506 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
bushes,  and  which  becomes  thick  as  honey,  speedily  harden¬ 
ing  like  grains  of  Corn.  Somewhat  corroborating  this  de¬ 
scription  is  Mrs.  Bishop’s  version  of  the  experience  of  her 
researches  in  Persia.  This  illustrious  traveller  states  that 
though  at  Biltis,  Manna  is  produ  ed  chiefly  from  the  Oak, 
yet  it  is  generally  considered  as  a  deposit  left  by  the  aromatic 
exhalations  brought  by  the  wind  from  Arabia,  and  is  credited 
with  appearing  on  any  plant,  without  regard  to  its  nature, 
and  even  upon  the  garments  of  man.  Very  like  dew  cer¬ 
tainly  !  That  the  deposit  is  greatest,  moreover,  in  dry  years. 
Burkhardt,  however,  I  believe,  states  that  the  Tamarisk 
Manna,  presently  touch  upon,  comes  in  wet  years,  being 
oft-times  in  dry  seasons  altogether  lacking.  Mrs.  Bishop 
further  discovered  that  besides  the  white  Manna  obtained 
by  drying  the  leaves  of  shrubs  whereon  it  appears,  and 
allowing  the  saccharine  matter  to  fall  off,  and  the  green  pro¬ 
duct  which  is  the  result  of  steeping  the  leaves  in  water,  and 
afterwards  straining,  there  is  another  kind,  somewhat  like 
golden  syrup,  and  used,  in  fact,  for  much  the  same  purpose. 
Let  us  glean  a  point  or  two  further  from  Burkhardt.  He 
states  that  Manna  drops  off  from  the  thorns  of  the  Tamarisk, 
or  Camel  Thorn,  on  to  the  ground,  and,  like  that  of  the 
Bible,  has  to  be  gathered  early  in  the  day,  before  the  sun 
melts  it.  The  Arabs,  indeed,  after  cleansing  and  boiling  it, 
strain  it  with  a  cloth,  and  put  it  into  leathern  bottles,  to  be 
used  as  occasion  requires,  somewhat  in  the  way  of  butter  or 
honey.  Another  Persian  traveller  describes  it  as  a  sub¬ 
stance  as  white  as  snow,  while  Burkhardt  himself,  in  the 
Jordan  valley,  found  it  as  gum  on  the  Gharrob  trees.  Vari¬ 
ous  other  shrubs,  too,  from  India  to  Syria,  have  been  stated 
to  yield  a  like  matter.  As  regards  the  modern  Manna  of 
commerce,  European  or  otherwise,  and  whether  from 
Calabria,  Sicily,  or  Persia,  it  may  be  said  to  be  a  kind  of 
honey  caused  by  the  puncture  of  an  insect  to  the  Tamarisk 
or  other  producing  tree.  Thus,  that  exuding  from  the  Ash 
in  Sicily  is  a  fluid  substance  proceeding  at  night  like  the 
dew,  but  hardening  towards  morning.  And  this  flowering 
Ash  is  largely  cultivated  in  Sicily  in  somewhat  extensive 
plantations,  cuts  being  made  all  over  the  trunk  year  by  year, 
till  the  tree  is  exhausted. 
Though  but  little  used  in  England  at  the  present  day,  the 
medicine  (a  mild  aperient)  obtained  from  the  saccharine 
exudation,  whether  proceeding  from  the  puncture  of  the 
insect,  or  by  an  artificial  incision,  has  been,  and  presumably 
still  is,  largely  employed  for  such  purposes  in  South  America. 
It  is  very  much  a  Manna  of  the  above  nature  that  Herodotus 
probably  refers  to.  What  we  may  term  Australian  Manna 
very  similarly  is  found  on  the  Eucalyptus  leaves  (Eucalyptus 
mannifera),  while  kindred  substances  appear  on  the  foliage 
of  Larch,  Cistus,  and  Cedar  trees.  Of  a  different  character, 
however,  must  be  reckoned  the  produce  of  a  leguminov  s 
spring  plant  found  in  Persia,  Afghan,  and  Baluchistan. 
