Mat so, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



15 



really well bloomed lycaste is a hard 

 orchid to beat even today. 



Cattleya Mossise. 



The free blooming and universally 

 popular cattleya, C. Mossise, is now in 

 season and will provide flowers in 

 abundance for some weeks to come. 

 It is so inexpensive and of such easy 

 culture that no one able to grow cat- 

 tleyas at all need be afraid to try it. 

 While the plants are in flower, give 

 them the coolest and shadiest part of 

 the house and avoid spraying them 

 while in bloom, for fear of spotting 

 the flowers. There is a really remark- 

 able range of types of C. Mossise. 

 Some have immense flowers and the 

 colors are occasionally pure white, or 

 at least there are plants carrying pure 

 white sepals and petals. The Beinecki- 

 ana types are distinct and quite valu- 

 able. Anyone buying a case of newly 

 imported Mossise is usually sure to get 

 his money back in flowers the next sea- 

 son, with the added likelihood of get- 

 ting some fine variety which will in- 

 dividually be worth the price of the 

 whole case. 



Phalsenopsis. 



As the handsome moth orchids, or 

 phalsenopsis, pass out of flower, attend 

 to any rebasketing or repanning. I 

 prefer deep, circular baskets. These 

 will carry plants for several years, and 

 an annual top-dressing of fresh sphag- 

 num will be all that is needed in some 

 years. Phalsenopsis grow well in a 

 compost of one-half sphagnum moss 

 and one-half fern fiber. They want a 

 warm, moist house, and anything like 

 direct air currents must be carefully 

 avoided. They are often too heavily 

 shaded; this gives beautiful foliage, 

 but poor flower sprays. On the other 

 hand, they should never have direct 

 sun in spring, summer or early fall, or 

 the foliage will be badly scorched, 

 and phalsenopsis with handsome sprays 

 of flowers and poor foliage are little 

 better than eyesores. P. Schilleriana, 

 P. Bimestadiana, P. amabilis and P. 

 grandiflora are the best varieties for 

 florists' use. After rebasketing, water 

 should be applied sparingly until the 

 roots are active in the new compost. 

 In shifting plants, always use the 

 greatest of care not to damage any of 

 their roots. 



Masdevallias. 



The bright and attractive little or- 

 chids, the masdevallias, are not much 

 seen nowadays except where a general 

 collection of orchids are kept. Where 

 a variety of them are grown, some are 

 always in bloom, but probably the 

 largest number, including the showiest 

 sorts, flower in early summer. Our 

 American climate is rather warm for 

 these Alpine orchids, and it is there- 

 fore necessary to give them a north- 

 ern exposure in summer to hold them 

 in good condition. They succeed well 

 in a mixture of fern fiber and moss, 

 dibbling some fresh growing sphagnum 

 over the surface and clipping it when 

 it becomes too robust. A few of the 

 best masdevallias are M. Harryana, of 

 which there are numerous named varie- 

 ties; M. ignea, M. Veitchii, M. Lin- 

 deni and M. Tovarensis. The last 

 named is pure white in color and a 

 free bloomer, being always at its best 

 in midwinter. 



Cypripedium 01' via. 



CYPRIPEDIUM OLIVIA. 



Cypripedium Olivia is one of the most 

 beautiful hybrid cypripediums yet 

 raised. William Bobinson, head gar- 

 dener for the late F. L. Ames, Lang- 

 water, North Easton, Mass., was the 

 hybridist, and, had he raised no other 

 orchid, this in itself would suffice to 

 keep his memory green for many years. 

 It was first introduced in England by 

 Hugh Low & Co., now Stuart Low & 

 Co., of London, who obtained their 

 original plants at North Easton. It 

 secured a first-class certificate from the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society, having pre- 

 viously secured a high award from the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. C. 

 Olivia is the result of a cross between 

 C. tonsum and C. niveum and it retains 

 the best characteristics of both parents, 

 resembling tonsum most in the foliage 

 and niveum in the form of the flower. 



While winter is the real blooming 

 time of this handsome cypripedium, 

 there is not a month in the year when 

 some flowers are not open on the batch 

 of plants now at North Easton. The ma- 

 jority of the scapes are two-flowered; 

 occasionally three flowers are carried. 

 The dorsal sepal is ivory white, with 

 pink lines running longitudinally. The 

 petals have the same white ground, 

 with veins of pink and small dots of 

 maroon purple. The labellum is ivory 

 white, suflfused with the same pink 



coloring as the sepal and petals. The 

 plant is an excellent grower and ap- 

 pears to be at home in a winter mini- 

 mum of 62 degrees, growing in a com- 

 post of fern fiber, to which is added 

 a little fresh sphagnum. 



W. N. Craig. 



FOUR-LEAVED 'CLOVERS." 



I write in regard to the so-called 

 four-leaved clover now being exploited. 

 All clovers are trifoliate, but occasion- 

 ally a four-leaflet leaf is found, yet so 

 small is the percentage you may look 

 for hours and not find one. The plant 

 now being exploited is an oxalis and 

 most likely the Mexican species, O. 

 tetraphylla, as this is four-leaved nat- 

 urally, whereas most of the oxalis are 

 trifoliate like clover. Finally, the 

 plant in question has no relationship 

 to clover, but belongs to the geranium 

 family. Arthur Herrington. 



Freeport, 111. — Louis Bauscher, of the 

 Freeport Floral Co., reports being 

 awarded the contract for planting the 

 grounds of the county court house, the 

 jail, the public library and the sol- 

 diers' monument. Owing to the late- 

 ness of the season, the latter half of 

 May has been the busiest ever known 

 here. Porch and window boxes and 

 hanging baskets are rapidly increasing 

 in popularity. 



