinct  character  and  the  beauty 
of  their  blossoms.  They  vary  considerably  in  habit  and  their 
culture  is  not  diflScult,  more  depending  on  suiting  the  peculiarities 
of  the  various  kinds  than  any  special  mode. 
M.  Candida  is  a  well-known  and  very  useful  species,  with  large 
egg-shaped  pseudo-bulbs  and  a  rather  tufted  habit.  The  scape 
bears  eight  or  nine  large  flowers,  which  in  the  typical  form  have 
sepals  and  petals  chestnut  red,  with  a  few  bars  and  blotches  of 
yellow.  The  lip  is  white,  with  a  wavy  edge  and  hollowed  out  in 
the  centre.  It  delights  in  a  fairly  warm  but  very  moist  and  shady 
house,  thriving  well  near  the  door  in  the  Cattleya  house  or 
suspended  near  a  ventilator.  The  roots  are  strong,  and  thrive  in 
equal  parts  of  peat  and  sphagnum,  abundance  of  crocks  being 
added,  and  a  thin  layer  of  this  being  placed  over  good  drainage. 
In  potting,  the  roots  must  be  disturbed  as  little  as  possible,  but 
nothing  decaying  or  sour  should  be  left  behind.  Pot  firmly,  and 
take  care  that  the  pseudo- bulbs  are  all  so  firmly  fixed  that  they 
cannot  rock  to  and  fro  when  the  plants  are  shifted  about  for 
examination  or  cleaning.  There  are  several  named  forms  of  this 
Orchid,  M.  c.  grandiflora  and  M.  c.  punctata  being  two  of  the  best. 
Very  similar  treatment  is  required  by  M.  Clowesi  ;  in  fact,  it  is  a 
somewhat  similar  species  both  in  habit  and  form  of  flowers.  It 
has  a  large  heart-shaped  lip  of  a  pretty  violet  tint  on  the  lower 
part,  the  rest  of  the  lip  being  pure  white.  This,  too,  varies  con¬ 
siderably  in  the  size  and  quality  of  the  blossoms,  the  form  known 
as  Clowesi  major  being  the  best  of  ail. 
One  of  the  finest  of  Miltonias  is  M.  cuneata,  a  well-known  old 
kind  sent  home  from  Brazil  in  1843.  This  pushes  up  a  long  erect 
scape,  bearing  from  six  to  eight  large  flowers,  the  sepals  and  petals 
deep  chocolate  tipped  with  yellow,  the  lip  white  with  a  few  rosy 
purple  markings  about  the  crest.  It  is  sn  erratic  plant  in  its  bloom¬ 
ing  season,  the  blossoms  usually  occurring  in  February  or  March, 
but  sometimes  in  autumn  and  early  winter.  It  likes  more  heat 
than  M.  Candida,  rather  a  small  receptacle  for  its  roots,  and  a 
compost  very  open  and  well  drained.  It  must  have  plenty  of 
moisture  all  the  year  round,  and  if  suspended  from  the  roof  in  a 
good  light  it  is  ad  the  better  for  it. 
This  treatment  suits  M.  Regnelli,  a  distinct  and  beautiful  plant 
that  has  been  in  cultivation  since  1864.  It  bears  a  many-flowered 
■pike  of  pretty  blossoms  ;  the  sepal  and  petals  being  pure  white  ;  the 
lip  rosy  purple  lined  with  crimson ;  the  crest  yellow.  It  is  an 
autumn  blooming  species  of  great  value,  and  should  be  included  in 
all  collections.  Perhaps  the  best  known,  and  certainly  the  most 
variable  of  all,  is  the  beautiful  M.  spectabilis,  the  type  of  the  genus 
and  the  oldest  species  in  cultivation .  The  blossoms  occur  on  single- 
flowered  scapes,  large  well-flowered  plants  having  a  most  beautiful 
appearance.  They  are  about  4  inches  across,  the  sepals  and  petals 
being  almost  pure  white  ;  the  lip  rosy  purple  with  deeper  coloured 
veins  in  the  type.  Many  varieties  are  described,  one  of  the  most 
distinct  being  M.  s.  radians,  a  form  with  a  rosy  white  lip  and 
radiating  lines  of  magenta  purple  ;  a  chaste  and  lovely  Orchid. 
The  variety  rosea  is  another  fine  form  ;  while  one,  sometimes  mis¬ 
named  alba,  has  the  upper  segments  snow  white,  the  lip  bright  red. 
Although  sometimes  classed  as  a  separate  species,  and  quite  as 
distinct  as  some  so  called,  M.  s.  Moreliana  is  a  variety  of  this 
Orchid .  In  this  the  sepals  and  petals  are  a  pretty  deep  purple,  the 
lip  magenta  and  lined  with  the  same  colour  as  the  sepals.  Of  this 
there  are  several  sub- varieties,  atro-rubens  being  one  of  the  richest 
in  colour,  and  much  deeper  than  the  type.  Though  not  difficult 
plants  to  grow  M.  spectabilis  and  its  varieties  require  considerable 
care  if  they  are  to  flower  freely.  A  point  too  often  lost  sight  of  is 
their  true  epiphytal  nature,  and  they  are  in  consequence  placed  in 
large  potv,  with  too  much  compost  about  the  roots.  Give  them 
shallow  pans  and  abundant  drainage,  and  hang  them  up  in  a  good 
light,  they  will  be  much  more  satisfactory. 
