March 21, 1895. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
245 
presence of water from 
streamlet to the river, 
the lake, which in its 
hand come but at intervals, perhaps not at all. Yet it is a thought 
which need carry one but a little way from the object. Indeed, if 
but a moiety of the care and anxiety our orthodox work entails 
could not be lost sight of here it would be fatal to its inception. 
Order—our interpretation of it—must cease to exist, freedom 
must reign, and if the foster mother deals unkindly with some 
kinds submitted by us to her rough and ready methods, neither 
force nor suasion need be persisted in, for they are out of place 
in wild gardening. 
Yet enthusiasm must not deny that there are two sides to this 
question. In some cases the gardener may roam the whole estate, 
viewing the possibilities, yet precluded from acting beyond the 
sphere of his own dominion here, not daring to cross the frontier. 
I would say. Go up to the very edge of the boundary and beautify 
those barren spots which may often be noticed outside of the best 
kept gardens, and there may be reasons for supposing that where 
the artistic eye roams the hand may one day be permitted to 
practise the peaceful art. Other phases there are, too, on this side 
of the question, which from one cause or other of 
varying circumstances may elicit the remark, “Not 
practicable we (gardeners) are not free agents in 
these matters, but he who makes but the smallest 
contribution strikes a blow for freedom—the freedom 
of picturesque gardening. 
The question of ways and means is too vast to 
receive but more than a passing glance here. There 
are, I think, but few who can disassociate the 
the picturesque ; from the 
or pond styled by courtesy 
more ample proportions is 
entitled to the designation. In the sequence of things 
natural where water is there we look for rocks, and 
given this happy combination we have but to add the 
bright colours or graceful forms of plant life to 
complete the picture. 
So many of our truly hardy plants are seen at their 
best advantage in the neighbourhood of water. Those 
who have seen a bold plantation of the Torch Lily 
(Tritoma) stretching to the water’s edge on a pro¬ 
montory or islet, or the feathery Pampas Grass 
receding in the depths of a valley, cannot but think 
they are the right plants in the right place. Bamboos, 
New Zealand Flax, and similar foliage plants so well 
able to hold their own, are appropriate to the position ; 
whilst on the sunny bank the German Iris, or on the boggy margin 
Iris Kaempferi add their charms to the scene. 
Natural rockeries are too often monopolised by the rank growth 
of indigenous vegetation ; or perhaps the reverse obtains, and a 
barren face may be rendered attractive by veiling it with some of 
our elegant creeping or trailing plants, whilst clefts and crannies 
form suitable pockets for the riches of the alpine flora. So, too, 
may the unsightliness of a disused quarry be converted into beauty, 
and form the happy home for many plants out of the abundance we 
possess. 
Turning to the woodland walks, and skimming the bulb cata¬ 
logues, a multitude of lesser sorts suggest their suitability to this 
position, and larger kinds, such as Lilies or Hyacinthus candicans, 
might well be employed to furnish some cosy clearing ’midst the 
trees. So may Nature’s chief agent in distribution—Man—make 
such investments as will yield a high rate of interest in the 
unlimited funds of picturesque gardening.—E. K., Dublin. 
colour of the lip is white, with a showy patch of deep violet- 
crimson covering upwards of one-half of the whole. The size of 
the lip is almost phenomenal, and is, perhaps, the best point about 
the hybrid. 
L^lia cinnabarina. 
If, as stated by your correspondent (page 223), I have not done 
justice to this superb species, it is certainly not for lack of admira¬ 
tion personally, as I consider it an exquisitely beautiful Orchid. I 
cannot call to mind the exact words I used in the short note that 
was suggested by seeing the plant referred to, or how far I extolled 
its charms ; but from six to ten flowers is certainly a fair average 
number for this species, though it may and evidently does occa¬ 
sionally produce more. I should, however, be inclined to attribute 
this to exceptional energy in the individual plant or pseudo-bulb 
rather than as a characteristic of the variety, for it is well known 
that Orchids of many kinds frequently produce spikes above tbe 
average. Your correspondent is none the less to be congratulated 
Uendrobium Apollo grandiflora. 
The Orchid that attracted the most attention at the Drill Hall 
on the 12th inst. was D. Apollo grandiflora, a flower of which is 
shown in the woodcut, fig. 43. Opinions were unanimous that 
this variety, which is the result of a cross between D. nobile 
pulcherrimum and D. splendidissimum, was the finest that had 
been seen, and was almost perfect both as regards size and coloura¬ 
tion. The substance of the flower was extraordinary, and Mr. J. 
Cypher, Cheltenham, who was accorded a first-class certificate for it 
by the Orchid Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, is to 
be congratulated on this superb acquisition. The sepals and petals 
were pure waxy white, shading to bright rosy purple at the tips. 
The petals were o£ gieat breadth, as also were the sepal*. The 
FIG. 43.—DEXDROBIUM APOLLO GRANDIFLORA, 
on having grown such a beautiful Orchid so well; and if this is 
his usual experience with this species I am sure a few notes on his 
mode of culture would interest many of your readers, including 
—H. R. R. 
Orchids at Harrow Weald House. 
The collection of Orchids at Harrow Weald House, the 
residence of H. Grinling, Esq., is a very good one, and in the 
experienced hands of Mr. W. Rapley is likely to improve. We 
have received a small box of flowers, comprising some magnificent 
forms of Cypripediums insigne and barbatum, Angraecum 
sesquipedale, a superbly coloured form of Cattleya Trianse, and a 
handsome spray of Ccelogyne cristata. All the blooms bore unmis- 
takeable evidence of excellent management. 
Calanthes and their Culture. 
Among winter-flowering Orchids there are few, if any, that can 
surpass Calanthes for usefulness, either for the embellishment of 
the mansion, or the maintenance of a bright and pleasing arrange¬ 
ment of flowers in a somewhat dry, intermediate temperature, 
flowering as they generally do with us early in October and 
continuing to keep up a display till the end of February. I am 
referring more particularly to the deciduous section, including 
C. Yeitchi, 0. vestita oculata rubra, C. lutea, and C. nivalis. Though 
there are several grand additions to the above varieties of more 
recent introduction, they are not sufficiently known, or even 
obtainable, to be generally grown, the two flnest varieties that have 
come to my notice being 0. gigas and C. Schriideri, both of which 
look like making strong growers, and each having been awarded 
first-class certificates. 
We have not made such rapid strides in the cultivation of 
Calanthes during the last twenty years as we have in many other 
sections of Orchid-growing, for we have it on good authority that 
even previous to the year 1877 growers had produced spikes 6 feet 
long and pseudo-bulbs 18 inches high, such specimens of good 
culture being rarely met with. I am inclined to think that the 
majority of cultivators of the present day attempt to grow them in 
far too stringent a manner—firstly, in the potting compost not 
being sufficiently rich for the encouragement of a strong, luxuriant 
growth ; secondly, in the lack of liberal chemical feeding, sa 
