274 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ April 14, 1670. 



autumn, and far more forward in bloom than if the plants had 

 been wintered in a cold frame. 



I would also venture to give this advice to those gentlemen 

 who are fond of the bedding-out system, and that h to build 

 low double-span houses heated with hot water, to be expressly 

 used for bedding plants, and that they ought not to expect their 

 gardeners to furnish an immense amount of bedding-out plants 

 in addition to the ordinary occupants of the stove, green- 

 house, &c, merely on the makeshift principle. Though the 

 bedding-out system has now been adopted for a number of 

 years, and, in spito of all that its detractors may say against 

 it, is likely to hold its own for years to come ; yet in many 

 places no additional accommodation has been made for bedding 

 plants, though, perhaps, two or threo times the number of 

 plants are now required. The consequence is, that many gar- 

 deners are now at their wits' end to know what to do with the 

 extra stock of plants that are wanted, and have to shift them 

 about from place to place. Double-span houses about 10 feet 

 wide, with shelves on each side and in the centre, can now be 

 built so cheaply, and will hold with proper care so many plants, 

 that they are well worth the small expense incurred ; and low 

 double-span pits, such as recently described by Mr. Pearson, 

 of Cbilwell, heated by hot water, can also be put np at a very 

 reasonable expense. I know many gentlemen, who will go to 

 almost any expense on their Vines, or on Orchid houses, yet 

 will grudge any outlay on houses for growing plants for the 

 summer decoration of their gardens. Yet, however interest- 

 ing Orchids and Orohid houses may he, very few ladies can 

 stand the temperature of the houses in which such plants as 

 Orchids grow ; whereas the flower garden will be a daily object 

 of interest to them during the summer months, and the more 

 care and attention bestowed on bedding plants the earlier 

 will that interest begin. Why is it, for instance, we so 

 seldom see Verbenas in gardens now ? Because so'very few 

 persons take suftiiient care of them during the winter months, 

 but keep them in cold unheated pits, dry at their roots, 

 and in a stagnant atmosphere, and then attribute mildew, 

 damping-off, green fly, and other ailments, to the constitution 

 of the plants themselves, and say that Verbenas are dete- 

 riorating. — C. P. Peach. 



ORCHARD HOUSES. 



I bead through "T. F.'s" letter in page 260, getting more 

 and more puzzled till arriving at the last paragraph, which ex- 

 plained all. " Clever gardeners " and orchard houses, as a rule, 

 do not agree. I speak with some knowledge, having had or- 

 chard houses for more than ten years, and no " clever garden- 

 ers " to manage them. Several of my friends with large places 

 and really first-rate gardeners, have put up orchard-houses and 

 have failed. 



The explanation is, I think, simple. A high-class gardener 

 Considers Orchids the highest branch of his profession, then 

 other stove plants, then conservatory plants, and he pays some 

 attention to Grapes and forced Peaches. But a cold orchard 

 house, to succeed, does not require great skill and experience ; 

 it resolves itself into a question of hard work, much watering, 

 attention to a few simple rules, and last, not least, taking a 

 pride in it, which you could not expect from every " clever 

 gardener." 



When " clever gardeners " do give their minds to orchard 

 houses they produce really model trees, as may now be seen in 

 all their beauty in the large orchard honse under Mr. Barron's 

 direction at Cbiswick. I do not profess our pot trees to be 

 anything like model trees ; many of them have suffered from 

 various experiments, chemical and mechanical, but they do 

 bear more fruit than could be obtained in anything like the 

 same space or for the same cost trained on walls or trellises. 

 Our Peaches and Nectarines pass muster with the best judges, 

 and our Pears two or three years ago took the first prize for 

 " single dish for flavour," against thirty-six competing dishes. 

 Note, these last were ripened out of doors. 



I think, therefore, that I am justified in saying to those 

 thinking of putting up an orchard house, and who may have 

 been staggered by " T. F.'s " strong denunciations, Read Mr. 

 Rivers's "Orchard-House" (not forgetting to bless those, of 

 whom I was one, who got him to put an index), then put your 

 orchard house into the hands of a hard-working man who will 

 make it his hobby, and you will find, as I have done, that not 

 only you will have an object of great interest and delight, but 

 that you will have more and better fruit than your neighbours, 

 who have more expensive appliances and " clever gardeners." 



