April 22, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTIODLTURE AND COTTAGE GiRDENEK. 



3l3 



oanaot buy tbem cheap and I'ood, and, what is more, the 

 dearest plants are the cheapest in the end. 



After a person has become acquainted with the merits and 

 rarity of the different species, he can purchase in any market, 

 bat until this knowledge is obtained the best way is to trust to 

 Bome firm who make a speciality of them ; but do not purchase 

 collections of any species at a few shillings per dozen. One 

 ought to have considerable knowledge of the culture of an 

 Orchid before he ventures to pay £-5li for a plant. Indeed as 

 much as from fifty to a hundred guineas are sometimes given 

 for good healthy specimens of some of the more rare species. 



What are designated cool Orchids are now becoming very 

 popular, and amongst tbem a large proportion of the numerous 

 epecies of Odontoglossum are amenable to this treatment. The 

 latest addition to this class is 0. Warscewiczii. The habit of 

 the plant much resembles the beautiful 0. vexillarium, and, 

 like it, is not only very scarce in its native habitat, but it is 

 also very difficult to bring plants over alive, so that it is not 

 likely ever to become common. The flowers are not so striking 

 in appearance as the allied species ; they are white, with pale 

 yellow at the base of the labellum ; but as the plants areonly 

 recently imported it would not be fair to pass a final opinion 

 upon them. 



One thing I would say as a warning to cultivators — Do not grow 

 this species, nor O. Eoezlii, 0. vexillarium, nor even 0. citros- 

 mum in the coolest house with 0. crispum, 0. triumphans, 

 and other allied species, as there is great risk of losing them 

 in the winter. I heard a gentleman say that he had lost all his 

 O. RoezUi by keeping them too cool, and only saved 0. vexil- 

 larium by placing the plants in a house with a higher tempe- 

 rature. I was informed at Messrs. Veitch's that 0. Koezlii 



spikes. Vanda Parishii, which has only flowered once or twice 

 in England, is making very vigorous growth. The plant shows 

 two very strong spikes. The flowers are not very striking ; 

 they lack the bright clear colour of V. euavis and some of the 

 V. tricolors, but they are sweetly ecented. V. cccrulescens from 

 Burmah is also in flower. The small plant is furnished with 

 an elegant spike of the richest blue flowers I have yet seen in 

 Orchids. This is not an exhibition variety, but it is " a gem 

 of purest ray serene" notwithstanding. 



There is also at present in flower a plant of a natural hybrid 

 rhalfflnopsis. A quantity of imported plants of what was 

 presumed to be a natural hybrid was sold at the rooms of Mr. 

 J. C. Stevens last year. They were named P. intermedia. 

 The cross was stated to be between P. amabilis and P. Schil- 

 leriana. They have all, I believe, turned out to be P. amabilis. 

 Of the species in flower at the Exotic Nursery there can be no 

 manner of doubt, as the plant has the marked characteristics 

 of both parents, P. Sohilleriana and P. rosea : it has been 

 named P. Veitohii. Many attempts have been made in this 

 country to raise seedling Phalamopsis, but all such have proved 

 abortive. Seedpods can easily be obtained with millions of 

 good seeds, and these have also been known to vegetate, but 

 flowering plants have never been obtained. — J. Douglas. 



NEW PLATYCERIUMS. 



There may be seen in our nurseries at the present time 

 two Platyceriums (Stag's-horn Ferns) of great interest and 

 beauty — one the rare P. M'allichii, now in first-rate condition 

 at Mr. B. S. Williams's, Upper HoUoway nursery ; the other 

 P. Williiichii, a magnificent new species in the possession of 



THE RIVAL I'LATVCEBrDMS. 



Said Chelsea, " Ma'am, now have you seen my best of all the genua ? — 

 My Platycerium — lovely rcum ; and just a word between ue. 

 It christened is Witlincl-ii,- none ever saw its eq-ial :" 

 Then HoUoway, she tossed her head, and said — as in the sequel, 

 '* I don't know nothing 'bout your brat, but I've a lovely treasure, 

 A Platycerium (next to new) whose beauty has no measure. 

 Mine has been called WdUichil ; yours must be an impostor, 

 Some wretched Fern from Dutchman's land, bought perhaps ol a coster." 

 They can't a^ree about their names, no matter how they try, 

 Wallich, Willinck, with vowels two, which makes them all my " i." 

 In Buch a case what can be done '.' Pray how is it to be, sir ? 