They  must  never  be  dried  at  the  roots  ;  in  summer  they  require 
very  free  supplies,  and  in  winter  enough  to  keep  the  bulbs  plump 
and  the  compost  moist.  The  Cattleya  bouse  suits  them  best,  and 
they  must  have  a  decided  resting  and  growing  season  if  flowers  aie 
to  be  freely  produced.  Those  named  above  are  the  cream  of  the 
genus,  but  there  are  several  others  more  or  less  distinct,  including 
the  Peruvian  M.  Warscewiczi,  with  its  tall  branching  scapes  and 
bright  looking  blossoms  ;  M.  anceps,  M.  bicolor,  and  according  io 
the  latest  classification  M.  Pbalaeuop^is,  M.  Roezli,  and  M.  vexillaria, 
— H.  R.  R. 
HORTICULTURAL  HISTORY  NOTES. 
Memories  of  Holland  Park  and  Hammersmith. 
To  by-passers  between  Kensington  and  Hammersmith,  one 
of  the  familiar  objects  along  the  main  road  has  long  been  that 
historic  mansion,  Holland  House,  with  its  gardens  and  a  park 
extending  northward  to  the  Oxford  Road.  A  princely  extent  of 
suburban  property  originally,  for  the  Holland  estate  here  was  about 
300  seres,  and  though  portions  of  it  from  time  to  time  were  taken 
possession  of  by  builders  the  home  demesne  might  be  supposed  to 
be  secure.  But  even  this  has  been  attacked  in  the  rear,  and  many 
houses  now  stand  on  part  of  the  park  adjacent  to  Notting  Hill. 
The  number  of  streets  all  round  this  western  suburb  have  also 
been  producers  of  smoke  these  recent  years,  which  is  not  favour¬ 
able  to  vegetation  in  the  garden  that  yet  remains,  long  admired  for 
the  varied  styles  displayed  in  the  open  ground,  and  for  the  admir¬ 
ably  arranged  conservatories  or  forcing  hou  es.  This  mansion  was 
built  by  Cope,  notorious  as  a  money  lender  in  the  reign  of  James  I , 
and  after  the  great  Civil  War  General  Fairfax  was  its  occupier  for 
awhile,  when,  according  to  a  likely  tradition,  the  leading  men  of 
the  time  held  many  a  conference  under  its  groves.  Most  of  these 
older  trees  have  gone,  but  their  descendants  are  numerous  about 
the  grounds.  It  has  betn  noted  that  the  planting  here  has,  for  the 
most  part,  been  managed  very  judiciously,  so  that  the  trees,  while 
not  crowded,  form  glades  which  are  pleasing  to  the  eye  and  effective 
features  of  the  scene.  We  often  see  such  mistakes  made  in  this 
respect  where  trees  are  planted  about  parks  and  towns,  the  mode 
of  growth  of  the  various  species,  and  the  difference  in  the  progreti 
they  will  make  not  being  duly  considered,  if  known. 
Some  changes  have  been  carried  out  by  later  gardeners,  but  the 
general  plan  of  the  grounds  exhibits  the  skill  of  Charles  Hamilton, 
who  laid  them  out  during  17G9-1770.  He  introduced  many 
American  trees,  and  planted  about  the  shrubberies  every  variety  of 
Oak  he  could  obtain,  flis  Cedars  were  particularly  successful ;  a 
flue  clump  is  growing  on  the  north-west  side,  but  Conifers,  with 
this  exception,  do  not  take  to  the  lot*lity,  owing  probably  to  its 
moist  fogs.  A  conspicuous  Cedar  on  a  knoll  must  be  of  older  date, 
though  a  junior  to  the  famous  tree  of  Hammersmith,  which  once 
grew  not  far  distant.  That  Cedar,  presumed  to  be  the  finest  in 
Britain,  was  felled  in  1836  ;  it  was  16  feet  in  girth,  60  feet  high, 
and  some  boughs  extended  40  feet  from  the  trunk.  None  of  the 
royal  parks  can  show  finer  Elms  and  Limes  than  those  growing  in 
Holland  Park,  the  Lime  walks  affording  a  beautiful  shade  in 
summer.  A  walk  called  Louis  Philippe’s  Avenue  is  a  memorial  of 
a  visit  made  by  that  monarch,  and  is  under  the  shade  of  ancient 
Elms,  which  have  escaped  as  yet  the  insect  foes  which  have  ruined 
ro  many  of  the  old  trees  about  Loudon. 
Here  Hamilton  laid  out  gardens  in  the  Dutch,  French,  and 
Italian  styles,  also  in  the  favourite  English  mode  of  his  time.  A 
view  of  the  Dutch  garden  was  given  in  this  Journal  of  January  8th, 
1874 ;  it  has  been  regarded  as  a  successful  representation  of  the 
quaint  and  formal  style  linked  with  a  country,  to  which,  since  the 
sixteenth  century,  floriculture  has  been  deeply  indebted.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  some  the  Dahlia  had  never  flowered  in  England  till  Lady 