This,  indeed,  is  like  a  small  round  drop,  or  globule,  of  a  size 
varying  from  a  Mustard  seed  to  that  of  a  Coriander,  and 
being  of  a  very  sweet  taste,  a  certain  amount  of  which  is 
apparently  collected  periodically  near  Kandahar,  and  im¬ 
ported  to  India. 
And  this  brings  us,  in  closing,  to  an  incident  which  was 
commonly  reported  about  a  year  ago  anent  a  supposed  re¬ 
markable  phenomenon  regarded  by  many  as  a  special  inter¬ 
vention  and  act  of  Providence,  i  allude  to  a  report  from 
the  Central  Provinces  of  India  during  the  late  grievous 
famine,  that  the  Bamboos  were  found  to  be  yielding  Manna., 
and  that  of  a  kind  never  experienced  previously,  which, 
when  analysed  by  a  Government  expert,  was  found  to 
possess  the  ingredients  of  cane  sugar,  being  composed  of 
sugar  ash  and  glucose  in  almost  equal  parts,  with  a  minute 
proportion  of  water.  In  any  case,  this  freak,  or  otherwise, 
of  the  Bamboos  seems  very  rare,  though  a  spontaneous  in¬ 
termittent  exudation  may  well  have  occurred  from  time  to 
time  in  bygone  times,  without  having  any  record  left,  unless 
it  had  happened  at  similar  times  of  acute  distress,  when  a 
mention  of  the  event  in  some  form  or  other  would  probably 
have  been  handed  down. — J.  A.  Carneg-ie-Cheales. 
Queen’s  Coronation  Flower. 
Florists,  both  in  the  metropolis  and  the  provinces,  are  making 
the  most  elaborate  arrangements  for  the  supply  of  flowers  at  the 
approaching  Coronation.  It  is  understood  in  Covent  Garden 
that  the  flower  most  in  request  will  be  the  Lily  of  the  Valley. 
For  many  years  past  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  has  favoured  this 
delicate,  flower,  and  therefore  it  is  considered  certain  that 
Coronation  Hay  will  produce  an  enormous  demand.  Other  folks 
suggest  the  white  and  red  Roses  as  Coronation  flowers. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
There  are  several  of  the  Masdevallias  that,  although  during; 
the  summer  months  get  along  very  well  in  the  cool  house,  must, 
in  winter  be  given  rather  more  warmth  than  is  here  afforded. 
When  the  minimum  temperature  of  the  coolest  house  is  kept 
well  up  to  50  degrees,  these  will  do  very  well,  but  anything 
below  this  is  dangerous,  and  they  should  be  removed  to  the- 
coolest  part  of  the  Cattleya  house  if  there  is  no  intermediate 
structure.  M.  Backhousiana,  M.  Chimsera,  M.  Shuttleworthi, 
and  the  snowy  M.  Tovarensis  are  among  those  that  are  benefited! 
by  the  increased  warmth  in  winter. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  with  plants  that  have  been 
recently  repotted  or  basketed,  the  additional  warmth  serving, 
to  stimulate  root  action,  and  thoroughly  establishing  them  in 
the  new  pots.  The  grande  and  Insleayi  section  of  Odonto- 
glossums,  the  Anguloas,  Eriopsis,  Sophronitis  grandiflora,  Maxil— 
laria  Sanderiana,  and  several  of  the  cool  Oncidiums  are  also 
benefited  by  this  treatment.  The  room  in  the  cool  house  made- 
by  their  removal  will  be  useful  for  plants  of  many  of  the  Dendro- 
biums  now  at  rest.  Then  there  are  usually  plants  of  such  as- 
Cypripedium  insigne,  C.  venustum,  and  others  that  have  been 
growing  in  frames  during  the  summer  that  need  housing. 
