386 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 11, 1882. 
difficulty of culture combined with the expense which so long 
retarded the progress of Orchids in public favour, and much credit 
is due to those who were amongst the first to show that w'ith 
ordinary care aud attention Orchids could be as easily and satis¬ 
factorily grown as many other plants. This difficulty being 
overcome, the trade in the members of the most varied and 
beautiful family of plants has increased greatly, with the com - 
spending result that except for the newest and rarest there 
has been a gradual reduction in price, and now some beautiful 
species can be purchased for a less number of shillings than they 
could be at one time for pounds. Still, too, the trade seems to be 
increasing for the annual importations, as can be seen by the 
numerous sales in London, are becoming enormous. 
The gardens at The Scravels, Broomfield, Chelmsford, possess 
an historic as well as a present interest to orchidists, for their 
owner, Robert Warner, Esq., was one of the first who materially 
aided in popularising Orchids, and for many years his choice and 
magnificent specimens were the admiration of all who visited the 
leading metropolitan and provincial exhibitions. During the 
past thirty years no expense or attention has been spared to 
obtain the most beautiful species and varieties and to grow them 
in a thoroughly satisfactory manner. That both these objects have 
been fully accomplished is well known to all interested in such 
plants. In the early days of his experience special attention was 
given to those exquisitely beautiful members of the family, the 
Moth Orchids, w’hich were then rare in cultivation, and con¬ 
sidered to be amongst the most difficult to grow. So judiciously, 
however, were these Phalaenopsids attended at Broomfield, that 
some of the finest specimens in the country were soon obtained, 
which produced unsurpassed displays when in flower, and first 
really showed the valuable qualities of these plants. One advan¬ 
tage, it is true, they enjoyed which growers in the vicinity of 
London do not possess—namely, freedom from those poisonous 
smoky fogs which work such havoc among these delicate flowers, 
and this is a point of considerable importance, for no cultural 
care can obviate the evils arising from metropolitan fogs. 
Having effected such good work with the Phalrenopsids, Mr. 
R. Warner next devoted his attention to those sumptuous Orchids 
the Cattleyas, and with similarly creditable results, for they 
extended the fame of their owner not only in England but in 
Europe generally as one of the foremost orchidists of the age. 
Visitors to Broomfield a dozen years ago or less will ever re¬ 
member the magnificent vigorous specimens of these gorgeous 
plants that then distinguished the collection, and some dozens of 
medals testify to the opinions entertained by them at all the 
various horticultural exhibitions of note both in England and 
at Brussels and St. Petersburgh, and I am informed that the first 
Orchids in bloom exhibited on the continent from this country 
were those from this collection. Vandas, too, were at that time 
great favourites, and examples of all the best species and varie¬ 
ties were produced equally as creditable to their cultivators as 
those previously mentioned, and_now as a continuation of this 
excellent system Odontoglossums and Masdevallias are the fa¬ 
voured protegees. One reason that the two latter have been 
specially selected in recent years is, that Mr. Warner has found 
his delicate health prevents him frequenting the houses where 
such high temperatures as those needed by tropical Orchids are 
maintained ; and though he cannot enjoy his older favourites 
any longer, he has amply compensated himself for the loss of 
this privilege by forming a magnificent collection of cool-house 
Orchids. 
Of all the Orchids it appears that those which thrive in a mode¬ 
rately cool temperature are the most likely to gain the widest and 
most lasting popularity, for they have much to recommend them 
which others have not. In the first place, the expense of culture 
is much less ; secondly, the majority of the commoner forms are 
cheap ; and lastly, their beauty can be enjoyed without enduring 
the heat and moisture of the East Indian or Cattleya house. The 
two genera which Mr. Warner has selected for special attention 
contain some of the most handsome of the cool-house Orchids, and 
therefore good service is again being rendered to the horticultural 
world by the attempts being made to prove the value, beauty, and 
ready adaptability to cultural requirements of really useful plants. 
It has long been the rule in this garden to select with great care 
all the best and most distinct varieties obtainable of the leading 
species, and not merely to form a collection containing a large 
number of species regardless of their qualities in a horticultural 
point of view. The latter is justly regarded as pertaining more 
to the object of a botanic garden than a private establishment, 
and perhaps no family of ornamental plants could be named in 
which species exhibit such a range of variation in themselves as 
the Orchids. In general appearance the difference between a 
good variety and the poorest forms or original type in one species 
is often greater than between allied but distinct species, and it is 
this variability which renders the work of selection so important 
and valuable. 
