534 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 28, 1888. 
varieties of Papaver nudicaule, surmounted by the bright Lilium chalce- 
donicum. Several exhibits of horticultural sundries also occupied con¬ 
siderable space. 
s 
A WELL-FLOWERED ORCHID. 
In one of the plant houses at Fairlawn, Frome, the residence of 
John Baily, Esq., there is a fine piece of the good old Oncidium 
divaricatum beautifully in flower. It has four strong spikes, the 
best of them being not less than 4 feet in length. All are branch¬ 
ing nearly throughout the entire length, and 750 flowers were 
counted well expanded at the same time. No special treatment has 
been given to nor is required by this Oncidium, the plant under 
notice being grown in company with a few other serviceable 
Orchids, with a mixture of Crotons, Dractenas, and Eucharises in 
an ordinary plant stove.—I. 
OlNCIDIUM LANCE.4.NUiI. 
A SPECIMEN under the above name has been flowering most 
freely in one of the houses at Fairlawn for the past three weeks. 
The floriferous condition of this plant and its value for cutting or 
decorative purposes may be estimated from the fact of its pro¬ 
ducing on four branching spikes the large number of 756 blooms 
of a yellow and brown colour. The longest spike measures 6 feet 
in length and branches within about a foot from the soil. 
It is growing in a mixed plant house, and has received but 
ordinary treatment, a fact that should commend itself to the notice 
of persons who are not favoured with special accommod.ation for 
these higlily desirable plants. It appears to belong to the same 
strong-growing section as 0. sphacelatum and 0. altissimum, which 
are of strong constitution, and consequently of easy culture. It is 
adapted to pot or basket culture, and revels in abundant supplies of 
water when provided with good drainage and an open yet sub¬ 
stantial compost.—W. S., Frome. 
epidendrum: atro purpureum var. randt. 
Tins plant was shown at the Drill Hall on Tuesday last as E. 
Randi both by Sir Trevor Law'rence and Mr. F. G. Tautz, but the 
Committee determined it to be a variety of E. atro-purpureum, 
though flowers of the latter brought by the gardener, IMr. Cowley, 
for contrast were very distinct in form as well as colour. The 
variety has light brownish lanceolate spreading sepals and petals 
slightly undulated at the margin, which is of a paler colour. The 
bp is 1 inch broad, white, with two broad expanded lateral lobes, 
the centre one rounded streaked with crimson in the centre, a few 
similar streaks also being noticeable at the base of the lateral lobes, 
partly concealed by the broad flat column. The plant shown had a 
raceme of seven flowers, each over 2 inches in diameter, long 
narrow dark green leaves, and small conical pseudo-bulbs. The 
flowers of the form regarded as a typical E. atro-purpureum had 
deep brown narrow sepals and petals, a soft rosy crimson lip wdth a 
darker centre, and two small lateral lobes enclosing the column. 
TWO ORCHID CURIOSITIES-0RNITH0CEPHALU3. 
With the Epidendrum described above Mr. Tautz showed a 
plant of Ornithocephalus grandiflorum, a member of the Vanda 
tribe of Orchids, and as Dr. Masters states, it is “ specially remark¬ 
able for the long slender rostellum to which the stalk of the pollen 
masses is attached by means of its terminal glandular disk. This 
long rostellum on a side view is very like a bird’s bill, hence the 
name of the genus.” It will be thus seen that the plant is in¬ 
teresting structurally, and in fact this is its only recommendation, 
for the flowers are small, in racemes G or 8 inches long, the 
sepals and petals white, green at the base, with a small green lip, 
and narrow leaves arranged in a distichous manner. The floral 
structure is, however, so peculiar and unusual, that it is suggestive 
of some strange method of fertilisation such as Darwin might 
have dealt with fully. He does, indeed, mention an Ornitho¬ 
cephalus in which “ the pedicel of the pollinia when freed from the 
column suddenly bends into a curved form, and soon afterwards, 
owing to the hygrometric contraction, curls up oddly, and when 
placed in water it resumes its previous form.” An illustration is 
also given in the “Fertilisation of Orchids,” but no explanation is 
furnished of the exact bearing the structure has upon the ferti¬ 
lisation. 
PHYS03IPH0N LODDIGESI. 
The other curiosity from the same garden was the Physosiphon 
named above, a strange little Orchid related to Stelisand resembling 
Pleurothallis in habit. It has a long slender spike with very small 
flovers, the sepals united below into a greenish tube, and the ex¬ 
panded portion being oval and pale brown, quite concealing the 
petals, lip, and column within the tube, which from its supposed 
resemblance to a “bladder” gives the generic name to the plant.—C. 
THE STRAWBERRY. 
