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Python Data Visualization Cookbook 2nd Edition Igor
Milovanovic Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Igor Milovanovic, Dimitry Foures, Giuseppe Vettigli
ISBN(s): 9781784396695, 1784396699
Edition: 2nd
File Details: PDF, 19.66 MB
Year: 2015
Language: english
www.it-ebooks.info
Python Data Visualization
Cookbook
Second Edition

Over 70 recipes, based on the principal concepts

of data visualization, to get you started with popular
Python libraries

Igor Milovanović
Dimitry Foures
Giuseppe Vettigli

BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI

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Python Data Visualization Cookbook
Second Edition

Copyright © 2015 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the
publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

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companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals.
However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: November 2013

Second edition: November 2015

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Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

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ISBN 978-1-78439-669-5

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 Credits

Authors Project Coordinator

Igor Milovanović Nidhi Joshi
Dimitry Foures
Giuseppe Vettigli Proofreader
Safis Editing

Reviewer
Kostiantyn Kucher Indexer
Rekha Nair

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 About the Authors

Igor Milovanović is an experienced developer, with strong background in Linux system

knowledge and software engineering education, he is skilled in building scalable data-driven
distributed software rich systems.

Evangelist for high-quality systems design who holds strong interests in software architecture
and development methodologies, Igor is always persistent on advocating methodologies
which promote high-quality software, such as test-driven development, one-step builds and
continuous integration.

He also possesses solid knowledge of product development. Having field experience and
official training, he is capable of transferring knowledge and communication flow from
business to developers and vice versa.

Igor is most grateful to his girlfriend for letting him spent hours on the work instead with
her and being avid listener to his endless book monologues. He thanks his brother for
being the strongest supporter. He is thankful to his parents to let him develop in various
ways and become a person he is today.

Dimitry Foures is a data scientist with a background in applied mathematics and

theoretical physics. After completing his undergraduate studies in physics at ENS Lyon
(France), he studied fluid mechanics at École Polytechnique in Paris where he obtained
a first class master's. He holds a PhD in applied mathematics from the University of
Cambridge. He currently works as a data scientist for a smart-energy startup in
Cambridge, in close collaboration with the university.

Giuseppe Vettigli is a data scientist who has worked in the research industry and
academia for many years. His work is focused on the development of machine learning
models and applications to use information from structured and unstructured data.
He also writes about scientific computing and data visualization in Python on his blog
at http://glowingpython.blogspot.com.

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 About the Reviewer

Kostiantyn Kucher was born in Odessa, Ukraine. He received his master's degree in
computer science from Odessa National Polytechnic University in 2012, and he has used
Python as well as matplotlib and PIL for machine learning and image recognition purposes.

Since 2013, Kostiantyn has been a PhD student in computer science specializing in information
visualization. He conducts his research under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Andreas Kerren with
the ISOVIS group at the Computer Science department of Linnaeus University (Växjö, Sweden).

Kostiantyn was a technical reviewer for the first edition of this book.

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 Table of Contents
Preface v
Chapter 1: Preparing Your Working Environment 1
Introduction 1
Installing matplotlib, NumPy, and SciPy 2
Installing virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper 4
Installing matplotlib on Mac OS X 7
Installing matplotlib on Windows 9
Installing Python Imaging Library (PIL) for image processing 10
Installing a requests module 11
Customizing matplotlib's parameters in code 12
Customizing matplotlib's parameters per project 14
Chapter 2: Knowing Your Data 17
Introduction 17
Importing data from CSV 18
Importing data from Microsoft Excel files 20
Importing data from fixed-width data files 23
Importing data from tab-delimited files 25
Importing data from a JSON resource 27
Exporting data to JSON, CSV, and Excel 29
Importing and manipulating data with Pandas 34
Importing data from a database 35
Cleaning up data from outliers 40
Reading files in chunks 45
Reading streaming data sources 47
Importing image data into NumPy arrays 49
Generating controlled random datasets 55
Smoothing the noise in real-world data 62

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Table of Contents

Chapter 3: Drawing Your First Plots and Customizing Them 69

Introduction 70
Defining plot types – bar, line, and stacked charts 70
Drawing simple sine and cosine plots 76
Defining axis lengths and limits 79
Defining plot line styles, properties, and format strings 82
Setting ticks, labels, and grids 87
Adding legends and annotations 90
Moving spines to the center 93
Making histograms 95
Making bar charts with error bars 97
Making pie charts count 100
Plotting with filled areas 102
Making stacked plots 104
Drawing scatter plots with colored markers 107
Chapter 4: More Plots and Customizations 111
Introduction 111
Setting the transparency and size of axis labels 112
Adding a shadow to the chart line 114
Adding a data table to the figure 118
Using subplots 120
Customizing grids 123
Creating contour plots 128
Filling an under-plot area 131
Drawing polar plots 134
Visualizing the filesystem tree using a polar bar 136
Customizing matplotlib with style 140
Chapter 5: Making 3D Visualizations 143
Introduction 143
Creating 3D bars 143
Creating 3D histograms 147
Animating in matplotlib 150
Animating with OpenGL 154
Chapter 6: Plotting Charts with Images and Maps 159
Introduction 159
Processing images with PIL 160
Plotting with images 166
Displaying images with other plots in the figure 171
Plotting data on a map using Basemap 174

