JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
138 
[ February 15, 1883. 
increased at an astonishing rate, and in time produced more 
plants, which also flourished. These were grown on the north 
side and under the flickering shade of the Melons. It was deter¬ 
mined to fill the house with Orchids, so well pleased was my 
employer with these and a few others. The side walls which 
formed the paths were pulled down, the pipes re-arranged near 
the floor level, and the side stages made to take the place of the 
pits. These stages were of gratings, supported by handsome iron 
pillars. The stage facing north was covered with zinc turned up 
so that it served to hold water. Round the east end and along 
the south side it was covered with roofing slates. The east end 
was the boiler end, and, owing to some extra piping passing to a 
small Melon pit outside, was hottest. The door was at the other 
end, the path down the centre. The zinc was a plan of our own, 
and has turned out an important factor in securing a great variety 
of conditions in a small house. 
New plants were obtained, but being small one side was suffi¬ 
cient, and all the Orchids were arranged on the north side on 
raised pots, boards, &c., and the zinc covered with water. Most 
grew well and have continued so ; but our hitherto flourishing 
Dendrobium nobile in the same house, in the same spot, and 
apparently under circumstances differing but slightly, instead of 
more than doubling themselves yearly now began to go back. 
Had we folded our arms and said it was “ the house ” the success 
that ultimately came would not have been obtained. While the 
house was a Melon house the plants were over a grating, and the 
dry warm air from the bottom-heat pipes passed round the plants 
constantly. To counteract the drying influence of this, moss wa 3 
placed between them and damped two or three times a day, but it 
dried quickly. Syringing to keep down spider was done, but the 
plants also dried quickly. Under these conditions they were 
densely clothed with fine foliage. After the internal alterations 
this became affected by spot; even the newly formed foliage 
became affected—in short, before long it was all decaying, and 
the health of the plants failing rapidly. Next spring, after study¬ 
ing the matter thoroughly, the plants were taken from the west 
end (over the zinc) and placed at the other end (over the slates) 
—that is, from being comparatively cool and moist they were 
changed to warm and dry, the warm air passing through the 
joinings of the slates. At once they began to regain their health, 
and are now thriving. 
With Coelogyne cristata our experience is just the reverse. 
Alongside the Dendrobium under the Melons it never throve. In 
the cool moist corner where the Dendrobes failed it is now 
flourishing. It would take too long to tell my experience with a 
tenth of the plants in that one house, but a few instances may be 
cited. Dendrobium Wardianum in a basket near the roof dwindled 
and damped on the south side near the west end ; in exactly the 
same position 18 feet further east it grows grandly. At the ex¬ 
treme west end of the zinc side Cypripedium insigne shows signs 
of spot, but only 6 feet further away it luxuriates, while at the 
further end it grows stunted. C. Boxallii is subject to spot 
alongside of C. insigne, but thrives in the middle of the house. 
In the coolest place Odontoglossum grande is grand indeed ; a few 
yards away it will not grow half as well. And so on. 
This is like an intuition to some men, but it will always be 
found to be an intuition born of study. To succeed now, and 
then to fail with one plant, shows that the grower has not mastered 
the subject. He wants to know something more of the climatical 
conditions under which it thrives, and so far as possible to create 
similar conditions ; and with this an angle of 40° or of 50° in the 
pitch of the roof has far less to do with the matter than has light 
and shade, humidity and ventilation, which we can vary at will 
even in one house. One portion of even a moderate house may 
be much drier, lighter, warmer than another portion, and one set 
of plants will flourish in the one portion that would not in the 
other.— Single-handed. 
(To be continued.) 
A CHRYSANTHEMUM ELECTION. 
TOO-MUCH-ALIKE VARIETIES. 
When we requested the electors to bracket together any 
varieties they considered too nearly alike to be exhibited in the 
same stand, we were not altogether prepared for such results as 
are shown in the accompanying table. It must be observed that 
though in many cases the varieties named together are certainly 
synonymous, in the majority they are distinct, but not sufficiently 
so to render it advisable that they should be shown together in 
one stand. For instance, in the form returned by Mr. N. Davis 
of Camberwell these are distinguished as follows :—“ Baron 
Beust and Orange Perfection too much alike in a stand of twelve, 
distinct in twenty-four, the same remark applying to Baron 
Beust and Rev. J. Dix, Mabel Ward and Angelina. White Venus 
and Isabella Bott are too much alike for either a stand of twelve 
or one of twenty-four, and with these are associated Mr. Howe 
and John Salter, Golden Queen and Emily Dale, Mr. Bunn and 
Golden Beverley, Venus and Countess of Dudley.” This will 
indicate the general object—namely, to distinguish the varieties 
that resemble each other too closely, and to furnish the exhibitor 
with a clue as to what would weaken his stand in the opinion of 
a judge. 
The numbers opposite each variety in the right-hand column 
indicate how many electors bracketed those varieties together. 
