July 25, 1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
G1 
■correspondent, who is one of the world’s most diligent workers 
in horticultural research. The information imparted will answer 
several inquiries on the subject to which it refers. Paris green, 
as Mr. Leonard Coates has informed us, is mixed at the rate of 
1 lb. to 200 gallons of water in California, and at this strength 
destroys caterpillars on fruit trees without injuring the blossom.] 
s 
ORCHID NOTES. 
CATT LEYAS. 
This genus would appear to be the most popular generally, and 
mo wonder, seeing what a number of gorgeous species there are, and 
how freely they flower. Being imported in large quantities all the 
commoner forms can be bought at a comparatively cheap rate, and 
if a judicious collection is made, and the plants fairly well culti¬ 
vated, the enthusiast with limited means even may have something 
do gladden his eyes at almost any time of the year. We have had 
a few flowers of C. Triame at different times from November to 
May ; next came the beautiful C. Mossiie and the showy C. Men- 
•delli, these being followed by C. Warneri, C. Skinneri, and C. inter¬ 
media. Towards the end of July C. Gaskelliana is available, and 
■those who require good exhibition Orchids early in August ought to 
cultivate several plants of this, the best in the labiata section, and 
also C. crispa and C. Loddigesi, the last named being the more 
durable and serviceable. The true C. labiata flowers in the autumn, 
but some of the forms are in bloom much earlier. The fine 
C. maxima is usually in flower during November and December, 
and C. dolosa is also a good late-flowering species. To the fore¬ 
going might well be added the beautiful C. Dowiana, which is useful 
for the August shows, and C. Bowringiana is of free growth and is 
A beautiful flower. The foregoing by no means exhausts the list, 
and there are many very beautiful varieties in each section some of 
nvhich may well be added when the novice has mastered the few 
•cultural details to be observed in their treatment, and is also suffi¬ 
ciently advanced in Orchid lore to fully appreciate the points of 
nnerit in the flowers. 
CULTURE. 
When a house can be devoted principally to Cattleyas, this 
Being well furnished with high stages and good side benches, then 
•it is advisable to keep the bulk of the plants either in ordinary pots, 
-or, better still, perforated pots and pans. Where, however, they 
■have to be grown in a mixed plant stove, then I prefer them in 
baskets or pans suspended near the roof. The deep pots especially 
ought to be half filled with drainage, and in every case the compost 
■should consist of good roughly broken fibrous peat and an equal 
•quantity of charcoal and crocks. Being fixed well on the surface of 
this, and not mossed over in any way, the roots soon ramble over and 
’through it, and all the time it remains in a sweet state they will, 
/other conditions being favourable, thrive most satisfactorily. Any 
at the present mere subsisting in amass of sour compost—and there 
are many in this bad plight—ought to be taken in hand at once, and 
partial recovery may take place this summer. If the drainage* is 
'choked then must a completely fresh start be made, but if clean 
and abundant the safest and best procedure is to pick aw ay the sour 
■soil from the roots an'd renew with perfectly fresh compost. 
A very high temperature at this time of year, or say such as 
Allamandas, Ixoras, and Crotons delight in, is simply ruinous to 
Hattleyas, and this we once found out to our cost. Plants, both 
suspended in baskets and shelves in pots, all rooting strongly and 
growing freely, suddenly came to a standstill, and the roots soon 
• decayed badly—they had been cooked in fact. The greater portion 
of the plants were removed to a cooler house, or what is more 
properly a fernery, the temperature of which ranges from G5° to 75° 
by day and fully 10° lower by night, and in about a fortnight root 
action recommenced, and the old happy state of affairs was soon 
restored. A moderate amount rather than a dense shade best suits 
Cattleyas during the hottest part of the year, and the pots should 
be well watered, and the baskets dipped as often as found dry. In 
the autumn much more light and less moisture is needed, but, unlike 
the Dendrobiums, Cattleyas, viith but few exception^, one of these 
being C. Skinneri, do not require to be baked—that is to say, 
severely ripened. 
SOFT WATER FOR ORCHIDS. 
A good supply of soft water is of inestimable value to the 
Orchid grower ; in fact, it is one of the most important aids to 
success. Those, therefore, who are fortunate in having one or 
more large soft-water tanks in their Orchid houses ought at this 
time of year especially to carefully husband their supply, as it may 
be some time before any appreciable quantity of rain water falls. 
