Aiiril 1, 18C9. 1 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



2I» 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



Dny 



Tn 



P 



S 



Son 



M 



To 



W 



APRIL X— 7, 1869. 



MeetiuR of Linneau Society, 8 p.m. 

 Canibridtie Kaster Term bOkniiB. 

 Uoyal Horticultural Society, Proiaeuaile. 

 1 Sunday aftkk Easteu. 

 Meetiuh' of Entomological Society. 

 Royal Horticultural Society, Kruit, Floral, 

 [aad tieueral MeotiDg 



Average Temoora- 

 ture near London. 



Miiun, 

 44.7 

 46.0 

 40.4 

 40.3 

 4B..'i 

 47.1 

 47.1 



Kain in 



lust 

 42 years. 



DavB. 

 21 

 ■M 

 ■M 

 17 

 21 

 14 

 20 



Sun 

 UieeH. 



m. h. 



88 af r> 

 38 5 



Sun 

 Seta. 



Moon 



UiBCB. 



Moon 

 Sct»t. 



m. li. I ni. h. 

 mora. I 26af8 



24af 



9 9 

 ;6 9 



no 10 

 47 n 



after. 

 51 1 



Moon'a 

 Akc. 



Days. 

 19 

 20 

 ( 

 22 

 23 

 24 

 25 



CIoclc 



before 

 Sun. 



8 52 



8 84 



S 16 



2 58 



a 40 



3 28 

 2 6 



Day 



of 

 Year. 



97 



From obsorvations taken near London durint^ the last forty-two years, the average day temperature of the week is 56.5° ; and its night 

 temperature Sci.l . Tlie greatest heat was 79 , on the 7th, 1859; and the lowest cold 16", on the l3t, 1838. The greatest fall of rain 

 was 1.19 inch. 



COOL-HOUSE ORCHIDS. 



INCK tlie article " Orchicls in Tubi?," by your 

 able contributor Mr. Wills, appeared in The 

 JouiiN.VL oi' Horticulture, I have received 

 several communications requesting me to 

 detail my simple mode of oultiue. I am only 

 too glad to do so, as it may possibly be the 

 (KSJl means of encouraging those who in humble 



^S' circumstances like myself have hitherto been 



deterred from attempting to grow this beau- 

 tiful and interesting tribe of plants in consequence of the 

 supposed thtiiculty and expense attending their cultivation. 

 I hope ere long to sue Orchids as generally grown as 

 Pelargoniums, for they undoubtedly require less care and 

 attention than are generally bestowed on the majority of our 

 stove and greenhouse plants : and when it is knoNvn that 

 they may be grown in an ordinary vinery, I cannot but 

 tliink tliat those who are lovei's of Orchids, and have a 

 house of this description, will take the advice of Mr. Wills, 

 and commence at once. 



As the growing of Orchids in tubs appears to be a novelty 

 to some readers of the Journal, it may be interesting to 

 state that tubs were first suggested by my employer, Mr. 

 Joy, in consequence of some of our largest specimens be- 

 ■ com in g too crowded in 18-iuch pots. He accordingly had 

 two tubs, of the dimensions stated by Mr. Wills, made 

 fi-om petroleum casks, and the cost of each complete was 

 less than -is. Being so pleased with their appearance, and 

 the Orchids succeeding so well, we have now eleven of 

 them in use. I have tried them for Ferns, and for sucli 

 sorts as Hypolepis distans, Davallia buUata, Pteris sca- 

 berula, &c., they are most suitable, besides being cheaper, 

 lighter, and more easily removed than pots, and less 

 liable to breakage. For exliibition purposes they are 

 invaluable. 



I have tried Orcliids on blocks, but they do not succeed 

 well, in consequence. I believe, of the dry atmosphere 

 they are subjected to when the Grapes are ripening. 

 Stanhopea tigrina, S. insignis, Dendrobium Devonianum. 

 and D. chrysanthum I grow in baskets suspended from 

 the roof. 



