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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  16,  1903. 
rocks  au  J  fallen  trunks  are  covered  with  a  growth  of  herbs; rooting 
creepers,  and  Ferns.  Aloft  on  the  trunks  and  branches  grow  a 
wealth  of  Ferns,  Orchids,  and  other  epiphytic  plants,  and  often 
parasites  as  well.  Many  of  these  have  flowers  of  great  beaut)', 
but  being  overhead  are  out  of  sight,  and  only  to  be  seen  on  the 
borders  of  the  forest,  along  river-sides,  in  clearings,  or  where  a 
giant  of  the  forest  has  been  laid  prostrate.  From  the  epiphytes 
and  Vines  long  air  roots  hang  down,  and  add  to  the  entanglement 
below.  A  few  of  the  trees,  such  as  the  Clusiasaud  some  of  the  Figs, 
have  an  interesting  but  murderous  career,  and  may  be  likened 
to  the  obnoxious  blackmailers  among  mankind.  They  do  not 
start  life  after  the  manner  of  other  trees  by  germinating  on  the 
ground,  and  then  struggle  up  to  the  light  as  best  they  may,  witli 
a  chance  of  being  starved  or  smothered  in  their  infancy  by  other 
competitors.  Oh  dear  no  I  They  know  better  than  to  take  such 
risks.  So  they  begin  life  as  epiphytes,  where  they  can  get  plenty 
of  light  to  start  with.  Their  fruit  is  eaten  by  birds,  and  seeds 
get  deposited  by  them  in  the  forks  of  a  tree,  or  axil  of  a  Palm 
leaf. 
A  seed  So  placed  germinates  and  develops  into  a  small  plant. 
Presently  one  of  its  air-roots  descends  along  the  trunk  of  its 
host  and  enters  the  ground,  more  air-roots  follow,  and  from  all 
are  produced  numerous  lateral  branches  or- rootlets,  which  clasp 
around  the  trunk  of  the  host,  fuse  together,  increase  in  size, 
and  finally  strangle  their  victim  in  their  deadly  embraces,  from 
.  which  there  is  no  escape.  So  the  tree  dies,  and  its  erstwhile 
epi[)hyte  is  established  in  its  place,  with  a  tall  trunk  formed  of 
the  fused  roots.  Mingled  with  all  the  above  in  suitable  places 
are  those  emblems  of  the  Tropics,  Palms  and  Tree  Ferns, 
besides  Grasses  and  Bamboos. 
In  contrasting  the  Floras  of  different  regions,  it  is  the  amount 
of  generic  difference  between  them  which  gives  a  distinctive 
feature  to  each,  for  there  are  often  present  numerous  genera 
which  are  common  to  many  very  distinct  Floras,  and  unless  they 
have  some  iieculiarity  of  habit  in  one  or  more  of  the  areas — such 
as  the  succul^pit  species  of  the  worldwide  distributed  genus 
Euphorbia  in  Africa  and  India — they  do  not  characterise  the 
Flora  of  any  particular  area  in  any  way.  Now,  in  the  two  areas 
at  present  under. consideration,  there  are  many  genera  present 
in  botli,  and  also  widely  distributed  in  all  the  warm  regions  of 
the  globe.  Some  of  the  more  familiar  of  these  are  Capparis, 
Erythrina,  Bauhinia,  Cassia,  Acacia,  Csesalpinia,  Indigofera, 
Crotalaria,  Phaseolus,  Begonia,  Hibiscus,  Eugenia,  Ixora, 
Ipomcea,  Aristolochia,  Solanum,  Piper,  Ficus,  Pilea,  Dalechampia, 
Vitis,  Phyllanthus,  Croton,  Vernonia,  Vanilla,  Commelina, 
Calanthe,  Loranthus,  and  many  others  ;  the  species  of  each 
genus  in  each  area  being,  with  few  exceptions,  entirely  different. 
One  of  the  exceptions  that  may  be  mentioned  is  Ipomcea 
pes-caprse,  which  is  a  seashore  plant,  and  an  example  of  a 
species  whose  fruits  are  floated  to  distant  lands  by  oceanic 
currents,  which  explains  its  presence  in  all  tropical  regions. 
If  we  seek  for  the  distinctive  features  of  the  two  Floras, 
indicated  by  genera  present  in  one,  but  absent  in  the  other,  we 
find  that  in  East  Tropical  South  America,  among  the  trees  are 
the  gigantic  Brazil  Nut  (Bertholletia  excelsa),  various  species  of 
Lecythis,  Tonquin  Bean  (Dipteryx  odorata),  Auona,  Gustavia, 
Hevea  (Rubber  trees),  Theobroma  (Cocoa),  Browea,  and  Cecropea. 
