February 5, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTIGULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



123 



able lor tho beauty of their flowers, and which, in addition, i 0. ahplutom majus.— A grand old inhabitant of our plant 

 are sufficiently low in price to bring them within the reach of : houses, and one that never fails to charm every beholder. It 

 all amateurs; and even with these restrictions I iJnd there are "=— 1^- ^.■.„A „„a *„ a™„„ u * ,.. 



numbers of beautiful lands which have been passed over in 



silence; but the six species introduced previously, and those 



here emimerated, will be found a reasonable proportion for tjie 



Century, reference to which will be found at page 11, July, 1873. 



To ope'ak in general terms, Cattleya treatment will suit the 



Iriuds named below admirably, and therefore it will be quite 



unnecessary to recapitulate. 

 0. Paiii.io majos (the Butterily Oncid).— It is a maiim with 



me that this should be one of the first Orchids for an amateur 



to rurchuse; icitainly no collection, great or small, should 



lack it, and yet I was more disappointed when I first saw the 



bloom than with any 



other species I have 



seen ; the fact was I 



had been taught to ex- 

 pect too much. Having 



early indulged in a 



passion for entomology 



by forming collections 



of the British Lepi- 



doptera, I had become 



conversant with all the 



forms of our native 



diurnal species, and 



the flowers of the 



plant in (juestion had 



been described to me 



by non-entomological 



friends as being a 



perfect representation 



of a large butterfly, 



so I longed for the 



time to come when I 



should feast my eyes 



upon this vegetable 



wonder. At length re- 

 port came that in a 



garden some eight 



miles distant Onci- 



dium Papilio was in 



bloom, and as soon as 



I and another young 



companion could get 

 away we started off to 

 see this wonder. In 

 passing through the 

 stoves and Orchid 

 houses my brain was 

 full of great gorgeous 

 butterflies, and I was 

 wondering how the 

 lower side of the wings 

 would differ from the 

 upper side, when, to my utter discomfiture, I was told the 

 flower before me was the veritable one we had trudged eight 

 miles to see, and I had actually stood before it and not re- 

 cognised the resemblance. Those of my readers, however, 

 who may yet be strangers to this beautiful Orchid must not, 

 however, imagine from the above that no similarity exists, for 

 there is a striking likeness if a little imagination is brought to 

 bear upon it ; but from having imagined too much I was 

 utterly disappointed, and I have always a vivid recollection 

 of my feelings upon that occasion whenever I draw attention 

 to this plant. 



Oncidium Papilio thrives best upon a block of wood or cork, 

 and should be well exposed to sunlight. The pseudobulbs are 

 somewhat compressed, and bear a large, sohtary, dark green 

 leaf, which is brightly streaked and spotted with reddish 

 brown. The flower spike is long and slender, and from its 

 apex only the flowers are produced one at a time. The spikes 

 should never be cut off until quite dead, for I have known 

 them to continue to produce flowers from the same spike for 

 two or three years. The sepals are long and narrow, stand- 

 ing erect like the anteunic of a butterfly ; the petals are broad, 

 and extend horizontally, whilst the largo Up is supposed to 

 represent the body ; the ground colour is bright brown, trans- 

 versely barred with rich yellow, saving the Up, which is yeUow 

 in the centre, with a broad marginal band of bright bay. 

 Native of Trinidad, &c. 



IS a massive-growing kind, and to bring it to perfection 

 should be cultivated in a pot. The pseudobulbs are large, 

 light green, streaked and freckled with red and brown, bearing 

 upon their apex a large, thick, bright green leaf. The spike 

 attains a height of about 3 feet, and is much branched, bear- 

 ing a profusion of large, bright clear yellow flowers, which on 

 ' the reverse side are white. It blooms during Slay and June, 

 ' and continues a very long time in full beauty. Native of 

 Guatemala, Venezuela, &c. 



\'ANDA. 

 : There are but few species of this fine genua which I can 



conscientiously in- 

 clude ill my Century, 

 because the majority 

 of them luxuriate in 

 strong heat, although 

 at the same time I 

 am fuUy persuaded 

 several others might 

 be grown under similar 

 conditions. I have pre- 

 viously recorded my 

 dislike to fumigation 

 for the destruction of 

 inspcts amongst Or- 

 chids, and my experi- 

 ence goes to prove 

 that it is one of the 

 chief causes of Vaudas 

 losing their bottom 

 leives. Some of my 

 readers may say, " But 

 how are we to get rid 

 of the horrid pest 

 which lurks in the 

 axils of the leaves, 

 and turns them a dirty 

 reddish brown? We 

 may just as well lose 

 our Vanda and Aerides 

 leaves by fumigation 

 asbythe msect." For 

 this, which is popu- 

 larly known as the red 

 thrips, we use tobacco 

 powder ; and if the 

 amateur is a smoker, 

 he may fumigate any 

 particular plant when 

 enjoying his evening 

 pipe. 



V. TERES. — A very 

 distinct species, the 

 stems and leaves being terete, rush-like, and dark green. 

 The flowers measure from 3 to 4 inches in diameter, and some 

 what resemble those of a Pbahenopsis in shape ; sepals and 

 petals white, suffused with rosy purple; whilst the lip is 

 purplish crimson, but yeUow in the throat. Some varieties 

 flower much more freely than others. It may be grown either 

 on a block or in a pot ; the latter will be found preferable if 

 the plant is of any considerable size. It usually blooms about 

 June, and continues long in beauty if kept from the sprinklings 

 of the syringe. Native of Sylhet. 



V. EoxBUKGUii.— A species of great beauty, much neglected 

 of late years, but really weU deserving a place in even the 

 most choice selection. It is a small-growing species, its two- 

 ranked leaves being thick and fleshy, carinate, and deep green ; 

 sepals and petals china white, and prettily tesseUated, the 

 Up in one variety being blue, and in the other red. It blooms 

 during June and July, and lasts long in perfection if the 

 blooms are not syringed. I am particular in naming the 

 syringe, because I have frequently noticed flowers may get wet 

 without injury from condensation, but if wetted with the 

 syringe they invariably become spotted and soon fade away. 

 This species is a native of northern India. 



V. c.ERULEA.— This is a favourite with everyone, and may 

 be called a gem amongst gems, and, as I have before noticed, 

 it grows naturaUy at a considerable altitude, and ia a some- 

 what low temperature. I am of opinion that it likes plenty of 



VanSa crerulea. 



