994 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



OXCIDIODA CIXXABAEINUM. 

 This is an interesting hybrid between On- 

 cidium monachicum and Cochiioda Xoez- 

 liana. The gro-vtli and inflorescence at once 

 suggest the oncidium parent, as the arching 

 spike, a, yard or so long_ with the flowers 

 lightly set npon it, show the oncidinm influ- 

 ence markedly. The medium-sized flowers 

 have cmnabar-red sepals and petals and a 

 buff-coloured lip. A.M., R.H.S., December 



1/. Messrs. Charleiworth and Co., Hayward's 

 Heath. 



CYPRIPEDIUM SIR WM. CHANCE. 

 Another fine cyprijoedium, and one of very 

 distinct colouring and appearance. It hio 

 a very pure white, flatfish dorsal sepal, witli 

 the base finclv coloured with rich red-purple 

 this colour rising up the centre. The p-t^is 

 are purple-brown and yellow, and ^he lip 

 green and brown. A.M., E.H.S.. December 

 1^. Francis Wellesley, Esq. (gardener Mr. 

 Hopkins), Westfield, Woking. 



CYPRIPEDIUM IDINA. 



This hybrid scems to about hold the record 

 for the breadth and roundness of its dorsal 



December 28, 1912. 



mauve-purple spots. The petals and lip are 

 green, shaded with brown. The influence of 

 C. insigne Harefield Hall is most marked in 

 C. Idma; the other parent is C. Countess of 

 ( arnarvon. A.M., E.H.S., December 17. 

 ile.-srs. Jas. Veitch and Sous, Chelsea. 



CYPRIPEDIUM DEMETER. 



A splendid hybrid, of large size and most 

 effective. The parents are C. Earl of Tan- 

 kerville and C. G. F. Moore. The large white 

 dorsal gepal is broad, has a greenish base and 

 a large number of bold purple spots. 'The 

 broad petals have a heavy shading- of rich 

 purple-brown, with edgings of bright green, 

 and the lip is also purple-brown. One strik- 

 ing feature of the flower (figured on p. 973 

 ot the Uaedenees' AIagazine) is the highlv- 

 polished or burnished appearance it presents 

 I he base of the dorsal sepal is scarcely go 

 broad as the connoisseur could wish, but that 

 P r r "iticism that can be offered, 



t K.H.S., December 17. Lieut.-Colon-l 



^ir George Holford (grower. Mr. H. Alexan- 

 der), ^^ estonbirt, Tetbury, Gloucester. 



ODONTOGLOSSUM SCINTILLANS 



ORCHID DEXE VAR. 



A small but pretty odontoglossum obtained 

 by crossing O. Rossi with O. Wilckeanum 

 In liabit and form of flow-er the hybrid bears 

 a strong resemhlance to 0. Rossi. The 



witY^f ' r ^ '^'^'^^ purplish, 



with dark red-brown spots and blotches th-^ 



lip IS fight purple, with a crimson basal area 



surrounded by a pink line; a yellow disk 



1 M 'r n% of ihe flower 



A.jx. ±{.±i.b., December 17. Mr E H 



Davidson. Orchid Dene, Twyford. ' " ' 



ODOXTOGLOSSUM EXIMIUM VAR 



J. LAKIX. 



. A bi ight form, with shapely flowers of good 

 yx. a"^, «f^:ance. The ground colour is 

 I' H>1,. shaded with rose, and over this are 



iJi ^iv;^li't^!'P lias red blotches and a 



yellow disk AM T? W a n ^ 



Mr F TT I'ef'smber 17. 



Mr. E. H. David.on, Orchid Dene, Twyford. 



Eucryphia pinnatifolia. - Thf 



beautiful Chilian shrub, the subject of ttS 

 or three recent notes in the Garbeners^ 



XV^ A In a visit paid to Coombe 



\Vood Nursery at the end of the summer I 

 was much impressed by its charming appear 



ncely, one specimen, about fifteen feet hiJ. 

 being a mass of bl^soms. Apart fmm ¥/' 



int hom \ i^^^^ P'^"*« ^ai^d from 



?onia SX^'t'^^ of tuberou 



g nia fame, by whon. it was first introduced 



seed 

 be. 



THE PAST 

 CHRYSANTHEMUM SEASON. 



The leader on this subject in a recent 

 issue of the Gardeners' Magazine is inter- 

 esting. iMy experience of shows in the 

 South and the North induces me to say 

 that the entries in the large bloom classes 

 were not so numerous as usual, but that 

 the shows were quite up to the ave- 

 rage because greater interest was taken 

 in other classes that go to make an ex- 

 hibition. I think no one will deny that 

 the cause of fewer exhibits in the Japanese 

 classes is traceable to the fact that so 

 many of the at one time regular exhibitors 

 h-ve ceased to be intere^^ted in this aspect 

 ot competitions at the chrysanthemum 

 sliQWs. It would not be difficult to name 

 at least a dozen prominent growers who 

 are now absent from the ranks of regular 

 exliibitors, but it would be exceedingly 

 difficult to name those who have taken 

 their place or appear at all likely to do so. 

 Such a fact as this is surely a reason for 

 fewer exhibits. I noticed, 

 competition in the Japanese classes was 

 less keen, -and tJiat there 



also that the 



was a mncli 

 greater difference in the blooms in the first 

 and second stands than was the case some 

 years since. 



Vase classes are not only fewer, but less 

 well supported than formerly. There is 

 no gainsaying the fact that^ase classes 

 reduced variety ; instead of two or three 

 dozen varieties being staged as in classes on 

 boards vase classes require at the most a 

 dozen, with perhaps one exception, Edin- 

 burgh—where fifteen is the maximum. 

