October 11,1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
337 
shading in order to secure the best return therefrom. He told me 
quite recently that the finest Raspberries he ever saw were “ grown 
in the partial shade of forest trees.” 
Upon this portion of the subject your correspondent has 
become a trifle mixed between cause and effect. Old Raspberry 
canes are not cut away “ in order to facilitate the ripening process 
of this year’s wood,” but because they have fruited and done their 
work. We therefore remove them as useless lumber, cumbering 
the ground and dissipating the energies of the roots by their 
maintenance. “E. K.” might as well say that all autumnal 
tidying up in gardens ha* for its object the ripening of wood— 
removal of Asparagus haulms for instance, pulling of Cabbage 
stumps, sweeping of dead leaves, and what not. 
Perhaps, however, the most curious part of his attempted 
bolstering up of the ripe wood dogma is his reference to 
Strawberries! with the accompanying naive admission “no 
ripened wood in this case I allow ! ” After such an exhibition 
of pure Hibernian wit my utmost self-control is required to 
keep up even a semblance of seriousness, but I will try, 
and therefore pass to the Roses. Strange to say I have been a 
grower of these for a quarter of a century, and stranger still never 
had anything “ like a catastrophe,” except, perhaps, this year, due 
to the ripening of the wood last summer. Does “ E. K.” mean to 
advocate the substitution of autumn and winter pruning for the 
time-honoured practice of spring pruning ? If he does, he will 
bring a hornet’s nest about his ears, for I fancy the rosarians will 
have a good deal to say on that subject. 
“Mums ” are his next thesis, and “ mum ” might be my word, 
his assumption that I am not a grower of our autumn queen 
being as reckless as his reasoning. Moreover, your correspondent 
hints at, rather than asserts, an amazing proposition, viz., that 
leaves should be removed from the plants in order “ to admit the 
blessed sun’s rajs to their stems.” I never heard such a doctrine 
—it is ripened wood with a vengeance! I, on the contrary, 
always understood that the great desideratum to be attained in 
Chrysanthemum culture was to keep every leaf on from the tiny 
bracts at the bud down to the larger ones overhanging the rim of 
the pot. 
“E. K.,” after startling us in this fashion, then proceeds to 
attempt some justification oE his precepts, and in doing so calls to 
his aid a paper read by Mr. Arderie before a local society at 
Falkirk. I never happen to have heard of either before, but may 
remark in passing that the district is rather far north. In the 
south I was under the impression that last year was anything but 
a favourable one for “Mum ” growers. My memory, however, is 
a very treacherous one. I therefore turn to the files of the Journal of 
Horticulture to refresh it. In the very first number I take up 
(October 26th), I find a report on the condition of “ Chrysanthe¬ 
mums” in the Liverpool district. On page 382 your representative 
describes a visit to Camp Hill, Wootton, and mentions that 
Mr. Jellicoe had pieces of clean white tiffany stretched about 
1 foot from the roof over his best blooms. He fully believes that 
damping is prevented by doing this, and I can fully bear him oat, 
for there was not a decayed petal. Those not covered damp badly. 
(The italics are mine). At Caldei;plones he saw Mr. Tunnington, 
who “ shares exactly the same opinion as Mr. Jellicoe regarding 
the vexed question of damping, believing that tiffany spread over 
the opening buds will prevent it.” 
Thus we have it on independent testimony that notwithstand¬ 
ing the brilliancy and beauty of last season, which rendered the 
ripening of the wood almost unavoidable, notwithstanding October 
being both warm and dry, was extremely favourable to the develop¬ 
ment of the blossoms, and notwithstanding the proved skill and 
experience of the cultivators, uncovered blooms in both these 
noted collections, did—in the words of your reporter—“ damp 
badly,” while the only remedy which these experts could devise 
was this rather crude one of a little awning over each flower. In 
the face of such well attested facta I think comment would be 
superfluous. 
I have in a former letter dealt with Peaches and Nectarines, 
opposing my practical experience this year to the nostrums of the 
theorists. Camellias I could never manage until after much 
cogitation I determined to try placing them during the summer 
under, and in the dense shade of, large trees, where they greatly 
prosper. This knocks on the head “ E. K.’s ” belief thal; they 
require their wood ripening. 
