October 4,1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
321 
The larger growing Aerides, Sacco- 
labiums, Angr 0 ecum 8 ,and similar Orchids 
require a high temperature now, with 
abundance of atmospheric moisture. 
The roots must not be stinted either, 
as they are at this season very active. 
It is important that these are carefully 
watched during the next month or so, 
and water applied judiciously. As the 
plants go to rest the green tips gradually 
cloud over until they are white to the 
point, when watering will seldom be 
found necessary, the little atmospheric 
moisture being nearly sufficient for the 
wants of the plants. Catasetums will 
require less water as the leaves lose 
their colour, and may with advantage 
be placed in a cooler temperature, the 
front stage of a vinery being a suitable 
position for the plants. 
spikes will protect them from slugs, these insects being very 
partial to them, and frequently doing much mischief. This fine 
L*lia is rather straggling in habit, and well furnished specimens 
are not usually seen, all the strength of the plants being appro¬ 
priated by the leading growths. When the spikes can be seen in the 
apex of the young growth, the rhizome may be notched nearly half 
way through between the second and third pseudo-bulbs. This 
will cause the latent eyes to plump up, and ultimately to break, 
thereby greatly improving the appearance of the plants. This 
operation is frequently performed in the spring, but better results 
are attained by doing it now, as more seasonable growths will be 
produced.—H. R. R. 
RIPENED WOOD. 
“ ScErTic’s ” (page 291) reply to my request for sound reasons 
in support of his position is an extraordinary jumble of inconsisten¬ 
cies. In the first place he is the aggressive party, attempting to 
demolish an established principle, yet with that contumely born of 
his own superior discernment he shifts the onus of proof from him¬ 
self to those who, according to his estimate of their intelligence, 
are the slaves of a superstition. It is evident that whatever 
these “ faddists ” may advance in argument against “ Sceptic’s ” 
FIG. 48.— SOPHEO-CATTLEYA EXIMIA. 
views would be treated by him as “ meaningless nonsense,” and 
nothing short of practical proof by ocular demonstration will satisfy 
him. But let us examine a few of his own attempts at showing 
practical proofs by logical argument. 
In the first place he repudiates all knowledge of the cultivation 
of exotics carried on in out of the way places of these islands. He 
then proceeds to base an argument on—what ? Something which, 
on his own confession, he is apparently ignorant of, and instead 
of the practical proof which he is so anxious to claim from others, 
he makes a leap in the dark by guessing that the failure of the 1880 
vintage was probably not due to unripened wood, but to other 
causes, which when summed up means neither more nor less that we 
need not trouble about the ripening weather during the summer if 
the Tay Bridge does not blow away in the winter. 
Again, after accepting Mr. Pettigrew’s return of the rainfall of 
the year 1879 at 44 inches, he quotes the Greenwich return for the 
same year at 31'36, for no other apparent reason than to show that a 
trifling difference (?) of 12’64 inches more rain at Cardiff' than was 
recorded at Greenwich was of no importance, influencing the crop 
of Grapes the following season 1880. If Vines had been grown 
under similar treatment at both places he might have derived some 
significance one way or the other from quoting the returns from 
both places. 
“ ycept’c ” then goes on to make an incomplete comparison 
between the rainfall of 1893 and that of the present year, giving the 
In watering Cattleyas at this season 
care is necessary, and the wants of each 
plant must be separately considered in 
this respect. C. Dowiana, C. Gaskelliana, and C. gigas as they go 
out of bloom require much less than C. labiata vera, C. bicolor, 
C. Bowringeana, and others advancing for flower. The grower 
must be guided by the appearance of the roots and the state of 
growth, taking every precaution that the former named species 
are not unduly excited so as to cause them to break into growth. 
If C. superba is placed in a drier atmosphere while in bloom, it 
will not often start out of season, but less water will of course be 
needed when the plants are returned to the warm house. 
Dendrobiums vary greatly in their time of going to rest. 
D. Dalhousianum, D. moschatum, D. nobile, D. Wardianum, and 
others are still growing freely, while D. Bensonise, D. hetero- 
carpum, and many of the evergreen kinds have completed their 
growth. The former species require to be kept in a brisk heat, 
closing early, with abundance of moisture in order to encourage them 
to finish up their growth with as little delay as possible. The 
latter are best in a cooler, more airy structure, or even outside in a 
sheltered sunny position, which is imperative if flowers are to be 
obtained from D. speciosum and its var. Hillsi. Several Bletias, 
Anguloas, Stanhopeas. and others are also benefited 'by a few weeks 
exposure to the air after their growth is completed. 
Laelia superbiens is now producing its spikes, and must be 
encouraged. A little cotton wool twisted around the base of the 
SoPHRO- CattleYA eximia. 
The accompanying illustration (fig. 48) represents a plant of 
Sophro-Cattleya eximia, one of the most beautiful dwarf-habited 
Orchids in cultivation. It is the result of a cross between Sophro- 
nites grandiflora and Cattleya Bowringiana, the latter said to be 
the seed bearing parent. This acquisition was raised by Messrs. 
J. Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nurseries, Chelsea, and exhibited 
at Chiswick Gardens on the 25th ult., when a first-class certificate 
was awarded for it by the Orchid Committee of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society. The sepals and petals are bright purplish rose, 
the lip being darker, and pale yellow in the throat. 
Cultural Notes on Orchids. 
Every opportunity should be taken of exposing the growths 
of Dendrobiums, Cattleyas, and others to the now declining rays 
of the sun. "When these species are 
grouped in a house together this is 
easily managed by drawing up the blinds 
earlier in the afternoon, but with a 
house full of miscellaneous plants it is 
not always possible to do this. Much 
may be done, however, by a careful 
arrangement of the plants and a similar 
judicious manipulation of the shading. 
