January 12, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
23 
brushed hard with a stiff broom, and the debris, which is chiefly 
sand and dust, wheeled away. When this is finished a smooth, 
bright surface is the result. Walks so treated do not become soft 
and spongy when the frost breaks to so great an extent as do others 
not so treated, simply because the fine particles removed would, if 
left, have formed a thin but still sufficiently thick coating of 
adhesive matter to cause the gravel to “take up ” when walked upon. 
The carting and wheeling of manure wherever required is 
another matter which has been carried out expeditiously during the 
late clear frosty weather. The large mass of rubbish of various 
kinds which accumulates during the summer months should also be 
dealt with, the rougher portions being burned, and the decaying 
parts thoroughly separated and thrown into a heap ready for cart¬ 
ing away, so that the space set apart for the rubbish heap may be 
cleared up ready for another year’s constant stream of refuse. 
These are all matters which should be pushed on with during fine 
frosty weather. 
When wet or snowy days prevail all the labour available can be 
Cattleya labiata alba. 
When the vast importations of C. labiata made by Messrs. 
Sander & Co. were disposed of, it was expected that in due course 
some noteworthy variations from the type would appear somewhere 
or other amongst them. The most remarkable example that has 
yet appeared is the pure white form represented by fig. 4, and 
which has flowered in the collection of M. Wells, Esq., Broomfield, 
Sale. It requires no detailed description, for it is a counterpart 
of the type in form ; but the sepals, petals, lip, and tube are 
Fia. 4.—CATTLEYA LABIATA ALBA. 
pressed into work under cover, of which there is always plenty, let 
the winter be ever so long. Large stocks of brooms, sticks, labels, 
and pegs should be got in readiness, so that not a moment of fine 
summer weather is spent on such work. Tools also need mending, 
sharpening, and re-arranging ; boxes for the propagation of bedding 
plants should also be made ; pots ought to be washed and stacked 
away in sizes ready for use ; and any other labour which can be 
spared be utilised to complete the annual clearing of houses, plants, 
and the top-dressing of inside fruit tree borders. 
When dealing with plants infested with insects of any kind it 
is true economy to use freely some of the many excellent insecticides. 
With the use of these one man will in a few hours destroy as 
many insects as three could do with the use of sponge and stick or 
brush. Hours innumerable have been wasted at this kind of work. 
Those who pay due attention to all these matters during the 
short days of winter will find their time quite as precious then as 
in the height of summer, and, moreover, the advantage thus gained 
by an early start leaves its mark upon their work throughout 
the season, enabling them to accomplish tasks which to some might 
seem impossible, and I opine that a vast amount of economical 
gardening may be successfully practised by working on the lines 
indicated.— Labor Omnia Vincit. 
white, the only colouring being a tinge of lemon in the throat, the 
combination being consequently the same as that in Coelogyne 
cristata. It is an exceedingly beautiful one, and Mr. Wells must 
be esteemed fortunate in securing so fine and distinct a variety. 
C. labiata alba was placed before the Orchid Committee of the 
Royal Horticultural Society on December 13tb, and awarded a 
first-class certificate. 
Zygopetalums. 
According to the “ G-enera Plantarum,” the genus Zygope- 
talum (sometimes written Zygopetalon) comprises about fifty 
species, including the plants known in gardens under the names 
Bollea, Galleottia, Huntleya, Kefersteinia, Pescatorea, Promensea, 
and Warscewiczella. In gardens, however, the name is confined to 
a score or so of very handsome epiphytal Orchids from the warmer 
parts of America. They are characterised by stout pseudo-bulbs ; 
large, strongly nerved evergreen leaves, leathery in texture and 
rich green, and erect scapes which spring from the base of the 
matured pseudo-bulbs, and bear several large showy flowers. The 
sepals and petals, which are much alike in size, shape, and colour, 
are partly united at the base, and spread in a peculiar fan-like 
manner ; the lip is large, flat, and spreading. The disc is thick 
