298 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Jaxlauv 13. 1898. 



Cattkya Maxima. 



particular value for decorative work. 

 And pure white forms of it occur, too. 

 Of the two plants I saw in flower, one 

 was pure white with not the slightest 

 suspicion of any other .shade except the 

 usual yellow rays in the throat, which 

 occur in all white cattleyas. One more 

 point in its favor is its fragrance, which 

 is very rich and strong, yet not oppres- 

 sive. There is yet another form, C. Per- 

 civaliana, but alas, the cattleya grower 

 objects again. "It is not big enough," 

 he says. True, it maj- not be so large as 

 Hardyana, but the color is superb, the 

 sepals and petals a deep blush, the lips 

 intense magenta crimson, and the pencil- 

 ing in the throat something marvelous; 

 and is, I consider, a most desirable 

 variety. 



There is still another variety worth 

 noting, C. maxima. The old man may 

 again chime in and say that the variety 

 belies its name, but if it does, you have 

 miillum in pnrro, as it generallj- throws 

 from five to ten flowers to the spike, 

 which you must admit is quite as con- 

 spicuous as two or three larger flowers. 

 The color and markings in this form are 

 all that could be desired by the most 

 perk connoisseur. The sepals and petals 

 of this variety are a bright rose, and the 

 lips are richlj- variegated, after the st\le of 



C. Mossins, with dark crimson veins 

 through the center ground color. 



With these three varieties in stock, you 

 will not be obliged to hurry forward your 

 Trianres or retard your labiatas to strike 

 any desired date with flow-ers. 



J. Robertson. 



Madison, N. J. 



DENDROBIUM FORMOSUM GIGAN- 

 TEUM. 



Dendrobiuni formosum giganteum is 

 the dream of all orchidists who are at this 

 time evoluting the lists of orchids for cut 

 flowers. Its broad sepals and petals and 

 their pure marble-like whiteness with a 

 delicate suffusion of orange color down 

 the center of the labellum, are its charm- 

 ing qualities; added to these is the size of 

 the flower, it being equally as large as an 

 ordinary cattleya bloom. Such a beauti- 

 ful flower as this should captivate the 

 most inardent lover of flowers, not forget- 

 ting the all important question, "does it 

 pay?" Yes, I can candidly say it does. 

 The blooms are now bringing thirty-five 

 cents to fifty cents in New York, and 

 should not sell for less elsewhere. It has 

 come into prominence as a cut flower 

 within the past few years. This can be 

 attributed to the large importations hav- 



ing been sent here from its native clime 

 by enterprising European firms. It's the 

 old story so often told, "put a good thing 

 on the market and it will soon find a 

 place for itself." 



The great question occupying the atten- 

 tion of every one is how to get it there in 

 sufficient quantities to make it profitable. 

 Ivach plant with one flowering grqwth 

 will help you solve the difficultv. It is 

 jiroblematical how many flowers each 

 growth will give. This depends entirely 

 upon how well you succeed in their cul- 

 ture. I have seen them produce from one 

 to seven flowers. One need not be a 

 mathematician to a.-rive at the exact 

 ]irofil to be derived from a few thousand 

 plants. 



The space that each individual plant 

 occupies is another matter for thought. 

 The ])ieces now being sold do not occupy 

 more than six square inches, suspended 

 or standing on the benches. It can be 

 readily seen how many plants can be es- 

 tablished in a small house without being 

 overcrowded. 



Then again the profitable part of the 

 investment depends upon the original 

 purchase price and the nuich discussed 

 problem, "Cost of production." In 

 these "cut rate" times they can be pur- 

 chased at a ridiculously low figure: that 

 is if you have the cash to put down; other- 

 wise it is a hard matter to expect to secure 

 stock of this character, costing as it does 

 large sums of money to send expert or- 

 chid collectors to the far East, oftentimes 

 with indifferent results and great finan- 

 cial loss attending the venture, and the 

 frequent physical colIap.se of the men who 

 are so overwhelmed with enthusiasm to 

 risk their lives for the sole purjiose of 

 pacifying our ardent love for those floral 

 jewels of the forests. The cost of grow- 

 ing in my opinion would not be more than 

 a house of roses of similar dimensions, 

 after the stock is established in the 

 house. 



The first and most important point to 

 consider, is to get sound, healthy, im- 

 ported plants to begin with. Half of 

 your imaginary battles are then fought 

 and won. This has been demonstrated 

 by every grower of this nigro-hirsute 

 variety for several years. I thin'v the 

 method adopted by J. M. W. Kitchen, 

 East Orange, N. J., is an admirable one 

 (he has applied for patent). It is a box an 

 inch deep and six inches square; in the 

 center is a beveled block; through this is 

 a wire bj- which it can be suspended, and 

 at the same time used as a support and to 

 tie them firmly, which is a neces.sarv ad- 

 junct to their successful cultivation; a 

 small quantity of fern roots or fibre wired 

 in the box to serve the double purpose 

 of holding moisture and allowing ma- 

 terial in which the plants can establish 

 themselves. 



It is not necessary to confine yourself 

 to this idea, as blocking or basketing 

 will answer the same purpose. Inde- 

 pendent of these conditions while grow- 

 ing, moisture and light are the foremost 

 factors in producing strong pseudo-bulbs 

 which will give profitable quantities of 

 large flowers. Last, but not least, the 

 temperature will make or mar the destiny 

 of the plants and the "almighty dollar" 

 invested in them. I would suggest close 