It should be used for watering and syringing Orchids only, and not 
a drop ought to be wasted either in damping down or washing the 
floors of the houses. Soft water is, so to speak, both meat and 
drink to the roots, and when always available no manure of any 
kind should ever be used. Being stored in the house, if possible 
above the level, and not covered in closely (stages may be fixed 
over it with advantage) the water does not become hard, as it is 
liable to do in covered tanks, and it is also of much the same tempe¬ 
rature as the house, therefore fit for use without adding heated 
water. Nothing can well be worse for choice plants than water 
drawn from hot-water pipes, and if it is at any time necessary to 
raise the temperature of water to be used add water heated in a 
copper in a copper or kettle. There is no injurious vapour arising 
from open tanks, but, on the contrary, they serve to purify the 
atmosphere. Small tanks over hot-water pipes are of good service 
in an Orchid house, and it is over these where the Phalsenopsids 
are most at home.—I. M. H. 
GARDENERS' ORPHAN FUND. 
Election of Children and Annual Dinner. 
The annual general meeting of this Charity was held at the 
Cannon Street Hotel on Friday last, when the report and recom¬ 
mendations of the Executive Committee were adopted, six children 
elected to participate in the benefits of the Fund, and the annual 
dinner subsequently celebrated. This was a greater success than the 
most sanguine expected, and the only incident that caused a little 
momentary disappointment was a number of visitors, whose accep¬ 
tances had not been received at the appointed time, arriving late and 
finding the tables filled ; thus an overflow dinner was a necessity, but 
subsequently room was found for all, and the proceedings were of the 
happiest character throughout. The magnificent and unrivalled Kentias 
of Messrs. Wills & Seager imparted a tropical appearance, and these 
with the beautiful floral decorations of friends mentioned below, and a 
bountiful dessert supplied gratuitously by Mr. Munro of Covent Garden, 
and other willing helpers, furnished the noble room in the most satis¬ 
factory manner. The speeches delivered received, as they deserved, the 
best reception. Miss Marie Belval and her assistant vocalists enlivened 
the proceedings, and, as a climax t) the event, and on the generous 
initiative of Mr. Harry J. Veitch, the dinner will result in a gain of £200 
to the charity, and the possible addition of two more children to 
participate in its benefits. 
Report and Financial Statement. 
The following is the report of the Executive Committee pre¬ 
sented to and adopted by the meeting, with the financial statement 
appended :— 
In presenting their second annual report the Executive Committee 
desire co record their high appreciation of the support that has been 
accorded to the charity in various ways during the past year. 
They would also particularly express thankfulness in having been 
enabled during the same period to dispense the means of support to a 
number of children, who, but for the assistance thus granted, would 
have suffered privations which it is felt that no orphan child of a 
British gardener should endure. Experience has brought home to the 
minds of the Committee, more forcibly than ever, the pressing need 
that exists for a a strong fund to meet the urgent claims made upon 
them. 
It is impossible adequately to represent to the subscribers the pro¬ 
found expressions of gratitude received from widows of gardeners, and 
other relatives of the children who were last year elected to participate 
in the benefits of the Fund. 
It will be remembered that at the first annual meeting six candidates 
were elected by the votes of the subscribers, and that subsequently^ 
owing to the satisfactory character of the financial statement then pre¬ 
sented, the Committee felt justified in placing the four unsuccessful 
candidates on the Fund also. Shortly afterwards, through the generosity 
of Mr. N. N. Sherwood, who p'aced the sum of £100 at the disposal of 
the Committee, yet another child was placed on the Fund—making 
eleven in all who now participate in its benefits, as a result of the first 
year’s work. 
The Committee desire to express their deep obligations to His Grace 
the Duke of Bedford for the use of the flower market in Covent Garden 
for the purpose of holding the second evening fete, which was as beau¬ 
tiful a floral spectacle as it was beneficial to the object it was designed 
to assist, the amount derived on the occasion being over £200. Grate¬ 
ful thanks are tendered to the Baroness Burdett Coutts who so kindly 
opened the Exhibition, to the standholders who so freely contributed 
the plants and flowers, and to all who assisted in rendering the fete such 
a gratifying success. 
To His Grace the Duke of Marlborough the best thanks of the Com¬ 
mittee are tendered for opening the famed gardens of Blenheim at an 
appropriate time on behalf of the Fund, and to His Grace’s gardener, 
Mr. T. Whillans, for his willing and effective co-operation. The amount 
raised by this means was £73. 
