JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
May 24, 1883. J 
428 
could make on the subject, but perhaps your readers would not care 
to read them.— Cuthbert Johnson, Daventry. 
AN EXHIBITION OF ORCHIDS. 
Mr. W. Bull has now provided at his nursery in the King’s 
Road, Chelsea, an exhibition of Orchids that he has never pre¬ 
viously equalled either in magnitude or beauty, and which, during 
the present and approaching month, will undoubtedly prove a 
great attraction to Orchid lovers. A span-roofed house, 20 feet 
wide and 100 feet long, with a central and two side stages, has 
been converted into a paradise of Orchids, in which the visitor 
stands amazed at the wealth of bloom, the profusion of rich, 
bright, and delicate colours, the singularity and diversity of forms 
which are seen springing from banks of graceful Ferns and Palms. 
There is nothing harsh to the eye, no obtrusive pots, no rigid 
formality of arrangement, but a freedom and lightness which 
accord well with the character of these plants. A vista of 
100 feet is still further extended by mirrors placed at each end 
of the house, so that the view appears to be interminable—a most 
agreeable illusion. 
The visitor is first greeted on entering the house by a magnifi¬ 
cent bank of Odontoglossum vexillarium, scores of spikes display¬ 
ing their large and variously tinted flowers, from pure white to 
the richest rose. Numbers of these plants dispersed throughout 
the house contribute greatly to the beauty of the display ; indeed 
the spikes may be counted by hundreds, and the flowers by 
thousands. Odontoglossum Alexandra;, another popular Orchid, 
is in strong force, 200 spikes of expanded flowers being now 
amongst the numerous attractions in the house ; they include some 
grand varieties, great substance of flower, breadth of petal, pure 
white, or delicate tinted. Odontoglossum Pescatorei is also 
largely represented by many of the varieties in cultivation, and 
the plants arranged on a bank at the extreme end of the house 
have a beautiful appearance. Then turning to the novelties or 
rarities in the same genus, there is the magnificent O. polyxan- 
Fig. 94 .—Odontoglossum iutckeeianum. 
thum grandiflorum, recently certificated at Kensington and de¬ 
scribed in these columns ; O. facetum, a form with extremely 
neat flowers, yellow spotted rich brown ; O. Roezli nigrum, a 
variety with a very dark lip ; and innumerable others. But two 
others that have only been just provisionally christened deserve 
especial notice—namely, O. chelseacinse, which has beautifully 
formed flowers, white blotched with brown, and O. perinsigne 
with flowers of moderate size, rich yellow, spotted and blotched 
with chocolate, the lip having neatly cut margins. In our woodcut, 
fig. 94, is represented a fine variety of a beautiful Odontoglossum 
which has been flowering well in Mr. Bull’s nursery ; this is O. 
Ruckerianum, a species from New Grenada that has now been 
known several years, but is becoming a great favourite. The 
sepals and petals are creamy white spotted and blotched with 
chocolate, a few spots appearing also on the lip, and a tinge of 
purple on the other portions of the flowers. 
Of other genera the forms included are so numerous that com¬ 
paratively few can be mentioned in this short notice. Cattleyas 
are fine, especially a new variety of C. Trianae, which has been 
named Yictoriae in honour of Her Majesty. This is distinguished 
by the symmetrical form of the flowers, broad rounded bluish 
sepals and petals, with an intensely rich crimson fringed lip. 
C. Skinneri superba is a truly “ superb ” variety of a handsome 
species, C. Warneri, and others in this genus all merit attention. 
Of Dendrobiums the light and graceful D. Hevonianum is particu¬ 
larly abundant, the charming D. thyrsiflorum and its variety 
Walkerianum, with spikes of gold and white flowers a foot or 
more in length, and D. Pierardi are in greatest force. Masdevallias 
are numerous, handsome varieties of M. Harryana and M. Lindeni, 
with the pretty M. Shuttleworthi, the diminutive M. xanthina, 
and the curious M. trochilus imparting their respective attractions 
to the show. Two beautiful forms are M. Massangeana, one of 
the ignea type, with large orange scarlet flowers ; and M. regalis, 
a new rich crimson form even surpassing the superb Bull’s Blood 
variety in intensity of colour, is also distinguished by the points of 
the two lower sepals strangely incurving. 
Few others of these handsome Orchids can now be noticed, but 
Cymbidium Lowianum, with its dark variety atropurpureum, is 
very prominent, the summer-flowering variety of Angrrecum 
sesquipedale, Oncidium leucochilum, Aerides Fieldingi, Lselia 
purpurata, and Yanda suavis are all flowering freely. 
Such is a brief outline of a most remarkable exhibition, which 
is worth the attention of all admirers of Orchids. 
The Dyino of Apricot Branches. —In reference to this circum¬ 
stance I would remark that in October, 1879, some badly injured twigs 
were sent to me, and on examination it was found that they were 
