522 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



I December 30, 18(9. 



have fonr iron bolts with screws to bind them together, and 

 these woald cost aboat 3.<. to every 3-feet length on the lowest 

 calcnlation. 



Your correspondent has evidently not seen my latest tariff, 

 in which I offer to supply the ground vinery precisely similar 

 to that used last summer by Mr. Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, 

 with 21-oz. glass, 24 inches wide, at Is. Id. per foot even in 

 10-feet lengths ; but if Jlr. Luckhurst will give me an order for 

 500 feet, I will supply him at Is. 3(/. per running foot, glass 

 and all, and pay the carriage to his nearest railway station. 



There is no aomparison between wood and earthenware. 

 Wood in boards would warp and split ; wood would only last 

 a few years, and then it must be well paiuted, not with two 

 coats, as he suggests, but with at least four coats. The glass 

 could not be fixed except by a glazier, unless, as 1 said before, 



he nullities the patent laws. On the other band, earthen- 

 ware is, as I have shown, much cheaper than wood ; the earth- 

 enware protectors are most durable, they do not require any 

 paint or putty, the glass can cosily be replaced without any 

 skilled workman, the ventilation is perfect and complete, and, 

 above all, the tiles retain the heat of the sun, which is slowly 

 given out at night. I think I have said enough, and if your 

 correspondent will only take the trouble to try them, ho will 

 find that all I have said is true. 



In conclusion, will you allow me to say that I shall be happy 

 to send a single 10-feet length to anyone who may wish to try 

 the new system ? and I am convinced that we sIihII be able to 

 compete with the foreigners, and produce all kinds of early 

 fruits and vegetables as easily and economically as they are 

 enabled to do. — W. Edgcumue Resdle. 



ONCIDIUM ROGERSII. 



The genus Ontidium is a very extcnsire one, abounding in an 

 immense number of small as well as large-flowered species. The 

 former, however, have not found much favour with the majority 

 of Orchid-fan- 

 ciere ; neither 

 can this be won- 

 dered at when 

 there is such a 

 vast number of 

 really fine kinds 

 which give dou- 

 ble the amount 

 of pleasure for 

 the same outlay 

 of trouble and 

 caie. Amongst 

 the many Ime 

 forms of this ge- 

 nus which have 

 been introduced 

 to our gardens 

 the one now 

 under consider- 

 ation certainly 

 stands in the 

 front rank, a for- 

 midable rival to 

 even the majes- 

 tic 0. macran- 

 thum. 



Oncidium Ro- 

 gersii is a native 

 of Brazil, but 

 from what part 

 of that country 

 I am unable to 

 say. It was in- 

 troduced by iJi. 

 Henry Rogers, 

 of East Grin- 

 stead, in whose 

 stove it first 

 bloomed. It has 

 hitherto flower- 

 ed in the au- 

 tumn months, 

 but from the fact 

 of so few speci- 

 mens existing 

 in this country, 

 and its native 

 habitat being 

 unknown at pro- 

 sent, the exact 

 time of its flow- 

 ering cannot be 

 definitely stated. 

 In general ap- 

 pearance 0. Ro- 

 gersii resembles 

 0. bifolium, but 



upon a gigantic scale, for in the present plant the growths are 

 as large as a pigeon's egg, and bearing upon their sunmiits a 



pair of somewhat stout dark green leaves, whilst the black 

 markings wbioh are so characteristic of 0. bifolium arc found 

 also upon the pseudobulbs of this plant. The flower-spike at- 

 tains a height 

 of about 2 feet 

 and is much 

 branched, bear- 

 ing in the case 

 of the specimen 

 from which the 

 accompanying 

 figure was taken 

 seventy of its 

 brilliant flowers 

 (a being one of 

 the natural size), 

 whilst other 

 plants have pro- 

 duced spikes 

 bearing as many 

 as 170 blooms. 

 The sepals and 

 petals are very 

 small, bearing 

 indeed about the 

 same proportion 

 to the lip as do 

 those of 0. bi- 

 fohum to the lip 

 in that species; 

 the lip is flat and 

 spreading, deep- 

 ly two-lobed in 

 front, rich gold- 

 en yellow in co- 

 lour, and mea- 

 sures from 2 to 

 2} inches in dia- 

 meter. 



It appears to 

 thrive in the 

 same tempera- 

 ture as La>lia 

 purpurata and 

 other similar 

 plants, and 

 grows admirably 

 in a basket sus- 

 pended from the 

 roof of the Or- 

 chid house, pot- 

 ted in good peat 

 and sphagnum 

 moss, with the 

 addition of some 

 charcoal for 

 drainage. 



This truly 

 grand plant is at 

 present solely in 

 the possession of 

 the Messrs. Yeitch, the eminent nurserymen of Chelsea, which 

 is a suflicient guarantee for its being carefully preseried and 