At Broomfield one species alone admirably illustrates the benefits 
derivable from judiciously selecting promising varieties and dis¬ 
carding those deficient in the qualities esteemed by an Orchid 
fancier. Of Odontoglossum crispum, cr O. Alexandras, as it is 
very generally known, twelve thousand plants are grown, mostly 
specimens of moderate size, all extremely healthy, and including 
some of the most beautiful varieties which have been introduced 
in recent years. Several houses are more cr less occupied with 
these, but in one open-roofed structure about GO feet in length 
both the central stage and side shelves were chiefly occupied with 
Odontoglossums, among which 0. Alexandrae and its varieties 
largely predominated, some hundreds of spikes gracefully arching 
downwards and presenting an unrivalled display. The admirable 
qualities of this superb species could not be seen to better advan¬ 
tage, and the high favour in which it stands with growers is well 
merited. Some varieties have pure white semi-translucent flowers, 
others have them slightly suffused with a delicate rosy tint, and 
others still are variously blotched and barred with brown, the lip 
being relieved by a dash of clear pale yellow. In all the best 
varieties the excellent form and substance of the flowers are very 
striking, the petals and sepals being broad, the outline symme¬ 
trical, and the flower generally what the orchidist technically 
terms “ well filled up”—that is, there are no wide spaces between 
the divisions of the bloom. The pure white varieties were the 
most noteworthy, and one very highly treasured form, with flowers 
nearly 4 inches in diameter, the petals being each 14 inch across 
with neatly cut margins, was extremely handsome, though there 
are plants in the collection which have produced flowers 44 inches 
in diameter. Size alone is not a recommendation in an Orchid 
flower ; but when that is combined with exquisite form and a 
crvstal-like substance, the blooms being placed closely upon the 
spike without being crowded, the most fantastical person, if 
possessing an appreciation of beauty, could not prefer the loose 
“original types” to such Alexandras as those at Broomfield. 
Of the spotted forms O. A. Warneri is the best, this having pure 
white petals with neatly crisped edges; the sepals have a few 
very large rich brown spots, the lip being yellow at the base and 
barred transversely with brown. The flowers are of similarly 
good form to the others mentioned, and the first time it was 
shown at Kensington—namely, on April 24tb, 18G9, it attracted 
much attention. Between these two types there are innumer¬ 
able gradations all more or less beautiful, and in some instances 
sufficiently distinct to merit names, though considerable care is 
exercised to avoid multiplying the already too numerous varietal 
titles. 
Another well-known and lovely species, O. cirrhosum, is repre¬ 
sented by scarcely fewer varieties than the preceding, but in this 
case there is one noticeable difference, for the largest flowers are 
by no means the best either in form or colouring. For example, 
one which may be aptly termed giganteum has flowers 7 inches in 
diameter from tip to tip of the opposite sepals, and the basal 
portion of the petals is fully an inch broad. In appearance the 
flower is extraordinary, but it possesses no refinement or neatness, 
and the spots are very light-coloured—a purplish tint that is 
much less pleasing than the rich chocolate of the smaller forms. 
Of the latter some have blooms about 5 inches across, and in few 
instances exceeding 6 inches ; yet the more regular breadth of the 
sepals and petals, the clear ground, and the rich spots render them 
far more attractive. In many other species of this large genus a 
similar range of choice varieties has been obtained. O. Halli is 
represented by numerous plants with flowers of diverse form and 
colouring ; some have the bars and blotches nearly black, in 
others they are of a light pleasing brown hue ; while one, the 
O. Halli leucoglossum, has the lip quite white—a notable con¬ 
trast with the darker portions of the flower. 0. Pescatorei, 
O. Andersonianum, 0. prionopetalura, O. luteo-purpureum, the 
charming 0. Rossi majus, the delicately pretty O. Cervantesi de¬ 
corum, the rich yellow and brown O. triumphan3 and others in 
abundance, all contribute to the beauty and diversity of the display 
while exemplifying the skill and care exercised in the selection. 
In striking contrast to the Odontoglots in the same house are 
superb examples of several Masdevallias, and the richness of their 
tints affords a most agreeable addition to the colours of the others. 
Prominent amongst these is one which is most appropriately 
named M. imperialis, for it most certainly is an imperial flower— 
the grandest of the Harryana type which we have seen. The 
sepals are broadly elliptical at the lower portion, l£ inch in 
diameter, about 2 inches long, and the flower is fully 2| inches in 
breadth laterally. The colour is a most intensely rich crimson- 
magenta hue, and when seen as the plant was placed in the house 
