August 14, 1884. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTIGULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
145 
grower as well, for these latter were ia the perfection of health. Very 
different in character was the next place w'C visited. 
MR. CUBITT’S OP DENBIES. 
From the entrance gates, which are two miles from the house, there 
is a continuous ascent to the house, which is indeed set on a hill ; and as 
the drive is an open one, delightful views of the surrounding country, 
including Dorking and Leith Hill, are to be had ; and from the house 
itself a most extensive panorama is to be seen on all sides. Having through 
the kindness of one of our members, Mr. Cuthell, had an access to it, 
we were enabled to see the fine collection of paintings by some of our 
best modern artists, and to admire the admirable arrangement of the 
whole residence. Then we walked through the quarter of a mile of 
conservatories, filled to overflowing with all kinds of beautiful things, the 
roof of that nearest the house being covered with Tacsonia exoniensis. In 
the long conservatory Solanum jasminoides was full of bloom ; while 
Lapagerias hung in ropes of glorious white and rose-coloured flowers 
from the roof. The back walls were covered with large plants of 
Abutilons, Heliotropes, and other pretty things ; and on the ground 
splendid plants of Fuchsias, Geraniums, Begonias, &c., filled every space. 
Outside grand Conifers, flowering and other ornamental shrubs were to 
be met with in all directions. The beautiful greensward invited us to 
linger ; but we had to move onward (we could not, however, resist a 
short delay in visiting the beautiful church, one of Gilbert Scott’s best 
sfecimens, and erected by the late Mr. Cubitt at a cost of £25,000), for 
we had to pay yet another visit to 
BEEPDENE, g 
Long the residence of Mr. Henry Hope and his widow, but was passin 
into the possession, through marriage, to Lord Clinton, a brother to th 
Duke cf Newcastle. Here it was not so much the gardens as the place 
itself that attracted us ; although, let it be said, that spring and summer 
is the time when Deepdene is seen at its best, for the place is crowded 
with Khododendrons, and must then be a blaze of beauty. So much did 
our party feel this that, charmed as they were with the prospect, with the 
beautiful vistas that opened out on every side, they voted that w'e 
should try for a visit next May. As its name implies Deepdene occupies 
a large deep ravine, such as are often found on the Surrey hills, and 
everything has been done by art to add to its natural beauties. There is 
no obtrusiveness of art except what I should call in one instance, where, as 
you look down from the terrace, your eye rests upon a large piece of 
bedding-out far down below in the plain. This, in my humble opinion, 
had better have been omitted, and if the clumps of variegated Maple had 
been thrown back to the shrubbery they would have given a contrast 
which would have relieved the deep green of all around. Having reached 
the terrace we then began our descent to the house, where the carriages 
were awaiting us, and then drove back to Leatherhead (through the 
dear old county town of Dorking) where an excellent dinner had 
been provided for us at that old-fashioned most comfortable house, 
the Swan Hotel, in their large and handsome room. Our journey had 
sharpened the appetites of our party, and ample justice was done. 
Our saloon carriage was ready for us at 8.40, and we returned to town 
delighted with our day, in which not a hitch occurred, owing in great 
part to the excellent arrangements made by our friend Mr. Cuthell; 
and “ To our next merry meeting” was the parting word as we went to 
our several destinations, feeling that but for the Horticultural Club 
these pleasant gatherings would never have been held.—D., Beal, 
ORCHID NOTES. 
Oncidium elexuosum. —This old but useful Orchid should have a 
place in every garden where a stove or intermediate house exists. 
Neither of these structures, however, are absolutely necessary, for 
it can be grown to perfection in the temperature of a vinery. It is 
rather accommodating in this respect, but if one position is preferable 
to another while making its growth it is the stove, and an inter¬ 
mediate structure during its resting period. When grown the whole 
year round in a warm confined atmosphere the foliage assumes a 
yellow unhealthy appearance. This plant is often to be found in 
this condition, but it is not natural, for w'hen its wants are properly 
attended to the foliage should assume a green healthy appearance. 
This is one of those Orchids that do not flourish luxuriantly when 
an attempt is made to confine the roots of the plant within the pot 
or pan in which it may be grown. Attempts at lowering the stems 
and potting the plants deeper into the compost used as a medium for 
the roots should be avoided if the most successful results are to be 
obtained. Instead of this I’eally useful Oncidium requiring a mass 
of material for the roots to ramble in, it delights in throwing them 
into the air if the house is moist and warm. Whether grown in 
pots, pans, or baskets very little soil should be used. I therefore 
prefer growing it in baskets made of teak, and suspend it from the 
roof of the stove. The baskets should be well drained, and then 
nearly filled with lumps of charcoal ; and it is a good plan in 
making-up baskets to place lumps of charcoal in an upright position 
close behind each stem of the plant, working amongst them a small 
quantity of living sphagnum moss. As soon as the new roots com¬ 
mence issuing freelj' from the base of the pseudo-bulbs, just as 
they are starting into growth, they attach themselves securely to the 
charcoal, and finally fs they extend outside the basket. I have 
found the roots enter moss with greater freedom than peat. Very 
little moss is needed, only sufficient amongst the charcoal to assist in 
retaining moisture during the growing season. 