ii

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 Table of Contents
Plotting data on a map using the Google Map API 179
Generating CAPTCHA images 185
Chapter 7: Using the Right Plots to Understand Data 191
Introduction 191
Understanding logarithmic plots 192
Understanding spectrograms 195
Creating stem plot 200
Drawing streamlines of vector flow 204
Using colormaps 208
Using scatter plots and histograms 213
Plotting the cross correlation between two variables 221
Importance of autocorrelation 224
Chapter 8: More on matplotlib Gems 229
Introduction 229
Drawing barbs 229
Making a box-and-whisker plot 233
Making Gantt charts 236
Making error bars 241
Making use of text and font properties 244
Rendering text with LaTeX 251
Understanding the difference between pyplot and OO API 255
Chapter 9: Visualizations on the Clouds with Plot.ly 261
Introduction 261
Creating line charts 262
Creating bar charts 266
Plotting a 3D trefoil knot 269
Visualizing maps and bubbles 272
Index 275

iii

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www.it-ebooks.info
 Preface
The best data is the data that we can see and understand. As developers and data scientists,
we want to create and build the most comprehensive and understandable visualizations.
It is not always simple; we need to find the data, read it, clean it, filter it, and then use the
right tool to visualize it. This book explains the process of how to read, clean, and visualize
the data into information with straight and simple (and sometimes not so simple) recipes.

How to read local data, remote data, CSV, JSON, and data from relational databases are all
explained in this book.

Some simple plots can be plotted with one simple line in Python using matplotlib, but
performing more advanced charting requires knowledge of more than just Python. We need
to understand information theory and human perception aesthetics to produce the most
appealing visualizations.

This book will explain some practices behind plotting with matplotlib in Python, statistics used,
and usage examples for different charting features that we should use in an optimal way.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Preparing Your Working Environment, covers a set of installation recipes and advice
on how to install the required Python packages and libraries on your platform.

Chapter 2, Knowing Your Data, introduces you to common data formats and how to read and
write them, be it CSV, JSON, XSL, or relational databases.

Chapter 3, Drawing Your First Plots and Customizing Them, starts with drawing simple plots
and covers some customization.

Chapter 4, More Plots and Customizations, follows up from the previous chapter and covers
more advanced charts and grid customization.

Chapter 5, Making 3D Visualizations, covers three-dimensional data visualizations such as

3D bars, 3D histograms, and also matplotlib animations.

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Preface

Chapter 6, Plotting Charts with Images and Maps, deals with image processing, projecting
data onto maps, and creating CAPTCHA test images.

Chapter 7, Using Right Plots to Understand Data, covers explanations and recipes on some
more advanced plotting techniques such as spectrograms and correlations.

Chapter 8, More on matplotlib Gems, covers a set of charts such as Gantt charts, box plots,
and whisker plots, and it also explains how to use LaTeX for rendering text in matplotlib.

Chapter 9, Visualizations on the Clouds with Plot.ly, introduces how to use Plot.ly to create
and share your visualizations on its cloud environment.

What you need for this book

For this book, you will need Python 2.7.3 or a later version installed on your operating system.

Another software package used in this book is IPython, which is an interactive Python
environment that is very powerful and flexible. This can be installed using package
managers for Linux-based OSes or prepared installers for Windows and Mac OS X.

If you are new to Python installation and software installation in general, it is highly
recommended to use prepackaged scientific Python distributions such as Anaconda,
Enthought Python Distribution or Python(x, y).

Other required software mainly comprises Python packages that are all installed using the
Python installation manager, pip, which itself is installed using Python's easy_install setup tool.

Who this book is for

Python Data Visualization Cookbook, Second Edition is for developers and data scientists who
already use Python and want to learn how to create visualizations of their data in a practical
way. If you have heard about data visualization but don't know where to start, this book will
guide you from the start and help you understand data, data formats, data visualization, and
how to use Python to visualize data.

You will need to know some general programming concepts, and any kind of programming
experience will be helpful. However, the code in this book is explained almost line by line.
You don't need math for this book; every concept that is introduced is thoroughly explained
in plain English, and references are available for further interest in the topic.

vi

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 Preface

Sections
In this book, you will find several headings that appear frequently (Getting ready, How to do it,
How it works, There's more, and See also).

To give clear instructions on how to complete a recipe, we use these sections as follows:

Getting ready
This section tells you what to expect in the recipe, and describes how to set up any software or
any preliminary settings required for the recipe.

How to do it…
This section contains the steps required to follow the recipe.

How it works…
This section usually consists of a detailed explanation of what happened in the previous section.

There's more…
This section consists of additional information about the recipe in order to make the reader
more knowledgeable about the recipe.

See also
This section provides helpful links to other useful information for the recipe.

Conventions
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of
information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.

Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames,
dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "We packed our little demo
in the DemoPIL class, so that we can extend it easily, while sharing the common code around
the demo function, run_fixed_filters_demo."

vii

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Preface

A block of code is set as follows:

def my_function(x):
return x*x

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or
items are set in bold:
for a in range(10):
print a

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

$ sudo python setup.py install

Warnings or important notes appear in a box like this.

Tips and tricks appear like this.

Reader feedback
Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this
book—what you liked or may have disliked. Reader feedback is important for us to develop
titles that you really get the most out of.

