92 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[July 28, 



this requires a damper situation than M. nepalensis, 

 we gave it this in some instances, and the cloudy, 

 damp weather seems to be just what it likes. The 

 flowers of Iris Ksempferi also last longer than they 

 do in the sunny weather which usually prevails 

 when they are out. I have always believed of this 

 Iris that it was important that the seed should be 

 sown as soon as ripe, that the roots should not be 

 in the water, and that the clumps should not be 

 disturbed. Unsuitable weather, my being busy, and 

 other matters, prevented the seed, which ought to 

 have been in the ground last autumn, being sown 

 till this May ; to my surprise it came up thickly in 

 about a month. I should mention that the seed was 

 kept in the pods, but many of them had opened. A 

 few plants which I tried with the roots in the water 

 look healthy, and are blooming well, and a visitor 

 to our garden tells me that he has seen a sketch 

 taken in Japan where the plants were quite in the 

 water. 



Some of my oldest clumps being rather bare 

 in the middle, I broke a few up in May into six or 

 seven pieces, and planted them quite near the undi- 

 vided ones ; the pieces are blooming the best. I 

 think these unexpected results may be worth record- 

 ing. George F. Wilson. 



SPATHOGLOTTIS AUREA. 



Db. Lindley named this fine plant as early as 

 1850 in Paxton's Flower Garden, vol. i., p. 16, n. 32, 

 stating that it was introduced by Messrs. Veitch & 

 Son, having been discovered by T. Lobb, in Mount 

 Ophir, in the same locality as Nepenthes sanguinea. 

 I have no memorandum as to whether it flowered with 

 Messrs. Veitch or not, but it would appear that it 

 did. My late friend, Mr. John Gould Veitch, 

 presented me with a wild specimen gathered by 

 Mr. T. Lobb, and labelled Borneo. A nearly 

 flowerless peduncle, with four or two (!) bracts may 

 be from Malacca. For a quarter of a century, 

 as far as I know, nothing fresh was known about the 

 plant till it was quite lately re-introduced by Mr. 

 F. Sander, having been collected by his traveller, 

 Mr. Foerstermann, who hoped that it might be 

 new. I could not see any distinguishing character 

 in the dried specimens, but I hoped for some good 

 overlooked mark of distinction in the fresh plants. 

 Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., P.R.H.S., has 

 been so kind as to send me a fine peduncle more 

 than 3 feet in length, far better than Griffiths' speci- 

 men in Dr. Lindley's herbarium. The study of these 

 materials brought one surprising fact to light, viz. 

 that the mid-partition at the apex of the lip is 

 subject to the greatest variation. It occurs quite 

 narrow and acute, or broad, or very broad at the 

 top, simply retuse, or acute, or three-toothed. 



The leaves are plaited membranous ligulate- lan- 

 ceolate acuminate, more than 3 feet in length by 

 1£ inch in breadth. The peduncle kindly sent me 

 by Sir Trevor is purple, green at the top. There 

 are twenty-one bracts, which are divaricate, ligulate 

 concave, nearly spoon-shaped, which gives a very 

 remarkable appearance. The flowers are a little 

 larger than those of Phaius cupreus and flavus, 

 excepting for the narrow lip. The sepals and petals 

 are oblong obtuse, spreading, of the brightest yellow. 

 The sepals have some brown longitudinal lines and 

 some brown marks at the base. The side partitions of 

 the lip linear are retuse, central partition with a tri- 

 angular acute auricle at each side at the base, and a 

 central part of distinct shape, to which allusion has 

 been made above. There is a saddle-like two- 

 shanked yellow callus at the base. The colour is 

 yellow, with small purple-brown lines on the lips, 

 excepting at the top of the mid-partition. Arched 

 column yellow. There is no doubt the plant is a fine 

 one, well worth cultivating. H. 67. Echb. f. 



[The plant was shown and certificated under the 

 name of S. Kimballiana at the recent Temple show, 

 where it formed one of the features in the remark- 

 able group exhibited by Sir Trevor Lawrence. Our 

 illustration (fig. 9) was taken from this plant by Mr. 



W. G. Smith. We may add the following particulars 

 of cultivation, &c. Ed.] : — 



The cultural treatment it requires is much the same 

 as that afforded to the genus Bletia, the material 

 used in potting being turfy yellow loam, peat, and 

 sphagnum moss with a little silver sand added — the 

 Spathoglottis being terrestrial plants. 



