488 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 17, 1888. 
- The June number of the “ Botanical Magazine ” gives figures of 
the following plants—T. 6878, Anthurium splendidum, is a magnificent 
Aroid, which was introduced from New Grenada by Mr. W. Bull in 1882- 
It has been exhibited on several occasions, and is notable for the beautiful 
metallic green colour of the puckered or bullate leaves. T. 6879 pourtrays 
Grevillea Hookeriana, a native of the Swan River Territory of South- 
Western Australia, “ growing in dry places along the coast, as near King 
George’s Sound as the Gardener River, and at Doubtful Island bays. It was 
discovered by Preiss, and collected afterwards by Drummond and others. 
The specimen figured was raised from seed sent by W. R. Guilfoyle, F.L.S., 
Director of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, which flowered in the 
Royal Gardens in January cf the present year.” The leaves are pinnate 
with linear divisions, the perianth yellowish, and bright red styles. 
-In the same work T. 6880 shows Sophronitis violaceA, a 
Brazilian species, which was discovered by Gardner in 1837, “ who in a 
note says that he found it only once, and then as a single small tuft on the 
trunk of a large tree.” It was first described by Lindley, from a specimen 
flowered in 1847 by Mrs. Cannon of Stratford Green. In 1852 Reicherbach 
published a much fuller description in the Linntea, from specimens sent 
by Regnell. He states that it is common on the Organ Mountains. It is 
a pretty dwarf species, with oval pseudo-bulbs about 1 inch long, and 
bright rose-coloured flowers H inch across. Though not so showy as the 
well-known S. grandiflora, it is a charming Orchid, and forms a good 
companion for that. T. 6881 is Roydsia suaveolen’, an East Indian plant 
found on the borders of tropical forests at the base of the Eastern Hima¬ 
layas, “ scenting the air when in flower with a delicious fragrance.” The 
leaves are elliptical, bright green, are persistent, the racemes of flowers 
being produced from the axils, the numerous stamens form the most con¬ 
spicuous portion of these being white or yellowish ; the calyx being dull 
coloured, and the corolla absent. T. 6882 is Tillandsia inflata, a Brazilian 
Bromeliad, related to T, psittaeina, but withoverlapping bright rosy bracts 
and yellow flowers. It was introduced to cultivation by M. Binot in 1880 
and first flowered by M. Trufliaut at Versailles. 
VINERY WORK IN JUNE. 
June, in my opinion and experience, is one of the busiest months 
in the whole year in vineries. All midseason and late Vines make 
more wood now than any other time. Bunches and berries on all 
late varieties require thinning ; and stopping, tying, and syringing 
must have daily attention. Watering at the roots, too, is of the greatest 
importance now, and those who wish to have their Grapes in the best 
possible condition when ripe must deal liberally with them. Old 
borders where the soil is stiff and the drainage not very open will not 
be very porous, and they 7 will not require so much water as newer 
borders where the soil is still in lumps and the drainage quite free. 
A border of this kind can hardly have too much water in dry sunny 
weather, and once every ten days is not too often to give it a 
complete soaking. When showers moisten the surface of the ground 
it is apt to become rather deceptive, as a wet surface does not always 
indicate a humid soil underneath, and it is this which checks the 
Vines and ruins the Grapes. We have frequently given our outside 
Vine borders a thorough watering the day after we had rain, as a well- 
drained Vine border requires more water than an ordinary piece of 
the garden where the drainage is only natural and the roots few. 
Too dry borders are highly injurious, as the wood fails to develope as 
it should do ; the leaves are small, the berries do not gain their proper 
size, and both the fruit and wood ripen prematurely, and all this not 
only injures the Vines at the time, but its injurious effects are 
experienced in years to come. Apart from this, too, sparingly 
watered Vines soon become infested with insects, and these are enough 
at any time to spoil the Grapes. The most water is required when 
the berries have been thinned and until colouring has fairly com¬ 
menced. It is during that period every part is developing and the 
demands from the soil are at their greatest. Late Grapes, which now 
require thinning, should be thinned much more than early ones. 
The berries of Gros Colman and some other late sorts gain a very 
large size, and bunches which appear as mere skeletons after 
thinning swell, under good treatment, until they are complete in all 
parts. 
Black Alicante is an enormous setter. As a rule six berries have 
to be removed for every one left. Lady Downe’s is not so free, and 
very often there are a great many small berries amongst the large 
ones in the bunches of this variety. These small ones would never 
swell and must all be clipped out; but the main reason why late 
Grapes should be freely thinned is that when the fruit is ripe the berries 
may not be quite in a solid mass, but sufficiently apart to admit of the 
air passing through them when they are hanging in a damp 
atmosphere during the short sunless days of late autumn and winter. 
