November 9, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



863 



EXHIBITIONS 



AND 



MEETINGS. 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S EXHIBITION OF ORCHIDS. 



On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 3 

 and 6j the Hoyal Horticultural Hall presented 

 an unusual appearance^ because the general 

 arrangement of long tables was largely dis- 

 penised with, and t^maller tables of varying 

 size and shape w-ere used, to the very great 

 advantage of the exhibition. This novel ar- 

 rangement was at the suggestion of the Or- 

 chid Committee; indeed, tiiis committee prac- 

 tically ruled affaire on thi^ occasion, and 

 orchids in a great array of glorious colouring 

 and wondrous grace and beauty filled the 

 greater part of the big hall. 



Eight well did amateurs and nurserymen 

 turn out to support the efforts made to pro- 

 duce an autumn display of theise useful and 

 bright flowers, and the Orchid Committee is 

 to be congratulated upon their work in ar- 

 ranging for this exhibition. Orchid lovers 

 know the value of autumn-flowering orchids, 

 but a large display of this kind was necessary 

 to bring the fact in a striking fashion before 

 the general public. 



Thirty-two classes were provided, and 

 several eets of judges commenced their work 

 promptly at eleven o'clock, and were finished 

 in about an hour. In some classes there were 

 no entries, while in others the competition 

 was keen. Every group staged was com- 

 petitive, and awards were made in accordance 

 with their value, the prizes being cups and 

 medals. 



Some idea of the extent and importance 

 of the orchid display may be gathered from 

 the fact that it exceeded the largest com- 

 bined display of orchids ever made at the 

 Temple Show by fully l,(XX)ft. 



OPEN CLASSES. 



In the open class, for a large group of or- 

 chids there were two entries. Messrs. 

 Charlesworth and Co., Hayward's Heath, put 

 up a brilliant groxip^ the whole of the centre 

 being tilled with the vivid 'Epidendrum vitel- 

 linum majus ; from this mass of orange colour 

 rose a few fine spike's of the white Odontoglos- 

 sum armaiuvilliersense xanthotes. Vanda 

 cserulca, Oncidium varicosum Rogersi, and 

 Cattle^'a labiata, and C. Portia figured 

 largely on the left of each, with L.-c. Bella 

 alba, the rich L.-c. Orion Othello, and the 

 beautiful yellow and purple Cattleya Rhoda 

 The Jewel. On the other side graceful onci- 

 diums, combined with Cattleya labiata, C. 

 Bowringiana, Brasso-cattleya Mariae, while 

 in the foreground were beautiful plants of 

 Cattleya Venus Princess, yellow and crim- 

 son ; Odontoglossum Aireworth, and the 

 white, yellow-spotted Odontoglossum exi- 

 mium xanthotes. A gold medal was awarded. 



In the same class came Messr.s. Sander and 

 Sous, St. Albans, who won a gold medal with 

 a very fine and interesting exhibit. In the 

 centre a lovely lot of Cattleya Fabia was 

 grouped over maidenhair ferns, and in this 

 t^t C. Fabia Her Majesty, with white sepals 

 and petals, was nota'hiy 'beautiful. At each 

 ^nd of the display outstanding groups of 

 Cattleya Fabia. C. lal)iatu, C. 1. La Vierge 

 (white\ C. McMastersi^ tlie handsome L.-c 

 Prism, and Brasso-cattleya Mdme. Chas. 

 Maron were effectively set. Between these 

 imposing portions there were bays wuth a 

 low groundwork of cypripediums, and here 

 We noticed good specimens of C. insigne San_ 

 aeraB. C. i. Harefield Hall, C. Edith Lucas, 

 C. Mandiae, C. Leeanum, C. Chas. Eichman, 



w 1 ^^^"8" ^^^^ cypripediums were L.-c. 

 Walter Gott, rich mauve and purple, the 

 tree-flowering pale mauve Cattleya Ashtoni, 

 Bendrobium Goldei, Cattleya Mrs. Pitt, 

 Odontioda Bradshawiae, and nestling in the 

 foreground was a lovelv little g-roup of Indian 

 crocuses— Pleione praecox and P. la genana. 



