Dectmber 1J, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
515 
Fellows have paid £4 4s., and 623 Fellows £2 2s., making a total of 
£1938 6s., a sum altogether insufficient for the working and require¬ 
ments of the Society. 
9, In conclusion, the Council believe that the extinction of the 
Royal Horticultural Society would be regarded by all interested in 
horticulture as a national loss. The history of the Society, and the 
good work it has done, and is doing, entitle it lo the consideration 
and support of the horticultural world, to whom the Council make 
this appeal. They address it with equal confidence to amateurs and 
to the trade, in the belief that their interests are identical, and that 
for the protection and advancement of these interests the mainte¬ 
nance of the Royal Horticultural Society is essential. The Council 
have had difficult duties to perform. While they are willing to 
continue to discharge these duties, if desired, they believe that the 
best course would be for them to place their resignations in the 
hands of the Fellows, at the end of the year, so as to leave the 
Society entirely unfettered. But they consider it due both to 
the Fellows and to themselves to say that, unless they receive assur¬ 
ances of adequate support, in response to this appeal, the Society 
must necessarily come to an end. 
10, The favour of an early answer is requested on the enclosed 
form. The donations would be devoted to the cost of establishing 
the Society in its new home, and to similar purposes. 
ORCHID NOTES. 
A notion prevails that Orchids generally are extremely difficult 
to grow unless houses are specially erected for them, and this, it is 
almost needless to add, has a most deterrent effect on would-be 
growers. Now we have no Orchid houses, or even many places 
that would be considered suitable for them, yet no great difficulty 
is experienced in growing and flowering a fairly good selection. 
What we can accomplish may safely be undertaken by various 
other cultivators with every prospect of ultimate success. Nor is 
the original outlay at all disproportionate to the amount of pleasure 
to be derived from the flowering of a small collection of Orchids, 
or even in excess of what would have to be expended in the 
purchase of a small collection of ordinary stove and greenhouse 
plants.. The novice need not procure the most expensive forms of 
the various species, this luxury being reserved until he can appre¬ 
ciate their distinctive features. For the present he must be content 
with the more common varieties, and strive to grow these to per¬ 
fection. All are more or less beautiful. The majority remain fresh 
for a much longer time than do ordinary flowers, and are certainly 
totally different as far as their formation and the habit of growth 
is concerned. 
CYPRIPEDIUMS. 
These are among the most easily cultivated, and if not parti¬ 
cularly beautiful, their quaintness attracts attention. C. insigne is 
the best known of the genera, and a very serviceable plant it proves. 
At the outset I made the common mistake of keeping it in an 
ordinary stove temperature, whereas it should be given heat only 
when forming fresh growths. Supposing the plants flower any 
time during the winter or early in the spring, they ought if possible, 
soon after the “ slippers ” drop off, to be placed in a plant stove or 
forcing vinery to complete their growth. It is unwise to be con¬ 
stantly pulling them to pieces and repotting, but if badly crowded 
with growths, or it is desirable to increase the stock, they may be 
carefully pulled to pieces prior to the commencement of active 
growth, and repotted in a compost consisting of one-half rough 
fibrous peat and charcoal crocks, and sphagnum moss in about 
equal proportions. Then if the pots are well drained there is little 
danger of the compost becoming sour, a contingency always to be 
guarded against in Orchid culture. Some mix turfy loam with the 
compost, but this practice ended disastrously when tried nere, and 
we use this for the annual spring top-dressing of established plants 
only. When growing freely they require plenty of water at the 
roots. In June all should be transferred to a cold frame or pit, 
and there be kept well supplied with water and shaded from bright 
sunshine. In September, or later if need be, they may be taken to 
a warm greenhouse, conservatory, or living room to develope the 
flowers already showing at nearly every fully formed growth. In 
a cool house or room, if kept properly attended to, tile flowers will 
remain fresh for about two months. This cool treatment frequently 
induces the formation of twin flowers, though we have had none 
as yet, but can point to plants in 7-inch pots bearing fully twenty 
perfect blooms. As far as my experience goes all the insigne group 
require much the same treatment, and I have found C. insigne 
Maulei quite as easily grown and much attractive than the type. 