 With Pomp and Cresar much alike, especially poor Cpisar. 



succeeded remarkably well in a minimum winter temperature Messrs. Veitch ct Sons of Chelsea. The amusing "milarity of 

 of 60' or ti.5 ■. Some plants of it at Loxford Hall grown in a the names (pronounced, of course, Walhck-ey-i and 'Willinck- 

 winter temperature of 45= showed evident signs of being un- ^y-j) i^as induced one of our correspondents to send us the 

 comfortable, and improved when removed to a warmer house, following Imes ; 

 The plants that suffered most were those that had not ripened 

 their young growth. 



In yonr report 0. crispum (Alexandrse) and 0. triumphans 

 are mentioned. Not only are they very distinct from each 

 other, but they are the very cream of the cool-house species, 

 and the flowers will remain in full beanty for three months or 

 more during the winter season. 0. Andersonianum is a very 

 fine species, but little known; it is no doubt a natural hybrid 

 between 0. crispum and 0. odoratum. I had a plant of it 

 amongst a lot of plants presumed to be 0. crispum. Some of 

 the varieties are very near 0. odoratum and merely show the 

 cross, others are but little removed from 0. crispum. An 

 important addition has also been made to the Masdevallias : 

 it was discovered and sent home by the Messrs. Veitch's col- 

 lector Mr. Davis, after whom it has been named M. Davisi. 

 The growths somewhat resemble those of M. Veitchii, and the 

 flowers are said to be like those of M. ignea in colour. Whether 

 superior to that variety remains to be proved. It had the 

 appearance of being a free-growing species. 



Passing to the houses containing those from warmer lati- 

 tudes it must be admitted that, beautiful as are many of the 

 species grown in cool houses, they must give place to the 

 others. Can any flower be of a more delicate transparent 

 white than the magnificent waxy blossoms of Angraicum ses- 

 quipedale '.' but it is a Madagascar plant and luxuriates in a 

 very high temperature. Mr. Darwin has stated that the moth 

 or butterfly that could suck the honey out of the extremity of 

 the long tail-like appendage attached to the flowers must be 

 furnished with a proboscis 18 inches in length. Then wo have 

 the glorious Dendrobiums from India. D. lasioglossum was in 

 flower. These are very small but vei'y beautiful. The sepals 

 and petals are white, and the labellum streaked with purple. 

 In striking contrast to it were some beautiful specimens of 

 D. primulinum giganteum. This is a magnificent variety of 

 the species ; the spikes are pendulous, and show off to advan- 

 tage the splendid blush-white flowers ; the large lip is stained 

 and streaked with delicate purple. No collection should be 

 without this fine plant. D. craasinode had two young growths 

 with twenty flowers, white with an orange blotch at the base 

 of the lip. A fine plant of the extremely rare D. Wardianum 

 will soon be in flower. The growths were very strong, and 

 thirty-five nnexpanded flowers were counted on three spikes : 

 the strongest spike had fifteen flowers. Dendrobium speciosum 

 was very fine. The flowers are creamy white, and though not 

 very striking in appearance individually, show up well on the 

 plant. 



Vanda Cathoarti was making strong growth and shows three 



BEDDING GERANIUMS, AND AN EASY WAY 



TO PROMOTE THEIR GROWTH. 



YoDB correspondent Mr. Osborne has pointed out a very 

 useful and convenient way of preparing the bedding (Geranium 

 for planting-out. As a modification of the plan has been 

 adopted here, and as it may not be known to all to whom it 

 may be useful, I append the mode in which we have been in 

 the habit of treating them more or less extensively for nearly 

 twenty years. I believe it was adopted before that time by 

 others with some little variation, but in our case the mode 

 from the first was much as we practise it now. Instead of 

 the term " sodding," as Mr. Osborne has it, we have been in 

 the habit of calling it " mossing," as we use moss more 

 than anything else. I almost envy Mr. Osborne using the 

 home-grown tying material. New Zealand Flax, but not on 

 that account alone, but on the supposition of his having so 

 many other plants outdoors that we are compelled to keep 

 under glass ; but as a substitute for the Russian mat, I think 

 we have more than once managed to have some very good 

 home-grown matting from Lime trees that have been cut 

 down. In a general way, however, the foreign article has been 

 put into requisition, and with care in the selection the cost of 

 the material need not be a serious obstacle. 



Our mode of operation is this : — The Geraniums are such as 

 have stood the winter in shallow boxes, which with us are all 

 of one size — viz., '2 feet long by a trifle over, 1 foot wide, and 

 for Geranium cuttings are :! inches deep, while for stowing 

 away old plants they are the same size in length and breadth, 

 but about double the depth ; but as it is mostly the former 

 that we are now alluding to, I may add that in a usual way 

 about seventy cuttings are put into such a box in September, 

 and allowin;;; for losses during the winter, if the average of 

 strong-growing plants exceed forty when they are potted-ofl or 



Named after M. Wiilinck, a Dutchman. 



