370 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 1», 1892. 
“ Oncidium macranthum 13 now well known as a magnificent 
species of easy culture, one plant of which when in flower ‘ is 
enough to ornament a house of considerable dimensions.’ ” 
The same completeness is observable in the treatment of the 
genus Miltonia, with which are included several plants that in 
ordinary cultivation are classed as Odontoglossums. The most 
familiar examples will be M. vexillaria, M. Roezli, and M. Phalse- 
nopsis. The genus is described in its entirety, including several 
hybrid forms. We reproduce an engraving of one of the latter, 
M. Blunti Lubbersiana (fig. 65, page 373). The flowers are 
described as “ larger than the original form, about 4 inches 
across vertically ; sepals and petals light yellow with broad, 
closely set purplish brown bars and blotches, and with a purple 
stain at the base ; the basal area of the lip purple with several red- 
brown lines, the apical area much lighter.” The remaining portion 
of the work is devoted to the other genera named above, and which 
are similarly treated. It is so admirable in every way that it would 
be hypercritical to cavil at the slight omission of an index to 
the illustrations, although the latter are so numerous and good 
as to merit direct reference. 
Mr. William Bull’s Exhibition. 
Few more beautiful displays of Orchids can be visited than 
that of Mr. W. Bull at his nursery in King’s Road, Chelsea. It 
has been an annual fixture for many years past, and invariably 
combines the features of a popular exhibition with others of special 
interest to the connoisseur. It has been opened this year in a 
condition well worthy of its predecessors and of the establishment. 
A large show house is now a brilliant sight, and in other structures 
thousands of healthy plants are coming on. Miltonia vexillaria 
is represented in many varieties, and there are many hundreds of 
spikes opening and to open. Of Cattleyas there are numerous fine 
species and varieties. C. Mendeli princeps, for example, is remark¬ 
able for its fine and richly coloured lip ; and 0. M. insignis is a 
grand form with very broad petals and lip, the latter being of great 
size and intense colour, while 0. M. conspicua is also exceptionally 
fine. C. Schroderae is noteworthy for its distinct orange colouring. 
Of the many varieties of C. Mossiae, that named grandiflora may 
be selected as one of the best, the flowers being of enormous size. 
Odontoglossums are abundant, and comprise numerous varieties of 
crispum and citrosmum, O. citrosmum rubrum, which has a lip of 
bright rosy mauve, being one of the most beautiful. O. Pescatorei 
grandiflora is a splendid form with large flowers of delightful 
purity. O. Schillerianum, greenish yellow, with light brown spots 
and a pure white column ; the beautiful little 0. Cervantesi, a 
charming species which lasts well ; O. Imperator, supposed to be a 
natural hybrid, white, blotched with brown ; a variety of 0. super- 
biens, with clear brown sepals and lip, petals brown, edged with 
greenish white ; and O. polyxanthum, greenish yellow sepals and 
petals, with light brown blotches and brown lip, are also worth 
noting. 
Oncidiums are represented by O. cucullatum, O. concolor, 
O. macranthum, rich yellow, and of which there are some grand 
plants coming on ; 0. sarcodes, O. Marshallianum, and many others. 
One of the most delightful of the Dendrobiums is D. Dearei, a 
species too seldom seen. The flowers are of the purest white with 
pale green throat, and they are freely borne. D. macrophyllum, 
rich purplish magenta ; D. thyrsiflorum Walkerianum, which pro¬ 
duces a much broader spike than the type ; D. t. citrinum, with 
pale lemon lip ; D. fimbriatum oculatum, resembling the type, but 
with a dark purple throat ; D. Devonianum, D. Jamesianum, and 
D. albo-sanguineum, are also in good condition. Of Lycastes there 
are cruenta, with its greenish yellow sepals and apricot-coloured 
petals and lip; and a splendid form of L. purpurata, named 
magnifica. Cypripediums caudatum, luteo-purpureum, laevigatum, 
Lowi, Lawrenceanum, and many others, a splendid plant of Cym- 
bidium Lowianum, Epidendrum Wallisi, Vanda Parish! Mar- 
riottiana, soft rosy magenta, sepals dotted with brown ; Pholidota 
imbricata, Tricopilia crispa, Phajus bicolor, Angraecum sesqui- 
pedale, and A. Leonis, Mesospinidium volcanicum grandiflorum, 
Thunia pulchra, and the pure white Coelogyne cristata alba, are 
other features of the collection. 
Great taste has been displayed in arranging the plants. The 
rich and diversified colours are relieved by ample foliage, and the 
general effect is such as is not readily forgotten. Fashionable 
London throngs Mr. Bull’s establishment in the season, and all 
interested in Orchids should pay it a visit. 