To send us general feedback, simply send an e-mail to feedback@packtpub.com, and

mention the book title via the subject of your message.

If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either writing or
contributing to a book, see our author guide on www.packtpub.com/authors.

Customer support
Now that you are the proud owner of a Packt book, we have a number of things to help you to
get the most from your purchase.

viii

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Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
EPIDENDRUM VITELLINUM MAJUS. PL. 4.
8
 EPIDENDRUM VITELLINUM MAJUS.
[Plate 4.]
Native of Mexico.

Epiphytal. Pseudobulbs ovate, clustered, two-leaved. Leaves

oblong-ligulate, acute, sheathing at the base. Scape erect, six to
nine inches high, racemose, many-flowered, longer than the
leaves. Flowers brilliant orange-scarlet, nearly two inches across,
much larger than the typical form; sepals spreading; petals flat,
elliptic, somewhat broader than the sepals, spreading, lanceolate,
acute; lip clawed, linear, abruptly acute, with a bifoveate (two-
holed) callosity below the middle, deep yellow passing to orange-
scarlet at the tip. Column parallel with and nearly half the length of
the lip, to which it is adnate towards the base, the anther-bed
marginate in front.

Epidendrum vitellinum majus, of gardens.

The original form of Epidendrum vitellinum, of which a good though

pale-coloured figure will be found in the Botanical Register for 1840
(t. 35), is one of the most brilliant of the Epidendreæ, on account of
its remarkable fiery colour, which makes it invaluable for contrasting
with other subjects, both in the Orchid-house, in the jardinière, or in
the bouquet. The same colour, or something near it, occurs in a few
other Orchids, which are equally valuable from a decorative point of
view, as for example in Lælia cinnabarina, Lælia harpophylla, and
Ada aurantiaca, all of them being plants, which, under favourable
conditions, yield a brilliant effect. The subject of our plate has the
advantage of producing larger and more showy flowers than its type,
and to this extent is the more desirable of the two for the house-
stage, or exhibition table.
Until within the last few years this plant was very rare, but having
been imported in large quantities it is now to be found in every
collection, however limited its pretensions. The bright colour of its
orange-scarlet flowers, produced in considerable numbers on upright
spikes, renders it a most striking and distinct species. We have known
the flowers to last as long as twelve weeks in perfection; in fact, we
have on several occasions exhibited a plant of it at as many as six
different successive exhibitions. Mixed with other Orchids it has a
most telling effect; and a well-flowered specimen once seen by a
novice is likely to produce a lasting impression. In the Broomfield
collection it is used very largely in association with Odontoglossums,
and the effect of the orange-scarlet flowers amongst the numerous
spikes of Odontoglossum Alexandræ, and other species, is charming.

We have found this Epidendrum to do well in the 9

Odontoglossum-house in a compost of peat and sphagnum
moss. It does equally well in a pot or in a basket, and should receive
a fair supply of water while growing. The plant seems to revel in a
good amount of sunlight, but it must be kept from the burning rays
of the sun by a slight shading, too much sunshine being apt to make
the foliage become blotched and sickly-looking.

The variety majus blooms at a different time of the year from the
original species, which has the flowers much smaller, and which
blooms in August and September from the young growths; whereas
the variety majus flowers from the tips of the bulbs of the previous
year’s growth. There are several forms of the plant, some with
flowers much larger and brighter than others; indeed, the one here
figured is not so large as some that were flowered years ago, which
may be due to the fact that they were old-established plants. We
remember the late Mrs. Lawrence, of Ealing Park, exhibiting a
remarkably strong specimen at one of the Chiswick shows, thirty-five
years since, a perfect blaze of flower. S. Brunton, Esq., also exhibited
a grand plant of a good variety a few years back; and C. W. Lea,
Esq., Parkfield, Worcester, had a wonderful example in bloom, last
year. These several plants were all part of the early importations.
The Manchester Show of Orchids, June, 1881.—The display of Orchids at
the Manchester Exhibition was a very fine one, and no Orchid grower
should have missed the sight. The specimens were truly marvellous,
especially the sixteen plants shown by R. Dodgson, Esq., of
Blackburn, amongst which were a Vanda suavis with about a dozen
flower-spikes; Lælia purpurata and Cattleya Warneri, both wonderful
specimens, as also was Masdevallia Harryana; Cypripedium barbatum
superbum which had a hundred blooms upon it, and was not made
up for the occasion, but had been grown on from a single plant; and
Dendrobium Wardianum which was a magnificent plant. Great credit
is due to Mr. Osman for his talent, in successfully cultivating so fine a
collection. G. Hardy, Esq., of Timperley, exhibited some wonderful
plants, especially of Cattleyas, Lælias, Dendrobium thyrsiflorum,
Oncidium Marshallianum, Odontoglossum vexillarium, &c. R. F.
Ainsworth, Esq., M.D., also exhibited some fine specimens, especially
Vanda suavis, Aërides Fieldingii, and A. Schröderii; these three are
most extraordinary plants, and have been grown in the collection for
eighteen years, which is a sufficient proof of what can be done by
perseverance, and, moreover, gives one an idea how well Orchids can
be grown and exhibited for many successive years. We have known
these three specimens to be shown at the Manchester exhibitions and
elsewhere for the past ten or fifteen years, and they are now in the
finest possible condition, as they have always been, under the
successful management of Mr. Mitchell. There were besides, other
exhibitors whose specimens were well worthy of note.—B. S. W.
MASDEVALLIA SHUTTLEWORTHII. PL. 5.

