July 13, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
27 
Cypripedidm volonteanum giganteum. 
Compared with the typical form of C. volonteanum the abo^ve 
is a decided improvement both as regards size and colour, and it is 
no wonder that the Orchid Committee of the Royal Horticultural 
Society deemed it worthy of an award of merit when exhibited at 
the Temple Show by Messrs. Hugh Low & Co,, Clapton. The 
plant shown bore but one flower, but that was sufficient to indicate 
its distinctive character, which is pourtrayed in the illustration 
(fig. 4). The dorsal sepal is large, of a pea-green colour, the petals 
also being pea green in the middle, and covered with brown spots, 
margined light rosy purple. The lip is dark green shaded purple. 
New Cypripediums. 
Of more than 500 plants of Cypripedium Chamberlainiannm 
which I have seen, says a writer in the “ Garden and Forest,” the 
variety magnificum is the finest and largest both in foliage and 
flower. The plant measures 2 feet 4 inches 
across, and the leaves, which are faintly tes¬ 
sellated, are 3 inches broad. The polyflorous 
scape is pubescent ; the flowers are borne 
one at a time, and each one measures over 
4 inches across the petals. The dorsal sepal 
is IJ inch across, pale green, shading to 
primrose yellow on the margin, with ten 
dark brown rays, and pilose on the reverse 
side. The inferior sepal is pale green with 
brown rays. The petals are pale apple-green, 
with rows of brown purple dots, and are 
twisted in a reverse direction. The lip is 
2 inches long, crimson, with the infolded 
lobes, base and the border of the aperture 
a pale yellow, the whole specked with car¬ 
mine. The staminode is a deep glossy green. 
The plant of C. Germinyanum aureum 
resembles the type, but the flowers are 
larger ; the dorsal sepal an umber brown, 
bordered with dull orange ; petals vinous 
purple on the superior half, and dull orange 
on the inferior half, dotted with red near 
the base ; the lip a sombre orange, dotted 
inside with brown, the staminode yellow. 
American Methods. 
Our cousins are ahead of us. One of 
them, according to the “ American Florist,” 
appears to have been interviewing Mr. F. 
Sander by telephone on his visit to the World’s 
Fair. Asked if he thought Orchids had a 
future as commercial flowers in America, 
Mr. Sander replied : ‘‘Perfectly sure of it. 
The demand doubles itself every year for 
cut flower purposes. The Orchid is the real 
elite of the flower kingdom. The Rose comes 
next. First of all the Orchid is very quaint 
and extraordinary in form aad shape ; then you have in them 
all the colours of the rainbow ; many are very sweet scented, 
and above all there is no flower of such lasting quality as the 
Orchid. If you don’t want to cut it to-day you can cut it 
to-morrow or a month hence. That is not so with other flowers ; 
the Rose must be cut at once. Orchids are often kept a month 
in water. There are some exceptions, but with nearly all this 
is true. Take for instance Cymbidium Lowianum. I have known 
it to last on the plant for three months, and cut for eight weeks. 
The love for Orphids has simply grown with education and wealth, 
and so it will grow from year to year, and as the supply of Orchids 
gets less so prices will advance from year to year.” 
“ Then you believe that the time is coming when these plants 
will become scarce ? ” 
“ I am quite sure of it. Every ounce of silver taken out of a 
mine must make one ounce of silver less, and every Orchid out ot 
the woods one less, and as they are slow growing and the competi¬ 
tion is now very great in importing, the only pity is that soon the 
supply will not be big enough. Seedling growing is now beginning, 
but they can never be produced to the extent needed. I am quite 
sure that what I say is true, and you will find as the years roll on 
that I’m right.” 
“ What are the most fashionable varieties in England at the 
present time ? ” 
“ Cattleyas andOdontoglossums are always fashionable. Through 
nearly every Orchid there is a trace of magenta, and they are very 
brilliant at night. Trianaes come out great at night, so does 
Phalasnopsis Schilleriana. In England old gold colours in Orchids 
are very much in fashion now, such as Oncidium prgetextum, 
0. Forbesi, and O. crispum. We never have enough of them, and 
the rage is spreading all over the world, in France particularly. It 
is nothing unusual for ten dollars to be paid for a single spike of 
Oncidium curtum. For a succession of bloom take the old Cattleya 
labiata, which comes in October and November up to Christmas ; 
at Christmas Cattleya Percivalliana, which is followed later on by 
Trianse and Mendelli. These are not expensive varieties, and the 
first year they will produce bloom enough to pay for the plants.” 
WASPS AND CYANIDE OF POTASSIUM. 
I HAVE used cyanide of potassium since 1883 or 1884 for destroying 
wasps’ nests built in the ground, and always successfully. My method 
is to take an old piece of sponge or flannel and wring it out with plain 
water, then let it absorb as much as possible of a saturated solution of the 
cyanide. It is then put, with a long stick, well into the hole, and left 
till evening, when a piece of turf should be placed over the hole. With 
FIG. 4.—CYPRIPEDIUM VOLONTEANUM GIGANTEUM. 
a very strong nest it is necessary to dig up the comb the following day, 
as the fumes of the cyanide do not affect the grubs. 
The greatest care must be taken in using this chemical, as about half 
a grain is a poisonous dose, and the poison is equally active whether 
swallowed or taken in through broken skin. The fumes which are 
given off are dangerous to human beings. To be quite safe, after using 
the cyanide, wash the hands with a strong solution of sulphate of iron, 
and then with soap and water.—J. Cockburn. 
Wasps are unusually numerous here this year, and the nests are 
easily destroyed by pouring a small teacupful of turpentine in the hole 
at night, pressing a foot on to close the hole. It will effectually kill 
every wasp and grub, and there is no danger of accidental poisoning. 
Cyanide of potassium is dangerous, and, judging from my own experience, 
not effective.— Thos. Woodford, Atlicrstone. 
Seeing a query as to results of cyanide of potassium on wasps on 
page 13 of last issue, I wish to state 1 have used it this season, having 
during the past few days taken about thirty nests, some exceptionally 
strong ones. I find it does not kill the larvm, but all the ingoing wasps. 
My mode of procedure is to go around the nests, dropping in a table¬ 
spoonful of cyanide of potassium (liquid form), and in a short time 
afterwards, not a wasp being seen, I dig the nest out and burn it. 
The advantage of using the above in place of the old squib <A. 
