May 15 , 1890 . ] 
JOURXAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
403 
trap cages. I did this and caught several, selling them at Is. 3d. each. 
I kept them a fortnight according to his directions.— J. T. Ebbutt. 
-Outdoor Mushroom Growing.—I n the Journal of May 8th, 
at page 381, your correspondent “ D. S. H.” writes of successful out¬ 
door culture at King’s Heath, near Birmingham. I have recently had 
an opportunity of inspecting some large outdoor pyramidal formed beds 
in Mr. James Murdock’s extensive market gardens at Crewe, close by 
Kenilworth, and there Mushrooms are grown on an extensive scale both 
indoors and out. The outdoor beds are made up as recommended in Mr. 
Wright’s treatise, spawned in the winter, covered with litter, and cutting 
has been going on for some time, from a very heavy crop. This method of 
growing Mushrooms is so simple and inexpensive as to be within the reach 
of all. A well made bed lasts in bearing for a long time, and the ex¬ 
hausted manure and soil of the beds is useful for surfacing, especially 
for heavy soils. Barns, well built but unused pigstyes, and any description 
of outdoor building is utilised at Crewe for Mushroom growing, even an 
old silo of considerable size doing duty, and one had to keep toes 
straight forward to avoid kicking the Mushrooms over, so narrow are 
the paths. Everywhere are shoals of Mushrooms without any artificial 
heat whatever, and grown in an inexpensive manner.—W. D. 
- Early Tomatoes. —Kenilworth bids fair to become as cele¬ 
brated for early Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Mushrooms, and Strawberries 
as for its grand old castle ruins and excavations at the churchyard, 
which is laying bare some superb work of past ages. Mr. Henry 
Whateley has two large blocks of glass structures in Spring Lane, each 
consisting of ten houses, and each house 103 feet long by 12 feet wide, 
and the height 6 feet to the apex. They are really Covent Garden supply 
houses, a style well known to London growers. One block is devoted at 
present to Cucumbers, from which many thousands of fruits have, and 
still will be, cut, the varieties grown being Whateley’s Hybrid, an ex¬ 
cellent variety raised by Mr. Whateley, sen., of Stoneleigh ; and a 
seedling variety of handsome form. Both are heavy croppers. The 
other block of ten houses are devoted entirely to Tomatoes, each house 
containing 550 plants in treble rows on each side of the pathway. The 
sorts grown are the Glamorgan, which is evidently a selection from the 
Old Large Red ; Hackwood Park, but ehiefly an excellent stock of the Old 
Large Red. The plants are very strong and vigorous (my visit was late 
in April), as high as they will be allowed to go, stopped, and loaded with 
fruit and flowers, many of the former ready for colouring. They are the 
finest cropped plants I have ever seen at the period of the year I have 
mentioned. In one house Ham Green Favourite is planted on one side, 
the selected Old Large Red on the other, and the latter will, I think, win 
in a canter for earliness. For cropping the test will be later on, as this 
house was planted later than the others. They are planted out in old 
Mushroom beds and soil, plenty of good loam on the grounds, and some 
excellent Mushrooms are gathered amongst the Tomato plants.—W. D. 
- Fruit Prospects, —Peaches and Nectarines on unprotected 
walls are a good average crop, but have been much infested with green 
and black fly, and several blistered leaves on some of the trees. This 
no doubt is owing to the cold north-easterly winds, but now we have 
had showers of rain, nearly an inch in two days, and warmer weather, 
the trees will grow freely. Apples, according to present appearance, 
will be a good average crop. Blenheim Pippin and Keswick Codlin on 
old trees, and all the Codlin type, are wonderfully prolific in blossom, 
but it does not always follow where there is so much blossom there 
is fruit in proportion. The following varieties are showing fairly 
well on bush trees :—Jolly Beggar, Court Pendfl Plat, Kerry Pippin, 
Northern Greening, Dumelow’s Seedling, Devonshire Quarrenden, King 
of the Pippins, New Northern Greening, New Hawthornden, Worcester 
Pearmain, Adams’ Pearmain, Cellini, Cox’s Orange Pippin and Ribston 
Pippin, a good deal cankered. Laxton’s Schoolmaster is showing well 
on small bush trees. Pears are not so fruitful. The following are the 
best: Louise Bonne of Jersey, Williams’ Bon Chretien, Comte de Lamy, 
Bergamotte Esperen, Beurre de Capiaumont, and Catillac. These are 
bush trees. On wall, east aspect :—Foreile or Trout Pear, Louise 
Bonne of Jersey, Williams’ Bon Chretien, and Glou Mor^eau appear to 
have set fairly well ; but the same varieties on bush trees seem to have 
suffered from the late sharp frosts. Plums are very thin. This in many 
instances is caused by the ravages of bullfinches and other birds. Small 
fruits, including Gooseberries, Currants, and Strawberries, are fairly 
good. Gooseberries are very clean and healthy. Laxton’s Noble is 
leading the way in Strawberries ; it is the first to come into bloom, and 
is the earliest variety we have for outdoor work.—G. R. Allis, 
Jiiggleticadc. 