Of course, I am not speaking of forced fruits, which require 

 both skill and training in the gardener. Our fruits include 

 Cherries, Plums, Apricots, Strawberries, Peaches, Nectarines, 

 Figs, Pears, and American Apples. To those who desire to 

 combine Grapes in quantity, or who can Btand the extra ex- 

 pense, I would recommend the looking into Mr. Fountaine's 

 new plan, now on trial at Chiswick, of- having the trees on 

 trucks, and so running them in and out according to weather, 

 as I believe it to have points of great merit. 



The lady birds are with us here, as described by Mr. Pearson, 

 swarming on the Thujas, especially the Thuja aurea ; they 

 appear to have hybemated in thick close-growing shrubs. — 

 George F. Wilson, Heathcrbank, Weybridge Heath. 



H jw unfortunate " T. F." (see page 2G0) has been in his 

 orchard house. It is, however, quite probable that he may 

 have been just a little unskilful, and pinched his trees over- 

 much, which has led him to think his trees " cribbed, cabined, 

 and confined," as they must have been as scrubby "toys." 

 He should have been with me to-day in the full enjoyment of 

 my trees, foj: I have rarely seen them in such beauty. Among 

 my " toys " are Apricots, in 18-inch pots, full of fruit as large 

 as horse beans, and capable of bringing to perfection a peck 

 each ; and pyramid Peach and Nectarine trees 7 to 8 feet high, 

 in 15-inch pots, full of blossom from head to foot, full of 

 health, and bare of insects. They have for many years been 

 pinched, and are more beautiful and hopeful than ever. It is 

 to be feared that a want of skill and care only has brought on 

 failures among some gardeners. A skilful gardener could not 

 possibly fail in the culture of Peach trees nuder glass, the 

 business is so simple. If " T. F." would like to see my trees, 

 you are at liberty to give him my address. The sight of my 

 trees would, I fear, give him no comfort, but it might some 

 profit.— 0. H. 



WINTER- FLOWERING ORCHIDS— No. 4. 



DEN'DEOBIUM. 



This is a very extensive genus, and many of the species pro- 

 duce flowers which rank among the most beautiful in the 

 order; this, in conjunction with the fact that the majority of 

 the species are easily cultivated, and produce their blooms 

 during the particular season in which flowers of any kind are 

 so valuable, should render them special favourites with all 

 lovers of plants. 



The genus Dendrobium does not exist anywhere on the 

 American continent or in the West Indian Islands, but in 

 Hindostan and the East Indian Islands they abound, extend- 

 ing even to Australia, where many species of this family are 

 found ; but all these, as far as my own experience goes, are 

 totally distinct from their Indian relatives. 



These plants may be grown either in pots or baskets, except 

 a few which succeed best upon blocks of wood suspended 

 from the roof of the house, and, in this respect, those with 

 limited space at their command reap the advantage, as the 

 roof accommodates a number of species as well as the stages. 

 To speak in general terms of their culture, they thrive well in 

 a mixture of equal parts of peat and sphagnum mosB ; and 

 ample drainage should be provided in the shape of potsherds, 

 or, preferably, pieces of charcoal. This material is suitable 

 for either pots or baskets, but those kinds which are grown 

 upon blocks require only a little sphagnum. During the 

 growing season all require a copious supply of water, both 

 from the watering-pot and the syringe, and those upon blocks 

 6hould, in addition, be taken down every two or three days 

 and immersed in water. Whilst referring to water, it cannot 

 be too strongly impressed upon the minds of all plant-growers, 

 that the use of water at a lower temperature than that of the 

 house in which the plants are growing, is one of the greatest 

 causes of ill-success ; therefore, never use cold water to Orchids, 

 but let its temperature be several degrees higher than the atmo- 

 sphere rather than one degree lower. After the pseudo-bulbs 

 have attained their full size the plants must be kept drier, and 

 gradually inured to a lower temperature to prevent them making 

 a second growth ; by this means they rest completely, and the 

 amateur will have the pleasure, in due time, of seeing the 

 flowers pushing out from the nodes, when a little extra heat 

 will be beneficial. 



Little more remains to be said respecting the cultivation of 

 Dendrobiums. During the growing season I keep them in a 

 temperature ranging from 70° to 85°, and after the period of 

 growth | those with the ttrongest constitution require little 