10
 MASDEVALLIA SHUTTLEWORTHII.
[Plate 5.]
Native of the United States of Colombia.

Epiphytal. Rhizome slender, slowly creeping. Leaves crowded,

petiolate, the petiole with a sheathing scale at the base, the blade
about equalling the petiole, two to three inches long, elliptic-
oblong, acute, pale green, obscurely three to five-nerved. Scapes
numerous, slender, as long as or longer than the petioles, green,
with an ovate acuminate appressed bract at the top. Flowers
yellowish, tinted with rose, rather large for the size of the plant;
the perianth tube very short and swollen at the base; dorsal sepal
of a pale yellowish red, indistinctly dotted with pale rosy red spots,
and marked with from five to seven (or nine according to
Reichenbach) longitudinal wine-coloured nerves, fully an inch long,
sub-erect, concave or somewhat hooded, obovate, suddenly
contracted into a tail two or three times its own length, the tail
green below and becoming orange-yellow towards the tip; lateral
sepals obliquely ovate, spreading, and decurved, thickly studded
with deep red spots, and tapering off into a tail similar to that of
the dorsal sepal; petals small, linear-oblong or ligulate, bilobed at
the apex; lip very small, broadly oblong, recurved at the tip, with
two keels or ridges running down the centre. Column short, three-
toothed at the apex.

Masdevallia Shuttleworthii, Reichenbach fil. in Gardeners’ Chronicle,

N.S. iii., 170; Hooker fil., Botanical Magazine, t. 6372.

Of this interesting plant, one of a popular genus inhabiting the cool

temperate humid regions of Northern and Western South America,
Professor Reichenbach, by whom it was dedicated to Mr.
Shuttleworth, one of Mr. W. Bull’s collectors, remarks that it is “rather
a nice thing amongst Masdevallias of the second order of beauty.” It
was first flowered in 1878 by W. H. Punchard, Esq., of Poulett Lodge,
Twickenham. Our figure was prepared from a plant which has
bloomed in our own collection recently. We find it to be a very free-
blooming species.

The Masdevallias comprise many interesting species and varieties,

some of very remarkable structure, and others with colours of
extraordinary richness and brilliancy. Our present subject is not one
of the most showy, but it may be ranked with the more curious of the
species, and is certainly of a distinct and pleasing character, as is well
represented in our Plate. The plant was discovered by Mr.
Shuttleworth, when travelling for Mr. Bull, and by him it was first
transmitted to Europe. Since then we have received it from the same
country through our own collector, Mr. Carder. The Masdevallias are
plentiful in their native habitats, but the difficulty of obtaining them in
this country lies in the risks attending importation, which are mainly
attributable to the fact that they have no thick fleshy bulbs to support
them during their journey. We have heard of thousands of 11
plants of this particular species having been sent off, but of
these comparatively few have been received alive, so that unless
some more successful means of introducing them into England can
be found, it will always remain a rare plant.

Masdevallia Shuttleworthii is of free-blooming habit, and the flowers

last a long time in perfection. It generally blossoms during the spring
and summer months. The plants require but little room, as the foliage
is of neat growth, and the whole height of the plant does not exceed
from six to eight inches. The leaves are of a dark green colour and
firm texture. The flower-scapes proceed from the young growth, and
attain the height of about eight inches, the more conspicuous
spreading long-tailed sepals being of a pleasing yellowish rose colour
thickly marked with wine-red spots, while the petals and lip are small
and inconspicuous.
We find the plants grow well when potted in small pots or pans
suspended from the roof, and filled with peat and sphagnum moss;
but they require thorough drainage, since they need a liberal supply
of water during summer. In the autumn and winter months they do
not require so full a supply, but they must have sufficient to keep
them moist. They thrive best in the same house with the
Odontoglots, where they obtain shade, and are kept cool. None of
the Masdevallias like heat, and most of them require the same kind of
treatment. The house in which they are grown should have a north
aspect, so that they may not get too much sun-heat, as this causes
the leaves to become spotted, to the great disfigurement of the
plant.

Insects become a nuisance if allowed to accumulate on the plants.

The thrips, which is one of their greatest insect enemies, constantly
attacks them, and must be subdued by cleansing them frequently
and thoroughly with a sponge and warm soft water.

The propagation of Masdevallias is effected by dividing the plants,

leaving a few old bulbs with a leading one in front. They are the
easiest of all Orchids to increase, and are best divided up
occasionally, as when the plants get too large they do not flower so
freely. The most suitable time to perform this operation is just as they
commence to make their growth. They should at first be put into
small pots, and shifted into larger ones as they increase in size, and
develope abundance of roots.

Lælia Philbrickiana.—This new Hybrid was exhibited at the Royal

Horticultural Society, South Kensington, by the Messrs. Veitch and
Sons. It was raised between Cattleya Aclandiæ and Lælia elegans,
partaking of the dwarf habit of C. Aclandiæ. The plant grows about
eight inches high, and produces its leaves in pairs, of a dark green
colour, about four inches in length; from between these the flower-
sheaths proceed. The sepals and petals are of a glossy purplish
crimson-brown, spotted with darker spots; the lip is of a bright
crimson, the basal part purple and white. It blooms in June and July,
and will be a very useful addition to our collections.—B. S. W.
CATTLEYA MORGANÆ PL. 6.
12
 CATTLEYA MORGANÆ.
[Plate 6.]
Native of the United States of Colombia.