Notes and Comments. 
Not many gardeners with large collections of Orchids under 
their charge are so fortunate in respect to houses as Mr. H. 
Simpkins at Cambridge Lodge, Camberwell. Mr. R. J. Measures 
nows as well as any man what houses, whether they be dwelling 
or plant houses, should be, and the structures in which his magnifi¬ 
cent collection of Orchids is grown are models of what such 
buildings ought to be. They are constructed of iron and cement, 
are strong, enduring, well lighted, and well ventilated. Provision 
is made for flooding the stages at will, and taps are furnished for 
drawing off- the water when necessary. “R. M. B.” spoke of 
certain “ peculiarities ” last week ; he might well have added to 
them the peculiarity of those who expect Orchids to be grown in 
the best condition when the structures are totally unsuitable. 
When it is considered that there is much fastidiousness 
amongst Orchids, some species even refusing to thrive in one part 
of a house and succeeding perfectly in another spot, it will be 
recognised that good houses are a great desideratum. “ Ah, but 
what about the expense ? ” will be the question that suggests 
itself ; and as nobody to whom the query is addressed is likely to 
come forward and provide the money, the matter usually ends 
there. There are several courses open. One is to abstain from 
spending money on plants for which there is not adequate accom¬ 
modation and devote it to erecting suitable houses, and another 
is to modify expectations. It is unreasonable to expect a 
gardener to produce the same results with bad material as another 
does with good. If he were able to do it, and could then describe 
the means well, he would win, and deserve, a Journal medal 
Of the Vandas so magnificently grown at Cambridge Lodge, 
special attention should be drawn to V. Parishi Marriottiana. On 
the occasion of a recent visit it was in fine bloom, and had been so 
since September. It is a handsome flower, the sepals and petals 
being light reddish brown, the latter rosy at the base and the lip 
deep carmine ; but it has not the fragrance of the others. There 
are some superb plants of the best tricolor varieties, and it is 
astonishing to note their vigour considering that many of them 
have had to fight their way through many seasons of London fogs. 
No one can accurately estimate the evil influences of the latter 
who has not learned them by bitter experience. 
One does not often meet with Aerides rubrum, and possibly 
there are only four or five plants of it in the country ; it is, there¬ 
fore, a special pleasure to drop across it. Dr. Paterson’s old plant 
is comfortably located at Cambridge Lodge, and was recently in 
flower. It appears to be enjoying suburban life to the full, being 
vigorous and healthy. The flowers are about three-quarters of an 
inch across, the sepals and petals pale flesh dotted with carmine, 
the column blush, and the lip bright carmine. As this is one of 
the almost unobtainable gems, most cultivators have to be satisfied 
with A. Fielding!, and of this the Garbrand Hall variety may be 
noted as very fine. _ 
It is treading on delicate ground to ask what degree of variation 
justifies the separate naming of seedlings from the same cross. To 
some the fact that certain colouring stopped short by the 32nd 
of an inch in the one of the point it reached in the other would be 
abundant justification of a separate name, but other persons would 
insist on a broader distinction. To come to the point, should Mr. 
Norman Cookson’s Lselio-Cattleya hybrid Phoebe have received a 
first-class certificate, and take rank as a new form, when a similar 
award was made to Messrs. Veitch & Sons for a hybrid from the 
same parentage two years ago ? It is true that the cross 
in the second was the reverse of the one in the first, and 
it is equally true that children of the same parents may differ 
widely, whether the cross be reversed or not, but the dis¬ 
tinction between the L.-O. Phoebe of Cookson and the L.-C. Hip- 
polyta of Veitch has yet to be pointed out. To all intents and 
purposes they are identical ; why, then, should they bear different 
names ? 
Considering that the sale of Cattleya Victoria Regina last week 
was the second one of the same species Messrs. Sander & Co. ought 
to be satisfied with the result. When it was offered before, un¬ 
bloomed, nobody paid much attention to it, and small blame to 
them, perhaps, for “ looking before you leap ” is a good old motto. 
But it flowered after that, and the St. Alban’s firm treated us to a 
look at it on May 3rd. As that was satisfactory they arranged for 
the leap a few days later, Mr. Protheroe officiating : 125 plants 
were offered, the best of them being a noble specimen with ten 
pseudo-bulbs about 15 inches long, and 1 inch in diameter. So 
fine a piece was enough to make anyone envious, and the price ran 
up to 15^ guineas before bidders cried, “ Hold ! enough ! ” Another 
fine plant brought 8 guineas, a third 6 guineas, and a fourth 
} 5 guineas. I hear of one or two private commissions having been 
executed at big prices. 
