THE ORCHID WORLD. 



Vol. 6. No. 1. October, 1915. 



NOTES. 



Blenheim Palace Collection. — Mr. F. 

 Cooke, who has recently been appointed 

 Orchid grower to his Grace the Duke of 

 Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, 

 first made his acquaintance with Orchids 

 when at Sevenoaks, where his father, Air. 

 Sidney Cooke, had charge of Mr. de Barn 

 Crawshay's collection from i88i-igoi. After 

 spending some years in the employ of Messrs. 

 Sander and Sons, Mr. F. Cooke went to 

 Lynford Hall, Mundford, Norfolk, where he 

 was engaged m the cultivation of Orchids 

 until his present appointment. 



i$ ^ 



R.H.S. Awards. — Having visited many of 

 the R.H.S. meetings, as well as the important 

 provincial shows, 1 know the eagerness with 

 which exhibitors await the awards of the 

 judges, and the pleasure produced when an 

 award card is duly placed on their plant. But 

 the owner probably receives the greatest 

 recompense in knowing that the public are 

 thus made acquainted with the meritorious 

 condition of his exhibit ; to wait until the end 

 of the day before issuing the awards is to rob 

 them of more than half their value. Now 

 that the R.H.S. contemplate revising the 

 awards for rare and interesting species it is to 

 be hoped some means may be adopted 

 whereby these can be dealt with during the 

 early part of the day. As it now is, the 

 Botanical Certificate loses much of its value, 

 for the Scientific Committee, to whom it is 

 entrusted, do not sit until 4 p.m., with the 

 result that the award card is not issued until 

 the majority of the visitors have left the 

 exhibition. — A. W. 



Obituary. — We regret to record the death 

 of Mr. F. W. Ashton, a well-known member 

 of the Orchid trade. Many years ago he was 

 connected with Messrs. Lewis and Co., 

 Southgate, and on the dissolution of this 

 firm in i8g8 the business was carried on 

 under the style of Stanley Mobbs and 

 Ashton, but in 1905 he severed his connection 

 and accepted an engagement with Messrs. 

 Hugh Low and Co., as Orchid representative 

 and traveller. In April, 191 1, Mr. Ashton 

 set up for himself as a horticultural 

 commission agent, but continued ill-health 

 prevented him following this vocation with 

 success. 



?<is 



Rapid Growth. — That some hybrids 

 grow much quicker than others is a well- 

 known fact, and a general consideration will 

 show that the flowering stage of nearly all 

 hybrids is now reached in a very much shorter 

 period than was required years ago when the 

 art of seed-raising was in its infancy. All 

 this has been brought about by a better 

 knowledge of the plant's requirements, with 

 corresponding attention on the part of those 

 engaged in the practical work. A notable 

 instance may be recorded in a batch of 

 Cnttleya Adula (bicolor x Hardyana) raised 

 by Messrs. Hassall and Co., from two 

 remarkably fine parents. The cross was made 

 a little less than four years ago, the pod 

 taking just seven months to ripen, thus 

 leaving three years and four months for the 

 plants to arrive at the flowering stage. 

 Several of the strongest have already 

 produced meritorious flowers, which will 



VOL. VI. 



I 



