130 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Ftbraary ]4, 1335. 
where birds have been fed in suburban gardens they have come in 
shoals—thrushes, fieldfares, blackbirds, with others—and fought 
for the scraps and the crumbs scattered far from their haunts 
and where in the ordinary course of things such birds are never 
seen. It is somewhat of a mystery how so many ascertain 
so quickly where the food is spread ; yet, by whatever means the 
news may be conveyed, it is a pity the birds should die, for even if 
they do take a few Strawberries from gardens in the summer, do 
they not take Strawberry and other enemies too in the form of snails 
and various depredators hidden from human eyes ? 
But though the frost in London has been unusually keen we 
have to take a wider survey to comprehend its full intensity. In 
Scotland records are published of the cold reaching 12°, and in 
some cases more, below zero, and it seems to have been much 
the same in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and York¬ 
shire. Many are the trees, shrubs, plants, and garden crops that 
must suffer by the extreme visitation, but they will not show it 
fully till the time for sap movement in the spring. In some 
districts the snow will have proved its protective value, for there 
appears to have been abundance in some localities, and indeed too 
much from an obstructive point of view, for we read of blocked 
roads and railways and snowed-up villages, for the inhabitants of 
which food could not be conveyed. In the vicinity of London 
there have been no such obstacles, the greatest snowfall being in 
many places about 2^ inches, and accumulations not exceeding 
3 inches. It is therefore possible that the damage to many plants 
and vegetables may be even greater in the south than the more 
northerly parts of the kingdom. 
Great, too, must have been the difficulties of gardeners and 
amateurs innumerable, in maintaining the requisite temperature in 
glass structures, or indeed excluding frost from many of them, 
and there are doubtless many disasters to be deplored. These 
may in most cases bo attributed to inadequate provision either in 
the size of boilers or too limited areas of heating surface, known 
as “short of piping”—a misfortune too commonly experienced. 
As the strength of the chain is determined by the weakest link,'so 
should the provision made for the warming of glass structures be 
based on the severest frosts which are likely to occur in this 
country. The last great frost, in the beginning of the year 1881, 
b.-ought many disasters, and taught significant lessons, heeded by 
many owners of glass structures, but not by all. History is now 
repeating itself, and those who are induced to make good all 
defects of the nature indicated will be gainers in the end—gainers 
in the fuller, more certain, and better supply of what they need, 
as well as gainers financially by the saving in fuel which would 
otherwise be blazed away by the roaring fires which have to be 
kept up all night long by constant attendance, whereas with 
sufficient boiler power and piping not half the consumption of 
fuel would be necessary. There is no lack of choice in boilers 
suitable for all positions and kinds of fuel, while the increased 
cost involved in providing piping exceeding the “ absolutely 
necessary ” limit, as based on average temperatures, is the reverse 
of formidable. It is unwise because unsafe, and may be most 
costly, to base calculations in this work on averages at all, as this 
amounts to spending money for a breakdown, which is only a 
question of time when the frost king comes his rounds again and 
makes his power felt, as in the case of the present February 
winter. All defective means of heating should be made good as 
soon as circumstances permit, and new structures be sufficiently 
equipped for doing the work that is expected of them when the 
next strain comes. 
Also, too, would we venture to suggest the advantage of timely 
equipment for the most effective discharge of seasonable routine 
operations. A period of rest is the time for making ready for 
best meeting coming demands. Much work is planned, such as in 
planting, that remains undone, and there may be a disposition to 
let a considerable amount of this stand over till another year. 
That may be far from being the better plan, and If what is 1 
required be ordered in readiness for arrival when the favourable 
time comes, the results may be even very much better than if the 
work had been completed just before the frost. When and where 
much spring planting has failed, the cause of it can in most 
instances be traced to leaving the dispatch of orders till the last 
moment, and thus letting favourable opportunities come and go 
before what is required can arrive at its destination. This 
apparently small mistake has in many instances led to great 
disappointment and loss that might have been averted. 
Severe and protracted frost of necessity brings much work to 
a standstill, and some for which there is not the least need. It 
is a pity this should be so, but so it is. Take, for instance, the 
ordering of seeds of various kinds. They must be had if flowers 
and vegetables are to be produced in due season, yet through want 
of thought, or of knowledge as to the facts of the case, hundreds 
of men in seed-supply establishments are kept in semi-idleness 
during periods of frost, and then when the weather changes, and 
the seeds are wanted, are compelled to work nearly all night long 
under the unhealthy conditions of a gas-impregnated atmosphere, 
while gardeners are being prejudiced because they cannot lay 
hands on the seeds at the most favourable moment for making 
the best of them. Seeds cost not one penny more through 
being ordered early, and are as safely and soundly kept in the 
drawers of the purchaser as the vendor, while the workers in 
warehouses and shops are benefited by steady action—the 
result of timely orders, while gardeners and amateurs are 
advantaged by having possession of seeds well in advance of the 
time of sowing. 
Though a check has perforce been given to progress in gardening 
by the frost that will be memorable, activity will be all the greater 
when it goes and spring-time comes to cheer us on—to incite new 
hopes and stimulate to fresh endeavours. Never was greater 
interest manifested in gardening, both in its useful and orna¬ 
mental aspects than now, and never were so many persons engaging 
in the pleasant, wholesome, mind-inspiring, and health-giving 
occupation. We would wish for all, now that “winter lingers on 
the lap of spring,” a season teeming with an abundance of what 
they desire to produce ; and one way of bringing about the real¬ 
isation is to file the present issue of the Journal of Horticulture, 
as we take the liberty of thinking it is full of good things, both 
in advertisements and literary matter, and we have reason to 
believe there are others equally good to follow for meeting the 
varied tastes of readers all over the kingdom and beyond its 
shores. May 1895, after this rest at the beginning, prove in the 
end a good year to them all. 
L^elio-Cattleya Decia. 
Many charming hybrids have emanated from the nurseries of 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, and among these may be 
included the beautiful Lselio-Cattleya Decia, a bloom of which is 
depicted in the illustration (fig. 21). This is the result of a cross 
between Cattleya Dowiana aurea and Laelia Perrini, the first 
named being the pollen parent. In many respects the flower 
resembles a Lselia more than a Cattleya, except in size. The 
sepals and petals are very pale rose, the lip at the base being rosy 
mauve, with a deep purplish crimson lobe. This fine hybrid was 
exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons at the Drill Hall, West¬ 
minster, last year, and a first-class certificate was awarded 
for it by the Orchid Committee of the Eoyal Horticultural Society 
CCELOGYNE FLACCIDA. 
The specific name of this Coelogyne refers to the drooping 
character of the inflorescence. The racemes are many-flowered 
