ORCHID NOTES FROM ST. ALBANS. 



163 



in width at the center ; it is covered with minute hairs 

 on the back part. The petals are rich crimson-purple, 

 with a slight green coloring in the center, and dotted all 

 over with numerous black spots ; the petals are about 

 three-quarters of an inch in width at the extremities, 

 gradually tapering towards the part whence they spring ; 

 the lip or slipper is greenish-brown in color, about the 

 same size as that of C. concolor. It is profusely marked 

 with dark lines running in all directions over it. The 

 leaves are very showy. They are somewhat narrow and 

 acutely pointed, a bright green, with richly marked black 

 bars. The habitat of this species is not quite certain, 

 but it is supposed to be found growing in the same district 

 as C. Hookt'icT. It should, therefore, be grown in a 

 warm, moist atmosphere at a temperature of not lower 

 than 60° Fahr. during winter. It grows in a mix- 

 ture of peat, loam and sphagnum. 



Catileya Warocqiieaiia . — This is a plant which 

 has been lately put before the public as a new 

 species, and it has been the subject of argument in 

 horticultural circles as to whether it is really dis- 

 tinct from what we know as " the old autumn flow- 

 ering labiata." Be that as it may, it is a plant 

 which is well worth the notice of orchid growers, 

 and should be represented in every collection. The 

 following description, taken from the Gardeners'' 

 Cltronicle will serve to give the reader a very good 

 idea of what the plant is really like, and he may 

 then judge for himself as to its merits or demerits : 



''The winter flowering Cattleya Jl'aroxjiwana is 

 one of the most extraordinary introductions of re- 

 cent times. In England it has been greatly ad. 

 mired, but in Belgium it is the plant of the day. 

 We found upwards of fifty plants of it in flower, 

 and specimens in bud and sheath in all stages, 

 which leaves no room to doubt that its magnificent 

 rose and crimson flowers will be produced through 

 out the winter. Some of the varieties are so ex_ 

 actly like the true autumn flowering lahiata that 

 actual comparison with the true plant, and careful 

 scrutiny by several good judges, failed to find a 

 point whereby those forms of the new introduction 

 can be separated from it, and which it is thought 

 comes from the same locality as the original plant. 

 Some of its varieties have a large expanded label- 

 lum, with the coloring of C. gigns ; one of them has 

 blush-colored sepals and petals, and a lip of a rich vel- 

 vety-crimson shade like C. exonieusis, but it is larger 

 than that species. * * * * The species is subject 

 to a very wide range of variation, as there are actually 

 eight new varieties named since the plants have been 

 before the public." 



CattU-ya Bowringiana . — Though a plant of very recent 

 introduction, this orchid has found its way into almost 

 every collection, where it is unanimously accorded a 

 prominent place on account of its amenity to culture and 

 the freeness with which it flowers. C. Boun iiigiaua has 

 stepped in to supply what we might call a long-felt want ; 

 that is, in it we have a cattleya which gives us a profusion 



of rich flowers in the late autumn when all other spe- 

 cies are dormant. It also comes in very useful from a 

 florist's point of view, as the flowers are well adapted for 

 all kinds of decorative work. This cattleya was intro- 

 duced by Messrs. Veitch in 1884, from British Honduras. 

 It is found there growing on the cliffs by the side of 

 streams and rivers. At first sight C. Bowringiana bears 

 a great resemblance to C. Skinneri, but it is easily dis- 

 tinguished by the difference in the growth and size of 

 the pseudo-bulbs, the flowers are also somewhat smaller, 

 and it has a differently shaped labellum. At St. Albans, 

 last season, a magnificent display of this beautiful cat- 

 tleya was to be seen. The plants are staged at the coolest 

 end of the large cattleya house, with a southern aspect. 

 Underneath the stage is a reservoir for the purpose of 



Fig, 2. Dendrobium Dearei. (See page 162. ) 



catching rain-water ; and, of course, a good deal of evap- 

 oration goes on from this, to the great benefit of the 

 plants. Over five thousand flowers were expanded at 

 one time. 



C. Boivringiana is perhaps one of the easiest plants to 

 cultivate. It delights in a moderately warm tempera- 

 ture, with plenty of moisture. A fresh current of air 

 is also beneficial, but it should be given so as to avoid 

 draughts, which have a tendency to check the young 

 and tender growths. The plants should be firmly potted 

 in a compost of a clean peat fibre with a mixture of 

 charcoal and sphagnum. The pots should contain quite 

 one-half of their depth of broken pots so as to facilitate 

 drainage. The plants commence to make their growths 



