54 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 415. 



named O'Marana, delicatissima and Deaniana. The hybrid 

 with very dark flowers named Columbiana is a puzzle to me, 

 as it is a cross between the kind with very dark-colored leaves 

 which goes under the name of N. rubra and N. dentata, the 

 first-named being the seed parent. One would suppose that 

 a hybrid between these two well-known kinds would have 

 flowers of a light red or pink color, but the flowers of Colum- 

 biana are darker than either of the forms of N. rubra or N. 

 Devoniensis. Another peculiarity which the plant possesses 

 is that the flowers are much smaller than those of either of the 

 parents. 



In order to make sure of success in hybridizing Nymphaeas 

 one or two little details should never be neglected. The first 

 thing to do is to make ready for each flower a wire screen in 

 the shape of a hood, the mesh to be small enough to keep out 

 the smallest insects ; this screen ought to be large enough to 

 completely envelop the flower when it is fully expanded ; it 

 should be attached on one side to a stout stick, and merely 

 placed over the flower by thrusting the end of the stick into 

 the soil in which the plant is growing, taking care that the 

 bottom of the screen is beneath the water, but before this is 

 necessary the flower which is selected for seeding must be 

 prepared carefully, and this is the most important part of the 

 work. Begin just before the flowers expand in the evening, 

 select a flower which is about to open for the first time, open 

 the petals gently and remove every vestige of the stamens ; 

 this can be done perfectly with the thumb and forefinger. At 

 this period of the flower's existence the pollen is unripe and 

 there is not the least possibility of any of it getting on to the 

 rayed stigma of the flower. After the operation is completed 

 place the hood over the flower and let it remain till next morn- 

 ing. At the same time another hood should be placed over 

 the flower selected as the pollen parent, taking care that it also 

 is about to open for the first time ; this will remove any possi- 

 bility of insects visiting it and mixing pollen from other flow- 

 ers with its own. Now, during the forenoon of the next day, 

 just before the Lilies are about to close, examine the pollen- 

 bearing flower, and if, as is likely to be the case, the pollen is 

 ripe, shake it over the one from which the stamens were re- 

 moved, and, as a further means of insuring success, nip off a 

 few of the stamens and place them in the centre of the impreg- 

 nated flower ; next draw three or four of the inner petals 

 together by their tips and join them by a pin, replace the 

 hood, and if the flower sets any seeds at all it is reasonably 

 certain that they cannot produce anything else than hybrid 

 seedlings. 



Botanic Garden, Washington, D. C. G. IV. Oliver. 



Orchid Notes. 



CALANTHE VEITCHII is one of our most useful winter- 

 flowering Orchids, and even small collections should not 

 be without this showy plant. For the past month it has made 

 a good show of flowers here, and they will last for several 

 weeks yet. Our plants are grown in five-inch pots, with one 

 pseudo-bulb in each pot. As the plants are without leaves 

 when they blossom, we find it easier to arrange them when 

 they are in small pots among other foliage plants, which make 

 a good groundwork for them. There are three dozen plants 

 in bloom now ; they have flower-spikes a yard or more long. 

 When the plants have finished flowering water is entirely with- 

 held, and they are kept on a dry shelf which is near the glass 

 roof, where they get an abundance of light, so as to harden and 

 mature the pseudo-bulbs better. The repotting is done in 

 March, when the young growth is about an inch long and just 

 as the young roots start to grow. The plants are turned out of 

 the pots and all the exhausted soil removed from the roots. 

 The dead roots are cut back to within an inch of the pseudo- 

 bulb, and this short piece of root which is left helps to keep 

 the plants in place until they make new roots. Good drainage 

 is very essential, and the pots are almost half-filled with broken 

 crocks. Over the drainage is placed a layer of fern-root to 

 prevent any clogging. When potting the plants the pots are 

 filled up moderately firm to within an inch of the top. The 

 plant is then placed on the top of the soil, and about half an 

 inch more of compost is added, so as just to cover the base of 

 the bulb. If the plants are not perfectly firm then they are tied 

 to a small stake, which keeps them in position until the roots 

 take hold of the new compost. A place where they get plenty 

 of light suits them best after they are potted, and they are, 

 therefore, placed on a shelf near the glass in the stove. After 

 potting they need very little water for several weeks. If too 

 much moisture is given at this stage the young growth turns 

 black. When the plants have made good roots and fairly sized 

 leaves they need an abundance of water. About July, the 



young bulbs begin to form, when weak liquid-manure can be 

 given twice a week until the pseudo-bulbs begin to lose their 

 leaves and the flowers begin to open. When the plants are in 

 bloom they only need enough water to keep the flowers in 

 good condition. 



