PART II.

MISCELLANY

OF

NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE.

New or Rare Plants.

ADENOCALYMNA COMOSUM. HOP FLOWERED. (Bot. Mag. 4210.) Bignoniaceæ. Didynamia Angiospermia, (Synonym, Bignonia comosa.) A native of Brazil and Guiana. It is a tall climber, and trained neatly in the hothouse, makes a brilliant appearance with its very numerous racemes of large rich yellow trumpet-shaped flowers. Each blossom across the mouth is about two inches. It is very likely to flourish in a warm greenhouse or conservatory, and well deserves to be in every one. It is in the collection at Kew Gardens.

ABELIA RUPESTRIS. ROCK ABELIA, (Bot. Reg. 8.) Caprifoliaceæ. Pentandria Monogynia. A native of China, found by Mr. Fortune, amongst rocks on Chamoo Hills, and sent to the Horticultural Society. It is a small spreading bush, producing its numerous flowers in whorls, as many of the Honeysuckles. The corolla is about an inch long, pure white, and the calyx rose coloured. It flourishes in the greenhouse, but as it grows in China, in situations where the Hydrangea does, it is very likely to endure the climate of this country, trained against a good aspected wall.

DENDROBIUM DALHOUSIEANUM. LADY DALHOUSIE'S. (Bot. Reg. 10.) Orchidaceæ. Gynandria Monandria. From India, but what part thereof not known. It is in the Chatsworth collection. The flowers are produced on stems three to four feet high. They blossom in an horizontal raceme. Each flower is about four inches across, white, with beautiful pink edges, and on each side of the tip has a large rich crimson-red spot. It is a very noble and beautiful species, deserving to be in every collection. It has bloomed at Chatsworth, and with Messrs. Loddiges's.

ERICA CAVENDISHIANA. THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE'S. (Pax. Mag. Bot.) Ericaceæ. Octandria Monogynia. Erica depressa had been impregnated by the pollen of E. Patersonia, at Messrs. Rollisson's, of Tooting, and one of the produce was the present variety. It is one of the handsomest, and is so much noticed as to be exhibited in almost every collection at the London shows. The rich yellow flowers produced in vast profusion, each an inch long, give a beau tiful appearance. The shrub, too, is a neat erect grower, and easily kept as a handsome pyramidal bush. It deserves to be in every collection. It may be had of most of the general nurseries.

FRANCISCEA HYDRANGEÆFORMIS. HYDRANGEA LIKE. (Bot. Mag. 4209.) Scrophularineæ. Didynamia Angiospermia. It was discovered by Mr. Gardner, on the Organ Mountains, in India. It is a robust looking shrub, about four feet high, growing in its native country in moist places, in the forests. The leaves are six to eight inches long, and about three broad. The flowers are produced in a close receme or cyme, of a rich blue-purple, becoming nearly white with age. Each blossom is about an inch and a half across. It does best grown in

the stove.

GLOXINIA PALLIDIFLORA. PALE FLOWERED. (Bot. Mag. 4213.) Gesneriaceæ. Didynamia Gymnospermia. It was sent from Santa Martha to the Royal

Gardens at Kew. It is somewhat in the form of the old and beautiful Gloxinia maculata, the flowers a trifle less, similar in shape, and a paler colour. It is a very pretty flowering species.

HIBISCUS JERROLDIANUS. Mr. JERROLD'S. (Pax. Mag. Bot.) Malvaceæ. Monadelphia Polyandria. Dr. Lippold sent seeds of it from Brazil. It is herbaceous, and planted in the conservatory at Chatsworth; grows from four to nine feet high, with numerous shoots, which produce a profusion of large, rich, splendid crimson flowers, through summer and autumn. It requires a hothouse, or very warm part of a conservatory. It is increased by division of the roots. Each flower is about five inches across, single, but brilliant in colour.

MORMODES CARTONI. MR. CARTON'S. (Bot. Mag. 4214.) Orchidaceæ. Gynandria Monandria, From Santa Martha, by Mr. Purdie to the Royal Gardens at Kew. The flowers are produced in an erect scape six inches long, they are yellow, with red streaks. Each blossom is about an inch and a half across; very pretty.