Mr. Bunn and Golden Beverley.22 
Miss Mary Morgan and Pink Perfection.21 
John Salter and Mr. Howe.21 
Empress of India and Lady St. Clair .13 
Empress of India and Mrs. Cunningham.. .. .13 
Golden Queen and Emily Dale .13 
St. Patrick and Beethoven.. .. 12 
Refulgence and Inner Temple .11 
Mrs. G. Rundle and Mrs. Parnell.8 
Mrs. Dixon and Golden George Glenny. 5 
Barbara and Baraba .. .. . .. .. 4 
Prince of Wales and Lord Derby.3 
Empress of India and Snowball. .. 3 
Robert James, General Bainbrigge, and Beauty of Stoke .. .. 3 
Empress of India and White Globe .2 
Golden Empress of India and Emily Dale .2 
Queen of England and Albert Smith .2 
Isabella Bott and Fonnosum album .2 
Prince Alfred and Lord Wolseley.2 
Mrs. Dixon and Mrs. H. Glover.2 
Princess of Wales and Mrs. Heale.2 
Jardin des Plantes and W. H. Morgan.2 
Inner Temple and Arigena .. .. . .. .. 2 
Empress of India, White Queen, and Mrs. Cunningham ., .. 2 
Baron Beust and Rev. J. Dix .2 
One elector each named the following as too much alike :— 
Lady Slade and Lady Hardinge ; Venus and Hetty Barker ; White Eve and 
Miss Hope; Mrs. G. Rundle and Mount Edgcumbe ; Empress Eugenie and Pink 
Perfection ; Queen of England and Queen of the Isles ; John Salter and Angelina; 
Princess Beatrice and Lady Slade ; Princess of Wales and Princess Alexandra ; 
Cherub and Canary Cherub ; Queen of England and Blush Queen ; St. Patrick 
and Golden Eagle ; Mr. Brunlees and Mr. Jay ; Empress of India, Virgin Queen, 
and Vesta ; Jardin des Plantes and Mr. Bunn ; Princess of Wales, Princess of 
Teck, Le Grande, Mrs. Heales, and Countess Granville ; Venus, Lady Slade, 
Mrs. Sharpe, and Beauty ; Barbara, Mr. Brunlees, and Golden Eagle ; Pink 
Venus, Pink Perfection, and Lady Hardinge ; Golden Eagle and Reticulatum ; 
Mr. G. Glenny and Emily Dale ; Rev. C. Boys and Inner Temple; Yellow Per¬ 
fection and Mrs. J. Laing ; Queen of England and Princess Royal; Mabel Ward 
and Angelina ; Venus and Countess of Dudley ; Baron Beust and Orange Per¬ 
fection ; Oliver Cromwell and Mr. Evans ; Golden Eagle and Orange Perfection ; 
Prince of Wales and Mr. Corbay; Lord Wolseley, Incognito, and Mabel Ward ; 
Mrs. Dixon and Aureum multiflorum ; Mrs. G. Rundle and Mrs. Naish ; Beverley 
and Mottled Beverley; Mrs. Heale and Madame Fold ; John Salter and Baron 
Beust; White Beverley and Blonde Beauty ; Mrs. G. Rundle and Duchess of 
Manchester; Hero of Stoke Newington and Novelty ; Isabella Bott and Empress 
of India; Refulgence and Prince of Wales ; White Venus and White Beverley ; 
Mr. G. Glenny and Guernsey Nugget; Mrs. Rundle and Mrs. Shipman ; Mr. G. 
Glenny and Golden Empress of India; Golden Queen of England and Golden 
Empress of India ; Isabella Bott and Lady Hardinge; Novelty and Beauty; 
Mr. G. Glenny and Mrs. Dixon. 
With regard to the first nine varieties in the above list a sur¬ 
prising unanimity of opinion is shown, and, as they are usually seen, 
most of the varieties so coupled cannot be readily distinguished 
from each other, and several of the electors state they have received 
the same variety under both names. In the case of those which 
have only been mentioned by one or two growers, it is apparent 
in several instances that they have not the varieties true to name, 
for some are bracketed together which are absolutely distinct, 
and a number of others sufficiently so for all practical purposes. 
It will be seen that Empress of India has the greatest number of 
near relatives—Lady St. Clair, Mrs. Cunningham, Snowball, 
White Globe, White Queen, and Isabella Bott. Queen of England 
comes next with Albert Smith, Queen of the Isles, Blush Queen, 
and Princess Royal as too much resembling it. Mrs. Rundle is 
very near Mrs. Parnell, Mount Edgcumbe, and Duchess of Man¬ 
chester. Golden Empress of India is considered too much like 
Emily Dale and Golden Queen of England. Emily Dale resembles 
the two preceding varieties and Mr. G. Glenny, and, according to 
a few electors, should be excluded from one stand. 
No less than twenty-nine varieties are named as too much like 
those which obtained a place in the first twelve (see page 111, last 
issue), but these include several doubtful cases ; for example, Mr. 
Bunn and Jardin des Plantes were both elected in the first twelve, 
yet in two lists they were stated to be too much alike for showing 
together, which is certainly not correct, as they are readily dis¬ 
tinguishable. Again, Princess of Wales and Mrs. Heale were re¬ 
turned by two electors as not suitable for one stand, but we think 
there would be no more difficulty in determining these than in the 
previous case. 
Beyond all doubt great confusion exists in the nomenclature 
of Chrysanthemums, and not a few cultivators appear to be 