- The Royal Botanic Society has arrangetl for a “ Floral 
Parade and Feast of Flowers ” to be held in the Regent’s Park Gardens 
on Juno 2(5th next, in the same place as that held last year. The 
schedule states that—“The idea of the Floral Parade is to encourage 
the use of floral decorations as in the South of Europe, in public and 
family rejoicings, such as public festivals, weddings, majorities, and 
processions. Jlemorial, funereal, or political indications or suggestions 
will not be allowed. It is to be distinctly understood that all decora¬ 
tions, dresses, &c., are for out-of-door use. Carriages, &c., can be dressed 
before entering or in the gardens. The parade will pass the Royal daiSi 
then round the course. The awards will be presented at the Royal dais. 
Prizes are offered for flower-dressed cariiages, horses, pony carts and 
cars, riding horses, children’s carriages, Ac., designs and groups of 
plants and flowers. The classes are as follows Victoria or other 
carriage and pair of horses, all dressed in natural flowers ; ditto, ditto, 
all dressed in Roses; Victoria or other carriage and one horse, all 
dressed in natural flowers ; ditto, ditto, all dressed in Roses ; pony 
basket or car and pony, all dressed in natural flowers ; carriage dressed 
inside as a bower, drawn by one or two horses, also dressed in flowers ; 
riding horse, decorated with flowers ; children’s pony or donkey, ditto ; 
other carriage or conveyance not included in above drawn by horse or 
other animal, decorated with flowers ; carriage or conveyance moved by 
man, woman, or child, decorated with flowers ; children’s mail cart, 
decorated with flowers; tricycle, decorated with flowers ; design or 
garden in cut and pot flowers ; group of Roses, all kinds and colours ; 
climbing plants ; specially scented plants ; Palms; group of foliage 
plants, not including Crotons ; Crotons ; Ferns ; variegated hardy plants. 
Ivies, &c.; hardy cut flowers; standing basket of flowers. Medals 
are offered in the classes, and for the best of all exhibits a prize 
of £20. 
ODOXTOGLOSSUMS AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 
rAraDcr reart before the Birmingham Gardenors Matnal Irap’-nvement Society at Ihe 
Midland Institute. March ISlh, 1890, by Mr. W. Stivens, Waltou Grange Gardens, 
Stone, Stallordthire.] 
Odontoglossums form such a large genus, to which so many 
additions have been made in the last few years, that they include at the 
present time some of the most beautiful and useful decorative plants 
in cultivation. They are all evergreen, producing their flower spikes 
from the base of the last made pseudo-bulb. Some have large stout 
pseudo-bulbs and foliage, some small and narrow, the spike usually 
being produced from the largest sheathing leaf in the shape of spike or 
panicle. Sometimes two are produced, one on each side, and on strong 
plants I have even seen three, one on each side and one from the top 
of the pseudo-bulb. Most of them grow well and flower freely, 
although there are a few exceptions. 0. coronarium, for instance, 
grows well with me, but seldom flowers, or at least not with any 
regularity. 
Then, again, others produce their flower spikes from toe matured 
pseudo-bulb, others come up with the growth, and make the pseudo¬ 
bulb at the same time, 0. mevium majus for instance ; and again 
some flower out of the young growth when about an inch long, 
0. citrosmum being an instance. Some produce spikes 3 to 4 feet long, 
while others only as many inches. Some flower only in the spring, 
summer, or autumn, but the most beautiful and popular i.c., 0. cris- 
pum and 0. Pescatorei—produce them all the year round, and where 
numbers of these two beautiful species are grown the houses are seldom 
or never without a few spikes of bloom. 
Before proceeding to discuss the cultivation of Odontoglossums it 
will help us very much if we just have a glanco at the climate and 
district from which most of the Odontoglots are collected, and by 
the kindness of Messrs. Veitch of Chelsea, who have given me the per¬ 
mission to quote from their “ Manual of Orchidaceous Plants,” part 1, 
I think we shall be able to form a pretty good idea of both elimate and 
district. . . - . • , 
The Odontoglossums are confined to the mountain region of tropical 
America that extends from about lat. 15° S. to lat. 20° N. They are 
also restricted to particular mountain chains within these limits, so that 
while spreading to an immense distance in one direction, they are 
included within a comparatively narrow space on the other. Their 
southern limit is where the great Cordilleras of the Andos begin to 
draw closer together after enclosing the lofty plateau of Peru and 
Bolivia, and where a change in the elimatic condition of the Andean 
region becomes perceptible. 
From Cwzeo northwards as far as Chachapojas, a distance of over 
500 miles, the Odontoglossums occur very sparingly, only three or four 
of the small flowered species having yet been met with, but at the iRst- 
named place they begin to appear at much smaller intervals. North of 
the equator the Andes break into three distinct ranges ; one, the 
eastern Cordillera, running in a north-easterly direction, bends along 
the coast of Venezuela as far as Cape Paria. It is on this range that 
the greater part of the most popular kinds occur, being most numerous 
and abundant on that portion that lies between Bogota and Ocana,anJ 
which may be regarded as an Odontoglossum centre. The middle 