Spathoglottis aurea was first sold at Stevens' 

 Rooms by its importers, Messrs. F. Sander & Co., in 

 September, 1886, with a glowing, but it must be 

 owned, an accurate description. It forms an admir- 

 able companion to the beautiful Spathoglottis au- 

 gustorum which is the same in general appearance, 

 but white and rose, and the rather smaller bright 

 rose S. plicatum, both of which were introduced by 

 Linden of Brussels. 



Nursery Notes. 



ORCHIDS AT MR. WILLIAM BULL'S. 

 With unabated splendour runs Mr. Bull's Orchid 

 show, which has attracted so many distinguished 

 visitors to his establishment in the King's Road, 

 Chelsea The arrangement of the long Orchid show- 

 house, its stages edged with drooping Panicum and 

 the setting of Maidenhair, and graceful Palms of 

 the Cocos Weddelliana character, is the same as at 

 the opening some months ago, but during the inter- 

 vening time a continual and entire change has taken 

 place in the occupants of the house, as one after the 

 other the great and showy sections of Orchids come 

 into bloom, the display from first to last being linked 

 together by the successive flowering of fine forms of 

 Odontoglossum crispum, for which the establishment 

 is noted. A while ago the principal feature observed 

 was the many large specimens of Miltonia vexillaria, 

 its rosy flowers mingling with the snow-white flower- 

 sprays of Odontoglossum crispum, the numerous 

 flowers of Masdevallia Harryana, in all tints from 

 pale lilac to brilliant scarlet. At present the numerous 

 varieties of Cattleya Gaskelliana and C. Mendelii are 

 grandly flowered and tastefully arranged with Odon- 

 toglossum crispum and 0. Pescatorei specimens form 

 the striking feature of the display, and to the florist 

 perhaps the most noteworthy ; but the pleasures of 

 the orchidist begin with the inspection of the rare 

 and new species and varieties or those which, although 

 not rare are not often observed in such fine specimens. 



The Cypripediums in bloom just now of first im- 

 portance — are C. Lawrenceanum coloratum, a rich 

 crimson tinged flower ; C. Stonei roseum, finely formed 

 flowers, whose colour is suffused rose ; C. cananthum 

 superbum, C. concolor tonquinense, C. bellatulum, C. 

 b. roseum, C. Godefroyaj, C. Sanderianum, C. cilio- 

 lare, C. Dauthieri, many varieties of C. barbatum, C. 

 caudatum, and a fine six-flowered spike of C. Parishii, 

 which has very peculiar leafy braGts. 



Besides varieties of Cattleya labiata, which make 

 a fine show, are C. velutina, C. superba, many 

 varieties of C. gigas, among which it is difficult to 

 conceive a more richly coloured flower than C. g. 

 regalis; C. Lawrenceana, C. guttata Leopoldi, C. 

 Eldorado, and several varieties of C. Harrisonise. The 

 Lselias contribute to the show, L. cinnabarina, L. 

 crispa superba, L. xanthina, and L. elegans. 



Besides the great show of the large white Odonto- 

 glossums, which is a continuous feature, the other 

 Odontoglossums in bloom in more or less quantity 

 are Cervantesi, in great variety ; O. hastilabium, 0. 

 nebulosum, 0. Schleiperianum, O. citrosmum, 0. 

 cristatum, 0. cristatellum, 0. cordatum Kienastia- 

 num, many examples of 0. Harryanum, 0. Ander- 

 sonianum, and many hybrids whose parentage it 

 would be difficult to guess. Of Miltonias — a feature 

 of the nursery — there were vexillarium rubrum and 

 M. v. Chelseiense, with fine purple radiating lines 

 in the centre. In Oncidiums may be mentioned 

 some grand specimens of O. macranthum, and one 

 with over fifty flowers; O. hastatum Ernestii, a 

 charming thing; O. cornigerum, 0. Schlimmii, O. 

 leucochilum, 0. sarcodes, O. janieriense, and many 

 others. 



Masdevallas are well represented, the perfection of 

 brilliancy being found in M. Harryana Meteor, 

 whose flowers are of a glowing scarlet, with a yellow 

 eye ; and of the most interest botanically are the 

 curious beetle-like flowers, numerously produced, of 

 species of the pigmy M. triaristella. 