PLATYCODON GRANDIFLORUM. GREAT FLOWERED. (Pax. Mag. Bot.) Campanulacea. Pentandria Monogynia. Sent to the Horticultural Society by Mr. Fortune, from China. It has bloomed at Brooklands Park, Blackheath, in Kent, under the skilful attention of Mr. Ayres. It has been considered by Dr. Lindley to be the same as the old Campanula grandiflora, but many consider it much different. The flowers are produced solitary, on longish stalks, terminal. Each blossom is about two and half inches across, deep blue, with a dark circle near the centre. It was grown in the hothouse at Brooklands. It strikes readily from cuttings. During the early part of its growth, the plant showed no sign of branching, but the lead being stopped, it soon branched and blossomed. It is very handsome, and probably as hardy as C. pyramidalis.

PEONIA WITTMANNIANA. THE YELLOW PEONY. (Bot. Reg. 9.) Ranunculaceæ. Polyandria Pentagynia. Probably from Taurian Caucasus, it was however received by the Horticultural Society, from the Nikita Garden, in the Crimea. It is quite hardy, blooms in May. The flowers are single, about four inches across, a beautiful yellow, with stamens and pistillum, tinged with red. It is a remarkable acquisition. Twenty-five guineas was lately demanded for a plant at one of the large continental nurseries.

RUELLIA MACROPHYLLA. LARGE-LEAVEd. (Bot. Reg. 7.) Acanthaceæ. Didynamia Angiospermia. From, Santa Martha. It has bloomed in the fine collection at Sion Gardens, in the hothouse, growing freely, and blooming beautifully. The flowers are produced in branching panicles, and are a rich carminescarlet colour. They are about the size of the old, very handsome, R. formosa. The leaves are six inches long, and near four broad. It is a fine species, readily increasing by cuttings. Like all Ruellias, it does best in a moist atmosphere, and it is essential to successful culture, very frequently to syringe them, so in this instance, or the red spider will voraciously attack it. It is most successfully grown in the Duke of Northumberland's collection, and it deserves a place wherever practicable.

SINNINGIA VELUTINA. VELVETY. (Bot. Mag. 4212.) Gesneriaceæ. Didynamia Angiospermia. From Brazil, it has bloomed at Kew, in the stove. The stem about three inches high, and about half an inch thick. Leaves large; flowers solitary, tube two inches long, the limb spreading, so as to be over the mouth an inch and a half across, a greenish-yellow colour.

STACHYTARPHETA ARISTATA. BASTARD-VERVAIN.. (Bot. Mag. 4211.) Verbenaceæ. Diandria Monogynia. From South America. We saw it in beautiful bloom last autumn, in the hothouse at Kew. It is half shrubby, branching, producing numerous long, terminal spikes of very rich deep blackish-purple flowers. It is a beautifully striking plant, and well deserves to be in every collection.

DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF NEW CAMELLIAS (continued from page 44)

Feastii, very large, imbricate formed petals, and superb shape; white spotted, and striped with rose.

Felicita, delicate rose; very handsome.

Frosti, imbricate, deep red, shaded with purple. A very abundant bloomer, and one of the most superb.

General Washington, imbricate, white, blotched and striped with beautiful rose; very beautiful.

Globe Crimson, fine rich crimson.

Gloria delie Isole Borromee, imbricate, the centre beautiful rose, spotted with red, and edged with white; very fine.

Gloria del Verbano, imbricate, red, with spotted and striped with white; very fine. Gobernativa, very large and very double, imbricate, deep carmine; handsome. Grand Duchessa d'Etruria, pœony formed, glossy white, striped with rose; very beautiful.

Imbricata magna, very double beautiful rose.

Jubilee (Low's), very large, fine imbricate form, white, with tinge of flesh colour, veined and striped with rose. A fine centre of cream colour, or pale yellow.

Jupiter, fine imbricate form, salmon colour, with a white streak up the centre of each petal.

Lainatensis, pure white, fine imbricate form; very double and handsome.

Leopoldina d'Italie, very large and pure white, spotted with rose, and striped with red; very handsome.

Lowii, fine imbricated form, and deep carmine; very handsome.

Madonna, fine imbricated form, very large, pure white, with a carmine centre ; very superb.

Maneghini, fine imbricate, very double, deep carmine, with white spots in the

centre.

Maria Eliza, red and white, in irregular portions; very handsome.

Maria Teresa, fine ranunculus formed, white tinged with flesh, and marked with delicate carmine; very superb.

