September, igi2.J 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



275 



Orchid grower to Lieut.-Col. Sir George 

 Holford, Westonbirt, and carried no less than 

 34 flowers, all of good substance and quality. 

 Apart from being a very fine variety, this 

 plant forms an excellent example of the 



possibilities of a La;lio-Cattleya, the flowers 

 all being open at the same time, creating an 

 object of great beauty. This plant made its 

 flowering bulbs when grown in a 12-in. pot 

 which it completely filled with roots. 



MESSRS. SANDER & SONS' ESTABLISHMENT 



AT BRUGES. 



BRUGES has long been celebrated for 

 its horticultural interests ; so long ago 

 as 165 1 a society held exhibitions 

 with some degree of regularity. To-day 

 Bruges is known the world over for the 

 extensive establishment of Messrs. Sander and 

 Sons, and the celebrity of its bay trees. 



It is, however, the Orchids in which we are 

 interested at the present time The scarlet 

 flowering Renanthera Imschootiana is repre- 

 sented by thousands, one large house being 

 completely filled with well-leaved healthy 

 plants. Vanda Watsonii, V. Parishii, and 

 V. Batemannii also occupy considerable space, 

 and the new and rare HouUetia Sanderae is 

 represented by several good specimens. 

 Laslia Gouldiana, until recently extremely 

 scarce, grows happily in baskets suspended 

 from the roof. 



Renanthera Lowii, one of the most elegant 

 and interesting Orchids, may be seen in a 

 large specimen which Mr. Sander has care- 

 fully cultivated for over 30 years. A smaller 

 plant, exhibited at the Bruges Horticultural 

 Show, carried three long spikes of flowers, 

 a very unusual occurrence for such a compara- 

 tively small piece. This was a propagated 

 plant having a somewhat knotty and con- 

 stricted base to its stem, which may account 

 for its free-flowering nature. 



A large span-roofed house is completely 

 filled with specimens of Phalaenopsis Schil- 

 leriana ; the plants are grown m baskets 

 suspended fiom the roof, and their elegant 

 silvery mottled leaves create a fine effect. 

 P. Rimestadiana is also largely grown. 

 Angraecum Sanderianum and Vanda Sander- 

 iana are two beautiful Orchids that bear the 

 name of their enterprising discoverer. 



Dendrobium Sanderas, a recent introduction, 



produces very strong growths, the compost 

 mainly consisting of the bark of Fir trees, for 

 it is on these trees alone that the plants are 

 found growing in their native country. D. 

 Dearei, a closely allied species, is also well 

 represented. A large house is entirely 

 devoted to the cultivation of D. supeibiens. 

 An article on this species appeared on page 

 2ig of the present volume. 



The Cattleya houses are immense, several 

 being 250 feet in length, and proportionally 

 broad. They contain huge quantities of 

 C. Mossise, Mendelii, Percivaliana, labiata and 

 Gaskelliana, the latter species being a type 

 w^ith an unusual amount of purple colour on 

 the labellum. 



.Seedlings are being raised by tens of 

 thousands, and even these will not be too 

 numerous, for the difficulty of obtaining a 

 really first-class variety is becoming greater 

 every year. A very promising batch of 

 hybrids, which has just reached the flowering 

 stage, IS Cattleya Mrs. Pitt x Cattleya 

 Loddigesii, the colour of the flowers being 

 particularly rich. 



One large span-roofed house is completely 

 filled with Odontoglossum hybrids, and 

 another, of equal size, contains numerous 

 specimen plants of the true Pacho type of 

 Odontoglossum crispum, now so seldom seen. 

 Cymbidium insigne Sanderae, a very superior 

 variety to the original type, grows exceedingly 

 well at Bruges, the pretty, grass-like foliage 

 being in itself of decorative value. 



It is impossible to describe the multitude 

 of interesting Orchids in this vast establish- 

 ment, but anyone wishing to study the various 

 species and their culture will be amply 

 rewarded by paying a visit to Messrs. Sander 

 and Sons at Bruges. 



