November 10, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
418 
Cattleya letjcoglossa. 
This beautiful hybrid was exhibited by Messrs. J. Yeiteh and 
Sons, Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, at the meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society on November 1st, and a first-class 
certificate was awarded it. As briefly announced in our last issue, 
it is a cross between C. Loddigesi and C. fausta, the latter parent 
being also a hybrid between the former and Lselia exoniensis. 
C. leucoglossa was raised by Mr. Seden, Messrs. Yeitch’s grower. 
The first seedling from this cross flowered in 1888, but the plant 
shown at the Drill Hall last week, and from a flower of which our 
illustration (fig. 56) was prepared, is blooming now for the first 
time. There is a resemblance of both parents in this interesting 
hybrid, but the sepals and petals possess a clearer shade than does 
C. Loddigesi. The lip is of a charming rose colour 
with a white crested edge and a suffusion of yellow 
in the throat. 
Pleiones. 
These very desirable little bulbous plants are 
flowering most profusely here at the present time, 
and I think that a few remarks respecting their 
culture would not be out of place. Much has 
been said respecting the most suitable compost for 
them ; some growers advise using fibry loam, peat, 
cow manure and silver sand, while others recom¬ 
mend good fibry peat only. I have tried both 
ways and am decidedly in favour of the latter 
practice. I grew them during 1890 and 1891 in 
the former compost, and the result was I had 
scarcely any flowers at all, whereas this year I 
have used nothing but good fibry peat and have 
obtained a good display of blooms. Pleione Lagen- 
aria is carrying two, and on some bulbs four 
flowers each. To further prove that fibry peat 
only is the most suitable compost for them I may 
say that Pleione maculata, which did not produce 
one flower in the former compost, is this year 
flowering profusely. 
Great care must be exercised not to pot the 
bulbs too deeply, the better plan being to raise 
the soil in the centre of the pots or pans, thereby 
enabling the water to pass more readily away. As 
the flower scapes are produced from the under side 
of the bulbs, if potted too deeply they are liable 
to damp off before they arrive at perfection. 
Pleiones should never be allowed to suffer through 
want of water at any season, for unlike the majority 
of Orchidaceous plants they do not require a period 
of rest, for as soon as the flowers are over the 
foliage begins to appear, at which stage it is the 
best and proper time to repot them. It is very 
essential that plenty of drainage should be afforded them, half 
filling the pots or pans would not be any too much. I use pans in 
preference to pots, as a better display can be thus produced. The 
flowers should never be cut, as by so doing you are very liable 
to injure the foliage also, as it is produced from the same scape as 
the flower. I have known cases where the flowers were cut as they 
began to fade, and the consequence has been that the tips of the 
leaves are also taken off, thereby rendering the plants unsightly 
for the remainder of the season.— Geo. Parrant, Ashby Lodge 
Gardens, near Rugby. 
SOPHRONITIS. 
When Dr. Lindley founded this genus he evidently had no 
expectations of such a species as S. grandiflora, or no doubt its 
brilliant colouring would have suggested some other than the 
“modest ” generic name now well known. 
S. cernua is a small close-habited plant with small pseudo-bulbs 
surmounted by a single dark green leaf. The flowers are produced 
during the winter. They are produced two to six on a short 
spike ; the sepals and petals are bright red, and the lip is yellow. 
This species was discovered by W. Harrison, Esq., near Rio Janeiro, 
in 1826, and was sent by him to Mrs. Harrison at Aigburth, where 
it flowered in December of that year. There is a figure in the 
“ Botanical Register,” t. 1129, named Sophronia cernua. 
S. grandiflora .—This is an extremely useful plant, flowering 
during the late autumn and winter. It requires a cool house tem¬ 
perature, and should be grown in peat and sphagnum in shallow 
pans suspended near the glass. It is by far the finest species of this 
small genus. The flowers last a long time in water, and are well 
suited for buttonhole bouquets. S. grandiflora was introduced bv 
a Mr. Gardner, who discovered it on the Organ Mountains in Brazil 
and sent it home in 1837. It was found growing on the branches 
of trees at an elevation where in the winter time white frosts 
occurred every morning. This proves its hardiness, and it is 
curious to note that when Sophronites were first cultivated they 
were grown in stove heat. The pseudo-bulbs are egg-shaped, 
1 inch long. The leaves are leathery, deep green, 2 or 3 inches in 
length. The scapes are produced from the bases of the bulbs, and 
each carries a solitary flower varying from 1^ to 4 inches across. 
The sepals and petals are broad and full, bright scarlet; the lip is 
small and narrow, yellowish with scarlet markings. I remember 
about three years ago seeing a row of well-flowered plants of 
S. grandiflora alternating with pans of Odont. Rossi majus sus¬ 
pended in one of the cool Orchid houses at Messrs. Yeitch’s 
Chelsea nursery, which were greatly admired. S. grandiflora was 
originally described by Dr. Lindley as Cattleya coccinea. There 
are at least two varieties of S. grandiflora, one with reddish purple 
flowers, S. g. var. purpurea, and one with rose-coloured flowers, 
S. g. var. rosea ; both of these seem to be smaller in all parts than 
the type. 
S. violacea .—This species was discovered by Gardner at the 
same time as S. grandiflora, and is a pretty little plant with egg- 
shaped pseudo-bulbs, 1 inch long. The leaves are narrow, and about 
2 inches long. The flowers are produced either singly or in pairs 
on short peduncles. Each flower is about 1 inch across, the colour 
is violet-magenta with a paler centre.—C. K. 
A GOOD DRESSING OF LIME. 
I have pleasure in replying to the Editorial note under the 
head of “ Potato Disease ” (page 354). The question, however, is 
not so easily answered as would at first appear. The nature of 
the soil and its condition must be the entire guide in liming. I 
have used from 15 to 20 tons on an acre of ground, and although 
I had only a poor idea in those days what a good liming con¬ 
stituted, it proved the salvation of a garden that had been declaiel 
by two individuals to be worn out. The garden, however, pro¬ 
duced marvellous crops for a period of twelve years, and I dares? y 
is doiog so still 
FIG. 56. - CATTLEYA LEUCOGLOSSA. 