Epiphytal. Stems short, oblong or somewhat clavate, furrowed

when mature, attaining with the leaves about eighteen inches in
height. Leaves solitary, coriaceous, ligulate-oblong, acute, of a light
green colour. Scape three to four-flowered, issuing from a terminal
oblong compressed bract, which is about two and a half inches
long. Flowers large and pleasing on account of their delicate
colouring, about six inches across when expanded; sepals
lanceolate, entire, three-fourths of an inch broad and about three
inches long, recurved at the tip, white; petals spreading, clawed,
broadly ovate, fully two inches across, the margin entire at the
base and much undulated in the anterior portion, white; lip
obovate, emarginate, about three inches long, the basal portion
entire and rolled over the column, the anterior portion moderately
expanded and beautifully frilled, white, like the rest of the flower,
with a small blotch of pale magenta near the apex, but not quite
extending to the margin, and stained on the disk with an obcordate
blotch of clear yellow, passing into orange-yellow in the throat, the
deeper portion being veined with yellow lines. Column concealed
by the convolute base of the lip.

Cattleya Morganæ, supra.

One of the most chaste and charming of the summer-flowering

Cattleyas, and quite distinct in aspect from all others in cultivation.
We have great pleasure in dedicating it to Mrs. M. Morgan, of New
York, who is a great admirer of this noble class of Orchidaceous
plants, and, moreover, has a fine and valuable collection of them. The
first specimen we bloomed produced ten flower spikes, and was
exhibited at the Manchester Botanical and Horticultural Society’s
Show in June, 1879; the plant was the admiration of all who saw it,
and was on that occasion awarded a First Class Certificate on account
of its distinct and pleasing character.

Cattleya Morganæ belongs to the same section of the genus as C.

Mendelii, of which section there are many races or varieties, all of
which are beautiful and rich in the colouring of the lip, some having
the sepals and petals white, while in others they are of a rosy hue,
more or less intense. The plant now before us grows about eighteen
inches in height, and has light green foliage with a somewhat
drooping habit. It produces its flowers freely, as many as four
together on the spike. The sepals and petals are pure white; and the
lip is white with a light magenta blotch near the apex, its throat
orange colour, the incurved base white, and the edge beautifully
fringed. The flowers are produced in May and June, and last from five
to six weeks in perfection. It makes a fine subject for decorative
purposes, since its pure white flowers form a charming contrast with
the high-coloured varieties of other species of Cattleya, of 13
which there are many that come into bloom at about the same
time.

Cattleya Morganæ requires the same treatment as C. Mendelii and C.

Mossiæ, and will thrive well, grown either in a pot or basket, planted
in good fibrous peat and sphagnum moss. It will also succeed on a
block suspended from the roof. As in the case of the other Cattleyas,
it prefers to have all the light possible, but to be just sufficiently
shaded to keep off the direct rays of the sun. It must be borne in
mind that the plants are found growing naturally on the branches and
stems of trees in the forests, where they get some shade, and a free
circulation of air, which it is of great benefit to secure, and which
should be made a point of the utmost importance in the artificial
cultivation of all Orchids, as of most other plants. It would be a great
boon to cultivators if our collectors would note down and supply fuller
and more precise information on these points, for although of course
the natural conditions could not in all cases be carried out to the full
extent, yet we should then be better able to imitate them, and thus
supply the natural wants of the plants. In giving as much air and light
as possible, however, cold draughts must be avoided, which may be
effected by fixing the ventilators near the hot-water pipes, and should
a cold wind prevail by giving air on the opposite side, always closing
the house in good time. In summer water should be freely sprinkled
about the tables and paths twice a day, namely, in the morning, and
about three or four o’clock in the afternoon. During the dull dark days
of winter, very little moisture is required, but on warm days some
water may be given to the plants, especially in springtime when the
days begin to lengthen. Syringing should be avoided during the
winter, except in the case of those on blocks, for a little dewing with
the syringe during the day, will not hurt these, as the moisture
quickly dries off. The water should always be used in a tepid state.

One of the most important items in Orchid culture is cleanliness.

Every plant should be cleansed as soon as any indications of insect
life are perceived upon it, since there are Insecticides and other
remedies sold to destroy all such pests. Cockroaches, Snails, and
Woodlice are very troublesome, and should be well looked after at
night when they come out to feed on the young shoots and flowers.
Woodlice may be caught by laying down here and there traps,
consisting of some moss, at night, or half potatos or turnips scooped
out in the centre, and placed about in quiet nooks and corners, or on
the pots; the woodlice will harbour under them, and may be caught
and destroyed in the morning.

Cattleya gigas.—See note under Plate 2. We have since received a

wonderfully grand flower of Cattleya gigas from the fine collection of
J. S. Bockett, Esq., of Stamford Hill; it is eight and a half inches in
diameter; the sepals and petals are of a light rose colour, the lip three
inches across, and three in length, of the richest crimson-magenta,
margined with a lighter colour, and the throat partly magenta and
partly orange. The spike bore four of these flowers.—B. S. W.
PROMENÆA CITRINA. PL. 7.