Dendrobiums, I may tell him, are removed from “ the plant 
stove ” only when they have finished their growth. This he omits 
to mention, and therefore misses the whole point in their removal 
to cooler quarters, which is to prevent their starting again, thereby 
ensuring a period of absolute rest for as long as possible. 
I notice both “E. K.” and “Fruitman” follow “ Azoto” (page 
321) headlong into the Welsh Grape growing muddle, where I may 
well leave them in the predicament the latter has landed them. Both 
also rejoice greatly at the absence of support I have received ic 
your columns. This does not affect m}’^ equanimity in the leasts 
as I know well that errors die hard all the world over, but especially 
among British gardeners, whose intense conservatism I have already 
alluded to. 
“ Fruitman,” however, overlooks that he himself, no doubt 
unconsciously, supports me, for on the very same page (291) he 
confirms “E. M.’s” observations as to the high colouring of 
fruit this year, a matter to which I was the first to draw attenttoe 
in your columns (page 246). 
Before closing I would like to make one last appeal to the 
worshippers of ripened wood to explain what they mean, or iis 
other words to define ripe wood. How do they know when it ic 
ripe ? Do they smell it or eat it ? These being the otsljf 
recognised tests of ripeness so far as I am aware.—A Sceptic. 
DeNDKOBIUM PHAL.ENOPSIS SCHRODERIANUM. 
The present is not the time of year to look for gay OrchMl 
houses—indeed, a few years since such would have been ridiculed 
severely. However, since the advent of the “ King of Dendro- 
biums ” it is a comparatively easy task to make our plant houses 
gay for the whole of the winter months with this plant alone, 
to say nothing of the numerous other Orchids which fiowec 
during the present season. 
The cultivation of this beautiful Orchid is of the simplest 
description. Anyone who has a warm plant house where Crotons 
succeed, here also will Dendrobium Phalsenopsis flourish ; in fact, 
such a house appears just the place for it, for if placed near the 
roof glass it is almost sure to be satisfactory. It does not appear 
to be particular as to whether grown in pots, pans, or baskets. 1 
have them growing in all quite satisfactory. Another thing in its 
favour, and which should make it an amateur’s plant, is its fee© 
flowering properties. Every piece of new growth will produce a 
flower spike, and the varieties which are to be found in a collection 
of moderate dimensions are astonishing. They vary from almost 
pure white to the deepest purples and crimson. The flowers, too, 
last a long time in good condition. I had some last winter whiefe 
kept perfectly fresh for eight weeks. These were in a greenhouse 
where the temperature did not fall below 50°.—T. A. 
Odontoglosstjm crispum. 
This well known and deservedly popular species has beet 
appropriately styled the queen of Orchids. In large establish¬ 
ments, where many plants of this useful species are grown, th© 
beautiful flowers are produced all through the year. As these ace 
useful for every kind of decoration, either cut or on the plants? 
and last several weeks in good condition, there is no doubt that 
the demand for this species, enormous as it is, will still further 
increase. In colour and in size 0. crispum varies greatly, hardly 
two plants having flowers exactly alike. In the best varieties, or 
those usually known as the pacho type, the sepals and petals are 
very broad, the edges of the latter fringed and overlapping, the 
flowers being sometimes over 5 inches across. The poorer varieties 
are smaller, more starry in appearance, as it is termed by grower*, 
but even these are beautiful, and I have never seen a plant of the 
species that was not worth growing. In ground colour the flowere 
vary from pure white to deep rose, and there are also several o£ 
varying tints of yellow. The majority of these varieties are 
more or less spotted with chocolate or reddish brown, such varieties 
as guttatum and Veitchianum being nearly covered with large 
blotches. 
The culture of 0. crispum is now thoroughly understood by 
growers, and in consequence we frequently see examples quit© 
equal if not superior to the very best imported specimens. Estab¬ 
lished plants must be kept quite cool during the summer months, and 
I have seen and had such good results from frame cultivation that I 
do not hesitate to describe this as the best possible position foe 
the plants during this period. This treatment was described is. 
the Journal of Horticulture of May 3rd of this year, so it is needless 
to refer to this further than to say that the plants will now require 
to be housed if not already done, as it is important they do not 
receive any check. Some time during this month the plants should 
be looked through and thoroughly cleaned, and all that require it 
‘ top-dressed or renotted. 