In Chicago a few days ago the first outdoor Strawberries of the 
season were being disposed of in large quantities as low as 5d. per quart, 
while at the same time in the London markets worth from Is. 3d. to 
Is. Oil. per pound. As the season has again opened for the same, a brief 
referenee to this fruit may be of interest, especially to those who have not 
yet experienced the pleasures that attend its seasonable use as food. 
In 1745 a well-known physician certified that Strawberries create an 
appetite, contain essential salt, and a small quantity of fine oil ; they 
agree well in hot weather, besides strength* ning the heart and keeping 
the liquids of the body in a just fluidity. In France, it appears, a 
pleasant and popular drink was extracted from Strawlierries for summer 
use ; this was obtained by pressing the fruit through a fine sieve, and 
adding a sufficient quantity of water and sugar ; when complete it was 
known by the name of Strawberry wine. This wine was made from 
both wild and cultivated fruit, but of course the superiority of the 
latter over the former, though so marked, only arises from the fact that 
the garden fruit receives the full benefit of the sun, whilst the wild 
plants growing in the wood are shaded by the thick foliage of the trees ; 
hence their pale appearance, diminutive size, and watery flavour arise 
solely from the lack of heat. 
One of the latest and most important facts which has been brought 
to light, supported by chemical science, is this, that the therapeutic 
properties of fruit consist in the abundance of health-imparting acids 
and alkaloids they contain, which, when partaken of freely as food, act 
in such a direct manner as to cleanse the whole system from impurities ; 
and in fever, ague, biliousness, liver, blood, and kindred complaints, 
enable one to be independent of nauseous drugs, vegetable extracts, or 
medicinal herbs of any kind. I do not expect, although we know, as 
Seneca puts it, “ the beaten track is the most dangerous,” that man will 
suddenly alter his diet from meat to fruit, and, if he did, neither should 
1 consider it expedient, for progress is a plant of slow growth ; yet, as a 
fact, chemical science truly says, “ Man may live entirely upon fruits, 
and in better health than the majority of mankind now enjoy.” In 
conjunction with pure wholemeal bread, fresh fruit at any time and at 
either meal forms a dish fit for a king. To those who do not unfortu¬ 
nately enjoy the best of health, to those who are continually out of 
sorts, and who are not only low-spirited but sc.ared with “ presenti¬ 
ments ” of an imaginary and evil kind, 1 say the remedy is in your own 
hands, since a diet through the summer season based upon a liberal use 
of fruit at every meal will assuredly effect a cure. In the delicious 
Strawberry we have a case in point. Partaken of regularly and at meal 
time only, for they are rich in mucilage, pectine, sugar, citric, malic 
acid, and pure water, they not only purify but strengthen, and enable 
one to relish their food as they have never done before. It should be 
remembered that the juices of all fruits thin the blood, impart elasticity 
to the bones, and stave off, if they do not effectually prevent, the 
accumulation of earthy matter in the system. 
In this country they are raised upon a very extensive scale, both 
under glass by the aid of heat, under frames, and in the open air. The 
first consignments that reach the English markets, however, come from 
France ; but at their best, these Strawberries are very insipid and in¬ 
ferior, and in no way to be compared to those home-grown. After these 
consignments, we have our own from the Southampton districts, where 
they are raised by the ton, then come the supplies from Sandwich, 
Swanley, and numerous parts of Kent. The Middlesex growers, though 
a little later, are in the habit of producing some of the finest samples of 
outdoor fruit grown ; this is mostly put up in shallow, flat punnets, 
holding, as a rule, a full pound each, and on account of their size, 
colour, and quality, generally meet a ready sale at very profitable rates. 
For flavour, I suppose, no variety can be said to equal the “British 
Queen;” and for solidity, size, colour, and popularity “Sir Joseph 
Paxton ” stands without a rival. I might add that during the first 
week of the season choice fruit from the hothouse e rly in March 
has made as much as Is. (kl. and Is. 9d. per ounce fir.st hand, or at the 
rate of 24s. and 28s. per pound. In the height of the season, for some 
weeks, so plenteous is the supply of this healthful fruit, that if anyone 
is wise, and will adopt the “ Strawberry cure,” he may do so to his heart's 
content, for when sound fresh fruit may be obtained at the rate of 
3d. and 4d. per pound, there is no reason why the masses should not, at 
any rate, consume from two to three pounds daily, for whatever view we 
take of the suggestion, we shall find that it will, in conjunction with 
pure bread, be found to be cheaper, more nutritious, and certainly far 
more wholesome, especially during hot weather, than either beef or 
beer.— SAMP.SON Moeuan, Cuvent Garden. — (^£oho^. 
Amateue. —With this letter I send you a few forced Strawberries 
from our last forced plants for your opinion. I had the variety some 
years ago under the name of Amateur. We find it good for forcing as a 
mid-season variety. We have had larger fruits than those sent from pots. 