14
 PROMENÆA CITRINA.
[Plate 7.]
Native of Brazil.

Epiphytal. Pseudobulbs small, ovate, tetragonal. Leaves three to

four inches in length, oblong-ligulate, acute, tapering below into a
narrow petiole, growing two together at the apex of the
pseudobulb, of a pale green colour. Scapes two to three inches
long, bearing largish ovate bracts in the upper part, and smaller
bracts below, and terminated by a solitary deep yellow showy
flower, measuring about an inch and a half across; sepals obovate,
acute, concave or curving forwards at the tip, bright yellow; petals
yellow, also converging, similar to the sepals in size, form, and
colouring; lip larger and broader than the sepals and petals,
spreading, three-lobed, the two lateral lobes erect, oblong obtuse,
rising up on each side of the column, yellow spotted with red on
the inner face, the front lobe plane, obovate, apiculate, unspotted
yellow, with a prominent crest at its base. Column erect, semi-
terete, incurved, stained in the front with brownish red.

Promenæa citrina, Don, Hortus Cantabrigiensis, ed. 13, 720 (1845);

London, Hortus Britannicus Supp. 618 (1850); Williams, Orchid
Growers’ Manual, ed. 4, 253, ed. 5, 281; Rand, Orchids, 377.

Maxillaria citrina, Lyons, Treatise on Orchidaceous Plants, 176.

Promenæa is a small genus of Orchids which was separated from

Maxillaria about forty years ago (1843) by Lindley, who at the same
time also dissociated from it the plants respectively referred to
Warrea, Paphinia, Lycaste, and Scuticaria. Later on Reichenbach
classed Promenæa as a section of Zygopetalum. Dr. Lindley
distinguished the group of species which he referred to Promenæa,
and which he regarded as fully entitled to generic rank, by the
following peculiar features, namely, their spreading sepals, their
three-lobed lip, crested or tuberculate at the base, their short semi-
terete column, and their ovate glandule with four, that is two double,
sessile pollen masses. The species then proposed were P.
stapelioides, P. xanthina, P. lentiginosa, P. Rollissonii, and P. graminea.
To these Reichenbach added P. guttata in 1856, and P. microptera in
1881. Neither of these authorities, so far as we can trace, refer to P.
citrina; but, according to Don and Loudon, the plant was introduced
to our gardens in 1840, though they attribute to it the erroneous
habitat of Mexico. Our good friend, Professor Reichenbach, suggests
that it is a garden name, sometimes applied to P. Rollissonii and
sometimes to P. guttata; but it has long been recognised as a distinct
plant by English and Continental Orchid growers, and is certainly
different from the P. Rollissonii figured by Dr. Lindley; nor does 15
it correspond with the description of P. guttata, so far as the
materials at hand enable us to judge.

This, it will be seen, is a very neat-growing plant, the small tetragonal

pseudobulbs slowly creeping over the surface of the blocks on which
the plants are grown. It is, moreover, of small stature, the leaves,
which grow in pairs from the top of the pseudobulbs, rarely
exceeding three or four inches in height, and the flower-scapes
attaining even less elevation. The flowers, which are rather large for
so small a plant, being of a rich and brilliant colour, become rather
effective; and though, of course, they do not compare at all in
gorgeous beauty with those of many of the larger-flowered Orchids,
they are by no means to be despised even from the decorative point
of View; indeed, when grown on a block, as represented in the
accompanying Plate, and suspended from the roof of the house, the
plant forms a very pretty and distinct object, occupying, as it does,
but a small space in which it displays much beauty and
attractiveness. The bright orange-yellow flowers are, moreover, very
freely produced, and if kept dry, continue for a long time in a fresh
and pleasing condition.
There is another species of the same habit, Promenæa stapelioides,
which comes into bloom about the same time as this, and in which
the flowers are spotted with dark purple, so that they appear to be
nearly black. The contrast of these two when grown and flowered on
the same block is very effective. In the noble collection of Sir Trevor
Lawrence, Bart., M.P., we saw a large pan-full of P. citrina growing
freely, which had a very beautiful appearance, but we prefer to see
the plant grown on a block, as in this manner the flowers hang
downwards, and are shown off to much greater advantage. There are
certain varieties to be occasionally met with, in which the flowers are
without spots on the lip, but those which have this latter peculiarity
are to be preferred, as the two colours afford a pleasant relief.

Fibrous peat and sphagnum moss seem to suit the plant well when it
is grown in either pots or pans; but when cultivated on blocks of
wood, a little sphagnum moss only about its roots will be quite
sufficient, though if grown in this latter way it requires a more liberal
and more frequent supply of water, in order to keep the roots moist.
We find the Cattleya-house to suit it best, and we grow it suspended
against a wall at the end of the house, where it gets syringed in
warm weather. The manner in which its blooms are produced may be
seen from our Illustration, which is an excellent representation of the
habit of the plant, not only as regards its general manner of growth,
but also of its mode of flowering.
CYPRIPEDIUM STONEI. PL. 8.
16
 CYPRIPEDIUM STONEI.
[Plate 8.]
Native of Borneo.