While growing this Oncidium delights in heat and moisture, but 
at the same time sufficient air should be admitted to the house to 
ensure firm sturdy growth, which is the secret of large stout flower 
spikes. During the time growth is active the plants may be syringed 
liberally overhead, and abundance of water given at the root. After¬ 
wards less water is needed, and syringing must be discontinued 
until the plants are removed to a lower temperature to rest, when 
water only is needed to keep the pseudo-bulbs fresh and firm. Shade 
is necessary during the period of active gi’owth, but abundance of 
light should on all occasions be admitted to the plants. 
Under this system of cultivation large spikes of flowers are pro¬ 
duced at ditferent periods of the year, which are invaluable for 
cutting. These light arching sprays of bloom are admirabl}" adapted 
for light and effective arrangement in vases. There are nearly always 
a few flowers to be obtained if several plants are grown. 
Oncidium Lanceanum. —Another grand old Orchid that -will do as 
well in the stove or a vinery as in the Orchid house proper. It is 
quite distinct as a species from any other, and when well grown its 
foliage alone is very ornamental, being light green in colour, thick, 
and fleshy, and shaded with darker green and small purple spots. It 
is a very useful Orchid, flowering at this season when Orchid flowers 
are not so numerous as they are earlier in the year. When w'ell 
grown and luxuriant the flower spikes are often 2 feet or more in 
length and much branched. There are several varieties of this 
Oncidium, but all I have yet seen are worth growing. Most of them 
differ from the type, which has a rich rosy lip, by having a white lip, 
or only lightly shaded with rose. The flowers of these forms are 
generally smaller than the type, but darker and richer in colour ; 
the sepals and petals are greenish yellow, spotted thicklj^ with brownish 
crimson. The colour of the sepals and petals is lighter in some 
varieties than others, and the spots are richer, closer together, and 
more vivid in colour. 
This species wilt grow in a pot or a pan, but better on a large 
block, raft, or in a basket, the latter being preferable, as this plant 
delights in throwing its roots into the atmosphere, and often they 
will hang for a foot or 18 inches beneath the basket of a strong 
plant. To grow varieties such as this in pots and pans is a great 
mistake when the plant delights in having its roots outside the potting 
material and in the atmospheric conditions of the house in which it 
is grown. When grown in pots or pans it is difficult to confine the 
roots inside, and even if this could be accomplished it is unnatural ; 
and if the roots are allowed to ramble over the sides of the pot in 
which they are grown they are subject to serious injury from ciu- 
tinuall}^ washing the pots, which, in a close moist atmosphere, are 
green in the shortest space of time. It would be impossible to point 
out anything that gives to a house a more untidy appearance than 
dirty pots or pans. Although this Oncidium, as well as many others, 
thrives luxuriantly on blocks with a little sphagnum moss, they give 
considerable trouble in keeping them watered, much more so than 
when in baskets. 
During the growing season 0. Lanceanum delights in heat and 
moisture, and should be shaded only from the direct rays of the sun. 
Light is essential at all times to ensure a sturdy matured growth. 
During the winter rest is necessary if strong luxuriant growth is to 
follow. The management of the plants during their season of repose 
is as important towards achieving success as attending carefully to 
their wants during the season of active growth. We have found this 
plant rest well in a night temperature of 50° to 55° wdiere the 
atmosphere can be kept rather dry. Although it has no large pseudo- 
bulbs to sustain it during the dry or resting season, its leaves are 
thick and fleshy, which enables the cultivator to withhold water for 
a long time when the plant is at rest without the slightest injury. 
During the season of action abundance of water may be given both 
overhead and at the root. The potting material for the roots to 
work in need only ccr'isist of charcoal in lumps and living sphagnum 
moss. We have us^dcl’peat, but the roots do not enter it so freely as 
they do the moss.—W. B. 
Dendrobium ciirysantiium. —Where choice flowers are in de¬ 
mand for small vases or for buttonhole bouquets at this season of the 
year, there is no more serviceable Orchid in cultivation than the 
above. Well-grown plants with pseudo-bulbs 3 to 4 feet in length 
are very attractive suspended in baskets from the roof of a plant 
stove. This variety usually flowers just as growth is completed, and 
while possessing the whole of its foliage it frequently continues 
the supply of its blooms in succession for a long time. There are 
varieties of this as well as of many other Orchids, and we have two 
which as regards their habit of flowering and the season are totally 
dissimilar. One may safely be designated an autumn bloomer, for 
