December 19, 1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTTCULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
527 
natural way of growth ? Their suckers would spring up as profusely as 
those of the Lilac, and their fruit would be comparatively useless. It 
is much the same with many of our ornamental shrubs ; their flowers 
=are in many cases only an apology for what they might be under a 
better system. We find no difficulty informing our fruit bushes without 
suckers, and with clean straight stems, and we prune their heads in dif¬ 
ferent ways accordingly as they best flower and fruit, and that is all 
'that I claim for our ordinary shrubs, which, as at present seen, are living 
examples of our negligence and bad gardening. 
Standard bushes were made with great industry by our ancestors, and 
•the thing is as old as the hills, but in those days they pruned and clipped 
them into all kinds of fantastic shapes, which is altogether foreign to 
•our present taste. All that is original in this plan is the certain way of 
getting rid of their contending suckers and side branches at once and 
for ever from the collar of the plant upward to the head. You may cut 
■off the head ten years hence, and I shall engage for it that the whole 
stem will die back inch by inch, without the power of forming a 
■ single _ adventitious bud. Plants like the Lilac, which are naturally 
stoloniferous, that is, having the power of growing shoots from the 
main roots, would, no doubt, produce suckers from these roots under 
such a severe trial, but certainly not one from any part of the stem 
itself.—D. 
AMERICAN BLACKBERRIES. 
I CANNOT congratulate “ De Nova,” page 509, on the information he 
has tendered as to the great success of the American Blackberries ; 
•neither is the appendage to his note convincing. I was more deceived 
with American Blackberries than I have ever been with the many 
thousands of plants I have bought. Their price was no sham, neither 
was their trial here. I have no doubt you will publish any notes you 
may receive bearing on the question, but I have ceased to regard one 
swallow as making a summer. The persistent way they have been 
recommended, and the many years they have been before the public, 
warrant me, I think, in arriving at the conclusion that they are not 
generally satisfactory, but I am open to conviction.— South Wales. 
[When our friend said on page 487 that he had travelled “ almost 
from the Land’s End to John o’ Groat’s and not met with a good crop,” 
we ventured to suggest he might have travelled by an express train ; if 
-so, we think he went past some good crops of cultivated Blackberries 
(that we have had the pleasure of inspecting.] 
early and are already showing flowers. These plants are often kept 
too dry during the season of rest, and the effect of such treat¬ 
ment is visible the following year by the plants decreasing in 
strength. Considerably less water is needed than during the season 
of growth, but we never allow the soil about their roots to become 
thoroughly dry. When in flower these plants can be used in the 
conservatory or even in dwelling rooms without the slightest 
injury. When used in the conservatory, it is necessary to elevate 
this plant well above surrounding objects, or the beauty of its 
flowers is hidden. 
Thunias. 
These should be sufficiently ripe for storing under the stage or 
placing on a shelf where they can be kept perfectly dry in a tem¬ 
perature of 45°. To do them well they enjoy a complete season of 
rest, and grow with great vigour afterwards. Plants that have been 
grown in a moist shady atmosphere will need considerable care to 
prevent their decay. It is not wise to place plants of this nature 
in too low a temperature, or they will be certain to suffer. They 
should be kept a little warmer and in a dry atmosphere. It is 
also necessary to examine them frequently.— Orchid Grower. 
Cypripedium Niop.e. 
This hybrid was shown by Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons at the last 
meetingof the Royal Horticultural Society’s Floral Committee (Dec. 
Dendrobium thyrsiflorum. 
We have found evil consequences result by moving this Den- 
•drobium, chrysotoxum, densiflorum, and others of a similar habit 
■of growth, direct from heat to a cool structure. Their growths 
should be thoroughly ripened before any attempt is made to remove 
them from the structure in which they have made their growth. 
^Plants that have growths not yet ripe should be kept in heat until 
they are thoroughly matured. Those that have reached this stage 
may be allowed to become dry at their roots and then removed to 
an intermediate temperature for a few weeks, and finally to a light 
position, where the night temperature will not fall below 50°. 
When moved direct from a warm to a cool house the roots fre¬ 
quently perish, and any growths not thoroughly firm damp off at the 
base, the foliage becomes blotched, and the plants are disfigured. 
This will also take place under any circumstance if the tempera¬ 
ture in which they are placed is low. Even in a temperature of 
■ 60° cold draughts must be avoided, the atmosphere being rather dry, 
the plants given only sufficient water to keep their pseudo-bulbs 
fresh and plump. 
Zygopetalum Mackayi. 
The flower spikes are rather stiff, but they are nevertheless very 
suitable for large vases. Its flowers are highly fragrant, and as 
they are produced during the winter it is worth growing in quantity 
where choice flowers are in demand at that peritd of the year. We 
find it invaluable for decoration in the conservatory, where its 
flowers last fully double the length of time they will do in heat. 
This plant evidently enjoys the cooler treatment of the conservatory 
for a few weeks, provided it is carefully treated, and grows after¬ 
wards with increased vigour. While in this structure they should 
be arranged where cold draughts will not strike upon them and 
kept rather dry at their roots ; in fact, little water will be needed, 
but when it is necessary it should not be of a lower temperature 
than 60°. 
Lycaste Skinneri. 
We are removing the whole of these to the coolest end of the 
Odontoglossum house, except a few plants that made their growth 
FIG. 67.—CYPRIPEDIUM NIOBE. 
10th), when a first-class certificate was awarded for it. The plant 
was obtained from a cross between C. Fairrieanum and C. Spiceri- 
anum, very interesting and distinct, showing at a glance the influ¬ 
ence of the two parents. The dorsal sepal is much like that of 
C. Spicerianum, but somewhat more green at the base, veined with 
deep purple. The petals are undulated at the margin and strongly 
recurved, just like C. Farrieanum, green, and a peculiar reddish 
brown tint. The lip is small, neat, and of a greenish hue. 
Ccelogyne cristata. 
Though this is one of the easiest of all Orchids to grow and 
flower, it does not always follow that everyone succeeds with it. 
I know a large number of plants in various places where flowers 
are produced in sparse numbers, and yet the plants appear to be in 
good health. The variety has a bearing on this point, as I find the 
common sort, which yields four or five blooms on a spike, by far 
the most floriferous, the longer spiked Chatsworth variety flowering 
much less profusely, and in the aggregate yielding a smaller number 
of blooms. __ 
I began with a small plant a dozen years ago, each was shortly 
after divided into four, and the pieces encouraged to grow. The 
last time these were repotted was six or seven years ago, when the 
plants were spread out on elevated mounds in large pots, and since 
then they have only had the pseudo-bulbs thinned, and occasional 
dressings of fibrous peat or sphagnum applied. These plants 
grown quite close to the glass in an ordinary plant stove flower 
with great profusion. The larger of the four I estimate will this 
season yield 1200 blooms, which at the low average of Id. each 