A general cutting away of shoots should never be practised.. We 
have known the wood in some vineries allowed to grow until the 
whole roof was a mass of shoots, then on a certain day a general 
cutting back took place, and “daylight” was let in by shortening 
every shoot to three or four joints beyond the bunch. I have noticed 
soon after this the Grapes did not swell for a time, and the shoots 
appeared as if they were unable to start into growth again. Now, 
whatever you do, avoid this—it is suicidal. If properly treated there 
should never be occasion to do it, as all the shoots should be stopped 
long before they cover the roof ; and when, by any chance, this 
happens, thinning and shortening should be done by degrees. In this 
case we would clear away the top growths one day in a week or so 
afterwards the bottom ones would be takeD, and in another week the 
middle would be cut back. By this plan the flow of sap would never 
be checked to any great extent, and the wood and fruit would go on 
swelling freely. Stopping the shoots, however, should be followed m 
a systematic way, and should begin as soon as the shoots are long 
enough to require stopping, and go on until growth ceases, then the 
results of it are never experienced in any injurious form. All the 
best Grape-growers have found that to stop the shoots two joints- 
beyond the bunch is a good place to begin, then a fresh growth is 
produced ; it is stopped at every joint until there may be five or six 
leaves beyond the bunch, when growth is restricted altogether, and 
while the light is not too much obscured by this length of shoot the 
fruit has every opportunity of perfecting. _ 
We only make one exception to this rule, and that is when Grapes 
are ripening during hot weather in June or July we generally allow 
the young growths to extend a little to afford shelter and shade to 
the fruit, as almost all Grapes will colour better under a little shade 
than when exposed fully to a midsummer sun. The Black Hamburgh 
colours more intensely under shade than when exposed ; the same 
may be said of Gros Colman. Syringing Vines is not such a common 
practice now as it was at one time ; many think it injures the bloom 
on the fruit, and when dirty water is used or water containing lime 
it may spot them, but clean water is not injurious, and Vines which 
are frequently syringed until the fruit begins to colour are generally 
very free from insects. This is a recommendation for syringing 
which deserves notice. In warm weather I do not think it is a good 
plan to syringe the Vines at 3 r.M. or 4 p.m. while the sun is still 
shining brightly on them, but if they are syringed at 7 P.M. or 8 p m. 
it is a cooling bath for them after a hot day, and the dewdrops which 
are seen hanging from the edges of the leaves in the morning after 
this are highly conducive to the health of the Vines. Does some 
youngster ask “ Who is going to syringe Vines at 8 p.m. ? That is over¬ 
time.” Well, my man, if it was an impossibility for you to see to. it 
once or twice a week in hot weather I would do it myself. Vineries 
now require to be ventilated freely. On warm mjrnings the top 
lights may be let down a few inches by 7 A.M., and top and bottom 
lights may be open by 10 A.M. A very close dry atmosphere must 
be avoided. The surface of the border or floor should be damped 
several times daily, and the house should be closed in the afternoon 
to secure a temperature of 858.—M. 
ODONTOGLOSSUM VEXILLARIUM. 
Amongst the numerous handsome Orchids at the Royal Botanic 
Society’s Show in Regent’s Park la9t week, none attracted so much 
admiration as the magnificent specimen of Od ntoglossum vexillarium 
shown by Mr. James Douglas, gardener to F. Whitbourne, Esq., Great 
Gearies, Ilford. By the unanimous consent of all the leading orchidists 
present it was distinguished as the finest specimen in the exhibition, and 
it is probably the grandest example of this beautiful species that has ever 
been shown in London. One great point in its favour is that it is.a bona- 
fide plant, having been obtained with several others as a small piece ten 
years ago, and grown on to its present size ; but it has never been so fine 
as the present season, and, as will be seen from the illustration (fig. 91), 
when sketched at the show named, it was “ a mass of flowers ” concealing 
the foliage. It had forty-seven spikes, or a total of 289 flowers, all of 
good size°and form, the variety being a pretty and delicately coloured one. 
Odontoglossum vexillarium is a puzzle to some cultivators, but at Great 
Gearies the plants succeed admirably, making vigorous growth each 
season, and always looking well ; yet there are no secrets in the cultiva¬ 
tion, no complicated system of treatment to describe, but simply the care 
of an experienced, observant gardener. Mr. Douglas adopts the same 
method which Mr. B. S. Williams recommends—namely, growing the 
plants during the winter in the Cattieya house until the flowers are 
appearing, and they are then removed to the cool house, where the flowers 
last longer, and in this house the plants remain throughout the summer, 
one point being most carefully observed at all times—namely, never 
allowing them to become dry at the roots. Th s is important; and so is 
another matter— i.e., keeping the plants free from insects of all kinds, and 
the closest attention to this will be well repaid. 
When first described, in 1867, by Professor Iteichenbach, Odonto¬ 
glossum vexillarium was announced with much secrecy, and it was said 
that neither its native home nor the introducer’s name was known, and 
the person to whom it had been lent was only to take “ three looks at it.” 