One of the very finest of the many splen- 

 did groups in the hall was that composed of 

 cattleyas, laelio-cattleyas, and brasso-cat- 

 ^l^ya.8 in an open clavss. It merited and re- 



a silver-gilt Lindley medal), and included five 

 certificated plants. Every plant was set 

 apart from its neighbour, a<* is usual in the 

 case of exhibits from Westonbirt. Such an 

 exhibit of the cattleya family has never 

 before been staged in November, and Sir 

 George Holford and his grower, Mr. Alexan- 

 der, are to be heartily congratulated upon 

 the magnificent collection, Puqjle, mauve, 

 crimson, gold, yeJlow, cream, ruby, orange, 

 and white were colours gloriously repre- 

 sented. This cattleya group <K'cui)ied an 

 area of about 35() square leet, and contained 

 about 200 plants, ail of them as nearly per- 

 fect as possible. Of the splendid autumn- 

 flowering C. Fabia there were no fewer than 

 fifty-five plants, carrying a total of over 

 seventy spikes and 260 gorgeous blooms, 

 llie wiiite forms of C. labiata — Mrs. E. Ash- 

 worth, Gilmourise, G. G. Whitelegge, and 

 Madame Louis de Hemptinne were e8j)ecially 

 choice, while C. Peetersi Westonbirt var. 

 (F.C.C.), with white, purple, and gold flowers; 

 C. llardyana La Perle (A.M.), a fine form, 

 with white sepals and petals, and a glowing 

 purple and white lip> were two outstanding 

 gems. Laelio-cattleya Golden Fleece (A.M.), 

 vivid yellow ; L.-c. Cappei Charlesworthi, 

 extra fine and brilliant; L.-c. Neleus, from 

 L.-c. Iris and C. Ophir; L.-c. Amber, a fine 

 new yellow; and L.-c. Golden Beauty, formed 

 a group of most decorative orchids; while of 

 special fine form, lovely colouring, and ele- 

 gance were Brasso-cattleya Euterpe, B.-c. 

 Pluto, B.-c. Siren, and B.-c. Gigas Digbyana. 

 all with fringed lips. Cattleya Dusseldorfei 

 Undine, and C. fulvescens, Westonbirt var., 

 are two other beautiful orchids that cannot 

 be omitted from this brief reference to a 

 glorious exhibit. 



Only one group of Yanda caerulea was 



forthcoming in the open class for this orchid, 

 but it was a superb one. and consisted of 

 about forty-five grand specimens, splendidly 

 grown and beautifully arranged over about 

 fifty spikes of Oncidium variocosum Eogersi 

 by Mr. H. Alexander, orchid grower to Sir 

 George Holford, Westonbirt, Tetbury, Glou- 

 cester. The blue vandas over the golden on- 

 cidiums provided a rare and beautiful effect. 

 Rarely have finer examples of V. caerulea been 

 seen, and not only was the culture fine, but 

 every plant represented a first-rate form, the 

 flowers large and shapely. Many of the 

 spikes carried twenty flowers, the largest 

 having thirty blooms. One s?pecimen — Vanda 

 caerulea Lady Holford (F.C.C.) — stood out 

 pTominently, and it carried two of the seventy 

 spikes that composed this splendid group. 

 A gold medal and a silver-gilt Lindley medal 



were awarded. 



Messrs. Mansell and Hatcher, Eawdon , 

 T-/eeds, presented a fine arrangement, and 

 grouped their plants in two bold and Avide 

 mounds and three low bays. In the loftier 

 portions the outstanding features were Cat- 

 tleya labiata, the glorious C. Fabia, 

 aurea, C. Mrs. Pitt, C. Armstrongiap, and 

 golden oncidiums in great sprays. In the 

 b{:ys, cypripediums were much in evidence, a 

 large plant of C. insigne Harefield Hall stand- 

 'ing out prominently. Odontoglossum exi- 

 mum, 0. Lambeauianum, and O. cri^um 

 were well represented, and Platyclinis Cob- 

 bianum, Cattleya labiata alba, and Odontioda 

 Devossiana were other good things. Tlie 

 Eawdon firm received a large silver cup. 



AMATEURS. 



Four exhibits were to be found in the 

 amateurs' class for a group of orchids ar- 

 ranged on a space of 150ft., and here G. F. 

 Moore, Eso^, Chardwar, Bourton-on-the- 

 Water, gained a gold medal with a charming 

 group, in which varieties of Dendrobium 

 phalapnopsis Sohroderiana were largely and 

 gracefully disposed in three mound-like 

 groupings. Cattleya labiata, C. Mantini, 

 C. Portia, and C. Fabia occupied the inter- 

 vening spaoes^, and the groundwork was 

 composed of cypripediums. and here there 



were splendid lots of C. insigne Sanderse, C. 

 Mandia?, C. Niobe superbum, C. Clio, C. 