Napoleone d'Italia, very large, rich red, with large patches of white; a very beautiful flower.

Neoboracensis, very large and beautiful, deep bright red, with white stripes up the centre; handsome.

THE DEODAR, OR INDIAN CEDAR (Cedrus Deodara).—This tree is one of the loftiest and grandest of the Coniferæ. In England it is as yet merely a graceful object; so that whether it will eventually assume the dignity belonging to its kindred of the Himalaya is a matter purely of conjecture. Its being perfectly hardy, like the Cedar of Lebanon, has secured it a place in every British collection of Pines; though it has to be regretted that so many of the specimens foisted upon the unwary are merely cuttings grafted upon the common Larch, which, as is well known, is a comparatively low-growing tree, and is besides a deciduous one. The noble nature of the Deodar, therefore, when allied with this object, is scarcely to be expected; and, from the specimens we have seen so treated, it is already apparent that the scion outgrows the stock, and that the demand upon the latter is more than it is prepared to respond to. To remedy this, as far as possible, the best way is to dig out the soil by the side of the tree, and to lay it down so that the part above the stock may take hold and hereafter grow upon its own roots.

The cones of this tree resemble those of the Cedar of Lebanon, and are ripe in the months of November and December, when they fall off like the Silver Fir cones. They may be crushed into pieces even with the hand, and the seeds are then easily picked out; the good ones are plump, whilst those which are useless are flat and shrivelled. During the month of May a light friable piece of ground should be selected (and in the climate of England it will be all the better to be shaded), and, after being dug and raked, the seeds should be sown in beds, in the same way as Larch seeds are sown, viz., by covering them to the depth of two-thirds of an inch. The plants will appear in June, and in those beds they

may be allowed to remain for two years, keeping them free from weeds; they should then be transplanted into lines, and treated in every respect the same as the common Larch tree. The system of keeping them in houses is just as absurd as growing the common Scotch Pine in heat, or any other plant which is equally hardy. According to all accounts, the wood of this tree is very durable and easily worked; but as it claims attention at present chiefly as a landscape ornament, planters would do well to take advantage of this graceful object, and grow it around their residences and on the bolder parts of their parks. The soil it delights in most is a sandy loam, and the situation a northern exposure. Under those circumstances it is already rearing its beautiful form on several hills throughout the north of Scotland.

ON THE MANAGEMENT OF IMPORTED SEEDS.-Upon the arrival of a box of seeds, my mode of proceeding is this:-supposing them to arrive in the beginning or middle of summer, the different sorts should be sown in the soil best suited to the plants to be grown, although perhaps a light loam, with a mixture of leaf-mould, will answer for most of them while in the seed-pan. The seed should then be sown of the proper depth, which will in most instances be regulated by the size of the seeds, the larger nuts being sown one or two inches deep, while the smaller ones should be sown on the top of the mould, and then a mere sprinkling of mould be added, and afterwards a small sprinkling of white sand be put on the top. The object of this addition is to prevent the plants, on their first appearance, damping off, which all tender plants, but especially herbaceous ones, are apt to do. If the season be far advanced (for instance, the autumn), there is little inducement for pushing forward the germination or growth of the seeds, and the pans may be placed on the stage of the greenhouse for the winter. My great object in sowing them at what may be considered an unfavourable season is more with a view to prevent the loss of vitality, by keeping them in an intermediate state of dampness and dryness, than by keeping them in their packages all the winter.

If, however, it be either in spring or the earlier part of summer, or indeed not very late in the season, I put the seed-pans in a hotbed or other place where they may get bottom heat; and I conceive that an error takes place in this respect, by supposing that much bottom heat will injure the heads. This I do not think is the case; many seeds require a very considerable bottom heat to make them germinate, especially if they are weakly, and perhaps imperfectly ripened; the chief danger will be after the plants begin to make their appearance. While in this state too much heat will of course destroy the plants; they must be kept tolerably damp if in heat; and the heat, if very great, must be moderated by raising the glasses and shading the plants, which will be treated much in the way that our common flower seeds are treated; that is, they must be gradually hardened, and shifted into separate pots, the size of which will be regulated by the kind and size of the future plant, and which cannot be entered into minutely. The soil in the new pots may be made more to resemble that which they will probably require when they are larger plants. In general, with herbaceous plants, which are more likely to damp off, a little white or common sand will be placed at top to absorb the superfluous moisture, and the pots should be placed in a drier situation than is necessary with woody plants. The plants may very soon be placed in the temperature best suited for them, according to their native climate, either in the stove, the conservatory, or greenhouse, or the open air; observing, in general, that any change of temperature must not be made too suddenly; but, as the gardeners say, the plants must be hardened or prepared for it. When the plant is intended for the stove, or conservatory, or greenhouse, but little preparation will be found necessary; but when it is to go to the open border it can be prepared by being removed to a cool frame, as it is called; that is, a frame where there is no artificial heat produced by dung or fire, and the glasses will be removed or raised in favourable weather. In summer the pots may be very soon placed out, rather in a shady place; and in the course of every ten days they may be fully exposed; observing, however, that they must be watered occasionally in the evenings, when the weather is dry.—A Practical