The  deciduous  Calanthes  must  now,  of  course,  be  kept  quite 
dry,  as  it  is  quite  useless  watering  a  plant  whose  roots  are  dead 
or'  dying.  But  those  of  the  evergreen  species,  such  as  C. 
veratrifolia  and  its  allies,  are  never  really  at  rest ;  and  although^ 
now  that  the  days  are  shorter  and  often  cold  and  damp,  les& 
water  is  needed  than  in  summer,  nothing  like  drying  oft  is 
permissible.  With  the  newer  variety,  C.  oculata  gigantea,  and 
similar  foms,  a  medium  course  is  best.  The  roots  will  often  be- 
found  alive  at  potting  time  in  spring,  showing  that  some 
moisture  at  least  is  needed.  This,  too,  is  of  a  semi-evergreen 
Although  a  comparatively  dull  season,  the  slackest  time  for 
Orchid  flowers  is  past,  and  from  now  onwards  the  houses  will 
gradually  assume  a  brighter  appearance.  When  there  is  no 
flowering  house  the  blossoms  are  apt  to  damp  and  quickly  lose 
their  beauty,  and  it  is  safest  to  place  all  flowering  plants  in  one 
part  of  the  house,  damping  as  little  as  possible  m  their  immediate- 
vicinity.  In  a  flowering  house  the  risk  is  the  other  way  about, 
and  the  plants,  weakened  by  the  strain  of  flowering,  are  also  apt 
to  suffer  from  the  very  dry  condition  of  the  atmosphere.  It 
should  be  possible,  without  giving  sufficient  moisture  to  cause- 
the  flowers  to  damp,  to  meet  their  requirements  m  this  way, 
and  a  chink  of  air  on  the  top  of  the  house  prevents  moisture- 
condensing  on  the  glass,  and  again  falling  upon  the  fiovers. 
H.  R.  R. 
Laelia  albida  Marianns. 
Elegant  and  attractive  as  the  parent  species  undoubtedly  is 
the  variety  of  which  we  write  is  much  more  charming,  and  t  - 
difference  of  merit  lies  in  the.  more  richly  coloured  lip  of  tne 
Mariannee.  L.  albida  is,  or  was,  imported  m  tunes  past  in  large 
quantities  from  the  mountains  of  Mexico,  from  whence  it  first 
came  in  1832.  The  pseudo-bulbs  are  cheap,  and  flower  freely  foi 
a  year  or  two  at  least.  In  time,  however,  they  become  weakened 
and  a  renewal  of  the  stock  is  desirable.  On  page  507  we  furnish 
an  illustration  of  this  Orchid,  which  fully  shows  its  bright  appear¬ 
ance.  Tire  sepals  and  petals  are  white,  shaded  at  the  tips  with 
rose  while  the  lip  is  purple-tinted.  The  strap-shaped  leaves, 
are  ’leathery  and  dark  green.  Flowering  m  November  and 
December,  this  fine  representative  is  all  the  more  we. come. 
Vanda  caerulea. 
It  is  difficult  to  say  why  this  very  lovely  Orc^d  is  not 
generally  seen  in  a  satisfactory  condition  that  is  where  thoug 
Ind  skill  are  brought  to  bear  upon  its  culture  In  many 
instances,  no  doubt,  it  is  kept  far  too  hot  and  in  No  dose  an 
atmosphere.  There  it  can  never  be  satisfactory.  H  0  1 
the  Khasia  Hills,  where  it  grows  naturally,  there -is inever  the 
sweltering  heat  of  the  jungles  and  valleys,  while  m  winter  it  is 
often  exposed  to  frost  of  greater  or  less  seventy.  It  is  un¬ 
reasonable,  then,  to  expect  the  plants  to  keep 
hot  and  very  moist  conditions.  In  a  morlei  ately  heated  and 
well  ventilated  structure  they  are  more  likely  to  do  well,  and  a 
moist  greenhouse,  or  a  vinery  or  Peach  house  at  work,  is  olten 
a  more  satisfactory  home  for  them  than  the  Orchid  house  proper. 
The  roots  of  Vanda  coerulea,  unlike  thoes  of  some  other  andas, 
delight  in  being  closely  packed  together  in  small  receptacles; 
growing  one  over  the  other,  and  overflowing,  as  it  were,  in. o  the- 
congenial  atmosphere  of  the  house,  they  conduce  to  that  hard 
and  solid  growth  so  necessary  under  cultivation ;  and  the  plants- 