Of  smaller  trees  and  shrubs  there  are  the  genera  Gustavia, 
Pleroma,  Miconia,  Stifftia,  Clavija,  Jacquinia,  &c.  Of  Palms, 
Euterpe,  Leopoldinia,  Cocos,  Manritia,  Bactris,  Desmoncus, 
Geonoma,  and  Chamsedorea  are  some  of  the  chief.  Climbers 
are  represented  by  the  genera  Bignonia,  Heteropteris,  Tetrap- 
teris,  Tacsonia,  Dipladenia,  Philodendron,  and  Monstera. 
Epiphytes  and  rooting  climbers  by  Maregravia,  Dyckia, 
Tillandsia,  Bilbergia,  and  other  Bromeliads,  Anthurium, 
Alloplectus,  and  Orchids  such  as  Cattleya,  Laelia,  Epidendrum, 
Stanhopea,  Catasetum,  Ljxaste,  Zygopetalum,  Maxillaria, 
Brassavola,  &c. 
Among  the  herbs,  softwooded  plants,  and  shrublets  are 
Victoria,  queen  of  Water  Lilies,  Maranta,  Calathea,  Cauua, 
Caladium,  Iresine,  Rivina,  Cuphea,  Carludovica,  Gesnera, 
Sinningia  (or  Gloxinia),  Amazonia,  Dieffenbachia,  Schaveria,  &c. 
Among  the  parasites  is  the  genus  Phoradendrou,  whilst  the 
Natural  Orders  Lacistemaceae,  Rapaleaceae  (all  except  in  Africa), 
and  a  large  portion  of  the  peculiar  order  Podostemaceae  (all 
unknown  to  horticulture)  belong  to  this  region.  • 
Turning  now  to  the  Flora  of  the  Malay  region,  among  the- 
trees  and  larger  shrubs  are  the  genera  Paugium,  Artocarpus, 
Drybalanops,  Nephelium,  Garcinia  (which  produces  the  delicious 
Mangosteeu),  Durio  (which  yields  that  remarkable  fruit  the 
Duriou,  stated  to  be  luscious  in  flavour,  but  possessed  of  so 
disagreeable  an  odour  that  it  has  been  described  as  having  a 
“fragrant  stink,”  which  is  somewhat  deterrent  to  those  who 
attempt  to  taste  it  for  the  first  time),  Ciniiamomum,  Pandauus, 
Freycinetig,,  Draciena,  Codiaeum  (the  Crotons  of  gardens), 
Lagerstroemia,  Camellia,  Tetranthera,  Mallotus,  Hamalanthus, 
&c.  Palms  are  represented  by  the  genera  Areca,  Pinanga, 
Heterospatha,  Orauia,  Pigafetta,  Areuga,  Caryota;  Livistona, 
Zalacca,  and  the  extensively  climbing  Calamus,  of  which  there 
are  very  numerous  kinds.  Other  climbers  and  creeping  plants 
are  found  in  the  genera  Physostelma,  Agalmyla,  Hoya.  Dischidia, 
(with  extraordinary  pitcher-like,  as  well  as  flat,  leaves), 
MCschynanthus,  Nepenthes  (the  true  Pitcher  plant),  Rhapbi- 
dophora,  and  Pothos. 
Among  tlie  epiphytes  are  found  those  remarkable  plants 
belonging  to  Myrmecodia  and  other  allied  genera,  in  which  the 
base  of  the  stem  is  swollen  into  au  irregular  mass,  traversed 
throughout  its  interior  by  numerous  connected  passages,  which 
are  inhabited  by  ants.  Orchids  are  represented  by  the  epiphytic 
genera,  Dendrobium,  Eria,  Aerides,  Stanropsis,  Phalaenopsis, 
Vanda,  Renauthera,  Trichoglottis,  Saccolabium,  &c.,  and  the 
terrestrial  genera,  Dossima  and  Ansectochilus,  which  have 
such  beautifully  marked  leaves.  Among  other  parasites  is 
Ratflesia,  one  species  of  wdiicb,  R.  Arnoldi,  has  the  largest  of  all 
flowers,  measuring  about  a  yard  in  diameter.  Herbs. and  soft- 
wooded  plants  are  represented  by  such  as  Globba,  Zingiber, 
Burbidgea,  Alocasia,  Schismatoglottis,  Lasia,  Labisia,  Pellionia, 
Cbirita,  Didymocarpus,  Sonerila,  &c.  Here,  too,  grows  the 
gigantic  Amorphophallus  titanum,  with  a  cup-shaped  dark  purple 
spathe  2|  to  4ft  in  diameter,  and  a  spadix  3^  to  5ft  long  and  7  to 
lOin  thick.  It  has  twice  flowered  at  Kew,  but  at  no  other  place 
in  Europe  up  to  the  present.  The  largest  spathe  and  spadix 
weighed  101b,  and  the  single  leaf  was  7jft  high,  with  a  .spread  of 
8ft,  and  weighed  121b. 
