1878. ] NOTES ON MASDEVALLIAS. 49 EPACRIS ONOSMÆFLORA FL. PL. NIVALIS. HOUGH not the first double-flowered Epacris which has been noted, since an Epacris impressa flore-pleno has been. already recorded, this and a near ally are, we believe, the first which have been seen in cultivation. They are New Holland plants, and have been imported by Mr. W. Bull, of Chelsea, to whom we are indebted for the specimen of E. onosmaflora fl. pl. nivalis here depicted (Fig. 1), and which is much more beautiful when seen on the plant than it is possible for its representation to appear on paper, though a very fair idea of the charming character of its abundant rosette-like flowers may be gained from Mr. Fitch's excellent drawing. Indeed there are few finer hard-wooded plants than this Epacris will prove when well-grown specimens come to be produced. The following are the descriptive notes taken when the plant was in bloom in March, 1877 : A free-growing greenhouse evergreen shrub, producing long leafy shoots, which, when the blossoms are developed in the leaf axils form crowded spikes of flowers, the leaves being almost hidden by the profusion of blossom. The leaves are ovate acuminate, thickly placed on the stems, spreading in all directions. The flowers are of the purest white, and have a tubular base and a five-lobed spreading limb, the interior organs being changed into white petals, which spread out to the full extent of the corolla-lobes, and form with them a flower which on the face or front view is exactly rosette-shaped. The spikes are a foot long and upwards in plants by no means freely cultitivated, so that with vigorous growth they would no doubt considerably exceed this length. It produces broader and fuller spikes than the plant next to be noted. Altogether, it is a very beautiful acquisition amongst hard-wooded greenhouse plants, a class to which of late, during the era of palms and fine-foliage plants, much too little attention has been paid. Another double-flowered variety of the same species, Epacris onosmæflora fl. pl. alba, was imported at the same time, and was awarded a First-class Certificate by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1876. It resembles nivalis in growth, and is quite distinct, in its rather smaller, but fully double blush-white flowers, the interior petals more distinctly apparent within the corolla-tube, the lobes of which have more the appearance of a series of guardpetals. A third variety, with semidouble flowers, has also been imported. The other varieties figured in our plate are introduced for contrast, and comprise some of the most pleasing of the modern varieties; they are of cross-bred or hybrid origin, but with the character of E. impressa preponderating. The varieties named Butterfly (Fig. 2) and Densiflora (Fig. 3) are remarkable for their rosy-pink tube and white limb, whilst Sunset (Fig. 4) and Devoniensis (Fig. 5) have the flower-tubes longer and the tints of crimson rich and attractive, amongst the brightest to be found in this valuable genus of winter and springflowering greenhouse plants.-T. Moore. NOTES ON MASDEVALLIAS. ASDEVALLIAS are now becoming very numerous in our collections of cool orchids, and they are not only numerous but extremely varied in character, and in some instances exceptionally beautiful. They have all a neat habit of growth, which commends them to the notice of the cultivator. In their flowers some are gorgeous in the extreme, the tints of colour which occur in M. Veitchii (scarlet, shot with purple), M. Harryana (magenta-crimson), and M. Lindeni (violet-rose) being probably unapproachable in No. 4. IMPERIAL SERIES.-I. richness and brilliancy in the whole range of the vegetable world. It is the group represented by these, and of which M. Davisii, a yellow-flowered species, represented in the woodcut on p. 52, is another example, which has won for the genus the popularity which invests it. Other species are exquisite floral gems, but being of smaller size and less brilliant colours they are not effective in a general way, and require closer examination in order to realise their special type of beauty. M. ionocharis, represented in the subjoined cut (p. 51), E compared to the night-bird. Of the former of these the annexed figure, derived from the Gardeners' Chronicle, gives a good idea, though shown on a considerably reduced scale, as, indeed, are the other species represented. Most of the Masdevallias, but not quite all, belong to what are known in gardens as "cool" orchids. All the more beautiful forms belong to this set. Mr. Williams, who is one of the best cultivators of Orchids generally—as witness his success at exhibitions, both at home should be covered with living sphagnum. They will not bear a strong heat, and they must on no account be allowed to suffer from drought. They do not require a season of rest, like many others of this family, but continue growing on throughout the year, if a genial moist atmosphere is provided for them. This moisture must be produced by condensation, and not by deluging them with water from the syringe. The drainage must be kept in perfect order, for the plants cannot endure either soured soil or GOLD FISH FOR AQUATIC PLANT HOUSES. WRITER in the Field has noted "that an aquatic house can hardly be said to be complete without goldfish, which are exceedingly easy to rear and keep. What they need most is heat, for though they will live for a long while in a cold tank, they will not breed, but when. placed in water at a temperature of 85° or 90°, their fertility is prodigious. In a house devoted to aquatics, at one time under my charge, I had a very good opportunity of noticing their capabilities in this respect, and the effects of cold water in retarding their development. The tank was emptied during the winter months, and was filled again in April, and planted with aquatic plants. The fish were put into the tank at the same time, and were not removed till October or November, by which time the tank used to swarm with young fry, mostly of a dusky black colour-for they seemed to change to the golden colour at various ages. When the tank was emptied in November they were removed to a cold tank beneath the stage of one of the other plant houses, and some fish were always left here during the summer, but they never bred, and those that were put in black seldom or never changed to the golden colour. We kept a good-sized fish by itself in a slate tank in a cool cineraria-house, for eighteen months or two years, and it kept its dark colour all the time. Some were put into a tank above one of the boilers in the pine stove, where the water was never under 90°, and oftener as high as 110° and 120°-a temperature which did not seem to discommode them much; but they became sluggish in their habits, and when the pipes were hot, and the water consequently very warm also, they came to the surface and remained there, often putting their mouths out of the water as if to breathe, though I suppose that would not be their object. The tank in which they bred so freely was only 9 in. They deep, and had a bed of soil in the centre, CINERARIAS, SINGLE AND DOUBLE. ERHAPS one of the most remarkable flowers is to be seen in the 'single' varieties of the Cineraria, Mr. James's shown at South Kensington and the Regent's Park were as near perfection as it seems possible to arrive at. Many of your readers will remember the original rude, starry-shaped flowers, remarkable only for their large daisy-like disk or eye surrounded by a few thin narrow ray florets. These are happily things of the past. The Cineraria of the present day is of dwarf com |