Many Aerides, Saccolabiums, Vandas, and Den- 

 drobiums are in flower ; the handsome Epidendrum 

 atropurpureum, E. nemorale, E. prismatocarpum, 

 Brassia antherotes, Sobralia macrantha, Catasetum 

 sanguineum, Zygopetalum Gautieri, Calanthe vera- 

 trifolia, C. Dominiana, C. vestita gigantea, Lycaste 

 Skinneri, L. Deppei, Miltonia Regnelli, Anguloa 

 eburnea, A. Clowesii, and A. Ruckerii punctata, 

 Angreecum falcatum, Disa grandiflora, and some fine 



At the further end of the house a pleasing feature 

 in the arrangement is presented by Oncidium Papilio 

 and 0. Krameri, whose numerous butterfly-like 

 flowers mingle with those of Phaleenopsis amabilis, 

 P. Sanderiana, and P. speciosa, and beneath which 

 appear the scarlet blossoms of Epidendrum vitellinum 

 majus, the white and orange Dendrobium Jamesia- 

 num and D. formosum giganteum, and the graceful 

 Dendrochilum filiforme — Asparagus plumosus and 

 Maidenhair forming the setting. 



Messes. J. Laing & Sons. 



Owing to the lateness of the season the outdoor 

 Tuberous Begonias at the Forest Hill Nurseries are 

 rather backward just now, but there is full promise 

 of a brilliant display of colour at a later date. In the 

 houses, however, there is a fine lot of plants in 

 flower. It is unnecessary to speak of the general 

 points of the strain, which is well known. Of first 

 merit are the strain called by the title " Royal ; " the 

 flowers are very large, flat, and of good substance. 

 Princess Louise, a fine round flower, is one of the 

 best whites ; Princess Victoria, rosy-crimson ; 

 Duke of Edinburgh, deep red, and very rich ; 

 Duchess of Edinburgh, a rich golden - yellow, 

 are some of the best singles in flower; and 

 Duchess of Teck, a fine double, measuring 2 to 

 3 inches in diameter. Of other single varieties pen- 

 dula deserves to be placed in the front rank as a 

 basket plant. It is, as its name implies, of a pen- 

 dulous habit, the rose flowers being freely produced, 

 and attain about 6 inches in diameter. A. G. Soames 

 is a fine deep crimson of the ordinary type, and 

 Guardsman, a good scarlet ; of the bicoloured sorts 

 Charmer, white, with a rich crimson edge, still 

 remains a good form. Golden Queen was the best 

 yellow, being the colour of the Buttercup, and Torey 

 Laing should be named as a straage coloured flower, 

 it is a yellowish-red and very distinct. Snowball is 

 a full pure double white and Lady J. Goldsmid, a 

 delicate salmon-pink, also double, as is also 

 Viscountess, white with rose-margin. 



Of ornamental foliaged Begonias, B. Lubbersii, re- 

 cently illustrated in these columns, is well grown ; 

 and we also saw plants of B. M. Hardy, deep claret, 

 and B. albo-violacens, similar to M. Hardy with a 

 metallic whitish tinge over it. 



In the Orchid-house there were several small pieces 

 of the graceful airy-looking Dendrochilum filiforme 

 in flower, used as an edging to the stage, in 

 which situation it looked extremely well. Cattleya 

 Gaskelliana in several forms were in full flower, and 

 there was a large stock of Dendrobium Wardianum, 

 in excellent condition. The Caladiums were to be 

 seen to advantage in several grand specimen plants 

 of such varieties as candidum, albo-luteum, amoe- 

 num, pale rose, with dark ribs and a green edge ; La 

 Perle de Bresel, rosy-white, with dark green 

 veins ; Madame M. Scheffer, white, reddish- 

 brown and green lines and a green border ; 

 L'Automne, grey spots on white — a distinct variety ; 

 Le Titien, red and green, with red ribs — a very 

 pretty and bright thing. Triomphe de l'Exposition 

 is a deep red self, with deeper ribs. A remarkable 

 greyish-red is seen in M. J. Picot, and in Sancho- 

 nianthon is a large leaf of crimson, with a bright 

 green edge. Hastatum is not so vivid, being green 



