198 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., gave a 

 luncheon and garden party at Burford, 

 May 25th. 



Sir Frank Crisp held a reception at Friar 

 Park, Henley, May 26th. 



There were also special visits arranged to 

 the Royal Gardens, Windsor, Kew Gardens, 

 and many of the large private gardens and 

 principal trade establishments. 



During the Exhibition the King conferred 

 the honour of knighthood upon Mr. Harry J. 

 Veitch, the father of English horticulture. 

 Mr. Veitch is well known to all Orchidists for 

 his early work in raising seedling Orchids. 



The outstanding feature of the show was 

 the magnificent group of Orchids staged by 

 Lieut.-Col. Sir George Holford, K.C.V.O., 

 Westonbirt. Not only was it the most 

 admired subject in the Show, but it was the 

 grandest and most elaborate exhibit of 

 Orchids ever displayed in the history of 

 Orchid cultivation. Mr. FI. G. Alexander 

 proved himself equal in every way to the 

 great task which he undertook, and' his work 

 will long stand in the memory of all those 

 who attended the great event of 1912. Both 

 Sir George Holford and Mr. Alexander 

 deserved every one of the very numerous 

 enthusiastic congratulations which they 

 received when it became known that they had 

 secured the King's Cup for their group of 

 Orchids — the most meritorious exhibit in the 

 long to be remembered great Horticultural 

 Exhibition of the year igi2. 



The large Orchid tent measured 250 feet 

 in length and 70 feet in width, the canvas 

 rising to a height of 50 feet. Sir George 

 Holford's exhibit, which extended across one 

 end of this huge construction, covered an area 

 of over 1,100 square feet, and never before 

 have Orchidists beheld a more entrancing 

 and gorgeous sight. The judges awarded it 

 the King's Cup for the most meritorious 

 exhibit in the Show, the Exhibition Large 

 Gold Medal, the Cup presented by Mons. 

 Jules Hye de Crom for the best Miltonias, 

 and the Cup presented by Messrs. Bull and 

 Sons for the best Cattleya hybrid exhibited 

 by an amateur. Several Certificates were 

 granted by the Orchid Committee of the 



Royal Horticultural Society for special plants, 

 particulars of which will be found in the list 

 of Awards. The background was draped 

 with material specially tinted to harmonise 

 with the plants, and in front of this several 

 immense palms rose to a height of 40 feet. 

 The back row of jilants consisted of speci- 

 men Dendrobiums, the varieties including 

 nobile nobilius, n. virginale, the golden Ophir 

 with 60 flowers, Dalhousieanum luteum with 

 over 200 flowers, well grown plants of 

 l^rymerianum, and Wardianum album. At 

 suitable places long sprays of bright-yellow 

 Oncidiums hung gracefully over the rich 

 purple flowers of the plants beneath, the 

 whole scheme of coloration being skilfully 

 arranged and adding greatly to the appear- 

 ance of the huge Orchid tent. The Laslio- 

 Cattleyas,, for which the Westonbirt collec- 

 tion is so noted, played a prominent part, a 

 very large number of distinct hybrids giving 

 to the group that stately and dignified 

 appearance which only Orchids, " the aris- 

 tocracy of plants," can impart. The Laelio- 

 Cattleyas included Goldcrest, one of the best 

 yellow hybrids, Golden Glory, one plant of 

 which carried three spikes with 23 flowers, 

 the Westonbirt variety of Britannia, Lustre 

 variety Buddah, and Lustre variety Lavingo 

 being specially good, and one of the finest 

 selections of Canhamianas which has ever 

 been seen. The Brassavola hybrids were of 

 the finest quality, the Westonbirt variety of 

 B.-C. Digbyano-Mossiae having as many as 

 16 large flowers of an elegant colour. B.-C. 

 Queen Alexandra, and B.-C. The King were 

 twO' of the finest and most admired plants m 

 the group. Cattleyas, as may be expected, 

 occupied considerable space, the albino varie- 

 ties being very select. Mention must be made 

 of Cattleya Mendelii Queen Mary, which 

 oljtained a First-class Certificate, C. Skinneri 

 Temple's variety with 52 flowers, and the 

 white form of the same with 80 blooms. The 

 chaste C. Dusseldorfei Undine was also well 

 shown. Cypripediums were visible in many 

 parts of this important exhibit, a good 

 example being callosum Sanderas with 16 

 flowers, and an equally fine specimen of 

 Maudias. The Odontoglossums bestowed a 



