Drccmbcr, 1915.] 



1111-: ORCUllJ WOKLI). 



59 



their appearance and abundance of bloom. 

 Cypripedium Rossetti, carrying lovely flowers 

 of thick substance ; C. Harrisianum, full, too ; 

 and a host of others. In this house is a 

 splendid example of Bulbophyllum Godsef- 

 fianum, bearing several of its quaint and 

 curious flowers. Masdevallia Schroderiana, in 

 perfect health. I could detect no spotted 

 foliage so often present with this genus — a 

 model of culture. Mr. Clements told me this 

 plant was a mass of bloom some time ago. 

 Cattleya citrina, with no indication of 

 dwindling away so characteristic with this 

 species. A small pan of Sophronitis grandi- 

 flora, with 12 growths, which will stand out 

 like a beacon when in flower. 



What im])ressed me most m this house were 

 the plants of Oncidium tigrinum. Never have 

 I seen finer plants of this species. The huge 

 bulbs and thick spikes are graven on my 

 mind. I asked how it was done, but Mr. 

 Clements assured me that no special treatment 

 was meted out to these, all the occupants 

 sharing the same conditions. Evidently this 

 house possesses some charm. But I must get 

 on, for there is the other house to go through. 



Before we entered an amusing incident 

 occurred, Mr. Clements asked me to inspect 

 his " incubator," fixed outside the house. I 

 must confess that for the moment I was 

 rather puzzled over this, and my mind 

 naturally reverted to colonies of fluffy chicks; 

 a strange place to rear poultry, I thought. 

 But once inside the house the object was 

 revealed. True, it was an incubator in the 

 fullest sense, busily occupied with bringing 

 seeds into being. Here was a glass frame, 

 connected with the apparatus outside, in 

 which were pots galore containing seeds and 

 seedlings, actual and anticipated ; embryo 

 gems, let us hope. 



A charming spectacle presented itself on 

 entering, some twenty plants of Cattleyas and 

 their various hybrids all bearing lovely 

 trusses of bloom. A fine plant of C. 

 Bowringiana bore three many-flowered trusses 

 of a rich colour ; Brasso-Cattleya Mad. Chas. 

 Maron was lovely ; C. Fabia and C. labiata in 

 great form and colour. Here, also, were 

 robust plants of C. Mendelii and lusty Laelias, 



anceps and Gouldiana, throwing strong spikes 

 which promise a continuous display of these 

 lovely and richly-coloured Orchids. Rarely 

 does one see a well-grown plant of Paphmia 

 cristata, but here it is quite at home antl 

 bearing two spikes, one in flower, of their 

 weird and wonderful blooms. The Butterfly 

 Orchid, Oncidium papilio, one saw in healthy 

 well-leaved specimens with their quaint 

 inflorescence. 



I think I have said enough to show what 

 can be accomplished by an amateur whose 

 business takes him away the greater part of 

 the day. Enthusiasm and determination are 

 lubricators essential to success, and in these 

 qualities Mr. Clements possesses an ample 

 .supply, which, after all, is the outcome of a 

 labour of love. 



One cultural item I almost omitted is that 

 plenty of bottom ventilation is a strong point 

 here, and testifies, in part, to its wisdom by 

 the healthy and vigorous condition of the 

 whole collection, of which anyone might feel 

 justly proud. — H. A. Farmer, Tiinbridge 

 Wells. 



Vanda Sanderiana Rann Lea var. — 

 Variation is far more common in some species 

 than in others, and it is scarcely necessary to 

 state that the larger the number of plants 

 cultivated so much more likelihood is there 

 of greater variation being seen. Vanda 

 Sanderiana, however, has always been a 

 scarce plant, and on that account actual 

 comparison of varieties has been well-nigh 

 impossible. But the Rann Lea variety 

 certainly impresses one as being far above 

 the normal type of this elegant species. 

 When it was exhibited by Mr. H. J. Bromilow 

 at the Manchester Orchid Society, some two 

 years ago, a First-class Certificate was 

 awarded, the Committee considering it to be 

 the finest variety ever seen at their meetings. 

 Mr. W. J. Morgan sends an excellent bloom 

 from an eight-flowered spike, which had been 

 in perfection in Mr. Bromilow's collection 

 about four weeks, and showed no sign of 

 exhaustion. 