Plant Grower.

IPOMEA LEARII.-An old subscriber to the FLORICULTURAL CABINET Would be grateful for directions for blooming the Ipomea Learii. She has had a plant in a warm greenhouse for several years in a large pot; it thrives and throws out long branches, but scarcely ever flowers.

more.

Quite late in the autumn sometimes two or three blossoms expand, but never What soil suits it? Does it require more heat than a greenhouse? Should it be cut in every winter, or should the branches be allowed full growth? Would it do better with more or less space for the roots.

Bromley.

[Very far the most superior plant we ever saw in blooom was at Mr. Knight's nursery, King's Road, Chelsea. In July, 1840 we saw this splendid plant in most profuse bloom, having about 500 expanded blooms. It was growing in a low plant stove, which was kept somewhat hotter than a greenhouse. It was grown in a bed at the corner of the stove, in a rich turfy loam and peat, having several inches of broken pots, &c. forming a drainage. The branches were trained at several inches apart, to a wire trellis which extended over the two sides of a double roofed house. The plant was in vigorous growth. The shoots are pruned in each winter, and regularly thinned, so as each wire has but one to support.-CONDUCTOR,]

ON ACACIA ARMATA, AND ON THE USE OF GUANO FOR FLORISTS' FLOWERS.I should feel much obliged if you, or some of your esteemed correspondents, would give me some information on the propagation and cultivation of Acacia armata; and likewise if Guano may be profitably applied to florists' plants, and how?

Lynn.

T. S.

[All kinds of Acacias require to be grown in a compost of equal portions of rich sandy loam, peat, and leaf-mould, and have a free drainage. They must be placed in the greenhouse, in a light and airy situation. They bear cutting in; and in order to have the plant bushy, such attention will effect the desired purpose. This treatment is specially necessary with some of the tall slendergrowing species. Most of them, especially A. armata, produce seeds; and if soaked before sowing, and afterwards placed in a hot-bed frame, &c., there, too, kept moist, not wet, they will come up, as it is termed, in ten days or a fortnight. A piece of coloured glass placed over the pot, it is said, materially promotes the seeds vegetating, &c. Cuttings obtained from young shoots, when the lower portion is become somewhat firm, cut clean off at their origin, then dressing off the leaves about half the length by means of scissors or a sharp knife, and inserting them firmly in white sand, watering, and, after drying a little, covering them with a bell glass, and place in a hot-bed frame, with subsequent due attention; they readily strike root. If some of our florist friends have applied the guano, we shall be obliged if they will favour us with the results, in order to meet our correspondent's request.]

ON RHODANTHE MANGLESII-On visiting one of the London nurseries lately I was astonished to see numerous pots of Rhodanthe Manglesii in vigorous and profuse bloom. I remember too, last September, seeing fine bushy groups of them growing in the open border, I asked for information, how they were thus grown, but I could not ascertain. I should be glad of any information how to grow it thus fine, as the specimens I saw were six times larger than any I ever grew. AN AMATEUR.

[Sow at twice; first in February, and raise in moist heat, in loam and peat finely sifted over the seeds, and never allowed to be dry, but not to be kept wet; pot off singly as soon as can be safely done into small, well-drained pots, but not to have sifted soil: after this, encourage them in a gentle heat and gradually inure them to the greenhouse, keeping them near to the glass. Re-pot when requiring it, in manner and soil as before named; pinch off all first flowers to cause shoots; such treated plants will bloom fine till autumn. Kept in the greenhouse, or turned out at the end of May entire, into the open bed, in a