This beautiful hybrid was raised by Mr. Dominy at Veitch's 

 Exeter nursery in 1856. It was obtained by crossing Calanthe 

 rosea, then known as Limatodes rosea, with the pollen of 

 Calanthe vestita. It flowered for the first time in 1859. The 

 pseudo-bulbs are flask-shaped, six or seven inches long, and 

 the leaves are large, plaited and light green in color. The 

 long graceful spikes have rich, bright rose-colored, white- 

 throated flowers two inches across. 



Calanthe vestita is a handsome species that has been culti- 

 vated for nearly half a century. Although it is not quite as 

 showy as the above hybrid, it is well worth growing and makes 

 a good display at this season. It has roundish pseudo-bulbs 

 with broadly lanceolate acuminate leaves, which are about a 

 foot and a half long. The flowers are produced in long nod- 

 ding hairy spikes. They are milky white, with a yellow blotch 

 on the lip in front of the column, and they measure about two 

 inches across. This Orchid was first discovered by Dr. Wallich, 

 an Indian botanist, in 1826, but was not introduced to cultiva- 

 tion until 1848. Then it was collected in Moulmein by Dr. 

 Kane and sent to England. 



Calanthe vestita rubro oculata is a handsome free-flowering 

 variety also in bloom. It has large delicate white flowers with 

 a blotch of rich crimson in the centre. 



Dendrobium Linawianum is a mass of handsome flowers. 

 It has upright, deeply furrowed stems, which are a foot or 

 more high and are swollen at the internodes. The young 

 stems have oblong, obtuse leaves, which are about three inches 

 long. The very beautiful flowers are produced in pairs from 

 the joints on the two-year-old stems. The flowers measure 

 more than two inches across, and the sepals and petals are 

 oblong, acute, white at the base, and are of a rosy purple color 

 in the upper half. The lip is ovate, reflexed, being of a bright 

 crimson-purple and has a crimson spot on each side of the 

 disk. This plant is grown in a basket, and when it requires 

 rebasketing it is done in spring after it has flowered. It thrives 

 in a mixture of fern root, sphagnum and lumps of charcoal. 

 During the summer months it is grown in the stove, hung up 

 near the roof, where it gets plenty of light, heat and moisture. 

 When it has finished its growth for the season, which is about 

 September, it is removed to a cooler house, where it gets 

 plenty of light and air, so as to ripen its pseudo-bulbs. It 

 needs very little water during the early part of winter, when it 

 is resting, just enough to keep it from shriveling. When it 

 shows flowers it is taken into a warmer greenhouse, where it 

 is watered carefully until all the flowers are developed. They 

 last in good condition for about three weeks. 



The sweet-scented Dendrobium aureum is also flowering 

 now. Although it is not quite as showy as some other species 

 of this genus, it is quite distinct and useful. Its flowers are 

 produced in twos or threes from the nodes of the two-year- 

 old stems. They measure about two inches across, the sepals 

 and petals being a cream color. The lip is large and reflexed, 

 velvety above, buff-yellow, streaked with dull red, and the 

 column is orange-red. The flowers, before they perish, change 

 their color to a deep golden yellow. During spring and sum- 

 mer the plant is grown in a hot, moist house, and in the fall it 

 is removed to a cooler one. In winter it is kept dry and hung 

 in a place where it can get all the sunlight it needs. It grows 

 best in baskets in a mixture of fern-root and sphagnum. This" 

 Dendrobium is East Indian, and is said to have a wider distri- 

 bution than any other species of this genus. It has been col- 

 lected in eastern Assam, on the Khasia Hills, in Nepaul, the 

 Madras Presidency, southern province of Ceylon, in Moulmein 

 and in the Philippine Islands. 



Dendrobium Ainsworthii is a beautiful hybrid between D. 

 aureum and D. nobile. It was raised in the collection of the 

 late Dr. Ainsworth, Manchester, England, and flowered for the 

 first time in 1874. It makes a useful winter-flowering plant, 

 and its fragrant flowers are very pleasing now. They are pro- 

 duced on the mature pseudo-bulbs and measure more than 

 two inches across. The sepals and petals are white, with a 

 slight tinge of rose. The lip is white, with a large central 

 blotch of an amaranth color. 



Another hybrid with the same parents as the above, but 

 raised by Veitch, of Chelsea, is D. splendidissimum, which is 

 also in bloom. The flowers of this hybrid are larger than 

 those of the preceding, and more glossy. The sepals and 

 petals are white and tipped with rosy mauve. The lip is white 

 with a slight touch of yellow in it, and a rich deep purple blotch 

 in the centre. 



Botanic Garden, Harvard University. R. Cameron. 