Besides  those  mentioned, 'there  are,  belonging  to  each  Flora, 
a  large  number  of  other  genera  unknown  to  horticulturists, 
some  of  them,  like  some  of  the  above,  restricted  to  the  particular 
areas  under  consideration,  others  extending  into  adjacent  regions, 
but  the  Malay  genera  not  occurring  in  America,  or  vice  versa, 
and  all  serving  to  emphasise  the  distinctiveness  of  each  Flora, 
which  a  comparison  of  the  genera  mentioned  will  substantiate. 
—  N.  E.  Brown,  F.L.S.,  Kew. 
North-West  Kent  Fruit  Growers. 
Recently  the  North-West  Kent  Fruit  Growers’  and  Market 
Gardeners’  A.ssociation  held  a  general  meeting  at  Swanley  Junc¬ 
tion,  when  it  was  decided  to  impress  upon  the  Chatham  and 
Dover  and  South-Eastern  Railway  Company  the  importance  of 
providing  weighbridges  at  the  neighbouring  stations,  which 
were  used  by  the  growers  to  a  very  considerable  extent.  .With 
this  object  in  view  it  was  resolved  to  ask  the  National  Fruit 
Growers’  Federation  to  use  its  influence  with  '  the  obdurate- 
company  or  companies.  The  North-We.st  Kent  Fruit  Growers’ 
Association  is  affiliated  with  the  N.F.G.F.  * 
There  followed  a  considerable  discussion  in  reference  to  thC'" 
amount  of  subscription  small  growers — i.e.,  those  cultivating 
less  than  500  acres  of  land  or  with  less  than  1, 000ft  run  of  glass 
— should  pay  to  the  association.  As,  however,  the  National  , 
Federation  of  Fruit  Growers  and  Market  Gardeners,  of  which' 
Mr.  A.  T.  Matthews,  of  Eaton  Rise,  Ealing,  is  the  secretary, 
had  resolved  that  all  members  must  pay  an  annual  subscription 
of  10s.,  considerable  difficulty  was  found  in  accommodating  the' 
small  growers,  so  as  to  secure  their  admission  to  the  benefibs  , 
of  the  association,  with  both  the  local  branch  and  the  National 
Federation  at  a  .subscription  of  less  than  10s.  for.  the  federa¬ 
tion,  and  2s.  6d.  for  the  branch  expenses.  The  chairman,  Mr. 
A.  T.  Waring,  J.P.,  C.C.,  said  he  would  like  to  see  the  National 
Federation  alter  their  rule  with  regard  to  the  amount  of  sub¬ 
scription,  so  as  to  make  it  possible  to  admit  the'  small  grower 
upon  the  payment  of  a  subscription  of  less  than  10, s.  a  year ; 
but  while  the  rule  remained  in  force  he  was  afraid  they  must 
abide  by  it,  .since 'a  rule  was  a  rule,  however  much  they  might 
desire  that  it  should  be  varied.  Others  were  of  the  same, 
opinion,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  the  chairman  Mr.  H.  Cannell 
moved :  “  That  the  National  Federation  be  approached,  and 
asked  whether  they  can  frame  a  rule  so  as  to  bring  in  the  small 
growers  at  a  subscription  of  7s.  6d.  or  os.,”  which  was  seconded 
and  carried. 
With  reference  to  the  subject  of  telephones,  it  appeared- 
that  the  question  of  providing  a  telephone  exchange  at  Swanley 
Junction .  was  being  favourably  considered  by  the  General  Post 
Office  Department.  The  list  of  those  growers  who  were  prepared, 
to  use  the  telephone  comprised  about  thirty  names.  Subse- 
ciuently  the  meeting  discussed  a  letter  from  the  Board  ,  of  Agri-  ■ 
culture,  addres.sed  to  the  National  Federation,  in  reference,  to  ., 
the  need  of  legislation  for  the  prevention  and  control  of  insect 
pests.  The  letter  from  the  Board  of  Agriculture  resulted  from, 
a  report  from  the  Hereford  County  Council  Technical  Instruc¬ 
tion  Committee,  which 'has  been  presented  to"  the' Department.' 
