Noveaiber 22, 1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
467 
has fritbered oa a useless theory he would have been a wiser and more 
useful member of the community.—W. Clark, 
Many of your correspondents have written at length in reply to 
“ Sceptic’s ” article on ripe wood. I would ask them simply, Is it 
worthy of all this trouble ?—E. D. O. 
[If the contributions of the correspondent alluded to had done no 
more than elicit the able articles of “Azoto” and “ J. A.” (page 380, 
October 25th), he would have done good service. The process of wood- 
ripening is there correctly described, and it is summarised in five lines 
by “ J. A.” on the page quoted. Including the references to the subject 
on page 463 of the present issue, it will be conceded we have given a 
generous amount of space to the discussion, and we think the disputants 
have earned a period of rest.] 
LATE VARIETIES OF APPLES. 
The experience of each season in any department of horti¬ 
culture generally impresses upon our minds in a forcible manner 
some lessons of great importance. Sometimes these lessons seem 
to indicate the necessity of conducting our operations on entirely 
different lines, or of pursuing them with greater dilligence in 
directions hitherto attempted in only a limited way. 
It seems to me that the experience of the British fruit grower 
in regard to the Apple crop of 1894, points in no uncertain way to 
the desirability of doing on an extensive scale what has frequently 
been urged in the pages of the Journal of Horticulture, viz., plant¬ 
ing more late varieties of Apples. True there are seasons when 
early kinds prove remunerative, and this seems to have led to 
their being planted extensively, but it is well to bear in mind that 
whenever we obtain abundant crops of Pears and Plums, the 
value of early Apples must be materially lessened. This has been 
the case in a marked degree this season. Our markets were so 
glutted with Pears and Plums of a transient nature that the price 
of Apples was for a time brought far below the figure they should 
have realised, considering the lightness of the crop. Nevertheless, 
the early varieties were bound to be disposed of or allowed to 
spoil. With late Apples, however, the case is totally different, and 
those who have been fortunate enough to secure even a moderate 
crop will find it is a remunerative one. 
Already the scarcity of English Apples in our markets seems 
to be painfully apparent, and we shall in due time be able to 
ponder over the unsatisfactory statistics, which will show how 
many millions of barrels of foreign Apples have been imported 
into this country. There is without doubt some cause for thank¬ 
fulness to be found in the fact that when our native crops of any 
kind fail we are able to satisfy our requirements with the products 
of other lands. The point, however, which requires earnest con¬ 
sideration is this, that however abundant our Apple crops may be, 
the latest varieties always command remunerative prices if the 
samples are good. It is with these late varieties that the Americans 
do such an enormous English trade, and yet late varieties are no 
more difficult to grow in England than are early ones. It is not 
only among market growers that this scarcity of late Apples 
prevails, but in private gardens also the supply during April and 
May is usually a very scanty one. This ought not to be so, seeing 
that we have now many good late kinds which, with proper methods 
of storing, may be depended to supply a succession from March to 
the end of May. 
Now that the planting season is in full progress, this matter 
deserves full consideration from all intending planters. I will 
enumerate below a few varieties which I know to be good keepers, 
and I trust other readers of the Journal of Horticulture will record 
their experience and ideas on this subject. Dessert varieties :— 
Nonpareil, Sturmer Pippin, one which ought to be extensively 
planted, seeing that it will keep perfectly fresh tillJune ; Braddon 
Pippin, Court Pendfi Plat, Scarlet Nonpareil, and Duke of Devon- 
shire. Culinary : — Alfriston, Bramley’s Seedling, Gooseberry 
Pippin, a splendid cooker with white flesh, keeps with greater 
certainty than any Apple I am acquainted with ; Lane’s Prince 
Albert, Newton Wonder, and Striped Beefing.—H. Dunkin. 
Odontoglossum crispum Franz Masereel. 
At the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, held on the 
13th inst., Messrs. Yervaet & Co., Mont S. Amand, Ghent, 
exhibited blooms of a splendid form of Odontoglossum crispum 
under the varietal name of Franz Masereel, and which attracted 
some attention. The flowers, as shown in the illustration (fig. 71), 
are of the ordinary size, but are noteworthy for the wonderful 
colouring. The sepals and petals are white, covered with red 
blotches, the lip being lemon yellow. It is one of the best varieties 
of this popular Orchid we have seen, and worthy of the first-class 
certificate awarded for it on the above-mentioned occasion. 
Angraicum ebtjrneum. 
This is a fine plant for a large tropical house, the fine broad 
foliage being very ornamental all through the season. It is a large 
growing species, often attaining a height of 3 to 4 feet. The leaves 
FIG. 71.— ODONTOGLOSSUM CRISPUM FRANZ MASEREEL. 
are 18 inches in length, light green, very thick and leathery in 
texture. The flower spikes appear in autumn from the base of the 
leaves, and are 18 inches in length, upright, and rather stiff in 
appearance. Each bears about a dozen flowers ; the sepals and 
petals are narrow, greenish white ; the lip has a short spur, the 
first portion being heart-shaped, an inch across at the base, and 
pure white. The blossoms are faintly but sweetly scented, and 
last eight or nine weeks in good condition. 
A. eburneum succeeds best in sphagnum and charcoal, and 
should be given rather large pots, as it dislikes frequent disturbance. 
It is easily grown, and seldom gets out of condition, but should the 
plants appear sickly they must be shaken free of the compost, and 
the roots well washed in tepid water. At the same time cut away 
all that are decayed and repot, allowing abundant drainage. They 
will not probably flower so freely the first season after the disturb¬ 
ance, but when re-established in the new compost will grow away 
with great vigour. A. eburneum is also known as A. superbum 
and A. giganteum, and is a native of Madagascar. 
Cattleya speciosissima. 
I recently saw a fine plant of a good variety of this species, 
the flowers of which had none of the dull sombre colouring that 
characterises some of the earlier forms of this Orchid. C. specio¬ 
sissima is, I think, in rather bad favour with growers because of its 
reputed paucity of blooming, and although it must be admitted 
that there is some truth in this, yet it will, if properly managed, 
produce good flowering growths in plenty. The fault here, as in 
many other cases, is insufficiency of sunlight ; and at the risk of 
a charge of iteration I would again impress on growers the necessity 
of ripening, or, more correctly, consolidating the growths of 
Cattleyas as they are made, especially of those autumn-flowering 
species. 
Give C. speciosissima a warm sunny position where there is a 
free circulation of air, and avoid excitement after the pseudo-bulbs 
are finished, and at the next flowering season there will probably be 
little cause of complaint. The flowers somewhat resemble those 
of C. Mossise, but are more clearly defined in outline ; the petals 
are usually broader, and the lip more tubular and less spreading in 
front than those of the latter kind. The typical flower has sepals 
and petals purplish-rose ; the lip has a blotch of yellow on either 
side of the throat, with radiating lines of deep purple. The 
varieties alba and Schroder® are white, with the exception of 
the markings on the lip. Other varieties are brillianlissimum 
albescens, and marginatum.—H. R. R. 