Mr. Cypher at Cheltenham has a large stock of C. insigne puneta- 
tum (rightly considered the best in the group), and this with them 
succeeds admirably under much the same treatment as I have just 
detailed. 
The old C. barbatum with its dull variegated foliage and equally 
unattractive flowers I would not cultivate, backward as we are in 
Orchid culture, but much admire C. barbatum nigrum and superbum. 
There is no necessity to place either of these in a cold frame to 
induce flowering. Once well established in a porous compost similar 
to that just described, and which, let me add, appears to suit nearly 
all the Cypripediums, they will flower readily enough in July and 
August, and keep fresh and beautiful for at least six weeks. Nor 
do I believe in keeping them when in flower long in a cool house or 
room, this being apt to induce a second flowering soon after re-intro- 
duction into the ordinary plant stove or warm fernery where ours 
are kept. A cold frame or pit is, as I found to my cost, positively 
injurious to the heat-loving C. Dominianum, C. caudatum, C. 
Boxalli, C. villosum, C. Spicerianum, and C. Lawrencianum. Each 
and all of these are very distinct and beautiful and are easily grown. 
The last named has handsome mottled foliage and fairly pretty 
flowers. It appears quite at home in our mixed house, and the only 
variety just named that evidently needs a brisk stove temperature 
is C. Spicerianum. This I hold to be an excellent plant, as if grown 
in a rather loamy compost forms fine broad foliage and flowering 
freely in November. C. Dominianum, C. caudatum and caudatum 
roseum, C. Sedeni, and others with long twisted petals are all easily 
grown and very attractive when in flower. No resting or drying is 
necessary or advisable. They simply need a sweet rough compost, a 
fair amount of root room, and water whenever the surface soil ap¬ 
proaches dryness. We have C. villosum and C. Boxalli in a warm 
fernery, and without any particular treatment other than that just 
given, they invariably fbwer strongly and are fairly attractive.— 
W. Iggulden. 
To Our Readers. —In consequence of an accident on the machino j 
which is always a possible contingency in printing, the whole of our last 
week’s impression could not he delivered at the usual time. We regret 
the unavoidable delay, and the disappointment which some of our 
readers may have thereby experienced. 
- The proposition made at the recent meeting of the National 
Rose Society that, if possible, an exhibition should be held in Dublin 
in 1889, will no doubt be favourably received by many of our Rose¬ 
growing readers in Ireland. There is also every reason to suppose that 
a good exhibition could be obtained, but whether the scheme is prac¬ 
ticable will depend upon thj support the Dublin Horticultural Society 
may be prepared to give. 
- The Winter in Scotland. —A correspondent writes :— 
“ Winter has been hovering around for some time and now seems to 
have closed his grip upon us in Scotland. A snowstorm has been general 
over the country for the last five days, depths of 1 to 8 inches undrifted 
being reported up to the 10th inst. In South Perthshire the general fall 
does not exceed inch. For the past three nights successively, 12°, 
16°, and 14° of frost have been registered. There is every appearance of 
a continued storm.” We may add by way of contrast that on the 
morning (13th inst.) we received the above note, the thermometer 
registered 50° in the open air in a suburban garden near London. 
- Last Tuesday, the 13th inst., was a busy day amongst horti¬ 
culturists in the metropolis. The chief event was the special meeting 
of the Royal Horticultural Society at South Kensington, which is 
reported on another page. On the same day and at the same place the 
National Auricula, Carnation, and Picotee Societies, together with the 
Committee of the National Dahlia Show, and the Royal Horticultural 
Society’s Floral, Fruit, and Scientific Committees. Then at the Co vent 
Garden Hotel in the evening, the Horticultural Club held a dinner. 
