December 10, 1910 



HORTICULTURE 



807 



Renanthera coccinia 



Sprat of Kenanthera coccinia 



The subject of the illustration is one of the many 

 curiosities in tiie orchid cnliertion of Mrs. B. B. Tuttle 

 of Naugatuck, Conn. The itowers are bright red ; the 

 petals and dorsal sepal transversely barred with yellow: 

 the very small lip is white with a deep maroon front 

 lobe. On the plant they will keep in good condition for 

 about three months and nn doubt will also last a long 

 time when cut, which makes them quite valuable. The 

 plant itself, even wlien not in bloom, is interesting, owing 

 to its long aerial roots which it freely produces. 

 After a plant is once properly potted or basketed, 

 using plenty of drainage covered with a layer of peat and 

 moss, it will require no more attention outside of a 

 daily syringe and an occasional watering. The plant 

 shown here has been in the same basket for nearly six 

 years and will not be disturbed until the basket has 

 rotted away. This Renanthera is about the limit in the 

 way of shy-blooming orchids, for unless it can get all 

 the sunshine it is possible to give to it, together with a 

 fairly high temperature, it will simply refuse to flower. 

 It is a very free grower, the plant illustrated having 

 made all that growth (about seven feet) in less than six 

 years, but in all that time it has iiowered but twice. The 

 houses here used to be shaded from a big elm tree for the 

 greater part of the year, which made it very difficult to 

 ripen off the different sun-loving orchids and some could 

 not be induced to flower properly. Greenhouses and 

 trees should always be kept far apart, or at least keep 

 the trees at the north end. 



Renanthera Imshootiana is a dwarfer and more free- 

 flowering species with similar but smaller flowers, which 

 are produced during spring and early summer. 



OTHER INTEEESTING ORCHIDS 



Among the orchids which never fail to attract the at- 

 tention of the visitor are the beautiful Baby Orchid 

 ( Odontoglossum grande) and the Holy Ghost orchid 

 (Peristeria elata) both flowering at about this time. It 

 would be well for florists having a local retail trade to 

 invest a few dollars for just such interesting curiosities. 

 I know people will go quite a ways to see such things and 

 when there they will have a chance to see all the other 



good things that may happen to be on the premises and 

 be tempted to buy. 



Give the Odontoglossum grande a light position in a 

 cool airy house where one would grow azaleas or cinera- 

 rias, for instance, and it will well repay for the little 

 trouble it takes to grow it. A cinneraria or primrose or 

 cyclamen will make a good deal more work and worry to 

 grow it well than the majority of the orchids would. 

 Once an orchid is potted (except epiphital orchids) it 

 will grow a number of years before it will have to be 

 repotted. All it will need in the meantime is plenty 

 of fresh air, water when the compost is thoroughly dry 

 and an occasional cleaning or fumigating to keep down 

 insects. After growth is completed less Water is re- 

 quired until new growth starts again. Shade just 

 enough to prevent leaves from getting scorched or yel- 

 low. 



Peristeria elata is an epiphital orchid and grows best 

 in a mixture of one part well rotten manure and two 

 parts of good maiden loam with a liberal sprinkling of 

 sharp sand. It requires a high temperature and plenty 

 of sun to grow and flower it well. Keep down red spider 

 by frequent syringing. A rose house will make an ideal 

 place to grow this orchid in, as well as the Renanthera 

 coccinea and other sun and heat loving species. 



Oncidium Papilio (the Butterfly orchid) is another 

 interesting an easily grown orchid. It requires a rather 

 high temperature and a little shade. In potting or bas- 

 keting tliis orchid use but a very little compost (Os- 

 munda fibre) and comparatively small pans or baskets. 

 It likes a good supply of water at all times, but the 

 compost must dry quickly again, therefore use it sparing- 

 ly. This is true in a greater or lesser degree with all 

 epiphital orchids. The list of interesting orchids that 

 could easily and profitably be grown could be greatly 

 extended but one has to only scan the pages of the cat- 

 alogues of our enterprising orchid growers and dealers to 

 get an idea of the vast number one has to select from. 



Cucumber Diseases 



The cucumber is subject to quite a few serious dis- 

 eases that are very destructive and rapid in their run un- 

 der glass. If they once get a foothold, it will completely 

 destroy your chance of success. That old remark, that 

 ■'an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure" 

 applies very appropriately to cucumber forcing. Such 

 diseases as downy mildew, powdery mildew, wilt, anthrac- 

 nose, etc., can be prevented by spraying on the first sign 

 of any of these troubles with such fungicides as Bowker's 

 pyrox, or Bordeaux mixture. All these diseases develop 

 with the greatest rapidity in dull, dark and cloudy 

 weather and where the inside conditions lack proper 

 ventilation, thus causing a too humid atmosphere which 

 favors the spread of all these diseases. Cucumbers are 

 very liable to the attacks of nematodes or eel worms, 

 which cause enlargements on the roots, and if they are 

 present in the soil they increase rapidly in the favorable 

 conditions offered in the forcing house. Where they 

 are in the soil sterilization of the soil is the only known 

 remedy. 