Terrestrial. Stem wanting, the short erect crowns each furnished

with numerous radical evergreen leaves, and emitting stout fleshy
roots. Leaves distichous (two-ranked), a foot or more in length,
leathery or somewhat fleshy, oblong, obtuse, with a short recurved
mucro, dark green above, of a paler green beneath. Scape dark
purple, issuing from the centre of the leaves and furnished with a
sheathing bract at its base, about two feet in height, three to four-
flowered, the pedicels subtended by green lanceolate acuminate
bracts. Flowers large, richly-coloured, measuring when spread out
four inches in the direction of the sepals, and nine to ten inches in
that of the petals; dorsal sepal broadly cordate, acuminate, nearly
two inches broad, white, marked in front with a bold central, and
on each side with two or three curved lateral stripes of deep
purple-brown, keeled behind, and there stained with purple-brown;
lateral sepals (united) ovate-acuminate, with a central and on each
side three lateral stripes extending nearly to the base, greenish-
white, edged with purple-brown; petals set at a right angle to the
sepals, one-fourth of an inch broad, five inches long, tapering
gradually to the apex, decurved, greenish-white with dark purple-
brown veins and spots, becoming wholly purple at the tip, and
having near the base a purple margin, and a few scattered
marginal purple hairs; lip large, prominent, calceoliform, the basal
portion unguiculate from the introflexion of the margin, greenish,
the apex large, pouch-shaped, like the front of a shoe or slipper,
dull purplish-red reticulately veined with darker purple. Column
white, with a ring of yellow hairs at the base, two-branched, the
lower branch three-lobed, the later lobes bearing each a small
orbicular sessile yellow anther, the terminal lobe forming a large
 white ovate fleshy disk (abortive third stamen) the upper or
stigmatic branch cordate-obovate, convex, whitish, tinged with
purple, and fringed at the back and sides with yellow hairs.

Cypripedium Stonei, Low; Hooker, Botanical Magazine, t. 5349; Van

Houtte, Flore des Serres, xvii., t. 1792-3; Lemaire, Illustration
Horticole, ix., p. 107; x. t. 355; Bateman, 2nd Century of
Orchidaceous Plants, t. 141; Jennings, Orchids, t. 12.

This magnificent plant is one of the most beautiful species of the

genus Cypripedium. Several varieties of it are known, and though
they are all good and well worth growing, that which we have
selected for illustration is the best and darkest that has come under
our notice. The plant from which our figure was taken, bloomed in
the Victoria Nursery, and had five flower-spikes, two of which have
been in bloom for the past six weeks, and are now as fresh as ever.

Cypripedium Stonei was first flowered by Mr. Stone, gardener to John

Day, Esq., of High Cross, Tottenham, after whom it has been named.
It was for a long period a very rare species, and, indeed now, though
small plants may be purchased for a moderate sum, yet large
specimens are scarce and valuable. It makes a fine show plant, 17
its lasting qualities being a great recommendation to it, both
from an exhibition and decorative point of view.

The plant is a native of Borneo, and was introduced to this country by

the Messrs. Low, of Clapton. It produces dark green foliage of about
twelve or in some of the varieties we have seen as much as fifteen
inches in length. From the centre of this tuft of leaves the flower-
spikes are produced and rise to a height of about two feet, each
bearing three or four of its large slipper-shaped blossoms, which are
the most exact representations of a shoe or slipper of those of any of
the species, and most completely justify the trivial name of the
genus, Lady’s Slipper. The sepals are large, white, striped on the
veins or nerves, with dark purple, and tinged with yellow; the petals
are five inches in length, and are yellowish, streaked and blotched
with purple; and the lip is large and of a dull reddish-purple, veined
with deeper purple-red. It is of free-blooming habit, and when the
growths are strong it produces a flower-spike from each crown, but it
takes some considerable time to complete its growth before it sends
forth its spikes; indeed, it begins to grow soon after its blossoms
have faded. The plant having no thick fleshy bulbs from which to
derive support, requires a more continuous supply of moisture than
many other Orchids. The roots are coarse and fleshy, and should in
consequence be supplied with a stronger soil than is required by
some of the other kinds. We find it to thrive best in good fibrous
loam, with a small quantity of charcoal, and a little leaf-mould or
peat, all being well mixed together, giving the pots good drainage,
but not so much as is required in the case of Cattleyas, for example.
As it is a strong rooting plant, it is best grown in a pot, and should be
a little elevated above the rim. We have found the East India house
to supply the most suitable atmospheric conditions in which to
cultivate it; here it should be placed on the side-tables near the light,
but out of the sun. The finest specimen we have seen exhibited was
staged by Mr. Child, gardener to Mrs. Torr, Garbrand Hall, Ewell,
Surrey, at the South Kensington Show, in 1878.

There is a very distinct variety of this plant called Cypripedium Stonei

platytænium, of which a figure has been lately published in Mr.
Warner’s Select Orchidaceous Plants, 3 ser., t. 16. Of this form, living
plants were till recently only to be found in the collection of John Day,
Esq., but they were distributed when that collection was recently
dispersed by auction sales, and were purchased at high prices by
Baron Schröder and Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., in whose
collections they may now be seen. This variety is just like C. Stonei in
its growth, and the flowers are closely similar, the chief difference
being, that the petals are shorter and broader, and resemble those of
C. superbiens.
LÆLIA PURPURATA WILLIAMSII. PL. 9-10.