 Thalia Mrs. F. Wellesley, C. Arzia Fairie- 

 anum, and C. The Baron. 



In the same class a large group of orchids, 

 finely arranged by Mr. Collier, gardener to 

 Sir Jeremiah Colman, Bart., Gatton Paxk, 

 Reigate, lacktxl brilliant colouring, and the 

 central mound of Cattleya Portia caerulea 

 gave the display a cold appearance. This 

 variety looked as though it had tried t^i 

 emulate Vanda caerulea, and failed. Den- 

 drobium phabenopsis and Vanda caerulea 

 figured well in other parts of the exhibit, 

 and L.-c. Rothschildiana, Cattleya labiata, C. 

 Peetersi, and C. Portia were good Cypript* 

 diums were presented in er-'^at variety, and 

 a few good odontoglovssums were on view, 

 while Odontioda Bradshawiaj Gattonensis, 

 rich orange-scarlet (F.C.C), was the gem 

 of a fine contribution. (Large Silver Cup.) 



H. S. Goodson, Esq. (gardener, Mr. G. 

 Day), Fairlawn, Putney, contributed a goodly 

 group, but somewhat formal. Purple 

 cattleyas and laBlia-cattleyas were associated 

 with odontoglossums to form a background, 

 but almost all tlie forward part of the ex- 

 hibit consisted of cypripediums, and among" 

 the latter C. Mandiae and C. insigne San- 

 derse were very much in evidence; a few 

 Sophro-cattleyas and Sophro-laelia-cattleyas, 

 with deeply-coloured flowers, occupied a 

 central position. (Small Silver Cup.) J. 

 Gurney Fowler, Esq. (gardener, Mr. Davis), 

 Glebelands, South Woodford, put up a high 

 pyramidal group, composed chiefly of cypri- 

 pediums surrounded by Cattleya labial a, on- 

 cidiums, and odontoglossums. The exhibit 

 was very formal in outline, but it contained 

 good examples of Cypripedium Hera Ery- 

 ades, C. insigne Harefield Hall, C. Ville 

 de Paris, C. Corona, and large numbers of 

 forms of C. insigne, 



.A group of special importance was con- 

 tributed hj E. R. Ashton, Esq. (gardener, 

 Mr. A. Young), Broadlauds, Camden 

 Park, Tunbridge Wells, in the ama- 

 teurs' class for a display not exceed- 

 ing' 100 square feet. Well-grown plants 

 were capitally arranged with palms, ferns, 

 and moss, and crowding was avoided. Catt- 

 leya aurea. C. Fabia, the new white, purple, 

 gold and crimson C. Oberon (A.M.), Brasso- 

 cattleya Hyeae (A.M.), a fine substantial 

 hybrid between Cattleya Harrisonae and 

 Brassavola Digbyana; L.-c. Luminosa, L.-c. 

 Beryl, L.-c, Beacon, golden-orange and ruby- 

 crimson; and the fine old L.-c. callistoglossa 

 were a few of the gems in this collection. A 

 Silver Cup was worthily won. Around the 

 groups set up by F. Du Cane Godman, Esc^., 

 South Lodge, Horsham, the beautiful yellow- 

 flowered Oncidium cheirophorum was used as 

 an edging, and this old species was well 

 shown and greatly admired. Vanda caerulea, 

 golden oncidiums, and odontoglossums filTed 

 the raised centre, while Cattleya aurea, C. 

 Fabia, Cypripedium Mandiae, C. Rossetti, and 

 Cattleya Mantini nobilior were of special 

 merit in other parts of the group. (Silver 

 Flora Medal.) 



Only one group was forthcoming in the 

 amateurs' class for a display of cypripediums. 

 This was from the Westonbirt collection, and 

 a few oncidiums and palms served to en- 

 hance tile effectiveness of the exhibit. It 

 was a very interesting group, set up on a 

 diamond-shaped taBle. There were fine ex- 

 amples of C. Mandiae, C. insigne Sanderae, 

 C. nitens-Leeanum Hannibal, C. Actseus 

 Benoia, very fine; the pure whit« C. 

 Boltoni with four flowers, and such extra 

 special sorts as C. Muriel, finely formed; C. 

 Lucifer, C. Prism, C. Leeanum Corona, C. 

 Chapmani, Westonbirt var., and C. Niobe, 

 Westonbirt var. 



The chief award for three specimen or- 

 chids (a Silver-gilt lianfc-ian Medal) fell to 

 Mr. H. J, Chapman, gardener to Mrs. Norman 



I 