The compost I use, and in which they succeed well, 

 consists of equal quantities of sphagnum and cocoa-nut 

 fibre refuse, with a liberal mixture of broken pots and 

 charcoal. Phajus, Calanthes, and Cypripediums are bene- 

 fited by the addition of a little peat and cow dung. Cocoa- 

 nut fibre refuse is the best material I have yet met with 

 for mixing with composts for growing all kinds of plants. 

 and should be more extensively used. 



I generally repot the Orchids just before they commence 

 to grow, which, with most of the kinds I have, is in De- 

 cember, as the Vines are started in the first week in 

 January. I remove as much of the old compost as it is 

 possible to do without injury to the roots, fill the pots or 

 tubs nearly half-full of broken pots or charcoal, and put 

 over this drainage a layer of cocoa-nut fibre to prevent, it 

 from becoming choked up. This material lasts much 

 longer than sphagnum. I then fill up with the compost, 



No. 418.— Voi,. XVI., NewSehies. 



raising the Orchids 2 or -i inches, and if large specimens, 

 (i inches, above the rim. and water sparingly until they 

 have begun to grow freely, and are making fresh roots. 

 When they are at rest they only require water to prevent 

 their bulbs from shriveUiug. Whilst in llower they should 

 be removed to the greenhouse, and be liberally supplied 

 with water. The flowers must be kept dry, as they are apt 

 to spot. Good drainage and careful watering are the great 

 secrets of success. 



The following is a list of the Orchids grown here, and 

 \vliich succeed well under the above treatment. I have 

 several others not mentioned in the list, but I have not had 

 sufficient experience to recommend them as Orchids for 

 cool temperatm-es : — 



Airides ordoratum 



Warneri 

 Calanthe veratrifolia 



vestita lutea 

 Cattleya crispa 



crispa superba 



elegans 



Harrisonia; violacea 



intermedia 



Skinneri 



Mossiie 

 Crelogyne cristata 

 Cymbidium aloifolium 



sinense 

 Cypripedium insigne 



barbatum 



barbatum nigrum 



venustum 

 Dendrobium densiflorum 



chrysanthum 



raoniliforme 



nobile 



spcciosum 



Wallichii 

 — L.^w.MAN Temple, Oiirdeiier 

 House, HefuUiirjley, Leeds. 



Eria rosea 



Gongora atroporpurea 



Ija=lia anceps 



piu-purata 

 Lycaste aromatica 



Skinneri 

 MaxiUaria Harrisonii 



tenuifolia 

 MUtonia Candida 



Clowesii 



spectabilis 

 Oncidium divaricatum 



flexuosum 



flexuosum majus 



sphacelatum 

 Odontoglossum citrosmum 



Insleayii 



grande 

 Phajus grandifolius 



Wallichii 

 Stanhopea insignis 



tigrina 

 TrichopOia tortilis 

 Zygopetalum Mackayii 

 ■, W. G. Jo!/, Esq., Moti field 



SUBTROPICAL PLANTS. 



(Continued from page 188.) 

 3. PERENNIAL AND HALF-HARDY. 

 ♦Melian-tiius MA.ion. — Foliage cut or divided, glaucous, 

 handsome. The seed should be sown in brisk heat in 

 April, in a compost of two-thirds fibrous loam and one-third 

 sandy peat, with a free admixture of sand. When the 

 seedlings are large enough to handle, pot them olf singly, 

 continue them in the hotbed, and when well established 

 harden them off, and remove Ihrm to the greenhouse, pot- 

 ting as required. Keep them dry during the winter, but 

 not so much so as to cause the foliage to flag. In March 

 encourage them with an inci-ease of lieat and moist atmo- 

 sphere, and repot them, and again in May, planting out 

 early in June, after hardening them well oft". This is a 

 handsome plant for the centre of a bed or gi-oup. Take up 



No. 1070.— Vol. XLL, Olo Series. 