18
 LÆLIA PURPURATA WILLIAMSII.
[Plates 9-10.]
Native of St. Catherine’s, Brazil.

Epiphytal. Stems (or pseudobulbs) clavate-oblong, monophyllous,

two feet or more in height, somewhat furrowed when mature.
Leaves coriaceous, evergreen, narrowly oblong, emarginate, dark
green. Scape three to four-flowered, issuing from a stout sheathing
oblong bract or spathe, four to five inches long. Flowers large, and
very handsome; measuring eight inches across, of a delicate rose
colour, with a purple-crimson lip; sepals linear-lanceolate, acute, of
a pale rosy tint, pencilled with simple rosy-purple longitudinal lines;
petals oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, of a beautiful delicate rose colour,
pencilled with divergent forked lines of deeper purple; lip
(labellum) three-lobed, the lateral lobes obsolete, convolute around
the column, the front lobe large, broad, and roundish, of a rich
dark crimson-magenta, the tip paler and reticulately veined, and
the throat yellow, beautifully veined with crimson-magenta. Column
scarcely reaching to the middle of the convolute base of the lip.

Lælia purpurata Williamsii, Hort.; Williams’ Orchid Grower’s Manual,

ed. 4, 196; ed. 5, 208.

The species, of which this is one of the finest known varieties, and
the genus Lælia to which it belongs, together with the neighbouring
genus Cattleya, are placed by the great Orchidist, Reichenbach, in his
amplified genus Bletia, so that the Lælia purpurata of Lindley, in
Paxton’s Flower Garden, becomes the Bletia purpurata of
Reichenbach in Walpers’ Annales, vi. 423. The name of Lælia is,
however, that which is adopted amongst cultivators of Orchids.
The Lælia which we have now to describe, was named many years
ago in the Orchid Grower’s Manual, when it was exhibited at the
Crystal Palace and received its present appellation. The plant now
represented was flowered at the Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, but
has now passed into the select collection of Baron Schröder, of The
Dell, near Staines. It was a wonderfully strong plant, and produced
two spikes of its highly coloured blossoms, which led all those who
saw it in its beauty, to pronounce it to be the finest Lælia they had
ever witnessed. Our artist has given a good representation of the
plant and its blossoms. The club-shaped stems and foliage stood
thirty inches in height, and were provided with very strong sheathing
bracts whence the flower-spikes issued, each bearing four flowers,
which were individually eight inches in diameter. It has bloomed with
us in the same style for two successive years. The plant that we
flowered some years ago was not so large as that now figured, the
reason being that it was not so strong a specimen, and, therefore,
not able to produce such fine flowers. This is sufficient 19
evidence of the advance the plants make before they get to
their full strength and vigour. In the variety before us the sepals and
petals are of a delicate rose, veined with a beautiful dark tint of the
same colour, while the lip is very broad, large, and splendidly
coloured, the prominent parts of a rich dark crimson-magenta, paler
and veiny at the tip, and beautifully veined with crimson on the
yellow ground-colour of the throat. The blooming season is in May
and June, the flowers continuing in perfection for three or four
weeks, if kept free from damp and in a dry place. We have a house
set aside specially for Orchids when in flower, and in it very little
moisture is used, by which means we seldom get the flowers spotted
or prematurely decayed.

There is another fine form of Lælia purpurata with white sepals and
petals that are quite flat, not at all recurved; this variety has a rich
dark crimson-magenta lip. We exhibited this form with nine flower
spikes at the Regent’s Park Exhibition, and it produced a grand effect.
There are many other fine varieties.
Lælia purpurata when well cultivated is a good looking plant, and
even when not in bloom it is an object of attraction, on account of its
stately evergreen foliage. It is a native of Brazil, and is found growing
on the branches of trees on the outskirts of the forests where the
plants get light, and are yet shaded from the burning sun. They are
best grown in the Cattleya-house, and will thrive either in pots or
baskets, but we find the pot system the best, as they are strong
growing plants, and require ample space to bring them to perfection.
They are the better for being moved about, especially if they are
required for exhibition. There are no more showy Orchids for
exhibition purposes, and this is especially true of such varieties as
that now before us.

We find that they thrive best in good fibrous peat, and some live
sphagnum moss on a part of the surface; when in a growing state
the moss keeps them moist without too much water being given
whilst they are making their growth. In watering them be careful not
to wet the young shoots. The pots should be three parts filled with
drainage, which must be formed of broken pots and lumps of
charcoal intermixed. The plants must be elevated about two inches
above the rim of the pot. The best time to pot them is after they
have done blooming just as they begin to make new growths, and
before the roots start, when they will soon commence to work into
the clean sweet peat. If the plant is in a sufficiently large pot, and the
soil about it is sweet and clean, it will not require re-potting, but it
will benefit the plants greatly to give them some fresh fibrous peat
just before they begin to root, as the old soil is apt to become hard
and inert through constant watering. They require to be kept moist
during the growing season, but must not even then be soddened with
water. In winter only just sufficient must be given them to keep them
moist, and to prevent their stems and leaves from shriveling.
PHALÆNOPSIS AMABILIS DAYANA. PL. 11.
20
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