 Such a diminution of varieties cannot fail 

 to reduce the interest in the Japanese sec- 

 tion. I think perhaps the quality of new 

 varieties of Japanese is of a higher stan- 

 dard than during the last five years. Such 

 varieties as Queen Mary, His Majesty, W. 



Turner, and Thomas Lunt are great ad- 

 vances. 



Where prizes were offered for a given 

 number of blcrnis, say, twelve, of Japa- 

 nese variety, arranged in one vase, with 

 any knid of natural foliage, the effect pro- 

 duced was of the best, Mell illustrating 

 the value of large Japanese blooms for hall 

 decoration. Such a class is of infinitely 

 more value than that for eighteen flowers 

 arranged in a given space with foliage cut 



or growmo; 



To me it was very deplorable to see the 

 poor quality manifest in the incurved sec- 

 tion. I did not come across a single stand 

 of a truly representative character. Many 

 of the blooms show far too much of the 

 Japanese character to be in any way typi- 

 cal of a true Chinese flower, ''in one^in- 

 stanc;' I saw a bloom of G. F. Kvans- 8^in. 

 m diameter, with florets resembling those 

 in a typical Japanese incurved liloom ^ 

 Mrs. J. Hygate is another of wliat I term 

 a malformed flower, neitlier <-orrectlv a 

 Japanese or an incurved specimen Tarn 

 awar(^ also that cultivation has much to do 

 with snob undesirable blooms. In the 

 hand, of ail expert such irregularities 

 would be toned down. I fear that there is 

 not a bright future in store for the incurved 

 section, as they are not even appreciated 

 for decoration, voted too formal, and I am 

 equally positive they have few admirers in 

 their present condition on the formal show 



com 



In the decorative section T noted str 



onfrer 



plSn r The?-' f ™ '•'''''"'iM 



p ants Ihe former so much better dis- 

 plays the true chararter of the variety n 

 a profusion of bloss<mi which givirirulv a 

 more pleasing decorative effect^ 1^8' ^ 



of plants I noted this fact equally w'tli 

 cut tbiooms, especially in the case of single 

 flowered varieties. At no show that I 

 visited could any comparison be made in 

 this respect with the exhibits at Windsor 

 There the finest varieties were presented 

 in a truly decorative manner, and, conse- 

 qttently, lound many admirers. At Hull 

 and at Norwich, too, classes were provided 

 for botJi sections in vases; it was plain to 

 be seen the preponderance was with the 

 naturally-grown exhibits. 



I think those societies who recognise the 

 decorative aspect of the chrysanthemmn as 

 applied to dinner-table decoration, vases 

 and baskets with natural foliage, will score' 

 especially if handsome prizes are given 

 with a view of stimulating competition. 

 It is not merely that increased com- 

 petition will result, but such exhibits 

 are more interesting to the general public, 

 who are the means of rendering a show a 

 financial success or otherwise. 



AVhen considering the financial aspect of 

 societies, especially in maintaining the 

 interest of the subscribers as apart from 

 the ordinary visitor who attends, perhaps, 

 quite casually^ carnations could be made 

 more use of, as they are a source of attrac- 

 tion to those wdio do not care wholly for 

 chrysanthemums. Such visitors have to he 

 considered, and many of them are apt to 

 say, " Oh! it is no use going to that show; 

 there is nothing else to see but chrysanthe- 

 mums, and I don't care for them." Car- 

 nations, especially during the winter, are 

 universal favourites, and help much to 

 brighten up even a chrysanthemum show. 



E. MOLYNEUX. 



LILIUM BROWNI. 



We 



are continually told that Lilium 



- u 



Browni is a native of China, and on that 

 point I would like to ask. Is that really so? 

 By Lilium Browni, I do not mean any of 

 the nearly allied forms which have Wen 

 sent here from China within recent years, 

 but the Lilium Browni which was grown in 

 Europe when China and Japan were com- 

 paratively unknown lands. It 1^ reported 

 to have been named after Brown, a nursery- 

 man of Windsor, somewlien about 1830, and 

 has since then been grown by the Dutch. 

 The lily principally cultivated by the Japan- 

 ese and often sent to this country as Lilium 

 Browni is L. japonicum Colchesteri or L. 

 odorum, as it is often called. 



That I am not alone in speaking thus of 

 Lilium Browni is shown by the following 

 extract from the "Book of Lilies'' in the 

 present-day gardening series. After saying 

 that the 'habitat of L. B rowui was uot 

 known with certainty till 188B, when Henry 

 chanced upon it growing wild in some of 

 the gorges of the Yangt^e-Kiang, the writ-er 

 goes on to say: 



''The lily usually grown in gardens as 

 L. Browni is derived from the Dutch and 

 Japanese nurs-erymen, who cultivate it in 

 large quantities. Whether it was ever 

 identical with the typical plant or whether, 

 as sometimes happens, its characteristics 

 have undergone some change under culti- 

 vation, is not clear; but it is e\ndent that 

 the Browni of gardens is not in all Te- 

 spects the same as the typical plant of 

 Western China/' 



To this I may say that I have known L. 

 Browni of the" Dutch for nearly fifty years 

 without it varying in the least, and cannot 

 understand whv this should not be regarded 

 as the typical L. Browni. S. W. 



Escallonia exoniensis.— This es- 



callonia is of hybrid origin, but the parent- 

 age IS, I believe, unknown. It flowers from 

 the latter part of the 8unimer well on to the 

 ^nd of the year, there being some clusters 

 of flowers on it the week before Chri.stmas. 

 In August and early in Septem^3er the flowers 

 are particularly attractive to the showy but- 

 terflies of the Vanessa section.— W. 



